India signs contacts with Russia, France, Ukraine to upgrade IAF fleet

Contracts have been signed with Russia, France and Ukraine for upgradation of the flying fleet of Indian Air Force, Defence Minister A K Antony informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

"Contracts have been signed with RAC MiG Russia for upgradation of MiG-29 aircraft, with Spets Techno Export from Ukraine for upgradation of An-32 aircraft and with Thales, France along with with HAL for upgrade of the Mirage-2000 aircraft," he said in a written reply.

He said mid-life upgradation of the fleet is a continuous process and is undertaken to retain the combat relevance of the aircraft.

Antony said the capability building of IAF to meet emerging security challenges is taken as per the Long Term Plan of the force.

"The Capability building involves both upgradation of existing systems and platforms as well as induction of state of the art modern equipment," he said.

On procurement of amphibious assault vessels, he said, "A contract has been concluded with GRSE, Kolkata in September for construction of eight Land Craft Utility ships, which are likely to be inducted in the Indian Navy during 2013-15."

On purchase of Light Utility Helicopters (LUHs), Antony said, "There is a proposal for procurement of 187 Light Utility Helicopters under design and development project undertaken by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)."

He said the project was sanctioned by the Government in February 2009 and was proceeding as per approved time lines.

To a question on development of Kaveri engine for advanced version of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), also known as Tejas Mk-II, Antony said, "DRDO is negotiating with French firm SNECMA for co-development and co-production of Kaveri Aero Engine for the LCA, Tejas Mk-II.

Eurofighter, Rafle extend dogfight from India to UAE to win commercial tender

ABU DHABI: Eurofighter and Rafale, the two finalists in the fray for India's big combat jet order, have extended their dogfight to the UAE to win another commercial tender.

So far, only the French Dassualt's Rafale appeared to be in the bidding for an order for 60 aircraft for the UAE Air Force but a spokesman for EADS Cassidian, the four-nation consortium which makes the aircraft, confirmed that the company had received a formal Request for Proposal (RfP) a few weeks back and that "we are working hard to deliver a response".

Who else has been invited is not known but sources in Lockheed Martin told India Strategic defence magazine (www.indiastrategic.in) that the company was in discussions here "to supply additional aircraft." It is not clear if these "additional" cover a few more, or are the replacement for 60 Mirages that the UAE wants to phase out.

Boeing has also made presentations to the UAE on its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-15E Strike Eagle, but again, there are no firm indications on whether the RfP has been sent to Boeing also.

Notably, Rafale had completed all the mandatory flight tests and discussions were on only to fix the price. But on Nov 16, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, said at the Dubai Airshow that Dassault's proposal was "uncompetitive and unworkable".

The French company declined comment.

A Eurofighter spokesman, though, confirmed that Britain, one of the partners in the project, had made a presentation to the UAE Air Force on October 17 and after that, the RfP was issued to EADS Cassidian, the four-nation consortium that includes Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain.

It may be recalled that the UAE had purchased 80 F-16 Desert Falcons from Lockheed Martin configured with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) and other combat radars in 2000. All of them, designated Block 60 due to specific and exclusive UAE requirements and which cost nearly 25 to 30 percent more than the US Air Force'sown F 16s, were delivered beginning 2004 for about $8.5 billion.

The UAE had also ordered the Mirage 2000, again configured to its specific requirements and designated Mirage 2000-9, from Dassault in 1998. An older lot was also converted to the new Dash-9 standards with new avionics, combat radars and laser pods. Overall, there are around 60 Mirage aircraft, equipped with MBDA's Black Shaheen subsonic cruise missiles and advanced weapons. Dassault is supposed to buy these back under its RfP terms, and do whatever -- keep them or sell them.

Sources here told this writer that informal discussions on selling the Mirage 2000-9s have been held "at the diplomatic level with India" but that there has been no interest from New Delhi. Details were not given.

The UAE's F-16 Block 60 is the most advanced F-16 version and Lockheed Martin brought these to India for flight demonstrations for the Indian Air Force's Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition.

Of the six aircraft origianlly in the fray, the IAF has shortlisted only the Eurofighter and Rafale, and a decision on the choice is likely to be announced by the defence ministry, which is now considering the financial demands for the deal from the two companies.

What happens in the UAE should have no bearing on the Indian MMRCA competition as IAF has already selected only Rafale and Eurofighter, disqualifying four others on the basis of number of points scored in flight and weapon tests. The former IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik, who had announced the decision on shortlisting, observed though that "all the competing aircraft (the US F-16 and F-18, the Swedish Gripen and the Russian Mig 35) were good".

The UAE's decision to seek new bids, however, has two implications: That its own selection process has to start afresh, and that the winner in the Indian competition will have to fine-tune its offer in the final negotiations but after the selection.

Russian Air Force to get 90 aircraft in 2012

The Russian Air Force will take delivery of about 90 new or modernized fixed and rotary wing aircraft in 2012, a Defense Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

The Air Force will receive up to 10 Su-34 Fullback fighter-bombers, about 10 Su-25SM Frogfoot attack fighters, and an unspecified number of Su-35S Flanker-E multirole fighters, Col. Vladimir Drik said.

The Su-35S is Russia’s advanced “Generation 4++” fighter.

New acquisitions will also include over 20 attack helicopters, such as the Mi-28N Night Hunter and the Ka-52 Alligator, as well as “highly modernized” Mi-35 Hind helicopters.

The Air Force will also receive about 30 Mi-8 transport and five Mi-26T heavy lift helicopters.

Info - Eurofighter flying over UAE: how to arrange an iconic air-to-air photo shoot

Dubai Air Show 2011; Clear blue skies, an RAF Typhoon, a Spartan C-27J, the world’s most famous aviation photographer and a team of enthusiastic pilots and crew – independently, they are all incredible assets at an air show, but in combination, they meant the possibility of an epic photo shoot over Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s most iconic landmarks। The question is, how was it all made possible and what challenges did they face? The answer is an easy one; team work, flexibility, opportunity and a shared passion for the world’s most advanced multi-role combat aircraft.

One of the benefits of being a consortium comprising of four of Europe’s leading aerospace manufactures is that at an air show such as Dubai, you have a wealth of capabilities under one proverbial roof. As a result, Italian partner company Alenia Aeronautica provided a military transport aircraft in the form of a Spartan C-27J as photo and film platform, German partner company EADS provided an expert film crew, world-renown photographer Katsuhiko Tokunaga brought his selection of cameras and the Royal Air Force, straight from exercises at Al Dhafra air base in Abu Dhabi, brought a Eurofighter Typhoon.

Whilst we had all the ingredients and a fantastic opportunity for some great photos and video, it would not have been possible without the approval from Dubai and Abu Dhabi air traffic control, the UAE authorities and the UK government. Even when both aircraft were airborne, there was still uncertainty as to whether the aircraft had clearance in the air space entering Abu Dhabi. This was quickly resolved thanks to the good relationships the pilots of both the Spartan and the RAF crew have with air traffic control.

The flight passed along the coast of Dubai, over the Atlantic Palm, the World islands and then on to Abu Dhabi where both aircraft circled over the bold red of Ferrari world, the Emirates Palace and the spectacular Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. With some incredible images and video footage captured, the aircraft made the return trip to Dubai International airport, passing alongside the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa which measures 2,723ft. or 828m. The aircraft flew as fast as 180-210 knots and their heights varied from 2000ft to 5000ft.

The RAF Typhoon, piloted by Squadron Leader Bolton was “directed” throughout the flight by photographer Tokunaga whose expert eye saw him reposition the aircraft with simple hand gestures to achieve the best possible shots. The results were stunning.

See for yourself how the flight unfolded with a video documenting the trip. Attached are some images from the flight but go online now to visit our image gallery to download the images taken. The video can also be found in our video library: www.eurofighter.com/media/video-library.html

Courtesy: www.eurofighter.com

Press Release - Two Eurofighter Typhoons Display at Dubai Air Show 2011

Just a few days after participating in a complex exercise in Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi and with aircraft still in Malaysia for exercise BERSAMA LIMA 11, two Typhoon jets will appear at the 2011 Dubai Air Show 2011. At the event, where a Typhoon will be flying daily in the air display, Eurofighter will have a large pavilion to exhibit the latest technologies developed for the worlds most advanced multi-role combat aircraft.

The presence of the two jets at the most important air show in the region will be further proof of the excellent deployment capabilities of the Typhoon,already proven during Libyan operations when jets from the Royal Air Force and Italian Air Force redeployed to Southern Italy air bases to operate in supportof United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973.

The deployment in Libya has clearly defined the key functions of the aircraft, ranging from the vital task of air superiority, with the capability to engage multiple targets at long, medium or short range using AMRAAM, IRIS-Tor ASRAAM missiles, to the newly established surface attack role, striking atlong range with precision weapons. In addition, Typhoon delivered close airsupport to ground forces including the supply of intelligence, a show offorce and weapon attack.

Participation in the Libyan operations marked the combat debut of the Typhoon and the first time it has been used as a swing-role platform. Typhoon covered two vital roles over Libya that were previously discharged by two separate platforms.

The fact that the airframe is largely constructed of carbon fibre composites and light alloys to save weight meaning it consumes less fuel and can carry more weapons was never more vital than on the five hour plus missions along the Libyan coastline and after six months of operations, Dubai Air Show 2011 is a perfect showcase for the Typhoon.

At the show, Eurofighter will display a selection of the range of capabilities for the Typhoon, including:

• The Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar which thanks to the large aircraft nose, allows for an optimised array with the addition ofan innovative re-positioner to broaden the field of regard to more than 200 degrees, some 50% wider than traditional fixed plate AESA radar systems.

• The most advanced Helmet Mounted Symbology System (HMSS) which forms a key component of the Eurofighter Typhoon weapon system, improving tactical performance for Eurofighter pilots by providing essential flight and weapon aiming information through line of sight imagery.

• The Meteor missile - considered the "game changer" in terms of kill probability thanks to its dynamic performances, speed and range.

• The Marte anti-ship missile.

• The Thrust Vectoring Nozzle (TVN) for the Eurojet EJ200 engines.

These technological developments on the Typhoon open the door to industrial collaborations between local industries and the Eurofighters partner companies keen to develop the partnership with aerospace and high-tech companies in the growing technology and industrial base of the Gulf region.

Already in service with the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), the Typhoon is considered the perfect "desert eagle". The aircraft already demonstrates its full capabilities in the arid, hot and humid climate of the Gulf region. Thanks to its exceptional thrust-to-weight ratio, the Typhoon suffers less than other fighters in the difficult environmental conditions and is able to exploit at full its payload capability and range performances.

Totally interoperable with current and future Gulf and allied air forces assets, the Typhoon is the perfect coalition fighter to offer deterrence to the Gulf States today and in the future.

Courtesy: www.eurofighter.com

The first international Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II has rolled out of the factory

The first international Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II has rolled out of the factory. The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence will use the short takeoff/vertical landing (jet, known as BK-1, for training and operational tests.