New Delhi, Oct 10: Indian Air Force fighter pilots
may now hit their targets more accurately if some new devices
for guided weapons testing, work according to plans.
What's more, the tests can be carried out on the weapons
just before the fighter aircraft's take-off, thereby saving
time, effort and money lost in tests conducted in
air-conditioned facilities.
"We have developed and successfully tested our guided
weapon testing devices, which help improve the accuracy rate
of guided weapons of IAF like Infra-Red Guided Missiles (IRGM)
and Laser Guided Bombs (LGBs)," Director of DRDO's Laser
Science and Technology Center (LASTEC), A K Maini told PTI
here.
The device matches the weapons' code specifications with
their target designators and seekers, and informs the user the
likely effectiveness of the attack and target acquisition
accuracies.
The matching codes of target designator and seekers in
missiles is crucial for the weapon to be accurate, Maini said.
"Missiles drift from their targets because the codes of
seekers in missiles do not match with the designators. Our
fighter aircraft also face similar problems, as codes in PGMs
and laser target designators and seekers tend to shift
marginally after some time, which makes the missile drift from
its target by a long distance," Maini said.
LASTEC's IRGM tester simulates the jet exhaust signatures
of enemy aircraft, which need to match up with those of the
infra-red seeker device in the IRGM, which is used against
enemy aircraft.
"When the signature and the seeker do not match, the
missiles will move away from its target," the scientist from
the country's premier defence research agency said.
"If the infra-red seeker device recognises the signature
and locks on to it, the missile is performing well. Otherwise,
we change the seeker codes to match the enemy aircraft's
signatures. This helps the missile to home on accurately to
its targets," Maini said.
The LGB tester also carries out the checks in a similar
fashion. The LGB tester simulates the codes of the target
designator, which direct the LGB to hit its targets after
being released from aircraft. If the laser seeking device on
LGB is performing well, it will lock on to the target. If not,
the codes of the laser target designator are changed to match
with the seeker.
IAF can perform the functionality check on its missiles
even when they are strapped on to the weapon delivery
platform.
"Till now, matching of codes and signatures was done in
huge air-conditioned laboratories, which took 15-20 hours to
perform the checks. With the LASTEC's devices, it can be done
right before the aircraft takes off for a mission," Maini
said.
IAF had successfully field tested the LGB and IRGM tester
in Gwalior and Pune respectively along with a LASTEC team. IAF
has the Russian R-73 and French Magic Matra IRGMs and Paveway
LGBs in its inventory.
IAF's fighter aircraft fleet fly with a mixed package of
IRGMs and LGBs during missions. IAFs Mirage 2000 aircraft had
used its LGBs very effectively against enemy targets on snowy
peaks in Operation 'Safed Sagar' during Kargil war in 1999.
Bureau Report