Indian Air Force: News & Discussions

WolfPack86

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IAF LOOKS TO LEASE MID-AIR REFUELERS AMID CRITICAL SHORTAGE, SEEKS OFFERS FROM AIRBUS, BOEING
New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has sought financial quotes from American aviation giant Boeing and the European aerospace major Airbus for leasing of at least two tankers to overcome India’s critical shortage of mid-air refuelling capability.


While the IAF has sought leasing quotes for two mid-air refuelers from Airbus, it has requested quotes for only one from Boeing, sources in the defence and security establishment said.

This has led to speculation that India might end up leasing three tankers and will go in for a large order of six refuelers based on the experience of using them.

The IAF is in talks with both companies, the sources said, and a decision in this regard could come soon.

In consideration are the A330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) aircraft, a derivative of the twin-engine A330 passenger aircraft of Airbus, and the KC-46 tanker, a derivative of the Boeing 767 passenger jet, the sources added.

It was earlier believed that the IAF had made up its mind for the Airbus tanker, and Boeing wasn’t among the options.

When the process is completed, this will be the second major leasing of defence equipment by the Indian armed forces since November last year, when the Navy leased two Sea Guardian drones — unarmed versions of the deadly Predator series — from US firm General Atomics.

The leasing of defence systems is a new option that has been introduced by the Defence Acquisition Procedure of 2020.

‘Unprecedented Range-Enhancing Capability’

India’s refueler fleet currently comprises six Russian IIyushin-78 tankers, first inducted in 2003, that are facing maintenance and serviceability issues.

Emphasising the importance of mid-air refuelers, the sources said the tankers are a must for any modern air force as they offer unprecedented range-enhancing capability to fighters.

With mid-air refuelers, pilots can carry out strikes at longer ranges and also stay in flight without requiring to land and refuel.

“The Rafale aircraft has long-range capability because it can refuel mid-air. We have now gone in for Tejas Mk 1A, which comes with four major enhancements, including refuelling. There is no point in going for such large number of aircraft if we can’t refuel in the air,” a source said.

The IAF has been trying to acquire six mid-air refuelers since 2007 with no success due to multiple issues.

IAF chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria had said in his annual press conference in October last year that the the force could lease refuelers as plans to acquire the tankers had not materialised for years.

The first lot of the Rafale fighters had flown into the country in July last year accompanied by two A330 MRTT of the French Air Force that provided them with mid-air refuelling as they travelled the 8,500-km journey from Merignac in France.

The French have already moved a proposal to India, offering six A330 MRTT aircraft on a government-to-government basis.
 

SKC

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Trololo

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Few points:

1> ORCA is imminent.
2> India will have 7 combat aircraft offerings: a> LCA Mk1, b> LCA Mk1A, c> LCA Mk2, d> TEDBF, e> AMCA Mk1, f> AMCA Mk2, g> ORCA
3> Stitching an anti China military alliance with these is key. For poor countries the Mk1 is an option. For the low-mid range the LCA Mk1A is a very good option, especially with more indigenous tech. But the best sellers IMO will the the LCA Mk2 and ORCA.
4> Small airforces can be very quickly modernised using the above + a package of Indian weapons, AEW, SAMs, and space based assets.
 

Okabe Rintarou

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Few points:

1> ORCA is imminent.
2> India will have 7 combat aircraft offerings: a> LCA Mk1, b> LCA Mk1A, c> LCA Mk2, d> TEDBF, e> AMCA Mk1, f> AMCA Mk2, g> ORCA
3> Stitching an anti China military alliance with these is key. For poor countries the Mk1 is an option. For the low-mid range the LCA Mk1A is a very good option, especially with more indigenous tech. But the best sellers IMO will the the LCA Mk2 and ORCA.
4> Small airforces can be very quickly modernised using the above + a package of Indian weapons, AEW, SAMs, and space based assets.
Error 404 ORCA not found.
 

tarunraju

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France is offering us another batch of 36 Rafales in F4 tranche along with six A330 MRTT as part of a 5 billion Euro package .

https://air-cosmos.com/article/rafa...m_medium=Sociallymap&utm_campaign=Sociallymap

My dil is going garden garden. 😍😍:cruisin2::drool:
Getting that second batch of 36 Rafales fly-away will be a political hot potato, especially in the apparent absence of hostilities. We had this chance back in August-September 2020. Also, KC-767/KC-46 is a better choice for India as it's a superior airframe, and uses GE engines.
 

Okabe Rintarou

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Getting that second batch of 36 Rafales fly-away will be a political hot potato, especially in the apparent absence of hostilities. We had this chance back in August-September 2020. Also, KC-767/KC-46 is a better choice for India as it's a superior airframe, and uses GE engines.
But Air Force has been set on the A330 MRTT from the start.....
 

Arihant Roy

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Together anytime anywhere

EsLX9m4XYAUVRV-.jpeg


French media: Long range BVR combat expected to be focus of Indo-French Air combat exercises in Jodhpur in which Rafales, Su-30 & Mirage 2000 combat jets are participating along with support aircraft & force multipliers.
 

Deadtrap

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Interesting.

UAE Air Force to refuel 3 Rafale now and 5 in April during next batch delivery.

UAE- France - India trilateral exercise.

UAE tanking Rafale is more of a signalling than anything else. Growing ties. PAF will be watching closely 😉

 

sorcerer

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In a first, Hawk-i aircraft fires smart anti-airfield weapon off Odisha coast






Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Thursday announced that a Hawk-i aircraft successfully fired a Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) for the first time off the coast of Odisha, in what is being seen as a significant boost to an upgrade programme for the Hawk advanced jet trainer operated by the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.
The SAAW is a precision strike weapon that can be used to target enemy airfield assets such as radars, bunkers, taxi tracks and runways. Indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Research Centre Imarat, the weapon has a range of 100 km. It has been test-fired from the IAF’s Jaguar fighter planes.
 

sorcerer

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Interesting.

UAE Air Force to refuel 3 Rafale now and 5 in April during next batch delivery.

UAE- France - India trilateral exercise.

UAE tanking Rafale is more of a signalling than anything else. Growing ties. PAF will be watching closely 😉

paf is awake..dont jooo know dat!
 

Flying Dagger

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In a first, Hawk-i aircraft fires smart anti-airfield weapon off Odisha coast






Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Thursday announced that a Hawk-i aircraft successfully fired a Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) for the first time off the coast of Odisha, in what is being seen as a significant boost to an upgrade programme for the Hawk advanced jet trainer operated by the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.
The SAAW is a precision strike weapon that can be used to target enemy airfield assets such as radars, bunkers, taxi tracks and runways. Indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Research Centre Imarat, the weapon has a range of 100 km. It has been test-fired from the IAF’s Jaguar fighter planes.

Hawk I is a good upgrade but would have been better if the platform was something like Yak-130 of Russia/Italy in capability. Still If the upgrade cost ain't much IAF should opt for it.
 

Flying Dagger

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I'm curious what sparked the fire under the butt of the establishment. People have been talking of critical shortages for at least a decade. Looks like some fireworks are imminent (next 2-3 years)
These orders have been in process since Feb 2019 fiasco even before and now getting final approval.
 

WolfPack86

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India's Hawk-i test fires Smart Anti Airfield Weapon with a 100 km range
In a big boost to the indigenous Hawk-i program, HAL NSE -0.15 % today successfully test fired a Smart Anti Airfield Weapon (SAAW) from the Hawk-i aircraft off the coast of Odisha. The indigenous stand-off weapon developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), DRDO is the first smart weapon fired from an Indian Hawk-Mk132.

“HAL has been focusing on the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign. The company owned Hawk-i platform is being extensively used for certification of systems and weapons developed indigenously by DRDO and CSIR labs” said R. Madhavan, CMD, HAL.

The Hawk-i is HAL’s internally funded program offering the Indian Armed Forces an upgrade and combat capability for the Hawk, transforming it into an Advanced Jet Trainer providing training on sensors and weapons in peacetime into a potent combat platform during conflict.


The telemetry and tracking systems captured all the mission events confirming the success of the trials.

The SAAW is an aircraft launched, advanced, precision strike weapon of 125 kg category used to attack and destroy enemy airfield assets such as radars, bunkers, taxi tracks, runways within a range of 100 kms. SAAW has been earlier successfully test fired from Jaguar aircraft.
 

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