Under the tender conditions, the first 18 fighters must be delivered to New Delhi in assembled form, and the remaining 108 produced at HAL, or Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., plants under a license. There is also an option for an additional 64 aircraft, which means the contract may be increased to $16 billion.

The tender will be held in three stages. First, a special technical commission set up by the government will check the compliance of bidders' proposals with the operation requirements of the air force. Then bidding planes will undergo real-time tests to determine their combat and operating possibilities. And finally, bidders' commercial proposals will be considered. One of New Delhi's main requests is that 50 percent of the contract worth, which is more than the usual 30 percent accepted in such cases, be reinvested in the Indian economy, including in its aviation industry.

India's Defense Ministry plans to take delivery of the first planes in 2012, and the rest of them by 2020. The fighters must have a service life of 40 years, during which time they will be constantly upgraded and provided with state-of-the-art weapons.

Six companies have been officially invited to take part in the tender: America's Boeing with its FA-18EF Super Hornet and related Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) with the F-16; France's Dassault Aviation with the Rafale; the Swedish SAAB JAS-39 Grippen; the European Eurofighter EF-200 Typhoon; and the Russian MiG Aviation Corp. with the MiG-35 Fulcrum fighter. Although the tender is still a long way away -- almost two years -- the participants must do their presentations within the next six months; therefore, the question of who wins and why is being posed now.

Does Russia's MiG have a chance? Experts believe it does.

The multi-role MiG-35 Fulcrum or MiG-35D two-seater fighter is a generation 4(plus)(plus) plane. It is a further development of MiG-29K/KUB fighters, which Russia will supply for the Indian aircraft carrier Vikramaditya -- formerly Admiral Gorshkov -- now under refit at the Sevmashpredpriyatiye production association.

It has a better combat performance and improved flying characteristics. For example, its onboard radioelectronic equipment includes a fifth-generation information sighting system. The fighter is capable of using air rockets and bombs made in Russia and other countries. Its onboard defense system comprises optoelectronic systems for detecting attacking missiles and laser radiation, radio countermeasures system, and an automatic decoy release mechanism.

These novel features enable it to fight successfully in the air and hit coastal and sea targets at any time of day and night and in all weather conditions without entering the AD zone.

The fighter has a number of other advantages, but so do its rivals. However, combat characteristics are unlikely to determine the fighter's choice for the Indian air force. There are always other reasons that can sway a top-level decision.

One is the fact that most Indian combat aircraft are Soviet- or Russian-made. According to the British factbook "The Military Balance," India's air force has more than 500 fighter jets produced in Russia and only 70 French-manufactured Mirage 2000s and Jaguars, plus 10 or so VTOL Sea Harriers on the Viraat aircraft carrier that was handed over to New Delhi by London 50 years ago.

What is more, HAL plants are currently assembling multi-role Su-300MKI fighters under a Russian license. Indian engineers and technicians, familiar with Su production technology, can easily master the assembly and later manufacture under a license -- which is one of the tender conditions -- of the new Russian aircraft.

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(Next: Russia-India defense cooperation problems)

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(Nikita Petrov is a military commentator for RIA Novosti. This article is reprinted by permission of RIA Novosti. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.)

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(United Press International's "Outside View" commentaries are written by outside contributors who specialize in a variety of important issues. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of United Press International. In the interests of creating an open forum, original submissions are invited.)