Are you building up to a “that’s what she said joke”?
Indian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.
- Thread starter bd popeye
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Only if they can get Trump to stop mentioning it every time he gets on camera, even in front of the Indian ambassador
Size doesn't make anything easier to develop, it's the opposite in fact. Note that the single most persistent Tejas problem is weight management - small aircraft doesn't forgive mistakes in order which is just normal for flanker mod variations.
And small size was mandated for Tejas back in 1980s - when it was meant to become a mig-21 replacement, and aircraft Indian economy of back then(not exactly a huge one) could afford to operate in numbers. A lot of things changed in these 4 decades, but remember that original design dates weeeeell before Sukhoi managed to convince IAF that huge su-30mki is in fact a good idea.
Small size allows for lower bills in production and operation, as well as significant tactical benefits, but most definetely not ease of development.
Size only becomes a huge design issue in very complex, long-ranged aircraft, when it starts introducing problems of its own.
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After centuries of colonial rule, Indians enjoy receiving compliments from their former colonial masters. This may be a behavior ingrained in their DNA.
Size most certainly makes development easier, especially in aircraft, which is why none of the new aircraft developers, besides China, attempted to build a large aircraft on the scale of the Y-20.
Building small fighters are par for course with any new aircraft builder. Everyone started with tiny point defense fighter jets or trainers, China included -- both PRC (J/JJ-5/6/7 plus J-12 and Q-5) and RoC (F-CK-1, AT-1.)
Why? Because they are easier to develop.
In the 1980s, when China/Korea/Turkey went with medium and heavy fighter designs with far larger better future potential once their industries gained more experience, Tejas was a singularly unambitious project.
China designed, flew and then equipped a foreign air force with the JF-17 as basically a side-project that they knew the PLAAF/PLAN would never take. That was how easy a plane in the class of the Tejas could be built.
just to step in here, let's make sure we're on the same page right? i think if we are prioritizing capability, yes larger platforms are more accommodating to capability goals. but the problem is before you can even talk about capability, you have to be able to produce the platform itself. and in that respect, smaller is easier. you absolutely can't prioritize capability goals if you can't even produce the platform that those capabilities are trying to build on.
the correct way to go about this is to produce the smaller platform, because its easier, no matter the cost in capability. you have to accept that shortfalls in capability will be part of the cost of learning here. if indian vanity prevents them from making that trade, then, well, there's your problem.
the correct way to go about this is to produce the smaller platform, because its easier, no matter the cost in capability. you have to accept that shortfalls in capability will be part of the cost of learning here. if indian vanity prevents them from making that trade, then, well, there's your problem.
I think this might be a little off topic but, if I weren't looking into this part of into (here anyway) I genuinely never expected their industrial capabilities to be so shockingly lacking, joking about the Tejas is one thing but seeing how big of a failure the entire project is a wholly different thing.
India's weapons research and development is a disaster. Almost all projects are shoddy to varying degrees, especially the Arjun tank and the Tejas fighter, two epic shit projects.
None of these were developed in this size because it was easier. All were because it was the required size/optimal economic point/fitting existing operational concepts and infrastructure.
I think you mixed dates here somewhat. Of the projects you likely think of, only China started an eventually succesfull medium project in 1980s (future J-10) - and that also took quite some time to emerge as such.
Well, it's an offspring of a well known line. Tejas, for better or worse, is a completely one off thing, which tried to do a very ambitious aircraft with all key components(engine, radar) in one single stop. Conponents failed, but even then - everything else was just as difficult.
The Tejas is not even the epitomy of India's lack of industry in the aircraft space.
To genuinely understand the lack of capability, you need to look at their Saras -- a prop-driven utility plane that had been in development as long as the Tejas.
Failed even worse than Tejas in the four decades since development began in 1980s.