Quote:30 Mar 2010,



BANGALORE: India has successfully flight tested a prototype of the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), designed and developed by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), a top official said Tuesday.



"The maiden test flight of the LCH Monday evening was successfully. Though it was a short haul lasting about 20 minutes, the performance was good," HAL chairman and managing director Ashok Nayak told IANS.



The 5.5-tonne attack copter is a derivative version of HAL's flagship product Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), christened Dhruv.



"We will be conducting more test flights to evaluate its various parameters at different altitudes and conditions. We are looking at reducing the weight considerably for better manoeuvrability," Nayak said.



Made of lightweight composites, the LCH can operate at high altitudes up to 6,000 metres or 18,000 feet.



The prototype was flown with Shakti engine, developed by HAL in partnership with Turbomeca, the French manufacturer of aero engines for global aerospace majors.



"Plans to launch the flight trials of LCH have been going on over the last couple of months but got delayed due to reassessment of its various functions and flight control systems," a official of the company's copter division said.



HAL plans to hard-sell about 150-175 units of the LCH to the Indian defence services, mainly Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Army, which already operates the military version of Dhruv for various functions.



Senior officials of the company's helicopter division and IAF were present at the HAL airport to witness the test fight.



The LCH will be equipped with a helmet-mounted targeting system, electronic warfare systems and advanced weapons systems.



The LCH will incorporate a number of stealth features and crash-worthy landing gear for better survivability. It will have a narrow fuselage, with two crew stations.

Quote:[url="http://www.ndtv.com/news/search/results.php?cfeed=tw%3BSU%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.ndtv.com%3BLC%3A%23003399%3BVC%3A%23008000%3BDC%3A%23999999%3BTB%3A0%3BPBG%3A1%3BGP%3A0%3B%3BRBG%3A%23DCDCDC&hl=en&q=NDTV%20Correspondent&site=ndtv.com"]NDTV Correspondent[/url], Tuesday March 30, 2010, New Delhi

[url="http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/indias-indigenous-light-combat-helicopter-takes-1st-flight-18762.php"][/url]



India's indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) has flown for the first time. The helicopter, which was test-flown on Monday, successfully hovered for 15 minutes.



The LCH is based on technologies developed for India's Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter.



The LCH will be equipped with missiles in addition to its nose-mounted cannon. It will be able to take out tanks and other armoured vehicles in addition to giving battlefield support to Indian military formations.

Quote:PTI, Mar 30, 2010, 04.25pm IST <a href="http://netspiderads2.indiatimes.com/ads.dll/clickthrough?slotid=36459" target="_blank"><img src="http://netspiderads2.indiatimes.com/ads.dll/photoserv?slotid=36459" border="0" width="660" height="65" alt="Advertisement"></a> NEW DELHI: The US military aid to Pakistan is a matter of concern for India which has been conveyed to the Obama administration, Air Chief Marshal P V Naik said on Tuesday.



"The aid being given to Pakistan is a matter of concern to us definitely and we have made it known. We have not hidden anything," Naik said soon after taking over as the Chairman, Chiefs of Staffs Committee here.



The US has been providing F-16 combat jets, air-to-air missiles and other equipment worth millions of dollars to Pakistan as military aid for fighting the Taliban terrorists on its soil. Pakistan is scheduled to get 18 of the Block 52 F-16s, Oliver Hazard Perry Class frigate by winter and is expected to receive Shadow Drones within a year.



Islamabad is also to receive equipment capable of converting 1,000 traditional munitions into "smart bombs" that can strike targets with precisions.



In the last three years, the US has provided 14 F-16s, five fast patrol boats, 115 self-propelled howitzer field artillery cannons, more than 450 vehicles, hundreds of night- vision goggles, day and night scopes, radios, protective vests and first aid items to Pakistan's security forces.



With this new arms aid, US counterinsurgency assistance fund for Pakistan is slated to increase to USD 1.2 billion in fiscal year 2011 from $700 million in the current fiscal.



India has asked the US to ensure that the weapons supplied to Pakistan to fight Taliban and extremists elements are not directed against this country.



Asked if the military aid issue could have any impact on the chances of the American companies in the fray to supply 126 combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force, Naik said, "As far as 126 multi-role combat aircraft deal is concerned, it will be a fair and square assessment... presently, there is no connection between the two."



He said the IAF was going ahead with the trials of the six companies offering their aircraft and "after that, we will sit down to finalise it (the award of the contract.)"



On reports that the IAF was developing its air fields in the Eastern sector to counter the Chinese threat, the IAF chief said the upgrade of infrastructure in the region was "long overdue" but was not "country specific." He added the air fields were being upgraded to operate the latest modern aircraft in the IAF inventory.



Asked if the recent test-firings of the Agni, Prithvi and Dhanush ballistic missiles were aimed at sending out a message, Naik said, "Whenever we have to give a message to anybody, we give it loud and clear. Whenever there is a message to be given, we will let you know."

Quote:Special Correspondent

Providing further boost to its presence in the South Western Sector, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will get a new airfield at Phalodi in Rajasthan with the base capable of taking all types of operations.The airfield is located between Jaisalmer and Jodhpur and the IAF fighter jets can touch Pakistan border in close to five minutes. The airfield complete with modern infrastructure will be inaugurated by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik, on Tuesday. The airfield will further bridge the gap in air defence in the western sector.



The government approved the formation of the airbase in 2000 considering the geo-political scenario and the need for in-built flexibility in operational requirements for the IAF.

Quote:India last week finalised a $2.2 billion deal with France to upgrade its fleet of Mirage 2000 fighters, even as reports from Paris say the country has suspended the sale of electronics and missiles for Pakistan’s JF 17 fighters, supposedly under “Indian pressure”.



While the IAF deal for upgradation of 51 fighters had been hanging fire for the past two years, sources said the Price Negotiation Committee last week finalised the cost. The deal is likely to be signed shortly.



At $2.2 billion, the cost of the upgrade is considered to be on the higher side, given that several countries are offering new fighters for that price. However, the French argue that the upgrade, which will give the aircraft new radar systems, a new weapon suite, missiles, electronic warfare system and modern electronic warfare, will convert the combat-proven aircraft into next-generation fighters.



The final price negotiations were held even as reports from Paris, carried by French newspapers and agencies, said that its plans to sell $1.6 billion worth of military equipment for Pakistan’s JF 17 fighters had been put on hold.



The reports said that the contract was suspended under Indian pressure and doubts over Pakistan’s ability to pay for the systems.

Quote:21 April 2010

21 Apr 2010 8ak: One of the few benefits of the ongoing flight ban over parts of Europe meant that 8ak got extra time when we caught up with Eddy de la Motte, Director India for Gripen (Saab). Mr Motte confirmed that India had sent an IAF team to Sweden 2 weeks ago and flew the Gripen Demo making it the only foreign air force to have flown the advanced version of Saab's Gripen Demonstrator. IAF pilots did about 10 flights in Linkoping. Mr Motte said that in mid-May 2010 the Gripen Demonstrator will be sent to India and confirmed that the Gripen Demo was flown with a fully operational AESA radar developed jointly by Selex and Saab Microwave (Formerly Ericsson Microwave).



There was some controversy last month when the FMV (Swedish Defence Materiel Administration) blocked Saab from sending the Gripen Demo fighter to India on the basis that the only plane was needed by the Swedish Air Force for further testing. The RFP for the MMRCA states that the plane offered in response to the tender should be the one that is used for trials but [url="http://ajaishukla.blogspot.com/2010/04/air-force-gives-gripen-fighter-second.html"]as per Ajai Shukla[/url], the IAF+MoD will give Saab some leeway in this. While this may cause the competitors to cry foul, it is a good sign that the IAF+MoD are using their discretion, where allowed, to assist them selecting the best fighter and this could work to advantage of others as well. For example, Eurofighter, for one is hoping that the dreaded 'L1' (lowest bidder) clause would not be the deciding factor where multiple fighters qualify in the final round.



To clarify, Saab's Gripen aircraft has 4 versions from A to D, then comes the Gripen Demo which is a demonstrator aircraft (and hence different to Gripen D) for the next generation version planned for India interchangeably called the Gripen NG or IN.



To date, Saab has conducted about 20 flights in India, mostly in Bangalore's Aircraft Systems & Testing Establishment (ASTE) where 2 Gripen-D fighters did low-level, high-speed supersonic tests. In Jaisalmer the 2 aircraft did a weapons release test and [color="#0000ff"]one aircraft sent to Leh did landing, engine cold start and take off with full internal fuel plus 2.6 tonnes external load.[/color]



Manu Sood, Editor, 8ak mentioned that the American components in the Gripen, mainly the GE F414 engine, is viewed by India as its biggest drawback. Motte said that if that was a genuine concern, then India would not have bought the P-8i and C-130-J aircraft which will play a crucial role in future conflicts and the IAF would not have considered the two U.S. fighters in the MMRCA competition nor the same GE F414 engine for its Tejas LCA which is now in the final stages of a race between that and the Eurojet 200.



Asked what he thinks is Saab’s strongest point, he said "Gripen is the only option that will make India completely independent of the need to purchase combat aircraft from other countries. Gripen IN is equipped with futuristic warfare technologies developed specifically for India and a perfect match to the IAF". He further mentioned that the low operational cost will translate in to more training hours and he believes Saab is the only company to not only offer a complete ToT on the source codes of the AESA radar (though Russia has promised something similar) but also joint development.



Saab did not comment on the issue of revising the bid price. Earlier [url="http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=aerospacedaily&id=news/asd/2010/03/26/02.xml&headline=Vendors%20May%20Get%20To%20Revise%20Indian%20Fighter%20Bids"]AviationWeek had reported[/url] that since the commercial bids were valid for 2 years ending Apr 28, 2010, this meant that the vendors could now revise their commercial bids. Given the worsening economic situation globally and huge competitive pressure on this large and geo-politically important deal, surprisingly it means that the bids would be revised downwards! However, a person familiar with defence acquisition told 8ak that "sometimes a simple procedure like collecting certificates from vendors saying we are ready to give the same price also fulfils the need".

Quote:Manu Sood, Editor, 8ak mentioned that the American components in the Gripen, mainly the GE F414 engine, is viewed by India as its biggest drawback. Motte said that if that was a genuine concern, then India would not have bought the P-8i and C-130-J aircraft which will play a crucial role in future conflicts and the IAF would not have considered the two U.S. fighters in the MMRCA competition nor the same GE F414 engine for its Tejas LCA which is now in the final stages of a race between that and the Eurojet 200.

Quote:Asked what he thinks is Saab’s strongest point, he said "Gripen is the only option that will make India completely independent of the need to purchase combat aircraft from other countries.

Quote:All four limited series production UAVs are taking part in the Pokhran trials. Sources said that senior officials from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Punjab police are witnessing the trials.