Indo Russian bickering & Disputes delay PAKFA to 2017 stretch target!

Posted on 11 February 2009.

While the company line says that everything is just hunky dory and fine. The fact remains that all is not well on the Western front; the price of the Russian aircraft carriers keep on rising exponentially even after signed contracts define the delivery dates; there are huge disappointments on the transfer of technology and Russia is developing “joint-plane” by itself; there are humongous differences on what the FGFA should look like; should the plane be singe or double seater.

Russia testing PAKFA 5th Gen fighter–without Delhi input or HAL subcontracting

The Soviet Union launched fifth-generation fighter programs in the 1980s. By the mid-1990s, the Mikoyan Design Bureau developed the Project 1.44 warplane, also known as the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG MFI. The Sukhoi Design Bureau came up with the S-37 Berkut experimental supersonic forward swept-wing jet fighter. The S-37 aircraft was an advanced technology demonstration prototype not intended to be mass-produced as a fighter. However, due to the lack of funding, the Project 1.44 aircraft was not streamlined and never entered production either.

By the late 1990s, it became apparent that existing fifth-generation fighter projects were becoming obsolete, that their production versions would be inferior to the brand new American F-22 Raptor air superiority fighter, and that even if finalized the air force would receive such warplanes a decade too late. (U.S. secret weapon: F-22-A Raptor in action. RIA Novosti video)

The project was eventually entrusted to Sukhoi, which refers to it internally as the T-50.

Various maiden flight and supply deadlines were discussed from the very beginning. The T-50 was eventually scheduled to perform its first flight somewhere between 2008 and 2010. In late 2008, the commander of the Russian air force announced that the plane would first take off in August 2009. RIA Novosti, where this article was first published. Russia begins designs for new fighter jet

Mikhail Pogosyan, head of the Sukhoi Design Bureau, confirmed the information. “The progress that has been made by now suggests that we can begin the flight tests within one year,” Mr Pogosyan said. Several versions of the aircraft are being discussed, including a two-seater model, and a carrier-based aircraft.

In the summer of 2008, officials said the T-50 design had been approved and prototype aircraft blueprints sent to the Komsomolsk-on-Amur aircraft-building plant (KNAAPO) in Russia’s Far East, where jet fighters will be produced. The plant is currently building three prototype T-50 fighters for future tests, due to last five to six years, while mass production will not get underway before 2015.

Although T-50 specifications have not been disclosed, it is known that prototypes and the first production aircraft will be fitted with 117S (upgraded AL-31) turbofan engines from Russian aircraft engine manufacturer Saturn. As a result, the T-50 will be a heavy fighter with a takeoff weight of over 30 metric tons and will have the same dimensions as the well-known Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker. The Tikhomirov Institute of Instrument Design, which had developed the Irbis radar for the Su-35BM Flanker, is now working on the T-50 radar. The new fighter’s radar and fire-control system will be designs on the basis of the Su-35BM’s systems. By Ilya Kramnik, RIA Novosti,

The declining Indo-Russian relationship. Delhi scrambles for new arms sources but they come with strings. India and Russia signed an agreement in October 2007 for the so called joint development of the FGFA. The first flight is scheduled for 2009. The Russians have already decided on the design of the plane and are moving full speed ahead with its development. The tag-along Hindustan Avionics will probably be handed over a kit in 2009 to claim that it has actually participated in the development of the aircraft. Technically the joint development is accurate. HAL has funded part of the $4 billion in development cost. A spokesman derisively joked about it saying “actually the Indian “innovation” is pretty much limited to designing new tri colored Indian flag designs on Russian planes and placing the decals on the right spots.”

BANGALORE: … the defence establishments of both the countries are willing to bury their differences over the fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) and get the project kickstarted by the middle of this year.

The FGFA study programme which was initiated between India and Russia in 2007, has been a slow-starter as the Air Forces of the two countries have had differences over the aircraft project.

While the Indian Air Force wants a two-seat version to meet the requirements of India’s air superiority policy, the Russian Air Force wants a single- seat version.

“There have been differences between the two Air Forces as both have specific requirements.

These issues will be sorted out soon and by the middle of the year we expect to start work so that the aircraft is inducted by 2017,” M Fakruddin, Director-Corporate Planning and Marketing, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) told to The New Indian Express. Indo-Russian FGFA project set to take off. Indian Express. Hemanth C S, Last Updated : 03 Feb 2009 11:40:56 AM IST

The project is way behind schedule and the Russians are proposing test flights this year–without any input from HAL or Delhi. When Moscow needed hard currency it bent over backwards to appease Hindustan Aeronautics. Now flush with Petro-Dollars the Russian Aviation industry is treating the Indians like poor cousins.The March 2009 test flights will display a single seater plane which was the Russian preference. By using that excuse that the HAL facilities are not ready, they will ram the Russian design down the throat of Delhi and then try to ship the stripped down export version of the plane by 2017.

The plane is supposedly stealth– as stealth as Russian planes can be.

A general contract had been signed in December last year between HAL and Rosoboron Export for the design and development of the aircraft by the Sukhoi design bureau and the Indian aviation major.

The fifth generation fighter is expected to feature high manoeuvrability and stealth in order to ensure air superiority and precision in destroying ground and sea targets.

Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor and the F-35 Lightning II are among a few of the fifth generation fighter aircraft in the world.

MRO facility on hold

HAL’s plans to set up an aerospace MRO (maintenance, repair and overhauling) facility at the HAL airport has been put on hold due to the economic recession.

“The MRO facility at the HAL airport is on the backburner, as we do not see it feasible at this point of time to have one. The rise in fuel prices, the decrease in passenger traffic and the economic slowdown have all impacted the business. We have decided to wait for some time,” said Fakruddin.

HAL had been mulling over the idea of starting a MRO facility at the HAL airport after the commercial flight operations shifted to Bengaluru International Airport last year.Indo-Russian FGFA project set to take off. Indian Express. Hemanth C S, Last Updated : 03 Feb 2009 11:40:56 AM IST

Why doesn’t Russia transfer Flanker Su-30 development technology to India?

India has history of failed aircraft design and production. the LCA was a colossal failure and the Tejas engine is a fiasco unparalleled in world avionics history. “Then, of course, there is the indigenous ‘Tejas’ Light Combat Aircraft programme, which was launched in 1983 to replace the ageing MiGs. But it’s running years behind schedule, with the first squadron likely to be inducted only by 2011-2012 now” (Hindustan Times). Some are averse to calling it a failure, but 25 years for developing a plane is a development cycle that most analysts consider a bit too long–especially when there is nothing to show for it. Indian missile production was also something that has a huge “F” written on it. Trail of tears and failure: Indian missiles.

India is reportedly more interested in the two-seater version, while Russia, with its developed ground and air fight control system, plans to concentrate on the one-seater fighter. There is a possibility that the Indian version of the Russian fighter will be lighter and smaller, and thus cheaper.

There have been reports in the past few months about the new fighter’s exterior design. Judging by photographs of the prototype available online, the T-50 will resemble the American F-22, a fact easily explained by similar parameters on their technical specifications. However, it is yet undecided whether the model will eventually be used as a prototype.

As of now, one can only make general conclusions on what kind of a machine it will be, based on the known parameters of their technical specifications. The new fighter should be:

- multifunctional – capable of successfully hitting air, ground and water targets alike, including small and moving ones, in any weather or time of the day, against an enemy equipped with high-precision weapons;

- super-maneuverable – capable of performing controlled flight at low velocity and large angle of attack;

- largely undetectable by optical, infrared or radio radars; and

- capable of taking off and landing on short runways.

However, the term “fifth-generation” covers more than just the fighters. It also embodies a whole range of equipment to ensure advanced combat capabilities, including weapons, radio-electronic equipment, ground- and air-based supply and control systems.

These elements are also under development, although not all projects are proceeding with equal speed and success. Nevertheless, they are all crucial to the program as a whole. Without them, the new fighter will remain a very expensive toy incapable of boosting the combat capabilities of the air force. By Ilya Kramnik, RIA Novosti, where this article was first published. Russia begins designs for new fighter jet Judging by photographs of the prototype available online, the T-50 will resemble the American F-22

Crescent daggers
Pakistan’s “214 Subs” made in Karachi