Aerospace Diary

A model of the LCA Mk1A was also on show at Aero India. This version introduces a refueling probe. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) Government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will deliver 16 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) in the final operational clearance (FOC) configuration to the Indian Air Force (IAF) by the end of this year, said HAL chairman R. Madhavan. He added that 16 LCAs have been delivered in the Initial Operation Clearance (IOC) configuration already. An additional eight are being produced as trainers. The LCA received its FOC last month during the Aero India show in Bangalore, for induction into the Indian Air Force as a fully weaponized fighter. Following the major Vayu Shakti Air Force exercise in February, the Chief of the IAF, Air Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, reported, “It is a fighter jet and behaved like a fighter. It did well both in air-to-air combat, as well as air-to-ground combat.”   HAL has been waiting for the past six months to receive an order ...

by  Neelam Mathews  -  September 12, 2018, 2:58 PM The AMCA stealthy fifth-generation fighter project aims to provide a replacement for India's Sukhoi SU-30MKI fighters, one of which is seen here with an Australian F/A-18 Hornet. (photo: Royal Australian Air Force) With the number of the Indian Air Force’s fighter squadrons expected to decrease quickly from the present 31 as the current fleet ages, there has been a decisive endeavor to accelerate the recapitalization of the fighter fleet. The majority of the new fighters are to bear the “Make in India” label. By 2032, the Indian Air Force plans to have at least 18 squadrons of Indian-made fighters, said the Deputy Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal R. Nambiar, at a conference held in Delhi this month. Nambiar said that the squadrons of the indigenously built fleet would include the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk1, Mk1A, and Mk2 that, in 10 years, “would be the mainstay of our inventory.” LCA variants would r...

Neelam Mathews March 28, 2018 India's LCA, also known as the Tejas, has suffered delays and technical issues. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) PS- The RFI for fighters was released soon after the story was published (no connection!) Watch this space for more analysis. Indian military fighter procurement is fast becoming a comedy of missed deadlines. A commitment to manufacture the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) as opposed to producing a foreign design in the country has led to a series of reversals on procurement for the Indian Air Force’s fighter requirements. The delays in decision-making come against a background of the IAF’s depleted squadrons and the need to replace aging aircraft such as the MiG-21. The Indian Navy, too, is awaiting the release of a r  equest for p  roposal for 57 fighters for its aircraft carriers, for which it has issued a r  equest for i  nformation (RFI). This followed delays to the single-engine, tailless delta LCA (Tejas) that i...

Neelam Mathews AEROSPACE / FEBRUARY 2017 After years of procuring equipment from overseas, the Indian Navy is keen to modernise its capability using its own indigenous platforms. NEELAM MATHEWS reports. As security challenges in the region emerge, India is increasingly focusing on modernisation and capability building of its military. The Indian Navy’s guideline document, ‘Indian Naval Indigenization Plan (INIP) 2015-2030,’ articulates its requirement for advanced systems for its platforms and, while the policy priority is clear that there should be a commitment to maximise indigenous production, it does not underscore the need for quality. LCA v/s Global Fighter Clearly, speed is of the essence as delays in procurement decisions in the past have plagued the growth of upgradation. For instance, the naval single engine, Compound-Delta-Wing, tailless Light Combat Aircraft (LCA Mk2) being designed and developed by the government-Aeronautical Development Agency, along with state def...

Neelam Mathews Nov 30, 2016 One of the original batch of LCAs on display at the Aero India show in 2015. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) India’s Ministry of Defense has cleared an order for 83 Light Combat Aircraft ( LCA ), designated Mk1A, from government-owned defense manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd ( HAL ) for the Indian Air Force ( IAF ).   HAL   currently has in hand an order for 40   GE   F404 -engined   LCA s for the   IAF . Of the 20 to be produced with an initial operational clearance, three have been delivered and the fourth is scheduled to be handed over by early next year. Twenty more will be supplied once they receive the final operational clearance ( FOC ) by end of 2017. HAL   says it will increase production from eight to 16 a year “once a formal order is received for the 83 Mk1As.”   IAF   Air Chief Marshall Arup Raha said last year: “We want the   LCA   Mk1A with an improved radar [Elta's ...

Please credit aerospacediary Neelam Mathews Apr 29, 2016 Even as global firms battle to gain attention of India for the second line of fighters, Dirk Hoke  CEO of Airbus Defence and Space (DS) made his company's focus clear by making a visit to Delhi this week to make an offer to design, develop, manufacture and export the Advanced Medium Combat  Aircraft (AMCA).  The AMCA offer aerospacediary learns, comes with a rider: Airbus will only be associated with the project in a 50:50 joint venture since decisions tend to get overridden by Indian counterparts. Discussions are likely to get stuck if HAL insists on Airbus reimbursing it for the cost of the LCA development. In which case, Airbus is likely to demand cost of transfer of technology. Another future Make in India project sunk before floated!? Hoke took over his position from April 1 this year, and was making no bones in the aggressive role the company wants to play. Airbus is believed to have focusse...

Neelam Mathews Oct 18, 2015 While Boeing Co Chairman, President and CEO James   McNerney announced to an awe-struck audience in Delhi on Oct 16 that the company would be willing to make its twin-engine F-18 fighters in India, when India releases another MMRCA tender in two years, one wonders what is actually happening to thinking in higher echelons of power? I am not even going into issues related to CISMOA, which a few say will be solved ultimately. While it goes to the credit of the OEMs that they are more than willing to include Indian companies in their global supply base, one wonders why homework has not been done to calculate costs that will be incurred should the country add to its already over two dozen different aircraft models? The Indian Air Force, as far as I can remember, has been crying hoarse over this issue. So while, one has no affiliations to the Rafale for instance, why not just set up co-production for another 90 more? We have to start some time. As...

by  Chris Pocock  and Neelam Mathews  - April 15, 2015, 4:45 PM This model of the Rafale in Indian Air Force markings was displayed at the last Aero-India show. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) The new Indian government’s decision ‘in principle’ to  buy 36 Rafale combat aircraft  direct from the Dassault production line in France, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 10, appears to spell the end of the medium multi-role combat aircraft ( MMRCA ) acquisition process. Speaking on Indian television two days later, defense minister Manohar Parrikar acknowledged that the protracted delay in closing the  MMRCA  deal, caused largely by difficulty in agreeing terms and conditions for licensed production of the Rafale in India, had not served India well. Under the  MMRCA  plan, the Indian Air Force ( IAF ) would have received its first squadron of 18 Rafales from France, 12 single- and six twin-seaters. A further 108 woul...

PARIS AIR SHOW  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS HAL’s Light Combat Aircraft, a Mach 1.8, multi-role fighter that first flew last year, is scheduled to undergo carrier compatibility tests before year-end. June 17, 2013, 5:15 AM A target for criticism over delays in projects in the past, India’s largest defense manufacturer, government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. ( HAL ) is undergoing a transformation of its human resource through training and  innovative programs . This is focusing on two urgent requirements–the overdue Light Combat Aircraft ( LCA ); and the Intermediate Jet Trainer ( IJT ).  HAL  (Chalet A 124) has confirmed that the projects will go into production in the next five years. Even as India opens up to procuring more Western military aircraft and its civil fleet grows,  HAL ’s inclination to establish partnerships is becoming increasingly apparent. For example drawing on its inherent str...