The Financial Express 17 May, 2016

LCA Tejas, BrahMos, LCH, Akash missile & AEW&C: 5 defence products India is eyeing for exports

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has set himself a target - he wants India's defence exports to reach $2 billion in the next two years, from the current level of $300 million. Indigenously developed defence products - be it India's missiles, aircraft or helicopter - have generated interest in the global market, especially from African and Latin American countries. From HAL's Light Combat Helicopter and LCA Tejas to BrahMos missile, we take a look at five defence products that India can look at exporting:

According to a PTI report, India is in talks with "certain" countries in Africa for possible export of the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH). LCH is a 5.5-tonne class combat helicopter designed and developed by HAL. Its features include sleek and narrow fuselage, tri-cycle crash worthy landing gear, crash worthy and self-sealing fuel tanks,

armour protection, nuclear and low visibility features which makes the LCH lethal, agile and survivable. (Image: HAL)

Designed for anti-tank and anti-infantry roles with a maximum speed of 275 kilometers per hour, the LCH is also capable of high-altitude warfare since its operational ceiling will be 16,000 to 18,000 feet. "With great value for money, the helicopter is an attractive buy for many countries. The countries interested in the LCH in the current form do not need high features like air to air missiles. For them turret gun along with some other features work," a senior defence official has said. (Image: HAL)

The supersonic cruise missile system BrahMos, which is a joint venture between India and Russia, has caught the attention of countries like Argentina, Venezuela, Chile and Brazil in Latin America and also of South Africa, which is part of the BRICS grouping, because it has been developed at a low cost of $300 million. (Image: DRDO)

BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile developed by DRDO and Russian NPO Mashinostroyeniya. The missile can be launched from surface, submarine or air. Latin American countries as well as South East Asian countries have expressed their interest for the missile particularly for their naval and coastal defence. (Image: DRDO)

The BrahMos missile has a range of 290 km, has a maximum velocity of 2.8 Mach and cruises at altitudes varying from 10 metres to 15 km, claims BrahMos. It can be launched in either inclined or vertical configuration based on the type of the ship. (Image: DRDO)

India's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, which was several years in the making, has now caught the attention of foreign buyers with Sri Lanka and Egypt evincing interest in the indigenously built fighter jet. Sri Lanka had recently rejected Pakistan's JF-17 aircraft built with Chinese help, while Egypt had last year signed a contract for 24 French-made Rafale fighter jets. The two countries are interested in the current version of the Tejas and not the upgraded one which will be rolled out later. (Image: DRDO)

Tejas is perhaps the worlds smallest lightweight, multi-role single engine tactical fighter aircraft. Tejas is equipped with a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire flight control system to ease handling by the pilot. It has intentionally been made longitudinally unstable to enhance manoeuvrability. (Image: MoD)

Two things that go in favour of the Tejas are its lower cost and flying ability. Sources have told PTI that enquiries by foreign countries came during the Bahrain air show in January, the first time that Tejas flew outside the country. The decision to send Tejas abroad was of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who has put his weight behind the aircraft. (Image: DRDO)

Parrikar recently said that India is willing to export the Akash missile system. Akash, a surface-to-air missile, has a range of 25 km. Akash mobile Air Defence Weapon System has been designed, developed and led to production by DRDO for defending and protecting the important assets of the country from penetrating aerial attacks. (Image: DRDO)

AEW&C is one of the flagship programmes of DRDO consisting of state-of-theart Airborne Early Warning and Control system that can detect, identify and classify threats present in the surveillance area and act as a command and control centre to support variety of air operations. "AEW&C India" with Mission Systems, with modular design & integrated on an Embraer 145 aircraft, are very cost effective, claims DRDO. With an eye on export, the DRDO had exhibited the plane during air shows in the past. (Image: DRDO) - Text inputs from Agencies

NDTV 17 May, 2016

Air Chief Arup Raha's 'Test' Flight in Tejas Fighter Aircraft More than 15 years after he first flew, an Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha today took control of the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA), the Tejas for the first time.

Air Chief Marshal, a veteran fighter pilot, flew the jet along with a test pilot for thirty minutes and simulated air-to-air and air-to-ground attacks using different modes of the jet's advanced Israeli made radar and the helmet mounted targeting system.

After his sortie, the Air Chief said, "It is my first sortie in Tejas, it is a good aircraft for induction into IAF operations."

Indian Air Force Chief Arup Saha (left).

The Indian Air Force has 120 Tejas fighters on order. Several decades in development, the Tejas has finally entered the Indian Air Force in limited numbers.

At a time when the Indian Air Force's squadron strength has come down considerably, the induction of the Tejas is a priority, particularly since the aircraft has overcome several of the challenges that it faced in its development.

At the moment, a handful of Tejas jets have entered service in the IAF even as Hindustan Aeronautics completes weapons-firing tests on the aircraft. The first squadron of the LCA is expected to be formed by July this year.

Meanwhile, test pilots are clearing several weapons including the Israeli Derby and Python air-to-air missile for use on the fighter.

The Light Combat aircraft programme began in the eighties to replace India's fleet of Russian designed MiG-21 fighters. The programme ran into several stumbling blocks particularly after the imposition of US sanctions in the nineties which prevented the transfer and development of key technologies.

Over the years, aviation technology around the world has shot ahead of where the Tejas stands today but those in favour of the jet insist that the Tejas remains far superior to the MiG-21 and displays flies as well as the French built Mirage 2000 also in service with the Indian Air Force.

Indian Defence Research Wing 17 May, 2016

IAF chief flies in Tejas, signals fighters induction into the air force.

Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on Monday flew the homegrown light combat aircraft Tejas, officially signalling to the Indian Air Force pilots that they can begin flying the fourth generation fighter in their squadron.

Air Chief Marshal Raha, an experienced fighter pilot with over 3,400 hours of flying experience, took off on a trainer for a 25 minute sortie over the Bengaluru skies.It shows the commitment of the IAF for the aircraft, says Kota Harinarayana, chief designer and former programme head of the Tejas aircraft. In the years to come, Tejas will be the backbone of the IAF. They have committed order for 120 aircraft, it is now for the production agency to deliver.

The test pilots of IAFs Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) the elite school that tests and certifies every aircraft type used by the force, have flown the single-engine supersonic fighter over 3145 sorties, according to the Aeronautical Development Agency.

The aircraft is powered by a GE-404 engine and an advanced version that will see modifications in the structure will have a more powerful GE-414 power plant made by General Electric.Tejas uses fly-by wire technology that enables a pilot to control the plane electronically through on-board computers.

Since the first flight of the LCAs technology demonstrator in January 2001, Tejas has flown sorties across regions in India, including desert and high altitude in the Himalayas have been without any mishap a rarity in new aircraft testing globally.

The first squadron of Tejas will be raised at the IAFs Sulur base in Coimbatore by July. The air force expects to raise six squadrons of the homegrown fighter in a decade. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, the public sector plane maker will manufacture the aircraft at its facility in Bengaluru.

The aircraft has to be inducted. Only then will you actually able to use the platform effectively, says Harinarayana.

Air Chief Marshal Rahas sortie on the trainer aircraft also shows the confidence in the force for the aircraft, once dismissed as a dud project of the DRDO. In 2001, the then IAF chief Air Chief Marshal A Y Tipnis had to be cajoled to be in Bengaluru to witness the first flight of the LCA.

The Economic Times 17 May, 2016

First Tejas squadron to come up by July; IAF chief Arup Raha flies the indigenous jet

New Delhi: It was a routine sortie of the Tejas light combat aircraft, which has so far clocked well over 3,050 flight tests since its first prototype took to the skies in January 2001. But the message was significant: India's first home-grown fighter has finally come of age after a meandering developmental saga of 33 years.

Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha became the first IAF chief to fly in the multi-role supersonic Tejas at the Hindustan Aeronautics facility in Bengaluru on Tuesday morning. "The twin-seat Tejas trainer will undergo a fu