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Monday, May 30, 2011

Virgilius AESA-Based Internal EW Suite For MiG-29UPG & Tejas Mk2


18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Virgilius AESA-Based Internal EW Suite For MiG-29UPG & Tejas Mk2 - Is this the best in your opinion. Please provide your further comments.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

This very same suite is now on board the Eurofighter EF-2000. In fact, Virgilius was originally developed for the EF-2000's IADS suite. Apart from the SPECTRA, this the only AESA-based airborne internal directional jamming system available for export.

Anonymous said...

Prasun,

Will the external stores capacity of the Tejas Mk2 be the same as that of the Tejas Mk1? An external stores capacity of 3,500kg is very less compared to Gripen NG which, being a similar aircraft,has an external stores capacity of 6000kg.
Out of the eight available pylons in the Tejas Mk2 , can four of them carry 250kg AASM in triple-ejector racks totaling 3000kg,with the other two pylons housing Derby BVRAAMs each weighing 100 kgs, one pylon housing the reusable fibre-optic towed-decoy and the center-line pylon housing a n air-to-surface missile like Kh-31PM ,Kh-35 or the Kh-59M each weighing from 600kg to 1000kg thereby making a total of around 4500-5000 kgs. I have not written about the center-line fuel tank as i expect the Tejas Mk2 to have overwing CFTs which will negate the need for a center-line fuel tank.
So the Tejas Mk2 should at least have an external stores capacity of 5000kg,if not more.What do you think?

What is the state of the DARE developed EW suite MAYAWI? Will it be merged with the IDAS?

Will the Tejas Mk2 have a voice recognition software like the Typhoon's DFI?

Will the Project 28 multi-purpose corvettes incorporate stealthier hull like the F124 Sachsen class FFG and Barak-2 SAM?

I have read in some Russian reports on SU-30 MKI upgrade that the first few 'SUPER'SU-30MKI aircrafts won't have the MIRES AESA but upgraded BARS PESA of the standard IRBIS-E PESA, AESA will be available from later batches. How much of this is true?

Thanks.

rahulka said...

So these are the bumps below the cockpit..

http://i54.tinypic.com/2pyunag.jpg

Anonymous said...

so.............is that an indication that the mmrca may go the Eurofighter way ??????

Anonymous said...

Prasun,

What percentage of composites by surface area will used in the Tejas mk-2 airframe? 82% of the total surface area of the Typhoon airframe is made of composites.

Why IAI/ELTA’s ELM-2060P ISAR pod be used on the Super Su-30MKI when the MIRES X-band active electronically steered-array (AESA) multi-mode radar will be able to simultaneously perform up to five ‘core’ functions including real-beam ground mapping via Doppler-beam sharpening in the inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) mode?

Will the thrust of the uprated Lyulka AL-31FP turbofan engine be same as that of the Type 117S turbofan engine which drives the SU-35BM?

Will IAF have access to the Meteor BVRAAM if Rafale is selected?

Anonymous said...

Prasun,

Can you provide some detailed information on the new OLS infra-red search-and-track sensor that will go on-board the Super Su-30MKI? How does it fare when compared to the PIRATE IRST on-board the Typhoon and the OLS IRST on the Rafale? Will it have TV camera like that on the Rafale IRST?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@10.09AM: Everything now depends on the redesigned Tejas Mk2 airframe and the higher thrust-to-weight ratio offered by the F414-GE-400 turbofan. Theoretically, with the incorporation of overwing CFTs, three pylons will be freed for carrying extra ordnance and therefore the Tejas Mk2's external stores carrying capacity too will logically increase to up to 5,500kg. But mind you, the final figure will be known only after the Tejas Mk2's flight-test regime is completed.
The Mayawi and IDAS are one and the same. Its first application will be on the MiG-29UPG, followed by the Super Su-30MKI. Work is now underway on developing direct voice inputs for not only the Tejas Mk2, but also for the Super Su-30MKI.
For the Project 28 multi-purpose corvettes two options are being considered: one is for making use of the existing Project 28 ASW corvette's superstructure, and the other is for a more radical solution, resembling something like the Visby corvette from Kockums.
Regarding the Super Su-30MKI's MMR, it was the IAF's CAS--ACM P V naik--who confirmed during a press conference on the afternoon of February 11 during the Aero India expo that the radar will be an AESA-based MMR.

To Anon@4:17PM: By the same token one could argue that the Rafale will be selected since the Kaveri turbofans now being developed for the Block 2 Tejas Mk2 will incorporate a new engine core that will be almost identical to the one found on the SNECMA Moteurs-built M88 turbofan. In reality, the Rafale has much better chances of winning the M-MRCA bid if Dassault Aviation and THALES can somehow convince the IAF to dump the proposed Mirage 2000H/TH upgrade and instead allocate the saved financial resources for an accelerated production-cum-induction programme involving the Rafale. This is what I've been hearing from Air HQ since late March.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@7.54AM: The figure you've quoted for the EF-2000 Typhoon will also apply to the Tejas Mk2, with substantial production engineering inputs now coming from TATA ADvanced Materials. Both ADA and HAL have now rightfully concluded that private companies like TATA can indeed play a constructive role not only as supplier vendors, but as also supplementary R & D expertise providers.
The nose-mounted AESA-MMR's ISAR mode is used only for navigation and target acquisition during offensive air campaigns, whereas the EL/M-23060P pod's SAR radar is a side-mounted radar used for standoff reconnaissance from high altitudes in both peacetime and wartime.
The thrust rating of the uprated AL-31FP will be 20% more than what is now delivered by the AL-31FPs on the Su-30MKI.
Of course, the Meteor BVRAAM is on offer with both the Rafale and the EF-2000. But to be noted is the fact that the range of the Scalp-EG or Storm Shadow or Taurus KEPD-350 air-launched cruise missiles will be limited to 300km due to MTCR restrictions.

To Anon@8.12PM: I will try to upload the brochure of the OLS-30 IRST later today.

buddha said...

many many thanks for your guidance

sir
can Tejas mk2 get some stealth features
how far it will be effective in air to ground support as it was mirage in kargil

Anonymous said...

Prasun,

Thanks.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To buddha: Of course it will have stealth features. Doing asway with extensive rivetting (like the ones seen on the J-10 and JF-17), incorporating a composites-built airframe and making use of radar-absorbing paint, will all ensure that the Tejas Mk2's airframe remains stealthy. And it will be far more effective during offensive air-to-ground air campaigns since it will, like the Su-30MKI, have an open-architecture avionics suite (which the Mirage 2000H/TH does not have). Today there is a whole new generation of PGMs available which were non-existent in 1999.

Anonymous said...

what is this offer for becoming partner of euro fighter if chosen?

What is benefit for India?
And how it is compared to rafale offer. And which is better according to you?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

All M-MRCA contenders had given more or less given comparable industrial offsets packages to back-up their offers. To me, personally, it is far better to deal with one country instead of four. While companies like Cassidian are newcomers in India, companies like THALES and SNECMA Moteurs have had a presence in India for the past three decades at least. And as to what more can the French provide, kindly read the last two comments at: http://trishul-trident.blogspot.com/2011/05/irnss-and-gagan-explained.html

buddha said...

sir
is there any news regarding the attack & heavy lift heli copter bid

secondly Russia sends back our naval warship without having dril and cancels upcoming joint excercise
how far it wiil affect indo-russian relation

how long will it take to induct
Akula... is there any news of the unfinished one

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

The attack and heavylift helicopter competitions should reach fruition before the year's end.
India-Russia relations will not be affected just because of the cancellation of an exercise or two. In reality these exercises are a liability as not all Indians are well-conversant in Russian language nor are all Russians exposed to English. Furthermore, as far as RMA goes, the Russians have nothing new to teach India since the Russian armed forces themselves are yet to adopt the deep and radical military reforms which were promised a decadee ago. All in all, for India it is thus a welcome "chalo jaan chuti" respite.
How long will it take to induct the N-152 Nerpa Akula-3 SSGN? Your guess is as good as mine. Does India require a second leased Akula-3? Absolutely not. What we're seeing now is just some shadow puppetry since the Russian shipyards are now hungry for new orders from India, especially for the six Amur 1650 SSK. Russia is also anxious to bag the contract for upgrading the weapons-and-sensors suite of the first three Project 15 Delhi-class DDGs, and is competing against Israel Aerospace Industries for this contract. But more on this topic tomorrow, after I've uploaded some visuals and data regarding this programme.

ANon said...

hi Prasun, further to the discussions about nuclear simulation data, don't you reckon we may have obtained some from the USSR/Russia in the past? If Russia doesn't give, it's highly unlikely France would don't you think so?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon Above: Leave alone obtaining nuclear simulation data, India throughout the Cold War did not send even a single senior officer from her armed forces to any of the USSR's military academies or command-and-staff colleges. Secondly, as far as the Indian armed forces are concerned, they have always preferred either the UK or French models to serve as examples when planning for a minimum credible sea-based, land-launched and air-launched nuclear deterrent. As far back as 2004 French companies like THALES and SAFRAN wanted to become vendors (with their Indian industrial partners) for the ATV project. It now remains to be seen whether India will take up the French offer for industrial collaboration in building a fleet of nuclear attack submarines.