Month: May 2009

Naik takes guard at IAF

Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik PVSM VSM ADC took over as the nineteenth ‘Chief of the Air Staff ‘(CAS) from Air Chief Marshal FH Major PVSM AVSM SC VM ADC who demitted office today.

Indian Navy foils pirate attack

The Indian Navy has thwarted a pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden. At 1250 hrs local time on Thursday, the INS Talwar, while escorting three merchant vessels, received a distress call from one of the ships, MV Maude, a Liberian-flagged, Norwegian owned vessel with an Indian crew of ten.

Guiding pilots for the kill : IAF’s Fighter Controllers

According to Wing Commander TK Singha, never has the cliché – man behind the machine, in aviation banter, been as significant and diverse as it is today. With the advent of the AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) in aerial-battle management scenarios, this aspect has undergone a paradigm shift with the incorporation of the hitherto unseen catalyst – Fighter Controllers (FC), manning work stations on board the AWACS.

IAF’s AWACS inducted

The Russian IL-76 platform based, Israeli Phalcon AWACS was commissioned into the IAF by Defense Minister AK Antony, who handed over to Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major, a symbolic key to the aircraft.

IAF release on AWACS induction

Giving impetus to the long-standing operational requirement of the armed forces, the first AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) Platform was inducted into the Indian Air Force today. At a special ceremony held at Palam airbase of the IAF, Defense Minister AK Antony dedicated the newly-inducted AWACS in the service of nation.

Rafale still in MMRCA Race

The Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major implicitly confirmed the French Rafale fighter to be still in the running for the the $ 11 billion 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender, while stating the Technical Evaluations of the six contenders deal had been completed.

IAF ups focus on China

The Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major today indicated a renewed impetus towards building infrastructure and airfields in the northeast of the country in the light of the lack of knowledge of the capabilities of the Chinese armed forces.

Antony lays down the law

“India is changing. No more can foreign collaborators corrupt and tempt our people,” he said inaugurating the seminar DefCom, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Corps of Signals of the Indian Army.

’09 First quarter results of Israeli IAI

Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) backlog as of 31.3.09 reached $8.1 billion, which represents 2.3 years worth of sales. The positive cash flow from current activities, as of the end of the quarter, stood at $312 million, an increase of approximately $190 million compared to the end of the previous quarter.

AWACS lands in India

The first of the three Indian Air Force (IAF) AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) platforms has landed in India from Israel, escorted by three Mig-29 and three Jaguar aircraft each, that took off from an advance fighter base of the South Western Air Command (SWAC) and escorted it as it entered the Indian FIR (Flight Information Region), till safe touchdown at the Jamnagar airbase, at 1135 hours on Monday.