Hawk-i with indigenous RTOS

Towards achieving Final Operational Clearance (FOC) of the Tejas LCA, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited carried out a hot refueling of the aircraft followed by a sortie at Bangalore on 26 February 2018. Hot Refueling is a single point pressure refueling of the aircraft with the engine in operation, a process by which a fighter aircraft is refueled (in between sorties) while its engine is running, thereby cutting down the refueling time by half and the turn-around time significantly.

HAL’s Hawk-i with indigenous Real Time Operating System (RTOS) has been flown, this being the first time that an indigenous RTOS has been certified by CEMILAC. RTOS is the system software which provides a standard run-time environment for real-time applications execution in a safe and reliable manner. The RTOS performance has been validated on the Mission Computer of the Hawk-i trainer, the HAL-RTOS to be operated as a standard Real Time Operating System for any future avionics systems indigenous development.

The Indian Army’s requirement for dedicated attack helicopters integrated with various Strike Corps is likely to be “fulfilled soon”, the Government of India having issued a Letter of Request (LoR) to the US Government for purchase of Boeing Apache AH-64E attack helicopters. The LoR formally begins the FMS (foreign military sales) process which follows the US governmentto-government methodology for export of US-built armament. This will be followed by the US response with a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) to take the Apache programme forward, “negotiations would follow”. Although, the Indian Army has long projected their requirement for 39 such helicopters, the initial batch of six Apaches is seen as an important breakthrough in the Army’s case for integral attack helicopters.

Earlier in 2015, the Government of India had placed orders for 22 Apaches plus 15 Chinook heavy lift helicopters to be operated by the Indian Air Force but these are essentially to support the Indian Army’s Strike Corps.

Tata Boeing Aerospace inaugurate Apache facility

On 1 March 2018, Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL), a joint venture between Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. (TASL) inaugurated its modern facility in Hyderabad, which will be