Soaring hopes

India is keen on a place among major players in the global aviation industry, and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is preparing itself to help the country achieve the goal.

INDIA is yet to develop a defence or civilian aircraft that can match the best in the world, one that can meet the country's own requirements and can also be exported. Dozens of projects had been abandoned over the decades, mainly because of bad planning, a paucity of funds and indiscipline with respect to maintaining schedules. As a result the country has had to spend billions of rupees on buying technology and/or on manufacturing aircraft under licence, mainly from countries such as Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), France and the United Kingdom.

The Indian aircraft industry would certainly like this trend to change. But can it be achieved in an environment that is highly competitive and requires billions of dollars, a high level of discipline and the latest in technology, not to mention the will to succeed? Indications such as those that were available at the Aero India 2001 air show, held in Bangalore between February 7 and 11, showed that the Indian aviation industry could slowly catch up with the best in the business.

Says Dr. C.G. Krishnadas Nair, Chairman, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL): "Today there is greater acceptance of Indian aviation products; we are very cost-effective for foreigners." The interest in India's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) projects was there for all to see at Aero India 2001 with many international aviation majors offering 'help' on a relatively more equal footing. The Russians, for example, lost no opportunity to convey their readiness to work with India on the LCA project.

The LCA, which briefly flew at the show, could well have become another Indian defence project that fell through. Although Rs.2,000 crores has already been spent on its development, it is way behind schedule and at least a dozen years away from squadron service in the Indian Air Force (IAF). The successful test flight of its Technology Demonstrator last January and the completion of the first envelope of flights since then have, however, revived interest in the project and highlighted the skill of the Indian aviation establishment. But much has still to be done if India is to catch up with the global aviation majors. Krishnadas Nair said: "The first configuration is now over. But there is still a long way to go on the LCA."

Asked about the delay in the LCA project, George Fernandes as Defence Minister had said that delays in the development of technologies were primarily "because India has been denied technology by those who have it". Said an angry Fernandes: "Here (in India) people think a bomb is a ladoo, a plane a kite. Technology like that of the LCA takes 10, 15, 20 years, it cannot be developed overnight." According to him what has to be looked at is the positive achievements - "Agni II, the LCA, Agni I." He felt that more funds had to allocated to the defence sector, if India were to meet its ever-increasing defence requirements. A defence budget that was "at least 3 per cent of the country's GDP (gross domestic product)" was ideally required, Fernandes told Frontline.

Dr. V.K. Atre, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, added: "We have reached a level of technological maturity, we now have to look for markets and decide with whom and where we have to cooperate." Even while agreeing that there had been slippages in the LCA programme he said that his job was to see that there were no more slippages.

These slippages have affected the IAF the most. Last December it made a presentation to senior officials of the Ministry of Defence, which was highly critical of the LCA. The primary areas of criticism were the LCA's mission computer, the time taken to develop an indigenous (Kaveri) engine, and the lack of progress by HAL's Hyderabad unit in developing an airborne radar. It is hoped that the LCA will replace the IAF's aging MiG-21, of which it has over 300 aircraft.

Senior officers in the IAF feel that for far too long HAL has had a captive market in the IAF. Said a senior officer: "HAL is the basic manufacturing and overhauling agency for the IAF's fighter aircraft. When a fighter plane crashes there is a court of inquiry and our (IAF) people are punished if the operating procedures were not followed. But what about the engineers and technicians at HAL who overhauled the aircraft? They are not held equally responsible. The IAF has absolutely no control over what happens at HAL. We have to accept blindly whatever we get. We are a captive market."

Speaking to Frontline during Aero India 2001, Air Marshal S. Krishna-swamy, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command (he is tipped to take over as the Chief of the IAF when the present incumbent retires), denied that the IAF was not in favour of the LCA. He said that all that the IAF had said was that the project programme should be realistic, on target in terms of cost, performance and time, and dovetailed into the IAF's Air Staff Require-ments (ASRs). Said Krishnaswamy: "We should also look at how much it costs us to produce the LCA. Technology yes, but at what cost? The programme should have a periodic review and say where it stands."

Stressing the need for collaboration, the Air Marshal said that a sharing of the development costs was more viable. "The (European) Tornado or Eurofighter programmes would certainly have collapsed if a single entity was behind them. Contractual obligations in a collaboration means that no one can sabotage it. The players are committed and so the project is bound to succeed."

Krishnadas Nair is also for collaborations in the aviation business. For him they need not necessarily be inter-country arrangements. He would like to see HAL become "a sort of integrator bringing people connected with the Indian aviation industry together". In keeping with this, HAL took part in the Paris Air Show at Le Bourget, which was held just outside Paris between June 16 and 24. At the show, HAL showcased India's capabilities in the aviation sphere and invited cooperation from international companies.

What does India have to offer? Aero India 2001 could well have been the showcase to judge its aircraft capabilities. Leading the Indian show was undoubtedly HAL. According to Krishnadas Nair, HAL's exports in 2000-01 will be worth around Rs.600 million. Yet the fact remains that HAL has traditionally been an aircraft maintenance and assembly facility, assembly being done under licensed production. To become a manufacturer of a completely indigenous aircraft like the LCA is a different kettle of fish. Tooling has usually been provided by foreign collaborators, especially the Soviet Union or Russia, for technology that was transferred, with aircraft kits also being supplied in many cases. HAL assembled the aircraft.

IF it is to become a major aviation player, HAL will have to redesign its tooling and machining facilities to suit the manufacture of fourth-generation aircraft like the LCA. In the past costs for such capital expenditure have been underwritten from the general Budget of the country. This is particularly needed for the purchase of the tooling and machining facilities.

For the creation of such facilities, HAL is expected to invest around $160 million (Rs.750 crores) - in order to manufacture the Su-30MKI fighter at its Nasik facility. Starting from 2004, 10 to 12 units of the multi-role airplane are scheduled to roll out from HAL. These are expected to cost around $30 million (Rs.140 crores) apiece, which is about 10 per cent cheaper than Su-30MKI manufactured at the Sukhoi's Irkutsk plant. HAL expects to net over $4 billion (Rs.18,800 crores) from the sale of the fighter to the armed forces over the next 12 to 14 years. Re-export of the aircraft is not allowed.

For the LCA, these costs will have to be worked out. Questions over whether the LCA can redefine the role of HAL are also pertinent. With the Union government not in a position to underwrite the costs, HAL will have to provide the capital. This will also necessarily mean a crucial role for the private sector. But, according to defence experts, the private sector will be interested only if it benefited - for example, benefits such as permission to export spinoffs from the technology that is transferred to it. How the private sector would leverage these spinoffs into civilian usages or exports will have to be seen. Composite technology and electronics are some of the key areas.

An amount between Rs.400 crores and Rs.600 crores is needed to set up facilities for the manufacture of 12 to 14 LCAs a year. HAL hopes that the private sector will collaborate with it in a big way so that its investment in the production facilities comes down. But whether the private sector will be interested is the vital question.

Private players have already made their contributions in other HAL projects. An example is HAL's much-touted multi-functional, all-weather, twin-engined ALH. HAL has a letter of intent for 300 of these choppers from the Union government and its agencies and hopes to deliver eight helicopters in 2001 (for the Army, IAF, Navy, Coast Guard and civil markets), 16 in 2002 and 24 annually thereafter. Priced at between $4 million and $6 million, depending on the configuration and variant - transport, air-ambulance or military - it is still around $1 million cheaper than any aircraft of its class. HAL plans to market the ALH globally, especially in developing nations. According to Krishnadas Nair, HAL is interested in the co-production of the aircraft, but only if a country wants a sizable number of the machines.

With the U.S. sanctions against India after Pokhran-II making the American aviation major Allied Signal unable to offer its turboshaft LHTEC CTS800 engine for the ALH, HAL has had no option but to go in for the French-made Turbomeca TM 333 engine. Another internationally known engine manufacturer, MTU Aero Engines, has been pursuing talks with HAL on the possible selection of its MTR 390 as an alternative engine for the ALH. Manufactured in collaboration between Rolls-Royce, Turbo-meca and MTU Aero Engines, the MTR 390 has been selected by the French and German governments to power the Tiger attack helicopters.

But HAL has just embarked on a $40-million project with the French engine manufacturer Snecma Moteurs (who last year took over Turbomeca) for the joint development of an engine for the ALH that would "be 20 per cent more powerful" than the TM 333. To be called Shakti, the engine will be manufactured in India. A contract between HAL and Snemeca will be signed after the Paris air show.

In pursuit of the long-delayed 100-seater multi-role transport aircraft, HAL has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Russian consortium led by Ilyushin Aviation Complex and the Irkutsk Aviation Production Organisation to form a joint venture company that will develop the aircraft. With a project cost of Rs.2,000 crores, the first prototype is expected to fly in four years, and certification and production are expected a year later. According to Krishnadas Nair, each unit will be at least 30 per cent cheaper than similar aircraft, and India would require over 100 of the aircraft between 2006 and 2011. A large number of aircraft are likely to be required in Russia. Said Krishnadas Nair: "If we do not manufacture 100-seaters, someone else will and sell them to us. So it is important that we get into it."

HAL is also upbeat about its HJT-36 Intermediate Jet Trainer project, which is expected to replace the IAF's aging Kiran aircraft by 2005, and the upgradation programme of the IAF's nearly 150 MiG-27MLs. HAL has tied up with the French engine manufacturer Snecma for its Larzac engine for the IJT, while the avionics and other equipment will come from "partners" (not vendors), mostly overseas, who will supply them free of cost during the development stage. Business will start accruing once the IJT, which according to Krishnadas Nair is to fly in 2002 and enter squadron service well before 2005. HAL already has a commitment from the IAF for 225 aircraft, a number which could go up. The cost per aircraft has been frozen at $ 15 million, which Krishnadas Nair said made it 30 to 40 per cent cheaper than other IJTs.

IT is not just HAL that is carrying the Indian aerospace industry's flag. There is also the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), one of the 53 laboratories of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which are connected with aerospace technologies. One of the happiest pieces of news for the ADE in recent times has been the decision of the Israeli Ministry of Defence to "almost certainly" buy Lakshya, its Pilotless Target Vehicle (PTV). Disclosing this to Frontline, Amos Yaron, Director-General of the Israeli Ministry of Defence, said that there was "a good chance that we (Israeli) will buy the Lakshya from the Indians", choosing it over American, British and French rivals.

The Lakshya is a training aid used to simulate an incoming aircraft so that live firepower training can be imparted to gun and missile crews in both surface-to-air and air-to-air versions. It is designed to be cost-effective since it is an expendable system. A complement of five aircraft and the associated ground station costs about Rs.150 million, with each additional aircraft costing about Rs.15 million. The initial order from the Indian armed forces is for 15 aircraft and three sets of ground stations. The IAF had used the system for a year before it was formally inducted.

The Israelis, who had had an initial round of discussions with officials from ADE last December and had even visited Bangalore, have found the Lakshya suitable. Yaron said: "We have seen and are interested in the Lakshya. It is a good system that fits our requirements."

Said Dr. K.G. Narayanan, Director, ADE: "It is good news for us. The Israelis have indicated that there is a requirement in the Israeli Air Force for aerial targets of the Lakshya class. And technically they found the Lakshya very suitable. We hope to make it an inventory item in their services. It is a good beginning for us in the export market." With the PTV being an expendable system, business would be a continuous affair.

ADE is scheduled to manufacture between 20 and 25 PTVs every year for the Indian armed forces, and the number can be increased by 15 or 20 to meet export requirements. Countries in Asia and Africa that cannot afford the system or do not have a well-equipped firing range have been offered a turnkey solution by ADE. Explained Narayanan: "These countries can come with their weapons to our ranges, where we will present the PTV in the air. They can shoot and go."

Another piece of good news for the Indian aviation industry has been the successful integration of Project Vetrivel on the Su-30MKI. Vetrivel is among other things the core mission computer, display processors and radar computers of the Su-30MKI (which flew at Aero India 2001). As of now four Su-30 MKIs have been modified with Indian avionics (around 25 per cent of the Su-30 MKI's avionics are currently Indian-made) for flight tests. The software and hardware were designed and manufactured by the Advanced Systems Integration and Evaluation Organisation (ASIEO) of ADE. ASIEO, which has fully integrated the aircraft's display suite, has supplied a sufficient number of mission computers to the Russians to complete the flight tests.

ASIEO is also offering the same avionics for the MiG-27 ML (of which the IAF has around 140) upgrade programme, which HAL hopes to manage with international partners. HAL was also in the limelight talking to prospective partners on civilian aircraft. Said Krishnadas Nair: "Today 85 per cent of our business comes from the military sector. We hope that in the next five years we can increase our civilian business to at least 25 per cent of our business."

Another DRDO establishment that recently bagged an international order is the Bangalore-based Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE). The organisation has bagged an order from the Polish Telecommuni-cation Research Institute for two of its rugged X-band slotted guide array antennae. The Poles, who hope to use the antennae for immediate defence applications, also signed a letter of intent for five additional units.

Judging from these and similar other trends, India is trying to catch up with the best in the aviation business. Bold decisions will also have to be taken. For example, in the case of the LCA, if work proceeds on schedule, it will take another five years for the certification of the aircraft and a further five years for its production to start. Thereafter, induction and weaponisation will have to be gone through. There has been a suggestion from people like Krishnadas Nair that in order to save time, production facilities be set up even while the process of certification is gone through. This would mean that most production facilities will be available when the certification process is completed.

This involves considerable risk, especially if the drawings have to be reworked at a later stage. But then, just as in most business ventures, nothing comes without a risk? But the question is can India afford to take such a high risk? It will have to, even while insisting on tight and disciplined schedules, if it is to leapfrog into the world of global aviation majors.