sp's aviation may 2008

AviationNews Flies. We Gather Intelligence. Every Month. From India.

SP’s AN SP GUIDE PUBLICATION

Indian Air Force’s MMRCA RFP: Responses pour in Pg 11 • Boeing pitches heavy duty C-17s Pg 26 • EBACE show review: Mercury rising Pg 32 • Cessna sighted down south Pg 30

ISSUE 5 • 2008www.spsaviation.net

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2 SP’S AVIATION Issue 5 • 2008

Table of Contents

PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jayant Baranwal

ASSISTANT EDITORArundhati Das

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT & COPY EDITORSanjay Kumar

SENIOR VISITING EDITORAir Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia

SENIOR TECHNICAL GROUP EDITORSAir Marshal (Retd) B.K. PandeyLt General (Retd) Naresh Chand

SUB-EDITORBipasha Roy

CONTRIBUTORSIndia Air Marshal (Retd) P.K. Mehra, Air Marshal (Retd) Raghu Rajan, Air Marshal (Retd) N. Menon, Air Marshal (Retd) V. Patney, Group Captain A.K. SachdevEurope Alan Peaford, Phil Nasskau, Justin Wastnage, Rob Coppinger, Andrew Brookes, Paul Beaver, Gunter Endres (UK)USA & Canada Sushant Deb, Lon Nordeen,Anil R. Pustam (West Indies)

CHAIRMAN & MANAGING DIRECTORJayant Baranwal

Owned, published and printed by Jayant Baranwal, printed at Rave India and published at A-133, Arjun Nagar (Opposite Defence Colony), New Delhi 110 003, India. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, photocopying, recording, electronic, or otherwise without prior written permission of the Publishers.

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR: Ratan SonalLAYOUT DESIGNS: Raj Kumar Sharma

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Military28 UPGRADES

HIGH COSTS OF INDECISION

Q&A14 MMRCA DEAL

BALANCING ACT

Civil21 BUSINESS AVIATION

ON A ROLL, UPHILL

23 FLIGHT SAFETY

SAFETY AT STAKE

30 BUSINESS AVIATION

CESSNA SIGHTED

Cover Story16 BUSINESS AVIATION

INDIA ENTHRALLED

Hall of Fame38 WRIGHT BROTHERS

The Elite Class: India is home to 53 billionaires and 1,00,000 millionaires. The high spending power has engineered a shift away from just owning a business aircraft to having a custom built one. (Seen above is the recently introduced Gulfstream G150. Photo Credit: Gulfstream)

NEXT ISSUE: Trends in Military Aero Engines

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Cover Photo: A Falcon 2000LX in fl ight.

India is emerging as a major hub for business aviation

with key players lining up with their wares.

Photo Credit: Dassault

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ISSUE 5 • 2008

AviationSP’s

News Flies. We Gather Intelligence. Every Month. From India.

AN SP GUIDE PUBLICATIONRegular Departments4 A Word from Editor8 NewsWithViews- Laser-Guided Lethality- A Perfect 10- Whispers of Discontent

11 InFocus- Responses Pour in

13 Forum- Debilitating Pace

40 NewsDigest44 LastWord- Price of Procrastination

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CORRIGENDUM—Cover Story “Lightning Pace” in SP’s Aviation Issue 4, 2008 made the erroneous observation: “With the remaining F-35 participant countries planning to acquire another 600 to 700 aircraft, the total production fi gure already exceeds 3,200 and may touch 2,035, making it one of the most numerous jet fi ghters.” The correct statement is: “With the remaining F-35 participant countries planning to acquire another 600 to 700 aircraft, the production fi gure till the year 2035 already exceeds 3,200, making the F-35 one of the most numerous jet fi ghters.”

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A Word from Editor


Several notches above the ‘Business Class’ is the fast-emerging ‘Elite Class’—a bracket born of the shrink-ing gap between affordability of a business jet and the purchasing power of a large number of business houses and businessmen. India, home to 53 billion-

aires and 1,00,000 millionaires, is enmeshed in the thralls of the luxury, power and prestige associated with owning a pair of wings. The comparison to sports cars is not just on account of sleek looks and speed, there is also the subliminal linkage which renders business jets objects of desire, symbols of status and something you must have if the Jones’s possess one.

Capturing the hype and ooh-la-la, Group Captain A.K. Sachdev rightly surmises: “What Internet did to out-of-office work, the new class of business jets will do for in-flight work.” And perhaps the flamboyant Dr Vijay Mallya will bring produc-tion of these glamourous wings to India? News is Dr Mallya’s UB Group has initiated talks with France-based EADS Socata, a leading aircraft manufacturer, to co-develop business jets. Flipping the coin, Joseph Noronha pragmatically observes that Indian business aviation faces daunting challenges, including woeful infrastructure.

A combination of pragmatism and pace hold the key for the smooth transition of the MMRCA deal. Good news is all the six contenders met the revised deadline in submitting indi-vidual responses by April 28 to the Request for Proposal. Bad

news would be the hint of any credence to rumours of certain anomalies that might force a redo of the RFP exercise. Even as InFocus and Forum deliberate on the nuances of the deal and the aircraft on offer, SP’s directed a quickfire round at the contestants. Of the six frontrunners, three replied. Stealing a march, Boeing played host to an entourage of mediapersons and pundits, including self, at a whirlwind tour of its various facilities and operation hubs in the US. A detailed analysis of the C-17 heavy airlift capability transport aircraft in this edi-tion is the first in a series of articles on Boeing’s wares.

On a sombre note, the Last Word scans the April 29 episode when a brand new Hawk, among the fleet of 10 recently ac-quired by the Indian Air Force, crashed at Air Force Station Bi-dar. India, notes Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey, is well aware of the price that has been paid in terms of lives and aircraft lost in the last two decades owing essentially to enigmatic procras-tination in the induction of the Hawk.

Hall of Fame, this time around, presents the pièce de ré-sistance. Quite fittingly so, while the Cover Story captures the exciting prospects of the emerging new trends in business aviation, the Hall of Fame reminiscences on the Wright broth-ers—the first to demonstrate that sustained flight was possible with heavier-than-air machines. A humbling account of the pioneers who gave the human race its wings.

Birth, growth and maturity make for a complete cycle in any development process. So even as business aviation takes India by storm, harsh ground realities demand a closer inspection and a blast from the past reminds

us from where it all started.

Jayant Baranwal

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF JAYANT BARANWAL WITH THE USN F/A-18 AT THE LEMOORE NAVAL AIR STATION, US

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T H E W O R L D ’ S F I R S T S U P E R R E G I O N A L J E T

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sukhoi superjet100 is designed, developed and built by sukhoi civil aircraft company. superjet international is a joint venture between sukhoi and alenia aeronautica. for sales, aftersales and marketing visit www.sukhoi.superjet100.com and www.superjetinternational.com

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LASER-GUIDED LETHALITYThe Airborne Laser (ABL), under development by the US Missile Defence Agency and the industry team Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, is making tremendous progress towards providing a rapidly deployable and quick-reaction capability to destroy ballistic missiles in their boost phase of flight, or shortly after they are launched. “We stand on the verge of fully demonstrating a revolutionary warfighting capability,” said Pat Shanahan, Vice President and General Manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems in a recent media meet. On June 1, Boeing and the US Missile Defense Agency completed the first laser activation testing for the ABL missile defence programme.

VIEWS

Imagine this. A military airplane, armed with a laser, blasting hostile ballistic missiles out of the sky. Travel-ling at the speed of light, the laser beams target the missiles so swiftly that these are destroyed in the boost

phase itself while still cruising over enemy territory. Sounds like science fiction? Not anymore.

The ABL programme was initiated by the US Air Force in 1996, but with the emergence of Axis of Evil countries—Iraq, Iran, North Korea—as projected by the US, the programme was transferred in 2001 to the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and converted to an acquisition programme. To accomplish its mission of countering threats, the MDA has developed a mul-tifaceted strategy. The weapon-ry it is developing emphasises hit-to-kill technology. Layered defences address the intercep-tion of enemy missiles at differ-ent segments in their trajectory such as the boost, midcourse and terminal phases. It is in the boost phase segment, the MDA is trying to acquire the ABL ca-pability to attack and destroy hostile ballistic missiles.

The ABL weapon sys-tem consists of a high-energy, chemical oxygen iodine laser mounted on a modified 747-400F freighter aircraft to shoot down theatre ballistic missiles. Incidentally, for the initial de-velopment, a retired Air India 747-200 was acquired by the USAF in 2001 and road-trans-ported without its wings from Mojave airport to Edwards Air Base where the airframe was incorporated into the System Integration Laboratory for proving of the concept and ground-testing. A crew of four, including pilot and copilot, would be required to manoeuvre the modified 747-400F, christened Boeing YAL-1 ABL, which would probably operate in pairs at altitudes of about 40,000 ft. Capable of autonomous operation, the ABL would acquire and track missiles in the boost phase of flight, illuminating the missile with a tracking laser beam while computers calculate parameters such as distance, course and

atmospheric turbulence to determine the aim-point.After locking onto the target, a second laser, with weapon-

class strength, would fire a burst lasting barely three to five seconds from a turret located in the 747’s nose, destroying the missile over the launch area. Reported to be the largest in the world to be fitted on an aircraft, the turret—which lends ABL its distinctive appearance—points the laser beam at the tar-get. Sparing the time and effort to turn the aircraft to fire at a missile, the high-energy laser beam burns through the skin

of the target missile which dis-integrates due to high dynamic stresses experienced in the mis-sile’s flight. Boeing is the prime contractor for ABL and provides the aircraft and battle manage-ment and leads the overall sys-tems integration and testing. Among its industry partners, Northrop Grumman supplies the missile-killing, high-energy laser as well as the beacon illu-minator laser while, Lockheed Martin provides the beam con-trol/fire control system.

As mentioned earlier, the ABL has been primarily de-signed for use against theatre ballistic missiles. Recently, however, MDA suggested it might be used against Inter-continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) during boost phase. If the ABL achieves its design goals, it could destroy liquid-fu-elled ICBMs up to 600 km away. But, against tougher solid-fuel ICBMs the destruction range would likely be limited to 300 km—too short to be useful in many scenarios. But, then, the ABL will complement other

missile defence systems with a niche of its own in the entire network of Ballistic Missile Defences.

Developing a cutting-edge system like the ABL isn’t easy. But all major technology breakthroughs have been achieved and the ABM team of three US aerospace giants is set to meet the testing target of actual destruction of a boosting ballistic missile in 2009. SP

— Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia

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A PERFECT 10On April 28, an Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) successfully launched 10 satellites. The 44-m long rocket lifted off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 03:53:51 GMT (09:24 local time) and reached a polar, Sun-synchronous low Earth orbit a little over seven minutes later. Fol-lowing burnout of the fourth stage of the carrier rocket, the payload consisting of 10 satellites were released. The PSLV flew in the Core Alone, configuration, with no solid rocket boosters around the first stage. All 10 satellites—the 690 kg Indian remote sensing satellite Cartosat-2A, the 83 kg Indian Mini Satellite and eight Nano Satellites developed by university students in Canada, Japan, Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands—were injected into the desired orbits successfully.

VIEWS

To launch a single satellite successfully is a demanding task. To launch 10 in a single mission is astounding. There is some uncertainty as to whether this achieve-ment by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is

a world record. The only other country believed to have sent into space a large number of satellites in a single launch is Russia. However, there is inconsistency in the various reports on the number of satellites on board the Russian space vehicle Dnepr launched in April 2007. The figure, quoted by various sources, varies between eight and 16. However, all reports maintain that the total weight was less than 300 kg as against 824 kg carried by the PSLV C9. In 2006, a Russian space ve-hicle with 18 satellites, includ-ing two Japanese nano satel-lites, ended in failure. US space agency NASA, meanwhile, has been launching regularly up to four satellites aboard a single launch vehicle.

What is far more difficult than the launch itself is to con-trol the whole exercise from the ground and achieve a high degree of precision. The eight nano-satellites were released at intervals of 20 seconds and inserted into their designated orbits without mutual interfer-ence. After each release, the launch vehicle is required to be reoriented while moving at over seven km per second. The suc-cess of this mission has not only clearly established ISRO’s cre-dentials to claim its fair share of the huge commercial launch market but also its capability to undertake new challenges in space exploration, the most immediate being the Chandrayaan I, unmanned mission to the Moon scheduled during the later part of this year. The indigenously developed cryogenic engine will be tried out for the first time on this mission. The next big challenge will be a robotic landing on the moon planned for 2012 followed by manned space flight around the earth by 2015. There is also talk of landing a man on the moon but this may not be attempted before 2025. There are also plans

to send probes to Mars and the Sun. Tragically, ISRO is still not fully liberated from US sanctions, a factor that may impinge on the timeframe for the lunar probe.

So far, ISRO has launched 16 satellites for international customers. This was the 12th successful mission by the PSLV that had launched multiple satellites twice before. This, there-fore, was the third such mission. The Italian Agile and Israeli TecSar were launched with similar configuration. But perhaps the biggest challenge ahead for ISRO is to penetrate the heavy

weight satellite launch market. To do this, ISRO would have to develop the capability to launch four- to six-tonne payloads, a significant increase from the present capability of two tonnes. The PSLV capability limits ISRO to a low yield commercial mar-ket with stiff competition from European Space Agency, China, Russia and Ukraine. The capa-bility to launch heavy satellites will come through the GSLV Mk III for which it would be neces-sary to make a success of the indigenous 25-tonne cryogenic engine which is yet to be tested. ISRO is also well placed to ex-ploit its reputation in satellite building expertise.

Satellites have limited life and need periodic replace-ment. Life expired satellites are merely abandoned and con-tinue in orbit. As the satellite launch business grows, so does the littering of space. Unfortu-nately, there is no convenient or cost-effective technology available to rid space of debris. NASA estimates indicate that in just over five decades of ex-

ploration, space is already polluted with tens of millions of particles, big and small moving at phenomenal speeds. Given the limitless nature of space, the threat may not appear po-tent at this point in time. However, in the future, space debris may pose serious threat to the survival of functional satellites. If the junk is allowed to pile up, in due course space explora-tion may well turnout to be a self limiting exercise. SP

— Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey

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WHISPERS OF DISCONTENTEven though it has not officially collapsed, the stalled Indo-US nuclear deal has apparently begun doing collateral damage to the relationship between the two countries. In June 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan was due to get an ‘Air Force One’ of his own—a Boeing Business Jet equipped with a Rs 202-crore ($50.2 million) Special Protection Suite (SPS) to ward off attacks by shoulder-held heat-seeking missiles. But now, a month before the first of the three aircraft costing Rs 735 crore ($183.75 million) were scheduled to arrive, and three years after the deal was inked, the US has placed restrictions on the export of the system. This not only threatens to delay supply of the aircraft, but has the potential to call into question the entire deal if not other acquisitions from the US.

VIEWS

Barely a month before the first of the three specially fit-ted Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) is to join the Indian Air Force’s VIP Communication Squadron—responsible for ferrying the nation’s highest dignitaries, including

the Prime Minister—the above media report must have come as a rude shock to the mandarins of both the External Affairs and Defence wings of the South Block. Notwithstanding that a similar report also appeared in the Pakistani press, albeit a day later, one can’t help wondering at the veracity of the report. In any case, linking the issue to the seemingly failing Indo-US nucle-ar deal appears to be carrying the rhetoric a bit too far.

Inked in 2005, the BBJ deal is purely a commercial contract. Coincidentally—contrary to pre-meditated, as some would like to speculate—the Indo-US agree-ment on cooperation in India’s civilian nuclear programme was also signed in the same year, on July 17. The BBJ order was for three specially equipped Boeing 737-800 complete with an air-borne office incorporating state-of-the-art amenities, personal communication lines, a personal bed room and an executive of-fice akin to the facilities provid-ed in the US Air Force One that flies the President of the United States of America. Decision to include the SPS appears to have been taken subsequently but it is clear that its inclusion was agreed to by the US as the Boe-ing company reportedly charged, over and above the systems and fitment costs, an additional sum of money for having to dismantle and remodel some of the interi-ors to install the SPS system.

At this stage it is not very clear as to which SPS system is being installed on the IAF contracted BBJs. But if the IAF has opted for state-of-the-art equipment, then in all probability it would be Northrop Grumman’s latest Large Aircraft Infra-red Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system. The primary threat to large passenger aircraft is from what are called man-por-table heat-seeking missile systems, of which there are hun-

dreds of thousands floating around among insurgent and mili-tant groups. Specially equipped to protect large aircraft from such man-portable missiles, the LAIRCM system is designed to increase crew-warning time, decrease false alarm rates and automatically counter advanced IR missile systems. The missile warning system uses multiple sensors to provide full spatial coverage. The counter-measures subsystems use lasers mounted in pointer-tracker turret assemblies. LAIRCM is an active countermeasure that defeats the threat missile guidance

system by directing a high-inten-sity modulated laser beam into the missile seeker. In addition, the LAIRCM system automatical-ly counters advanced IR missile systems with no action required from the crew. The pilot is simply informed that a threat missile was detected and jammed.

In the US, the LAIRCM pro-gramme is aimed not only to protect the VIP/VVIP aircraft but, in a greater measure, to provide protection to large military air-craft such as the C-17s and C-130Js of the Special Forces Com-mand which have to routinely operate in missile-infested hos-tile environment. In fact, the six C-130Js, being supplied by Lock-heed Martin to the IAF for Spe-cial Forces Operations, are also supposed to be equipped with similar self-protection suites. Aircraft supplied for the heads of states such as Australia, Argen-tina, Malaysia and Morocco, to name a few, also reportedly en-joy similar protection.

Should there be any truth in the media reports, it would have highly adverse repercus-

sions on the US as a reliable and dependable supplier of high-tech equipment to India. Also such a move on the part of the US would not only put in jeopardy the much bigger $10 billion-plus MMRCA deal for which the US companies appear to be among the frontrunners but also put to question the very sanctity of the ‘Strategic Partnership’ both countries are so assiduously building upon. SP


InFocus MMRCA DEAL


If India’s exhaustive Request for Proposal (RFP) running across more than 200 pages drew appreciation as one of the most comprehensive documents ever received by the global military aviation industry, the subsequent re-

sponses prepared individually by the contending vendors for India’s Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal perhaps deserve even greater kudos for painstaking meticu-lousness. Leading the pack, the Boeing Company delivered a massive 7,000-page proposal to the Indian Air Force (IAF) on April 28, followed closely by the others determined to meet the new deadline of April 28. The six potential vendors in the fray include two US companies, namely, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, the French Dassault, the Eurofighter Consortium, the Swedish Saab and the MiG MAPO from Russia.

Offering the advanced F/A-18E/F Super Hornet to the IAF, the Boeing’s proposal team had done its homework well in meeting the initial deadline of March 3. That, however, got ex-tended to April 28 at the request of some of the other contend-ers. “We are offering India the best-value, most advanced and proven multi-role combat fighter in production today,” said Jim Albaugh, President and CEO, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. “Boeing’s strategic goal has been to seek a long-term partnership with India to help strengthen the country’s aerospace capabilities and enhance its national security,” said Chris Chadwick, President of Boeing Precision Engagement & Mobility Systems, adding, “Choosing the F/A-18E/F would give Indians a direct hand in building advanced fighter aircraft that will robustly defend their shores and airspace, infuse new strength into the Indian Air Force, and serve as a catalyst for India’s growing defence aerospace industry.”

Evidently, Boeing is aggressively marketing its product. By reaching out to Indian aerospace and technology sectors over the past three years through long-term partnership agreements with HAL, Tata Industries and Larson & Toubro, Boeing is showing seriousness in meeting its offset commitments. The Super Hornet variant being offered to India—the F/A-18IN—is based on the F/A-18E/F model flown by the US Navy and currently being built for the Royal Australian Air Force. The aircraft is equipped with Raytheon’s APG-79 AESA radar and other high-tech systems.

The second US jet fighter in the reckoning is from another military aviation giant, Lockheed Martin, which has responded to the RFP by proposing the most technologically advanced model of the F-16 Fighting Falcon and which, it claims, will be uniquely tailored to meet or exceed the requirements of the IAF. According to company sources, the F-16IN has been es-pecially designed to include a multitude of cutting-edge technologies such as a modern, full colour, all-digital glass cockpit; the APG-80 AESA radar; the GE F110-132A engine for increased thrust; a large weapons inventory; a highly effective EW suite; and conformal fuel tanks to significantly extend range and endurance. The aircraft also includes advanced survivability features such as superior agility, excellent pilot situational awareness and critical systems redundancy. The F-16IN is stated to provide outstanding front-line capability, unprecedented reliability and extremely low life-cycle costs. Further, the F-16IN is claimed to be an advanced derivative of the most combat proven multi-role strike fighter available in the international marketplace today with 24 countries having selected the F-16 as their fighter aircraft of choice.

Seeking to gain an edge, the European Consortium producing the Eurofighter Typhoon has gone one step ahead in its sales pitch by inviting India to join the Eurofighter programme as a new partner. Addressing a combined conference of government officials and the media, Bernhard Gerwert, CEO Military Air Systems, EADS Defence & Security, said, “As part of our industrial cooperation offer, we invite India to become a member of the successful Eurofighter family. We are interested in long-lasting

With all the six contenders having submitted their responses to the RFP for India’s MMRCA deal, the race enters the next stage of technical and commercial evaluation

InFocus MMRCA DEAL

If India’s exhaustive Request for Proposal (RFP) running across more than 200 pages drew appreciation as one

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political, industrial and military relations which will be based on a win-win partnership. Therefore, the door is wide open for India.” Eurofighter is not one nation or one company but a quadrinational programme with four leading aerospace companies—EADS (Germany), EADS Casa (Spain), BAE Sys-tems (UK) and Alenia Finmeccanica (Italy). Together they have joined forces to support the Eurofighter campaign in India.

Fully operational in four countries and with more than 700 orders from six customers which, in addition to the aforementioned four key players, include Austria and Sau-di Arabia, the Eurofighter Typhoon is emerging as the true swing-role fighter aircraft capable of doing both air-to-air and air-to-ground roles either singly or simultaneously in the same sortie. Combining advanced technology with world-class performance, the Typhoon is stated to provide highest levels of mission effectiveness for all scenarios and a broad range of mission flexibility with its capability to carry a large mix of air combat and strike weapons, EW equipment and external fuel tanks. Remarkable agility and heightened pilot awareness are other hallmarks of the aircraft which, protago-nists insist, allow the Eurofighter Typhoon to meet the chal-lenges of fast-changing operational scenarios.

April 28 also saw the Swedish Saab, maker of the Grip-en, handing over its response to India’s Ministry of Defence through its Gripen International Business Unit. Christened Gripen IN, the proffered fighter aircraft is based on the Saab’s newly launched Gripen NG (Next Generation)—an enhanced version of the well proven Net Centric Warfare Gripen multi-role fighter which, according to the company, has unbeatable low acquisition, operational and product support costs.

Gripen has been described as the first of the new genera-tion, true multi-role combat aircraft to enter service. Using the latest available technology, it is capable of performing an exten-sive range of air-to-air and air-to-surface operational missions and employing the latest weapons. A typical multi-role mission

profile could consist of 2X Py-thon CCMs and 4XDerby BVR air-to-air missiles, 4XGBU-12 LGBs with a Laser Designator Pod and 2X300 US gallon fuel drop tanks. The aircraft can also be optionally fitted with an in-flight refueling probe to extend range. Gripen is de-signed to meet the demands of current and future threats, while at the same time meet-ing strict requirements of flight safety, reliability, training efficiency and low operating costs. Company officials are

very vocal in promoting their offer as the “complete solution” to meet the IAF’s present and future needs, guaranteeing access to not only all future upgrades, but full transfer of technology to enable meaningful indigenous endeavours as well.

While the makers of the French Rafale and the Russian MiG-35 have not been very vocal in public, it is known that the two have also met the deadline and submitted their re-sponses. Both aircraft are serious competitors for the IAF’s 126 MMRCA programme with their supplier countries France and Russia having had historical and time-tested links as far as supply of jet fighters to India is concerned. The French were one of the first to equip the IAF with Ouragon (Toofani) and Mystere 1V jet fighters in the 1950s. Later, in the 1980s, the IAF received the Mirage 2000 aircraft from France which proved to be highly successful in the 1999 Kargil conflict and, continue to be the proud possession of the IAF. Russia, on the other hand, continues to be one of the major suppliers of arms to India with the IAF having received numerous jet fighters from it such as the MiG-21s, Su-7s, MiG-23s, MiG-25s, MiG-27s and MiG-29s. The remarkable Su-30 MKI is the latest Rus-sian combat aircraft to be inducted into the IAF in an ongoing programme for 230 aircraft both through directs sales and indigenous production by HAL in India.

With all the six contenders having submitted their respons-es to the RFP for India’s MMRCA deal, the race enters the next stage of technical and commercial evaluation. A mammoth and arduous task, it is hoped that the concerned departments of the Government, specially the IAF, are fully geared to com-plete this phase of the deal without getting into time over-runs. The IAF is already in a tight spot vis-à-vis the dwindling strength of its combat aircraft. It must, therefore, move on a war-footing to regain its depleting combat potential. SP

(For responses to SP’s Q&A from Boeing, EADS and Lockheed Martin, turn to page 14)


UNITED WE RACE: US MAJORS LOCKHEED MARTIN AND BOEING HAVE GRABBED THE SPOTLIGHT. SEEN HERE ARE REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE TWO COMPANIES, INCLUDING MIKE KELLEY (2ND FROM LEFT) OF LOCKHEED MARTIN AND DR VIVEK LALL OF BOEING IDS (RIGHT), WITH THEIR RESPECTIVE RESPONSE BOXES IN FRONT OF THE US EMBASSY.

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MMRCA DEAL


AS THE CLOCK TURNS, IT IS NEARLY SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS since the Indian Air Force (IAF) submitted its urgent requirement in January 2001 for 126 (six squadrons worth) medium multi-role combat

aircraft (MMRCA) to replace its obsolete and ageing aircraft. In the highly complex sequence of mandates that define the process for acquisition of defence equipment in India, it took as many as three years for the proposal to be accepted in principle by the government prior to executing the first step of issuing a Request for Information.

Many turns and twists later, including issuance of a vo-luminous document on Defence Procurement Procedure (which itself has undergone a revision in 2006 and is in the process of being revised again), the Request for Proposal (RFP) was finally issued in August last year to six contend-ers with the floating of a global tender. The initial deadline of six months had to be extended further to enable all the six competing aviation companies to cover all aspects including the contract’s massive 50 per cent offset clauses.

Good news is all the six contenders met the revised deadline in submitting individual responses by April 28. Bad news would be the hint of any credence to rumours of cer-tain anomalies that might force a redo of the RFP exercise. Any major, or even minor, modification of the proposal at this stage could involve considerable reworking, triggering a fresh round of dithering and delays. Worse, should there be a change of government at the Centre in the aftermath of the general elections scheduled less than a year from now, the entire procedure could hit a bottleneck once again. While a review in such cases may be a justifiable prerogative of the elected government, equally must be its responsibility to be sensitive to the urgent and time-bound requirements of national security.

As it is, there still are a number of stages to be gone through before awarding the contract to a particular vendor. To start with, all six responses to the RFP would have to be thoroughly studied and evaluated, both technically and on commercial grounds. The first part of the exercise would have to be spearheaded by the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff branch at Air HQ and, going by the information revealed by sources, this exercise has already commenced with the requisite gusto. But, irrespective of the amount of midnight oil burned, fact is such a complex exercise could easily take up to six months to get completed. Also, unlike normal cir-cumstances wherein the lowest bidder would have the best

chance of clinching the contract, this is by far a more elabo-rate exercise involving comparison of a wide range of per-formance parameters of aircraft and other aspects of the quotations such as Life Cycle Costs and Transfer of Technol-ogy. All aircraft that measure up to the stipulated qualitative requirements (which would probably include all six com-petitors) would be put through flight trials—a time intensive process as the complete range of performance parameters have to be verified and compared by specialised crews. The process itself could take up to two years to complete, which would then be followed by price negotiations with the com-pany offering the lowest price provided the aircraft is other-wise acceptable.

It is anticipated that if all goes as per the plan, the con-tract could be signed after the selected aircraft is approved by the government sometime in 2011-2012. Thereafter, ap-plying a lead-time of 36 months, arrival of the first batch of aircraft could be expected in the period between 2014 and 2015, a good six to seven years from now. However, even this timeframe would only be honoured if all related deci-sions are taken on time—an exceptionally rare proposition where India is concerned. Among the key factors that retard decision making are menacing oversight and deep scrutiny by the Central Vigilance Commission, acute ‘scam’ scare among the bureaucracy, intrusive media, Tehelka type sting operations and the recently introduced Rights to Informa-tion Act. Individuals responsible for processing the defence acquisition cases are naturally averse to taking quick deci-sions lest they are subsequently charged with undue haste or misdemeanour of any kind.

Delhi had earlier announced that the MMRCA compe-tition would be fair, just and transparent. It is hoped that the above would be adhered to and that, it would also lead to timely decision making in the selection process. The IAF already stands depleted by more than a quarter of its origi-nal strength to less than 30 combat squadrons. While a few more squadrons are being re-equipped with Su-30 MKI air-craft, these cannot compensate for the number of squadrons which are being number-plated due to obsolescence. The government would have to ensure smooth and time-efficient selection process for the MMRCA project if it wants to stop further bleeding of the IAF’s ‘Op Potential’. SP


DEBILITATING PACE

The government would have to ensure smooth and time-efficient selection process for the MMRCA project if it wants to stop further bleeding of the IAF’s ‘Op Potential’

Q&A MMRCA DEAL

14 SP’S AVIATION ISSUE 5 • 2008

Q&A MMRCA DEAL

BALANCING ActA cautious mix of optimism and pragmatism emerged in a quickfi re

round SP’s directed at the contestants in the race for the MMRCA deal. Of the six frontrunners, three were forthcoming with their views.

BOEING IDS response—What would you say are your chances of clinching India’s MMRCA deal?We believe Boeing’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet provides state-of-the-art 21st Century warfighting capability and is an extremely good value proposition to the Indian Air Force because of its overall life cycle cost. Unlike some of our competi-tors, whose offerings are being phased out elsewhere as customers move on to more modern capability, the Super Hornet will be around for decades to come with continued investment to ensure robust supportability and capability.What, according to you, are the dis-tinct advantages inherent in your pro-posal vis-à-vis the other contenders?We believe the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet will give India the most advanced see-all, do-all combat fighter in production today, capable of defending the nation from the Himalayas to the Indian Ocean with unmatched lethality, pilot safety, and the promise of 30+ years of continual US Navy-funded upgrades. This is a fighter that has been proven in combat. The F/A-18 has a hot production line, which means India can start replenishing its depleted squadron strength quickly. The Super Hornet boasts the latest generation of US manufacturing and military technology. For example, Raytheon’s APG-79 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar is one of the Super Hornet’s critical key discriminators. AESA expands the Super Hornet’s lethality to beyond the range of weapons or platforms that might be a threat against it. The AESA, and other ad-vanced technologies that are opera-tional on the Super Hornet today do not exist on some of our competitor’s offerings, and are simply long-term and costly developmental promises. The F/A-18I also boasts an advanced targeting pod—the Litening AT pod—built by Northrop Grumman,

for exceptional air-to-ground performance, as well as a Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) for enhanced aircrew situational awareness and combat lethal-ity. A very large part of the Super Hornet’s appeal is affordability, both unit flyaway and life cycle. In fact, the Super Hornet is a fighter that won’t see a scheduled visit to a maintenance depot until it has clocked a minimum of 6,000 hours of flying time and likely much longer.If you bag the contract, what will be the timeframe for delivery of the first aircraft?The first 18 aircraft will be delivered to the Indian Air Force in fly-away condition from our plant in St. Louis, with the first plane delivered within 36 months after contract signing. The remaining 108 air-craft will be assembled in India, and the first of these would fly 54 months after contract signing. All 126 aircraft would be delivered to the Indian Air Force by 2020, and would benefit from continual US Navy-funded technology insertions over that time period, as well as Indian Air Force upgrades if desired. How broad is the technology platform offered by you in terms of its applica-bility and contemporaneousness for the upcoming good many number of years?The F/A-18E/F was designed with built-in growth for tomorrow’s capability insertion. In fact, the Super Hornet will have the same or greater capability than the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter until at least the end of the next decade, and will serve alongside it in the US Navy front ranks beyond 2030.

What kind of offset arrangement(s) are you working on, especially consid-ering the voluminous size of the deal? What are the challenges pertaining to direct and indirect offsets you foresee and are preparing to address?We have made a great start in identify-ing some of the industrial partners we hope to be working with in India down the road. In December, IDS CEO and President Jim Albaugh signed a 10-year memorandum of understanding with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited intended to bring more than $1 billion (Rs 4,253 crore) worth of new aerospace manu-facturing work to India. In February, the Boeing Company and Tata Industries agreed on a plan to form a joint-venture company that will initially include more than $500 million (Rs 2,126 crore) of defence-related aerospace component work in India for export to Boeing and its international customers. As to the offset challenges you alluded to, while we acknowledge the complexities and chal-lenges of India’s offset requirements, Boe-ing is enthusiastic and is putting together a programme that will meet or exceed expectations. Boeing views the MMRCA offset requirement as a mechanism to establish long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships with Indian Industry. What kind of partnership(s) do you propose to offer to the end user, namely, the Indian Air Force, and other related agencies/companies? Choosing the F/A-18 Super Hornet will accomplish a multitude of objectives for India. Our advanced products will

contribute substantially to India’s defence as this nation assumes a greater role regionally and around the world. The selection of our defence products will enhance and deepen a burgeoning partnership that will enhance global opportuni-ties for Indian industry. SP

“BOEING’S SUPER HORNET WILL BE AROUND FOR DECADES TO COME.”

—CHRIS CHADWICK, President, Boeing Precision Engagement & Mobility

Systems

Q&A MMRCA DEAL

ISSUE 5 • 2008 SP’S AVIATION 15

LOCKHEED MARTIN response—What would you say are your chances of clinching India’s MMRCA deal? We are confident our proposal for the F-16IN meets or exceeds India’s MMRCA requirements for the Indian Air Force.What, according to you, are the distinct advantages inherent in your proposal vis-à-vis the other contenders? No other operational multi-role fighter in the world today compares to this aircraft. The F-16IN is a unique configuration of the F-16, designed to address the require-ments specified in India’s RFP. The F-16 is the most reliable, maintainable, afford-able and safest multi-role fighter in the world and the F-16IN will be even better. This proposal also represents a long-term partnership between the Air Forces of India and the US and between Indian industry and the F-16 industry team.If you bag the contract, what will be the timeframe for delivery of the first aircraft? The timeframe for the delivery of the first

aircraft would be 36 months from the date the contract is signed. How broad is the technology platform offered by you in terms of its applicabil-ity and contemporaneousness for the upcoming good many number of years? The F-16IN has been especially designed to include a multitude of cutting-edge technologies such as a, full-colour, all-digital, glass cockpit; the APG-80 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar; the GE F110-132A engine for increased, thrust; a large weapons inventory; a highly effective electronic warfare suite; and Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFTs) to significantly extend range and persistence. The aircraft also includes advanced survivability features such as superior agility, excellent pilot situational awareness, and critical systems redun-dancy. The F-16IN is designed to provide outstanding front-line capability, unprec-edented reliability, and an extremely low total cost of ownership. What kind of offset arrangement(s) are you working on, especially considering the voluminous size of the deal? What are the challenges pertaining to direct and indirect offsets you foresee and are preparing to address? The F-16 programme has a long history of successful industrial participation, including delivery of aircraft from assem-

bly lines in five countries. We know how to make industrial participation work and we are prepared to be responsive to meet the goals of the government and industry of India. The F-16 programme is known for its flexibility to meet a wide variety of customer requirements and national goals, including technology transfer. We know that Indian aircraft production will be a firm requirement. We want to forge good, long-term strategic partnerships in India that allow companies with whom we become associated, to develop high-quality, long-term employment for India’s work force on existing programmes that will be of interest to the US government and other governments around the world.What kind of partnership(s) do you propose to offer to the end user, namely, the Indian Air Force, and other related agencies/companies? Lockheed Martin has established four F-16 production lines outside of the US. Additionally, the company has success-fully achieved more than $37 billion (Rs 1,57,444 crore) in offset programme credits in 40 countries. A proven corner-stone of these programmes is the ability to provide technology transfer to partners. The F-16IN proposal assures that 108 of the 126 F-16IN aircraft would be deliv-ered from HAL under licensed production with Indian industry. SP

“THE F-16 PROGRAMME IS KNOWN FOR ITS FLEXIBILITY.” —ORVILLE PRINS,

Vice President, Business Development, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics

EUROFIGHTER response—What would you say are your chances of clinching India’s MMRCA deal?We are convinced that we have an excel-lent combat aircraft which is a proven weapon system and respected worldwide by the air forces and their pilots. The Eurofighter Typhoon is fully operational in four countries and with more than 700 orders from six customers (Germany, UK, Spain, Italy, Austria, Saudi Arabia), we can offer a mature and stable combat aircraft programme to the Indian Air Force.What, according to you, are the distinct advantages inherent in your proposal vis-à-vis the other contenders?The most important advantages of the Eu-rofighter bid proposal is the fact that our proposal is fully supported by four nations and four leading aerospace companies in Europe, such as EADS in Germany and Spain, Finmeccanica in Italy and BAE Systems in the United Kingdom. We have submitted a robust and winning proposal which will fulfill India’s current and future operational requirements.

If you bag the contract, what will be the timeframe for delivery of the first aircraft?We will deliver the first Eurofighter Typhoon when the customer requires it. According to the RFP, it is mandatory that the first 18 aircraft come in a “fly away” condition and are to be delivered from the selected manufacturer. What kind of offset arrangement(s) are you working on, especially consid-ering the voluminous size of the deal? What are the challenges pertaining to direct and indirect offsets you foresee and are preparing to address?Of course, the requirement of 50 per cent offset is a challenge. However, we are fully committed that we will submit a very attractive offset proposal until August 2008. Eurofighter Typhoon is a true four nations’ programme, with four leading European aerospace and defence companies plus an enormous supplier base involved. Therefore, our offset offer will leverage the strength of the whole Eurofighter consortium to-gether with other strong aerospace and

defence companies in Europe. This will give India the access to a very interest-ing international sourcing network of unparalleled scope.What kind of partnership(s) do you propose to offer to the end user, namely, the Indian Air Force, and other related agencies/companies?First of all, we regard India not only as a market but most importantly as a partner for joint industrial and military projects. Therefore, we invited India to join the Eu-rofighter programme because we would like India to become a member of the successful Eurofighter family. Basically, we are interested in long-lasting politi-cal, industrial and military partnerships and therefore the door for cooperation is widely open for India. SP

“WE WOULD LIKE INDIA TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE

EUROFIGHTER FAMILY.” —BERNHARD GERWERT, CEO,

Military Air Systems, EADS Defence & Security

CIVIL BUSINESS AVIATION


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India is home to 53 billionaires and 1,00,000 millionaires. The high spending power has engineered a shift away from just owning a business aircraft to having a custom built one—with personalised colour schemes and embellishments.

By Group Captain A.K. Sachdev,

Bangalore

Introducing theElite Class

CFO_210x267.indd 1 14/04/08 18:16:45



AWAY FROM THE AIRBUS AND BOEING bout to secure the largest chunk of the market for commercial jets, the business aviation customer is ploughing through his own bill of fare. And it is a lavish spread. Very Light Jets (VLJs) were hailed a couple of months ago as the SUVs of the skies. Small, relatively less expensive jets

(like the Cessna Mustang) are being labeled as the Model Ts that fly. These and other new business jets are displaying an eager and impatient yearning for transforming the paradigm of business aviation. The new technology business jets, small in size, and quick to turn round, represent comparatively inexpensive options for private aviation. The comparison to sports cars is not just on account of sleek looks and speed, there is also the subliminal linkage which renders business jets objects of desire, symbols of status and something you must have if the Jones’s possess one. That these represent a convenient and controllable means of travel between places is an important but not the most significant reason for pro-curing a business jet. The shrinking gap between affordabil-ity of a business jet and the purchasing power of a large number of business houses and businessmen is the scene-setter for a boom in business aviation.

While airlines are going bankrupt worldwide (six during the last two months) and mergers are taking place between others (Delta and Northwest, for one), the market for cor-porate aircraft is having a comparatively prosperous spell.

Needless to say, the central cause is the attractive costs at which new business jets are available. A VLJ is around $1.5 million (Rs 6.4 crore) to $3 million (Rs 13 crore). These prices are lower than those of most business jets flying around at the beginning of 2007; so is their cost of running—less by as much as 30 per cent according to one estimate. No surprise then that the world wide sale of business jets for 2007 stood at more than 1,000 and the sales over the next 10 years are expected to average 1,400 per year.

At the recently concluded European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, Bombardier announced its market forecast. Expressing optimism about increasing delivery numbers through the next decade, the Cana-dian company has predicted growth in non-US markets would drive the busi-ness jet deliveries to 1,320 annually be-tween 2008 and 2017, compared with the industry average of 620 in the pe-riod from 1998 to 2007. (For full report

REDEFINING COMFORT: INDIAN ENTREPRENEURS

PERPETUALLY ON THE MOVE ARE READY TO

SHELL OUT THE PRICE FOR HIGH COMFORT AND

ULTIMATE SPEED. SEEN HERE IS THE INTERIOR OF

THE CESSNA XLS+ THAT FEATURES ON PAGE 16.

Citation Emerging Markets ad for SP’STrim: 40.6 cm x 12.5 cm • Bleed: 41.6 cm x 13.5 cm • Live: 38 cm x 11.5 cmFile: CD-ROM, HR PDF with 1 digital proof

Some Citation business jets are so perfectly suited to doing business in India,

it’s as if they were created specifically for that purpose. Here’s why: Every

Citation is based on what customers tell us they need. Those customers

come from all over the world, but they all have three things in common:

They are poised on the brink of a major breakthrough in the growth of their

business. They are seeing opportunities like never before. And they are

looking for the undeniably best way to seize them. Their answer can be your

answer – the best-selling business jets and propeller aircraft in the world. For

a free, no-obligation analysis of what a Citation business jet can do for your

company call Mike McGreevy at 971.4.295.4822 or visit Citation.Cessna.com.

It’s as if we read the minds ofIndia’s business leaders. In many ways, we did.

C e s s n a A i r c r a f t

S u r e T h i n g ®

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on EBACE, turn to page 32.)One important reason for the busi-

ness jet prices becoming attractive is the fact that the aviation world gener-ally uses the US dollar as the functional currency; the steady fall of the dollar has meant that business houses rak-ing in earnings in currencies other than US dollars find the price tags on these business jets eye catching. There is a problem about these jets not being fitted with Traffic Colli-sion Avoidance Systems (TCAS), and therefore about their full exploita-tion (an aircraft without TCAS on board may not fly above 29,000 ft like one with TCAS can). However, even flights at 29,000 ft and below are worthy of corporate interest.

Another reason for the boom is the globalisation which has brought down trade and psychological bar-riers and permitted market forces to work their way to a broader customer base for the business jet. While 2007 saw the VLJ assaulting the business aircraft market, that year was also the one during which

aviation fuel prices spiraled up due to the unprecedented rise in crude oil prices. It is possible that aircraft manufacturers may start thinking of fuel efficient turbo-prop options for business aircraft in the near future. While the economics (of a cheap turbo-prop aircraft) and common sense would indicate that option as being better than a jet, the slower speeds and

limited ranges of turbo-prop aircraft (in comparison to busi-ness jets) would perhaps hold back a boom in turbo-prop business aircraft demand.

In India, the tax rate of 22 per cent on aircraft imports is quite high, but not high enough to prevent business houses from queuing up for permission to import aircraft; the Business Aviation Association of India is reported to have estimated the annual growth in the numbers of business aircraft in India to be 30 to 40 per cent over the coming years. This boom is essentially related to the soar-ing of the Indian economy and the resultant increase in the number of High Net-worth In-dividuals and business houses

The comparison to sports cars is not just on account

of sleek looks and speed, there is also

the subliminal linkage which

renders business jets objects of desire, symbols

of status and something you must have if the Jones’s

possess one

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Citation Emerging Markets ad for SP’STrim: 40.6 cm x 12.5 cm • Bleed: 41.6 cm x 13.5 cm • Live: 38 cm x 11.5 cmFile: CD-ROM, HR PDF with 1 digital proof

Some Citation business jets are so perfectly suited to doing business in India,

it’s as if they were created specifically for that purpose. Here’s why: Every

Citation is based on what customers tell us they need. Those customers

come from all over the world, but they all have three things in common:

They are poised on the brink of a major breakthrough in the growth of their

business. They are seeing opportunities like never before. And they are

looking for the undeniably best way to seize them. Their answer can be your

answer – the best-selling business jets and propeller aircraft in the world. For

a free, no-obligation analysis of what a Citation business jet can do for your

company call Mike McGreevy at 971.4.295.4822 or visit Citation.Cessna.com.

It’s as if we read the minds ofIndia’s business leaders. In many ways, we did.

C e s s n a A i r c r a f t

S u r e T h i n g ®

gs-EmMark_SPs.indd 1 11/13/07 3:26:24 PM



that can afford to purchase and maintain business aircraft. According to one estimate, there are 53 billionaires in India. There are also 1,00,000 millionaires in India and the num-ber is growing at around 20 per cent per annum; even if there is a slow down in the rate of economic growth—as is being feared—the numbers are impressive. The high spend-ing power means that there is a shift away from just owning a business aircraft to having a custom built one—with per-sonalised colour schemes and embellishments.

With NetJets and BJETS trying to get a foothold in the Indian market, more choices can be expected to become available to the private aviation customer. NetJets is starting off by offering Indian customers fractional ownership in its ongoing European and American programmes; simultane-ously it is testing the waters to formulate a business model better suited to Indian conditions. BJETS is also planning to start a fractional ownership model in India which will include an option of a prepaid charter block of 25 hours. Ta-tas have picked up a stake in the company which has already ordered 40 aircraft (20 Cessna Citation CJ2+ and 20 Hawker 850XPs and 900XPs) and is investing around $600 million (Rs 2,558 crore) to make its presence felt in India which it feels is a great place to be in at the moment.

Existing fractional ownership models also continue to evolve. However, an interesting development is the charter-ing out of privately owned business aircraft by individuals and business houses to utilise overspill of aircraft availability beyond own use. While this financially wise practice was be-ing followed by some business houses in some form or the other in the recent years, an international company, Zurich-based ExecuJet Aviation, is planning to introduce a business aircraft acquisition scheme called ‘Simpli Fly’ in India. Under this model, ExecuJet plans to acquire aircraft for interested business houses, maintain them at a fixed monthly fee and if the business house wishes, it could charter it out to a third party, when not in use, to offset the cost of maintenance. An Indian company, Bird Group, has similar plans with the ad-vertised objective of reducing the net cost for the company (or individual) which owns an aircraft to be brought down to almost zero. In another model, Bird Group plans to get a busi-ness house or individual to commit to a fixed number of hours its aircraft will be available per month for charter purposes (after meeting the needs of the business house/individual).

Bird Group is planning to acquire 12 aircraft dur-ing the coming one year period and has signed an agreement with Regourd Aviation, a global professional aircraft dealer and broker specialising in the sale of business airplanes and helicopters. Thus there is a choice available to the Indian customer in terms of several business models that he could use business aircraft in. As the customer base broadens and as the collec-tive customer spending power increases, market players are smartly reacting to the dynamic and flexible requirements of the business aviation requirements.

Coming to numbers, around 30 business jets were de-livered in 2007 in India and another 45 are expected to be delivered in 2008. At the Singapore Air Show, Tata’s BJETS ordered 50 aircraft and Club One Air ordered 10. At the re-cently concluded Extravaganza event, Infovision ordered 20 Phenoms. Meanwhile, Aerion which is developing super sonic business jets (SSBJs) is reported to have bagged orders from five customers in India and the deliveries are reported to start during the end of 2014. The company asserts that India is a promising market especially for long range busi-ness jets because of expanding global business relationships. Although the names of the customers are not clearly known, the company plans to open a sales office in India by the end of 2008 as it expects to do more business in the coming years. The price tag an SSBJ is expected to wear is $80 million (Rs 341 crore), but the advantage is huge—a Mumbai-Singapore trip would be cut down to three hours (current airliners and business jets take around five hours to cover the distance).

Currently, the charter aviation market in India has around 30 operators and the market is dynamic in its response to perceived business customer needs; one illustration is the plans Club One Air has of launching a Low Cost Charter ser-vice as an option for the low end business traveler who does not mind not being served hot food and coffee in flight but wants to get to his business destination fast. At the other end of the spectrum is the “fully loaded” business jet with on board conference facilities; the recent clearance for in flight mobile services (not yet in India but expected soon) and, by extension of the analogy, for in flight internet services, will enable this type of business travel. So the day is not far off when business travelers can have a conference on board a business aircraft while traveling on to another city to attend another confer-ence—all the while being in touch with their respective offices and staff. What Internet did to out-of-office work, the new class of business jets will do for in-flight work. Small wonder then, that business aviation is an ascendant market. It would be propitious for everyone related to the aviation industry to pray that fuel prices do not play spoilsport. SP

With NetJets and BJETS trying to get a foothold in the Indian market, more

choices can be expected

IN AUGUST COMPANY: AIRBUS A319 AND BOMBARDIER’S GLOBAL

EXPRESS FLAUNTS THE COLOURS OF RELIANCE INDUSTRIES WHILE FALCON 2000 (CENTRE)

SPORTS THE LIVERY OF TATA STEEL. NAVIN JINDAL OWNED JINDAL INDUSTRIES IS A RECENT ADDITION

IN THE ORDER BOOKS OF THE FALCON FAMILY.

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PARDON THE EXPRESSION, but there’s no denying that In-dians are taking to flying like ducks to water. In recent years, the number of passengers has

grown by over 30 per cent and it is safe to predict that this rate will be maintained or even exceeded over the next few years. A wide choice of airlines and attractive offers to “fly at Re 1”, where taxes are consigned to the fine print, are persuading more and more people to take to the skies.

And how is the business aviation seg-ment faring? Ironically, the surge in pas-senger flights is driving business aviation as well. Many passengers are put off by the congestion experienced at airport lounges and the cascading delays especially in win-ter. It is a sad fact that air travel is not the luxury experience it was even a decade or two ago. While cut-rate passengers and the middle-class have no choice but to grin and bear it, sheer inconvenience is forcing many busy executives to grasp more convenient alternatives. Deregulation of business avia-tion, easy availability of ‘splurge money’ in the rapidly-growing Indian economy and more liberal regulations governing foreign investment are persuading many business-es to take the plunge and acquire their own private taxis in the sky. The global ambi-tions of Indian companies are also driving demand like never before.

There were less than 40 private air-craft in India in 2005. Today the figure has crossed 200. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation reportedly has another 200 applications pending for private aircraft registration. More and more manufactur-ers see India as one of the strongest mar-kets for business aircraft in the Asia-Pa-cific region. India is potentially bigger than China as it already has twice the number of billionaires. This segment is projected to

grow at around 30-40 per cent annually.

Business aviation clients are of various types. There are execu-tives who prefer to fly privately on business considering the time saved, the increased productivity and the comfort well worth the extra cost. There are High-Net-Worth-Individuals who opt for private air travel rather than risk the hold-ups and hassles that have become endemic to scheduled airlines. Then there are groups such as athletic teams, entertainers with their supporting entourage, event manage-ment groups and politicians on a cam-paign trail. Business aviation is no longer a luxury but a necessity.

With greater transparency and unfet-tered competition, prices generally come down. Though they may never equal what scheduled services can offer there is a clear trend towards more efficient business aviation and reduction of costs. In addition, over the past decade or so, flexible ways to charter or own aircraft have made this option affordable to more companies and individuals than ever be-fore. Some of these methods are slowly arriving in India as operators woo cus-tomers to sign on the dotted line. They in-clude block charters, jet cards, fractional ownership and negotiation of discounts on whole-aircraft charters for payment made upfront rather than on credit.

For customers who foresee a require-ment of 100 hours or less of flying per year,

block-charter arrangements usually are the most attractive. Above that, fractional ownership becomes the option of choice. Fractional ownership is similar to the fa-miliar timesharing plans that many tourist resorts offer. An aircraft needs to operate at least 800 hours per year in order to

make a profit. With some luck, a five-year fractional ownership deal on a business jet for as little

as 50 hours’ usage per year would probably be economically viable. That represents a one-sixteenth share, the smallest share one can buy on a business plane. Fractional shares on helicopters can be just one-thirty-second of the

aircraft’s time, since helicopters generally fly much shorter distances and do not op-erate as many hours. India has a potential 2,000 fractional owners, according to some estimates. Bombardier has a convenient jet card system in its charter operation busi-ness, Skyjet, which permits clients to use a business jet for as little as 25 hours and also offers ‘on-demand charter’ for clients who have only small or irregular require-ments. Online booking and assured avail-ability make it a much sought-after service in America and Europe. It will soon be of-fered across the world.

Pre-owned aircraft are another op-tion and are hot favourites in this coun-try. With at least 300 planes and helicop-ters expected to be bought in the next five years there is a significantly large market for second-hand aircraft. A pre-owned aircraft costs around half the price of a new aircraft but can be chartered at almost the same price. Thus the break-even point comes much sooner.

There are those who prefer their own aircraft. The Ambani brothers, Lak-shmi Mittal, Vijay Mallya and Ratan Tata among others already own one or more jets. The prestige that goes with a private jet obviously far outweighs a Mercedes or

By Group Captain

Joseph Noronha, Goa

Despite the excellent outlook for Indian business aviation, it faces daunting challenges. The problems

are likely to get worse before they get better. Once the bottlenecks are removed, the sector can only soar.

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even a yacht. The M&A spree that so many Indian corporations are indulging in on a global scale often requires transporting negotiating teams to a distant country at short notice in which case a company jet becomes essential.

Any takers for a super sonic business jets (SSBJs)? Aerion Corporation is offering the Aerion SSBJ to customers for deliv-ery in 2014. Costing $80 million (Rs 341 crore), it will permit a super-comfortable business trip from Mumbai to Singapore and return, all in a day. Reportedly, five Indian customers have already been hooked.Here are some of the current business proposals in the pipeline.

• Deccan Charters, which will soon be divested from Deccan Avi-ation, hopes to establish itself as a leading provider of corpo-rate aviation in the country. The company’s roots are in heli-copter charters and it plans to build on this by adding at least 15 business jets and an unspecified number of helicopters in the next five years. It believes that helicopters are emerging as a viable way for executives to travel.

• NetJets plans to introduce a fractional ownership and charter operation in India perhaps by forming a joint venture with an Indian operator. At least 20 Indians already use NetJets’ services in Europe and should readily take to the desi offer.

• Club One Air has been in the charter business for some years but now plans to acquire a dedicated fleet of 11 Eclipse 500 very light jets and target the vast middle class using a ‘seat-on-demand’ model.

• BJets, a Singapore based company, is scheduled to launch Asia’s first dedicated fractional ownership business by the end of 2008 with a 40 strong fleet comprising 20 Cessna Citation CJ2+ light jets and 20 mid-size Hawker 850XPs and 900XPs. Based primarily in Mumbai and Singapore, this would be the biggest fleet of private jets in Asia.

The picture, however, is not all rosy. Despite the excellent out-look for Indian business aviation, it faces daunting challenges, in-cluding woeful infrastructure creaking even to keep up with cur-rent requirements, leave alone projected growth. These problems are likely to get worse before they get better. Current estimates suggest that around Rs 100,000 crore ($23.8 billion) needs to be spent over the next five to seven years on improvement of civil airports and air traffic services.

• Lack of space at airports is becoming a major hurdle as com-mercial aviation expands. India has around 135 operational airports. However, in addition, there are another 300 or so rarely used or abandoned airstrips that could well be revived and developed into business aviation hubs.

• There is also an acute shortage of maintenance facilities for business aviation. In fact, operators face constraints at every step. For example, there are no general aviation terminals, poor facilities for ground handling, lack of hangar space and parking and no dedicated heliports.

• India will require 6,000 pilots besides aviation engineers and other skilled personnel to meet its combined aviation needs over the next decade. The existing training facilities can meet only a small fraction of the requirement.

• Proliferation of light aircraft into Indian skies would severely test the abilities of air traffic control services. Automation is the need of the hour.

• There are no separate guidelines for general aviation in India which entails a difficult regulatory environment for business aircraft. This is partly due to a lack of understanding of the needs of corporate travel. Having paid extra to save time via

charter flights, executives are back to square one by having to go through the same time-consuming formalities as general passengers. The same goes for aircraft movement procedures, some of which were made more than half a century ago. For instance, it takes about a week for foreign-registered aircraft coming into India to get clearance.

• Growth depends a great deal on the price of aviation fuel.Despite the problems, business aviation is expected to keep

growing at a tidy clip for years. While corporate transport will become a key issue for large business groups in an interna-tional growing market, the day is not far when the upper middle class will at least consider the option of chartering aircraft, per-haps even a VLJ, and charter services will surely expand from the metros to Tier II and Tier III towns. The future is bright if the government realises the link between business aviation and the country’s economic boom. But aviation experts have also sounded a warning that if the growth and expansion turn out to be unbridled there could be turbulent skies ahead. SP

Vijay Mallya is reportedly in talks with EADS Socata to co-develop business jets

Dr Vijay Mallya’s UB Group has initiated talks with France-based EADS Socata, a leading aircraft manufacturer, to invest around

$200 million (Rs 847 crore) to co-develop business jets for which India has now emerged as a hot market. India has 179 aircraft reg-istered for private, corporate and charter purposes, which include

business jets, turboprops and helicopters.Confirming the on-going talks with the

UB Group and other Indian companies, EADS Socata spokesperson Phillipe de Segovia said, “We want to look at a global organisa-tion that has service centres in place with tools to market in the country.”

STOP PRESS

Note: The helicopter data has also been included in order to depict the overall picture of trends.

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Blotches marring the golden sheen of what was heralded by some as the renaissance of the Indian aviation have revealed the mal-aise that lies beneath. Evidently, the Consultative Committee of the Members of Parliament attached to the Ministry of Civil Avia-tion, and chaired by the Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel

has a bit of thinking to do.On a positive note, the aviation industry shows all signs of being on a

high growth trajectory—four new airlines are waiting in the wings for final clearance to take off, the number of passengers is expected to rise by 20 to 25 per cent this year, there are better choices of airports connected and comparison of air travel to a rail journey still favours the former if the mar-ginal difference of fares is weighed against the substantial time saving that accrues as a trade-off. Although the 25 per cent growth projection is a bit modest when compared to the 30 per cent expected earlier on (based on last year’s figures), it is still an indicator of robust growth. Airport infrastructure is also gathering momentum with private participation on the rise in parallel with a sizeable planned expenditure by the government.

In comparison, the flip side of the coin is a bit mottled. An inordinate and unexpected rise in the cost of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) has damp-

ened the spirit considerably. Airlines have had to revise their fares ever so frequently under the garb of surcharges, and there has been an impact on the volume of passen-gers carried with consequent drop in load factors for most airlines. Valiant efforts by Praful Patel to get all states to reduce the sales tax on ATF to a standard 4 per cent have borne only limited results and his en-treaties to the central government about the need to do something about the high ATF prices have fallen largely on deaf ears as the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Petroleum also have their own constraints. Even those states which had reduced tax on ATF to 4 per cent are now threatening to go back to the earlier, higher figures as

Airlines do not seem overly perturbed by the impact of cost cutting on safety, perhaps because safety is not tangible. However, there is a need to exercise a degree of ‘cost management’.

CIVIL FLIGHT SAFETY

Group Captain A.K. Sachdev, Bangalore

Outsourced loaders and drivers are personnel with

non-standardised skill levels, working

in randomly designated positions, with limited scope

of ascending up the learning curve

they feel that reduced taxes should have been rewarded by a drop in fares—which has not happened. Meanwhile, fuel costs, account-ing for around 40 per cent of an airline’s expenditure bill a year ago, are now moving closer to 45 per cent. Profits, therefore, for any of our airlines remain a distant dream. The options open to an airline in its pursuit of profits are limited. Cutting down fuel costs is beyond their control. Increasing fares in the cut throat competition would be self defeat-ing. So, where and how do they cut costs? The answers—almost all of them—impinge directly or indirectly on aviation safety.

DOWNSIZING & OUTSOURCINGThe first and foremost cost cutting exercise starts with downsizing of manpower. This may not be the easiest thing to do for NACIL, but private airlines have almost full autonomy in that area. The whole exercise could start with what is euphemistically termed as ‘multi-skilling’. An ambitious plan to train personnel hired and trained for one trade to carry out other jobs, it is sometimes totally unrelated to the skill sets demanded by the original job description. Multi-skilling, while being a laud-able concept, is by definition a compromise. Unless carried out with great thought and ef-fort in the form of proper training and moti-vation, it could end up in a situation where mediocrity becomes the norm because the person performing a particular job as a ‘sec-ondary duty’ feels inadequately motivated, sees the additional responsibility as biting into his main one, and often feels indignant

SAFETYat Stake

CIVIL FLIGHT SAFETY


at being asked to carry out the new, additional job. The re-sult: an unmotivated person with the potential to bring about unsafe situations for the airline. As an illustration, prepar-ing the Load and Trim Charts for each flight requires special training. If, in pursuit of downsizing, this job was allocated as an additional duty to say, security personnel, the result could be incorrect calculation of the Charts, with a potential for reducing safety margins during take off.

While on the subject of human resource, outsourcing is the buzzword in the aviation industry. A large number of loaders and drivers are employees of a company which is not an airline but whose business is providing these trades-men to airlines. Quality control over these persons is almost impossible on account of the high turnover and the fact that these companies are rarely contractually obliged to provide the same personnel for the same job daily (which would have meant continuity and, therefore, better job familiar-ity). To summarise, outsourced loaders and drivers repre-sent personnel with non-standardised skill levels, working in randomly designated job positions, with limited scope of ascending up the learning curve. With cost cutting becom-ing the prime pre-occupation of airlines, there is a pressure to cut down the number of men for the same job; there is also a fall in the standard of these personnel (semi-skilled as they are) due to pressure on the outsourcing companies to provide personnel at lower rates. One of the results is the lengthening of shift hours. It is not uncommon to find out-sourced personnel to be working 12-hour shifts. Even when they are on eight-hour shifts, continuing into the next shift (because of unplanned and sometimes unplanned absence of relief personnel) and thus working 16 hours at a stretch is a common practice. A person who has not slept for 16 hours has the alertness of one who has a blood alcohol level of 0.05 per cent; a crew member is not permitted to fly if his alcohol level is 0.03 or more. Hence, the risks posed by such individ-uals working on long shifts are evident. As these personnel are working mostly on the airside of an airport, the potential for unsafe acts is considerable.

Maintenance costs are a large part of expenditure for an airline. NACIL (both arms of it) is on one end of the spectrum with the wherewithal, albeit on a deficit mode, of investing in adequate spares and facilities to provide for the maintenance support the doctor (or in this case, the OEM) ordered. At the other end of the same spectrum are the low fare carriers which can not afford the luxury of preventive expenditure in the form of spare inventories to cover projected or expected unservice-abilities. Thus, even where known statistics indicate a need for a certain kind of spare to be always ready for instant replace-ment, the summated cost of such contingent spares is such that they cannot invest in it with their limited spending power. The result is dispatch of aircraft under Minimum Equipment List or Component Deficiency List—conditions where the air-craft is flying with a component either unserviceable or de-ficient. Although this state is permitted, it is under a slightly lowered level of assurance of safety—especially if some other related unserviceability develops in the air.

SAVING ON FUELThen there is the expedient of scrimping on the fuel carried on board. The carriage of extra fuel on board implies burn-ing up more fuel just to carry the extra fuel. The marginal

increase in fuel burn due to carriage of extra fuel is weighed against the attendant advantage of carrying fuel from an air-port where it is cheaper to another airport where it is dearer (referred to as ‘tankering’). If that factor is ignored, every ex-tra bit of fuel carried would mean loss on account of extra fuel burnt. And hence the attraction of carrying less fuel on board. Regulations define the minimum fuel that must be carried to ensure safe arrival at the destination or, in the event of bad weather/runway blockage at the destination, a safe recovery at the alternative airport. That bare minimum figure is rarely the actual carried by the pilot in flight; every pilot has his own perception of how much extra he must carry. Indeed, there is no standard margin that could be defined for the additional fuel carried by the pilot to assure himself (as the Captain of the aircraft with full responsibility of the safety of this aircraft and passengers) for a particular flight. “Captain’s discretion” is the magic phrase. Although each airline outlines policy on the carriage of fuel, the policy did not—till recently—stipulate the maximum fuel that could be carried for a sector. However, in recent times desperate measures to cut costs have included dictating maximum fuel figures for specific sectors in a bid to rein in those pilots whose ‘safety margins’ are based on the most pessimistic flight scenarios. Whilst not really making flights unsafe, this measure does reduce the safety margins over and above the minimum levels.

Some less important cost cutting measures affect crew meals, crew transportation and accommodation, overtime allowances, daily and traveling allowances, which indirectly take a toll on safety. As the belt tightens, there would be some more cost cutting in the areas of ground equipment and ve-hicles plying on the airside. These measures would also indi-rectly impinge on safety.

A survey, conducted by Ascend, a provider of information and consultancy to the aviation industry, asked participating industry insiders from across the globe to identify the biggest barriers to further improvements in safety by ranking the importance of 10 potential threats. Causing the most con-cern is a ‘shortage of experienced personnel’ with an aver-age score of 7.3. Respondents ranked ‘fatigue/work practice’ (7.1) and ‘airline management experience/attitudes/culture’ (6.6) as the next most significant risks to improved aviation safety. More than half of the 140 respondents averred that the aviation safety standards were unlikely to improve dur-ing the next five years.

THE BOTTOMLINESo what is the prognosis? Will safety levels nosedive or stabi-lise at the present levels? Will the cost of maintaining safety standards in these days of hardship lead some airlines to fi-nancial crises? Airlines do not seem overly perturbed by the impact of cost cutting on safety, perhaps because safety is not tangible. However, there is a need—especially in the light of some doomsday soothsayers predicting a $200 (Rs 8,500) per barrel oil price by the year-end—to exercise a degree of ‘cost management’ instead of ‘cost cutting’. The subtle differ-ence between managing costs and cutting costs would be the higher emphasis on safety.

An accident, caused by desperate cost cutting measures, may serve exactly the opposite purpose than desired—by trig-gering a shut down. Hopefully, the hard times for airlines will end before safety levels are compromised unacceptably. SP

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SP_267x210_Diary.indd 1 9/4/08 17:47:55


SPECIAL REPORT INDUSTRY

Strategic Reach

US corporations like Boeing are actively marketing their aerospace and defence

wares to India as the country scouts around to fulfill its MMRCA wishlist.

Jayant Baranwal reports from C-17 facilities at Long Beach, CA, USA.


India, which has a five-year defence modernisation budget in excess of $30 billion (Rs 1,284 crore), is be-ing courted by arms exporters like never before. While the deal for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft

(MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) is the prime attrac-tion, US defence and aerospace firms like Boeing are also pro-actively pushing their wares like the C-17 heavy airlift capability transport aircraft.

While India is already pursuing joint development of a Multi-role Transport Aircraft (MTA) with Russia following an agreement in 2007, US companies are nevertheless realising the opportunity to offer modern transport planes for the near

term. Lockheed Martin has already bagged a deal to sell six C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to the IAF. Acquisition of C-130J aircraft by the IAF will help India to pack more lethality to its anti-terror operations. The C-130J aircraft are used by special forces in western countries for specialised operations like storming hostage-holding centres and hijacked planes. The aircraft has the capability to land even in improvised makeshift landing grounds and that too without lights.

Apparently, the IAF and India’s Border Security Forces are in the market for products to fulfill their special needs. The IAF is looking to augment its medium lift AN-32 fleet by building a more robust 10-tonne lift capacity fleet. India is

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also looking to effectively combat the recurring terror attacks it has become susceptible to by purchasing some more tacti-cal transport and strategic lift aircraft. Till such time that its own twin engine, the 10-tonne payload capacity MTA is in place, the IAF, which has about 100 transport aircraft of its own, is also undertaking an upgrade of these aircraft, as well as the heavier IL-76s to extend their life by 10 to 20 years.

At present, Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and Lockheed Martin C-130 continue to dominate the world’s fleet of mili-tary cargo haulers. With its intercontinental flight range, short-field performance, and ability to carry cargo over 75 tonnes, the C-17 is viewed by India as being suitable for meeting its enhanced strategic/tactical airlift requirements.

According to Mike Marshall, Senior Manager, Interna-tional Business Development at Boeing’s Integrated Defence Systems, “Boeing has actively marketed the C-17 to many European nations including Belgium, Britain, France, and Spain. Countries like India and those in the Asia-Pacific and the Mid-East are potential customers for the C-17 Globe-master III strategic lift aircraft. The aircraft does not require much change or refitting to make it amenable to a particular country’s specific needs and requirements.”

Introduced in 1991, the C-17 is retiring the US Air Force’s fleet of 1960s-era C-141 Starlifters and C-5 Galaxy aircraft. Lockheed Martin’s medium-range C-130 Hercules, which entered the US Air Force’s inventory in 1959 and continues to remain in demand with its new C-130J model. The Airbus

A400M and Russia’s super-giant AN-124 are the other play-ers in this game.

The Pratt & Whitney’s F117-powered C-17 serves the strategic airlift and mobility needs of the US Air Force, Brit-ish Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force. According to Marshall, “Boeing hopes to market the C-17 to countries like India which could oper-ate it as both a commercial and military cargo aircraft.” He said Boeing would like the IAF to have a look at C-17 as an interim acquisition before it starts making its own Multi-role Transport Aircraft.

The C-17 Globemaster is the US’ second largest airlifter and is capable of hauling more than 75 tonnes of men and material in the air. The aircraft is valued for its ability to land on short dirt runways such as those overseas or during disaster relief. Also, it has four times the carrying capacity of the C-130 Hercules and its range allows for rapid deploy-ment of troops, combat vehicles, heavy equipment and he-licopters. It can carry large combat equipment and troops or humanitarian aid directly to small austere airfields any-where in the world. The aircraft has flown numerous mis-sions in its brief history. These include natural disaster re-lief for earthquakes, hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and war missions that included the spectacular dropping of more than 1,000 troops into north-ern Iraq during the first days of the Iraq conflict. This was the first combat insertion of paratroopers using C-17s. SP

The C-17 Globemaster III is the newest, most flexible cargo air-craft capable of rapid strategic delivery of troops and all types of cargo to main operating bases or directly to forward bases in the deployment area. The aircraft can perform tactical airlift and airdrop missions and can also transport litters and ambulatory patients during aeromedical evacuations when required.

The aircraft is 174 feet long, 55.08 feet high and has a wing-span of 169.75 feet. With a typical payload of 160,000 pounds (72727 kg), the C-17 can take off from a runway of 7,600 feet, fly 2,400 nautical miles, and land on a small austere airfield in 3,000 feet or less. Ferry range of the C-17 (which can also be refueled in flight) is 4,700 nautical miles. The four engines are Pratt & Whitney PW2040 series turbofans, designated as the F117-PW-100. Each engine produces 40,440 pounds (18,382 kg) of thrust, located on pylons ahead of and below the wing leading edge. The engines are equipped with directed-flow thrust revers-ers capable of deployment in flight. On the ground, a fully loaded aircraft, using engine reversers, can back up a 2 percent slope.

Two of the nacelle design features account for the C-17’s capability to make extreme short-field landings at heavy gross weights: propulsive lift technology and an advanced thrust re-verser design. Propulsive lift results from directing engine ex-haust across both sides of the flap.

A cockpit crew of two, plus one loadmaster operates the C-17, a cost-effective flight crew complement made possible through advanced digital avionics. The system uses four cathode-ray tube displays, two full-capability HUDs (Head-Up Displays) and ad-vanced cargo systems.

Cargo is loaded onto the C-17 through a large aft door that can accommodate military vehicles and palletized cargo. The C-17 can carry and airdrop 102 paratroopers and virtually all of the army’s outsized combat equipment.

FEATURES & CAPABILITY• Primary Function: Cargo and troop transport• Prime Contractor: Boeing Company• Power Plant: Four Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 turbofan engines• Thrust: 40,440 pounds, each engine• Wingspan: 169 feet 10 inches (to winglet tips) (51.75 meters)• Length: 174 feet (53 meters)• Height: 55 feet 1 inch (16.79 meters)• Cargo Compartment: length, 88 feet (26.82 meters); width, 18 feet (5.48 meters); height, 12 feet 4 inches (3.76 meters)• Speed: 450 knots at 28,000 ft (8,534 meters) (Mach .76)• Service Ceiling: 45,000 ft (13,716 meters) at cruising speed • Range: Global with in-flight refueling• Crew: Three (two pilots and one loadmaster)

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

THE C-17, WITH ITS STRONG FEATURES, MAY PROVE TO BE AN EFFECTIVE SOLUTION TO INDIA’S STRATEGIC REACH POTENTIALS

MILITARY UPGRADES


A general refrain in all the upgrade programmes has been the delays in the decision-making process. In the past, however, problems arising from such dith-ering have been further compounded by subsequent

hitches in implementation. Implementation can be split into two phases—design and development phase, and fleet modifi-cation phase. Time taken for decision making can be reduced if periodical improvements and upgrades become a culture with the user and the industry to ensure exploitation of the aircraft and systems. Operators appreciate the changes taking place in the environment and also the weaknesses in the existing sys-tem, which need to be modified through use of better technol-ogy or outright replacement. The indigenous aircraft can even undergo generational improvements whilst the manufacturing cycle is going on or thereafter but an independent programme of midlife upgrades is inevitable in the case of imported/li-cence-manufactured aircraft.

DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT PHASEThis phase commences with defining the operational require-ments and the system specifications by the user. Designation of the design and development agency depends upon the platform and the complexity of the upgrade. So far, the availability of de-sign data, especially for the airframe modifications, has been the determining factor in selecting the development agency.

In the case of systems upgrade, the selected system inte-grator designs the system architecture, finalises Interface Con-trol Document and various protocols required for integration. These steps are identical whether the upgrade is being done by foreign vendor/OEM or indigenous agency. Participation by the project team comprising of flight test crew and operation representatives at the premises of the vendors is of utmost im-portance. The extent of participation by the customer project team will have an impact on the timelines for completion of the programme. After the sub-systems have been identified and the hardware planning and interfaces have been finalised concurrent activities on the integration rig and building the prototype can go on.

Next major milestone is the commencement of flight testing, which can be undertaken only after gaining sufficient confi-dence on the integration rig. Design and development time can be compressed in case an early production go ahead is given to the manufacturing agency but this is fraught with danger. The risk can be managed by using hardware with which the design

team is familiar and has earlier integrated it on other plat-forms. A half-baked decision can be a costly and time consum-ing affair leading to changes in the hardware design and may necessitate retro-mod of the production aircraft subsequently. This is where the team work shows up and lack of clarity in individual roles has been the root cause of delays in the past. If the flight test team is well integrated with the design and devel-opment team then the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) can be clearly defined and the capabilities as well as limitations of the system are well known to the user. If the extent of par-ticipation and the roles of the customer teams are not clearly negotiated then they are denied adequate transparency in the development process. It is agreed that the issue of intellectual property rights is important but the knowledge gained during the development of equipment and integration is invaluable. From the foregoing it is clear that Indian aviation industry both in public and private sectors must develop the capability to do system integration independently and take advantage of the synergy available through team work.

Ideally, design and development post IOC should be limited to software modifications and also more advanced functions including integration of weapons. The increased complex-ity as a result of systems upgrade can paradoxically lead to increased work load and that can be taken care of through improved Man Machine Interface (MMI) and built in decision support algorithms. Data fusion is the key and the latest gen-eration aircraft in US and other western countries are focused on operational data links to provide solutions to the pilot. MMI activities start on the simulation rig and is fine tuned through extensive flight testing simulating near actual scenarios. The test crew must aim to bring about commonality in displays and functionality of controls in different platforms to reduce effort required to train pilots shifting from one aircraft to another.

FLEET MODIFICATION PHASEFleet modification raises some unique problems, especially in the Indian scenario where the design and development agency could be a foreign vendor/OEM or a multi-disciplinary body established for this purpose. The fleet modification agency has invariably been Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, India’s de-fence aerospace industry in the public sector, although Base Repair Depots of the Indian Air Force have also undertaken fleet upgrades in the past. Some important issues are:

• Although it is not difficult to decide upon the agency

By Air Marshal (Retd) P.K. Mehra

MILITARY UPGRADES

HIGH COST of IndecisionIndian forces already have a culture of extending the life of their equipment but it is the defence industry that needs to come up with upgrade proposalsPH

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MILITARY UPGRADES


Keynote Speaker:• Richard Aboulafia, Vice President, Analysis,

Teal Group

Confirmed speaker panel:• Bill Sweetman, Editor-in-Chief, Defence Technology

International• Tim Ripley, Independent Journalist• Rob Hewson, Editor, Jane’s Air-Launched Weapons• Elfan ap Rees, Editor, Helicopter International• Peter Scoffham, Vice President Customer Marketing,

Airbus Military• Tim Fuller, Publisher, Flight Premium Services,

Flight International• Chet Fuller, General Manager, Marketing,

GE Aircraft Engines• Peter Leiman, Managing Director, Blink

Panellists:• Wing Commander Andrew Brookes (Ret'd), Aerospace

Analyst, IISS • Richard Burman, Managing Director, Bristow Helicopters

Eastern Hemispheres • Richard Burman/Allan Blake, Directors, FB Heliservices

(FBH)

Get up-to-speed with the latest trends in the GlobalAerospace & Defence sectors!The Global Aerospace and Defence Market is booming and thisconference will provide a forum where you can get up-to-speed withthe latest trends, developments and forecasts in both the Military andCivil Aerospace Market.Global Aerospace & Defence Forecast brings together the keyGovernment and Industry decision makers at the forefront of the GlobalAerospace and Defence Market, who are likely to influence future plans,budgets and requirements.

Two days carefully designed to suit your interests in theaerospace and defence sectors: Day One dedicated to theMilitary Market and Day Two addressing the Civil Market

Global Aerospace & Defence ForecastConference, July 10 - 11, 2008The Cafe Royal, London, UK

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HIGH COST of Indecisionto carry out the fleet modification but unless the fleet modification team is involved in all the negotiations and actual working on the platform along with the OEM/design and development agency, the programme will be beset with delays.

• The extent of transfer of technology, decision to set up the overhaul/repair facilities, transparency in system integration and the availability of spares back up will determine the smooth induction of the upgraded plat-forms.

• Equipment being sourced from various countries be-sides those from India with system integrator having very little knowledge about the hardware also creates difficulties in aircraft modification.

• Fleet modification also suffers from lack of knowledge about Mean Time Between Failure of new hardware and since the test and repair facilities are yet to be set up, repair cycle and the time taken to repair are the unknowns. Use of common equipment in different programmes can alleviate this problem.

• The role of the certification agencies of both countries (in case the contractor is a foreign vendor/OEM) dur-ing the design and development process as well as the fleet modification should be discussed threadbare and included in the contract.

• A project management team with adequate oversight capability must be placed at all the work sites to co-ordinate and provide feed back to ensure smooth plat-form upgrade and induction into the operational units. It may be difficult to spare manpower for a number of

diverse projects running at the same time, but a heavy cost will be incurred both in terms of time and money in case suitable staff is not designated for monitoring the programme.

• Ultimately, the responsibilities of each and every par-ticipating agency should be clearly defined in the con-tract document with appropriate penalties.

CONCLUSIONTechnological obsolescence demands that the aircraft and systems are periodically upgraded to keep them as a front-line fighting machine. Planning an upgrade for the equipment developed under the ‘Make’ scheme is easy but upgrade of equipment purchased under the ‘Buy’ scheme depends upon a number of external factors.

Indian forces already have a culture of extending life of their equipment but it is the defence industry that needs to come up with upgrade proposals on indigenous equip-ment as well as that manufactured under licence. Upgrade of systems like the electronic warfare suites, multi-mode airborne radar and new weapon systems are likely to pro-vide maximum improvement in effectiveness of the up-graded platform. The Indian aviation industry and the de-sign agencies are capable of carrying out avionics systems upgrade unilaterally and hence can save costs but they now need to graduate to integration of information from the sensors both onboard and external to bring about a generational change. The need for project teams to oversee both design, development and fleet modification cannot be overstated. SP



Flashbulbs popped and gasps of admiration punctuated the air as a Cessna Citation CJ2+ Busi-ness Jet touched down at Hosur

airfield in the south of Bangalore on May 3. On a tour to India to entice prospec-tive customers, the aircraft had arrived from Singapore piloted by Mike Walton and John D. Lewis.

Present on the occasion were Michael McGreevy, Director of Sales, Citation Mar-keting Division; Sameer Rehman, Singapore-based Director, Interna-tional Finance, Asia Pacific, Cessna Finance Corporation; and Air Com-modore B. Banerjee, Indian represen-tative of US-based Textron, owners of Cessna. Proprietor of Hosur airfield Taneja Aerospace and Aviation Ltd is the authorised sales representative and service facility of Cessna Aircraft Company (CAC) in India.

THE CESSNA CITATION CJ2+A low cost light business jet, the Cessna Citation CJ2+ was built upon one of the most popular and successful Cessna models in this category—the Citation CJ2. Cessna delivered the first Citation CJ2 in November 2000 and its successor the CJ2+ in April 2006.

Cessna Citation models in the light jet

category are priced between $2.8 million (Rs 11.2 crore) and $9.5 million (Rs 38 crore). Those in the mid-size category range between $12 mil-lion (Rs 48 crore) and $22 million (Rs 88 crore). The new Citation model Columbus in the super mid-size jet category is under development and estimated to be priced at approximately $28 million (Rs 112 crore).

The Citation CJ2+ has a pressurised cabin that accommodates a crew of two and up to eight passengers. With a maxi-mum height of 1.45 m, the CJ2+ does not have a stand-up cabin. The aircraft is pow-ered by two Williams FJ44-3A-24 engines with Full Authority Digital Engine Controls (FADEC), each generating 2,490 pounds of thrust. Compared to the CJ2, the aircraft

has a higher payload capacity (plus 300 pounds) and higher rate of climb attain-ing 45000 ft in 28

minutes, eight minutes earlier than its pre-decessor. At maximum take off weight un-der ISA conditions at sea level, the take off runway length is 3,360 ft and landing run-way length is 2,980 ft. The aircraft has a range of 2,987 km and a maximum cruise speed of 774 kmph. It has typical cruising altitudes between 33,000 ft and 45,000 ft above mean sea level.

Flaunting a fully integrated Pro Line 21 Flight Deck, the aircraft’s primary flight, navigation, weather, engine and sensor data are consolidated into large easy-to-scan active matrix LCDs for infor-mation management intuitive, at-a-glance situational awareness. The aircraft is cer-tified to the requirements of US 14 CFR Part 23 including day, night, VFR, IFR and

flight-into-known icing conditions. It is also certified for single pilot operations. The aircraft is compliant with all RVSM certi-fication requirements. However, specific approval is required for operation within RVSM airspace. Cessna offers a fee-based service to assist with this process. SP

— Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey, Bangalore

In India, there are 20 Cessna Citation business jets

flying around even as the Citation CJ2+ and the Citation XLS

gain in popularity


The Cessna Aircraft Company, owned by Textron of the US, introduced business jets in 1972. Based on unit sales, Cessna is the world’s largest manufacturer of general aviation airplanes. Cessna’s market share in 2007 in the light and mid-size jet catego-ries stood at 55 per cent. In 2007, Cessna delivered 1,272 aircraft, including 387 Citation business jets and reported revenues of about $5 billion (Rs 21,425 crore). There are nine different Citation models currently under production and Cessna has a current backlog of $14.5 billion (Rs 62,133 crore). In 2008, the company plans to delver 500 business jets. Since the company was originally established in 1927, nearly 200,000 Cessna airplanes have been delivered around the world.

The global fleet of more than 5,100 Citations is the largest fleet of business jets in the world. In India, there are 20 Cessna Citation business jets flying around and seven more (five CJ2+ and two XLS) are expected to be delivered this year. Meanwhile, the Citation CJ2+ and the Citation XLS steadily gain in popularity. SP

Taneja Aerospace and Aviation Ltd (TAAL) represents the Cessna Aircraft Company in India for the Citation range of business jets and caravan aircraft. With Indian companies looking to replace outdated turbo-props with modern business jets and Cessna dominating the light and mid-sized jet market worldwide, TAAL sees tremendous business opportunity in this area. In the last two years, five Citation Jets and two Cessna Caravan aircrafts were delivered in India. TAAL is setting up a Cessna authorised service facility for maintenance of Cessna aircraft in the country. SP

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Russia’s largest warplane maker is poised to launch the country’s regional passenger jet production tar-geted at the markets in the West. Barely a few days after successful taxiing and run tests, the Sukhoi Su-

perjet 100 (SSJ100) accomplished its first test flight at its manu-facturing base at Komsomolsk-on-Amur, setting the stage for the 78 to 98 passenger mid-liner to create a big bang in the regional jet market.

“To witness the Sukhoi Superjet 100 take to the air for the first time makes it the most important day for all of us. It has been a long way but the result we achieved is truly inspiring for our team of thousands of people from all over the world who share in this great success,” said Mikhail Po-gosyan, Director General of Sukhoi Holding.

Commenting on the smooth accomplishment of the first flight test of SSJ100, Victor Subbotin, President of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft said, “In the aviation industry first flights are always milestones and the most important event for people involved in a new aircraft project. A first flight is a chal-lenge, but the excellent technical and flight characteristics make the Sukhoi Superjet 100 a super new product and a unique project for the Russian industry. Every minute of the first flight was both an exciting expectation and an im-pressive experience, making this an incredibly emotional moment for us.”

If the programme adheres to schedule, Sukhoi’s Superjet is expected to enter service by end-2008 or early-2009. “While much remains to be completed on the way to certification, I am certain that we are well prepared for them and that the aircraft will enjoy the success it deserves,” said a euphoric Pogosyan. Completion of the first flight test of the SSJ100 propels the Suk-hoi Superjet project nearer to the delivery date. Russia not only hopes to secure at least 10 per cent of the world airliner market but also to take third place among aircraft-producing countries by 2015-2018. Sukhoi aims to produce five to six SSJ100s a month by 2010.

ADVANTAGE SSJ100With a price tag of $28 million (Rs 118 crore), the Sukhoi Super-jet is expected to breathe a fresh lease of life into the $8 billion (Rs 33,600 crore) per annum regional jet market. The market share of regional aircraft has plummeted from 17 per cent in 2004 to 13 per cent in recent times. The SSJ100 will compete di-rectly with Brazil’s Embraer and Bombardier of Canada, which at present dominate the 70 to 100 seat aircraft market. But the competitive price of SSJ100 and its other advantages could well give rivals Embraer and Bombardier cause to worry.

Low cost, locally sourced materials ensure the Superjet is around 20 per cent cheaper to build than the competitors’ air-craft. The Russians also believe that new fuel-efficient engines developed with the help of French engine-maker Snecma, will lead to operating costs that are 10 to 15 per cent lower than either Bombardier or Embraer models.

Expectedly, Sukhoi has drawn up aggressive export targets together with Italian partner Alenia Aeronautica. “It is with great pride and satisfaction that we welcome the Sukhoi Super-jet’s maiden flight. Participating in the SSJ 100 programme is a great opportunity for us to capitalise the technical and com-mercial know-how previously acquired by Alenia Aeronautica in the regional aircraft market sector,” said Giovanni Bertolone, CEO Alenia Aeronautica. He further added, “Alenia Aeronau-tica thinks that the strategic investment in Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC) and the partnership with Sukhoi in the new joint venture Superjet International for the sales and after sales of the new aircraft will bring long term success in a high com-petitive market.”

Having pre-sold 73 aircraft mainly to Russian airlines, Suk-hoi aims to sell 1,000 planes with 700 of them going to global export markets. Sukhoi predicts that 163 units of all variations of the Superjet 100 will be delivered by the end of 2016. The Superjet 100 airliner family is being developed based on the principle of maximum standardisation of frame assemblies and systems, vis-à-vis wings, fins, chassis, engine unit, crew cabin, basic aircraft systems and component parts.

Standardisation of design makes it possible to improve the economic performance of the aircraft family operation with ex-penditures kept at a rational level. “This aircraft is remarkable. It’s pleasant to see how smoothly it goes. The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is easy to control and very good in ergonomics. This new aircraft I piloted for the first time is every bit as good as Airbus and Boeing’s planes,” remarked SCAC Chief Pilot Alexander Yablontsev. SP

With the successful maiden fl ight of the 98-ft long Sukhoi Superjet 100 on May 19, the aircraftis on course to enter service by end-2008 or early-2009

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SHOW REPORT EBACE ’08

By Alan Peaford, Geneva, Switzerland

Europe’s business aviation show-case, the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibi-tion (EBACE) is the second big-gest business aviation event in the world after the National Busi-

ness Aviation Association. Several of the major manufacturers, however, insist it is the most important—a claim substantiated by this year’s show in Geneva that was voted a huge success. Bolstered by a record number of visitors and representation by top OEMs across the world, the event witnessed a flurry of orders and tales of major new investments in the sector. Little wonder that both operators and manufacturers left Geneva beaming.

California’s on-demand operator XOJet an-nounced $2.4 billion (Rs 10,247.5 crore) of fresh investment and has unveiled ambitious plans to launch operations from Abu Dhabi later this year. “No one has ever raised this kind of capital

Mercury RisingAccording to Bombardier’s

latest market forecast, growth in non-US markets

is expected to drive the business jet deliveries to 1,320 annually between

2008 and 2017, compared with the industry average of 620 in the period from

1998 to 2007



in this industry,” says Chief Executive Paul Touw. “Of course, no one ever had a model like ours.” In September, the first of 80 Challenger 300s joins the fleet, and soon the company will select a long-range aircraft—the third and final model for the fleet. The fourth round of XOJet’s financing revealed at EBACE is from the Economic Development Corporation of Canada, White Oak Investments, and TPG Growth. Morgan Stanley led the effort that brought $964 million (Rs 4,116 crore) in im-mediate financing. The remaining $1.5 billion (Rs 4,269 crore) is via a joint venture with Tasameem Real Estate Company,

which is awaiting UAE approval of a new air operator’s cer-tificate. “That will take between three and six months, so we’ll begin operations towards the end of 2008,” says Touw.

Swiss-based VistaJet stunned visitors with the announce-ment that it is to buy Bombardier’s international charter op-erator Skyjet. The two companies have signed an MoU for the acquisition of Skyjet International. The deal includes Skyjet’s bases in Farnborough, Dubai and Hong Kong, and makes VistaJet the second-largest private jet company outside North America, behind NetJets. Both parties have agreed not to dis-

close the sum VistaJet paid, and the deal de-pends on a final contract being signed by the end of June at the latest, says VistaJet’s Group CEO Bing Chen. Skyjet’s operations in North America are not affected by the deal.

Another company with aggressive expan-sion plans is ExecuJet. Expanding its worldwide presence, the Swiss-based company announced the setting up of new national head-quarters for Russia, India and China, and has continued its expansion into Europe with the opening of a UK base in March. The new Russian office, in Moscow, already has two sales rep-resentatives “to support a boom-ing market where three to four busi-ness jets are be-ing delivered each month”, according to Gerrit Basson, ExecuJet Group Managing Director. Primary sales focus of the Moscow office will be for Grob’s spN light jet and Aerion’s SBJ. The company’s expansion into Asia is testament to the growing demand for business aviation in the Asia-Pacific region. The Indian office, in Mumbai, will initially focus on the SimplyFly ownership model, as well as sales of all its representative brands: the Bombardier range of business jets and Grob’s spN light jet. “We clearly recognise the growing requirements from business jet owners in India for profes-sional business jet services,” says Basson, who intends to develop the office to establish a local aircraft management division, a charter office and a full maintenance facility from where it can best support the huge numbers of jets that are coming into the Indian market.

Earlier this year, ExecuJet opened facilities at Singapore’s Seletar airport in February and the new Beijing office supports the region’s de-mands. “There are 300 business jets operating

Mercury RisingSwiss-based

VistaJet stunned visitors

with the announcement

that it is to buy Bombardier’s international

charter operator Skyjet

AIMING FOR THE SKY: XOJET CHIEF EXECUTIVE

PAUL TOUW



in Asia-Pacific, and the ma-jority are privately owned. So there is plenty of oppor-tunity for an experienced organisation like ExecuJet to further bolster the number jets flying in the region,” Basson adds.

Certainly, there will be more. Bombardier took the oppor-tunity to announce its market forecast. Fuelled by a strong order intake and a record backlog, the Canadian company is optimistic about increasing delivery numbers through the next decade. Growth in non-US markets is expected to drive the business jet deliveries to 1,320 annually between 2008 and 2017, compared with the industry average of 620 in the period from 1998 to 2007, according to the Canadian

company’s latest forecast. The forecast—estimating value of more than $300 billion (Rs 12,80,244 crore) over the 10 years—does not include aircraft it has

categorised as Very Light Jets, such as the Beechcraft Pre-mier I, the Cessna Citation Mustang, CJ1+, CJ2+, Eclipse and Embraer Phenom 100.

Bombardier Vice-President Strategy and Business Devel-opment Mairead Lavery says deliveries should rise steadily from nearly 1,000 this year to almost 1,500 in 2017, al-though orders are expected to drop from just under 1,800 last year to fewer than 1,000 next year before beginning to climb again. Last year’s surge in orders came as a surprise, Lavery says, encouraging Bombardier to boost its delivery forecast dramatically from the 2007 forecast of 995 a year in the period from 2007 to 2016. International markets will continue growing, says Lavery.

In addition, she adds, industry backlogs represent 29 months’ production and the market for second-hand air-craft is healthy. Commenting on US economic worries, Pres-

ident and Chief Operating Officer Pierre Beaudoin says: “As far as aviation is concerned, we have not seen an impact. We see growth.” The current industry re-cord backlog was estimated by Lavery as being the equivalent of two-and-a-half years’ production (2,571 units worth $63 billion, or Rs 2,69,086 crore).

Golf maestro Adam Scott, meanwhile, is the new face of Gulfstream in Asia Pacific and he came to EBACE to seal the agree-ment. The Australian star, who is consis-tently ranked in the world top 10 and has six PGA Tour titles to his name, will promote the Gulfstream brand across the region. SP

LEFT TO RIGHTFRESH ENTRANT: DASSAULT ANNOUNCED LX VERSION OF FALCON 900EX EASY • DONE DEAL: NETJETS CEO EUROPE BILY KELLY FLANKED BY DASSAULT’S JOHN ROSANVALLON AND CHARLES EDELSTENNE AFTER SIGNING THE DEAL FOR 20 FALCONS 2000LX • SUCCESS SMILES: P&WC’S EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT JOHN SAABAS LEANS ON CESSNA’S CITATION COLUMBUS WITH CESSNA’S VICE PRESIDENT SALES AND MARKETING ROGER WHYTE

DEBUTANT: (BELOW) PILATIUS’ PC12 NG ON DISPLAY FOR THE FIRST TIMEON A HIGH: (RIGHT) HAWKER BEECHCRAFT TOOK 40 FIRM ORDERS AND A FURTHER 30 POSITIONS ON ITS NEWLY UNVEILED PREMIER II

—By Phil Nasskau, GenevaCessna released details of suppliers that will work with on its new, large cabin, intercontinental model 850 Citation Columbus. Following its success with the upper and lower panels assemblies on the Cessna Citation X wing, Dallas-based Vought Aircraft Industries will produce the aircraft’s wing at its Nashville facility. Cessna has also decided to outsource the design and manufacture of the landing gear system. This work has gone to Goodrich, who will also be providing the wheels and brakes—something they do for other Citations. Argo Tech is for the first time designing and producing the complete fuel system for a Cessna aircraft. Columbus will be powered by twin P&WC PW810s. The Columbus, the flagship of the Cessna Citation family, is aiming for FAA certification by the end of 2013. P&WC didn’t stop there with

Bombardiers Learjet 85 taking on a pair of PW307B engines.While avionics supplier Rockwell Collins unveiled major new com-

mitments by business jet manufacturers to its new-generation cockpit and cabin systems, Bombardier has selected the Pro Line Fusion in-tegrated cockpit for the new, all-composite Learjet 85. The HGS-6000 head-up guidance system has been named as part of the Fusion fit for Cessna’s Citation Columbus, which is due to enter service in 2014. Col-lins has also announced that its new Venue cabin entertainment system for the Citation CJ4, set for first deliveries in 2010, will incorporate iPod docking. Meanwhile, Avidyne announced a new weather and text-mes-saging system it’ll promote through their new Avidyne-Europe office. The new MLX770 will rely on the 66-satellite Iridium constellation to connect instant weather to Entegra- and EX500-equipped aircraft. SP

SPOTLIGHT ON COMPONENTS



—By Phil Nasskau, GenevaAirbus secured its largest ever widebody VIP order for the sale of six A350 XWB Prestiges to MAZ Aviation of Saudi Arabia. The deal at list prices was valued at some $1.5 billion (Rs 6,391.5 crore) and the first delivery is scheduled for sometime in 2015. “Some of these aircraft are for our customers, while others are for our own purposes,” explained MAZ Chairman Mohammed Al-Zeer as he signed the contracts in Geneva. “The range of the aircraft was interesting and the cabin was very spacious, spacious enough to stay in for long journeys. It can go point to point from anywhere in the world.”

Bombardier secured a massive order worth some $1.3 bil-lion (Rs 5,539 crore) from Swiss-headquartered, but Malaysian-financed, VistaJet. The deal covers 35 firm aircraft and a further 25 options. Firm orders are for 11 Challenger 605s, 13 Learjet 60 XRs and 11 Learjet 85s. Elsewhere, ExecuJet was the first

customer to convert its letter of intent (LOI) to firm contracts for Bombardier’s Learjet 85. The contract covers six firm aircraft and was valued at $103 million (Rs 439 crore).

Europe’s largest business jet operator NetJets Europe signed for 20 more of Dassault’s Falcon 2000LXs worth approximately $720 million (Rs 3,068 crore), adding to NetJets’ previous order for 10 of the type. Interest has been strong in the new jet and as such the next available delivery slot is in 2015 with a base price of $20.5 million (2015 price). Assuming all LOI holders convert to firm orders. Embraer also tasted success with sales totalling $105 million (Rs 447 crore) covering firm orders of four Phenom 100s, a single Phenom 300 and two Legacy 600s. It also has op-tions signed for two more Phenom 100s as well as a two Legacy 500s and a single Legacy 450. The orders come from a variety of operators from the Middle East right across to Europe.

Hawker Beechcraft was not left out in the cold and had

taken 40 firm orders and a further 30 positions on its newly un-veiled Premier II. Additionally, the company inked a deal with In-dian-based start-up fractional and block charter operator BJETS for 10 Hawker 4000s as well as options for a further five worth in excess of $330 million (Rs 1,406 crore).

Cessna, meanwhile, received an order from Austrian charter giant Jet Alliance for 24 more aircraft, taking its Citation orders this year to 50: four Mustangs, seven CJ2+s, 11 CJ3s, three CJ4s, 10 XLS+, seven Sovereigns, four Citation Xs and four of the OEMs latest large-cabin Citation Columbus variant. Additionally, an or-der from Russian air taxi operator Dexter for 20 Mustangs was also clinched at the show. Cessna’s entry level jet should be cer-tificated in Russia in early 2010. Cessna also penned a deal with Lufthansa Private Jet worth more than $50 million (Rs 213 crore) for seven Citations, two CJ1+, two CJ3 and two XLS+. Delivery of the Citations will be by spring next year. SP

BIG BUDGET BUYS

TOP TO DOWN WINNERS TAKE IT ALL:

(2ND FROM LEFT) BOMBARDIER’S PIERRE BEAUDOIN RAISES A CHEER

FLYING HIGH: (LEFT TO RIGHT) GERAR WISSEL, GLOBAL HEAD

OF LUFTHANSA PRIVATE JET, TREVOR ESLING, VICE PRESIDENT

INTERNATIONAL SALES FOR CESSNA, AND STEFAN SIPPEL, LUFTHANSA

DIRECTOR OF AIRCRAFT PURCHASINGA DASH OF GLAMOUR: GOLF MAESTRO

ADAM SCOTT IS THE NEW FACE OF GULFSTREAM IN ASIA PACIFIC

—By Phil Nasskau, GenevaEclipse has been struggling to secure the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) certification for the last two years and there is still no date in sight for European certification of the very light jet, according to Eclipse Aviation executives at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition 2008 (EBACE). A two-configuration move would go directly against the company’s plans for the type’s single equipment fit worldwide.

Eclipse also denied any anticipated EASA demands on equipment or performance would entail changes to the air-craft that were not already within the company’s plans. Couch says EASA requirements mean the aircraft’s Avio NG avionics fit has yet to undergo some development before it will be ready for EASA, but says the company was doing that anyway for fleet-wide retrofit.

Boeing announced that it had started work on the first BBJ 3, the VIP variant of the 737-900ER. At its Washington facility, the staff is currently building wing parts which will be fixed to the fuselage prior to the aircraft joining the 737 mov-ing assembly line. Boeing has orders for eight and the first is set to enter service in 2009.

Business aviation stalwart Gulfstream, meanwhile, re-vealed more about the G650. The new jet, when it enters service sometime in 2012, will take on the mantle of the fastest civil jet from Cessna’s Citation X. The G650 will have a maximum cruise speed of Mach 0.925, as well as offer 28 per cent more cabin volume and 30 per cent more floor area than Gulfstream’s cur-rent flagship, the G550. Twin Rolls Royce Deutshchland BR725 engines with a 4.6 per cent thrust increase—now 16,100 lbf—will power the G650, besides a 3.1 per cent increase in thrust to weight ratio, as well as a 3.5 per cent reduction in specific fuel consumption in the cruise to 0.657lb/lbf/hr. The G650 is earmarked for first flight in 2009 with dual FAA and EASA certifi-cation scheduled for 2011 and the first delivery in 2012.

French airframer Dassault formally announced its LX, the upgraded versions of the 900EX EASy. It will be built on the same platform as its predecessor, but features winglets and an extended range to 4,800 nm. Certification of the twin-jet is expected in the first half of 2010 and deliveries will start in mid-2010 when it will replace the Falcon 900EX on the

production line. Speaking at the show, President John Rosan-vallon said: “The 900LX will make one of the most popular Falcon series much more capable, economical and environ-mentally responsible to operate.”

Plugging the gaps in its family, Embraer added to its Leg-acy with the launch of MSJ and MLJ programmes. The mid-light is the Legacy 450, while the large mid-size becomes the Legacy 500. The two jets come with a ‘special offer’: an introductory price for the aircraft. The Legacy 450 is priced at $15.25 mil-lion (Rs 65 crore) and the 500 will cost $18.4 million (Rs 78 crore). Both are clean-sheet designs, with around 95 per cent commonality. The main difference is that the mid-size 500 has a longer fuselage. First deliveries of the Legacy 500 are scheduled for Q2 2012, with the 450 arriving in Q2 2013. Embraer was open for orders at EBACE.

Competitor Bombardier further clarified Learjet 85 per-formance figures. The programme has now entered the “Joint Definition Phase” which is where the design will start to be-come frozen. Vice President for the programme David Coleal said, “The 85 is 42 per cent bigger than the 60 XR and fits in nicely between the 60 XR and the Challenger 300.” Hawker Beechcraft unwrapped the Premier II, an upgraded version of the Premier IA. The more capable variant of the Premier family offers greater range, speed and altitude. Swiss manufacturer Pilatus introduced its PC12 NG, which gained EASA and FAA certification on March 28. The NG features a number of “sig-nificant improvements” over the PC12—namely, fully integrated Honeywell Primus Apex avionics, a redesigned cockpit by BMW Group DesignworksUSA and a more powerful version of Pratt & Whitney Canada’s venerable PT6 engine, the PT6A-67P.

Italian manufacturer Piaggio used EBACE to unveil its new interior upgrade package for the Avanti II. The new interior comes under the marque of Avanti II.it. Vice President Com-mercial Giuliano Felten said at EBACE: “.it stands for ‘Italian technology’ and that is exactly what we have brought on the P.180 with this new option.”

French airframer EADS Socata showed off the new Model 2008 TBM850 turboprop. The single-engined aircraft features an all-glass cockpit based on the Garmin G1000 for reduced pilot workload and ease of maintenance. SP

AMBITIONS UNVEILED



FIXED WING AIRCRAFT

Manufacturer Aircraft Number Buyer Value

Airbus ACJ 1 Jetalliance $185 mn A318 Elite 2 Jetalliance (Above figure is combined) A350 Prestige 6 MAZ Aviation $1500 mn Bombardier Challenger 605 11 VistaJet $1300 mn Learjet 60XR 13 VistaJet (Above figure Learjet 85 11 VistaJet is combined) Learjet 85 6 ExecuJet $103 mn Global Express XRS 2 Comlux $100 mn* Cessna Citation Mustang 20 Dexter $54 mn* Citation (various) 24 Jetalliance $700 mn** Citation (various) 13 Lufthansa Pvt Jet $50 mn Dassault Falcon 2000LX 20 NetJets Europe $720 mn EADS Socata TBM 850 2 JetFly $6 mn* Embraer Phenom 100 1 Legacy 450 1 Option ASAIG Aviation Legacy 500 2 Options Phenom 300 1 Legacy 600 1 SS Lootah Group Legacy 600 1 Burgan Company Legacy 600 1 Linxair $25 mn* Phenom 100 1 (+ 2 Options) VLJ Consultants Phenom 100 2 Finnish Av Academy $10 mn* Phenom 300 2 (+2 Options) Executive Airshare (Above figure is combined) Gulfstream G650 5 Prestige Jet $300 mn* G650 5 Ocean Sky $300 mn* Hawker Beechcraft Hawker 4000 10 (+ 5 Options) BJets $330 mn Hawker 4000 1 Western Aviation Premier II 40 information unavailable Honda HondaJet 1 Jenson Button $4 mn

Helicopters AugustaWestland AW119Ke 1 Private (Russia) $10 mn* AW109S Grand 1 Ultimate Security $10 mn* Tanzania Eurocopter EC 135 Hermes 1 Falcon Aviation $9 mn* TOTAL (Approx) $5.356 bn

* List Prices derived from open sources • ** Citation prices are estimations • mn = million; bn = billion

MONEY MATTERSDeals worth over $5 billion (Rs 2,135 crore) were struck at EBACE 2008

}


SPECIAL REPORT

1. Ashok Chawla, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), releases the inaugural edition of SP’s AirBuz withthe Editor-in-Chief, Jayant Baranwal; 2. Boeing officials express their appreciation; 3. The Editor-in-Chief flanked by Ashok Chawla and Captain Gopinath of Deccan Aviation together with a host of dignitaries, including Dr Dinesh Keskar of Boeing; Srivastava, Jt Secretary, MoCA; Ramalingham, Chairman, AAI; and Dr Amit Mitra, Secretary General, FICCI, among others; 4. The Editor-in-Chief makes a point as SP’s AirBuz Editor Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey (left) and Boeing’s Dr Dinesh Keskar look on; 5. Captain Gopinath looked especially pleased at the launch of an exclusive magazine on civil aviation

AN SP GUIDE PUBLICATION

Analysingthe truepicture ofIndian aviation

BRIGHT?Deceptively

SP’sInaugural

Issue

A n E x c l u s i v e M a g a z i n e o n C i v i l Av i a t i o n f r o m I n d i a

• PILOTS TRAINING • BUDGET ANALYSIS & MUCH MORE...

www.spsairbuz.net

SP’s AirBuz Launched

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Hall of Fame


WILBUR WRIGHT WAS BORN on April 16, 1867 and Orville four years later on August 19, both in Dayton,

Ohio. Any bright schoolchild asked what was special about the Wright brothers would probably reply, “Oh, they were the first to fly a heavier-than-air powered plane.” Not quite. The first heavier-than-air fixed wing aircraft—a glider designed by Sir George Cay-ley—was flown half a century earlier in Britain with Sir George’s coachman persuaded, against his better judge-ment, to be sole occupant. Neither was the addition of an engine to their glider the defining accomplishment of the Wrights. The Wright brothers were, in fact, the first to invent the aircraft con-trols that make sustained flight pos-sible, and demonstrate their invention. Every aircraft flown since then has used their principles of aerodynamic control in some form or the other.

The world’s first powered, con-trolled and sustained heavier-than-air flight took place on December 17, 1903. The Kitty Hawk Flyer, with Orville at the controls, lifted off at 10.35 am. The flight was over rather quickly—in 120 seconds—and covered a distance of just 120 ft (36 m). The speed, as can be imagined, was fairly slow at 6.8 mph (10.9 km/h) and the average height, 10 ft (3 m). The Flyer had a wingspan of 40 ft (12 m), weighed 625 lbs (283 kg), and was powered by a 12 hp (9 kW) engine. After the initial success, Wil-bur and Orville took it in turns to get airborne again and prove that the first flight was no flash in the pan.

In those days, landing was never a smooth affair but a sudden precipitous descent when the aircraft became un-controllable—in other words, a crash. To quote from Orville’s account of the final flight of the day: “The first few hundred feet were up and down, as be-fore, but by the time three hundred feet had been covered, the machine was

under much better control. The course for the next four or five hundred feet had but little undu-lation. However, when out about eight hundred feet, the machine began pitching again and, in one of its darts downward, struck the ground. The frame supporting the front rudder was badly broken, but the main part of the machine was not injured at all. We esti-mated that the machine could be put in condition for flight again in about a day or two.” Thus was crafted a truly momentous day in history.

Long hours spent in the printing press they built and in the bicycle repair and design-ing business they established next perhaps helped to hone the brothers’ mechanical prowess. Later, their interest in aviation was aroused. They read what-ever was available on the sub-ject and began their mechanical aeronautical experimentation in 1899. The humble bicycle taught them the fundamental truth that there may be inescapable rea-sons why a machine is unstable, but successful operation is as-sured only when one overcomes this instability and controls the beast. This was at variance with the approach of other enthusiasts who searched in vain for “inher-ent stability” and either believed that (a) practice makes perfect and eventually human beings could learn to control skittish aircraft by sheer persistence; or (b) that ever more powerful en-gines would some day succeed in keeping the aircraft flying. The brothers made numerous glider flights at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina on the Atlantic coast between 1900 and 1903. The strong winds helped the gliders get airborne without too much difficulty but controlling them in flight was another matter. Soft sand helped limit the damage and injury in a crash (of which there were many).

The Wrights were obsessed with control. By observing birds, they learnt that it is necessary to bank in order to turn to one side smoothly. Their experience with bicycles at high

speed bore this out. After much ex-perimentation the duo hit upon a novel way to achieve control by twisting the

The world’s first powered, controlled and sustained

heavier-than-air flight took place on December

17, 1903. The Kitty Hawk Flyer, with Orville at the

controls, lifted off at 10.35 am. The flight was over rather quickly—in 120

seconds—and covered a distance of just 120 ft (36

m). Wilbur and Orville took it in turns to get

airborne again and prove that the first flight was no

flash in the pan.

“Before the Wright brothers, no one in aviation did anything fundamentally right. Since the Wright brothers, no one has done anything fundamentally different.”—Darrel Collins, Kitty Hawk National Historical Park

Orville Wright (1871 – 1948) &

Wilbur Wright (1867 – 1912)

Hall of Fame


wing. They discovered that when the ends of the wings were warped or twisted in opposite directions by means of a pulley system, the differential lift would bank and turn the craft. Later, the siblings created a twin rudder arrangement in front to stop the aircraft yawing from side to side and to balance turns. Elevators (fitted at the wing leading edge in their design) provided control in the pitching axis. Such controls enabled them to balance the plane, maintain it in equilibrium despite turbulence and steer it in the desired direction. In 1906, they were awarded US patent 821,393 for a “Flying Machine”, a system to manipulate an aircraft’s control surfaces in order to achieve three-axis aerodynamic control, this is, in pitch, roll and yaw).

Another notable first was reliance on wind-tunnel data—now considered indispensable in the design of aircraft. The duo built a six-foot wind tunnel and conducted systematic tests on miniature wings. A viewing window in the top of the tunnel permitted continuous observation of the wings to determine which designs worked well and which were unsuitable. The painstaking tests produced a wealth of aero-nautical data of superior quality, enabling the brothers to design and build wings and propellers more effective than any before. Adding power to the controllable glider was the last step in the long process. The Wrights realised that a pro-peller can be understood as a wing (aerofoil) rotating in the vertical plane and installed a pair of contra-rotating propel-lers on the Flyer to offset the torque effect on the airframe. Remarkably efficient, their propeller design was way ahead of its time. It proved virtually impossible to obtain an engine sufficiently light yet powerful. Finally, their shop mechanic Charles Taylor designed and built a lightweight, aluminium cast, gasoline fuelled engine under the guidance of the brothers, in just six weeks.

After the December 1903 feat, the next few years were spent in refining data and im-proving on subsequent ver-sions of the Flyer. The 1905 Flyer was the world’s first practical airplane—it could remain airborne till the fuel ran out or land in a planned fashion, without crashing. The Wrights demonstrated their Flyers all over Europe and America to an incredu-lous public. Their flights cap-tivated the world and made the brothers the first great celebrities of the twentieth

century. Two bits of Wright trivia. First, neither of the brothers

ever married. Second, May 25, 1910 was unique for the family. On this day, Orville flew a six-minute trip with Wilbur as his passenger, the only time the brothers flew together. Apart from this occasion, they never flew in the same plane, so that if an accident cut one life short the other brother could continue the experiments. Next, Orville took his fa-ther on a nearly seven-minute flight, the only one of Milton Wright’s life. It is said that the 82-year old man called out, “Higher, Orville, higher!”

Dogged by business and patent troubles, the Wright brothers’ triumph was rather short lived. Many other teams copied and even improved on their designs. Soon the Wright Flyers were no longer the best in the business. The public only seemed interested in the most dangerous and death-defying stunts by the new machines and many lives were lost in risky demonstrations. Wilbur’s spirit was probably broken by the legal wrangles and he died of typhoid on May 30, 1912. Orville sold the aircraft business in 1916 and went back to inventing, but did not succeed in making anything half so spectacular as an airplane. He succumbed to a heart attack on January 30, 1948.

There were many competing claims by rival aviators at the time, most notably Glen Curtiss and the Smithsonian Institution. They attempted to belittle the Wright brothers’ achievement, claiming that Samuel P. Langley’s design was actually the first successful airplane. However, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), the official body charged with record keeping and standard setting in aeronautics, recognised the December 17, 1903 flight as the first con-

trolled, sustained, powered flight. It was not until 1943 that the Smithsonian Institu-tion finally abandoned its bit-ter fight against the Wright brothers and acknowledged their pioneering feat. The Wright brothers’ invaluable legacy was aptly summed up by Darrel Collins of the Kitty Hawk National Historical Park thus: “Before the Wright brothers, no one in aviation did anything fundamentally right. Since the Wright broth-ers, no one has done anything fundamentally different.” SP

— Group Captain (Retd) Joseph Noronha,

Goa

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MILITARYAsia-Pacific

Raytheon to transfer AESA radar technology to India to the level permitted by the USAmerican space and airborne systems company, Raytheon, has said the Indian Air Force (IAF) will get access to cutting-edge radar technology in the form of the AESA radar up to the level permitted by the US government, should it decide to opt for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet under its global tender for 126 me-dium-range multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) tender.

“We are willing to support Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar technology transfer up to the level the US government allows us,” said Dave Goold from Raytheon’s F-18 business development, Tactical Airborne Systems. “The technology transfer, though likely to be limited, would meet the requirements of the IAF. Our proposal will be compliant with the request for proposal issued by the IAF for the 126 combat aircraft.”

Israel missile deal on holdThe government has formally put on hold India’s largest-ever military joint venture with a foreign country, the Rs 10,000 crore ($2.5 billion) effort with Israel to build a medium-range surface-to-air missile for the Air Force. The ghost of Barak—the naval missile deal now under investigation by the CBI — is being cited by sources as the key reason behind dumping the project. Sources indicate that the decision is as good as the closure of the JV, given the ongoing CBI probe into the Barak scandal, and the government’s efforts to en-sure that the military accepts ‘Akash’, the indigenously developed medium range surface-to-air missile. The proposed missile, a new gen-eration Barak missile, was to have around 70-km range.

India-made pilotless plane fails to take offDid the indigenously developed Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA), which underwent extensive tri-als and was even inducted into

the IAF eight years back, fail to provide the desired results? If sources at the defence base in Chandipur-on-sea are to be believed, the PTA, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, didn’t perform as required reportedly forcing the defence authorities to purchase the same from Israel and Italy. The imported PTAs have, however, been successfully test-flown. But what has left the defence experts shocked is that after spending over Rs 165 crore and a lapse of nearly three decades, the Indian PTA, produced by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Hindustan Aero-nautics Limited (HAL), did not fully meet the requirements of the IAF.

Disclosing the drawbacks of the PTA, the sources said the engine developed by HAL had certain limitations. “But the IAF had accepted these limitations so that training did not get further affected,” a source said. “It was a nightmare for the IAF after it revealed numerous defects

and design deficiencies in PTA. Though these were brought to the notice of the DRDO, none of the improvements was proved. And worse, now the MoD has ordered HAL for bulk pro-duction without verifying the aircraft’s performance.”

IAF clears Hawk trainers to fly againIndia’s newly-acquired fleet of Hawk trainers, which had been grounded after a crash at the Bidar airbase in late April, have been cleared to fly again, even as the IAF is yet to fully determine the cause of the accident. Sources said the inquiry will take time to come up with a defini-tive answer as data from the Flight Data Recorder (FDR), which registers all commu-nication and flight details, has not been examined. The sources added that India does not have the facility to read its contents. The FDR is in the process of being sent abroad, most likely to South Africa where it was manufactured, for detailed examination.

AGUSTAWESTLAND

• Within the frame work of the first Moscow International Exhibition Heli-Russia-2008 Oboronprom Corporation and AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, have declared commence-ment of a long-term co-operation in the helicopter business. Both the companies have agreed upon a stage-wise consolidation.

• AgustaWestland has announced that New Zealand’s Ministry of Defence has signed a contract for five AW109 LUH multi-role light twin turbine engine helicopters plus a dedicated flight sim-ulator. The helicopters are scheduled to enter service in 2011.

AIRBUS

• Airbus has awarded the contract for the design and manufacture of lower composite centre fuselage frame of its new A350 XWB aircraft to US Company Spirit AeroSystems of Wichita, Kansas.

BOEING

• Just as Airbus hits a rough patch, US aerospace giant and Airbus competitor Boeing has signalled a further nine-month delay to clients awaiting delivery of its 787 Dreamliner launch, German newspaper Die Welt reported on May 3. Contacted by AFP in London, a Boeing spokesman refused to comment.

• The Boeing Company and Asiana Airlines have completed an order for two 777-200ERs. The South Korean airline holds rights to substitute the larger 777-300ER which features increased payload and range capabil-ity, if needed, in the future.

• The Boeing Company has been awarded a $5.2 million (Rs 22 crore) US Air Force Research Laboratory contract to demonstrate the effective-ness of Guidance Integrated Fuzing technology developed under the Seeker Integrated Target Endgame Sensor programme.

• Boeing has achieved six years of consecutive on-time deliveries for the Minuteman III missile programme with the recent delivery of the 593rd missile guidance set (MGS) to the US Air Force. The MGS has accumulated more than 15.6 million operational hours since its first deployment in August 1999.

• The Boeing Company and El Al Israel

QuickRoundUp

The first and only business jet to incorporate a digital flight control system, the Falcon 7X s/n 04 has accumulated over 1,000 flight hours since it entered service last July. The airplane is operated by Dasnair and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. During the nine month span of ser-vice, the aircraft has carried over 1,000 passengers and made over 415 stops in 110 countries on five continents. This Falcon 7X is now the fleet leader having flown over 7,50,000 km, in-cluding several non-stop flights both to and from Europe and the West Coast of the US. “We’ve flown a great number of long range flights in the 7X,” said Angelo Conti, Managing Director of Dasnair. “And the feedback we’ve received from our passengers has been consistent. The cabin is spacious, quiet and bright. The environment and pressurisation are comfortable. And the air-plane stability is exceptional. The digital flight control system provides exceptional control and response, and is particularly appreciated by our pilots.” The aircraft comes standard with the award-winning EASy flight deck designed to reduce pilot workload and improve pilot interac-tion through elevated situational awareness in the cockpit. Announced at the Paris Air Show in 2001, the Falcon 7X was simultaneously certified by both the European Aviation Safety Agency and Federal Aviation Administration on April 27, 2007.

FALCON 7X PASSES 1,000 FLIGHT HOURS

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Eurojet Turbo pitches for its engine for TejasA nine-member delegation from Eurojet Turbo, leading European military aero-engine consortium, recently conclud-ed a three-day workshop for the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), on the feasibil-ity of their engine being used to power the underpowered Tejas Light Combat Aircraft. The workshop comes in the wake of an air force com-munication to the Ministry of Defence that the Tejas, with its present engine—the General Electric manufactured GE F404 IN20—cannot meet air staff requirements.

India plans 1 billion euro Mirage upgradeIndia is moving towards signing a big contract with France for the upgrade of

the 51 Mirage-2000 fighter jets in the IAF combat fleet, which comes after a $964 million (Rs 4,135.5 crore) deal was inked with Russia to upgrade 63 MiG-29s. The bone of contention between India and France for the Mi-rage-2000 upgrade, however, remains the huge cost of the deal which is in the region of 1 billion euros (Rs 6,607 crore) and, for which, the negotiations are going on. The upgraded Mirage-2000 jets will get new avionics and, of course, better armaments and weapon systems.

DRDO developing hyper-sonic missileThe Indian Defence Research and Development Organisa-tion (DRDO) is developing a hypersonic missile that could double up as a long-range

Airlines have completed an order for four 777-200ERs. The Israeli airline has also secured options for two additional 777s and holds conversion rights for the 777-300ER, a larger version of the 777 with increased payload and range capability.

CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY

• MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd, a provider of essential informa-tion solutions has announced it has received a contract from the Canadian Space Agency to continue providing support and enhancements of the Mobile Servicing System (MSS) through 2012. The MSS is a sophisticated information solution critical to the continued maintenance and servicing of the International Space Station.

US DEFENSE SECURITY COOPERATION AGENCY

• The Defense Security Cooperation Agency has notified the Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale to Korea of AIM-9X Sidewinder Missiles as well as associated equipment and services. The prime contractor will be Raytheon Electronic Systems Company of Tucson. For now, specific offset agreements are undetermined and will be defined in negotiations between the purchaser and contractor.

• The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale for the Strategic Airlift Capability of two Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft as well as associated equipment and services to an international consortium made up of allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization together with Sweden and Finland. The sale includes AN/ALE-47 Counter-Measures Dispensing System and AN/AAR-47 Missile Warning System apart from other systems and stores.

US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE, CIVIL PROTECTION AND SPORT

• Department of Defence, Civil Protec-tion and Sport (DDPS) had invited Boeing, Dassault, EADS and Gripen International to submit an offer for the partial replacement of the Tiger fighter aircraft but Boeing has informed that it will not submit an offer for the F/A-18E/F within the evaluation. The DDPS regrets Boeing’s decision, but the company has assured it will continue its full support for the operation and modernisation of the C/D models.

QuickRoundUp APPOINTMENTSCHANGES IN THE IAFWith effect from May 1, Air Marshal G.S. Kochar moved from the post of Senior Air Staff Officer, Eastern Air Command to HQ Central Air Command in the same appointment. The latter post was vacated by Air Marshal S. Mukherji on his taking over as the Air Officer Personnel at Air HQ. Air Marshal Kochar’s post has been filled by Air Marshal A.S. Karnik.

BOEING NAMES HEAD OF FLORIDA CHAPTERBoeing has named Kevin Hoshstrasser site director for its Florida Operations at Ken-nedy Space Centre.

NEW MBDA HR GROUP DIRECTOREuropean missile systems group MBDA has appointed Craig Murray as its new Group Director Human Resources, succeeding Kim Reid.

GULFSTREAM SHUFFLES TOP MANAGEMENT TEAM Gulfstream Aerospace, a subsidiary of General Dynam-ics, announced changes to its senior management team by appointing Larry Flynn Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales. On assuming his new position on June 30, Flynn will turn over his product support responsibilities to Mark Burns, a 25-year Gulfstream veteran who has been Vice President, Customer Support, Gulfstream Product Support.

NEW CHIEF FOR NORTHROP GRUMMAN NETWORK COMMUNICATIONSNorthrop Grumman Corpora-tion has appointed Roger Fujii Vice President and General Manager of Network Com-munications Division at its Mission Systems sector.

PAUL-JEROME EVETTE APPOINTED CEO OF EADS TEST & SERVICESPaul-Jérôme Evette has been appointed CEO of EADS Test & Services within the Business Unit Defence Electronics of EADS Defence & Security. He will report to Bernd Wenzler, CEO Defence Electronics, and succeeds Jean Bultel.

After a journey of 10 months traversing more than 400 million miles, Phoenix arrived at the Red Planet to begin its study of water and possible condi-tions for life

NASA’s Phoenix spacecraft landed at Martian arctic site in the northern polar

region of Mars on May 25. Phoe-nix’ three Mars orbiters watched and relayed information from the spacecraft as it plunged into the Martian atmosphere at about 13,000 mph (21,000 kmph). Mission team members at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California comprising members from Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver; and the Uni-versity of Arizona, Tucson cheered confirmation of the landing and the news that the Phoenix Mars Lander had survived its difficult final descent and touchdown on Mars. “For the first time in 32 years, and only the third time in history, a JPL team has car-ried out a soft landing on Mars,” said NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, who noted this was the first successful Mars landing without airbags since Viking 2 in 1976.

For the next three months, the Phoenix spacecraft will be examining a site which has chances of having frozen water within reach of the lander’s robotic arm. The Phoenix Mission has two bold objectives which are to study the history of water in the Martian arctic and search for evidence of a habitable zone and assess the biological potential of the ice-soil boundary. Among the first critical deployment is the use of the 7.7-foot-long robotic arm on Phoenix during future weeks to get samples of soil and ice into laboratory instruments on the lander deck while a camera mounted on the arm monitors the action.

The immediate goals of the Phoenix mission are to study the geologic history of water, and to search for evidence that Mars may have sustained life. Continued research will be done to determine whether dormant organisms could come back to life. As on Earth, the past history of water is found in the subsurface as liquid water changes the chemistry of the ground substance. The questions waiting to be answered according to Dr. Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, Tucson, who is the leader of the Phoenix mission are, “is there life on Mars, has there ever been life on Mars and if there is or was, how does it compare to life on Earth?” It remains to be seen what the data will actually show us but the scientists are assured that they will be provided with many exciting discoveries that they cannot even contemplate now.

UNLOCKING MARS’ SECRETS

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cruise missile. Besides, it could be used for launching satellites at low cost, accord-ing to V.K. Saraswat, Chief Controller, R&D (Missiles and Strategic Systems), DRDO.

The Hypersonic Technol-ogy Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) was the new technol-ogy initiative of the DRDO. Dr Saraswat said, “The HSTDV project, through which we want to demonstrate the per-formance of a scram-jet engine at an altitude of 15 km to 20 km, is on. Under this project, we are developing a hyperson-ic vehicle that will be powered by a scram-jet engine. This is dual-use technology with multiple civilian applications. It can be used for launching satellites at low cost. It will also be available for long-range cruise missiles of the future.”

Israel lags on Phalcon deliveryAfter the Russians and the Americans, with whom the Indian armed forces have issues over delays or condi-tions attached to their military equipment, it is now the turn of Israel to slip behind sched-ule for the delivery of high-tech hardware for the IAF. A source in the IAF has confirmed that the delivery of the first Phalcon will be delayed. It was expected in September but is now more likely to reach India only at the end of the first quarter of 2009, disrupting the IAF’s force-building plans. This is the second time that the delivery schedule of the Phal-cons has been disrupted. The original schedule envisaged the delivery of the first aircraft in November 2007.

Pakistan, China threat: IAF to deploy SukhoisWith Pakistan getting new F-16s from US and JF-17 ‘Thunder’ jets from China, IAF now has plans to progressively deploy its most potent Su-30 MKI fighters on the western front. This comes after IAF identified Tezpur and other bases in the Northeast to also base the multi-role Sukhois as a safeguard against China, which has gone in for a mas-sive upgrade of airbases in Tibet and other areas near the Line of Actual Control. At pres-ent, IAF has just about 60 of the 230 Sukhoi-30MKI fighters contracted from Russia.

Europe

EADS to roll out A400M on June 26European aerospace group EADS plans to roll out the A400M heavy airlifter for first public viewing on June 26. The four-engine turbo-prop aircraft will add tactical and strate-gic airlift capacity to seven European NATO nations. But production has been delayed by six to 12 months, amid wrangling between developers over engine performance. The A400M has been designed to meet gaps in Europe’s airlift capability and replace ageing Lockheed Martin C-130 Her-cules and the Franco-German C-160 Transall.

Americas

Boeing fires high-energy laser aboard advanced tactical laser aircraftThe Boeing Company has fired a high-energy chemi-cal laser aboard a C-130H aircraft in ground tests for the first time, achieving a key milestone for the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) Ad-vanced Concept Technology Demonstration programme. “First firing of the high-en-ergy laser aboard the ATL aircraft shows that the pro-gramme continues to make good progress toward giving the warfighter an ultra-preci-sion engagement capability that will dramatically reduce collateral damage,” said Scott Fancher, Vice President and General Manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems.

EMBRAER

• Embraer has received final approv-al from Russia’s Interstate Aviation Committee for the 37 to 50-seat ERJ 145 regional jet family, comprised of the 37-seat ERJ 135, the 44-seat ERJ 140, and the 50-seat ERJ 145.

• Embraer and Régional, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air France, signed a contract for two additional EMBRAER 170 jets, confirming options originally placed in August 2007. Both aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 2009.

FINMECCANICA

• Finmeccanica, S.p.A., a world leader in the supply of electronics equipment and defence and security systems and services, and DRS Technologies, Inc., a leading supplier of integrated defence electronics products, services and sup-port, have announced that they have signed a definitive merger agreement under which Finmeccanica will acquire 100 per cent of DRS stock for $81 (Rs 3,475) per share in cash and at an approximate cost of $5.2 billion (Rs 22,308 crore). The transaction allows Finmeccanica to consolidate its international role by entering the US market as a key player. It further allows DRS to seek business opportunities in the US and abroad.

INDIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

• The Indian Ministry of Defence has clarified that the supply of Hawk aircraft has not been stopped. In fact, two aircraft arrived from UK on May 12, along with large quantities of spares, as per the induction plan. Two more aircraft would arrive in June.

ISRAEL AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES

• Itzhak Nissan, President and CEO Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd (IAI) and Ratan Tata, Chairman Tata Sons have signed a framework agreement for cooperation in the development, manufacturing, marketing and support of defence products in India. The agree-ment covers a wide range of defence and aerospace products.

L-3 COMMUNICATIONS

• L-3 Communications has received a contract from Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisa-tion to upgrade existing simulators and provide training devices for the

QuickRoundUp

Estimated to cost $76 mil-lion (Rs 324 crore) each, the Gripen has been de-scribed as more computer than aircraft.

Swedish manufacturer Saab has unveiled a prototype Gripen fighter plane that

will pioneer a “new generation of technologies and capabili-

ties”. The Swedish technology group says its latest iteration of advanced commu-nications and defensive systems, as well as a recently developed Saab/Thales ac-tive electronically-scanned array radar could be retrofitted onto existing versions of the Gripen, such as those now entering service with the SA Air Force. Saab CEO Åke Svensson says the Gripen Demonstrator programme is “the pathfinder to ensure that Gripen remains at the leading-edge of fighter aircraft performance and capability well beyond 2040”.

“This is a landmark event for Saab and its international industrial partners (that include several SA companies) and a significant moment in the future of fighter aircraft technology and performance,” said Svensson. Several local companies are providing parts and components to the Gripen programme, including BEE aviation company Aerosud and state arms-maker Denel.

Gripen International MD Johan Lehander said the demonstrator programme will showcase new technology for existing and potential Gripen customers. “We have con-centrated on the key strategic performance and capability areas. That includes the aircraft sensors, communications fit, weapons load, self-protection systems, range and engine performance.

“But we also need to build and deliver a system that remains affordable. In the coming years, Gripen will find itself in a league of its own when it comes to costs, particularly long-term lifecycle costs,” he said at a launch event at Linköping in Sweden. “We are already delivering systems and capabilities that our competitors still can only offer as promises. In the years to come, Gripen will get even more advanced, even more sophisticated while staying every bit as affordable as it is now. We understand cost control.”

Estimated to cost $76 million (Rs 324 crore) each, the Gripen has been de-scribed as more computer than aircraft. Saab flight test operations manager and test pilot Magnus Olsson says the fighter is fitted with 40 Pentium-type processors to control its cockpit avionics, engine, weapons and flight surfaces through a systems architecture called “fly-by-wire”.

SAAB UNVEILS PROTOTYPE GRIPEN

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CIVIL AVIATIONAsia-Pacific

ASEAN to ink air ties with China, India, Japan, KoreaThe Philippine Department of Transportation and Commu-nication revealed on May 21 that the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries signed among them-selves together with China, India, Japan and Korea an air agreement to be effected in December this year. The ASEAN countries have agreed in principle to liberalise their skies with the possible signing of a ‘common air agreement’ with China, India, Japan and Korea joining in the regional air services grouping. Member countries have already been developing airports with mul-tiple runways.

INDUSTRYAsia-Pacific

Samtel, Thales seal on joint ventureSamtel Display Systems Ltd and Thales announced on May 8 that they have signed

an agreement for the creation of the joint venture company, Samtel Thales Avionics Pvt. Ltd. Leveraging on the track record and domain expertise of both companies, Thales and Samtel will work towards the local development, production, sale and maintenance of Hel-mets Mounted Sight & Display and avionics systems destined for the Indian market.

Europe

Rheinmetall buys majority stake in Jenoptik’s LDTBy acquiring a 51 per cent share in Jenoptik subsidiary Laser Display Technology (LDT) GmbH of Jena, Ger-many, Rheinmetall Defence has widened its lead as the world’s topmost supplier of simulators for flight crew instruction and training.

Americas

Honeywell opens door to Europeans on defenceUS manufacturer Honeywell International, the world’s larg-est maker of cockpit systems, could team up with European partners seeking a foothold in the American defence market. A weak dollar, defence cuts

in Europe and so far buoyant spending in the US are at-tracting European companies. Honeywell’s top European executive, Paolo Carmassi, said the company was talking to potential partners.

SPACEAmericas

Boeing’s Wideband Global SATCOM satellite operationalThe US Air Force has placed Boeing’s first Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satel-lite into operation over the Pacific region. WGS is the first operational SATCOM system supporting the government’s transformational communica-tions architecture. Each satel-lite can transmit information at rates of more than three giga-bits per second—more than 10 times the capacity of the government’s Defense Satellite Communications System.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne successfully completes testsPratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has successfully completed hot-fire tests on heritage J-2 rocket engine components of the new J-2X rocket engine. •

Royal Danish Air Force F-16 Midlife Update programme.

LOCKHEED MARTIN

• Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., is being awarded a cost plus incentive fee/cost plus award fee contract for $1,463,969,301 (Rs 6,280 crore). This is a new contract for the first increment of the next generation of Global Posi-tioning System, a satellite-based radio navigation system that serves military and civil users world-wide.

NORTHROP GRUMMAN

• Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected by Royal Netherlands Air Force to provide the AAR-54 Missile Warning System (MWS) for its CH-47F Chinook helicopters. Under the terms of the contract, Northrop Grumman’s Defencive Systems Division will provide eight MWS ship sets and spares.

SAFRAN GROUP

• The SAFRAN Group, with extensive operations in North America, is further expanding its presence with the opening of a CFM56 MRO facility in Querétaro, Mexico.

SELEX

• Selex Galileo of Finmeccanica has signed a contract with Thales Alenia Space to supply the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer, a cru-cial element of the Sentinel 3 payload whose main task is the measurement of land and sea surface temperature.

SOUTH AFRICAN AIR FORCE

• South African Air Force has received its first new Gripen fighter aircraft. As part of its 1999 Strategic Defence Procurement, South Africa had ordered 26 Gripen fighters for its front-line air defence and fighter requirement.

THALES

• Thales Alenia Space has signed a contract with Korea Telecom to provide their next telecommunication satellite, Koreasat 6. For this con-tract, Thales Alenia Space has teamed with US manufacturer, Orbital Sci-ences Corporation. Designed for 15 years lifetime, Koreasat 6 satellite will have 30 active Ku-band transponders with 2,750 kg launch mass and 3.4 kW payload power.

QuickRoundUp

The Citation XLS+ will travel as fast as 440 knots and have a range of more than 1,800 nautical miles

Cessna has rolled out the first produc-tion Citation XLS+ at the company’s primary design and manufacturing

facilities in Wichita, Kansas. The XLS+ is the latest version of the world’s best-sell-ing business jet model. The first production

unit now will go to paint and interiors, while two flight test aircraft continue to work toward type certification. Federal Aviation Administration certification is expected by mid year, with deliveries starting before the end of 2008.

The upgrade to the mid-size Excel/XLS will feature the fully integrated Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite and electronically controlled engines from Pratt & Whitney Canada. Exterior and interior restyling is also integrated into the new model, most prominently the extended contour of the nose and expanded seat widths, both introduced to more closely resemble Cessna’s Citation X and Citation Sovereign mod-els. The Citation XLS+ will travel as fast as 440 knots, have a range of more than 1,800 nautical miles and land on runways as short as 3,180 ft at its maximum land-ing weight, 2,700 ft at its typical landing weight.

Priced at $11.595 million (Rs 49 crore), the XLS+ will continue the tradition of the Excel and XLS as the most affordable stand-up cabin business jet. The family of Excel/XLS aircraft comprises nearly 650 planes with an accumulated total of more than 1.4 million flight hours. The original Citation Excel was delivered in May 1998, followed by the Citation XLS in July 2004. The 500th Excel/XLS was delivered in June 2006, making the Excel/XLS the best-selling aircraft of all business jet models since its introduction..

CESSNA ROLLS OUT FIRST PRODUCTION CITATION XLS+SHOW CALENDARJune 13-15AEROEXPO 2008Wycombe Air Park, London. Organiser: World Aviation Events LtdEmail: [email protected]

June 26NBAA BUSINESS AVIATION REGIONAL FORUMDayton, OhioOrganiser: National Business Aviation AssociationEmail: [email protected]

July 14-20FARNBOROUGH INTERNATIONAL AIRSHOWOrganiser: Farnborough International LtdEmail: [email protected]

July 23-25CIAM CANCUN INTERNA-TIONAL SHOW & CONGRESSOrganisers: CIAMEmail: [email protected]

LASTWord


On April 29, Indian Air Force (IAF) plans to commence training on the newly acquired fleet of Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) in February this year suffered a jolt when one of the 10 brand new aircraft crashed at Air

Force Station Bidar. As per reports, the aircraft met with an ac-cident during take-off for a training mission and was complete-ly destroyed in post-crash fire. It was indeed providential that there was no loss of life. As is the practice, a Court of Inquiry (C of I) has been ordered to “establish the precise cause of the accident and recommend measures to prevent recurrence”.

As a precautionary step, the remaining nine aircraft were grounded pending verdict of the C of I. But subsequently the fleet was cleared to resume flying training within a week of the accident even while investigators sifted through the charred wreckage, poured over data from recording devices, scruti-nized orders, instructions, standard operating procedures, maintenance procedures, air traffic control logs as also inti-mately questioned the host of witnesses.

It will take some time before the final word is said and hence it would be inappropriate to be judgmental. At this stage we may only conjecture. But the fact that the fleet has been cleared to fly again without waiting for the findings of the C of I, suggests that prima facie there are good reasons to believe that it is more likely to be a case of error of skill on the part of the pilots. However, in the absence of complete and precise infor-mation on the episode, one should not be surprised if doubts about the AJT programme plague the public mind.

Unfortunately, fuelling public apprehensions are reports in the media based on sketchy information and incomplete understanding, alleging that some of the components used to manufacture the first batch of aircraft are old, used, rust-ed or recycled and there are problems in the availability of spares due to which the fleet has had low serviceability since induction. Such reports could also be planted in the media by vested interests. There is admission to the media by BAE Sys-tems that there are issues but only “minor” and that these are being addressed with all sincerity and seriousness as usual. There is, however, no formal acknowledgement from the IAF and one should not expect any. Also, as it is not a practice in the IAF to release to the public domain explicit details of an aircraft accident , it would be reasonable to expect that many would spontaneously presume a link between the accident

and quality issues raised by the media.

It took 26 years after the need for an AJT was projected by the IAF to actually induct the aircraft for training. At the point in time Hawk emerged as the platform of choice by the IAF, it was a top-of-the-line ma-chine and given the IAF experience with British aircraft such as the Vampire, Hunter and the Canberra, the selection ap-peared quite logical and the right one. Two decades down the line, however, despite the modern avionics suite, navigation systems and other software driven features, one could easily be misled to believe that the aircraft is not contemporary.

Where then does the problem lie? The Indian establish-ment dithered for over two decades to take a decision. Dur-ing this period, it is quite likely that Hawk production would have petered out and experienced hands retired or rede-ployed. If there are any workmanship problems with the aircraft under induction in 2008, it could, in all likelihood be related to lack of technical manpower with high levels of expertise and experience in production of the Hawk which was available two decades ago. Such a situation is not un-common in cases where large scale production is resumed after a long break. Fortunately, response from BAe to re-deem the situation is positive and there is no doubt that the British aerospace major would leave no stone unturned to dispel all doubts about the future of the AJT programme.

While the IAF may project the need for hardware, evaluate products from different vendors and indicate the order of pref-erence, in a system where there is civilian control over the mil-itary, responsibility of final and timely decision rests with those who control the purse strings—namely, the government. The nation is well aware of the price paid in terms of lives and air-craft lost in the last two decades owing essentially to enigmatic procrastination in the induction of the Hawk. In a democracy, despite rhetoric and lofty pronouncements, the process of deci-sion making is often an agonizingly tardy process. Sometimes, even issues critical to national security are not addressed ef-fectively or promptly in the absence of clear political will and direction. Often major defence deals are mired in post-deal controversy initiated and sustained by internal political para-digms. The acquisition of the Hawk ought to be a case study of significance to the ongoing $10 billion (Rs 42,916 crore) deal to acquire 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft. SP

— Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey

PHO

TOG

RAP

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SH

ARAD

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ENA Price of

PROCRASTINATIONThe nation is well aware of the price that has been paid in terms of lives and aircraft lost in the last two decades owing essentially to

enigmatic procrastination in the induction of the Hawk

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web advt.indd 24 6/4/08 4:49:53 PM

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