Tedbf vs Foreign Jets, Laser Jets Coming, Kaveri Engine for IL-76, HEAT Test

Why India needs to invest in Flying Test Bed for its Engine program, Kaveri Engine to be tested on IL-76 Transporter in Russia

Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) developed indigenous Kaveri Dry engine will be heading to Russia soon to be tested from a Modified IL-76 which it uses as a Flying Test Bed at Gromov. India lacks High Altitude flight test facility that includes a Flying Test Bed for its military afterburning turbo fan projects due to which it needs to depend on France and Russia for testing of experimental engine programs that are vulnerable to external espionage and even after repeated demands from the GTRE it has fallen into deaf ears.

Heading to Russia or some other country is not only a time-consuming process but also costs a country lot of money since thousands of hours that needs to be before an engine can be validated can get us a Flying Test Bed of our own. Flying Test Bed can validate engine performance at 40,000 to 50,000 feet above the ground and also highlights any serious issues with the program that needs to be fixed.

DRDO successfully conducts flight test of indigenously developed High speed Expendable Aerial Target Abhyas

DRDO on Thursday successfully conducted the flight test of indigenously developed High speed Expendable Aerial Target Abhyas today from Integrated Test Range Chandipur off the coast of Odisha. During the flight trial, a high subsonic speed trajectory at a very low altitude with high endurance was demonstrated. Two boosters provided initial acceleration during launch & a small turbojet engine is used to sustain high subsonic speed with long endurance. The indigenous data link designed by a Bengaluru based industry partner has been successfully flown and tested during the flight. The performance of Abhyas during the entire flight duration has been confirmed from the data captured by various instruments deployed.

The system has been designed to meet the high speed aerial target requirements of the Indian armed forces. According to information available in the open domain, the aircraft is controlled by a navigation system operated with the help of a flight control computer. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the successful flight test of HEAT displays a synergy between the scientific community and the industry. The development may be viewed as a step in the direction of achieving self-reliance in defence, in line with the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat policy.

Sixth Generation Jets Coming Soon as US China Look To Arm Their Fighter Jets With ‘New Age Weapons’

US defense giant Lockheed Martin is reportedly developing a mini version of The High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical dazzler and Surveillance HELIOS, small enough to be fitted in a fighter jet.

The HELIOS, which is being developed for the US Navy, is to be deployed aboard an Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer by the end of 2021.

The US sixth generation fighter jet, called NGAD or Next Generation Air Dominance fighter, could be the potential host of the shrunken laser system.

A laser system has many advantages as it provides more accuracy than a gun and offers “unlimited munition” compared with the limited number of missiles being carried by a fighter jet.

Lasers could potentially make the traditional air to air dogfighting obsolete, since a fighter with a laser weapon could destroy a target instantly without having the need to do a follow up shot.

However, an aerial laser is much more delicate and complex than a ground based laser system, especially when they’re attached to a supersonic fighter jet. Operating aboard a jet, a laser weapon would require more amounts of electricity and regular maintenance due to passing through dust, water, and ice particles.

The current laser in question is the HELIOS, which Lockheed Martin describes as more than just a high energy laser. The HELIOS system’s multi mission capabilities include long range Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Counter Unmanned Aerial System mounted ISR Dazzler.

Navy to prioritize Tedbf over Foreign Jets and even Naval AMCA

The TEDBF (Twin Engine deck Based Fighter) program will soon be taken as a priority mission after Navy decided to drop plans to procure 37 Deck based fighter jets from an International vendor for operations from aircraft carrier as Aeronautical Development Agency and Navy are close to finalizing the final design specifications of the proposed 4.5++ Generation Deck based fighter program to be called as TEDBF that will replace Russian Migg-29K from 2035.

Aeronautical Development Agency has estimated that the TEDBF Research and Development program cost will be around 13000 crores that first needs to be cleared from the Defence Acquisition Council out of which 60% will come from the Government and 40% from the Navy’s Budget for which Aeronautical Development Agency and Navy need to first agree on minimum order unit of the jet that will go into production.  

Aeronautical Development Agency ADA Navy will settle on 100 units of TEDBF that will be enough for three carrier strike groups. ADA at Aero India 2021 had said that the rollout of the prototype will happen in 2025 and the first flight has been scheduled for 2026 and production in 2029 to 30.

DRDO chief has confirmed that prototypes of the TEDBF will be powered by the American F414 GE-INS6 but the production batches will switch to a new high powered 110 kilo Newton thrust class engine that GTRE jointly plans to develop with the Rolls Royce. In a bit of new development, the Navy has not ruled out the development of a Naval AMCA that may or may not be used as a deck based fighter jet in very small numbers.