Aerospace Diary

by  Chris Pocock  and Neelam Mathews     March 26, 2015 The first two Indian air force Mirage 2000s to be upgraded were handled by the Dassault Flight Centre at Istres air base in France. (photo: Dassault Aviation) In a ceremony at Istres airbase in southern France on March 25, the Indian Ambassador to France accepted the first two Indian Air Force (IAF) Mirage 2000 fighters to be upgraded by Dassault and Thales. It has been agreed that the rest of the IAF fleet will be upgraded by HAL in Bangalore – a fact that the leadership of Dassault and Thales were keen to point out, in view of the long delays in sealing a licensed production deal for the Rafale. After a two-year development phase, the first flight of the upgraded Mirage 2000 I/TI took place at Istres on October 5, 2013. Today’s ceremony is the result of the excellent understanding between the Indian and French partners and of our commitment to India,” said Eric...

Neelam Mathews Feb 24, 2012 MIRAGE 2000   AIRCRAFT CRASH Allahabad: February 24, 2012 One Mirage 2000 aircraft of IAF crashed 50 kms North East of Gwalior, in the Ravines of Bhind Dist on Feb 24, 2012 at about 1210 hrs.  The pilots, Air Marshal Anil Chopra and Wing Commander Ram Kumar who got airborne from Gwalior airbase for routine flying sortie, ejected safely.  There is no reported damage to civil property or life.  A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to investigate into the cause of the accident.

Posted by- Neelam Mathews Feb 1, 2012 Suvarna Raju has taken over as Director (Design & Development) of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), today. He moves from being the General Manager of HAL’s Aircraft Division. Raju has vast experience in various segments of aircraft production and was responsible for establishing licence production of Hawk Mk 132, DARIN II Prototype proving and production of 17 Jaguar twin-seater aircraft, 20 single-seat aircraft and upgrade of 29 NUP Jaguar aircraft, establishing the production facilities for Unmanned Arial Vehicle Lakshya and produced 27 UAV’s, says HAL. His major achievements, according to a HAL statement are : •       Conceptualized and prepared Performance Based Maintenance Management Support system for Hawk Mk 132 advanced jet trainer aircraft and brought on board the customer and MoD authorities to support the implementation of this project for the first time. •       Technology development for f...

Posted by- Neelam Mathews July 29, 2011 Time: 3:40pm IST Thales and Dassault Aviation signed a contract an hour ago for the upgrade of the 51 Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 fleet. The upgrade will further enhance the technical-operational capabilities of the Indian Air Force Mirage 2000s, say the two companies in a joint statement. India recently awarded the upgrade contract to Dassault for $2.4billion according to reports. However, an official told Aerospace Diary, “the amount is significantly lower.”This could not be confirmed. The upgrade includes retrofitting the Mirages with new avionics including the Thales' RDY-2 multimode radar and MBDA's MICA air-to-air missiles among other equipment. It is not clear if the contract amount includes the missiles. Thales will now need to tap its existing and potential partners for offsets including finalization of its JV with Samtel. Dassault Aviation and Thales “are highly appreciative of the Indian government's continuin...

Longer story follows! Neelam Mathews July 13 Laying to rest speculation that the upgradation of the 51 (to reconfirm figure) of  Mirage 2000- to Mirage 2005, was being considered for offsets should Dassault's Rafale win the MMRCA, the Cabinet Committee on Security, cleared the upgradation today. This will open up opportunities for Indian companies like Samtel to offer an Indian content for the approximately $2.4 billion project. Upgrades include night vision goggle compatible glass cockpit, advanced navigational systems, advanced multi-mode multi-layered radar, fully integrated electronic warfare suite and advanced beyond visual range (BVR) capability. The new weapons include 450 MICA interception and aerial combat missiles.

Neelam Mathews June 6, 2011 India ’s high powered body- the Cabinet Committee on Security- chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has given the go-ahead for the purchase of 10 Boeing C-17 strategic heavy-lifters at an estimated cost of $4.1 billion from the U.S. The order comes with a 30% offsets clause worth $1.2 billion. It is not clear when the long-pending 50 Mirage-2000 upgrades will be cleared by the CCS. Industry analysts have conjectured it might be tied to the MMRCA deal should the finalist French Rafale be given the contract. However, it is too early to tell. The C-17 heavy lift deal will be music to the ears of the U.S that recently lost its two contenders to the Europeans for the over $10billion MMRCA bid finalists. The CCS has also cleared six additional C-17 aircraft if the IAF decides to exercise its options. India has not as yet signed the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMoA), which the US law requires if transfer of h...

Aerospace Daily Nov 23, 2010 FUNDING & POLICY NEW DELHI—The Indian air force is continuously modernizing its equipment, as well as making new purchases, Defense Minister A.K. Antony tells parliament. The IAF phases out obsolete systems and upgrades and extends the life of other equipment when feasible, he says. Obsolete equipment like the MiG-23, MiG-25 and Canberra aircraft has been phased out, Antony says. Existing fighters including the MiG-27, MiG-29, Jaguar, Mirage 2000 and Su-30 MKI, as well as transport aircraft such as the An-32 and other helicopters, are being upgraded. Various fighters, transport aircraft, helicopters, radars and missile systems are also being procured in a phased manner to meet military requirements, Antony says. India is also set to sign a $2-billion deal with Dassault to upgrade 51 aging Mirage 2000 fighters to the 2000-5 standard (Aerospace Daily, Oct. 20). The agreement is expected to be signed Dec. 6 when French President Nicolas Sarkozy...

Programs Aerospace Daily & Defense Report Oct 20 , 2010 , p. 06 Neelam Mathews NEW DELHI — After years of vacillation and wrangling, India is now set to sign a $2-billion deal with Dassault to upgrade 51 aging Mirage 2000 fighters to the 2000-5 standard. The deal is expected to be signed Dec. 6 when French President Nicolas Sarkozy visits India. Ahead of Sarkozy’s trip, Adm. Edouard Guillaud, French chief of defense staff, will be in India on Oct. 23 to discuss bilateral defense cooperation. New capabilities for the Mirage will include longer-range detection and weapon firing against multiple targets, as well as an extended operating envelope that allows for border-protection missions using two Mirages instead of six. The multitrack RDY-3 radar to be installed in the Mirage is the same generation the French air force is using on its M-2000D, with increased range compared with the existing Doppler multifun...