Indian Air Force: Aircraft
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[[File: Medium multi role combat aircraft Rafale.jpg|Medium multi role combat aircraft/Rafale,[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Rafale-deal-hits-rough-weather-12012015009004 ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]] | [[File: Medium multi role combat aircraft Rafale.jpg|Medium multi role combat aircraft/Rafale,[http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//Article.aspx?eid=31808&articlexml=Rafale-deal-hits-rough-weather-12012015009004 ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]] | ||
Revision as of 19:23, 22 September 2018
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
Combat power
2017: problems and plans
From The Times of India, October 6, 2017
See graphic, India's Air Combat Power, problems and plans, as in October 2017
Crashes
Alarmingly high crash rate
Rajat Pandit, Sukhoi-30MKI fighter, Chetak chopper crash, March 16, 2017: The Times of India
With a frontline Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet and a Chetak helicopter crashing in different parts of the country, the IAF continues to record an alarmingly high crash rate. Fortunately , the pilots in both the crashes managed to escape safely .
The armed forces have lost over 60 aircraft and helicopters in crashes, which have killed over 80 people, since 2011. With the two primary reasons being technical defects and human error, the combination of ageing machines, inadequate training to rookie pilots, shoddy maintenance and poor quality of spares continues to be a deadly mix and exacts a heavy toll.
On Wednesday , the Chetak helicopter developed engine failure on a routine sortie from the Bamrauli airfield near Allahabad around 7am.“The two pilots tried to land on an uneven field nearby but the helicopter toppled over,“ said an officer.
Seven hours later, the Sukhoi-30MKI took off on a training sortie from the forward Utarlai airbase, in Barmer area of Rajasthan, but it also developed a technical snag soon after. The two pilots then went in for a “planned ejection“ to parachute down safely at about 2.15pm, but three villagers were left injured on the ground.
While the armed forces are still forced to fly the ageing single-engine CheetahChetak helicopters due to failure of successive governments in taking timely decisions, the crash of the twin-seat Sukhoi “air dominance“ fighter is more worrisome. IAF has now lost at least seven of the 240 Sukhoi-30MKI jets it has inducted till now. In all, India has contracted 272 Sukhois from Russia for over $12 billion, with the bulk of them being “produced under licence“ by Hindustan Aeronautics. The Sukhoi fleet is now likely to be grounded for systematic precautionary checks before they can take to the skies again, like it happened after crashes in April 2009 and December 2011.
IAF lost 24 aircraft, 5 choppers since 2014
The IAF continues to be dogged by a high crash rate, with the force losing as many as 24 aircraft, five helicopters and nine pilots in accidents since 2014-2015.
Overall, the armed forces have recorded crashes of 65 aircraft and helicopters, which have killed over 80 people, since 2011. There are over 30 fighters, including at least five twin-engine Sukhoi-30MKIs, the country's latest and the most potent jets, among these crash figures.
Officials say the two major reasons identified for the crashes are “technical defects“ and “human error“. In other words, ageing aircraft and poor maintenance, coupled with inadequate pilot training, contribute to the high crash rate.
The defence ministry says preventive measures are being taken to avoid accidents. “These include invigoration of the Aviation Safety Organisation, streamlining of the accident reporting procedure, analytical studies and quality audits of the aircraft fleets to identify vulnerable areas,“ said minister of state for defence Subhash Bhamre, in a reply to Rajya Sabha
Dakotas
The rebirth of a Dakota
February 13, 2018: The Times of India
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From: February 13, 2018: The Times of India
HIGHLIGHTS
Douglas DC3 aircraft, better known as the Dakota, carried the troops of the Army's 1 Sikh Regiment to Srinagar on Oct 27, 1947, during the 1st Indo-Pak War.
The Dakota will bear the tail number VP 905, the same as the 1st such aircraft in the Indian service that transported the troops during the 1947 war to J&K.
A fully-refurbished World War II-era Dakota, belonging to the vintage of the iconic military transport aircraft that played a crucial role in the 1947 India-Pakistan War, is all set to be flown to India next month, to become a proud possession of the IAF.
The plane, which underwent a six-year-long restoration in the UK, will join the vintage fleet at the Hindon Air Base in Uttar Pradesh.
The aircraft is a gift from Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekar to the India Air Force, and at a function held here today, the Bengaluru lawmaker ceremonially handed over the papers and deeds to Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa.
Hailing the qualities of the aircraft, the Chief of Air Staff, said, "They were introduced in the 1930s... As part of the 12th Squadron of the then Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF), Dakotas were the main workhorse in Ladakh and Northeast region. And, they intervened in time to save the Valley of Kashmir (in 1947)."
"Military historian Pushpindar Singh had said that Dakota is the reason why Poonch is still with us. They helped in hastening the fall of Dhaka and liberation of Bangladesh. And, in 2014, we had given a shell on the Dakota to the Bangladesh Air Force," Dhanoa said.
Douglas DC-3 aircraft, better known as the Dakota, carried the troops of the Army's 1 Sikh Regiment to Srinagar on October 27, 1947, during the first India-Pak War, besides carrying supplies and refugees.
The Dakota, christened 'Parashurama', will bear the tail number VP 905, the same as the first such aircraft in the Indian service that transported the troops during the 1947 war to Jammu and Kashmir.
Chandrasekar's gift, will make it the first vintage Dakota for the IAF, which currently, has a Tiger Moth and a Harvard aircraft stationed at the Hindon Air Base.
"The Dakota is currently kept at Coventry airfield in the UK. It is set to fly next month. The vintage plane will traverse over 4,800 nautical miles. From the UK, the route will be through France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Oman, in that order. In India, the first stop would be Jamnagar, from where it will fly to Hindon," he told mediapersons on the sidelines.
According to a short film screened at the function, the aircraft was acquired from scrap and underwent six years of painstaking restoration in the UK, and the IAF had technically accepted it late last month.
The IAF has helped the MP in getting the aircraft registered and in upgrade of the navigation system.
"Since it has to fly through multiple foreign airspace, we helped them in getting permission," the IAF chief said.
In his address, he had called the gifting of the Dakota to the IAF a "great gesture" for funding the acquisition, repair and eventual ferrying of the aircraft.
The MP said, "I acquired it around 2011 and this gift is a permanent way of honouring the men and their machines, who make us all proud on Tuesday as a nation," adding, "finding and restoring this bird was a huge challenge".
Chandrasekhar's father Air Commodore (retd) M K Chandrasekhar, who was present at the function, was a Dakota pilot in the IAF, and the lawmaker said, "the seeds were sown perhaps very young."
"My father is 84 now. And, I grew up seeing him flying Dakota. So, my passion for planes is natural. And, it is on behalf of my father that this gift is being made to the IAF, in dedication to the air warriors. And, I hope it will inspire future air warriors," he said.
Rafale
Medium multi role combat aircraft/Rafale
