Indian Air Force -- News Folder -- October 2003
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IAF's SU-30MKI ready for maritime role
NEW DELHI, OCT 31 (PTI)
Indian Air Force's latest acquisitions -- SU-30MKI -- are now ready for a maritime role as parts of efforts to boost Navy's depleted air-fighting arm.
"We have received the first two upgraded versions of the SU-30MKI phase II and are ready in coordination with the Navy for their conversion to maritime role", Air Chief S Krishnaswamy said today.
IAF has already inducted 30 of the two variants of the Su-30 and the conversion of the multi-role fighter would prove a boon for Naval aviation as its Sea harrier fighters are ageing and the maritime Jaguars have gone in for upgradation.
"The new variants of the Su-30MKI have more advanced software and conversion to maritime role was just a matter of training of flying long distance over the seas in coordination with the navy", he told reporters emerging from a conference of IAF's top commanders here.
Rubbishing reports of IAF being opposed to the appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff, Krishnaswamy said "it is the Government's prerogative to decide on when and who to choose for CDS".
Affirming that IAF was fully supportive of the DRDO ventures, the air chief said his force would induct indigenous Surface-to-air Akash missile, whose final trials are slated to be held within the next two months.
On LCA, Krishnaswamy said the programme was on schedule and the aircraft would be inducted into the IAF by 2007-08 adding the evalution committee of the project was meeting next week in which efforts would be made to accelerate the project.
He said development of the indigenous Kaveri fighter engine was progressing well and that the recent high altitude trials carried out in Russia were promising.
On Akash, the Air Chief said IAF had pointed out some shortcomings which now appeared to have been rectified.
His remarks assume significance in the wake of recent reports that the IAF as well as the army were not placing order for the medium range missiles due to their high costs and some shortcomings.
Krishnasawmy said the acquisition of the PHALCON Awacs system would prove strategic force multiplier for the IAF giving it ability to pry deep into outside territories.
He said the AWACS would be used as command and control system as well as for space networking.
"Now that the contract has been finalised, it is time to get onto work on the real system itself", he said.
On the Strategic Forces Command, the Air Chief said "already quite an amount of work had been done on it". He said it was the baby of all the three services and what needed to be done was that Army, Air Force as well as Navy put their shoulder behind it and share the workload.
Brushing aside comments that IAF had developed differences with Hindustan Aeronautics on the servicing of fighters and transport aircraft, Krishnaswamy said servicing was the joint programme of the two organisations in which for the first time Russian experts were being involved.
NEW DELHI, OCT 31 (PTI)
Indian Air Force's latest acquisitions -- SU-30MKI -- are now ready for a maritime role as parts of efforts to boost Navy's depleted air-fighting arm.
"We have received the first two upgraded versions of the SU-30MKI phase II and are ready in coordination with the Navy for their conversion to maritime role", Air Chief S Krishnaswamy said today.
IAF has already inducted 30 of the two variants of the Su-30 and the conversion of the multi-role fighter would prove a boon for Naval aviation as its Sea harrier fighters are ageing and the maritime Jaguars have gone in for upgradation.
"The new variants of the Su-30MKI have more advanced software and conversion to maritime role was just a matter of training of flying long distance over the seas in coordination with the navy", he told reporters emerging from a conference of IAF's top commanders here.
Rubbishing reports of IAF being opposed to the appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff, Krishnaswamy said "it is the Government's prerogative to decide on when and who to choose for CDS".
Affirming that IAF was fully supportive of the DRDO ventures, the air chief said his force would induct indigenous Surface-to-air Akash missile, whose final trials are slated to be held within the next two months.
On LCA, Krishnaswamy said the programme was on schedule and the aircraft would be inducted into the IAF by 2007-08 adding the evalution committee of the project was meeting next week in which efforts would be made to accelerate the project.
He said development of the indigenous Kaveri fighter engine was progressing well and that the recent high altitude trials carried out in Russia were promising.
On Akash, the Air Chief said IAF had pointed out some shortcomings which now appeared to have been rectified.
His remarks assume significance in the wake of recent reports that the IAF as well as the army were not placing order for the medium range missiles due to their high costs and some shortcomings.
Krishnasawmy said the acquisition of the PHALCON Awacs system would prove strategic force multiplier for the IAF giving it ability to pry deep into outside territories.
He said the AWACS would be used as command and control system as well as for space networking.
"Now that the contract has been finalised, it is time to get onto work on the real system itself", he said.
On the Strategic Forces Command, the Air Chief said "already quite an amount of work had been done on it". He said it was the baby of all the three services and what needed to be done was that Army, Air Force as well as Navy put their shoulder behind it and share the workload.
Brushing aside comments that IAF had developed differences with Hindustan Aeronautics on the servicing of fighters and transport aircraft, Krishnaswamy said servicing was the joint programme of the two organisations in which for the first time Russian experts were being involved.