Indian Air Force: News & Discussions

Knowitall

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2019
Messages
7,930
Likes
35,897
So @helifire says 100 of f18
60 (bought) 40(leased)
64 for iaf 36 for navy.......
Bdw if India goes for f18 due to budgetary constraints. .........then India will loose the money invested in India specific enhancements with Rafale
God I hope not.

Govt is taking unity in diversity way too seriously.
 

Haldilal

लड़ते लड़ते जीना है, लड़ते लड़ते मरना है
Senior Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2020
Messages
29,416
Likes
112,974
Country flag
Bdw it's a good decision to convert those ex air india jets to awacs
Bdw iaf will choose the jets with most life time left within them
And as some already pointed out ...it can be done quickly ...as the aircraft is already present.

Bdw the offer from France for inflight fuler is also a good one....India should go for this.....
A lots of money saving efforts are going
The A 320 Neo are the best that can be available from the AI fleets.
 

Narasimh

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2016
Messages
1,057
Likes
3,607
Country flag
If IAF and Navy finalize to combine their tender then it leaves F-18 on the forefront considering Navy already going to lease them.

IAF will try to get two more squads of Rafale most probably as already they have invested on the customisation and base infrastructure in Ambala and Hasimara.

As per the types of aircraft, IAF's reasoning may be Bisons are to be retired by 2025, so net net same no. of types would remain with them and American spares and after sales would be much better. So probably would be easier to maintain than the Bisons. Then commonality of GE engines with Tejas mk1,1a, mk2 would be helpful.

So Super hornet makes pretty good case if it comes cheaper than Rafale.
Although all these will be double engine fighters so Prabhu only knows what will happen to operating costs. It is a tough decision.
 

WolfPack86

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2015
Messages
10,502
Likes
16,946
Country flag
DAC clears proposals to acquire defence hardware worth Rs 27,000 cr from Indian industry
The DAC approved seven capital acquisition proposals for various weapons, platforms, equipment and systems required by the army, navy and air force at an approximate overall cost of Rs 28,000 crore. Six of these acquisitions, worth Rs 27,000 crore, will be made from Indian industry, the statement said.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Thursday cleared proposals to procure military equipment worth Rs 27,000 crore, including indigenously designed airborne early warning aircraft and patrol vessels, from the domestic industry.

The move, cleared during a meeting of the DAC headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh, was described by officials as a big boost to the “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiatives.

Among the acquisition proposals approved were the airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Air Force, next generation offshore patrol vessels for the Indian Navy, and modular bridges for the Indian Army, according to a statement from the defence ministry.

The DAC approved seven capital acquisition proposals for various weapons, platforms, equipment and systems required by the army, navy and air force at an approximate overall cost of Rs 28,000 crore. Six of these acquisitions, worth Rs 27,000 crore, will be made from Indian industry, the statement said, without giving further details.

This was the first meeting of the DAC under the new regime of the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020, and these was the first set of “acceptance of necessity (AoNs)” accorded, the statement said.

A majority of the AoNs were “accorded in the highest categorization of Buy Indian (IDDM)”, according to the statement.
 

WolfPack86

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2015
Messages
10,502
Likes
16,946
Country flag
RAFALE OFFSETS: NEW FIGHTER JET ENGINE COMPLEX COMING UP, FRENCH ASSISTANCE LIKELY
The new engine complex is being set up as a national mission to develop a 110 kilo newton powered engine for the future class of advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA) and could produce the engine within seven years of starting work

by Manu Pubby

NEW DELHI:
Even as the central auditor has raised questions on non-completion of high end technology transfer as part of the Rafale fighter jet offsets deal, ET has learnt that a new fighter jet engine complex spearheaded by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is in the works, with advanced discussions on for a completely new engine for future Indian fighters with a French manufacturer.

The new engine complex is being set up as a national mission to develop a 110 kilo newton powered engine for the future class of advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA) and could produce the engine within seven years of starting work.

French engine manufacturer Safran has offered a compete technology transfer to develop the engine and use the offset credits from the Rafale deal and is also tying up with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for transferring manufacturing technology for high end engines.

“We are signing an agreement related to the technology needed for high thrust engine manufacturing. The technology will be common to the Rafale engines that can be supported by us and would also be useful for the 110 kn engine project,” HAL Chairman R Madhavan told ET.

While the new engine complex is yet to be set up, the broad understanding is that it would cater to high end fighter jet engines while HAL would be involved in lower thrust engines for helicopters, light transport aircraft, UAVs and trainers.

HAL is also likely to be part of the 110 kn engine project as a manufacturing partner. As reported by ET, the air force is keen that the future AMCA fighter jet be powered by an indigenous engine to ensure self reliance. While the first squadron of the AMCA fighters would need a foreign engine due to timelines, future squadrons would be powered by an Indian engine, which could possibly be christened the Kaveri.

As reported, in a report referring to the Rafale fighter jet deal, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) pointed out on Wednesday that plans for transfer of high end technology as part of the offsets deal have not been completed and it not clear if it will even take place in the future.

ET has been reporting that plans to use the Rafale offsets for obtaining jet engine technology has been hanging since 2016, even though French company Safran has been in talks with Indian stakeholders. French companies can modify offset plans at any point but have a huge obligation - to the tune of 3.5 billion Euro – that need to be competed in the next three years, though this timeline can be extended by the government.
 

WolfPack86

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2015
Messages
10,502
Likes
16,946
Country flag
DEFENCE MINISTRY APPROVES ACQUISITION OF MADE IN INDIA AWACS; NEXT GENERATION OFFSHORE PATROL VESSELS; MODULAR BRIDGES; CHECK DETAILS
The approval has been granted for the acquisition of the DRDO designed and developed AEW&C Systems for the Indian Air Force, Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Indian Navy and Modular Bridges for the Indian Army


Amidst the ongoing standoff between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a growing need is being felt for assets to help in monitoring the enemy movements round the clock on land, air and sea. On Thursday, at the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) gave approval for various platforms, equipment and systems for the three services – Army, Navy and Air Force at an approximate overall cost of Rs 28,000 crore.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) stated that six of the seven proposals — Rs 27,000 crore of Rs 28,000 crore for which AoN (Acceptance of Necessity) was granted — is expected to be sourced from the Indian industry, and this will give a boost to `Atmanirbhar Bharat and `Make in India’ initiatives.

Officials said a total of seven acquisition proposals were approved by the DAC, the defence ministry's highest decision-making body on procurement. Defence Ministry approves acquisition of military hardware worth Rs 28,000 crore

The approval has been granted for the acquisition of the DRDO designed and developed AEW&C Systems for the Indian Air Force, Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Indian Navy and Modular Bridges for the Indian Army.

What Is AWACS?

Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) are eyes in the sky and are used for not only tracking but also helping in detecting the fighter jets, cruise missiles, and drones. And, these are faster than the ground-based radars, can be used in monitoring and tracking the ships out at sea.

What Will The Services Get?

The original plan was to have the AEW&C systems were to be fixed on larger body jets A-330 which were earlier expected to be procured from Airbus. However, this procurement program was put on hold.

Now, six A-319s and A-321 variants which are expected to be acquired from the Air India Fleet and modified will be having the AEW&C Systems fitted onboard. The indigenous Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar is going to be mounted on them.

According to sources, the Centre for Airborne Studies Lab (CABS) under DRDO is in the process of executing the Block-2 project. This is expected to be much more advanced than the existing systems.

What Do The Services Have?

As reported earlier by Financial Express Online, the IAF already has the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. These are meant to monitor the airspace deep inside the enemy territory and they operate on secure communication with network-centric warfare capabilities.

Three Israeli Phalcon AWACS are onboard Russian IL-76 transport aircraft, and there are two `Made in India’ two indigenous ‘Netra’ AEW&C aircraft. IAF got its second `Netra’ in 2019. The AEW&C system developed indigenously comes with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, and it has secondary surveillance radar, communication and electronic countermeasures.

This indigenous AEW&C was mounted on a Brazilian Embraer-145 aircraft, designed specifically to suit the operational requirements of the IAF. It has a state-of-the-art integrated system and has the air-to-air refuelling capability.

Multiple sensors, and these help in picking up the low-level targets deep which are inside the enemy’s airspace.

Why Are They Called Eye In The Sky?

They are called `Eye’ in the sky because these AWACS have superior surveillance capabilities.

Efforts are on to integrate Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles into the Russian fighter jets Su-30MKI which have been modified as per the requirements of the IAF. This is being implemented by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and the BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd (BAPL), which is an Indo-Russia joint venture.

What Does Pakistan Have?

Based on the information available in the public domain, Pakistan has more `eyes’ in the sky compared to India. Currently, it has six of the Saab 2000 early warning aircraft.

When Did IAF Get Its First Indigenous AEW&C?

In 2017 and as reported earlier, has since then is providing Air Defence surveillance and control from different terrains which stretch from Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and to the Rann of Kutch.
 

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top