First photo of aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya on operational deployment. Taken in the Arabian Sea this month.
first firing of Astra BVR AAM from a Su-30MKI happened on 4-May.
Notice the modified R-73 rail. We have already seen Mirage-2000 carry those.
The new PDV interceptor for the BMD shield with an intercept ceiling of 120 km, was tested a few days back. The current test was only test of seeker and the missile mechanism with the missile being taken close to the target without interception. PDV, a hit to kill interceptor with a dual IIR and active radar seeker, will replace PAD interceptor from the shield.
Very interesting, the price hike for il76 airframes is really starting to bite. No doubt Airbus military will make an offer more then likely utilising an Israeli radar. I can see Boeing offering a Wedgetail variant as well.
A-50/Il-76 would be the front runner for the competition along with Boeing E-767-400/E-767-400ER while Airbus would have to modify the platform from scratch. A-50 is already there, with two on order and has the right structural modifications for a radar that big.
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The radar that is being proposed for the project
http://drdo.gov.in/drdo/tenders/viewTender.jsp?paramMicro=4591
CABS has been entrusted with Design and Development of Airborne Surveillance Systems. The envisaged system will have uniform surveillance performance over full 360 degree coverage. The front end of the Radar and the Identification Friend or foe (IFF) systems shall be housed in an ellipsoidal radome on top of the fuselage installed using pylons. In addition suitable mechanical structures to transfer the air loads will be designed and housed in the radome. The radome also houses parts of the liquid cooling system(piping structure) and ladder system for maintenance.
Diameter of the radome (of the order of) 10.0 m
Height of the radome(of the order of) 2.0 m
Radome shape Ellipsoidal
Weight of the radome Shells (about) 1500Kg
Electromagnetically transparent in S and L band
Withstand aerodynamic loads on the radome as per flight envelope of wide body aircraft.
The radome shall have lighting detectors/dischargers and should have surface which will not permit ice accumulations.The radome shall have 4 shells (3 in case of design change) and shall be easy to install /de-install as seen in figure 2.
The envisaged will have 4 faces arranged in a rectangular /square configuration (see Fig 3). The shells shall have suitable attachments to the antenna panels/supporting structures.
Although this tender requirement stated transparency in S and L band, a follow on EOI called in development of GaN t/r modules in X,S and L band which indicates a multi band radar might be in works. MIMO capabilities for this project are also rumoured.
http://drdo.gov.in/drdo/drdojsp/downloadtndr.jsp?tenderName=5001&McrId=CABS*Centre%20For%20Air%20Borne%20System&p=EOI_6_20_Sep_13.pdf
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Once the Emb-145 aew&c are delivered, they might see more orders in the coming years, with probably 50/50 split between larger and smaller aew&c.
The Embraers have served well in IAF service and have proven to be a pleasant surprise for maintenance crew. The Embraers are complemented in the squadron by 3 Boeing 737-based BBJs. Embraer has also got a substantial amount of business from the Indian airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) programme, in which it has been contracted to supply three (one already delivered and in flight test) modified ERJ 145 airframes, with business prospect of supplying 20 more in the medium term as the IAF’s requirements fructify.
http://www.sps-aviation.com/exclusive/?id=194&h=IAF-for-more-Embraer-Legacy-jets
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Su-30Mki firing Astra BVRAAM in one of the last legs of developmental trials. The user acceptance trials are scheduled for next year following which would be standard AAM across platforms (Su-30Mki, MiG-29UPG, MiG-29K, Tejas, Mirage-2000, Sea Harrier) in the coming years. The longer range dual pulse Astra mk-2 version will begin ground tests later this year.
Astra Mk2 in the background.
Scaled down model of DRDO’s Autonomous Underwater Vehicle. The AUV will undergo Navy trials later this year. Displacement- 1.7 tons, payload 500 Kgs, Operational depth limit 500 meters.
L&T’s Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, Adamya(Sanskrit: Tenacious), designed for launch from a torpedo tube.
Navy seems to be very interested in L&T’s Adamya AUV as it is closer to the requirements released by Navy for hydrography compared to DRDO’s AUV tech demonstrator.
The AUV unit needs to be not more than seven-metres-long and weighing no more than 1,000-kg, with a maximum operating depth of 1,000 metres and a speed of seven knots in upto Sea State 3. It also needs to be capable of 24-hour endurance with payloads on at nominal power. The DRDO is currently sea-testing its own flatfish configuration AUV in the Bay of Bengal, though this is unlikely to meet the performance requirements of the Hydrographic Department in terms of depth and endurance. The Indian Navy in 2010 also floated a requirement for an unspecified number of AUVs, though it had specified that it wanted only an Indian-built system. The Indian Navy is now working closely with DRDO.
http://www.spsmai.com/exclusive/?id=77&q=Indian-Navy-hydrographers-want-new-AUV
The L&T Adamya AUV offers the following specs
The Adamya is being pitched for naval applications that include hydrographic survey (the Hydrography Dept. incidentally is also looking for AUVs), mine countermeasures, intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance (ISR), offshore survey, clandestine monitoring, environmental monitoring and optional anti-submarine warfare. The 18.7 feet, 850 kg platform sports an endurance of 8 hours at 4 knots (with maximum forward speed of 6 knots) with a customisable depth rating of 500 metres.
http://www.spsmai.com/exclusive/?id=90&q=L-and-T-pioneers-torpedo-tube-AUV-Navy-interested
While the DRDO AUV offers larger payload, has a greater scope and may lead to a full fledged 12 ton behemoth.
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