[ads11]

Oh I didn't mean to come across that way. I was simply mindful of the fact that there was that controversy wasn't there about a defence subsidiary of (I think the younger?) Ambani - basically it was a totally new unit that won some contract and as per usual there was a sketchy paper trail. I'm not sure how big the larger Reliance Industries defence subsidiary is, if they have one, neither am I sure about the fact Adani having a similar defence subsidiary. I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

I do agree that Theyota raises a good point, the more diversification amongst Indian private sector vendors the better, equally as Dragracer points out, spreading the defence base around the country is prudent too. This was just to my knowledge the first instance I could think of, where a defence manufacturing unit was being set up in Gujarat, I'm more used to it as an auto and petrochem hub. If indeed polls are due there, then fair enough, standard political calculus at play here.

Ultimately I'm just glad the ball seems to be rolling on a promising venture that'll hopefully spin up a support infrastructure that can be leveraged for any future tenders.

Coming back to the An-32s, they're Ukrainian right? Even if the upgrades were happening locally in India, I imagine there's some parts that need coming from Ukraine - surely then the current war throws a real spanner in that upgrade timeline (and if the upgrades happen in Ukraine, surely progress is dead in the water in that regard). Maybe having this local C295 hub being spun up becomes even more fortuitous in that case.

[chaudh2s]

Originally Posted by ads11

Oh I didn't mean to come across that way. I was simply mindful of the fact that there was that controversy wasn't there about a defence subsidiary of (I think the younger?) Ambani - basically it was a totally new unit that won some contract and as per usual there was a sketchy paper trail.

It was not a controversy but a political stunt. For a country like ours who want to kick start aircraft manufacturing ecosystem and want private players to join in, which established players do we have who have years of experience? - as far as I know- none! So, naturally a few strong private companies would have to pick it up from scratch and follow a steep learning curve. So, if not Ambanis or Adanis or Tatas or maybe Wipros, who else can rise up to the challenge? We cannot give such contracts to any run of the mill operators.

I work in Procurement department of a big EU conglomerate and believe me the few and only Indian vendors we have are based in Gujarat. The state has a very strong exotic and traditional metals industry and not to mention the light weight petrochemical based polymers required in aircraft manufacturing also are Gujarat’ strong points because of Reliance.
So, my suggestion is to avoid paid media articles which tend to paint a biased picture based on their political orientation. Rely on your own judgement based on facts.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by chaudh2s

Why this bias against Gujarat and Gujaratis? Am sure Adanis and Ambanis are as patriotic as Tatas if not more. Uproar that you usually hear with anything related to the 2 A’s usually comes from media houses aligned to a now insignificant political party.

Originally Posted by chaudh2s

It was not a controversy but a political stunt. The insignificant party still thinks someone from their party/family should have got the contract.

Dear @chaudh2s,

Thank you for your posts and fresh perspectives. There is merit in what you say that big business houses have a key role to play and should not be disparaged. A small request - on our aviation threads we stay professional, don't get into social media slinging matches and stay away from politics. We look forward to your continuing contribution keeping these attributes in mind. Thanks.

V.Narayan

On the topic I believe GJ got the deal because it is indeed one of the three most industry friendly large states in India. The other two being TN and HR.

[sukhbirST]

Great news as it replaces the legacy Avro aircraft in service with the Indian Air Force (IAF). For many like me, it is nostalgic as I completed my Air Navigation Instructor course in AVRO aircraft in Begumpet, Hyderabad. Thanks for sharing the details of new aircraft sir.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by sukhbirST

Great news as it replaces the legacy Avro aircraft in service with the Indian Air Force (IAF). For many like me, it is nostalgic as I completed my Air Navigation Instructor course in AVRO aircraft in Begumpet, Hyderabad. Thanks for sharing the details of new aircraft sir.

Some interesting factoids, below, of India's association with Avro or A.V. Roe & Co. :-)


The first Indian aviator was Prof Venkata Subba Setti of Mysore (1879-1918). He had studied in England and worked at A.V.Roe & Co then a leading aircraft design and production enterprise. Their aircraft carried the prefix Avro. He helped design and test fly the Avro 504 which was a trainer bi-plane Avro launched. For his contributions A.V.Roe & Co. presented him with a silver mint coin with the inscription of 'First Indian Aviator'.



The Avro 504 was an immensely successful trainer aircraft with over 10,000 built. It served till the late 1930s. Most interestingly HAL produced the last Avro designed aircraft the HS748 light transport till the early 1980s about 20 years after A.V.Roe & Co had gone into liquidation. And the IAF today is the last major air arm flying Avro aircraft.



The Avro 748 we all know and love, most of us i suppose!

[saikarthik]

Really wonderful news indeed for our country, armed forces and the industries. The C295 is much needed to replace our aging tactical airlifter fleet which will boost tactical missions along with bigger and powerful C130Js. We need more C130Js as well as the current strength is very low, C295s will definitely help. As many already said, C295 is a capable and gamechanger with it's STOL(short take off & landing) & one of the most useable fuselage. Good that we won't end up like in a soup situation like the C17 Globemaster III, where we need more strategic airlifters and the production is not available.

Hearing some rumours on social media that Tata advanced systems limited is in talks with Lockheed Martin(owner of Sikorsky) to produce Sikorsky S76 rotorcrafts in India. If this happens then it will be a 2nd big milestone for the Indian defense manufacturing ecosystem.

Image credits: Google images and copyright holder-BJT.

On side note, question to ads11 - the current version C130, the 'J' is called super Hercules right?

[ads11]

Yep, all current spec ones in production are all Super Hercules, and I think they're all the J variant. I think in my lifetime at least, you've only had Super Hercules in production, any vanilla Hercules models will be older stock.
However I will admit at first glance I'd be hard pressed to tell them apart in all honesty. I'm not quite sure there's glaring differences outwardly or if there are, I clearly didn't look close enough.

Interesting note on potential S76 production. Wonder how big the domestic market would be for it - isn't HAL the lead vendor in the domestic rotary wing market? Far as I can tell they've got the whole gamut of platforms on offer except for heavy lift I guess.

[RGK]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

that some how the private sector cannot be trusted with national priorities

In 2018 during the defence exhibition, I observed dashboard equipment made by Pricol, Coimbatore for Indian tanks.

However, we have been importing every piece of defense gear made by private businesses outside of India.

[KANNURAN]

It is good news and lets hope it leads to better news from the domain.

Normally, Aircraft Assembly is the low-value-added end of airframing. Design and engineering of the aircraft itself and the production of core-components and sub-assemblies are the core of aircraft manufacture.

Airbus assembles in US, Canada and even China, besides France.

Embraer-Brazil is a standout success story in context. I hope the government takes a page from Embraer (and Chinese COMAC's) and helps spawn an indigenous Aircraft design and manufacturing ecosystem.

[dragracer567]

Originally Posted by saikarthik

Hearing some rumours on social media that Tata advanced systems limited is in talks with Lockheed Martin(owner of Sikorsky) to produce Sikorsky S76 rotorcrafts in India. If this happens then it will be a 2nd big milestone for the Indian defense manufacturing ecosystem.

Tata already makes cabins and some other parts for the larger S92 IIRC, so no surprises there. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tata becomes a major global defense contractor for sub-systems, somewhat similar to BAE in the next 20 years. Their defense products these days like the Tata Kestral seem top-notch!

[V.Narayan]

China's C919 delivered

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ing-and-airbus
https://simpleflying.com/china-easte...c919-delivery/

The world's first C919 aircraft, bearing the registration B-919A, is being delivered to its first customer, China Eastern Airlines (CEA). The C919 delivered to China Eastern Airlines is configured with 164 seats in a two-class cabin layout, including eight business class seats and 156 economy class ones. Most notably, the middle seat in each three-seat row is 1.5 cm wider than its neighboring ones in the economy cabin in a move to offer more comfort and reduce discomfort for passengers sitting in the middle seat with shared armrests. Comac has 1008 commitments including 305 firm orders, mostly from Chinese leasing companies or airlines. This is roughly comparable in capacity and range to the Airbus A320. The design is conservative with modest use of composites to reduce design complexity and the aim seems to be to cater to the high density short and medium haul market involving 6 to 10 sectors a day.

The Chinese are not to be underestimated. If successful this aircraft will eat into the market share of both the Boeing 737 MAX just emerging from acute infamy and the Airbus A320 whose order book is so overstretched that at least some airlines will jump at an alternative with shorter delivery times. For now the Chinese have 303 on order and at least in the first year they plan to make a steady induction starting with 5 for China Eastern. Chinese leasing companies will make this plane available at very attractive {read subsidized} rates to airlines to get the world comfortable with their machines.

Breaking into the jet airliner market is harder than building a moon rocket - literally because your machine has to be repeatable and reliable and do it at a profit 8 times a day. In the 1950s the then four aeronautical giants got into the jet airliner business respectively in - Uk 1952, USSR 1956, USA 1959 and France 1960. After that it took 37 years before Brazil entered with its super successful ERJ regional get series. It took another quarter century for China to get its big moment. Meanwhile UK and USSR have withered away.

General Data:

[V.Narayan]

Two IAF fighters collide.
Sukhoi Su-30MKI and a Mirage 2000 collide over Morena near Gwalior

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/2-in...eports-3730943

One pilot, of the Mirage 2000, is believed to have been killed. The IAF is conducting an investigation to determine what happened and its cause. Apparently the two aircraft were on a training exercise.

RIP

Video from NDTV
https://www.ndtv.com/video/news/news...ot-dead-679202

Representational photos below of the types involved.

Sukhoi Su-30MKI


Dassault Mirage 2000
Attachment 2411271

[V.Narayan]

US – India to sign deal for local manufacture of GE-414 engines for Tejas Mk II

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india...221969866.html

India and US will take their defence cooperation to the next level with the Joe Biden administration giving a green signal to GE to manufacture 98 kilo-newton thrust GE-414 engines in India in collaboration with the DRDO and a still-to-be-identified private defence equipment maker. The India specific GE-414 INS6 engine will power the LCA (light combat aircraft) Mark II, planned to be rolled out by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) early next year and take to the skies by the end of 2024. It is believed this deal will involve 101% transfer of technology.

While GE-404 engine powers the LCA Tejas Mark I aircraft, the GE-414 engine will power the Mark II Tejas, which will carry a weapon payload of over 6000 kgs and be a replacement for Mirage 2000 and MiG-29 aircraft.

If this indeed is true then this will mark a watershed moment in India-USA relations and collaboration. I would compare it to the landmark MiG-21 license manufacture deal of 1964 that all but transformed the IAF. While I do not support American violence in Iraq & Afghanistan this sort of deal and a few more like these are needed by us to build our defence production base and keep China on watch.

Earlier versions of this engine are in use on the Super Hornet F/A-18E and F and the Saab Gripen.

The GE-414 develops a thrust of 13,000 lbf {5900kgf} dry and 22,000 lbf {10,000 kgf} reheat. For petro-heads at full dry thrust it consumes 110 litres of aviation fuel per minute.

File photo of a GE 414 engine

[ads11]

Wow, big deal indeed. Would be good to have a domestic manufacturing base for a solid engine. Can the 414 be retrofitted to the Mk1's or 1A airframes? Or is it only for the Mk2 (which correct me if I'm wrong, is meant to be the twin seater? Or is that the TEDBF I'm thinking of?)?

I wonder if the 414 does fit, it might breathe life into the Naval Tejas initiative. Chief gripe that I remember the IN saying was they felt it was underpowered.

Full transfer of technology for any American tech, that too for an engine, is quite the surprise.

Wonder what impacts this has on the Kaveri programme. Last I remember I think Snecma were roped in to try and sort it out?

[V.Narayan]

Air Vice Marshal BK Bishnoi, Vir Chakra & Bar, decorated MiG-21 fighter pilot in 1971 passes away

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/na...es-away-481042

In 1971 then Wing Commander BK Bishnoi commanded a MiG-21FL Squadron on the East Pakistan front and led the now well known and successful sorties that disabled the Dhaka runway and destroyed Government House in Dhaka just when the Pakistani leadership was convening a meeting there. This was an intelligence coup on our side. It left the Pakistani Govt leadership spooked enough to motivate them to throw in the towel. He is survived by his wife. He was a close friend of my late father. He was an unassuming man, no airs and a pleasant person to be with. RIP.