Archive For June, 2013
Defence Minister Mr AK Antony commissioned the first MiG-29 K – supersonic fighter jets squadron into the Indian Navy at the INS Hansa in Goa. India has about 45 MiG-29K which have cost the exchequer $2.4 billion (over Rs. 13,200 crore). A squadron each will be positioned on board INS Vikramaditya and the indigenously-made aircraft […]
With China demonstrating its blue water ambition, the Indian Navy is all set to acquire its first US‐made long‐range surveillance aircraft, which can be used to keep an eye on the Chinese movements. The first of the aircraft, known as P8I Poseidon, is expected to land in India around May 15, said a navy official. […]
Harvard researchers have successfully designed, manufactured and flown a tiny fly‐inspired aerial robot. The demonstration of the first controlled flight of an insect‐sized robot is the culmination of more than a decade’s work, led by researchers at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at […]
A month after India’s Defence research agency, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), was told to speed up its weapons and systems development programmes to ensure self reliance, the Government has announced that DRDO has stepped up development of certain UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had slammed the DRDO […]
NEW DELHI: Don’t be surprised if you get to know that your pilot is sleeping in the cockpit on a long flight! Rules have now been framed to allow them to take a power nap to fight fatigue, of course under stringent conditions. Taking cue from global best practices, aviation regulator DGCA has drafted rules […]
Twenty-five years after deciding to set up a base for combat planes in Thanjavur, Indian Air Force is all set to operationalise its first and only fighter base in south India. To be inaugurated by Defence Minister Mr A K Antony, Thanjavur will house a squadron of air-dominance Su-30 MKI fighters by 2017-18 when the […]
Mr Jean-Yves Le Gall made a quick, quiet official trip to ISRO’s Bangalore headquarters just about a month after taking charge as president of France’s space agency CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales / National Centre for Space Studies.) Created in 1961, CNES, which is the fount of French and European space activities, has also given […]
Nasa demonstrated the use of robots in the space missions, especially in the area of refuelling. According to Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Centre, the robotic refuelling mission (RRM) put down a hose, picked up a screwdriver and an utility knife. “This latest round of satellite servicing tasks, completed early will show how robots could access […]
With the Russian origin aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov) slated to join the service in November and the ageing vessel INS Viraat receiving a fresh lease of life, the Indian Navy, for the first time, will have two carrier‐battle groups‐a flotilla comprising one aircraft carrier, one destroyer, one tanker and a couple of smaller […]
In what is indicative of growing relevance of Indian technological expertise, US‐based aerospace engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney is exploring opportunities to source components for its global operations from India. Mr Palash Roy Chowdhury, country manager (India), Pratt & Whitney, said, “We are in talks with several suppliers to source parts for aircraft engines from […]