New 126 planes for IAF - Airliners-India

the_380 · Member

New 126 planes for IAF

stealthpilot · Member

126 planes in addition to the Su-30 Mki's on order and the F-18/Eurofighter/Rafael/Mirage/whatever ?
Are you sure they are in addition to the above orders?
eP007

the_380 · Member

yes it is an addition

Aseem · Member

the_380 wrote:

yes it is an addition

you mean a total of 252 new planes!! If so, then the contenders will remain the same as the first 126 orders.

But, I'd take Zee news with a pinch of salt.

rgds

VT-ASJ

HAWK21M · Member

This is a Surprise.

I thought it was only 126.

regds

MEL

vivekman · Member

The new 126 planes on order are meant to replace ageing Mig-21s and Mig-23s! These would not be delivered before 2010-2012!

The existing Su-30MKIs which are currently being acquired are meant to be multi-role aircraft capable of delivering nuclear warheads.

HAWK21M wrote:
This is a Surprise. I thought it was only 126. regds MEL

Aseem · Member

vivekman wrote:

The new 126 planes on order are meant to replace ageing Mig-21s and Mig-23s! These would not be delivered before 2010-2012!

in short our LCA will remain worthless even beyond 2012

rgds

VT-ASJ

the_380 · Member

well the LCAs are "Late Combat Aircrafts" as our ex pm vajpayee had named them but i doubt if they can even leave the ground and take off

vivekman · Member

Hehe...Good one. Yup, as is evident, the LCAs will have already become obsolete or atleast near obsolete by the time they enter service!

This is the reason IAF was disillusioned with them and decided to buy the 126 planes from abroad.

the_380 wrote:
well the LCAs are "Late Combat Aircrafts" as our ex pm vajpayee had named them but i doubt if they can even leave the ground and take off

the_380 · Member

russia called the LCA program "interesting" i wonder if they will buy some of these junks for their existing junks

HAWK21M · Member

Are you saying the Mig 29s & Su30s are Junk.Don't think so.

regds

MEL

the_380 · Member

no but their squadrons still fly some MiG-23s and MiG-25s

and the MiG-29s are on the transforming stage so they will soon be added to the list of russian junks

HAWK21M · Member

Don't Forget the Upgrade Kits.

regds

MEL

the_380 · Member

wont last long either

Aseem · Member

here is a stunning report by BBC

Indian air force 'lacks planes'

By Nagendar Sharma
BBC News, Delhi

Nearly 20% of Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots are doing desk jobs because of a shortage of planes, the BBC has learnt.

Classified documents seen by the BBC show that in all about a third of the IAF's 2,500 pilots have been assigned ground and administrative duties.

Of these, 450 fit and trained pilots simply lack planes, the documents say.

Growing numbers of IAF pilots have been refused permission to quit in recent months. The Indian Air Force had "no comment" on the BBC's findings.

The IAF has about 790 aircraft in total, including 340 fighter planes.

Only half the fleet is available at any given time while the rest are being serviced, the documents show.

By 2010 the air forces' transport fleet will be reduced by nearly 40%.

The IAF, which currently has 34 squadrons, plans to reduce that number to 28 by 2013.

read full article at BBC

rgds

VT-ASJ

the_380 · Member

Reduce squadrons???

Has pakistan surrendered its arms or China has banned nuclear weapons

vivekman · Member

The idea is to reduce and rationalize the squadrons. Besides, 28 squadrons of modern fighters like the Su-30MKI or equivalent will pack the same punch as 34 consisting of ageing jets like the Mig-21 & 23s.

Of course, with the licenced production of these fighters in India, things will improve a bit.

HAWK21M · Member

Its called replaceing Quantity by Quality.

regds

MEL

vivekman · Member

Yup, you are spot on!!

HAWK21M wrote:
Its called replaceing Quantity by Quality. regds MEL

the_380 · Member

yeah sounds convincing