02-29-2008, 09:51 PM
<b>DRDO lab develops an Integrated Life Support System (ILSS) for Tejas pilots</b> <!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Bangalore: A DRDO lab is developing an Integrated Life Support System (ILSS) that would allow pilots flying India's light combat aircraft, Tejas, breathe easily during long haul flights at high altitudes.
The city-based Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory (DEBEL) says ILSS can generate oxygen to replenish its stock and ensure that the pilot is not deprived of the most essential component for a man's survival.
Speaking at a national science day function here, DEBEL Director, Dr V C Padaki, said the scientists has devised an On Board Oxygen Generation System (OBOGS) which uses compressed air from the engine that has oxygen and nitrogen.
According to DEBEL, the system perfectly suited the needs of the pilots. While only 40 per cent of oxygen from the mix could be obtained when the aircraft flew at lower altitudes, up to 90 per cent of the same can be got at higher altitudes. The system also has an oxygen sensor and a back-up oxygen system to ensure a constant supply of oxygen for the pilot.
On the project costs, Padaki said "More important is the fact that it adds to our indigenous knowledge base, but we have started this project with an initial amount of Rs five crore in which at least five such systems would be developed."
Presently the prototype version functions at the DEBEL laboratory, but plans involve putting the systems on trial once it is ready, expectedly in the next three years.
Bangalore: A DRDO lab is developing an Integrated Life Support System (ILSS) that would allow pilots flying India's light combat aircraft, Tejas, breathe easily during long haul flights at high altitudes.
The city-based Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory (DEBEL) says ILSS can generate oxygen to replenish its stock and ensure that the pilot is not deprived of the most essential component for a man's survival.
Speaking at a national science day function here, DEBEL Director, Dr V C Padaki, said the scientists has devised an On Board Oxygen Generation System (OBOGS) which uses compressed air from the engine that has oxygen and nitrogen.
According to DEBEL, the system perfectly suited the needs of the pilots. While only 40 per cent of oxygen from the mix could be obtained when the aircraft flew at lower altitudes, up to 90 per cent of the same can be got at higher altitudes. The system also has an oxygen sensor and a back-up oxygen system to ensure a constant supply of oxygen for the pilot.
On the project costs, Padaki said "More important is the fact that it adds to our indigenous knowledge base, but we have started this project with an initial amount of Rs five crore in which at least five such systems would be developed."
Presently the prototype version functions at the DEBEL laboratory, but plans involve putting the systems on trial once it is ready, expectedly in the next three years.