Indian Air Force: News & Discussions

Advaidhya Tiwari

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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.)
 

power_monger

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according to vayu magazine reason for the delay in foc is inability of the aircraft to reach mach 1.6 which is the max speed of the aircrAFT
and other things ( not related to the FOC) stated by the author;
usage rate works out to be approx 85 hrs /aircraft /year
whereas for jf 17 it is 126hrs/aircraft/year

apart from this he has also slammed the foor surface finish of the aircraft which he has discovered on the upper mid fuselage /wingroot area

the author name is prof pradyut das

ppl who are expert on this subject kindly shed some light
LCA did reach speed of 1.6 Mach at altitude as mentioned by saurav jha in 2014 itself.

LCA is a fine plane. It's just that ADA did not realize true potential of LCA and we're very conservative and carefull in initial days which gave this sub optimal plane kind of feeling. By the time of FOC you will hear more about the real capabilities of the plane.
 

rohit b3

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Indian Air Force (IAF) officers on Wednesday emphasised in the Supreme Court the need for induction of 'four plus or fifth' generation fighter aircraft like Rafale, which have niche stealth technology and enhanced electronic warfare capabilities.


They told the bench that Sukhoi 30s is the latest to be inducted which is a 3.5 generation aircraft and said the IAF does not have fourth or fifth generation aircraft.
Indian Air Force (IAF) officers on Wednesday emphasised in the Supreme Court the need for induction of ‘four plus or fifth’ generation fighter aircraft like Rafale, which have niche stealth technology and enhanced electronic warfare capabilities. Top IAF officers — Air Vice Marshall J Chalapati, Air Marshal Anil Khosla and Deputy Chief of Air staff, Air Marshal V R Chaudhari — had to rush to the apex court at short notice after a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it wished to interact with IAF officers as the controversy over the Rafale deal concerns them.

They told the bench that Sukhoi 30s is the latest to be inducted which is a 3.5 generation aircraft and said the IAF does not have fourth or fifth generation aircraft.

The bench expressed its wish to interact with the officers when Attorney General K K Venugopal commenced his arguments on behalf of the Centre.

[Ad]
He was opposing the pleas for a CBI probe into the 36 Rafale fighter jet deal with France.

“We are dealing with the requirements of the Air Force and would like to ask an Air Force officer. We want to hear from an Air force officer and not the official of the Defence Ministry on the issue,” the bench said in the pre-lunch session.

Chalapati, who appeared before the bench also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph, answered all the questions asked by the CJI about the induction of fighter jets by India.

He said the country needs the fifth generation aircraft, which have niche stealth technology and enhanced electronic warfare capabilities.

The CJI asked Chalapati the first question, “What is the latest induction to IAF?”

Chalapati replied that it is Sukhoi Su-30MKI, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at Nashik in Maharashtra and Bangalore in Karnataka.

He said that IAF is getting new Su-30MKI aircraft each year.

The CJI then asked Chalapati that besides Su-30MKI, which aircraft are being manufactured in India.

The officer said that he himself is a pilot and has special liking for Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) being built in Bangalore but is yet to be inducted into IAF.

The CJI also asked the officer which generation aircraft are the LCA and Su-30MKI.

Chalapati said there is no clear definition of generation and as he has flied the LCA which according to him is three and half generation aircraft.

He said both LCA and Su-30MKI are three and half and fourth generation aircrafts respectively but the requirement of IAF at present is of four plus or fifth generations aircrafts.

The CJI asked does it mean that IAF currently requires few squadrons of fourth and fifth generation aircrafts.

Chalapati replied in affirmative and said, “the fifth generation aircraft have niche stealth technology and the electronic warfare capabilities are very very enhanced”.

The CJI Gogoi then asked Chalapati was there any induction made in IAF after Mirage in 1985.

The officer replied in negative which led CJI to observe: “It means since 1985 to 2018 there is zero induction”.

https://www.financialexpress.com/in...1381948/?utm_source=quora&utm_medium=referral

Guys , from now on MKI are 3.5th gen and Tejas is 3.5th or 4th gen, whatever we wanna call it! No Arguments!
Also Tejas is not yet inducted!!
Ok Bye.
:biggrin2:
 

akk

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Indian Air Force (IAF) officers on Wednesday emphasised in the Supreme Court the need for induction of 'four plus or fifth' generation fighter aircraft like Rafale, which have niche stealth technology and enhanced electronic warfare capabilities.


They told the bench that Sukhoi 30s is the latest to be inducted which is a 3.5 generation aircraft and said the IAF does not have fourth or fifth generation aircraft.
Indian Air Force (IAF) officers on Wednesday emphasised in the Supreme Court the need for induction of ‘four plus or fifth’ generation fighter aircraft like Rafale, which have niche stealth technology and enhanced electronic warfare capabilities. Top IAF officers — Air Vice Marshall J Chalapati, Air Marshal Anil Khosla and Deputy Chief of Air staff, Air Marshal V R Chaudhari — had to rush to the apex court at short notice after a bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it wished to interact with IAF officers as the controversy over the Rafale deal concerns them.

They told the bench that Sukhoi 30s is the latest to be inducted which is a 3.5 generation aircraft and said the IAF does not have fourth or fifth generation aircraft.

The bench expressed its wish to interact with the officers when Attorney General K K Venugopal commenced his arguments on behalf of the Centre.

[Ad]
He was opposing the pleas for a CBI probe into the 36 Rafale fighter jet deal with France.

“We are dealing with the requirements of the Air Force and would like to ask an Air Force officer. We want to hear from an Air force officer and not the official of the Defence Ministry on the issue,” the bench said in the pre-lunch session.

Chalapati, who appeared before the bench also comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph, answered all the questions asked by the CJI about the induction of fighter jets by India.

He said the country needs the fifth generation aircraft, which have niche stealth technology and enhanced electronic warfare capabilities.

The CJI asked Chalapati the first question, “What is the latest induction to IAF?”

Chalapati replied that it is Sukhoi Su-30MKI, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at Nashik in Maharashtra and Bangalore in Karnataka.

He said that IAF is getting new Su-30MKI aircraft each year.

The CJI then asked Chalapati that besides Su-30MKI, which aircraft are being manufactured in India.

The officer said that he himself is a pilot and has special liking for Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) being built in Bangalore but is yet to be inducted into IAF.

The CJI also asked the officer which generation aircraft are the LCA and Su-30MKI.

Chalapati said there is no clear definition of generation and as he has flied the LCA which according to him is three and half generation aircraft.

He said both LCA and Su-30MKI are three and half and fourth generation aircrafts respectively but the requirement of IAF at present is of four plus or fifth generations aircrafts.

The CJI asked does it mean that IAF currently requires few squadrons of fourth and fifth generation aircrafts.

Chalapati replied in affirmative and said, “the fifth generation aircraft have niche stealth technology and the electronic warfare capabilities are very very enhanced”.

The CJI Gogoi then asked Chalapati was there any induction made in IAF after Mirage in 1985.

The officer replied in negative which led CJI to observe: “It means since 1985 to 2018 there is zero induction”.

https://www.financialexpress.com/in...1381948/?utm_source=quora&utm_medium=referral

Guys , from now on MKI are 3.5th gen and Tejas is 3.5th or 4th gen, whatever we wanna call it! No Arguments!
Also Tejas is not yet inducted!!
Ok Bye.
:biggrin2:
Regarding lca, it is important to remember that lca currently inducted are not meant for fighting purposes or even certified for fighting. IOC means fit for flying and FOC fit for fighting. So technically, we don't have tejas inducted in fighting capacity. Only foc aircraft will be for fighting. Ioc will be upgraded to foc only later.
 

prohumanity

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It is so pathetic that congress of Rahu of India can stoop so low that they are making India's security in danger for political gains. Of course, India needs a very strong, technologically advanced military to protect its 1.3 billion citizens. I watched Dassault CEO interview...It makes perfect sense to me what he is trying to say.

Rahu Gandhi is blind with revenge from BJP as his father was accused of Bofors scandal...so he wants to get even. I do not doubt even a bit the intentions of a 100% patriot like PM Modi.

Rahu is trying to mislead and confuse people and sadly lot of Indian people are ignorant and gullible to believe such politicians.
Hope Indian voters see the truth that it is in their best interest to bring back in power leaders like Modi, Rajnath, Sushma etc to finish the rampant corruption and broken Indian legal system.
This is India's best chance to progress speedily and become a power the world has to recognize and respect.
 

vikata

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i am apalled by the incompetence of the govt. in the perception management .if all the news shared by the press regarding supreme court hearing /conversation i am simply in a state of shock
they should have been better prepared apart from the fact they should have clearly stated in no uncertain terms
1) it is a case of judiciary overreach it can look into the allegation of corruption but cant be seen as controlling/curbing the executive discretionary power if doing so that will be akin to challenging the mandate the govt.has got,better to have robot rather than the man.
2)if reliance indeed has been selected by the rafale ,then their should not be any further argument about their experience of the past ,because if we doesnot weed out the inefficient method of production ultimately the taxpayer/country as a whole will suffer.
3)its absolutely vital for the govt . to prop the priavte sector vis a vis HAL and for that start has to be made
4) a thorough technologicall audit of HAL should also be made so that full fact about its capability should be made public after all this has been perfect example of incompetence /monopoly brought and fed by the tax payer money from the last 70 years.
5)if its turns out to be case inspired by the political vendetta aimed at paralysing the policy making of the govt. or rival countries/companies trying to geopardise a perfectly fine deal then exempalry punishment should be given to the firm ,lawyer should be barred from further practise ,politician if found guilty working in tandem to those firms should be barred from contesting three terms of election in the country
6)all people /bureaucrats involved in the perception management should be fired along with the defense minister for their shear incompetence
7)court cant simply make oral observation without full backing of the facts should be ensured
8) if pm is found to be involved in the promoting crony capitalism he must resign ,at the same time iaf should be made available as capable aircraft att its disposal if not more
people may come people may go but nation should not suffer due to the petty politics or ego battle of pm,opposition and cji and few other individuals
 
Last edited:

cobra commando

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IAF to Get Indigenously Designed Bomb

Next year, the IAF may get an indigenously designed bomb to use against high-value targets Soon, the Indian Air Force could be armed with a new indigenously designed bomb. The Defence Research and Development Organisation developed ‘500-kg General Purpose Bomb’ can possibly be used against high value targets such as docks, airfields, railway yards and fortified bunkers. According to a senior scientist, design and development of the bomb is complete and that it has be trialled using Jaguar deep penetration strike bombers of the IAF. The scientist pointed out that a few trials were also carried out using the Sukhoi-30 fighter- bomber. He added that more parameters would be evaluated in the coming weeks. The bomb is the heaviest designed in India so far and DRDO is looking for private partners to commercialise manufacture via technology transfer. The bomb is divided into two main parts – the main part contains the warhead and fuze while the tail unit has a fin assembly to stabilise it after being dropped from an aircraft. Made of specially forged high- grade steel, the bomb will most probably have Torpex-4B type high explosive in its warhead. The ‘500-kg General Purpose Bomb’ is expected to enter service with the IAF around March or April, 2019.

IAF to Get Indigenously Designed Bomb
 

Aaj ka hero

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Older interview with former Air Marshal M Matheswaran, but worth reading.

......................
That I knew...... long ago another heavyweight in IAF said it was great aircraft and must not be called flying coffin.
He even presented certain facts but our WESTERN ALL MIGHTY media :biggrin2: posted it as a poor aircraft.
STILL thanks for posting I read it somewhere before, just read it now and liked it.
MIG-21 THE LEGEND will live forever on.
 

ezsasa

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#CopeIndia2018 : USAF fighter aircraft F-15 arrived at IAF base Kalaikunda on Saturday. The exercise will host more than 40 aircraft including F-15 & C-130H aircraft of USAF.
#IAF contingent will comprise of Su-30MKI, Mirage-2000, Jaguars, IL-78, C-130J, AWACS & AEW&C aircraft.

 

rohit b3

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They will never allow Tejas to participate in these exercises. What if the world knows how good it is?!?
Some might say because its in IOC standard, but that didn stop them from flying toe to toe with other IAF fighters during Gagan Shakti!
 

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