"beautiful" LCA, page 7
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reply posted on 2-3-2005 @ 01:19 PM by rajkhalsa2004
Since this thread is once again active, I'll post some news to bring it to speed:

Air Force to buy 40 fighter aircraft

During Aero India, the primary vendor for the HAL LCA, namely the IAF, agreed to the intial order of 20 + 20 a/c. This represents satisfaction with the product and confirmed committment to the last phase of the induction process: end-user trials wherein IAF trains and integrates itself with the LCA type while giving feedback back to HAL for its 'second tranche'/full-scale production and subsequent induction

The initial aircraft tender cost is only $22.8mil, and is expected to be lower with full-scale production. These a/c will be inducted in 2008 with the GE-F404-IN20 engine, and full production from 2010 with Kaveri.


India developing LCA trainer version

HAL is developing a Lead-In Fighter Trainer (LIFT) for the LCA. It is also developing a Combat Attack Trainer (CAT) which will replace the Hawk AJT by 2010.

The LIFT will be like other IAF aircraft-specific trainers (MiG-21 Mongol, etc.) in that it will be operationalized in wartime, whereas the CAT, Hawk, while potentially operationalizable, likely will not be.




Images of the CAT









7 LCA prototypes to fly by March next year

The seven prototypes will hurry the clearance process, which will be completed by 2008.


reply posted on 2-3-2005 @ 01:32 PM by waynos
The early designs to AST 403 (which led to the Typhoon eventually), began with the P.96 and progressed through to the P.120 (which was virtually the Typhoon we see today) between 1976 and 1986.

If you know about the history of the Typhoon you will be aware of the turmoil with France joining and then being thrown out etc tec, suffice to say that at one point it looked as if a UK only fighter would have to be produced, BAe proposed a private venture single engine light fighter which the RAF weren't too keen on but BAe hoped to win them round and also take on the export market with their design which was the P.106. When the project appeared to be gathering momentum within BAe it was noticed that the P.106 also seemed to meet the Indian LCA requirement perfectly and a joint programme was investigated.

When Germany and Italy then decided to rejoin the UK in a new fighter programme the Govt insisted that BAe put its full weight behind the project and the P.106 was virtually 'given' to India with BAe willing to act as a sort of 'consultant' while the 'main event' was obviously the Eurofighter Typhoon as far as the UK was concerned.

Now obviously the Tejas owes nothing to this design except maybe its vaguest stats (size, weight, engine thrust etc) but the wind tunnel model pic does look very similar to the original BAe proposal to me.

I've dug out an original magazine picture, the accompanying article with it actually mentioned possible collaboration with India but I remembered the date wrong, this article dates from 1982.




reply posted on 5-3-2005 @ 09:41 PM by Stealth Spy
Originally posted by rajkhalsa2004
Here's an interesting pic I came across. A wind tunnel model of an early LCA design displayed at Aero-India. Note the canards and a more traditional delta wing with very little fuselage blending.



The mastering of the cranked delta and its complementary fuselage design has enabled super-maneuverability making canards useless in the final LCA design. The lack of canards also improves its RCS

[edit on 25-2-2005 by rajkhalsa2004]


when i'd been to aero india, i saw this model at the NAL(national aerospace labs) stall. i could'nt quite identify which aircraft it was.

but then after i visited th Grippen stall, i realised this was just like the grippen.i came back and took another look and confirmed.

that model looks 100% like the grippen...i swear


reply posted on 11-3-2005 @ 10:43 PM by rajkhalsa2004
The FC-1/Thunder is a cheap, simple BVR platform based on the MiG-21. It lacks any sophisticated avionics and weapons suite, has less capable engine, etc. and thus is outclassed by even the IAF MiG-21 Bisons. However, it is a good plane for its limited role and the limited Pakistani budget; though even with the planned 150 plane induction, it would go very little toward negating IAF superiority which only grows each passing year. The Paks are hedging all bets on the J-10 but I very much doubt they'd get their hands on it anytime soon (decade-plus.) By that time, given even planned inductions by IAF, it would be in a similar position to the effectiveness of JF-17 induction today.

On paper, the Tejas's specs are superior to the J-10, which has an identical role in the PLAAF.

However, the first tranche of J-10s are already inducted, whereas the Tejas will reach fullscale production around 2010. Doubtlessly, the second+-tranche J-10s would by then have upgraded avionics, engine, etc. that would make it more comparable. However, the Tejas would still be relatively superior, unless the J-10 is drastically modified ultra-fast by then; in RCS given its smaller size, high-use of composites, shape, and active radar-cancelling technologies; cost; also, avionics and weapons remains a sore spot for the J-10. These are confirmed technologies of the Tejas which are already, openly under development. And apart from the self-congratulatory rumor mill, I've yet to see any real info for exactly what's planned for the J-10's upgrade.



[edit on 11-3-2005 by rajkhalsa2004]
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