Indian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

NEW DELHI: Sukhoi-30 MKI, the most powerful and modern fighter jets in Indian Air Force's stable, has been hit by mid-air engine failures. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in Parliament today that as many as 35 instances of engine failures were reported in 2013-14 - that's nearly three a month.

In all, there are 69 instances of engine failure in the last four years, the minister said. Inquiries by the Air Force have revealed that in as many as 33 instances, the engines failed because of impure fuel, in another 11 cases, the problem was caused by excessive vibration and in eight others, engine failures were reported because of low pressure in the lubricant tanks, the Defence Minister said. About five SU-30 MKI have crashed since 2009.

Engine failures is fast becoming a major concern for Air Force and also puts a question mark on India's ability to defend its skies. Another problem area that senior Air Force officers point out is serviceability. "Serviceability of the aircraft is about 50 per cent only," an officer said. It means at any given time, roughly half out of a fleet of 200 jets are available for operational purposes. This becomes crucial in times of emergencies like war.

Mr Parrikar said that the engines were scheduled to be overhauled after every 1000 hours of flying, but the defects started showing-up after only 500 hours of flying. The minister said that Russia-based NPO Saturn, manufacturers of Su-30 Al-31FP engines, offered to make "nine technological improvements" during overhauls, and added that after the modifications the engines were flying for upto 900 hours.

To address the growing capability gap, especially that created by increasing obsolescence of MiG-21, India is talking to France to buy 126 medium multi-role Rafale fighter jets. But the negotiations have been dragging on for three years. Although the acquisition has got mired on per unit cost and number of man hours required to produce it in India, a resolution of these issue can be expected when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits France in April.

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A senior technician of Sukhoi division of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Arun Kumar Pradhan, was arrested on Sunday on charges of stealing parts of the fighter aircraft, Sukhoi, from the factory premises at Sunabeda in Koraput district. He was produced in SDJM Court which remanded him in judicial custody.

Sources said HAL security personnel at the main gate caught Pradhan in possession of expensive blades of the aero engine of Sukhoi. Pradhan was later handed over to Sunabeda police.

During investigation, police seized over 198 Sukhoi aero engine blades and other parts from Pradhan’s residence at Semiliguda. During interrogation, police came to know that Pradhan, who has a workshop at Semiliguda, used to supply the blades to a private company.

How could the components meant for Defence sector and manufactured secretly by the company be stolen despite strict surveillance within and outside the HAL premises has baffled the probing team.

Suspecting involvement of top officials in the loot, police have rounded up five senior officers of HAL and are quizzing them. The police have also asked for documents related to supply of blades for Sukhoi and other components from HAL authorities.

Koraput SP CS Meena said, “We have already sought more information from HAL to establish as to how the man could steal the blades and make those outside the factory premises for the aero engines.”

As HAL has its own security, district police have no control over the security of the Defence unit. HAL authority is also looking into the internal and external security of the factory with the help of Defence personnel.

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It's unmissable. The intensifying sense over the last two months that the Su-30 MKI has swooped into M-MRCA airspace. From the politics of it, to the powerplay smack dab in the middle of final negotiations, from the journalism drumming up the new face-off to diplomatic leverage and the criticality of the Indian Air Force's own situation during an increasingly fluid phase of its largest ever procurement. A comprehensive Livefist report that draws on all of these aspects to provide a clear sense of the state of play, and what's turning out to be one of the most interesting phases an eight year procurement effort.

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India is sourcing spares for Su-30MKI fighter aircraft directly from France and Israel as Russia is facing a shortage in spare parts supply, Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said in Parliament on Tuesday.

The original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for Su-30MKI in Russia is facing shortage as well as problems in sourcing spare parts from Belarus and Ukraine.

“Some of the sources of Russians themselves are Western. A lot of them are from Israel, France, etc. So, these are being brought in directly with their approval, or in certain cases we are coordinating the efforts and getting the spares. The issue was relevant for all platforms from Russia,” Parrikar said.

Parrikar further explained, "With concentrated efforts, we have been able to increase the serviceability of the Sukhois by about seven per cent over the last eight-nine months. We have improved the serviceability by seven per cent, almost from 49-50 to 56-57 per cent, we intend to get it 70 per cent by year end".

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Indian & French aircraft carriers (Vikramaditya & Charles de Gaulle) to lead joint naval exercise Varuna from April 23 in the Arabian Sea.

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India and France will now hold a major aero-naval exercise under the Varuna series off the coast of Goa in April 2015, which is likely to see the participation of the French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

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The French fleet will include a Carrier Battle Group (CBG) led by an aircraft carrier, most likely the FNS Charles De Gaulle (R91), two destroyers, a supply ship and a nuclear powered submarine. The annual exercise is a part of Indo-French bilateral defence and diplomatic ties, which will see ships and aircraft from both the navies practicing ‘cross deck’ operations, mid-sea refueling and anti-submarine warfare (ASW). The Charles De Gaulle will carry the naval version of the Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft, which is seeing contentious negotiations between the two countries to be sold to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

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The missile was tested to prove the manoeuvring capability against a simulated target and also to validate various subsystems.


The indigenously developed Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile, Astra, was successfully launched from Sukhoi-30 fighter aircraft to hit a simulated target at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur in Odisha on Wednesday.

The missile was tested to prove the manoeuvring capability against a simulated target and also to validate various subsystems. All the subsystems like propulsion, navigation, guidance as also the smooth separation of the missile from the aircraft were proved, according to Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) sources.

The all-weather, state-of-the-art missile developed by DRDO can engage and destroy enemy aircraft at supersonic speed ( 1.2 Mach to 1.4 Mach) in head-on (up to 80 km) and tail-chase (up to 20 km) modes.

The 3.8 metre tall Astra is the smallest of the DRDO-developed missiles and can be launched from different altitudes. It can reach up to 110 km when fired from an altitude of 15 km, 44 km when launched from an altitude of eight km and 21 km when fired from sea level.

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A further 10 tests will be conducted by the end of the year. In May, a test flight with the launching system for the missile will be held.

The Indian Air Forces plans to adopt the new BrahMos cruise missile, which can be launched from aircraft, in 2016, Sudhir Mishra, managing director for Russian-Indian joint venture Brahmos Aerospace Ltd, told RIA Novosti.

In February, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over a license to BrahMos to use the upgraded Su-30MKI aircraft for testing the missile.

"According to the schedule, the missile is expected to enter service in 2016. A further 10 tests will be conducted by the end of the year. In May, a test flight with the launching system for the missile will be conducted," Mishra said.

Then, test flights with the missile and mockup and missile launches will be held, according to him.

BrahMos-A is a short-range supersonic cruise missile based on the Russian P-800 Oniks prototype. It can be launched from submarines, ships, aircrafts and land and travels at speed of Mach 3. The missile weighs about 2.5 tons is over 8.5 meters in length.
The missile is a product of the Russian-Indian cooperation in weapon development. It was designed by Russian-Indian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace. The navy-based version of the missile entered service in the Indian Armed Forces in 2016.

Russian and India are major partners in the field of military and technical cooperation. Over 70 percent of weapons and equipment in the Indian Armed Forces are of Russian and Soviet production.

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aksha said:

India Sources Su-30MKI Spares Directly From Israel And France

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