HAL Tejas | Updates, News & Discussions-[Thread 2]

[PARIKRAMA]

Russian co. offers joint development of Active Phased Array Radar for LCA Tejas

During Aero India 2015, a delegation of Concern Radio-Electronic Technologies (KRET), a part of Rostec State Corporation, held a series of negotiations with the representatives of Indian companies on the modernisation of the country’s air force fleet. At the end of the meetings, many agreements on developing cooperation with potential customers were struck.

India is one of priority markets for KRET. The military-technical cooperation between the two countries goes back half a century, and the Indian Air Force is widely using Russian equipment, Nikolay Kolesov, General Director of KRET, said. KRET is ready for broad cooperation with local companies, including the development of joint projects within the ‘Made in India’ policy framework, announced by the country’s leadership.

KRET products have generated great interest among Indian professionals from leading companies, including Bharat Electronics Limited, DARE (Defence Avionics Research Establishment), HAL, Indian Avitronics and DEFSYS. A number of them have signed joint cooperation protocols.

Questions of import substitution and after-sale service of Russian MiG-29K and MiG-29UPG, Su-30MKI and Ka-31 helicopters were the key issues during talks between KRET and the representatives of Samtel and Data Patterns. In particular, the company Data Patterns and KRET discussed the possibility of joint development of AFAR-equipped radar for the Indian aircraft LCA MK2 (Tejas), as well as the integration of IFF systems developed by Data Patterns. KRET specialises in latest innovations in the system of Identification of friend or foe.

During their meetings, KRET and the representatives of Indian Avitronics and DEFSYS touched upon the questions of modernisation of avionics on Soviet and Russian-made aircrafts. The negotiations resulted in the decision of the Indian side to send KRET the inquiry regarding the possibility of upgrading the helicopters Mi-8, Mi-17 and Ka-31 and aircrafts Su-30MKI and MiG-21. In particular, the KRET offered the Indian side the new onboard indicators for the Mi-8 and Mi-17, inertial navigation system INS-2000 for Ka-31 and the MK-Compass routing system for MiG-21.

KRET products are well known in India due to India-Russia military-technical cooperation. KRET is developing the onboard systems for the FGFA (Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft) for the Indian Air Force. During Aero India-2015. The Concern was able to attract attention to its civil products as well. For instance, the forum’s hosts showed much interest in the onboard data acquisition systems for civil aircraft of MZBN type (the black box). The technical characteristics of KRET’s flight recorders are comparable with foreign counterparts by L3 Communications (USA), TELEDYNE CONTROLS (USA), Curtiss-Wright (USA).

The aero show also saw KRET presenting several unique developments such as President-S complex, created for the aircrafts and helicopters defence from missiles with infrared homing, and the on-board radar Zhuk-AE with active phased array antenna designed for the new generation fighter jets. KRET drew the attention of the host country to the large number of radars like Kopye-21I (Spear-21I) and Zhuk-ME, which are currently in service at the National Air Force, and invited it to modernize the outdated radars in India. This prospect kindled interest in one of the local companies. The two parties considered it rational to sign a memorandum of cooperation in the framework of the proposed projects.

The exhibition was attended by 12 KRET companies, including Avionika concern, Fazotron-NIIR corporation, Aerokosmicheskoe Oborudovanie corporation, KRRTI, Gradient RI, Electroavtomatika OKB, Aviaavtomatika im V.V. Tarasova, JSC Ramensky Instrument Engineering Plant, JSC Ramenskoe Design Bureau, NIIAO Institute of Aircraft Equipment, Ekran RI, Aeropribor-Voshod.

Russian co. offers joint development of Active Phased Array Radar for LCA Tejas - IBC World News

 

[PARIKRAMA]

GE Engines for LCA MK1 (404IN20), LCA MK2 (414INS6) and proposed AMCA (414EPE)

GE Engines for LCA MK1 (404IN20), LCA MK2 (414INS6) and proposed AMCA (414EPE)

 

[GORKHALI]

 

[Ind4Ever]

Very good pic.

 

[Superboy]

SP-2 this year or next year?

 

[sancho]

SP-2 this year or next year?

SP 2,3 and 4 will come this year.

 

[Storm Force]

And 8 sps in 2016.
And 9 in 2017
12 in 2018

 

[sancho]

And 8 sps in 2016.
And 9 in 2017
12 in 2018

Not correct, since the plan is to go up to 16 after 8 next year.

2015 - 4
2016 - 8
2017 - 16
2018 - 16 (12 for IAF, the rest for IN or export)

 

[Superboy]

SP 2,3 and 4 will come this year.

This fast? I doubt it. I think SP-2 this year or next year.

 

[GORKHALI]

Great Video ,it seems they used Go Pro. @Abingdonboy

 

[PARIKRAMA]

Recently LCA has successfully passed cold weather test at Leh with its indigenous fuel starter.
Indigenously build Jet engine starter for LCA Tejas, displayed at Aero India 2015.

'Integrated Life Support System' & 'On-board oxygen generating system' for light combat aircraft LCA, at Aero India 2015

 

[PARIKRAMA]

LCA Navy - Nothing Succeeds Like Failure Redefined as Success!


LCA Navy NP2 fighter at Aero India 2015

The LCA Navy was an ill-conceived project that should have failed, and it did!

A naval fighter has to be designed and built for carrier operation from the ground up, not as an afterthought, as was the case with LCA Navy.

Strengthening the LCA for carrier operations proved to be a nightmare for ADA. The aircraft's undercarriage (u/c) - required to perform flareless landings with a high sink rate of 7.1 rn/sec, - became grotesquely over-sized because of its positioning in the fuselage. (Compare the u/c of LCA Navy Mk-1 above with that of the Tejas LCA below. The former looks oversized, the latter, elegant.)


Tejas LCA on short finals at Aero India 2015


The strengthened u/c added weight and lowered the aircraft's performance. As a result, LCA Navy is never going to be operationally deployed on an aircraft carrier - it's very limited weapon load, range and performance wouldn't justify such deployment.


Close up of LCA Navy NP2 undercarriage at Aero India 2015

Success from Failure

Failure of an endeavor is often just a turning point on the road to success. Failure is never absolute; it can at best be defined as lack of success. Sometimes, failure can even be redefined as success.

The Indian Government sanctioned Full Scale Engineering Development (FSED) of Naval Light Combat Aircraft (LCA-Navy), capable of operating from an aircraft carrier, on March 28, 2003 with a PDC of March 27, 2010. Had the Indian Government defined LCA Navy as a technology demonstrator project, which is what it has ended up becoming, there would have been no doubt about the resounding success of the project!

As a technology demonstrator project, the LCA leaped out of doldrums when Navy Prototype 1 (NP-1) successfully executed its first ski-jump take-off at the SBTF in Goa on December 20, 2014.

NP-1 attempted the ski-jump after a 300-m roll in clean configuration presumably with full internal fuel. The safe take-off required 150 knot at a climb rate of 6.4 degrees. But, the aircraft bested the benchmark with a climb rate of around 11 degrees.

The flight also validated the hands-off take-off algorithm of LCA Navy's Flight Control Software (FCS).


LCA Navy NP1 trainer performs maiden ski jump at SBTF in Goa. Photo Credit: DRDO


Reason for Better than Expected Performance
Press reports on the better than expected climb performance of NP1 have been confusing. Here is simple and precise explanation.

The LCA's GE-F-404-IN20 engine needs be at 80% RPM for around 5-min for it to give assured peak thrust at full throttle. Since it's not practical for an operational aircraft to wait for 5 mins before take-off, ADA had factored in the lower than max thrust when calculating expected rate and angle of climb on leaving the ramp. The aircraft designers were pleasantly surprised when due to higher than expected thrust NP1 outperformed the conservative calculations.

It's now clear that LCA Navy Mk-1 could carry more weapons and fuel than initially thought.

At Aero India 2015, IDP Sentinel asked LCA Navy Project Director Commodore CD Balaji if the better than expected performance could result in the aircraft being operationally deployed on a carrier, were the LCA Navy Mk-2 project to be delayed.

"LCA Navy Mk-2 will not be delayed," said Balaji with a lot of confidence. "We are close to freezing its design, which has been simplified. The new design would be easy to implement."



LCA Navy Mk-2

Commodore Balaji's confidence was eye-opening - The biggest pay-off from the LCA Navy project may well be ADA's increasing confidence in its ability to tweak fighter aircraft design to squeeze out better performance. This is evident from the following

LCA Navy Mk-2 has been designed from the ground up as a Navy fighter, independently of Tejas LCA Mk-2.

The fuselage of the aircraft has been broadened and the wing roots moved outwards. As a result, aircraft design has been optimized for supersonic flight with perfect conformance to area rule. (Tejas LCA and LCA Navy Mk-1 do not conform perfectly to area ruling resulting in high supersonic drag.)


LCA Navy Mk-2 scale model at Aero India 2015.

Mid section fuselage broadening allows undercarriage bays to be shifted outwards, allowing a simpler, straight and light undercarriage as in the Rafale.

Mid section fuselage broadening also increases fuel capacity.

That is three birds with one stone!

Look closely at the photo of LCA Navy Mk-2 scale model at Aero India 2015, and compare it with the similar view of the LCA Navy Mk-1 on static display at Aero India 2015. Notice how the air intakes in the Mk-2 model bulge out to align with the broadened fuselage.


LCA Navy NP2 at Aero India 2015

Finally, the following design layout of LCA Mk-2 from a brochure distributed during Aero India 2015 clarifies what I have stated above about the design tweaks.





Thum! Kaun Aata Hai?: LCA Navy - Nothing Succeeds Like Failure Redefined as Success!

 

[Storm Force]

Tejss navy looks better than tejss air force.

We need to make this work

Umm.sick abd tired of being ripped off by the Russians and French etc

 

[Aarush]

With three consecutive start-ups of its engine after overnight soak in extreme cold (around -15ºC) conditions of Ladakh, that too without any external assistance, Tejas, the Indian Light Combat Aircraft has achieved yet another and a rare distinction. Starting the fighter aircraft under such extreme condition without any external assistance or heating is a technology breakthrough. The requirements become further stringent when the starting is to be done three times consecutively with a partially charged battery. Team LCA led by AERD&C of HAL, and members from ADA, NFTC, IAF, CEMILAC and DGAQA have succeeded in achieving this.

 

[Ind4Ever]

Good luck for our baby LCA . We will make him into a most versatile platform for sure .