PPRuNe Forums

PPRuNe Forums (https://www.pprune.org/)
-   Military Aviation (https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation-57/)
-   -   Rafale wins Indian order (https://www.pprune.org/military-aviation/475837-rafale-wins-indian-order.html)

LeCrazyFrog 14th Feb 2012 14:20

:hmm::hmm::hmm:

I stand by to be corrected but :
- Isn't Turkey participating in JSF?
- As well as UK?

Aren't both these countries, despite all their operationnal imperatives, having to wait for JSF to fill a capability gap?

When I said "mighty" it was to charcterise a 5th gen fighter...nothing more.

On wether the quote comes from a civvy or a military, I'll let you bet on that...

AlphaZuluRomeo 14th Feb 2012 14:27


Originally Posted by engineer(retard) (Post 7022895)
AZR stop being defensive, it was a reasonable question.

I didn't mean to be so, Sir, sorry if I let you think otherwise. Please take my answer for what it says explicitely, no more: I'm french, so english isn't my mothertongue.
And no, I'm not involved with any of the contenders.

As you know, the swiss report is in fact 2 reports: one for the aircrafts as they were tested in 2008, and one for the aircrafts as they should be in 2015 (as seen in 2009).
I didn't heard any news in the last years suggesting that the roadmaps for any of the 3 contenders were anywere but more or less on shedule (*). I guess then that the 2009 analysis is still more or less relevant.
That's all. ;)

(*) I don't pretend I know all, far from that, on those topics, but have no recollection of any major breakthrough or delay.



Originally Posted by LeCrazyFrog (Post 7023098)
However, I believe that if Obama had promised the mighty F35 to India they could have been willing to wait a few more years to get a 5th gen fighter.
Other countries are already facing capabilities gaps while they are expecting the F35...

Agreed for other countries, but I'm not so sure that India would have been willing to wait:
- the MMRCA contest was already a bit late
- India will have the PAK-FA for 5th gen fighter

engineer(retard) 14th Feb 2012 15:11

AZR No problem, your English is very good. In my experience, if a programme is not on schedule the producer rarely shouts about it.

At the time of testing, Gripen had been about a while, Typhoon was just entering service with an Initial Operating Capability for Air to Air only and Rafale had been in service for 2 years. I am not surprised the Swiss reached the conclusion they did. The technological look forward is always influenced by the risk of achieving it and as technologies mature the risk reduces. I suspect if they tested again today there might be a completely different set of conclusions.

Regarding the Indian buy, I believe that Rafale reached also preferred bidder stage for UAE before losing that contract. I have no doubt that India selected Rafale because it met their technical need at the best price. At this level its more than a competition between aircraft capabilities, there industrial and political trade offs etc that have to be delivered.

I think that all 3 aircraft are elegant designs and beautiful machines and dislike the nationalistic rock throwing that goes on.

airpolice 14th Feb 2012 19:09

It's another world, not just another continent!
 
Despite millions in international aid and a huge Space & Defence budget, they don't even have Khazis!

How can British Industry be desperate to do business with people like this?

What has the Empire become?


India woman leaves home for lack of toilet

Anita Narre refused to go to her husband's home until he built a toilet


A newlywed woman in a village in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has won her struggle to have a toilet at her husband's home.

Anita Narre left husband Shivram's home two days after her marriage in May last year because the house had no toilet.

She returned eight days later after Shivram, a daily wage worker, built one with savings and aid from villagers.

An NGO announced a $10,000 reward for Mrs Narre for her "brave" decision and forcing her husband to build a toilet.

More than half-a-billion Indians still lack access to basic sanitation.

The problem is acute in rural India and it is the women who suffer most.

Shivram said he was not able to build a toilet at home because of lack of money.

He admitted that his wife returned home only after he constructed one with his savings and "some support from the village council".

"It is not nice for women to go outside to defecate. That's why every home should have a toilet. Those who don't should make sure there is one," Mrs Narre told the BBC.

Many people in India do not have access to flush toilets or other latrines.

But under new local laws in states including Chhattisgarh, people's representatives are obliged to construct a flush toilet in their own home within a year of being elected. Those who fail to do so face dismissal.

The law making toilets mandatory has been introduced in several states as part of the "sanitation for all" drive by the Indian government.

The programme aims to eradicate the practice of open defecation, which is common in rural and poor urban areas of India.

Special funds are made available for people to construct toilets to promote hygiene and eradicate the practice of faeces collection - or scavenging - which is mainly carried out by low-caste people.

Seems that, just like the French, the Indians are partial to pissing in the street.

racedo 14th Feb 2012 20:11


Seems that, just like the French, the Indians are partial to pissing in the street.
You ever been in Leicester Sq at a weekend ?

Reinhardt 15th Feb 2012 08:37


Originally Posted by airpolice
Seems that, just like the French, the Indians are partial to pissing in the street

An absolutely beautiful quote - with comments like that, you are going to be even more appreciated by both French and Indians, which is exactly what we need regarding the future of the Typhoon in India...
Now regarding the somewhat desperate attemps of both BAE and UK Gvt to come back in the deal : I can understand the Brits are trying to save their product, but tell me - regarding that lost deal in India, have you heard any comment about the subject from Germany, Spain, Italy (the other nations building the Typhoon) ? The answer is No - simply because they don't care. And that's a big weakness of the Typhoon program.

Originally Posted by Crazygrog
I stand by to be corrected but :


Originally Posted by Crazygrog
- Isn't Turkey participating in JSF?
- As well as UK?

Yes, they do - and they regret it so much... India MoD did state in the strongest manner that they were not going to be fooled by the US offers (pay for us to develop, without you having a word in it or any control of the costs - and don't expect technical returns execpt basic assembling of parts) In fact the F35 is the most effective aerospace-industry-killer weapon in the US inventory. The French never considered it.

engineer(retard) 15th Feb 2012 10:42

How bizarre. A leaked report that has Rafale 1st, Typhoon 2nd and Gripen 3rd and the Swiss buy Gripen:

Swiss Go For Gripen NG | aviationintel

LeCrazyFrog 15th Feb 2012 12:04

@Reinhardt : thanks for your answer. I agree with you and I was trying to make a point to Recceguy...

ORAC 15th Feb 2012 12:11

Engineer (retard).

The same report was reporteded on in Ares. The following comments were posted by "tangoviking", who wrote:
You're missing the whole key issue in the selection. And it's written in that document.

Look ! http://i.imgur.com/JrlYL.jpg

The evaluation ranks Gripen second best choice IF the budget can afford to buy 22 Rafale.

22 Rafale's were not possible within the later established acquisition and operative budget so the decision was to go with 22 Gripen as the best choice for the airforce and the offered configuration will be suitable as so written in the document.

Same General who signed the evaluation supports the Gripen selection.

Adding sources:

---
The flight performance of the aircraft are less good than the Rafale and the Eurofighter. Markus Gygax recognizes this fact. But, he adds, it is not now the most crucial aspect because there are other criteria. "It's like when you buy a car, says Markus Gygax. You do not just look how fast the car can reach, but also and perhaps especially its ease of maintenance. And the Gripen aircraft is clear that maintenance costs the most advantageous. We are convinced by our choice. "

Le Gripen défendu par le chef des forces aériennes - tsr.ch - info - revue de presse

In November last year, Air Force chief Major General Markus explains: "I have reported to the Federal Council that all evaluated types meet our requirements." (NZZ 19th 11th 11)

engineer(retard) 15th Feb 2012 12:31

Thanks Orac. I can also see a similar vein in the Indian selection because Rafale and the Indian Mirage 2000 upgrade share many components, the life cycle costs are lower.

orca 15th Feb 2012 15:50

Genuine question. Where does the under current of loyalty to Typhoon come from?

Reading this thread one encounters the main theme that Johnny Foreigner has done the unthinkable and bought French when there was a bit of British kit available.

I find this utterly perplexing. The Typhoon is used by the RAF but it's about as British as Queen Victoria.

I hate to say it (because despite 'everything' I actually want the RAF to have decent kit) but the system is still nowhere near its own sales pitch as regards multi or swing role and yet the plucky French with their Gallic shrugs and 'fark it we'll make our own' attitude have a similar product that can throw Mica, GBU-12, A2SM etc around with gay abandon and do it from a CVN.

If the Typhoon were a solely British design, made solely in Britain and the Indian bid had been British I would tend to have a degree of loyalty to both the system and this individual sale. But as far as i can tell - it isn't, it isn't, it wasn't, I don't and I don't.

As always - just my opinion.

Jackonicko 16th Feb 2012 09:12

Rafale for India - illegally subsidised, asks a French paper?
 
There have been whispers that EU competition authorities have been looking into MMRCA.

And now this:

"Rafale to India at bargain prices

France has proposed to India to sell its Rafale at bargain prices, writes the French magazine Le Canard Enchainé.

Always very well informed about the background of French politics scenario, the newspaper said India has recently chosen to launch 'exclusive negotiations' for the purchase of 126 Rafale made by the French group Dassault Aviation but that the aircraft had been chosen because of the extraordinary 'discount' offered by Paris.

For France - The Canard said, citing data from the French Court of Auditors - Rafale cost "some 150 million Euro." While to the Indians a proposal was made at "80 to 87 million Euro". "A huge difference in price," commented Le Canard, questioning the reasons for this discount:

"Either Rafale is sold at an inflated price for the French, or this is dumping, special discount under cost" states the magazine. Rafale has been offered at a much higher price to the United Arab which is interested in 60 aircraft. Now UAE could ask for an explanation as to why Rafale has been offered at a much higher price than to India?

A similar "game" has been played by the French in Brazil, where the aircraft has been offered at around 100 million each.

The real question raised by the article is if Rafale costs around 142 million Euro each for France, how can Dassault offer the aircraft to India for only 80-87 millions Euro? Who pays the difference in cost? The French taxpayer? Or maybe other Arab countries, interested in Rafale, will be financing the discount offered by the French to the Indians?"


Of course Rafale doesn't cost €142 m (unless you count R&D and other 'whole programme' costs) so the subsidy isn't as large as this report indicates. But figures from France’s Assemblee Nationale and the ‘Cour des Comptes’ (the French NAO) that indicate a programme unit cost of €142.3 m ($188.68 m) for Rafale, also give a unit production cost of €101.1 m ($134 m). You'd expect the export price to be at around this level, perhaps with a small profit margin and perhaps an export levy. Lower than this and it does look as though there has been a subsidy.

Still, what cost getting your first export order?

LeCrazyFrog 16th Feb 2012 11:26

Comes from Ze Monde:
Paris et Londres envisagent un avion de combat commun pour 2020 - LeMonde.fr

For those who are a bit rusty on le langage de l'élégance, it basically says that brits and french are planning to develop a joint UCAV by 2020...

Here comes the Rafafighter....:ok:

Archimedes 16th Feb 2012 12:30

'Rafafighter' - Roger Federer? :confused:

LeCrazyFrog 16th Feb 2012 13:35

:):):)
OK, the Eurofale then...

SammySu 16th Feb 2012 19:43

That would be the Eurofail wouldn't it?

GreenKnight121 17th Feb 2012 08:27

It all depends on how the Dassault-India contract is worded.

I have read that Sukhoi's contract with India for Su-27/33 forbids India from making spare/replacement parts. All spares must be purchased from Russia at whatever price Russia demands.

It is a commonly-accepted tale that the military contracts for complex equipment that produce the most profit for the manufacturers feature low initial purchase costs and long-term maintenance/support/supply contracts with undefined costs, allowing for increases in prices for parts & maintenance/support work.


Many nations have gotten wise to this, and demand "all-inclusive" contracts that set a fixed cost for parts & support per year (or a fixed total for a certain number of years).

India apparently still hasn't learned to hold out for this type of contract.

Reinhardt 17th Feb 2012 10:11

Because for you GreenKnight121, in the Rafale contract, the Indians are obviously the losers and the suckers, after having eventually settled their mind in favor of the French, thus discarding some of the most beautiful products of the US industry.... yes, I know, it's difficult to swallow, but you will get used to it.

Lowe Flieger 17th Feb 2012 23:06

Re Orca's question about British sour-grapes. Aside from the rumbling discontent over the issue of UK aid, I think the disappointment of India's Rafale selection may also be at least partly the dashed hope that another large Eurofighter operator might have improved or accelerated the development prospects for the aircraft, developments which could then be incorporated into RAF planes.

I accept this introduces an element of the 'concurrency' debate which has raged around the F35 recently, but not to the same degree I think. Some have commented that the EF is less developed than the Rafale, so making Rafale the logical choice because it has been 'de-risked'. This does not appear to have hindered F35 significantly, despite virtually everything, from performance to price through combat capable date, still being steeped in risk and uncertainty. New customers are signing up for its promise rather than pedigree. Given it's chequered development history so far, I find this remarkable.

But back to India's choice: If Rafale meets the specification and is 20%+ cheaper than EF, that's an easy decision for a buyer to make. Unless Dassault makes a mess of the final negotiations again, I don't see any way back for the Eurofighter. As a buyer I would be suspicious of a supplier who can now reduce their price when they couldn't do so before; and as a seller the price may have to drop significantly below Rafale to win the deal, which could mean you risk not being able to deliver what you promise if margins are too thin.

GreenKnight121 18th Feb 2012 01:19

Reinhardt your opinion means nothing to me... but India's contract history speaks for itself.

I don't know exactly what is in this contract... but I do know what the Sukhoi contract said.

I personally think that Rafale was the best choice for India... IF the contract is a fair one for both India & France.

backseatjock 18th Feb 2012 14:52

Interesting article from widely read Indian tabloid newspaper India Today / Mail Today.

I can't open the link to see the full piece but the summary below gives a flavour.

Not making any comment other than 'Hmm' - the content may or may not be accurate, of course. I will leave readers to estabish their own views.

India Today

MoD officials question Rafale deal

The country's biggest defence deal for the purchase of 126. Rafale fighter jets, estimated to be worth around Rs.62,000 crore, seems to be running into rough weather.

Top government sources said on Friday that two senior officials of the ministry of defence (MoD), who are members of the contract negotiation committee, have questioned the methods adopted by it to conclude that French company

Dassault's Rafale had the lowest bid for the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) deal.

The contract negotiation committee comprises senior officials from the MoD and the Indian Air Force.

The contract is yet to be vetted by the ministry of finance before it is finally approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security.

Rafale was declared as the lowest bid after the evaluation of the commercial bids made by the different companies to the MoD. Rafale had pipped British fighter jet Eurofighter Typhoon, while the other rivals from the US, Russia and Sweden were eliminated in different stages of competition.


MoD officials question Rafale deal : North News - India Today

Two's in 18th Feb 2012 15:17


Genuine question. Where does the under current of loyalty to Typhoon come from?
From an industry viewpoint, thanks to decades of mismanagement and governmental myopia in the UK there is only one major aircraft manufacturer - Our chums at Big And Expensive (BAE) Systems. The aerospace sector of that business was building the following platforms;

Nimrod MRA4 - Gone
Harrier - Gone
Typhoon - Reducing order book as spending cuts take effect.
F-35 JSF - Please Sir Mr Lockheed, can I have my workshare back?

"Loyalty" is the wrong word, the last act of desperate business is more accurate. You don't need 10,000 engineers to build a slack handful of UAVs.

Milo Minderbinder 18th Feb 2012 15:20

more about it on the Indian version of MSN (!)
Rafale deal flies into rough weather

"But highly placed sources said two senior officials of the defence ministry have questioned the methods adopted by the contract negotiation committee which concluded that Rafale was the lowest bidder.
The two officials - additional financial advisor and a joint secretary in the ministry Prem Kumar Kataria, and finance manager (air) R.K. Arora - are members of the negotiation committee that comprises senior ministry officials and Indian Air Force (IAF) officers.
The two officials noted that certain assumptions had been made about Rafale's bid to declare it as the lowest bidder, but no one had validated it. The officials initially refused to sign the minutes of the committee. They later signed after making their reservations known. They put written notes on the file on January 24, according to officials privy to the negotiations.
Sources say Defence Minister A.K. Antony wants to steer clear of any controversy and has instructed that the committee should settle the issue internally."

So the fat Buddha may not have started singing yet....

jindabyne 18th Feb 2012 20:43

Mods. Do you want to waste BW on this topic for the next four years? For it will be at least that time before a purchase contract is signed, whatever the aircraft. Trust me. India :(

HAWK21M 19th Feb 2012 07:44

How long before the order is signed.....

racedo 19th Feb 2012 12:04

Seems like some Indian Mod people have been enjoying hospitality or no doubt that might be alledged..................

BombayDuck 19th Feb 2012 17:54


Originally Posted by GreenKnight121
I have read that Sukhoi's contract with India for Su-27/33 forbids India from making spare/replacement parts. All spares must be purchased from Russia at whatever price Russia demands.

Considering that HAL makes the Sukhoi 30MKI under licence in India, I really doubt that source of yours. :)

GreenKnight121 20th Feb 2012 02:29

The source was someone within the manufacturing program.

They are allowed to build only parts for installation in new aircraft on the production line, and no more.

The repair parts supply system is fire-walled away from the production lines, with all repair parts coming through Sukhoi, no matter where those parts were made.

BEagle 20th Feb 2012 07:28


Seems like some Indian MoD people have been enjoying hospitality or no doubt that might be alleged..................
Hmm - 'hospitality'. Fine French cuisine chez Marcel or tripe and trotters wi 't Bungling Baron Waste o' Space?

If that was the sole criterion, Eurofighter would never have stood a chance!

Victor Inox 20th Feb 2012 07:53

It would be extremely charitable to believe that the Indian procurement process for a new fighter jet will be any better than the now infamous process for selling and allocating cellular frequency spectrum.

Whilst BAE are less than faultless themselves when it comes to transparent processes (e.g. Saudi Arabia), French marketing skills in the armaments business has been well documented throughout history. In more recent years, their submarine sales to Malaysia spring to mind.

Shack37 24th Mar 2012 10:32

A little ray of hope?


Manipulation claim over Indian Rafale jet deal - Telegraph

LowObservable 24th Mar 2012 13:30

British hopes were raised when the Typhoon performed best in trials..

Indian MP Mysura Reddy..... was also concerned by reports Rafales were outperformed by Typhoons in operations over Libya.


Jackonicko is clearly respected on the subcontinent...

racedo 24th Mar 2012 13:41

Elements of clutching at straws I think.....

5 Forward 6 Back 24th Mar 2012 13:52

Who on Earth is reporting that Typhoon outperformed Rafale in Libya??

:confused:

wokawoka 24th Mar 2012 14:53

?????????
 
What? The jet which could not self designate and can only deliver one type of air to ground munition, oh and has not got a gun which funnily enough is now an important weapon for COIN CAS. Whatever.

pr00ne 24th Mar 2012 17:40

Typhoon HAS got a gun and has had for years.

Easy Street 24th Mar 2012 19:34

Typhoon has self-designated LGBs successfully. The reason they didn't do it over Libya was that funding for the flying hours required to train for it was withdrawn after the capability was proved in 2008. The force only had enough hours to maintain its core role of DCA. Given that fact, it reflects well on the chaps that they quickly resurrected EPW2 and successfully employed it (predominantly in GPS-guided mode - laser guidance is so 1990s!)

The Indians would have been briefed on this and would have seen the evidence from 2008, of that you can be virtually certain!

Heathrow Harry 25th Mar 2012 10:36

Pr00ne - IIRC the MOD tried to cancel the gun in development to save costs and replace it with ballast but our German friends insisted - thank God!

TEEEJ 25th Mar 2012 12:08

wokawoka wrote


....oh and has not got a gun....
The decision to not support the cannon in RAF service was reversed in 2006. The cannon is retained by all users of the Typhoon.


At a conference last week, Air Vice-Marshal David Walker, the officer commanding No 1 Group, which includes the Harrier and the newly-forming Typhoon squadrons, said he had decided to proceed with the Typhoon gun, buying ammunition, spares and maintenance equipment.
Typhoon wins gun dogfight - Telegraph


'Several pilots from the RAF's 3 Sqn - its first frontline unit to have received the Typhoon, initially for use only for air defence purposes - took part in the exercise, where around 700 rounds were also fired from the type's Mauser 27mm cannon. More work needs to be done with the reactivated weapon, but Atha says: "As a first step, we're there."
Eurofighter Typhoon proves close-air support credentials for RAF

KAG 25th Mar 2012 12:57

The Telegraph... Right...
Like it was the first time this news paper was writing bullcr@p. (yes you read me, I wrote bullcr@p, I am the first one and it will become fashion soon... ;) )


Seems some have not accepted reality yet, well it doesn't really matter.


All times are GMT. The time now is 05:13.


Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.