We all know what cockpit that is. But do I see small stand by units aswell?

I figure the empty weight is around a late model F-16. J-10 has more room for improvement. So its a single engined Su-30. J-10 can cover much of Chinas airspace fast and be based at most airfields. Has 4 bomb pylons. Meaning not all PLAAF airbases and multiracks?… All in all its smart. No wonder the PLAAF doesn’t want FC-1. FC-1 has range problems, the engine is not effiencent and lacks thrust besides that its not Chinese. J-10 has the delta advantage. I’m sure J-10 has better lift than FC-1. FC-1 mantanence I suppose must be similair to J-7. Its just a hunch. J10’s payload could be better. Mapo MiG might be helping the J-10 development. J-10 and Tejas see the great advantage of deltas. If the J-10 haden’t revieved a Russian engine it would have been smaller. J-10 has the advantage of ceiling and speed. Same advantage the J-8 provides over the J-7 or MiG-31 over anything. hmmmmm. Tejas has deltas but not canards. But it does have lighter compisotes with a good T/W ratio. In flight it would be fast and difficulte to see. But after the first turn the Tejas would loose energy much like teh J-10 but the J-10 has the advantage of canards and soon TVC. The Tejas should have fairly good chance since it does have DASH sight.

Isn’t this why Rafale and Typhoon make use of compisotes?

Sorry to break the silence. I do believe that the Tejas does have lower RCS. Chinawhite, was inclining otherwise. All evidence supports that the Tejas with a smaller size, much larger use of compisotes and eventually RAM paint have a smaller RCS than the J-10 which is mostly more metal, and has sharp angles like the canards and intakes.
This article supports that the J-10 has a fair amount of metal.
http://img175.imageshack.us/my.php?image=page3he5.jpg

Funny. I remember it was the other way around. You guys resorted to meaningless bashing.

This pics wont load for me! WTF? Help me! PLese give me the URL to the pictures!

INDIAN ARMY SETS NEW HELICOPTER PURCHASE TARGETS By Bulbul Singh .

23 Nov 05. The Indian Army has begun implementing a plan under which it will procure over 300 helicopters of various varieties from overseas markets in the next ten years. The multi million dollar plan has been put into operation after the Indian Army insisted that it should not be dependent on the Indian Air Force for combat helicopters and other varieties of helicopters. The aim is to strengthen the Aviation Corps of the Indian Army, said an Indian Army official.

Under the plan the Indian Army will procure around 200 armed aero scout helicopters for which Bell Textron’s 407 ARH and Eurocopter’s AS 550B3 helicopters are in the race. The Indian Army will complete trials of these helicopters in the next year and begin short listing of the machines to be bought said the Indian Army official.

The Indian Army plans to buy 60 helicopters outright with the remainder built under license by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Besides, the Indian Army will induct over 80 medium lift assault helicopters like the Mi 17V-5 helicopters and over 50 homegrown Advanced Light Helicopters. For conducting flight operations in support of special operations forces, the Kazan Helicopters MI 17V 5 has been selected.

Around 80 such helicopters will be procured at a cost of around $6m each which will be equipped with an avionics package to the Advanced Light Helicopters. After years of pressure on the Indian defense ministry to have an independent helicopter force, in 1986 the “Air Observation Post” units were transferred from the Air Force to the Army to form the Army Aviation branch. Using nine helicopter squadrons, Army Aviation supported ground units in the Siachen Glacier in Jammu and Kashmir and in Sri Lanka, as well as counterinsurgency operations in various parts of the country.

Currently the Indian Army has around 200 helicopters consisting of the homegrown Advanced Light Helicopters numbering 35, Cheetah and Chetaks numbering around 165 helicopters. The aviation plan of the Indian Army envisages setting up of aviation brigades at Corps and Command Headquarters and making strike formations leaner with their own attack, surveillance and special operations helicopters. It is under this plan that the Aviation Corps has planned to the 10 tone class helicopters to replace the Cheetahs and Chetaks to ferry equipment to the upper reaches of Jammu and Kashmir including the Siachen glacier.

The Indian Army says that the acquisition of new helicopters is imperative for providing 24-hour close air support over the battle area. The homegrown Advanced Light Helicopters to be acquired by the Indian Army will be equipped with a display mission computer, radar altimeter, and transponder developed by the Defense Research and Development Organization, DRDO. The other equipment to be incorporated on the homegrown Advanced Light Helicopter to be built at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Ban galore include, glass cockpit avionics suite , twin control and display units for data entry, flight management, sub systems control and system status display and secure communications suite supplied by the Israeli Aircraft Industries of Israel.

So far two rounds of trials have been held for the Bell and Eurocopter’s Fennec helicopters. The wining model will be equipped with a turret mounted optroninics sensors, secure communications suite, a combined pulse Doppler GPS navigation suite, automatic direction finder, distance measuring equipment, marker beacon transponder, three axis auto hover system, plus twin 2.75 rocket pods and 20 mm gun ponds.

The Indian Army will become the biggest user of the homegrown Advanced Light Helicopter with the induction of around 120 such helicopters in both the transport and weapons system integrated versions. The Aviation Plan also envisages acquisition of an attack helicopter equipped with guns, rockets, anti-tank guided missiles and air-to-air missiles.

IAF’S PURCHASE OF MMRCAs BECOMES COMPLEX
By Bulbul Singh

15 Nov 05. The Indian Air Force has told the Indian defense ministry that it should look for more advanced aircraft then being offered currently by foreign vendors as part of India’s efforts to procure 126 Multirole Medium Range Aircraft (MMRCA).

Sources in the Indian Defense Ministry say high ranking officials of the Indian Air Force have recommended to the Indian defense ministry that India should try to procure the more advanced twin engine Rafale of Dassault in place of the Mirage 2000-5 being offered, more advanced versions of MiG 29 as Sweden’s Grippen or MiG 29 or the Mirage 2000-5 will not give Indian Air Force an overwhelming majority. Meanwhile, Russia has already indicated that it will also offer its MiG 29 aircraft, revealed Indian defense ministry officials.

The offer was carried by the Russian Defense Minister Iganov during his last month’s visit to New Delhi added the officials. The Indian defense ministry offered a Request for Information ((RFI) in December 2004 for the purchase of 126 MMRCAs worth over $5 billion to Lockheed Martin, US, for the F-16s, Saab of Sweden for the JAS-39 Grippen, MiG of Russia for the MiG 29M/M2 and Dassault Aviation of France for the Mirage 2000-5.

Thereafter Boeing of United States also offered its F-18 and now Russia is offering its MiG 35 which is an advanced version of MiG 29M. The MiG 35 has two thrust vector engines, and can stop in mid air and turn around at 360 degrees, say Indian Air Force officials. Besides, the Russians have also offered the MiG 35 along with transfer of technology, and provision for marketing to third country added the Indian defense ministry officials.

However, what will weigh heavily against Russia will be recommendation made last year by Indian defense planners that the MMRCA should not be bought from a country which already has a medium range combat aircraft with the Indian Air Force. The Russian SU30 MKI is a medium range aircraft and India is currently license producing 140 of these aircraft at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore. Sources add the principle of no second medium range aircraft from the same source was put before the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee of the outgoing National Democratic Alliance government in 2002-3.

It was around that time that India was negotiating the license production of over 100 Mirage 2000-5 aircraft in India. Sources add that all technical evaluations were carried out of the Mirage 2000-5 aircraft and the deal was nearly done during the earlier government. Though Indian Air Force has the Mirage 2000, and a variety of Russian aircraft the force has no American fighter aircraft.

The Americans have also offered to give advanced radar along with their F-16s, add the sources. The United States has not only offered the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar capable of interleaving air-to-air, air-to-ground and terrain following modes, but advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground weaponry.

The process of acquisition of MMRCAs for the Indian Air Force is getting difficult, confirmed the Indian defense ministry officials. India has yet to formally issue a Request for Proposal for the purchase of 126 MMRCAs nearly one year after RFI’s were issued. It takes a minimum of around four to five years to complete a defense acquisition process.

INDIAN AIRFORCE GROUNDS MIGS
By Bulbul Singh

07 Nov 05. The Indian Air Force has grounded four of the upgraded MiG 27 aircraft upgraded at Indian facilities because of snags in the homegrown avionics developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO’s) Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE), at Bangalore, and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s Nasik Division.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, (HAL)had taken up the up gradation of the 40 MiG 27 aircraft and the ambitious project is being undertaken without the help for the Russians. An official of the Indian Air Force confirmed that four of the recently upgraded MiG 27 had to be grounded due to technical snags in the homegrown avionics. The new avionics, developed by DARE, is built around two high performance core avionics computers that perform the multiple functions of a mission computer, display processor, video switching unit as well as a weapon algorithm computer-all combined in a single unit. The avionics upgrade involves interfacing new Israeli systems like forward looking infra- red, head up display, video recording system and digital map generator.

Sources in DRDO said the avionics integrated for the MiG 27 was a spin-off developed for the Sukhoi -30 MKI aircraft by DRDO, but it is not known if the changes will now be made for the SU 30 MKI aircraft in the avionics. HAL had bagged the upgrade award in competition against Moscow based RSK MAPO of Russia two years ago. The core avionics computer used in the upgraded MiG- 27 has been used in the used in the Jaguar aircraft, proposed and for the MiG- 29. As the MiG-27 avionics project was a spin off of the SU 30 MKI project currently under license production at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited it was sought to reduce the man-hours on research and development.

Besides indigenous components several electronic systems will be acquired from Israel, including the digital moving mop from Elbit Systems of Israel and electro optic system from Russia. The upgrading would also include fitment of EW suite, jam resistance secured communication, installation of Radar Warning System, Forward looking Infra red sensors, Laser Digital Pods and data link systems. Besides, advanced navigation systems and an improved targeting accuracy, developed by the Bangalore- based avionics unit of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have been incorporated in the upgraded MiG-27. Tranquil. An indigenously developed self-protection jammer is also being re- fitted during the upgrade.

An HAL official said the IAF’s upgrade program aims to keep the type in frontline service till 2020 adding that the MiG-27 upgrade will primarily be an in-country affair, with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) Nasik Division acting as the primary contractor. The official however did not comment on the grounding of the four upgraded MiG 27 by the Indian Air Force. Sensor updates include mounting of Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR), Laser Designation Pod (LDP), L-Band Homer and Reconnaissance Pods.

A radar will be mounted which will give the aircraft anti-ship and some air-to-air capability.

HAL’s Hyderabad Division has developed a radio altimeter and stand up UHF Communication system which will be incorporated during the up gradation.

The Indian Air Force proposes to upgrade 140 MIG 27 aircraft at a cost of over $800 million finishing the job by 2010.

The priority of the upgraded MiG 27 was to remove shortcomings such as limitations in accuracy of navigation and weapon delivery, improve night flight capability and install advanced jammers.

The Russian manufacturer of MiG 27 however refused to let the engine of MiG 27 be changed saying that in case the R 29-B engine of the aircraft is changed then it will lead to a major changes in the entire aircraft in various dimensions.

Sensor updates include mounting of Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR), Laser Designation Pod (LDP), L-Band Homer and Reconnaissance Pods.

A radar will be mounted which will give the aircraft anti-ship and some air-to-air capability.

HAL’s Hyderabad Division has developed a radio altimeter and stand up UHF Communication system which will be incorporated during the up gradation.

http://www.battle-technology.com/this_issue10.html

Whats guiding the Shtils? Orekhs, or some other radar ie 3d star search?