December 2020

VAdm Sandeep Naithani is new controller warship production

Vice Admiral Sandeep Naithani, AVSM, VSM, has assumed charge as the Controller Warship Production and Acquisition on 21 Dec 2020. A graduate of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla Pune, he was commissioned into the Electrical Branch of the Indian Navy on 01 Jan 1985. The Admiral is a Post Graduate in Radar and Communication Engineering from IIT Delhi and a distinguished alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) and the National Defence College (NDC).

Boeing's F/A-18 successfully performs ski-jump launch

Boeing [NYSE: BA] and the U.S. Navy proved recently that the F/A-18 Super Hornet can operate from a “ski jump” ramp, demonstrating the aircraft’s suitability for India’s aircraft carriers.

The demonstrations, held at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD, show that the Super Hornet would do well with the Indian Navy’s Short Takeoff but Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) system and validate earlier simulation studies by Boeing.

35th India - Indonesia Coordinated Patrol commences

The 35th edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT) between the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy is being conducted from 17 to 18 December 2020. Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kulish, an indigenously built missile corvette along with P8I Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) will undertake coordinated patrol with Indonesian Naval Ship KRI Cut Nyak Dien, a Kapitan Pattimura (Parchim I) class corvette and a MPA of the Indonesian Navy. 

MC-21-310 aircraft with Russian PD-14 engines made its maiden flight

On the 15thof December 2020 the MС-21-310 aircraft equipped with the new Russian PD-14 engines made its maiden flight from the airfield of Irkutsk Aviation Plant, a branch of Irkut Corporation (part of UAC, Rostec State Corporation).

The aircraft was operated by the crew of test pilots VasilySevastyanov and Andrey Voropaev and test engineer Alexander Solovyev.