India to buy 250-300 fighter jets from Russia: minister

India to buy 250-300 fighter jets from Russia: minister
New Delhi (AFP) Oct 7, 2010
India has agreed to buy up to 300 advanced stealth fighter jets from Russia, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said Thursday, announcing a deal that could be worth up to 30 billion dollars.

Antony told a press conference with his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov that Russia would supply the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) as well as 45 multi-role transport aircraft.

"India will receive 250-300 most advanced FGFAs," Antony said. "These are the two major projects for the next 10 years which will be a shining example of Indian-Russian cooperation."

Hindustan Aeronautic Ltd (HAL) and Russia's United Aircraft Corp. and Rosoboronexport signed a joint venture last month to develop the multi-role transport aircraft in a project worth 645 million dollars.

Serdyukov said the success in the co-production of the BrahMos cruise missile would spur the FGFA's joint development by India's HAL and Russia's state-owned Sukhoi Company.

"We have a 10-year programme and it is quite challenging (but) we have very good experience in military cooperation and BrahMos is an example," the Russian minister said of the FGFA, the richest deal in India's military history.

"The FGFA have been designed by us, the price has been fixed and the draft of the agreement has been given to India. Once it is signed, HAL and Sukhoi will participate," he said.

Serdyukov did not disclose details.

Experts say each 30-ton FGFA is worth up to 100 million dollars.

Indian Defence Production Secretary R.K. Singh said the costing would be worked out in stages.

"At present a 300-million dollar preliminary design contract for the FGFA programme is currently under the (Indian) government's consideration," Singh told AFP separately.

The draft agreement is likely to be signed during a trip to India by President Dmitry Medvedev in December.

Moscow is New Delhi's largest military supplier but recent frictions over cost escalations and delays in the delivery of a refurbished Russian aircraft carrier have strained cosy bilateral ties.

"We have a great volume of (military) projects and so it is natural to have some delays," Serdyukov said.

The minister also said Russia was waiting for New Delhi's clearance to supply 22 attack helicopters and 15 heavylift helicopters.

"As soon as we get the contract we will provide them," Serdyukov added.

India plans to mothball its mainstay MiG-21 Soviet-era fighter jets, which have earned the sobriquet "flying coffins" because of their dismal safety record.

India is also in the process of acquiring 270 Sukhoi war jets worth 12 billion dollars and is poised to hand out a contract for 126 fighter planes as part of a separate 12-billion dollar deal for which six global aeronautical giants are in the race.

Difference between PAK FA and FGFA

The difference between PAK FA and the FGFA will be similar to that between Su-30M and Su-30MKI[citation needed]. Su-30M is a standard Russian version of a plane, whereas the Su-30MKI (MKI stands for "Modernizirovannyi Kommercheskiy Indiski" meaning "Modernized Commercial India") was jointly-developed with India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Indian Air Force. The Su-30MKI includes Thrust Vectoring Control (TVC) and canards. It is equipped with a multi-national avionics complex sourced from India, Israel, Russia and France. The PAK FA and the FGFA will have minimal common technology. Further the FGFA will be predominantly using weapons of Indian origin such as Astra, a Beyond Visual Range missile being developed by India, although in keeping with the Russian BVR doctrine of using a vast variety of different missiles for versatility and unpredictability to countermeasures, it can be expected to have compatibility with many different missile loadouts. The Indian FGFA is significantly different from the Russian PAK FA because a second pilot means the addition of another dimension, development of wings and control surfaces.

The FGFA may also include systems developed by third parties.

http://www.knaapo.ru/rus/products/military/t-50.wbp
http://www.knaapo.ru/rus/gallery/events/combat/t-50/index.wbp

T -50 Promising aviation complex of front aviation (ПАК ФА). The aircraft of the fifth generation is equipped with the fundamentally new complex of avionics, that integrates the function “electronic pilot”, and by promising phased-array radar. This to a considerable degree reduces load on the pilot and makes it possible to be concentrated on the fulfillment of tactical missions. On board equipment of new aircraft permits implementation of the exchange of data in the regime of real time both with the ground-based systems for control and inside the air group. The application of composite materials and innovation technologies, the aerodynamic layout of aircraft, measure for reduction in distinctness of engine ensure the unprecedented low level of radar, optical and infrared distinctness. This makes it possible to considerably increase combat effectiveness in the work both along the air and ground targets, at any time twenty-four hours, in the simple and adverse weather conditions. Additional materials on the theme: Gallery T -50.