Foreign 4th/5th Generation Fighter Updates From India, Japan and Turkey

First India's Rafale Procurement Costs, Headaches and Future:

India's criticism of a high price tag on the Dassault Rafale has sharpened public focus on French negotiations to extend sale of the twin-jet fighter beyond a planned 36 units for the Indian Air Force.

Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar fueled speculation about the final size of the Rafale order May 31 when he said the French fighters were "way too expensive" and there was no longer a plan to buy a total of 126 Rafales.

But Dassault Aviation Chairman Eric Trappier said the 126-jet deal "is under discussion," although he admitted progress is slow.

"The Indian Air Force needs many more than 36 planes," Trappier told Defense News.

"There is an immediate need for 36. The negotiations for 126 are rather slow.

"They have an urgent operational requirement which does not allow time needed to set up the license, so they asked for 36 quickly," said the Dassault boss.

India has been negotiating to buy 126 Rafales under the Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program after beating the Eurofighter Typhoon to selection in 2012.

The future of that deal was clouded after the unexpected announcement by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit to Paris April 10 that India wanted 36 jets straight off the Dassault production line.

Modi cited "critical operational necessity" to buy the Rafales in fly-away condition.

Trappier said he hopes that particular deal will be signed by the end of the year.

The Indian defense minister's remark on the high price was understandable, a French defense specialist said.

Beyond the fly-away unit price, there is the "real price" that includes support and equipment such as a test bench, maintenance tools, manuals and training simulators. The technical support runs in hundreds of millions of euros and is a separate cost from the supply of spares and the aircraft.

Negotiations for the 36 units may have unveiled the full potential cost, after Modi's announcement of the planned purchase.

link.

Japan's Decision to buy the F-35 means they still need to figure out what to do about their F-15 and F-2 4th Generation fighters:

The purchase of the F-35 should give the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) next-generation intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance performance, but upgrades to Japan's F-2 and F-15 fleets can continue for only so long, and replacements will be needed in the mid-to-late 2020s, analysts say.

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(I remember when the F-2 was going to be a new uber fighter superior to everything American...based on the article, its anything but!)

Turkey is seeking a foreign partner, much like the South Koreans did, for their 5th gen indigenous fighter program:

In one of the most critical stages shaping its indigenous fighter jet program, the Turkish government plans to select a foreign partner by 2016, officials said.

The foreign partner would be expected to support the approximately four-year planned designing phase of the program dubbed F-X, the officials said.

One senior procurement official said the contract involving the foreign partner would be around US $1 billion.

link.

I'd guess the Koreans might be a good choice.  Indirectly, it'd bring in the Americans and help with the costs because the South Koreans and Indonesians are jointly paying for Korea's new 5th gen indigenous fighter.  However, the Turks want a Turkish designed fighter, sooo...it might not be that helpful after all.