IAF at 82 Interview with the CAS IAF’S Road to 2032 Air Power Imperatives Need for Radical Reforms Himalayan Rescue Ops MMRCA Or FGFA ? Dassault V/2014 V/2014
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V/2014 IAF at 82 Interview with the CAS IAF’s Road to 2032 Air Power Imperatives Need for Radical Reforms Himalayan Rescue Ops MMRCA or FGFA ? Dassault V/2014 V/2014 the participants which included configuration. The omnirole 40 “Capability Build Up an eclectic mix of former senior Rafale, with 14 hard points under in Phased Manner” service officers, bureaucrats, fuselage and wings, is capable of In his interview with Vayu on eve defence analysts and observers. carrying 1.5 times its own weight. of the IAF’s 82nd anniversary, Air Many of the Air Officers in Chief Marshal Arup Raha, CAS attendance had retired recently, IAF at 82 notes that in its capability build up and several have been closely Interview with the CAS IAF’s Road to 2032 roadmap, the IAF plans to induct associated with the MMRCA and Air Power Imperatives Need for Radical Reforms additional fighters, transport and LCA programmes. Himalayan Rescue Ops MMRCA or FGFA ? trainer aircraft plus helicopters, Cover: IAF C-17 flanked by a pair of new generation weapons and Su-30MKIs (photo: Angad Singh) EW Systems even as it progresses towards complete network centric operations capability. Status of the MMRCA, LCA, 88 ‘More Su-30MKIs EDITORIAL PANEL AMCA and FGFA programmes and FGFAs’ ! MANAGING EDITOR are also touched upon. A Russian view by Konstantin Vikramjit Singh Chopra Striving for Greater Makienko on increased 68 cooperation between India and EDITORIAL ADVISOR Capability Russia in equipping the IAF with Gp Capt Vivek Kapur, Senior Admiral Arun Prakash increased numbers of Su-30MKIs Fellow at CAPS, writes on the and the fifth generation T-50 EDITORIAL PANEL IAF’s road to 2032, which year fighter. He counters rumours Pushpindar Singh will mark the Service’s centenary. on the FGFA programme Various issues so as to achieve Air Marshal Brijesh Jayal concerning delays or the small greater capability are examined work share of Indian industry. Dr. Manoj Joshi including high technology, Lt. Gen. Kamal Davar dependence on foreign sources, Lt. Gen. SJS Sehgal choosing the right systems, cyber Gp Capt JC Malik warfare and following a model of 92 ‘Get on with the Rafale !’ Cdr M Nirmal jointness and optimal utilisation Abhijit Iyer Mitra on the other hand Monica Arora of resources. has clear views that ‘hardware Angad Singh Herculean purchases are not translating into 48 operational gains’. While the deeply Sonakshi Chaudhry Relief Efforts confused nature of the MMRCA Vijay Matheswaran Floods in Kashmir during 78 Need for Radical RFP indicates that the IAF, at least Richard Gardner (UK) September 2014 had the Reforms upto 2012, did not fully appreciate Reuben Johnson (USA) Indian Armed Forces swinging Air Marshal M Matheswaran the technological challenges of Simon Watson (UK) into immediate action, with a examines the current crisis systems integration, the reality is Bertrand de Boisset (France) major role played by the Indian in India’s aerospace industry the Rafale will bring a seamlessly Dr Nick Evesenkin (Russia) Army and Air Force. By mid- and capability. Focusing on integrated system into play. Tamir Eshel (Israel) September, some 2500 relief air the importance of dominant sorties had been undertaken, technologies, if India is to rise thousands of tonnes of supplies Also : ‘Come, make in ADVERTISING & MARKETING MANAGER to be a great power, he urges India’!; US strategic ties Husnal Kaur dropped and lakhs of stranded leapfrogging into a dominant people evacuated to safety. position in the realm of aerospace with India; ‘US-2i heralds BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER The combined relief operations and information systems. the future’; Mangalyaan’s Premjit Singh involved over 80 aircraft, journey; interviews with including helicopters. Dr RK Tyagi; Jim Roche; Kishore Jayaraman; C-130 82 Tejas Re-dux : The anniversary; 80th anniversary Israeli Touch of French Air Force; ‘Exercise Sayan Majumdar looks at the Green Shield 2014’; on EJ-200; increased Israeli touch in the Published by: Honeywell; Globemaster III; Tejas LCA with the present THE SOCIETY FOR AEROSPACE STUDIES airborne radar possibly to be Russian Helicopters; SRSAM; D-43, Sujan Singh Park, supplanted by an AESA model. Thales; Sagem; Elettronica; New Delhi 110 003 India 53 Imperatives of The light fighter’s BVR missiles Rockwell Collins; Sikorsky; Tel: +91 11 24617234 Indian Air Power and CCMs are also sourced from Rheinmetall; Mirage F.1 final Fax: +91 11 24628615 In July, 2014, even as the new the same country as are various flight; Bavarian Tigers; India’s e-mail: [email protected] government was settling in sensors and targeting systems. Sentinel; Gnat Renaissance; e-mail: [email protected] at helm of the nation and an The Great Indian Escape; Visit us at : www.vayuaerospace.in air of change was permeating Ancient Aviator Anecdotes; through the administration, Vayu The Flying Battleship ‘Q’ Flight IAF. Printed at Aegean Offset Printers Aerospace & Defence Review in 86 Even as finalisation of the association with defence and Dassault Rafale contract by the Regular features : The opinions expressed in the articles Indian Government is awaited, published in the Vayu Aerospace and strategic affairs website StratPost Commentary, Opinion, Viewpoint, Defence Review do not necessarily reflect hosted a day-long round table this new generation fighter’s Outlook, Aviation & Defence in India, the views or policies of The Society for discussion on ‘Air Power in India’. F3R variant has completed test World Aviation & Defence News, Aerospace Studies. Candid views were expressed by flights in a new and heavily armed Vayu 25 Years Back, Tale Spin. Visit us at: www.vayuaerospace.in Airbus Widebody Family We don’t know where you’ll be going in fi ve years’ time, but we know how you’ll get there. its logo and the product names are registered trademarks. Airbus, All rights reserved. 2014. AIRBUS, © Our numbers will convince you. From 250 to over 500 seats, Airbus produces the world’s most modern and comprehensive widebody product line. Three families offering unbeatable economics on everything from short regional routes to the world’s longest commercial fl ights. More than 100 airlines worldwide continue to benefi t from the A330’s unrivalled low operating costs. The A350 XWB set a new standard of comfort and effi ciency in its class, with 25% lower fuel consumption compared to existing aircraft. The A380 allows airlines to increase their contribution to profi t by up to 50% per fl ight. The A330, A350 and A380 offer unbeatable comfort levels, including more personal space with minimum 18-inch wide seats as standard in economy for full service long haul. Our aircraft have the unique benefi t of full technical and operational commonality. Reducing costs across the board. No wonder Airbus is a market leader in widebody passenger aircraft. A330 A350 A380. Airbus Widebody Family, our numbers will convince you. airbus.com2 VAYU Airbus_Vayu_SeptOct.indd Pg1 Prodigious UK 19/09/2014 14:35 Airbus Widebody Family We don’t know where you’ll be going in fi ve years’ time, but we know how you’ll get there. its logo and the product names are registered trademarks. Airbus, All rights reserved. 2014. AIRBUS, © Our numbers will convince you. From 250 to over 500 seats, Airbus produces the world’s most modern and comprehensive widebody product line. Three families offering unbeatable economics on everything from short regional routes to the world’s longest commercial fl ights. More than 100 airlines worldwide continue to benefi t from the A330’s unrivalled low operating costs. The A350 XWB set a new standard of comfort and effi ciency in its class, with 25% lower fuel consumption compared to existing aircraft. The A380 allows airlines to increase their contribution to profi t by up to 50% per fl ight. The A330, A350 and A380 offer unbeatable comfort levels, including more personal space with minimum 18-inch wide seats as standard in economy for full service long haul. Our aircraft have the unique benefi t of full technical and operational commonality. Reducing costs across the board. No wonder Airbus is a market leader in widebody passenger aircraft. A330 A350 A380. Airbus Widebody Family, our numbers will convince you. airbus.com IV/2014 3 Airbus_Vayu_SeptOct.indd Pg1 Prodigious UK 19/09/2014 14:35 C O M M E N T A R Y overtaken by more sophisticated technologies. In addition, this Mars mission success opens the way for further imports, putting a spoke in the wheel fter a journey of over 660 million kilometres that took 10 of indigenisation and creating fears of a stoppage in supplies by Amonths, India’s Mars Orbiter Mission has swept with effortless foreign sellers. ease into orbit around the Red Planet, making this country the first Mr Modi also talked about having an interface between to achieve such a feat in a maiden attempt. Probes despatched to scientists working in the 52 laboratories of the DRDO and the Earth’s sibling planet over the last half a century have often run defence forces. This is essential because often it is the military’s into trouble of one kind or another, with less than half of those objections that tilt the opinion of the Defence Acquisition Council spacecraft ending the voyage successfully. Thus far, only the United in favour of importing. This is despite the fact that the previous PM, States, the former Soviet Union and the European Space Agency Manmohan Singh, had told the defence forces that the 15% hike have succeeded in doing so. India and its space agency, the Indian in the procurement budget every year could not be forever assured. Space Research Organisation (ISRO), now proudly join their ranks. In view of this, it is all the more necessary that defence planning is Although ISRO could draw on its experience with the lunar probe, streamlined.