Defence Aviation News

The explosion on board the INS Sindhurakshak has blown the lid off the Indian Navy’s claims of battle-preparedness. Most of India’s submarines have lived 75% of their operational life and many of them will be decommissioned in a phased manner in the coming years. Strategic experts claim that successive Indian governments have been obsessed about designing land-based plans to counter Pakistan and China and the navy always took a back seat. The Indian Navy is supposed to guard the 7,500 km-long coastline, 1,200 plus islands, and 2.2 million sq km of exclusive economic zone (EEZ). It is also meant to control the Indian Ocean region which contains one-third of the world's population and 40% of the world's oil and gas reserves. “Induction of submarines into our navy was done more or less in an episodic way. The last of the submarines of the Sindhughosh class was inducted in 1999, 2000. And since then, there has been no new induction, which shows huge lacuna on the part of the g...

MUMBAI: At least 18 Navy personnel are missing after a huge explosion followed by a fire rocked Indian Navy submarine INS Sindhurakshak docked at the high security naval dockyard early on Wednesday, according to Times Now. Among the missing are three officers, according to Navy sources. According to TV reports, the submarine has been damaged extensively in the fire and is submerged half under fire, which was brought under control with the help of 16 fire tenders at around 3am. The Navy has ordered a board of inquiry into the dockyard fire. Many sailors on board the submarine reportedly jumped off to safety. Earlier a defence ministry statement issued at 3.15am said, "There is likelihood of some personnel being trapped inside. The details are being ascertained." Some injured sailors were taken to naval hospital INHS Ashvini in Colaba. The cause of the explosion and blaze is still not known. At least 16 fire tenders of Mumbai Fire Brigade and Mumbai Port Trust were rushed t...

 India unveiled its first indigenously-built aircraft carrier on Monday, a landmark moment in the $5 billion project that seeks to project the country’s power and check the rising influence of China. When the  INS Vikrant  comes into full service in 2018, India will join an elite club of nations that have designed and built their own aircraft carriers including Britain, France, Russia and the US but not China. “It’s a remarkable milestone,” defence minister  A.K. Antony  said as he stood on a red carpet in the shadow of the giant ship which was launched from a dry-dock in the city of Kochi and later pulled out into the harbour by tug boats. “It marks just a first step in a long journey but at the same time an important one,” he added before his wife  Elizabeth  officially launched the 40,000-tonne vessel by placing a garland on its hull. INS Vikrant , which will be fitted with weaponry and machinery and then tested over the next four ye...

India’s latest maritime surveillance aircraft, P8I, has landed at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, signalling the Navy’s plan to increasingly use the islands to keep an eye on the three crucial sea lanes used by China to ferry its cargo. The maiden landing of the first P8I at INS Utkorsh in Port Blair on Tuesday gave the aircraft’s pilots and crew an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the facilities at the island, which would come handy if the government wanted to operate a few of these surveillance aircraft from the island. The aircraft is equipped with sensors for maritime reconnaissance, anti-submarine operations and electronic intelligence missions. It carries state-of-the-art sensors and highly potent anti-surface and anti-submarine weapons. India purchased eight such aircraft from the US in a $2.1-billion deal. The first one had arrived in May, and the second P8I was expected to reach India by September. The US-origin aircraft, with a range of 8,600 km and an enduran...

With Ministry of Defence which now officially has put “ on hold ” country’s ambitions fifth generation stealth multirole fighter development AMCA project to fast track delays incurred by the ADA in development of LCA Tejas co mbat aircraft and to make sure no more delays are incurred in achieving IOC-2 and later FOC for the aircraft in time . Now details are emerging that IAF also wants ADA and HAL to concentrate more on development and testing of Tejas MK-2 before they can restart work on AMCA. If MOD and IAF are able to stall work on AMCA again, while raising concern on development of Tejas MK-2, AMCA project will be delayed beyond 2022 for even first flight to occur and production will only start in 2028-30. Sources in IAF, we (idrw.org) spoke to, are worried with delays Lca project is facing and have raised concerns that they might be further delays in development of Tejas MK-2 before it hits production. MK-2 needs to be revalidated on many test points before it is put to p...

The state-run joint stock holding Artem (Kyiv) has sent the first batch of R-27 medium-range air-to-air missiles produced for the Indian Air Force to the customer, the Ukroboronprom  concern has reported, with reference to its director general, Serhiy Hromov. “The first batch of missiles has been shipped to the customer, and the next batch is being prepared for delivery,” Hromov said, noting that the execution of the Indian contract will allow the full utilization of the enterprise’s capacity until the end of 2013. He expressed the confidence that the Ukrainian-produced high-precision aircraft weapons will continue to be in demand in the regional markets for conventional weapons.“We’re not limiting ourselves to the Indian contract. Our representatives are actively working with traditional customers from Southeast Asia, North Africa and other regions,” the state enterprise director said. Hromov also said that the state should grant the Artem holding tax benefits provided by ...

The Russian Air Force will take delivery of its first fifth-generation T-50 fighter jet “in the third quarter of this year” for final state test flights starting in  the fourth quarter, the service’s commander Lt. Gen. Viktor Bondarev said Tuesday. President Vladimir Putin had informed lately that T-50 would enter service with the country’s air force in 2016 , while Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) with stealth features based on the T-50 is slated to be inducted in the Indian Air Force by 2022. IAF will get first prototype of the FGFA which is scheduled to arrive in India by 2014 after which it will undergo extensive trials at the Ojhar air base in Maharashtra. T-50, which will make up the core of Russia’s future fighter fleet, is a multirole warplane featuring “stealth” technology,” super-maneuverability, supercruise capability, and advanced avionics including an active electronically-scanned array radar, according to its designer Sukhoi. India plans to acquire 214 of t...

The final phase of tests on the INS Vikramaditya commenced on Monday, August 5, with a joint practice mission involving naval aircraft from Russia’s Northern Fleet. The mission, in which MiG-29s performed several approaches at different altitudes and a touchdown on the aircraft carrier’s deck, was led by RSK MiG chief pilot Mikhail Belyayev. Around this  time a year ago, Belyayev flew over the Vikramaditya’s deck together with test pilot Nikolai Diorditsa, who has been accorded the Hero of the Russian Federation title. The test pilots flew 517 sorties – including 41 landings and 41 take-offs from the aircraft carrier’s deck – in July and August 2012, testing the aircraft, the fuelling and flight support equipment, the aircraft lifts, its launch assist systems and arresting gear. Overall, the commissioning team had no complaints about the work of the aircraft wing or the operation of the ship’s support systems. Representatives of the Indian Navy were also satisfied. But the test...

The difference between the Block2A and the older ones is the fact that it incorporates the Block 2A avionics software and will start flying in a few weeks. The new software introduces interesting capabilities. First of all, it allows the pilot to use all six thermal imaging cameras of the EO- DAS AN/AAQ-37 optical set. The purpose of the device is to detect and track the enemy aircraft and provide early warning messages about the launched missiles. Nevertheless it is not integrated with the HMDS yet even if it allows displaying weather info. In spite of the latest upgrade, the F-35A is still restricted. It can’t conduct IMC flights, night flights, aerobatics (have you ever seen JSF on an Air Show?!) and formation take-offs and landings. However, the Block 2A software extends the F-35′s capabilities, because it lets the pilot simulate the launch of AIM-120 missiles. Still, the g-limit for the airframe is 5,5 G that is quite ridiculous, taking into account the objectives the JSF is de...