India to Begin Contract Negotiations to Acquire at least 56 Airbus C-295

The IAF is set to begin negotiations contract negotiations for acquiring 56 Airbus C-295, to replace its ageing fleet of HS-748 Aircraft. The Border Security Force is also looking at four C-295 for movement of its troopers within the country. The aircraft is to be made in India by TATA in partnership with Airbus. Airbus will supply 16 from its final assembly line in Spain in fly away condition. The following 40 aircraft will be manufactured by TATA.
economictimes.indiatimes

Israel retires F-16A fleet

The F-16A has been in service with the IAF since 1980, and has participated in all combat operations since then, including an attack on an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981.
In recent years older aircraft were operated mainly by the IAF's “red squadron” in an adversary training role, and the Israeli ministry of defence is now trying to sell 40 F-16As.
In 2014, the IAF completed an extensive upgrade of its F-16C/D variants, under the Barak 2020 programme. This included structural treatment and the installation of a new digital debriefing system, plus a new head-up display.
Other systems have also been installed, but no details on their capabilities have been revealed.
The upgrade has been performed in the squadrons with supervision of the IAF’s main technical unit number 22, the force’s central maintenance depot.
flightglobal

India’s Su-30s to be back in use this week

The Indian Air Force’s Sukhoi Su-30MKI fleet, which was grounded last month over a crash near Pune, will be back in use this week, according Air Chief Arup Raha.
The Pune crash on October 14 was an accident which appeared to be automatic firing of the seats. Court of Inquiry (CoI) is about to be complete and the findings are being finalised.
The fleet of about 200 Su-30 jets currently grounded represents almost a third of the country’s fighter fleet. The IAF is due to purchase another 72 Su-30 jets from Russia.
Grounding the fleet of Sukhoi-30 aircraft for technical checks will not affect further contracts for the deliveries of these Russia-developed planes to India.
in.rbth.com

IAF to HAL: Build Swiss trainer aircraft, don't develop your own

Indian Air Force chief, Air Chief, has sugarcoated his bid to import 106 basic trainer aircraft from Pilatus Aircraft Co, by proposing that Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) build the trainers in Bangalore to blueprints supplied by the Swiss company.
HAL, which is designing its own basic trainer for the IAF - the Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) - has flatly rejected the proposal. The company has allocated Rs 130 crore of its own money to continue developing the HTT-40, which is projected to fly by 2015.
Last year, the IAF purchased 75 PC-7 Mark II trainers for 557 million Swiss Francs . Pilatus has delivered at least 15 of those trainers.
When the purchase of 75 trainers from the global market was approved in 2009, it was decided that HAL would simultaneously design and build 106 trainers. But, in July,the IAF chief wrote to Minister, savaging HAL's proposal and recommending this order be handed to Pilatus.
business-standard

Israel Lifts Grounding Order on F-15I, F-16I Fighters

The Israel Air Force IAF has resumed F-15I and F-16I training flights after initial findings from a still-ongoing investigation appear to have ruled out the need for a fleet fix to the Pratt & Whitney engines powering the nation’s frontline fighter force.
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer described the July 7 crash of the F100-PW-229-powered F-16I as “an extreme freak occurrence” that did not warrant continued grounding of the service’s F-16I and F-15I fighters.
defensenews

Russian Missiles for India’s Rafales?

Russia’s Tactical Missile Corporation is negotiating with Dassault Aviation for the possible use of its missiles on the Rafale combat jets that have been selected by the Indian Air Force (IAF). The Russian corporation TRV told in Maks airshow in Moscow that the Indian air force has large stocks of Russian air-launched weapons, which drives its interest in adapting them to the French warplane. Although the Rafale was named as the winner of India’s MMRCA competition in January 2012, a firm contract has still not been signed.
ainonline

Indian MoD Clears Purchase Of Six More C-130Js For IAF

The Indian MoD's Defence cleared the purchase of six more Lockheed-Martin C-130J Super Hercules from the US under a foreign military sale. The deal is subject to final clearance by the apex Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) before a contract is signed with the US government.
The 77 Squadron birds have been in the headlines recently quite a bit for their role in Uttarakhand flood relief, and the landing at Daulat Beg Oldie, the world's highest airstrip last month.
livefistdefence

IAF's 3rd C-17 Headed For India

livefistdefence

IAF's indigenous dreams go sour as major hiccups mar development of aircrafts by HAL

The Indian Air Force's indigenous dream appears to have gone sour as all major projects for home production of key aircraft are showing symptoms of distress.
IAF chief in a letter to Defence Minister had highlighted the delays and high costs in the development of basic trainer aircraft required urgently for rookie pilots, but these are not the only areas of concern.
HAL's programme for developing Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) is facing serious turbulence and the aircraft maker's decision to reduce its work share in the joint development of fifth generation fighter aircraft with the Russians has raised eyebrows as it will have a bearing on the costs of the project.
indiatoday

Indian Air Force Accepts 2nd C-17

livefistdefence

Indian Air Force Accepts 2nd Indian C-17 Today

IAF chief is in the United States at Boeing's Long Beach facility to accept delivery of India's second C-17 Globemaster III. The first arrived just over a month ago in India.
livefistdefence

Indian Air Force without intermediate trainer from next year

Rookie pilots in the Air Force have been trained on Kiran Mk 1/1A aircraft since 2009 after the grounding of HPT-32 basic trainer fleet. Before the switch, Kiran was used for stage-II training at the IAF academy, Dundigal. Now, IAF has a brand new basic trainer.
But it is in no position to go back to its old training schedule of Stage-I and II flying in the absence of an intermediate jet trainer (IJT), which is being built by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the last 14 years.
As Kirans are slated to be phased out in 2014 with IJT nowhere on the horizon, the Defence Ministry and IAF recently informed a Parliamentary panel they did not have a contingency plan in place for intermediate training. This raises the possibility of having a void in intermediate jet training in the same manner as was seen in the basic training.
HAL now claims it will receive the initial operational clearance (IOC) for IJT by December 2013. But there is no clarity on how long the aviaton major would take to get the subsequent final operational clearance as only the second prototype of IJT is now being produced in a limited series production assembly.

deccanherald

Israel Air Force Intercepts Hezbollah UAV

The Israeli Air Force shot down a UAV launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon during the afternoon. The IAF identified the aircraft as it left the borders of Lebanon. Fighter aircraft and helicopters were launched towards the UAV to ensure that it was not an Israeli aircraft. After confirming that it was a drone, the commander of the IAF approved that the UAV be taken down by an F-16.
The current IAF decision was to shoot the UAV down above the ocean and not to wait for it to enter into Israeli territory, as occurred the last time that Hezbollah launched a UAV towards Israel. The UAV was shot down between five and six miles west of Haifa, at an altitude of 6,000 feet by way of an air-to-air missile. The IAF does not know what was the target of the UAV, or if it was armed.
israeldefense

India delays Rafale deal with France

While Pakistan manages to get fresh supply of arms from US, India's biggest defence deal for procuring 126 Rafale combat aircraft is expected to be delayed.
Rafale had edged out five other aircraft including American F-16 and F-18, Russian MiG 35 and European Eurofighter to bag the contract.
The recent visit of French President François Hollande does not seem to have removed the differences between India and French firm Dassault Aviation over certain contractual obligations.
news.oneindia

MMRCA Negotiations Stalled Over Dassault-HAL

Shiv Aroor-livefist

India ready to induct BrahMos cruise missile into Air Force by 2014

India will be ready to induct BrahMos supersonic cruise missile into its Air Force by the end of next year, a top official has said.

"The program for induction of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with a speed of Mach 3 into the Indian Air Force will be ready by the end of 2014. BrahMos will be upgraded to a hypersonic cruise missile with a speed of Mach 7 by 2017," Sivathanu Pillai, the chief executive of BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited, was quoted by the local media as saying in the southern state of Tamil Nadu Monday.

english.peopledaily

Indian Air Force conducts Iron Fist 2013 military exercise

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has conducted its first day-night exercise, code-named Iron Fist 2013, in an effort to display its operational and precision fire power capabilities at the Pokhran test range facility in Rajasthan, India.
Involving participation from around 230 aircraft, the exercise was used to demonstrate day, dusk and night employability of aerial weapons by the IAF's front-line fighter aircraft, in addition to highlighting their ability to conduct seamless network-centric operations with the army and navy.
The exercise featured displays of various fire power aspects, such as air defence operations, counter surface force operations, urban warfare, combat search rescue operations, assault approach and landing, combat offloading and a short take off by a C-130J Hercules transport aircraft.
Participating fighter aircraft included Su-30 MKI, Mirage-2000, Jaguar, MiG-21, MiG-27, MiG-29 and Hawk trainers, whereas the C130J, AN-32, Embraer Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) and IL-76 Candid constitute the transport aircraft elements.

airforce-technology

India bought helicopters Obama rejected as ‘costly

US president Barack Obama had found a variant of the AW-101 helicopters too exorbitant to pass muster in 2009. But the Indian government had no such qualms while inking the Rs 3,546-crore deal for 12 plush AW-101 helicopters just a year later in 2010.

The American "Marine One", the call sign of the US Marine Corps helicopter which ferries the US President, would of course have been much more high-tech and "souped-up" helicopter compared to the Indian variant.

timesofindia

Finmeccanica CEO Arrested On Indian Copter Bribe Charge

International media report that Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi has been arrested by Italian police on charges of subsidiary company AgustaWestland paying a bribe to the Indian government to swing a 2010 deal for 12 AW101 VVIP transport helicopters, the first of which (see photo) arrived in India in December last year. Here's a run-through of earlier posts on the controversy:
In October 2012, AgustaWestland denied all wrongdoing, and said it had not engaged middlemen of any kind for the deal.
In October 2012, Headlines Today reported on an 'Indian connection' in the AgustaWestland deal.

Shiv Aroor-livefist

Eurofighter aún lucha por arrebatar a Dassault el contrato de los cazas indios.

Eurofighter aún no ha tirado la toalla en su lucha por hacerse con el contrato de alrededor de 9.000 millones de euros ofrecido por India para dotarse de una nueva flota de aviones de combate. El concurso lo ganó hace un año la firma francesa Dassault Aviation con una oferta de 126 aviones Rafale, pero el contrato en firme aún no ha sido firmado, lo que lleva a Eurofighter a considerarlo todavía abierto.
El alargamiento del proceso para firmar el contrato definitivo podría “poner al Eurofighter Typhoon en la posición de ser aún considerado por el Ministerio de Defensa [indio], y estamos aquí para ayudarles en ello”, ha asegurado un portavoz de la compañía europea a Defense News.

poderiomilitar-jesus