India y su industria aeronáutica

[champi]

Rusia suministrará a la India 29 cazas por un total de $1,5 mil millones: http://sp.rian.ru/onlinenews/20100312/125456024.html

Nueva Delhi, 12 de marzo, RIA Novosti. Rusia firmó hoy con la India un contrato por $1,5 mil millones para suministrar 29 cazas MiG-29K de emplazamiento en buques, informó hoy el director general de la corporación aeronáutica MiG, Mijaí­l Pogosián.

Precisó que la entrega de esa partida comenzará en 2012 y que el contrato anterior, que prevé el suministro de 16 cazas del mismo tipo, deberá ser cumplido antes del fin de año.

Con esta nueva entrega tendrán en total 45 aeronaves, y las de este lote les salen a casi a $52 millones la unidad. Por otro lado, también compran AW101 para transporte guvernamental: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/20 ... nment.html

The Indian air force has signed a €560 million ($770 million) contract for 12 AgustaWestland AW101 three-engined utility helicopters that will be used for government transport. The contract includes logistics support and aircrew and technician training.

Éstos les salen a $64 millones todo incluí­do (más caros que los Mig-29K )

[Orel]

29 Mig-29K más, la modernización de los Mirage 2000 y quieren comprar 42 Su-30MKI más... nada mal...

India set to buy 42 more Russian Su-30 fighter jets

New Delhi: India and Russia are negotiating a new contract on the delivery of 42 Su-30MKI to the Indian Air Force, an Indian newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing military sources.

According to the Daily News and Analysis newspaper, the new deal, which is reportedly worth more than $3 billion, has been in the works for several months.

The new air-superiority fighters will come on top of the 230 already contracted from Russia in three deals worth a total of $8.5 billion.
....
The Indian Air Force currently has about 100 Su-30MKIs, mainly deployed at airbases close to the borders with China and Pakistan.

http://www.defencetalk.com/india-to-buy ... ets-24673/

[champi]

Algo sobre el Gripen en la India: http://www.airforce-technology.com/news/news80534.html

Initial flight tests were carried out at Jaisalmer Air Force Station (AFS) in Bangalore, where the aircraft underwent various air-to-air refuelling and flying manoeuvres.

The IAF's MMRCA team will now complete flight tests over Pokhran and Leh, following which, the aircraft will be shifted to Jamnagar AFS and then to an air base in Sweden.

One of the Gripens will undertake hot weather trials in and around Jaisalmer AFS, and later perform a dummy run and bomb drop at the Pokhran test range.

The other fighter, as part of the cold weather trials, will land in Leh, switch off, refuel and then take off again, according to The Hindu.

Los MiG-29 actualizados llevarán IFF de Thales: http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articl ... ig_29.html

Thales has been awarded a contract by Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG (RSK-MiG) to deliver IFF1 Combined Interrogator Transponder (CIT) and Cryptographic National Secure Mode (NSM), for the retrofit of the MiG-29 multi-role fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

The first CIT will be delivered to RSK-MiG in 2010 and the first building block of a comprehensive secure identification capability in India mid-2011.

The IFF CIT equipment chosen in the TSB 2500 family offers a modern digital identification capability, compliant with the NATO Standard MKXA2modes. It will enable Indian Air Force MiG-29 fighter aircraft to be interoperable with western military aircrafts and so to avoid friendly fire.

Moreover, the cryptographic mode will offer India a first national secure identification capability for protecting its own assets. According to the contract, Thales will deliver IFF for the whole Indian fleet of 63 MiG-29.

[champi]

Parece ser que 4 de los participantes en el concurso MMRCA fallaron en las pruebas en Leh ( situada a 10.400 ft): http://www.thehindu.com/2010/03/23/stor ... 522200.htm

Ministry of Defence officials familiar with the MMRCA trials told The Hindu that while they expect no hiccups during the weapons drop over Pokhran, the Leh exercise proved challenging to the other contenders vying for the MMRCA deal.

The officials confided that four of the five aircraft in the MMRCA competition faced problems starting up in the rarefied atmosphere of Leh, and the IAF had to ask the manufacturers to undertake modifications in the aircraft's fuel systems. The Gripen's evaluation is part of the MMRCA flight trials, which started in August last, when the F/A-18 Hornets arrived here. These were followed by another American fighter, the F-16IN Super Viper. In September, the French Rafale flew over Bangalore. It was followed by Russia's MiG-35 and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space consortium's Eurofighter Typhoon flew in March.

Sólo uno ha pasado las pruebas (el Gripen no cuenta, ya que llegó posteriormente a la noticia), y muy posiblemente sea el Mig-35 (el mig-29 opera en Leh). Los demás necesitarí­an cambios en el sistema de combustible.

[champi]

El Kaveri volará por fin el mes que viene, en un Il-76: http://bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=12687

"Kaveri engine will be flight-tested in one-and-half months... Should be after middle of May," Director of Bangalore-based Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), a DRDO lab, T Mohana Rao, said.

It would be flight-tested using the IL-76 aircraft in Russia, he said. The Kaveri engine, meant for India's fighter jet, the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, has completed all simulation and altitude tests. The altitude tests in Russia in February were a "grand success", he said.
GTRE officials said around Rs 3,000 crore has been spent on the Kaveri project.

Rao said GTRE is now looking to reduce the weight of the Kaveri engine to 50 kg from 60 kg. "It has to be fine-tuned. We will go in for lot of optimisation in future".

[champi]

El coste del desarrollo del Tejas ya supera al del Gripen, y se extenderá hasta 2018 : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 813290.cms

NEW DELHI: The overall developmental cost of Tejas Light Combat Aircraft has quietly zoomed past the Rs 13,000-crore mark, with the government sanctioning the extension of the fighter's "full-scale engineering development'' (FSED) till December 31, 2018.

This, in effect, means the Tejas developmental saga will now stretch across 35 years, sanctioned as the project was way back in 1983 at a cost of Rs 560 crore to replace the ageing MiG-21s.
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The project, after all, includes single-seater IAF, twin-seater trainer and naval LCA variants. With Tejas prototypes clocking 1,350 flights till now, the "final operational clearance'' for the IAF variant is now slated for December 2012.

"So, IAF should have its first Tejas squadron of 20 fighters by 2014-15. Even Swedish Gripen fighter's developmental cost was around Rs 12,640 crore,'' said an official.

India, however, is now going in for foreign engines to power even the Tejas Mark-II version after the indigenous Kaveri engine failed to pass muster after 20 years of development at a cost of Rs 2,839 crore.

Consequently, while the first 20 Tejas will be powered by the American GE-404 engines, the hunt is on for new more powerful engines for the next six Tejas Mark-II squadrons (16-18 jets in each).

The Rs 13,000-crore mark for the LCA project is breached even if the Kaveri fiasco is kept aside. For one, the FSED Phase-I, which finished in March 2004, cost Rs 2,188 crore.

The Phase-II, which was to be completed by December 2008 at a cost of Rs 3,301 crore, will now get over in December 2012, with additional funds of Rs 2,475 crore.

Moreover, in November last year, the government "accorded'' sanction for "continuing FSED of LCA till December 2018, with an estimated additional cost of Rs 5,302 crore''.

PD: 13.000 crore = $2.922 millones (€2.158 millones).

[champi]

40 Su-30MkI indios se equiparán con el Brahmos: http://bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=12780

BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, which is a joint venture of India and Russia, will be fitted on the Indian Air Force's 40 Su-30MKIs fighter aircraft.

CEO and MD of BrahMos Aerospace Dr A S Pillai said: "The inclusion of BrahMos cruise missile will make the aircraft unique in firepower."

Dr Pillai was speaking to a Russian news agency at the Defence Services Asia-2010 exhibition here.
He also added that the first trials of the air-launched version were set for 2011 and the first test-flight with the missile on-board is scheduled for 2012.

[champi]

Vuela el noveno Tejas de pruebas (nº 3 de la Serie Limitada de Producción): http://frontierindia.net/defense/indian ... s-to-skies

Indian military aviation R&D got a boost today as the Limited Series Production (LSP) # 3 aircraft, the ninth test vehicle joined the flight line to undertake development flight trials of the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas towards operational clearance for induction in the IAF by the end of the year. Successful, copy book maiden test flight of LSP-3 is significant on many counts.

The LSP-3 is a quantum jump in terms of the equipment fit on the aircraft. It is almost the final configuration including the new air-data computers, Multi Mode Radar, new communication and navigation equipment and radar warning receiver. With this successful flight, the LCA (Tejas) programme is very close to the Initial Operations Clearance, which is to be completed by December 2010. The remaining effort is mostly the flight testing and demonstration of sensors and weapon performance.

The test aircraft was flown by Wg Cdr G Thomas, VM of the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC) at ADA. As per procedure the first flight was accompanied by a chase aircraft which was a Tejas Trainer flown by Gp Capt RR Tyagi, the Chief Test Pilot and Wg Cdr (Retd) PK Raveendran SC, the Group Director (Flight Test). The test flight was conducted from the Telemetry station by the Test Director, Wg Cdr S Toffeen, under the supervision of Air Cmde Rohit Varma VM, the Project Director (Flight Test). The flight took off from HAL airport in Bangalore and all the objectives of the flight were met within the duration of 52 minutes.
With this flight the total number of test flights accumulated across nine test vehicles of the Tejas programme has reached one thousand three hundred and fifty and has logged about 800 hrs of flight.

Sobre el radar: http://bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=12789

India's Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is set to fly today for the first time with the Israeli Elta Multi-Mode Radar (MMR) onboard.

Algo sobre la participación de Thales en la modernización del Mig-29: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/bus ... 52092.html

The jet's manufacturer, Russian Aircraft Corporation, MiG (RSK-MiG), has chosen Thales to provide the Combined Interrogator Transponder (CIT) and Cryptographic National Secure Mode (NSM) as part of the MiG-29's retrofit to enhance their capabilities and increase their service life, a Thales statement said.

The cryptographic mode will equip India with the first national secure identification capability for protecting its own assets.

Under the latest contract, Thales is set to deliver the first IFF (identification friend or foe) CIT to MiG in 2010, with the initial building block of a comprehensive secure identification capability delivered in mid-2011.
...
Thales will also supply the IAF's MiG-29 fighters with the TOTEM 3000 latest generation Inertial Navigation and Global Positioning System.

In addition, Thales is also equipping the Indian Navy's newly acquired MiG-29KUB aircraft with the Topsight E helmet-mounted sight/display (HMS/D), for which it successfully completed integration phase with the aircraft in November 2009.

[champi]

Un vistazo a la SPS's Aviation de este mes, que habla entre otras cosas de las relaciones comerciales Rusia-India:

There can be little doubt that the mega deals of the 1990s with the trend continuing in the current millennium have played a key role in the survival of the Russian defence industry. But the rules of the game have changed considerably from the Russian side and needs to be looked at afresh from India's point of view if it wants to achieve the goals of self-reliance in the defence industry and become a major power by creating multi-layered geopolitical balances in a rapidly emerging polycentric world.

A hard relook at the Indo-Russian partnership reveals that while the special relationship in defence cooperation still exists between the two countries, India no longer enjoys the earlier advantage of soft loans and easy NCR payments. Actually, the business is conducted in a very different environment of hard-nosed bargaining. Russians are still learning the nuances of capitalist market economy. The arbitrary bargaining has on many occasions confounded and dismayed their In- dian counterparts. Russia's insistence on almost doubling the rate of escalation in the Su-3o MKI deal in a contract which had been signed and sealed is an example. Similarly, the entire defence community in India was aghast at the way the Russians kept increasing the cost and timeframes for delivery in the Gorshkov (INS Vikramaditya) deal. In both these cases, the Indian authorities need to be complemented for showing a great deal of patience and accommodating the somewhat skewed and unjust demands, contrary to ethical conduct of business in a free market scenario. The situation seems to be that while the Russians may have converted to free market economy, they are still reluctant to embrace in totality the business norms, such as competitive bidding and tendering, etc. They still prefer the government-to-government deals in single-vendor scenarios, without having to prove their equipment in open-ended competitions. It must be stated that the Russian weapon systems have generally performed to the standards claimed by the manufacturers and the services, and especially the Army and the Navy have been quite satisfied with the Russian products. However, it is the IAF which has encountered difficulties in maintaining the inevitably technology-intensive combat equipment, specifically, in the area of avionics. For instance, it is a well-known fact that the Russian airborne interception radars such as the KOPYO radar fitted on upgraded MiG-21 Bison or NO10/11 multi-mode radar of Su-30 MKI, though highly capable, are not very reliable resulting in substantially diminished serviceability states and flight-line availability of aircraft. In comparison, Western equipment such as the RDM multi-mode radar fitted on Mirage 2000 score heavily due to their persistent reliability. Viewed at the macro level, these differences would have a substantial impact—while calculating overall attributes of defence equipment —such as the life cycle costs, etc.

With newly found accessibility in the global arms market, it is for Indian defence planners to decide whether to continue to put all eggs in the Russian basket, or, more prudently, tap all the world players and select what is best for the Indian armed forces. The IAF's MMRCA programme is a shining example where combat jet fighters of six leading global manufacturers (including the Russian MiG-35) are competing in, what is touted by the Ministry of Defence, as a fair, transparent and level playing field. It is hoped that the programme will be taken to its logical conclusion and the IAF will get a state-of-the-art, “best value for money”combat aircraft to fulfill its operational requirements. Besides, it is hoped that the MMRCA deal will not be one of its kind and the other projects on similar lines would follow suit.

However, in the final analysis, India would have to strike a fine balance keeping in view the requirements of the armed forces on one hand and geopolitical compulsions of a multipolar world on the other. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also remarked once that the nation should be able to derive maximum possible geopolitical mileage from defence deals. In such a scenario, India's special defence and security re- lationship with Russia, and the fact that Russia is the only country which provides support to India in defence projects where no other country ventures, would have to be given due cognizance. Russia's joint venture for the fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) and leasing of a nuclear submarine are classic examples of extraordinary defence cooperation between the two countries. Russia, on its part, would have to treat India as an equal partner and not merely as a subordinate client, while sharing the technological knowhow for co- development and co-production of future weapon systems, without resorting to financial arms-twisting. Only then can the Indo-Russian strategic partnership and defence relationship develop to its full potential.

Respecto al concurso MMRCA, y en relación al F-16IN, se dice que las contrapartidas equivalen al 50%, lo que a primera vista no parece mucho. Además, y respecto a la compra ya materializada de 6 C-130J, se da el precio a proximado de $1.000 millones, con entregas a partir de diciembre (unos $167 millones la unidad ).

Y una perla:

Orville Prins, Vice President, Business Development '' India, Lockheed Martin while updating the Indian media in Dallas, Texas said that the IAF is also looking at the feasibility of incorporating KC-130J Super Hercules Tactical Air Refueller Aircraft. “The Indian Navy too also enquired about the F-35 aircraft manufactured by us,”added Prins.

¿Os imaginais al PAK-FA y al F-35 volando bajo la misma bandera?

[champi]

India confirma planes para retirar los Mig-21 más viejos: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/20 ... g-21s.html

The oldest type in the air force inventory is the MiG-21 and these are being phased out, Antony says. The service has about 200 MiG-21s, most of which were made under licence by India's Hindustan Aeronautics.

An upgrade programme was performed on 121 of the aircraft several years ago, adding equipment including a Phazotron Kopyo radar. Unmodified examples will be phased out within the next three years, say Indian sources, with the improved MiG-21 Bisons likely to remain in use until 2017.

La India abre un concurso para comprar 50 helicópteros utilitarios ligeros: http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i= ... =ASI&s=AIR

By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI
Published: 27 Apr 2010 12:16

NEW DELHI - The Indian Navy has issued a request for information (RfI) to four companies to purchase 50 light utility helicopters.

The RfI was sent to France's Eurocopter, Italy's AgustaWestland, the United States' Bell Helicopter and Russia's Kamov Co. The helicopters are intended to replace aging Chetak helicopters bought 30 years ago.
...
The Navy is looking for a modern twin-engine helicopter with fully integrated advanced avionics. The Navy requires the helicopters to have controls for two pilots but be capable of being operated by a single pilot. The helicopters should have the capability of carrying out anti-submarine attacks with torpedoes and depth charges, in addition to anti-terrorism and anti-piracy roles, a Navy official said.

The helicopters will be used for search-and-rescue missions, casualty evacuation, observation and surveillance, and limited electronic intelligence gathering.

Y la última, el MMRCA podrí­a retrasarse otro año más: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-0 ... -bids.html

April 27 (Bloomberg) -- India will miss a deadline tomorrow to complete the world's biggest fighter-jet purchase in 15 years, risking a possible $1 billion price increase as Boeing Co. and five rival manufacturers resubmit bids.

India's Air Force is still conducting flight trials for competing jets from Boeing, Lockheed Martin Corp. and four European companies, two years after accepting price quotes for 126 warplanes that the government said should cost about $10 billion. The bids expire April 28 and the Defense Ministry has asked manufacturers to submit offers for an additional year, its spokesman, Sitanshu Kar, said in a phone interview in New Delhi.
“The companies have been informed by the government that they can extend their bid for one more year,”Kar said. “They have the option of increasing or decreasing their price.”

The delay in buying what India describes as “multi-role combat aircraft”may raise the government's eventual cost, said Mrinal Suman, a retired Indian army major general and arms procurement analyst. “By the recent track record, the cost of these aircraft generally goes up by 7 percent to 10 percent each year,”Suman said in a phone interview.

India's failure to choose a plane within the planned two years “highlights that this is by far the biggest, most complex arms purchase India has ever undertaken,”said Suman, who monitors weapons procurement for the Confederation of Indian Industry.

De momento, desde Saab ya han dicho que no subirán el precio, pero Locheed Martin dice que va a "actualizar". Del resto no se sabe nada...

[danardS]

Interesantí­simo debate en el foro de las FAS españolas, protagonizado por polluelo y Martin.
El enunciado es,IAS,TAS Y MACH.

[champi]

Proyectos indios y sus retrasos: http://www.defense-aerospace.com/articl ... jects.html

(Source: Press Information Bureau India; issued May 5, 2010)

Some of the major delayed projects of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) with original and revised cost, and Probable Date of Completion (PDC) are given below:

Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Full Scale Engineering Development (FSED) Programme '' Phase II:
Date of sanction - 20 November 2001
Original PDC - 31 December 2008
Revised PDC - 31 December 2012
Original Cost - Rs. 3301.78 cr ($727,3 millones)
Revised Cost - Rs. 5777.56 cr ($1.272,6 millones)

Full Scale Engineering Development (FSED) Programme of Naval Light Combat Aircraft (LCA-Navy):
Date of sanction - 28 March 2003
Original PDC - 27 March 2010
Revised PDC - 27 December 2014
Original Cost - Rs. 948.90 cr ($209 millones)
Revised Cost - Rs. 1714.98 cr ($377,7 millones)

Interception, Monitoring, Direction Finding and Analysis system (IMDFAS) '' Divyadrishti:
Date of sanction - 27 August 2002
Original PDC - 26 February 2008
Revised PDC - 26 August 2010
Original Cost - Rs. 560.00 cr
Revised Cost - Rs. 670.60 cr

Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP):
Date of sanction - 26 July 1983
Original PDC - 30 July 1995
Revised PDC - 31 December 2010 (Projects for development of Prithvi, Agni, Dhanush, Akash and Trishul missiles have been completed, whereas PDC for only Nag missile has been extended upto to December 2010)
Original Cost - Rs. 388.83 cr
Revised Cost - Rs. 1771.43 cr

Kaveri Engine for LCA:
Date of sanction - 30 March 1989
Original PDC - 31 December 1996
Revised PDC - 31 December 2010
Original Cost - Rs. 383.81 cr ($84,5 millones)
Revised Cost - Rs. 2839.00 cr ($625,3 millones)

Añadí­ el cambio en dólares ya que el euro anda un poco inestable estos dí­as

[champi]

La India integrará el misil de crucero Nirbhay en sus Su-30MKI: http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... annel=awst

By Douglas Barrie, Neelam Mathews
London, New Delhi

India intends to integrate a variant of its Nirbhay long-range cruise missile on the Suhkoi Su-30MKI Flanker strike aircraft, following the weapon's initial development in the ground-launch configuration.

The addition of the Nirbhay to the Flanker's weapons inventory would give the platform a long-range—and potentially strategic—strike capability. While details on the Nirbhay program remain scant, Indian officials have suggested the weapon will have a range of 800-1,000 km. (500-620 mi.).
...
Development of the Nirbhay apparently began at least five years ago. It would be the third indigenous weapon to equip the Su-30MKI, joining the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile—a variant of the NPO Mashinostroenia 3M55 (SS-N-26)—and the Astra medium-range air-to-air missile. The Nirbhay would have three times the range of the Brahmos. The army is also acquiring a ground-launched land-attack version of the Brahmos alongside the system in development for the air force.

An air-launched variant of the subsonic Nirbhay “is in the initial stages,”says an Indian industry official. There are “plans for it, but not immediately,”he adds.

The Nirbhay likely adopts a conventional cruise missile configuration with some form of flip-out mid-body wing and cruciform tail surfaces. The turbofan engine most likely will be recessed in the airframe body, given the requirement that the weapon be canister-launch-capable.
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Given the size of the Nirbhay—reports suggest it is 6 meters (19.6 ft.)—the Su-30MKI would likely carry one or two of the missiles. To maximize platform range, the aircraft could carry one weapon on a pylon in the tunnel between the two engine bays. This is the approach being taken with the Brahmos missile, which is now scheduled to begin initial launch trials from a test aircraft in 2011. If the aircraft were to carry two Nirbhays, one could fit under each inboard wing-station.

[champi]

EADS podrí­a meter la mano en el Tejas naval: http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... el=defense

May 18, 2010
By Staff

NEW DELHI — India is turning to Europe for support of the naval version of its Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) after its initial choice of the U.S. was stymied by an inability to gain the requisite approvals from Washington.

India selected Lockheed Martin as the winner of a bid for consultancy work on its naval LCA, but failure to secure U.S. State Department licensing approvals — at least in a timely fashion — now has resulted in EADS being in negotiation for the work.

This is not the first time regulatory issues have tripped up U.S. ambitions in India.

In April 2009 EADS picked up flight test work on the air force LCA as a result of Boeing being forced to withdraw. The U.S. manufacturer had been tapped for the project in 2008, but an inability to gain the required approvals from the U.S. administration forced it to pull its bid.

The naval LCA is being designed for short take-off, but arrested recovery (Stobar), with a first flight of the naval variant by December.

Neither EADS nor Lockheed are willing to comment beyond general statements. The U.S. company says it “continues to work with the U.S. government to support the LCA program. EADS, beyond confirming it has a consultancy contract (for the air force aircraft), says “both sides have agreed they will not disclose any details.”

In March, the Indian government told Parliament that “deficiencies have been detected in the airframe and other associated equipment of the naval LCA [navy]. The Defense Research and Development Organization [DRDO] is working out [approaches] with various organizations for rectifying these deficiencies by suitable modifications to the engine/airframe design.”The consultancy is intended to support this effort.

The consultancy on the naval LCA involves auditing the aircraft's current configuration and optimizing the aircraft's landing gear and arrestor hook design. The intent is also to reduce the aircraft's all-up weight by around 1,000 lb.

Sources involved with the program indicated that Lockheed's inability to begin the consultancy on time had impacted the development effort, but the program itself was on schedule and progressing well.

Por su parte, AW parece que ha sido eliminada del concurso de helos ligeros. Quedan Kamov y Eurocopter: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/light ... ut/619487/

Posted: Sun May 16 2010, 03:26 hrs
New Delhi:

The race for 197 new light helicopters that will be the mainstay of the Army and IAF for lifting supplies to high altitude military locations has heated up with one of the three contenders virtually out of the reckoning after failing to bring in the correct variant of the chopper for trials.

While sources in the Defence Ministry say that Augusta Westland, which brought a civilian version of the helicopter instead of the military chopper it mentioned in the proposal, is virtually out, the other two contenders, Russia's Kamov and Eurocopter have begun the first round of summer trials this week.

Sources said Augusta Westland, which has already won a contract to supply 12 VVIP helicopters, has not been called for the latest round of consultations between the Armed forces and vendors. At the last meeting between Army's technical officers and the vendors in Bathinda on Saturday, only officials from Kamov and Eurocopter were present.

Y el final de los Mig-27 cada vez más cerca: http://idrw.org/?p=1666

BY: IDRW NEWS NETWORK

Indian Air force is considering retiring major fleet of mig-27 by 2015, as per reports almost half the squadrons strength will be “stood down”by 2015 .Fatal accident which have taken place recently all has been attributed to defects of R-29 engines, initial air force investigation has found major flaw in fourth line at the overhaul stage which is done by Hindustan Aeronautics limited.

Poor serviceability and design defects had forced IAF to ground all Mig-27 Squadrons after a Squadron leader was killed in February crash, sudden loss of power in low pressure turbine blades of the aircraft was reason behind the crash.

Mig-27 along with Jaguar aircraft still forms a major chuck of Strike fleet of Indian Air force; recently around 40 aircrafts were upgraded to Darin-II standards which sport a new navigation-and-attack avionics package, electronic warfare suite developed by the state-owned Defence Research & Development Organisation. Initially Darin-II upgrade package also included Engine upgrade, a single modern AL-31 Engine that powers the Su-30 MKI was supposed to power Mig-27, and a single Mig-27 from IAF fleet was integrated and successfully tested in Russia by MiG-MAPO group, the original manufacturers of the MiG series of aircraft with an AL-31 engine but for some reason the plan never materialized.

It might come has a boom to Tejas MK-1 Program since Air force might consider ordering more Tejas Mk-1 from the current order of 40 jets due to early retirement been given to Mig-27 , while air force will maintain other fleet of Mig-27 with it till end of 2020 .

Un saludo.

[champi]

Bramhos hipersónico iniciará pruebas en 2015: http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/de ... d=blogDest

Posted by Ares at 5/27/2010 1:49 AM CDT
...
AW: What kind of additioanl orders are we talking about for Army and Navy? What's the order value?

A.S.P.: As BrahMos will be the first strike weapon with punch, there will be a greater number of ships, mobile launchers and aircraft fitted with the missile. Our order value will exceed $5 billion.

AW: When will the hypersonic version come out? What's the latest from this front?

A.S.P.: The hypersonic version is on the drawing board and mutual discussions are in progress. We would like to freeze the design aspects in the near future. The realization of the missile would be taken up. Probably five years down the line, we can start testing of the missile.

Se estrella un Chetak de la Navy: http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/ ... %20Crashes

By Neelam Mathews mathews.neelam@gmail.com

An Indian Navy Chetak helicopter crashed into a stream Wednesday morning about 50 km. from Eastern Naval Command headquarters and Visakhapatnam on the country's coast, killing a crewmember.

The pilot, co-pilot and another passenger survived, a Navy spokesman told AVIATION WEEK.

An Indian TV news channel reported that a police officer at the crash site said the SE-316 Alouette III chopper, which was flying low, crashed into the stream at 9:07 a.m. after it became tangled in high-tension electrical wires.

Vuela el primer Tejas con la configuración de producción: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/20 ... debut.html

By Radhakrishna Rao

India's first operational-standard Tejas light combat aircraft has made its maiden flight from Bangalore, reaching a speed of Mach 1.1.

The Aeronautical Development Agency's (ADA) fourth limited series production aircraft made its debut on 2 June and reached an altitude of 36,000ft (11,000m).

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation says LSP-4 is the first Tejas to have been produced in the configuration that will be inducted into Indian air force service.

The air force has so far committed to buying 40 Mk 1 examples of the Tejas, which is being manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics. Initial operational clearance should be received by December 2010.

The ADA says its nine previous development examples of the Tejas had completed 1,375 test flights by 31 May.