News Analysis India

Tag: IAF

  • Biggest indigenous procurement, CCS approves procurement of 83 HAL manufactured fighters costing Rs 45,000 crore

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: In a big boost to the indigenous defence manufacturing, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Wednesday approved the procurement of 83 indifenously manufacture Light Combat Aircraft. Ministry of Defence stated officially, “The Cabinet met under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister in New Delhi on 13 January and has approved procurement of 73 LCA Tejas Mk-1A fighter aircrafts and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 Trainer aircrafts at the cost of Rs. 45,696 crore along with Design and Development of Infrastructure sanctions worth Rs.1,202 crore.” Elaborating on the capabilities of LCA Mk-1 over the current variant of LCA, the MoD listed, “This aircraft is equipped with critical operational capabilities of Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar, Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Missile, Electronic Warfare (EW) Suite and Air to Air Refuelling (AAR) would be a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of Indian Air Force, IAF.” These will add to operational roles, enhance the combat ability and maintainability.

    As per the plan, the first flight of the Tejas Mark 1A will take place by the end of 2022.

    The CCS chaired by PM Sh. @narendramodi today approved the largest indigenous defence procurement deal worth about 48000 Crores to strengthen IAF’s fleet of homegrown fighter jet ‘LCA-Tejas’. This deal will be a game changer for self reliance in the Indian defence manufacturing.
    — Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) January 13, 2021

    DRDO initiated the programme of indigenous aircraft in 1983 and had obtained permission to initiate a programme to design and develop a Light Combat Aircraft. Indian Air force has two squadrons of LCA Tejas operational at present.

    Mr R Madhavan, CMD, HAL calling the decision as a big boost to the Tejas program has received a major shot in the arm in boosting the Atamanirbhar drive in the aerospace and aeronautics.

    Mr R Madhavan added, “The production rate for this increased requirement by IAF is being augmented by HAL from 8 to 16 aircraft per year through the creation of state-of-the-art new facility in Bengaluru.”

    LCA-Tejas program follows the system integrator model and has created a national aerospace ecosystem with the participation of approximately 560 companies from large to SMEs which encompass all the facets of aircraft design and manufacturing.

    “It is estimated that as the LCA MK1A program kicks-off, it will generate primary jobs to a tune of 5000 across the country. The programme will foster local industry and drives skill development of young Indian work force.” Added Mr R Madhavan. Light Combat Aircraft Mk-1A variant is an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured state-of-the-art modern 4+ generation fighter aircraft. “It is the first “Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)” category procurement of combat aircrafts with an indigenous content of 50% which will progressively reach 60% by the end of the programme.”, informed MoD. This decision is seen to act as a catalyst for the indigenous manufacturers, small and big. “About 500 Indian companies including MSMEs in the design and manufacturing sectors will be working with HAL in this procurement. The programme would act as a catalyst for transforming the Indian aerospace manufacturing ecosystem into a vibrant Atmanirbhar-self-sustaining ecosystem.”

    The Cabinet has also approved infrastructure development by IAF under the project to enable them handle repairs or servicing at their base depot so that the turnaround time would get reduced for mission critical systems and would lead to increased availability of aircraft for operational exploitation. This would enable IAF to sustain the fleet more efficiently and effectively due to availability of repair infrastructure at respective bases. The manufacturing of Light Combat Aircraft by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, HAL will give a further push to Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and boost indigenisation of defence production and the defence industry in the country.

  • Indian Army to induct first batch of women chopper pilots by 2022

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: Indian Army will deploy the first batch of women helicopter pilots by 2022 after their induction into the Aviation Corps of the Indian Army.

    Army chief General MM Naravane confirmed the news. “One month ago, orders were passed and the proposal has been initiated,” he said while addressing the media on the eve of the Army Day.

    Till now, the women officers in the Army were serving in the Air Traffic Control and ground duties. “The batch of officers to begin will join the next course starting from July.” said the General.

    Concurrence was sought from the three-related branches of the Army Aviation Corps, Military Secretary Branch, and the Adjutant General’s branch and they all concurred with the proposal, General Naravane said.

    The Army Aviation pilots train jointly with the Air Force and their conversion training is done in the Army Aviation School at Nasik.

    Indian Army’s Aviation Corps was raised on November 1 in 1986. The Corps is comprised of officers and jawans from all arms of the Army.

    Within a year of its formation, the Army Aviation Corps personnel were inducted in ‘Operation Pawan’ in 1987 in Sri Lanka and proved their mettle.

    The Corps also played a significant role during the Kargil War in 1999.

    Army Aviation Corps’ choppers are being used for casualty evacuation, reconnaissance, observation, essential load drops, and combat search and rescue.

    During peace times, the Corps performs Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations across the country.

    Indian Air Force was the first to induct women fighter pilots on an experimental basis in 2015. Bhawana Kanth, Mohana Singh, and Avani Chaturvedi were the trainees in the first batch who qualified for the fighter stream.

    So far 10 women officers have been commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF till September last year.

    As per Rajya Sabha records, the strength of women officers serving the IAF as of September 1, 2020, is 1,875. There is a total of 111 women pilots serving in the IAF, including those who fly transport planes and choppers.

    As per the Indian Navy, the first batch of women pilots was operationalised for maritime missions on the Dornier Aircraft in October last year. The three of them had graduated as ‘Fully operational Maritime Reconnaissance (MR) Pilots’ in October last year.

    The women Pilots in the Navy serve as observers on Dornier and P8i.

  • Dzukou Valley fire put out? Officials say no active blaze spotted

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: Ten days later, no active fire was spotted in areas near the ecologically-sensitive Dzukou Valley on the Nagaland-Manipur border on Friday.

    Official sources in both states confirmed it.

    “No active fire was spotted today. However, smoke was found in three locations. It was controlled in two of them. The third could not be reached,” Rajkumar M, who is the Divisional Forest Officer of Kohima in Nagaland, said.

    He said over 150 personnel of the police, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, forest department besides local volunteers, stationed at a base camp, would try to reach the spot on Saturday and control the smoke.

    His Senapati counterpart in Manipur D John Sha said neither fire nor smoke was detected on the day.

    “There was no active fire. There was also no smoke. Things are almost under control now on our side,” the forest officer said.

    The Indian Air Force (IAF), which deployed four helicopters to douse the inferno, said it would continue its mission on Saturday.

    “The IAF helicopters will continue the mission to assist fire-fighting at Dzukou Valley tomorrow,” Shillong-based Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh said.

    The choppers, which used Bambi Buckets to tame the fire, were requisitioned by the Nagaland government. The Manipur government had also sought the Centre’s help in controlling the situation.

    The Dzukou Valley is known for its natural environment, seasonal flowers, and flora and fauna and is a popular tourist destination.

  • IAF, NDRF, forest personnel try to douse fire raging in Nagaland’s Dzukou

    By PTI
    KOHIMA: Indian Air Force helicopters, NDRF teams, forest, police and volunteers for the ninth day on Wednesday tried to douse the fire raging in the scenic Dzukou range in Nagaland’s Kohima district, officials said.

    The fire broke out in the Dzukou range on December 29.

    The tourist hotspot of Dzukou valley is located in the Dzukou range.

    The fire though under control is yet to be fully extinguished, they said.

    Indian Air Force and personnel of NDRF, SDRF, Home Guards and Civil Defence, Police and Southern Angami Youth Organisation (SAYO) volunteers on Wednesday tried to douse the fire, officials said.

    “We are intensifying the operations as more than 130 personnel from police, forest, NDRF, SDRF and SAYO volunteers are now stationed in the base camp for Thursday’s early morning operations,” said Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Kohima, Rajkumar M.

    They are camping near the fire site so that they can do operation early Thursday, he said, adding another 90 personnel will be joining them on Thursday and around 250 strong contingent are expected to intensify the operation.

    Fire fighting equipment, ration, and camping materials were flown to Dzukou heliport by IAF choppers on Wednesday for the personnel camping in the base camp, he said.

    Asked about the impact of the fire on the main Dzukou valley, the DFO Kohima said “it is safe as of current situation”.

    PRO (Defence) Kohima Lt Col Sumit K Sharma informed that IAF helicopters continued with the Dzukou fire fighting operations and ferried 3,310 kg firefighting equipment and NDRF personnel to Dzukou valley from Jakhama near Kohima on Wednesday.

    IAF operations to assist fire fighting will continue on Thursday, he said.

  • IAF chief RKS Bhadauria assures Arunachal Pradesh of full support during need

    By PTI
    ITANAGAR: Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Wednesday assured Arunachal Pradesh of the full support of the Indian Air Force (IAF) whenever required.

    Bhadauria, in his maiden visit to the state, called on Governor Brig (Retd) Dr B D Mishra and Chief Minister Pema Khandu and discussed issues pertaining to the national security, recruitment of the state’s youth into the force and the IAF’s humanitarian missions in Arunachal Pradesh.

    The IAF chief assured Khandu of providing Defence pilots to meet the shortage of pilots for fixed-wing civilian aircraft to be operated in the state, an official statement said.

    Discussions were held on Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) for Dirang and Anini, to which the IAF responded favourably, it said.

    Khandu assured the IAF of government cooperation for defence preparedness.

    The chief minister expressed gratitude to the IAF for being at the forefront of extending humanitarian assistance in the state, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The governor thanked the IAF for airlifting the people of the state during emergencies and suggested Bhadauria to conduct recruitment rallies to encourage youths from the state to join the force.

    He recalled an incident when he had requested the air officer commanding of the Air Force Station in Assam’s Tezpur for a helicopter to air-lift a woman with complicated pregnancy from Tawang and it was carried out instantly and effectively.

  • India likely to finalise USD 2.5 billion deal to procure 56 transport aircraft for IAF

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: India is likely to finalise in the next few months a mega deal to procure 56 transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force at a cost of USD 2.5 billion, official sources said on Tuesday.

    The project will be implemented by aerospace giant Airbus along with an Indian entity as it will be implemented under the broad framework of the Make in India initiative in the defence sector, they said.

    As per decisions, 16 C-295 transport aircraft will be supplied by the Airbus in flyaway condition while 40 planes will be manufactured in India.

    The procurement process for the aircraft has almost been completed and a final decision on the deal is likely to be made soon, said a source.

    In a report, the defence ministry said the case of procurement of 56 C-295 from Airbus with participation of an Indian production agency for manufacture of 40 aircraft in India is at approval stage and a contract is likely to be signed in the near future.

    “The case is first of its kind which envisages participation of private companies and would prove to be a boost for our defence industry,” it said.

    The government is procuring the aircraft to replace the IAF’s Avro planes.

    The defence ministry has been giving final touches to a number of long-pending procurement projects to boost India’s overall military capability.

    Last month, the defence ministry approved procurement of weapons and military equipment worth Rs 28,000 crore, including six airborne warning and control system aircraft, for the Indian Air Force.

  • IAF choppers, NDRF teams try to extinguish wildfire in Nagaland’s Dzukou Range

    By PTI
    KOHIMA: Indian Air Force choppers, NDRF teams, forest and police personnel on Sunday tried to extinguish the wildfire in the Dzukou range in Nagaland’s Kohima district, officials said.

    The fire broke out in the Dzukou range in Southern Angami region of the district on Tuesday afternoon.

    The scenic Dzukou valley, a tourist hot spot in Nagaland, is located in the Dzukou range.

    The District Forest Officer (DFO), Kohima, Rajkumar M said IAF choppers have dropped 24,000 litres of water to extinguish the wildfire in 12 sorties.

    He said that ground operations to extinguish the fire were carried out by Nagaland Police, Forest, NDRF, SDRF and SAYO volunteers on Sunday.

    The DFO said the fire is under control as reported by the pilots and the teams are trying to prevent it from spreading to the Dzukou valley.

    SDO (Civil) Jakhama, SDPO South and Range Forest Officer, Kohima are coordinating the ground operations to extinguish the fire, he said.

    To maintain seamless communication with the ground operation team, Kohima Police has set up a control room at Dzukou entry point at Viswema village and two relay stations also set up in the Dzuku base camp, he said.

    The DFO said that Kohima Forest Division and SAYO volunteers had already cut a 5 km fire line on December 31 while another 2 km fire line was cut by SAYO volunteers on January 1.

    This was done to prevent the fire to spread to the Dzukou valley, he said, adding that they were assisted by Kohima Police and State Disaster Response Force.

    Meanwhile, the president of Southern Angami Youth Organisation (SAYO) Zakieletuo Tsukru claimed that around 10 square kilometre of Dzukou range has been razed by the wildfire.

    SAYO volunteers along with personnel of Kohima Forest Division, Police and Fire and Emergency Services have been engaged in fighting the fire in an effort to contain its spread since day one, he said.

    Briefing reporters at Viswema Village, Tsukru said that as per the latest communication from the volunteers who are up there at Dzukou valley the fire which was in the Southern range till Saturday is slowly spreading down towards the western side of the valley.

    The SAYO president said: “We detected the fire at Dzukou halfway during the afternoon hours on December 29.

    It was reported that some people have trespassed into the Dzukou valley from Kezotsa after which the wildfire was reported, as reported by the caretakers of the valley”.

    “On receiving the information, we dispatched SAYO volunteers to intercept those trekkers while 21 of them were initially reported to be spotted by the villagers. However, the volunteers could not intercept anyone,” he said.

    “Our suspicion is that the trekkers have fled towards the Kezotsa in Manipur side,” he said.

    The SAYO president also urged upon the people visiting the valley to be more careful and follow all necessary instructions printed in the tickets issued by the SAYO.

  • IAF battles odds to douse Dzukou Valley fire

    Express News Service
    GUWAHATI: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is undertaking a complex operation as it is trying to douse the wildfire in the ecologically-sensitive Dzukou Valley on the Nagaland-Manipur border.

    The operation involves complex calculations and skilled flying for the pilots. The fire is raging at different pockets of both states despite efforts being made by multiple agencies.

    A gust and difficult terrain is only one problem for the pilots. With the help of Bambi Buckets, the IAF pilots are lifting thousands of litres of water from a water body in Nagaland’s Dimapur district and making sorties for 15-20 minutes before they reach the site of wildfire that has wreaked havoc in the “Valley of Flowers”.

    A retired IAF pilot told The New Indian Express: “The practical difficulties will be precision dropping of water. Since it is a hilly region and there is air turbulence, steady flying will not be easy. It’s a difficult operation.”

    Four IAF helicopters are engaged in dousing the fire. The IAF’s help was sought by the Nagaland government. Forty-eight personnel of the National Disaster Response Force were airlifted from Guwahati on Friday for deployment at the site.

    Two days ago, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh stated that the fire had crossed Mount ASIi, the highest peak in the state.

    Union Home Minister Amit Shah is taking stock of the situation. He assured Singh of all assistance from the Centre. Singh had requested the Army and the Assam Rifles to extend their help in controlling the inferno which broke out four days ago.

    In Nagaland, the authorities are trying to control the blaze through traditional “fire line cutting”. Personnel from the State Disaster Response Force, police and forest departments besides volunteers are deployed to the site.

    The Dzukou Valley is known for its natural environment, seasonal flowers, and flora and fauna and is a popular tourist destination.

  • IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria inspects parade at Hindon airbase

    IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria inspects the 88th Indian Air Force Day parade at Hindon airbase.

    Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj Mukund Naravane and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh attended the 88th Indian Air Force Day celebrations at Hindon airbase. The IAF was established on October 8, 1932, in undivided India which was under colonial rule. It was given the prefix “Royal” by King George VI for its contribution during the Second World War. The prefix was later dropped in 1950 when India became a republic.

  • IAF ‘well-positioned’, China can’t get better of us: Air Chief Bhadauria on eastern Ladakh

    The chief of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Monday said that the IAF is very “well-positioned” to deal with any threat and very strong deployments have been made in all relevant areas considering the security scenario. “We are deployed strongly to deal with any contingency,” IAF Chief said on the question of threat from China in Ladakh.

    Addressing a press conference ahead of Air Force Day on October 8, Bhadauria said that China has its own areas of strength but “we have catered for all scenarios and are fully capable of handling any threat.”

    He also said that the IAF is prepared to deal with a two-front war along the northern and western borders if such a scenario arises. “Be rest assured that we have deployed strongly to deal with any contingency,” the IAF chief said when asked about the situation in eastern Ladakh and possible threat from China in the region.

    India and China have been locked in a bitter border standoff in eastern Ladakh for the past five months. Both sides have held a series of diplomatic and military talks to resolve the row. However, no breakthrough has been achieved to end the standoff. The armies of the two countries are scheduled to hold a fresh round of talks on October 12 with a specific agenda of firming up a roadmap for disengagement of troops from all friction points.