Indian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Jeff Head

Jeff Head

General
Registered Member
FORBIN said:
39 Mig-29K/KUB delivered the last 6 on 45 ordered delivered this year.

INAS Sqn 300 before equiped with Sea Harrrier based to Hansa/Dabolim where is based the 303th yet equiped with Mig-29K/KUB.
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Yes, the Indians are ramping up their Mig-29K fleet.

They will need numerous squadrons to outfit the airwings of the Vikramaditya, the Vikrant, and their third carrier, as well as maintenance and training squadrons.

Very good choice for them.
 
FORBIN

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
The Indian Navy has formally decommissioned its British Aerospace Sea Harrier FRS51 fighters at a formal ceremony at INS Hansa in Dabolim, Goa.

The phasing out of the Sea Harrier with Indian Naval Air Squadron 300 (INAS 300), ‘White Tigers’, coincided with the induction of the RSK MiG-29K carrier borne strike aircraft into the Squadron. The type’s final appearance in Indian skies saw two Sea Harriers perform a flying display with two MiG-29Ks that included flying in formation, a high-speed pass by the MiG-29K, and the Sea Harrier’s trademark vertical take-off and landing.

The Sea Harrier served for 33 years in the Indian navy, flying from the aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and INS Viraat in the fleet air defence role. The MiG-29Ks are embarked on INS Vikramaditya (formerly Admiral Gorshkov), with INS Viraat scheduled to be decommissioned this year.


The ageing Sea Harriers were getting increasingly hard to maintain and flew for the last time from INS Viraat on 6 March. Despite their age, the Sea Harrier afforded a unique capability as a fleet air defence fighter in the Indian sub-continent after they were modernised as part of the Limited Upgrade Sea Harrier (LUSH) effort to carry Israeli Derby BVR missiles, ELTA EL/M-2032 multimode radars and a datalink.

Approximately 11 aircraft remained at the time of decommissioning, including two twin seat Sea Harrier trainers. The Sea Harrier fleet had a high attrition rate, with approximately half lost in accidents since the type was inducted.

With the retirement of the Sea Harrier and induction of the MiG-29K into INAS 300, the Indian Navy has two operational squadrons of the Russian carrier borne aircraft, which has been modified to suit a number of specific requirements of the Navy. The Indian Navy has placed orders for 16 MiG-29Ks in 2004 and 29 in 2010. It has taken delivery of an estimated 40 examples.
India's first MiG-29K squadron, INAS 303, was stood up in 2013.

The Indian Navy decided to acquire the Sea Harrier FRS Mk 51 in 1979, placing orders for six single seat fighters and two T Mk 60 trainers. The type replaced the Hawker Sea Hawk, which was phased out in 1978.

The arrival of VSTOL capability was heralded in India when the first three Sea Harriers, landed at Dabolim on 16 December 1983. The Indian Navy operated its FRS Mk 51 aircraft for a full decade after the Royal Navy retired the type in 2006.

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A

aksha

Captain
United States Air Force, U.S. Navy and Indian Airforce fighter aircraft fly in formation during a training sortie in the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex during RED FLAG- Alaska (RF-A) 16-1 May 12, 2016, hosted at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.
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Alaska (U.S.), May 14 (
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): Red Flag Alaska 16-1, which was an advanced aerial combat training exercise, a successor to the previous 'Cope Thunder' exercise series hosted at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, concluded on Saturday.

The main phase of the exercise had commenced on April 28 with a mix of combat and support elements participating from the Indian Air Force (IAF), United States Air Force (USAF) and United States Navy (USN), said Wing Commander Anupam Banerjee Public Relation Officer, Air Force, in a press release.

Over the last decade, IAF has been actively participating in various operational exercises hosted by various countries, wherein its capabilities have been pitted against the best air forces in the world, he said.

While referring to the overall exercise plan and objective
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the team leader group Captain H, Assudani said, "The objective of this inter-continental deployment was not only to showcase IAF's capability in undertaking Integrated Air Ops, but also to imbibe operational lessons from the exercise engagements, which will help us add more teeth to our overall war waging capabilities."

The exercise is played under multiple simulated scenarios designed to provide realistic settings. The overall demarcation is between Red Force (simulated as the Defensive force component fighting to protect own airspace and assets) and the Blue Force (simulated as the Offensive composite package).

The Red Forces was mainly constituted by the 18 Sqn Aggressor Sqn flying the F-16s. The IAF along with the other USAF (F-15, F-16 and F-22) and USN (F-18) constituted the Blue force.

During the exercise, IAF also flew as a part of the Red Force alongside the Aggressors, which was a first of its kind.

The exercise saw the IAF's potent SU-30 MKI aircraft participating in Offensive Counter Air Ops in which they provided Escort cover to the strike elements. Apart from this, the IAF Jaguars 'DARIN II' undertook integrated strike missions dropping practice bombs over the world renowned JPARC Air to Ground Range. Both these fleets performed their roles exceptionally well.

There were three missions commanded by the Indian Air Force in this exercise, said Wing Commander Banerjee, adding that mission commanders of both Jaguars and Su 30s were involved in planning, execution and conduct of debrief.

Sqn Ldr Sidhu, who commanded one of the missions, said, "It was a great opportunity to lead all the coalition forces. It gives one an immense satisfaction when all the participants execute the briefed plan which becomes a success."

While talking about the IAF in the Red Flag exercise, Lt Col Brian Toth, Chief Operations Officer of 354 operations group, said: "The IAFs participation has been extremely good from my perspective. For most nations it takes an exercise or two to step up to meet the requirements of a mission commander. The IAF has been mission commander three times and also performed the package commander roles and they have done a tremendous job."

During the exercise, a set of Red Flag team formed the 'White Force' and using high-tech instrumentation and mission debrief tools were used to evaluate the performance of the participants in an objective and logical manner.

The White Force watched the entire exercise in real time on tactical displays in the operations room on ground. Kill removal (removal of the pilots and aircraft assumed shot by the enemy) made the exercise more realistic.

Despite the challenging environment, the maintenance team ensured 100 percentserviceability of all platforms throughout the four weeks. Lt Col Clarence McRae, the Red Flag-Alaska 16-1 Expeditionary Forces Maintenance Group Commander, said: "Red Flag-Alaska provided all of the participants a fantastic opportunity to train with members of the Indian Air Force. The exchange of lessons learned and best practices with our partners in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region have enabled us to strengthen our partnership and signify our commitment to this area of operations."

The professionalism of the IAF airmen made bolstering our countries' relationship easy and helped provide realistic combat training for all participants". The Senior Engineering Officers of the IAF units were happy with the comprehensive IAF technical practices which are well defined and meticulous. Adherence to these have ensured a high tarmac availability that allowed aircrew to perform their missions. Wg Cdr Pratyush Anand, SEO of SU-30 Sqn said, "out of box thinking of the technicians has earned praise from all quarters. The participating airmen got an opportunity to see a variety of aircraft and this exposure and interaction with other fleets will go a long way in evolving our own practices".

In the closing address Col William Culver 354th Fighter Wing Vice Cdr said, "This was one of the best Red flags I has seen. I compliment the exceptional standards displayed by the IAF and am amazed to see all the 10 aircraft IAF had brought (4 Su30s, 4 Jaguars and 2 IL-78s) maintaining 100 percent serviceability for the entire four weeks and their aircraft flying on all days as per plan."

Wg Cdr Saumitra Tamaskar, Exercise Director, said, "Having set out with well-defined objectives, the IAF contingent's effort over the past month has ensured that they take back important lessons, which will help undertake operations across a wide and diverse spectrum and meet any future challenges."

The contingent will start their de-induction phase on Saturday and are planned to return to India in the last week of the month.

The Su-30s will additionally participate in exercise 'Desert Eagle II' with the UAE Air Force on their way back. (
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)
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FORBIN

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Beautiful ! thanks the first pic with 6 fighters types F-15/16/18/22, Su-30Mki and Jaguar !

First Tejas squadron to come up by July; IAF chief flies in the indigenous jet

NEW DELHI: It was a routine sortie of the Tejas light combat aircraft, which has so far clocked well over 3,050 flight tests since its first prototype took to the skies in January 2001. But the message was significant: India's first home-grown fighter has finally come of age after a meandering developmental saga of 33 years.

Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha became the first IAF chief to fly in the multi-role supersonic Tejas at the Hindustan Aeronautics facility in Bengaluru on Tuesday morning. "The twin-seat Tejas trainer will undergo a full-profile sortie. It will convey IAF's confidence in the indigenous fighter," said HAL chief T Suvarna Raju, speaking to TOI.

That is certainly true. After years of being highly critical of the
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, which was supposed to replace the virtually obsolete MiG-21 but kept on missing deadlines, the IAF finally has something to cheer about.

The force, after all, is down to just 33 fighter squadrons (each has 16-18 jets), which includes 11 squadrons of old MiG-21s and MiG-27s with poor serviceability. This when 45 squadrons are needed to counter a two-front collusive threat from Pakistan and China.

The first Tejas squadron with four jets is slated to come up at Bengaluru by July. "It will operate from a dedicated HAL hanger, with designers and manufacturers being close by to resolve teething problems. The squadron will shift to its earmarked airbase at Sulur after a year," said an official.

The single-engine Tejas, of course, is
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. Its final phase of weapon trials, including firing of BVR (beyond visual range) missiles, is currently under way. Moreover, the fighter is to get an AESA (active electronically scanned array) radar and advanced electronic warfare (EW) suite, apart from becoming capable of mid-air refuelling, for its Mark-IA version that the IAF actually wants.

All this will take another two to three years. Global arms majors like Raytheon, Israeli Aerospace Industries, Thales, Saab and others have already responded to the "search and select process" underway to find an AESA-EW package for the fighter. "Tejas jets produced after 2018 will be up to the Mark-IA standards," said Raju.

In effect, IAF will get the first 20 Tejas Mark-I jets by 2018. With the annual production being stepped up to 16 jets from the existing 8, another 100 "improved" Tejas Mark-IA jets will follow by 2026 or so.

While Tejas will certainly help IAF to make up depleting numbers, the light-weight jets cannot substitute the need for medium-weight multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) or heavy-weight fighters. The 36 Rafales India is negotiating hard to acquire from France for Rs 60,000 crore, for instance, have more than triple the weapon-load carrying capacity and range of the Tejas fighters.

Tejas, with a limited reach of just about 400-km, will basically be used for "air defence" to take on incoming enemy fighters or "close air-to-ground" operations to support the Army. Strikes deep into enemy territory will have to be undertaken by Russian-origin Sukhoi-30MKIs or the Rafales.

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A

aksha

Captain
^^a better (neutral) article on the air chief's flight in the tejas.
the above article is written by rajat pandit , a known tejas baiter


this one is more neutral

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Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on Tuesday took his maiden flight in India’s home grown light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas, calling it “good” for induction.

An ace pilot himself, Mr. Raha is the first Chief of Air Staff to fly the indigenously designed and produced Tejas in about a 30-minute sortie over Bengaluru skies around the HAL airport in Bengaluru. Group Captain M. Rangachari was with him in the twin-seater trainer aircraft.

“It is my first sortie in Tejas, it is a good aircraft for induction into IAF operations,” Mr. Raha was quoted as saying by the aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The Air Chief Marshal carried out manoeuvres in the entire flying envelope of the aircraft, an HAL statement said, adding he carried out simulated air to air and air to ground attacks.

He also assessed the advanced modes of the radar and Helmet Mounted Display Sight (HMDs).

HAL said Mr. Raha appreciated the flying qualities of the aircraft and congratulated the entire team of HAL and others involved in getting the LCA programme to this stage.
..

During the sortie, the Mr. Raha checked for himself the take off, climb performances and agility of the aircraft by carrying out aerobatic manoeuvres, a defence release said.

This was also an opportunity to see the integration of avionics, simulated weapon integration and to get a feel of operational capability during the flight, it said.

The series production of the Tejas aircraft has already commenced at HAL Bengaluru and the first squadron of the LCA was expected to be formed by July 2016, HAL said.

The Air Chief also inaugurated LCA Painting hangar at HAL’s LCA Tejas Division, and took stock of HTT-40 (Basic Trainer) which was parked on the tarmac besides visiting LCA production line and other facilities.
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S

schenkus

Junior Member
Registered Member
FORBIN said:
In effect, IAF will get the first 20 Tejas Mark-I jets by 2018. With the annual production being stepped up to 16 jets from the existing 8, another 100 "improved" Tejas Mark-IA jets will follow by 2026 or so.
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Is that timeline (~120 planes in the next 10 years) the official target ? It doesn't seem enough to replace the old MIGs.
 
FORBIN

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Replenishment ship Shakti, Deepak class enough big 27000 t carry 15000 t fuel and 300 t ammunitions.
Inde replenishment ship SHAKTI.jpg
 
J

JudgeKing

New Member
Registered Member
Here's an article on the expansion and modernization of the Indian Navy from May 3rd.

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NEW DELHI — The Indian Navy has finalized a plan to acquire 100 cutting-edge technologies in the next 15 years to build its war-fighting capabilities, but how realistic that will be is a million-dollar question.

The 15-year prospective plan unveiled last month calls for acquiring a range of futuristic technologies. These include naval missiles and guns, propulsion and power generation, surveillance and detection systems, torpedoes and directed energy weapons, submarines and anti-submarine warfare systems, naval aviation, network-centric warfare and combat management systems.

"By 2027, we want 200 warships and around 600 aerial assets, hypersonic and loitering missiles, and laser weapons," said Rear Adm. Dinesh Tripathi, the Indian Navy's assistant chief of naval staff for policy and plans.

The navy has 138 warships and submarines and about 230 aerial assets, he said.

"In addition, we need to reduce import content for our sensors and weapons and need a high-range of hypersonic and loitering missiles and laser and directed energy weapons," Tripathi added.

Future naval technologies will be built domestically under the "Make in India" a "Indigenization" categories.

The Make in India policy encourages foreign defense companies to collaborate with Indian companies to set up manufacturing facilities for transfer and absorption of cutting-edge manufacturing technology. This is intended to boost jobs and skill development in the country.

The Indigenization policy is largely meant for domestic [defense] companies, encouraging them to develop products that are currently sourced through imports.

Analysts are divided about how this will work.

"It is true that whereas weapons and sensors and their associated software suites are concerned, there has been sub-optimal indigenization," said Pradeep Chauhan, a retired Indian Navy vice admiral.

Several electronic warfare suites, including Ajanta, Ellora and Porpoise, all of which are fitted on the Navy's latest frontline surface, airborne and subsurface combatants, and which are designed to detect the presence of enemy combatants without disclosing one's position or identity, are an unqualified success, he said.

Likewise, the Indian Navy's family of advanced underwater-sensors, including Advanced Panoramic Sonar Hull mounted (APSOH), Hullmounted Sonar Advanced (HUMSA) and USHUS, are a huge success.

"In the future, high-definition radars, sonars, infra-red seeker and electronic warfare suites will be required," said Birinder Singh Randhawa, retired Indian Navy vice admiral said.

"Immediately, larger-caliber guns, 127mm and anti-missile guns (Vulcan Phalanx type), extended range and guided munitions would also be required. To start with these would need to be built under license," Randhawa said.

Chauhan further argues that the future cannot be assured by resting upon past success, particularly since both government and private industry spent pathetically small amounts of money on research and development.

To build future naval war-fighting capabilities, Chauhan said, the navy will need to acquire disruptive technologies, including electromagnetic rail guns and kinetic energy projectiles; laser-directed weapons, weapon-control systems and communication suites; hypersonic missiles and space planes; blue-green lasers for submarine detection; directed-energy weapons; autonomous advanced drones and unmanned combat vehicles that are truly autonomous and fusion-based power sources.

"However, aviation-based R&D in India has been particularly poorly funded and overseen," Chauhan said. "The only way that new naval aviation assets — such as carrier-borne fixed-wing aircraft, ship-borne multirole rotary-wing aircraft, ship/carrier-launched-and-recovered UAVs and UCAVs can be meaningfully built in India is through the Make in India program."

As regards the network-centric warfare capabilities, Randhawa said the building blocks are in place; data links are produced indigenously, and a naval communication satellite is in place. The capability can be built on and foreign collaboration may be resorted to for initial catch-up.

"The Indian Navy will also require directed energy weapons and laser weapon systems, Chauhan said. "The short-term answer is to exploit the potential of the 'Make in India' policy initiative. The long-term answer is to invest heavily in highly paying R&D."
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