Category: Blogs

Images: The LCH in distress

My friend and fellow traveler on the defense beat in India, Indo-Asian News Service reporter Nallan Chakravarthy Bipindra reported the story of the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) having to cut short its flight in distress on the second day of Aero India 2011 in Bangalore last month. StratPost photographer Shashanka Nanda took pictures of it happening.

MMRCA offsets reported compromised

It was reported on Friday that an Indian Ministry of Defense secret file relating to offsets for the procurement of 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) by the Indian Air Force (IAF) was discovered on the roadside in New Delhi. Figuring out offsets for the MMRCA tender is a major hurdle for both the…

USAF F-22 to get auto recovery system

The United States Air Force F-22 Raptor’s planned evolution includes an auto recovery system, called the Auto Ground Collision Avoidance System). This system allows the aircraft to recover to level flight, automatically, if the pilot is momentarily incapacitated.

Meanwhile, in Alaska…

It hasn’t been all work and no play for the Indian paratroopers exercising with the US Army in Alaska. In fact, after last week, they might not be missing home all that much.

Blog: Ex-navy chief’s letter to news mag

Written by former navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash to the editor of Outlook magazine, but never published, it took issue with their coverage of the naval war room leak case and makes interesting reading as it details the admiral’s side of the story. His wife’s nephew, Ravi Shankaran was implicated in the case and was arrested last May in London.

Blog: Eurofighter gets good vibes on MMRCA

Bernhard Gerwart, CEO of Military Air Systems at EADS Defence & Security, said, “Yesterday, I had some meetings with the leaders of the IAF and the MoD and it was more or less confirmed that we had done the flight trials very well,” adding, “Mind you it’s just a feeling,” while pointing out the IAF had made no official statement to him.

Blog: LM mag’s new website out

Lockheed Martin’s magazine, Code One, has unveiled a new avatar on the internet and if you’ve got an aviation history itch that needs scratching, the website is especially cool, as they’ve got their hands on LM’s film archives, and uploaded footage of first flights of some aircraft Lockheed Martin and its predecessor companies have produced in the past.