Hyderabad Aerospace & Aero Park Updates

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http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/...cle3419227.ece

DNA technology used to identify species causing bird-hits to aircraft

Barcoding technology employed by scientists of LaCONES, a facility of CCMB

Civilian as well as military aircraft frequently face the problem of bird hits, which not only cause huge economic loss but also pose safety hazard at times.

In a bid to tackle the problem in a more systemic manner, advanced scientific knowledge, particularly DNA barcoding technology, is being employed by scientists from Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES), a facility of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) here.

A major project launched by LaCONES to build a comprehensive DNA data base of various bird species in the country is now coming in handy for the scientists to help the Indian Air Force (IAF) evolve a strategy for combating the menace.

Around 120 DNA samples collected from the bird-hit aircraft of the IAF and sent to LaCONES over the past one year from various locations were analysed to find out the species involved in the bird hits in that particular area.

The initial results of the ongoing study found that most frequent bird-hits were caused by six species -- house swift, black kite, lapwing, swallow and doves and pigeons.

Dr. S. Shivaji, Director-Grade scientist at CCMB told The Hindu that the basic aim of the study was to identify the most dominant species involved in the bird-strikes in that particular area. Depending on the type of bird involved, a strategy could be formulated to minimise the problem. In case a scavenger species was found to be causing most such incidents, steps could be taken to ensure that there were no garbage dumps around that site. Similarly, if passerine birds, which normally feed on grains, were involved, it could be ensured that no fields were in the vicinity.

According to P. Anuradha Reddy, scientist from LaCONES, a data base of 300 bird species of the 1,225 found in the country had so far been established. With the DNA signatures available from 300 species, she said that received samples would be matched with them or with an open data base of the National Centre of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) to establish the identity of the species.

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Cathay Pacific launches cargo services from RGIA

The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad is growing fast as an air cargo hub in the South Central region of the country with a third international airline starting operations from here. The cargo terminal at RGIA has handled about 81,000 tonnes of domestic and international cargo during 2011-12.

The launch of freighter services by Cathay Pacific from RGIA on Thursday with two flights a week to Hong Kong will extend its air cargo connectivity to several Asia Pacific, South East Asian, European and American countries. Cathy Pacific is the third international airliner to launch its cargo services from RGIA after Lufthansa and Thai Airways.

“Located strategically in this part of the country, cargo services of RGIA will network tier-two cities like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Pune, Aurangabad, Nagpur and others with its plans of seamless cargo operation through road feeder service (RFS)”, chief operating officer of RGIA cargo business Hemanth D.P. said. Cathay Pacific's cargo flights to Hyderabad would operate on Hong Kong-Delhi-Bengaluru-Hyderabad-Hong Kong route on every Thursday and on Hong Kong-Chennai-Hyderabad-Hong Kong route on every Sunday starting May 17. Congestion and lack of scope for adding on infrastructure at Mumbai and Chennai airports would make Hyderabad a highly potential freighter centre, director (cargo) of Cathay Pacific Nick Rhodes stated.

COLD STORAGE TERMINAL

Having started cargo operations jointly with Menzies in 2008, RGIA's integrated cargo terminal is touted as the country's first cold-storage terminal equipped to handle pharmaceutical cargo for safe transhipment. “We have transhipped about 30,000 tonnes of temperature-controlled pharmaceutical to different destinations during 2011-12”, Mr. Hemanth said.

The RGIA cargo terminal with the capacity to handle 1,50,000 tonnes cargo annually plans to cross 100,000 tonnes freight this year and has plans to expand its capacity to 1.5 million tonnes annually in the coming years. Against the country's annual growth rate of 10.3 per cent in air freight volumes, RGIA has recorded 13.4 per cent last year. On the Cathay Pacific's cargo expansion plans, Mr. Rhodes said they were planning to extend their services to Ahmedabad in the coming months. Chief executive officer of RGIA Vikram Jaisinghani also spoke.

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IndiGo flies to new destinations




MUMBAI, JUNE 15,
IndiGo will be introducing new flights between Hyderabad-Dubai, Chennai-Dubai and Kochi-Dubai to expand its international operations. In addition, IndiGo will start its second daily and direct flights between Delhi-Dubai and Delhi-Bangkok sectors. These new flights will be operational from August. The airline will be offering introductory return fare of Rs 11,200 on the new flights. Bookings for the Dubai and Bangkok sectors have opened from Friday.

IndiGo had recently started its international flights from Delhi to Muscat and Kathmandu, Dubai, Singapore and Bangkok as well as Mumbai to Bangkok and Dubai.

The airline offers 351 daily flights connecting 32 destinations - Agartala, Ahmedabad, Bangkok, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Chennai, Delhi, Dibrugarh, Dubai, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Indore, Jaipur, Jammu, Kathmandu, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Muscat, Nagpur, Patna, Pune, Raipur, Singapore, Srinagar, Trivandrum, Vadodara and Vishakhapatnam.

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National Instruments developing pool of Indian partners

HYDERABAD, JUNE 27:
Texas-based hardware and software products manufacturer for Defence and other sectors National Instruments is developing a network of Indian (NI) partners and vendors to increase the scale of indigenisation for its offerings to the Defence sector.

The company sees huge opportunities from Indian Defence and space research establishments, especially with the new procurement norms that are being put in place by the Government to encourage Indian companies.

“Currently, we have three large partners and about seven smaller ones. Now, we intend to take on board a few domain-specific partners such as hardware in loop, simulation and image stabilisation domains,” Mr Sujeeth Pai, Country Sales Manager, NI India, said.

He was in Hyderabad in connection with the 5{+t}{+h} Annual India Defence and Aerospace Symposium 2012.

While NI is importing from its Hungarian facility most of the hardware components, a bulk of the software and value-added components such as sub-systems and communication components are being developed in India through its local partners.

Core hardware components constitute about 20-25 per cent of a product for the Defence and aerospace sectors.

In the last quarter, Asia accounted for a share of 30 per cent of its global revenue of $ 260 million. “And India has a prominent share in this,” he said.

While indigenisation in Defence supplies has reached 30-35 per cent, the Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies & Industries felt that Indian suppliers were disadvantaged by tax burdens, which is slowing down the pace of indigenisation.

“Indian manufacturers of Defence and aerospace products are handicapped by tax burden, which works out to almost 27 per cent of the cost of the product.

As the lowest bidder is generally awarded the contract, foreign suppliers gain the advantage,” Air Commodore (Retd) Joseph Varkey, Honorary Secretary General of the society, said.

Dr Tessy Thomas, Project Director, AGNI V Missile Project, Defence Research and Development Organization, felt that indigenisation should be encouraged in areas such as real-time, embedded and control systems.

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IAF to buy 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft

Indian Air Force also planning to buy 40 more Hawk aircraft, says Air Chief Marshal Browne

Clearing speculations over the delay in purchasing 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), Chief of Air Staff and Air Chief Marshal N.A.K Browne on Saturday said the Indian Air Force was committed to inducting MMRCA into its fleet.

“It’s a big project. Presently discussions are on and the contract could be signed by this year end,” Air Chief Marshal Browne told reporters at the Air Force Academy at Dundigal in Hyderabad.

The IAF is planning to buy 18 MMRCA from France. “Once a contract is signed, it takes nearly three years for manufacturers to deliver the aircraft, he explained. While, 18 MMRCA would be delivered directly, rest of them would be developed in association with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). In another three to five years, these aircraft would be part of IAF,” he said.

In addition to this, IAF was also planning to introduce Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) into its service. “Recently, the weapon trial run of these aircraft was conducted at a desert and we are awaiting operational clearance from the government. We hope to get it by this year-end,” he disclosed. As part of improving its infrastructure, IAF was also planning to buy 40 more Hawk aircraft next year. Presently there are 66 Hawk aircraft at Bidar station. To improve the quality of training being imparted to cadets, the IAF was also planning to procure five more Su-30 aircraft simulators. The IAF has three such simulators now.

“We have made it a policy to get simulators of all the new aircraft, including PC-7 trainers that would be inducted. Cadets would be trained for about 25 hours on these simulators as part of their total training,” he said.

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Tiger Airways launches services from Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: Singapore's low cost carrier (LCC) Tiger Airways will launch its five day week services from Hyderabad's GMR international airport from September. This new addition marks the sixth Indian destination for Tiger after Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchirappalli.

In 2011, the Hyderabad airport saw a total passenger traffic of 76 lakh people. Last year, Tiger Airways has publically stated its intentions to build its presence in India. This service will compete directly with Singapore Airlines regional franchise carrier Silk Air which operates many weekly with an A319 and A320. Singapore Airlines operates a dual brand strategy in India, with both Singapore Airlines and Silk Air operating to top metro markets in India.

To mark the newest addition to the Tiger network, the airline is offering exceptional promotional fares to and from Singapore to Hyderabad. Established in September 2004, the Airline has grown its fleet to 34 A320 aircraft with an average age of under three years. It also has two A319s that are operated independently by SEAir in the Philippines under a partner airline programme.

The Airline intends to build its fleet to 68 aircraft by December 2015. Operating from Singapore and Australia, Tiger Airways' network extends to over 30 destinations across 13 countries in the Asia Pacific region.

Travel agents in the aviation sector reckon that in vying for other Indian markets, the LCC will have to focus on Southern cities with shorter routes and operate more frequently to gain an edge over Singapore Airlines and Silk Air that are already serving the small segments.

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Tail of all C-130Js to be made in Hyderabad

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/tail-of-a...88-62-131.html

Hyderabad is poised to become a blip on the world’s defence map soon when the Tata Advanced Systems unit will start rolling out spare parts for the C-130J, the special operations aircraft made by the US that is presently in service in 15 countries. The Hyderabad factory will become operational over the next year now that Tata Advanced Systems has entered into a joint venture with Lockheed Martin. The US aerospace major has supplied six C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) the contract for which mandates Lockheed to invest 30 per cent of the deal within the country.

“The factory will manufacture replacement centre wing boxes and tail sections for every new C-130 J sold around the world. Beginning August, all C-130Js sold to any country will be built in Hyderabad,” Lockheed Martin’s India head Roger M Rose told Express. Designed for special operations, the four-engine C-130J can land troops behind enemy lines. Capable of operating from a short runway, it can also operate in pitch dark conditions.

Tata Advanced Systems holds 74 per cent of the stake in the joint venture (JV), and Lockheed 26 per cent--the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit allowed in defence sector. Tata Advanced Systems is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons with focus on providing integrated solutions for aerospace, defence, homeland security and disaster management.

“This is our first JV in India and it will strengthen our foothold in the Indian defence market,” said Roger, beaming about the fact that his company delivered six C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to IAF well before deadline. The IAF had signed the $1 billion deal for the six aircraft in 2008.

The factory is being set up in a special economic zone (SEZ) at Adibhatla near Hyderabad along with Tata’s two other JVs. Tata Advanced Systems also has a JV with Sikorsky Aerospace Services to manufacture helicopter cabins with with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore. That unit will manufacture cabins for all S-92 helicopters. Another JV with Israeli Air Force Technologies named NOVA has been allotted 30 acres land in the SEZ.

[Prodigist]

JV with Tata may produce C-130J at Hyderabad : Roger Rose

Source: http://www.bharatdefencekavach.com/N...oger-Rose.html

Roger Rose the Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin India, in an exclusive interview to Bharat Defence Kavach.

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force is soon to add six more C-130J Super Hercules aircraft in its fleet. A letter of Acceptance (LOA) submitted by the U.S. government is with the Ministry of Defence for clearance. Like the first six aircraft the additional six are also being acquired through foreign military sales (FMS) route from America.

The aircraft manufacturing American company Lockheed Martin is also hopeful of getting even more orders for this aircraft from India. In fact, Lockheed Martin is looking forward to manufacture India specific C-130J aircraft in India through a Hyderabad based joint venture called ‘Tata-Lockheed Martin Aero Structures Limited’ setup in 2009.

Rose also told that he is hopeful of getting additional orders from India. “I have a feeling that the Indian Air Force will look at more C-130Js. I think they are happy with the first six. We think they’ll order another six, and perhaps more.” These special operations aircraft are aptly named as ‘veiled vipers’ by the IAF. The bidding is likely for 18 aircraft - nine for the Navy and six (+three) for the Coast Guard.

Lockheed Martin and Tata had setup a joint venture in 2009 in Hyderabad. As per Government of India rules Indian company Tata have invested 74 percent whereas Lockheed Martin’s investment is 26 percent. This unit presently produces center wing boxes. Rose told that by next year this joint unit will produce every tail section on every new C-130J sold around the world to any country will be built in Hyderabad, India.

He did not specify the exact money invested into the JV but told that there has been investment of ‘tens of millions dollars’ and the partner companies are expecting business worth $300-400 millions from this JV. In fact Lockheed Martin intends to use this production as offset credit.

On asking whether Lockheed Martin at some stage would think of manufacturing C-130J aircraft in India, Rose said, “We are going to see how the JV goes. I personally would like to build an India specific C-130J at the Tata facility in Hyderabad. I think there’s unlimited potential for that facility down there. So, the beauty of working with Tata is that they’re helping us drive price points down and if we can get the price point to continue to drop on the C-130J and we could get it down to a certain level and start competing in what’s historically been a twin-engine domain.”

Indian Meteorological Department is also considering a proposal to purchase one C-130J for cyclone study.

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Interesting phenomenon...

This helicopter is not defying gravity!


HYDERABAD: Everyone on Facebook seems to be sharing this video which shows a helicopter flying with the rotors off. People are sharing the video claiming it to be a stunt by an Indian Air Force Pilot. However the truth is far from that.




To begin with the helicopter is a Russian one and is not piloted by an Indian Air Force pilot. The only stunt involved is a technical one. It only looks like the blade of the helicopter is not rotating because the RPM of the helicopter is the same as the frames per second of the video. This makes the blades look stationary and at times it looks like it’s rotating backwards and this illusion is known as Barrel wheel effect.

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http://www.business-standard.com/gen...to-navy/35898/
HAL hands over friend-or-foe identification system to Navy
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL-Avionics Division) today handed over to the Indian Navy, the indigenised first production unit of Identification of Friend or Foe (IFF-1410) transponder for the Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, which completed its initial flight recently.

HAL has successfully designed, developed and obtained production clearance for the supply of IFF-1410 transponder, which is also under evaluation and trials for Jaguar aircraft's Darin III upgrade as well as HAL's HJT-36 Sitara, a subsonic intermediate jet trainer aircraft, according to HAL's Deputy General Manager (HR) D V S Raju.

At present, HAL Hyderabad Division's focus is on demonstrating a Combined Interrogator Transponder(CIT) MK XII system by mid-June 2013, besides the development of a production equivalent prototype of a software-defined radio which is also scheduled to be demonstrated by the same deadline.

HAL Hyderabad is also in the process of introducing a new generation of avionics including navigation equipment, datalink equipment, radio altimeters, radio communication equipment, Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars for future aircraft and helicopter programmes like Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA) as well as Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40), an official release said. PTI VVK BA
HAL hands over friend-or-foe identification system to Navy

Hyderabad, July 23 (PTI) Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL-Avionics Division) today handed over to the Indian Navy, the indigenised first production unit of Identification of Friend or Foe (IFF-1410) transponder for the Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, which completed its initial flight recently.

HAL has successfully designed, developed and obtained production clearance for the supply of IFF-1410 transponder, which is also under evaluation and trials for Jaguar aircraft's Darin III upgrade as well as HAL's HJT-36 Sitara, a subsonic intermediate jet trainer aircraft, according to HAL's Deputy General Manager (HR) D V S Raju.

At present, HAL Hyderabad Division's focus is on demonstrating a Combined Interrogator Transponder(CIT) MK XII system by mid-June 2013, besides the development of a production equivalent prototype of a software-defined radio which is also scheduled to be demonstrated by the same deadline.

HAL Hyderabad is also in the process of introducing a new generation of avionics including navigation equipment, datalink equipment, radio altimeters, radio communication equipment, Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars for future aircraft and helicopter programmes like Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA) as well as Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40), an official release said.

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DRDO to increase missiles’ range

HYDERABAD: India's missile power will be enhanced with defence scientists now working towards increasing the range of various missiles. The range of surface-to-air missiles, which is presently 50 km will be increased to 300 km.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is also aiming to increase the range of air-to-surface missiles up to 400 km and air-to-air missiles up to 300 km, according to Avinash Chander, DRDO chief controller R&D (missiles and strategic systems) and director Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL).

Source: TOI

India to develop missiles with greater range

After the success of Agni V missile, India is now developing new range of missiles that include surface-to-air with a range of 300 km, air-to-surface with a range of 400 km, and air-to-air missiles with a target range of 300 km. At present India has surface-to-air missiles of 50-km range. Research is going on to increase the range to 300-km to boost the defence capabilities of the country.

According to Avinash Chander, chief controller, research and development (missiles and strategic systems), “the era is to realise micro and nano missiles using MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) and NEMS (nano-electromechanical systems) technologies. He was addressing silver jubilee celebrations of Research Centre Imarat on Monday. Dr S.K. Chaudhuri, director, RCI, G. Satheesh Reddy, associate director, RCI, Agni 4 project director Tessy Thomas, Prof. Akopyan of Moscow Research Institute, and others were present.

Source: DC

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AI training starts

Air India’s Central Training Establishment began its second batch of Airbus A-320 type rating training course for external candidates in the City.
Capt. RS Dhillon, general manager (Ops-Trg) and in-charge of training, Air India CTE, inaugurated the course by lighting the lamp. The thirteen candidates being trained include a women. The duration of the course is between 22 and 36 weeks, depending on performance of the trainees.

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http://www.domain-b.com/aero/aero_ge...ce_market.html
Lockheed Martin looks to increase share of Indian defence market
Buoyed by the Indian Air Force (IAF) response to its C-130 J military aircraft, American defence system manufacturer Lockheed Martin is looking at the possibility of selling the transport planes to other Indian armed forces as well.

Lockheed Martin's vice president for business development George Standridge told PTI in New Delhi, that in the longer term, the company's job was to understand what the future requirement of IAF and other Indian forces would be.

Standridge was replying to questions on Lokcheed Martin's future plans for Indian defence market and whether it intended to sell the aircraft to other defence forces also.

After the ahead-of-schedule-delivery of six C-130J aircraft last year, IAF had now initiated the process of procurement of six additional planes.


Observing that C-130J aircraft was well suited to various military as also Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations, he said, it was a versatile platform and had a proven record for military as also non-military missions.

Indicating its growing interest in the Indian market, Lockheed recently entered into a joint venture with Tatas for the manufacture of parts of the C-130J aircraft at a newly built facility in Hyderabad.

[ygvjs2000]

http://www.indiablooms.com/BusinessD...ils030812j.php
Tata Lockheed Martin delivers C-130 CWB
Hyderabad, Aug 3 (IBNS) Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures, a Joint venture between Tata Advanced Systems and Lockheed Martin, delivered the first C-130 Center Wing Box (CWB) Made in India to Lockheed Martin, in a ceremony on Friday at Hyderabad.
The CWB was handed over by S Ramadorai, Chairman, Tata Lockheed Martin to George Shultz, C-130 Vice President Lockheed Martin in the presence of N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

Lockheed Martin Corporation and Tata Advanced Systems had in Feb 2011 announced the formation of a new Joint Venture Company - Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures.

The Company manufactures aerostructures for the C-130 aircraft produced by Lockheed Martin.

Shultz said: “This is a proud moment for the C-130 program, Lockheed Martin and our Joint Venture with Tata – but most important for the strengthening relationship between the United States and India.”

Ramadorai said, “The delivery of the C-130 Center Wing Box on schedule and highest quality is an important milestone for Tata’s plans for the Aerospace industry. It also reflects highly of the determination, project execution and precision manufacturing expertise that India as a nation possesses.”

Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 123,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

The Corporation’s 2010 sales from continuing operations were $46.5 billion.

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C-130 Hercules with components ‘Made in India’

The latest feather in the Tata cap is that certain critical components for the C-130 are now being ‘Made in India’, that too, at a factory on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

The Hercules C-130 is truly jumbo in every sense of the term. A four-engine turprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed Martin, it is capable of taking off and landing on unprepared runways.

Armed forces

India’s claim to knowing this whopping mechanical bird till now has been using it - six of them were recently delivered for our armed forces.

The latest feather in the Tata cap is that certain critical components for the C-130 are now being ‘Made in India’, that too, at a factory on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

That is the promise held out by Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Ltd., (TLMAL), a joint venture between Tata Advanced Systems and Lockheed Martin.

The Friday gone by was a landmark day with TLMAL delivering the first C-130 Center Wing Box (CWB) to Lockheed. TLMAL’s chairman S. Ramodorai handed over the vital component to Lockheed’s vice-president George Schultz in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy.

Truly a multi-role aircraft, it was originally designed for troop and medical and cargo transport.

However, its versatile airframe now has use in other roles - gunship (AC-130) for airborne assault, search and rescue, scientific research support, weather reconnaissance, air-to-air refuelling, maritime patrol and aerial fire-fighting.

An aircraft that boasts of the longest continuous production run of any military aircraft in history, the C-130 is the only one to be made continuously for over 50 years with its original customer, the United States.

Has 40 models

The airborne behemoth now plays a vital role for the armed forces worldwide and its 40 models and variants are now being used by 60 countries. It is now called the updated C-130J Super Hercules.

Mr. George Schultz said that this was a sign of strengthening of Indo-US relations. Lockheed’s trust in the Tata Group was well-placed and with the delivery of CWB before schedule, the Indian partner was now a trusted, long-term supplier of specialised aerospace components.

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IndiGo to begin 2 new services from tomorrow

MUMBAI, AUG 6:
IndiGo will introduce two new flights in its network from August 7.

The airline will begin Hyderabad to Dubai service and also start its second daily and direct flight between Delhi and Dubai.

“We are looking at providing affordable fares on these new routes for the travellers,” said Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo.

IndiGo has 57 Airbus A320 aircraft, flying 357 flights daily and connecting 32 destinations across the nation.

[Prodigist]

Tata seeks land for aircraft factory

Source: DC

The Tata group has proposed to establish a large aircraft manufacturing factory in city. The Tata group, in joint ventures with international players in the aviation sector, has already launched helicopter assembling and aerostructure manufacturing units successfully. Sources said the group recently approached the state government with a request to provide 300 acres of land with an airstrip for the proposed aircraft manufacturing facility. The government is actively considering allotting the Nadergul airstrip on the Nagarjunasagar highway. “The land is leased to the Airports Authority of India and is now used by the pilot training academies, but they can be given alternative sites,” sources said.

The Nadergul airstrip has two runways, one of which is in use. A runway is compulsory for the manufacturing facility and it would be cheaper to use the existing airstrip rather than build an expensive new one, said an official. The government is keen on the project as it will put Hyderabad on the international aviation map, besides attracting ancillary units that will boost economic activity.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy has expressed happiness that a Tata-Lockheed Martin joint venture delivered its first product, C130 Centre Wing Box, in about 18 months from proposing the facility. The CM laid the foundation stone in February 2011 and witnessed the handing over of the first product in August 2012. When it was brought to the CM’s notice that the aero-structure facility came up in just 15 acres, he is said to have commented that it should be an eye-opener for companies that took hundreds of acres of land from the government but did nothing.

So its official now

[Gudavalli]

Hyderabad to turn into major hub for global airlines

HYDERABAD: At least four new international carriers are set to fly in to Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) soon.

Apart from low-cost airlines Tiger Airways, and Thai Smile (a branch of major operator Thai Airways), likely to land in the city next month, also waiting in transit is Africa's most popular operator, Kenya Airways, and Indonesia's official carrier, Garuda.

Starting operations on September 28, Asia-based Tiger Airways will join SilkAir as the second direct service provider to Singapore from Hyderabad. As per airport records, roughly 60,000 Hyderabad passengers travel on this route every year. The traffic to Thailand too is impressively high, say RGIA officials admitting that the entry of Thai Smile will only further boost the outflow of tourists to this holiday destination. The airlines' first flight is set to take off from Shamshabad on September 16.

African countries too, with their safaris and postcard-perfect landscapes, are pulling travelers to their shores now, say industry observers attributing this trend to Kenya Airways' decision to dive in to the Hyderabad market. The airline operator is targeting a 2014 debut. "We are in the process of purchasing a dozen 7875 aircrafts. Once complete, we will expand our operations in six Indian airports and Hyderabad is definitely a potential choice," said Bennet Stephens, area manager, Kenya Airways for India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

There is an estimated 30-35% annual rise in traffic from India to Africa, say local tour operators. And this is driven not just by tourists but also corporates, they add. With IT biggies expanding their client base in countries such as Botswana, Kenya, the sector is expected to witness a sharp rise in footfall.

"Kenya Airways will look to cashing in on this," said Mir Liaqat Ali, managing director, 'One Stop Holidays'. Commenting on Garuda's probable entry, Ali said, "There is a significant influx of students from Indonesia to Hyderabad for higher education. Tourism too is picking up."

If the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) report of 2012-13 is any indication, Hyderabad could well have a bunch of other airline operators such as Ethiopian Airlines, Jetstar Asia, Myanmar Airways among others too touching base in Shamshabad in the next few years. According to CAPA, a global aviation body, these operators (apart from Ethiopian Airlines that already has operations in India) are evaluating the possibility of entering the sub-continent's market in the next 12-24 months. Their list of options could well include RGIA that currently has 10 international carriers operating out of its premises. The traffic on its foreign routes is about 19 lakh annually (as per RGIA's 2011-12 report).

The mushrooming of new players notwithstanding, major tour operators claim that Hyderabad is off the radar of category-1 airlines. "The new international airlines planning operations to and from Hyderabad are not category-1 carriers; most of which are pulling out," said Suraj Nair, strategy & planning head, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. In his e-mail response Nair, however, welcomed the launch of direct services to both Africa and Indonesia from the city.

[Gudavalli]

Chartered airlines Invision Air to set up operations in multiple states

AHMEDABAD: Mumbai-based chartered airlines Invision Air is eyeing setting up operation bases at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Jaipur, said company Vinit Phatak. It is also planning to add 10 jet aircraft by 2014.

The company has two four-seater Embraer Phenom 100 jets and operates from Mumbai, Delhi and Nashik. "We need at least six clients in a city to set up a base, otherwise it is not feasible," Phatak told ET in Ahmedabad on Thursday.

He hopes to add 5-6 corporate clients from Ahmedabad. At present the company has only one client in Ahmedabad. "A lot of demand is coming up for last mile air connectivity from corporates, who want its managers to visit its facilities in remotest areas. Companies provide this service to their lawyers as well," he said.

Regular commercial aircraft cannot land and take off from smaller run-ways. Four seater aircraft like Phenom 100 can operate from about 200 air-strips across the country. Smaller jets operated by companies providing chartered service need over 350 hours of flying for commercial flying to be financially feasible.

According to Phatak, India has 130 operators providing with close to 480 aircraft, of which close to 136 are jet aircraft and the rest are turboprops, piston engine aircraft and helicopters. The chartered air service industry of India is estimated at $250 million and has been growing at 10-12% per annum.

However, 2011-12 was an exception when it declined by about 5%. "More companies will be buying jets. Its numbers is likely to rise to 400 in few years. This will create huge demand in maintenance and servicing. We are also gearing for it," he said.

[Prodigist]

Information about Tata's aerospace foray from the website of TATA Advanced Systems Limited

Aerostructures


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Within a short span of time, TASL has developed into a leading player with established capabilities and demonstrated deliveries on programs for the leading global aerospace OEMs. With 3 programs in operations, and more than 600 highly trained resources, TASL is on its way towards becoming the global supplier of choice of aerospace OEMs.

The backbone of our vision is the capability across the value chain - design, engineering, detailed part manufacturing and major structural assembly. Programs are nurtured with the highest level of customer focus and safety, delivered through robust quality systems, procedures and practices – AS 9100, NADCAP. These have resulted in fast-track execution and operationalization with our proven strengths in program management and the strategic backing of the Tata Group.

Leading OEMs have forged strategic relationships with us. The TASL – Sikorsky JV has established a world-class end-to-end detailed part manufacturing facility, and the TASL - Lockheed Martin JV is assembling structures for the famous C-130J aircraft.

Sikorsky S92 Helicopter Cabin Assembly

First Major Aerostructure Program in private sector in INDIA.
First article delivered and accepted by customer.
In series production and volume ramp-up.

Lockheed Martin C-130J Empennage & Center Wing-Box Assembly

TASL -Lockheed Martin JV established as First program for US Defence.
Managing complex assemblies for critical control-surfaces.
Creating offset credit for the customer

Detailed part manufacturing for S92 cabin

TASL - Sikorsky JV has established aerospace manufacturing capabilities.
Vast range of in-house processes makes it the most advanced private sector unit in India.
Poised to take up future business with the best of Indian and Global customers.

NOVA Integrated Systems Limited

NOVA Integrated Systems Limited is a 100% owned subsidiary of TATA Advanced Systems Limited , and a strategic initiative of the TATA Group in the Aerospace and Defence sector.The company set up as a private sector Defence enterprise , envisions design , development, manufacture, integration and life cycle support with technology focus in

1. Missile Systems and Sub -Systems.
2. Radars Systems and Sub-Systems.
3. Electro-Optic Payloads and Sub-systems.
4. Homeland Security System Products.
5. RF Modules for Advanced Radar Technologies.

The company has manufacturing facility in Hyderabad with well established departments for Operations, Quality Assurance, Engineering, Supply chain management, Business development, Finance, Legal, HR & Administration, employing best-in-class professionals. A distinguished team of consultants from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Defence Public Sector Units (DPSUs) bring in vast experience in Design, Development and Production of defence systems and provide necessary technical support and mentoring, for advanced engineering insights into complex technological challenges.

NOVA Integrated Systems Limited is setting up world class infrastructural facilities in Hyderabad, with a 75 acres greenfield scalable facility. It has operationalised a 19,500 sq ft Electro-Optic, Radar Integration Design & Engineering facility and an 18,000 sq ft RF & Microwave facility in Hyderabad, offering design & integration capabilities for RADAR’s and Stabilised Electro-Optic Payloads. The greenfield facility planned, shall offer design, development, modification, manufacturing, life cycle support and obsolescence management of best-in-class technological defence and aerospace products in technology areas of Complex System Integrations, Missile systems, Radar Systems, UAV Systems, Surveillance and Homeland Security & Offsets management.

HELA Systems Pvt Ltd

It is a TATA-IAI-ELTA JV that manufactures UAV's at Kushaiguda.