RAW's ARC to be shut down; Air & Electronic Assets to be split between NTRO & IAF

[Chanakya's_Chant]

RAW to fold its covert air wing
The ARC’s chief currently reports to the RAW chief who wields ex-officio responsibility over it as Director, Security, in the Cabinet Secretariat. ARC aircraft, electronic assets to be split between NTRO and IAF.

The plans, backed by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, envisage that the ARC’s aircraft and electronics assets will be divided between the National Technical Research Organisation and the Indian Air Force.​

Plans have been firmed up to shut down the Aviation Research Centre (ARC), India’s premier imaging-intelligence organisation, highly-placed government sources have told The Indian Express.

The plans, backed by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, envisage that the ARC’s aircraft and electronics assets will be divided between the National Technical Research Organisation and the Indian Air Force.

The organisational restructuring is primarily meant to enhance intelligence-gathering on China’s military capacities in the Tibet plateau, by integrating satellite-based data gathered by the NTRO with aircraft-based imaging conducted by the ARC.

NTRO’s imaging capacities, sources said, would be significantly enhanced by the acquisition of ARC electronic suites which are equipped with cloud-penetrating radar, something the satellites it now operates do not possess.

Flying from bases at Charbatia in Orissa, Sarsawa in Uttar Pradesh, Tinsukia in Assam and Palam in Delhi, the ARC operates a fleet equipped with Russian IL-76s, AN-32s, General Dynamics Gulfstream IIIs and Global 5000 jets. It is also equipped with Russian-manufactured Mi-17 and Indian-made Alouette II and III helicopters. The organisation is largely staffed by officers on deputation from the armed forces.

There is little public domain data on the ARC’s technical capacities, but the organisation is believed to have access to state-of-the-art equipment provided by the United States, the result of an intelligence cooperation agreement that dates back to the 1962 war with China.

Beginning with the loan of a Helio Twin Courier turboprop from the United States that year, the organisation played a key role in a secret partnership to monitor China’s nuclear tests at Lop Nor.

Intelligence professionals are divided on the development, with some arguing that shutting down ARC could undermine the Research and Analysis Wing’s coverage of Chinese military infrastructure and capacities.

The ARC’s chief currently reports to the RAW chief who wields ex-officio responsibility over it as Director, Security, in the Cabinet Secretariat.

“The way things stand,” said former ARC chief Amitabh Mathur, “RAW is able to seamlessly have its needs met by the ARC. I’m not sure the NTRO, which is not directly accountable to the consumers of its intelligence, will be quite as responsive.”

ARC insiders also claim handing over its air assets will also leave the élite Special Frontier Force — a special force also reporting to the RAW chief, in his capacity as Director, Security — without air assets under its direct control. Following the Kargil war, the Army had argued for control of the ARC’s air assets, arguing that it failed to provide adequate warning on the build-up of Pakistani troops across the Line of Control.

However, the ARC, as well as RAW, argued that they had indeed provided warnings, the significance of which was misread by military commanders.

The K Subrahmanyam committee report into the Kargil war asserted that “no intelligence failures had been attributed on account of functioning of RAW and ARC. However, certain equipment inadequacies were highlighted such as satellite imagery and UAVs”.

Post-Kargil reforms later led to the formation of the NTRO, along the lines of the United States’ National Security Agency, to serve as a hub for technological innovation and ensure expensive electronic assets could be shared by various intelligence organisations.

In 2012, though, the Naresh Chandra committee on national security reforms had recommended that the ARC be formally merged with RAW — a recommendation that emerged from complaints that the NTRO was not meeting its needs.

Early this year, the government had appointed RAW veteran Alok Joshi to head the NTRO, addressing complaints from the intelligence services that its technologist-dominated leadership was unresponsive to their needs.

The shutdown of the ARC is intended, government sources said, to be part of a broader package of reforms intended to make the NTRO more accountable to the end-users of its intelligence.

Source:- RAW to fold its covert air wing | The Indian Express

 

[Chanakya's_Chant]

ARC maintains an impressive inventory -

General Dynamics Gulfstream III

Bombardier Global 5000

IL-76

An-32

Mil Mi-17s

HAL Cheetah

HAL Chetak

DRDO Lakshya PTA
​

All of them upgraded with Aerial surveillance, ELINT, SIGINT operations, photo reconnaissance flights (PHOTINT), monitoring of borders, imagery intelligence (IMINT) systems.

Those Bombardier Global 5000s have been converted to EL/I-3001 Airborne Integrated Signals Intelligence Systems (AISIS) standard.

The Elta Systems EL/I-3001 Airborne Integrated Signal Intelligence System (AISIS) is aircraft mounted suite designed to perform long-range, high-endurance missions thus providing tactical and strategic intelligence. The system comprises ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) and COMINT (Communications Intelligence) sensors to search, intercept, measure, locate, analyze, classify and monitor communication and radar transmissions. The Electronic Order of Battle (OEB) picture generated by the EL/I-3001 suite is transmitted in real-time to ground stations for its exploitation via secure line-of-sight data-links, satellite communications and/or HF/VHF/UHF radio sets. Elta Systems optimized the AISIS system with the ability to effectively deal with low probability of intercept transmission sources. The EL/I-3001 can be integrated in a variety of airborne platforms and has been sold to several customers worldwide. The system is a derivative of proven Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) furnished to the Israel Armed Force by Elta Systems.

Saurav Jha's Blog : New 'Special Mission' aircraft for the Indian Air force​

 

[Perpendicular]

Our secret services needs to be well funded and expanded to carry out our foriegn policy. Its about time that this part of our defence be given equal priority as other three services.

 

[Chanakyaa]

Two Thoughts :

- What you read is infact, even less than the "tip of the iceberg"
- Ajeet Doval - The Best Man to head our security and intellgence sources since 1947

Jai Ho.

 

[Levina]

Makes sense to me.
ARC-DGS created delays of weeks and months during Kargil.
NTRO is far more organised to collect TECHINT. In 2004, when it was created it was proposed that not all the equipment now available with the different agencies necessarily be centralised under the control of this new organisation; it was to happen slowly, just that it took 10 yrs.

 

[Ind4Ever]

Our is more powerful than it was 1.5 years ago . Raw's air wing will be impressive

 

[special]

Two Thoughts :

- What you read is infact, even less than the "tip of the iceberg"
- Ajeet Doval - The Best Man to head our security and intellgence sources since 1947

Jai Ho.

Makes sense to me.
ARC-DGS created delays of weeks and months during Kargil.
NTRO is far more organised to collect TECHINT. In 2004, when it was created it was proposed that not all the equipment now available with the different agencies necessarily be centralised under the control of this new organisation; it was to happen slowly, just that it took 10 yrs.

Our is more powerful than it was 1.5 years ago . Raw's air wing will be impressive

Aviation Research Centre (ARC) is a part of R&AW, but NTRO is not.
this is like shuting down army aviation wing and give its assets to air force and navel air arm.
this is actually a bad move from Mr. Ajit Doval,

 

[Ind4Ever]

Aviation Research Centre (ARC) is a part of R&AW, but NTRO is not.
this is like shuting down army aviation wing and give its assets to air force and navel air arm.
this is actually a bad move from Mr. Ajit Doval,

Ok think about it . Its the plan of devil himself . I guess its more than what it seems

 

[PARIKRAMA]

If the NTRO and ARC gets combined then we are talking about a mix of satellite imaging, real time technical intelligence gathering to aerial assets deployment mix in all weather conditions for various specialised ops. Now thats a good jump..All folks should also remember that former RAW veteran Alok Joshi is now NTRO chief.

Retired RAW chief Alok Joshi to take over NTRO
Jan 6th 2015
Days after his retirement as the chief of India’s external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Alok Joshi has been appointed as the new chairman of the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO). Government sources have confirmed the appointment to HT.

On a short break currently, Joshi will take over as OSD next week, and officially as chairman on April 30.

The NTRO is the special technical intelligence gathering branch of the government.

Joshi, a Haryana cadre IPS officer of the 1976 batch, has served in the Intelligence Bureau and RAW for years. Joshi is a specialist on the neighbourhood, and has served as the RAW station chief in Nepal, and handled counter terrorism. National Security Advisor, A K Doval, is understood to have been impressed with Joshi, and strongly pitched for his appointment..
Retired RAW chief Alok Joshi to take over NTRO

NTRO, whose road map was drawn up by former President APJ Abdul Kalam during his tenure of Scientific Advisor to the government in 2001, is mainly tasked to prevent cyber threat and also provide and analyse technical intelligence.

It was set up in 2004 and was tasked to be a highly specialised technical intelligence-gathering agency, expertise of which would be used by other intelligence agencies like IB, RAW and Military Intelligence.

Thus ARC moving to NTRO is a correct step towards strengthening the capabilities of NTRO.

 

[Levina]

Aviation Research Centre (ARC) is a part of R&AW, but NTRO is not.
this is like shuting down army aviation wing and give its assets to air force and navel air arm.
this is actually a bad move from Mr. Ajit Doval,

On what basis have you put forward that analysis???
1) NTRO from the very beginning has been on the receiving end of negative media. As the process of raising the NTRO was underway, a concerted disinformation campaign was launched by some civilian agencies that had a reason to feel threatened.
2) It was the kargil review committee which had itself recommended raising NTRO.
ARC had shown glaring shortcoming in controlling TECHINT assets and in sharing information with other intelligence agencies in a timely manner, ergo timely and vital intelligence was lost to those that needed it the most. We do know that Indian army and RAW was put on tenterhook during kargil.
3) As I mentioned earlier NTRO was supposed to slowly take over the equipment of other agencies so that it was centralized under the control of this new organization which was raised in 2004.

 

[Echo_419]

RAW to fold its covert air wing
The ARC’s chief currently reports to the RAW chief who wields ex-officio responsibility over it as Director, Security, in the Cabinet Secretariat. ARC aircraft, electronic assets to be split between NTRO and IAF.

The plans, backed by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, envisage that the ARC’s aircraft and electronics assets will be divided between the National Technical Research Organisation and the Indian Air Force.​

Plans have been firmed up to shut down the Aviation Research Centre (ARC), India’s premier imaging-intelligence organisation, highly-placed government sources have told The Indian Express.

The plans, backed by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, envisage that the ARC’s aircraft and electronics assets will be divided between the National Technical Research Organisation and the Indian Air Force.

The organisational restructuring is primarily meant to enhance intelligence-gathering on China’s military capacities in the Tibet plateau, by integrating satellite-based data gathered by the NTRO with aircraft-based imaging conducted by the ARC.

NTRO’s imaging capacities, sources said, would be significantly enhanced by the acquisition of ARC electronic suites which are equipped with cloud-penetrating radar, something the satellites it now operates do not possess.

Flying from bases at Charbatia in Orissa, Sarsawa in Uttar Pradesh, Tinsukia in Assam and Palam in Delhi, the ARC operates a fleet equipped with Russian IL-76s, AN-32s, General Dynamics Gulfstream IIIs and Global 5000 jets. It is also equipped with Russian-manufactured Mi-17 and Indian-made Alouette II and III helicopters. The organisation is largely staffed by officers on deputation from the armed forces.

There is little public domain data on the ARC’s technical capacities, but the organisation is believed to have access to state-of-the-art equipment provided by the United States, the result of an intelligence cooperation agreement that dates back to the 1962 war with China.

Beginning with the loan of a Helio Twin Courier turboprop from the United States that year, the organisation played a key role in a secret partnership to monitor China’s nuclear tests at Lop Nor.

Intelligence professionals are divided on the development, with some arguing that shutting down ARC could undermine the Research and Analysis Wing’s coverage of Chinese military infrastructure and capacities.

The ARC’s chief currently reports to the RAW chief who wields ex-officio responsibility over it as Director, Security, in the Cabinet Secretariat.

“The way things stand,” said former ARC chief Amitabh Mathur, “RAW is able to seamlessly have its needs met by the ARC. I’m not sure the NTRO, which is not directly accountable to the consumers of its intelligence, will be quite as responsive.”

ARC insiders also claim handing over its air assets will also leave the élite Special Frontier Force — a special force also reporting to the RAW chief, in his capacity as Director, Security — without air assets under its direct control. Following the Kargil war, the Army had argued for control of the ARC’s air assets, arguing that it failed to provide adequate warning on the build-up of Pakistani troops across the Line of Control.

However, the ARC, as well as RAW, argued that they had indeed provided warnings, the significance of which was misread by military commanders.

The K Subrahmanyam committee report into the Kargil war asserted that “no intelligence failures had been attributed on account of functioning of RAW and ARC. However, certain equipment inadequacies were highlighted such as satellite imagery and UAVs”.

Post-Kargil reforms later led to the formation of the NTRO, along the lines of the United States’ National Security Agency, to serve as a hub for technological innovation and ensure expensive electronic assets could be shared by various intelligence organisations.

In 2012, though, the Naresh Chandra committee on national security reforms had recommended that the ARC be formally merged with RAW — a recommendation that emerged from complaints that the NTRO was not meeting its needs.

Early this year, the government had appointed RAW veteran Alok Joshi to head the NTRO, addressing complaints from the intelligence services that its technologist-dominated leadership was unresponsive to their needs.

The shutdown of the ARC is intended, government sources said, to be part of a broader package of reforms intended to make the NTRO more accountable to the end-users of its intelligence.

Source:- RAW to fold its covert air wing | The Indian Express

If the NSA says its righy then it must be

 

[special]

On what basis have you put forward that analysis???
1) NTRO from the very beginning has been on the receiving end of negative media. As the process of raising the NTRO was underway, a concerted disinformation campaign was launched by some civilian agencies that had a reason to feel threatened.
2) It was the kargil review committee which had itself recommended raising NTRO.
ARC had shown glaring shortcoming in controlling TECHINT assets and in sharing information with other intelligence agencies in a timely manner, ergo timely and vital intelligence was lost to those that needed it the most. We do know that Indian army and RAW was put on tenterhook during kargil.
3) As I mentioned earlier NTRO was supposed to slowly take over the equipment of other agencies so that it was centralized under the control of this new organization which was raised in 2004.

R&AW is the main external intelligence agency of india. so you think that our external intelligence agency didn't deserve its own dedicated air wing?? if the ARC is shut down then our tier 1 unit SG and our covert operation unit SFF will have to depend on AF. air force is not good at providing air support(rotatory wing). that is why army demanded its own air wing. ARC give enough space for R&AW for conducting covert operation, while any operation with AF will need clearance from MoD. as it is known that the coordination b/w different intel agencies are poor. so if R&AW needs to depend on NTRO for its covert operations then that will affect the efficiency of R&AW.

If the NSA says its righy then it must be

now you speak like Pakistanis when they heard any propaganda from army

 

[Bang Galore]

R&AW is the main external intelligence agency of india. so you think that our external intelligence agency didn't deserve its own dedicated air wing?? if the ARC is shut down then our tier 1 unit SG and our covert operation unit SFF will have to depend on AF. air force is not good at providing air support(rotatory wing). that is why army demanded its own air wing. ARC give enough space for R&AW for conducting covert operation, while any operation with AF will need clearance from MoD. as it is known that the coordination b/w different intel agencies are poor. so if R&AW needs to depend on NTRO for its covert operations then that will affect the efficiency of R&AW.


now you speak like Pakistanis when they heard any propaganda from army

I'm sure they will still have the necessary aircrafts, just not the ones used for intelligence gathering. In any case, there will always be much more happening than what is known in the public domain. If the coordination between different intel agencies are poor, the solution can hardly be to duplicate everything & work in their own silos. There has to be an attempt made to get better coordination. This is a good step in that direction.

 

[special]

I'm sure they will still have the necessary aircrafts, just not the ones used for intelligence gathering. In any case, there will always be much more happening than what is known in the public domain. If the coordination between different intel agencies are poor, the solution can hardly be to duplicate everything & work in their own silos. There has to be an attempt made to get better coordination. This is a good step in that direction.

it is not easy to increase the coordination b/w agencies. R&AW's aircrafts are flown by ARC. if that unit is shut down then R&AW will have to depend on AF for every operation.

 

[Bang Galore]

it is not easy to increase the coordination b/w agencies. R&AW's aircrafts are flown by ARC. if that unit is shut down then R&AW will have to depend on AF for every operation.

Obviously that factor will be taken care of in any such planning. Shouldn't really matter. The aircrafts are flown by pilots on deputation, should not make that much of a difference especially when a merger of this sort is planned where the AF is taking over assets of another agency. There is, of course, a chance that you might be right in your suspicions but one cannot operate with only that in mind. This needs to get a fair chance at working.