Coast Guard gets hi-tech ACV

  (Press Release: Unedited)

Indian Coast Guard Hovercraft H-187, the first of the series of 12 Air Cushion Vehicles (ACVs) designed and built by Griffon Hoverwork Limited (GHL), UK, was commissioned at Okha by Vice Admiral MP Muralidharan, AVSM, NM, the Director General Indian Coast Guard. The commissioning ceremony was witnessed by Deputy Inspector General BS Yadav, PTM, Commander Coast Guard Region (North-West) and other dignitaries from Central and State Government.

The 21 meters long Air Cushion Vehicle displaces 31 tonnes and can achieve a maximum speed of 45 knots. The ACV is capable of undertaking multi-farious tasks such as surveillance, interdiction, search and rescue and rendering assistance to small boats/craft in distress at sea.

The Air Cushion Vehicle H-187 will be based at Okha under the Administrative and Operational Control of the Commander Coast Guard Region (North-West). The hovercraft is commanded by Commandant Anurag Kaushik, who is a Communication specialist. The hovercraft has a crew of two Officers and 11 Enrolled Personnel (EPs).

Dauphin pilots to make Bangalore their playing field | DGCA nod for 3rd HATSOFF simulator in striking range | Dhruv military variant simo getting ready

 The HATSOFF facility in Bangalore warming up for Dauphin certification. Photos: Yugesh Kumar 

By Anantha Krishnan M

Express News Service 

Bangalore: Chopper pilots from India and abroad, flying the Dauphins will find a new abode to hone their flying skills -- swiftly, surely and safely – at the Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF) in Bangalore. The facility, a JV project between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and CAE-Canada, will throw open a Dauphin 365 N3 simulator to pilots, after it is evaluated and qualified by the Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA) of UK on behalf of European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of India. 

Once this qualification is in (likely any time now) , HATSOFF will join the exclusive league of very few simulator training institutions in the world (US, Europe, Singapore) who can boast of six synthetic training devices for helicopters. At the end of this qualification phase, expected to be by the third week of December 2011, HATSOFF will have the Bell 412 EP, HAL civil/conventional Dhruv and the Eurocopter's Dauphin 365 N3 units – all certified as Level D, FFS/FFMS (Full Motion/Full Mission Simulators), which is the highest qualification for flight simulators. 

HATSOFF is also approved to impart training for under slung operations and rescue hoist operations. Both of these operations is expected to be exploited by the Indian industry, as is being commonly done in the West. “The visuals of the simulators already have the roof top helipads. We will be ready to train pilots for roof top operations which are bound be become popular in India in the near future. Approval for imparting such training is expected to be granted by the DGCA very soon,” says Wg Cdr (Retd) C.D. Upadhyay, CEO, HATSOFF. 

DHRUV MILSIM: The military variant of Dhruv simulator with ‘glass cockpit’ and full weapons integrated is getting ready in Montreal (Canada). By the end of 2012, it will arrive at the HATSOFF facility in Bangalore and subsequent qualification. 

Till then, the Dhruv pilots can train in the existing civil simulator at the facility, but will only be able to do electronic warfare (EW) training when the military version arrives. “The Dhruv pilots flying this variant will be able to train on night vision goggle flying, weapons firing, EW and host of other military operations as required by the Indian Army Aviation, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Coast Guard,” says Capt N S Krishna, Chief of Training, at the facility. 

HATSOFF also imparts role and mission training modes on synthetic flight devices. It is cleared to train helicopter pilots for off shore operations on oil rigs, helipad operations on helipads from sea level to 20,000ft, catering for the Indian conditions requiring operations in plains, mountainous areas of wooded Eastern sector and the cold desert of the Northern sector. 

Says Capt Jatindar, Dauphin pilot, engaged in the integration of the Dauphin 365 N3 cockpit at HATSOFF. “I have seen many simulators all over the world and HATSOFF is outstanding. We are now approaching the final portion of the integration process and this will be one of the best Dauphin simulators in the world. The visuals are excellent and feels like a real helicopter,” says Capt Jatindar with more than 14000 hours on helicopters since 1967. 

(Copyright@The New Indian Express)

R.I.P. Yashdeep Vishwakarma

When Tarmak007's best efforts to get a photograph (officially) of young Indian Coast Guard trainee Yashdeep Vishwakarma, who died following a cardiac arrest while participating at a cross-country race at Ezhimala Naval Academy failed, Yashdeep's brother-in-law Mr Rahul Dev Verma emailed the photo above after seeing a request on the blog. The photo has been hosted after proper verification with Mr Rahul.  R.I.P. Yash.

(Report here)

The above photos are being emailed by Yash's childhood friend Vidula Karpa, an MBA graduate from Indore. She said that Yash was very passionate about Indian Navy and Coast Guard and often wanted to be a big achiever in life.
(Report here)

Young Coast Guard trainee Yashdeep dies during cross country race at naval academy

(Press Release)

A young Coast Guard trainee, who collapsed due to a cardiac arrest while undergoing training, died at a hospital in Bangalore on March 9. Yashdeep Vishwakarma (25) was an Assistant Commandant with the  Indian Coast Guard.

He was undergoing training at Indian Naval Academy (INA) Ezhimala (in Kerala), when he collapsed due to cardiac arrest on March 6. He was participating in the Inter Squadron Cross Country Championship. He was immediately provided first aid at the Academy MI room and subsequently shifted to Pariyaram Medical College and Hospital for further treatment. On advice of medical specialists the patient was airlifted to Command Hospital Air Force, Bangalore, by naval aircraft. 

At the Command Hospital Bangalore, he was immediately put on life supporting ventilation system. In spite of persistent efforts by classified specialists, his condition deteriorated with every passing day and finally the trainee succumbed to multiple organ failure at 6.45 pm on March 9.

Yashdeep Vishwakarma a graduate in Electronics and Communication Engineering hails from Indore in Madhya Pradesh, his father is a General Manager at Madhya Pradesh Rural Road Development Authority (MPRRDA) and his elder brother is a doctor. Both of them were at Bangalore during his hospitalization. The officer trainee will be cremated at Indore on 11th March as per service customs.

R.I.P.

(Request  late Yashdeep Vishwakarma's friends/relatives to email a photograph of the young officer, to anantha.ak@gmail.com. MoD PRO in Kochi and INA PRO at Ezhimala say they don't have Yashdeep's photograph. A repeated request has been emailed to both.)

Best of 2010: Snapshots of Indian defense & aviation in the year gone by (Photos: DPR-DoD-MoD)

 The above photos show the best of IAF in 2010.

  The above photos show the best of Indian Navy in 2010.

   The above photos show the best of Indian Coast Guard in 2010.

   The above photos show the best of DRDO in 2010. The photos below showcase the best pick of Ministry of Defense and its activities in the Year 2010. 

    These photos, released by the Directorate of Public Relations (DPR), Ministry of Defense (MoD), today, give a glimpse of India's achievements in defense and aviation in the Year 2010. Though these photos might have appeared on this blog before, it's still worth taking another look. Tarmak007 thanks the efforts put in by the photography unit of MoD, who has been providing hi-res images to the Media every day. While  saluting their  spirit and great shutter sense, the blog also thanks the contribution of various CorpCom and PR teams under MoD.