[🇮🇳] Indian Air Force News & Updates

[Old School]

India Approves Full Development Of Fifth-Generation Fighter​

India’s Cabinet Committee on Security has given a green light to continue development of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, India’s indigenous fifth-generation fighter jet.

The state-run Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. are leading this development effort. The committee early this month granted the project 150 trillion rupees (U.S. $1.8 billion) to fund the twin-engine AMCA’s full-scale design and development, flight testing and certification.

Krishna Rajendra, AMCA project director at the Aeronautical Development Agency, said five prototypes are expected. He also confirmed the fighter’s maiden flight should occur before the end of 2028.

The Indian Air Force previously said it would like seven squadrons of these stealthy fighters. Although the government has not formally stated when AMCA will commence series production, Indian media are quoting a date of 2035.

K.P Sanjeev Kumar, a former Indian naval aviation test pilot and aviation commentator, told Defense News “an optimistic and realistic timeframe for final operational clearance would be 2040 or beyond.” Final operational clearance refers to an aircraft attaining its full capabilities so it is ready for service.

The Air Force’s first two AMCA squadrons will receive Mk-1 aircraft, powered by General Electric F414 engines that produce 22,000 pounds of thrust.

Later, the next five squadrons will receive the AMCA Mk-2, with bigger engines producing nearer 25,000 pounds of thrust for a supersonic cruising capability. The new engine with thrust vector control will be co-developed with a foreign partner.

Development of the AMCA commenced in 2008, and its design was finalized in 2022. Last December, it successfully passed a platform-level critical design review.

This is India’s second domestic fighter program. However, the preceding Tejas fighter’s maiden flight occurred in 2001, and the first Tejas entered an operational squadron 15 years later — suggesting AMCA’s timeline may shift. India also suffered a costly failure when it attempted to develop the Kaveri engine for the Tejas light fighter.

 

[Old School]

[H1]New Delhi to acquire domestically produced Tejas jets worth $7.8 billion[/H1]
The Indian Ministry of Defense is planning to acquire 97 fighter jets from state-owned aerospace manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), ANI news agency reported on Friday. The deal is worth an estimated 650 billion rupees ($7.8 billion) and would be the largest purchase of domestically produced warplaces by the Indian military.

The procurement of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk 1A fighter aircraft is part of an ongoing effort to replace the current fleet of MiG fighter jets, which were procured over a number of decades from the USSR and Russia.

It would be HAL's second contract for Tejas after an initial batch of 83 domestically manufactured jets was procured in 2021 under a contract valued at 480 billion rupees ($6 billion).

India's indigenous fighter aircraft program is expected to be a major catalyst for promoting domestic manufacturing, and will offer business opportunities to small and medium enterprises under New Delhi's updated policy aiming to attract private companies to the defense sector.

New Delhi to acquire domestically produced jets worth $7.8 billion

The Indian military is seeking to purchase 97 Tejas fighter jets, which are manufactured by state-owned HAL

www.rt.com

 

[4MikeEcho]

This is typical India. For a decade telling the world on 126 aircraft MRCA and all sort of fly offs against different suppliers and all but ultimately the beggars are going to fly their own airplane . All those mostly European companies bending over backwards thinking India will do something with the same efficiency they run a bad call center learned the lesson. At the end even Lockheed came with an update F-16. But India destiny was always Tejas. I hope from here on India is Tejas all the way

 

[Old School]

They are paying off some BJP affiliated businesses from the public funds for their contribution to the BJP party fund in the name of make in India. We see the same practice in the Pentagon defense contracts.

 

[Old School]

[H1]Indian Air Force's oldest pilot Dalip Singh Majithia passes away at 103[/H1]

Squadron Leader Dalip Singh Majithia's cremation will be held today at noon at his farm in Uttarakhand. He joined the Indian Air Force volunteer reserve in 1940 during World War-II. Squadron Leader Dalip Singh Majithia was the oldest living pilot of the Indian Air Force.
Indian Air Force's oldest pilot Dalip Singh Majithia passes away at 103 | Chandigarh News - The Indian Express

 

[Saif]

"No Runner Up In Conflict", Eastern Command Head Says #IAF Keeping Pace With Fast Changing Dynamics​

 

[Bilal9]

 

[Saif]

The Indian Air Force has lost one Jaguar bomber as it was crashed during training at night. One pilot is dead and the other one survives. A committee has been formed to investigate the reason for the crash. Primarily it was claimed by the Indian Air Force that the Jaguar bomber was crashed due to mechanical failure.