India nears catapult decision for second indigenous carrier (IAC 2 )

India is in the process of deciding whether its second indigenous aircraft carrier will be equipped with catapults.

The vessel, referred to within New Delhi naval circles as IAC 2 (indigenous aircraft carrier 2), will follow IAC 1, which is now being built in Kochi shipyard.

The lead ship will be similar in size to the INS Vikramaditya, formerly the Soviet carrier the Admiral Gorshkov, and displace approximately 36,000t, says a source familiar with Indian navy plans. As with the Vikramaditya, IAC 1 will launch aircraft using a “ski-ramp” structure.

IAC 2 is envisaged as a far larger warship – with a displacement of approximately 60,000t – and could enter the fleet within 10 to 15 years. Senior leaders within the navy are leaning toward deploying this ship with catapults, sources say, with a decision on whether to integrate steam catapults or an electromagnetic aircraft launch system to come as soon as July 2013. New Delhi is also considering the possibility of making IAC 2 a nuclear-powered vessel.

Indian navy plans call for a three-carrier fleet, with the service’s only current example, the Viraat, to be retired in the coming years. This would allow one carrier to be stationed on each of India’s coasts, while the third would undergo repairs or perform other duties such as training.

The Vikramaditya was supposed to have been delivered this month, but problems with the ship’s propulsion system have reportedly delayed this until the second half of 2013. Prior to the emergence of these issues, Russian pilots in RAC MiG-29K/KUB aircraft conducted successful flight tests from the ship.

Through the use of catapults, IAC 2 would be able to operate larger, more powerful aircraft, such as the Dassault Rafale - the apparent winner of the Indian air force’s medium multirole combat aircraft requirement – or the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

Catapults would reduce the deck space required for launching aircraft, while allowing them to carry more fuel and heavier payloads. Ramp-assisted operations require long take-off runs, and involve fighters burning considerable fuel just to get airborne.

The addition of catapults would also allow IAC 2 to operate fixed-wing airborne early warning and control system and battle management aircraft, such as Northrop Grumman’s E-2D Hawkeye, providing the fleet with far greater situational awareness than helicopter-borne surveillance equipment.

Source:FLIGHT GLOBAL

India DRDO-'Enemy' ballistic missile to be downed in space next month

Next month, the Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) will attempt to shoot down an incoming “enemy” ballistic missile in outer space, well before it enters the earth’s atmosphere. The DRDO chief, Dr VK Saraswat, has told Business Standard that a  newly developed Prithvi Defence Vehicle (PDV) interceptor missile will be launched from Wheeler’s Island, travelling 110-150 kilometres into space, where it will destroy an incoming missile fired earlier from an Indian Navy warship in the Bay of Bengal.

This comes on the heels of the DRDO’s successful Nov 23 test of its Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile, which destroyed an incoming target missile at an altitude of 15 kilometres. Together, the AAD and the PDV missiles, along with their radars and control centres, will form a two-layered anti-ballistic missile (ABM) defence system that will protect strategic targets like Delhi by 2013-14. While the AAD missile performs endo-atmospheric (inside-the-atmosphere) interceptions of enemy ballistic missiles; the PDV will conduct exo-atmospheric (outside-the-atmosphere) interceptions.

Next month’s test will feature a brand new target: a two-stage version of the Dhanush missile, launched from a naval vessel that is 300-350 kilometres from the interceptor location at Wheeler’s Island off the coast of Odisha, and soaring to an altitude of over 150 kilometres. This target missile would mimic the trajectory and speed of an enemy ballistic missile fired from 1500 kilometres away, such as Pakistan’s Gauri and Shaheen missiles. So far target missiles, fired from Chandipur just 70 kilometres away, could only mimic enemy missiles fired from a range of 600 kilometres or less.

“Firing range limitations make developing targets as much a challenge for us as developing interceptors. We have developed a boosted, two-stage version of the ship-launched Dhanush missile --- which makes it into quite another system --- taking it to a greater altitude that will mimic the actual terminal conditions of a 1500-kilometre class enemy missile,” explains the DRDO chief.

The brand new PDV will intercept the incoming target at about 110-150 kilometres altitude, far higher than the 50 kilometre-high interceptions that the exo-atmospheric PAD (Prithvi Air Defence) interceptor has been doing so far. The PDV will carry a new Indian electro-optic seeker, which will work in tandem with the radio frequency seeker that the PAD has traditionally carried. An electro-optic seeker provides greater accuracy and reliability than a radio frequency seeker in homing the interceptor onto the target.

The PDV will be a solid-fuel missile that will be powered by a sophisticated new “pulse motor”. This will provide surges of propulsion during the missile’s later stage, increasing its manoeuvrability when it is very close to the target.

“Intercepting the target at longer ranges provides several advantages. Firstly, the target is travelling slower --- some 2 kilometres per second at 150 kilometres; compared to 2½ kilometres per second at 50 kilometres altitude. Secondly, the target missile can be engaged before it enters Indian airspace, so that the debris falls into enemy territory. Finally, a longer flight time gives the interceptor more time for navigation, and the seeker can see better.

The PAD has been test-fired only twice, compared to the four test-firings of the AAD. DRDO insiders say that, with the PDV under development, there was no incentive to waste effort on the PAD. Now the PDV could well undergo a phase of intensive testing.

Alongside the actual launch of the PDV at an actual target missile, the test next month will also feature up to 6 simulated targets that will force the radars and command systems to respond. “We can launch six interceptors simultaneously --- some endo-atmospheric and some exo-atmospheric --- to handle such an attack,” says Saraswat.

The DRDO is meanwhile working on Phase Two of the anti-ballistic missile defence programme, which is capable of downing enemy inter-continental ballistic missiles fired from upto 5000 km away. The DRDO says the Phase Two shield would be deployed by 2016.

Source:Business Standard

India-Army proposes to scrap Future Main Battle Tank: instead build successive models of the Arjun

The indigenous project to build a Future Main Battle Tank (FMBT) is being quietly buried by the army. Instead, the army’s tank directorate has proposed keeping  faith with the home grown Arjun tank, while incrementally improving it into the future backbone of the army’s strike forces.

Senior army sources tell Business Standard that the Directorate General of Mechanised Forces (DGMF), which oversees the army’s tank force, has formally proposed that the Arjun be gradually improved through successive models — Mark II, Mark III, Mark IV and so on — rather than attempting a major technological leap into the unknown, which is what the FMBT would be.

On Dec 06, 2010, Defence Minister AK Antony had informed parliament that the “FMBT is likely to be developed by the year 2020.” He said the army had already conceptualised its requirements and the DRDO was carrying out a feasibility study.

Now, by consensus between the DRDO and the DGMF, the future of indigenous tank building is to flow from the Arjun. Two Arjun regiments, consisting of 128 tanks, are already in frontline service. And a Mark II version of the Arjun is undergoing trials in Rajasthan. The army has committed to buying 118 Arjun Mark II tanks after trials are successfully concluded.

These orders for just 246 Arjuns are insignificant, complains a senior DRDO official, given that the army fields about 4000 tanks. To evolve the Arjun through successive models, the army would have to operate the tank in larger numbers and cooperate closely with the DRDO. This, says the DRDO official, would require a mindshift amongst senior army generals who tend to favour imports.

Three important realizations drive the DGMF’s new proposal. Firstly, there is growing acceptance of the Arjun, after its strong performance in field trials. Secondly, the need for an industrial “eco-structure” for providing spares and maintenance backup for the Arjuns that are already operating. This would come up only if a viable number of tanks are in service. Finally, the DGMF believes that there are no recent breakthrough technologies in armoured vehicle design, which eliminates the logic for building an entirely new tank.

This DGMF decision not to develop an FMBT stems from the difficulty it faced in drawing up specifications for the new tank. A key hurdle was in reconciling the need for a four-man tank crew (like the Arjun, and unlike Russian tanks that have a three-man crew) with the simultaneous wish for a lighter tank that weighed not more than 50-tonnes. The 60-tonne-plus Arjun has been criticised as too heavy.

Says a key general: “All contemporary three-man-crew tanks weigh 50-tonnes, like those being built by South Korea, Turkey and Japan. Adding a fourth crew member also adds roughly 10-tonnes of weight, due to increase in the tank size and weight of armour. But we were asking for a 50-tonne FMBT that would have a four-man crew. It just didn’t add up.”

Meanwhile, Israel Military Industries (IMI), which provides consultancy to the DRDO on tank design, has advised that the Arjun could be gradually pared down to below 60 tonnes, from the 65 tonnes of the current Arjun Mark II.

In a 2008 seminar, organized by the DGMF, Israeli Major General Yossi Ben-Hanan — an acclaimed tank designer who fathered Israel’s successful Merkava tank — told an attentive audience that tank design is evolutionary, each design building upon the previous one. The Israelis began designing their Merkava Mark-1 MBT in 1970; today they have the world class Merkava Mark-4.

The DGMF’s proposal to scrap the FMBT indicates that it has bought into the concept of evolutionary development. The Arjun Mark II, which is currently undergoing field trials in Rajasthan, has 79 improvements over the Mark I that is in service. These include: the ability to fire an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM); a panoramic electro-optical sight for the commander; an improved suspension; and an auxiliary generator for powering the Arjun’s electricals when the main engine is not running.

The army has not responded to an emailed request for comments for this article.

Isro's centre in Ahmedabad helped track Hurricane Sandy

MUMBAI: Indian Space Research Organization (Isro)'s Oscat radio scatterometer on board its 960kg Oceansat-2 remote sensing satellite had tracked ocean surface winds of Hurricane Sandy that wrought havoc in eastern US on Monday, aNasa Jet Propulsion Laboratory announcement has said.

Nasa had sought Isro's help as its QuikSatsatellite stopped operating in November 2009. QuikSat resembles the Oscat radio scatterometer.

Officials said Isro's Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Centre has designed and developed the scatterometer, an active microwave device, which among other things is equipped with one-meter parabolic dish antenna. It has been designed to provide global ocean coverage.

Isro chief spokesperson Dev Prasad Karnik said Isro, Nasa and US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USNOAA) have an agreement regarding sharing Oceansat-2's data.

"The sharing of data of Hurricane Sandy only reflects the growing collaboration between Isro, Nasa and USNOAA," he told TOI.

The scatterometer's image of Hurricane Sandy obtained at 9.30 am (IST) on Monday was transmitted to Nasa and USNOAA and shows it heading towards the eastern US coast.

The satellite was launched from four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on September 23, 2009 and operates at an altitude of 720km in the sun-synchronous orbit. Oceansat-2 is the Isro's sixth remote sensing satellite.

$3.77 bn Super Sukhois deal to be signed during Putin’s India visit

Defence ties have clearly been the engine of India-Russia bilateral relationship for over half a century now. The same engine is set to be roaring once again when Russian President Vladimir Putin undertakes a visit to India this month-end. The two countries are going to sign numerous agreements – at least half a dozen, according to knowledgeable sources – and one of these is going to be a $3.77 billion deal for the supply of 40 SU-30MKI Russian fighter aircraft to India.

The new Super Sukhois deal is going to be on the front burner when the India, Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation meets in New Delhi next week. The ultimate goal of the two defence ministers at the two-day meeting later this week would be to thrash out a text of which even a comma or a full stop does not have to be changed and the two ministers sign the deal in the presence of Putin and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during their delegation-level talks in New Delhi on November 1. This is going to be a major mission objective of the Indiana and Russian defence ministers in the coming days.

The deal for the fighter aircraft under the MMRCA programme is all set to be sewn up when Putin is meets his Indian interlocutors at the highest level on November 1 in New Delhi’s Hyderabad House. The fighter aircraft in question are described as the ‘Super Sukhois’. The adjective “super” given to these aircraft is because these aircraft have stealth features, a new cockpit, state-of-the-art radar and features which will enable each aircraft to carry such heavier weapons load as the air-launched version of the jointly developed Indo-Russian BrahMos cruise missile. The first delivery of this much-improved fighter aircraft is expected during 2014-15.

The Russian-supplied MiG21s have so far served as the backbone of the Indian Air Force. This is set to change once the Super Sukhois’ supply from Russia starts trickling in. The Mig21s are an ageing lot and India is set to phase out as many as 120 of them within the next couple of years. The delivery of the Super Sukhois will increase the Indian fleet of Sukhoi’s to 270 aircraft, an impressive figure for any air force in the world.

The Master Move

India has first begun buying off-the-shelf Su-30s from Russia in 1997. But, in 2000, began developing Sukhoi Su-30MKIs at home after Hindustan Aeronautics Limited began production under license from Sukhoi Design Bureau. The Su-30MKI has considerable Indian components in it.

The urgency for signing a new deal for 40 Super Sukois emanates from the fact that the proposed deal for 126 MMRCA aircraft is getting delayed to an unnerving extent by the Indian parameters and the Indians are still far from a stage where they sign the contract with France’s Dassault. The Russian Super Sukhois, therefore, is an immediately doable thing which would also send a signal to the international community. In fact, major global arms manufacturers companies like Dassault would be handed out a stern message if India were to sign the new deal for the Super Sukhois with the Russians, as per the Indian strategic thinking.

Moreover, the Super Sukhois fit the bill perfectly for the Indians because the IAF is already flying the Sukhoi and its personnel are absolutely comfortable with the Russian aircraft. Also, it would be a master move by the Indian strategic establishment, not unlike a game of billiards where one hits the blue ball to actually net the red ball. The signal to Dassault would be unmistakable: sign on the dotted line, or else…

Dassault CEO Charles Edelstenne has already showcased Rafale’s 100 percent made-in-France tag as a trump card to win the MMRCA order from the Indians. He has already dangled a carrot before the Indians that Dassault would keep all its high-end technologies, jobs and value-addition within India and deliver as per India’s needs and demands, but clearly the Indians are gunning for more. Indubitably, the new Super Sukhois deal will prove to be a major tactic for the Indians for bringing Dassault on the same page.

What Super Sukhois Will Do?

The Super Sukhois would be a game changer for the Indian skies. The aircraft would virtually be an insurance policy against the aerial threats from China and Pakistan from such aircraft as the J-10s and the F-16s respectively. China and Pakistan and are not unmindful of this as the IAF has already started deployment of the Sukois at the forward bases near their borders. Quite recently, India has replaced its ageing fleet of MiG 23s with a squadron of SU-30MKIs on a forward base near the India-Pakistan border.

The Indians have been flying the Sukhois from 1997 onwards when India first procured its first off-the-shelf SU-30s from Russia and gradually developed Sukhoi Su-30MKIs at home after Hindustan Aeronautics Limited began production under license from the Sukhoi Design Bureau. The Indians are, as said earlier, quite comfortable with the aircraft which has a considerable share of Indian components in it.

Source : INDRUS

Russia-India tools up

The Indian Air Force (IAF) will never quite forget the Star Sapphire radar system. The radars were supplied by the US to be used against Communist China following the 1962 war, but there was a rider – it would not be deployed on the western border. At any rate with the US slapping sanctions after the 1965 war with Pakistan, spare parts and support became scarce and Star Sapphire became useless.

The IAF was understandably wary when in 2005 Lockheed offered it the F-16 fighter. Former air chief marshal A.Y. Tipnis was among those who asked the air force to explore all options before flying the Falcon. Tipnis, who was IAF chief during the Kargil War, pointed out that reliability of support when the chips are down outweighs any other consideration.

Of course, the world has changed dramatically since then, and going by the patriarch Bhishma’s counsel during the Mahabharata war that there are no permanent friends or enemies, India has gone on a buying binge in America’s arms supermarket.

US Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro said in a June 2012 news conference that over the 2002-12 decade America’s arms sales to India propelled from “nearly zero” to around $8 billion. In July, Ashton Carter, US Deputy Secretary of Defence, said at a Confederation of Indian Industry: “We want to be India’s highest-quality and most trusted long-term supplier of technology.”

The America option – and its limitations

There’s the rub. Despite their newfound mutual infatuation, India and the United States do not trust each other where it matters most – in the gut. While India’s military brass is mindful of America’s propensity for weapons sanctions during conflict situations, Washington is paranoid about its latest technology being leaked to Russia via India. (This American paranoia was evident last week when the FBI arrested a businessman for exporting something as innocuous as computer chips to Russia.) As Carter admitted, there are “bureaucratic barriers” in the India-US defence relationship.

Because of this trust deficit, both countries have never really got a partnership programme off the ground. India, therefore, sees the US as a source of high technology weapons systems, and the shareholder-driven American defence industry has swatted off India-baiters – such as Rick Santorum – in the US Congress to clear the way for big-ticket military sales.

Buying arms from the United States has other spinoffs – it keeps Corporate America engaged with India, creates goodwill among American lawmakers, and it reduces US arms sales to Pakistan to a trickle. India thus acquires some amount of leverage in Washington.

Over to Russia

 

On the other hand, with Russia the relationship is more strategic rather than mercantile in nature, and it extends across the entire spectrum of defence requirements, including space. The thickest action is on the seas where a Russian Akula II class nuclear attack submarine (renamed Chakra II) is transforming India’s sea doctrine. Russian expertise is helping build India’s first nuclear powered submarine Arihant, stealth frigates and of course the carrier INS Vikramaditya.

In the air there is joint development of a multirole transport aircraft and the FGFA. In space the two countries are working on Chandrayaan II, India’s second moon mission, the Glonass navigation system, and cryogenic engines.

The sweep is broad but because of the strategic nature of these projects, they are layered in secrecy. In fact, it was only when the Indian Prime Minister publicly acknowledged Russian help in developing the Arihant that Moscow’s involvement came to light. Former Russian ambassador to India, Vyacheslav Trubnikov, says Russia provided “some degree of assistance” in developing the Arihant’s naval propulsion reactor despite Russia being bound by an international treaty which prohibits technology transfer in this area.

View the infographic: Russian fifth-generation fighter jet

Trubnikov, who is currently a member of the Institute of World Economy & International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, notes a key change in India’s defence procurement strategy. In an interview to the Centre for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST), a Moscow-based independent defence and foreign policy think-tank, he says Russia’s tried and tested principle – of supplying ‘cheap and best’ weapons – which India has always liked is now shifting towards greater quality, as India can afford to pay higher prices.

Clearly, the dynamics have changed. “Where once this link was one between a powerful supplier and a recipient with little leverage, the Indian side can now dictate much better terms or simply move on to other suppliers,” says defence analyst Rod Thornton, in a study for the New Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis.

Going it alone vs. going with Russia

Currently, the thinking in New Delhi is to achieve complete indigenisation of defence production. But this will take time and that’s something India does not have because the security situation in its neighbourhood is getting trickier – China’s arms industry is exploding, Pakistan is ramping up nuclear weapons production and the US military is pivoting to the Asia-Pacific.

“The pressure to be an independent producer of a range of weapons systems—both low-tech and high-tech—has to be balanced by the pressure to field such systems quickly,” says the IDSA paper. “The need is still there to take the shortcut and to procure from abroad. The obvious choice here would be the traditional supplier, Russia.”

Now designing weapons from scratch to final assembly is a hugely expensive enterprise. Even in Western countries possessing a broad defence industrial base, large defence contractors have clubbed together both with domestic competitors and foreign firms to work synergistically on projects to reduce overall development costs.

But, as Thornton points out, India and Russia stand outside the principal areas of defence cooperation that exist in Europe and the United States. “It is difficult for them to join certain ‘clubs’ of international defence contractors. Therefore, it does make sense for them to come together to set in train their own mutually advantageous projects.”

Why fix what isn’t broken?

It is a route that has been successful in the past. In the 1950s India was forced to look for an air defence fighter after the United States supplied Pakistan with the F-104 Starfighter. The quest for a supersonic interceptor uncannily resembles the MMRCA dogfight, with the IAF focusing on aircraft from the US (Starfighter), Soviet Union (MiG-21), France (Mirage III) and Britain (Lightning).

Then, as now, India’s choices were limited by several factors – the Americans refused to allow licence production; the IAF rejected the Lightning; and the French wanted hard currency. Moscow, however, was prepared for licenced production of the MiG-21 on extremely generous terms – 10 year credit line and payment in rupees.

Like the selection of the Rafale, the MiG-21 too was a political decision; it wasn’t the IAF’s first choice. Now here’s where the mandarins on South Block were proved right – more than 50 years later, the MiG-21s are still flying (in the Cope India exercises they performed superbly against US Air Force F-16s) while the Lightning, Mirage and Starfighter (nicknamed the Widowmaker for its alarming accident rate) were consigned to museums or airplane graveyards many years or decades ago.

Over the following four decades, India bought billions of dollars worth of weapons on easy rupee credit terms from Moscow. In 1991, when Russia fell on hard times after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, New Delhi helped out its old friend by negotiating its debt on terms favourable to Russia – unlike several former allies who weaseled out of their debts. It was the least India could do for a country that prevented a joint US-British encirclement of India in the 1971 Bangladesh war.

Lessons for Russia

It is, therefore, surprising that the two countries have had a series of spats lately over defence matters. The reason, says Trubnikov is because Russia has not been able to come to terms with India’s new relationship with America. And indeed there are legions of Russians who believe India has gone over to the American side, leaving Russia to fight its battles with the West.

However, he says India is not really led by any political motives in its dealings with Russia and the United States. “India has a purely pragmatic approach,” says the former envoy. “It wants to receive the very best weaponry at the lowest possible price.”

Indeed, Russia has only itself to blame for India looking elsewhere. Before the Indian contracts for the Lockheed C-130J Hercules transports and the Boeing P-8I Poseidon patrol aircraft, the Soviet Union and Russia had a lock on that market.

So what went wrong? India started looking West, Trubnikov says, because Russia itself was “preoccupied with establishing closer relations with the West”.

Synergies and spinoffs

Like all great ideas, the India-Russia relationship is elegantly simple. India needs Russian assistance to develop truly state of the art systems. Russia, in turn, benefits from India’s deep pockets, helping it modernise its own military and stay in the high-octane hardware hunt.

“India is Russia’s only genuine strategic partner,” says Trubnikov. The reason is that the two countries don’t have any game-changing foreign policy differences. “We have never had any conflicts; neither do we have a common border. And the main principles of our two countries’ foreign policy are either identical or very close.”

IDSA’s Thornton agrees: “Russia does not see India as a strategic rival and has faith in the country’s willingness to keep to agreements and not, as Moscow claims the Chinese have done, to illegally make use of Russian intellectual property.”

There is another unexpected regional benefit. China is extremely wary of America’s intentions in the Pacific and sees the India-US relationship as integral to the Pentagon’s plans to encircle it. However, India’s defence ties with Russia don’t alarm China as Beijing has a settled and transparent relationship with Moscow.

Hunkering down

All relationships experience strains. Even the so-called Special Relationship between the US and Britain has gone through the wringer many times. Britain was once a superpower but it quietly yielded its place to America as a new era ticked over.

Similarly, Russia is no longer the big brother doling out arms and aid to poor cousin India. The new India is being wooed by virtually every country on the planet. As equal partners, New Delhi and Moscow will have to learn how to manage their relationship.

As the scope of joint defence development grows, the two sides will encounter a myriad of problems but none of it has to be a deal breaker. As the defence brass arrive in New Delhi for the 12th meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation on October 10, they might do well to keep that in mind.

SOURCE: INDRUS

IAF to upgrade Israeli made UAV fleet

The IAF is planning to join hands with an Israeli firm to upgrade the UAVs of the three services under a project worth over Rs 5,000 crore to enhance their snooping capabilities.

The three services operate a fleet of more than 150 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) procured from the Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI) over the last few decades.

“Under the Rs 5,000 crore projects, we will upgrade the capabilities of the UAVs in all the three services with the help of the original equipment manufacturer IAI,” a senior IAF official told PTI here.

The IAF flies the Israeli-made Searcher II and Heron UAVs for reconnaissance and surveillance purposes and about 100 Searchers are in operation on Indian borders in western, northern and eastern regions.

After the upgrades, the IAF would be capable of operating these aircraft from far-off distances and control them through satellite communication system, he said.

The IAF has been saying in the recent past that it wants to increase the number of UAVs in the force and a team has also been formed at the Air Headquarters which is looking at the requirement of these machines in the force, the official said.

The Army also operates a sizeable number of UAVs and has deployed them in borders along the western and eastern fronts.

The Army was the first to induct UAVs in the 90s starting with Searcher Mark I and Searcher Mark II which could operate at an altitude of 15,000 feet and finally the Heron, which could operate at 30,000 feet.

The IAF followed it after some time to acquire the Searcher Mark I, Searcher Mark II and the Heron UAVs.

The Navy has also three operational squadrons of the Israeli UAVs deployed along both the eastern and the western sea board.

Source:PTI

IAF’s transport aircraft logs a new record with drop zone at 13,700 feet above sea level

The Indian Air Force’s heavy lift transport aircraft IL-76 was used for the first time to paradrop in the high altitude Nyoma area near Leh creating a new record in military aviation.

The drop zone at Nyoma was located at 13,700 feet above sea level and paradrop at such an elevation is risky for both the troops and the flight crew.

It was the first ever static paradrop – in which the parachute is opened automatically after the jump – from the heavy lift transporter at this altitude.

A high altitude drop zone makes the task all the more difficult. For the air crew, it requires special skills to execute the insertion operations.

The IL-76 from which 20 para troopers jumped recently at Nyoma dropping zone on August 29 belonged to the Chandigarh-based number 44 squadron, also known as the Mighty Jets.

The IAF has increased its flying activities in far flung areas of Leh and Ladakh as it has prepared advanced landing grounds, or temporary airfields at Daulat Baig Oldie, Nyoma and Fukche where light transport aircraft An-32s – a turbo prop – have been operating for the last three to four years.

The IAF sources said it took a year to carry out the feasibility study before the IL-76 was allowed to venture into the risky territory.

While the aircraft was flown by commanding officer of Mighty Jets group Captain V.R. Vishwanathan, the 20-member paratroop group was led by chief instructor of ParaTroopers School Wing Commander S. Baig.

Western air command chief Air Marshal Arup Raha described the mission as a proud moment for the IAF and termed it as a challenging accomplishment.

Source:DailyMail

Paradrop training along LAC

India is quietly practising airdrops of paratroopers in high-altitude areas near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to bolster operational readiness. The combat drills are a part of the overall plan to strategically counter China's massive build-up of military infrastructure all along the unresolved border. 

A major milestone in the ongoing endeavour was achieved just before Chinese defence minister General Liang Guanglie's visit to India last week when the first-ever "static line paradrop" from a heavy-lift Ilyushin-76 aircraft was conducted at Nyoma on August 29, sources said. 

The advanced landing ground (ALG) at Nyoma in eastern Ladakh, located just 23 km from the LAC at an altitude of over 13,300 feet, was re-activated when a medium-lift Antonov-32 transport aircraft landed there in September 2009. 

Since then, there have been other AN-32 landings at the airstrip as well as joint IAF-Army airdrops in the area. "But August 29 was the first time when the 'static line paradrop' (when parachutes, linked to the plane with cords, open on exit in classic airborne infantry mode) was successfully conducted by an IL-76," said a source. 

The airdrop, with a mix of 20 Army and IAF paratroopers jumping from a record altitude of over 15,000 feet, was conducted by the 'Mighty Jets' IL-76 squadron after months of planning at the Chandigarh airbase and the Delhi-based Western Air Command. 

"Though Nyoma's location is of immense strategic significance, the hazards of treacherous terrain and weather had to be kept in mind. An IL-76 can carry over 120 combat-ready paratroopers, which is three times more than an AN-32," the source said. 

IAF has also already chalked out a detailed Rs 3,500 crore project, though it is yet to recieve the finance ministry's nod, to upgrade the Nyoma ALG into a "full-fledged airbase" with a 12,000 feet runway capable of handling all kinds of aircraft to ensure "both defensive and offensive options" in the sector. 

Source:TOI

Lca – Tejas to be part of ‘Vayu-Shakti’ event in February next year

India’s Home Grown Fighter aircraft Tejas will be part of Indian air force’s  ’Vayu-Shakti’ Fire Power Demonstration .  ’Vayu Shakti’ will be unleashed at the Pokhran firing ranges (Jaisalmer district) in the deserts of Rajasthan in the third week of February next year.

Air Marshal Anjan Kumar Gogoi told media in recently held  press conference that “Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas will display its capabilities for the first time in Pokhran firing ranges” . About 100 planes of different variety like the Sukhoi 30s, Mirage 2000, Jaguars, MIG 21, attack helicopters, transport aircrafts including AN-32 and IL-78 MKI will display their full power.

Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) will be used to monitor the mammoth exercise, while an unmanned aerial vehicle will stream live video images of the target destruction.

According to sources close to idrw.org , Tejas also successfully completed 2000 Accident free Test flights recently and is inching to getting IOC-2 which will be done by end of 2012 .

Participation of Tejas in  ’Vayu-Shakti’ shows the level of confidence Which Tejas aircraft has earned in Indian air force to be part of largest Fire Power Demonstration to be conducted by Indian air force .

SOURCE: IDRW NEWS NETWORK

India to launch two foreign satellites mid September

he Indian space agency is gearing up for the launch of two foreign satellites next month, said a top official on Wednesday.

“The PSLV-C21 (the polar satellite launch vehicle) will launch a remote-sensing satellite from France and a small Japanese satellite as co-passenger during the second week of September,” K Radhakrishnan, chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told reporters in Chennai.

The 800-kg French satellite is called SPOT-6 and is built by Astrium SAS. The Japanese satellite Protiers weighs 15 kg.

nterestingly, the PSLV rocket will be carrying the heaviest foreign satellite (SPOT-6) for a fee after the 350-kg Italian satellite Agile.

As the total luggage will be around 815 kg, ISRO will be using its Core Alone variant of PSLV (rocket without its six strap on motors).

The mission will take ISRO’s total tally of ferrying foreign satellites to 29.

Source:IANS

INS Arihant India’s first nuclear submarine set for Sea trials

India on Tuesday said its first home-built nuclear submarine was set for sea trials, as it detailed billion-dollar projects to arm its navy with warships, aircraft and modern weaponry.

The indigenous 6,000-ton INS Arihant (Destroyer of Enemies) was unveiled in 2009 as part of a project to construct five such vessels which would be armed with nuclear-tipped missiles and torpedoes.

“Arihant is steadily progressing towards operationalisation, and we hope to commence sea trials in the coming months,” Indian navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma told reporters.

“Our maritime and nuclear doctrine will then be aligned to ensure that our nuclear insurance comes from the sea,” Verma said,

Arihant is powered by an 85-megawatt nuclear reactor and can reach 44 kilometres an hour (24 knots), according to defence officials. It will carry a 95-member crew.

The Indian navy inducted a Russian-leased nuclear submarine into service in April this year, joining China, France, the United States, Britain and Russia in the elite club of countries with nuclear-powered vessels.

Verma said 43 warships were currently under construction at local shipyards while the first of six Franco-Spanish Scorpene submarines under contract would join the Indian navy in 2015 and the sixth by 2018.

The admiral said the navy was also poised to induct eight Boeing long-range maritime reconnaissance P-8I aircraft next year.

Source:AFP

India:Second chance in Asia’s cockpit

As negotiations for the withdrawal of international security forces in Afghanistan by 2014 gather pace, India has decided to revive its only overseas military base in Farkhor, Tajikistan. Officials from the Ministry of External Affairs will travel there next month to finalise arrangements, following which Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon is expected to visit India in September.

The revival of the Farkhor airbase and the upgrading of the military hospital on its premises, where former Northern Alliance leader and ‘Lion of Panjshir’ Ahmed Shah Massoud was treated for his fatal injuries from the suicide bomb attack on September 9, 2011 — two days before the September 11 incidents in America — is a crucial link to India’s revamped Connect Central Asia policy unveiled in June at a dialogue forum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, by Minister of State for External Affairs E. Ahamed.

With India’s risk-averse corporate community unwilling to follow the government’s lead in establishing a firmer footprint in the region since the break-up of the Soviet Union 20 years ago, Delhi has come to the conclusion that it must use its own muscle to project its strategic presence in Central Asia.

Much has already been written about this hydrocarbon-rich region and how China, Russia and U.S.-dominated western consortiums have laid networks of oil-and-gas pipelines to service their own markets. China, especially, has used energy supplies from Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to fuel its relentless rise as an economic power – but the truth is that none of these benignly authoritarian regimes are complaining.

Kazakhstan has leveraged the sale of its energy resources to become, with a per-capita GDP of $13,000 in purchasing power parity terms, the richest state in all of Central Asia. Astana, a windy city in the Siberian steppe, was transformed into the capital in 1997 by a diktat of its President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, and today its skyline is littered with glass-and-gold-domed buildings. Divided by a river — the Ishim — that runs through the town, Astana has a Left Bank and a Right Bank, besides a glass-and-concrete pramid that doubles up as an exhibition space and a concert hall that looks like the Parthenon. Outsiders may wonder at the copycat Disneyland, but the Kazakhs are certainly not complaining.

Mr. Nazarbayev is hardly a latter-day version of Mohammed bin Tughlaq — who whimsically moved his capital from Delhi to the Deccan in the 14th century and then had to move it back — although he completely controls the state apparatus. Mr. Nazarbayev decided, when he came to Delhi for the Republic Day festivities in 2009, that 25 per cent of the Satpayev oil block will be given to OVL. Both China’s CNOOC and U.S.’ Chevron already had their share of Kazakh energy spoils and Mr. Nazarbayev wanted to expand options. (His wife is also believed to have been a follower of the Sathya Sai Baba, thereby adding to the India connection.)

That’s the general perception of India in Central Asia — that it is a rising regional power, not quite in the league of China but interesting to behold because of its enormous market, its incredible culture, its singular capacity to innovate and even its fractious democracy. India is not a priority, but it cannot be ignored.

Interestingly enough, a mirror-perception about Central Asia persists among the Indian elite. The land of Babur (Uzbekistan) and Bairam Khan (Turkmenistan) and Mirza Hiadar Dughlati (Kazakhstan) and Bedil (Tajikistan) is still cloaked in the mist of history and its combined 65 million population has largely been ignored. Although most Central Asian capitals are a couple of hours away from Delhi by air, the lack of connectivity by rail or road means that serious business interest is almost absent.

So China-Central Asia trade tips the scales at $29 billion and U.S.-Central Asia trade touches $26 billion while India-Central Asia trade stands at only $500 million (excluding investment in the Satpayev oil block and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India, or TAPI, gas pipeline, which will take five years to fructify). That’s why India must do things differently if it has to return to Central Asia.

Alongside the revival of the Farkhor airbase in Tajikistan and the upgrading of the defence relationship with Dushanbe, private hospital chains like Max are being persuaded to set up trauma centres — if not hospitals — in key cities all over the region. Plans are afoot to start an India-Central Asia university in Bishkek. An e-information technology network is on the cards, just like in key countries in Africa. Meanwhile, talks are on with a Russian channel with a treasure trove of Hindi films, perfectly dubbed into Russian, to expand broadcast all over Central Asia. From Raj Kapoor to Shahrukh Khan, Bollywood is still the key to open hearts and minds in Central Asia.

With the western withdrawal from Afghanistan on the cards, the Central Asian pot will boil further. India lost the opportunity to drive deep into the region when the Soviet Union collapsed 20 years, but it’s now getting a second chance.

Hopefully Delhi won’t mess it up again.

Source:The Hindu

India, US close to inking over USD 600 mlln jet engine deal

India and the US are close to signing a deal worth over USD 600 million for supplying 99 jet engines that would be used in the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas’ being developed by the DRDO.

Around two years ago, India had selected the American company General Electric over its rival European Eurojet 2000 for the LCA Mark II programme expected to be ready around 2014-15.

Negotiations with the US firm over various issues involved in the deal, including price and transfer of technology, have been held and it is hoped that the deal for these engines to be fitted on the LCA Mark II would be signed soon, Defence sources told PTI here.

As per the contract, the order could be for 99 engines initially but India will have the option of order for another 100 engines in the future.

The engine on offer for the LCA Mark II is GE F-414 engine, which are more powerful that the GE F-404 engines fitted in the first batch of LCAs that the Indian Air Force would receive in near future.

The need for changing the existing engines in the LCAs was felt after the IAF found out that the GE-404 engines were not providing enough power to the aircraft and more powerful engines were needed for the purpose.

The DRDO is developing the LCA Mk II to meet the Indian Air Force requirements and it will have latest technological equipment including the latest Active Electronic Scanned Array (AESA) radar and would be able to carry more payload than the LCA Mk I.

Last month, the trials of the LCA Mk I were carried out in Pokharan desert firing range where laser-guided bombs and other weapon systems were tried.

As per the current plans, the IAF will induct two squadrons of the LCA Mk I and then the delivery of LCA Mk II aircraft would done.

Source: PTI

India- India successfully tests nuclear-capable Agni-I missile Posted: 13 Jul 2012 08:26 AM PDT SOURCE: IANS India on Friday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Agni-I ballistic missile, with a strike range of 700 km, as part of the Army’s user trial from a test range at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast. The surface-to-surface, single-stage missile, powered by solid propellants, was test-fired from a mobile launcher at about 1010 hrs from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range at Wheeler Island, about 100 km from here, defence sources said. “The trial of the sophisticated missile with a strike range of 700 km was successful,” a defence scientist said. Describing the launch as a routine user s trial by the strategic force command of Indian Army, he said the main objective was to train the user team to launch the missile. “It was a practice-drill. The user-team picked a missile at random from the production lot and fired it with logistic support provided by Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) at ITR,” he said. Agni-I missile has a specialised navigation system which ensures it reaches the target with a high degree of accuracy and precision, he said. The trajectory of the missile, which has an operational strike range of 700 km, was tracked by sophisticated radars and electro-optic telemetry stations located along the sea coast and ships positioned near the impact point in the downrange area. Weighing 12 tonnes, the 15-metre-long Agni-I, which can carry payloads up to 1000 kg, has already been inducted into the Indian Army. Agni-I was developed by advanced systems laboratory, the premier missile development laboratory of the DRDO in collaboration with Defence Research Development Laboratory and Research Centre Imarat and integrated by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad. The last trial of the Agni-I missile was successfully carried out on December 1, 2011 from the same base. Since the missile has already been inducted into the armed forces, it is important to conduct user trials for training of defence personnel and improvement of their skills, sources said. Pakistani soldier repatriated Posted: 13 Jul 2012 08:23 AM PDT SOURCE: IANS The Indian Army Friday handed over a Pakistani soldier to its compatriot across the border in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.The soldier, Arif Ali had crossed over to the Indian side of the Line of Control on Thursday morning. He was arrested by the Indian Army. He was carrying no weapons but was found to be in possession of Rs.13,000 of Pakistani currency and two SIM cards.Army sources said that after detailed questioning, it was discovered that the Pakistani soldier had inadvertently crossed over to the Indian side. There was no love angle or any hostile intention, the sources said. ‘As a goodwill gesture, the army decided to repatriate the Pakistani soldier,’ a source in the army told IANS The soldier was handed over to Pakistani army at Chakan Da Bagh on the LoC, the sources said. Work on submarine launched BrahMos in final stages

The work on launch of submarine variant of supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was in the final stages, a top official of the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace said today.

“Yes we are on the job and it is in the final stages,” BrahMos Aerospace CEO and MD Dr A Sivathanu Pillai told reporters here when asked about the submarine launched-missile. 

Sea and ground-launched versions have been successfully tested and put into service with theIndian Army and Navy. The flight tests of the airborne version will be completed by the end of 2012.

Pillai said the Hypersonic version of Brahmos-2 cruise missile will be ready for launch in another five years.

With the research on propulsion of scramjet underway, the hypersonic missile, with four times speed that the present Supersonic missile, would be ready for induction into Indian forces by 2017.

With a 300 million Dollars investment, the company, a Indo-Russian joint venture, was doing a business of five billion dollars at present, he said.

However, he said the company would think of large scale exports only after meeting the requirements of Indian armed forces.

Source:IANS

India, Egypt to carry out naval exercises

n their first engagement after the new establishment took over in Egypt, Indian and Egyptian navies will carry out a joint exercises in Alexandria.Warships of the Mumbai-based western fleet of the Navy are on a westward deployment and will be visiting a number of countries after Egypt.

Indian warships will carry out a basic exercise with their Egyptian counterparts as part of the westward deployment of the naval fleet, Navy officials said here.

This would be the first military engagement between Egypt and India after the newly-elected government has taken over there.Destroyer INS Mumbai, INS Trishul, INS Gomati and fleet tanker INS Aditya are under the command of Western Fleet commander Rear Admiral A R Karve and had made a port call at Djibouti before proceeding towards Alexandria in Egypt.

After the exercise in Egypt, the flotilla will move towards Spain.

During their stay in Spain, Navy Chief-designate Vice Admiral D K Joshi will also visit Madrid and meet the top leadership of the Spanish navy there.

Recently, incumbent Admiral Nirmal Verma had also visited Spain.

After Spain, these warships will visit France to hold their series of bilateral exchanges there.

Source:PTI

Black Hawk eager to fly for India

Famous American gunship — Black Hawk — is ready for sale to India. However, it is not yet clear whether this legendary flying machine is being offered with stealth technology.

Highly placed Defence Ministry sources told The Tribune that a special team of the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, which manufactures Black Hawk, will give a detailed presentation on this helicopter in the Defence Ministry on June 20.

This will be Black Hawk’s first presentation to India. It is not linked to any defence deal under consideration. “We just want to evaluate this machine as part of futuristic war scenario. We will take a call on the stealth technology after the presentation,” sources said.

Asked whether India would go for the stealth technology, the sources said, “Of course, but let us first see what actually is being offered during the presentation.”

The Americans are offering latest UH-60M Black Hawk. Despite strong military ties with Pakistan, the US has not sold Black Hawks to Islamabad.

After doing much in-house brain storming, the US Administration has permitted private sector Sikorsky to offer Black Hawk to India. Black Hawk is the world’s most expensive helicopter — primarily because of its highly classified state-of-art avionics, radars, weapons and fighting capability.

The Americans some time ago offered Black Hawk’s naval version Seahawk to New Delhi. Seahawk is in the race for the Navy’s over $1 billion deal for 16 multi-role helicopters. The naval deal is at the final stage. Tenders are likely to be opened in near future. Seahawk’s rival is NH90 chopper produced by the NATO Helicopter Industries (NHI), a European consortium of firms from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Finland and Australia.

For the June 20 Black Hawk presentation, besides top officials of the Defence Ministry associated with the procurement of weapons and equipment, senior officers of the Indian Air Force and the Army are also likely to be present.

The Defence Ministry sources said that Black Hawk has generated interest in the IAF as well as the Army, which are ready to look at it for desert as well as high-altitude operations for theatres like Siachen glacier.

Sikorsky helicopters are used by all five branches of the US armed forces, along with military services and commercial operators in many other countries. Black Hawk has become a legendary helicopter in America’s war history. It is playing an active role in Afghanistan and Pakistan in counter-terrorism operations.

n Black Hawk is the world’s most expensive helicopter, primarily because of its highly classified state-of-art avionics, radars, weapons and fighting capability

n Manufacturers of Black Hawk, the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, will give a detailed presentation in the Defence Ministry on June 20

n The US is offering latest UH-60M Black Hawk to India. Despite strong military ties with Pakistan, the US has not sold Black Hawks to Islamabad

SOURCE:  TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE

India to launch AWACS project to counter China, Pak

NEW DELHI: With Pakistan stealing a swift march in the "eyes in the sky" arena and China already way ahead, India is now going to launch its own full-blown futuristic AWACS (airborne warning and control system) programme. 

"Clearances are underway" to initially develop two AWACS aircraft, with four more to follow at a later stage, under the new `AWACS-India' project to be executed by DRDO and its Bangalore-based Centre for Air Borne Systems(CABS). 

"Under it, 360-degree AESA (active electronically scanned array) radars will be mounted on large aircraft like IL-76, Boeing or Airbus," said a DRDO source. 

Potent force-multipliers like AWACS or AEW&C (airborne early warning and control) systems have changed the entire nature of air warfare because they can detect incoming aerial threats, ranging from fighters to cruise missiles, much before ground-based radars. 

They also serve to direct air defence fighters during combat operations with enemy jets and also help in tracking troop build-ups. 

Pakistan already has four Swedish Saab-2000 AEW&C aircraft, with four more Chinese ZDK-03 AWACS in the pipeline. China has around 20 AWACS, a mix of new and old systems, say sources. 

But IAF has only three Phalcon AWACS mounted on IL-76 aircraft, under the $1.1 billion tripartite agreement among India, Israel and Russia finalized in 2004, despite being confronted with two potentially hostile fronts. 

The case for two additional "follow-on" Phalcon AWACS, with a range of over 400-km and 360-degree coverage like the first three, has run into some rough weather due to sharp cost escalation. 

Moreover, DRDO's ongoing mini-AWACS project, under which indigenous AEW&C systems are to be mounted on three Embraer-145 jets obtained from Brazil for $210-million, has also slipped after being approved in October, 2004, at a cost of Rs 1,800 crore. 

DRDO, however, contends the project is now on track. "CABS will get the first Embraer, modified with antenna units and other structures mounted on its fuselage, in July," said an official. 

"All electronic systems, with a normal radar range of 250-km and a 240-degree coverage, will then be integrated. The first flight should take place in early-2013. The project completion date is April 2014," said an official. 

IAF is awaiting the completion of the mini-AWACS project as well as the launch of the larger 'AWACS-India' programme with crossed fingers. AWACS also constitute a crucial constituent of its IACCS (integrated air command and control system) programme, the fully-automated network being set up to integrate the wide array of military radars with each other as well as with civilian radars to plug surveillance gaps in Indian airspace.


Source:TOI