Indian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Mumbai, April 06: On a day when the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in India celebrated its 35th Formation Day, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was hogging all the limelight at the high-security Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in Mumbai. It was a historic day for the Indian Navy, when the Indian Navy's first Scorpene-class stealth submarines, was ‘floated out' or ‘undocked. [Read: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar witnesses float-out ceremony of Scorpene sub] The submarine is being built under the Project 75, in collaboration with DCNS, France. Later while addressing the MDL staff, Parrikar asked them to strive towards making the yard a globally renowned one. "MDL must play a critical role in Indian Navy's goal of becoming a true Blue Water Navy. The Project 75 which has already seen a delay of almost 40 months has now been brought on track and the delivery schedules for the successive submarines have been reduced," the minister said. Touching upon the P75(I) Project, Parrikar said that private players can also be invited for joint venture which would help early fruition of the project. Rewards for early completion of project He said that if the project is not completed in the stipulated time, the defaulting yard would have to pay penalty. "An early completion would be rewarded with a bonus. MDL should take a lead in the skill development of local unemployed youth," he added. Navy says once commissioned into its ranks in 2016, the submarine Kalvari, would lend an enormous fillip to its underwater capability. MDL will have to deliver the remaining 5 submarines by 2020. Navy says these would form the core of its submarine arm for the next two decades. "The Scorpene submarines would pack a potent punch. She would be equipped with anti-ship missiles and long range guided torpedoes along with modern sensor suite," says a navy Spokesperson. MDL today is at the forefront of warship construction with the P 15 B class destroyers and P17-A class stealth frigates being the latest. As the exclusive public sector shipyard manufacturing submarines in the country, Project 75 marks a critical milestone in the Yard's continued relevance as a defence public sector undertaking constructing submarines. Parrikar visits WNC HQ Later in the day, Parrikar, visited Western Naval Command (WNC) Headquarters accompanied by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R K Dhowan. Navy officials said that the minister was apprised about the operational responsibilities of the command and challenges faced by the Indian Navy in its area of responsibility. "The minister was also apprised about the operational readiness of the command, morale and welfare issues," navy Spokesperson said. The minister visited INS Sindhukesari to get a first-hand experience of an operational submarine. "He was briefed on the operating environment in submarines and also interacted with the crew members of the submarine," the Spokesperson added.

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India will not ink the mega $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project to acquire 126 fighters till France agrees to stick to its original pricing, which led its Rafale fighter to defeat the Eurofighter Typhoon in commercial evaluation over three years ago.

This is India's "bottom line" on which the outcome of long-drawn final negotiations with French aviation major Dassault now hinges, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to leave for France on Thursday as part of his three-nation tour.

"Dassault has to adhere to its earlier commitments. No Indian government can finalize such a major project if the L-1 (lowest bidder) pricing is changed... it can be a deal-breaker despite political pressure from France," said a top source.

As first reported by TOI, the defence ministry is upset with Dassault's attempt to "change the price line" because it will substantially jack up the production cost of the 108 Rafales to be made by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) in India after the first 18 are imported.

As per Dassault's costing, there is now a "big jump in the man-hours needed" for each jet to be produced by HAL after transfer of technology. In effect, each jet will now cost much more than what was originally projected.

"Hypothetically, if the cost of each jet goes up by around Rs 30-40 crore, we will then be looking at a hike of Rs 3,240-Rs 4,320 crore for the 108 jets to be made here. Dassault should relent, become fully compliant to the RFP (request for proposal) and stand 100% by its original offer. It can live with a slightly lesser profit margin," said the source.


There is, however, progress on the other major stumbling block. A mechanism is being evolved to ensure there are no penalties or liquidity damages imposed on Dassault if HAL fails to deliver as per specified timelines, sources said.

The voluminous MMRCA contract was almost 90% done, with technology transfer, offsets and other issues as well as the inter-governmental agreement all ready, when pricing and guarantee issues stalled negotiations almost a year ago.

With continuing delay in finalization of the MMRCA project and IAF down to just 34 fighter squadrons (14 of them made of old MiG-21s and MiG-27s), India is also trying to fast-track the stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft project with Russia, as reported by TOI earlier.

India has told Russia it wants deliveries of the FGFA to begin 36 months after the main contract is inked, instead of the 94 months envisaged earlier. For this, India is ready to switch from the original co-development and co-production plan to direct acquisition of an initial lot followed by co-production. India will spend around $25 billion on the FGFA project if eventually 127 such fighters as planned.

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aksha said:

France Offers 2 Quick Scorpenes, DCNS 'Worried' About DRDO's AIP

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Jeff Head said:

Hmmm...France is trying to make up for lost defense dollars where they can.

I believe India would be wise to take them up on this offer...particularly if they offered at a good price.

India getting Scorpions is a good thing. They are very good SSKs and a modern and capable design.

Hopefully they will help India overcome some of its more recent SSK woes.

Also, if they are getting good tech transfer and building in India, hopefully it will lead to a very good, future indigenous Indian SSK design.

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NEW DELHI | BY SANJEEV MIGLANI AND TOMMY WILKES

(Reuters) - Indian firms have spurned some $15 billion worth of government tenders to make a range of weapons since 2013, Defence Ministry officials say, in a blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his drive to wean the country off imported arms.

Executives cited unrealistic quality demands from a military short of planes, tanks and guns as a key reason for their reluctance to bid for projects. Complicating things further, the military doesn't want weapons from Indian firms with no track record in defence manufacturing, experts said.

Irked by India's status as the world's biggest arms importer, Modi wants to build an advanced defence industry but almost a year into his "Make in India" campaign, which aims to turn the country into a manufacturing powerhouse, not one large domestic weapons project has been awarded.

Tenders for anything from air defence guns to surface-to-air missiles to transport planes have lapsed, Defence Ministry officials told Reuters. The tenders total around $15 billion according to a Reuters compilation of offers since early 2013.

"'Make in India' is a laudable aim, but it's moving rather slowly. It's not a switch you can press and everything will fall into place," said Vivek Rae, head of procurement at the Defence Ministry from 2010-2012.

Anil Ambani, the billionaire chairman of the Reliance Group, recounted at a recent conference how Modi asked him if he knew India didn't make tear gas shells.

"Even the tears we shed are foreign," Ambani quoted the nationalist leader, who took office last May, as saying.

Modi wants to build a strong military after years of neglect that military planners say has left India vulnerable should rivals China and Pakistan ever launch a combined attack, although experts say this is highly unlikely. India is being challenged, however, in its Indian Ocean backyard, where China's more modernised navy is starting to assert itself.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said new defence production policies will be unveiled this month to address the concerns of private firms: opaque procedures, unrealistic quality requirements and slow decision-making.

"We're trying to simplify procedures, create a level-playing field but still there are many cases of zero participation in tenders," said G. Mohan Kumar, the defence production secretary leading the localisation drive.

The military declined to comment, referring queries to the Defence Ministry, which controls procurement.


RINGFENCING PROJECTS

India gets 70 percent of its arms from abroad. For decades, it has bought off-the-shelf equipment mainly from Russia, which offered to assemble some weaponry locally but little in the way of technology transfers.

Modi has vowed to change that by ringfencing $100 billion worth of defence deals for domestic companies over the next decade under which they can build on their own or with foreign partners.

Last year the government asked several Indian companies to show interest in an estimated $1.7 billion deal to replace 1960s-era Swedish air defence guns, but only one said it could meet the requirements, said one of the Defence Ministry officials. He declined to identify the company.

The head of one firm which told the government it was not interested in the project said the military laid down "impossible" requirements by insisting on technology that only foreign manufacturers had. He declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of defence issues.

In November, the government put an estimated $2 billion proposal to replace its ageing fleet of Avro cargo planes on ice after the tender attracted only one bidder, a partnership between Europe's Airbus Group (AIR.PA) and India's Tata Sons TATAS.UL.

"Even if there is an alternative better solution, as per current practice the requirements cannot be changed, or if they are changed it is questioned," said M.V. Kotwal, head of defence business at infrastructure group Larsen and Toubro (LART.NS). "The flexibility is not there."

Over the past 18 months, 41 requests for expressions of interest for naval projects alone fell through because of problems relating to manufacturing requirements, the Defence Ministry official added.


JUMPSTART

Trying to move projects along, Modi's government in February approved an $8 billion proposal to build warships in India that had been awaiting cabinet signoff since 2012.

It has also ordered an accelerated local programme to build six diesel-electric submarines, in addition to six similar vessels that French firm DCNS is assembling in Mumbai port to replace India's ageing underwater fleet.

A Defence Ministry committee submitted a report last month identifying five private and state-run shipyards where the submarines could be built with a foreign partner. It will now invite expressions of interest for the $8.5 billion project.

Experts said one problem is that some military officers eye technology only available in the west, without understanding what Indian firms can produce.

"The armed forces are reluctant to accept hardware that doesn't have a record in operational conditions. Indian companies have no track record," said Bharat Karnad at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi.

Retired vice admiral Premvir Das added that to expect Indian companies to manufacture major defence platforms in the forseeable future is to "live in a dreamland".

(Editing by Dean Yates)

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Zool said:

This article touches on some of the issues preventing India from developing a stronger MIC (aside from the known infrastructure deficit):

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In another assertive step towards a routinely transgressing China on the border, the government has decided to double the number of troops guarding the Sino-Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh. In two more years, the strength of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on Sino-Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh will be increased by close to 10,000 troops.

Home ministry is likely to sanction one more frontier (comprising of eight battalions with around 10,000 personnel) of ITBP to guard the border in Arunachal against transgressions by Chinese troops. At present there is only one frontier guarding the border in the state.

In addition to this, the home ministry has also agreed in principle to sanction 10,000 more troops to the force to allow them rest and recuperation, effectively increasing the strength of the force by around 20,000. This decision has been taken as ITBP is a 100% deployment force with no soft postings. It has led to higher stress levels among jawans and eventual attrition.

Home ministry sources said last week ITBP DG Krishna Chaudhary had met Home Minister Rajnath Singh to push for the twin sanctions. "The home minister was very receptive to the demands of the force and said he was expediting the sanction for 10,000 more personnel to guard Arunachal border. The sanction will be granted soon. On the issue of 10,000 more troops for rest and recuperation, the home minister has agreed in principle, but it may take some time," said an official privy to the discussions.

The eight new battalions sanctioned for Arunachal Pradesh will guard 54 new border outposts to be constructed on the border, said sources. "It will take two years to raise and train the eight battalions. Meanwhile, the force will begin putting up the infrastructure to sustain them," said the official.


At present, there are about 40 BoPs on the 1,126 km Arunachal border making patrolling and surveillance in the region extremely difficult. While on Indo-Pak border, there are BoPs every three-four km, on the Arunachal border the distance can stretch up to 50-100 km between two BoPs in certain sectors

The force, meanwhile, is happy that Singh has shown willingness for 10,000 troops for rest and recuperation. "We already work in inhospitable condition at heights of over 15,000 feet. Battalions earlier kept for rest and recuperation have now been deployed in Naxal areas. This leads to an ITBP jawan never having a soft posting," said an ITBP officer.

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