Indian Air Force News & Discussions

[SpArK]

FGFA, nuke sub on discussion table at Indo-Russian talks​

PTI | 06:10 PM,Oct 05,2010



New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) deal worth USD 25 billion and leasing of Akula-II nuclear submarine are likely to top the agenda when India and Russia hold their annual talks on defence cooperation here on Thursday.

Defence Minister A K Antony and his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov will meet here for the 10th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) to discuss a range of issues.


Serdyukov, who will be co-chairing the Commission along with Antony, will arrive here tomorrow accompanied by a large delegation of Russian defence ministry and industry representatives.

The IRIGC-MTC, headed by the Defence Ministers of the two countries, was instituted in the year 2000 with an objective to further the bilateral defence cooperation. Nine meetings of the Commission have been held so far, in New Delhi and Moscow, every alternate year. The two Defence Ministers are also expected to discuss regional and global security issues.


"Since the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries in the year 2000, the two governments have steadily developed and strengthened bilateral cooperation covering a range of areas, of which defence forms a significant component," a Defence ministry statement here said. The two countries share a vibrant and a multifaceted military technical cooperation which includes not only supply of defence equipment and systems, but also collaboration in Research and Development and production.


As far as FGFA was concerned, India plans to get 250 of the fighter jets for the Air Force, while the nuclear submarine will be leased by the Navy for 10 years to train its personnel before INS Arihant indigenous submarine joins the fleet. Among other issues that is expected to come up during the talks include co-development of a hypersonic BrahMos missile, a joint venture between the two countries.


The two countries have already developed a BrahMos supersonic cruise missile for the Army, Air Force and Navy. The two sides also have agreements for India to produce T-90 tanks for its army under licensing. India would be having 1,640 T-90s in service by 2020. Recently, India's HAL signed a contract with the Russian Rosoboronexport for joint development of multi-role transport aircraft.

FGFA, nuke sub on discussion table at Indo-Russian talks, IBN Live News

 

[SpArK]

FIRST PHOTOS: First Flight Of Indian C-130J

India Goes Airborne - MARIETTA, Ga., Oct. 5, 2010 - The first of six C-130J Super Hercules for India took to the skies for its maiden flight yesterday. The aircraft will now complete a series of company and customer flight tests prior to delivery in December.

 

[SpArK]

Russians hold up IAF chopper contests
October 5, 2010
By Saurabh Joshi



The Indian Air Force (IAF) trials for an estimated USD 2 billion order for 22 attack and 15 heavy lift helicopters have been held up because the Russian contenders in the two shortlists have failed to arrive in India.

Senior IAF officials said on Monday that for reasons that were, as yet, unclear, the Russian Mil Mi-28 and the Mi-26 helicopters had not been cleared to come to India for trials. The trials for both categories of aircraft began in July.

IAF officials have chosen not to label this a delay and deny they’ve set any deadline for the Russian aircraft to arrive for trials, even though this could put the two acquisition contests in limbo. Boeing’s Apache AH-64D attack helicopter and the Chinook heavy lift helicopter are the other aircraft in the competition.

The IAF would, presumably, want to prevent the process of acquisition of the two types of aircraft from being jeopardized by the withdrawal of the Russian helicopters from the contest. Under the Indian Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP), any contest which results in the survival of only a single vendor is vitiated and the process has to be restarted.

The trials of both the Apache and Chinook helicopters have been completed. The weapons trials phase for the Apache helicopter ended last week in the United States


Russians hold up IAF chopper contest | StratPost

 

[marcos98]

India, Russia to discuss new giant fighter jet deal​

By Pratap Chakravarty (AFP) –

NEW DELHI — India and Russia will hold talks this week on a multi-billion-dollar deal to supply up to 250 advanced stealth fighter jets to the technology-starved Indian Air Force, officials said on Tuesday.

Experts say the deal could be worth 25 billion dollars, making it the biggest in India's military history.

A defence ministry official who did not want to be named said the contract would be the focus of talks on Saturday during a visit to India by Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.

"These are ongoing talks and will definitely come up in the discussions," he told AFP.

The Times of India said New Delhi and Moscow aimed to ink the FGFA (Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft) preliminary design contract during a trip to India by President Dmitry Medvedev in December. Ministry officials declined to comment on the newspaper report.

On Monday, Air Force Chief P.V. Naik confirmed India would acquire the advanced jets from Russia, which supplies about 70 percent of Indian military hardware -- a legacy of the countries' Cold War ties.

"We are looking to induct 200 to 250 FGFA in phases from 2017," the air chief marshal told reporters, adding that about 50 percent of air force hardware was now out of date.

"Around 50 percent of our equipment is obsolete and needs to be replaced.

"Ten years ago we had no money for modernisation. This caused some delays. Subsequent planning will fructify by 2014-15," he said.

The 30-ton FGFA aircraft -- priced at 100 million dollars each, according to the Times of India -- will have "very advanced avionics, stealth to increase survivability (and) enhanced lethality," Naik added.

India plans to mothball its mainstay MiG-21 Soviet-era fighter jets, which have earned the sobriquet "flying coffins" because of their dismal safety record.

The ministry official said India was also seeking 40 additional Sukhoi-30 frontline fighter planes from Russia.

"The original plan was to acquire 230 Sukhoi-MKI planes but the list has now grown to 270 and so far around 100 aircraft have been delivered to us," he said.

Experts estimate the Sukhoi deal would be worth 12 billion dollars.

India is building military airbases on its borders with China to thwart possible attacks.

"As and when more airbases come up in the east, more Sukhois will be added," the ministry official commented, adding the airforce was also on target to commission 20 locally-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) by 2011.

India is also poised to hand out a contract for 126 fighter jets as part of a separate 12-billion dollar deal for which six global aeronautical giants are in the race.

India is reportedly also negotiating a 3.5-billion dollar aircraft defence deal with the United States that will be signed in November when President Barack Obama visits the Indian capital.

The US agreement will see the Indian air force buy 10 C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft, which are expected to replace the ageing fleet of Russian Ilyushin Il-76s, India's Economic Times newspaper reported recently.

 

[SpArK]

EXCLUSIVE: No CISMOA? Here's What They're Pulling From The Indian C-130J

With India still hesitant to sign the contentious Communication Interoperability & Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) with Washington, there's a great deal that's been written and said -- mostly speculative -- about what technology the US Government will withhold from equipment already ordered by India. Several commentators have said that the American equipment on order by India -- including the C-130Js and P-8 -- wouldn't be half as useful without the technologies that would come with them if India signs the CISMOA. I've just received the official list of gear that the US Government will NOT provide to the Indian Air Force on its C-130Js. It is important to remember that this is equipment that has specifically been asked for by India. As a result, these items will be kept off the aircraft and only "may" be fitted on the aircraft once the CISMOA is signed. Here's the official list of equipment that India won't get as a direct consequence of the hanging CISMOA:

* AN/ARC-222 Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) - Manufacured by Magnovox and administered by the US Air Force

* KV-119 IFF Digital Transponder (Mode 4 Crypto Applique) - Manufactured by Raytheon and administered by the US Air Force

* TACTERM / ANDVT Secure Voice (HF) Terminal - Administered by the US Air Force

* VINSON KY-58 Secure Voice (UHF/VHF) Module - Administered by the US Air Force

* Finally, the Rockwell-Collins AN/ARC-210(V) SATCOM Transceiver's COMSEC/DAMA embdedded RT is replaced with an RT that has no COMSEC/SINCGARS

Sources say the Indian government has a few specific reservations about the CISMOA (I'm gathering more on this), and is not convinced that there is any particular hurry to conclude the memorandum. Recently, US PACOM chief Admiral Bob Willard said in Delhi that the CISMOA was not a pre-requisite to India accessing a lot of advanced American communications technology, though this pretty much went against the sentiment in all other diplomatic and military visits from the US.


Livefist - The Best of Indian Defence: EXCLUSIVE: No CISMOA? Here's What They're Pulling From The Indian C-130J

 

[SpArK]

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[RPK]

Beechcraft T-6C Trainer to Demonstrate Proven Capabilities During Indian Air Force Field Evaluation Trials @ AMTOnline.com Top News


Beechcraft T-6C Trainer to Demonstrate Proven Capabilities During Indian Air Force Field Evaluation Trials
Hawker Beechcraft Corporation
WICHITA, Kan. (Oct. 5, 2010) – Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) today announced its Beechcraft T-6C military trainer is scheduled for evaluation by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in field evaluation trials beginning Oct. 11 at the Air Force Station Jamnagar in India. HBC is vying for a contract that specifies an initial purchase of 75 aircraft and options for follow-on orders that could eventually exceed 100 aircraft. A decision on the contract is anticipated in the coming months.

“The T-6C offers the Indian Air Force the world’s most proven and cost-effective training system available,” said Jim Maslowski, HBC president, U.S. and International Government Business. “It accommodates instruction in instrument flight procedures and basic aerial maneuvers and, including its predecessors the T-6A and T-6B, has accounted for more than 640 deliveries worldwide.”

The T-6C is being considered as a replacement for the IAF’s HPT-32 Deepak 2 trainer. The evaluations will be conducted over five days and consist of flights by IAF test and instructor pilots. HBC will also demonstrate the T-6C’s maintainability as part of the evaluation.

The T-6C aircraft features an integrated glass cockpit and advanced avionics suite that greatly expands advanced training opportunities, including a Head-Up Display, Up Front Control Panel, three Multifunction Displays and Hands-On Throttle and Stick. With its hard point wing, it can accommodate external fuel tanks and the systems and capabilities of today’s front-line strike fighter aircraft, while retaining all the inherent training and flying characteristics that have made the T-6 the most successful primary trainer in the world.

The Beechcraft T-6 delivers an outstanding training capability that is appropriate for most basic introductory flight training through more challenging and complex advanced training missions. To date, it has been used to train pilots from approximately 20 different countries.

Deliveries of the T-6 began in 2000 after the aircraft was initially selected to fill the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System role for the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy. Since then, additional military programs worldwide, including NATO Flying Training in Canada, the Hellenic Air Force of Greece, the Israeli Air Force, the Iraqi Air Force and the Royal Moroccan Air Force, have chosen the T-6 as their primary trainers.

Hawker Beechcraft Corporation is a world-leading manufacturer of business, special mission and trainer aircraft – designing, marketing and supporting aviation products and services for businesses, governments and individuals worldwide. The company’s headquarters and major facilities are located in Wichita, Kan., with operations in Salina, Kan.; Little Rock, Ark.; Chester, England, U.K.; and Chihuahua, Mexico. The company leads the industry with a global network of more than 100 factory-owned and authorized service centers. For more information, visit Hawker Beechcraft: Corporate Home.

 

[RPK]

 

[Capt.Popeye]

My take on the CISMOA issue/controversy as outlined above:
The key words here are:Communication Interoperability & Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) i.e. interoperability with US forces and equipment. When will this need to happen? Only in case of joint operations with the US. How often or likely is that to be? e.g.India is not part of WOT right now.

IMHO, this is not a big deal. Do you think that the IAF has no communication equipment in its existent aircraft? And do you think that they are insecure? Communication equipment that is standard to the IAF inventory can be fitted and used.
Similar conditions apply to the P-8I and C-17 deals. Now if we assume that the capabilities of these aircraft stand impaired in any way, there are alternate indigenous and foreign sources to rectify that.

On some other threads, there have been some grouses expressed about the Trenton/Jalashwa deal. Similar equipment was removed from that ship. But the radars, armament (incl. Phalanx CIWS) and helicopters were retained. The ship remained operational.

i would'nt think too much about this business.

IMO, the GoI is (understandably) reluctant to sign the CISMOA (at least in its present form) because of political imperatives (it does not wish to get too wrapped up into US execution of its policies) and it has very little (if any) practical consequences.
And GoI always has a living example of a neighbour's experiences in such matters to go by. There is a method to this (seeming) madness.

 

[redpearl75]

Going obsolete-IAF modernisation is imperative

It has been pointed out by numerous defence analysts also in the past, but when the chief of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal PV Naik, himself admits that 50 per cent of the equipment — including fighters, radars, transport aircraft and air defence weapons — was either obsolete or obsolescent (becoming obsolete), it is a matter of grave concern. This is an unfortunate consequence of the ill-advised policy followed by the political leadership in the wake of the Bofors scandal in 1990s to put a virtual ban on all acquisitions. Later also, enough money was not earmarked for purchases and this caused inevitable delays. Such equipment cannot be procured off the shelf. As such, it will be several years before the shortfall can be met. The IAF chief is optimistic that the obsolescence level will come down to 20 per cent by 2014-15. That will be possible only if amends are made immediately.

He has bravely underlined that despite this shortcoming, the IAF was capable of handling threats. That can perhaps be done, but that will take a heavy toll on its glorious men. In modern warfare, bravery of the men has to be matched by the excellence of their equipment. Having to make do with Russian-origin air defence systems such as the OSA-AK and Pechora and the shoulder-fired Igla missiles, which have been in service for more than two decades, the world’s fourth largest air force is certainly handicapped. Equally serious is the shortage of 600 pilots and over 5,000 persons below officer rank.

On the other hand, China has been making big strides on the defence front. So is the case with Pakistan which may otherwise be on the verge of bankruptcy but has been modernising its defence forces on priority. India can ward off any foolhardy misadventure only if it keeps its powder dry and is battle-ready for every multi-front and multidimensional war.

 

[SpArK]

F-35 Springs Up In Indian Mobile Phone Battery Advert!​

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The Indian Navy has expressed interest in it, but for now, the Lockheed-Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter features in a new television spot for 'Joos' mobile phone batteries manufactured by Okaya, an Indian firm in the batteries and power systems business. The computer animated spot shows an F-35 morphing into a super-fast train and then a sports car. Nice! Here it is:

 

[CONNAN]

 

[SpArK]

YouTube - The Su-30MKI of the Indian Air Force

Nice video.. Didnt knew it was featured in NG before.

 

[SpArK]

Up above the world so high, IAF in the sky​

2010-10-07 09:58:19

‹New Delhi: Starting out as a tactical force on Oct 8, 1932, with six aircraft, an equal number of officers and 19 airmen, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has today evolved into the world's fourth largest and sees its area of operations extending far beyond the country's boundaries - from the Strait of Hormuz in the west to the Strait of Malacca and beyond in the east.

As the IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik, put it: "India's area of responsibility extends from the Strait of Hormuz to the Malacca Straits and beyond. This will happen in the future. We see what capability is required to meet this aspiration and accordingly modernisation and procurements are planned."

Not surprisingly, as the IAF enters its 79th year, modernisation is uppermost on Naik's mind, what with his admission that 50 percent of the force's combat and transport aircraft is obsolete.

Towards this, the IAF chalked out ambitious plans to induct "cutting-edge technology" to give it "flexibility, adaptability and strategic reach".

As part of its transformational plan, the IAF is mulling the induction by 2017 of around 250 fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) being co-developed with Russia.

Speeding up its acquisition of modern aircraft systems, sensors, weapons, infrastructure, air defence systems and missiles, the IAF is looking to take a quantum jump in its force levels and capabilities.

On the fighter front, this will translate into the induction of mainly four types of aircraft - the FGFA, additional Sukhoi-30MKIs, the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) and the under-production indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA). The Tejas is expected to join the fleet from May 2011.

The lucrative $10-billion MMRCA project to acquire 126 fighters has now entered a decisive phase with field trials of the six foreign jets in contention having been completed and the results being evaluated before the aircraft is eventually selected.

On the transport front, the first of the six C-130J Super Hercules medium-lift aircraft is expected in February 2011, with deliveries being completed by the end of the year.

The IAF is also evaluating the 70-tonne capacity C-17 Globemaster III airlifter and a decision on acquiring it could well be taken during US President Barack Obama's visit to India in November.

The modernisation process also includes the induction of modern attack-helicopters, heavy-lift and multi-role medium-lift helicopters, seamless communication and integration of sensors. This will enable capability-based operations and signal a shift from the current threat-based preparations, IAF spokesman Wing Commander Tarun Kumar Sangha told IANS.

The induction of force multipliers like the airborne warning and control systems (AWACS) and air-to-air refuellers have already added to the IAF's war fighting capabilities and increased its range and reach in recent times.

"With upgrades of Jaguar and Mirage-2000 (fighters) and the An-32 (transports) ongoing, planned acquisition to replace the ageing Avro aircraft, induction of Saras and Medium Transport Aircraft in the 11th and 12th Plan makes the way horizon ahead distinctly reassuring for our future air warriors," Sangha said.

Contributing to India's defence diplomacy, he said, the IAF is increasingly holding joint, bilateral and multilateral air exercises with other air forces of the world.

The year gone by also had the IAF engage in one of its most significant roles in peace times, aiding the civil authorities in calamities like in Ladakh's devastating cloudburst and the floods in northern India.

But the force is fighting another battle with itself - that of a crippling shortage of pilots and other personnel.

The IAF is short of around 600 pilots and over 5,000 personnel below officer rank, the Air Officer (Personnel), Air Marshal K.J. Mathews, told IANS.

He, however, said that since 2009, the attrition rate has been positive and the number of pilots joining the force was more than those who were quitting.

Mathews said the IAF will also open its fighter pilots stream for short service commission officers and in the long run, aims to have around 30 percent of its pilots from this stream only.

Up above the world so high, IAF in the sky

 

[SpArK]

Indian Air Force gears up to celebrate its 78th anniversary​

2010-10-06 22:30:00
Last Updated: 2010-10-07 11:18:34


Ahead of the 78th Air Force Day, to be celebrated on Friday, the officers and airmen of the Indian Air Force (IAF) presented an impressive dress rehearsal at the Hindon airbase near Ghaziabad.

A thrilling air show by combat and transport aircraft as well as helicopters from the Sarang team thrilled the audience on Tuesday.

Up above the world so high, IAF in the sky

Among the aircraft, which took part in the spectacular air show, were MIG-21s, MIG-29s, Jaguars, Mirage 2000s, and Sukhoi-30 MkIs with the pilots displaying their unique skills in mid air.

The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team treated the audience with breathtaking formation flights.

The entire air show was coordinated with precision from five different bases such as Ambala, Halwara and Adampur of the New Delhi-based Western Air Command.

The IAF was founded on October 8, 1932 as an auxiliary Air Force of the British Indian Empire and the prefix Royal was added in 1945 in recognition of its services during the World War II.

Diary: Warriors for life

Since independence, the IAF has participated in four wars with neighbouring Pakistan and one with China.

Other major operations undertaken by the IAF include Operation Vijay - the invasion of Goa, Operation Meghdoot and Operation Cactus. Apart from conflicts, the IAF has been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping missions.