LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

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SaiK
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by SaiK »

http://www.niticentral.com/2015/11/26/h ... 37228.html

It could have been written to complete it with more data about LCA. Rehash is good and need of the hour but lot more support needed by media to discourage the firang clout system to over-power a much weaker make-in-india mindsets
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Karan M »

Just read the entire interview. This guy is arguably the first Defence Minister we have who actually understands the issues and is really interested in his work!
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Aditya G »

Karan M wrote:Just read the entire interview. This guy is arguably the first Defence Minister we have who actually understands the issues and is really interested in his work!
In his statements one can see an analytical mind at work:
...

Now in the case of earlier RFPs, almost Rs 90,000 crores contracts have been signed during my tenure. Another almost 70,000 crores are in the pipeline. They are in the final stage. After the final approvals are obtained, they will be contracted. I expect in the next 6 months, another 50,000-60,000 crores. In the next six months, the total figure of contracts signed will be Rs 150-160,000 crores. And almost another Rs 95,000 crores are in negotiation stage. So in the 2nd year, you will find that around 1,30,000-1,40,000 crores contracts would have been signed.

...

In defence, we have to look towards self-reliance. In the figure of Rs 90,000 crore that I gave you, almost 70 per cent is indigenous, Buy Indian or Buy and Make in India. Only 30 per cent of the contracts are in the category of Buy Global. The projects for which AONs (Acceptance of Necessity) have been granted, the value is around Rs 1,05,000 crore. In that, almost 88 per cent is Buy Indian and Buy and Make Indian. These AONs will be reflected in next year’s contracts. Whatever AONs have been granted will be progressed to RFPs in the coming year.

...

This year, OFB has delivered around 15 per cent higher output with improved quality. So by 2017, my ammunition requirement should be adequately addressed.

...
Its refreshing to see an Analytical approach vs a political approach
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by SaiK »

I liked the way he was questioned too
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by shiv »

Aditya G wrote: Its refreshing to see an Analytical approach vs a political approach
The man is an IIT graduate and thinks science.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Vayutuvan »

I have fist hand info that he understands all the science behind carbon composites, aero-materials. He is a Metalergy UG IITB (it was USSR sponsored and grads are pretty strong in applied mathematics).
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Paul »

If ammunition needs are fulfilled by 2017...hopefully our WWRs are upto 90 days as supposedly planned.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by ramana »

Its called teething cycle. Its different years based on complexity of product.
Some times one to two years while its up to five years for others.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by SaiK »

But that has to budgeted and estimated as stakeholder role like how the Americans and Russians do. Being non-commital on development puts the user only in a buyer role and the developer has no marketing wing other than the gov and some strong jingo clout system.

The fear of reduced capability must be countered by cyclic and agile development process and upgrade cycles. In addition, the threat scenario can also be staged by gov policies as and when our capabilities attain maturity.

Arihant will mature for IFR along with K4 demonstration is a fine example.

similarly hopefully we are doing subcriticals for A5 mirv maturity
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by RoyG »

SaiK wrote:But that has to budgeted and estimated as stakeholder role like how the Americans and Russians do. Being non-commital on development puts the user only in a buyer role and the developer has no marketing wing other than the gov and some strong jingo clout system.

The fear of reduced capability must be countered by cyclic and agile development process and upgrade cycles. In addition, the threat scenario can also be staged by gov policies as and when our capabilities attain maturity.

Arihant will mature for IFR along with K4 demonstration is a fine example.

similarly hopefully we are doing subcriticals for A5 mirv maturity
MIRV maturity doesn't make sense unless there is a plan to validate our debugged thermonuke designs sitting in cold storage.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by SaiK »

OT, but important to understand that only a nuke attack on India will bring out an opportunity to both NFU and further testing [perhaps perennial
If pakis have that guts, let them throw even a DU round on us. I'm sure we are corrupted to the core on siffarish & bakhsheesh model of life (lutyens controlled), but when it comes to the edge, our designs will work. AK or his junior team will deliver [sub-critical hope was in that context].

---

On the darker side of things, #presstitution like these could also be aided by folks like this. honestly, there is a huge politics aided by strong local corruption setup for anything and everything 'made in india' techs. make-in-india now challenges genuinely made-in-india tags.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by ArmenT »

I'm confused about something in the interview. In response to one of the questions, he starts off by saying this:
In defence, we have to look towards self-reliance. In the figure of Rs 90,000 crore that I gave you, almost 70 per cent is indigenous, Buy Indian or Buy and Make in India. Only 30 per cent of the contracts are in the category of Buy Global.
and later on, in the same reply, he says the opposite:
Of course, if there is some technology issue, we can still go ahead and get that but the trend is that by next year the ratio of 70:30 (imported to indigenous content) should change by at least 10 per cent. So the target is that annually you reduce the foreign component by 10 per cent so that in four to five years, you reverse the ratio – from 70 per cent foreign import you go to 70 per cent indigenous content.
So, which is it currently?
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Viv S »

I believe in the first case he's talking about new purchases while in the second he's referring to the existing composition of the equipment used by the forces.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by abhik »

IIRC the ratio is already 50:50 or even more if you include 'Make-in-India' aka screwdriver-giri.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by pushkar.bhat »

The Human Cost of India’s LCA Program

Just came across the above article by one Jayant Singh showing extreme concern on Pilot Safety due to the decision to order the LCA by the IAF. Actually he compared the LCA to the Mig-21 and says that the Mig's were flying coffins so that is why the decision to induct the LCA is bad one. Seems low on grey cells in the brain. Any one seen or heard of this character? Read the article to understand the context of the above statement.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Karan M »

ArmenT wrote:
I'm confused about something in the interview. In response to one of the questions, he starts off by saying this:
In defence, we have to look towards self-reliance. In the figure of Rs 90,000 crore that I gave you, almost 70 per cent is indigenous, Buy Indian or Buy and Make in India. Only 30 per cent of the contracts are in the category of Buy Global.
and later on, in the same reply, he says the opposite:
Of course, if there is some technology issue, we can still go ahead and get that but the trend is that by next year the ratio of 70:30 (imported to indigenous content) should change by at least 10 per cent. So the target is that annually you reduce the foreign component by 10 per cent so that in four to five years, you reverse the ratio – from 70 per cent foreign import you go to 70 per cent indigenous content.
So, which is it currently?
I think he is referring to contracts underway/tendered for as versus contracts placed.

Abhik is right that the actual ratio is better 50:50, however when looking at value, a single Rafale deal >>> than multiple local contracts, so the ratio gets skewed.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Karan M »

For the raw numbers.

http://www.defproac.com/?p=2278

Look at the numbers and avoid the authors editorializing. For instance, the platform %'s are misleading because they lack the context. For instance AEW&C is mentioned as 67% imported - what needs to be kept in mind is the aircraft is imported hence the overall % is high. The mission system is Indian. She doesn't get that. The wasteful expenditure part she quotes about "projects closed after sanction" is again mentioned without context, ie. the users changed their mind and floated new SQRs.

Even so, considering the "indirect value" of component imports, eg COTS chips etc, the indigenization% is around the 50% level, but as mentioned all it takes is for one huge big ticket import (eg Rafale) to completely skew the figures. Even so, the core IP often lies in what's done on top of the COTS items, eg what Israel and most firms abroad do. Only a few countries eg Russia seek to make everything inhouse, from the chips to the alloys.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by srai »

^^^
Designed in India ... assembled with parts from global supply chain ;)
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by johneeG »

I think this is a very well-written article except for the misleading headline. The headline should be the 'Human-cost of not inducting the LCA and instead flying obsolete systems'.
The Human Cost of India’s LCA Program

The troubled development of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft has had dire consequences for Indian pilots.
By Jayant Singh
November 17, 2015

Make in India – for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this has become a maxim of state policy. Ever since he graduated to the prime minister’s office in 2014, Modi’s message to the world has been unchanged: Come, Make in India. From day one the government’s articulated policy has been clear: The way forward involves increasing manufacturing growth and raising it to global competitiveness standards. Make in India would not only revitalize India’s ailing manufacturing sector, it would also gainfully employ millions of young Indians that enter the workforce each year. Underneath the hype and the glib marketing campaign, Make in India offers enormous potential for India’s stuttering defense industry. The policy takes its cue from the high levels of imports that currently make up India’s military arsenal. A quick study of the Make in India website reveals that more than 60 percent of India’s defense requirements are met through imports. The precincts of limited resources within which the armed forces budget must operate makes the logic of Make in India even more compelling.

While Make in India may be the administration’s new poster child, defense indigenization is an old story. Achieving self-sufficiency in the defense sector has been an aspiration of the Indian defense establishment for many years. As early as 2004, the UPA Government set up the Kelkar Committee to recommend changes in acquisition procedures to enable greater participation of the private sector in defense production. The Kelkar Committee Report – “Towards Self-Reliance in Defence Preparedness” – was submitted in April 2005 and was the first to propose a direct offsets policy to bring technology and investments into the Indian defense sector. Although attempts to put in place structures and procedures for defense indigenization have been evident for well over a decade, the establishment’s long-cherished target of 70 percent self-reliance through in-house development has remained elusive. In the meanwhile, the downturn in foreign acquisitions and the absence of indigenous alternatives have affected armed forces preparedness.

The administration’s decision to encourage domestic industry, in line with its Make in India policy, is a major fillip for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) program. Over the years, the Indian Airforce Force (IAF) has remained unconvinced about the LCA’s capabilities and has been reticent to guarantee orders for the Tejas fighter aircraft, as it is informally known. The renewed emphasis in the program has come by virtue of the new administration, which is unable to fiscally sanction large numbers of the Dassault Rafael aircraft and was thus forced to look into alternatives. Over the course of its development the LCA program has gone through many ups and downs, all well documented by the media. However, what has flown under the radar – and is now the remit of this article – has been the cost to human life by way of aircraft failures of other platforms that were pressed into service on account of delays to the LCA program.

Failure to Launch


India’s failure to develop a substantive defense industrial base comes at a time when Soviet era machinery across all three services are lapsing into obsolescence. Not only has this created critical security gaps, it has also adversely impacted the safety record of the armed forces. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the aerospace sector. Consider the Indian government’s LCA program: The project was first conceived in 1969 in the wake of the Subramaniam Committee’s recommendation that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) should design and develop an advanced technology fighter aircraft. The LCA program was approved in July 1983 after the completion of design studies and allocated an initial budget of $85 million. It was believed back then that the LCA program would achieve across-the-board advancement of the domestic aerospace industry and replace India’s aging fleet of Mig-21 fighters, which would be approaching the end of their life-cycle by the mid-1990s. Yet 32 years later, despite pouring $2.6 billion into the LCA vortex, the IAF still doesn’t have a fully functional fighter. Dubbed Tejas early on by the IAF, the LCA is still awaiting Final Operational Clearance (FOC), after which it can enter operational service. The LCA was awarded Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) in January 2011. However, given its performance issues and weapons limitations the IAF asked for an IOC-2, which was granted in December 2013. Despite strict instructions from the government, HAL was unable to meet the deadlines and ensure that FOC was achieved by December 2014. According to recent estimates, the re-revised deadline for achieving FOC is March 2016.

In yet another setback for the Tejas LCA program, a Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) audit report identified 53 “significant shortfalls” that have reduced operational capabilities and survivability in the Mark-1 version of the fighter aircraft. The Mark-II version of the LCA – which is expected to correct these shortcomings – is still approximately five years away from series production. Upon completion of the Tejas Mark-II the LCA program would have been in development for more than 35 years!

India’s Flying Coffins

The CAG report further noted that due to the delay in the LCA program the IAF had to make temporary arrangements to upgrade its MiG fleet and revise its timeline for phasing out MiG-21 FL fighters. And it is the LCA program’s failure to address this issue that has brought the IAF to its knees. The Indian government first opted to purchase the Russian-made MiG-21s in 1961. Thereafter India introduced 872 MiG 21s into its air force, forming the backbone of its fleet. Having seen action in 1965, 1971 and 1999, many squadrons of this once venerable fighter have reached operational redundancy. However, the delay in the LCA program and possible vulnerabilities due to force accretion compelled the IAF to push back the phasing out of its MiG-21 fleet. The MiG-21s, which were upgraded to “Bison” standard in a last-ditch attempt to keep them in the air, are on “their last legs” warned Air Chief Arup Raha in 2014.

By all accounts the MiG-21 models are difficult to maneuver, they land too fast, and the design of the window canopy means that the pilot cannot see the runway properly. These problems are exacerbated because the MiG-21 is not a forgiving aircraft; according to data from the Airworthiness Certification Brach of the Federal Aviation Agency of the U.S., the fatality rates for MiG-21s in the IAF is about 45-49 percent. Which means that a MiG-21 pilot essentially has a 50-50 chance of surviving an accident. In 2012, Indian Defence Minister, AK Antony, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha confirmed that more than half of the 872 Mig-21s purchased by the IAF have been lost in accidents, costing the lives of 171 pilots, 39 civilians, and eight persons from other services. Furthermore, according to a 2002 Public Accounts Committee report between 1997 and 2000 – around the time the Tejas LCA was originally meant to be inducted – 21 pilots have been killed in 55 MiG-21 crashes. In light of these statistics, the MiG-21 platform has been dubbed the “Flying Coffin” and the “Widow Maker” by the public. The situation became so dire that in 2013 Sanjeet Singh Kaila, a serving officer in the Indian Air Force, filed a petition in court stating that flying a MiG-21 amounted to a “violation of his fundamental right to life, especially the right to work in a safe environment” under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

With the LCA program entering a critical production phase soon, the IAF has announced an additional order of 100 modified Tejas fighter aircraft. The Tejas Mark-IA will be an upgraded version of the Mark-I but will fall short of the Mark-II version, which is still in the design phase. As the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft nears operational service it is important that India’s defense research establishment does not forget the costly lessons it learnt during the course of the LCA’s development program. Defense indigenization is a worthy ambition and one that India should pursue. However, the establishment’s inability to achieve it in a phased manner has cost scores of lives.
Link

When we see that IAF is flying migs which are dropping like flies during peace time, it absolutely doesn't make any sense to not induct LCA in whatever numbers and shape that we are able to produce them.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by SidSom »

Surprise Surprise......

We all know why this is in LCA thread...

http://indiastrategic.in/topstories4208 ... ospace.htm
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by member_22539 »

^The vaunted critic of LCA and the indigenous aerospace effort finally reveals where his loyalties lie. ******* (Content edited out and member warned - JE Menon)

I wonder what the apologists are going to say now? Maybe he is joining Ambanis to help India, fully out of nationalistic and altruistic motives.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by SaiK »

aaah! the rafale club! they are like to maximize political and corruption box at the same time. this is when we need stronger policy gov in the center. the dark side always win when you sleep. now we know who is the sidious!
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by BharadwajV »

One small step for a Mach 1.8 Cheetah, one giant leap for a country's Aerospace-Defence Industry:
Decks have been cleared for the country's largest ever defence order, over RS 2 trillion for 100 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
At a crucial November 27 governing body meeting of the DRDO's Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) that included manufacturers Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the IAF brought down a wishlist of 57 outstanding maintenance issues with the aircraft down to 43, all of which can be executed by ADA and HAL without changing the aircraft design.
Tejas in the "1-A" Avatar will stay till 2050(Considering a 30 Year life). All the naysayers can just moan and bit** till that period ends, but we will see the VayuSena Roundel on this beautiful bird.
Also expecting third class articles against the Tejas...soon.

Posting the article in full:
"We are now hopeful of an order for 100 Mark 1-As before the end of the current financial year," DRDO chief Dr S Christopher told MAILTODAY. The meeting of the governing council headed by Dr Christopher follows the September 23 signing of new aircraft specifications between the four key stakeholders in the three-decade old LCA project-the IAF, DRDO, MoD and HAL. The agreement has launched the struggling LCA Tejas project on a new trajectory. Designs of the Mark-1A will be complete by 2017 and the modified aircraft could enter production beginning 2019.
HAL is currently supplying the IAF with 20 variants of the basic LCA Tejas. The DRDO chief says the Mark 1-A Tejas will address other shortcomings indicated by the IAF like the lack of an Active Electronically Scanned Array or AESA radar and Electronic Support Measures (ESM) which will be carried on a pod instead of within the fuselage. The modified Mark 1-A was proposed by HAL this year as a stop gap because the Mark 2 with uprated GE-414 engines and a lengthened fuselage, will not be ready for induction before 2024.

"Re-positioning of major (aircraft) aggregates for the ease of maintenance has nullified the requirement to stretch the fuselage that would have increased aerodynamic drag to such levels as to require the more powerful F-414 engine. This negates the requirement to have LCA Mk2 for the IAF," says Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retired) of the Centre for Air Power Studies. Significantly, HAL has assured the IAF that it will double production capacity in its Bengaluru facility to roll out 16 aircraft each year.
The Mark 1-A is meant to arrest the alarming shortfall in the IAF's fighter squadron fleet from a sanctioned strength of 39.5 squadrons to the present 35 squadrons. These squadrons are projected to further dip by 2022 when over 200 MiG-21 and MiG-27s are phased out. The ADA is now designing the LCA's Mark 2 variant only for the Indian Navy and the design will be ready by 2022. The agency also hopes to complete designs of a generation 4.5 Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft by 2022.
http://www.businesstoday.in/sectors/avi ... 26571.html
Last edited by ramana on 01 Dec 2015 13:30, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: ramana
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by member_23694 »

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/indi ... 35397.html

India's biggest Make in India project gets wings

Did someone say LCA prg. will be killed :P
BTW now can HAL expedite and pre-pone deliveries upto Mark 2
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Will »

If and when he LCA MKII comes expect an order for a 100 odd of those to. The IAF has no option if it wants to beef up numbers. As long as the French and the mentioned powerful Indian industrial house don't kill it which might be likely as they would want the IAF to buy more Rafales. Right now there might not be more money for the Rafale but 10 years down the line there will be.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Viv S »

I have never seen the LCA Tejas in person, nor will this news have the slightest practical effect on my life. Yet somehow I have this urge to hug people. Where the hell is Indranil when you need him?
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by srai »

There might be production gap between 20 IOC-2 and 100 Mk-1A. The timelines seem bit too tight.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Karan M »

SidSom wrote:Surprise Surprise......

We all know why this is in LCA thread...

http://indiastrategic.in/topstories4208 ... ospace.htm
What a shocking surprise. :lol: :lol:

Another one of his worthy predecessors did his level best to stop the Akash and then joined the venture which was pitching to build the LRSAM.

Conflict of interest - the term doesn't even exist in India.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Gyan »

If the production of LCA MK-1A starts in 2019 per the article then it will start rolling out in 2023? Also what happened to LCA SP2, seems HAL does not want Rafale to feel unwanted?
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Gyan »

Karan M wrote:
SidSom wrote:Surprise Surprise......

We all know why this is in LCA thread...

http://indiastrategic.in/topstories4208 ... ospace.htm
What a shocking surprise. :lol: :lol:

Another one of his worthy predecessors did his level best to stop the Akash and then joined the venture which was pitching to build the LRSAM.

Conflict of interest - the term doesn't even exist in India.
Karan, do you expect more orders for Akash with LRSAM- MRSAM likely to be tested in India soon? I suspect that IAF orders will end at 2,6,7=15 squadron and Army at 2 Regiments for Akash.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by srai »

Gyan wrote:...Also what happened to LCA SP2, seems HAL does not want Rafale to feel unwanted?

It would seem SP2 went for a complete rebuild to full IOC-2 standards as it is supposed to be delivered with the first lot of new build 4 SPs.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by srai »

Gyan wrote:If the production of LCA MK-1A starts in 2019 per the article then it will start rolling out in 2023? ...
Yep. According to that article, production will begin sometime in 2019 after flight trials are completed. That would mean deliveries of first lot beginning in 2022-23 given 24-36 months of lead/build time standards. That is a best case scenario. R&D can take longer than planned.

By 2018/19, all 20 IOC-2 would have been produced. So delivers to the IAF would have a gap of 2-to-3 years before Mk.1A starts rolling off production.

It would seem there needs to be another 20 or so IOC-2/FOC Mk.1 order as a stopgap for production to continue to deliver starting 2016 till 2022/23 before Mk-1A delivery switch occurs.

On the other note, there was talk of design-to-production as part of Mk2 effort and this was to bypass TD/PV/LSP steps. So if this novel approach is tried successfully on Mk1A then technically it is feasible to start the production process in 2017 when design of Mk1A is completed. So in this case, delivers could begin sometime in 2019/20.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by RoyG »

How are they planning to reduce the drag on the 1A? I thought there wont be any changes to the airframe.

With reduced drag, will it be able to punch it to Mach 1.8 and increase AoA?
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Karan M »

Gyan wrote:Karan, do you expect more orders for Akash with LRSAM- MRSAM likely to be tested in India soon? I suspect that IAF orders will end at 2,6,7=15 squadron and Army at 2 Regiments for Akash.
I think Akash Mk2 will see more orders. Our requirements for SAMs are substantial. LRSAM will be expensive.
IA will shift to QRSAM unless some import lobby has its way.
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by sivab »

Decks have been cleared for the country's largest ever defence order, over RS 2 trillion for 100 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
Surprised nobody commented on this number. :rotfl: Rs 2 trillion is US$30 billion or $300 million per LCA. :lol:
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Abhay_S »

sivab wrote:
Decks have been cleared for the country's largest ever defence order, over RS 2 trillion for 100 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
Surprised nobody commented on this number. :rotfl: Rs 2 trillion is US$30 billion or $300 million per LCA. :lol:
did DDM miss a zero and it is 1000 LCA :D
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Indranil »

Viv S wrote:I have never seen the LCA Tejas in person, nor will this news have the slightest practical effect on my life. Yet somehow I have this urge to hug people. Where the hell is Indranil when you need him?
I am always lurking around :D . These are great moments for LCA supporters.
BharadwajV wrote: http://www.businesstoday.in/sectors/avi ... 26571.html
"Re-positioning of major (aircraft) aggregates for the ease of maintenance has nullified the requirement to stretch the fuselage that would have increased aerodynamic drag to such levels as to require the more powerful F-414 engine. This negates the requirement to have LCA Mk2 for the IAF," says Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retired) of the Centre for Air Power Studies.
How can a AVM say that? :roll:
Karan M
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by Karan M »

Just goes to show the informed nature of some of the criticism on prominent programs.
member_23694
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Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by member_23694 »

Decks have been cleared for the country's largest ever defence order, over RS 2 trillion for 100 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
Surprised nobody commented on this number. :rotfl: Rs 2 trillion is US$30 billion or $300 million per LCA. :lol:
Nitpicking about numbers apart, flyaway cost of 100 1A with additional AESA etc could be around $ 4.5 billion + weapon cost . No LCC included.
Strangely here money is not the concern but quality deliverable with extra urgency is definitely an issue.

Earlier planned timeline for Mk.2 of 2019 (first flight in 2018) is now being set for 1A and MK.2 going to 2024. Hope they take it up now as a commercial project
SaiK
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Re: LCA Tejas: News and Discussions

Post by SaiK »

The might as well get the AMCA base version if ETA 2024.
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