Indian Military

New Delhi – India’s ‘Tejas’ Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is undergoing sea trials in Goa which is a part of the out-of-station flight-test plan for the LCA. Five prototypes of indigenously developed and manufactured ‘Tejas’ LCA will be put to rough sea trials at the Hansa Naval Air Station (NAS) at Dabolim in Goa.

The ‘Tejas’ LCA requires a host of system integration checks and various weapon modes still need to be tested. Officials pointed out that the ‘Tejas’ LCA needs to be checked for some more sea-level performance points in high-angle-of-attack (AOA) mode.

During the sea trials, the ‘Tejas’ LCA will be subjected to parameter identification (PID) and sea-level flutter vibration tests, with an all-external stores (bombs, fuel tanks, missiles) configuration. The PID is conducted with the latest software version of the digital flight control computer (DFCC) being developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE).

This morning, the representatives of GE and Eurojet were informed in Bangalore that GE Aviation was the lowest bidder in the LCA engine competition. The DRDO press release that followed is pasted below.
More on this in tomorrow's Business Standard. Will post in the morning. Stay tuned.
GE Aviation lowest bidder for LCA Mk-2 Alternate Engine
The Price Negotiating Committee for the Alternate Engine for LCA Mk-2 has finalised the Comparative Statement of Tenders. The committee Chaired by Dr Prahlada, DS & CCR&D (Ae&SI) had its representatives from Ministry of Defence, Defence Finance, ADA, DRDO, HAL, Indian Air Force, and Indian Navy. After evaluation and acceptance of the Technical offer provided by both Eurojet and GE Aviation, the commercial quotes were compared in detail and GE Aviation was declared as the lowest bidder. Further price negotiations and contract finalization will follow.

A US Navy F/A-18 at an base in Virginia. The F-414 engines that power this aircraft, as well as the Swedish Gripen, has been selected by India's MoD for its Tejas Light Combat Aircraft
by Ajai ShuklaBusiness Standard, 1st Oct 10
In a last-minute twist, General Electric of the US has bagged the hotly contested $800-million tender to supply 99 engines for India’s Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA). After both engines in the contest — GE’s F-414 and Eurojet’s EJ-200 — were found technically suitable, the F-414 has been declared the cheaper option.
The choice of the GE-414 engine boosts the chances of America’s F/A-18 fighter and the Swedish Gripen NG in the $11-billion tender for an Indian Air Force medium fighter. Conversely, it is a blow to the Eurofighter, which is powered by twin EJ-200 engines.

[Stratpost]

India has settled on the GE-414 engine to power the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk-2. The Price Negotiating Committee for the Alternate Engine of the LCA Mk-2 issued a statement on Thursday, saying that it had finalized the Comparative Statement of Tenders. “After evaluation and acceptance of the Technical offer provided by both Eurojet and GE Aviation, the commercial quotes were compared in detail and GE Aviation was declared as the lowest bidder,” said the statement.

The statement was issued two days after Defense Minister Arackaparambil Kurian Antony’s visit to the United State, where he held meetings with US Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Admiral Mike Mullen. It also came on a fairly heavy news day, with the country’s complete attention focused on a verdict of the Allahabad High Court on the highly contentious issue of the disputed ownership of a property where a mosque was demolished in 1992, itself alleged to have been been built on the site of the birthplace of the Hindu God Ram.

The Sukhoi T-50 fighter, pictured here, will be developed into the Indo-Russian Gen-5 fighter. It will be fed military data live from Russian GLONASS satellite network
by Ajai ShuklaBusiness Standard, 26th Oct 10
The Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), already planned to be loaded with top-end combat features like advanced stealth and super-cruise capability, could also be plugged, uniquely, into a network of satellites. With Moscow willing to grant India unprecedented access to military signals from Russia’s constellation of GLONASS (GLObal NAvigation Satellite System) satellites, the FGFA could access real-time details of its own and enemy positions, terrain information, and have the ability to communicate with Indian forces anywhere on the globe.
A senior Russian diplomat, speaking anonymously to Business Standard, reveals that after extended negotiations with India, Moscow has okayed the provision of military data from GLONASS, in the form of digitized signals.

The Sukhoi T-50 fighter, pictured here, will be developed into the Indo-Russian Gen-5 fighter. It will be fed military data live from Russian GLONASS satellite network
by Ajai ShuklaBusiness Standard, 26th Oct 10
The Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), already planned to be loaded with top-end combat features like advanced stealth and super-cruise capability, could also be plugged, uniquely, into a network of satellites. With Moscow willing to grant India unprecedented access to military signals from Russia’s constellation of GLONASS (GLObal NAvigation Satellite System) satellites, the FGFA could access real-time details of its own and enemy positions, terrain information, and have the ability to communicate with Indian forces anywhere on the globe.
A senior Russian diplomat, speaking anonymously to Business Standard, reveals that after extended negotiations with India, Moscow has okayed the provision of military data from GLONASS, in the form of digitized signals.

[PIB] Nearly three decades after it was first conceptualized, the Initial Operational Clearance for the Light Combat Aircraft was accorded today when the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony handed over a formal “Release to Service Certificate” of Tejas aircraft to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal PV Naik, at a function in Bangalore. The “Release to Service certificate” is prepared by Regional Center for Military Airworthiness, an organization under CEMILAC (Center for Military Airworthiness and Certification) which has thoroughly scrutinized the entire design, development, equipment testing and the results of flight testing of all the systems of Tejas over the last several months. This is the first time an indigenously designed and developed military fighter aircraft is being certified for Air Force operations. This occasion marks a very important achievement in the design and development of Tejas in particular and military aviation in the country as a whole. After this, Tejas aircraft will be available for use by the Indian Air Force Pilots.

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.

The second prototype of the Light Combat Helicopter nearing completion at HAL, Bangalore. Integrated with weapons and sensors, it is 200 kg lighter than the first prototype, which first flew last May
By Ajai ShuklaHAL, Bangalore
Showcasing the success of its burgeoning helicopter business, aerospace giant Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), will treat spectators at next week’s Aero India 2011 air show in Bangalore to a daring display of helicopter aerobatics by its newly built Light Combat Helicopter (LCH). HAL honchos promise that the LCH will fly manoeuvres that will eclipse the Indian Air Force’s globally acclaimed Sarang aerobatics team, which flies the Dhruv helicopter.
This is rare confidence in a helicopter that came onto the drawing board just three years ago; currently, there is only a single flying prototype of the LCH, which has flown 60 hours since it took to the air last May.