Indian Air Force: IAF Guns for 42 operational fighter squadrons by 2022

Which aircraft will win the MMRCA competition

  • Dassault Rafale

    Votes: 48 30.6%
  • MiG-35 Fulcrum-F

    Votes: 18 11.5%
  • JAS-39 Gripen IN

    Votes: 10 6.4%
  • F-16IN Super Viper

    Votes: 1 0.6%
  • Eurofighter Typhoon

    Votes: 55 35.0%
  • F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

    Votes: 25 15.9%

  • Total voters
    157

venom

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A god Article On An-32 Upgrade

India Revives Its Aging An-32s

July 25, 2009: After years of talk, India has finally contracted a firm (from Ukraine) to upgrade and refurbish its aging fleet of over a hundred An-32 transports. This will include new engine components, new cockpit electronics and refurbishing or rebuilding structural elements as needed. This will enable the An-32s to serve another 15-20 years, as well as increasing range and payload a bit. This is a lot cheaper than buying new aircraft (about $10 million each for an An-32, and more than double that for a Western equivalent.)

What finally got the contract signed was the recent crash of an An-32, while flying in the mountainous north. The wreckage was found at 12,000 feet. It's tricky flying in this kind of terrain, not just because of the mountains, but because of the bad weather, and the fact that the An-32s are old. The upgrades will cost about $3 million per aircraft. The work begins this year, and will not be completed until 2017.

The An-32 is actually a modernized, and most recent version, of the Russian An-24 transport. The original design is from the early 1960s. Over 1,100 AN-24s were built, and over 600 are still in use. Before the end of the 60s, some 600 of an improved version, the An-26, were built, and about 300 are still flying. It's easy to confuse the An-24 and An-26, and journalists (and government officials) often do so. In the 1970s, even more powerful versions (An-30, An-32), entered service, but only about 360 of these were made. India was the principal customer for the 27 ton An-32, which is basically an An-26 with better engines and modifications for tropical operations. This version can carry 6.7 tons of cargo or up to 50 passengers. Max speed is 540 kilometers an hour and range is 2,500 kilometers. The crew consists of two pilots and a loadmaster.

Antonov built the original An-24 series to be simple, rugged and easy to use and maintain. They succeeded. Four decades later, it should not be surprising that nearly a thousand An-24 series aircraft are still working. That's not the first time this has happened. After 70 years, there are still several hundred American DC-3 transports working in odd (and often remote) parts of the world.

But with age comes problems. Engines, and other parts of these aging aircraft, are prone to fail at bad moments. A major problem with the An-24 is the shortage of spare parts. The network of factories producing the parts, fell apart when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The parts supply network has been slowly rebuilt, with many factories outside of Russia now producing needed components. Quality of these parts varies, which adds to the sense of adventure one has when flying in these aircraft. India manufactures many spare parts itself, and the refurbished An-32s will consist of many new parts (like a modern electronic cockpit) made in India.

Air Transportation: India Revives Its Aging An-32s
 

youngindian

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HAL delivers four Cheetal copters to Indian Air Force

July 25th, 2009

Bangalore, July 25 (IANS) State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) Saturday delivered four Cheetal helicopters to the Indian Air Force (IAF) at Barrackpore in West Bengal.
Six more copters ordered by the air force will be delivered by September, the company said in a statement here.

Air-Vice Marshal M. Bahadur received the first batch of choppers at HAL’s helicopter division from its design and development director N.C. Agarwal.

The Cheetal is an upgraded version of the Cheetah helicopter, with Turbemaca e33-2M2 engine in place of its Artouste IIIB engine.

Bahadur said Cheetals would enhance the air force’s operational capabilities, especially in high altitudes.

“We have faith in HAL and hope it will continue to deliver and provide product support,” Bahadur noted.

The company’s helicopter complex managing director R. Srinivasan hoped the air force order would encourage the Indian Army and the central government to procure Cheetals for various roles, including internal security.

“The reduced weight of the new engine with specific fuel consumption has resulted in increased range, endurance and payload,” Srinivasan noted.

The more versatile chopper can be used in multiple roles, including search and rescue and high altitude missions.

The Cheetal has been designed to incorporate upgraded features such as light weight modern technology cockpit instruments like electrically-driven artificial horizon, directional gyro, and light weight modern avionics.

HAL delivers four Cheetal copters to Indian Air Force
 

A.V.

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HAL Cheetal for Air Force

BANGALORE: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited handed over the first batch of four Cheetal helicopters to the Indian Air Force at HAL’s Barrackpore Division near Kolkata on Saturday.

N. C. Agarwal, Director (Design and Development), handed over the helicopters to Air Vice-Marshal (AVM) M. Bahadur, Assistant Chief of Air Staff.

“The IAF had placed an order for 10 Cheetals, of which the first batch of four has been delivered. The remaining six are expected to be handed over by September. We expect the IAF’s order to be followed up by the Army and also the government, which is looking at procuring helicopters for various roles, especially for internal security,” said R. Srinivasan, Managing Director (Helicopter Complex), HAL.

AVM Bahadur said: “The re-engined Cheetals will increase our operational capabilities, especially for high altitude operations.”

The Cheetal is the re-engined Cheetah helicopter, with the replacement of Artouste IIIB with the TM 333-2M2 engine. The reduced weight of the TM 333-2M2 engine, with better specific fuel consumption, facilitates increased range, endurance and payload, making the helicopter more versatile in various roles. The Cheetal has been designed to incorporate upgraded features such as lightweight modern technology cockpit instruments like the electrically driven Artificial Horizon, Directional Gyro, and lightweight modern avionics — accurate navigation and homing through GPS, VHF HOMER, Flight Monitoring System (FMS), Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Emergency Locator Transmitter.

“It is a proud moment for HAL Barrackpore,” Mr. Agarwal said.

The Cheetal landed at 23,220-ft (7070m) pressure altitude equivalent to 25,150-ft (7670m) density altitude at Saser Kangri of the Ladakh region in the Himalayas in November 2004, setting a world record in high altitude landing.

source:- the hindu




photo courtesey :- the hindu,
photo by :-Sushanta Patronobish
 

Rahul Singh

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CHEETAL is a good attempt to keep IAF and IA dreams of of-the-self LOH in check till HAL LOH is ready. But it can't be the one required for future.
 

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Harops For India

July 21, 2009: India is procuring 8-10 Israeli Harop (Harpy 2) Loitering Attack Drone. This purchase is part of a procurement program valued at a billion dollars. Developed from the earlier Harpy, the Harop improves on the original design by offering a longer nose, outer wing extensions and a canard foreplane.

Essentially resembling a small aircraft with a cranked delta wing and rear two bladed propeller, the Harop is a vehicle launched, UAV controlled by a remote operator and capable of flying more than 1,000 kilometers and loitering for hours with a 51 pound warhead.

Like the autonomous Harpy, the UAV is primarily geared toward the Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD) role. It features two modes of guidance to the target. Homing in on radio emissions with its anti-radar homing system, or unlike the Harpy, have its operator select static or moving targets with the drones electro-optical (TV) sensor. Using the operator mode, targets can be hit regardless of whether they emit signals or not. This line of sight capability can be used at ranges up to 150 kilometers or longer using relays built into each weapon.

The Harop was submitted under the name “White Hawk” to the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense back in 2005 for the possibility of meeting the Ministry’s requirement for a Loitering Attack Munition Demonstration program known as “Fire Shadow.” The Harop became a finalist but was rejected when the Ministry decided to award a British team the contract. Harop specifics are as follows: Length: 2.5 Meters(8 feet, 2 inches), Wingspan: 3.00 Meters(9 feet, 10 inches), Speed: 100 Knots(115 miles per hour). --Mike Perry

Air Weapons: Harops For India
 

bhramos

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hi good data man .
as per that above data.
Gripen would be cheaper in MRCA contest, as per Unit cost.
as it was also a ready to be modified for IAF requests and a patnered by Israeli companies it had best chance per the deal along with Mig-35,
 

bhramos

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may be they look crap???
but they can do a lot & perform better in their class or wat today's choppers cant do in Himalayas ,
 

RPK

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CAG raps IAF over purchase of Hawk aircraft in 2004


CAG raps IAF over purchase of Hawk aircraft in 2004


NEW DELHI: CAG has rapped the Indian Air Force for buying the Hawk advanced trainer aircraft in 2004 on the basis of its requirements in 1987,
compromising operational and training requirements of the service.

"The supply and production of the aircraft was based on air staff requirements that were not reviewed since their issue in 1987. The restriction in utilisation of aircraft would compromise operational and training requirements," the report said.

India had signed a contract with BAE Systems in 2004 to supply 66 trainer aircraft, 24 of which were to be supplied in the fly-away condition and the rest license-manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL).

The report also slammed the IAF for taking 22 years to finalise the deal for the aircraft, the need for which was felt in 1982 itself.

"Inordinate delay in acquisition of these trainer aircraft, which is essential for improving the skills of IAF pilots graduating from lower speed aircraft to advanced high performance fighter aircraft, has affected pilot safety," it said.

The CAG said due to pending integration of electronic weapons suite, the aircraft could not be used for tactical weapon training, limiting the operational use of the aircraft.
 

tharikiran

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I wanted to know something. CAG files so many reports .

Is there any obligation for the ministers, the GOVT and the Armed forces to follow them ?

Or is it like, the CAG keeps shouting and no one does anything ? Is there any mechanism to follow their recommendations? Inputs please.
 

EnlightenedMonk

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AFAIK Its only the foremost Auditing organisation in the country, but its recommendations and observations have no legal binding on anybody....

Please correct me if I'm wrong...

This is what Wikipedia says about it -

It is an authority, established by the Constitution of India, who audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government. The CAG is also the external auditor of government-owned companies. The reports of the CAG are taken into consideration by the Public Accounts Committees, which are special committees in the Parliament of India and the state legislatures.
Now, how much these reports are actually taken into consideration can be left best judged by the forum members...
 

RPK

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IAF played a ‘pivotal’ role in Kargil victory

IAF played a ‘pivotal’ role in Kargil victory

DRASS: While the Army jawans fought the Pakistani troops on the ice-covered heights of Drass and Kargil, the Indian Air Force (IAF) was called in for its “most difficult operation ever,” — to carry out precision strikes without breaching the Line of Control (LoC).

“The fighter planes changed the course of the battle and the use of precision weapons destroyed the enemy fortification,” recalled Air Officer Commanding, Jammu and Kashmir, Air Marshal J. Chauhan.

After a helicopter gunship was shot down, “we inducted fighter planes including Jaguar and Mirage 2000 and used precision weapons. We analysed the results and they were very positive. This helped us and the troops go ahead and recapture the positions,” he told PTI.

Various fighter planes such a MiG-21, MiG-23, MiG-27, Jaguar, Mirage 2000, MiG-29, Canberra, Avro and Mi-17 were utilised as part of ‘Operation Safed Sagar’ launched by the IAF in support of ‘Operation Vijay’ of the Army.

It was for the first time that the IAF was called upon to undertake these missions at such high altitudes. The officer said they never expected that the IAF would be required to assist in the operation. “But we geared up at such a short notice.”

Biggest challenge


The biggest challenge for the IAF was in the Drass sector. “We had to improvise a lot and work out various plans for perfect targets,” he said.

“We were working in a very tight spot. It was to have pin point targets. If a bomb fell in the plains, it would have destroyed various areas. If the bomb fell in the valley, it would have targeted our own troops,” Mr. Chauhan said.

The IAF was pressed into service mid-May in 1999 to facilitate recapture of territory by the Army in Mushko Valley, Drass, Kaksar Batalik and Turtok areas.

The Western Air Command responded quickly. Prompt air support was provided. Numerous sorties were launched to airlift and reinforce positions in the area.

Precision strikes


Mirage 2000s flew precision strike missions and dropped laser-guided bombs.

Offensive posturing by the IAF deterred the Pakistani Air Force from intervening in this area, the officer said.

The IAF held majestic flypasts by MiG-21s and Mi-17s and para-dropping displays on Sunday, paying homage to the Kargil heroes. — PTI
 

Yusuf

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CAG came down heavily on Gorshkov also.
 

p2prada

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CAG is our auditor. So, in case of bribery etc, the CAG reports can be used as evidence in court cases. My guess.
 

Sridhar

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IAF worried about security at Sonegaon base

Posted by admin On July - 28 - 2009

[SIZE=-3] Easy AdSense by Unreal[/SIZE]​

BY : TOI
There are concerns that the location of the Sonegaon air force station make the airbase susceptible to 26/11-like incidents. This airbase

in Nagpur hosts the IL-76 transport squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The base is surrounded by civilian settlements, and the surplus IAF land on some sides is spread over large tracts of vacant land with thick vegetation. This makes it easy for any miscreant to enter the premises. At the same time, sources in ministry of defence say that the present site does not have enough space for the base to expand, in order to have more elaborate [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]security[/COLOR][/COLOR] arrangements.
Sources said it would be preferable if the base is transferred as soon as possible to the proposed new site, which the IAF would be getting in lieu of land it gives away for the Mihan project. A base away from civilian settlements will allow IAF to have better arrangements for [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]its security[/COLOR][/COLOR], without posing any inconvenience to the general public like last week.
This month the IAF started its periodical rehearsal exercise, for which it had to block roads leading to the SEZ, as the same route also goes toward the airbase. The exercise included a rehearsal for thwarting a terror attack or any infiltration bid into the base.
A senior IAF source said that the nearby villagers had been told in advance through local MLA Chandrashekhar Bawankule that the route would be blocked till the exercises continue. However, some contractors working on sites within the SEZ said they had to face difficulties, and also complained of rude behaviour by sentries. On this, IAF sources say that such inconvenience can be avoided if the base shifts to the new site.
Meanwhile, MADC’s vice-chairman-cum-managing director R C Sinha said a meeting was held with the IAF officials recently, where some details of the land swap were discussed. These would now be put up before the ministry of defence before the final agreement can be signed. The process of acquiring alternative land for IAF is underway, he said. An MADC official said that they have already reached the stage of payment of compensation for most of the land being acquired.


IDRW.ORG Blog Archive IAF worried about security at Sonegaon base
 

venom

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Harrier celebrates 40 years

400 RAF and Navy personnel who have worked with the Harrier jump jet over the last 40 years gathered at RAF Wittering, the 'Home of the Harrier', to celebrate its birthday, yesterday, Thursday 23 July 2009.
A Harrier GR9 from the Naval Strike Wing

Coming into service with the RAF in 1969, the Harrier was a great technological leap forward, being the world's first successful vectored thrust jet offering vertical take-off and landing.

To celebrate the achievements of the jet over the last 40 years, key figures in its proud history met to share stories and toast the fighter at a gala dinner yesterday at RAF Wittering.

Those attending included the designers and first test pilots, those who flew and maintained the Harrier in the Cold War and the first combat operations in the Falklands campaign, and members of No 1 (Fighter) Squadron whose recent return to RAF Cottesmore marked the end of five years of operations in Afghanistan for Joint Force Harrier.

The origins of the plane go back to 1957 when Sir Sydney Camm, Ralph Hooper and Stanley Hooker first began experimenting with the innovative vectored thrust turbofan engine.
A Harrier from 1 (Fighter) Squadron

Since then several upgrades and modifications have been made and the plane has always been a favourite with pilots.

One such pilot was Sir Peter Squire, former Chief of the Air Staff. Sir Peter led 1 (Fighter) Squadron during the Falklands campaign in 1982. He first flew the Harrier in 1975 and has flown all major variants of Harrier since.

Sir Peter Squire said:

"I always wanted to fly Harrier. It's THE aeroplane - it was beautifully harmonised. The Hunter was a joy to handle, but the Harrier did it all."

Also at the gala dinner was Duncan Simpson who trained the first RAF instructors for the Harrier in May 1969. Rather than a challenge he said that getting pilots used to the revolutionary new plane was relatively simple:

"It was easy", said Mr Duncan. "We trained four instructors using a system we had devised for the Kestrel programme. We must have got it right because it is still much the same syllabus today!"

However, the longevity of Harrier's in-service life has shocked even some of its most ardent supporters:

"I'm amazed the Harrier's still going strong!" Mr Duncan said.

There is every chance that the plane will continue to serve Britain until its 50th birthday as there are ten more years of operational service planned for the plane before it is withdrawn completely and replaced by the Joint Combat Aircraft.

Ministry of Defence | Defence News | History and Honour | Harrier celebrates 40 years
 

ZOOM

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Harrier Jump jets, my favourite fighter jet as its beauty more then its lethality is so facinating. I cannot see it to get phased from the service for many years to come.
 

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