DEFENCE Aero India Show report

Soaring aspirations

ATUL CHANDRA reports from India’s biggest airshow and aerospace exhibition, Aero India 2021, held on 3-5 February at IAF Air Force Station, Yelahanka, Bengaluru, which saw new fighters and ‘Loyal Wingmen’ showcased.

Clockwise from far left: Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF); inaugural ceremony of Aero India 2021 in February 2021; inaugural ceremony rotorcraft flying display.

India’s burgeoning indigenous military aviation portfolio was the highlight of the 13th Aero India, held in February, and showcased the tremendous strides made by its indigenous aerospace industry since 1996, when the first airshow was held. India’s economic rise over the last 25 years, coupled with an unwavering desire towards indigenous military aviation capability, is now beginning to yield results. Aero India also showcased India’s burgeoning start-up culture, now increasingly evident in the aerospace sector. While many of the concepts and offerings from these companies appear promising, regular funding and timely conclusion of projects, an anathema in Indian defence procurement, could test their resolve.

India presently has four fighter programmes under way in the light combat aircraft (LCA) ‘Tejas’ Mk-1A, LCA AF Mk-2 medium weight fighter, 4.5 gen advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA) and newly revealed twin-engine deck based fighter (TEDBF). State-owned airframer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is also completing development of the Hindustan Turbo Trainer 40 (HTT-40) basic trainer and has revived the moribund Hindustan Jet Trainer 36 (HJT-36) ‘Sitara’ intermediate jet trainer (IJT). Apart from this, it is completing development of the light utility helicopter (LUH), light combat helicopter (LCH) and has just commenced work on the 10t indian multirole helicopter (IMRH).

Aero India signalled the end of the Tejas LCA’s torturous development saga with a Rs480bn order for 83 Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets (73 single seat and 10 twin seat). Deliveries to the Indian Air Force (IAF) are to begin in 2024 and will likely be completed by 2030. HAL had earlier received orders for 40 Tejas Mk-1 aircraft. The new Tejas Mk-1A aircraft feature an Israeli Elta AESA radar, in-flight refuelling capability, ASRAAM close combat missiles and the Israeli Derby BVRAAM, along with numerous other improvements.

“One of the major strengths of Tejas is its FBW system. It is wonderfully designed and the rates that it generates are extremely crisp and as per the demands put forth by the pilot. It provides the pilot with complete control and the ability to exploit the aircraft in its entire flight regime,” says Group Captain Samrath Dhankhar, former CO of 45 Squadron which operates Tejas Mk-1s.

Future fighter trio​

The enormous costs of developing modern fighter aircraft do not appear to have swayed Indian ambitions and strong government backing means that despite pandemic related budget constraints, funding is secure. The most ambitious of the trio under development is the advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA) for the IAF, which is being designed for stealth and features an internal weapons bay. 

While the Navy had expressed a requirement for a carrier-borne variant of the AMCA, it was ultimately decided to proceed with a more conventional and less stealthy configuration without an internal weapons bay. The Navy TEDBF is slated to make its first flight in 2026, a timeline that certainly appears ambitious, if not impossible. There is expected to be a high level of commonality between both the 25t AMCA and the 26t TEDBF.

Also under development is the 18t class Tejas Mk-2, which is planned to replace the IAF’s SEPECAT Jaguar, MiG-29 and Mirage 2000 fleets. First flight for the LCA AF Mk-2 is slated for December 2023. Development of all three types is helmed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), with Hindustan Aeronautics as the production agency.

Unmanned highlight

HAL’s ambitious Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) was literally a showstopper, with the giant display featuring the bottom half of an almost to scale Tejas aircraft, tethered from the ceiling and outfitted with an array of missiles and drone-based weaponry. The role of CATS Mothership for Air Teaming eXploitation (MAX) will be performed either by Tejas Mk-1A or upgraded Jaguar aircraft. The manned platforms will operate alongside the unmanned CATS Warrior low observable Wingman, which can be considered as the centrepiece of the programme.

HAL’s CATS Loyal Wingman concept was the star of the show. Atul Chandra

HAL has already made initial investments of Rs4bn towards development of CATS Warrior. “CATS Warrior is a deep penetration strike asset with an internal weapons bay, which will have a radius of action of 350km and can be controlled from the mothership. We are looking at a developmental timeline of four to five years,” says Arup Chatterjee, HAL’s Director (Engineering and R&D). MBDA’s advanced short-range air to-air-missile (ASRAAM) is among the air-to-air missiles carried by CATS Warrior, which will be powered by a modernised version of the homegrown PTAE-7 that is used on indigenous Lakshya target drones.

HAL is developing a multi-purpose explosive carrier system called Hunter, which will also use the PTAE-7. Another being developed are swarming drone systems called air-launched flexible assets (ALFA). These will be carried aboard a glider and a single ALFA will carry a payload of individual drones weighing 25kg with a warhead of 5kg. High altitude long endurance (HALE) UAVs are also planned to be integrated as part of the CATS programme.

Collective success

Meanwhile, HAL’s Rotary Wing Division has largely completed design and development of the 5.8t LCH and 3t LUH. The first limited series production (LSP) LCH for the IAF was displayed at Aero India. Hindustan Aeronautics started production without a formal order from the army or air force but has now received a letter of lntent (LoI) for five helicopters each. Orders are expected for more than 160 LCHs.

HAL is also awaiting orders for an initial batch of 12 LSP LUHs, with the total requirement of 187 across the army and air force. The LUH will be built at a brand-new helicopter factory being constructed at Tumakuru, near Bengaluru. Rollout of the first helicopter from the new facility is planned in August 2022. The 10t IMRH programme is being undertaken by HAL to meet an air force requirement to replace its Mi-17s in the 2030s. For the IMRH programme, the army and air force are to issue a Joint Service Quality Requirement (JSQR) by April.

Stealth UAV demonstrator

Below: DRDO’s SWIFT stealth demonstrator. Atul Chandra

Indian efforts at developing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) under the aegis of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have yet to bear fruit. The Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), which is tasked with development of indigenous drones for the Indian military, showed off a mock-up of its stealth wing flying testbed (SWiFT) technology demonstrator project. The scaled-down flying wing test bed will have an all up weight (AUW) of 1t. The aim of the project is to demonstrate competence in indigenous technologies related to flying a high-subsonic UAV, controllability of flying wing configuration and autonomous take-off and landing technology. A retractable landing gear system for the 1t class UAV was handed over to ADE in January. The ambition behind the SWiFT project is to lead to development of technologies for a proposed Indian Unmanned Strike Aircraft Vehicle proposed to be powered by a non-afterburning variant of the homegrown Kaveri turbofan engine.