An upgraded Indian IL-38 with the Sea Dragon system
Posted on 09/07/2007 5:54:46 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Sea Dragon Wrecks Ilyushin Aircraft
India hasn’t accepted Russia’s Il-38 jets with the Sea Dragon navigation system and suspended the payments under the contract sealed by Rosoboronexport and executed by Ilyushin Aircraft Construction Company. The result of delay could be the failure of Rosoboronexport in the tender that India holds to choose eight new antisubmarine jets.
India has suspended the payments under $150-million contract with Russia for upgrading five Il-38 patrol aircraft by new search-and-track Sea Dragon system, said sources with defense and industrial complex of Russia.
The Indians claim Sea Dragon failed to correspond to the technical design assignment during the test operations in the Barents Sea. The system allegedly failed to discover a submarine that was at the target distance from it. According to Russia’s participants of the tests, Sea Dragon operated up to the weather conditions in the North.
Anyway, instead of accepting the third jet and paying a half of its worth, the Indians insist on sorting out the problem of Sea Dragon at first.
Rosoboronexport concluded the $150-million contract for upgrading five Il-38s into Il-38SDs (by installing the Sea Dragon system) in 2001. Two Il-38SDs are ready and upgrading of the third jet is to be completed in September. The planes are at Ilyushin base in Zhukovsky-town of the Moscow region.
A source with one of Russia’s aircraft construction companies in India said that India’s proposal is to install BrahMos of Russia’s-Indian design instead of the Sea Snake. India passed into service that cruise missile in its land-based and naval variants but BrahMos has been never installed on the aircraft.
The tricky point is that execution of Il-38 contract will affect the tender for buying eight antisubmarine jets for Indian Navy. The bidders are the U.S. Lockheed Martin with P-3C Orion, Boeing with P-8A Poseidon and Russia with Il-38.
An upgraded Indian IL-38 with the Sea Dragon system
The Il-38 is a turboprop, not a “jet,” doofus reporter.
We called it the “Orionski.” It is an unreliable airplane with third-rate electronics manned my Russian sailors who make $95 a month.
Post or FReepmail me if you wish to be enlisted in or discharged from the Navair Pinglist.
This is a medium volume pinglist.
Maybe he didn’t see the little spinny things on the wings
The P-8A looks cool.
We used to say, “It May be a P-3”, in order to remember it’s Nato nickname.
You’re rolling early today magslinger.
Looks like a P-3 with poorly designed wing roots.
I work an odd schedule and that often makes my FReeping somewhat haphazard. By my personal clock, it was late at night rather than early in the morning, which explains why I totally missed your post when you originally made it.
What is that over the cockpit, a secondary radar array?
Thats the sleeper compartment.
Yep,for air & maritime search.
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