Indian Military Aviation

[Lalmohan]

Please excuse me if i'm being ridiculous, but this is just a passing thought. Can we have a satellite do a an AWACS' job. Say if we have a satellite dedicated to particular zones, then can we visually confirm the presence of a particular aircraft, base and relay the coordinates?

theoretically yes, but a satellite in geo stationary orbit would require a very high resolution radar of immense power and considerable signal processing capabilities (beyond current practicalities) to be viable as an AWACS platform. a satellite in Low Earth Orbit might be able to do the radar scanning and processing, but would not be over the battle zone for very long since it will be hurtling around the earth. You could do it from a LEO constellation but its just way to impractical to consider

[rakall]

Please excuse me if i'm being ridiculous, but this is just a passing thought. Can we have a satellite do a an AWACS' job. Say if we have a satellite dedicated to particular zones, then can we visually confirm the presence of a particular aircraft, base and relay the coordinates?

theoretically yes, but a satellite in geo stationary orbit would require a very high resolution radar of immense power and considerable signal processing capabilities (beyond current practicalities) to be viable as an AWACS platform. a satellite in Low Earth Orbit might be able to do the radar scanning and processing, but would not be over the battle zone for very long since it will be hurtling around the earth. You could do it from a LEO constellation but its just way to impractical to consider

How can a satellite capture/acquire a flying aircraft? Especially when there are so many flying? It can take pictures of stationary targets and send them over to the ground for processing..

(besides low residence time on the theatre) How will the satellite do all the data processing, target identification, relay target location etc of flying aircraft.. that will need a lot of processing power and brain power which the satellite cannot carry to orbit..

However a satellite can be & shall be used (necessary for future esp with UAV's also in play) as a relay for satcom link between ground station, awacs/UAV's & airborne aircraft.. esp when the different links are out of LOS or when the AWACS is located far away from the airborne aircraft.. besides that there is little a satellite can do in the AWACS kind of operations..

[sunilUpa]

Hmmm what is this?

Additionally, an afterburning version of the F124, designated the F125IN, is currently being considered for the Indian Air Force Jaguar re-engine program.

link

[Singha]

IJT Sitara? got an early start today. 4 low level circuits over koramangala so far. height was around 20 storey buildingish. it was painted in red and white stripes.

the engine noise was pretty quiet, almost like a civilian cfm54 scaled down not the loud
buzz of a fighter.

[Singha]

4 more circles before I left for office. also cabs-hawk took off around 7:00am on NW
bearing.

An32s from yelehanka also came around doing its treetop skimming routine N->S.

[narayana]

IJT Sitara? got an early start today. 4 low level circuits over koramangala so far. height was around 20 storey buildingish. it was painted in red and white stripes.

the engine noise was pretty quiet, almost like a civilian cfm54 scaled down not the loud
buzz of a fighter.

I envy you Bengaluruians,was it like this
IJT
if so then it could be the IJT that crashed in AeroIndia 2007,hopefully with russian engine

[Singha]

yes it was IJT in same paint scheme but not sure of serial number.

I meant cabs-hack not hawk above. the black Tejas nosecone is easy to spot.

[Singha]

I heard atleast 2 more circuits from my office.maybe the PM is visiting and they would put on some show or just a endurance trial for AL55 engine.

[symontk]

Yes it was an IJT and it was flying very very low near airport

[Philip]

OT post moved to MRCA thread.

[Kersi D]

HPT-32 replacement should be fairly easy. They just need to make sure that the engine deal is signed and sealed in advance.

From a technical standpoint it is indeed relatively simple, but the thing is, you need focus. When HAL had designed the replacement for the HPT-32 back in the later 80s, the IAF/government shot it down. Now twenty years later they suddenly wake up and say: "Hey, we don't have a replacement and the current aircraft is risky to fly." Well of course its risky to fly. It has been suffering problems since its induction twenty years ago. That was why the HTT-34 was designed. The HTT-34 was a turboprop aircraft that would have been ideal as a follow on. Now, twnety years later, the IAF says the following:

The IAF hopes that HAL will come out with a replacement for the HPT-32 by 2013-14 and has finalised its qualitative requirements —a trainer that has a reliable turboprop engine, an ejection seat, a glass cockpit and a benign aircraft with good spin characteristics.

We have been flying the HPT-32 for decades now with no official interest in a follow on for the same. In this case you don't blame the HAL for the problems in the HPT-32. They came with a solution, you shot it down. Deal with it.

But all said and done, these kind of things should not be allowed to happen.

JMT and all that.

-Vivek

But how can we import if we do not things like this ?

[Kersi D]

My bone of contention is that we are blaming the IAF for not showing interest in the HTT-34 twenty five years ago - When it was neither the right aircraft nor the right requirement. If this had happened five years ago then I would understand. But even five years ago or even today , the older HTT is not the right aircraft for today's basic trainer requirement.

Also the HPT is not an outdated aircraft for the requirement of basic flying even today. If the engine is reliable, you really dont need ejection seats. Nor do you need the power to glide. The aircraft has a good ten to fifteen years of life ahead in IAF service. And there are enough examples in the inventory to last that long (My estimates - about 130 built, some 15-18 lost in accidents and another 10-15 bent or broken in - still leaves about 90+)

Today, according to the report the IAF expects a replacement trainer to be built by HAL by 2013-14. This is not an unrealistic demand when you consider that HAL built the more complicated IJT in just three years - end to end (or maybe sooner). So why are we saying that the IAF does not have foresight on this account?

Yes. But will IAF tell HAL in early 2009 that they need a side-by-side piston engined basic trainer to first fly by say early 2012 so that it can be put in production by 2013 or 2014.

NO

IAF will announce a sudden shortage of basic trainer, putting all the blame on HAL, MOD, NAL, DRDO, ISRO, UNO etc.

On 26th November 2013 will say they want the aircraft to be flying by 30th February 2014 so that they can induct the first aircraft by 4th May ( my birthday !! ) 2014.

And then they will find YAK xyz or MiG abc or SU pqr !!!!!

Sorry. I am an IAF lover but they do such things (slightly exaggerated)

[Vivek K]

Why do we need to make the basic trainer? It does not embody cutting-edge technology and making it in-house (design, test, produce) may add to HAL's headaches. Why don't we get TOT from some foreign vendor and let a private company like TAAL manufacture it? It is time we got more than HAL in aerospace.

[SSridhar]

AN32 robust enough

Nearly 75 per cent of the aircraft in the fleet were approaching Total Technical Calendar Life during 2009-10. IAF was negotiating a contract with Spets Techno Expert, Ukraine, for operating it beyond 25 years.

During upgradation, some new systems were expected to be introduced.

The life extension and upgradation work would be undertaken at 1 Base Repair Depot, and in Ukraine.

[Singha]

there has been a Gnat reunion in Blr, sponsored by HAL and IAF. many of the old folks of "22 sqdn" were there yesterday as was Pushpinder chopra who released a book on Gnats and a couple of air marshals.

[sum]

Report of the Gnat reunion:
Link

IAF reunion: The Gnat comes alive again
Bangalore, DHNS:


They say any pilot can fly an aircraft, but it takes a ‘man’ to fly the legendary ‘Gnat’ fighter aircraft.

The formidable Gnat came alive again at the HAL Ghatge Convention Centre here on Friday, during the golden jubilee celebrations of the aircraft in India. The nostalgic reunion of Indian Air Force (IAF) war veterans of the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistan wars brought back vivid memories of the success of the Sabre Slayer, as it was known.

Over 200 people - including Gnat heroes, pilots, engineers and flight testing experts of yesteryear - reminisced about the IAF’s glorious victories over the Pakistani Air Force.

The Vice-Chief Air Staff, Air Marshal PV Naik described the small silvery subsonic aircraft - often described as a midget fighter jet when compared to its larger companions like the Mirage, Vampire and the Jaguar - as having achieved mythical status. Its agility and invincibility resulted in the victory of the IAF over Pakistan’s fighter jets.
IAF veterans recalled that even after the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, the fearsome nature of the Gnat was long remembered by the enemy. “It was a special relationship, a love-affair between the pilot and his machine,” they said.

Former chief of air staff, Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi said, “ The Gnat came in at a time when the morale of the air force was low, and the forces were looking for a suitable fighter” he said.
A book on the aircraft and a film, Gnat Brotherhood were released.

[A Sharma]

Indigenous attack chopper to fly in March

NEW DELHI: India's first indigenous dedicated attack chopper, the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), is finally slated to take to the skies in March
next year after a few false starts over the last couple of years.

"After the first prototype's maiden flight in March 2009, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) says LCH should be ready for the initial operational clearance (IOC) by December 2010," a senior defence ministry official told TOI.

With the final operational clearance (FOC) a year or so after that, the newly revised timeframes hold that the 5.5-tonne LCH should be ready for induction into IAF by 2012-2013.

The project development cost of LCH is currently pegged at only Rs 376.67 crore since it's basically a derivative of the Dhruv ALH (advanced light helicopter) already being inducted into the armed forces.

The twin-engine LCH will be armed with a 20mm turret twin-barrel gun, cluster bombs, rocket pods as well as air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. Designed for anti-tank and anti-infantry roles with a maximum speed of 275 kmph, it will also be capable of high-altitude warfare since its operational ceiling will be 16,000 to 18,000 feet.

"The LCH will incorporate a number of stealth features and crash-worthy landing gear for better survivability. The LCH will have a narrow fuselage, with two crew stations," said an official.

IAF has projected an initial requirement of 65 LCHs, also fitted with helmet-mounted targeting systems, electronic warfare equipment and electro-optics, to bolster its attack helicopter fleet.

[Nitesh]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Edi ... 743153.cms

India, a global aerospace power?
22 Nov 2008, 0245 hrs IST,


FOR the past 60 years, India has built a steady reputation as a nation with strong aerospace and defence capabilities, but it is a reputation which has been forged, for the most part, in splendid isolation. While a number of critical requirements have been fulfilled by indigenous aerospace and defence products, those same products have not been readily transferred to the world market.

That looks set to change, however, because all the signs are that India is poised to enter the global aerospace and defence economy, not with a whimper, but a bang. India’s place on the global aerospace and defence industrial stage will not be secured overnight, it will have to be earned. But this revolution is already underway thanks to a confluence of circumstances that play heavily in India’s favour.

Take its workforce, for example. At a time when western aerospace leaders are facing up to a dearth of engineering talent at home as the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation retires, India’s young population means that skill-sets laid down today will pay dividends over the next 50 years, not just in India, but globally. The fact, too, that the language of the global aerospace industry happens to be English is an enduring advantage that will also help Indian engineers plug quickly into the global aerospace economy.

India already has a solid manufacturing base, thanks to the prevalence of its automotive industry. While automotive is not ‘aerospace grade’ in terms of cost, quality and schedule, it is an excellent place to start. Tata, for example, recognised worldwide for its automotive prowess, is already emerging as a highly credible aerospace and defence industrial partner.

India is also a world leader in key areas such as IT, engineering, and research and development, disciplines that are core elements of a successful aerospace and defence ecosystem. Private sector companies such as Wipro, Infotech, Infosys, HCL and public sector undertakings such as HAL and BEL are poised to take the Indian aerospace industry to new heights.

As defence systems in particular become increasingly ‘network-enabled’, the buzz term that denotes the way satellites, aircraft, ships and vehicles share data to promote greater battle-space knowledge and awareness, India is well positioned to play an important role in defining and building the system-of-systems architectures that are fundamental to modern defence networks.

Aerospace is an industry based on innovation, creativity, and advanced technical skills with a history of startling accomplishment, thus India’s focus on education and natural entrepreneurship fits nicely into it. In addition, the injection of the kind of entrepreneurial flair for which India is noted could even breathe new life into the aerospace and defence business globally.

It is, of course, the phenomenal surge in demand within India for civil aircraft and defence products and services that is providing the catalyst for rapid change in India’s aerospace and defence industrial infrastructure.

Whatever uncertainties may exist currently in global financial markets, India’s strong and growing domestic demand for civil aviation, more than a thousand aircraft worth in excess of $100 billion are needed over the next 20 years, continues largely unabated. The Indian government is also expected to spend a roughly equivalent sum on defence products over a similar period.

Aerospace and defence as a sector is notorious for its high barriers to entry and India will need to invest heavily in knowledge and innovation to ensure that its developing skills are not swamped by the established global competition.

The key to improving R&D in India is through strategic collaboration among government, industry and academia, building on the success of the public private partnerships that have been instrumental, for example, in the development of new airports and other critical infrastructure across India.

On paper, the fact that some 500,000 engineers graduate every year in India is impressive and is often quoted in the US and Europe as a reason why the west needs to invest more in its own school-age maths and science talent to produce more engineers of its own.

But the headline figures do not tell the whole story. India has only 200 ‘dynamic engineers per million’ as opposed to 750 in the US and 500 in China. Given that over 45% of India’s population is under 19 years of age, there is still everything to play for when it comes to the penetration of quality education in this demographic.

Training is another big ‘if’. The current mismatch in India’s ability to supply trained manpower to meet demand is highlighting a dire need to establish aerospace vocational training institutes in India. These would help fulfil the demand for the diverse skills that aerospace demands; skills that range from engines and airframes to networked systems and avionics.

Going further, and building on India’s automotive revolution, Indian companies are well positioned to leverage their established footing in global quality management systems, ISO, QS, TS and the like, to advance to aerospace standards that would cement these companies’ standing in the global aerospace arena.

From this would flow, too, a corresponding improvement in the country’s maintenance infrastructure, an easily assessable indicator of sectoral competence. One way of establishing competences in this and other key areas is to set up dedicated hubs or special economic zones where high-precision manufacturing, processing and assembly can be undertaken.

Government can play its role by setting in place policies and incentives to help India achieve the rapid growth of which it is capable. These include tax exemptions, concessions on excise duties and liberal foreign exchange regulations as well as other policies that incentivise global aerospace companies to join with their Indian counterparts.

These relationships are central not just to a thriving market for aerospace and defence goods in India, but to an eventual two-way sharing of technological capabilities, precision manufacturing and R&D. Given the enormous amount of aerospace work due into India in the next five to ten years, and the offset programmes related to it, this should help trigger the necessary investments.

But the public and private sectors need to invest in advance of this surge in order to get the right foundations laid, their people trained and the relevant risks reduced. If the above issues are addressed, India will have seized a unique op-portunity and graduated to a well-earned place as an important player in the global aerospace and defence industry.

(The author is president, Boeing India)

[SaiK]

Indigenous attack chopper to fly in March

"After the first prototype's maiden flight in March 2009, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) says LCH should be ready for the initial operational clearance (IOC) by December 2010," a senior defence ministry official told TOI. .

Any pics/video of the first flight?

[Sid]

Indigenous attack chopper to fly in March

"After the first prototype's maiden flight in March 2009, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) says LCH should be ready for the initial operational clearance (IOC) by December 2010," a senior defence ministry official told TOI. .

Any pics/video of the first flight?

saar ji, first flight is in march 2009 .

[Nayak]

Conference of IAF’s Western command top brass starts
Nov 24th, 2008 | By Sindh Today | Category: India

http://www.sindhtoday.net/south-asia/38628.htm

New Delhi, Nov 24 (IANS) A conference of the top brass of the Indian Air Force’s Western Air Command (WAC), whose area of operation extends from the world’s highest airfields in the Himalayas to the deserts of Rajasthan, began Monday to beef up operations along India’s border with Pakistan and China, a senior official said.

During the two-day conference, the top commanders will deliberate on how to capitalize on the operations conducted by the WAC in the year 2008. The WAC achieved strategic gains by landing a fixed wing aircraft at Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), the highest airstrip in the world at a height of 16,200 feet, after 43 years.

The command also revived Fukche airbase in Eastern Ladakh, 2.5 km from the India-China border, by landing a transport aircraft there. For the first time, Sukhoi-30 fighter jets also roared in the skies of Jammu and Kashmir this year and conducted night operations from forward bases in the state.

“The WAC recently has been involved in many path breaking activities. What next, the deliberations of the next two days will tell,” a senior IAF official said.

Addressing the top commanders, the WAC’s commanding-in-chief Air Marshal P.K. Barbora said: “Instability already exists in our neighbourhood. Hence, we need to be more vigilant than ever before.”

IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Fali H. Major will address the annual commanders’ conference Tuesday.

During the present conference discussions on the concept of operations of Western Air Command, planning and effective use of resources would take place.

The WAC was raised as No.1 Operational group on independence in 1947. In 1949, it was re-designated as an Operational Command. In 1962, this formation got its name ‘Western Air Command, IAF’.

WAC is the most operational command of the IAF and is said to be equivalent to the eighth largest Air Force in the world. Protection of the national capital falls under the purview of the Western Air Command.

[SaiK]

duh!~ it must be presbyopia .. I just bought a 1.0. Sorry Sid. Thanks.

[Juggi G]

India Delays Final Bid Date in Helo Purchase
Defense News

[sam_kamath]

I am trying to analyze the Indian response. Does any one here know when the Falcons are supposed to arrive?
Were they not supposed to come ed of 2008?

Thanks

[Yogi_G]

I am trying to analyze the Indian response. Does any one here know when the Falcons are supposed to arrive?
Were they not supposed to come ed of 2008?

Thanks

first one arrives early 2009 is what I last heard....

[topwa]

anyone have pics of navy's Sea Harrier takes Sea-Eagle missile ?
thanks!

[rakall]

A Su30MKI spotted in Bangalore at 2.30pm.. taking off from HAL airport

Dont know if it was a scheduled stop-over or if it has got anything to do with the 9/11 type threats to Blr airport this week..

[putnanja]

India signs Rs 5,800-cr deal to buy 80 copters from Russia

India signs Rs 5,800-cr deal to buy 80 copters from Russia
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Express news service Posted: Dec 06, 2008 at 0035 hrs IST
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New Delhi: In the biggest defence deal with Russia in recent times, India will spend a whopping Rs 5,841 crore to procure 80 Mi 17 V 5 medium lift helicopters to boost the existing chopper fleet of the Air Force. The deal, which includes spare parts and armaments for the helicopters, also includes offset obligations worth US$400 million.

Under the contract, the Russian Rosoboronexport organisation will manufacture and export 80 helicopters to India. They will be delivered between 2010 and 2014. The helicopters will replace the ageing Mi 17 helicopters in service with the and will be IAF used to transport supplies to crucial areas, including the Siachen glacier.

The deal comes at a time when defence ties between the countries are at a low due to differences over the price of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier and escalations in the costs of Su 30 MKI fighters. There are also pending issues about the transfer of technology of the T 90 tanks now being manufactured in India.

After the recent accident of the Nerpa Akula II nuclear attack submarine, the Russian media had carried reports quoting defence officials that the submarine would not be leased to India due to price issues.

However, indicating that plans to lease the submarine to India were on track, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that he had talked with his counterparts in India about several technologies including “developing and leasing of nuclear powered submarines”.

“We talked about technologies, including T-90 tanks, developing and leasing of nuclear powered submarines. (There were problems but) We have identified ways to resolve them. Very few of them (outstanding issues) need to be resolved. We need to adjust them,” he said.

The two sides also discussed the need of maturing from a buyer-seller relationship to joint development of platforms. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh emphasised on the need of “further strengthening of defence joint production and development”.

[Raman]

Gurulog,

What munition is the black and green bum hanging off this Jag in Aero India?
link

Thanks in advance.

[vavinash]

Why would the IAF want to go for Mi-17's at 15 mil per plane when the S-92 and Super puma cost the same? Offsets could be one reason and logistics another but after gorky it would have made sense to diversify.

[Raj Malhotra]

The last purchase of Mi-17s were at the rate of US$ 4 milion (ten years ago) now they have ballooned up to US$ 12million, just 300% increase onlyeee

[sum]

Why would the IAF want to go for Mi-17's at 15 mil per plane when the S-92 and Super puma cost the same? Offsets could be one reason and logistics another but after gorky it would have made sense to diversify.

I would assume logistics is the key factor and to a smaller extent, the Russian arms lobby....

[Nikhil T]

India, Russia set to start work on fifth generation fighter

BEIJING: Russia would soon sign a contract with India to jointly develop and produce a fifth-generation combat jet from next year, the director
general of Russian aircraft maker Sukhoi said here Wednesday.

"We plan to begin flight tests (of the fighter) as early as in 2009," Mikhail Pogosyan told reporters.

The Russian-Indian advanced multi-role fighter is being developed by Sukhoi, which is part of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), along with India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), under a inter-governmental agreement signed in Oct 2007.

Russia and India will simultaneously develop two versions of the combat aircraft - a two-seat version to meet the requirements of India's air superiority policy, and a single-seat version for the Russian Air Force.

Pogosyan is in Beijing as part of a delegation accompanying Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who is leading the Russian side at the 13th Russian-Chinese Commission on Military and Technical Cooperation.

Pgosyan told reporters that Russia and China are also set to boost cooperation in combat aircraft production.

"China is one of the main customers for our (Russian) aircraft and today the Chinese Air Force has in service over 200 of our Su-27 Flanker and Su-30 Flanker-C jet fighters," he said.

The commission is set to discuss further cooperation in aircraft production and particularly the licensed production of Su-27 and Su-30 planes in China.

China has acquired 76 Su-27SK fighters from Russia since 1992, and bought a license for production of another 200 planes in 1995, in a deal worth $2.5 billion.

However, the 1995 agreement did not include the transfer of avionics and AL-31F turbofan engine technology, and the Chinese manufacturers had to rely on the Russian supply of these systems.

[Yogi_G]

However, the 1995 agreement did not include the transfer of avionics and AL-31F turbofan engine technology, and the Chinese manufacturers had to rely on the Russian supply of these systems.

Not at all a problem for our Chini Bhais ...they dont need transfer of technology of any component, just give them one fighter each of yours and they will develop j-7, fantan, j-11 etc etc

Whether they will work is another issue....

[kidoman]

IIT Roorkee develops coating that can make aircraft invisible

The Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, has claimed that it has developed a kind of coating material in their laboratory that can make aircraft invisible to any radar. It said the technology on which it worked to develop the radar absorbing nano-crystals was their brainchild and after NASA, India was only one to have successfully gained the technology.

"Even a country like Russia could not achieve this so far," said Prof R.C. Agarwala of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, who led the project. Prof Agarwala, who is known to be the first in the country to work on nanotechnology for materials development, started work on the radar-absorbing nano crystals in 1998.

His research team included his wife Prof Vijay Agarwala who is also a faculty of the department and research scholar Rahul Sharma.

Link

Hmm..If its true then its a really significant achievement.

[vavinash]

How do they apply the nano crystals to the aircrafts, especially the parts that get hot? But a very good start.

[Yogi_G]

IIT Roorkee develops coating that can make aircraft invisible

The Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, has claimed that it has developed a kind of coating material in their laboratory that can make aircraft invisible to any radar. It said the technology on which it worked to develop the radar absorbing nano-crystals was their brainchild and after NASA, India was only one to have successfully gained the technology.

"Even a country like Russia could not achieve this so far," said Prof R.C. Agarwala of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, who led the project. Prof Agarwala, who is known to be the first in the country to work on nanotechnology for materials development, started work on the radar-absorbing nano crystals in 1998.

His research team included his wife Prof Vijay Agarwala who is also a faculty of the department and research scholar Rahul Sharma.

Link

Hmm..If its true then its a really significant achievement.

The Russians developed a RCS reducing paint which was first tested on a Mig-21 of an Indian airforce. But this, as the article suggests seems to completely any RCS....this is a development of most significance...Industry-Varsity collaboration for stealth MCA?? if so it has shown good results...

[Austin]

I dont know what do they mean by invisible to any radar , any rcs reducing paint is effective only for certain bands of radio waves , no rcs paint can ever be effective in absorbing radio waves across all the spectrum

Radar absorbing paint have been sucessfully developed by countries like Europe , US , Russia and India.

I remember a report perhaps a decade back ( think 1997 by IE ) that the RCS paint developed when applied to Jaguar reduces its RCS by 60 % , though it suffered weight penalty , hopefully by now they muct have developed something much better.

[aditp]

IIT Roorkee develops coating that can make aircraft invisible

The Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, has claimed that it has developed a kind of coating material in their laboratory that can make aircraft invisible to any radar. It said the technology on which it worked to develop the radar absorbing nano-crystals was their brainchild and after NASA, India was only one to have successfully gained the technology.

"Even a country like Russia could not achieve this so far," said Prof R.C. Agarwala of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, who led the project. Prof Agarwala, who is known to be the first in the country to work on nanotechnology for materials development, started work on the radar-absorbing nano crystals in 1998.

His research team included his wife Prof Vijay Agarwala who is also a faculty of the department and research scholar Rahul Sharma.

Link

Hmm..If its true then its a really significant achievement.

I believe, RCS reducing paint is already in service with the IAF. There had been reports some 7~8 years back, of DRDO having successfully developed such a paint, that would add only about 80 Kgs weight to a fighter class aircraft. Afetr some time we all saw, all of IAF aircrafts switching to the current grey paint scheme. Is this a parallel exercise by IIT Roorkee done independently, or an advancement over the current paint. Also there is nothing called invisible paint. A paint that reduced the return signal strength in a given frequency band may not be all that effective in another frequency band.

[VikramS]

http://www.scipress.com/0-00000-024-8/91/ PDF File of their paper
Journal of Nano Research Vol. 2 (2008) pp 91-104

Development of Radar Absorbing Nano Crystals under Thermal Irradiation
Abstract. Single phase W-type barium hexaferrite nano crystals of radar absorbing material
(RAM) i.e., BaMe2Fe16O27 (Me2+=Fe2+) were synthesized by a modified flux method that combines
the controlled chemical co-precipitation process for nucleation and complete uniform growth during
in-situ annealing with NaCl flux under vacuum furnace. Uniform structure morphological
transformation of nano crystals from spherical to prism faces were noticed after annealing with
increasing temperatures from 200 to 1200 oC for 4 h in vacuum. XRD results showed the single
phase nanocrystals of BaFe18O27 with increasing crystallanity and size from 10 to 90 nm during
annealing. FESEM and TEM were used to investigate the systematic growth processes of various
morphologies of nano crystals. The effect of such systematic morphological transformation of
nanocrystals was observed in dielectric, dynamic magnetic and refection loss (RL) properties in Kuband
(12.4 -18.0 GHz). A significant increment from -15.23 dB to -43.65 dB with wide range of
bandwidth in RL loss is noticed due to the symmetric morphological growth of single phase nano
crystals of RAM during annealing. This process of crystal growth, morphology evolution and RL
enhancement with respect to increasing temperature were also explained in terms of ostwald
ripening and quantum size effect.