Erospace & Defence Eview
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III/2011 ARerospace &Defence eview Maritime Vigilance, 24x7 Golden Cobras Agapanthe 2010 M-MRCA down selection Airbus Military in Spain 50 years of Space Flight CFM III/2011 III/2011 Aerospace &Defence Review Golden Cobras : INAS 310 turn 50 The Indian Navy’s Air Squadron 56 310 (‘Cobras’) marked their Maritime Vigilance, 24x7 Golden Cobras 50th anniversary in March 2011 at ‘Agapanthe’ 2010 INAS Hansa, Goa. The editor was M-MRCA down selection Airbus Military in Spain invited to this special event and 50 years of Space Flight also recalls his visit to the Squadron Right Choices 25 years earlier when they were Cover : Airbus Military C-235 MPA of the equipped with the Alize single– Spanish Air Force (Photo Airbus Military) for Wrong Reasons engined MR/ASW aircraft which Admiral Arun Prakash writes Maritime Vigilance, 24x7 operated both from shore and the The Indian Navy has articulated 35 on the reported shortlisting of aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. The 42 its Medium Range Maritime the Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Cobras presently operate the HAL- Reconnaissance (MRMR) requirement DITORIAL ANEL Rafale in the IAF’s critically followed Dornier 228-202K in the information E P for aircraft capable of medium range MANAGING EDITOR M-MRCA programme, examining the warfare role. patrol, anti submarine warfare, Vikramjit Singh Chopra positive aspects but urging the need for self reliance in India’s aerospace ELINT and SAR. Sayan Majumdar EDITORIAL ADVISOR industry. He articulates on the examines various options and the Admiral Arun Prakash advantage of numbers in the context aircraft types in service with various of declining force levels, where the operators in the world. The Saab EDITORIAL PANEL system price cannot be wished away. 2000MPA is an interesting new Pushpindar Singh contender in this arena. Air Marshal Brijesh Jayal Air Cdre. Jasjit Singh Gp Capt JC Malik Dr SR Valluri 50 years of Space Flight Cdr M Nirmal Half a century back the first man-made object was launched Gp Capt Anant Bewoor 124 into near earth orbit, representing Monica Arora dawn of the Space age. Sputnik 1 was a Richard Gardner (UK) Agapanthe 2010 small step for man but a gigantic one in Reuben Johnson (USA) Dr Sean Wilson was deployed the known universe. Four years later, Simon Watson (UK) 62 with the French Navy, sailing on Airbus Military the first human went into Space, Yuri Bertrand de Boisset (France) board the aircraft carrier Charles De in Sunny Spain Gagarin in the Vostok spacecraft. In the Gaulle (R-91) from Abu Dhabi to Goa Dr Nick Evesenkin (Russia) Vayu’s Managing Editor visited five decades thereafter many hundred at the start of January 2011. His article Tamir Eshel (Israel) 78 Airbus Military facilities in humans have orbited earth and a few (and photographs) are a first person Getafe and Sevilla in Spain where landed on the moon. Some of these ADVERTISING & MARKETING MANAGER exclusive for the Vayu, particularly he was briefed on the various intrepid men and women are listed. relevant as the Indian Navy remains Husnal programmes including the A400M, deployed in the seas around Yemen the CN-235 and C-295. Officers of and the Horn of Africa. Aircraft types Civil Aviation Times BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER the Portuguese Air Force and Spanish As per various reports, Asian on board the carrier include the Premjit Singh armed forces gave first hand account 88 airlines continue to boom while Rafale M, Super Etendard and E-2C of the aircraft they operate even as those in Europe stagnate. India has Hawkeye. GENERAL MANAGER (UK) the dramatic flypast in formation of registered the fastest growth, moving Avi S. Sodhi two A400Ms was impressive to say from the ninth to the third position, e-mail: [email protected] the least. and it is estimated that air traffic will continue to grow at around 14% over the next five years. Meanwhile, airliners of the future are being dramatically shaped in Munich. Also : Published by: ‘De-politicisation’ of the THE SOCIETY FOR AEROSPACE STUDIES M-MRCA decision; India’s D-43, Sujan Singh Park, Defence Dudget 2011-12; New Delhi 110 003 India Merits of Fighter Upgrades; Tel: +91 11 24617234 Airliners of the Future; Fax: +91 11 24628615 The Jaguar Agave Darin e-mail: [email protected] Ocean Hawks over the IOR Spotlight on Elettronica; During Aero India 2011, Vayu’s e-mail: [email protected] Programme 52 correspondent Sayan Majumdar Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar True Tales of the IAF had an exclusive discussion with 98 continues with his ‘Testing Printed at Aegean Offset Printers Admiral Walter Doran, President of Times’ series, this time focused on Regular Features The opinions expressed in the articles published Raython Asia. In his article is revealed the Maritime Strike version of the Commentary, Outlook, Viewpoint, in the Vayu Aerospace and Defence Review do that the MQ-4C, maritime version Jaguar which was to be fitted with an Alternative View, Aviation & Defence not necessarily reflect the views or policies of of the RQ-4 Global Hawk, has been Agave radar and integrated with the in India, World Aviation & Defence The Society for Aerospace Studies. offered to the Indian Navy. Sea Eagle anti-ship missile. News, Tale Spin Visit us at: www.vayuaerospace.in COMMENTARY COMMENTARYCOMMENTARY diplomatic investment made by bidding nations meant rejections Selecting a fighter could leave a sour taste. he Ministry of Defence has shortlisted two out of a total six The salient facts of the process this time round must be noted Ttypes of medium range multi-role combat aircraft evaluated and cheered. First, it has been transparent, with rejections made for induction into the Indian Air Force (IAF). The IAF has on technical grounds. The two MMRCA selected performed projected a need for 126 such aircraft to make up for shortfall in the best in trials and were seen to be closest to the Indian its fighter strength and also to modernise its fleet in keeping with Air Force’s requirements. Second, it was the IAF’s technical rapid changes in military aviation technology and the country’s expertise that determined which contenders stayed on, without security requirements. political interference. Third, the spectre of scandal in defence By shortlisting the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Dassault procurement that has haunted the UPA government would stop Rafale after evaluating 643 parameters listed under the IAF’s arms purchase at the slightest hint of controversy. As a result, Qualitative Requirements, India has effectively ruled out while trials and tenders were falling prey to such fears, the two formidable and strategic players in a deal estimated at a Indian armed forces were being undermined as an institution, staggering $ 10 billion – Russia, which has been the country’s blunting our conventional response capability. The IAF itself traditional weapon supplier starting from the Cold war period, has seen a sharp decline in squadron numbers. The MMRCA and the United States, which, in recent years, has emerged as a bidding process so far is encouraging, and it should mark a new major supplier of defence armament. Instead, by shortlisting two beginning. aircraft types, both of them from Europe, the IAF is set to add Large-scale military procurement must also consider offsets a variant to its already uniquely diverse fleet comprising over a and indigenisation, access to technology, long-term time and score different aircraft types bought from half-a-dozen countries cost optimisation. However, it is dangerous to reduce, or elevate, ranging from Russia, the US, Poland, France, UK and Brazil. any military procurement to a purely political decision — as Quite expectedly, the evaluation and shortlisting was preceded might have been the case if the MoD had chosen Boeing and by intensive lobbying by companies and governments through Lockheed Martin despite the IAF thumbs down. Those who will their politicians and officials. use the equipment must have the word on what best answers Irrespective of which aircraft is eventually selected, the their needs. government must ensure that the final decision is taken with due From: The Indian Express propriety and in keeping with national interest. The government must not succumb to external pressures while ensuring that the How to stay fighting fit deal goes through without complications. This is important uying a weapon would seem to be a simple enough considering that in the recent past, agreements for purchase of Bdecision. Arms are destructive. Whichever is more critical weapon systems have either had to be scrapped following destructive should be better. Would it were that easy. There are allegations of kickbacks or are facing inquiries resulting in probably few things more difficult than purchasing weapons. excessive caution in decision making. Consequently, this has Because they lie at the core of national security concerns, resulted in not only a setback to the armed forces modernisation choosing a major weapon system must factor in more than programme, but, more seriously, caused a setback to its mere firepower. The surety of spare parts, the issue of life-cycle capabilities vis-a-vis adversaries in the neighbourhood. This costs, training and interoperability must also be assessed. What is a situation that a country of the size and importance of India is probably the most important factor, and the most difficult can ill-afford. to assess, is the strategic context of the weapon. Though men From: The Tribune in uniform complain bitterly about this, strategic context is an inevitable part of an arms purchase. It is a political judgement Taking off and highly subjective. fter doing little for years, things are moving in AK Antony’s Strategic context matters little in the buying of small AMinistry of Defence.