I've always had a soft spot in my heart for light weight fighter jets and so has the Indian Air Force. They are more committed to the concept than any other country with a sizable air force, but their aging MiG-21s are true antiques in the 21st Century. For some years they have been developing an indigenous fighter to replace the Russian plane in a protracted development that makes the F-35 program look speedy by comparison.
The LCA Tejas is a small delta winged single engine multirole fighter. While still not ready for prime time and not really in service yet despite official pronouncements, it is an interesting little plane. Much propaganda about it has been put out, but it is no match even for the now elderly F-16 (40 year old design now). Talking about any fighter project tends to devolve into mindless nationalism, so my writing that may offend some -- but it is the truth.
Still it is not a bad idea for the needs for India, since the likely opponents are China and Pakistan if conflict arises. It could make for an excellent little point interceptor especially if the Mk 2 ever gets built with a more powerful engine and AESA radar. To me, it is a modern Folland Gnat F. 1 which was a dandy little fighter proven in combat by India.
The big question is will it ever go into full production? Only time will tell.
Until then, enjoy this flight display by one of the repainted prototypes. You can tell it is one by the peeling away paint on the underside showing the original gloss white scheme.
Reviews of movies, anime, and the occasional TV show mixed with warnings on Blogger spam. Also to be found are musings on whatever I am thinking about - all from the point of view of being left to watch everything from the sidelines of life.
4 comments:
How about 20 LCAs to one F16? Have you checked out the cost ratio?
Cost ratio's only get you so far, but for the budget India has the the Tejas is a better deal. Possibly the only deal.
What you brought up is a thorny subject due to the differences between peace time use and war time use. The argument of numbers versus quality is something we haven't gotten any modern data on for the past decade or so.
Prior to that, the Israeli and American kill ratios versus Russian made aircraft was astronomically high and well past 20 to 1. While differences in pilot quality and tactics matter, I'm going to stick to the mechanical end of things to keep this short.
Why do I bring Russian aircraft up?
The LCA does have an Achilles heel compared to the Falcon that makes it far less effective in combat: Russian weaponry, which is dramatically inferior to American or European in actual combat over the past 30 odd years. Mechanical reliability rates, exaggerated performance claims, and general crudeness make for real problems.
Now if the LCA were rigged out with AIM-120s, AIM-9Xs,IRIS-Ts, and MICAs that would be a different case. Frankly, I'd like to see some of those weapons on the Mk 2 or at least something like the Derby and Python IV.
Just to add a complication, the J-31 out of China is going to be a very dangerous opponent if it goes into mass production.
Mr Browne, thanks for your insightful comments. While we do agree that LCA is not a class leading product & american designs viz F-16, F-22, JSF are superior but still there is no harm in trying to manufacture one Fighter plan becaz till you try , u can't succeed in making a good one.I take solace from the plight of american technology viz cars in india. Ford, GM etc pioneers autombiles in the world but they suck today & indian manufacturers at least M&M is a better manufacturer then the pioneers. Its only a matter of time that we learn the tricks so if Tejas might suck the next fighter plane from India may not
Getting a foothold in building one's own aircraft is what every aspiring country should attempt, whether it be civil or military in purpose. The first important step is developing an understanding of aerodynamics and flight controls and for that alone the LCA is worth manufacturing. The experience gained is more than worth its weight in gold.
Speaking towards developing further experience for Indian industries: The key to future success will be turbine engine technology as well, which is turning out to be harder than I expected for rising countries. The Kaveri is an excellent example of the troubles that are run into and China's WS10 is another. In both cases I think the goals were a little excessive for first attempts.
At the risk of wandering off topic...
Japanese cars are better than anyone's, which is quite an accomplishment. Every time we get close to that level of quality here in the States, some idiot decides to change the production line. A recent example was Ford which made some excellent vehicles in the past decade only to decide that unproven technologies were the way to go. Instant reduction in reliability and customer happiness.
Sadly, there is no way to idiot proof an industry.
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