Lockheed Losing Hope
After losing the ten billionth bid for the supply of 126 medium-sized fighters for the Indian Air Force, aircraft manufacturers from America decided to go for broke. They offered Delhi modern generation 5 machines.
US media only say that Lockheed Martin concern may again become a participant in the Indian tender, since they provided instead of the F-161N Super Viper, which did not reach the final, a completely different aircraft - the F-35 Lightning II. So the overseas defense giant, who flew out with the MMRCA, tried to return.
Barren promises.
"Lightings" are offered to Indians for the second time. Lockheed has already promised the Indian military the creation of favorable conditions in future purchases of F-35, wanting to persuade Delhi to buy a new modernization of F-16. But the Super Viper was defeated in the competition. But promises in the future to get an aircraft that was not yet worked out, in exchange for the F-16's adoption by the Indian Air Force, were not successful. Lockheed now raises stakes, replaying the situation.
If we reject the unfinished and abnormal price, even for the US budget, then the F-35 is a promising machine. Examining it through the prism of an Indian tender, it becomes interesting because initially the developers planned the deck-based vehicles. This feature is among the competitive requirements for cars.
It is clear that the pilots of the Indian Navy will not fly only on one deck machine. This is against the rules of a policy that has already taken shape in Delhi. Obviously, someone else will be added to our MiG-29K. Experts suggest that the choice will stop on a special version of the Eurofighter Typhoon. The basis for this assumption is the probability of the promise of a European consortium of aircraft manufacturers joining from India to the design of Eurofighter.
In this regard, the F-35 is quite competitive, but apparently it was offered in an unnecessary format. It later emerged that India does not intend to consider the late F-35 nomination for the tender. Representatives of the military departments of India say that the composition of the finalists has already been approved, and it will be unfair to include another participant who did not pass the selection procedures, like others. The Indian representative of the Ministry of Defense, Sitanshu Kara, said: “The tender has progressed strongly, and the appearance of any newcomer on it is late” (quote from Financial Times).
The F-35 has one remaining loophole to India - India’s desire to create a fifth-generation lightweight fighter AMCA. But here there are some essential conditions. The program provides a considerable set of "native" Indian production and development. It is unlikely that this project will be redone for the purchase of a finished Lockheed Martin machine.
Our and not our problems
To create a lightweight Indian fighter 5-th generation, it is necessary to solve one simple question: with whom to create it? Do not take into account the fact that in India most of the 5 generation market is occupied by Russia. This is a FGFA project representing the unique localization of our PAK FA. On which side do not come, but the countries that can technically support the ambitions of India, only two - the United States and Russia.
The following considerations matter. It would seem that to diversify technology providers, to reduce the risk of possible losses is what the Indian military needs. By this logic, the choice of F-35 for an FGFA pair is obvious. However, the United States has an aircraft that has not been fully delivered until the end, but Russia has nothing to offer now, but that’s even better.
The whole hitch is that for the AMCA project, the Indians want to provide their own development, even if they borrow individual nodes, and not to buy ready-made solutions and localizations. US reluctant to transfer their documentation and technology for military equipment. In this case, the Indians demand exactly know-how.
It is possible to repeat stories at the MMRCA competition, when Americans struggled to support their manufacturers, who wanted to sell Delhi almost the entire technological process and related production for 10 billion dollars.
Will Russia be able to successfully use such a potentially winning situation? At the moment, our military-industrial complex does not have a machine suitable for the required format. And most importantly, it is unclear whether it will be at least in perspective. This segment of the aircraft industry was last updated at the end of the 80-s, when the avant-project of the LPI 4.12 was developed to replace the MiG-29. But he was forgotten, all forces were thrown to the heavier then the MiG 1.42 / 1.44 line, which unsuccessfully competed with the Sukhoi Design Bureau projects for the right to become a machine for the PAK FA program at sunset 1990's.
Indeed, selling technological illiquid assets and remaining competencies of developers and scientists is a new way to support engineering schools, preserve and strengthen them for the future. Our aircraft manufacturers create the same strange R & D for the defense complex with China. Why not cooperate in the same way with India, which is traditionally open for the import of know-how.
Information