IAF to buy system for rescuing pilots, planes after mishaps

With air mishaps dogging its fleet, the IAF will buy a Search and Rescue System (SRS) for post-crash recovery of crew, aircraft and helicopters, be it during war or peace.

"The defence ministry intends to procure SRS for carrying out secure rescue of aircrew and aircraft during combat as well as peace time for which a request for information has been issued," a senior IAF officer said today.

"The IAF intends to employ the equipment for recovering downed aircrew and aircraft. The system being bought will be put to use by IAF for over 20 years," the officer said.

On an average, the IAF suffers about 10 air crashes a year involving its fighter jets, transport aircraft and helicopters. It had recorded 14 mishaps in 2009, including two Sukhoi fighter jet crashes. This year, it has already had over half-a-dozen mishaps, including three MiG-27 crashes.

The light weight SRS would consist of personal rescue beacons, emergency locator transmitters, automatic locator transmitter and programming units based on 406 MHz frequency.

"SRS is an equipment that can be carried on person by fighter and helicopter crew flight jackets, be fitted on airframe of various transport aircraft and helicopters, be these slow prop or fast jets," the officer said.

The IAF was looking at an equipment with operational capabilities to undertake missions at altitudes between less than 1,000 feet to 60,000 feet at speed of 90 to 600 knots.

The SRS would get automatically or manually activated by pilots or once it came in contact with saline water, transmitting distress data through satellites using 406 MHz frequency and position data using GPS signals.

"It must be light weight and be capable of single-hand operations. Its must be programmable at frequencies including 406 MHz with encryption codes and have built-in GPS with capability to transmit position data and also usable as normal GPS with map display for aircrew," the officer said, giving details of what the IAF was looking for in SRS.

"It must be capable of transmission on being interrogated by airborne stations with matching codes, have lighting on the sensors. It can be carried in flying jacket (NATO standards) as well as in survival pack as a single unit," he added.

With rechargeable maintenance-free batteries capable of minimum of 72 hours operations in standby mode, the system would provide pilots the facility for voice communication with a talk time of one hour with rechargeable solar cells.

"The SRS should have a power output of minimum two watts and be capable of satellite communication and ground-to-air range of 200 km," the officer added.

The airborne locator interrogators and automatic locator system on SRS would display ranges, bearings and co-ordinates in latitude and longitude format of the location of distress with a range of 200 km along with a positional accuracy of not less than 100 metres and directional accuracy of not less than 2 degrees.