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When fighter plane Jaguar striker chased Nirbhay missile
Jaguar chasing Narbhay
Bengaluru, Nov 3: Among the tweets that went viral on Oct 17, 2014, the day India successfully test-fired its first subsonic cruise missile, Nirbhay, one read, "Jaguar fighter chases Nirbhay missile!" This tweet from this writer took many by surprise. Fighter plane chasing a missile was definitely a new phenomenon for many devotees following India's military might.
And, two weeks after India's successful attempt of launching Nirbhay, details are now available with OneIndia about the well-coordinated ‘sky thriller' choreographed by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and executed by the Indian Air Force (IAF) with support from the Indian Navy.
According to sources, the IAF readied two Sukhois (one on as a stand-by) at the Kalaikunda Air Force Station ahead of the launch. The pilots were thoroughly briefed about the designated flight-path, timing of the launch and duration of the flight. Hotlines at the DRDO's Interim Test Range (ITR) in Balasore and IAF HQ in Delhi were busy with the top brass ensuring that the missile sky chase by the fighter goes as planned. "We had a Sukhoi chasing Nirbhay during the terminated mission last year.
This time due to some last-minute technical issues, we had to hold the Sukhoi back and decided to sent a Jaguar on chase duty," an IAF official said. The IAF had initially planned for a MiG-27, but Jaguar got the nod finally because of its higher endurance levels. The Jaguar was flown in from the Ambala base to Kalaikunda.
Pilots will have to keep a safe distance
The official said that Mirages, Jaguars and Sukhois were used in the past to chase long-range missiles. "The video footage becomes a vital data for the scientists to see the behaviour of the missile. Experienced pilots are generally picked up for the job, which involves lots of coordination.
First the pilots will have to pick the launch point and later will have to keep a safe distance while chasing the missile. Whenever the Navy fires a missile, the IAF gets involved with the chase duties," the official said. He said since the flight envelope is already planned and most of the parameters of the missile are known well in advance, the pilots normally have an easy task, capturing the missile in motion. "The speed and the way point navigation (in case of Nirbhay) was well known to the pilots.
The video footage looks very similar to Nirbhay's first launch. This time we couldn't chase the missile's entire journey as the Jaguar was short on fuel and we had to peel off after 45 minutes into the chase," he added.
OneIndia Special: Sky thriller - When fighter plane Jaguar striker chased Nirbhay missile - News Oneindia
Yep! That was a thriller!
Jaguar chasing Narbhay
Bengaluru, Nov 3: Among the tweets that went viral on Oct 17, 2014, the day India successfully test-fired its first subsonic cruise missile, Nirbhay, one read, "Jaguar fighter chases Nirbhay missile!" This tweet from this writer took many by surprise. Fighter plane chasing a missile was definitely a new phenomenon for many devotees following India's military might.
And, two weeks after India's successful attempt of launching Nirbhay, details are now available with OneIndia about the well-coordinated ‘sky thriller' choreographed by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and executed by the Indian Air Force (IAF) with support from the Indian Navy.
According to sources, the IAF readied two Sukhois (one on as a stand-by) at the Kalaikunda Air Force Station ahead of the launch. The pilots were thoroughly briefed about the designated flight-path, timing of the launch and duration of the flight. Hotlines at the DRDO's Interim Test Range (ITR) in Balasore and IAF HQ in Delhi were busy with the top brass ensuring that the missile sky chase by the fighter goes as planned. "We had a Sukhoi chasing Nirbhay during the terminated mission last year.
This time due to some last-minute technical issues, we had to hold the Sukhoi back and decided to sent a Jaguar on chase duty," an IAF official said. The IAF had initially planned for a MiG-27, but Jaguar got the nod finally because of its higher endurance levels. The Jaguar was flown in from the Ambala base to Kalaikunda.
Pilots will have to keep a safe distance
The official said that Mirages, Jaguars and Sukhois were used in the past to chase long-range missiles. "The video footage becomes a vital data for the scientists to see the behaviour of the missile. Experienced pilots are generally picked up for the job, which involves lots of coordination.
First the pilots will have to pick the launch point and later will have to keep a safe distance while chasing the missile. Whenever the Navy fires a missile, the IAF gets involved with the chase duties," the official said. He said since the flight envelope is already planned and most of the parameters of the missile are known well in advance, the pilots normally have an easy task, capturing the missile in motion. "The speed and the way point navigation (in case of Nirbhay) was well known to the pilots.
The video footage looks very similar to Nirbhay's first launch. This time we couldn't chase the missile's entire journey as the Jaguar was short on fuel and we had to peel off after 45 minutes into the chase," he added.
OneIndia Special: Sky thriller - When fighter plane Jaguar striker chased Nirbhay missile - News Oneindia
Yep! That was a thriller!
