JET SET GO

Graphics: N.V. Jose

SPECIAL REPORT

Global biggies are engaged in a dogfight to clinch India’s biggest fighter aircraft deal

By Syed Nazakat

When US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates arrived in New Delhi last year, his mission was to vie for one of the world’s richest fighter aircraft deals worth almost $12 billion (Rs 55,000 crore) by which Indian Air Force would get 126 multirole combat aircraft. His visit came just before a deadline for bids on the global defence contract.
A year later, two American aviation giants—Boeing and Lockheed Martin—are frontrunners for the massive deal, which has led to a dogfight among competitors. Boeing and Lockheed have brought their F-18 and F-16 jets to Bangalore for system checks in humid conditions. From there the aircraft would move to Jaisalmer for hot weather checks and to Leh for cold weather and height trials. The IAF is deploying two to three teams from its elite Bangalore-based Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) for the field trials, says a senior IAF officer. 

The US will be competing with European aviation giants to sell the Indian Air Force a new ‘strike capability’. The Russian manufacturers of MiG-35 and MiG-29 are offering the MiG-35 with improved radar and avionics that give it multirole capability. French firm Dassault is offering its Rafale fighters that come with superior aerodynamics over the F-18.

The Eurofighter Typhoon, which has been developed by Britain, Italy, Spain and Germany, is also being considered by Delhi along with Sweden’s Saab which makes the Gripen fighter jet. The purchase is only the tip of a lucrative iceberg—a massive market for spare parts and maintenance contracts worth billions of dollars.
Under the contract, however, it would be the responsibility of the manufacturer to ensure periodic upgrades and service for up to 40 years. For that, the additional life cycle costs would be examined by the defence ministry, says a senior defence official. The contract includes the outright purchase of 18 jets by 2012 with another 108 to be built in India under a ‘transfer of technology agreement’.

Air Vice Marshal (retd) Kapil Kak, who is the additional director of the Centre for Air Power Studies, Delhi, says the fighter jet deal needs to be perceived as more than a weapon system procurement exercise. It has deeper strategic implications. “The deal would address the decreasing number of fighter squadrons of the Air Force due to the phasing out of Mig-21s,” he says, adding that from 39 squadrons (each with 12-18 aircraft), the number has gone down to 32 and would reach 27 in a few years. That would bring it to the level of the Pakistani air force. This is in contrast to China which is feverishly modernising its air force. “This deal will significantly boost India’s capability to deal with out-of-area contingencies.” 

The competition, according to defence experts, can be broadly divided into two categories. On the one hand, there are MiG-35 and Rafale, whose companies have supplied aircraft and equipment to India. Therefore transfer of technology and maintenance would also be easier compared to other competitors. The advantage of MiG-35 is its improved radar and avionics. On the other hand, Rafale offers superior aerodynamic performance. But its weakness includes the absence of a compatible surveillance and advanced targeting pod.

Then there are Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon, F-16 and F-18, which are new aircraft types for the IAF. So the entire support infrastructure would have to be developed. Deba R. Mohanty, a senior fellow in security studies at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation, reviewed a copy of the request for proposal shortly after it was issued to the six competitors. He says the surprise plus for Eurofighter could be its Eurojet EJ200 engines, which are being considered as the base power plant for India’s Light Combat Aircraft Tejas.

“Gripen’s strength includes a wide choice of integrated weapons, its exceptional cost of ownership, and the ability to operate from roads instead of runways if necessary,” elaborates Mohanty. He, however, says that its weakness includes its short-range and AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar, which is in the developmental stage. 

Aware of the fierce competition, the US contractors backed by the Obama administration are lobbying hard to secure the deal. It was no coincidence that just ahead of the technical field trials, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton endorsed a crucial defence pact on ‘end-use monitoring’ agreement that provides for the export of US weapons and defence technology to India.

The agreement boosts the chances for Boeing and Lockheed to win the deal. India has already announced its plans to buy six Hercules transport planes from Lockheed for nearly one billion dollars. This will be the country’s one of the biggest military aircraft deals with the US.
According to Lockheed Martin executives, the F-16 has the widest multi-role capability among lightweight fighters and the widest choice of avionics and weapon systems. The company has promised to offer the F-35—the state-of-the-art, fifth generation, single-seat, single-engine, stealth-capable fighter jet—in future if India buys the F-16. While an F-16 would have a number of important advantages over Pakistan’s F-16, including its highly advanced radars and infrared searching, the fact that both share common aircraft type could prove a negative for Lockheed.

That could be good news for Boeing, which is offering its F-18 Super Hornet. It is a twin-engine multirole combat jet, which is one of the most advanced warplanes in the world. At present, only the US has it. The F-18’s AESA radar could allow the jet to play a unique role in India’s fighter fleet as versatile quarterbacks, said an IAF official. “It has also a very wide range of integrated weapons,” he adds.

To facilitate the deal, Boeing has proposed joint manufacture of the jets with Indian partners. It also plans to offset the cost by setting up a $100 million maintenance and training hub in India. This is the first time the Super Hornet has been offered for production in a foreign country. India has also signed a $2.1-billion deal with Boeing to buy six maritime surveillance aircraft for the Navy.

“On the technological end, all these jets are world class. They have met India’s requirement and that is why they have been selected for the trials,” says Mohanty. “India has an advantage now to choose the best among them.” According to him, geopolitical considerations are going to play an important role in the selection, as most of these choices have the potential to improve relations with a potential ally. “At the end it is going to be a political decision.”

Kak agrees that the choice of jets offers an opportunity that would strengthen India’s new strategic alliance. He says India needs to diversify its sources of military supplies. “Today 75 per cent of our military hardware is of Russian origin, and there are signs of hardening of its terms for price-quotations and related product support issues,” he says. “I don’t think that is a good sign.”