Concentrated !!!: Eurofighter Typhoon – Ashoka Chakra’s new wings to fly

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With vast landscape, enormous manpower, strong geographical or strategic position and with astonishingly growing agricultural and industrial productivity Hindustan is a great country with a great history. For almost every field, India has made several accomplishments in innovation and excellence such as medical science and information technology etcetera. Though a productive state for decades since her rebirth after the end of the Raj in 1947, India has not yet been acknowledged as a developed state or a nation ranked any above the Third World; major reason is the failure to overcome the constant extreme poverty in the nation populated more than 1,192,032,000 as of today according to indiastat.com.

Despite of the miserable underdevelopment according to global human development indexes, India has managed to have and run a considerably large economy and hosts a huge global investment and marketplace using advantage of her geographical, material and manpower resources. One thing though; India has always been a hostile state or has always been among the top rankers in international weapons’ races thus accommodates one of the world’s largest armed forces. Indian army is ranked the world’s second largest standing arm with declared active personnel of 1.32 million and some 2.14 million reserve troops. Quite shocking statistics as judged in contrast with statistics for population and poverty. In 2009, India spent US$ 36.3 billions for defense procurements, 2.6% of her 2008 GDP and with 2.4% of total world share India stood at 9^th among the top 15 countries with military expenditure according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Yearbook 2010. Since the very day one and in contrast with her so called ideological archrival neighbor Pakistan, India has been a prominent political and military associate of (former) Soviet Union / (present) Russia or a remote strategic ally of Soviet Bloc in her region while Pakistan has always been an American tool for such satellite strategic interests. India has been tremendously supported and supplied with all sorts of weaponry by Russia on very friendly terms and almost 70% of her total military hardware is of Russian origin while Pakistan’s is a “mix-chaat” of American, Chinese and French origins. Sometime in mid 2004 when concerned with their operational requirements in modern air superiority role and their exhausting old large fleet of the 3^rd or 4^th generation of fighter jets, the Indian air force (IAF) proposed and began a new upgrade program of its jets under name of Indian Air Force Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) also called Indian MRCA Competition. The program was to call upon selected military aircraft manufacturers mostly from US and EU origins to submit proposals for their models either with existing configurations or to particular modifications, requirements or upgrades for the IAF. The program was to call upon sellers to submit tenders to the competition of winning the contract of US$ 11.5 billions for the supply of 126 multirole 4.5 / 5^th generation fighters to IAF. Apparently, and for the first time the Indian IAF looked precisely for the top ranking and most advance Western fighters in the world exactly contrary to its previous practice and interests in favoring Russian machines only. The competition progressed and six leading aircraft jumped in to win it; these wonderful planes are Saab Gripen, Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale, Mikoyan MiG-35 and the American Lockheed Martin F-16 Viper and Boeing F/A-18.

According to The Times of India dated 7^th August 2010, the competition is going on for finalization and followed by extensive study, extreme tests and personnel or expert reviews the IAF has made it clear to government that 2 out of six competing fighters have passed all tests successfully, the Gripen and the Typhoon. Whether Gripen or Typhoon there has been great discussions everywhere about this wonderful competition since its very beginning. Pilots, enthusiasts, students, defense analysts or even economists are sharing their thoughts and anticipations of the future of this multi billion dollar program which is expected to bring thousands of employment opportunities in India’s different defense and other industrial sectors. Most of the competitors have offered India of cheap assistance/spares/upgrades and transfer of technology of the winning aircraft and even the Typhoon’s license to manufacture or assemble it in India under partnership. Several visits of special diplomatic and military delegations from the competing countries to India have been made to fight the competition and to press India to give OK to the bid. A number of Indian visits to UK or Germany and British or German visits to India for Typhoon program have been made. The Telegraph dated 6^th November 2010 has claimed that Eurofighter Typhoon is finally winning the competition and is set for going into motion for IAF. The report also said that US president Barack Obama is expected to try to turn odds in American favor on his visit to New Delhi last month on the 11.5 billion dollar deal with India.

Indian Special Secretary (Defence Production) Shri Ajoy Achaya sits in the FSR to inspect a Typhoon cockpit.

Let’s have a look at EF-2000 Eurofighter Typhoon. It is among my personal favorite aircraft yet made on earth; other remarkable machines are Messerschmitt Bf 109, F-16 Fighting Falcon and Panavia Tornado. Yet Typhoon is most powerful, hi-tech and magnificently super-maneuverable twin-engine multirole combat aircraft on earth. Operated by only six air forces around the globe, Typhoon’s agility, firepower, payload, avionics, speed and wonderful hi-tech system based on some 70 aerial stability computers and a fully automatic multimedia display cockpit control plus state of the art Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) makes it the ultimate machine. The forces who enjoy such a dream fighter are Germany, Britain, Italy, Spain, Austria and Saudi Arabia. Austria and Saudi Arabia are export customers while the others manufacture it as joint program.

Indian aviators and enthusiasts have been very much optimistic about their air force with Typhoon as its front line for 5^th generation fighter age. India has been successfully hosting Aero India international biennial air show since 1996 of which the seventh exhibition held last year. The MiG-35 and F-16 N Super Viper both versions were first time publicly displayed in Aero India held in Bangalore. On the other hand Pakistan air force (PAF) is also in the process of expanding upgrading its fighter fleet with advanced versions of F-16C/D Block 52+ fighters from America. PAF has been using F-16s since 1983 and since then, to a great extent has enjoyed a tremendous aerial, tactical and psychological superiority over Indian air force as has always been of all the Western fighters against Soviet fighters. Pakistan air force just did counter the then Indian supremacy with 4^th generation fighters like Sukhois and MiGs as Pakistan had none of the machines of 4^th generation at that time but its quite obvious to mention here that presence of modern jet like F-16 in PAF has kept the balance of strategic air power stable and has held both sides with the satisfaction of the ability to counter each other having remarkable fighters of the Cold War era designed and built to counter each other. With other fighters which failed to impress the IAF in MRCA competition was F-16 itself with its “N Super Viper” version developed by Lockheed Martin for the bid. The USAF F-16s have made many direct contacts in simulated dogfights with IAF MiGs and Sukhois in three different joint USAF-IAF exercises conducted in India since 2004 called Cope India. Another exercise conducted in France jointly by IAF, French air force and Singapore air force in 2010. Such exercises have provided IAF enough information about the F-16s capabilities when deployed in different roles against aircraft of different qualities, of different origins and flown by the different air forces. The Indian Express dated 24^th June 2010 claimed that IAF had already acquired the feel of the Block 52+ F-16 fighters imminent to face Indian planes as enemy when piloted by PAF even a week before first of these fighters were delivered to Pakistan. Indian Express states as following,

Sources said not only did IAF pilots get a feel of the operational characteristics of the fighter during the aerial war games but some pilots also got the chance to take sorties in the F 16 Block 52 aircraft of the Singapore Air Force that was part of the multi-nation aerial exercise involving India and France. However, the IAF has sparred with the Block 52 version of the fighter — which is considered to be a generation ahead of the existing F 16 fleet of the PAF.

Pakistani F-16s in Red Flag Exercise, Nevada Desert.

Now, the time for Pakistan is to reassess the PAF’s operational preparedness in wake of the presence of a highly capable, Beyond Visual Range (BVR) 5^th generation all-weather fighter interceptor like Typhoon in role of Indian air force’s frontline.

So, whether it’s Typhoon or Rafale which is another modern very agile multirole fighter interceptor of 5^th generation, the IAF has now a great future ahead and they are now going to have same tactical, strategic or psychological superiority in form of a sophisticated combat fighter needed in today’s challenging and rapidly changing defense environment.

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References:

British Minister Pitches for Eurofighter Typhoon to India
http://www.defencetalk.com/british-minister-pitches-for-eurofighter-typhoon-to-india-30308/

Air Force MRCA Deal – Eurofighter Typhoon Ahead on Technical Parameters
http://www.india-defence.com/reports-4737

Eurofighter Typhoon: Ready for India
http://www.indiandefencereview.com/defence%20industry/Eurofighter-Typhoon-Ready-for-India.html

EADS to shift some Eurofighter development projects to India
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/EADS-to-shift-some-Eurofighter-development-projects-to-India/articleshow/6031803.cms

New fighters for Indian Air Force
http://www.timesnow.tv/New-fighters-for-Indian-Air-Force/articleshow/4351233.cms

IAF gets feel of latest Pak fighter aircraft
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/iaf-gets-feel-of-latest-pak-fighter-aircraft/637758/0

Indian aeronautical students to attend Eurofighter Typhoon supported International Aerospace Summer School
http://frontierindia.net/indian-aeronautical-students-to-attend-eurofighter-typhoon-supported-international-aerospace-summer-school

Here are some pictures of EF-2000 Eurofighter Typhoon in service, click picture to view full resolution.