The Hindu Business Line : Stealth aircraft development

At the sixth meeting of Inter-Government Commission on Military and Technical Co-operation held in New Delhi, Russia and India agreed to jointly develop a fifth generation stealth aircraft. This came at the end of half-a-dozen years of negotiations, when India was quite reluctant to accept the offer.

This will be the biggest and by far the most complex Defence project that India has ever undertaken with any country. The finer details are to be worked out. What is in it for the two countries? The cost of the programme has not been revealed, but even a conservative estimate would place the Indian component of the project at several billion dollars. This could be followed by production/purchase of the jointly developed fighter aircraft.

The development work is already three years old and Russia expects the first flight to take place in two years. This makes the total development time-frame of five years. This is quite optimistic under normal circumstances. Perhaps, Moscow is betting on the fact that the development is being made on existing Sukhoi fighter aircraft and at the Sukhoi Design Bureau.

Easing the burden

The Russian Government claims to have spent a large amount on this project. That economy can ill-afford a continuous drain of funds on such projects but the Russians also want to remain the prime Defence supplier to India. Hence, India's entry into the project will be lateral; its financial contribution easing Russia's burden. This would be a major gain for Moscow.

Second, it must be appreciated that Defence/aeronautical projects have many failures. The failure may not be total, but the success may not be commercially encouraging either. So while Russia gains a partner to share the risk of commercial failure, Indian commercial gains will be minimal.

Russian Defence supplies have always been cheaper than those from the West, though the gap has narrowed over the years. It is possible that the partnership-in-development will make the final product cheaper, but it is doubtful if India will really benefit financially. The aircraft PAK-FA is to replace the ageing MiG-29s, Jaguars and Mirage 2000s. The new aircraft is also supposed to join the Russian armed forces and thus may be exported to countries such as Kuwait, Chile, South Africa, Malaysia, the UAE and so on.

The tech aspect

In the development of this fifth generation stealth fighter, India is expected to gain technologically. `Stealth' aircraft avoid detection by enemy radar. `Fifth generation' signifies capabilities in terms of performance, survivability in combat, materials used, weapons, sensors and electronic systems.

The proposed aircraft is to have a composite airframe (Indian designer have used these) and is to fly at supersonic speeds (without using an after-burner used in earlier aircraft).

The aircraft will be able to better manoeuvre and survive in combat due to vector thrust nozzles. The latest sensors and radars are to be used. The aircraft is to be fitted with ground attack missiles, which are also useful in multi-role deployment.

The payoff

These factors appear good, but how much of these can be achieved. The success of the BrahMos missile partnership must have weighed with Indian decision-makers. This missile has entered service with the Indian Navy.

However, it is well established that India is technologically advanced in missile and space technologies and not too far behind Russia. But such is not the case with design and development of fighter aircraft.

Two Indian projects — HF-24 Marut and Light Combat Aircraft — have not raised India's technological base significantly, leave alone to Russian levels. Further, Russians have two major advantages: First, the PAK-FA is based on Sukhoi fighters, developed in Russia and continuously updated with the introduction of newer variants over the years.

The Russians are, therefore, fully conversant with their design and the changes needed to convert them into a fifth generation stealth fighter. Though India uses Sukhoi aircraft, it has little background knowledge of their design and development.

Second, lateral entry after three years of work by the Russian Sukhoi Design Bureau places Indians at a substantial disadvantage. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd has been manufacturing aircraft for over 70 years and has adequate skills.

The area to master is design. And in the case of the PAK-FA fighter aircraft development deal, that phase of the work, of design, is virtually complete. Hence, the gains to the country from the activities that follow in the next two years will not be significant.

Reluctant sharers

Those who have dealt with the Russian military hardware industry will bear out that past experience of knowledge sharing with Russians has not been good. They will let you learn `so much' and no more. And the `so much' is a political decision.

Similar restrictions are known to have been applicable in the case of supply of spares. Russian agencies in the past have not allowed Indian test pilots to test-fly aircraft meant for service in India.

The argument of the success of the BrahMos missile project bears some watching. For, it will truly be a success when the missile is inducted into the Russian armed forces and exported to a third country.

India does need to build up expertise in the design of state-of-the-art fighter aircraft, though HAL has assisted in design projects in many countries. The million-dollar question is whether lateral entry in the development of PAK-FA after almost all the design work is complete will make good the deficiencies in India's capabilities.

(The author, a former Air Force Officer, is a Pune-based freelance writer.)