ghostrider883

Happy Birthday!!!

The Battle Axes.....No. 7 Sqdn Indian AF Skin WIP for Amokfloo's Mirage 2000D. Original textures by Amokfloo.

Not fully true. The MiG-27 production a long while ago. Jaguar production too had ended but it was re-started as IAF placed new orders for new twin seat & single seat DARIN-III Jaguars.

As per reports, IAF has only chosen to upgrade 40 MiG-27Ms. Though the IAF was interested in the AL-31 option, the limited airframe upgradation clearly indicates they are not going to take AL-31 option. The rest around 80 will retire as time passes by. This upgrade would keep the upgraded 27s flying into 2020 & beyond just like the upgraded HAL Jaguar IS & IBs. The upgraded MiG-27s now have TU-XXX series srl nos. in place of earlier TS-XXX series. Using Litening LDP, the MiG-27s can drop LGBs. See the attached pdf to read about new features incorporated into Indian 27s. There was a proposal to fit IFR probe, but that too has not been implemented. Her is an old scan from an Indian aviation magazine about MiG-27UPG: HALmag_mig27.pdf

The current upgrade would keep her going until 2015 & may be a 3-4 years beyond. But only with a small number(six) of air-worthy of Sea Harriers FRS.51s,which are undergoing upgradation left, I wonder how long will the INS Viraat keep going. By 2015, The Navy would have INS Vikrant & INS Vikramaditya as its two a/c carriers.

Indian Navy to purchase Boeing P-8Is to replace Tu-142s

Looks good Hinch. BTW, the INS Viraat(Ex-HMS Hermes) will be completing 50 years of service. On May 12 this year, INS Viraat would complete 23 years of its service with the Indian Navy. Taking into account its British Royal Navy service in its earlier avatar as HMS Hermes, the warship will complete 50 years on November 18. Its currently undergoing repair and re-fit in Cochin.

No, the Navy does have a strong(compared to our neighbouring countries) but ageing ASW a/c fleet IL-38SD Aircraft delivered to date: IN301 (1977) - upgraded to 'SD' standard ...................................IN303 (1977) - upgraded to 'SD' standard ...................................IN305 (1983) - upgraded to 'SD' standard ...................................IN306 - upgraded to 'SD' standard ...................................IN307 - upgraded to 'SD' standard IN302 & 304 were lost in a MAC over Goa in 2002 Tu-142M Aircraft Serial Numbers: IN-311 ................................IN-312 ................................IN-313 ................................IN-314 ................................IN-315 ................................IN-316 ................................IN-317 ................................IN-318 Do-228 Aircraft in service : Unknown Besides these , there are ASW helos such as Ka-25, 28 , Chetak(Alouette III) and Sea King Mk.42B http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NAVY/aviatio...ier-do-228.html I have bad memories of lying in this aircraft when I was a kid. It was operated by an Indian arline called "Vayudoot" and used to fly between Mumbai & a place called Diu. It was a pretty scary experience flying in rough weather. India already had a fleet of IL-38s. Russia donated two IL-38s fom its reserve after two IL-38s were lost in 2002 in a Mid Air Collision killing all its crew. You mean "Khukri" ? The Gurkha knife? The hindi word for Sword in "Talwar".

Many of Navy's HAL/Dornier Do-228s have been modernized, weaponized and fitted with new sensors for maritime patrol ops. Many new airframes have been ordered by the Navy & Coast guard. It however has a very short range and is used for "localised" maritime patrol. I see them regularly from my house flying near the shore. The Navy now has a three tier maritime patrol plan for the future. 1. Long range MPA : P-8I/Tu-142, IL-38SD 2. Medium range MPA : proposed Embraer 145 platform 3. Short Range MPA : Do-228

Florian's Mirage 2000D & A-Team's HF-24 Marut.

Deal confirmed, India orders Eight Boeing P-8Is

Happy New Year. All the best for the new year guys.

Since I live very near to the coastline, I have seen an increased number of fighter sorties, mainly Fulcrums & the maritime strike Jaguars.

It seems all this military movement just a like a tactic to nullify the diplomatic pressure that Pakistan is being put under by the whole world. They find themselves alone. Even Saudi Arabia and China, their closest allies, are criticising Pakistan. They are busy boasting If India attack, there will be hell to pay Meanwhile they tried to blame a "supposed Indian national" for Lahore bomb blast and were trying to prove India's hand in Lahore blasts. It backfired, as usual. A Pakistan based terror group forward and claimed responsibility

Thank you. All this war talk is only because they want to some how wriggle out of the hole that they find themselves in. They have been cornered as the whole world is putting pressure on them to act against terrorists. They want to divert the attention of the from the real issue of acting against terrorists, by war talk against India. They are openly denying that the captured terrorist is Pakistani. Even the FBI is convinced some elements from Pakistan were involved. Instead of investigating them, Pakistan keeps on saying "no evidence" has been provided. How much more evidence do they want? Take the case of Kargil war, Pakistan for three years denied that their army was involved in Kargil. Yet the soldiers caught by the army were from Pakistan army. Yet, in 2002, a soldier was decorated for shooting down an IAF MiG-21 in the war. They even refused to take back dead bodies of their own soldiers. What sort of army does that? Funny, isn't it? Now the latest round of denial is of Qasab.

Merry Christmas guys

Indian Border Security Force Units on border posts reporting heavy movement of Pakistan Army Infantry & Armour at border posts. Though no force build up has been made by the Indian Army. Meanwhile the PAF has moved 3 sqdns each of F-16s & Mirage IIIs to its forward airbases. In a related event, a suicide squad of three Pakistanis were caught in Kashmir. They planned to carry out a suicide bombing of an big hotel in Srinagar. One of them is a serving Pakistan Army soldier.

FBI winds up Mumbai probe, unearths Pak role LeT is a monster that ISI created Taliban pledges to support Pak in war against India This inspite of the supposed great "anti-terror" operations against Taliban by Pakistani forces . IMO, it tells a lot about the nexus between Pakistan & Taliban that India has been claiming, which the world chose to ignore. The Pakistani govt is openly denying that the captured terrorist is a Pakistani claiming that there is no "record" of his existence in their "database" ,inspite of the guy's father accepting on Pakistani tele-media that the guy is his son. Former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif too accepted that the guy is a Pakistani.

Defence meet keeps option of strikes on Pakistan US unhappy with Pakistani response after 26/11 Kasab belongs to Pakistan,says Nawaz Sharif. Slams Zardari for denial

FBI interrogates Kasab

Thanks Florian

The captured terrorist is a 21-year old youngster. They were made to believe that they would successfully get away after carrying out the attacks(at least some of them, some were to hold hostages and negotiate for release of captured terrorists in Indian jails) and that they would be paid money on their return. So getting captured was a rude shock for him. When he was captured and being treated at the hosptial, he was pleading that he be allowed to live.

An airbase outside New Delhi has been re-activated in a hurry. A detachment of MiG-29s have been stationed there. Just goes on to show, unlike previous terror attacks which had roots in a foreign country , India may not keep quiet this time.

My friend, Mirage III , yes but not certainly not LCA. The LCA Tejas will be inducted in the IAF from 2010 onwards. I think you meant replacement of IAF's MiG-21 fleet. PAF is is no hurry to retire its Mirage IIIs either. Some of them have been fitted with refuelling probes and PAF has reportedly acquired two IL-78 tankers from Ukraine.