New Indian Air Force Fighter competition

[Sansei442/100]

The F18E/F is the least likely to be chosen. It would be hard-pressed to meet the price tag. The Indian top brass have made it clear that the F18 is overkill. Somehow I can't see the SH as a low-cost counterpart to the Su-30.


What the article doesn't mention is the F16's ability to lead-in to the JSF. Its low cost but high tech. I would have said it was one of the frontrunner but the required offset package now clearly puts the Mig35 in front seat. The requirements are practically written around the Mig 35.

The M2000 could still be a big contender. Since the assembly facilities are closing down in France, I don't think it is that difficult to set up the construction in India. That would be a major plus.

The cost is relative-we still don't know how much the Indians have budgeted for the 126-200 fighters to be bought. Most reports indicate between $US 9-15 billion so the unit cost isn't a problem as the 30-50% offsets should inject money into the Indian economy anyway as the manufacturers have to source local components for the aircraft except for the first 18 which will be straight off the shelf.

The F-16C/D/E/F/I (Soufa) are all excellent variants when equipped with the latest tech. but you forget that the Pakistani AF already operates F-16s and are planning to take delivery of about 72 more when the 2005 Earthquake hit Lahore-cutting the purchase to 18 F-16B52+ and 33 F-16A/B from the Embargo days and I would'nt be surprised if they decide to order up to c.40 more 52+ given PAF requirements for 6 dedicated strike squadrons. So my point is that the F-16 will not be chosen by India as when an adversary already operates significant numbers of that fighter they have had an equally significant lead over India in terms of tactics, training, weaponry etc. etc.
The F-16 doesn't "lead into" the F-35-they are two totally different aircraft! It is just advertizing from Lockheed Martin! If anything, the F-18E/F is closer in terms of technology to the F-35-just ask the Aussies.

That article is already more than one year old and is outdated. Refer to the wikipedia article written by a friend of mine.

Prove that the Mig35 is the frontrunner to win the contest

On the offsets and maufacturing issues, Boeing has offered to set up a miantenance and maufac. hub in Bangalore to assist with support and upgrades which should put it on par with the Mig-35 as frontrunners-however, the Mig-35 is a MULTI ROLE fighter-ie. it is essentially the same as the Su-30MKI in terms of capability and function and overrated-just an prototype (only one has been produced) upgraded Mig-29 with extra hardware, an untested AESA radar, maneuverability on par with the SU30-MKI but not better, etc. etc. Whether it would 'kill' an F-18E/F in AA combat is debatable as the F-18E/F has a superb EW suite as well as an ALE-50 towed decoy-especially designed to deal with the R-77 and R-73 missiles.

The Indians have stated clearly that they are looking for a medium combat aircraft (in AF jargon roughly a multi role strike fighter) which the F-18E/F IS-with an emphasis on strike. Added to the fact the US has agreed to sell the APG79/80 AESA radars and possibly advanced EW suites (the Indians can get it from the Israelis if the US doesnt sell) and in light of the 2005 Strategic Treaty/Pact thingy and the Nuclear Fuel Deal of 2006-the Indians are definately looking towards the US (and therefore will choose the F-18E/F) as the US can (refer to my above post) give India the most geopolitical benefits and enable the IAF to avoid placing all eggs in one basket (ie. buying too much Russian hardware).

The M2000 has been offficially eliminated. In place, the French are offering the Rafale-too expensive and lacking performance wise. Plus the French are not good at geopolitical favors and will turn around and sell it to Pakistan the next year.

 

[uaf]

The cost is relative-we still don't know how much the Indians have budgeted for the 126-200 fighters to be bought. Most reports indicate between $US 9-15 billion so the unit cost isn't a problem as the 30-50% offsets should inject money into the Indian economy anyway as the manufacturers have to source local components for the aircraft except for the first 18 which will be straight off the shelf.

The F-16C/D/E/F/I (Soufa) are all excellent variants when equipped with the latest tech. but you forget that the Pakistani AF already operates F-16s and are planning to take delivery of about 72 more when the 2005 Earthquake hit Lahore-cutting the purchase to 18 F-16B52+ and 33 F-16A/B from the Embargo days and I would'nt be surprised if they decide to order up to c.40 more 52+ given PAF requirements for 6 dedicated strike squadrons. So my point is that the F-16 will not be chosen by India as when an adversary already operates significant numbers of that fighter they have had an equally significant lead over India in terms of tactics, training, weaponry etc. etc.
The F-16 doesn't "lead into" the F-35-they are two totally different aircraft! It is just advertizing from Lockheed Martin! If anything, the F-18E/F is closer in terms of technology to the F-35-just ask the Aussies.

That article is already more than one year old and is outdated. Refer to the wikipedia article written by a friend of mine.

Prove that the Mig35 is the frontrunner to win the contest

On the offsets and maufacturing issues, Boeing has offered to set up a miantenance and maufac. hub in Bangalore to assist with support and upgrades which should put it on par with the Mig-35 as frontrunners-however, the Mig-35 is a MULTI ROLE fighter-ie. it is essentially the same as the Su-30MKI in terms of capability and function and overrated-just an prototype (only one has been produced) upgraded Mig-29 with extra hardware, an untested AESA radar, maneuverability on par with the SU30-MKI but not better, etc. etc. Whether it would 'kill' an F-18E/F in AA combat is debatable as the F-18E/F has a superb EW suite as well as an ALE-50 towed decoy-especially designed to deal with the R-77 and R-73 missiles.

The Indians have stated clearly that they are looking for a medium combat aircraft (in AF jargon roughly a multi role strike fighter) which the F-18E/F IS-with an emphasis on strike. Added to the fact the US has agreed to sell the APG79/80 AESA radars and possibly advanced EW suites (the Indians can get it from the Israelis if the US doesnt sell) and in light of the 2005 Strategic Treaty/Pact thingy and the Nuclear Fuel Deal of 2006-the Indians are definately looking towards the US (and therefore will choose the F-18E/F) as the US can (refer to my above post) give India the most geopolitical benefits and enable the IAF to avoid placing all eggs in one basket (ie. buying too much Russian hardware).

The M2000 has been offficially eliminated. In place, the French are offering the Rafale-too expensive and lacking performance wise. Plus the French are not good at geopolitical favors and will turn around and sell it to Pakistan the next year.

But you forgot one thing If IAF decides for F-18 E/F it will push Russian to rethink their strategy of not selling Pakistan Sophisticated Weaponry IF U.S can sell both countries why can’t Russia. As far as Pakistan’s point of view is concern it’s better to have one more option rather than not having it at all. Basically it will be more beneficial for Pakistan as U.S has always denied the more advanced Fighters to Pakistan and I don’t see the shift of policy in near future we all know why. Frankly speaking it might end up as blessing in disguise we just have to wait and see.

Cheers

 

[aaaditya]

hey guys,it seems ,that saab is quite confident about the success of the gripen particularly as a result of the 40 year life cycle cost,they plan to offer india the second generation gripen.

here check out this link and article:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...r_for_combat_aircraft/articleshow/2167854.cms

NEW DELHI: Even as the government is finalising ground rules for acquisition of 126 multi-role combat aircraft at a cost of $10 billion, Swedish company Gripen has indicated that it was willing to provide full transfer of technology and offer integration of its aircraft with all weapon systems available across the world. The move comes at a time when the government is expected to come out with a request for proposal (RFP) for the mega deal.

American, French and Russian companies are also in the race for supplying multi-role combat aircraft to Indian Air Force. Gripen International has indicated to the Indian authorities that its product would be cheaper than other comparable aircraft in terms of life cycle cost – or cost of acquisition plus operations.

We understand that life cycle of a defence aircraft in India could even extend to 40 years and that makes our position strong, said Mr Tony Ogilvy, Gripen International’s director in India. Our aircraft are designed to last for decades and what we would offer to India is the second generation Gripen with updated facilities, he added.

"Our aircraft are suited for integration with all advanced weapon systems available in the world, including missile systems provided by the US and Israel," Mr Ogilvy said. The company has already made efforts to familiarise the Indian Air Force with its aircraft and is keenly looking forward to the request for proposal (RFP) that the government is finalising.

"Training of pilots for our aircraft is simple and the time-frame depends on the role for which training is imparted," Mr Ogilvy said. The company’s recent customers include South Africa and Czech republic.

On transfer of technology, he said that Gripen was willing to provide all the know-how for India to carry out modifications according to its needs. This could enable Indian companies like Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to imbibe latest technologies and utilise them effectively.

The RFP for the multi-role combat aircraft that the government plans to acquire has been pending for years. Among those in the race for the mega deal include F18 (Boeing) and F16 (Lockheed Martin) of the US, Mig 35 from Russia, Dassault Rafale of France and Eurofigher developed by a European consortium.


i believe ,the requirements for gripen if selected for the mrca tender ,would be a more powerfull engine(i believe ej200),an aesa radar (nora) and a heavier weapon load(6.5 tons).

 

[swerve]

hey guys,it seems ,that saab is quite confident about the success of the gripen particularly as a result of the 40 year life cycle cost,they plan to offer india the second generation gripen.
...

i believe ,the requirements for gripen if selected for the mrca tender ,would be a more powerfull engine(i believe ej200),an aesa radar (nora) and a heavier weapon load(6.5 tons).

Everyone always sounds confident. It's called marketing.

The "second generation" Gripen will have a more powerful engine, a variant of the F414 (the RM12 is a variant of the F404), AESA, & heavier weapon load than the basic model. But 6.5 tons is a bit much for a plane that size.

 

[aaaditya]

But you forgot one thing If IAF decides for F-18 E/F it will push Russian to rethink their strategy of not selling Pakistan Sophisticated Weaponry IF U.S can sell both countries why can’t Russia. As far as Pakistan’s point of view is concern it’s better to have one more option rather than not having it at all. Basically it will be more beneficial for Pakistan as U.S has always denied the more advanced Fighters to Pakistan and I don’t see the shift of policy in near future we all know why. Frankly speaking it might end up as blessing in disguise we just have to wait and see.

Cheers

i believe that neither usa,russia or sweden will win the mrca deal,the reasons are as follows:

1) f16's are in operational service with the pakistani airforce,it is based on an extensively modified version of a 20 year old design,at some point a design saturation point will come on ,the same can be said about the f-18's,also as uaf has pointed out russia will not take kindly to an indian tilt towards usa.

2) mig 35's,despite all that they may say indian airforce is fed up with the mig's,also russians have off late not endeared themselves to the indian administration by demanding more money for the su30mki's and by not meeting the schedule for the delivery of the gorshkov.

3)sweden's gripen come pretty close in terms of performance and capability to the indian lca and will meet resistance from the indian defence establishment,also it is more expensive than the lca.

that leaves only the israeli f-16 sufa,the ef2000 typhoon from eads,and the french rafale.

1)the ef2000's chances have taken a severe beating thanks to the saudi bribery scandal ,there is a anti-bribery clause in the rfp's ,also a selection of the ef2000 will be potentially scandalous,the current upa governement wants to avoid scandals,however india has operation experience with european aircrafts and russia iam sure would not mind india acquiring european aircrafts ,as long as it is not american and the indians place orders for billions worth of defence technology from russia to compensate them.i believe that the eads has better chance than the above 3.

2)israeli sufa will have an outside chancce ,mainly because it is a third party produce,and israel is a very close defence partner of india,however russia may consider it as a us product sold to india in disguise and may not take kindly to it,unless indians and israelis soften the russians with subcontracts for the sufa.also the design point raised in the first para is also applicable ,the soufa is nothing but a highly modified version of the f-16 (like the indian su30mki is a heavily modified version of the su27 flanker).i doubt that the design will be current and valid after 30 years ,while the requi4rement as per the rfp is for 40 years.

3) it is not well known that about 4 years back the indian airforce had a straight forward choice in the mirage 2000-5,it was based on a proven platform in service with the indian airforce,and had performed exceedingly well during the kargil war,also the french proved to be as reliable suppliers as the russians and the israeli's the same cannot be said about usa and uk.however since a signle bidder system was abolished ,multiple participants were invited and the tender was now known as the mrca,i believe that the rafale has a better chance than all other competitors ,since india has operational experience with the french aircrafts ,russians need not feel threatened at the loss of their market provided that india sweetens them up with a few billion dollars worth of defence orders,rafale being a contemporary of the gripen and the ef2000 from a design point of view will have a greater chance of meeting the 40year life cycle criteria,also it is the least scandalous option and is likely to recieve support from the left political parties who would consider it as the second best option after russian technology.

 

[aaaditya]

hey guys , interesting news here,seems that boeing may offer india the irst with the f18's.

here check out this link and article:

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news...N02369911_RTRIDST_0_BOEING-LOCKHEED-INDIA.XML


Boeing Co. said Monday it tapped traditional rival Lockheed Martin Corp. to supply up to 150 advanced infrared sensors for Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets.
Raytheon , Northrop Grumman Corp. and BAE Systems Plc offer similar infrared tracking systems.
"Those are the (other) three that we talked to," Chris Wedewer, Boeing's IRST product manager, said in a telephone interview.


The choice of Lockheed's Infrared Search and Track, or IRST, systems followed "a rigorous and competitive request-for- information process," Boeing said in a statement.
Wedewer said Boeing itself did not compete to supply the system, which is used to detect heat generated by enemy aircraft even when facing radar-jamming equipment.
Boeing said it expects an initial IRST development contract from the U.S. Navy next summer as part of its work on the next Super Hornet, known as Block 2. The total value is expected to top $500 million, covering IRST development and production, it said.
Boeing and Lockheed are partnering to invest a total of more than $10 million of their own seed money in anticipation of the Navy deal, Bob Gower, a vice president of Boeing's F/A-18 programs, said in the statement.
The IRST system, if approved for export, could help Boeing's F/A-18E/F compete for a potential $8 billion-plus Indian fighter market against Lockheed Martin's F-16 Fighting Falcon and entries from Russia and Europe.
Boeing's top Super Hornet subcontractors are Northrop, Raytheon and General Electric Co. which provides the aircraft's two engines.

 

[radiosilence]

f16's are in operational service with the pakistani airforce,

Bitter rivals, the Greeks and Turks both operate F-16s

1)the ef2000's chances have taken a severe beating thanks to the saudi bribery scandal ,there is a anti-bribery clause in the rfp's ,also a selection of the ef2000 will be potentially scandalous,the current upa governement wants to avoid scandals,however india has operation experience with european aircrafts and russia iam sure would not mind india acquiring european aircrafts ,as long as it is not american and the indians place orders for billions worth of defence technology from russia to compensate them.i believe that the eads has better chance than the above 3.

The Russians will be loosing money if the EF2000 is selected and at the end of the day thats what usually matters.

israeli sufa will have an outside chancce ,mainly because it is a third party produce

Third party produce? The F-16I are modified block 50/52 produced at the Lockheed Martin plant in Texas.

 

[swerve]

...
2)israeli sufa will have an outside chancce ,mainly because it is a third party produce,and israel is a very close defence partner of india,however russia may consider it as a us product sold to india in disguise and may not take kindly to it,unless indians and israelis soften the russians with subcontracts for the sufa.also the design point raised in the first para is also applicable ,the soufa is nothing but a highly modified version of the f-16 (like the indian su30mki is a heavily modified version of the su27 flanker).i doubt that the design will be current and valid after 30 years ,while the requi4rement as per the rfp is for 40 years.
....

Big problem - the "Israeli" Sufa isn't Israeli. It's just a variant of the F-16D Block 50/52, built in the USA. Its unique features are that the second seat is occupied by a weapons systems officer, it has quite a few Israeli avionics & extra internal fuel. Some US-designed components (e.g. the conformal fuel tanks) are Israeli-built, as subcontractors to Lockheed Martin. Still 90% American in both design & construction.

The Israelis are lobbying India to fit some Israeli avionics on the F-16 if India buys F-16, but first India would have to agree with the USA to buy F-16. Israel isn't trying to sell any aircraft, as it doesn't have any to sell.

 

[swerve]

Bitter rivals, the Greeks and Turks both operate F-16s.

Both NATO members, with the USA & EU holding them back. Not a comparable situation.

 

[radiosilence]

Both NATO members, with the USA & EU holding them back. Not a comparable situation.

Foreign influence is limited when it comes to national security. They still buy the best available weapons for the purpose of defeating each other in the event of a war.

 

[harryriedl]

i believe that neither usa,russia or sweden will win the mrca deal,the reasons are as follows:

1) f16's are in operational service with the pakistani airforce,it is based on an extensively modified version of a 20 year old design,at some point a design saturation point will come on ,the same can be said about the f-18's,also as uaf has pointed out russia will not take kindly to an indian tilt towards usa.

2) mig 35's,despite all that they may say indian airforce is fed up with the mig's,also russians have off late not endeared themselves to the indian administration by demanding more money for the su30mki's and by not meeting the schedule for the delivery of the gorshkov.

3)sweden's gripen come pretty close in terms of performance and capability to the indian lca and will meet resistance from the indian defence establishment,also it is more expensive than the lca.

that leaves only the israeli f-16 sufa,the ef2000 typhoon from eads,and the french rafale.

1)the ef2000's chances have taken a severe beating thanks to the saudi bribery scandal ,there is a anti-bribery clause in the rfp's ,also a selection of the ef2000 will be potentially scandalous,the current upa governement wants to avoid scandals,however india has operation experience with european aircrafts and russia iam sure would not mind india acquiring european aircrafts ,as long as it is not american and the indians place orders for billions worth of defence technology from russia to compensate them.i believe that the eads has better chance than the above 3.

2)israeli sufa will have an outside chancce ,mainly because it is a third party produce,and israel is a very close defence partner of india,however russia may consider it as a us product sold to india in disguise and may not take kindly to it,unless indians and israelis soften the russians with subcontracts for the sufa.also the design point raised in the first para is also applicable ,the soufa is nothing but a highly modified version of the f-16 (like the indian su30mki is a heavily modified version of the su27 flanker).i doubt that the design will be current and valid after 30 years ,while the requi4rement as per the rfp is for 40 years.

3) it is not well known that about 4 years back the indian airforce had a straight forward choice in the mirage 2000-5,it was based on a proven platform in service with the indian airforce,and had performed exceedingly well during the kargil war,also the french proved to be as reliable suppliers as the russians and the israeli's the same cannot be said about usa and uk.however since a signle bidder system was abolished ,multiple participants were invited and the tender was now known as the mrca,i believe that the rafale has a better chance than all other competitors ,since india has operational experience with the french aircrafts ,russians need not feel threatened at the loss of their market provided that india sweetens them up with a few billion dollars worth of defence orders,rafale being a contemporary of the gripen and the ef2000 from a design point of view will have a greater chance of meeting the 40year life cycle criteria,also it is the least scandalous option and is likely to recieve support from the left political parties who would consider it as the second best option after russian technology.

one problem is Dassult is demanding more money for the 2000-5 upgrade and that means Dassult has a similar problem that MIG has and means that the Indian government might feel that the Dassult bid might be a bit flaky and the rafale hasn't had a single export compared with all the other deals and the development of of the rafale is questionable as things are being pushed back in the devlopment of the rafale in France. making the French deal questionable.

I put money on the Mig 35, F18E/F/G, on an outside chance EF

 

[kams]

one problem is Dassult is demanding more money for the 2000-5 upgrade and that means Dassult has a similar problem that MIG has and means that the Indian government might feel that the Dassult bid might be a bit flaky and the rafale hasn't had a single export compared with all the other deals and the development of of the rafale is questionable as things are being pushed back in the devlopment of the rafale in France. making the French deal questionable.

I put money on the Mig 35, F18E/F/G, on an outside chance EF

There is big difference b/w Dassault and Mig- Reliability of machines and after sales support. IAF Mirage squadrons have uptime close to 90% where as Mig-29s are way way below that. Mig as a spare part supplier is notorious even now and is totally unreliable. IAF is forced to produce many parts at their base repair depots to keep Mig-29's flying. Sukhoi has proven to be very reliable with very good support structure.

Now think about this, Rafale is being inducted atleast in to French airforce, a big factor in ensuring future updates. In contrast not a single Mig-35 is ever going to be inducted in to Russian air force.

 

[aaaditya]

one problem is Dassult is demanding more money for the 2000-5 upgrade and that means Dassult has a similar problem that MIG has and means that the Indian government might feel that the Dassult bid might be a bit flaky and the rafale hasn't had a single export compared with all the other deals and the development of of the rafale is questionable as things are being pushed back in the devlopment of the rafale in France. making the French deal questionable.

I put money on the Mig 35, F18E/F/G, on an outside chance EF

thats because the mirage2000 is off the production lines,the same cannot be said about the su30mki.

the fact that rafale does not have a single export customer does not matter,indian airforce has experience procuring relatively unproven platforms which meet their requirements,india acquired the su-7,jaguar,su-30mki and the mig29's even though they did not achieve tremendous export success before the indian deals,as a matter of fact i remember reading somewhere,that india was the lead customer for the jaguar and the mig29 and mig27.

 

[aaaditya]

Bitter rivals, the Greeks and Turks both operate F-16s






The Russians will be loosing money if the EF2000 is selected and at the end of the day thats what usually matters.



Third party produce? The F-16I are modified block 50/52 produced at the Lockheed Martin plant in Texas.

russians can be kept happy if they win other contracts ,currently russia is executing defence deals worth 10 billion dollars on behalf of the indian governement and are hopefull of acquiring another 10 billion dollar worth defence deals,i doubt they would want to lose it by supplying major defence technology like combat aircrafts ,bombers ,warships and submarines to pakistan.india plans to spend atleast 100 billion dollars on its armed forces over the next 2 five year plans (most of it for the navy and the airforce),of which i believe russians can expect to meet the indian army's requirements,which is highly biased towards the russian products,they have recently approved a deal worth several hundred million dollars for the procurement of helicopters from russia even though european companies were participating in it,they have also cleared the acquisition for atleast 400 additional t-90s main battle tanks from russia9outright purchase). 40 additional su30mki's are to be acquired by the indian airforce,indian navy can also convert its options for the mig29k (india has an option for the purchase of atleast 24 additional mig29k's).

 

[uaf]

russians can be kept happy if they win other contracts ,currently russia is executing defence deals worth 10 billion dollars on behalf of the indian governement and are hopefull of acquiring another 10 billion dollar worth defence deals,i doubt they would want to lose it by supplying major defence technology like combat aircrafts ,bombers ,warships and submarines to pakistan.india plans to spend atleast 100 billion dollars on its armed forces over the next 2 five year plans (most of it for the navy and the airforce),of which i believe russians can expect to meet the indian army's requirements,which is highly biased towards the russian products,they have recently approved a deal worth several hundred million dollars for the procurement of helicopters from russia even though european companies were participating in it,they have also cleared the acquisition for atleast 400 additional t-90s main battle tanks from russia9outright purchase). 40 additional su30mki's are to be acquired by the indian airforce,indian navy can also convert its options for the mig29k (india has an option for the purchase of atleast 24 additional mig29k's).

Well you are missing the point here, French sold scorpions to India and willing to sell Marlin to Pakistan even though India has the more money to buy bulk of Defense Products but couldn’t stop French in past and I dnt see it happening in near future. If Pakistan Decides to buy Merlin or even Scorpion and if we agree on your assessment for the 100 Billion $ worth of deals in next 5 years how come India not pushing French to abandon such offer? Second Point India failed to block the F-16 Deal with Pakistan too even though America and India are becoming more kinda natural allies??

Look at the end the fact that matter is “Bucks”.

You can’t just assume Russian wont be thinking about this deal, India might will have to change the infrastructure to support new fighters replacing MIG-21 it will be a long term planning on India’s behalf you don’t do it too often (I mean shifting from one customer to another every 10 years).

So Russian will have everything to loose they can put their voice if France can do it USA can do it why can’t we.

Cheers

 

[swerve]

Foreign influence is limited when it comes to national security. They still buy the best available weapons for the purpose of defeating each other in the event of a war.

But neither (except for a few hotheads) wants nor expects a war. It would be catastrophic for both.

And from your transatlantic perspective, I suspect you don't realise the degree of economic integration both have with the EU, even Turkey, & how much that affects their foreign policy. A lot of things are left unsaid: everyone knows that for Turkey to attack Greece would bankrupt Turkey immediately. Tourism would cease, exports to the EU would cease, remittances would be frozen. Greece attacking Turkey would have equally disastrous financial consequences for Greece. Unfortunately, neither trusts the other to be rational.

 

[weasel1962]

Re:

Deleted

 

[Ryttare]

Nope, you are underestimating the commonality. Both uses the same formats. In terms of maintenance, its a lot easier to understand the maintenance practices and most of the equipment can be reused. Munitions can be transferred from the F16 to the JSF (ie you don't need to rebuy a lot of expensive munitions). Basic training techniques are similar.

If you go straight into the JSF, you going to pay incremental cost for training and maintenance. Those are simple facts.

Reportedly India requires any fighter they buy to be integrated with Israeli weapons as Pythons and Derby. Also American weapons will probably only be purchased if they can be integrated with other fighters in IAF. But that probably helps F-16 because it's integrated with Israeli weapons.

 

[aaaditya]

Reportedly India requires any fighter they buy to be integrated with Israeli weapons as Pythons and Derby. Also American weapons will probably only be purchased if they can be integrated with other fighters in IAF. But that probably helps F-16 because it's integrated with Israeli weapons.

you have forgotten russian weapons which are the principle contributors to the indian arsenal and also the french weapons,indian airforce as of now does not use any israeli designed missiles,the agm142 popeye land attack cruise missile is still undergoing trials with the indian airforce,while the indian navy has selected the israeli derby and python-5 missiles(these missiles are not in service with the indian airforce).

 

[Brandon]

I very much agree in that the Greeks and Turkish still don't like each other and have differences, but it is not even close to the point where they would have a war. They are both in NATO and are allies of the United States. A war wouldn't lead to anywhere for either country.