HAL Tejas | Updates, News & Discussions

[Nihat]

We have an updated 941 Test flights of Tejas as of yesterday and these were definatly night flights as I could here 3-4 jets buzzing over whitefield in B'lore , also some activity this morning.

 

[Nishan_101]

Hi, I think that IAF & INAF may not place greater orders for LCA n they r lookin 4 super grippen(IAF) and F-18's (INAF) am i right or not give me a detailed answer. Other than the facts that they r sayin it is complete and is very potent which every1 knows its not ok

 

[nitesh]

The Hindu News Update Service

India's Tejas LCA makes maiden flight by night
Bangalore (PTI): India's Tejas Light Combat Aircraft achieved an important milestone when it took to the skies in the night, meeting all its test objectives.

In its maiden flight by night, the Prototype Vehicle-3 aircraft took off at 8:05 pm from Bangalore airport on Friday and carried out a set of predetermined manoeuvres to demonstrate its night capability, a DRDO release said.

The aircraft was piloted by Gp Capt N Tiwari of the National Flight Test Centre. Wg Cdr R K Dash as the Test Director along with several senior officers of the Tejas Programme was at the telemetry station monitoring the progress of the flight. The flight met all its test objectives, the release said.

"The night qualification marks an important step towards achieving Initial Operational Capability (IOC)," the release said, adding, "the flawless flight will pave the way for systems and weapon integration for delivery by night."

"The modifications for achieving night capability has been worked out by a team in Aeronautical Development Agency and supported by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited supported by IAF, CEMILAC and DGAQA," it was stated.

 

[Nihat]

Tejas's maiden night flight

Bangalore (PTI): India's Tejas Light Combat Aircraft achieved an important milestone when it took to the skies in the night, meeting all its test objectives.

In its maiden flight by night, the Prototype Vehicle-3 aircraft took off at 8:05 pm from Bangalore airport on Friday and carried out a set of predetermined manoeuvres to demonstrate its night capability, a DRDO release said.

The aircraft was piloted by Gp Capt N Tiwari of the National Flight Test Centre. Wg Cdr R K Dash as the Test Director along with several senior officers of the Tejas Programme was at the telemetry station monitoring the progress of the flight. The flight met all its test objectives, the release said.

"The night qualification marks an important step towards achieving Initial Operational Capability (IOC)," the release said, adding, "the flawless flight will pave the way for systems and weapon integration for delivery by night."

"The modifications for achieving night capability has been worked out by a team in Aeronautical Development Agency and supported by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited supported by IAF, CEMILAC and DGAQA," it was stated.

 

[nitesh]

seems like this is for the 100KN engine the GTRE director is talking about 90KN engine I suppose

India's first aero-engine 'Kaveri' may be ready in 4 years

PARIS: India's first aero-engine 'Kaveri' may finally roll out in four years' time, ending decades of false starts to power the country's
aspirations for an indigenous fighter aircraft.

Under plans being given final touches, European aero-engine major Snecma is expected to join hands with the DRDO to unveil the military jet engine in four years, leading to commercial production of the LCA Tejas multi-role fighters.

Apart from the four-billion Euro turnover company Snecma, Russian NPO Saturn is contending for the bid to co-develop and co-produce Kaveri engine.

The DRDO is expected to shortlist the winner "any time now," a top Snecma official said and expressed confidence that once the contract is awarded the engines would be ready in four years' time.

"We have submitted a short and secure four-year plan as the Kaveri engine development time-frame," said Xavier Sahut D'izarn, Vice President, Military Engines, Snecma group.

India, after developing and testing nine prototypes of two 'Kaveri' engines, decided to seek foreign collaboration as the aero-engine repeatedly failed in high-altitude tests conducted in Russian facilities.

Refusing to be drawn in on where Indian scientists had faced problems in attempts to develop a purely indigenous fighter engine, the Snecma official said that Kaveri would be of nine-tonne capacity engine with low thrust to weight ratio.

"We will transfer full know-how and the engines would be developed and produced by HAL in India," D'izarn said.

"Its going to be a joint Indo-French engine with shared expertise with gradual transfer of full know-how," the Snecma Vice President said, adding that while high pressure part of the engine will be produced by Snecma, the low pressure part will be developed by Bangalore-based GTRE, a DRDO subsidiary.

The speed up in efforts to give final touches to the development of Kaveri engine assumes significance as Defence Minister A K Anthony has given a go-ahead for commercial production of 150 Tejas fighters.

The initial 40 Tejas are to powered by US General Electric404 engine. But DRDO officials recently said that the GE404 lacked power to enable Tejas to undertake its multi-role capability in full.

But now the Snecma official says the nine-tonne thrust capability and low thrust ratio would give the successive Tejas capability of greater manoeuvrability to undertake air-to-air, air-to-ground as well as carrier-borne operations.

The DRDO has been working on Kaveri engine for past 16 years and after coming up with problems in giving requisite high altitude thrust to the engines decided to float international tenders in 2005 for co-development.

Four companies -- US Military Engine leader Pratt and Whitny and GE, European engine maker Snecma and Russian NPO Saturn -- responded to the first Request for Proposals (RFP).

The RFP was modified and re-floated in 2006 extending the requirements from co-development to include co-production, as western companies were not forthcoming for mere co-development.

India's first aero-engine 'Kaveri' may be ready in 4 years- Airlines / Aviation-Transportation-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

 

[nitesh]

ok guys more good news here:

The Hindu Business Line : India developing new-gen radars

India developing new-gen radars

BANGALORE: India is developing new generation radars with multi-function capability that can be integrated with any weapon system, a Defence Research and Development Organisation official said on Tuesday.

Electronics & Radar Development Establishment (LRDE), a DRDO lab, has initiated development of medium power radar and a 150 km low level transportable radar with such capabilities, including surveillance, interceptive guidance, raid assessment, target ac quisition, close tracking and potential ones like fire control, LRDE Director S Varadarajan said.

For example, Rajendra radar that LRDE developed is tied-up or “totally married'' with surface-to-air-missile Akash but the new radars being developed with hardware, configuration and power level that are highly programmable.

“Our ultimate mission is to extend it for multiple missions and multiple functions'', Varadarajan told reporters here. “The radars that we are making will be a little-more broadbased. It can be integrated with any weapon system''.

“Once these radars are put into the inventory of users, depending on the software configuration, they can be made to work in different environment'', he said. LRDE is also developing a synthetic aperture radar which would be capable of generating images of targets.

“SAR will be capable of measuring the target up to a metre of accuracy''. Varadarajan also said LRDE has initiated development of active electronics scanning array radar for airborne applications. These radars are intended to be integrated with Tejas Li ght Combat Aircraft-Mark II in 2012-13.

“An active electronics scanning array radar in a fighter aircraft is one of the key elements to managing weapon systems, giving enhanced surveillance and fire power'', he said. – PTI

 

[nitesh]

http://www.ada.gov.in/others/Curren...-Nov-08_Tejas-LCA_/_14-Nov-08_tejas-lca_.html

LCA-Tejas has completed 948 Test Flights successfully. (14-Nov-08).

* LCA has completed 948 Test Flights successfully
(TD1-233, TD2-288,PV1-179,PV2-105,PV3-101,LSP1-27,LSP2-15).
* 179th flight of Tejas PV1 occurred on 13th Nov 08.
* 101st Night flight of Tejas PV3 occurred on 13th Nov 08.


The last line seems to be not correct as the night flights started recently only

 

[nitesh]

LCA-Tejas has completed 950 Test Flights successfully. (15-Nov-08).


LCA has completed 950 Test Flights successfully
(TD1-233, TD2-289,PV1-179,PV2-105,PV3-102,LSP1-27,LSP2-15).
289th flight of Tejas TD2 occurred on 14th Nov 08.
102nd flight of Tejas PV3 occurred on 14th Nov 08.

(15-Nov-08)Tejas-LCA

 

[indopak]

lca trainer

 

[Nihat]

LCA-Tejas has completed 954 Test Flights successfully. (20-Nov-08).

* LCA has completed 954 Test Flights successfully
(TD1-233, TD2-290,PV1-180,PV2-105,PV3-104,LSP1-27,LSP2-15).
* 290th flight of Tejas TD2 occurred on 19th Nov 08.
* 180th flight of Tejas PV1 occurred on 19th Nov 08.

 

[nitesh]

46 more flights remaining for IOC then?

 

[Nihat]

Isin't it a 1000 flying Hours for IOC rather than 1000 flights , I'm still confused regarding it .

Anyhow , there is now a test flight almost every alternate day /

 

[nitesh]

Actually it needs to validate 3000 parameters to be validated for IOC how they achieve this with combination of flights vs hours needs to be seen. But yes lot of flights going on.

 

[Nihat]

the 300 parameters should include weapons integration and testing too , while no concrete deadline was give . I'm hoping that by July 2009 LCA should have the IOC and pave the way for serial production. At least for the first two south based squadrons.

 

[nitesh]

weapons integration testing should start with coming of LSP 3 because this is going to have the radar (now here also a confusion whether it is MMR (based on elta 2032) or a radar based on 2052). It is supposed to start flying from end of this year or from begining of next year