I/2011 ARerospace &Defence eview Tejas LCA attains IOC The M-MRCA stakes Fifth generation jet fighters Air Dominance Arming the M-MRCA SPECIAL ISSUE CFM I/2011 I/2011 Aerospace &Defence Review FGFA (now called the PMF). The ‘Glorious Wake, Vibrant Future’ Chinese have surprised the world In this Indian Navy section Tejas LCA attains IOC with maiden flight of their J-20 next 110 are excerpts from the speech The M-MRCA stakes generation fighter. of Admiral Nirmal Verma Fifth generation jet fighters on building a 21st Century Navy. Air Dominance Arming the M-MRCA Along with force modernisation and Celebrating the Centenary operational capability enhancement, of Aviation in India : 1910-2010 Tejas LCA attains IOC is the need to maintain a high tempo AERO INDIA 2011 Special Section on Aero India 2011 SPECIAL ISSUE This ‘good news story’ is written of operations. In a related article, 32 by Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar, Vice Admiral A K Singh looks at the design imperatives on building the Cover : The Tejas LCA limited series production–2 directly involved with the LCA (KH-2012), fitted with a pair of R-73 CCMs programme for nine years and exactly Indian Navy’s super aircraft carrier, (photo from National Flight Test Centre) 10 years after first flight of the first while Vice Admiral Anup Singh gives ‘a wake-up call’ on India’s untapped technology demonstrator (TD-1). This maritime wealth. was on eve of the function for ‘Initial EDITORIAL PANEL Operational Clearance’ on 10 January MANAGING EDITOR 2011. The daunting technological and Vikramjit Singh Chopra managerial challenges are recalled as Air Dominance also the gumption and determination of Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, EDITORIAL ADVISOR individuals who kept the development 56 Director, Centre for Air Power Studies, looks at ‘The Future of Admiral Arun Prakash going, the NFTC test pilots and engineers who conducted over 1500 Air Power’ with ‘air dominance’ DARIN of the mind EDITORIAL PANEL flights safely, and make up decades of remaining a critical factor through Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar looks back at the pioneering Pushpindar Singh technology gap in several critical areas the continuously changing nature of 124 and successful upgradation of the IAF’s Air Marshal Brijesh Jayal of aerospace technology. warfare in the 20th century. This is succinctly addressed with illustrations Jaguar with the indigenous Display Air Cdre. Jasjit Singh of the doctrine followed by the United Attack Ranging Inertial Navigation Gp Capt JC Malik States Air Force in the post WW-II (DARIN) system. Dr SR Valluri era and dramatically by the Israelis Cdr M Nirmal which is now also being adopted by Celebrating the Gp Capt Anant Bewoor the Chinese Air Force, presently Centenary of Aviation in Ritika Sabharwal transforming itself from air defence to Monica Arora offensive air, which will impact on the India : 1910-2010 Richard Gardner (UK) The M-MRCA stakes IAF’s own future planning. This national initiative, taken by 130 The Society for Aerospace Studies, Reuben Johnson (USA) This is the seventh year after the publishers of the Vayu Aerospace Simon Watson (UK) 42 initial requests for information were issued to four identified Review got India’s icon, Marshal of Bertrand de Boisset (France) companies for their fighters which met the Air Force Arjan Singh, to grace Dr Nick Evesenkin (Russia) the IAF’s requirement for medium- the occasion and honour eleven Tamir Eshel (Israel) multi role combat aircraft. Subsequent select men and women who were RFPs went out to six companies the pioneers of Indian Aviation. Their ADVERTISING & MARKETING MANAGER and their aircraft on offer thereafter citations are reproduced as also Husnal subjected to intense technical, flight promotion of the need for a National Arming the M-MRCA Air & Space Museum. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER and staff evaluation. Even as the IAF Sayan Majumdar writes on the is pressurising the MoD for faster Premjit Singh 74 deep strike missile options which Special Section on Aero progress in the selection process, the the selected M-MRCA will be armed GENERAL MANAGER (UK) related offsets aspect seems to have with, examining western-origin stand off India 2011 Avi S. Sodhi confused the issue. weapons which have emerged as ‘game On eve of the eighth edition e-mail: [email protected] changers’ for future air operations. As 144 of the biennial Aero India an appendice are included the two air- Show at Yelahanka, 9-13 February launched, long range missiles already in 2011, some products and services of service with the IAF. participating companies are reviewed and personalities interviewed. The UAV in Indian Skies UAVs are gradually assuming Also, Tejas : Light at the Published by: 83 an important place in the end of the tunnel ? THE SOCIETY FOR AEROSPACE STUDIES doctrine of India’s armed forces and D-43, Sujan Singh Park, Fifth generation jet fighters Air Commodore K B Menon examines India’s civil aviation New Delhi 110 003 India The classification ‘fifth the present status and application in industry today ; Bizjets; generation’, used by US company Tel: +91 11 24617234 50 the foreseeable future. Lockeed Martin to describe its F-22 Visiting Finmeccanica, Fax: +91 11 24628615 Raptor and F-35 Lighting II, involves the in Italy ; Visiting Selex e-mail: [email protected] TARANIS integration of an array of technologies Galileo ; Energising Indian e-mail: [email protected] including advanced stealth, agility, Wings of the next century integrated information and sensor Richard Gardner reports from Aerospace Industry. Printed at Aegean Offset Printers fusion plus new levels of reliability, 90 the UK on this stealthy new maintainability and deployabilty. The The opinions expressed in the articles published unmanned air system which could Regular Features in the Vayu Aerospace and Defence Review do Russian version flew last year and this bring back for Britain leadership in Commentary, Outlook, Aviation & not necessarily reflect the views or policies of PAKFA (or T-50) will be the basis for the emerging generation of advanced Defence in India, World Aviation & The Society for Aerospace Studies. joint development with India of the UAS systems. Defence News, Tale Spin Visit us at: www.vayuaerospace.in COMMENTARY COMMENTARYCOMMENTARY process will give the Indian Air Force a good fighting machine. Flying in the face of facts But it is unlikely to provide India with what it needs—the ability he operational flight of the Tejas, the indigenous Light Combat to design and develop its own top-notch fighters. TAircraft, has been met with muted applause. New Delhi flags The contrast with China is obvious. In 1999, China acquired off the same ‘Made in India’ piece of defence equipment again the designs of the Soviet-era Su-27SK fighter which was then and again. Every defence minister has declared the Arjun tank manufactured in China as a joint venture between Knaapo, the ready for deployment. The Tejas has passed its initial operational Russian manufacturer, and the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. clearance and will hope to receive final operational clearance in This was then jointly developed and became the Su-30MKK. the next 18 months. Even after that, much of its avionics and The contract was terminated well before all 200 fighters were electronics will still have to be sorted out. The expectation is that supplied and thereafter the Chinese have come up with their own it will be a pillar of the military system only a decade more from reverse engineered aircraft, the J-11 which is also the basis of a now. Another source of cynicism is the fact that chunks of the new naval variant, the J-15. Out of this is also likely to evolve Tejas, including the engine, are imported. the J-20 or the Chinese fifth generation fighter. There are many sound arguments as to why India should be The Chinese have considerable experience in reverse spending billions to develop a Tejas fighter, an Arjun tank and engineering Russian designs. But India has been unable to a host of variously named missiles. They are not, however, the do even that though it has paid for licence manufacturing ones that are being touted in public. Self-reliance in defence, in capabilities, first for the MiG-21 series of aircraft, then the Jaguar the sense of being able to wholly manufacture all the key defence strike aircraft and finally the Su-30MKI. platforms, is a myth. It is simply impossible to master all the Neither has it developed a significant design and development components and technologies, let alone pay for the research and capability despite funding the Light Combat Aircraft project. development costs, of even a single fighter airplane. Even the US India has actually ended up paying the development costs imports bits and pieces of its arsenal. Self-reliance in defence for someone else’s fighters. In this way, we subsidised the needs to be redefined. What it should mean is the development development of the Mirage 2000 aircraft, then of the Su-30 MKI of homegrown manufacturing and technological abilities that and now we will do it with the FGFA. And then we will pay ensure that India can be an essential part of various global market prices of the final product for the privilege. defence supply chains. It is important that these capacities should According to HAL, a number of Indian design engineers have both civilian and defence spin-offs. are to be associated with the FGFA. It remains to be seen as Self-reliance also means to be able to use diplomacy to become to just how many do end up participating in the programme embedded in global security arrangements that ensure that no and what use is made of them thereafter.