Indian Military

New Delhi – Israel has decided to extend its aeronautical expertise to India once again on its indigenous ‘Dhruv’ advanced light helicopter (ALH). The Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will now be assisting state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to convert the ‘Dhruv’ ALH into an unmanned maritime rotorcraft.

According to sources, the Indian Navy has not been satisfied with earlier versions produced and will be going for an unmanned version of the ‘Dhruv’ helicopter. Apparently, the IAI and HAL have conducted tests on the ‘Chetak’ helicopter but are now concentrating on the ‘Dhruv’. The solution that is currently being envisaged is the development of a “black box” that could replace the aircraft’s pilots for maritime missions.

The unmanned version of the ‘Dhruv’ helicopter is likely to begin initial tests in the current year itself. Since the IAI is already involved in the ‘Dhruv’ ALH project, the cooperation and development with HAL will only become smoother.

[Stratpost]

India’s air show in Bangalore next week will be the largest ever with 29 countries bringing their aerospace products, including fighter jets and transport aircraft, for showcasing at the five-day event.

The biennial Aero India 2011 will for the first time witness the civil aviation sector overtaking military aviation. The air show will see 54 percent of the aircraft, helicopters and aerospace systems from the civilian sector compared to 46 percent from the military sector.

“This year’s air show will surpass all previous figures in terms of participating countries, companies, space and business. All inputs show a healthy growth than the previous edition of Aero India. Civil aviation sector at 54 percent will overtake military aviation content at 46 percent in this year’s show,” Secretary of Defense Production Raj Kumar Singh told reporters here on Tuesday.

To be held at the Yelahanka Air Force Station, this year’s show has been oversubscribed in terms of exhibition space and the Defense Exhibition Organization has had to refuse further bookings, he said.

New Delhi – The Indian Army can finally boast a stronger helicopter in its fleet with an upgraded version of the ‘Dhruv’ Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) which was handed over to them recently. These new helicopters incorporate a new powerful engine which will enable take-off and landing at a high altitude with ease and help to carry operations in the mountainous terrains of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), five new ‘Dhruv’ ALH developed by them were handed over to the Indian Army. The upgraded ‘Dhruv’ ALH Mark III have a stronger ‘Shakti’ engine developed by HAL and the French firm Turbomeca. The five new helicopters will be used for varied operations in the Siachen area of Jammu and Kashmir. Since the current fleet of Chetak and Cheetah helicopters are being overworked and cannot withstand the altitude and weather posed by Siachen, the ‘Dhruv’ ALH Mark III is the need of the hour for the Indian Army.

The Dhruv ALH is a multi-role helicopter developed and manufactured by HAL and has also been exported to Nepal, Peru, Ecuador and Israel, and is on order by several other countries for both military and commercial uses.

[Stratpost]

The Indian Navy has issued a Request For Information (RFI) for a second batch of Multi-Role Helicopters (MRH), even with the existing tender process for a USD 1 billion order for 16 helicopters still under way.

The RFI reads, “The Ministry of Defence, Government of India, intends to augment the fleet of existing multi role helicopters (ASW/ASUW/Special Ops Commando) with suitable new-build Naval Multi Role Helicopters (NMRH), with comparable performance and ASW, ASuW, SAR, ELINT and Special Operation / Commando operation capabilities. The basic helicopter for all three roles viz ASW, ASuW and Special Operation / Commando should be same with common airframe, engines, avionics etc for ease of maintenance training and Op-logistics issues. Capability should exist in the helicopter for role specific configurations to be achieved with ease.”

The navy shopping around for a second time is being seen as a result of the the increasing requirement for Multi Role Helicopters, keeping in mind the decreasing life of the navy’s Sea King helicopters.

[Stratpost]

The European arms firm MBDA has offered its services for stockpile management to the Indian armed forces.

The company said it has developed the Stockpile Management Services (SMS) to give its customers the ‘ability to know the exact status of their munitions in terms of reliability and remaining life’. It says this service can also achieve cost savings of up to 30 per cent, besides configuring life extensions of existing stock and improving safety.

The Aster PAAMS Image Copyright: MBDA / Michel Hans

Launched no more than a couple of months back in India, this service is scheduled to help the French Marine Nationale (French Navy) manage its PAAMS (E) naval air defense system next year. MBDA began this service last year in response to the ‘evolving requirements of the international customer base’.

New Delhi — India’s indigenous “Dhruv” Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) has run into rough weather as the Indian Army has pointed out that the chopper is not giving an optimum level of performance. The Indian Army was to receive 20 “Dhruv” helicopters from the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The Indian Army has complained that the “Dhruv” ALH cruising speed has declined to 250 kilometres per hour which does not match up to the HAL specification of 270 kilometres per hour. In order to resolve this major glitch and unable to find a solution, HAL has opted for an Italian aerospace firm called Avio to act as a consultant and sort out the problem.

HAL has indicated that despite the inclusion of the “Shakti” engine designed by the French firm Turbomeca, the Integrated Dynamic System (IDS), which transfers power from the “Shakti” engines to the helicopter rotors, is not giving optimum performance. Hence, the cruising speed and the high-altitude capability of “Dhruv” ALH have significantly deteriorated.

New Delhi — Before the end of 2010, India and Russia are slated to sign the mega defence deal to jointly produce the fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA). The upcoming India visit of the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will be the occasion where the Indo-Russian FGFA project will be signed besides other defence deals.

According to sources, the final draft of the agreement has been readied and the approval has to come from the Indian Finance Ministry. The Indo-Russian FGFA will be based on the Russian Sukhoi T-50, which flew for the first time this January in Siberia and it will be built to the Indian Air Force (IAF) specifications. Significantly, it is being touted as superior to the American F/A-22 `Raptor’, the world’s only operational FGFA as of now.

India will be getting a customised Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA and the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), as a co-developer, will enable the execution of the specifications laid down by the IAF. The FGFA project will see an estimated $6 billion investment by India.