Indian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

My take on whole situation :

- Rafale deal is dead or half-dead . Many reasons for that and I would not dwell on them, but we have Defence Minister making statements about it, so it is very serious .

- India wants FGFA to be introduced earlier because there would be no Rafales. In order to do that, first batch of FGFA would most likely be almost same as Russian PAK FA (scheduled for 2016)

- Su-30 MKI will bridge the gap until things above happen . Since there is no immediate threat of war, this should be enough.

thunderchief said:

My take on whole situation :

- Rafale deal is dead or half-dead . Many reasons for that and I would not dwell on them, but we have Defence Minister making statements about it, so it is very serious .

- India wants FGFA to be introduced earlier because there would be no Rafales. In order to do that, first batch of FGFA would most likely be almost same as Russian PAK FA (scheduled for 2016)

- Su-30 MKI will bridge the gap until things above happen . Since there is no immediate threat of war, this should be enough.

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Don't worry about it. These are negotiation tactics. A French official with executive powers is headed to India to resolve the liabilities issue. The issue is quite understandable because UK and to a certain extent even Russia is screwing around with them over production. The British issue in particular is really bad while the Russian issue has been resolved. Some aspects are not under HAL's control, so they want Dassault to be liable so it doesn't repeat the Hawk fiasco. But at the same Dassault doesn't want unrealistic liabilities.

A Bar Brother said:

Don't worry about it. These are negotiation tactics. A French official with executive powers is headed to India to resolve the liabilities issue. The issue is quite understandable because UK and to a certain extent even Russia is screwing around with them over production. The British issue in particular is really bad while the Russian issue has been resolved. Some aspects are not under HAL's control, so they want Dassault to be liable so it doesn't repeat the Hawk fiasco. But at the same Dassault doesn't want unrealistic liabilities.

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IMHO, this is much more then liabilities issue, i.e. it could be Indian strategic decision not to go with Rafale, and to gradually replace Mig-21 with Tejas meanwhile increasing the number of Su-30 MKI until FGFA comes along .

But, let's wait and see , I could be wrong (it won't be first and hopefully not the last time ) , situation should be clear by March or April .

thunderchief said:

IMHO, this is much more then liabilities issue, i.e. it could be Indian strategic decision not to go with Rafale, and to gradually replace Mig-21 with Tejas meanwhile increasing the number of Su-30 MKI until FGFA comes along .

But, let's wait and see , I could be wrong (it won't be first and hopefully not the last time ) , situation should be clear by March or April .

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Tejas doesn't conflict with MRCA/MKI/FGFA. The IAF is planning on bringing their levels to 42 squadrons (official limit), IAF wants 45 right now. Ultimately the numbers would rise to 60 squadrons after 2022.

And if the higher figure of 55-60 squadrons that are apparently needed for India to completely dominate the IOR are considered then both the Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) and Tejas programs need to be pursued more vigorously.

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Saab's chairman said IAF can induct the FGFA, Rafale and Tejas and still have a requirement for 200 more fighters and they are aiming for that, and this study seems to before the 42 allowed squadrons today, not 60.

Saab anticipates that the Indian Air Force (IAF) will have a requirement for at least 200 fighter aircraft, even after completion of all its acquisition plans, including the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) and 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for which the IAF has selected the French Rafale

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Against a force requirement of 60 squadrons, IAF only has around 20+ good squadrons (10-12 with only MKIs) that will function at least until 2030. At least 12 squadrons in operation today are to be replaced by 2030 and this is not counting the Mig-21s and Mig-27s. So the actual requirement is for over 40 squadrons over the next two decades, and Rafale deal is only for 6+3 squadrons.

Of the huge number of jets that have to be replaced, only 14 MKI squadrons and 2 Tejas squadrons have been contracted for. There's a long way to go. That's why the MRCA deal is essential to India. We need multiple supply lines and multiple production lines. It is not possible for us to reach such numbers with just one or two projects. That's why 5 are planned.

And we haven't even taken IN requirements into consideration here. Their immediate requirement is for 200 fighters to be contracted for within the next few years, until 2022. As of today IN has only bought 45 Mig-29Ks and showed interest in 45 N-LCA Mk2. There's still 80+ to be ordered, apart from options (part of their next gen aircraft requirement). This will be followed by another round of expansion between 2022-2032, which could potentially double or triple the current numbers, including N-LCA Mk2. So IN could also have a few projects of their own.

NEW DELHI: In what could have been another attempt to unleash havoc on Indian shores like the 26/11 terror strikes, the Indian Coast Guard intercepted a suspicious Pakistani fishing boat, laden with explosives, in the Arabian Sea in the early hours of January 1.

The four people on board the boat apparently blew themselves up after being chased by the Coast Guard for over an hour and warning shots being fired during the incident.

Defence ministry sources on Friday said the Pakistani fishing boat, on way from Keti Bunder near Karachi, was intercepted by the Coast Guard approximately 365 km from Porbander.

"The Coast Guard warned the boat to stop but it increased speed and tried to run away. After being stopped, the four persons on board the boat blew themselves up. The boat sank at the spot. Search operations are still in progress," said a source.

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photos of the terrorist boat taken by the coastguard









the National Command And Communication Intelligence Network paid off after all

moral of the story,

prevention is better than cure
and

it is better to be safe than story

Had it not been for the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO)'s electronic and cyberspace surveillance capability, the Indian Coast Guard would have found it difficult to prevent a 26/11-type of intrusion from the Arabian Sea on New Year's Eve. (Pakistani Boat Blows Itself Up at Sea Off Porbandar)

Sketchy but important details available with me indicate that it was the NTRO's interceptors who first chanced upon a conversation that spoke of "delivering valuable cargo" on the India coast and that "arrangements were made to receive it on the Western sea coast" on the morning of December 31.

The call had originated in Karachi. Still, it was only one input. So the Indian Navy and Coast Guard were immediately told to look for suspicious boats. As the search was mounted by ships and airplanes, it was not until 11 pm on December 31 that a boat was spotted.

The Coast Guard and the Navy, already on alert because of heightened tension with Pakistan, were then informed. The Coast Guard kept a close vigil through the day on December 31 off the Porbandar coast.

Around 11 pm, a suspicious boat was spotted about 200 nautical miles off the coast of Porbandar. It was just bobbing around mid-sea and didn't show the usual activity of a fishing boat. Moreover, no Pakistani fishing boat travels this far from the country's coast.

With suspicion aroused, a Coast Guard ship sought to intercept the fishing boat and investigate. Instead of cooperating with the Indian Coast Guard, the fishing boat tried to head back towards Karachi. As the chase began, several warning shots were fired. After an hour, perhaps running low on fuel, the occupants set the fishing boat on fire. Several loud explosions occurred and a massive fire broke out on the boat. At least four men were spotted on the boat before it sank, according to a Ministry of Defence statement. (Read more...)

Intelligence sources say going by the intercepts and the movement of the boat, it can be concluded that it was carrying deadly explosives and possibly guns meant for delivery on the Western sea board of India to a predetermined spot and a group of people. It is, however, not clear if the target was Mumbai like last time or any other major tourist spot on the Western sea coast.

A further search of the area is still on but the well-coordinated operation shows that post-26/11, India's maritime surveillance and prevention capabilities have shown major improvements. The coordination between different agencies is now almost real time as this operation has demonstrated but despite such a progress, there's no guarantee that future terror attacks can be prevented simply because terrorists have the luxury of choosing the time and space for the attack.

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Good riddance.

found the pic in bharathrakshak,
latest news is that the anged deck has been integrated

A Bar Brother said:

Good riddance.

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agreed ,
but there are some sickularists who claim that the coast guard sank the boat for publicity,and who say that the Modi govt. is responsible for it.

i suppose that they were waiting for a 26/11 like attacks ,to blame the new govt.



facepalm

India To Partner With Private Firms To Build Combat Drone

India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has invited private companies to partner with the government to develop and manufacture its first unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). The UCAV project, called Rustom-2 project was brought under the “Strategy India” category with funding by the government because the private companies had been lukewarm about building prototypes at their own expenses. In the "Strategy India" category, the government funds up to 80 percent in the development of the prototype, while the remaining 20 percent is funded by the selected private development agency, according to Defense News.

The development cost of Rustom-2 is estimated to be about $200 million. DRDO will fund 80 percent of the development and prototype cost for the Rustom-2 UCAV, and the remaining 20 percent will be paid by private Indian defense companies. This is the first time DRDO has invited private companies to develop prototypes under their guidance. In doing so, the Defence Ministry is reversing its decision to build Rustom-2 using only DRDO and state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

India's domestic private sector defense companies including L&T, Tata Power SED,Mahindra Defence System, Data Patterns India Pvt. Ltd. and Bharat Forge Ltd are likely to be frontrunners to compete for the Rustom-2 project.

India began its Rustom-1 UAV in 2006 and initially wanted participation by domestic defense companies. However, after the MoD failed to give firm commitments of orders to the selected company, none of the defense companies from the private sector participated.

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[video=youtube;fUhcfBIGF8U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUhcfBIGF8U[/video]