Quote:Feb.23 : At a time when the combat power of the Indian Air Force is at an all-time low (29 squadrons, against a sanctioned strength of 39.5 squadrons and a required strength of 45 squadrons), two significant events connected with the enhancement of its capabilities are underway without much fanfare and are hopefully gathering momentum quietly, away from the public gaze.
The first of these is the commencement of evaluation trials by teams from the Air Staff Test Establishment (ASTE) of six top-of-the-line combat aircraft from different countries which are contending for the mammoth $10-15 billion contract for 126 multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) to be inducted into the Indian Air Force, to replace obsolescent aircraft in service and rejuvenate the fading combat strength of frontline squadrons.
The second is the maiden flight early this year of the Sukhoi-T50 (Pakfa), a fifth-generation fighter aircraft being jointly developed by India and Russia under an agreement between the two countries. The aircraft has been in the making since the early 1990s and is scheduled for production and induction into both air forces around 2015-2017. India is funding a percentage of the costs involved (between 25 to 50 per cent, according to different sources), and will also develop some of the integral software and hardware components.
The MRCA trials encompass the F-16 and F-18 from the United States, the MiG-35 from Russia, the Rafale from France, the Eurofighter Typhoon from a consortium of the European Union, and the Saab Viggen from Sweden, each a formidable contender in its own right. The trials will be under constant national and international scrutiny by the Indian government, the competing manufacturers and their governments as well as the aviation industry in general. Foreign intelligence services would also be undoubtedly watching from the sidelines, particularly of those countries with whom Indiaââ¬â¢s relationships have traditionally been adversarial. Needless to say, whichever aircraft is finally selected, the induction of 126 MRCA will provide a quantum jump in the capabilities of the Indian Air Force.
The overall process is undoubtedly complex, but evaluation of the actual equipment against finite parameters and criteria set out in the Air Staff Requirements is perhaps the most objective part of it all. However, military and technical performances of the contending aircraft and financial terms and conditions of the contract only provide concrete inputs into the selection process. A critical part of the final decision has to be evolved in the more amorphous realm of Indiaââ¬â¢s own geopolitical compulsions and strategic national interests, particularly with regard to the countries and blocs whose aircraft are being evaluated. These environments are necessarily unquantifiable and to that extent subjective, but nonetheless cannot be wished away.
In this broader geopolitical context, the ultimate selection of the aircraft will have to take into account the long-term relationships India wishes to maintain and develop with the vendor countries, in particular the United States and Russia, who are contesting the MRCA sweepstakes through their representative proxies ââ¬â Americaââ¬â¢s F-16 and F-18 and Russiaââ¬â¢s MiG-35. For these two countries, the contract has acquired the overtones of a prestige issue, and could even become a touchstone for future relationships with India, which at present is widely perceived as tilting towards the United States. Russia, on the other hand, is a valued and time-tested ally of long standing, though somewhat shaky on its feet after the end of the Cold War, but nevertheless a putative superpower and a potentially useful anchor for India in the context of the Sino-Pakistan axis.
Historical compulsions have created a strong Russian connection for the Indian Air Force, notwithstanding long-standing complaints at working levels in this country about difficult commercial negotiations with Russian partners. However, the government has nevertheless opted to link the overall future equipment profile of the Air Force with the Indo-Russian Sukhoi T-50 FGFA. This is where the evaluation trials of the MRCA interconnect with the development flights of the T-50 FGFA.
The Indian Air Force has traditionally suffered from excessive multiplicity of equipment and its associated problems. The same mistake should not be repeated in the case of the new MRCA. Logically speaking, therefore, the large fleet of the newly-acquired MRCA should not be inducted independent of future plans, but rather utilised as a lead-in series for the Sukhoi T-50 FGFA. This narrows down the field considerably, and there are some who suggest that instead of trials, India might as well have purchased the required additional numbers of Sukhoi-30 MKI, another outstanding aircraft from the same stable, already in squadron service with the Indian Air Force. The question that now arises is: Is the Russian fifth-generation aircraft, for which India has already committed financially, indeed the final choice for future aircraft for the Indian Air Force?
India has also to contend against itself and its institutionalised phobias of hyper-sanctimoniousness regarding defence transactions. The government has a record of abrupt and impromptu cancellations at the slightest of suspicions, no matter how grievous is the resultant self-inflicted injury on defence preparedness in terms of lost time and opportunities. While no right-thinking person can ever condone corruption, nevertheless a stage has also been reached when the country can no longer afford to throw out the baby with the bathwater by indiscriminately terminating entire series of trials of weapons under acquisition every time there is a suspicion of alleged wrongdoing, whether actual or imaginary. As these exceedingly complex trials of fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force get under way, it is to be sincerely hoped that they are not interrupted for any reason.
The country must evolve a more rational system of investigation and fact-finding, to target specific parties within the process found to be directly or indirectly involved in any wrongdoing without halting the entire process and delaying weapons acquisition. The ghosts of Bofors have created enough havoc with the countryââ¬â¢s defence preparedness. The time has come to finally exorcise them for the greater good of the nation.
Gen. Shankar Roychowdhury is a former Chief of Army Staff and a former Member of Parliament
[quote name='gangajal1' date='24 February 2010 - 12:28 AM' timestamp='1266951015' post='104495']
No, I am not a Pakistani. I am laughing at the pretensions of that silly reporter who
claimed superpower status for IAF when it flies foreign airplanes. I don't particularly
care about PLAAF but certainly China is not a superpower. US will remain the only superpower for some more decades precisely because of its superb education machine which makes sure that US has a technological edge over other countries in vital matters.
Indian political leaders should realize that setting up first class research universities is absolutel essential for future superpower status.
[/quote]
US is loosing its educational edge to other Asian nations, and thats where you are wrong, not that I think U R pakistani.
Indians are lagging behind in educational field wrt China, and it seems they have no intention to catch up - Kapil Sibal or Kapil Dev, nothing doing.........IITs, IISc, IIM, NITs, AIIMS, ISI, JU, BITS, n JIS notwithstanding!
Education is a building block of a society, if left ignored, even the basement can collapse!
[quote name='ankit-s' date='25 February 2010 - 12:02 AM' timestamp='1267035859' post='104507']
US is loosing its educational edge to other Asian nations, and thats where you are wrong, not that I think U R pakistani.
Indians are lagging behind in educational field wrt China, and it seems they have no intention to catch up - Kapil Sibal or Kapil Dev, nothing doing.........IITs, IISc, IIM, NITs, AIIMS, ISI, JU, BITS, n JIS notwithstanding!
Education is a building block of a society, if left ignored, even the basement can collapse!
[/quote]
Yes, Japan and to some extent Taiwan do have excellent facilities. China has also made some progress in improving their
education sector. Nevertheless, US remains the educational superpower of the world.
India should have a coherent strategy in the education sector. That strategy should remove the serious weaknesses that
bedevil Indian manufacturing in the civil and military industrial sector. It is not necessary right now to do research in
fundamental Physics areas since I do not expect any significant progress in such areas any time soon. I am thinking of
subjects like Quantum Mechanics and its applications in fundamental particles and cosmology when I say fundamental
Physics areas
The strategy should be to have a chain of research universities funded by MOD and private sector which specializes in
materials, condensed matter, laser-matter interaction research. It is, for example, essential to study the properties of materials in extreme temperature and pressure conditions. Knowledge of such properties would immediately help improve
the design of the Kaveri engine. It is a pity that such a strategy has not been followed.
[size="6"]Antonov to start Indian An-32 upgrade during March[/size]
Ukrainian aircraft-maker Antonov is poised to start work on an upgrade to the Indian air force's An-32s, with a first batch of aircraft scheduled to arrive in Kiev in early March for modernisation.
"Part of the An-32 fleet will be upgraded at the BRD-1 [base repair depot number one] of the Indian air force in Kanpur," says a senior official at Antonov. The facility is in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The upgrade work involves all 105 An-32s in the air force fleet, and is being done in accordance with a contract signed in June 2009, says Antonov.
The project involves fitting the aircraft with up-to-date equipment, including an "air collision avoidance system, ground proximity warning system, satellite navigation, distance measuring equipment, upgraded radio altimeter, new radar with multifunctional indicators, new oxygen system and improvements to the crew seats," the company official says.
Indian pilots will test the upgraded An-32s, the source adds, with the entire modernisation programme to take about five years to complete.
The An-32 is similar to the An-26, but features more powerful turboprop engines mounted higher on the wing.
"The An-32 light transport was created jointly with enterprises of Indian industry and in accordance with Indian air force requirements," the Antonov official notes. Its "main feature is a capability to operate from and to high airfields up to 4,500m [14,800ft] above sea level", he adds.
The aircraft can also operate under hot climatic conditions, says the official, adding that there are instances where the An-32 is the only aircraft available that can link India's high mountain settlements with its bigger cities.
[quote name='gangajal1' date='25 February 2010 - 03:02 AM' timestamp='1267046659' post='104516']
Yes, Japan and to some extent Taiwan do have excellent facilities. China has also made some progress in improving their
education sector. Nevertheless, US remains the educational superpower of the world.
India should have a coherent strategy in the education sector. That strategy should remove the serious weaknesses that
bedevil Indian manufacturing in the civil and military industrial sector. It is not necessary right now to do research in
fundamental Physics areas since I do not expect any significant progress in such areas any time soon. I am thinking of
subjects like Quantum Mechanics and its applications in fundamental particles and cosmology when I say fundamental
Physics areas
The strategy should be to have a chain of research universities funded by MOD and private sector which specializes in
materials, condensed matter, laser-matter interaction research. It is, for example, essential to study the properties of materials in extreme temperature and pressure conditions. Knowledge of such properties would immediately help improve
the design of the Kaveri engine. It is a pity that such a strategy has not been followed.
[/quote]
American education is faltering, and its not me talking, it was Clinton b4 and now its Obama.
Quote:Fact: Half of Ph.D.ââ¬â¢s in engineering in the U.S. are foreign students. U.S. production of domestic engineers is far behind China, India, European Union. One of the most productive (per population) is South Korea. China produces 4 times more engineers. South Korea produces as many engineers as the U.S., although it has 1/6th the population and 1/20th the GDP.
Harvard, Yale, MIT wont count, Its not machines, its always been a man behind the machine - and more than Americans, its foreigners who are taking the best advantage of these tools, while Americans are loosing the edge to Asians.
Read the complete source report:
Source: ââ¬ÅK-12 Establishment is Putting Americaââ¬â¢s Industrial Leadership at Riskââ¬Â, USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education)
As for India, it will always lag behind China-US-Japan_west because we lack a dynamic leadership who would not take the bull by the horn. Congress with its firangi as the de fakto head of state who is busy stashing all the (Indian) wealth to European continent - A Robert Clive in the making.
Tardy progress is all we get, and will be so 4 the long time 2 come......wishful thinking apart!
02-28-2010, 10:15 PM (This post was last modified: 02-28-2010, 10:23 PM by Arun_S.)
[url="http://publication.samachar.com/topstorytopmast.php?sify_url=http://sify.com/news/air-force-chopper-crashes-ahead-of-demonstration-news-national-kc2tEcbjdcj.html"]Air force chopper (Sarang/ALH) crashes ahead of demonstration[/url]
Quote:2010-02-28 05:30:00
[size="2"][color="black"][font="verdana"][size="2"][color="black"]Pokhran: [/color][/size][/color][/size][/font]An advanced light helicopter (ALH) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) Sarang aerobatic display team crashed on Saturday, ahead of the firepower demonstration here, an IAF officer said on Sunday.
'The aircraft suddenly lost power and crashed after the pilot was unable to regain control,' the officer told IANS.
It crashed at the Jaisalmer airfield, about 50 km from the Pokhran ranges.
Both the pilot and the co-pilot of the helicopter were safe. A depleted three-helicopter Sarang team displayed its skills at Sunday's fire power show.
This is the second crash of a Sarang ALH in three years. The first happened ahead of the February 2007 AeroIndia International airshow in Bangalore.
[url="http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=12458"]Dhruv helicopter crashlands while rehearsing for air show[/url]
Quote:PTI Saturday, February 27, 2010
New Delhi: An Advanced Light Helicopter 'Dhruv' of the Indian Air Force today crash-landed in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer district while rehearsing for the 'Vayu Shakti' air power show to be held there tomorrow.
The helicopter was part of the Sarang Helicopter Display Team of the IAF and was rehearsing for tomorrow's air show, when the incident occurred, IAF officials said here.
"Both pilots are safe after they had to make a controlled crash-landing due to loss of power in the chopper," they added. The IAF has ordered a Court of Inquiry to look into the reasons behind the incident, the officials said.
In 2005, the entire ALH Dhruv fleet had been grounded for several months after a similar incident in Andhra Pradesh and the subsequent probe had found a fault with the tail rotor blades of the choppers.
On whether the display team comprising four ALH Dhruvs will take part in the air show tomorrow, for which the president and the defence minister are also coming, they said, "Sarang's participation is not yet cancelled."
This is the fifth incident involving the helicopter since 2004 when one of the choppers being operated by the Royal Nepal Army suffered a hard landing. In October 2009, an ALH Dhruv of the Ecuadorian Air Force crashed during display manoeuvres at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport there.
After the formation of Sarang team in 2003, this is the second accident involving its Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)-built Dhruv helicopters.
In the first incident on February 2, 2007, one of the choppers crashed in Bangalore killing its co-pilot during rehearsals before the Aero India show.
All the three Services along with the state governments operate the helicopter and it has been exported to various countries including Nepal, Ecuador, Mauritius, Maldives and Israel.
Washington, Sep 27 (IANS) Eyeing India's estimated $100 billion defence pie, major US arms suppliers are wooing Indian defence agents and officials as New Delhi embarks on a major military shopping spree to modernise its Soviet-era arsenal, a US media report said.
At the US embassy in New Delhi, defence contractors such as Northrop Grumman are sponsoring little league baseball teams, the companies' names stitched onto the uniforms, the Washington Post said in a report from New Delhi.
Almost every weekend, there are cocktails and closed-door presentations in the suites of New Delhi's five-star hotels, hosted by retired admirals and generals from the US armed forces who now work for defence firms, such as Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, it said.
'India will look back-generations down the road-at this period as a defining moment for its new, modern military,' the Post cited Roger Rose, chief executive of Lockheed Martin India, which is renting half a wing of New Delhi's Taj Palace Hotel for a 12-person office.
'I think we can all see that there are a lot of threats shared between our two democracies.'
With its growing military footprint, India is steering away from traditional ally Russia, its main weapons supplier, and looking toward the United States to help upgrade its weapons systems and troop gear, the Post said
India is also pushing the Obama administration to ease the acquisition of US weapons and technology. Already this year, a high-level US government group cleared the way for Lockheed and Boeing to offer India cutting-edge radar technology for fighter jets.
India now has a shopping list that includes 126 fighter jets, 155mm howitzers, long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, vast cargo planes used in long-distance conflicts, high-tech helicopters and deep-water submarines. Boeing is vying with Lockheed-along with French, Russian and Swedish companies and a European consortium-for a fighter jet deal worth about $10 billion.
India is holding flight tests for the fighter jets. Lockheed and Boeing have conducted demonstration flights for Indian celebrities and defence experts.
'America's relationship to India is maturing and expanding. India is an important global player now,' the Post said citing William S. Cohen, a defence secretary during the Clinton administration who is a member of the US-India Business Council's board of directors.
[size="6"]ndian Air Force to showcase 'Vayu Shakti-2010' at Pokhran today[/size]
The Indian Air Force will display its full combat power capability when 'Vayu Shakti-2010', its biggest firepower demonstration is unleashed at the Pokhran firing ranges this evening.
The whole of Pokhran will reverberate to the sound of fighter planes. For the first time ever, there will be a day-night practise and show of strength of the IAF.
About 70 planes of different variety like Sukhoi 30s, Mirage 2000, Jaguars, MIG 21, attack helicopters, UAVs and high-tech AWACS will display their full firepower.
This demonstration is to showcase the full range of IAF skills and capabilities.
The transport aircraft include AN-32, Embraer and IL-76, while Mi-17 4 and Mi-35 attack helicopters will constitute the rotary wing ingredients.
For the first time Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) will be used to monitor the mammoth exercise, while an unmanned aerial vehicle will stream live video images of the target destruction.
In addition to the 65 aircrafts participating from all IAF Commands, 30 standby aircraft in air and an equal number on ground will make it one of the biggest participation by IAF aircraft in any such FPD ever.
Mock radar sites, tanks, marshalling yards, terrorist camps, runway, BMP (infantry fighting vehicles), blast pens and convoys are among few of the targets that pilots will seek to destroy. Para-drop and troop insertion of Guard- IAF's Special Forces to neutralize a terrorist camp will also be on display.
The other attractions will include aerobatics display by Surya Kirans and Sarang, display by IAF skydiving team-Akash Ganga and renditions by IAF Symphonic Orchestra.
The fire power demonstration is a collective display of skills and accuracy in weapon delivery by pilots at the end of their training year. The exercise also aids commanders and planners to ain better insight into the potential and deployment capabilities of aerial weapons. (ANI)
India and Russia are negotiating a new contract on the delivery of 42 Su-30MKI to the Indian Air Force, an Indian newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing military sources.
According to the Daily News and Analysis newspaper, the new deal, which is reportedly worth more than $3 billion, has been in the works for several months.
The new air-superiority fighters will come on top of the 230 already contracted from Russia in three deals worth a total of $8.5 billion.
"The [new] order is being placed due to the insufficient number of fighter squadrons in the Indian Air Force and would allow us to eliminate potential threats," a source in the Indian Defense Ministry told RIA Novosti.
India originally ordered 50 Su-30MKI aircraft from Russia in 1996-98 and an additional 40 planes in 2007. Hindustani Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was also contracted to build 140 aircraft in India between 2003 and 2017 under a licensed production agreement.
The Indian Air Force currently has about 100 Su-30MKIs, mainly deployed at airbases close to the borders with China and Pakistan.
Analysts believe that India will remain the main purchaser of Russian-made combat aircraft for the next 15 years under existing and future contracts, as the country desperately needs to upgrade its fighter fleet, which includes Su-30MKI and MiG-29 fighters, but mainly consists of obsolete Soviet MiG-21 models.
[url="http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100302/158066242-print.html"]India set to buy 42 more Russian Su-30 fighter jets[/url]
Quote:02/03/201016:05India and Russia are negotiating a new contract on the delivery of 42 Su-30MKI to the Indian Air Force, an Indian newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing military sources.
According to the Daily News and Analysis newspaper, the new deal, which is reportedly worth more than $3 billion, has been in the works for several months.
The new air-superiority fighters will come on top of the 230 already contracted from Russia in three deals worth a total of $8.5 billion.
"The [new] order is being placed due to the insufficient number of fighter squadrons in the Indian Air Force and would allow us to eliminate potential threats," a source in the Indian Defense Ministry told RIA Novosti.
India originally ordered 50 Su-30MKI aircraft from Russia in 1996-98 and an additional 40 planes in 2007. Hindustani Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was also contracted to build 140 aircraft in India between 2003 and 2017 under a licensed production agreement.
The Indian Air Force currently has about 100 Su-30MKIs, mainly deployed at airbases close to the borders with China and Pakistan.
Analysts believe that India will remain the main purchaser of Russian-made combat aircraft for the next 15 years under existing and future contracts, as the country desperately needs to upgrade its fighter fleet, which includes Su-30MKI and MiG-29 fighters, but mainly consists of obsolete Soviet MiG-21 models.
Quote:02/03/201015:03A Russian-Indian fifth-generation fighter jet could be developed by 2015-2016, a Russian defense industry official said on Tuesday.
Moscow and New Delhi are expected to sign a contract on a [color="#0000ff"]joint development of the new fighter in the near future, focusing on the design concept and technical requirements put forward by India[/color].
"I hope that we will be able to build a joint fifth-generation aircraft in the next five to six years. It is a time-consuming and complex project," said Alexander Fomin, first deputy head of the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation.
The new aircraft will be most likely based on Russia's T-50 prototype fifth-generation fighter, which has already made two test flights and is expected to join the Russian Air Force in 2015.
India's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was reported to be seeking a 25% share in design and development in the project.
Fomin said [color="#4169e1"]the fighter for the Indian Air Force could incorporate several integrated on-board systems developed by third parties. {Aruns_S: a.k.a Isareli/French )
[/color]
"The integration is good because we will not have to invent a bicycle and can use the things that our neighbors already have, but it is also a difficult task because we will have to combine all the elements in a unified system," the official said.
[color="#4169e1"]The new fighter for the Indian Air Force is expected to feature a two-seat cockpit, advanced electronics and could be armed with BrahMos supersonic missiles. {Aruns_S: why screw teh aircraft design balance by asking to fit in a BrahMos in its small internal stores belly?}
[/color]
Russia has been developing its fifth-generation fighter since the 1990s. The current prototype, known as the T-50, was designed by the Sukhoi design bureau and built at a plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in Russia's Far East.
Russian officials have already hailed the fighter as "a unique warplane" that combines the capabilities of an air superiority fighter and attack aircraft.
If they mean fitting Brahmos on to FGFA, they dont mean squeezing it in the weapon bay.IT was known that Russia is developing a new generation of AWACS killers with a range of >400KM and are supossed to be carried by under wing pylons.So ,will be Brahmos I/II. All it needs is a bit of strengthened wing roots/structure.
Either India/russia trying to fit brahmos in internal weapon bays....... will be a high level idiocracy( wasting a good stealthy real estate meant for AAM`s/PGMs...)
03-03-2010, 05:44 AM (This post was last modified: 03-03-2010, 05:47 AM by Arun_S.)
Cross posting from Military thread:
========================
[quote name='ankit-s' date='03 March 2010 - 04:12 AM' timestamp='1267569259' post='104734']
[size="3"]Shifting Geopolitics Realigns Indian Relations[/size]
NEW DELHI - India has shifted back into a closer relationship with Russia as New Delhi perceives a growing threat from China while the U.S. Obama administration has focused on engaging traditional foe Pakistan to aid its Afghanistan campaign, defense analysts said.
While New Delhi signed a $2.1 billion contract with the United States to purchase six P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft in January 2009, India and Russia closed the year by signing an agreement on nuclear cooperation and resolving the long-standing Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier dispute. India agreed to pay $1.2 billion above 2004's contracted price of $800 million for the ship.
The countries also [color="#0000ff"]finalized the joint production of a fifth-generation combat jet for $10 billion,[/color] and the Indian Navy has decided to buy [color="#0000ff"]additional MiG-29K aircraft from Russia worth about $1.2 billion[/color].
India and Russia signed a nuclear cooperation agreement in December 2009 that offers India better terms than the Indo-U.S. nuclear cooperation agreement, which has yet to become operational, Indian officials said.
[/quote]
Thanks Ankit for posting this.
One of the crucial payback for playing strategic cooperation with Indian post 1998 Pokhran, Op-Prakaram and Nuclear Deal is to reward French and Russia. The carrot of the MRCA deal worth $12 Billion had been hanging up the pole for long, and it was critical for India for split the deal between two supplier countries (on Indian TOT terms) between Russia and France/Europe.
US had a chance in between, but the crooked tail of the dog has shown to not become straight and remain crooked under Obama; thus the US Teens (F-Fifiteen or F-Eighteens ) will remain naked, and no new bones thrown at them (P8I and C130 is enough bone for the dog)
Now with the $10 Billion (for FGFA) and change (for Mig29-K, Akula and Greshkov) going to Ivan, the MRCA can now settle for the best technical fit for IAF, and I hope Rafael or Gripen will be chosen for the full compliment of 128 aircrafts, instead of splitting it between two supplier that will be a costly maintainace and up-time nightmare for IAF and India.
[quote name='Arun_S' date='23 February 2010 - 12:49 PM' timestamp='1266957664' post='104498']
Bharat_2009: Pls clarify, if you subscribe to that notion that buying these 126 aircrafts will make India/IAF Super Power.
[/quote]
The 126+ MMRCA would only just make up for the rapid depletion in the IAF's squadron strength and the numberplating of some of the squadrons. Superpower status (superpower defined in Cold War terms here) is something else, though nobody has unambiguously defined the definition of "superpower" in today's world and/or its relevance to the IAF.
[quote name='ankit-s' date='26 February 2010 - 03:03 AM' timestamp='1267181754' post='104556']
American education is faltering, and its not me talking, it was Clinton b4 and now its Obama.
Harvard, Yale, MIT wont count, Its not machines, its always been a man behind the machine - and more than Americans, its foreigners who are taking the best advantage of these tools, while Americans are loosing the edge to Asians.
Read the complete source report:
Source: ââ¬ÅK-12 Establishment is Putting Americaââ¬â¢s Industrial Leadership at Riskââ¬Â, USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education)
As for India, it will always lag behind China-US-Japan_west because we lack a dynamic leadership who would not take the bull by the horn. Congress with its firangi as the de fakto head of state who is busy stashing all the (Indian) wealth to European continent - A Robert Clive in the making.
Tardy progress is all we get, and will be so 4 the long time 2 come......wishful thinking apart!
[/quote]
Very true! First one needs the political will and leadership, and then everything else will follow.
[size="6"]3 killed in Hyderabad air show plane crash[/size]
Hyderabad: Two Navy pilots and a civilian died and two persons were injured when a Navy plane crashed at an international aviation exhibition and hit a building in a residential area near Begumpet airport in Hyderabad.
Officials tell CNN-IBN the aircraft belonged to the Indian Navy's aerobatic Sagar Pawan team and it crashed into a two-storied building while performing an aerobatic manoeuvre with three other aircraft.
The aircraft, part of the Navy's aerobatics team that uses four trainers, was unable to pull up from a dive and went into a spiral as the planes were breaking away from the formation and going at different directions.
IANS reports the aircraft, an HJT-16 Kiran Mk2 trainer built by Hindustan Aeronautics, crashed a couple of minutes before noon near the old Begumpet Airport in the heart of the city.
The air show began at 11:05 am and 15 minutes into the air show one of the aircraft was seen breaking away.
Witnesses said they heard a loud boom, after which the plane went down. A thick cloud of smoke rose to the sky near the Begumpet airport following the accident.
According to witnesses, the plane had crashed into the mobile phone towers on top of the building. They heard a loud boom, after which the plane went down.
The crash occurred on the first day of India Aviation 2010, a five-day event from March 3-7, which will feature exhibition, conference on civil aviation industry, CEOs Forum, flying display, customer demonstration flights, static display and media conferences.
[size="6"]Helicopter assembly line in Hyderabad[/size]
Hyderabad: The operator of Hyderabad airport would lease out 6-12 acres of land to set up a $70-100 million helicopter factory, two executives of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (Ghial) said on Tuesday.
The chopper assembly line will be built jointly by an Indian firm and a foreign aerospace company, said D. Ravindran, chief operating officer, aviation and aerospace business, Ghial. He declined to name the firms.
Mint had reported on 17 February that Anglo-Italian helicopter firm AgustaWestland will seek government approval for a 49% stake in a joint venture with Tata Sons Ltd to set up a final assembly unit for its AW-119 choppers in Hyderabad. It was not immediately clear if this proposed venture would build the factory at the airport.
Work on the assembly line will begin in two-three months, the two Ghial executives said on condition of anonymity.
This is part of the firmââ¬â¢s plans to increase earnings from the 5,495 acres it has at its disposal. Ghial intends to lease out 125 acresââ¬âincluding the helicopter projectââ¬âin the next three years to aerospace providers, convention centres, aviation academies and similar facilities.
Ghial has leased out 25 acres for an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul facility to a venture of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd and Jet Airways (India) Ltd, which is likely to cost at least $70 million and expected to be functional next year.
US-based aircraft engine maker CFM International will also start training engineers at the airport from 8 March. Ghial is also in talks with seat manufacturing firms to set up a facility and with GE Commercial Aviation Services to facilitate the maintenance of aircraft returned by carriers after the lease period expires, Ravindran said.
[size="6"]HAL sets sights on global presence[/size]
Walk into the Hindustan Aeronautics corporate building in Bangalore and it is clear that it is part of a government bureaucracy. Everyone wears the dull brown uniforms. A receptionist hands you a chit that must be counter-signed before you leave by the person you visit. The place screams hierarchy.
After a chat with HAL's amiable chairman Ashok Nayak, however, you get the feeling that the aerospace firm wants to shake off that label and embark on a growth trajectory to becoming a true global player - the equivalent of Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, for example.
"We had $2 billion in revenues last year and this is expected to reach $3-4 billion in the next five years. We can add $1 billion in revenues every year for the next few years as we get more business from both the military and civil sectors," says Nayak, a mechanical engineer who joined HAL as a management trainee in 1973 and took over as the head of the company in April 2009.
"We are about to embark on the next stage of our growth that will result in us becoming a much bigger company, and at the same time a more nimble one that is able to compete for global contracts and export aircraft overseas."
PRODUCTION CENTRES
HAL, which comes under the defence ministry's purview, has 19 production centres and nine research and development facilities across seven locations in India. Almost all of these are dedicated to the defence market, unsurprising given that HAL's main task is to help the country acquire the capability to develop its own military aircraft.
It has licence-produced aircraft like the BAE Hawk, Sukhoi Su-30MKI and Eurocopter's Alouette and Lama helicopters, and manufactures the much delayed Tejas Light Combat Aircraft that is developed by India's Aeronautical Development Agency and due to enter service around the end of 2010.
It is the main beneficiary of India's offset policies, which require the winners of military tenders to manufacture their aircraft in the country. The biggest deal in the pipeline is from the ongoing multi-billion dollar medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) competition, in which it will produce 108 of the 126 aircraft that India plans to buy.
It has also developed indigenous aircraft such as the Dhruv advanced light helicopter and the Sitara HJT intermediate jet trainer, two aircraft that it also hopes to export. The first flight of its light combat helicopter is imminent, while it is also developing a light utility helicopter.
"There is a huge defence market, given the acquisitions contemplated by the government. Some will be from the indigenous design and development, some like the MMRCA will be from outside. Both indigenous and licence-production will be important for us.
"We have been trying to improve our project management by using Lean manufacturing principles and harnessing the ERP [enterprise resource planning] systems for better co-ordination between the various divisions and to keep up with the changing aerospace market," says Nayak.
The defence business, ironically, has also been the albatross around its neck. Nayak points out that the strategic importance of the military sector meant that the company faced numerous restrictions in the kind of business it could take on. The restrictions were gradually eased over the past decade and HAL gained "Navaratna" status in 2007. This status gives state-owned firms more autonomy to bid for commercial contracts, start new programmes and form joint ventures with foreign and local companies.
That has come as the private sector began to agitate for a share of the increasingly lucrative aerospace market. Non-Indian firms, which were required to establish joint ventures and partnerships with Indian industry as part of their offset requirements, were also looking for some competition to HAL.
The government also began to relax the regulations and in 2009 allowed virtually free competition for contracts.
The Tata Group - arguably India's most famous conglomerate - probably poses the biggest greatest challenge to HAL. It has started work on an aerospace manufacturing facility located within a special economic zone in Hyderabad, which will house the first major aircraft production facilities outside those operated by HAL. It has signed deals to assemble the AgustaWestland AW119 and manufacture Sikorsky S-92 cabins and components for other Sikorsky helicopters.
Nayak, however, is not unduly worried about the competition, saying that this will "push up the bar and help everyone to improve". He points out that "there is enough business for everyone, and we are not trying to do everything ourselves. We already outsource 20% of our work, mostly to private sector companies in India."
He adds: "To be honest, we do not see them as a threat. We are a vertically integrated company that does the airframe, the engine and everything else. Others may want to assemble an airplane, but they may not have all the capability that we have. This business requires a lot of experience and a long gestation period before you can establish yourself."
The civil market is clearly an area of improvement. This is now mainly limited to producing the Dornier 228, for which it manufactures the fuselage, wing and empennage under licence, as well as assembling aircraft for the Indian military, and the indigenous six- to eight-seat Saras light transport. It has a joint venture with Russia to produce a 15-20t payload multi-role transport aircraft. It will also manufacture the regional transport aircraft that the National Aerospace Laboratories is developing.
PARTS SUPPLY
Going forward, it also hopes to supply more parts for major aircraft manufacturers. It now produces doors for the Airbus A320 and will manufacture composite flaperons for the Boeing 777, but Nayak admits that it still has some way to go before being a major player in the way Japanese firms have become for Boeing.
"We have a lot on our plate over the next few years from the defence offsets. The expertise we get from this will help us to move on to larger civil aircraft programmes, and we want to establish that capability in the coming years," says Nayak.
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