Developing Countries Next Generation Fighter Aircraft

Recently when Requirements of MCA now re-named to NGFA (Next Generation Fighter Aircraft) by Indian Air force was made public in section of media , IAF clear dedicates what it wants for NGFA and seems to leave very little room for developers ADE and other DRDO labs . IAF seems will not compromise on the aircrafts capabilities from the start.

For years NGFA was rumored to be a strike aircraft with secondary role of Air defence capabilities. Now IAF wants a fully multirole Aircraft with almost all the technology which only a 5^TH Generation Aircraft like Pak-Fa which India is partnered with Russia for its development will have ,India’s contribution to Pak-Fa is limited to sub-system of it avionics and its core software very similar work which was done with Sukhoi-Su30 MKI. Other then Avionics which can be further developed from Tejas MK-II platform they are tones of other things which NGFA will need to make it truly a 5^TH Generation Aircraft .

IAF seems to be clear that it wants most of the Avionics and Engine for NGFA to be indigenous, Specially the AESA Radar; it seems IAF will not settle for AESA which has been developed by LRDE for Tejas Mk-II, it want to be more sophisticated then the Current AESA technology what LDRE is working on and better Avionics and Self-defence systems for the aircraft which will take lot of time unless similar Pak-Fa Avionics package is chosen.

The Kaveri-Snecma Engine based on core of M-88 has been seen has the possible engine which will power NGFA, Details of this engine is still not clear and what level of Technology French will bring is also crucial, GTRE failed to develop current Kaveri engine in time to power Tejas Combat aircraft .The new engine should be based on consultation with IAF to avoid future disappointments and should be ready in time to power NGFA which will have a tech demonstrator, three prototype vehicles and two production jets . No intermediate Engine has been sought, Kaveri-II have to be ready in time for NGFA to make its first flight.

Stealthy Airframe Requirements seems to have thrown out any DRDO’s plans of having Aircraft with low Stealth characters, it wants Stealthy Airframe from the start and Current level of technology in India does not have such high end materials, composites and radar observing airframe materials and paints. Wind-tunnel model which was displayed at Aero India 2009 of MCA will need designs changes to meet IAF’s demand of full Stealthy Airframe, while wind tunnel model seemed like Aircraft with Stealth features but not fully stealth aircraft.

Time frame set by ADA is again over ambitious. ADA plans to have the first test flight of the NGFA by 7-8 years, once go head is given which may come by end of 2010, this is simply not possible since most of the technology required for it is still not in pipeline, since various Labs will be working on it any delays by any Lab will effect the schedule flight plan and again it will look similar way which LCA was made to go.

Consultancy and joint development of various systems should be considered to meet the deadline for NGFA’s first flight; Aircraft should be developed with possible export market in mind. To give air forces around the world a cheap and high technology 5^TH Generation fighter which can compete with American and Chinese aircrafts in future.

Not Abandoned N-Tejas yet

Recently Indian Navy issued Request for information (RFI) for the purchase of undisclosed numbers of Multi role Fighter which it wants to purchase for its Second Indigenous Aircraft carrier which will be built in India and will join Indian Navy by 2018. In December Mig-29K started arriving in India in semi -knocked down condition which was purchased for INS Vikramaditya, reports suggests that Indian Navy may order more Mig-29K for First Indigenous Aircraft carrier also .But recent development of purchase of second line of New Naval Fighter jet has been blamed in largely blamed by many sections of media on delays faced by the countries Indigenous Naval Tejas Project. Highly placed source based in Goa’s Naval Air Wing has confirmed (lca-tejas.org) that Indian Navy has not abandoned Naval Variant of Tejas yet and are actually very much interested in the project its self, they has been confirmation that Navy is interested in getting N-Tejas with high powered engines which Air force wants for Tejas MK-II rather then the Currently powered engines of GE. Indian Navy wants to maintain around 150 Naval Fighter aircrafts by 2020 for Carrier and Land Based operations, Navy is no hurry in Procument of Naval Tejas since India’s first Indigenous Aircraft carrier will be operational only by 2014 at best and Navy want best of the Tejas Project .Navy also will be building a Carrier type deck close to Naval Base INS Hansa where Carrier takeoff and landing will be simulated for Training of Future pilots of Indian Navy , First Prototype of NP-1 a Naval Tejas will make to air by end of 2010 and will also be based in INS Hansa for carrying out all necessary test to get clearance for Carrier operations , NP-1 will have design similarities with recently test flown PV-5 which is a Air force Trainer variant .

Jumping Sea Harrier fast turning into “Flying Coffins” for pilots

India purchased 30 Sea Harriers in 1983, using 25 of these for operational flying and the remaining to train pilots. Since then eight pilots have died in 18 crashes involving the Sea Harrier and more than half of the fleet is now gone, lost mostly to routine sorties. Particular Aircraft which crashed on 21 August 2009 which killed the pilot LT CDR Saurav Saxena had gone mid-life upgrade and was equipped with Elta EL/M-2032 radar and the Rafael 'Derby' medium range air to air missile. This will enable the Sea Harrier to remain in Indian service until beyond 2012. India is the only operator who is operating VTOL/STOVL jet fighter since Royal Navy has already retired them and only US marines operate their advance version of AV-8B Harrier II which was jointly developed by McDonnell Douglas and British Aerospace. In India Sea Harriers are mostly operated from Shore based Naval Air base in “INS HANSA “Naval base in Goa located on premises of the Dabolim airport. Indian navy has lost more then 8 jets in span of 9 years now. Navy is also facing problems getting spares for the Jumping jets while Navy brought four Sea Harriers air frames from Royal Navy to cannabalise them for spares for use in India’s fast depleting Jump Jet squadrons. British official had also offered to locate a harrier post design service station in India to overhaul and maintain the navy’s Sea Harrier fighters. But navy was not interested in that proposal; now flying has been restricted because of falling numbers. With less than dozen Jumping jet left Navies Air Arm is having serious problems since induction of Mig-29k has been delayed and Naval Tejas which still to take its first flight will take more then 5 years to mature to be inducted in the Naval Air arm

Surya ICBM Myth or Reality?

India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP 1983) have made news for right and wrong reasons, failure of the Trishul SAM (Surface to Air Missile) or successful induction of the Prithvi or Agni series of SSM (Surface to Surface Missile) always had full public knowledge of existence, Akash (SAM), NAG (ATM) where some of the other Missiles which where developed under the (IGMDP 1983). while almost all this Missiles enjoyed good and bad media spotlight, there was one particular missile Surya ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) where Ministry of Defence (MOD) have repeatedly denied the existence of the project, it was first published in The Nonproliferation Review, in the Winter of 1995, Surya (meaning the Sun in Sanskrit and many Indian languages) is believed to be first Intercontinental Ballistic Missile that India is reported to be developing. According to The Nonproliferation Review report, the Surya is an intercontinental-range, surface-based, solid and liquid propellant ballistic missile. The report further adds that Surya is the most ambitious project in India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. Surya did grab media attention after this report surfaced and many prominent newspapers published there own conclusion of this ghost ICBM, as per the original report it was supposed to have range of 6000 to 8000km but Media speculated range was 8000 to 12000 km , if one non existing ICBM was not enough many Indian Media speculated development of Surya-2 ICBM with range speculated from 12000km to 18000km, while the launch weight of the missile was speculated to be around 270 to 275 tonnes. The missile supposed to have a 5,480 pound to 7,680 pound releasable front section with two to three warheads of 15 kilo tonne to 20 kilo tonnes each. ICBM will incorporate technology of the DRDO developed Agni III and ISRO developed Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), while in mid 1990’s it was speculated to be fully based on the ISRO developed Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) which in mid 1990’s that had seen spring of successful launch and technology of PSLV was seen mature enough for development of the ICBM. In recent times sudden and successful launch of Prithvi Air Defence (PAD), Advanced Air Defence (AAD), Shaurya (SRBM), Sagarika (SLBM) many of DRDO’s Missiles which had little or no information in public domain, always made defense experts in India speculate about the Development of the Surya Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, till date (2009) no Government official have confirmed the existence of the project. Speculated firing of the ICBM is by 2008-12 time frame. While confirm development of Agni V (4500 to 5500 km) by DRDO as been reported in the Media, Surya seems to be the next logical step to achieve. China is far ahead of others in the missile race in the region. the Dong-Feng-31 and Julang-2, a combined ICBM and submarine-launched ballistic missile have been successfully tested and inducted by China, while Success of Agni-
III has enabled India to hit major cities of china but many of the northern part of China is still not under Range of Indian Missiles, while Surya ICBM will put whole of china and Europe under its range will act as a great deterrence for the Indian defense.

Speculated Specification of Surya ICBM

• Class: ICBM
• Lasing: Surface based
• Length: 40.00 m
• Diameter: 2.8 m
• Launch Weight: 80,000 kg
• Propulsion: First/second stage solid, third liquid
• Warhead Capabilities: 2-3 nuclear warheads of 250 kilotons each
• Status: Development / Developed to be tested
• In Service: 2015
• Range: 8,000 - 12,000 km

Gripen Ng and Tejas combo?

Gripen Ng and Tejas flying together in a same mission over green fields of Punjab, or doing combat patrolling over the skies of capital city, might actually become a real time event in future, Gripen NG which is one of the front runners for supplying the 126 jets to Indian air force, it now seems to have impressed the Top guns in the Indian air force also, the new Gripen which the Saab Aerospace calls Gripen NG (Next Generation) which was recently rolled out on 23 April 2008 in the Saab Aerospace facility , it does not have an entirely new brand new look nor does it have any look of stealthy aircrafts like F-22 or F-35 but it does have some major improvements over its previous model (Gripen C/D) , New features which are the hard to ignore are the new massive General Electric F414G Engines which also powers the F/A-18E/F super hornets and which may also power India’s very own Tejas Block-2 fighter aircraft in future ,with 25% more thrust and new AESA radar, more weapons payload and more increase in range, aircraft had to go through very minimum change as the its landing gear had to be displaced from its undercarriage to its main wing pylons which freed up large space in the center fuselage section of the aircraft also provided room for extra fuel tanks ,Actually Gripen Ng as more unrefueled range then F-16 that’s 2,200 nautical miles ,use of Dual launch rails have also improved the aircrafts weapon carrying capacity from earlier 8 stations to 10 in the new current version ,Many Military Experts in India in past have dismissed Gripen as not the Strongest contender of the Indian Air forces M-MRCA programme which has been fought hard by American F-16 and F/A-18E/F along with Mig-35 from Russia and Euro fighter from Europe ,Experts have argued repeatedly that Countries own Tejas fighter aircraft will have similar capability when it joins Indian air force in 2011-12 time frame which is same exact time frame when jet selected from the M-MRCA programme are supposed to be delivered, but with the new Re-incarnation of the Gripen it might have a better chance of winning the M-MRCA requirements of the Indian air force, Gripen Ng will not only bring array of new weapons and Avionics to Indian air force but will also be able to meet the Indian air force requirements ,it will also enable Hal to carry out its own future upgrades to the aircraft ,Saab which as promised to provide the Software code of the aircraft which will enable to integrate locally built Astra BVR AAM and other weapon systems ,if General Electric’s F414G Engines are selected for Tejas for the Block-2 version it will also enable Indian Air force maintain the commonality between the Two aircrafts engines

Ancient names for Indian weapon systems

Naming of the India’s first nuclear submarine INS Arihant created a storm in the Jain community, since it was named after one of the important Jain Teerthankaras (Gods) while In Sanskrit Arihant means destroyer of enemies, while in Jainism Arihant means destroyer of greed, lust and anger, but protest by Jain community did not force government of India to drop th name for the submarine .while many of the weapons system in India has been named after mythological characters or ancient words picked from Sanskrit .Indian Missile have been named after elements in the nature . Prithvi missile systems mean “Earth”, Agni (fire) and Akash (sky). While Trishul missile has been named after the Trishul [trident] wielded by the Hindu God Siva, Nag is India's third generation "Fire-and-forget" anti-tank missile in Sanskrit it means Snake "and Dhanush means Bow Arjun MBT (Main Battle Tank) has been named after Mythological character Arjun from the Sacred book of Mahabharata, Tejas a lightweight multirole jet fighter being developed by India means radiant. Many of the military weapon systems in pipeline has been named after Sanskrit words like Shaurya missile which in Sanskrit means Valour, Nirbhay a new subsonic cruise missile which means fearless , Astra BVR (Beyond Visual Range Missile) means Weapon .