Supersonic Predators of the Indian Ocean -The Black Panthers One of my favorite squadrons of the Indian Air Force They are the Black Panthers,Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS ) 303 was commissioned on 11 May 2013 at INS Hansa,Goa by the then Defence Minister Shri A K Antony. .The MiG – 29Ks were inducted as an Intensive Flying Trials Unit (IFTU) under Cdr Ajay Theophilus in January 2010. The IFTU has now been upgraded to a commissioned squadron after a longer than expected period. Cynics will mock the Indian Navy for this delay ,but it has to be realized that the IN is the only operator of this type in the world. It had no access to prior flight data, best practices, standard operating procedures etc. Plus,the Navy has developed a protocol where it formally commissions its inductions/purchases only after doing a complete shakedown trial where it validates the weapon system. The MIG-29 K (Korabelny) is a 4++ generation aircraft.It is vastly different than the existing IAF MiG-29Bs which are optimized for the Air to Air role.It is a swing role fighter capable of switching between air to air and air to surface missions.It carries enough weapon and sensors to undertake Air Dominance and Power Projection missions bestowing great flexibility to a fleet commander at sea. Its primary sensors include the Zhuk-ME pulse Doppler multi mode radar,Optical Locator Station,the indigenous Tarang RWR and an ELTA 8222 ASPJ.The pilot enjoys great advantage in air combat with the Topsight Helmet Mounted Sight and Target Designation System and carefree maneuvering afforded by the digital Fly-by-Wire system.It’s twin RD-33MK smokeless engines with FADEC ,generate a massive 9000 kg of thrust which is an excellent thrust to weight ratio for combat. The IFTU had to operationalise its aircraft and systems , qualify posted aircrew and convert new pilots onto the aircraft. This is the Navy’s first supersonic carrier borne fighter and a special SBTF was set up for pilots to practice ski jump takeoffs. The top echelon of the squadron has a mix of Sea Harrier and Mig-29B background.The first batch of pilots which went to Russia to convert to the aircraft had an IAF Fighter Combat Leader embedded with them ,who converted with them and came back and started laying down the tactics for the exploitation of the aircraft and its weapon systems. Both the Navy and the Air Force realized that the MiG-29K was more like a Sukhoi due to its capabilities than a IAF MiG-29. So,the new FCL to be posted in is Wing Commander Akhilesh Sabnis,who hails from the MiG-21 Bison and the Su-30 MKI world. He is one of the few Su-30 MKI FCLs in the IAF and will now work up with the squadron and will land on the deck of the Vikramaditya too when she arrives. ~berkut
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 09:37:28 +0000
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