there are a couple of Air India 777-200s at Paine Field even as of today..I also happened to see a Jet Airways 777 here..the AI 777-200 carried the new livery and I’ve taken a few pictures of it from a distance. Will post it sometime.
so the layout has changed from rear-mounted fins to mid-body mounted fins..what exactly does that achieve ?
found Aakash Yodha series on Youtube ! has some terrific rare footage of IAF operations–such as the Canberra, MiG-27, MiG-21FL, Mirage, Su-30K, etc..
I was referring to the Maritime Jaguars not the ground attack jaguars.;)
the Jag IM’s have been upgraded with the El/M-2032 radar..dont see why they’d be on their way out..
I am surprised that the Kongsberg NSM is not involved in this. It certainly seems like a capable little missile.
actually AW&ST had reported that it was also a part of the competition..the only drawback with it was that it was not yet certified for helo based launches and the IAF and IN may look to use the same missile- just like they did with the Sea Eagle being used by both Jag IM and Sea Kings.
the IAF’s Su-30MKs will be returned under a barter agreement to be replaced by new-build Su-30MKIs, so I guess it’ll be the MKIs going over..Even during the recent Ex Garuda with the French AF, there were no Su-30MKs present, but MKIs were there..
The reason for the barter being that since almost 50% (!) of these Su-30MK jets’ total technical life (TTL) was over due to exhaustive usage, the total cost associated with converting them to MKI standards were too high..that in addition to the extreme changes in internal structure required for the canards and the TVC engines as well as the FBW.
Its a pity though for those Su-30MKs had the stunning camo compared to the drab low-viz gray on the Su-30MKIs.:(
No real benefit training against an enemy capability that doesn’t exist (yet).
well they underestimated the level of tactics that other Air Forces (supposedly always GCI controlled) would employ and that led to the debacle at Cope India 2004..they’ve revised their Aggressor tactics since then to be more challenging for the Blue forces..no reason why they should be complacent again.
If I remember my statistics right, the F-16 has the best safety record of any modern single-engine fighter in service. However since it is a single-engine aircraft, if there is a flameout and you’re not within glide range of an airport, there is almost certainly going to be a crash. So like you say it is understandable that a country like the US would lose several F-16’s every year.
to the contrary, the F-16s safety record is not any better than any other modern day single engine fighter..
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_1_16/ai_58509299
and the statistics that you talk of seem to be mirrored here
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/wms/findPage.do?dsp=fec&ci=16150&rsbci=1&fti=133&ti=0&sc=400
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-08-1999/0000865555&EDATE=
and then you have this//
http://english.people.com.cn/english/200107/18/eng20010718_75256.html
Yep djcross is cent percent right , beyond a certain threshold you cant replace the metallic structure with composites , it would be nothing short ,than going back to the drawing board and designing a new aircraft.
If they managed it to reach any where to 15 % then its pretty good
says who ? I know for a fact that designing a new aircraft is not necessary for simple things like panels. you may have to do a lot more analysis to change the main structures (like ribs or the stringers) but even that can be done. take the B-747-8 for instance. there is whole lot of composites used, but although major design work is required, its not akin to redesigning the entire aircraft itself.
testing would generally involve replacing a few metallic ribs with composite ribs and then after a period of time it would be inspected to gather data- after which it can be used for other ribs as well. At least thats the way its planned for the B-787. later iterations will start getting composite ribs in larger nos. after the first few give adequate data on their usage.
very neat cockpit design..the National Institute of Design at Ahmedabad had worked on the ergonomics of the cockpit to suit the average Indian male height and size specs.
Deino, N-LCA was to get a drooped nose to increase the pilots front view..seeing that model I thought that the canopy may be frameless too, but seeing the IAF Tejas model pic shown in an earlier post, it appears to be just a careless mistake while modelling.
Both the N-LCA and the LCA will get an IRST which is under development, so that should’nt lead to any lengthening of the N-LCA’s nose alone.
a Pakistani friend of mine claimed that the JF-17 has been “tested” with a Western engine already..no proof of it of course, just that the M-88 may be that engine.
Flex, the Typhoon will not make an appearance at AI-07.
one factor against the F-16 is the IAF Establishment’s poor view of its safety record. Air Marshal Ahluwalia had himself made presentations on the numerous crashes of the F-16s in service with other air forces, as compared to the Mirage.
gorgeous bird !! will really look stunning in Indian Navy colors..by the way which IN squadron gets these stunners ?