SP's Aviation May 2013

CABIN ALTITUDE: 3,300 FT / 1,005 M PASSENGERS: 11-18 PANORAMIC WINDOWS: 16

P

HILOSOPHY OF COMFORT

The all-new G650 gives you the most comfortable, relaxing and technically-advanced cabin ever offered in an ultra-long-range business jet. Panoramic windows, 100 percent fresh-air circulation and intuitive touch-screen controls enhance your overall travel experience. Our philosophy of comfort is just a part of making our G650 flagship The World Standard®.

INDIA:

+91 98 182 95755

– ROHIT KAPUR rohit.kapur@arrowaircraft.com

Gulfstream Authorized Sales Representative

TOLL FREE 1800 103 2003

INTL:

+65 6256 8301

– JASON AKOVENKO jason.akovenko@gulfstream.com

Regional Vice President, Asia / Pacific

GULFSTREAMG650.com

table of contents

vol 16  ISSUE 5 • MAY • 2013

Cover Photo: The Gulfstream G650 is tailored for executives-on-the-move. The company will showcase its latest products at EBACE 2013.

Cessna citation sovereign: The all-new cabin offers an improved seat design with recessed armrests to widen the aisle

Photograph by: Gulfstream

Tecknow 11 Flying at Mach 5.1 SP’s Exclusive 12

Negotiations “Back on Track”

Civil 20

Business Aviation

40 Fighters

Mother of all Programmes

42

Exercise Live Wire

Show of Might

24

EBACE Curtain Raiser

28

Airline Business

30

Regional Aviation

regular Departments A Word from Editor-in-Chief 3

36

India Aviation 2014

6 NewsWithViews No Helicopters for VVIPs

As Yet Untapped

Scaling New Heights

CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY 22

Interview

Naveen Jindal

Military 37 Industry

Opportunity of a Lifetime

www.spsaviation.net

Lead Story

Preview

G650: On Record-Setting World Tour Arab Spring In India?

page 14

8

In Focus

9

Forum

Getting the Act Right

43

Hall of Fame

44

NewsDigest

48

Last Word

A National Priority

Office high up in the sky Manufacturers of business jets understand the importance of the executive-on-the-move and are pandering to their requirements. The executive, on the other hand, is living a jet-set lifestyle, handling pressures in style. These are part of the perks as one moves up the ladder.

Manfred von Richthofen

NEXT ISSUE VIP Helicopters

Quality is the Key

ISSUE 5  • 2013

1

table of contents 28

Jet Airways-Etihad Deal

Publisher And Editor-in-Chief Jayant Baranwal senior Editor Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey Assistant Group editor R. Chandrakanth Editorial adviser Air Marshal (Retd) Anil Chopra Senior Technical Group Editor Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand Assistant editor Sucheta Das Mohapatra

22

Contributors India Group Captain (Retd) A.K. Sachdev Group Captain (Retd) Joseph Noronha

Interview with Naveen Jindal

Europe Alan Peaford USA & Canada LeRoy Cook Chairman & Managing Director Jayant Baranwal Planning & Business Development Executive Vice President: Rohit Goel ADMIN & COORDINATION Bharti Sharma

37

MMRCA: Opportunities and Challenges

design Holistic Directions: Jayant Baranwal Creative Director: Anoop Kamath Designers: Vimlesh Kumar Yadav, Sonu Singh Bisht Research Assistant: Graphics Survi Massey

DIRECTOR SALES & MARKETING Neetu Dhulia SALES & MARKETING General Manager Sales: Rajeev Chugh SP’s websites Sr Web Developer: Shailendra P. Ashish Web Developer: Ugrashen Vishwakarma © SP Guide Publications, 2013 Subscription/ Circulation Annual Inland: Rs 1200 • Foreign: US$ 320 Email: subscribe@spguidepublications.com subscribe@spsaviation.net LETTER TO EDITOR editor@spsaviation.net expert@spsaviation.net FOR Advertising details, contact: neetu@spguidepublications.com rajeev.chugh@spguidepublications.com SP GUIDE PUBLICATIONS PVT LTD A-133 Arjun Nagar, (Opposite Defence Colony) New Delhi 110 003, India. Tel: +91 (11) 24644693, 24644763, 24620130 Fax: +91 (11) 24647093 Email: info@spguidepublications.com Representative Office BENGALURU, INDIA 204, Jal Vayu Vihar, Kalyan Nagar Bengaluru 560043, India. Tel: +91 (80) 23682204 MOSCOW, RUSSIA LAGUK Co., Ltd., (Yuri Laskin) Krasnokholmskaya, Nab., 11/15, app. 132, Moscow 115172, Russia. Tel: +7 (495) 911 2762 Fax: +7 (495) 912 1260

Owned, published and printed by Jayant Baranwal, printed at Kala Jyothi Process Pvt Ltd 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.

www.spguidepublications.com 2

ISSUE 5  • 2013

www.spsaviation.net

A word from editor-in-chief MMRCA holds in its wake tremendous opportunities not only for the OEMs, but more importantly for the indigenous aerospace industry in the private sector in India. With offset obligation pitched at 50 per cent of the contract value, there is about $10 billion (`55,000 crore) worth of business waiting to be exploited.

T

There is good news for the Indian aerospace industry as negotiations in the deal for the 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), after having encountered minor turbulence, is once again on track. There is a good chance that the negotiations, though somewhat behind schedule, would be completed before the end of the calendar year and the contract with Dassault for the MMRCA would be inked by the time the current financial year ends. There is revival of hope that the Indian Air Force (IAF) may well begin to induct the aircraft by 2017. The MMRCA contract holds in its wake tremendous opportunities not only for the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), but also more importantly for the indigenous aerospace industry in the private sector in India. With offset obligation pitched at 50 per cent of the contract value, there is about $10 billion (`55,000 crore) worth of business waiting to be exploited. And with transfer of technology built into the contract, the Indian aerospace industry would have an opportunity to leapfrog into the next generation. In this issue, there is an in-depth analysis by Air Marshal (Retd) Anil Chopra of the opportunities and challenges for the Indian aerospace industry that the MMRCA deal will usher in. Plagued by allegations of misdemeanour in procurement of military hardware from foreign sources, the government is finally making concerted efforts at indigenisation which it rightly perceives as the solution to end this malaise. To this end, the Minister of Defence A.K. Antony has delivered a clear message to the industry and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on the intent of the government in this regard. This issue of indigenisation of the Indian aerospace industry has been examined in detail by Air Marshal Chopra in the ‘In Focus’ and ‘Forum’. In the civil aviation segment, in an exclusive interview with R. Chandrakanth, Naveen Jindal, the youngest scion of the O.P. Jindal Group and Member of Parliament from Haryana, shares his views and thoughts on the aviation scene in the country and plans of the Jindal Group to contribute to its growth. Particularly noteworthy is his impression of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation reflected in his observation: “We are yet to see the DGCA transform into a world-class policy-making body”. Writing from Bengaluru, A.K. Sachdev describes how the potential of regional aviation which has enormous growth

www.spsaviation.net

prospects, remains largely untapped in India. R. Chandrakanth focuses on the innovations that manufacturers of business jets are going in for to provide a fully equipped and networked office in the sky for corporate executives on the move for whom time is the most valuable commodity. But perhaps the most exciting development in the regime of civil aviation has been the collaborative effort between Jet Airways, the second largest Indian carrier by way of market share; and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates. While the JetEtihad deal will be a boon for the air traveller, it will pose new challenges for the other Indian carriers who will need to review their strategy and business models. This development may spur more such deals that may follow soon. In an exhaustive article on the ongoing F-35 joint strike fighter (JSF) programme of Lockheed Martin, Air Marshal Chopra provides a realistic update on what he describes as “mother of all programmes”. The important lesson is that even the best managed programmes would have impediments to overcome. All these apart from the regular features. Welcome aboard and happy landings!

Jayant Baranwal Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

ISSUE 5  • 2013

3

T H E

E S S E N C E

INGR E D I E N TS : EXPERIENC E T H E

O F

R E LI A B I LI T Y E S S E N C E

O F

A

A

LO WER G REAT

P E R F E C T

FUEL

CO S TS

ENG INE, VIS IT

G REENER US

AT

E N G I N E

EMIS S IO NS

EBACE

BO OT H

1 2 4 7

News

with views NEWS:

No helicopters for VVIPs End of March 2013, the Indian Air Force (IAF) informed the Defence Ministry that after February 2014 there will not be a single helicopter in its elite squadron which would be fit to carry VVIPs. The currently available Russian-made MI-8s will complete even their extended lives by February 2014 and would not have any replacement, as the investigation into the VVIP helicopter scam has cast a shadow over

acquisition of the AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters. This assessment has left the Ministry speechless and at the same time attempted to nudge the Ministry to shed the slow pace of investigation into the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter probe. Confirming the development, a senior IAF officer said, “We are supposed to keep the Ministry apprised at all times and that is exactly what we did.”

Photograph: AgustaWestland

VIEWS: The IAF can hardly be blamed for the sordid state of affairs as way back in 1999 it had projected the requirement of new helicopters to replace the ageing fleet of Mi-8 helicopters inducted in the early 1970s and are currently in use for VVIP travel. These helicopters no longer provide the level of safety and comfort that the IAF is expected to offer for VVIP travel. The IAF is in the process of inducting the more modern Mi-17V5 helicopters of Russian origin to meet its operational demands, but converting these for VVIP use would impinge on the more pressing commitments of the rotary-wing fleet, growing by the day with increasing involvement of the IAF in anti-Naxal operations. After years of effort in identifying the right platform and in going through the selection process under the highly complex Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP), the AgustaWestland AW101 three-engine helicopter was finally selected for induction into the IAF. Three of the twelve of these helicopters, for which advance payment to the tune of 30 per cent of the cost had been made, had already arrived and the rest were to follow. In any case, by this time, all 12 machines would have already been manufactured by the company or would be close to being readied to the specifications stipulated by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). However, years of effort by the IAF and funds expended by the original equipment manufacturers in the trials, were reduced to nought somewhat abruptly when allegations of kickbacks in the deal and the possibility of involvement of individuals or agencies in India, surfaced in Italy. Corruption in defence deals has been plaguing the nation since the days of Bofors. However, purchase of the AgustaWestland helicopters is strictly not a “defence deal” as these platforms are mere vehicles for the transportation of VVIPs and their induction into the IAF has no relevance to national security. However, as the IAF has the expertise, infrastructure and experience in handling of sophisticated aircraft and is the agency that can provide high level of security for VVIP travel, assigning the responsibility of the management of this fleet to the IAF is only logical. But providing the wherewithal for this commitment ought to be squarely the business of the government. If the gov-

6

ISSUE 5  • 2013

ernment decides to cancel the AgustaWestland AW101 deal, so be it. The IAF need not lose sleep over it. As for the episodes of impropriety in defence deals, there appears to be a serious dilemma before the MoD, as despite all possible precautions and procedural discipline enforced though the DPP, procurement of defence equipment continues to be afflicted by this malaise. In the bipolar world of the Cold War era, there was only one source for acquisition of military hardware, the Soviet Union. One never heard of any scams in transactions in those days conducted directly between the two governments. Even in the recent past, in the purchase of Boeing Business Jets, C-17 Globemaster III, P-8I aircraft for the Indian Navy and the C-130J Super Hercules, all through the foreign military sales programme of the US Government, not only have the projects moved swiftly, there has been no evidence of unethical conduct in the transactions. On the other hand, deals under the provisions of the DPP in the last decade or so have hardly been ever smooth, barring perhaps the purchase by the DRDO of 99 F-414 engines from GE for the light combat aircraft Tejas MkII. The tender for artillery guns for the Indian Army has been cancelled five times following allegations of procedural misdemeanour and companies have been blacklisted. The tender for 197 light-utility helicopters for the Indian Army and the IAF first floated in 2002 has been cancelled twice when in the final stages. Meanwhile, forces deployed in forward areas continue to suffer from lack of air support, which apparently is of little concern to the powers that be. Even the tender for the basic trainer aircraft, the Pilatus PC-7, suffered delay in the face of allegations by one of the contenders that had been eliminated in the race. Fortunately, better sense prevailed and the deal was not cancelled. Hopefully, the ongoing process of acquisition under the DPP of the 126 Rafale combat jets, the 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters and 22 AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters will go through without turmoil. There is clearly a need to remodel the DPP as despite the series of revision and fine-tuning, it does not seem to be working.  SP —By Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey

www.spsaviation.net

Boeing is proud of its longstanding partnership with India. A partnership India can depend upon to meet its developing requirements, from surveillance, strike and mobility platforms to C4ISR, unmanned systems and support services. The most advanced systems and technologies providing the greatest value for India. That’s a partnership of endless possibilities.

boeing.co.in

Indigenisation

inFocus

A National Priority The Defence Ministry insists that Indian private firms desist from offering imported products to the armed forces with a ‘Made in India’ tag but produce equipment indigenously. Rules for India-based joint ventures with foreign partners will be relaxed, but 50 per cent indigenous content will be expected.

Photograph: PIB

E

Even over a decade after the Indian Government opened India can achieve a high level of indigenisation in a reasonable the defence industry to the private sector with participation up time frame and that import should be the last resort. He also to 100 per cent and foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 26 per promised to have a ‘second look’ at the defence production and cent, the level of indigenisation continues to be abysmally low. procurement policies. Finally, in a Defence Acquisition Council Indian manufacturers are assembling subsystems for the for- meeting on April 22, 2013, decisions were taken to infuse greater eign players and are dependent on imports for raw materials. efficiency in the procurement process and create a genuine levelThe ‘real’ indigenous content has actually progressively reduced playing for the Indian industry. ‘Buy Indian’ will henceforth be from 45 to 36 per cent. With high import duties, the end product the first option and ‘Buy Global’ the last. It was decided to make remains costly. The defence sector is yet to attract FDI and there public the document outlining the technology perspective and are suggestions within the government to raise the cap from 26 capability roadmap for the next 15 years. This will bring clarity to to 49 per cent. In the first ten years since 2001, the country has the Indian industry for planning infrastructure and investment. Also, maintenance, repairs and overhaul of systems, which received just $4 million (`22 crore) as FDI as against $180 billion were restricted to defence public sector units (DPSUs) and (`9,90,000 crore) invested in the rest of the Indian economy. As per the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute ordnance factories, will now be open to the private industry. (SIPRI), in the last five years, China replaced Britain to become ‘Make’ and ‘Buy-and-Make’ categories will get priority in clearthe fifth largest weapons exporter. China’s foreign sales of con- ance. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has clarified to the Departventional weapons surged 162 per cent, constituting five per cent ment of Industrial Policy and Promotion that dual use items of global exports. China has reduced dependence on imports and will not require licensing. Service quality requirements would has exported indigenously developed military equipment such as have to be frozen at acceptance of necessity (AON) stage. The the JF-17 combat jets to Pakistan. Fifty-five per cent of China’s rationalisation of tax and duty structures for the Indian defence defence exports went to Pakistan. The US with 30 per cent world industry has been taken up with the Ministry of Finance. The market share and Russia with 26 per cent are the apparent lead- Ministry insists that Indian private firms desist from offering ers. In the same period, importing 12 per cent of the world’s imported products to the armed forces with a ‘Made in India’ total, India replaced China as the number one arms importer tag but produce equipment indigenously. Rules for India-based not befitting an aspiring global power. The Arms Trade Treaty joint ventures with foreign partners will be relaxed, but 50 per cent indigenous content will passed by the United Nations Genbe expected. It had earlier been eral Assembly in April 2013 is a decided to give Raksha Udyog setback to India’s interests as a DRDO’s indigenously Ratna status to Indian private secmajor arms importer. It is aimed at developed Rohini radar tor players too. regulating global trade in convenThe themes are great and the tional weapons by linking sales to aim is noble, but as a nation, will human rights record of the buyer. India get its act together? Will the Defence Minister A.K. Antony DRDO and defence PSUs become has repeatedly stated that India more efficient and accountable? still imports about 70 per cent of Are we ready to induct well-paid its military requirements. This professional teams to run the makes India vulnerable to disDPSUs or to privatise this monoruption in supply at critical times lith? Should we create a huge and procurement scandals. He research and development (R&D) has been personally driving the fund like USA and China, to supcase for indigenisation of defence port the industry? Should we take production and firmly believes a joint venture route first? Could that ‘Made in India’ was the only we not have reverse engineered to solution against corruption. He produce some equipment? For all has advised the armed forces, the this and more, go to Forum.  SP government, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the industry to come —By Air Marshal (Retd) together in mission mode so that Anil Chopra

8

ISSUE 5  • 2013

www.spsaviation.net

Forum

Indigenisation

Getting the Act Right As India is one of the fastest growing aerospace markets in the world, the procurement list of military and civil aircraft and components is going to be enormous over the next two decades. It is time that the emerging global power takes firm steps towards self-reliance.

I

India was technologically far more advanced than China when the British left the subcontinent. Today, India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) with 52 laboratories and the massive defence production infrastructure by way of defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) and ordnance factories, have not delivered the requirements of the armed forces either in quality or quantity. India is yet to build a strong defence technology and industrial base. Despite huge contracts from the Indian Air Force (IAF) and humongous budgets for DPSUs, indigenous hardware continues to have high import content. The arms industry is a closed sector globally, controlled by just a few major players. Transfer of technology (ToT) contracts are the most difficult to interpret and implement. Global aerospace majors are reluctant to share high-end technology and arms embargoes are placed which create hurdles. When the Soviet regime came to power early in the 20th century, several aircraft designers migrated to the West. Similarly, when the Soviet Union disintegrated and economic collapse was imminent, Russian designers were literally boughtoff by Western and Chinese entrepreneurs. Hordes of Russian Jews moved to Israel. How else could Israel have offered a MiG-21 upgrade? ‘Moralistic India’ chose not to go ‘body shopping’. Reverse engineering is an area earlier mastered by the Soviets and now by China. If any country is to take the moral high ground, then joint ventures are the only interim option. It is thus time to recast the Indian aerospace industry for the daunting task of indigenisation through heavy investments, ‘focused’ on defence research and development (R&D). Last year, China earmarked $25 billion (`1,37,500 crore) for this purpose. There is an imperative need to make an honest appraisal of the level of indigenisation in the Indian aerospace industry. Figures touted are usually half-truths. The indigenous light combat

aircraft, Tejas, has several imported components such as engine, radar, major avionics and bulk of the fly-by-wire system. DRDO’s pure research has not always resulted into end products and technologies have not been transferred to the industry. Dr K. Tamilmani, Chief Controller, R&D, DRDO, feels that R&D products must translate into end products and for that “translation of prototype drawings into production drawings with proper modularisation is essential to ensure that products emerge without sacrificing quality. This will help outsourcing to private industry”. DRDO and DPSUs often complain that the armed forces prefer to ‘buy abroad’. Services counter that time and cost overruns and unreal promises have serious security implications. As for changing staff qualitative requirements, armed forces contend that excessive project delays render technologies obsolescent. Defence Minister A.K. Antony has urged the DPSUs to “design products that are acceptable and meet user requirements”. The Tejas is yet to clear IOC-2 and the intermediate jet trainer (IJT) is much delayed. Other flagship programmes like the Kaveri engine and basic trainer aircraft are behind schedule. Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne, who supports indigenisation, feels that there must be accountability for delays and says: “We need to get our project management right before we embark on programmes. Monitoring teams of the user are required for all major programmes.” Access to the military’s 15-year long-term integrated perspective plan (LTIPP) will facilitate planning by the industry. The Indian industry does have capability, as India has become a global hub for the auto industry. Its software strengths are unmatchable. Tata Power and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) manufacture the Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers. L&T was involved in developing a hull for a nuclear submarine for the Indian Navy, Tata Power is handling modernisation of airfield infrastructure and Reli-

‘The only way out is to join a major aviation player and train a large Indian team to build a technological base’

‘There is the need to take steps to leapfrog by collaboration with partners from within and outside the country’

‘An appropriate increase in FDI in the defence sector would be the most effective catalyst for self-reliance’

‘We have to consider strategic sale of part of DRDO and some DPSUs to major Indian corporates like Reliance and Tatas’

Air Chief Marshal (Retd) S.K. Sareen Former Air Chief

Air Marshal (Retd) B.N. Gokhale Former VCAS

Dick Olver Chairman, BAE Systems Global

Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Verma former dg i&s

ISSUE 5  • 2013

‘The DPP should have equal consideration for private sector. A separate Additional Secretary should be deputed to handle privatisation.’ Satish Kaura CMD, Samtel

9

Forum

Indigenisation sector. In addition to the economic benefits, ance Industries is active in aerospace and increased jobs, improved capability and homeland security. Mahindra has designed the development of critical technology, ina small aircraft. Cassidian wants to make The MoD has to encourage digenisation would ensure India has ready India a hub for defence products. synergy between the access to the best available defence equipFormer Air Chief Satish Kumar Sareen ment. In support of that objective, in my says: “DRDO and DPSUs have been claimusers, the developer view, an appropriate increase in FDI in the ing high levels of indigenisation but the and the manufacturer, defence sector would be the most effective well-known fact is that most components as also explore avenues catalyst for self-reliance.” are imported and then labelled ‘Made in Satish Kaura of Samtel India feels that India’. In many contracts we have had for export to build to expedite indigenisation, the DPP should transfer of technology clause but physieconomics of scale have equal consideration for private seccally nothing significant has been transtor. “A separate Additional Secretary ferred. The only way out is to join a major should be deputed to handle privatisation. aviation player and train a large Indian team to build a technological base.” In the foreword to the Fed- This will increase dialogue and better understanding of industry eration of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)- problems. The procedures require further simplification.” sponsored study by PriceWaterhouseCooper, Dr A. Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI, wrote: “The lack of level playing field Way Forward for the private sector vis-à-vis the DPSUs and the foreign origi- A key issue bothering the industry is the high cost of capital, both nal equipment manufacturers (OEMs) continue to be a damp- for servicing large infrastructure investments as well as small and ener on the enthusiasm and efforts of the private sector to be medium sector promotion. As this is a capital-intensive industry, able to contribute meaningfully to the Indian growth story. India overseas borrowing norms can be relaxed for these segments. at this juncture is uniquely equipped to create a vibrant defence As India is one of the fastest growing aerospace markets in the manufacturing base in the country with the right utilisation of world, the procurement list of military and civil aircraft and comits budget and modernisation spree. Yet we are losing the battle ponents is going to be enormous over the next two decades. There even before it has started.” is also a large MRO market which can create R&D base for engiAir Marshal (Retd) V.K. Verma, Director, the Indira Gandhi neering services and avionics. Demand and supply dynamics will Rashtriya Uran Akademi, in a paper presented to Assocham, has still remain complex. The industry would justifiably expect some stated: “In the initial years, defence industry was designated as a assurance of orders for the next 10-15 years after heavy investcore sector and therefore went into bureaucratic control with low ment in product development. The government would also have accountability and peripheral involvement of the private sector. to provide infrastructural support. Hopefully, the MoD will be able With economic slowdown in the West, we should resort to acquisi- to convince the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to rationalise tax structions and mergers. We have to consider strategic sale of part of ture that will promote value addition in the country. The current DRDO and some DPSUs to major Indian corporates like Reliance tax and duty regimes has put the Indian manufacturer at a disand Tatas.” Sudhakar Gande, Vice Chairman, Axis Aerospace and advantage and is a disincentive for indigenisation. While direct Technologies, says: “After a series of DPPs, the government has imports by the government are tax exempt, Indian manufacturers done a commendable job in issuing a reasonably good policy pay duties and taxes including VAT for imported components. The ‘miserly’ defence R&D budgets needs to be increased. framework and guidelines for offsets which is more balanced and When the Russian public was still saddled with the Lada, the has brought in greater clarity on various issues.” Air Marshal (Retd) B.N. Gokhale, former Vice Chief of Air Russian aerospace industry was making the most sophisticated Staff, says: “There is lack of state-of-the-art research and innova- aerospace products. This was possible due to strategic focus of tion. The ultimate aim should be to innovate for technology and the government. While DRDO and DPSUs must stop making unproducts. Till then, there is the need to take steps to leapfrog by realistic promises, the services will have to accept short-term collaboration with partners from within and outside the coun- weaknesses to promote long-term capability. The industry and the media have given thumbs-up to the try, taking advantage of the ‘offset’ policy, where possible.” Rishi Malhotra, General Manager, Bell Helicopters, India, says: “India amendments to DPP. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has to enrepresents a significant growth opportunity for both sales and courage synergy between the users, the developer and the manmanufacturing and Bell Helicopter is committed to investing fur- ufacturer, as also explore avenues for export to build economics ther in India’s growth. The Indian helicopter sector witnessed a of scale. The Rama Rao Committee report of February 2008 that slowdown between 2010 and 2012, but we expect a recovery in recommended making DRDO a leaner and meaner R&D organ2013. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has taken significant steps isation capable of developing advanced weapon systems withat improving the procurement process and additional improve- out huge time and cost overruns has still to be implemented. ments will need to evolve as the processes mature. Contracting The allocation for ‘prototype development’ which is meant for issues, retendering, unforeseen programme delays and uncer- ‘Make’ category has to go up and be actually spent. A big chunk tainties which accompany such programmes are risks that all of development funding by private sector should come from the MoD. The same can later be offset when the items are being parties will like to see mitigated.” BAE Systems Global Chairman Dick Olver informed the Hindu: procured. Defence manufacturing should be given tax benefits “With a presence that goes back over 60 years, BAE Systems has under Section 80-IA of the Income Tax Act, which is provided to developed India as a home market with a strategic vision to be- long-gestation capital-intensive industries such as power. It is time that the emerging global power that has the sevcome a major and integral part of the domestic Indian defence and security industry, leveraging its global expertise to develop enth largest defence budget and is the leading importer of arms, technologies and solutions in India for both the domestic and ex- takes firm steps towards self-reliance.  SP port markets. There has been increased emphasis in recent weeks on the growing importance of rapid indigenisation of the defence —By Air Marshal (Retd) Anil Chopra

10

ISSUE 5  • 2013

www.spsaviation.net

t

Tecknow FIRST

Flying at Mach 5.1

Photographs: USAF

T

The unmanned X-51A Waverider travelled more than 230 nautical miles in just over six minutes

The final flight of the unmanned Boeing X-51A ­Waverider accomplished a breakthrough in the development of flight reaching Mach 5.1 over the Pacific Ocean. The US Air Force (USAF) has stated that the cruiser travelled more than 230 nautical miles in just about six minutes over the Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center Sea Range, California. It was the longest of the four X-51A test flights and the longest airbreathing hypersonic flight ever. The X-51A took off from the Air Force Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, under the wing of a B-52H Stratofortress. It was released at approximately 50,000 feet and accelerated to Mach 4.8 in about 26 seconds, powered by a solid rocket booster. After separating from the booster, the cruiser’s supersonic combustion ramjet or scramjet engine lit and accelerated the aircraft to Mach 5.1 at 60,000 feet. After exhausting its 240-second fuel supply, the vehicle continued to send back telemetry data until it splashed down into the ocean and was destroyed as designed. This was the last of

www.spsaviation.net

four test vehicles originally conceived when the $300 million technology demonstration programme began in 2004 and the programmes objective was to prove the viability of air-breathing, high-speed scramjet propulsion. The X-51A is distinct primarily due to its use of a hydrocarbon fuel in its scramjet engine. Without any moving parts, hydrocarbon fuel is injected into the scramjet’s combustion chamber where it mixes with the air rushing through the chamber and is ignited in a process likened to lighting a match in a hurricane.  SP

E-mail your comments to: letters@spsaviation.net For Videos visit: www.spsaviation.net

ISSUE 5  • 2013

11

SP'S EXCLUSIVE    mmrca

Negotiations “back on track” The MoD is hoping to wrap up negotiations and begin work on a draft agreement by AugustSeptember, about three months behind schedule as per the IAF’s expectations

A

Photograph: Dassault Aviation

 By SP’s Special Correspondent After weeks of being stalled, commercial negotiations for the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) are back on track and in full flow, top sources confirm. Since March, negotiations had been held up on multiple counts, including a tussle over contractual modalities, a split contract between Dassault Aviation and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for flyaway and licence-built aircraft, transfer of technology (ToT) and offsets. Sources in Dassault inform that mutual discussions have yielded a way forward. HAL Chairman R.K. Tyagi had made a presentation during Aero India 2013, a month before troubles began in the contract negotiating committee (CNC), detailing the potential problems

12

ISSUE 5  • 2013

ahead in terms of absorbing technology from Dassault, Snecma and Thales. The Indian Air Force (IAF) officials are also breathing a sigh of relief that it has been made clear that the request for proposal (RFP) obligations will have to be met, and that none can be altered at this stage. The IAF has also sent out a message by insisting publicly that it has no “back-up plan” for the MMRCA, following reports that more Su-30MKIs were being considered as an emergency measure in case the MMRCA did not fructify. As things stand, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is hoping to wrap up negotiations and begin work on a draft agreement by August-September, about three months behind schedule as per the IAF’s expectations.  SP

www.spsaviation.net

Our legacy shapes the future.

Icons for this generation and the next. From the very first Staggerwing to the newest-generation King Airs, the aircraft from Beechcraft have always represented the industry’s best. Rooted in a legacy that set the standards for quality, performance and craftsmanship—today’s Beechcraft continues to forge ahead, inspired by their iconic lineage and resolute in the mission to build an even stronger company.

Visit us at Beechcraft.com. For more info, please contact: Asia-Pacific +65.6423.0321, U.S. & the Americas +1.316.676.0800, EMEA +44(0) 1244.523803

We build aircraft you can believe in.®

©2013 Beechcraft Corporation. All rights reserved. Beechcraft is a registered trademark of Beechcraft Corporation.

Civil

Business Aviation

dassault falcon 7x: The second-generation flight cabin management system, supplied by Rockwell Collins, places more controls and convenience in the hands of passengers, making the transition from the office to aircraft as seamless as possible

Photograph: DAssault Aviation

Office High Up in the SKY Companies do not mind equipping their aircraft with the best of equipment, communication or ergonomics wise, as they see ‘value for money’. Retrofitting higher-specification equipment now makes up 50 per cent of all new installations on business jets. By R. Chandrakanth

14

ISSUE 5  • 2013

www.spsaviation.net

Photograph: Gulfstream

Civil    Business Aviation

F

WELL NETWORKED: G650 is equipped with a multifunction printer, wireless local area network and satellite communications with wireless handsets

Airframers are keeping these For the executive-on-the-move, for whom ‘time is money’, the office is almost an adjunct to his (or her) life. demands in mind and outfitters The office for the upwardly mobile executive is not bound by are busy fitting with office parathe four walls of a room. It is mobile, it is on the ground in phernalia, all of which come at cars, it is in the sky onboard business jets and on water in a price. Companies do not mind fancy yachts. Travel time is efficiently and productively used equipping their aircraft with the for work and leisure. The demands of the executive-on-the- best of equipment, communicamove are simple and yet challenging. He just needs to be tion or ergonomics wise, as they see ‘value for money’. It is es‘seamlessly connected’ to the office. What makes an ‘office timated that it may cost nearly $1 million (`5.5 crore) to outfit a cabin with Internet connection, airborne in the sky’? Apart from communication television, fax and photocopying faciland ambience that are key ingredients, ity and the latest in audiovisual systems Internet, mobile, satellite phone, fax, and equipment. According to industry printer, television and modern audioviManufacturers of reports, retrofitting higher-specification sual system for power point presentabusiness jets understand equipment now makes up 50 per cent of tion up in the sky; are essential requirethe importance of the all new installations on business jets. ments for a ‘totally wired’ executive. An example of how a company has And the executive cannot work just executive-on-the-move the best of equipment, is Poonawalla from the passenger seat, he must have and are pandering to Aviation, which has a Falcon 900 EX and a comfortable workspace, not cramped a Cessna Citation Excel. It has invested nor distracting. their requirements

ISSUE 5  • 2013

15

Civil    Business Aviation

STATE-OF-THE-ART SOLUTIONS: Embraer’s Legacy 650 cabin management system offers seamless wi-fi connectivity with high speed Internet and other add-ons

Photograph: Embraer

additional $3 million (`16.5 crore) in customising the Falcon with satellite communication (Satcom), convertible bed, dining table, DVD player, fax machine, king-size baggage compartment, etc. It can carry 14 passengers who can conduct business meetings onboard. Similarly, the company has invested about $1 million (`5.5 crore) in its Citation aircraft with facilities such as DVD player and Aircell (airborne telephone with intercom). It has a capacity of eight seats for conducting business meetings.

Communication is the Key All business communication, whether internal or external, must be done only through effective and reliable communication systems. In the forefront of providing such technology is Inmarsat, the global network satellite owner and operator. Inmarsat’s Swift64 service can deliver in-flight Internet connection speeds up to 64 kbps for a single channel or 128 kbps when two channels are bonded together. Even higher speeds are available using data compression techniques. A Ku-band satellite connection provides relatively high-speed Internet voice and data transfer at 512 kbps per channel and 64 kbps integrated service digital network (ISDN) onboard a business jet, albeit the service pricing may be ‘sky-high’. The market is only

16

ISSUE 5  • 2013

opening up now and call rates will find their keel, like the way mobiles did over the years.

Cost of Net Connection It is estimated that Internet connectivity at 40,000 feet begins at about $1,50,000 (`82.5 lakh) for an onboard data terminal and rises by a few hundred thousand dollars after adding associated equipment such as an antenna, satcom transceiver, network file server, router, wireless hub, data ports and more. User charges vary depending on the internet service provider, but typically web surfing starts at about $10 (`550) per minute. With the business aviation industry moving towards Iridium connectivity as the standard in satellite communications, it is said to be cost-effective and reliable. Gulfstream customises products Gulfstream, which has many tailored products for the executive-on-the move, has laid emphasis on environment, functionality and flexibility. As the aircraft is an extension of the home and office, the company takes care of both entertainment and communication. To meet the demanding needs of different passengers, it has intuitive user interface and controls. One of the essentials is reliability of the systems as they are to work at high altitudes.

www.spsaviation.net

DON’T MISS

Civil    Business Aviation It launched the ‘Office in the Sky’ concept on its Gulfstream IV aircraft with Satcom integration provided by Teledyne Controls. The Miltope e-server meets the ARINC 763 requirements and includes an ARINC 429 interface to the aircraft systems. In addition to handling all the e-mail requirements to and from the individual computers in use onboard the aircraft, it can also route graphical weather maps and navigation charts to the cockpit. While providing a database for the cockpit crew and the passengers, it is designed to handle the security requirements of the company as though it was at the home base of operations. Gulfstream’s brand new ultra-long-range G650 is equipped with a multi-function printer, wireless local area network and satellite communications with wireless handsets. At an additional cost, broadband multi-link (BBML) high-speed Internet system is available as an option. Gulfstream designed its own iPhone/ iPad application so that passengers can access the cabin management in-flight entertainment system. The G650’s HD entertainment system is all controlled by touch screen, that includes a dual Blu-Ray/DVD/CD player with dual 160 GB media servers, two large HD LCD monitors and a stereo speaker system. The cabin audio system comes equipped with the latest noise-cancelling headphones from Bose with a headphone for each passenger seat.

THE LARGEST BUSINESS AVIATION EVENT IN THE WORLD

Dassault’s Flight Cabin Management System Dassault’s new flight cabin management system now introduced as standard fit, provides a more productive and enjoyable environment. Whether catching up on financial news or connecting with the office, the crystal clear monitors and rich HD sound enhances every minute of the executive’s time in the air. The second-generation flight cabin management system, supplied by Rockwell Collins, places more controls and convenience in the hands of passengers, making the transition from the office to aircraft as seamless as possible. The system features a dual Blu-Ray player that lets one view on-demand HD media on wide-screen, touch-screen monitors (up to 19”) placed to give an excellent view throughout the cabin. The Alto Aviation Sound System provides a true surround sound experience and all functions can be controlled from anywhere in the aircraft via an iPod Touch or iPhone. These include video playback, moving map, electronic window shades and adjustments to lights and temperature. Embraer Executive Jets Embraer Executive Jets customises jets for office. Its Lineage 1000 has five cabin zones for work, relaxation and privacy. The jet has state-of-the-art high-speed data Internet connection (2x432 kbps) with worldwide coverage, wi-fi network, fax/ printer and up to five, four-channel phone handsets. Embraer’s Legacy 650 cabin management system offers seamless wi-fi connectivity with high speed Internet. Passengers can make and receive calls via VoIP, transfer files and even stream videos. Alternatively they can make calls via the aircraft’s Iridium satellite phone. Although not yet being delivered to customers, Embraer’s newest business jet, the 3,000 nm range Legacy 500, will have a full HD video system, surround audio, HD media input and a cabin Ethernet system that will be compatible with most consumer electronics. Voice and data connectivity will be via Imarsat, Aircell or Iridium. Work and Rest on the Challenger The Challenger 605 aircraft keeps the executive totally connected for maximum productivity. In addition to the Iridium Satcom sys-

NBAA also hosts

www.nbaa.org/2013 ISSUE 5  • 2013

17

Civil    Business Aviation

Photograph: cessna

WORLD AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: CESSNA’S CITATION SERIES INCLUDES THE ‘CLARITY’ CABIN MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

tem, the optional airborne office systems can be adapted to serve a tive moving map is part of the package along with integration variety of communications needs: Internet, e-mail and more. Not just work, the aircraft has facilities for the executive of smartphones, tablets and to rest and get refreshed. The state-of-the-art Ethernet-based MP3 players. An airborne Inairborne audio visual system, which includes high-quality in- ternet system comes handy. Airbus Corporate Jets available for charter has wi-fi throughflight entertainment systems, makes listening to Beethoven on the dual Blu-Ray Disc player or watching a movie on either of out the cabins, four iPod/iPhone connections and five Blu-Ray players connected to one each of 42-, 46- and 24-inch monitors, the two 22” HD monitors, a real pleasure. Bombardier Global 6000 has full cabin wi-fi broadband and and two 37-inch monitors placed throughout the cabin. There is a touch-screen at the entrance to every two 24-inch bulkhead HD monitors as room and several power outlets for plugwell as three plug-in monitors. Media ging in laptops and personal entertainstorage is supplied by a one-terabyte ment systems. server. A wi-fi application allows streamWith the business aviation Manufacturers of business jets uning of movies from the in-flight enterderstand the importance of the executainment system to devices such as tabindustry moving towards tive-on-the-move and are pandering to lets or smartphones. Iridium connectivity as their requirements. The executive, on Cessna Citation Sovereign includes the standard in satellite the other hand, is living a jet-set lifethe ‘Clarity’ cabin management system style, handling pressures in style. These that Cessna says will “put the world at communications, it is said are part of the perks as one moves up your fingertips”. Passengers can manage to be cost-effective and the ladder. Productivity does not come their cabin environment and stay conwithout a price, does it?  SP nected throughout their flight. An interacreliable

18

ISSUE 5  • 2013

www.spsaviation.net

Fifty Years of Passion Generations of Falcons have one thing in common. Each one advances the state of the art. Becoming more efficient. More capable. More comfortable. Always ahead of the curve, with innovations such as Digital Flight Control technology and ultra-efficient, ultra-capable wings—at both ends of the speed envelope. We’re celebrating 50 years since the first flight of the Mystère 20, but we’re hardly resting on our laurels.

The best is yet to come.

Find out why. Scan the code or visit falconjet.com/50-years

Civil    Business Aviation

g650: On Record-Setting World Tour

Photograph: Gulfstream

G

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation’s new flagship aircraft, the G650, recently made its first appearance at an air show in China, the Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (ABACE), held from April 16 to 18 at Shanghai. The ultra-large-cabin, ultra-long-range G650 has demonstrated its capabilities throughout the world. Recently, the G650 added an eighth city-pair record to its 2013 flying resume when the aircraft made its way from Chicago to Beijing in late March. The aircraft left Chicago International Airport with five passengers and four crew onboard. It flew 6,223 nm (11,525 km) at an average speed of Mach 0.87, landing in Beijing 12 hours and 49 minutes later. The city-pair has been submitted to the US National Aeronautic Association (NAA) for confirmation as a record. The G650’s appearance at ABACE 2013 is part of a world demonstration tour intended to introduce the aircraft to customers. As of mid-April, the G650 has toured 42 locations in 12 countries for more than 180 flying hours. The demonstrator has flown more than 54,500 nm (1,00,934 km) so far this year. The farthest non-stop distance it travelled was 6,475 nm (11,992 km), between Washington, D.C. and Qatar. The G650 is powered by two of the new Rolls-Royce BR725 engines. It offers the longest range, fastest speed, largest cabin and the most-advanced cockpit in the Gulfstream fleet. The aircraft received a type certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration on September 7, 2012. It is capable of travelling 7,000 nm (12,964 km) at Mach 0.85 or 6,000 nm (11,112 km) at Mach 0.90. Using an advanced aerodynamic design, the G650 has a maximum operating speed of Mach 0.925, making it the fastest certified civilian aircraft. It can climb to a maximum altitude of 51,000 feet (15,545 m), allowing it to avoid airlinetraffic congestion and adverse weather. Comfort figures prominently in the G650. The unfinished cabin measures 8' 12" (2.59 m) wide and 6' 5" (1.95 m) high, which allows for a longer living area, more seat recline, ex-

20

ISSUE 5  • 2013

panded leg room along with larger galleys, lavatories, storages and crew rest areas. The seven-foot-wide (2.13 m) floor provides for larger seats, wider aisles and the ability to seat three across. The G650 also provides the most comfortable and productive cabin environment. A cabin altitude of 4,850 feet (1,478 m) at FL510 and 2,800 feet (853 m) at FL410 reduces fatigue, while a quieter cabin provides a more comfortable environment for relaxation. Gulfstream’s ‘cabin essential’ design philosophy means the G650’s major cabin systems have been designed with redundancy so that a single-point failure will not result in the loss of cabin functionality and that means having a toilet that always flushes; water always available; and an entertainment source which always works. The G650 features the most technologically advanced ­Planeview II cockpit with a number of enhancements including four 14-inch (36cm) adaptive, liquid-crystal displays; three standard PlaneBook computer tablets; a standby multifunction controller that combines current display controller functionality with standby flight instruments; and fully automatic, three-dimensional scanning weather radar. In addition, the G650 uses the Gulfstream enhanced vision system, the synthetic visionprimary flight display system and head-up display. The G650 offers a full three-axis fly-by-wire system that delivers several benefits to the user, including flight-envelope protection, increased redundancy and reduced maintenance. To ensure all systems remain at peak performance, the Gulfstream G650 uses PlaneConnect HTM. This aircraft health and trend monitoring system provides near-real-time aircraft condition monitoring by recording up to 10,000 predefined parameters, including high priority crew advisory system (CAS) events and engine health data. The system transmits that information to the operator’s maintenance department with an optional copy to Gulfstream Technical Operations.  SP

www.spsaviation.net

CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY

EXCLUSIVE

Jindal Group MAY add

aircraft to its inventory to support its steel and power business

Photograph: JSPL

By R. Chandrakanth In the political and business firmament of a resurgent India, ‘Young Turks’ are leading from the front. 43-year-old Naveen Jindal, the youngest scion of the diversified $17 billion O.P. Jindal Group and Member of Parliament from Kurukshetra constituency of Haryana, stands tall. The young business tycoon with his thought leadership is one of the most notable captains of the Indian industry. Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) is the flagship company of the group which has diversified interests. Right at the helm of affairs is Naveen Jindal, steering the group from one success to another. The ‘Young Turk’ topped the executive pay charts for listed companies in India with a package of `73.42 crore for 2011-12, earning from the $3.5 billion (`19,250 crore) company. Here are some thoughts of Naveen Jindal on the aviation sector in the first of the ‘Captains of the Industry’ series. 22

Issue 5  • 2013

www.spsaviation.net

CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY    EXCLUSIVE SP’s Aviation (SP’s) A couple of years ago there was talk of the Jindal group entering the aviation sector. Could you give us an update on the group’s footprint in the aviation sector? Naveen Jindal (Jindal): Aviation is a vertical in few of our group companies. Jindal Steel and Power Limited owns three aircraft in its inventory—Global Express BD 700, Citation 560XL and Citation Grand Caravan C 208B. We also operate few airfields and helipads, constructed in our plant locations.

A FEW FACTS   Political

Leader: Naveen Jindal was elected for second term as the Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from the Kurukshetra parliamentary constituency of Haryana. As a Congress candidate, he won with a massive margin of 1,60,190 votes against Abhay Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), who is the son of the then Chief Minister of Haryana, O.P. Chautala in 2004. And in 2009, he defeated the Haryana State President of INLD, Ashok Arora, by a huge margin.

SP’s: With the aviation sector opening up fast in India, will the Jindal Group, with enormous resources at its disposal, enter the airline business or stick to its core strengths? Jindal: Being an aviation enthusiast, I am personally keen to see the industry grow. While continuing to work towards removing all impediments to its growth, we would refrain from entering the airline business as a major player, as our core strength and expertise lies in steel and power. It is here that we would like to focus. At best, we may add a few more aircraft to our inventory.

  Social

SP’s: Though there are reforms happening, it is still believed that it is not-so-conducive to the aviation environment. Do you think similarly? Jindal: Yes, while we have taken several corrective measures, I believe that we have a long way ahead of us. We are yet to see the DGCA transform into a world-class policy-making body with appropriate infrastructure and experienced professionals on its payroll. Multiple agencies handling the sector lead to issues in coordination. There is an urgent need to consolidate as many functions as possible under one organisation. We are unable to attract skilled manpower and provide quality maintenance due to lack of effective training and maintenance infrastructure.

  Passionate

SP’s: Coming to general aviation, do you think it makes good sense for corporate houses to own business jets? Could you give us a footprint of the group in this direction? Jindal: The Jindal Group has come a long way from its humble beginning. Starting with just one steel and power plant, we have now grown into a big business empire. Today, while expanding our core competency in steel and power, our group has encompassed the businesses of mining and exploration. From a single plant at Raigarh, we have expanded our business to many cities in India and abroad. In the current scenario, it makes perfect business sense to have our own fleet of diverse planes to cater to the ever expanding needs of the organisation and company executives. Having our own corporate fleet offers us the inherent advantage of connecting with our plants located in remote places. SP’s: As one of the ‘captains of the industry’, what do you think needs to be done to give the aviation sector a push in India?

“Along with manufacturing, we also need to boost infrastructure in training and maintenance facilities. A world-class university would ensure that our crew does not have to depend on foreign universities for training.” www.spsaviation.net

initiatives: He is the man who is single-handedly responsible for making the Tiranga more accessible to the average citizen. His unrelenting legal and political campaign led to a revision of the Flag Code of India which now grants every private citizen the right to fly the Indian National Flag publicly with dignity and honour on all days of the year. On January 23, 2004, the Supreme Court of India ruled in his favour and cited a new fundamental right that would allow every Indian to hoist the national flag on all days of the year.

Businessman: He is known for taking the group’s business to greater heights. Adding edge to the group’s business is aviation which is one of the verticals and is also among his many passions, others being polo and skeet shooting. JSPL has three aircraft—Global Express BD 700; Citation 560XL and Citation Grand Caravan C 208B.

Jindal: The measures that need to be taken are: •  Aircraft manufacturing in joint collaboration with world players: Unless we graduate from aircraft import/assembly to aircraft design and manufacturing, the industry would not get the impetus it requires to grow. •  World-class infrastructure in training and maintenance facilities: Along with manufacturing, we also need to boost infrastructure in training and maintenance facilities. A world-class university would ensure that our crew does not have to depend on foreign universities for training. We also need to develop the skills and resources to carry out all aircraft maintenance jobs in India. •  Increase the number of airports, helipads and fixedbased operations: Additional infrastructure would not only reduce congestion, it would attract more foreign direct investment especially in the field of airport maintenance and air operations. •  Connectivity to Tier-II and Tier-III cities: We would benefit from the untapped business in these cities and it would be prudent to concentrate on bringing maximum cities into the air network. •  Tax holidays for aviation sector: High import duties, fuel, surcharges and development fees at the airports are all impediments to the growth of the sector. The government needs to announce a tax holiday. •  Single-point regulating and operating organisation: Consolidation of maximum functions under one umbrella will resolve most of the coordination issues. •  Highest level of automation in functioning: Aviation is a technology-driven industry and the highest level of technosavvy integration is required for the industry to grow.  SP

Issue 5  • 2013

23

Preview

EBACE

Curtain Raiser EBACE retains the status of a premier annual meeting place for the European business aviation community. Importantly, EBACE rallies for changes in the industry with the organisations addressing issues of airport slots, taxation and illegal charter operations.

Photograph: Ebace

By R. Chandrakanth

A

After North America, Europe ranks second in the world in terms of size of the business aviation market. Though, at present, the business aviation sector is going through turbulence as a consequence of ‘fragile’ financial stability and low market confidence, the long-term prospects appear to be encouraging. As we head towards European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) 2013 in Geneva, the European skies are a mix of dark clouds and patches of blue skies. The dark clouds, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has noted, stems from lower-thanexpected growth or a renewed loss of market confidence. The bright spots are in the form of industry optimism and the determination to tide over the crisis. Not for nothing is Bombardier making projections of 2,240 new business jets between 2012 and 2031 in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Honeywell Business Aviation has also forecast that in 2013, flight activity in Europe is expected to go up, being a business hub for over 53,000 ultra high-net-worth individuals, with a collective estimated net worth of $6.95 trillion (`7,12,25,000 crore). Business Aviation Ranks Third In Europe, traditional scheduled services make up the largest proportion followed by low-cost flights and business aviation.

24

ISSUE 5  • 2013

Business aviation flight movements rank third among all instrument flight rules (IFR) movements in Europe with a total share of 7.5 per cent. It is reported that about 70 per cent of all business aviation flights are accounted for by France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. Now Russia and CIS region are emerging business aviation markets with Bombardier projecting the region to receive 525 aircraft deliveries between 2012 and 2021. According to Forbes, Russia and CIS had 107 billionaires as of March 2012. Europe thus will continue to be an important market and there is no writing off. EBACE Banks on Optimism The optimism was reflected in the previous edition of EBACE which reportedly was ‘one of the strongest EBACE shows yet, demonstrating its value even amidst a challenging European economy’. The organisers noted that there were nearly 13,000 visitors from 99 countries and 491 exhibitors, besides a ten per cent increase in ramp space for static display, making it the largest-ever EBACE static display. This year, the momentum seems to have slowed down and at the time of writing, 407 exhibitors had registered, down from

www.spsaviation.net

Preview    EBACE

pushing the cause: ebace 2013 promises to be even stronger platform for the industry to showcase emerging trends

491. This has not dampened the organisers—the European Safety to the Fore Business Aviation Association and the National Business Avia- Continuing on its emphasis on safety this year, EBACE has ortion Association of the US. Despite the numbers, EBACE retains ganised a safety workshop, developed primarily for professionthe status of a premier annual meeting place for the Europe- als in the business aviation community in Europe, in an effort to an business aviation community. This three-day event, which provide critical information and training that is directly related starts on May 21, 2013, features exhibits, an incredible static to human performance. Eight out of ten accidents are caused by display of aircraft, education sessions as also maintenance and human failure, not equipment failure. The workshop, according operations sessions, all located at the magnificent Palexpo and to the organisers, is going to be neither aircraft nor manufacGeneva International Airport. EBACE is considered the largest turer specific, but will include information that is applicable to educational event in the aviation industry in Europe. any aircraft flown. The three-day convention is packed, beginning with industry leaders discussing European Single Sky in-depth financial, cultural, legal and transOne session that is likely to attract a lot actional issues that impact buyers and sellof operators keen on improving air traffic The seminar will have ers of business aircraft. The seminar will management (ATM) performance while have a global aviation approach with spereducing costs, will be the session on Eua global aviation cific focus on the markets in Europe, Rusropean Single Sky. SESAR is preparing approach with specific sia and the Middle East. Aircraft acquisithe deployment of new systems in the air tion consultants, aircraft brokers, aviation and on the ground. focus on the markets in legal, tax and financial advisors, as well as The session on ‘Business Aviation Europe, Russia and the prospective aircraft owners, will be particiAcross the World’ will have representaMiddle East pating in the networking seminar. tives from every continent who are ex-

ISSUE 5  • 2013

25

Preview    EBACE Elegant & Classy: Interiors of boeing 747-8 VIP aircraft

pected to give a perspective of the emerging scenario and the challenges for the segment. The speakers include Karan Singh of Business Aviation Operators Association (BAOA) of India; Ali Al Naqbi of Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA); Rui Aquino of Associação Brasileira de Aviação Geral (ABAG); Ed Bolen, President and CEO, NBAA; Dannys Famin of EBAA France; Fabio Gamba, CEO, EBAA; Peter Gatz of IBAC; Jean-Noel Robert of Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA); Kazunobu Sato of Japan Business Aviation Association (JBAA); and Anna Serejkina of Russian Business Aviation Association. Illegal Flights Hurt One other important session is going to be on ‘Illegal Flights’ as these are probably one of the most complex and important challenges faced by the industry today. They touch not only the safety of operations, but also profitability of the sector. It is said that illegal charter activity accounts for as much as 12 per cent of all flights in Europe and EBAA is keen on reining in such activity.

Photograph: Boeing

Pilatus to Unveil PC-24 Twin-Jet The Swiss airframer Pilatus is going to grab quite a bit of attention when it unveils its long-awaited PC-24 twin-jet. This will be the first ever jet to be manufactured in Switzerland. The airframer will be making an aggressive pitch not just to the new buyers but also for those wanting to go for upgrades on their PC-12 turboprops. The jet is going to be in the light-jet category, priced well within $10 million (`55 crore). Static Display On static display this year will be Airbus corporate jets (ACJ) which have the widest and tallest cabins of any business jet, while being similar in size externally. The ACJ family has won over 170 orders till date worldwide. Boeing Business Jets (BBJ) which is celebrating 15 years of bringing the best of commercial aviation into the realm of private air travel, is expected to make a strong presence. From the BBJ to the new Boeing 747-8 VIP airplane, the US aerospace major offers unmatched comfort, capability and reliability in its business jets. Bombardier which has a portfolio of 12 high-performance Learjet, Challenger and Global jets, is showcasing its products which it claims ‘consistently outpaces, outclasses and outperforms the competition’. Bombardier’s business aviation services include fractional ownership, on-demand charter programmes and world class training and service networks. Beechcraft comes to EBACE with a renewed focus. The company which designs, builds and supports versatile and globallyrenowned aircraft, including the King Air turboprops, piston-engine Baron and Bonanza, will be making a strong pitch of a restructured company and its products.

Dassault Aviation is presenting its large cabin business jet models including the Falcon 900LX and 7X trijets, the Falcon 2000LXS, 2000LX and 2000S twin-jets. Nearly 2,000 Falcons are currently in operation around the world and Europe is a major market. Embraer Executive Jets which is the only business jet manufacturer to produce a full range of aircraft solutions, from the entry-level Phenom 100 to the ultra-large Lineage 1000, is looking at expanding its business in the region. Gulfstream which designs, develops, manufactures, markets, services and supports the world’s most technologically advanced business jets, will be present with its latest products. Cessna, a leading general aviation company, brings Citation business jets to the show. Cessna’s principal lines of business include aircraft sales and aftermarket services. Aircraft Interiors Another highlight of the show is going to be aircraft interiors as they are becoming the distinguishing factor in business jet operations. Showcasing high-end and functional designs are several companies including Aeria Luxury Interiors; Garret Leather Corp; Townsend Leather; ACH; Aeristo; Aerolite Max Bucher AG; Altitude VIP Completions; Gore Design Completions, etc. There is intense competition in all the segments of the business aviation market as business aviation is not a mass product but addresses a rather limited clientele. Catering to this segment is going to be challenging and requires innovation. EBACE provides a platform for the industry to showcase emerging trends. Importantly, EBACE rallies for changes in the industry with the organisations addressing issues of airport slots, taxation and illegal charter operations.  SP

Aeria Luxury Interiors; Garret Leather Corp; Townsend Leather; ACH; Aeristo; Aerolite Max Bucher AG; Altitude VIP Completions; Gore Design Completions, etc will showcase high-end aircraft interiors

26

ISSUE 5  • 2013

www.spsaviation.net

*CFM, LEAP and the CFM logo are all trademarks of CFM International, a 50/50 joint company of Snecma (Safran Group) and GE.

The new LEAP carbon fiber blade. A product of the world’s lightest, strongest materials and its sharpest minds.

Another proven breakthrough for LEAP technology. Our revolutionary combination of woven carbon fiber technology and resin transfer moulding produces a lighter, stronger fan blade. One that’s unbeatable and virtually unbreakable. Visit more hard facts. cfmaeroengines.com

Civil

airline business

ARAB SPRING IN INDIA? The Jet-Etihad deal may be only the first of many such tie-ups that will lead to a radical transformation. Carriers like SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo may also obtain foreign partners. It will be no surprise if those investors are Arab or Gulf airlines like Qatar Airways and Air Arabia.

Illustration: Anoop Kamath

By Group Captain (Retd) Joseph Noronha

L

Last month’s momentous deal between Jet Airways, India’s second-largest carrier by market share, and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, triggered varying reactions. Most aviation analysts welcomed it as a winwin agreement for both—Jet because it should help it emerge from financial distress and achieve a great leap forward on the international scene and Etihad because it will gain preferential access to the fast-growing Indian market. There are hopes that it will make the long-suffering Indian passenger king. There are also apocalyptic prophecies that the deal will be the final nail in the coffin of Air India. All shades of opinion, however, are agreed that Indian commercial aviation will never be the same again. Jetting West to Fame and Fortune One of the ironies of this deal, that’s still subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, is that the promoter and Chairman of Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal, was a staunch opponent of the government’s proposal to permit foreign airlines to hold up to 49 per cent stake in Indian carriers. But determined to emerge

28

ISSUE 5  • 2013

on the right side of history as Jet has invariably done in the past, he began scouting around for a foreign equity partner. After eight months of tough bargaining, the landmark deal with Etihad was done. Perhaps Jet was driven to desperation by its huge debt which amounted to $2.16 billion (`11,800 crore) at the end of last year. Its survival hinged on a profitable tie-up that would bring in some much-needed cash and facilitate its rapid expansion overseas to create a steady revenue stream. Westbound traffic from India already at about 28 million passengers annually, is growing at 10 per cent per year and may surge to 40 million in three years. Jet naturally wants a fat slice of the cake. A hub at Abu Dhabi will give it a springboard not just to the Middle East but to Africa, Europe and North America as well. Etihad has a large network in Europe where it touches 17 destinations and through its elaborate code-sharing agreements with 13 airlines, offers seamless connectivity to 88 cities. Jet Airways currently touches only Newark and Toronto in the highly lucrative and growing North American market. But flying Jet-Etihad, passengers could also travel seamlessly through Abu Dhabi to Chicago, New York and Wash-

www.spsaviation.net

Civil    airline business ington. And thanks to Etihad’s code-shares with American Airlines and Air Canada, they could jet comfortably and conveniently cross most of North America. Besides, a recent agreement between the US and UAE to establish a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pre-clearance facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport should persuade travellers to use the Etihad/Jet Airways combine and escape the rigours of the US immigration service. The deal may also help Jet Airways tap Etihad for capital at affordable rates, enabling it to pare its debt and embrace further expansion. It will give Jet greater clout to seek discounts on aircraft purchases, airport charges and fuel. Jet will be able to lift cheap fuel from Abu Dhabi, sharply lowering the cost of its international operations. Among other areas of cooperation are shared parking and landing slots as also ground handling and maintenance. Established in 2003, Etihad Airways is one of the world’s finest and fastest-growing carriers and is expected to bring with it global best practices. Time to Celebrate Whatever reservations there might be on the ultimate desirability of this strategic partnership, it will surely benefit travellers in more ways than one. Frequent flyer programmes are all the rage nowadays and expanded code-sharing between Jet and Etihad means that the 4.4 million frequent flyers of the two airlines will gain from reciprocal “earn-and-burn” rights. With Jet establishing a major hub at Abu Dhabi, travellers will obtain direct access to the Jet-Etihad network of 140 destinations including 52 cities in India and an expanded global network of 368 destinations through code-shares with other airlines. This is good news especially for passengers in the 23 Tier-II and TierIII cities across India who till now had to find their way to the nearest metro before flying overseas. They will enjoy vastly improved connectivity and lower fares. Their home cities will also benefit through increased investment, travel and tourism. Etihad has no home market worth the name and needs a steady stream of passengers to fill its growing fleet of wide-body aircraft. Now India will function as its home market. Etihad currently operates 52 flights a week to nine Indian cities and has just two per cent of the Indian market. But that could change dramatically once the deal with Jet Airways takes effect. Emirates Airlines, which at present enjoys around 13 per cent share of overseas traffic through its hub at Dubai, is likely to feel the heat. The new Jet-Etihad alliance will provide it some stiff competition. The good news is that fares on the India-Gulf sector are bound to drop. Market Manoeuvres At present, 60 per cent of Jet’s revenue accrues from international operations while it faces significant hurdles to domestic growth. With its 26.2 per cent domestic market share, it is slightly behind IndiGo (27.4 per cent) but well ahead of the national carrier Air India (20.7 per cent). Its tie-up with Etihad will facilitate rapid expansion in operations overseas. The deal was underpinned by an agreement between India and Abu Dhabi for a threefold increase of bilateral access to 49,970 seats per week on each side. Thanks to this increase, the implications of the Jet-Etihad collaboration will be more international than domestic, at least in the initial stages. India’s domestic market may not be greatly affected and that might be a good thing because the airline industry is delicately balanced. With Kingfisher Airlines out of the way, low-cost carriers, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir, are doing reasonably well despite systemic weaknesses in the aviation sector like high fuel costs, cutthroat competition and declining passenger traffic. If the Jet-Etihad duo succeeds in capturing greater domestic market share, it could

trigger another round of fare cuts and falling yields which the airlines can ill afford. There’s also a plan by Asia’s biggest low-cost airline AirAsia, Tata Sons and Telestra Tradeplace to set up a nofrills carrier, initially operating from Tier-II cities in South India. It is expected to launch operations within months, accentuating further the already stiff competition in the domestic market. The new airline plans to increase fleet strength to 37 aircraft in five years. Cascading Effect “Game changer” is a rather overused expression but it may, perhaps, be rightly employed to describe the Jet-Etihad tie-up. On the positive side, the deal has heightened investor interest in aviation. All airlines’ shares will probably rise. Their financial rating will go up enabling them to access scarce capital on easier terms. That Etihad was willing to buy Jet shares at a substantial premium of 32 per cent, augurs well for future deals. However, there are no two opinions that while smaller cities will benefit by increased traffic, India’s major aviation hubs will be hard hit. Large investments have been made in the modernisation of privately-owned Delhi and Mumbai airports and Abu Dhabi may now grab a huge chunk of their traffic. However, these fears should not be exaggerated either, because the number of flights Etihad can operate has been restricted. As domestic aviation picks up, thanks to the long overdue rise of regional aviation, traffic through the metros should automatically grow. Eastbound overseas traffic is also likely to steadily increase as Asian markets grow. India’s metros will again function as hubs although catering to different traffic from what they had envisaged. In addition, the metros should gain passengers brought in by Jet-Etihad and bound for other destinations. The impact on Air India will be more serious. Former Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi warns that the deal will lead to the “certain demise” of the national carrier. There may be something in what he says. The government has already sunk `30,000 crore on Air India but this commercial deal, facilitated in large measure by the official increase in bilateral rights, will help wean passengers away from the national carrier. Emirates Airlines has long been demanding 80,000 seats per week into India. Will the government now take a call on it? If so, it’s sure to encourage Qatar Airways and others to seek their own quota hikes. Any increase in bilateral rights benefits foreign airlines more than the Indian carriers that lack adequate capacity. Air India has declared that it may be forced to withdraw direct flights to Europe and the US. And the government will need to pump in even more money just to keep it afloat. However, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh declares, “Air India has very limited operations today. If you do not allow other airlines to come wherever they want, how will the passengers fly? Air India should look after themselves and gear up.” The logic is incontrovertible. The Middle East is where most of the aviation action is taking place. According to the International Air Tranpsort Association (IATA), in February 2013, Middle East hub traffic increased by 10.6 per cent over February 2012, compared with global growth of just 3.7 per cent. And airlines like Etihad perceive the Indian aviation sector as an enormous opportunity just waiting to be exploited. The Jet-Etihad deal has come like the breath of spring to India’s troubled airline industry. It may be only the first of many such tie-ups that will lead to a radical transformation of the sector. Carriers like SpiceJet, GoAir and perhaps IndiGo may also obtain foreign partners and FDI. It will be no surprise if those investors are Arab or Gulf airlines like Qatar Airways and Air Arabia. They have spare cash and would like to invest it profitably. Apart from the passenger who will surely benefit, it remains to be seen who wins and who loses.  SP

ISSUE 5  • 2013

29

Civil

Regional Aviation

Growth drivers: Induction of Bombardier Q400 Next Gen Aircraft in the Spicejet fleet has helped enhance regional connectivity

As yet Untapped The low ratio of per capita air trips in India, while being an embarrassing statistic, suggests a huge potential for air traffic growth largely in the regional sector. The current dynamics of progress, however, needs to change gears to exploit the country’s veritable cache of 500 airports spread across its vast expanse.

T

Photograph: Bombardier

By Group Captain (Retd) A.K. Sachdev

The second wave of liberalisation in the regime of Indian civil aviation policy came a decade ago and was characterised by an avaricious gravitation of Indian domestic airlines to metros. A recent study on regional air connectivity commissioned by the Civil Aviation Ministry and carried out by Deloitte stated that 93 per cent of total seat deployment in the winter of 2012-13 was between metros to smaller cities, while routes connecting Tier-II and Tier-III cities, was only seven per cent. This trend, driven by commercial considerations, has relegated regional aviation to the background. Government policies to stimulate regional airports by way of route dispersal guidelines (RDGs), though well-intentioned, did not achieve the desired objective. This was because the RDGs served as a “stick” to the airlines, mandating them to fly a minimum proportion of their metro-to-metro Air Seat Kilometres (ASK) on regional connectivity without any tangible returns. Instead, a “carrot” by way of financial relief, i.e. lower taxes on aviation fuel, as also lower airport/navigation charges at smaller airports, might have proved more useful. Gravitation of airlines to metros led to their saturation pushing fresh ASKs inexorably towards Tier-II and Tier-III airports. The trend of expanding regionally is yet a fledgling one, but appears set to be universally embraced by all airlines operating in India.

30

ISSUE 5  • 2013

Route Dispersal Guidelines The policy on RDG was introduced in 1994 and is based on an airline’s deployed capacity measured in available seat kilometres (ASKM). Though revised periodically, airlines feel that it has outlived its utility and needs to be scrapped altogether. As per the policy, all domestic routes are divided into three categories based on traditionally surplus generating routes (Category-I), loss making routes (Category-II) and the remaining routes (Category-III). The Category-I routes are profit-making inter-metro routes which cross subsidise losses largely on Category-II routes that serve regions of difficult terrain and destination in remote areas such as the North-eastern region, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands. Category-III comprises routes other than those included in Category-I and II. The RDG policy mandates that every operator deploy on Category-II routes at least ten per cent of the capacity deployed on routes in Category-I. Further, of the Category-II routes, at least ten per cent need to be deployed on services or segments thereof operated exclusively within the North-eastern region, J&K, Andaman and Nicobar, and Lakshadweep. Also every operator must deploy on routes in Category-III, at least 50 per cent of the capacity deployed on Category-I routes. This

www.spsaviation.net

Civil    Regional Aviation Future strategy: jet is planning to lease five ATR 72-600 for regional operations

Photograph: ATR

policy is applicable only to national airlines which are policed into adhering to the letter of this regulation. Alas, the policy has failed to achieve the laudable objective in spirit. Regional Airlines Another policy defines a Scheduled Regional Air Transport Service or Regional Airline as “an airline which operates primarily in a designated region and which on grounds of operational and commercial exigencies, is allowed to operate from its designated region to airports in other regions, except the metro airports of other regions”. Regional airlines are not permitted to operate on Category-I routes except in the Southern region which has three metros. Here a regional airline is allowed to operate between the metros within the Southern region, namely Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. Thus, as can be seen, RDGs apply only to national airlines and not to regional ones. As an analogous extension of that logic, regional airlines are not permitted to trade-off their ASKM on Category-II, IIA and III routes with national ones. They are thus constrained to fly routes within their region. Moreover, they are denied the benefit that could have accrued from a reciprocal arrangement with a national airline which did not have an aircraft suitable for short trips typical of regional aviation. This policy has effectively kept regional aviation stifled. As of now, there is no regional airline functional in India. Several applicants have in the past, obtained no objection certificates (NOCs), the first step towards launching a regional airline, but only two actually commenced operations. MDLR Airlines was launched in 2007 in the Northern region. However, after two years, the airlines terminated its operations. Religare’s Air Mantra has been the only other regional airline to actually start flying but has suspended operations after a few weeks of insipid market response. Air Costa is reported to be almost ready to go. Hence so far, the impact of regional airlines has been negligible. The hiatus thus extant is gradually being pervaded by national airlines. Air India has had its subsidiary, Alliance Air, operating 11 ATRs/CRJs on regional routes, but besides being unprofitable despite subsidies, it did not make significant impact on regional aviation. The other national airlines have had some presence in the regional domain due to RDG.

Airline Disposition SpiceJet was the first national airline to seriously address and exploit the regional space through a strategic vision. Neil Mills, CEO of SpiceJet, is on record as having stated, “Regional airports will ultimately be the growth drivers for Indian aviation.” In 2011, SpiceJet deployed Bombardier Q400 at Hyderabad for operations to Aurangabad, Belgaum, Bhubaneswar, Goa, Indore, Madurai, Mangalore, Nagpur, Nasik, Raipur, Rajahmundry, Tirupati and Vijayawada. It currently has 15 Q400s and future plans include regional hub at Delhi. As a platform, compared to the Boeing 737, the Q400 is an excellent choice for small hops requiring smaller numbers to break-even. SpiceJet stands third amongst India’s airlines in terms of passenger load and has the largest regional network. It recorded an 82 per cent year-on-year growth in regional traffic during the third quarter of 2012-13. That period also represented the airline’s highest ever net profit in a quarter. However, the grapevine has it that the Q400 is not very suitable for Indian climatic conditions and that the fleet suffers from acute maintenance and engineering problems. SpiceJet’s initiative in regional aviation has been laudable but whether its spectacular turnaround in operational performance and profitability is because Q400 operations is profitable or despite their unprofitability, is unclear. Some feel that the profitability of SpiceJet’s international operations are compensating for loss making Q400 operations. In any case, introduction of the Q400 by SpiceJet has enhanced regional connectivity. Jet Airways operates 15 ATR 72s, although some of these are due to retire soon. Jet is planning to lease five ATR 72-600s for regional operations. The airline perceives regional aviation as the future growth area in Indian civil aviation. IndiGo appears set to launch regional operations under a new subsidiary airline which will look at 20 ATRs as a first goal. Given IndiGo’s professional approach and on-time performance record, its entry into regional aviation could significantly improve regional connectivity. Yet another factor is the entry of AirAsia into the Indian domestic scene. AirAsia has already shown disdain for operating on overcrowded metro routes especially Delhi-Mumbai, which has 67 flights a day and is set to commence operations from Chennai to mainly Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Although AirAsia is commencing operations with A320s, it is expected to operate a smaller turboprop aircraft fleet to exploit the regional market.

ISSUE 5  • 2013

31

Civil    Regional Aviation tapping the market: Embraer IS LIKELY TO EMERGe AS ONE OF THE KEY PLAYERS IN INDIA’S REGIONAl TRANSPORT

Photograph: Embraer

Airport Infrastructure Growth in regional aviation is predicated to development of airport infrastructure at non-metro stations. Based on population and the economic activity of India’s expanse, Deloitte has prepared a list of 52 Tier-II and Tier-III cities that could serve as potential destinations. Meanwhile, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been working towards improving infrastructure at smaller airports. Currently, work is under progress at 35 airports. Eleven states i.e. Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have negligible air connectivity. State governments are also realising the intrinsic value of improving the airports within their geographical domain. However, it remains to be seen as to how far and in what manner they contribute towards furthering the cause of regional aviation. It might be worth mentioning here that in February this year, the Andhra Pradesh Government announced that it would promote development of non-hub airports across the state under a new policy whose objective is to encourage the development of civil aviation industry to achieve balanced growth in economy across all the regions of the state. The proposed nonhub airports are expected to act as centres of economic activity in interior regions. The policy will facilitate the development of allied civil aviation activities such as aviation training, aviation clubs, adventure sports, and maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO). The policy envisages financial aid from the government for the promotion of civil aviation. Other states, not benefitted by civil aviation so far, need to take note of this initiative. New Initiatives The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is reportedly looking at options to promote air connectivity to small cities. It has proposed a seat-credit mechanism offering incentives to airlines for flying to remote areas. Under this arrangement, small air-taxi operators can fly to a particular small city destination and earn seat credits that can be sold to scheduled airlines. Bigger airlines will be able to use such credits to meet their RDG requirement of having to connect remote areas without losing money on such operations. “Apart from the development of low-frills airports, the government is in the process of formulation of a policy for the promotion of regional and remote-area connectivity in India, incentivising Indian airlines to operate on these routes includ-

32

ISSUE 5  • 2013

ing a code-sharing and seat-credit mechanism,” the Minister has stated. The Ministry is also creating an Essential Air Services Fund (EASF) for providing a direct subsidy to encourage domestic airlines to fly to remote areas. There is also a plan to offer all domestic airlines a subsidy so that they connect Tier-III cities and bring them on the aviation map at the cost of about `400 crore. The subsidy is planned to be generated from a combination of MoCA’s own resources through the EASF which has already been activated with a token amount of `10 lakh, underwriting of at least ten per cent seats on such flights by state governments concerned and the imposition of a cess on metro passengers. The airline industry in India eagerly awaits these inordinately delayed and long-awaited policy changes. Need for Major Changes Passenger traffic at 18 domestic airports in the past five years has grown at an average compounded annual rate of 25 per cent in comparison to 9.7 per cent at metro airports. The prospects of growth of Indian aviation markets are huge. India is currently at 0.04 air trips per capita per annum which is far behind developed countries like the US and Australia with over two air trips per capita per annum. Even China, the constant object of our envy, has 0.3 air trips per capita per annum. The low ratio of per capita air trips in India, while being an embarrassing statistic, suggests a huge potential for air traffic growth largely in the regional sector. The current dynamics of progress, however, needs to change gears to exploit the country’s veritable cache of 500 airports spread across its vast expanse. The airline industry as well as the MoCA have realised the need to make significant changes to the RDGs. At least ten airports originally placed under Category-III now meet the requirements to be redesignated as Category-I. This will ensure that in conformity with RDGs, airlines would be obliged to fly additional sectors on Category-II and Category-III routes which are at present underutilised. This single policy change would provide a substantial fillip to regional services. However, its effect will be suffocating unless it is accompanied by some more sops to airlines flying to regional airports. The new Civil Aviation Policy being projected by the government may include this and other endowments encouraging airlines to fly to smaller cities. Should that happen, regional aviation might really take off.  SP

www.spsaviation.net

Civil

India Aviation 2014 The government has envisaged an investment of $12.1 billion (`66,550 crore) in the airport sector during the Twelfth Five Year Plan period, of which $9.3 billion (`51,150 crore) is expected to come from the private sector, informed the Minister for Civil Aviation Ajit Singh at India Aviation 2014 launch event

scaling new heights

Photograph: PIB

T

The mood at the India Aviation 2014 launch function held at New Delhi on May 3, appeared buoyant and echoed that the fourth edition of India Aviation to be held from March 12-16, 2014, at the Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad, will be grand or at least larger than the previous three editions of the civil aviation fair. The show will set the stage for advanced networking and create an ecosystem for one and all in the global aviation industry, including airport operators, manufacturers, software developers, etc. Launching the event, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Ajit Singh said that the aviation sector in India is fast changing and is poised for breaking boundaries and scaling new heights. “With ever-increasing scope for participation by private sector, we expect significant developments in the years ahead. The government has envisaged an investment of $12.1 billion in the airport sector during the Twelfth Five Year Plan period, of which $9.3 billion is expected to come from the private sector.” In her welcome address, Naina Lal Kidwai, President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), thanked the Civil Aviation Minister for the important policy decisions taken by the Ministry such as allowing 49 per cent foreign direct investment, abolishing the Aircraft Acquisition Council, improving regional connectivity, etc. She said the policy moves have instilled enthusiasm in the sector. Airlines, Kidwai said, are likely to add about 370 aircraft worth $27.5 billion (`1,51,250 crore) to their fleet by year 2017; and the commercial fleet is expected to reach 1000 by 2020, from 400 now. Hence to achieve such growth, associated challenges like airport congestion, aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price, shortage of manpower, high taxation, high airport charges, development of low cost airports without compromising on safety, etc, needs to be addressed. The Civil Aviation Minister held that the government has taken several initiatives in the regulatory framework for propelling the aviation sector to new heights despite the challenges faced due to rising fuel costs, fierce competition and infrastructure bottlenecks. The decision to abolish the Aircraft Acquisition Council, he said, will help airlines to plan better for future induction of aircraft and also maintain timelines of acquisition. Both scheduled and non-scheduled airlines, flying institutes and business aviation users will benefit from it. Singh further

36

ISSUE 5  • 2013

said that flexi use of airspace by civil and military users will help in reduction of carbon emissions by about seven million kg per annum by direct routing between seven major city pairs. A series of policy reform decisions are under consideration by the Ministry for better functioning of the sector. This includes declaring ATF a notified good, rationalisation of bilateral air service agreements, traffic entitlements on international routes to Indian carriers, setting up of the Civil Aviation Authority, Civil Aviation Security Force, Air Navigation Services Corporation, etc. The Minister invited all to participate in India Aviation 2014 and contribute in the enhancement of air connectivity in the region. The Director General of Civil Aviation, Arun Mishra, who has been involved in the planning and designing of the show since its inception in 2008, gave three suggestions to the Ministry. “A show should not be only about buying and selling, but getting everyone in the aviation value chain under a common platform,” he said, and added that we need to identify players for that. Secondly, he said, there is the need to develop manpower and hence set up training institutes. Last but not the least, he suggested that there are many countries which are yet to be a part of the show and efforts should be made to get them to India Aviation 2014. V.P. Agrawal, Chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), highlighted the need for smaller aircraft, as he said that the next civil aviation growth story after development of Greenfield airports would be connecting to Tier-III cities. Giving the examples of Farnborough and Paris Air Shows, Anil Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said in his concluding remarks that India Aviation has a long way to go. But he opined that in times to come, India Aviation will certainly go a long way like the automobile show in India which has become a major event today. Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners grounded since mid-January 2013 will resume domestic flights by the middle of this month. This was informed by Singh on the sidelines of the launch ceremony. He further informed that the US airplane manufacturer, Boeing, has agreed to compensate Air India for the loss incurred by Air India because of the grounding of the Dreamliner passenger jets. The Minister, however, didn’t disclose the compensation amount and stated that details are being worked out.  SP —By Sucheta Das Mohapatra

www.spsaviation.net

Military

Industry

Opportunity of a Lifetime

Photograph: Dassault Aviation

The MMRCA contract is humongous and could prove to be a turning point for the Indian aerospace industry and a game changer especially in the private sector. While the benefits for the aerospace industry will be unquestionable, it will also have a cascading effect on other industries as well.

D

By Air Marshal (Retd) Anil Chopra

Depleting numbers of MiG-21s and the need to replace the ageing MiG-27 and later Jaguar fleets compelled the Indian Air Force (IAF) to scout for a replacement aircraft. After a lengthy and gruelling process of selection, the French Dassault Rafale emerged as the preferred medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) among the six contenders. The total requirement is for 126 aircraft with an option for another 63. The government had initially allocated `82,000 crore ($14.92 billion) for the contract, a figure that is now believed to have crossed $20 billion (`1,10,000 crore), making it India’s mother-of-all defence deals. Dassault Rafale emerged as the winner essentially due to its lower life-cycle cost. Contract negotiations are now on. The first 18 aircraft will be supplied directly by Dassault within three years and the remaining 108 aircraft

would be built in India by the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) under transfer of technology (ToT). Operational Cutting-Edge The Rafale is a state-of-the-art aircraft, capable of simultaneously undertaking air-supremacy, air-interdiction, reconnaissance and the airborne nuclear deterrent missions. It will infuse new technologies and greater operational capability in the IAF. It has a modern digital fly-by-wire flight control system. Although not a full-aspect stealth aircraft, Rafale has reduced radar cross section (RCS) and infrared signature. There is also extensive use of modern composite materials in airframe construction. The glass cockpit is designed around the principle of data fusion. An integrated direct voice input system allows a range

ISSUE 5  • 2013

37

Military    industry which has a history in aviation and could be an easier-to-handle partner. Reliance being a large cash-rich group was the other choice. With Mukesh Ambani’s personal wealth of $21.5 billion (`1,18,250 crore) and Reliance Industries total assets of $60.85 billion (`3,34,675 crore), it was also a strong contender. Reliance today has a fledgling but significant aviation arm which is trying to understand the industry mechanism. The strengths of the Indian industry are well known. They can take on a variety of tasks related to manufacture of components, electronics, software, heavy engineering, sheet metal work, high quality milling, etc. Synergising the activities of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the private industry; would be a critical requirement. New Technologies for DRDO During Aero India 2013, it was heartening to note that many While the IAF will benefit operationally, there are win-win scenarios for several other players. Provisions for ToT in the con- Indian aircraft component manufacturers were already supplytract will facilitate infusion of advanced technologies into the ing items to the global aerospace industry. HAL and the Indian Indian aerospace industry. There will be access to the AESA Space Research Organisation (ISRO) vendor base could make radar, advanced cockpit avionics, OBOGS, digital fly-by-wire sizeable numbers. Some companies have made offset mancontrol laws, stealth, composite structures, RCS reduction and agement itself their focus area. They were acting as interface self-protection suites. The total value of the radar, electronic between Indian manufacturers and foreign companies. Thales communications and self-protection equipment is about 30 per and Safran traditionally have a strong presence in the councent of the cost of the aircraft with 50 per cent offset purchases try and relationship with Indian companies. The Safran group and work-share with Indian companies will amount to `55,000 has already invested in India through Safran Engineering Services, Snecma HAL and Turbomeca India crore. The annual budget of the DRDO Engines. Thales has joint ventures with is just `10,850 crore ($2 billion). The the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) MMRCA deal will be a golden opportunity and Samtel for avionics and with Roltas for DRDO to cash-in on new technologies. With a steady increase for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and Best Manufacturing Practices in the defence budget reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems, besides When HAL undertook assembly of Jagfor modernisation of having a software development company uar aircraft, there was noticeable imthe Indian armed forces, in Chennai for its global customers. At provement in its capability of component present, India is a source for only 1.5 per manufacturing, sheet metal work and India has emerged as one cent of its total global defence business. milling of turbine blades. The Mirage of the most attractive The company is currently getting 50 per 2000 overhaul facility at HAL again ushcent of India-based revenue from setting ered in industry best practices and also defence markets and up ticketing system for the various metro improved the work-culture at the shopan even more lucrative rail networks in the country. Thales has a floor and management levels. A large aerospace market major stake in India with the ongoing Miquantum of work beyond just assembly rage fleet upgrade in France and would will have to be undertaken by HAL and be anxiously awaiting the conclusion of other Indian companies. HAL achieved the Rafale contract. sales turnover of `14,204 crore ($2.58 A report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) released earlier billion) during the Financial Year 2011-12. The contract has inbuilt provisions for HAL to get bulk of the work and hence the this year on behalf of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Indian aerospace major will have control over outsourcing of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) highlights the challenges bework under offset obligations of `55,000 crore. Has HAL built fore the Indian aerospace industry in the private sector. Rahul enough vendor-base to outsource tasks? Will HAL be able to Chaudhry, CEO, Tata Power, Strategic Electronics Division, says, maintain the production quality standards? One of the issues “There are a number of reasons for the poor progress made yet to be resolved is the responsible for quality assurance, war- towards indigenisation. The policy structure and lack of a proactive approach to involve the private sector are the main. The ranty and delivery schedule of aircraft built in India. inverted duty structure where imports are at zero duty and component sub-assemblies and domestic value-add is taxed, Windfall for the Industry The Indian aerospace industry has literally been salivating ever makes defence procurement an import-friendly regime. In the since this $20 billion deal appeared on the horizon. In May last six years, the ‘real’ indigenous content i.e. the true value 2001, the government opened the defence industry for up to of indigenisation versus imports, has progressively deteriorated 100 per cent participation by the private sector and permitted from 45 to 36 per cent. Ram Prasad, Managing Director, Rockforeign direct investment (FDI) up to 26 per cent, both subject well Collins India, observes, “We foresee market potential worth to licensing. Major private players in the defence sector today $800 million (`4,400 crore) in the defence communication and are the Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TAS), Larsen and Tou- avionics space in the next five years. We are partnering with bro (L&T), Kirloskar Brothers, Mahindra Defence Systems and both the defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) as well as Ashok Leyland. Many foreign aviation companies have set up small and big private sector players. However, the long acquisiventures in India. Dassault was in search of a strong cash-rich tion cycles and delayed decision-making remains a challenge Indian offset partner. Its focus initially was on the Tata group for the defence sector in India.” Sandeep Wadhwa, Director, of aircraft functions to be controlled by voice commands. There is an advanced hands-on-throttle-and-stick with a right-handed side-stick controller. An onboard oxygen generating system (OBOGS) eliminates the need to carry bulky oxygen canisters. The advanced avionics suite has an integrated electronic survival system from Thales and the Areos all-weather, night-andday-capable reconnaissance system. The active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar will bring in the latest technology. The French aircraft have traditionally maintained high mission success rate and fleet serviceability backed by no-strings attached product support. Experience of the IAF with the Mirage 2000 fleet only reinforces this fact.

38

ISSUE 5  • 2013

www.spsaviation.net

Military    industry

Enormous potential the project, the original equipment manufacThe Indian Government has allocated turer (OEM) is committed to meet the 50 per `86,741 crore ($16.06 billion) for capital cent offset requirement for this project. For expenditure in the Union Budget 2013-14, the first time in history, a significant portion of meant for fresh procurement of military the aircraft will be manufactured indigenously hardware and platforms, which is an inin the private sector. The transfer of technolcrease of nine per cent over the last fiscal. As ogy (ToT) clause will also bring in substantial per fresh data, more than 70 per cent of the technical knowledge within the country, which capital goods required by the defence forces the indigenous defence industry can benefit still gets imported from foreign vendors. immensely from. Notwithstanding the variety of options Today, the OEM and its partners are acavailable with the global vendors, the Intively engaged with the Indian industry for dian Government is committed to take Satish Kaura building the necessary domestic infrastrucmeasures that promote the Indian defence Chairman and ture. On the other hand, there is a lot of exciteindustry. In this direction, many initiaManaging Director, Samtel ment and eagerness in the Indian industry to tives have been launched by the governbe a part of this illustrious and historical projment in the last decade to build a strong ect. The capability and the capacity required defence industrial infrastructure for reducing import dependence. Government’s determination to fulfill the offset targets of this project are enormous. Indian to increase indigenisation and also to induct private sec- private industry is gearing up to meet this challenge. During the execution of the MMRCA project, Indian private tor in this domain is obvious from the recent policy innovations, the latest being the amendments to DPP 2011. industry will develop in-depth capacity in design, developAll eyes are now on the conclusion of the medium multi-role ment, engineering, manufacturing, testing, qualification, recombat aircraft (MMRCA) contract. Not only will this project pair and maintenance. The MMRCA project will provide enorprovide a fillip to our strategic defence strength, it will also give mous opportunity for the private sector to evolve and lead a a big boost to indigenous production. As per the stipulation of major transformation of the landscape.  SP

Nash Industries, feels, “Given the high entry barriers characteristic of this sector, besides the long gestational periods involved, only companies who have the wherewithal and patience should consider entering the sector especially at a time when the global markets have slowed down.” S.M. Kapoor, CEO, Taneja Aerospace Ltd, says, “There is certainly more hope and optimism in the past six to eight months and can be attributed to the positive direction that has been provided by the Defence Offset Guidelines announced by the government in August 2012. Global aerospace majors are now approaching Indian companies with a much more focused intent.” Gautam Maini, Director, Maini Group, is of the view that “the aerospace business takes a lot of patience and time to build, but once that is done as in our case, we will start to see exponential growth in the future”. Chris Rao, Vice President, United Technologies, states, “When Goodrich started in Bengaluru more than a decade ago, there was practically no vendor base in India. Over the past 13 years, Goodrich has been able to successfully build a handful of quality vendors. Today, we source 22 per cent of our raw materials from India and this is likely to increase to 70 per cent over the next 10 years. Big Indian players have a crucial role to play. In a highly capital-intensive sector, they should bring in greater synergies and be more forthcoming in collaborating rather than competing.” The defence and aerospace industry can act as a force-multiplier for the economy given India’s capability in engineering together with jobs and export opportunities like it has happened in the auto and IT sectors. In due course, India can also emerge as an outsourcing hub for global defence players. Chance of a LifeTime FICCI has welcomed the Defence Offsets Policy of 2012. With a

steady increase in the defence budget for modernisation of the and 30-50 per cent offset clause, India has emerged as one of the most attractive defence markets and an even more lucrative aerospace market. However, the lack of level playing field for the private sector vis-à-vis the DPSUs and the foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), continues to be a dampener for the private sector. The nation is finally responding to the need for self-reliance in defence production. There are suggestions to raise the FDI limit to 49 per cent. The country has received just $4 million (`22 crore) in the first 10 years since 2001 when FDI was allowed in the defence sector. In the same period, rest of the Indian economy received investments worth $180 billion (`9,90,000 crore). Industry associations have been pursuing policy changes with the government for a level playing field for the Indian industry. An important meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council chaired by the Defence Minister was held on April 20, 2013. Industry-friendly decisions including “Buy (Indian)” will henceforth get higher priority, private industry will be able to get ToT for repair and maintenance which was hitherto restricted to the public sector and the Ministry of Defence will take up taxation issues with the Ministry of Finance. The MMRCA contract is humongous and could prove to be a turning point for the Indian aerospace industry and a game changer especially in the private sector. While the benefits for the aerospace industry will be unquestionable, it will also have a cascading effect on other industries as well. It is therefore incumbent on the government to have a business-friendly policy framework in place and set the stage for smooth transition and growth. For the Indian aerospace industry in the private sector, this is undoubtedly a chance of a lifetime!  SP

ISSUE 5  • 2013

39

Military

Fighters

In the first part of the article on F-35 we spoke about the features of the aircraft which makes it far better than the existing aircraft. Read through the second instalment of this article to know more about the F-35 — the problems faced and the way forward.

Mother of all Programmes

Photograph: US Navy

By Air Marshal (Retd) Anil Chopra

A

After its first flight in December 2006, the F-35 was downgraded from “very low observable” to “low observable” due to increase in the radar cross section. In 2008, RAND Corporation conducted simulated war games in which Russian Su-35 fighters defeated the F-35. The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin contested the study. In November 2011, a Pentagon study identified areas of concern that remained to be addressed. These included HMDS, fuel dump subsystem posing a fire hazard, integrated power package unreliability, stealth-linked survivability, long-term structural strength of the airframe, software development delays, increase in aircraft weight, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) issues for the F-35B, thermal management problems, environment control, delay in the development of automated logistics information system and lightning protection. By October 2012, Lockheed said it had resolved most technical issues of the helmet-mounted display except night vision performance. A US Navy study found that the F-35 would cost 30-40 per cent more to maintain than current jet fighters. Cascading Delays and Implications In the first-two-and-a-half years of the flight test programme, i.e. up to June 2009, only 100 sorties had been completed. Delays had already set in. Several test flights required beyond-routine mainte-

40

ISSUE 5  • 2013

nance to get the aircraft flyable again. As of March 2010, the programme had consumed a million man-hours more than predicted. By February 2012, due to delays and cost escalation, the F-35 order book had changed. Italy was the first to reduce numbers from 131 to 90 aircraft. Other nations reduced initial purchases or delayed orders. The US itself cancelled the initial purchase of 13 aircraft and postponed orders for another 179. Australia decided to buy the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet as a stopgap arrangement. The decision to manufacture the aircraft before the flight testing, in retrospect, is seen as a decision flawed. The programme has had critics within the United States. Passions are running high and sometimes the finger pointing is unreasonable considering the scale of the programme. Money remains the biggest issue. According to a 2012 US Government accountability report, the F-35 costs have increased 93 per cent in real terms over the 2001 estimate. Unlike other military aircraft, the F-35 is designed for continuous upgrades throughout its life. The aircraft would be operational till the late 2060s. The current schedule has the delivery of basic combat capability by late 2015, followed by full capability Block-3 software by end 2016. The development phase should be completed in 2018 when the Block-5 configuration is delivered several years later and considerably over budget.

www.spsaviation.net

Military    Fighters

F-35 Programme Timeline In 1997, Lockheed Martin was selected as one of two companies to participate in the Joint Strike Fighter concept demonstration phase. In October 2001, the Lockheed Martin X-35 was chosen as the winner of the competition and teamed with Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems to begin production.

Manufacturing begin on F-35 airframe with milling process

F-35 Lightening II first flight piloted by Jon Beesley

November 10, 2003

December 15, 2006:

February 20, 2006

First F-35, AA-1, exist the Lockheed Martin factory

F-35 flies supersonic for the first time

November 13, 2008

First flight of first production F-35, AF-6

US Air Force formally accepts the first low rate initial production F-35 into its inventory

Lockheed Martin delivers the first 100th F-35 on Lockheed F-35B to the US Marine Corps Martin’s production line

February 25, 2011

May 5, 2011

January 11, 2012

F-35 fleet surpasses 1,000 flight hours

April 6, 2011

F-35B lands on USS WASP for the programme’s first vertical landing on ship

October 3, 2011

Lockheed Martin delivers the first international F-35B to the United Kingdom

July 12, 2012

January 30, 2013

March 19, 2013

First three F-35s report to Nellis Air Base, Nevada, for F-35A operational test and evaluation

Source: Lockheed Martin

In 2011, The Economist magazine warned that F-35 was in danger of slipping into a “death spiral” where increasing per aircraft cost at $133 million (`732 crore) would lead to cuts in numbers ordered. The estimated $323 billion (`17,76,500 crore) development cost, makes it the most expensive defence programme ever. Compare this to $589 billion (`42,30,500 crore) which the US has spent on the war in Afghanistan. The total 50-year life-cycle cost for the entire fleet of military aircraft in the US is estimated to be $1.51 trillion or $618 million (`3,399 crore) per plane. The operational or combat-realistic tests are to start in 2017 with results available in 2019. There are uncertainties ahead. Lockheed’s development roadmap extends until 2021, including a Block-6 engine improvement in 2019. Testing and securing the 24 million lines of software code for the plane and its support systems is the most critical programme issue. Lockheed officials remind that big commercial plane makers had also run into delays with their most touted planes, Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner and Airbus’s A350. Aircraft Deliveries Thirteen aircraft were delivered in 2011 and 30 in 2012. As per current plan, 30 planes will be delivered annually for the next two years. But the Pentagon will still have bought 365 planes before the flight tests end in 2017. Full production will start around 2019 and go on till the mid-2030s. Air Force Flying Training Flights at Eglin Air Force Base began on March 6, 2012, and by August 24, 200 sorties were completed. As per the pilots, “The aircraft have matured dramatically. The aircraft are predictable and seem to be maintainable, which is good for the sortie production rate.” The F-35s at the base no longer need to fly with a chase aircraft and are operating in a normal two-ship element. On November 2, 2012, F-35A and Bs completed a total of 500 sorties at the base. As the F-35 is a software-defined aircraft, maintenance personnel find that deficiencies identified can be fixed by simply rebooting of the software. During the low-rate-

initial-production phase, the US had taken a tri-service approach to developing tactics and procedures using flight simulators. Concept of operations and employment for the aircraft were already being developed even before it was in service. The Way Forward The fly-away cost per aircraft could be anywhere up to $200 million (`1,100 crore). The Pentagon is not inclined to make further investments and the US Congress finds it unaffordable. Australia feels threatened as the Russian PAK-FA and the Chinese J20 are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Some have questioned the reliance on a short-range aircraft to engage China. The UK would have to take a call in 2015 whether it wishes to upgrade the Typhoon or buy additional F-35s. This has consequences for the European aerospace industry. Not to develop the Typhoon, which still has potential buyers in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman and Malaysia, would mean that British aircraft building expertise would fade. There is a strong possibility that beyond 2030, the F-35 will be the only high-performance fighter in service with the RAF and the Royal Navy. Both have seen downsizing recently. There is talk of altered priorities in favour of a pilotless aircraft. The nation that created the Spitfire and the Harrier could well end up being out of aircraft production business. As he exits Afghanistan, President Barack Obama, under Congress pressure, is moving to cut the $700 billion (`38,50,000 crore) plus military budget, of which the F-35 project could be a prime target. But a programme of this magnitude which employs close to 35,000 workers, covering many constituencies, does have its political backers. It’s a Hobson’s choice having already spent $65 billion (`3,57,500 crore). Todd Harrison, an analyst at the Centre for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, says: “It is simultaneously too big to fail and too big to succeed.” Teething problems occur in all programmes and there are “naysayers” everywhere. This fighter pilot’s dream plane has no choice but to succeed. The best brains are at work. It is just a matter of time.  SP (Concluded)

ISSUE 5  • 2013

41

Military

Exercise Live wire

Show of Might Exercise Live Wire, IAF’s largest ever exercise conducted recently, tested the warfighting ability of the IAF in a networked environment By Sucheta Das Mohapatra

Photographs: Indian Air force

The Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne during his visit to a forward Northern airbase as part of his Exercise Live Wire tour to various bases

T

That India has the requisite air power to defend its geostrategic interests was evident once again at Exercise Live Wire, the largest ever exercise conducted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) from March 18 to April 4. The pan-IAF exercise conducted with the objective to involve the entire force and test the warfighting ability of the IAF in networked environs, was held in two phases: March 18 to March 26 wherein the Western and South Western Air Commands participated; and March 29 to April 4 in which the Western, Central and Eastern sectors were the participants. As challenges to the country’s national security increase in intensity and complexity, the IAF once again demonstrated the airworthiness and competence of its combat elements and air

42

ISSUE 5  • 2013

defence systems during the Exercise Live Wire. After the Gaganshakti Exercise in 2006, which was smaller in scale and without netcentric operations, the IAF for the first time conducted an exercise of such a massive scale. Hundreds of fighters, helicopters and transport aircraft participated, representing IAF’s offensive and defensive airpower capabilities. IAF’s newest war strategies, latest inductions and technologies, were tested and the IAF will now look ahead to putting together the lessons learnt after examining the statistics. Briefing the media after the exercise, Air Force gave out details of the exercise, which was meant to exercise the entire Force. The IAF’s old and new systems including fighters like the Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000s, Jaguars, MiG-29s as well as forcemultipliers airborne warning and control systems (AWACS) aircraft and flight refuellers took part. The AWACS exercised control over all types of operations during the exercise. The new induction C-130J Super Hercules, the workhorse Mi-17, AN-32 (used for bombing) and integrated air command and control system (IACCS), were actively involved in the exercise. The ­AFNET allowed network-centric operations to be tested. As a lead up to the main exercise, operations with Indian Navy were conducted in Exercises Tropics and Dakshin Prahar. Joint operations with the Indian Army were also held. The exercise conducted from all IAF airfields, tested IAF’s ability during a two-front war scenario. The exercise was intended at proving IAF’s warfighting concepts under a net-centric environment. Most missions terminated in live weapon firing. Flight refuelling was used for inter-, and intra-theatre sorties, air defence operations, and high tempo surge operations. Validation of jointmanship, slithering operations, flexible use of air power, casualty evacuation in a chemical biological radiological and nuclear (CBRN) environment, were also exercised. According to IAF, it was the largest ever operational exercise that included offensive operations against stimulated targets and air defence operations in protection of our forces on the ground and in the air. And despite the scale, duration and geographical coverage of the exercise, the IAF managed it without disrupting the civil traffic anywhere in the country, including the Northeast. The exercise was initially planned to be held in FebruaryMarch of 2012, but was postponed for a later date. Coming on the heels of Exercise Iron Fist held at the Pokhran firing ranges, Rajasthan, a month earlier; Exercise Live Wire tested IAF’s recently acquired state-of-the-art platforms and their integration with the existing ones.  SP

www.spsaviation.net

A

hall of fame Air combat, the pinnacle of aerial operations, came into prominence first during World War I. That’s when every fighter pilot began to aspire to score at least five aerial victories, enough to be called an ace. But there’s never been an ace quite like Germany’s Manfred von Richthofen, the “Red Baron”, who downed 80 enemy aircraft within 20 months. The sudden appearance of his bright-red biplane swooping down on an opposing aircraft formation was calculated to instil terror in the hearts of allied pilots. Richthofen ultimately became a national hero and a 20th century legend. Born on May 2, 1892, in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland), Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen came from a distinguished Prussian family. His father, an army officer, enrolled Manfred in a military cadet institute at the age of 11. On coming of age he joined the cavalry. When World War I broke out in 1914, Manfred yearned for action. He was disgusted with the logistical post he was assigned to and applied to be transferred, saying, “I have not gone to war in order to collect cheese and eggs, but for another purpose.” His superiors, surprisingly, saw the point. In May 1915, Richthofen was posted to the flying service as an airborne observer. A short time later, he met the German ace pilot Oswald Boelcke, who inspired him to enter training as a pilot in October 1915. Though his initial flying performance did not seem at all impressive, he stuck to his dream with great determination. On December 25, 1915, he was awarded a pilot’s certificate. It did not take long for Richthofen to distinguish himself as a combat pilot. After his first confirmed kill on September 17, 1916, when he shot down a British FE2b aircraft, he ordered a silver cup from a Berlin jeweller and engraved it with the date and the type of enemy aircraft. He scored his fifth kill within a month to become an ace. In due course he accumulated 60 victory cups. But with the dwindling supply of silver in Germany, he decided to stop ordering more cups rather than agree to trophies of a base metal. However, he was neither excessively aggressive, nor did he take unnecessary risks. Rather, he employed superior tactics to gain advantage over

www.spsaviation.net

the enemy and his sublime manoeuvring skills and fine marksmanship did the rest. He scrupulously followed the “Dicta Boelcke” (eight rules for combat in the air, formulated by Oswald Boelcke) to ensure the highest probability of success with the lowest risk. When launching an attack, he preferred to dive from above, keeping the sun behind him to prevent his victim from spotting him. On November 23, 1916, Richthofen shot down his most famous adversary, the British ace Major Lanoe Hawker, VC, following a prolonged dogfight.

Manfred von Richthofen (1892-1918) There’s never been an ace quite like the “Red Baron”, who downed 80 enemy aircraft within 20 months. He was a national hero and a 20th century legend.

In January 1917, Richthofen became the leader of a flying unit known as Jasta 11. Training his men, as Boelcke had taught him, Richthofen quickly developed an elite force. He changed his aircraft to the Albatros D III and had it painted bright red, which served to create his name and reputation as the Red Baron. His juniors also had their machines painted in bright colours. Within weeks, he personally led his new unit to stunning success. In April 1917 (“Bloody April”) alone, he downed 21 British aircraft, including four in a single day.

Some wondered if Richthofen’s 80 credited kills were all genuine. Some might be mere frivolous claims unsupported by facts? But many years later, independent researchers discovered that Richthofen’s victories were better documented than those of most other aces. In fact, if his unconfirmed victories were added, his tally of conquests was probably a hundred or more. Being constantly in the thick of aerial combat, Richthofen had little doubt that his luck would run out some day. In July 1917, during an engagement with a formation of British fighter aircraft, he was hit in the head by a bullet. This caused instant disorientation and temporary blindness. He regained consciousness just in time to recover his stricken aircraft and make a bumpy but safe landing in a nearby field. Multiple surgeries followed to extract bone fragments from his brain. When he resumed flying, he suffered from post-flight nausea and headache. Friends and colleagues also noticed a change in temperament. He exhibited symptoms of cumulative combat stress that made him fail to observe some of his usual precautions. He had become such a star that his superiors feared that his death would be a blow to the morale of the German people. But he refused a ground job stating that the average German soldier had no choice in his duties and he too would therefore continue to fly and fight. Manfred von Richthofen was fatally wounded on April 21, 1918, while flying near the Somme River. He was pursuing a British aircraft at low level while another British fighter was in hot pursuit. He was simultaneously being fired at by Australian troops on the ground. It was never conclusively proved whether the lone bullet that hit him came from an airborne adversary or from the ground. Just before he died, he managed to make a controlled landing on a hill. The enemy forces soon surrounded his plane, recovered his body and conducted his funeral with full military honours. A wreath placed over his coffin was inscribed with the words: “To Our Gallant and Worthy Foe.”  SP

ISSUE 5  • 2013

—Group Captain (Retd) Joseph Noronha, Goa

43

News Digest MILITARY QuickRoundUp

Asia-Pacific Global military spending falls

AgustaWestland

AgustaWestland has announced that a final assembly line for the new generation AW169 helicopter will be established at its AgustaWestland Philadelphia facility located at Northeast Philadelphia Airport in the United States of America. The new production line will ramp up to produce around 20 aircraft per year by 2017.

Airbus

Nepal’s national flag carrier, Nepal Airlines Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding to buy two Airbus A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklet fuel saving wingtip devices. Sharklets deliver up to four per cent savings in fuel consumption making the aircraft a cornerstone of NAC’s fleet modernisation.

Alenia Aermacchi

Alenia Aermacchi has signed a contract worth about €170 million (about $225.9 million) with Eurofighter GmbH for the supply of components, systems and services of Alenia Aermacchi’s responsibility for the 12 Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft ordered by Oman in December 2012. The contract includes services and other activities to be provided by Alenia Aermacchi also for the initial five-year logistics support package requested by the Royal Air Force of Oman. Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has signed a MoU to buy two Airbus A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklet fuel saving wing tip devices. Sharklets deliver up to four per cent savings in fuel consumption making the aircraft a cornerstone of NAC’s fleet modernisation.

World military expenditure totalled $1.75 trillion in 2012, a fall of 0.5 per cent in real terms since 2011, according to figures released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The fall—the first since 1998—was driven by major spending cuts in the USA, Western and Central Europe, as well as in Australia, Canada and Japan. The reductions were, however, substantially offset by increased spending in Asia, China, the second largest spender in 2012, increased its expenditure by 7.8 per cent ($11.5 billion). Russia, the third largest spender, increased its expenditure by 16 per cent ($12.3 billion). Despite the drop, the global total was still higher in real terms than the peak near the end of the Cold War. Military expenditure in Asia and Oceania rose by 3.3 per cent in 2012. Large increases were seen in Vietnam and Indonesia. Spending in India decreased by 2.8 per cent.

Foreign Minister says AgustaWestland still a contender

Italian aerospace and defence giant Finmeccanica SpA is not at risk of

Antonov

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said that Ukraine will continue its project to build Antonov An-70 tactical transport aircraft even if Russia withdraws from it. Dmytro Kyva, President of the Ukrainian state company Antonov, said that his company had to suspend the trials of An-70 as the project’s chief partner, the Russian Defense Ministry, had again cast doubt on its participation in the project. Moscow withdrew from the project in 2006, only to rejoin the programme in late 2009.

Arianespace

The 1,803rd flight of a Soyuz launch vehicle was carried out from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Arianespace and its Russian partners report that the Progress cargo spacecraft was accurately placed on the target orbit for another mission to the International Space Station. This was the fifth Soyuz family mission in 2013. Arianespace has announced net income of €1.7 million ($2.23 million) for 2012 on sales of €1,329 million ($1,744.84 million). Despite the contrasted market conditions, Arianespace enjoyed a remarkable year in 2012 in terms of both number of launches and orders booked.

44

ISSUE 5  • 2013

T

­ eing blacklisted in India and remains b a candidate in an Indian Government bidding contest for helicopters. Speaking from Moscow, Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said an investigation into alleged bribes paid by Finmeccanica unit AgustaWestland to win a government contract “is a specific case which will not have implications for Finmeccanica in terms of contracts and public works in our country”. The Italian defence contractor, which employs some 70,000 around the world, has been embroiled in an investigation in Italy and India into alleged bribes paid in the previous sale of helicopters to the Indian Air Force. Earlier, Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony said in a written reply in the Parliament that AgustaWestland remains actively involved in the bidding process for two contracts to supply 56 helicopters to India’s Navy— a deal worth about $1 billion—as well as in a separate bid to supply 14 helicopters to the country’s Coast Guard.

Committed to enhance defence cooperation with Maldivies: Antony

The Minister of Defence and National Security of the Republic of Maldives, Mohamed Nazim had an hour-long meeting with the Defence Minister A.K. Antony, followed by a meeting with the

Maiden flight of LSP 8 (LCA-Tejas)

he last aircraft in the limited series production (LSP) programme of the light combat aircraft (LCA)-Tejas (LSP-08) took off on its maiden flight recently from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) airport in Bengaluru. The performance of the aircraft was flawless, said Dr R.K. Tyagi, Chairman, HAL. The aircraft was flown covering a flight envelope at supersonic speeds and at an angle of attack of 20 degrees which is the current maximum limit cleared by design. With this, the initial operation clearance (IOC) for the aircraft can be expected soon. Air Cmde K.A. Muthana, VSM, Programme Director (Flight Test), piloted the aircraft on its maiden flight. The aircraft with a build standard akin to the IOC standard underwent series of rigorous checks by the certifying and inspecting agencies during the last fortnight with a few taxi checks to assess the aircraft performance. The flight clearance by the certifying agencies was accorded today for the aircraft after ensuring that all the aircraft systems were functioning satisfactorily on ground. Till now aircraft normally undergo high speed taxi trials prior to the first flight. However, with the confidence gained by the flight crew and the certifying agencies during the build and ground checks a decision was taken to proceed with first flight without going through a separate high-speed taxi trial. Aircraft systems related to fuel, environment condition, electrical and avionics which had undergone series of modifications based on feedback from earlier aircraft functioned well.

www.spsaviation.net

News Digest appointments

Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation has announced the appointment of Andrew Tyler as Chief Executive for the United Kingdom and Europe. In this new position, he will play a leading role in supporting the company’s current programmes, developing strategies for growth and identifying new business opportunities for the company’s activities in the UK and Europe, including NATO.

Cassidian

Ralf Kannefass has been named Cassidian’s new Head of Programmes. He will also be a member of Cassidian’s Executive Committee.

QuickRoundUp

Airbus Americas

Airbus has appointed David Paul Hills as Director, Research and Technology (R&T), Airbus Americas. He is based at Airbus Americas headquarters in Herndon, Virginia. The company has named Joseph T. Houghton as Vice President of Training and Flight Operations Support, Airbus Americas. Houghton will also lead Airbus Training Center in Miami.

Astrium

Astrium, Europe’s leading space technology company, will soon be able to offer near-global coverage in X-band with the successful entry into service of Skynet 5D and the launch of its hosted payload on Telesat’s Anik G1 satellite.

ATK

ATK has successfully completed its solid rocket booster preliminary design review (PDR) with NASA for the new space launch system (SLS). The PDR milestone indicates the booster design is on track to support first flight of the SLS in 2017. The SLS vehicle will support NASA’s human spaceflight exploration to all destinations beyond low-earth orbit.

Arianespace

The Board of Directors of Arianespace has named Stéphane Israël as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the company.

Boeing Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Air Staff, and the Vice Chiefs of Army and Navy and Director General, Coast Guard. The Maldivian Minister was on a four-day official visit to India during which he would be visiting military establishments in various parts of the country. During the meeting with Antony on April 15, the Maldivian Minister was accompanied by the High Commissioner of Maldives in India and other senior officers of the Maldivian National Defence Forces. On the Indian side, Defence Secretary, DG Armed Forces Medical Services, the Indian High Commissioner in Male and senior officers of the armed forces and from the Ministry of Defence and External Affairs were present. During the meeting, Antony conveyed that India stands committed to enhance the ongoing defence and security partnership with Maldives.

Government committed to modernisation of IAF: Antony

The Defence Minister A.K. Antony, while inaugurating the Air Force Commanders’ Conference on April 16, said that the government remains committed to the modernisation of Indian Air Force (IAF) and the long-term infrastructure prospective plan (LTIPP) clearly lays down the roadmap for the accretion plan of the IAF. “The procurement and acquisitions span the entire spectrum of the capabilities of IAF including fighter aircraft, transport aircraft, helicopters and modernisation of air defence network. Net-centricity, cyber security and ensur-

www.spsaviation.net

ing the requisite communication bandwidth for seamless operations too are a part of capacity-building to ensure that Indian Air Force remains at the forefront of technology,” he said. Antony added that the long gestation periods of acquisitions, induction and operationalisation of these systems require that IAF upgrades its legacy systems and modern systems to retain and further strengthen its capabilities. He stressed the need for indigenisation and move towards self-reliance in defence production.

White paper outlines China’s Air Defence

China conveyed through its latest national defence white paper published on April 16 that it has established an air defence force, integrating reconnaissance and early warning systems, resistance, counter-attack and protection. According to military experts, China’s vast territory and complications concerning airspace over neighbouring countries means the nation faces an increasingly serious threat to its air security. Hou Xiaohe, an associate professor from the National Defense University, said conflicts after the Cold War period have showed that air strike and anti-air strike measures have become an important form of operations amid the rapid development of high-tech offensive air power. Therefore, after over six decades of development, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is emphasising both on offensive and defensive capabilities, rather than only defending homeland air territory. The country’s

Boeing has been awarded a $6,58,77,538 firm-fixedprice contract for 2,701 Lot 17 joint direct attack munition tailkits. Work is expected to be completed by March 31, 2015. The contract involves FMS for Israel. Boeing has announced that it is greatly enhancing its flight training support for customer airlines in Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas, by adding and repositioning a number of flight training devices within its global network. The announcement at the World Aviation Training Symposium, includes new capabilities for training on Next-Generation 737, 777 and 787 Dreamliners. According to initial reports, Boeing’s AH-64E Apache Guardian has beaten TAI’s T-129 and Bell’s AH-1Z Viper to win a South Korean order valued at $1.6 billion. Ethiopian Airlines became the world’s first carrier to resume flying Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, since it was grounded in January with battery problems. The Ethiopian flight was the first since regulators grounded the Dreamliner in January after two battery warnings on two separate planes. The battery faults raised fears of a possible mid-air fire. Boeing has been awarded a $1,96,33,750 modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of Apache Block III AH64D helicopters and related support. This contract is in support of FMS for Taiwan. The total cumulative face value of this contract is $62,44,62,536.

Cascade Aerospace

Cascade Aerospace, an operating unit of IMP Aerospace & Defence, has announced that it has been awarded a multi-year contract by the Canadian government for the optimised weapon system support of the Royal Canadian Air Force’s legacy C-130 Hercules avionics system.

Czech Republic

Five JAS-39 Gripen aircraft and six pilots of the Czech Air Force have successfully completed 80 refuelling contacts with German Airbus 310 MRTT tanker in train-

ISSUE 5  • 2013

45

News Digest QuickRoundUp

ing within ATARES programme. The training has increased number of Czech pilots who are able to refuel in the air.

Dassault Falcon

The FAA has certificated two newest members of the Falcon family of business jets, the Falcon 2000S and Falcon 2000LXS. The approval came days after the aircraft received its EASA type certificate.

DynCorp International

The US Army Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command has awarded DynCorp International a contract to provide aviation maintenance services throughout the Regional Aviation Sustainment Maintenance-West Region, under the Army Field Maintenance contract. The competitively-awarded hybrid firm fixed price, cost-plus incentive fee, contract has one base year with four, one-year options, and a total contract value of $388.5 million if all options are exercised.

Embraer

Embraer has announced that it has signed a firm order with United Airlines for the sale of 30 Embraer 175 jets, with options for an additional 40 of the same model, taking the firm order and options to a total of up to 70 aircraft. If all options are exercised, the combined order has an estimated value of $2.9 billion at current list prices. Embraer Executive Jets has delivered the first of up to 125 Phenom 300 light jets to NetJets, a Berkshire Hathaway company. The delivery was part of an order that included 50 firm orders and 75 options, signed in October 2010 creating a partnership that would develop into the NetJets’ Signature Series Phenom 300.

Gromov Flight Research Institute

An Air Force pilot of the Chkalov Flight Test Center made a PAK FA test flight for the first time at the Gromov Flight Research Institute. The system and equipment testing went on for two hours in accordance with the flight test programme. The flight was a success, in full conformity with the flight mission. Currently four planes are undergoing flight tests. Two more aircraft are engaged in ground experimental missions—one plane is a complex ground test stand and the other undergoes static tests. The fifth PAK FA aircraft will join the flight test programme in the second half of 2013.

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin’s PAC-3 missile has successfully detected, tracked and intercepted a tactical ballistic missile in a Lower Tier Project Office flight test at White Sands Missile Range. Two PAC-3 missiles were ripple-fired in the test per current doctrine. The first interceptor destroyed the target and the second PAC-3 missile self-destructed as planned.

46

air defence system is composed of six subsystems of reconnaissance and surveillance, command and control, aerial defence, ground air defence, integrated support and civil air defence.

America US Air Force bomber sustainment and modernisation

The US Air Force’s existing long-range bomber fleet of B-52s, B-1s, and B-2s are at a critical point in their operational life span as the life each airframe being 50, 28, and 20 years old, respectively. Although the Air Force is committed to the development and acquisition of its proposed long-range strike-bomber, it is anticipated that flight-testing of the new bomber will not start until the mid2020s, with initial operational capability near 2030. With this timeline in mind, the Air Force has extended the operational lives of the B-52 and B-1 out to 2040 and the B-2 out to 2058.

Tests to extend life of KC-135 completed

Show Calendar 9–11 May EUROPEAN HELICOPTER SHOW Hradec Králové LKHK, Czech Republic www.eurohelishow.com 21–23 May European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE2013) Palexpo, Geneva, Switzerland www.ebace.aero/2013 31 May–2 June AeroExpo UK Sywell Aerodrome, Northampton, UK www.expo.aero/uk 6–8 June CANNES AIRSHOW Cannes-Mandelieu Airport-LFMD, Cannes, France www.cannesairshow.com 7–9 June CIAM INTERNATIONAL AVIATION TRADE SHOW & CONGRESS Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach Cancún Resort, Cancún, Mexico www.expo-ciam.com 17–23 June Paris Air Show 2013 Le Bourget Airport, Paris, France www.paris-air-show.com

Known as “The Mighty War Wagon” of the US Air Force, the KC-135 Stratotanker has proven to be the core aerial refuelling capability for the Air Force for more than 50 years. With the help of the 418th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Base, the KC-135 Block 45 test team has recently completed a series of tests in April to help extend the aircraft’s service life for decades. There are currently 419 KC-135s and 59 KC-10s that enhance the Air Force’s capability to accomplish its primary mission of Global Reach. KC-135 Block 45 upgrades include a digital flight director, a radar altimeter, an electronic engine instrument display, and automatic flight control system or autopilot for communications, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management requirements in order to maintain global airspace access. Most notably though the Edwards team was able to complete the final testing $2,00,000 below cost and three weeks ahead of

ISSUE 5  • 2013

29–31 July Military Helicopter Brazil São Paulo, Brazil www.militaryhelicopterbrazil.com

new schedule. It is currently estimated that the first 179 KC-46 aircraft will be delivered by 2028.

Northrop Grumman’s SABR gives F-16 pilots the big picture

Northrop Grumman’s big synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mapping for the scalable agile beam radar (SABR) is delivering the largest, sharpest radar images ever available in an F-16. The company’s SABR has successfully demonstrated several advanced radar capabilities for the F-16, including Big SAR maps with automatic target cueing. SABR is an affordable, multifunction active electronically scanned array radar designed specifically for F-16 retrofit.

www.spsaviation.net

News Digest Civil Asia-Pacific 100-seat transport aircraft in future: Ajit Singh

While inaugurating the FAA-Asia Pacific bilateral partners’ meeting hosted by HAL, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh stated that efforts will be made to get HAL’s advanced light helicopter Dhruv certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the near future. The Minister felt that a mechanism needs to be evolved to benefit the bilateral countries involved in such agreements so that they could export or import aeronautical parts mutually. He added, “We also have a national civil aircraft development programme for 100-seat medium-transport aircraft.”

China’s CAS signs GTA with Airbus

China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CAS) has signed a General Terms Agreement (GTA) with Airbus for the purchase of 60 Airbus aircraft, which includes 42 A320 Family aircraft and 18 A330 aircraft. The GTA was signed at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing by Li Hai, President and CEO of CAS and Fabrice Brégier, President and CEO of Airbus in the presence of the visiting French President François Hollande and the Chinese President Xi Jinping. “We are delighted to receive a new order from our customer CAS for both the Airbus best-selling single aisle A320 family and wide-body A330 family,” said Fabrice Brégier, President and CEO of Airbus.

model of a heavy-lift, subsonic vehicle that forgoes the conventional tube-andwing airplane design in favour of a triangular tailless aircraft that effectively merges the vehicle’s wing and body.

Bell’s Warrior programme update

Bell Helicopter provided a programme update on the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior programme at the 2013 Army Aviation Association of America’s Annual Professional Forum and Exposition. The salient aspects are: with over 8,20,000 combat hours and counting, the OH-58 is pressed into combat duty daily; in addition to the accumulation of these combat hours, all OH-58 units are reporting that they continue to achieve over 90 per cent mission capable rates.

Space ESA-EDA flight demonstration on RPAS

www.spsaviation.net

Raytheon

Raytheon has been awarded an $86,40,000 firmfixed-price delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement for the procurement of three AN/APG-79 active electronically scanned array radar systems in support of the F/A-18 E/F aircraft. Work is expected to be completed in December 2014. Three JAS 39 Gripen aircraft have landed at the Thai airbase. The aircraft were delivered by the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration on behalf of FXM and are number seven, eight and nine of the 12 Gripen aircraft that Sweden is to deliver to the Royal Thai Air Force. The last three will be delivered during the second half of 2013.

Selex ES

America The Boeing X-48C research aircraft flew for the 30th and final time, marking the successful completion of an eightmonth flight-test programme to explore and further validate the aerodynamic characteristics of the blended wing body design concept. All 30 flights were conducted at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center. The X-48C typically flew for approximately 30 minutes on most flights, reaching speeds of up to 224 km per hour and attaining an altitude of about 10,000 feet. The X-48C, designed by Boeing Research & Technology, built by Cranfield Aerospace Ltd, and flown in partnership with NASA and the US Air Force Research Laboratory, is a scale

The US Air Force has selected Lockheed Martin to modernise the air tasking order capabilities within the theatre battle management core system (TBMCS). As the ‘engine of the Air Operations Center’, TBMCS directs flying operations for all airborne assets, including fighters, bombers, tankers, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters and cruise missiles. This air tasking order management system order is valued at $12 million with a base period of performance through March 2015, followed by three one-year options. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company has been awarded a modification on contract FA8625-07-C-6471 for C-5 reliability enhancement and re-engining programme for $4,56,51,026, increasing the total contract value from $3,64,74,39,476 to $3,69,30,90,503. Work is expected to be completed by October 29, 2014.

Royal Thai Air Force

Europe

Industry Boeing X-48C completes flight testing

QuickRoundUp

San Javier Air Base was selected to conduct the trials and demonstrate that satellite communications are suitable to operate RPASs and integrate them into civil airspace. The project Demonstration of Satellites enabling the Insertion of RPAS in Europe is funded by the European Space Agency and the European Defence Agency within an initiative to support the utilisation of RPAS complemented by satellites for commercial and governmental applications. DeSIRE has undertaken a series of test flights to demonstrate the role of satellite communications for integrating in civil and military airspace RPAS flight beyond line of sight. •

Selex ES has been awarded a contract worth about eight million Euros by the Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation (VATM) to develop the New Hanoi Air Traffic Control Centre. The contract, which will last 19 months, will see Selex ES providing an air traffic management automation system and associated systems.

UNASUL

Representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela have signed the charter of the advisory committee for the development of a new basic training aircraft to train pilots of Air Forces of UNASUL. The trainer is likely to be ready by the end of 2015.

US Air Force

Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation has been selected by the US Air Force to perform risk reduction work on the next-generation of microwave sounding and imaging instruments for the weather satellite follow-on programme.

ISSUE 5  • 2013

47

Last word

Photograph: Indian Air Force

Quality is the Key While Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is in the left high and dry. However, it was not as if the premature withprocess of finalising the project to produce a basic turboprop drawal of the fleet came as a total surprise. In the nearly 25 trainer aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF), seized by ur- years of service in the IAF, there were over 70 accidents on the gency, the IAF has projected a case for the procurement of 37 HPT-32 out of which 17 were attributable to engine failure due Pilatus PC-7 Mk II basic trainer aircraft beyond the fleet of 75 to interruption of fuel flow to the engine. Tragically, 19 pilots already ordered last year. The IAF is facing a crisis in this seg- perished in the mishaps. Several modifications were carried out ment of its inventory, but the problem has not developed over- on the aircraft by HAL to solve the problem of interruption of night. In fact, it has been in the making for years duly aggravat- fuel flow in certain conditions of flight, but none were successed by lack of foresight, focus and proper planning at the level of ful. AVCO Lycoming refused to join hands to solve the problem service headquarters and the lack of coordination with HAL. If unless HAL reversed all the modifications carried out by them. the IAF is without an indigenous basic trainer aircraft today, it Clearly, this was not a practical possibility and hence in the reis certainly not on account of the lack of capability of the Indian sulting stalemate, the IAF was left with no option other than to aerospace industry. In the 1950s, the HAL provided the IAF take the very difficult step of premature withdrawal of the HPTwith the HT-2, a single piston engine trainer powered by the 32 fleet. The IAF was not prepared to accept further loss of life. As basic flying training was in complete disarray, the govCirrus Major III 155 horsepower engine, a product of a totally indigenous effort that rendered yeomen service for about four ernment had no option but to permit the IAF to procure on fast decades. The HT-2 was replaced with the HPT-32, once again track a fleet of basic trainer aircraft from the global market. designed, developed and produced by HAL. Powered by the Simultaneously, HAL was tasked to produce a basic trainer in American 260-horsepower AVCO Lycoming O-540 piston en- conformity with the specifications laid down by the IAF for the gine, deliveries of the HPT-32 began in 1984, five years before imported product. In 2009, HAL did project a plan to develop in five years such a trainer dubbed as the HTT-40, in collaboration the HT-2 fleet retired from service. In 1984, HAL unveiled a prototype of the HTT-34 at the with a foreign partner and even floated a request for informaFarnborough International Air Show. This new aircraft was es- tion in 2010. A mock-up of the proposed machine, which had a striking resemblance with the sentially an HPT-32 airframe, Pilatus PC-7, was displayed at powered by a more powerful the Aero India air show at Yela420 shaft horsepower Allison hanka in February 2013. 250-B17D turboprop engine. The IAF needs a total of 183 Compared to the HPT-32, perbasic trainer aircraft, of which formance of the HTT-34 was 75 have been ordered and reported to be far superior. But deliveries have begun. Meanfor some reason not easy to while, HAL is moving forward fathom, the IAF did not apprein consultation with the IAF to ciate this rare initiative on the fine-tune its project report on part of HAL and did not evince the HTT-40. It is understood interest in the new product. The that all issues including that of project was shelved and in due price has been resolved. course, was consigned to the Plagued by scams and alarchives. Thereafter, there was legations of irregularities in no further initiative either from procurement of defence equipthe IAF or from HAL with rement from abroad especially in gard to replacement of the HPTthe recent past, the Minister of 32 fleet which in the normal Defence has stated unequivocourse would have become due cally the intent of the governby around 2020. In the fitness ment to move aggressively of things, there should have towards indigenisation in the been a definitive plan in place Indian aerospace industry. by 2010 if not earlier for the rePlagued by scams and allegations of However, in the final analysis, placement of the HPT-32 fleet. irregularities in procurement of defence true indigenisation will be posSadly, there was none! equipment from abroad and especially in sible only if the Indian aeroThus when, for entirely the recent past, the Minister of Defence space industry is able to delivjustifiable reasons, the HPT-32 er quality products and in the fleet was grounded in July 2009 has unequivocally stated the intent of the required time frame.  SP ten years before it would have government to move aggressively towards been due to be phased out in —By Air Marshal (Retd) indigenisation in the Indian aerospace industry the normal course, the IAF was B.K. Pandey

48

ISSUE 5  • 2013

www.spsaviation.net

INDISPENSABLE SP’S MILITARY YEARBOOK 2013 Please send your requirements, NOW at: order@spsmilitaryyearbook.com

Right. Now.

Nothing works as well as an E-Jet today. Even in more prosperous times, E-Jets were a compelling choice — creating a whole new 70- to 120-seat category that spans all business models. Today, they’re even more compelling, now that optimal fleet performance is so crucial to profitability. That’s because E-Jets give you options that boost economy. Like filling schedule gaps without excess seat capacity. Or efficiently tackling long thin routes that require a mainline product standard. Or capturing new markets by going where other airlines can’t. Think flexibility. Think E-Jets. Because now is the time to get things right.

Discover the full range of E-Jet capabilities at EmbraerCommercialAviation.com

900+ DeliveRies. 61 aiRliNes. 43 couNtRies.