Bangalore Aviation

Showing posts with label Ministry of Defence. Show all posts

Indian Air Force's first Boeing C-17 Globemaster III enters flight testing

Wednesday, January 23, 2013 by Unknown

Find more articles on: Boeing Defense, C-17, Devesh Agarwal, Edwards Air Force Base, First flight, Foreign Military Sales, Globemaster, Indian Air Force, Ministry of Defence, U.S. Air Force, United States

The Indian Air Force's (IAF) first Boeing C-17 Globemaster III airlifter (tail number CB-8001) has been delivered by Boeing, on schedule, for flight testing.

Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster III. CB-8001

The first of the 10 airlifters ordered, now enters a U.S. Air Force (USAF) flight test program at the famous "The Right Stuff" Edwards Air Force Base in Palmdale, California, USA. This particular aircraft completed the 'major join' of its fuselage about six months ago.

These C-17's were ordered by the Indian government under the US government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. In effect it is the US government that is selling these planes to India, hence Boeing's delivery to the USAF. India's Ministry of Defence signed an agreement with the U.S. government on June 15, 2011, to acquire 10 C-17 airlifters, making India the largest foreign C-17 customer. The governments finalised the Foreign Military Sales contract for the airframe on June 6, 2012.

Air Commodore Sanjay Nimesh, Air Attaché at the Embassy of India said

"The C-17 met the stipulated airlift requirements of the Indian Air Force when it flew field evaluation trials in India during June 2010," "It was exciting to see the C-17 fly again, this time with Indian Air Force markings, as the airlifter completed its first-flight milestone on Jan. 11. We look forward to the day that the first IAF C-17 flies over India."

After completing its flight trials and IAF acceptance trials, the first C-17 will arrive in India in the late summer of this year.

Boeing confirms, it is on track to deliver four more C-17s to the IAF this year and five in 2014. Boeing will support the IAF C-17 fleet through the Globemaster III Integrated Sustainment Program (GISP) Performance-Based Logistics contract.

A Boeing spokesperson confirmed that a USAF C-17 would come for the AeroIndia 2013 show, but not the IAF aircraft.

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Ahead of Aero India 2011, Ajai Shukla exposes a growing scam in Indian defence off-sets

Tuesday, February 08, 2011 by Unknown

Find more articles on: Defence Production Policy, Devesh Agarwal, India, Ministry of Defence, Offsets

While preparations are in full swing for Aero India, I came across another gem of a piece by Ajai Shukla a noted defence analyst in India and a person who I respect for his views. Ajai, who does not mince too many words writes in today's Business Standard newspaper, in his Broadsword column about the growing scam in the defence off-sets business.

On one side is Indian industry and the Indian navy which would like further indigenisation of equipment production in India via the defence off-sets route, on the other are the foreign vendors and the Indian air force who want to water down the offsets which force foreign vendors to produce and procure a certain portion of their orders from the Indian armed forces from India. This leads to creation of domestic capabilities and capacities, a desirable element for the long term strategic defence of India.

Ajai has written previous articles worth reading, on the recently announced defence production policy and for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to abandon its timid, hands-off approach towards offsets.

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Lockheed Martin prepares to deliver India's C-130J Super Hercules aircraft amidst controversy

Friday, December 10, 2010 by Unknown

Find more articles on: C-130, Devesh Agarwal, Hercules, Indian Air Force, Lockheed Martin, Ministry of Defence

India′s order for six C-130J stretch Super Hercules transports is fast approaching completion. KC-3804, KC-3805, and KC-3806 the final three C-130Js have now reached their final production positions at the Lockheed Martin Marietta facility.

India's C-130J Super Hercules on the Lockheed Martin production line

This news comes as the Business Standard newspaper reports a growing controversy at India's Ministry of Defence viewing the company as flouting India's offsets norms.

Signed back in 2007, the $962 million Super Hercules contract was the first major defence deal between India and United States. These aircraft are expected to be used by the special forces of India like the Black Cats, and will be equipped with a Forward Looking Infra-red (FLIR) AAQ-22 Star Safire III sensor turret which permits operations in complete darkness as well as an in-flight refuelling probe.

These aircraft will join the first three, which are already in flight test prior to deliveries that will begin later this month.

The first C-130J KC-3801 will be formally delivered on Thursday, December 16 at a ceremony in Marietta, Georgia, USA.

Two aircraft will be flown to India in early 2011, two more will arrive in early summer 2011, with the last two being delivered in late summer of 2011.