China's Mysterious J-31 to debut at Zhuhai air show next month

Want China Times

Chinese Shenyang J-31 Gyrfalcon Stealth Fighter

China's mysterious J-31 fighter jet will make its long-awaited debut at the annual China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai on Nov. 11, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.

The J-31, also known as "Gyrfalcon," or Falcon Hawk by some military enthusiasts, is a twin-engine, mid-size fifth-generation jet fighter currently under development by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. The jet is said to be even more mysterious than the J-20, the fellow fifth-generation fighter being developed by the Chengdu Aerospace Corporation.

The J-31 has reportedly been undergoing a series of flight tests to prepare for its official unveiling at the upcoming air show in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province next month. Analysts say it is important for the plane to be fully prepared as its specifications will inevitably be challenged by experts if there are technical issues that have not yet been resolved.

The debut of the fighter jet is said to be of major significance for China's aviation industry. On the one hand the J-31 will show off the maturity of China's stealth technology. On the other, it is believed that the J-31 may become the first figher jet developed by China to enter the global arms market, which could bring in the necessary funds to fund future investments and continue the development of the domestic indistry.

Saab nears Gripen contract with Brazil

    

Saab Gripen

      Saab is on track to sign a contract with Brazil to provide its air force with
 the Gripen NG multirole fighter, following the nation's selection of the type for
 a 36-aircraft purchase in December 2013.

Speaking on 23 October, chief executive Håkan Buskhe said an agreement 
should be signed “in the near future”.

“The negotiations with Brazil regarding Gripen NG (Gripen E/F) move forward
 according to plan, and the ambition is to reach an agreement in the near future,”
 Buskhe states, as part of the Swedish company's year-to-date financial results 
release.

On 18 December 2013, Brazilian defence minister Celso Amorim and air force 
commander Gen Juniti Saito declared Saab the winner of the F-X2 fighter contest. 
It was also announced that the negotiation phase would take 10-12 months to complete.

The acquisition will cost some $4.5 billion, with the purchased aircraft to 
replace retired Dassault Mirage 2000C fighters and a number of modernised
 Northrop F-5EMs. Deliveries are expected to start 48 months after the contract 
is signed, and will eventually reach a rate of 12 aircraft per year.

An option to supply Brazil a bridging fleet of existing Swedish air force
 Gripen C/Ds could also be included in the deal, following Brasília’s retirement of
 its Mirage 2000C/Ds at the end of 2013 and the need for an interim capability
 until the new-build Gripens enter service.

In July, a memorandum of understanding was signed by Saab and 
Brazilian manufacturer Embraer, whose absence had been noted last December 
when the Gripen selection was announced. “This is thought to further strengthen
 Gripen’s position in the market,” Buskhe says.

Brazil’s Gripens will be assembled at Embraer’s military factory and flight test 
centre in Gavião Peixoto, the company's chief executive Frederico Curado said
 in July.

Embraer will also play a role in developing the two-seat version of the Gripen 
NG, which would mark its first significant effort in designing and producing
 a new supersonic aircraft. 

                                                                                                                    Flightglobal

Antony to take up issues related to FGFA project with Russia

Source: PTI

Not happy with its share of work in the multi-billion dollar Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project with Russia, India is expected to flag the issue with that country during Defence Minister A K Antony’s visit there next month.

Though India is investing 50 per cent of the cost of the multi-billion dollar programme, its work share in the research and development and other aspects of the programme at the moment is only around 15 per cent, IAF officials said here.

The Defence Minister is expected to flag this issue during his Russia visit beginning November 15 as this will have an impact on India’s indigenous capabilities to develop such an advanced fighter aircraft, they said.

The IAF expressed its objection over the issue at a CII event on energising aerospace sector in India.

“We have a major opportunity in the FGFA programme. At the moment it is not very much in favour of Indian development. We are flagging it through the Government. It should be much more focused towards indigenous development capability,” IAF Deputy Chief Air Marshal S Sukumar said here.

The senior IAF officer was commenting on the programme and the opportunities that it could provide for the Indian defence sector.

The FGFA is a joint venture programme between India and Russia and its preliminary design phase was completed recently.

The programme is expected to cost over 1.5 lakh crore to the Government. The two sides are now in discussion over the main Research and Development part of the programme, which is expected to take another year to be concluded.

India to finalize $15 billion Rafale deal by March, Indian Air Force says

Source: REUTERS

                                      

India will finalize a $15 billion deal to buy 126 Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aviation by March 2014, an Indian Air Force official said on Thursday, after the deal had been held up by differences over local manufacturing.

India picked the Rafale for exclusive negotiations in January 2012 after a bidding contest against Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft, made by a consortium involving EADS, Finmeccanica and BAE Systems.

However, there were differences over the role of India’s state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in manufacturing the jets.

Air Marshal S Sukumar, deputy chief of Air staff, told an aerospace conference the deal would be signed within the current financial year, according to a statement issued by conference organizer, the Confederation of Indian Industry.Under the deal, Dassault is expected to send 18 ready-made jets and would manufacture the rest in IndiaHindustan Aeronautics will be its lead partner.

Dassault had earlier expressed doubts about the ability of the local partner to make such a sophisticated fighter. Hindustan Aeronautics has been developing a light combat aircraft since the early 1980s with no success so far.

A spokesman for Dassault declined to comment. The French company is still hoping to finalize the deal by the end of the 2013.

India’s government wants to encourage Indian companies to partner with foreign suppliers to reduce its reliance on imports and boost a domestic defence industry that is dominated by underperforming public sector companies.

A separate tender to buy and build 56 military transport planes at an estimated cost of 119 billion rupees has been extended by two months, Sukumar also said. The defence ministry launched the tender in May to replace an ageing fleet of Avro jets.

The ministry had originally said the transport planes deal must be struck between a foreign supplier and an Indian private company. However, heavy industries minister Praful Patel said last week that public-sector firms already making products for the armed forces should have been allowed to take part in the bidding.

The defence ministry has said it will look into Patel’s complaint, potentially delaying the tender. Many of India’s foreign arms purchases run into long delays because of accusations of corruption and bureaucratic complications.

India's Sukhoi-30MKI's to dominate South India and Indian Ocean

       

Even as the western and eastern fronts with Pakistan and China are bolstered with additional Sukhoi-30MKI squadrons, India has also kick-started plans to base its most lethal 'air dominance' fighter in south India to keep a 'strategic eye' over Indian Ocean. 

       Defence minister A K Antony will inaugurate the new airbase at Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu on May 27, which will eventually house a Sukhoi squadron (16 to 18 jets) after the requisite “tech-flight hangers, avionic bays, labs, fuel dumps and other infrastructure” comes up over the next few years.

Anthony to commission MIG-29 K fighter planes into Navy

 Union Defence Minister A K Anthony will commission MIG-29 K fighter planes into the Indian Navy on May 11 in Goa. The squadron, named INAS 303 Black Panthers, will be commissioned on May 11 by the Defence Minister at INS Hansa Naval base in the state, Indian Navy PRO said. 


         The MIG-29K (K stands for ‘Korabelny’ meaning “Carrier Borne” in Russian) is a potent carrier borne fighter, which, once integrated with ‘INS Vikramaditya’ will bolster the Navy’s punch with its multi-role capability, the PRO said. The aircraft, armed with its arsenal of weapons, including advanced anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, precious bombs and sophisticated systems to support weapon delivery, will not only be able to dominate the air in all spectrum of conflict but simultaneously project power to meet the nation’s military objectives.        
     Source:TheHindu

LCA Tejas LSP 8 takes on the skies!

The last aircraft in the Limited Series Production program of LCA-Tejas (LSP-08) took off on its maiden flight here today from HAL airport.  The performance of the aircraft was flawless, said Dr. R. K.Tyagi, Chairman, HAL. The aircraft was flown covering a flight envelope at supersonic speeds and at an angle of attack of 20 degrees which is the current maximum limit cleared by design. With this, the Initial Operation Clearance (IOC) for the aircraft can be expected soon. Air Cmde K.A. Muthana, VSM, Program Director (Flight Test) piloted the aircraft on its maiden flight.

The Fighter Aircrafts of Indian Air Force