Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

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rohitvats
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by rohitvats »

X-Posting my own post. I think we need more discussion on this topic because it generally gets lost amongst the discussion on more fancy stuff like fighters, and missiles.

Over last decade, Pakistan Air Force has made conscious efforts to have a wider precision guided, and stand-off weapon delivery capability across its entire fleet.

In this episode of The Perspective, I will provide an overview of various precision guided, and stand-off air-to-ground weapons, targeting pods, cluster bombs, anti-ship missiles, general purpose bombs and runway denial munition of the Pakistan Air Force and aircrafts which employ them.

ramana
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by ramana »

Scholarly article on need for Air Force officers to understand strategy
The author is a former IAF Wing Co but is now an advisor to RAAF.


https://capsindia.org/air-forces-need-t ... tual-bias/

https://airpower.airforce.gov.au/sites/ ... cation.pdf
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by jaysimha »

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/defencem ... esktop_web
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1816092
Indian Air Force (IAF), in close coordination with NDRF, local administration and Army, today completed the rescue of 35 stranded persons from the Trikut Hills Ropeway Service, in the Deoghar district of Jharkhand. IAF utilised two Mi-17V5, one Mi-17, one Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and one Cheetah to fly more than 26 hours towards this effort.
Image
Image
Image
Image

........................
As per wikipedia, Ex-Air Chief ACM Fali Major was also involved in a rescue mission similar to one mentioned above.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by YashG »

Karan M wrote:One step forward, one step backward. The previous CAS was all about indigenization. Current CAS is all about 114 MRFA.
+101
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Pratyush »

Indian Air Force chief laments too many different aircraft
https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 307_1.html
13 April 2022
ramana
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by ramana »

Pratyush wrote:Indian Air Force chief laments too many different aircraft
https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 307_1.html
13 April 2022
What crocodile tears from the Chief!!!*
Every chief of IAF pushed for one different aircraft in each area.
They never cared for maintenance and logistics.
And that branch is the stepchild of a dead mother.
Never gets any funds to train and keep personnel.

* It's possible that he is crying to tell his fat cat seniors that IAF traditional practice can't be sustained.
Hence he will have to break with the past and agree to buy local and reduce the number of types.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Zynda »

https://twitter.com/alpha_defense/statu ... 2491232261
Boeing has presented a comprehensive defence case to RM Rajnath Singh. It includes F-15 for IAF, Super Hornet for Navy and More Apache attack helicopters.
Last edited by Zynda on 13 Apr 2022 20:48, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by sum »

Pratyush wrote:Indian Air Force chief laments too many different aircraft
https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 307_1.html
13 April 2022
Is this sarcasm or what exactly is the purpose of this statement when it was the IAF which went after all and sundry without bothering about logistics ( and even had claimed from time to time that it is a good thing as makes it tougher for enemy to guess which type to defend against)
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by ramana »

One reason the most senior and experienced officer gets picked is he will be a pillar of strength keep the overall interests of the force and provide guidance to the MoD.
Sadly most of the chiefs have been just caterpillars who climbed their way to the top and never turn into a butterfly.

After great difficulty Rafale were ordered based on ACM Raha who made the case for them to NaMo.
Having gotten them and seen the performance, IAF chiefs should have asked for more of them.
Instead, they came with the MRFA caper, and now with Ukraine Crisis, even if GOI pulls strings, France cant make them or deliver them much later.
So what you have is push for the Tejas MK1A->Tejas Mk2-> AMCA
And order more Su-30MKI and upgrade the existing 270 odd planes.
And even here Russia can't supply the super Sukhoi upgrades as they have to re-arm.
Only IN had a Chief who quit to show his moral responsibility.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by ramana »

Zynda wrote:https://twitter.com/alpha_defense/statu ... 2491232261
Boeing has presented a comprehensive defence case to RM Rajnath Singh. It includes F-15 for IAF, Super Hornet for Navy and More Apache attack helicopters.
At best it's a marketing case by Boeing.
How is this a defence case?
Even Twitter handles are sold out?
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by basant »

Comprehensive does not mean desirable!
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Rakesh »

ramana wrote:What crocodile tears from the Chief!!!*
Every chief of IAF pushed for one different aircraft in each area.
They never cared for maintenance and logistics.
And that branch is the stepchild of a dead mother.
Never gets any funds to train and keep personnel.

* It's possible that he is crying to tell his fat cat seniors that IAF traditional practice can't be sustained.
Hence he will have to break with the past and agree to buy local and reduce the number of types.
Ramana-ji, the Air Chief is pushing for additional Rafales. This exasperation of multiple types is aimed at a particular audience i.e. the GOI. Air HQ does not want the MRFA contest to progress. They just want 114 Rafales. Running a contest will just take extraordinarily long. None of the other contestants have the advantage that the Rafale currently has i.e. an in-service 4th+ generation multi role fighter that can prevail over anything the PLAAF produces. That includes even their "supposed" 5th generation aircraft like the J-20 or J-31.

And for the first time in military aviation history, you have an air force that is energetically pushing for a naval combat air wing of Rafale Ms, if that will bring it closer to Air HQ's goal of getting additional Rafale Cs for their own combat fleet. Dassault is sitting on a lottery ticket in India and they are waiting to cash in. There is one "Mount Everest" problem though with the Rafale and that is the Rafale is politically radioactive in India. Signing any deal for additional Rafales has to to dealt with very carefully by the GOI. A lot of players - foreign and domestic - don't want Dassault to cash in. So the GOI will have to tread very carefully here. And that takes time, with the way our procurement system functions.

There is also the issue of affordability. 114 Rafale Cs will break the bank. The GOI knows it, the Babus know it, the IAF knows it and even the paanwala who sells paan on the roadside knows it. 114 aircraft of any type are not coming. But the IAF keeps putting on that pressure, in the hopes of getting 2 - 4 more squadrons combined with the Navy's planned acquisition of 26 multirole carrier borne fighters. The IAF has no other option other than acquiring additional Tejas to make up the shortfall. The present Air Chief can say whatever he wants about the Tejas Mk1, Mk1A or Mk2. They are coming. And he will no longer be Air Chief either, by the time the Mk2 comes on board.
ramana wrote:One reason the most senior and experienced officer gets picked is he will be a pillar of strength keep the overall interests of the force and provide guidance to the MoD. Sadly most of the chiefs have been just caterpillars who climbed their way to the top and never turn into a butterfly.
The current generation of senior IAF leadership are all 80s vintage. In the 80s, the IAF was going through a massive transformation. The 70s saw the Ajeets, Maruts, Su-7s, etc all retire. And that was replaced with a mixture of Western and Russian combat aircraft ---> Jaguar IS, Mirage 2000, MiG-23, MiG-25, MiG-27 and MiG-29. These started being acquired in the late 70s and continued into the late 80s. So this current generation of senior IAF leaders (35 - 40 years of service) have all seen these acquisitions. They earned their wings and cut their teeth on these aircraft.

Incidentally, the 70s and 80s were also the same decade when HAL was churning out MiG-21s, MiG-27s and Jaguars. If HAL still has QC issues today, one can only imagine what it must have been in the 70s and 80s. So to this generation, anything that comes out of HAL's stables is anathema to them. This will change, albeit slowly, as the upcoming leaders (post 90s commission) will start replacing the current lot in leadership roles (Air Vice Marshal and above).

Good examples are Group Captain HV Thakur and Group Captain MJA Vinod. Both retired IAF fighter pilots and very active on twitter. The former is today a HAL test pilot. Both have nothing but praise for the Tejas program. Both are 90s-vintage commission officers. The 1990s brought about economic liberalization and with that also change of thought. Nehruvian five year, socialistic fantasies gave way (and thank goodness for that) to pragmatic and realistic goals. The old socialistic India died in the 90s and a new India sprung up. This new India realized that it can create anything, provided the funds were available and timelines were set.

From 04 Jan 2001 to today, see where the Tejas program has progressed. From a single TD-1 prototype, HAL now has the Mk1, the Mk1A, the upcoming Mk2, the planned Tejas SPORT and TejEX (Tejas Export). This would have never happened in a Nehruvian India. Case in point i.e. HAL Marut. I will be the first to admit that the Tejas program has not been a smooth sailing ride, but I will confidently hold my ground that the Tejas program would not even exist today if India continued with Nehru's Five-Year-Plan nonsense. The Tejas also gave rise to other programs like the HJT-36, HTT-40, etc. In a Nehruvian India, a visionary like Prashant Bhadoria (HTT-40 Project Manager) would have never succeeded. In a Nehruvian India, Prashant Bhadoria would have achieved the status of a peon onlee.

This current impasse of I-must-have-114-phoren-fighters-and-will-hold-my-breath-till-I-turn-BLUE is coming from a generation of IAF leaders who have not had a very pleasant experience with HAL when they were junior pilots (Pilot Officers, Flying Officers, Flight Lieutenants,) in the 80s. You have some rare stand outs - like Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria - but they are too few. By the 2030s, the 90s-vintage commission officers will start effecting valuable Atmanirbhar Bharat change into the IAF and the 2000s-vintage officers (who will start getting leadership roles in the 2040s), will only accelerate on that gas pedal.

The goal right now though is to hold out and hope that this lot of 80s-vintage commissioned officers don't make too much of a mess for the next generation of IAF leaders to clean up. So hopefully the GOI will see the wisdom in the Tejas Mk1A and Mk2 programs. I strongly believe the IAF will order additional Tejas Mk1As, beyond the current order of 83. It will be an order of both necessity and desire. Once the Mk2 gets FOC in the late 2020s, hopefully a significant order can be placed as well. That right now must be the goal of this GOI and the next, which I am fairly confident will be NDA onlee...unless some catastrophic political event occurs.
ramana wrote:After great difficulty Rafale were ordered based on ACM Raha who made the case for them to NaMo.
Having gotten them and seen the performance, IAF chiefs should have asked for more of them.
Instead, they came with the MRFA caper, and now with Ukraine Crisis, even if GOI pulls strings, France cant make them or deliver them much later.
So what you have is push for the Tejas MK1A->Tejas Mk2-> AMCA
And order more Su-30MKI and upgrade the existing 270 odd planes.
And even here Russia can't supply the super Sukhoi upgrades as they have to re-arm.
Only IN had a Chief who quit to show his moral responsibility.
Had not the fake Rafale scam occurred, this present GOI would have ordered additional Rafales. It would not have been 114, but additional Rafales for sure would have been ordered. Now the IAF has to jump through all the bureaucratic hurdles to acquire additional Rafales. And that is what they precisely want to avoid. Because that takes a considerable length of time. The naval contest could not come at any better time for the IAF. But that is provided the Rafale M prevails over the F-18SH and that is easier said than done. Although the Navy has been eyeing the Rafale M for more than a decade and a half now.

There must be a multi-pronged & simultaneous approach to address the squadron shortage issue in the IAF;

1) Order additional Tejas Mk1A units. Two units would be nice, but four more would be icing on the cake.
2) Announce a large order (so right now) of Tejas Mk2 before FOC or IOC or even first flight*
3) Start the Super Sukhoi upgrade with local components i.e. EW, AESA, Weaponry, etc.
4) Order 2 - 4 more Rafale units*

*The math clearly shows that an order of 200 Mk2s (10 units) will be required to replace the three Mirage 2000, three MiG-29 and four Jaguar units currently in service with the IAF. So a one-to-one unit replacement. The timing is also perfect as this fleet is due for retirement in the 2030s and the Mk2 will be well under production at that time. Messaging is the key ingredient here to sell this to the aam junta in India. So change the focus from Point 4 to Points 1, 2 and 3 which are all Atmanirbhar Bharat. Remove the fake narrative that NaMo stole jobs from HAL and gave it to Anil Ambani. Give HAL a multi-year Tejas order so massive, that they will be overloaded and will turn down any Rafale production.

*If the Rafale M wins the contest, the GOI will have significant political capital to go in for additional Rafales. If they insist on Make in India, then 26 Rafale Ms can fill up a good chunk of the minimum 100 order required to set up a screwdrivergiri factory in India. That leaves a large room of 74 aircraft (4 units) for the IAF. So a total of six Rafale squadrons, which the IAF can easily live with. Remember the initial plan was for 126 aircraft or seven squadrons. One less squadron is not going to make the IAF impotent. They can achieve their goals with six squadrons.

Screwdrivergiri factory serves multiple purposes - the IAF does not have to wait for other nations' orders to be completed and post order completion, the factory can convert into a MROU facility for not just Indian Rafales but international Rafale customers (Indonesia, UAE, Egypt, etc) as well. The naval contest should have a technical down select this year itself. Actual contract signing will take longer.

P.S. If the IAF wants additional Rafales in their fleet, they have to get firmly behind not just the Tejas Mk1A...but the Tejas Mk2 as well. No empty I-support-the-Govt's-Atmanirbhar-Bharat-Policy speeches, but a firm commitment (so actual orders) in the Tejas program. This has to be conveyed to Air HQ in no uncertain terms. But who is going to bell that cat? :)
ramana wrote:
At best it's a marketing case by Boeing.
How is this a defence case?
Even Twitter handles are sold out?
Ramana-ji, don't pay much attention to these tweets. Some twitter accounts are just there to generate traffic.

I am intrigued to know why LM did not present? Perhaps they can see the writing on the wall with F-21 :lol:
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Rakesh »

Every economic box can be checked off when India seriously invests in her own (public and private) industry.

And the Indian electorate is very smart. They can easily gauge who is better at buttering their bread - Congress or BJP. Identity politics is only seriously entertained when you have a roof over your head, you have food to eat and you can enjoy a good standard of living. Why did BJP win so handily in the UP assembly elections of 2022? Because Yogi Adityanath gave the people of UP want they want - rural electrification, sanitary infrastructure, massive road projects, access to healthcare, etc.

From Year-Over-Year GDP Growth to Generating Jobs to Increasing Incomes to whatever other economic trackers, can be sustained with large orders of local maal below. Investing in the below improves not just the lives of people, but improves the coffers of the state. Investing in the below results in the money circulating and being re-invested within the country itself. Purchasing phoren maal does the exact opposite. This is Economics 101.

1) Tejas Mk1A and Mk2
2) Light Utility Helicopter
3) Light Combat Helicopter
4) HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft
5) HJT-36 Intermediate Jet Trainer
6) 155mm Dhanush and 155mm ATAGS
7) Arjun Mk1A (to replace all the aging T-72s)
8] The list goes on....

A government's political future - especially in India - lies in investing in local maal. This is Politics 101 :)

Investing in local maal removes geopolitical pressures for India. This is Foreign Affairs 101 :)
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Karan M »

ramana wrote:One reason the most senior and experienced officer gets picked is he will be a pillar of strength keep the overall interests of the force and provide guidance to the MoD.
Sadly most of the chiefs have been just caterpillars who climbed their way to the top and never turn into a butterfly.

After great difficulty Rafale were ordered based on ACM Raha who made the case for them to NaMo.
Having gotten them and seen the performance, IAF chiefs should have asked for more of them.
Instead, they came with the MRFA caper, and now with Ukraine Crisis, even if GOI pulls strings, France cant make them or deliver them much later.
Couldn't bother to look at the budget and see what was affordable. Decided to go all out and ask for a completely new competition.
And order more Su-30MKI and upgrade the existing 270 odd planes.
And even here Russia can't supply the super Sukhoi upgrades as they have to re-arm.
If they had sense they'd have started the local variant of this eons ago. But no, they want ready off the, shelf yet customizable solutions from the OEM at inflated prices. At least now, let them go Indian.

Completely agree about Tejas and AMCA. But wary that IAF will again try to ditch the program for imports.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by ks_sachin »

Karan M I detect a note of cynicism and despondency... when you along with Admiral and Master Yoda tend to provide perspective to the general rants here...
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Kersi D »

jaysimha wrote:https://www.linkedin.com/posts/defencem ... esktop_web
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1816092
Indian Air Force (IAF), in close coordination with NDRF, local administration and Army, today completed the rescue of 35 stranded persons from the Trikut Hills Ropeway Service, in the Deoghar district of Jharkhand. IAF utilised two Mi-17V5, one Mi-17, one Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and one Cheetah to fly more than 26 hours towards this effort.
........................
As per wikipedia, Ex-Air Chief ACM Fali Major was also involved in a rescue mission similar to one mentioned above.
YES. Sometime in the 1990s. He and his team rescued several passengers form the broken down cable car at Timber Trail in HP.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by ks_sachin »

^^Col Ivan Crasto from Para’s who rappelled down to the cable car. He quit the army and is now settled in Sydney.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Kersi D »

ks_sachin wrote:^^Col Ivan Crasto from Para’s who rappelled down to the cable car. He quit the army and is now settled in Sydney.
It seems that Major Crasto had just returned from his mother's funeral and immediately volunteered for this assingement
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by ashishvikas »

IAF to order more advanced light combat copters

-Ajay Banerjee

https://m.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/ ... ers-386654
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Cain Marko »

ks_sachin wrote:Karan M I detect a note of cynicism and despondency... when you along with Admiral and Master Yoda tend to provide perspective to the general rants here...
Situation is a mess esp. when it comes to IAF acquisitions AND Navy subs. Hopefully at least theyve had the sense to go in for more Dhruv variants. Can't believe how long it has taken. While MRCA 1...3.0 goes on, MDL's sub capacity remains idle. Truly astounding!
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by LakshmanPST »

ashishvikas wrote:IAF to order more advanced light combat copters

-Ajay Banerjee

https://m.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/ ... ers-386654
Noob pooch...
Why can't they order LCHs which are designed for Combat from grourd up, rather than go for additional Dhruv/Rudra variants...?
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Aditya_V »

Flexibility to act as transports while LCH is only an attack helicopter, it cannot transport men and material, ALH Rudra is transport helicopter with an option to use as attack Helicopter.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by fanne »

LakshmanPST wrote: Noob pooch...
Why can't they order LCHs which are designed for Combat from grourd up, rather than go for additional Dhruv/Rudra variants...?

Beats me. It could be as simple as mentioned above that Rudra provides more bang for the buck. The conspiracy theory in me says both iaf and ia do not want lch (looks like latest order of 15 was forced down their throat as these were already constructed with Hal funds and ia/iaf had defense capital budget expiring by March 31. Goi perhaps forced them to order), they want phoren attack helicopter. Why? Your guess is as good as mine, but the real reason is very obvious.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Manish_Sharma »

^Nearer to truth than a mere 'conspiracy theory'. They want Apaches!
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Zynda »

There is no room in Rudra to accommodate passengers in the cabin...it is filled with ammunition for gun as well as LRUs for FCS. AFAIK, there are no seats installed in Rudra's cabin and I doubt it is certified to carry any passengers at all. It is good that IAF wants more Rudra but again surprising why they are so hesitant about LCH!
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by ShivS »

Rudra can carry 8 passengers in the cabin depending on the configuration. May not carry a full weapons load with a full passenger load.

The last version of the Dhruv has put all high altitude issues to rest.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by ManuJ »

Don't know why the IAF is still adding combat helicopters to its fleet, rather than letting the Army aviation own that role.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Atmavik »

ShivS wrote:Rudra can carry 8 passengers in the cabin depending on the configuration. May not carry a full weapons load with a full passenger load.

The last version of the Dhruv has put all high altitude issues to rest.
@ShivS, i dont think there is any place for passengers in Rudra. ironically i started this very debate on the helicopters thread 4-5 years ago, search it.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Atmavik »

ManuJ wrote:Don't know why the IAF is still adding combat helicopters to its fleet, rather than letting the Army aviation own that role.

need the CDS asap. april will be make or break for this post.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by ashishvikas »

To boost Make in India, IAF cancels plans to buy 48 Mi-17 choppers from Russia


The Indian Air Force has decided to cancel plans to buy Mi-17 V5 helicopters from Russia in order to boost the government's Make in India initiative, said sources.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/m ... 2022-04-16
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Thakur_B »

ashishvikas wrote:To boost Make in India, IAF cancels plans to buy 48 Mi-17 choppers from Russia


The Indian Air Force has decided to cancel plans to buy Mi-17 V5 helicopters from Russia in order to boost the government's Make in India initiative, said sources.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/m ... 2022-04-16
And replace with what? IMRH is yet to fly anytime soon.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Pratyush »

Strange, based on this report, it seems that the IMRH is much farther along than previously reported.

But we know from the program that IMRH is not even entered the critical design review phase. Or has it?
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by ashishvikas »

2 news have appeared in a quick succession which might be related.

1. Order for 48 Mi-17 choppers from Russia getting cancelled.

2. Order for 48 more Rudra being placed by IAF.

Different class of choppers but still need same $.
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Aditya_V »

Next Uttam and Desi stuff on Super Sukhoi Upgrade, more LCA Lift, Navy LCA(can be used for training and shore based Sorties) and more MK1A while TEDBF, LCA MK2 and AMCA are speeded up. ALong Desi PGM, Astra orders etc.

I dont think Russia will be in a position to export new weapons for a few years
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Kakarat »

Atmavik wrote:
ShivS wrote:Rudra can carry 8 passengers in the cabin depending on the configuration. May not carry a full weapons load with a full passenger load.

The last version of the Dhruv has put all high altitude issues to rest.
@ShivS, i dont think there is any place for passengers in Rudra. ironically i started this very debate on the helicopters thread 4-5 years ago, search it.
https://twitter.com/Indrani1_Roy/status ... HialigrtwA
Many of you have asked: Can Rudra carry troops?

Yes, it can. 8 troops.
https://twitter.com/Indrani1_Roy/status ... HialigrtwA
My information is good. Very good.
Thakur_B
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Thakur_B »

I remember watching YouTube walkaround of Rudra when it was launched, the cabin was fully utilised with additional equipment and ammunition. It at best had space for a door gunner and couple of other troops. Not sure where the 8 troop strength comes from.
basant
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by basant »

Thakur_B wrote:I remember watching YouTube walkaround of Rudra when it was launched, the cabin was fully utilised with additional equipment and ammunition. It at best had space for a door gunner and couple of other troops. Not sure where the 8 troop strength comes from.
You mean this?
basant
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by basant »

Check at 0:35 and 1:43

ShivS
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by ShivS »

Configurations can be varied across models and for missions, not fixed.

Happy to leave it as a point of difference too :)
Zynda
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Re: Indian Air Force News & Discussion - 23 March 2021

Post by Zynda »

Just thinking if US recently offered additional Chinook's at discounted prices to entice India to cancel additional Mi-17 orders. IAF is quite happy with Chinooks. If Chinook is assembled in India & US is offering a good rate, I don't see any reason why GoI wouldn't jump on the deal...although Chinook & Mi-17 are in different categories...
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