Indian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

India and Israel are likely to test fire this month the long-range surface-to-air Barak 8 missile, jointly developed by the two countries, which can act as a potent shield against incoming missiles, aircraft and drones.

If the test to be done in Israel is successful, another would be conducted on board an Indian ship before September. This, according to defence sources, will pave the way for installation of Barak 8 missiles, an upgraded version of Barak systems both the countries use, on board Indian warships.

The missile had undergone a successful test in Israel last November.

Though initially the missile was to be fired on board an Indian ship, defence sources said it would now be done on board an Israeli ship first.

"Following the last test, the Indian Navy had recommended certain changes which have been incorporated. The coming test will check whether the changes are successful. Following this, a test would be done on board an Indian ship," the sources said.

The Indian ship likely to be used for testing is INS Kolkata.

The launchers and radars to track the missile are already in place.

The test will be conducted against an incoming missile by the Navy.

The missile is being jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries, India's DRDO, Israel's Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure, Elta Systems, Rafael and other companies.

The state-run Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) will series-produce the 70 km-range Barak-8, with 32 missiles to be initially fitted onto INS Kolkata.

Barak 8 is being considered to be a major asset for Indian Navy because it would add a potent system designed to destroy any anti-ship missile launched by Pakistani or Chinese navy.

Key to Barak 8's ability to intercept incoming missiles is Israel-made MF-STAR radar system which is capable of simultaneously tracking hundreds of airborne targets to a range of more than 250 kilometers.

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Putting a big question mark on the performance of the Russian beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missiles with the Indian Air Force, an audit report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has noted that nearly half the missiles tested either did not home in on targets during evaluations or failed ground tests because they were ageing much before their shelf lives.

"All figures in the report are based on air force records. Everything is verified by the IAF," an official said.

The problem with the missiles was referred to Russia and several teams subsequently visited India to rectify faults. IAF officers familiar with the missiles confirmed that this has been a problem area for long. "It is a known fact that the missiles do not work as we would like them to. Periodic tests that are carried out when they are in storage show their dismal state. We also have problems with spare parts," said a retired officer who was closely associated with the matter

Former Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy said: "When the missiles were bought, they were top of the line, world class systems that no other country had. As we did not have our own testing facilities, they had to be tested in Russia. The question to be asked is whether the government approved testing facilities for the missiles in India."

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plawolf said:

Only 40 R77 for the entire Mig29K fleet? Aren't they supposed to get around 40 Mig29Ks?

Even if you multiple the number of missiles by 10, its still a worryingly small weapons cache for the fleet.

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plawolf said:

Only 40 R77 for the entire Mig29K fleet? Aren't they supposed to get around 40 Mig29Ks?

Even if you multiple the number of missiles by 10, its still a worryingly small weapons cache for the fleet.

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MMRCA competition again????

In another major step towards self reliance in the defence sector, a plan is being finalised to produce 90 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) in India, informed sources said.

A Request for Proposal (RFP) is expected to be drafted soon after the new Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) comes in place.

Expected to be one of the biggest projects under the Make in India campaign, the cost of the programme is expected to be around $30 million, the sources said.

The Indian Air Force requires 126 MMRCAs. With India getting into an agreement with France to get 36 Rafale fighter jets in flyaway condition, there was a lack of clarity on how the rest of the gap will be filled.

sources said that now these remaining jets will be made in India, in what will be a major step in domestic manufacturing of such aircraft.

According to the sources, the air force does not have enough squadrons in the event of a joint war with Pakistan and China.

"An RFP is expected to be drafted soon for making 90 MMRCAs in India. A global tender will be floated. The private sector will also have an active participation," said an official from the defence ministry.

As many foreign bidders were in the race when India set out to buy 126 MMRCAs, for which Dassault Aviation, the makers of Rafale, was finally chosen, the sources said all original bidders will be invited.

The list of fighters that were in competition for the MMRCA bid included Russia's MIG-35 (RAC MiG), Swedish Gripen, Dassault, American Lockheed Martin and Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet and Eurofighter Typhoon made by a consortium of British, German, Spanish and Italian firms.

The sources said that out of the 90 aircraft, 54 will be single-seaters and the remaining 36 tandem-seaters.

There will be an option of acquiring 45 additional fighters as a follow-up order.

The Indian Air Force is expected to be down to 32 squadrons by the end of this year, 576 fighter jets short of the 750-strong fighter jet fleet required as per vision documents to face simultaneous two-front wars with Pakistan and China.

At least three squadrons of the vintage Soviet origin MiG-21 and MiG-27 single engine aircraft are scheduled to be phased out.

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Under the ‘Buy and Make (global)’ category of the Defence Procurement Procedure 2013, the Indian Navy is moving ahead with a proposal to acquire 12 US-2i aircraft from Japanese company ShinMaywa in 2015 for $1.65 bn. “This is being discussed as part of the Services Capital Acquisition Plan (SCAP) for 2015 at a meeting in the ministry of defence,” a source told FE.

There have been several rounds of hectic discussions on whether India will be permitted to assemble the aircraft indigenously, giving it access to Japanese military technology, and whether Japan will help in marketing and export, which will be a win-win situation for both.

Tokyo has been pursuing the sale of this aircraft to India as part of stepped-up bilateral defense cooperation for three years now. This was also discussed during the high-profile visit of PM Narendra Modi to Japan in 2014. “Also, both sides are interested in building the aeronautics industry in India.

The two sides have been working on several issues including: whether Japan will provide only the kit of the plane and India will carry out modification to fit the required sensors for sea surveillance.

A joint working group, a multi-ministerial team, was set up last year to iron out certain details, including important modifications that would allow Japan to export the aircraft to India without violating its self-imposed defense export restrictions.

Sources have indicated the acquisition process has been put on fast track as this is a deal which has been cleared at the highest political level. In the last few months there have been a lot of exchanges between the Indian Navy and executives of Japanese company ShinMaywa.

Chances are a private Indian partner might be roped in for licence manufacturing in India and the Japanese company will provide all technical support to the Indian partner for re-export of the planes.

The Indian Navy might end up with bigger orders for US-2i amphibious planes since the current requirement is for the first batch.

Japan, which has self-imposed ban on defense exports from 1967, was able to get special permission for export of this plane to India, but the Japanese have seen great interest in this planes from other countries too but its own policies will hinder sale of the planes.

The US-2i is a large Japanese Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) amphibious aircraft, which could significantly boost the Indian Navy’s capability for air-sea rescue.

Strategically, the US-2 is important for India beyond its relationship with Japan. The US-2i has a more than modest range of 4,500 km and India’s aircraft will be stationed in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, in the Bay of Bengal.

Procurement of these planes directly counters Indian fears of China’s burgeoning “string of pearls” strategy in Southeast Asia.

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