Indian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

You really don't understand world powers do you. Its not the well fed wolf that eats you Bub, its the half starved, ravenous beast, that without regard to reason savagely attacks and rips and tears until he tears you apart, or you deal him a "killing blow".

Mr. Putin has taken advantage of BHO's and Europes weakness, and lack of resolve to savage both the former Soviet Georgia and Urkaine, and take the best of both, while people who should have been on it, had a spaz attack over "appearances" and their legacy.

The Russian Bear is not dead, he was in hibernation through a long kold winter, the taking of territory in Georgia and Ukraine has also "recapitalized" the national psyche!

In any regard the Russians are not to be underestimated by intelligent folks, and reason and rationale may not lead you to understand their next course of action, they are gamblers, as well as ambitious, much of the present anger stems from the West's contemptuous attitude during their difficult years, so read time magazine all you want, but first attempt to understand who your potential adversary is, and then measure that against history and desire!

The Indians need the Russians, and the Russians need the Indians, I doubt there is much love lost between them, but it is mutually advantageous for each party to maintain that relationship. I believe the Indians would love to buy PAK-FA if it measured up to expectations, but 250 million a copy is a lot of "jack".

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AndrewS said:

Nope.

Russia is not a young and hungry wolf.

Russia is an old and tired, but still dangerous wolf that knows it's best days have gone, and now just wants to retain what it has. You're right that Russia resents being treated with contempt by the "victorious" west, but that was tempered with the stark realisation of how far they had fallen.

So it did regard Georgia and Ukraine as intrusions into its territory, but when push comes to shove, these places are not worth a war between Russia and the USA/Europe which would likely escalate to the nuclear realm.

With the collapse in oil prices and economic sanctions, that wolf is very much feeling the pressure.

The key points for Russia are stagnant/negative population growth along with sustained negative economic growth as the economy essentially supplies commodities to Europe and China.

Remember that the Russian economy is some 5x smaller than the EU.
And that the Russian economy is some 5x smaller than China
Ditto, the Russian economy is some 5x smaller than the US.

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‘Kalvari’, the first of the Scorpene class submarines, being built at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd Mumbai (MDL), went to sea for the first time on 01 May 16. The submarine sailed out at about 1000 hrs under her own propulsion for the first sea trial, off the Mumbai coast and during the sortie. A number of number of preliminary tests on the propulsion system, Auxiliary Equipment and Systems, Navigation Aids, Communication Equipment and Steering gear...

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Indian Navy to bid adieu to Sea Harriers

The Indian Navy will de-induct its ageing Sea Harriers, replacing them with MiG 29K fighter aircraft, on May 11 at INS Hansa base in Vasco at Goa.

“With the scheduled decommissioning of INS Viraat and great difficulty in maintenance of the ageing Sea Harrier fighters, they are scheduled to be de-inducted on May 11, 2016. The squadron will be operating the advanced MiG 29K fighters,” the Navy said in a statement here on Wednesday.

Admiral R. K. Dhowan, Chief of the Naval Staff will be the Chief Guest for the ceremony.
The Sea Harriers were inducted in the Indian Navy following phasing out of then obsolete Seahawks.

“In November 1979, post government approval, Naval HQ placed an order for 06 Sea Harrier FRS Mk 51 fighters and 02 T Mk 60 Trainers, for delivery in 1983,” a naval spokesman said.
“In September 1980, Sea Harrier Project (SHARP) was formed with select naval aviators and technical personnel for coordination of trials, testing, acceptance and training.

The first newly-built Sea Harrier for the Indian Navy (IN 601) was ready on December 21, 1982.
The first three Sea Harriers flying via Malta, Luxor and Dubai, led by Lt Cdr Arun Prakash VrC, landed at Dabolim on December 16, 1983. This was followed by first deck landing on the carrier, INS Vikrant, on December 20, 1983 and the arrival of the first Sea Harrier T Mk 60 trainer, on March 29, 1984,” the spokesman said.

He said the reborn white tigers of the Indian Navy were now a totally professional outfit and came out with flying colours during frequent embarkations, joint exercises, Dissimilar Aircraft Combat Training and Air to Air gunnery exercises.

“The squadron was embarked on the carrier during Operations Vijay and Parakram providing the essential offensive posture to the country and ensuring readiness to react to any escalation by the enemy,” he said.

“In last few years the Harriers have added a new dimension to their operations with the increased multi national exercises in which the Indian Navy participates,” the spokesman stated. – PTI

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Indian Navy to Replace Sea Harriers with Russian MiG-29K

Obsolete British Sea Harriers have found a place in Indian museums as the Indian Navy prepares to replace them with the MiG-29K

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Indian Navy will induct a new squadron of MiG-29Ks in a ceremony scheduled to take place on May 11 in the southern state of Goa. The Russian fighter aircraft is replacing the obsolete British Sea Harriers which served the Indian Navy since 1983, and were placed aboard the INS Viraat warship, which is also being decommissioned.

"With the scheduled decommissioning of INS Viraat and great difficulty in the maintenance of the ageing Sea Harrier fighters, they are scheduled to be de-inducted on May 11. The squadron will be operating the advanced MiG-29K fighters," the Indian Navy said in a statement.

The Sea Harriers were being operated by the White Tigers squadron, which is being trained to operate its first supersonic fighters in 30 MiG-29Ks — out of the 45 contracted from Russia for the INS Vikramaditya and the under-construction indigenous carrier INS Vikrant. The MiG-29K is expected to give the Indian Navy a four-fold capability jump over Sea Harriers.

Naval Commander Abhijit Singh told Sputnik, "The MiG-29Ks will operate from the INS Vikramaditya, an aircraft carrier which we have procured from Russia. We have already purchased one batch of MiG-29Ks from Russia but there is a request for additonal MiG-29s. Spare parts of Harriers were not available. Harriers were used on the old Viraat aircraft carrier. Now Viraat is also being decommissioned. We are now shifting on to a more sophisticated aircraft."

The Sea Harriers had an operational speed of 640 knots or 1,186 kmph, with a range of around 800 nautical miles, but, they fell short of exceeding the speed of sound at Mach 1 or 1,235 kmph. The state run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited conducted a limited upgrade a few years ago which included fitting on Israeli Elta EL/M-2032 multi-mode fire control radars and 'Derby' beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, but due to the unavailability of spare parts, further upgrades had become impossible.

India had planned to replace the Sea Harriers with the homemade Light Combat Aircraft (Naval) version but the program is more than 15 years behind schedule.

The Indian Navy bought 30 British-made Sea Harriers in 1983 but only 11 now remain. The retired aircraft will be stationed at different museums across the country as show pieces.

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Final bow for ‘Shar’

It looks like the Indian Navy is set to give a final farewell to its Sea Harrier FRS51s next week on May 11. The final handful of operational ‘Shars’ of INAS 300 will give way to new MiG-29Ks.

In our May issue we reported that the decision to retire the Sea Harriers came with little notice shortly after the aircraft carrier INS Viraat began its final cruise on February 12.

A total of 23 Sea Harrier FRS51s and four initial T60 trainers were delivered to India from 1983. Only a handful remained in service as they were decommisioned.

They have received modest upgrades in recent years under the Limited Upgrade Sea Harrier (LUSH) project that added the DASH helmet sight and new weapons. However, the Indian Navy now plans to replace them with MiG‑29Ks, and they will be disposed of in the coming months.

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