Monday, September 14, 2015

Let IAF test-fly fifth-generation fighter aircraft, India asks Russia

Ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Mos cow in December, India has asked Russia to allow IAF test pilots to fly its fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) to evaluate its capabilities.

“Flight-testing will help decide the way forward on the collaboration between the two countries on the FGFA. All options, ranging from an off-the-shelf purchase of 60-65 jets to joint production, are on the table,” said a top defence ministry official on Friday.

The fact that India needs an FGFA, which combines stealth, super-cruise capability, super-maneuverability data fusion and multi-sensor integration on a single fighter, in the years ahead cannot be disputed.

For a country that is yet to even make its first indigenous fighter (the fourth-generation Tejas) fully-operational, the choice is limited While the FA-22 ‘Raptor’ of the US is the world’s only fully-operational FGFA as of now, the Russian Sukhoi T-50 and the American F-35 ‘Lightning-II’ Joint Strike Fighter are the ones undergoing final developmental tests.
13/09/15 IBC World News
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