As I remarked before, the shifting of goal posts has commenced in earnest. I'd get to that in a moment. Meanwhile, let's see now, we're expected to believe that the GoI thru the MoD has no role whatsoever in this or any project the IAF undertakes.
The IAF is, of course, an authority unto itself whose word is final & the law on all matters air worthy & that the GoI is merely a rubber stamp or not even that as per RST here. That little essay Resident Story Teller penned is proof of it & another feather in his cap reminding us once more why story telling is a gift & not everyone possesses the gift of the gab.
But the thing here is there are other story tellers in the business who not only are much better than RST here but do this for a living & have their credibility to maintain unlike RST, which often gets assailed even if they slip up the least again unlike RST here who shamelessly plods on & who therefore take great care not to embellish their stories too much again unlike RST here who has no such qualms nor constraints except how potent 8 pm has been which dictates how spicy the story he narrates will be. And we all know RST rarely disappoints in this category.
Here's what Rajat Pandit one such story teller has to write :
India will go in for the multi-billion dollar joint development and production of a
fifth-generation fighter aircraft (
FGFA) with
Russia only if there is full-scale transfer of technology as well as "benefits" for the indigenous effort to build a futuristic stealth fighter.
Defence ministry sources say this decision has been taken at the "highest levels" in order to "not repeat the mistakes" of the entire Sukhoi-30MKI jet acquisition programme from Russia, which cost India Rs 55,717 crore without any tangible help in developing indigenous fighter-manufacturing capabilities.
But IAF has been unhappy with the Russian FGFA called Sukhoi T-50 or PAK-FA because the jet lacks proper stealth and its engine does not have "enough thrust", which are among 43 critical modifications or shortcomings it pointed out earlier.
India will go in for the multi-billion dollar joint development and production of a fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) with Russia only if there is full-scale transfer of technology as well as "benefits" for the indigenous effort to build a futuristic stealth fighter.
m.economictimes.com
Here's what another seasoned story teller from The Diplomat has to say :
For the past two years,
the IAF has repeatedly stated its desire to withdraw from the program citing disagreements over cost sharing plans, technology transfers, and the aircraft’s technological capabilities, among others (See: “India Wants Out of 5th Generation Fighter Jet Program With Russia”).
India has reportedly withdrawn from a 11-year joint program to develop a 5th generation fighter jet with Russia.
thediplomat.com
Here's what another master story teller Ajai Shukla has to write :
Now, the IAF has backed away from the FGFA because it argues the PAK-FA — which Sukhoi has been test-flying since January 2010 — is not stealthy enough for a fifth-generation combat aircraft.
Aerospace analysts who support the PAK-FA reject this argument. They point out that the US Air Force F-22 Raptor, was built with an extraordinary degree of stealth, but that proved to be counterproductive, since it resulted in high maintenance and life-cycle costs. Burned by that emphasis on stealth alone, US designers de-emphasised stealth while building their latest fifth-generation fighter, the F-35 Lightning II. Instead, they focused on building its combat edge through better sensors, highly networked avionics and superior long-range weapons.
National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval tells Russian delegation at "Defence Acquisition Meeting" that India shelving $8.63 billion deal to improve PAK-FA with IAF's requirements. Find latest updates on India Russia defence deal.
www.business-standard.com
Please note that multiple sources reported almost identical issues the IAF flagged namely the IAF was disappointed with the design which they deemed inadequate aa stealth apart from the engine powering the FA unlike what RST would have us believe that the IAF was satisfied with the project & that the decision
to abandon & not cancel the project was "taken by GoI under external pressure , " possibly American , whereas the same GoI withstood US pressure to go in for the Russian built S-400.
So, as we see, the original contention of RST of the IAF - HAL team "being part of the design process " got abandoned or as we've seen here multiple times got over ridden by other better stories pretty early on with RST proposing to instruct us on how do typical Indian programs of this nature proceed , another example of what we've seen innumerable times in the past namely " goal post shifting. "
Watch out for how he'd use the example of the entire process of PDP of the TEDBF to justify "the IAF - HAL team being part of the design team of the PAKFA" later on .
This is one of the reasons I keep returning to Strat Front. I mean you won't find such vaudeville performers in any forum defense or otherwise ever who keep returning to their mistakes, never acknowledging or learning from it & in the process provide wholesome entertainment. Quite a few characters here conforming to this norm with RST leading the pack by miles .
