While the Indian Air Force is emphasizing on the purchase of indigenous and foreign fighter aircraft to strengthen its dwindling fighter squadron, it is also taking a big step towards technical self-reliance. In this series, the Air Force has planned to develop indigenous Flight Data Recorder (FDR) analysis software for Dassault Rafale fighter jet.
The Air Force currently has 36 Rafale aircraft, while the process of purchasing 114 additional Rafale is also going on. In fact, in the capability roadmap prepared by the Air Force, a target has been set to equip Rafale with indigenous technology in the future. Under this, a fast, simple and modern software will be developed for FDR analysis. It is being told that participation of indigenous industries will be encouraged in this project.
The existing FDR software that comes with Rafale processes about 400 flight parameters and also does 3D analysis. But, this software is quite complex and slow. Limited to specific computers supplied by OEM only. It is not accessible outside the base. This leads to delays and limitations in data analysis.
The Air Force wants to create such an indigenous FDR analysis tool. Which is fast and user-friendly. Can be used anywhere on laptop/PC. Analyze data in a smarter way. This will include necessary hardware along with software. It is being said that with the induction of modern aircraft the amount of data has increased rapidly. The Air Force fleet now includes advanced platforms like Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, Airbus C-295, Boeing CH-47 Chinook and Boeing AH-64 Apache. Due to this, the need is now being felt for a universal FDR data mining suite, which can process data from different aircraft simultaneously.
Traditional FDR software can only detect predetermined problems. These systems prove to be weak in detecting new or unknown technical flaws. This will not only increase technical self-reliance, but will also reduce foreign dependence in future.
