NAL Saras : Updates & Discussions
- Thread starter Ashwin
- Start date
If the Mk-2 is able to replace the aging Do-228 from military service that alone will make this project successful. Any sales to civilian market are a plus but not mandatory. HAL should be able to build the Mk-2 at their current Do-228 production facility:
The Saras Mk1 itself could be converted into an armed drone imo (like the Italian Hammerhead derived from the Piaggio Avanti light turboprop). The two aircraft are roughly in the same class and share some design commonalities (for example, pusher props). It would be a good complement to the Rustom-1 in Indian service.
Last edited:
btw, turkey's baykar acquired piaggio recently
Turkey’s Baykar to acquire Italy’s Piaggio Aerospace
The Italian government has cleared the sale of Piaggio Aerospace to Turkish unmanned air vehicle maker Baykar Technologies.
www.flightglobal.com
Our guys are asleep at the wheel whereas their moves are co ordinated by the Khalifa Sultan Turdogan. It's a huge shot in the arm for Turkish defence industry & more importantly from the perspective of exports.btw, turkey's baykar acquired piaggio recently
Turkey’s Baykar to acquire Italy’s Piaggio Aerospace
The Italian government has cleared the sale of Piaggio Aerospace to Turkish unmanned air vehicle maker Baykar Technologies.
Meanwhile we're supposed to come up with an improved modern version of the Dornier 228 & we need close to a decade to get it into production . All this after spending nearly a decade developing it . Wonder how long with the RTA take assuming we go in for it ? Sad state of affairs.
We seem to be content building airframe sub-assemblies and doors for Boeing and Airbus despite ordering 1000s of airliners over the last few years. A local assembly line would have exposed our engineers to the latest in lean manufacturing techniques. Hopefully, we could leverage that to buiild our own RTA. China's COMAC C919 is already a success and could soon be competing with B737s and A320s for single-aisle market. On the other hand, NAL hasn't started work yet on the much more modest Saras Mk2.
To be fair even that takes time, i mean qualifying as a sub vendor to a major foreign oem. They have very specific set of process for this which takes almost 5-6 years or more. So suddenly one local mfg can not set up shop. it requires sophisticated machinery that would be imported, cleared via both country govt and we have seen many denials in such. So the entire process takes a long time. And even after that if satisfactory ie you qualified as the sub vendor , original oem would want a dedicated facility and book order for years. Which means that facility and machinery can not be used for other domestic mfg line of the same vendors other business. So overall you have to either invest for domestic consumption again, where we know the demand is way too low to sustain the line.
A classical example of Inefficient Government and stubborn bureaucracy. Let us not discuss this. It is in making for 3 decades. Nothing has changed even after 2014. Same inefficiency, same new deadlines , same excuses.
The IAF apparently had a requirement for around 15 Saras Mk1 for target towing, executive transport and other roles. It might have been used in a SIGINT role similar to the RC-12 Guardrail that the Pakistanis got for free from the US. But sadly, all we have are 2 TDs gathering dust somewhere.