Aviation giants to show off at DefExpo 2020

An Indian Army Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter | Image: HAL

Lucknow will see global aviation majors exhibiting at DefExpo 2020 with a line-up that includes Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Airbus, Saab, India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and France’s Dassault Aviation, which manufactures the Rafale that has been ordered by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and is registering it’s first ever presence at the show.

Boeing plans to talk about the F/A-18 Super Hornet, AH-64 Apache, KC-46, and P-8I at event. While the AH-64E Apache and P-8I are already in service in the IAF and the Indian Navy, the U.S. manufacturer is pitching the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter for the rerun of the IAF contest for 114 fighter aircraft and the Indian Navy’s plan to acquire 57 carrier-based fighters. The KC-46 is on offer for the IAF requirement for mid-air refuellers.

India already operates 11 C-17 Globemaster IIIs, eight P-8Is (with four more on order), 17 AH-64 Apaches (against an order of 22) and 10 CH-47 Chinook (against an order of 15).

The fuselage of the AH-64E Apache is manufactured in partnership with Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) at Hyderabad.

Boeing is offering visitors the experience of flying the F/A-18 Super Hornet Block III. The Block III is the latest configuration of the fighter and 78 of them have been ordered for the first time last year by the U.S. Navy.

Lockheed Martin will be pitching the F-21 fighter being offered to the IAF — a model based on the F-16 Block 70 — and will also be offering an F-21 cockpit demonstrator for visitors to experience. The largest defence company in the world is also focusing on the Sikorsky MH-60R SeaHawk helicopter being offered to the Indian Navy for its Multi Role Helicopter (MRH) requirement. The C-130J Super Hercules, 12 of which the IAF already operates, will also be part of the company’s presence. The Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Limited joint venture is the single-global source of C-130J empennage assemblies for all new aircraft.

The Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) will also be part of Lockheed Martin’s display.

Europe’s Airbus will be pitching the C-295 transporter, the A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft, AS565 MBe Panther, H145M and the H225M helicopters. The C-295 is proposed to be built in India for the IAF’s requirement for 56 transport aircraft and achieved its first wet contacts during an air-to-air (AAR) tanker flight test campaign last month. The MRTT is being offered for the IAF’s refueller requirement.

The Panther and H145M have been offered for the Indian Navy’s Naval Utility Helicopter (NUH) requirement and the H225M for the Naval Multi Role Helicopter (NMRH) acquisition program in partnership with Mahindra Defence.

Russian Helicopters will be showing off its light multi-purpose Ansat helicopter, as well as heavy Mi-171A2 and Mi-38 helicopters.

The twin-engined Ansat can be deployed for passenger transportation, cargo delivery, environmental monitoring and as an ambulance aircraft. According to the company, “Ansat has successfully passed high-altitude tests, which proved that it is suitable for use in mountainous terrain at up to 3,500 meters of altitude, as well as climatic tests, which confirmed its operability in a temperature range between -45° and +50° С.”

The Mi-171A2 is the company’s latest multi-purpose heavy helicopter with new engines including a digital control system, a high-performance carrier system featuring composite blades and an improved aerodynamic layout.

The Mi-38 heavy multi-purpose helicopter can transport up to 30 passengers, or up to 12 passengers in a VIP cabin configuration, with a range of 880 kilometers, a maximum take-off weight of 15.6 tons, and can carry up to 5 tons of payload on board or on an external sling.

Sweden’s Saab will display a wide product range that includes the Gripen E fighter, Skeldar VTOL UAV and Giraffe 1X radar.

The Gripen E fighter is being offered to the IAF for its 114 fighter contest The Skeldar is a NATO-compliant, heavy fuel-powered, fully autonomous Vertical Take Off and Landing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ‘designed for harsh environments and proven in both land and maritime operations’ with a modular design that ‘makes it easy to customise a wide range of payloads’. The Giraffe 1X ‘is a compact lightweight high-performance 3D radar for fixed, mobile or deployable applications with a small footprint which is easily integrated in any type of platform’.

HAL will display the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), Do-228 and Hawk aircraft, Glass Cockpit for Do-228, and an upgraded Sukhoi-30 MKI cockpit simulator. Additionally, the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) will be on static display.

Dassault Aviation is exhibiting for the first time at DefExpo underlining the IAF-ordered Rafale. A company statement said, ‘Larger infrastructures are currently being developed and will allow the ramp-up of DRAL capabilities towards the taking-off of an entire line of Falcon 2000 fully manufactured and assembled in India, thus paving the way towards future manufacturing and assembly of Rafale aircraft in India.’