Aerospace Diary

AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE  »  NOVEMBER 23, 2012 by    NEELAM MATHEWS An Indian engineer performs a bench test of some avionics equipment. Government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. is expanding its avionics capabilities. (Photo: HAL) November 23, 2012, 7:20 AM Government-owned Indian defense manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. ( HAL ) has launched a $12 million Strategic Electronics Manufacturing facility spread across 196 acres in Kasargod in the southern state of Kerala. It will produce advanced avionics for aircraft and helicopters. The facility is the manufacturing extension of  HAL ’s Hyderabad-based R&D unit for avionics–the Strategic Electronics Research and Design Center. The new factory will make airborne special purpose systems, such as mission computers, display processors and radar computers for the Russian MiG-27 and Su-30 combat aircraft, and the Indian light combat aircraft ( LCA ).   AI...

News analysis Defence Helicopter By Neelam Mathews, New Delhi Bids for India’s 197-aircraft Reconnaissance and Surveillance Helicopter (RSH) requirement may be in jeopardy, as deferrals to the project have resulted in a cost increase of 45% since 2007, when proposals were first evaluated. The helicopters, which would have cost less than $700 million back then, are now valued at over $1 billion. If delayed by another year, this could go up by 4-5%. Rebidding and delaying the finalisation of contracts is not uncommon in India, where bureaucratic and procedural delays are the norm. This has been readily apparent in the RSH project for the Indian Army and air force, which was first issued in 2003 and then again in 2008. Now on its second iteration, RSH flight  rials were completed in 2010 by the two finalists – Russian Helicopters’ Kamov Ka-226T, powered by the Turbomeca Arrius 2G1, and the Eurocopt...

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...

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.