GARUDA'10 (Part-2)

The Indo-French Air Exercise began today at Istres Air Base in Southern France. The fourth round of Air Exercise ‘GARUDA’ which began today would conclude on 25 of Jun 2010.

During the Ex Garuda, the Indian Air Force and French Air Force would be engaged in various missions ranging from close combat, engagement of large forces, slow mover protection, and protecting and engagement of High Value Aerial Assets. According to the contingent commander of IAF, Gp Capt J Mishra, “The focus of the Air Exercise is learning from each other’s best practices. The Air Defence Operations would be central to our various maneuvers. These would take place in AWACS and non-AWACS environment. The intensity of the exercise would be gradually increased throughout its duration so that we learn and absorb maximum from the exercise”.

During the exercise the IAF’s Special Forces ‘Garuds’ would also be proactively participating and shall be carrying out jumps along with the French Special Forces. The IL-76 aircraft which is an integral part of the exercise flying missions, would practise static line drops with the French Special Forces. It may be recalled that the IAF is participating with Six SU-30 MKIs, Three IL-78s and one IL-76 Aircraft.

The entire IAF contingent arrived at the Istres Air Force Base on 12 Jun 2010 by 1215 hrs local time. The Istres Air Base is a large base located near Istres, North of Marseille in the Bouches-du-Rhone department, France. The base houses some of the world’s finest fighters and helicopters and serves multiple functions, including a repair facility and training grounds. The landing strip of this airbase is said to be the longest in Europe. The Istres Air Base was built before the world War II and has been of immense historical and operational importance.

The Republic of Singapore Air Force is also participating in the Ex-Garuda for the first time with the F-16 Aircraft. The French Air Force assets such as the mid air refueller, Mirage 2000s and Rafael Aircraft have commenced their participation in the exercise.

GARUDA'10 (Part-1)

IAF TEAM FOR EXERCISE GARUDA FLAGGED OFF

An IAF contingent of 230 Air Warriors was flagged off from Air Force Station Bareilly by Air Marshal S Varthaman, Senior Air Staff Officer, Central Air Command at a formal ceremony today. The IAF contingent would be taking part in Exercise Garuda scheduled from 14 Jun to 25 Jun 2010, at Istres Air Base, France.

The IAF assets taking part in exercise include 06 Sukhoi - 30 MKIs Air Dominance fighter aircraft , 03 Ilushin - 78 Flight Refueller Aircraft & 01 Ilushin – 76 Heavy Lift Transport Aircraft. The SU-30 MKIs would be taking part in an exercise in France for the first time.
Earlier SU-30 KAs had participated. Also a team of Garud Special Forces would be taking part in Exercise Garuda for the first time.

Addressing the contingent members at the flagging off ceremony Air Mshl Varthaman said “Indeed it is a proud & privileged honour for him to bid the team good flying & happy landings. We have prepared well for last 6 to 8 months and I am sure you will excel with your professionalism. So fly safe, fly well, make friends, win hearts & touch the sky with glory.”

At the Exercise Garuda the French Air Force would be participating with their Mirage 2000s & Rafael Aircraft. It should also be noted that the Republic of Singapore Air Force would also be participating in Ex-Garuda with their F-16 Block 52 Aircraft.

Gp Capt J Mishra is the Team Leader under whose supervision the IAF contingent would perform in France. Gp Capt NN Sinha of IAF would be the Exercise Director, who would be planning, coordinating & executing different aspects of the flying & ground maneuvers at Ex Garuda.

A joint exercise of this nature enhances mutual operational understanding. It also refines the procedural aspects and provides for tremendous learning experience, for all the participating Air Forces. It also enables the operators to understand each other’s capability. Exercise Garuda continues to enhance & cement the close military ties between the Indian and the French Air Forces.

BAE TARANIS [UCAV]

BAE TARANIS [UCAV]

The BAE Systems Taranis is a British demonstrator program for Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) technology. It is part of the UK's Strategic Unmanned Air Vehicle (Experimental) program (SUAV[E]).

The Strategic Unmanned Air Vehicles (Experiment) IPT, or SUAV(E) IPT is responsible for directing the work required to establish the potential of Unmanned Air Vehicles.

Named after the Celtic god of thunder Taranis, it will "explore and demonstrate how emerging technologies and systems can deliver battle-winning capabilities for the UK armed forces."

First flight for Royal Thai Air Force Gripen

In 2008, Thailand ordered a complete aircraft and command and control system from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) in a Government to Government deal. The order includes a first batch of six Gripen C/D with associated equipment and service, one Saab 340 aircraft equipped with Erieye radar (AEW), a Saab 340 for transport and training plus an integrated command and control system with data links.

The Royal Thai Air Force will start their training on Gripen in Sweden next year and the fighters will be delivered to Thailand in 2011.

(Courtesy: SAAB.Com)

F-16 Super Viper IN completes field trials

BANGALORE: Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Super Viper IN which is one of the five aircraft competing to bag the $10 billion Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contract of the Indian Air Force, has completed phase I of field trials in Bangalore.
Lockheed Martin officials said that the phase I of field trials was over and the week-long training phase was in preparation for further field trials.

Phase II of field trials begins on September 7 and will last two weeks, added officials.
The Boeing F/A-18IN Super Hornet has already completed trails. EADS Eurofighter Typhoon, Russian MiG-35, Sweden’s Grippen and Dassault Aviation’s Rafale are the other contenders.

(Courtesy: INDIAN EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE)

Aerospace major Lockheed begins F-16 trials for Indian Air Force

BANGALORE: US aerospace major Lockheed Martin on Monday began flying its three fighter F-16s here for trials of the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRC) that the Indian Air Force (IAF) wants to buy, to replace its ageing MiG-21 fleet.

"The field trials will be conducted in Bangalore, Jaisalmer and Leh till Sep 18 in different conditions. We had the training phase from Sep 3-5 in preparation for the trials," Lockheed's international communications manager John Giese said.

The trials near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan and Leh in Jammu and Kashmir next week will be to test the fighters in hot weather conditions and in high-altitude mountain ranges.

The three F-16s, which are in service with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force and stationed at Dubai air base, flew into Bangalore on Sep 2, with Lockheed test pilots, US Air Force pilots and a team of engineers and technicians, for the 12-day trials.

"The fighters landed two days behind schedule due to inclement weather and operational reasons. The training phase included familiarising the IAF's evaluation teams with the aircraft's capabilities and technologies, especially its latest electronic warfare and navigational aids," Giese said.

During the training phase, the fighters were stationed at the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) airport on the outskirts of the city. Demonstration of the aircraft, ability of its various systems and the glass cockpit were held at the IAF's Aircraft Systems & Training Establishment (ASTE) complex, which is adjacent to the HAL airstrip.

"As part of the trial preparation, all the three F-16s took to skies twice a day on hour-long sorties despite cloudy weather and intermittent rains Sep 3-5. They flew mostly in south-westerly direction towards Mysore," a senior air traffic control (ATC) official said on Sunday.

IAF's test pilots flew with Lockheed's test pilots in the tandem twin-seater for a firsthand 'feel' of the aircraft and its ability to manoeuvre for combat operations.

Though the advanced fourth generation F-16s participating in the trials are not 'Super Viper', they are closest to the new version the company will offer to the IAF if it wins the estimated $10-billion order for the 126 planes.

"The F-16IN Super Viper will be tailor-made to meet the requirements of the IAF and will be the ultimate fourth generation fighter," Giese claimed.

According to Michael R. Griswold, Lockheed director, the F-16s, with fifth generation capabilities, will demonstrate to the IAF their striking power, speed, accuracy and its awesome 360-degree manoeuvres, with its sophisticated active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.

The other five aircraft in the fray for the order are Boeing's F/A-181N Super Hornet, the Dassault Rafale, the Saab Gripen, the Russian MiG-35 and the European consortium EADS Eurofighter Typhoon.

As per the global tender floated last year, the winning bidder will have to deliver 18 aircrafts in fly-away condition, while the remaining 108 will be manufactured by HAL under a technology transfer deal.

The F-16 trials are taking place three weeks after Boeing flew in its two Super Hornets Aug 14 and conducted trials for about 10 days from Aug 17 in Bangalore, Jaisalmer and Leh.

"Initially, the IAF pilots will co-pilot the aircraft, taking controls mid-air after familiarizing themselves with the systems and the advanced navigation aids. In the subsequent trials, the IAF pilots will take command of the aircraft for evaluating its various parameters, including the use of weapons," a Lockheed official said.

The IAF has formed twin teams of two test pilots each for the trials, which will be conducted in three stages: pilot familiarzsation, field trials and weapons systems trials. The third stage will be conducted in the country of manufacture.

The technical evaluation was completed early this year after the six manufacturers responded to the IAF's Request for Proposal (RFP) in August 2007.

(Courtesy: TIMES OF INDIA)