Rudram-3 Test, Folding Tail ALH-MK3 Trials, J-16 EW Variant, US Two Stage Awacs Killer Missile

DRDO plans to test RudraM  3 in 2022

Last year a tender was issued by DRDO inviting companies interested in carrying out Integration of RudraM 3 Missile on Sukhoi 30 MKI aircraft that was supposed to be followed by the trial of the missile system.

The integration work is progressing well and soon captive flight trials of the missile system will commence followed by developmental trials of the missile system for which DRDO already started manufacturing 20 limited series units of the RudraM 3 missiles that will be used in its developmental phase.

RudraM 3 is long range Air to Surface missile system with a range of up to 550km. RudraM 3 program was sanctioned in 2017 with developmental trials to begin in 2022 for 485 crores. DRDO is also working on RudraM 2 and RudraM 2A that are also Air to Surface missiles with a range of up to 250-350km.

RudraM-III, RudraM-II, and RudraM-IIA along with RudraM-I are components of the Rudra family of Air to Surface missiles developed by DRDO so that will be carried on by all future fighters of the IAF from the LCAAF-Mk2 onwards including Tejas Mk1A. RudraM-I has been classified as an anti-radiation missile with a range of 150-200km. RudraM-III is often classified as the air-launched quasi ballistic missile with hypersonic terminal stage by defense analysts in India but this information it is yet to be confirmed.

ALH MK3 with folding tail starts flight trials

After the demonstration of the Tail Boom folding operation that was carried out 7 Nov 2020 on the ALH Mk3 prototype. HAL has commenced Qualification & certification flight trials that started earlier this year and are expected to be completed by end of 2021. Sea based trials from the decks of the warships will commence at the later stage.

With a combination of the existing 2 blade folding, the achieved storage dimension of ALH (13.5m length, 3.5m width & 4.1m height) will meet the Navy’s Naval Utility Helicopters specification under which the Navy had issued Request for Proposals to International vendors for 111 Utility Helicopters.  

The Naval Utility Helicopters is intended to replace the navy’s vintage fleet of French-origin Chetak helicopters in carrying out tasks like search and rescue (SAR), casualty evacuation (CASEVAC), ferrying passengers from ships, and low-intensity maritime operations (LIMO) such as dropping torpedoes.

China Has Unveiled an Electronic Warfare Variant of its Top End J-16 Fighter     - No Other Air Force Has Anything Like It

The first images of China’s latest combat jet aircraft in operational service, the J-16D electronic attack platform, emerged in September offering confirmation that the class had become active in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force.

The aircraft is based on the J-16 heavyweight fighter which is thought to have entered service between 2013 and 2015, and which is itself based on the airframe of the Soviet Su-27 Flanker air superiority fighter.

The J-16 is widely considered the most capable of over half a dozen Flanker derivatives in overall performance, and benefits from advanced avionics and electronic warfare systems, an airframe which makes very extensive use of composite materials, radar absorbent coatings, and a nose mounted AESA radar.

The J-16D benefits from the high endurance and otherwise exceptional flight performance of the J-16, but carries electronic warfare equipment as its primary armament and sacrifices the infrared search and track system and 30mm cannon of the fighter variant, It carries jamming pods under its wings & six      anti-radiation missiles.

Boeing’s New Two Stage ‘AWACS Killer’ Missile Could Be a Major Boost to the U.S. Air Force

Amid growing concerns in the US that the country’s long-range air to air missiles are increasingly outmatched by rival powers, with the Russian R-37M and particularly the Chinese PL-15 having no rivals in terms of performance in the American arsenal, Boeing unveiled a new missile design at the Air Force Association's annual Air, Space, and Cyber Conference to bridge the performance gap.

Referred to as the Long-Range Air to Air Missile, the missile uses a highly unusual two stage configuration rather than a single stage as all existing missiles of its kind do, with a booster section that falls away after burning out.

The missile appears to be far too large to be accommodated by stealth fighters such as the F-35 and F-22, which carry armaments in confined internal weapons bays, and is likely intended for F-15 heavyweight fighters including the new          F-15EX ‘4+ generation’ jet. Such long-range missiles could be particularly ideal as ‘AWACS Killer’ platforms to neutralise heavy unmanoeuvrable targets such as bombers and tankers.