FINALLY

FINALLY, the wait is over.....

The wait for a medium range multi-role combat aircraft(MMRCA) for the IAF is over with the signing of the deal worth 7.8 billion euros for 36 RAFAEL aircraft. IAF will be acquiring a new combat aircraft nearly after 2 decades. The last being the big daddy of IAF, SUKHOI-30 MKI. This deal will add some strength to the ageing fleet of IAF, which still operates MIG-21's in vast numbers. Huge number of crashes in MIG-21's have earned it the tag of "flying coffin". Though outdated, MIG-21 was an awesome aircraft in its time.

In a govt-to-govt deal, France will supply 36 fighter jets in flyaway condition to India. The first jet will be coming in September, 2019 and the last one probably in August, 2022. The cost of the jets is 3.4 billion euro and the rest 4.4 billion euro being for spares, maintenance, logistics, weapons, training and alternations demanded by India.

Dassault emerged as the lowest bidder in the original MMRCA programme, which saw 6 participants and Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafael making it to the last stage. Both the fighter jets went to the last round after a series of flight trials in harsh conditions. Tests were carried out at Bangalore for its humid climate, in Jaisalmer for its extremely hot climate and in Leh for its extremely cold conditions. The other 4 participants in the race were Lockheed Martin F-16IN super viper, Boeing's F-18 super hornet, Gripen from SAAB and MIG-35 from Russia.

The original MMRCA was for procuring 126 aircraft, 18 in flyaway condition and the rest 108 had to be made in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) with the help of transfer of technology(TOT). But the current NDA govt. scrapped the original programme and rather went for a govt-to-govt deal to buy 36 aircraft off the shelf directly in flyaway condition, with a clause for a possible follow on order of another 18. Sources believe that the govt. will soon roll-out MMRCA-2 to obtain more jets of the same category.

Pic credits:- respective owners

PROJECT 15B

"INS MORMUGAO" launched yesterday is the second warship being built under the "PROJECT 15B" (Visakhapatnam Class Destroyer) at Mazagaon Dockyard, Mumbai. This project worth about 30, 000 crore rupees, is a follow-on order of successful "PROJECT 15" (Delhi Class Destroyer) and "PROJECT 15A" (Kolkata Class Destroyer).

The Visakhapatnam Class is a class of 4 stealth guided missile destroyers currently under construction. The project is based on Kolkata class design and incorporates many improvements in it. The first ship under the project(INS VISAKHAPATNAM) was launched last year and is expected to get commissioned in 2018. 

Having a displacement of 7400 tonnes, the ship is 163 m long and 17.4 m wide at beam. It has a speed in excess of 30 knots and has a range of 4000 nautical miles. The ship has a crew of 300 which includes 50 officers and 250 sailors. The ship is propelled by gas and diesel turbines which have been built by Ukraine.

The Made in Israel Multi Function Surveillance Threat Alert Radar (MF-STAR) is the main radar of the warships.Stealth features of this ship will be better than its predecessors as the shape of the hull and radar transparent deck fittings will make it difficult to be detected by enemy radars.

The ship is armed with 32 Barak surface to air missiles(SAM) and 16 Brahmos cruise missiles. It has a 127 mm main gun and AK-630 close in weapon system(CIWS) as anti submarine warfare. Besides these, it also has 4 torpedo tubes and anti submarine rocket launchers. The ship will also have a hangar for 2 Sea-king, Chetak or HAL Dhruv helicoters.

The ships once commissioned will be a great addition to the capabilities of the Indian Navy and its goal of becoming a blue water navy. 

   

KEEP CALM AND BELIEVE IN ISRO

ISRO does it again.....!!!!

On 8th September 16:50 hrs IST, GSLV-F05 lifted off from the second launch pad of Sriharikota to launch INSAT-3DR weighing 2211 kg to GTO(Geostationary Transfer Orbit). The satellite was injected into the orbit after a flight lasting 1024 seconds approx. This satellite was the heaviest ever launched by ISRO. The launch was a significant one as it was the first operational launch of GSLV, which uses indigenously developed CUS(Cryogenic Upper Stage). 

Just for readers information, CUS is a very complex technology and only 5 countries other than India possess this. The complexity of this stage can be understood by the fact that liquid oxygen(-183 deg Celcius) as an oxidizer and liquid hydrogen(-253 deg Celcius) are used in this technology. CUS produces more thrust for every gram of fuel burned as compared to solid and earth-storable propellants. 

Coming to the satellite, it is an advanced weather satellite carrying 4 payloads namely Imager, Sounder, Data Relay Transponder (DTR) and Satellite Aided Search and Rescue Transponder (SAS & R). Expected mission life of the satellite is 10 years.

Here are some majestic clicks from the launch.
PIC Credits - ISRO

                         

                                                      

Hi friends.....i am back....exams over, so back to blogging. Will try to increase the frequency of posts as promised earlier. So let's begin with our home built "LCA TEJAS", taking off for its trials and captured beautifully.

PIC Credits:- On pic

Hi friends out there....my exams are round the corner. So will be off the blog for a bit. But I promise that the frequency of posts will be much higher after a week.

In pic, the beast of IAF, SU-30 MKI. Who can't fall in love with this...!!!

PM VISIT TO VIETNAM

India And Vietnam sign 12 agreements in various fields.

During the recent state visit of PM Narendra Modi to Vietnam, both the countries discussed whole lot of issues ranging from defence, IT, space, double taxation avoidance, shipping, etc. Some takeaways from the visit:

* India extended $500 million line of credit to Vietnam for facilitating deeper defence cooperation.
* The line of credit obliges Vietnam to sign contracts with Indian companies, though nothing such       is ever officially mentioned.
* The 12 agreements signed also included a deal to construct offshore patrol boats for Vietnam.
* Other agreements were based on areas like IT, space cooperation, taxation, sharing shipping                information, etc.

The visit is being seen as aimed towards jointly piling pressure on China. Both the countries share their interests in South China Sea and are worried about growing presence and aggression of dragon in the area.

Image courtesy - PMO INDIA

CHILLI GRENADE

Some bad news for Burhan sympathizers and "azaadi" seekers. Centre has approved use of chilli grenades as replacement for Made in Israel pellet guns. These Chilli grenades upon impact create highly unbearable inflammation, which is so high that the person paralyses for few minutes.

Removing pellet guns also mean that there would be increase in use of bullets in serious situations. It would be better for the people of Kashmir if their "misguided" youth gives up the path of violence, and joins the mainstream.

GSLV-F05/INSAT-3DR

Don't miss the launch of our GSLV-F05/INSAT-3DR on 8th Sept. 2016, at 16:10 hrs IST. The launch is a very crucial one as it is the first operational flight of GSLV after two development flights. As far as the satellite INSAT-3DR is concerned, it is an advanced weather satellite weighing 2211 kg. GSLV-F05 will be using the indigenous cryogenic upper stage, which has given successful results on its previous two launches.

Sharing some beautiful pics of the launcher.
Image courtesy-ISRO