Indian Sea Harrier

Destroyer

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Type: Fleet air defence, strike and recon fighter with ASV role.

Versions in Service: Frs Mk.51 - Single-seat fighter (15)
...........................T Mk.60 - Dual-seat trainer (4)

Engine: One Rolls-Royce Pegasus Mk.104/106 vectored-thrust turbofan, rated at 95.6kN (21,500 lbs.) of thrust.

Operational Speed: 640 knots (1186 km/h).

Service Ceiling: 51,200 feet (15,600 meters).

Range: 800 nautical miles (1480 km).

Avionics: Ferranti Blue Fox non-coherent pulse radar, which has four operating modes - search, air-to-air, air-to-surface and bore-sight for close combat.

Weapons: The aircraft has four wing and three under-fuselage stations. The inner wing pylons carry drop tanks of 900 kg each. The two outer wing pylons can carry up to 450 kg each. Two under-fuselage stations are normally occupied by two 30mm gun pods, with 120 rounds per gun. Indian Navy Sea Harriers use Magic-IIs for air defense. In the anti-ship role, the Sea Harrier can carry two Sea Eagle AShMs.

Aircraft delivered to date: IN601 - Mk.51 (05 Oct 1984) - crashed on 04 May 1988
...................................IN602 - Mk.51 (12 July 1984)
...................................IN603 - Mk.51 (13 Dec 1983)
...................................IN604 - Mk.51 (13 Dec 1983)
...................................IN605 - Mk.51 (13 Dec 1983)
...................................IN606 - Mk.51 (12 July 1984)
...................................IN607 - Mk.51 (24 July 1990)
...................................IN608 - Mk.51 (14 Dec 1989)
...................................IN609 - Mk.51 (10 Apr 1990)
...................................IN610 - Mk.51 (14 Dec 1989)
...................................IN611 - Mk.51 (14 Dec 1989) - crashed on 30 September 1997
...................................IN612 - Mk.51 (10 Apr 1990) - crashed on 09 December 1992
...................................IN613 - Mk.51 (24 July 1990)
...................................IN614 - Mk.51 (24 July 1990)
...................................IN615 - Mk.51 (23 Apr 1991)
...................................IN616 - Mk.51 (17 Sept 1991)
...................................IN617 - Mk.51 (17 Sept 1991)
...................................IN618 - Mk.51 (23 Apr 1991)
...................................IN619 - Mk.51 (23 Apr 1991) - crashed on 09 June 1992
...................................IN620 - Mk.51 (17 Sept 1991) - crashed on 08 February 1996
...................................IN621 - Mk.51 (17 Sept 1991) - beyond economical repair
...................................IN622 - Mk.51 (14 Jan 1992)
...................................IN623 - Mk.51 (07 Apr 1992)
...................................IN651 - Mk.60 (15 Mar 1984)
...................................IN652 - Mk.60 (16 Mar 1984) - crashed on 27 June 1988
...................................IN653 - Mk.60 (10 Apr 1990)
...................................IN654 - Mk.60 (14 Jan 1992)
...................................IN655 - Mk.60 (1999)
...................................IN656 - Mk.60 (1999)

Note: The air crashes include eight Mk.51 single-seaters and two T Mk.60 trainers. IN621 is beyond economical repair and lies on static display at Goa Museum. Details of seven have been listed above, while the remaining three are listed below;

• IN65? - T Mk.60: 02 August 1994
• IN6?? - Mk.51: 23 November 1998
• IN6?? - Mk.51: 25 May 2001

Comments: Fifteen Mk.51 single-seat aircraft and four T Mk.60s dual-seat trainers are presently in service and fly with the No.300 White Tigers Squadron. The trainers include three T Mk.60s from the first batch and the last two aircraft are 'used' T Mk.4 trainers, modified to the Mk.60 standard, which were delivered in 1999 as attrition replacements. The dual-seat trainer has the complete avionics systems of the single-seat fighter, apart from the Ferranti 'Blue Fox' radar. Indian Navy Sea Harriers are operated with gaseous oxygen instead of liquid oxygen.

In July 1999, a mid-life upgrade package, worth $200 million, was announced for the Sea Harriers. However in late 1999, this upgrade package was reportedly cancelled, in favour of purchasing the MiG-29K fighter, for deployment on the Admiral Gorshkov - if purchased - and the Air Defence Ship. The Sea Harriers are now due to retire by 2010 along with the decommissioning of INS Viraat in the same year. However, recent reports now state that HAL will be undertaking an upgrade for the Sea Harriers, reportedly with Israeli equipment which will include the Elta EL/M-2032 multimode fire control radar and air-to-air missiles.

The Indian Navy, meanwhile, launched Project Ashok in 1994 - a maintenance facility for the Sea Harriers at Kochi. Sea Harriers had previously been taken to the U.K. for overhaul after they were acquired in the mid-1980s. Established for Rs.3 billion ($7.14 million), the facility is expected to keep the Sea Harriers operational till 2010. A large proportion of Project Ashok's facilities are generic and capable of servicing other aircraft, such as the MiG-29K. There are nine facilities set up under the project and the major ones at Kochi include landing gear & hydraulics, environmental control systems, structural repairs, power generator, avionics, Pegasus engine test bed and Pegasus engine repair and overhaul. Named after late Captain Ashok Sawhney, a pioneering air engineer, Project Ashok is a fitting tribute to this visionary who built up the present Naval Aircraft Yard at Kochi.

ALL info and pictures courtesy of www.bharat-rakshak.com[/img]
 
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