Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

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news.outlookindia.com | Ordnance Unit Develops High Speed Anti-Submarine RGB

The Heavy Alloys Penetrator Project (HAPP) here has developed a high speed indigenous version of Russian anti-submarine Rocket Guided Bomb (RGB-60) for the Navy.

The missile, with enhanced capabilities, had been developed within a short duration of less than a year, HAPP General Manager M Ravi told reporters.

HAPP, an ordnance factory, would shortly hand over a few numbers of RGB-60 to the Navy for field tests, after which it would go in for bulk production as per the requirement, he said.

RGB-60 carrying a war head mass of 25 kg was meant for firing from rocket depth bomb launcher mounted on Naval war ships and could be used as an effective and reliable anti-submarine ammunition, he said.

HAPP had last year developed RGB-12, a small range version.

The factory was also in the process of developing the outer shell and tail piece for 84 mm Carl Gustaf, an infantry ammunition popularly used by the Army, Police and other security forces, Ravi said.

He said the plant would step up its production capacity to meet the Army's enhanced requirement of pre-fragmented ammunition pieces for Pinaca Rockets. The Army required the ammunition pieces for 5,000 rockets while the existing capacity could meet only 700-800 rockets annually.

 

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Govt Nominated BEML for Assault Brige Project | India Defence Online


The Indian Defence Ministry is once again slated to favour the defence public sector units (DPSUs) in a contract for the building of the assault bridge “Sarvatra”, and sideline the private Indian players for the same.

The “Sarvatra” is an assault bridge which enables advancing tanks to rapidly cross over canals and water obstacles. While the “Sarvatra” bridge was designed by the private major Larsen & Toubro, in partnership with the state-owned Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), the contract is now being allotted to Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) as per the directions of the Indian Defence Minister A.K. Anthony.
While the Indian Army, as well as the DRDO, recommended L&T to be the main agency for making the “Sarvatra” assault bridge, the Indian Defence Minister has sidelined their views and nominated BEML as the nodal agency for the $34 million contract to build the first eight Sarvatra bridges.

According to sources, the Indian defence Ministry has been questioned regarding this issue and the decision has been put on hold as of now. The nomination of BEML for the manufacture of “Sarvatra” assault bridges has caused uproar amongst the private players and prime institutions like Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) may also get involved if this controversial decision is passed.

As for the state-owned BEML, it claims that it has been rightfully nominated as the nodal agency for the “Sarvatra” assault bridge manufacture because it has manufactured the Tatra high-mobility vehicles, on which the “Sarvatra” bridge is carried and that each of Sarvatra’s five sections is mounted on a Tatra. But L&T claims that it should be nominated for the contract since it has spent a decade in creating the structures and that BEML has had nothing to do with the engineering of the “Sarvatra” bridge.

L&T fears that once the initial contract for the eight “Sarvatra” bridges goes to BEML, the Indian Army’s entire requirement of 50 Sarvatra bridges will automatically end up with BEML and all the efforts for designing the BEML would bear no real significance for the L&T. Even the DRDO and Indian Army agree that L&T, and not BEML, must be given the contract. The price of the “Sarvatra” assault bridge is about $4.4 million.

The Indian Defence Forces have been denied the “Sarvatra” assault bridge for a long time. The “Sarvatra” Bridge will allow Indian forces as well as its battle tanks a quick crossing over canals and rivers that block their way.

The “Sarvatra’ bridge is capable of bridging a 75-metre canal or river in less than two hours. The Sarvatra will replace the East European PMS Bridges, which require 57 Tatra vehicles to bridge 100 metres. As for the “Sarvatra” bridge, it bridges 75 metres with just five Tatras.

 

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latest Defence news blog or website: India to develop a futuristic tank based on Arjun


India is set to develop a futuristic battle tank that will be hardly able to detect by enemy radar and Indian developers are believed to have come up with a revolutionary 'honey comb' design for the NERA (Non-explosive and non-Energetic Reactive Armour) Armour and, according to sources, it is said to be performing 'perfectly'.

NERA is a reactive armour which works like any explosive reactive armour but with the crucial difference being the using of energy in form of a charge instead of explosives. and the report for the futuristic tank is as follows from "thaindian.com"


"The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) will be developing around 12 futuristic systems in five years for incorporation into India’s first indigenously built Arjun main battle tank (MBT), an official said here Wednesday.”The futuristic technology systems include automatic target tracking, defensive aids, laser warning, tank simulator systems. We are looking at developing robotic vehicles that would work on tele-link,” R. Jayakumar, associate director of the DRDO’s Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), told reporters.
The organisation also plans to automate the tracking of targets.

“With the firing and mobility powers of the tank being satisfactory, the focus is now on making the vehicle invisible to the enemy through development of detection avoidance and laser warning systems,” said Jayakumar.

One of the labs under the DRDO, CVRDE is also in the process of developing tank simulators similar to flight simulators.

“After undergoing simulator training, a soldier can comfortably operate the vehicle,” said Jayakumar.

When asked about the status of the Indian Army’s order for 124 Arjun tanks, CVRDE director S. Sundaresh said: “The order will be completed this year. We are confident of getting more orders, which would enable us to have more local component content in the battle machine.”

Presently, the local content is around 50 percent. The engine and power train has been imported from Germany.

“We plan to source engines from Cummins India for future orders. If more orders come by, we can reduce the imported content to 25 percent,” Sundaresh added.

The research organisation has transferred the technology to the Heavy Vehicles Factory in Avadi town.

“More than 10,000 drawings running into around 2,000 pages have been passed on to the vehicle manufacturer,” Sundaresh said.

Asked about the delays in developing the tank, officials said the army froze its specifications only in November 1985.

“The tank was unveiled in 1995. It takes at least 10 years for any country to develop a battle tank from the scratch. The army put the pre-production tanks (15 units) to rigorous tests totalling more than 70,000 km and fired over 7,000 rounds. No other tank would have undergone such tests,” said Jayakumar.

Meanwhile to commemorate the DRDO’s golden jubilee, five of its labs - CVRDE, Vehicles Research and Development Establishment, Ahmednagar; Research and Development Establishment (Engineers), Dighi; Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, Manali; and Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Bangalore - will hold a two day exhibition here starting Feb 28."

 

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The Hindu : Front Page : Hat-trick for missile technologists, armed forces


Successful launch:Agni-I lifting off from a mobile launcher at Wheeler's Island, off the Orissa coast, on Sunday.

HYDERABAD:In a hat-trick for missile technologists and the armed forces in the last two days, Agni-I, which can carry nuclear weapons and has range of 700 km, was flight-tested successfully from the Wheeler's Island, off the Orissa coast, on Sunday.

The ship-based Dhanush and Prithvi-II were test-fired in a salvo mode on Saturday.

The medium range surface-to-surface Agni-I, fired at 1.07 hours from a mobile launcher, homed in on the target within a few metres of accuracy as it splashed down in the Bay of Bengal.

The launch was carried out by Army personnel as part of a training exercise.

Best-ever launch

Describing it as one of the best-ever launches, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials said the specialised navigation and guidance system enabled the missile to reach the target with a high degree of accuracy after a 500-second flight duration.

During the course of the flight, it reached an altitude of 300 km and re-entered the atmosphere, withstanding high temperatures of more than 2,000 degree Celsius, as specially-developed heat shields provided protection to the electronic components and the payload.

The radars and electro-optical tracking system along the coast monitored the missile's path and trajectory-related parameters in real time.

Two down-range naval ships, about 700 km from the Wheeler's Island, tracked the missile reaching the target.

Features

The 14-metre tall Agni-I is a single stage, solid-propelled weapon system. It can carry a payload of 1,000 kg.

It is equipped with features to defeat the enemy's anti-ballistic missile system.

The Agni series of missiles form the mainstay of India's nuclear deterrence programme.

The launch operations were monitored by Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and DRDO Director-General V.K. Saraswat, Programme Director (Agni) and Director of the Advanced Systems Laboratory Avinash Chander, Director of the Research Centre (Imarat) S.K. Ray, and Director of the Defence Research and Defence Laboratory P. Venugopalan.

Dr. Saraswat congratulated the Army and DRDO teams for the successful launch.

 

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Creation of armed forces space cell significant: Report

The creation of an Integrated Space Cell (ISC) for the armed forces is 'a significant step forward towards modernisation', the defence ministry said in its annual report released Monday.

'The setting up of the Integrated Space Cell (ISC) under the Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations) as the nodal point for all space related activities of the tri-services was a significant step forward towards modernization,' the report says.

The ISC has worked out the overall satellite communication requirements of the three services till 2020 in coordination with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the report says.

It also notes that a contract was signed this month to equip two regiments of the Indian Army with the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system.

On India's indigenous missile programme, the report says that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) plans soon to conduct the fourth flight test of the long range Agni-III missile that is capable of carrying a 1,500 kg warhead.

The DRDO is also toying with the indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) System, based on the Embraer-145 aircraft platform. The first modified aircraft is expected in mid-2011, the report says.

 

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DRDO officer eyes record with tallest rose plant

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Tuesday claimed that one of its officers is gunning for a world record for growing the tallest rose plant.

DRDO claimed that Colonel R Ravichandran, Estate Manager of DRDO at Pashan is the owner of a rose plant that stands 23 feet and 6 inches tall. The plant at his official bungalow at Armament Estate in Pashan is of creeper variety. The officer claims that his rose plant is almost 2 feet 6 inch taller than the tallest rose plant in the world. The 21 feet rose plant has been grown by Naresh Mahajan of Jammu Kashmir.

"The plant is in full bloom. It is well supported by a thick bamboo,'' said the DRDO statement, quoting the officer. As per the DRDO statement the rose plant is about five-and-a-half year old.

Col Ravichandran bought the plant and tended it regularly. In February, he read about the existing world record of Mahajan on the internet and later found that he has broken the record.

DRDO said that the officer strengthened the main stem of the plant by pruning the side branches to ensure its growth.

"Thick bamboo support was also provided which had to be replaced every 3 to 4 months as the plant started growing taller. Replacing bamboo every few months needed special ladder and the safety of plant has to be ensured during process of replacement of bamboos as it would have broken,'' read the DRDO statement.

 

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Laser-guided bombs tested successfully


BALASORE: Days after successful trials of nuclear-capable Prithvi-II, Agni-I and ship-launched Dhanush missiles, India today conducted the flight trials of laser-guided bombs (LGBs) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur off Orissa coast.

Sources said the officials of Indian Air Force successfully carried out two rounds of tests of the LGBs using the newly-developed guidance kit from the Jaguar fighter aircraft. In January two flight trials of the LGBs were conducted from the same defence test facility.

The flight trials were conducted to test the effectiveness of the guidance and control systems of the LGBs. “The LGBs were released from the aircraft as per prescribed standard operating procedures. On-board systems in both the trials worked satisfactorily and the mission objectives were met,” said an official.

The flight trials of the LGBs were, however, conducted in a simulated air attack condition. Dubbed as air simulation exercise, the aim and objective of the tests were to provide training to the fighter pilots to use the sophisticated weapons developed by the country besides testing the effectiveness of the system.

“A number of tests has been done both through simulation and flight tests over the last few years to reach the required performance levels. The bomb, once released by the mother aircraft at appropriate range, will seek the target and home on to it very accurately and with high reliability,” said a defence scientist.

Bangalore-based Aeronautics Development Establishment (ADE) has developed the guidance kit for the LGBs and it is designed to improve accuracy of air-to-ground bombing by IAF.