Articles By Gp Capt B Menon
Revamping the IAF’s Trainer Fleet
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Vol. 31.1 Jan-Mar 2016 | Date: 11 Jul , 2016
With the drawdown of numbers of operational squadrons likely to continue till at least 2025, it is imperative that those in the cockpits of a force with reduced numbers of platforms have the best...
Pakistan Air Force Today: Implications for India
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Vol. 30.4 Oct-Dec 2015 | Date: 19 Apr , 2016
The IAF has lost the qualitative edge vis-a-vis the PAF and the PLAAF, and may descend into numerical parity with the PAF for the first time in the near future because of our failure to induct...
PLAAF: Rising Challenge for the IAF
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Vol. 30.4 Oct-Dec 2015 | Date: 21 Mar , 2016
The PLAAF has evolved from a territorial air defence force to one of offensive and defensive power projection beyond borders. It has also downsized by 40 per cent from the 1990s in terms of...
Manned versus Unmanned Aerial Combat Vehicles
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Vol. 30.2 Apr-Jun 2015 | Date: 07 Oct , 2015
At the basic level, Unmanned Aerial Combat Vehicles (UACV) differ from manned fighters only in that control of mission execution is done remotely in the former and from within the vehicle by...
Military Application of Amphibious Aircraft in the Indian Environment
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Vol. 28.3 Jul-Sep 2013 | Date: 03 Oct , 2015
Amphibian aircraft offer some advantages over fixed-wing land or carrier-based aircraft and helicopters. At longer ranges and over open ocean areas, these advantages become more marked. In our...
Aerial Weapons Systems for the Indian Air Force
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Vol. 29.4 Oct-Dec 2014 | Date: 24 Jan , 2015
In the foreseeable future extending up to the next 20 years or so, the IAF will have to prepare for the eventuality of a hostile adversary continuing a low intensity campaign using expendable...
Employment of Rotary Wing Platforms in Battle
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Vol. 29.3 Jul-Sep 2014 | Date: 07 Jan , 2015
Apart from other roles, insurgencies in Malaya, Kenya, Zimbabwe, French Indo-China and Algeria saw helicopters being used for troop induction into and extraction from combat zones, rudimentary...
Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft for the Indian Air Force
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Vol. 28.2 Apr-Jun 2013 | Date: 25 Dec , 2014
The IAF has decided that there is a pressing requirement to have a stealth fighter with multi-role capabilities in its inventory to cater for future threats. It is also evident that this...
Employment of Helicopters in Counter Insurgency Roles
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Vol. 29.2 Apr-Jun 2014 | Date: 29 Jul , 2014
Experts estimate that about 80 different insurgencies are active around the world. Malaya, French Indochina, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, South Africa, Algeria, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka,...
Securing the Eagle’s Nest: Airfield and Infrastructure Security
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Vol. 28.1 Jan-Mar 2013 | Date: 06 Apr , 2013
Foolproof security of an operational base has been a vital prerequisite for the successful conduct of war. History of warfare reveals that neglect of this vital aspect has invariably led to...
Air Chief Marshal Browne answers the Media at Aero India 2013
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 08 Feb , 2013
The press conference by the CAS, Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne, on 07 Feb 2013 was a question & answer session. Highlights is short are given below. Procurement 2013-14. The planned procurements...
‘Hawk AJT Induction has been smooth and the pilots are happy’
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 08 Feb , 2013
The BAE Systems team at Aero India 2013 discussed the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) induction into the IAF and the new RAF training concept of the Virtual Training System (VTS), during the...
‘A330 MRTT can carry 45 MT of cargo in addition to the fuel’
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 08 Feb , 2013
Interview with Kieran Daly, Press Manager, Communications, Airbus Military A brief but informative interaction was held with Airbus Military on 08 Feb 2013 during Aero India 2013 regarding the...
‘Ability to provide an effective and credible deterrence capability...
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 08 Feb , 2013
Interview with Major General Ilan Biran, Chairman of the Board, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. on 07 February 2013 Highlights from the interview & technical summaries provided are given...
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) vision for 2020
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 07 Feb , 2013
The press conference was chaired by R. K. Tyagi, Chairman-HAL with all major division heads present. The highlights from his overview are given below. Helicopters. 2 tech demonstrators, the...
‘The variants for Russia & India have common major systems’
By: Gp Capt B Menon | Issue: Net Edition | Date: 07 Feb , 2013
Speech by Mikhail Pogosyan, President of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) at Press Conference – Aero India 2013, Bangalore The President of UAC started by stating that the partnership between...