DefExpo 2006

Defence Public Sector Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), in an attempt to increase the Company's contribution to armed forces and increase revenue from the defence business, will shortly take up manufacture of Light Recovery Vehicle in technical collaboration with Tatra Sipox.

BEML’s alliance with Polish partner Bumar shall see new projects taking shape apart from ARVs, a major one being the possible induction of Mines Scattered Laying Equipment (Kroton) into Indian Army after trials on no-cost and no-commitment basis.

Another strategic product refers to manufacture of Armoured Repair & Recovery Vehicle for use in battlefields with provision for minor repairs on the Artillery Tractor, Aircraft Towing Tractor, Dozer, Backhoe Loader and Engineering Mine Plough. Aggregates on display include BMP Transmission, Final Drive, Tatra Transmissions, Engine, Diesel Generator Set and Hydropneumatic Suspensions.

During the financial year 2004-05, BEML crossed a turnover of Rs 1856 crores with a profit before tax of Rs 272 crores and exports of Rs 59 crores. BEML is now moving ahead for a sales turnover of Rs 2200 crores in the current year with plans to achieve Rs 5000 crores by financial year 2013-14 to coincide with the company’s golden jubilee.

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Arotech Corporation (NasdaqNM:ARTX) announced today that its Armor Division has entered into a joint venture with two prominent Indian companies for the design and manufacture of armored vehicles in India. The joint venture - Concord Safety Solutions Limited - will offer armored vehicles to the Indian military and paramilitary organizations.

The companies forming Concord Safety Solutions are MKU PVT Limited, the JN Group and MDT Armor Corporation.

MKU is one of India's leading manufacturer and defense contractor for ballistic protection solutions for individual and vehicle protection. Its leading stature is a result of in-house capability to process composite materials and to design customized solutions for its customers. First-hand expertise and top-grade resources enable MKU to produce hard and soft armor that conform to the highest quality standards.

The JN Group began its operations as an automobile dealership in 1933. In time it has become India's largest automotive body builder. Its portfolio also includes the manufacture of vehicle parts, tire re-treading, and vehicle maintenance. It also manages one of the largest networks of commercial vehicle dealerships in India.

The new armored vehicle company, Concord, will be launched at DefExpo 2006 - the 4th Land and Naval Systems Exhibition - that will take place in New Delhi, India, from January 31 to February 3, 2006.

"We are proud to have MDT as our partner for armored vehicles in India," said Manoj Gupta, MKU's Managing Director. "MDT's technology and experience, combined with our strong composite armor materials technology and JN's automotive capabilities form a perfect basis for Concord Safety Solutions."

"As the biggest vehicle body builder in India, we have often been asked to supply armored vehicles," said Vineet Chandra, Managing Director, JN group. "We have decided to form Concord with MKU and MDT, so that we can offer our customers armored vehicles based on cutting edge technology."

"With our partners MKU and JN Group, Concord is well positioned to move into the emerging market for armored vehicles in India," said Steven Esses, President and Chief Operating Officer, Arotech Corporation. "This is our first entry into the defense market in India, which holds great potential for Concord, MDT and Arotech."

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High performance, multi functions, & complementarity in a light helicopter, for a wide range of land missions are just a few among many reasons, why Eurocopter is competing with its Fennec AS 550 C3 in a current Indian tender for the Armed Forces.

The Fennec, the military version of the Ecureuil, offers adapted solutions to the wide variety of missions engaged by military commanders.

The Fennec, the military version of the Ecureuil, offers adapted solutions to the wide variety of missions engaged by military commanders.

The Fennec currently represents the best transport / radius of action trade-off of any helicopter in its class. In just an hour, it can transport 25 commandos 20 km at altitudes of up to 4,000 meters at ISA temperatures, and up to 3,500 meters at ISA +20°C, while at the same time performing take-offs out of ground effect.

In its attack configuration, the AS 550 C3 Fennec can be equipped with a gun, rockets, or machine guns. Its stability, manoeuvrability and low detectability make it an excellent platform. For example, when armed with a 20 mm axial gun or with two rocket launchers, it can perform 2 hours and 45 minutes of tactical flight missions with 20 minutes fuel reserve.

The Fennec range also offers twin-engine land versions in the AS 555 UN and AN, which have take-off weights of 2,600 kg. These aircraft make use of new-generation Turbomeca Arrius 1A turbo-shaft engines, which are digitally controlled. And just like their single-engine counterparts, they can be armed with a wide variety of weapons.

The single and twin-engine versions can also perform complementary missions, such as the pilot training conducted at the renowned Defence Helicopter Flying School, where 38 aircraft are used to train pilots for the British armed forces. Other complementary missions include sling transport, cargo transport, medical evacuations, and SAR missions.

In the naval sector, the multi-function capabilities of the two twin-engine versions - the AS 555 MN and the AS 555 SN - are widely used. Both aircraft can be used aboard small ships.The first aircraft can be equipped with a Bendix 1500 radar. It meets the needs of maritime surveillance missions, SAR, and Over-the-horizon Targeting for ships equipped with sea-tosea missiles. The AS 555 SN is armed with torpedoes and is used for anti-submarine warfare. Sixteen SN aircraft were ordered in 2003 by Malaysia to replace their Wasp helicopters, which had become obsolete.

3000 helicopters in the single-engined Ecureuil/Fennec family have already been delivered.The helicopters that have been delivered have already logged over 12 million flight hours for approximately 1500 customers in over 90 countries.

Eurocopter is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EADS. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2004, EADS generated revenues of € 31.8 billion and employed a workforce of about 110,000. The EADS Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world's largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and the joint venture MBDA, the international leader in missile systems. EADS is the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium, is the prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, develops the A400M military transport aircraft and is the largest industrial partner for the European satellite navigation system Galileo."

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For anyone with a passion for military technology, DefExpo 2006, which opened yesterday in the Capital, is turning out to be a chance to see some of the most classified weapons programmes of the developed world.

Top secret technology like the American AESA radar and Patriot-3 missile defence systems and iconic weapons like the Israeli Tavor-21 assault rifles, Desert Eagle semi-automatics, European Black Shark torpedos and Arab Polaris snow warfare craft, were on display. Even the famous but low-profile NNL assault rifle sights were out in the open, with Israeli soldiers in combat gear making willing demonstrations. Drawing board technology of the next generation, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter painted in IAF colours, were on display too.

An attraction that was deliberately kept concealed for fear of crowds was Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet simulator. Possibly for the first time ever, the Russian pavilion at DefExpo was dwarfed by the huge American and Israeli displays, a reflection of the government’s interest in depending less on Moscow.

It was also a day when officers and soldiers from the Indian armed forces spent a feverish day checking out what about 400 firms were willing to sell to the Indian government. A Group Captain from IAF Headquarters spent a half in the Super Hornet simulator, but was disappointed when Boeing could not disclose the way the US Air Force managed beyond visual range target recognition.

While the big guns of global defence, like Lockheed-Martin, European consortium EADS, British Aerospace and Finnemeccanica governed the consciousness of the exhibition (French firm Dassault was a notable absence), it was inevitable that the more concealed marvels of technology lay with the smaller firms.

A firm from Poland is at DefExpo with special clothing for Indian troops in Siachen, one from Hyderabad has made critical breakthroughs in air defence simulators, another from Bangalore believes it makes better flight testing equipment than any other firm in the world.

India’s military-industrial complex was too was on show. The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) had one of the largest displays of ammunition, shells and rockets. HAL had a dizzy day of discussions with foreign delegates on some of its aircraft, including the ALH Dhruv helicopter. BrahMos aerospace was predictably on show, possibly even looking to sell the supersonic missile to other countries.

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Thales, a leading European group dealing in avionics, civil and military equipment, Tuesday announced their plan to set up two units for software development and avionics maintenance and solution in India. The announcement was made by Thales Executive VP, Mr. Jean Paul Perrier, during a press Conference at Defexpo 2006.

Thales, a multi-product, multi-disciplinary company, had a long and fruitful relationship with India and was looking to the future with a presence in both defence and civilian spheres, Mr Perrier said. The company's products in electronics were present in many of India's leading defence platforms such as the recently-concluded Scorpene submarine contract, Mirage fighter aircraft, radars, communication systems among others.

Thales country director (India) Francois Dupont said the company was working out the logistics to set up a software development plant in Chennai, under the banner of Thales International India Ltd, by June this year. The software center would provide "middle ware" for Thales' captive consumption and would go into many products that Thales offered around the world.

The electronics and systems group was also setting up an avionics service and maintenance unit in Delhi's satellite town Gurgaon, Dupont told reporters at the 4th Defexpo here.

The Gurgaon unit, being set up at an initial investment of three million euros, would look into the problems and requirements of Indian companies like Indigo, Jet, Kingfisher, Pawan Hans and others who have signed up with the firm.

"This would be operational by March," Dupont disclosed, adding that it would have 40 engineers to start off with.

Thales executive-vice president Jean-Paul Perrier said the plan was to recruit more than 1,000 people in the Chennai unit by the end of 2007.

"We have decided to choose Chennai considering the low attrition rate the city would provide," he added.

The company proposes to work in close association with the Indian Navy, which has acquired six Scorpene submarines from it. It has also crafted the ticketing system for the Delhi and Kolkata metros services.

"While we are looking forward to tie-ups with more companies, we would also like to work more closely with the Indian defence establishment," Perrier said.

"We hope the association with the navy does not just end with the six submarines," he added.

The company already has its presence in the Indian defence forces, supplying, radars, avionics, communication, cameras and other equipment to the air force, army and navy.

Thales wins Delhi- Metro order

Thales has won an order from the Delhi Metro Rail Corp. for a state-of-the-art ticketing system. The system is said to enhance the working efficiency of DMRC and increase passenger convenience(all this and Mirage 2000 pulls out of the tender? Rafale anyone?)

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Britain Wednesday sought Indian investment in its defence industry and said it was engaged in negotiations for transferring up to eight second-hand Sea Harrier jets to the Indian Navy.

Lord Drayson, Britain's minister for defence procurement, said his country was keen on forging collaborations and joint ventures with Indian firms working in cutting edge IT and software to fulfill the long-term needs of the British armed forces.

"There is a market potential running into millions of pounds (under Britain's Defence Industrial Strategy)," Drayson told a news conference at the Defexpo 2006 arms fair here that is being attended by the world's largest armaments firms.

"Indian industries are currently taking a small proportion of the market," he said, adding there was scope for Indian firms to leverage their "strategic strengths" in IT and software to develop affordable hi-tech weapons for the British military.

The Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS), announced by the British government in December 2005, identifies "key gaps" and the major requirements of its armed forces over the next 10 years.

"We want the UK defence market to be as open as possible," Drayson said.

Malcolm Haworth, director of the Defence Export Services Organisation and part of Drayson's delegation, said the Indian Navy had expressed "strong interest" in acquiring six to eight used Sea Harriers that would be retired from service by the Royal Navy in France.

"We are in detailed discussions with the Indian Navy, and we also talked yesterday. There are lots of issues to resolve, and we are hopeful we can find a way to transfer them to the Indian Navy," said Haworth.

The Indian Navy plans to use the jets to replenish its ageing fleet of Sea Harriers that are deployed with its aircraft carrier INS Viraat.

Haworth and officials of BAE Systems, which last year concluded a one-billion pound deal to supply 66 Hawk trainer jets to the Indian Air Force, remarked that Britain would be keen to pitch the Typhoon fighter for India's plans to buy 126 combat jets.

Under the Hawk deal, the Royal Air Force is training 75 Indian pilots in batches to fly the trainer jet.

"This heralds a new era of cooperation between us," said Air Vice Marshal Gavin Mackay, senior military advisor with the British ministry of defence. He said 18 Indian pilots had already completed their training in Britain, and 23 were currently undergoing the course.

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Commercial vehicles manufacturer Ashok Leyland Ltd on Wednesday announced that it had won a Rs 230-crore order from the Indian army for supplying 872 specialised water carriers.

``The first indigenously-built water carrier, meeting general staff qualitative requirements, has a capacity of 5 kilolitres and can carry potable water for army personnel in all terrains. The tanker has been designed to keep the temperature under control and maintain the purity of water,'' the Ashok Leyland Managing Director, Mr R. Seshasayee, said at a press conference at DefExpo, the defence exhibition.

The delivery of vehicles would begin in this quarter and would be completed over the next six months. He said the company was the largest supplier of logistic vehicles to the defence forces and would soon be getting into the tactical vehicles segment with the development of light and heavy armoured vehicles.

``The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is already using our Stallion carrier platform to develop armoured vehicles. Independently also, we are working on building armoured vehicles which will be available in the next seven to eight months,'' Mr Seshasayee said.

The company is supplying Stallion kits to the OFB for production of vehicles. ``We have upgraded the Stallion for the export market and will offer it to the Indian defence forces as well,'' he said.

The Stallion has been successful in trials in Africa and the ASEAN region, Mr Seshasayee said. Ashok Leyland's subsidiary P L Haulwell Trailers is supplying mobile missile launchers to the defence forces.

``We have had discussions with the defence forces for supplying mobile bridge layers, mobile hospitals and command centre vehicles,'' a senior company official said.

In addition, the company is executing repeat orders for light recovery vehicles and truck fire fighting. At present, the defence sector accounts for 8-12 per cent of the company's revenues and is expected to grow at the rate of 10 per cent, Mr Seshasayee said.

"We expect to supply about 30-40 per cent of this before March," Mr. Seshasayee said.

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Bharat Earth Movers Ltd has said that it is looking out for suitable international technical partners for two of its manufacturing plans for the Defence sector

These are the light armoured Recce vehicles on 4x4 drive and the 155-mm turret to be fitted on the main battle tank Arjun.

The technical tie-ups, for which a few offers are under scrutiny, would be similar to its various collaborations for military and civil sector products, sources added.

The company with a projected 2005-06 turnover of Rs 2,200 crore plans to launch new products for the Defence sector, BEML said in a release issued in connection with the ongoing Defexpo-2006.

This would raise its contribution to the sector and revenue from it, which hover around 70 per cent.

The implementation of Euro-2 emission norms will speed up the roll-out of BEML-Tatra vehicles on 4x4, 6x6 and 8x8 drives for the Army.

BEML is developing a bigger trailer of 60/65-tonne capacity to aid troop movement.

It will also shortly take up manufacture of the light recovery vehicle in collaboration with Tatra Sipox, AS.

Tatra variants are being supplied for integrated guided missile project such as warhead carrier, fuel carrier, oxidizer carrier, mobile launchers, besides wagons to transport battle tanks and Milrail coaches for troop movement.

A major upcoming product developed in tie-up with Bumar of Poland is the ARRV or the armoured repair and recovery vehicle for use in battlefields.

This has provision for minor repairs on the field besides salvaging damaged vehicles.

The Kroton mines scattered laying equipment is also due for induction into the Army after it is tested on a no-cost and no-commitment basis.

BEML is awaiting clearance from the Army for upgrading T72 tanks with 1000-HP Powerpack.

The company has a tie-up with Micro Turbo of France for auxiliary standby power for ground support products and equipment.

At the Defexpo, BEML's prime displays include Tatra trucks, PMS bridge, heavy recovery vehicle, armoured recovery vehicle, field artillery tractor, aircraft towing tractor, mining equipment such as dozer, backhoe loader and engineering mine plough.

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India’s sole military aircraft manufacturer, state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), will supply Northrop Grumman with components for the U.S. company’s E-2C Hawkeye aircraft in a deal announced Feb. 1 at Defexpo ’06. The tie-up means that HAL will provide aircraft assemblies, components, digitization and other related services for the aircraft, according to Tom Trudell, Northrop’s international business development manager.

Trudell said the E-2C Hawkeye airborne early warning and battle management product line will continue for 20 or more years, and HAL could produce parts for more than 100 Hawkeye aircraft.

HAL Chairman Ashok Baweja said the specific components that Northrop will outsource from his company have yet to be worked out.

A HAL executive said this tie-up with Northrop Grumman will mature into others, enabling the two companies to tap the offset market in the defense sector opened by the Indian government’s offset policy announced in July.

The policy stipulates a mandatory offset of at least 30 percent for defense contracts of more than $66.6 million. It is expected to generate around $1 billion for India’s defense market in the next one to two years.

Northrop Grumman in December gave a technical briefing on the E-2C Hawkeye to the Indian Navy, which wants to buy six aircraft through the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales program, Trudell said. The company is awaiting the Navy’s response to the briefing.

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Russia and India are working out military cooperation contracts for a sum of about $10 billion, said on Thursday, Feb. 2, deputy chairman of Russia’s Federal service for military-technological cooperation Vyacheslav Dzirkalin.

Dzirkalin, who was quoted by RIA Novosti, is in New Delhi, India, heading the Russian delegation at the international exhibition of army and navy military equipment DEFEXPO INDIA 2006.

According to the Russian official, “over the last five years combined figures of Russian military exports to India exceeded $7 billionâ€. The figures offered by the Indian officials are even higher. As MosNews reported in November 2005, India’s Defense Minister Prahab Mukherjee, quoted by the Interfax agency, said that New Delhi is spending nearly $9 billion on Russian weapons and military equipment.

Over the last two years Russia has sold India naval ships, multiple launch rocket systems, battle tanks, a license to assemble SU-30 fighter jets and AL-551 aircraft engines.

In addition to this, Russia has offered India a chance to create a complex air defense system, said representative of Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport Mikhail Sukhachev.

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BDL Systems, a British company supplying security equipment has executed a contract for the Indian Parliament security to install a vehicle underbody explosive detection system. This means if an explosive laden vehicle drives up to the Parliament gate, security personnel can detect if there is an explosive device underneath.

BDL’s Sales Manager Wayne Lomax, here at Defexpo06 told Defenseworld.net that the contract was executed in 2004.

The company’s product range includes: Hard Wire and Radio Controlled and Time Delay Initiators providing safe, reliable and cost effective system for the initiation of explosives, pyrotechnics and other electro-explosive devices (EED), Remote Camera and Colour Under Vehicle Surveillance System for the remote monitoring of bomb neutralisation techniques and operations, traffic systems and ECM equipment which includes an effective commercial jammer available for vehicle installations, with software programmable communication windows.

The company has been awarded a contract of significant value by the Canadian DND for the supply of a large quantity of the Mini RABS RF Initiation Equipment. The contract is awarded after a small number of equipments were successfully used by Canadian Troops on operations over the last two years. BDL Systems are proud to be able to continue in our support of the Canadian DND.

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Russia and India are paying much attention to the joint project to develop a complex air defense system, deputy director of the federal service for military cooperation Vyacheslav Dzirkaln told.

Dzirkaln, who leads a Russian delegation at the DefExpo India-2006, said Russia offers India not only to buy air defense systems, but set up a complex air defense perimeter capable of fulfilling a broad range of tasks to protect the military and civil infrastructure and effectively combat enemy aircraft and cruise and ballistic missiles.

A complex air defense system implies a single closed radar location field and the use of small, medium and long-range air defense systems.

Russia's Rosoboronexport weapons trading company acts as coordinator of Russian proposals on this account.

The Almaz-Antei concern designs and manufactures a complete array of air defense systems. Many of its models surpass the best foreign counterparts.

For example, the mobile multi-channel long-range systems S-300PMU-2 Favorit and Antei-2500 have better performance characteristics than the U.S. Patriot PAC-3.

Medium-range models include the Buk-M1-2 and Tor-M1 systems.

Itar-tass in its report said, Russia is displaying these models at the current exhibition in India.

Head of an Almaz-Antei department Boris Tsybenko said the concern had already supplied to India the Shtil, Kortik, Klinok and Rif air defense systems.(thats bullsh1te)

Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee saw the Russian products at the exhibition.

Russia has supplied more than seven billion dollars of weapons to India in the past five years, according to Dzirkaln.

Among the high-tech Russian products are Su-30MKI fighters, Mi-17 transport helicopters, Ka-31 navy helicopters, and Krasnopol artillery complexes.

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Russia has made another step toward continuing its long traditions of military cooperation with India with a proposal to establish a joint venture to carry out aircraft repairs, a senior official from Russia's main defense industry exporter said Friday.

"We have proposed a new project to establish a joint Russian-Indian venture to conduct aircraft repairs in India," Rosoboronexport Deputy General Director Viktor Komardin said, although he added it was too early to divulge any details.

He also said the Russian exhibit at the four-day Defexpo India 2006 arms show, which ends February 3, was attracting a great deal of interest among other participants and visitors, including India's top military officials.

Speaking ahead of the exhibition, Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, the deputy director of the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, said that Russia, which has 350 items on show, expected to conclude specific agreements with India on joint projects, thereby continuing the long history of military cooperation.

The two countries, whose interaction in the military sphere goes back almost half a century, are currently working on contracts worth $10 billion. Notable deals in recent years include a contract for the modernization and sale of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier and deals on Sukhoi fighters and the T-90 battle tank.

Komardin said that Russia's goal was to preserve its dominant position on the Indian market in the tough battle with foreign manufacturers on global arms markets.

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India's state-run ordnance factories have bagged an order for 30,000 carbines from the paramilitary forces and have developed a wide array of small arms including a "bunker buster" rifle that will soon be tested by the army, a senior official said here Friday.

S.K. Beri, general manager of the ordnance factory at Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, said the 5.56mm indigenously developed carbine had been approved by the home ministry following extensive tests.

"The order for the 30,000 carbines will be executed by the ordnance factories at Thiruchirapalli and Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and the Rifle Factory, Ishapore (West Bengal).

The carbines will be used by paramilitary forces like the Border Security Force (BSF) and Seema Sashastra Bal (SSB)," Beri told IANS at the DefExpo 2006 arms fair organized here by the Indian government.

The carbine is based on the basic design of the INSAS group of small arms developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). While the army has accepted the INSAS assault rifle, it had sought certain changes in the design of the carbine.

Beri said the factory at Tiruchirpalli had also developed a multi-calibre anti-material rifle named "Vidhwansak", a multi-barrel grenade launcher and a multi-barrel shell launcher that were awaiting trials by the army and paramilitary forces.

The development of the anti-material or "bunker buster" rifle by the state-run factory comes at a time when the Indian government has scrapped all defence deals with South Africa's Denel, which had previously supplied similar weapons to the Indian Army.

Denel was black-listed by the government following allegations that it had paid kickbacks to secure a deal for anti-material rifles, which are primarily deployed in frontier areas to knock out the bunkers, security towers and radars of enemy forces.

The development of Vidhwansak was completed in November 2005 and the rifle had been offered to the army, BSF and National Security Guards.

"The user trials are expected to begin in March," he said. "We have already tested it in all terrains and in all weather conditions."

Comparing Vidhwansak to the Denel anti-material rifle, Beri said: "Our rifle is much cheaper than the foreign option. Our gun also has multiple calibers and fires 12.7mm, 14.5mm and 20mm rounds."

The army was expected to begin trials of the multi-barrel grenade launcher, which fires 40mm grenades, in February.

The multi-barrel shell launcher, which is capable of firing tear gas and smoke shells at high speeds, would be offered to paramilitary and state police forces.

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