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Moscow and New Delhi have agreed to perform design work in India on what Russia claims would be a "fifth generation" version of the Su-35, an agreement that may lead to an Indian variant of the fighter jet, the Russian Military Complex chief said. The announcement makes India the first country to sign a contract, however preliminary, for the S version of the Su-35.

"We have been negotiating and have signed the intention protocol for the Su-35," Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov said during the IDEX show in Abu Dhabi last month. "Now we are working on designing ideas for this contract and on creating a manufacturing platform for the aircraft of the fifth generation."

Rostec is Russia's state-run corporation that oversees export of high-tech products.

Chemezov said the jet would be developed to meet the Indian Air Force's requirements. He did not say how many of the jets India might plan to buy. Russia claims the Su-35S would be a fifth generation fighter, as opposed to the legacy fourth generation Su-35. That implies stealth, but it's unclear whether the jet would be on par with an F-35 joint strike fighter. In India, however, no source in the Defence Ministry could confirm that any deal had been signed with Russia on the Su-35S. An Air Force official did say that the Russians have made one or two Su-35S presentations in the past six months on how it can help replace India's MiG-21 and MiG-27 fighter aircraft, which are due for retirement in seven or eight years.

Russian industry sources said the fighter will be priced at $85 million That could make it competitive with Dassault Aviation's Rafale, and could have implications for India's proposed purchase of 126 Rafales. New Delhi selected the Rafale as the preferred bidder in a protracted competition in 2012, but has yet to make a final decision on the purchase. Indian and French defense ministers discussed the Rafale deal during Jean-Yves Le Drian's recent visit to India, an Indian MoD source said. But Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar did not provide a time commitment to Le Drian on when the deal will be signed.

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"India wants to buy advanced systems like the Rafale, even at a higher cost," he said. "[But] dependence on Russians will remain ... and it would be difficult to find the resources to replace these with advanced systems immediately."

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the Su-35S would enter Russian service this year as part of the expansion of the Air Force and Naval Aviation branch.

"Currently, we're testing a new Su-35S multifunctional fighter jet. This year, the new aircraft should enter service. This is the main task for this year," Shoigu said in February.

China is also considering a purchase of Su-35s. A February report by Zvezda, a television network run by the Russian military, said that long-running talks might conclude with a deal to buy 24 fighters on May 19. Chemezov said that the contract, if signed, would provide China with the fourth-generation Su-35, not India's fifth-generation S model.

"This aircraft is called Su-35-4 plus PAK-FA generation and we are negotiating with China and we are in progress and I hope it will be over soon. I wouldn't like to discuss contracts that have still not been signed," he said. "The important point is that this is a very unique aircraft that has not been delivered to any country."...............................................................................................................

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Faced with continuing deadlock in the mega deal to acquire 126 French Rafale fighters, India is now pressing the throttle to seal the even bigger project with Russia for the stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA).

India has told Russia it wants deliveries of the FGFA to begin in 36 months after the main contract is inked, instead of the 94 months envisaged earlier, top defence sources said.

With this "accelerated delivery timeframe" becoming the main objective, India is ready to forego the earlier plan for a 50:50 design and work-share agreement with Russia on its under-development FGFA called PAK-FA or Sukhoi T-50.

India is also no longer insisting that all the single-seat stealth fighters required by IAF be built in India by defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics at its Ozar facility. "We have agreed to a lesser work-share for a realistic contract, with the initial lot of the FGFA being imported and the rest being made here under technology transfer," said a source.

"Like for the Russian Sukhoi-30MKI fighters (majority of the 272 Sukhois contracted for $12 billion are being made by HAL), the curve in technology absorption will also be steep in the FGFA project," he added.

Faced with a sharp decline in the number of fighter squadrons in IAF, India wants to fast-track the FGFA project under which its "perspective multi-role fighter" will be based on PAK-FA but tweaked to its requirements.

The final FGFA design contract has been hanging fire since India and Russia completed their initial work under the $295 million preliminary design contract signed in December 2010. India will overall spend around $25 billion on the FGFA project if it goes ahead with its plan to induct 127 such fighters, as earlier reported by TOI.

All this has gained urgency since India feels French aviation major Dassault is being needlessly intransigent over the pricing mechanism in the final negotiations for the over $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project. Under it, the first 18 Rafale fighters were to be delivered off-the-shelf, with the remaining 108 being produced in India.

"But Dassault's costing for the 108 Rafales to be built by HAL has undergone a major hike. It amounts to changing the price line that led to Rafale's selection over Eurofighter Typhoon as the L-1 (lowest bidder) in the MMRCA competition," said the source.

"The MoD simply cannot sign the contract if the L-1 price is altered. Dassault should relent and stick to its commercial bid submitted in response to the original RFP (request for proposal)," he added.

Both sides are furiously working to break the deadlock since India wants to take a final call on the MMRCA project before Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits France in early-April, as earlier reported by TOI.

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The government has shortlisted Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering Company, in which the Anil Ambani group firm Reliance Infrastructure has recently acquired management control, for award of a R6,000-crore contract to build six conventional submarines under its Project 75i.

According to highly-placed sources, a high-level committee headed by vice-admiral Subhedar, which had inspected both public and private shipyards to shortlist candidates to issue the request for qualification (RFQ) for Project 75i, in its final presentation to the ministry of defence (MoD) last week, selected the two private sector shipyards — L&T’s Katupalli yard and Pipavav unit.

The tender, the sources said, would be a ‘buy and make (in India)’ one, which implies tie-ups for technology with foreign collaborators with substantial manufacturing in India.

Pipavav Shipyard has entered into some agreements recently with some global majors with a view to diversify into the submarine

market and also has the capacity to build many boats simultaneously.

At a Defence Acquisition Council meeting last year, the MoD was directed to set up a committee to identify shipyards in India capable of building submarines.

The committee, with representatives from the Navy and MoD, conducted a survey of shipyards along both the coasts, including Garden Reach Ship-Builders, Hindustan Shipyard, Goa Shipyard, L&T, Mazgaon Docks, ABG Shipyard and Pipavav Shipyard.

According to the government’s decision all six submarines will be built in India on the lines of the predecessor P75 Scorpene production line at MDL, Mumbai. Bids were invited from Indian shipyards to build the six submarines using transferred technology from a foreign partner.

Project 75i is designed to purchase 6 next generation diesel submarines with Air Independent Propulsion System (AIP) technology for Indian Navy by 2022. While conventional diesel-electric submarines have to surface every few days to get oxygen to recharge their batteries, AIP systems will help the submarines to stay submerged for longer periods. Apart from AIP, the new submarines will have advanced detection range and combat management systems and better sensors for optimum performance. The weapon system would be a mix of torpedoes and missiles.

Among the potential foreign submarine contenders in the race for Project 75i are French DCNS `Scorpene’, Russia’s Rubin Amur 1650, the German HDW Type 214, Spain’s Navantia S-80 which broke its partnership with DCNS a while ago has been offering the S-80 design with an ethanol based AIP supplied by Abengoa.

Navantia also has a tie-up with Lockheed Martin for combat management systems and on India, it is known to have been working closely with L&T albeit on surface ship projects. The Swedish Kockums Archer-class is also in the race. Interestingly, DCNS of France, already has a technology tie-up with Pipavav Defence. Sembcorp Marine (Singapore), part of Temasek of the Singapore government and a leading global marine engineering group, has a strategic and equity partnership with Pipavav Defence.

For Reliance Infrastructure, which will spend Rs 819 crore for an 18% stake in Pipavav Defence and is slated to acquire an additional stake from the latter’s promoters to increase the shareholding to above 25%, winning Project 75i will be crucial step in getting into defence manufacturing, an integral part of Narendra Modi government’s Make in India campaign.

As per sources, in addition to the leased Russian nuclear-propelled submarine (INS Chakra) and the indigenously built Arihant, India’s navy currently has 13 aging diesel-electric submarines, only half of which are operational at any given time due to refits. Last year, a submarine sank after explosions and a fire while docked in Mumbai.

The delays in the `Scorpene’ (project 75) at Mazgaon Dock Limited (Mumbai) which was intended to induct the vessels at the rate on one ship per year since 2012 has left the Submarine force well below requisite levels. further, previously planned induction of 05 midget submarines and also the fresh impetus on the strategic submarine program constitute a work-load that is far beyond the capacity of existing public sector shipyards.

The six new submarines in P-75 I project will outline various critical parameters including the weight and design of the submarine. The Project 75I submarines are expected to be bigger than the 1800-ton Scorpene class being built for P-75 project. The AIP systems will enable greater underwater endurance and land-attack missiles. Besides, they will also incorporate stealth, land-attack capability and other technological advancements.

While indigenous sources can provide most sub-systems, packing all this together in a hull form that achieves contemporary quietening standards will require foreign collaboration for the selected yards.

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aksha said:

can any one make sense of what what the russians are saying.
is he talking about upgrading sukhoi 30 MKI to Su 35s standards or simply buying new Su-35-s or pak fa?????????

Click to expand...

India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) plans to fast-track its long-delayed procurement of Boeing attack and heavy-lift helicopters for the Indian Air Force (IAF) in anticipation of a possible increase in their negotiated price of USD2.5 billion after 31 March, official sources said.

They said the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) could approve the purchase of 22 AH-64E Apache and 15 CH-47F Chinook helicopters by the end of March to avoid re-tendering in the event of a price increase.

India's Defence Procurement Procedure mandates re-tendering for all acquisitions following any change in their negotiated price.

Boeing has extended the price validity for both helicopters at least twice since cost negotiations concluded 16-18 months ago, with the latest six-month extension granted in October 2014.

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New Delhi and Tokyo are inching closer to finalizing a deal for the sale of Japan’s US-2 amphibious aircraft to India.

As India and Japan continue to strategically converge amid mutual fears regarding China’s rise, they have deepened their defense cooperation. Notably, India will likely be Japan’s first export partner for military hardware under Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s principles on defense equipment exports. The Japanese government recently lifted its decades-old self-imposed ban on exporting weaponry to other countries.

The two governments look all set to conclude a landmark deal for the sale of Japanese amphibious search and rescue (SAR) aircraft, a deal that has been in the works for years. India will likely purchase 12 ShinMaywa US-2 short take-off and landing (STOL) SARs this year (down from an earlier estimate of 15). Negotiations for the sale of the US-2 began in 2011 under the Democratic Party of Japan, first under Prime Minister Naoto Kan and then under Yoshihiko Noda.

The US-2 itself is a reliable and capable surveillance aircraft with a range of around 4,700 km, capable of transporting its crew and cargo from Indian territory to anywhere in the Indian Ocean region within 3 hours; its most notable feature is its ability to take-off and land at sea. Once acquired, India will likely station the US-2s off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, using the aircraft to conduct surveillance of the eastern Indian Ocean region. Indian military sources have also told the press that the US-2 will allow the Indian military to support friendly vessels in Southeast Asian waters, potentially detecting pirates and other threats.

Additionally, the US-2′s versatility and ability to land at sea make it well-suited to assist military and civilian ships that break down at sea or need emergency assistance. The search-and-rescue, anti-piracy, and humanitarian assistance applications of the US-2 make it a compelling option for the Indian Navy. Additionally, amid Indian fears that the Chinese Navy will add the eastern Indian Ocean into its regular area of operation, the US-2′s surveillance capabilities haven’t been a tough sell domestically.

Now, I will admit that I predicted early last year, following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to New Delhi as the chief guest for India’s Republic Day celebrations, that the US-2 deal was a fait accompli and would likely end up completed soon. Sadly, I underestimated the complexity of India’s demands for co-production and domestic assembly. Although the deal is politically uncontroversial in both New Delhi and Tokyo, the technicalities of exporting the Japanese SAR aircraft have bogged down a swift conclusion of the ShinMaywacontract.

Recent reports note that ShinMaywa officials are optimistic about concluding the deal in 2015.Aviation Week reports that an Indian order for nine US-2s is likely to go through this year. IHS Jane’s 360 notes that the deal is waiting to clear a series of bureaucratic hurdles, including approval by India’s Defense Acquisition Council (DAC). Jane’s also quotes senior Indian Navy officials who noted that the $1.65 billion earmarked for the US-2 acquisition was a prominent inclusion in a December 2014 meeting of India’s Services Capital Acquisition Plan Categorization Committee (SCAPCC). Under current plans, the Indian Navy would directly import two US-2s and eventually license and assemble an additional 10 in collaboration with an Indian manufacturer. There is a possibility that New Delhi may expand the order to purchase as many as 15-18 units.

The US-2 may not be the most prestigious or technologically impressive piece of hardware, but its acquisition by the Indian Navy will be an important milestone in India-Japan relations. India will have become the first country to purchase Japanese military hardware following the lifting of Japan’s self-imposed ban on weapons exports. Japan will have successfully concluded a deal for the export of defense technology, building momentum for other deals around the Asia-Pacific. Given the broader expansion of defense ties and cooperation on maritime security between India and Japan, the conclusion of such a deal would send an important message to China. While in Tokyo last fall, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted that India and Japan “intend to give a new thrust and direction to our defense cooperation, including collaboration in defense technology and equipment, given our shared interest in peace and stability and maritime security.” The conclusion of the US-2 deal is a surefire way to achieve that in the short-term.

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Bengaluru, Mar 9, 2015,


India is now exploring as an alternative the stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) from Russia as negotiations on Rafale fighter jet deal have run into rough weather recently, leading to delay in finalisation of the contract for supply of 126 fighter planes.

The main issue concerns the pricing, which is basically the production cost in India, and Dassault's reluctance to stand guarantee for the 108 fighters to be built by state-run HAL. Rafale was selected for the deal in 2012 but the final contract is yet to be signed.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian held talks in Febraury with his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar to salvage the multi-billion Rafale contract even as a deadlock continues to hold up the deal.

The IAF which currently operates 34 fighter squadrons as opposed to the required 44 squadrons is in urgent need of new aircrafts to replace it's aging fleet of Mig-21 and Mig-27.

A source quoted in Times of India said, "We have agreed to a lesser work-share for a realistic contract, with the initial lot of the FGFA being imported and the rest being made here under technology transfer."

The FGFA is the biggest ever bilateral Indo-Russian defence cooperation project. The preliminary design agreement on FGFA was signed in 2010 between HAL and Russian Sukhoi Design Bureau to build the jet for use by both countries with India investing 50 per cent of the cost of the multi-billion dollar programme.

The aircraft is based on the Russian Air Force's Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA platform and the Indian version is expected to carry more advanced features. The project is seen as giving a boost to India's indigenous capabilities to develop advanced fighter aircraft.

Demonstration flights of the FGFA were watched by ex Secretary Defence Production R K Singh and ex IAF Chief, Air Chief Marshal P V Naik back in 2011.

The fifth generation fighter is expected to be delivered from 2017 onwards with the IAF expected to induct over 300 aircraft in the next two decades.

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March 7, 2015: India has approached Russia to partner it on certain critical technologies for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). Top sources tell SP's that the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) has asked Russia for assistance in developing thrust vectoring and certain other technologies on the concept fifth generation jet platform. There has been steady progress in the programme following the basic design freeze. The ADA has opened discussions with turbofan houses in the US, Russia and Europe for what it believes need to be 110 kN engines in twin configuration for the AMCA. The engines will specifically need to support supercruise. The ADA has indicated to engine manufacturers that modifications could potentially be a joint effort in country, involving the DRDO and other agencies if necessary. Either way, the ADA has ambitiously aimed at producing up to four prototypes, with the first rolling out in 2019. As the ADA recently set down as the aircraft's profile and definition, "The AMCA is being designed as a stealth, medium weight, twin engine, multimission aircraft with a swing-role capability. Among the advanced technologies that confer stealth capabilities are serpentine air intakes, internal weapons bays, radar absorbing structure (RAS), radar absorbing materials (RAM), frequency selective surface radome and conformal air data probes. The avionics system features integrated modular architecture supporting NCW capabilities, advanced pilot-vehicle interface, pilot associate and integrated vehicle health management. The integrated flight and propulsion control system will combine the traditional flight control functions with thrust vectoring and engine control functions."

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aksha said:

can any one make sense of what what the russians are saying.
is he talking about upgrading sukhoi 30 MKI to Su 35s standards or simply buying new Su-35-s or pak fa?????????

Click to expand...