HAL rechristens made in India Dornier 228 as Hindustan 228,
starts work on hybrid electric flying machines
Its made in India Dornier 228, which Alliance Air will use
for regional flights in Arunachal Pradesh, is being rechristened as Hindustan
228 and could soon be flying in foreign skies also with that name as queries
for the same have come from buyers from Sri Lanka and the Philippines.
HAL has started work on drones with payloads of over 8 kg. HAL
is looking at big drones, including those that can carry payloads of 200 and
2,000 kg. Work is on two categories – medium altitude, long endurance Male and
high altitude, long endurance Hale. For the 2,000 kg payload drone, HAL has
tied up with Israel’s Elbit Systems Electro Optics Elop Limited. These drones
will also be offered to civil uses like e commerce deliveries.
HAL is also going to offer its high-altitude pseudo satellite
(HAPS) for civil use like disaster management and geological surveys. This is
going to be a fully electric powered, 120 metre long pseudo satellite. It will
reach its maximum altitude of 70,000 metres in a day, stay there geostationary for
three months and then return to earth. Its uses are going to be immense.
Russia’s Nuclear Submarines Can Now Fire Mach-9 Ship Killer
Cruise Missiles Zicron From Anywhere in the Ocean
The Russian Navy has carried out the first launch of the
Zicron hypersonic anti-ship cruise
missile from one of its nuclear-powered submarines, with the Yasen Class
warship Severodvinsk launching a missile which successfully hit its target.
The Zicron saw its first launch from a surface ship in
February 2020, and is currently a totally unique missile with no near peer
competitors. It is prized for its high manoeuvrability, Mash 9 speed at very
long range of around 1000 kilometers.
With Western navies still reliant on modernised variants of
the very short ranged subsonic Harpoon and Exocet missiles from the Cold War
era, the Zicron provides an even greater advantage than its predecessor. The
Zicron first entered service in late 2019, and can notably be deployed by
almost any Russian surface combatant ranging in size from small corvettes to
nuclear powered Yasen Class submarines and Kirov Class battle cruisers.
LCA-AF-MK2: Did the Indian Airforce Squadron requirement went
down again?
Indian Airforce is looking to procure 12 squadrons of the
Light Combat Aircraft MK2, Each squadron comprises 18 to 20 fighter jets that
could have roughly translated to 216 to 240 units of LCA-AF-MK2 that was
initially planned.
Indian Air Force chief RKS Bhadauria in his first address to
the press had said that the IAF has plans to induct 170 of these LCA-AF-Mk2.
Current Indian Air Force chief VR Chaudhari addressing his first press
conference after assuming office said he is looking to induct 14 Squadrons of Multi
Role Fighter Aircraft MRFA+Mk2 Since the requirement of MRFA is for 114 units
that translates to a little over 5.7 to 6.3 squadrons that leave only 8
squadrons for MK2 that is 144 to 160 jets that again is on the lower side.
It seems with every new air chief that assumes his chair,
somehow the number of LCA-AF-Mk2 to be ordered goes down. It’s high time that
public sector undertakings like HALL pull up their socks and ensure that the
program remains on schedule or the order number could dwindle further down if
the AMCA program remains on schedule or IAF might look at procuring more
fighters from the MRFA.
MRFA Jets should have 5th and even 6th generation technology
Despite all the planned acquisition, including that of 114
MRFA, 83 Light Combat Aircraft Mk1A and the indigenous 5th generation Advanced
Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), the Indian Airforce will not be able to meet its
target of 42 squadrons over the next 10 to 15 years. The IAF chief explained
that the next decade will see the phasing out of four squadrons of the MiG-21 Byson,
Jaguar deep penetration aircraft, Mirage 2000 and the MiG-29 jets.
IAF is looking at having 5th generation and even 6th
generation technology on board the MRFA in terms of modern weapons and
Artificial Intelligence. In MRFA, most of the contenders have the 4.5
generation technology. One of the key features that IAF is seeking is the
ability to integrate 5th and 6th generation technology. It will be a Make in
India model, Rafale is likely to be the front runner even if the MRFA
competition is held because the IAF is not looking at having multiple types of
aircraft.
Indian Air Force to take part in exercises in Israel, Egypt
When it comes to exercise in Israel, it is not for first time
India is participating. The Biennial Ex Blue Flag saw India’s participation,
first in November 2017 when the exercise took place at the Uvda Airforce base
in Israel. Indian Air Force participated with C 130J special operations
aircraft along with Garud commandos. The Egyptian exercises will see
participation of fighter jets. In August, the then Air Chief RKS Bhadauria
visited Israel, and held talks with his counterpart Major General Amikam
Norkin, Commander, Israeli Air Force. He also took part in a sortie in an F-15.
