NEW DELHI\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Just when its production was about to take off, the Indo-Russian\u00a0fifth-generation fighter aircraft appears to be “lost” because\u00a0Russians\u00a0are demanding an “unaffordable price for the aircraft,” according to a\u00a0senior\u00a0Indian Air Force official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Russians are demanding more than $7 billion as part of India’s share in the development\u00a0of\u00a0the FGFA. The Russian side argues that the higher price is justified because the aircraft’s development will include transfer of technology of several high-tech\u00a0systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Indian version of the FGFA, known as the Perspective Multi-role Fighter, is\u00a0being jointly designed and developed by India and Russia. State-owned\u00a0Hindustan Aeronautics Limited from the Indian side and\u00a0Rosoboronexport from Russia are the designated lead agencies.
India and Russia agreed to jointly build the FGFA in 2007 and signed\u00a0an initial development agreement in 2010. The final agreement, which has not yet been inked, will release India’s share of development cost for the\u00a0FGFA\u00a0project.
In early 2016, an internal report by the Indian Air Force listed\u00a0several drawbacks of the proposed FGFA with Russia, including the\u00a0engine,\u00a0stealth capabilities and an expensive radar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the report, there are about 40 parameters related to the aircraft that require improvement, which\u00a0the Air Force had wanted the Russians to meet. These include better stealth,\u00a0AESA\u00a0radar, advanced sensors, networking and combat avionics, and supercruise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the Air Force report, Ministry of Defence officials here were quick to\u00a0say\u00a0that despite the shortcomings, solutions are\u00a0being\u00a0worked out and the FGFA project is on track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The FGFA has a potential order by the Indian Air Force worth more than $25 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The service has a requirement for 120-130 swing-role planes with stealth features for increased survivability,\u00a0advanced avionics, smart weapons, top-end mission computers and\u00a0360-degree\u00a0situational awareness. The ability to supercruise or sustain\u00a0supersonic\u00a0speeds in combat configuration without kicking in fuel-guzzling\u00a0afterburners is a key Indian requirement, according to another Indian Air Force official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Russian side is moving ahead with its FGFA version known as T-50. The\u00a0first\u00a0flight of a T-50 took place in 2010, and induction is scheduled this\u00a0year.\u00a0Russia announced it will fly the T-50 with an advanced engine, giving it Mach 1.5 supercruise, by 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Russians are developing the FGFA in response to the American F-22\u00a0Raptor and F-35 Lightning aircraft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Russians are demanding more than $7 billion as part of India’s share in the development of the FGFA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":43860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,45,11],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3390],"class_list":["post-20737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-asia-pacific","category-global"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"57SHUMQ3ARD5ZF457JIFL2TPQM","arc_canonical_url":"\/air\/2017\/05\/24\/steep-price-rise-hits-indo-russian-5th-gen-fighter-project\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n