If India selects F-18 Super Hornet

If India selects an American fighter which should it be: F-18 E/F [Super Hornet/Rhino] or F-16 IN [Super Viper] ?

The general public opinion on Rhino is very bad in the U.S because of its aerobatic cripples. In case India selects F-18 and they come face to face with Pakistan's F-16s; what would happen?

Ten F-16s take off from Karachi to attack targets in Mumbai. Four Rhinos are on patrol flying over Gujarat and they detect the F-16s first because of their superior Radars. Rhinos call for back up and decide to engage the the Pakistani squadron. Each Rhino has four meteors and six AIM-9xs. Since the F-16s were to attack Mumbai six of them have only air to ground munitions and four F-16s had the same missiles as the Rhinos.

The F-18s with their data links decide to act in coherence. Each Rhino fires two meteors at the incoming Squadron of F-16s. Meteor is very advanced missile and F-16s smaller RADAR does not detect them until too late. Of eight missiles fired four hit the targets. The other F-16s being agile and armed with Sidewinders have a close escape . One F-16 meant for air superiority and three meant to attack ground level targets have been lost.

Pakistani Pilots decide not to turn back and get extra aware.They scan the skies effectively using their datalinks and Radars.They spot the Rhinos as the distance has reduced greatly.The Pakistani F-16s fire eight meteors in all two at each rhino.

The Rhino much closer now uses its RADAR to scan the F-16s and sorts out the three F-16s meant for air superiority. They fire two meteors each at the three F-16s. The Pakistani Meteors close in on the Rhinos. The Rhinos better sensors pick up the missiles and initiates countermeasures. But two Rhinos go down as meteors are pretty hard to jam.

The Indian missiles close in on the F-16s. They try to escape but two meteors per an F-16 proves too much. All the three F-16s go down. the remaining F-16s decide to turn back as they have only two Sidewinders each to defend themselves.

Final Score:

F-18 E/F [Super Hornet/Rhino]: 7

F-16 IN [Super Viper]: 2

Conclusions:

F-18 has better sensors than F-16 and hence can pick up targets at a much longer range.

F-18 has better jammers and countermeasures and hence better chance to survive a missile attack.

F-18 has better RCS and hence is harder to detect than F-16s.

MMRCA-The White Elephant?

MMRCA or Medium Muti-Role Combat Aircraft is the largest Indian Military Project today. The Indian Air Force[IAF] plans to buy 126 fighter aircraft to keep the falling numbers of fighters In IAF. The Government invited global tenders and now six aiecrafe from various nations are competing for the Project.
Six aircraft: F-16IN & F-18E/F from the US; MiG-35 from Russia; Eurofighter from European Consortium; JAS-39 from Sweden and Rafale from France are now competing to win the Indian order of 126 fighter aircraft.
We will analyse what each fighter has to offer in detail.
F-16 IN Super Viper Block 70:

Advantages:

>F-16 is probably the most sold aircraft in modern history.
>F-16 has never been shot down in combat. Its combat record is 72-0.
>The version offered to India called; F-16 IN Block 70; will be the most advanced F-16 ever according to the manufacturer: Lockheed Martin.
>It is quite affordable around $ 50 million per aircraft.
Disadvantages:

>Pakistan operates F-16 Block 52 and knows the strengths and weaknesses of the aircraft.
>F-16 has been in service since 1978. Though the fighter has been upgraded thoroughly, all the F-16s in the U.S Air Force will be replaced by the advanced F-35 gradually 2013 onwards.
>So if we order F-16 now we will get all 126 only around 2020 and we then it will be an old fighter.
>Spares will be very expensive and future upgrades will be impossible because USAF will phase out the fighter.
Rank among the MMRCA Contenders: 6
F-18 E/F Super Hornet: The F-18 Super Hornet is the main fighter of the U.S Navy.

Advantages:
>F-18 E/F is highly durable.
>It is very easy and affordable to maintain.
>It has the most mature AESA RADAR: The AN/APG-79; operational in the world. The only better RADAR on a fighter is the APG-77 on the F-22.
>It is undergoing a number of upgrades. A stealthy Block III variant is being developed. Also, its RADAR is being upgraded into an "advanced capability" APG-79 and the engine performance is also being enhanced.
>The Super Hornet can be used in many roles like an AWACS and Electronic Warfare. It has a dedicated variant called E-18 Growler for the latter purpose.
Disadvantages:
>F-18 is not very fast or aerobatic when compared to modern fighters. This could be a huge disadvantage when dodging enemy missiles and in close combat with other fighters [called dogfights].
>Transfer of Technology and other restrictive agreements demanded by the U.S. would be a real downer . India would end up with a weapon which it has paid for but cannot use as per its requirements.
Rank among the MMRCA contenders: 2

MiG-35 Fulcrum-F:

Advantages:

>MiG-35 has many commonalities with MiG-29 which IAF already operates. Hence India can induct it spending the least amount of money, effort and time.

>Russia has offered complete Tranfer of Technology. Russia has also offerd to help India make its own advanced RADAR.

>It also has an AESA RADAR.

>India need not fear western sanctions to affect its national security as Russia is a time tested partner of India.

Diadvantages:

>It is just an upgraded MiG-29 and hence not a very wise option.

>It will keep India dependent on Russia. Indian Military will become Russian monopoly.

>It is outdone on all major factors like range,payload,RADAR capability e.t.c by India's Su-30 MKI [Flanker-H] which also costs approximately the same.

Rank among MMRCA contenders: 3

Eurofighter Typhoon:

Eurofighter Typhoon is the best fighter in contention atleast in its near future avatar. It is highly manouverable and has excellent sensors and capabilities. Its salient features are:

• It has excellent aerobatics and vectored thrust engines which means it is the hands down winner in a dogfight or close range fighting.
• An AESA RADAR called CAESAR is being developed for the fighter. It is claimed that it would be the best in business when it gets ready.
  
• It can deliver every weapon in NATO inventory including the Precision Guided Munition[PGM], AMRAAM, AIM-9x Sidewinder, ASRAAM and a whole range of new weapons like Meteor, Storm Shadow .............. The list just goes on.
• It can have any of the latest targeting pods including LITENING G4.

Its most remarkable feature is the protective suit for the pilots which enable the pilot make 9g manouvers consistently without passing out.

Disadvantages:

• It is very expensive.
• Some of the technology is reliant on the U.S and hence transfer of technology could be a problem.
• It is not a battle proven platform.

General Bravado: Would-be Fiasco

Both Feet in the Food Pipe [mouth is long past]:

General Bravado: Would-be Fiasco

♦One fine morning Gen. Deepak Kapoor startled the world atleast our part of Asia like Moses stunned the Egyptians. He claimed that Indian Army could defeat Pakistan and China in a war, simultaneously!.

♦There was a furore in Pakistan over this and many "experts" gave interviews about this statement. Pakistan , though weaker, is certainly no pushover.

♦China, the mature power that it is, made no fuss. Their policy seemed : Never correct your enemy when he is making a mistake. China is all substance and no nonsense. Neverthless, China expressed its concern too.

♦Indian Diplomats worked overtime to ease out the foot in the mouth scenario! Gen.Kapoor needs to read the Ramayana, the Mahabharatha and Kautilya. All of them state one thing : Respect the enemy and his strengths, know his weaknesses.

A Comparison of the Armies the three Nuclear powers :

Equipment	China	India	Pakistan
Nuclear Bombs	500+	70-100	70-100
Tanks	8200	~4000	~2500
Multiple Rocket Launch Systems	2,400	150	52
Towed Artillery	17000	4125	3195
Armored Personnel Carriers	5,000	317	1,146

(Source: http://www.globalfirepower.com/ )

The table above clearly demonstrates that China enjoys a huge numerical superirority. They also have the qualitative advantage because they spend more on their military. Anyone in their right mind would wonder how India can wage war on both fronts simultaneously & win!

India's Bofors II

I have been reading a lot about the Indian Military and our defence preparedness lately. From what I read and deduced , a few things about the Indian Army caught me by surprise. It is these facts that I would like to share with all of you.
What makes the Indian Army a phenomenon that will perplex even Sherlock Holmes? Let’s find out a few things which can make Bermuda Triangle look silly!!
Indian Government is going to spend around $2.5 billion {i.e. Rs.10000 crores} on self propelled artillery this year or the next. That is taxpayers' money: yours and mine. We have the right to know a few things here.
♦The undisputed best self-propelled Artillery on the planet ; PzH-2000 of Germany, mysteriously does not figure on the Indian list. And it is not out of scope of our budget! The accepted second best like AS-90 of Britain is also conspicuous by its absence. Both of them are 155 mm 52 calibre; the standard set by the Army. So, why are these weapons not being considered? PzH-2000 is battle-proven in all terrains including Afghanistan. Isn't it outright fishy that the best don't figure in the list? The Indian Army needs to come forth clean as to why these systems are not in the race despite being superior and affordable. The media needs to push for this! Else another Bofors seems inevitable!
♦India is going to upgrade its archaic fleet of 2000 odd T-72 tanks. This will be done at a great deal of cost. But the fact is the best tank in the Indian armoury is Arjun MBT which allegedly left the “frontline” T-90’s hanging high and dry in recent trials. And surprisingly the Indian Army will not retire the old T-72s which were proven sitting ducks in Desert Storm. Indian Army could instead order 2000 Arjun MBT’s . Then we would not only have a highly effective tank and but also breathe life into the Indian defence industry. T-72 can be wielded till Arjun is inducted in sufficient numbers. Then the T-72s can be converted to MRAVs or APCs which Indian Army has in very few numbers. But the Indian Army will not.” We will waste time about how best we can reach operational ineffectiveness and squander the nation’s resources.” seems to be the motto.
♦For reasons inexplicable, India ordered T-90 tanks without Shtora Active Protection Systems. This means the IndianT-90 is vulnerable to Anti tank Guided Missiles. Indian Army could incorporate the highly rated Israeli “Trophy” into both T-90s and Arjun. It provides protection against not only missiles but also HEAT, HESH and APFSDS rounds. But we won’t do it, even though we have excellent relations with Israel.
Is the Indian Army answerable to the people at all? Well, I hope the media can get the answers to just three of these questions. Instead of passing silly comments of fighting China and Pakistan simultaneously, Indian Army needs to pull up its socks and focus on real issues.
♦The Bofors Scandal engulfed the Indian Army for nearly 2 decades! This kind of murky competition will only add to the speculation over the credibility of the ongoing selection procedures. Are vested interests driving the on going circus? The Government and the Army would need to come clean on why PzH-2000 is not participating!