Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
At present, only one fighter of the 5th generation has been adopted on the planet - the American F-22 Raptor, the second US F-35 aircraft will soon be put into production and is being finalized.
The Russian Federation has created the PAK FA, two prototypes of the fighter are on the wing. Since 2015, the serial purchase of the 5th generation Russian fighter into the army is planned. The prototype of the 5th generation aircraft was created in China, Tokyo also expressed its desire to create its own 5th generation fighter.
The fifth power to start building its 5th generation fighter is India. Its main business is the aircraft corporation Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The company, which was created in 1940 as a local division for the assembly of aircraft for the Royal Indian Air Force, has now grown into a powerful corporation, whose enterprises and divisions are located in 7 cities of the country, and the number of employees has already exceeded 34 thousand people. The 19 production centers (enterprises) and 10 research institutes and centers that are part of the HAL structure today produce 26 types of aircraft, of which 14 are licensed, and the rest are of their own design. The company's revenue growth in the 2009-2010 fiscal year compared to the previous reporting period increased by 10.5%, to 2.5 billion dollars, and the order book formed at the end of the same period in the amount of 15 billion dollars.
A new stage of military development in India
India has adopted a new Defense Procurement Policy 2011 and Defense Production Policy. Now foreign firms will be allowed to form joint ventures with Indian enterprises of the military-industrial complex (MIC) on virtually any terms, without restrictions on the scope of activity and percentage of ownership (previously such restrictions existed). And within the framework of the new offset policy, foreign developers and manufacturers are now allowed to go beyond military products and enter into cooperation with companies in the civilian sector of the Indian economy and industry (one of the priority areas is law enforcement and civil aircraft construction). Given the huge and rapidly growing volume of offset programs, the Indian government and industry even had to go to the creation of a special body - the Defense Offsaet Facilitation Agency (DOFA).
Help: Offset deal - the type of compensation transaction for the purchase of imported products, an essential condition of which is the submission of counterclaims for the investment of part of the funds from the contract amount into the economy of the importing country. Offset transactions are most often found in the import of military-industrial complex products, but also in the civilian sector. One of the negative consequences of the use of the offset mechanism is the rise in the cost of the contract due to the inclusion in it of the supplier of possible costs for the implementation of offset programs.
Indian Defense Minister Arakkaparambil Kurian Anthony said that "from now on, all tenders for the purchase of arms and military equipment will be held only according to the rules of 100 percent competition", without any protectionism in relation to certain companies and industrial groups. The Indian government also "punished" the companies and organizations involved in the military-industrial complex to improve their technological level in every possible way - by developing their own technologies and absorbing foreign technologies and know-how, and the main priority in the "new defense-industrial policy" is given to the aerospace sector as the most and technologically capacious, allowing to make a qualitative leap forward in almost all industries (including civil purposes).
Delhi strives to accelerate the modernization of its aerospace industry and bring it to a level where the Indian aerospace industry can participate on an equal footing in tenders for the supply of weapons to the Indian armed forces. The task is to move away from the joint development of samples of aviation equipment and weapons and switch to products of Indian design, without the participation of foreign partners.
Major Indian Programs
- Creation of the light fighter "Tejas" (LCA), which was developed by the specialists of the HAL corporation, is referred to by the developer as "a combat aircraft with the technology of the fourth generation." It is being created to replace the vast fleet of MiG-21 fighters. The preliminary design of the aircraft, which at the first stage received the designation LCA (Light Combat Aircraft - "Light Combat Aircraft"), began in September 1987 and was completed in November 1988. The work was carried out by Indian specialists, but with substantial technical assistance from the French aircraft manufacturer Dassault, the French share amounted to $ 10 million. But the first prototype of the new combat aircraft took off only on January 4, 2001, officially launching serial production at the facilities of the HAL company. was announced in 2007, in March 2010 the first production aircraft made its maiden flight. In July 2010, the 1st fighter of the modification intended for the Indian Navy was rolled out at the plant in Bangalore.
This program is still experiencing a number of problems, for example, the situation with the composition of the fighter's power plant. Initially, they wanted to install the Indian engine "Kaveri", however, according to Indian experts, in 20 years about 455 million dollars were spent on its development, but the result did not satisfy the customer, which forced the Air Force and HAL to turn to foreign companies for help. As a result, in October 2010, the American company General Electric received an order for the supply of 99 F414-INS6 engines in 2015-2016.
By mid-February 2011, the Indian Air Force ordered 40 aircraft, another 40 are planned to be purchased in the near future, according to the estimates of the Indian Air Force there is a need for two hundred light fighters.
- At the same time, work is underway to modify the Tejas Mk II - within the framework of Aero India - 2011, the developer has already demonstrated models of four Tejas modifications - two versions of the Mk I and Mk II modifications for the Indian Air Force and Aviation. The main differences are the reconfiguration of the internal space, which made it possible to increase the volume of fuel in the internal tanks, a reinforced structure, more powerful F414 engines (in the long term, it is planned to install Indian Kaveri engines on the fighter), as well as the installation of an improved avionics, including a new complex Electronic warfare and onboard computers. The first flight of the Mk II is scheduled for 2015-2016, according to HAL representatives, the customer has expressed a preliminary interest in purchasing 80 Tejas Mk II aircraft with F414 engines.
- The program for the creation of an Indian training aircraft, which at first received the designation IJT Sitara, is being successfully implemented. This aircraft is a two-seater trainer designed for flight training of Indian pilots. The TCB is equipped with the Russian AL-55I engine, developed by NPO Saturn.
- The Indian military-industrial complex is taking part in the Brazilian EMB-145 project. Its onboard complex of target equipment will be of Indian production. The contract is worth $ 208 million.dollars for three aircraft AWACS EMV-145 was signed with the Brazilian company "Embraer" in 2008, the rollout of the first machine took place at the company's plant in San Jose dos Campos on February 21, 2011, Delhi already in 2011 expects this aircraft in India …
- India has decided to participate in the creation of the Russian 5th generation aircraft - PAK FA, the program was named -FGFA (Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft). Hindustan Aeronautics will develop an onboard computer for a promising fighter. In addition, India will create navigation systems for the modified PAK FA, most of the cockpit information displays and a self-defense system. The rest of the work will be carried out by the Russian company Sukhoi. A two-seat modification of the PAK FA will be created for India.
- At the International Aerospace Exhibition "Aero India - 2011" held in the first half of February 2011 in Bangalore, a model of the 5th generation Indian fighter was demonstrated, the development program of which was launched by the Indian agency ADA and was named "Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft or AMCA). It should occupy a niche between a joint Russian-Indian heavy fighter and the Tejas light fighter. The feasibility study of the program for the development and serial production of the aircraft is planned to be prepared, as representatives of ADA said at the exhibition, by the end of this year, after which the government commission will consider the submitted materials and make a decision on such key issues of the program as the number of prototypes and the schedule for their construction. the budget of the program, its terms and the production schedule for serial machines.
According to the head of the project at the ADA agency Subramanian: "We can begin flight tests of AMCA by the end of this decade, and in the middle of the next decade, start delivering serial machines." The promising fighter will be a single-seat aircraft with a take-off weight of about 20 tons, with a stealth flight range of about 1000 km. According to ADA representatives, the fighter will have internal weapons bays, an improved radar, two engines (presumably Kaveri) with a deviating thrust vector, and serpentine air intakes. The fighters will be created with extensive use of composites and radio-absorbing coatings, which will reduce its visibility in various ranges. Its combat load will be 5 tons. In the "non-stealth" version, the aircraft will be equipped with additional suspension points. It is also planned to create a 2-seater version - combat training.
