Sukhoi-Brahmos marriage only in mid-2016 - The Times of India
Bengaluru: The Indian Air Force (IAF), which has been waiting to enhance the surgical striking abilities of its best fighter aircraft - Sukhoi-30 MKI - has to wait till mid-2016 as the project to marry the aircraft with the Brahmos air-launched cruise missile still awaits quality certification.
At a time when China is test-flying its next-generation aircraft, Pakistan's JF-17 will be matched by the next version of our Light Combat Aircraft Tejas expected only after 2021, and the US talking of selling more F-16s to Pakistan, the integration of Su-30s with Brahmos is crucial. The integration will enable striking at targets 300km away and defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has already handed over a modified Su-30 in February 2015.
Brahmos Aerospace, which will integrate the missile with the aircraft, is yet to complete certification of the launcher. Brahmos Aerospace CEO Sudhir Kumar Mishra said: "Anything that goes into an aircraft has to go through a stringent qualification process."
He said the launcher's main release system completed the qualification process on December 11 and the qualification of the emergency release system is under way. IAF's initial requirement is two Su-30 MKIs with BrahMos but it eventually wishes to integrate 216 missiles on 42 Sukhois. The project was conceived in July-August 2012. Mishra said: "Once quality certification is complete, we must do shock tests. Each system must go through at least 100 tests. We can carry out only two-three tests a day."
He said it'll take 40-45 days to complete these tests, following which the first flight with a dummy missile will be carried out. "We can expect that by next March. So the first flight with the live missile can happen only in mid-2016," he said. Earlier, the agencies involved had to overcome the challenges of modifying the fuselage to accommodate the nine-metre missile.
The IAF is keenly backing the project, sources said. A retired Air Marshal said the IAF understands the complexities involved. "The aircraft is foreign and the missile is indigenous. There will be issues with the first couple of aircraft," he said, adding that there has support from the Russian Original Equipment Manufacturer.
Bengaluru: The Indian Air Force (IAF), which has been waiting to enhance the surgical striking abilities of its best fighter aircraft - Sukhoi-30 MKI - has to wait till mid-2016 as the project to marry the aircraft with the Brahmos air-launched cruise missile still awaits quality certification.
At a time when China is test-flying its next-generation aircraft, Pakistan's JF-17 will be matched by the next version of our Light Combat Aircraft Tejas expected only after 2021, and the US talking of selling more F-16s to Pakistan, the integration of Su-30s with Brahmos is crucial. The integration will enable striking at targets 300km away and defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has already handed over a modified Su-30 in February 2015.
Brahmos Aerospace, which will integrate the missile with the aircraft, is yet to complete certification of the launcher. Brahmos Aerospace CEO Sudhir Kumar Mishra said: "Anything that goes into an aircraft has to go through a stringent qualification process."
He said the launcher's main release system completed the qualification process on December 11 and the qualification of the emergency release system is under way. IAF's initial requirement is two Su-30 MKIs with BrahMos but it eventually wishes to integrate 216 missiles on 42 Sukhois. The project was conceived in July-August 2012. Mishra said: "Once quality certification is complete, we must do shock tests. Each system must go through at least 100 tests. We can carry out only two-three tests a day."
He said it'll take 40-45 days to complete these tests, following which the first flight with a dummy missile will be carried out. "We can expect that by next March. So the first flight with the live missile can happen only in mid-2016," he said. Earlier, the agencies involved had to overcome the challenges of modifying the fuselage to accommodate the nine-metre missile.
The IAF is keenly backing the project, sources said. A retired Air Marshal said the IAF understands the complexities involved. "The aircraft is foreign and the missile is indigenous. There will be issues with the first couple of aircraft," he said, adding that there has support from the Russian Original Equipment Manufacturer.
