IAF to extend life of Kiran jet trainer

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has initiated the process to extend the operational life of the Kiran trainer aircraft, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said Tuesday.

The IAF conducts the intermediate stage of flying training for ab-initio pilots on the Kiran aircraft.

The aircraft are scheduled to complete their technical life over the next couple of years.

However, the minister said, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which has been developing the Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), as a replacement for the Kiran, has not so far been able to resolve critical wing and airframe design and development issues related to stall and spin.

"In order to meet the emergent situation created due to inordinate delay in the IJT project, IAF has already initiated the process for extending the technical life of the Kiran aircraft," Jaitley informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

"The IAF has also initiated action to look for alternate options for the IJT," he said.

In response to another query, the defence minister said complaints of irregularities in technical evaluation and procurement of Active Towed Array Sonar (ATAS) for the Indian Navy are "under examination"

The ATAS enables ships to detect submarines and torpedoes beyond their weapon range.

The sonar also allows observation of the sea space at ranges considerably above 60 km, depending on the water conditions of the water.