AMCA - Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (HAL)

[screwterrorists]

All Medium Combat Aircraft news here.
Ill start:

On drawing board: desi stealth fighter
SUJAN DUTTA

New Delhi, Feb. 15: Twin engines, an airframe designed to deflect radar signals so it cannot be easily detected, a tandem-seat cockpit over a drooped nose — so what is it? A stealth fighter?

Wrong. Baking its latest pie in the sky for the Indian Air Force, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has unveiled models, mock-ups and pictures of a stealth combat aircraft that it hopes to build one day though its light combat aircraft (LCA) — that is finally beginning to look like what it is called — is more than a decade late.

The models were on show in the DRDO’s stall at Aero India 2009 in Yelahanka, Bangalore. DRDO chief and scientific adviser to defence minister M. Natarajan said its laboratory, the Aeronautical Development Agency, was ready to get cracking on it alongside the LCA Mark II programme.

The LCA’s long history has marred its development not only because of sanctions but also because, as Natarajan insinuates, the user (the IAF) took a long time to support the programme.

“Unfortunately in this country, we are used to buying perfumed soap from Paris instead of our very own Hamam,” he said, meaning (mistakenly, perhaps) that the armed forces have not steadily supported indigenous research and development efforts.

Natarajan was in error because Hamam is marketed by multinational Hindustan Lever. Mysore Sandal may have been apt.

Natarajan said the DRDO was also working on an unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). A blue-coloured mock-up of Rustom — an unmanned spy plane being developed by the organisation — that was displayed opposite Bae System’s Mantis sleep spy plane had wings attached to the body by one-and-a-half-inch cheap screws and plastic wing-tips.

“We are confident that after the LCA, it will be the MCA (medium combat aircraft) and the UCAV,” said Natarajan. The MCA will weigh about 20 tonnes — the same category as the six aircraft that the IAF is now evaluating for its $12.5 billion-plus order for 126 aircraft.

The “next-generation” MCA would have a naval version, too, that would be capable of taking off from and landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Natarajan said the DRDO would have to take foreign help and about 30 per cent of the components would be imported.

“Along with the fifth generation stealth capability, the MCA would incorporate features like radar sensors, in-built weapons systems, fly-by-wire ops and, above all, would be of lesser weight than most in its category,” he said. The DRDO chief said it would be ready in 10 years.

The LCA did its first flight trial in 2001. It is yet to get initial operational clearance. But the IAF has been asked to place an order for 40 LCA Tejas. The DRDO and its principal partner Hindustan Aeronautics are to begin deliveries after the clearance in 2010-11.

The cabinet is also yet to clear the MCA programme.

The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Frontpage | On drawing board: desi stealth fighter

 

[A.V.]

sir the best thing about the MCA would be to fix a time frame for the work to start and the aim should be to to finish the work within the stipulated time.

its difficult for defense matters to follow such fixed timetable but would be great if india manages to do so.


thanks.

 

[screwterrorists]

yeah. i have actually been against the MCA project because LCA needs to be perfected before the MCA can be decent. why waste time, moeny, effort on MCA (which is suposed to be a near 5th generation aricraft) if the basics aren't accounted for...

prefect LCA design, engine, avionics, WHATEVER in 2 year..3...maybe...

then even if MCA is delayed 3 or 4 years...you have one proven indigenous fighter.
however, i dont make the decisions.


btw...the models of MCA looked sweeeet.

 

[nitesh]

InViNCiBlE

LCA is the learning curve for Indian scientists, they have learned from the ground up and created the building blocks necessary for aircraft building process. So the MCA will cause a little less problem (Hopefully)

 

[Atul]

MCA @ AeroINDIA 2009

 

[nitesh]

India details plans for indigenous medium combat aircraft

Primarily, the MCA will have air-to-ground and air-to-air capabilities and be able to perform suppression of enemy air defence, precision strike and close combat missions, the ADA says. The 20t design will also have a low radar cross-section, "serpentine-shaped" air intakes, internal weapons bays and advanced radomes to increase its stealth features. Radar-absorbing composites and paints will supplement the design, and there will also be an on-board micro-electro-mechanical system.

The MCA will use an advanced version of the indigenous Gas Turbine Research Establishment Kaveri engine, which is still under development, and is projected to deliver "supercruise" performance, thrust-vectoring control and low infrared capabilities, and a projected top speed of Mach 1.6.

It will also include integrated modular architecture avionics and data fusion sensor capabilities, plus a decision support system, advanced sensors, flush/body conformal antennas and pods, and advanced communication and net-centric warfare capabilities, the ADA adds.

The aircraft will further have the capability for internal weapon release in supersonic flight, high asymmetry control, and a reconfigurable flight-control system.

 

[nitesh]

http://livefist.blogspot.com/2009/02/drdos-medium-combat-aircraft-mca.html

 

[LETHALFORCE]

http://www.flightglobal.com/article...ns-for-indigenous-medium-combat-aircraft.html

India details plans for indigenous medium combat aircraft
By Siva Govindasamy

India's Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) has begun talks with the Indian air force to involve the service in the design for its proposed medium combat aircraft (MCA), and hopes to put forward a plan in a few years to secure government funding for detailed studies.

"In India, we have a fighter aircraft design team that comprises officials from various departments. It was formed to work on the Tejas light combat aircraft, and it makes sense for them to move on to a new fighter design after completing that," says P S Subramanyam, programme director (combat aircraft) at the ADA, which oversees design and development of the Tejas. "We are engaging the air force on the MCA and finding out about their requirements."

The agency, which displayed a windtunnel testing model of the MCA at the Aero India 2009 show in Bangalore in February, believes it will take 10 years to develop the aircraft. It also released further details on the twin-engine design, which will incorporate stealth features.



Primarily, the MCA will have air-to-ground and air-to-air capabilities and be able to perform suppression of enemy air defence, precision strike and close combat missions, the ADA says. The 20t design will also have a low radar cross-section, "serpentine-shaped" air intakes, internal weapons bays and advanced radomes to increase its stealth features. Radar-absorbing composites and paints will supplement the design, and there will also be an on-board micro-electro-mechanical system.

The MCA will use an advanced version of the indigenous Gas Turbine Research Establishment Kaveri engine, which is still under development, and is projected to deliver "supercruise" performance, thrust-vectoring control and low infrared capabilities, and a projected top speed of Mach 1.6.

It will also include integrated modular architecture avionics and data fusion sensor capabilities, plus a decision support system, advanced sensors, flush/body conformal antennas and pods, and advanced communication and net-centric warfare capabilities, the ADA adds.

The aircraft will further have the capability for internal weapon release in supersonic flight, high asymmetry control, and a reconfigurable flight-control system.

Subramanyam says that the MCA will not compete with the fighter that India selects for its medium multirole combat aircraft (MMRCA) competition. New Delhi is holding a tender to select 126 fighters for the requirement, with a selection projected to take place in 2010 and deliveries scheduled to begin from 2013. Contenders are the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-16, RSK MiG-35 and Saab Gripen.

"The MMRCA aircraft are fourth-generation fighters that are already in production and incorporating technology that is already available. The MCA will replace the air force's existing MiG-29s and [Dassault] Mirages when those are retired over a decade from now," Subramanyam says. "It is being conceptualised now to use technology that will be available only 10 years from now, and so will be very different and have superior capabilities to the current generation of

 

[shiv]

India set to build Medium Combat Aircraft

With India’s home-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) — the Tejas — flying successfully through its testing process, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has now signed up for an indigenous Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA). Within days, the IAF and a team of aircraft designers will formally set up a joint committee to frame the specifications for India’s own MCA, which will be built largely in Bangalore.

The MCA’s design team will centre on the agencies that have built the LCA: the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA); the National Aeronautics Laboratory (NAL); Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL); and a host of Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) laboratories that will develop futuristic sensors and systems for the MCA.

The director of ADA, Dr PS Subramaniam, confirmed to Business Standard, “The joint committee is likely to be formed within two or three weeks. This committee will finalise what will go into the MCA, as well as the budget and development schedule.”

According to Dr Subramaniam, the programme will aim to develop the MCA and build five to six prototypes at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore. That is approximately the same amount that has gone into the LCA programme.

With this, Indian aeronautical designers will be working in all the fighter categories. In the light fighter category (10-11 tonnes), the Tejas LCA is expected to get operational clearance in 2011; the MCA will be India’s first foray into the medium fighter category (14-15 tonnes); and in the heavy fighter category (20 tonnes plus), currently ruled by the Russian Sukhoi-30MKI, Indian designers plan to partner their Russian counterparts in developing the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA).

Interestingly, the decision to develop an indigenous MCA comes alongside the overseas procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for an estimated Rs 50,000 crore. Senior IAF planners point out that the MMRCA procurement is unavoidable for replacing the MiG-29s and Mirage-2000s that will become obsolete while the MCA is still being developed.

By 2020, when the IAF’s current fleet would have been largely phased out, MoD planners forecast a requirement for at least 250 medium fighters. This has raised hopes amongst the MMRCA contenders (the US F/A-18 and F-16, Russia’s Mig-35; the Eurofighter Typhoon; and the Swedish Gripen) that the winner could end up supplying twice as many fighters as the current tender. But a successful Indian MCA programme would cap the MMRCA procurement at 126 fighters. After that, the MCA production will kick in.

The MCA designers plan to pursue technologies superior to anything currently on offer. The ADA director points out, “None of the MMRCA contenders will be state-of-the-art in 2015-2017. But the MCA will; it will incorporate the technologies of the future, which currently feature only on the US Air Force’s F-22 Raptor.”

India’s aeronautical designers see the MCA programme as crucial for taking forward the expertise that has been painstakingly accumulated in the Tejas LCA programme. The IAF is in agreement; and the Rama Rao Committee, set up for restructuring the DRDO, has recommended that programmes must be created to provide continuity for designers.

Says a senior MoD official: “With great difficulty we have built up a team that can design a complete combat aircraft. After a couple of years, when the LCA goes into production, there will be no design work left. Without another aircraft programme to work on, we will lose this team, having attained this level.”

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/india-set-to-build-medium-combat-aircraft/356861/

 

[shiv]

looks like my argument a few days back is slightly correct.

there is a huge possibility that the number of MRCA will be cut and the money indirectly be put into MCA R&D,I think MOD thinks more rationally then you guys:blum3::d_training:

 

[Sailor]

What will a plane like that be like Shiv? What is a comparison aircraft in existence now in the West?

Like the Hawk?

 

[Yusuf]

Shiv, the 126 pcs of the MRCA will be in place. It was only expected to go upwards of 200. If the MCA comes along, then the tender will remain at 126. There is no way that the MRCA will be scrapped or be less than 126. But yes large numbers if MCA will also be purchased. It's all about development time and final production. The MCA will not come before 2015-17. What do you do till then? The gaps in the inventory is glaring.

 

[nitesh]

What will a plane like that be like Shiv? What is a comparison aircraft in existence now in the West?

Like the Hawk?

no specs are out as of now but this should help

 

[Yusuf]

The design revealed this year at Aero India was vastly different from the design that was doing the rounds fir the last 5 years. The new design looks a lot like the Raptor. Previous design guestimate was of a tailless fighter with delta wings. Now we have a twin tailed design.
So safe to say that nothing is certain about the MCA design. Only when the AF and the designers sit together will anything come out. Besides we still don't have a GSQR for it.

 

[Pintu]

An wind tunnel model of the MCA , image courtesy Wikipedia:

Regards

 

[shiv]

yes thats what i was saying that the option for another 74 mrca aircraft will be scrapped in favour of MCA yusuf,if it is online by 2014-15

i must admit that the MCA is starting to look very similar to the raptor,atleast the wind model is.

 

[nitesh]

Just trying to higlight the points which are learned from development of LCA

Within days, the IAF and a team of aircraft designers will formally set up a joint committee to frame the specifications for India’s own MCA, which will be built largely in Bangalore.

Now both the designers and the users will be on same page from the beginning.

According to Dr Subramaniam, the programme will aim to develop the MCA and build five to six prototypes at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore. That is approximately the same amount that has gone into the LCA programme.

The money assigned should be more I think.

Interestingly, the decision to develop an indigenous MCA comes alongside the overseas procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for an estimated Rs 50,000 crore. Senior IAF planners point out that the MMRCA procurement is unavoidable for replacing the MiG-29s and Mirage-2000s that will become obsolete while the MCA is still being developed.

By 2020, when the IAF’s current fleet would have been largely phased out, MoD planners forecast a requirement for at least 250 medium fighters. This has raised hopes amongst the MMRCA contenders (the US F/A-18 and F-16, Russia’s Mig-35; the Eurofighter Typhoon; and the Swedish Gripen) that the winner could end up supplying twice as many fighters as the current tender. But a successful Indian MCA programme would cap the MMRCA procurement at 126 fighters. After that, the MCA production will kick in.

This preety much explains the role MRCA is going to play and clearly indicates there is ample room for LCA too (approx 200 fighters may be more)

Says a senior MoD official: “With great difficulty we have built up a team that can design a complete combat aircraft. After a couple of years, when the LCA goes into production, there will be no design work left. Without another aircraft programme to work on, we will lose this team, having attained this level.”

This is the single largest contribution of LCA program to the country. A competent design team.

 

[kuku]

According to Dr Subramaniam, the programme will aim to develop the MCA and build five to six prototypes at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore. That is approximately the same amount that has gone into the LCA programme.

Interestingly, the decision to develop an indigenous MCA comes alongside the overseas procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for an estimated Rs 50,000 crore.

Is that to coax the government/red tape to approve the project asap?

They should just show the figure required for several upgrades and acquisitions to show them that with a military as big as ours the economical potential for much bigger investments into specific developments already exists.

 

[nitesh]

I agree with kuku the money allocated should be more min for 8-10 prototypes so that testing could be faster. Also IAF should commit some numbers like 3-4 squadrons (may be not practical) but this will give the designers much needed moral boost.

Hope they will be able to sort out the kaveri issue asap. So that engine issue will be sorted out.

 

[Yusuf]

The money assigned should be more I think.

Maybe not for the development work as most technologies regarding composites which is the key have already been developed. Whats going to be different on the MCA is the avionics, radar, stealth features for which maybe a $billion is enough.