IRAQ ORDERS C130 Js

In August 1990, Iraq’s Air Force had more than 500 aircraft in their inventory. The IqAF was decimated in 1991, after Saddam invaded Kuwait and ended up facing the US military and its allies. What remained was hobbled by extensive, and expensive, no-fly zones, until the war formally concluded in 2003 with a US-led invasion that eliminated Saddam’s regime. Rebuilding the IqAF under the new Iraqi government has been a slow process.
The C-130 Hercules was an early player in Iraq’s rebuilt air force, which remains small and focused on transport and surveillance missions. Positive experiences with the IqAF 23rd Sqn.’s 3 refurbished C-130Es, which fly from Baghdad International Airport, led Iraq to make a formal sale request for new C-130J-30s in July 2008. That was followed by a series of contracts for the planes – and the things that go with them…


Contracts and Key Events

The stretched C-130J-30 is 15 feet longer than its C-130J counterpart, with most of the added fuselage length placed forward of the wing. C-130J-30s can carry 33% more pallets of equipment or supplies, 39% more combat troops, 31% more paratroopers, or 44% more aeromedical evacuation litters than previous unstretched Hercules versions like the IqAF’s C-130Es. The stretched C-130J-30 also shares the redesigned C-130J’s ability to use much more of its theoretical cargo capacity in hot or high altitude environments, a feature that will see a great deal of use in Iraq.
The contracts are issued to Lockheed Martin of Marietta, GA, and managed by the 657th AESS at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH.

Indian navy probes warship collision

SOURCE : AFP

Indian defence officials began a probe Monday into a collision between a warship and a merchant vessel near Mumbai, in the latest incident in the busy waters outside the city, an officer said.The INS Vindhyagiri suffered damage and a fire broke out near the engine room as she returned to the city’s naval dockyard on Sunday with the families of navy personnel on board.
“The cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained. That will only happen subsequent to the naval board of inquiry that will be set up,” defence ministry spokesman Captain M. Nambiar told AFP.
Firefighters and military personnel battled thick smoke to bring the fire on the Leander class frigate under control as she was towed back to the dockyard from the busy shipping channel off India’s financial capital.
Nambiar said the ship, which was commissioned in 1981, was listing in the dock’s shallow waters because of damage to her hull but would right herself once pumping began.
Defence officials in New Delhi said that ammunition on board was cleared and that “all efforts” were made to contain the fire and flooding.
“Necessary measures have also been taken to prevent any spillage of oil from the ship,” a statement said.
About 150 people were on board the vessel and had been on a short excursion when the collision happened with the Cyprus-flagged MV Nordlake, which was leaving Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT).
No one was injured, said Nambiar.
Six months ago, two cargo vessels collided off Mumbai, sending containers spilling into the sea, grounding one of the ships and causing it to list badly.
Shipping traffic into and out of JNPT and the Mumbai Port Trust — which together handle about 40 percent of India’s maritime cargo — was severely disrupted after the waterway was closed due to the hazard.

Price negotiations for JV for fighter engine in advanced stage

SOURCE : livemint.com

India’s Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) expects to close price negotiations in a month for a joint venture (JV) with French engine maker Snecma to develop gas turbine engines that would power the Indian Air Force’s light combat aircraft (LCA).The move to partner Snecma follows DRDO’s failure to develop sufficiently powerful engines on its own after spending Rs.2,880 crore over two decades on the project.
While Snecma will bring in critical technology for the hot engine core, DRDO’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) will work on the cold sections around it.
“GTRE will have 50% technology work-share and Snecma will have the other half. We will be closing price negotiations within a month,” said Prahlada, chief controller, research and development, DRDO, who goes by one name.
GTRE will obtain complete know-how and intellectual property rights for the engine, Prahlada added. After the closure and approval from the cabinet committee on security, work will begin in three months and the engine will be designed and built in four years, another GTRE official said, requesting anonymity.
The Kaveri engine, developed by GTRE, is undergoing trials in Russia and is nowhere near developing the level of thrust needed to power the LCA. The Kaveri has a thrust of around 65 kilo newton (kN), while 90 kN or more is required to power the LCA for optimal performance. The engine is also much heavier than specified. Nonetheless, some of the technologies and components developed for the Kaveri will be used in the JV.
Because of the delay in developing the Kaveri, India opted for American GE-404 engines. The current Mk-I LCAs are flying with the GE-404 IN20, although even these do not meet original requirement specifications for levels of thrust for the LCA. In October, DRDO selected the more powerful GE-414 as the alternative engine for LCA Mk-II.
Prahlada declined to reveal the estimated cost of the Snecma-GTRE project, but said the new engine will be comparable in pricing and performance to the GE-414. DRDO plans to replace the GE engines on the LCA Mk-I with the Snecma-GTRE engine. “We have plans to fit the engine on all platforms, including the proposed advanced medium combat aircraft and unmanned combat air vehicle,” Prahlada said.
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd will manufacture the engines in India. Prahlada said the agreement is to make 100 engines in the first batch.
Ratan Shrivastava, director for aerospace and defence practice for South and West, Frost and Sullivan, said the project’s value lay in the fact that India will finally have a flying fighter engine of its own, albeit with a foreign partner.

GOSSIP GIRL IN INDIAN ARMED FORCE

FGFA SCALING AND TOP VIEW

PICTURES: India's first C-130J starts delivery flight

SOURCE FLIGHT GLOBAL -The Indian air force's first of six C-130J tactical transports has left Lockheed Martin's Marietta manufacturing site in Georgia, at the start of its delivery flight to Hindon air base.
To make its public debut at the Aero India show near Bangalore in early February, the aircraft is the nation's second production example, registered as KC-3802. It was formally handed over to the service in Marietta in mid-December, and Lockheed published images of its departure on 28 January.

Both images © Lockheed Martin

India's acquisition is of six stretched-fuselage C-130J-30s, all of which will be delivered this year. It is also expected to approve a follow-on deal for another six.

Eurofighter offers ‘Star Wars’ helmet to IAF

SOURCE STRAT POST The European Eurofighter Typhoon consortium is offering its almost science fiction-evoking helmet to the Indian Air Force (IAF) as part of its bid to win the 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender, according to company sources. The helmet can enable a pilot to lock-on target and shoot by voice command, merely after looking at the target.
Company sources confirmed to StratPost that the Eurofighter Typhoon Helmet Mounted Symbology System, developed by BAE Systems and released last July, was part of its offering to the IAF. BAE Systems had issued a press release on the helmet earlier this month, calling it something out of Star Wars, in a reference to its seemingly filmy capabilities, where it said the helmet ‘lets the pilot see through the body of the aircraft’.
“Using the new helmet system, the pilot can now look at multiple targets, lock-on to them, and then, by voice-command, prioritize them. It’s a lightning-fast system to let the pilot look, lock-on, and fire,” said BAE Systems of the system, which also brings to mind the thought-controlled weapons system onboard the fictional MiG-31 in the Clint Eastwood-starring Firefox.
The helmet has a number of fixed sensors, which move in relation to the sensors on the aircraft as the pilot moves his head, ‘ensuring the aircraft knows exactly where and what he is looking at’. Apparently, the pilot can zero-in on targets even if they’re out of line of sight or nowhere in the range of the aircraft vector.
Pilots of British Royal Air Force (RAF) Eurofighter Typhoons are expected to be become the first users of this helmet sometime this year.

Murky Competitions for Indian Howitzer Orders May End Soon… Or Not

SOURCE DEFENSE NEWS India has marked over $4 billion worth of artillery projects to purchase several hundred new 155mm howitzers. They’re intended to supplement India’s dwindling artillery stocks, while out-ranging and out-shooting Pakistan’s self-propelled M109 155mm guns. It seemed simple enough, and in the main towed artillery competition, BAE Systems Bofors had been competing against systems from Israel’s Soltam and Denel of South Africa.
Unfortunately, that competition and related artillery procurements have mostly served as cautionary tales, years-long affair filled with legal drama, accusations of corruption, and more than one re-start. Meanwhile, India’s stock of operational 155mm howitzers has dwindled to around 200. In 2007, a new towed howitzer RFP was issued, and the competition was expanded. Only to crash again in 2009. Is there an end in sight to any of these competitions? Or a potential winner?

Towed Artillery Competition Saga

ISRAEL SOLTAM RASCAL

US-India Defense and Strategic Affairs reported on the competition in 2004, and noted that this was expected to be one of the first large defense procurement decisions made by India’s new United Progressive Alliance government. The question became whether a decision could be made within that government’s term(s) of office. The answer: no.
The saga is illustrative of the problems India’s defense bureaucracy faced across all of its artillery competitions, as it attempts to field working products before its existing artillery systems expire.
After multiple firing trials and several years, India’s towed artillery competition managed to end up without any competitors left standing. All 3 competitors (Bofors FH-77 B05, Soltam TIG 2002, Denel G5/2000) failed to meet India’s accuracy specifications in 2003 trials, but all 3 improved their guns to compete again in 2004. There are reports that Soltam fell out of the race after its barrel burst during field trials, while South Africa’s Denel was sidelined in 2004 and then eliminated in 2005, after the Indian government accused the manufacturer of corruption in another defense deal.
That created problems on 2 fronts. Denel’s financial situation was deteriorating, and The Times of India reported that the contract may have been critical to the firm’s financial survival. In hindsight, that concern was valid, but Denel managed to survive the loss. A win certainly would have made a significant difference, and might have allowed Denel to delay its major corporate restructuring and associated strategic rethinking for several years.

Bofors’ FH-77B05:
Winner by default?

The other problem involved India’s Ministry of Defence. India’s defense procurement establishment has shown an extreme risk-averse behavior and Defense India observes that when a competition devolves to a single-vendor solution, the practice is often to re-tender.
The resulting dithering was relieved when allegations that Bofors had paid INR 640 million (about $16 million) in bribes to secure the order eliminated the last contender. Bofors Defence AB had been blacklisted by India before, after allegations of kickbacks in a 1987 deal during Rajiv Gandhi’s regime. That scandal had derailed a planned 1,500 gun buy, reducing it to 410 FH-77B howitzers. Fortunately for India, those guns arrived in time to become an iconic feature of the 1999 Kargil War with Pakistan.
Those accused in the Bofors case would eventually have their day in court, and win. In April 2007, India re-opened its howitzer competition again, and the passage of time had created a number of changes in its requirements and options. By November 2009, however, the mere allegation of bribery had frozen the competition again, by leaving just 1 eligible contender.
Meanwhile, the support contract with Bofors for India’s in-service howitzers expired in 2001, and India’s stock was believed to sit at just 200 operational 155/39 caliber guns as of January 2009.

The Other Howitzer Competitions

Zuzana SPH

The competition for Indian artillery is actually several competitions.
The competition covered in the previous section involves about $1.8 billion for 400 towed 155/52 artillery guns, to be followed by production of up to 1,180 in India. Current Status: Winter and summer trials planned in 2010. BAE Bofors’ FH77 is currently competing against ST Engineering’s FH-2000.
About $700 million for the ultra-light 155/39 howitzer competition, covering about 140 pieces. These would be portable, towed guns. As noted above, the competition has started and stopped several times.
Current status: 5th RFP is now out. Government may be doing an end-run to buy the M777, as an emergency replacement for dwindling artillery.
About $800 million for about 100 155mm self-propelled tracked guns. The BHIM (Denel G-6 gun on Arjun tank chassis) winner was also terminated in 2006, when Denel was barred following a corruption case. Partner Bharat Earth Movers was the big loser. Another RFP in 2007 failed, as all firms were barred.
Current status: In limbo. Meanwhile, Pakistan began its own process in 2005, and bought 115 tracked M109A5 howitzers from the USA at a very cheap price.
About $900 million for 180 self-propelled wheeled guns.
Current status: Trials postponed to April 2010. RFP responses reported to leave Slovakia’s 155/45 Zuzana system), vs. Germany’s Rheinmetall RWG-52 155/52 system, which uses the PzH-2000 turret.

France Offers To Sell Iraq Mirage Fighter Jets

BY ADMIN -France has proposed to sell 18 Mirage fighters to Iraq, which is already negotiating a deal for U.S. F-16s to protect its skies after American forces pull out at the end of this year, the French ambassador said.

France has proposed selling 18 Mirage fighter jets to Iraq. Above, a Mirage 2000 jet fighter takes off from Nancy-Ochey, France. (File photo / Agence France-Presse)

"France has proposed to sell 18 Mirage F1 retrofitted aircraft that can be delivered from late 2011 and immediately operational because many Iraqi pilots were trained in the past on this type of plane," Boris Boillon told Agence France-Presse on Jan. 27.

He said France was offering the multi-role planes for $1 billion (733 million euros).
Baghdad has been negotiating to buy 18 U.S.-made F-16s, and the cabinet on Jan. 26 authorized Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to negotiate the terms of the first payment on the contract, a statement said.
Boillon said that, because of the price tag, the Mirage offer would not affect the F-16 deal.
"This [Mirage] sale is in the context of a proposal on a comprehensive military air program that France has submitted to this country," Boillon said.
Iraq's government spokesman said that Baghdad welcomed any offer.
"Iraq needs to build up its Air Force and that needs tens of fighters to protect its sovereignty," Ali-al Dabbagh said.
"Any origin of high quality with good offer will be welcomed taking in consideration that we need to unify the source of arming if they fulfill Iraq's requirements," he said, without disclosing the cost of the F-16 deal.
The Iraqi government "has submitted a letter of request for 18 F-16s and packages composed of spare parts, support equipment, weapons, logistics support and training," said U.S. Army Capt. Dan Churchill, a U.S. military spokesman in Iraq.
"The delivery and cost of the aircraft will be dependent upon a finalized purchase, which has not yet happened."
In early September, U.S. Army Gen. Michael Barbero, then deputy commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said the absence of a multi-role fighter limited Iraq's air capabilities.
"They will not have the capability to provide air sovereignty, to fully protect the skies over Iraq, because they will lack a multi-role fighter," he said.
Iraq's air force was destroyed during and after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

India not keen on US jet ,Will work on own 5-Gen fighter project with Russia,

SOURCE : TNN

India has no plans as of now to either join the US-led joint strike fighter (JSF) programme or buy the F-35 `Lightning-II’ fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) when it finally becomes operational. “We cannot have two types of FGFA. We have already launched preliminary work for our FGFA after inking the $295 million preliminary design contract (PDC) with Russia last month,” said a top defence ministry official on Friday.
This comes in the wake of comments made by a top Pentagon official, undersecretary of defence for acquisition, technology and logistics Ashton Carter, in Washington that the US was open to Indian participation in its JSF project.
Interestingly, the comments came during a function where an aggressive sales pitch was made for India to select either the American F/A-18 `Super Hornet’ ( Boeing) or F-16 `Falcon’ ( Lockheed Martin) over their European rivals in the ongoing  IAF‘s medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contest.
The other 4.5-generation fighters in the hotly-contested race to bag the $10.4 billion MMRCA project, under which 18 jets will be bought off-the-shelf and another 108 will be manufactured in India under transfer of technology, are Eurofighter Typhoon, Swedish Gripen (Saab), French Rafale (Dassault) and Russian MiG-35 (United Aircraft Corporation).
The IAF force matrix for the coming years revolves around the 270 Sukhoi-30MKIs contracted from Russia for around $12 billion, the 126 MMRCA and 120 indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, apart from upgraded MiG-29s and Mirage-2000s.
In the decades ahead, the advanced stealth FGFA to be developed with Russia will be the mainstay of India’s combat fleet. “Our FGFA will be cheaper than the F-35. Moreover, the intellectual property rights of the FGFA will equally and jointly vest on both India and Russia, with full access to the source code and the like,” said another senior official.
With a potent mix of super-manoeuvrability and supersonic cruising ability, the “swing-role” FGFA will of course not come cheap. The cost of designing, infrastructure build-up, prototype development and flight testing has been pegged at around $11 billion, with India and Russia chipping in with $5.5 billion each.
Over and above this, each of the 250-300 FGFA India hopes to begin inducting from 2020 onwards will cost around $100 million each. In all, India will spend upwards of $35 billion over the next two decades in its biggest-ever defence project till now.
The Indian FGFA will primarily be based on the single-seater Sukhoi T-50, the prototype of which is already flying in Russia, but will include a twin-seater version and a more powerful engine with greater thrust.
“Its complete design will be frozen by the end of the 18-month PDC. Six to seven of its prototypes should be flying by 2017. After that, there will be 2,500 hours of flight-testing over 25 months before the series production begins in 2019,” he said.

Embraer To Roll Out Indian AEW&C On Feb. 21

By Anantha Krishnan M.(AW&ST)

BENGALURU, India — India’s Embraer-built Airborne Early Warning & Control System (AEW&C) is scheduled for rollout Feb. 21 in Brazil.
A senior defense official confirmed to Aviation Week Jan. 27 that the first flight of the modified EMB-145 is expected around May. “The first EMB-145 will land in India in August 2011 for system integration and subsequent induction into the Indian Air Force (IAF),” the official says.
India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the AEW&C program in October 2004. The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) gave the task to the Bengaluru-based Center for Airborne Systems (CABS). The initial project was approved at a cost of Rs 1,800 crore ($396 million) to develop two operational systems and one engineering prototype within 78 months. But the IAF could only finalize the operational requirements in 2007. CCS looked into the delay and extended the probable date of completion to March 2014, while approving funds to carry out additional tasks.
“The AEW&C with the systems integrated by CABS will fly in India in early 2012,” the official says. “CABS has already begun the integration on ground-based systems [according to the] exact specifications [of] the EMB-145, including the seating arrangements.”
AEW&C is seen as a force multiplier for IAF’s surveillance activities and is expected to boost India’s network-centric warfare capabilities. “In addition to surveillance and tracking of aircraft and UAVS, the system can also detect emissions and communications from radar,” the official says.
The Indian AEW&C system can operate with a maximum crew of 12. “It can fly nonstop for 10-12 hours with midair-refueling,” the official adds. “The all-up weight is 24 tons. The aircraft is being modified to enable mounting of mission systems and [to] be certified for airworthiness, including ... icing conditions, by Brazilian authorities as per the FAR 25 standard.”
Photo: Embraer

Lockheed’s F-35 considers goal of 872 flights in 2011

BY ADMIN Lockheed Martin is currently in talks to more than double this year the number of flight tests for the F-35 programme compared to 2010.
During Lockheed's year-end earnings webcast with stock market analysts on 27 January, chief executive Robert Stevens said the test requirements for 2011 are still being discussed with the joint programme office.
"But we are currently looking at 872 flights in total," Stevens said, noting the F-35 test fleet has recorded 36 flights in the first 27 days of the year.
Until Stevens' statement, Lockheed and programme officials had not disclosed this year's flight test goal.
Last year, the F-35 completed 410 test flights during the calendar year, resulting in 547 flights since the first takeoff by the AA-1 flight test aircraft in December 2006.
If the F-35 programme sticks with the 872 flight test goal, the cumulative total of 1,455 flight tests would retire about 30% of the programme's total number of flight tests on schedule.
The number, however, reflects the slower pace of progress expected after two programme restructurings since 1 February last year caused by testing and manufacturing delays.
Last June, programme officials expected to complete about 1,000 flight tests in 2011, which was already lowered from the previous year's plan.
Lockheed has delivered 10 of the 13 flight test aircraft in the original programme.

India's space sector shifts to new frontiers

SOURCE FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL

India's space agency is sharpening its focus on manned spaceflight, lunar exploration and planetary probes - and is considering a Moon mission.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is also planning a reusable transport system to reduce the cost of access to space. The Indian space agency is also aiming for new-generation remote-sensing satellites with hyper-spectral imaging capability, and advanced communications spacecraft with higher bandwidth and wider coverage.
ISRO has denied suggestions that its manned-flight programme is a reaction to China's success in human space missions. But the view that India should not lag behind its neighbour has currency.

© ISRO India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has launched 44 satellites so far

For India's first manned mission - scheduled for 2016 - ISRO will set up new facilities and develop a host of technologies. A third launchpad is to be added at Sriharikota spaceport on India's eastern coast. And in a tie-up with the Institute of Aviation Medicine, ISRO plans to set up an astronaut training facility at Bangalore by 2013.
MANNED CAPSULE
After a first phase of technology development - relating, in part, to re-entry - the focus will shift to the man-rated space capsule. Russia will help India develop a manned capsule based on Soyuz technology, under an agreement signed in 2008.
India hopes to be the fourth country, after the USA, Russia and China, to send astronauts into space.
Its manned mission and plans for planetary exploration arguably represent a dilution of the Indian space programme's original philosophy. In the late 1960s, Dr Vikram Sarabhai, architect of the Indian space programme, asserted: "We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the Moon or planets or manned flights. But... we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society which we find in our country."
ISRO insists it is committed to diffusing the fruits of space technology into the mainstream of national development. Two projects that are intended to be socially beneficial - the Village Resources Centre and the Telemedicine service - are based on Indian National Satellite System (INSAT) communications and Indian Remote-Sensing (IRS) earth-observation constellations operated by ISRO.
Established in 1983, INSAT is the Asia-Pacific region's largest domestic communications satellite system, involving 11 satellites. The IRS system, meanwhile, is one of the largest constellations of remote-sensing satellites in operation in the world, with 10 satellites.
Geopolitical compulsions have prodded ISRO to take up development of India's fully fledged navigation satellite constellation and end the country's dependence on global systems such as GPS Navstar. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), comprising seven satellites, is expected to be fully operational by 2014.
As part of its "Vision 2025" strategy, ISRO plans to explore Mars, Venus and the asteroid belt. The mini research satellite Aditya will be launched in 2012, to study the solar corona. Launch of the Mars orbiter - designed to study the chemical attributes of the Martian atmosphere, and the planet's subsoil and terrain - will follow after 2015. ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan says the organisation has been able to achieve a lot on a shoestring. The agency's budget for 2009-10 was around $1.3 billion, its highest ever.
India's first Moon mission, Chandrayaan-1, launched in 2008 to search for water on the lunar surface. The follow-on Chandrayaan-II mission, involving a lander and rover, will launch in 2013 by means of the three-stage Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). The aim is to collect samples of lunar soil and conduct in-situ chemical and mineralogical studies. The lander will be provided by Russia, but the orbiter and rover are being built by ISRO, says the Indian agency.
However, India continues to lag behind in boosting its launch capability. ISRO is halfway through plugging the defects in the home-grown cryogenic stage, the malfunction of which resulted in the failure of the GSLV mission in April 2010. In a setback to the ISRO, December's GSLV flight - powered by a Russian cryogenic engine - also failed.

© Rex Features

The GSLV is intended to make India self-reliant for launching communications satellites weighing up to 2.5t. ISRO was dependent on France's Arianespace for getting its INSAT communications satellites off the ground.
Radhakrishnan says the GSLV will be flown again in 2011. ISRO is also developing a heavy-lift-off GSLV Mk III capable of placing a 4t class satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit. In parallel, the agency is pursuing a technology demonstrator for a two-stage-to-orbit fully reusable space vehicle. And to support deep space missions, ISRO is developing a semi-cryogenic rocket stage fuelled by kerosene and liquid oxygen.
The four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) - which has alternative solid and liquid propulsion systems - is still India's space workhorse, having launched 25 foreign satellites and 19 Indian satellites so far. It has fed the success achieved by Antrix, the Indian space programme's commercial arm, in securing foreign satellite-launch contracts.
Indian industry meets about 60% of the Indian space programme's component requirements, with more than 500 small, medium and large companies contributing. But the industry has not matured sufficiently to build and deliver entire satellites and launch vehicles in a ready-to-use condition.
ISRO continues to value international co-operation as a way to boost its technological expertise and self-reliance. In December, French president Nicolas Sarkozy visited the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore to review the progress of two Indo-French satellite projects to be launched this year by the PSLV.
Boeing and Lockheed Martin have held talks with ISRO for potential co-operation in India's manned flight missions. And, in recent years, Israel has emerged as a favoured ISRO partner. Its TECSAR reconnaissance satellite, featuring an all-weather microwave imaging payload, was launched by the PSLV on commercial terms in January 2008. As a quid pro quo, Israel helped ISRO build its microwave remote-sensing satellite RISAT-II, which was launched in April 2009.
ISRO also offers assistance to developing nations. In December 2009, Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh offered to make satellite resources data available to South-East Asian countries for managing natural disasters and launch support for orbiting small satellites. This was a clear attempt to expand the "soft power" of Indian space technology.

UK MoD confirms both crew members safe after Tornado ejection

SOURCE FLIGHT GLOBAL Both crew members of a Royal Air Force Panavia Tornado GR4 have been rescued after they were forced to eject from the strike aircraft on 26 January.
“The crew of a Tornado GR4 have been airlifted to hospital in Inverness where they are being treated for their injuries,” says the Ministry of Defence in a statement. “They ejected from their aircraft off the south coast of Stornoway and were rescued within 15min,” it adds.
The aircraft’s crew had been attempting to reach Stornoway airport on the Isle of Lewis after an onboard fire had broken out, but had to eject instead, according to a BBC news report. They are believed to have been operating from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland.

© SAC Garry Perkins/Crown Copyright

“It is too early to say what caused the incident, but a full investigation will take place,” the MoD says.

Battle royale for India's MMRCA crown

SOURCE FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL An air show on the scale of next week's Aero India is bound to throw up surprises, but one certainty is a massive push by the six contenders in India's pivotal medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) competition.
Delegations from Boeing, Dassault, Eurofighter, Lockheed Martin, RSK MiG and Saab will number in the dozens, if not hundreds, and no expense will be spared on chalets, booths, flight simulators and pricey flight demonstrations.
It is hard to overstate the importance of the $10 billion MMRCA competition. With an order of 126 fighters on the cards, and likely follow-on orders, the winning programme could see its life extended well into the next decade. As for the losers, most will end their production runs in the middle of the decade as the world's major air forces enter the era of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

© Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin's F-16IN Super Viper has set its sights on India's MMRCA contest

The contenders are diverse. US airframer Boeing is offering its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and arch-rival Lockheed Martin the F-16IN Super Viper - essentially an F-16 Block 60. Sweden's Saab has the Gripen IN, Dassault is seeking its first foreign order for the Rafale, Eurofighter is pitching the Typhoon, and Russia is offering the RSK MiG-35.
Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh's recent appointment diary underlines the stakes. Foreign leaders including UK prime minister David Cameron, French president Nicholas Sarkozy, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and US president Barack Obama have all trooped to New Delhi recently, intent on building business and defence ties with the subcontinental superpower.
No winner will be announced at the show, however - a shortlist is due to be drawn up in April or May, although some reports suggest this could be delayed until later in the year.
"All the technical evaluations are done," says an industry source. "The next stage will be a downselect some time after the Aero India show. This will determine which aircraft go into contract negotiations."
An already tight and fiercely fought competition could get even messier, however. Another source says there is no fixed number of aircraft for the downselect, and that all six aircraft types could, in theory, advance to the contract negotiation stage. "After Aero India, they will open the commercial envelopes and see who is cheapest," says one executive involved in the competition.

TESTING DEMANDS

The evaluation process has been long and arduous. An initial tender stipulated 660 requirements, and the first proposals issued by the airframers ran to 5,000-6,000 pages each. Comprehensive field tests of each aircraft were then undertaken, including flying the aircraft - borrowed from various air forces - to India at the manufacturers' expense.
There they were subjected to batteries of tests reflecting India's varied geography of tropical, desert and mountainous regions. Tests took place at Bangalore (a tropical region), Jaisalmer (desert) and the Himalayan air base of Leh, said to be the highest operational air base in the world.
"We spent quite a lot on the tests with no guarantee of a sale," says another executive involved in the race. "That said, the air force got a very good impression of all the aircraft."

As with any competition on such a scale, the merits of aircraft alone will not determine the winner. Politics will play a part, and that could hurt Boeing and Lockheed.
India's defence ties with the USA are improving rapidly. Long gone are the Cold War days of frosty relations between the two nations, or the chilly ties after India's nuclear tests in 1998. In response to India's help in the war on terror, the then-US president George Bush lifted sanctions in the mid-2000s. In 2008, India purchased six C-130J Hercules aircraft from Lockheed and is considering six more. It has also signed up for eight Boeing P-8I Poseidons and has committed to ordering 10 C-17 strategic transports.
But although impressive in themselves, these orders are small compared with the MMRCA contract. In addition, India's military has not forgotten the sanctions Washington imposed after the 1998 nuclear tests.
One former member of the Indian navy was a junior officer and helicopter pilot at the time of the sanctions. "The US sanctions made a strong impression on us," he says. "They penetrated very deeply. At that time, we had sent some helicopter gearboxes to the UK for repair, but these repairs ceased with the sanctions, and it hurt our operational readiness."
"Operational sovereignty" is a phrase often heard among Indian defence pundits. Although the USA and India have reportedly agreed on the language of an end-use agreement, India has yet to sign the Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA). In theory, this could see key technologies excluded from any F-16 or F/A-18 purchase.

RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS

Teal Group analyst Joel Johnson says: "If the Indians want access to top-level US weapons systems, and given that the USA wants to deepen its defence relationship with India, then an agreement will be reached that satisfies US security concerns and lets India save face. The CISMOA could well get another name, but it will in fact be a CISMOA."
Also, many commentators say that although the US vendors make much of interoperability, some Indians see it as an impingement on sovereignty.
"India has its own systems and is proud of them," says one industry source close to the race. "The country is unique, and templates that apply elsewhere simply don't apply there." The source points out that India initiated the Non-Aligned Movement of nations in 1954. "India prides its sovereignty," he adds.
Indeed, Eurofighter and Saab executives stress the operational independence they feel their respective products offer.
On the other hand, both US aircraft have performed well in combat. In terms of joint exercises and training, Indian air force pilots will have the most opportunity to train with pilots from the US Navy, which operates F/A-18s from aircraft carriers that are often on station in the Arabian Sea.
As Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia points out, the Super Hornet comes with the Raytheon APG-79 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. Although other aircraft being pitched have AESA radars, the APG-79 is used by the US Navy, providing an excellent long-term upgrade programme.
Of all the contenders, the MiG-35, essentially an updated MiG-29, is seen as the outsider. Although India has been a long-time buyer of Russian arms, it is now inducting a large fleet of Sukhoi Su-30MKIs in the heavy fighter category. State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics has built about 100 of a total order of 180 Su-30s, and expects a deal for 42 more.
India also bought 40 Su-30s from Russia as flyaways in 2010. Over-reliance on Russian aircraft hurt the Indian air force's operational readiness in the early 1990s when the Soviet Union collapsed, choking vital spares for India's vast fleet of MiGs.
Apart from aircraft performance capabilities, another crucial element in the MMRCA competition is the offset package. Typically, India seeks offsets of 30% for defence programmes, but for high-value programmes such as this, the figure is 50% as India targets job creation and technology transfer. Only 18 aircraft will come as flyaways, with the remaining 108 produced by HAL.
HAL chairman Ashok Nayak says development of the production capacity required to produce the eventual MMRCA winner is already under way.
"We will have to set up new infrastructure for this," he says. "It will not happen in one of our existing factories, but hopefully will still be in Bangalore." He estimates Hindustan Aeronautics alone will employ 3,500 workers to produce the MMRCA, and it will take about three years to set up the facility.
Hinting at frustration, several MMRCA contenders say the rules governing offsets in India are something of a moving target. Offset rules continue to evolve, mainly because of changing and evolving technologies. Technology transfer is, of course, a critical aspect of the MMRCA competition. One peculiarity, say some race contenders, is that the offsets apply only to the defence sector, rather than the broader aerospace industry.

NEW TO OFFSETS

"They are very new to offsets," says one industry source, who tells the story of one Indian defence specialist relishing the idea of $30 billion in MMRCA offsets. "I reminded him that there will be only $5 billion in offsets, as there can be only one winner. Some of them see the offsets as free money."
Naturally enough, the various suppliers are reluctant to discuss intricate details of their bids, although all insist they comply with India's offset requirements. India's defence ministry is also tight-lipped on how the different aircraft and their offset packages are faring at the evaluation stage. Whatever India's final decision is, the aviation world is unlikely to see a repeat of the two-decade procurement saga of India's BAE Systems Hawk.
Vivek Lall, Boeing's country head for defence, space and security, says the P-8I deal took just two and a half years from India's request for proposals to a decision to purchase the aircraft. "There is a paradigm shift here in terms of embracing technology, and what the world has to offer," says Lall.
Conversations at Aero India 2011 will, inevitably, turn to the MMRCA battle, the biggest jet fighter export deal in history. A heady mix of fighter performance, weapons, technology, offsets, politics and luck will decide which aircraft move on to the next round. All this in a fervid Indian media environment, with reporters desperate to generate "scoops" about the competition.

THE CONTENDERS

© Rick Colls/Rex Features	© Boeing	© Lockheed Martin
© Saab	© Mikoyan	© Sipa Press/Rex Features

Clockwise from top left, Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing F/A-18E, Lockheed Martin F-16IN, Dassault Rafale, Mikoyan MiG-35, Saab Gripen NG

• Lockheed Martin F-16IN Super Viper

Essentially an F-16 Block 60, the F-16IN is one of two single-engined aircraft in the competition. Powered by the General Electric F110-132A, the F-16IN has a Northrop Grumman APG-80 AESA radar. Lockheed Martin makes much of its combat record: more than 100,000 missions flown, and a 72-0 record in air-to-air victories.
Given that more than 4,000 units have been built, ramping up production would not be a problem - 928 F-16s have been produced by licence partners. F-16 variants are also flown by India's arch rival, Pakistan.

• Dassault Rafale

The Rafale has yet to win orders outside France, but its single-engined predecessor, the Mirage 2000, reportedly performed well for India in the high-altitude Kargil conflict with Pakistan in 1999. In French service the Rafale has been successful in Afghanistan.

• Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet

In late October, Boeing said it was optimistic of making the MMRCA shortlist. One possible point in the Super Hornet's favour is its General Electric F414 engine, which will also power the indigenously developed Mk II version of India's Tejas light combat aircraft.
Boeing has offered India its Super Hornet International Road Map, which includes conformal fuel tanks, an enclosed weapons pod and other systems.

• Saab Gripen IN

The Gripen IN is essentially the Gripen NG, a successor to the Gripen C/D used by the air forces of Sweden, the Czech Republic, Hungary and South Africa.
As with the Super Hornet, the Gripen IN will use a GE F414, potentially creating synergies with the Tejas Mk II. Interestingly, the original Gripen was designed to operate from roads with basic logistics support, under the assumption that in an invasion by a "larger neighbour", the Swedish air force would not have access to airfields.
Saab plays up the affordability of single-engined fighters, its complete openness to technology transfer, and Sweden's practical, common-sense design traditions.

• Eurofighter Typhoon

"Enthusiastic support" for the Indian government's 50% offset target and technology transfer ambitions are a cornerstone of the Eurofighter bid, says consortium member BAE Systems.
Eurofighter touts the Typhoon's "swing-role" capabilities, which enable the aircraft to perform simultaneous air-to-air and air-to-surface missions. It is also actively wooing India as a full partner in the programme. With that status, India would take a share of future Typhoon sales.

• RSK MiG-35

Formerly known as the MiG-29OVT, the MiG-35 is touted as a generation 4++ multirole fighter. It can carry a weapons load on nine external stations and is also configurable for use as a tanker.
"Upon customer request, the fighters can be equipped with all-aspect thrust-vectored RD-33MK engines, ensuring superiority in a manoeuvring dogfight," says RSK.
India has been a long-time buyer of Russian aircraft. Many observers see the MiG-35 as an outsider because the Indian air force already operates a number of Russian types, including the Sukhoi Su-30MKI at the heavy end of the fighter spectrum.

India’s NAL gears up for the big leagues

SOURCE FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL India's National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) are not easy to find. Located on the same road as Hindustan Aeronautics just outside Bangalore, the complex has a nondescript steel gate that sits well back from the road and is marked with a small sign.
Beyond lies a large campus of buildings interspersed with overgrown parkland and large, gloomy trees that overshadow the road. Half a dozen rifle-armed guards man a ramshackle security office, where visitors must surrender their mobile phones in return for a pass.
Despite its bucolic location, NAL is at the forefront of India's aviation sector, second only to HAL. It is also the cradle of the country's regional commercial aircraft ambitions. NAL's focus is primarily commercial - although technologies developed there have been used in military aircraft, such as the indigenously developed Tejas light combat aircraft.

© National Aerospace Laboratories NAL is hoping to leap into the regional aircraft market with one of its RTA-70 concepts

NAL's mandate is: "To develop aerospace technologies with a strong science content, design and build small and medium-sized civil aircraft, and support all national aerospace programmes."
Founded in 1959, NAL has more than a dozen laboratories. Areas of focus range from avionics to testing and repairing aerospace structures. The labs helped with initial studies on the Gas Turbine Research Establishment's Kaveri engine - the long-delayed, indigenous powerplant intended for the Tejas.
Every indigenous Indian aerospace vehicle has been tested in NAL's aerospace windtunnel. It is also the body responsible for carrying out aircraft failure analyses and accident investigations. Over the years, it has investigated more than 1,100 cases.
Although its aircraft development ambitions are at an early stage, NAL hopes it will soon make a leap into the crowded regional aircraft market with a regional transport aircraft, the RTA-70. NAL's Hansa-3 single-engined light aircraft is India's first all-composite aircraft. Intended primarily to replace older aircraft at India's flying clubs, the Hansa-3 is being co-produced with private company Taneja Aerospace & Aviation.
NAL has also led development of the Saras, a 14-seat multi-role transport aircraft designed primarily for the military. It is working with another private-sector firm, Mahindra Aerospace, on the NM5-100, a five-seater turboprop aimed at air taxi, training, tourism and medevac roles.
Despite the issues with Saras, NAL is contemplating a far more ambitious project with the RTA-70. Although it was envisaged as a turboprop aircraft, NAL now says the RTA-70 could be powered by turbofan engines, with the government viewing the aircraft as a stepping stone to larger models. NAL is studying the two options, and will deliver a report to the government in April 2011, after which a decision will be made.
"The government asked us to look at the turbofan option, and after we conduct a feasibility study, we will decide," says NAL director A R Upadhya. "Previously we were focusing only on a high-wing turboprop design. If all goes well, by the end of 2011 we will have full go-ahead to create the aircraft."
NAL has been in talks with a number of jet engine manufacturers, including Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, Snecma and General Electric. It says all have shown interest in the project.
"Initially, we were only looking at the turboprop option because of the high price of fuel," says Upadhya. "Lifecycle costs were our key concern. The government then asked us to look at the turbofan option, because they see it as a stepping stone to the high end."
NAL expects demand for regional aircraft in India to reach 250 by 2025. This is driven by the wealthy Indian middle class and its demand for flights on low-cost carriers. Also, industries are moving into India's smaller cities, increasing the viability of regional flights to such destinations. NAL also sees possible demand for 150 military variants to replace the Indian air force's Antonov An-32 fleet.
Irrespective of the RTA-70's powerplant, it is likely to come in two variants: a shorter one with 70-90 seats and a longer one with 80-100 seats. Its range will be 1,350nm (2,500km), suitable for most long sectors in India. Avionics are likely to be produced locally, including an indigenous fly-by-wire control system to save weight. Upadhya estimates the aircraft could be in service as soon as 2017, and that NAL is open to international and local partners. The aircraft would be produced by HAL.
If India produced the RTA-70 as a jet, it would join the increasingly crowded field of 50- to 100-seat regionals. Rivals would include Embraer's E-Jets, Bombardier's CSeries, Comac's ARJ21 and Sukhoi's Superjet.
A SCEPTICAL VIEW
Nidhi Goyal, director of aerospace and defence at Deloitte India, is sceptical about the project, but thinks the Indian government will push it to its conclusion. Most of the aircraft's sales are likely to be to state-owned Air India, however. "It will take a very long time for this project to be realised," says Goyal.
This is a view shared by Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia, who compares the RTA-70 to other "national planes" such as the ARJ21, or the N-250, a commuter aircraft developed by Indonesian Aerospace in the early 1990s.
While the ARJ21's thin orderbook is populated by a few Chinese carriers and one in Laos, the N-250 failed altogether after the Asian financial crisis of the 1990s. Aboulafia says regional jets tend to suffer the most from high fuel costs, which could make the RTA-70 uneconomical, and that the government will need to effectively pay airlines to use it, probably through subsidised purchase costs.
"There is no worse market than regional aircraft," says Aboulafia, who notes that although there were rosy projections for regional aircraft in China 10 years ago, fewer than 100 such aircraft are flying there today. "Telling a national airline what it can or cannot buy is the worst way to run a business," he adds.
Of course, the RTA-70 is a long way from becoming a reality, although India's interest in indigenous aircraft makes it all but certain that the aircraft will fly one day. The key question is one of economics: can airlines with razor-thin margins make money with it?
SARAS: A TROUBLED HISTORY
The Saras programme has had an extremely difficult gestation, perhaps signalling a tough road ahead for the RTA-70. It started as an Indo-Russian joint venture in 1986, but Ilyushin pulled out because of a lack of funds.
After India's 1998 nuclear tests, there was an 18-month stoppage because of a US probe into potential military applications for the aircraft's US-manufactured propellers and avionics. The production Saras will be powered by two rear-mounted Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67A turboprops.

© National Aerospace Laboratories Saras made its first flight 18 years after its inception

Saras made its first flight in 2004, 18 years after the programme's inception, but in the following years NAL struggled to reduce the aircraft's weight, making progress by introducing composite tails and wings and reducing the number of bulkheads in the aircraft's No 3 prototype.
On 6 March 2009, Saras suffered a major setback when the No 2 prototype of the push-prop aircraft crashed outside Bangalore, killing all three crew members. Indian investigators believe the military test pilots had been trying to relight an engine with insufficient recovery altitude moments before the aircraft crashed. Although pilot error seems to have been the main factor, the incident delayed the programme.
NAL says a replacement for the second prototype is likely to be ready in 2011, with a glass cockpit and further use of composites.

Troubled Tejas edges toward service

SOURCE FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL India's Tejas light combat aircraft is about to enter service more than two decades after it was conceived to replace the country's ageing MiG-21s
Few of the aircraft that will perform at Aero India have inspired as much opprobrium - or pride - as Hindustan Aeronautics' Tejas light combat aircraft.
After an agonising development process, the long-delayed fighter is finally approaching Indian air force service. Throughout its long history, the Tejas has had no shortage of critics, but if all the Tejas models that adorn the offices of India's aerospace industry mean anything, it is also a source of pride to the country's still nascent aerospace industry. It is an indigenous fighter, albeit one that benefits greatly from foreign equipment.
Despite its troubled past, the Tejas - named after the Sanskrit word for radiance - is finally entering service, more than two decades after it was conceived as a replacement for India's ageing Mikoyan MiG-21s.

© Aeronautical Development Agency India's Tejas light combat aircraft is about to enter service more than two decades after it was conceived to replace the country's ageing MiG-21s

The aircraft received initial operational clearance on 11 January. This paved the way for Hindustan Aeronautics to take up series production of 40 Mk I examples of the Tejas on order for the Indian air force. The company has the infrastructure in place to roll out 10 of the General Electric F404-IN20-powered aircraft a year, with the first due to be handed over before the end of 2011. However, it is unclear whether HAL is in a position to meet this deadline.
Before its initial operational clearance, Tejas enjoyed a rare good year in 2010. In March, India's first operational-standard Tejas made its maiden flight, from the southern Indian city of Bangalore, reaching a speed of Mach 1.1. In all, Tejas aircraft have now completed 1,450 test flights.
In July, a two-seat naval version of the Tejas was rolled out. To enable carrier operations, this model has strengthened landing gear and an arrestor hook. Additional control surfaces and a leading-edge vortex controller will help reduce its required speed on approach to the ship, and the front fuselage has been changed to provide better visibility over the nose.
At the time of the roll-out, India's Aeronautical Development Agency said the navalised Tejas's first flight would take place by the end of 2010, but it will now take place in 2011, says HAL chairman Ashok Nayak.
In November, the Tejas successfully fired the Russian-made Vympel R-73 air-to-air missile for the first time. The launch was performed from the Tejas LSP-4 test aircraft flying from an Indian naval air station near the city of Goa. The test was monitored by a chase Tejas, which provided a real-time data and video link to a base station in Bangalore.
The missile is integrated with the Tejas's on-board digital stores management system, says India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Missile selection is performed through the aircraft's high-resolution multifunction display.
The main objective of the test was to gauge the effect of launch on the Tejas aircraft itself, says the DRDO. Parameters under scrutiny included the safe separation of the missile, the effect - if any - of the missile plume on the aircraft's engines and composite structure, aircraft handling during missile release, and the functionality of the avionics and weapons systems.
The milestones achieved in the past 12 months come after two decades of frustration and failure for the Tejas. The fighter's powerplant was originally supposed to be the Kaveri engine developed by the government-run Gas Turbine Research Establishment. As of 2009, the GTRE had spent Rs20 billion ($455 million) over the 20-year programme, only to produce an overweight engine unable to provide the 21,000-22,500lb thrust (93-100kN) required.
The General Electric F404 was therefore chosen as the powerplant for early models of the Tejas, including the aircraft on display at Aero India. Later versions of the Tejas Mk I will use the more-powerful GE F414, as will the Tejas Mk II. In October, GE defeated the Eurojet consortium in a contest to provide 99 F414-INS6 turbofan engines for a Tejas Mk II, which is due to fly in 2015 or 2016.

© Aeronautical Development Agency India's air force is due to receive the first of 40 Mk I Tejas on order by the end of 2011

As for the Kaveri, in October the DRDO said the long-delayed engine was undergoing flight testing at the Gromov Flight Research Institute near Moscow using an Ilyushin Il-76 transport as a testbed. Details of the engine's thrust output during the Moscow tests have not been disclosed. Asked when the Kaveri will be adopted on the Tejas, HAL chairman Nayak says it is likely to happen only with the Tejas Mk II, suggesting deployment of the Kaveri could be a decade away.
Nayak's comments hint at the weight issues that plague the Mk I. The aircraft's official weight has yet to be published. Nayak says the Mk II will bring a complete reconfiguration of internal equipment to create a more agile aircraft. "The Mk II is only on the drawing board," he adds.
Despite its critics, who generally condemn Tejas as being behind schedule, overweight and inferior to similar light fighters produced elsewhere, the programme is arguably not so much about producing a world-beating light fighter aircraft, but building a foundation of learning for future projects. This suggests Tejas is just a single step on a decades-long journey to a globally competitive Indian defence aerospace industry.
SOBERING FACT
When presented with this idea, one critic likens it to "making a virtue out of a necessity". Another points to the sobering fact that, ultimately, combat aircraft are for fighting in wars. If the Tejas is, as many suspect, an inferior combat platform, the fact that the project has helped India's aircraft industry will be cold comfort to Tejas pilots.
One expert suggests that, in the event of war, the Indian air force would probably hold the Tejas back from high-threat situations and let aircraft such as the Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Sepecat Jaguar, Dassault Mirage, and the eventual winner of India's medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contest, deal with high-intensity combat.
"Tejas is a prime example of the dispute between the guys in lab coats and guys in flight suits," says Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia, referring to the heavy government involvement in the project.
Nonetheless, India is determined to press on with development of its indigenous fighter industry. It has committed to 40 Tejas Mk Is, and is likely to buy 40 more, says Nayak. These first aircraft will all be powered by the F404, and will be followed by 80 F414-powered Mk IIs.

© Aeronautical Development Agency

When Tejas received its initial operating clearance in January, Indian defence minister A K Antony said the aircraft had also given fresh impetus to the planned development of an indigenous medium combat aircraft. Industry sources say this has yet to reach the drawing board. The aircraft will incorporate stealth features, and was originally envisaged as using an advanced version of the Kaveri engine.
P S Subramanyam, director of India's Aeronautical Development Agency, said in 2009 that the medium combat aircraft "will replace the air force's existing MiG-29s and Mirages when those are retired over a decade from now. 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 fighters."
Despite the criticism both at home and abroad, India has soldiered on with Tejas, made tough decisions when needs be - particularly with regard to the aircraft's powerplant - and remains committed to the ambitious medium combat aircraft.
Perhaps it is worth remembering that Western manufacturers have produced more than their share of troubled programmes, from which useful aircraft have often emerged eventually. Seen in isolation, the Tejas is probably a failure, but it is unquestionably an important stepping stone for the medium combat aircraft and India's long-term aerospace ambitions.
HOW THE CRITICS SEE TEJAS
TEAL Group analyst Richard Aboulafia questions the viability of both the Tejas Mk I and Mk II. "Allowing for some residual face-saving, dreams of an indigenous engine are over," he says. "In fact, dreams of using a 19,000lb [85kN] engine have ended too, as speed and weight concerns became all to clear."
Aboulafia also questions how indigenous the aircraft really is, noting that the engine, radar, weapons and other key components are produced overseas. "This renders the national security/weapons autonomy rationale for the Tejas utterly false," he says.
An executive involved in India's medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) competition is equally dubious. "If they had got the Tejas right, they wouldn't need to do the MMRCA," he says.
TEAL Group analyst Richard Aboulafia questions the viability of both the Tejas Mk I and Mk II. "Allowing for some residual face-saving, dreams of an indigenous engine are over," he says. "In fact, dreams of using a 19,000lb [85kN] engine have ended too, as speed and weight concerns became all to clear."
Teal also questions how indigenous the aircraft really is, noting that the engine, radar, weapons and other key components are produced overseas. "This renders the national security/weapons autonomy rationale for the Tejas utterly false," he observes.
An executive involved in India's medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) competition is equally dubious. "If they had got the Tejas right, they wouldn't need to do the MMRCA," he says.

PICTURES: Boeing flies first CH-47F Chinook for Dutch air force

BY ADMIN The Netherlands' first of six new Boeing CH-47F (NL) Chinook transport helicopters has entered flight-testing at the company's Philadelphia site, with the type now scheduled to be handed over at the end of this year. The development means that the heavily-delayed project is now entering its final stage, with the nation's five remaining aircraft due to be delivered within another six months during 2012.
Boeing says the new aircraft made its flight debut on 8 December, and that it should log around 100 flight hours during a test programme scheduled to run until August.

© Boeing

Purchased to replace two Dutch Chinooks that were destroyed in Afghanistan and to provide extra capacity for heavy transport and Special Forces support tasks, the new aircraft will be equipped with a forward-looking infrared sensor, an advanced moving digital map display and a self-defence suite. These will enhance safety under difficult flight conditions, such as during bad weather and while landing in a dusty environment. The type (pictured during a 25 January demonstration flight) also features five fast-roping positions.

© Boeing

The acquisition - which had originally been due to see all six aircraft in use by late 2010 - will expand the Dutch air force's Chinooks to a future total of 17 aircraft. It already operates D-model examples.
"The Netherlands Ministry of Defence and Boeing also are evaluating a potential upgrade of the current CH-47D (NL) Chinook fleet to the new CH-47F (NL) configuration," the manufacturer says.

SOURCE DEFENSE INDUSTRY DAILY Recent years have seen a variety of unmanned helicopter options introduced into the market. Boeing’s entry lays a breathtaking challenge before the field: what could the military do with a helicopter-like, autonomously-flown UAV with a range of 2,500 nautical miles and endurance of 16-24 hours, carrying a payload of 1,000-2,500 pounds, and doing it all more quietly than conventional helicopters? For that matter, imagine what disaster relief officials could do with something that had all the positive search characteristics of a helicopter, but much longer endurance.
Enter the A160 Hummingbird Warrior (YMQ-18), which was snapped up in one of Boeing’s corporate acquisition deals. It uses a very unconventional rotor technology, and Boeing’s Phantom Works division continues to develop it as a revolutionary technology demonstrator and future UAV platform. With the Navy’s VTUAV locked up by the Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout, Boeing’s sales options may seem thin. Their platform’s capabilities may interest US Special Operations Command and the Department of Homeland Security, and exceptional performance gains will always create market opportunities in the civil and military space. At least, Boeing hopes so…

Russia, France sign warship agreement

Mistral-class helicopter carrier

 

BY ADMIN

 

Moscow and Paris on Tuesday signed an agreement to jointly build Mistral-class helicopter carriers for the Russian Navy.

The agreement was signed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin and French Defense Minister Allain Juppe in the presence of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
In all, four warships are to be built, Sechin said.
Russia's input to the construction of the first Mistral-class warship will be 20% and 40% in the second, he said.
The third and fourth ships are to be built in Russia, whose share of labor input will subsequently rise to 80%, he added.
Anatoly Saikin, head of Russia's arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport, said the agreement is only a framework and stipulates neither deadlines, nor the cost of the future contract.
"A contract is still a long way off. Only an intergovernmental general agreement has been signed," he said.
Russia and France in December announced they would jointly build two Mistral-class helicopter carriers at the STX shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. Another two are planned to be constructed later at the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg.
A Russian Defense Ministry source said in December the first Mistral-class ship, with a price tag of 720 million euros, is expected to be built in late 2013-early 2014 and the second in late 2014-early 2015.
A Mistral-class ship is capable of carrying 16 helicopters, four landing vessels, 70 armored vehicles, and 450 personnel.
A number of Russia's neighbors have expressed concern over the upcoming deal, in particular Georgia and Lithuania.

Gulf States Requesting ABM-Capable Systems

BY ADMIN It’s becoming clear that Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, have stepped up their defense spending in recent years. Even though Iraq is no longer a missile/WMD threat, Iran’s regular and Revolutionary Guards air forces remain relatively weak, and Iran’s ballistic missiles based on North Korean designs lack accuracy, missile and nuclear proliferation is producing reactions. Uncertainty creates perceptions of risk, and perceptions of risk lead to responses aimed at reducing that risk. That’s why arms spending is an incomplete but very concrete way of tracking a state’s real assessment of threats and priorities.

Gulf states recognize that a lucky conventional missile could create havoc in some Gulf states if it hit key oil-related infrastructure, or damaged the larger and more nebulous target of business confidence. The spread of nuclear weapons would change the calculus completely. A 2007 US National Intelligence Assessment [redacted NIE summary, PDF] believed that Iran’s nuclear program had stopped, but others, including the United Nations and Israel, were more skeptical. By 2010, that skepticism had spread to US intelligence, which repudiated an assessment that seems set to join the 1962 NIE of no Soviet missiles in Cuba [1].
The Gulf states’ response to these developments covers a range of equipment, but anti-ballistic missile capabilities appear to be rising to the top of the priority list…

Mideast Nation Buys Eurocopter Light Attack Helo

SOURCE DEFENSE NEWS
 PARIS - An undisclosed Middle East country took delivery of an EC635 light attack helicopter armed with air-to-ground missiles, rockets and a 20mm gun last year, Lutz Bertling, chief executive of EADS Eurocopter, said Jan. 24.
The combat helicopter was "accepted on time" in the autumn by the Middle East client, Bertling told the New Year's press conference here.

The EC635 was delivered with the South African Ingwe missile, along with rockets, a 20mm gun, and a self-defense suite, Bertling said. He declined to say who the customer was.
Air forces of Iraq, Jordan and Switzerland fly the EC635, which is a militarized version of the twin-engine EC135. In the Middle East, Oman has bought 20 NH90 helicopters in the tactical transport version.

Turkey May Buy Up to 116 F-35s: Defense Minister

SOURCE DEFENSE NEWS
ANKARA- Turkey's Air Force may buy up to 116 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Lightning II aircraft, the NATO ally's defense minister has said.
Turkey, a member of the U.S.-led nine-nation F-35 consortium, has already said that it means to buy around 100 JSFs. But Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, in response to questions by an opposition parliamentary deputy on the JSF program, said for the first time in a Jan. 17 statement that the maximum figure would be 116.

"We're planning to buy 100 aircraft with an additional option of another 16," he said.
Members of the JSF consortium include the United States, Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, Turkey, Denmark, Canada, Norway and Australia. Turkey also will buy 30 F-16 Block 50 fighters from Lockheed Martin, the JSF's top producer.
Additionally, Turkey plans to build with a foreign partner or by itself what it calls a "national fighter jet" that would complement the F-35 in the 2020s.

Rheinmetall Gets Dutch Ammunition Supply Deal

SOURCE  DEFENSE NEWS
BONN, GERMANY - Dusselsorf-based Rheinmetall Group said Jan. 20 that it had concluded a 10-year framework agreement with the Royal Dutch Armed Forces to supply the Netherlands with a wide array of ammunition.
According to the Dutch Defense Department, the contract covers 44 types, including middle- and large-caliber as well as pyrotechnic ammunition. Initial deliveries with modular propelling charges for its PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers will take place this year.

Rheinmetall anticipates an order volume of 200 million euros ($272 million) over 10 years.
Rheinmetall spokesman Oliver Hoffmann said the long-term framework will assure the Dutch military of short-notice access to a comprehensive range of ammunition and simplifying procurement processes.

First West Coast Delta IV Heavy Lofts NRO Sat

SOURCE AW&ST
SAN FRANCISCO — A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy lifted a bus-sized classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office into orbit from Space Launch Complex-6 (SLC-6) at Vandenberg AFB, Calif., at 1:10 PST Jan. 20 — the largest rocket ever launched from the West Coast.
With a 63-ft.-long payload fairing, the launcher stood 235 ft. tall, weighed 1.5 million lb., and relied on the output from three Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-68 engines for first-stage lift. Called Common Core Boosters, the RS-68s are configured side-by-side, each producing 656,500 lb. of thrust.
The outer-two strap-ons provided the main first-stage lift. The combined first-stage thrust of nearly 2 million lb. is the most for any U.S. launcher since the Saturn V of the 1960s Apollo Moon mission era. The Delta’s second stage is a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL-10B-2 cryogenic engine.
Once designated as the West Coast space shuttle complex—an idea dropped after the 1986 Challenger accident—the $4 billion SLC-6 was refurbished at a cost of about $300 million to accommodate Delta IV missions.
The first came in November 2006 with a Delta IV Medium liftoff, but it relies on a single CBC for the first stage, a far cry from the thrust produced by three CBCs.
Called NROL-49, this latest NRO mission is the second for the Delta IV at Vandenberg and the only one yet scheduled for the Heavy configuration.
The four previous Delta IV Heavy launches have all been from Cape Canaveral AFS, Fla.
Photo: USAF

Phantom Eye propulsion system gets workout on ground

SOURCE FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL -The propulsion system for Boeing’s high-altitude, long-endurance Phantom Eye unmanned air vehicle is undergoing a series of ground tests in Santa Clarita, California, before heading into flight tests later this year.
Engineers have established start procedures for the hydrogen-powered engine and are now testing engine speed and propeller control in flight conditions. Previous tests were done in an altitude chamber, but the new work is the first time that the flight hardware has come together, Boeing says.
As testing continues the 4.8m (16ft) diameter propellers will meet the 2.3-litre, four-cylinder engines that will each provide 150hp. Propulsion for the ground test is provided by a modified Ford truck engine, but at high altitude, a three-stage turbo charger will kick in, Boeing says.

© Boeing

© Boeing

The twin-engine Phantom Eye, with its 45.7m (150ft) wingspan, is designed to fly at 65,000ft for up to four days at a time. It will cruise at approximately 150kt (277km/h) and can carry payloads weighing up to 204kg (450lb).
The air vehicle itself is also undergoing testing at Boeing’s St Louis facility in Missouri. The two systems will meet this spring at Edwards AFB in California to begin the flight test programme.
Boeing unveiled its hydrogen-powered demonstrator UAV in St Louis last July.

Czech Sport Aircraft on End of Piper Deal | AVIATION WEEK

By Benet Wilson(AW&ST)

Management at Czech Sport Aircraft (CSA) agrees with Piper Aircraft that “differences in business philosophies” led to the demise of its partnership to market the PiperSport light-sport aircraft (BA, Jan. 17/3). But the Czech Republic-based company maintains that the program is continuing to move ahead without the partnership.
Piper cited differences in business philosophies earlier this month when it announced that it was ending the partnership. But the Vero Beach, Fla. plane maker declined to provide specifics. Czech Sport Aircraft, however, notes that geographic marketing strategies played a role in the disagreement. “Czech Sport Aircraft was frustrated by Piper focusing the plane on the U.S. market and not the rest of the world,” spokesman Ben Franklin says.
Going forward, the aircraft will be marketed under its original name, the SportCruiser, Franklin says. “It was the SportCruiser before, and all the current approvals and regulatory documents are still in place, so the name change was pretty straightforward,” he explains. Customers who ordered the aircraft as the PiperSport “will get it as PiperSport. But any new orders will be SportCruisers.”
Aside from that, it is pretty much business as usual, Franklin says. The aircraft’s network of dealers, distributors and service agents will continue to operate and be strengthened to show market confidence, he adds. CSA continues to be backed by private capital firm Slavia Capital, based in Bratislava, Slovakia, and says it has orders for more than 150 aircraft.
CSA also plans to introduce what it calls “significant new design changes,” including revisions of the aircraft’s spinner, canopy, elevator, ailerons and wingtips. The company expects to receive during the first quarter the final issue of the SportCruiser’s European Aviation Safety Agency restricted type certificate, which will allow the aircraft to be used for flight training in the region.
The SportCruiser will be made available in different configurations, build and trim levels, ranging from a QuickBuild/Experimental model for home builders to a ready-to-fly model that will include a choice of basic analog instruments up to a full glass-panel configuration with leather seats, ballistic recovery system and autopilot.
Looking ahead, CSA will continue to show the SportCruiser at events around the world as part of its marketing efforts, Franklin says. Upcoming events include the Australian Air Show at Avalon Airport, AeroExpo UK and others, Franklin says.
Photo credit: Piper