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News Flies. We Gather Intelligence. Every Month. From India. 

Civil Aviation: Fuel Policies in India Pg 27 • Israeli Aerospace Industry & the 

Indian Air Force Pg 24 • Indian Air Force Upgrades Pg 30 • General Aviation: Rollouts Pg 34 

SP’s AN 

www.spsaviation.net 

JOINT 

STRIKE 

FIGHTER 

LIGHTNING 

PACE PAGE 12 

SP GUIDE PUBLICATION 

ISSUE 4 • 2008 

REVIEWING TRENDS 

Chartered 

Services 

PAGE 18

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Table of Contents 

Aviation 

SP’s 

AN SP GUIDE PUBLICATION 

News Flies. We Gather Intelligence. Every Month. From India. 

Military 

24 INDUSTRY 

A FRIEND IN DEED 

30 UPGRADES 

INJECTING NEW LIFE 

37 VIEW POINT 

BUDGET BLUES 

38 INDUSTRY 

THE EUROFIGHTER INVITE 

Civil 

18 BUSINESS AVIATION 

CHARTER SERVICES: TRENDS IN ASIA 

27 POLICY 

ON A SLIPPERY SLOPE 

34 GENERAL AVIATION 

ROLLOUTS: NEW WINGS 

Cover Story 

12 MILITARY 

LIGHTNING PACE 

Hall of Fame 

39 YURI GAGARIN 

18 

27 

ISSUE 4 • 2008 

30 

2 SP’S AVIATION Issue 4 • 2008 

JSF Programme: Lightning Pace 

The F-35 Lightning II—whose 

development is progressing at a 

feverish tempo—will serve as a 

centerpiece for some of the leading 

international air forces. 

PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

Jayant Baranwal 

ASSISTANT EDITOR 

Arundhati Das 

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT & COPY EDITOR 

Sanjay Kumar 

SENIOR VISITING EDITOR 

Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia 

SENIOR TECHNICAL GROUP EDITORS 

Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey 

Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand 

SUB-EDITOR 

Bipasha Roy 

12 

CONTRIBUTORS 

India Air Marshal (Retd) P.K. Mehra, Air Marshal 

(Retd) Raghu Rajan, Air Marshal (Retd) N. Menon, 

Air Marshal (Retd) V. Patney, Group Captain A.K. 

Sachdev 

Europe Alan Peaford, Phil Nasskau, Justin 

Wastnage, Rob Coppinger, Andrew Brookes, 

Paul Beaver, Gunter Endres (UK) 

USA & Canada Sushant Deb, Lon Nordeen, 

Anil R. Pustam (West Indies) 

CHAIRMAN & MANAGING DIRECTOR 


Owned, published and printed by Jayant Baranwal, printed 

at Rave India and published at A-133, Arjun Nagar (Opposite 

Defence Colony), New Delhi 110 003, India. All rights reserved. 

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a 

retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, 

photocopying, recording, electronic, or otherwise without prior 

written permission of the Publishers. 

Regular Departments 

4 A Word from Editor 

6 NewsWithViews 

- Kemper caught in a caper 

- Mallya mulls master stroke 

- Solar power from space 

9 InFocus 

- Russian roulette 

10 Forum 

- The big picture 

40 NewsDigest 

44 LastWord 

- An inglorious spat 

Cover Photo: 

A full scale F-35 Joint 

Strike Fighter model 

perched atop a pedestal 

overlooking a rural valley 

in central New York. 

Photo credit: Air Force 

Material Command 

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR: Ratan Sonal 

LAYOUT DESIGNS: Pradeep Kumar, Raj Kumar 

© SP Guide Publications, 2008 

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION 

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www.spguidepublications.com 

NEXT ISSUE: Business Aviation Enthralls India 

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SP's Avn 4 of 08 Cover.indd 1 4/28/08 1:27:56 PM

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A Word from Editor 

Feverish pace of progress set by the Lockheed 

Martin-led Joint Strike Fighter programme showcases 

the prowess of modern day cutting-edge 

technologies. The cover story of this issue wonders 

whether it is possible for India to join the JSF 

programme at this stage, and comes up with an unequivocal 

no. Bureaucratic snarls and snags in technology transfer 

and access to sensitive software for optimum utilisation of 

the weapons platform are some of the key factors discouraging 

such a move. While India could do well to concentrate 

on the ongoing MMRCA acquisition and Russia Fifth Generation 

fighter programmes, the JSF programme will stay 

firmly on its anvil. 

While aspirations to join the JSF programme may for 

now be have to put on hold, India would perhaps be hard 

put to turn down the EADS invite to join the Eurofighter 

programme. “India is our partner of choice and we are interested 

in long-lasting political, industrial and military relations,” 

proclaimed Bernhard Gerwert, CEO of Military Air 

Systems, an integrated activity of EADS Defence & Security 

at a recent conference, throwing “the door widely open for 

India”. 

Evidently, the door to India’s defence market has over the 

recent past yawned to proportions that allows more than a 

few players to ease in with their wares. A case in point being 

the Israeli aerospace industry. In the last 15 years, Israel 

has unseated the Russians to become the biggest arms supplier 

to India. How did the country, accorded a mere token 

recognition by India only in the early 1990s, become its major 

arms supplier? Hemmed in by growing competition and 

new contenders eager to grab a pie of the Indian defence 

establishment’s steadily lengthening wish list, the country’s 

traditional arms suppliers, the Russians, are understandably 

feeling the heat. 

Forum and InFocus reflects the rapidly changing kaleidoscope 

as India takes pains to preserve its established relations 

and simultaneously forge new ties, discussing at length indications 

of growing friction—perceived and otherwise—with 

the Russians. Reacting to a media report on the grounding of 

Su-30s at Pune’s Lohegaon air base allegedly due to shortage 

of spare tyres, experts and observers outline the various nuances 

and notches of the decades-old relationship between 

Delhi and Moscow. Summing up the Indian military view on 


Momentous events are playing out as 

the deadline for submitting proposals 

to India’s MMRCA deal draws close. 

As the contenders reveal their cards, 

the web of India’s ties with traditional 

partners and new players is assuming 

the dynamism of a kaleidoscope. 

the issue, former Chief of the Indian Air Force Air Chief Marshal 

S.P. Tyagi points out: “If there are more problems with 

the Russians than with the others from whom India acquires 

fighter aircraft it could simply be because we do more business 

with the Russians. Otherwise, be it Russians, Americans 

or French—the story remains the same.” Quite understandably, 

in the light of the larger issues at stake between India 

and Russia, senior IAF officers are more inclined to brush off 

damaging speculations as minor hiccups. 

Even as the buzz of new acquisitions and fresh equations 

permeates the corridors of military might, business aviation 

is ragging across Asia. There’s no denying the upswing in 

business and charter air services in India and business aircraft 

makers can hope attitudes will change as India Inc gets 

more comfortable with ‘BizAv’. 

Among all the good cheer comes the news that, in a bid 

to bag the MMRCA deal, Boeing has offered its advanced F/ 

A-18E/F Super Hornet to the IAF even as Lockheed Martin 

has proposed the F-16IN. We will keep you updated as the 

other proposals come pouring in. 


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NewsWithViews 

ILLUSTRATION: MAMTA 

KEMPER CAUGHT IN A CAPER 

Kemper Aviation, based at Lantana Airport in south Florida, is the focus of federal investigations following three fatal accidents that have claimed eight lives in less 

than six months. In the most recent accident on March 13, company co-owner Captain Jeff Rozelle died along with three passengers. The National Transportation 

Safety Board of the US is expected to publish probable cause reports and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is conducting a review of the school’s maintenance 

operation. FAA records reveal that several of the aircraft operated by Kemper Aviation were manufactured before 1980—two were, in fact, 37 years old. Interestingly, 

among the institute’s students, around 70 are Indians, besides the co-owner, Captain Akshay Mohan, who is also reportedly a pilot with Kingfisher Airlines. 

VIEWS 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)—in the 

news recently for inadequate supervision of maintenance 

standards followed by some major airlines 

in the US—finds itself in the line of fire yet again. 

The spate of fatal accidents at Kemper Aviation in the last 

six months has raised doubts about the work ethos in the 

FAA and its ability to carry out its mandate effectively, especially 

with regards to small flying units. 

Kemper Aviation flying instructors 

have frequently voiced 

concerns about maintenance and 

safety standards. Some lawmakers 

have also endorsed these observations 

and are now holding 

the FAA largely responsible for 

indifference and neglect which 

they believe has allowed the situation 

to drift and degenerate to 

point where Kemper Aviation is 

now labeled as having “the worst 

safety record in the state of Florida“. 

On its part the FAA claims to 

have taken Kemper to task in the 

past for regulatory violations in 

respect of maintenance and has 

even imposed a fine in the year 

2000. As against 40-odd flying 

training schools in India, there 

are 66 in the state of Florida 

alone. Kemper Aviation tops the 

list of schools in Florida that have 

atrocious safety record. 

In existence for nearly two decades, 

Kemper Aviation is one of 

the flying training schools in the 

US which moved quickly to take 

advantage of the spurt in demand 

for flying training in India in the 

wake of the boom in the civil aviation 

industry. As per the rules, 

the company obtained a separate 

licence to train foreign students 

alongside local students. It undertook aggressive marketing 

in India through its co-owner Captain Akshay Mohan 

who has been employed as pilot with Kingfisher Airlines 

for the last eight months or so. 

Kemper Aviation appears to have been eminently successful 

in grabbing a sizeable chunk of the Indian pie. It 

had around 70 trainee pilots from India on its rolls. Since 


October 2007, soon after Captain Mohan joined Kingfisher 

Airlines, there have been three flying accidents resulting 

in eight fatalities, including two Indian students. The flight 

school has now been shut down for foreign students. Some 

say this was a step long overdue. However, the sudden 

closure of the school has left Indian students in the lurch 

even as they ponder on ways to retrieve the heavy deposits 

paid in advance. Local students are not affected as licence 

only for the foreign trainees wing 

stands cancelled. 

Captain Mohan, who acquired 

this company in partnership four 

years ago, is also its Chief Flying 

Instructor (CFI) and General 

Manager. The CFI is a key functionary 

in any flying training 

school and is entrusted with the 

responsibility of direct supervision 

and management of flying 

training activities. The quality of 

training and level of air safety 

depends on the competence and 

involvement of the CFI. How the 

Captain was able to do justice to 

this critical responsibility while 

being engaged in active flying 

with Kingfisher Airlines in India 

is difficult to comprehend. Even 

the FAA was not clear on the legality 

of dual employment on opposite 

sides of the globe. In India, 

it is mandatory for a flying training 

school to have appropriately 

qualified CFI in position physically 

to remain legally functional. 

According to officials in Kingfisher 

Airlines, at the time of joining, 

Captain Mohan had claimed 

he was no longer serving with 

Kemper Aviation, a claim refuted 

by emails addressed by him in 

February this year to prospective 

Indian candidates advising them to make heavy deposits 

in US dollars in certain security accounts to enroll with 

Kemper Aviation. Strangely, on learning of the recent accident 

on March 13, Captain Mohan reportedly scurried 

back to the US, taking leave of absence for a month from 

Kingfisher Airlines. SP 

— Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey



MALLYA MULLS MASTER STROKE 

One big chunk missing in the airline jigsaw puzzle crafted by Vijay Mallya is that Kingfisher still does not operate a flight to the US, one of the busiest and most lucrative 

routes. The recent acquisition of low-cost player Air Deccan, Mallya hopes, will fill the blank. On May 30, 2007, Mallya’s UB Group picked up a 26 per cent stake in Deccan 

Aviation at Rs 550 crore. Subsequently, it invested an estimated Rs 1,000 crore for a controlling stake in Deccan Aviation which owns the Air Deccan brand. According to 

DGCA norms, an airlines can run an international carrier only if it completes five years in the domestic run. Kingfisher, which commenced operations in May 2005, falls short 

of the stipulated time period. Air Deccan, on the other hand, completes five years in August this year. However, if thwarted in his ambition, Mallya is ready with Plan B. 

VIEWS 

Dr Vijay Mallya must be chomping at the bit like a 

racehorse denied a run in the grand Derby of the 

airlines’ international circuit. With the Ministry of 

Civil Aviation clipping the wings of domestic flights 

keen on commencing flights abroad by raising the five-year 

bar, Mallya is quite understandably peeved. 

Internationally celebrated liquor baron and owner of 

the United Beverages Group, 

Mallya formed the Kingfisher 

Airline, naming it after his 

world famous brand of beer. 

The airline started operations 

on May 9, 2005, coinciding 

with his son Siddharth’s 18th 

birthday. In the short span of 

less than three years since it 

was launched, Kingfisher Airlines 

has redefined the whole 

experience of flying, emerging 

as one of the topmost market 

leaders in India’s booming aviation 

market. Dr Mallya’s personal 

and deep involvement in 

managing the airline’s affairs is 

palpable in every field—from 

selection of aircraft and flight 

crews to on-time operation and 

hospitality. Further, Kingfisher 

has raised the bar by introducing 

a whole host of product and 

service innovations. 

Within a month of its launch 

in 2005, Kingfisher became 

the first Indian airline to order 

the Airbus A380. It is also 

the airline which boasts of an 

all new aircraft fleet. While it 

awaits the arrival of A380 Super 

Jumbos, five of which are 

on order along with five Airbus 

A350-800 and five A330-200s 

for international flights, it has 

already amassed a large mixed 

fleet of A320 family aircraft and ATRs for domestic operations 

spanning 32 destinations. The popularity of the airline 

can be gauged from the fact that in the first quarter of 2008 

ending March 31, the carrier’s combined share along with 

Air Deccan, which it recently acquired, has risen to 29.1 

per cent of the total domestic passenger volume, giving the 

other major but much older airline Jet Airways/JetLite a 

neck-to-neck competition. The niche the airline has carved 

for itself is evident given that in the short time span since its 

inception, it has been conferred over 30 awards for excellence 

in different fields of airlines’ operations. 

For an airline which has achieved so much, being subjected 

to a seemingly archaic and autocratic rule could be 

reason for some indignation. 

A regulation of such a nature 

may have had some relevance 

in the past to ensure fledgling 

airlines prove their worth in 

the domestic skies before being 

allowed to spread their 

wings abroad, and thus avoid 

possible national embarrassment. 

But in today’s scenario, 

as Mallya reasons, posing such 

time restrictions appears to be 

totally out of place where capability, 

capacity and performance 

should be the main, if 

not the sole, criteria. He also 

questions the authorities by citing 

the example of the UAE airline 

Etihad which was allowed 

to operate into India within 

one month of its inception and 

proclaims the five-year restriction 

on domestic airlines to be 

discriminatory and unjustified. 

Nonetheless, well aware of 

the idiosyncrasies of government 

functions, Mallya is, according 

to sources, already eyeing 

a Plan B, such as creating a 

US-based airline, that would afford 

him a back-door entry into 

India, and appointing either 

son Siddharth or wife Rekha 

(both US citizens) to assuage 

the American requirements regarding 

ownership. Apparently, 

he is hoping Kingfisher Airline will be allowed to operate 

abroad by the dint of the rights enjoyed by the recently required 

Air Deccan which meets the ministry’s time criteria, 

thereby sparing him the need to implement Plan B which 

has obvious adverse financial implications. SP 

— Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia 

Issue 4 • 2008 SP’S AVIATION 7


PHOTOGRAPH: NASA 

SOLAR POWER FROM SPACE 

A recently concluded study undertaken by the Pentagon’s National Security Space Office (NSSO) has suggested that space-based solar power stations are technologically 

feasible, provide clean energy and avert potential energy security conflicts in the wake of dwindling fossil fuel resources. The study got underway on April 20, 2007 

at the direction of the NSSO Director, Major General Jim Armor, who designated his Chief of Future Concepts, Lt Colonel M.V. “Coyote” Smith, the director of the study. 

The US Defense Department is putting more of its resources into developing alternative energy sources and its latest proposal involves outer space. The report has 

recommended that a pilot solar power station be sent into orbit to test whether energy collected from the Sun can be beamed down to Earth as electricity. 

VIEWS 

As the quest for alternative energy intensifies, space 

is fast becoming the new frontier for energy security. 

The concept of a Solar Power Satellite (SPS) or Powersat 

is not new. Mooted as far back as 1968, the idea 

was initially dismissed as impractical due to the absence of a 

method to transmit power down to the Earth’s surface. The 

hurdle was crossed in 1973 by Peter Glaser. The US scientist 

found a method of transmitting power from an SPS to the 

Earth’s surface using microwaves 

from a, say, sq km antenna on the 

satellite to a much larger one on 

the ground, known as a Rectenna. 

But the concept remained dormant 

due to technological limitations 

and exorbitant costs. 

Solar power has been tried 

out terrestrially but it suffers 

from certain drawbacks such as 

the reduced ability of photocells 

to collect energy during cloud 

cover or at night. As Dr Charley 

Lineweaver from the Planetary 

Science Unit at the Australian 

National University in Canberra 

observes, “The disadvantage we 

have on Earth is that solar panels 

work best in very dry places 

where there’s not much water, 

in deserts, and that’s not where 

the people are—the people are 

where the water is and the water 

is where there have been clouds.” 

Advantages of placing the solar 

collectors in space include the 

unobstructed view of the Sun, 

unaffected by the day/night cycle, 

weather or seasons and the fact 

that in space these are more than 

twice as effective in collecting energy 

as when deployed on the Earth. It is also a renewable 

energy source with zero emission. However, earlier it was felt 

that the concept would succeed only if: 

• Sufficiently low launch costs are achieved; 

• Political rulers and industry determine that the disadvantages 

of fossil fuels are so acute that these 

must be substantially replaced; 

• Conventional energy costs increase sufficiently to 

provoke research for alternative energy. 

Of late, several developments—increased worldwide energy 


demand, dwindling oil resources and increased costs, and 

emission implications—have combined to rekindle the interest 

in space-based solar power as an alternative energy source. 

The SPS would essentially consist of three parts: a solar 

collector made up of close to a sq km of solar cells; a microwave 

antenna on the satellite, aimed at the Earth and one or 

more paired; and much larger (up to 10 to 14 sq km) Rectennas 

on the Earth’s surface. With a simpler conceptual design 

than most other power generating 

systems, the SPS would comprise 

the physical structure to hold it 

together and align it orthogonally 

to the Sun. This would be considerably 

lighter than any similar 

structure on Earth since it will 

be in a zero-g vacuum environment 

and will need no protection 

from terrestrial wind or weather. 

Aboard the SPS, solar photons 

converted to electricity will be 

fed to an array of Klystron tubes 

which, in turn, will generate the 

microwave beam. Solar satellite 

power (SSP) would be environment 

friendly to the extreme. The 

microwave beams may heat up 

the atmosphere slightly and it may 

be necessary to select harmless 

frequencies, but SSP will have no 

emissions whatsoever. The catch 

is the cost. But this could eventually 

be brought down by developing 

low-cost reusable spacecraft 

and largely automated systems to 

build solar power satellites from 

lunar materials. 

If successful, the concept could 

herald a revolutionary change as 

SSP is probably the most environmentally 

benign large-scale energy source. There is more than 

enough for everyone and the Sun’s energy could last for billions 

of years. It is also felt that at some point, the high initial 

costs of an SPS will become favourable due to low-cost delivery 

of power. With crude oil prices soaring above $100 bbl and 

its rapidly diminishing resources, some estimates suggest it’s 

time to invest in space-based solar power projects. It might 

also prove to be a good trade-off against global warming and in 

preventing potentially costly and devastating energy wars. SP 

— Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia

InFocus 

INDUSTRY 

Russian 

ROULETTE 

Much to India’s dismay, Russia’s 

state-owned companies that 

deal with military equipment 

and related spares are known to 

arbitrarily jack up prices without 

full justification and sometimes 

even without the knowledge of the 

original manufacturers 

A 

story quoting Indian Air Force (IAF) officials on 

the grounding of Su-30s at Pune’s Lohegaon air 

base reportedly due to shortage of spare tyres has 

sparked a debate in the media and among critics 

on the quality of spares support provided by the Russians. 

According to the IAF sources quoted in the report, only 10 

to 12 Sukhois in the two squadrons were in a functional 

state. “The squadrons—each having 16 fighters on an average—urgently 

required at least another 80-odd tyres to 

make all the fighters,” an officer purportedly said. The story 

further elaborated that the lack of spare tyres had been dogging 

India’s frontline fighters for quite some time now and 

that, a four-member delegation of defence ministry officials 

has reportedly left for Russia to seek spare parts, including 

tyres for the fighters. 

The Sino-Indian 1962 war and its aftermath, the American 

military’s bias towards Pakistan, with the latter joining 

the US-led South East Asian Treaty Organisation and Central 

Treaty Organisation, and Delhi’s ardent adherence to the 

Non-Aligned Movement—all of this propelled India into the 

willing arms of the erstwhile USSR as its principal, if not sole, 

supplier of defence arms and equipment. For almost three 

decades, the special relationship between the two countries 

ensured that India’s defence needs continued to be met by 

the Soviets. In the scenario of ‘Command Economy’ practiced 

by the communist Soviet Union, with little relationship 

between production and profits, India enjoyed the benefits 

of friendship prices owing to its special ties with Moscow. 

The breakup of the Soviet Union turned many industries on 

their heads but the worst affected was perhaps the aviation 

industry which had inter-dependent manufacturing units interspersed 

in a large number of breakaway states. 

Irrefutable and ineffaceable is the breakup’s negative impact 

on the efforts to maintain the equipment the Russians 

supplied to the IAF. However, in the reconstruction phase, 

the new Russian Federation and its allied CIS countries 

were also quick to realise the importance of the aviation 

industry for their economic survival to haul it back on track 

in the best possible way. While India today has a much better 

choice in selecting its defence equipment suppliers, the 

large-scale ongoing and in-the-pipeline defence procurement 

programmes clearly highlight Delhi’s heavy dependence on 

Russian equipment. Su-30 MKI is one such defence deal of 

great importance, wherein the IAF is to acquire a total of 

230 of these frontline air dominance fighters, out of which 

140 are to be licence-produced by HAL in India. 

That brings us to the problem of shortage of tyres for the 

Pune-based Su-30 squadrons, which, the published report 

concedes, is a temporary hitch. The logistics of supplying 

spares and inventory management of a frontline fighter such 

as the Su-30 is truly a tough and complex exercise, so much 

so that the IAF has invested in Integrated Materials Management 

Online Services computer-aided system for its highly 

diversified fleets of aircraft and ground equipment. So far as 

the availability of tyres is concerned—falling in the category 

of ‘consumables’ in the logistics parlance—the item should 

be part of the Automatic Replenishment System. Therefore, 

there should actually be running contracts for such comparatively 

low-cost, low-technology consumable products. 

The problem appears to lie both at the buyer as well as the 

seller end. There are times when items are outsourced to 

suppliers other than the original, which irk the latter. On 

the other hand, Russia’s state-owned companies, which deal 

with all military equipment and related spares instead of the 

original manufacturers, are also known to arbitrarily jack 

up the prices without full justification and sometimes even 

without the knowledge of the original manufacturers, much 

to India’s dismay. There is a requirement to streamline and 

rationalise the procedures at both ends otherwise temporary 

shortages will continue to occur as has happened many 

times in the past. 

As for aircraft tyres, it is a matter of concern and perhaps 

shame that India is still dependent on foreign suppliers 

rather than being self-sufficient. Earlier, the then Calcutta-based 

Dunlop factory supplied aircraft tyres to the 

IAF till it closed down, citing not only labour unrest but also 

low demand in the Indian market as key factors. That was 

several decades ago. Now, taking into account the possible 

combined demand scenario in the civil and military sectors, 

there should be good justification to again start manufacturing 

aircraft tyres of different types in India. It could certainly 

prevent supply hiccups and reduced operational preparedness, 

however temporary in nature. SP 

— Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia 


Forum 


INDUSTRY 

The BIG Picture 

In the light of the 

larger issues at 

stake between 

India and Russia, 

senior IAF officers 

are more inclined 

to brush off 

speculations that 

shortage of tyres 

had grounded most 

of the Sukhoi 30 

MKIs at Pune’s 

Lohegaon air base 

as a minor hiccup 

PROJECTED AS LONG-TERM STRATEGIC PART- 

NERSHIP spanning from the mid-1960s, in reality 

what cements Indo-Russian ties is India’s large scale 

purchase of Russian military equipment. With a level 

of sophistication lower than that of contemporary 

western equipment, Russian hardware is fairly advanced, 

rugged and eminently suitable for Indian conditions. In Cold 

War days, military equipment from Russia was available to 

India on extremely favourable financial terms. On a number 

of occasions, large orders for military equipment from India 

helped sections of the Russian defence industry to survive. “In 

the initial period of supply, Soviet equipment was found to be 

rugged and dependable, though a far cry from being sophisticated 

and technologically competitive,” says former Vice Chief 

of the Air Staff Air Marshal Ajit Bhavnani, adding, “However, 

the Indian psyche of being able to adapt to existing conditions, 

made the IAF overcome these challenges, and exploit 

the systems to its advantage.” 

Glitches in Russian product support surfaced as early as 

the early-1980s. With the IAF progressively inducting systems 

involving higher technology, the problems assumed serious 

proportions. In a typical case, the Comptroller and Audit General 

of India on March 31, 1993 published the results of an 


By Our Special Correspondent 

in-depth study on the operational performance and reliability 

of the MiG-29. The report stated that there were extensive 

problems encountered in operational and maintenance of the 

MiG-29 fleet due to the large number of pre-mature failures of 

engines, components and systems. A total of 139 engines—a 

staggering 74 per cent—had to be withdrawn prematurely 

and transported to the Soviet Union at great cost as the local 

facility for overhaul was not ready. Lack of critical components 

and spares resulted in ‘cannibalisation’ (whereby a faulty 

aircraft was stripped of its functioning components to equip 

other aircraft) and even grounding of some aircraft. 

In the early 1990s, even as India convulsed with economic 

upheavals, the Soviet Union disintegrated. This further compounded 

problems, especially for the IAF which was heavily 

dependent on the hardware of Soviet origin. In the aftermath 

of the break up, the Indian government was forced to deal 

with several nations instead of the single entity, Republics of 

the Soviet Union. “Major problems with availability of spares 

and repair facilities had an adverse impact on the IAF’s operational 

capability, especially from 1991 to 1995,” recalls Air 

Marshal Bhavnani. “The situation gradually began to improve 

from 1996 onwards. The IAF learnt a major lesson from its 

thrust of putting all its eggs in one basket.”

PHOTOGRAPHS: SP GUIDE PUBNS 

FORUM INDUSTRY 

Post-Cold War, paradigms of the Indo-Russian relationship, 

centered as it is on defence deals, underwent dramatic and 

not entirely unforeseen changes. Globalisation of the Russian 

economy has rendered untenable the traditional rupee-rouble 

arrangement which has been replaced by hard currency 

transactions vulnerable to the forces of free market economy. 

“Admittedly, Russian costs fluctuate dramatically and are 

largely dictated by escalation factors. This has proved to be 

a key hurdle for India which has frequently expressed shock 

and dismay at the sudden and steep hike in costs,” says former 

Chief of the Indian Air Force Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi. 

Subsequently, the Indian defence establishment was unshackled 

from the vice-like grip of the Russian military-industrial 

complex and today, it has several other options to source 

equipment possibly of better quality and capability, at competitive 

prices. “Growing proximity to the US, the impending 

Indo-US nuclear deal, penetration of 

the Indian defence market by Israel 

and the loss of a potential $1.5 billion 

(Rs 6,012 crore) Indian market has 

undoubtedly led to considerable dismay 

and despair in the Russian establishment,” 

says Air Marshal (Retd) 

B.K. Pandey, the former Air Officer 

“MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH AVAILABILITY OF SPARES AND 

REPAIR FACILITIES HAD AN ADVERSE IMPACT ON THE IAF’S 

OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY, ESPECIALLY FROM 1991 TO 1995. 

THE SITUATION GRADUALLY BEGAN TO IMPROVE FROM 1996 

ONWARDS. THE IAF LEARNT A MAJOR LESSON FROM ITS 

THRUST OF PUTTING ALL ITS EGGS IN ONE BASKET.” 

—AIR MARSHAL AJIT BHAVNANI, 

FORMER VICE CHIEF OF IAF 

Commanding in Chief, Training 

Command. He rightly points 

out: “Moscow’s desire to retain 

India as its clientele is echoed in 

the statement by Prime Minister 

Viktor Zubkov in an interview ahead of his maiden visit to 

India wherein he said, ‘Your country is perceived here as a 

trusted friend and in Russia we have a saying: an old friend is 

better than two new ones’.” 

It is unlikely the transition will proceed apace given the slew 

of ongoing defence deals with Russia. Deals and joint ventures 

under defence cooperation agreement inked by Delhi and Moscow 

in 2001 and currently underway involve investments of 

staggering proportions. Major ongoing projects include development 

of a Fifth Generation combat aircraft, medium tactical 

aircraft, 40 additional Su-30 MKI aircraft, 80 Mi-17 helicopters, 

airborne warning and control system, in-flight refueling 

aircraft, air defence systems, aero-engines for the IJT and 

MiG-29, T-90 tanks, multi barreled rocket launchers, aircraft 

carrier with MiG-29K, frigates, lease of nuclear powered submarines 

and mid-life upgrade of a variety of weapon systems 

and aircraft. “I cannot comment on whether the Russians have 

squeezed us but if there are more problems with the Russians 

than with the others from whom India acquires fighter aircraft 

it could simply be because we do more business with the Russians,” 

observes Air Chief Marshal Tyagi. “Otherwise, be it Russians, 

Americans or French—the story remains the same.” 

“ADMITTEDLY, RUSSIAN COSTS FLUCTUATE DRAMATICALLY AND ARE 

LARGELY DICTATED BY ESCALATION FACTORS. THIS HAS PROVED TO 

BE A KEY HURDLE FOR INDIA WHICH HAS FREQUENTLY EXPRESSED 

SHOCK AND DISMAY AT THE SUDDEN AND STEEP HIKE IN COSTS.” 

—AIR CHIEF MARSHAL S.P. TYAGI, 

FORMER CHIEF OF IAF 

That said, and in the light of the larger issues at stake between 

India and Russia, senior IAF officers are more inclined 

to brush off speculations that shortage of tyres had grounded 

most of the Sukhoi 30 MKIs at Pune’s Lohegaon air base as 

only a minor hiccup. A recent media report claimed only 10 

to 12 Su-30 MKIs in the two squadrons—each comprising on 

an average 16 fighters—are in a functional state. It further 

stated that a four-member delegation of defence ministry officials 

had left for Russia to seek spare parts, including tyres 

for the fighters. Insinuating as it did that Russian tardiness 

in fulfilling product support obligations was undermining the 

interception and penetration capability of the IAF, the report 

triggered a flurry of denials and clarifications from the corridors 

of military might in India. Echoing the general opinion 

of the defence establishment on the issue, Air Chief Marshal 

Tyagi says: “By all counts, shortage of spares cannot be held 

responsible for grounding an entire 

fleet of aircraft. Then again, none of 

the fighters are produced in India 

and 100 per cent technology transfer 

never takes place. Moreover, spare 

parts shortage could arise not merely 

because the Russians haven’t supplied 

these but because India hasn’t 

“GROWING PROXIMITY TO THE US, THE IMPENDING INDO-US 

NUCLEAR DEAL, PENETRATION OF THE INDIAN DEFENCE MARKET 

BY ISRAEL AND THE LOSS OF A POTENTIAL $1.5 BILLION INDIAN 

MARKET HAS UNDOUBTEDLY LED TO CONSIDERABLE DISMAY 

AND DESPAIR IN THE RUSSIAN ESTABLISHMENT.” 

—AIR MARSHAL (RETD) B.K. PANDEY, 

FORMER AIR OFFICER COMMANDING IN CHIEF, 

IAF TRAINING COMMAND 

signed the deal on time.” 

Belying the Indian defence establishment’s 

diplomatic stance, 

media reports suggest some of 

the deals are not progressing too 

well primarily on account of inability on the part of Russia to 

honour commitments of contract related to delivery schedule, 

uninterrupted supply of spares, funding, revision of price and 

escalation rate and inefficient life-cycle support, among other 

factors. Such bottlenecks have cropped up in contracts since 

the 1970s. But rather than being an exception, senior IAF officials 

insist it’s quite the norm, citing the somewhat similar 

problems posed by the fleet of Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers 

from UK inducted a month ago. Dismissed as “teething troubles”, 

the explanation is hardly credible considering the Hawk 

has been in service globally for several decades. 

Today, 70 per cent of the hardware with the Indian defence 

forces is of Russian origin. Despite India’s prerogative to 

improve defence cooperation with Europe and the US, Delhi 

needs to nurture ties with Russia on an even keel in order 

to maintain operational edge. Besides, in the light of the fact 

that the world is steadily moving towards multi-polarity, India 

and Russia are understandably inclined, for mutual benefit, 

to reverse the perceived erosion in a relationship that has for 

decades been regarded as strategic. SP 

— With inputs from Air Marshal (Retd) Ajit Bhavnani 

and Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey 


PHOTOGRAPH: LOCKHEED MARTIN 

C O V E R S T O R Y 

Lightning 

Pace 

MILITARY JSF PROGRAMME 

By 

Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia 

The F-35 Lightning II—whose 

development is progressing at 

a feverish tempo—will bring 

new capabilities to not only 

the US Air Force, Navy and 

Marine Corps but also serve as 

a centerpiece for some of the 

leading international air forces 

12 SP’S AVIATION Issue 4 • 2008 turn to page 14

Powering Freedom. 

Pratt & Whitney designs and builds the most advanced military 

engines in the world. These engines provide reliable and affordable 

power for cutting-edge Lightning II and Raptor fifth-generation 

fighters. In fact, 27 nations count on Pratt & Whitney engines so they 

can accomplish their missions. From design to maintenance, we 

power freedom every day. The Eagle is everywhere. 

www.pw.utc.com 

F135 Engine 

F119 Engine 

F100 Engine 

F117 Engine

PHOTOGRAPHS: LOCKHEED MARTIN, JSF.MIL & USAF 


Concept demonstration and selection in October 

2001. First launch in December 2006. 

The speed with which the Lockheed Martinled 

Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme 

has been progressing showcases the prowess 

of modern day cutting-edge technologies. 

Developing a highly complex weapons platform—a 

stealth-capable, multi-role strike fighter that can 

perform close air support, tactical bombing and air-to-air 

combat—programme managers encountered the whole 

bewildering range of suspected and unexpected hitches 

and glitches. What astonished observers was the resolute 

determination with which the hurdles were overcome and 

creases ironed out to keep the programme on track. 

Tracing the origin of the JSF programme puts the focus 

on two distinct projects initiated in the early 1990s: the 

USAF/USN Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) and 

the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) 

Common Affordable Lightweight Fighter (CALF). A merger 

in 1994 resulted in the programme being rechristened 

JSF by end-1995. 

The JSF programme was created in the US to replace 

various aircraft on the inventory of its armed forces while 

keeping development, production and operating costs 

down. The original JSF development contract was signed 

on November 16, 1996 with the announcement by then 

US Secretary of Defence William Perry that Boeing and 

Lockheed Martin had been chosen to participate in the 

weapons system concept demonstra- 

tion (WSCD) phase. In less than five 

years, both aviation companies not 

only produced the technology demonstrators, 

but also competed with 

each other. The contract for System 

Development and Demonstration 

(SDD), the next step in the development 

programme, was awarded to 

Lockheed Martin whose X-35 consistently 

outperformed the Boeing’s 

X-32, although both met or exceeded 

Development initiated 

The JSF development 

contract is signed; 

Lockheed Martin and 

Boeing in the race. 

Contract awarded 

The US Department 

of Defense awards the 

F-35 JSF contract to 

Lockheed Martin. 


Apart from the US, the 

F-35 programme has 

eight other partners: UK, 

Italy, the Netherlands, 

Turkey, Australia, Norway, 

Denmark and Canada. 

Fort Worth, Texas 

Lockheed Martin 

F-35 completes first 

ground taxi test. 

requirements. The fighter’s designation, F-35, came as a 

surprise to Lockheed Martin; it had been referring to the 

aircraft in-house as F-24. 

On July 7, 2006, the US Air Force officially announced 

the name of the F-35: Lightning II in honour of Lockheed 

Martin’s World War II-era P-38 Lightning and the postwar 

English Electric Lightning supersonic jet fighter. It 

may be recalled that English Electric’s aircraft division 

was incorporated into BAC, a predecessor of the current 

F-35 programme partner BAE Systems. 

THE LIGHTNING II 

The F-35 Lightning II will bring new capabilities to not 

only the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps but also 

serve as a centerpiece for some of the leading international 

air forces. Apart from the US, the F-35 programme 

has eight other partners: UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, 

Australia, Norway, Denmark and Canada. Israel and 

Singapore have come aboard as security cooperative participants. 

The F-35 will be produced in three variants to 

suit the needs of its various users. 

F-35A: The F-35A is the conventional take-off and 

landing (CTOL) variant intended for the US Air Force and 

other air forces. It is the smallest, lightest F-35 version 

and is the only variant equipped with an internal cannon, 

the 25 mm GAU-22/A. The F-35A is expected to match 

the F-16 in manoeuvrability, instantaneous and sustained 

high-g performance, and outperform it in stealth, payload, 

range on internal fuel, avion- 

ics operational effectiveness, supportability 

and survivability. In the 

USAF, the A variant is primarily 

intended to replace the F-16 Fighting 

Falcons, beginning in 2013, and 

replace the A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft 

starting in 2028. 

F-35B: The F-35B is the short 

take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) 

variant. The F-35B is similar in size 

to the F-35A, trading fuel volume 

TRACKING THE PROGRESS OF THE F-35 JSF 

Lockheed Martin-developed, the multinational F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme—built in collaboration 

with Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems—is not just progressing ahead of schedule but inching sure-footedly 

closer to its first production deliveries in 2010. 

November 16, 1996 October 26, 2001 December 8, 2006 December 15, 2006 January 31, 2007 


The F-35 Lightning II 

stealth fighter 

completes first flight. 

East Hartford, Conn. 

Pratt & Whitney’s 

F135 Engine 

completes successful 

afterburner test.


for vertical flight systems. The F-35’s main power plant 

is derived from Pratt & Whitney’s F119 or GE/Rolls-Royce 

team’s F136, with the STOVL variant of the latter incorporating 

a Rolls-Royce Lift Fan module. Instead of lift engines 

or rotating nozzles on the engine fan and exhaust 

like the Pegasus-powered Harrier, the F-35B uses a vectoring 

cruise nozzle in the tail, that is, the rear exhaust turns 

to deflect thrust down, and an innovative shaft-driven Lift 

Fan within the fuselage, located forward of the main engine, 

to maintain balance in vertical flight. This variant 

is intended to replace the later derivatives of the Harrier 

Jump Jet, which was the first operational short take-off, 

vertical landing fighter aircraft. The RAF and the Royal 

Navy will use this variant to replace the Harrier GR7/GR9s. 

The US Marine Corps will use the F-35B to replace both its 

AV-8B Harrier II and F/A-18 Hornet fighters. The F-35B is 

expected to be available beginning in 2012. 

F-35C: The F-35C carrier variant will come equipped 

with a larger, folding wing and larger control surfaces for 

improved low-speed control, and a stronger landing gear 

for the stresses of carrier landings. The larger wing area 

provides decreased landing speed, increased range and 

payload, with twice the range on internal fuel compared 

with the F/A-18C Hornet, achieving much the same goal 

as the heavier F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. The US Navy 

intends to replace its F/A-18A, Band C Hornets with F- 

35Cs. It will also serve as a stealthier 

complement to the Super Hornet. The 

C variant is expected to be available 

beginning in 2012. 

INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION 

There are three levels of international 

participation, generally reflecting the 

financial stakes in the JSF programme, 

the amount of technology transfer and 

sub-contracts open for bid by the concerned 

national companies and, the 

order in which countries can obtain 

production aircraft. The UK is the sole 

Level 1 partner having contributed 

$2.5 billion (Rs 9,947.5 crore) of development 

costs. Level 2 partners are 

Italy and the Netherlands, having con- 

The total production 

figure for the F-35 

already exceeds 3,200 

and may touch 2,035, 

making it one of 

the most numerous 

jet fighters. Further 

international sales 

could create demand 

for hundreds more 

aircraft. 

tributed $1 billion (Rs 3,980 crore) and $800 million (Rs 

3,184 crore), respectively. 

On Level 3, are Canada, $440 million (Rs 1,751 crore); 

Turkey, $175 million (Rs 696 crore); Australia, $144 million 

(Rs 573 crore); Norway, $122 million (Rs 486 crore); 

and Denmark, $110 million (Rs 438 crore). Israel and 

Singapore have joined as Security Cooperative Participants 

(SCP). On September 3, 2007, Israeli Defence Force 

(IDF) Chief of General Staff Lt General Gabi Ashkenzai announced 

Israel’s commitment to purchase a minimum of 

one squadron worth of F-35s, which could render it one 

of the first countries outside the US to receive the aircraft 

as early as 2012. 

F-35 DEVELOPMENT: PROGRESS CHART 

After the first flight in December 2006, the development 

of the F-35 has progressed rapidly. By July 2007, apart 

from the aircraft in flight testing, 11 aircraft were in various 

phases of production. On December 18, 2007 the F- 

35B STOVL version made its debut at Fort Worth, Texas 

amid customers from the US Marine Corps, the UK Royal 

Navy and Royal Air Force and the Italian Air Force and 

Navy. In the meantime, with BAE Systems starting the 

manufacture of the F-35C, carrier variant on October 18, 

2007, at Samlesbury, England all three variants came under 

concurrent production. By end 2007 more than 20 

flights had been logged and on January 

31, the 26th flight of F-35 was flown for 

the first time by a US military pilot. 

On March 13, F-35 achieved another 

milestone when it succeeded in 

first aerial refueling test on its 34th 

test flight. The testing of the F-35 is on 

track for the first production deliveries 

to commence in 2010. 

GEARING INTO PRODUCTION 

With the funding for the first set of 

production model Lightning II already 

approved, parts fabrication for these 

aircraft is under way. The USAF will be 

the first service to receive the F-35A. 

The first of the USAF’s 1,763 aircraft 

will be delivered in 2010. The US Ma- 

June 12, 2007 October 18, 2007 January 31, 2008 February 13, 2008 March 13, 2008 

East Hartford, Conn. 

The last of the 

three-step gearbox 

and propulsion system 

tests completed. 

Samlesbury, England 

BAE Systems starts 

manufacture of all three 

variants of the world’s 

most advanced fighter 

aircraft concurrently. 


The 26th flight of F-35 is 

flown by a military pilot 

for the first time. 

Evendale, Ohio 

The GE Rolls-Royce 

JSF team successfully 

completes its Critical 

Design Review. 


F-35 succeeds in first 

aerial refuelling test 

on its 34th test flight. 


PHOTOGRAPH: WIKIPEDIA 


rine Corps and Navy together are planning to operate 680 

F-35Bs and F-35Cs. The UK plans to place 138 F-35Bs 

into service with the RAF and the Royal Navy. 

With the remaining F-35 participant countries planning 

to acquire another 600 to 700 aircraft, the total production 

figure already exceeds 3,200 and may touch 2,035, 

making the F-35 one of the most numerous jet fighters. In 

addition, further international sales could create demand 

for hundreds more aircraft. Also, amortization of development 

costs being distributed amongst 

such a staggering number of produc- 

tion figures could also push down the 

unit cost to highly affordable levels. 

(Well below $100 million, or Rs 400 

crore, apiece.) 

FOREIGN SALES 

To address the potential sale of JSF to 

air forces and countries which were 

not part of the original development 

agreement, the USAF and the Lockheed 

Martin have launched the JSF 

Delta System Development and Demonstration 

effort (Delta SDD). The 

WEAPONS BAY OF A MOCK-UP OF THE F-35 


purpose of the Delta SDD is to develop a version of the 

JSF that meets US National Disclosure Policy, but remains 

common to the US version, where possible. 

Towards this end, in November 2007 Lockheed Martin 

was awarded additional $134 million (Rs 533 crore) 

modification to its JSF development contract, for the design, 

development, verification and testing of JSF versions 

to address Partner Version Air System requirement. This 

programme adapts to the requirements of potential buyers 

from countries that did not sign 

the partners’ agreement. Develop- 

Is it possible for India to 

join the JSF programme 

now? The answer to that 

question would be an 

unequivocal no, knowing 

the bureaucratic snarls 

endemic to even moving a 

file for such a purpose. 

ment and testing of the JSF Delta 

SDD is expected to complete by October 

2013, with first availability 

of export aircraft to non-partner 

countries. 

OPTIONS FOR INDIA 

What are India’s options vis-à-vis 

the JSF programme? From the US 

point of view and in the context of 

rapidly evolving strategic relationship 

between the two countries, it is 

not a question of whether India can


or cannot join the JSF programme. Reportedly, 

the aircraft has already been 

offered either as a natural corollary 

if India selects Lockheed Martin’s F- 

16 in its drive to acquire 126 Medium 

Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) 

or even outside its purview. 

Initiated as early as 2001, India’s 

MMRCA acquisition programme is yet 

to cross the second Request for Proposal 

(RFP) stage in which six bidders—Lockheed 

Martin (F-16 Fighting 

Falcon) and Boeing (F/A-18E/F Super 

Hornet) of the US, Russian MiG Corporation 

(MiG-35), French Dassault’s 

Rafale, Swedish Saab (JS-39 Gripen) 

and the Eurofighter Typhoon—are 

participating. The RFP itself has been 

subjected to postponements and it is 

still unclear as to when this phase 

would eventually get completed. But, 

even if the decision-making and acquisition 

chain moved on a war-footing 

from this moment on, the Indian 

Air Force (IAF) cannot hope to get 

the first MMRCA before 2014-15. On 

the other hand, if India exercised its 

option of joining the JSF programme 

now, it could perhaps get the first F- 

35 as early as 2013. 

But is it possible for India to take 

such a step? The answer to that question 

would be an unequivocal no, knowing 

the bureaucratic snarls endemic to 

even moving a file for such a purpose. 

Further, India has already joined up 

with Russia to co-develop and co-produce 

a Fifth Generation fighter aircraft 

whose prototype might start flying by 

the end of this year with possible in- 

duction into the service in about the same timeframes as 

mentioned for the other two types. There are other issues 

which India would do well to examine closely vis-à-vis the 

JSF programme. One of these relate to the level of technology 

transfer and access to sensitive software for optimum 

utilisation of the weapons platform. 

At one stage, UK, which is the prime Level 1 partner 

in the JSF programme, became thoroughly frustrated by 

the lack of US commitment to grant access to the technology 

that would allow it to maintain 

and upgrade its F-35s without US 

involvement. Despite a joint declaration 

on May 27, 2006 by the two 

heads of states President George W. 

Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair 

stating: “Both governments agree 

that the UK will have the ability to 

successfully operate, upgrade, employ 

and maintain the Joint Strike 

Fighter such that the UK retains operational 

sovereignty over the air- 

TECHNICAL AND PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS 

TECHNICAL F-35 A (CTOL) F-35 B (STOVL) F-35 C (CV) 

WING, SPAN 10.67 m 10.67 m 

WINGS SPREAD 13.11 

WINGS FOLDED 9.47 

LENGTH OVERALL 15.67 m 15.59 m 15.67 m 

HEIGHT OVERALL 4.57 m 4.57 m 4.72 m 

AREAS 

WINGS, GROSS 42.73 m2 42.73 m2 58.34 m2 

WEIGHT & LOADINGS (ESTIMATED) 

WEIGHT EMPTY 12,020 kg 13,608 kg 13,608 kg 

MAX WEAPON LOAD More than 9,072 kg More than 9,072 kg More than 9,072 kg 

MAX INTERNAL FUEL WEIGHT More than 8,165 kg More than 5,897 kg More than 8,618 kg 

MAX T-O WEIGHT CLASS 27,215 kg 27,215 kg 27,215 kg 

G-LIMITS 9 g 9 g 9 g 

PERFORMANCE (ESTIMATED) 

MAX LEVEL SPEED M1.6 M1.6 M1.6 

COMBAT RADIUS 1,093 km 833 km 1,111 km 

SENSORS 

• AN/APG -81 AESA-radar 

• AN/AAS-37 missile warning system 

• Electro-optical sensors 

ARMAMENT 

• Guns: 1 x GAU-22/A 25 mm cannon, slated to be mounted internally with 180 rounds in the F-35A and 

fitted as an external pod with 220 rounds in the F-35B and F-35C 

• Hard points: Six with a capacity of 6,800 kg 

• Missiles: Internal—Four air-air missiles or two air-air missiles and two air-surface weapons; External—Two 

missiles and four missiles/bombs 

The US Air Force will be 

the first service to receive 

the F-35A. The first of 

the USAF’s 1,763 

aircraft is scheduled 

for delivery in 2010. 

craft”, concerns were still expressed at the lack of technology 

transfer as late as beginning of December 2006. 

Finally, it was only on December 12, 2006, that Lord 

Drayson, Minister for Defence Procurement signed an 

agreement which met the UK’s demands for access to software 

source codes and operational sovereignty. JSF partners 

lower down the rung, such as Australia, have also 

echoed similar apprehensions with regard to the technology 

access and sovereignty issues. India will have to carefully 

consider all these aspects if and 

when it considers the JSF. 

Perhaps at this stage it would be 

prudent for India to pursue its ongoing 

drive to acquire MMRCA and the 

development of the Fifth Generation 

fighter with Russia, with both the 

programmes gathering momentum, 

and weigh the JSF option at a suitable 

future date—possibly in tandem 

with the proposition getting progressively 

more lucrative. SP 


PHOTOGRAPHS ON PG 18, 20: CESSNA Charter 

CIVIL BUSINESS AVIATION 

Services 

Trends in Asia 

18 SP’S AVIATION Issue 4 • 2008


A PROPHESY 

Business aircraft makers can hope 

attitudes will change as India Inc gets 

more comfortable with ‘BizAv’ 

GAIN- 

ING GROUND 

GLOBALLY is that 

the 21st century 

belongs to Asia. 

What it actually 

refers to is the growing economic prosperity 

in the Asian region. With China 

registering double-digit growth in its GDP year after year 

and India close on its heels, the two biggest countries in the 

Asian region are transforming into economic power houses. 

China is soon going to be the second biggest economy in 

the world after the US and India is seen inching towards the 

third spot with predictions that it would overtake Japan in 

due course of time. When one looks at the Asian landmass 

as a whole, stretching from the Arabian Peninsula in the 

west, to Southern Asia and through South-East Asian countries 

on to the Far East including Japan; the overall picture 

appears to be positive and full of promises. The Asian region 

is throwing up more companies than ever before to be 

counted in the global top bracket such as Fortune 500. Similarly, 

the number of high-net worth individuals (HNWIs) 

in the Asian region is increasing exponentially by the day. 

Globalisation of businesses has also meant much greater 

requirement of air travel. While this has generated a spurt 

in the civil aviation business which is 

witnessing a much higher growth rate 

in Asia than the rest of the world, it has 

also given a fillip to the business aviation 

sector to fulfill the travel needs of the 

corporate houses and the HNWIs. If the 

civil airlines business is growing fast, the 

business aviation including air charter 

services are growing even faster. 

How does air charter differ from aviation 

that is scheduled? The answer is: 

in many ways. But from a user’s point 

of view the three key factors are flexibility, 

efficiency and, of course, privacy. 

One might need charter services anytime. 

For example, one could be a corporate 

level travel planner trying to get a 

group of senior executives from Delhi to 

Mumbai safely and with little downtime. 

Or, one might need to shift a seriously 

ill patient from one hospital to another. 

Or, one might be in charge of moving 

BY 

Air Marshal V.K. Bhatia 

Without air charter 

travel one wouldn’t 

have the freedom to 

organise trips which 

are built around 

one’s needs. The only 

dilemma is, should 

one splurge on air 

charter services for 

this reason alone 

when scheduled 

airlines services 

provide a cheaper 

solution? 

a film/TV crew and equipment to a 

shooting locale/covering an important 

happening event. One could just 

be trying to move one’s family from 

say, Kolkata to Bangalore as quickly 

and comfortably after a change in 

assignment requiring relocation. Without air charter travel 

one wouldn’t have the freedom to organise trips which are 

built around one’s needs. The only dilemma is, should one 

splurge on air charter services for this reason alone when 

scheduled airlines services provide a cheaper solution? 

There are many other factors to ponder over. 

Owner of one the biggest business aviation and air charter 

services company, the NetJets and by far the richest 

man in the world Warren Buffet bought his first business jet 

when he was merely a multi-millionaire and immediately 

christened it ‘The Indefensible’, fully aware that the whole 

idea of a corporate airplane with associate costs would 

surely invite the wrath of the shareholders at the annual 

general meeting. The latest Buffet purchase, a Gulfstream, 

has a new name. It is called ‘The Indispensable’. The now 

multi-billionaire believes the use of the business jet played 

a key role in bringing him to the super league of the rich 

and the famous. What might have been seen earlier as a 

luxury toy has now come to be regarded as a vital business 

tool as it saves time and boosts pro- 

ductivity. The security element so cruelly 

highlighted by the terrorist acts of 9/11 

in the US has added another dimension 

in favour of business/private air travel. 

There are a large number of corporate 

houses who would not like to risk their 

high-value executives to the possible 

terrorist acts in the air. The same is applicable 

to other high-value individuals. 

Private jets may have the appearance of 

being affluent but these are being used 

by lots of people. 

CORPORATE AVIATION CATCHES ON 

If the terrorists achieved one thing in the 

wake of the 9/11 it was to tear down the 

barrier that led many industrialists and 

corporations – particularly in the West 

– to resist the strong argument to make 

use of business and corporate aviation 

services. With growing affluence in the 



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East the same trend is 

beginning to be visible in 

the Asian region, too. In 

addition, business aircraft 

manufacturers and charter 

companies are developing more and more solutions to 

suit a broader cross-section of customer base depending 

upon individual needs and affordability factors. From the 

jetliner types of big airplanes for the high and mighty, akin 

to palaces in the skies costing hundreds of millions of dollars, 

to very light jets; from full ownership with all the attendant 

operations and maintenance paraphernalia to fractional 

ownership and, even down to air taxi type of operations 

have made it possible for a large number of people to opt for 

private air travel as opposed to scheduled airlines. 

A decade ago, business aircraft use was constrained 

mostly to North America. Now, with the development of 

fractional ownership packages, lighter, cheaper aircraft 

and the expanding global economy, corporations in other 

parts of the world increasingly are seeking out business 

aircraft services. Demand for business aircraft is growing 

fastest in the Middle East due to a number of factors, including 

infrastructure development, security concerns, rising 

economic power and a burgeoning number of regional 

suppliers. Honeywell Aerospace last month revised its forecast 

for business aircraft sales to 14,000 deliveries through 

2017, an additional 2,000 estimated orders from earlier 

projections. Though US orders accounted for 80 per cent of 

sales 10 years ago, 50 per cent of the deliveries presently 

are to buyers in other countries. According to the company 

officials, demand in Asia is growing the fastest, with five 

years of consecutive growth rates of 50 per cent. 

According to Ammar Balkar, President and CEO of the 

Middle East Business Association the private aircraft market’s 

growth can be attributed to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 


“The demand for business jets 

went up by 40 per cent worldwide, 

mainly due to security reasons.” 

—Ammar Balkar, 

President & CEO, 

Middle East 

Business Association 

“The demand for business jets went up by 40 per cent 

worldwide, mainly due to security reasons,” he says. Since 

then, the Middle East region has recorded major growth, 

with six GCC states accounting for 80 per cent of the total 

regional business aviation activity. They are Saudi Arabia, 

the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait 

and Qatar. “Time is money at the end of the day,” Balkar 

says. “Jets offer privacy and confidentiality, quick access 

in and out of airports via special terminals, and flexibility. 

They allow you to choose your itinerary, while providing 

catering and a high quality of service.” For Shane O’Hara, 

President and CEO of Abu Dhabi-based chartered flights 

provider Royal Jet, the Middle East’s booming tourist and 

business industries, coupled with the growing MICE (Meetings, 

Incentives, Conferences and Exhibition) market has 

led to increased demand in recent years. 

With more chartered flights providers entering the market, 

competition to provide affordable rates has increased 

in recent years. As a result, demand for business aircraft 

providers will continue to rise, according to Balkar. He adds


“I can fly directly from smaller cities 

in India to any place in Europe, 

saving a day by not having to 

transit through Mumbai or Delhi.” 

—Gautam Singhania, 

Chairman & Managing Director, 

Raymond Group 

that the region’s industry is expected to expand by 15 per 

cent year-on-year, generating some $1 billion by 2010. 

JET ASIA’S GROWTH 

In the Far East, a somewhat similar 

story is being repeated in terms of 

growing demand for business aircraft. 

As a case in point, Jet Asia of Macau 

is expanding its charter fleet this year 

with the addition of seven new aircraft 

to reflect the buoyant trend the 

private jet sector is experiencing in 

Asia. These include two new Hawker 

Beechcraft 900XPs and four Hawker 

750s as also a Bombardier Challenger 

605. Tourism (primarily casino activity) 

attracts millions of visitors from 

China and Hong Kong to Macau each 

year. “Undoubtedly, this has become a 

key driver for Jet Asia’s growth,” con- 

Earlier, corporate 

aircraft were used 

by large business 

houses like Tatas, 

Birlas and Reliance. 

The change now, though 

slow in the coming, is 

that small and medium 

sized companies are 

joining the club. 

cedes the company’s CEO, 

Chuck Woods. 

In India, there are mixed 

reactions to the ownership 

issues of business aircraft. 

Earlier, corporate aircraft 

were used by large business 

houses like Tatas, Birlas and 

Reliance, who operated the 

airplanes and helicopters 

largely to ferry the brass 

to remote sites where the 

factories were located. The 

change now, though slow 

in the coming, is that small 

and medium sized companies 

are joining the club. 

The change is partly a result 

of strong financial gains and 

partly a requirement made 

necessary by geographical 

reasons, say industry 

sources. Citing an example, 

Gautam Singhania of the 

Raymond Group says, his 

company has joint ventures 

in several parts of the world 

and connections offered by 

commercial airlines are often 

not convenient. “I can 

fly directly from smaller cities 

in India to any place in Europe, saving a day by not 

having to transit through Mumbai or Delhi,” he adds. 

At the top end, some corporates like Kingfisher and 

Reliance are going for large business aircraft that are actually 

commercial airliners configured for business use. 

The two aircraft in this segment, both costing around $50 

million to $60 million (Rs 200 crore to Rs 240 crore; base 

price) are the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) and the Airbus 

Corporate Jet (ACJ). Four of these were sold in India in 

the past one year. Kingfisher and Reliance opted for the 

ACJs while the government of India is taking delivery of 

two BBJs to be used by the Prime Minister and top guns in 

the Defence Ministry. The lavishly configured planes can 

fly anywhere in the world with one re- 

fueling stop, have the latest avionics 

and safety measures. There is a great 

possibility of more such aircraft coming 

into India. 

All in all, there is an upswing in 

the business and charter air services 

in India and soon those still hesitant 

and ‘sitting on the fence’ despite their 

wealth, as also companies such as 

the IT corporates are also likely to 

be lured into enjoying the benefits of 

business/chartered air services. In the 

meantime, business aircraft manufacturers 

can hope attitudes will change 

as India Inc gets more comfortable 

with ‘BizAv’. SP 

Issue 4 • 2008 SP’S AVIATION 21 

PHOTOGRAPH: DASSAULT FALCON


Operator Base Fleet Size Type of Aircraft 

EGYPT 

Air Memphis Cairo 6 Jet Airliner 

Smart Aviation Cairo 6 Mid Jet 

HONG KONG 

Priester Aviation, LLC Hong Kong 29 Heavy Jet 

Mid Jet 

Light Jet 

INDIA 

Club One Air Mumbai, Delhi 7 Executive Jet 

Helicopter 

Deccan Aviation Bangalore, Delhi, 12 Turboprop 

Mumbai, Ranchi Helicopter 

Span Air Delhi 4 Mid Jet 

Turbo Prop 

Helicopter 

Taneja Aerospace & Aviation Bangalore, Chennai, 6 Piston -Multi 

Calcutta, Delhi, 

Mumbai, Madurai 

ISRAEL 

Chief Air Ltd. Tel Aviv 23 Turbo Prop 

Piston-Single 

Piston-Multi 

Heavy Jet 

Mid Jet 

Light Jet 

Helicopter 

JAPAN 

Aero Asahi Corp. Tokyo 84 Light Jet 

Helicopter 

MACAU 

Hong Kong Express Airways Hong Kong 4 Mid Jet 

MALAYSIA 

Hornbill Skyways Sarawak 13 Mid Jet 

Helicopter 

MHS Aviation Kuala Lumpur 24 Turbo Prop 

Helicopter 

Transmile Air Services Subang 20 Jet Airliner 

Turbo Prop 

PAKISTAN 

Aircraft Sales & Services Karachi 6 Turbo Prop Airliner 

Turbo Prop 

Piston- Multi 

SAUDI ARABIA 

National Air Service/Netjets Jeddah 18 Heavy Jet 

Mid Jet 

THAILAND 

Thai Flying Service Bangkok 7 Turbo Prop 

Piston-multi 

Helicopter 

UAE 

DC Aviation Gmbh Dubai 21 VIP Airliner 

Heavy Jet 

Mid Jet 

Light Jet 

Royal Jet Abu Dhabi 12 VIP Airliner 

Heavy Jet 

Mid Jet 

Light Jet 

22 SP’S AVIATION Issue 4 • 2008

eck out for next launch by SP’s. . . . 

We have news for you! 

www.spguidepublications.com


MILITARY INDUSTRY 

AFriend In Deed 

In the last 15 years, Israel has unseated the Russians to become 

the biggest arms supplier to India. How did the country, 

accorded a mere token recognition by India only in the 

early 1990s, become its major arms supplier? 

By Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand 

Established by India’s first Prime Minister 

Jawaharlal Nehru, Indo-Israel relations 

however were kept low key due to the Arab 

equation. Israel made periodic efforts to 

upgrade the relationship but were unsuccessfully. 

Successive Indian governments, 

however, extended due courtesies where required 

and tried to acquire Israeli assistance in matters of 

defence. 

Indo-Israel relations remained almost non-existent till 

the early 1990s when the changed geo-strategic environment 

compelled India to establish full diplomatic ties with 

Israel in 1992. Key factors that effected this turn around 

were the Gulf War which eroded the unity of the Arab world, 

end of the Cold War, Pakistan’s propaganda against India 

in the West Asian and North African states in an effort to 

internationalise the Kashmir issue, lack of support from the 

Arab countries during the time of crisis and their support 

to Pakistan at the Organisation of Islamic Conference meetings. 

There was also a growing awareness of Israel’s technological 

success, especially in the defence industry. After 

normalisation of relations, the two countries continued to 

explore as many areas as possible for mutual co-operation 

which included military in a big way. 

ISRAEL’S MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX 

Hemmed in by a hostile environment, Israel has strived to 

develop its Military Industrial Complex due to compulsions 

of security threats. It also helped in achieving self-reliance, 

carry out import substitution and gradually emerge the 

fourth largest exporter of defence equipment after the US, 

Russia and France. Israel has acquired expertise in small 

arms, ammunition, communications, force multipliers, remotely 

piloted vehicles, electronic warfare and related systems, 

night vision devices; naval equipment ranging from 

command and control systems, missiles and anti-missile 

systems to a variety of patrol boats. 

Israeli hi-tech companies are known to be among the 

world leaders in radar, avionics and command and control 


systems, besides acquiring special expertise in the upgradation 

of weapons platforms, especially with respect to optronics 

and avionics. One major advantage is that their systems 

are battle proven and work well in desert environment. 

IAF & THE ISRAELI AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES 

Till the early 1990s, the Indian armed forces traditionally 

purchased arms from UK, France and the erstwhile USSR. 

The combat fleet of aircraft, weapons, SAMs and air defence 

radar in the Indian Air Force (IAF) were mainly sourced from 

USSR/Russians. Some limited forays were made to diversify 

through purchases of the Jaguar in late 1970s, Mirage 2000 

in the mid-1980s and some state-of-the-art systems from 

other western sources, mainly the French. But in the last 15 

years the picture has undergone a sea change with Israel 

unseating the Russians to become the biggest arms supplier 

to India. How did the country, accorded a mere token recognition 

by India only in the early 1990s, become its major 

arms supplier? 

Military thinkers in India have always admired the Israeli 

military for their professionalism and ability to fight 

against heavy odds, and win. But in the late 1980s, their 

equipment invited greater attention. It is no secret that in 

the 1950s and 1960s, the US and France supplied the latest 

equipment to Israel at very preferential terms. What, however, 

is not common knowledge is the efforts put in by the 

Israelis to establish indigenous research and industry to develop 

systems most suitable for the kind of war it’s waging 

with its neighbours. 

Today, some say wars are fought so that Israel’s strong 

lobby of Military Industrial Complex can sell battle proven 

military equipment to prospective buyers at a handsome 

premium. Israel has a major advantage in this respect 

since their equipment is designed and developed to meet 

defence needs and undergoes rigorous tests in the ongoing 

conflict. Moreover, the equipment is most suitable to 

the environment/climate prevailing in the Indian military’s 

area of operations. 

The defence cooperation between Israel and the Indian


Air Force (IAF) ranges from avionics, 

SAM systems, Airborne Warning and 

Control Systems (AWACS), UAVs, refueling 

systems and surveillance systems, 

among others. 

AWACS: An essential element 

of Network-Centric Warfare, apart 

from providing all-weather airborne 

early warning, AWACS was high on 

the IAF’s wish list. India’s Defence 

Research and Development Organisation 

(DRDO) has been trying to develop 

AWACS for quite some time but 

has not made much headway due to 

complexities of the system, periodic 

sanctions resulting in denial of key 

technologies and untimely crash of 

the Avro aircraft on which the system 

was being developed. The crash lead 

to loss of critical data and trained key 

personnel. DRDO was keen to collaborate 

with another country and Israel 

Aerospace Industries (IAI) came forward 

with the offer of selling three 

Phalcon systems to India for over $1 

billion (Rs 3,995 crore). The systems 

were to be fitted on Russian IL-76 

aircraft which are already in service 

in India. 

The deal came under sanctions 

when India carried out nuclear tests 

in 1998 as US technology was being 

used in Phalcon. The sanctions were 

lifted by the US in September 2001 

and the programme is on course with 

deliveries likely to be completed by 

2010. Industry sources indicate that 

the Phalcons will be equipped with 

L-band active phased array radar 

mounted on a stationary radome developed 

by Raytheon Airborne Systems, 

besides eight multi-function 

state-of-the-art operator consoles 

and two electronic counter measure/electronic 

intelligence operator 

posts. There is reportedly a choice 

to exercise the option of acquiring 

two additional Phalcons if required. 

Ground infrastructure and training of personnel is being coordinated 

simultaneously. At present, China and Pakistan do 

not have such a system. China has started a programme for 

indigenous development after the deal with the Israel fell 

through due to US pressure. Pakistan is trying to get a SAAB 

aircraft with Erieye radar from Sweden. 

Aerostat Radars: Aerostat-mounted air search radar 

increases the search horizon due to its elevation and can 

be used effectively to detect and track hostile low-flying aircraft, 

helicopters, spy drones and missiles. Data generated 

by the aerostat radar is transmitted to a central air defence 

control centre to form a comprehensive air picture. IAF has 

already inducted two EL/M-2083 Aerostat radars from Is- 

C M Y CM MY CY CMY K 

rael in 2004-2005 and deployed them in Kutch and Punjab. 

It is understood that a follow up order of four similar radars 

has been placed on Israel. Total requirement of the IAF is 13 

radars. Coupled with the Phalcon, it will provide the IAF a 

superior air surveillance and warning capability 

Medium Range SAM: According to media reports, India 

and Israel have inked a joint venture to develop and coproduce 

a new generation of medium range surface-to-air 

missiles (MR-SAM) for the security of India’s strategic assets 

from the growing threat posed by aerial attacks and the 

proliferation of missiles in the region. Cleared by the Cabinet 

Committee on Security in mid-2007, the cost of the proposal 

is approximately $ 2.5 billion (Rs 10,000 crore) which 



Phalcon IL-76 TD deal moves forward 

As India prepares to receive the first of its AWACS-Phalcon, 

the IAF has cleared proposals to acquire two more 

such platforms as a follow up order. The proposal will 

have to be cleared by the MoD. IAF expects the deliveries 

by 2012. AWACS will bolster India’s air-surveillance capability 

manifold, equipping it with an eye-in-the–air to detect enemy 

planes and missiles while in distant flight. An IAI official said the 

first Phalcon AWACS, powered by 4PS-90A-76 engines, is currently 

being fitted out with mission sensors and management 

suites and will be ready to roll out by end-May for flight certification. 

He added that the air platforms have already undergone 

maiden flight tests in November last year which were repeated 

in January and February this year. India was to receive the first 

aircraft in December 2007 but the transfer was delayed due to 

time over-runs in customising the airframes by Uzbekistan’s 

Tashkent Aircraft Production Organisation. SP 

includes development as well as manufacture of MR-SAM to 

replace the ageing SA-3 Pechora (of Russian origin with a 

range of 25 km and ceiling of 18 km). The range of the MR- 

SAM is reported to be about 70 km with 360 degree coverage 

and the ability to engage multiple targets simultaneously. 

DRDO will be the ‘prime developer’ for the project, which 

will have a Rs 2,300 crore indigenous component, while key 

partner IAI will provide most of the technology, just as Russia 

did for the BrahMos by offering its SS-N-26 Oniks missile. 

The joint venture is necessitated due the failure/delay 

of indigenous Akash SAM project which was to replace the 

ageing Pechora Squadrons few years ago. (However, the IAF 

has now accepted to place orders for a few squadrons of 

Akash.) The development phase is likely to stretch across 

four years and will be based on the naval version Barak-8 

also called Barak Next Generation. 

Spyder SAM system: Trishul SAM system, being developed 

by the DRDO to replace SAM- 8 of the IAF and the Indian 

Army, was not successful and had to be foreclosed. Subsequently, 

the IAF short listed the Spyder developed by Rafael 

Armament Development Authority, the MBT Missile Division 

and Elta Radar Division of IAI. Spyder is a quick-reaction, 

low-level surface-to-air missile system designed to effectively 

defend against attacks by aircraft, helicopters, UAVs and precision-guided 

munitions. The intercept envelope of the Spyder 

system covers from less than 1 km to 15 km against targets 

flying at altitudes between 20 m and 9,000 m. Israeli armament 

major Rafael has also announced that the company has 

joined hands with Tata power to offer maintenance work of 

Air Defense Systems. IAF proposes to acquire 18 systems for 

$239 million (Rs 1,800 crore). 

Heron UAV: The Heron Medium Altitude Long Endurance 

(MALE) UAV system has been developed by IAI/Malat to carry 

out strategic reconnaissance and surveillance. In service with 

the IAF as well as the Indian Army and Navy, the Heron is 

capable of flying for up to 40 hours at a time at altitudes exceeding 

30,000 ft. It has a maximum range of about 1,000 

km in autonomous flight and can carry a multiple of payloads 

for a variety of missions. However, the ground controller can 

remain in contact only up to about 200 km and a maximum 

of 320 km in case of an airborne relay aircraft. 

Electronic Warfare: It is also reported that Elisra Group 


has set up a joint venture with DRDO to develop advanced 

electronic warfare (EW) systems for their air forces’ fighter 

aircraft by 2009. 

Multi-Mode Radar: HAL started joint development of 

MMR with Elta Systems Ltd way back in 1991, but owing to 

time and cost overruns, the project was completed only in 

2004 at a cost of Rs 105 crore. The process to start limited 

series production and series production has started and 

close monitoring is being done to take the project to its logical 

end. The technology of airborne radars is very complex 

and MMR development is being carried out for the first time 

in the country. 

Aircraft upgrade: Except for the upgrade of Mi-35 to 

render it night capable that was conceptualised by one of 

the IAI companies, Israeli companies have largely been 

involved in providing various equipment required to upgrade 

aircraft. For Mi-35, the design and development of 

the upgrade was done by the Israeli company but the fleet 

modification was done by the IAF. The project faced delays 

because of multifarious reasons but the ultimate product 

has been satisfying. Israeli avionics products used in the 

IAF’s aircraft upgrades range from airborne radar to helmet 

mounted sights, different types of displays and processors, 

EW systems and laser pods. 

Refuelling Systems: Israel has supplied air-to-air refueling 

pod on the IL-78 aircraft. Three pods comprising the 

probe and drogue system can be fitted on each aircraft. 

STRATEGIC SYSTEMS 

Green Pine Early Warning Fire Control & Missile Guidance 

Radar: Elta developed the Green Pine Early Warning 

Fire Control and Missile Guidance radar for the Arrow 

system. The radar EL/M-2090 includes the trailer mounted 

antenna array, the power generator, a cooling system and a 

control centre. Green Pine is an electronically scanned, solid 

state, phased array radar operating at L-band in the range 

500MHz to 1,000MHz. According to media reports, India 

has acquired two Elta Green Pine for employment with the 

country’s air defence system against ballistic missiles. 

TecSAR: Israel’s first radar imaging satellite, TecSAR 

was launched into the orbit in January this year by an Indian 

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and will generate synthetic 

aperture radar imagery. IAI has built the 300 kg satellite 

with the capability to detect movement carried out under 

the cover of darkness or heavy clouds. It symbolises the true 

spirit of Indo-Israeli cooperation. 

CONCLUSION 

There are tremendous constraints on upgrading and modernising 

the armed forces. Although the “self-sufficiency” 

mantra in core technologies, weapon systems and weapon 

platforms is very attractive, there is a vast need for inputs, 

import of components and collaboration. Moreover, the cost 

of doing ab initio research and development can be crippling 

in economic terms, apart from long gestation periods 

of development cycles. Besides being a good source of high 

technology, Israel can address some specific requirements 

of the IAF. However, any meaningful relationship between 

India and Israel is only possible if it covers joint research, 

joint production and technology transfer. SP 

With inputs from Air Marshal (Retd) P.K. Mehra

CIVIL POLICY 

On A Slippery 

Slope 

If oil prices do not climb down and government policies on 

ATF pricing maintain status quo, the air traveler can expect 

a wet blanket over leisure and business travel. But more 

significantly, the coming months may prove to be testing times 

for private airlines and survival could well become an issue. 

Group Captain A.K. Sachdev from Bangalore elaborates. 


CIVIL POLICY 

A 

historic aviation event occurred last month. 

Sasol Limited, the world’s leading producer of 

synthetic fuels from coal and natural gas, announced 

that it had become the first company 

worldwide to receive international approval 

for 100 per cent synthetic jet fuel produced by 

its proprietary coal-to-liquids process. 

This was the first time ever that such a fuel had been 

approved for commercial aviation use. Having met the performance 

standards that aviation quality control demands, 

the synthetic fuel demonstrated a cleaner burn quality than 

Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF). However, overshadowed by a 

pall of gloom over the closure of several airlines worldwide, 

the significant event went largely unnoticed. 

In the last few weeks, ATA Airlines, Aloha Airlines, Skybus 

and charter carrier Champion Air in the US have shut 

down while Delta Airlines debated a merger, possibly with 

Northwest Airline. In Europe, Alitalia struggled to survive, 

teetering on the edge of collapse or a bale out. Closer home, 

Oasis Airline, operating out of Hong Kong since October 

2006, ceased operations last month, stranding thousands 

of passengers in Hong Kong, Britain and Canada. Although 

there were other causes for these 

airlines to fold up, the factor that 

tilted the balance was the rising 

cost of aviation fuel. 

With the falling dollar and 

speculation in oil becoming attractive, 

all indicators point towards 

an oil price well above 

the $100 (Rs 3,988) mark in the 

coming months. Reports in the 

US media would have the world 

believe that the upward trend in 

oil prices is fuelled (pun intended) 

by the increased demand from 

India and China. Whether that 

is true or not does not change 

the fact that the woes of airlines 

across the world can be expected 

to keep them working feverishly 

to combat the rising fuel prices. 

Government policies across the 

globe are differentially inclined 

towards airlines in their respective domains. In India, the 

airlines are one of the worst affected. This article looks at 

the threat to the Indian airline industry on account of current 

fuel pricing policies. 

UNWIELDY GOVERNMENT POLICIES 

As is the case world over, the Indian airline industry, a huge 

fuel guzzler, is under extreme pressure at the moment. Fuel 

costs are the largest single head under which airlines list 

their expenditure. With fuel accounting for around 42 per 

cent of the operating costs, surcharge on this component 

is at their highest in the history of Indian aviation. Airlines, 

especially the Low Cost Carriers, survive by striving to fill up 

seats and manage fuel costs. Every time the fuel prices rise, 

it hits them where it hurts most. If they pass on the burden 

to passengers, occupancy starts decreasing - directly affecting 

profitability. If they don’t, they are assured of losses any 


Sasol Limited has received 

international approval for 

100 per cent synthetic jet fuel 

produced by its proprietary 

coal-to-liquids process. 

However, overshadowed 

by a pall of gloom over the 

closure of several airlines 

worldwide, the significant 

event went largely unnoticed. 

way. It is a no-win situation. To add to their woes, the fuel 

price pressure is manifest in the form of a credit crisis as 

the airlines see their creditworthiness eroding in the face of 

shrinking revenues, rising fuel dues and lowered customer 

base on account of high fuel surcharge. 

Government policies do not proffer solace of any kind. 

After domestic airlines increased fuel surcharge in December 

2007, oil prices had fallen marginally. Though oil companies 

reduced ATF prices in January and February, there 

was no relief for passengers as airlines did not reduce the 

surcharge. Since then, oil prices have increased significantly 

especially in the past month. The price increase is highest 

at India’s busiest airport, Mumbai where the new price 

for ATF is over Rs 55,000 per kilolitre. Minister for Civil 

Aviation Praful Patel has requested state governments to 

decrease sales tax on aviation fuel. Airlines, too, have been 

lobbying for a cut in taxes, as aviation fuel in India now 

costs about 70 per cent more than in Singapore or Dubai. 

However, the Government seems content to let this state 

of affairs continue as ATF is one of the few products that 

PSU oil companies make profits on. They lose money on the 

bulk of other petroleum products like petrol, diesel, kerosene 

and LPG. The price at which 

Indian refineries buy crude oil 

has touched $117 (Rs 4,606) in 

April. Simultaneously, inflation is 

a big cause for worry, especially 

since government policies do not 

permit passing on of the surge 

in global crude prices. If crude 

price increase had been fully 

passed on to the consumer, the 

rise in domestic prices of petroleum 

products would have raised 

the inflation even higher than the 

alarming figures it touched during 

April. However, this artificial 

manipulation of inflation is not 

the ideal solution for fuel policies. 

It is perhaps worth considering 

that the gap be closed between 

the true market price for 

non-aviation fuels and that being 

actually charged by the stateowned 

oil marketing companies which virtually run the Indian 

market. 

The Government plans to bear a major portion of their 

losses on this count through means which have significant 

fiscal impact. For purely political reasons, the Government 

cannot afford to raise fuel prices to match last year’s oil 

price surge. At the same time, central and state taxes and 

duties on petrol and diesel together contribute to around 25 

per cent of consumer prices. Thus, the fiscal position of the 

economy is being eroded by direct and indirect subsidies, 

although there is a large revenue collection through taxes. A 

part of the losses are countered by oil bonds which is an artificial 

prop with long term deleterious results. The process 

is essentially postponing the inevitable. On the other hand, 

we continue to have an artificially propped up high price of 

ATF which is the major cause for losses of the airlines, to the 

tune of Rs 2,000 crore in the last year.

CIVIL POLICY 

THE STING OF SALES TAX 

The second problem is that sales tax on aviation fuel is a 

state subject and each government has the prerogative to 

levy a sales tax as it deems fit resulting in two consequences. 

Firstly, in most states, the sales tax rate is very high - up to 

30 per cent and secondly, there is no uniformity of the rate 

applied across the country. The Minister for Civil Aviation 

had been lobbying pre-budget to restore some order in the 

oil price situation. 

However, the budget proposals put forth by the Finance 

Minister brought no cheer in this respect. Since then, the 

minister has been trying to work on these two alternatives. 

Firstly, the Centre could accept a ‘declared goods’ status for 

aviation fuel thus bringing it under a uniform 4 per cent tax 

regime all across the country or the states could be persuaded 

to apply the standard rate of VAT of 12.5 per cent to aviation 

fuel. The minister had appealed to all chief ministers to 

reduce the rate of sales tax on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) 

in their respective budgets for 2008-09. His rationale was 

that the impact of a reduced sales tax on ATF for the state 

exchequer would not be too much since the contribution to 

the overall sales tax collection is negligible. 

So far, only Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have heeded his 

plea and reduced tax to 4 per cent. Maharashtra did so, too, 

but not for Mumbai and Pune from where the major proportion 

of aviation fuel is uplifted. Sitting right under the minister’s 

nose, the Delhi Government is industriously assessing 

the likely increase in off-take resulting from a decrease in 

sales tax on ATF at Delhi airport, so that it can take a decision 

on reduction in the tax. 

MITIGATING THE PAIN 

That brings us to the measures being adopted by airlines to 

counter rising fuel costs. Firstly, every airline has allotted 

responsibility of fuel conservation to one of its departments. 

In most cases, it is the Performance Engineering Department 

which stipulates and monitors the implementation of 

various initiatives designed to reduce fuel consumption. One 

of these methods is tankering: the process of carrying extra 

fuel onboard from an airport if fuel there is cheaper than 

at the next destination. Of course, in the process, extra fuel 

is burnt wastefully to fly the additional weight of fuel lifted. 

This is the attendant penalty. 

To partly counter the problem of taxing 

the passenger, some airlines have decided 

not to pass on the increase uniformly to 

all passengers. The increase in surcharge 

for passengers travelling short distances, 

mostly on ATRs and other smaller aircraft, 

will be between Rs 100 and Rs 150 while 

medium- and long-haul passengers will fork 

out Rs 350 to Rs 400 more. Passenger lobby 

groups and lessening interest in air travel on 

short sectors due to the comparative attraction 

of rail fares is the cause for this differential 

surcharge policy. Thus, the surcharge 

is now around Rs 1,650 to Rs 1,800 for short 

journeys and Rs 2,000 for long distances, in 

addition to the congestion surcharge of Rs 

150 and PSF of Rs 225. 

Yet another rather risky counter to the 

fuel price problem is fuel price hedging. In the US, on account 

of the volatility of fuel prices, some airlines hedge their fuel 

costs to a certain extent. Southwest is to pay only $49 (Rs 

1,955) per barrel for 65 per cent of its fuel in the ongoing 

year despite an international price that stands at twice that 

HOME INITIATIVE: THE 

KINGFISHER-DECCAN 

COMBINE HAS ONE OF THE 

WORLD’S LARGEST ATR 

FLEETS AND IS PLANNING 

FURTHER EXPANSION 

TO EXPLOIT ITS FUEL 

EFFICIENT OPERATIONS 

Government 

policies do not 

proffer solace of 

any kind. After 

domestic airlines 

increased fuel 

surcharge in 

December 2007, 

oil prices had 

fallen marginally. 

figure. Obviously, the arrangement 

has turned out to be a great thing 

for Southwest although other airlines 

scoffed at the idea when it had entered 

into that deal in 2000. With the 

oil PSUs dominating an oligarchic 

aviation fuel market, fuel price hedging 

was not an option in India until 

domestic airlines were permitted to do so in July 2007. Fuel 

hedging serves as a strategy to cushion the impact of rising 

fuel prices and allows minimisation of the risk in fuel price 

rise due to any reason. It also helps to spread the fuel cost 

more evenly over a longer period of time. However, it is a 

double-edged sword. 

Another option that airlines find worth considering is an 

increase in their turbo-prop fleet. The Kingfisher-Deccan 

combine has one of the largest ATR fleets in the world already 

and is planning to add to it to exploit its fuel efficient 

operations. Kingfisher has ordered more than 10 ATRs. Jet 

Airways has also placed an order for 13 ATRs. In addition to 

fuel saving, the ATR option also helps airlines to comply with 

DGCA’s route disbursal guidelines which stipulate that an 

airline operate services to unprofitable routes like airports in 

the North East and other non-metro feeder 

routes. ATRs also hold the added attraction 

of a lowered sales tax on such turbo props to 

4 per cent to encourage deployment of fuelefficient 

aircraft as well as enable airlines to 

provide connectivity to smaller towns. 

However, all these desperate measures 

being considered and practiced by airlines 

are unlikely to enhance profitability in a 

hurry. If oil prices do not climb down and 

government policies on ATF pricing maintain 

status quo, the air traveler can expect 

a wet blanket over his leisure and business 

travel. But more significantly for the aviation 

industry, the coming months may prove to 

be testing times for private airlines’ risk and 

crisis management plans and survival could 

well become an issue. SP 


MILITARY UPGRADES 

Injecting 

NEW LIFE 

Faced with obsolescence, the IAF’s transport and 

helicopter fleet needs to undergo upgrade in systems, 

avionics, engines and life extension. The dilemma, of 

course, is to identify an agency to carry out the upgrade. 

By Air Marshal (Retd) P.K. Mehra 

Preceding two editions of SP’s Aviation focused on upgrades 

carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF) to its fighter aircraft. 

The chapters elaborated on the upgrade programmes 

conducted by India in the past, planning and considerations 

for upgrade, and, finally, fighter upgrade programmes. In 

the current issue, the focus is on transport and helicopters 

upgrade. But first, a synopsis of all that has been covered. 

Past aircraft upgrade programmes: In the past, HAL, along 

with the IAF, has undertaken some very major modifications 

driven by urgent need. Installation of the Jet Pack on C-119 

Packet transport aircraft, fitment of Orpheus engine in HJT-16 

in place of the Viper engine were some of the major upgrades 

involving structural rework on the aircraft. Development of 

Ajeet aircraft from the original Folland Gnat and designing a 

two seat version can arguably be considered somewhere between 

new design and an upgrade. 

Planning for upgrade: The Operations branch at the Air HQ 

is all the time evaluating the capability of the fleet vis-à-vis the 

perceived threat and the likely future tasks. There are a number 

of ways by which the user is able to identify the need to upgrade 

but foremost among them is the effectiveness of the fleet 

to meet the tasks as laid down in the War Plans. Upgrade of 

the air superiority and multi-role aircraft needs to be planned 

keeping in mind the extended role and the strategic reach required 

for future tasks. 

Considerations for aircraft upgrade: Several key points need 

to be considered before deciding on fleet upgrade: 

• What is the technological status of the aircraft? 

• Current Status of the fleet, including the balance life of 

the aircraft. 

• Is the aircraft an indigenous manufacture? 

• The extent of modernisation will depend upon, among 


other factors, the age of the fleet and its technological 

status as compared to the state-of-art. 

• Are there any other friendly foreign countries who 

would like to join in the development programme? 

• Any other upgrade programmes going on so that commonality 

of systems and equipment need to be factored 

in? 

• Decision to undertake upgradation indigenously will 

depend upon available in-house expertise. 

• In case the upgrade involves changes in the airframe 

structure and extension of life of aircraft then availability 

of the design data is essential. 

• Integration of major systems like multi-mode radar 

and new weapon systems can be achieved only with 

help from the OEMs of both aircraft, radar and weapon 

system. 

• Availability of a simulator and the possibility of its upgrade 

or build a new one to make it suitable for the 

upgraded aircraft. 

• Obsolescence always leads to lower MTBF and higher 

MTTR. The target MTBF and MTTR should be determined 

and included in the contract after an analysis 

of the equipment being installed and its role in operational 

scenario. 

Fighter upgrade programmes: Upgrades to the following 

fighter fleets of the IAF are either planned or in process: 

MiG-27 upgrade: Upgrade of the MiG-27 systems was on 

the cards even at the time of manufacture and induction. The 

MiG-27 upgrade has been undertaken by HAL Design Bureau 

at Ozar along with extensive help from DRDO labs like DARE. 

The avionics have been integrated through a Mil Bus architecture 

using the Core Avionics Computer cum Display processors 

and other interfaces developed by DARE at ADE Bangalore. 

The capabilities of the aircraft have been enhanced by the in-



TRANSPORT AND HELICOPTERS UPGRADE 

Besides some occasional tinkering with the HS- 

748 aircraft, the IAF has rarely upgraded its 

transport fleet. Mi-35 was upgraded by the IAF 

to make it night capable and fleet modification 

was done thereafter. The present transport 

and helicopter fleet is also facing obsolescence 

and needs to undergo upgrade in systems, avionics, engines 

and life extension. The dilemma, of course, is to identify an 

agency to carry out the upgrade. The following fleets are 

under consideration: 

• IL-76 strategic airlifter 

• An-32 medium-lift aircraft 

• Mi-17 versions 

IL-76 MD STRATEGIC AIRLIFTER UPGRADE 

The IL-76 has been in service for over two decades and is 

fitted with equipment which is verging on obsolescence. 

With major improvements having been brought in by the 

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in precision 

air navigation to regulate and make civil aviation safer, the 

instrumentation of the IL-76 falls far short of the requirements. 

Some piecemeal modifications have been done in 

the past but at present the fleet requires major upgrade in 

avionics, instruments, navigation system, landing aids, communication 

systems and also the engine D-30 KP-II. 

Life extension of the IL-76 is also required to make the 

MORE MUSCLE FOR WORKHORSE: 

AN-32, THE IAF’S WORKHORSE FOR OVER TWO DECADES, 

NOW NEEDS TO BE UPGRADED AT VARIOUS LEVELS 

upgrade cost effective. There is a need to change the engines 

in order to improve the hot and high performance and also 

make this aircraft comply with International civil aviation 

regulations for noise and fuel efficiency. Operational equipment 

like Station Keeping Equipment, NVGs for night operations 

and other self protection devices should also be considered 

to make the operations in hostile environment safe. 

There is an urgent need to improve the ground handling 

and loading of aircraft so as to improve productivity. Mandatory 

use of pallets and automation will help in improving 

efficiency to a large extent. 

AN-32 UPGRADE 

An-32 has been the IAF’s workhorse for over two decades. 

This aircraft was specially modified by the Russians to meet 

high-altitude operations by installing higher power engines. 

The bigger propellers fitted on the more powerful engines 

caused an increase in noise and vibrations. The systems installed 

on the aircraft are also vintage and in urgent need 

for replacement but unless the vibrations in the aircraft are 

reduced the new sophisticated equipment will not give optimum 

performance. Re-engining and extension of life have 

to be undertaken simultaneously during the upgrade to get 

value for money. The aircraft serviceability and availability 

can be improved only by upgrading the Avionics Systems, 

Communication Systems, weather radar, landing aids and 

compliance with the latest ICAO regulations. 



corporation of modern avionics systems consisting primarily 

of two Multi-Function Displays (MFDs), Mission and Display 

Processor (MDP), Ring Laser Gyros (RLG INS), combined GPS/ 

GLONASS navigation, HUD with UFCP, Digital Map Generator 

(DMG), jam-resistant Secured Communication, Stand-by UHF 

communication, Data link and a comprehensive Electronic 

Warfare (EW) Suite. A mission planning and retrieval facility, 

VTR and HUD Camera has also been fitted. 

Jaguar upgrade: Development of DARIN I system for Jaguar 

was done by a team from the IAF, Hindustan Aeronautics 

Limited (HAL) and Defence Research and Development 

Organisation (DRDO) under the aegis of the Inertial Nav-Attack 

System Integration Organisation (IIO) nearly two decades 

back. The unfinished task of upgrading the balance fleet has 

now been undertaken by HAL with an even improved version. 

The upgrade of NAVWASS Jaguars and Standard of Preparation 

(SOP) of the newly built Jaguars to the DARIN II standard 

has been undertaken by HAL. There has been a great learning 

process in the aviation industry in India, thanks to the DARIN 

I, LCA and participation in Su-30 development. The NAVWASS 

Jaguars have now been fitted with a MIL-STD-1553B digital 

bus and bus compatible LRUs (Line Replacable Units) sourced 

from France, Israel and indigenous HAL/BEL manufacture. 

The major avionics components forming part of the DARIN II 

upgrade are indigenous Core Avionics Computers, RLGINGPS, 

Wide angle 30 x 20 deg HUD with FLIR and raster Video imagery, 

Active Matrix LCD MFD, Video based HUD camera, multichannel 

colour video recorder. 

Elta Radar on Maritime Jaguar: The original maritime 

Jaguars were fitted with AGAVE radar from Thales France. The 

AGAVE radar had become obsolete and hence Elta EL-2032 

L/M radar was selected out of the two short listed contenders. 

The installation and the integration with the DARIN II system 

were done by HAL on 10 Jaguar aircraft. The nose cone was 

also changed and that was to be developed and manufactured 

indigenously. The radar is capable of picking ships at distances 

of 150 km and with the SAR and ISAR capability it is very easy 

to identify the ships. This radar has very significant air-to-air 

capability and with a CCM can enhance the self-defence capability 

considerably. 

MiG-29 upgrade: After considerable delay, India recently 

NEEDS THE LETHAL PUNCH: 

MI-17 AT STATIC DISPLAY 


awarded Russia the contract to upgrade its multi-role MiG-29 

warplanes. According to an air force official, the two post-Cold 

War allies signed the deal to extend the life of India’s fleet of 

70 MiG-29 jets another 15 years from their current 25 years. 

Upgrade of MiG-29 involves three versions and is complicated 

because of the airframe modifications for conformal fuel tank 

and carriage of under wing tanks in a few versions. MiG-29 

has excellent handling qualities and any airframe modification 

requires extensive data base, which is only available with the 

OEM. The avionics upgrade will essentially require a Mil-Bus 

architecture with Mission computers, a phased array radar capable 

of engaging multiple targets and matching air-to-surface 

capability, changes in the display system through installation 

of modern HUD and MFDs, RLGINS with GPS/GLONASS for 

improved Navigation and Precision Attack, EW/ECM package, 

dorsal fuel tank and other air intake modifications for more 

fuel besides air-to-air refuelling, present generation fire and 

forget BVR and other weapon systems, HOTAS and other ergonomics 

improvements. 

Mirage 2000 Upgrade: The upgrade of Mirage 2000 has 

also been mired in delays but the reasons are somewhat 

different. At one time, the Mirage 2000-5 was the front runner 

for the 126 aircraft MMRCA deal and hence the upgrade 

SOP was linked with the SOP of the MMRCA aircraft. Since 

the Mirage 2000 does not require a life extension and only 

minimal upgrade of the engine, the focus of the upgrade will 

be on replacing the obsolescent avionics like the INS, Mission 

Computer, AI radar, HUD and Active Matrix SMFDs, substantial 

improvements in the EW/ECM package along with secured 

communication and data link. New weapon systems will have 

to be integrated to keep the aircraft as a formidable platform 

in future. Improved HOTAS and installation of sensor platform 

along with helmet mounted sighting system will ensure the effectiveness 

of the fleet. Presumably, Dassault along with Thales 

will upgrade a few aircraft in France and they will assist in 

upgrading the rest of the fleet at HAL Bangalore. This upgrade 

is likely to be very costly since the French Avionics equipment 

is comparatively more expensive than others and also IAF will 

have to go in for new weapons. It would be prudent that the 

upgrade of all fighter fleets include integration of weapons 

from both eastern and western origin. 

MI-17 & MI-17 1V UPGRADE 

The Mi series helicopters have done yeoman service throughout 

the country and even abroad under the UN. The need for mediumlift 

helicopter capability has been felt in all the terrains and during 

all kinds of operations, including disaster relief. This fleet has also 

been awaiting upgrade for many years and due to varied reasons. 

The fleet requires extensive upgrades but the SOP for upgrade has 

to be similar to that on new Mi-17 helicopters proposed to be acquired. 

Identification of agencies to undertake design, development 

and fleet modification is crucial especially after the experience of 

upgrading Mi-35. Commonality with equipment installed on Dhruv 

and also on Mi-35 will reduce the burden of large inventories. 

Avionics, communication and, to top it all, the upgradation of self 

protection suite should drive the project to give all weather day 

and night capability in the prevailing operational scenario. The armament 

upgrade should include weapons from both western and 

eastern countries to give it the lethal punch. SP 

(To be continued)

PHOTOGRAPHS: GULFSTREAM, CESSNA, EMBRAER 

CIVIL GENERAL AVIATION 

SKYHAWK TO SOAR ON JET-A 

Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. company, announced 

it is closing in on certification of the turbo diesel model of its popular 

172 Skyhawk. Cessna and Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH have 

accumulated more than 200 hours on a prototype of the single-engine 

piston aircraft in efforts to achieve European Aviation Safety Agency 

certification for the supplemental type certificate that will allow Cessna to 

offer a factory-installed engine operating on Jet-A fuel. Once EASA 

certification is secured, Cessna will pursue type certification from the 

Federal Aviation Administration. Deliveries are expected to begin by 

mid-2008. “Customers see exceptional value and productivity in an airplane 

combining the reliability of the Skyhawk with Jet-A fuel’s wide availability 

and lower direct operating cost,” said John Doman, Cessna Vice President of 

worldwide propeller aircraft sales. “Market interest in the new Skyhawk TD 

is very high; we plan to increase production in 2009 to meet the demand.” 

CHARACTERISTICS 

OVERALL HEIGHT 8 ft 11 in; OVERALL LENGTH 27 ft 2 in; 

WINGSPAN 36 ft 1 in; MAXIMUM SEATING CAPACITY Four; 

SPEED (MAXIMUM AT 10,000 FT) 130 ktas 


JOHN DOMAN 

VICE PRESIDENT, WORLDWIDE 

PROPELLER AIRCRAFT SALES, 

CESSNA

CIVIL GENERAL AVIATION 

Rollouts: 

New Wings 

PHENOMenal 

On April 12, Embraer finished assembling the first 

Phenom 300 jet at its Gavião Peixoto plant in São 

Paulo, Brazil. “The Phenom 300, with its premium 

comfort, best-in-class performance and low 

operating cost, will set a new standard for the Light 

Jet category,” said Luís Carlos Affonso, Embraer 

Executive Vice President, Executive Jets. Interiors 

designed by BMW Group DesignworksUSA, 

the Phenom 300 best-in-class jet’s onboard 

conveniences include a wardrobe or refreshment 

centre, an aft cabin private lavatory with toiletry 

cabinet, and satellite communications. 

Customers can fly nonstop from London to 

Reykjavik in Iceland, the Azores, Cairo, Tel Aviv 

or Moscow; and from Geneva to the same 

destinations, plus the Canary Islands. The aircraft is 

expected to enter service in the second half of 2009. 


MAXIMUM SEATING CAPACITY Six; RANGE* 1,800 nm; 

HIGH SPEED CRUISE 450 ktas; MMO M 0.78; MAXIMUM 

OPERATING ALTITUDE 45,000 ft; TAKEOFF FIELD LENGTH 

3,700 ft; POWERPLANT 2 x Pratt & Whitney 

(* NBAA IFR reserves (35 min) with 100 nm alternate; 

six occupants @ 200Ib) 

G650 POISED FOR FLIGHT 

Gulfstream Aerospace, a wholly owned subsidiary of General 

Dynamics, on March 13 announced the introduction of an all-new 

business jet: the Gulfstream G650. With its ultra-large cabin and 

ultra-long range, the G650 offers the longest range, fastest speed, 

largest cabin and the most-advanced cockpit in the Gulfstream 

fleet. It can climb to a maximum altitude of 51,000 ft, allowing it 

to avoid airline-traffic congestion and adverse weather. “The G650 

offers the most advanced flight deck and the widest array of cabin 

comforts. Its performance and aesthetics are unprecedented,” 

said Joe Lombardo, President, Gulfstream Aerospace. Gulfstream 

expects to begin G650 customer deliveries in 2012. 


CREW Two pilots; SEATING CAPACITY 11 to 18 passengers; LENGTH 

99 ft 9 in; WINGSPAN 99 ft 7 in; HEIGHT 25 ft 4 in; EMPTY WEIGHT 

24,500 kg; MAX TAKEOFF WEIGHT 45,200 kg; POWERPLANT 2 × Rolls- 

Royce Deutschland BR725 turbofan, 71.6 kN each 

LUÍS CARLOS AFFONSO 

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, 

EXECUTIVE JETS. 

EMBRAER 

JOE LOMBARDO 

PRESIDENT, 

GULFSTREAM AEROSPACE 


Berlin 

May 27–June 1, 2008 

Air 

www.ila-berlin.com 

Show 

German Aerospace 

Industries Association 

The focal point 

of aerospace. 

Official Partner Country: Hosted by:

MILITARY VIEWPOINT 

Budget Blues 

By Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand 

The Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) has replicated the 

challenges and concerns faced by India for decisionmakers 

in the US. The US Defence Modernisation 2008- 

2013 report compiled by the Aerospace Industries 

Association gives indications of US defence planners experiencing 

dilemmas similar to that of India. With the defence budget 

increasingly focussing on conflicts across the borders, war on 

terrorism and increasing manpower costs, India’s military establishment’s 

modernisation plans have for long been adversely 

hit. The US, apparently, is now in the same boat. A look at some 

of the key elements highlighted by the report. 

Emerging national security challenges of the 21st 

century require renewed national focus on the 

relevance of air power 

Aerospace Industries Association’s (AIA) concerns that will affect 

decision-makers response to long-deferred defence modernisation 

and recapitalisation needs and requirements are inexorable 

growth in operations and maintenance costs; rising personnel 

expenditures, including future costs of recent increases in active 

duty end strength and simultaneous needs for reset and recapitalisation. 

For several generations US’s national security has 

depended heavily on sustained military superiority, especially in 

aerospace systems which is fast degrading as the existing fleet 

is aging rapidly. The US has in the past also allocated defence 

budget at much higher levels than its current 4 per cent share of 

Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

Congressional Budget Office analysis indicates the need for 

steady procurement funding of $120–150 billion per year, in 

constant dollars, to modernise the current force 

AIA believes that while the investment resources proposed in 

the fiscal 2008-2013 Future Years Defence Program (FYDP) represent 

a modest start, the FYDP itself doesn’t effectively address 

growing structural challenges within the US defence budget or 

the mounting modernisation and recapitalisation bills coming 

due as a result of years of deferred investment. Since then, there 

have been moderate increases in investment spending, heavily 

influenced recently by growth in RDT&E and transformational 

programmes. Congressional Budget Office analysis indicates the 

need for steady procurement funding of $120–150 billion per 

year, in constant dollars, to modernise the current force. 

Funding Challenges for Modernisation 

Funding for investment is gradually being squeezed from the 

defence budget as military personnel, operations and maintenance 

costs take an increasing share of defence resources. By 

2013, over a 25-year period, the operations and support element 

of the budget will have more than doubled, faster than 

the growth in the defence budget itself. In contrast, investment 

will increase by slightly more than 50 per cent, well below the 

The US Defence Modernisation 

2008-2013 report reveals funding for 

military personnel, operations and 

maintenance costs fuelled by the 

GWOT are gobbling up an increasing 

share of defence resources 

growth of the general budget. These trends translate into a structural 

shift in which investment will decline to only 35 per cent 

of the defence budget by 2013, well below the 41 per cent level 

of fiscal 1988 and translate into billions of dollars being shifted 

from the investment portfolio (capital portion of the budget in 

the Indian context) into operations and support (revenue portion 

of the budget in the Indian context) costs. These trends suggest a 

change in the defence budget, in which operations and support 

consumes an ever-increasing share of the defence budget. 

The Role of Air Power in the 2010 QDR and Defence Planning 

The 2006 QDR had focused on irregular warfare, defeating terrorist 

networks and weapons of mass destruction and similar 

operations being carried out in Iraq and Afghanistan. The 2010 

QDR should re-evaluate the role of air power in all potential 

conflict regions, assess the appropriate balance among security 

challenges, such as planning for near-peer regional conflicts, 

while also engaging in the GWOT. Thus the plan should address 

modernisation to include: 

• Airlift 

• UAVs 

• Rotary wing aircraft 

• Missiles 

• Space launch 

• Precision-guided munitions 

• Command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, 

surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems. 

Resource Planning for Aerospace Modernisation 

AIA recommends the following approach. Sustain a national 

consensus to adequately fund national defence capability and 

readiness as a high and enduring priority in order to develop 

a long term modernisation plan to realistically address aerospace 

requirements. Support growth across the full spectrum 

of conflict and not only for the conflict US is currently engaged 

in. DoD thus needs to increase annual procurement spending 

to a steady state range of $120–150 billion, in constant dollars, 

to modernise the current force. Provide growth and stability 

in not only aerospace procurement but also in RDT&E. Foster 

innovation and stability in DoD investment planning. This can 

be best accomplished by establishing for the fiscal 2010 budget 

submission a Stable Programme Funding Account, similar 

to that proposed by the Defence Acquisition Performance Assessment 

Panel, for all Acquisition Category I programmes. A 

pilot programme for capital budgeting is currently underway in 

DoD. Incorporate into broad national budget planning the goal 

of defence being no less than 4 per cent of GDP. AIA will assist 

the next administration in all its efforts to formulate a realistic 

plan for modernisation. SP 


PHOTOGRAPHS: EUROFIGHTER / EADS 


The Eurofighter Invite 

By SP’s Team 

INDIA HAS BEEN INVITED to join the Eurofighter programme as a new partner. Announcing 

the invitation, Bernhard Gerwert, CEO of Military Air Systems, an integrated activity of 

EADS Defence & Security, said, “As part of our industrial cooperation offer, we invite India 

to become a member of the successful Eurofighter family. India is our partner of choice 

and we are interested in long-lasting political, industrial and military relations which will be 

based on a win-win partnership. Therefore the door is widely open for India.” 

Addressing representatives of the Indian Ministry of Defence, the Indian Air Force, suppliers 

and the media in Delhi on April 24, Gerwert emphasised that Eurofighter partners have 

intensive experiences in international cooperation because the combat aircraft is developed 

and manufactured as a quadrinational programme from the very beginning. Underlining that 

four nations, four air forces and the four leading European aerospace companies—EADS, EADS 

Casa, BAE Systems and Alenia Finmeccanica—fully support the Eurofighter campaign in India, 

he said: “We have a strong and committed international team and we will make sure that Eurofighter 

will be a major player in a fair and transparent competition.” On behalf of the Eurofighter 

consortium and the industrial partners, EADS will deliver the bid proposal in response to 

India’s Request for Proposal (RFP) for Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft on April 28. 

Conceding that the RFP’s requirements pertaining to transfer of technology, licence production 

and 50 per cent offset are challenging, Gerwert said, “We are ready to meet these challenges 

and we will satisfy the expectations of our customer. Our team is working extremely hard 

to meet these requirements.” As a fast growing and dynamic country, India is not only regarded 

as a market but most importantly as a partner for joint industrial and military projects in the 

future. As a recent example, EADS Defence & Security and TATA announced in February 2008 

to join forces for the Indian Army’s $1 billion (Rs 4,015 crore) Tactical Communications System. 

Fully operational in four countries and with more than 700 orders from six customers (Germany, 

UK, Spain, Italy, Austria and Saudi Arabia), the Eurofighter Typhoon’s key feature is its 

multi- and swing-role capability that affords enormous flexibility. Simply put, the aircraft can fly 

either air-to-air or air-to-ground missions or both sorties at the same time. In terms of weapons 

payload, it is capable of carrying six air-to-air missiles plus additional air-to-surface weapons 

such as Paveway II or GBU-10/-16, or external fuel tanks on seven further hard points. Another 

operational benefit is the installation of the electronic warfare equipment in the wing tips without 

sacrificing external stores capacity. 

Combining advanced technology with world-class performance, the combat aircraft provides 

highest levels of mission effectiveness for all scenarios and a broad range of mission flexibility. 

Further, its air-to-air refuelling capability extends mission duration and range. Remarkable agility, 

capability and flexibility allow the Eurofighter Typhoon to meet the challenges of fast-changing 

operational scenarios. SP 


Four nations, four 

air forces and 

the four leading 

European aerospace 

companies—EADS, 

EADS Casa, BAE 

Systems and Alenia 

Finmeccanica— 

fully support 

the Eurofighter 

campaign in India 

“As part of 

our industrial 

cooperation offer, 

we invite India 

to become a member 

of the successful 

Eurofighter family. 

India is our partner 

of choice and we 

are interested in 

long-lasting political, 

industrial and 

military relations 

which will be 

based on a 

win-win partnership. 

Therefore the door 

is widely open 

for India.” 

—Bernhard Gerwert, 

CEO, Military Air 

Systems, EADS Defence 

& Security

PHOTOGRAPH: WIKIPEDIA 

Hall of Fame 

“I see the Earth! 

It is so beautiful!” were 

the ecstatic words of 

the very first human 

being to step across the 

threshold of the universe. 

DID YURI GAGARIN AC- 

TUALLY utter these 

words from space? It is 

not easy to sift through 

the Soviet cold war propaganda, 

and what may have been 

lost in translation, so as to arrive at 

the truth. However, fact is the Soviet 

Sputnik was the first artificial satellite 

to orbit the Earth and Yuri Gagarin 

in Vostok 1 the first human to be 

launched into space. The Americans 

recovered from the humiliation of 

these two triumphs of their archrivals 

by putting a man on the moon 

eight years later. 

Yuri Gagarin was born on March 

9, 1934, in the village of Klushino, 

Smolensk. During World War II he 

had a dramatic introduction to aviation 

when a crippled Soviet fighter 

crashed in the neighbourhood. Yuri 

was among the throng of children 

who rushed to the site of the crash 

and clambered all over the wreckage. 

Then and there Yuri decided to 

become a combat pilot. On November 

7, 1957, he was commissioned in 

the Soviet Air Force. The very same 

day he married Valentina. Caught 

up in the excitement of the wedding 

preparations, he had failed to notice 

the launch of Sputnik I & II a few 

weeks earlier. 

In 1959, Yuri volunteered for 

space training—one of 154 pilots to 

do so. The training was rigorous and 

demanding; the recruits were bombarded 

with space navigation, rocket 

propulsion, physiology, astronomy 

and upper atmospheric physics, and 

trained to cope with weightlessness. 

Yuri loved to sit in the simulated 

cockpit and imagine blasting off into 

space. The number of candidates 

progressively whittled down to 50, 

then 20, then six. Finally, a week before 

the scheduled date, Yuri learned 

that he had been selected. His short 

size had apparently proved advantageous 

for the cramped Vostok cockpit. 

April 11, 1961. 9.07 am. Vostok 1 

was launched from the Baikonur Cos- 

modrome in Kazakhstan and placed in 

an elliptical orbit with apogee 327 km 

and perigee 181 km. Prior to take-off, 

Gagarin drank water and ate some jelly. 

Essentially, he was little more than a 

passenger. Scientists feared the rigours 

of spaceflight might render a pilot un- 

Yuri Gagarin 

(1934–1968) 

April 11, 1961. 9.07 am. 

Vostok 1 was launched 

from the Baikonur 

Cosmodrome in 

Kazakhstan and placed 

in an elliptical orbit with 

apogee 327 km and perigee 

181 km. Prior to take-off, 

Gagarin drank water and 

ate some jelly. Essentially, 

he was little more than a 

passenger. Scientists 

feared the rigours 

of spaceflight might 

render a pilot unconscious 

and incapacitate him 

and hence, the craft was 

fully automated. 

conscious and incapacitate him and 

hence, the craft was fully automated. 

On the re-entry, a flaw in the recovery 

sequence gave Yuri several anxious 

moments. The re-entry module was 

supposed to separate cleanly from the 

equipment module but did not. The unbalanced 

Vostok began to spin erratically, 

exposing less protected surfaces to 

the intense heat of re-entry. The module 

finally separated. Yuri was automatically 

ejected from the craft at 7 km and descended 

by parachute. The mission 

was successfully completed at 10.55 

am when he touched down in Siberia. 

It took an hour and 48 minutes to 

orbit the Earth once and complete the 

mission. For several years the Soviets 

concealed the fact that Major Gagarin 

had to eject to make it safely back to 

Earth because it would have robbed 

the feat of some of its sheen. Fédération 

Aéronautique Internationale’s 

regulations mandate a pilot to land 

with his craft for a mission to qualify 

as a spaceflight. 

Yuri, meanwhile, returned to 

Moscow to be feted and fawned over 

by an adoring populace. At the age 

of 27, he was transformed from a 

fighter pilot—one of thousands—to 

a world celebrity. A tour of the Soviet 

Union and the world brought 

him adulation on an unprecedented 

scale. Nikita Khrushchev compared 

him to Christopher Columbus, publicly 

smothered him with kisses 

and named him a Hero of the Soviet 

Union. The next few years were 

marked by Gagarin’s determined efforts 

to make another trip into space 

and the authorities’ stubborn refusal 

to let him do so. They did not want 

him to risk his life. 

Fate, nonetheless, willed him a 

violent death. On March 27, 1968 

Yuri and an instructor pilot took off 

in a MiG-15UTI jet on a routine training 

mission. The sky was murky, the 

weather bad. A few minutes later the 

plane lost contact with the ground 

and crashed. Was poor visibility the 

cause? Did the MiG inadvertently 

enter the turbulent wake of a Su-11 

jet on maximum afterburner, causing 

the pilots to lose control? We may 

never know. 

Years later, when Neil Armstrong 

and Edwin Aldrin landed on the 

moon they left one of Gagarin’s medals 

there—a tribute to the world’s 

first cosmonaut. SP 

— Group Captain (Retd) 

Joseph Noronha, 

Goa 


NEWSDigest 

RESPONSES TO MMRCA RFP—BOEING OFFERS SUPER HORNET, LOCKHEED MARTIN THE F-16IN 

BOEING ASSURES DELIVERY OF THE FIRST F/A-18IN 

SUPER HORNETS TO INDIA CAN BEGIN APPROXIMATELY 

36 MONTHS AFTER THE CONTRACT IS AWARDED 

The Boeing Company on April 24 delivered a detailed 

7,000-page proposal offering its advanced F/A- 

18E/F Super Hornet to the Indian Air Force as part 

of India’s Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft competition. 

Jim Albaugh, President and CEO, Boeing Integrated 

Defense Systems (IDS) said: “We are offering India the 

best-value, most advanced and proven multi-role combat 

fighter in production today.” India issued a Request 

for Proposal (RFP) for 126 multi-role combat fighters in August 2007. Boeing completed its proposal before the initial March 3 

deadline, which the MoD subsequently rescheduled for April 28. 

“Boeing’s strategic goal has been to seek a long-term partnership with India to help strengthen the country’s aerospace 

capabilities and enhance its national security,” said Chris Chadwick, President of Boeing Precision Engagement & Mobility Systems. 

“Choosing the F/A-18E/F would give Indians a direct hand in building an advanced fighter aircraft that will robustly defend their 

shores and airspace, infuse new strength into the Indian Air Force, and serve as a catalyst for India’s growing defence aerospace 

industry.” The Super Hornet variant being offered to India, the F/A-18IN, is based on the F/A-18E/F model flown by the US Navy and 

currently being built for the Royal Australian Air Force. Delivery of the first F/A-18IN Super Hornets to India can begin approximately 

36 months after contract award. Advanced technology—such as Raytheon’s APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array radar—and 

proven reliability have enhanced the interest of US and international customers in the aircraft which is increasingly being lauded as 

a cost-effective and lethal air defence. 

MILITARY 

Asia-Pacific 

UAV kills armed criminals 

near Baghdad 

On April 11, an air strike by a 

coalition forces’ Predator UAV 

(with Hell fire missile) killed 

six enemy combatants and 

injured one who were firing 

mortars at Iraqi security forces 

in Basra. The enemy combatants 

were observed in the Hyanniyah 

district by a coalition 

aircraft and positively identi- 


fied as an active mortar team. 

A day before, a Hellfire missile 

fired by a Predator UAV killed 

six heavily armed enemy 

combatants in Baghdad. Coalition 

forces from Multinational 

Division, Baghdad operating 

the UAV had observed a large 

group of enemy combatants 

with rocket-propelled grenade 

launchers and a mortar tube 

in northeast Baghdad. 

Agreement between Indian 

and Pakistani institutes 

To establish academic and 

scholarly ties for cooperation 

LOCKHEED MARTIN’S F-16IN HAS BEEN ESPECIALLY 

DESIGNED TO INCLUDE CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGIES SUCH 

AS A MODERN, FULL-COLOUR, ALL-DIGITAL, GLASS COCKPIT 

The US Government, supported by Lockheed Martin, 

has responded to the Indian Ministry of Defence’s 

Request for Proposal (RFP) for a Medium Multi-Role 

Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) programme by proposing the 

most technologically advanced F-16 ever conceived, 

uniquely tailored to meet or exceed the requirements of 

the Indian Air Force. 

“No other operational multi-role strike fighter in the world today compares to this aircraft,” said Orville Prins, Lockheed Martin’s 

Business Development Vice President and MMRCA programme Campaign Lead. “The F-16IN is a unique configuration of the F-16, 

designed to address the requirements specified in India’s RFP. The F-16 is already the most reliable, maintainable, affordable and 

safest multi-role fighter in the world. The F-16IN will be even better. This proposal also represents a long-term partnership between 

the Air Forces of India and the United States and between Indian industry and the F-16 industry team.” 

The F-16IN has been especially designed to include a multitude of cutting-edge technologies such as a modern, full-colour, 

all-digital, glass cockpit; the APG-80 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar; the GE F110-132A engine for increased, 

thrust; a large weapons inventory; a highly effective electronic warfare suite; and Conformal Fuel Tanks (CFTs) to significantly extend 

range and persistence. The aircraft also includes advanced survivability features such as superior agility, excellent pilot situational 

awareness, and critical systems redundancy. The F-16IN is designed to provide outstanding front-line capability, unprecedented 

reliability, and an extremely low total cost of ownership. The F-16IN is an advanced derivative of the most combat proven multi role 

strike fighter available in the international marketplace today. Twenty-four countries have selected the F-16 as their fighter aircraft 

of choice, with 14 of those countries selecting the aircraft for follow on buys an unprecedented 52 times. 

in research on national and 

international security issues, 

an agreement has been signed 

between the Indian Institute of 

Defence Studies Analysis and 

Pakistani Institute of Strategic 

Studies. In a written reply 

in the Lok Sabha, Defence 

Minister A.K. Antony said the 

agreement came into force on 

February 4 for a period of five 

years and can be further extended 

for subsequent periods 

of five years at a time unless 

either gives to the other a 

written notice three months 

in advance of its intention to 

QuickRoundUp 

AIRBUS 

• Aer Lingus, Ireland’s national carrier, 

has become the latest airline to place a 

firm order with Airbus for six A350 XWB. 

The contract brings total firm orders for 

the A350 XWB to 362. 

• The first A400M, MSN001, has 

recently left station 40 where all the 

aircraft systems’ interfaces have been 

connected and the electrical system 

successfully tested with power-on. From 

station 40 the aircraft has been moved 

to station 35 where all the systems on 

board will be checked for compliance 

with design requirements. 

ALENIA AERONAUTICA 

• The DA7 Euro fighter Typhoon 

prototype is the first aircraft to enter 

the new anechoic shielded chamber, 

the largest in Europe, built by 

Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica 

company, to test the electromagnetic 

compatibility of aircraft and systems, 

and measure the performance of 

emitting devices, specifically in the 

field of radio frequencies. 

ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS 

• Alliant Techsystems have recently 

delivered the 100,000th DSU-33 

Proximity Sensor to the US Air Force. 

The DSU-33 provides proximity sensor 

functionality for weapons such as the 

Joint Direct Attack Munition, as well 

as general purpose bombs such as 

the Mk 80 and M117. 

BAE SYSTEMS 

• BAE Systems has developed a 

satellite navigation receiver system that 

provides uninterrupted operation of the 

GPS for air, land, and sea platforms. 

• BAE Systems has cut metal on its 

first component for the F-35 Lightning II 

production aircraft. This opening cut, on 

a component part of the aft fuselage, 

signifies a major milestone for the F-35 

Lightning II programme and is for the 

F-35 which will enter USAF in 2010. 

BOEING 

• Following Boeing’s announcement 

regarding changes to the 787 

schedule, Finmeccanica states this 

will have no material impact on its 

consolidated results and therefore 

confirms the guidance issued to the 

market for 2008-2010.

NEWSDigest 

APPOINTMENTS 

IAF CHANGES IN OFFING 

Air Marshal V.R. Iyer, with 

effect from May 1, takes over 

as the AOC-in-C of Training 

Command from the current 

incumbent Air Marshal G.S. 

Choudhry who retires on 

superannuation. Air Marshal 

S. Mukherji will move into 

Air Headquarters to take over 

Air Officer Personnel’s post 

to be vacated by Air Marshal 

V.R. Iyer. 

HAWKER BEECHCRAFT 

CORPORATION APPOINTS 

CHARLES MAYER VP, 

MARKETING 

Hawker Beechcraft Corporation 

has appointed Charles 

D. Mayer Vice President, 

Marketing. He will also lead 

marketing communications, 

public relations and internal 

communications, market 

analysis and database management. 

GULFSTREAM NAMES JIM 

GALLAGHER ENTRY- 

INTO-SERVICE DIRECTOR, 

GULFSTREAM G650 

Gulfstream Aerospace has 

appointed Jim Gallagher to 

lead the Gulfstream G650 

Entry-Into-Service program. 

Gallagher will develop and 

implement a plan for bringing 

the all-new business jet to 

market in 2012. 

BOEING NAMES DE PALMAS 

TO LEAD RELATIONS 

WITH EU, NATO 

The Boeing Company has 

named Antonio De Palmas, 44, 

President of European Union 

and NATO Relations. 

BOEING NAMES DAVID 

DOHNALEK VP, FINANCE 

AND TREASURER 


appointed David Dohnalek 

corporate treasurer, succeeding 

Paul Kinscherff, who has 

been named president of 

Boeing Middle East. 

BOEING NAMES PAUL KIN- 

SCHERFF TO LEAD BUSI- 

NESS IN GULF STATES 


named Paul Kinscherff President 

of Boeing Middle East. 

Kinscherff, 49, will work with 

Boeing Saudi Arabia President 

Ahmed Jazzar. 

DASSAULT FALCON CONSOLIDATES WORLDWIDE LEADERSHIP 

Dassault Falcon has appointed Jacques Chauvet as Senior 

Vice President to the new position of Worldwide 

Customer Service. The appointment integrates two 

support organisations—the Eastern and Western Hemisphere 

Customer Service—into one support team, functioning under 

one worldwide leader. Chauvet has been with Dassault for 27 

years, starting in the fighter jet prototype workshop in Saint- 

Cloud, France, and was previously Senior Vice President, Customer 

Service Eastern Hemisphere. “Our goal of providing the best customer service 

possible to our Falcon owners around the world has never been more important to 

us,” said John Rosanvallon, President and CEO of Dassault Falcon. “With record sales 

and the deepest backlog in business aviation, unifying the support team under one 

leader is vital to keeping up with the growing Falcon fleet.” 

Gerry Goguen, previously Dassault Falcon Jet Senior Vice President, Customer 

Service, will assume a new role as Senior Vice President, Customer Relations and 

Business Strategy. Goguen will provide guidance to enhance Dassault’s competitive 

position in the marketplace and will focus on customer expectations. He will report to 

Jacques Chauvet. “Gerry has been the driving force for many of our new programs over 

the past several years and has played a very important role in our success to date,” 

said Chauvet. “He has a unique strategic vision that will help guide our Customer 

Service activities moving forward.” 

terminate it before its expiry. 

The objectives are: 

• Exchange of ideas on issues 

of common concern through 

the conduct of scholarly 

conferences, seminars and 

round-tables 

• Mutual consultation and 

exchange of research scholars 

• Joint research projects 

• Exchange of research works 

and publications 

• Regular meetings between 

the representatives of the two 

institutes 

Lockheed Martin contract 

for Pakistan 

Lockheed Martin Corporation, 

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics 

of Fort Worth, Texas, is 

being awarded two modified 

contracts for the procurement 

of non-recurring engineering 

activity for aircraft production 

programme changes; and 

developmental support equipment 

and country standard 

technical order for the Peace 

Drive I (Pakistan) programme 

for foreign military sales F-16 

Block 52M aircraft. 

Pakistan test-fires nuclear 

capable Shaheen-II again 

On April 21, Pakistan testfired 

the Shaheen-II longrange 

ballistic missile, which 

can carry nuclear and conventional 

warheads and hit 

targets within India, for the 

second time in three days. The 

Shaheen-II or Hatf-VI surfaceto-surface 

ballistic missile, 

which has a range of 2,000 

km, was launched for the first 

time during a field training 

exercise by the army’s Strategic 

Forces Command, the 

military stated. The location of 

the launch was not disclosed. 

All previous launches have 

been conducted by defence 

scientists and engineers. The 

Shaheen-II is Pakistan’s longest 

range ballistic missile and 

was first tested in 2004. 

Europe 

President and CEO Åke 

Svensson addresses Saab’s 

annual meeting. Excerpts: 

An order has been received 

from Swedish Defence for the 

upgrading of 31 Gripen aircraft 

to the most modern versions 

and also an order for a 

demonstrator programme for 

Gripen. 

Also offers are being 

submitted to Switzerland, 

Norway and India. In 2007, 

an offer was submitted to 

Denmark, and work is in 

progress on several important 

campaigns including for 

countries in eastern Europe. 

An agreement was also concluded 

at a national level between 

Thailand and Sweden 

for a complete defence system 

based on Gripen, which 

also includes an advanced 

airborne surveillance system 

with the Erieye radar on the 

Saab 340 aircraft and associated 

communication and 

QuickRoundUp 

• The Boeing Company began final 

assembly work on the first 777 Freighter 

at the company’s Everett, Washington, 

facility. The new cargo airplane will roll 

out of the factory during end of April. 

• Boeing has announced a revised 

plan for first flight and initial 

deliveries of the 787 Dreamliner that 

includes additional schedule margin 

to reduce risk of further delays. 

• Boeing Australia Limited has 

opened a component repair business 

that will be housed in a new facility 

at Melbourne Airport, Victoria and will 

maintain, repair and overhaul a wide 

range of components for commercial 

and military aircraft. 

• Boeing Integrated Defense Systems 

has awarded Hamilton Sundstrand, 

a subsidiary of United Technologies 

Corp., a follow-on procurement contract 

to supply additional constant 

frequency electric systems for the Bell 

Boeing V-22 Osprey. 

• The Boeing Company, through its 

commercial launch business, Boeing 

Launch Services, has been awarded a 

contract to launch DigitalGlobe’s second 

WorldView Earth-imaging satellite 

on a Delta II launch vehicle. 

• Boeing and ANA celebrated the inaugural 

flight of the first 767-300 Boeing 

Converted Freighter as well as the 

completion of the airplane’s journey to 

Seattle on the airplane’s second flight. 

ELBIT SYSTEMS 

• Elbit Systems Ltd have announced 

that its subsidiary Elbit Systems 

Electro-Optics Elop Ltd was selected 

by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics 

to supply new generation Head Up 

Displays for the new F-16 aircraft. 

INDIA 

• Close on the heels of floating 

multi-billion dollar global tenders for 

buying long-range artillery guns, India 

plans to invite international bids for 

purchase of 312 light helicopters. The 

tenders for these helicopters, 197 for 

the army aviation and another 115 

for the air force, are expected to be 

floated shortly. 

• India is in advanced stage of 

negotiations with Russia on purchase 

of 80 medium lift advanced version 

of the MI-17 helicopters. The medium 


NEWSDigest 

command systems. Gripen 

has thereby established itself 

in the three important market 

segments that have been 

identified: to replace Russian 

aircraft, to replace French 

aircraft and now also to replace 

American aircraft. 

Thus, at present, Gripen 

is in service/being delivered 

in Sweden, Thailand, 

Hungary, Czech Republic and 

South Africa. 

Americas 

DARPA celebrates 50 years 

of technological evolution 

When Russia surprised the 

world a half century ago by 

launching the Sputnik satellite 

through Earth’s atmosphere, 

the ripple effect spurred the 

White House into action and 

in response President Dwight 

D. Eisenhower in February 

1958 commissioned DARPA. 

Fifty years later, the agency’s 

mission remains clear: prevent 

future technological surprises 

for the US and create them for 

the nation’s enemies. Several 

hundred past and present 

DARPA employees gathered 

to celebrate a half century 

of success that produced the 

Saturn V rocket that enabled 

US Apollo missions to fly to the 

moon, stealth aircraft, guided 

munitions, body armour, and 

an early version of today’s 

Internet, to name some of the 

agency’s mainstays. 

Orbital awarded US 

Air Force contract 

Orbital Sciences Corporation 

have announced that the US 

Air Force Space and Missiles 

Systems Center has ordered 

three additional Minotaur 

space launch vehicles in support 

of the new Operationally 

Responsive Space office. The 

order for Minotaur vehicles 

consists of two Minotaur IV 

vehicles and one Minotaur I 

vehicle for launches that will 

take place in 2010-2011. 

Cyber Command officials 

define unit’s scope 

Using energy as a war fighting 

tool is one area that members 

of the Air Force Cyber 

Command’s 450th Electronic 

Warfare (EW) will be charged 

with exploring. So far, electronic 

warfare has focused 

on radar jamming, deception, 


coding new frequencies and 

such, and mostly on airborne 

platforms such at the B-52, 

F-15 and B-1B. The EW Wing 

has been asked to look at expanding 

their capabilities and 

one of these areas is through 

the use of directed energy 

such as lasers or microwaves 

or high powered electromagnetic 

pulses. But warfare in the 

electromagnetic spectrum is 

more than the use of directed 

energy. There are visible and 

non-visible aspects of the spectrum 

to include infrared, ultra 

violet, gamma rays, X-rays and 

so forth, and those are divided 

even further into electric and 

magnetic fields. 

Boeing delivers 1st Laser 

Joint Direct Attack Munition 


delivered the first LJDAM 

kits to the US Air Force. The 

Precision Laser Guidance Set 

(PLGS) kits are being produced 

to satisfy the air force and 

navy’s urgent need for engagement 

of fast-moving land 

targets. The initial LJDAM contract, 

awarded in May 2007, 

will add 600 laser seekers to 

the services’ existing inventory 

of 500-pound bombs. The 

tests demonstrated LJDAM’s 

ability to engage and destroy 

targets moving up to 70 miles 

per hour. 

CIVIL 

Asia-Pacific 

Lockheed Martin wins 

BSAT-3b Satellite contract 

Lockheed Martin has been 

awarded a contract by B-SAT 

of Japan to build its next 

geostationary telecommunications 

satellite. Designated 

BSAT-3b, the satellite will 

provide high-definition direct 

broadcast services throughout 

Japan following its scheduled 

launch the third quarter of 

2010 aboard an Arianespace 

launch vehicle. The Lockheed 

Martin A2100 geosynchronous 

spacecraft series is designed 

to meet a wide variety 

of telecommunications needs. 

Americas 

TeamSAI predicts strong 

MRO growth in next 10 years 

During the opening session 

of the annual Aviation Week 

Group, North American MRO 

Conference, Chris Doan, Team- 

SAI President & CEO, predicted 

an annual growth averaging 

4.3 per cent for the worldwide 

MRO industry to yield a total 

revenue level of $68.6 billion 

in 2018. The forecast specifically 

covers western-built jet 

aircraft in commercial airline 

service worldwide. Doan’s 

presentation pointed out that 

key drivers include the fact 

that much of the scheduled 

MRO work has been queued 

up by fleet decisions made 

five to 10 years ago, as well 

as shortages in the work force 

pushing labour rates up, and 

the impact of the weak dollar 

on the international market. 

Major US carriers face 

massive fleet upgrade cost 

Ascend, the world’s leading 

provider of information and 

consultancy to the global aerospace 

industry, reveals that the 

airlines face being stuck with 

old aircraft for years to come 

because they currently do not 

have enough firm orders to 

replace them. Over the next 

decade, major US airlines are 

facing a potentially crippling 

bill to upgrade ageing fleets, 

according to industry experts. 

Order backlogs at both Boeing 

and Airbus means there is 

unlikely to be any quick fix. 

The problems are particularly 

acute for major US carriers 

American Airlines, Northwest 

Airlines and United Airlines. 

SPACE 

Americas 

Modernised GPS satellite 

begins operations 

A rapid on-orbit deployment 

of the modernised Global 

Positioning System Block IIR 

satellite launched on March 

QuickRoundUp 

choppers are being purchased to 

boost up Indian Air Force’s logistic 

capability. 

• In a written reply in the Lok Sabha 

Defense Minister A.K. Antony said 

India has signed a contract for upgradation 

of 63 MiG-29 aircraft with M/s 

RAC–MiG, Russia. Thirteen MiG-29 

aircraft have crashed till date since 

their induction in mid-1980s. The 

upgradation of all 63 aircraft is likely 

to be completed by March 2014. 

ISRAEL AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES 

• The first flight of Spanish Army’s 

UAV (Searcher Mk-II-J of Israel Aircraft 

Industries deployed in Afghanistan 

has been flown for 22 minutes from 

Herat forward support base. 

LOCKHEED MARTIN 

• Lockheed Martin has received a 

contract from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries 

to manufacture components 

for eight additional F-2 production 

aircraft. MHI is the prime contractor 

for the F-2, Japan’s operational 

support fighter. 

• Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed 

Martin Aeronautical Systems has been 

awarded a firm fixed price contract 

for Lot 1, material/fabrication, initial 

spares and Lot 2 advance procurement 

for the C-5M Reliability Enhancement 

and Re-engining Programme. 

• The VINASAT-1 communications 

satellite, designed and built by 

Lockheed Martin for Vietnam Posts and 

Telecommunications Group of Vietnam, 

has been successfully launched from 

Kourou, French Guiana. VINASAT-1 is 

based on Lockheed Martin’s A2100A 

spacecraft platform. 

NORTHROP GRUMMAN 

• Northrop Grumman Corporation 

has been awarded five-year contract 

from the US Department of Defense 

to support theoretical studies and 

engineering research for Army, Navy and 

Air Force research and development 

programmes. The indefinite delivery/ 

indefinite quantity Theoretical Studies 

and Engineering Services contract has 

an option for five additional years. 

• Alliant Techsystems has received 

a contract option from Northrop 

Grumman Corporation to refurbish 

components and replace propellant on

NEWSDigest 

SHOW CALENDAR 

28 April-30 April 

IDGA’S COCKPIT AVIONICS, 

DOUBLETREE HOTEL, 

ANNAPOLIS, MD, USA 

Organisers: IDGA 

Email: andrew.kaftan@idga.org 

URL: www.idga.org 

1 May-2 May 

ARMED UNMANNED 

AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS, WYNN 

LAS VEGAS, LAS VEGAS, 

NEVADA, USA 

Organisers: Technology Training 

Corporation 

Email: hoodk@ttcus.com 

URL: www.ttcus.com 

5 May-7 May 

5TH GLOBAL CONFERENCE: 

WAR, VIRTUAL WAR AND 

HUMAN SECURITY, 

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY 

Organisers: Inter Disciplinary 

Email: gellert.reservation@da 

nubiusgroup.com 

URL: www.inter-disciplinary. 

net 

5 May-7 May 

6TH ANNUAL AEROSPACE 

& DEFENSE INDUSTRY 

SUPPLIERS CONFERENCE, 

THE JONATHAN CLUB, LOS 

ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA 

Organisers: SpeedNews 

Email: jspeed@speednews. 

com 

URL: www.speednews.com/ 

defenseconference 

11 May-13 May 

HELI MIDDLE EAST 

CONFERENCE, GRAND 

HYATT MUSCAT HOTEL, 

MUSCAT, OMAN 

Organisers: Shephard Conferences 

& Exhibitions 

Email: sc@shephard.co.uk 

URL: www.shephard.co.uk/ 

heli-me 

19 May-20 May 

FIGHTER TRAINING 

2008, LONDON 

Organisers: SMI 

Email: client_services@smionline.co.uk 

URL: www.smi-online.co.uk 

19 May-20 May 

GULF C4I 2008, ARMED 

FORCES CLUB, ABU DHABI, 

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 

Organisers: Worldwide Business 

Research 

Email: info@wbr.co.uk 

URL: www.gulfc4i.com 

BOEING, AIRBUS JOIN HANDS IN GREEN DRIVE 

Boeing and Airbus have signed an agreement to work together to ensure global 

interoperability in air traffic management as part of an effort to help reduce 

the impact of aviation on the environment. The companies will seek the acceleration 

of improvements to the world’s air transportation management system in 

order to increase efficiency and eliminate traffic congestion. Scott Carson, Boeing 

Commercial Airplanes President and CEO, and Tom Enders, Airbus president and CEO, 

signed the agreement between the two industry leaders at the sidelines of the third 

Aviation and Environmental Summit in Geneva. 

“Airbus and Boeing are great competitors and this has been a critical element 

that has sharpened our focus and efforts toward making aviation more efficient,” 

Carson said. “While our approaches often differ, we are working towards the same 

goal—to reduce aviation’s environmental impact.” 

The initiative by Airbus and Boeing to work together to help the aviation sector 

THE INITIATIVE BY THE TWO GIANTS 

OF THE AVIATION INDUSTRY IS PART 

OF A THREE-PRONGED APPROACH TO 

HELP IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENTAL 

PERFORMANCE OF AVIATION 

15 from Cape Canaveral was 

completed by a combined US 

Air Force/Lockheed Martin 

team. Declared operational for 

military and civilian navigation 

users worldwide, the spacecraft 

includes new features 

that enhance operations. 

New satellite affords more 

power, better fighter support 

The most powerful communications 

satellite in the US Department 

of Defense inventory 

went operational during mid- 

April. The Wideband Global 

SATCOM satellite is the first of 

six satellites that will take over 

long-haul communications 

from the legacy constellation, 

the Defense Satellite Communications 

System (DSCS). Originally 

planned as a gap filler 

between the DSCS and a more 

capable system, it evolved to 

become the new system. 

Raytheon wins GPS contract 

Raytheon Company has won 

a US Air Force contract to 

complete the development and 

and governments choose the most direct 

path to a modernised air traffic management 

system is part of a three-pronged 

approach to help improve the environmental 

performance of aviation. The other 

two prongs are competition, which is critical 

for environmental and technological 

advances that result in new aircraft programmes such as the Airbus A380 and 

Boeing 787, and support for industry alignment on environmental positions where 

appropriate. 

“I am convinced technology and innovation hold the key to reducing aviation’s 

environmental impact and increasing eco-efficiency,” Enders said. “And competition 

is a great motivator for this. Where Boeing and Airbus share a common position on 

the environment and safety, it is in all our interests that we cooperate to achieve our 

common goals more quickly.” 

In the last 40 years, the aviation industry has made significant improvements 

in aircraft efficiency with reductions of 70 per cent in carbon dioxide, 90 per cent in 

noise and 90 per cent less unburned hydrocarbons. The Advisory Council for Aeronautics 

Research in Europe targets reductions of 50 per cent in carbon dioxide and 80 

per cent in nitrogen oxides by 2020. A modernised air traffic management system will 

be a key contributor to achieve this goal. 

certification of next-generation 

global positioning receivers. 

Under the Modernized User 

Equipment program, the 

circuit card technology will 

connect military users with 

new GPS navigation signals 

compatible with enhanced 

NAVSTAR GPS satellites. 

Europe 

Astrium wins ESA contract 

to build Sentinel-2 

Astrium has been appointed 

by the European Space Agency 

to be the prime contractor 

to build Sentinel-2, the first 

optical satellite in the Sentinel 

series. The contract was 

signed in Friedrichshafen, 

Germany. Sentinel-2 will 

provide a permanent record 

of comprehensive data to help 

inform the agricultural sector 

(utilisation, coverage), forestry 

industry (population, damage, 

forest fires), disaster control 

(management, early warning) 

and humanitarian relief 

programmes. • 

QuickRoundUp 

Minuteman III Stage 1, 2 and 3 rocket 

motors. The Minuteman III Propulsion 

Replacement Program began in 1998. 

PRATT & WHITNEY 

• Pratt & Whitney’s Geared Turbofan 

demonstrator engine has begun Phase 

II ground testing at the company’s 

advanced test facility in West Palm 

Beach, Fla. Phase II of the ground test 

programme will focus on engine performance 

and acoustic characteristics 

with a flight capable nacelle system 

prior to initiating flight testing mid-year. 

RAYTHEON 

• Raytheon Company is developing 

transmit-receive modules based on 

the advanced semiconductor gallium 

nitride for use in future radar upgrades. 

• Raytheon Integrated Defense 

Systems of Woburn, Mass., has been 

awarded by the Missile Defense Agency 

an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity 

contract to support the design, 

development, and activation of a 

European-based mid-course radar to 

be completed by February 2013. 

• Raytheon Company was awarded 

an US Air Force contract for Phase 

II risk reduction of a radar-jamming 

variant of its Miniature Air Launched 

Decoy—a state-of-the-art, low-cost 

flight vehicle that is modular, airlaunched 

and programmable. 

SAAB 

• FMV, the Swedish Defence Material 

Administration has responded to a request 

from the Croatian government 

for information regarding the supply 

of 12 new Gripen fighters. 

SUKHOI 

• The State Corporation “Bank for 

Development and Foreign Economic 

Affairs” (Vnesheconombank, Russia), 

COFACE, a French export credit agency, 

and SACE, an Italian export credit 

agency signed a Joint statement on the 

establishment of an integrated export 

credit financing scheme for the Sukhoi 

Superjet 100 international sales. 

US 

• The USAF’s F-22 Raptor is under 

attack from clams dropped by birds 

on the Langley Air Force Base runway to 

break open the shell-fish appetizer. 



LASTWord 

SPAT 

Inglorious 

An 

Glory, or rather the lack of it in the condescending confines 

of ‘glorified’, and gumption, an unexpected dose 

from unexpected quarters, came into sharp focus at 

Calicut airport on April 7 when, following a heated 

altercation, Rajya Sabha MP Abdul Wahab was offloaded from 

an Air India aircraft under instructions of the Pilot-in-Command, 

Captain Rajat Rana. Unprecedented and unusual in 

many aspects, the incident has triggered a multi-faceted complexity. 

Adding a touch of the bizarre to the sensational, an 

employee of a state-owned—and not a private airline—dared 

to act against a powerful political entity in the Government. Not 

an experience Air India’s new CMD can hope to cherish within 

a week of assuming charge. 

Events leading up to the flashpoint were nothing out of the 

ordinary. The Air India flight from Bahrain arrived in Calicut 20 

minutes behind time and thereafter, departure for Cochin was 

held up for Wahab, who, escorted by the Duty Airport Manager, 

boarded the aircraft few minutes late. Worked up over the delay, 

Captain Rana reportedly started berating the Duty Airport 

Manager when Wahab allegedly entered the cockpit to intervene 

on behalf of the latter. The MP is accused of dubbing the 

Captain “a glorified driver”, provoking the pilot to stubbornly 

refuse to fly the aircraft with the MP onboard. Evidently, what 

seems to have triggered the Captain to throw the rule book at 

the VIP was the derogatory remark and not really the ‘security 

implications of unauthorised entry into the cockpit’. 

Fortunately, Wahab chose not to escalate matters and disembarked. 

One with lesser wisdom or humility could have 

adopted a confrontational approach, possibly demanding immediate 

intervention by the CMD Air India, the DGCA, Minister 

of Civil Aviation or even the Prime Minister. Opting to instead 

withdraw, the minister displayed exemplary wisdom, maturity, 

humility and grace even if it is construed by some as acceptance 

of guilt. A wealthy Keralite NRI entrepreneur in the Gulf, 

Wahab has been a member of the Rajya Sabha since 2004. 

Apart from controlling a vast business empire covering real 

estate, hospitality and shipping, he enjoys good reputation as a 

philanthropist and a thorough gentleman. 

A legacy of the colonial past, the VIP menace continues to 

afflict Indian society with sycophancy of state agencies contributing 

proactively to perpetuate this malaise. In this episode, 

Air India and the Ministry of Civil Aviation, both departments 

of the government, are in a dilemma: neither can afford to an- 


noy the VIP community 

nor can 

they take on pilots’ 

associations with 

the attendant risk 

of country-wide 

disruption of air 

services. Taking a 

serious view of the 

affront, the Indian 

Commercial Pilots’ 

Going by Rajya Sabha MP 

Abdul Wahab’s yardstick, 

even Neil Armstrong would 

perhaps fall in the same 

subservient social group— 

of ‘glorified drivers’! 

Association is determined to settle for nothing less than an 

apology from Wahab. He, on the other hand, has threatened 

action through the Parliament. Already, conciliatory signals are 

emanating from the Ministry of Civil Aviation. 

In retrospect, what is cause for dismay is the public display 

by a member of the political establishment of the pathetic 

lack of knowledge, poor understanding and scant respect for a 

highly specialised segment of professionals whose contribution 

to social and economic development of the nation can neither 

be undermined nor ignored. Going by the yardstick employed 

by Wahab, even Neil Armstrong would perhaps fall in the same 

subservient social group—of ‘glorified drivers’! The MP ought 

to appreciate that pilots are no less capable or specialised than 

professionals from any other discipline. The alleged remark 

appears especially indiscreet as one airline pilot had in the 

past held the position of Chief Executive of the nation. 

Air India’s immediate response that “the customer is 

always right” is perhaps limited to situations where the 

‘customer’ is a VIP, as this spirit is usually not perceptible 

in cases involving the common man. This time around, Air 

India has been caught off-guard—never before has anyone 

in the airline industry asserted his authority in the manner 

expressed by Captain Rana, albeit spontaneous and not 

premeditated. However, the key issue is whether Air India is 

able to recognise the feeble but clear signals indicating thin 

tolerance, simmering discontent and yearning for change. 

The manner in which the case is finally disposed of will give 

a clear indication of how serious the civil aviation authorities 

are about transforming Air India from a government department 

to a dynamic private enterprise capable of holding 

its own in a highly competitive world. SP 

— Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey

So, here we are... 

SP’s 

A n E x c l u s i v e M a g a z i n e o n C i v i l A v i a t i o n f r o m I n d i a 

www.spguidepublications.com

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