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ACIG Special Reports
INDIAN EXHIBITORS - PART I
There were a total of 51(+25) independant Indian exhibitors but 75% of the significant exhibits were a part of the DRDO and HAL sections. With several never before seen exhibits, Aero-India-2003 revealed that India's indigenous defence industry was far larger and deeper than previously estimated. Of course, covering every single thing is beyond the scope of any online report meaning that only the most specific and significant exhibits will be covered.
AERONAUTICAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (ADA)
The twin seat LCA trainer model makes it's debut. Originally scheduled to be the fifth production variant (PV-5), this variant has aerodynamic commonality with the Naval LCA(below), with design and layout being done in a 3D CAD Modelling PDM environment. The twin-seat cockpit environment facility has been established for evaluation.
The Naval LCA, first revealed at Aero-India 2001, makes it's return. It is a significantly redesigned version, implementing a drooped nose profile for improved visibility and additional fuel, small canards for improved take-off performance, Leading edge Vortex controls (LEVCONS), a strengthened airframe, redesigned undercarriage, an arrester hook and an automated fuel dump system. As opposed to previously released information by ADA, the Naval LCA is at present, intended for STOBAR and not CATOBAR operations. Considering the fact that the LCA trainer is based on the naval variant, the latter may actually be the fifth production variant (PV-5) and not the former. The Naval LCA will be deployed onboard India's indeginous ~40,000 tonne Air-defense-ship(ADS), which is currently being constructed at CSL.
The stunning glass cockpit of the LCA, designed to minimise pilot workload and maximise situational awareness. Voice command/response operations are being implemented. This setup is a part of the LCA simulator installed in the ADA section and also features an Elbit DASH/JHMCS Helmet Mounted Sight. Initially, the Multifunction displays of choice would be the Sextant MFD-55 (TD-1), followed by the industry standard Elbit MFDs (TD-2) and eventually an indigenous system designed by ADE(DRDO) and BEL for the production variants.
DRDO
At the heart of India's defence industry,lies the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). With a well established core competency in aerospace and avionic systems, DRDO has emerged as the premier science and technology institution in the country, contributing to over 85% of indigenous development. DRDO is subdivided into 31 different establishments including CABS, LRDE, RCI, ADRDE, DARE, IRDE, ADE, GTRE, NPOL and BRAHMOS, which cater to specific needs.
Various Avionic subsystems of the LCA on display including the Environment control and fuel management system, the open architecture mission computer and the Cockpit interface unit.
The IFF Mk.XI Airborne Interrogator. It consists of an interrogator and a transponder. The coded replies from the interrogated target are received, processed and sent to the radar data processor on the MIL-STD-1553B bus.
The LCA's Multi-Mode radar jointly developed by the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS), ADA and HAL is a coherent pulse doppler system featuring high/low/medium pulse repetition frequencies, frequency agility and ground mapping using doppler-beam sharpening. The complete fire control system will be integrated into the second production variant (PV-2) of the LCA. The compact, mechanically scanned slotted waveguide arrays in X and Ku bands, have been developed by the Electronics and radar development establishment (LRDE) labs of DRDO and have already been exported to Poland. The signal processor, also designed by LRDE, is built around VLSIs, ASICs and i960 processors catering for the functional needs of the different modes of operation.
Research Centre Imarat (RCI)'s Ring laser Gyro with a square laser cavity of cavity length 28 cms. This system is intended for use aboard the LCA and missiles with longer flight time.
The Brahmos at last, in it's airborne missile complex avatar which includes the airborne launcher, interfaces and the fire control system. This system is intended for carriage aboard the Su-30MKI/Su-34 in order to neutralize any surface vessel or shore based radio contrast target. It has a cruise altitude upto 14 km and a terminal altitude of 10-15 m. The air-launched Brahmos-A will have a smaller and lighter booster and will weigh only about 2.2 tons. The ship-borne version is seen aboard a modified Tarantul-II class corvette. However, this conceptual model clearly underestimates the size the missile. Also note the shore/land-based mobile TEL/silo.
The complete "Tarang" RWR system package including the power supply, processors,antennae and LCD display. The Tarang, developed by Defence Avionics Research Establishment(DARE), is a solid state, software intensive system operating in the 2-18 Ghz range. It intercepts and identifies all transmissions and has a MIL-STD-1553B comm. interface. The Tarang is an integral part of the Su-30MKI's and Mig-21UPG Bison's EW systems. It will also be deployed aboard the upgraded Jaguar-IS/IMs and an older version known as the Tranquil, equips the upgraded Mig-27ML/mod.Mig-23BN. The complete EW system also captures and records new and unknown threat emission data for subsequent analysis and exploitation.
© Copyright 2002-3 by ACIG.org
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