Indian Air Force : News, Pics and Discussion thread

A joint exercise between the Indian Air Force and Republic of Singapore Air Force would be taking place at Air Force Station Kalaikunda between 03 Jan 06 to 20 Jan 06. The Republic of Singapore would be participating with eight F-16 aircraft and IAF would be taking part with a Squadron of MiG-27s.

The present exercise is the second in the series of such exercise. Last year a similar exercise, Sindex-04, was held at Gwalior. These exercises are meant to foster and develop cordial relations between the countries through their air forces. These exercises posses colossal training potential and both the air forces get to learn from each others experiences. (McLaden & Centerion - i hope you guys read that)

The infrastructure at AF Station Kalaikunda was recently upgraded to host bilateral exercises with foreign air forces. Singapore has a versatile air force which operates modern aircraft and weapon systems.

The IAF has recently increased the level of cooperation with air forces of friendly foreign countries including those of USA, France, South Africa, UK, China & Russia.

pib.nic.in...

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 23: Good news comes flying from the DRDO for the IAF, which spends lakhs on repair of aircraft damaged by overshot landings or aborted take-offs every year.

It will be able to deploy its largest, most expensive fighter, Sukhoi-30, at any base during emergency without fear of damage with DRDO-made Arrester Landing Systems, which can stop a 40-tonne jet speeding at 160 knots.

The US Air Force refusal to bank on the old Indian systems installed at Kalaikunda and using their own, highlighted the importance of arrester system to the IAF, whose bases have Arrester Barrier Systems (ABS) only for 20.4 ton fighters, viz. Mirage, MiGs and Jaguars.

The system, basically a large elasto-metal net installed at end of runway, restrains a fighter during overshot landing or hydraulic brake failure during aborted take-off.

After recent clearance by the Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification, the Headquarters is replacing the old systems with the new ones, which will save huge money besides ensuring pilot safety, say sources.

While the barrier is always raised during take-off, it is also done while landing if asked for by the pilot. When the aircraft speeds into the system, vertical and horizontal metal chords, using a suspension system, brake the jet to a smooth halt.

article > www.indianexpress.com...

BALASORE (ORISSA): India on Wednesday successfully test fired its nuclear-capable ballistic missile Dhanush from a warship in the Bay of Bengal, defence ministry sources said.

Dhanush, which is a naval version of India's surface-to-surface Prithvi missile, has a range of 250 km and is capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

The missile was launched from INS Rajput that was anchored 40 km offshore between Paradeep port and the test range Chandipur in Orissa's Balasore district at about 1.58 p.m., the sources said.

Dhanush is one of five missiles designed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation. The others include the short-range ballistic missile Prithvi, medium-range Agni, anti-tank Nag and supersonic Brahmos.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com...

New Delhi: Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) proposes to develop indigenous Air Borne Early Warning and Control System.

A programme for design and development of indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) System costing Rs. 1800 crore was sanctioned by Government on Oct 06, 2004.

Preliminary designs of various subsystems of the AEW&C are completed and are under review by expert committees. The Airborne Early Warning and Control System is likely to be developed by April 2011.

This information was given by the Defence Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee in a written reply to Shri EG Sugavanam in the Parliament today.

www.india-defence.com...



[edit on 28-12-2005 by Stealth Spy]

The government today said it was in discussion with Russia for joint develpoment and manufacture of fifth generation fighter aircraft.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Russia had proposed joint develpoment and manufacture of fifth generation fighter aircraft.

"Talks have been held between India and Russia in this regard. The discussions are at a preliminary stage," he said adding no time limit for taking a decision in the regard could be indicated.

To another question on the defence cooperation between India and France, he said no agreement has been signed yet.

"Both countries are holding discussions with a view to finalising a framework agreement on defence cooperation," he said.

On the issue of an agreement with China for military exercises in the Indian Ocean, Mukherjee said India had not signed any such pact.

www.outlookindia.com...

I don't know stealth spy but you make the IAF as a rival that could crush the US airforce in a heartbeat.

I guess Indian progress as admirable and I will not enter to discuss politics. The thing is that your coments reminded me of that book called Animal Farm and the grain barrels and also Mussolini paising his air force on the eve of WWII.

If we look at the history of Russian equipments and their reliability issues and the fact that Indian is a poor country undeveloped country and the fact that they cannot take Pakistan a much smaller country ypu begin to wonder wether all this technological prowess is being exagerated.

And as it was pointed out. One thing are excesices and the other thing ais combat.

Are all of these weapons developed in India over a short perios of time, catch up with US technology in development for decades. It seems diffuilt to ccept.

Can India stop for example a B2 bomber?

Or a F-15 squad with AESA radars and supported by full AWACS and satellites?

Or could these squadrons could depoy in full numbers on time and engage the target on time?

Originally posted by carcharodon
I don't know stealth spy but you make the IAF as a rival that could crush the US airforce in a heartbeat.

Are all of these weapons developed in India over a short perios of time, catch up with US technology in development for decades. It seems diffuilt to ccept.

Can India stop for example a B2 bomber?

Or a F-15 squad with AESA radars and supported by full AWACS and satellites?

Or could these squadrons could depoy in full numbers on time and engage the target on time?

Please, let me get this straight.

The IAF is not in the same league as the USAF, and is not capable of taking on the USAF. I doubt if any aiforce in the world can take on the USAF for that matter.

I have never said that the IAF would beat out the USAF or anything like that.

However having said that, the IAF is not a useless force as McLaden wants to think.

Originally posted by carcharodon
I don't know stealth spy but you make the IAF as a rival that could crush the US airforce in a heartbeat.

I guess Indian progress as admirable and I will not enter to discuss politics. The thing is that your coments reminded me of that book called Animal Farm and the grain barrels and also Mussolini paising his air force on the eve of WWII.

If we look at the history of Russian equipments and their reliability issues and the fact that Indian is a poor country undeveloped country and the fact that they cannot take Pakistan a much smaller country ypu begin to wonder wether all this technological prowess is being exagerated.

And as it was pointed out. One thing are excesices and the other thing ais combat.

Are all of these weapons developed in India over a short perios of time, catch up with US technology in development for decades. It seems diffuilt to ccept.

Can India stop for example a B2 bomber?

Or a F-15 squad with AESA radars and supported by full AWACS and satellites?

Or could these squadrons could depoy in full numbers on time and engage the target on time?

Firstly, the reason for this thread is not to glorify the IAF, but simply to report latest news and information about it and its related issues as and when they are available (aint tht right stealth). The problem i think here is that you did not expect a country like India to have such a dynamic and fast growing defense industry. There is nothing wrong with this, and is a natural progression in the overall development of a country. India is not an offensive threat to the US and will not be so for some time to come.

Secondly, there is absolutely nothing wrong with russian equipment. Its the maitainance which lets them down (as most countries buying russian equipment cant afford to maintain them) but that is not the case with India. India has faced probems earlier with spurious spares but it seems to have learned from the same.

Thirdly, about taking Pakistan. India could have done it 3 times. But each time they pulled back due to political considerations (read overly righteous politicians, from the Gandhian Era)

Fourth, India is underdeveloped, but not poor. It may seem like a contradiction but it is not so. The Indian economy has not reached even 25% of its true potential. And even at these levels India is one of the biggest economies in the world. So poor it is not.

Fifth, it is a fact that duplicating a technology is far far more easier than developing a technology from scratch. The effort is to get the technology up and running. To get it to work. Once this happens, then it is easier for others to replicate the results as they know what to expect. Take the example of the USSR developing the atom bomb in such a short interval after the USA did so. So yes India is catching up with the US in terms of technology. Fast. It still has a long long way to go but it is getting there.

Sixth, can the US stop the B2? Maybe it could, but very few countries apart from it could pull it off. Maybe India could do it. Maybe even Rwanda could do it. It seems a bit pointless to speculate about such a scenario as not many people in the world are aware of the full capabilities of the B2.

Seventh, F-15 with AESA, AWACS & Satellite support. Yes they can be stopped. And i go so far as to say, without much difficulty. You forget that India already has, or is in the process of very soon acquiring, all of the above technologies. The F-15 is a great aircraft, but pardon me if i seem to think that the IAF has equally capable, and even better aircraft. But then that is a seperate matter of debate. Now if it was the F-22 then there might be problems. But then again it is all speculation until some one other than the US actually gets to see what the F-22 can do, one way or another.

Last, which squadrons are you talking about? USAF or IAF. If we are talking about the IAF, then let me tell you that the IAF is the only AF in the world that is on alert status 24/7. And probably, and here i am being a little presumptious, could deploy faster than any other AF in the world. You forget that both of India's biggest adverseries (former i hope) are within spitting distance of India's major cities and vice-versa.

^^ Yup that about covers it all.

And for further details on the air wars of 65 and 71, please refer to acig.org
The cards held by both sides were pretty muc hmuch the same, with tech being better on the PAF side.
Plus, do not forget that the PAF is not some poopy AF that all of you make it out to be.
Hell, I say they HAD/still have pilots which are probably equal to if not better than the BEST the world has to offer. Do a search on PAF pilots in the Israeli wars. Now taking out IAF(Israeli) jets in a2a is no piece of cake.
The PAF is highly trained, and they have a habit of making the best out of what they have. Its just that in the recent decade or so, they've had major monetary and political shortcomings.But with the 75 new F-16s
(blk 50) they're getting, they pack a lot of power. Still they're technologically overwhelmed by the InAF. Please don't diss the IAF or the PAF. Both are very capable, and the IAF has something else called the PLAAF to deal with. So there is no numerical advantage between the PAF and the IAF.

[edit on 29-12-2005 by Daedalus3]

Mod Edit: Profanity/Circumvention Of Censors – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 5/1/2006 by Mirthful Me]

IAF relief missions in 2005

The Indian Air Force scaled new heights on all levels during 2005, augmenting its professional competence and strategic reach capabilities, while donning the role of a saviour for calamity-affected people in India and abroad.

The IAF started the year in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster, where its personnel in the affected areas of the worst-affected Andaman & Nicobar islands overlooked personal loss to rapidly commence rescue and relief operations.

With the losses of the tsunami still fresh, the force rose to the challenge when Jammu & Kashmir received unprecendented snowfall and ferried much needed supplies, including food and fuel, to enable the people of the state to survive the cruel winter.

The IAF was also in the forefront of relief efforts during floods that affected various parts of the country, as well as the devastating earthquake in Jammu & Kashmir on October 8 -- coincidentally the force's 73rd anniversary.

It also acquired an international image when the force's IL-76 'Gajraj' transport aircraft delivered relief supplies to the US for the victims of the Hurricane 'Katrina' and to Pakistan in wake of October's killer quake.

The year also saw the IAF improve its safety record :

Despite the new chief's assertion that he had no ''magic wand'' to stop aircraft accidents, the IAF -- saddled with a large number of aging though still useful aircraft -- did continue concerted efforts to keep the accident rate as low as possible. The force's safety record was enhanced, from 1.722 per 10,000 flying hours to 0.83 last year and 0.5 this year -- the lowest in three decades.

0.5 accidents per 10,000 flying hours is very impressive

Link

Major events of ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisation during 2005 :

December 30, 2005 The year 2005 ended for ISRO with the successful launch of INSAT-4A, the most advanced satellite intended for Direct-to-Home television broadcasting services. The launch of the most sophisticated remote sensing satellite, CARTOSAT-1, along with a micro-satellite, HAMSAT, by PSLV and commissioning of the state-of-art Second Launch Pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota were other major events during the year.
The space application programme continued to make forays with the initiation of several programmes using EDUSAT and further expansion in Telemedicine network and establishment of Village Resource Centres. Design completion and initiation of the construction of Deep Space Tracking Network Station near Bangalore and finalisation of three instruments from European Space Agency, one instrument from Bulgaria and another two instruments from the US were important milestones during the year towards moon mission Chandrayaan-1.

Full Article >>

The Naval LCA is intended for carrier operations aboard the Indian Navy's latest indigenous aircraft carrier Air Defence Ship. It is also expected to operate from the carrier INS Vikramadithya alongside the latest Mig-29K's. Two prototypes of the Naval LCA have been ordered and the first flight of the aircraft is expected in 2007.

The aircraft is designed to have additional aerodynamic surfaces for improved aircraft carrier landing performance, nose droop for improved cockpit vision during landing approach, wing leading edge vortexes (LEVCON) to increase lift during approach, arrestor hook, a strengthened spine, a longer and stronger undercarriage and the nose wheel steering will be powered for deck manoeuvrability. Canards will be included at the front, and these will be extended for landing, in order to reduce speed faster for carrier operations.

The aircraft will have a wing span of 8.2 metres, a length of 13.2 metres and a height of 4.65 metres. Launch speed over a 12º ramp is 100 knots and recovery speed during a no-flare deck landing using arrester gear is 120 knots. Aircraft carrier take-off mass is projected to be at 12,300 kg and aircraft carrier maximum landing mass is projected to be at 9100 kg. Designed to be supersonic at all altitudes, the aircraft will be powered by a Kaveri engine. The features of the engine include a 3 stage fan; 6 stage HP compressor; cooled single stage HP and LP turbines; modulated after-burner and a fully variable, convergent-divergent nozzle. The Kaveri will have a dry thrust of 52 kN; reheat thrust of 81 kN and a thrust-to-weight ratio of 7:8.

___

Some news updates on the N-LCA :

...Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash announced here.

Answering a question on modernisation, he said the Navy had invested about Rs 300 crore in the Naval Version of Tejas, which is under development at Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in the city.

“The Naval LCA is expected to join the fleet by 2011. Once it receives certification, it will fly from both the aircraft carriers”.

Naval Chief on Naval Tejas
_______-

"India's first indigenous aircraft carrier will to be ready within eight years. By then, we expect the naval version of LCA to be ready," he added.

link
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New HUD :

Chandigarh : IT’S just a matter of days now. Central Scientific Instrument Organisatrion (CSIO) is galloping towards the completion of a new smaller, light-weight, Head-Up-Display (HUD) for trainer and naval aircraft.

CSIO Director Dr Pawan Kapoor says this version of HUD will be far superior to the one they designed for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) earlier. HUD is vital for the pilot, for it superimposes the flight data in front of the pilot who relies on it for navigation, landing as well as combat manoeuvres. Developed in 1994, its application started four years years ago. Now being used in Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas) PV series, it’s done around 100 flights so far.

‘‘A remarkable feature of the new HUD is the dynamic Stand-By-Sight (SBS)’’, says CSIO scientist Vipan Kumar. This means if the aircraft computers fail during the flight, or don’t send any electrical information to the HUD, the pilot can switch over to SBS feature through a switch provided on the front panel of HUD. SBS will then help the pilot in navigation and landing.

The advanced HUD will also have Raster feature to make it easier for the pilot to fly in the night when he can’t see the outside view.

In Raster mode, an infra-red camera (FLIR) senses the thermal image of the outside world and converts it into CCIR Std Video signal. This video information comes to HUD which displays it on a dynamic big theatre screen.

This means any object flying/lying within the range of the FLIR camera can be seen by the pilot like a video image on TV or theatre screen. In this mode, the pilot can also request the computer to dump any critical information required by him on HUD.

link >

A few pics/models :



external image

[edit on 31-12-2005 by Stealth Spy]

Is that mechanical nose droop like Concorde or a reprofiled nose incorporating droop?

The latter makes good sense but the former would be a VERY bad idea.

Very much the latter.



Another display model of the N-LCA (front view)

Click

I should think so too

The Tejas might well do very well as a light carrier based tactical aircraft, a modern day Skyhawk even?

There will be several countries operating aircraft in the A-4 class where the Sea Tejas might look very attractive. I think Brazil and Argentina could well be interested in this.

doesn`t brazil have the old fench carrier - the focht? IIRC `technically` they can`t use it for offence airwarfare or something (something about one of teh terms when it was sold to them)


but it can fly A-4`s of the deck so the Teja would be resonable for it as well.

First Naval UAV squadron

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash will commission Indian Navy's first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) squadron here on January six.

The Navy had inducted the UAV's here in early 2003 and had since gained expertise in operating the two variants of the UAV, said a release here today. The ability to operate these flying machines remotely and without a pilot will go a long way in enhancing the surveillance capability of the Navy, it added.

Full Article >>

I wonder which tow UAV types are being referred to
My guess is the Nishant and another Israeli one.

[edit on 4-1-2006 by Stealth Spy]

India has rejected a proposal to acquire six ship-based Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye 2000s and has begun evaluating potential shore-based airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) solutions.Industry sources say the Indian navy has ruled out buying the Hawkeye for embarked operations as it would have to make major compromises on the equipment that it could fit on the aircraft.

The service received a detailed technical briefing on the Hawkeye 2000 from the US Navy last month and Northrop remains confident of securing an order, depite facing new competition.Embraer has also briefed the Indian navy on its EMB-145-based AEW&C system and is confident of selling several missionised aircraft. The company is also working with India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to deliver a new three-aircraft AEW&C solution for the Indian air force, including the local development of a phased array radar. Saab also hopes to enter the navy’s AEW&C competition, but is considered a long shot.

Full Flight International Article >>

So the new carrier INS Vikramadithya wont get the Hawkeye AWACS . If it did it would have been a first - A Russian aircraft carrier with new Mig-29K fighters, Israeli SAM systems, French and Indian electronics and an American AWACS. Alas it was'nt to be.

Oh No! India's MRCA tender has now been increased to 200 from the previous number of 126, making the purchase value in the excess of 10 billion $. 100% tech transfer, co-production rights (of aircraft, engine, spares & sensors), pilot training and simulators are the basic requirements that have been stated.

India will increase the number of Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) it plans to buy to 200, opening the door for more than one supplier, said Air Force and Ministry of Defence officials.

The Indian Cabinet Committee on Security, which clears major defense programs, in October accepted the Air Force's proposal to increase the number from the original 126, for which a request for information already has been sent to overseas vendors.
link

This has also been noted in this month's issue of Force (credits to Austin Joseph) which reads

One of the main topics of speculation during LIMA 2005 was whether India would split the contract for procuring new-generation medium-multi-role combat aircraft (M-MRCA) between the US and Russia. In fact, what has made this prospect rather distinct was the Indian Air Force's (IAF) recent decision to escalate the number of M-MRCAs to be procured — from 126 to some 220.

Industry sources confided that this move of the IAF may be a precursor to an eventual decision by South Block later this year to procure some 60 and-based MiG-35s from RAC-MIG, and some 120 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets for the IAF. The sources also felt that it was highly unlikely for India to entertain Lockheed Martin especially after Pakistan's public disclosure last month to procure 75 F-16's.

For the IAF's M-MRCA requirement, an upgraded version of the Mirage 2000-9 is being offered by Dassault for co-production with HAL.Recently, the company proposed co-developing the M53-PX3 turbofan for the Mirage 2000-9 and last June created a joint production team with HAL concerning about a dozen forged aluminium parts for the CFM56 family of turbofans.SNECMA has also created a joint venture called PowerJet with Russia's NPO Saturn and HAL to develop the next-generation SaM-146 turbofan, which will be offered as power-plant for the four-engined Multi-Role Transport Aircraft that HAL will be co-developing with IRKUT Corp.

Also here are more scoops :

Officials from UK-based SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems disclosed that the company's X-band Vixen 500E airborne active phased-array fire-control radar, competing against IAI/ELTA's EL/M-2052 AESA radar, is being proposed for both the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft and the MiG-35, while the Seaspray 7000E 360-degree AESA radar is being proposed for IN's to-be-upgraded 20 AgustaWestland Sea King Mk42Bs as well as for the IN's to-be-acquired maritime surveillance/ASW aircraft, for which Embraer's P-99A and Dassault's Falcon 900MPA are on offer.

^^ Gosh, i never knew that the 500E was AESA !

Also, now that it appers that a split is likely - the Eurocanards (Rafale & EF) stand a pretty good chance The idea to purchase the F/A-18 SH IMHO is highly politically motivated.


[edit on 5-1-2006 by Stealth Spy]

I have previously seen that India wouldn't consider buying the Rafale or Typhoon on grounds of cost, does this new figure then change that assumption?

Apart from choosing between these two (as well as the rest) I suppose India must also consider the troubles that they have had with Tejas and decide if the lessons learned can be easily applied to the bigger project, in which case it is worth proceeding with, or whether they might be in for more of the same all over again, in which case a buy-in is going to be unquestionably preferable.

[edit on 5-1-2006 by waynos]