ADA Tejas (LCA) News and Discussions

[Vladimir79]

to solve the problem the word pdf is unbanned the ink should work now

I don't even see the links anymore.

 

[rakesh]

is there no possible to install kaveri engine install in lca?

 

[Vladimir79]

is there no possible to install kaveri engine install in lca?

There is no Kaveri engine... well, not one that doesn't throw blades that can cut you in half.

 

[indian_blues]

There is no Kaveri engine... well, not one that doesn't throw blades that can cut you in half.

as someone said here if it hits the required thrust of 90KN probably it may feature in LCA MARK-II.

Thanks anyway to navy for adopting kaveri as of now.

 

[rakesh]

that means India doesn't able built engine of AC.

 

[mattster]

I want to ask a fundamental question about new aircraft testing.

How many flights does it take to certify a new aircraft and on how many different aircraft ?? I suppose each aircraft is slightly different.

Do you really need over a thousand flights or is this simply is very cautious, extremely conservative flight testing program ??

They have been flight testing this for years now ???

 

[rakesh]

Don't mean it.I just want to know that,Does India able to make a aircraft engine?

 

[Vladimir79]

Don't mean it.I just want to know that,Does India able to make a aircraft engine?

Yes, they can make Russian engines.

 

[unlimittautar]

Does India able to built indigenous effort?

 

[ppgj]

I want to ask a fundamental question about new aircraft testing.

How many flights does it take to certify a new aircraft and on how many different aircraft ?? I suppose each aircraft is slightly different.

Do you really need over a thousand flights or is this simply is very cautious, extremely conservative flight testing program ??

They have been flight testing this for years now ???

not sure. but have read somewhere a new a/c has to complete atleast 1000 flying hours for it to be declared for air worthiness. LCA is yet to complete that. my own feeling is that there is no fixed number for this. the tests are for validating not only the airframe but also various subsystems. based on the results they have to rectify and fly again. it can be software related or mechanics related or weapons release. it can be a mundane to a really serious. for a country like india with no past b/g on aircraft designs will take that much more time reason why they wanted to involve previously experienced company like EADS so they can cut unnecessary testing.

 

[Rahul Singh]

I want to ask a fundamental question about new aircraft testing.

How many flights does it take to certify a new aircraft and on how many different aircraft ?? I suppose each aircraft is slightly different.

Do you really need over a thousand flights or is this simply is very cautious, extremely conservative flight testing program ??

They have been flight testing this for years now ???

A year ago, i had seen an interview in which Dr. P.S. Subramaniam(ADA boss) said "I will need 50% less number of flights if i get help/consultancy from an experienced house". What i can draw from this statement is that he is referring towards ADA's experience which at present is not capable enough to increase level of risk by trying to prove relatavely more test-points per flight .

Yes, they can make Russian engines.

No false credit needed. HAL doesn't makes Russian engines, it only assembles them from semi knocked down and fully knocked down kits..

 

[Vladimir79]

No false credit needed. HAL doesn't makes Russian engines, it only assembles them from semi knocked down and fully knocked down kits..

RD-33 is made at the Koraput plant.

 

[Rahul Singh]

RD-33 is made at the Koraput plant.

Well, the process is yet to begin. BTW at stage-1 HAL will assemble RD-33 from semi knock down kits, then at stage-2 they will switch to fully knock down kits and only at last stage they will produce non critical sub-assembly parts.

 

[Vladimir79]

And HAL is making AL-31FP.

 

[youngindian]

US puts Lockheed off Tejas flight path

28/09

The US government is, for the second time, squeezing American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin out of an important contract related to India’s Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

Business Standard learns that Lockheed Martin, selected in June as a consultant for developing the Naval version of the Tejas, was given 90 days to obtain the clearances it needed from the US government. But now, with time running out, Washington has sent Lockheed Martin a list of questions about what assistance the company will provide.

Senior officials from Bangalore-based Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which manages the Tejas programme, say they will not delay the naval version any longer. ADA has recommended to the Ministry of Defence that another consultant be chosen. It has put forward the names of France’s Dassault Aviation, and European consortium EADS.

For Lockheed Martin, this is déjà vu. In 1993, it was selected to partner ADA in developing the Tejas’ high-tech flight control system (FCS). But after India’s nuclear tests in 1998, Washington ordered the company to terminate the partnership. India eventually went it alone, developing the world class FCS that is on the Tejas today.

Lockheed Martin is still fighting to salvage the situation. The company told Business Standard, “We are continuing our dialogue with the Aeronautical Development Agency and the US Department of Defense and are hopeful we will be able provide the consultancy desired by ADA on the Naval LCA.”

But the decision now lies in the hands of V K Saraswat, scientific advisor to the defence minister.

Lockheed Martin’s current situation replicates that of Boeing, which was front-runner for the air force Tejas consultancy. But earlier this year, after the US government failed to grant Boeing a clearance (called Technical Assistance Agreement) in time, the defence ministry awarded EADS the contract. The European consortium obtained the sanctions in time and is now working with ADA.

Foreign consultancy has been sought by ADA to introduce the Tejas into service without further delay. The air force Tejas, a single-seat, single-engine fighter, is at an advanced stage of testing. The naval Tejas, being developed around the twin-seater air force trainer, will take to the skies by mid-2010. But it will fly off an aircraft only in 2014, after getting a new, more powerful, engine. That is about when the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, being built in Kochi, will join the Indian Navy.

The immediate challenges before the naval Tejas — which the consultant will help to resolve — include strengthening the undercarriage to absorb the high impact of landing on aircraft carrier decks, fitting an arrestor hook at the tail of the aircraft to bring it to a quick halt after landing, and adding a flap on the front edge of the wings to slow the landing speed by almost 150 kmph.

In addition, the naval Tejas needs a fuel dump system, in case of an emergency just after take-off. The take-off weight of a Tejas, with full weapons load and fuel, is 12.5 tonnes. But for landing back on an aircraft carrier, it must be less than 9.5 tonnes. In an emergency, 2 tonnes of weapons and external fuel tanks will be instantly shed, but a system must be built in for jettisoning another tonne of fuel from the fighter’s wing tanks.

None of the US Navy’s most successful carrier-borne aircraft — the F-4 Phantom, the F-14 Tomcat and the F/A-18 Hornet — was built by Lockheed Martin. Despite that, ADA believes Lockheed Martin’s experience in designing the futuristic F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter qualifies it as a consultant.

“All the earlier US navy aircraft had two engines, giving them the weight and strength to support a tail hook,” explained P S Subramaniam, the director of ADA. “But Lockheed Martin has designed the F-35 Lightning, which is a single-engine fighter with a tail hook.”

Dassault’s Rafale fighter and EADS’s Eurofighter Typhoon are both twin-engine aircraft.

US puts Lockheed off Tejas flight path IDRW.ORG

 

[p2prada]

RD-33 is made at the Koraput plant.

As of now we are only assembling the RD-33 from Semi Knocked Down and Completely Knocked down kits.

And HAL is making AL-31FP.

We will be making this engine from scratch.

 

[Rajan]

US puts Lockheed off Tejas flight path

I don't bother about what is US govt doing. They will never supply India or any other country something without bugs or sanctions.

But the question is why we are going for their systems? Are we mad? Though the systems onboard F-18 are good we must go for EFT or Rafale.

If any US fighter chosen for MMRCA then see what happens.... For every component they will have some restriction and forget about any logistic support at the time of war!

 

[Rahul Singh]

It's a blid wild run and sure to meet a ditch. Giving US a deal like MRCA will be suicidal. But who cares.

 

[Rahul Singh]

Senior officials from Bangalore-based Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which manages the Tejas programme, say they will not delay the naval version any longer. ADA has recommended to the Ministry of Defence that another consultant be chosen. It has put forward the names of France’s Dassault Aviation, and European consortium EADS.

RAC-Mig and Sukhoi have also designed and operationalized carrier born fighters. I think reason behind not inviting them was fear of repetition of Gorskov saga.

 

[ppgj]

RAC-Mig and Sukhoi have also designed and operationalized carrier born fighters. I think reason behind not inviting them was fear of repetition of Gorskov saga.

that is not true. ADA is going for non russian for the simple reason EADS is already a cosultant on the LCA. also remember LCA always had western consultancy whether it was LM, EADS or otherwise.