Recently, a short message appeared in the "News" section on "VO", the meaning of which was perfectly reflected by its name: "Russia is ready to transfer to India technologies for the production of MiG-35 fighters." In a little more detail: I. Tarasenko, who holds the post of vice-president of the UAC for military-technical cooperation, said that if the Russian Federation wins the tender for 110 aircraft announced by India, then the Russian side will be ready to transfer technology and documentation for the production of the fighter MiG-35 on Indian territory.
This news was perceived by respected readers of VO very ambiguously: is it worth for the sake of a round sum of money (and the cost of the contract with the winner may well reach 17-18 billion dollars) to transfer to the Indians the technologies for the production of the latest generation 4 ++ fighter? The question is, of course, interesting, and in this article we will try to answer it.
But first, let's recall the history of the Indian tender for more than 100 light fighters: of course, very briefly, because perhaps even ardent connoisseurs of Mexican television series will get bored from its detailed description.
So, a long time ago, when the floppy disks were large and the monitors were small, and the young and full of energy, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was just dealing with the numerous duties of the President of the Russian Federation … In general, in 2000, the idea was born in India to buy 126 French fighters "Mirage 2000".
Why Mirages? The fact is that at that time they were the most modern and, moreover, multifunctional fighters of the Indian Air Force, which a year earlier proved to be excellent in the course of the conflict with Pakistan (Kargil). The Indians did not yet have Su-30MKI, the first vehicles of this type came to them only in 2002, but there were a large number of obsolete Jaguars, MiG-21 and MiG-27, which required replacement. In general, the purchase of a large batch of Mirages 2000 made it possible to update the Air Force fleet with excellent aircraft at that time, and it looked quite reasonable.
But Indian legislation did not allow procurement without a tender, and in 2002 the Indians nevertheless put the matter of updating their Air Force on a competitive basis. However, at that time it did not seem to threaten anything nightmarish, because the terms of the tender were written strictly under the "Mirage 2000". Alas, then politics began: first, the Americans intervened, with whom at that time India was trying to somehow make friends. The US attempted to promote the F / A-18EF Super Hornet, so the terms of the tender were rewritten to include twin-engine aircraft as well. And, of course, there was no end to those who wanted to, because Typhoons and MiG-29s immediately offered their vehicles, and then Gripenes from the F-16 joined in.
In principle, all this was not so bad, and could in no way interfere with the timely renewal of the Air Force park of the Land of Elephants, Cows and Temples, but here the inquisitive Indian mind gave birth to another interesting condition: now, according to the terms of the tender, the winner had to put only 18 aircraft, and the remaining 108 must be licensed in India. Then the Indian bureaucracy entered the business, which, as you know, may well win in the world nomination "the most leisurely bureaucracy in the world."The request for commercial proposals was sent out only in 2007, and the humor of the situation was that it was this year that the plane from which, in fact, this story began, quietly rested in Bose. Just in 2007, the French stopped production of the Mirage 2000 and even dismantled its production line, so that it became absolutely impossible to acquire it.
However, the Indians were not at all upset. The fact is that, as you know, India is striving in every possible way to develop its own scientific and industrial base, and licensed production is one of the very good ways to achieve progress in both directions. In November 2004, the Indian Air Force received the first 2 Su-30MKIs, assembled at the Indian enterprise HAL, and the licensed production project was implemented in stages, the share of components manufactured in India was gradually growing. That is, the Indians have seen from their own experience that it is possible with the Russians, and if so, why would they indulge some other nations? They didn’t do it, but such a generally unusual demand, of course, dragged out the competition beyond any measure. So, the Indians for a long time "looked closely" to the American "Super Hornet" - in principle, their interest is quite understandable, because the car is good, but the Americans were not at all ready to establish licensed production of their "super" in India.
As for domestic cars, unfortunately, Russia had nothing to offer the Indians. The fact is that of all domestic aircraft, only the MiG-35 met the conditions of the Indian tender (at least theoretically). However, at that time it existed only in the form of a "conceptual-experimental prototype of an experimental model", and the Indians did not want to wait at all until we could bring it to mind. In general, there was a classic feature of any bureaucracy in the world - it itself, with the adoption of a decision, can drag on indefinitely, but it expects the executors to immediately fulfill all their requirements. However, it was difficult to reproach the Indians for wanting to get an airplane that is already "on the wing" and free from all childhood diseases.
As a result, the French “Rafale” and the European “Typhoon” got to the final of the MMRCA tender competition, and in 2012, the winner was finally determined: it was “Rafale”. It seemed that now everything will be fine, but …
In essence, an ocean liner called the Indian Rafale crashed into smithereens and sank as it collided with two rocks. The first rock is Indian production culture. When sophisticated French engineers examined the conditions in which it was planned to create their wonderful (no kidding!) Fighters, they (engineers, not fighters) came to a bewildered state and responsibly declared that in such conditions it was absolutely impossible to guarantee French quality. The Indians were not at all going to take such risks on themselves - they just wanted foreign specialists to help them reach the appropriate level. The French decidedly did not want to undertake such a super task, and persistently offered to either buy finished products from them, or let India build Rafali under license, but exclusively at its own peril and risk. Naturally, the Indians were not satisfied with this approach.
The second "rock" is the value of the contract. Of course, the Rafale is an excellent aircraft and a formidable air fighter, but … in general, the traditional French quality was fabulously expensive. In the early 2000s, the Indians feared that the cost of the contract could grow to $ 4.5 billion, by the time the Rafali contract was signed in 2012 it was $ 10.5 billion, but this did not suit the French at all. side, which, after consultations and clarification of Indian requirements, rolled out a fabulous $ 20 billion. This immediately made the MMRCA tender the “mother of all tenders”: however, there is a persistent feeling that the Indians were remembering another mother at the same time.
And the growth rates of the Indian economy at this time, as luck would have it, began to slow down, and even the internal political factor intervened. In India, in early 2013, a campaign for the re-election of parliament began, and there large "foreign" contracts are usually used to accuse the party that concluded them of corruption and corruption. It would be all the more easy to do this because licensed Su-30MKIs cost the Indians much cheaper - so, already later, in 2016, the HAL company offered to build 40 additional "dryers" and asked for this 2.5 billion dollars - then is for 20 billion, instead of 126 "Rafale" it was possible to get at least 200 Su-30MKI, which demonstrated excellent results and was very popular with the Indian Air Force.
As a result, the affairs of the Indian tender again fell into the hands of the well-known institutes of the Shatko Research Institute Valko until the very end of 2015, when the elections to the Indian parliament ended, and during this time, the Indians and the French could not come to some kind of consensus that suited both sides … But even then it took some time before the parties had to admit the obvious collapse of the contract. Then the Indians and the French had no choice but to politely disperse - the Indians signed a contract for the supply of 36 French-made Rafals, which saved face to all the parties involved, and the Indian Air Force received two squadrons of first-class combat aircraft relatively quickly.
But what to do next? The Indian Air Force, along with 250 quite modern Su-30MKIs, 60 elderly but vigorous MiG-29s and fifty very good Mirages 2000, still have 370 such rarities as MiG-21 and 27, as well as “Jaguar". There are a hundred more natively Indian "Tejas", but, frankly, this is not a strengthening of the Indian Air Force, but the support of an Indian manufacturer. In addition, by 2020, the program of licensed production of the Su-30MKI from the HAL company will end, and an elephant has sat down to produce the Rafals (or how does the euphemism of the Indians sound like “covered with a copper basin”?). And now, to arrange a conversion by switching to the production of frying pans?
In general, it is obvious that India really, well, just really needs a partner who will undertake to establish licensed aircraft production at Indian facilities, instead of the completed Su-30MKI program. Where can I get it? India has flirted with the United States and Europe on this topic since 2007, without achieving any result.
And then Russia enters the scene again. The MiG-35 appears again, but now it is no longer an "experimental prototype", but a completely real machine, which (what great fellows we are!) Are already being purchased by our native VKS.
Why is it beneficial for India?
Because they want a light fighter. True, in all honesty, the MiG-35 is not light at all; rather, it is a kind of intermediate model between light and heavy multifunctional fighters. But the fact is that the word "light" usually means not the normal or maximum takeoff weight of the vehicle, but its cost. And it is here that the MiG-35 is a really "light" fighter, because its selling price does not boggle the imagination at all. Moreover, this aircraft is of open architecture, and allows you to "stick" into it a variety of equipment, as a result of which it is possible to build both very budgetary modifications and more expensive, but also technically advanced combat aircraft.
And what "light" fighter does India need? Let's not forget that the Indians are not yet trying to oppose themselves to the United States and NATO: Pakistan and China are their main opponents.
What does the Pakistani Air Force have at its disposal? With a number of Mirages and F-16s, the massive construction of the Chengdu FC-1 Xiaolong is now being announced, the fruit of the joint efforts of Chinese and Pakistani aircraft engineers. A terrible plane, whose normal take-off weight is as much as 9 tons … Let's be frank - this craft does not even reach the 4th generation, and, obviously, cannot compete with the MiG-35, even the most budget modification.
As for China, its Air Force, of course, is much more interesting if only because this restless neighbor of ours has almost 400 heavy fighters, for the most part, of course, "not quite licensed" copies of the Su-27. But still, firstly, they do not have so many truly modern aircraft - 14 Su-35s and about a hundred Su-30s of various modifications. And secondly, after all, this is a headache for Indian soldiers piloting the Su-30MKI, while lighter Indian fighters should think about confronting a completely different enemy - 323 Chengdu J-10 A / B / S aircraft.
This is a much more formidable plane than the Pakistani Xiaolong. Russian consultants from TsAGI and MiG participated in the creation of the J-10; they use Russian and Chinese-made NPO Saturn engines. In addition, the Chinese took advantage of Israel's developments by purchasing materials for the Lavi fighter.
The J-10 is a multipurpose fighter with a maximum take-off weight of 19,277 kg and a speed of 2M. The domestic AL-31FN or its Chinese counterpart is used as the engine. Of course, the aircraft does not have a very high thrust-to-weight ratio: with a normal take-off weight of 18 tons, the afterburner engine develops 12,700 kgf, while the MiG-35 with its 18.5 tons - 18,000 kgf, but still according to some characteristics J- 10 is comparable to the MiG-29M. And in some ways, perhaps, even surpasses it - for example, on the J-10 in modification B, an airborne radar with AFAR is installed. The number of aircraft also inspires respect, especially since there is no evidence that the Celestial Empire has stopped producing the J-10 for its own air force.
In general, the Chinese, with some help from foreign specialists, were able to create a very good plane. Nevertheless, and without a doubt, the MiG-35 is quite capable of counting the spars for this Chinese Chengdu, so equipping the Indian Air Force with them looks like an adequate response to the Chinese aviation programs.
Accordingly, it can be stated that in terms of the aggregate combat qualities, as well as taking into account the cost and realism of licensed production, the MiG-35 fully meets the wishes of the Indians and leaves far behind its American and European competitors. I will repeat once again - the point is not that the MiG-35 is an "omnipotent and unparalleled aircraft in the world," but rather the price / quality ratio, adjusted for the readiness of the Russian side to establish its production in India.
Why is it beneficial for us?
The point is that competition is an excellent engine of progress. Under Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, and later in the USSR, they perfectly understood this, and therefore at least 3 OKBs competed for the right to provide the native Air Force with fighters - in the years of the late USSR these were Su, MiG and Yak.
So, during the period of victorious capitalism, all the "buns" went to "Sukhoi". We will not argue whether it was right or not, but the fact is the fact - the Yakovlev Design Bureau as the creator of fighters simply died, and the MiG was literally two steps away from death. In essence, the MiG Design Bureau pulled an Indian order for carrier-based fighters "from the other world".
But we cannot allow the death of this OKB, our descendants will not forgive us for this. And the point here is not that the MiG made some particularly good aircraft, but that, being left alone, the Sukhoi Design Bureau will quickly work up fat and stop making truly competitive aircraft, in fact, the first "hints" of it is already there. And, frankly speaking, the inclusion of the MiG and Sukhoi design bureaus into one corporation only exacerbated the problem: well, who will allow two design bureaus to compete seriously within the same structure ?! The author of this article assumed that events would develop according to the worst scenario: Sukhoi will take the most interesting orders for itself, leaving the MiG with some kind of UAV … and as a result, only a sign at the head office will remain from the once legendary OKB.
So - the Indian contract for the licensed production of the MiG-35 will allow RSK MiG to hold out for at least another decade, or rather more, retaining the ability and skills to design modern multifunctional fighters. And it will keep for Russia a potential competitor of the Sukhoi Design Bureau in such an important area for the country. It is clear that today's leadership will not be able to use this resource, but all the same: the value of preserving RSK MiG as a creator of multifunctional fighters … cannot be expressed in words or in billions of dollars.
Well, our benefits are clear, but what do we lose by transferring production technologies of the MiG-35 to India? Oddly enough, it may sound - nothing. That is - well, that's absolutely nothing!
Let's ask ourselves the question - what did the Russian Federation lose by organizing the licensed production of the Su-30MKI in India? Let me remind you that the first aircraft of the HAL company entered service in 2004. At that time, they were the newest aircraft with such unparalleled units in the world as, for example, engines with an all-aspect thrust vector. Let me remind you that on the famous F-22, the thrust vector was controllable, but by no means all-round. So what?
Never mind. Unlike the Chinese, the Indians have shown themselves to be reliable partners, and our engines have not gone anywhere from India. Indians can be reproached in many ways: this is a peculiar way of bargaining, and slowness in making decisions, and much more - but it is absolutely impossible to reproach them for the fact that they have leaked our secrets. Perhaps, also because they understand perfectly well: if they decide to squander other people's secrets, then who will then share them? But for us, as far as the motives of India are concerned, the result is important to us. And it lies in the fact that for the third decade we have been supplying the latest technology to India, and so far its secrets have not surfaced in any other countries, and the Indians themselves have not copied the complex systems of weapons supplied by us in order to produce them under its own brand.
In addition, one should not forget that for all its advantages, the MiG-35 is just the 4 ++ generation, which is still based on yesterday's technologies. Of course, this plane also has a lot of interesting things, but still it is no longer at the forefront of scientific and technological progress.
So, to summarize the above: if we win this tender, it will be one of the best news over the last five years, which is definitely worth rejoicing from the bottom of our hearts.
