HAL starts work on TEJAS MAX cockpit
Design and development of Combat Air Teaming System CATS of HAL has started work on TEJAS MAX Mothership cockpit that will act as the mothership platform with the embedded air teaming intelligence concepts to demonstrate the fully integrated as well as autonomous wingman platforms and swarming of drones to engage in the mission.
TEJAS MAX concept will be based on Tejas twin seater aircraft
that will have a highly modified second cockpit to act as command-and-control
post for the CATS warrior, a low observable unmanned wingman, CATS Hunter Air
launched cruise missile and CATS Air Launched Flexible Assets ALFA, a loitering
munition.
TEJAS MAX will use its second cockpit to be operated by a
drone pilot or a weapon station office that will guide and send missions orders
to the CATS air teaming system (warrior, Hunter, and ALFA). Weapon Station Office
also will have the ability to take manual take over of the CATS warrior,
depending on the mission criteria.
HAL along with Bengaluru based startup Newspace Research
& Technologies plans to demonstrate ambitious CATS (Combat Air Teaming
System) on Tejas MAX in the next 4 years. TEJAS MAX will be the third variant
of the Tejas Twin seater aircraft after Tejas Lead-In Fighter Trainer LIFT
program.
IAF has placed orders for 18 Tejas Twin seater aircraft and
has committed to procure 20-30 Tejas LIFT to act as a bridge between Advanced
Jet Trainer and conversion training program for new pilots. TEJAS MAX program
will see separate orders once it is ready for developmental trials with the
CATS family.
Mauritius to be the first export customer of Hindustan-228
Mauritius under the Government of India Line of Credit will
be procuring one 19-seater Hindustan-228 commercial aircraft that recently
carried out a successful ground run and low speed taxi trials for ‘Type
Certification’ by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation DGCA.
Hindustan-228 is based on German Dornier 228 defense
transport aircraft used by the defense forces in India but is equipped with a
digital cockpit which will ensure more accurate readings, precise information,
and ergonomic data displays with feedback loops and capability for self-check
to alert pilots in emergencies.
Two civil demonstrators of Hindustan-228 will be procured by
Alliance Air to operate under UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme to improve
regional connectivity in tier-III cities where the central government is
planning 100 new airports.
Mauritius is also will be procuring Dornier-228 Maritime
aircraft from HAL. HAL also has offered Hindustan-228 to Nepal.
HAL has produced a total of 125 Dornier-228 under license at Kanpur
since 1983 for defense forces in India.
Indian Army orders locally produced loitering munitions
The Indian Army has signed two contracts worth a combined 2
billion rupees USD 27.4 million to acquire a total of 200 locally produced
loitering munitions to meet urgent operational requirements.
The first contract, worth 1 billion rupees, was awarded on 31
August to a joint venture between local company Alpha Design Technologies
Limited and Israel’s Elbit Systems for the supply of 100 Sky Striker light munition
systems.
Elbit Systems’ Sky Striker is a precision guided loitering
munition designed to seek, locate, and acquire operator marked targets and
targets of opportunity in tactical level engagements. Sky Striker can cover a
distance of 20 kilometers within 10 minutes.
The second contract, also worth 1 billion rupees, was awarded
to Bangalore based New Space Research and Technologies on 3rd September for 100
locally developed ‘swarm drone units’ capable of also seeking, tracking, and
striking enemy targets with a 5 kg or 10 kg warhead in tactical level
engagements.
India to produce BrahMos Next Generation cruise missile
A New generation of the BrahMos
cruise missile BrahMos-NG will be produced at a plant near Lucknow (Uttar
Pradesh, India), Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh told during his business
visit to the region.
The BrahMos-NG cruise missile is
planned to complete its trials in 2023. BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile
produced by BrahMos Aerospace Russian Indian joint venture. The first test
launch took place in 2001. The Indian Air Force, Navy and Ground Forces are
armed with BrahMos.
Two new Project 11356 Talwar class
frigates being built at the Goa Shipyard Limited plant under Russian license
are planned to be armed with the BrahMos.
BrahMos-NG is a mini version based
on the existing BrahMos, will have same 290 kilometers range and mach 3.5 speed
but it will weigh around 1.5 tons, 5 metres in length and 50 cm in diameter,
making BrahMos-NG 50 percent lighter and three metres shorter than its
predecessor.
The Talwar class frigates or
Project 11356 are a class of stealth guided missile frigates designed and built
by Russia for the Indian Navy. The Talwar-class guided missile frigates are the
improved versions of the Krivak III-class (Project 1135) frigates used by the
Russian Coast Guard. The design has been further developed as the Admiral
Grigorovich-class frigate for the Russian Navy. Six ships were built in two
batches between 1999 and 2013.
China India border: PLA
troops, jets, artillery send warning shot with Tibet drill
Chinese fighter jets dropped
missiles, troops brought down drones and ground force howitzers made precision
strikes during a high-altitude drill by the Tibet Military District intended as
a warning to India.
Several units from the People’s
Liberation Army’s Tibet Military District were shown occupying an enemy’s key command
centre at an altitude of 4,700 metres (15,400 feet).
The drill involved infantry,
artillery, army aviation, special operation forces, electronic warfare,
engineers and chemical defence units, the video stated, without saying when it
was conducted. It was designed to test the ability of the various units to work
together, as well as use new weapons systems deployed to the region in recent
months.
In the footage, PLA air defence
artillery troops bring down drones similar to Indian reconnaissance devices,
air force fighter jets drop missiles to paralyse an enemy command centre, and
ground force artillery target a field with precision strikes. The enemy in the
exercise was not specified but Song Zhongping, a former PLA instructor, said it
was obvious.
“It’s very clear that the PLA’s
simulated enemy in these multi-unit joint drills is their Indian counterpart in
the Himalayas, with the goal of the training aimed at testing the high-altitude
air defence and offence of the Tibet Military District,” Song said.
