MS-21 set to change global aviation skyline

(Russis & India Report ) : Armed with cutting-edge technologies, the MS-21 aircraft, which is being developed by Russia’s Irkut Corporation, is poised to be a game-changer in the international aviation market and promises to generate additional revenue for airlines.

In this interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Alexei Fyodorov, president of the Irkut Corporation, which also supplies Su-30MKI military aircraft to India, is upbeat about the prospects of the new MS-21 and underlines that the stage is set for the aircraft’s maiden flight in 2014.

What are Irkut’s immediate production plans?

The Su-30MKI family of fighters will be the backbone of our production programme in the medium term. In addition, this year we will start exporting Yak-130 military trainer aircraft. The leadership of Algeria’s Air Force has verified that the planes fully meet their requirements. Algerian pilots are currently training in Russia. The aircraft deliveries will begin in 2011. Negotiations with other foreign customers have also been running smoothly. Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade named the Irkut Corporation the best aircraft exporter in 2008, 2009, and 2010. We hope to retain this title in the coming years. The Irkutsk Aviation Plant will continue to produce components for Airbus A320. Going forward, we will focus our efforts on the MS-21 programme.

How is Irkut handling state defence orders?

We are working with the Sukhoi Design Bureau on an upgraded version of the Su-30MKI that will meet the requirements of Russia’s Air Force. Two units should be ready for testing later this year. Once the announced specifications are confirmed, a contract with the Ministry of Defence will be discussed. In addition, Irkut is in talks with the Ministry of Defence to supply the new Yak-130 combat trainer aircraft, including to the Russian Air Force’s aerobatics display team. Both projects – the Su-30SM and the Yak-130 – have been included in the state armaments programme till 2020.

Is there anything special about working with India on the Su-30 production programme?

Of course. The Su-30MKI is the first plane whose exterior was jointly developed by Russian and Indian specialists on a parity basis. At the design stage, the customer requested that it include advanced Western-produced systems. As head implementer of the programme, Irkut, along with the Sukhoi Design Bureau, was able to resolve many technical and organisational issues involved in this integration. One of India’s foremost requirements was technology transfer and the participation of their industry in the plane’s manufacturing. We met these requirements together with India’s HAL Corporation.

What breakthroughs do you envisage in the field of military aircraft in the near future?

We have two key areas for development in the military segment. First of all, there’s the expansion of capabilities in the Su-30MKI family. Together with the Sukhoi Design Bureau, we are working on a programme to upgrade planes previously supplied to India. The plane will be equipped with a new radar system, and other avionics components will be upgraded. In addition, work is underway to arm the Su-30MKI with Russian-Indian BrahMos supersonic missiles. The plane will be equipped with a “long arm” to destroy any type of sea targets. Combining the Su-30MKI with BrahMos will elevate our competitive position in the global market because our Western competitors have nothing similar to offer.

The second area is the development of the Yak-130 to increase its combat efficiency. Light strike aircrafts are well suited for low-intensity conflicts, counter-terrorism operations, and a number of other tasks.

How is the partnership with Airbus going? Which exact components does Irkut manufacture for the А320 family?

We have been actively working with Airbus since 2004. The Irkutsk Aviation Plant is currently manufacturing keel beams and recesses for front landing gear. The partnership with Airbus has encouraged us to utilize modern Western standards and technology processes. We have also trained our technology engineers and workers to use high-performance equipment. Our designers have gained unique experience, too. Our engineers have been granted signing authority on Airbus working drawings. They have demonstrated their strong qualifications and the ability to work in international teams. This experience is also applicable to the ongoing work on the MS-21.

What is the status of the MS-21 programme? How is it progressing?

We are working under a contract with Russia’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, which finances the development of the MS-21 aircraft family as part of the Development of Civil Aviation Federal Targeted Programme. The configuration of the plane and its main systems have already been determined, a large number of calculations have been made, testing at the TsAGI and other institutions has been completed, and the collaboration has essentially been shaped. A composite wing prototype, the most innovative element of the MS-21, is undergoing testing. Its maiden flight is scheduled for 2014 and the certification is set for 2016.

With the MS-21, Irkut is entering the most competitive segment of the market. Does your company have sufficient potential to make the programme a success?

I am confident that we have everything it takes to implement the programme. In recent years, Irkut has been consistently and systematically working on all aspects of the programme, and has benefited from advanced domestic and foreign experience. Irkut has established an engineering center that is operating out of the Yakovlev Design Bureau. We have set up an integrated management system that links together all cooperating developers and manufacturers, both Russian and international. As part of the Yak-130 project, the Irkutsk Aviation Plant has implemented integrated digital aircraft manufacturing technology. We have upgraded our mechanical assembly production, introduced advanced special coating lines, and mastered a number of new technologies, such as automatic riveting. This is the result of work under a five-year technical upgrade plan aimed at MS-21 production.

At MAKS, we signed two contracts with Dürr and ThyssenKrupp, which will allow us to complete the preparation of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant for MS-21 production. New assembly lines from the well-known German manufacturers will ensure that even the very first units intended for flight and static tests will be manufactured using industrial technology. This technology is totally new to Russia. It will speed up certification of the MS-21 and help us reach the target of serial production rate.

We have been consistently implementing a programme of personnel training since 2005. It encompasses all categories of staff and provides training, professional development, and retraining to around 5,000 people annually. The average age of Irkutsk Aviation Plant workers is under 40. Workers’ welfare is an important priority. We have built 652 apartments for factory employees since 2008.

At the United Aircraft Corporation level, the MS-21 programme is linked to the development of specialised inter-programme competency centers, such as the Aerokompozit, and new production sections at Aviastar-SP, VASO, and other factories. Since the programme’s inception, we have been working with potential customers both in Russia and abroad. At the MAKS-2011 airshow, Irkut signed two solid contracts for delivery options of 135 MS-21 aircrafts for listed price of about $10 billion.

Does the MS-21 offer any advantages over its global counterparts?

The main competitive advantage of the MS-21 is that it would allow airlines to cut direct operating costs by 12–15%. To make it clearer, here are the numbers: over the course of its usage, each MS-21 will generate an additional $40–50 million in revenue compared to planes available today.

Competitors have swung into action and are planning to replace the engines on their aircraft with the same ones as the MS-21. While the new engines will decrease fuel consumption, our advantage lies in superior technical solutions. First of all, a higher share of composites reduces the plane’s weight. Secondly, there’s the improved aerodynamics developed by TsAGI researchers and our in-house designers. Thirdly, we design the “aircraft–engine” complex at the outset, which also offers advantages over planes with retrofitted engines.

We have also selected a larger diameter hull to speed up boarding and deboarding. Consequently, charter and low-cost carriers will earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional revenue annually. According to our calculations, the MS-21 will generate additional profits of $20 million compared to competitors’ engine-retrofitted models.

Last but not least, with the MS-21 we will provide passengers with a level of comfort that is only available today onboard wide-hull, long haul aircrafts.

How are you funding the MS-21 programme?

First of all, there’s state financing as part of the Civil Aviation Development Federal Targeted Programme. The government has made aircraft building a high-priority industry, and as we can see, it is clearly implementing this strategy through its budget policy.

Second, Irkut is able to invest its own funds in MS-21 development and production preparation.

Third, we are able to attract investments and borrowed funds to finance our programmes. Irkut has been working in the financial markets for more than a decade, is transparent to investors, and enjoys a solid reputation as a good borrower. We have been releasing IFRS financial statements audited by KPMG for many years. Our borrowings are secured by our large portfolio and solid financial and economic position. Irkut is in talks with a number of investors who are interested in participating in the MS-21 programme.

Fourth, signed MS-21 supply contracts allow us to use our customers’ funds to finance the programme. All programme milestones are carefully coordinated in terms of deadlines, funding, and aircraft development stages. Overall, we have successfully kick-started a mechanism for a partnership between government, industry, and investors, which ensures timely implementation of the MS-21 programme.

US navy warship arrives here on goodwill visit

PortBlair, Sep 12 (PTI) US Navy warship USS Defender arrived here today on a goodwill visit. The Defender is an Avenger class anti-mine vessel. The visit of the naval warship is aimed at building strong relationship between the navies of both the countries towards peace, security and stability in the region, according to press release issued here by the US Consulate General. "The visit gives an opportunity to the sailors of the ship to interact with their naval counterparts at Andaman Nicobar Unified Command and for cultural exchange," the release said. US Naval ships USNS Safeguard and the anti-mine sweeper USS Patriot had visited Port Blair earlier as part of the goodwill initiative of US Navy.

IBN Live

Mazagon Dock selects Pipavav Shipyard as its JV partner

The Board unanimously approved setting up of the joint-venture Company with MDL to be named as ‘Mazagon Dock Pipavav Ltd'.

Pipavav Shipyard Ltd has announced that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on September 12, 2011, has transacted the following business; The Board was informed that Mazagon Dock Ltd, Ministry of Defence, Government of India ('MDL') has selected the Company as its joint venture partner for building warships for the Indian Navy. The Board unanimously approved setting up of the joint-venture Company with MDL to be named as ‘Mazagon Dock Pipavav Ltd'. This is the first time post independence that a private sector Company has been selected by a Company controlled by the Ministry of Defence to build warships together, which will result in speeding up the delivery of warships to the Indian Navy. The Board has recognized this as the 'Golden Day' in the corporate history of the Company so far as the proposed partnership is concerned between the largest defence shipyard viz. MDL and Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company Ltd having the largest defence focused infrastructure. Board further recognized that this will be a game changer and will help the Company to scale new heights. The Board acknowledge that the Government of India's transparent policy in allowing private sector participation in defence will be very valuable for the Indian Navy as well as for the private sector.   India Infoline News Service :

South Korea likely to acquire four Global Hawks

(Flight Global) : South Korea’s plan to acquire four Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawks, first revealed in March, has moved a step closer.

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency is likely two notify Congress in the coming weeks about the possible sale of the aircraft and one ground system.

US government officials familiar with the matter said the deal was worth around $850 million.

If it proceeds, two aircraft will be delivered in 2015 and two more in 2016.

"We’ve looked very carefully at the offsets that would be involved with Global Hawk, and we’ve set extreme limits," one of the officials said.

They added that the USA decided to remove the Global Hawk from the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) agreement in the case of South Korea last year, on the basis that the aircraft is not a weapon but rather an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform.

"We’re in the process of preparing a congressional notification, which we plan to submit in the next few weeks," an official said.

The deal would represent the first Asia Pacific sale of the platform and would be a coup for MTCR critics. They contend the MTCR is an antiquated agreement that hinders the ability of US companies to sell advanced unmanned systems to overseas allies.

A US official said the Republic of Korea Air Force would mainly use Global Hawk to monitor North Korean activities beyond the de-militarised zone.

Three yrs after 26/11, govt to kick-start coastal radar chain

(Times of India) : A decade after it was first mooted and three years after the 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai, the government is now finally scrambling to kick-start the static coastal radar chain and the national AIS (automatic identification system) network to dynamically detect and track suspicious vessels entering Indian waters.

The long-delayed contract for coastal radars, which will be manufactured by defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) in collaboration with a foreign firm, was inked last week. "The contract is worth Rs 601.77 crore. Under it, 36 coastal radars will be installed in the mainland, six in Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands and four in Andaman and Nicobar Islands," said an official.

Even though it sounds pretty ambitious, the plan is to have the radar chain for the mainland up and running in a year, with the island ones scheduled to become operational six months after that.

"Apart from existing lighthouses on which the radars with electro-optic sensors will be installed, 13 towers are being constructed on the mainland for them. Phase-II of the project, with 37 additional radars, will follow thereafter," the official said.

"The overall Phase-II of the coastal security plan, with additional force-levels for Navy and Coast Guard, in fact, has also been finalized. It will soon be sent to the Cabinet Committee on Security for the final nod," he added.

The AIS network, under a Rs 132 crore contract inked with ELCOME Marine India in collaboration with Swedish SAAB Transponder Tech Ltd, in turn, will see a pilot project being established in Gujarat by October-November. "In all, 84 AIS stations will be progressively set up under this," said another official.

The critical radar chain and the 84 networked AIS stations, backed by adequate manpower and infrastructure, will provide "gapless surveillance cover" along the coast, say officials.

All such long-range identification and tracking systems will mesh together under the upcoming National C3I (command, control, communication and intelligence) Network. Linking 51 nodes of Navy and Coast Guard to achieve a "common operational picture", this comprehensive maritime intelligence grid is slated for completion by 2012-2013.

Absence of coastal radars in "its drift path", incidentally, was one of the main reasons cited by an embarrassed government to explain how the abandoned merchant vessel MT Pavit slipped through the three-tier coastal security ring to run aground on Mumbai's shore on July 31.

There has certainly been a huge jump in physical surveillance by naval and Coast Guard aircraft and warships but it has flopped in backing them with electronic snooping measures as well as capacity-building in terms of "assets and manpower".

N. Korea reportedly jams U.S. aircraft's GPS, forcing emergency landing

(NBC News) : A U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing after coming under electronic attack from North Korea, Agence France Press reported Friday.
AFP, which reported that the jamming occurred in March during a joint U.S.-South Korean military exercise, attributed the information to an unidentified aide to opposition lawmaker Ahn Kyu-Baek. The aide said the incident was disclosed in a report that Seoul's Defense Ministry submitted Thursday to of Parliament's Defense Committee.
According to the aide, the U.S. aircraft was forced to land about 45 minutes after takeoff when jamming signals from the North Korean cities of Haeju and Kaesong disrupted its global positioning system (GPS) as it was taking part in the annual exercisel, Key Resolve, AFP said.
There was no immediate confirmation of the incident or comment from the Pentagon.

(AFP) : SEOUL — A US military reconnaissance plane came under electronic attack from North Korea and had to make an emergency landing during a major military exercise in March, an aide to a lawmaker said Friday.
The aide said the plane suffered disturbance to its global positioning system (GPS) by jamming signals from the North's southwestern cities of Haeju and Kaesong as it was taking part in the annual US-South Korea drill, Key Resolve.
The incident was disclosed in a report that Seoul's defence ministry submitted Thursday to opposition lawmaker Ahn Kyu-Baek of parliament's defence committee, the aide to Ahn told AFP.
Spokesmen for the defence ministry and US Forces Korea declined to comment.
Jamming signals, sent at intervals of five to 10 minutes in the afternoon on March 4, forced the plane to make an emergency landing 45 minutes after it was airborne, the aide quoted the report as saying.
They also affected South Korean naval patrol boats and speedboats as well as several civilian flights near Seoul's Gimpo area, according to the report.
Seoul mobile users also complained of bad connections and the military reported GPS navigational devices malfunctioning as the South and the US were staging the drill, which was harshly criticised by the North.
The communist state has about 20 types of jamming devices mostly imported from Russia and it has been developing a new device with a range of more than 100 km (62 miles) near the heavily fortified border, Yonhap news agency has said.
The North is also believed to have been responsible for the intermittent failure of GPS receivers on naval and civilian vessels along the west coast in August 2010.
South Korea's then-defence minister Kim Tae-Young said at the time that the devices could disrupt guided weapons and posed "a fresh security threat" to Seoul.
The UN's International Telecommunication Union in April urged the North to stop disrupting signals in the South.

DRDO's Next: Star Wars like Weapons

 

NEW DELHI: Move aside Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, DRDO is trying to develop its own set of Star Wars-like weapons. From laser dazzlers to control rioting crowds to high-powered lasers to destroy incoming missiles, DRDO is working on a slew of directed energy weapons (DEWs).
"Lasers are weapons of the future. We can, for instance, use laser beams to shoot down an enemy missile in its boost or terminal phase,'' said DRDO's Laser Science & Technology Centre (LASTEC) director Anil Kumar Maini, talking to TOI on Monday.

Incidentally, DRDO chief V K Saraswat himself has identified DEWs, along with space security, cyber-security and hypersonic vehicles, as focus areas in the years ahead. "LASTEC has the mandate to develop DEWs for armed forces,'' said DRDO's chief controller (electronics & computer sciences) R Sreehari Rao.

Times of India

USA: SSN 787 Construction Starts

(Navaltoday) : The Navy began construction of the thirteenth Virginia-class submarine, the as of yet unnamed SSN 787 Sept. 2.
This new construction marks the first time in 22 years that two submarines of the same class have started construction in the same year.
“To get to this important point, our Navy/industry shipbuilding team executed a very successful design for affordability program that yielded significant cost savings and has allowed the Navy to increase production in a fiscally responsible manner,” said Rear Adm. David Johnson, program executive officer for submarines.
“A great deal of our success comes from increasing construction efficiencies; our last two submarines were delivered in 65 months, which is eight months early to their contract delivery date and we are well on our way to getting that number down to 60 months for our two fiscal year 2012 authorized boats [SSN 788 and SSN 789],” he said.
The design for affordability program involved redesigning portions of the Virginia-class to reduce costs and construction time. The program has yielded significant cost savings for the class, reducing its per-submarine acquisition costs by nearly 20 percent while shortening their construction span from 84 months to 60. These efforts significantly contributed to the Navy’s transition to building two Virginia-class submarines per year.
“Our team has been diligently driving down the cost and construction time of these submarines to get to this key two-per-year milestone,” said Rear Adm. (sel.) Michael Jabaley, Virginia-class program manager. “Building two submarines per year is the most economical way to procure these boats and will help ensure that our submarine force has the platforms it needs to carry out its various missions.”
The Virginia-class program celebrates two more milestones this year when Pre-commissioning Unit (PCU) California (SSN 781) commissions in Norfolk, Va., Oct. 29, and PCU Mississippi is christened at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Conn., Dec. 3.
Virginia-class submarines are designed to conduct anti-submarine; anti-surface; strike; special operations; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; irregular warfare; and mine warfare missions. Their inherent stealth, endurance, firepower, and sensor suite directly enable them to support five of the six maritime strategy core capabilities – sea control, power projection, forward presence, maritime security, and deterrence.

Russian army to start receiving new-generation tanks in 2014

The Russian military is planning to carry out a large-scale rearmament of its armored units with new-generation main battle tanks (MBT) in 2014-2020, the Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
“At present, the Russian scientists are developing a new-generation tank, and in 2014-2020 we are planning to replace the current fleet with new tanks on a large scale, so that the new models will constitute 70% of the total,” Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Col. Sergei Vlasov said.
According to leading Russian military experts, two models, tentatively dubbed the T-95 and the T-99, are being developed. Both projects are highly classified, and it is still unknown which model will be selected for mass production.
The new tank will feature better firepower, maneuverability, electronics and armor protection than the T-90 MBT.
The Russian Ground Forces are equipped with T-72, T-80 and T-90 MBTs and their variants. The existing state arms procurement program envisions a thorough overhaul of T-72 tanks until 2014.
The T-72 is one of the most widely produced post-World War II tanks, second only to the T-54/55 family, and its basic design has been further developed as the T-90.
“A fully modernized T-72 can easily compete with the most advanced MBTs of our time,” Vlasov said.

-RIA Novosti

Indian attack chopper expected by year end

 

NEW DELHI, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The Indian army will induct the attack version of the indigenously built advanced light helicopter into the army aviation corps this year, a defense official said.
The Rudra light combat helicopter is a "heavily loaded" version of the advanced light helicopter Dhruv. The Rudra is armed with an array of guns and rocket pods as well as air-to-air and anti-tank missiles, a report by the Press Trust of India said, without naming any army official.
The PTI report gave no other details or dates.

 

The Rudra first flew in March 2010.
India's army has been waiting for the armed version since the utility helicopter Dhruv, built by Hindustan Aeronautics, entered service in 2002. Around 160 are believed to have been ordered by the army and navy from the company's assembly plant in Bangalore.
Even the unarmed utility version, which also is available for civilian use, was a long time coming.
The Dhruv project was announced in 1984 when Hindustan Aeronautics began designing the aircraft with assistance from the German aerospace company Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm.

MBB was formed as the result of several mergers in the late 1960s and which in 1989 was bought by Daimler-Benz Aerospace. MBB is now part of EADS.
The Dhruv first flew in 1992 and has been exported first to Ecuador in 2008 for $50 million and then to Nepal and Israel.
Hindustan Aeronautics won the Ecuadorian order amid strong competition from Elbit, Eurocopter and Kazan.
"HAL's offer of $50.7 million for seven helicopters was about 32 percent lower than the second lowest bid from Elbit," a June 2008 Indian Ministry of Defense statement said.
But exports have suffered because of an accident in October 2009. One of the seven sold to the Ecuadorian air force crashed during a military parade, leaving two crew injured.
The helicopter veered off course while flying in formation with two other helicopters over an air force base near Quito and hit the ground nose first, the PTI reported at the time.
The Ecuadorian air force grounded the other six Dhruv until an investigation was completed. The investigation concluded pilot error was to blame.
In April, four Indian army personnel were killed in a Dhruv helicopter crash in north Sikkim state, near the Chinese border.
The Dhruv helicopter carries up to 12 passenger and two pilots sitting side by side, with a maximum takeoff weight of 12,125 pounds. Maximum speed of 180 mph is from two Shakti turboshaft engines or two Turbomeca TM 333-2B2 turboshaft engines. The service ceiling is around 27,500 feet.
The Rudra version has the two pilots sitting one behind the other.

- UPI.COM

Russia Sees 1,000 T-50 Sales

LONDON — Russia is projecting it may sell as many as 1,000 T-50 fighter aircraft in the coming decades.
In addition to sales to the two countries already signed on to the program, Russia and India, the Tsamto analysis center associated with the Russian defense ministry sees at least 274-388 aircraft being sold to more than ten other countries.
Algeria, Kazakhstan and Syria are seen as potentially among the first export buyers of the fifth-generation Sukhoi fighter currently in flight testing. Sales to those three countries could come as early as 2025. Two aircraft are now participating in the flight test program.
In Latin America, Tsamto sees prospects for sales to Brazil, Venezuela and Argentina. Venezuela is seen as the first potential buyer, in the 2027-2032 timeframe; China also has been courting fighter sales to Venezuela, though.
Iran is seen as a prospect, assuming the arms embargo now over the country is dropped.
Regarding China, Tsamto also believes a deal could happen, but with some unspecified caveats. One concern is likely the ability to protect Russia’s intellectual property, given the country’s experience with selling Sukhoi Su-27s to China only to see them lead to home-grown copies.
Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam are seen as other potential export markets in Asia for the T-50.
Tsamto speculates even western European countries could become buyers of a version of the aircraft.

- Aviation Week

India’s fifth C-130J heads for Hindon

Lockheed Martin will complete deliveries next month under a contract to supply the Indian air force with six C-130J tactical transports.
The manufacturer announced on 8 September, that the Indian air force's fifth C-130J had left its Marietta production and flight test site in Georgia on its delivery journey to Hindon air base near New Delhi.
"India's sixth C-130J will be delivered in October," said Lockheed, adding that the fifth aircraft was being handed over "well ahead of schedule".
Deliveries of the stretched-fuselage transports started in December 2010.
The defence giant expects to receive a follow-on deal from India for a further six C-130Js.

- FlightGlobal