After a long time, Admiral Krympa spoke again:

"If we approve of Colonel Prayan's proposal, then...... What are the possible channels for obtaining a reliable AWACS command aircraft in a short period of time? ”

"After all, I think that after going through the ASP plan, Stan Airlines should not be able to count on it anyway."

Faced with this somewhat sudden question, the generals looked at each other a few times, and this time, including Lieutenant General Badaoria, none of them spoke immediately.

After all, when it comes to equipment procurement, many times it is not a simple technical issue.

At such a time, rashly putting forward opinions is likely to lead to inexplicably "being sidelined".

If the plan succeeds, it's better to say, if something happens in the middle, it's easy to be thrown out as a scapegoat.

This kind of thing has not happened in the past.

Klingpa looked left and right, and realized that this was not the right occasion, so he waved his hand to the note-taker sitting next to him:

"The formal phase of the meeting is over, so let's talk about things between our own people."

"Moreover, the cost performance of the rented equipment is too low, the Russians charged the Tu-126 for almost half the cost of the aircraft, and there is a high compensation if there is damage and failure during the rental period...... In short, in peacetime, it is not as cost-effective as buying an airplane. ”

Soon someone proposed:

"Can you consider renting two more A50Us from the Russian Air Force to deal with it temporarily?"

"Chief of Staff, although the A50U will be available soon, after all, it is already an old model more than ten years ago, and it still uses a traditional mechanical scanning antenna, and the number of targets that can be processed at the same time is only 200-300, for an air force of this size in our country, I am afraid it will be difficult to cope with the future war in the 21st century."

So after the worry of leaving an archive was gone, the atmosphere instantly became much more relaxed.

In particular, Lieutenant General Badaoria, who initially expressed his support for the purchase of AWACS aircraft, was even more encouraged:

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and closed the notebook in front of them.

"Although we suffered a little loss a few days ago, the combat effectiveness of the army on the opposite side is really not good, and it is generally a draw, and it is estimated that they will be relatively stable in the next few years, so there is no need to be too anxious about the present, you can consider a slightly longer-term plan."

Obviously, in terms of buying rather than renting, it is definitely easy to form path dependence.

If you want to become a big country with a strong reputation, you will definitely not be able to rent an airplane for it.

"Then go directly to buy two A50Us in active service with the Russian army?"

After all, AWACS is still relatively sensitive, and if you want to buy an active E2 or E3, others will not necessarily sell it.

Logically speaking, this should be regarded as the most realistic plan for the Indian army.

The meaning is already obvious.

The person just now was not a member of this chain of interests, and his proposal to rent a plane was just out of habit, so when he saw the leader's opposition, he immediately changed his tone:

"After the disintegration, they don't need at all, and they can't maintain those dozens of early warning aircraft, we can pick some of them in good condition, and then refurbish them a little, so that the price is lower than the new opportunity, and the delivery speed will be very fast, according to our past experience, this kind of arms sales from active equipment can be completed in about half a year at the earliest."

However, today's Indians still have dreams.

"Moreover, according to the habits of the Russians, even if they are second-hand phones drawn from active forces, their price may not be much lower than that of a new aircraft......"

However, unsurprisingly, when the idea of buying rather than renting was suppressed, the joyful side of Indians immediately gained the upper hand.

Therefore, Klingpa immediately waved his hand:

Those who can sit on today's occasion are all high-level air force executives, and naturally they all hope to add more good things to their own troops, so that they can also improve their right to speak.

The recorder got up and left the room.

In this way, the next part can be regarded as informal small talk.

The words he used to guide were very good, and Admiral Klingpa had almost agreed to the plan to buy the A50U just now, but when he heard this, he suddenly became hesitant again.

If the AWACS aircraft bought at a large price will soon fall behind, then it will be difficult for him, as chief of staff of the Air Force, to escape accountability.

But the officer who first proposed did not give in at all, and immediately retorted:

"But even the E3 of the Americans, the state of technology is basically stuck in about ten years ago, and it also uses mechanical scanning radar......"

However, such arguments cannot refute the eloquent Badaoria.

As the commander of the theater air force, he has long tracked the most advanced aviation technology in Europe and the United States, so he quickly found the loopholes of the other side:

"Because of this, the U.S. military launched a new early warning aircraft research and development project last year, planning to replace the E3 and E8 models with the MC2A early warning aircraft of the Boeing 767 platform.

"This ......"

The other party obviously didn't know the details of this MC2A project, and was speechless for a while, so he had to change the topic:

"So, if you think the A50U doesn't meet our needs, who else can offer a more advanced model? MC2A should be just a plan at the moment, and even if the plan is completed, the Americans may not sell it to us. ”

Seeing that the atmosphere in the conference room had already smelled of gunpowder, another lieutenant general quickly raised his head and pressed down, and then tried to play a round:

"Purely from a technical point of view, I remember that the Swedish company Saab delivered the first early warning aircraft of the Saab 2000 platform last year, and the active phased array radar developed by Ehroid Eye was installed on it, which should meet the requirements of General Badaoria, and although it is not in stock, it is also a mature model that has been put into service, and the volume is not large, and the delivery cycle should be ...... quickly."

As a result, after saying a word, the other two people, who were already about to quarrel, looked at him almost at the same time and shouted in unison:

"No way!"

On this matter, the attitude of those two people is very consistent.

"The size of the Saab 2000 is almost exactly the same as the HS748 platform early warning aircraft that we just discontinued, and the take-off weight is only more than 20 tons."

Badaoria clenched his hands into fists and said emotionally:

"I think the HS748 has proven that an AWACS aircraft of this size cannot bring a large enough high-performance radar, and the range of a regional airliner may be enough for a country like Sweden, but for us, it is difficult to provide enough mission time."

It is clear that he is not willing to buy only a light AWACS aircraft of a small size.

"General Badaoria, I don't know what you think?"

The lieutenant general, who had just been scolded back by the two of them, had no choice but to ask:

"If you think that none of the plans we have come up with are up to the mark, you should always have your own ideas, right?"

"Of course."

It was at this time that Badaoria was waiting, and immediately sat up straight:

"Since we have decided to purchase externally, we should try to do it in one step and choose a model that will not lag behind in the next 10-15 years."

"Now there are only two countries in the world that can provide the stock of AWACS aircraft for the active phased array radar program, but it has just been said that the Swedes' program is too small and not suitable for a large country like ours, so that only the Fercon system of the Kingdom of David remains."

"But Fercom uses the Boeing 707 as a platform, and the Americans will most likely not agree to sell it to us, right?"

This time, it was Klingpa, who had just not made a clear statement.

Although it may sound like a question, the issue has gone straight to the implementation level, indicating that the Admiral is clearly interested in the Fercon system as well.

Seeing through this layer, Badaoria decided to strike while the iron was hot:

"We don't need to use the Boeing 707 platform, after all, the original Fercom still has a blind spot of about 60 degrees in the tail."

At this point, he paused for a moment, and then changed his words:

"A few years ago, Huaxia and David jointly launched a research and development project called the 'Ring Project' early warning aircraft, which is to use the Fercon system to adapt to the Il-76 transport aircraft platform, which is similar to an A50U, but the function is much stronger, and because it is a traditional disc antenna, it can achieve 360 ° detection without dead angles."

"Recently, due to some external reasons, the project has not been carried out smoothly, and it is said that Huaxia has protested many times because of this incident, but it obviously has not had any effect."

"Now this AWACS project should be in a state of stagnation, and the Davids are unwilling to continue to push forward, but if it defaults directly, then at least the advance payment must be refunded, so that the sunk cost of the early investment will be wasted...... So I think they should have a strong desire to find a home for this project. ”

At this point, Badaoria did not continue, but looked at several colleagues next to him with a "everyone understands" look.

"Do you want to cut off the project of the Chinese people?"

There seemed to be a hint of excitement in Klingpa's tone.

After its humiliating defeat in 1962, India has always regarded the northern powers as its main rival, or hypothetical enemy (though the other side does not see it that way).

Therefore, if China can be given an eye medicine while advancing the early warning aircraft project, it can undoubtedly be regarded as a symbolic victory.

In addition to boosting morale, more importantly, such a plan is easier to pass in New Delhi.

"That's right,"

Badaoria nodded:

"According to previous reports, the offer negotiated by the Chinese and David is $350 million per plane, of course, this is the situation in the early 90s, but if you use the psychology of David to return the funds to talk, there is a high probability that the original price can be maintained."

"You know, even if we buy a second-hand A50U now, the price will not be lower than this number...... Moreover, the project is so well completed that we should not have to wait too long to get the plane. ”

(End of chapter)