Indian Military Aviation News and Discussion

[Arun_S]

[url="http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?topicName=india%20%20.%20"]Sitara Completes Hot Weather Trials[/url]

By Anantha Krishnan M.

Bengaluru



India’s new Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) has successfully completed its hot weather trials at Jaisalmer.



Called Sitara, the aircraft was designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).



Two aircraft are back in Bangalore after the grueling 10-day trials, sources say. “It was for the first time that the IJT undertook the hot weather trials with the AL-55I Russian engine,” a source says. The first hot weather trials were held in Nagpur in 2006 with the Snecma LARZAC engine.



The IJT had flown with the [color="#0000ff"]Russian-made AL-55I engine in May 2009, and all certification flight tests were completed by February 2010. “Thirty-one flights with the new engine were conducted prior to the Jaisalmer trials,[/color]” a top HAL official says.



IJT is said to have met all the technical and system performance specifications during the hot weather trials. “The environmental system air-conditioning inside the cockpit, environmental control systems, and factors for pilot comforts were checked. Representatives from the Indian Air Force’s Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) also participated in the trials,” a source says.



[color="#0000ff"]During the Jaisalmer trials, the aircraft were flown at an ambient surface temperature of 44 C. A total of 13 flights were flown [/color]and various functional parameters of the aircraft were tested and monitored, including cockpit ambient conditions, avionics, oil and hydraulic systems, aircraft performance, instrumentation and engine bay temperatures.



“These parameters were compared against the trials conducted at Bangalore as well as the technical specifications and air staff requirements laid down by the IAF,” a source added.



Now IJT is set to begin its spin program, after which the aircraft will be ready for its initial operating capability phase late this year.



Leading the team at Jaisalmer was Squadron Leader (ret.) Baldev Singh, HAL’s executive director (flight operations) and chief test pilot (fixed wing).



All future trials will take place using the AL-55I engine, which replaces the Snecma Larzac, sources say. The Russian engine has 20%-25% more thrust than the Larzac. HAL signed a $350 million agreement in 2005 with Rosoboronexport to build 250 AL-55I engines at HAL’s Koraput engine factory, with future options to produce more.



IJT will cost an estimated $10 million each, making it the best-priced aircraft in its segment, sources say.



The IAF needs the IJTs for its Stage II training to replace its current jet trainer, the Kiran. HAL has received a limited series production order for 12 IJTs, and India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has recently cleared an additional batch of 73 IJTs for the series production run. The Indian Air Force has also shown keen interest in buying another 70-plus IJTs in the future.