Asit P wrote:
Harish, Branding a fighter aircraft is a long and a tedious affair. It doesn't happen overnight. Its true that LCA has not got its FOC (as a matter of fact, not even its IOC), but that should not deter us from presenting it to the outside world as a potent and a lethal aircraft.
Look at JF 17, in terms of capabilities it is far behind LCA but in terms of PR, it is miles ahead. Look at the birds competing in the MMRCA competition, many of them still don't have a working AESA radar, yet they are participating in this competition on an intangible promise of incorporating it soon. If some reports of the media are to be believed then MIG 35 may not start its production before 2014. But that has not stopped them from offering their product to India. Moreover, let us not forget that not every potential customer of LCA would have the same needs and wants as that of the IAF. There are those for whom high end stuffs like AESA radar may not be of paramount importance. They would well be happy with the MMR. Therefore, one does not has to wait for LCA to get inducted in the IAF with its complete configuration to start its marketing. Ideally, we must start its marketing as soon as possible, and must use the technological progress of LCA (such as selection of more powerful engine, better radar etc) to provide a stimulus to its marketing activities from time to time. Similarly, we must use its induction into the IAF to reinforce & strengthen the belief of the prospective customers in the capabilities of this bird.
This has everything to do with what the aim of the project itself is. The LCA wasn't developed with an eye for exports like the FC-1 was. From the very beginning, the LCA program aim was simply to get the IAF to use it in large numbers. The biggest stumbling block for weapons exports from India are that the GoI and MoD don't have the aggressive mind-set that exports are mandatory for the economic health of a project and also contribute to strategic goals and that these need to be driven from top down, unlike in countries that have traditionally exported weapons. for e.g. France where before Nicholas Sarkozy came into power, their weapon exports had dropped and it was considered a national cause for concern. If the politicians start exerting pressure on the MoD and DRDO, they too will start focusing on exports.
Regarding the Tejas and how mature a product it is, well it definitely needs to enter IOC and FOC, before it is taken seriously by outsiders, but as you said, that shouldn't prevent the MoD and HAL to start talking to potential customers, inviting their pilots and technicians to come take a look, describing the technicalities of the product, etc.. Italy's Aermacchi was promoting the M-346 Master even before it was ready. And it hasn't yet entered service in large numbers, yet it (almost) managed to find an export buyer in the UAE before the deal went kaput.
China and Pakistan started talking to potential customer well before the FC-1 was brought into service with the PAF- and even that service entry is quite clearly expedited. For instance no pictures, no videos and no talk of it testing BVR weapons or for that matter even WVR air-to-air weapons. The first squadron being replaced is an A-5 Fantan squadron, so tactical strike and interdiction will be the JF-17s initial role even as other weapons are tested out and finally brought into service.
A customer does not buy a product which is made in factory. He buys a brand which comprises of the tangible product as well as the intangible values, beliefs and perceptions that are attached with that product. With the LCA program nearing its completion in few years from now, its time India starts creating a positive perception about LCA amongst the prospective customers through various marketing means such as brand positioning, PR etc
What you're talking about is an alient concept to PSUs. They don't understand it and I doubt that they will be even be thinking of it. I mean how can anyone justify a company as large as HAL doing away with its miniscule media unit that used to come out with Minsk Square Matters? The obvious fact is that HAL senior management, which likely grew up in the same company are so blissfully unaware of the importance of PR that they don’t believe that its worth employing 3-4 people who engage in a little PR. Private firms engage in a lot of media management, a lot of meet-and-greets and that way they get their product a lot of attention. Ever heard of a PSU doing that? That culture doesn’t exist in them because they believe they have a captive market and don’t have to fight for orders.
In many ways, India has hampered its own growth by restricting private sector involvement in defence. The Dhruv ALH was in service for several years with no foreign exports but only when the Sarang team started doing demos during Airshows outside did people start noticing it. Do you think Ecuador, Chile or any other nation except Nepal will visit HAL and ask them if they have a product that fits their needs? Do you think HAL will even ask them to come visit their facilities? They see them at Airshows and that’s where they interact, find out what is available and if it fits a particular requirement of theirs, they go back, do their homework and start preliminary negotiations. And here, the fact is that unfortunately, HAL doesn't treat the Tejas as its own product. They took the HJT-36 Sitara to Farnbourough even though the AL-55I engine that will bring into service was still being developed. What prevented them from taking a Tejas PV? I mean, the LCA is well known (for mostly the wrong reasons) and it would’ve been a big media publicity even if the Tejas was taken to air shows. That press coverage gets people talking about a product and all that can help generate interest. And if they even spoke of the technologies on the Tejas, people would be far more impressed with India’s capability rather than by seeing an intermediate trainer. But HAL didn’t take it along because with the Tejas, they cannot put a HAL badge on it- mainly because while they did a lot of design work on it and are the prime production agency, ADA is the nodal agency. This one fact has in the past (during ex-chairman RN Sharma's reign) dampened HAL's enthusiasm for the Tejas quite a lot.
from 1:08 to 1:21. less than 400m take-off distance by our reckoning ! 
to sell it to other countries holds little merit.
