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Lockheed Martin has renamed its latest F-16 advanced offer for India under the F-21 name and has shown that the jet would have new features, including a revised glass cockpit and other advanced features . However, it seems that industrial cooperation in India, a major factor in the latest edition of the tender for India's fighter jets, is much more focused on technological improvements. This could even pave the way for the country's joining the F-35 joint strike fighter program – an assertion that the company removed from its official F-21 webpage shortly after its on-line.
The Maryland-based defense subcontractor unveiled the F-21 models and released a computer-generated video presentation on the jet that was scheduled to coincide with the start of this year's Aero India show on February 20, 2019. The Lockheed Martin fighter plane is getting ready. against the Boeing Super Hornet F / A-18E / F, the French Rafale, the European Eurofighter Typhoon, the Swedish Gripen E, and the Russian MiG-35 Fulcrum and Su-35 Flanker competitions for multi-role fighter jets medium size in India. The Indian Air Force hopes to buy at least 115 aircraft under this program, which could cost up to $ 18 billion. It's a saga of more than ten years on which you can read in more detail here.
"The F-21 is different, both inside and out," said Dr. Vivek Lall, vice-president of strategy and business development for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. "The new designation underscores our commitment to provide the Indian Air Force with an evolving and evolving fighter aircraft, which also offers unmatched industry opportunities and accelerates India-US cooperation in advanced technologies. "
Until now, Lockheed Martin has not specifically explained the origins or meaning of the F-21 nomenclature. The US military had originally assigned the F-21 in its aircraft nomenclature system to a small fleet of former Israeli kfir fighters, which the US Navy and Marine Corps had exploited as a 'Red' aggressors between 1985 and 1989. Today, an American entrepreneur flies Kfirs into adversary support roles and still refers to the guy as the F-21. The highly advanced Kfirs are also flown by a number of air weapons around the world.
The origins of the new designation could be similar to the decision-making process behind the B-21 nomenclature for the future stealth bomber of the US Air Force. In 2016, the service announced that it had chosen B-21, an out-of-sequence designation, to reflect its acquisition of the "first 21st century bomber".
Lockheed Martin gave little detail on the intrinsic differences between the F-21 and the previous F-16s. The jet is just the latest in a series of Viper offerings for India that began with the development of the F-16IN Super Viper in the late 2000s, also called the F-16 Block 70. The features of this variant were then found upgrade package for older Vipers, known as the F-16V. Lockheed Martin has now effectively combined these two separate efforts.
The most notable and seemingly new feature of the F-21's video presentation is the consolidation of cockpit displays into a single large flat screen. The previous glass cockpit configurations for the F-16IN, Block 70 and V aircraft models included three separate multi-function digital displays.
This is in some ways similar to the unique panel design of the Lockheed Martin Stealth F-35. This also reflects Boeing's decision on cockpit configuration in its latest Block III Super Hornets and Qatar's F-15QA Advanced Eagles. This type of cockpit arrangement will allow pilots to find the information they are looking for faster and offers additional flexibility over fixed "steam gauges" or even smaller digital displays. It is thus easier to add new features to the screen itself and to link it to new and improved sensors and other systems in the future.
At a press briefing on the Super Hornet we have The war zone
In 2018, Boeing noted that an aviator could move and resize some display items on the screen, just like moving items on a desktop, to better match his style. This would also allow quick resizing of some screens, including video streams from targeting modules, to facilitate positive identification of targets or other items of interest. It seems likely that the F-21's screen will have similar features.
Lockheed Martin
Artistic representation of the new F-21 widescreen display.
In particular, the F-21 has a large backbone that only previously appeared operationally with advanced two-seater F-16 derivatives. This addition can be adapted to avionics, communication equipment, countermeasures systems, etc.
The jet also features a refueling system that extends from the starboard compliant fuel tank. However, Lockheed Martin introduced this system for the first time, called the compliant fueling tank system, in 2010 as part of the development of the F-16IN. This also reduces the total amount of fuel that the tank can carry.
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin staff are using a Block 60 F-16F to test the compliant fuel tank system in 2010. The company's Skunk Works Advanced Projects Division logo is visible on the side.
The video presentation shows that the F-21 carries three AMRAAM missiles (AIM-120 medium-range air-to-air missiles) on new mounts, giving the jet an extra depth of air-to-air loader, even when the air-to-air loader is in the air. he carries fuel tanks under the floor. or other stores. The external underwater towers will also be able to deploy the AN / ALE-50 towed lure, but this feature had already been announced for the F-16s that Lockheed Martin was offering in India and had been seen for the first time on Block 50/52. Vipers.
Capture of Lockheed Martin
An overview of the AIM-120 arrangement of the trip, as well as the outboard pylon containing the AN / ALE-50 decoy of the F-21 video.
In the Lockheed Martin video, the F-21s also each carry an Advanced Sniper Targeting Pod (ATP) and Infrared Research and Monitoring Pod (IRST) on their chin stations. The latter system would give the jets a better ability to detect stealth threats.
Otherwise, it is unclear to what extent the configuration of the F-21 may differ from that of the previous variants of blocks 70 and F-16V. These Vipers included a host of significant improvements over existing variants, including Northrop Grumman's active AN / APG-83 electronic scanning radar, also known as the Scalable Agile Radar (SABR).
They also had new avionics, improved navigation equipment, mission calculators, and updated data links, as well as compatibility with the Helmet Mounted Spotting System (JHMCS II). ). The advanced versions of the F-16 also had a more powerful electronic warfare suite for self-protection.
Lockheed Martin
A page from a Lockheed Martin brochure on its previous proposal for the F-16 Block 70 destined for India, describing in part how the new capabilities of the aircraft improve its operational performance. The "threats" described include the stealthy Chinese J-20 fighters, which are of increasing concern to the Indian Air Force.
But the real purpose of Lockheed Martin's F-21 operation seems to be to promote the significant industrial cooperation potential that accompanies its bid against that of its opponents. The MMCRA competition requires bidders to find a local partner and the US company is working with Indian industrial giant Tata for its proposal.
The US defense subcontractor has long announced its intention to transfer its F-16 production lines to India, in cooperation with Tata. He went so far as to suggest that he could establish a F-16 production line in the country, whether or not the deal was won by MMCRA.
The first thing you see in the video presentation that Lockheed Martin released on February 20, 2019 is a stylized representation of this notorious Indian Viper factory with the Tata brand. There are also clips showing an F-21 refueling of a KC-130J tanker, an aircraft that Lockheed Martin has already sold to India and featuring components made in India.
Capture of Lockheed Martin
The F-21s are refueling with a KC-130J in the Lockheed Martin video.
But more curiously, Lockheed Martin first hinted that the F-21 could be a stepping stone for Indian participation in the F-35 program, a subject that has been the subject of delicate discussions over the years. .
"The F-21 has common components and draws lessons from the Lockheed Martin, 5th Generation, F-22 and F-35, and will share a common supply chain for a variety of components," he said. first stated Lockheed Martin on his F-21 webpage. online February 20, 2019. "About half of the F-21 and F-16 supply chains are common to the F-22 and F-35."
However, the official page of the F-21 no longer makes these statements or asserts that the fighter plane is "the route taken by India to get to the F-35". He now says that the jet aircraft would "strengthen India's trajectory towards a future of advanced air power". seems to be an archived copy of the original web page, but the details have been
widely reported.
The F-21 product map, which is still available online, only indicates that "the innovative technologies derived from the Lockheed Martin F-22 and F-35, the only two 5th generation operational fighter jets – reinforce the road to India towards a future of advanced air power. " There is no mention of common supply chains or the potential sale of F-35 to India.
Lockheed Martin
This graphic, with an F-35 at the head of an F-21 flight, is the only remnant of Lockheed Martin's initial comments about these latest fighter jets serving as a springboard to India for join the Joint Strike Fighter program.
This is not the first time Lockheed Martin has come back on public statements about India's participation in the F-35 program. In January 2018, the company quickly denied offering stealth fighters to the Indian Air Force. It was in response to the Press Trust of India publish an interview with Lockheed Martin Aerospace Lall, the same individual who announced the F-21, had seemed to suggest that India-specific F-35s were on the horizon.
The following month, however, Indian media announced that the country's air force had formally requested a classified briefing on the F-35. There was no official confirmation of these reports.
Lockheed Martin
An F-16C and an F-35A fly together.
Then, in March 2018, the American Admiral Harry Navy, now retired, at the head of what was called the US Pacific Command, again raised the possibility of selling F -35 in India. Since then, the Pentagon has renamed this commandment as the US Indo-Pacific Command to highlight US involvement in South Asia and its relations with countries in the region.
By 2018, India had also indicated that the winner of the MMRCA competition should also participate in the development of the country's own indigenous stealth fighter, now known as Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). Earlier in February 2019, it was reported separately that the Indians had requested a confidential briefing on the Tempest stealth fighter program in the United Kingdom.
In addition, in 2018, the Indian government reportedly ended its participation in the Su-57 stealth fighter program, long disrupted by Russia, which was to result in a specific variant of India. This also leaves the door open to an effort to acquire short-term replacement stealth fighters to bridge the gap and potentially generate the necessary funding for this purpose. The war zone
has long noted the possibility that the Indian Air Force is turning to the F-35 because it is the only fifth-generation fighter currently in production.
Sukhoi
A dated chart showing the plans of Su-57, formerly known as Su-50 or PAK-FA, including variants Su-50E and Su-55 for India.
These latest official statements, though now removed from the Lockheed Martin website, point to a renewed possibility that the company is proposing the purchase of its F-21 as a means of subsequently acquiring F-35s. The Indian Navy is also purchasing new fighter jets for its existing and planned future aircraft carriers and may be interested in acquiring F-35Bs capable of vertical takeoff and landing or carrier-focused F-35Cs.
The ability to sell F-35s to India remains clearly a delicate issue, both in this country and in the United States. It could be even more complicated now that the Indians have bought S-400 ground-to-air missile systems from Russia.
Turkey, the United States' NATO ally in NATO, is also buying S-400s and F-35s, which, among other things, has caused a major conflict with the United States. you can read more in detail here. The US government has expressed concern that this will give the Russians an opportunity to assess the capabilities of the joint strike fighter against their air defense systems and gather sensitive information about the aircraft.
Vitaly Kuzmin
A carrier-fitter launcher for the S-400 ground-to-air missile system.
These concerns are likely to become less of a problem as time goes on, but for the moment, the US government is now seeking to block F-35 deliveries to Turkey. Congress members might seek to do the same with India.
Of course, India is also not an ally of NATO any more than Turkey, and already operates various Russian-made aircraft and other military equipment. The United States would approve any sale of F-35s to the Indian Air Force, knowing that this would come into effect. This would resemble the considerations that the US government should take into account if it decided to proceed with potential sales of Joint Strike. Fighters in the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia too.
In addition, relations between the United States and India are at a relatively high level, and President Donald Trump has been a strong advocate for increased US arms sales abroad in general . The Pentagon has actively lobbied the US government for it to grant India a waiver to buy the S-400s without incurring penalties in order to avoid any disruption of relations.
Despite all this, despite Lockheed Martin's last retraction, it seems increasingly clear that the United States and India are actively discussing, at least at some level, future purchases of F-35s. It remains to be seen if the famous F-21 will serve as a springboard for the purchase of stealth fighters, but that seems to be the idea.
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