Airbus Enters India's Fighter Jet Race with Upgraded Eurofighter

Airbus is vying for India's massive aircraft procurement deal, offering a dramatically upgraded version of its Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet. India aims to purchase 114 new jets, and Airbus believes the Tranche-5 Typhoon's cutting-edge technology makes it the ideal choice.

This latest iteration of the Eurofighter boasts a powerful AESA radar system, giving pilots unparalleled awareness of the battlefield. The Tranche-5 upgrade also includes updates to the fighter's defensive systems, communications, and pilot interface, designed to boost the pilot's effectiveness in combat.

Airbus is committed to making the Eurofighter a future-proof aircraft. The Tranche-5 model being offered to India incorporates technology developed as part of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) initiative. LTE focuses on advancements in mission systems, pilot interfaces, operational flexibility, and engine performance. These improvements will not only enhance the Eurofighter's capabilities but also position it to play a key role in Europe's Future Combat Air System (FCAS).

Beyond technology, the Eurofighter packs a punch. The proposed Indian model will carry a fearsome mix of air-to-air missiles like the AMRAAM, ASRAAM, IRIS-T, and AIM-9L, as well as various laser-guided bombs. This versatility means the Typhoon is adaptable to a wide range of missions. It's also capable of flying long distances with external fuel tanks certified for supersonic flight and can be refueled in mid-air for even greater range.

The Eurofighter faces stiff competition in India's procurement process. Previously, the French Rafale fighter won a similar competition based largely on its lower cost. The Rafale's cost-effectiveness stems from its single-nation development, unlike the multinational effort behind the Eurofighter. A recent report highlights how a lack of new orders for the Eurofighter could jeopardize the jet's long-term production. Airbus is keen to secure this Indian contract to ensure the future of this potent warplane.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a technologically sophisticated aircraft with proven combat experience. With its advanced technology, focus on future development, and powerful weapons systems, the Typhoon is a serious contender to be India's next-generation fighter jet.

 

[sanket]

Only thing it should have over Rafale is GaN based AESA Radar , and Integrating Third party and Indigenous weapons on Eurofighter.selling Fighter is One Time profit But Real profit Hide in weapon package so India should make Clause not only Indigenous But Third party weapon Integration on who ever wins the MRFA Race.But Lastly it is Multination so its is Going against it Single Nation Fighter should b preferred any Time .

 

[nakul1307]

US has a greater hold on Germany and UK when it comes to sanctions then it has on France. But as of now the whole MRFA is in question.

 

[sanket]

US has a greater hold on Germany and UK when it comes to sanctions then it has on France. But as of now the whole MRFA is in question.

Dont worry MRFA will hapen may Late , India need A Fighter jet under MRFA & Most Likely Rafale may b Winner.

 

[Baiju Bhaskaran]

Euro fighter should be the first one to be kicked out.

 

[Santosh Kumar pal]

India should focus on AMCA fighter jet project and give order to Boeing F15 EX fighter jets from US to replace Vintage Jaguar and Mirage fighter jets.

 

[charminar_waale_ismail_bhai]

Woh sab theek hai, mileage kitna deti hai?

 

[Kira]

This is an Euro F-15 iteration,but the IAF already has way too many fighter types.

 

[dhiraj Raja]

Spending 25 billion on MRFA project can India afford instead going for another 54 advance version of Rafale aircrafts would be better & keep adding more advance Tejas version as last order for Rafale by UAE cost them 18 billions for 80 aircrafts coming to nearly 1880 crore per aircraft & as per some estimates building them in India can be more expensive than importing than IAF should insist on asking France to import more parts for building Rafale from India government should concentrate more on advance radar for detecting stealth aircrafts & more air defence systems which we can see from Ukraine & Israel wars

 

[PARTHAJIT JANA]

Mrfa in today's time has no value, it will only eat away a huge amount of funds which should be invested in indian projects. Rather give pli to Indian private companies to set up another assembly line for tejasmk2, tedbf ,amca. Tejas mk2 first prototype timely rollout is very important for that,otherwise import lobby will push for mrfa. Because mrfa will only be pushed heavily if enough numbers are not fulfilled on time. Lets invest those money for super sukhoi upgrade, for gtre and its engine division's demand for a testbed, refuelling aircrafts in nos, awacs, awecs in nos which are dwindling projects because of costs. We are getting almost 200 tejasmk1a at the same value of 36 rafales.mirage,jaguar,mig29s should all be filled up by mk2 and even if demands for extra aircrafts arise we can fill up it with a pretty capable, rafale like ,cheap, more than 90%indigenised version of tejas mk2.even if we sign today for mrfa which i doubt will not happen before 2025 will take 3 years minimum to set up an assembly plant, at the same time mk2 will be induction ready.

If there is a huge need for 2 front war scenarios maybe 36 more gtg deal , not more than that. Invest those money into rnd, involve private sectors with pli, design transport aircrafts with consultations from bae/boeing, japan or embraer. These projects will help us save money for much more projects in future. Iaf needs to believe.

 

[Sandeep]

India is not going to order any jet from the MRFA competition because it costs more than $20 billion which is really expensive and it will kill any indigenous programs. As soon as Tejas MK2 has its first flight and it's equipment and technology capability is demonstrated then we will officially scrap the MRFA deal. We did the same thing by scrapping the single engine fighter as soon as the FOC Tejas was passed and a plan to develop a more advanced Tejas MK1A was in progress.

India needs to focus on manufacturing the Tejas MK1A jet and give a open license to the Indian private sector to use their existing facilities to manufacture more jets on top of what HAL makes. This will make a big difference and allow us to increase our squadron numbers we need. They also need to focus on quickly developing the Tejas MK2 by next year and once that's done they can manufacture it by HAL and the private sector like they did with manufacturing the Tejas MK1A jets.

The AMCA is the most important project and they need to start manufacturing the equipment and technology for the first few prototype jets. It's also important that they increase the number to at least having over 200 jets and make this the main backbone.

Another crucial necessity is that we need to upgrade and overhaul the existing jets we have with more indigenous technology, parts, equipment, components and sensors in the Super Sukhoi, Mig 29 and Mirage 2000 to increase its life extension for at least another 10 years which will give us some time for creating new squadrons. At the same time we can also buy some of those used jets from another country and upgrade them or use it for spare parts to maintain our squadron if they have a long lifeline left.

 

[Akshat]

India is not going to order any jet from the MRFA competition because it costs more than $20 billion which is really expensive and it will kill any indigenous programs. As soon as Tejas MK2 has its first flight and it's equipment and technology capability is demonstrated then we will officially scrap the MRFA deal. We did the same thing by scrapping the single engine fighter as soon as the FOC Tejas was passed and a plan to develop a more advanced Tejas MK1A was in progress.

India needs to focus on manufacturing the Tejas MK1A jet and give a open license to the Indian private sector to use their existing facilities to manufacture more jets on top of what HAL makes. This will make a big difference and allow us to increase our squadron numbers we need. They also need to focus on quickly developing the Tejas MK2 by next year and once that's done they can manufacture it by HAL and the private sector like they did with manufacturing the Tejas MK1A jets.

The AMCA is the most important project and they need to start manufacturing the equipment and technology for the first few prototype jets. It's also important that they increase the number to at least having over 200 jets and make this the main backbone.

Another crucial necessity is that we need to upgrade and overhaul the existing jets we have with more indigenous technology, parts, equipment, components and sensors in the Super Sukhoi, Mig 29 and Mirage 2000 to increase its life extension for at least another 10 years which will give us some time for creating new squadrons. At the same time we can also buy some of those used jets from another country and upgrade them or use it for spare parts to maintain our squadron if they have a long lifeline left.

SEF was never an actual tender but only one of the various routes discussed for MMRCA part 2. So nothing got cancelled. MRFA on the other is an actual active tender under process.

As for mk2, we can’t wait till 2040 for HAL to finish making it. So MRFA is an existential necessity.

 

[Akshat]

Spending 25 billion on MRFA project can India afford instead going for another 54 advance version of Rafale aircrafts would be better & keep adding more advance Tejas version as last order for Rafale by UAE cost them 18 billions for 80 aircrafts coming to nearly 1880 crore per aircraft & as per some estimates building them in India can be more expensive than importing than IAF should insist on asking France to import more parts for building Rafale from India government should concentrate more on advance radar for detecting stealth aircrafts & more air defence systems which we can see from Ukraine & Israel wars

The 18 billion dollar included weapons as well as helicopters. Indian deal for Su30
Mki, for example, didn’t include weapons and all in the original deal and we are going to include a lot of Indian weapons. Spares are also going to be made in India so logistics part will also go down. And we got a 25% discount last time as well. So price is something we can’t calculate as of now but it will not be nearly as high as most people are claiming.

 

[Agent Provocateur1]

I am OK with Airbus winning it and Tata building the planes. On one condition. Airbus must also help us build the TEDBF. ADA always needs 20 years to develop anything. We don't have the time. Hence, force Airbus to help us with TEDBF.

 

[Agent Provocateur1]

India should focus on AMCA fighter jet project and give order to Boeing F15 EX fighter jets from US to replace Vintage Jaguar and Mirage fighter jets.

5th Gen Fighters have very high operation costs. Also, fleet availability is very low. Hence USAF is retiring it's F22 Raptor and buying more 4th Gen F15 EX.

 

[Agent Provocateur1]

I still suggest that we sell SU 30MKi, Mig 29K, UPG to Russia. Russians need airplanes.

 

[GigaFlopped]

US has a greater hold on Germany and UK when it comes to sanctions then it has on France. But as of now the whole MRFA is in question.

What does any possible US sanctions have to do with this? The UK and Germany supply weapons based on MBDA tech, which has nothing to do with the US, the Euro fighter also has nothing to do with the US, so forgive me for being very confused by your comment.

 

[GigaFlopped]

Euro fighter should be the first one to be kicked out.

Block 5 Euro fighter is the most advanced 4.5 gen plane on the planet, why would they kick it out??

 

[Anant]

I still suggest that we sell SU 30MKi, Mig 29K, UPG to Russia. Russians need airplanes.

Not happening. Here's why:

1. Russia isn't buying new MiG-29s.
2. Their aircraft production industry is doing reasonably well, and most of their losses in their abortive invasion of Ukraine so far will be made up for by 2025-26.
3. In any case, the Su-30MKI cannot be exported to Russia due to the Western-origin subsystems, which would violate the sanctions regime on Russia, and put us at risk of secondary sanctions and/or trade restrictions in the future.
4. Even if Russia could buy the Su-30MKI, they wouldn't, since the different nature of sub-systems would not be directly integrable into the Russian Air Force systems and doctrine.
5. Selling weapons to either side in this conflict would be a clear case of taking a side, which we are very much trying not to do.

 

[Anant]

The 18 billion dollar included weapons as well as helicopters. Indian deal for Su30
Mki, for example, didn’t include weapons and all in the original deal and we are going to include a lot of Indian weapons. Spares are also going to be made in India so logistics part will also go down. And we got a 25% discount last time as well. So price is something we can’t calculate as of now but it will not be nearly as high as most people are claiming.

The UAE deal included about 800 million Euros, which comes to just under 900 million USD, for the choppers. That works out to about 213.5 million USD per aircraft, which included weapons, logistical support, spares, etc.

That said, MRFA has long been a necessity, and that isn't changing anytime soon.