Indian Build Up

[cerswensky]

india is a great nation

 

[Bull]

India and Russia intend to make 1,000 BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles over the next 10 years through their joint venture company, with nearly 50 per cent of them expected to be sold in third countries, defence sources said today.
"We already have a capacity to produce 100 missiles a year. One thousand missiles in 10 years is a reasonable target. Nearly 50 per cent will go to exports," a source told PTI.
India and Russia have so far invested 300 million dollars in BrahMos Aerospace, which was established to design, develop, produce and market the missile by using the technological skills and capabilities of both countries.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced last month that BrahMos (named after the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers) has been inducted into the Indian Navy.
Speaking to PTI here, BrahMos Aerospace CEO A Sivathanu Pillai said the missile's land-based version is expected to be inducted into the Army next year.
Pillai, also chief controller of research and development in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said the company is undertaking a project to instal BrahMos missiles on the Sukhoi-30MKI combat jets of the Indian Air Force.
"Now, we are fitting one BrahMos in the belly (of the Su-30) to start with. With certain reinforcement of the wings, we can fit up to three," he said.

Pillai said the joint venture company, established in India in 1998, is now looking at an upgraded version of BrahMos but added that no final decision has been taken. He, however, hinted that one area of focus could be increasing the speed of the missile. "It can be speed," he said.
Noting that BrahMos is the world's only supersonic cruise missile -- others are subsonic -- and that there is no competition for it, he stressed the need for retaining the competitive edge.
"Having reached this stage, it's necessary that we keep that edge. We are definitely working on that (upgraded version of BrahMos)." The 2.5-tonne BrahMos has a strike range of 290 km and has a maximum speed of Mach 2.8 (one km per second).
Pillai said BrahMos would be sold in third countries "very soon" but did not name the nations or give any timeframe.
He said the price of BrahMos depends on several variables like "country-to-country (relations), political situation and credit line". "There is no competition for BrahMos. Our prices are competitive. We are not greedy about making money out of it. We are not greedy people," he commented.


http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=6607

 

[Bull]

NEW DELHI: Indian Army hopes to become the first force in the world to field supersonic cruise missiles by operationalising the Indo-Russian 290-km range Brahmos surface-to-surface missile by September next year.
The Army has given its go-ahead for production of the land version. Army Chief General J J Singh was present when the surface-to-surface version of the missile was successfully test-fired at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan.
All the three trials of the missile to test its range and accuracy, have been highly successful and the Army has already dispatched artillery officers to Hyderabad for training to operate Brahmos, a highly-placed defence source said.
When raised, the new Brahmos missile units would be the third such missile-formations in the country. The Army, under its lone 40th artillery division, has already raised specialised groups to operate short-range 150-300 kms Prithvi missile and longer range Agni-I (700 kms) and Agni-II (1,500-2,500 kms).
Buoyed by the successful test-trials of the land version of the Brahmos, Indian scientists are now working on the advanced version of the supersonic missile with longer reach,
improved trajectory design, a touch-botton-guidance system and capability to carry miniaturised warheads.
"We are aiming for a lighter missile with a small warhead and faster speed, up to Mach 8, to incorporate scramjet technology," a senior DRDO official said.
Brahmos' biggest advantage, according to missile experts, is that if produced in large numbers it could tilt the conventional arms balance between India and Pakistan.
Though Islamabad claims to have tested its own version of cruise missiles, defence experts say both China and Pakistan have access only to subsonic version of the missile.
Artillery officers estimate that around 90 mobile autonomous launchers (MAL) would be enough for India to create a major strategic deterrence.
According to Army sources, the new Brahmos artillery missile units would be equipped with four launchers which will have the capability of firing 12 missiles simultaneously
at 12 different targets within 30 seconds.
DRDO sources said a single launcher can also be detached from the battery to operate independently to give land forces operational flexibility and make detections extremely
difficult.


http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=6618

 

[Bull]

VISAKHAPATNAM: Supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was delivered to the Navy here on Thursday.
The event was celebrated at INS Kalinga on Visakhapatnam-Bhimunipatnam beach road. A. Sivathanu Pillai, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited; Vice-Admiral Sureesh Mehta, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command; Rear Admiral (retired) S. Mohapatra, in charge of BrahMos missile delivery; and V. Bhujanga Rao, Director, Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) were among those present. A top source in BrahMos Aerospace told The Hindu that for the first time, the missile, mostly produced indigenously in Hyderabad, has several unique features.
Joint venture

The BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited is a joint venture with Russia, in which India has a 50.5 per cent equity. The company designs, produces and markets the missiles.
In the past three years, the missile had been successfully test-fired from Interim Test Range at Chandipur-on-sea in south Orissa.
The missile will be integrated with various naval warships and shore-based complexes.

The NSTL's efforts to design advance models of stealth ships received a shot in the arm with the launching of work on instrumentation radar centre atop Dolphin hills overlooking the sea here on Thursday.
The centre, being developed at a cost of Rs.10 crores on a site allotted by the Navy, will be an advanced facility for measuring the radar signature of ships by the NSTL. Ships can evade attacks during hostilities if they are undetectable by enemy radars.
The centre will help the NSTL in studying various stealth design features of ships.
The new facility, expected to be ready by May next year, will help reduce radar signature of ships by using newly-developed stealth material.
Laying the stone for the centre, Dr. Sivathanu Pillai said: "I know, a few years back, the NSTL embarked upon an integrated stealth technology programme. As part of it, it developed a lot of stealth hardware, software and stealth materials." He said some of the stealth materials developed by the NSTL and Mumbai-based Naval Material Research Laboratory (NMRL) were inducted on first of class stealth ship INS Shivalik.


http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=6651

 

[Bull]

Fast attack warship 'Batti Malv' commissioned

PORT BLAIR, JULY 31 (PTI)
Fast attack indigenous warship 'Batti Malv' was commissioned by the Commander-in-Chief of Andaman and Nicobar unfied command Vice Admiral Arun Kumar Singh today.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Vice Admiral said 'Batti Malv' was an "extremely valuable asset" in the discharge of the role of the unified command structure for maintaining the safety, security and well being of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
"The fact that we are able today to commission a state-of-the-art warship like 'Batti Malv' with indigenous construction, power generation package, weapons and sensors bear eloquent testimony to our nation's technological prowess and the skill of its workforce," he said.
The Rs 64 crore warship is named after one of the islands in the archipelago and took 26 months to be constructed. It was the third of the series of Bangaram-class high speed warships and with its 46 metre height was a cost effective platform for patrol and rescue operations at sea with combat capabilities with matching fire power, Rear Admiral (retd) T S Ganeshan, chairman and managing director of Garden Reach Ship Builders and Engineers (GRSE) Shipyard Ltd, Kolkata, which constructed it, said. Its twin engine can achieve a speed of 28 knots, he said



http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=6660

 

[Bull]

India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) recently announced that it had concluded a "very big order" for airframe structures from Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and signed an agreement with Elbit Systems to make aircraft and helicopter simulators. While precise details were not offered, PTI reports that the deals are "expected to run into millions of dollars."
HAL CEO Ashok K Baweja also held talks with top Boeing officials attending Franborough on a major program for outsourcing aircraft structural components for Boeing's present and future programs."A roadmap of various processes is being finalised," Banerjee said. HA currently makes aircraft doors for both Boeing and Airbus, and also makes kits to convert 737 passenger aircraft into freighters

 

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The Indian government is announcing that Russia will build three "stealth warships" for India under a Rs 5114 crore (INR 51.14 billion, about $1.1 billion) contract signed in New Delhi. The contract actually covers 3 Krivak III/ Talwar Class frigates, as a follow-on to an earlier $900 million purchase in 1997. The Krivak IIIs are not really stealth warships, esp. by comparison to more modern designs like Singapore's new Formidable Class frigates from France (a Lafayette Classderivative). They're best described as mid-range multi-role frigates, with a potential emphasis on anti-submarine work thanks to the anti-submarine capabilities of some Klub-N missiles (Talwar Class ships carry 14, vertically launched, though some are being fitted to carry the BrahMos missile). Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee told a cabinet committee that the first ship would be delivered [in 2011] and the subsequent two within 12 months after that. The announcement also included the purchase of 28 "submarine-fired cruise missiles," type unspecified. Note that some Klub missile variants can be fired from submarines.
As the late and lamented eDefense Online noted, in August 2005 Pakistan gave China a $700-million order for 4 new 2,250-ton Type 053H3 Jiangwei II Class/ F-22P frigates and six Z-9C helicopters (a Chinese copy of the French AS 365N Dauphin II), albeit with a mix of Chinese and western equipment. The F-22P Frigates were explicitly described as a counter to India's Talwar Class, and were sold via soft loans from China. Deliveries are expected between 2009-2014.

 

[Bull]

[URL="http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/images/AIR_C-130J.jpg"][/URL] C-130J Hercules
(click to view full)

India Defence reports that Air Chief S.P. Tyagi has said that "the IAF is planning to buy C-130J planes" for its special forces and Border Security Forces. Reports indicate that the IAF is particularly attracted to the C-130J's ability to land and take off even in improvised or short airfields, and without lights. Those characteristics have served the Hercules well in other anti-terrorism scenarios like Operation Yonatan in Entebbe, and are now more routine maneuvers thanks to the C-130J Hercule' modern avionics and increased engine power. DID has also notedthe 'J' model's good performance in "hot and high" conditions, which can reduce the useful load of older Hercules or similar transport aircraft by 50-60%.
India's interest is quite specific, but how that deal might affect its longer-term force structure offers several possibilities, as does this purchase itself....

Lockheed sources reportedly gave a figure of 12-13 aircraft as the number under discussion, which would take over the special forces role and supplement India's current fleet of 100 or so medium lift twin-turboprop AN-32 "Sutlej" aircraft. No word on whether the Hercs in question would be C-130Js with minor customizations, or a J variant of the heavily-modified and much more expensive MC-130 "Combat Talon" special forces aircraft. India's emerging Air Force philosophy and terrorism threat profiles would seem to suggest the MC-130 as the best doctrinal fit, while budgetary constraints (the MC-130H lists as $155 million in FY 2001 dollars, and an MC-130J Combat Talon III would cost more) would suggest the C-130J route.
India is currently engaged in a major upgrade of its AN-32 fleet as well as its 25-30 IL-76 Gajraj strategic transport aircraf, in order to extend their life by 10-20 years. Lockheed Martin is also offering India the $60-80 million C-130J Hercules as a fuller AN-32 replacement option.
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/images/AIR_IL-76_vs_C-130H_lg.jpg
Will India's potential purchase represent a mere stopgap until the $100-120 million A400Mbegins to hit the market around 2010, and creates a major competition for India's next-generation tactical airlifter? Will a deal be done around an indigenous project instead, something that India often prefers despite the project failures and increased costs common to such projects in its history? Or is a C-130J order a potential door-opener for a much larger Lockheed order, one that can be delivered sooner to a customer who decides that it would rather have more aircraft available, and doesn't need more than 20 tons of lift capacity?
Time will tell, and it's worth noting that even the initial C-130J deal hasn't been finalized yet.

 

[Bull]

In an earlier article, DID noted India's $133 million deal for two P-3C Orion maritime-optimized patrol and surveillance planes. As it happens, that deal fell through on grounds of expense, support costs, and timing. Apparently, it would have taken 18-24 months for the US Navy to retrofit the two aircraft to the Indian Navy specifications once the lease had been finalized. DID noted that in an article update, but there has been a subsequent development.
India's navy has now floated an RFP for 8 new maritime aircraft, though subsequent statements by India's Admiral Prakash indicate that they could be looking for as many as 30 aircraft by 2020. Lockheed was invited to bid again, and so were several other firms. The bids have now been submitted, with price negotiations to be completed by 2007 and first deliveries to commence within 48 months.

 

[Bull]

India's President Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam recently dedicated the Army Wide Area Network (AWAN), which has been designed to connect all Army formations, units, training establishments and logistic installations in the country. Kalam congratulated the team of Corps of signals and Tata Consultancy Services for undertaking this project and completing it in time across 174 signal centres. AWAN will replace the existing 1980s technology message handling network called Automatic Message Switching System. It will provide secure and direct information exchange without intermediate handling or intervention, and will enable data exchange services including audio and video.Dr. Kalam added that AWAN may encompass the entire defence service and interlink with other government departments dealing with national security and crisis response. Minister of State for Defence Shri M Pallam Raju, in turn, discussed AWAN in terms of information superiority as a force multiplier and Network enabled warfare. The Chief of Army Staff Gen. J J Singh, meanwhile, described AWAN as amongst the first major initiatives undertaken to prepare Indian Army for fighting in the digital battle space.

 

[Bull]

Navy to be fully balanced force in next 10 year: Prakash

NEW DELHI, AUG 7 (PTI)
With the proposed induction of Maritime reconaissance aircraft, fighters and new submarines, Navy would be "fully balanced" maritime force to be reckoned with in the next 10 years, Naval Chief Admiral Arun Prakash said today.
"We are back on track on the submarine front. In a few years time we would be back on desired levels for Naval air operations", he said in reference to reopening of submarine building lines at Mazagoan and efforts to acquire more maritime reconaissance aircraft.
He said with the indigenous ship building efforts in the country gaining strides and other ongoing acquisition programmes like aircraft carrier and other force multipliers coming to fruition, the Navy would be an all purpose maritime force to be reckoned with in the next 10 years.
"Though our maritime interests are now all over, anything that happens from the eastern coast of Africa and the straits of Malacca", he said the immediate footprints for the navy was the Indian Ocean area.
In an interview to Armed forces newsletter 'Sanik Samachar', the Naval Chief said Indian navy was no no longer China or Pakistan centric. "We look way beyond. Out Maritime strategies have to take into account matrix of economic interest, military threats and other national interests".

To don such a role, the Naval Chief said naval training was now being given a new strategic orientation aimed at making sailors and officers more technically qualified to handle hi-tech weapon systems and platforms.
"All the officers joining the executive branch would be offered technical degrees like B-Tech, which would be completed during the path of their training with the Navy," Admiral Prakash said.
He said the training exercise would be technologically most modern, relevant to take care of navy's future needs.
On recent controversies of some of his family members being involved in trying to influence naval purchases, the Naval Chief said he had no time to think about such matters.
"I always beleive that if you try to something good and big, it affects many. While most of the people would be happy, there would be some who would be unhappy or would try to pick holes", he said. "But, I am happy with the work I am doing", the naval chief concluded.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=6691

 

[Bull]

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 3:A team from Russia’s Sukhoi Design Bureau and Irkut gave a detailed classified presentation to the Defence Ministry on Thursday on its fifth generation fighter concept, but discrepancies have already begun to surface between New Delhi and Moscow over the proposed multi-billion dollar joint programme to develop and produce advanced stealth fighters for both countries in the next decade.
In essence, South Block has communicated to Moscow that the Russian fifth generation fighter programme, designated PAK-FA, is already at an advanced stage of design, which effectively negates the aspect of ‘‘joint-development’’ and has asked it to come up with a more ‘‘equal’’ proposal.

The Sukhoi-led consortium’s concept, based on the PAK-FA, is being pitched vigorously to India as part of a protocol signed by the two countries in 2004 to build a fifth generation fighter.
In fact, the government plans to tell Moscow in December at the sixth meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Government Commission that if billions of dollars are to flow from the Indian side for the joint project, Moscow needs a partner because its budget will not allow it to develop alone, then the IAF and HAL must be on board from scratch, so that the aircraft platform incorporates IAF operational needs as well.
The fifth generation joint project is still a futuristic one, though it was clear from Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s comments in Parliament today, that the government is taking strong note of lessons learnt from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme for its other proposed project, the Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA).
‘‘For expediting development work on MCA, government may consider collaboration with friendly countries,’’ he said. The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in Bangalore has already begun to conceptualise the MCA, possibly as India’s fifth-generation platform. The only operational fifth generation fighter right now is the American F/A-22 Raptor, with the F-35 Lightening II set to make its first flight this year. At the most basic level, the wish-list that the IAF has for a fifth generation fighter, which should ideally begin flying operationally between 2015-2020, includes comprehensive stealth, a single engine, supercruise capabilities, an active electronically scanned array (AESA) combat radar and swing-role capabilities that allow seamless switching between air-to-air and air-to-ground modes inflight. This of course is in addition to the capability to operate entirely beyond visual range (BVR) of the enemy and perform short take-offs and landings.

shiv.aroor@expressindia.com



http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=6687

 

[RAPTOR]

Air force to induct BrahMos missiles by 2007

August 26, 2006 20:22 IST

http://ia.rediff.com/forwards.html

The Indian Air Force will induct the air-to-ground version of the BrahMos cruise missile and integrate them with its Sukhoi-30MKI combat jets by December 2007, a top defence official said on Saturday.
Speaking to reporters in Tiruchirapalli, BrahMos Aerospace CEO A Sivathanu Pillai said the production of the supersonic missile by his company had been completed and the procedure to fit them to the Su-30 jets was "under progress."
Static and dynamic test on the ground were in progress and various flight tests would have to be done subsequently, he said.
No structural changes would have to be made to the Su-30 to make it capable of carrying the BrahMos as the jet already had a hook and loader assembly in its belly.
A team of experts from the IAF, BrahMos Aerospace, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Sukhoi Design Bureau had been formed to evolve an integrated hook assembly in the jet so that it could carry two BrahMos missiles on its wings.
Apart from the mechanical assembly of hooks and straps to house the long and heavy version of the missile, a suitable electronic system or a fire control system linked to the cockpit avionics would have to be designed and engineered, he said.
Since the BrahMos has a longer range of up to 290 km, unlike other missiles with shorter ranges of 10 to 20 km, the electronic systems for controlling it were more complicated.
However, Pillai was confident that all procedural wrangles would be overcome soon and the BrahMos would be fitted on the Su-30 jets in a successful manner before the targeted date of December 2007.
He said the BrahMos version meant for the army had already gone into commercial production.
The army has placed a substantial order for the missiles that would be inducted in the froce from 2007. The land-to-land version is designed to be mounted on a Tatra vehicle produced by Bharat Earth Movers Limited and the command post has been designed by Hyderabad-based Electronic Corproration of India Limited.
Similarly, the navy has begun deploying the ship-launched version of BrahMos in its warships in a phased manner.
Pillai brushed aside reports that his company was facing a financial crunch. He said the Russian and Indian governments were providing the required investment for this joint venture without any hassle or hesitation.
On the outsourcing of components by his firm, Pillai said 20 large and medium-scale industries had been promoted for supplying different components and auxiliaries. Besides, 40 small industries across the country were playing a role in the final assembly of the missile.
A consortium of industries has been lined up and stringent quality controls have been clamped on them.
Apart from Indian Industries, seven firms from Russia were supplying various components. There was strict adherence to the same quality specifications, as the inter-changeability of components was an important criteria.
The assembly of the BrahMos would be rigidly uniform and common for the all users of the missile, he said.
The assembly unit and outsourcing wings have been provided adequate cushioning so that expansion in production would be possible any time to keep pace with an increased demand.
The company's research and development department was engaged in developing hypersonic missiles. Currently, the BrahMos can cruise with a velocity of three times the speed of sound. Hypersonic versions would be capable of operating at five times the velocity of sound

 

[Bull]

A STATE-of-the art satellite communication network for the Indian Army called Project Rohini has been put in place. It will provide connectivity for voice, data and video, overcoming limitations of terrain and distance.
The network will be centrally managed and controlled by a powerful Network Management System. The fielding of this technology-intensive broadband satellite network, using indigenous satellites, will not only address communication requirements but enhance the robustness and reliability of the communication infrastructure which the Corps of Signals has established for the Indian Army. Project Rohini was implemented by the Corps of Signals along with HCL Comnet and ITI Ltd.

 

[Bull]

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) cannot be faulted for at least one thing: thinking big. Despite frequent technical glitches and time and cost-overruns in its missile programme, it's going ahead with development work on the beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile 'Astra'.

BVR missiles are fired by fighter jets to destroy enemy aircraft at ranges beyond 40 km. They are urgently needed these days since BVR combat, as compared to dogfights or WVR (within visual range) combat, has become the norm in modern-day aerial warfare.

Being a complex system, only a few countries like US, Russia, France and Israel have managed to develop BVR missiles. IAF's frontline fighters like Sukhoi-30 MKIs and Mirage-2000s, for instance, are armed with expensive BVR missiles of French and Russian origin like the "Matra Super 530D" and "AA-12 Adder".

DRDO is not deterred by all this. Holding that the "systems design, aerodynamic configuration design etc of various sub-systems" of Astra have now been completed, DRDO plans to soon conduct "controlled flights" of the missile "from under-slung ground launchers".

The DRDO, incidentally, had conducted test-firing of three primitive Astra prototypes from the Chandipur-on-Sea interim test range in May 2003. But nothing much was heard after it. On March 31, 2004, the government approved the Rs 1,000-crore project to develop Astra, with a 80-km "head-on range".

"I don't think DRDO will be able to deliver Astra to IAF by 2009 as promised," said an expert.