‘Big Makeover’ For Russian Sukhoi-57 Fighter Jet As Moscow Looks To Boost Exports, Challenge US F-35 Aircraft
Russia has decided to upgrade its first stealth fighter jet, Sukhoi-57 Felon, to enable it to compete with the US F-35 and F-22 Rapters.
So far, the Russian fifth generation jet has been unable to
attract global buyers, something Moscow seems to have taken note of. The
production of the upgraded version of the Sukhoi-57 is expected to start in
2025.
The aircraft will be equipped with multi mission capability,
automation, and artificial intelligence technologies to significantly boost the
capabilities of the Russian Air Force. It will eventually replace MiG-29 and Sukhoi-27
fourth generation aircraft.
Felon offers a supersonic range of more than 1,500 kilometers,
more than two times the range of the Sukhoi-27 fighter.
The stealth jet is powered by Izdeliye-117 or AL-41F1
augmented turbofans at present. It is reported that the future production
batches of this aircraft will be equipped with the new Izdeliye 30 engines.
Owing to the improved aerodynamics, Sukhoi-57 can cruise at a speed of up to Mach
2 without afterburners.
Isro to launch earth observation satellite aboard GSLV Mk III
vehicle tomorrow
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will launch the
earth observation satellite EOS-3 aboard its GSLV Mk III vehicle on August 12
at 5.43 am from the country’s only spaceport at Sriharikota.
With the mission, the agency will resume the country’s space
activities after a gap of over four months due to the second wave of the pandemic.
This will be the second operational flight of GSLV Mk III
after the Chandrayaan 2 mission when the launch vehicle “over-performed”
placing the spacecraft in a higher orbit and saving fuel for upcoming
manoeuvres.
This will be the first time that the vehicle’s payload
fairing, the nose of the rocket where the satellites are carried, will be a 4m
ogive (bullet like shape). The changes will make the vehicle more aerodynamic
and the same payload fairing is likely to be used for the country’s human
spaceflight.
DRDO tests Nirbhay missile with indigenous engine
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), on
Wednesday, launched the 1,000 kilometers range Nirbhay cruise missile from a
testing facility in Chandipur, Odisha.
The missile was fired just prior to 10 am and remained
airborne for 15 minutes, covering a distance of 100 kilometers. As per DRDO
sources, while the indigenous engine tested successfully, the delivery platform
encountered a technical hitch.
The Nirbhay program has not been without its obstacles. In fact,
the Ministry of Defence was, at one point in time, considering scrapping the
program on the back of several technical and funding issues.
The last test of the subsonic missile was carried out in
October 2020 when the trial had to be aborted after just eight minutes.
Nevertheless, the latest test will embolden the DRDO into believing that it
could be inducted into the armed forces sooner rather than later.
India successfully test fires Brahmos Extended
range supersonic cruise missile with indigenous engine
The updated version of supersonic cruise missile ‘BrahMos-
Extended range’ was test fired
off Odisha coast on Tuesday. The missile which has an unconfirmed target range
of 800 kilometres was test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) of
Chandipur in Balasore early this morning.
The missile flew for around 150 kilometers with an indigenous
cruise engine. More tests would be conducted in near future.
The missile, which is a medium range supersonic missile that
can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land-based platforms.
BrahMos is considered to be the fastest supersonic missile in
the world that can achieve a speed 2.8 times the speed of sound and can hit
targets with deadly precision.
INS Viraat? : Cochin Shipyard Limited offers to manufacture
IAC-1 Sister class
Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant recently returned
after a five-day sea trial with deliveries planned to the Indian Navy in 2022,
Cochin Shipyard Limited that manufactured Vikrant in association with the
Directorate of Naval Design has offered to construct a sister class ship of the
IAC-1 with more than 76% indigenous content since local expertise that has been
build while Navy’s plans to construct a bigger 65000 tons IAC-2 was been put on
hold due to budget constraints.
Indian Navy wants to operate a fleet of three aircraft
carriers so that it can have at least two on active duty while the third one is
kept in drydocks to undergo regular maintenance. The Navy earlier was strongly
against the construction of a sister ship of the Vikrant is now reconsidering
its position due to the rapid construction pace of the Chinese aircraft
carriers and their growing influence in the Indian Ocean Region that might see
at least one permanent carrier strike group deployment in Indian Ocean in near
future.
IAC-1 sister class ship if cleared will be made available
only in 2029 with induction in 2030 so the ball is in the Navy’s court, it can
either wait for project sanction of the IAC-2 or go for IAC-1 sister class
warship at a much lower cost.
