Small but better Vision set for Pakistan Air force

Small but better Vision set for Pakistan Air force

     The Pakistani Air force rapidly growing as a formidable air force with the induction of JF 17 block 2 fighters and F 16 Blk 52 fighters along with Airborne control center and multi role Tanker aircraft. PAF Spokesperson said this in a interview, when the PAC - Pakistani Aeronautical Complex delivered the 16th JF 17 Blk 2 fighter this year, Completing the goal of 16 Aircraft per year. He also said about the future of PAF with two advanced aircraft's. along with one twin engine aircraft.

    Pakistani Airforce plans to decommission all older generation fighter aircraft before 2020 and keep  just two model of advanced fighter aircraft later 2020. The older Fighter jets like French made Mirage series and Chinese modified MiG 21 are about to be completely withdrawn by 2020. In 2020 PAF would operate JF 17 Blk 2 and 3 version, F 16 Blk 52 version along with low number of either J 31 or the Su 35 for special missions.

    Pakistan air force set to receive the modified Block 3 fighters by early 2017, with Chinese made AESA Radar's, New engines and improved avionics and electronic warfare suites. PAF operates some fifty older generation JF 17's. Even though they do have the BVR capability and able to launch Anti shipping missiles too. Pakistan deployed a modified JF 17 blk 1 squadron close to Karachi for naval strike missions. PAC also plans to modernize those early models with advanced systems present in Blk 2 variants.

    The Block 2 version is currently in serial production, That PAF plans to induct thirty two fighter jets in two years span. The target set to PAC to deliver those new Blk variants within two years time. The PAC also completed the first batch of 16 aircraft's this year, and about to produce another 16 in 2016.

    The Chinese testing new engines avionics and radar's in their J 10 platform. Which can be easily transferred to the PAF JF 17's. China currently testing those new systems in J 10 B platform and set to achieve the goals before the fall of 2016.  Thus shows the Pakistani's can easily adopt new Chinese technologies in newer JF 17 when the production starts in 2017.

    Pakistani's another option is the proven F 16 fighters. PAF operates some seventy six F 16 Fighters where most of them are advanced variants. Those F 16 are multi role aircraft's comes with decent air to air mission systems and air to ground options. PAF also pressing the Americans to supply additional F 16 Blk 52 aircraft's. The Americans didn't responded the Pakistani proposal this time.

    The American government is ready to supply the new F 16 to Pakistani Air force. However the American congress dominated by the Republicans blocked the US government proposal of possible FMS sale. The Senate committee almost close to isolate the Pakistani's from the US allies list, Due to many reasons, Which include their support of terrorism and connections with China and Russia.

     It's reported due to the increased interests with Indians, Americans moving away from Pakistani options. The Republican President candidate Trump fingers Pakistan is the mother of Terrorists and US have many plans which include deploying American ground forces. He also supported Indian view of Pakistan and China, Also endorsed the US Congress option of making close relationship with India.

    It's clearly the PAF may add upto some 200 plus modern fourth generation fighter aircrafts and another twelve Su 35 S or J 31 advanced twin engine fighter jets before 2020. The fleet Supported by Il 78 tanker aircraft's for long range  mission supports,

    The PAF also have four SAAB 2000 Erieye airborne control center, The force multipliers make the fighter jets more powerful with additional jamming and control supports. PAF has another set of four Chinese AESA mounted on the An 12 modified as YJ 8 in China.

    The small but outstanding force is good enough to challenge the Indian Air force. However the 200 fighters numbers seems tiny when IAF operates more than six hundred modern twin engine fighters with advanced network centric systems.

Russia ready to supply RD 93 Engines to Pakistan

Russia ready to supply RD 93 Engines to Pakistan

    Russian engine company Klimov acknowledges that they would ready to supply RD 93 Engines and it's associated repair systems and maintenance facilitates to Pakistan for it's JF 17 fighter jets. The long delayed Russian and Pakistani negotiations regarding above was just cleared to improve the Russian and Pakistani relationship. India yet to respond the Russian engine sale to Pakistan, Which is not as much as threat to India, rather than the American delivery of F 16 fighters to Pakistan.

     Pakistan operates fleet of F 16 and JF 17 single engine fighter jets as their backbone of primary air defense against Indian Fighter jets. Pakistan agreed to buy more than 150 JF 17 fighter jets from the CAC/PAC - Which is a joint venture between Chinese and Pakistani aerospace industry. Three version of JF 17 planned to be developed, which can get modern system in future mid life upgrades.

    Pakistani air force operates Block 2 version of JF 17 and all earlier Block 1 versions has been modified into Block 2, while Block 3 yet to enter production. Pakistan plans to build those new Fighters with improved Russian engines. The Pakistani JF 17 powered by the Russian RD 93 Engines. which is a modified RD 33 engine who powers the MiG 29 and MiG 35 fighter aircraft's. IAF's and IN's MiG 29 fleet uses the same RD 33 engines.

     The Modified RD 93 engine has superior dry thrust compared to earlier versions. due to the modification of engine's gearbox. The increased thrust also decreases the service life of the engines life by just 2200 hours. The original RD 33 can fly more than 4000 hours. The Chinese and Pakistani officials acknowledged that the modified engine has better reliability, and said they face no problems of that engine even flying more than 7000 hours in Pakistani and Chinese JF 17 fleet. Without quoting the unknown crash of JF 17 in Pakistan. Which was believed to be engine issues. 

     Those engines can be transferred to Pakistan via the Chinese supply lines. To reduce the time limit Pakistan directly approached Russia for the engine sale. Not only the engine sale, Pakistan requested Russia to assist building RD 93 engine repair facility's and further developing the RD 93 to achieve more power. The negotiations hanged since years, and now only Pakistan gets a positive news from Russia.

     This supports from Russia allows the Pakistani's to get increased service availability of JF 17 fighter aircraft. Which also helps the Pakistani's to know how to solve the engine issues. Since the issue in WS 13 Pakistan plans to build all additional JF 17 with the Russian RD 93 Engines. WS 13 is currently conducting trails in China. Which will be installed in the future JF 17 versions and the Chinese fifth generation fighter J 31.

The RD 93 Engine

   For the PAF fleet of JF 17, Pakistan needs more than 1000's of RD 93 Engines to keep flying the JF 17 for years. Even if there is any issues broken out between their relationship, Pakistan can manage to keep flying those Fighters with the stock of large quantity of Engines. And it's also a good chance to Russia to boost the military export orders. This huge orders can further increases the Pakistani relations. Which can sweeten the Tor M and Su 35 contract negotiations. 

     Meanwhile, there is no sources, which clearly mentions about the transfer of technology and producing those engines in Pakistan with raw materials supply from Russia. This will further enhance the Pakistani knowledge in advance turbo fan jet engine technologies. China once tried to reverse engineer the RD 33 engines. However the actual achievement is unknown since the clone WS 13 still showing some problems. which is the major reason why Pakistan further moved with RD 93 from Russia.

ADA Tejas for Sri Lankan Air force

ADA Tejas for Sri Lankan Air force

ADA Tejas

   A silent Indo-Pak stand-off is brewing up in Lanka. India’s premier aerospace agency ADA is gearing up to offer the HAL manufactured Tejas or the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) to Sri Lanka Air Force. This is undoubtedly a game changing move to the maturing aerospace industries of India.  Sri Lankan Air Force is all set to replace its aging fleet of Mig 27 and Kfir platforms with advanced light combat fighter jets. Pakistan has already offered Sri Lanka its JF 17 multi role fighters and went on to claim of a possible deal. Time and again Sri Lankan officials have denied of having worked out any deals.

   Tejas is a demonstrating product for the budding Indian aerospace industry.  Tejas was designed and manufactured in India by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), further the jet was manufactured by HAL in house. Tejas even though built in India has incorporated an array of international components. The engines, radars and missiles were all imported and then further integrated to form a deadly weapon platform. However JF-17 was designed and developed by Pakistan and China with its own resources. Major components were built in-house and further incorporated to the aircraft. The reliability question of these components however remains unanswered.

   Considering on paper stats, the JF-17 has an upper edge over the under-development Tejas. The combat radius of the JF-17 is just unquestioned. The aircraft is powered by a Russian RD 93 engine. The aircraft also uses Chinese made  air to air missiles. These missiles were cloned from the original components and are vulnerable to malfunction threats.  The aircraft also carries a mix of air to ground munitions. The aircraft uses cruise missiles and anti shipping missile. However the need of SLAF is unique; Sri Lanka is a country that has seen lot of political unrest. SLAF employees extensive numbers of ground attack platforms, the real need is for an aircraft capable of dealing with aerial threats. The JF-17 fails miserably in this regard.

  Sri Lankan based newspaper ‘Sunday Observer’ has run a detailed report regarding the offer of Tejas to SLAF. Quoting the newspaper “India offers its latest Tejas multi-role combat aircraft to the SLAF to compete with Pakistani offer of JF 17”. The newspaper claims SLAF sources have been keen in both the jets and rank both the aircraft as very potential in fighting capability. SLAF is a cash strapped force; the budget allotted to SLAF is extremely less. Undoubtedly SLAF will consider the factor an economically viable option. The selected jet has to perform multiple missions. Reliability will be another concern for the SLAF; JF-17 was fielded years ago and has dedicated production lines. Tejas is yet to be inducted to the force; Its primary end user IAF has raised concerns over the performance of the jet.


SLAF currently operates nine Israeli made Kfir multi-role aircraft. Under its command is also seven Chinese made MiG 21 variant F-7 interceptor and  6 Soviet made MiG 27 ground attack jets. The diversified jets have overtime forced SLAF to spend a chunk of its budget on the maintenance of these aircraft. Plans of replacing these aging war pieces with a single model multi-role fighter air craft.

IAI Kfir

   SLAF have relied on Russia to induct aircraft to its fleet. SLAF is not only responsible of securing the air space but counter any arising on ground.  Sri Lanka is recovering from the Civil war waged by the dreaded LTTE. This war had shown the need for multi-role jets. The air space was always prone to attacks and there was unprecedented activity on the ground.

    As mentioned, SLAF has a very pale budget. High end products like the F-16 Blk 52 are the best aircraft that suits the needs of SLAF but budget is a major concern. America had made clear it wasn’t interested in helping Sri Lanka during LTTE war. All these factors have led Sri Lanka to look at the products fielded by maturing contenders.

    Sri Lankan Air Force Chief is scheduled to visit Pakistan early next month as a routine official visit. However some sources mention that he will be observing the PAF aircraft taking-off to skies. This show of force will be led by JF-17 and a deal may very much be finalized during this visit. Pakistan during Paris air show had claimed of an Asian country having signed up for a squadron of JF-17’s. Sources say it was Myanmar Air Force that reached out Pakistan for the aircraft but details were never divulged and the credibility of the deal is left unanswered.

JF 17

  

    Aircraft survivability is one more factor to consider; PAF has lost one or two JF 17 in accidents till date. It's widely known that a JF 17 crashed in late 2011; Faulty engines with Chinese sub-parts in the engine blades were ascertained as the reason for the crash. The pilot failed to eject from the aircraft due to a major fault in the crucial ejection seat. This is a major dent to JF-17. Tejas has clocked several thousands of air time in its test flights. The aircraft has been in flown in the most extreme conditions. The aircraft has remained in the skies and touched ground only when ordered to do so.

    The major concern for exporting Tejas is the need for obtaining clearance from various partners. The engine for the aircraft is from General Avionics, a USA based company. America has freezed all help to Sri Lanka after reports of war crimes surfaces. Various other components haven been imported from USA. For a deal to mature it is crucial that US gives a go ahead; America has been blunt in denying any assistance to Sri Lanka. The deal will go nowhere but down if Sri Lanka fails to kill the war crime allegations.  Taking all these factors it is likely that SLAF will likely favour and opt for JF-17 in the near future. 

Editor Karthik Kakoor

Pakistan confirms Su 35 talks with Russia

Pakistan confirms Su 35 talks with Russia

    Officials from Pakistan confirmed to IHS Janes that they were in talks with the Russian arms supplier Rosoboronexport to sell unknown numbers of  Su 35 S fighters, the information was first leaked by the Russian deputy foreign minister Sergi Ryankov that Russia and Islamabad in talks to supply Su 35 Multi role combat aircraft  to the Pakistani Air force, earlier many times Pakistani air force officials talks about the need of twin engine aircraft to counter Indian Air force, the Pakistani officials didn't says about exact timeline of new fighters jets induction, however it's believed they get modern twin engine fighters before 2020.

    The Pakistani air force so far flying only single engine Fighters, which lacks combat radius, sortie rate and survival probability, PAF has a Fleet of modern F 16 Blk 52 fighters, Chinese and Pakistani made JF 17, and older Mirage III and some Russian origin Chinese modified MiG 21's dubbed as  F 7, and France almost stopped it's support to the Mirage platforms, so they have to relies on the F 16 fighter jets, where they get offset and maintenance support from Turkey, even if the US stopped the support,

    As new generation comes, the PAF yet to matured to operate in a long range twin engine heavy fighters, as first they sought the Chinese J 31 fifth generation fighters, the J 31 program is hits a road block after the first flight in 2012, there is no clear progress made in the J 31, while China continuously working on the J 20, as per Initial plans the PAF intended to buy some two squadrons of FC 31, a degraded version of J 31 made by the Chinese, also the Pakistani officials not interested in the Kilmov RD 93 Engines, so they have to move on some other platforms, after many rounds of Talks the PAF Finally selects the Su 35 S Multi role fighter for it's future induction program.

     The PAF has a sight of dominance in the Arabian Sea, where The Indian Navy and Air force always enjoy freedom of Navigation, so far PAF has no real fighters that can bolster the Arabian sea, the F 16 lacks of Range and has no Anti shipping missiles, meantime the JF 17 has such capabilities, JF 17 is capable to carry YJ 12 based Anti shipping missile, however it's  lack of range and questions about it's sea skimming capability, So PAF need a good a good fighter that can capable to launch proven Anti shipping missile from stand off  Ranges, the Su 35 S with Kh 35 is a good option for them, and Russia can ready to sell those missiles to Pakistan if they were willing to pay the money. which helps them to secure the Pakistani Ports from Indian Naval Attack in case of war,

    As per Pakistani analysts, the PAF may get only one squadron of Su 35 S fighters with the Service availability rate of  60% at any time, due to the maintenance issue and cost factors, It's hard to establish a data link between Friendly fighter jets from PAF for situation awareness and co operation, so It's clear the PAF Su 35 may work stand alone mode, a four finger formation of Su 35 fighter is a good show off against any modern Fighter jets, two set of four finger is more enough to pose good deterrence in peacetime asymmetric warfare.

    Meanwhile the Chinese and the Indonesians are the other customers of Su 35, where all of them will buy only two or less squadrons, and Pakistan also gets the reservation, more over it's a good export opportunity for Russia, all these orders would give some $5 billions, while each Su 35 costs some $60 millions, while Pakistan can get some twenty Su 35 S fighters, missiles, offsite support, maintenance, and Spare parts for $1.5 billions, not a big money to spend Pakistan in three years due.

    Those Su 35 S surely pose an threat to Marginal IAF fighter aircraft's. where the current IAF Fighters can keep the Pakistani Air force to keep their fighters in Hanger, the Sukhoi and MiG fleet can control the entire Pakistani Airspace and destroy any PAF fighters if they tries to take off from the runway, if they gets the advanced Su 35 they will never hesitate to confront the IAF fleet, due to it's long range combat radius and radar detecting capability, they can easily pose a show off against Indian fleet at any time.

Interview with the boss of LCA Tejas, P S Subramanyam

Extracts of Interview with P S Subramanyam, PGD and Director-ADA

The blog today brings forward to you all a very unique article. It is an interview with the outgoing Tejas boss, ‘P S Subramanyam’. The article contains extracts taken from Tarmak 007, a leading aerospace and defense page of the nation which is being maintained by Dr Anantha Krishnan M.

-Tarmak 007

It was an emotionally charged day at ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency) HQ, Bangalore.The leader and pilot of India’s aerospace dream project the ‘LCA program’ bid a final adios to his office. P.S Subramanyam an M.E and ISSc scholar, a distinguished scientist and the Director of ADA under whom the nations pride ‘Tejas’ took to skies retired after serving the nation for 40 long years. P S Subramanyam completed his PG (Post Graduation) in Aeronautical Engineering from India’s premiere institution IISc. He has Mechanical Engineering as his basic degree from the after sought NIT (National Institute of Technology), Warangal. P S Subramanyam started his service with DRDL (Defense research and Development Laboratory) in the year 1975. He contributed significantly for the IGDMP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme) with his vast knowledge in control, guidance and navigation.

P S Subramanyam joined ADA in 1986 which was set up primarily to look after the nation’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme. It was in the very initial phase of the programme that he was introduced to the program which was being worked upon by eminent engineers pooled in from various fields and Air force pilots. P.S. Subramanyam was elevated as the PGD and Director in 2005. Below is a long Q&A regarding 'LCA Tejas' as reveled by P.S. Subramanyam.

Q: The current fleet of IAF MiG 21 and MiG 27 are aging pretty rapidly and there are reports of IAF decommissioning nearly 3 squadrons of MiG 21 and MiG 27 by the year end. How will the gap be filled without FOC for Tejas?

A:  The initial orders for Tejas are on IoC configuration and FoC clearance will not come in the way of ramping up the production.

Q: Can Tejas be compared to other aircraft available in the international market, ex f-16 block-52 and JF-17?

A: In its class of aircrafts LCA is equal if not superior and it is comparable in performance.

Q:  The total cost spent on the project.

A: Rs 7,500 cores has been spent to develop 2 TDs, 5 prototypes and 7 LSPs and establish a production line. The most economical programme in the world so far for the above purpose.

Q: What is the current production rate of Tejas, IAF is already phasing out the MiG-21?

A: The production rate is aimed at producing at least 16 to 20 per year. The production rate maybe doubled at a suitable time.

Q: What is the range of radar in tejas mk 1 and will it be improved in mk 2?

A: The radar range in mk1 is approximately 80 - 100 kms. It will be improved to to 120 Kms in mk2.

Q: Will private players be part of LCA to bolster the Tejas production capacity in the near future?

A: The option of involving private players is being explored.

Source - ADA

Q: When will we see the upgraded version of MK.1?

A: The upgraded version of Tejas MK1 can be expected in the next 2 years.

Q: Has the On-Board Oxygen Generation System (OBOGS) been tested?

A: All the ground tests involving OBOGS has been completed and is ready for integration on a prototype vehicle.

Q:  What is the capability of Tejas in terms of precision guided ground attack roles and close air support to ground troops in the battlefield?

A: LCA can carry Laser guided bombs which can strike targets with less than a meter precision.

Q: Are our pilots satisfied with Tejas and its performance?

 A: Yes. The pilots find the aircraft extremely pilot friendly in its handling qualities.

Q: Your views on the export of Tejas!

A: Let's first take care of the needs of our customers. Exports will happen in future to friendly nations. There have been many inquiries during various air shows.

Source - Net

Q: The home grown engine program ‘Kaveri’ is now scrapped, is there any plans to develop a new engine?

A: The dry engine development of Kaveri is on.

Q: The degree of stealth in Tejas?

A: Very minimal amount of stealth has been provided with Tejas.

Q: As the years roll by, the avionics maybe outdated will it be upgraded with the passing years?

 A: LCA is developed on an Open Systems Architecture which will enable continuous upgrades to the electronics.

Q: What is the level of composite materials used in LCA?

A: 40 per cent by weight and 90 per cent by surface area.

Q:  Is Tejas capable of pulling 9G manoeuvres and is it comparable with other aircraft of its class in manoeuvrability?

A: Tejas is capable of pulling 8G’s and can be compared to all other aircraft in its class for performance.

Q: Is there any update from Cobham in reference to the supply of quartz radome and IFR probe? How vital is the Quartz radome? Is it possible to fire BVR missiles with the existing radar system?

 

A:  ADA will get access to the complete hardware in less than a month. The Cobham Radome will increase the range by about 10-15%. Yes BVR missiles can be fired with the existing radar system.

Q: What would be the service ceiling, ferry range and max speed of Tejas by the end of FoC?

 A:  LCA will enjoy a service ceiling of 15 km, ferry range will be 1500 km and maximum speed will be 1.6 Mach.

Q: Can the current radius of operation of Tejas be enhanced? What are the modifications required for it?

A:  The radius of operation can be enhanced by increasing the drag reduction capability and by carrying extra fuel.

Source - Net

Q: How many hard points are Tejas equipped with and is it sustainable for an aircraft of its class?

 A: Tejas has got 8 hard points and is optimal for this class of aircraft.

Q: An overview of the Electronic Warfare Equipment going into Tejas.

A: We have got RADAR Warning Receivers and planning to have the self protection jammers in the next variants.

Q: What is the Angle of Attack (AOA) of Tejas and is it in par with IAF requirements? 

A: The AoA of Tejas is 24-26 degree and meets the IAF requirements.

Q: Anything regarding the AMCA project and the challenges you may face as it takes shape.

A: AMCA configuration studies have been completed. The Engine requirement for the aircraft has been finalised. Stealth technology and super-manevourability will e the key challenges faced.

Q: What is the expected life span of a Tejas aircraft?

A: 30 years or 3000 hours.

Q: How many Tejas have been produced till date?

A:  As of now SP-1 has been handed over. 19 more are under construction in IOC config.  Two technology demonstrators, Five prototypes and 7 LSPs have been completed till date.

Source - Net

Q: The key differences between the naval version and the air force supplied aircraft? When will the naval version have its FOC?

 A: LCA Tejas will have strengthened undercarriage, leading edge vortex control devices, Arrester Hook, Drooped Nose, Fuel dumping  and many more capabilities unique to the Naval variant. The naval aircraft will be cleared by carrier compatibility after our own air carrier INS Vikrant is available for tests.

Q: Tejas is slated to fire the Python and Derby missiles. Will we see the home grown ASTRA being fired from Tejas?

A:  Astra missiles programme was actually initiated at ADA only. All the time the integration of ASTRA on to LCA has been kept in mind while evolving Astra. Once Astra is cleared on any other platform it will be integrated on LCA.

Extracts of interview published in Mathrubhumi English.

Q: Your tenure will probably go down in the history of Indian military aviation as the most challenging one. Isn't it an irony that you had to leave the project just months ahead of its Final Operational Clearance (FOC)?

A: The Mk-1 configuration aircraft started coming after I took over in 2005. The challenge started with PV-2, which is the present Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) configuration aircraft. In the last 10 years there were major transformation in the aircraft and systems. I would say 80 per cent changes took place in the last 10 years in terms of design and systems. Now, FOC is on track and I am happy that it will be achieved in the next six to nine months. Remember that projects are bigger than people. There are capable hands to take the programme forward. I am not running away and will be always available to offer any help.

Q: So what are the major changes to Tejas in the last 10 years?

A: Well, there are many. There were changes to the front fuselage, cockpit layout, radome, windshield and canopy. Almost 80 per cent avionics changed and even the wings underwent modifications due to R-73 missile. The rear fuselage too had to be changed to accommodate GE404-IN20 engine. Even the MMR (Multi-Mode Radar) underwent changes after the indigenous effort to make one did not succeed. So we had to go for Israeli Elta Radar. Even the fuel system got changes for better CG (Centre of Gravity) management. New Communication systems too came in. Fourteen aircraft were built during my regime and around 2500 flights achieved in 10 years. Tejas story will inspire generations to come.

Q: What was the most satisfying moment during your command?

A: I would say the handing over of SP-1 to the Indian Air Force, the first Series Production aircraft, is the most memorable moment. I can proudly say I saw through the programme end to end.

Q: During your tenure, there were many attempts to close the project. How did you manage to overcome those pressures?

A: Okay. We had faced many unexpected encounters while taking Tejas project forward. In 2007, we came to a situation which almost was like to be or not to be. There were several meetings held to close the programme. From our end, we gave confidence to the government and convinced them that it is a doable project. There were occasions in the past that many wanted to merge ADA with some other organisations. We faced all the rough weather bravely.

Q: Who are the people who were behind these 'undercover operations?'

A: They were not undercover operations, but open attempts. Names don't matter as we have come a great distance ahead successfully.

Source - Net

Q: We understand that the FOC is likely to spill over to next year?

A: The programme has come this far and we are confident of achieving the FOC by March 2016. The current delays are just passing clouds and we will have access to all hardware within a month. Nothing can stop achieving FOC now.

Q: What was it like handling multiple agencies, which had different command and structure?

A: Interesting one (Laughs). I am not sure whether we have any other national programme running with so many stakeholders associated with it. It made me a better leader. Barring ADA, I had no control over any of the stakeholders in the programme. Still, I got the support of everyone, which I am proud of.

Q: Media has been mostly very critical of the programme, but you never came out countering them.

A: (Laughs) If I had to that, who would have run the programme? I believe that everyone has a job to do and I did mine. The media never had the right appreciation of the time and cost of the programme. Every time a new figure came out along with a new set of timelines. With Rs 7500 crore, we made 14 aircraft and also set up a production line. Isn't it far superior than the expenditure twice incurred in any other programme in the world? Honestly, we were ever affected by any media reports.

Source - Broadsword

Q: What are your immediate plans?

A: I want to get connected with the youngsters. I will visit universities and talk to engineering students. I want to share with them the Tejas story. In the next 10 years, India should be second to none in military aviation. If aviation needs to grow, we need to introspect our position in science and technology today. I have already set a blueprint in my mind to target youngsters. In the last 10 years, I have not gone for any vacation. Even Sundays were working days. Probably, now I will get some time to listen to some old Hindi and English songs. 

Q: Songs like...

A: My all-time favourite number is Mary Hopkin's -- Those were the days my friend...

This article published is possible only because of Tarmak007. All the question Q&A published here are formed after clubbing the comments on Tarmak 007, hope it was an interesting read .  Due credits is all paid to the photographers have produced these stunning images. 

Composed by - Karthik Kakoor

Sri Lanka Buys the JF 17

Sri Lanka Buys the JF 17 Blk 2

       Reports revealed that Sri Lankan Air force buys a squadron of Block 2 version of China Pakistani Developed JF 17 Multi role fighter, in Sri Lanka a Squadron consists of 18 to 24 fighter jets, number include Trainer, Reserve and Active combat group. during the Paris air show this year, Pakistani officials announced that JF 17 gets the first export order and signs the agreement with a South Asian country to supply the JF 17 Fighters, without revealing the Name of the Customer.

       Two days after the announcement made in Paris air show, a Pakistani TV news Channel quoted the South Asian customer is the Sri Lankan Air force, earlier this month Pakistani Army Staff General Raheel Sharif meets with several Sri Lankan Officials and the Sri Lankan Air force Chief, also during the meet photo's emerged that a JF 17 Scale model along with Sri Lankan Air force emblem, reveals the Sri Lankan plans of Buying the Chinese Pakistani made JF 17 fighter jets.

      

   It's also reported that The Sri Lankan air force gets the upgraded Block 2 version of the JF 17 which having air to air Refueling, improved Avionics, more combat load, and advanced electronic warfare capabilities. each fighter costs some $30-53 millions, makes the fighter as very cheap in price, also the Company plans to deliver the JF 17 to Sri Lanka before 2017. looks as they already signed the Agreements.

       It seems there is no problem in the Contract, since Sri Lanka has a good relationship with both Chinese and Pakistan, they have good relations since decades. Sri Lanka operates many Chinese developed combat and Cargo planes which include the Chengdu F 7 Fighter jet, MA 60 and Y 12 Transporters. also the JF 17 don't have modern western equipments since it makes numerous other problems because of Technology stealing.

         Earlier the Pakistanis approached the French for improved Engine the Snecma M 53 Engines, more powerful RDY multi mode Radars along with MICA advanced air to Air missiles, also seeks the support of data link to connect the aircraft with many other Flying platform like AEWCS and ground stations. the deal valued some $1.6 billions, But France refused to supply those cutting edge state of Art technologies to the Pakistani's and the Chinese due to the concern of Leaking French advanced technologies to other Countries especially China, also Indian lobby is prevented the French to deliver those technologies to  China and Pakistan,

      Where India operates Mirage 2000 fighters which were recently modernized with more advanced Technologies listed above, 

      So it's forces the JF 17 to use the outdated Russian engines and Chinese Missiles, even they approached the South African Darter A and European IRST advanced dog fighting missiles to fit in the JF 17, that contract status is also unknown, since most countries knows about China, that they were reverse engineer everything they buy, 

        Also the JF 17 comes with Chinese made KLJ 7 radar, where it's also developed by the Chinese, since it's believed that even Russia too refused to sell the Radar systems to the JF 17 otherwise those Russian Radars significantly large in size which it can't fit inside the Radome of the JF 17. The JF 17 uses the Russian Klimov RD 93 engines, the same Mig 29 uses twin RD 93 Engines.

       The JF 17 comes with array of Chinese made Missiles, Bombs where they lack of proven modern Air to Air and Air to Ground missiles, since it's radar can't integrate it. the Primary long range BVR missile is the Chinese made PL 12 missile having range upto 60 to 100 kilometers. and uses the PL 9 and PL 5 heat seeking missile for Dogfighting. 

   

   But the JF 17 has some good numbers of Air to ground missiles, like Precision and Laser Guided Bombs. stand off Cruise Missile like Ra'ad, But it's not confirmed that weaponry includes the Pakistani Ra'ad available for Export to the Sri Lankan Air force. But they too can supply it to show Sri Lnakan Air force also a Threat to Indian Air force and Strategic locations in Southern corner of India. also it's planed more variety of Air to ground missiles like Anti radiation, unguided bombs and more.

     Even Sri Lanka gets the Chinese Pakistani made JF 17 it won't change anything in the Souther part of India.