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By Valentina Rusconi
ROME, Jan 22 (Reuters) - The Eurofighter Typhoon is "leading the race" to win a contract from the Indian government for 126 fighter jets, valued at around $10.4 billion, India's ambassador to Italy said on Friday."We have shortlisted four to five countries, then the trial process and evaluation will follow. Eurofighter is one of them, in which Italy is involved, and it's leading the race," ambassador Arif Shahid Khan told Reuters after a meeting with a senior aid to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Boeing's (BA.N) F/A-18 Super Hornet, France's Dassault (AVMD.PA) Rafale, Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) F-16, Russia's MiG-35, Sweden's Saab (SAABb.ST) JAS-39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, produced by a consortium of European companies (EAD.PA)(BAES.L)(SIFI.MI), are competing for the order.Defence industry experts do not expect an immediate decision.A Eurofighter source said the test flights were expected to finish by April, and a decision would follow.
He also said German President Horst Koehler would visit India in early February to sign an agreement on defence, security and technology.India is one of the world's biggest arms importers, and the government plans to spend more than $30 billion on defence upgrades over the next five years to counter potential threats from Pakistan and China. The ambassador said India would order from Italy's Finmeccanica a refuelling ship, following the purchase of a similar vessel worth around $200 million. "We are really satisfied," he said.
The ambassador said Berlusconi would visit India this year and the two countries were discussing economic cooperation in other fields, such as agriculture. He said discussions were also underway for Alitalia to start flights between the two countries.
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4 comments:
If Typhoon team won the contract, a Su30MKI-Typhoon high-low combo: WOW!
Moreover, the consortium also recently agreed to share production responsibility had the contract been awarded to them, right?
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On a separate note, Spanish Typhoon recently reported that they killed a flight of F15 Eagles in mocked aerial maneuvers during NATO exercise.
http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/the-dewline/2010/01/eurofighter-boasts-usaf-f-15-k.html
Haven't heard much news on MMRCA recently. Here is one interesting [humorous] article:
"Swedish Underdog Fights for IAF Contract" *
True. Factoring in the politico-strategic element, Gripen team really has a long shot. The team's tenacity and light-spirit are quite admirable, though IMHO.
* http://www.poten.com/NewsDetails.aspx?id=10322980
That's so gay. This looks like Brazil all over again, Europe can't get anyone to buy their planes, so they have to bride people. The Mig-35 is way better than the EF2000.
Maneuverability: The Mig-35 has a smaller t/w ratio, but it has a much more relaxed static suite, hence giving it a much tighter turn radius and greater AoA, especially at subsonic speeds (where most dog fights take place).
The delta wing structure of the EF2000 is good at achieving lift, but it is not the most maneuverable wing structure.
Avionics: The radar on the Mig-35 has a much better and more advanced radar. AESA at 200km (150km for India) as opposed to the PESA radar on the EF2000.
RCS: The EF2000 has a better RCS (0.1m^2) and Mig-35 (0.3m^2). But if you take a look at the radars of the two planes, the Mig-35 will detect the Eurofighter before the Eurofighter detects the Mig-35.
Weapons: the R-77M is the best AAM in the world. The meteor does not exist yet.
Cost and Maintenance: The EF2000 needs $14,000 per flight hour whereas the Mig-35 only needs $6,500. The flight hour costs for the Mig is 35-45 mil, whereas the EF2000 is 90-130mil.
It makes no sense to take the EF2000 over the Mig.
That's so gay. This looks like Brazil all over again, Europe can't get anyone to buy their planes, so they have to bride people. The Mig-35 is way better than the EF2000.
Maneuverability: The Mig-35 has a smaller t/w ratio, but it has a much more relaxed static suite, hence giving it a much tighter turn radius and greater AoA, especially at subsonic speeds (where most dog fights take place).
The delta wing structure of the EF2000 is good at achieving lift, but it is not the most maneuverable wing structure.
Avionics: The radar on the Mig-35 has a much better and more advanced radar. AESA at 200km (150km for India) as opposed to the PESA radar on the EF2000.
RCS: The EF2000 has a better RCS (0.1m^2) and Mig-35 (0.3m^2). But if you take a look at the radars of the two planes, the Mig-35 will detect the Eurofighter before the Eurofighter detects the Mig-35.
Weapons: the R-77M is the best AAM in the world. The meteor does not exist yet.
Cost and Maintenance: The EF2000 needs $14,000 per flight hour whereas the Mig-35 only needs $6,500. The flight hour costs for the Mig is 35-45 mil, whereas the EF2000 is 90-130mil.
It makes no sense to take the EF2000 over the Mig.
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