Under the tender conditions, the first 18 fighters must be delivered to New Delhi in assembled form, and the remaining 108 produced at HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.) plants under a license. There is also an option for an additional 64 aircraft, which means the contract may be increased to $16 billion.
The tender will be held in three stages. First, a special technical commission set up by the government will check the compliance of bidders' proposals with the operation requirements of the air force. Then bidding planes will undergo real-time tests to determine their combat and operating possibilities. And finally bidders' commercial proposals will be considered. One of New Delhi's main requests is that 50% of the contract worth, which is more than the usual 30% accepted in such cases, be re-invested in the Indian economy, including in its aviation industry.
India's Defense Ministry plans to take delivery of the first planes in 2012, and the rest of them by 2020. The fighters must have a service life of 40 years, during which time they will be constantly upgraded and provided with state-of-the-art weapons.
Six companies have been officially invited to take part in the tender: America's Boeing with its F\A-18E\F Super Hornet and related Lockheed Martin with the F-16; France's Dassault Aviation with the Rafale; the Swedish SAAB JAS-39 Grippen; the European Eurofighter EF-200 Typhoon; and the Russian MiG Aviation Corporation with the MiG-35 Fulcrum fighter. Although the tender is still a long way away - almost two years - the participants must do their presentations within the next six months; therefore, the question of who wins and why is being posed now.
Does Russia's MiG have a chance? Experts believe it does.
The multi-role MiG-35 Fulcrum or MiG-35D (two-seater) fighter is a generation 4++ plane. It is a further development of MiG-29K/KUB fighters, which Russia will supply for the Indian aircraft carrier Vikramaditya (formerly Admiral Gorshkov), now under refit at the Sevmashpredpriyatiye production association. It has a better combat performance and improved flying characteristics. For example, its onboard radioelectronic equipment includes a fifth-generation information sighting system. The fighter is capable of using air rockets and bombs made in Russia and other countries. Its onboard defense system comprises optoelectronic systems for detecting attacking missiles and laser radiation, radio countermeasures system, and an automatic decoy release mechanism. These novel features enable it to fight successfully in the air and hit coastal and sea targets at any time of day and night and in all weathers without entering the AD zone.
The fighter has a number of other advantages, but so do its rivals. However, combat characteristics are unlikely to determine the fighter's choice for the Indian Air Force. There are always other reasons that can sway a top-level decision.
One is the fact that most Indian combat aircraft are Soviet- or Russian-made. According to the British factbook "The Military Balance", India's Air Force has over 500 fighter jets produced in Russia and only 70 French-manufactured Mirage 2000s and Jaguars, plus ten or so VTOL Sea Harriers on the Viraat aircraft carrier handed over to New Delhi by London 50 years ago.
What is more, HAL plants are currently assembling multi-role Su-300MKI fighters under a Russian license. Indian engineers and technicians, familiar with Su production technology, can easily master the assembly and later manufacture under a license - which is one of the tender conditions - of the new Russian aircraft.
Russia, as distinct from, say, the United States, which has never given anyone the right to make its planes, will be willing to help India to begin the manufacture of MiG-35s at Indian plants.
There is one more factor in favor of the Russian bid, but it is an economic one rather than military, technical or political. This is the practice of repercussive sanctions often used by the U.S. State Department against countries or organizations that cause its dissatisfaction for one reason or other.
Some 30 years ago India was subjected to such sanctions from the U.S. for refusing to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. New Delhi and Washington had maintained practically no military-technical relations until March 2006, when the two countries signed a joint statement on nuclear cooperation. Where is the guarantee that Washington will not apply sanctions again in the future?
At the same time, relations between New Delhi and Moscow are not perfectly smooth either. One of the problems is the slow pace at which the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov (known as the Vikramaditya now) is being modernized. The cruiser, which under the contract is to be handed over to India in 2008, can be barely finished by 2010, if not 2012. This has naturally exasperated the Indian government and its admirals, although they express it publicly in mild form. The conflict around the Vikramaditya is not the only one in Indian-Russian military technical cooperation.
A few years ago the Baltiisky Zavod shipyard in St. Petersburg delayed the delivery to New Delhi of three frigates of Project 11356 by more than a year: the Talwar, Trishul and Tabar, because of problems with the Shtil surface-to-air missile systems.
Today there are frictions with the modernization for India of five Il-38SD May anti-submarine aircraft. New Delhi is refusing to accept them because its naval aviation pilots say the Morskoi Zmei (Sea Dragon) anti-submarine search and homing system installed on these planes does not meet modern requirements, although several months ago no such questions arose.
Today New Delhi is pursing a multi-vectored defense policy, and is not limiting itself to cooperation with one country, though Russia has never let it down in serious matters. "Not putting all eggs in one basket" is pragmatic and sensible in a way.
Russia can cite impressive examples of successful military-technical cooperation with India in defense matters. It is enough to mention purchases of Su-30MKI multi-role fighter planes, which, incidentally, are not even used by the Russian armed forces; a contract to supply and produce T-90S tanks; purchases of surface-to-air missile and gun systems, including Smerch multiple launch rocket systems, and many other agreements.
The most impressive among them is the joint venture BrahMos, which produces the supersonic anti-ship missile of the same name. It is not ruled out that it may be proposed as equipment for the MiG-35.
This is another chance for No. 35 to make it to the Indian market. Yet it is too soon to speak of the tender results, which will become known in two years' time. A lot of water will go under the bridge in the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers between now and then.
Nikita Petrov is a military commentator.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
