Inspiring India! Don’t miss the desi story at the show

By Anantha Krishnan M

Express News Service

Bangalore: Welcome to Bangalore – the city of plane people. As the carnival of flying machines begins today, the passion quotient of those who make a living out of designing, developing, selling, buying and even writing about the planes, will be definitely high. Propelling their interests further will be India's shining stories from the skies.

In the next five days, you will be in the company of Tejas, Dhruv, Rudra, LCH, Agni-V, the prying plane, radars, avionics systems and many more desi defence products that are maturing by the day. Press the future-tech button and you are sure to catch a glimpse of AMCA, Tejas Mk-II, LUH, micro-UAVS and many more. The list is long, inspiring and probably gives you enough dope to know more about Indian defence industry, both government-owned and private sector, who have finally woken up to the challenges and opportunities aerospace provides. Still lots to catch up, to be the best in the business. 

For Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), this Aero India is special considering all the Tejas platforms, barring one, are up and flying. Notwithstanding the teething problems ADA has faced over the years, Tejas programme has picked up momentum, with various versions put together completing 2000 flights, just ahead of the show. “Once, the LSP-8 too gets on to the flying mode, followed by IAF’s user evaluation trials, the programme will complete yet another significant phase. At Aero India, the world will see the strides we have made in our combat aircraft programmes,” says P S Subramaniam, ADA chief.

For Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, the show will again be a stage to announce the arrival of Rudra, the weapon-system integrated (WSI) version of Dhruv. When the Indian Army receives the first two Rudras on February 8 at the show, it would again send strong signals to the world, that our strengths are not all that weak, as it is projected. For Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), a silent military technology giant in this part of the world, it would be an array of electronic military toys that would put the spotlight on the company. The software-defined radio (SDR) will lead BEL’s pack of products.

Former Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal (retd) Fali Major is of the strong opinion that the air show should be an opportunity to synergise the aerospace strengths of India, both in civil and military. “The Indian Air Force (IAF) has got everything it has asked for in terms of flying assets, barring some systems and weapons. In that sense, there’s nothing major you can expect from this air show. But, we must now put the focus on our SMEs and MSMEs, who will play a major role in India’s aerospace activities. We must encourage the small Indian companies, who are exhibiting their products,” says Major.

Hence, the show is not all about the number of aircraft that will be displayed, number of companies participating, number of footfalls counted, orchestrated deals and dinner debates. It is also about India’s growing aerospace might.

Blue skies and happy landings!

Copyright@The New Indian Express

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Breaking on Tarmak007: DRDO's Diwali gift! Kaveri passess critical tests onboard IL-76 in Russia

Barely a month after the DRDO announced that the Tejas Mk-11 will powered by GE-414 power plant, there's some good news for the devotees of desi defence products. The Kaveri engine has finally passed the critical tests onboard IL-76 in Russia on November 3 crossing a major hurdle towards certification.

Russian sources confirmed to Tarmak007 late on Wednesday night that the tests results were extremely positive. "This is a huge sigh of relief for the Indian side as the platform had its share of problems earlier. We are waiting for the final trial parameters, but I can confirm to you that the Indian engine has finally proved all necessary test points. It's a huge technologocal breakthrough for India," a source tells.

DRDO officials are tight-lipped about the development and didn't want to comment on the historic achievement on the even of Diwali. A formal announcement is expected to be out today/soon/any moment from Delhi.

The Indian government had earlier this August had announced in Parliament that the Kaveri engine testing under simulated altitude and forward speed conditions were completed successfully in February 2010. “The Kaveri has been integrated with an Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft at Gromov Flight Research Institute in Moscow for ground and flight tests. The engine tests under simulated altitude and forward speed conditions conducted in February 2010 [were] successful. Another engine has been integrated with IL-76 aircraft at Gromov Flight Research Institute, Moscow for ground and flight test which is expected to complete by October 2010. These two major milestones would make the engine certified for flight operations," Defense Minister A.K. Antony had told the Upper House of the Parliament on August 25, 2010. He had also even spelt out the reasons for the delay, then.

Finally, GTRE scientists and engineers couldn't have asked for a better Diwali gift, considering the non-stop battering they received from all corners, for the inordinate delay in developing Kaveri for Tejas.

For an earlier report on Kaveri engine on this blog & AW, hit:

http://tarmak007.blogspot.com/2010/08/kaveri-finally-inches-closer-to-be.html

To dive deep into Kaveri project, hit:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTRE_GTX-35VS_Kaveri

UPDATE: 1
(A DRDO official press note issued at 4 pm today)

 An official release shows Kaveri engine (covered) onboard an IL-76 positioned at the Gormov Flight Research Institute in Russia. Photo: DRDO

And, a flight for Kaveri finally…

(DRDO Press Release)

The indigenously designed and developed Kaveri Engine was successfully flight tested by DRDO on Wednesday, the 03^rd Nov 2010 during the Flying Test Bed (FTB) Trials at Gromov Flight Research Institute (GFRI), Moscow, Russia. The engine running right from take-off to landing, flew for a period of over one hour up to at an altitude of 6000m at a speed of 0.6 mach in its maiden flight. The engine control, engine performance and engine health during the flight were found to be excellent.  With this test, Kaveri Engine has completed a major milestone of the development program. During the coming months further 50-60 test flights will be carried out to mature the engine in terms of reliability, safety and airworthiness. These trials would pave the way for further flight trials of Kaveri Engine with a fighter aircraft.

An existing IL-76 aircraft was modified as a Flying Test Bed for this trial, with Kaveri engine replacing one of the four engines of the aircraft. The modifications included instrumentation required for trials as well as integration of mechanical, electrical and fuel system. The engine was controlled by the pilot from the cockpit.  A number of taxi trials were carried out with Kaveri Engine integrated with the aircraft, before this maiden flight. The engine data was recorded in the aircraft as well as transmitted to ground station by telemetry.
A team of 20 scientists from GTRE (DRDO) have been working along with GFRI for these trials. Dr Prahlada, Distinguished Scientist & Chief Controller R&D (Aeronautics & Services Interaction) briefed the press about the significance of the first flight.

Kaveri engine is being developed for fighter aircrafts, at Gas Turbine Research Establishment, a DRDO laboratory based in Bangalore with the active support of several other DRDO labs, academic institutions and industry partners. During development phase, Kaveri engine has successfully completed various stages of development including component testing, safety tests, ground based engine tests, and endurance tests etc, both at GTRE as well as test facilities abroad.