Rafale wins MMRCA : Indian Airforce Rafale Photo

Rafale in Indian Airforce colors.

Rafale in Indian colors. Let me know if any more changes are needed to make it more Indian .
French Dassault fighter aircraft Rafale has been selected to be the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Dassault beat the four-nation consortium’s Eurofighter on price, with the fighter being identified as L1, or the lowest technically qualified bid.

StratPost understands that Dassault has been issued a letter from the Ministry of Defense, communicating their selection.

Three representatives of the Eurofighter consortium were also summoned to the Ministry of Defense at South Block on Tuesday afternoon, when they were informed of their loss in the competition.

The bid was originally estimated to be worth USD 10.4 billion, as per the budget estimate approved in 2007, but it is likely to have faced a substantial escalation in cost, keeping in mind inflation and the fall in the value of the Indian Rupee.

French jet Rafale bags $20bn IAF fighter order

French jet Rafale bags $20bn IAF fighter order; India 'briefs' losing European countries

The Rafale jets will replace India's ageing fleet of Russian MiGs, with the French company entering exclusive talks with the Indians to finalise the deal by March

 

NEW DELHI: First, the Americans, Russians and Swedes were ejected out of the hotly-contested race. And now, the Europeans too have been shot down in the dogfight, leaving only the French flying high in the Indian skies.
After an exhaustive technical and commercial evaluation spread over five long years, India on Tuesday selected French jet Rafale over the Eurofighter Typhoon for the gigantic almost $20 billion MMRCA ( medium multi-role combat aircraft) programme to supply 126 fighters to IAF - the largest such "open-tender" military aviation deal in the world.

Brazil MMRCA FX-2 : Saab Gripen NG photos and wallpapers

Brazil's F-X2 fighter programme could be the subject of further delays, after a summary of the air force's 30,000-page evaluation report was leaked to one of the country's leading newspapers.
The Folha de São Paulo newspaper reported that the air force's F-X2 procurement programme committee has ranked Saab's Gripen NG as its first-choice candidate for the deal, initially for 36 aircraft, due to its lowest acquisition and operating costs. It is followed closely by Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Block II.
The report confirms rumours that have been floating since October 2009 and heightens tensions between the air force and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Late last year the Brazilian president stated his preference for the Dassault Rafale, which was reportedly ranked third by the service.
Air force sources have raised concerns that a decision could be deferred until after this year's presidential elections, or that the long-running fighter selection process could be postponed again.

The leaked summary suggests that the F3-standard Rafale was ranked last because of its high purchase price and operating costs. A related technology transfer package - a key element of the F-X2 selection criteria - was also deemed inadequate, the report says. Embraer is believed to have shown little interest in participating in production of the Rafale, after it was offered the opportunity to manufacture the wings for Brazilian examples.
Saab claims that its Gripen NG proposal - which is backed by the governments of Sweden and the UK - will provide higher technology transfer yield for Brazilian companies. Selex Galileo on 5 January announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with local firm ATMOS Sistemas to develop active electronically scanned array radar technologies to Brazil.
Selex, which is developing its Vixen 1000E/Raven ES-05 for use with the Gripen NG, says the relationship could also cover AESA systems for other fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles.
Following the news report, the air force issued a statement saying that while its evaluation report of the fighters has been completed, it has not yet been forwarded to the defence ministry for assessment. A Dassault source says that such local press reports should be "handled with caution".
Although the F-X2 programme initially covers the purchase of 28 single-seat fighters and eight mission-capable trainers to equip three squadrons, it could eventually rise to up to 120 aircraft. The selected type will replace the air force's Alenia/Embraer AMX strike aircraft, upgraded Northrop F-5EM/FMs and Dassault Mirage 2000C fighters.

Rafale : Hot favourite for MMRCA

It seems that Indian airforce is more content with Rafale than the Eurofighter, As reported by Deccan Chronicles :

 
Just why has the Indian Air Force (IAF) short-listed the French Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon ahead of four other contenders, including the US F-16 and F/A-18 fighters, for the Rs 42, 000 crore medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contract?
The down selection at the end of a prolonged evaluation of the six fighter jets was evidently based on the fact that the Rafale and the Typhoon were the most modern airframes and better equipped compared to F/A-18 Super Hornet and F-16 IN of the US, MiG-35 of Russia, and JAS-39 Gripen of Sweden.

The Rafale and the Typhoon met most of the 630 technical attributes mentioned in the request for proposal (RFP) by the ministry of defence, while the others lacked either in performance or had limitations in terms of future upgrades.
“Rafale figures a notch higher than Typhoon in terms of performance and involves easier adaptability as it is logistically and operationally similar to Mirage-2000, used extensively by our boys during the Kargil conflict in 1999. The French government has also cleared the technology transfer, including the AESA (active electronically scanned array) radar,” sources in the IAF told Deccan Chronicle.
The other discreet offering by Dassault Aviation too made sense: save on the $1.5 billion project to upgrade 52 Mirage-2000 jets by acquiring the Rafale.
Interestingly, all six fighters were in the race till April 17, the deadline for submission of modified offset proposals. The representatives of these firms were informed of the Union government’s decision to relax the offset policy mentioned in the request for proposal (RFP).
The original rider that half the value of the $ 10.5 billion contract be passed on to domestic firms was modified, fixing it at 30 per cent of the deal. “We were all expecting a word on extension of commercial proposals on the last day, April 28, but got to know that only Dassault Aviation and Eurofighter have been invited for discussions,” said a representative of Saab AB.
Those who lost out have made it known that they would raise issues concerning the price and other attributes of Rafale and Typhoon. The two aircraft are said to be the highest priced among those in the contest when looked at from a unit price point of view. Second, the Eurofighter’s AESA radar is still under development. Only the two US fighters have operational AESA radars on them.
If India finally picks the Rafale, it would be only the second air force after the French Air Force to induct these fighters into its fleet.
India has asked Dassault SA and Eurofighter GmbH to hold their price bids until the end of the year. The deal is expected to be signed by March 2012.
The Final Two
Eurofighter Typhoon – Germany/Britain/Italy/Spain
Dassault Rafale -- France
Out of the contest
Lockheed Martin’s F-16IN – USA
Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet – USA
SAAB’s Gripen JAS-39 – Sweden
Mikoyan-Gureywich’s MiG-35 – Russia

Pakistan's MMRCA : Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon Or Fc-20

Tweet by Alan Warne :

Once india's MMRCA winner is announced will the losers offer Pakistan with alternatives to the J-10/FC-20? You bet!

As per Indian media reports Dassault Rafale has slight advantage in price, Air to Ground arsenal and AESA radar. If we add this to the fact that Indian air force is already using Dassault Mirage-2000 and seems to be more then happy, Rafale should win Indian MMRCA competition provided Dassault doesn't do its typical marketing job which resulted in introduction of Eurofighter Typhoon in UAE competition which was thought as a done deal for Dassault  .

Eurofighters For Pakistan ?

Tweet by Alan Warne :

Once india's MMRCA winner is announced will the losers offer Pakistan with alternatives to the J-10/FC-20? You bet!

MMRCA, JF-17 bought by Pakistan could speed up the Indian deal

Aviation week reports that a quick order of JF-17 fighter jets by Pakistan could be the cause of the soudain hurry surrounding the MMRCA deal.

"India wants to expedite the deal in part because Pakistan is expecting a speedy delivery of 50 JF-17 aircraft, which originally were to be spread out over two years, according to defense ministry officials."

Accordind to Aviation weeks, the offset negociations would have already been initiated

“The negotiation for crucial commercial terms will begin next month,” says Michael Christie, senior vice president at BAE Systems India. BAE is part of the Eurofighter consortium, along with Alenia Aeronautica and EADS. 

In the meatime, French Defense Minister Gerard longuet will meet his Indian counterpart, Mr. AK Antony, Thursday 26th. For sure the Rafale proposal and the Mirage 2000 upgrade will be at the heart of the debates. So everything seems to converge toward a quick decision on which fighter (Rafale or Typhoon) will be chosen.. even if the final deal is not expected to be signed before the end of 2011

Brazil FX-2 competition JF17 Thunder

As reported by Brazil to acquire 36 fighter aircraft in FX-2 DEAL : Brazil is soon expected to make an announcement about its initial 36-aircraft FX-2 fighter deal. The top contenders for the FX-2 deal are Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale and Saab Gripen NG.

I just wish that JF17 Thunder was also a part of the competetion.

Although many would argue that FAB is looking for a deal which will take Brazil's aviation industry to the next advanced level, and though FC-1/JF17 Tunder can pretty much hold its ground against 4th gen aircraft, the benefits that Brazilian aviation industry will gain from the JF17 project are marginal, considering it is home to the aviation industry giant Embraer, world's fourth largest plane maker. Even though they have yet to embark on a Fighter jet production project of JF17's level, one cannot doubt their ability to produce if they ever wanted to.