ADA Tejas Mark-II/Medium Weight Fighter

[binayak95]

I'm wondering what's making it hard for HAL. 40 years for a fighter, we'll become a laughing stock in that way.

"WILL" ? We ARE laughing stock as far as fighter development is concerned.

 

[aditya10r]

"WILL" ? We ARE laughing stock as far as fighter development is concerned.

*ARDE and CVRDE* DEEP BREATHING INTENSIFIES

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[G10]

I'm wondering what's making it hard for HAL. 40 years for a fighter, we'll become a laughing stock in that way.

The problem is ADA is into design and HAL is into prototyping and testing. They are passing the buck. All three should be the responsibility of one organisation.

 

[power_monger]

There is nothing to worry here. Even if we go by article

1) The drawings for FOC plane has been already transferred to HAL which in itself is great news. This would mean that ADA has completed all hardware related changes and expecting only software related changes for completion.

2) A delay of couple of months is not going to affect schedule as HAL is yet to complete the delivery of IOC planes.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

2) A delay of couple of months is not going to affect schedule as HAL is yet to complete the delivery of IOC planes.

Means realising first FOC configuration LCA was already delayed.
It's only ADA which is done with its job.

 

[power_monger]

Means realising first FOC configuration LCA was already delayed.
It's only ADA which is done with its job.

I would have also fumed at delays of HAL. But this delay is for good reason. HAL has started acting like a true integrator in recent days by outsourcing lot of aero structures to private companies thereby creating true eco system for aerospace in India.odfcourse this change causes delay initially but things will get fast tracked for mk1a and even foc.

Hal is changing in a positive way. We need to support it now as it is decade away for any private company to truly replace HAL .

 

[Indx TechStyle]

I would have also fumed at delays of HAL. But this delay is for good reason. HAL has started acting like a true integrator in recent days by outsourcing lot of aero structures to private companies thereby creating true eco system for aerospace in India.odfcourse this change causes delay initially but things will get fast tracked for mk1a and even foc.

Hal is changing in a positive way. We need to support it now as it is decade away for any private company to truly replace HAL .

Well yeah, that was not a critical comment actually. I was just asking if FOC had already been fated to be next year & ADA was just excited to get its work done or things changed coz of other reasons.

BTW, will they deliver an FOC configured Tejas in 2019 or they will delay it further to complete IOC order?

 

[power_monger]

Well yeah, that was not a critical comment actually. I was just asking if FOC had already been fated to be next year & ADA was just excited to get its work done or things changed coz of other reasons.

BTW, will they deliver an FOC configured Tejas in 2019 or they will delay it further to complete IOC order?

Well yeah, that was not a critical comment actually. I was just asking if FOC had already been fated to be next year & ADA was just excited to get its work done or things changed coz of other reasons.

BTW, will they deliver an FOC configured Tejas in 2019 or they will delay it further to complete IOC order?

No. You will not see FOC plane by 2019.

 

[power_monger]

Btw I saw LCA mk1 envelope expansion related comments in brf. LCA envelope is now expanded to 8.5 g with still scope to expand. This has been also mentioned in official LCA Facebook page multiple times.i am hoping of envelope expanded to 9g thus making it at par with other standard fighters.

 

[Indx TechStyle]

No. You will not see FOC plane by 2019.

I'm wondering even for 2022-23.
If Kaveri approaches, its integration may push FOC further late.

 

[pankaj nema]

Tejas ready for auto low-speed recovery trials

https://english.manoramaonline.com/...ready-auto-low-speed-recovery-trials.amp.html

 

[cannonfodder]

IR Update: Test pilots are currently pushing the 8G envelop. Have gone over a few times, safely. That limit might be revised upwards. SDR and Guns are not part of Mk1 FoC.If no new requirements arrive, Mk1 should recieve FOC by year end.

 

[abingdonboy]

BTW, will they deliver an FOC configured Tejas in 2019 or they will delay it further to complete IOC order?

Obviously, IOC order will be complete by mid-2019, HAL has already started preparing the airframes for the FOC batch (post SP-21)

No. You will not see FOC plane by 2019.

I don't know what you are talking about, FOC will either happen in Dec 2018 (according to ADA chief) or very very early 2019, it is weeks away now.

 

[power_monger]

IR Update: Test pilots are currently pushing the 8G envelop. Have gone over a few times, safely. That limit might be revised upwards. SDR and Guns are not part of Mk1 FoC.If no new requirements arrive, Mk1 should recieve FOC by year end.

Envelope has already been expanded to 8.5 g.

 

[no smoking]

I'm wondering what's making it hard for HAL. 40 years for a fighter, we'll become a laughing stock in that way.

For any developing country, taking 40 years to develop a 4th generation fighter is not a laughing stock.

The only laughing stock is the claim that it should be a easy task which can be finished in shorter period.

 

[Narasimh]

IR Update: Test pilots are currently pushing the 8G envelop. Have gone over a few times, safely. That limit might be revised upwards. SDR and Guns are not part of Mk1 FoC.If no new requirements arrive, Mk1 should recieve FOC by year end.

As reported by Anantha Krishnan Fuel probe, SDR and guns will be part of FOC. Is it incorrect?

 

[binayak95]

For any developing country, taking 40 years to develop a 4th generation fighter is not a laughing stock.

The only laughing stock is the claim that it should be a easy task which can be finished in shorter period.

It took 15 months from start of program to first flight for the HF24 Marut, a program that was even more daunting in 1961. And induction started from 1967, 7 years from commencement of the program to induction.

If we could achieve that in the 60s....

 

[aditya10r]

It took 15 months from start of program to first flight for the HF24 Marut, a program that was even more daunting in 1961. And induction started from 1967, 7 years from commencement of the program to induction.

If we could achieve that in the 60s....

It's pretty easy to mass produce jets when you have stolen stuff from someone else.

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Coughs in IAI LAVI

 

[Indx TechStyle]

For any developing country, taking 40 years to develop a 4th generation fighter is not a laughing stock.

The only laughing stock is the claim that it should be a easy task which can be finished in shorter period.

40 years for a country with massive R&D budget and enough of manpower is for sure.
Bureaucratic formalities & petty delays in production have been accumulating over years.
Only positive thing is that Tejas has specifications way better than it was supposed to have.

 

[Advaidhya Tiwari]

HAL ramps up Tejas production

Bengaluru: The activities at LCA Tejas Division of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) have reached a fever pitch. The engineers, designers and the shop floor crew are committed to beat the March, 2019, deadline and deliver the remaining five Tejas fighters to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The IAF pilots from Flying Daggers are warming up to ferry out a new fighter from Tejas production line to AFS Sulur, the home of No 45 Squadron, Flying Daggers.

The squadron will get one more flying machine in two weeks after the Test Pilots complete the mandatory Customer Acceptance Flight (CAF).

The fighters from SP-12 to SP-16, the remaining from the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) block are all on the final equipping phase. While SP-12, SP-14 and SP-16 are with the LCA Tejas Division, SP-13 and SP-15 are with the second production line at the Aircraft Division.

This is the first time ever that the Tejas production line at HAL is witnessing so much of activities. There is a renewed energy seen all over and better synergy between all the stakeholders.

The recent review of the project by Dr Ajay Kumar, Secretary (Defence Production), is said to have given clarity to all stakeholders to overcome the bottlenecks and to find a way forward for stepped-up Tejas production. His interactions and assurances seem to have boosted the morale of team HAL.

“The production rate of IOC fighters has been really ramped up at the LCA Tejas Division. Starting from one aircraft in 2015-16, it has been gradually increased to two and five aircraft in the next two production years. During 2018-19 fiscal, we are confident of delivering eight aircraft. We had our share of issues in the past and all that is now sorted out,” said an official.

The SP-12 fighter is ready to undergo a full performance EGR (engine ground run) signalling that it will be ready to kiss the skies for the first time in a week.

HAL officials say that SP-13 and SP-15 will be ready for maiden flights in December. The Aircraft Division will hand over these two fighters to the Tejas Division after conducting the HSTT (high-speed taxi trials).

What clicked for LCA Division

After having taken the hit from all corners for poor delivery of Tejas, HAL handpicked some of the best brains and made them part of programme at the LCA Division. Huge strides have been made now on improving the supply chain management and most importantly the follow-up mechanisms.

The man who heads the LCA Division P G Yogindra, an Executive Director, is said to have a played stellar role at the Hawk assembly lines, ensuring deliveries ahead of the schedule. His expertise in supply chain management is coming handy for the Tejas project now.

The review mechanism, delegation of responsibilities, increased interaction with vendors and fast-tracking of part supplies have propelled the Tejas production plans.

As a result, the assembly cycle time and waiting period for parts have been reduced – an accusation often HAL faced in the past. “We have made all efforts to ramp up the production in phases. Now, we are able to source items in advance. The front fuselage structure of Tejas now takes 53 days to be completed and this used to take four to five months in the past. Various teams have sat down and brain-stormed and we have found many answers,” said an official.

HAL is awaiting a major milestone when L&T Aerospace delivers the wings of Tejas. This it says will be a major step in Make in India and its partnership with a private industry. The last fighter in the IOC series SP-16 will be the first to be integrated with the wings from L&T.

FOC fighters join the party

The team at LCA Tejas Division is excited as they have begun the preparations for producing the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) variants of Tejas. While the FOC announcement is expected next month, the division has already begun advanced stages of production of 10 sets of detail parts.

The assembly of two sets of air fame have already started for SP-21 and SP-22. The parts for SP-23 and SP-24 will be up by the first week of December.

The provisional DAL (Drawing Applicability List) for FOC fighters were released in October, 2017, and the amended one in August, 2018. DAL is the standard of preparation for production that forms the basis for the final product to be delivered to the customer.

“Structural assembly of major modules such as front fuselage, (FF), centre fuselage (CF) and rear fuselage (RF) of SP-21 onwards are already under progress, in the structural assembly hanger of LCA Tejas Division. Incidentally, the floor assembly of SP-21 FF Stage-1 has been provisionally cleared by qualifying authorities which is a significant milestone towards our FOC missions,” added the official.

HAL says that the first FOC fighter (SP-21) will fly out by October, 2019. It is hopeful of creating a new benchmark by delivering 16 aircraft during 2019-20 fiscal.

As reported by Onmanorama earlier, IAF and HAL seem to have ironed out their differences over Tejas trainers.

It is expected that the DAL or the build-standard of eight trainers in the FOC version will be now be ready by February, 2019, and the first plane will be likely available to IAF by September, 2021.

The 1,000-plus workforce of LCA Tejas Division probably is aware that the future of HAL is currently hinged on to their performances. A plane not wanted by many till recently has suddenly become the hope for a company, its user and the nation.

The upgraded versions of Tejas set to fly out in the future will be a testimony to the belief that making is better than buying.

(The writer is an independent aerospace, defence journalist, who blogs at Tarmak007 and tweets @writetake.)