HAL will upgrade combat simulators

bangalore: the air combat simulator (acs) for fighter aircraft such as mig series and jaguars to enable iaf pilots train, would be upgraded at a cost of rs 40 crore, hindustan aeronautics limited chairman n. r. mohanty said. the upgraded acs was generic and would help the pilots train better, reducing accidents in the mig aircraft, he said. the hal had also constituted a simulator design study group (sdsg) to build simulators for other type of aircraft and helicopters, mohanty said.the group would submit a feasibility report soon, because, he said, "we want to build our own simulators instead of buying it from outside.". the group will be headed by the director (design). the move is being seen as an effort towards self-dependence. the chairman said hal would work closely with the defence research and development organisation and the gtre which was developing the kaveri engine for the light combat aircraft in the areas of development, upgrading, and technology to boost indian industry. orders have been given to develop the sukhoi su-30 mki fighter aircraft in a time-bound manner. the general managers of the five divisions of hal at nasik, koraput, hyderabad, lucknow and korwa, would work under the supervision of the mig complex chief, to monitor the progress continuosly. an indo-russian sub-committee has been constituted to review the progress of the project once every three months. "no excuses will be accepted for any delay whatsoever and the gms of the five divisions have been told that the first su-30 mki which is scheduled to be ready by 2004 be delivered on time. we are interacting with the russian industry as well," mohanty affirmed. the gms of the divisions have been asked to gather their own marketing intelligence and conduct independent surveys. mohanty is said to have directed the senior officers select the projects and fix a time-frame for completing them, reiterating, "no seepage of time will be allowed. also, unnecessary expenditure will be avoided."