India will spend over $25 Billion on FGFA aircrafts
By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 05 October 2010, 22:01 IST   |    3 Comments
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New Delhi: India will spend over $25 billion to induct 250 advanced stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) into its military brandwagon .This will be India's biggest defence project which will be co-developed with Russia, reports Rajat Pandit of Times of India. Each FGFA will cost upwards of Rs 450 crore or around $100 million. The project needs huge infrastructure to base, operate and maintain such jets in India. So co-developing the FGFA with cash-strapped Russia, was an obvious choice. This was formally announced after the two-day talk between Defence Minister A K Antony and his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov ended in Moscow . The jet has a super-manoeuvrability and supersonic cruising ability, long-range strike and high-endurance air defence capabilities. Air Chief Marshal P V Naik said that the 30 tonne FGFA will be a swing-role fighter, with very advanced avionics, stealth to increase survivability, enhanced lethality, 360 degree situational awareness, smart weapons, data-links, and high-end mission computers. The Indian FGFA will be based on the Russian Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA,but will be built according to IAF's specifications. IAF, for instance, is also keen on a twin-seater version of the FGFA. In fact , IAF recently finalised the technical requirements for its FGFA, which will have long-range strike and high-endurance air defence capabilities. The FGFA, along with other Research & Development projects like the multi-role transport aircraft (MTA) as well as the BrahMos-2 'hypersonic' cruise missiles, will gain further momentum when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh holds a summit with President Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow this December. While India has several ongoing multi-billion dollar military projects with Russia, which range from refit of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov and lease of K-152 Nerpa Akula-II nuclear submarine to production of 230 Sukhoi-30MKI fighters and 1,657 T-90S main-battle tanks, the FGFA is the most futuristic of them all. The American F/A-22 'Raptor', each of which costs upwards of $140 million, is the only operational FGFA in the world at present. IAF's most potent fighter is currently the Sukhoi-30MKI, which can be placed a little over fourth-generation, While fourth-generation fighters typically revolve around multi-role capabilities, FGFA takes it forward by incorporating stealth technology, composite materials, supercruise, thrust-vectoring and integrated avionics as well.

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