AS ingin jual pesawat siluman ke India

F-35 AS

Washington (ANTARA News) - Amerika Serikat menyatakan tertarik menjual jet tempur tercanggihnya (F-35) kepada India, hanya enam bulan setelah New Delhi menolak kontral jual jet tempur "lebih tua" AS senilai 11 miliar dolar.

Kementerian Pertahanan AS, dalam laporannya kepada Kongres terkait kerjasama India-AS, mengatakan jika New Delhi tertarik pada jet tempur F-35 Joint Strike Fighter buatan Lockheed Martin, maka Pentagon bersedia memberikan informasi berkaitan dengan jet tempur itu.

"Masalah F-35 itu adalah sesuatu yang lebih dari sekedar ingin kami bicarakan dengan pemerintah India. Mereka bisa meminta informasi lebih untuk rencana pembelian itu," kata Deputi Asisten Menteri Pertahanan AS untuk Asia Selatan, Robert Scher.

F-35 adalah program senjata termahal Pentagon. Jet tempur yang bisa menghindar radar itu dikembangkan bersama delapan mitra internasional AS.

Untuk membuat 2.447 unit jet yang diperuntukkan bagi militer AS, sekitar 382 miliar dolar AS dana telah dialokasikan AS.

Ironisnya india malah menyatakan tidak tertarik karena program ini menelan biaya dan upaya yang mereka keluarkan untuk mengembangkan pesawat "stealth" buatan sendiri.

April lalu, New Delhi menolak jet tempur F-16 dan F-18 untuk kontrak pengadaan alutsista senilai 11 miliar dolar AS. India memilih 126 pesawat tempur Dassault dan Eurofighter buatan Eropa.

Scher berkilah tawaran F-35 kepada India itu untuk menunjukkan "penghargaan tinggi" AS kepada hubungan bilateral kedua negara serta apresisasi atas upaya India dalam memodernisasi militernya.

ANTARA

US ready to offer F-35 JSF stealth jet to India

Washington is prepared to offer India its latest F-35 Lightning II stealth combat aircraft, otherwise known as the Joint Strike Fighter, according to India’s IANS news agency, after U.S. companies lost a tender earlier this year to sell 126 fighter aircraft to Delhi.

© AFP/ HO/US NAVY/ MCS2D. Keith Simmons

10:47 02/11/2011

NEW DELHI, November 2 (RIA Novosti)

Tags: MiG-35, A-10, F-16, T-50, F-35, Sukhoi, Lockheed Martin, NATO, India, New Delhi

Washington is prepared to offer India its latest F-35 Lightning II stealth combat aircraft, otherwise known as the Joint Strike Fighter, according to India’s IANS news agency, after U.S. companies lost a tender earlier this year to sell 126 fighter aircraft to Delhi.

If India is interested in the JSF, the United States is prepared to supply information about the aircraft as part of the sales process, according to a Pentagon report on cooperation with India presented to Congress.

“If India shows interest in the JSF, the USA would be prepared to provide information about it, including its technical characteristics, and other information to support India’s request,” the agency said quoting the report.

The F-35 is currently still being tested, but low-rate initial production is already underway, with full-rate production due to begin around 2016, according to Aviation Week magazine. The United States alone wants to buy almost 2,500 F-35s.

India is currently involved in another procurement program for a Russian-built stealth design, the Sukhoi T-50, also known as PAK-FA. Two T-50 prototypes are flying on test in Moscow, while a third is close to completion at the assembly line in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Series production is due to start around 2014-15, with a derivative of the design built in India due to enter service with the Indian Air Force around 2020.

Indian press reports claim the United States is willing to offer the JSF as an alternative to the T-50.

Developed by the U.S. Lockheed Martin group, the F-35 is a multirole stealth design. The aircraft will replace thousands of F-16s, A-10s and other aircraft in the air forces of the United States, Britain and many other NATO allies.

Earlier this year, American companies were dropped by India from a tender competition to supply 126 light fighter aircraft. Russia’s MiG-35 fighter and the Swedish SAAB Gripen were also dropped. Only the Eurofighter Typhoon and France’s Rafale remain in the competition.

Indian military sources quoted by the local press said only the Typhoon and Rafale met the technical requirements of the Indian Air Force, which had been demonstrated in extensive flight trials by all the participating aircraft in India.

RIA NOVOSTI

India to Help Vietnam Build a Submarine Fleet

Kilo submarine of the Indian Navy (photo : Military Pictures)

In the framework of building a strategic partnership, the Indian Navy will help Vietnam develop Navy submarine fleet. Cooperation in the field of defense is a fundamental part of the framework to build a strategic partnership between India and Vietnam.

Like Vietnam, the staff of the Indian Army in general and in particular the Navy has a lot of equipment originating from the Soviet Union and Russia. India is one of the foreign country to use as soon as Kilo submarines, with rich experience. Indian Navy ready to share this with Vietnam for the Navy plans to build a submarine fleet in time to Kilo.

An official of the Indian Navy, said: "We are helping Vietnam to build their submarine fleet. Our experience in the operation of Kilo submarines will be shared with them.

" The official declined to provide information, whether the crew Vietnam has provided practical experience on the Kilo submarines in India or not.

With his rich experience of India will help Vietnam build a submarine fleet. In the photo, an Indian naval officers outside observers by Kilo submarine periscope.

Vietnam has officially announced the purchase of six diesel-electric submarines from Russia in 2009 and most recently, Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh has also spoken to confirm the construction of a submarine fleet of about 5-6 yearsto.

Currently in the Indian Navy personnel are 10 class diesel electric submarines Sindhughosh, this variant is exported to India's Kilo submarines of Project 877EKM.

Mr. Uday Bhaskar, director Institute of Oceanography Commodore stressed that Vietnam is an important strategic partner of India, we have much in common in the historical issues. "We both have a lot of weapons and equipment from Russia, so that India can bring technical assistance to Vietnam," he said.

Earlier during the visit of Indian Defense Minister AK Antony to Vietnam in 2010, the Indian side pledged to help Vietnam strengthen the modernization of the military, especially naval.

These include programs to upgrade the ships from the Soviet Union, also in the framework of the visit, the Indian Navy has transferred to Vietnam a lot of technical equipment to upgrade the fleet from Soviet Union.

(BaodatViet)

India to Continue Assisting Modernization of Vietnam Armed Forces

10 Mei 2011

Su-27/30 of the Vietnam People's Air Force (photo : Militaryphotos)

Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee says that India will continue to assist Vietnam in the modernization of its armed forces, particularly the Navy and Air Force.

In a discussion with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, in Hanoi, Mukherjee said “India is also prepared to strengthen intelligence cooperation with Vietnam.” He met the Vietnamese Prime Minister on may 4th. Mukherjee said that the strategic partnership established between the two countries is based on implicit mutual trust, a convergence of interests including in the field of defence and security and similar approaches on global and regional issues.

“As two dynamic and fast growing economies of Asia, our effort is to add greater content, through concrete programmes and projects, to our strategic partnership, he added.

In 1994, both the countries signed a Protocol on Defence cooperation. Over the years Indo-Vietnamese Defence cooperation has grown steadily through visits by military delegations, ship visits from India and training of Vietnamese Defence personnel in India. Both countries have held a series of India Vietnam Security Dialogue.

On Dec 18, 2007 Gen Phung Quang Thanh in his remarks (to the Defence Minister , AK Antony) put forward various proposals including training of Vietnamese Defence Personnel, enhancing the exchanges of delegations, expanding training cooperation and cooperation between the defence industries of the two countries. He also suggested increase in the frequency of goodwill visits by naval ships, application of information technology in defence and e- technology and technical support to Vietnamese navy. The Vietnamese Defence Minister expressed gratitude to India for providing training to armed forces officers in various areas and said ‘they are bringing back valuable knowledge and skills to their work areas’. So far, a total of 49 officers have attended various Army and Navy Courses and 64 officers have attended English language courses.

(Frontier India)

India to start talks on $12 billion fighter aircraft order

The announcement came a day after Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony said the long-delayed contract to modernise India's decades-old aircraft fleet would be handed out during the next fiscal year starting April 1."The contract negotiation committee will begin discussions in a week or two," Indian Airforce chief P.V. Naik told reporters on the sidelines of South Asia's biggest airshow in Bangalore, the hub of India's aviation industry.
Six global aeronautical companies, which are in a dogfight to grab the deal to sell the 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), each claimed at the airshow that their products were the world's best.
"The Indian air force is very pleased with the performance of the F-16 and we are hopeful of being shortlisted," said Orville Prins of U.S-based Lockheed Martin which wants to sell its front-line fighter jet to India.
India, the biggest buyer of military hardware among emerging nations, issued the request for proposals to the six firms in 2007 and the long-awaited trials of the aircraft competing for the deal began a year later.
Industry sources say the F-16 and Seattle-based Boeing, which is offering its F-18 "Superhornet," have emerged as front-runners after the grueling trials.
The contract includes the outright purchase of 18 combat aircraft by 2012 with another 108 to be built in India. India would also have an option to buy 64 more such jets.
The other companies bidding include France's Dassault Aviation, pan-European manufacturer Eurofighter Typhoon and Sweden's Saab.
Saab will have the "technological lead in five years," said Peter Nilsson, an executive from the Swedish firm.
India also announced Thursday it is set to agree a contract with Dassault for the upgrade of its fleet of Mirage fighter aircraft but would not disclose the value of the deal.
Russia, a longtime military supplier to India, pipped its Western rivals last December when it signed a mammoth agreement with New Delhi to co-produce some 250 stealth fighter jets worth $30 billion by 2017

DEFENCE TALK

Read more: http://www.defencetalk.com/naval-eurofighter-an-aircraft-carrier-version-under-development-31926/#ixzz1DlQXxxkh

Russia tests upgraded MiG fighter jet for India 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet) Loading ... Loading ... Air Force News — By RIA Novosti on February 7, 2011 4:42 am

MiG-29 fighter

Russia's MiG corporation on Friday carried out the first test fight of a MiG-29 fighter modernized under a contract with the Indian Air Force (IAF).
"On February 4, 2010, a MiG-29UPG fighter carried out its first test flight. The flight lasted for an hour and was flawless," MiG said in a statement.
The IAF has awarded the MiG corporation a $900 million contract to upgrade all of its 69 operational MiG-29s.
These upgrades include a new avionics kit, with the N-109 radar being replaced by a Phazatron Zhuk-M radar. The aircraft is also being equipped to enhance beyond-visual-range combat ability and for air-to-air refueling to increase flying time.
In 2007, Russia also gave India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) a license to manufacture 120 RD-33 series 3 turbojet engines for the upgrade.
The first six aircraft are being upgraded in Russia while the remaining 63 will be refitted at the HAL facility in India.

DEFENCE TALK

Contenders for Indian fighter deal to show in force at Aero India 2011

All six participants of a tender to supply 126 light fighter jets to the Indian air force will showcase full flight displays at Aero India 2011 air show, the organizers said.
Six major aircraft makers — Lockheed and Boeing from the United States, Russia's MiG, France's Dassault, Sweden's Saab and the EADS consortium of British, German, Spanish and Italian companies — are in contention to win the $11 billion tender.
Each company is expected to bring along at least two competing aircraft as well as competent teams and flight simulators for display.
Russia's contender, the MiG-35 Fulcrum-F, is an export version of the MiG-29M OVT fighter jet. It is a highly maneuverable air superiority fighter, which has already won high acclaim among aircraft industry and military experts.
The fighter is powered by RD-33 OVT thrust vectoring engines. The RD-33 OVT engines provide superior maneuverability and enhance the fighter's performance in close air engagements.
India is expected to make its choice in July this year.
Moscow earlier said if MiG-35 wins the tender, Russia is ready to transfer all key technology to India's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. and provide assistance for the production of the aircraft in the country.
Aero India-2011, which will be held in the southern city of Bangalore on February 11-15, is most likely to attract the record number of leading manufacturers, vendors and suppliers from 63 countries.

DEFENCE TALK

India Rejects US F-35 JSF Offer

India has no plans as of now to either join the US-led joint strike fighter (JSF) programme or buy the F-35 `Lightning-II' fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) when it finally becomes operational.
"We cannot have two types of FGFA. We have already launched preliminary work for our FGFA after inking the $295 million preliminary design contract (PDC) with Russia last month,'' said a top defence ministry official on Friday.
This comes in the wake of comments made by a top Pentagon official, undersecretary of defence for acquisition, technology and logistics Ashton Carter, in Washington that the US was open to Indian participation in its JSF project.
Interestingly, the comments came during a function where an aggressive sales pitch was made for India to select either the American F/A-18 `Super Hornet' (Boeing) or F-16 ‘Falcon' (Lockheed Martin) over their European rivals in the ongoing IAF's medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contest.
The other 4.5-generation fighters in the hotly-contested race to bag the $10.4 billion MMRCA project, under which 18 jets will be bought off-the-shelf and another 108 will be manufactured in India under transfer of technology, are Eurofighter Typhoon, Swedish Gripen (Saab), French Rafale (Dassault) and Russian MiG-35 (United Aircraft Corporation).
The IAF force matrix for the coming years revolves around the 270 Sukhoi-30MKIs contracted from Russia for around $12 billion, the 126 MMRCA and 120 indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, apart from upgraded MiG-29s and Mirage-2000s.
In the decades ahead, the advanced stealth FGFA to be developed with Russia will be the mainstay of India's combat fleet. "Our FGFA will be cheaper than the F-35. Moreover, the intellectual property rights of the FGFA will equally and jointly vest on both India and Russia, with full access to the source code and the like,'' said another senior official.
With a potent mix of super-manoeuvrability and supersonic cruising ability, the "swing-role'' FGFA will of course not come cheap. The cost of designing, infrastructure build-up, prototype development and flight testing has been pegged at around $11 billion, with India and Russia chipping in with $5.5 billion each.
Over and above this, each of the 250-300 FGFA India hopes to begin inducting from 2020 onwards will cost around $100 million each. In all, India will spend upwards of $35 billion over the next two decades in its biggest-ever defence project till now.
The Indian FGFA will primarily be based on the single-seater Sukhoi T-50, the prototype of which is already flying in Russia, but will include a twin-seater version and a more powerful engine with greater thrust.
"Its complete design will be frozen by the end of the 18-month PDC. Six to seven of its prototypes should be flying by 2017. After that, there will be 2,500 hours of flight-testing over 25 months before the series production begins in 2019,'' he said.

DEFENCE TALK

India seeks Indian Ocean supremacy with warship research

India launched a new naval research centre for warships on Tuesday, part of efforts by the South Asian giant to build its sea defences and counter the perceived threat of China in the Indian Ocean.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony laid the foundation stone for the National Institute for Research and Development in Shipbuilding (NIRDESH) in the southern state of Kerala, which will be built at a cost of six billion rupees (133 million dollars).
The facility, which will be up and running in two years, will help develop technology for "drawing board to delivery" of warships for India, a naval official said.
The Kerala unit will work independently of the national Defence Research and Development Organisation, with the aim of reducing India's dependence on military imports, which mostly come from Russia.
The 136-vessel navy said in a statement that NIRDESH would ensure India's maritime security.
"This would empower Indian navy, coastguard and other maritime security agencies in a manner befitting the country's stature and influence in the region," it said.
The facility would "ensure that the country would be self-reliant in this crucial area of defence technology," Antony added.
New Delhi is wary of growing Chinese influence around the Indian Ocean, where Beijing has funded or plans to invest in major infrastructure projects, including ports in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and military-ruled Myanmar.
In August, two Chinese warships raised eyebrows in Delhi when they sailed to adjoining Myanmar for a rare visit to promote ties between the two allied countries.
Retired admiral Arun Prakash, a former Indian naval chief, recently warned that the Chinese navy will have more warships than the United States within a decade and urged India to speed up naval procurement.
Analysts say India falls behind China in naval firepower, but the country should strive for supremacy in the strategic Indian Ocean, a vital shipping lane connecting Asia to Europe and the Middle East.
"Just because we cannot compete with China does not mean we do not defend our interests in the Indian Ocean where we want naval supremacy," retired Indian navy rear admiral Raja Menon told AFP.
India has already begun strengthening its military presence in the Andaman archipelago, which lies south of Myanmar, as part of plans to protect its interests in the ocean.
Delhi, which wants to boost its 14-strong submarine fleet, launched its first nuclear-powered submarine in 2009 and has invested in its military shipyards to start building an aircraft carrier and stealth frigates.
It also plans to buy eight long-range maritime spy planes by 2015 besides six Franco-Spanish Scorpene submarines for which orders were placed in 2006.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, China's military spending was the second-largest in the world, after the United States, in 2009.
KPMG consultancy firm estimates India plans to spend 112 billion dollars on defence hardware between now and 2016.
India hiked its 2010-2011 military spending by four percent to 32 billion dollars but analysts like Menon warn that the navy's share of 16 percent of the defence allocation is insufficient for funding its expansion plans.
India and China fought a brief border war in 1962 and still have unresolved territorial disputes

DEFENCE TALK

Ambisi Antariksa India Terancam, Roket Meledak

Minggu, 26 Desember 2010 18:33 WIB |

(istimewa/ANTARA)

Bangalore (ANTARA News) - Ledakan yang terjadi pada roket luar angkasa India akan mengganggu upayanya untuk memasuki pasar global dengan meluncurkan satelit komersial, menurut para pakar pada Ahad.

Pesawat tanpa awak "Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)" meledak dalam siaran langsung televisi kurang dari satu menit setelah peluncuran, permulaan dari misi untuk memposisikan satelit komunikasi di orbit.

Kecelakaan tersebut merupakan kemunduran kedua bagi India tahun ini setelah roket jatuh pada April yang dimaksudkan untuk menunjukkan teknologi buatan dalam negeri, di tempat yang sama di selatan negara bagian Andhra Pradesh.

Pada Ahad, para ilmuwan dalam proyek antariksa India itu mulai mencari penyebab dari kegagalan mereka.

"Tim sedang melihat data untuk menemukan alasan apa yang telah terjadi," kata juru bicara Organisasi Penelitian Antariksa India (ISRO) S. Satih.

"Komisi analisis penyebab kegagalan akan dibentuk dalam satu atau dua hari mendatang," jelasnya.

GSLV berbelok dari rencana jalur peluncuran dan sengaja diledakan 47 detik setelah lepas landas di ketinggian sekitar delapan kilometer di Teluk Bengal.

Para ahli menghimbau ISRO agar kembali ke meja rancangan dengan GLSV seharga 1,75 miliar rupee (sekitar Rp.352 miliar) sebelum menawarkan roket sebagai landasan untuk peluncuran satelit internasional.

Mereka juga mengingatkan ambisi India mengirim penerbangan berawak pada 2016 sedang terancam.

"Kegagalan pada Sabtu pasti akan menyebabkan banyak penundaan," kata ilmuwan antariksa M.N. Vahia kepada koran Times of India.

"Bila muatan barang saya yang diterbangkan dalam misi ini menggunakan GSLV, saya tentunya akan ingin lebih menguji dan mengevaluasi lebih mendalam," ujarnya.

"Apa yang terjadi telah melemahkan karena reputasi India sebagai negara yang handal meluncurkan roket antariksa telah mengalami kerusakan serius," ketusnya.

India mempertaruhkan klaim mereka yang pertama kali berjasa terhadap peluncuran satelit komersial yang menguntungkan dengan mengirim satelit Italia ke orbit pada 2007.

Pada 2008, mereka meluncurkan satelit mata-mata Israel dan secara terpisah menempatkan roket penelitian di permukaan bulan dengan harapan ISRO bahwa India akan mendapatkan pengakuan internasional di bidang ekslorasi luar angkasa.

Mantan kepala ISRO, U.R. Rao, menghimbai India agar tidak menyerah oleh kegagalannya baru-baru ini.

"Akan selalu ada kekhawatiran dan ketidakpuasan saat peluncuran gagal. Tetapi kita tidak boleh membiarkan hal tersebut melemahkan kita," katanya.

"Kita harus menemukan sumber problemnya dan menemukan solusi yang tepat," tambahnya.

India melihat program eksplorasi antariksa sebagai pencapaian yang menegaskan kemunculan negeri ekonomi besar, dan banyak warga India memiliki perasaan patriotisme mendalam akan pengembangan program tersebut.(*)

Antara