Air Marshal P.V. Naik, IAF’s Vice Chief suggests an Aerospace Force Pg 12 • French Recipe Pg 25• ILA-BERLIN show review: Playing the Green Card Pg 33• Emergence of F/A-18 Pg 26 SP’s AN SP GUIDE PUBLICATION News Flies. We Gather Intelligence. Every Month. From India. ISSUE 6 • 2008 Aviationwww.spsaviation.net India’s Strategic Reach Fast Forward Military Pilots Special Attributes Fighter Engines CRUISE & PAGE 16 RNI NUMBER: DELENG/2008/24199 Stealth SPS AVIATION 210X267:Layout 1 19/03/2008 13.44 Pagina 1 MIND IS THE FIRST DEFENCE. DESIGN AND PRODUCTION OF ELECTRONIC DEFENCE SYSTEMS. F135 Engine Powering Freedom.™ F119 Engine F100 Engine Pratt & Whitney designs and builds the most advanced military F117 Engine engines in the world. These engines provide reliable and affordable power for cutting-edge Lightning II and Raptor fifth-generation fighters. In fact, 27 nations count on Pratt & Whitney engines so they can accomplish their missions. From design to maintenance, we power freedom every day. The Eagle is everywhere.™ www.pw.utc.com CA00575-NAVITIMER_420x267_SPAVIATION 21.5.2008 15:15 Page 1 Pure Performance Absolute Precision Pure performance. Absolute precision. Here at Breitling, we are driven by a single passion, a single obsession: to create ultra-reliable instrument watches for the most demanding professionals. Each detail of their construction and finishing is driven by the same concern for excellence. Our chronographs meet the highest criteria of sturdiness and functionality, and we are the only major watch brand in the world to submit all our movements to the merciless scrutiny of the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC). One simply does not become an official aviation supplier by chance. Navitimer A cult object for aviation enthusiasts. Officially chronometer-certified by the COSC. www.breitling.com CA00575-NAVITIMER_420x267_SPAVIATION 21.5.2008 15:15 Page 1 Pure Performance Absolute Precision Pure performance. Absolute precision. Here at Breitling, we are driven by a single passion, a single obsession: to create ultra-reliable instrument watches for the most demanding professionals. Each detail of their construction and finishing is driven by the same concern for excellence. Our chronographs meet the highest criteria of sturdiness and functionality, and we are the only major watch brand in the world to submit all our movements to the merciless scrutiny of the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC). One simply does not become an official aviation supplier by chance. Navitimer A cult object for aviation enthusiasts. Officially chronometer-certified by the COSC. www.breitling.com Table of Contents Regular Departments SP’s AN SP GUIDE PUBLICATION 5 A Word from Editor News Flies. We Gather Intelligence. Every Month. From India. 6 NewsWithViews - Death knell for Kaveri? AviationISSUE 6 • 2008 - A shot in the arm for IJT Face to Face - Phoenix is ready to Bake 12 AIR MARSHAL P.V. NAIK 9 InFocus Roughshod, Russian Style Cover Story 10 Forum 16 JET ENGINES Reality Bytes SPEED & STEALTH 41 NewsDigest Military 44 LastWord Socked & Shaken PERATIONS O ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 22 STRATEGIC REACH EXPLAINED Cover Photo: ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ���� ������������������������ A reheating F-22 Raptor 30 WHERE EAGLES DARE 16 ������������������������������������������������������������������ �������������� ��������������������������� powered by two 156 kN �������� ���������� INDUSTRY ����� Class P&W turbofans, ������������ ��������������� 26 F/A-18: TIME-TESTED, FUTURE PERFECT Speed & Stealth: each fitted with a thrust ������������������ Advent of the gas turbine engine— Fighter Engines 38 TYPHOON TRIUMPHS vectoring exhaust nozzle commonly called a ‘jet’ engine—ushered for enhanced performance in a revolution in aviation almost as vital CRUISE & Special Report as the Wright Brothers’ first flight and manoeuvrability. ������� Photo Credit: USAF photo ����������������������������� Stealth 25 INITIATIVES SP's Avn 6 of 08 Cover final.indd 1 7/9/08 3:26:20 PM FRENCH RECIPE PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR: Ratan Sonal Show Report Jayant Baranwal LAYOUT DESIGNS: Raj Kumar Sharma 33 BERLIN AIR SHOW ASSISTANT EDITOR © SP Guide Publications, 2008 ZOOM IN FOR A GREEN SKY Arundhati Das ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION In Memory SENIOR VISITING EDITOR Inland: Rs 850 • Foreign: US$ 250 Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia Email: [email protected] 39 REQUIEM FOR A FIELD MARSHAL FOR ADVERTISING DETAILS, CONTACT: Hall of Fame SENIOR TECHNICAL GROUP EDITORS [email protected] Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey [email protected] 40 THE BLANCHARDS Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand [email protected] SUB-EDITOR SP GUIDE PUBLICATIONS PVT LTD Bipasha Roy A-133 Arjun Nagar, (Opposite Defence Colony) 26 New Delhi 110 003, India. CONTRIBUTORS India Air Chief Marshal (Retd) S.P. Tyagi, Tel: +91 (11) 24644693, 24644763, 24620130 Air Marshal (Retd) P.K. Mehra, Fax: +91 (11) 24647093 Air Marshal (Retd) Raghu Rajan, Email: [email protected] F/A-18: Air Marshal (Retd) N. Menon, POSTAL ADDRESS Group Captain (Retd) A.K. Sachdev, FUTURE Post Box No 2525 Group Captain (Retd) Joseph Noronha PERFECT New Delhi 110 005, India. Europe Alan Peaford, Phil Nasskau, Rob Coppinger USA & Canada Sushant Deb, Lon Nordeen, REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE 30 Anil R. Pustam (West Indies) BANGALORE, INDIA 534, Jal Vayu Vihar CHAIRMAN & MANAGING DIRECTOR Kammanhalli Main Road Jayant Baranwal Bangalore 560043, India. Tel: +91 (80) 23682534 WHERE ADMIN & COORDINATION MOSCOW, RUSSIA EAGLES Bharti Sharma LAGUK Co., Ltd., (Yuri Laskin) DARE Krasnokholmskaya, Nab., Owned, published and printed by Jayant Baranwal, printed at Rave India and published at A-133, Arjun Nagar (Opposite 11/15, app. 132, Moscow 115172, Russia. 33 Defence Colony), New Delhi 110 003, India. All rights reserved. Tel: +7 (495) 911 2762 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a Fax: +7 (495) 912 1260 retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, photocopying, recording, electronic, or otherwise without prior written permission of the Publishers. www.spguidepublications.com BERLIN AIR NEXT ISSUE: General Aviation—Myths & Musts SHOW 4 SP’S AVIATION Issue 6 • 2008 A Word from Editor SP’s enjoyed a long and illustrious relationship with late Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, who always greeted SP’s founder, the late Shri S.P. Baranwal, with unstinted support. We, at SP’s, remember ‘Sam Bahadur’ as an officer and a gentleman. igher, faster, stealthier. From the earliest simple in an exclusive interview, the Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal designs, with thrust rating of 4 to 5-kN, to the P.V. Naik, said: “As a growing regional power, India’s area of present day 150-kN+, modern military engines interest is large. In order to meet the security challenges and sport multi-stage compressors and turbines, after- fulfill our responsibilities in the region, we need to be effective Hburners, vectored thrust, and are capable of super-cruise in anywhere within the strategic area of interest.” dry power. The cover story traces this fascinating journey of India has the potential for strategic reach but some com- military engines which indeed has been highly challenging ponents are not in place and some others are missing. Stra- and exciting. Significantly, this issue also highlights the attri- tegic reach missions would require forces that have trained butes of a military pilot. Sheer bravado alone does not spur together for considerable lengths of time to iron out differences the military flier to achieve the assigned task, instead a lot that arise due to different backgrounds. Elsewhere, at Nellis US of planning and training goes into preparing for a mission Air Force Base in Nevada, the Royal Air Force’s newest fighter subsequently executed in the most professional manner. aircraft, the Typhoon, proved its air-to-surface capability. Rumblings of unethical behaviour by the Russians are Away from home, Phil Nasskau captured all the action in threatening to sour the decades-old relationship between Mos- Berlin Air Show, ILA2008. Showcasing a large influence from cow and Delhi, a topic debated threadbare in InFocus and Fo- official partner country India, the six-day event beginning from rum. Interestingly, even as views diverge on the correctness of May 27 saw the skies above Berlin criss-crossed by a variety of harbouring a grudge against the Russians for the ills plaguing different aerial versions—old and new. Coming as a dampener the projects progressing under their aegis, the bottomline that to the bustling aviation sector is the hike in fuel prices, whys emerges is that the Russians appear to be still grappling with and wherefores of which are discussed in LastWord. the nuances of a “free market economy”, the opportunities it On June 27, India lost a bold and upright son with the de- affords and the attendant responsibilities. mise of Field Marshal S.H.F.J. Manekshaw. Ever since its in- Talking of procedures, quite au fait with the tardy decision- ception, SP’s enjoyed a long and illustrious relationship with making process in the Indian government system, the French Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw. SP’s founder, the late Shri S.P. have sprung a rather pleasant surprise, offering to supply—on Baranwal, during his frequent interactions with the Field Mar- fast track—40 of the new generation omni-role combat air- shal, was always greeted with unstinted and warm support. craft, the Rafale, as an interim solution to arrest the rapid ero- We, at SP’s, will always remember ‘Sam Bahadur’ as an officer sion in combat potential. Echoing somewhat similar concerns and a gentleman. Jayant Baranwal AT THE LEMOORE US NAVAL AIR STATION WHICH Publisher & Editor-in-Chief OPERATES F/A-18S Issue 6 • 2008 SP’S AVIATION 5 DEATH KNELL FOR KAVERI? Views At the inauguration of the Defence Avionics Research and Establishment in Bangalore on June 14, India’s Defence Minister A.K. Antony said India is in the process of scouting for a partner to develop higher-thrust engine for its ambitious Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).