Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Bangalore: The intense competition for IAF’s $ 10 billion Multi Medium Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal is getting intense with celebrities donning the air warrior robes. There are speculations on the guest pilots receiving remuneration from the bidders of the MMRCA.
A guest pilot, however, denied vehemently when confronted with this question on Friday.
India’s first cosmonaut Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma who flew the F/A 18 Super Hornet denied that guest pilots were bought by the bidding companies to fly the aircraft so that it would increase their brand value.
“Neither I nor my foundation have received any money to fly the aircraft,” said Sharma after his hour-long sortie. Sharma denied that there was any such deal and said he took the flight for his love of flying.
The contenders who are bidding for the MMRCA deal are leaving no stone unturned to grab the maximum attention by roping in celebrities from different walks of life.
The Russian MiG-35 roped in Air Marshal (Retd) Harish Masand and the Lockheed Martin F-16 IN Super Viper Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra to fly their respective aircraft in this edition of Aero India.
After strapping on, the 60-year-old former IAF officer saluted to the shutter bugs when asked to wave for the cameras. Sharma who did up to 6-Gs with US Air Force Pilot Daniel ‘Blue’ Hannum on the third day of Aero India 2009 said, “Usually you experience zero gravity, but in this flight it was 6-Gs, and it was more challenging because of my age,” he said.
14/02/09 ExpressBuzz
A guest pilot, however, denied vehemently when confronted with this question on Friday.
India’s first cosmonaut Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma who flew the F/A 18 Super Hornet denied that guest pilots were bought by the bidding companies to fly the aircraft so that it would increase their brand value.
“Neither I nor my foundation have received any money to fly the aircraft,” said Sharma after his hour-long sortie. Sharma denied that there was any such deal and said he took the flight for his love of flying.
The contenders who are bidding for the MMRCA deal are leaving no stone unturned to grab the maximum attention by roping in celebrities from different walks of life.
The Russian MiG-35 roped in Air Marshal (Retd) Harish Masand and the Lockheed Martin F-16 IN Super Viper Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra to fly their respective aircraft in this edition of Aero India.
After strapping on, the 60-year-old former IAF officer saluted to the shutter bugs when asked to wave for the cameras. Sharma who did up to 6-Gs with US Air Force Pilot Daniel ‘Blue’ Hannum on the third day of Aero India 2009 said, “Usually you experience zero gravity, but in this flight it was 6-Gs, and it was more challenging because of my age,” he said.
14/02/09 ExpressBuzz
Labels: Defense, F18, MMRCA, USA
To read the news in full | PermaLink
Bangalore: Congress MP and industrialist Navin Jindal today rode the US fighter plane F-18 during the ongoing air show, the sources said.
Jindal's wife Shaalu Jindal was also present during the air-sortie, She was immaculately dressed in a red dress on the occasion of Valentine's day.
The young industrialist dedicated the air sortie to his wife Shaalu Jindal. Two days back, Jindal had received the required training for the flying.
Earlier, ace shooter and Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra had also taken a flight on F-16 fighter plane during the five-day air show where 25 countries are participating.
14/02/09 Samay Live To read the news in full | PermaLink
Jindal's wife Shaalu Jindal was also present during the air-sortie, She was immaculately dressed in a red dress on the occasion of Valentine's day.
The young industrialist dedicated the air sortie to his wife Shaalu Jindal. Two days back, Jindal had received the required training for the flying.
Earlier, ace shooter and Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra had also taken a flight on F-16 fighter plane during the five-day air show where 25 countries are participating.
14/02/09 Samay Live To read the news in full | PermaLink
Bangalore: Twenty-five years after his tryst with fame, India's only cosmonaut to fly in space, Rakesh Sharma, was in the limelight once again when he flew in Boeing-made FA-18 Super Homet at Asia's premier airshow, the Aero India 2009, here today.
Sharma, who was 35 when he embarked on the space journey in 1984, said, "It was exciting to get back to what I like most -- escaping gravity." Sharma, who retired as wing commander from the Indian Air Force, had a nearly one hour sortie as a part of the programme by Boeing, which had bid for the IAF medium multirole combat aircraft deal.
Dressed in the pilot overhauls, the squadron leader looked completely at ease as he took off in the aircraft with US co-pilot Hanmann.
Sharma, who did some manoeuvres including, some rolls and tumbles and loops, said it still felt good when coming back to earth. Sharma's flight on the Super Hornet comes close on the heels of Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra who flew Lockheed Martin's F-16 yesterday, another contender for the tender.
13/02/09 Press Trust of India
Sharma, who was 35 when he embarked on the space journey in 1984, said, "It was exciting to get back to what I like most -- escaping gravity." Sharma, who retired as wing commander from the Indian Air Force, had a nearly one hour sortie as a part of the programme by Boeing, which had bid for the IAF medium multirole combat aircraft deal.
Dressed in the pilot overhauls, the squadron leader looked completely at ease as he took off in the aircraft with US co-pilot Hanmann.
Sharma, who did some manoeuvres including, some rolls and tumbles and loops, said it still felt good when coming back to earth. Sharma's flight on the Super Hornet comes close on the heels of Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra who flew Lockheed Martin's F-16 yesterday, another contender for the tender.
13/02/09 Press Trust of India
Labels: Boeing, Defense, F18, USA
To read the news in full | PermaLink
Waging a dramatic ‘Battle of Manoeuvrability’ in the air, four foreign aircraft competing for the multi-billion dollar Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft lent a decisive business edge to the opening Aero India 2009 flight displays at the Yelahanka air base here on Wednesday.
The seventh edition of the biennial aerospace exposition had just begun.
Designed to impress Defence Minister A K Antony and other key defence officials watching the show, the twists, rolls and breathtaking loops by the F-18 Super Hornet, the F-16, the Russian MiG-35 and Eurofighter Typhoon almost overshadowed the spectacular aerobatics by the Suryakiran and Sarang teams. Clinical business sense laced with entertainment couldn’t have been more potent.
Taking off with a deafening roar, the Eurofighter did an upside-down flypast, returned for a low-speed pass before treating the gathering to a neat vertical climb.
But before the motley crowd of VVIPs and defence officials, media and invitees, could take another breath, the F-18 Super Hornet invaded the sky. In the next few fleeting minutes, the American fighter flew past for an abrupt push upwards at a 1.8 Mk speed.
And then came the MiG-35. With its astounding split-air manoeuvre and 360 degree Hi-G turns, the two-seater was definitely built for some smart moves. The barrel roll and inverted flight with a half roll that followed, and the characteristic Cobra manoeuvre only boosted the MiG-35’s image. Lockheed Martin’s F-16 had something else up its sleeve, performing a nine-G turn at high speed.
Earlier, the IL-78 re-fuelling aircraft made a mark with fuel dispensers attached to two Mirage 2000s in tandem. This flypast was followed by a five-Hawk formation, a five-Jaguar arrow-head formation, and four light combat aircraft in close formation.
12/02/09 Rasheed Kappan/Deccan Herald
The seventh edition of the biennial aerospace exposition had just begun.
Designed to impress Defence Minister A K Antony and other key defence officials watching the show, the twists, rolls and breathtaking loops by the F-18 Super Hornet, the F-16, the Russian MiG-35 and Eurofighter Typhoon almost overshadowed the spectacular aerobatics by the Suryakiran and Sarang teams. Clinical business sense laced with entertainment couldn’t have been more potent.
Taking off with a deafening roar, the Eurofighter did an upside-down flypast, returned for a low-speed pass before treating the gathering to a neat vertical climb.
But before the motley crowd of VVIPs and defence officials, media and invitees, could take another breath, the F-18 Super Hornet invaded the sky. In the next few fleeting minutes, the American fighter flew past for an abrupt push upwards at a 1.8 Mk speed.
And then came the MiG-35. With its astounding split-air manoeuvre and 360 degree Hi-G turns, the two-seater was definitely built for some smart moves. The barrel roll and inverted flight with a half roll that followed, and the characteristic Cobra manoeuvre only boosted the MiG-35’s image. Lockheed Martin’s F-16 had something else up its sleeve, performing a nine-G turn at high speed.
Earlier, the IL-78 re-fuelling aircraft made a mark with fuel dispensers attached to two Mirage 2000s in tandem. This flypast was followed by a five-Hawk formation, a five-Jaguar arrow-head formation, and four light combat aircraft in close formation.
12/02/09 Rasheed Kappan/Deccan Herald
Labels: Defense, Eurofighter Typhoon, Europe, F16, F18, MiG-35, Russia, USA
To read the news in full | PermaLink
Bangalore: As executives in grey suits of global aerospace firms hard-sell their fighters on the ground for the world’s largest fighter tender by the Indian Air Force (IAF) at the Aero India show here, it is their compatriots in G-suits—the pilots flying the machines—who could eventually swing a deal. G-suit is short for gravity suit that protects pilots from the effects of extreme acceleration while flying.
Like Ricardo Traven, the chief test pilot for the F/A-18.
He shoots the twin-engine fighter of Boeing Co. up into the sky, swivelling and making loops and manoeuvres, in an effort that could make or break a multi-billion dollar deal.
“It is kinda like...what I say, the air show will not sell the airplane, but not going to the air show will probably not result in a sale,” says Traven, a former US Navy test pilot with a record of at least 3,500 hours of flying, looking flushed in his G-suit.
“It is nice for pilots who will fly the planes, but for those standing (on the ground)...perhaps, senior military officials, (it is an opportunity for us) to explain what they get in the plane,” he says.
In the tender for the so-called medium multi-role combat aircraft or MMRCA, which is a deal worth at least Rs42,000 crore, six firms—Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co., European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS), Saab International, Dassault Aviation and Russia’s MiG Corp.—are aggressively pitching their fighters.
For the pilots, flying a fighter above Bangalore—a city at a mean sea level of nearly 900m—in the pre-summer heat can be tough.
With the higher temperature, a situation that fighter pilots call pressure altitude or an altitude the aircraft reacts and behaves as if it is at 5,000-6,000ft, not 3,000ft, making handling it a stretch for them.
So, the pilots who fly at the show prepare months in advance. First is to identify the type of aircraft that should be flown here, then comes the equipment and the logistics to fly the planes to the city.
At the show in Bangalore, the potential customer IAF’s pilots are given a test ride on the plane. The ride is just an initial exposure but a professional test pilot, especially a fighter pilot, can gather enough information from just one flight to judge the technical capabilities, says Traven.
An IAF test pilot, who has flown in American fighter planes, says that such rides help them to gain insights on systems such as electronic warfare equipment and radars, which normally is not in the brochure.
At the air show, the fighter planes on show are Russia’s MiG-35, Boeing’s F-18, EADS’ Eurofighter and Lockheed’s F-16.
Saab, the Swedish firm that makes the Gripen, and Dassault that manufactures the Rafael fighter, did not bring the planes, saying, they would be brought to India when test trials begin later this summer.
12/02/09 K. Raghu/Livemint
Like Ricardo Traven, the chief test pilot for the F/A-18.
He shoots the twin-engine fighter of Boeing Co. up into the sky, swivelling and making loops and manoeuvres, in an effort that could make or break a multi-billion dollar deal.
“It is kinda like...what I say, the air show will not sell the airplane, but not going to the air show will probably not result in a sale,” says Traven, a former US Navy test pilot with a record of at least 3,500 hours of flying, looking flushed in his G-suit.
“It is nice for pilots who will fly the planes, but for those standing (on the ground)...perhaps, senior military officials, (it is an opportunity for us) to explain what they get in the plane,” he says.
In the tender for the so-called medium multi-role combat aircraft or MMRCA, which is a deal worth at least Rs42,000 crore, six firms—Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co., European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS), Saab International, Dassault Aviation and Russia’s MiG Corp.—are aggressively pitching their fighters.
For the pilots, flying a fighter above Bangalore—a city at a mean sea level of nearly 900m—in the pre-summer heat can be tough.
With the higher temperature, a situation that fighter pilots call pressure altitude or an altitude the aircraft reacts and behaves as if it is at 5,000-6,000ft, not 3,000ft, making handling it a stretch for them.
So, the pilots who fly at the show prepare months in advance. First is to identify the type of aircraft that should be flown here, then comes the equipment and the logistics to fly the planes to the city.
At the show in Bangalore, the potential customer IAF’s pilots are given a test ride on the plane. The ride is just an initial exposure but a professional test pilot, especially a fighter pilot, can gather enough information from just one flight to judge the technical capabilities, says Traven.
An IAF test pilot, who has flown in American fighter planes, says that such rides help them to gain insights on systems such as electronic warfare equipment and radars, which normally is not in the brochure.
At the air show, the fighter planes on show are Russia’s MiG-35, Boeing’s F-18, EADS’ Eurofighter and Lockheed’s F-16.
Saab, the Swedish firm that makes the Gripen, and Dassault that manufactures the Rafael fighter, did not bring the planes, saying, they would be brought to India when test trials begin later this summer.
12/02/09 K. Raghu/Livemint
Labels: Aero India 2009 Seminar, Defense, Eurofighter, F16, F18, MiG-21, MiG-35, Russia, USA
To read the news in full | PermaLink
Bangalore: With the government stressing on transparency in defence deals, Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday said there would be "no favouritism" while awarding the USD 10 billion 126 fighter aircraft contract.
"I can assure you that we will not show favouritism to anybody. We will not neglect anybody. The procedure will be transparent and decision will ultimately be based on merits and quality and other conditions," Antony told reporters on the sidelines of the Aero India show here.
"No negative approach and no favouritism. All competitors will get a level playing field," he said.
Six global aerospace companies -- American Boeing's F/A-18 and Lockheed Martin's F-16, French D'assault's Rafale, Swede Saab's Gripen, European consortium EADS' Eurofighter Typhoon, and Russian MiG-35 -- are competing for the IAF's contracts for which the tenders were floated in 2007.
The Defence Ministry plans to conduct the flight trials of the competing aircraft in about a year's time.
On the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Antony said the most "exciting" moment for him at the show was the LCA performing different aerobatics.
12/02/09 PTI/Sify
"I can assure you that we will not show favouritism to anybody. We will not neglect anybody. The procedure will be transparent and decision will ultimately be based on merits and quality and other conditions," Antony told reporters on the sidelines of the Aero India show here.
"No negative approach and no favouritism. All competitors will get a level playing field," he said.
Six global aerospace companies -- American Boeing's F/A-18 and Lockheed Martin's F-16, French D'assault's Rafale, Swede Saab's Gripen, European consortium EADS' Eurofighter Typhoon, and Russian MiG-35 -- are competing for the IAF's contracts for which the tenders were floated in 2007.
The Defence Ministry plans to conduct the flight trials of the competing aircraft in about a year's time.
On the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Antony said the most "exciting" moment for him at the show was the LCA performing different aerobatics.
12/02/09 PTI/Sify
Labels: Defense, Eurofighter, Europe, F16, F18, MiG-25, Russia, Typhoon, USA
To read the news in full | PermaLink
