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Destroying Myth of Indian Indengious Weapons Capability

IAF insists on changes to Tejas:
It does not meet minimum air staff requirements

Bangalore, Friday, December 05, 2008: The Indian Air Force has categorically ruled out placing further orders for the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Tejas, with its current configuration.

In 2005, the IAF placed an order with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for 16 fighters and four trainers. The then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said a decision on an additional 20 aircraft was under consideration. But that plan has come a cropper since the overweight, under-powered Tejas does not meet the IAF’s minimum air staff requirements (ASR).

The IAF decision though is not the end of the road for the Rs. 6,000-crore LCA programme. It will consider acquiring 125 more Tejas when an improved — Mark 2 (Mk2) — variant is developed. As indicated by an IAF committee in 2004, any further order will be subject to the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), the designer and developer of the LCA programme, showing “firm visibility that the aircraft will meet the ASR.”

Recently, the IAF even made a few suggestions on improvements in Tejas Mk2, including a more powerful engine, optimisation of the aerodynamic qualities and weight of the aircraft and “dropping and replacing” certain parts to take care of obsolescence.

Tejas Mk2 will take a few years to fructify, the biggest challenge being choosing a new powerful engine. In December, the ADA is expected to issue a request for proposal to General Electric for its GE F414 and to the European consortium Eurojet for EJ200, in a bid to procure 99 engines (with an option to buy another 49).

Once the engine is chosen, fuselage modifications will have to be carried out, flight tests started and evaluation undertaken. All trainer aircraft even after Tejas Mk2 rolls out will continue to have the present GE F404 engines.

Cold weather trials:

On the LCA programme, the ADA is getting ready for ‘cold weather trials.’ They were to have been conducted in 2007 but were not because of questions about the aircraft’s reliability.

Two or three aircraft are scheduled to leave for Leh on December 8. Cold weather trials include landing the Tejas at Leh, one of the most challenging airfields in the world, and ‘cold soak’ when temperatures are around minus 15 degrees C to see if the systems on board function normally.

Slow pace:

The IAF is also worried about the slow pace and quality of work at HAL. More so, because it will not be able to deliver by 2013, as scheduled, the 20 aircraft for which orders have been placed. Defence Minister A K Antony recently said the Tejas would enter squadron service by 2011, which date, according to officials, is highly optimistic as hardly 10 or 12 test sorties are now being undertaken. The IAF expects the final operational clearance for the Tejas only after 2012.
 
@Bossman

Have a life mate. Go outside and see the beauty of nature. Sanity will prevail then.
Hire some guru/maulvi who can help you getting mental peace. You are in critical position. Your level of hate has already passes your level of intellect hence your silly digging of decades olds news article.

Please help yourself.
 
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.

with all this news about our set backs u are making every indian here proud tat inspite of all these set back look how far we have come....as they say "FAILURES ARE STEPPING STONES TO SUCCESS"........at least we are trying and not running to chinese for everything.....u take F16 from US for free or at much discounted price yet u badmouth americans...shameful society!!!!!!!
 
its easy to criticize someone ......ur posting our failures and set back but we are posting our success......need i say more!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are both posting about the same things, except I am posting facts and you are posting myths
 
Navy plans to ditch Dhruv helicopters


The Indian Navy has virtually written off the naval variant of the advanced light helicopter (ALH), Dhruv, saying it has failed to meet basic operational requirements. The navy, which operates a fleet of six ALHs, has decided against placing further orders with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
A senior navy official told HT, “The ALH has a long way to go before the programme matures sufficiently for it to undertake basic naval roles such as search and rescue (SAR) and communication duties.” He said the helicopter’s ASW (anti-submarine warfare) version developed by HAL still falls short of naval expectations.
Navy officials said that the ALH lacks the desired endurance for mission requirements. The navy is also not satisfied with the chopper’s rotor blade folding mechanism for storage on warships and its payload capacity. The navy has launched a global hunt for new ASW helicopters to replace its ageing fleet of Sea King helicopters.
However, HAL remains buoyant about domestic helicopter sale prospects with the defence ministry entrusting it with the task of developing light utility helicopters for the army and the air force. The ministry has allocated Rs 435 crore for this. The defence public sector undertaking is focusing aggressively on the helicopter business and plans to set up a new helicopter division in Bangalore.

HindustanTimes-Print
© Copyright 2007 Hindustan Times
 
Defence: Strategic plans, tech snags
Sunday April 20 2008 11:24 IST

Manoj K. Das


KOCHI: The Indian Air Force has a serious problem with the lightness of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), the country’s flagship indigenous aviation programme.

A list of issues has recently been raised by the IAF about the project, already flying through a bad patch of technological factors and time and cost overruns.

Engine-related issues continue to plague the project and the Air Force is not happy with the thrust values generated by the new GE404 engine powering the aircraft.

In fact, one factor that threw the project out of gear was the delay in developing the Kaveri engines.With no option in sight, HAL decided to go ahead with the developmental trials with the GE 404 till an indigenous engine was ready.

The IAF experts now say that the thrust generated by the GE404 is not adequate for all the manoeuvres expected of the LCA,which will be replacing the ageing MiG 21 fleet.

“It’s no longer light. The aircraft was supposed to weigh only 8,000 kg after all the changes effected on it. But today it has put on another 2,000 kg and weighs 10,000 kg. And it is but natural that the engine is unable to support it to the maximum,” IAF sources told this website’s newspaper.

This leaves HAL in a dilemma. The builder now has to either subject the aircraft to some design planning with a view to reducing the drag or reduce the weight of the aircraft.

“There is hardly any flab on its body. We will take a look at the design to reduce drag,” sources said. But that is easier said than done.

HAL will have to go in for a design consultancy to fine-tune an already tested aircraft, which will further delay the full-fledged commissioning of the project.

“Another solution, and probably the best, will be to use a new engine with better thrust levels. The new engine can be selected with the weight-thrust ratio in mind. This will take care of all manoeuvres expected of the aircraft even if its weight were to go up slightly again,” sources said.

The IAF and HAL have formed a committee to look into the issues, including the selection of a new engine. A high-level meeting is scheduled this month end to finalise the action plan.

“But HAL will build 20 LCA-Tejas aircraft for the IAF as planned. This squadron will be inducted and the base is getting ready at Sulur in Tamil Nadu,” sources said.

News article
 
insas rifle with oman army

2ahe7np.jpg
 
Perception is reality. Your position is indefensible. If LCA was so good why buy MRCA, if Arjun was so good why buy T90 the list goes on and on and on
to complement each other based on each others positives and negatives!!!!!!!

---------- Post added at 10:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:55 AM ----------

welcome to defence.pk!
thanks:cheers:
 
insas rifle with oman army

2ahe7np.jpg

If Omanese were of mongoloid race, you are right. They are Nepalese, who lost a lot of men becuase of failure of the INSAS in fighting with the Moaist. Here is the whole story, As I said your position in indefensibel

Indian guns let 'Nepal down in Maoist battle'Indian Express ^

Posted on Friday, August 12, 2005 12:00:40 PM by Black Beak

The Nepali army said on Friday faulty Indian assault rifles were partly responsible for its heavy death toll in a gun battle with Maoist rebels as troops hunted for 75 soldiers still missing after the fighting.

Forty-three soldiers and a civilian were killed when hundreds of rebels attacked an army base in the remote Kalikot district, 600 km from the capital, Kathmandu, late on Sunday.

The Maoists, fighting to topple Nepal's monarchy and establish Communist rule, say they captured 52 soldiers after the raid, a claim rejected by the army.

Army spokesman Brigadier-General Dipak Gurung said the Indian-manufactured INSAS rifles malfunctioned during the fighting which continued for about 10 hours.

"Soldiers complained that the INSAS rifles did not function properly during the fighting which lasted for a long time," Gurung told a news conference when asked why the army death toll was high.

"May be the weapons we were using were not designed for a long fight. They malfunctioned," he said.

There were also fewer troops at the base as it was a road construction project and not a fighting base, he added.

The army casualties were the heaviest since Maoist violence escalated after King Gyanendra seized direct power in February by sacking the multiparty government.

"There were stoppages during the firing, the rifles got hot and soldiers had to wait for them to cool," another officer said.

India is a key military supplier to the poorly equipped Nepali army. But New Delhi suspended arms supplies six months ago after the King's power grab to press the monarch to restore multi-party democracy and civil liberties.

Nepali troops have complained in the past about technical problems with the Indian designed and built INSAS or Indian Small Arms System assault rifle.

Indian troops using the rifle are also known to have faced difficulties using it, Indian defence experts say. Indian defence officials declined to react to the Nepali comments.

The nine-year Maoist revolt has scared away investors in the desperately cash-strapped nation and wrecked the economy that is heavily dependent on international aid and tourism.

More than 12,500 people have died in the conflict and tens of thousands of people have fled their homes to towns or to neighbouring India to escape the conflict.



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Unibuffel apc

The Unibuffel is a mine-protected wheeled APC used by the Sri Lankan military.
Although similar to the South African Buffel, it is built entirely by the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (SLEME). Used very often by the Sri Lankan forces both as an armoured fighting vehicle and for protection against mines and IEDs and so played a major role in the Sri Lanka civil war. The Unibuffel is the improved version of the Unicorn which was also built by the SLEME. More than 53 Unibuffels had been manufactured as of 2006. The vehicle is powered by a TATA engine which can deal easily with rough terrain[2].

300px-SLA_UniBuffel.JPG
 
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