27/03/2015 Michel Cabirol – LaTribune.fr

Grâce au programme de modernisation des Mirage 2000 indiens, Dassault Aviation et ses partenaires démontrent à New Delhi qu'ils transfèrent la technologie à l'industrie aéronautique indienne.

Pour Dassault Aviation et ses partenaires Thales et Safran, la livraison mercredi à Istres - en présence de l'ambassadeur indien en France, Arun K. Singh -, de deux Mirage 2000 modernisés au standard I/TI (ex-Mirage 2000 A/C 1 et 2) à l'Inde dans les délais, ne peut qu'être bénéfique pour la conclusion du contrat Rafale avec New Delhi. En tout cas, si cette opération n'est pas décisive pour faire gagner le Rafale en Inde, elle ne pourra pas non plus nuire à cette vente tant la bonne coopération entre les industriels français et le groupe indien de référence dans le domaine de l'aéronautique Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) sur la modernisation des 51 Mirage 2000H, a permis à ce programme de se dérouler dans les délais prévus.

Un programme de modernisation mené à bien

Évidemment, le PDG de Dassault Aviation, Eric Trappier, avait tout cela en tête lors de la cérémonie de remise des deux appareils à l'armée de l'air indienne. "Le Rafale est le pas suivant logique", a-t-il expliqué dans son discours. Et de préciser que moins de quatre ans après la signature du contrat en juillet 2011 après plus de dix ans de discussions (1,4 milliard d'euros hors armement, dont 1 milliard pour Thales), l'armée de l'air indienne (IAF) a accepté les deux Mirage 2000 modernisés, qui étaient arrivés à Istres en décembre 2011.

Le Mirage 2000 biplace modernisé a volé comme prévu le 5 octobre 2013 et le monoplace fin 2013 au terme d'une période de deux ans consacrée au développement du kit équipements de Thales, comprenant le radar, des systèmes de guerre électronique et le calculateur de mission. Technologiquement ambitieuse car basée sur l'intégration d'équipements et systèmes de dernière génération, la première phase du programme a été conduite avec succès en France, conformément au calendrier initialement défini.

Bref, Dassault Aviation et ses partenaires ont mené jusqu'ici à bien ce "programme ambitieux" et ont démontré qu'ils avaient rempli l'ensemble de leurs engagements, y compris en termes de calendrier, et sans dérapage de coûts. Pour Eric Trappier, "répondre aux demandes des clients en termes de calendrier et de performance est un grand succès".

Le Mirage 2000, Un bon exemple du "Make in India"

Ce programme de modernisation permet également de répondre à la volonté de New Delhi d'obtenir des  transferts de technologies au profit de son industrie aéronautique indienne. Le Premier ministre indien Narendra Modi promeut depuis plusieurs mois sur tous les tons la stratégie du "Make in India" (fabriqué en Inde, ndlr), son leitmotiv sur le plan économique avec ses partenaires étrangers. Même s'il ne joue pas toujours le jeu. Le contrat prévoit que la modernisation des appareils suivants les deux premiers sera effectuée à Bangalore, en Inde, sous la responsabilité de HAL, le partenaire indien de Dassault Aviation dans le cadre du contrat Rafale également. Une opération qui est sous la responsabilité de HAL.

"Partenaires privilégiés des forces armées indiennes, nous avons développé une solide supply chain qui a largement contribué à assurer la réussite du programme de modernisation du Mirage 2000. Et nous sommes bien sûr prêts à poursuivre et renforcer ce travail d'équipe", a expliqué pour sa part le directeur général adjoint systèmes de mission de défense de Thales, Pierre-Eric Pommellet, qui a estimé que le Team Rafale (Dassault Aviation, Thales et Safran) a "déjà une infrastructure sur place". Ce qui a permis à Dassault Aviation et à ses partenaires de renforcer des partenariats et de découvrir de nouvelles sociétés privées en Inde, qui "montent en puissance", selon Eric Trappier. Notamment Axis, Avio, Centum, Rangsons, Samtel...

Un programme qui servira au Rafale

Bien que largement moins complexe que le contrat Rafale, le programme de modernisation des Mirage 2000H indien permet de démontrer aux autorités indiennes que le système mis en place par Dassault Aviation et ses partenaires fonctionne bien et répond à leurs attentes. Le contrat Rafale prévoit la fabrication de 18 appareils en France puis de 108 avions sous licence sur place, et implique des transferts de technologie en Inde. Pour les industriels, cela signifiait l'identification de partenaires indiens pour établir la chaine d'approvisionnement, ce qui a été précisément fait avec le contrat Mirage 2000.

"Nous savons transférer des savoir-faire en Inde, a fait valoir Eric Trappier lors d'une conférence de presse. Et le programme de modernisation est une belle preuve d'un transfert de technologies réussi". Concrètement, a précisé Pierre-Eric Pommellet, "un grand nombre de sous-ensemble sont fabriqué en Inde". Et d'ajouter que Dassault Aviation, Thales et Safran avait "permis à la supply chain française de se projeter en Inde afin de découvrir des partenaires indiens et de créer des entreprises communes". Ce qui est le cas pour un certain nombre d'entre elles.

Des équipes de Dassault Aviation et de Thales sont en Inde depuis mai 2014 pour aider HAL à moderniser les troisième et quatrième Mirage 2000 à Bangalore, qui devraient être livrés à l'IAF dans le courant du second semestre 2015, selon Dassault Aviation. HAL devra toutefois être "à terme autonome", a rappelé le PDG de l'avionneur. "Capable de recevoir ces technologies", selon lui, Le groupe public indien connait déjà bien le Mirage 2000, il effectue le support des appareils de l'IAF et a déjà réalisé une grande visite du Mirage 2000, a rappelé Eric Trappier. "L'Inde progresse", a-t-il fait observer.

Dans ce contexte, le contrat de modernisation du Mirage 2000 "pave le chemin pour un défi bien plus grand, le programme Rafale en Inde". La vente du Rafale sera l'occasion d'élargir encore un peu plus le réseau de partenaires indiens pour mener à bien le programme. Toute la supply chain a d'ailleurs en poche des protocoles d'accord pour la création d'entreprises communes en vue de transférer les licences et les technologies du Rafale si New Delhi signe enfin le contrat.

Et le Rafale?

Eric Trappier s'est réjouit que le Rafale réponde aux demandes de l'aviation militaire indienne et que les difficultés autour de la responsabilité industrielle des appareils fabriqués en Inde étaient réglés. "Vous pouvez imaginer ma satisfaction d'entendre de la part du chef d'état-major de l'armée de l'air indienne qu'il veut un avion éprouvé au combat, le Rafale", a-t-il expliqué. "Et de la part du patron de HAL que nous avions un accord sur le partage des responsabilités". Il a rappelé que Dassault Aviation avait accepté qu'un seul contrat couvre l'ensemble des aspects afin d'apporter les garanties nécessaires aux yeux du ministère indien de la Défense.

Le contrat est à présent "finalisé à 95%", a-t-il précisé, en indiquant que le travail actuel avec le ministère indien consiste à passer en revue l'ensemble des milliers de pages du contrat. "Je voudrais que l'on puisse aller vite (mais) c'est un énorme contrat. Comme je l'ai déjà dit, je préfère que nous prenions du temps maintenant (...) plutôt que d'avoir des problèmes plus tard", a-t-il expliqué. Dassault Aviation est en négociation exclusive avec New Delhi depuis janvier 2012 avec l'Inde pour la vente des 126 Rafale

27/03/2015 Actus Air

Du 23 au 25 mars 2015, le général Pierre de Villiers, chef d’état-major des armées (CEMA), est allé à la rencontre des 2000 militaires et civils présents au sein des forces armées en Guyane (FAG). C’est la première fois depuis 2005 qu’un CEMA se retrouve ainsi au contact des forces présentes dans ce département des outre-Mer. Récit de ces trois jours.

Lundi soir, à peine arrivé à Cayenne, le CEMA s’est rendu avec le général Philippe Adam, commandant supérieur des FAG, à la rencontre de détachements représentant les missions les plus emblématiques dans lesquelles sont engagées les FAG.

Le 24 mars 2015, pour sa deuxième journée sur le sol guyanais, le général Pierre de Villiers a été à la rencontre des militaires des trois armées qui remplissent les trois missions permanentes des FAG : la contribution à l’action de l’État en mer, la protection du centre spatial guyanais (CSG) et la sécurisation des tirs de fusée (mission Titan), ainsi que la lutte contre l’orpaillage illégal dans le cadre de la mission Harpie.

Après avoir échangé avec des marins et des gendarmes maritimes, le CEMA a rejoint le centre de contrôle militaire (CCM) de Kourou pour se faire présenter le dispositif de défense aérienne. Dirigé par la haute autorité de défense aérienne, le CCM a notamment en charge la protection permanente de l’espace aérien du CSG. Lors des lancements de fusées, ce dispositif est renforcé par l’activation du plan Titan, qui, outre une protection aérienne renforcée, comprend un volet maritime et un volet terrestre.

À Kourou, le CEMA a pu longuement s’entretenir avec les militaires qui contribuent à ce dispositif interarmées de surveillance et de protection, notamment les aviateurs du détachement Fennec.

Le 25 mars, pour sa dernière journée en Guyane, le général de Villiers est allé à la rencontre des militaires du 9e régiment d’infanterie de marine (9e RIMa) puis des jeunes du régiment du service militaire adapté de la Guyane (RSMA) à Saint-Laurent du Maroni, dans l’ouest guyanais. Après ces rencontres, il s’est rendu sur un site symbolique de la lutte contre l’orpaillage clandestin dans la région de Tadéu.

Évoluant dans un milieu particulièrement exigeant, les forces armées en Guyane agissent au quotidien dans un cadre unique pour les armées : en opération permanente sur le territoire national, ses actions se déroulent dans un cadre interministériel, sous la direction stratégique du Préfet de région et en étroite coopération notamment avec les forces de gendarmerie et de la police de l'air et des frontières, dispositif unique sur le territoire national.

26 mars 2015 New Zealand Defence Forces

26 March 2015 by defenceWeb

The Nigerian Air Force has acquired at least two second hand Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet trainer and light attack aircraft as it continues to expand its aerial fleet.

One of the jets was seen passing through the United Kingdom on 25 March, having travelled from the United States via Iceland. It then continued to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on its way to Nigeria, reports Air Forces Daily.

It was flown by Air USA Inc, which specialises in military air combat readiness training and flies Hawks, Alpha Jets, MiG-29s and L-59 Super Albatroses. The Alpha Jet seen transiting the UK was cancelled from the United States register on 19 March together with a second Alpha Jet, both originally flown by the Luftwaffe before operating in the States.

The delivery status of the second aircraft is unclear. It is also not clear if the two Alpha Jets are attrition replacements or part of a larger batch being acquired by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

Air USA Alpha Jets were converted for night vision goggle (NVG) operations, according to the company, and flight certified for operational use of TER, IMER and SUU-20 bomb racks.

Nigerian Alpha Jets have been used in the ground attack role to strike Boko Haram targets and a couple have been lost on operations: one crashed in Niger, killing two pilots, in May 2013 while another went down in September last year.

The NAF has recently reactivated a number of its Alpha Jets. A total of 24 were acquired in the 1980s but several have been lost in crashes. Apparently 11 have been made flyable again.

In addition to refurbishing some of its existing aircraft such as the Alpha Jets, L-39s, Super Pumas and C-130s, the NAF is also acquiring additional platforms. For instance, it recently inducted Gazelle helicopters, which are believed to have entered service in February this year.

Three Beechcraft King Air 350i light transport aircraft were delivered in August last year, together with two AgustaWestland AW101 VIP transport helicopters. The NAF is also acquiring six Mi-35M attack helicopters and 12 armed Mi-171Sh helicopters, which were ordered in August 2014.

25 mars 2015 Aerobuzz.fr

Le 9 février 2014, un Airbus A330 « Voyager » de la Royal Air Force avait connu de brusques changements d’attitudes alors qu’il était en vol de croisière. L’appareil, qui rentrait d’Afghanistan avec 198 militaires à son bord, avait violemment piqué avant de retrouver une situation normale après une trentaine de secondes. 24 passagers et 7 membres d’équipage avaient été blessés pendant la manœuvre impromptue qui avait plaqué les passagers non attachés au plafond de la cabine. Le rapport publié hier par la Military Aviation Authority britannique confirme que l’incident a été provoqué par le commandant de bord qui avait déposé un appareil photo sur la console de gauche, entre l’accoudoir de son siège et le manche latéral. L’homme avait ensuite avancé son siège, bloquant l’appareil photo contre le manche lui même poussé en butée avant. L’avion avait alors perdu 4400 ft en 27 secondes, mais il était resté contrôlable et récupérable à l’issue de son piqué grâce à la protection automatique de l’enveloppe de vol souligne le rapport.

25.03.2015 by Shiv Aroor - Livefist

Today, the acceptance ceremony of the first two Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 I/TI was held at Istres, Dassault Aviation’s Flight Test Centre.

Enjoy this great set of photos of the two upgraded birds, headed to India soon.

25 March – by EATC

The need for a highly professional training

While the fighter community has trained to operate together for years (e.g. Tactical Leadership Program (TLP), Flag exercises, large NATO exercises in European airspace, etc.), the same cannot be stated for Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR), without which a lot of fighter operations would not be possible. The lessons learned from Unified Protector over Libya in 2011 showed  that for a smooth multinational operation we need to train together in advance.

Moreover, the United States Forces are planning to deploy major parts of their AAR fleet out of Europe towards South East Asia, thus taking away a potential resource on AAR capacity on which the European Nations could always lean in the past. At the same time only 30 % of the EU member states (MSs) operate tanker aircraft (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK,).

To minimise this capability gap, EDA has implemented an AAR project team to deal with outcomes of four different institutions on AAR matters. One of those four pillars represents the Multi Role Transport Tanker/Air-to-Air Refuelling Operational Employment Working Group (OEWG) – led by the EATC. The OEWG’s general objective is to harmonize and - where necessary - to develop procedures and related processes to employ existing and future multi-role platforms in their dual AAR- and AT-role.

But what would a tanker be good for, without a well trained crew? This is where the European Air-to-Air Refuelling Training (EART) comes in, one important outcome of the cooperation between EDA and the EATC.

KC-767A AAR workstation

Background

The first EART was conducted in 2014. AAR assets from different EATC nations were already involved in the fighter exercise Frisian Flag (FF) in the years prior, but purely in a supporting role. In 2013 the question was brought up if the framework of the existing exercise could not be used to also train tanker needs. This led to two major changes in the tanker participation to FF: Firstly, all assets would be deployed to Eindhoven, thus simulating an operation in a location that cannot be supported from the respective home base; secondly, the tankers would not return to base as soon as the fighter did not require there support anymore, but stay in the area and train manoeuvres and procedures of their own.

Aim and objectives

The overall aim of EART is to train the participants (air and ground crews) to be able to run a tanker operation from a deployed operating base (DOB). This also includes training elements like multi tanker formation or different rendezvous procedures, which is not possible in day to day operations. During EART, the crews have the unique possibility to gain or regain their qualifications in a short amount of time and within a realistic scenario.

The 2015 edition

The 2015 edition of the European Air-to-Air Refuelling Training will again take place at Eindhoven Airbase for two weeks in April and support Frisian Flag. The emphasis will again be on working from a DOB in a multinational environment. This will be even more prominent in this year’s training since additionally to last year’s nations (Germany, Italy and the Netherlands) France will participate and other nations are planning to send observers to assess a future participation.

Participation in 2015

- France with C-135FR

- Germany with Airbus A310 MRTT

- Italy with Boeing KC-767A

- The Netherlands with KDC-10

Way ahead

The intent is that, in the future, EART can be hosted by different nations multiple times a year to support different national and international fighter exercises, thus increasing the training opportunities for AAR units and, at the same time, providing a standardised support for the European and NATO fighter community. In case of future operations, the AAR community will be better prepared.

Another outcome of the EDA AAR Project is the recognition that in NATO there was no dedicated multinational training for AAR Planners. In 2014, the NATO Command and Control Centres (CAOC), together with AIRCOM and JAPCC, developed the Specialized Heavy Air Refuelling Course (SHARC). The first official course was held in February 2015. The course incorporates challenges replicating scenarios that the student will see in a large scale exercise or operation. It ensures standardization and continuous improvement within the NATO AAR community.

In 2015, EART will integrate “hands on” training for graduates of SHARC, which can be considered as a logical follow-up of this course as it will keep them proficient and prepare them for “real world” operations. This will be the first time that SHARC graduates participate in a live flying exercise.

Pictures: German, Dutch, Italian and French Air Force Media

Syria Situation Report March 17-24, 2015 - credits ISW

24 March 2015 BBC MidEast

Canada will extend its air strike campaign against Islamic State (IS) into Syria, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced.

"In our view, ISIL [IS] must cease to have any safe haven in Syria," Mr Harper said in the House of Commons. Canada's mission against IS will also be extended for one year, beyond October's election and well into 2016. Opposition leaders have criticised Mr Harper for drawing Canada into a war with unclear objectives. The move means Canada will be the first Nato country, other than the United States, to strike inside Syria. IS controls land on both sides of the Iraq-Syria border - and the US expanded its air strike campaign against the militant group into Syria in September. It has been joined in similar strikes by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

Read more

Iraq Situation Report March 21-23, 2015 credits ISW

March 21, 2015 By Burak Ege Bekdil – Defense News

ANKARA — Turkey's government and military leaders have agreed to speed up the country's crawling program for the design, development and production of an indigenous fighter jet.

Officials here said there is a broad "administrative agreement" over a need to give the program a boost.

"The program will gain notable pace after the [parliamentary] elections [on June 7]," said one senior procurement official familiar with the program, dubbed TF-X. "There is consensus among the president [Recep Tayyip Erdogan], prime minister [Ahmet Davutoglu] and the Air Force that the program should go ahead with a 'priority tag.' "

An Air Force official assisting the program said the top brass in the service is "keen to go faster than before."

"Maximum [expert] input possible will be provided from our side," he said. "This is now an established policy."

Early in March, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) procurement agency released a request for information (RFI) for the ambitious TF-X.

In that document, SSM defined the scope of the fighter program as "indigenous design, development and production activities of the first Turkish fighter aircraft to meet Turkish Armed Forces' next generation fighter requirements and replace the existing F-16 fighter fleet starting from 2030s."

Companies or organizations capable of designing, developing and manufacturing the planned aircraft are invited to obtain an electronic copy of the RFI from SSM.

SSM officials say the release of the RFI marks a critical stage for the program, aiming "to see which companies would be willing to take part and which capabilities will be offered."

"We expect a satisfactory level of international interest," the procurement official said. "We already unofficially know that a number of foreign manufacturers hope to be part of this program."

He said a new roadmap also has been devised. The first thing Ankara will do, he said, is put together a team of SSM and Air Force officials that will be expected to run the program until the end.

"Soon there will formally be an enthusiastic team working on the ideal modality for the program," the official said. "That team is being structured at the moment."

Turkey's top procurement panel, the Defense Industry Executive Committee, chaired by Davutoglu, officially decided on Jan. 7 to go ahead with the TF-X program after reviewing its feasibility.

At the meeting, the committee decided to move beyond the pre-concept design stage. It said a twin-engine model would be pursued in the national fighter aircraft program.

Other members of the committee are Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz, Chief of Military General Staff Gen. Ncdet Ozel and chief procurement official, Ismail Demir, head of the SSM.

Davutoglu has said that a twin-engine model would be pursued in the national fighter aircraft program.

But the procurement official said this is not an irreversible decision. "We remain flexible on the choice of engine modality. Depending on our choice of a base model we may rethink that," he said.

He also said the "base model" could be both a NATO or a non-NATO product.

23 Mar. 2015 NATO Press Release (2015) 056

23 mars 2015 Ministère de la Défense

March 23, 2015 by Shiv Aroor - Livefist
 

Intensifying since the turn of the new year, you couldn't possibly have missed the roar of AL-31s in all talk of India's turbulent final dash for a Rafale jet deal. It's unmissable. The fact that the Su-30 MKI was pushed into the M-MRCA conversation by none other than India's defence minister ensured the notion strengthened quickly, unscathed by intrigue and rumours. And then, it exploded.
 

On the evening of December 30, when Manohar Parrikar suggested to reporters that 'additional Su-30s' could save the IAF in the event that 'complications'-ridden negotiations with Dassault Aviation for 126 Rafale fighters didn't end in a purchase contract. That the seed of the idea came from the proverbial horse's mouth, and not South Block hearsay, gave it furious immediacy.

The suggestion caught the Indian Air Force completely off guard, flying as it did in the face of an unusually defiant stance the IAF leadership had decided on in 2012 about there being 'no Plan-B' in the event that the Rafale failed. But this time, the IAF resisted an immediate rebuttal. This was, after all, the Defence Minister who had weighed in. But what truly unnerved the IAF -- and several planners within the MoD -- was that Parrikar had gone out on a limb less than two months after being handpicked as Defence Minister. His specific comments on the negotiations revealed three things: One, that he'd hit the ground running and was fully abreast of the negotiations and where they were stuck. Two, that he was fully willing to question for the first time the presupposition both within the MoD (and especially the IAF) that there would was likely to be extended turbulence, but a deal would finally be signed. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it showed that Parrikar has been empowered by the PM to lead decision-making on a deal that's so large that it has everything to do with the political leadership, and little to do with the act of hardware procurement.

But there was blood in the water that couldn't be ignored. If Parrikar's pre-New Year comment sparked a fire, he pretty much flung a barrel of gasoline at it two weeks later when in an interview to Karan Thapar on Headlines Today, he said in response to a question on the possibility of the Rafale deal not working out, "Sukhoi-30 choice is always there. What I mean to say is: upgrade the Sukhoi-30, make it more capable."

The latch-on was instantaneous. Hours after Parrikar's comments were broadcast, Russian think-tank the Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade declared on Jan 13 that India's potential choice of more Russian Su-30 MKIs instead of Rafales would "advantageous to the country’s air force in terms of cost, tactical and technical characteristics of the plane and a series of other reasons". For good measure, the Russians stoked France's controversial hold-back of Mistral-class amphibious intended for Russia. The example had been broached before, but Moscow really ground it in this time.

A month later, Livefist learns, a concerted effort was made by Russia's mission & trade office in New Delhi to pull India's External Affairs Ministry into the conversation. The specifics of what was on the table isn't fully known. A curious Russian media report quotes junior minister in the MEA, former Army chief, Gen (Retd.) Vijay Kumar Singh as having said that the Su-30 was cheaper than the Rafale and more reliable.

In February, with the Su-30 vs. Rafale debate stewing for nearly two months to the consternation of Dassault, IAF chief Arup Raha was fairly buttonholed into saying, "There's M-MRCA and there's Sukhoi-30. The requirements are slightly different. And they have their own capabilities. They compliment each other but do not replace each other." A statement, it was immediately clear, that practically subverted what the Defence Minister had suggested.

At Aero India 2015, where the IAF chief made that comment, the spotlight also shined on friction between Sukhoi and the IAF over the unexplained seat ejection that caused the type's fifth accident last year. The Russians weren't happy. "When we are wrong, we will say so. When the Indian pilot is wrong, the IAF should not be shy to admit that," an irritated UAC officer told me at the time.

Dassault Aviation and the French government were always prepared for rumblings of power-play and suggestive pressure from the Indian MoD, but the speed at which the conversation heated up caught all involved by surprise. For Dassault, it would now be fighting on two fronts -- one with a confident new government that promised quick action either way. And two, with the Russians, India's largest supplier of military hardware, practically invited into the tense last lap of the M-MRCA fight by the Indian MoD. The French Defence Minister, who visited Delhi last month for the second time in less than two months, didn't bring up the Su-30 MKI. The French didn't have a direct play, political or otherwise. It was felt that things were too delicate at the negotiations table to poke at something that was, Paris understood, a direct message that India wasn't going to budge on final sticking points. Informed that it needed to work on a joint liability matrix with HAL for the license build programme, Dassault decided to bide its time.

Of course, by this time, plenty of journalism in India, Russia and France -- and the furious online military aviation subculture -- had gotten the Rafale and Su-30 to dogfight on paper. It wasn't until March that France's patience cashed out. It was a veritable neutron bomb on the Su-30's two month supercruise through arms & diplomatic circles, and even the French couldn't have expected such a break: a statement by Defence Minister Parrikar himself that the Su-30 fleet had serious problems.

For Dassault and the French government, the new conversation was 

Here's the latest state of play:

1. Russia smells real blood. Through their Trade Office and the Embassy, an existing conversation about additional numbers of the Su-30 & upgrades of earlier units has been re-energised with the additional sweetener of a markedly higher degree of local content and sourcing on any additional Su-30s India may choose to license build in Nashik.
2. Livefist can confirm that Russia has also offered India the Su-35 'Super Flanker', but kept the details open. The type is officially on the table now with Russia inviting India to help configure a Su-35 'MKI'.
3. Russia is attempting to contain the twin damage of (a) information about engine trouble and fleet availability. Rosoboronexport has begun discussions with the IAF and HAL. And (b) the issue of the mysterious seat ejections. Both sides have decided to sort out the issue cordially and in private. It doesn't want to lose the momentum it received from the initial suggestion that more Su-30s could cushion the potential collapse of the M-MRCA.
4. Dassault and HAL are currently working at a furious pace to have something to show to the MoD in the next one week, though it remains unlikely that there will be anything for Prime Minister Modi & President Hollande to announce next week in Paris.
5. On March 18, Defence Minister Parrikar said, "They have to tell us whether they can do it or not. Can’t keep waiting."