SPECIAL REPORT INDUSTRY ADVANCED TECH: (LEFT) F-16IN ON THE MOVE; (BELOW) PHOTO JOURNALIST ABHISHEK SINGH INSIDE A F-161N COCKPIT DEMONSTRATOR
The C-130J has greater climb rate and higher initial cruise altitude as compared to C-130H and it can climb up to 24,500 ft in just 22 minutes. The C-30J has the ability to transport 33 per cent more pallets, uses half the cockpit crew, enhances situational awareness, burns less fuel, and flies faster and higher. F-16IN SUPER VIPER
The F-16IN Super Viper has the most advanced technologies and capabilities available globally. According to Lockheed Martin officials, as of now 4,500 F-16 aircraft have been ordered by 25 countries, and the company has already delivered 4,400 F-16 aircraft. The production lines of F-16 are in the Netherlands, Belgium, Turkey, and South Korea, besides Fort Worth. Texas. The F-16IN has a technology flow between F-35 and F-22 and radar cross section advantage over twin engine aircraft. The company gives 50 per cent offset commitment for the aircraft. On being asked about the maintenance of the aircraft
in case the company halts production of F-16 INs, Prins said, “Our support availability programmes will continue beyond 2040. India’s partnership with Lockheed Martin can provide access to the highest technology, opportunities for technology codevelopment, low-risk licensed production, transfer of technology, and opportunities for extensive long-term business.” The F-16IN Super Viper is a unique new fighter sharing a heritage with the world’s only fifth generation fighters – the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter and the F-22 Raptor. Evolutionary integration of fifth generation technologies makes the F-16IN an advanced fourth generation fighter. According to the company officials, F-16IN Super Viper has been tailored exclusively to meet or exceed all of India’s MMRCA requirements. “It is the right choice for IAF and is ready for integration into India’s infrastructure and operations now,” opined Prins. “Lockheed Martin Aeronautics has incorporated the latest technologies into the F-16IN with the aim to expand the mission roles and improve combat capability, thereby creating the most effective multi role fighter today. With continuous insertion of latest technology available, the F-16IN can be readily equipped with emerging capabilities throughout its lifecycle,” he said. THE F-16IN SUPER VIPER HAS THE FOLLOWING FEATURES:
Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar The AESA radar is a key feature of F-16IN Super Viper and according to Lockheed Martin officials, it was the core requirement of the IAF. The radar is a discriminator in multirole combat aircraft when network operations are unavailable or when the fighter aircraft’s RF has been raised to a higher level by the carriage of external stores. The Northrop Grumman APG-80 AESA radar in the F-16IN provides outstanding situational awareness and detection, ultrahigh-resolution synthetic aperture radar mapping, fully interleaved modes of operations with automatic terrain following, and air-to-air tracking of multiple targets. AESA radars are more “operator friendly.” The radar has the ability to maintain tracks on targets while continuing to search for new contacts, while also allocating time to perform air-to-surface Issue 4 • 2010
SP’S AVIATION
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