After fatal crash,IAF grounds 100 MiG-27s

Raising a red flag on the serviceability of the fleet,Air Chief Marshal PV Naik said the initial probe hinted at a problem during the overhaul stage that went beyond the realm of day-to-day servicing.

“It (last week’s crash) appears to be a fault in the low-pressure turbine blades of the aircraft. This is at the fourth line,at the overhaul stage,” the Air Chief said,explaining the possible cause of the MiG-27 crash. He added that the second crash last week,in which a MiG-21 went down,was due to a sudden loss of engine power but investigations on the cause were still on.

With the grounding,the MiG-27 aircraft will not take part in the mega Vayushakti exercise that has been planned for this Sunday. The MiG-27s,which form the backbone of the IAF’s ground attack fleet,would otherwise had a major role in the exercise that is essentially a demonstration of air-to-ground attacks at day as well as night.

Till the crash last week,the MiG-27 had been planned as one of the main attractions of the major exercise that will witness more than 100 aircraft in the skies performing multiple operations,including precision-guided bombing and mock aerial combat. The MiG-27 will now be the only fighter in the IAF’s inventory not to take part in the exercise.

India had procured 120 of the fighter aircraft from Russia in the late 1980s and had started production in India at the Nashik HAL factory. The IAF has lost close to 35 of the aircraft to accidents in the past two decades.

Last year,two MiG-27s crashed months after the upgrade of the fleet was completed. While the engine was not upgraded,the fighters were equipped with modern avionics and a pilot-friendly cockpit with multi-function displays and a head up display (HUD).

Mega exercise to show IAF’s night-time capabilities

New Delhi: In a massive exercise involving more than 100 aircraft,Indian Air Force will,for the first time,display its prowess in dusk and night-time operations during a fire power demonstration in Pokharan on February 28.

Code-named Vayu Shakti 2010,the mega exercise will demonstrate “day and night employability of air power” by IAF’s frontline fighter aircraft. President Pratibha Patil,top defence ministry officials and defence attaches from all major countries will witness the exercise.

Fighters like Su-30 MKI,Mirage-2000,Jaguar,MiG-21 and MiG-29 and transport aircraft including AN-32,Embraer and IL-76 and Mi-17 1V and Mi-35 attack helicopters will be part of the exercise.

In a first,Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) will monitor and coordinate the exercise. IAF will also employ unmanned aerial vehicles to relay live video images of the target under fire.

The aircraft will attack mock radar sites,tanks,marshalling yards,terrorist camps,runways,infantry fighting vehicles,blast pens,convoys and other targets.The exercise will demonstrate coordination between the three armed forces through the insertion and para-drop of IAF’s Garud,Navy’s Marines and Army’s Special Forces.