Two fighter aircraft in the running for the Indian Air Force (IAF) competition for 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) are going to be putting their best feet forward next week at the Farnborough International Air Show in the United Kingdom.

While Saab will be making the international public debut of its Gripen NG demonstrator aircraft, first at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at RAF Fairford, and then at Farnborough, the Eurofighter Typhoon will be displayed with full weapons payload, flying with all 13 hard points occupied. This will include four Paveway II laser guided bombs, 3 fuel tanks, four AMRAAMs (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles) and two ASRAAMs (Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missiles), which the aircraft will be carrying while ‘pulling up to 5.5G and in excess of 20 degrees angle of attack’, according to a press release.

The Indian Minister of State for Defense, Dr. MM Pallam Raju will also be present at the air show, along with Secretary, Defense Production, Raj Kumar Singh and Air Marshal S Mukerji, Commander-in-Chief, Southern Air Command.

The Eurofighter Typhoon statement says, “Most air displays are achieved by reducing fuel and weapon loads, however with this display, IPA 5 (the aircraft in question) demonstrates significant weapon carriage and maneuverability whilst still being able to demonstrate carefree handling for the pilot.”

Apparently, the Gripen NG demonstrator was available for display at Fairford and Farnborough because of vacations at home. “The extensive flight test program with Gripen NG Demonstrator aircraft continues successfully and according to plan at the Saab facilities in Linköping, Sweden. This gives us the unique opportunity to bring the aircraft to UK during the Swedish summer holiday break,” says Lennart Sindahl, Senior Vice President Saab AB and Head of Business Area Aeronautics, in the statement.

The only other time the demonstrator has been abroad is when it visited India in May for evaluations by the IAF for the MMRCA contest. “This demanding evaluation phase included operations at the Indian air base Leh, situated 3300 meters above sea level. During this time, the aircraft also passed its 150th flight and to date it has conducted more than 175 successful flights,” said a company statement.

The statement also said Saab is currently testing all the tactical systems, such as the AESA radar and the new communications system. “The test program is very extensive, we have finished, and successfully verified, the flight tests of the electro-optical Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS) and the new fuel system with larger internal fuel tanks,” says Mattias Bergström, the Gripen NG Demonstrator project manager, in the statement.

Saab has created a new website especially focusing on its campaign to win the 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Actually it’s more of a branch of the Saab Group website, so no snappy gripenforindia-type domain name. But they’ve done a good job constructing it, in time for Indian Defense Ministry mandarins to have something to consult, if the IAF’s report on the flight and weapons trials of the six competing aircraft doesn’t suffice.

Besides the usual calendar, news release section and an image and video library, they’ve got three slick drop-down radio buttons on the right. What’s cool about the first of these is, it’s their contacts section. So? They’ve listed the Swedish and Indian mobile numbers of Gripen officials running this campaign. Since no section of the website is restricted, one assumes, these officials are ready to solicit questions, comments and advice from the public. This could be good, if Edvard, Joanna and Anne don’t put their phones on silent. Text ‘em, by all means.

The other two buttons are mandatory bells and whistles for sharing stuff by email or via social networking and to receive alerts for new stuff on the website.

Be nice if they had more suped-up graphic content, maybe get some interactive fun going. Right now, there’s a bit too much text. That video they have going down right is nice, but maybe they could position it more prominently. And add more. Could use a lot more photos in the library too. Right now they have four. Clearly not in the spirit of The Pirate Bay. I have half a mind to call and complain.

The first spurts of information on the results of the trials conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) for its 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender are starting to trickle out.

A confident Bernhard Gerwart, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Military Air Systems at EADS Defence & Security, mingled with reporters in an informal chat with reporters in New Delhi on Tuesday and told them, “I believe we are compliant with all the requests that they have made. Yesterday, I had some meetings with representatives of the IAF and the MoD (Ministry of Defense) and, personally, I left with the impression that we had done well in the flight trials.”

But Herr Gerwert did offer a caveat, saying, “Mind you it’s just a feeling,” while pointing out the IAF had made no official statement to him.

At any rate he confirmed separately to StratPost, he would be sleeping easier after getting these vibes. While this is hardly definitive confirmation of the Eurofighter Typhoon having performed well in the trials from the perspective of the IAF, it is perhaps indicative of the feedback given by the IAF to representatives of the company.

And while Gerwert didn’t know if the IAF would come up with a short list or a ‘long list’, the issue of a down select remains open to question. It remains unclear whether any possible shortlist issued by the IAF would merely be an indication of preference or would actually result in the elimination of any of the contestants.

German Ambassador to India, Thomas Matussek, too, weighed in. “We have to see this in the geo-strategic context. Your security is our security,” he said. Did he think that if the MMRCA comes down to being a political decision, the four-European nations backing EADS would have the political capital to compete with the US? “The simple answer is ‘yes’. We’re easily on the same par as the United States,” he said.

The IAF is expected to submit its report on its evaluation of the six aircraft imminently, and industry watchers have been actively trying to get a sense of how it will play out. With the IAF enforcing a robust lockdown on any seepage of information so long as the report remains in their domain, defense journalists have been reduced to speculation on the play-out of the tender process.

Not surprisingly, reporters are straining their eyes trying to read between the lines of the statements issued by personalities such as Herr Gerwert and cryptic comments of IAF officers in private conversation, in the absence of any official indications.

There are some who argue that it would be in the interest of the IAF to indicate the results of the trials and its preferences, to make sure their views are not deviated from when the matter is laid before the Ministry of Defense. There are others who think this would be irrelevant, anticipating the IAF to indicate no clear preference one way or the other. Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin’s F-16, Saab’s Gripen IN, Dassault’s Rafale and the MiG-35 are the other aircraft competing in the tender.

But IAF officials admit to being eminently aware of the possibility of the conclusions of the report becoming public, once it is submitted to the ministry. And all concerned agree, some interesting times lie ahead, when that happens.

This blog has been modified from the originally published version, with a different quote attributed to Bernhard Gerwart.

The US Navy has compared the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet to fifth generation fighter aircraft, making a strong pitch for its selection in the 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contest of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

A chart illustrating Commander Goska's point.

The F-35 JSF is to complement US Navy Super Hornets.

Dr. Vivek Lall, Vice President and India Country Head, Boeing Defense, Space and Security, explains, “Many of the same technologies are common across all three of these next-generation fighters, and the Super Hornet is available today.”

According to Goska, the US Navy intends to keep the aircraft in service beyond 2035. Indeed, the US Navy is currently in the process of placing an order for 124 F/A-18 Super Hornets, at a price that a Reuters report says would come to around US $5.3 billion in a multi-year deal with each aircraft coming to around US $40 million, not including US $10 million for ‘government-furnished equipment’, less than the price of US $ 57 million listed on a US Navy website.

But even though the size of the buy is similar, with the US Navy’s 124 to the IAF MMRCA’s 126, Boeing officials are unable to indicate whether this figure could be taken as an indicator of the price tag for India in the event of the aircraft winning the Indian contest, even as they failed to confirm the prices indicated for the US Navy in the report.

In the event of the Super Hornet becoming the MMRCA, the ensuing contract would be an FMS (Foreign Military Sale) between India and the United States, which would also provide the IAF the benefits of economies of scale. “Under the FMS system, the US DoD (Department of Defense) is committed to procuring FMS defense articles and services under the same contractual provisions used for its own procurements. This system is designed to acquire the required quality items at the lowest feasible price from qualified sources and to provide for contract administration. FMS and DoD orders are often consolidated to obtain economy-of-scale buys and therefore lower unit prices,” says Lall.

“Under the FMS system, the foreign purchaser is charged a nominal fee for the contracting and administrative services provided by DoD. This fee is currently 3.8 per cent of the value of the contract and ensures that the DoD does not make a profit or take a loss on a Foreign Military Sale,” he adds.

If the actual sale price is lower than than the estimate made in the Letter of Acceptance, then the unspent money would be returned to India as the US government is not allowed to make a profit on an FMS deal.

Your correspondent visited the United States recently at the invitation of the Boeing Company.

Days before the expiry of the commercial bids submitted by the six vendors vying to supply the Indian Air Force (IAF) with 126 Medium Multi Role Aircraft (MMRCA), the Indian Ministry of Defense has asked them to extend the validity of their existing commercial proposals or submit fresh commercial proposals altogether, allowing them to change the prices and associated financial terms and conditions for the respective aircraft offered to India. The renewed or revised commercial proposals are required to be valid for one year.

The original commercial proposals, submitted on April 28, 2008, were valid for 24 months and are due to lapse on Wednesday. “The ministry has asked the vendors to extend the validity of their commercial bids. They also have the option to change their commercial bids. They can increase or decrease the value of their bids,” said one source, who also added, “This has been done in accordance with Section 55(a) of the Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP).”

Interestingly, if a vendor chooses to submit fresh commercial proposals under Section 55(a), there is no way to determine whether the vendors have increased or decreased the values of their commercial proposals, since their original commercial proposals will be returned to them unopened.

Section 55(a), Defense Procurement Procedure [Return of Commercial Offers]: Situations would arise when the validity of the commercial offers submitted by vendors expire before acceptance of staff evaluation report. In such cases, vendors would be given an option to either extend the validity of the commercial offer for a specified period (the period to be decided in consultation with SHQ) or to submit fresh commercial proposals. For cases where vendors want to submit fresh commercial proposal, their old proposals would be returned unopened to them by the Acquisition Managers. However, for the old cases where the RFP (Request For Proposal) is retracted after submission of the bids or a vendor is rejected at TEC (Technical Evaluation Committee)/Trial/Staff Evaluation Stage or a vendor unilaterally withdraws from the acquisition process, their commercial offers would be returned unopened to them by the Technical Managers.

US aviation and defense firm, Boeing, pitching its F/A-18 Super Hornet is likely to extend the validity of its existing commercial bid. Boeing said in a statement to StratPost, “The US Navy and Boeing have been requested by the MoD (Ministry of Defense) to extend the validity of the MMRCA proposal and are working to provide a compliant response in support of the deadline set by the MoD.”

Sweden’s Saab, offering the Gripen, also told StratPost it would be ‘extending its offer to the Indian Air Force’, while Lockheed Martin, with its F-16IN, indicated a revision of its commercial bid, saying, “The F-16IN team plans to update our commercial bid to ensure the best possible value to India on MMRCA.”

EADS, with its Eurofighter Typhoon in the fray, while saying it would ‘respond in accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Defense’, did not clarify as to whether it would extend the validity of its commercial bid or submit an entirely fresh commercial proposal. Dassault, offering the Rafale to the IAF, too was not clear as to whether it would stick with its existing commercial proposal or revise its value.

The Russian Aircraft Corporation, offering the MiG-35, has not so far responded to queries posed by StratPost in this regard.

With the trials of the six aircraft in the MMRCA contest almost complete, industry sources say this is being seen as an opportunity to recalibrate the offer prices of the respective aircraft in accordance with the perceived performance in the trials, in an effort to present a more attractive deal.

Politics, it seems, is now being openly accepted as the deciding factor in defense deals.

After Eurofighter acknowledged something that is common knowledge last week, Sweden’s Gripen too has vented similarly, in the context of the Brazilian fighter aircraft tender.

Expactica quotes Saab chief executive, Aake Svensson, as telling Swedish news agency TT, “It is always a political decision, and that is why it is very difficult to predict the outcome.”

While the Brazilian Air Force is said to favor the Gripen, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has indicated his preference for the French Dassault’s Rafale.

And so, just to show that political lightweight Sweden can play the game too, King Carl Gustaf is in Brazil to pitch for the Gripen. According to Defense News, Swedish Defense Minister Sten Tolgfors will be making the case to his Brazilian opposite number, Nelson Jobin, who was in India recently.

Boeing’s F/A-18 is also in the running, but is seen as a dark horse, also because of the politics. For one thing, it does not seem to offer the kind of transfer of technology that the other two contenders are offering, because of US laws, and secondly, Brazil hasn’t exactly been ecstatic about US military involvement in Columbia.

The Brazilian decision is said to be imminent now, as it was in September-October last year, and several times since.

Politics is also likely to start figuring in the Indian Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender process once trials are over in May. Amongst other things perhaps.

A Luftwaffe Eurofighter Typhoon at Aero India in Bangalore last year.

With the almost year-long trials for the 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender of the Indian Air Force (IAF) expected to end by May, StratPost caught up with Dr. Matthias Schmidlin, the head of the Eurofighter Typhoon campaign in India, who said it was unlikely the trials would end with a single aircraft having a clear lead while recognizing the final result of the MMRCA contest would be a political decision.

The final decision at the end of the day will be political, says Schmidlin.

Acknowledging the contestants would have to satisfy the technical and commercial evaluations before getting to a point where they can be decided upon politically, saying, “Every vendor needs to go through the compliant bid up to that point.”

Schmidlin also thinks the Eurofighter has the advantage of the political inheritance it carries from Europe. “Once we are at this last and final stage: the political element, I’m convinced that the German government is fully committed behind this campaign,” he says.

He goes on to expand the list, saying, “Its also about Italy, Great Britain and Spain.” And notwithstanding the competition offered by the French Dassault’s Rafale in the MMRCA contest, Schmidlin also refers to the French ownership share of weapons supplier MBDA and EADS to submit, “At the end of the day we are certainly a French company to a certain extent as well. So one would get not just four, but five governments supporting this campaign.”

We are less bound than any or at least some of the contenders on end use monitoring, says Schmidlin.

He also points out that the Eurofighter Typhoon has done well in various exercises with other contenders in the MMRCA contest, some of whom it has replaced in other air forces, saying, “It’s not a surprise because it was designed to replace a significant number of variants; some of them are in this campaign (MMRCA), (some) in the four nations, and some of the export customers are looking to do the same.”

Elaborating, Schimdlin says, “It replaces a lot of aircraft from different countries. F-18, Mirage, Tornado, MiG-29… Germany had MiG-29s. One Eurofighter is replacing all these Russian, American, French, British aircraft – it’s designed to replace a multitude of different aircraft from different manufacturers in different countries.” He also says there is an easy learning curve for moving to the Eurofighter Typhoon from other aircraft that are replaced. “There has been no big issue at all in moving from a competing aircraft even in this campaign (MMRCA) to the Typhoon in some nations or where we have exported the aircraft. Its really an aircraft that’s very easy to engage,” he says.

And while the Eurofighter Typhoon still has a final phase of trials in which to show this off to the IAF in trials next month in Europe, Schmidlin is not worried on that count. “The Eurofighter Typhoon is an aircraft which is highly agile, multi-role and swing-role. It’s designed to deliver high performance operation and is tailor-made to the Indian requirements, really, to operate in these conditions,” he says, adding, “It has been deployed to much tougher conditions. We won in Saudi Arabia, where there were very stringent trials conducted in hot and sandy conditions. In terms also of cold and hard conditions, we have sold the aircraft to Austria. Very difficult terrain out there with very narrow valleys, very short runways, which require massive performance at high altitudes.”

Offering transfer of technology, licensed manufacture and offsets, Schmidlin points out, “The Eurofighter is the youngest aircraft in this race, with loads of potential for future upgrades and enhancements and we’ve offered India to be part of this undertaking.”

The cost of such an undertaking, the MMRCA, could remain unclear for the near future. Curiously, while both the technical and commercial proposals were delivered by April 28, 2008, with the former being opened at 1500 hours that day, the commercial proposals were ‘locked away and sealed’ to be valid for ‘up to 24 months’, Schmidlin confirms.

And although it is clear that the evaluation is unlikely to be at a stage where the commercial bids are in a position to be opened by the expiry deadline on April 28 this year, Schmidlin finds himself at somewhat of a loss about their status after that date. “According to the DPP (Defense Procurement Procedure), there is a requirement for having valid commercial proposal, and so far – I have to be honest – I don’t know, we have not been officially approached in this regard.”

According to industry sources this eventuality has not been entirely unforeseen and there is a likelihood the vendors will be required to either resubmit their commercial bids or extend their validity. Trade speculation regards this as an opportunity for vendors to adjust their commercial proposals on the basis of their perception of performance in the user trials.

Gripen has made presentations of its Sea Gripen fighter aircraft to the Indian Navy last week.

Tony Ogilvy, Vice President, International Marketing for Gripen informed StratPost that his company had made presentations to the navy last week and said the response was ‘very good’.

Ogilvy, who is also a former Royal Navy Buccaneer and Sea Harrier pilot, said the ‘inherent design characteristics’ of the Gripen aircraft make it ‘very similar to a deck based aircraft’.

He said that in the two-hour presentation, which took place last Friday, Sea Gripen’s salt water protection characteristics and maritime operational engine and its ability to operate off both CATOBAR and STOBAR carriers were some of the features highlighted.

According to Ogilvy, the Sea Gripen is being especially pitched to nations which are looking for compact carriers and are not necessarily interested in global force projection capabilities. The aircraft is said to have a very small footprint and is very easy to operate off smaller carriers.

So would the Sea Gripen be good for the Indian 40,000 ton Vikrant class carrier under construction? “Perfect,” said Ogilvy.

Gripen is also being pitched to the Indian Air Force (IAF) for the 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender. Edvard de la Motte, Director of Gripen’s India campaign told StratPost that the the third phase of trials of the aircraft are likely to begin in March, when the aircraft will be tested in Bangalore, Jaisalmer and Leh.

The Indian Defense Minister AK Antony, after inaugurating the DefExpo in New Delhi today, decided to go walkabout.

Antony being instructed by Eurofighter Test pilot, Craig Penrice.

And our man seems to be no less enthused by fighter aircraft than the average guy. Turns out, he walked unannounced into the Eurofighter stall and going straight to the Flight Simulator, clambered in, said eyewitnesses.

Antony, with Minister of State for Defense Pallam Raju and Bernhard Gerwert, CEO, Military Air Systems, EADS & Chairman, Supervisory Board, Eurofighter GmbH (extreme right with the blue badge).

The Eurofighter staff present, were only to happy to get a chance to show off their aircraft to the man who will have something to say about which of the six aircraft the Indian Air Force (IAF) ultimately buys at the end of the 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition.