Thursday, February 26, 2009

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) built its first Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in the early 90s. The 45 m tall PSLV with a lift-off mass of 295 tonne, had its maiden success on October 15, 1994, when it launched India's IRS-P2 remote sensing satellite into a Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) of 820 km altitude. Since its first successful launch in 1994, PSLV has launched nine Indian Remote Sensing satellites as well as two micro satellites HAMSAT and IMS-1 built by ISRO, a recoverable space capsule SRE-1, and fourteen small satellites for foreign customers into polar Sun Synchronous Orbits. Besides, it has launched one Indian meteorological satellite Kalpana-1 into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). PSLV has emerged as ISRO's workhorse launch vehicle and proved its reliability and versatility by scoring continuous successes in launching multiple payloads to both SSO as well as GTO.Considering the maturity of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) demonstrated through various performances, PSLV is chosen for the first lunar mission. The upgraded version of PSLV viz., PSLV-XL (PSLV-C11) is used to inject the 1380 kg mass spacecraft into a 255 x 22860 km orbit. PSLV has four stages, using solid and liquid propulsion systems alternately. Six strap-on motors augment the first stage thrust. PSLV-XL is the upgraded version of PSLV. In PSLV-XL, the six strap-on motors carry 4 tonne more propellant compared to PSLV; There is also an increase in the length of each strap-on.



F/A-18E/F Super Hornet




The Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a supersonic carrier-capable fighter/ground-attack aircraft. The F/A-18E single seater and F/A-18F two-seater are larger and more advanced derivative of the F/A-18C and D Hornet. The Super Hornet entered service with the United States Navy in 1999, replacing the F-14 Tomcat since 2006 and will serve alongside the original Hornet. In 2007, the Royal Australian Air Force ordered Super Hornets to replace its aging F-111 fleet.




The Super Hornet is a larger and more advanced variant of the F/A-18C/D Hornet. An early version was marketed by McDonnell Douglas as Hornet 2000 in the 1980s. The Hornet 2000 concept was an advanced version of the F/A-18 with a larger wing, longer fuselage to carry more fuel and more powerful engines.
US Naval Aviation faced a number of problems in the early 1990s. The
A-12 Avenger II program, intended to replace the obsolete A-6 Intruders and A-7 Corsair IIs, had run into serious problems and was canceled. During this time the end of the Cold War resulted in military restructuring and budget cuts. The Gulf War revealed that the US Navy's strike capability lagged behind that of the U.S. Air Force in certain respects.[citation needed]With no clean-sheet program in the works, the Navy considered updating an existing design a more attractive approach. As an alternative to the A-12, McDonnell Douglas proposed the "Super Hornet" (initially "Hornet II" in the 1980s) to improve early F/A-18 models and serve as an alternate replacement for the A-6 Intruder. At the same time, the Navy needed a fleet defense fighter to replace the canceled NATF, which was a proposed navalized variant of the F-22 Raptor




Astra missile


Astrais an active radar homing Beyond visual range air to air missile (BVRAAM) or a so called Beyond Visual Range missile developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO), India. This is the first air-to-air missile developed by India; an advanced missile that enables fighter pilots to lock-on and shoot down enemy aircraft 80 km away.
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is developing this advanced beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) to arm the Indian Air Force's Mirage 2000H, MiG-29, Sea Harrier, Su-30MKI, MiG-21 Bison and HAL Tejas fighter aircraft. Astra looks like an elongated Matra Super 530. It uses an in-house developed solid fuel propellant, though DRDO is believed to be looking at rocket/ramjet propulsion similar to that used in its Akash Surface to air missile project. This missile was successfully tested without control and guidance systems on May 9 to May 12, 2003. The missile was again successfully tested on 25 March 2007On 27 March the vertical launch of the missile was carried out suggesting the use of the missile as a long range surface to air missile for the Indian Navy to arm its destroyers and frigates and for the Indian Air Force

Friday, February 20, 2009


Multiple Grenade Launcher
The MGL (Multiple Grenade Launcher) is a lightweight 40 mm semi-automatic, 6-shot grenade launcher developed and manufactured in South Africa by the Milkor company (renamed Rippel Effect in 2007). The MGL was demonstrated as a concept to the South African Defence Force in 1981. The operating principle was immediately accepted and subjected to a stringent qualification program. The MGL was then officially accepted into service with the SADF as the Y2. After its introduction in 1983, the MGL was gradually adopted by the armed forces and law enforcement organizations of over 30 countries; it has since proven its effectiveness in harsh environments ranging from rain forests to deserts. Total production since 1983 has been more than 18,000 units.
The MGL is multiple-shot weapon, intended to significantly increase a small squad's firepower when compared to traditional single-shot grenade launchers like the M203. The MGL is designed to be simple, rugged and reliable. It uses the well-proven revolver principle to achieve a high rate of accurate fire which can be rapidly brought to bear on a target. A variety of rounds such as HE, HEAT, anti-riot baton, irritant or pyrotechnic can be loaded and fired at a rate of one per second; the cylinder can be loaded or unloaded rapidly to maintain a high rate of fire. Although intended primarily for offensive/defensive use with high-explosive rounds, with appropriate ammunition the launcher is suitable for anti-riot and other security operations.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

INDIA DEVELEP FIFTH GEN TANK WITH RUSSIA

India could consider plans to produce a new-generation tank jointly with Russia, the managing director of the BrahMos Aerospace joint venture said on Tuesday. Sivathanu Pillai said that while the new tank had yet to be developed, it could be built in Russia. He offered no indication of when the project could be launched, however. Russian experts earlier said Russia and India could launch production of a new tank in the near future. India currently assembles T-90S main battle tanks under a Russian license. The T-90S version is in service with the Indian Army, and the local production of T-90S Bhishma tanks started recently in India.

Friday, February 13, 2009

F-35 Lightning II





Role
Stealth multirole fighter
First flight
15 December 2006[1]
Introduction
2011 (scheduled)
Status
Under development / pre-production
Produced
2003-present
Number built
13 flight-test aircraft;[2]14 LRIP aircraft on order.
Unit cost
US$83 million(flyaway cost in Then-Year dollars)[3]
Developed from
Lockheed Martin X-35




The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation, single-seat, single-engine, stealth-capable military strike fighter, a multirole aircraft that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air superiority fighter missions.[4] The F-35 has three different models; one is the conventional takeoff and landing variant, the second is short takeoff and vertical-landing variant, and the third is a carrier-based variant.
The F-35 is descended from the X-35, the product of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program. Its development is being principally funded by the United States, with the United Kingdom, and other partner governments providing additional funding.[5] It is being designed and built by an aerospace industry team led by Lockheed Martin with Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems as major partners.[5] Demonstrator aircraft flew in 2000,[6] with the first flight on 15 December 2006