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[k7x]

IAF orders more Tejas LCAs to replace MiG-21s

IAF orders more Tejas LCAs to replace MiG-21s

Ajai Shukla / Bangalore November 23, 2009, 0:45 IST



The Indian Air Force is taking a crucial step towards accepting the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) as a replacement for its ageing MiG-21 fighters. Senior air force officers told Business Standard that IAF was ordering a second Tejas squadron (20 aircraft), in addition to the 20 fighters already on order.




Ashok Nayak, chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, which will manufacture the Tejas, has confirmed this development. “The Ministry of Defence (MoD) tender for 20 additional Tejas fighters is on track,” he told Business Standard. “After it is issued, we will sit down with MoD and negotiate a price.”

The order for a second squadron is a vital expression of IAF’s confidence in the future of the long-running Tejas programme. So far, IAF had insisted on evaluating the performance of the first squadron before ordering a second, by 2015-2016. That would allow the Tejas to be upgraded to the Tejas Mark II, which would have a new, more powerful engine. But now, with its fighter fleet dwindling, as the old MiG-21s are retired, IAF is taking the Tejas as it is.
WHY LAF URGENTLY NEEDS A SECOND SQUADRON
* Against a sanctioned requirement of 39.5 squadrons, IAF is down to just 32
* By 2015, another 6 squadrons of MiG-21s and two squadrons of MiG-27s would have finished their service lives
* HAL is manufacturing Sukhoi-30MKIs, but the current production is just 14 per year. By 2015, IAF will have just 29 squadrons of fighters
* The shortfall becomes more worrisome with the new requirement of five IAF squadrons for the North-East


“The Tejas, even with its current GE-404 engine, is a better fighter than the MiG-21,” explained a senior IAF officer who is familiar with equipment policy. “By 2015, the first Tejas squadron will be ready for IAF. HAL’s assembly line will be free; while the Tejas Mark II finishes testing, HAL can build a second squadron with the GE-404 engine,” he added.

So far, the plan was to produce 12 twin-seater Tejas trainers after the first squadron was built. The new order will be for 18 single-seater and 2 twin-seater Tejas: exactly what equips a fighter squadron.

Here’s why IAF urgently needs that second squadron: Against a sanctioned requirement of 39.5 squadrons (each squadron has 21 fighters), IAF is now down to just 32 squadrons. By 2015, another six squadrons of MiG-21s and two squadrons of MiG-27s would have finished their service lives. Meanwhile, HAL is manufacturing Sukhoi-30MKIs, but the current production is just 14 per year. The mathematics is clear: By 2015, IAF will have just 29 squadrons of fighters.

Making this shortfall even more worrisome is the new requirement of five IAF squadrons for north-east India, as a result of an increased threat assessment from China. Senior IAF officers have recently declared that India actually needs 45 squadrons.

In this context, IAF cannot wait to induct the Tejas as the next light fighter, a role that the MiG-21 has long performed. Medium fighters are as urgently needed, and IAF is currently evaluating six aircraft for this role. But the new Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), even if the contract is placed expeditiously, is unlikely to enter service before 2015-16. Only in the heavy fighter segment is IAF well placed, with the superlative Sukhoi-30MKI steadily joining the fleet.

The Tejas is currently undergoing weapon trials to obtain its Initial Operational Clearance, most likely by early 2011. Then starts the two-year process for obtaining Final Operational Clearance, after which it can enter service in early 2013. Then, if HAL can deliver 10 Tejas fighters per year, the first squadron will be ready by the end of 2014. And, if all of that goes smoothly, the second Tejas squadron will join IAF by the end of 2016.

IAF has decided that No 45 Squadron, which operated MiG-21M fighters until they were recently retired, will be the first Tejas squadron. It will be based in Sulur, near Coimbatore. It is still not clear where the second Tejas squadron will be based.


So it is now 21 + 12 + 20 for block 1 or Mark 1.

 

[sancho]

So it is now 21 + 12 + 20 for block 1 or Mark 1.

You mean 20 right? 18 single + 2 twin seat.

12 trainers means 6 more squads, so a total number of at least 160 LCAs (MK1 and MK2) should be clear so far. Good news!

 

[marcos98]

Search for Tejas engine nears its end: decision likely before March 2010, price will determine winner

By Ajai Shukla
Bangalore
Business Standard, 24th Nov 09
GE F-414

EJ200

For two years, the Aeronautical Development Agency --- the agency developing the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) --- has searched for an engine to boost the performance of India’s homegrown fighter. With bids for two engines --- the General Electric F-414, and the Eurojet EJ200 --- submitted on 12th October, Business Standard has learned that ADA will select one before March 2010.

The GE F-404, one of fighter history’s iconic engines, currently powers the Tejas. But its 82-85 kilonewtons (KN) of thrust does not provide the acceleration or the sustained turning ability needed by the Tejas in air-to-air combat. ADA wants the Tejas to have 90-95 KN of thrust, which both the EJ200 and the GE F-414 provide. And so the F-404 will power only the first two Tejas squadrons; all subsequent LCAs, including the naval version, will fly with either the F-414 or the EJ200.

Dr Dipankar Banerjee, the DRDO’s Chief Controller of Aeronautics, says two crucial factors will determine the winner: which engine fits into the Tejas with minimal re-engineering; and which one works out cheaper (acquisition cost + operating cost).

The DRDO officer, who guides the Tejas programme, debunked the long-held belief that the Tejas would require major re-engineering for fitting the new engine. “We have evaluated both engines and we believe only minor changes will be needed in the fuselage of the Tejas”, said Dr Banerjee. “Which engine is selected will be largely determined by its cost.”

Both engines, however, need minor design modifications by their vendors to meet the specific requirements of the Tejas. According to Dr Banerjee, “The Eurofighter Typhoon is powered by two EJ200 engines, but the LCA has just a single engine. For safety reasons, it must have a re-ignition system to restart the engine automatically if it goes off in mid-flight.”

And since the selected engine will also power the naval Tejas, the EJ200 needs to be protected against the corrosive salt-water naval environment.

The EJ200’s rival, the GE F-414, has neither of these concerns; it already powers the single-engine Gripen fighter, as well as the F/A-18 Super Hornet, which the US Navy operates off aircraft carriers. But there are two other concerns over the F-414. Firstly, it needs to be tweaked to provide greater thrust during some periods of a flight, when it appears to deliver less power. And, since it is an American engine, export controls are potentially troublesome.

Eurojet, however, insists that re-ignite software is an integral part of the EJ200. Hartmut Tenter, Managing Director of Eurojet, explained to Business Standard, “If the EJ200 goes off in mid-flight, the aircraft decelerates sharply. The engine software recognizes that and automatically initiates the re-ignite procedure. It’s automatic; the pilot has to do nothing.”

Both Eurojet and General Electric consider this engine contract as vital. The order for 99 engines (plus options for another 49) is worth an estimated US $750 million. But, far more importantly, both see this contract as a way of getting a foot in the door for the US $11 billion Medium Fighter contract. Eurojet EJ200 engines power the Eurofighter Typhoon, while GE F-414s power both the F/A-18 and the Gripen NG. Getting a contract for the engine is seen as a giant first step towards getting a contract for the aircraft as well.

Fighter pilots say that a world-class engine makes a world-class fighter. Whenever two fighters face off in a dogfight, as pilots term an aerial duel, the one with the better engines almost always wins. In the old days, better engine power allowed a pilot to twist and turn sharply, to get behind the enemy, and then shoot him down with a burst of cannon fire.

Now, with missiles the primary air-to-air weapon, engine power is more important than ever. The enemy usually appears as a blip on the radar, which the pilot usually detects while “loitering” at low speeds to conserve fuel. He immediately guns his engine, accelerating hard towards the enemy, and launches his missile at nearly twice the speed of sound (Mach 2). As the missile screams towards the enemy fighter at around Mach 4, the pilot throws his fighter into a high-gravity U-turn to dodge the missile that his opponent would have launched by now. The pilot who can accelerate faster, launch first, and then turn away harder --- in other words, the pilot with the more powerful engine --- is usually the one who comes home alive.

 

[sudhir007]

Which engine for Tejas MK-II?

Which engine for Tejas MK-II? IDRW.ORG

While we may have an answer to that by March 2010, but it is still a mystery for many, which engine might be good for program, the requirements for the new engine rouse in 2005 when Indian air force wanted more powerful engines for Tejas since the current General Electric F404 is in 85 kn class (static thrust) and Indian air force wanted a 95 to 100kn thrust engines so that more multi-role missions can be conducted and Tejas had moved from a point defence fighter to a Multi-role fighter since air force was convinced and saw a growth potential in the aircraft ,Tejas Mk-II will not only have more powerful engines but also more powerful AESA radar and new mission avionics ,since Naval version of Tejas has been planned and will have the same engine which will go in the Tejas Mk-II .Indian Navy has been supportive of the Tejas project while Navy had a clear understanding and wanted Naval Variants to be based on Tejas MK-II since a Naval Tejas will require higher thrust engines to take off from an Aircraft carrier and had rejected to fly Naval prototype with current engines ,Two engines which are in the race to power almost 150 Tejas MK-II and Naval variant are General Electric’s F414 (98 kN) thrust class and Eurojet EJ200 (9o kN) thrust class

Eurojet EJ200: This engine currently powers the Eurofighter Typhoon which is a twin-engine canard-delta wing multirole aircraft which is also in the race to provide 126 jets for the Indian air force for the MMRCA Deal. Ej200 holds many advantages over its rival engine it will be widely produced in future since orders for more than 1400 engines have been placed to Eurojet for the Eurofighter and has growth potential and thrust vectoring versions are in pipeline for the Eurofighter, Ej200 is very advance and comes from new generation of engines which uses latest military grade combustor and compressor developed in late 90’s it incorporates best in technology has well as design since it was based on XG-40 technology demonstrator engine which was made by Rolls-Royce.but it also has some negative points to ,only Eurojet in paper have confirmed that the Tejas will require minimal changes in the airframe design but lack of spare Tejas aircrafts means that only after the contract is signed will be actually see if everything falls in place and any glitches thereafter will only delay already delayed Tejas project

General Electric’s F414: F414 engines have been evolved from F404 engines which currently powers Tejas, F414 currently powers F/A-18E/F Super Hornet which again is in the race for MMRCA. F414 was designed to fit in the same footprint as the F404. it also powers the Gripen NG which was earlier powered by a modified F404 engine , since 2006 new technology has been added to the engine to give higher trust and better performance, one of the most important plus point of this engines are that Developers of Tejas have worked with General Electric’s and has been recommended by Indian air force also , other key points are that since same engines are used by F/A-18E/F Super Hornet by US Navy it is protected against the corrosive salt-water naval environment which are the requirements of the Naval Tejass, it fits with minimal re-engineering since it is based on F404 engines and currently Ge and ADA have good relationship for years now

 

[sudhir007]

Tejas PV-5 Trainer will make its first flight

It has been reported by Ajay shukla in this blog that Tejas PV-5 twin seater trainer aircraft will make its first test flight today ,it will have Air Commodore Rohit Verma and Group Captain RR Tyagi in the cockpit . high speed trials of the aircrafts have been sucessfully completed and final test flight will be carried out today in Bangalore, the twin-seat Tejas trainer is expected to complete testing and certification by 2014 and start being delivered to the IAF by 2015.

Tejas PV-5 Trainer will make its first flight IDRW.ORG

 

[sudhir007]

LCA-Tejas has completed 1226 Test Flights successfully. (22-Nov-09).

* LCA has completed 1226 Test Flights successfully
(TD1-233,TD2-305,PV1-227,PV2-128,PV3-177,LSP1-54,LSP2-102).
* 227nd flight of Tejas PV1 occurred on 21st Nov 09.

(22-Nov-09)Tejas-LCA

 

[marcos98]

NEWS FLASH... PV-5 Tejas twin-seater makes a successful 30 minute flight!!
Broadsword: NEWS FLASH... PV-5 Tejas twin-seater makes a successful 30 minute flight!!
wait for details.......

 

[Screaming Skull]

Success! Air Marshall Tyagi in the centre, alongside Dr Dipankar Banerjee (DRDO, Chief Controller Aerospace). Air Cmde Rohit Verma is next to Tyagi, while Gp Capt Tyagi is next to Dr Banerjee.

PV-5 takes off from the HAL airfield in Bangalore. The twin-seater has not yet been painted... the yellow is the colour of the composites from which most of the skin is made​

Photos: Courtesy DRDO

This is the DRDO release, issued at 18:30 hours today:

TEJAS TRAINER MAKES SUCCESSFUL MAIDEN FLIGHT​

Two seater (Trainer) version of Tejas (PV-5) made its maiden flight on 26 Nov 09. The flight took off from HAL,Airport at 1300 hrs. The successful maiden flight covered an altitude of 9km and Mach number 0.85. The prototype was flown by Gp Capt Ritu Raj Tyagi of the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC). Air Cmde Rohit Varma, Project Director (Flight Test) flew in the rear cockpit. Wg Cdr (Retd) PK Raveendran, Group Director (Flight Test) was the Test Director. Extensive preparatory work that has gone in resulted in the first flight profile being executed with clock work precision. All the objectives set out for the flight were achieved and all the systems on board the new prototype performed well through out the sortie.

Successful flight of Tejas trainer is a major milestone for Tejas programme and a significant achievement for all the stake holders in the programme, which include ADA, HAL, NAL, ADE, CEMILAC, DGAQA, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy. With the Tejas scheduled to be cleared for Initial Operations with the Indian Air Force by end 2010, successful maiden flight of Tejas trainer has given a fillip to the programme. The trainer when fully developed will have the full operational capability from the rear cockpit as well. As Tejas Trainer has a lot of commonality with Tejas Naval version, even Tejas Navy programme would see accelerated progress as a result of the successful first flight.
As the first flight coincided with the programme review by the Air Force, the historic event was witnessed by Air Mshl NV Tyagi, AVSM, VM, VSM, who was the Chairman of the Review Committee along with Mr Ashok Nayak, Chairman, HAL, Chief Controller, DRDO Dr D Banerjee and Mr PS Subramanyam, Programme Director (Combat Aircraft) & Director, ADA.

Courtesy: Ajai Shukla-BROADSWORD

 

[gogbot]

iT WAS PROPOSED IN 1983

BUT GAINED CLEARANCE FROM GoI ONLY IN 1991.

still 18 years gone.....

The J-10 took 18 years as well. And China was much more experienced in aircraft manufacturing

The Rafael took 15 Years.

it takes over a decade to design and develop planes. on average its 12 years.

I don't believe the LCA has done to badly considering.

 

[sancho]

Hey can anyone tell me what techs and weapons are ready, or cleared for LCA so far and what is missing? For example, what is the status of MMR? What about Mayavi EWS, any specs, or capabilities known? Is there an IRST in development, or will it come through MMRCA and only for MK2 versions?
On the weapon side, R73 and some bombs are tested (although unguided), but what else will LCA get? R77, or Astra BVR missile? Helenia of course, but which anti ship, anti radiation, air to surface missile? What foreign and non Russian weapons are likely?
I read somewhere that Iris-T WVR missile is on offer, which would be a better choice than the old R73, or how about Python 5?

 

[Hulk]

Good news for India that it is moving fast on LCA development now. How much time we took is least important. How you were in past hardly matters, what matters is present.

 

[Chanakyaa]

Double Post.

 

[Chanakyaa]

If see it carefully, late or early its something that even Our Biggest Arms supplier.. Israel could NOT do.
How may countries make Fighter Jets.. Independent.. ?
4 or 5 Thats all.
Indian effort despite of delays is good as it makes us self reliant, boosts our avitation industry and aerospace research and gives employment opportunities in bulk.

Its it a thing of proud that we are amongst a few others who can do this.. since we started from the recent 1947..
all alone ..
we didnt had food at that time .. but the same indian energy can now design a gen 4/5 plane.
isnt it awesome !

 

[Novice09]

If see it carefully, late or early its something that even Our Biggest Arms supplier.. Israel could NOT do.
How may countries make Fighter Jets.. Independent.. ?
4 or 5 Thats all.
Indian effort despite of delays is good as it makes us self reliant, boosts our avitation industry and aerospace research and gives employment opportunities in bulk.

Its it a thing of proud that we are amongst a few others who can do this.. since we started from the recent 1947..
all alone ..
we didnt had food at that time .. but the same indian energy can now design a gen 4/5 plane.
isnt it awesome !

without any obsession:

We are still dependent on others for Tejas and other defense needs. But Yes, it is a great leap to be self-reliant in defense sector.

I think that we have achieved self-reliance (in defense sector) in field of Missile Tech.

 

[Hulk]

without any obsession:

We are still dependent on others for Tejas and other defense needs. But Yes, it is a great leap to be self-reliant in defense sector.

I think that we have achieved self-reliance (in defense sector) in field of Missile Tech.

I think we are moving up the ladder. The progress for any new comer is slow initially. I think LCA is going good now.