IAM to help acclimatise pilots to 5G fighters to Bangalore

With India poised to induct Super Sukhois and Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), the Bangalore-based Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM) will play a crucial role in acclimatising pilots to handle these state-of-the-art aircraft.

IAM sources said the human centrifuge at IAM’s Department of Acceleration Physiology and Spatial Orientation, one of a few in the world, will be used to help IAF pilots adapt to G-forces and prevent G-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOCK).

“When a pilot flying a fighter jets does air combat manoeuvres or dunks a missile, he can suffer G-LOCK wherein G-forces move the blood away from the brain and lead to loss of consciousness. To avoid such situations, we train the pilots by simulating the same kind of environment,” said an official.

New fighters
Now, with the induction of air-superiority fighter jets, the pilots flying these aircraft will be exposed to G-forces on the body such as Gx, Gy and Gz. “Pilots flying fifth generation fighters would be exposed to Gx, Gy and Gz. While exposed to Gx, the force would act on the body from front to back (chest to back), Gy would act from left to right (shoulder to shoulder) and Gz from head to toe.

When they are exposed to such Gs, they will blank out and lose control of the aircraft,” the official added. The IAF is likely to induct about 280-300 Super Sukhois and about 250 FGFA over the next few years.