India's first navigation satellite PSLV-XL

The 44-metre-tall Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-XL (PSLV-XL) weighing 320 tonnes at lift-off is a four-stage rocket alternatively powered by solid and liquid propellants.

The Indian rocket that at midnight will deliver the country's first navigation satellite is being readied for its mission with its second stage getting fuelled at Sriharikota, a senior official at Indian space agency said.
"The countdown is progressing well and the filling of the liquid fuel in the second stage is going on fine. The weather is good and we do not see any hitch in the mission," the official at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said on Monday.
The 64.5 hour countdown began at 7.11 am on Saturday.
The 44-metre-tall Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-XL (PSLV-XL) weighing 320 tonnes at lift-off is a four-stage rocket alternatively powered by solid and liquid propellants.
The solid fuel hydroxide-terminated-poly-butadiene comes readily cast while the liquid fuel - unsymmetrical dim-ethyl-hydrazine-hydrate and 25 percent of nitrogen tetroxide for second stage and mono-methyl-hydrazine and mixed oxide nitrogen for fourth stage — are filled during the countdown.
Around 20 minutes into the launch, the PSLV-XL will eject the 1,425 kg IRNSS-1A (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System-1A) at an altitude of 501 km.
The satellite is intended to provide terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation services and help in disaster management. The system is similar to the global satellite positioning (GPS) of the US and other countries.
The satellite, with a lifespan of around 10 years, is one of the seven constituting the IRNSS system developed by India and designed to provide accurate position information service to users within the country and up to 1,500 km from the nation's boundary, ISRO said.
The entire IRNSS system is expected to be in place by 2015 and the project is expected to cost around Rs.1,420 crore.
The service area can be expanded by adding more satellites, ISRO officials said.
The IRNSS will provide two types of services — standard positioning service and restricted service. The former is provided to all users and the later is an encrypted service for authorized users.

HAL Light Combat Helicopter for Indian Army.

The HAL Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) is a multirole combat helicopter being developed in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for use by the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army.

 

The failure of the Russian built Mi-35 to perform satisfactorily in the high altitude battle zones of Kargil highlighted the requirement of an attack helicopter specially made for such operations.In 2006, HAL announced its plans to indigenously design and build the LCH; funds for designing and developing the LCH to meet the requirements of the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force were sanctioned in October 2006. The helicopter has a maximum weight of 5.5 tonnes, and has a service ceiling of 6,500 meters.
The LCH is a derivative of the HAL Dhruv, which was inducted into the Indian armed forces. Basing on an existing helicopter is expected to greatly reduce LCH project costs, which is pegged at 3.76 billion.
The Indian Air Force is to acquire 65 LCHs and Indian Army is to acquire 114 LCHs^.
The LCH was expected to be ready for the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) by December 2010 with the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) in 2011. However, the revised timeframes for LCH should be ready for induction into IAF by 2012-2013.

The first prototype of LCH completed its first ground run on 4 February 2010.
HAL has a firm order to deliver 65 LCH to the IAF and 114 to the Army. HAL has performed the maiden flight of its LCH on 29 March 2010.
The first LCH Technology Demonstrator (TD-1) flew a 20 minute flight from HAL's Helicopter Complex, Bangalore. It carried out low speed, low altitude checks on the systems on board. The crew reported that the performance of the helicopter and systems were satisfactory.
The third test flight of the LCH was successfully made on 23 May 2010; it fulfilled the desired parameters and allowed for further armed tests to proceed. The second prototype, which has been weaponized, was unveiled at Aero India 2011 in February 2011.
The second LCH prototype (TD-2) featured substantial weight reductions over the earlier TD-1.
Ashok Nayak, chairman of HAL, stated that the project has exceeded human and payload requirements mandated by IAF for the development.Light Combat Helicopter TD-2 achieved its first flight on 28 June 2011.Two more prototypes are under construction to speed up its induction into the Indian Air Force in 2012.
On 1 July 2012, the LCH begin a series of trials near Chennai; amongst other elements, the LCH's air speed measurement system will be trialled and various component stresses gauged measured. The third prototype of the LCH is about to be delivered and is expected to be different from the LCH-1 and LCH-2.
The third prototype is said to be significantly lighter than its predecessors.^.
The LCH second prototype, TD-2 completed sea level trials conducted in late June to early July 2012. The trials covered helicopter performance, loads measurement, and handling qualities.

LCH is intended for use in air defense against slow moving aerial targets (e.g. aircraft and UAVs), Counter Surface Force Operation (CSFO),destruction of enemy air defence operations, escort to special heliborne operations (SHBO),
Counter-insurgency operations (COIN), offensive Employment in Urban Warfare, support of combat search and rescue operations (SAR) operations, anti-tank role and scout duties.
It will also be capable of high-altitude warfare (HAW) since its operational ceiling will be 6,000–6,500 metres (20,000–21,300 ft).

General characteristics:
* Crew: 2
* Length: 15.8 m (51ft 8in)
* Rotor diameter: 13.3 m (43 ft 6 in)
* Height: 4.7 m (15 ft 4 in)
* Disc area: 138.9 m² (1472 ft²)
* Empty weight: 2550 kg (5621 lb)
* Loaded weight: 4000 kg (8818 lb)
* Useful load: 2950 kg (6503 lb)
* Max takeoff weight: 5,500 kg (12125 lb)
* Powerplant: 2× HAL/Turbomeca Shakti turboshaft, 900 kW (1200 hp) each

Performance:
* Never exceed speed: 330 km/h (178 knots, 207 mph)
* Maximum speed: 275 km/h (148 knots, 171 mph)
* Cruise speed: 260 km/h (140 knots, 161 mph)
* Range: 550km (297 nm, 342 mi)
* Service ceiling: 6500 m (21,325 ft)
* Rate of climb: 12 m/s (2362 ft/min)
* Disc loading: 39.59 kg/m² (8.23 lb/ft²)
* Power/mass: 327 W/kg (0.198 hp/lb)

Armament:
* Guns: 1× 20 mmM621 cannon on Nexter THL-20 turret 
* Rockets: 60/80 mm caliber rockets
* Missiles: air-to-surface, MBDA air-to-air, anti-radiation, and Helina anti-tank missiles 
* Bombs: Gravity bombs, cluster bombs, grenade launchers

****************