India, Russia Sign $300Mln Deal on Upgrade of 10 Ka-28 Helicopters - Indian Navy

[ashok321]

http://sputniknews.com/business/20160804/1043931461/india-russia-ka-28-helicopters.html

According to navy spokesman, Indian Navy and Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport signed a deal worth nearly $300 million to modernize 10 Russia-produced Ka-28 anti-submarine helicopters.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) – The Indian Navy and Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport signed a deal worth nearly $300 million to modernize 10 Russia-produced Ka-28 anti-submarine helicopters, Indian Navy spokesman Capt. D.K. Sharma said Thursday.


"The amount is approx 2K Crores for [the] upgrade of 10 Ka-28 ASW helicopters. The helicopters will be fitted with [the] latest sensors, details of which are not available to me… and the job shall be done in 42 months approx," Sharma told RIA Novosti.

The Ka-28 helicopter is an export modification of the Ka-27, designed for anti-submarine warfare missions and capable of docking on various types of ships.

India purchased these helicopters in 1980. According to reports, only four of them are currently suitable for use.

 

[cloud4000]

India is going to pay $300 million to upgrade helicopters that are 36 years old? Wouldn't the money be better spent buying new anti-ASW helicopters instead?

 

[T90TankGuy]

@Abingdonboy correct me if i am wrong but dont these cost 22$ million for a new one? why spend thirty on each for an upgrade when they are such old airframes?

 

[nik141993]

@Abingdonboy correct me if i am wrong but dont these cost 22$ million for a new one? why spend thirty on each for an upgrade when they are such old airframes?

Kickbacks

 

[egodoc222]

WTF? 300 million?
It must be 30 mil!! Typo?

 

[Blue Marlin]

if your saying its $30 million each by simply dividing to amount to the quantity then come sit down and learn somthing.
manufactures will always sell servicing packages lasting on average 10 years and this is not cheap. that alone cost several million and your leaving out training(pliots and ground crew) logistics tooling.
all this is a huge propotion of the deal here. so next time think before you speak.

 

[Abingdonboy]

@Abingdonboy correct me if i am wrong but dont these cost 22$ million for a new one? why spend thirty on each for an upgrade when they are such old airframes?

Kickbacks

WTF? 300 million?
It must be 30 mil!! Typo?

The MoD's absurd blacklisting policy has acted to inflate the cost of this upgrade deal signifcantly. As Salex is supplying many of the sensors for the upgrade but it is offically blacklisted so now you have this convoluted route:

The PMO's decision seems to have been prompted by the fact that Selex Galilio, a subsidiary of Leonardo Finmeccanica was to provide sensors and other equipment for the proposed upgrades. However, the Indian government recently decided not to hold business deals with Leonardo Finmeccanica following its subsidiary AgustaWestland's involvement in a corruption case in India.

Now, as per the latest deal with Russia, India will not directly purchase sensors and equipment from Selex, but rather from the original equipment manufacturer Russia's Rosoboronexport, which will import them and install on the Kamov 28. Selex's flagship Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance (ATOS) mission management system provides wide area and targeted surveillance (overt or covert), anti-submarine warfare, environmental and border control. According to sources, out of the ten Indian Navy helicopters available, six will get state of the art sensors and lethal equipment while four will go for an engine overhaul. The project will be completed in two locations; first, Kamov-28's will go to Russia for overhaules while sensors and final assembly will be done on Indian soil i.e Vizag.


More details:

It then emerged that Russia’s Rosoboronexport State Corp, representing Russian Helicopters’ Bashkiria-based Kumertau Aviation Production Enterprise (located between the Volga River and Ural Mountains) had won the bid after teaming up with Leonardo Finmeccanica subsidiaries Selex Galileo and Selex ES. Along with Rosoboronexport, Selex Galileo had submitted an industrial participation proposal for the mid-life upgrade of 10 Ka-28PLs, only four of which remain flightworthy as of now. Selex Galileo had proposed to install the ATOS-LW combat management system, along with Selex ES’ Osprey AESA-MMR, which is a low probability of intercept (LPI) radar with high gain and low sidelobes. Field evaluation trials (FET) of the Ka-28PL with ATOS-LW system were concluded successfully. Selex Galileo was also selected—following exhaustive and thorough evaluations on a global scale being conducted by the IN

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Now, instead of directly procuring the hardware from Leonardo Finmeccanica’s Selex Galileo and Selex ES subsidiaries and supplying them to Kumertau Aviation Production Enterprise as customer-furnished equipment (CFE), the IN has appointed Rosoboronexport State Corp as the sole prime contractor for executing the contract, meaning Rosoboronexport State Corp will directly procure all the mission sensors and mission management systems from Selex Galileo and Selex ES and also do all systems installation/work work.
So the politicans get to play the hero both ways- looking "tough" on wrongdoing and also claiming they are supporting the armed forces by inking these "vital" deals.

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Leonardo-Finmeccanica’s UK-based Selex ES subsidiary has developed the X-band Osprey, an AESA-MMR that electronically scans 360 degrees without using a “spinning” slotted-array antenna. It is the world’s first lightweight e-scan system with no moving parts. The Osprey’s programmable signals processor (PSP) also incorporates algorithms from the Vixen air-to-air and PicoSAR air-to-ground AESA-based radars. It is easier to mount, having air-cooling and no pressurised waveguides.
The antenna distribution is via a multi-array interface, while the radar’s other two black boxes are the receiver/exciter and the PSP. Two- and four-antenna configurations are also possible. Each antenna weighs 11.3kg and contains 256 Gallium Arsenide transmit/receive modules. Each antenna provides 120-degree coverage. The radar feeds are handled by a centralised set of processing boxes, which can manage up to four radar panels (although only three are needed to provide 360-degree coverage). Besides the functional and performance improvements offered by AESA technology, perhaps the key advantage of Osprey is that its arrays can be mounted higher on an aircraft's fuselage than traditional mechanically-scanned radars.





This is particularly advantageous for use on helicopters where mechanical radars normally have to be mounted on the underside of the fuselage in order to be able to rotate to provide 360-degree coverage. This puts the radar in harm’s way in case of a hard landing and also puts major size limitations on the size of the array due to ground clearance restrictions. Using multiple fixed arrays sidesteps this issue, while the lack of moving parts greatly improves reliability and dramatically reduces maintenance requirements.
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An all too predictable mess with the loser (as always) being the taxpayer and armed forces.

The systems on board are going to be cutting edge it's just their airframes are VERY old albeit with about another 10-15 years of life left in them after this MLU.

The sickest part is that the GoI/MoD are sat on the S-70B deal whilst this is being given the greenlight.

 

[desimorty]

India is going to pay $300 million to upgrade helicopters that are 36 years old? Wouldn't the money be better spent buying new anti-ASW helicopters instead?

Source: https://defence.pk/threads/india-ru...helicopters-indian-navy.442715/#ixzz4GPr6KdIg

Marine helicopters are pretty heavy and expensive especially ASW role. Well worth the modernization. Because the platform is still expensive but the technology is force multiplier.