The above five photos graphically illustrate both the missed opportunities as well as the challenges now confronting Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to deliver the new-generation HTT-40 advanced turboprop trainer to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The first photo is that of the long-forgotten HTT-35 advanced turboprop trainer, in particular its full-scale mock-up, which was designed and fabricated in-house by HAL in the late 1980s and rolled out in the early 1990s?all in all a four-year effort. The objective at that time was to team up with a global avionics supplier (most probably THALES) and co-design the semi-glass tandem cockpits and offer the aircraft for evaluation by the IAF by 1998. However, after 1994 the HTT-35 disappeared, literally! One can only speculate on what exactly happened to this full-scale mock-up, or on why did the MoD or IAF HQ develop a coordinated ?memory loss? on the need to series-produce the HTT-35. For it was realised as far back as 1998 that the induction of fourth-generation combat aircraft such as the Su-30MKI and the likely induction of additional medium multi-role combat aircraft (M-MRCA) and the fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) would force the IAF sooner than later into undertaking a critical revision of its flying training practices that included primary flying training, intermediate flying training, and lead-in fighter training (LIFT).

Each of these three stages requires a dedicated flying training aircraft, starting with benign turboprop trainers, followed by intermediate jet trainers (IJT), and culminating in LIFT aircraft, following which those destined to fly combat aircraft are assigned to a dedicated Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) to convert to a particular aircraft type by either training on tactical simulators for some 40 hours, or directly proceeding to gain flight experience for some 200 hours on the single/twin-seat operational combat aircraft. As a rule, therefore, air forces worldwide upgrade their fleets of flying training aircraft by first procuring advanced turboprop trainers, followed by intermediate or advanced jet trainers, and lastly, LIFT aircraft. For the IAF, however, this is not the way flying training is being or has been conducted for a number of reasons. Firstly, Air HQ has yet to induct a suitable turboprop trainer to replace its existing fleet of piston-engined HPT-32 Deepak primary trainers of 1980s vintage. Although HAL had in the mid-1990s done considerable R & D work on the HTT-35 tandem-seat turboprop training aircraft, such efforts, for mysterious reasons, could not culminate in the HTT-35 being put to series-production. Secondly, HAL has for the past two years been unable to accelerate R & D work on the indigenous tandem-seat HJT-36 IJT, work on which began in July 1999, but the first prototype aircraft was able to take to the air only on March 7, 2003. To make matters worse, it was only on March 9, 2006 that the Cabinet Committee on National Security approved the acquisition of the first 12 production-standard IJTs at a cost of Rs4,868.2 million, which means initial deliveries will only get underway by late 2009. Meanwhile, deliveries of all BAE Systems Hawk Mk132s will be concluded before even the first 12 HJT-36s start rolling out. This, consequently, will result in the IAF?s Training Command revising its LIFT syllabus first and the intermediate flying training curriculum later?a top-down approach?instead of undertaking a bottoms-up approach. What is likely to complicate matters even further is the IAF?s inability, till this day, to procure both cockpit procedure trainers and tactical flying training simulators for frontline combat aircraft like the upgraded MiG-21 Bison and the upgraded MiG-27Ms. It is another story that existing simulators for the HAL-built Jaguar IS/IM and Dassault Mirage 2000H/TH are in dire need of upgrades and refurbishment.

Given the accelerated induction of Su-30MKIs and the impending induction of new-generation M-MRCAs and FGFAs, it is therefore highly likely that the MoD will soon issue global RFPs for up to 60 new-generation turboprop training aircraft and the follow-on tranche of 57 LIFT aircraft. Simply put, LIFT encompasses the entire process of preparing aircrew to both fly and undertake flight/weapon systems management found on board fourth- and fifth-generation combat aircraft in the most effective way. The idea here is to utilise LIFT aircraft and its related tactical full-motion simulators in a way that replicates the flight control and management characteristics of those frontline combat aircraft that have cost-prohibitive direct operating costs per flight hour. Typically, a LIFT aircraft therefore is employed for imparting flying training in the following phases: transition, all-weather formation flying, combat manoeuvring, low-level navigation, ground attack orientation, cockpit systems management, mission planning, weapons delivery, and multi-mode radar operations. Though the Hawk Mk132 is often touted as having ?morphed? into a LIFT aircraft, it cannot yet be classified as a LIFT platform for the following reasons:

? A LIFT aircraft, in order to replicate the flight control characteristics of aircraft like the Su-30MKI, FGFA or MiG-29K, will be required to have a digital, quadruplex fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system. The Hawk Mk132 does not have FBW flight controls.

? The LIFT aircraft must be supersonic and have a thrust-to-weight ratio between 0.7 and 1.0, against 0.45 for the Hawk Mk132, which is subsonic in flight.

? High angle-of-attack capability while maintaining full control, and possessing a multi-mode pulse-Doppler fire-control radar is a must for any LIFT aircraft. The Hawk Mk132 is found lacking in both these areas.

It is purely for these reasons that aircraft manufacturers like Aermacchi of Italy, Russia?s United Aircraft Corp and the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries have developed new-generation supersonic LIFT aircraft like the M-346, Yak-130 and T-50 Golden Eagle. Aircraft like these have been optimised for imparting basic combat training, weapons employment training, and enhancing the aircrew?s on-board avionics-related systems handling/management skills. The secondary role of such LIFT aircraft in wartime could be both defensive counter-air as well as tactical interdiction missions. Given such realities, the options ahead for the IAF are three-fold:

? Revive the HTT-35 along with HAL (as the HTT-40) and equip the aircraft?s cockpits with AMLCD-based electronic flight instrumentation systems (see Photo 2 above) designed to enhance the trainee pilot?s aircraft handling and systems management skills.

? Accelerate the certification process of the single-engined HJT-36 IJT and upgrade its cockpits by installing AMLCD-based avionics and electronic flight instrumentation/management systems, all integrated by MIL-STD-1553B digital data bus.

In addition, a LIFT-specific mission planning system should be developed as an integral part of the LIFT curriculum. Such a system, replicating those of frontline combat aircraft, should enable rapid mission planning on the ground, with aircraft loading via a manportable data loader. The mission data loader should be fully compatible with all frontline operational ground-based training systems, and should also act as the data storage medium for mission recording automatically from power-on to shutdown. To enable full mission playback after flight, the system should record all display input data, with provision for event markers where required.?Prasun K. Sengupta

Source: Trishul Group

HMAS Tobruk - L 50

TOBRUK gives the Australian Defence Force an amphibious heavy lift capability. The ship is a multi -purpose troop and roll-on/roll-off, heavy vehicle carrier built by Carrington Slipways Pty Ltd at Tomago, near Newcastle , NSW. The design includes facilities for bow and stern loading, beaching, a drive-through capacity and inter-deck transfers via ramps.

TOBRUK can transport 18 Leopard tanks, 40 Armoured Personnel Carriers or 40 Australian Light Armoured Vehicles. The Vehicle Deck has been reinforced to enable the transportation of two Landing Craft Mechanical-8 (LCM-8) on specially designed cradles. In addition, two Landing Craft Vehicular Personnel units (LCVP) are secured by davits on either side of the superstructure. The ship's roll-on/roll-off function is supplemented by 2 x 8.5 tonne capacity Favco cranes and a Velle derrick capable of lifting up to 70 tonnes. The amphibious role is enhanced by forward and aft helicopter decks, which can be operated simultaneously. Helicopters can also be refuelled on both decks.
TOBRUK can accommodate up to 300 troops for extended duration. In an overloaded state, the ship can provide accommodation for up to 520 troops for short periods of time.

Laid Down: 7 February 1979
Launched: 1 March 1980
Commissioned: 23 April 1981
Displacement: 5800 tonnes
Length: 127 metres
Beam: 18 metres
Armament: 6 x 12.7mm Machine Guns and 2 x Mini Typhoon Guns
Main Machinery: 2 x Diesels
Speed: 16 knots = (30 km/hr)
Ships Company: Approximately 150
Troops: Up to 520
Landing Craft: Two LCVP on davits, two LCM-8s as deck cargo
Aircraft: In support of Amphibious Operations (ranging from the Squirrel AS350-B to Chinook CH47)

Source: defence.gov.au

Source: Gallery Kapal Perang

Kamov K-50 Hokum

Source: Pravda.Ru

Source: Gallery Pesawat Tempur

Israel's Iron-Dome Missile Interceptor to Become Operational by May 2010

The Israel Ministry of Defense confirmed the Iron Dome Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) interceptor system has passed system qualification tests in recent days. Expecting to receive the first systems next month, the Israel Air Force (IAF) air defense command Iron Dome battalion is scheduled to reach initial operational capability in five months (sometime in May 2010). Iron Dome is developed and produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

Source: Defence Update

In developing a comprehensive appreciation of the Chinese People?s Liberation Army?s (PLA) already formidable presence in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and the neighbouring western province of Xinjiang, one needs to take note of the fact that Xinjiang, with its domestic oil fields in the Tarin Basin and its role as a hub for oil and gas pipelines arriving from Pakistan and Central Asia, has now become China?s main source of non-seaborne hydrocarbons-based products. The TAR, on the other hand, possesses large amounts of zircon, chromium, rutile, magnesium and titanium that are needed by China?s heavy industries. Large amounts of cobalt and copper also lie astride the now operational 1,118km-long Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Consequently, the immensely strategic value of these regions and their resources has resulted in the increased deployment of the PLA?s rapid reaction forces (RRF, or kuaisu fanyin budui), and also better known as ?Resolving Emergency Mobile Combat Forces, or REMCF) to these regions in order to prepare for any contingencies that might threaten its interests. To support the rapid deployment of its REMCFs in TAR and Xinjiang, the PLA in 2007 completed the construction of two major heli-bases and a massive ELINT/SIGINT station in Aksai Chin to conduct early-warning and border surveillance missions that could, potentially, substantially threaten Indian Army positions in Sub-sector North and Sub-sector West and the Saltoro Range. The two new heli-bases are the biggest in the world at 16,000 feet and could accommodate 300 medium-lift air-mobility helicopters, light armed aeroscouts and attack helicopters at a time. Simultaneously, the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) last made operational an air base near Xining in Western China. Last but not the least, the Golmund-Lhasa-Qinghai-Tibet Railway (QTR) network has now tripled the PLA?s offensive power against India, with reinforcements reaching from the Beijing and Shanghai military regions in 18 hours instead of the earlier 80 hours. Besides, the rail networks also now enable the REMCF formations from Gansu and Shaanxi provinces to be deployed by rail in less than 12 hours to carry out limited but intensive offensive campaigns against deployed Indian forces in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

The PLA began raising its first REMCF formations in the late 1980s. A 100,000-man fully mechanised REMCF specialising in combined-arms land campaigns was established in 1992 and placed under the direct control of the Central Military Commission (CMC). This mission-oriented REMCF was given the tasks of border defence, dealing with internal armed conflict, maintaining public order, and conducting disaster relief missions. For creating this REMCF, each PLA Group Army Corps of every Military Region (MR) selected an Infantry Division to be the designated REMCF for dealing with emergency situations in every Military Region (MR). This was followed by a second tri-service 300,000-strong REMCF formation (also under the CMC?s command) in 1998, made up of the PLA Army?s 91 Division and 121 Division, the PLA Navy?s 5th Amphibious Landing Detachment, and the PLA Air Force?s (PLAAF) 15th Airborne Division. The 15th Airborne Division comprises three airborne brigades. The 43rd Brigade, stationed in Kaifeng, Henan Province, is attached to the Jinan MR. The 44th Brigade, stationed in Yinshan, Hubei Province, is attached to the Lanzhou MR. The 45th Brigade, stationed in Huangpi, Hubei Province, is also attached to the Lanzhou MR. The Division also includes elements of the PLAAF?s 13th Transport Division. The Division too is directly under the CMC?s control (and not under the PLA?s General Staff Department). Strategically, the airborne troops are considered to be a reserve force, yet in tactical terms they are deployed as an advance force. It can also be reconstituted as an air-mobile RRF.

The PLA Army has also since established a Regiment-level Army Special Force (ASF) in every MR as an RRF unit, directly under the MR HQ?s command. The principal officers of the ASF, including the commander, political commissar, and chief of staff, are full Colonels. Officers above the Platoon-level are University graduates and receive further education in the Army Command Academy. In every Group Army, a Battalion-level special reconnaissance task force has been set up under the Group Army HQ?s command. Officers and men of this ASF are selected from reconnaissance and technical units of every Group Army. The wash-out rate is about 50% after receiving further tests and training. In addition, every MR has established special training facilities for their ASF/RRF units. These facilities impart training on ?five defences?, including means to defend against nuclear/biological/chemical attacks, electronic countermeasures, and employment of precision-guided weapon systems. The timeframe of each exercise for such RRF/ASF elements is three days and troops are given a two-day food ration. The exercise missions include occupying and defending strategic key points, sabotaging airfields, anti-air attack, anti-reconnaissance, and survival course training. Combined-arms tri-services RRF and REMCF exercises (conceptualised and directed by the PLA?s first combined-arms tactical training centre in the Nanjing MR) were first carried out in 1995 and 1996 in the Gobi desert, the Tibetan and Xinjiang highlands, and in the southwestern tropical forests to enhance the RRF?s and REMCF?s adaptive survival capabilities.

The ASF/RRF units currently deployed throughout the TAR specialise in the conduct of reconnaissance combat operations (RBD), which involves the extensive use of signals intelligence, helicopters (air-mobility, armed aeroscout and attack) and high-mobility reconnaissance teams to provide actionable intelligence for light mechanised infantry formations which are then able to serve as blocking forces to ambush and halt retreating hostile ground-based interdiction forces, as well as provide fire coordination for long-range field artillery and tactical air support. The operational environment in the TAR and Xinjiang regions?comprising the world?s largest mountain ranges and high desert plateaus?has required that lighter forces be deployed, since the terrain and the long borders are generally unsuited for operations to be undertaken by large heavily armoured formations. Consequently, the PLA Army has equipped its Brigade-sized REMCFs in Tibet and the 6th Independent Division in Xinjiang?the first fully mechanised infantry Division to be deployed at this height?with wheeled armured fighting vehicles and all-terrain logistics vehicles. These include the NORINCO-built WMZ-550 four-wheeled, WMZ-551B (Type 92A) six-wheeled and WMZ-525 eight-wheeled family of armoured personnel carriers (APC), armoured infantry fighting vehicles (AIFV) and tank destroyers, and the WMZ-551A (Type 92) and WMZ-501 Type 86 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) and PLZ-95 combined gun/missile air defence system mounted on a tracked hull. These vehicles are organised along the lines of a cavalry battalion. In both regions, the AIFVs are equipped with one-man high elevation turrets that are mounted with 25mm and 30mm automatic cannons. Such turrets allow the AIFVs to engage targets located high in the mountains. In addition, the ability of the 25mm/30mm cannons to penetrate light armour gives it a measure of security if it were to face light tanks.

The structure of the 6th Independent Division follows the standard PLA triangular organisation, comprising three mechanised infantry or armoured Platoons to a Company, three Companies to a Battalion, three Battalions to a Brigade and three Brigades to a Division. The Division comprises three mechanised infantry Brigades, one MBT Brigade (equipped with Type 96G MBTs), one field artillery Brigade (equipped with SH-1 155mm/52-calibre motorised self-propelled guns, WS-2 and AR-2 MBRLs), one air defence Brigade (equipped with the PLZ-95, Yitian SHORADS and KS-1A M-SAMs), one helicopter wing, and a logistics Brigade. The Division HQ comprises a combat engineer Battalion, an electronic warfare Battalion, a chemical defence Battalion, the Company-size Division HQ Staff, an integral air defence unit and a quick-reaction force Company. There are a total of 351 Type 86 AIFVs in this Division, which are supported by an Artillery Brigade of 72 155mm/52-calibre PLZ-05 guns and a MBT Battalion of 99 Type 96Gs. Type 89 tracked armoured command vehicles are liberally provided throughout the Division down to the company-level to provide command-and-control capabilities. The Type 86 AIFV sports a one-man universal turret containing a 30mm chain gun. The turret also has greater depression and elevation to enable individual windows and mountainsides to be engaged. The Battalion?s support Company includes one mortar Company (armed with 10 W-99 82mm mortars mounted on 4 x 4 vehicles), an automatic grenade launcher (AGL) Platoon with two vehicles each equipped with two 35mm AGLs, one anti-tank Platoon of two vehicles sharing three anti-tank guided-missile systems (the HJ-9A mounted on ZFB-05 APCs). There are 18 ZFB-05s in each Brigade providing 72 anti-tank guided missile launchers in the Division. There is also an air defence Platoon of three PLZ-95s with four FN-6 VSHORADS missiles per vehicle for a total of twelve. The Division has 27 motorised air defence vehicles and has 108 VSHORADS launchers that come under the operational control of the air defence Brigade, which comprises one Battalion of 24 towed 57mm anti-aircraft guns and one Battalion of 18 towed twin 3omm ?Giant Bow? anti-aircraft guns. An air defence Platoon of six PLZ-95s and one Yitian launcher are attached to the field artillery Brigade. A new addition to the 6th Division is a helicopter wing with one squadron of six Harbin Z-9G attack helicopters and one transport squadron of six Mi-17V-5 air-mobility helicopters.

Operational logistics are provided assets that are attached to the REMCFs as required. The all-terrain vehicles and weapons (built by NORINCO, Yongkang ADBTEV Vehicle Co Ltd in Zhejiang, Chongqing Yonghui Technology Development Co Ltd, Chongqing Jinguan High-Technology Group, and Shaanxi Baoji Special Vehicles Manufacturing Co Ltd) are much lighter than those in other PLA Army mechanised units, reducing their logistical footprint and providing tactical mobility, allowing for more roads and bridges to be used during operations. In addition, a wide range of wheeled light specialist vehicles have been inducted into service. These vehicles can be armed with weapons that include the NDM-86 7.62mm sniper rifle, PF-98A 120mm LAW, PF-89A 80mm LAW, QJG-02 12.7mm HMG, Type 82 106mm RCL, Type 88 5.8mm sniper rifle, Type 89 12.7mm sniper rifle, and the Type 91 35mm grenade launcher.

For ultra-low-level air defence of installations like heli-bases, air bases and logistics bases, state-owned China North Industries Corp (NORINCO) has begun delivering two new systems to the PLA Army: the LD-2000 close-in weapon system (CIWS); and the Yitian VSHORADS. The LD-2000 is mounted on a locally developed cross-country 8 x 8 truck. To provide a more stable firing platform, four stabilisers are lowered to the ground. Mounted at the rear is the remote-controlled turret armed with a 30mm seven-barrel cannon. Two ammunition boxes each hold 500 rounds of ready-to-use ammunition. One magazine holds armour-piercing discarding-sabot and the other high-explosive rounds. The 30mm cannon has a cyclic rate of fire of 4,000 rounds/minute out to 3km, but airborne targets will be engaged between 1km and 1.5km. The power-operated mount is unmanned and laid onto the target by a gunner who is seated in a fully enclosed module to the rear of the cab. Mounted on the top of the 30mm gun mount is a wide-band tracking radar and an optronic fire-control system, which also incorporates a laser rangefinder. Target information comes from a wheeled command/control vehicle fitted with a CPMIEC-built TD-2000B surveillance radar, which controls between three and six LD 2000 firing units. Another version of the LD-2000 comes equipped with the gun plus six TY-90 VSHORADS missiles.

The Yitian VSHORADS is mounted on NORINCO?s WZ-551 series 6 x 6 APC. A turret, armed with four TY-90s located either side of the sensor package, is mounted on the upper part of the WZ-551?s chassis. The sensor package comprises an optronic system, above which is mounted a new 3-D radar that can be folded down into a horizontal position while travelling. The 3-D radar has a detection range of 18km and a tracking range of 10km. Targets can be tracked either in the optronic mode or in the radar mode, with the latter being especially useful when there is a threat of electronic countermeasures. Yitian also features an automatic target tracking and engagement capability and can engage targets with a maximum velocity of up to 400 metres/second, with a claimed reaction time of six to eight seconds. The TY-90 solid-propellant missile has a maximum effective range between 300 metres and 6km, with altitude coverage from 15 metres up to 4km. The fire-and-forget missile is transported and launched from a box-type container and has four fins at the rear and four control surfaces at the front. Once the missiles have been fired, new missiles are reloaded using a support vehicle. The WZ-551 chassis includes a nuclear/biological/chemical warfare protection system, and a central tyre pressure regulation system that allows the driver to adjust the tyre pressure to suite the terrain being crossed. A 12.7mm machine gun is mounted at the front right side of the vehicle for local defence, with a bank of three electrically operated smoke grenade launchers mounted either side of the turret. Optional equipment includes an identification friend-or-foe capability.

For airborne EW operations in support of limited war campaigns conducted by REMCFs, the PLAAF has deployed the Y-8XZ platform since April 2007. The aircraft features large fairings forward of the main landing gear compartments, as well as two large plate antennae on each side of the rear fuselage. Other features include twin-blade antennae on both sides of the vertical tailfin, a wire antenna underneath the rear fuselage, and a SATCOMS antenna on top of the real fuselage. The Y-8XZ can also be pressed into service for conducting psychological operations and has on board high-power broadcast equipment

The PLA?s Army Aviation Unit (AAU), raised in April 1986, is tasked with deploying armed aeroscout (Z-11), air-mobility (Mi-17V-5) and attack helicopters (ZW-9G) to support ground operations. The AAU is directly under General Staff Department (GSD) command, and has been seen in several combined exercises in Northern China (Huabei), TAR and Xinjiang performing reconnaissance, anti-armour attack, special forces insertion, electronic countermeasures operations, and command post relocation. For reconnaissance operations by night, the AAU has in its inventory several Z-9G helicopters equipped with imaging infra-red LORROS sensors using secure data links to provide near-real time fire-support observation and coordination in high-altitude terrain. To enter service in the near future will be the Zhisheng ZW-10A twin-engined light attack helicopter. It may be recalled that Pratt & Whitney Canada had sent 10 PT6C-67Cs engines to China in 2001 and 2002 under a Canadian government export license for use in the 6-tonne AMHU medium-lift helicopter that is currently under development by China National South Aviation Industry Ltd, Changhe Aircraft Industries Group (CAIG) and China Helicopter Research and Development Institute (CHRDI), both based in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province. It has now been confirmed that these engines have mysteriously ended up in the ZW-10A, whose maiden flight took place on April 29, 2003. China, however, claims that the two helicopters are being developed on a ?common platform? that share common rotors and transmissions. The tandem-seat ZW-10A is fitted with a fly-by-wire flight control system, twin glass cockpits, nose-mounted optronic turret, and a chin-mounted 20mm cannon. The electronic warfare suite, developed by CETC International, includes a radar warning receiver (RWR), laser warning receiver, infra-red jammer and chaff/flare dispensers. Twin stub wings provide four stores stations for external ordnance like the HJ-10A laser-guided missile and TY-90 laser-guided air combat missile.--Prasun K. Sengupta

Source: Trishul Group

Source: Trishul Group