Indian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Smashing week for India's Akash SAM. Not that it needed any more of a push. But what a week.

This image from noon on Friday is the first one out from this week's training user trials of the Akash SAM conducted by the Indian Air Force at the Integrated Test Range (Nov 17-21). This particular test on Friday at 12.10pm involved a quick succession salvo test in which the two SAMs in the picture were fired at Meggitt Defence Systems Banshee Jet 80 aerial targeting drones.

The New Indian Express quotes a source as saying, "While the first missile successfully destroyed a fast moving aerial target at a low altitude, the second missile had a direct hit with the unmanned aerial target Banshee Jet 80 nearly 4-km away at 35 meter altitude above sea level proving the system’s capability against subsonic cruise missile." (While this is largely what I hear from my sources too, I'm picking up that that the range was more out to about 8-km in the low-altitude engagement and about 24-km for the second missile).

Starting Monday, a random selection of production series Akash missiles (from Bharat Dynamics Ltd) were fired at a series of targets ranging from para barrels, flare targets and on two occasions the Banshee Jet 80 drone. The series of tests is being described as the most successful so far (similar tests in April and June went well too though).

The Akash SAM has been in service for over two years now. This weeks training user trials have proven once again the system's maturity. Orders worth $3.7 billion have so far been placed by the IAF and Army (eight IAF squadrons and two regiments) on the Akash SAM system, and there will be more.

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What are your priorities? Is the Rafale jet order among them?

I will not name a particular case, but yes, we need to create some policy guidelines framework along with time schedule so that procurement decisions are made quickly. You need to plan your trials and your entire procurement process so that you can receive equipment early; you do that and your procurement will be cheaper too. When people know you are going to take to time to decide they will build - I will not call it inflate - the delay into the cost.

You have also spoken against the rush to blacklist companies?

(In case of) helicopters, for example, there are hardly five-six manufacturers of a particular capability. If you blacklist three of them, then other two will blackmail you.

We need to come up with a policy spelling out who has to be blacklisted under what circumstances and for what period. For example, the Bofors guns were blacklisted long ago. My impression is they remain blacklisted. Now you have 450 guns with no spare parts coming in, you cannibalised the gun.

How do you propose to find funds for procurement?

I am going to ask the three chiefs, or four for that matter (pointing to a senior coast guard official) to prioritise their needs and then we can move forward. That is where your skill in planning comes into picture. A bullet may be procured in three months, a rocket in six months, but a fighter plane will probably take you a year or two years. We must plan accordingly.


I see it as a dilemma I faced with Goa Medical College. We buy a lot of equipment for the college but the problem starts when AMC (annual maintenance contract) kicks in. You get a very sophisticated ventilator and don't have a company maintenance contractor for it and they start breaking down after a year and remain unoperational for want of some small part. You can't do that with a gun, or a fighter plane.

That was the problem with the Sukhoi-30MKI when it was ejecting the pilots on its own. I think that has been sorted out. If I have an iPad, I can't get it serviced and am forced to buy another, but I can't replace Rs 400-cr equipment. The problem has been shifting the goal post after the tendering; you can't do that. There is also this problem, sometimes when you select an L1, the L2 who has lost out starts lobby against, digging for dirt on the L1. All these aspects have to be considered and the best solution is to ask the company to manufacture in India.

To what extent can India indigenise defence equipment? Is there an issue with offsetting where export obligations are not strictly defence related billings?

These aspects will definitely be looked into. I feel if you are indigenising with the first lot it can be to an extent of 50%. But you must understand, in a missile, if you look at the material component vis-a-vis the price, it could be just 25-30%. Technology costs. So we must look at how this 30% can be indigenised and work out a proper formula where the technology fee is very clearly defined from the material cost.

I would like to ask experts to sit with the concerned section of the forces and come out with very clear point wise answers to this.

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Jeff Head said:

India's budget is not small.

The systems they are buying from the US and others are not cheap...however, what they build indegenously is generally considerably cheaper for them to build than those purchased from suppliers.

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In a sign of the positive and growing relationship between Israel and India, a successful test of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Ltd.’s new Barak 8 aerial defense system, developed in cooperation with both countries, was conducted this week.

The system is a joint venture with the Indian Ministry of Defense, through the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), and the Indian Navy will be among the first to deploy the finished product.

The system is designed to shoot down incoming missiles or aircraft, and can be installed on land or sea platforms, making it incredibly versatile. Monday’s test represents the first combat simulation, and the system operated as designed.

“The current test validated all components of the weapon system to the satisfaction of the customer representatives,” IAI said in a statement.

“The radar tracked the target, and at the right moment the system went into action,” said Boaz Levi, executive vice president and general manager for IAI’s Systems, Missiles & Space Group, said.
Help Foster Children in Israel

“It built up an operational scenario and the mission missile was fired at the right time. It received updates throughout its trajectory.

It then opened its eye and acquired the target through an independent sensor, destroying it completely,” he added.

The deal with DRDO was signed in 2006, and the Indian government, in a statement, called Monday’s test “a milestone in the cooperation between two countries in developing advanced weapon systems.”

On the Israeli side, IAI worked with state-owned Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd to develop the long-range surface-to-air missile, and with its own subsidiary, ELTA Systems Ltd., in developing the radar and electronic components for the Barak 8. Defense Industry sources have put the value of the project at $1.4 billion.

The test itself was witnessed by representatives from both sides, including DRDO head Dr. Shri Avinash Chander, representatives of the Indian Defense Ministry, Israeli specialists and IAI president and CEO Joseph Weiss. The system could be in operation as early as 2015 and should offer protection from the Russian Yakhont missiles thought to be in the possession of Hezbollah.

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The first Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting, chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar cleared a proposal for 814 mounted gun systems for the Army.

Request for Information (RFI) will be issued to Indian vendors within the next couple of months kicking off the tendering process. Indian private sector majors Bharat Forge, L&T and Tata have already tied up with global Original Equipment Manufacturers and are likely to participate in the tender.

Addressing the DAC, Mr. Parrikar reiterated that the priority of the government was fast and transparent acquisitions.

The Army’s Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan (FARP) formulated in 1999 envisages inducting around 3,000 guns of various types to equip its 220 artillery regiments. No new gun has been acquired since the 1980s, when 400 Bofors guns were bought from Sweden.

Another major deal cleared is for the Air Force to expand the Integrated Air Command & Control System (IACCS) for Rs.7,160 crore. The IACCS presently has 5 nodes and an additional 4 nodes will be set up to connect the Indian mainland with Island regions for seamless communication and connectivity.

As part of this, new command & control nodes will be set up and integrated with the existing ground & air sensors and air defence systems.

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Parrikar inaugurates gen-next intelligence system for Indian Navy

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New Delhi, Nov 23: Indian Navy received a shot in the arm on Sunday when Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar inaugurated a state-of-the-art naval intelligence network capable of tracking its assets on a real time mode. Situated at Gurgoan, the facility christened Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC), will be jointly operated by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. Gen-next intelligence for navy launched Navy says that the facility would help step up the coastal security thereby averting incidents like the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai. "The IMAC is the nodal centre of the National Command Control Communications and Intelligence Network (NC3I Network), and is a joint initiative of Indian Navy, Coast Guard and Bharat Electronics Ltd to improve coastal surveillance," a naval spokesperson said. Chief of The Naval Staff Admiral R K Dhowan said the project will go a long way in beefing up the maritime surveillance. "It will enhance the National Maritime Domain Awareness Project as well," Dhowan said. Plug the gaps in surveillance network: Parrikar Terming the initiative as a ‘bold reply' by India to the attacks in Mumbai, Parrikar wanted the gaps in the surveillance network to be plugged. "It is an enormous task considering the fact that there are about two to three lakh fishing boats operating in our coast lines and the active cooperation of the state governments is required to achieve 100 percent success," he said. "Besides coastal security, we have to protect our interests in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). There should be a change in the mindset to correlate the data that would be available through the massive surveillance network to ensure zero tolerance to error," he said. He asked the Indian Navy to be watchful against the activities of navies from the neighbouring countries in the Indian Ocean. "We have to be watchful and we do not want to be offensive. But, we must be strong enough to deter our enemies from casting an evil eye upon us," the minister said. Robust network with 51 stations The NC3I network links 51 Naval and Coast Guard stations, located along the coast and on island territories. The network provides these stations coastal surveillance information obtained from various sensors such as the coastal radar chain of the Indian Coast Guard and automatic tracking systems as well as electro-optical cameras. The network rides on dedicated terrestrial data circuits, as well as, satellite communication, which helps the stations in remote locations to be networked. The IMAC is the centre where data from various sensors and databases is aggregated, correlated and then disseminated to various stations for enhanced awareness. The software on which the coastal surveillance will be carried out incorporates hi-tech features like data fusion, correlation and decision support features thus facilitating better decision making. Backbone to communication The NC3I network has been integrated by Bangalore-based BEL. Navy says that the project was sanctioned in 2012 is presently fully functional. The NC3I network and IMAC are linked with the National Maritime Domain Awareness (NMDA) project. In the NMDA project, the NC3I network will function as the communication backbone and the IMAC will continue to be the nodal centre but will be rechristened as the NMDA Centre.

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HMS Astute said:

Most of it's machines are imported from foreign countries, and it is also the biggest arms importer in the world.

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HMS Astute said:

Most of it's machines are imported from foreign countries, and it is also the biggest arms importer in the world.

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