The Phase-IIA expansion of Karwar base, which gives the country both strategic depth and operational flexibility on the western seaboard, is now being sent to the Cabinet Committee on Security for the final nod after defence minister A K Antony approved it last week, top sources said.

Defence secretary Shashikant Sharma visited Karwar recently to get a firsthand look at the naval base, which can currently base 11 major warships and 10 smaller ships after Phase-I completion at a cost of Rs 2,629 crore.

Navy will be able to berth 32 major warships and submarines, and various other ships including 10 of the 80 fast-interceptor craft (FICs) to be acquired for coastal security force Sagar Prahari Bal, after Phase-IIA is completed by 2018-19.

INS Vikramaditya, or the 44,570-tonne Admiral Gorshkov being refitted by Russia for $2.33 billion, will be inducted much before that. With the congested Mumbai harbour not capable of handling INS Vikramaditya, some warships may have to be shifted out from Karwar to accommodate the carrier.

The six Scorpene submarines, being built at Mazagon Docks for Rs 23,562 crore and slated for induction in the 2015-2020 timeframe, will also be housed at Karwar. With its natural cover and depth of water, the base is ideal for stealthy submarine operations.

Karwar is India’s third major naval base after Mumbai and Visakhapatnam on the west coast, while Pakistan already has five at Gwadar, Ormara, Karachi, Pasni and Jiwani.

Under Phase-II, Karwar will get an airbase, armament depot, dockyard complex and missile silos, apart from additional jetties, berthing and anchorage facilities. The eventual aim is to base 50 frontline warships at Karwar after Phase-IIB is completed.

This is critical for strategic needs since the Navy is steaming ahead on its modernization path with 44 warships, six Scorpene submarines, 95 FICs and 106 smaller ships like barges, tugs and vessels already on order.

In tune with the “maritime capability perspective plan”, another 45 warships are in the pipeline. These include six stealth submarines, seven stealth frigates, 16 coastal anti-submarine vessels, four massive landing platform docks and eight mine counter-measure vessels.

Overall, as first reported by TOI, Navy’s ongoing conventional warship, submarine and maritime aircraft acquisition programme as well as proposed projects will together cost well over Rs 3,00,000 crore over the next 15 years.

On the strategic front, Navy plans to have three SSBNs (nuclear-powered submarines with long-range nuclear missiles) and six SSNs (nuclear-powered attack submarines) in the long term. The first SSBN INS Arihant will become operational in first half of the next year.

The Navy has recently inducted MiG 29 K series of fighters to operate from its aircraft carriers INS Viraat and INS Vikramaditya is likely to be inducted by the end of this year. According to a recent statement of Defence Minister A K Antony, of the 1,303 MiG series fighter aircraft, including 872 MiG 21 purchased by the government, a total of 482 planes have crashed till now, killing 171 pilots and 39 civilians.

• Future Job Outlook: In 2006, there was 5,700 airline employed pilots. It is estimated that in 2016 there will be 6000 employed.
• License or Certificates: Student Pilot allows a student who is learning to fly under the tutelage of an instructor to fly alone under specific rules.

Sport Pilot allows a person to fly light weight planes.

Recreational Pilot allows a person to fly with 180 horsepower and 4 seats in the daytime for pleasure only.

Private Pilot allows an individual to fly for pleasure or business.

Commercial Pilot allows an individual to fly for compensation or hire.

Airline Transport Pilot allows an individual to act as pilot in command for a scheduled airline.

• Education and Training Needed: To do good, you need to know these, Transportation (knowledge of methods for moving people)

Public Safety and Security (knowledge of relevant equipment for the security of the people)

Geography (Knowledge of methods of describing features of the land)

English Language (Knowledge of the structure of the English Language)

Physics (Knowledge of physical principles)

Mathematics (Knowledge of pretty much anything related to Math),

Customer and Personal Service (Knowledge of principles for providing Customer and Personal Services).

• Career: Navigating or Piloting a multi-engine plane. You can fly either a passenger plane, or fly for the United States Air Force.
• Skills Needed: Operation Monitoring, Operation and Control, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision making, Active Listening, Monitoring, and Troubleshooting.
• Salary: $170,000 a year for entry level workers. More than $170,000 a year for experienced pilots. Years before the economy started failing, Pilots earned about $300,000 a year. Thats more than what the President of the United States makes.
• Working Conditions: If you fly for the USAF, You will either live on a Aircraft Carrier, or live near a USAF base. If you’re a passenger pilot, you will get to live in your house.

For sure this was one of the best days ever. My parents trusted me and with that trust they were giving me permission to enter another phase of my short life. Certainly they now recognized I was becoming a man at the ripe old age of 12 years old. Wow, my parents had just given me a Winchester BB gun rifle.

I can’t recall if my dad said, “You’ll shoot your eye out,” like the father’s words in “A Christmas Story.” I do remember his stern warning not to shoot any animals and to keep the gun away from houses and windows.  “I won’t, I won’t,” I echoed, as I headed down the road to my friend Paul’s house, rifle in hand.

As a boy, I could not have picked a better place to grow up in then my old neighborhood in Mattydale, New York. Within less than one mile we had Hancock International Airport, US Air Force Base at Hancock, the Army National Guard and the Marines. Tanks literally rolled down the street a half block from home and then they would hold mock wars and drills directly across the road from our house.  The area was ripe for adventures of astronomical proportions for boys of my age. We would climb into the cockpits of fighter jets, wash the fire trucks for the airport fire department, make hotel reservations on the hotel courtesy phones at the airport and eagerly search for old spent shells from past war games.

Well, it didn’t take long before I broke my dad’s first rule. A BB bounced off of a sewer vent pipe and like gravity the little round brass ball found its way to our neighbors front storm door window. It made such a small hole in that glass pane, but nonetheless, it was a hole. “It was an accident dad, honestly, I didn’t do it on purpose,” I bellowed, voice quivering in fear. “I told you to keep that thing away from the house,” was my father’s reply. “I won’t do it again dad, please give me another chance,” I begged.

Chances come and chances go and I miserably blew my second chance. The third house from my parents was owned by an officer in the U.S. Air Force, who was married to a lovely woman from France. Just like my great grandfather from Glasgow, Scotland, our Air Force neighbor raised carrier pigeons. I was always fascinated with these birds and how they would come back to roost in their coops after carrying messages afar. So there I was with my little buddies, Paul, Jeff and Rod. Of all the stupid childhood things, we decided to shoot around the birds roosting on the roof of their coop in my neighbor’s yard. Each of us took a turn, shooting at the roof shingles, watching the pigeons flutter up in the air, only to land a few seconds later. Thinking back on this now, I realize how horrible and immature our boyhood actions were. I took aim at the roof, pulled the trigger, the BB ricocheted and hit a pigeon right in its rear. We scattered like feathers blowing in the wind as the bird rolled from the peek of the roof, down the shingles and to the ground. I, a person who loves all animals, had killed my neighbor’s pigeon.

I was sick to my stomach with remorse for my actions and fear of being found out by my parents. I remember like it was yesterday when the knock on our kitchen door occurred. I ran to answer before my parents could. Oh dear God, there was our neighbor, in his blue uniform, geez, he even had his Air Force hat on. In his hand he was petting his dead bird. “Hi Dennis, are your parents home?” he asked. “Mom, dad – it’s for you,” as I made a hasty retreat. I was summoned back into the kitchen as our neighbor, with soft words mentioned how this was his prized carrier pigeon. He had it imported from France (his wife’s native country). Being the kind man that he was, he went on to relate his own childhood memories of digging up his neighbor’s precious vegetable garden and that “Boys will be boys.” He asked my parents not to give me a strapping. “Yes,” parents did hit their children with belts in those olden days. Instead he recommended some other form of appropriate punishment.

My parents gave me the talking to of the century, took over possession of my BB gun and put me under house arrest. I never did see that rifle again and I must admit, there was a certain amount of relief on my part. I obviously wasn’t mature enough for a BB gun and although I didn’t shoot my eye out, I had broken both of my parents rules. Believe me, I could find many more non life threatening and adventerous pranks and activites to get into. And so it was, my boyhood years of exploration continued.

Written by: Dennis L. Page

If you liked this you may also enjoy:

http://trifter.com/usa-canada/new-york/interesting-facts-about-syracuse-new-york

http://therealowner.com/dogs/winters-cold

http://authspot.com/poetry/freedom-on-the-shores-of-lake-ontario

Image via Wikipedia

There are several types of aerial flight vehicles.  There are two that are easily most valuable and safe to those that fly.  This value can be seen by comparing and contrasting the A-10 Thunderbolt II and the T-38 Talon. The A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft. There were 715 built at a cost of $11.7 million per aircraft. It’s primary mission is one of a close support ground-attack aircraft currently in-service by the United States Air Force. The  A-10, more commonly known by its nickname “Warthog” or simply “Hog”,   provides close air support of ground forcesair support of ground forces by attacking tanks, armored vehicles and other ground targets.

 The T-38 Talon is a jet used for advanced training.  It is a two-seater aircraft that is used by Unites States Air Force, NASA astronaughts, and the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.  There were 1,187 produced. It is an aircraft utilized in different Training Squadrons, Training Wings of the USAF, Air Force Reserve, Air National Guard and allied national air forces. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s or N.A.S.A.’s instruction astronaut pilots use the T-38 for practicing Shuttle landing techniques. The T-38 is the aircraft of choice for a Shuttle Training Aircraft Trainer for instructing astronaut pilots and mission specialists.

The A-10 aircraft has a Length of 53 ft 4 in (16.26 m), a Wingspan of 57 ft 6 in (17.53 m) if and a Height of 14 ft 8 in (4.47) m.The A-10’s airframe is exceptionally durable. It can survive offensive onslaughts of direct hits from 57 mm armor-piercing projectiles including high-explosives and 23 mm cannon fire.  The A-10 has self sealing modular fuel tanks, and specially modified landing gear.  The cockpit and some of the internal flight control systems are shielded by 900 pounds of titanium armor, and covered by a Kevlar shield.  The A-10’s General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofan engines are located behind the wing near the rear of the fuselage. This is done to lessen the chance of sucking foreign objects into the engine air take.  Their placement also allows the dissipation of heat from the aircrafts engine operation and helps it remain “unlockable” by surface and air to air missiles.

The T-38 trainer aircraft is Length: 46 ft 4.5 in (14.14 m) long, has a Wingspan of 25 ft 3 in (7.7 m), and a Height of 12 ft 10.5 in (3.92 m).T-38 trainer aircraft is constructed of honeycomb material, configured with small protruding wings, and seats the student pilot and instructor in tandem.  The T-38 has two turbojet intakes for engines located at the wing ends, thusly making it extremely maneuverable at low altitudes.  These aircraft are used for weapons training, and are currently undergoing structural overhaul and technological avionics modifications to extend their service life to 2020.  Over 50,000 pilots have trained in this aircraft.

Thrust is given to the A-10 Thunderbolt by Two General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofans providing 9,065 pounds per engine.  The A-1o Thunderbolt is armed with one 30 mm seven barrel Gatling gun.  Its top speed is 420 MPH (Mach 0.56) and has a range of 800 miles.  

While the T-38 is powered by Two General Electric J85-GE-5 turbojet engines with afterburners that produce 2,900 pounds. The T-38 has no armament.  It can fly at a top speed of 812 MOH for 1,0000 miles.

   Both of these aircrafts are exponentially capable and superior aircraft. Their most interesting and most positive benefits are their manuvureabilty, overall enduring fortification qualities, their battlefield versatility and their upgradedibilty. Their absolute nessitiy and overall importance to the many different countries that use this aircraft as an actual flight training vehicle is very understandable; especially to the fortunate pilots that have made battlefield accomplishments and completed the transmission to orbital space flight.

Fighter planes. Fighter planes are light and used for war and military. The fighter planes have different kinds of weapons. It has weapons, bombs and other types of equipment. Fighter planes looklike this.

These are MIG-29 fighter planes. These planes are very fast. Not fast as the hornet but yea. These fighter planes are doing an air show somewhere. They show their cool stunts and moves in the air, of course. These are the weapons on the fighter plane. The weapons on the wings are the missiles. The weapons beneath them are special weapons and mini bombs. Fighter planes in air shows are very cool! They have cool things to do and very risky too. This is what an MIG-29 is doing in an air show. It is stalling the plane while flying in air. Stalling means that the engine of the plane is shutdown and the plane will fall in motion. People in air shows have experience to do it. The hornet I was talking about is the fastest fighter plane. This is how it looks. The F-18 hornet is the fastest fighter planes ever. There are 2 kinds though. One is the normal fast F-18 Hornet. The other one is called the F-18 Super hornet. This plane is faster than any other plane! These are some of the missiles I know. The top missile is one of the strongest one and can detect itself to hit the enemy or radar locked on. The second top one is more heavier than the top one but it is actually almost the same. The F-16 Falcon looks very fierce and strong. This fighter plane has lots of weapons. Take a look at this fighter plane!

There are bombs, special missiles and other weapons. This fighter is actually a strong one because of its weapons. The fighter plane called the F-22 Raptor looks like it’s the fastest plane ever. That’s not true but it’s the 5th generation stealth fighter aircraft. Take a look at this one.

This is a plane that has a good special weapon that fires many missiles in one missile! This Raptor can be powerful! Refueling in mid-air is maybe very hard for us and confusing for us to know because “How could a plane be re-fueling in mid-air?”

Lots of people can be confused. Actually the plane re-fuels by the back of a Boeing or big plane that has full gas. Take a look what the Raptor is re-fueling.

You see the rope thing like that is behind the plane? That’s the gas pipeline. Why do fighter planes re-fuel in the air rather than landing? Because the driver maybe has a secret mission to do or that it has almost no more fuel and needs to re-fill it when there is no landing are around. This can happen a lot of times with fighter planes.

Well that’s the end of my article! J I hope you liked it!