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

F-14 Tomcat : Irans new Mini-AEW aircraft

IRIAF has a new addition to its inventory , Tomcat the Mini- AWACS, well not AWACS exactly but AEW aircraft. It will be able to scan an area of 100 nautical miles and with a secure data link , transmit information to about 10 air craft in formation.



In the summer of 1984, it is estimated that Iran could fly only 15-20 Tomcats, maintaining them largely by cannibalization. Very often, Tomcat served in a mini-AWACS role by virtue of their powerful radars and was deliberately not risked in combat.

HMS King George V photos

The hms King George V absolute maximum gun range in 40 degree elevation, is 36,850 yards,In terms of shell weight,KGV used 1,590 pound shells. The KGV's 14-inch guns had quite a few problems initialy in service, namely they could very easily jam in combat. The biggest examples were the HMS Prince of Wales at The Battle of Denmark Straight, and HMS King George V at The last battle of the Bismarck. To be perfectly fair, PoW was a brand new ship that hadn't had all of its kinks ironed out. KGV's problem is attributed more toward fatigue than anything. The gun in terms of operation was based off of the Mark I 15inch/42caliber gun used by the Queen Elizabeth-class, the Revenge-class battleships, the Renown-class Battlecruisers, HMS Hood, etc, in that a heavier shell would be fired from a lower velocity gun. This descion was made, in part due to the fact that the Nelson-class battleship's guns basically fired lighter shells at a higher velocity. The barrel life and reliability of the 16-inch gun used on the Nelson-class was lower than the older 15-inch guns mounted on the aformented warships.
Secondary guns:The King George V mounted a total of sixteen 5.25 dual-purpose guns,The 5.25 DP was a effective weapon, particularly with proximity fuses.
King Geoge V's armoured belt was 15.4 inches thick.the turret armouring at thickest was 12.75 inches thick

Top Speed: King George V's projected top speed was originally 30 knots, but generally accepted top speed is 28 to 29 knots
Fuel range: King Geroge V's maximum nautical range was 5,400 miles. The rational behind the relatively short range of the King George V-class was that it could re-fuel at British bases all around the world. This proved to be more of a liability than an advantage in pratice

Best HQ Video of Aerial Display by JF-17 at Turkey Air Show 2011

This is the best ever Video of Aerial Display of JF-17 Thunder at Izmir Cigli Turkey by  Planes TV . Below is the SD version. HQ version is too big for me to upload . You can view that on their web site, but you'll first have to register yourself, which will just take a couple minutes. But believe me it will be worth your while.

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  .