Strategic Affairs Archives - Page 302 of 303

23 Aug

Airlines route recast plan aims to lower fuel use, avoid Pakistani air space

New Delhi: In a bid to save fuel, cut emission and have better route utilisation, Indian carriers have suggested a new plan to the government that co-opts the air space controlled by the armed forces. It also calls for bypassing Pakistan while flying overseas to save navigation fees. Called the Flexible Use of Airspace Initiative, under the larger aviation services management, it calls for: New, permanent routes for shorter navigation; grant of weekly permissions to operate shorter routes; and case-by-case approval by the defence Air Traffic Control to a pilot in air. "If this is institutionalised, it will be a win-win-win…

10 Jun

Russia eyes manufacture of n-power components in India

Moscow: Russian atomic power corporation Rosatom is looking forward to participating in the Make in India programme and assembly of fuel rods and control system components appear to be on the cards, an official said.Oleg A. Grigoryev, Vice President of TVEL, Rosatom's fuel company, told IANS in an interview on the sidelines of the Atomexpo 2016 that it was looking forward to assembling fuel rods in India. On similar lines, Andry Butko, Director of Rusatom Automated Control Systems (RASU), said that some components for nuclear power plants can be assembled in India. Gradually, components can be produced in India for use…

27 Feb

Nepal to probe Air Kasthamandap plane accident

Kathmandu: A day after an Air Kasthamandap plane crash-landed in Nepal, the country s government has formed a four-member commission to probe the incident in Kalikot district. The commission was formed under the coordination of Yagya Prasad Gautam, former secretary Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Xinhua quoted Suresh Acharya, joint secretary at the ministry, as saying. Other members of the commission include Lieutenant Colonel Rabindra Basnet of Nepal Army, Goma Air Engineer R.K Singh and an under-secretary of the ministry. Friday s incident comes just two days after the crash of Tara Airlines in Myagdi district, killing all 23…

24 Feb

Missing Nepal aircraft may have crashed: Reports

Kathmandu: An aircraft with 20 passengers, among them two children and two foreigners, and three crew members on board which went missing in Nepal on Wednesday morning may have crashed, media reported. The plane took off from Pokhara at 7.47 a.m., deputy director of Pokhara airport Yogendra Kumar told IANS. Located 200 km west of capital Kathmandu, Pokhara is the second largest city of Nepal. It is a popular tourist destination and the kick-off point for climbing expeditions to the 8,091-metre Mt Annapurna. The Tara Air Viking 9N-AHH Twin Otter was headed to Jomsom town in Mustang district. It lost contact…

31 Oct

Russian airliner crashes in central Egypt

Cairo/Moscow: A Russian airliner crashed on Saturday in central Sinai with more than 200 people on board, the office of Egypt s prime minister has confirmed. The office of Egyptian Prime Minister Sharif Ismail confirmed in a statement that a "Russian civilian plane... crashed in the central Sinai." The Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsiya said in a statement that flight 7K 9268 left Sharm el-Sheikh at 6.51 a.m and was due into St. Petersburg s Pulkovo airport at 12.10 a.m., BBC reported. Egyptian media reports said wreckage of the plane had already been found and at least 20 ambulances sent to the…

20 Oct

Lockheed begins construction of US presidential choppers in India

New Delhi: Construction of the first lot of six VH 92 Super Hawk helicopters that transport the US president has begun in India. The new generation helicopter is based on the Sikorsky S-92, whose cabin, some other parts and wire harnesses are made only in India in collaboration with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) at Hyderabad. Work on the cabins, the initial building blocks for the VVIP helicopters, began recently at this facility, according to a report by India Strategic defence magazine (www.indiastrategic.in). The VH variant is a much advanced version of the civilian S-92 rotorcraft or its military version, the…

25 Feb

Indian American oversees US regional aviation ops

Washington : An Indian American has been named to a key leadership position in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responsible for oversight and execution of operations in nine US regions. As Executive Director for Regions and Centre Operations (ARC) at the FAA, Ravi Chaudhary, a former US Air Force officer, is also responsible for executing a $288 million operating budget and leading over 2,100 federal employees. As second-in-command to the Deputy Assistant Administrator for ARC, he among other things looks after congressional outreach, emergency readiness, facilities management, and centralised support for the National Aerospace System. Appointed to his present job in…

15 Jan

False bomb alarm at Rome airport

Rome : Air traffic was disrupted for hours at the Fiumicino Rome airport in Italy Wednesday evening due to a false bomb alarm on a Niki flight bound for Vienna, media reported. Anti-terrorism procedures were put in place and air traffic was blocked at the airport after a passenger of the departing flight said there was a bomb inside the aircraft, Xinhua reported citing la Repubblica newspaper. The threat was later found to be a false alarm. The man who raised the alarm, first believed to be from an Arab country, was later ascertained by police to be a Slovenian national…

11 Nov

India, Israel successfully test long-range missile

New Delhi : India and Israel Monday successfully tested the Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM) in Israel, an official statement said. The test was done by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in the presence of scientists of India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and officials of the Indian armed forces. The LRSAM system has been jointly developed by DRDO and IAI Israel. "All the systems including the radar, communication launch systems and the missile system have performed as expected and hit the target directly and damaged. The system is developed for both Israel defence forces and Indian armed forces,"…

07 Apr

Singapore Airlines to operate A380 aircraft from May

New Delhi : Singapore Airlines Monday said it will deploy Airbus A380 - the world's largest passenger aircraft - on select routes in India from May. "A380 superjumbo will operate daily to both Mumbai and New Delhi with effect from May 30, 2014, taking over from two daily flights that currently serve each city using smaller Boeing 777s," the airline said in a statement. "Another daily flight will continue to be operated with B777s. In total, 14 flights will serve each city per week." The decision comes after the government allowed Airbus A380 to fly into the country in January. The…