Could Su-35S Deal Edge Out Rafale in India?

ABU DHABI — Moscow and New Delhi have agreed to perform design work in India on what Russia claims would be a "fifth generation" version of the Su-35, an agreement that may lead to an Indian variant of the fighter jet, the Russian Military Complex chief said.

The announcement makes India the first country to sign a contract, however preliminary, for the S version of the Su-35.

"We have been negotiating and have signed the intention protocol for the Su-35," Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov said during the IDEX show in Abu Dhabi last month. "Now we are working on designing ideas for this contract and on creating a manufacturing platform for the aircraft of the fifth generation."

Rostec is Russia's state-run corporation that oversees export of high-tech products.

Chemezov said the jet would be developed to meet the Indian Air Force's requirements. He did not say how many of the jets India might plan to buy.

Russia claims the Su-35S would be a fifth generation fighter, as opposed to the legacy fourth generation Su-35. That implies stealth, but it's unclear whether the jet would be on par with an F-35 joint strike fighter.

In India, however, no source in the Defence Ministry could confirm that any deal had been signed with Russia on the Su-35S. An Air Force official did say that the Russians have made one or two Su-35S presentations in the past six months on how it can help replace India's MiG-21 and MiG-27 fighter aircraft, which are due for retirement in seven or eight years.

Russian industry sources said the fighter will be priced at $85 million. That could make it competitive with Dassault Aviation's Rafale, and could have implications for India's proposed purchase of 126 Rafales. New Delhi selected the Rafale as the preferred bidder in a protracted competition in 2012, but has yet to make a final decision on the purchase.

Indian and French defense ministers discussed the Rafale deal during Jean-Yves Le Drian's recent visit to India, an Indian MoD source said. But Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar did not provide a time commitment to Le Drian on when the deal will be signed.

Parrikar told Le Drian that state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) has been asked to complete cost estimates for the Rafales it will build under license.

The French defense minister's spokesman was not available for comment.

A Dassault Aviation spokesman, asked about the Indian agreement for design work on the Su-35S, said the Indian Air Force chief has said a Sukhoi cannot replace a Rafale.

In India, the Economic Times, reported on Feb. 19 that Indian Air Force chief Arup Raha ruled out a purchase of additional Su-30s as the Russian fighter and the Rafale complemented each other rather than the former replacing the latter.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to visit Paris in April, which could be an opportunity for some clarification on the potential Rafale deal, Agence-France Presse has reported.

Russian aircraft makers have been eagerly proclaiming their willingness to step in if India ultimately rejects the French jet. Many believe Russia wants to undercut France as punishment for Paris refusing to deliver two Mistral helicopters carriers to Russia amid deepening tensions with Ukraine.

"If [India] needs additional Su-30MKI fighters, then we are ready to work out such an agreement," Sergei Goreslavsky, deputy director of Russia's arms export agency Rosoboronexport, told the RIA Novosti news agency on Feb. 16. India operates a large fleet of Sukhoi Su-30 fighters, some of which have been locally produced by HAL.

And Russia's RSK MiG says it would offer an upgraded version of its developmental MiG-35 if India reopens the tender.

"We have every chance to compete [for the contract]," MiG chief Sergei Korotkov said at Aero India on Feb. 18, according to the RIA Novosti new agency. "We have not lost hope that a future tender or competition will be announced."

India remains dependent on Russia to supply weaponry and the two countries have been successful in conducting joint development programs involving advanced technologies, including the co-production of the supersonic BrahMos cruise missile.

"Efforts will be made to modernize the Indian defense forces with emphasis on Make-in-India defense programs," an Indian MoD official said. "India remains committed to buy advanced technologies."

India's dependence on Russia for the bulk of its weapons systems, said defense analyst Nitin Mehta.

"India wants to buy advanced systems like the Rafale, even at a higher cost," he said. "[But] dependence on Russians will remain ... and it would be difficult to find the resources to replace these with advanced systems immediately."

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the Su-35S would enter Russian service this year as part of the expansion of the Air Force and Naval Aviation branch.

"Currently, we're testing a new Su-35S multifunctional fighter jet. This year, the new aircraft should enter service. This is the main task for this year," Shoigu said in February.

China is also considering a purchase of Su-35s. A February report by Zvezda, a television network run by the Russian military, said that long-running talks might conclude with a deal to buy 24 fighters on May 19.

Chemezov said that the contract, if signed, would provide China with the fourth-generation Su-35, not India's fifth-generation S model.

"This aircraft is called Su-35-4 plus PAK-FA generation and we are negotiating with China and we are in progress and I hope it will be over soon. I wouldn't like to discuss contracts that have still not been signed," he said. "The important point is that this is a very unique aircraft that has not been delivered to any country."

Another potential customer for the Su-35 is Egypt. Last fall, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi signed an arms deal reportedly worth $3.5 billion. Egyptian media reported that the package included Su-35s.

But Chemezov said no firm purchase deal had been settled.

"We have not signed anything with Egypt; we signed an intention protocol and we are negotiating it. I hope soon we will sign a contract," he said.

Experts have suggested that Egypt, long a customer of US arms makers, would have trouble integrating Russian hardware.

"This would require a significant investment and both sides have been in negotiations for years without results," said Ruslan Aliev, of Moscow's Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies.

But Chemezov said the two countries have already agreed on training protocols in case the purchase goes through.

"As a matter of fact, the terms and conditions of the contract that have been signed maintain not only the delivery and other terms but also the training," he said. "First the pilot will be trained in Russia and later in Egypt, as an example when we supplied the helicopters to the Pentagon, which were then delivered to Afghanistan the pilots took their training to Russia."

‘Saudi Arabia outpaces India to become top defence importer’

Saudi Arabia overtook India to become the world's biggest weapons importer in 2014, a year when global defence trade rose for the sixth straight year to a record $64.4 billion, research company IHS said on Sunday.

The growth in supplies was due to expanding demand from emerging economies for military aircraft and rising tensions in the Middle East and Asia Pacific, IHS, a provider of global market and economic information, said.

The United States remained the top defence exporter in 2014, ahead of Russia, France, Britain and Germany, a top-five ranking unchanged from 2013, IHS said in an annual defence trade report.

"Growth in Saudi Arabia has been dramatic and, based on previous orders, these numbers are not going to slow down,” an IHS statement quoted its senior defence analyst Ben Moores as saying.

Saudi imports rose 54 percent between 2013 and 2014, and based on planned deliveries imports will grow 52 percent to $9.8 billion in 2015, IHS said, without stating the 2014 sales. One out of every $7 spent on defence imports in 2015 will be spent by Saudi Arabia, it said.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are part of a U.S.-led coalition involved in air strikes on Islamist militants who have carved out an Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The militants have vowed to topple the governments of Western-allied countries in the Middle East.

“When we look at the likely export addressable opportunities at a global level for the defence industry, five of the 10 leading countries are from the Middle East,” Moores said.

“The Middle East is the biggest regional market and there are $110 billion in opportunities in the coming decade.”

The top five importers in 2014 were Saudi Arabia, India, China, the UAE and Taiwan. The 2013 rankings were India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Taiwan and China.

Saudi Arabia and UAE together imported $8.6 billion in defence systems in 2014, more than the imports of Western Europe combined, IHS said. The biggest beneficiary of the Middle Eastern market was the United States, with $8.4 billion worth of Middle Eastern exports in 2014 after $6 billion in 2013.

The IHS survey does not include munitions, small arms, homeland security or intelligence programmes.

Following Indian objections, Sri Lanka not to let Chinese submarines to dock in its ports!

Recently Sri Lanka, which is maintaining a steady relationship with China, said it would not allow Chinese submarines to dock in its ports, a move apparently aimed at allaying its sea neighbor India’s concerns. Colombo acknowledged that such a docking did take place coinciding with the Japanese Prime Minister’s visit last year.

A Chinese submarine had visited Colombo port twice last year which had raised concerns in India. India raised the issue repeatedly with Sri Lankan government. China’s growing naval presence in the Indian Ocean region has opened a new area of rivalry for the two Asian countries.

Days after Vietnam PM Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to India, a Chinese submarine, Changzheng 2, has again docked in last November at the Colombo port, sparking “enormous concerns” within the government about the intentions of then Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. It was the second time a Chinese submarine docked at a Sri Lankan port – after the first arrived seven weeks ago, India quickly warned the island nation on its southern tip that their presence was unacceptable to New Delhi.

India expressed strong concerns to Sri Lanka for allowing Chinese submarines to dock at its port this month. When the Chinese submarine Changzheng-2 and warship Chang Xing Daodocked at Colombo harbor for five days this month, alarm bells rang in New Delhi. India sees this as a violation of the July 1987 agreement which says that “Trincomalee or any other ports in Sri Lanka will not be made available for military use by any country in a manner prejudicial to India’s interests”. The agreement also calls upon the two countries to not allow their respective territories to be used for “activities prejudicial to each other’s unity, integrity and security”.

Analysts say that the timing of the Chinese submarines could be significant considering volatile relations between China and Japan especially over the disputed islands in the South China Sea. Abe visited Colombo on September 7 last year when President Mahinda Rajapaksa was in power.

Both China and Sri Lanka dismissed Indian concerns. China had defended their docking, stating that there was “nothing unusual” as it is common international practice for warships to stop for refueling at ports abroad. It had said the submarines were part of the fleet of warships deployed in anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean Gulf of Aden. A navy spokesperson in Colombo pointed out that in the last four years, more than 230 warships had called at Colombo port for goodwill visits or refueling. However, that has failed to allay India, where worries are rising about China’s expanding footprint in the Indian Ocean.

India claims the Chinese naval reach is increasing very fast, and that obviously creates some concern in India, because most of this area, particularly Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean has been a kind of strategic turf for India. Particularly submarine movement is a cause of main concern. Submarines are considered to be a more potent attack vehicle.

While India and China, the two Asian giants’ territorial disputes in the high Himalayas, have grabbed the most attention, their rivalry in the Indian Ocean is steadily building up. An Indian Defense Ministry report last year warned of the “grave threat” posed by the Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean. It suggested that China is widening its orbit of patrols beyond Chinese waters to jockey for control of highly sensitive sea lanes. The reason being much of China’s booming economy is fueled by oil shipped through the Indian Ocean from the Middle East. Resources from Africa and trade with Europe ply through the same waters.

In recent years, China has helped to build a network of ports or facilities in South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Myanmar and secured docking rights in Seychelles. China is also developing key ports in Kenya and Tanzania in East Africa.

While many security experts worry about the “undue Chinese presence” in South Asia, some see no reason for alarm. They point out that ports cannot be quickly converted into naval facilities. Indian security experts claim China’s efforts to find a toehold in the Indian Ocean are the result of its growing global presence. While it seeks to maintain a presence in the Indian Ocean and China also internally believes that it is vulnerable as far as the sea lines of communication are concerned from Asia and Africa. So China has been methodically trying to increase its political linkages and access in the Indian Ocean

In Sri Lanka, political observers say that the maritime rivalry between India and China has provided an opportunity for the small country to play off both rivals against each other. They say Colombo is increasingly relying on Beijing for both military and development support as the Asian giant invests billions of dollars to develop infrastructure.

For the time being, India has responded to China’s growing forays in the Indian Ocean by shoring up its own partnerships with South East Asian nations and taking steps to modernize its navy.

The balance of power game Sri Lanka is playing, India suggests, could also be quite dangerous, for a small island country to do that, because as the old saying goes, when elephants make love or war, it is the grass that gets trampled on

Sri Lanka feels the Indian pinch and its Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said addressing a press conference here in Colombo: “I really don’t know under what sort of circumstances the submarines came to Colombo on the same day when Japanese Prime Minister (Shinzo Abe) visited Sri Lanka but we will ensure such incidents from which ever quarter do not happen during our tenure.”

Samarweera, who held talks with Premier Li Keqiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his two-day visit to Beijing recently, said Sri Lanka has some concerns over $5 billion of Chinese investments obtained during former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime. Significantly, Samaraweera also said Sri Lanka is concerned about the high interest rates for Chinese loans to build various projects which amounted to US $5 billion, including the US $1.5 billion for the Colombo Port City project. During his talks with Li and Wang, Samaraweera discussed a host of issues including concerns over high interest rate on the about USD five billion Chinese loans as well as his government’s aim to pursue a balanced foreign policy.

A high-level Sri Lankan team will visit China later to discuss the issues with the Chinese government, Samaraweera said. Samaraweera is the first Sri Lankan official to visit Beijing, preparing for the forthcoming visit of his president to Beijing, since President Sirisena assumed power in Colombo after Rajapaksa’s defeat in the January polls. Samaraweera’s visit to China will be followed by new Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s trip next month.

Indian objections to China presence in Indian Ocean could be an issue on the Sri Lanka-China agenda. Meanwhile USA with its Asia pivot policy is pushing India to deny China any chance to control the Indian Ocean.

United Arab Emirates announce purchase of two C-17 airlifters and nine AW139 helicopters

The United Arab Emirates armed forces have signed a deal with Boeing worth 2.27 billion dirhams ($618 million) to purchase two C-17 aircraft, said Obaid al-Ketbi, chairman of the organising committee for the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi.

The deal was one of the last to be announced at the biennial event, where the UAE military signed total deals worth 18.33 billion dirhams with local and international companies, Ketbi said. 

The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft. It was developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 isa high-wing, 4-engine, T-tailed military-transport aircraft, multi-service transport aircraft for large equipment, supplies and troops directly to small airfields in harsh terrain anywhere in the world day or night. The massive, sturdy, long-haul aircraft tackles distance, destination and heavy, oversized payloads in unpredictable conditions. It has delivered cargo in every worldwide operation since the 1990s. The C-17 Globemaster III is the newest, most flexible cargo aircraft to enter the airlift force. The C-17 is capable of rapid strategic delivery of troops and all types of cargo to main operating bases or directly to forward bases in the deployment area. 

Six C-17s are actually in use in the UAE Air Force. 

The United Arab Emirates armed forces have also signed a 732 million dirham ($200 million) contract with AgustaWestland to buy 9 AW139 helicopters, a spokesman for a UAE defence organisation said on Tuesday.

Six of the helicopters will be used for search and rescue operations and the remaining three will be used for transporting VIPs, said Obadi al-Ketbi, chairman of the organising committee for the International Defence Exhibition and Conference ( IDEX) under way in Abu Dhabi.

The AgustaWestland AW139 is a 15-seat medium sized twin-engined helicopter. Designed with inherent multi-role capability and flexibility of operation, the AW139 is capable of carrying up to 15 passengers at very high speed, in a most spacious and comfortable cabin.

Pakistan Buys Chinese AWACS Aircraft

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has purchased the Chinese-made “Karakoram Eagle “airborne early warning aircraft. The aircraft, a variant developed to Pakistani requirements and designated ZDK-03, is equipped a Chinese AESA radar mounted on the Shaanxi Y-8F600 four turboprop transport aircraft.

Pakistani websites say the radar has a greater range than that of the PAF's other AEW&C aircraft, the Saab 2000 Erieye. The ZDK-03 is also reportedly equipped with a sophisticated ESM system that can intercept and analyze signals from airborne and surface emitters. "With the addition of AWACS, Pakistan air defence is now able to look deeper in enemy territory, be it land or sea," the air force said in a statement.

It can detect aerial as well as sea surface targets at a fairly long distances regardless of their altitude, the statement added. "After an early detection, AWACS can direct own fighter aircraft to intercept or neutralise the emerging threat, well before it can threaten our national assets. AWACS ability of detecting sea targets would also enhance the capabilities of Pakistan Navy," it said.

Only 20% of India-China Strategic Border Roads Ready Till Now

Out of over 3000 kilometres of roads to be built along the India-China border to allow faster movement of troops and better connectivity, only 600 kilometres have been built till date.

Faced with an aggressive China and their vastly better border infrastructure, the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government had cleared the construction of 73 strategic roads along the India-China border in 2006-07. Over 60 of these were to be built by the Border Roads Organisation or BRO.

China, on the contrary, to keep Tibet under its control, has positioned about 300,000 People’s Liberation Army or PLA troops and six Rapid Reaction Forces or RPF at Chengdu. With an extensive road network in Tibet and Yunnan – built at an approximate budget of about $325 billion – stretching right up to the border, these troops have the ability to reach the India-China border in 48 hours. In addition, China has built several airfields in Tibet; key airfields include those at Hoping, Pangta and Kong Ka.The BRO, however, has been able to complete only 19 roads till now which amount about 625 kilometres. The crucial roads that are awaiting completion include the alternate road connecting Tawang to Assam and that connecting Daulat Beg Oldie – the Northern-most point on the India-China border over-looking the crucial Karakoram Pass in Leh.

The government today told the Parliament that it expects 16 roads to be completed by 2015 and another 13 next year. “Delay in forest and wild life clearance, delays in land acquisition, limited working session and even the 2010 flash flood in Leh and 2014 floods and 2011 Sikkim earthquakes have severely hampered road construction activity.”

New Delhi has now asked Chief Secretaries of State Governments to constitute “Empowered Committees” to quickly resolve these issues. Also the Ministry of Environment and Forests have given general approval for diversion of forest land required to allow the BRO quickly construct the roads.

India has raised a Mountain Strike Corps – XVII Corps, with its headquarters at Panagarh and the Army specially designed to fight in the mountainous India-China border. But poor border road connectivity – preventing quick reaction deployment to counter Chinese hostility – continues to be a major concern for the Indian Army.

Israel DM: Glitch in Arrow 2 Missile Fixed

A glitch that prevented the Israeli Arrow-2 missile defense system from intercepting its intended target was corrected, Defense Ministry officials said Tuesday.

In a briefing to reporters here, an official at the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) acknowledged for the first time that a test last September successfully acquired, but narrowly missed, its target. The near-miss was first reported by Defense News shortly thereafter.

"Intercepting such a threat requires a significant broadening of the limits of the system ... the interceptor passed very close to the target, but did not directly strike it," The Jerusalem Post reported, quoting MoD officials.

The exact reason behind the failure was not provided, however, officials initially attributed the glitch to easily correctable software issues.

Bugs like these are inherent to developing such systems and do not reflect the long-term viability of Arrow-2, Uzi Rubin, a former director of IMDO and an international consultant on emerging threats, said.

"Things like this happen. Tests are not an insurance policy and if I knew a test was going to succeed, I wouldn't do it at all. It would be a waste of time and money. You must factor everything in; in some cases you're going to fail and if it points out a flaw then that's a success, not a failure," he said.

He also clarified that the failure does not affect the developmental upper-tier Arrow-3 or Israel's existing stockpile of Arrow-2 missiles.

Last December, the first intercept test for the Arrow-3 anti-ballistic missile developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and Boeing was aborted due to safety concerns.

"You don't fire if you think you're going to endanger anyone," Rubin said, explaining that the intercept would have been tested close to a densely populated area.

"What failed was not a test, what failed was an attempt to do the test," he said.

IMDO also spotlighted the Iron Dome anti-rocket system, which proved successful during Operation Protective Edge.

During the conflict, Iron Dome — also jointly funded by the US — intercepted 740 Gazan rockets for a 90 percent success rate.