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Exclusive Interview with the new VCAS Pros & Cons of the Su-30MKI Deal Infrastructure for Regional Aviation
IAF Modernisation Immediate
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IN THIS EDITION • Indiaʼs Homeland Security & Ministry of Home Affairs Elements • IDS Headquartersʼ role in Procurement Process elaborated • Eventsʼ Reference - Special Insert
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TABLE of CONTENTS AviationNews Flies. We Gather Intelligence. Every Month. From India. ISSUE 8 • 2009
MILITARY IAF Role in Nation Building OEM Speak ‘Long Term Business Plans in India’
INDUSTRY OEM Speak ‘Interested in Strong Ties with India’ MRO Smart Moves OEM Embraer Celebrates 40 Years
The IAF is progressively inducting additional REGIONAL AVIATION Su-30MKI aircraft Infrastructure In Search Of Answers
INTERVIEW Cover Story HALL OF FAME OEM Speak James Stephen Fossett Rainer Farid, Eurocopter’s Vice President for Sales & IMMEDIATE NEEDS REGULAR DEPARTMENTS Customer Relations–South Asia To attain a continental stature, it is imperative t hehe A Word from Editor IAF gets adequate‘capital’ SUMMIT REPORT NewsWithViews budgetary support in the - Russian Knights Collide C4I2 coming decade and timely - Vision For Indian Defence clearances for acquisition Trainer Crash Kills Two programmes InFocus SP’s EXCLUSIVE •• Voice of Reason VCAS Interview Forum ‘We Want a Judicious Mix of Sliver of Hope Medium, Heavy, Light Fighters’ Danger Dossier You Only Live Twice TAKE ONE NewsDigest SU-30MKI India Was A Friend In Deed... LastWord Take Another Look Cover Photo: TAKE TWO The Su-30MKI was among the IAF’s fleet that participated at the 2008 Red Flag Exercise in the US. NEXT ISSUE: SU-30MKI ...But Also Gained In The Bargain Photo Credit:IAF Celebrating 77 Years of the IAF
I • SP’S AAVIATION 11 TABLE of CONTENTS
PLUS... PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DESIGN & LAYOUT Jayant Baranwal Associate Art Director: Ratan Sonal Graphic Designers: Rajkumar Sharma, ASSISTANT EDITOR Vimlesh Kumar Yadav Arundhati Das SALES & MARKETING Director Sales & Marketing: Neetu Dhulia SENIOR VISITING EDITOR Head Vertical Sales: Rajeev Chugh Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia Sales Manager: Rajiv Ranjan SENIOR TECHNICAL GROUP EDITORS © SP Guide Publications, 2009 Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION VCAS Interview Inland: Rs 850 • Foreign: US$ 250 CHIEF SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Sangeeta Saxena Email: [email protected]
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22 SP’S AAVIATION I • .. A Word from Editor Even as the Indian Air Force races to fill in the blanks in its arsenal and force levels, the civil aviation sector can only hope for some succour—however mild— from the state
aught in the cross-currents of metamorphic trans- ing the Su-30 deal in 1996, at a time when the Russian mili- formation and cataclysmic depletion in force lev- tary aviation industry was on the brink of collapse, with no els, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is faced with the fresh orders forthcoming from even its own air force let alone crucial question as to whether its current force foreign customers. Yet, in the Su-30MKI, the IAF not only re- levels, combat support equipment and infrastruc- ceived a world class air-dominance fighter but also, a formida- tural capabilities suffice and do full justice to its ble multi-role strike platform. So irrespective of whether India enhancedC responsibilities and roles. “It would be most desir- sealed the deal as a ‘friendly’ overture to help bailout Russia’s able to not only restore the strength of the combat fleet to the ailing defence industry, it was not without substantial gain. authorised level of 39.5 squadrons but even to further build Moving away from military matters, storms continue it up to 42 squadrons to cater for enhanced responsibilities to buffet the civil aviation sector. Following a meeting with in the future,” Air Marshal P.K. Barbora, the newly appointed Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, private airlines are now Vice Chief of Air Staff, says in an exclusive interview. awaiting fulfillment of the assurances from the government. Acquisitions, with special emphasis on the immediate re- Broaching the airlines’ concerns to the Cabinet, Civil Aviation quirements of the IAF, form the crux of the cover story. Blanks Minister Praful Patel had pointed out, “A Rs 1,000 change in exist in practically all areas of desired capabilities. Be it stra- ATF price translates into a Rs 300 crore increase or decrease tegic airlift or all-weather, day-and-night, precision attack ca- in the cost of operations.” That, further inflated by the sales tax pability or ground-based air defence—there is deficiency in imposed by states, have compounded the woes of the private almost all areas. On top of the shopping list is an urgent need airline operators who are now looking to the Group of Min- for at least six more Flight Refueller Aircraft, three more Air- isters constituted by the Prime Minister to push through an borne Warning and Control System, four more Aerostats and uniform sales tax applicable across the length and breadth of greater number of Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. the country, besides other reforms. Talking of acquisitions, the pros and cons of India’s abiding Turn the pages to get all the action, and more. interest in the Su-30MKI have been elaborately and astutely discussed by Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia and Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey. There is no denying India’s benevolence towards Russia, a reliable and decades-old friend, in finalis-
TECH TALK: DEFENCE MINISTER A.K. ANTONY INAUGURATES THE C4I2 SUMMIT Jayant Baranwal IN DELHI ON AUGUST 10 AS THEN NAVY CHIEF ADMIRAL SUREESH MEHTA (LEFT) AND SP’S EDITOR-IN-CHIEF JAYANT BARANWAL LOOK ON (REPORT ON PAGE 12) Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
I 8 • SP’S AVIATION 33 s w i e V RUSSIAN KNIGHTS COLLIDE t h On August 16, two Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets from the Russian Knights collided in mid-air during a test flight southeast of Moscow, killing the leader i of Knights, Igor Tkachenko. More people on the ground were injured after one of the planes crashed into a house and triggered a fire. The pilots W s were training for the 2009 MAKS Airshow. A commission of the Russian Defence Ministry and the main headquarters of the Russian Air Force have w been set up to scrutinise reasons for the air incident. According state-run Vesti 7X24 news channel, ‘human error’ and a bird-hit are said to be the e cause of collision. N
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t was indeed a sad Sunday for Kubinka Air Force base 29 aircraft. The average weight of the six-plane team totals where the Russian Air Force’s world-renowned Russian a staggering 150 tonnes during aerobatics, with the sum of IKnights and the Swifts ( Strizhi in Russian) formation aer- their collective wing span amounting to over 75 m. obatics teams are located. The accident occurred barely Incredibly, through sheer perseverance all these challenges two days prior to the opening of the International Aerospace were met head on with the team performing in the UK within a Show MAKS 2009 for which both teams were training. Ac- few months of its creation, as part of its first foreign tour. On De- cording to an eyewitness, the accident occurred when a for- cember 12, 1995, approaching the Kam Ranh airfield (Vietnam) mation of five Su-27s of the Russian Knights and four MiG-29s in adverse weather for refuelling, formating under the wing of of the Swifts were changing an IL-76, three fighters of the configuration during a turn team slammed into the top of a to the right over the Moskva mountain with the loss of four River floodlands outside the of its highly experienced pilots. air show grounds. While two The IL-76 barely escaped. Afterter pilots ejected safely, the leader, the almost unbearable loss and Colonel Igor Tkachenko, one of contrary to the general belief in the most experienced pilots of Russia and abroad, the Russian the Russian Knights, paid with Knights resurrected themselves his life. While a probe into the and formed another team. Af- crash has been launched, ac- ter perfecting a four-aircraft cording to the preliminary re- Diamond team in 1996, a six- ports emanating from the Rus- plane formation took to the sian Defence Ministry indicate skies in 1997. Igor Tkachenko the cause of the accident to be was part of this team. The Rus- a “flying skill error”. sian Knights didn’t stop there. Across the world, aerobatic For the MAKS International Air teams mostly fly sports and Show they stretched the forma- trainer aircraft or sometimes tion aerobatic frontiers further even light-weight fighters. For by carrying out a nine-aircraft example, the Indian Air Force’s mixed (with four MiG-29s of first recognised aerobatic team, the Swifts) display—perhaps the Thunderbolts, was formed the world’s most breathtaking on Hunter transonic fighters. formation aerobatic show. Later, with the winding down Perhaps the Russians of the Hunter fleet, a new nine- stretched the envelope too aircraft team, the Surya Kirans, far in accomplishing this rare was formed on the Kiran jet- feat. It is hoped that the high trainers. Similarly, the US Air level team set up to investi- Force’s Thunder Birds aero- gate the August 16 accident batic team is equipped with the would also contemplate the lightweight F-16 aircraft. larger issue of using heavy- The Russian Knights, however, are the only formation weight and mixed aircraft formations for intricate aerial aerobatic team in the world equipped with heavyweight fight- displays. Yet another issue relates to costs. A single nine-
A A T T ers. Russkie Vityazi was formed in early 1991 with Su-27 air- aircraft mix (Su-27/MiG-29) sortie of this type could col- M M A A craft. The aircraft has proved to be much harder to control lectively swallow Rs 1 crore ($200,000) to just quench the M M : : N N when manoeuvring as part of a tight formation. Most notable insatiable thirst of the fuel-guzzling twin engines of each I I O O T T A A among the many reasons forwarded are its heavy weight and aircraft. But, perhaps, this does not figure in the calcula- R R T T SP S S large dimension which causes the aircraft to be less respon- tions of a fuel-rich country such as Russia. U U L L I I L L sive compared with its lighter counterparts such as the MiG- — Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia
44 SP’S AVIATION I • .. s w i e V TRAINER CRASH KILLS TWO t h On July 31, 2009, a Hindustan Piston Trainer 32 (HPT32) aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Medak district of Andhra Pradesh. The i aircraft had taken off from the Air Force Academy (AFA) at Dundigal and within 30 minutes of getting airborne, crashed near a brick kiln. Both the W s occupants, who were identified as Nitin Jain and Chaturvedi, qualified flying instructors at AFA, were killed in the accident. Quoting eyewitnesses, w the police said the aircraft was seen “wobbling” minutes before the crash. Though the initial indication was that of a “technical snag”, the IAF will e investigate the crash. N
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he HPT32 aircraft, Deepak, was developed by Hindu- engine failure. Some trainee pilots bungled the forced landing stan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to replace the tandem two- attempted after the engine failed to restart in the air and in Tseat HT2 basic trainer for Stage I of the pilot training the process either perished or received serious injuries. Flying programme in the IAF. The prototype undertook its Instructors usually handled such an emergency better, though, maiden flight on January 6, 1977 but the IAF received the first despite their high experience and competence level, even they batch of 12 aircraft only in 1984. In the final count, the IAF could be in trouble if the engine failure occurred at an awk- received a total of 120 aircraft against an initially projected ward moment. In one such case, the instructor executed a good requirement of 160. Compared to the HT2, the HPT32 though landing in an open field well outside the airfield area but hit a of conventional design, incor- buffalo that came in the way on porated improved features the landing run and the aircraft such as a more advanced and turned turtle. Fortunately, the powerful engine, a tricycle un- two pilots on board got away dercarriage and side-by-side unscathed. The design flaw seating. Unfortunately, since was subsequently corrected, its induction, the HPT32 has resulting in a marked drop in been plagued with innumer- the instances of engine failure. able problems and to a limited A CAG report in 2008 ob- extent, continues to be so. To served that the IAF lacked begin with, it is understood adequate number of state-of- that the Air Staff Requirements the-art aircraft to impart pilot (ASRs) had to be diluted by Air training. The report further HQ before the prototype was states that the HPT32 was cleared for series production. technologically outdated and Initially, the spin characteris- beset by flight safety hazards. tics were also found to be unac- “In spite of the loss of 11 pi- ceptable for an aircraft meant lots and 15 aircraft to date, it to be a primary trainer. continues to be used today. In the first decade of its op- Further, HPT32 does not aid in eration, there were around 10 smooth transition of trainees to major accidents, some fatal. the next stage of training,” the There were also a large num- report adds. The IAF plans to ber of incidents. Apart from phase out the HPT32 by 2014 other snags, the one major and and has asked HAL to provide recurrent problem was that of a turboprop trainer as replace- engine stoppage in flight, ad- ment. In turn, HAL has floated versely affecting the schedule a request for information in and quality of flying training. AtAt conformity with the ASRs seek- one stage, the entire fleet had ing international collaboration to be grounded though tempo- to produce a trainer aircraft in rarily. Subsequently, when the the timeframe stipulated. fleet was cleared to fly, in order to prevent further loss of life, In the accident under scrutiny, prima facie, it does not seemm restrictions on solo flying as well as night flying had to be im- to be a case of engine failure. In the picture of the wreckage
A A T T posed, once again on a temporary basis. The problem of sud- available on the Internet, the tail section appears fairly intact M M A A den engine stoppage in flight was later discovered to be more and the rest of the aeroplane, though in a million pieces, does M M : : N N an airframe issue than a deficiency with the engine per se. A not appear to be scattered. In all likelihood, it appears to be I I O O T T A A flaw in the routing of the fuel pipeline from the fuel tank to the a case of failure to recover from a spin. Eyewitness account R R T T SP S S engine led to vapour lock under certain conditions of flight that also speaks of the aircraft “wobbling” before the crash. U U L L I I L L caused interruption of fuel supply to the engine which led to — Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey
I • SP’S AVIATION 55 s AIRLINES u c o lines Chairman and Managing Director F Dr Vijay Mallya, SpiceJet Chief Executive n Officer Sanjay Agarwal, IndiGo Chair- I man Rahul Bhatia and President Aditya Ghosh, GoAir Managing Director Jeh Wadia and FIA Secretary-General Anil Voice of Baijal met the minister soon after call- ing off the strike. FIA—which represents the interests of the operators—is pushing for a cut in Reason jet fuel taxes to 4 per cent from an aver- age rate of 26 per cent across the coun- try. Compared to the global average of 20 to 25 per cent, for India’s airlines, ATF earth of passengers, high fuel cost airline SpiceJet decided to operate constitutes 40 to 45 per cent of the oper- rates, heavy airport charges all flights on August 18. MDLR, which ating cost. Hence, a cut in taxes can pull Dand, worse, the global reces- is not a member of the federation, said many airlines out of the red. The FIA has sion proved to be the prover- it would operate flights as scheduled. also called for cut in other charges, in- bial last straw that sent India’s ailing Paramount Airways, too, decided to cluding airport development levy, land- private airlines careening down the hill, keep away from the strike, which meant ing charges and navigational fees. eliciting a howl of protest and indigna- no trouble to the travellers beyond the Refusing to succumb to pressure tion at the perceived injustice of it all. Vindhyas. With its members backing for a bailout package for private air- Rendered helpless by the cumulative out, the FIA’s call for strike fell through. lines, the government has made its blows, a peeved Federation of Indian Undeterred, it decided to go ahead and stand clear: using taxpayer money to Airlines (FIA) called a strike on August meet with Patel. The FIA delegation com- help private airlines cope with a finan- 18—only to withdraw it in the face of a prising Air India Chairman and Manag- cial loss is not justified. When Naresh combative government and “agitating ing Director Arvind Jadhav, Jet Airways Goyal owns about 80 per cent of Jet public sentiments”.. Chairman Naresh Goyal, Kingfisher Air-- Airways and Vijay Mallya holds a bulk Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel of Kingfisher, why should taxpay- warned of action and pressed for a dia- er money help enrich them in the logue with the private carriers, who said business? They would have to pull they were “bleeding”. “The government Compared to the global their airlines out of the red, is the understands the difficulties being faced aavverage of 20 to 25 per government’s response. by the aviation sector. However, the gov- cent, in India, ATF After meeting the FIA members, ernment does not support any move that Patel approached the Cabinet with will inconvenience the travelling public constitutes 40 to 45 the airlines’ concerns. He informed of the country. We advise the airlines to per cent of an airline’s the government that airlines face engage in a dialogue with the govern- financial trouble because of steep ment,” Patel exhorted, adding: “Air In- operating cost. Hence, ATF prices, further inflated by the dia will not participate in this decision a cut in taxes can pull sales tax imposed by states. Fuel of select private airlines and will mount prices have risen 99.6 per cent in additional services on August 18 to re- many airlines out of the past year. Andhra Pradesh was duce any inconvenience to the public.” the red. charging the lowest sales tax of 4 Apart from claiming accumulated losses per cent on jet fuel, while it was as of over $2 billion (Rs 10,000 crore), the high as 28 to 30 per cent in Karna- private carriers owe nearly $500 mil- taka, Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu lion (Rs 2,500 crore) toward fuel to oil and West Bengal. The number of companies. “The issue of tax on ATF flights during the January-July pe- (Aviation Turbine Fuel) is a state issue riod dropped 12.5 per cent year-on- and the Aviation Ministry has been re- year, he said. “A Rs 1,000 change in questing the states for the last few years ATF price translates into a Rs 300 to see reason. The other issues primarily crore increase or decrease in the relate to the slowdown in the economy cost of operations,” Patel reasoned. global and domestic and the impact of Last that was heard, the gov- high prices of ATF in 2008-2009,” the ernment agreed to form a group
A A T T Civil Aviation Minister pointed out. He, of ministers to look into the woes M M A A M M however, ruled out any bailout package of the airline industry. Undeniably, : : N N for the aviation industry. the cry of distress did manage to I I O O T T A A R R The first chink appeared in the FIA draw some hope of succour—how- T T S S SP U U armour when budget carrier Indigo ever faint. L L I I L L pulled out of the strike and another low- —By Sangeeta Saxena
66 SP’S AVIATION I • .. AIRLINES m r u o F SLIVER of Hope
Will the GoM newly constituted by the Prime Minister be able to push through an uniform sales tax applicable across the length and breadth of the country—besides other reforms? A lot depends on it succeeding.
n hindsight, was the Federation of Indian Air- tailed presentation before the Union Cabinet and had a Group lines’ scuttled strike on August 18 a serious of Ministers (GoM) constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan threat or was it merely to test the waters inso- Singh to look into the woes of the civil aviation industry. far as the Indian government’s willingness to Patel, however, remains optimistic about Indian aviation bail them out of the current financial morass. industry’s future prospects. He is convinced that the $14-bil- But if the consortium of private airlines com- lion (Rs 68,675 crore) industry will grow at around 8.5 per Oprising Kingfisher, Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir cent annually over the next five years, notwithstanding the imagined the government would prescribe the same treat- fact that it logged a decline of 4.7 per cent last year. “India’s ment as was being contemplated for the ailing national car- per capita number of trips is 0.02, compared to 0.1 for even rier, Air India, it was in for a rude shock. The whole exercise the most populated China (five times higher) and 2.2 trips A A C C . . C C fizzled out due not only to the tough stance taken by Ministry for the US. So there is huge potential in our country,” he B B V V . . O O of Civil Aviation (MOCA) but also to internal fissures within argues. “India’s population in million per aircraft—an inter- G G . . W W the federation. Confronted with the government’s tough talk, esting piece of statistics—is 2.89,” he says, emphasising the W W W W low-cost carriers IndiGo and GoAir developed cold feet and corresponding figure is 1.14 for China, 0.63 for Brazil, 0.31 & & N N decided to pull out from the strike. SpiceJet, which had reg- for South Africa, 0.24 for Japan, 0.11 for Germany, 0.07 I I . . I I C C N N . . istered profit in the previous quarter, also opted out for good for Britain and 0.05 for the US. “This shows huge potential I I B B P P . . reason. That left a highly fragmented federation which, fi- to increase aircraft penetration in the country, even when W W W W nally, got its act together to at least have a face-saving meet- compared to other Asian countries,” he said. W W : : S S ing with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. The credibility of the minister’s claims is indubitable, but H H P P A A Though there was no official word on what transpired at ground realities belie such claims. For instance, it would be R R G G T T the meeting, Kingfisher Chairman Dr Vijay Mallya later told pointless at this stage to compare India’s per capita ‘aviation’ O O H H P P reporters: “Both the Civil Aviation Minister and the Secretary statistics considering 25 to 30 per cent of its population still / / A A T T (Civil Aviation Secretary M.M. Nambiar) were sympathetic to finds itself ‘below the poverty line’ (living on less than a dollar M M A A M M our demands. Our discussions were held in a positive and a day). While there’s no denying or downplaying civil aviation’s : : N N constructive manner. I hope that the government will look robust growth of 46.4 per cent in 2006 and 32.6 per cent in I I O O T T A A R R at our difficulties and something will come out in four to six 2007 in India, the hope that it would continue at similar rates T T S S U U weeks.” Subsequently, Praful Patel, the second time Minister is nothing short of misplaced optimism. The net result is that L L I I L L of Civil Aviation in the re-elected UPA government, made a de- most airlines’ plans and business models have gone hopelessly
I • SP’S AVIATION 77 AIRLINES m r u awry. The backlash top levels of manage- o has been so severe as ment (whose incen- Fto push practically all tives lay more in short- of them into deep fi- term personal financial nancial quagmires. gratification than long- Top of the heap is term and lasting inter- Air India. More than ests of the enterprises living up to its distort- they led) created more ed image of the Ma- problems than solved. haraja-turned-White Inadequate infrastruc- Elephant, the national ture and archaic Air carrier has notched Traffic Management up a staggering loss INDIA’S PER CAPITA BOTH THE CIVIL AVIATION further escalated oper- bordering on $2 billion ating costs. (Rs 10,000 crore). It NUMBER OF TRIPS IS MINISTER AND THE But is the situa- is of little comfort that 0.02, COMPARED TO 0.1 SECRETARY (CIVIL AVIATION tion as dismal as it the cumulative losses appears? Is there little FOR EVEN THE MOST SECRETARY M.M. NAMBIAR) of the private airlines or no future for the pri- also amount to a simi- POPULATED CHINA (FIVE WERE SYMPATHETIC TO vate airlines in India? lar $2 billion. After all, TIMES HIGHER) AND 2.2 OUR DEMANDS. OUR Far from it. The Indian while the government civil aviation dream is TRIPS FOR THE US... INDIA’S DISCUSSIONS WERE will go the extra mile or still very much alive, two to bailout a symbol POPULATION IN MILLION PER HELD IN A POSITIVE but for it to become a of the nation’s proud AIRCRAFT—AN INTERESTING AND CONSTRUCTIVE reality, a clutch of mea- lineage, even if it is for sures would have to be the umpteenth time, it PIECE OF STATISTICS—IS MANNER. I HOPE THAT THE undertaken—both by cannot possibly extend 2.89... THIS SHOWS HUGE GOVERNMENT WILL LOOK the government as well the same largesse to POTENTIAL TO INCREASE AT OUR DIFFICULTIES AND as the private players. private airlines. So, To begin with, private what ails India’s pri- AIRCRAFT PENETRATION IN SOMETHING WILL COME OUT airlines will have to vate airlines and, left THE COUNTRY, EVEN WHEN IN FOUR TO SIX WEEKS. cut over capacities by to fend for themselves, COMPARED TO OTHER ASIAN —DR VIJAY MALLYA,A, adapting to realistic what should they be market requirements doing to come out of COUNTRIES. CHAIRMAN, rather than going in the red? —PRAFUL PATEL, KINGFISHER AIRLINES for reckless expan- Though debatable, CIVIL AVIATION MINISTER sions based on wishful it is alleged that in In- thinking; the mantra dia airport charges are being ‘supply follows highest in the world demand rather than and Aviation Turbine the other way around’. They will have to cut down heavily on Fuel (ATF) is priced at the flab and resort to lean business practices rather than going 50 per cent higher than international levels owing to a com- in for wasteful and grandiose brand building. There should be bination of high central and state taxes as also inefficiency of heavy reliance on low-cost modelling which has proved to be the oil refining and marketing companies. As fuel constitutes more attractive for a great segment of Indian travelling public high percentage of operating costs, which itself is linked to the wishing to upgrade from other modes to travel by air. fluctuating international oil prices, the adverse impact of ris- On its part, the Indian government must provide what gov- ing prices and high taxes can easily lead to an uncontrollable ernments of all forward looking nations in the world commit situation. While the airlines tried to come out of the financial themselves to—proper infrastructure and conducive environ- jam by passing it on to the air traveller in the form of fuel sur- ment to promote growth. The Praful Patel-led MOCA professes charge, a catch-22 like situation soon emerged with the latter to its commitment to improve infrastructure in the civil avia- resorting to other forms of cheaper travel, leaving the airlines tion sector. It is hoped that it would deliver on this vital count. once again in a financial lurch. Patel is also vociferously promoting the cause of rational ATF Financial woes apart, the airlines are partly to blame for pricing within the country. There is an acute requirement for the current quagmire. Many of them often adopted business altering Central/state areas of jurisdiction which have nation- models quite out of sync with the needs of the time. Instead of wide repercussions, such as uniform tax policy on ATF. Just a calibrated and controlled growth strategy, airlines indulged imagine if there was a single 4 per cent sales tax on ATF, appli- in unbridled and unmindful expansion (who ever heard of a cable throughout the length and breadth of the country. Will the single airline ordering more than a hundred aircraft in one go, newly constituted GoM by the Prime Minister be able to push at the start up stage itself). This coupled with employing large this and other reforms through? Watch this space for more. SP numbers of prohibitively expensive expatriate flight crews, —By Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia overstaffing and placing undue reliance on foreign expertise in with inputs from Sangeeta Saxena
88 SP’S AVIATION I • .. INTERVIEW OEM SPEAK
RAINER FARID, Eurocopter’s Vice President for Sales & Customer Relations– South Asia, in an interaction with SP’s Aviaation,, painstakingly traces the company’s enduring ties with India and plans to not only enlarge existing industrial cooperations but also partner with more private organisations in the country
SP’s Aviation (SP’s): What is Eurocopter’s company profile, and para-public sales, 45 per cent was related to Eurocop- its global positioning and history in brief? ter’s military products. Rainer Farid (Farid): Established in 1992, the Franco-Ger- Order bookings, still showing demand for new helicop- man-Spanish Eurocopter Group is a Division of EADS, a world ter models and services, amounted to €4.9 billion (Rs 34,170 leader in aerospace, defence and related services. The Euro- crore). This includes 715 new aircraft. Our total order backlog copter Group employs approximately 15,600 people. Overall, by the end of December 2008 was over €14 billion (Rs 97,640 the group’s products account for 30 per cent of the total world crore) or the equivalent of 1,550 helicopters. We are confident helicopter fleet. Its strong worldwide presence is ensured by that the backlog and unique business model should be major its 18 subsidiaries on five continents, along with a dense net- assets in retaining our solidity through 2009 and beyond. work of distributors, certified agents and maintenance cen- tres. More than 10,000 Eurocopter helicopters are currently SP’s: Since when and with what products has Eurocopter in service with over 2,800 customers in more than 140 coun- or its predecessors been present in the Indian market?
R R tries. Eurocopter offers the largest civil and military helicopter Farid: Eurocopter and India have a long tradition of coop- E E T T P P range in the world. eration and business, with India being the first nation with O O C C O O We have successfully maintained our leadership in the which Eurocopter signed a licence agreement which included R R U U E E global civil and para-public market. We have met our 2008 technology transfer. Since 1962, we have had a partnership : : S S H H objectives for helicopter sales and deliveries and increased with India’s leading local industrial company Hindustan Aero- P P A A R R our turnover by 7.5 per cent. These figures constitute a nautics Limited (HAL), through two cooperation agreements. G G O O T T O O production ramp-up of 20 per cent as compared to 2007. Starting with enabling HAL to manufacture more than 600 he- H H P P While 55 per cent of the turnover was derived from civil licopters of the Alouette III and Lama type (Cheetah/Chetak),
I • SP’S AAVIATION 99 INTERVIEW OEM SPEAK
the relationship strengthened further with Eurocopter out- SP’s: Is Eurocopter a participant in the tender for attack sourcing exhaustive Ecureuil work packages to HAL for the helicopters for the IAF? global market. In 1984, HAL associated Eurocopter in the de- Farid: Yes, we have responded to the previous request for pro- velopment of the Advanced Light Helicopter, a twin-engined, posal (RFP) and offered the Tiger. We are actually evaluating 5-tonne transport helicopter. Today, HAL is part of our global the new RFP. We have always offered India the best of prod- supply chain by producing Ecureuil/Fennec airframes. ucts and technology available at any point of time. With Tigerer,, Our partnerships in India have extended across both pub- we once again offer cutting-edge technology and stand by our lic and private enterprises through partners like HAL, Pawan commitment to the development of Indian aerospace industry.. Hans Helicopters Limited (PHHL) and Indocopters. These We are very confident about the capabilities of our product partnerships span both civil and military domains, covering and hope to bring our global expertise and experience to India the entire spectrum of helicopter activities, from manufactur- as well. The Tiger is considered the most multifunctional he- ing to operations, maintenance and product support licopter in the world and is now officially qualified and ready To summarise, in the military environment, Eurocopter to be deployed in actual critical military operations. It is the has a market share of 55 per cent, comprising HAL-made latest generation attack helicopter available in the market and helicopters. It currently holds 30 per cent of the local cor- has already been selected by different countries. In total, 206 porate and civil turbine helicopter market. The oil and gas aircraft have been ordered by France, Germany, Australia and segment has 30 of Eurocopter aircraft in service with Pawan Spain, and 48 Tigers have already been delivered. These air- Hans and Vectra and 12 aircraft in VIP/state government craft have recorded more than 13,000 flight hours. operations with groups like Reliance, Raymond, Jindals, The Tiger’s totally integrated weapon and navigation Kingfisher and Sahara.
SP’s: Why was the tender for 197 helicopters for the Indian Army cancelled rather abruptly in the recent past? What is your perspective on such a development? Farid: The tender for 197 helicopters for the Indian Army was indeed cancelled in December 2007. But at this stage we would not want to delve into that. We are now fully concentrating on the new RFP. Like in 2007, we are confident that Eurocopter has the best solution to fully meet the requirements of the Indian armed forces.
SP’s: Is Eurocopter a participant in the fresh tender for Reconnaissance and Surveillance Helicopters for the Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF)? What is the product on offer and what stage is the tender in? Farid: Yes, we are participating in the fresh RFP with the Fennec and we will field the military Fennec for Evalu- ation Trials in India in September/October. The AS550 Fennec offers a unique platform that provides answers MACHINE POWER: to all requirements from the Indian armed forces re- EUROCOPTER quiring a versatile, high-performance and proven scout HAS BEEN ONE OF helicopter ready for next generation battlefields. system is based on the latest devel- THE PIONEERS OF The multi-role capabilities of the Fennec have made it a opments in electro optical equip- COMBAT-PROVEN HELICOPTERS LIKE success with several countries like Australia, the US, Brazil ment. For example, the Tiger has THE FENNEC AS550C3 and so on. From the hottest of deserts to the highest of alti- night vision capabilities, and can (ABOVE AND tudes, the Fennec has the ability to map it all. In fact, in terms perform air-to-air missile or gun FACING PAGE) of temperature, it can function impeccably from -40°c to 50°c. attack (thanks to its chin mounted Not only can it be deployed successfully at sea level, it also gun turret, the most advanced firing holds the world record for landing on the top of Mount Ever- control in the world) while main- est. Given its abilities, it is definitely the best suited for the taining direct hit probability rates unthinkable for its op- requirements of the Indian armed forces and the natural suc- ponents. It can also identify targets to be destroyed from cessor of the Cheetah and Chetaks. great distances, thus avoiding friendly fire errors. It can be The success of Fennec lies in its versatility. Not only is equipped with latest generation missiles like Hellfire. The it the only helicopter that is certified by both internation- Tiger is currently the most modern combat helicopter in the ally accredited civil (the European Aviation Safety Agency world and is clearly best suited to India’s needs. and US’ Federal Aviation Administration) and military (French Ministry of Defence-Délégation Générale pour SP’s: Has Eurocopter entered into a joint venture agree- l’Armement) certification agencies, but is also the only ment with companies in India or are there any plans to one available in naval configurations with both single en- do so? Should you be awarded a major contract, how does gine and twin engine versions on the same helicopter. your company propose to meet the offset obligations?
1010 SP’S AAVIATION I • .. INTERVIEW OEM SPEAK
Farid: We already have a long history of joint venture and significant and on the growth path. This is clear from the partnerships with Indian industry/operators. Eurocopter is RFPs that have been issued or are planned by the Indian experienced in meeting offset requirements. We are ready Ministry of Defence. The list of RFPs is quite exhaustive, to continue working with India according to this scheme. addressing the needs ranging from attack helicopters, re- Eurocopter is considering several partners in India for in- connaissance and surveillance helicopters, to those of the dustrial joint ventures in different fields of activities. Indian Navy. The first step towards self-reliance and indi- genisation has been taken. The next step is to implement SP’s: It is well known that facilities in India for basic the plans at the earliest. training for helicopter pilots for civil aviation are inade- Eurocopter, with its wide range of defence solutions, is quate. Has Eurocopter considered the possibility of a joint prepared to meet all of India’s defence requirements. Our venture to establish such a facility? products are mission oriented and can adapt themselves Farid: We have plans to set up pilot training facilities in according to the needs of the country. The market in India India for both civil and military segments. Recognising is definitely big with a lot of potential for all stakeholders the increasing need for qualified helicopter pilots, we are and we hope to partner with India in every way we can. actively supporting the Indian government in setting up In the civilian segment too, India can truly be called state-of-the-art helicopter pilot’s training facilities. But a “helicopter country”. We see a significant growth in the currently, we are in the initial stages of discussion and civil helicopters segment. There appears to be tremendous would not be able to discuss this in much detail. potential especially in the oil and gas segment in India. Our medium-range helicopters like the Dauphin N3, EC155 or the EC225 very popular worldwide and are ideally suited for this kind of requirement. Moreover, we have just signed a contract for three Ecureuil B3 with Pawan Hans at the Paris Air Show. Also, the helicopter emergency medical service business in India looks very promising. We are in talks with several leading hospital majors in Delhi, Mum- bai and Bangalore. There are several other corporates that are bullish on the growth of the emergency medi- cal services segment in India. We are hopeful of selling at least 10 to 15 helicopters every year.
SP’s: What is the broad strategy Eurocopter would adopt in order to consolidate its position in the Indian market? Farid: We have had a long association with India, es- pecially through our relationship with HAL. The Chee- tah/Chetak fleet based on the Eurocopter Alouette III and Lama models are at the base of the relationship. In terms of products, Eurocopter has the widest range of defence and civil products in the world for all kinds of missions, like VIP and corporate missions, search and rescue missions, police missions, multi-role missions, SP’s: The fleet of civil helicopters in India is growing combat missions, naval missions and so on. steadily. Does Eurocopter have plans to establish main- In all, we plan to not only enlarge existing industrial co- tenance, repair and overhaul facilities as a joint venture operations, like the one with HAL, but also check for syner- in India to support its products? gies in partnering with more private companies in India. Farid: At Eurocopter, we lay a lot of emphasis on meeting In fact, in this framework of trustful and mutually fruitful end-to-end requirements of our customers. We realise that cooperation, Eurocopter has always offered India the best no company can be successful till it meets the product service of products and technology. Throughout this ongoing part- and maintenance needs of its customers. To this end, we are nership, we have helped create a highly skilled technical already running a maintenance centre for our hugely popu- workforce of over 2,000 people. Further, recognising the lar Dauphin helicopters in association with PHHL. In addi- increasing need for qualified helicopter pilots, the company tion, in 2006 we joined hands with Indocopters (formerly is actively supporting the Indian government in setting up Vectra Aviation) as our maintenance partner. The company state-of-the-art helicopter pilot’s training facilities. carries these operations from its Greater Noida base, which While many other players are now planning to offer was launched as a Green Field project in 2006. such a mix of technology and skill, we have already been truly partnering with India across the entire spectrum of SP’s: What is Eurocopter’s assessment of the market po- helicopter services, ranging from manufacturing to opera- tential in India both in the civilian and military segments tions, maintenance and product support. This partnership in the short, mid and long term perspective?? has also helped Eurocopter in supporting the development Farid: The defence products market in India is definitely of local ancillary industry.. SP
I • SP’S AAVIATION 1111 SUMMIT REPORT C4I2 Vision for INDIAN DEFENCE
All matters related to C4I2 were discussed threadbare
CHIEF GUEST: in five sessions spanning two DEFENCE MINISTER A.K. ANTONY ADDRESSES THE GATHERING days during a summit in Delhi
efence Minister A.K. Antony has By Sangeeta wards this objective,” he said. “The abil- urged the private sector to enter Saxena ity to process information and respond Dthe defence industry. Stressing rapidly to changes in conflict situations on the need for indigenisation, can make all the difference between suc- particularly in the defence sector, Antony cess or failure.”e.” said it was imperative for a country of Organised by TV18, the seminar pro- India’s size and economy to have a vibrant defence industry. vided a platform for brainstorming between armed forces “Given the fact that India is emerging as a major economic personnel, Defence Research and Development Organisation player, this is certainly not a desirable state of affairs,s,” Antony (DRDO), Ministry of Defence officials, defence equipment said, addressing a seminar on Command, Control, Commu- manufacturers and related industry professionals from both nications, Computers, Intelligence and Information (C4I2) private and public sectors. The inaugural session was also structures in Delhi on August 10. SP Guide Publications was addressed by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta, the presenting sponsor of the two-day C4I2 Summit that Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor, Air Marshal witnessed indepth deliberations and lively debate between S.C. Mukul, CISC, IDS and Dr Sreehari Rao, CC R&D (ECS), prominent figures from India and abroad. DRDO. The gathering was welcomed by Senthil Chengalva- “Though our country has a massive industrial infrastruc- rayan, President of TV18. A vote of thanks was delivered by ture, we are still a long way from establishing ourselves as a the Chairman of SP Guide Publications, Jayant Baranwal. major defence equipment manufacturing nation. Much of the E-18 CEO Farhad Wadia delivered the closing address. content of our defence requirement continues to be import- All matters related to C4I2 were discussed threadbare in ed,” Antony said. The Defence Minister further pointed out five sessions spanning the two days. Some of the prominent that the government had undertaken several policy decisions speakers were Dr Johan Leander of SAAB Technologies, Col. to correct this imbalance and seeks to promote private-public Patric Koh Lai Hawk of SAP Asia, Dr Vivek Lall, Country Head A A N N E E X X partnerships. The government has allowed 26 per cent FDI of Boeing IDS, Ashwani Kumar Dutt, CMD of BEL, S.N. Tan- A A S S in the defence sector and the offset policy is aimed at encour- don, VP of C4I Rolta India, Dr V.S. Mahalingam, Director of D D A A R R aging technology inflows and enhance the capability of our the Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics, DRDO and Lt A A H H S S defence industrial base, he added. General J.P. Singh DCIDS, HQ IDS. Some of the topics discussed : : S S H H The Defence Minister emphasised that the private sec- were India’s network enabled capabilities, C4I2—integration P P A A R R tor’s IT prowess could be harnessed for the requirements of and development, understanding operational requirements of G G O O T T O O the armed forces. “Our country’s demonstrated abilities in the three services, development of public private partnership, H H P P the field of information technologies should be leveraged to- data fusion for C4I and composite intelligence services. SP
1212 SP’S AAVIATION I • 9 .. SUMMIT REPORT C4I2
DISTINGUISHED FACES AT THE OPENING CEREMONY
LAUNCH OF SP’S SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT DEFENCE MINISTER A.K. ANTONY AT SP’S COTE...... RECEIVES A GIFT OF SP’S PUBLICATIONS
SP’S EDITOR-IN-CHIEF JAYANT BARANWAL...... DELIVERS THE VOTE OF THANKS
...WITH THEN NAVY CHIEF ...WITHA RMYC HIEFG ENERALD EEPAKK APOOR ADMIRAL SUREESH MEHTA ...WITHD GISL TG ENERALP .C.K ATOCH
I • 9 SP’S AAVIATION 1313 SP’s EXCLUSIVE VCAS INTERVIEW We want a JUDICIOUS MIX of Medium, Heavy, Light Fighters
AIR MARSHAL P.K. BARBORA, the new Vice Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS), in a candid convversation with SP’s Editor-in-Chief Jayant Baranwal,, elaborates on efforts to accelerate the acquisition of new aircraft and induction of latest technology
S S N N B B SP’s Aviation (SP’s): The media is abuzz with news of the capabilities. With due support of the government, we have U U P P E E Indian Air Force (IAF) undergoing metamorphic trans- attempted to maintain ratios based on these paradigms in I I D D U U formation. Could you elaborate? respect of our fighter fleets. There are also the transport G G P P S S Air Marshal P.K. Barbora (VCAS): The IAF today has a and helicopter fleets which are also of vintage. For ex- / / K K mix of aircraft from the vintage technologies of the 1950s ample, the Chetak and Cheetah fleets, which still form the E E H H I I S S to those that were available close to 2000. Logistically, it is backbone of the IAF, providing communication, air main- H H B B A A a daunting task to maintain these aircraft because of the tenance, casevac (casualty evacuation) and support in for- : : S S H H difficulties in the procurement of spares, especially for the ward and high-altitude areas, are of practically outdated P P A A R R vintage aircraft. It was decided about a decade ago that technology and we definitely need to replace these. In the G G O O T T the IAF would have a mix of medium and high technol- regime of medium-lift helicopters, we have the Mi-8s and O O H H P P ogy platforms with varying operational and load-carrying few Mi-17s. While there is a need to upgrade and retain
1414 SP’S AAVIATION I • .. SP’s EXCLUSIVE VCAS INTERVIEW We would our internal requirements but also out-of-area contingencies if and like to look when required. In respect of force-multipliers, around the there is of course, a whole gamut world to find of weapon systems starting from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Un- an appropriate manned Combat Aerial Vehicles type of UAV/ (UAVs/UCAVs), in-flight refuellers, Airborne Warning and Control Sys- UCAV or join tem (AWACS), ground-based radars hands with and so on. There is an ongoing re- quirement to induct these systems our Defence in adequate numbers to build up the Research and requisite operational capability. We are also looking into exploitation Development of space very seriously for creating Organisation network-centric warfare capabili- ties in an integrated battle scenario. to develop a We are talking of data linking with machine that AWACS and other systems so that sensor-to-shooter decision-making would meet time is reduced to the barest mini- mum. We are going ahead with the the IAF’s support of the government so that requirements. technologically, we will be on a much higher plane by around 2020.
SP’s: What types of UAVs/UCAVs are we looking at? these machines, we definitely need to enhance fleet size to VCAS: We define the parameters based on our specific re- meet with commitments of daily air maintenance. We have quirements while looking at what is available worldwide. initiated an upgrade programme which includes incorpo- It is not necessary that we should induct a particular ma- ration of the latest avionics. We are also in the process of chine just because it was used effectively by some advanced acquiring more of the Mi-17 class as also utility helicopters countries. We prefer futuristic technologies with inherent of different capabilities in fairly large numbers. Helicopters capability for upgrade so that the system remains viable and are used not only for air maintenance of troops deployed relevant for a period of time. in forward locations and the requirements of the air force, We would like to look around the world to find an appro- but they are also committed to civil administration for vari- priate type of UAV/UCAV or join hands with our Defence Re- ous tasks, such as disaster management, search and rescue search and Development Organisation to develop a machine and election related duties. Apart from these, the IAF also that would meet the IAF’s requirements. requires helicopters with heavy-lift capability. In this class, we do have a few Mi-26s but they are approaching the end SP’s: So have they been given any indication that they of their technical life. The government has accepted our should go ahead with R&D? request for the procurement of a certain number of new VCAS: Yes, they have been. It is not like the subject has heavy-lift helicopters. come up today, this is been going on for quite sometime and As far as the transport aircraft fleet is concerned, we our views on it are well-known to them. I am sure they are have the An-32s as the backbone of our tactical airlifters working on it. with a payload of five tonnes, but these are getting old. With little choice but to continue with them in the foreseeable fu- SP’s: Has the continuing depletion in the IAF’s combat ture, we have just signed a contract for upgrading a certain aircraft squadron strength, which started a few years number with better avionics. With the upgrades completed, ago, been arrested? What steps are being taken to en- we hope to carry on for another two decades with the AN32 sure that the deficiency is made up without delay? fleet. In the meanwhile, we are looking to procure the lat- VCAS: TTo answer the first part of your question, the answer est technology with foreign collaboration in the 10-tonne is no. We have not been able to stop the declining number of class. There is also a requirement for strategic heavy-lifters squadrons. As I said earlier on, we have vintage aircraft of which, in my opinion, should be better than the existing IL- the 1950s technologies still flying. While these aircraft would 76s which have around 43 tonnes payload capability. I am reach the end of their lives in the near future, we cannot buy looking at aircraft that can lift around 70 tonnes, with obvi- combat jets off-the-shelf in required numbers even if there ously better technologies in the areas of airframe, engine is no dearth of money because the capacities of even highly and avionics. These aircraft will not only be able to meet productive plants are such that only a limited number of air-
I • SP’S AAVIATION 1515 SP’s EXCLUSIVE VCAS INTERVIEW
craft can be pro- the LCA is delayed duced each year. or the MMRCA These are some of deal not finalised the restrictions we in the time frame have to perforce required, then we live with. How- may adopt that ever, I presume option. We have that in the next done this in the decade or so the past ordering ad- depletion will stop ditional Su-30MKI as a result of the and we may have acquisitions that to follow that route are underway. But once again. How- while it is true that ever, it needs to be we are not able to remembered that check the deple- the MMRCA is in tions right now, the medium weight we are inducting and the LCA is in better platforms to the light weight offset partially, if not fully, the erosion in categories, while the Su-30 is in the the combat potential of our air force. To- There is also a heavy weight category and we want day, the Sukhois (Su-30MKIs) which are a judicious mix of medium, heavy and replacing some of the MiG-21 or MiG-23 requirement light jet fighters. We, therefore, cannot squadrons, have much greater opera- for strategic over tread the Su-30 route. tional capabilities than the aircraft they are replacing. Having said that, it would, heavy-lifters SP’s: How is the MMRCA pro- however, be most desirable to not only which, in my gramme progressing? restore the strength of the combat fleet VCAS: On August 17, we began eval- to the authorised level of 39.5 squad- opinion, should uating the first aircraft. Flight evalu- rons but even to further build it up to 42 ation is to be carried out in three squadrons to cater for enhanced respon- be better than phases. In the first phase, the aircraft sibilities in the future. the existing will be checked for hot weather oper- ations over the deserts. In the second SP’s: What other steps are being tak- IL-76s which phase, for cold weather operations, en or are likely to be taken to achieve have around 43 the aircraft will move to Srinagar the above? and Leh, where the density-altitude VCAS: Well, as you are quite aware that tonnes payload is high and temperatures are low. Wee we have commenced trials on the six types capabillitityy. II will check out the avionics and the of aircraft that are in contention for the manoeuvring capability of the air- MMRCA (Medium Multi-Role Combat Air- am looking at craft under normal conditions. The craft) deal wherein 126 aircraft will be ac- aircraft that third phase will consist of evalua- quired by the IAF. I presume it would take tion of the complete range of weapon us another year or so to finish flight evalu- can lift around systems. Phases I and II will be con- ation and then, we will come to some con- 70 tonnes and ducted in India and the third at the clusion as to which of the six types make company’s location. We have started the grade. But again, when we do sign the have better off well, although a little bit late. I contract, it may take up to five years for technologies. think we have got our ground work the aircraft to be inducted. It is not just the done very well, which will enable us aircraft, but also integration of equipment to hopefully move at a decent pace. and weapons specific to our requirements that will inevitably take time. And, like I SP’s: When would it be possible said earlier, no OEM is going to make high for the IAF to induct the selected investments in the manufacturing process unless the contract aircraft into its inventory? is finalised. The modern class of military fighter aircraft cost VCAS: Like I said, it would finally depend on when we over a $100 million (Rs 490 crore) or more a piece. strike the deal. While the IAF will give its professional opin- We also have the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) ion, final selection of the aircraft would obviously be made project which we hope fructifies soon. But even if that doesn’t by the government based on various inputs/considerations, happen and if we are falling or likely to fall below the mini- including strategic and geo-political reasons. Once the con- mum requirement, the government does allow as follow-on tract is awarded, it may take up to five years for the first orders the purchase of additional aircraft that already are a squadron to become fully operational in the IAF. SP part of the IAF inventory. So, if there is a requirement and (To be continued.)
1616 SP’S AAVIATION I • .. GREAT PERFORMANCES.
SMALL “ITEMS”.
DESIGN AND PRODUCTION OF ELECTRONIC DEFENCE SYSTEMS . MILITARY IAF MODERNISATION
Y R O T S
R E V O C
Immediate
M M O O C C . . D D N N A A L L T T S S E E W W A A T T S S U U G G A A . . Needs W W W W W W D D N N A A S S N N B B To attain a continental stature, it is imperative the U U P P E E I I D D Indian Air Force gets adequate ‘capital’ budgetary U U G G P P S S : : support of at least $5-7 billion annually in the S S H H P P A A R R coming decade and timely clearances for its G G O O T T O O H H P P acquisition programmes
1818 SP’S AAVIATION I • .. MILITARY IAF MODERNISATION
the air arm of the three services into a sion-targeting fire power with minimal new realm—that of being a true stra- collateral damage—all attributes of a tegic air force like other leading air modern air force. forces in the world. India’s emergence as the new economic power house FILL IN THE BLANKS on the world stage and the changing Ironically, while the IAF was beginning geo-political and security scenarios to go through metamorphic changes in also changed the IAF’s perceptions of its thinking, tenets and operational doc- its new roles and responsibilities. The trines, it also started to experience cata- force began to appreciate the necessity clysmic reductions in force levels and oth- to acquire comprehensive operational er combat equipment. The question that capabilities characterised by flex- looms large is whether the IAF’s current ibility, quick response, mobility and force levels, combat support equipment transportability of all forms of national power as well as long reach and preci- Continued on Page 22...
more missions
MUSCLE BUILDING: THE IAF IS PROGRESSIVELY MOVING AHEAD WITH THE PROCESS OF VARIOUS UPGRADES, INDUCTION OF LATEST TECHNOLOGY AND FRESH ACQUISITIONS. FUELLING THE DRIVE, MANUFACTURERS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE, APART FROM THE TRADITIONAL SUPPLIERS, HAVE JOINED THE FRAY. F125IN: Unprecedented capability to make Jaguar roar. The Honeywell F125IN engine is uniquely qualified By Air Marshal to dramatically transform Jaguar’s strike (Retd) V.K. Bhatia capabilities and enhance mission performance. - Shorter high — hot takeoffs - Superior thrust retention - Greater mission range T TOOK MORE THAN A DE- - Faster and higher climbs CADE FOR THE INDIAN AIR FORCE (IAF) to universally F125IN engine from Honeywell. The future is now. grow out of the four-decade- I old dogmatic mindset—that of being just a ‘tactical’ ser- vice with a mandate to primarily pro- vide close air support to ground forces in furtherance of the latter’s land cam- paigns. The turn of the last century witnessed the IAF’s doctrinal percep- tions finally going through fundamen- tal and far-reaching changes to propel
I • SP’S AAVIATION 1919 MILITARY SU-30MKI e n O e k a India was a Friend T In Deed... Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey
ost-World War II, there was a resurgence in the de- The Su-30MKI is un- mand for weapon systems. The Soviet defence indus- doubtedly a capable Ptry was sustained in large part by the procurement of machine but what did weapon systems by the large number of client states raise eyebrows is the spread across the world. Emerging from centuries of subjuga- focus on a single ven- tion, a peace-loving non-violent nation, India, in 1962 suffered dor, primarily for three a debilitating military defeat and humiliation at the hands of reasons. Firstly, that the Chinese, accentuating the need to build a military machine with the demise of the capable of safeguarding national security interests. Cold War, India was no On account of factors—such as the stated policy of non- longer restricted to the alignment and neutrality seeking friendship with all and Russian source; but conflict with none; a democratic form of governance with a whether other options strong socialistic undertone and a highly controlled econo- were examined and my—India was excluded from the coterie of the developed ruled out is not known. world that was in direct political and military confrontation The second is that the with the USSR. Denied access to modern military technology track record of prod- by the West post the Sino-Indian conflict, India turned to the uct support by Rus- USSR who welcomed the opportunity with open arms, offer- sian manufacturers in ing the latest weapon systems and technologies on highly the past had been less The Su-30MKI favourable terms. Net result, after four-and-half decades of than satisfactory. Fi- deal may have been partnership, bulk of the inventory of the armed forces of India nally, there have been dictated by not only worth billions of dollars and defence production capability serious quality issues India’s geopolitical are of Russian origin. with Russian combat The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was a turning aircraft operated by compulsions but point in the history of the Russian Defence Industry. The Rus- the IAF in large num- also A BENEVOLENT sian economy was in complete disarray, the defence produc- bers, especially with RESPONSE by the tion facilities fragmented and scattered in the different repub-b- the various models of Indian government lics no longer tethered to Moscow. The end of the Cold War the MiG-21, the MiG- to help bailout the and the emergence of a uni-polar world eroded the market 23 and the MiG-29. ailing defence industry for Russian weapons among the erstwhile Warsaw Pact na- Given the circum- tions, pushing the Russian Defence Industry to the brink of stances of the Su-30 of a decades-old friend collapse. China, a major buyer of Russian technology, had MKI deal, it is well nigh by then become largely self-reliant, having developed their possible that apart indigenous capability. Algeria and Venezuela were the only from strategic and tac- markets that Russia had to sell weapons. tical paradigms, it was dictated by not only the legacy of the At this stage, India came to the rescue of the Russian De- geopolitical compulsions that India found difficult to shake fence Industry. So far wedded predominantly to the MiG se- off but also a benevolent response by the Indian government ries of fighters, in 1996, the Indian Air Force (IAF) selected to help bailout an ailing industry belonging to a long time the top-of-the-line combat aircraft from Sukhoi, the Su-30, and reliable friend on the world stage. The answer may well a development of the Su-27 Fulcrum platform. The version be found in the future course of the $10 billion (Rs 50,000 customised for the IAF was designated Su-30 MKI (‘I’ denot- crore) deal for the 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft S S ing India). The total deal for 230 aircraft, inclusive of licensed currently in the stage of flight evaluation. SP N N B B U U P P manufacture of 140 by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, E E I I D D was finalised without the usual global tender. Expected to be The author is a Qualified Flying Instructor and has served U U G G completed by 2013 or 2014, the cost is believed to be over $5 with the Republic of Singapore Air Force as also Air At- P P S S & & billion (Rs 25,000 crore) at prices prevailing then. For the last tache at the Embassy of India, Kabul during the turbulent F F I I A A batch of 100 aircraft, the Russians insisted on doubling the years of war-torn Afghanistan. An astute thinker with : : S S H H rate of cost escalation laid down in the contract. unique insights, he was also on deputation to the Cabinet P P A A R R Undoubtedly, this mega deal of the 1990s must have ad- Secretariat. He was Senior Air Staff Officer prior to as- G G O O T T O O ministered a shot in the arm for the ailing Russian aerospace suming the appointment of Air Officer Commanding-in- H H P P industry and has perhaps played a key role in its survival. Chief, Training Command, IAF on February 14, 2003.
2020 SP’S AAVIATION I • .. MILITARY SU-30MKI o w T e k ...but also Gained in a T The Bargain Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia
hat India acqui- and in 2007, a further order of 40 jets was placed with Rus- esced to buy the sia. At present, approximately 100 Su-30MKIs are under active TSu-30 jet fight- service in five combat squadrons of the IAF. The final version of ers from Russia Su-30MKI featured many ability enhancing modifications over considering Moscow the basic Su-27 and the Su-30MK from which it was derived. was its trusted friend These included canard foreplanes, two-dimensional thrust- and strategic part- vectoring control, Russian-made NO11-M passive phased ar- ner for many decades ray radar (PESA) and a range of avionics complex sourced may indeed be partly from Russia, France, Israel and India, which includes display, true, but that’s not the navigation, targeting and electronic warfare systems. Uncon- whole story. In the early firmed reports suggest that the more advanced PESA radar 1990s, Russia was go- Irbis-E might be added to the jet fighter by 2010, when the first ing through cataclys- fully India-built Su-30MKI rolls out from HAL, Nasik. mic politico-economic The Su-30MKI’s three-plane aerodynamic unstable con- transformation where- figuration, coupled with thrust-vectoring, results in extremely in the monolith empire agile manoeuvrability allowing deployment of weapons in of the communist USSR any desired direction. The forward facing NIIP NO11-M Bars lay shattered. Surviv- (Panther) is a powerful PESA multi-functional radar with long In the Su-30MKI, ing entity, the Russian range detection/multi-tracking capabilities which, with on- the IAF got Federation’s economy board beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, can beat most A FORMIDABLE was almost in ruins of the existing aerial threats. In the air-to-ground role, integra- MULTI-ROLE and the erstwhile flour- tion of the Israeli Litening Targeting Pod along with the indig- ishing Russian military enous 1,000 lb bombs with laser-guided bomb kits has lent STRIKE PLATFORM.. aviation industry was the aircraft multi-role precision-strike capability. In addition, a Therefore, rumoured on the brink of collapse, modified Su-30MKI is being developed to carry Indo-Russian geopolitical and with no fresh orders BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, with planned induction in strategic compulsions coming from even its 2012. For Electronic Warfare (EW), the MKI has an indigenous notwithstanding, own air force let alone system called ‘Tarang’, with a programmable threat library it was perhaps not foreign customers. and direction finding capability. It also carries the potent and a bad buy Against this back- powerful Israeli Elta EL/M-8222 self-protection EW pod. drop, an Indian defence Evidently, with the infusion of multi-national technology, delegation headed for what was essentially a modified Su-27 trainer, turned out to Russia in 1994 and had be a heady cocktail of superior operational capabilities. In the the first glimpse of the Su-30MKI, the IAF not only received a world class air-domi- Su-30 at Sukhoi’s Siberia-based world famous ‘Irkut’ military nance fighter but also, a formidable multi-role strike platform. aviation plant. It was not the sheer size which impressed the The planned induction of 230 aircraft, when completed around visitors but the vast potential for improvement in the aircraft’ss 2015, would enable the IAF to raise up to 10 to 12 squadrons operational capabilities. Two years of further evaluation and of the Su-30MKIs—a sizeable force in the heavy-weight cat- negotiations later, India decided to purchase Su-30s from Rus- egory. Therefore, notwithstanding murmurs of geopolitical and sia. On November 30, 1996, India signed a $1.462 billion (Rs strategic compulsions connected with its acquisition from Rus- 7,155 crore) deal with the Sukhoi Corporation for the delivery sia, was the Su-30MKI a bad buy for India? Apparently not. SP of 50 Su-30 aircraft. But it was not a straightforward, off-the- shelf purchase. The aircraft were to be delivered in five batch- A qualified ‘Pilot Attack Instructor’, the author has the es with incremental improvements in performance and opera- distinction of having accumulated over 5,000 hours on tional capabilities. The highly intricate and laborious sets of all types of aircraft (mostly fighters, but also transports phased modifications/additions ultimately produced the most and helicopters). He served with the Iraqi Air Force as refined version now known as the Su-30MKI (‘I’ for India). a Su-7 flying instructor and is a member of the Royal Meanwhile, India had in 2000 signed another deal with College of Defence Studies, London. He has the unique Russia for the indigenous manufacture of 140 of these jets by distinction of being the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The first fully matured of three major operational commands of the IAF, includ- MKI entered service with the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2004 ing the Western Air Command.
I • SP’S AAVIATION 2121 MILITARY IAF MODERNISATION
...Continued from Page 19 feverish pitch. PLAAF’s aim is to have a predominantly fourth generation air force providing it with all-pervading capabilities and infrastructural capabilities do full justice to its enhanced of a modern, state-of-the-art, offensive air arm with matching responsibilities and roles? Evidently, there are a large number support systems in a network-centric warfare scenario. of deficiencies in the IAF’s arsenal in practically all areas of With the global war against terror in full swing, Pakistan desired capabilities. For example, while it has strategic airlift is reaping the harvest of its alignment with the US owing to capability, so aptly demonstrated during the Maldives crisis in Washington’s generous offering of weapon systems, including 1985, it was limited in nature and the IAF has not been able to the latest F-16 aircraft. In addition, with Chinese help, it has build on it to reach the desired levels. started producing the JF-17 (Chinese FC-1) indigenously. The Similarly, its offensive strike capability is severely restricted. Pakistan Air Force is being given maximum priority to trans- form itself into a modern fighting force. Soon, India could be confronted with more than 1,500 Fourth Generation fighters along with state-of-the-art force-multipliers at its two borders. Against the combined strength of its adversaries’ air forc- es, the IAF finds itself in a highly unenviable position of hold- ing depleted and somewhat obsolete inventories. To redux, in the aftermath of wars against China and Pakistan in the early 1960s, it was planned to equip the IAF with a total of 64 squadrons (including 45 combat squadrons). The IAF at its maximum strength could muster up to 39-and half squadrons which, today, stand depleted to approxi- mately 30 squadrons only due to retire- ment of a large number of obsolescent PROUD MOMENT: aircraft. However, it does not end here as THE IAF URGENTLY the IAF, despite its efforts, is experiencing NEEDS TO ORDER AT LEAST THREE downslides in all its inventories of weap- MORE AWACS on and support systems/equipment. (SEEN HERE IS Undoubtedly, the IAF has a robust THE INDUCTION long-term plan for re-equipment and OF THE FIRST) modernisation. But due to various rea- sons, it does not seem to be running on track. The need of the hour is to acceler- ate the various acquisition/modernisa- It lacks in all-weatherr, day and night, precision attack capability. tion programmes already under way and add on more where For the defence of vital areas/points, its existing surface-to-air required for the IAF to meet its immediate needs in the coming missile (SAM) squadrons have long crossed the obsolescence decade. thresholds which cannot be stretched much further. The latest reports suggest that almost one third of its Pechora SAM firing PROGRAMMES & PROJECTS units may have actually been phased out. This has caused seri- Fighter Force: Apart from upgrading its existing fighter ous erosion in the ground-based air defence capability. As for fleets that have adequate residual life such as Mirage 2000, network-centricity, so essential for the conduct of modern day MiG-29 and Jaguars, the IAF is progressively inducting ad- warfare, the IAF is still at a nascent stage. ditional Su-30 MKI aircraft to arrest any further downslide Therefore, while the Indian defence establishment con- in its Combat squadrons’ strength. It is also eagerly waiting tinues to meander through the armed forces’ modernisation for the culmination of the 126-aircraft Medium Multi-Role projects, it would be worth examining as to what the IAF has Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contract for it to start filling the planned and what it should be doing to meet its needs in the immediate short term and, in the medium term to cater to the emerging threat scenarios. LIKELY FIGHTER FORCE BY 2020 Planned (Recommended) THREAT SCENARIOS Number of RRoollee AAiirrccrraafftTT yyppee NNuummbbeerr India has two major adversaries in its immediate neighbour- Squadrons hood, China and Pakistan. China has a time-bound moderni- AAiir DDoommiinnaannccee SSuu--330 MMKKII 22330 ((++110000)) 112 ((1177)) sation plan for its military which it put into operation in the early 1990s when Beijing observed the superiority demon- AAiirSS uuppeerriioorriittyy MMiiGG--2299 5500 33 strated by the coalition forces in the first Iraq war, Operation MMRRCCAA MMiirraagge22 000000 5500 33 Desert Storm. MMMMRRCCAA **TTobb ess eelleecctteedd 112266 66 The modernisation drive to replace its antiquated weapon 11 systems saw the rapid transformation of China’s People’s Lib- SSttrriikkee JJaagguuaarr 113355 55 ⁄ ⁄ 22 eration Army Air Force (PLAAF), which by 2005 had acquired LLiigghhtCC oommbbaatt LLCCAA 112200 55 close to 400 Su-27/Su-30 MKK aircraft. In addition, domestic TToottaall AApppprrooxx.... 66660(( 776600)) 3344 11 ⁄ ⁄ (39(39 11 ⁄ ⁄ )) production of JH-7/7A, J-10, J-11 and FC-1 is progressing at a 22 22
2222 SP’S AAVIATION I • .. ��
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����������������� �������������� ���������������� ������ ��� � �� ������������� �������� MILITARY IAF MODERNISATION existing deficiencies. In addition, the indigenous light com- category helicopters, 22 attack helicopters and 115 light utility bat aircraft (LCA) is also due for induction into the IAF. helicopters out of a joint Army-Air Force requirement of 312 However, even if everything goes according to the plan, the machines. All these need to be pursued on fast track to enable IAF would still have only 34 to 35 squadrons by 2020 whereas the IAF to beat the deficiencies occurring due to obsolescence it must aim to regain its original strength of 39-and-half squad- of older types. Induction of the indigenous ALH Dhruv helicop- rons. This could be achieved by ordering more Su-30MKIs with ter is also continuing in a phased manner. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited over and above the 140 that Force-Multipliers: The IAF appears to have taken timely deci- are being built by it. See((it. table “Likely Fighter Force By 2020” .).) sions to acquire force-multipliers with inductions of different In addition, India could also exercise the option of acquiring types having already commenced. These include Flight Re- greater number of aircraft in the MMRCA deal at a later date, fueller Aircraft (FRA), Airborne Warning and Control System if it is felt that the IAF’s combat strength be beefed up to the (AWACS), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Aerostats. The originally recommended figure of 45 squadrons. only drawback is that so far, these have not been ordered in Transport Force: The IAF’s order for six C-130J Super Hercu- sufficient numbers to achieve desired levels of capabilities. The les aircraft from the US will be able to fill, but only to a small IAF urgently needs to order at least six more FRA, three more extent, the gap created long ago in the 20-tonne payload class AWACS, four more Aerostats and greater number of Heron
SHOPPING CART: (CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT) THE IAF HAS UAVs. It also needs to add to its preci- ORDERED 12 VVIP sion attack weapons capabilities. AGUSTAWESTLAND Air Defence: The IAF has long been AW-101 CHOPPERS; THERE ARE PLANS battling with the problem of obso- TO UPGRADE THE lescence of its SAM systems. A large JAGUAR IN THE IAF’S gap has already appeared with the EXISTING FIGHTER retirement of as many as 17 out of 60 FLEETS; THE AWACS WAS A KEY Pechora (SAM-III) firing units. OSA-AK ACQUISITION Quick Reaction Missile firing units are also on the brink. However, further downslide could be contained with the eventual clearance of the Israeli Spyder systems (worth three squadrons) for acquisition. of transport aircraft with the retirement of the An-12s in the In addition, a joint venture between Israeli companies and early 1990s. The IAF could certainly do with more of these India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation to aircraft to operate a full-fledged squadron to perform a variety produce 18 combat management systems of the 70 km me- of roles. In addition, IAF’s interest in acquiring 10 C-17 Globe dium range surface-to-air missile for Rs 10,000 crore ($2 Master IIIs is most timely as, if fructified; it would give a much billion) would help in providing part replacements for the needed boost to the IAF’s strategic heavy-lift capability which outdated Pechora systems. presently is restricted to about 14 of the older IL-76 aircraft. Without doubt, the IAF is a force under metamorphic Helicopter Force: The IAF is actively seeking to enhance its ro- transformation, striving to achieve all-encompassing strate- tary wing capabilities in different categories. It is in the process gic capabilities to attain the status of a balanced modern air of acquiring 80 Russian-built Mi-17 1V helicopters to gradu- force of a continental stature. It has enormous and varied ally phase out its ageing Mi-8 fleet. Its order for 12 VVIP Agus- needs for its transformation. The need of the hour is that taWestland AW101 helicopters has reportedly run into rough it gets adequate ‘capital’ budgetary support of at least $5 weather with the Finance Ministry because of high costs but, billion to $7 billion (Rs 24,424.5 crore to Rs 34,192 crore) it is hoped the matter will be resolved soon. RFPs have also annually in the coming decade and timely clearances of its been issued/in the process of being issued to acquire 15 heavy acquisition programmes for meaningful modernisation. SP
2424 SP’S AAVIATION I • .. MILITARY IAF
Role IIN Nation Building Unmindful of the scores of issues which keep our country divided, men and women of the IAF toil relentlessly to assure the nation of their readiness to help and support. This is the sum and substance of its contribution towards building a strong, vibrant and prosperous India.
By Air Marshal (Retd) A.K. Trikha
wear the RAF uniform as a badge of honour.. “Never in the field of human conflict RAF’s sacrifices to save Britain are inscribed in golden let- was so much owed by so many to so few.” ters in British history. It would be an exaggeration to claim that independent India has ever been threatened with a simi- inston Churchill’s observation at the height lar catastrophe as would have befallen the British had Hitler of the Battle of Britain in September 1940 succeeded in storming the British shores in 1940. However, has become a part of folklore. World War that is not to say that independent India hasn’t found itself on II had been raging for a year. The British the crossroads more than once when decisive action by the In- WExpeditionary Force sent to Europe to foil dian Air Force (IAF) saved the day. Not too long after partition, German advance had been beaten back. we were faced with the tribal invasion of Kashmir. With the France lay prostrate and Great Britain was staring into the marauding tribesmen looting and burning town after town in abyss. Blocking the advance of the relentless German jug- the Valley, it was a race against time to save Srinagar. The gernaut stood the fighter pilots of the British Royal Air Force ground forces had barely mobilised before the raiders were (RAF). Finally, Britain survived because the RAF stood its knocking at Srinagar’s doors. ground against all odds with grim determination. Britain has Had it not been for a heroic airlift effort by the only Da- not forgotten. Nearly 70 years after the event, they still ob- kota Squadron of the IAF under the most challenging circum- serve September 15 every year as the Battle of Britain Day stances, perhaps history would have taken a different turn. to pay homage to ‘the few’. Most members of the royal family Similarly, in 1965 had the air force not intervened decisively
I 8 • SP’S AAVIATION 2525 MILITARY IAF to halt Pakistan armour in its tracks in Chhamb, the story of that transcends our narrow linguistic, cast or regional identi- the war and its consequences could have taken a different ties. Perhaps this was to be expected considering the bewilder- twist. In 1971, the brilliant strategy of the Indian Army suc- ing variety of ingredients that had been thrown into the melt- ceeded because swift mobility in riverine terrain of Bangla- ing pot to forge our nation and the nature of politics that has desh provided by the air force enabled the Indian troops to followed during the ensuing years. However, notwithstand- storm Dhaka in a matter of two weeks—a feat unparalleled ing some monumental failures, it would be fair to say that the in the annals of military history. These are but few instances unique Indian experiment has been remarkably successful. We from Indian history as an independent nation to illustrate the have not only survived with our brand of democracy intact, decisive role that IAF has played in conflict situations. but are even flourishing by many standards. But, we do have But it is not as if the IAF comes into its own only when the miles to go before our citizens can consider themselves fulfilled nation is at war or on the verge of it. By training hard and aspirationally and thus feel proud of their Indianness. maintaining a credible, forceful posture during peace time, What is it that saps our the air force deters mischievous intent of hostile adversaries. nation’s energies and holds In the calm and peaceful environment citizens can go about us back from flourishing to their normal activities without external hindrance. In 1971, swift our full potential? The an- mobility swers are not far to seek. PEACE TIME RELIEF Undoubtedly, there are In peace time, the air force also continues to play on a day-to- by the IAF some resource constraints. day basis specialised roles for which only it is equipped and There are huge demands trained. Given the sub-continental extent of the country, the in riverine on the country’s scarce state of its infrastructure, the myriad pockets of lawlessness terrain of resources which leaves and proneness to sudden crisis of one kind or another (both several plans unfulfilled. natural as well as man-made), demands for immediate relief Bangladesh But if we really dredge the are a regular feature of our national life. Since the air force has enabled bottom, it is the abysmal the necessary resources, training and, above all, the readiness value that we derive from to respond instantaneously, some of its elements are always on the Indian our vast treasure of human short call. It could be a sudden requirement to airlift paramili- troops to resources that really lies at tary forces to control a critical situation in the Srinagar valley the heart of our poverty. In- or rampaging mobs in some other volatile corner of the coun- storm Dhaka dian youth that constitutes try. Rescuing marooned villagers from vast stretches of flood in a matter of our real national wealth prone plains is of course an annual feature and hardly attracts and which ought to dream any attention. One could argue that that is the very purpose for two weeks big is today frustrated by which an air force exists. But among these seemingly routine an overbearing system. peace time activities, some still stand out in bold relief. This debilitating goliath ob- Think back to the Bhuj earthquake in January 2001. Within scures all avenues of hope a few minutes, a shocker measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale and progress. Instead, it had devastated a vast swathe of territory in Gujarat. Bhuj re- constantly weighs all aspi- sembled ground zero. IAF Station Bhuj also bore the full brunt rations down with a variety of burdens. In their most produc- of the catastrophe. Air Traffic Control building and the officer’s tive years youth see themselves as faceless entities in a mob, Mess collapsed like a house of cards as did residential accom- with no purpose other than making a brief splash before dis- modation. Overall, the air force station, the city as well as the appearing once again in the anonymity of the crowd. surrounding villages were a scene of utter devastation. The quake had also severed all road links with the outside world. CONSOLIDATING NATIONHOOD Therefore, if there was to be any relief, Bhuj airbase could not At the societal level we remain a house divided against itself. go off the air. With excavation of buried personnel and their Caste, religion, language and a host of other identities are families from under the rubble still in progress, Air Force Sta- deeply entrenched in our psyche and our petty politicians tion Bhuj lifted itself by the bootstraps, put together some basic exploit it to the hilt. Incitement of narrow sectarian loyalties infrastructure and made itself fit to start receiving relief aircraft at the expense of an all encompassing national identity is the round-the-clock from all over the world. No greater inspiring bane of our politics. There is no gainsaying that strong psy- tales of courage, fortitude and what it means to do one’s duty chological glue is needed to forge a people into a nation. It is under all circumstances can be found so effortlessly anywhere. for this reason that in their march towards consolidating their IAF history books are replete with similar stories. In a general nationhood, people search their history to create symbols, environment choked with tales of dishonesty, greed, self-pro- myths , institutions and such other paraphernalia which they motion and skulduggery of every other description, such self- can share and identify themselves with at a deeply emotional less acts of heroism shine as beacons of hope to youth starved level. So evolves a symbiotic relationship between the nation of inspiration or example to shape their lives. and its constituents and amongst the constituents themselves. India they say is an ancient land but a relatively young na- Thus the glow of outstanding achievement of one rubs off on tion. It was our shared experience of being exploited as colo- all extending the horizon of possibilities as all grow in confi- nised people which brought us on a common platform for the dence in step with each other. This is the essential brick and freedom struggle. However, sadly, even 62 years after Indepen- mortar of nation building. dence, we have yet to find that elusive sense of ‘Indianness’ Continued on Page 27...
2626 SP’S AAVIATION I 8 • .. INDUSTRY OEM SPEAK Interested in Strong Ties with India
GENE BLACKWELL, Vice President,, Network Centric Systems, NEW DOMAIN: RAYTHEON HAS SUCCESSFULLY EXPANDED ITS CORE BUSINESS IN DEFENCE Raytheon TECHNOLOGIES INTO AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL
ndia has always been very important for us at Ray- eral of Civil Aviation) and Ministry of Civil Aviation, but there theon. We are interested in a strong partnership with is still some time before they come to a decision. Integrated IIndia. In the wake of 26/11, we feel we have a lot to Security System for airports is already working in the US. offer. We are talking with some companies and the Tata We will be trying to develop it for India. M M O O Power Consortium. We hope to sign a MoU with the latter for We have a very good relationship with ISRO. We have C C . . N N O O modernisation of the IAF (Indian Air Force). We also hope already submitted a bid to them for FOP to deliver the E E H H T T that an RFP will be asked for an Air Traffic Control Radar world’s most accurate air navigation system ever deployed. Y Y A A R R . . System by November. Some of these could also be in C2 and We feel we are very close to reaching an agreement. We W W W W communications, fire control system, thermal weapon sys- also plan to upgrade the ATP Q36 radar to 37, with marked W W : : H H tems and navigation systems. improvements. GAGAN and SATCOM are our hopes in P P A A R R These upgrades, both in critical infrastructure protection space technology partnerships with India. SP G G O O T T O O and air traffic control, we hope will be for both the civil and H H P P military. We are interacting with the DGCA (Directorate Gen- —As told to Sangeeta Saxena
...Continued from Page 26 Sharma rocketed into space and made every Indian feel In this general setting, what role does the IAF play to- ‘‘ Saare Jahan se Achchha’ (Best in the World). wards nation building? The answers are obvious. Firstly, by As eluded earlier, a major impediment in our nation build- presenting a live model in which narrow sectarian, regional, ing effort is the lack of human resources of sufficiently high religious and a host of other conflicting identities are suc- quality. Due to a variety of reasons, the system is just not geared cessfully subsumed in a larger national identity with a noble to meet the demands of a burgeoning economy—a fact rue- purpose, they represent the ideal that our constitution aspireses fully acknowledged by most captains of industry. Indian armed to. The organisational nuts and bolts that make this outcome forces in general and the air force in particular are a reservoir a reality are worthy of emulation. Secondly, by setting high of highly trained and motivated manpower. Stringent condi- professional standards recognised by its peers all over the tions of service force separation of a large chunk every year. world, the air force brings credit to itself and in turn to the With a little orientation, these men and women could become nation which induces a surge of pride in being an Indian. an invaluable resource to stand every challenge on its head. Thus, when two intrepid air force aviators (Wing Command- Despite universal recognition of this fact, unfortunately organ- er S.K. Sharma and Flight Lieutenant A.B. Dhanake) rescue ised effort to harness this vast pool of talent remains below par three injured mountaineers from a world record height of and consequently a large number of highly trained individuals 23,260 ft and get inducted in the ‘Aviation Hall of Fame’ by fade away into obscurity while they still have many years of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum of the US high quality productive capability left in them. as “the most outstanding achievers in aviation operations for So, quietly and unobtrusively, men and women of the IAF 2004”, it add a few dollops of joy and pride in every Indian’s go about their daily lives without a murmur or complaint heart to be called an Indian. about the many hardships they have to endure as a matter Then again, when two adventurous and brave pilots, of course in remote corners of our vast country. Unmindful of Wing Commanders Rahul Monga (team leader) and Anil Ku- the scores of issues which keep our country divided, they toil mar, circumnavigated the globe in 79 days in their microlight relentlessly to assure the nation of their readiness to help and plane, it adds a few girders to the nation’s scaffolding. Or support, should there be need for it at any time, or to ward off when our pilots compete against the world’s best in Exercise threat from across the borders. This is the sum and substance Red Flag in the US and earn kudos for themselves and the of IAF’s contribution towards building a strong, vibrant and air force, it becomes a rewind of the moment when Rakesh prosperous India of every citizen’s dreams. SP
I 8 • SP’S AAVIATION 2727 REGIONAL AVIATION INFRASTRUCTURE
In Searchof ANSWERS
Aviation infrastructure has not kept pace either with the
ByBy Group Captain (Retd) impressive increase of passenger Joseph Noronha, Goa and cargo traffic or with the remarkable growth of the Indian economy
oes besetting the established airlines in to 70.1 million in 2008-2009, the number of airliners grew India have eclipsed an unpleasant truth. from 158 to 396 in the same period. The number of domestic Two years after a new regional airline departures per week rose from 5,108 to 11,048. policy was promulgated, regional aviation Aviation infrastructure, however, has not kept pace ei-
T T is still in the doldrums. When the policy ther with the impressive increase of passenger and cargo E E N N . . W S S was introduced, it was expected that traffic or with the remarkable growth of the Indian econ- R R E E many companies would be eager to launch regional carri- omy. Several major airports are overburdened and offer I I N N L L I I R R ers (see “Promises to Keep”, SP’s Aviation 06/09). However, inefficient services. Airlines have limited landing slots and A A . . W W there is just one regional carrier in operation today. Gurga- inadequate parking bays. They experience severe conges- W W W W : : on-based MDLR Airlines operates to six destinations with a tion on the ground and in the air, especially during peak H H P P A A fleet of three aircraft. Several other prospective airlines, after hours. In this respect, the pause in the breakneck growth R R G G O O enthusiastically welcoming the policy, have either put their of the last couple of years has proved to be a blessing in T T O O H H plans on hold indefinitely or abandoned them altogether. disguise by giving infrastructure a chance to catch up, to P P & & So what does regional aviation lack? In a word, infra- some extent. Once growth resumes, there is enormous po- L L A A N N structure. tential to increase aviation penetration. While India is now O O S S N N the world’s ninth biggest aviation market, it still is one of A A T T A A AIRLINES NEED AIRPORTS R R the least penetrated with 0.02 annual trips per person as : : N N In August, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel observed that compared to 0.1 in China and 2.2 in the US. With a middle I I O O T T A A R R commercial aviation had achieved 20 per cent average annual class over 300 million strong, demand for air services is T T S S U U growth between 2003-2004 and 2008-2009. While the volume projected to increase by 8.5 per cent per annum till 2015. L L I I L L of passenger traffic increased from 28.5 million in 2003-2004 Aviation infrastructure obviously needs rapid improvement
2828 SP’S AAVIATION I • .. REGIONAL AVIATION INFRASTRUCTURE
if it is to keep up. But the development that will help re- SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES gional airlines is not that of the largest airports of Delhi and SEZs with high foreign investment are likely to be a sig- Mumbai, but far removed from them. nificant facet of the nation’s economic development. By July The government has not been idle. It has launched an 2009, 576 formal approvals for SEZs have been granted, of ambitious programme to modernise the country’s ailing air- which 319 have been notified. Several proposals are pend- ports during the Eleventh Plan (2007-2012). Halfway through ing for construction of air cargo hubs in and around SEZs. the plan, work at the metros and mini-metros has either The Nagpur airport, situated at the crossroads of the coun- been completed or is well in hand. The Greenfield airports at try, is being developed as a national and global cargo hub. Bangalore and Hyderabad are now operating smoothly. Inci- Another proposal is to establish an exclusive air-cargo hub dentally, after the Cochin International Airport, these are the at the SEZ in Dabra near Gwalior. only new civil airports built post-Independence. The Airports The AAI has its hands full with renovation of functioning Authority of India (AAI) is currently modernising the major airports and construction of new ones. Many states and some airports at Kolkata and Chennai and has similar plans for businesses appear keen to get into the act as well. Govern- 35 non-metro airports. However, here is another uncomfort- ments that have identified airports for development include able fact. Just 24 international and customs airports handle Karnataka and Maharashtra. However, Andhra Pradesh has around 94 per cent of the air traffic. Consequently, they eas- reportedly scrapped an ambitious project to develop eight air- ily reach saturation. They have little scope to absorb even a ports in small towns after failing to receive a single bid in 18 minor mishap or bad weather— runway shutdown or major dis- location in service is frequently the result. Congestion also leads to huge wastage of precious fuel. Upgrading the non-metro air- ports will to some extent improve the overall situation. But that will still not quite reinvigorate the re- gional aviation scene. It is time to look at the big picture. And in the big picture the smaller, regional airports occupy place of promi- nence. There are perhaps 200 cities across the country with the population to support regular air services. Many of these are fast emerging as centres of economic activity with growing demand for air connectivity. However, 130 of these do not have functional air- ports and travellers often have to commute large distances to catch a flight. This is a big disin- centive as it becomes simpler to
travel by train or bus. IN NEED OF FACELIFT: India is potentially in a happy UPGRADING THE NON-METRO situation. There are 454 airports/ AIRPORTS WILL TO SOME airstrips in the country, including operational, non-operation- months. Small airports prob- EXTENT IMPROVE THE OVERALL SITUATION (SEEN HERE IS THE al, abandoned and disused airports. While 97 are controlled ably cannot survive on air SARDAR VALLABHBHAI PATEL by the AAI, 138 are under the Indian Air Force, 158 are with traffic alone—development in INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ININ various state governments and 61 are privately owned. Practi- the adjoining city areas could AHMEDABAD) cally every district has an airport or at least a disused landing help private developers ob- strip. In theory, therefore, a functional airport can be planned tain adequate return on their every couple of hundred kilometres or less. The challenge is to investment if the policies are bridge the gap between potential and actual assets. The gov- favourable. For instance, Reliance Airport Developers Limited ernment has set an ambitious target—500 airports country- will probably acquire five airports in rural Maharashtra on a wide by 2020. This figure includes renovation of used airports, 95-year lease for a total of only Rs 63 crore, a model that could Greenfield airports, new merchant and low-cost airports as be emulated to achieve rapid progress. well as airports dedicated to movement of cargo and logistics. For too long, absence of easy access to the remote areas of However, as with many government programmes, there is the Northeast by surface transport has served as an excuse for bound to be procrastination. The current economic downturn lack of development. This has resulted in a deadly brew of un- has also hampered investments and subdued the enthusiasm employment and perceived regional disaffection. What could amongst private investors. be a better answer than air connectivity? The North Eastern
I • SP’S AAVIATION 2929 REGIONAL AVIATION INFRASTRUCTURE
Council (NEC) has plans for a dedicated airline linking all im- inspiring goal: to achieve zero landing charges by 2015, by portant cities and towns in the region, and is ready to subsi- increasing city-side revenues from the current level of 45 per dise. About 12 new airports have been planned in addition to cent to 60 per cent over the next three years. the existing 11. However, late last year, the NEC was forced to State governments also need to seriously address infra- float a regional airline tender for the third time after the earlier structure-related issues such as providing connectivity and two failed as the companies did not meet the requirements. A planning the city-side development of the airport besides co- successful regional airline in the Northeast would greatly en- ordinating with the tourism and hospitality industry so that courage other industries that currently fear to enter. A low-cost travellers benefit. Small airports, of the type regional airlines low-fare air service revolution is needed. require, need to have a different business-model from those at the metros. Most regional airports will begin with one to two COSTS CAN GO LOWER flights a day, and could reach four flights a day after three to The last few years have shown that the low-cost model is the four years. Even small airports, however, are unlikely to be one most likely to succeed in India. It makes even greater economically viable with less than eight to 10 flights a day. So, sense for regional airlines designed to boost air connectivity the commercial sustainability will depend heavily on city-side to the remotest parts of the country. India currently does not revenues and not on passenger traffic alone. have any low-cost airports, with bare minimum infrastruc- From being mere providers of air services, airports ture, suitable for Low Cost Carriers (LCCs). Indian LCCs and have become important drivers of economic development regional airlines generally prefer to operate between metros and gateways to the regions they serve. These have become and airports with sufficient parking space, necessitating long assets to their communities, acting as magnets to a wide halts. This practice is contrary to that of the world’s successful range of high-value businesses and industries. Revenues LCCs which frequent small airports and reduce turn-around from tourism, industry, commercial development of real es- time thereby reducing costs further. It also defeats the very tate and aviation-related services like training, repair and purpose of regional airlines. For instance, what sense does it maintenance are necessary to cross-subsidise the airport’s make for MDLR Airlines, a regional carrier, to fly Delhi-Goa, a operations. Experience over the last couple of decades has sector already heavily congested? shown that purely government planned and funded proj- Apart from runways, airlines need adequate taxiways, ects are doomed to time and cost overruns. That is why enhanced parking space and state-of-the-art integrated public-private partnership becomes imperative. And when terminals. A whole host of services need to be upgraded the private sector gets involved, it seeks profit, not just the to make airports truly world class. Take Air Traffic Man- creation of idle infrastructure. agement (ATM). At the existing level of traffic, the number In future, the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority of controllers available is grossly inadequate. At least 600 (AERA), the newly created apex body to regulate airports in more air traffic controllers are urgently required. Overhaul- the country, is expected to play a crucial role. The current ing the ATM system would mean increasing efficiency to en- downturn in the aviation sector is likely to pose an immediate able it to handle 50 flights per hour, up from the current 25. challenge as the AERA will need to ensure that airport charges Operational costs at airports will significantly reduce when do not unnecessarily burden the airlines and passengers and support services such as hi-tech communication and navi- at the same time are remunerative enough for airport devel- gational aids and meteorological services are cost-effective opers who are investing heavily in their modernisation. and competitive while meeting international norms. The sweetener for regional airlines that operate smaller POLICY ALONE NOT THE ANSWER aircraft weighing up to 40,000 kg is fuel supplied at a sales The government’s Vision 2020 postulates about 280 million tax of just 4 per cent throughout India. In addition, for air- air passengers by the year 2020. Other estimates range as liners that carry up to 80 passengers, such as the Avro 146- high as 400 million. The larger airports alone cannot handle RJ70 that MDLR Airlines operates and the Embraer 170 that such enormous traffic. The growth needs to be distributed Chennai-based Star Aviation (or its new avatar) proposes to by planned layout of the infrastructure. Once air connectiv- deploy, landing and parking charges are waived. However, if if , ity through India’s 500 airports becomes a reality, it would small aircraft are the only ones using an airport, how can it lay the foundation for many successful regional airlines. ever be commercially viable? The plainspoken Giovanni Bisignani, CEO of International Air Transport Association, declared earlier this year that In- IT’S THE MONEY, HONEY dian aviation is no longer a success story—the success story Viability is obviously a major concern of the new or refur- of the past few years needs to be fixed. He blamed lack of bished airports, especially for those which are privately run. policy in aviation, aggravated by the fact that the recession For instance, traffic at the new Hyderabad airport has turned occurred just when the industry was starting to grow, for out to be less than half of what was projected. Traffic growth the current bad patch. is now expected to remain in the four to five per cent range If the regional airline policy has not borne fruit for two for some time. This could take the break-even point to around years, it may be time to tweak it. But policy alone can- 2020, well beyond the planned 2014. Due to insufficient traf- not provide all the answers. When the recession ends, as fic, and the resulting shortfall from aeronautical and non-aero- end it must, the pitiful shortcomings of infrastructure will nautical earnings, many airports have resorted to levying User again be exposed. If regional airlines are to take aviation Development Fees, a surefire way to draw the ire of travellers. to the furthest reaches of the country, a well-considered, Estimates are that Bangalore and Delhi airports might take time-bound programme to build or renovate at least a as long as 20 years to break even. But Cochin airport has an couple of hundred airports is crucial. SP
3030 SP’S AAVIATION I • .. INDUSTRY MRO SMART Moves
Bell Helicopter, at a recent maintenance and operations conference, showcased its unique efforts at customer support and plans for its latest offering, the Bell 429
potlight firmly on customer sup- Bell recently received certification by the port and product maintenance, By Sangeeta Saxena Transport Canada Civil Aviation. SBell Helicopter outlined its ambi- Addressing the conference, Leslie tious plans to consolidate its posi- Ferry, Marketing Manager, Customer tion in the Indian market at a recent workshop in Delhi. In Support Services, Bell Helicopter US said: “Bell Helicopter about a year since Bell Helicopter announced the delivery of scored another win with its repeat as the highest rated ro- the 100th commercial helicopter in India, it is now offering torcraft manufacturer for product support in the Aviation its innovative version—the Bell 429. “We have already re- International News annual survey. Coupled with its 15th ceived more than 10 orders for Bell 429 and hope to sell at consecutive number one ranking in the Professional Pilot least 50 in the next five years,” said Sanjay Malhotra, Presi- magazine survey earlier this year, Bell continues to domi- dent of Jubilant Enpro, Bell’s sole distributor in India. nate this important measurement of customer satisfaction. Lauding Bell’s effort at supply chain management and We are able to assist our customers better. India is an ex- customer service, Malhotra pointed out that a maintenance panding market and it’s all about building relationships. and operations conference had been organised in Mumbai Hence, such conferences help us to understand our custom- and Delhi each to comprehensively cover the geographical ers’ requirements better.” expanse of India. The conference in Delhi on August 21 was Highlighting that product enhancement is the key to co-sponsored by Jubilant Enpro and Airworks India Engi- their successful sales in India, Malhotra, whose company neering that offers maintenance services for Bell helicopters offers both pre and post induction licensing for Bell heli- in India. Offering a forum for operators to appreciate the copters in India, said product support engineers and de- nuances and technicalities of maintaining helicopters, the sign group engineers form a major part of the customer organisers informed that Bell Helicopter is the only OEM support. “They (Airworks) have been our customer service which conducts such an event for customer support in the facility for 11 years and are doing a good job,” Ferry af- industry. This was the second in the last four years and will firmed when asked when Bell Helicopter would build its get scheduled every two years. own MRO facilities in India. “This conference aims at creating a bridge for the main- Bell Helicopter, a member of Textron Company group, tainers and operators,” said Todd Ellison, Customer Support has entered into an understanding with Hindustan Aero- Representative of Bell Helicopter for India, adding: “The de- nautics Limited (HAL) for cooperation in the areas of supply mand for spares is looked after by the warehouse Bell has at of airframe sub-assemblies and product support. Bell has Singapore, which caters to both Asia and Pacific regions.” He been associated with HAL for some time and the latter is S S N N further emphasised that field service engineering, simulator currently working on production of tail rotor blades for the B B U U P P training for pilots and reliability problems are challenges his 206 aircraft. The company will explore additional manufac- E E I I D D U U company meets very successfully for its clients. turing projects in India. HAL, in turn, is keen to take on new G G P P In India, helicopter operations have proved to be a lot challenges in all contemporary helicopter programmes. S S / / K K more successful than commercial airlines. While several pri- Participants at the conference in Delhi included custom- E E H H vate airlines have shut shop in the last 10 years, not a single ers from Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, I I S S H H B B helicopter operator was faced with closure. The new model, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi and other states. Topics A A : : H H Bell 429, is aimed at users in the oil and gas sector, VIP covered ranged from light, intermediate to medium aircraft P P A A R R transport, corporate and emergency medical services. Hav- maintenance, blade repair, engine maintenance, customer G G O O T T O O ing completed the Federal Aviation Administration certifica- support to human factors involved in the management of H H P P tion requirements for its newest light twin engine helicopter,, helicopter fleets successfully. SP
I 8 • SP’S AAVIATION 3131 MILITARY OEM SPEAK Long Term ‘business plans in India JULIAN SCOPES President, BAE Systems India speaks on the company’ss strategies to extend its foothold in India ’
By Sangeeta Saxena
SP’s Aviation (SP’s): BAE Systems has advocated a lot capital in India, 26 per cent is not so attractive. We tried for a 49 per cent share holding in a joint venture (JV). for 49 per cent with the Mahindra JV, but it was not ac- When do you hope to get it? cepted. On that occasion, the timing was probably wrong, Julian Scopes (Scopes): That is for the Government of we were a bit ahead of the curve. The sooner it happens, India to decide. The argument for lifting the cap to 49 per the better. We create businesses and jobs in the countries cent is very compelling. For a company keen to invest its we choose to invest in and this is always in agreement with the country and the customer, such as we have done in Australia and the US. India is one of the biggest mar- kets in the world, but when (we are) investing and trans- ferring technology, skills, and so on, the level of return has to be right.
SP’s: Have you been trying to convince the Government of India to a type of “special security agreement” such as you have with the US? Scopes: I have been trying to promote the concept to the Government of India; it is proven to work well. Our ambition is to grow a long term business here, not just bid for individual programmes.
SP’s: What per cent of the S share of revenue generation M E T S does BAE System India give to Y WINGS FOR S the main company? E ALL REASONS: A B BAE’S HERTI IS AN Scopes: I cannot give you a fig- : S AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE H P ure. Depends on occasional big A THAT CAN CARRY OUT R programmes, like Hawks. G A HOST OF MISSIONS O T O WITHOUT RISKING H P HUMAN LIVES SP’s: Do you plan collaborations
3232 SP’S AAVIATION I 8 • .. MILITARY OEM SPEAK with Indian public sector units (PSUs)? rate responsibility agenda in India. So far, we have adopt- Scopes: We have had a long association with HAL (Hindu- ed a cluster of schools in Bangalore and have a tie-up with stan Aeronautics Limited). We are in discussions with BEL some technical universities in Bangalore also. As part of (Bharat Electronics Limited). We are also exploring the fea- this, we have student and teacher exchange programmes. sibility with other defence PSUs. We try to instill into kids the importance of science and technology and also encourage cultural exchange. We are SP’s: Do you plan to collaborate with the Defence Re- also looking at how we might expand collaboration in in- search and Development Organisation and academia? novation with higher education across the country, but Scopes: Yes, we hope to. this is at a very early stage. Health and safety is also a key part of our agenda, as are ethical business concepts and SP’s: How do you plan to lessen the time lag in the pro- behaviour, something the company takes extremely seri- curement procedure? ously—these are all elements of our corporate responsibil- Scopes: That is for the Government of India to decide, ity programme. but their commitment to engage with the industry via the industry bodies is a positive move. There are a lot of dif- SP’s: How did you manage recession? ficult challenges to be met. But defence procurement is Scopes: The impact of recession in defence and security a complex matter across the world, not just in India. My areas is slightly indirect. General business climate does observation would be that often the requirements are too have an effect, but we have an order book of £45 billion (Rs detailed and mandatory. There should be a hierarchy of 3,60,057 crore), so we have a strong outlook. Our supply requirements—mandatory and desirable. At the moment, base is perhaps more affected, and we work closely to man- they are sometimes too prescriptive. A broader more age the impact the general business environment has on our capability driven view is required. Also the no-cost no- supply base. commitment trial needs to be re-evaluated. Joint funding should be looked at. SP’s: What is the tie-up between you and MDLR Airlines? SP’s: How do you plan to manage the supply chain for Scopes: MDLR operates a number of our RJ70 regional jets spares? through leasing agreements. Scopes: Developing a world class supply chain of Indian companies is very much on our agenda. And it will be with SP’s: Do you have a JV in the offing with Tata Power? global standards of excellence. It’s a challenge and we are Scopes: No. There is nothing in the pipeline and we have hopeful. There is nothing to suggest it cannot be done. There no MoU. As a matter of interest, we don’t tend to announce are many high quality engineering companies in India. We MoUs unless we have something concrete to say regard- are developing our relationships with a whole raft of them. ing activities that will happen—many MoUs are usually Through-life support is also a fascinating concept and we little more than agreements to talk further. We blow our need to develop it here in India. The concept of managing trumpet a little less than others perhaps. So, you know equipment, through maintenance and upgrades, through that when we do, we actually have something meaningful the lifetime of that equipment can save the customer a great to say. deal of money, and at the same time increase both avail- ability and capability. SP’s: Will Mantis ever be part of the Indian Air force? Scopes: That would be great. Mantis is still a development SP’s: What type of export base do you plan to set up inin programme, of course, but it has great potential. Other au- India? tonomous systems, such as HERTI, are ready now and have Scopes: Yes, under the aegis of the JV between Mahindra been deployed in Afghanistan. Our unmanned technologies and BAE Systems, which is approved by the FIPB (Foreign represent a move to the next generation—autonomous ve- Investment Promotion Board), we hope the JV company will hicles that carry out whole missions, rather than vehicles develop a successful export business. in which the pilots just happen to sit elsewhere.
SP’s: As a former government employee, in your opinion SP’s: Do you have a BAE System in Pakistan in the are there any major differences between the functioning offing? of the British and Indian government? Scopes: No. Scopes: Governments are similar everywhere and there are many similarities in the way the British and Indian govern- SP’s: What is the partnership you have with Wipro? ments operate. There are some differences, of course, but Scopes: We have a joint development centre in Hyder- the similarities outnumber them considerably. For exam- abad working on the development of next generation of ple, the management and execution of the recent general flight control and engine management systems for com- election was a triumph for India; a procedure many small- mercial aircraft. er nations in the West would do well to study. SP’s: What do you plan to name the JV with Mahindra SP’s: BAE Systems has a major thrust on corporate so- Defence? cial responsibility. What do you do in India? Scopes: We will let you know. We are very close to decid- Scopes: We are only at the start of developing our corpo- ing the name. SP
I 8 • SP’S AAVIATION 3333 r i e s o D r e TWICE g You Only Live n a ByBy Air Marshal (Retd) D B.N. Gokhale, Pune
On hindsight, I should have brought back the Hunter at the very first instance when the fire warning light had flickered and not pressed on the way I did. Moral of the story: even with all the good intentions,oonnee can’t play with fire.
o borrow a quote from the famous James Bond towards the tail while turning back. There was no smoke novel: “You only live twice: once when you are born and the JPT (jet pipe temperature) was also within limits. I and once when you look at death in the face.” I am thought that it was possibly the sun’s reflection, after all, the lucky to be alive to narrate a flying incident of my light had not flickered or come on during the entire profile Tyounger days which happened prior to the 1971 war. I was even when I had opened full throttle a number of times. The in No. 7 Squadron, the Battle Axes, flying Hunter aircraft snag had recurred but then I thought that the technicians at Bagdogra. Hunter was an excellent single engine aircraft would not know the exact parameters when the light had of its time, highly manoeuvrable and yet a steady weapon come on. platform. More importantly—it was also very forgiving to Contrary to the briefing and logic, I decided to try and a rookie pilot. I was fortunate to have not only remained in note the exact settings when and if the light would come the squadron but got my fully-ops (operational) status fairly on again. I, therefore, planned a sort of safe procedure by quickly. This had also allowed me to take part in 1971 war, going further away from the airfield and then turning back both on the eastern and western fronts. homeward at full throttle. Sure enough, after about a min- Just prior to the war, I got my ‘clearance’ for conduct- ute or so the light came on again. To my horror it did not ing air tests on the aircraft. It was soon discovered by the just flicker but stayed on. I had noted the RPM (revolutions squadron technical staff that I was somewhat lucky with the per minute) and JPT settings but now was keen to look for air test sorties. As one would know, the aircraft of that era recovery if it was an actual fire. I took the usual actions of did not have any Flight Data Recorders, which are now a reducing throttle and looking for smoke but this time the great diagnostic tool for the technicians. In the three or four light just stayed on. I gave an R/T call to the ATC for a rejoin air tests prior to the incident, I had always brought back the stating my suspicion of a possible fire. I was cleared to land aircraft in a fully serviceable state with no snags to rectify. It on direct long finals and for some strange reason when I may have been a coincidence but somehow the elated look lowered the undercarriage the light went off. I cleared off at on the technical staff on my return made me also a very the ORP (operational readiness platform) and switched off happy person. with the fire tender positioned appropriately. There was no With a tense war like atmosphere, aircraft serviceabil- fire and the aircraft was safe. The technicians were happy ity was of prime concern for the squadron. It was with this that they knew the exact parameters of RPM and throttle background that I took up an aircraft for an air test after a setting and could pinpoint the fault to a faulty temperature 50-hour inspection. This particular aircraft had a snag of pick-up. The aircraft was made serviceable shortly thereaf- fire warning light coming on intermittently during the flight. ter. However, when I told the truth to the Flight Commander L L A A N N Everything was normal throughout the profile and after I got a mouthful and later in the crew-room I sulked to no O O S S N N about 35 to 40 minutes of flying as per the test profile, I still end only because of my own fault. A A T T A A had about 10 minutes of fuel for handling and aerobatics. I On hindsight, I should have brought back the aircraft at R R : : N N was heading away from the airfield, opening throttle to gain the very first instance when the fire warning light had flick- I I O O T T A A speed when suddenly I thought I saw the fire warning light ered and not pressed on the way I did. An aircraft would have R R T T S S U U flicker. Instinctively, I brought the throttle back and tried to been lost even prior to the enemy action. Moral of the story: L L I I L L look for signs of smoke, both in the rear view mirror and even with all the good intentions, one can’t play with fire. SP
3434 SP’S AVIATION I 8 • 2 .. Hall of Fame OR ANYONE WHO PROTEST- single Williams FJ44 turbofan engine. It ing across the Atlantic a second time to ED that the last frontier had was designed and built by Burt Rutan land in Bournemouth, England. He cov- been conquered and the spirit and his company, Scaled Composites, for ered a distance of 41,467 km in a time of Fof adventure was dead, Steve long-distance solo flight. The fuel frac- 76 hours 45 minutes. Fossett had a simple message: tion—the weight of fuel divided by the On September 3, 2007, 8.45 am, adventure is just around the corner. De- weight of the aircraft at take-off—was Fossett took off in a single-engine light termined to savour life with full gus- aircraft from a private airstrip in to, for Fossett, the hint of peril made Nevada. When he did not return it all the more thrilling. as expected, an air and ground James Stephen Fossett was born search was launched. The search in Jackson, Tennessee, USA. His early continued for a month, with per- years as a Boy Scout mountain hik- haps two dozen aircraft involved ing around California instilled in him at the peak, but nothing was a lifelong thirst for adventure and found. The crash site was located discovery. An MBA degree, a career more than a year later on a hill as a stockbroker and his own trad- slope a little below the crest. DNA ing firm, Marathon Securities, made testing confirmed the bone frag- him a multi-millionaire and helped ments as being those of Fossett. fund his restless search for records to The most plausible explanation is break. And he conquered a truly as- while attempting to cross the hill, tounding range. There are only seven he got caught in a downdraft and absolute world records for fixed-wing JAMES STEPHEN failed to make it. At the time of his aircraft recognised by the Fédération FOSSETT (1944 – 2007) death, Fossett had been planning Aéronautique Internationale. Fossett to break the world land-speed re- broke three of them. No pilot had cord by reaching 1,287 km/hour ever held world records in more than Will there ever be another in a jet vehicle in Nevada. one class of aircraft. He held them in adventurer like Steve Fossett? Will there ever be another ad- four. There is space only for mention venturer like Steve Fossett? Apartrt of the most striking examples. There are only seven absolute from aviation, the sheer range In 2002, Fossett became the first of his exploits—including cross- person to fly solo non-stop around world records for fixed-wing country skiing and mountain the world in a balloon. His ‘Spirit of aircraft recognised by the climbing—is extraordinary. He Freedom’ took off from Northam, climbed more than 400 mountain Western Australia on June 19 and re-re- Fédération Aéronautique peaks, including the Matterhorn in turned on July 3, subsequently land- Switzerland and Mount Kiliman- ing in Queensland, Australia. The Internationale. Fossett broke jaro in Tanzania; he conquered the flight duration was 13 days, eight three of them. No pilot had highest peaks on six of the seven hours and 33 minutes (14 days, 19 continents; only Mount Everest hours and 50 minutes to landing), ever held world records in remained beyond his grasp due covering a distance of 33,195.10 km. more than one class of to asthma. He participated in a “The good thing about flying solo is sled-dog race and swam across it’s never boring,” he observed. Fos- aircraft. He held them in four. the English Channel. He ran in sett also set the absolute world speed several marathons including the record for airships on October 27, Apart from aviation feats, Colorado Ultra-marathon which 2004, in a Zeppelin NT, at an average he climbed more than 400 involved running up elevations of speed of 62.2 knots. more than 4,300 m in the Rocky In the fixed wing category, Fossett mountain peaks, participated Mountains. Fond of racing cars, he made the first solo non-stop flight participated twice in the Le Mans around the world between Febru- in a sled-dog race, swam across road race and once in the Paris ary 28, 2005, and March 3, 2005. He the English Channel and ran to Dakar rally. Fossett once told took off from Salina, Kansas, USA and his close friend Richard Branson, flew eastbound, with the prevailing in several marathons. “People often assume I am a thrill winds, returning to Salina after 67 seeker, but I am not. I do not enjoy hours, one minute, 10 seconds, with- roller coasters, and you won’t find out refuelling or making intermedi- me bungee-jumping... It is a disad- ate landings. His average speed of 550.7 an amazing 83 per cent. On February vantage that my pursuits are inherently km/hour was also the absolute world 11, 2006, Fossett set the absolute world dangerous. A large part of my effort is to record for speed around the world, non- record for “distance without landing” by reduce risk.” SP stop and non-refuelled. His aircraft, the flying from the Kennedy Space Center, —Group Captain (Retd) Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer, had a carbon- Florida, around the world eastbound, Joseph Noronha, fibre reinforced-plastic airframe, with a then upon returning to Florida continu- Goa
I • SP’S AVIATION 3535 INDUSTRY OEM
Embraer Celebrates 40 Years
Today, the companny is renowned in the global commercial, executive and defence aaviation markets
n August 19 marked four decades for Embraer, one In the year when man set foot on the Moon for the first time, of Brazil’s leading exporters. Throughout this period, Embraer took its first steps in establishing itself as a globally Othe company designed more than 20 different air- competitive aircraft manufacturer. The 1970s saw the first de- craft models for the commercial and executive avia- liveries and the development of new products, like the Xingu tion markets and the defence segment. Created on August 19, (EMB 121) executive aircraft, the Tucano (EMB 312) military 1969, by Decree-Law number 770, Em- trainer, and the 30-seat Brasilia (EMB 120) braer, or Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáuti- turboprop, besides the AMX jet program, ca S.A., was a mixed capital company underr in cooperation with Italy’s Aeritalia (now, government control. The purpose was to Alenia) and Aermacchi. found a company capable of transforming When the Embraer 170/190 family of science and technology, developed by the commercial jets—the E-Jets, with 70 to CTA and by the Aeronautics Technological 122 seats—began to go into operation in Institute (Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáu- 2004, consolidating Embraer’s position as tica) into engineering and industrial capac- the leader in this market and expanding ity. “Embraer is the fruit of an ambitious its activities related aviation services, solid long-term project of the Brazilian govern- bases were established for the company’s ment, envisioned by Air Marshall Casimiro growth. In 2005, the Ipanema achieved Montenegro in the 1940s and continued 1,000 units produced, and production by thousands of people who have worked EMBRAER IS THE FRUIT began of the ethanol-powered version. At and put forth every effort for us to arrive OF AN AMBITIOUS the turn of the century, the launch of new at this day,” said Frederico Fleury Curado, products for the defence segment and the LONG-TERM PROJECT Embraer President and CEO. entrance to the business jet market made Since the IPD 6504 project of the OF THE BRAZILIAN it possible to broaden Embraer’s scope, in- then-Aeronautics Technical Center, Cen- GOVERNMENT, crease revenues, and diversify its markets. tro Técnico de Aeronáutica (CTA), now the In 2001, Embraer delivered the first super ENVISIONED BY AIR Aerospace Technology and Sciences Direc- midsize Legacy 600 executive jet. Confirm- torate (Diretoria de Ciência e Tecnologia MARSHALL CASIMIRO ing the company’s commitment to become Aeroespacial), from which the pioneering MONTENEGRO IN a major player in the segment, over the Bandeirante originated, to the recent and following years, Embraer launched the aggressive project for developing the KC- THE 1940S AND entry level Phenom 100, the light Phenom 390 cargo and refueling plane, in a part- CONTINUED BY 300, the midlight Legacy 450, the midsize nership with the Brazilian Air Force, Força THOUSANDS OF Legacy 500, and the ultra-large Lineage Aérea Brasileira (FAB), Embraer has deliv- 1000 jets, forming a complete and mod- ered around 5,000 airplanes to 88 countries PEOPLE WHO HAVE ern aircraft portfolio. on five continents. WORKED AND PUT In the defence segment, the Super Tu- The beginning of Embraer’s activi- FORTH EVERY EFFORT cano advanced trainer and light attack tur- R R ties was marked by the production of the boprop, in operation in the Brazilian and E E A A R R FOR US TO ARRIVE AT B B Bandeirante (EMB 110) turboprop, the Colombian Air Forces, was also ordered by M M E E Ipanema (EMB 200) crop duster aircraft, THIS DAY. Chile, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic, : : S S H H P P and the high-performance Urupema (EMB climbing to 169 planes sold, and Embraer’s A A —FREDERICO FLEURY R R G G 400) glider, as well as the advanced train- Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnais- O O T T CURADO, EMBRAER O O ing and ground attack Xavante (EMB 326) sance aircraft went into operation in Brazil, H H P P jet, under license from Italy’s Aermacchi. PRESIDENT & CEO Mexico, and Greece. SP
3636 SP’S AVIATION I • .. NEWSDigest MILITARY aircraft, while the Russian Air the IAF under terms of a $7.2 QuickRoundUp Force has confirmed readi- million (Rs 35 crore) Penta- Asia-Pacific ness to acquire 100 planes. gon electro optical contract According to earlier reports for foreign military sales. AGUSTAWESTLAND Lockheed Martin grant for under the $600 million (Rs The thermal camera infrared Delhi college students to 2,932 crore) JV, a highly surveillance system is the •• AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica develop Next-Gen Urban UAV advanced transport aircraft FLIR Star SAFIRE III infrared company has signed an agreement to Senior Vice President and with the capacity of 20 tonnes multi-sensor surveillance purchase 87.61 per cent of PZL-Swid- Chief Technology Officer of and capable of landing on system, and will go aboard nik, a Polish company which produces Lockheed Martin Corpora- any type of runway, including Indian C-130J surveillance helicopters and aerostructures. This tion Dr Ray O. Johnson an- in the high Himalayan alti- aircraft. The military infrared stake comes in addition to the 6.2 per per nounced that the organisation tudes, would be developed on electro optical system can cent already owned by AgustaWestland. will be providing a grant to a the basis of Ilyushin IL-214 cover 360 degrees, at eleva- The acquisition is expected to be group of undergraduate stu- aircraft. HAL and Ilyushin are tions from 30 to -120 de- completed by the end of the year. dents from the Delhi Technol- to co-design and develop the grees, has RS 232 interface to ogy University, formerly the aircraft. laptop or handheld computer, AIRBUS Delhi College of Engineering, meets the guidelines of MIL to develop a Next-Genera- Chief of IAF Western Air STD 810E and MIL STD 461F, •• The production ramp-up at Airbus tion Urban Unmanned Aerial Command visits Leh and ARINC 429 and MIL STD China’s new final assembly line, the Vehicle (UAV). The corpora- Air Marshal N.A.K. Browne, 1553 aircraft interfaces. company’s first outside of Europe, is tion will provide the student Air Officer Commanding-in- continuing on schedule, highlighted by group with Lockheed Martin- Chief, Western Air Command, Trials begin for India’s deliveries of the second and third A320 generated design space to IAF recently concluded a MMRCA deal Family jetliners built at this modern structure their efforts. The three-day visit to Air Force Tianjin-based facility. A total of 11 team will be required to con- Station Leh accompanied by A319s and A320 aircraft are expected duct initial design and then wife Kiran Browne. On reach- to be received by customers from the develop a flying prototype. ing the highest operational assembly site this year, with its output The group of 10 students airbase in the world, the reaching up to four per month by the selected for this project by couple were received by Air end of 2011 to meet China’s growing Lockheed Martin recently Commodore K.S. Gill, Air Of- market requirement for highly efficient won the Director’s Award ficer Commanding, Air Force single-aisle aircraft. for the best team effort for Station Leh and Ranjeeta Gill, Six of the world’s top fighter demonstrating a successful President Air Force Wives aircraft makers have begun AUSTRALIA flight of an UAV at the 2009 Welfare Association (Local). trials in India to compete Association of Unmanned The visit was part of an exer- for a $10 billion (Rs 50,000 •• Australian Minister for Defence Vehicles System International cise to familiarise Air Marshal crore) order. For the first Senator John Faulkner announced the Student Unmanned Aircraft Browne to the units under time, the Americans are government’s first pass approval for a System competition. the Western Air Command among the contenders. Senior major project to provide the Australian after having taken over thethe air force pilots are carrying Defence Force with a new Pilot Training India, Russia to ink command on June 1. out test flights on two Ameri- System. The project, AIR 5428 Phase transport aircraft JV can-built F-18 Super Hor- 1, will provide student pilots with the In line with the BrahMos Russia to supply 8 Su-30MK2 nets, one of the world’s most necessary training and qualifications, cruise missile project, India fighters to Vietnam in 2010 advanced combat planes. For including theory and flight experience, and Russia are expected to 45 minutes the aircraft were to enable them to become pilots in the ink a deal during Defence put through tactical manoeu- army, navy and air force. Minister A.K. Antony’s Mos- vres in a facility in Bangalore. cow visit in September on The aircraft will then be BAE SYSTEMS setting up of a joint venture tested in the Rajasthan desert for production of state-of- to gauge how it performs •• BAE Systems has expanded its unique the-art multi-role transport in the heat and also in high military flight instruction programme at aircraft (MTA) for their air altitude, in the Himalayan the company’s Tamworth Flight Training forces. The Russian govern- At MAKS-2009, Rosoboronex- region of Ladakh. The F-18 is Centre with the announcement that ment has cleared the formali- port announced that Russia one of two American planes the Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAF) has ties for the creation of 50-50 would deliver eight Su- which are hoping to win the become its first customer for flying in- JV and Prime Minister Vladi- 30MK2 fighters to Vietnam lucrative contract. structor training. Two pilots of the RBAF mir Putin has allocated funds in 2010. Russia and Vietnam have already graduated at Tamworth as for financing Russia’s share, signed a $500 million (Rs Spotlight on Indian Qualified Flying Instructors. he told the news agency on 2,445 crore) agreement on assistance to Sri Lanka the sidelines of the Inter- the sale of eight Su-30MK2 In the last week of August, in BOEING national Aero-space show fighters in January. Vietnam a move cementing relations MAKS-2009. From the Indian has already made several between two neighbouring •• The Boeing Company, industry side Hindustan Aeronautics advanced payments under countries, India reportedly teammates and the US Missile Defense Limited (HAL) will hold 50 the contract and the deliver- made a payment of Rs 11.7 Agency has successfully completed per cent equity in the JV. The ies would be made in two crore to the Sri Lankan the Airborne Laser’s first in-flight test Indian Air Force (IAF) has batches of four aircraft each. government for runway against an instrumented target missile, reportedly evinced interest in rehabilitation at Palaly. It achieving a historic milestone. During acquiring 40 MTA aircraft for IAF’s C-130J to be equipped appears, however, that this the test, the modified Boeing 747-400F transporting troops, military with FLIR Star SAFIRE III project has been in the works aircraft took off from Edwards Air Force hardware and military cargo FLIR Systems Inc. will supply for quite some time. Sri Base and used its infrared sensors to with option of buying more an infrared camera system to Lanka’s former Secretary of
I • SP’S AAVIATION 3737 NEWSDigest APPOINTMENTS Defence Austin Fernando, reveals QuickRoundUp in his book My Belly Is White that IAF’S SOUTHERN AIR COMMAND runway rehabilitation was consid- GETS NEW AOC-IN-C ered essential by the Commander of find a target missile launched from San With effect from September 1, Air Marshal Sumit the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) even Nicholas Island. Lockheed Martin has Mukherjee has taken over as the Air Officer Command- during former Prime Minister Ranil developed Beam Control/Fire Control ing-in-Chief of the IAF’s Southern Air Command. Prior Wickremesinghe’s tenure. The SLAF system and Northrop Grumman has to taking over the new assignment, he was holding the Commander had asked for assis- developed megawatt-class Chemical appointment of Air Officer Personnel at Air HQ. tance to more or less redo the air Oxygen Iodine Laser. base, according to Fernando. DRDO GETS NEW DIRECTOR-GENERAL •• Boeing has ordered work to stop on Eminent missile scientist Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat has Americas fuselages being built by Italy’s Alenia for become the new head of the Defence Research and the new 787 Dreamliner after discover- Development Organisation. He took over from Dr M. Boeing, US woo Brazil with ing flaws. Boeing ordered the work to Natarajan on September 1 as the Secretary, Department technology for defence deal stop “due to a change in manufacturing of Defence Research & Development, Scientific Adviser US aerospace giant Boeing is pro- processes”, company spokeswoman to the Defence Minister and Director-General, DRDO. posing to transfer $1.5 billion (Rs Loretta Gunter said. “Stringers were 7,330 crore) in fighter jet technol- being produced outside of Boeing AIR MARSHAL K.J. MATHEWS NEW HR HEAD OF IAF ogy to Brazil in a bid to score a specifications which led to microscopic Air Marshal K.J. Mathews has taken over as the new Air contract for 36 combat aircraft, a wrinkles in the fuselage skin,” she said. Officer-in-Charge Personnel, the Head of Human Re- top company executive said. The sources of the IAF at Air Headquarters. Commissioned offer appear to be an attempt to •• The Boeing Company, working with in the year 1973, the Air Marshal has over 3,500 hours blunt competing bids from France’s industry teammates and the US Missile of flying to his credit on various aircraft that include Dassault, which is putting forward Defense Agency, has completed con- HF-24 (Marut), Hunter, MiG-21M and MiG-29. He was its advanced Rafale fighter, and struction of a second interceptor test also a team member of “Thunderbolts”—IAF’s erstwhile Sweden’s Saab, which is propos- silo for the Ground-based Midcourse Aerobatic Team. ing its yet-to-be-built Gripen NG, Defense system at Vandenberg Air to replace Brazil’s aging fleet of 12 Force Base. The new underground silo EMBRAER PRESENTS NEW DIRECTOR OF French-made Mirage 2000 jets and provides additional test capability for EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS 50 US-made F-5 aircraft. The deal is the US’ only defense against long-range With effect from August 24, Carlos Eduardo Camargo has estimated to be worth between “two ballistic missile threats. taken over as the Embraer’s new External Communica- and three billion dollars,” Boeing tions Director. Carlos Eduardo Camargo has been with said, and would involve delivering HAWKER BEECHCRAFT Embraer since 2005. F/A-18 Super Hornets from 2014. •• Hawker Beechcraft Corp., has been PAM MELROY JOINS LOCKHEED MARTIN awarded a contract to provide for eight IS&GS-CIVIL’S EXPLORATION & SCIENCE TEAM CIVIL AVIATION T-6A Texan II training aircraft, including ON SEI PROGRAMME ground-based training systems, aircraft Lockheed Martin announced that Pam Melroy has Asia-Pacific spare parts, technical publications, and joined the Exploration and Science team as Director and two years of contractor logistics support Deputy Programme Manager of the Space Exploration Air India to convert 10 for the Iraqi Air Force. Initiatives Program Office. Melroy is a veteran Space jets for low-fare flights Shuttle Commander and air force test pilot. She has LOCKHEED MARTIN flown three space shuttle missions, served as the Deputy Project Manager for the Columbia crew survival inves- •• The first Lockheed Martin C-5 Galaxy tigation and the Reconstruction Lead on the Columbia strategic transport was inducted into Crew Module. the Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Programme production line LOCKHEED MARTIN APPOINTS NEW HEAD IN INDIA in ceremonies at the Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin announced the appointment of a new facility. The RERP modifications consist Chief Executive at the company’s India-based opera- of more than 70 improvements and up- tions. Roger Rose has been named Chief Executive at grades to the C-5 airframe and aircraft Lockheed Martin India succeeding Douglas Hartwick. systems, and include the installation Rose, who most recently led the company’s Electronic Air India is converting 10 Airbus of new higher-thrust, more reliable Systems business, will take over for Hartwick coordinat- aircraft to an all-economy class con- turbofan engines. Current Air Force plans ing ongoing programmes in the evolving Indian market. figuration as it prepares to start its call for Lockheed Martin to deliver 52 Rose, a former US Navy officer in the submarine service, domestic low-fare operations under C-5Ms (modification of 49 C-5Bs, two has worked on naval surface and submarine combat its Air India Express brand by mid- C-5Cs, and one C-5A) by 2016. systems and ocean exploration for Lockheed Martin at September, two airline executives the Electronic Systems unit. said. “A decision has been taken toto •• A short takeoff/vertical landing convert old aircraft to all-economy (STOVL) variant of the Lockheed Martin EADS NORTH AMERICA NAMES class and they will fly under Air F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter has GARY M. BISHOP TO LEAD ARMED India Express,” an Air India official become the first F-35 to complete an SCOUT 645 HELICOPTER PROGRAMME said, asking not to be named. Air aerial refueling test using the navy- and Gary M. Bishop has joined EADS North America as Vice India, run by National Aviation Co. Marine Corps-style probe-and-drogue President of its Armed Scout 645 programme. EADS of India Ltd, currently operates Air refueling system. The successful mission North America is offering the Armed Scout 645 combat India Express as its international is the first in a short series of tests that helicopter to strengthen US Army capabilities in aerial low-fare carrier. Its entry into the will clear the STOVL F-35B variant for reconnaissance and security during operations in cur- domestic low-fare aviation market extended-range flights. rent and future conflicts. could further lower ticket prices.
3838 SP’S AAVIATION I • .. NEWSDigest SHOW CALENDAR CRYSTAL GAZING QuickRoundUp 21 September – 22 September Boeing is optimistic CURRENT AND FUTURE about Indian aviation MCDONNELL DOUGLAS MILITARY DATA LINKS market recovery San Diego, CA, USA •• McDonnell Douglas Corp., a unit of URL: www.ttcus.com erospace major Boeing the Boeing Co., was awarded a contract forecasts that the Indi- to provide integration and production of 22 September – 24 September A an market will require the Laser Joint Direct Attack Munitions HELITECH UK 1,000 commercial jets in the system on various Foreign Military Sales Duxford, Cambridgeshire, UK next two decades—corre- aircraft platforms throughout the life of www.helitech.co.uk sponding to more than 3 per the contract. cent of Boeing Commercial 23 September – 26 September Airplanes’ predicted global ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE AVIATION EXPO 2009 market share, thereby making India a $100 billion (Rs 4,86,190 crore) market in 20 years. Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar China International •• A Robins Air Force Base unit has Exhibition Center, Beijing shared the company’s market data and forecast focused on Boe- developed a prototype infrared Info: www.cpexhibition.com/ ing’s analysis of India’s commercial airplane market. suppression system (IRSS) for the Recent market forces and recession in many parts of the world aviation AC-130U Spooky. The IRSS, known as have led to a contraction of India’s commercial aviation sector, with ‘tubs’ because it looks like a large sheet consolidation of airlines and an overall reduction of capacity. None- 24 September – 25 September metal bathtub, is mounted underneath theless, Keskar said India’s projected GDP growth over the next 20 VERY LIGHT JETS-EUROPE the gunship’s engines to protect the years will average 6.5 per cent annually, driving a resurgence of 2009 aircrew and aircraft from ground-firere demand and capacity growth for the country’s airlines. Boeing’s Oxford Airport, Oxford, UK threats, and to disperse and hide en- customers in India include Jet Airways, Air India and low-fare car- gine heat sources from infrared-guided www.miuevents.com rier SpiceJet Limited. The number of commercial passenger planes anti-aircraft missiles. in India has grown from 122 in 2003 to 330 in 2009, with 350 cur- 28 September – 30 September rently on order. The slowdown has shrunk corporate traffic globally SUKHOI UNMANNED SYSTEMS by 20 per cent and economy travel by 9 per cent. However, Keskar SUMMIT 2009 sounded a positive note saying, “Boeing expects a rebound in the •• TBC, Washington DC, USA Asia-Pacific region driven by India’s future needs. Asia Pacific is Sukhoi will supply 64 fighter jets URL: www.UnmannedSystem- going to lead the growth of aviation sector. to the Russian Air Force. The contract sEvent.com “Demand for smaller aircraft will grow and for large aircraft for the delivery of 48 Sukhoi Su-35S, will shrink as these do not have a home in this market.” Keskar 12 Su-27SM and four Su-30M2 was 28 September – 30 September further stressed on the success of smaller aircraft by budget car- signed between the Russian Defence CRITICAL THINKING riers in India. Boeing estimated that India would need at least Ministry and Sukhoi at the MAKS 2009 IN DEFENCE 770 small aircraft in the next 20 years. The company expects aerospace show in the presence of Singapore almost 77 per cent of the aircraft deliveries to be single-aisle, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. URL: www.k2b.com.sg/ while the B-747 and larger planes are expected to contribute AFGHANISTAN AIRPORT ctd2009 only 1 per cent of the total order. Airlines are approaching break-even with decreased domestic 1 October – 2 October capacity and rational pricing, according to the Boeing outlook. On •• It may have been set up just three CURRENT AND FUTURE the Mumbai-Delhi sector, for instance, in August 2008 the needed years ago, by two men, on a gravel MILITARY DATA LINKS fare was $192 (Rs 9,345), but the typical fare was $122 (Rs 6,000). dirt track but new movement figures Las Vegas, Nevada, USA In June 2009, the break even fare was $106 (Rs 5,160), but airlines show that Camp Bastion Airfield ininld URL: www.ttcus.com were charging an average of $86 (Rs 4,186). Losses per passenger Afghanistan’s Helmand Province is now also decreased as airlines managed loads and fares better. On the the fifth-busiest UK-operated airport. 4 October – 7 October Mumbai-Delhi sector in August 2008, the loss was $70 (Rs 3,407) Initially designed to handle no more AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL per passenger, and in June this year, it was $20 (Rs 973). than three aircraft movements per week, ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE “If you take a realistic and broad look at the India market, the facility has grown to such an extent & EXPOSITION what resonates is that there are more positives than negatives, that it now handles about 400 aircraft Gaylord National Resort and and the prospect for continued long-term growth remains high,” a day, which is more traffic than Luton, Convention Center, National Keskar said. Overall domestic passenger traffic in India is down Edinburgh or Birmingham airports, and Harbor, Maryland, USA by 10 per cent, and domestic capacity has been reduced. Keskar is busier than the Leeds-Bradford and URL: www.atca.org said 2009 could be the best year for Indian carriers, but at what Coventry airports put together.. point the airlines start making money remains to be seen. “India is 11 October – 13 October on a much better footing. Because of this its recovery should also UK GOVERNMENT INDESEC EXPO 2009 be faster, unlike in the US. India should see an upturn in the fourthh Pragati Maidan, Delhi, India quarter of this year,” he said. •• •• The UK Government has agreed URL: www.indesec-expo.com —Sangeeta Saxena to support Airbus with up to £340 million (about $557 million; Rs 2,720 crore) repayable launch investment for of combat jets for export of this year. “We are already development of the A350 XWB. Building INDUSTRY to third countries, even as supplying navigation and on the new industry, new jobs agenda India’s premier aviation giant communication equipment forfor as well as the latest advanced manufac- Asia-Pacific prepares to roll out the first installation on the Su-30MK turing initiatives, the aid further demon- fully indigenous Su-30MKI series of fighters exported by strates the government’s commitment HAL to supply parts for multi-role fighter next year. Russia to other countries,” GM to the UK’s advanced manufacturing Sukhoi fighters to Russia India and Russia are expected of HAL’s Nasik-based Aircraft sector, as part of a balanced economy HAL will supply components to sign an agreement on sup- Manufacturing Division, V.. helping to build Britain’s future. to Russia for its Sukhoi range ply of components by the end Balakrishnan recently said. ••
I • SP’S AAVIATION 3939 LASTWord Take Another LOOK
The IAF NEEDS TO CRYSTALLISE projects through viable foreign collaboration for the timely replacement of the An-32 fleet
n June 9, an Antonov An-32 transport aircraft new aircraft that disappeared without trace or transmission crashed after it lost radio contact barely 15 min- over the Arabian Sea in 1985 while flying into India from utes after taking off from an advanced landing the factory, the reason is not known. In four of the remain- Oground at Mechuka in Upper Siang district of ing five fatal accidents, bad weather combined possibly with Arunachal Pradesh. The aircraft was carrying a crew of six poor judgement resulted in what is termed as Controlled Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel and seven passengers from Flight Into Terrain (CFIT). To date, there has been no acci- the Indian Army. The incident comes a decade after another dent due to catastrophic technical failure of any kind on the An-32 had crashed in Palam after hitting obstructions while aircraft—evidence that the An-32 is a robust and reliable landing at IGI airport in extremely poor visibility.. workhorse, and the backbone of the IAF’s transport fleet. The IAF received the first batch of An-32 aircraft in 1984 In terms of technology, however, the An-32 is essen- as a replacement for the vintage C-119 Fairchild Packet fleet tially an upgraded version of the An-26 developed by the that were procured at nominal cost after the 1962 Sino-Indi- Ukraine-based Antonov Design Bureau specifically for the an conflict. Compared to the piston-engine C-119 without jet IAF. Compared with the latter, the An-32 has a higher pay- pack, the An-32 is equipped with engines nearly one-and- load capacity and is fitted with engines which are nearly a-half times as powerful, has a 30 per cent higher cruising twice as powerful. The aircraft was test flown in 1976 and speed, is pressurised, has far superior single engine climb although it carries some avionics of Indian origin, the tech- rate but has 18 per cent lower cargo capacity. With a better nology of the basic platform is around five decades old and power to weight ratio, the An-32 has proved to be an ef- somewhat outdated. When operating in bad weather, espe- ficient and capable machine to operate in the mountainous cially over the northeastern regions, which are devoid of regions of Ladakh and the Northeast. modern navigational aids, margins of air safety are eroded Flying in the Northeast involves operating from advanced substantially. While in terms of performance, the An-32 landing grounds that are not easy to access and also demand has been effective, lack of modern avionics continues to be high levels of professional skill and judgement. Difficulties a serious handicap. for the crew multiply if weather conditions are unfavourable While inquiry into the June disaster would establish the and the tops of mountains or hills are obscured by clouds. cause of the crash with fair degree of certainty through Ground based radio navigational aids are totally inadequate data milked from the on-board recorders, the circumstanc- over these areas and if weather inhibits visual contact with es surrounding the accident as reported in the media point the ground, it is difficult to assure any degree of accuracy in strongly at the possibility of another unfortunate case of navigation. The golden rule to be followed by pilots ought to CFIT taking a heavy toll of life. be never to enter clouds unless safely above the highest ob- Hopefully, the IAF will push for speedy completion of struction level. Sometimes this may not be possible and the the project approved by the government for upgrade of the pilot must take due precaution. However, if this principle isis avionics on the An-32 by the OEM. However, equally im-
A A T T ignored or violated due to overconfidence, complacency or portant would be the modernisation of aviation infrastruc- M M A A M M sheer carelessness, it is a sure recipe for disaster.. ture in the Northeast to enhance safety of air transport : : N N Of the over 100 An-32 aircraft procured by the IAF, nine operations. The IAF also needs to look ahead to crystallise I I O O T T A A have been lost in accidents over the last 25 years, including projects through viable foreign collaboration for the timely R R T T S S SP U U the one that perished in the June mishap. Three of the acci- replacement of the An-32 fleet. L L I I L L dents were attributed to pilot error. In the case of the brand — Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey
4040 SP’S AVIATION I • ..