IN is getting everything they ever asked for. Meanwhile the Army and Air Force are crying in corner.
DAC approves proposals for procurement of 26 Rafale Marine aircraft from France to boost Indian Navy’s operational capabilities
Also clears acquisition of three additional Scorpene submarines under Buy (Indian) category
Posted On: 13 JUL 2023 2:58PM by PIB DelhiA meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), held under the chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, approved three proposals on July 13, 2023. The DAC granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurement of 26 Rafale Marine aircraft along with associated ancillary equipment, weapons, simulator, spares, documentation, crew training and logistic support for the Indian Navy from the French Government based on Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA). The price and other terms of purchase will be negotiated with the French Government after taking into account all relevant aspects, including comparative procurement price of similar aircraft by other countries. Further, integration of Indian designed equipment and establishment of Maintenance, Repair & Operations (MRO) Hub for various systems will be incorporated into the contract documents after due negotiations.
The DAC also granted the AoN for procurement of three additional Scorpene submarines under Buy (Indian) category which will be constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL). The procurement of additional submarines, with higher indigenous content, will not only help in maintaining required force level and operational readiness of the Indian Navy, but also create significant employment opportunities in the domestic sector. It will also help the MDL in further enhancing its capability and expertise in submarine construction.
In addition, the DAC approved the proposal to lay down guidelines for achieving the desired indigenous content in all categories of capital acquisition cases. It will help in achieving ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in critical manufacturing technologies and life-cycle sustenance of defence platforms/equipment through indigenous manufacturing.
RFI specified 4 twin-seaters. So, i think during negotiations it will come up. We cant say definite.
The F4 version of the Rafale provides a landing aid similar to that of the F_18 "Magic carpet".
India agrees in principle to purchase 26 Rafale aircraft from France
India has decided to order 26 Rafale Marine aircraft from Dassault. The order was made official during Narendra Modi's visit to Paris, this year's guest of honour at the 14 July ceremonies.
These are the first announcements of Narendra Modi's highly anticipated visit to Paris. India gave its agreement in principle to the purchase from France of 26 Rafale fighter jets, in the Navy version for aircraft carriers, and three Scorpène submarines, during a visit by the Indian Prime Minister to the capital, which is the guest of honour for the bastille parade on 14 July.
The Indian Defence Acquisition Council has approved these purchase proposals, the Indian Ministry of Defence said in a statement, adding that the price and other conditions were still to be negotiated with the French government. India is thus the first navy in the very small club of nations with aircraft carriers to acquire the French fighter.
These single-seat Rafales are intended for the INS Vikrant, the Indian Navy's brand new made-in-India aircraft carrier. They feature reinforced landing gear for catapulting and landing. Dassault's multi-role fighter is said to have convinced the Indian army more than Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet, with which it was competing. The Indian Air Force already operates 36 Rafales.
Guaranteeing stability
The Indian Prime Minister and Emmanuel Macron are expected to agree on a series of defence agreements and a new joint strategy to ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific region. India has relied on French fighter jets for four decades now.
Prior to the Rafale in 2015, the country relied on the Mirage in the 1980s, which is still present in two air force squadrons. In 2005, India bought six Scorpene-class submarines from France for 188 billion rupees (€2.05 billion), the last of which will be commissioned next year.
"A pillar in the Indo-Pacific strategy
As the Elysée Palace pointed out this week, "India is one of the pillars of our Indo-Pacific strategy", a vast area covering the Indian and Pacific oceans, the scene of growing international tensions between Beijing and Washington, and where France has overseas interests and territories.
After speaking to the diaspora, Narendra Modi will have a private dinner with Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace and on Friday, in addition to the parade, he will have various meetings before the official dinner in the prestigious Louvre Museum with over 200 guests. A joint statement to the press is also planned. "Security cooperation, space, civil nuclear power, technology, anti-terrorism, cybersecurity, climate change, renewable energies... will be on the agenda of the two leaders' discussions", listed the Indian Foreign Secretary on Wednesday.
As the world's largest demographic power, an economic giant, a major emitter of greenhouse gases and a nuclear power, India is a heavyweight that cannot be ignored and is increasingly courted. A few weeks ago, Narendra Modi had the rare honour of a state visit to Washington.
India has decided to order 26 Rafale Marine aircraft from Dassault. The order was made official during Narendra Modi's visit to Paris, this year's guest of honour at the 14 July ceremonies.
These are the first announcements of Narendra Modi's highly anticipated visit to Paris. India gave its agreement in principle to the purchase from France of 26 Rafale fighter jets, in the Navy version for aircraft carriers, and three Scorpène submarines, during a visit by the Indian Prime Minister to the capital, which is the guest of honour for the bastille parade on 14 July.
The Indian Defence Acquisition Council has approved these purchase proposals, the Indian Ministry of Defence said in a statement, adding that the price and other conditions were still to be negotiated with the French government. India is thus the first navy in the very small club of nations with aircraft carriers to acquire the French fighter.
These single-seat Rafales are intended for the INS Vikrant, the Indian Navy's brand new made-in-India aircraft carrier. They feature reinforced landing gear for catapulting and landing. Dassault's multi-role fighter is said to have convinced the Indian army more than Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet, with which it was competing. The Indian Air Force already operates 36 Rafales.
Guaranteeing stability
The Indian Prime Minister and Emmanuel Macron are expected to agree on a series of defence agreements and a new joint strategy to ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific region. India has relied on French fighter jets for four decades now.
Prior to the Rafale in 2015, the country relied on the Mirage in the 1980s, which is still present in two air force squadrons. In 2005, India bought six Scorpene-class submarines from France for 188 billion rupees (€2.05 billion), the last of which will be commissioned next year.
"A pillar in the Indo-Pacific strategy
As the Elysée Palace pointed out this week, "India is one of the pillars of our Indo-Pacific strategy", a vast area covering the Indian and Pacific oceans, the scene of growing international tensions between Beijing and Washington, and where France has overseas interests and territories.
After speaking to the diaspora, Narendra Modi will have a private dinner with Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace and on Friday, in addition to the parade, he will have various meetings before the official dinner in the prestigious Louvre Museum with over 200 guests. A joint statement to the press is also planned. "Security cooperation, space, civil nuclear power, technology, anti-terrorism, cybersecurity, climate change, renewable energies... will be on the agenda of the two leaders' discussions", listed the Indian Foreign Secretary on Wednesday.
As the world's largest demographic power, an economic giant, a major emitter of greenhouse gases and a nuclear power, India is a heavyweight that cannot be ignored and is increasingly courted. A few weeks ago, Narendra Modi had the rare honour of a state visit to Washington.
TEDBF for all three. Although I don't think the next one will be named Vishal, that's for the 65kT version.
I'd like to remind you of this article from 2019, which describes a future that is now very close.
A futuristic engine for the SCAF
18 APRIL 2019 BUSINESS
Safran and MTU Aero Engines signed an industrial partnership in early 2019 to design and develop the engine for the SCAF, the fighter aircraft of the future. Stéphane Cueille, Group Vice President, R&T and Innovation, looks back at its features and the challenges of the project.
What is the SCAF programme?
The Future Air Combat System, or SCAF, was launched on 6 February by France and Germany. The aim is to design the fighter aircraft that will replace the Rafale and Eurofighter by 2035. Dassault and Airbus are in charge of defining the architecture and concept of the aircraft, whose engine will be developed equally by Safran and MTU Aero Engines.
The roles of the two engine manufacturers have been allocated on a "best athlete" basis, with the aim of ensuring that each works in its own area of expertise. Safran is in charge of hot section development and engine integration, while MTU Aero Engines is responsible for cold sections and MRO services. Other European manufacturers may be asked to join the programme, depending on the wishes of the various countries.
What innovations will this engine benefit from?
This new-generation fighter must be capable of both producing strong supersonic thrust and cruising at low speed over long distances. Its engine will therefore have to be versatile. It will also be more compact to make it lighter, and its thrust, which is much greater than that of the Rafale, will enable the SCAF to carry more weapons. Finally, it will have to contribute to the stealth of the aircraft. Numerous innovations will therefore be required. The turbine, for example, will have to reach temperatures of around 2,100 K (around 1,825°C), a temperature beyond the reach of current technologies and blade materials. Safran has set up an advanced turbine blade research platform to develop advanced technologies and materials that can withstand these temperatures. The engine will also have to be "variable cycle", i.e. capable of adjusting the ratio between primary and secondary air flows, and equipped with a steerable nozzle to make the aircraft easier to handle. Another innovation under consideration is the hybridisation of the engine to manage on-board energy.
What are the challenges of this programme for Safran?
The Group must demonstrate its capacity for innovation by developing, by 2025, an engine - derived from the M88 - to power the first SCAF aircraft demonstrator. The engine demonstrator is scheduled for 2027. The R&T work carried out for the SCAF is also essential for our other programmes: it will lead to the emergence of technologies which, when applied to our future-generation civil engines, will enable us to remain competitive.
Find out more? Improvements planned for the M88
The Rafale engine will benefit from the work carried out on the engine for the combat aircraft of the future. With this in mind, the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) has awarded Safran a €115 million, 5-year upstream research programme to increase the engine's thrust while improving its service life.
A futuristic engine for the SCAF
18 APRIL 2019 BUSINESS
Safran and MTU Aero Engines signed an industrial partnership in early 2019 to design and develop the engine for the SCAF, the fighter aircraft of the future. Stéphane Cueille, Group Vice President, R&T and Innovation, looks back at its features and the challenges of the project.
What is the SCAF programme?
The Future Air Combat System, or SCAF, was launched on 6 February by France and Germany. The aim is to design the fighter aircraft that will replace the Rafale and Eurofighter by 2035. Dassault and Airbus are in charge of defining the architecture and concept of the aircraft, whose engine will be developed equally by Safran and MTU Aero Engines.
The roles of the two engine manufacturers have been allocated on a "best athlete" basis, with the aim of ensuring that each works in its own area of expertise. Safran is in charge of hot section development and engine integration, while MTU Aero Engines is responsible for cold sections and MRO services. Other European manufacturers may be asked to join the programme, depending on the wishes of the various countries.
What innovations will this engine benefit from?
This new-generation fighter must be capable of both producing strong supersonic thrust and cruising at low speed over long distances. Its engine will therefore have to be versatile. It will also be more compact to make it lighter, and its thrust, which is much greater than that of the Rafale, will enable the SCAF to carry more weapons. Finally, it will have to contribute to the stealth of the aircraft. Numerous innovations will therefore be required. The turbine, for example, will have to reach temperatures of around 2,100 K (around 1,825°C), a temperature beyond the reach of current technologies and blade materials. Safran has set up an advanced turbine blade research platform to develop advanced technologies and materials that can withstand these temperatures. The engine will also have to be "variable cycle", i.e. capable of adjusting the ratio between primary and secondary air flows, and equipped with a steerable nozzle to make the aircraft easier to handle. Another innovation under consideration is the hybridisation of the engine to manage on-board energy.
What are the challenges of this programme for Safran?
The Group must demonstrate its capacity for innovation by developing, by 2025, an engine - derived from the M88 - to power the first SCAF aircraft demonstrator. The engine demonstrator is scheduled for 2027. The R&T work carried out for the SCAF is also essential for our other programmes: it will lead to the emergence of technologies which, when applied to our future-generation civil engines, will enable us to remain competitive.
Find out more? Improvements planned for the M88
The Rafale engine will benefit from the work carried out on the engine for the combat aircraft of the future. With this in mind, the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) has awarded Safran a €115 million, 5-year upstream research programme to increase the engine's thrust while improving its service life.
The new M88 with increase thrust and improve service life will be available at delivery of your 26 Rafale.
I think that the French will also want to take advantage of the performance improvements made possible by the new technologies, so it will be possible to replace the old engines with new ones, and as the M88 is modular with 21 modules I even think that it will be possible to benefit from the improvements by replacing a few modules (the hot parts for example), but that's not for me to say...
I am having a doubt regarding the aircraft generations. Like USA, Germany-France, UK-Japan-Spain all are developing a sixth generation fighter jet.
Is there any specific criteria which will make the developed jet as six generation? Like generally all the generations are what USA has defined.
Now, if USA introduces near hypersonic speed with their aircrafts and others cannot then will they also qualify for six generation tag?
Sorry, if the question is childish.
Is there any specific criteria which will make the developed jet as six generation? Like generally all the generations are what USA has defined.
Now, if USA introduces near hypersonic speed with their aircrafts and others cannot then will they also qualify for six generation tag?
Sorry, if the question is childish.
Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha thinks its ok to not have twin seater. Sea Hawk also didnt have it seems.
The term "fifth generation" was already poorly defined, being mostly an invention of Lockheed's marketing bureau. Before that, a previous attempt at classifying generations in the 1990s had the Mirage 2000 as an example of a 6th generation jet fighter... by that scale, the F-35 would probably be 8th or 9th generation.
Ultimately, the criteria for 5th gen has become a stealthy shape complete with internal bays. Things like supercruise and supermaneuverability were dropped. For sixth gen, who knows?
