BOEING F 18, LOCKHEED MARTIN F 16 & SAAB GRIPEN E OFFERED TO BE BUILD IN INDIA HD

INTRODUCTION: Indian Air force has different fighter for different roles. SU 30 MKI is heavy weight air dominance fighter geared mainly to take out enemy fighter and maintain air supremacy over enemy’s airspace. It is complimented by Mig 29s, which have been used in operations from aircraft carriers. For medium role fighter slot, India has finalized on acquiring 36 Rafael jets, with provision of more jets in future. These aircrafts are meant to penetrate into enemy territory, play a multitude of roles including high precision deep ground attacks and nuke delivery. Light jets are mainly meant for defensive role, and are intended primarily to protect the country’s airspace & carry out low penetration bombing missions. Being cost effective, these can be used to have numerical superiority in the air. India currently fields Dassault Mirage 2000, Jaguar and Mig 21 in this category. Dassault Mirage 2000 & Jaguar has seen mid life upgrades and are still relevant. India has 245 Mig 21s, which is a very old soviet era aircraft designed in 1960s, and are not suitable for any upgrade. Hence, it is looking for a new fighter to supplement the indigenously developed LCA Tejas in replacing the Mig 21s. There is a sense of urgency in acquiring new aircrafts, as Indian Air force (IAF) strength levels are depleting due to an ageing fleet of Mig 21s. India needs 45 fighter squadrons to counter combined threats from Pakistan and China. Currently, it has only 33 squadrons, where each squadron has about 18 to 20 jets. The number of jets to be acquired will be around 150 to 200. 3 major aircraft manufacturers are offering to set up a manufacturing base in India, under Make in India initiative. These moves gain significance, as India looks to fill the fast dwindling fighter squadrons. In this video, Defense Updates is taking a look at each of this offering. So, let’s get started. BOEING: The F18 Super Hornet is twin-engine, multirole fighter aircraft variant based on the McDonnell Douglas F18 Hornet. Since it is carrier capable, the Indian navy can use it too. Thus the aircraft could meet both the Indian Air force (IAF) and Indian navy’s operational requirements. It must be noted that, F 18 Super Hornet has seen extensive upgrades from the original F 18s. The Super Hornet is bigger (25% larger wing area), has longer range (carries 33% more internal fuel = 41% increase in mission range), can carry more weapons (has two extra weapons hard points) than the old Hornets, and it is fitted with the newest electronics. A single piece of the twin engine, twin seat F-18 fighter jets cost about $65 million. LOCKHEED MARTIN: Lockheed Martin is offering India Block 70 F-16, which is the "newest and most advanced F-16" fighter jet. F-16 models are denoted by increasing block numbers, to indicate upgrades. Each block of planes has a variety of software, hardware, systems, weapons compatibility and structural enhancements and can be tailored for specific customers. The blo