[zzarratusstra]

Air Marshal Rajinder Singh takes over the Command of Training Command

Air Marshal Rajinder Singh AVSM VM took over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command, Bangalore today, on 01st March 2012. He was commissioned in the Indian Air Force in December 1974 in the Fighter Stream.

An alumnus of National Defence Academy, he has flown a variety of combat and trainer aircraft during his distinguished career of over 37 years in Air Force. He has experience of over 3100 hrs on Hunter, Marut, all variants of MiG ac and Trainer aircraft Kiran. A qualified Flying Instructor, he is a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington.

Air Marshal Rajinder Singh has held a variety of operational and staff appointment during his career. His operational assignments include command of a frontline fighter squadron and Chief Operations Officer of an operational base in the Kashmir Valley. He served as Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station Palam and Air Attache at the Embassy of India, Egypt, Senior Personnel Staff Officer(SPSO) at Western Air Command, Principal Director Projects at Air Headquarters, Senior Air Staff Officer(SASO) at Southern Air Command, Assistant Chief of Integrated Defence Headquarters and Senior Air Staff Officer(SASO),Training Command.

The Air Marshal is recipient of Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vayu Sena Medal.

[Clilmence]

IAF conducts exercise codenamed ‘Pralay’ in the North East

The IAF’s Eastern Air Command commenced Exercise codenamed “Pralay’ on 29th February 2012 in the Brahmaputra and rest of the Eastern region of India. The exercise involves joint Army Air operations by the IAF’s Eastern Air Command and Eastern Command of the Indian Army.

This is an annual exercise aimed at testing the combat potential of the Air Force in various roles such as Air Defence, Ground Support operations, Counter Air Operations, Electronic Warfare, Joint Operations with the Army including special operations by day and night. SU-30, Mirage-2000, MiG-29, Jaguar, Bison, Mi-17, AN-32, C-130J, AWACS, Flight Refuelling aircraft as well as remotely piloted aircraft from the Army are taking part in the exercise.

It also includes conduct of Special Forces operations and night operations in conjunction with ground forces during the exercise. The entire spectrum of Air Operations by aircraft under dense air defence environment is being practiced both by day and night. The exercise also includes facets of network centric operations, electronic warfare as well as information warfare.

Apart from war fighting in the skies various ground contingencies related to Air Force Operations are being tested. Lessons learn't from this exercise would be incorporated in future operational strategies. Eastern Army Command is actively taking part to train the forces in joint operations.

[viagra_generic]

Antony to hand over Indigenous Akash Missile and TAL Torpedo to Defence Forces

Marking a major milestone in the development of indigenous technology in the defence sector the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony will hand over the first batch of the indigenously designed and developed Surface-to-Air Missile, Akash, to the Indian Air Force at a function in Hyderabad on Saturday, Mar 03, 2012. Shri Antony will also hand over the advanced light-weight torpedo, TAL to the Indian Navy.

‘AKASH’ MISSILE

The Akash Weapon System (AWS) was indigenously developed by DRDO as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Developement Programme (IGMDP) and is an all-weather, medium-range, Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system. It provides multi-directional and multi-target area defence.

The Akash missile can be launched from static or mobile platforms providing flexible deployment. The system can handle multiple targets and destroy manoeuvring targets such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), fighter aircraft, cruise missiles and missiles launched from helicopters. It can operate autonomously, and engage and neutralize different aerial targets simultaneously.

The Weapon System is considered as the Indian "Patriot". It has certain unique characteristics like high mobility, all-the-way powered flight till target interception, multiple target handling, digitally-coded command guidance and fully automatic operation. The AWS consists of a Launcher, a missile with a 25 km range, control centre, multifunction fire control radar and supporting ground equipment.

The missile has a launch weight of 720 kg and carry a 55-kg payload. It can fly at a speed of up to Mach 2.5 and climb up to an altitude of 18 km.

A versatile and wholly indigenous weapon system being built by the Defence PSU Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), the Akash SAM systems will be the mainstay for Air Defence of the Country up to the 2030s & beyond.

‘TAL’ TORPEDO

The Light Weight Torpedo has been indigenously developed by the National Science and Technology Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam.

The Light Weight Torpedo (TAL) is an electrically propelled, self- homing Torpedo which can be launched both from ships and helicopters. It can hunt submarines with a speed of 33 knots with endurance of six minutes in shallow and deep waters. The Torpedo weighs around 220 kgs. BDL is manufacturing these Torpedoes at its Visakhapatnam Unit.

Bharat Dynamics Ltd

BDL, an ISO 9001:2008 Company was established in the year 1970 as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under Ministry of Defence, Government of India. Over the years, the Company has progressed to become a multi-product and multi-location entity and is now the Prime Production Agency for Missile Systems, manufacturing a wide variety - from Anti Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) to Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs).

[unsamiSlini]

Link Final word on IAF fighter deal soon

India is set to announce the winner of the multi-billion dollar deal to procure next generation fighters by the end of this month with complex calculations to find the cheapest option set to conclude over the next few days.

The proposals of the two contenders â?? French Dassault Rafale and EADS Eurofighter â?? have been scrutinised and final calculations related to life cycle costs and transfer of technology details are being finalised. While IAF sources have said the winner would be announced in the next 10 days, Defence Ministry officials said the decision would be announced by the end of this month.

With both contenders clearing the technical trials, the decision will be based on which of the two is cheaper, not just in immediate capital costs but in long-term operating and maintenance costs. Though both the ministry and IAF have been tight-lipped on the probable winner, the French proposal is believed to be slightly cheaper.

The final signing of the contract, however could take up to six months, the sources said. The original plan was to sign the contract this financial year, but it could be shifted beyond March.

While the fighter project is the biggest acquisition being handled by the Air Force, another project to procure a new basic trainer fleet will also be discussed by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) this week, the sources said. The IAF has already selected Pilatus PC 7 aircraft from Switzerland for the deal to purchase 75 basic trainers.

However, the deal has got delayed after South Korea, which was also participating in the competition, sent a formal note of protest to the Indian government on the selection process.

The CCS had earlier this month asked the Defence Ministry and Air Force for clarifications on the deal, particularly related to technology transfer, issues which had been raised by Seoul.

[U5pz6B71]

Link IAF against Army aviation brigades

January 16, 2012
By Sridhar Kumaraswami

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has staunchly opposed the Armyâ??s move to constitute aviation brigades, that will comprise a squadron each of attack helicopters, in its various Army corps, saying the move is a violation of the current government policy dating back to 1986.

Well-placed sources told this newspaper, â??A government policy document of 1986 clearly lays down the equipment that each service will have. The Army move to constitute aviation brigades with attack helicopters is neither feasible nor in line with current policy. When the IAF is providing all support in terms of attack helicopters, where is the need for this? Besides, the costs are prohibitive. Where is the money for all this?â?� Sources further added, â??If the Army feels that it wants to go ahead with this plan, it should approach the government (for a change in policy). Otherwise, even some of the paramilitary organisations in future can come up with their own wish lists for attack helicopters and other equipment.â?� The IAF, however, has supported the Navyâ??s plans for enhancement of its aviation assets, saying the Navyâ??s case is â??justified since it has off-shore assets to guardâ?�. The IAFâ??s objections to the Armyâ??s move show that the Army-IAF turf war over aviation assets is far from over. It also shows that amid talk of synergy, the Army and IAF are not on the same page on such an important issue which has strategic implications. It may be recalled that the Indian Army had recently validated the concept of â??aviation brigadesâ?� in its latest battlefield exercise and now wants attack helicopters of its own to provide aerial support to its tanks and advancing troops in a battle scenario. The Army concept of aviation brigades was validated in the recently-held exercise Sudarshan Shakti. As per the Armyâ??s plans, each aviation brigade in future is to constitute three squadrons of helicopters. One squadron will comprise helicopters used for air-lifting heavy equipment, the second will be used for recce purposes while the third squadron in will perform the most crucial task of providing air support to the advancing battle-tanks.

[Bemapayople]

Link Decision on Multi Role Combat Aircraft deal in 10 days

The winner of the multi billion dollar deal to procure 126 combat planes for the Indian Air Force is expected to be announced in the next ten days.

European EADS Eurofighter and Desault Rafale are in the final race for the Air Force global tender for the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).

The process to determine the L1 (lowest bidder) is under progress and is expected to be decided in another ten days, top IAF sources said here today.

As per the defence procurement procedure, the lowest bidder is considered to be the winner of the contract.

The two European firms were competing with American companies Lockheed Martin and Boeing, Russian MiG corporation and Swedish Saab, for the tender.

But apart from Eurofighter and Desault, the rest were evicted from the tender by the Defence Ministry after field evaluation trials.

On November 4 last year, Defence ministry had opened the commercial bid of the two firms left in the race and since then has been busy in determining the lowest bidder.

The Eurofighter bid is backed by four partner nations including Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom while the Desault Rafale is backed by the French Government.

Asked about the army plans to raise aviation brigades including attack helicopters at corps level, the Air Force sources said, this would be a very costly proposition as a lot of money would be required to raise such brigades.

On January 12, Army Chief General V K Singh had said that the force is planning to raise Aviation Brigade at all its thirteen corps.

[olivelappers]

Link EADS Snubs Last-Minute BAE Offer For Jet-Fighter Bid Role - Source

European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. (EAD.FR) has snubbed a last-minute approach by its Eurofighter Typhoon partner BAE Systems PLC (BA.LN) to become a joint prime bidder for an estimated $10-billion Indian air-force jet deal, a person familiar with the matter said.

India may shortly make a decision on replacing its ageing air arm with 126 new fighter jets. Dassault Aviation S.A.'s (AM.FR) Rafale fighter jet and the Eurofighter Typhoon are the two remaining aircraft in ...

[Lkemybab]

Link Nizams Airfield at Adilabad Lies in shambles

The 368-acre airfield on the outskirts of Adilabad town is lying in disuse for the last over six decades for want of vision on the part of the government. It is said the airfield, set up by seventh Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, was used as a refuelling station for Royal Air Force planes during the Second World War.

According to old-timers, the Nizam wanted to develop it as a full-fledged airbase. Works just commenced when Hyderabad state was integrated into the Indian Union and the project came to a grinding halt. And, that is where it remained since then.

Meanwhile, Indian Air Force officers visited Adilabad two weeks ago to survey the airfield, amidst concerns over possible encroachments. To its relief, the team found that the total extent of 368.18 acres was intact and there were no encroachments.

A copy of the survey report was handed over to the MRO for recordâ??s sake.

However, it was noticed that the airfield was being dug up by brick-makers for red soil. A guard was posted there to protect the land.

About 10 years ago, the Central government sent proposals to the state for setting up a pilot training centre there, but the state government rejected it. There was also a proposal to use the airfield as a flight refuelling station because of the central location of Adilabad town. The existing runway is long enough to land big planes, though it needs to be renovated. The surrounding area is all agricultural land and the few houses around the airfield are only single-storey constructions. But this idea too was shot down by the state government.

It is argued that, if developed into an airport, the airfield will provide air connectivity to North Telangana region and parts of Maharashtra. Some old people still remember planes landing and taking off from the airstrip when they were young. MRO Sunil Kumar Masade said the survey team submitted a report saying the land did not fall pray to encroachers. They appointed one security guard to secure the land, he said. However, the MROâ??s staff say the airfield file with the survey report, presented only recently, could not be traced now.

A Strategic Asset Ignored

According to defence analysts, the Adilabad airfield is a strategic asset being ignored by the government. The airfield is located deep inside the country from any direction. It is big and could accommodate a couple of fighter aircraft squadrons. The mountain terrain with thick forest cover in North Telangana offers a great opportunity for fighter pilot training, says an expert.

The conditions during rainy season are comparable to those in the Northeast, but Adilabad is much safer in comparison. Air Force personnel can be trained in handling fighters, transport planes and refuelling craft under harsh conditions, they say.

Another expert says an air base at Adilabad would be very useful for stationing AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) spy planes.

Adilabad Advantage

· Located deep within Indian territory (minimum 600 km from any direction). There will be enough time to detect an incoming threat and neutralise it.

* Intensive training could be provided to IAF personnel in the surrounding jungle and hilly terrain.

* The central location offers scope to shift aircraft stationed there to other places quickly if such a need arises.

* The airfield is large enough to operate even big planes.

Other IAF bases in vicinity- Bidar, Nagpur, Hakimpet, Dundigal, Nanded, Latur

[Butiqueso]

Link How India brought down the USâ?? supersonic man
January 17, 2012
Rakesh Krishnan Simha, specially for RIR

Chuck Yeager is an American icon and will go down in history as the first man to break the sound barrier. But during the 1971 India-Pakistan War, when an Indian pilot shot his personal aircraft, the air ace lost cool, and demanded retaliatory against India. Mercifully, his antics were ignored by then US President Richard Nixon.

The 1971 India-Pakistan war didnâ??t turn out very well from the US' point of view. For one particular American it went particularly bad. Chuck Yeager, the legendary test pilot and the first man to break the sound barrier, was dispatched by the US government to train Pakistani air force pilots but ended up as target practice for the Indian Air Force, and in the process kicked up a diplomatic storm in a war situation.

Yeagerâ??s presence in Pakistan was one of the surprises of the Cold War. In an article titled, "The Right Stuff in the Wrong Place,â?� by Edward C. Ingraham, a former US diplomat in Pakistan, recalls how Yeager was called to Islamabad in 1971 to head the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) â?? a rather fanciful name for a bunch of thugs teaching other thugs how to fight.

It wasnâ??t a terribly exciting job: â??All that the chief of the advisory group had to do was to teach Pakistanis how to use American military equipment without killing themselves in the process,â?� writes Ingraham.

Among the perks Yeager enjoyed was a twin-engine Beechcraft, an airplane supplied by the Pentagon. It was his pride and joy and he often used the aircraft for transporting the US ambassador on fishing expeditions in Pakistanâ??s northwest mountains.

Yeager: Loyal Pakistani!

Yeager may have been a celebrated American icon, but hereâ??s what Ingraham says about his nonchalant attitude. â??We at the embassy were increasingly preoccupied with the deepening crisis (the Pakistan Army murdered more than 3,000,000 civilians in then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh). Meetings became more frequent and more tense. We were troubled by the complex questions that the conflict raised. No such doubts seemed to cross the mind of Chuck Yeager. I remember one occasion on which the ambassador asked Yeager for his assessment of how long the Pakistani forces in the East could withstand an all-out attack by India. "We could hold them off for maybe a month," he replied, "but beyond that we wouldn't have a chance without help from outside." It took the rest of us a moment to fathom what he was saying, not realising at first that "we" was West Pakistan, not the United States."

Clearly, Yeager appeared blithely indifferent to the Pakistani killing machine which was mowing down around 10,000 Bengalis daily from 1970 to 1971.

After the meeting, Ingraham requested Yeager to be be a little more even-handed in his comments. Yeager gave him a withering glance. "Goddamn it, we're assigned to Pakistan,â?� he said. "What's wrong with being loyal?!â?�

"The dictator of Pakistan at the time, the one who had ordered the crackdown in the East, was a dim-witted general named Yahya Khan. Way over his head in events he couldn't begin to understand, Yahya took increasingly to brooding and drinking,â?� writes Ingraham.

â??In December of 1971, with Indian supplied guerrillas applying more pressure on his beleaguered forces, Yahya decided on a last, hopeless gesture of defiance. He ordered what was left of his armed forces to attack India directly from the West. His air force roared across the border on the afternoon of December 3 to bomb Indian air bases, while his army crashed into Indiaâ??s defences on the Western frontier.â?�

Getting Personal

Yeagerâ??s hatred for Indians was unconcealed. According to Ingraham, he spent the first hours of the war stalking the Indian embassy in Islamabad, spouting curses at Indians and assuring anyone who would listen that the Pakistani army would be in New Delhi within a week. It was the morning after the first Pakistani airstrike that Yeager began to take the war with India personally.

On the eve of their attack, the Pakistanis, realising the inevitability of a massive Indian retaliation, evacuated their planes from airfields close to the Indian border and moved them to airfields near the Iranian border.

Strangely, no one thought to warn General Yeager.

Taking aim at Yeager

The thread of this story now passes on to Admiral Arun Prakash. An aircraft carrier pilot in 1971, he was an Indian Navy lieutenant on deputation with the Indian Air Force when the war broke out.

In an article he wrote for Vayu Aerospace Review in 2007, Prakash presents a vivid account of his unexpected encounter with Yeager. As briefings for the first wave of retaliatory strikes on Pakistan were being conducted, Prakash had drawn a two-aircraft mission against the PAF base of Chaklala, located south east of Islamabad.

Flying in low under the radar, they climbed to 2000 feet as they neared the target. As Chaklala airfield came into view they scanned the runways for Pakistani fighters but were disappointed to see only two small planes. Dodging antiaircraft fire, Prakash blasted both to smithereens with 30mm cannon fire. One was Yeager's Beechcraft and the other was a Twin Otter used by Canadian UN forces.

Fishing in troubled waters

When Yeager discovered his plane was smashed, he rushed to the US embassy in Islamabad and started yelling like a deranged maniac. His voice resounding through the embassy, he said the Indian pilot not only knew exactly what he was doing but had been specifically instructed by the Indian prime minister to blast Yeager's plane. In his autobiography, he later said that it was the â??Indian way of giving Uncle Sam the fingerâ?�.

Yeager pressured the US embassy in Pakistan into sending a top priority cable to Washington that described the incident as a â??deliberate affront to the American nation and recommended immediate countermeasuresâ?�. Basically, a desperate and distracted Yeager was calling for the American bombing of India, something that President Richard Nixon and his Secretary of State Henry Kissinger were already mulling.

But, says Ingraham: â??I don't think we ever got an answer.â?� With the Russians on Indiaâ??s side in the conflict, the American defence establishment had its hands full. Nobody had time for Yeager's antics.

However, Ingraham says there are clues Yeager played an active role in the war. A Pakistani businessman, son of a senior general, told him â??excitedly that Yeager had moved into the air force base at Peshawar and was personally directing the grateful Pakistanis in deploying their fighter squadrons against the Indians. Another swore he had seen Yeager emerge from a just-landed jet fighter at the Peshawar base.

Later, in his autobiography, Yeager, the subject of Tom Wolfeâ??s much-acclaimed book â??The Right Stuffâ?� and a Hollywood movie. wrote a lot of nasty things about Indians, including downright lies about the IAFâ??s performance. Among the things he wrote was the air war lasted two weeks and the Pakistanis â??kicked the Indiansâ?? assâ?�, scoring a three-to-one kill ratio, knocking out 102 Russian-made Indian jets and losing 34 airplanes of their own.

Beyond the fog of war

The reality is that it took the IAF just over a week to achieve complete domination of the subcontinentâ??s skies. A measure of the IAFâ??s air supremacy was the million-man open air rallies held by the Indian prime minister in northern Indian cities, a week into the war. This couldnâ??t have been possible if Pakistani planes were still airborne.

Sure, the IAF did lose a slightly larger number of aircraft but this was mainly because the Indians were flying a broad range of missions. Take the six Sukhoi-7 squadrons that were inducted into the IAF just a few months before the war. From the morning of December 4 until the ceasefire on December 17, these hardy fighters were responsible for the bulk of attacks by day, flying nearly 1500 offensive sorties.

Pakistani propaganda, backed up by Yeager, had claimed 34 Sukhoi-7s destroyed, but in fact just 14 were lost. Perhaps the best rebuttal to Yeagerâ??s lies is military historian Pushpindar Singh Chopraâ??s â??A Whale of a Fighter". He says the planeâ??s losses were commensurate with the scale of effort, if not below it. â??The Sukhoi-7 was said to have spawned a special breed of pilot, combat-hardened and confident of both his and his aircraft's prowess,â?� says Chopra.

Sorties were being launched at an unprecedented rate of six per pilot per day. Yeager himself admits â??India flew numerous raids against Pakistani airfields with brand new Sukhoi-7 bombers being escorted in with MiG-21sâ?�.

While Pakistani pilots were obsessed with aerial combat, IAF tactics were highly sophisticated in nature, involving bomber escorts, tactical recce, ground attack and dummy runs to divert Pakistani interceptors from the main targets. Plus, the IAF had to reckon with the dozens of brand new aircraft being supplied to Pakistan by Muslim countries like Jordan, Turkey and the UAE.

Most missions flown by Indian pilots were conducted by day and at low level, with the pilots making repeated attacks on well defended targets. Indian aircraft flew into Pakistani skies thick with flak, virtually non-stop during the 14-day war. Many Bengali guerrillas later told the victorious Indian Army that it was the epic sight of battles fought over their skies by Indian air aces and the sight of Indian aircraft diving in on Pakistani positions that inspired them to fight.

Indeed, Indian historians like Chopra have painstakingly chronicled the details of virtually every sortie undertaken by the IAF and PAF and have tabulated the losses and kills on both sides to nail the outrageous lies that were peddled by the PAF and later gleefully published by Western writers.

In this backdrop, the Pakistani claim (backed by Yeager) that they won the air war is as hollow as a Chaklala swamp reed. In the Battle of Britain during World War II, the Germans lost 2000 fewer aircraft than the allies and yet the Luftwaffe lost that air war. Similarly, the IAF lost more aircraft than the PAF, but the IAF came out on top. Not even Yeagerâ??s biased testimony can take that away from Indians.

[MARMELADINA]

Link CCS to consider Pilatus aircraft proposal: IAF Chief


The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is expected to consider a proposal worth over Rs 1,850 crore for procurement of 75 Pilatus trainer aircraft from Switzerland in its meeting scheduled later this week, said Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne.

"I am hopeful, because it is pending for clearance from the CCS. The moment the CCS clears, we should be able to sign the contract," the IAF chief said in response to a question whether the CCS will take up the Pilatus procurement deal to give its final nod.

The aircraft are being procured by the Indian Air Force to provide training to its rookie pilots and replace the HPT-32 trainer aircraft which have been grounded for over two years after a fatal accident in 2009.

The deal is critical for IAF's training requirements as in the next two years, there will be a shortage of Kiran Mk II trainer aircraft which are being used to impart flying lessons to the new trainee cadets in the flying branch of the IAF.

If the contract is approved by the CCS, the delivery of the planes are expected to begin by the middle of 2013.

Since 2009, the IAF has relied on Kiran Mk II aircraft for providing basic training to its young pilots. Advanced training to them is provided on the Hawk aircraft procured from the UK.

As the turboprop low-wing tandem-seat aircraft, Pilatus is capable of providing all basic training functions, including aerobatics, instrument, tactical and night flying.

The air force also plans to send some of its young pilots to Switzerland for training till the delivery of initial batch of 12 aircraft commence in 2013.

[SerycegeBunny]

Link South Korean company objects to India's basic trainer bidding process

South Korea's aerospace company has raised objections to what it called an unfair bidding process used for India's military basic trainer acquisition program, a source here said on Wednesday, according to a story reported by Korean news agency Yonhap.

Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) source said that a plan by the Indian Air Force to take over 75 propeller-driven trainers was unfair because the leading contender failed to submit a critical maintenance transfer of technology (MTOT) cost assessment.

The insider, who declined to be identified, said that Switzerland's Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. did not submit a MTOT cost assessment for its PC-7 turbo trainer in the final bid sent to New Delhi for review, according to the news agency.

The PC-7 tandem two-seat trainer is one of three aircraft that has made the short list of planes being examined by India. KAI's KT-1 and U.S.-based Hawker Beechcraft Corp.'s T-6 also made the list from the original seven contenders that showed interest in the program.

The Indian defense ministry has announced plans for the basic trainer program in December 2009.

KAI said that the Swiss company submitted the lowest bid, so it had the lead over its rivals. It said the KT-1 came in second in terms of the price with the U.S. aircraft coming in third, Yonhap reported in its story.

"One of our employees confirmed that Pilatus did not give the MTOT cost assessment, which is a critical lapse since these planes must be operated for at least 30 years," the company based in Sacheon, 430 kilometers southeast of Seoul, said.

It said such a mistake should disqualify the Swiss company from the bid, and it sent several formal letters pointing this out, although it got no response.

KAI, meanwhile, also pointed out that the PC-7 plane's platform was first developed in the 1970s, while the KT-1 is effectively brand new and has the latest equipment to train military pilots, even though it is a bit more expensive.

The KT-1 started entering service in 2000 and is currently in operation for the air forces of South Korea and Indonesia and is being built in Turkey. There are more than 170 of the planes in use at present.

[heilyprollecyspor]

IAFâ??s Participation- Republic Day 2012
32 Aircraft Flypast At Rajpath

4 Mi-17 IV in inverted Y formation

(a) The leading hepter will trail the National Flag.

(b) No 2 Heptr will fly behind No 1 and trail the Army Flag

(c) No 3 &4 heptr will trail the Navy and Air Force Flag and shower flower petals.

Wg Cdr Jaideep Chakraborty, Wg Cdr Yogesh Kumar

3 Helicopters (ALH) of Army Aviation Corps in Vic Formation : Col Suneet Sohal, Lt Col Anuj Rampal
3 Mi-35 in Vic Formation : Wg Cdr Abhijit Singh, Wg Cdr Rajesh Verma
3 C-130J in Vic formation: Gp Tejbir Singh, Wg Cdr P Joshi
One IL-78, Two AN-32, Two Dornier in Big Boy Formation : Gp Milind Kumar, Wg Cdr N Garg
5 Jaguar in Arrow head formation : Wg Cdr Abhijeet Nane, Wg Cdr Prashant
5 MiG-29 in Arrow head Formation : Wg Cdr Pratap Singh Ranwat, Wg Cdr Prabhat Malik
3 SU-30 MKI in Trishul Formation . Three aircraft will splits upwards, making a Trishul in the Sky : Wg Cdr Harshad Mishra, Wg Cdr Ashish Kumar
1 SU -30 MKI Splits the sky with a Vertical Charlie manoeuvre : Wg Cdr H Asudani, Flt PK Thakur

AF TABLEAU SHOWCASING â??PEOPLE FIRST MISSION ALWAYSâ??
The IAF Tableau showcases the men from our special forces and special operations capabilities of the Indian Air Force. We have the C-130J Super Hercules the Worldâ??s most advanced and tactical aircraft. The Aircraft has already demonstrated its responsiveness during the recent Sikkim earthquake where it undertook relief operations within three hours. Also on the tableau is the latest acquisition in the IAF-Mi-17 V5 Helicopter. This multipurpose Helicopter is intended for airlift of Special Forces to combat area , both by day and night. These two platforms will cater to the need of joint operation with Army Commandos, Marine Commandos, IAFâ??s Garuds and NSG Commandos.

RD MARCHING CONTINGENT
The IAF Marching contingent comprises of 4 officers and 144 Airmen. The Contingent will commanded by Flt Lt Sneha Shekhawat and will be followed by 3 supernumerary officers. The Air Force contingent will marches abreast in 12 by 12 formation.

IAF BAND
The IAF Band consists of 72 musicians and three drum majors. The Band will be led by Sergeant M Thakur , Drum Major. The Band will will play the tune â??Air Battleâ?? especially selected for the occasion in front of the Dias.

[HakTaisanip]

Link Maoists planned to sabotage Kalaikunda airstrip

Midnapore: Maoists had plans to sabotage the Kalaikunda airstrip of Indian Air Force to take "revenge" of the killing of their leader Kishenji, police said on Saturday.

Additional Superintendent of Police (HQs) Kalyan Mukherjee said during intensive interrogation of six Maoist linkmen, detained from Midnapore and nearby areas on the basis of a statement of a detained sympathiser, the conspiracy to sabotage the airstrip came to light.

Blueprint of the plot was prepared by top Maoist leadership to "take revenge of the killing of Kishenji", Mukherjee said.

The Maoist sympathiser was detained from Indravati jungle, near here, 12 days ago. On the basis of his statement, police detained six other Maoists who "confessed about the conspiracy to sabotage" the airstrip, he said, adding "a map of the airstrip was seized from them", he said.

Meanwhile, security in and around the Kalaikunda airstrip was increased four times with deployment of more paramilitary forces and sniffer dogs, he said. Midnapore district administration held a high-level meeting to review the situation.

[IteseFrusty]

Rupsi airfield may get new lease of life Assam Tribune

GUWAHATI, Jan 21 â?? Rupsi airfield, which has been forgotten and ignored for long, could be back on the radar of air traffic. If the Assam Government and the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) do their bit, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Indian Air Force (IAF) are willing to revive Rupsi as an airport catering to civilian as well as defence needs.

The development is significant as the proposed airport will be able to cater to the needs of a large population of western Assam that has remained unserved by civil aviation for several decades after the countryâ??s independence. Guwahatiâ??s LGBI Airport is the only entry and exit point for a large number of air travellers who have to journey several hours from western areas of the state.

Development of the Rupsi airfield, which is located at a strategic site, will be an advantage for the IAF, especially when it comes to fulfilling its logistical requirements. As a base it can add much needed muscle to its transport operations, an emerging need in the backdrop of Chinese military build-up in the eastern Himalayan region.

An official communication from the Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation to HS Brahma, Election Commissioner of India, dated January 19, 2012, stated that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has considered and agreed to a proposal of the AAI in respect of the request of IAF to proceed with a plan to develop the Rupsi airfield on similar lines of the Kargil airport.

At a â??co-ordination meetingâ?? between AAI and the IAF on January 6 this year the IAF proposed that the AAI may carry out â??demarcation of the airport land in coordination with State Government and accordingly convey the actual availability of landâ??. The follow- up action is being taken by the AAI.

The communication also stated that the BTC had initially proposed a greenfield airport at Kokrajhar located not far from Rupsi. Later, the BTC Secretariat conveyed its acceptance of Rupsi airport to be developed in lieu of the proposed greenfield airport.

Election Commissioner Brahma, who was responsible for taking the initiative of reviving the Rupsi airport has appreciated the move of the Civil Aviation Ministry, and has stated his intent to bring the recent development to the notice of the Chief Secretary, Government of Assam and the State Transport Minister.

[pE71J5Sw]

City woman leads Air Devil Team January 22, 2012 DC Hyderabad

Formation display by the Air Devil Team, led by Wg. Cdr. Asha Jhothirmai, delighted spectators at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Air Force Station at Begumpet here on Saturday. Wg. Cdr. Asha is the only woman in the Indian Air Force to have logged more than 600 jumps. Talking to this newspaper Wg. Cdr. Asha, a proud Hyderabadi, disclosed that she and her husband, who is also with the IAF and a sky diver, are the only â??sky diving coupleâ?? in the IAF.

â??I started in 1999 and even though other women have been taking up sky diving, I have continued with it amidst personal and professional commitments. My parents have always been encouraging and their prayers have been with me since this pursuit involves a lot of risk,â?� she said. In fact, she had â??a narrow brush with deathâ?� when she had an accident, but that did not discourage her from following what she calls her â??passionâ?�. Currently, there is only one all-women six-member sky-diving team in the Indian Air Force.

[Audi_z]

Link IAF An-32 plane makes forced landing in Assam

Guwahati: An Indian Air Force (IAF) transport aircraft made a forced landing in Assam following a technical snag. No one was hurt in the incident that took place while checking its airworthiness.

The AN-32 plane force landed in Assam's Jorhat airbase in the past week. The aircraft sustained some damage, but no one was injured.

The AN-32 is known as the workhorse of the IAF's transport fleet. It can be operated in various climate conditions and the aircraft has a high manoeuvrability of flights to the mountain airfields with difficult approaches.

Click here..
Army spokesperson Lt Col SS Phogat, who is based in Narengi Army base in Guwahati, confirmed the incident and said that the plane was force landed as it developed a technical snag.

"The plane had undergone some re-fitment of mechanical parts...a routine activity to test the airworthiness," he said.

He added that the aircraft developed some technical snag while in the sky and it then had to force land.

An inquiry has been ordered into the incident, the Army officer said.

[floadaVonfoli]

MADC board approves 1.5cr/hectare for Bhamti land
Shishir Arya, TNN | Jan 24, 2012, 04.53AM IST

NAGPUR: In another step forward for Mihan project, the board of directors of Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has approved the district collectorate proposal to offer 1.5 crore a hectare to land owners in Jaitala and Bhamti villages for acquiring their land to make second runway for the project. But, the acquisition with highest ever rates offered is proving a huge burden for the state government that may have to readjust its finances, say sources.

Second airstrip is critical for Mihan project going ahead. The minutes of the board of directors meeting held couple of months ago, released recently, mentioned that the board had approved the amount. Since the chief minister is chairman of MADC, it is being considered as an approval from state government too. However funds are still awaited. Almost 300 crore are required, district collector Saurabh Rao told TOI.

The second runway was critical because without it, the land-swap deal agreed upon with Indian Air Force (IAF) cannot go ahead.

IAF insists it will not shift to the new site unless it has a runway too. MADC will not get the land for Mihan unless IAF moves.

[ashleyjoseph]

Link Three more deals of IAF


Three more deals and the Indian Air Force will exhaust its acquisition budget for this fiscal year.

IAF chief N. A. K. Browne will hope that the contract for basic trainers, urgently needed to train rookie pilots, will be cleared by the government at the earliest.

The billion dollar contract, along with deals for supersonic cruise missiles Brahmos and another weapons contract, will be enough to spend the remaining funds.

[mvjvz]

Link Air Marshal Gogoi awarded Param Vishist Seva Medal

Air Marshal Anjan Kumar Gogoi, hailing from Assam, has been awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal on the occasion of Republic day 2012 for his distinguished service to the nation.

Bestowed the highest peace time award for rendering service of the most exceptional order, the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of South Western Air Command was born at Dibrugarh in upper Assam, his family said today.

Eldest son of former Chief Minister Keshab Chandra Gogoi, Air Marshal Gogoi was the first batch of students in Sainik School Goalpara in the state in 1964.

The National Defence Academy (NDA) graduate was commissioned in the Fighter Stream of the Indian Air Force on June 2, 1973, and has since logged over 3000 hours of fying on various aircraft.

He is a Qualified Flying Instructor, a Fighter Combat Leader and a graduate of the Defence Services Staff College (Wellington), the sources said.

Gogoi has also undergone the Air Combat Simulator Instructor's Course in UK, the Higher Command Course at Army War College, Mhow and NDC (Executive National Security Programme) in South Africa.

The Air Marshal has held various key appointments, including Director General Air (Operations) at Air headquarters prior to assuming his present post of Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of South Western Air Command.

The M Phil in Defence and Management Studies from DAVV university Indore is also a recipient of the Ati Vishist Seva Medal, Vishisht Seva Medal and Aide de Camp, they added.

[massons]

Link IAF women pilots break altitude barrier TNN Jan 25, 2012, 01.44AM IST

NEW DELHI: Continuing with their sparkling achievements, IAF women pilots have now begun to go where no women has gone before. They are flying military cargo aircraft sorties to forbidding high-altitude forward areas like Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) and Leh.

"Since December, some women IAF pilots are flying sorties of AN-32 medium-lift aircraft to DBO, the highest advanced landing ground (makeshift airstrip) in the world at 16,500-feet, and IL-76 heavy-lift aircraft to Leh," said a senior officer

These "women air warriors" have often beaten their male counterparts in military aviation skills to get where they have reached by the sheer dint of their hard work and "challenging attitudes". While women pilots are not yet allowed to fly fighter jets, they have been taking to the skies in helicopters and transport aircraft in IAF for over a decade now.

Of the around 950 women officers in IAF, around 70 are pilots. Take Squadron Leader Teji Uppal, who has created history by being the first woman pilot to land at DBO, which overlooks the strategic Karakoram Pass and only a few km away from the China-occupied Aksai Chin area.

Commissioned in December, 2002, after passing ahead of many of her male counterparts at the IAF Academy, Squadron Leader Uppal attained the "B-Green" category, which makes her "a totally independent captain to operate in the treacherous mountains of Himalayas" in a short span of six years.

"Though she was out of flying for almost two years to raise her family, she came right back to the thick of things when there was a requirement for forward area operations in northern Ladakh," said an officer.

"A member of the elite group of military aviators who have landed at the risky Vijaynagar and Mechuka ALGs in Arunachal Pradesh, she is also qualified to undertake independent dropping operations in the glacial regions of Ladakh," he added.

Then, there is Squadron Leader Veena Saharan, who is adept at flying the massive IL-76 `Gajraj' heavy-lift aircraft after initially serving two tenures with AN-32. "She was the first women pilot to land a military multi-engine aircraft like the IL-76 at the Leh airfield in December. Since then, she has been regularly undertaking independent air maintenance sorties in the northern sector, which is a unique feat," he added.