India shortlists Rafale, Eurofighter for jet deal

NEW DELHI — India has shortlisted Dassault's Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon for a $12 billion dollar fighter jet deal, cutting out US giants Boeing and Lockheed, sources said Thursday.

"Only France's Dassault and Eurofighter have been requested to extend their commercial bids," a defence ministry official, who declined to be named, told AFP.

One of the most valuable and sought-after military contracts of recent years, the deal for 126 fighters has witnessed fierce competition between defence majors like Boeing and Lockheed Martin, Sweden's Saab AB and the Russian makers of the MiG 35.It was also the object of intense lobbying during a series of high-profile visits to India last year by US President Barack Obama, French President Nicholas Sarkozy and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.Reports that a final shortlist had been drawn up were borne out by a statement Wednesday from Saab AB that its JAS-39 Gripen fighter had fallen out of contention."Gripen has not been shortlisted for the Indian Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) programme," the statement said.The Indian defense ministry refused immediately to confirm that the US and Russian bids had also been dismissed.A statement from Lockheed Martin said only that it had been informed by the US government of a "letter from the Indian ministry of defense concerning the MMRCA competition".It gave no details of the letter's contents."We understand that the US government is working on a response," the statement said.The Eurofighter is made by the four-nation European Aeronautic Defence & Space consortium, representing Germany and Spain, Britain's BAE Systems and Italy's Finmeccanica.The long-delayed contract includes the outright purchase of 18 combat aircraft by 2012 with another 108 to be built in India.India, the biggest importer of military hardware among emerging nations, issued the request for proposals to the six firms in 2007 and trials of the aircraft competing for the deal began a year later.

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Mig-35 offered to India matches all requirements: Russia

Press Trust Of India
Moscow, July 26, 201


Russia on Monday said that its new Mig-35 fighter had passed Indian Air Forces three evaluation tests and matched all requirements listed by New Delhi in the $10 billion tender for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA). "The requirements of the tender are quite rigid, but we have already held three valuation tests, and we believe we have offered an aircraft which entirely corresponds to the tender requirements," a senior official of the Rosoboronexport State Corporation Sergei Kornyev said.

His comments come as India is believed to be in the process of shortlisting the bidders.

Major aircraft manufacturers including the French Dassault Aviation with its Rafale jet fighter, US Lockheed Martin with its F-16 Falcon and Boeing with F-18 Super Hornet, the Swedish Saab with its most up-to-date Gripen fighter and Eurofighter are in the fray along with MiG-35 Fulcrum-F.

More:http://www.hindustantimes.com/Mig-35-offered-to-India-matches-all-requirements-Russia/Article1-577956.aspx

Indian Sukhoi's enroute to Red Flag '08

 Red Flag '08

Philip Stevens reports: Exercise 'Red Flag 08-4' - Russian Fighters over Nevada




Ilyushin IL-76MD 'Candid' (K-2661) returning to Nellis
Canon EF 300mm f2.8 1/500th f.8 -1/3 stop exposure compensation.

Nellis Air Force Base (AFB) in Nevada is the home of the US Air Force Warfare Centre (USAFWC), tasked with training pilots to become the best combat aviators in the world. The USAFWC has at its disposal every aircraft in the air force's inventory with the huge Nellis Air Force Range (NAFR) just to the north of the airfield. Divided now into two zones, north and south, the NAFR is the largest US range covering some 4,700 square miles. A larger area of 14,800 square miles, which is half the size of Scotland, is available for military flying operations. The NAFR contains dummy airfields, unprepared runways, Surface to Air Missile (SAM) sites, Surface to Surface Missiles (SSM), Anti-aircraft artillery and bunkers, in fact everything you would expect in a war zone. The training is conducted with air and ground units of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Many allied nations are also able to train at Nellis, it is vital that the Allied coalition forces as seen during both Gulf Wars, are able to fly and fight together as one seamless unit.


the photos from: http://www.targeta.co.uk/red_flag08-4_indian.htm

Su-30MKI 'Flanker-H' (SB046) lifting off from one of Nellis parallel runways

Sukhoi Su-30MKI 'Flanker-H' (SB042) flown by 20 Squadron ('Lightnings') departs with a with a Litening III advanced targeting pod fitted.