02-04-2012, 06:53 PM
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Curio & Relic
AKaholic #: 3738 Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 32,143
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India Buys an Aircraft, and Maybe a Conflict
By Charles Phillips
India has just, according to the Washington Post, bought a new generation of fighter aircraft, and the deal explain much about how India views its future. * Starting in the 1970s, India equipped their Air Force with the current generation of Soviet, then Russian, aircraft, but they have always proven to be unreliable. The MiG 21 aircraft that India bought have crashed everywhere and earned a well-deserved reputation for killing pilots. * More recently, India bought the Dassault Mirage-2000 from the same company that makes the Rafale, and they have proven to be far more competitive -- for an air defense fighter. Now they are moving up to a strike aircraft So what is this fighter, the Rafale, and how does it compare to other aircraft? * The Rafale as explained in Defense Industry Daily is a "near-5th generation" fighter, with a lower radar signature than the F-16 Fighting Falcon or the Mirage-2000. It is a big aircraft, about 50 feet long. The Mirage-2000 was a smaller aircraft and was designed as an interceptor, mostly for defensive uses. * The deal is for about $11 billion, and the Indian government is buying 126 aircraft. Assume that the money is mostly for the aircraft and that makes each aircraft cost about $70 million. Compare that to the most recent American fighter, the F-22, which costs $143 million each. However, the F-22 could not be exported due to its reputed advanced technology. The similar F-16 costs much less than the Rafale, it cost about $18.8 million each. * The most similar available American aircraft was the F-16 fighter (from the official fact sheet) which is a 4th generation aircraft; it does not incorporate stealth technology. The F-16 as described by an experienced military analyst is about 49 feet long, nearly the same as the Rafale, and weighs 19700 pounds empty compared to 22,000 pounds for a similarly unloaded Rafale. Both aircraft are operated in Afghanistan and were used over Libya, and potential customers were able to compare their performance in the real world. * The other competitor was the Eurofighter Typhoon, which Defense Update tells us is a newer aircraft who's primary difference is that it does not have as great a capacity for bombs. So it is not quite as capable a strike aircraft. The typhoon carries about 16,500 pounds of ordnance where as the Rafale carries 21,000 pounds. And the Rafale appears to have been a better strike platform in operational use. http://news.yahoo.com/india-buys-air...HRlc3QD;_ylv=3
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Daraclor: A brand of anti-malaria pills which we had to drink every week while on the border. Legend had it that these would make you turn yellow and that you wouldn't be able to tan. |
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02-04-2012, 11:18 PM
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Member
Silver Contributor
AKaholic #: 156692 Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Lake City Fl
Posts: 218
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And what aircraft is Pakistan using?
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02-04-2012, 11:22 PM
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Member
AKaholic #: 14629 Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Fairbanks
Posts: 224
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