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PHOTOS: Army Demo At Western Command Parade
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Photos Courtesy DPR Defence
 
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Is this deal finalized or canceled??/

Bumar Announces $1.2 Billion Deal with India

WARSAW - Polish state-controlled arms company Bumar on Feb. 25 announced it was poised to sign a 1.2-billion-dollar (809-million-euro) deal to supply military equipment to India.

"We are expecting to sign contracts worth around $1.2 billion," a spokeswoman for Bumar, Kamila Walczak, told AFP.

She declined to elaborate.

According to the Polish newspaper Dziennik, Bumar has clinched six separate contracts with India, covering the supply of 200 WZT-3 armored cars, 80 Kroton de-mining vehicles, 100 Loara mobile anti-aircraft units and 110 self-propelled cannons.

In addition, Dziennik reported, Bumar is to supply 1,000 tank engines and also help upgrade the same number of T-72 tanks which are currently used by the Indian army.

Bumar may also work with India on the production of tank engines, the newspaper said.
 
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What is happening in FICV project ??/ I heard 4 companies were participating, and two will be selected and they would be given a time frame of 7-8 years so that it would get ready by 2018.

But when is this going to start, i thought the decision was supposed to be made in Aug. 2010 (or Aug 2011 ??/) (correct me if i am wrong).
 
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Bulletproof jackets for troops
NEW DELHI: Soldiers or humble grunts are often forgotten in the rush to clinch arms deals for main-battle tanks, submarines, and fighter jets. Now, after several years of delay, jawans are finally on course to get modular bullet-proof jackets and ballistic helmets with internal communication gear.

The new jackets and helmets will not only better protect the head, neck, chest, groin and sides of soldiers but also allow them to move with greater agility than the heavy obsolete ones they are currently saddled with.

A dozen companies have come forward with their proposals to the Army's tender, under which around 1.5 lakh bullet-proof jackets will be inducted in the first phase, with another 1.8 lakh or so to be acquired in the second round.

"Trials of the jackets, which will be modular in nature, ergonomically designed and fit snugly to provide maximum protection, will soon be held in Rajasthan deserts and Ladakh mountains," said a senior officer. The jackets, each costing around Rs 50,000, will also be tested in the Terminal Ballistics Research Lab in Chandigarh against the more lethal bullets currently being used by terrorists in J&K.

"Being modular, the jackets will provide graded levels of protection for different missions. Their weight will depend on the threat level," he said.

For a "low threat perception" mission, for instance, the jacket will weigh less than 4 kg and have "a trauma pad with all-around soft armour plate, including front, sides, back, collar and neck".

At the other end, in a high threat mission, the jacket will weigh 10.5-11.5 kg, with "hard armour plates" for front, rear, sides, upper arms, groin and throat, capable of protecting against 7.62mm x 39mm mild steel core ammunition fired from an AK-47 from 10 metre.

With Army engaged in intensive counter-insurgency operations in J&K and northeast, soldiers certainly need better head and body armour. In 2010, for instance, the force lost 15 officers, 13 JCOs and 159 soldiers in various operations.

But a soldier's life in India comes cheap. A parliamentary report last year noted the Army was still short of 1,86,138 bullet-proof jackets despite being authorized 3,53,765 new ones way back in March 2004. The situation has not improved much since then, said sources.

The 1.13-million Army does have a futuristic modernization programme for its foot-soldiers, the F-Insas (future infantry soldier as a system), but it's yet to gather steam.

F-Insas basically aims at converting a soldier into "a fully-networked all-terrain, all-weather, weapons platform with enhanced lethality, survivability, sustainability, mobility and situational awareness" for the digitized battlefield of the future.

Under it, infantry soldiers are to progressively get equipment like light-weight integrated ballistic helmets with "heads-up display" and miniaturised communication systems; portable visual, chemical and biological sensors; hand-held computer displays, GPS and video links; "smart" vests with sensors to monitor vital body signs; and lethal firepower with laser-guided modular weapon systems.
 
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RFP Issued for Howitzers for Indian Army; BAE Systems M777s Lead Race

After four failed attempts in the last 25 years, the Army has issued a fresh global tender for acquiring over 400 towed artillery howitzers, the first after the controversial Bofors deal. The ghost of Bofors controversy had been haunting the artillery modernisation process with all previous efforts to procure the guns being cancelled and the Army has not been able to induct even a single new piece of howitzer since the mid 1980s.

The latest request for proposal was issued in the third week of January, army sources said, adding the deal would include procurement of over 400 guns from foreign vendors and production of over 1,000 guns indigenously in partnership with the chosen manufacturer. The tender has been re-issued as the last one was cancelled after one of the two contenders Singapore Technologies was blacklisted by the Defence Ministry after it was named in a CBI charge sheet in the Ordnance Factory scam.

After the blacklisting, BAE Systems was the only company left in the fray and the tender was scrapped as the Indian defence procurement rules don't allow acquisition in single vendor cases. However, it is not yet clear as which firms other than BAE Systems have received the RFP this time.

To augment its artillery prowess, the Army is likely to procure the ultra-light howitzers this year from the United States through the foreign military sales route. India is already in an advanced stage of negotiations with the US for procuring over 145 ultra-light howitzers for their deployment in mountainous regions. As part of its over Rs 20,000-crore artillery modernisation plan, the Army is looking at inducting several types of howitzers through inter-governmental pacts and global tenders.

The Army Chief had also recently said that the trials for the different types of guns were expected to begin this year in summer so that their induction could take place by the end of next year. The Army presently uses a mix of 105 mm field guns and 130 mm and 155 mm howitzers.
 
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Indian Army has two new mountain divisions in northeast.

New Delhi: With an eye on China's growing military strength in Tibet, India has 'fully raised' two new mountain divisions with 30,000 troops in the northeast as a counter-measure and to shore up its mountain warfare capabilities.

'We have now fully raised the two new mountain divisions in the northeast. They are fully functional. Only some support elements may join them soon,' a senior officer at the Army Headquarters here said.


The two new mountain divisions, raised at a cost of Rs 700 crore/ Rs 7 billion each, will be under the command of the Rangapahar-based 3 Corps in Nagaland and the Tezpur-based 4 Corps in Assam of the army's Kolkata-based Eastern Command.


The two divisions with 15,000 personnel each will further enhance the tactical strength of the Indian Army in the strategically important areas along the borders facing its traditional rival China, which claims the whole of Arunachal Pradesh as its territory.


The new mountain divisions have come up at a time when India's security top brass is warily watching the massive upgrade of Chinese military infrastructure along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) - the ceasefire line as there is no demaracated border - in all the three sectors - western (Ladakh), middle (Uttarakhand, Himachal) and eastern (Sikkim, Arunachal).

The other China-specific plans include the raising of the 'Arunachal Scouts' and 'Sikkim Scouts' that was given the nod last year.

India has also deployed a Sukhoi SU-30 air superiority fighter jet squadron in Tezpur as one of the aerial offensive measures apart from upgrading airfields and helipads in the northeast.The Cabinet Committee on Security had approved the raising of the two new divisions in early 2008 and preparations for raising the offensive infantry formations began the same year.


The army, out of its 35 divisions, already has 10 divisions dedicated to mountain warfare and another infantry division earmarked for high altitude operations.


Though the plan for raising the two new formations was to be in two phases over five years, the army has compressed timelines to have them in place within three years, primarily in view of the defence ministry's focus on building military strength in the northeast, the officer, who did not wish to be named, said.


Under the first phase, the two new divisions' headquarters, along with a brigade each, have come up, including the headquarters' support elements such as signals, provost, and intelligence units. Implementation of the second phase will be completed in the first half of this year to make them operationally ready.


The divisions have been armed with state-of-the-art technology such as heavy-lift helicopters capable of carrying 50 troops each; ultralight howitzers that can be slung under the helicopters for transportation; missile and cannon-armed helicopter gunships; utility helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).


India is already in the process of purchasing 140 M777 ultralight howitzers worth $647 million through the foreign military sales route from the US under its Rs 12,000-crore ($2.7-billion) artillery modernisation plan.


The air assets, such as the helicopter gunships and attack helicopters, will provide the two divisions capabilities to carry out manoeuvres for countering the terrain impediments.

'The gunships and attack choppers will be necessary for providing the two formations firepower in a mountain terrain, as the army will not be in a position to deploy tanks and armoured vehicles,' the officer pointed out.


The firepower in the third dimension (air) was required due to difficulties the army would face in using artillery guns in an operation over a mountainous terrain.

Source: Sify
 
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Indian Army refloats tenders for heavy guns.

New Delhi: The Indian Army has once again begun the process of acquiring heavy guns, floating tenders for both the towed and tracked systems that have a range of up to 40 km. The tender for the towed gun was issued on Jan 28 while that for the tracked version was issued in mid-January. India Strategic defence magazine (..:: India Strategic ::.. Home Page: The authoritative monthly on Defence and Strategic Affairs.) quoted sources as saying that that several vendors from France, the US, Britain, Israel, the Czech Republic and other countries were invited but no details of the tender specifications were available as they are generally secret in accordance with General Staff Qualitative Requirements (GSQRs). India had earlier cancelled its Request for Proposal (RfP) for 1,580 towed guns (155mm, 52 calibre), as well as for tracked guns over allegations of corruption involving one company or another. That set back the army's artillery modernisation programme by three to five years over and above the 10-year long delay in the process. India Strategic also reported that meanwhile, 'the good news is that the summer and winter field trials of the ultralight gun, BAE Systems M777 A1 have been completed successfully within 2010 at the Pokhran range and negotiations are now to be conducted for acquiring 145 of them from the US government under its Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme.The 155mm/45 caliber gun, which can be slung-carried by heavy-lift helicopters like the Boeing Chinook, or ferried by heavy trucks, is to be deployed in the mountains. The process to acquire this type of gun was initiated in 2006 and the defence ministry has already allocated the funds for this. US Congressional clearance, a mandatory requirement, has also been given and the gun could be in the Indian Army's inventory within a couple of years after the contract is signed. Made partly of titanium, the gun is about 40 per cent lighter than the earlier versions in operation and is being used extensively in Afghanistan by the US Army.
The ultralight gun has digital controls, can be moved quickly after firing, and can deliver lethal firepower up to 40 km. As the mountainous terrain imposes limitations on movement, heavy-lift helicopters are also under the acquisition process by the Indian Air Force. It may be recalled that the artillery had played a decisive role in demolishing Pakistani positions that they had intruded into in Kargil in the 1999 war. But somehow, thanks to the allegations of corruption over the acquisition of 400 Bofors FH 77B (155mm/39 caliber) guns from Sweden in the mid-1980s, the Indian Army has not been able to renew its inventory. Pakistan has meanwhile acquired M-109 A5 155mm howitzers from the United States.The Indian Army needs to phase out all its medium and heavy field guns, although there is a proposal to upgun the Soviet vintage 130 mm guns into 155 mm guns by replacing the barrel. Israel's Soltam had assisted in this process with the barrels but only some of the guns have been upgunned, and their results are reported to be very good. While there is no plan to make the ultralight gun in India, both the other proposals involve part purchase and part Transfer of Technology (ToT) to make them in India. BAE Systems for this has tied up with the Mahindras, and the Czech with the state-run BEML. The emphasis on the acquisition now is to go in for ToT, and then make the guns indigenously rather than under licence, the latter option inevitably coming with some restrictions. It may be pointed out that the French have offered to give all the technology if India buys the Ceasar, described by French officials as 'the best and most modern gun' now successfully being used in Afghanistan. They say that this gun can meet both the tracked and towed requirements.Notably, all the guns with the Indian Army's Artillery Regiment are obsolete, and it goes to its credit that despite this limitation, it keeps them in a ready-to-fire position. The old Bofors, the (not so light) Light Field Gun, and the Soviet M-46 medium guns are in this obsolete list.
There is progress though on the rocket artillery with the indigenous Pinaka and Russian Smerch Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRLs) having been inducted. One hopes this time, the RfP is replied to, the trials are held as required, the deal is done in time, and the guns are delivered ASAP. Artillery plays a potent, battle-winning role and its modernization cannot be delayed any further.

Source: Sify
 
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Indian Army Gets First Shakti-powered Dhruv Copters

The first Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) powered with Shakti Engines named as ALH MK-III was taken over by Maj Gen PK Bharali, Additional Director General, Army Aviation on behalf of the Indian Army on 07 Feb 2011, at a ceremony at HAL's Helicopter Division, Bengaluru. Five Shakti-powered Dhruvs were handed over to the Army on Feb 11 as part of Aero India 2011.

http://livefist.blogspot.com/2011/02/indian-army-gets-first-shakti-powered.html

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shakthi powered lch did great manuovers, can ALH do it ?
 
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shakthi powered lch did great manuovers, can ALH do it ?

unlikley, ALH is a much bigger ac with more drag, it has been commented the LCH TP-1 is the best handling helo in its class able to do a 70-80 degree nose-down manuevre un heard of in any other helos in Indian armed forces inventory, but if you look at the SARANG you's say they weren't far off
 
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Indian Army opens automobile training centre in Congo
In a bid to provide basic training in automobile repairs and maintenance to the locals in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Indian Army has opened a training centre there.

"The soldiers of 18 Madras regiment posted in DRC inaugurated the Eagle Automotive Training School at Focolari Camp, Goma on February 18. Four batches of 25 students will undergo a four week long training programme," Army officials said.

Indian Army has also provided the students with training kits and ready reckoners. The training would be imparted in French of local Swahili language.

As part of its commitment to United Nation's peace keeping mission, India has deployed an army brigade in DRC.

Indian Army opens automobile training centre in Congo - India - DNA
 
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