Indian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Deino said:

So no Gripen (IMO anyway political impossible since too close to the Tejas), no F-16 … and leaves only additional Rafales and the F/A-18 as contenders?

by the way … additional issues:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1740253540994662434

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The Indian Air Force rejected the F16 in MMRCA 2008, citing it as an obsolete design that stood no chance.
The Gripen had an opportunity but was declined due to potential maintenance complexities for the Indian Air Force, given its critical components sourced globally. Moreover, the Tejas MK2 falls within the same category as the Gripen. Consequently, the competition narrows down to the Eurofighter Typhoon, Rafales, FA-18, and Russian fighter jets. Nevertheless, there's a belief that if the Tejas MK2 is completed punctually, the Indian Air Force might opt to cancel MMRCA 2.0.
However, the US stands to make substantial profits by selling engines for India's TEJAS, TEDBF, and AMCA, considering India's need for numerous engines to sustain a large fleet of indigenous fighter jets. This demand may increase if export orders are received, as many countries could potentially buy Indian fighter jets in the future. Indian fighter jets will be equipped with advanced weaponry like the Meteor, Amaraam, and Astra air-to-air missiles, surpassing the capabilities and reliability of their Russian counterparts.

Pataliputra said:

India lacks indigenous military turbofan engine technology primarily because it's readily available in the global market. However, if India were to face sanctions, the country has shown the capability to develop such technology internally, as evidenced by the development of cryogenic engines and nuclear submarines after previous sanctions. Unlike these technologies, military turbofan engines are readily available for purchase globally.

The cost of developing a GE F404 engine could amount to around 10 billion USD, equivalent to the cost of purchasing approximately 1000 such engines. Hence, instead of investing billions in developing the Kaveri engine, the Indian government chooses to procure extra engines in advance, considering the cost-effectiveness of this approach.

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The F-119 engines powering the F-22 are not for sale. Perhaps India can start developing an F-119-equivalent engine internally.

Jason_ said:

The F-119 engines powering the F-22 are not for sale. Perhaps India can start developing an F-119-equivalent engine internally.

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India is currently seeking a partner country to co-develop a new 125 KN class engine. Discussions are underway with France and the UK for this project, aiming to create the most advanced engine globally.

Pataliputra said:

Watch this video, how India became the first country in Asia to design and develop a fighter jet, HF-24 Marut and it was a supersonic jet

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Yup India was the first Asian country develop, manufacture, and field it's own jet fighter. Thanks to extensive help from Kurt Tank. The HF-24 Marut was developed and introduced in 1967. While designed to be supersonic, it never achieved supersonic flight. Its capabilities were also lackluster compared to its contemporaries. The fighter jet was ultimately considered a failure, considering India's lofty goals (a Mach-2 capable fighter) for the program. Like the fighter aircrafts produced in India today, the HF-24 Marut was also heavily reliant on imported foreign components, and was more expensive to manufacture in India than to import contemporary foreign jet fighters.

So as the first Asian nation to develop and field a jet fighter decades ahead of other Asian powerhouses, India was supposed to have been able to kick-off from there, becoming a leading combat aircraft maker in Asia. But from the HF-24 Marut in 1967, India had progressed only to one more indigenous jet fighter: the Tejas, introduced in 2015. Within that timespan, other Asian powers have developed and produced their own jet fighter designs. One of them have already gone through multiple indigenous jet designs already, and is already producing cutting edge of jet fighters today, second only to the US, the best in the field. Meanwhile India in 2023 had only just entered the 4th generation fighter jet tier, albeit with extensive imported foreign components. India went from being a leading jet fighter maker in Asia in 1967, to a laggard in 2023. For a country as ambitious and as prideful as India, that is a horrible state of progress.

Vikrant seems completely ready now. She has MF star installed and naturally the Barak air defense system.

Pataliputra said:

The Indian Air Force rejected the F16 in MMRCA 2008, citing it as an obsolete design that stood no chance.

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In case of a conflict with Pakistan you would have the risk of confusion where you can't easily visually identify if an aircraft is from your side or the opposing side. So this has basically no chance of happening.

For much the same reason, I think, you don't see the Russians operating the MiG-29 in Ukraine. Despite them basically sending every single weapon system there so it can be tested.

Pataliputra said:

Indian fighter jets will be equipped with advanced weaponry like the Meteor, Amaraam, and Astra air-to-air missiles, surpassing the capabilities and reliability of their Russian counterparts.

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Bollocks. There is no Western equivalent to the R-37M in terms of capability for example. And the Russians are already testing long range variants of the R-77 as well. As is the current R-77-1 is more than a match for the AIM-120C6 and the improved R-77M will likely be competitive with the AIM-120D.

Jason_ said:

The F-119 engines powering the F-22 are not for sale. Perhaps India can start developing an F-119-equivalent engine internally.

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India should try at first with something realistic …

gelgoog said:

In case of a conflict with Pakistan you would have the risk of confusion where you can't easily visually identify if an aircraft is from your side or the opposing side. So this has basically no chance of happening.

For much the same reason, I think, you don't see the Russians operating the MiG-29 in Ukraine. Despite them basically sending every single weapon system there so it can be tested.


Bollocks. There is no Western equivalent to the R-37M in terms of capability for example. And the Russians are already testing long range variants of the R-77 as well. As is the current R-77-1 is more than a match for the AIM-120C6 and the improved R-77M will likely be competitive with the AIM-120D.

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An Indian-made fighter jet can be armed with weaponry from Russia, the West, Japan, Korea, and India. This unique flexibility is exclusive to Indian fighter jets.

Pataliputra said:

An Indian-made fighter jet can be armed with weaponry from Russia, the West, Japan, Korea, and India. This unique flexibility is exclusive to Indian fighter jets.

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You do realize that is a massive disadvantage right?
If you wanna export that fighter jet, you are gonna have to get export approval from all the countries where you sourced such components from (eg Engine, Missiles, etc.)

pevade said:

You do realize that is a massive disadvantage right?
If you wanna export that fighter jet, you are gonna have to get export approval from all the countries where you sourced such components from (eg Engine, Missiles, etc.)

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Why would India need permission from all these nations to sell Tejas to others? I understand your point about the American engine in Tejas, but how does having a mix of foreign weapons alongside Indian ones in Tejas pose a disadvantage?
A country buying Tejas has the freedom to select any weapons they prefer for Tejas, whether they are Indian, European, Israeli, Russian, Japanese, Korean, or from any other country.