Photo: USAF
Oct 7, 2011 By Asia-Pacific Staff - aviation week and
space technology
New Delhi - When India did not shortlist either of the U.S. fighter offerings in its large Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft competition, questions began to swirl about whether something was amiss
with the defense industrial relationship between the two sides.
But it appears that U.S. industry still has access to this growth market. The latest sign is that after seven months of on-again/off-again talks, India’s effort to reengine more than 100 of its
Sepecat Jaguar strike aircraft is finally moving forward with indications that Honeywell will land the deal.
Indian air force officials say that the defense ministry, in late August, was told to fast-track the acquisition to replace the Jaguar’s Adour Mk811 engines in light of operational considerations
and requirements. That effectively means a contract will be awarded to Honeywell for its F125N engine.
Both U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pushed for the $650 million deal during their visits to New Delhi last year. U.S. officials suggest that the paperwork for
a foreign military sale contract is already in process. Any arrangement with Honeywell would involve the purchase of more than 200 engines.
The issue is not a done deal, though. High-level officials at Rolls-Royce say they are still in talks with the air force to upgrade the current powerplant. Rolls-Royce did not respond to the
service’s request for proposals earlier this year, and was believed to have stepped away from the competition in February, noting that it had issues with the stated requirement. While Honeywell
offered a full new engine, Rolls-Royce’s entry was an upgrade of the existing Adour engine to the Mk821 standard, and therefore not strictly a “reengining” as demanded by the Indian air force
(IAF).
“We are still in dialogue with the Indian air force about what we believe is a much more cost-effective and lower-risk engine upgrade program. [It’s] a package that would minimize aircraft
integration and would utilize existing Adour infrastructure in Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), which we believe should be a point of deep importance for the customer,” said a senior Rolls-Royce
India employee. Military officials confirm that the U.K.-based engine manufacturer has held several meetings with the acquisition team since February.
In briefings, Honeywell has criticized Rolls-Royce’s Mk821 program, suggesting that several parts of the engine still need to be developed fully. Honeywell says the F125IN is designed to
“drop-fit into existing Jaguar airframes, resulting in an enhanced aircraft with superior mission capabilities and with a projected life-cycle savings of over $1.5 billion.” Privately,
Rolls-Royce has questioned Honeywell’s “drop-fit” claim, suggesting that certifying the F125N on the Jaguar is likely to take an unacceptable amount of time from the military’s perspective.
The IAF, which began acquiring Jaguars in 1981, has since bought license-built variants from HAL, and has had them upgraded several times with new navigational aids, weapons capabilities and
precision-attack systems, which incrementally crank up platform weight. After several complaints of low thrust across the aircraft’s operational envelope, particularly at medium altitude, the IAF
decided four years ago to scout for a new powerplant. In 2008, an internal study of options had resulted in a recommendation for an engine replacement, rather than an upgrade.
Over the next few months, the Indian air force will also come nearer to choosing a close combat air-to-air missile for its Jaguars; the competitive field has been narrowed to MBDA with its
advanced short-range air-to-air missile and Rafael’s Python 5. Live-fire field evaluations are scheduled to be held before the end of the year.
Indian air force head Air Chief Marshal Norman Browne, a veteran Jaguar pilot, has emphasized the need for efficient contracting, faced as he is with a depleted squadron strength. Four days into
his post, on Aug. 4, a fatal Jaguar crash, still under investigation, is understood to have compelled fresh dialogue with the Defense Ministry to speed up modernization efforts.
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