Bharat Rakshak

Shri Vikram Singh, Scientist ‘B’, Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Bengaluru, has made valuable contribution in design of a controllable flying wing UCAV configuration for KAVERI Engine. In recognition of his significant contribution, the Young Scientist Award 2011 is conferred on Shri Vikram Singh.

MTOW is about 15 Tons.

Could someone kindly answer my question posed 3 days ago on the importance of formation flight in a military context in the Newbie thread?

For example, does the ability to fly close improve the likelihood of being perceived as one target instead of multiple targets with modern radars?

Are there other benefits like saving fuel?

Cool. Where did we this piece of data from ?

Capable of flying at altitudes of 30,000 feet and weighing less than 15 tonnes, the UCAVs will have rail-launching for the missiles, bombs and PGMs (precision-guided munitions) they will carry.

While the first flight is expected to take place in 2015, the targeted year of induction 2017.

LCH ZP4602

Hot off the internets...

I was reading comments section on a Livefist (Shiv Aroor's blog) post and one of the comments there provided a link to HAL's tender for the engine for HTT-40 and the ECU of the APU for AMCA (which is now called Prospective Multirole Fighter Aircraft; PMF)

link.

One could find the actual tender here.

P.S. As I read the cover letter, I find the following schedule for providing the development engines (T1 is date of signing contract):
ITEM Quantity Required Delivery Date
Mockup Engine 2 T1+12 Months (2 nos)
Flight qualified fully 3 T1+24 Months (2 nos),
Instrumented Engines T1+27 Months (1 no)
Flight qualified Engines 1 T1+30 Months (1 no)

The tender closing date is Sept'12. If the contract is signed in the first half of 2013, don't expect maiden flight before second or third quarter of 2015.

Design studies commenced in Jan 2012 (T0).

The order is for 124 (16 direct + 16 SKD + 32 CKD + 60 lic. produced.) + 300 (additional estimated order over 10 years).

They are going to deliver these planes over 8 years starting from Jan 2017.

about the plane:
Weight: 2800 - 3000 kgs.
Power >750 KW at sea level
Max. Mach no. : 0.5 Mach
Max altitude: 6 km
Load envelop: -3 G to 6 G

Underpowered... they want >750 KW, the Garretts produce around 533 KW.

P.S. But, I can't help ask this. They have been producing these engines for decades now. Where is the learning part? Can't they build a bigger engine by themselves now? Let people run wild for one day a week. Let the creative juices flow. My personal opinion is that people would be much motivated for the rest of the 4 days of mundane job.

...

kartik,

can you clarify for me - as there is a lot of confusion wrt to HTT - 40. if HTT - 40 is a separate HAL effort as this seems to indicate where as i have read somewhere that HAL will just brand the selected basic trainer (Piltaus, in this case) and go the skd/ckd route.

what about this and this??

total confusion IMO.

The one issue that plagued the HPT-32 was its Lycoming engine cutting out in mid-air. If HAL couldn't sort out that issue in all its years of service, then hoping that they'd be able to build a PT-6A equivalent on their own with the license assembly knowledge that they have of the Garrett is expecting too much from them.

With public offices, I don't think that we will get any better than the snail's pace ... I am sorry to say this, but there needs to be much more personal gains/losses at stake than national interest for things to roll.

Pragnya sahab,

Nothing much has moved on the BEML and the Embraer side. You can safely forget the BEML project now with the fiasco that they find themselves in. Truth be told, I don't trust them to be able to produce anything. They would have assembled in any case, like they did for the Tatra. And if they cannot modify the steering wheel of a truck, forget a top of the line trainer aircraft. And if Gen Singh is correct about the service support, I would pray that BEML never produces a trainer.

IAF will induct the 75 trainer planes from Pilatus. Some of these planes will be imported straight from Switzerland, the rest will be produced at HAL in batches from CKDs, and SKDs.

Apart from the above, HAL is going to build an indigeneous trainer on its own called HTT-40. The effort is already underway since January 2012. They floated a tender for engines for the same. They are going to place a firm order of 124 engines, with a possibility of 300 more engines in the next 10 years. I provided some details on the same in the last page of this same thread.

In addition to buying 75 Pilatus trainers in fly-away condition from Switzerland, the IAF has asked Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to develop an indigenous trainer aircraft (dubbed the Hindustan Turbo Trainer – 40, or HTT-40), and to build 106 of those trainers for the IAF.

But the MoD and HAL have dragged their feet on this indigenous project, says Pushpindar Singh, editor of Vayu aerospace magazine. “Since HAL has made little headway so far, they could end up building 106 PC-7 Mark II trainers under licence from Pilatus, instead of developing an indigenous trainer. That would be an opportunity lost,” says Singh.

Rahul M, never mind.

what ??

thanks a lot pragnya.

Rahul M, never mind.