Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma favoures the creation of a five-star post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as a single-point military advisor to the government; Air Chief assures that design issues in Sukhois' fly-by-wire controls will be addressed
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  • According to reports, Indian Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma on August 7, 2012, favoured the creation of a five-star post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as a single-point military advisor to the government as had been recommended more than a decade ago. A counter-proposal to appoint a permanent chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) should only be "a stepping stone" toward the post. Verma's backing to the proposal of the Kargil Review Committee came in response to a question on the Naresh Chandra Task Force recommending a permanent COSC chairman. "There have been various reasons for CDS not happening. Perhaps the effort was to find a via media to have a permanent chairman COSC. It certainly forms a stepping stone to the larger concept of CDS whenever it happens," Verma said. 1

    In another development, according to reports, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne has said that the Indian Air Force (IAF) has taken up certain issues related to the design of the fly-by-wire (FBW) controls in the Sukhoi-30 Mk-I aircraft with the concerned design agency after having identified the faults in the Su-30 crash at Wade Bolhai near Pune last December. The FBW system replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. He pointed out, "We have identified the problem and some more checks are being taken up to prevent recurrence”. He noted “There was a problem with the aircraft's FBW controls and there is also an issue of design, which we have taken up with the concerned agency,". While insisting that the airworthiness of the frontline Su-30 aircraft cannot be questioned, Browne said, "I myself came here and flew the aircraft within days of the crash. There is nothing wrong with it,”. "In the FBW, because it is electronically used, there are areas where it can give problems. The Su-30 is not the only case but such problems have occurred with aircraft using fly-by-wire controls," he added. 2

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