black eagle
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The LCH is able to carry air to air missile...
Indian Army Aviation Wing
- Thread starter Yusuf
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Sorry - that's what I meant to say - "not" was a typo.
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But Kunal sir, as far as I know ALH is a multi role multi mission chopper having its various variants for Army,Navy,Air force and civil services. Can you please elaborate that why you said that it is only a transport medium?
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ALH is light category helo, Its main use by IA is troop / Ammo / other commodity transportation, Other than that it use for surveillance and rescue operations Strictly..
Dhruv is not armored ( Only Pilot windshield and other important places like fuel tanks, vital wiring and electronics are armored against 7.62X39/51MM ), It can give fire-support if mounted with Rocket pods and gun but as its not a dedicated Gunship, therefore its main use in IA is for above points in bold..
Btw, Armed Dhruv is a replacement for Lancer presently in use within IA..
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ARMY`s Light Helos- Armed Version Idea,
Present
Testing
FUTURE
The Idea of Armed ULH is to use them over Extream Hi-altitude areas, Such as Siachen glacier
Present
Testing
FUTURE
The Idea of Armed ULH is to use them over Extream Hi-altitude areas, Such as Siachen glacier
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Please do not feel offended by my "stupid" comment - it was not aimed at you. I meant it for any potential objections from IAF - and not for helos, but for fixed-wing aircraft of IA. CAS by LCH is good in certain areas (uneven terrain, mountains, jungles etc), but for open plains/ deserts (read Rajasthan and Punjab), a fixed wing aircraft will be a much better asset for CAS. The A-10 Thunderbolt is one of the best modern CAS aircraft, although it is maintained by the USAF and not the US army. On the other hand, the US Marine corps use both rotory wing and fixed wing aircraft for CAS - including the harriers, F-18Ds. The IA may not go for an expensive advanced aircraft like the F-18D, but can use some converted turboprop aircrafts (Pucara) or the trainer jets like the Sitara ...
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What is the "future" helo? and what is ULH?ARMY`s Light Helos- Armed Version Idea,
Present
Testing
FUTURE
The Idea of Armed ULH is to use them over Extream Hi-altitude areas, Such as Siachen glacier
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Army requested HAL for a Armed variant of Ultra Light Helicopter which will be single engined and much lighter than ALH hence it can archive higher altitude..
It seems Army may not induce good no of Armed ALH as LCH is better and can attand same altitude and other similar requirements..
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Dhruv choppers to be equipped with missiles
Marking a major step forward in technology development, India is expected to equip indigenously-built Dhruv helicopters with missiles in two years as part of an ambitious missile-development programme.
The guided air-to-ground HELINA, an upgraded version of Nag anti-tank missile, is being indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and will be in the final stages and ready for user trials in 2013.
"For the first time, we are developing indigenously a missile called HELINA for being deployed on the weaponised version of the ALH Dhruv helicopter," DRDO chief V K Saraswat told PTI in an interview.
Under the programme, propulsion systems of the NAG missile have been strengthened and they would be able to take out enemy tanks from a range of seven to eight kms.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...quipped-with-missiles/articleshow/8133358.cms
will be ready by 2013
Marking a major step forward in technology development, India is expected to equip indigenously-built Dhruv helicopters with missiles in two years as part of an ambitious missile-development programme.
The guided air-to-ground HELINA, an upgraded version of Nag anti-tank missile, is being indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and will be in the final stages and ready for user trials in 2013.
"For the first time, we are developing indigenously a missile called HELINA for being deployed on the weaponised version of the ALH Dhruv helicopter," DRDO chief V K Saraswat told PTI in an interview.
Under the programme, propulsion systems of the NAG missile have been strengthened and they would be able to take out enemy tanks from a range of seven to eight kms.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...quipped-with-missiles/articleshow/8133358.cms
will be ready by 2013
JBH22
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armed ALH is what the US did with the UH-60 fitting Rocket pods FFAR or side machine guns we are not yet there but still ALH is a pretty good start. My wish is just to see the Su-25 in the army aviation corps this plane is just too good cheap,rugged and still kicks a$$ it will do wonders in desert
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May be Indian Army have a think on this strategy too.. Arming the aviation with with light bombing aircraft with less maintenance cost instead of Supersonic Fighters
Manned Light Aircraft May Edge Out Some UAVs
Unmanned aircraft are useful for countries that can afford them, but many of the world's air forces, governments and agencies cannot sustain long-term spending on training, personnel or force structure that UAVs require. A cheaper option is light, Predator-sized, manned aircraft equipped with sensors and weapons designed for the UAV market.
Modern trainer designs in particular are being re-invented as light attack aircraft that can serve as a sensor truck for communications relay, long-endurance surveillance and intelligence gathering. The aircraft also would carry small, precision bombs, and perhaps—in a few years—multi-spectrum surveillance, communications jamming and electronic attack options. Aerospace industry officials contend there is a potential world market for thousands of such aircraft that includes law-enforcement organizations and disaster-relief agencies.
For example, the Hawker Beechcraft/Lockheed-Martin AT-6B is "inexpensive to operate and doesn't require much satellite bandwidth," says Derek Hess, director of the AT-6 light attack program. At the same time, it offers advantages an unmanned aircraft cannot. "Having a government official in the aircraft would make for fast decision-making when working cooperatively with the border patrol, homeland defense or fire-fighting support, particularly if you integrate them into a command-and-control network that's already compatible with the A-10C [close air support aircraft]."
Advanced electro-optical sensor packages are expected to offer useful payloads. Hyperspectral sensors are compact and lend themselves to smaller platforms. As they emerge on the commercial market, their uses for irregular warfare, homeland defense and civil support will quickly take off.
"For example, hyperspectral returns can look at vegetation to see what will burn," Hess says. "You can plug into existing command-and-control networks to be more proactive in fighting fires or some other disaster. Or you can sense, in a border security environment, where people have been walking and when paths have changed over time."
So what else is in the future of light attack? "I can tell you what I don't think it is," Hess says. "It's not 50-caliber machine guns and 500-pound laser-guided bombs. The light attack attributes we are after are deep magazines [that allow multiple attacks on a single mission], low collateral damage and precision lethal weapons with standoff range. That is completely compatible with a network-centric approach that provides targeting solutions to the launch platform. It will be very lethal against unhardened, moving targets in an irregular warfare environment."
"We are making choices that will shape those future higher-end capabilities," he says. "We just haven't gotten to some of the smaller, more sophisticated electronic attack options on the AT-6B."
The AT-6B project initially was aimed at "designing a foreign military assistance program to build capacity for like-minded nations," Hess says. "We are looking at national security strategies in a post-9/11 world. We need a [common] tool for airmen to engage with other airmen around the world. And we think that tool is the AT-6."
Roughly, the AT-6 would serve the same purposes and in some cases replace the OV-10, A-37 and F-5 legacy turboprop and jet aircraft that are at the end of their useful life.
Given that the aircraft was designed for student-pilot abuse that's similar to the rigors of carrier landings, there appear to be a lot of operational options.
"I'm ready to put a tailhook on it and operate off a carrier," says Dan Hinson, AT-6 demonstration and test manager and chief test pilot for the team. "I went to Desert Storm [the 1991 Iraq/Kuwait war] on the USS Theodore Roosevelt and we launched OV-10s. As to the next-generation [capabilities for fighting in] the electronic warfare spectrum, I think anything with 14-inch lugs [for exterior payload carriage] and a 28-volt self-generating power system is within the capability of this airplane."
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/gene...=Manned Light Aircraft May Edge Out Some UAVs
Manned Light Aircraft May Edge Out Some UAVs
Unmanned aircraft are useful for countries that can afford them, but many of the world's air forces, governments and agencies cannot sustain long-term spending on training, personnel or force structure that UAVs require. A cheaper option is light, Predator-sized, manned aircraft equipped with sensors and weapons designed for the UAV market.
Modern trainer designs in particular are being re-invented as light attack aircraft that can serve as a sensor truck for communications relay, long-endurance surveillance and intelligence gathering. The aircraft also would carry small, precision bombs, and perhaps—in a few years—multi-spectrum surveillance, communications jamming and electronic attack options. Aerospace industry officials contend there is a potential world market for thousands of such aircraft that includes law-enforcement organizations and disaster-relief agencies.
For example, the Hawker Beechcraft/Lockheed-Martin AT-6B is "inexpensive to operate and doesn't require much satellite bandwidth," says Derek Hess, director of the AT-6 light attack program. At the same time, it offers advantages an unmanned aircraft cannot. "Having a government official in the aircraft would make for fast decision-making when working cooperatively with the border patrol, homeland defense or fire-fighting support, particularly if you integrate them into a command-and-control network that's already compatible with the A-10C [close air support aircraft]."
Advanced electro-optical sensor packages are expected to offer useful payloads. Hyperspectral sensors are compact and lend themselves to smaller platforms. As they emerge on the commercial market, their uses for irregular warfare, homeland defense and civil support will quickly take off.
"For example, hyperspectral returns can look at vegetation to see what will burn," Hess says. "You can plug into existing command-and-control networks to be more proactive in fighting fires or some other disaster. Or you can sense, in a border security environment, where people have been walking and when paths have changed over time."
So what else is in the future of light attack? "I can tell you what I don't think it is," Hess says. "It's not 50-caliber machine guns and 500-pound laser-guided bombs. The light attack attributes we are after are deep magazines [that allow multiple attacks on a single mission], low collateral damage and precision lethal weapons with standoff range. That is completely compatible with a network-centric approach that provides targeting solutions to the launch platform. It will be very lethal against unhardened, moving targets in an irregular warfare environment."
"We are making choices that will shape those future higher-end capabilities," he says. "We just haven't gotten to some of the smaller, more sophisticated electronic attack options on the AT-6B."
The AT-6B project initially was aimed at "designing a foreign military assistance program to build capacity for like-minded nations," Hess says. "We are looking at national security strategies in a post-9/11 world. We need a [common] tool for airmen to engage with other airmen around the world. And we think that tool is the AT-6."
Roughly, the AT-6 would serve the same purposes and in some cases replace the OV-10, A-37 and F-5 legacy turboprop and jet aircraft that are at the end of their useful life.
Given that the aircraft was designed for student-pilot abuse that's similar to the rigors of carrier landings, there appear to be a lot of operational options.
"I'm ready to put a tailhook on it and operate off a carrier," says Dan Hinson, AT-6 demonstration and test manager and chief test pilot for the team. "I went to Desert Storm [the 1991 Iraq/Kuwait war] on the USS Theodore Roosevelt and we launched OV-10s. As to the next-generation [capabilities for fighting in] the electronic warfare spectrum, I think anything with 14-inch lugs [for exterior payload carriage] and a 28-volt self-generating power system is within the capability of this airplane."
http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/gene...=Manned Light Aircraft May Edge Out Some UAVs
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Looks like T6c trainer emerged technically on top for IAF's basic Stage 1 trainer trials.
IAF to US: Don't Want Your Fighters, But We Like Your Basic Trainer
Not that this will even fractionally appease an embittered US Government, still seriously pissed off after the recent M-MRCA fighter elimination, an American-built aircraft is understood to have emerged tops in technical and flight evaluations of India's effort to procure primary trainer aircraft. I hear that the Hawker Beechcraft T-6C Texan-II (in IAF colours above) is on top of the list of five basic trainer aircraft that were put through field trials during October-December last year as part of the Indian Air Force's competition for 181 (75+106) aircraft. The Ministry of Defence received the IAF's trial report recommendations in February this year. The IAF desperately needs a new Stage-1 trainer fleet to replace its troubled and old HPT-32 Deepaks. Sources say this contract will be awarded before the year is out.
While there is no official confirmation from the MoD or the IAF, some reports also suggest that the German Grob 120TP and the EADS PZL-130 Orlik TC-II were eliminated in a post-trial downselect. The Texan-II, the Korean Aerospace KT-1 and Pilatus PC-21 are understood to be in the finals now.
source: Livefist
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nice read... Thoughts out of Box
AT-6 Seen As Versatile Combat Aircraft
The turboprop-powered T-6 Texan II began life as a trainer and then morphed into the AT-6 light attack aircraft for the Greek air force. Now, as the AT-6B/C, it is promising to become an inexpensive path to network-centric operations, precision strike and advanced surveillance for other air forces.
Nor is there a foreseeable end to the development potential envisioned for the two-seater. It offers 1,600 shp, 5-6-hr. endurance and an A-10C cockpit—a combination that's being created by the team of Hawker Beechcraft and Lockheed Martin.
As for what a light attack platform should be, the debate is over, declares Daniel Hinson, AT-6 demonstration and test manager and chief test pilot. The answer, he contends, is an affordable manned platform that is toughened to the demands of pilot training and that lends itself to integrating niche features that include precision weapons as well as advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.
"The next great debate will be to define light attack weapons," Hinson says. "There are weapons in the inventory but they don't take advantage of the platform's long persistence, ISR sensors or the ability to stay overhead and deliver ordnance over and over."
Producing the right weapons effects is the cornerstone of light attack.
"If you are talking about counter-insurgency target sets, you want to be able to pick the right weapon and place it precisely where and when it needs to be there," Hinson says. "That requires persistence and network-centric command and control. Users also can take advantage of the turboprop's low cost, austere-field operations and its ability to use small weapons that produce the needed lethality."
To increase endurance, the team is looking at ways to add fuel without penalizing the aircraft's aerodynamics.
"We're working on putting 325 lb. of extra internal fuel in the wings, which would give another 45 min. to an hour of flight," says Hinson. "I flew 4.6 hr. and still had 400 lb. of gas. That was with the IR/EO [infrared/electro-optical] turret and external fuel tanks, but not weapons. If the mission is ISR, we can stand out there a long time. Five hours is very doable and four is a pretty good standard. Being able to hang out in the battle with the same guys on station without having to cycle out for inflight refueling provides an amazing [amount of continuity] for an airborne mission.
A second imperative for the AT-6 program is to leverage prior Defense Department spending on people, programs, logistics, platforms and training systems.
"We've taken the EO/IR sensor [feature] out of the MC-12W ISR aircraft and we have integrated all of those capabilities," Hinson says. "That means the Defense Department is familiar with every part we're putting on the aircraft."
For actual combat use, the AT-6 is considered to be in the right altitude band to give the best tradeoff between avoiding threats and staying close enough to see the fight.
"We're networked into the land battle with the A-10s and F-16s," says Derek Hess, director of the AT-6 light attack program. "We will have the ability to exchange still images, nine-line messages and streaming video as well as the flexibility of a helmet-mounted cueing system," he adds.
"Right now specialized missions are the focus of the interaction of this aircraft and its capabilities. They include joint terminal attack controller training, intelligence processing and dissemination training while serving as a surrogate [unmanned] platform for U.S. peacetime training missions," says Hinson. "The mission set lends itself to homeland defense missions like border and port security, counter-narcoterrorism, maritime patrol, disaster area imagery or search and rescue."
Several key pieces—defensive survival equipment (missile warning and countermeasures systems) and the Scorpion helmet-mounted cueing system—are drawing particularly intense scrutiny.
"When you tie it into a network-centric, weapons-delivery platform, the package becomes a significant force multiplier," Hinson says. "When you talk about having Forward Air Controller-Airborne [FAC-A capabilities] in both [front and rear] cockpits, it is huge. We are A-10-centric, so a second cockpit is something that continues the evolution of capabilities as new tactics, techniques and procedures emerge."
Another part of the AT-6 concept involves introducing advanced communications. The AT-6 program was able to fly as part of intercept missions using a classified situational awareness data-link network (SADL). As a participant in an air-sovereignty alert, the aircraft detected and intercepted contacts.
"We locked up tracks and intercepted unknown aircraft using the [SADL] network . . . over Washington with air defense pilots on board," Hinson says. "We can also exercise the full-motion video capability with a digital common multi-band data link. The SADL radio functioned as an A-10 would; therefore any message upgrade that would be integrated into the A-10 could also be integrated into the AT-6."
Of particular interest is the Link-16 and SADL J16.0, a J-series message carrying an image. The idea is to send images and streaming video via a Rover-compatible system, which is important for ISR and FAC-A missions. Other possible roles include network analysis and long-term electronic surveillance.
"With the J-series messaging on the AT-6, [data] lends itself to exportability throughout the entire fielded infrastructure in any theater you could imagine to include special operations forces on the ground without a lot of support," Hinson says. "We can establish and make those nodes in the network come to life and immediately distribute intelligence and targeting information beyond the local network."
Electronic warfare and network attack also become possible with the networked, A-10C cockpit's installation in the AT-6.
"We are a node by virtue of the fact that we are in the network, whether it is distributed by a ground station or a King Air or any of the other systems that are out there," Hess says. "We have the flexibility to use that node in the network in a variety of ways. That includes using future systems that increase the number and size of antennas or using distributed antennas as nodes in an electronic battle management network. We look forward to a future where we can take advantage of a small aircraft with full network capability, because the potential is enormous."
There are also interesting matches in the combat arena, particularly when the AT-6B is paired with additional sensors on a larger, standoff support aircraft.
"Light attack aircraft and a King Air-based platform using off-the-shelf data links [offer the ability] to rapidly work data between platforms to generate and prosecute target sets in the irregular warfare environment," says Hinson.
Moreover, the aircraft's long endurance at low speeds allows it to move closer to the target and monitor its emissions longer.
The ability to get close increases operational flexibility, "particularly since we are not dependent on satellites or external data links or [unmanned aerial system] support vehicles," Hess says. "We also have self-defenses and armor so that we can afford to take some risk. You also have a man in the back who can step in. There's loads of potential there."
That brings up the possibility of arming the AT-6 with air-to-air missiles.
"The AIM-120 [medium-range air-to-air missile] would be a stretch, but we certainly have plans for the AIM-9X," Hinson says. "It's certainly possible."
AT-6 Seen As Versatile Combat Aircraft | AVIATION WEEK
AT-6 Seen As Versatile Combat Aircraft
The turboprop-powered T-6 Texan II began life as a trainer and then morphed into the AT-6 light attack aircraft for the Greek air force. Now, as the AT-6B/C, it is promising to become an inexpensive path to network-centric operations, precision strike and advanced surveillance for other air forces.
Nor is there a foreseeable end to the development potential envisioned for the two-seater. It offers 1,600 shp, 5-6-hr. endurance and an A-10C cockpit—a combination that's being created by the team of Hawker Beechcraft and Lockheed Martin.
As for what a light attack platform should be, the debate is over, declares Daniel Hinson, AT-6 demonstration and test manager and chief test pilot. The answer, he contends, is an affordable manned platform that is toughened to the demands of pilot training and that lends itself to integrating niche features that include precision weapons as well as advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.
"The next great debate will be to define light attack weapons," Hinson says. "There are weapons in the inventory but they don't take advantage of the platform's long persistence, ISR sensors or the ability to stay overhead and deliver ordnance over and over."
Producing the right weapons effects is the cornerstone of light attack.
"If you are talking about counter-insurgency target sets, you want to be able to pick the right weapon and place it precisely where and when it needs to be there," Hinson says. "That requires persistence and network-centric command and control. Users also can take advantage of the turboprop's low cost, austere-field operations and its ability to use small weapons that produce the needed lethality."
To increase endurance, the team is looking at ways to add fuel without penalizing the aircraft's aerodynamics.
"We're working on putting 325 lb. of extra internal fuel in the wings, which would give another 45 min. to an hour of flight," says Hinson. "I flew 4.6 hr. and still had 400 lb. of gas. That was with the IR/EO [infrared/electro-optical] turret and external fuel tanks, but not weapons. If the mission is ISR, we can stand out there a long time. Five hours is very doable and four is a pretty good standard. Being able to hang out in the battle with the same guys on station without having to cycle out for inflight refueling provides an amazing [amount of continuity] for an airborne mission.
A second imperative for the AT-6 program is to leverage prior Defense Department spending on people, programs, logistics, platforms and training systems.
"We've taken the EO/IR sensor [feature] out of the MC-12W ISR aircraft and we have integrated all of those capabilities," Hinson says. "That means the Defense Department is familiar with every part we're putting on the aircraft."
For actual combat use, the AT-6 is considered to be in the right altitude band to give the best tradeoff between avoiding threats and staying close enough to see the fight.
"We're networked into the land battle with the A-10s and F-16s," says Derek Hess, director of the AT-6 light attack program. "We will have the ability to exchange still images, nine-line messages and streaming video as well as the flexibility of a helmet-mounted cueing system," he adds.
"Right now specialized missions are the focus of the interaction of this aircraft and its capabilities. They include joint terminal attack controller training, intelligence processing and dissemination training while serving as a surrogate [unmanned] platform for U.S. peacetime training missions," says Hinson. "The mission set lends itself to homeland defense missions like border and port security, counter-narcoterrorism, maritime patrol, disaster area imagery or search and rescue."
Several key pieces—defensive survival equipment (missile warning and countermeasures systems) and the Scorpion helmet-mounted cueing system—are drawing particularly intense scrutiny.
"When you tie it into a network-centric, weapons-delivery platform, the package becomes a significant force multiplier," Hinson says. "When you talk about having Forward Air Controller-Airborne [FAC-A capabilities] in both [front and rear] cockpits, it is huge. We are A-10-centric, so a second cockpit is something that continues the evolution of capabilities as new tactics, techniques and procedures emerge."
Another part of the AT-6 concept involves introducing advanced communications. The AT-6 program was able to fly as part of intercept missions using a classified situational awareness data-link network (SADL). As a participant in an air-sovereignty alert, the aircraft detected and intercepted contacts.
"We locked up tracks and intercepted unknown aircraft using the [SADL] network . . . over Washington with air defense pilots on board," Hinson says. "We can also exercise the full-motion video capability with a digital common multi-band data link. The SADL radio functioned as an A-10 would; therefore any message upgrade that would be integrated into the A-10 could also be integrated into the AT-6."
Of particular interest is the Link-16 and SADL J16.0, a J-series message carrying an image. The idea is to send images and streaming video via a Rover-compatible system, which is important for ISR and FAC-A missions. Other possible roles include network analysis and long-term electronic surveillance.
"With the J-series messaging on the AT-6, [data] lends itself to exportability throughout the entire fielded infrastructure in any theater you could imagine to include special operations forces on the ground without a lot of support," Hinson says. "We can establish and make those nodes in the network come to life and immediately distribute intelligence and targeting information beyond the local network."
Electronic warfare and network attack also become possible with the networked, A-10C cockpit's installation in the AT-6.
"We are a node by virtue of the fact that we are in the network, whether it is distributed by a ground station or a King Air or any of the other systems that are out there," Hess says. "We have the flexibility to use that node in the network in a variety of ways. That includes using future systems that increase the number and size of antennas or using distributed antennas as nodes in an electronic battle management network. We look forward to a future where we can take advantage of a small aircraft with full network capability, because the potential is enormous."
There are also interesting matches in the combat arena, particularly when the AT-6B is paired with additional sensors on a larger, standoff support aircraft.
"Light attack aircraft and a King Air-based platform using off-the-shelf data links [offer the ability] to rapidly work data between platforms to generate and prosecute target sets in the irregular warfare environment," says Hinson.
Moreover, the aircraft's long endurance at low speeds allows it to move closer to the target and monitor its emissions longer.
The ability to get close increases operational flexibility, "particularly since we are not dependent on satellites or external data links or [unmanned aerial system] support vehicles," Hess says. "We also have self-defenses and armor so that we can afford to take some risk. You also have a man in the back who can step in. There's loads of potential there."
That brings up the possibility of arming the AT-6 with air-to-air missiles.
"The AIM-120 [medium-range air-to-air missile] would be a stretch, but we certainly have plans for the AIM-9X," Hinson says. "It's certainly possible."
AT-6 Seen As Versatile Combat Aircraft | AVIATION WEEK
