India to Buy 200 Aircraft Instead of 126

The Indian Air Force (IAF) could purchase upwards of 200 aircraft to ramp up its ageing and depleting fleet of fighters, adding around 80 more to the figure of 126 it had planned earlier. “The number could go up by 70-80 if necessary,” Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar here. Hitherto, a figure of 126 multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) had been mentioned for the IAF order but this number was widely expected to rise due to the prolonged delay in acquiring the new planes. To add to the IAF’s woes, there have been huge time and cost overruns in developing the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA), prototypes of which have been flying since 2000 but which is expected to be inducted into service only by 2012. The cost of 126 aircraft had been estimated at $10 billion, making it India’s biggest ever defence deal. The additional aircraft would cost $6 billion, raising the size of the deal to $16 billion. Asked when the global tender for the MRCAs would be issued, Raju cryptically replied, “Soon”. India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had cleared the tender June 29, and this was expected to have gone out within a month to the manufacturers of the six aircraft that are in the fray. Officials are tight-lipped on the reasons for the delay but indicate this could be because of some top-level changes in the defence ministry.Vijay Singh is the new defence secretary in place of Shekhar Dutt, who has retired. N.K. Narang has come in as secretary (Defence Accounts) replacing V.K. Mishra, who has retired. No replacement has been named for Sheelbhadra Banerjee, the director general (Acquisitions) who has moved to another assignment. All three officials are members of the DAC and would need time to study the voluminous IAF tender to understand its complexities.While the DAC has cleared a tender for 126 aircraft, the additional jets are likely to be purchased as a “follow-on” order as the IAF has done in the case of 80 Mi-17 medium lift helicopters it is purchasing from Russia. The IAF desperately needs new aircraft to replace its ageing fleet of Soviet-era MiG-21 fighters that make up 21 squadrons of its 30-squadron fleet of combat aircraft. The IAF has a sanctioned strength of 45 fighter squadrons but the highest it has ever been able to achieve is 39-and-a-half squadrons.The tender, or Request For Proposal (RFP) would now be sent out to the manufacturers of six aircraft: the US F-16 and F-18 Super Hornet, the Swedish Gripen, the French Rafale, the Russian MiG-35 and the European consortium’s Eurofighter.Once the RFP is issued, the manufacturers will have six months to respond, following which a professional team would conduct a technical evaluation of the proposals received to check for compliance with the IAF’s operational requirements and other RFP conditions.Extensive field trials would then be carried out to evaluate the performance of the different aircraft. Finally, the commercial proposal of the vendors short-listed after technical and field evaluations would be examined and compared.The defence ministry’s Contract Negotiation Committee (CNC) would then hold discussions with the vendors before identifying the manufacturer who would be awarded the IAF order.The CNC would submit its report to the defence minister, who would forward it to the finance minister. After the file returns to the defence ministry, it would go for final approval to the cabinet committee on security (CCS). This process would take some two-and-a-half years.After the contract is signed with the chosen manufacturer, it would take another two-and-a-half year before the first aircraft start arriving.

India to Develope More UCAV Technologies

India has joined a select group of countries that have launched programmes to develop the technology for an Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV).The UCAVs or ‘combat drones,’ which are the latest class in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), differ from the latter in that they are specifically designed to deliver weapons and attack targets, possibly with an even higher degree of autonomy. The Indian programme, which is an internal effort from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), will involve developing the know-how for a swept wing, stealth design and composite construction technical demonstrator that will demonstrate “the technical feasibility, military utility and operational value for a networked system of high performance” weaponised UCAVs. Disclosing aspects of the programme the DRDO’s Chief Controller, Research and Development (Aeronautics and Material Sciences), D. Banerjee, said that with “stealth obviously be an important issue” the fuselage would have to carry internally housed weapon bays. Stealth would also require the power plant to be internally mounted and of a non-afterburning turbofan engine type. Specifications for issues such as payload, endurance, retractable landing gear and hard points for auxiliary fuel tanks are yet to be finalised. Dr. Banerjee added that the DRDO had already created facilities for radar cross simulation (identification of radar reflecting areas) and measurement of radar cross section (describes the extent to which an object reflects an incident electromagnetic wave). He disclosed that the Bangalore-based DRDO laboratory, the Aeronautical Development Establishment, would be the nodal agency for the UCAV programme. Current UCAV concepts call for aircraft which can operate virtually autonomously. The UCAV will be programmed with route and target details, and can conduct the mission without help from human controllers. Current global programmes include the French nEWROn, Israel’s Eitan, British Taranis, China’s Anjian and the US’s X-45. These programmes which are basically meant to demonstrate that the technology are in various stages of development. The UCAVs can be used for Suppression of Enemy Air Defences, electronic warfare, surveillance, precision strike and associated operations. Dr. Banerjee also disclosed that the DRDO was looking for a partner from the private sector for its Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). While the Expression of Intent has already been put out, a formal Request for Proposal will be out in September, with a partner being chosen within four months. The DRDO’s MALE surveillance UAV is expected to have an endurance of 24 hours, can operate at 35,000 ft., and will have autonomous take-off and landing, wheeled undercarriage and a single (Rotax) piston engine.

Aerodynamics

The main job a of a fighter has always been to catch and destroy the enemy aircrafts. To achieve this they need speed and a good rate of climb. This is hopefully enough to take the opponent by surprise. Maneuverability is also a key defensive attribute which enables the fighter to get away from the opponents envelope.The two main types of maneuverability are to transient and turn. Transient are the ability to change the flight mode to another; pitch, roll and yaw.

When a fighter goes supersonic, the center of lift moves aft, and the tail surface have to provide a download to preserve stability. Modern fighters use computerized fly-by-wire or fly-by-light to correct control inputs. Fly by wire simply means that the aircraft uses a joystick F15 eagle fly by wire system.

The roll is caused by ailerons on the wings, or fins past by spoilers dumped loft on one side. Turning ability is determined by the amount of loft a wing can produce. The fighter with the lowest wing loading will outrun it’s opponent. A fighter like the Indian SU 30MKI with extreme maneuverability can just get a pilot inside the extremely agile F-16 dizzy and take it down.

A different way to look at fighter performance is to look at the position and kinetic energy. Position-altitude which can be converted into speed by diving and kinetic energy-which is the combination of it’s mass and velocity.

Conventional fighter maneuverability depends on the lift created by its wings. So wing design therefore is very important. A long wingspan maximizes the lift but reduces the rate of roll. To solve this problems variable sweep wings with wider aspect ratio were created.

Modern Fighter Planes

Modern fighter jets have awesome capabilities. Most can achieve speeds that are faster than sound and touch the edge of the sky. It does not have to see its enemy; It can sense and destroy it far beyond visual range. It can perform unbelievable gyrations.

The fighters are designed to meet two factors: its enemies and the medium which it operates in. The enemies can come in many forms. It can com from the air, land and water. Like the threats, it’s medium can also differentiate due to its properties.

Air defense is not simply about dogfighting with the fighters they have to worry about Surface to air missiles (SAMS), anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) and ground based radar. The medium in which the fighters operate is the air. Like its threats air is extremely variable; at see level the air is denser so the jet engine absorbs plenty of oxygen which can result in maximum thrust but the bad news is that dense air means greater drag.

F-16 Performs First Robot Landing

Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., report successfully demonstrating an autonomous landing of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, marking the first time an F-16 has landed entirely under computer control.

The successful Autoland demonstration lays the foundation for consistent, repeatable and controlled automatic landings of the F-16 in various wind conditions and airfield situations. This Lockheed Martin-developed technology has broad applications for both manned and unmanned aircraft.

“The demonstration of an autonomous landing of an F-16 is evidence that Lockheed Martin is prepared to successfully implement autonomous control of Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV)-type aircraft,” said Frank Cappuccio, Lockheed Martin’s executive vice president and general manager of Advanced Development Programs and Strategic Planning. “Such technology, in concert with the skill and experience of today’s warfighter, presents a formidable force against existing foes and provides a basis for further developing manned and unmanned vehicles that can meet the challenges facing the warfighters of tomorrow,” he said.

The Autoland sequence is initiated during flight by an on-board safety pilot. Once the pilot moves to “hands-off” the aircraft controls, the F-16 is controlled by an onboard computer and guided through several phases of the landing sequence, culminating in a final approach to the runway touchdown point. The computer uses Lockheed Martin-developed algorithms to control the F-16’s attitude, glide slope, airspeed, and descent rate via throttle and flight control inputs until the aircraft comes to a stop on the runway.

The USAF Test Pilot School provided full flight test resources for the demonstration, including the VISTA/F-16 (Variable Stability In-flight Simulator Test Aircraft), Calspan Corporation flight test safety pilots (under contract to the Test Pilot School), and testbed support and facilities. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and the USAF Test Pilot School performed all activities in full partnership, from initial planning through implementation and test execution.

Raytheon To Transfer AESA Tech To India

American space and airborne systems company, Raytheon, has said that the Indian Air Force (IAF) will get access to cutting-edge radar technology in the form of the AESA radar, up to the level permitted by the US government, should it decide to opt for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet under its global tender for 126 medium-range multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) tender.

“We are willing to support Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar technology transfer up to the level the US government allows us,” said Dave Goold from Raytheon’s F-18 business development, Tactical Airborne Systems.

“The technology transfer, though likely to be limited, would meet the requirements of the IAF. Our proposal will be compliant with the request for proposal (RFP) issued by the IAF for the 126 combat aircraft,” he said.

The AESA radar lends an edge to the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet by increasing its air-to-air detection and tracking range, apart from enhancing its air-to-ground targeting capabilities. So far, the US government has allowed transfer of the cutting-edge AESA radar technology only to Australia.

Raytheon is a systems supplier for the Super Hornet Boeing’s F-18 multi-role ground fighter which is one of the six contenders for the IAF’s MMRCA contract along with Lockheed’s F-16, Russia’s MiG-35, the French Dassault’s Rafale, the Swedish Saab Gripen JAS-39 and the Eurofighter Typhoon.

According to Boeing Integrated Defence System (IDS) representative, John Salas, the company has plans to sell the anti-ship missile, Harpoon, as well as a long-range precision missile to India. Both the systems, he said, could be integrated with the F/A-18E/F fighters

Boeing Recognized as NASA’s Large Business Contractor of the Year

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been recognized by NASA as the Kennedy Space Center’s 2009 Large Business Contractor of the Year for providing quality service and support on the Checkout, Assembly and Payload Processing Services (CAPPS) program. NASA said Boeing was recognized for the company’s effort to include small businesses in the program and for effective community outreach. Boeing works closely with its small-business partners to provide NASA with innovation and best-of-industry solutions to support its mission while managing costs through proven processes.

"Boeing’s partnership with NASA at the space center ensures mission success in support of America’s space programs," said Mark Jager, Boeing CAPPS program manager. "This partnership is strengthened by the contributions of our small-business teammates and our commitment to the local community."

As the prime contractor for NASA’s CAPPS contract, Boeing provides payload processing services for the International Space Station, space shuttle and expendable launch vehicles. Boeing employees and teammates have successfully processed every major payload flown on the space shuttle — work that began with Columbia’s first flight in April 1981.

Source: Boeing Integrated Defense Systems