Livefist Readers Vote F-16IN Out Of MMRCA Competition, Rafale On Top Again


Sixty-five per cent of 2882 votes polled over a week by Livefist readers eliminates the F-16IN Super Viper from the MMRCA competition first, followed by the MiG-35. The Livefist audience order of merit therefore places the Rafale on top (once again), followed by the Eurofighter. Then comes the MiG-35, then the Gripen. The F/A-18 comes in second last.

Flightglobal’s Steve Trimble has linked to this poll on his DEW Line blog here.

18 thoughts on “Livefist Readers Vote F-16IN Out Of MMRCA Competition, Rafale On Top Again”

  1. The vote polled is bang on target with the battle of the 3 European Carnards, Rafale, EF Typhoon & Gripen IN respectively.

    Now is boils down to the political decision. I would think the deal that gives us mileage on the world's scene would win.

    We could leverage the French veto at the UN Security Counsel when required, the civilian nuclear deal would make great progress and in-roads if we opt for the Rafale.

    However, if we go for the EF Typhoon, this would catapult our AF into the most potent and feared AF's in the world. Just picture the EF Typhoon side by side with the Sukhoi 30 MKI, Mirage 2000 & the Phalcon AWACS.

    This would definitely give our negibours many sleepless nights…

  2. The vote polled is bang on target with the battle of the 3 European Carnards, Rafale, EF Typhoon & Gripen IN respectively.

    Now is boils down to the political decision. I would think the deal that gives us mileage on the world's scene would win.

    We could leverage the French veto at the UN Security Counsel when required, the civilian nuclear deal would make great progress and in-roads if we opt for the Rafale.

    However, if we go for the EF Typhoon, this would catapult our AF into the most potent and feared AF's in the world. Just picture the EF Typhoon side by side with the Sukhoi 30 MKI, Mirage 2000 & the Phalcon AWACS.

    This would definitely give our negibours many sleepless nights…

  3. When Govt. responds to this poll,
    it will be reverse order!

    1. F-16
    2. F/A-18E/F
    3. Mig-35
    4. Eurofighter
    5. Rafale
    6. GrippenIN

  4. There is no doubt, the IAF must choose Rafale. The Typhoon is too weak compare to the french bird (naval version already exist, full sensor fusion, better air to air capabilities, more stealth than EF, combat proven, etc…). We don't need to waste more time, the choice for Rafale is so obvious!

  5. Hi,

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  6. Wondering why the polls that indicated the EF Typhoon as a 2:1 favorite over the Rafale mysteriously disappeared from your blog !

    Rafale is toast – toast the EF Typhoon !

  7. For 5 out of 6 voting days Rafale was behind EF and only on last day it got marginally better votes. Go for EF

  8. EF lacks the true multi role capability. Also it will not be that much of a difference b/w Rafale and EF when it comes to A-to-A and in air to ground mode the Rafale is superior. The Rafale costs less and we can have more Rafales then EF if needed. Also the French can provide the Rafale at much faster rate than the EF. Rafale is lighter and most suited to be in the Medium aircraft category. Still matches or nearly matches the EF in all criteria while excelling in air to ground mode. Combat experience in Afghanistan. Short take off capability will be really helpful when operating from short airways during wartime. But the French must also ensure that they don't cheat like in the case of Scrorpene. Also the IAF must make sure that every improvement if any is agreed upon and included in the deal with all possible outcomes. This will ensure that we can have a good deal with the Rafale fighters for the IAF.

  9. If the order is going to be for 200 birds, surely both Typhoon & Rafale will be ordered. Rafale for the naval varient & slightly lesser in numbers than Typhoon. It might turn out to to be 110/120 Typhoons & 70/30 Rafales.

  10. If Rafale is selected, we must be capable of making it into an Rafale MKI. As time progresses, our own systems which will be better than the present one will arrive. So the option to have Indian systems onboard must be there. The Radar can be the same AESA that goes into the Tejas MKII. Also the engines can be replaced with the Indian version of Kaveri-II. Also the missile can be Astra and Bombs fitted with the Sudarshan kits. Also avionics can be upgraded with time as our avoionics can be better than the one in Rafale. With time we can modify the Rafale into Rafale MKI.

  11. This is turning out to be a world cup of some sort! All these aircraft's have matured into production variants(apart form the f-16 which is almost a grandpa)and after much speculation and talk on who is the best the IAFs strict evaluation procedure sets standards on how aircraft testing and evaluation (should purge the manufactures brochure of errors and tall claims) has to be done and the purge would put the table in the right order. The winner is pretty much the world cup champion! This deal would be the ultimate test on who exactly is the best considering all tech and strings pulled.

    My best guess is the Rafael considering the tech and the french foreign policy which is a bit immune to pressures. However the question remains why spend double the amount on aircraft's that are not in anyway vastly better than the Su-30MKI, considering the AESA radar can be obtained by other channels.

  12. Rafale better suited for the IAF ….
    F 18/A is also good since the USA is keen on partnering India ….
    Both Presidents of those countries are scheduled to stop over later this year and pay visit to PM office … so cabinet might not take steps to approve the winner until the visits are done ….
    On a particular note we have to also strenghten our friendship with Russia , trusted and loyal with time as in case of war with China or Pakistan , Russians are a great support to India and that strategic importance of Russia gives it the leverage for the Mig 35 to also be considered.

  13. Typhoon will get it. There are o plans to upgrade the Rafale in the future and BAE have alread came forward with a CFT model of the Typhoon. BAE even have the TVN and they have crated a proper AESA radar for the tranche 3s. Plus upgrading the EJ200 are also possible. And Typhoon has sensor fusion.

    So people please think about this. The Eurofighter Tranche with TVN, upgraded engines, new radar, CFT and the ability to detect stealth targets like a B2 bomber more than 80+ miles away…

    The Eurofighter will beat every aircraft in the world!

    By G777 (YT channel G777GUN)

  14. 20billion $ for decade old rafale fighter. Thanks to UPA. its complete life cycle will cost this junk 40 billion$. Canand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia every one rejected except India's IAF. Again Thanks to UPA. Even at this 40 billion $ cost we will not get even 80% technology transfer of this rafale deal. i think we should go for Saab grippen cheaper and proven fighter. PMO nd MOD plz cencel this rafale deal. we cant afford rafale fighter. saab gripen will cost 5k$ per hour in air while rafale will cost 15k $ per hour. this is day time robbery by france. we must cancel this deal.

  15. Eurofighter is made on modular approach. so updating it is easier. plus it has far more weapon compatibility. while rafale has not that much. Eurofighter is accepted by NATO.

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