BY : ZEE NEWS

Russia will start deliveries of MiG-29K Fulcrum-D carrier fighters to India in the spring of 2009.

Russia and India signed a contract on January 20, 2004, stipulating the delivery of 12 single-seater MiG-29K and four two-seater MiG-29KUB by 2009, to be deployed on the Admiral Gorshkov, currently being retrofitted in Russia for the Indian Navy.

“The first four MiG-29K aircraft will be delivered to India in the spring of 2009,” said Mikhail Globenko, marketing director of MiG.

BY : PR


The METHYLE system is capable of simulating flight conditions up to Mach 7.5 (7500 km/h, 2400 Kelvin) for several minutes, for large-size mockups and prototypes, and thus comes as a unique test system in Europe and one of the very few resources of this type in the world.

METHYLE will strongly contribute to the technological development effort that is being made on high-speed aerobic propulsion by MBDA and ONERA, with support from DGA and the European Union, and in cooperation with CNRS (Orléans, Bourges, Nancy), the “Pôle capteurs” (sensors centre), Roxel, Astrium ST, and Auxitrol.

BY : Merinews


THERE IS a shortage of over 11,000 officers in the Indian Army. Lieutenant General Thomas Mathew told the media in a recruitment rally at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on September 26. He expressed satisfaction at the tremendous turnout at the recruitment rally for soldiers.

Explaining the shortage, Major General MN Kashid, additional director general (recruiting) told that the shortfall is in the Short Service Commission grades. “We have a huge demand for captains and majors. The Army has initiated a four pronged approach to fill this gap. A widespread publicity campaign targetted at youth about the life in the Army, is also in process.

BY : PIB

The Minister for Civil Aviation Shri Praful Patel will inaugurate the first ever-International Exhibition & Conference on Civil Aviation, “India Aviation 2008” at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad on 15th October 2008. Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh will be the chief guest. Eminent speakers from the aviation sector across address the conferences. The Ministry of Civil Aviation and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) are jointly organizing the event.

India Aviation 2008 will showcase the development of Indian Civil Aviation industry at a time when India is becoming a major aviation player. The event will highlight the history, growth and present stature of Indian Civil Aviation.

BY : Indian Express Newspapers

India and France on Tuesday agreed to bolster bilateral defence ties by working on joint development of quick reaction short range surface-to-air missiles (SRSAM) and concluding a crucial deal on upgradation of IAF’s frontline Mirage 2000 fighters.

Transformation of defence ties from a buyer-seller relationship to joint production and transfer of technology for making hi-tech weapon systems and platforms was highlighted in a joint statement issued after summit talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris.

Negotiations on upgradation of IAF’s fleet of 52 Mirages 2000 fighters, w

BY : India Today

The Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) being jointly developed by India and Russia will look substantially different for the two countries. While the Russian version will be a single-pilot fighter, the Indian variant will have a twin-seat configuration based on its operational doctrine which calls for greater radius of combat operations.

"The Indian FGFA is significantly different from the Rusisan aircraft because a second pilot means the addition of another dimension, development of wings and control surfaces," said Ashok Baweja, chairman of the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), which is developing the aircraft alongwith Russia's Sukhoi design bureau.

Speaking to mediapersons at the eighth Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC), Baweja said that both sides

BY : IANS


A railway line uncomfortably close to the runway of the Agra air force base, one of the largest in India, sends the authorities into a tizzy every time a train passes by.

"Anybody can attack the air base from the train with the help of a shoulder mounted weapon. Even though the attack will not cause much damage it will send all the wrong signals," a senior Indian Air Force (IAF) said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Even though the assets of the air force base, covering an area of 3,400 acres, are away from the line of fire, the authorities feel that the terror threat is "real".

BY : Flight International

Rand's 90-slide briefing presented in August argues that the US Air Force's fifth-generation fighter fleet could be outmatched by hordes of lesser-skilled Chinese Sukhoi Su-27 pilots in a 2020 battle over the Taiwan Straits. In the Rand war game, China launches an air attack on skies above Taiwan. Using advantages of proximity and sheer numbers, the assault force consists of 72 Su-27 Flankers, 24 in each of three regiments. Operating from Andersen AFB, Guam, the USAF can muster only six Lockheed F-22s in the Taiwan Straits at any time.

As the engagement starts, Chinese Flankers outnumber F-22s by 72 to six. The F-22s are also heavily outgunned in the battle. Three Su-27 regiments carry a total of 912 air-to-air missiles, compared with 48 by six F-22s.

BY : THE HINDU

Laying of keel for India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC), originally named Air Defence Ship (ADS), will take place at the Cochin Shipyard in December this year when a major construction block will be lowered into the building bay.

“We are looking forward to completing close to 400 of the total 900 blocks by the time the keel is laid. And the tonnage would be about 8,000 tonnes,” sources told The Hindu.

Despite the initial hiccups caused by non-availability of warship-grade steel, the construction is right on course using the integrated hull outfitting and painting method.

It is concurrent engineering with regard to design and construction, and steel is sourced “primarily” from the Steel Authority of India (SAIL).

BY : RIA Novosti

Russia and India will jointly develop a new BrahMos-2 hypersonic cruise missile, the head of the BrahMos company said on Monday.

"Today, at a meeting of the Russian-Indian intergovernmental commission on military-technical cooperation, we decided to set up a working group on the development of the BrahMos-2 missile," the company's CEO, Sivathanu Pillai said.

"The new hypersonic missile will have a top speed of over Mach 5, which would make it impossible to intercept," he added.