Destroying Myth of Indian Indengious Weapons Capability

[Bossman]

LCA Tejas Mk 2 to fly by 2014, Mk 1 not yet developed!
Posted by vkthakur on Sunday, July 26, 2009 (EST)


Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) has issued a RFP for the supply of 99 engines with thrust in the 95-100 KN to power Tejas LCA Mk 2, which the agency hopes will fly in 2014. Photo Credit: ADA

July 26, 2009, (Sawf News) - Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) has issued a RFP for the supply of 99 engines with thrust in the 95-100 KN to power Tejas LCA Mk 2, which the agency hopes will fly in 2014.

The RFP is being sent to just two contenders: General Electric (GE) for the F414 engine and Eurojet for the EJ200 engine. They are required to submit their proposals by October 12.

The RFP indicates an initial procurement of 99 engines with an optional follow-up up for 49 more. The initial batch of engines will be procured directly from the manufacturer with the rest being assembled at HAL (inevitably!)

The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project was sanctioned in 1982 with a budget of Rs 560 crore to develop a state-of-the-art F-16 class fighter aircraft to replace IAF's MiG-21 fighters.

Close to Rs 6,000 crore have since been spent but the aircraft, rechristened as Tejas, still remains under development.

The aircraft is currently being tested with a substitute engine (F404-GE-IN20) and makeshift avionics package.

The LCA was designed around the Kaveri engine that DRDO's Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) has been developing since 1989. The Kaveri engine has so far burnt more cash ($400 million) than fuel. The power plant is grossly overweight and does not have the 21,000-22,500lb of thrust (93-100kN) that the IAF requires.

To make matters worst, the LCA is 1.5 tons heavier than envisaged. As a result its thrust to weight ratio and maneuverability are dismal. Its aerial display at Aero India 2009 was uninspiring.

In September 2008, realizing that the Kaveri engine was better suited to power ships (Seriously, there is a proposal!) than fighter aircraft, ADA announced plans to issue a RFP for a more powerful engine in the 95-100 kilo Newtons (kN) range.

Surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, ADA has taken a year to issue the RFP. ADA officials tell The Hindu that the delay was caused because HAL butted in to say they would assemble the engines. ADA, already embarrassed by project delays was keen to procure all of them off the shelf.

Though the RFP stipulates only assembly, not license manufacture, HAL is keen to work on manufacturing technologies such as single crystal blade and blade cooling that will come with these engines. HAL of course has nothing to show as achievements for all the fighter engines that it has assembled in the past.

Eurojet is trying to steal the march over GE by promising that an Indian entity can join them "as a partner" in designing modifications/ improvements to the EJ200.

The Tejas will need to be redesigned to accommodate the larger engine probably triggering another weight spiral.

In October 2008, Defense Minister A K Antony announced that the country would purchase a total of 140 Tejas aircraft to form seven fighter squadrons of the IAF.

The initial 40 Tejas aircraft will be powered by the GE 404. Subsequent aircraft will be powered by the Kaveri replacement.

It is unlikely that anyone involved with the LCA – IAF, ADA, HAL or even the Defense Minister – believes that there will ever be seven Tejas squadrons, but everyone is playing along. Like the Marut, developed in the 1960s, the LCA will enter into limited squadron service for 5-10 years before being placed in parks at city centers, schools and museums.

Incidentally, click on the "Tejas LCA" link in the left sidebar. It will take you to one of the most popular article on this blog that I wrote in 2004. I am repeating pretty much what I said then for which I got panned. I will probably get panned for saying it again, thanks to you DRDO "patriots."

 

[acetophenol]

@bossman--why are you doing this?

 

[Bossman]

HAL’s global projects hit air pockets after aircraft crashes

Huma Siddiqui
Posted: Thursday, Dec 17, 2009 at 0019 hrs IST
Updated: Thursday, Dec 17, 2009 at 0019 hrs IST

New Delhi: Despite the best efforts of the Indian government to strengthen its domestic defence production capabilities, the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) seems destinedto fail in every project with international collaboration, it has embarked on so far.

Soon after President Pratibha Patil undertook a much-publicised flight in a combat aircraft, a Sukhoi-30 MKI jet of the c (IAF) crashed near Jethagaon in Jaisalmer while returning from a regular training mission. This was the second of India’s most advanced fighter jet in less than eight months.

According to sources, the aircraft that crashed was a new machine that had recently been rolled out by HAL and was part of an upcoming squadron in Pune.

This is the second crash of a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter after a fatal accident on April 30 in which an officer lost his life. The fleet was grounded for close to a month after the April crash and sources said that the fighters are likely to stay on the ground till investigators give a go ahead. However they were flying again.

Earlier this year, in July, defence minister AK Antony had said that while there are no serious maintenance problems with the aircraft, the fleet was grounded for three weeks to ascertain the cause of the crash. He also revealed that the reason for the crash was a “likely failure of the fly-by-wire system”.

Antony had maintained that, “The Su-30 is one of the most advanced jets in the world. The IAF is very happy with it. The IAF feels it is one of the best in the world.”

The Su-30 was inducted in 1996 and the IAF fleet currently comprises 98 aircraft. This will rise to 230 by 2015, Antony said. The IAF operates three squadrons (approximately 55 aircraft) of the jet; some were bought in flyaway condition from its Russian manufacturer while state-owned HAL manufactured the others under licence.

The state-owned aerospace major HAL has sharply ramped up its manufacturing capacities and is set to deliver 350 combat jets, trainers and helicopters worth Rs500 billion to the Indian armed forces by 2012.

HAL, from its plants at Bangalore, Nashik and Koraput, is currently engaged in manufacturing some 100 indigenous Dhruv advanced light helicopters, an almost equal number of Sukhoi Su-30 MKI combat jets under licence from Russia, some 60 Hawk advanced jet trainers under license from Britain and a little over 20 indigenous Tejas light combat jets.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news...rashes/555052/

 

[acetophenol]

armoured scorpio:

 

[Bossman]

IAF wants to train afresh flying cadets at Dundigal

Ravi Sharma

BANGALORE: The Indian Air Force has written to the government asking that it be permitted to recommence ab initio flying training of around 140 cadets at the Air Force Academy (AFA) at Dundigal near Hyderabad.

The IAF’s letter comes in the wake of the grounding of the entire fleet of its basic trainer — the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-manufactured Hindustan Piston Trainer-32 (HPT-32) and suspension of stage-I basic flying training.

The grounding soon after the July 31 crash of a HPT-32 in Andhra Pradesh’s Medak district, in which two senior flying instructors were killed, means that cadets at present do not have a basic trainer, in which they take their first flying lessons.

Further, the life of the intermediate Kirans, which are of 1960s vintage, may get drastically reduced, making them unavailable for the IAF’s intermediate flying training.

In its letter, the IAF has also asked that the process of finding a new basic trainer which will replace HPT-32 be fast tracked. For, getting the grounded HPT-32 back in action “would not happen in the near future.”

The IAF is also not prepared to re-accept HPT-32 until the HAL and the engine manufacturer, Lycoming Engines, jointly certify that the trainer is safe for flying.

Officials at the HAL disclosed that a committee was formed to look into the modifications needed before the trainer becomes safe for flying.

But the HAL record over the past 20 years in making numerous modifications to the HPT-32’s fuel system has been ineffective.

Meanwhile, preliminary findings of the Court of Inquiry into the July 31 crash show that the trainer suffered an ‘engine cut’ (a situation where the engine suddenly switches-off) in mid-air. The two pilots’ efforts to restart the engine failed, leading to the crash.

For the IAF, the engine cuts on HPT-32 have been disastrous what with 90 such incidents reported since it became operational in 1984.

 

[acetophenol]

Ashok Leyland FAT 6x6 artillery tractor

 

[Bossman]

by Ajai Shukla
Bangalore, India
Business Standard

With India’s home-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) --- the Tejas --- flying successfully through its testing process, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has now signed up for an indigenous Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA). Within days, the IAF and a team of aircraft designers will formally set up a joint committee to frame the specifications for India’s own MCA, which will be built largely in Bangalore.

The MCA’s design team will centre on the agencies that have built the LCA: the Aeronautical Development Paint Agency (ADPA); the National Aeronautics Paint Laboratory (NAPL); Hindustan Aeronautics Paints Limited (HAPL); and a host of Defence R&D Organisation (DODO) laboratories that will develop futuristic sensors and systems for the MCA.

The Director of ADPA, Dr PS Subramaniam, confirmed to Business Standard, “The joint committee is likely to be formed within two or three weeks. This committee will finalise what will go into the MCA, as well as the budget and development schedule.”

According to Dr Subramaniam, the programme will aim to develop the MCA and build 5-6 prototypes at a cost of Rs 5000 crores. That is approximately the same amount that has gone into the LCA programme.

With this, Indian aeronautical designers will be working in all the fighter categories. In the light fighter category (10-11 tons), the Tejas LCA is expected to get operational clearance in 2011; the MCA will be India’s first foray into the medium fighter category (14-15 tons); and in the heavy fighter category (20 tons plus), currently ruled by the Russian Sukhoi-30MKI, Indian designers plan to partner their Russian counterparts in developing the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA).

Interestingly, the decision to develop an indigenous MCA comes alongside the overseas procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for an estimated Rs 50,000 crores. Senior IAF planners point out that the MMRCA procurement is unavoidable for replacing the MiG-29s and Mirage-2000s that will become obsolete while the MCA is still being developed.

By 2020, when the IAF’s current fleet would have been largely phased out, MoD planners forecast a requirement for at least 250 medium fighters. This has raised hopes amongst the MMRCA contenders (the US F/A-18 and F-16, Russia’s Mig-35; the Eurofighter Typhoon; and the Swedish Gripen) that the winner could end up supplying twice as many fighters as the current tender. But a successful Indian MCA programme would cap the MMRCA procurement at 126 fighters. After that, the MCA production will kick in.

The MCA designers plan to pursue technologies superior to anything currently on offer. The ADA Director points out, “None of the MMRCA contenders will be state-of-the-art in 2015-2017. But the MCA will; it will incorporate the technologies of the future, which currently feature only on the US Air Force’s F-22 Raptor.”

India’s aeronautical designers see the MCA programme as crucial for taking forward the expertise that has been painstakingly accumulated in the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme. The IAF is in agreement; and the Rama Rao Committee, set up for restructuring the DRDO, has recommended that programmes must be created to provide continuity for designers.

Says a senior MoD official: “With great difficulty we have built up a team that can design a complete combat aircraft. After a couple of years, when the LCA goes into production, there will be no design work left. Without another aircraft programme to work on, we will lose this team, having attained this level.”

---------- Post added at 10:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:37 AM ----------

NAL-built Saras aircraft crashed:India

In a setback to India’s civil aircraft development programme, a Saras aircraft crashed on Bangalore’s outskirts on Friday during a test flight, killing three Indian Air Force pilots. This could put back the already delayed project schedule by at least two years, analysts said. Crashed: Saras is only the second plane after Hansa—a two-seater trainer aircraft—that is being developed locally. Hemant Mishra/MintTwo prototypes of Saras—being developed by National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) and named after the Indian crane—have flown at least 100 hours since its maiden flight in 2004. A third so-called production-standard aircraft was expected to fly later this year.

NAL expected the aircraft to be certified by 2010. Despite a civil aviation boom in India and airlines buying passenger planes from Boeing Co. and Airbus SAS, the country does not have a strong manufacturing base. Saras is only the second plane after Hansa—a two-seater trainer aircraft—that is being developed locally. NAL is also working on designing a 70-seat passenger plane called the RTA-70 for regional transport.“This will put the programme (behind) by two years. The best way to tackle them is to learn the lessons and produce a better aircraft,” said T.J. Master, chairman of Master Aerospace Consultants Pvt. Ltd, an aerospace consultancy firm. “Aircraft development is fundamental job. It is like fundamental research—it is open to hazards,” Master said. It has been criticized as it is heavier than its desired 7,100kg weight

The cause of the crash is yet to be ascertained. The aircraft was being tested by pilots of aircraft systems and testing establishment, the elite agency of the air force that certifies every plane and system it intends to use. “It is terrible. most unexpected. I am surprised,” said Roddam Narasimha, an eminent aerospace scientist and a former director of NAL.“There will be setbacks. We have to move forward,” said M.S. Chidananda, project director of Saras at NAL. An inquiry will be ordered to ascertain reasons for the crash, he said. Till the inquiry is completed, the other aircraft will be grounded. The air force is slated to be the first customer for Saras and had expressed an interest to buy 15 of the 14-seater passenger planes that could be used for transporting goods. The plane was to be built by military plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

Saras is powered by two turboprop engines of Canada’s Pratt and Whitney and designed to take off and land on small runways. It is expected to replace the air force’s ageing Dornier 228 transport aircraft fleet, which it has used since the 1980s. German plane maker Dornier Gmbh, which has since ceased to exist, lost an aircraft during development trials of the Dornier 228.Saras, which has seen delays due to non-availability of components following the 1998 US sanctions, has been criticized because it is heavier than its desired weight of 7,100kg. The third aircraft was to be lighter by 500kg by using lightweight composites that would replace some metal parts.

 

[acetophenol]

ashok leyland bandwagon:

 

[Bossman]

Intermediate Jet Trainer lands on belly Ravi Sharma BANGALORE:

In a setback to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) programme, the Prototype Trainer Two (PT2), landed on its belly at the HAL airport here on Wednesday evening after a routine aerobatic sortie. The programme is already delayed by four years,
The sortie was undertaken as part of the preparations for the next week’s “Aero India 2009” air show here.
The aircraft was piloted by HAL’s Executive Director - Chief Test Pilot (Fixed Wing) Squadron Leader Baldev Singh (retd.) and Wing Commander C. Subramaniam, an Indian Air Force fighter pilot on deputation to HAL.
Eyewitnesses said the aircraft appeared to do a normal touch-down, rolled and then the wheels started retracting, forcing it to land on its belly.
Initial indications are that the landing speed of the aircraft could have been a shade too fast, prompting the pilots to try and retract the undercarriage, and do a touch and go as the aircraft was likely to overshoot the runway.
There were suggestions that one of the tyres could have burst during landing, resulting in brake failure. A court of inquiry, headed by Benji Mammen, HAL’s Chief of Project, Light Combat Aircraft, has been set up to look into the incident.
There was structural damage to the undercarriage and belly, the doors and one of the wing tips.
HAL’s only chance of showcasing the IJT at the air show now rests on PT1, the prototype that suffered a crash in February 2007 (during Aero India 2007) when the canopy opened just before take-off.
The PT1, which has not been flown since then, was recently fitted with the Russian AL-55I engine. While one ground run with the AL-55I (‘I’ for Indian) is over it is yet to get airborne.
Meant to be the backbone of the IAF’s combat pilot training programme, the IJT programme was sanctioned by the government in 1999.

 

[tjpf]

by Ajai Shukla
Bangalore, India
Business Standard

With India’s home-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) --- the Tejas --- flying successfully through its testing process, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has now signed up for an indigenous Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA). Within days, the IAF and a team of aircraft designers will formally set up a joint committee to frame the specifications for India’s own MCA, which will be built largely in Bangalore.

The MCA’s design team will centre on the agencies that have built the LCA: the Aeronautical Development Paint Agency (ADPA); the National Aeronautics Paint Laboratory (NAPL); Hindustan Aeronautics Paints Limited (HAPL); and a host of Defence R&D Organisation (DODO) laboratories that will develop futuristic sensors and systems for the MCA.

The Director of ADPA, Dr PS Subramaniam, confirmed to Business Standard, “The joint committee is likely to be formed within two or three weeks. This committee will finalise what will go into the MCA, as well as the budget and development schedule.”

According to Dr Subramaniam, the programme will aim to develop the MCA and build 5-6 prototypes at a cost of Rs 5000 crores. That is approximately the same amount that has gone into the LCA programme.

With this, Indian aeronautical designers will be working in all the fighter categories. In the light fighter category (10-11 tons), the Tejas LCA is expected to get operational clearance in 2011; the MCA will be India’s first foray into the medium fighter category (14-15 tons); and in the heavy fighter category (20 tons plus), currently ruled by the Russian Sukhoi-30MKI, Indian designers plan to partner their Russian counterparts in developing the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA).

Interestingly, the decision to develop an indigenous MCA comes alongside the overseas procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for an estimated Rs 50,000 crores. Senior IAF planners point out that the MMRCA procurement is unavoidable for replacing the MiG-29s and Mirage-2000s that will become obsolete while the MCA is still being developed.

By 2020, when the IAF’s current fleet would have been largely phased out, MoD planners forecast a requirement for at least 250 medium fighters. This has raised hopes amongst the MMRCA contenders (the US F/A-18 and F-16, Russia’s Mig-35; the Eurofighter Typhoon; and the Swedish Gripen) that the winner could end up supplying twice as many fighters as the current tender. But a successful Indian MCA programme would cap the MMRCA procurement at 126 fighters. After that, the MCA production will kick in.

The MCA designers plan to pursue technologies superior to anything currently on offer. The ADA Director points out, “None of the MMRCA contenders will be state-of-the-art in 2015-2017. But the MCA will; it will incorporate the technologies of the future, which currently feature only on the US Air Force’s F-22 Raptor.”

India’s aeronautical designers see the MCA programme as crucial for taking forward the expertise that has been painstakingly accumulated in the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme. The IAF is in agreement; and the Rama Rao Committee, set up for restructuring the DRDO, has recommended that programmes must be created to provide continuity for designers.

Says a senior MoD official: “With great difficulty we have built up a team that can design a complete combat aircraft. After a couple of years, when the LCA goes into production, there will be no design work left. Without another aircraft programme to work on, we will lose this team, having attained this level.”

---------- Post added at 10:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:37 AM ----------

NAL-built Saras aircraft crashed:India

In a setback to India’s civil aircraft development programme, a Saras aircraft crashed on Bangalore’s outskirts on Friday during a test flight, killing three Indian Air Force pilots. This could put back the already delayed project schedule by at least two years, analysts said. Crashed: Saras is only the second plane after Hansa—a two-seater trainer aircraft—that is being developed locally. Hemant Mishra/MintTwo prototypes of Saras—being developed by National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) and named after the Indian crane—have flown at least 100 hours since its maiden flight in 2004. A third so-called production-standard aircraft was expected to fly later this year.

NAL expected the aircraft to be certified by 2010. Despite a civil aviation boom in India and airlines buying passenger planes from Boeing Co. and Airbus SAS, the country does not have a strong manufacturing base. Saras is only the second plane after Hansa—a two-seater trainer aircraft—that is being developed locally. NAL is also working on designing a 70-seat passenger plane called the RTA-70 for regional transport.“This will put the programme (behind) by two years. The best way to tackle them is to learn the lessons and produce a better aircraft,” said T.J. Master, chairman of Master Aerospace Consultants Pvt. Ltd, an aerospace consultancy firm. “Aircraft development is fundamental job. It is like fundamental research—it is open to hazards,” Master said. It has been criticized as it is heavier than its desired 7,100kg weight

The cause of the crash is yet to be ascertained. The aircraft was being tested by pilots of aircraft systems and testing establishment, the elite agency of the air force that certifies every plane and system it intends to use. “It is terrible. most unexpected. I am surprised,” said Roddam Narasimha, an eminent aerospace scientist and a former director of NAL.“There will be setbacks. We have to move forward,” said M.S. Chidananda, project director of Saras at NAL. An inquiry will be ordered to ascertain reasons for the crash, he said. Till the inquiry is completed, the other aircraft will be grounded. The air force is slated to be the first customer for Saras and had expressed an interest to buy 15 of the 14-seater passenger planes that could be used for transporting goods. The plane was to be built by military plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

Saras is powered by two turboprop engines of Canada’s Pratt and Whitney and designed to take off and land on small runways. It is expected to replace the air force’s ageing Dornier 228 transport aircraft fleet, which it has used since the 1980s. German plane maker Dornier Gmbh, which has since ceased to exist, lost an aircraft during development trials of the Dornier 228.Saras, which has seen delays due to non-availability of components following the 1998 US sanctions, has been criticized because it is heavier than its desired weight of 7,100kg. The third aircraft was to be lighter by 500kg by using lightweight composites that would replace some metal parts.

its easy to criticize someone ......ur posting our failures and set back but we are posting our success......need i say more!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[acetophenol]

milap carbine:

 

[Bossman]

Crashes, delays hit Indian participation at Aero India

Manu Pubby


Bangalore : This year's Aero India show will be the largest ever with 592 companies from 25 countries showcasing their latest products, but a series of delays, production hitches and an air crash have hit the Indian participation at the prestigious military air exposition. While no new Indian products will be on display, even older "in development" products will give the air show a miss.


For starters, the indigenous effort to develop an Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) by HAL received a jolt just days before the air show. One of the two flying prototypes of the aircraft crashlanded on the runway after a routine test flight, writing it off for the Aero India show. The project, which has been delayed for close to five years already, also had a similar spell of bad luck at the last air show in 2007 when the other flying prototype crashed during take-off in full view of the participants.


Defence Production Secretary Pradeep Kumar admitted that while HAL was planning to bring in the trainer for a demo flight, it was called off after more tests were required for the aircraft. "They (HAL) had earlier thought it would be able to fly. But we have to do some more tests now," he added. While he said the pulling out had nothing to do with the crash-landing, insiders said the trainer was being prepped up to take part in the air show but had to be pulled out after the belly landing.


Another aircraft to be put up by HAL will be the 'indigenously manufactured' Hawk trainer for the Indian Air Force. While an 'indigenous' Hawk will be on display at HAL's pavilion, the trainer has been dogged by a serious delay over the past few months with problems of delivery of spare parts from the UK-based BAE company. Sources say BAE is holding up supplies of certain components which has delayed the aircraft production at the Indian facility. While the UK-manufactured trainers have already come in, the lack of parts means that IAF has to do without the optimum number of trainers required. As highlighted by The Indian Express, the trainer had been hit by a series of quality problems after it was inducted at the Bidar air base, prompting the IAF to take up the issue with BAE.


The ambitious Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) project taken up by HAL will also give the show a miss with the Indian company yet to come up with a prototype of the chopper. The project, that was taken up to provide a robust armoured chopper on the basic frame of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), was designed to provide a light attack chopper for the Indian Army and the Air Force. However, the project has been delayed by over a year. HAL officials had last year shown confidence that the chopper would be ready for display at Aero India and the flight tests would take place this year.


The two major products on display by HAL will be the delay-hit LCA and the Advanced Light Helicopter. The LCA is finally getting to see the light of day and is likely to be inducted into a non-combat role by 2011. HAL's showpiece for the show will be the export version of the ALH. After bagging a contract to sell the chopper to Ecuador, HAL has put up the ALH in Ecuadorian colours for the air show.

 

[acetophenol]

@bossman--
open another thread,and post pakistan's indegenous products.
don't troll here.

 

[Bossman]

BrahMos missile test fails after early 'success'
BrahMos missile test fails after early 'success'
21 Jan 2009, 0000 hrs IST, Rajat Pandit, TNN

NEW DELHI: The Army's endeavour to induct the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile as "a precision-strike weapon" took a hit on Tuesday, with the
missile failing to achieve laid-down parameters in a test.

This comes at a time when the Pakistan Army is galloping ahead in inducting its nuclear-capable Babur land-attack cruise missile (LACM) - developed with China's help to have a strike range of over 500 km - in large numbers into its arsenal.

Initially, the BrahMos LACM test from the Pokhran field firing range at 10.23am on Tuesday was touted as "successful" by defence ministry officials. But later in the day, this newspaper learnt that it had been quite unsuccessful.

Top defence officials were, however, still reluctant to dub the test, which was witnessed by Army chief General Deepak Kapoor, as "a complete failure".

"BrahMos is a unique missile, which has been tested flawlessly almost 20 times till now. On Tuesday, we were test-firing it with a new guidance scheme...it was not successful. Further trials are required," said an official, reluctant to say anything more.

Sources said it was likely that the BrahMos missile, which flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach, tested on Tuesday had been configured to carry a nuclear warhead rather than a conventional one.

The Army already has missile groups to handle the 150-km Prithvi, 700-800-km Agni-I and 2000-km-plus Agni-II ballistic missiles, which are nuclear-capable.

On its part, Army has ordered two BrahMos regiments in the first phase at a cost of Rs 8,352 crore, with 134 missiles, 10 road-mobile autonomous launchers on 12x12 Tatra vehicles, four mobile command posts and the like, said sources.

The Navy, in turn, has ordered 49 BrahMos firing units at a cost of Rs 711 crore for now. All the tests of the BrahMos naval version, both anti-ship and land-attack ones, have been successful till now.

BrahMos was even fired successfully from a vertical launcher - the earlier tests were from "inclined" launchers - fitted on Rajput-class destroyer INS Ranvir in Bay of Bengal last month.

The "universal vertical launcher" is significant since it imparts the missile system with some stealth as well as the capability to be fired in any direction. It also paves the way for the integration of BrahMos missiles on submarines.

Even as India and Russia begin preliminary work on a "hypersonic" BrahMos-2 missile capable of flying at a speed between 5 and 7 Mach, two Indian Sukhoi-30MKI fighters have also been sent to Russia for integration with BrahMos' air-launched version.

The armed forces' eventual plan, of course, is to have nuclear-tipped LACMs, with strike ranges in excess of 1,500 km. Unlike ballistic missiles, cruise missiles do not leave the atmosphere and are powered and guided throughout their flight path.

Cruise missiles, which can evade enemy radars and air defence systems since they fly at low altitudes, are also much cheaper as well as more accurate and easier to operate.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/I...ow/4006146.cms Reply Reply With Quote .

---------- Post added at 10:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 AM ----------

IAF pilot killed in Surya Kiran crash

Vicky Nanjappa in Bangalore | January 21, 2009 11:11 IST
Last Updated: January 21, 2009 11:56 IST


An Indian Air Force fighter pilot on a training sortie was killed when a Surya Kiran trainer aircraft crashed near Bidar in Karnataka on Wednesday morning.

The pilot, who had joined the Surya Kiran Aerobatics team recently, was on the Kiran Mk II trainer aircraft, when the mishap occurred at 8.45 hours, IAF sources said.

The deceased pilot was identified as Wing Commander Daliwal.

The aircraft took off from Bidar and the crash took place a few minutes later at a vacant plot near the air force station.

The Air Headquarters immediately ordered an inquiry into the mishap.

This is the second fatal Surya Kiran air mishap in the last six years, the previous one reported in March 2006 at the same air base when two pilots were killed.

The Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team -- formally christened so in 1996 -- is just one of the four nine-aircraft formation flying squads in the world and traces its history to the IAF's Hunter aircraft formation flying squad, the Thunderbolts of 1982.

It currently has 13 fighter pilots as part of its team from the Mirage-2000, Jaguar, MiG-23 and MiG-27 streams.

For a fighter pilot to be a member of SKAT, he should be a Qualified Flying Instructor and clocked at least 2,000 hours of flying, of which about 1,000 hours should be on Kiran Mk II aircraft.

The current Commanding Officer of SKAT is Wing Commander Joy Thomas Kurien.

---------- Post added at 10:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:42 AM ----------

Engine switch-off renders HAL trainer risky
Ravi Sharma

IAF seeks urgent remedial action for engine cuts

Technical problems have dogged HPT-32 since 1984

Now, cadets have to follow unnecessary procedures
BANGALORE: The Indian Air Force is seeking urgent remedial action from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on technical problems in the single-engine, piston aircraft used for initial pilot training, HPT-32.

Though technical problems in the HAL-manufactured HPT-32 have occurred almost since its induction in 1984, the IAF’s concern now stems from engine cuts suffered by two HPT-32s at the Bidar Air Force Station recently.

Senior officials told The Hindu that the two engine cuts — a situation where the aircraft engine suddenly switches off — one on the ground and the other while the aircraft was airborne caused serious concern among the young and inexperienced cadets.

“Though the aircraft has been with the IAF since 1984, HAL has not been able to completely rectify the problem primarily with the engine and caused possibly by a design mismatch between the HAL-manufactured airframe and the Lycoming AEO piston engine.”

The cadets must now go through elaborate and normally unnecessary procedures while taxiing. While airborne, they will have to remember procedures which will ensure that the engine does not switch off. “The cadets are naturally not at ease with flying.”

Accidents


A few years ago, after a series of accidents, the IAF almost declared the HPT-32 “too dangerous to fly solo.” Then, the engine cuts in mid-air were traced to the entry of vapour from the fuel lines. HAL engineers have initiated a number of changes including the ‘1116 modification’, by creating an air separator tank that gathers vapour and feeds it back to the fuel tanks. But engine cuts have continued.

In May, a 21-year-old cadet Deepika Sharma was killed when the HPT-32 she was flying solo plunged to the ground just after takeoff. Sources said preliminary findings showed that the engine had suffered a leak, spluttering oil on the windshield.

Replacement


The IAF hopes that HAL will come out with a replacement for the HPT-32 by 2013-14 and has finalised its qualitative requirements —a trainer that has a reliable turboprop engine, an ejection seat, a glass cockpit and a benign aircraft with good spin characteristics.
http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/16/stor...1656440900.htm

 

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