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There is something strange going on. Lockheed is supposed to bid on the $10 Billion 126 plane tender with the F-16s. It has run around Bharat displaying the F-35 which is not part of this bid.

Here is some historical information on the how Bharat got here.

The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) program began in 1983 out of the rising need to replace the MiG-21s, which even then were becoming obsolete but still constituted the most numerous type of aircraft in the Indian Air Force’s inventory. By 1990, the design for a new plane was finalized, with the aircraft adopting a cranked delta wing and tailless configuration powered by a single turbofan engine.

Five years later the designated manufacturer, Hindustan Aeronautical (HAL), unveiled two prototypes. However, because of difficulties with its flight-control system, the aircraft’s first test flight was delayed another five years, until January 2001. Since then, two more prototypes have been produced, with a naval variant currently undergoing development.

The real question in the tender is whether Bharat can afford to maintain two sets of maintenance facilities for two very different set of hardware suppliers, one Russian and the other American. The other major question is based on politics. Does Delhi wants to reward a US corporation with $10 Billion or is it being forced to do that for other political benefits elsewhere. Jilting Russian hardware manufacturers may also have negative repercussions on the Indo-Russian relationship. Russia could retaliate in a subtle manner. For example it could drag its feet further on the Next Generation Fighter or the Aircraft Carrier. If it really wanted to get nasty it could put additional pressure on Delhi in many different ways.

The capabilities the Tejas offers do not provide anything new or significant over existing light fighters that have already been flying in foreign air forces for years. In short, it is already obsolete. Asia Times. Anyone want an obsolete Indian fighter? By David Nguyen

Lockheed Martin is displaying the F-35 which is not ever part of the tender bid

July 20, 2007 (by Lieven Dewitte) – A news report claimed that Lockheed Martin is dangling its next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in front of India in a bid to win the IAC Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition.

The CNN-IBN news channel in India said last Thursday that Lockheed officials were urging India to acquire its F-16 fighters with the incentive of a possible deal down the road to add the F-35 Lightning II to its arsenal.

Lockheed Martin would like to win the MRCA tender for 126 multi-role aircraft issued earlier this year by India. India’s current warplanes soon need to be replaced in a deal worth an estimated $10 billion.
“Beyond the (tender) that’s on the horizon, the F-35 too could play a role, sometime in the future.” Royce Caplinger, the managing director of Lockheed Martin Global Inc. stated on CNN-IBN. To sweeten the deal he indicated the JSF could come at the same price as the F-16. Caplinger was in India to give the military a briefing on the capabilities of the F-35.

In May the Pentagon signed off on initial production of the JSF. At an expected cost of $276 billion when the entire project is complete, it will be one of the largest defense projects ever.
India is expected to evaluate the following aircraft:

• Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 52+/60 (USA)
• Boeing’ F/A-18E/F Super Hornet (USA)
• Dassault Aviation Rafale (France)
• Saab Gripen, (Sweden)
• Mikoyan MiG-35 Fulcrum F, a development of the latest MiG-29M2 with new engines and avionics (Russia)
• Eurofighter Typhoon

Unofficial reports suggest that the tender has now been cut down to five contenders though, with the Typhoon being eliminated.

India’s aging fleet of MiG-21s, dating back from the 60s and nicknamed “flying coffins” in India, is currently the backbone of its fighter inventory, which also includes other MiG aircraft. Its 1,500-plane air force also has French Mirage and Anglo-French Jaguar planes.

Mikoyan and Dassault both have the advantage that they have historically been reliable suppliers in terms of transfers of technology, licensed production in India, personnel training, supply of spare parts, maintenance and upgrading. IAF pilots and technicians are also familiar with earlier aircraft from Mikoyan and Dassault and would need minimal retraining. Infrastructural and logistical support for maintenance and spares would also be easier for these aircraft compared to the unfamiliar F-16s, F/A-18s and Grippens.

F-35A #AA-1We are not sure why the F-35 and the F-22 are being discussed as part of this MMRCA bid. They are not part of it. In some marketing obfuscation Lockheed showed the F-35 with the tri-colors painted on it, but did not even show the F-16s.

The future purhase of the F-35 are not an open and shut case. There are a lot of hoops that the IAF has to go through.

The U.S. government would need to approve any sale of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to India. http://www.f-16.net/news_article2435.html

The F-35s were dangled in front of the IAF, however the Indian Navy has jumped into the fray and says it does not want the F-18s, it wants the F-35s. There is a slight problem with this new request. The f-35 is not part of the 126 plane bid and will have to be added at a later stage, unless Lockheed does some creative financing and pulls some rabbits out of its hat.

Indian Navy is willing to procure F-35 advanced fighters from US, but it is not interested in F-18 fighter planes as they are not “compatible” with the aircraft carriers of the naval force, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash said here today.

“Yes. Given an offer, we will be much interested in having the F-35 fighters,” Admiral Prakash told reporters when asked if the Navy would be willing to procure the advanced fighters from the US.

He was speaking to reporters after the commissioning of warship INS Beas at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. Admiral Prakash said that the F-18 aircraft, being offered by the US to Indian armed forces, would not be relevant for the Navy. “F-18 is a carrier-borne aircraft, but needs steam catapult (for take-off). It is not compatible to ski-jump and therefore, not suitable for our type of aircraft carriers,” he said. On the other hand the F-35 aircraft were of the ski-jump type and would be suitable for the Navy’s aircraft carriers, he explained. Indian Navy wants F-35. Not equipped to take F-18s

The IAF has not gotten into the “Data Protection” regime of the US. There are severe restrictions on American planes that are exported to overseas clients. The planes are parked separate from other aircraft. They are open to American inspection on an ongoing and very intrusive basis. The planes cannot be sent overseas for any reason.

The American F-35 joint strike fighter (JSF) project may be nowhere within India’s grasp, feels Lockheed Martin, unless the country gets its ‘data protection’ act together and the two countries sit down and work out a comprehensive list of agreements.

BANGALORE, FEBRUARY 9 The American F-35 joint strike fighter (JSF) project may be nowhere within India’s grasp, feels Lockheed Martin, unless the country gets its ‘data protection’ act together and the two countries sit down and work out a comprehensive list of agreements.

There was a buzz in 2003 of a possible offer to the Indian government for participation in the international project, which also includes countries like the UK, Australia and Singapore.

For now, however, Lockheed is focused on pitching its F-16 multi-role fighter for a 124-unit order the IAF will soon be shooting out requests for. Incidentally, the F-35 project is meant to replace the USAF’s F-16 fighters, which are by now ‘‘vintage’’, despite a repeated programme of upgradation.

‘‘If the F-16 is some vintage, why would India have such concerns of it being sold to Pakistan? The F-16 is still the best, more capable multi-role fighter today compared to, say, a Gripen,’’ said Michael N. Kelley, part of Lockheed’s international business development division.

Kelley insists that as the F-35 is developed, a whole lot of technology is often switched with the new block of F-16s.F-35 on display, F-16 missing in action at Aero India ’05. SHIV AROOR Posted: Feb 10, 2005 at 0143 hrs IST