India starts the development of 5th Generation AMCA fighter jets

India still lacks a 5th Gen fighter jet, which is considered the most advanced fighter jet in the world and only a few countries in the world have this type of aircraft.

The Indian Air Force is one of the most advanced defence forces in the world with a fleet that can put any country to shame. IAF has the most advanced fighter jet fleet in the region and also in the world.

To give an insight, the United States has Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II, while China has Chengdu J-20 and Russia has Sukhoi Su-57. These are the only three countries with the advanced 5th generation fighter jet.

Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II are one of the most advanced fighter jets.

On the other hand, India is readying its Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme to rival these nations. 

ALSO READ - DRDO builds an R&D facility in a “record” 45 days for the AMCA project

Former Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria announced that the development of 5th Generation advanced multi-role combat aircraft has been launched.

Recently a tweet revealed the wind tunnel model of the AMCA, highlighting the design of the fighter jet. As seen in the image, the jet will get a dual engine configuration.

https://twitter.com/RupprechtDeino/status/1555889850255118337

If we see the current fleet of the Indian Air Force, India has mostly foreign-sourced fighter jets, leaving aside HAL-made Tejas LCA, which will serve as the first line of defence for India and will replace the ageing MiG-21 Bison.

However, among the most advanced planes with the IAF is the French-made Dassault Rafale, which is a 4.5 Gen plane at best.

While India can get the Russia-made Sukhoi Su-57 as its most advanced fighter jet, IAF has pitched strongly for indigenous weapons platforms and will rely on the supersonic AMCA, being developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Development of 5th Generation advanced multi-role combat aircraft launched

The prime features are the Diverterless Supersonic Inlet (DSI) and a 3D ‘bump’ that prevent radar waves from bouncing off the engine blades/turbines, making it a Stealth jet.

The jet is seen sporting an Infrared Search and Track (IRST) above the nose cone along with an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, used to enhance medium and long-range detection of targets.

The AMCA will be IAF's backbone in the coming decades, and the Indian Air Force is not looking to induct a foreign-made 5th Gen jet till the AMCA is made. A naval version of the 5th Generation fighter will also be developed for the Indian Navy.

A naval version of the 5th Generation fighter will also be developed for the Indian Navy.

ALSO READ - Ground-breaking achievement for India as the country’s first stealth-fighter prototype kicks off production

The aircraft will have a high degree of stealth, the ability to carry weapons internally as well as externally, internal fuel capacity, supercruise and perform the role of both air-to-air to air-to-ground attacks.

With the AMCA will primarily engage targets beyond visual range, it will also have a powerful thrust-vectoring engine for super manoeuvrability for better dogfighting capabilities.

(With Inputs from Zee News)

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a penalty of ?5 lakh each on five helicopter operators ferrying pilgrims to Kedarnath shrine over irregularities in flying records, officials mentioned.

The incident happened at a time when the Char Dham pilgrimage was in full swing in Uttarakhand. So far, at least 450,000 pilgrims have embarked on the pilgrimage since its re-opening on May 6 after a gap of 2 years due to the pandemic.

The irregularities and violations came to light during an audit conducted in June, days after a chopper ferrying pilgrims to the high-altitude shrine made a hard landing on May 31.

DGCA imposes INR 5 lakh penalty on 5 helicopter operators at Kedarnath

On May 31, at about 01:30 PM, a Thambi Aviation Pvt Ltd Bell 407 helicopter executed an un-stabilized approach in marginal weather, resulting in a very hard landing with consequent uncontrolled yaw for about 270 degrees.

ALSO READ - DGCA begins probe of a helicopter bouncing and turning 270 degrees while landing at Kedarnath

The director general of DGCA formed a team for spot check of the choppers involved in shuttle operations in Kedarnath, an official in Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) said.

“On June 7th and 8th, the team conducted a spot check in which serious violations came to light, prompting it to hold a detailed audit of all operators undertaking the shuttle operations,” the official added.

DGCA also suspended officials of two other operators for three months over violation of safety regulations.

DGCA has also issued an operational advisory to all operators for strict compliance to safety standards as per the joint SOP issued for these operations.

The advisory has asked pilots to exercise caution about tailwinds during approaches at the four high-altitude shrines, especially at Kedarnath which faces a constraint of a one-way approach.

"During the audit that had taken place between June 13 and June 16, it was discovered that five operators were not keeping accurate flying records in their technical log books."Arun Kumar, Director General of DGCA

Two more people were discovered to have broken the joint standard operating procedure's rules. DGCA opted not to release the operators' names.

ALSO READ - Chopper makes ‘dangerously’ close landing on Amarnath Yatra route

A charter airplane from India with 12 passengers on board landed at Pakistan's Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on Monday, August 15 reported Geo News.

According to the media reports, the flight took off from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and landed at Karachi airport at 12:10 PM. However, it departed from Karachi after a short while. The reason for the landing is not yet clear.

A spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed the development and said the international charter flight had flown in from India and it had no connection whatsoever with the country other than that.

Indian charter aircraft lands in Karachi; reason not apparent

The latest incident comes after two planes from India landed in Karachi last month due to technical issues. SpiceJet Delhi-Dubai flight suffered a mid-air malfunction in its fuel indicator and was diverted to Karachi on July 5.

IndiGo's Sharjah-Hyderabad flight was delayed to Karachi as a precaution on July 17 after pilots observed a defect in one of the engines.

Following the Balakot strike in February 2019, Pakistan initiated a months-long closure of its airspace that was finally lifted in the middle of July 2019.

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ALSO READ - Revenue of Air India rose 64% in FY22; net loss swelled by a third

The government is planning to invite expressions of interest (EoI) for the erstwhile ground-handling and engineering units of Air India by November as it aims to complete the transaction this fiscal, business daily the Economic Times reported.

The department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) last week started roadshows to scout for buyers for Air India Airport Services (AIASL) and Air India Engineering Services (AIESL) to scale bidders’ interest. Consultancy firm EY is the transaction adviser for the process, the report said.

ALSO READ - Air India subsidiaries to be privatised soon

Ground handling & engineering units of Air India to be sold soon, EoI invitation by November

The roadshows saw participation from Indian companies such as the Bird group and Tata Sons, the holding company of Tata Group which now owns Air India, for the ground handling unit. Major international companies such as Swiss ground handling company Swissport and Turkish firm Celebi Aviation Holding also showed interest.

ALSO READ – Celebi Aviation interested in bidding for Air India’s ground handling unit

The roadshow for AI engineering services also saw participation from Tata Sons and the Adani group. The roadshows are being conducted to take feedback from the industry so that the expression of interests (EoIs), the initial step to get the process going, can be designed in a way to get more responses.

As part of Air India’s divestment process, four of its former subsidiaries including Airline Allied Services of Alliance Air were transferred to AI Assets Holdings as a special purpose vehicle.

“We want to incorporate the feedback from the industry so that the sale process is simple and fast. The companies have been profitable and are very attractive with presence across India and ready-made trained workforce,” a government official told ET.

As part of the process, two agencies have been appointed to verify and tag the assets of the two companies that lie across airports in India.

As part of the share purchase agreement entered into between Tata Sons and the government during the disinvestment of Air India, there is a lock-in period of three years during which Air India is required to continue its business with the ground handling and engineering unit.

ALSO READ - Centre begins work on privatisation of Alliance Air & other Air India subsidiaries

The autos-to-steel conglomerate completed its purchase of Air India in January 2022.

As part of Air India’s divestment process, four of its former subsidiaries – AI Air Airport Services, Airline Allied Services of Alliance Air, AI Engineering Services and Hotel Corporation of India – along with non-core assets and other non-operating assets, were transferred to AI Assets Holdings as a special purpose vehicle.

The autos-to-steel conglomerate completed its purchase of Air India in January 2022.

ALSO READ - Air India unveils Vihaan – a comprehensive 5-year transformation plan

Air India recently said it was aiming to increase its domestic market share by more than over 30% and also expand its international presence. Releasing a transformation plan titled “Vihaan.AI”, the company on September 15 spelt out its objectives for the next five years.

(With Inputs from The Economic Times)

According to reports, Archer Aviation has completed the preliminary design review for the initial production version of its eVTOL air taxi dubbed " Midnight".

A blast from the past

Midnight is Archer’s second eVTOL design, its first is "Maker". The company unveiled the prototype of the Maker in June 2021. It is a two-seater, fixed-wing vehicle with an all-composite fuselage that is powered by twelve electric motors. With 75 kWh of battery power available, the vehicle can fly 100 kilometres/60 miles at a speed of 240 kilometres per hour/150 miles per hour. The Maker made its first short hover flight on December 16.

Maker

Midnight is a piloted, four-passenger aircraft that is the aircraft planned to be used for commercial operations. It is expected to be able to carry more than 1,000 pounds of payload and to be able to fly up to 100 miles. Furthermore, it is expected to be able to complete the target mission of successive 20-mile flights with a charging time of approximately 10 minutes.

What is a Preliminary Design Review (PDR)?

A PDR is a review of the aircraft design to ensure the program is on track and the design is mature enough to proceed to the next development phase and the kick-off of production of long lead time hardware.

It also features all aspects of the aircraft’s specifications and manufacturing requirements, necessary pre-conditions for determining that the design is feasible for regulatory compliance and viable to bring to market.

Representative

The Preliminary Design Review has been completed, with the findings now used for the Critical Design Review that is scheduled for the first half of 2023. The Midnight will be the version that Archer plans to certify for commercial services, for which it is actively working with the FAA.

While that is underway, Archer is also building its manufacturing infrastructure simultaneously. According to the company, it has selected over 50% of its suppliers for the program, recently adding Honeywell for various systems and FACC for the production of the fuselage and wing elements to the program.

$10 million deposit from...

In what it describes as a “watershed moment for the eVTOL industry”, Archer announced that it has received a $10 million pre-delivery payment from United Airlines on 100 Midnights.

United’s decision to place a deposit for 100 of Archer’s eVTOL aircraft signals its desire to be one of the first airline operators in the US to bring eVTOL aircraft to market.Archer says in a press release

United’s decision to place a deposit for 100 of Archer’s eVTOL aircraft signals its desire to be one of the first airline operators in the US to bring eVTOL aircraft to the market.

Recently, United formed a Joint eVTOL Advisory Committee with Archer, allowing the parties to work more closely on eVTOL maintenance and operational matters. Committee members include Archer’s operations and maintenance leadership, as well as leadership from United’s maintenance, materials, and engineering groups.

United had provisionally agreed to buy in February 2021. Archer said the deal represents one of the first of its kind for the budding eVTOL industry, as many eVTOL developers have signed only non-binding agreements with prospective customers that have not yet made any formal payments.

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