TeerSeems like they are calling EOIs for t/r modules in X,S and L band for AWACS-I project, I wonder why, some sort of multiband radar in works?
And they are asking for GaN modules as well.
TeerGood stuff TB, will edit the list.
TeerOk got source for LGB-NG.
http://tarmak007.blogspot.in/2013/02/iaf-wants-50-swift-sure-sudarshan-lgbs.html
LGB-NG (I presume) already here:
http://drdo.gov.in/drdo/pub/techfocus/2013/TF_August_2013_WEB.pdf
TeerTeer, a few tweaks to your list.
The current designation of 50 Km GPS/INS + laser guided kit is LGB-NG and 100 Km range PGM would most likely be an extension of this family (rocket motor or glide wings)
K-4 missile with 3500 Km range is ready for underwater launch. Future variant of K-4 to have 5000 km range.
Pinaka-2 with trajectory correction system (GPS + mid course guidance) already tested at 40 Km range, testing for 60Km pending. Also needs to be included, a 120Km range MBRL (Smerch analogue).
LR-SAM will be tested in early 2014, most likely from the first Kolkata class destroyer.
CLGM/SAMHO will be eventually adapted for air launch (like LAHAT) providing a cheaper munition to complement more expensive Nag. Airforce has already been touted as one of the customers.
A short range version of Astra with IR seeker is also a part of Astra project (SR, MR and LR).
Excellent stuff – exactly what is required to make it better, keep it upto date. Can you post links for the above as well? LGB-NG, Pinaka-2, LR MBRL (I thought plan was to license produce Smerch), SAMHO Air Launch, Astra-IR etc.
TeerWhat is stealthy about Nirbhay? Looks like a generic subsonic cruise missile to me.
A few reasons mentioned as below..they went to significant effort to mask the engine inlet. Also, we can expect significant RAM to suppress the RCS spikes from the pop out wings, and the other edges that might create a RCS hot spot. Also, it probably uses passive sensors/guidance and EMCON, plus trajectory shaping to limit detection.
http://media.newindianexpress.com/article1500026.ece/ALTERNATES/w460/Nirbhay1.jpg
Even the Brahmos has been mentioned as low RCS, stealthy etc for somewhat similar reasons – heavy use of RAM has been noted, plus limited use of seeker.
Thanks for making the list btw.
My pleasure. Its all based on what has been picked up from sources in the public. But a caveat though – its not an exhaustive list…there are very likely a bunch of programs that have not been mentioned yet and will be revealed only once they pass technical feasibility and reach some level of maturity in design effort.
TeerOtherwise I’d like to hear more about the PAKFA’s stealth features. Wikipedia has barely one line on it (in addition to a quote by Carlo Kopp). Unfortunately everything else I’ve read too has been, well… underwhelming. Maybe because I had pretty high hopes from Sukhoi. This for example –
According to a defence ministry official, “It is an amazing looking aircraft. It has a Radar Cross Section (RCS) of just 0.5 square metre as compared to the Su-30MKI’s RCS of about 20 square metres.”
Certainly better any most aircraft saddled with an external payload without going into VLO extremes. Merits a comparison with the F-15SE.
Thats for an untreated PAK-FA as versus an untreated Su-30 MKI which has the afore mentioned RCS max when seen on a polar plot. It actually bodes very well for the aircraft. The rear is not optimized because to be honest, the PAKFA will clearly have a software suite allowing for it to approach emitters from the optimal angles (as on other stealth platforms) and besides, flying at height and speed is another layer of protection, while an active EW suite, will allow it to suppress the RCS spike from the non shaped portion towards the rear. It would be interesting to see if the IAF has asked for full VLO/LO. Sukhoi designers are firm followers of the 80/20 rule. They work on the aspects which give the maximum benefit and let the other portions be. At a seminar, a Sukhoi guy rebutted somebody who raised a question about why the “finish” of the earlier Su-35s (not the current redeveloped Su-35) was so crude versus then F-15s.. the Sukhoi guy dwelt on easy maintenance and ended with a brief explanation of drag & how it was not really that affected (given the overall design, and engine capability) by minor discontinuities in finish. Now of course finish matters for RCS etc, so it will be addressed on PAKFA, but this anecdote I think brings out how Sukhoi/MiG folks did not generally “gild the lily”, and hence looked at cost effectiveness.
With the PAKFA, given the IAF has asked for 45 reported improvements to the original design, the final version may indeed look a bit different, but that is if, the improvements result in something really tangible from the viewpoint of effectiveness, something the Sukhoi guys will surely analyze and present their views on.
TeerUpdated
SSMs
Prithvi, 100-250km range, liquid fuelled
• Prithvi -1/2/3 – all in service (Prithvi1s to be replaced with Prahar – 160 km range)
• Naval variant: Dhanush, 350km- Navy – in service
Agni: Have MaRVs, while MIRV & countermeasures in development
• 1/2/3 – in production
• 4/5 – development, trials successful, 4000km and 5000 km versions respectively. Use new tech for composite stages, new motors, flex nozzles, onboard avionics including new RLG-INS developed locally
• Agni-6 development noted. Will be a more powerful missile able to accomodate much larger throw weight, will come with MIRVs
K-series/SLBM
• SLBM/B-05: 700 Km range, developed, waiting for Arihant
• Shaurya: Land version, being tweaked for Army
• Next steps, 1500 & 3000 km versions
Prahaar/Strike SSM:
• 150 km, 200 kg warhead missile to “bridge the gap” between the conventional Pinaka MRLS at 40 km range, to the Prithvi which has a range of 250km to 300 km. Being tweaked for the Army. Stated to have datalinked guidance and will hence be more cost effective/precise than “dumb” missiles. Six missiles can be launched at different targets. Developed from the AAD design of the BMD program. DRDO head has now confirmed that Prahar will replace the Prithvi missile series and be in between the Pinaka and Agni 1.
Brahmos:
• Blocks1/2/3 all developed. Block 3 for Navy & Army allows top attack & seeker discrimination of specific targets. In production.
• AF: Development underway; IAF wants 200+ missiles for 40+ Su-30 MKI, order cleared by CCS. Two trials aircraft sent for modification.
• Brahmos 2: In development with Russia for hypersonic Brahmos.
Nuclear deterrent:
• ALA: Air Launched Article, 200km, nuclear missile for Su-30 force. In development
Cruise Missiles:
• LRCM: Ramjet equipped long range cruise missile for all three services, in development, 700km-1000 km range
• Nirbhay: Subsonic, stealthy 750km+ missile for all three services, first test expected this year
BMD:
• Phase 1: PAD & AAD ready for deployment. Seekers, radomes indigenized. PAD also uses new Indian RLG-INS.
• PDV to be trialed this year & will replace PAD for next batch of Phase 1 BMD deployment
• Phase 2: For Target Missiles > 2000 km class, in development. AD-1 and AD-2, hypersonic missiles
ATGM/ General purpose:
Nag
• Army land version version under refinement, 4 km range. Block1 seeker in production at BDL, Block 2 developed for better performance in Indian deserts @ afternoon.
• Helicopter version @7km, called HELINA, in development.
• New land version of Nag to be also spun off from HELINA. 7-8 km range, will be deployed from a new carrier vehicle with launchers deployed on 5mtr tall mast.
• Further variants for fixed wing strike aircraft under development. RF seeker trialed in 2011-12, for this.
SAMHO/CLGM
• Semiactive laser guided missile similar to the LAHAT. Intended for launch by both ground launchers and tanks. In advanced development, in trials as prototypes have been displayed already for couple of years now. Finally, alternative available to Milan/Konkurs as well.
Other programs:
• ARM: New program announced in 2012; single stage, liquid fuelled with 100 km range (similar to Kh-31P?)
• Name unknown: Missile with multiple precision guided warheads, range of 200 km for platform. UAVs variants also being explored to “launch PGMs” and then be recovered for cost effectiveness. Tech demo in 2013, with tests of a configured missile in 2015-16.
• Name unknown: Light antiship missile for naval helicopters: In development, unknown if a formal program is being launched.
• HSTDV: Hypersonic Tech demo program to develop indigenous hypersonic capability independent from Brahmos program, flight trials to begin soon
SAMs:
• SRSAM: Deal with MBDA for codevelopment yet to be signed; reports note range is now 20 km with negotiations concluded with MBDA, only GOI clearance awaited. Trishul development complete but system wont be inducted
• LRSAM/MRSAM with Israel: 70km and 100 km + ER versions being developed; in trials. LRSAM (Navy) trials to be conducted this year, MRSAM to follow thereafter.
• Akash: MK1 development complete, in production (8 Sq for AF, two regiments for Army); MK2 variant being developed – further orders likely and mentioned by AF
• New SAM: Either LRSAM/MRSAM variant or new design, initially stated to be with a range of 150km but now confirmed as 250-300km.
AAMs:
• Astra: MK1 variant was to have a Range of 80 km, MK2 of 110 km. Missile was redesigned in 2010-12 and underwent series of trials in 2012, with problems stated to be resolved and complete redesign done. Range specifications of MK1 similar to baseline R77E and around 80 km in head on & 20 km in tail chase (at similar altitudes) but superior in terms of other new capabilities mentioned – buddy designation, LOBL and HOBs capability (+/-45 degrees). Reports note seeker integration challenges have been overcome, with new info stating “, improved multitarget handling and excellent ECCM”. Seeker sourced from Russia to be manufactured in India with TOT.
MLRS:
• Pinaka Mk1: 40km, developed and in production, teething issues with ramping up numbers being resolved
• Pinaka MK2: 60 KM range, to be trialed this year
On related note:
Other PGMs:
• LGB: Sudarshan MK1 in production for AF. 50 ordered in first order. Range of 9 km.
• Sudarshan MK2 with INS/satnav in development, 50 km range noted in 2012, new design will seek to minimize rolling observed with MK1.
DRDO TechFocus article shows a new PGM kit with laser seeker, INS/GPS and fins/guidance sections, to be fitted to the DRDO HSLD dumb bomb. Might be Sudarshan 2 or a new design entirely.
• E-Bomb: Program to create a satellite guided EMP bomb to attack electricity based systems, communications, infrastructure. Warheads to be used on different munitions. To be developed over the next few years
TeerAs far as I know, these are the first and only pictures of IAF Mirage-2000s carrying the R-73’s APU-73 pylons. While it has been known for some time that the R-73 had been integrated with the IAF’s Mirage-2000s, there was no photographic evidence of it that I was aware of. Until now that is.
Excellent find. BTW, the Mirage 2000s are also equipped with the Dash-5 HMDS. So they’ll use that with R-73Es.
TeerMeaning no AESA on the Super 30 ?
Phase 2, derived from what is on the FGFA, though the IAF will see whatever else it has at the time itself. Phase 1- 140 a/c (per HAL). Presumably first 100 and 40 new builds. Rest of 130 in Phase 2.
Zhuk AE AESA has been reported by several sources. Only issue with that, even definitive Zhuk AE for MiG-35 is not ready. NIIP has a better track record of delivering phased array radars and since it has just developed Irbis it can leverage that for Bars upgrade, same way it leveraged Bars components. So less risky proposal. Also pretty powerful radar and equal to AESAs in terms of several parameters. And NIIP chief mentions his radar is what he is sure will be on the Super 30. Phazatron is completely silent and does not mention Super 30 at all.
Ruaf has much better funding. It is simultaneously inducting Su-34/Su-35/Su-30SM with lots of upgraded aircraft. India will not have to go through finding bugs.
kh-58ushke should be in production as it was shown in MAKS. higher speed (almost twice of Kh-31) and large blast radius has big advantage if your dealing with missile launcher TELs separate from radar.
In which case, I hope the IAF orders it. Will help in facing S-3XX missiles, which are with PRC and their most powerful area denial capability
Didn’t Mectron just sold some ARMs for JF17?
Yes. What I meant was that if a small missile house like Mectron could assemble the resources necessary to make an ARM, India can do likewise. But it will take a few years, since the project was recently sanctioned and till then the IAF has the Kh-31 as well, plus other systems.
TeerCool down. the only announces we have atm are about studies about KH31…
Whats there to be cool about or worried about? I said the IAF plans for Kh-31 PD with the Rafale. That seems pretty obvious from both the news and what was noted earlier. Go back and look at the MMRCA process. There was a big hue and cry about Dassault being dropped at stage 1 itself because it submitted an incomplete RFP, in particular the lack of an ARM. Then after diplomatic intervention, they were allowed back in. This was clearly the compromise and its pretty obvious if you tracked all the news from that time. Until a local ARM becomes available (not impossible, see Mectron’s example), the IAF will remain dependent on the Kh-31 series. I sincerely doubt the AGM-88 or its NG derivative will be made available for export on the Rafale either.
In IAF service, to cue the Kh-31, the IAF went to the extent to have this developed.
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/media/41344-2/siva-pod.jpg
Teerso no Kh-58ushke for Su-30 upgrade.
the Mach 4 missile with 150kg warhead. you need faster missile to deal with mobile radars if shooting from long ranges.
Correct. But it depends on whether the IAF thinks its worth the risk.
Generally they are conservative in buying new Russian weapons because they come with teething issues unless they have been in service a while.
With the Rafale, they are planning for Kh-31 PD, and with Super-30, the RVV-SD and RVV-MD, but with the MiG-29 UPG, they chose the more mature RVV-AE, Kh-31P, R-73E. By the time the PD comes on Indian aircraft, it would have been in production for Su-35 etc and proven. So the Kh-58 will most likely come with the FGFA.
An Indian AAM & ARM are also in progress.
TeerRVV-BD ? That would be interesting. First flight for Super-30 still in 2014, or postponed?
It will be around 2 years more… my guess. Because the original schedule was based on the work being started off in 2012.
In 2011-12, then IAF Chief mentioned, that the D&D (Design and development) of the Super 30 would be 2012-2016, with 2 aircraft in Russia. In Oct 2011, AWST mentioned 5 aircraft would be upgraded at Irkutsk and rest in India. It also mentioned it was a high priority but delayed over some specific details regarding equipment fit and workshare. This year, both Russian and Indian folks mentioned that the broad contours of the upgrade were decided on, and the phase 1 upgrade is now reported at 140 aircraft (as versus the original 50, and then 100 planned). The overall fleet is double that – 270, so the remaining aircraft will likely be phase 2.
R. P. Chakraborty, Deputy General Manager (IMM) at HAL:
The Sukhoi Su-30 MKI, a heavy, all-weather, long-range fighter is being assembled under license by HAL. “140 of these aircrafts are being upgraded now,” Chakraborty said, adding the planes would have stronger radars, greater avionic sub-systems and an upgraded weapons system with an improvement in missile firing integration and firing.
http://indrus.in/economics/2013/03/05/russias_chances_on_the_indian_arms_market_part_two_22685.html
March 5, 2013 Viktor Litovkin, NVO
Even leaving aside the fifth-generation fighter aircraft we are developing together with the Indians and whose mock-up was exhibited at the pavilion of the HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd) corporation, keep in mind that negotiations on upgrading the previously supplied Sukhoi-30MKIs are underway. A conceptual and engineering design for the upgrade has already been approved, and the signing of a contract on experimental design work is expected by the end of this year. According to Yuri Bely, general director of the Tikhomirov NIIP, the upgrades will involve extending the range of the radar, enhancing the APAR’s resolution, and adapting the radar to accommodate new weapons that are to be deployed on the plane. These might include the BrahMos missile, which experts believe the Indians are planning to put in the
air and launch from a plane as soon as this year.
TeerAll recent pics and reports of Su-30MKI just show it with a single Brahmos. Not sure whether IAF would be too happy with adding way too much weight to the 40 odd Super 30 MKIs and having them restricted in terms of aircraft performance, only for being Brahmos carriers. Other reports show the Super 30 will carry one Brahmos and 2 Kh-59s on the wings, plus RVVs, R73s.
As and when a mini Brahmos is developed, more could be carried.
Russia has offered the following for Super-30 – Kh-31PD, Kh-38, Kh-35, RVV-BD, RVV-SD, RVV-MD apart from Brahmos.
EW is likely to be a joint effort – India and Russia, with Indian sourced displays (equivalents/similar to those on the Su-35). Radar, upgraded Bars. Other avionics improvements likely. Some more local gear too.
Other heavy missiles due for Su-30 MKI carriage are Indian Nirbhay (subsonic, 1000km range) and unnamed Indian “strategic missile” something like French ASMP but with solid motor and less range (300 odd km reported in press).
IAF appears to be methodically working out the the Super 30 as current Flankers are pretty capable and definitive Bars was cleared just last year, signifying improvement over those in current service. Plus it would want to get as many Flankers in service, before pulling off the oldest bunch off the flightline and putting them in up for upgrade, even if 2 to begin with.
TeerUnder this program the SU 30 MKI of the IAF will be converted into formidable MRCAs called Super Sukhoi .
Under the program Irkut will redesign the SU 30 MKI in such a way that they are transformed from Air Dominance aircrafts to air supremacy aircrafts . The upgrades,will include the strengthening and service life-extension of the Su-30MKI airframes , installation of uprated turbofans, new glass cockpit avionics, mission management avionics, and integrated defensive aids suites. Deliveries are expected to begin from 2015 through 2018 for the first batch of SUper Sukhois .The Super Sukhoi airframe strengthening programme when completed, will enable each of the Super Sukhois to carry two 290km-range underwing BrahMos supersonic multi-role (land-attack and maritime strike) cruise missiles (which itself is presently undergoing a weight reduction program), and also include two uprated Lyulka AL-31FP turbofans. The AL-31FP, presently rated at 126kN with afterburning, will offer 20% more power when uprated by NPO Saturn—its manufacturer–and will have a total technical service life of 6,000 hours, instead of the present 2,000 hours.
The glass cockpit avionics package, is currently being developed by Avionica MRPC and Tekhnocomplex Scientific and Production Centre . It will include new-generation hands-on-throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) controls made by KB Aviaavtomatika, panoramic active-matrix liquid crystal displays, and a compact OLS infra-red search-and-track sensor developed by Urals Optical & Mechanical Plant. The mission management avionics package will include dual redundant core avionics computers developed by DRDO and Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) ( in collaboration with Cassidian , Germany) and will be built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). The integrated defensive aids suite,will include the AAR-60(V)2 MILDS F missile approach warning system, the EW management computer and Tarang Mk3 radar warning receiver , a countermeasures dispenser, a reusable fibre-optic ABRL active radar towed-decoy using suppression,TsNIRTI-developed expendable active electronic decoys, deception and seduction techniques, and an internal EW suite supplied by Elettronica of Italy (the same suit used in the MiG-29UPG).
The principal on-board mission management avionics components of the Super Sukhois will be the multi-mode MIRES X-band active electronically steered-array (AESA) multi-mode radar (MMR), developed and built by V Tikhomirov Scientific-Research Institute of Instrument Design along with Ryazan Instrument-Making Plant Federal State Unitary Enterprise, and modular L-band and S-band transmit/receive (T/R) modules that will be housed within the Su-30MKI’s forward wing and wing-root sections, as well as on the vertical tail sections. The MIRES, using the back-end elements of the Su-30MKI’s existing NO-11M Bars PESA-based MMR, will be able to simultaneously perform up to five ‘core’ functions, comprising look-up and shoot-up; look-down and shoot-down; directional jamming of hostile data-links; real-beam ground mapping via Doppler-beam sharpening in the inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) mode; and ground moving target indication.
The AMLCD configuration is derived from what was originally designed for the Su-35.Other new-generation avionics to be installed on the Super Sukhoi will include the RAM-1701AS radio altimeter, TACAN-2901AJ and DME-2950A tactical air navigation system combined with the ANS-1100A VOL/ILS marker, CIT-4000A Mk12 IFF transponder, COM-1150A UHF standby comms radio, UHF SATCOM transceiver, and the SDR-2010 SoftNET four-channel software-defined radio (working in VHF/UHF and L-band for voice and data communications), and the Bheem-EU brake control/engine/electrical monitoring system, all of which have been developed in-house by the Hyderabad-based Strategic Electronics R & D Centre of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). The digital air data computers and flight data recorders and their automated test benches will be supplied by Bengaluru-based SLN Technologies Pvt Ltd.
For air dominance operations the upgraded Super Sukhoi will be armed with two types of new-generation air combat missiles from Vympel JSC: the RVV-MD within-visual-range missile, and the RVV-SD beyond-visual-range missile.As for new-generation air-to-ground PGMs as and when they become available from Russia or elsewhere, depending on the operational reqmts, they will be easily integrated with the Super Sukhoi’s navigation-and-attack system due to its open-architecture design.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_super-sukhois-to-give-india-a-generation-leap_1590530
http://www.rediff.com/news/report/on-the-anvil-5th-generation-super-sukhois/20110908.htm
http://www.defencenow.com/news/279/indias-su-30-mki-to-be-upgraded-to-super-sukhoi-by-russia.html
Far too many errors in this write up by Sengupta. A lot of it is his imagination identifying the wrong subsystems and putting it into the framework of the Super30 as reported in the press.
TeerIt is hard to fault the Su-30MKI, it is a very good aircraft in its own right and one of the top selling fighters so far of the new millennium. Similarly, the Su-35S is a logical evolution of previous Flanker variants, addressing most of the few remaining weaknesses (certain avionics, empty weight). Nonetheless, it is a bit sad that the Su-35S and Su-30MKI (and Su-34) exist as separate programmes – it would have been more efficient for Russia to cancel their bespoke solutions (Su-34 and at the time Su-27M) and pursue what became the Su-30MKI as a joint procurement with India from the outset. As it is, the Su-30SM is as much a stimulus package for IAPO (a rather useful one, but still) as it is a genuine attempt to expedite modernization of the fighter fleet and that need to speed things up would also have been greatly mitigated if the cardinal elements of the Su-35S had already been incorporated into an earlier joint project with India.
Similarly, the Su-34 is a great long-range strike airframe, but payload/range capacity for strike is not something the post-Soviet Russian air force was ever especially lacking in. What they needed most urgently was not a new, expensive strike *airframe* but modern sensors and weaponry for existing long-range aviation, plus a cost-effective multi-role platform that could replace several aging tactical types as quickly as possible. The Su-30MKI and Su-35S may not be quite as outstanding performers in the strike role as the Su-34, but they’re still among the best in the world and therefore plenty good enough – especially when teamed with upgraded Backfires and Blackjacks that are even better than the Hellduck could ever hope to be.
So, in an ideal world with more far-sighted leaders in Russian politics, military and industry it should have been comprehensive avionics upgrades for the strategic bombers and hundreds of “joint Super-Flankers” ordered by the middle of the 2000s and Su-34 (airframe) development canceled rather than a drip feed of three different types and little to no upgrading of long-range aviation by the end of the decade.
+1. Russian resources (engineering, managerial, funding) split between 3 types – Su-30SM, Su-35 and Su-34 all with significant overlap in capabilities, and bespoke systems for each. Instead a single product, with a single clear roadmap, huge orders and economies of scale would have been better. Saved a lot of resources to directly go into the T-50, training, long range aviation, new munitions etc.
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