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Old 28th February 2020, 23:23   #871
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

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Originally Posted by himanshugoswami View Post
Let me share my two cents on some of the points that you have raised, without revealing information that should not be in public domain. My responses are in bold.

Regarding scrambling single engine vs twin engine fighters , the MiG-29 can definitely taxi on one engine, spool up the second engine on the move and by the time it's at the threshold, both engines should be warmed up and ready. I suppose that ability exists in pretty much all twin engine fighters since the 1980s.

Also, 100NM launch for AMRAAM? That was the upper limit for the much larger AIM-54 Phoenix , and no way the AIM-120C models can get even a reliable 50NM range.
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Old 29th February 2020, 04:09   #872
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

My participation on this thread has been much less than I would like, one of the reasons being some remarks being made on my profession.

Allow me to make to make some submissions – this will be slightly long.

A little bit about myself – I am a passionate aviation enthusiast who was blessed to be able to make aerospace and defence journalism as a career. It has allowed me to travel and report from aerospace and defence shows in 16 countries apart from India.

I have seen all kinds of reporting from superb, high quality and well-informed pieces of journalism, to the tripe that you will find on some print media, tv channels, websites, social media.

Today, there is a high level of interest in defence amongst the public (rightfully so), as the armed forces evoke a sense of awe, patriotism and pride.

Does this mean that they can do no wrong and must not be questioned?

Absolutely not, as proud democracy, the Indian public must and needs to know what is being done with taxpayers money (within the usual bounds of national security, etc).

It is not Anti-Indian or Unpatriotic for a journalist/citizen to raise a question on the conduct of our armed forces, indeed, it is expected!

Commentary on defence by the public is very much like conversations on politics, sports and the state of the economy. It is driven by pride, often limited amounts of knowledge and an insufficient understanding of situations, where information is released or hidden as per the requirement of interested parties that will gain from it.

If one does not like a story – does that mean that the journalist or publication has sold out ?

More often than not, this is not the case.

Some stories come out great cause of access, interactions and interviews but many are written on a deadline and the journalist has to make do with the best information available.

For many newspapers, websites, TV channels, time is at a premium and you have a team often juggling multiple responsibilities and not specialising on defence. You will come across the usual howlers, where an aircraft is mislabelled etc.

But more often than not today, the Journalist is derided for an article that people do not subscribe to.

Many aerospace and defence writers, journalists and commentators today also fall into the trap of simply not being able to say, ‘I Don’t Know’. If you don’t know for sure, don’t write about it. Write about what you do know and leave the other questions for the reader to think about.

Good Journalism takes time, but will stand the test of time – the best example of this being Team BHP official reviews.

The simple truism of defence reporting on current matters of a highly sensitive nature is this “Those Who Know, Don’t Talk and Those Who Talk, Don’t Know!”

This applies to quotes or information provided by serving senior officers and personnel who are deeply involved in a particular mission / engagement / strike / exercise/etc. Information leaked without attribution from the source by merely stating ‘high level sources' etc are often best taken with a pinch of salt.

More than any other profession, secrecy is a way of life in the armed forces – and I have found in over a decade of reporting on aerospace and defence topics that not a single senior serving officer discussed a current operation or procurement on the record.

Defence reporting today is highly publicized/politicized and often used to drive agendas and weapons procurements.

Any Government of the day will like to take credit for actions taken by the armed forces and hence will regulate access to friendly journalists, willing to toe the official line.

Large defence contracts are often more about public perception, rather than the capability of the weapon itself. The hue and cry over the Rafale deal being a prime example.

Indian defence reporting is really only two decades old, as prior to that the number of media outlets were limited, as was the scope for coverage due to security reasons.
You will find some outstanding reporting in the India Today archives and surprising similarities with our procurement processes today.
Consumption of good media (Team BHP is an outstanding example) leads to a better-informed reader who trusts the opinion provided by the journalist (or moderator as in case of Team BHP) and develops a better critical thinking process. At the very least, an article should pique the readers interest to want to know more.

Let me break-up Domestic Indian defence English language reporting for those who are interested in being better informed.

Defence reporting is a particularly difficult and complex topic. The technology aspect is particularly difficult to navigate for any journalist as the pace of change is so fast. Also many companies use marketing jargon and often that is all there is to go by. Nobody will tell someone the actual range of a weapon, etc, Then they are strategic imperatives, geo-political issues etc.

As a simple example - you dont buy a Toyota because India is friends with Japan !

But India does buy weapons from the USA to maintain a good relationship with her, as it did with the erstwhile Soviet Union.

While a journalist may not have a military background, he/she will read up on topics, ask questions and over the course of a few years build up sufficient experience and instinct to report on a range of topics.

Retired military officers (Lt Gen/Air Mshls/Rear Admirals and the like) are often parochial and rarely criticise their own service or provide a balanced perspective.

However, there are exceptions and you may want to follow the writings of the two officers mentioned below.

Hence different levels of information and insight are provided by different authors and their publications based on the importance of defence reporting for their readership.

The newspapers provide information to a general audience without too much technicality and generally provide a broad understanding of a topic. Further reading of defence news makes the reader better informed as the years go by.
There will also be the occasional feature, which provides more detailed information.

In my opinion, newspapers are the cheapest and best way to gain access to quality defence reporting (Manu Pubby of the Economic Times, Ajai Shukla of Business Standard, Rajat Pandit of the Times of India, Dinakar Perri of the Hindu, Rahul Singh of the Hindustan Times are some of the names).
These are defence reporters and you will have other guys who cover commercial aviation.
You will also have excellent columns by Admiral (retd) Arun Prakash and Lt Gen (retd) HS Panag.

You then have print magazines - they will dig deeper, an excellent example being stories by Sandeep Unnithan in India Today or stories in the Week or Frontline (haven’t read in a while).

If you are following the above two examples, you are already a bonafide defence enthusiast and by now likely also following social media handles and blogs like Livefist (Shiv Aroor), Broadsword (Ajai Shukla) and websites.

This information gets more detailed during longer format TV programmes/Documentaries and interviews with senior officers and officials. The Netflix Documentary on the Vietnam war is the gold standard war documentary for me. The cruel, horrible and complex nature of war and its dynamics is brought out to great effect.

For the defence enthusiast who would like to take if further, you will of course have purchased books and autobiographies to read and can also access Indian aerospace and defence magazines, such as Vayu (India’s Oldest), Force Magazine, SP’s Publications, etc. There are many more, as you will find while attending Aero India and Def Expo and reading the Show Dailies.

The keen enthusiast will then graduate to western glossies such as Air Forces Monthly, Air International, Combat Aircraft (published in UK/USA) etc or the more trade focussed journals such as Asian Defence Technology, Asian Airlines & Aerospace, Armada, Asia Pacific Defence Review, Australian Aviation (published in SE Asia/APAC etc).

The most highly respected aerospace and defence publications are the older industry institutions such as Flight International (111 years old), Aviation Week and the much-respected Janes Defence Weekly.

These publications often have specialist journalists and access to contributors who have covered the beat for decades and are held to a higher standard of proof, accuracy/authenticity than less specialised publications. Do not expect these publications to be Pro-India or Anti-Pakistan – they call it as they see it.

So, what one knows or more importantly ‘What One Thinks They Know' stems from the type of information he/she is exposed to and a willingness to accept an alternate point of view

One aspect I can attest to after having the opportunity to travel and interact with the armed forces of various nations, is the sheer professionalism of the Indian armed forces.

Few militaries post WWII have done so much, with so less!

Truly, interacting with armed forces personnel as part of my job is the best part.

PAF Vs IAF?
My interactions with the Pakistan military have been a little odd, while the senior officers (Air Commodores/Group Captains) have been friendly, polite and courteous, the younger lot, seemed a bit cold. My most recent interaction, was a couple of years ago, at the Dubai airshow, where a PAF Pilot I had met in Malaysia, seemed distinctly uneasy but was still courteous and polite.

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) is certainly an excellent air arm and their pilots are highly professional and well trained. Any adversary, who takes them lightly is making a mistake.

There is no shame in respecting a worthy adversary and preparing in advance to ensure his defeat.

As a much much smaller nation with a hardwired India persecution complex, the armed forces rule Pakistan and are world class in training and capability unlike the Middle Eastern nations. PAF pilots also get to fly the latest aircraft available with Middle East nations so are well versed with the latest in technology.

To simplify, an air battle with the IAF / PAF, is like a cricket match between India and Australia. Two highly competitive and professional teams, that are well trained and well led, that have the best of infrastructure and hate to lose. Just like in cricket, the side that plans and executes its plans well and has gamed all possibilities will win.

Just like the IAF performed with credit against the PAF with older equipment in 1965, today Pakistan has a decidedly ageing air force. What little money they have is spent on planning against a much larger and more capable adversary but one that has to spread its resources to also cater for China.

Just like in cricket, sometimes the score-card does not tell the whole story.
Both air forces performed their duties during the Balakot strikes. IAF jets managed to penetrate the airspace of Pakistan, the protection of which is the sole objective of the PAF and deliver munitions on a target.

The PAF showed its plucky nature, in quickly putting together a large force mission, but this was thwarted by a smaller Indian defending team. The SU-30 MKI is a large and non-stealthy aircraft, so the PAF would have rightly been assuming an easy kill with its AMRAAMs.

The physical evidence of a crashed MiG-21 Bison and a pilot in captivity, allowed the PAF to save face with its domestic audience, who would have been less forgiving otherwise. The propaganda value of a bloodied Indian pilot cannot be underestimated with regards to the Pakistani public and Jihadi training camps. The extremely sad loss of a Mi-17 helicopter to fratricide also worked in PAF’s favour.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s composure in captivity was extraordinary – may he be blessed with a long flying career and successful tenure in the IAF.

So, the IAF managed to penetrate PAF airspace and deliver munitions on target and also denied a large force PAF mission as a riposte. We have an F-16 downed claim and PAF has a confirmed downing of a MiG-21.

I am a bit surprised that the R-77 is being quoted as inferior to the AMRAAM, as it was always thought to be equivalent. In fact both the R-73 ‘Archer’ and R-77 ‘Alamo’ are very well regarded by their users.

How much does an AMRAAM cost?
A US notification for sale of up to two hundred (200) AIM-120D Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) to the UK was estimated cost at US$650 million and included missile containers; weapon system support equipment; support and test equipment; site survey; transportation; repair and return support; warranties; spare and repair parts; publications and technical documentation; maintenance and personnel training; training equipment; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, logistics, and technical support services; and other related elements of logistics and program support.

Malaysia purchased 35 RVV-AE missiles for US$35 million in 2012 !

RVV-AE
http://roe.ru/eng/catalog/aerospace-...issile/rvv-ae/

https://aviationweek.com/asia-aerosp...e-russias-r-77

https://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Rus-BVR-AAM.html

AMRAAM
https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a195035.pdf

https://airandspace.si.edu/object/nasm_A20030008000

https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-She...im-120-amraam/

Last edited by Redline6800 : 29th February 2020 at 04:28. Reason: grammar, readability
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Old 29th February 2020, 16:25   #873
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

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Originally Posted by Redline6800 View Post
My participation on this thread has been much less than I would like, one of the reasons being some remarks being made on my profession.

Allow me to make to make some submissions – this will be slightly long.
First thank you for writing candidly and with so much maturity and balance. That was a beautiful post and indeed among the best on this thread in terms of content and wisdom. As the person who triggered post number # 863 about the article from 'The Print' I offer my apologies for the misunderstanding.

This thread and the others on aircrafts and ships would be a lot richer if professionals from this line like yourself wrote in more often. I do agree like all good Indians a certain degree of jingoism does creep in and I am no exception.

I agree magazines like the ones you listed, Jane's, Flight, India Today etc write well researched articles. Unfortunately like with all professions there are people of all shades and competencies and some magazines and 'The Print' in particular write with limited content and negativity for the sake of it. In my now ended professional career I had the privilege of giving interviews to many journalists in my field of aviation and some wrote articles I preserved and in the case of some others I could not recognize what was written. But this is not peculiar to journalism alone.

Please do write more often. We would all be richer and better informed with your insights.
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Old 1st March 2020, 18:08   #874
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

Here's a first person account from the one person who was entrusted to plan and execute the now famous Balakot Strike. The narrative is simply written and subtly underplays the planning, feints, logistics and coordination that would have gone in to make it a nearly perfectly executed raid, slip in - hit hard- slip out.

From the article
Quote:
PUNITIVE AIR strike at Balakot changed the security narrative in the subcontinent. Having been a victim of the Pakistani deep state’s sponsored terrorism for too long, India raised the costs for Islamabad with the punitive air strike. A new normal also emerged. India’s political leadership realised that use of airpower need not be escalatory; that there exists a large window for sub-conventional or limited war options between two nuclear powers.
The action also exposed the existence of state-run terrorist camps in Pakistan. The proof of the pudding is that there has been no major terrorist attack since then.
Quote:
Sixteen aircraft took off from the runway and taxi track simultaneously to save time. Once airborne, hiding them was tricky. Commercial aircraft taking off and landing in Delhi were in the process of climbing or descending, thus taking up large height bands. We resolved this by rehearsing the event partially two days earlier and getting a person with authority at Delhi area control.

The planes flew over 1,500km on a dark night, refuelling in mid-air from IL-78 aircraft; all the while, real-time information was being relayed from AWACS. We planned a strike route over the mountains to evade enemy radars. So the team flew from north of Srinagar in a westerly direction. Everything was monitored at the operations room in the WAC.

Five impact points were selected. The largest structure in the Balakot complex, a mosque, was not targeted. The first hit was at 3:28am IST on February 26, by Mirage 2000s with SPICE-2000 penetration bombs. Each bomb was planned to be followed by a Crystal Maze, which has a two-way data link with the aircraft through which it could provide imagery for assessing battle damage. One SPICE bomb failed for technical reasons; none of the Crystal Maze missiles were released because of procedural issues.

The time was selected as 3:28am as it would be 2:58am in Pakistan; the terrorists would be asleep and the moon would have risen above 30 degrees. (February 19 was a full-moon night.) We knew that the terrorists prayed five set times a day, starting with salat al-fajr before sunrise. So, the strike was timed accordingly.

Yes, there was no precise body count. But the issue was not about how many terrorists were killed; it was about sending a strong message. Was Pakistan caught off guard? Yes, in spite of their readiness. Pakistan Air Force (PAF) had moved squadrons to their satellite bases, and increased the number of aircraft in operational readiness platforms. We were aware of these moves.

Did we encounter the enemy? Yes, we picked up the PAF’s Saab 2000 early warning aircraft holding south of Kamra on a north-south pattern. At 3:05am, we spotted two F-16s getting airborne and flying east–west over Murid. This was a close call. To divert them, we sent two Su-30s and four Jaguars towards Bahawalpur. The decoy pilots were ordered not to cross the border. The ruse worked beautifully. When the first bomb hit the Balakot camp, the closest PAF combat air patrol was 230km away.

Cheers !

Article Courtesy: https://www.theweek.in/theweek/speci...t-and-run.html

Last edited by vb-saan : 2nd March 2020 at 04:38. Reason: URL updated
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Old 2nd March 2020, 12:37   #875
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

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Originally Posted by V.Narayan View Post
First thank you for writing candidly and with so much maturity and balance. That was a beautiful post and indeed among the best on this thread in terms of content and wisdom. As the person who triggered post number # 863 about the article from 'The Print' I offer my apologies for the misunderstanding.

This thread and the others on aircrafts and ships would be a lot richer if professionals from this line like yourself wrote in more often. I do agree like all good Indians a certain degree of jingoism does creep in and I am no exception..
Narayan Sir, you embarrass me with your post, let me assure you that it was not directed at anyone in particular and most certainly not you.

You wear your love for aviation on your sleeve.

The post was written to provide an understanding of the difficulties in reporting on difficult topics and challenges therein.

I am planning to make a stop-by at Delhi on the way to a visit to Air Force Station Jodhpur, sometime this month.

It would be absolutely fantastic to meet with you, if you will be in-station.

Last edited by Redline6800 : 2nd March 2020 at 12:45.
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Old 11th March 2020, 17:45   #876
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

Not sure what thread this is aimed for but considering PAF F-16s have featured in preceding discussions here, I have some sad news from across the border. Looks like one of their pilots passed away practising some manoeuvre =

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...-before-impact

Even from the twitter footage and the little I know, there's no way the guy could've recovered that.
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Old 12th March 2020, 19:16   #877
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

Out of pure curiosity 4 or 5 years ago, I tried out the satellite view on google maps, of prominent IAF bases...and was shocked to see clear satellite images of each base. I could make out where each aircraft was parked, where the hangars, antennae etc. were.

I had also tried viewing prominent USAF bases and the satellite pics were (expectedly) sanitized with a blur.

Has anyone else noticed this about our air bases? Is this one of those things where the IAF brass might say "hey we parked our aircraft there on purpose when we knew that the satellite would pass overhead...we don't do that normally"? I've feared that Pathankot styled attacks are enabled by such imagery.
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Old 12th March 2020, 20:04   #878
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

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Originally Posted by locusjag View Post
Out of pure curiosity 4 or 5 years ago, I tried out the satellite view on google maps, of prominent IAF bases...and was shocked to see clear satellite images of each base. I could make out where each aircraft was parked, where the hangars, antennae etc. were.

I had also tried viewing prominent USAF bases and the satellite pics were (expectedly) sanitized with a blur.

Has anyone else noticed this about our air bases? Is this one of those things where the IAF brass might say "hey we parked our aircraft there on purpose when we knew that the satellite would pass overhead...we don't do that normally"? I've feared that Pathankot styled attacks are enabled by such imagery.
Erm actually, I distinctly remember looking up the IAF base Arjan Singh after it was renamed (AFS Panagarh). What you see is a plain polygon covering the area of the base.

However turning on satellite imagery you Do see the runway, flight apron, and the outlines of hangars. I can see 5 C-130s parked as well (REF:https://www.google.com/maps/place/IC...8!4d87.4279986). That's about it. I can't discern any blurring.

I will say that the whole cottage industry of open source satellite image analysis wouldn't have been possible if such information was embargoed in some way. So in that sense I suppose its a level playing field. You'd expect information as to fixed structures to be fairly easily attainable, especially for things like big landing strips. Heck, even Groom Lake, the infamous USAF facility better known as Area 51, I just looked it up on Google Maps and it's clear as day. I can zoom in and see tanker aircraft taxiing, cars parked and the outlines of other aircraft. (REF: https://www.google.com/maps/search/U.../data=!3m1!1e3) so I guess things have changed since then. I mean that's a lot of detail for an armchair punter like me to gaze upon.

We have to remember that the date of the images are probably important. I imagine whenever sensitive activity is being carried out, the mission planners will know what imaging satellites are currently overhead or not, especially in a facility like Groom Lake lets say where all the shiniest USAF toys are tested. I can't imagine the same logic escaping our own mission planners.

Plus I'm sure it's part of the game. You could probably feint by laying out your cards, literally in the form of certain aircraft in a base to draw attention to it, and away from wherever you actually have shenanigans about to occur. I guess the nuance comes here, where the experienced analysts will be able to make a far more educated guess than you or I about what they're seeing might actually mean.
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Old 12th March 2020, 21:32   #879
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

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Originally Posted by ads11 View Post
so I guess things have changed since then.
I had also looked for Area 51 a half a decade ago, the entire region back then looked in the satellite pic as if an artist's water painting had been damaged by a rogue brush!

I also remember how we were all exploring the Acadia National Park region in Maine and out of nowhere, a bunch of my friends in a different car found themselves at the guarded entrance of a US military facility. Its presence was nowhere indicated on google maps or on Garmin GPS.

Anyhow, if today, every country's military bases are showing up on google maps' satellite view, I'm okay with it. I just did not want India alone to be at a disadvantage here
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Old 12th March 2020, 22:03   #880
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

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I just did not want India alone to be at a disadvantage here
Our govt AFAIK still haven't allowed radar based lane assist systems in cars because of the wavelengths overlapping with military usage. We haven't allowed street view in India. I doubt we'd have let Google publish Indian bases without kicking up a storm if that was the case.

I think today it goes without saying that armed forces have come to terms with the fact that there's readily available satellite imagery. I think at times of war I imagine there are legal levers that can be pulled or simply digital ones. They'll limit easy access to that information (DDOS maybe?) or conduct GPS spoofing as the Russians have readily been doing recently. It's an easy way to pull the rug from under. I suppose it's half the impetus for countries like ours to develop our own systems in this regard to ensure it ties in well with our perpetual policy of strategic independence.

I think the military by default always go for the heavy handed approach to limiting information in a new medium they haven't quite fully understood yet so perhaps that's why Groom Lake was blurred out back in the day. Maybe you'll find anyone trying to build a virtual model of a base building even for Oculus Rift or something as a game level will quickly find some lawyers in combat fatigues at their door.
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Old 18th March 2020, 23:24   #881
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

Not sure, if these have been shared before.
I came across these lovely videos on the Indian Air Force (IAF) from 1982.

These are from Prasar Bharti archives and feature interesting aircraft and helicopters such as the MiG-23 BN, AN-12 transport and Mi-8 helicopter. I havent watched the 1st one yet.

History of IAF


Mi-8 Utility Helicopter


IAF in Natural Calamities


AN-12 Transport Aircraft


MiG-23BN Ground Attack Swing-Wing Fighter Bomber
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Old 13th April 2020, 01:16   #882
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

The Tejas FOC SP-21 has completed the test flight successfully. Here is a video which shows the team behind it and how they are working to roll out Tejas and it's versions.
Though the video is long it shows that there is no comparison to self designed and manufactured products.
Some points from video:
1. The final FOC plane was rolled out in 1 year 2 months after the design was finalized in Feb 2019.
2. The plane can be refueled in less than 6 minutes via the probe
3. The parts for SP-36 have been tagged already.
4. The plane was taken up to 8G
5. There is a great support from IAF.



Jai Hind

Last edited by PraNeel : 13th April 2020 at 01:35.
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Old 13th April 2020, 10:49   #883
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

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Originally Posted by PraNeel View Post
The Tejas FOC SP-21 has completed the test flight successfully. Here is a video which shows the team behind it and how they are working to roll out Tejas and it's versions.
Though the video is long it shows that there is no comparison to self designed and manufactured products.
Some points from video:
1. The final FOC plane was rolled out in 1 year 2 months after the design was finalized in Feb 2019.
2. The plane can be refueled in less than 6 minutes via the probe
3. The parts for SP-36 have been tagged already.
4. The plane was taken up to 8G
5. There is a great support from IAF.

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=pNwF4VDaj88

Jai Hind
Congratulations to DRDO, HAL, the design team and the IAF for getting this project up to this point where we can now expect large numbers of orders being placed. I have said this before, several times, that the IAF need to support the designer-producers by inducting small quantities of 85% ready aircraft marks and then letting the maturing processes take place. Finally over the last 2 odd years that is happened. I would be one happy camper to have 10 squadrons of the Tejas in the IAF and another 2 or three in the IN.

PraNeel, thank you for being our Tejas champion.
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Old 13th April 2020, 10:59   #884
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

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Originally Posted by himanshugoswami View Post
(I) IAF realized that their R77 and R37 missiles were inadequate and a long range BVR AAM is needed ASAP. PAF f 16s fired their AAMRAMS from close to 100 NM away, which is effectively the edge of the envelope. they fired it from DMAX-1. the IAF Sukhois armed with the R37s Vympels couldn't get a firing solution on their flight control computers. This has now been rectified with the emergency induction of the R27s. More crucially, the Astra is inducted and the IAF is in love with this missile. the Astra is the real game changer now.
Although I agree with most points of your post the point of the F-16s launching AMRAAMs at 100 NM is not true.

The PAF is equipped with AIM-120C5 which were delivered in 2006 and were first introduced back in 1996 in the USAF. This model variant has a maximum range is 120 km(65 nautical mile).

Source: http://www.deagel.com/Defensive-Weap...001164003.aspx

Also contrary to popular belief, long range missiles launched from a plane don't fly straight towards an aerial target. They follow a parabolic path in which the rocket motors only fires for a small duration enabling it to reach a very high altitude and then it glides to its target. The higher the launch aircraft is the more range of the missile. In this case the PAF F-16s were at 40-45k ft enabling their missiles to have a longer range targeting the IAF Su-30s which were at lower altitude of 10-15k ft. If the positions were reversed the Su-30s would have had a longer range missile firing solution.

Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force-screenshot-20200413-10.55.26-am.png

Also the range of missile depends on the relative motion of the target, if it is flying away from the launch aircraft range the range is greatly diminished. For example the range for a RVV-AE missile decreases almost 66% when fired against a receding target versus a head on target.

Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force-screenshot-20200413-10.58.34-am.png

Last edited by Foxbat : 13th April 2020 at 11:19.
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Old 13th April 2020, 22:11   #885
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Re: Combat Aircraft of the Indian Air Force

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Originally Posted by PraNeel View Post
The Tejas FOC SP-21 has completed the test flight successfully. Here is a video
It is great to know that No. 18 Sqdn 'Flying Bullets', squadron of IAF's lone Param Vir Chakra awardee - F/O Nirmaljeet Singh Sekhon and a former MiG-27 squadron, shall be IAF's second Tejas squadron, soon to be equipped with the Tejas Mk.1 In FOC configuration.
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