BlackArcherCan see the DASH HMDS on the pilot..this is only the second time we’ve seen a test pilot wearing one when flying the Tejas.
And no R-73 dummies on the pylons..earlier Tejas’ used to fly with the dummy R-73s almost as a rule.
BlackArcherNothing new on NP-1 then ?
Btw how many Tejas are flying at the moment ( including LSP-7)?
NP-1 will have its first flight soon as well as per Ananth Krishnan’s blog. Not including TD-1 and TD-2 (which were considered obsolete and stopped flying), the following Tejas’ are flying..
PV1, PV2, PV3, PV-5 (twin seater), LSP-1, LSP-2, LSP-3, LSP-4, LSP-5 and now LSP-7.
LSP-6 is yet to fly and it will be modified for high alpha flights. LSP-7 and LSP-8 are to be handed over to the IAF’s Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment for evaluations.
BlackArcherLifted from shiv aroor’s blog livefist
http://livefist.blogspot.in/
and then shamelessly put their own mark on it! 😡
BlackArcherMost NATO Air Forces have less flight hours but a similar number of flights. To compare something you have to have the number of flights/landings and not of flight-hours. 😉
How do you know how many flights were made in the IAF on the Su-30MKI to say that the NATO forces made similar numbers of flights ? If anything, NATO forces have at their disposal many more aerial refuellers that allow them to stay in the air longer..which means fewer flights in reality. 😉
BlackArcherThe IAF have around 150 MKIs flying as of today and the MKI pilots get the highest flight hours in the IAF which is more than 200 per year in general.And there has been only 3 crashes during this period.
Correct. This is in fact backed by data given in an article that you yourself posted.
The third crash that occurred December 13, 2011 raised for the first time a concern about the safety of the flight control system. Although there were minor incidents with the Su-30 MKI ‘fly by wire‘ system in the past, none was ended in a crash. The recent crash was different. The aircraft was relatively new, among those built by HAL India in 2009. It was on the first flight following mandatory periodical check (400 flight hours).
The third Su-30MKI that crashed was built in 2009 and by Dec 13, 2011 (1.5~2 years from the date it joined service) had already completed 400 flight hours. That’s at the very least 200 flight hours in 1 year, which is on par with NATO Air Forces.
BlackArcherJSR the india’s officials praised the M2k for their excellent reliability (aboce the other aircraft they had in the inventory. like it or not, they certainly know better than you how their air force performs
What would the IAF know about operating the Mirages, right ?! 😉
JSR routinely makes these absurd claims and derails perfectly sane discussions. Best thing is to ignore his posts.
BlackArcherMirage has very high crash rate. it makes it unreliable. Also if all them are parked at one airbase it means they are expensive to maintain . You cannot spread them out to different bases and have the same uptime and reliability at minimal cost.
A dubious claim to be very polite. Its no worse than the twin-engined MiG-29s in the IAF. But then again, I doubt anyone has the energy to argue with you, since you’ll come with even more weird statement to continue your argument.
BlackArcherBut how many Polish AF F-16s have been lost to crashes, compared to IAF Su-30MKI?
So crashes are the way to consider reliability and not the uptime and availability of a fleet ? Do you want to look at the F-16’s attrition rate in other air forces and compare that to the MKI’s in the IAF ? What does that say about the F-22 which has had 3 crashes of which 2 were fatal ?
Will we see Richard Aboulafia criticize the F-22 as being “unreliable” because of these mishaps ? In the case of the F-22, it has been grounded for months now due to the oxygen system malfunctioning, so how reliable is it ?
But it’s not fair to victimise the Su-30MKI. Hasn’t the IAF also lost a pair of Hawk trainers, which have only been newly delivered?
No, one was lost soon after take-off due to pilot error, in March 2008.
Dutch F-16s are ancient. First delivered in 1980 – most of them must have at least 6,000 hours on their airframes?
See ? All I have to do is make an allegation that a particular aircraft is unreliable without looking at any of the underlying reasons – that is precisely what that Aboulafia guy did. Make an off-the-cuff ridiculous remark and such a remark hardly deserves a thread of its own !
BlackArcherYes they have:
And I thought there was a second Hawk crash as well?
No, only 1 crash in May 2008.
BlackArcherPolish F-16 not completely reliable ?
Polish F-16 not completely reliable ?
Lack of spares grounds Polish F-16s
September 11, 2007 (by Lieven Dewitte) – Flight International reported that the Polish air force has integrated the mission control software and improved the availability rate of its F-16 fleet, but a lack of spares is hampering further progress.
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One of the Polish F-16s lucky enough to be able to take off?
The air force now has 27 F-16C/D Block 52M+ aircraft on inventory and another four will be delivered by year-end, followed by the last 17 next year. But maintenance troubles mean just 16 are available.“That means its availability rate is much better than it was in case of implementing Su-22s or MiG-29s. We would be able to get a better rate, but there is a lack of spares,” Gen. Andrzej Blasik, Polish Air Force Commander stated.
Earlier this year F-16.net reported on a shortage of maintenance personnel and a chronical lack of spare parts in the Royal Netherlands Air Force due to which only 40 out of 105 Dutch F-16s were operational.
more on why the F-16 is not reliable
Since the Polish air force began operating the F-16s in December last year, dozens of faults and defects have been detected in the fighter planes’ equipment. All repair costs are to the account of the Polish military, as the government failed to include waranty clauses in the purchase agreement.
April 6, 2006 (by Lieven Dewitte) – Technical defects have been found in one of the first seven engines for F-16 fighter jets to be assembled by Polish aircraft maker Rzeszów, according to the Polish Press Agency on Wednesday.
So that means that Polish aircraft maker Rzeszów is incompetent or has quality problems like I’m sure people would have said if it was HAL in its place?
So the RNAF F-16s are not reliable either then?
A shortage of spare part also forces the F-16s to stay grounded. Suppliers from the U.S. give preference to U.S. customers for the delivery of spares. The Dutch crew chiefs now have to improvise by canibalising other F-16s.
This is just the tip of the iceberg..anybody can google up n number of such issues and open a new thread that questions the reliability of the fighter in question.
Who says that a fighter will be absolutely problem free? Is the world’s most expensive aircraft, the F-22 problem free or reliable as per that Mr Aboulafia?? it has been grounded for months on end without any sign of the issue of OBOGS being resolved. Now they’re talking of a redesign to include an emergency oxygen system. What does he have to say about that jet??
The F-22 Raptor fleet has flown a combined 8,000h since last year’s five-month grounding of the stealth jet, but Schwartz acknowledges that there have been several incidents since the flight ban was lifted.
BlackArcherI think the Russian angle is that Irkut considers the ‘warranty’ null and void if the Indians continue to park their aircraft outdoors in weather conditions ranging from blistering heat to monsoon to sub-zero over a matter of a few months.
If the Algerians can build brand-new HASs (on a brand new base @ Ain Beida) for their Su-30MKAs- I’m sure the Indians can do much better!
http://defense-update.com/photos/algerian_su30_ain_beida.html
It would beggar belief to see upcoming Super-30s, Rafales and FGFAs parked outside for extended periods.
The FBW glitch is strange…as it only appears to have effected the MkIII models.
There you go. the IAF is building shelters now for the MKIs.
‘All-weather maintenance structures will provide protection to the aircraft’
The coming summer might be relatively cooler for Sukhoi aircraft fleet at city’s Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Lohegaon. The station, a home to two squadrons of the country’s frontline fighter, has installed All-Weather Maintenance Shelters for the aircraft parked at the station which will protect them from harmful ultraviolet rays of direct sun. So far, the aircraft would be covered by canvas while parked on the tarmac.
Speaking to The Indian Express, an IAF officer said, “Maintenance shelters have been installed at IAF Lohegaon station and have been in place now for about a month or so. The metal-fibre structures are capable of accommodating one aircraft each.” Two squadrons of Sukhoi-30 MKI, fighter No. 30 squadron – Rhinos and No. 20 squadron – Lightenings, are stationed at the IAF Lohegaon Station. Third squadron, No. 31 squadron – Lions, was relocated to Jodhpur in September. Maintenance shelters have also been erected at other IAF bases where Sukhois are stationed. The light weight structures are such that even if they fall, the aircraft systems are not damaged.
Sections of the media had reported that the IAF decided to put the maintenance shelters in the aftermath of the Sukhoi-30 MKI crash near Pune. Media reports had also suggested that the crash was a result of exposing the air dominance fighter to harmful ultraviolet rays which resulted in damaging the aircraft’s critical systems but the officials rubbished the reports saying the process was initiated about a year ago. A quick search revealed that the IAF had started the process for shelters in December 2010, a year prior to the Pune crash.
Commenting on the development, Air Marshal Bhushan Gokhale, former vice-chief of air staff said, “Today, technological advancements are such that paints, coatings on the aircraft protect the machine to a great extent as against earlier ones. However, in the longer run, this is certainly a step in the right direction given that the structures provide protection to the aircraft from all types of environment besides human comfort and avoiding direct heating of sensors due to direct sunlight.”
BlackArcherMirage deal is going through with first payments made.
NEW DELHI: India has started making payments to French defence major Dassault Aviation for upgrading its fleet of Mirage 2000 aircraft under a deal worth $2.4 billion.
The Indian government has started making payments for the deal to upgrade the Mirage aircraft, sources said.
As a result of the payments released for the deal by India, the price of dollar was impacted upon in the exchange today.
As per the proposal, French firms Dassault and Thales will upgrade the aircraft, which will add 20-25 years to the life of the Mirages, inducted by the IAF in the mid-80s.
Two different proposals, one for the upgrade of systems of the aircraft and the other for over 400 MICA missiles for the upgraded fleet, were placed before the CCS.
Under the deal, the French firms will help in upgrading the avionics, navigation systems, mission computers, electronic warfare systems and radars bringing the aircraft to the Mirage-2000-5 standards.
The French companies will have to invest over $900 million into the Indian defence sector as defence offsets.
As per the Indian defence offsets policy, foreign vendors bagging deals worth over Rs 300 crore have to invest at least 30% of the worth of the deal back into the Indian defence, civilian aerospace and homeland security sectors.
As per the agreement, India has sent two of its aircraft to France for upgrades and thereafter the rest would be upgraded at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited facilities.
BlackArcherSo some western analyst makes an off-the-cuff remark on the MKIs not being reliable and we get a thread and a whole bunch of patronizing posts from guys !?..
What next? Shall we trawl the web to find a remark on how the Typhoon, F-22, F-16, F-18, etc is not reliable and start threads that trash the airplane and the Air Force operating it ?! 😡
BlackArcherhow Mirage has good safety record. It is now competing with MIG-21. considering the size & age of fleet.
how many MIG-21 that were produced between 1983-1988 got crashed? considering the difference in 1980s manufacturing method and quality control between HAL & Dassualt.
Nonsense. :rolleyes:
BlackArcherMore details on the TAL that the IN inducted into service..
The indigenously developed advanced light-weight torpedo and the Akash missile system will be handed over to the Navy and the Indian Air Force respectively at a function in Hyderabad on March 3. Defence Minister A.K. Antony will be present at the event.
Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad, is the production agency for both the torpedo and the missile. The Navy has christened it Torpedo Advanced Light (TAL).
The Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam, which comes under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has designed and developed the TAL. The Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad, developed Akash, a surface-to-air missile.
Torpedoes are underwater missiles which are fired from ships, submarines or helicopters against ships and submarines.
The TAL is about 2.75 metres long, weighs 220 kg and packs 50 kg of explosives. It is an anti-submarine torpedo and can travel upto a maximum distance of seven km before taking out an enemy submarine. It can be launched from ships, helicopters and aircraft. The Navy has placed an order for 25 TALs.
S.V. Rangarajan, Director, NSTL, said, “We have indigenously developed the TAL from scratch when no technology from outside was available to us to build it. The TAL is a totally indigenous missile except for a few integrated circuits and sensors. It has a speed of 33 knots an hour and can operate at a maximum depth of 540 metres.”
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