DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: Ukraine On Brink Of Missile Deal With India Reports Media

DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: Ukraine On Brink Of Missile Deal With India Reports Media

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 26, 2012: Ukraine is close to signing one of its biggest ever defense deals for air-to-air missiles with India, according to Russian media reports.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta says the deal for R-27 missiles, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, is in the final stages and is waiting for approval from the Ukrainian leadership.

The Vympel R-27 (AA-10 Alamo) missile is a medium-to-long-range air-to-air missile developed by the Soviet Union. It is similar to U.S. AIM-7 Sparrow.

The missile comes in infrared-homing (R-27T), semi-active-radar-homing (R-27R), and active-radar-homing (R-27AE) versions. It would be fitted to India’s MiG-29 and Su-30 fighter jets.

While the deal has not been confirmed officially, the paper quotes a source close to Ukraine’s national security and defense council, saying both nations are sensitive to Russian concerns over the deal and want to make sure that it would not irritate Moscow.

Tensions between Kiev and Moscow could arise later because if the deal is successful, India may want to buy other weaponry from Ukraine, entering a market dominated by Russia, defense analysts quoted by the paper said.

Some industry experts believe Moscow would not oppose the deal as the Ukrainian company is the only manufacturer of these missiles, although Russian firms supply some components for R-27.

The R-27 was originally designed by Vympel, a Russian missile design bureau, in the 1980s. Vympel is now part of Russia's Tactical Missiles Corporation, which now produces successor weapons to R-27.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.ca/2012/04/dtn-news-india-defense-news-ukraine-on.html

DTN News - RUSSIA DEFENSE NEWS: Russian Air Force To Get Supermaneuverable Aircraft

DTN News - RUSSIA DEFENSE NEWS: Russian Air Force To Get Supermaneuverable Aircraft

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - April 14, 2012: It has been decided to equip current fighter models with available thrust-vectoring engines. The first batch of upgraded fighters will be handed over to the Air Force by late 2020. It is also planned that all new T-50 fighters will have become operational by then.

“When a plane powered by a regular engine is taken to a wide angle of attack at low speeds, it loses control and stability and starts moving independently of the pilot’s commands, i.e. the plane moves randomly. The Su-35 has perfect controllability at any speed, even at negative speeds, for instance, when the plane drops tail-forward. The pilot can effectively put the plane in any angular position,” Sergei Bogdan, a Su-35 and T-50 test pilot, explained to Izvestiya.

The world’s first thrust-vectoring engine appeared in the export version of the Su-30 meant for India. The first contract for the delivery of such planes was signed more than 10 years ago. India currently operates 150 Su-30 aircrafts and plans to contract the delivery of another 100 machines. Furthermore, Russia supplies Su-30 models powered by these engines to Malaysia and Algeria.

“This is the same Indian version, but it is designed for our Air Forces and has Russian-made avionics. All of the new Su-27 class aircraft will now be powered by thrust-vectoring engines, because since 2011, the Defense Ministry has mostly sought to buy new machines,” a UEC spokesman said. According to him, technically these engines can be installed even in older planes, because they tend to wear faster than the body; however, when the time comes to replace the engines, they will likely install regular engines without vectorable jet nozzles, as the Air Force has plenty in its arsenal. As of now, the planes powered by the new engine are only used at pilot training centers.

Engines with vectorable jet nozzles will also power the MiG-29K carrier-based fighter aircraft, which the Defense Ministry is procuring for the Admiral Kuznetsov, the country’s only aircraft carrier. Klimov Engine Plant is already making these engines for the MiG fighters sold to India under the Admiral Gorshkov contract.

Aircraft designers keep working to perfect the PAK FA T-50, despite the fact that many developed countries have given up on their fifth-generation fighter plans to focus on sixth-generation unmanned aircraft. Experts agree that it would be reasonable to follow suit; however, Russia has neither the money nor time to develop its sixth-generation machines – the Russian aircraft fleet has not been upgraded in more than 20 years.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.ca/2012/04/dtn-news-russia-defense-news-russian.html

DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: Air Force And Army Conducting Joint Military Exercise In NEFA

DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS:  Air Force And Army Conducting Joint Military Exercise In NEFA

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - March 5, 2012: The air force and the army are conducting an exercise across the eastern and northeastern states to test defences and special operations in the event of hostilities with China. This is the largest exercise of its kind.

“This time we are focused on the Brahmaputra Valley, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Mizoram to exercise our entire capabilities in all roles in conjunction with the army to disrupt enemy intrusion and take the battle to the adversary,” Air Marshal M. Matheswaran, senior air staff officer of the Shillong-headquartered Eastern Air Command, told The Telegraph.

Codenamed “Pralay”, the exercise was designed by the Calcutta-headquartered Eastern Army Commander, Lt General Bikram Singh, and the Eastern Air Commander, Air Marshal S. Varthaman.

The exercise area is spread over the eight northeastern states and Bengal but action is mostly concentrated along the Brahmaputra Valley and Arunachal.

The air force has also deployed its assets from other commands to the east and northeast for the exercise, which is expected to conclude on March 3. “Pralay” began on February 29 but the mobilisation for it started on February 20.

More than 70 aircraft — including the airborne warning and control system (AWACS) planes, Sukhoi 30MKi, MiG-29, MiG-27 and Mirage 2000 combat planes — have been deployed.

This is the first time that the Israeli Phalcon AWACS are being tested in a simulated combat environment on such a scale. AWACS are designed to detect, acquire and designate targets for other fighter aircraft. Mid-air refuellers have also been deployed to practise long-range strike missions.

“Drills that will help us validate joint operational directives in the valleys and the hills are being emphasised,” Matheswaran said.

The air force spokesperson, Wing Commander Gerard Galway, said the eastern command holds an annual exercise. But the deployment of assets from the western and central air commands to the east shows that the scale this time is much larger.

The war-gamed scenario is of a short but intense conflict. Matheswaran said the AFNET — the air force’s own optic-fibre cable grid — was being used for voice, data and visual communication.

“This exercise is bringing out the net-centric capabilities that we are developing,” he said. The exercise would culminate by concentrating on a few unspecified areas in Assam and Arunachal.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2012/03/dtn-news-india-defense-news-air-force.html

DTN News - UKRAINE DEFENSE NEWS: Ukraine Boosts Military Budget By 30%

DTN News - UKRAINE DEFENSE NEWS: Ukraine Boosts Military Budget By 30%

 (NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - January 26, 2012: Ukraine’s 2012 military spending will increase by around 30 percent, to about $2 billion or 1.1 percent of GDP, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s financial department said on Wednesday.

The ministry expects to spend about $120 million for purchases and modernization of military equipment, as well as scientific and military design projects, including the production of L-39 Albatros jet trainers and MiG-29 fighter jets. Ukraine’s existing fleet of MiG-29, L-39 and Su-25 close air support aircrafts will also be modernized.

Head of Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Financial Department Lt. Gen. Yvan Marko said 21 jets, five helicopters and 612 vehicles will be repaired and modernized this year.

Ukraine’s 2012 state defense order will stand at $184 million, four times more than last year, including $54 million to build a corvette-class ship and $13 million for the construction of the Sapsan multifunctional missile system.

Ukraine’s military budget amounted to 0.8 percent of GDP on average over the past few years, substantially less than the average 1.3 percent of other Eastern European states.

http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2012/01/dtn-news-ukraine-defense-news-ukraine.html