AN SP GUIDE PUBLICATION y) L on SP’s R sed buye A -b IA News Flies. We Gather Intelligence. Every Month. From India. 75.00 (Ind ` Awww.spsaviation.net viationAPRIL • 2011 ›› Regional Airline Operations ›› Fake Pilots ›› Exclusive: Russian Spares Controversy ›› Rise in ATF Prices ›› Interview with Eaton Chairman ›› Report on Special Forces Seminar OPERATION UNIFIED PROTECTOR PAGE 7 PAGE RNI NUMBER: DELENG/2008/24199 SP Guide Publications & Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS) Cordially invite you for a Seminar on NETWORK CENTRIC WARFARE IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT Date: 21st April 2011 Venue: Manekshaw Centre, Parade Road, New Delhi Seminar: 10:00 AM onwards http://events.spguidepublications.com SP Guide Publications is the exclusive media partner of the seminar SP’s AN SP GUIDE PUBLICATION TABLE of CONTENTS News Flies. We Gather Intelligence. Every Month. From India. AviationIssue 4 • 2011 INDUSTRY 19 Interview Bullish on India: Eaton 20 MMRCA The Race is On 26 OEM – Milestone Attained – Final Delivery 27 Interview ARINC’s Progressive Flight Path 31 OEM Unmatched Capability A C-130J Super Hercules from the 37th Airlift Squadron, Ramstein SEminar Air Base, Germany, being loaded with cargo in support of Operation 24 Special Forces 28 Odyssey Dawn. Find, Fix and Strike TECKNOW HALL OF famE 4 Fuel Mix Cover Story 32 Traian Vuia CIVIL TOWARDS DEMOCRACY REGULAR DEPARTMENTS 10 Regional Aviation The aid provided to the rebel Right Size Matters A Word from Editor forces could rid Libya of 3 12 Recruitment Colonel Gaddafi’s dictatorial 5 NewsWithViews Faked Wings rule, but once achieved, would it engulf Libya in the wafting – Discovery’s Final Space Flight 22 ATF fragrance of a flourishing – Civil Aviation Authority Unsustainable High ATF Prices democracy in the Offing • 7 InFocus VIEWPOINT AN SP GUIDE PUBLICATION y) L on SP’s R No Fly Zone & Beyond sed buye A -b 16 Recruitment IA News Flies. We Gather Intelligence. Every Month. From India. 75.00 (Ind ` – DGCA’s Failing Ethics Awww.spsaviation.net viationAPRIL • 2011 8 Forum ›› Regional Airline Operations – Revamp the System ›› Fake Pilots On a Path Towards Democracy ›› Exclusive: Russian Spares Controversy ›› Rise in ATF Prices ›› Interview with 21 MMRCA Eaton Chairman ›› Report on Special 33 NewsDigest Forces Seminar Whither MMRCA? operation unified protector 36 LastWord PAGE 7 PAGE EXCLUSIVE RNI NUMBER: DELENG/2008/24199 Not Enough! SP's Aviation cover 4-11.indd 1 14/04/11 12:35 PM Procurement 18 Cover Photo: India Finally Stands Up to The international community woke up to the possible NEXT ISSUE: Russian Blackmail, Issues Global reality of an impending genocide in Libya. High-End Business Jets Tenders for Spares Image by USAF Issue 4 • 2011 SP’S AVIATION 1 TABLE of CONTENTS PLUS... PUBLISHER AND Editor-IN-CHIEF DESIGN & LAYOUT Senior Art Director: Anoop Kamath Jayant Baranwal Designers: Vimlesh Kumar Yadav, Assistant GROUP editor Sonu Singh Bisht R. 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Fax: +7 (495) 912 1260 2 SP’S AVIATION Issue 4 • 2011 www.spsaviation.net A Word from Editor Moving away from corrupt practices and the impending deal, the issue looks at the uprising in Libya and the effects it has had on geopolitical considerations and also on movement of oil prices OCIAL ACTIVIST Anna HAZARE has taken the going to downsize or not, the urgency to close the deal has fight against corruption to the Capital and the na- never been so important, considering the armed forces have tion has rallied behind him in a spontaneous man- been on a modernisation drive. ner. The disease of corruption has infected all sys- Moving away from corrupt practices and the impend- tems of the Indian polity and bureaucracy and is ing deal, the issue looks at the uprising in Libya and the so deep-rooted that it is threatening the very fabric effects it has had on geopolitical considerations and also of the nation. Around the same time, the sunrise sector of on movement of oil prices. As the price of aviation turbine Saviation has had some shocking revelations—how “fake pi- fuel (ATF) has gone past the $100 per barrel mark (partly lots” were churned out in real quick time. In cahoots have due to the unrest in Libya and Egypt), the airlines are been the powers that be. squeezed majorly for margins. In India, the ATF price is In this issue, we are highlighting the malaise and the much more than in South East Asia and the Middle East urgency to find remedial solutions. Heads rolling is fine, and R. Chandrakanth talks about high taxation driving but there needs to be a system of checks and balances. Air prices up further north. Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey mentions that some 14,000 In another article, Chandrakanth writes about the eco- pilots are likely to come under the scanner, but the root nomics of regional jet as the nation is going through the of the problem is the Directorate General of Civil Avia- throes of pan-India connectivity, calling for a right mix of tion (DGCA), especially its licensing and vigilance depart- aircraft. There is a lot of euphoria on how the aviation in- ments. Suggesting that serving officers from the Indian dustry is growing in India and SP’s Aviation continues to Air Force should be deputed to the DGCA for effective capture the growth story. controls, the author at the same time calls for improved facilities for civil aviation training which at the moment are at pathetic levels. Echoing similar concern, Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia wonders what is happening on the Indian civil aviation scene and if “fake pilots” were the norm then the sound of falling apples would certainly be confused with engine trouble and a jetliner could land on its nose gear. While the cleansing of DGCA has been recommended, he advocates that the DGCA should be enthused with a sense of probity and excellence similar to that of the Central Medical Establishment of the IAF. The focus in this issue is also on the fast closing me- dium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) deal. Air Marshal (Retd) Pandey states that unless the Ministry of Defence is able to formulate a template for offset investment, the ten- dering process may not progress to the next level of opening commercial bids. Meanwhile, the grapevine has it that the number of contenders may be downsized from six to two Jayant Baranwal or three and senior Boeing officials confirmed that they too Publisher & Editor-in-Chief had heard these rumours. Now whether the government is Issue 4 • 2011 SP’S AVIATION 3 Know ec T T Fuel Mix USAF F-22 Raptor flown on synthetic biofuel n F-22 Raptor successfully flew at supercruise Officials said that the overall flight was a success and 50/50 fuel blend of conventional petroleum-based another milestone completed for the Alternative Fuels Cer- JP-8 and biofuel derived from camelina, a weed-like tification Division in support the Air Force’s 2016 acquisi- plant not used for food. tion goal to cost-competitively acquire 50 per cent of the do- AThe flight was the capstone of a series of ground and mestic aviation fuel requirement via alternative fuel blends flight test events conducted by members of the 411th Flight in which the component is derived from domestic sources Test Squadron of the United States Air Force (USAF) us- produced in a manner that is ‘greener’ than fuels produced ing the biofuel blend. The USAF selected the F-22 weapons from conventional petroleum. system to be the biofuel blend flight test pathfinder for all The camelina-derived synthetic fuel falls into a class of fighter aircraft. hydro processed blended biofuels known as hydrotreated The overall test objective was to evaluate biofuel fuel renewable jet (HRJ) fuels. The HRJ fuel can be derived from blend suitability in the F-22 weapons system, officials said.