HuntingHawkWhat would “primitive RAM” be…and where would they buy it?
I think I once remember ‘Djcross’ saying you could buy it off the internet.
HuntingHawkBrahmos Video Clip (From AeroIndia I think – no sound)
Watch the Land Attack version… Impressive
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TevEGHgaQs4&mode=related&search=
HuntingHawkMKI & ALH From Here
HuntingHawkNo idea what they’re saying, but lots of images of the Mig- 35 and AeroIndia 07….
HuntingHawkHuntingHawkWow ! The Dark Grey LCA is a beauty ! 🙂 Thanks
HuntingHawkHAL to unveil new copter at Aero India
A full-scale mock-up of a new attack helicopter will be the highlight of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) display at the Aero India show here next week, even as India’s premier aircraft maker looks to cementing new partnerships with key aviation giants during the five-day show.
Loosely based on the hugely successful Eurocopter, the model of the light combat helicopter (LCH) will be loaded with a 20-mm gun, a 70-mm rocket and an electro-optical pod.
HAL has been working on the ALH design for the last one-and-a-half years and is expected to roll out the prototype in 2008.
Explaining the rationale behind the LCH, HAL chief Ashok Baweja said: ‘We want an attack helicopter that operates at altitudes of over 15,000 feet. When you are operating at such altitudes you must have lighter machines. You can’t have a 10-tonne helicopter operating at those heights.’
Currently the only attack helicopter in the Indian Air Force (IAF) inventory is the Mi-35 gunship, a 12 tonne machine. Additionally, the IAF has modified its Mi-17 medium lift transport helicopter by mounting machine guns and rocket launchers.
The LCH is the second rotary wing HAL has designed after the Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH).
Apart from the Dhruv, HAL will showcase the indigenously developed Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) and the Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), as also a fully-functional front section of an Jaguar fighter equipped with the upgraded DARIN-II avionics suite.
The company will also exhibit its advancements in machining, composites and state-of-the-art technological capabilities in aviation and aerospace.
‘On the eve of Aero India, HAL looks forward to the future with quiet confidence. In the vibrant India of today, HAL would play an enabling role in encouraging and fostering Indian ambitions to be a leading role player in the world aviation scenario of the next decade,’ Baweja said.
‘With a firm order book on hand, HAL is cruising ahead to become a powerhouse for design, analysis, engineering and software solutions. This Aero India, HAL will stamp its authority on rotary wing capabilities, weaponisation programmes and strengths in aerospace,’ he added.
HAL is also set to interact with aviation majors including Boeing, Airbus, GE, Safran, Martin Baker, Elbit, Pratt and Whitney, Dassault, Eurocopter, Honeywell, Bell, EADS, BAe Systems, IAI, GAE, SAAB, Alenia, RUAG, Lockheed Martin, Irkut, Sukhoi Design Bureau, Rosoboronexport, RAC-MiG and NPO Saturn, a company statement said.
‘HAL is also set to have fruitful discussions with potential customers and interact with some decision-makers for future cooperation and enhancement of exports,’ it added.
Noting that HAL is likely to sign memorandums and agreements for co-operation in thrust areas, the statement said: ‘The company will also explore sourcing possibilities from aerospace companies and pitch in for strategic alliances for IT-based services in design and development.‘HAL will use Aero India as an ideal platform to forge ties in a couple of new ventures, including that of the multi-role transport aircraft (MTA), a medium-lift helicopter, MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul) for civil aircraft, and the design, development and manufacture of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
HuntingHawkAnti-Missile Test
India`s BMD engineers, riding high after their first successful test of the Prithvi anti-ballistic missile interceptor in November, are now planning an equally ambitious lower attitude test of the system in June, Defense News reported Monday.
‘When an Indian interceptor rocket rammed a ballistic target some 50 kilometers (30 miles) above Ballasore in the eastern part of the country on Nov. 27, it demonstrated a capability that is potentially similar to Israel`s Arrow-2,’ Defense News said, citing Indian officials.
In June, ‘India will attempt to mimic the U.S. Patriot Advanced Capability-3 system with a lower-altitude test of the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) system,’ the report said.
If successful, the June test would give India the prospect of developing its own reliable anti-ballistic missile interceptor that could give Delhi the two-tiered protection of the Patriot and Arrow systems combined.
Vijay Kumar Saraswat, the veteran engineer who is the visionary driving force of the Indian BMD program in the nation`s Defence Research and Development Organization, told Defense News that if the June test was successful it would put India in the same league as Russia and the United States, the two nations with the most advanced and reliable anti-ballistic missile systems.
Saraswat told Defense News the PAD had ‘two intercept modes, each designed to hit a target within four minutes: exo-atmospheric, or above 50 kilometers (30 miles); and endo-atmospheric, or lower than about 30 kilometers (18 miles),’ the report said.
Defense News said the PAD`s main sensor ‘for exo-atmospheric intercepts’ was the 360-mile range Israeli-built Green Pine radar. ‘India imported two Green Pines three years ago, one in operating condition and one as a kit that it assembled,’ Defense News said.
The report said the PAD`s interceptor rocket was ‘powered by a liquid-fueled first stage that uses two propellants and oxidizers, and a solid-fuel second stage with a gas thruster that can turn the rocket at more than five Gs. The missile carries active radar sensors to guide it to its target.’
‘The system includes one radar that tracks both the incoming missile and the outgoing interceptor, another that helps classify the incoming weapon and sends data to the interceptor batteries, command-and-control computers, and a transmitter to help guide the interceptors,’ Defense News said, citing another DRDO scientist.
HuntingHawkVishu Som of NDTV got to ride in a Mig-29 UB
Hi friends … the last few days have been quite remarkable … I flew a sortie on a MiG-29 UB at the Gromov Flight Test Centre in Zhukovski Russia where the Indian Navy’s prototype MiG 29KUB has recently been launched. This would be the 4th fighter jet I have flown though there were aspects of this sortie which were simply magical.
Please watch the story on our programme India This Week, this Sunday at 9pm on NDTV 24×7.
For starters, there are several pictures … my gift to Bharat Rakshak … which have been mailed to Jagan. The pics include cockpit snaps of the MiG 29 KUB among other really nice images. I might add, there are pics of me beaming away after my Fulcrum sortie … so be warned.
Indulge me folks … this is a post about me … not about the MiG-29 KUB … besides everything you want to know about the jet is already there on BR.
It all happened on a cold, snowy day on the 23rd of this month. After a miserably warm winter, it was finally snowing intensely in the Moscow region … not the best of news for me … since it meant that we weren’t sure whether I would fly or not.
Sure enough there were delays. My sortie, scheduled for 11am … was postponed to after 2 pm … the time needed for the folks at Zhukovski to clean up the tarmac and runway.
My pilot would be one of the most experienced test pilots in the world … Oleg Antonovich is an honoured test pilot of the Russian Federation and has clocked more than 4,500 hours in fast jets. Now 58, Oleg was flying well before I was born. He was among the first pilots to have flown the MiG-29 and there is no one presently flying who has as much test experience on the type. To be flying with this man was a singular honour.
Whats more, the weather delay meant that I could sit down and imbibe aviation wisdom from Oleg for several hours. It was a session where one got a perspective from someone who knew his stuff as well as anyone in the world.
For starters, Oleg told me about the disadvantages of glass cockpits entirely rubbishing reports that glass cockpits were necessarily better than analogue ones. He mentioned that the Soviet Union had done exhaustive research into the merits of glass cockpits and had concluded that in most practical situations, analogue instrumentation was better. According to Oleg, only the most experienced pilots could fully exploit the benefits of a glass cockpit which, in instances, was overwhelming for younger pilots. He gave me the example of Tu-154 pilots graduating to the glass-cockpit of the Tu-204 where younger, less experienced pilots found it much tougher to graduate to the glass cockpit than older pilots. He also explained that the simplicity of the analogue cockpit on the older versions of the MiG-29 meant that that there were fewer button-pushes … with all necessary information available to the pilot at a glance.
Anyway, the tarmac and runway were cleared by about 1:45 pm though the massive main door of the MiG hanger was frozen … nothing a few burly Russian engineers couldn’t sort out !!
Oleg asked me what I wanted from the sortie. I said I wanted to exceed 6 g (I had done 6.2 without any serious discomfort on the F-18 Super Hornet at Farnborough last year). Oleg agreed and said he would show me a Split S, an Immelman and a tail slide before briefly briefly handing over controls. Take off would be on full burner and we would would go vertical. Depending on our fuel state we would go supersonic up to approximately Mach 1.8. This, eventually didn’t happen because we were having too much fun doing turns.
Shortly before the sortie, I was kitted out in a g suit. My flight overall and gloves are my own (gifted to me by Boeing). I noticed Oleg wasn’t wearing a G-suit and when I asked him .. he smiled and said that G forces have more or less stopped affecting him. This … from a man who is 58 !
We then proceeding to the jet where we did a walk-around before which Oleg made me sit in the cockpit (I would be flying rear cockpit since visibility wasn’t too clear) and explained the essential controls:
I would need to activate the periscope for forward visibility (a remarkably crude though effective device!), the switch for which is on the forward left hand side of the cockpit. In addition, I would need to know where the oxygen flow switch was in case I was feeling unwell (a blue switch located well aft of the throttle). Communication was all important … for which I would need to operate the intercom (the switch is on the throttle) and switch modes for the intercom between constant communication and intermittent (i.e communication at the push of the button the throttle). Oleg told me to be careful about the canopy jettison lever on the right and told me … with a smile … that I should keep my hands off the ejection seat pull cords ! However, in the event of an ejection, the rear seat fires first. And that pretty much was that.
What took a fair bit more time (its always been a problem for me) was inerting the pins of the oxygen mask into the helmet and then detaching the same. Anyway, I more or less figured it out after muddling around a few times.
Onward then to the sortie. Oleg fired up the engines and told me to go ahead and open up the periscope. Forward visibility is based on a reflection on a mirror … the image wasn’t crystal clear and clearly a bit distracting. In fact, a preferred looking to the sides of the main console for (what I thought) was better forward visibility.
Take off on full burner was a kick in the guts … though, surprisingly, far less violent than the brutal acceleration of a Sea Harrier as it leaps of the deck of the Viraat. We went straight up … immediately pulling approximately 3.5 g (the g meter which I kept monitoring is part of a combined dial which also shows the angle of attack). The periscope automatically retracts once the undercarriage goes up.
We did a couple of hard turns … touching 5 g with Oleg asking me how I was feeling after every hard g maneuver. I was fine though 6 g is clearly when it starts hurting … the g suit really really kicks into your stomach and legs.
Oleg then said he was setting up for a tail slide … which as it turns out … was THE MOST amazing in-flight experience I had. We went vertical pulling 5g before I noticed the throttles coming back … Oleg kept telling me to look at the air speed … I couldn’t find the right dial (!) and the deceleration was perceptible. At the top of the maneuver … Natasha yelped you a low fuel warning … Oleg told me to ignore her … and before I knew it … we were ZERO G … through the tail-slide … which lasted about 4-5 seconds … It was bizarre … after being pushed into my seat for most of the sortie … here I was seemingly being pushed away !! Within moments, the nose of the jet snapped down … not at 90 degrees … but at least at 120 degrees which meant you are almost inverted … and headed one way … DOWN. It looks as if the ground is huge … and coming up to you really really quick. Oleg came up on the throttles … and pulled us up … probably touching about 6 g as we levelled out. We ultimately ended up doing 2 tail slides during the sortie.
Anyway, we soon did a low speed run over Gromov … with Natasha screaming away. Incidentally, heres a bit of news about Natasha … As you know she is the sexy Russian voice warning system on the Fulcrum. As it turns out … Natasha is actually an engineer who worked on the system in the first place when it was being developed. She continues to work in Zhukovski and has even voiced the voice warning system for the Indian Navy’s Ks and KUBs. Everytime Natasha chirps … there is a crude scroll-type warning light which comes on on the right-hand side of the cockpit … everytime the warning changes, the scroll just rolls to the appropriate marking … and because there is a bulb behind the scroll … it looks like an electronic display !!!
We did a final low speed run … before setting up on circuit for a landing, reducing our airspeed to watch a Tupolev 154 make a landing in an adjacent airbase. I also noticed a Tu-26 and the Tu 144 SST (WOW) at Zhukovski.
Oleg eased in his Fulcrum. Gromov has a 5 km long runway and there was absolutely no need for the chute to be deployed.
We went to the MiG tarmac (Gromov is a facility shared by the likes of Sukhoi, Tupolev and Ilyushin) … switching off … and leaving the aircraft.
Later, over a cup of tea, Oleg handed me a card of his. It read .. Oleg Antonovich, Hero of the Russian Federation.
Cheers
Vishnu Som
Associate Editor (Defence)
NDTV
HuntingHawkGo here: http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_sovietique/bourane_energia/transport.htm
Thank You Aditya,
So it’s part of a fuel tank for the Energia launcher.
Kinda looks like aerostat radar balloons.
I thought it was some sort of an aerostat radar balloon too, but it seemed attached to the aircrafts. Didn’t believe what I saw till Aditya posted the link.
HuntingHawkMig-29 KUB images Thanks to Igorr @ BR
Anyone know what those white balloon shaped object is in the background (First Pic) ?
HuntingHawkSpace Capsule Recovered Successfully……
Original post Thanks to Gerard@BR
The Space capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1) launched by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C7) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota on January 10, 2007 was successfully recovered today (January 22, 2007) after being maneuvered to reenter the earth’s atmosphere and descend over Bay of Bengal about 140 km East of Sriharikota.
Since its launch, SRE-1 was going round the earth in a circular polar orbit at an altitude of 637 km. In preparation for its reentry, SRE-1 was put into an elliptical orbit with a perigee (nearest point to earth) of 485 km and an apogee (farthest point to earth) of 639 km by issuing commands from the Spacecraft Control Centre (SCC) of ISTRAC at Bangalore on January 19, 2007. The critical de-boost operations were executed from SCC, Bangalore supported by a network of ground stations at Bangalore, Lucknow, Mauritius, Sriharikota, Biak in Indonesia, Saskatoon in Canada, Svalbard in Norway besides shipborne and airborne terminals.
Today, January 22, 2007, the re-orientation of SRE-1 capsule for de-boost operations commenced at 08:42 am (IST). The de-boost started at 09:00 am with the firing of on-board rocket motors and the operations were completed at 09:10 am. At 09:17 am, SRE-1 capsule was reoriented for its re-entry into the dense atmosphere. The capsule made its re-entry at 09:37 am at an altitude of 100 km with a velocity of 8 km/sec (29,000 km per hour). During its reentry, the capsule was protected from the intense heat by carbon phenolic ablative material and silica tiles on its outer surface.
By the time SRE-1 descended to an altitude of 5 km, aerodynamic breaking had considerably reduced its velocity to 101 m/sec (363 km per hour). Pilot and drogue parachute deployments helped in further reducing its velocity to 47 m/sec (about 170 km per hour).
The main parachute was deployed at about 2 km altitude and finally, SRE-1 splashed down in the Bay of Bengal with a velocity of 12 m/sec (about 43 km per hour) at 09:46 am. The flotation system, which immediately got triggered, kept the capsule floating. Recovery operations were supported and carried out by the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy using ships, aircraft and helicopters.
During its stay in orbit for the last 12 days, the two experiments on board SRE-1 were successfully conducted under micro gravity conditions. One of the experiments was related to study of metal melting and crystallisation under micro gravity conditions. This experiment, jointly designed by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, was performed in an Isothermal Heating Furnace. The second experiment, designed by National Metallurgical Laboratory, Jamshedpur, was intended to study the synthesis of nano-crystals under micro gravity conditions. This experiment can help in designing better biomaterials having closest proximity with natural biological products. The experimental results will be analysed in due course by the principal scientific investigators of the two experiments.
The successful launch, in-orbit operation of the on board experiments and reentry and recovery of SRE-1 has demonstrated India’s capability in important technologies like aero-thermo structures, deceleration and flotation systems, navigation, guidance and control. SRE-1 is an important beginning for providing a low cost platform for micro-gravity experiments in space science and technology and return specimen from space.
HuntingHawk
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