India Air-Force Indian Air Force

[Marlii]

German Air Force to Bring A400M, A330 MRTT, and Eurofighter Typhoon to India – Indian Defence Research Wing

idrw.org

Most likely to market a400m for the MTA tender for 80units

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1732429763057496101

 

[Gessler]

Renaming imminent, it is learnt. IAF aims to boost intel, surveillance & reconnaissance capabilities via space assets, has started training officers to operate in space.​

SMRUTI DESHPANDE
11 December, 2023 06:30 am IST​

New Delhi: The proposal to change the name of the Indian Air Force (IAF) to the ‘Indian Air and Space Force’ (IASF) is likely to come through “anytime now”, ThePrint has learnt.

“Space, as a domain, is adaptable to the air force and is only a natural transition,” said a highly-placed source in the IAF, adding that the proposal to change the force’s name was sent to the Union government less than a year ago, in keeping with the defence minister’s exhortation during the 37th Air Chief Marshal P.C. Lal Memorial Lecture on 5 May last year.

The IAF, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said at the time, must “become an aerospace force and be prepared to protect the country from the challenges of the future”. The Air Force is taking such measures to implement the changes, added sources in the defence establishment.

Indian armed forces already use NavIC, an Indian version of the US Global Positioning System, which is inherently a positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) service. NaVIC services are accessible at a higher accuracy for defence purposes and at relatively lower accuracy for civilian purposes. Such indigenous positioning and navigation services are important, given India’s experience of being denied GPS support during the Kargil War.

A first-generation NaVIC satellite stack​

NavIC, at this point, is however not comparable to the GPS, which offers global coverage. NavIC services are limited to 1,500 km beyond the Indian landmass. “Additional satellites as part of the NavIC constellation are under consideration to be launched to expand the coverage,” said the IAF source quoted earlier.

In September, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S. Somanath had said that the space agency is trying to increase the navigation coverage of NavIC to 3,000 km. The widening of the coverage would mean that it would include neighbouring countries.

In addition to this, the Air Force is looking to make better use of space-based electro-optical sensors as well as electronic intelligence gathering (ELINT). In its initial stages, the IAF aims to strengthen intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities through space assets, it is learnt. Accurate prediction of terrestrial weather using satellites and space-based sensors helps support air and ground operations, besides helping forces plan missions better.

Space-based sensors will help in the prediction of terrestrial weather and enable forces to carry out bigger and more accurate operations. Understanding space weather and constantly monitoring it is crucial to keeping space assets safe from various natural phenomena that can affect safe operation of satellites.

HySIS & EMISAT - Same bus architecture used to realize satellites for Hyperspectral Imaging & Electronic Intelligence-gathering missions, respectively​

Likewise, space traffic monitoring would also help ensure safe and sustainable use of space and can prove effective in precisely timing satellite launches into space, avoiding any collision risks in orbit.

“It would be prudent for the country to merge this information with the Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS) of the IAF to provide comprehensive air and space situational awareness, since the IACCS is a fusion of all sensors held with the IAF, Army and Navy as well as civilian agencies,” said the IAF source quoted earlier.

Multi-Object Tracking Radar (MOTR) developed by ISRO - High-fidelity tracking of orbiting objects & debris is a crucial component of Space Situational Awareness (SSA)​

Explaining the need for the Air Force to transition into space, Air Marshal G.S. Bedi (retd), former director general (inspection and safety) of the IAF and currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies, told ThePrint: “With time, more and more threats are likely to emerge from space and will have to be detected from space-based sensors to neutralise them in time.”

“Take, for instance, ballistic and hypersonic missiles. These are launched from far-off distances and cannot be detected by line-of-sight radars. Hence, ground-based radars and space-based sensors will have to be integrated for timely detection of every kind of threat. If the Air Force is renamed as the ‘Air and Space Force’, it will only help in building its orientation towards space where there is an increased need to focus more,” he added.

The IAF is also carrying out space-related contingencies and exercises that includes training to function in a GPS-denied environment, satellite-communications-denied environment, as well as space-based surveillance-denied conditions. This is to ensure unhindered progress of operations, even in the face of adversity and threats that deny access to space-based capabilities.

Space Vision 2047​

In terms of accessing space, the IAF is looking at procuring the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) that is under development at ISRO. The IAF source told ThePrint that the autonomous landing trials of this spaceplane have already taken place and the Air Force is keen on buying the vehicle, which is capable of circling the Earth at an altitude of 350 km in space for nearly a month.

The vehicle is similar to a space shuttle and would have a payload capacity of 200-1,000 kg. It will also be capable of carrying a human onboard. RLV is not a standalone rocket, instead, it is a winged aerospace vehicle that is mounted atop a rocket.

RLV-TD during it's preparations for autonomous landing trials, seen here with the apparatus used for suspending under a IAF CH-47F Chinook​

Only the US and China are known to possess operational spaceplanes.

Furthermore, the IAF is looking at the procurement of soft kill and defensive options to deploy into space to safeguard Indian satellites from being attacked by adversaries, said the IAF source. For comprehensive operations, the air force is collaborating with ISRO and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre, or IN-SPACe, which is a single-window autonomous agency under the department of space of the Government of India, for growth of the overall space ecosystem.

Once the name change is in place and details are ironed out, the IAF will enhance collaboration with NewSpace India, a commercial arm of ISRO, which is a wholly owned government company under the administrative control of the department of space.

To that effect, the IAF has already started training officers and airmen to operate in space by introducing theory studies in institutes including the College of Air Warfare. The IAF’s think tank, Centre for Air Power Studies, now holds space capsules simulations to understand the domain better, it is learnt.

This comes as part of IAF’s space vision 2047, which aims to build deterrence and defence capabilities in space, and to enhance national security, bolster R&D capabilities as well as provide business for the private industry. To that effect, the government is looking at the launch of more than 100 military satellites in the next seven-eight years.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)

India’s ‘Air and Space Force’: Spaceplane to ‘desi GPS’, how IAF renaming will widen its ambit

Renaming imminent, it is learnt. IAF aims to boost intel, surveillance & reconnaissance capabilities via space assets, has started training officers to operate in space.

theprint.in

@Nilgiri @TR_123456

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1734942556918878221

 

[Marlii]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1735181208945070139

 

[OverTheHorizon]

India’s military plans are getting futuristic not just in name but in implementation as well. This is a big change from the reactive policies that indian armed forces had earlier.

 

[Lemurian]

Indian Air Force inducts SAMAR air-defence system

20 DECEMBER 2023

by Kapil Kajal

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has inducted the Surface to Air Missile for Assured Retaliation (SAMAR) system, an IAF source told Janes on 20 December.

According to the source, the service also test-fired the system in mid-December at Air Force Station Suryalanka located in the southern coastal region of India.

The source did not elaborate on the number of systems the service has inducted. However, another IAF official told Janes in February that the first batch will include five SAMAR units.

SAMAR is a short-range air-defence system jointly developed by the IAF's 7 Base Repair Depot (BRD) and 11 BRD in association with Indian private-sector companies Simran Flowtech Industries and Yamazuki Denki.

The system provides air defence against low-flying aerial targets with a maximum striking range of 12 km.

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1737847190536732690

 

[Nilgiri]

IAF Highlights in 2023 (Vayu Aerospace twitter)
Sourced from original release here (I think): https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1989502

Delivery of Twin Seaters, LCA Mk1 IOC & FOC contract commences
5 Firing Units + 1 training centre of MRSAM deployed
Fabrication of SAMAR Firing Units completed
A-321 acquired by DRDO from Air India for AEW&C; available for IAF before they are modified

1st C-295 MW inducted
Contract for supply of HTT-40 signed
Contract for Dornier-228 signed
Contract for Digital Receiver-118 (DR-118) RWR for Su-30MKI signed with BEL
IAF takes over independent VVIP ops on B-777
3 squadrons of Akash/advanced Rajendra MkII radars commissioned

Heron Mk II RPA inducted
MiG-21 Bison Drawdown Plan approved
New Generation Close Combat Missile fired 1st time
SCALP missiles fired & validated
Apache carries out firing of Stingers
ADRDE developing HDS for C-130J/C-17 under Tech Demo mode
Trials of Single/Twin ADR on C-17 (ADR = Air droppable rigid inflatable boat)

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1739914023460589697

 

[Afif]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1737847190536732690

Buying 5th gen fighter from whom? F-35 is not offered. (and unlikely to be given S-400 causes some genuine concerns)

 

[Nilgiri]

Buying 5th gen fighter from whom? F-35 is not offered. (and unlikely to be given S-400 causes some genuine concerns)

Probably to apply further pressure on MRFA progressing and completing. I don't see even a Russian import option lately either given they will be fully engaged with the Ukraine war and West a really long time and have no capacity to spare.

I think AMCA is really only route thats viable. If MRFA ends up being Rafale (hopefully), that will be best stopgap in that tier.

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1489836169135230978

 

[Gessler]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1743822260857885113

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1743867776983536095

 

[Nilgiri]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1748281549932364285

 

[Marlii]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1751599527956725766

 

[Sai]

I read similar news yesterday saying Rafale Production will start in Mihan-SEZ, Nagpur, India. I thought DRAL would only make some components for the jet (which they are already doing) and didn't believe they would manufacture the entire jet. So it's true then, haha.

 

[Marlii]

I read similar news yesterday saying Rafale Production will start in Mihan-SEZ, Nagpur, India. I thought DRAL would only make some components for the jet (which they are already doing) and didn't believe they would manufacture the entire jet. So it's true then, haha.

I knew something was going on in the background when the rafale m deal was getting slowed down. So ideally we will see a deal after the elections.so 150 rafales and 200 tejas mk1a are gonna provide some heft to the force with the su30mki modernisation going on.

 

[Sai]

I knew something was going on in the background when the rafale m deal was getting slowed down. So ideally we will see a deal after the elections.so 150 rafales and 200 tejas mk1a are gonna provide some heft to the force with the su30mki modernisation going on.

Manufacturing 180 Tejas MK1A will definitely improve our military industry complex and now the Rafale will boost it. Once it is mature enough, our export capabilities will rise significantly. I believe this will happen post 2030. Btw, Tejas MK2 is in the same category as Rafale, but what about its capabilities? Is it 4.5-Gen as Rafale or below Rafale?

 

[Marlii]

Manufacturing 180 Tejas MK1A will definitely improve our military industry complex and now the Rafale will boost it. Once it is mature enough, our export capabilities will rise significantly. I believe this will happen post 2030. Btw, Tejas MK2 is in the same category as Rafale, but what about its capabilities? Is it 4.5-Gen as Rafale or below Rafale?

It is a 4.5 gen aircraft but this would be an unpopular opinion we shouldnt have gone with it in the first place. AMCA should have been given the top priority and instead of that HAL went on a jet developing spree with tejas mk2,TEDBF along with major projects like CATS warrior system. The whole premise of tejas mk2 was to develop a medium weight fighter as fast as possible to make up the numbers and instead we are seeing it getting delayed again and again.TEDBF is a necessity and it could have become a joint project with the airforce and navy but alas we went the other route.

 

[Sai]

It is a 4.5 gen aircraft but this would be an unpopular opinion we shouldnt have gone with it in the first place. AMCA should have been given the top priority and instead of that HAL went on a jet developing spree with tejas mk2,TEDBF along with major projects like CATS warrior system. The whole premise of tejas mk2 was to develop a medium weight fighter as fast as possible to make up the numbers and instead we are seeing it getting delayed again and again.TEDBF is a necessity and it could have become a joint project with the airforce and navy but alas we went the other route.

Operating a 5-Gen is costly, so we do need some other jet to do the patrolling or at minor conflict times. But yeah, it's true that we don't need both Rafale and Tejas MK2 for that. But I believe Tejas MK2 orders will be reduced. Also, they may use MK2 as the test bed for the AMCA technologies, as they are both medium-weight fighters.