Aeroindia 2021: Important Events
India to spend $130 billion till 2028 on Defence modernisation: India will be spending $130 billion on defence modernisation till 2028. Inaugurating the biennial AeroIndia 2021 at the Yelahanka air base on Feb. 3, Rajnath Singh, in the presence of several top leadership of the industry from India and said abroad, said to achieve the twin goals of self-reliance and exports, India has set a target of $25 billion defence production and $5 billion worth of aerospace and defence exports by 2024.
Contract for $6.5 billion LCAs with HAL: On the inaugural day of AeroIndia, India’s Ministry of Defence signed a contract for Rs 48,000 crore ($6.5 billion) with state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for 73 Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas’ Mk1A and 10 Tejas Mk1 trainers, to be supplied to the Indian Air Force by 2028.
On Feb. 2, Rajnath Singh had inaugurated a 35-acre new production facility for the HAL’s LCA Division. This happened a day after the Narendra Modi government presented during budget 2021-22 that India would spend an additional $3 billion on defence preparedness, to beat the military challenge from nuclear-armed neighbours China and Pakistan.
“All 83 Tejas aircraft will be provided in nine years with the first one coming in 36 months,” HAL Chairman and Managing Director R. Madhavan told the press conference.
LCA-MK1A to cost ₹306 crore, HAL actively pursuing exports: R Madhavan said HAL was actively looking for exports of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas with interest from countries in South East Asia and West Asia and each LCA (Light Combat Aircraft)MK1A jet would cost ₹306 crore.
Giving a break-up of the Rs 48,000 crore-deal for 83 LCAs, he said, “As far as the order is concerned, if you remove the tax part of it, it’s worth about ₹36,000 crore, out of which close to ₹6,000 crore directly goes to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), and as we are supplying ground support equipment and other things, another ₹3,000 crore is expected to go towards Indian partners.”
Further, ₹2,200 crore is the exchange rate variation while the Customs and taxes was around ₹7,000 crore, together making around ₹9,000 crore. Also, ₹11,000 crore would be used for ground support equipment, spares and training aids and manuals. “If you remove all this, the total order is about ₹25,000 crore,” Madhavan said.
The cost of each LCA-MK1A was ₹309 crore and the trainer ₹280 crore which, Madhavan said, was a very competitive price. The indigenous content of the aircraft was about 52%. HAL was looking at ways to increase it to 65%. It would be offering the same version that was in service with the IAF to friendly foreign countries and at the same price.
Unmanned fighter: HAL also announced an ambitious futuristic project for the development of an unmanned fighter jet, which would be controlled by a manned aircraft called ‘manned–unmanned’ teaming and be able to strike deep inside the enemy territory called Combat Air Teaming System (CATS).
Dinakar Peri (Defense Correspondent at The Hindu) reports, it would consist of CATS Hunter, CATS Warrior and Alpha-S, all of which are unmanned systems and would be controlled by a manned mother aircraft, a fighter jet, being customised around a LCA and Jaguar aircraft. “We will be ready to fly it in four-five years time and have put in ₹ 400 crore of our own money on the CATS warrior.”
The CATS warrior would be armed and be able to strike deep inside the enemy territory, while the mothership would be in the Indian territory. It would be powered by the HAL engine that was powering pilotless target aircraft Lakshya .
RFQ for HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft: Madhavan also informed that a Request for Quotation (RFQ) for HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft, designed and developed through internal funds by HAL, was expected to be issued to the defence public sector undertaking by the defence ministry during the course of the three-day biennial event. The RFQ is currently being vetted.
“HAL’s new LCA facility is an example of how ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self sufficient) is shaping and HAL deserves the largest indigenous order of 83 LCA Mk-IA,” the defence minister said. The new facility will enable HAL to enhance its production capacity to 16 from the current eight aircraft a year.
HAL Chairman and Managing Director R. Madhavan told a press briefing that the defence public sector unit has successfully developed the Hindustan Turbo Trainer (HTT-40) plane with internal funds and now would definitely and obviously look at recovering the money it had put into developing the project on its own.
Combined Air Teaming System (CATS) technology: Madhavan indicated that HAL has now moved on to begin conceiving projects for the Indian armed forces even before the need is expressed by the user, thereby taking a proactive approach to future business. In this regard, a reference was made at the press meet on the new futuristic technology of Combined Air Teaming System (CATS) that will be the base of an indigenous swarm drone system that can strike at long distances, deep inside enemy territory.
On the signing of the Tejas contract a day earlier, Madhavan said HAL was not ready to meet export demands for the Light Combat Aircraft and the basic, vanilla aircraft would cost Rs 309 crore a piece for the combat version and Rs 280 crore for the trainer variant.
Chief of Air Staff Conclave: The Indian Air Force hosted a Chief of Air Staff Conclave that was attended by Air Chiefs from 75 nations. The conclave is unique, as so many air chiefs from so many nations brainstormed and synergised their thoughts on current issues related to aerospace power strategy and technological developments.
With the growing need for nations to join hands in maintaining peace and harmony world over, the Air Chiefs Conclave provided the much-needed platform to discuss issues related to military aviation, space operations and aerospace strategy apart from giving them opportunities to learn about each other’s best practices.
The Conclave is also a perfect example of India's defence cooperation with other countries working as a diplomatic instrument, giving an opportunity for building bridges of friendship, mutual trust and capacities on a global basis. Promoting transparency in defence cooperation and building areas of common interests in military aviation will be focus areas of the conclave.
MoU for development and production of composite raw materials: At the air show, several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed, including by HAL which signed one with another DPSU MIDHANI for development and production of composite raw materials. This is the first time that such an MoU has been signed for composite raw materials.
There is no equivalent proven Indian approved/qualified supplier for various types of Prepregs (Carbon, Aramid, Glass types) for the aircraft applications. This creates dependency on foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers, which is likely to continue in future indigenous programmes. Aligned with “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiative, efforts need to be made to develop and manufacture such prepregs in India through collaboration.
The usage of composites in aerospace is going to exist and increase, particularly for fighter aircraft/helicopters because of its inherent advantages over metallic raw materials. In addition, similar requirements exist for other aerospace and defense programmes including those of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO), and National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL).
MoU with GE Aviation: HAL also signed a contract with GE Aviation for development and supply of ring forgings for GE Aviation military and commercial engine programmes. The five-year contract valued over Rs 100 crore ($15 million), involves supplying both steel and nickel alloy forgings for shrouds, cases, rings and seals.
With this contract award, GE Aviation has initiated the development of a raw material supply chain in India as part of its 'Make in India' strategy. The award of contract followed HAL's successful bidding in GE's Global request for quotes (RFQ).
The ring forgings will be manufactured at HAL's newly established, state-of-the-art ring rolling facility at the company's Foundry and Forge Division in Bengaluru. The division has, after a rigorous audit process, obtained GE Aviation approvals for its quality system and special processes.
"We are pleased to enter this agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for these critical forgings. HAL's investment in developing this capability and their new facility positions them as a world-class supplier, and we look forward to continuing strong partnership and joint success with HAL," said Vince Kinman, Executive Forging Sourcing for GE Aviation.
Number of participants and exhibitors: The AeroIndia show itself witnessed reduced participation of business visitors due to the COVID related restrictions the world over, as several foreign delegations of friendly nations and aerospace and defence companies’ global leadership could not participate physically.
The total number of exhibitors in this year’s AeroIndia has increased to 601 compared to 403 in the last edition held in 2019. However, the increased number is due to participation by a large number of Indian Micro, Small and Medium companies. The foreign companies’ participation went down from 165 last time to just about 80 this year.
The number of foreign delegations is also down from 44 to 14. There are 248 virtual exhibitors at the event, which is largely out of bounds for the public, as the event has now been reduced to only three business days this time due to COVID.
(Source: Defence.Capital)
