Posted on 05/28/2019 7:36:48 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
I-Derby-ER missile will replace Russian R-77 in the Indian Air Force fleet.
NEW DELHI: In two years from now, the Indian Air Force's frontline Sukhoi-30 fighters may be re-armed with Israeli Derby air-to-air missiles after the jet's Russian-made R-77 missiles were found wanting in air combat operations over the Line of Control on February 27 this year. Sources in the Indian Air Force told NDTV, "We already have the missile as part of the SPYDER (Surface-to-Air Missile) system. Integration (with the IAF's Su-30s) is the next step.''
Retaliating to the IAF strike on the Jaish-e-Mohammed training facility in Balakot on February 26, the Pakistan Air Force aggressively positioned a large formation of 24 fighters near the Line of Control (LoC). A handful of these jets managed to cross the LoC to fire precision-guided glide bombs towards Indian military positions in the Rajouri sector.
Eight Indian Air Force fighters, including two Sukhoi-30 MKI jets, were vectored to intercept the Pakistani formation when they detected the launch of several US-made AIM-120 C5 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) in their direction.
''The PAF surprised the IAF by launching air-to-air missiles from inside Pakistan-occupied Kashmir," says Sameer Joshi, a Kargil veteran. ''The AMRAAM effectively outranged the IAF air-to-air missiles which did not get a command to launch," he said.
Pakistan Air Force F-16 armed with AIM-20 C5 AMRAAM missile.
Among the Indian Air Force's fighters which were targeted were two Sukhoi-30s which managed to evade the AMRAAMs which were fired at close to their maximum range of 100 kilometres. Fully defensive and desperate to escape the incoming AMRAAMs, the IAF Sukhoi-30s escaped being shot down but were unable to retaliate the F-16s because they were out of position and their own missiles, the Russian R-77s, did not have the range to realistically engage the Pakistani fighters. IAF sources told NDTV that the Russian missiles do not match its advertised range and cannot engage targets which are more than 80 kilometres away.
To meet its requirements, the IAF is looking at the I-Derby variant of the Israeli missile which was unveiled at the Paris Air Show in 2015. Integrating the missile into the Russian fighter will be a challenge and, according to sources, will require Israeli expertise, particularly in developing a data-link between the Sukhoi-30 and the missile, once it is fired.A fighter jet communicates with the missile through the data link and passes on updated vectors (location) of the fighter which has been targeted.
The Indian Navy was the first to integrate an older variant of the Derby missile with its now-retired fleet of Sea Harrier fighters. The missile is also the primary air-to-air weapon of the indigenous Tejas fighter which has entered service with the Indian Air Force. The Derby is also a component of the IAF's SPYDER surface-to-air missile batteries, and are considered several generations ahead of the legacy Russian systems which it has replaced.
However, the I-Derby missile, now being looked at, is a considerably more advanced that the missiles presently in service. An article in Aviation Week says, ''The new (missile) seeker is lighter and more compact than its predecessor, thus clearing valuable space which has been used by the missile designers to increase the propulsion system. This new addition increases the range of the I-Derby ER beyond 100 km., significantly more than its current "short/medium" range capability.''
The I-Derby isn't the only missile the air force is looking at to modernise its Sukhoi-30 fleet. The European MBDA manufactured Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM), the first of which were acquired for the air force's Jaguar fleet in 2014 as part of a 250 million pound deal, has been tested in wind tunnels on models of the Su-30 by the National Aerospace Laboratories in Bengaluru.
Once fully integrated, it will replace the R-73 short range air-to-air missile presently in use on the Sukhoi-30 fleet.
Simultaneously, the IAF is evaluating the indigenous Astra air-to-air missile for the Sukhoi-30. IAF sources told NDTV, ''The Astra is in development. We have ordered fifty (missiles) of the limited series production.'' Ultimately, though, the air force wants an extended-range variant of the missile. ''It will take ten years to get the Astra Mk2 in our inventory," say sources, a reason why integration of the I-Derby is being seen as a priority.
An SU-30 launching an R-77
India went for ‘cheap’ and got what they paid for...............
Giving the Paks F-16s was madness.
L
Agreed, a very stupid move.
Not in ‘government bureaucrat think’.
Opens market for India and F-35s................
My first glance at the headline gave me to believe the article was going to tell us that the Israeli Air Force (IAF) was at a disadvantage vs Pakistan. After a mental gasp the first sentences reassured me that in this case, IAF = India.
Giving the paks anything more advanced than a WW1 era Fokker E.II was madness.
When you lay down with pigs....
Now they’ve got their own damned air force? WTF? Most of the H1B visas I see here in the U.S. are under the last name Patel. So what the hell are they doing here? In the stores all you see are these STEM geeks speaking with strong Indian accents but in perfect English, all of them with two kids and the wife in tow. Living the middle class dream, doing the jobs Americans won’t do. Ain’t this a great country or what?
Yep
The US - including some famous men in uniform - has long been willing to give away the store to the paks.
I hear you, and it’s not the traditional US population.
The upside is: they are legal! They come here, go to school, pay out-of-state tuition, pay for ESL classes, pay the extra meal plan, and frequently sign on for an advanced degree. The universities make bank on these kids. What are the Native Americans studying? These Indian kids are not pushing them out of the way, but the American kids are self selecting into dud careers. What idiots!
When the Indians go to work for a company who is “processing“ their visa paperwork. They typically get paid 1/4 to 1/3 of the fully legal coworker. Companies stretch this “processing” out for 5 to 7 years. If the Indian employee leaves this company, he has to restart the visa paperwork all over again. It’s indentured servitude, and you had better not complain about it! Big corporations love this arrangement! But the Indian guy sticks it out and keeps going to work every day, shuts his mouth, and pays his taxes. American kids should be this industrious, right? If you had a choice of hiring this guy or a millennial, who would you take?
Finally, they typically get married, buy a house, and have kids. They stress education, and their children do well in school typically - because they study, do their homework, prepare for tests, show up, and respect their teachers. Who knew?
Get educated, work hard, raise a family of hard-working, well educated, law abiding, taxpaying individuals. This is what typical American middle-class people used to do. I don’t know where they all went to…
how pathetic the Pakis have f-16’s. These a-holes shouldn’t have more than a cessna 172.
Have you ever lived in or near an Indian community? By and large they are wonderful neighbors. Keep everything neat, clean, in repair and even though they have their own religion (Hindu) they are very respectful of Christians and Americans in general.
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I believe there are variants of R77 with greater practical range than AMRAAM. Is it practical to fire any of the above at maneurable targets at that range is another question.
I think the issue here is the missile not meeting its specifications. Some years back, the govt auditor had flagged problems with the R-77 in IAF service:
https://www.livefistdefence.com/2011/09/auditor-slams-navys-selection-of-r-77.html
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