Stealth Fighters: India And Russia Form Groundbreaking Partnership But

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[left][size=5][b]Stealth fighters: India and Russia form groundbreaking partnership but US rival tries to muscle in[/b][/size][/left]

[color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]Fighter pilots who train alongside the their peers in the Indian Air Force (IAF) are left in little doubt of their tactical pedigree.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]Indian pilots are among the best in the world, with lightning-sharp reactions and the deft hand-eye co-ordination essential to notch up “kills” in aerial exercises.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]However, western counterparts say their instincts are still moulded by Soviet-style training manuals based on mass formations to dominate European airspace dating from the cold war, when the two were close, rather than the freer flight of smaller missions over the Himalayas.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]The influence of Russia, which is still India’s largest arms supplier, is unlikely to wane soon.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]Forming the bedrock of India’s air strike capabilities are Sukhoi-30MKI and MiG-21 fighter jets. And the country’s military planners are now[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]banking on an Indo-Russian stealth fighter joining their ranks within a decade to match the capabilities of China’s J-20 fighter.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]While two European rivals, the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault’s Rafale, scrap over supplying fourth-generation [url="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5a7a5584-71c1-11e0-9adf-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1d3z06utp"]combat aircraft to India[/url] in a contract that India says could be worth as much as $20bn, Moscow has already secured a partnership with India in military aviation lasting well into the future.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]The prize of a visit by Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s president, to New Delhi last year was an agreement to develop jointly a fifth-generation stealth fighter, called by the Russians the T50 or Pak-FA – although India prefers to call it the FGFA, for fifth generation fighter aircraft. The two sides agreed to build up to 300 over 10 years in a deal estimated to be worth $35bn.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]The T50, the equivalent of the US F-35, is expected to join the Russian air force in operational trials in five years, and India’s four years later.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]So far, prototypes of the T50 have completed 100 test flights. The aircraft has a range of 2,000km and a cruising speed of Mach 1.8. It will cost less than $100m – far cheaper than US rivals such as the F-22 Raptor and the F-35, according to its Russian makers Sukhoi and United Aircraft Corporation.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]Indian participation puts Asia’s third-largest economy at the forefront of military aircraft design and upholds a longstanding Russian promise to share the most advanced technology – something the US has not been ready to do.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]Mikhail Pogosyan, president of UAC, says: “We are not simply offering our Indian colleagues the best prototypes of our aviation technology as a finished product, we are dedicated to sharing engineering resources in the development of the most modern aviation facilities with high potential for the global market.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]“The joint programmes in the area of combat and transport aviation are a launching pad to develop civil aircraft.”[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]Bangalore-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which already assembles MiG, Sukhoi and BAE Systems Hawk jets, has sought at least a 25 per cent share in the production of a two-seat version of the aircraft. The fighter would also be equipped with BrahMos cruise missiles, which have been developed and tested jointly by the two countries. Ashok Nayak, a former chairman of HAL, describes the project as “more daunting” than any of the initiatives India’s aeronautics industry has embarked on in the indigenous development of aircraft such as the Teja, Kiran or Marut.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]At a stroke, the agreement has given India the kind of technological partnership – to match its space programme – it craves, and the promise of defence exports.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]Potential customers for an Indo-Russian stealth fighter include Algeria, Brazil, Venezuela, Vietnam and Egypt. Indonesia and Iran are also possibilities.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]But the US may still fight back on the current tender to supply fourth-generation fighters to India.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]The Pentagon recently told the US Congress that it was prepared to provide information to India about the F-35 Lightning II, produced by Lockheed Martin and viewed as a heavy, cheaper version of the F-22.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]European defence companies have expressed concern that the US authorities might try to short-circuit the bidding process with a new, more attractive offer outside the terms of the competition.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]Ajay Shukla, the defence correspondent for India’s Business Standard newspaper, has urged the Ministry of Defence in Delhi to abandon the purchase of “overpriced” fourth-generation fighters and immediately leap to the stealth capabilities offered by the F-35 in a single-vendor contract.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]“Lockheed Martin has signalled in multiple ways it would supply the fighter at a fly-away cost of $65m per aircraft with deliveries beginning by 2015,” he says.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]But other Indian defence analysts say the process to choose the medium multi-role combat aircraft is too far advanced for a U-turn, and current needs are too pressing.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]A sudden departure from the process would dent India’s credibility, they say, at a time when the conduct of its bureaucracy is under greater scrutiny after a number of corruption scandals.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]One defence expert says that the US offer of stealth technology puts the T50 partnership at risk.[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4][left]The expert, who is close to the negotiations for fourth-generation fighters, asks: “What would India want with two stealth fighters?”[/left][/size][/font][/color][/left]
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