Angle of Attack

PLEASE WAIT YOU ARE BEING REDIRECTED !

2011-06-13T05:29:00.000-07:00

New Link ! Redirect yourself here!

2011-06-12T07:38:00.001-07:00

Finally the relocation of the blog is complete and the new URL is http://blogs.defenceaviation.com/aoa. Please click on it to redirect yourself. I am not able to redirect it using Blogger settings because the URL ends with a PATH. So if anyone of you have a suggestion how to redirect it than please put it up in the comments. Until than see you there.

First post as a Blog of Defense Aviation

2011-06-03T01:57:00.000-07:00

IAF’s Mirage-2000 upgrade: A bitter pill to swallow

Merging with Defence Avaition

2011-06-02T05:25:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know you guys must be waiting for my articles and I am sorry for the delay. I was in talks with Defense Aviation as they approached me with an offer to merger this blog with their website. They are making a new section for allied blogs/columns and after taking into due considerations I have decided to merger with them to attract more readers. Angle of Attack will still remain autonomous if not independent. I hope to see you guys over there. We will be up and ready in 3 days time. Until than watch this awesome video.

Photo Post: Vikramaditya

2011-05-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

Latest photo of INS Vikramaditya in Russia. Meanwhile I will resume blogging from tomorrow. The first article will be on why India needs to upgrade the Mirage-2000.

The Osama Killer !

2011-05-07T07:02:00.001-07:00

This is probably how the modified stealth Blackhawk looked like.

Image Copyrights David Cenciotti.

Waterloo 2 !!

2011-04-28T05:42:00.000-07:00

Yes that right ! France will fight rest of the Europe once again but this time at stakes is approximately $30 Billion. The MMRCA deal is set with Americans and Swedish respectfully going home. The same is expected from the Russians. Meanwhile Typhoon and Rafale are extending their commercial bid validity upto end of this year. Also the Legend of DM A.K. Antony is growing everyday with all the right steps he has been taking since he assumed office. My tweet has been proved correct once again as April is the month when a decision was made. Keep up with my tweets for more updates.

May the best beast win !!

No Posts till end of the May.

Defence Aviation earns praise from Times of India

2011-04-21T04:20:00.000-07:00

Fellow Military aviation enthusiast Mr. Larkins Dsouza's website Defence Aviation earned praise from Times of India. A article was published by the Times of India Mangalore edition today (21/4/2011) on Mr Larkins and his website. I congratulate Mr Larkins and his team on this achievement and hope to see more from him.

Web article

Note: There won't be any further articles published on this blog till mid may.

Flight Safety Analysis 2007-2011

2011-03-29T05:32:00.000-07:00

Flight Safety 2007-2011 March Issue

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FULL MAGAZINE

COPYRIGHTS: IDRW ORG PUBLICATION

American F-15 goes down in Libya, Pilots Safe !

2011-03-22T05:34:00.000-07:00

A American F-15 has apparently crashed in Libya while enforcing Resolution 1973 No Fly Zone. According to the USAF the crash occurred due to equipment failure. The crash occurred on Monday night at 2130 GMT. Both the pilots of the fighter managed to eject safely, one was recovered by a USMC Osprey and the other was rescued by Libyan rebels and is now safe in American hands.

Japan Disaster !

2011-03-13T00:46:00.001-08:00

March 12, 2011 photo released by the U.S. Navy, the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) gets underway from Sepangar,Malaysia to support earthquake and tsunami relief operations in Japan as directed.
March 12, 2011 photo released by the U.S. Navy, MH-53 helicopters land aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) inthe Sea of Japan. Tortuga is operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility ready to support earthquake and tsunami relief efforts in Japan as directed.
March 12, 2011 photo released by the U.S. Marine Corps, CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters assigned to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron (HMM) 265,depart from Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa on Saturday, March 12, 2011 for Naval Air Facility Atsugi on mainland Japan to provide assistance after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and a tsunami struck Japan. The helicopters will fly more than 1,000 miles over open water with emergency equipment.
A Japan Self Defense Forces fighter jet (F-2) is swept into a building by a tsunami at an airbase in Higashimatsushima City, Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Japan March 12, 2011.

From: pprune.org

Update from Russia :

2011-03-04T04:39:00.000-08:00

#2nd prototype of PAK-FA takes flight !

#Sevmash shipyard beings testing of INS Vikramaditya !

Two good news came from Russia today with Sukhoi testing the second prototype of PAK-FA and Sevmash Shipyard tested INS Vikramaditya today. Both are expected to enter service by 2016 and 2013 respectively.

Image Courtesy: Lenta.ru

PHOTO POST: Tejas with refueling probe !

2011-02-27T04:30:00.001-08:00

This photo was posted on Bharat Rakshak a few days ago which clearly shows a refueling probe on the right of cockpit. There were reports in July last year that Cobham was looking to partner ADA to give Tejas a refueling probe. Its not sure if the probe is retractable or fixed (Like on Dassault Mirage & Rafale). It is still a great step forward and this probably means that the Tejas Mk-1 will have mid-air refueling capability.

Photo Courtesy: Bharat Rakshak.

Indian AEW&C revealed !

2011-02-21T23:00:00.000-08:00

Video from The Dew Line

IAF MiG-29 Upgrade Program

2011-02-20T03:48:00.000-08:00

IAF's first upgraded MiG-29 took to air a couple of days back in Russia as part of MiG-29 Upgradation program to increase the capability and service life of these frontline jets which were inducted into the IAF in 1980's. The first image of the MiG clearly shows a hump on its back which probably houses new and much more advance EWS (Electronic Warfare System). As part of the upgradation program the MiG-29 will receive following additions:

# New Engines: The existing RD-33 engines will be replaced by the upgraded RD-33 Series 3 engines which will be manufactured by HAL (Deal to mfg 120 units was signed in 2005). These engines boast a engine life of 2000hrs along with BARK-88 FADEC and KSU-941UB Removed control system.

# New Radar: A new radar will be installed replacing the older Phazotron RLPK-29. The new radar is Zhuk M2E which is a slot array radar and not a PESA. It will have a faster processor, allowing it to classify targets by type (for instance, fighters, bombers and helicopters) and to break-out formation targets flying at 20-30 meters apart. The radar can also be programmed to identify aircraft by type – in the case of a new type, it can record its reflected signal and later use it for identification. (Aviation Week)

# New sighting and targeting system: The MiG-29 will get UOMZ's KOLS-13SM FLIR, Sh-3UM-1 Helmet Mounted Integrated Targeting system.

# New Ejection Seat: The existing ejection seats will be replaced with the K-36 D made by Zvezda.

# Other Systems: BKTsO Digital signal processor, BTsVM-90/BTsVM-486-2 (onboard computer), L-150NU (passive guiding missiles station), SVR video recording system, KARAT-B whole recording system, BINS-SP navigation system with GPS, A-053 radio-altmeter, MS-2 voice warning system.

The program also includes purchase of more missile, rockets, bombs and external fuel tanks. Notably it includes R-77 missiles which have range of 80kms and 160kms however it is not known which one India is getting.

Image: IAF Mig-29 with Serial Number KBU-3301 (Changed from KB-3301)

India's own 90-seat civil aircraft may fly by 2017

2011-02-20T03:22:00.000-08:00

90 Seat Indian Aircraft

Copyrights: The Hindu

Photos of Aero-India 2011

2011-02-18T06:07:00.000-08:00

To view photos of Aero-India 2011 visit this dedicated blog by Vinayak Shetty.

Amazing LCH display at Aero-India 2011

2011-02-11T07:59:00.000-08:00

AERO INDIA 2011 Day-1 in Pictures

2011-02-09T02:15:00.001-08:00

Red Bull's Flying Bulls Aerobatics Team

LCH TD-1

Surya Kiran Aerobatics Team of IAF. Aero-India 2011 will be their last mission after which the squadron (No.52) will be dissolved.

LCH-Tejas during its Demonstration.

Dhruv's of Sarang Aerobatics teams.

We are not able to contact our associates at Aero-India hence we are not able to present our very own images. We will try to post them as soon as possible.

Images from Flight Global and Bharat-Rakshak.

Justice for Late Wg Cdr Vikas Jetly

2011-02-07T07:24:00.000-08:00

Came across this Petition on Tarmak007 blog and I was extremely disappointed to see that only some 500 people have signed this petition. Have a heart people and spare a few minutes to sign the Petition.

http://www.petitiononline.com/afjet007/petition.html

Image from Tarmak007

RUMOUR: Tejas Mk-2 could have Canards

2011-02-02T04:44:00.000-08:00

There are multiple reports of LCA Tejas Mk-2 whose mock-up will be displayed during Aero-India 2011 having canards which ADA tested for Mk-1 during 1990's (see above image). However, we were not able to confirm this news.

Other changes that Tejas Mk-2 is very likely to have is complete redesign of aft section to accommodate the GE-414 which will power the aircraft. Some other changes include redesigned intakes (some suggest DSI), complete redesign of cockpit interior and ofcourse a refueling probe which for some reasons is absent on the Mk-1. The cockpit of Tejas Mk-1 is highly advance but is a bit shabby by 5th Generation Standards. We could very well see Mk-2 cockpit with just a fewer buttons and switches and larger display panels like seen on Rafale and Typhoon.

Image from Bharat-Rakshak

VIDEO: Vayu Shakti 2010

2011-02-02T04:22:00.000-08:00

Came across this really nice video of Vayu Shakti 2010. Worth watching.

Video from Torque Aviation.

Stuff to watch out for tomorrow's parade !

2011-01-25T06:34:00.000-08:00

The Active Phased Array Radar L-STAR for Indian AWACS

Tactical Control Radar Reporter

No religion, No cast, No creed, No region, Just one Nation ! Happy Republic Day !

CUT THE CRAP !

2011-01-22T07:24:00.001-08:00

We are introducing comic posts named "CUT THE CRAP !" influenced by "CUT THROTTLE by Shiv Aroor". We aim to highlight latest news and happenings in a lighter sense. Hope you enjoy it.

Navy recently announced its plans to continue operating its old guard until 2020. We ask the Navy what aircrafts it will operate? Navy has already lost 19 out of its 30 Sea Harrier fleet and according to the some reports the 30 aircraft capacity carrier is carrying only 4 upgraded Harriers. We hope the Sea Harriers and INS Viraat are retired as soon as INS Vikramaditya enters service. An aircraft carrier without aircrafts is just an oversized yacht.

Air Dominance Enforced !

2011-01-11T05:50:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delayed post on LCA but I had nothing which was not already known.

Here is nice poem by my friend on the Tejas:

तुम ही हो सच्चे सेवक, तुम ही हो सच्चे रक्षक,
देख तुम्हे हैं अब जलते, सीमा पार खड़े वो भक्षक,
हों भिक्षा में मिले F-सोलह, या दान के हों बन्दर,
तेजस के ओज से जलती, भय की ज्वाला सबके अन्दर,
जय जय हो गुणगान तुम्हारा, ओ भारत के वीर प्रखर,
यही प्रार्थना है अब मेरी, राज करो तुम अम्बर पर.

Flight Safety: Losses during 2010

2011-01-02T03:17:00.000-08:00

It has been a year to forget for Indian Military Aviation in terms of crashes and loss of life with 18 incidents in the year involving 19 aircrafts and 27 deaths. However, this year the major contribution was from helicopters rather than fighters. The year was particularly bad because of very high rate of loss of life. Most notable of these losses came on July 24th, August 18th and November 19th. Most loss of life was cause by obsolete helicopters of the Indian Military like the Chetak which still form the backbone of India's Rotary aircraft fleet.

Another alarming trend with the IAF is that it is fast losing its MiG-27 fleet after suffering multiple crashes in past few years (8 since 2007). MiG-27 for sure is replacing MiG-21 as IAF's new flying coffin. Instances of MiG-21 crashes are reducing with IAF retiring older variants and depending more on newer and much safer Bison variant. A Mi-26 was also lost in December bringing the total of active Mi-26's down to 3. The Army suffered no losses during the year.

Brief list of Mishaps:

Complete Losses: 15

Recoverable Losses: 4

Fighters : 6

Trainers: 1

UAV's: 3

Helicopters: 9

Chronological List of Indian Military Mishaps of 2010:

[1]

Date: February 17

Branch: Indian Air Force

Aircraft: MiG-27

Deaths: 1, Pilot a Squadron Leader

Damage to Property: None

Cause: Failure of low-pressure turbine blades

Comments: The MiG-27 fighter went down near Siliguri in West Bengal on Tuesday afternoon, killing the pilot, a squadron leader.

[2]

Date: February 19

Branch: Indian Air Force

Aircraft: MiG-21

Deaths: None

Damage to Property: None

Cause: Suspected technical failure

Comments: A MiG-21 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force on Friday crashed near Bagdogra in West Bengal minutes after take-off but the pilot ejected to safety. The sources said prime facie; it appears that the jet developed a technical problem soon after take-off.

[3]

Date: February 27

Branch: Indian Air Force

Aircraft: HAL Dhruv

Deaths: None

Damage to Property: None

Cause: Power loss

Comments: The Advanced Light Helicopter 'Dhruv' of the Indian Air Force today crash-landed in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district while rehearsing for the 'Vayu Shakti' air power show. The helicopter was part of the Sarang Helicopter Display Team of the IAF. Both pilots are safe after they had to make a controlled crash-landing due to loss of power in the chopper. The aircraft was later salvaged and repaired.

[4]

Date: March 3

Branch: Indian Navy

Aircraft: HAL HJT-16 Kiran

Deaths: 2, Pilot and the Co-Pilot

Damage to Property: A storey apartment building was destroyed as the aircraft crashed on it.

Cause: Human Error

Comments: The pilot and the co-pilot who died in a crash during an air show at Begumpet airport on Wednesday were part of the Indian Naval formation aerobatic team Sagar Pawan (sea breeze) that was set up in 2003. Commander S.K. Maurya and Lt. Commander Rahul Nair were the airmen who lost their lives.

[5]

Date: May 5

Branch: Indian Navy

Aircraft: Searcher Mark-2 UAV

Deaths: None

Damage to Property: None

Cause: Pilot Error

Comments: The UAV, the Israel-made Searcher Mark-II, was on a routine training sortie and was approaching the runway for landing when it came down crashing. According to sources, “the crash did not appear to be very serious prima facie” and the damage sustained by the aircraft on the impact of crash is “repairable”.

[6]

Date: May 8

Branch: Indian Air Force

Aircraft: 2 Nishant UAV's

Deaths: None

Damage to Property: Some parts of the UAV were stolen by villagers.

Cause: Strong Desert Winds

Comments: Though Air Force officials are mum over the incident, it was learnt that the two Nishant UAVs, during a trial, had lost their way due to change in wind direction and they were landed through parachute. The vehicles were towed away from the spot and sent for repairs.

[7]

Date: May 12

Branch: Indian Air Force

Aircraft: Chetak Helicopter

Deaths: None

Damage to Property: None

Cause: Rise of temperature in Lubrication system

Comments: The IAF Chetak helicopter with a flying instructor and a trainee on-board, flew from Training School Hakimpet here and made the emergency landing around 7.30 am at an agricultural field in Kondapur village of Nalgonda district, they said, adding none was injured in the incident.“As the temperature in the lubricating system rose, the helicopter issued a warning message after which the pilot decided to make an emergency landing”. After a thorough checking, the helicopter took off after three hours, he added.

[8]

Date: June 2

Branch: Indian Navy

Aircraft: Chetak Helicopter

Deaths: 1, Navy Diver Krishen Kumar. 3 injured.

Damage to property: Possible damage to electric transmission cables.

Cause: It is suspect that the helicopter which was flying low got entangled in electric wires.

Comments: The Chetak helicopter, deployed at INS Dega, crashed into a stream at Ankapalle, about 50 km from Visakhapatnam. The pilot, Lieutenant Commander Rishikesh N., the co-pilot, Lieutenant Tushar Sharma and a passenger, Dipika Sharma, an air traffic control officer who was on a familiarisation flight, were injured. The pilot, Lieutenant Commander Rishikesh N., the co-pilot, Lieutenant Tushar Sharma and a passenger, Dipika Sharma, an air traffic control officer who was on a familiarisation flight, were injured.

[9]

Date: June 15

Branch: Indian Air Force

Aircraft: MiG-21

Deaths: None

Damage to Property: None

Cause: N/A

Comments: One MIG 21 aircraft of IAF crashed near Raikot about 10 kms South of Halwara air base on June 15, 2010 at about 1125 hrs. The pilot who got airborne for routine flying training sortie ejected safely. There is no reported damage to civil property or life. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate into the cause of the accident.

[10]

Date: July 21

Branch: Indian Navy

Aircraft: Chetak Helicopter

Deaths: None

Damage to Property: None

Cause: N/A

Comments: The helicopter made an emergency landing on the fields of Kotapadu Mandal village of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The pilots landed the helicopter on Monday, as the machine was experiencing some technical problems.“If it had landed on the nearby paddy fields it would have gone down as it is sticky there, but due to the sharpness of the pilot, it escaped great danger,” said N. Venkat Rao, Circle Inspector, Kotapadu Mandal village police station. Oil was also leaking out of the helicopter.

[11]

Date: July 24

Branch: Indian Air Force

Aircraft: MiG-27

Deaths: 5

Damage to Property: Not known/Possible

Cause: Possible engine failure common with the MiG-27

Comments: The aircraft crashed in Mainaguri, in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal on Saturday. The crash occurred near the Hashimara air base, at 10:30 am. The pilot of the aircraft ejected out, and is reported to be safe.

[12]

Date: August 18

Branch: Indian Air Force

Aircraft: Chetak

Deaths: 3, 1 Army Colonel and 2 Army Majors

Damage to Property: None

Cause: Bad weather and poor visibility

Comments: The army helicopter on a routine sortie crashed while flying over the mountainous terrain of Dzukou valley in the Nagaland-Manipur border area. The deceased pilots were identified as Maj Nikhil Prakash and Maj Rakesh Sharma while the passenger of the Cheetah helicopter was Col P K Pal. The helicopter had left the army’s 3 Corps headquarters Rangapahar near Dimapur at 8.25 am to Limakong near Imphal on a routine sortie. But it lost ground contact while flying over the mountainous terrain of Dzukou valley.

[13]

Date: September 11

Branch: Indian Air Force

Aircraft: Chetak

Deaths: 3, IAF personnel’s including the pilot and co-pilot

Damage to property: None

Cause: Bad weather

Comments: The chopper was on its way to Baghdogra air base from air force station Kalaikunda in West Bengal when it encountered bad weather and crashed near Sinharsi air base along the border of Pakur and Godda districts of Jharkhand.

[14]

Date: September 24

Branch: Indian Air Force

Aircraft: MiG-27

Deaths: None

Damage to property: None

Cause: N/A

Comments: MIG- 27 Aircraft of the Indian air Force crashed in Midnapore District of West Bengal. The crash took place around 8:25 AM IST, east of Kalaokunda air base in duria village, West Bengal, when the aircraft was on a routine flight session.“The pilot managed to eject and is unharmed. The crash did not cause casualties or destruction on the ground,”

[15]

Date: November 8

Branch: Indian Air Force

Aircraft: Cheetah

Deaths: None

Damage to Property : None

Cause: N/A

Comments : The helicopter was on on a routine flight to Siachen Glacier on Monday crashed in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, injuring both the pilots on board.

[16]

Date: November 10

Branch: Indian Air Force

Aircraft: MiG-27

Deaths: None

Damage to property: None

Cause: N/A

Comments: The aircraft was on a routine training mission. It crashed near Jodhpur. The pilot ejected to safety.

[17]

Date: November 19

Branch: Indian Air Force

Aircraft: Mi-17

Deaths: 12 (3 crew, 8 below officer rank IAF personnel’s and 1 Army Lt.Col)

Damage to Property: None

Cause: N/A

Comments: The helicopter crashed near Bomdir in Tawang today at around 1205 hrs, killing all personnel on board. The helicopter was airborne from Tawang for Guwahati.

[18]

Date: December 14

Branch: Indian Air Force

Aircraft: Mi-26

Deaths: None

Damage to Property: None

Cause: N/A

Comments: The Mi-26 chopper carrying defence personnel took off from the technical airport at Satwari and crashed within minutes of take off at 0950 hrs.

Angle of Attack salutes the fallen.

2009 Report

MMRCA Buzz

2010-12-31T21:24:00.000-08:00

The latest Buzz on MMRCA is that a Top secret file related to the offset clause has gone missing but later on was found on a road in Delhi. Both IAF and MoD has ordered an inquiry on it. Its unlikely to make any difference as the bidders are not allowed to make any further changes to their bid. Never the less it does affects India image and hurts it credibility of running a fair tender competition.

Secondly, it seems like the IAF is opting for a "Completed" platforms for the MMRCA. According to IAF, it would prefer platforms who's development process is competed rather than aircrafts like MiG-35, Gripen NG and F-16IN which are being tweaked to meet IAF's demands. Under-development fighters are expected to face teething issues which could delay their induction which IAF can't afford. So it seems that the cut-off list is up(unofficial) with EF-2000 Typhoon, Dassault Rafale and Boeing F/A-18SH making it in.

Chinese Assault !?

2010-12-28T21:15:00.000-08:00

The latest buzz on Internet is that the China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group is preparing to test its first stealth aircraft known to world as the J-XX. According to enthusiasts living nearby, the aircraft has already done taxi run and top level officials are coming to the facility to witness the first flight. This comes as a surprise as both American and Russian think tanks had written off China. J-XX is Chinese competitor in the Fifth Generation race. It is stated to have very low observability, advance avionics and radar coupled with two Turbofan engines generating 180 kN of thrust.

The exact happenings are still uncertain but the images leaked on the internet are extremely convincing. The aircraft seems to be around 60-70 feet long with forward canards and delta wing configuration similar to the J-10. On first look the aircraft looks very similar to the American F-22. However, it has features such twin DSI inlets and V-shaped tail. The aircraft seems to be fitted with WS-10 engines rather than WS-15 but this cannot be confirmed. According Janes there are two prototype airframes in existence of which one is flight ready.

Exact happenings are still unknown in the formal media as the Chinese Govt is tight lipped on it. The latest images show some startling similarities between the Chinese J-XX and cancelled Russian MiG-1.44. Both have similar style of delta wing canard configurations and V-Shaped tail section with closely mounted engines. The frontal aspect looks extremely similar to that of the American F-35 JSF with DSI intake which has now become common on all new Chinese designs.

Finally we cannot comments on this latest development in detail since there are no images of the cockpit hence we just don’t yet know how advance the aircraft is. It could be a half baked cake with good icing or China is indeed very advance. Building a stealth airframe is easy thing for moderately advance countries but what matters is remaining stuff like engine, avionics, radar and sensors and other sub-system which China hasn’t developed to advance stage. It’s time to wait and watch and for HAL to get going !

Chinese 5th Gen Aircraft ?

2010-12-25T05:36:00.000-08:00

PLAAF Insignia

Soviet Insignia

Forums across the internet are debating whether the above mentioned images are that of the Chinese 5th Generation fighter. China supposedly is developing the most advance 5th Gen fighter which is widely named as the J-XX. However it can be observed that the insignia painted on the tail section is not that of the PLAAF but quite similar to that of the Soviet Air Force which is still widely in use with the Russian Air-force.

Second LCH prototype by AeroIndia 2011

2010-12-16T21:52:00.000-08:00

Angle of Attack has learnt that the second prototype of the ambitious Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) program could be displayed during Aero India 2011. At present HAL is racing against time to finish the second prototype which will be weaponized. Since the first prototype was not a weaponized aircraft the second prototype will have more sub-systems thus there could be a delay. If the second prototype doesn't make it to the Aero-India which will be held in mid February than it could be unveiled possible by mid 2011.

The second prototype will play a crucial role in development of the aircraft as it will be used for weapons testing which is not possible on the first prototype. First prototype is currently being used to test the aircrafts basic design, flight performance and payload simulation. It as logged 50hrs of flight time and is currently undergoing routine maintenance and will resume testing very soon.

LCH will form the backbone of India's weak attack helicopter armory once it enters service by 2012-13. Currently there is firm order of 179 from the Army and the Air-force which could go up. Angle of Attack wishes all the best to HAL and everybody else involved in the LCH program.

Image from Hindu(c)

M-MRCA the Contending Missiles

2010-12-10T23:19:00.000-08:00

M MRCA the Contending Missiles

Copyright of Vayu Aerospace and Defence Review

IOC for Tejas very soon !

2010-12-07T21:24:00.000-08:00

The much awaited Initial operational clearance (IOC) for India's LCA Tejas is almost over. The Tejas recently fired 3 R-73 missiles in Goa taking the total to 4. It has been understood that the missile tests went successful which means there is no effect of missile launch plume/smoke on the aircraft or its engine. A prototype will now conduct stores release and weapons trail at Chitradurga. The aircraft will probably release external fuel and some dumb-bombs.

The IOC is stated to be given to the aircraft on December 27 which was stated many times before. However the first batch of the aircraft will only enter service with the IAF in Q2 or Q3 next year. The aircraft will also is get its HF(Hindustan Fighter) designation once it gets the IOC. Currently 40 LCA's are on order with the IAF but the number could increase once the IAF starts using it.

Image of LCA-Tejas with external stores and weapons from sphoto.

Tejas vs J-10 vs JF-17 !

2010-11-25T20:49:00.000-08:00

This video is in response to the previous video on the JF-17 which sparked comparison with India's LCA-Tejas. This video was posted in Bharat-Rakshak forums by a veteran member.

The video clearly shows LCA Tejas's superiority which this blog has always claimed. However it seems like the public cannot stop from comparing the JF-17 with the LCA even when there is no mentioning of both together. Now they are mentioned, so go on !

JF-17's Maneuverability !

2010-11-22T20:59:00.000-08:00

Came across this video posted by a Pakistani on Orkut Community named Fighter Planes. This is probably the first video showcasing the true maneuvering capability of the JF-17 and I have to say that I am impressed.

The JF-17 certainly flies much better than the Mirage-2000 thanks to lower weight and 85kN (approx) thrust of its Russian engine. This makes me thankful that India didn't get the Mirage-2000 for MMRCA because looking at the video it makes me believe that the JF-17 is a solid platform. However in terms of avionics, electronics and other capabilities I believe that it still lags behind. But with European help coming to upgrade the current JF-17 Block-1 into Block-2 we can expect it to become as good as F-16 Block 50 depending upon what the Pakistani's put into it. IAF officials were right in saying that JF-17 can quickly become a threat which was dismissed by many in the online community including myself.

However India's domination of the Sub-continental skies will continue with 270 Su-30MKI, LCA-Tejas induction in 6 months time and with Typhoon, Rafael and F/A-18SH leading the MMRCA race. But the question to you guys is that has JF-17 matured enough to challenge the IAF in someway ?

PHOTO POST: Kaveri K9 on-board IL-76

2010-11-06T03:40:00.000-07:00

Images of IL-76 with Kaveri K9 are from aviforum.ru. Stay tune for a article on same.

Analysis: American heart for Tejas

2010-10-21T06:44:00.000-07:00

Defense community in India was once again taken by surprise when an almost certain contract of 99 engines for the country’s most ambitious military project went not to the Europeans but the American’s. Many believed that Eurojet’s EJ-2000 was certain to win given the fact that it had IAF’s support and was expected to be the lowest bidder. But it was the Americans who prevailed just by luck. Now LCA-Tejas Mk-2 will be powered by General Electric’s GE-414 engine also used by F/A-18 Super Hornet and SAAB JAS-39 Gripen.

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The above article is written for IDRW Publication's "Security" magazine. This article is on the last page of the magazine. I also apologize for shabby editing by the magazine's editor.

Photo Post: Third C-130J of IAF undergoing assembly

2010-10-17T06:10:00.000-07:00

HAL Dhruv WSI Update

2010-10-09T04:28:00.000-07:00

Weapons system integration (WSI) project of HAL was started a while back and currently is facing some delays however the work is going on in full swing. HAL hopes to use the ALH Dhruv platform to develop two variants, one for Navy and another for Air-force and Army. Currently prototype's of both variants are flying, HAL is using old Navy Dhruv ASW helicopter (IN701) which was rejected by navy to develop the Naval variant. People living around HAL Airport in Bangalore were seeing this aircraft undergoing Radar and Sonar tests. Wide array of sensor and weapons are being integrated into the helicopter to make it more lethal.

Air-force and Army Variant:

Roles:

# Anti-Tank

# Close Air Support (CAS)

# Combined Anti-Tank and CAS role

# Ferry

# Air to Air combat

# Scout

Weapons System:

# Turret Gun

# Rocket

# Air to Air Missiles

# Air to Ground Missiles (Anti-Tank)

Sensors System:

# Electronic Warfare (EW) Suit (Radar, Laser, Missile warning receivers)

# Flares and Chaff Dispenser (FCD)

# Fixed Sighting System

# Helmet Pointing System (HPS)

# Data Link

# Infrared jammer

# Infrared suppressor

# On-board inert gas generator (OBIGG)

# Integrated Architecture and Display System (IADS)

# Moving Map

# Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS)

Naval Variant:

Roles:

# Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)

# Anti-Surface Vessel Warfare (ASV)

Weapons System:

# Torpedo

# Depth Charges

# Anti-Ship Missile

Sensor System:

# Surveillance Radar (360 Degrees)

# Low Frequency Dunked Radar (LFDR)

# Electronics Support Measure (ESM)

# Torpedo pre-setter and electronics

# Tactical Mission System (TMS)

# FCD

Images and certain information has been sourced from Aero-India 2007 magazine. Images have been edited for better viewing and understanding.

Now on twitter !

2010-10-08T00:11:00.001-07:00

Angle of Attack is trying to widening is reach and to do so we have now launched our own dedicated twitter profile. As you all know we already have a Facebook page to contact us and for discussion and suggestions. See you on these networks. Please also do comment on our new avatar !

Photo Post: HAL - LCH

2010-09-29T01:22:00.000-07:00

This is a really beautiful image of Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) from front. Also note that we can clearly see the co-pilot seating in the back, this means he has a clear view of the front which many of us believed not to be.

Image: This image was uploaded by Group Captain Hari Nair on Bharat-Rakshak forum. Group Captain Hari Nair is one of the test pilot in the LCH team.

Two more Phalcons for IAF !

2010-09-26T02:42:00.000-07:00

We have learnt that IAF is looking seriously into purchase two more IAI EL/M-2075 Phalcon AWACS systems. IAF is obviously impressed with the Israeli system and just like Su-30MKI would like to add more to its current fleet of 3 aircrafts (2 in service, 1 on order).

The Indian version of Phalcon is based on the Russian transport aircraft Il-76 which has range of 5000kms approx with the Phalcon system on-board. The Phalcon itself is stated to have a detection range of 500kms and instrument range of 1000kms. According to Federation of American Scientists Phalcon is currently the best AWACS system in the world.

Detection and Instrument range of EL/M-2075 is classified and the figures mentioned above are best estimates available.

Image from weapons and technology.

The MMRCA Game !

2010-09-14T22:53:00.000-07:00

The word MMRCA is again making lots of noise in defense circles as the Flight evaluation test report by the Indian Air Force has been submitted to the Ministry of Defense. The report consists of some 643 test points which were determined by the IAF have been submitted to the Ministry for approval. Old news apart, the biggest debate going around and quite for a while now is who will win the competition and gloat around at air shows and exhibitions. All the experts have made very good commentary on this debate; every debate made by them has some really good points and some really serious criticism.

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*The above article is written exclusively for online defense magazine "Security" of IDRW Publication. Readers would need to download the copy for free and scroll down to page 11 to read more.

The MMRCA Mess !

2010-08-20T22:32:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a few weeks after Times Now reported that IAF wants either the the Rafale or the Typhoon and since than neither the IAF or the Ministry of Defense has said anything about it. Well we all have been expecting something to come out after IAF submitted it technical evaluation report a month back but it seems we will not be informed by them.

Another surprising thing is that the Indian media is not issuing unanimous reports, Aviation week and other sources have reported that Rafale and Typhoon are "not" in the game where as Shiv Aroor is saying that the MiG-35 was probably never in the competition. Nothing seems to make sense as all these might be just rumors and after all the unprofessional Indian media lives and thrives on rumors and sensationalism. In such times the best thing to do is to read what a foreign media says. Janes, a respected military information source reported that India has made no decision and so far no fighter have been down selected. Almost all the suppliers have denied that their fighters have been kicked out of the competition except the United Aircraft Corporation of Russia with its MiG-35. It seems like everyone has written off the MiG-35 off the competition and its not just the Indian media but also the Russian media. I do tend to believe this because IAF and the MoD clearly don't want anything Russian because of many reasons which I would not like to mention now.

All theses rumors could could be sponsored ones, for instance it could be the IAF which would have written the Times Now article as they know that Rafale and Typhoon are the best but really expensive and Finance ministry could not allow it like the Tanker deal. The rumors could also be sponsored by manufactures which is not quite uncommon. We won't know the any of that and going further into it would creating another rumor.

However thing which are confirmed are that the Flight evaluation tests were meant to study some "643 test points" which were send to the MoD in tabular format. The Transfer of technology, maintenance and diagnostics are other critical factors along with life cycle cost.Also the IAF clearly wants new technology with the fighters. The final selection announcement will be made in 10-11 months and the deal will be for 126 fighter with a option of 74 more.

Image from reshap.com

New Defense Aviation Forum launched !

2010-08-18T22:42:00.000-07:00

The team of Defense Aviation has finally launched a new forum. To visit the Forum click here. You can find me over there by handle name of "Pratik". I will be a regular contributor over there. Also the next post on the MMRCA will be ready by Sunday. See you all on DA-Forum.

Image: Defence Aviation Logo.

Happy Independence Day !

2010-08-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

Angle of attack wishes fellow Indian a very Happy Independence Day. May this spark of patriotism last a billion centuries. We would also like to apologies for our slow postings. Coming up next is The MMRCA Mess !

Image: forangelsonly.org

Cobham 754 Buddy Refuelling System for Su-30MKI

2010-07-28T05:30:00.000-07:00

(c) Copyrights Cobham Systems

MMRCA: The Political Angle

2010-07-25T01:15:00.000-07:00

All the latest news reports suggest that IAF evaluation on the 6 MMRCA competitor will be out soon with the deal being signed within a year after that. One competitor out 4 short listed fighters will be selected for the contract. Now we all know that ultimately the decision will be taken with politics in mind. PM Manmohan Singh himself once said in pretext to MMRCA that the winner of the contract will be the one who's country will have maximum to offer. This really does puts out Gripen's chances to win the contract considering the fact that Sweden doesn't have anything to offer to India apart from the fighter itself.

The Congress Party of India wants India to be a permanent member of UNSC which will give it a serious advantage over its political rivals in the country. All members of UNSC support India for this except the USA and China. Communist China with its egoistic ambition will never support India. Russia has been a long standing supporter of India in all matters and India definitely wants to hold on to this and hence there was report which suggested that India will try to please Russia but its unlikely to give a order of 126 fighter jets to Russia's MiG-35. But it will buy a smaller number (50-60) of these jets to maintain IAF's numbers and make Russia happy. Same goes with France which India has some level of dislike for its military supplies to Pakistan. French competitor, the Rafael is closely matched with American F/A-18SH but it is more expensive than it. France it likely to receive $2.5 Billion* contract to upgrade IAF's Mirage-2000's, this offer was selected over Israel's cheaper offer. India also used this offer to end Pakistan's efforts to acquire similar systems from France for its JF-17 fighter aircraft.

The other aircraft along with Sweden's Gripen that has very less political attraction is Europe's Eurofighter Typhoon. Its extremely expensive and its sponsor countries are no longer inclined to buy it which mean that it will remain very expensive. Plus UK its primary backer will not withdraw its support for UNSC seat even if its Typhoon is not selected. That now leave just the F-16IN and F/A-18 SH both of which are of American origin. USA has long not supported India for the permanent seat but the relations are improving everyday. US sees India as a important ally in Af-Pak situation and against the Chinese and so does India. Multiple contracts were given to USA and USA was the one which got India into the NSG. American stance on the UNSC seat is also changing dramatically with positive comments from American diplomats and envoys. Hence India will try hard to please America by giving the contract to American competitors mostly Boeing's F/A-18 SH instead of the F-16 which is already in PAF's inventory. Hence I conclude that F/A-18SH is the strongest contender to win the contract.

Image: From SP's Aviation.

Boeing F-15 Silent Eagle testing videos

2010-07-23T05:08:00.000-07:00

MMRCA cut-off list very soon !

2010-07-08T06:12:00.000-07:00

IDRW.org, a respected Indian military news site has reported that the decision to remove atleast two fighters from the mega deal to supply 126 fighters planes to Indian Air Force will be taken by this week. IAF will provide detailed reports as to why it doesn't want the kicked-out fighters. Again according to the same source one American fighter is out of the race.

My prediction which might not be true is that the Lockheed Martin's F-16IN is out of the race because India was quite vocal against the transfer of similar F-16's to Pakistan. Predicting the other fighter will very-very difficult because all of them have taken the right steps to please India. I am very confident that unpopular SAAB Gripen has made it through because it passed the critical high altitude test which some other fighters were not able to. It could be the MiG-35 because for past few years the IAF has simply shunned everything which is Russian and flies. Above that, the MiG-35's predecessor the MiG-29 which the IAF operates also suffers from "altitude sickness" however it "works" in these conditions but not as good as in different condition. Whatever it is, we will know soon.

The final decision will be taken by MoD to buy one aircraft which it would like to see with the IAF. So basically it would be a political decision which would not be based on the price of the aircraft but on the political leverage it offers. Finally the wait seems to be over.

Image from ceoworld.biz

Photos: N-LCA roll out

2010-07-06T04:45:00.000-07:00

Last image displays the difference between the undercarriages of Air Force and Navy LCA's respectively.

N-LCA roll out tomorrow !

2010-07-05T07:06:00.000-07:00

The long and nervous wait for Naval LCA will finally end tomorrow. After suffering from tremendous criticism and technical challenges the N-LCA will be finally rolled out on July 6. The aircraft will be moved on its own wheel but not on its own power. The first flight of the aircraft will take place sometime in December this year.

Roll out function time-table by HAL & ADA. Please click on the image to enlarge it.

"HF" designation for Tejas soon

2010-06-30T03:19:00.000-07:00

Angle of attack has been informed that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has forwarded a request for a new "HF" designation for its LCA- Tejas fighter aircraft. HF stands for Hindustan Fighter and is followed by a two digit number which indicate a year of some significance either to HAL, the aircraft or the nation itself. The last fighter to get the HF designation was HF-24 Marut which was India's first indigenous jet fighter.

The request contains various options for the number which will follow the designation. The numbers currently known to us are of the the year when the project started, first roll out, first flight, Bangladeshi Liberation war and Kargil war. One will be selected in few months time and will replace the infamous LCA tag. The LCA tag won't be used after that by the authorities. Other designations for indigenously produced aircrafts are HTT-Hindustan Turbo Trainer for Turbo prop trainers, HJT-Hindustan Jet Trainer for intermediate trainers and HT-Hindustan trainers for advance trainers.

Along with this update the Tejas is also ready for service in first quarter of the year 2011 and will be stationed in Bangaluru. The negotiations for new more powerful engines will also begin very soon with GRTE of DRDO putting forward its Snecma-Kaveri engine into the negotiations. The airforce for some reasons is upset with that and had recently accused DRDO for trying to slow down the progress of second version of Tejas.

Image: Randomly selected from Flickr.

Ex Garuda 2010 Wraps up

2010-06-26T00:47:00.001-07:00

2010 edition of Exercise Garuda has concluded, Indian Air Force and Singapore Air Force participants are on their way home. Next edition of this joint Indo-French exercise will held in 2011 in India. France has promised to send their latest Dassult Rafale's to India for that exercise. Next bilateral exercise IAF will participate is Indradhanush 2010 sometime in September with the Royal Air Force.

First India C-130J in Full Color

2010-06-25T21:37:00.000-07:00

MARIETTA, Ga., , June 25th, 2010 -- The first Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] C-130J Super Hercules for India has completed painting at the company's Marietta, Ga., facility. The aircraft now enters flight test in preparation for delivery at the end of the year. The program for India includes six C-130Js, training of aircrew and maintenance technicians, spare parts, and ground support and test equipment. Also included is India-unique operational equipment designed to increase Special Operations capabilities.

Press release by Lockheed Martin, Copyrights Lockheed Martin

Exclusive Images: Exercise Garuda 2010

2010-06-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

Joint exercise Garuda between Indian Air Force, French Air Force and Singapore Air Force is in its final stage now. IAF has participated in over 60 missions covering various aspects of combat. More importantly IAF pilots got a first hand look at the Singapore Air Force's F-16 Block-52 which will be Pakistan Air Forces frontline fighter for the foreseeable future. According to reports IAF pilots flew in the F-16Blk-52 during the exercise. IAF pilots previously flew F-16's of Singapore in during joint Indo-Singapore exercises and Israeli F-16 sufa's way back in 2004-05. IAF has unofficially concluded that F-16 is similar in various aspects with the IAF's Mirage-2000.

MMRCA News Flash- Gripen passes Leh testing

2010-05-22T06:12:00.000-07:00

We have been informed that Gripen Demo which was here in India for MMRCA flight evaluation tests has successfully passed the tests at Leh. LiveFist report this event a few days back. Gripen was the last of six contenders to under go such tests in India. Indian Pilots already had good experience of the aircraft as they have flown it in Sweden reportedly in supercruise mode and of course many IAF pilots manged to get their hand on the Simulator when it was brought to India during Aero India 2007.

The prototype was flown from Sweden to India for this test and the the long flight was flawless according to SAAB. The test was to examine the capability of the contenders to restart engines at high altitudes in Leh. The aircraft is turned off for 2 hours and then its restarted. Low levels of oxygen at higher altitudes make it difficult for engines to restart. The Gripen Demo passed this tests with flying colors. The aircraft took off with 2 Iris-T short range IR guided missiles along with 1600kgs of external drop tank and full internal tank. Later on the performance tests were carried out at Adampur Air Force station in Punjab which also went smoothly. IAF pilots for all this time flew in rear seat observing and noting the aircrafts performance.

SAAB's Gripen has managed to stay in the lime light more than any other contenders through various promises, advertisements, Naval version of the aircraft and now with the FET. Fate of other five contenders on the trails is still not known with reports claiming 3 failed the tests. Decision on the tender will be taken in first quarter of 2011.

Image: CGI of Gripen in IAF colors by SAAB Group.

Sea Harrier's at Dabolim !

2010-05-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

Images by fen from flightcontrol.co.uk

Latest images of PAK-FA

2010-05-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

Images of Sukhoi PAK-FA from unknown source, images were reportedly taken on 14th of May.

LCH's first official flight postponed to 23rd of this month

2010-05-14T06:23:00.000-07:00

Angle of attack has been informed that the first official flight of the Light combat helicopter has been postponed to 23 rd May from 21st May which was reported by us previously. The first flight will take place in presence of Honorable Defense Minister AK Antony. Also on the same day a new Helicopter MRO (Maintenance, Repair and overhaul) division will also be inaugurated by the Defense Minister.

Image: CGI of LCH from soldierscorner.blogspot.com

PAF will not go 5th Generation anytime soon.

2010-05-12T19:51:00.000-07:00

IAF recently announced that it will start inducting 5th Generation Indo-Russian stealth fighters also know as PAK-FA or the FGFA into its inventory by 2018. This means IAF is the only Air force in the Sub-continent which has concrete plans to go 5th Generation and also probably in Asia. This news has sent jitters across the borders in Pakistan and as of now they don't have a suitable answer for this.

PAF is past few years has painstakingly closed the technological and quantitative gap it has with its longstanding rival the IAF. PAF has ordered 8 new AWACS from Sweden and China, more F-16's from USA, BVR missiles, new SAM's, upgraded its existing fleet of F-16s, its waiting for J-10B's and ofcourse its crown jewel and supposedly indigenous JF-17 "Thunder". However all these fighters are still nowhere near IAF's Su-30MKI which is technologically far superior. Also IAF's Phalcon system is considered to be second to none. However the PAF's modernization drive has certainly given it a edge which IAF must be closely observing.

Talking about the future, PAF's has far less scope of improving than the IAF. IAF in next 15 years will induct two different types 5th generation fighters where as PAF will induct none. However many Pakistani will respond to my above sentence as absurd because they believe they will get the F-35 from US, F-XX from China and new 5th Generation version of JF-17 soon. I can't help but laugh at this claims because I have very strong notions that all this will not happen because of very obvious reasons.

First lets talk about the Americans, the F-35 JSF is facing delays which is not financially good for the project. It has ordered some 2500 units and many more by partner countries. This means the productions line will be very busy until 2025 atleast. Each F-35 will cost well above 150million $ through out its life which Pakistan is not having and with current states of affair it will not have for atleast 10-15years to come. USA is also talking about exit plans from Afghanistan which would mean that Pakistan would be of lesser importance. Plus it would be hard to justify gifting the F-35 as the Taliban doesn't have a radar and the F-35 won't add to PAF's capability to fight the militants. So for now its a no for the F-35.

Second comes the the Chinese J-XX project. Well this is PAF only hope and in my opinion this will be the Pakistan's fifth generation fighter however doubts over it still remain. China's J-10 fighter is already having trouble with 4 confirmed crashes of which two were in-service fighters. According to a article published on 8ak.com the aircraft hasn't turned out to be as planned and has some serious flaws. Also according to CIA reports China is not technologically advance enough to built a 5th Generation fighter on its own. This is no surprise because China to this day hasn't built anything on its own. Reverse engineering only gives knowledge to build copies of the original product and the Chinese are paying its price now. But they should be able to start testing a fifth generation fighter by 2025 by hook or crook.

Last and the most hilarious of them all is the 5th Gen version of their JF-17 fighter aircraft. This aircraft is barely 4th generation and for its time is very much technologically old. However it still is very decent fighter for the PAF. The only problem with it is that it could not be made stealthy because the current airframe is far from stealthy. Making JF-17 stealthy would mean completely redesigning the aircraft which in itself means building a entirely new aircraft which Pakistan is not capable of doing.

The above reasons should make any neutral minded person if not me to believe that PAF will not get a fifth generation fighter atleast till 2030. So IAF should be able to maintain air dominance over sub-continental skies which it has held since 1971.

Images: Fictional computer generated images of JF-17 "Stealth" and J-XX.

LCH to make official first flight on 21st.

2010-05-09T07:07:00.000-07:00

Angle of attack has just being informed that the first official fight of the Light Combat Helicopter will take place on 21st of this month. The flight will take place in front VIPs, defense ministry officials and military officials. LCH has completed a few confidence building flight in and around HAL airport Bangaluru. LCH is expected to enter service before 2015.

Image of LCH.

Kaveri Update

2010-05-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

It seems like India's troubled jet engine program "Kaveri" is finally making some progress but the pace is still slow. Defense Minister AK Antony recently made comments on the engine in parliament. Meanwhile the efforts to install the Kaveri of a LCA seems to have been delayed.

In the parliament Defense Minister AK Antony said that there are issues with the weight of the Kaveri. Its more than 150 kgs heavy than planned and the performance of the engine has not reached 100% but is very near it. However the good news is that the tendency to throw blades is now rectified and the engine is safe. Another good news is that the engine sent to Russia for high altitude testing on-board a test bed has completed more than 100 hrs of "successful" testing. This brings the total testing hours close to the 2000 hrs mark.

However there are no plans to use the engine on-board the LCA and there is a very high possibility that the Kaveri Mk-2 would be reduced to just a technology demonstrator. However one LCA will definitely be powered by it and in future may be some UAV's and small naval vessels. The Japanese are also looking at the Kaveri to power their Stealth fighter prototypes but its highly unlikely that it would be chosen.

Image of GTX-35VS Kaveri engine from Bharat Rakshak.

Why India needs C-17's :-

2010-04-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

Times of India reported on 26th April that the US congress was notified on sale of C-17 transport aircraft to India. This report was received by hostility by most Indians who are unsatisfied by the price being offered which according to the article is 5.8 billion $. There is also some sense of lack of confidence towards the American's who have imposed sanctions on India in the past. However I feel that India needs the C-17 and it should be purchased.

Firstly its clearly mentioned in the article that the 5.8 billion $ price tag is the maximum possible price which America can earn, its not the price which is being negotiated. IAF is yet to put forward its requirements for spares and services which it will need. American equipments also traditionally have been expensive to purchase but cheap to maintain. They also provide large amount of spares and support equipments along with the initial purchases deal, this practice is not followed by the Russians hence Russian products have low contract price. The spares and supplies are purchased later on in a separate contract which generally goes unnoticed in the media. According to my estimate the contract price should be around 3 to 3.2 billion $.

India needs the capability offered by the C-17 as it wants to be a Global superpower. The capability of carrying 77 tones for 4500 kms is unmatched by any other aircraft in the world. The C-17 can also take-off and land from rough airstrips. Its powerful engines with thrust reversors make sure that the C-17 takes-off and lands in shortest possible distance. These capabilities will come in very handy if and when India has to go on a expeditionary mission. The C-17 has also proved itself in Afghanistan where is regularly carries heavy equipments to areas where no other aircraft can go.

Some have pointed out that the C-130J could be used for troop insertion operations but they forget that the C-130J is meant for special operations, it will carry small number of soldiers and light equipment ideal for covert special-ops. Some also said that at the price of 5.8 billion $ India can buy 50 Il-76 aircrafts which are currently in service with the IAF. Now buying 50 Il-76's is the worst decision the Ministry of Defense can take as the capabilities of the Il-76 are handicapped when compared with the C-17. The Il-76 can carry only half the amount of the payload and travels 900kms less. Plus the operational cost of the Il-76 should be more than that of the C-17 because this is typical to all the Russian aircrafts. IAF also can't send two aircraft to do the job as it adds risk. The payload management capability in C-17 is much better than the Il-76 and also needs less crew.

The only problem with the C-17 is that its a American product so it will come with lot of restrictions. But I believe that India industry is now mature enough to keep the C-17's flying if the American withdraw support. Second issue is the aerial refueling system of the C-17. Its uses the boom and receptacle configurations where as Indian Air Forces uses the probe and drogue configurations. IAF will lack the capability to refuel the C-17 mid-air which will be a big drawback. India should ask the Americans to change the refueling system on-board but looking at the number of units ordered by India this mostly won't happen. However in my personal opinion the C-17 is a good buy.

Image of a C-17 Globemaster III from aerospaceweb.org

LCA radar is not a AESA !

2010-04-25T06:30:00.000-07:00

Well it seems like the mystery has finally ended maybe a little on a sad note. As reported by us earlier that the radar recently tested on the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) being a AESA is wrong. It was justed informed to us that the radar tested was not a AESA but a hybrid of Elta- 2032.

The Radar is a mechanically steered multi-mode radar based on Israeli's Elta-2032 which currently in service on-board Indian Navy's Sea Harrier's. It was confirmed to us that the radar is 100% Indian with only the processor of Israeli origin. This radar will be used on the first 40 LCA's which are on order for the Indian Air force(IAF). Later on the LCA Mk-2's will have a AESA which is in works.

Angle of Attack apologizes for the misinforming before and letting the readers down. However with very little information coming out of HAL airport we did our best. But this still is a great achievement for the project and we wish all the best to the team for the coming future.

Images of Indian MMR and Elta-2032.

LCA Radar is a AESA.

2010-04-23T20:19:00.000-07:00

Angle of Attack has learnt that the Radar tested on India's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) was Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar. Complete information is still not available but it is confirmed that the radar was AESA bring India in a club of select few nations. So far only the Americans have a AESA radar in service on their F/A-18 Super Hornet and the F-22 Raptor. UAE also has AESA radar on their F-16 Block 60 which is also of American origin. Many other countries are currently testing and developing AESA radar.

According to past reports the AESA radar could have had a Indian Antenna, radome and scanner with a Israeli processor. This might be sketchy but this all Angle of Attack knows right now. The aircraft also had a new air data processor, Radar warning receiver and a new navigation and communication system bring the aircraft very close to its IOC standard.

Project director P.S Subramanyam said that all the testing necessary to receive the IOC certificate are done except the flight testing and demonstration of sensors and weapon performance which will be done once LSP-4 and LSP-5 start flying. According to him LSP-4 will be ready in a month and the LSP-5 will be ready a week later after LSP-4. Hence we can conclude that IOC certificate could be received by the Tejas within 6-7 months from now.

Angle of Attack will relay more info as soon as it gets it.

Images from acig.org and Bharat-Rakshak.

LCA makes history !

2010-04-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

India's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) made history today which is flew for first time with a radar on-board. LCA took to air today morning with a "Elta" radar on-board. But its still not clear which radar was it. The test flight lasted for some 52 minutes and according to some reports the LCA cruised for 40 minutes at a speed of Mach 0.8. Angle of Attack is in process of getting more info on the radar and will update soon.

LCA Radar testing today !

2010-04-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

The long wait finally ends, Aviation Week has reported that the LCA will fly today with a Multi-Mode Radar onboard. But there is catch, according to the report the radar is not the Indian MMR but a Israeli Elta-2032. There is still widespread confusion in the media as to which radar will be fitted on the LCA Mk-1. Today's test will be on the LSP-3 as it was said by the HAL before.

Today's test should clear the confusion as to which radar the LCA Mk-1 will carry. The confusion was created as soon as the LRDE said that the MMR was delayed and with reports suggesting that the Israeli radars will be used on the LCA. With almost everybody agreeing to it there was new catch. Some reports said that the Israeli radar will be the Elta 2032 where as some report suggested that it will be the advance Elta 2052 AESA radar which the IAI is desperately trying to sell.

But a few months back there was another news article which said that the Indian MMR was ready and will be tested soon. Angle of Attack was informed that the MMR faced integration problems when the cooling system was not functioning properly which resulted in delay of testing. According to a HAL engineer the Indian MMR is also AESA which might be true with so much confusion and a abnormal silence by HAL on this matter.

What every it is Angle of Attack will be one of the first to clear the confusion, more accurate information will be available if the today's test takes place. Today's test is some what on the weather's mercy but there is hope that the skies will be clear in Bangaluru today. All the tests necessary to receive the IOC are completed and only the radar testing phase remains.

Hitler's Stealth Fighter-Bomber !

2010-04-17T21:51:00.000-07:00

It has been 65 years since the World War 2 ended but the legacy of the war lives on be it in the memory of those brave men who fought in war or in the holocaust. Today we all rightfully consider Hitler the greatest villain of all time but sometimes evil ends up building better than the good. The case of Horten Ho-229 is the best example of such a event. Not many knew about its existence but the National Geographic Channel increased the awareness of what is believed to the world first stealth aircraft.

Horten Ho-229 also known as Horten Ho IX or the Gotha Go 229 was developed by the Horten brother to meet the demands of Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring. Goring wanted a aircraft which could carry a payload of 1000kgs, travel a distance of 1000kms at the speed of 1000 kmph. Horten brothers decided to take up the challenging task. The brothers had no formal education in aircraft building neither had built jet power fighters before.

Horten Ho-229 was a tailless flying wing design which would later on influence the design of Northrop XB-35, YB-49 and the B-2 Spirit Bomber. The design of the 229 was shaped by its engine the Junkers Jumo 004B turbojets which could propel any aircraft at high speed but would limit the range because of its fuel guzzling nature. It was decided that a flying wing design would significantly reduce the drag lowering the power needed ultimately reducing the fuel consumption. The construction of the aircraft was mixture of steel and wood. The wings were made up of two carbon impregnated plywood. The aircraft was designed to withstand a 7G load factor and was controlled by elevons and spoilers.

The performance of the aircraft was never tested to its limit but it was estimated it could fly at speed 1024 kmph at range of 1900 kms and altitude of 52000 feet's. 229 also carried two 1000 kg bombs and two 30mm cannons. The first glider prototype flew on 1st March 1944, another prototype with engines flew in February 1945. A prototyped crashed killing the pilot but the testing work on the aircraft continued. Stealth was achieved using charcoal and sawdust glue which absorbed the electromagnetic waves of British early warning radars. The flying wing design was also inherently known to reduce the radar cross section. The theory was tested by Northrop Grumman in 2008 and proved that the aircraft had 40% less radar signature.

The aircraft had the potential to win the war but like the Me-262 and many other German weapons it came too late to save the Hitler's Germany. The aircraft was captured by the Americans under the Operation Paperclip which was meant to capture all the German technological advances before the Soviets did. The captured airframes were sent to Northrop Corp for further study. Two surviving prototypes are currently in US.

For detail information read this article. For more Images visit here.

PAF fighter practice landing on highways !

2010-04-02T21:22:00.000-07:00

PAF fighter practiced landing, refueling, arming and relaunching procedures from Islamabad-Lahore motorway under the ongoing High Mark 2010 exercise. A Chinese built F-7 and a French Mirage - Rose fighter was used in this exercise.

Mirage Upgrade Part-3: TopOwl-F HMSD

2010-04-01T21:24:00.000-07:00

TopOwl-F is already in service with Indian Navy on their MiG-29K fighter.

From Thales Group.

LCH first glimpse !!!

2010-03-30T06:01:00.001-07:00

LCH first flight confirmed !

2010-03-30T05:52:00.000-07:00

HAL has finally confirmed that the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) was tested for the first time yesterday. This news was made public by Angle of Attack yesterday at 5.46 Global time ahead of everybody. It was confirmed that the LCH took off the ground yesterday at HAL airport in Bangalore for the first time but It was a unofficial flight. Official flight will take place in April in front of VIP's and military staff.

No Pictures were released yesterday, they will be released along with the official test flight. According to sources the LCH did slow speed maneuvers at an altitude of 20 meters. According to LiveFist blog the pilot of the aircraft was Wing Commander Unni Pillai. Every objective of the test flight was achieved and further such test flights will be conducted ahead of the official test flight.

The aircraft was painted black in colour with Tiger heads on both the sides of the cockpit, similar to this picture . According to the engineers associated with the project the aircraft looked better than the best attack helicopters in the world. From the crew of Angle of Attack and the whole of India- many congratulations to HAL and all the people associated with the project.

LCH makes first flight ?

2010-03-29T05:46:00.000-07:00

In what appears to be a major achievement for HAL and the Indian military aviation sector ,the country's first indigenously developed attack helicopter, the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) has made its maiden test flight. According to unconfirmed sources the LCH serial number "ZP 4601" took to skies today.

LCH will form the backbone of the Indian Air Force and Indian Army which are currently operating some 80 Soviet Era Mi-24's and Mi-35's. Both the Russian attack helicopters are getting old and obsolete and with Pakistani Air Force upgrading their American Cobra Attack helicopter their is serious gap in capabilities which LCH is supposed to fill.

LCH was undergoing extensive ground trails since February 4 and many were expecting it to take to skies in that month itself. The program was delayed for more than a year because of weight issues but its seems like most problems are solved now. The current prototype being tested is a non-weaponized version meant to test only the basic structure of the helicopter. Next two prototypes are expected to be weaponized. LCH will need many more hours of testing before it receives its final operation certificate. Both the Army and the Air Force have heavily invested in the project with 189 on order. LCH is expected to enter service by 2015.

Mirage Upgrade Part-2: Electronic Warfare

2010-03-26T06:08:00.000-07:00

Sourced from Thales group.

Next up is the Top-owl-F HMDS which is part of the upgrade.

Mirage Upgrade Part-1: RDY-2 Radar

2010-03-21T04:46:00.000-07:00

PAK-FA in camouflage !

2010-03-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

AIRCRAFT ACQUISITION / UPGRADATION PLANS OF INDIAN NAVY

2010-03-13T05:25:00.000-08:00

􀂾 Long Range Maritime Patrol :

8 P-8 I Boeing

5 IL-38 retro-fitted with the ‘Sea Dragon’ suite

􀂾 Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance :

11 Dorniers ex HAL Kanpur

06 being procured through global tendering

􀂾 Helos :

16 Multi Role Helicopers to replace Seakings (A/B)

47 Advance Light Helicopter to replace Chetaks

􀂾 Fighters :

16 + 29 MIG 29K

􀂾 Training :

17 Advance Jet Trainers ex HAL

Complete naval status and review along with 2010 schedule of naval exercises and vessel induction is available here.

Mayavi Electronic Warfare System

2010-03-11T01:24:00.000-08:00

In mid 2006 it was reported that India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas will have a sophisticated electronic warfare system for both offensive and defensive purpose. A agreement was Signed between Defense Research and Development Organizations Laboratory, the Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) and Elisra group which is owned Elbit System of Israel. The Joint venture will give birth to the "Mayavi" EWS which will be used by Indian Air Force on the Tejas and the Israeli Air Force on their F-35 JSF which its purchasing from USA. Mayavi is supposed to be the most effective Electronic warfare system when it enters service.

FEATURES:

1. It will have Radar Warning Receiver to detect Radio waves. This will notify the pilot when he is being engaged by either radar lock or missile attack.

2. It will have Self Protection Jammer for radar deception. This will jam ground based radars, on-board radars and incoming missile by interfering with its radio frequency.

3. It will have Laser Warning System to detect laser emission of laser guided weapons.

4. It will have Missile Approach Warning System which will automatically detect incoming missiles of all types and warn the pilot.

5. It will have a standard chuff/ flare deployment system which is common on most fighter today.

WORK-SHARING:

Under the agreement the work was done at the DARE laboratory in Bangalore with 70 % funding done by the Indian side and remaining by the Israeli. Under the agreement Elisra produced the the missile approach system and jamming pods where as DARE undertook the job of developing its cooling system, electromagnetic interference and susceptibility system as well as integration of all the systems on the aircraft. The Joint venture is believed to be in its final stages.

CONCLUSION:

Mayavi looks promising venture to me and should give the LCA a lethal edge over its possible rivals like the JF-17 and the J-10 which have a relatively immature EWS. This system will also provide great deal of defensive capability to the Tejas against enemy Surface to air missiles and advance air to air missiles. In today's ever complicated battle field where advancement and complexity provides the best results the Mayavi will provide a great sense of confidence in the pilots as it is cutting edge and complex. It will be the most advance EWS system in the world when it service and I won't be surprised if IAF orders it on their Su-30MKI and FGFA jointly developed with Russia.

IAF Mishap Report -2009

2010-03-10T03:57:00.000-08:00

The year 2009 was not good for Indian Air Force as It lost 11 aircrafts including 7 fighters, 2 trainers 1 UAV and 1 transporter. Loss of human life was also very high with 18 personnels killed in these mishaps, no civilian deaths were reported. The infamous MiG-21 crashed 4 times during the year which is a grim reminder that IAF desperately needs to replace them and that to very soon.

However the highlight of the year was the worlds safest fighter aircraft and the pride of the IAF suffered a huge dent in its image. Two Su-30MKIs were lost during the year killing one pilot, a Wing Commander. The first crash was due to accidental turning off of the Fly-By-Wire system. However in this same crash co-pilot Wing Com P.S Nara was killed due to faulty ejection seat. The second crash happened on Nov 30 because of a fire in the engine. In this case both the pilots ejected safely.

Second major highlight of the year was a loss of a An-32 which was lost in a mountainous region of Arunachal Pradesh. This crash killed 13 personnels who were travelling aboard among which many were high ranking officers. This crash was by far the most deadly crash IAF suffered during the year.

The complete list of crashes suffered by IAF is as follows:

[1]
Date: January 21
Aircraft: Kiran Mk-II
Deaths: 1 Pilot [Wing Commander R.S. Dhaliwal]
Damage to property: None
Cause: N/A
Comments: The aircraft crashed at 8.35 a.m. shortly after it took off from the Bidar Air Force Station (about 750km from here), on a regular training sortie. The pilot died instantaneously when the jet crashed. It caught fire soon after it got airborne from the air base. The aircraft belonged to the Suryakiran Aerobatic team of the IAF.
[2]
Date: January 21
Aircraft: Unidentified UAV
Deaths: None
Damage to property: None
Cause: N/A
Comments: The UAV crashed in the state of West Bengal.
[3]
Date: April 30
Aircraft: Sukhoi Su-30 MKI
Death: 1 Pilot [Wing Commander P S Nara]
Damage to property: None
Cause: Pilot error, defects in rear ejection seat.
Comments: This is the first crash of a SU-30MKI, which was inducted into the IAF in 1997. The aircraft was on a routine training mission when it crashed 70 kms southeast of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.
[4]
Date: May 15
Aircraft: MiG 27
Death: None, 7 injured including one 2 year old.
Damage to property: The aircraft crashed on a under construction building.
Cause: N/A
Comments:The MiG-27 pilot, a squadron leader, ejected out of the cockpit safely just before the aircraft crashed between 8.10 hours and 8.20 hours in Konkani village in Luni, near Jodhpur, while on a routine sortie.
[5]
Date: May 27
Aircraft: MiG 21 Bison
Death: None
Damage to Property: None
Cause: N/A
Comments: The war plane, which had taken off for a routine sortie in the forenoon from the Jodhpur airbase, crashed on a barren stretch land in Luni village in Mordijoshyan, near Jodhpur.

[6]
Date: June 9
Aircraft: An 32
Deaths: 13 personnels dead including high ranking officers.
Damage to property: None
Cause: N/A
Comments: An Indian air force Antonov An-32 transport has been reported missing in the country's northern Arunachal Pradesh state and is believed to have crashed in the mountainous region. The aircraft, which is reported to have 13 people on board, was on its way to Jorhat in Assam state from the Mechuka air strip in West Siang, close to the Indo-Chinese border.
It went missing around 14:00 Indian time and air force helicopters were sent to comb the area and search for the aircraft. The wreckage was later found.
[7]
Date: June 18
Aircraft: MiG-21 Type 77
Deaths: None
Cause: Engine Flame out
Comments: The type-77 aircraft, which took off from the Chabua airbase around 1400 hrs crashed immediately after take off near the airbase after it experienced a technical snag.The aircraft, sources said, was on a training sortie when the mishap occurred, the sources said.“The pilot reported the technical error to the airbase and later jettisoned the aircraft,” an IAF source added.
[8]
Date: July 31
Aircraft: HPT-32
Deaths: 2 Pilots
Cause: Mechanecial Failure
Comments: The mishap occurred at about 9.45am when the HPT-32 training aircraft belonging to Air Force Academy Dundigal (located on the city's outskirts) crashed in an open ground at Annaram village of Jinnaram Mandal near the academy.Two instructors Ritin Jain and Chaturvedi were killed on the spot, the police officer said adding "the exact cause of the crash was not known yet."

[9]
Date: September 10
Aircraft: MiG-21 Type 90
Deaths: 1 Pilot - Flt Lt Manu Akhouri aged 23
Cause: N/A
Comments:Eyewitnesses said the pilot tried to eject from the aircraft but before his parachute could open, there was a big blast and the MiG blew up. Those who saw the horror said the deceased had saved many civilians by paying with his life. PRO Flt Lt Priya Jyoti, describing the aircraft as Type 90, said a court of inquiry had been ordered. Occurring about 15 km from Bhisiana, the accident was believed to have killed the trained test pilot from Jharkhand on spot, with his badly mutilated body found lying in a paddy field near Bhaliana village on Muktsar-Bathinda road. “The aircraft was about to fall on a house in Bhaliana but the pilot succeeded in proceeding towards a road, where again he prevented the jet from hitting a petrol pump before trying to eject,” said Thana. The blast was apparently so forceful that debris scattered in an area
of 100m. Another eyewitness Jang Singh added, “Seconds before the crash, the aircraft was very close to hitting a private bus on Muktsar-Bathinda road but it was the skill of the deceased which saved many lives.”
[10]
Date:October 23
Aircraft: MiG-21
Deaths: None
Cause: N/A
Comments:MiG 27 aircraft of IAF crashed near New Jalpaiguri about 16 Kms West of Hashimara airbase at about 1310 hrs. The Pilot, who got airborne for a routine flying training sortie, ejected safely.
[11]
Date: November 30
Aircaft: Sukhoi-30MKI
Deaths: None, both Pilots ejected to safety
Cause: Fire in the engine/s
Comments: The aircraft crashed in Rajasthan at around 4.30-4.45pm.The ill-fated aircraft was identified as a HAL built aircraft meaning it was realtively new. The Pilot ejected when fire warning system "Natasha" warned pilots, the pilots saw the engine/s on fire and ejected.

CONCLUSION:

The year suggested that IAF is again suffering form safety issues which it tried to solve and succeeded to a extent post Rang De Basanti time frame. Another major point is that most aircrafts lost during the year were from Western Air Command (WAC) which had a crash-less record during the period of 2008. The first crash of the Su-30MKI was a avoidable mishap as the control systems were not placed outside the cockpit which is the case in most western aircrafts. Necessary steps are being taken by IAF to avoid such mistakes in the future. The grounding of the entire basic trainer trainer fleet is also a sad reminder that IAF training fleet in a dire need of replacement and modernization but looking at the way things turned up with BAe Hawk certainly says that it will take longer than expected time to return to normalcy. However positive sign in all of this is the arrival of LCA Tejas which will replace the MiG-21 and its a general belief that this will solve a major chunk of safety issues which IAF is currently facing.

Note:

The comment section of the above list is a mixture of news article extracts and personal inputs. Causes of many crashes is still not know to general public because of lack of information on the internet.

Next up is a short insight into LCA's Mayavi electronic warfare system.

Welcome to Angle of Attack !

2010-03-07T03:45:00.000-08:00

Hi my name is Pratik Sawerdekar and I have been observing the field the military aviation since the age of 10. All these years I have closely observed the growth and changes in Indian and International military aviation. I have started this blog to share my views on the latest happenings and advancement. I will regularly post news updates , personal analysis, direct comparisons, etc.

First up is analysis of Indian Air force mishaps in the Year 2010. This article will be posted over here by Thursday or even before so stay tuned for that.

My intention is to update regular readers with limited knowledge of this field to better understand the working and happenings of Indian Military Aviation. Readers are free to comment and criticize my articles in a healthy way. This blog is still under construction and will take some time to settle down, I hope you remain patient.

Thank you and keep visiting !