My exact words were -nachiket wrote:This discussion started because you said the reason IAF wasn't ordering the Tejas in larger numbers was because the production standardization wasn't complete yet.
And my assertion is, unless production standardization is achieved, of which ICY is an indicator, mass production cannot start.tsarkar wrote:Those doing rona dhona on large orders being not placed need to track when ICY is completely achieved so that proper mass production can commence and aircraft maintenance can be standardized at IAF bases.
https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2020/ ... 22-23.htmlnachiket wrote:Since the Mk1A will have a lot of differences with the Mk1, HAL meeting ICY standards for the Mk1 will have little to no bearing on the Mk1A.
HAL meeting ICY standards for the Mk1 has the very major bearing of meeting 80% of the standardization required for Mk1ATejas Mk1A is an upgraded version of the final operational clearance (FOC) configuration (Mk1) with 80 per cent of the detail components being the same.
Only for the remaining 20% will the process have to begin again. So the process will be considerably shortened. Mk1A will have systems upgrade like Elta 2052 radar, UEWS and some additional maintainability improvements.nachiket wrote:The process will have to begin again. All further orders of the Tejas are going to be Mk1A. So how does HAL meeting ICY standards for the Mk1 SP's matter at all in terms of when and how many orders are placed for the Mk1A?
So the four main features as per the article are -What give Tejas MK1A more teeth compared with earlier version of Tejas are four key capabilities over the current variant. The major improvements are planned in operational roles, enhancing the combat ability and maintainability improvements through incorporation of active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, electronic warfare (EW) suite and beyond-visual range (BVR) missile capabilities.
Desi air-to-air missile Astra Mk1 will be integrated on Tejas Mk1A, giving an edge to the fighter over its contemporaries in BVR warfare. “With the introduction of podded self-protection jammer (SPJ) and AESA on Tejas Mk1A, the survivability of the aircraft is further enhanced. Besides, Astra and ASRAAM (Advanced Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile), the fighter will also carry missiles for long-range as well as short-range operations. This is in addition to prevailing store configurations to increase offensive capability,” an official overseeing the programme said.
The AESA radar will give Tejas improved range with near-simultaneous missile-firing options on multiple targets and increased situational awareness with mode interleaving.
“The AESA radar will be electronically scanned agile beam radar based on transmit/receive modules (TRM) and supports multimode operation. The radar is having capability to track multiple targets at a time in air-to-air, air-to-ground and air-to-sea modes,” says the official.
The unified electronic warfare suite (UEWS) will provide capabilities for electronic countermeasures (ECM) and ECCM (electronic counter-countermeasures), with extended band of operation for threat detection and jamming capability.
“The EW capability will increase survivability of the aircraft in a networked environment. With the integration of an external jamming pod, the aircraft will be able to do its duty as offensive air combat platform,” he added.
More real estate
Additional features that are getting on board Tejas Mk1A, boosting its precision warfighting capabilities, include a digital moving map with 2D maps and 3D perspective view, provision for GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System), the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)-based positioning system, GAGAN (GPS-aided geo-augmented navigation) and SBAS (Satellite-based Augmentation system).
“The Tejas Mk1A will have excellent manoeuvrability, unhindered by control and stability considerations, over the widest possible speed and CG (centre of gravity) range from + 8 to -3g,” says the official.
On the maintainability front, the new Tejas promises to be a delight for the ground support crew with ARDC planning to incorporate many new features.
“The idea is to step up the availability of aircraft and reduce the turnaround time. Based on various inputs, we are making changes in the roots of the aircraft,” says the official.
New panels are getting in to reduce the DI (daily inspection) time. A new concept called ‘panel-in-panel’ will be in place to increase the visibility of the components during DI.
1. AESA
2. Jammer
3. Missiles
4. Maintainability
An additional feature is the new digital moving map
These would account for the 20% changes.