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 It’s
Farnborough time, or as some say, fun-borough
time for the civil and military aviation
industry.
After a worldwide slump, airliners are
flying high and higher once again, more
and more passengers are travelling, and
to ensure the survival and growth of military
aviation, there are not only newer technologies
on the horizon but also a growth in the
incidence of terrorism, inspired both by
state and non-state actors.
The coming years will see a significant
role of combat helicopters and unmanned
aircraft in neutralizing urban terrorists.
On the civil aviation side, Emirates recently
ordered 32 Airbus 380 aircraft, taking the
total number of its super jumbo fleet requirement
to 90. It is already the world’s second
largest airline, and in a short span of
around 25 years only. The airline was set
up with two Airbus A310s on wet lease and
its phenomenal growth would be enviable
for many.
Emirates also became the first airline
July 15 to fly its A380 into New Delhi’s
new international airport. India has been
a major source of its revenue, and at least
in its initial operating years, nearly two-third
of its income was from flights to New Delhi
and Bombay. Now it operates to 10 Indian
cities with more than 180 weekly flights.
On the military aviation side, the Indian
Air Force is moving on time in evaluating
various combat and transport aircraft as
well as helicopters. India is one of the
biggest aviation markets in both civil and
military arenas, due to its economic growth
as well as the fact that its military inventory
is more than a quarter century old.
IAF has completed trials of the six aircraft
for its 126-plus Medium Multi Role Combat
Aircraft (MRCA) requirement already, and
is set to submit its report to the Ministry
of Defence. That should take a year to work
out the right choice, and look for the best
price.
The nightmare would be: Do all the six
contenders meet the IAF requirements?
In that case, the lowest bidder, designated
L1 in MoD parlance, could be the winner
unless ruled out on strategic considerations.
IAF meanwhile has selected the Boeing
C 17 Globemaster-III as its next strategic
airlifter. And at the time of going to the
press for printing, the trials for combat
helicopters had begun. The heavy lift helicopter
trials are set to follow within the next
few weeks.
The pace is right. We hope IAF will have
the best of the equipment it wants.
Good Luck.
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