The 2nd prototype is already flying buddy …

Pakdef.info truly ROCKS!

The best and most reliable Pakistani military site on the face of the earth!

Isn’t that the only site ? Or are there more ?

http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=IJT+to+have+powerful+Russian+engine&id=53676

unday, May 9, 2004 (Bangalore):

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has roped in Russia’s NPS Saturn, the engine manufacturer for the Sukhoi series of fighter, to build a higher thrust engine to power the indigenous Intermediate Jet Trainer.

The aviation major is planning to produce the IJTs for the Indian Air Force.

The 1700 kg thrust engine AL-55 I will be developed by the Russian firm in 36 months and integrated into the IJT’s. They will replace the existing Larzac engine, manufactured by the French Snecma Moteurs with a lower 1,400 kg thrust.

“We required a more powerful engine and Snecma offered to build for us one. But the costs were high and we went for an international bidding, where the Russians offer was competitive,” HAL Chairman N R Mohanty said.

Though the value of the Russian order is not known, he said, it would be cheaper and help HAL to be cost-competitive with its trainers.

He said all the IJT’s for the IAF will be powered by the Russian engine including the 16 trainers, which will form IAF’s next “Surya Kiran” aerobatics team.

The IJT, designed and built in a record 22 months time, was first flown in March last year and is intended to replace the ageing piston-engine Kiran trainers currently in service with the IAF.

The IAF has over 225 Kirans that will be replaced by the IJT beginning 2007.

“We will manufacture the engine at our Korhaput plant as infrastructure already exists with building the AL-31 FP engines for the Sukhoi 30 MKI fighters,” Mohanty said.

HAL, he said, may source engines, if required, to advance the time schedule of delivering the IJTs.

“Once the certification of the aircraft is over by this year and we get the orders from the IAF, we will begin building the IJTs and once the engine comes it will be integrated into the aircraft. Integrating the engines is a matter of a few days”, Mohanty said.

The IJTs’ (Hindustan Jet Trainer-36) have a modern cockpit, with French, British and Indian avionics and are a logical progression for the student pilots from HPT-32 piston-engine trainer aircraft to prepare him for stage III flying training on the advanced jet trainer or lead-in fighter aircraft, HAL officials said. (PTI)

John fricker had earlier reported this in Aviation week.

http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews/03paris/newsmkr4_02.htm

“We’re proud of having achieved a first flight of our new HJT-36 intermediate jet trainer (IJT) on March 7, within three years of its initial concept,” said Mohanty. “A second prototype should fly before the year’s end, also with a Snecma Larzac turbofan, but we’re also considering Russia’s new 3,750 pounds thrust Saturn AL-55 as an alternative. The IAF needs about 200 IJTs, which have good export prospects.”

Well seems like AL-55 it is for IJT..

———–
Russian engine to power HAL jet trainer
Sridhar K Chari
Tribune News Service

Bangalore, May 6
The intermediate jet trainer (IJT) being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), as a replacement for the Kirans, currently in service with the Indian Air Force (IAF), will be supplied with an advanced Russian engine with more thrust and superior technology, from the same family as the Sukhoi -30 engines.

The engine, known as the AL-55 I, has many commonalities with the famous Lyulka-Saturn thrust vectoring engine AL-31 FP, powering the Sukhoi-30 MKI.

The IJT’s first flight in March, 2003, was with a Larzac O4-H20 engine made by the French Snecma Moteurs, which used to power the twin-engined Alpha Jet advanced trainer. While the IJT was generally well-received, not least because it took just 21 months for HAL to move from ‘‘metal-cutting’’ to “first flight” in a general scenario of much-delayed gestation periods, one key inadequacy that was noted was that the engine was not sufficiently powerful.

Snecma had proposed to develop a more powerful version of the same Larzac, but the cost factor became “alarming” in the words of HAL’s Chairman N.R. Mohanty. He told The Tribune: “We decided to invite bids, and the Russian proposal was much cheaper.”

India already has a deal with Saturn-Lyulka to produce the AL-31 FPs at HAL’s Koraput division, as part of the $ 3.3 billion deal to produce under licence 140 Sukhoi – 30 MKIs in India.

The AL-55 I will also be made at Koraput. Its modular engine, and like the AL-31FP, has single crystal blades which can survive high thermal stress. It generates 1727 kg of thrust, and has a thrust to weight ratio of 5.59. Even a small 12 to 15 per cent of extra thrust can make enormous difference, especially in a training aircraft being flown by rookie pilots. Mr Mohanty said under the deal, HAL will have all rights over the engine, including the right to export it. “It will be completely ours.”

The second prototype of the IJT flew recently on March 26, 2004, with HAL Chief Test Pilot Sqn Ldr Baldev Singh and Sqn Ldr S. Sapra, and the two prototypes between them have completed over 50 flights.. HAL has an order for a Limited Series Production (LSP) of 12 IJTs, while the final order is expected to be around 200. The IJT was designed and developed in a record time, benefiting from many of the technologies being developed for the LCA.

How does this compare to the A-10 ? How much beating can this take ? The engine placement in A-10 is very interesting, does the placement of engines lowwer in this cae make it more vulnerable ?

I doubt there is so much money to go around to replace all the cold war relics to their cold war strengths..

I think its only go down from here..

Here is a video of dhruv. Notice the FLIR and nvg cockpit.

http://chanakya.dyndns.org/articles/

have fun!