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October 4, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Indian Air Force chief defends Rafale fighter deal against claims of crony capitalism
By: Pierre Tran and Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI and PARIS — Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa defended the decision of India's ruling National Democratic Alliance to buy 36 Rafale fightersfrom France, calling it “a game changer" even as the opposition party criticizes the deal.
Addressing annual news conference, Dhanoha said: "At the appropriate level, the Indian Air Force was consulted, but it is for the government to choose. It was decided to buy two squadrons through a government to-government deal, to meet up emergency requirements.”
India and France signed the €7.8 billion (U.S. $8.99 billion) inter-governmental agreement Sept. 23, under which 36 Rafale fighter aircraft will be procured from Dassault Aviation for Indian Air Force (IAF) in fly away condition. France will invest 30 percent of the total contract value in India's military aeronautics-related research programs and 20 percent into local production of Rafale components to fulfil the mandatory offsets under the deal. The deliveries of Rafale fighters will start this month.
India's main opposition party, Indian National Congress, has claimed on several occasions that the Rafale deal is grossly overvalued and tainted by crony capitalism. The Congress said the Modi government had failed to answer several questions on why public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) had lost the manufacting deal to industrialist Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence Ltd.
“The earlier deal for 126 medium multirole combat aircraft reached an impasse during negotiations," Dhanoa said,, referring to a $12 billion medium, multi-role combat aircraft program that was launchced in 2007 but scrapped 10 years later. "We had three options: wait for something good to happen, withdraw the global tender and start over again, or do an emergency purchase. We did an emergency purchase.”
Dhanoa called the cost of 36 Rafale was “reasonable and adequate."
The latest comments from Dhanoa come after Indian defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman called baseless congressional allegations of a reduction in the number of Rafale jets being purchased from France. Congress has demanded the government explain why instead of 126 Rafale fighter jets, only 36 are being purchased if they were cheaper under the NDA deal than the prior deal.
Sitharaman is expected to hold the first annual defence ministers dialogue with her counterpart Florence Parly in Paris Oct. 12-13, as the two countries seek to expand bilateral defense and strategic ties.
In France, Dassault said the company had picked Reliance as its Indian partner to meet requirements for local offset established by the Indian Defense Procurement Procedure and Make in India policy. The statement followed controversy sparked by remarks by former French president François Hollande, who said the Indian government selected Reliance as the local partner and that the company "had nothing to say on the subject, we had no choice, we took the partner which was presented.”
Dassault put out its statement on the deal for 36 Rafale to India Sept, 21 statement, stating that, in accordance with the policy of Make in India, Dassault Aviation decided to make a partnership with India's Reliance Group.
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April 26, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Fighter jet OEMs aim to keep pace with needed technology
Chris Thatcher Fighter jet manufacturers are well aware that advances in technology can take years, if not decades, to introduce, creating a constant struggle to match the pace of technological change and the evolution of threats. In a panel discussion at the Aerospace Innovation Forum in Montreal last week, executives from Airbus, Boeing, Dassault Aviation and Saab described how a change from closed “black boxes” to more open mission architecture is allowing faster and easier acceptance of technology from wider sources. Wolfgang Gammel, head of combat aircraft for Airbus Defence and Space, acknowledged the need to be much faster to market with new technology. He noted the shift in focus from “kinetic weapons” to “data fusion and the cyber piece” now driving new capabilities, but said the goal has been to “keep flexibility” in the Eurofighter Typhoon to allow customers “to adapt the aircraft as threats change.” He also noted the wealth of data becoming available on all advanced fighters, and the ability to predict maintenance requirements, better manage costs and improve availability, all of which should impact the overall life of the airframe. Pontus de Laval, chief technology officer for Saab, said the life management approach to the Gripen JAS 39 has been continuous change rather than one large midlife upgrade. The version currently operated by the Swedish Air Force is “actually edition 20.” For the Gripen NG now undergoing flight tests for the Brazilian Air Force, the aim has been to make “continuous evolvement of the platform much easier,” he said. That has been achieved in part by separating flight critical and mission critical systems, to allow Saab and the customer to introduce new sensors and other capabilities without significantly affecting “systems that keep the aircraft flying.” By using virtualization of avionics to introduce software and hardware changes, Saab has also been able to minimize the effect of one on the other as upgrades are made. “Software kills you in big programs if you are not careful,” de Laval observed. The company has also recognized the role artificial intelligence and machine learning could play, especially on the future computing capacity of a fighter, and is investing about US$400 million in research to understand to prepare and capitalize. Boeing has long bet on incremental technology upgrades for the Super Hornet, providing a “roadmap forward” for the platform. But the Block 3 will introduce the Distributed Targeting Processor-Networked (DTP-N), an open mission system “to enable these future technologies,” said Troy Rutherford, director of the company's HorizonX program. From autonomy to AI, the user experience in the cockpit will change dramatically. Boeing too has invested heavily, seeking small start-up companies to develop these capabilities. “What plays over the course of time is the ability to adapt to the threat,” he said. Any new technology must reach a certain level of maturity before it can be integrated into an advanced fighter. Bruno Stoufflet, chief technology officer for Dassault Aviation, said the company has leveraged its Falcon family of business jets “to embark some demonstrations” of new capabilities. “There is a strong commitment of the French weapon agency to have a family of demonstrations in the future based on [the] Rafale.” That has opened the door to more research with small- and medium-sized business. Previously, Dassault collaborated more with academic teams or larger players in the aerospace and defence industries. “It has changed completely. We were asked to integrate more SMEs into our research programs...so now we understand what they can bring in research and innovation projects,” said Stoufflet. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/fighter-jet-oems-aim-keep-pace-needed-technology/
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December 9, 2022 | International, Aerospace
Japan, Britain and Italy join forces on new combat jet
Japan, Britain and Italy are merging their next-generation jet fighter projects in a bridge between Europe and Asia that marks Japan's first major industrial defence collaboration beyond the United States since World War Two.