Mi-8 engines of IAF brought back smiles in Sri Lanka

COIMBATORE, Feb 3: Flying about 420 sorties, and airlifting 2.35 lakh kgs of relief materials and 673 people, the drone of the Mi-8 engines of Indian Air Force has helped bring back smiles on the faces of Tsunami-affected people in Sri Lanka.

Having been the first to arrive, the compliment of 60 crew led by Wing Commander U K Sharma, Commanding Officer of 109 helicopter unit at Sulur, has won the hearts of people in the island, making the defence forces proud.

On getting orders, the team with six Mi-8 helicopters, led by himself, reached Katunayake airbase, Colombo, with 500 kgs of medicines, the very next day after the tragedy struck, Sharma said.

On the very first day, 180 passengers, including 15 seriously injured, were evacuated by IAF helicopters to Colombo.

Women and children were in tears thanking IAF personnel while disembarking at the Colombo airfield, he said.

“This is a most touching experience to the entire crew”, Sharma said.

The Mi-8 helicopters flew sorties into relatively unknown areas like Galle, Tengalle, Hikkaduwa, Amlamgoda, Hambantota, Panama, Batticaloa and Amparai, which included LTTE-controlled regions, he said.

“Clouding and poor visibility did not deter the steadfast aircrew, who unflinchingly achieved the set task for the day, day after day, sortie after sortie”, Sharma said.

There was no fatigue as IAF pilots kept flying day in and out airlifting relief materials from all over the world to the far-flung and inaccessible regions, Sharma said.

While the pilots were busy flying from sunrise to sunset, 270 hours during the period, the technical and administration support proved their worth by keeping the copters flying fit, Sharma said.

Completes 100th flight in Tejas

BANGALORE, FEB. 3. He has done something very few pilots have done. Group Captain R.K.S. Bhandauria, test pilot at the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) here, completed his 100th sortie on the Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas, today. He has become the second test-pilot to achieve this feat after Squadron Leader Suneet Krishna, and all systems of the aircraft are performing well, the ADA said.

Three Tejas aircraft have been flying for expansion of the “flight test envelope” to an altitude of 15 km, Mach 1.4 speeds and angle of attack of 20 degrees with +4.5 G to -1 G forces, the ADA said. So far, eight test pilots of the Indian Air Force have evaluated these aircraft, including Air Commodore R.K. Sharma, Project Director of the ADA. Tejas aircraft have so far completed 187 hours of flight-testing in 340 flight-test sorties on three prototype aircraft.

DEFENCE MINISTER TO INAUGURATE AERO INDIA 2005 ON 09 FEB

The Defence Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the Fifth International Aerospace Exhibition, Aero India 2005 at Air Force Station Yelahanka near Bangalore on 09th of this month.

The significant feature of Aero India 2005 is the increase in the Indian participation from 74 companies to about 140 companies this time. Besides, Indian exhibitors, exhibitors from 30 countries including USA, Russia, UK, France, Israel, Italy, Germany, Poland, etc., would be participating in Aero India 2005. More than 350 leading companies will showcase their aircraft and aerospace products/equipment through air display, static display and exhibition attracting a large turn out of professionals and businessmen across the world. In addition to the exhibition there will be daily flying displays featuring some of the most advanced and sophisticated aircraft. Various Indian aviation products and aircraft such as, Advanced Light Helicopter, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Intermediate Jet Trainer (lJT), Indigenously produced Sukhoi – 30 MKI would be on display.

This biennial exposition has gained the status of a major Aerospace event in this part of the world. During the Aero India 2003, more than 250 companies including 176 companies from outside India and foreign delegates from 24 countries had participated in the show.

An International Seminar is being organised by Defence Research & Development Organisation from February 7, 2005 to February 9, 2005 at Bangalore on the topic of “Aerospace Technologies – Developments and Strategies”. A significant number of speakers from India and abroad will deliberate on the subject. For the first time, a National Conference on India Aviation is scheduled as a part of Aero India.

Re: Aero India 2005

Gripen Team at Aero India 2005

The Aero India International Aerospace & Defence Exhibition is rapidly becoming an important event in the region and receives many delegations from the Middle East and Far East regions.

As such it represents an important and highly prestigious event at which to further enhance Gripen’s presence in the Middle and Far East, providing a perfect opportunity to meet, discuss and demonstrate Gripen International’s product, services and partnership capabilities with potential customers from the region.
Aero India 2005 is the fifth in a series of biennial exhibitions held at Yelahanka Air Base, Bangalore from February 9-13 2005.

Air Force Station Yelahanka (AFSY) is a training base for pilots of the Indian Air force and the Indian Navy, its infrastructure and facilities are used for mounting the air show.

The exhibition is organized by the Department of Defence Production from the Indian MoD, in close cooperation with the Indian Armed Forces, Defence Research Organization and the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

] don’t understand what that pic tells you & where did you find it GEORGE?

The capture is from the official BrahMos promotional video.

Aero India show attracts 146 companies

NEW DELHI, JAN 27: A record 146 companies will participate in the fifth Aero India 2005 to be held in Bangalore next month. Although the much-admired F-16 aircraft will not be flown, let alone displayed, there will be new attractions like a retail village selling momentos, handicrafts and artefacts catering to visitors from across the globe.

Talking to FE, Squadron Leader Rajesh Dhingra, joint director, Defence Exhibition Organisation (DEO) said, “the number of Indian companies participating in this year’s show has gone up almost 100% as compared to the previous show, when there were just 76 participants.”

He said that this is testimony to the opportunities that exhibitors sense in an event of this kind, and its credibility and attractiveness.

Among the participants are Indian Space and Research Organisation, Defence Research & Development Organisation, Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Samtel, BAe-HAL Software Ltd, Titan Industries, Saras Technologies Pvt Ltd, Deccan Aviation Pvt Ltd, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Barracuda Camouflage (P) Ltd and Bijal Petroleum Equipment Corporation.

Aircraft of Lockheed Martin such as the PC3 Orion and the C130 Hercules will be on display and will take part in the flying demonstrations. Sources told FE that F-15 fighters belonging to the US Department of Defence will be on display.

Currently, the F-16 is pitted against the Russian MiG-29 MRCA, the latest version of the MiG-29, the SAAB Grippen and the Mirage-2000 for a share of the estimated $9 billion order to buy 126 fighter planes for the Indian Air Force (IAF).