Aerospace Diary

Space ISRO, Russian Company Form GPS Partnership Aviation Week & Space Technology Nov 01 , 2010 , p. 38 Neelam Mathews New Delhi Reliability is key to building GPS services in India, Russians say Printed headline: Dual System Russia’s NIS-Glonass is forming a joint venture with Antrix Corp., the marketing arm of the Indian Space Research Organization, to help it break into the market for satellite tracking and navigation services in India. Despite the presence of more than 130 companies in the GPS market, Navigation Information System-Glonass (NIS-Glonass) says India’s market is grossly underserved, largely because its competitors offer unreliable or incomplete services. NIS-Glonass overcomes the reliability issue by processing signals from the world’s dominant global positioning providers—Russia’s Glonass and the U.S. Global Positioning System satellites, says Program Director ...

Programs Aerospace Daily & Defense Report Oct 29 , 2010 , p. 15 Neelam Mathews NEW DELHI – As President Barack Obama’s visit to India draws closer, Lockheed Martin is talking up its offering for the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition. Lockheed Martin’s F-16IN is powered by the GE F-110-132A engine. GE recently won a contract to provide F-414 engines for India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). Michael Griswold, Lockheed’s director of advanced development programs, says the LCA win is a good sign that the U.S. can meet its export control requirements. “GE brought the best engine on the table at the lowest cost,” he says. “GE F-110-132A is the most powerful engine of all the contenders of the [126-aircraft] MMRCA bid,” Griswold says. “Technology insertions for the engine include blisk fan, radial augmentor and a low-drag nozzle.” Rival Boeing’s F/A-18 carries twin F-414 engines. ...

Airports Av Week Daily Oct 29, 2010 As part of an extensive effort to make the airspace safer and less congested around Cochin, India, International Airport, the Airports Authority of India has introduced Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) procedures. The newest piece of technology in the works is Required Navigation Performance (RNP)—a part of PBN—that will be operational by February 2011. The RNP at Cochin is being implemented and financed by Airbus subsidiary Quovadis, with the support of the French Civil Aviation Authority (FCAA). An RNP allows an aircraft to fly a specific path along a predefined route using an onboard navigation system and Global Positioning System (GPS). Recommended by ICAO, its operational benefits include improved precision of flight operation, increased access to airports, particularly in low-visibility conditions requiring fewer ground-based instrument landing aids, and lower flight time and fuel consumption and lower noise and emissions. The pro...

Aviation Daily Oct 27 , 2010 , p. 11 Neelam Mathews Just as Air India delays its entry into the Star Alliance , Jet Airways may be viewing joining SkyTeam . The Star Alliance has been anxious to add another Indian carrier to its portfolio, says India’s market size could absorb two carriers and recently met with Jet Airways. Star’s interest in Jet Airways has brought a cold-shoulder response from India’s civil aviation ministry, which made it clear that Air India is to be the first admitted to Star. Presumably, that will ensure it first-mover advantage. Air India, however, was forced to delay its entry following integration issues related to the merger with Indian Airlines . It may join Star in the summer of 2011 instead of spring 2011. “We respect the ministry’s decision and have been in conversation with them,” Star Alliance CEO Jaan Albrecht told AVIATION WEEK recently. Meanwhile, the signs may already be th...

Aerospace Daily Oct 27, 2010 TECHNOLOGY NEW DELHI — Information technology services company Mahindra Satyam is scouting for partners to round out its capabilities in battle management systems, network-centric warfare, data fusion and electronic warfare. “While India has seen an explosive growth in defense, the challenge is to access highly complex technology. We [in India] lack system integration applications for UAVs [and] precision strike weapons,” says Ramaseshan Satagopan, head of aerospace engineering at the company, which is part of the $7 billion Mahindra Group. “The key technology is sensors, which we do not have.” India lags by about a decade in sensor technology, especially for so-called smart weapons, the executive says, but the country knows it must ramp up its capability there. “Today, remote-controlled warfare is the key. For us, sensors, information and communication networks are [critical].” Mahindra also is pursuing an offset-oriented track for business, and ...

Aerospace Daily Oct 25, 2010   By Neelam Mathews NEW DELHI Members of the supervisory board of the four-nation Eurofighter consortium—which like the U.S. is competing for India’s program for 126 Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA)—are meeting in New Delhi for the first time Oct. 25-26. This is also the group’s initial meeting in Asia. “India’s MMRCA is high on the agenda. . . . This should be a clear signal to the political decision-makers in India that the MMRCA is of the highest importance for Eurofighter,” says Cassidian Air Systems spokesman Theodor Benien. The consortium—representing Germany, U.K., Italy and Spain—has made its political presence felt in the past months with British Prime Minister David Cameron and German ministers for foreign affairs and economy visiting India. Besides the aircraft, India also has identified active, electronically ...

Oct 21, 2010 Neelam Mathews Airbus Military PZL 130 Orlik will be holding trials from Oct 25- 29 in Jamnagar, in the western state of Gujarat for India’s bid for basic trainers . This will bring to completion all trials for the imminently required basic trainers for the Indian air force. India is anxious to make a procurement decision by March 2011. The Request for Proposal is for 75 basic trainers, with a possible additional 106 aircraft to be manufactured by government-owned defense manufacturer, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) through technology transfer. The contenders include Beechcraft T-6C military trainer, Pilatus PC-7, Grob G-120TP, Airbus Military PZL 130 Orlik and Korea Aerospace KT-1. The present ageing fleet of over 100 HPT-32 (Hindustan Piston Trainers) have suffered a spurt of crashes, leaving India to depend on its second line of limited trainers. The Basic Trainer RFP comes with a 30% offsets clause, which Airbus Military says will no...