INDIAN ARMED FORCES CHIEFS ON
OUR RELENTLESS AND FOCUSED PUBLISHING EFFORTS

SP's Aviation - ISSUE No 09-08

Issue Features

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  Indian Scenario - Present Tense
  By Group Captain A.K. Sachdev, Bangalore

  Advent of a slew of LCCs perhaps led to over-capacity, under-pricing and a tariff cold war that set the scene for the current haemorrhage in the industry.

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  Airlines: Merging to March
  

  The consolidation phase in Indian aviation could be said to have started with the formation of NACIL—amalgamating Air India and Indian into one intended entity.

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  Cargo: On a Learning Curve
  

  Jet fuel prices continue to take a toll on India’s nascent cargo airlines sector even as lack of earlier experience hobbles its growth.

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  MRO: Chequered Growth
  

  The government has permitted 100 per cent foreign direct investment in this sector—which is good news for all airlines.

• Survival of the Smartest
  

  While every other stakeholder related to the industry is making money (albeit in a seesawing pattern), the airlines are—without exception—incurring recurring losses.

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  Chinese Realism
  By Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey, Bangalore

  China has 863 airliners—more than twice that of India. Also, Beijing can boast of an ultramodern international airport, which India is expected to get only after two years.

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  Defying the Odds
  By Group Captain A.K. Sachdev, Bangalore

  The term low fare is gaining more acceptability as airlines take pains to convince customers that there is no short cut in terms of Safety, Reliability and On Time performance.

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  IAF Chief’s Message
  By Air Chief Marshal F.H. MAJOR, Chief of the Air Staff Indian Air Force

  Fellow citizens! On the 76th anniversary of the Indian Air Force, I extend warm greetings to each and every one of you.

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  Merit Steals a March
  By Air Marshal (Retd) N. Menon, Bangalore

  In the human resources domain, the challenge for the Indian Air Force (IAF) lies in shaping individuals from disparate socio-economic backgrounds into effective air warriors and then mould them into teams to accomplish laid down air force objectives.

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  HRD in the IAF
  

  Identifying the right candidate for the job is the first and crucial step in HRD in the IAF.

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  Expert Guidance
  By Air Marshal (Retd) B.N. Gokhale, Pune

  Apart from structured in-service training courses, the IAF has introduced newer techniques to enable all personnel to learn on their own.

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  A Giant Leap forward
  By Group Captain (Retd) Joseph Noronha, Goa

  Is the IAF overawed by the prospect of operating sophisticated fighters? Not by any measure. As evidence is an enviable record of successfully inducting technologically advanced aircraft and equipment.

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  Multi-Dimensional Diversity
  

  Periodic acquisition of aircraft by the IAF over the years has led to a situation wherein the organisation is saddled with an assorted technology spectrum.

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  Eagle has Landed
  By Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia

  The IAF’s participation in the multi-national Red Flag Exercise has pushed the Indo-US strategic partnership a notch higher.

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  Defining Capabilities
  

  Rapid and ongoing progress in technologies demands the IAF maintain a dynamic outlook in order to keep pace with emerging operational capabilities.

• Securing the South
  

  While there has been progressive increase in the strategic importance of the southern peninsula, the threat scenario has become more operationally challenging, a situation the HQ SAC needs to contend with.

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  Helilift Saved the Day
  By Air Commodore R O J Assey

  The successful 1971 campaign in Bangladesh ought to rank in the annals of military history as a tribute to the helicopter and transport fleet of the IAF.

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  Candid Musings
  By Air Marshal (Retd) V.K. Bhatia

  Compartmentalised into four broad sections, the sleek hardback holds up a mirror to the human aspects of aviation.

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  Women Aviators
  By Group Captain (Retd)Joseph Noronha, Goa

  Saudamini Deshmukh with co-pilot Nivedita Bhasin and two air hostesses flew a Fokker Friendship F-27 from Kolkata to Silchar and back in January 1986—the first Indian all-women flight crew and the first such feat on this type anywhere in the world.

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  Mehar Singh (1915–1952)
  By Group Captain (Retd) Joseph Noronha, Goa

  In November 1947, Air Commodore Mehar Singh insisted on being the first to land a Dakota laden with supplies and reinforcements at a temporary airstrip in Poonch that had been invaded by Pakistan-backed irregulars. Within six days, 210 tonnes of supplies were delivered and Poonch was saved from certain capture.

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  Civil Special
  A Word from Editor
  By Jayant Baranwal - Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

  Despite the cloud hovering over the aviation industry, there is considerable interest, expectation and excitement over the forthcoming India Aviation 2008 at Hyderabad.

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  Military Special
  A Word from Editor
  By Jayant Baranwal - Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

  2008 will be etched in the annals of IAF history as the year the force for the first time participated in the US sponsored Red Flag Exercise conducted from Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas in Nevada.

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  Affordable Air Travel a Fading Dream
  By Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey

  The one debilitating factor that completely transformed the dynamics of aviation is the price of ATF. To stop the haemorrhage, airlines will have to raise fares substantially—once again pushing air travel to realms beyond the reach of the common man.

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  Foster Self-Reliance
  By Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey

  The IAF needs to be a partner in the development of aircraft and weapon systems by the Indian defence and aerospace industries as also the various R&D organisations within the country and not merely a potential customer who has the easy option to turn to external sources for hardware