(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI - May 24 2009: India will soon hold field trials for the purchase of 126 fighter planes in a $10.4 billion contract that is one of the world's biggest current arms deals.
Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin Corp's F-16, Russia's MiG-35, Sweden's Saab JAS-39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, a consortium of British, German, Italian and Spanish companies, are in the race for the lucrative contract.
The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine canard-delta wing multirole aircraft. It is being designed and built by a consortium of three separate partner companies: Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, and EADS working through a holding company Eurofighter GmbH which was formed in 1986. The project is managed by NETMA (NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency) which acts as the prime customer.
The series production of the Eurofighter Typhoon is underway, and the aircraft is being procured under three separate contracts (referred to as "tranches"), each for aircraft with successively greater capabilities. The aircraft has entered service with the British Royal Air Force, the German Luftwaffe, the Italian Air Force, the Spanish Air Force and the Austrian Air Force. Saudi Arabia has signed a £4.43 billion (approx. €6.4 billion c. 2007) contract for 72 aircraft. *Eurofighter Typhoon is one of the bidders of the $10.5 billion worth Indian MRCA Competition to supply the Indian Air Force with 126 'Multi-Role Combat Aircraft', alongside Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, SAAB Gripen, Mikoyan MiG-35, and F-16 Fighting Falcon.
France's Dassault Aviation was knocked out last month on technical grounds, but could be back after answering queries related to its aircraft, a defence official said. "All the paperwork is over and a technical evaluation report on the fighters has been placed with the ministry," defence ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar said.
"Security concerns are a top priority of the government and things should start rolling once the new defence minister takes charge," he added. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was due to be sworn in for a second term on Friday and name the new defence minister in his cabinet.
India increased its defence spending by nearly a quarter in 2009/10 to $28.9 billion. It is looking to spend more than $30 billion over the next five years to modernise its largely Soviet-era weapons systems.
A defence team from India will visit Russia next month to speed up delivery of the aircraft carrier Gorshkov for induction into the Indian Navy by 2012.
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**Special note - Thanks Monsoon for your observation. Kind regards
You miss one spelling.
ReplyDeleteIt's JAS-39, not KAS-39.
Thanks Monsoon for your observation.
ReplyDeleteKind regards