Según timesofindia.com, la India y Francia están finalizando acuerdo para modernizar los Mirage-2000 de la Fuerza Aéra India (IAF)después de largas negociaciones. Los primeros 4-6 Mirage serán modernizados en Francia, los 50 restantes, lo serán en la India por Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Este será el segundo gran contrato tras la modernización tras el de los 63 MiG-29 en curso, firmada con Rusia en Marzo de 2008. Será el segundo gran contrato con Francia, después de la construcción de 6 submarinos Scorpene. El alcance de la modernización de los Mirage será muy superior a la que sufren los MiG-29 , superior tecnologicamente y servirá para mantenerlos en vuelo otros 15-20 años. La modernización consiste en nueva aviónica, radar, computadora de misión, pantallas de cristal líquido, visor en el casco del piloto comunicación mediante data link e integración del misil de precisión MICA de combate aéreo. En Marzo, llegará a la India una delegación francesa para ultimar detalles sobre el proyecto, que podría rubricarse por el presidente Nicolas Sarkozy en su proyectada visita a la India en 2010. A mediados de los 80, India adquirió 40 Mirage, con 20 mas en años posteriores. Estos actuaron con éxito en 1999 durante el conflicto de Kargil. La IAF incluso pensó en el Mirage-2000-V para su concurso MMRCA, para dotarse de 126 cazas avanzados, por valor de 10,4 billones de dólares, pero se desestimó al ser retirado de la línea de producción. El Rafale francés, está compitiendo en el MMRCA con el F/A-18 `Super Hornet' (Boeing), el F-16 `Falcon' (Lockheed Martin), el MiG-35 (United Aircraft Corporation), el Gripen de Saab y el Eurofighter Typhoon . __________________________________________________________________________________
According timesofindia.com India and France are now finally close to inking the around Rs 10,000 crore project to upgrade the Mirage-2000 fighter jets in the IAF combat fleet after protracted negotiations. The first four to six IAF Mirages will be upgraded in France, while the rest 50 will equipped with new avionics, weapon and sensor suites to enhance their combat edge by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in India under transfer of technology in the project. This will be the second such big programme with the upgrade of 63 MiG-29s already underway under a $964 million contract inked with Russia in March 2008. It will also be the second big defence deal to be inked with France after the ongoing Rs 18,798 crore project to construct six Scorpene submarines at Mazagon Docks, which incidentally is running two years behind schedule amid huge cost escalation.
The scope of Mirage upgrade will be much larger than the MiG-29 one, it will be more high-end and it will cost half of the fighter's worth. After the upgrade, the Mirages will serve us for another 15-20 years. The multi-role fighters will be `souped-up' with new avionics, radars, mission computers, glass cockpits, helmet-mounted displays, electronic warfare suites, jam-proof communication with data links, weapon delivery and precision-targeting systems, including the all-weather, fire-and-forget MICA (interception and aerial combat missiles) systems.
A French team will be coming again in early-March to finalise the details.
The inking of the deal could be well be timed with French President Nicolas Sarkozy's proposed visit to India later in the year. The project has been hanging fire for the last few years because the package offered by French companies Dassault Aviation (aircraft manufacturer), Thales (weapons systems integrator) and MBDA (missile supplier) was around 30% higher than what India was ready to pay.
Having first inducted 40 Mirages in the mid-1980s, India had procured over 20 more in later years. With the Mirages successfully conducting `targeted bombings' during the 1999 Kargil conflict, IAF had some years ago even pitched for the advanced Mirage-2000-Vs for its gigantic $10.4-billion project for 126 new medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA). But even as France shut down its Mirage assembly line, the defence ministry also told IAF to go in for `a global tender' for the MMRCA project. Now, the French Rafale is competing with American F/A-18 `Super Hornet' (Boeing) and F-16 `Falcon' (Lockheed Martin), Russian MiG-35 (United Aircraft Corporation), Swedish Gripen (Saab) and Eurofighter Typhoon (consortium of British, German, Spanish and Italian companies) in the hotly-contested MMRCA race.
Faced with a depleting number of fighter squadrons (each has 16 to 18 jets), down to just 32 from a `sanctioned strength' of 39.5, IAF is going for a mix of upgrades and new inductions like Sukhoi-30MKIs to maintain its combat readiness.
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