IAF Statement: The first of the three Indian Air Force AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) platform arrived in India from Israel today. The giant IL-76 configured in its new avatar was escorted by three Mig-29 and Jaguar aircraft each that took off from an advance fighter airbase of South Western Air Command (SWAC). The fighter formations caught up with the AWACS mid-air and escorted it as it entered the Indian FIR (Flight Information Region), till safe touchdown at the Jamnagar airbase, close to midday, today.
Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, SWAC, Air Marshal KD Singh, Air Defence Commander Air Vice Marshal P Singh and the AOC Jamnagar, Air Commodore C Hari Kumar and air warriors of the airbase welcomed the crew of the AWACS aircraft that included the Commanding Officer of the first AWACS squadron, Group Captain B Saju. Their maiden touchdown on Indian soil also marks the first landing of the AWACS in an IAF airbase.
“It was a great feeling to be escorted by our fighters and it feels really good to be back”, said Group Captain B Saju upon arrival. Flown by a full complement of IAF pilots belonging to the newly formed squadron from Ovda International airport, located in southern Israel, the aircraft undertook an eight-and-a-half hour’s flight skirting around several countries taking the aerial route over the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea before landing at Jamnagar.
The aircraft is slated to arrive at Palam airport tomorrow where an induction ceremony is scheduled on May 28. The AWACS are slated to operate from the Agra airbase under Central Air Command and frenetic preparations ahead of its first arrival to join the extended fleet of the IL-76 family are complete.
Photos Courtesy Indian Air Force
At last the queen of Asia’s sky is here.
Great image of Phalcon landing on hot tarmac at Jamnagar! But this foreign solution is so expensive, we need domestic AWACS as soon as possible.
Buying a few showpieces is not going to add any meaningful capability in any high intensity conflict. Good for showing off on 26 January and other such occasions only.
Nice to see Phalcon in India…
IAF Colours(symbol) is missing in it, isn’t it??
Anon@6:30
Well said. This can act as a stop gap measure but eventually we will have to create our own weapon systems indigenously.
Anyways, Pakis must be sweating in their ass on hearing this news.
how does this aircraft look from inside
does this aircraft has glass cockpit
and why did india rejected il78 refuellers
look at refuelling probe its in front of pilot cockpit and his eyes
easy to refuel
and i love those new engines
I hate to cast a dark spell on the national euphoria about the first A-50E PHALCON’s arrival, but I would hold my horses for the first six months to see if Russia’s Rosoboronexport can live up to its product-support commitments. For it could well be that the Ruskie military-industrial complex could allow history to repeat itself and may be found wanting in terms of adhering to contractual commitments, if if this happens the PHALCONs could well end up spending more time on the ground than in the air! I hope the IAF has made contingency plans for procuring the aircraft-specific spares from Uzbekistan’s Tashkent Aircraft Production Organisation (TAPO), which has an IL-76 final assembly line (although the components and complete PS-90A turbofans are still sourced from Russia). My personal platform choice for the PHALCON would have been the Airbus A310, which along with the PHALCON mission sensor/management avionics suite was originally jointly proposed by Israel Aerospace Industries way back in 2000 to both Australia (for Project Wedgetail) and India. I just hope that choosing the IL-76 platform does not end up as being an ill-conceived decision.
Gorgeous. And one has to echo the sentiment expressed above – where are we with indigenous efforts?
But this is common sense prevailing – stop gap measures are important to get training and skills built up for indigenous designs and operations.
India rejected Illyushin refuelers because they are crap for reliability. We will buy A330 from EADS for refueling.
Now that is a very modern, quite and fuel efficient aircraft. Plenty of spares available in international market, too.
to anon at 2.49 u fool
India rejected Illyushin refuelers because they are crap for reliability. We will buy A330 from EADS for refueling.
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then why IAF flying il76 for last 20 years and they have proven themselves without failing
and yes those refuellers comes with ps90a engiens and glass cockpit and thats very modern
to prasun
For it could well be that the Ruskie military-industrial complex could allow history to repeat itself and may be found wanting in terms of adhering to contractual commitments, if if this happens the PHALCONs could well end up spending more time on the ground than in the air!
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please stop your bullshit,what do you know about this aircraft
il76 are proven along with its excellent D30 engines
D30 ENGINE has
Reliability – 316 965 hours of operating time before in- flight shutdown
Operating time before unscheduled engine removal: 79 241 hours
Total operating time for passenger transportation: 30 529 024 hours
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and this aircraft is whole new
compared to older il76 and the engines are also new PS90A which are also used in IL96,tu204
As of January 01, 2009, all PS-90A engines that operated passenger and cargo services accumulated 2,025,427 hours since the beginning of commercial operation and this is without failing.
PS-90A became the first Russian aero-engine that accumulated over 9,000 hours without any removal – the repaired engine installed on Aeroflot’s Il-96-300 accumulated 9,663 hours.
and this all is more than enough for air force to keep these AWACS in sky whenever they want.
and Mr prasun is riting somethin else
and for his info a310 doen’t has payload and endurance capability of this aircraft and yes a310 isn’t in regular production too
I just hope that choosing the IL-76 platform does not end up as being an ill-conceived decision.
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crap again
which aircraft for AWACS of same size and endurance with large payload is in production
and yes how many a310 have been built
If that Mig-29 was part of the escort then it should have been armed.
We should place follow on order for 3 more systems before the Boeing Wedgetail implodes and everyone else lines up for the phalcon.
The refueler tanker problem is about the new IL-476 (gen 4 IL-76) development of which is stuck in dispute between Russia and Ukraine.
to prasun and anon 2.49 AM
For it could well be that the Ruskie military-industrial complex could allow history to repeat itself and may be found wanting in terms of adhering to contractual commitments, if if this happens the PHALCONs could well end up spending more time on the ground than in the air!
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crap again,guys don’t pay attention
to prasun
il76 and D30 ARE proven along with its reliability
D30 Reliability – 316 965 hours of operating time before in- flight shutdown
Operating time before unscheduled engine removal: 79 241 hours
Total operating time for passenger transportation: 30 529 024 hours
and this is more than enough to keep flying il76 whenever IAF want
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and this aircraft is whole new along with its PS90A engines which are very good
PS90A is also used in civilian jets il96,tu204 and have very good reliability record
As of January 01, 2009, all PS-90A engines that operated passenger and cargo services accumulated 2,025,427 hours since the beginning of commercial operation.
High time engine accumulated 31,760 hours.
PS-90A became the first Russian aero-engine that accumulated over 9,000 hours without any removal – the repaired engine installed on Aeroflot’s Il-96-300 accumulated 9,663 hours.
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and this is more than enough reliability to keep this aircraft whenever IAF want
and how many A310 AEW have been built,there is no AEW plateform is in production of same endurance and able to carry this much sensors on board
to friends
prasun posted something crap about reliability of new mi17 v5 to be acquired compared to US helicopter s-92 and cougar helicopter naval version
he said both of these s92 and cougar have fly by wire and all other fancy and safety related stuff which mi17v5 don’t have
but still those western helicopters crashed off coast canada despite having all those safety equipemnts
and reliability of mi17 is proven over the years in all terrains in india
all mi35,mi26,mi8,mi17 have been reliable even if these helicopters don’t have fly by wire and other fancy stuff which just inrsease price
and along with an32,il76,il78
prasun, if you are so fascinated by A310 why don’t you buy one for yourself and show it off? and you have comprehensively proved that you are a first class moron who doesn’t know a jack of avionics/aeronautics, by your statement that Phalcon could be integrated with A310…Wedgetail is a totally different concept, both in terms of structure and function and at least 1.5 generations ahead of the Phalcon.
secondly ,as opposed to your hot air, the aircraft has been sourced from the present manufacturer by Russia , in order to supply it to India; and the PS-90A is a commercially available engine ,certified onboard airlines flying to Europe.
and lastly A-50 is not IL-76…so cut out the spares crap.jackass.
seems like Shiv is enjoying Prasun being thrashed.For once let me thank u……:)
Prasun,
In the timeline originally envisioned, the Il-76 was a smart choice. The mounting for the radome had already been developed (especially all the structural changes required), and there was the obvious logistical advantage of commonality with the Il-76 and Il-78.
The A-310 is not rated for the Phalcon yet, as far as I know. The cost to modify the 310 and set up a new supply chain, that too for a confirmed order of only three aircraft would be immense. And there would have been delays too.
to friends
why IL78 MIDAS been declined here is answer
for the reason india declined top notch swedish bofors FH-77 155mm howitzer and fennec helicopters for the army
so just think archer fh 77 howitzer best in market
fully automatic,mobile was declined by india
and if fennec built by eurocopter world leader in this field can be declined by india so for the same reason il78 has been declined
there are several reasons for which any thing can be declined
now air chief should take citizenship of western country which he may like after he retires
and start working them,just like someone retired official of IAF works for IAI in israel
i saying this because nowdays lots of retired people form defence sector doing this and making
good $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
don’t get me wrong just kidding
pro western Mcmohan singh is back
to friends
why IL78 MIDAS been declined here is answer
for the reason india declined top notch swedish bofors FH-77 155mm howitzer and fennec helicopters for the army
so just think archer fh 77 howitzer best in market
fully automatic,mobile was declined by india
and if fennec built by eurocopter world leader in this field can be declined by india so for the same reason il78 has been declined
there are several reasons for which any thing can be declined
now air chief should take citizenship of western country which he may like after he retires
and start working for them,just like retired official of IAF works for IAI in israel
i saying this because nowdays lots of retired people form defence sector doing this and making
good $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
and u know why he said anti russian words that if after retirement he start working for russians he won’t make that much but if he works for western coutries he will make millions
u all already know that euro/dollar has more wieght than russkie ruble
don’t get me wrong just kidding
pro western Mcmohan singh is back as well and punjab is burning
and he may have BARAK OBAMA/BUSH
photo in his office instead of gandhi
and if MC mohan singh is told to meditate on mother of THE world goddess “durga” he won’t do that but he will meditate on his mother “sonia/OBAMA/BUSH” instead
Raytheon E-Systems A310 AEW using ELTA PHALCON Electronically Scanned Phased Array Radar was offered to Australia for the Wedgetail competition in 1999.
Image1 Image 2
and for the first time after a long time we got to see a non Su-30 escort,…..
the recent crash has grounded an entire squadron……thank god its not the ruskie spares or airplane thats the problem…..but not following the original operational doctrine…….these fools went to america and bended their own training manual……..35 pilots including a CO have been de-rated on the Sukhoi……….this is hot stuff shiv follow it on……..
To Mihir: Only the next 18 months of operation will reveal whether or not the decision to select the IL-76 platform for hosting the PHALCON mission avionics suite was right or wrong. But if you were to go back to Project Wedgetail’s competitive bidding stage you will find out all the information concerning the PHALCON suite mounted on the A310 and offered by a joint venture of IAI and Raytheon. Raytheon’s product CD on Project Wedgetail clearly explains in much greater detail how exactly the IAI/Raytheon team would have bid for Project Wedgetail by offering the A310-300/PHALCON package.
the list includes 5 wing commanders..including 1 CO and chief engineer, this is good news…..these pilots had allowed to stop using rudder in a certain tight maneuver, and using the thrust vectors instead,
where as the ruskies had clearly told that it puts immense load on the engine…..and where warned again in 2005 when certain pilots were found taking the easy way out………but this time it was gross negligence where these senior pilots allowed it…..cause it allowed them to complete the maneuver faster with less stress….
it was found that this maneuver was done twice before the crash….and was a major contributor to the structural faliure……
It’s a quantum leap forward for the Indian Air Force, as it comes a step close to emulating the AWACS strategies of Western air forces.
The Il-76 Phalcon is India’s eye in the sky.
to prasun and other friends
prasun u are posting crap again
il76 fitted with ps90a is excellent aircraft
and il96,tu204 are flown with ps90a everyday without any problem
and india has operated il76 for last 20 years that too without any problems
i have seen il76 6-7 flight everyday from chandigarh airport and IAF flew them without any problem
and prasun according to u everything russian making is crap
there is no shortage of spares for il76 or for that matter PS90A engines
this new A50 can carry 60 tons payload and there is no aircraft in production which can do similar tasks
there can be 3 more A50 coming down the line after 3 A50 delivered for phalcon and thats why india rejected il78
to prasun
Project Wedgetail’s
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again posting crap
your wedgetail is delayed 3 years compared to we have a50 in our fleet ,
The eight-year-old Wedgetail acquisition programme is running about three years behind schedule, with delays caused by issues with airframe modifications and developmental problems with the aircraft’s MESA radar and electronic warfare system.
everytime you are bashing about russian stuff
and how long our P8I will take will it come on time
and australia isn’t happy with its performance but they are quite not to disturb relations with US over boeing
and boeing said system can’t be fully operational
Russia says IL-78 is still in competition.
http://www.russiandefenseblog.org/?p=183
To Anon@5:51PM & @6:12PM: You may have your own very good reasons for remaining anonymous, but congratulations are on order for convincingly revealing the principal probable cause for the catastrophic structural failure of the Su-30MKI's redundant fly-by-wire flight control system. Within the first 72 hours of the April 30 crash this was theoretically identified by ETPs of Sukhoi OKB as being the most likely cause and I had alluded to this as such in my blog by the first week of this month. Again, congratulations and a big thanks for bringing this to light, and I will deeply appreciate if you could just go a bit further into the 'root causes', i.e. why these IAF Su-30MKI-qualified pilots had breached the clearly laid-down operational guidelines and how all this could have been avoidable if the proper tools for adhering to OEM-prescribed operational flying training procedures been acquired ages ago! Once again, VMT for revealing the prevailing sorry state of affairs.
prasun, go and suck in your own blog.
Mig 29 was not armed during this ‘escort’ because the 29 is only good for take off and then finding an airbase to land for refueling. More so when it is so hot in summers.
Hot, high load and long range do not work for Mig 29. Never have, never will. Not unless they put GE engines into that machine! Something like Gripen makes better use of its smaller thrust than Mig 29, and both Eurofighter and Rafale are far superior too.
I can only laugh at the ?????? ???????? who is comparing Russian engines to western (RR Trents, GE etc) available on A330.
There is no comparision. At all. In fuel efficiency, availability, ease of maintanance, cost of maintainance, weight and every other factor, the western high-bypass turbofans are far superior.
Which is why they are used by Boeing and EADS Airbus for all their commercial aircraft. If the Russian engines were any better, all airlines would force these two manufacturers to include them as an option.
When people are used to eating shit (literally), even ????? ?? ????? tastes good. That’s all I can say about you.
to anon at 6.27
I can only laugh at the ?????? ???????? who is comparing Russian engines to western (RR Trents, GE etc) available on A330.
There is no comparision. At all. In fuel efficiency, availability, ease of maintanance, cost of maintainance, weight and every other factor, the western high-bypass turbofans are far superior
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u fool
ok we are not comparing russian
ps90a with western engines
main thing here is to shed the light on prasun k sengupta misconception about that this aircraft will be grounded most of times just becoz its russian plateform
ps90a is much better and superior to than older D30 engines which are also very reliable and excellent as well as flowless and poroved themselves over the years
and PS90A engines are used in il96.tu204 everyday without any problem and il76 plateform already proven and IAF fly these aircraft 6-7 times regularly without any problems from chandigarh which i have observed for almost 2 years
so this aircraft fitted with PS90A engiens is much better than older il76 fitted with d30 engines so if IAF has no problems in flying il76 in every day use then this aircraft will be flown anytime when IAF wants
and this proves prasun k sengupta wrong for is misconception that this aircraft will remained grounded just because its russian
to shiv anon at 6.27 pm
When people are used to eating shit (literally), even ????? ?? ????? tastes good.
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ok it shows you a moron eat shit at home all the time and just imagining in your mind now that possibly someday you will have karele ki subji to eat at least and karele ki subji is at least beter than eating shit
and the same thing a moron/crap like you thinks for others as well
PLEASE SHIV DON’T DELETE THIS MESSAGE ,I JUST WANT TO GIVE REPLY NO FAULT OF MINE IN THIS to those who abuse others saying words like “eating shit”
Hot, high load and long range do not work for Mig 29. Never have, never will. Not unless they put GE engines into that machine
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ya mig29 is older and has all deficiencies
and mig35 is comparable to f18,f16,gripen in all parameters
and yes rafale,typhoon are better but how much money had been spent on these aircraft developments
anon @ 6:30 PM
the plane landing on the hot tarmac?? that would have been breaking news stuff………its called a runway…..atlest i land my aircraft on the runway….i just landed a B- 737-900 on the not too hot runway at mumbai and writing this on my way home…..just chill… 😉
anon @ 6:30 PM
the plane landing on the hot tarmac?? that would have been breaking news stuff………its called a runway…..atlest i land my aircraft on the runway….i just landed a B- 737-900 on the not too hot runway at mumbai and writing this on my way home…..just chill… 😉
“and mig35 is comparable to f18,f16,gripen in all parameters”No it isn’t. That’s ???? marketing talk, a single engined F-16 is more capable than Mig-35, and that’s excluding the “game changer” AESA radar from the equation. The Gripen is superior too, poor little thing might be lighter, but offers superior capability/thrust and capability/MTOW ratio than Mig-35. To say nothing about the reliability and mission availability of a modern, single-engined platform.
With Mig-35 the russians have polished out some of the glaring deficiencies, but it is still a pathetic platform. You do not use two engines for the thrust Mig-35 requires, a single turbofan with approx 0.5 BPR is going to be far superior. Anyone who disagrees with this basic fact (in year 2009) can be regarded as ignorant fool, even if they might be a ‘serving officer’ in any airforce (or Indian Air Farce).
Shit is shit, and polished shit is still shit. Once the polish wears off and the perfume evaporates (which incidentally happens with the same rate the ink dries on paper on a Russian defense contract), you are left with shit. Mig 35 is shit, and it fares worse against any western or ???? platform -proportionately speaking- than Mig 29 ever did in history.
and yes rafale,typhoon are better but how much money had been spent on these aircraft developmentsSee, I have always argued that we should be spending money on domestic solution: Tejas. Cut the MRCA order size into half, and spend the billions domestically.
There’s a strong need for a Tejas Mark2 built around a modern and more powerful western engine.
“ps90a is much better and superior to than older D30 engines”Which is like saying the 2009 year model of HM Ambassador is better than the 1994 year model.
Compared to any other car (and I mean real car, not bullock-cart-with-tractor-motor made by mundu wearing clowns from dies British left as a “gift”) it is shit. Fact. Can’t deny it, can’t spin it.
The Indian Air Force needs Innova class minimum (no one is asking for Lexus LS 460), not ????? Ambassadors.
and mig35 is comparable to f18,f16,gripen in all parameters”No it isn’t. That’s ???? marketing talk, a single engined F-16 is more capable than Mig-35
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mig35 has better thrust to weight ratio than f18/16 gripen
f16,18 is nothing but a painted and more hyped things and for last 30 years these shits have been denied to india and people like u want to eat this american shit now
and don’t shout shit shit again
here
it proves that you are a toilet seat and toilet seat only knows the taste of shit and pee
and same thing you are shoutiong here
hey prasun they are not allowing me to post this comment………..
“mig35 has better thrust to weight ratio than f18/16 gripen “And has a worse drag profile and worse fuel efficiency than either, so there.
So who’s playing with numbers, heh.
And has a worse drag profile and worse fuel efficiency than either, so there.
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who told u mig35 has worse drag profile
what is the drag profile of f16,18
and how worse is fuel efficiency
only 5-6%
it shows u know nothing