Soldier On
After the successful launch of the supersonic Brahmos cruise missile from the Sukhoi-30, ensuring a tactical advantage for the armed forces, work on ‘BRAHMOS Light,’ a lighter version of the missile that can be fired from the Tejas, the indigenously made Light Combat Aircraft that the Indian Air Force is acquiring, has begun. The new … Read more
India’s indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas will make its debut run in the Republic Day Parade this year, the Indian Air Force (IAF) announced on Thursday. Besides Tejas, the flypast will include Su-30 aircraft in Trishul formation and also a high speed run by a single Su-30, followed by vertical Charlie, which means the aircraft … Read more
Indian state-owned military aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has floated global bids to procure around 100 state-of-the-art active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar systems for an improved variant of the HAL Mark-I Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), dubbed Tejas Mark-IA, according to local media reports. “The tender in the form of Expression of Interest (EoI) … Read more
After a delay, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) would help in enhancing Indian Air Force’s capability to snoop and detect activities of Pakistani and Chinese air force as it is planning to induct the indigenously-developed snooping plane later this month. “The plan is to induct the Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEWC) aircraft … Read more
The army and air force have grounded their ageing fleets of light-utility helicopters, concerned if the machines were fit to fly after three army aviators were killed in a crash in West Bengal a week ago. More than 280 Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, lifeline of troops in high-altitude areas including Siachen glacier, would fly only … Read more
Despite the Navy junking the aircraft carrier version of the home-grown Light Combat Aircraft, the DRDO would continue working on the plane to develop it into a naval variant of the indigenous fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). In a setback to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India programme in defence sector, Navy Chief … Read more
An army helicopter has reportedly crashed at Sukna Military Camp in West Bengal around 11.45 am Wednesday morning, killing three officers and leaving one junior commissioned officer critically injured. The Cheetah helicopter was returning to the camp’s helipad at Sukna, near Silgirui, from a routine mission. While three officers died on the spot, a JCO … Read more
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) today gave its nod to buy 12 upgraded Dornier surveillance aircraft for Indian Navy at a cost of about Rs 2,500 crore. Defence sources said the proposal was first given Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) by the Defence Acquisition Council in October 2014 and has finally been approved by the … Read more
In a significant milestone for the country’s military aviation sector, the upgraded Jaguar DARIN III twin-seat aircraft has received Initial Operation Clearance (IOC). Deputy Chief of IAF, Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria, who flew the aircraft at HAL airport in Bengaluru recently, announced the satisfactory completion of IOC. Test Pilot of Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment, … Read more
India is offering to buy hundreds of fighter planes from foreign manufacturers – as long as the jets are made in India and with a local partner, Indian Air Force(IAF) officials say. A deal for 200 single-engine planes produced in India – which the Air Force says could rise to 300 as it fully phases … Read more
The Ecuadorian Air Force has put up its three Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Dhruv helicopters for sale, which it had acquired in 2009 for its utility transport needs . The announcement was made by the country’s Minister of Defence Ricardo Patiño last week on Thursday. Seven of the light utility twin-engine helicopters were purchased new … Read more
India test flew its homegrown light utility helicopter for the first time, giving a boost to its military plane-maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s bid to win large orders from its armed forces for the chopper. The LUH, which is being designed to replace the ageing Chetak helicopters of the armed forces, flew for around 15 minutes … Read more
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is looking to test fly Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) this week in Bengaluru, after overcoming a software issue that held back its first flight. “We are now ready to take the chopper in the air. All hurdles have been crossed and now it is only a matter of the right day … Read more
Indian Air Force will induct indigenous HTT 40 basic trainers in “large numbers”, which will boost the capability although it was earlier keen for a Swiss aircraft. The country was looking at having a fighter aircraft under ‘Make in India’ initiative which will be a “big ticket project”, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Raha said … Read more
India, with the help of Russia, plans to set up a logistics hub for its most lethal combat aircraft, the Su-30MKI, at the facilities of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) in Bangalore. Sources from India’s Ministry of Defense said- “We are trying to ensure the maximum operational availability of Su-30MKI fighters at any given time. We … Read more
The Indian Air Force (IAF) finally inducted its first batch of Tejas multi-role fighters last week. Produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the Tejas was under development for about 30 years, and it is the second homegrown fighter in the IAF’s history, the first being the HF-21 Marut. The Tejas is envisaged to replace the … Read more
According to latest Indian media reports Srilanka and Egypt have expressed interest in acquiring indigenously developed Light Combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas fighter jet from India and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar too has shown his willingness to sell LCA-Tejas to friendly countries but major hurdles to LCA-Tejas export plans may come from Countries who have provided … Read more