Indian Air Force wants out of FGFA fighter program with Russia

The ambitious $10 billion Indo-Russian program for joint development and production of fifth generation fighter aircraft, or FGFA, faces a new serious hurdle, as the Indian Air Force demands a discontinuation of the project.
Senior IAF leadership recently expressed apprehension to the Ministry of Defence, claiming the proposed FGFA program with Russia does not meet desired requirements like U.S. F-35 fighter type capabilities, disclosed a senior IAF official. That official added, that “IAF is not keen to continue with the program.”
The proposed FGFA program does not meet desired stealth and cross section features compared to a F-35 fighter, the official explained, thus major structural changes are needed that cannot be met in the existing Russian prototypes.
FGFA also does not have modular engine concept, making maintenance and serviceability of the fleet expensive and troublesome. A second service official said the modular engine concept is required for the fleet serviceability and availability of FGFA aircrafts at short notice, since it can be done by the user itself.
Russians have offered non-modular engines for FGFA and its maintenance and other relations can only be handled by the manufacturer.
Russian Embassy diplomats here were unavailable for comments.
Vaijinder K Thakur, retired IAF squadron leader and defense analyst disagreement with the Air Force assessment of capability, saying that the current Russian FGFA prototype, known as Su-57, features the AL-41F1 engine. But the production variant of FGFA would be fitted with the Product 30 engine which is 30 percent lighter, features improved thrust, and has better fuel efficiency and fewer moving parts. That results in improved reliability and 30 percent lower life-cycle cost, Thakur said.
Without having operated U.S. fighters, the IAF is hardly in a position to pronounce judgment on the comparative long-term operating costs of Russian and U.S. fighters, Thakur added.
defensenews

India halves its demand for Russian fighter jets

Looking to cut costs and prune military imports, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has halved its demand for Russian-built fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA).
It now wants just three squadrons of the fighter jets which are to be inducted into the Russian Air Force in 2016.
Sources say the IAF has scaled down its needs and now indicated that just three squadrons (around 18 planes in each), besides a few more for training of the pilots, will be enough for now. This works out to be 65 planes, almost half from the earlier projection of 127 FGFAs to be jointly designed and produced by India and Russia.
The T-50 has been built for the Russians under the PAK-FA (Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation) programme for the fifth generation fighter aircraft.
tribuneindia

Because of Stalemate on Rafale Deal India ready to spend $25bn on Russian 5G fighter jets

The stalemate over the 4th-gen Rafale fighter jets deal with France has forced the Indian military to accelerate an even larger project with Russia on the joint development and purchase of an equal quantity of 5th-gen fighters.
India is now ready to invest $25 billion in the development and purchase of 127 fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft (FGFA). It will also make concessions to speed up the delivery of fighters and have the first ones available in 36 months instead of the previously envisaged 94 months.
The initial contract signed with Moscow implied a 50:50 design and production agreement to develop an Indian version of Russia’s Sukhoi T-50 (PAK-FA) 5G fighter jet. The $295-million preliminary design contract signed in December 2010 envisaged the creation of a two-seat version of the PAK-FA and preconditioned that all single-pilot fighters must be assembled in India. Now that the estimated number of Indian Air Force combat-ready squadrons has decreased sharply, New Delhi isn’t objecting to Moscow producing the first batch of perspective multi-role fighter FGFA at Russia.
The FGFA contract however will not replace the outgoing Rafale tender, as India is likely to replace it by buying a corresponding quantity of the Russian Sukhoi-30MKI fighters already being produced in India.
rt.com

Russia, India Complete Draft Project for FGFA

Russia and India have completed the preliminary design for the Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA).
While the Russian version of the fifth generation fighter jet is operated by a single pilot, the Indian Air Force prefers aircraft that are operated by two pilots.
The Sukhoi PAK FA (T-50) is the Russian Air Force’s first stealth fighter, intended to succeed the Sukhoi Su-27, as well as the Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jets. The aircraft conducted its first test flight in 2010 and deliveries are set to begin in 2016. The FGFA, developed jointly by Russia’s Sukhoi and India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, is a derivative from the PAK FA.
sputniknews

Fifth-gen fighter: India asks Russia to resolve FGFA tech-sharing, costing

In what could be a sign of fatigue in a long-lasting military relationship, India has conveyed to Russia that it cannot carry on with the proposed project to jointly develop and manufacture the next generation of fighter jets till Moscow addresses concerns about technology sharing and costing.
India and Russia are on the verge of inking one of the biggest defence manufacturing deals to develop and produce the fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA). Its research and development (R&D) will cost $11 billion with India paying half of it. This will be followed by a potential $30 billion deal to make some 200 planes for the Indian Air Force. As negotiations have dragged on for four years since the FGFA was first announced, India has raised issues of technology; its transfer; New Delhi’s role in development of the plane and the actual per-unit cost of the plane.
New Delhi says since it is paying 50 per cent of the cost, it should be doing half the work on the FGFA. At present, the Defence Ministry-owned public sector undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) — under the proposal — is mandated to do only 13 per cent of the work.
India has asked Russia to convey the tentative cost on per-plane basis. Since six prototypes are flying, this would not be a problem. But so far, there has been no answer, a source said. The intellectual property rights of the plane would be held by Russia, which has so far, refused to fit HAL-supplied pieces without certification, meaning if India has to re-fit its own pieces, it will need the nod from Moscow.
tribuneindia

Indian Air Force unhappy at progress of PAK-FA fifth-gen fighter

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has expressed concerns to Russia over technical problems and delays plaguing the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) programme, which is based on the Russian Air Force's Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA platform.
The IAF's primary objections to fighter's preliminary design features included the inadequacy of its AL-41F1 engines, its stealth features and its weapons carriage system.
Differences also emerged over the operational capability of the Byelka active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. Additional IAF concerns include the overall development cost of the aircraft, its maintainability and safety features, the sources said.
As a result, in recent months the IAF has significantly reduced the number of FGFA aircraft it plans to acquire from around 220 to 130-145. It has also dropped its requirement for 45-50 twin-seat FGFA trainers as Russia had demanded an additional USD1 billion and extended deadlines for their development.
The IAF is also annoyed over Russian reluctance to share design information on the T-50 PAK-FA -officially designated the Perspective Multi-Role Fighter (PMF) by India - despite New Delhi being an equal financial partner in its development costs.
India has so far paid USD295 million towards the preliminary design and considers the programme vital to helping the state-run Aeronautical Development Agency kick-start its indigenous fifth-generation single-seat, twin-engine Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.
Officials claim Russia is unwilling even to share details of a fire that erupted aboard a prototype PAK-FA as it landed at the Zhukovsky test centre near Moscow in June. An IAF technical evaluation team at the site was reportedly not permitted access to the fire-affected platform.
Russian officials, however, have reportedly told the IAF that many of its concerns will be resolved soon. They maintain that the prototype PAK-FA's NPO Saturn AL-41FI engine is a temporary solution, meant only for the duration of flight-testing, and that a replacement power pack is under development. Similarly, the AESA radar's proficiency is being improved alongside other systems.
janes

Sukhoi to sign another contract with India on FGFA

Sukhoi plans to sign another contract with India in the framework of the joint project for the construction of a fifth generation multipurpose combat jet.
The intergovernmental agreement on this project was signed back in 2007. Three years after, the sides inked a general contract on joint design and production and then the first engineering development contract. Works under this agreement were completed in 2013.
In December 2010, Rosoboronexport and India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Russian aircraft maker Sukhoi Company signed a preliminary design development contract worth $295 million for the new aircraft.
The IAF had initially planned to order 166 single-seat and 48 twin-seat fighters, but India’s chief of air staff said in October 2012 that New Delhi would now go for only 144 single-seat jets, with domestic production slated to begin in 2020.
rbth.com