Aerospace Diary

Travel/Distribution Systems Aviation Daily Apr 30 , 2010 , p. 15 Neelam Mathews InterGlobe General Aviation, a subsidiary of InterGlobe Enterprises, has added Dornier Seaplane Company, including the Dornier Seastar CD2, to its growing business aviation portfolio, buoyed in part by the tourism industry, which is looking at seaplanes to transport tourists to islands. “We are examining it,” Nigel Harwood, CEO, InterGlobe General Aviation, told The DAILY. “The problem is Dornier is not ready for production till 2011. We will look at an interim solution till then if required before that.” Despite India having a vast coastline, the country does not have a single seaplane. Government-owned Pawan Hans Helicopters has been planning for two years to start seaplane operations to Andaman and Nicobar islands, which attract 1 million visitors a year, and for use in inter-island connections. It had plans to lease out at least four seaplanes. Harwood said the company was also examining busin...

April 30, 2010 BUSINESS NEW DELHI — Two years after opening its liaison office in India,General Dynamics U.K, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics,will soon be announcing a series of partnerships with small and large Indian companies. A prime contractor and complex systems integrator, General Dynamics U.K. will be looking at opportunities in India in C4I solutions, Armored Fighting Vehicle (AFV) technology, deployable infrastructure and security.   “General Dynamics U.K. will be looking at vehicle integration,” General Dynamics U.K. Vice President Mark J.S. Douglas tells AVIATION WEEK. “There are big opportunities for modernization of and upgrade of the Indian Army’s BMP [Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty] — a second-generation, amphibious infantry combat vehicle introduced in the 1980s.” The company’s business units will address India’s need for a Battlefield Management System (BMS) program, Tactical Communication System (TCS), infrastructure and shelters and security system...

FUNDING & POLICY NEW DELHI — The Indian Space Research Organization has delayed the launch of its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15) scheduled for May 9, following a marginal drop in pressure in the second stage of the vehicle. The drop in pressure “was noticed during mandatory checks carried out on the PSLV-C15 vehicle,” ISRO says. A new date for the launch of the mission will be decided after the results of the analysis are in; the delay is likely to be weeks. PSLV-C15 will launch India’s Cartosat-2B, the Algerian ALSAT-2A satellite, the nanosatellites NLS 6.1 and NLS 6.2 from the University of Toronto, and Studsat — a satellite built by students from academic institutions in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The launch will take place from Sriharikota (SHAR), ISRO’s launch center. “In the past 15 years the PSLV has built a high reliability and can launch up to 1.6 tons,” a spokesman says. The PSLV was also used to launch India’s Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission. Since 1996, ...

BUSINESS April 28, 2010 NEW DELHI — Rolls-Royce has signed Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), an IT services and outsourcing company, as its second engineering partner in India to help it expand its engineering footprint in the country. Its earlier partnership with Quest Global has been extended for another five years. “We will be developing TCS and expose it to Rolls-Royce’s exacting standard  methodologies,” Anil Shrikhande, president of Rolls-Royce India, told AVIATIONn WEEK. “The partnership with TCS is part of the continuing Rolls presence in India. We are focused on looking at India for all our business sectors ... and developing India as a research base for engineering services.”  Rolls has been active in India and moving along with its plan to make India a node in its supply chain. The new collaboration with TCS, Rolls says, will give it additional quality and cycle-time advantages. “This partnership with Rolls-Royce is significant to TCS. This will lead to high-quality eng...

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report April 28, 2010 PROGRAMS NEW DELHI — The Indian Ministry of Defense has extended by a year — up to April 28, 2011 — the commercial validity of bids on India’s 126-aircraft Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). A letter from the ministry to the bidders — MiG-35, Dassault’s Rafale, Eurofighter, the Saab Gripen, Boeing’s F/A-18E/F and Lockheed Martin’s F-16 — states that vendors can extend or revise their bids, which must be resubmitted by June (Aerospace DAILY, March 26). But some vendors are now concerned that owing to the delay, currency fluctuations in a volatile financial climate could make the difference between the lowest bidder and the higher ones. Receipt of the defense ministry letter was confirmed by Vivek Lall, vice president and head of Boeing Defense Space & Security in India, who said: “The U.S. navy and Boeing have been requested by [the ministry] to extend the validity of the MMRCA proposal. We are working to provide a co...

Asia-Pacific Aviation Daily Apr 27 , 2010 , p. 10 Neelam Mathews Indian and Middle Eastern carriers are stepping up efforts to capitalize on the summer rush of Nepal expatriates and tourists to Europe, while national carrier Nepal Airlines' connection to the West remains tenuous, and the carrier continues to experience cash flow and political problems. Kingfisher Airlines recently launched a daily Airbus A320 frequency to Kathmandu from Delhi to its London flights to offer convenient connections. In June, it plans to start direct flights between Mumbai and Kathmandu. Kingfisher is the fourth Indian carrier to fly from Delhi to Kathmandu, after Jetlite with daily service, Jet Airways with 12 frequencies and Air India with double daily flights. Etihad Airways increased its Abu Dhabi-Kathmandu flights from four to seven per week in January to connect further to Europe and the U.S. Etihad’s flights to Kathmandu have proved popular, “providing high volumes of traffic into Abu D...

Aerospace Diary & Defense Report April 27, 2010 PROGRAMS NEW DELHI – Thales has been chosen by Russian Aircraft Corporation, MiG (RSK-MiG), to provide the IFF1 Combined Interrogator Transponder (CIT) and Cryptographic National Secure Mode (NSM) as part of the retrofit for the Indian air force’s MiG-29 fighter aircraft. The approximately $900 million retrofit project — delayed by two years — was awarded to Russia for 65 MiG-29s to receive a 15-year life extension by 2013. The upgrade included advanced avionics and a new weapon control system. Thales is set to deliver the first IFF CIT to MiG this year, with the initial building block of a comprehensive secure identification capability delivered in mid-2011. The IFF CIT will allow the MiG-29s to be interoperable with Western military aircraft and help avoid friendly fire,Thales says.The cryptographic mode will equip India with the first national secure identification capability for protecting its own assets. The TSB 2500 IFF...

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report April 27, 2010 PROGRAMS NEW DELHI — The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency formally notified Congress on April 22 of the possible foreign military sale (FMS) of 10 Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft to the Indian Air Force. India’s defense ministry had sent a letter of request to the U.S. government for the C-17s via the FMS process (Aerospace DAILY, Jan. 11). Boeing’s Jan. 8 statement followed immediately after an United Arab Emirates announcement of plans to purchase six C-17s. While the official notification to Congress lists the potential value of the deal as $5.8 billion, the actual cost will be based on Indian air force requirements. The amount represents the highest possible estimate for the sale, including all potential services offered.   While the final figure has yet to be negotiated, the Indian sale may also include training for air crew and maintenance personnel and training equipment, spares, test and ground-support ...

Safety Aviation Daily Apr 26 , 2010 , p. 17 Neelam Mathews Findings released by the Indian Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) following the crash 13 months ago of a National Aerospace Laboratories-designed (NAL),14-seat light transport aircraft have revealed several safety lapses. The report found that “there is no meaningful and effective supervision and control on the Saras project by DGCA.” The findings make it increasingly clear that the design and development of the Saras, intended for domestic use by commercial passenger and cargo operators, will be delayed. The crash killed three Indian air force pilots.The aircraft was powered by two turboprop engines from Pratt & Whitney. While there was no evidence of any defect or malfunction in the aircraft due to maintenance procedures, there were general controllability issues in the accident. The report says an incorrect engine relight procedure devised by the designer, and adopted by the crew at insufficient altitud...

DELHI—The 14th “Malabar” exercise with frontline units of the U.S. Navy’s 7th fleet and the Indian navy’s Western Fleet are being conducted in the Arabian Sea from April 23-May 2. The thrust of the exercise this year will be anti-submarine warfare, surface firings,maritime interdiction,board-search-and-seizure and submarine operations. The Malabar exercises include a range of operational activities at sea. The U.S. Navy will be represented by ships from Combined Task Force (CTF) 70 of the Navy’s 7th Fleet, based at Yokosuka, Japan. The CTF will include the Cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67); destroyers USS Chaffee (DDG 90) and USS Lassen (DDG 82); and the frigate USS Curts (FFG 38). In addition, one Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Annapolis (SSN 760), two P-3C Orion aircraft and a 28-member U.S. Navy Special Forces team will participate. The Indian navy will be represented by: guided-missile destroyer INS Mysore; three guided-missile frigates—INS Godavari, INS Brahmaput...

India’s Tejas Light Combat Aircraft is moving closer to its planned December 2010 induction into the Indian air force, following the April 23 first flight of Limited Series Production (LSP) No. 3, the ninth test aircraft to join the flight program. LSP-3 is close to the final configuration of the aircraft, including new avionics, an Israeli Multi-Mode Radar (Aerospace DAILY, April 23), new communication and navigation equipment, and a radar warning receiver. Wing Cmdr. G. Thomas of the National Flight Test Center at India’s Aeronautical Development Agency piloted LSP-3. The 52-min. flight took off from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.’s airport in Bangalore and all objectives were met, according to a statement. With this flight the nine aircraft have logged about 800 hr. in the air.

Airports Aviation Daily Apr 23 , 2010 , p. 17 Neelam Mathews Driven by a robust economy, India is increasingly focusing on developing and upgrading its airport infrastructure. Private companies in India are eyeing airport space as limited ground- and cargo-handling capacity at major airports provides opportunities for airport developers to grow. The trend is catching on. Reliance Airport Developers, which won a bid to operate five airports in the western state of Maharashtra on a 99-year lease, is now looking to develop eight regional airports in Tier 4 cities. Indian companies are also exploring opportunities abroad. For example, Reliance is one of the three Indian companies to be shortlisted to bid for the privatization of the Male International Airport in Maldives. The other two are GMR, which owns the Delhi and Hyderabad greenfield airports, and GVK, owner of the Mumbai and Bengaluru greenfields. Engineering and construction giant Larsen & Toubro, which was involve...

NEW DELHI — Controversy continues to surround India’s delayed effort to purchase Hawk Mk. 132 trainer aircraft. Charges and countercharges have been made over the past year between vendor BAE Systems and Indian government defense manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.(HAL), which had promised to manufacture a certain share of the Advanced Jet Trainer after BAE delivered the initial batch. Of the 66 Hawks ordered, BAE Systems has delivered all 24 aircraft in flyaway condition promised to the Indian air force. Delivery of the remaining 42 AJTs was scheduled from 2007-2008 and 2010-2011 in a phased manner. To date, HAL has manufactured 12 aircraft. “Delivery delays have been an exasperation for the Indian air force,” an official told Aviation Week. Answering a question in parliament April 22 on why deliveries have been delayed, Minister of State for Defense M.M. Pallam Raju said three aircraft were to be built from semi-knocked down (SKD) kits, three from completely knocked down (CKD...

Programs Aerospace Daily & Defense Report Apr 22 , 2010 , p. 13 Neelam Mathews NEW DELHI — India’s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) is evaluating Indian air force requirements for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). The weight of the AMCA will not exceed 25 tons. The twin-engine configured aircraft will have a higher thrust being in the bigger weight category than the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. The Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) had announced earlier this year that the AMCA program would be launched in 2010. While unofficially work has started on the design, according to an official, the AMCA will be officially announced in 6-8 months. “There is nothing official about it … It is currently not a sanctioned project from the government. We are looking at the technical requirements submitted by the Indian air force,” the official told Aerospace DAILY. The AMCA was earlier called ...

Neelam Mathews/New Delhi The first full flight of India’s 5.5 ton Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) is expected in May after unspecified modifications are made following a hover and slow-speed cyclic maneuver in late March. Developed by government defense manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), the two-seat variant of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) made a 20-min. flight Mar. 29 that allowed pilots to carry out low-speed and low-altitude systems checks using hover, clockwise and counter-clockwise maneuvers, and four circles of HAL’s home base at Bengaluru. Presently, the 12-ton Mi-35 is the only attack helicopter in the Indian air force inventory. Machine guns and rocket launchers have been mounted on Mi-17s medium lift transport helicopters. The LCH is powered by Turbomeca- Shakti (Ardiden 1H) engines, a collaboration between HAL and Turbomeca. They produce 1,200 shp, an upgrade from the 1,000 shp of the ALH’s Turbomeca TM 333-2B2. The LCH has its weapons algo...

News AWIN First Apr 20 , 2010 Neelam Mathews mathews.neelam@gmail.com Indian carriers are sending Europe-bound passengers to Athens to continue on by road to their destinations as a way to help reduce the number of passengers stranded by the April 15 volcano eruption on Iceland that closed much of Europe’s airspace. Jet Airways has resumed U.S and Canada flights via Athens, operating four flights daily to these destinations. About 6,000 Europe-bound passengers booked on Jet Airways and 3,000 booked with Air India were stranded in India. Air India has now resumed flights to Chicago, New York Kennedy and Newark from Mumbai and Delhi. Air India had one aircraft stranded each at London Heathrow and Frankfurt airports. Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines, which operates 25 daily flights to Europe, has used Rome and Athens, and a special flight to Barcelona took off on April 19. Air India said, “Indications have been received that Heathrow Airport may get operational for limited hours ...

Airports Aviation Daily Apr 20 , 2010 , p. 12 Neelam Mathews As business returns, Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL) is investing $140 million to expand its airport to accommodate 17 million passengers expected by 2015, up from the present 9.2 million. “A growth of 11-15% a year will take us to 17 million passengers by 2015. The terminal will be expanded by 70% of the existing building with an additional passenger space of 40,000 sq.m,” CEO Marcel Hungerbuehler tells The DAILY. Hyderabad International Airport, also a greenfield airport, handles 6.6 million passengers a year. The GVK group, which owns a majority stake in Bangalore Airport, is reviewing plans — earlier put on hold — for an aerospace park near the airport that would have facilities for civil and defense services. GVK holds a nearly 37% stake in Mumbai International Airport Ltd. and about 29% in BIAL. Passenger numbers at BIAL are up 14% in the fiscal year ended March 31, compared with last year. Increas...

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report April 20, 2010 PROGRAMS NEW DELHI — Industry hopefuls last week submitted bids to build 75 basic trainer aircraft for the Indian air force, at a cost of roughly $6 million each. Contenders include the Embraer 312 Tocano, PZL 130 Orlik, Grob 120, Hawker Beechcraft, Pilatus PC-7A, Korea’s KT-1 and EADS Socata TB30 — with the last three having the same basic platform and engine. Once a decision is made, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) will float a bid for the design of 104 aircraft. The tender comes with a 30% offsets clause, which one original equipment manufacturer (OEM) says will not be difficult to fulfill in India. However,the ejection seat is a distinct requirement,and those that do not have built-in may be disqualified, a senior official told Aviation Week. “An ejection seat is not easy to fit as it requires structural strengthening,” the official adds. The urgent requirement comes with the grounding of a fleet of more than 100 Hindust...

PROGRAMS NEW DELHI — India has launched the first frontline warship for its navy, the Kamorta-class Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) Corvette, at the government-owned Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRrSE) in Kolkata, East India. The ship’s weapon systems  and sensor suites are fully indigenous, according to a spokesman. The “X” form of the hull and superstructure gives it a low radar cross section, and the ship also claims a low level of underwater noise. The 109-meter (360-ft.) long, 13.7-meter wide ship claims a sprinting speed of 25 knots. The propulsion system comprises two controllable-pitch propellers. It has four indigenously made diesel engines, each reaching 3800 kw. Four ASW Corvettes are under construction. GRSE builds warships  for the Indian navy and coast guard. It has seven manufacturing units and is the first shipyard in the country to have built hovercraft for the coast guard for coastal patrolling. It is currently modernizing its infrastructure, including ...

Asia-Pacific Aviation Daily Apr 19 , 2010 , p. 16 Neelam Mathews Higher loads and better yields have led Swiss International Air Lines to resume first-class service to India and also increase frequencies. Starting Oct. 30, Mumbai and Delhi will receive daily service, up from five frequencies a week. The airline will fly its new Airbus A330-300 in a three-class configuration, including eight first-class seats. Higher yields in full-service carriers generally depend on the front end of the cabin. Yields are up as embargoes on high-end travel are being lifted and corporations are more inclined to return to business class, Jean-Philippe Benoit, general manager-South Asia for Swiss International Airlines, tells The DAILY. Benoit adds that increasing load factors also are boosting yields. Swiss added five new A330-300s to its fleet since April 2009. The A330-300 service will also be introduced this month to African destinations — Nairobi, Kenya; Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, and Doua...

News AWIN First Apr 14 , 2010 Neelam Mathews mathews.neelam@gmail.com NEW DELHI Rosoboronservice India Ltd. (ROS(I), a joint venture between Rosoboronexport of Russia and India’s Krasny Marine Services, has launched the first Aviation Division in Goa for Kamovs, Tupolevs and Ilyushin aircraft in the Indian navy inventory. The $25 million center is expected to drastically reduce the turnaround time for aircraft that head to Russia for repairs and have often had to crimp operations as a result. Until recently, the military — captive users of Russian equipment — have had to send aircraft equipment and engines to Russia for servicing, causing delays and operational gaps. Transportation of the equipment has added costs too. Russian spares have also known to be poorly tabulated. Now, a warehouse stocked with spares has made the system more efficient, according to V.G. Jayaprakashan, managing director of ROS(I). With 17 staff including engineers, the center has a large number of...

April 16, 2010 TECHNOLOGY An Indian Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV D3),powered by India’s first indigenous cryogenic engine,was lost due to an apparent engine failure April 15, taking with it an experimental satellite. While the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization,K. Radhakrishnan, says India plans to test fly another cryogenic engine within a year following corrective measures,the failure is being seen as a major crisis for ISRO. The vehicle deviated from its planned path and within 500 sec. of reaching a height of 60 km. stopped emitting signals. The GSLV D3 was to place in orbit GSAT-4, an experimental satellite with a multibeam Ka-band transponder.It had several payloads,including one for augmenting the U.S. Global Positioning Satellite navigation system, called Gagan (GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation)— a test run for the Indian regional navigational satellite system (IRNSS) to be in place by 2014. It was also carrying an experimental system ...

Aviation Daily Apr 14 , 2010 , p. 13 Neelam Mathews U.S Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue tells India's business leaders in New Delhi that "there has never been a better time or opportunity to lift U.S.-India trade and investment relations to a whole new level." As the Indian aviation industry bounces back and the government looks at an intensive airport upgrade and expansion program, Donohue said, “we want to build many of your airports.” GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS), which provides financing for the world's airports, is said to be open to investments in regional jets and airport infrastructure, given the right opportunity, The DAILY has learned. GECAS seems to be a natural choice, with its experience in airport financing projects, including construction and permanent financing for a cargo facility at a U.S. international airport and debt-and-equity financing for a terminal acquisition and expansion in Latin America. A long as...

Aviation Daily Apr 14 , 2010 , p. 16 Neelam Mathews A bird strike to a DHL Airbus A300 engine that experienced a blowout led to the temporary closure of Bahrain Airport. "There was oil and metal on the runway after the incident, and that took a while to clear,” an official told local media. A spokesman for DHL confirms that on April 10, an ACT Airlines A300-B4 cargo aircraft failed to take off from Bahrain Airport due to technical problems. “The crew are safe and there is no damage to the freight on board. ACT and DHL are cooperating with the Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs investigation into the incident,” he said. "The A300-B4 freighter is a reliable aircraft with a good safety track record in cargo operations worldwide. ACT Airlines, our aircraft lease contractor, has a solid maintenance program and is certified under European regulations. ACT also holds an IATA IOSA Certificate that supports Organizational Safety Compliance and holds ISO 9001:2008 accreditation...

Aerospace Diary & Defense Report April13,2010 BUSINESS NEW DELHHI — ITT Defense International is focusing its efforts on the Indian market with the opening of an office here April 9. “We are very excited,” said Lt. Gen. (ret.) David Melcher, president of ITT Defense & Information Solutions. “India is the largest [growing] market in the world. ITT can be a great partner in that.” While ITT is advocating its Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) system to India’s ministry of civil aviation, in the defense arena the company expects its night vision devices to attract interest. The Indian Army Aviation Corps has released a Request for Information for night-vision goggles capable of “operating in low ambient light conditions” for helicopter pilots. ITT partners for the project, if approved, would be government- owned Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and an ordnance factory. The tubes would be provided by ITT, while BEL would provide the power optics. Technical ...

April 13, 2010 PROGRAMS India successfully test fired the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile from a vertical launcher on the moving warship INS Ranvir off the Orissa coast on April 11.The launcher is designed to fit under the warship’s deck, protecting it from atmospheric conditions and imparting stealth. It also allows the missile to be turned to cover 360 deg. The missile performed supersonic maneuvers and homed on to the decommissioned target ship INS Meen. “The launch met all mission requirements and was 100% successful,” Brahmos Aerospace CEO A.S. Pillai said. The missile has a range of 290 km. (180 mi.) and flies at a speed of Mach 2.8. - Neelam Mathews (mathews.neelam@gmail.com) LCHh FLIES: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.’s first Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) technology demonstrator made its first flight on March 29. The 20-minute flight provided the pilots an opportunity to carry out low-speed, low-altitude checks.

Space Aviation Week & Space Technology Apr 12 , 2010 , p. 36 Frank Morring, Jr. Bengaluru, India Neelam Mathews Bengaluru, India New cryogenic engine, capsule flight tests must precede first Indian human spaceflight Printed headline: Steps To Orbit India is moving steadily toward sending its first astronauts to orbit on indigenous spacecraft, but it is taking a “stepwise” approach and has not yet committed funds to human missions, according to the new chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Instead, India’s human spaceflight program is funded for a four-year development and test effort that will build and fly an unmanned capsule to test its crew environmental control and life support system (Eclss) and launch-escape system, says K. Radhakrishnan, who became ISRO chairman Oct. 31, 2009. Flying a two-person crew will also require development of a new cryogenic upper-stage engine for the upgraded Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mark III)...

Travel/Distribution Systems Aviation Daily Apr 09 , 2010 , p. 10 Neelam Mathews The National Aviation Company of India (NACIL), parent company of Air India, awarded a $190 million contract over 10 years to IT specialist Sita to provide its hosted Horizon Passenger Services System (PSS) on a turnkey basis. The contract, which stipulates setting up a single airline code for Indian Airlines and Air India in 300 days, will help the carrier enter the Star Alliance as a full-time member. This moves the approximate timeline for Air India's Star membership to beyond April 2011, compared with the first deadline of March 2009, which was extended to the end of 2010. "Implementation of the Passenger Services System will complete the merger of Air India with former domestic carrier Indian Airlines and enable us to align processes and systems to meet Star Alliance standards," said Arvind Jadhav, NACIL chairman and managing director. In addition to the core PSS suite, Sita wi...

April 8, 2010 Neelam Mathews Volunteer security professionals of Canada working with the Shadowserver Foundation and Information Warfare Monitor have exposed (suspected) Chinese cyber offensive against India, the Dalai Lama, United Nations, and several other countries. Investigators have found that hackers of the so-called `Shadow Network' stole secrets files of India's missile projects, troop deployments and military schools, in a report released (April 6) -'Shadows in the Cloud – Investigating Cyber Espionage 2.0'. A host of military computers had been compromised as well as think tanks. Recovered documents related to the Pechora Missile System - an anti-aircraft surface-to-air missile system, Iron Dome Missile System - a mobile missile defense system, Project Shakti - the Indian Army’s command and control system for artillery.Documents relating to network centricity and network-centric warfare were exfiltrated, along with plans for intelligence fusion and ...

April 7, 2010, FUNDING & POLICY NEW DELHI — Many areas in east India are now under alert following the April 6 insurgent attack in which rebels trapped and gunned down 75 security personnel in the state of Chhattisgarh. The attack comes just more than a month after India’s Home Secretary G.K. Pillai said that the homegrown insurgents, known as Naxals, were regrouping under the pretense of a cease-fire, and violence would increase. The attack might result in a change in the government policy to involve the army and air force to deal with the rising threat. An emergency meeting was called April 6, Aerospace DAILY learned. “Deploying the army in anti-Naxal operations has the army uneasy, as it is not in the interest of the army to wage war against its own country,” an official told Aerospace DAILY. Heavy collateral damage among civilians is also likely to spark emotions. “Insurgency has grown as a result of social issues such as neglect, lack of education and misguided youth t...

News AWIN First Apr 05 , 2010 Neelam Mathews mathews.neelam@gmail.com Southern India-based Paramount Airways, touted as India’s only business-class airline, may be in danger of closing because it has lost three Embraer-170s leased from Celestial Trading, a subsidiary of GE Commercial Aviation Services, for incomplete payment. India’s Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) has already deregistered the three aircraft. Meanwhile, domestic carriers such as Jet Airways quickly picked up the slots dropped by Paramount, which was operating short-haul flights connecting metropolitan areas with smaller-tier cities. Another lessor — ECC Leasing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Embraer that holds the leases on the other two aircraft in Paramount’s inventory — has been fighting the case in court for the past six months and wants the DGCA to deregister these aircraft as well. The fifth aircraft is said to be cannibalized and not airworthy. “Given Paramount’s history of default, I c...

Programs Aerospace Daily & Defense Report Apr 02 , 2010 , p. 07 Neelam Mathews India’s effort to purchase new towed guns for its army is heating up, with trials likely to begin this summer. “We are still pending dates from the [defense ministry] for the trials,” says a spokesman for Singapore Technologies (ST) Kinetics, which is competing with BAE Systems to make the guns. “Our gun will be ready for the summer trials.” Winter trials were delayed following an accident in which ST Kinetics’ 155mm .52-caliber towed howitzer rammed up against a truck in Singapore in February. “Accidents happen and this was beyond our control,” Patrick Choy, chief marketing officer for ST Kinetics, told Aerospace DAILY. Since the parts for the gun had to be imported from Europe, winter trials will now be held in October. But Choy confirmed the gun would be ready for the summer trials. The Indian government also has been pursuing an effort to buy 12 dozen ultra lightweight (ULW) M777 howitze...

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report April 5, 2009 NEW DELHI — The Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy are holding SIMBEX 2010 — the Singapore Indian Maritime Bilateral Exercise - in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal April 3-16. Cooperation between the two countries’ navies has evolved over the years from training-oriented anti-submarine warfare exercises to complex exercises involving multiple facets of sea operations. They now include a wider range of sea-going operations,ranging from platform-specific exercises in damage control and firefighting to complex three dimensional threat scenarios involving air,surface and submerged threats. The exercise will be conducted initially in the Andaman Sea and then move to the Bay of Bengal. The Indian Navy has fast attack craft,landing ship tank, destroyer, tanker, submarine and fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. Singapore’s navy is participating with the RSS Intrepid(Formidable Class frigate)and RSS Victory (Victory class mi...

Aerospace Daily & Defense Report PROGRAMS NEW DELHI — India on April 1 launched its third indigenous naval destroyer, INS Chennai – built under the code name Project 15 Alpha — which will be commissioned into the navy in August 2013. The ship will have stealth features, an advanced action information system and a comprehensive auxiliary control system. The 163-meter-long ship is propelled by four gas turbines and is designed to reach speeds above 30 kt. It will be fitted with 16 torpedoes and supersonic BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles that enable it to engage shore-based and naval surface targets at longer range. The ship’s air defense capability is designed to counter airborne threats and anti-ship cruise missiles. It will revolve around the vertical launch, long-range surface to-air missile system being co-developed by the Indian government’s Defense Research and Development Organization. The warship also is equipped with an indigenous sonar and electronic warfare suit...

Show Report Defense Technology International Apr 01 , 2010 , p. 44 Neelam Mathews New Delhi India’s defense needs draw industry to Defexpo Printed headline: Buyer’s Market India’s rapidly growing defense programs attracted a number of major global contractors to the biennial Def- expo land and naval exposition here in February. Many were looking to establish or firm up partnerships with local manufacturers to meet the offsets mandated for procurement awards by the defense ministry. Though eager for business, most contractors want the government to relax the cap on ownership levels that has been imposed on joint ventures. The current foreign direct investment (FDI) limit favors Indian companies on a 74-26% basis over foreign OEMs, a level that many contractors say provides no incentive for technology transfer. India’s Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP) mandates a 30% offsets clause for projects valued at more than $65 million. At present, only $43 million worth of offsets ...

Programs Aerospace Daily & Defense Report Mar 31 , 2010 , p. 06 Frank Morring, Jr. Neelam Mathews BENGALURU, India — India’s human spaceflight program is funded for a four-year development-and-trial effort that will build and fly an unmanned capsule to test its crew environmental control and life-support system (ECLSS) and launch-escape system, says K. Radhakrisnan, the new chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). If that work goes well, ISRO will seek funding to press on to human tests of the vehicle on the upgraded Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV Mark III) now in development. Although the 2.5-meter-dia. capsule is being designed for three crewmembers, initial manned flights will carry two astronauts. “We will first make this unit with an ECLSS system, and will have a few unmanned flights of this module before we actually put a human being inside, initially monitoring the conditions,” Radhakrishnan told Aviation Week March 30 in an intervi...

Airports Aviation Daily Apr 01 , 2010 , p. 12 Neelam Mathews Rajasthan Aviation Infrastructure (RAI) will set up the first phase of construction of one of three greenfield airports that have received government approval in India. The field, located 50 km from Jaipur, will cover 1,500 acres and have a 3,000-meter runway. It is expected to be completed by 2013. The airport will be part of a 4,000-acre project on the Delhi-Jaipur highway in the western Indian state of Rajasthan and intends to tap into the air cargo market. The developers insist that the existing airport at Jaipur will not be cannibalized and that the new field will have a niche of its own. The problem in developing cargo business in India is that new and private airports are mostly "five-star" facilities, raising the cost of air freight. "Cargo does not require five-star facilities," Yogesh Garg, CEO of RAI, told The DAILY. "We have a narrow mindset on infrastructure in India and don...