Lightest Combat Aircraft

[INDIAN]

hello! folks,
check it up!

Specification LCA

Powerplant: (prototype) one 80.50 kN (18,100 lb st) General Electric F404-F2J3 turbofan or (production) one 89.86 kN (20,200 lb st) GTRE GTX-35VS Kaveri turbofan

Dimensions: length 13.20m (43 ft 9 in); height 4.40m (14 ft 7 in); wing span 8.20m (26 ft 7 in)

Weights: empty 5500 kg (12,125 lb) ; Max Take-Off Weight 12500 kg (27,560 lb)

Performance: max level speed at 11.000m (36,000 ft) Mach 1.8 or 1920 km/h (1195 mph); service ceiling 15,250 m (50,000 ft)

Armament: one 23-mm GSh-23 twin-barrel cannon with 220 rounds per gun; up to 4000 kg (8,820 lb) of ordnance, including AAMs, ASMs, Anti-Ship Missiles, rocket launchers, bombs, ECM pods, and drop tanks, carried on seven external stations.

go to http://www.milavia.net/aircraft/lca/lca_specs.htm
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[webmaster]

Okay, lets start posting relevent material in its own forums. This belongs in AVIATION forum.

 

[adsH]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

Lets all calm down. i'm more interested in whats inside then whats out side and visible in the AC. Give us more details of the Avionic packages availble to the LCA. I would imagine this is something LCA would have some advantage inn.

 

[P.A.F]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

[Mod edit: Calm down]

 

[adsH]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

Avionics: The LCA will have a multi-mode pulse-Doppler radar and FLIR (Forward-Looking Infra-Red). The cockpit is equipped with HOTAS, HUD and two color multi-function CRTs compatible with the use of NVGs. They are integrated with other elements of the electronic suite such as the INS via a central computer and three MIL-1553B data-buses. The LCA has a Utility Systems Management System to monitor the health of each of its systems and optimize their performance. For maintenance the LCA has 500+ Line Replaceable Units (LRUs), each tested for performance and capability to meet the severe operational conditions to be encountered.
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Info/Aircraft/LCA.html

 

[Roger Smith]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

I feel the LCA should be in a squadron strength within a year or so, as the production aircraft #4 is on flying test.

 

[adsH]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

I feel the LCA should be in a squadron strength within a year or so, as the production aircraft #4 is on flying test.

testing phase is not complete its unwise to risk pilot lives. last time i heard about the ac.it was being tested and modified.

 

[lalith prasad]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

the thing i find interesting about lca is that 60+% of it is composites this is to be increased to 75-80% composites reflect radar signals far lesser than metals,require less maintenance,are least affected by corrosion and electrical conductivity,much lighter than metals(can be as much as 40% lighter),higher resistance to damage and shock compared to metals.but if they get damaged(very very very rare)then they are a bit difficult to repair when compared to metals.i sincerely hope the lca will have fbl capability the alh dhruv has it it has reduced weight by a further 500kgs.

 

[Roger Smith]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

the thing i find interesting about lca is that 60+% of it is composites this is to be increased to 75-80% composites reflect radar signals far lesser than metals,require less maintenance,are least affected by corrosion and electrical conductivity,much lighter than metals(can be as much as 40% lighter),higher resistance to damage and shock compared to metals.but if they get damaged(very very very rare)then they are a bit difficult to repair when compared to metals.i sincerely hope the lca will have fbl capability the alh dhruv has it it has reduced weight by a further 500kgs.

I feel LCA would be one of the best fighter aircraft in the world incorporating Indian and Western technology, it is my personal opinion.

 

[gf0012-aust]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

the thing i find interesting about lca is that 60+% of it is composites this is to be increased to 75-80% composites reflect radar signals far lesser than metals,require less maintenance,are least affected by corrosion and electrical conductivity,much lighter than metals(can be as much as 40% lighter),higher resistance to damage and shock compared to metals.but if they get damaged(very very very rare)then they are a bit difficult to repair when compared to metals.i sincerely hope the lca will have fbl capability the alh dhruv has it it has reduced weight by a further 500kgs.

lalith, it's not the composites which reduce radar reflection, it is the aircrafts shape. composites are used for a variety of reasons, typically to shape difficult panels or to lighten the weight of the aircraft in specific areas which are not structural load bearers.

You could have an aircraft exterior made entirely out of composites and have it give off a signal as big as the Eiffel Tower due to poor LO design.

What is fbl capability?? do you mean fbw???

 

[lalith prasad]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

no fly by light (there is another one called power by light but that is too advanced for us)in this all electrical cables are replaced by the fiber optic cables.

 

[gf0012-aust]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

no fly by light (there is another one called power by light but that is too advanced for us)in this all electrical cables are replaced by the fiber optic cables.

ok, India is using a different name then. usually it's called fbo (o being optical cable)

 

[adsH]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

that is ridiculous Fiber cables may be good and cost effective on ground based comm systems where speed of transmission is critical. but an AC having Fiber G wires is ridiculous the Adapters would be costly the Modulation demodulation technology would be required for every Fiber, would be costly and potentially heavy.the entire AC would have to rebuilt to incorporate such a fragile technology. On the pluss side it would have enhanced protection and resistance to EM impulse waves. and improved Data transmission. But the Fiber wire tech is too costly and requires too much maintenance. the only People that can truly produce high quality Fiber wire that are good enough for military Use would be Germans. who currently have a monopoly in the medical fiber optics. i would imagine Fiber OPtic wiring is vulnerable to the Unknown factors so Original Metal wiring would be required for Backups, which means the Ac would have significant weight added to it.

 

[gf0012-aust]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

that is ridiculous Fiber cables may be good and cost effective on ground based comm systems where speed of transmission is critical. but an AC having Fiber G wires is ridiculous the Adapters would be costly the Modulation demodulation technology would be required for every Fiber, would be costly and potentially heavy.the entire AC would have to rebuilt to incorporate such a fragile technology. On the pluss side it would have enhanced protection and resistance to EM impulse waves. and improved Data transmission. But the Fiber wire tech is too costly and requires too much maintenance. the only People that can truly produce high quality Fiber wire that are good enough for military Use would be Germans. who currently have a monopoly in the medical fiber optics. i would imagine Fiber OPtic wiring is vulnerable to the Unknown factors so Original Metal wiring would be required for Backups, which means the Ac would have significant weight added to it.

Unless I saw the application I'd be sceptical. I certainly can't see fibre optic being used for an aircraft that is carrier based, or a helicopter. On a ship it would be less of an issue. The run of the cable would be extremely small though, as any flexing could shatter the run, and if not break it, induce reflection issues.

I'd like to see more before further comment though.

 

[adsH]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

that is ridiculous Fiber cables may be good and cost effective on ground based comm systems where speed of transmission is critical. but an AC having Fiber G wires is ridiculous the Adapters would be costly the Modulation demodulation technology would be required for every Fiber, would be costly and potentially heavy.the entire AC would have to rebuilt to incorporate such a fragile technology. On the pluss side it would have enhanced protection and resistance to EM impulse waves. and improved Data transmission. But the Fiber wire tech is too costly and requires too much maintenance. the only People that can truly produce high quality Fiber wire that are good enough for military Use would be Germans. who currently have a monopoly in the medical fiber optics. i would imagine Fiber OPtic wiring is vulnerable to the Unknown factors so Original Metal wiring would be required for Backups, which means the Ac would have significant weight added to it.

Unless I saw the application I'd be sceptical. I certainly can't see fibre optic being used for an aircraft that is carrier based, or a helicopter. On a ship it would be less of an issue. The run of the cable would be extremely small though, as any flexing could shatter the run, and if not break it, induce reflection issues.

I'd like to see more before further comment though.

you would need sonic shielding the insulators would have to researched. the fiber could shatter on sound barriers. the fiber optic cables are hard to repair if there is an insulation break, which occurs at a higher frequency in non-static bodies. the angle of turns ie twisting of the wire while they are placing the fiber cables are limited the Light only bends within the wire at certain angles.

 

[dabrownguy]

What precent of the production varient of the LCA will have composites?

 

[Soldier]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

that is ridiculous Fiber cables may be good and cost effective on ground based comm systems where speed of transmission is critical. but an AC having Fiber G wires is ridiculous the Adapters would be costly the Modulation demodulation technology would be required for every Fiber, would be costly and potentially heavy.

Wrong. Infact anyone here...most likely Shamayel will tell you as he is one guy I know of, who works in the lab with Fiber Optics modulation-demod technology, that Fiber demod-mod equipment is much lighter then analog medium. I am not sure why the fighters will use Optics, unless there is a technology to disrupt the internal electrical communication of an airplane. Also the modulation-demodulation of optics is darn cheap when you compare it to the cost of an aircraft. I will not be surprised if there are already some european cars manufactured with optics for control instead of battery. Overall it is all digital medium which is far more light in weight, cost even though is higher then analog but still has come down heavily. Besides very stable against interference.

the entire AC would have to rebuilt to incorporate such a fragile technology. On the pluss side it would have enhanced protection and resistance to EM impulse waves. and improved Data transmission. But the Fiber wire tech is too costly and requires too much maintenance. the only People that can truly produce high quality Fiber wire that are good enough for military Use would be Germans. who currently have a monopoly in the medical fiber optics.

There is not much difference in Optics used in military or other normal telecommunication Industry. There is already one very big Industrialist house (can not remember the name, I think it is Reliance/Alembic but I maybe wrong) in India manufacturing various type of multimode/single mode fiber optic cables and they are exporting them to Asia Pacific Market including Singapore. In US also, some of the MSO have imported Optics from India due to cheaper rates. As far as the leaders are concerned that is Corning, when it comes to Optics. Optics can be made according to the general specification of the customer and there is no magic in that. Germans have monoply in medical equipment and since equipment is made in germany, it is pretty obvious that they will use german optics due to the local market. Fiber cost is not as much as people may think. It costs only 70 cents for a foot of optical cable....and if purchased in bulk the price will be far much cheaper.

i would imagine Fiber OPtic wiring is vulnerable to the Unknown factors so Original Metal wiring would be required for Backups, which means the Ac would have significant weight added to it.

Optic wiring is less prone to even unknown factors provided it is insulated correctly. If it is, then it is far much more reliable then anything. I am sure the aircraft manufacturer would already have thought about the implications posed by optics and would have taken great measures to ensure the reliability.

you would need sonic shielding the insulators would have to researched. the fiber could shatter on sound barriers.

Shatter on sound barriers??? If it is shielded well enough it is very reliable. Far much more then a shielded electrical cable. There are plenty of insulators already out there in open market for anyone to buy.

the fiber optic cables are hard to repair if there is an insulation break, which occurs at a higher frequency in non-static bodies. the angle of turns ie twisting of the wire while they are placing the fiber cables are limited the Light only bends within the wire at certain angles.

adSH, It is very cheap to join the optics in todays modern world. You can buy a Fiber Joining machine for as low as 300 USD in the market which will do the job just as perfect as you can get to. It requires so much of less human interference. it aligns the fiber itself and all one needs to do is to insert two ends in. It use to be a nightmare before to join fiber but technology is moving ahead way to fast and prices are on earth now. They obviously need to take care how much they can bend the fiber, but if correct openings are designed to place fiber in...it is goingto be far much more easily manageable then electrical wires. You can do only one job with one metal cable, but if muxing of different wavelengths is implemented in that particular piece of optics, you are running only one optical cable to do various jobs.. Imagine how much lighter it would be in absence of all that jungle of metal wiring to and forth?

Frankly, working with Fiber Optics practically for last 5-6 years, I have known this that Optics can stand far much more torture then copper/aluminium wires, only if they are insulated in the way, they should be. I have come to rely 100 times more on optics and am crazily happy about the way, they can be managed in such a little space.

 

[adsH]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

i see your into fiber optics. the Medical equipments that use german fiber optics are actually British and chinese in origin both machines for some odd reason tend to only use German manufactured optics.i know wht you mean they would have a different inter-phase so the manufacture would choose the German interphase, but these are chinese and british firms. and the Medical equipment i am taking about are being used in surgeries to make precision cuts in ENTs and Cardiac surgeries. each fiber cable is non re-usable ie its disposable and its cost is about 600 us dollar each. this is at the cutting edge of the surgery technology and is very highly ratted in the medical world my entire family happens to be one big collection of doctors, well all except me i'm the Comp Sci person.

 

[Soldier]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

i see your into fiber optics. the Medical equipments that use german fiber optics are actually British and chinese in origin both machines for some odd reason tend to only use German manufactured optics.i know wht you mean they would have a different inter-phase so the manufacture would choose the German interphase, but these are chinese and british firms. and the Medical equipment i am taking about are being used in surgeries to make precision cuts in ENTs and Cardiac surgeries. each fiber cable is non re-usable ie its disposable and its cost is about 600 us dollar each. this is at the cutting edge of the surgery technology and is very highly ratted in the medical world my entire family happens to be one big collection of doctors, well all except me i'm the Comp Sci person.

adSH, I have modified my answer so please give it a read once again. Also, precision for laser cuts in surgery is pretty much understandable as in US most of the Optic manufacturers do not want to get in to it as they are making multimillion dollars an year producing for telecommunication Industry and are exporting worldwide. They have an endless demand from US, Japan, China & India. Two years ago, I was in Germany working for Callahen to construct a Nationwide Broadband Network and guess what, all the optics were imported from US instead of using home production or importing from France. Corning is French if I am not wrong. Perhaps they are taken over by some US corporate..

 

[adsH]

Re: Lightest Combat Aircraft!

ahh i see your point. to have more then one fiber wires carrying more then one instructions at a time. less space an lighter. but my point was that replaceing all of the coper wires would be difficult, since most modern com links today that use coper wire like Coper distributed networks have some power, which could power the recieving device. with Fiber distribution, a separate power supply would have to installed for every device. see my point. it is usually hard or nearly impossible to repair damaged fiber cables so if they put these on the AC then they would need a clever diagnostic system or a way to detect the insulation or fiber damage. the Integrated circuit boards would have to be redesigned since they would be receiving light impulses instead to Electrical impulses.