There has been a lot of news over the past few days about the progress of several major defense projects for the Indian Air Force. So, between the representatives of the Russian company Sukhoi and the Indian Hindustan Aerinautics Limited (HAL), as well as representatives of the governments of the states, the coordination of design features, the type of power plant, as well as details of the element base of the avionics of the future 5th generation heavy super-maneuverable fighter FGFA, continues. developed on the basis of our T-50 PAK FA. Before concluding a contract for the development of a machine, even before the start of research and development work (R&D), the Indian side, apparently, wants to make sure that all stages of development of the promising TRDDF "Izdelie 30" are progressing steadily, because Delhi more than $ 4 billion should be allocated for the program.
In parallel with the pre-contractual "red tape" on the FGFA project, consultations are also underway between the representatives of the United Aircraft Corporation and HAL on the details of the stages of modernization of the super-maneuverable multifunctional Su-30MKI fighters. This contract will have much fewer "pitfalls" and nuances, and therefore the chairman of HAL T. Suvarnu Raj even agreed on the terms of its conclusion, limited by the end of May 2017. The modernization of the Su-30MKI will be presented in two stages, during which the Sushki will be updated with more high-torque AL-41F1 engines and more advanced airborne radars (either the Zhuk-AE / AME series or the Irbis-E series).
Against this backdrop, the American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin does not abandon its attempts to promote its F-16IN Block 70/72 light multi-role fighter in the Indian arms market. Moreover, as part of the Make in India program, Lockheed Martin wants to launch production facilities for the production of F-16IN in India itself. According to the statements of one of the representatives of the American company, made at the aerospace exhibition "Aero India-2017", it is this aircraft that is the main contender for the place of the advanced LPI generation "4 ++" in the Indian Air Force, and will also become the guarantor of strengthening the Indian-American military-technical cooperation. At the same time, neither the country's Air Force command nor the Ministry of Defense have any particular interest in the new version of the Falcon, but rely on the above contracts for the modernization of the Su-30MKI, the development of the FGFA, and is also considering the possibility of purchasing additional Rafals. Also, in the design departments of the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), work continues on the 5th generation AMCA medium fighter project, and the MiG-35, which in the near future can be again offered to the Indians, is on the horizon again. also in a complete set with a new far-sighted (260 km) radar with AFAR "Zhuk-AME", the receiving-transmitting modules of which are installed on promising substrates with an ultra-long service life, obtained by the method of low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC).
This moment alone will quickly besiege Lockheed Martin's ambitious plan to conquer the Indian arms market: the onboard radar of the F-16IN - AN / APG-83 SABR fighter has a shorter range (up to 160 - 180 km for targets with an EPR of 3 m2) and reliability rather than the promising "Beetle" being developed today. With regard to flight performance, even here the new Falcon will not surprise Indian pilots with the “zest” of aerial acrobatics, which is a daily routine for the Su-30MKI equipped with a thrust vector deflection system. And even without using the thrust vector, the Su-30MKI outstrips the F-16IN in maneuverability, equipped with two massive conformal fuel tanks on the sides of the gargrot. The angular rate of turn of the Su-30MKI reaches 22 deg / s, while the F-16IN Block 70 will be able to maintain a steady turn with an angular velocity of 20.5 deg / s. After the OVT "Sushki" was launched, American fighters left far behind, starting to perform maneuvers "Cobra Pugachev", "Bell", "Chakra Frolov", etc.
The main lightweight competitor for the F-16IN is the French Rafale; and even here the "American" doesn't look much better. With a slightly higher thrust-to-weight ratio (1.05 versus 1 kgf / kg), a larger sweep wing, a large PGO, as well as a lower wing load (420 versus 456 kg / m2), the Rafale surpasses the F-16IN in angular turn rate (28 deg / s!), roll speed, as well as the limiting angle of attack (more than 45 deg). At all aerospace salons and air shows, without exception, Rafale demonstrate such maneuverability that pilots of any F-16C modification never dreamed of (from light Block 40/52 + vehicles to heavier Block 60/70). In particular, in terms of the so-called "energy maneuvering" French fighters of the "4 ++" generation "Rafale" are even slightly superior to the MiG-29SMT and Su-27. Flight personnel of the Indian Air Force have been familiar with the superior qualities of French fighter aviation since the distant 1984 year, when the first squadron of light Mirage-2000H delta-winged 41 m2, western fighters.
As for the Rafal's avionics and weapons, it is absolutely in no way inferior to the F-16IN's arsenal. The fighter is equipped with a modern RBE-2AA AFAR radar capable of detecting a J-10A fighter at a distance of 150 km, and an AMRAAM air combat missile at a distance of 55-60. The station has the ability to work in a 140-degree field of view and in almost all known modes for targets on sea / earth surfaces, including synthetic aperture (SAR) modes and detection / tracking of moving ground targets. The RBE-2AA's power generation is about the same as that of the AN / APG-83 SABR. For passive detection of distant warm-contrast air targets, the Rafala uses a highly sensitive infrared sensor with a cooled high-resolution FSO matrix, capable of detecting an enemy fighter with engine afterburner at a distance of 120 - 150 km (in the lateral and rear hemispheres). The F-16IN armament control system provides for a similar optoelectronic complex AN / ASQ-28 IFTS (integrated into the nose of the fuselage in front of the cockpit canopy by analogy with our OLS-35 / UEM), which does not have technological advantages over the French and our products.
As the main weapon for conducting ultra-long-range air combat, the French offer the Indian Air Force the MBDA "Meteor" URVV. The missile has an effective range of about 150 - 160 km, but unlike the American AIM-120D, it has a much better rate of conservation of kinetic energy of flight (its deceleration rate is much lower). This is possible due to the longer operating time of the ramjet engine. Even at a distance of 130-140 km, the rocket can still reach an intensively maneuvering aerodynamic target. The solid-propellant rocket engine of the American AIM-120D works for only a few seconds, after which the loss of kinetic energy and flight speed begins, depending on the altitude of the trajectory. Naturally, the programmers of the developer company "Raytheon" wrote a special algorithm for increased noise immunity for the inertial navigation system and ARGSN of the AIM-120D missile, so that the missile did not perform unnecessary maneuvers towards the enemy's electronic warfare equipment for 90-95% of the trajectory, but began to maneuver only when approaching to the very goal, but even this is not able to replace the energy qualities of the ramjet engine. And therefore "Meteor", as the main type of weapon for long-range air combat, looks more preferable in the eyes of the Indian Ministry of Defense and other customer states than the American AIM-120D AMRAAM.
India also has a project of its own light multifunctional fighter LCA "Tejas", developed and produced by the facilities of the aircraft building company "Hindustan Aeronautics Limited". The terms of reference for the new 4+ generation fighter, submitted to the ADA Aviation Development Agency in 1985, began to be embodied in the preliminary design starting in 1987. Most of the design work was carried out by specialists from the French aircraft construction giant Dassault Aviation, which is why Tejas has all the features of the classic "tailless" - "Mirages". To date, all 116 Tejas Mk-I / II fighters have a very serious drawback, which is the low thrust capabilities of the F-404-GE-IN20 and F-414-GE-INS6 turbojet engines (9155 and 10000 kgf, respectively): they are not able to realize a thrust-to-weight ratio of 1 with a normal take-off weight, but a solution to the problem has already appeared on the horizon. According to the statement of the development director of DRDO S. P. Narayanana, Defense Research and Development Organization is embarking on a program to upgrade the current prototype of the Kaveri K8 turbojet jet engine to an improved version of the K9. The work will be carried out jointly with the French company Safran, a preliminary agreement with which was reached during a meeting at the Aero India-2017 aerospace exhibition.
After bringing the Kaveri K9 thrust to at least 11000 kgf (107.91 kN), the Tejas Mk.2's thrust-to-weight ratio at normal takeoff weight in the air-to-air configuration (9578 kg) will be 1.15 kgf / kg. At the same time, the vehicle will be fully fueled, equipped with an external fuel tank for 1200 liters, and as a weapon it will carry 6 Astra long-range guided missiles weighing 103 kg each. You must admit that the abilities are rather not sickly for a 4 ++ generation fighter. The maneuverability of the Tejas with the new engine will not be inferior to the Mirage-2000TI. Tejas have enormous modernization potential due to wing loading alone, which, at normal takeoff weight, reaches 220-255 kg / m2; after installing a new engine, this characteristic will enable pilots to maneuver with large overloads with close to the maximum combat load (3-3, 5 tons).
As you know, since 2011, information has appeared on the Indian Internet and the media about the development of a promising radar with an active phased array for the Tejas Mk.2 modification, but since the design work has dragged on until today, Indian-made radars are being installed on the fighters of the two variants. developed on the basis of the Swedish station PS-05. This radar was developed for the first modifications of the Jas-39 "Gripen" light fighter and is represented by a slotted antenna array; the escort capacity is only 6 air targets, and only 2 through target channels, which is absolutely inconsistent with the “4 ++” generation. For this reason, the entire fleet of Tejasov Mk.2 will be awaiting the upgrade of airborne radar sighting systems to high-resolution multi-mode stations with AFAR. Prior to that, the problem of low radio transparency of standard radomes of fighter radars should be completely eliminated, due to which the range of work on targets was almost 2 times limited. For example, an analogue radar PS-05 capable of detecting a target with an RCS of 3m2 at a distance of 65 km, due to the low capabilities of a serial fairing, detects it at a distance of 35 km.
To resolve the issue, a limited production series of fighters - flying laboratories was involved, which included the board "LSP-3". According to a report by the Indian information resource defencenews.in on February 26, 2016, this machine was used to test a high-quality quartz radar fairing manufactured by Cobham Composites (Great Britain). The advanced fairing was delivered to the Bangalore National Test Center in the summer of 2015. From this we emphasize that having made multi-billion dollar bids on the projects LCA "Tejas", FGFA, AMCA, as well as the purchased "Rafali" and improved Su-30MKI, the Indian Ministry of Defense, together with the largest aircraft building companies and research organizations, is not at all interested in including in this list. F-16IN Block 70, which has lower flight performance and competitiveness. All this reduces the chances of the newest American F-16IN Block 70 for successful expansion in the Indian arms market, as well as for licensed production of this fighter by the Indian branch of Lockheed Martin together with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd.
