A crisis of weapons development Prof. Prodyut Das Two recent presentations attracted my attention. The first was by Dr. Deodhare , Director of ADA on the future programmes by ADA and the second was a piece in TOI of Mar 2, 2022 headed “Is DRDO to blame for India’s acute Import Dependence?” by RJD MP Amarendra Dhari Singh, member, consultative committee on Defence. He hastens to put a sub heading “No, defence R&D is a complex process, perfunctory evaluations do it grave i...
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Developing the Tejas Mk 2 –a technical assessment Prof. Prodyut Das There were two interesting interviews related to the LCA project in November ‘21. One is a rather obsequious “interview” of the first Programme Director. The interview certified that ADA’s performance has been entirely to ADA’s own satisfaction. This is in contrast to the other interview by the new Air Chief who made no mention at all of the place of the LCA Mk II in the future re-equipment plans of the IAF. Given the trail of unkept promises of the LCA project this lack of mention in an important speech has triggered much speculation. One possible construct of the Air Force’s view, could be as follows: ADA has had an “order” for forty aircraft since 2003; about twenty have been delivered, just about sufficient to equip one squadron. The aircraft have serviceability and design problems resulting in an availability of ...
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The alternate AMCA Part 1. Prof. Prodyut Das Introduction The Americans fought the air war over Vietnam with two technically superb warhorses the F4 Phantom and the F105 Thunderchief. These aircraft represented what the most powerful and innovative Aircraft Industry in the world could develop. 761 of the former and 382 of the latter were lost over a seven-year period in their attempts to “bomb North Vietnam back to the stone age” falling to a low-cost Air Defence system. The Americans appear to have one of the most data-based process of aircraft specification fixing that we know of and yet had the Americans had included a good Astrologer in their processes they may have got the prediction to ignore the above to focus and expedite the aeronautically mundane Grumman A6 Intruder, the North American OV 10 and the Republic A 10. These aircraft were more suited to the scenario. For example, the Americans, engaged as they were in destroying low value targets de...