The Sunday Tribune

Those Magnificent Flying Machines

The Aero India, 2007, held at the Air Force base in Bangalore was a truly unique air show. However, one could not help but notice the poor fare presented by the country’s own defence establishments, reports Jangveer Singh from Bangalore

A line-up of the birds at the Aero India, 2007

WE have a surfeit to choose from. The American technology barrier is finally behind us. We will continue to maintain ties with old friends – the Russians—who will supply us next-generation fighters and know how. Our military cooperation with the Israelis is set to enter the next level with the country offering the best of its Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and air defence systems to India. Civil aviation is in for a boom with the jet set even queuing up for personal planes. All this and more was seen at Aero India, 2007 held at the Air Force base in Bangalore.

On the flip side, one could not help but observe the poor offerings the country’s own defence establishments, including the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) made on the occasion. We had a barrage of publicity from HAL about how well the advanced light helicopter—Dhruv—was doing and how a prototype of the Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) had been made in a record time of 20 months from metal cutting. Unfortunately, the only two accidents during the show concerned these aircraft. While a young pilot of the Sarang team flying a Dhruv helicopter lost his life when the copter plummeted to the ground without any apparent reason, an IJT aircraft skidded off the runway while attempting a take-off.

The Indian Air Force’s acrobatic flying team Surya Kiran shows its prowess

A US helicopter flies past during the sixth edition of the Aero show

The old faithful: A Russian MIG-29 thunders across. — Photos by Mukesh Aggarwal

The ALH programme had earlier faced problems with the tail rotor but HAL has claimed an accident which occurred on this account was more to do with the bonding of the tail rotor than any design problem. The IJT prototype, which HAL says has not suffered a single glitch during test flights, could not have floundered at a worse time.

HAL took up the largest display at the air show but had nothing much to show for it. It displayed what seemed to be a crude mock up version of the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), which it aims to develop as combat version of the ALH-Dhruv.

Taking up space in the same display was a plastic model of the multirole transport aircraft (MTA) which it plans to develop jointly with Russia and also a model of the Hawk trainer which was bought from British Aerospace. HAL definitely needed to show more to stand up to the joint development tag.

The DRDO chief, M. Natarajan, made out a case for increasing funds to the agency to make its allocation ten per cent of the defence budget. He also listed a long-term plan of the agency which includes developing a Medium Combat Trainer (MCA). But he admitted that the country had failed to develop the Kaveri engine which is to power the decades-in-development Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). It is now in the process of signing up a foreign company to "jointly develop" the engine. Natarajan also admitted that efforts to develop an Indian Air-borne Early Defence System had come a cropper after the crash of an aircraft testing the system in 2001. He said though there had been a lull for around five years, the project would be taken up anew with plans for a more improved defence system.

Besides this, DRDO’s programmes are likely to be further hit by its inability to retain its trained engineers. The agency admitted that trained manpower was leaving it in droves with the attrition figure being between 22 to 27 per cent.

Keeping the Indian participation dampener aside what felt good was the apparent freedom to choose from the military aviation up for sale. The proposed 126 fighter jet Indian Air Force (IAF) order put the focus on the combat jets and their companies. They on their part tried their best to milk every publicity opportunity be it being the first to fly Tata Chairman Ratan Tata or competing with each other to put the maximum number of senior IAF officials in the air on their planes.

Lockheed Martin had the first media coup after it flew Ratan Tata on an F-16. However Boeing repeated the same feat on the second day and even offered rides to newsmen on the Chinook heavy lift helicopter it is offering to the IAF. It also ferried newsmen on the C-17 Globemaster, a special role plane which it would like the IAF to have a look at as an interim acquisition before it starts making its own Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA) in collaboration with Russia.

The Americans attended the air show in full force and were probably responsible for making it one of the most successful editions yet. The companies included Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Raytheon. Lockheed Martin has upped the ante and asserted how far it is ready to go for the combat jet order by offering five programmes to the country. This, besides the F-16, includes the P-3C maritime surveillance aircraft, MH-60R multi-role helicopter and the PAC-3 air and missile defense system. The company claimed that it would offer India flexibility in tailoring the aircraft’s capabilities to meet the country’s specifications as far as the F-16 was concerned. India is also the first country outside the US to be offered the MH-60R, the US Navy’s latest and most capable multi-mission aircraft. The "hit-to-kill" PAC missile is touted as the world’s most advance terminal air defense missile.

In the case of Boeing too, it is not just the fighter jet order which excites its officials but the fact that it will compete for $10 to 15 billion worth of $35 billion military aviation hardware that India is likely to buy in the next 20 to 25 years. Besides the F/A 18 Super Hornet it is already in the race for selling Chinook heavy lift helicopters. In the case of the F/A-18 Super

Hornet, Boeing is offering the latest version of the aircraft which has extendable range and payload capability, including the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. Boeing Vice-President, Christopher M Chadwick, said the company was confident the US government would clear sale of the latest technologies to India.

So with the Americans completely mesmerising with the latest aviation hardware and even promising transfer of key technologies, where does it leave the Russians?

The Russians, too, got their best to counter the American publicity blitz but the aero show made it clear that they are unlikely to remain the sole major supplier of defence equipment to India and would in all probability be losing some defence contracts to the United States.

Though, observers say, politics is responsible for this, IAF officials speaking on the condition of anonymity say the US has established a lead in weapons system technology and this would work in its favour in the future. Giving an example they said the MIG-35 on display for the first time at Bangalore has more superior avionics than the MIG-29 OVT aircraft, including an upgraded optronic search-and-track system.

But, observers said, the Active phased-array antenna (APAA) radar, which is a new addition, is similar to ones installed aboard most advanced American fighter planes. This doesn’t actually give it any advantage over the American aircraft but then the Russians are hoping the experience they have with the MIG aircraft assembly line will hold them in good stead. There was some good news for the Russians however with IAF announcing that the country had ordered 40 more Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft from the Irkutsk Corporation. This, coupled with an agreement for a fifth-generation fighter, also with Irkut, and an agreement for joint development and production of the Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA) will ensure the continuance of the time-tested strategic partnership between the two countries.

The most modern fighter planes — the JAS-39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon—probably do not have a chance even though the IAF claims it is looking at merit and politics won’t come in the way of choosing the next fighter jet. The Gripen is the only complete fourth-generation aircraft which comes in the lighter category while competing with the MIG-35 and the F-16. Similar is the case with the Eurofighter which is in the heavier class along with the Super Hornet, though in this case the difference is very less. Analysts had offered options including splitting the order to ensure a mix of light and heavy weight fighters but the IAF chief S.P. Tyagi’s statement that there would be only one foreign vendor for the order will force India to make a decision soon. Knowing Indian bureaucracy no one is guessing how "soon" this will take place.

Height of luxury

Aero-India, 2007, also saw the emergence of more Indian businessmen as buyers for the latest private jets. "This air show is different from others because here businessmen come to buy not to watch", says Raytheon Vice President Ted Farid. Raytheon was able to sell five jets in three days and says the number could rise in the coming days.

Former Mysore Maharaja Srikantadatta Narsimharaja Wodeyar, who has earlier voiced interest in starting a luxury airline, tried out a 76-seater CRJ900 Bombardier aircraft on the occasion. Bombardier claims it has sold three business jets in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent in the last 15 months.

The European Aeronautics Development Agency (EADS) feels India would need 1100 aircraft, worth $105 billion, over the next 20 years to operate its metro and inter-city shuttles. Sukhoi says India needs around 150 regional jets and showcased its Superjet 100 which it claimed was being given a look over by Air Deccan and Kingfisher.

On the cargo front Russia’s brand new Tupolev Tu-204C is being offered by Tupolov Aircraft industries which the company claims can lift cargos between 30 to 325 tonnes. The company says an Indian company is ordering five of these aircraft with an option of ten more.

Maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities are also in the offing with Texas-based Bell planning to invest $60 to $100 million in an MRO facility in the country. Boeing also announced the establishment of a $ 100-million MRO facility in Nagpur. With Airbus in negotiations with HAL for a MRO facility at the current Bangalore airport, India could emerge as an Asian MRO hub like Singapore and Dubai in the near future.

Fight for fighter jets

A pilot of US F-18, (Super Hornate) shows the Indian flag after the flypast during Aero India 2007

Fighter jets may have enthralled everyone but it is the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which are weapons of choice for both the IAF and the Army in the future. UAV firms, mainly from Israel, were in full force at the air show underlining a continuance of the strategic cooperation between the two countries on the UAV front. Israeli companies also showcased their latest missiles and air defence systems.

The Israelis have history on their side as India is presently using UAV’s, including the Heron and Searcher -2 vehicles, supplied by them. The Heron flies at a high altitude for long hours and is used for strategic purposes while the Searcher-2 is a medium-altitude vehicle used for tactical purposes.

Israeli company Rafael has come with its Skylite B Mini UAV, which it says can be configured to fly below a low cloud base and in adverse winds. Take- offs and landings in high winds are a cause of concern for Herons in India presently.

The Skylite B, according to Israeli officials, is user-friendly and can be launched by using an easily assembled catapult. It has an endurance capability of around 90 minutes and is recovered using an automatically released parachute and air bag for maximum protection of the platform as well as payload.

The company also showcased its Spyder air defence missiles system. This is a low-level system designed to destroy fighter aircraft, bombers, and cruise missiles by creating a more attractive false target.

Elbits, also of Israel, displayed Hermes, a twin-engine medium altitude long endurance (MALE) UAV system. This has a maximum take-off weight of 1750 kg, a maximum altitude of 30,000 feet and more than 24 hours endurance in both day and night missions.

The company also displayed Skylark 1, a mini pan-pack UAV system which is ideal for very close range, beyond the hill missions. This system is specially designed for counter-terror applications and its performance is proven in inclement weather. The company also has a medium version called the Skylark 2 which is a close range tactical UAV designed at collecting data in mission ranges exceeding 50 km.

BAE Systems of the United Kingdom also indicated it is keen to enter the Indian UAV market by showcasing the Herti for the first time outside the UK. The unique selling point of the Herti is the simplicity of the package. The ground station in this case consists of three boxes which take as much space as a large refrigerator. Three plasma televisions complete the picture. The UAV itself is a fully autonomous task-driven vehicle which does not need any manual control from the ground. It is fitted with wide field sensors and a single narrow one which allows for high-resolution closeups.

French company Safran associate Sagem Defense Securite also used the opportunity to announce its intention to team up with an Indian partner for its enhanced Sperwer UAV. The company claims its UAV has features including enabling transfer of in-flight UAV control to a station deployed ahead of the ground control unit and an integrated aerial relay enabling control of a second UAV out of the ground station’s sight.

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