It never really said why they are not doing the Blackshark.
Pricing?
Technical issues?
Why did the deal fall through?
it might be punishment for the italian marines case.
It never really said why they are not doing the Blackshark.
Pricing?
Technical issues?
Why did the deal fall through?
Pacific Sentinel said:NEW DELHI — India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has put on hold the purchase of two intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) aircraft from Raytheon of the United States, due to internal wrangling between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) over which of the two should be the technical evaluator, according to a source in the MoD.
The cost for the two aircraft was to be about $1 billion, with payment structured around the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
"The thinking here [of the MoD] is that the two agencies — DRDO and IAF — should sort out the issue and only then we proceed towards purchasing the two ISTAR aircraft," the source said.
The eventual designated agency will be responsible for deciding which software and other equipment should be used and how to procure it.
"DRDO must certainly be wanting to work on related projects. Blocking any acquisition that is critical to war fighting capability is patently anti-national," retired IAR Air Marshal Muthumanikam Matheswaran said.
"DRDO understands this, and I don't think they will do this. I think this must be a case of misunderstanding where DRDO must be trying to leverage technologies. That they can and must do anyway, through offsets or [US-India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative] routes."
A senior IAF official said the service should have selection authority because it will be the operating agency for the two ISTAR aircraft. The official claimed that DRDO does not have the technical capability or expertise needed to evaluate the aircraft.
Beyond the Scorpene, the future of Indian submarine force remains uncertain
The Indian program to build new submarines, which is already facing the consequences of the leaked documents about the capacity of Scorpene submarines, also known delays in launching the construction of the next generation.
The project to build six submarines in partnership between Indian and foreign companies, dubbed "Project 75i" is blocked because the Indian government is unable to define how to choose its foreign strategic partner.
According to sources, the project was launched as part of the procedure "Buy and Make in India", implying links to technology with foreign partners and the purchase or manufacturing in India for most of the necessary equipment .
A new version of this procurement procedure, published this year, has left blank Chapter to define how to choose a strategic partner, crippling makes all advanced P75i program.
"Due to a long delay to define the chapter on strategic partnership, which should allow the private Indian defense industry to participate in six critical areas, the Indian Navy's plans to move to the next step, are now blocked, "said a ministry source.
Last April, the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar believed it would take only two months before the chapter on strategic partners can not be submitted for approval to the Cabinet Committee on Security. The six areas identified by the Ministry in which, instead of awarding the contract to the lowest bidder, private companies Indian defense are allowed to participate, are: military aircraft and helicopters, warships, submarines, armored vehicles complex weapons using a guidance system, command and control systems, and critical materials (special alloys and composites).
The Indian government has decided that the six submarines P75i project would be built on the line of the predecessor, the Scorpene, the yards Mazgaon Docks Ltd, Mumbai.
The U-2s and Soryus would be good equipment for India.India could build six submarines under license from Soryu Japanese.
The Indian government is considering to build under license in their country six submarines of conventional propulsion Japanese Soryu class. According to local media collected, India would have asked Japan the possibility of building six submarines under license in Indian shipyards for a sum of 8,100 million dollars. Recall that the government of Prime Minister Modi has reoriented large number of military programs to local construction, following the motto "Make in India", allowing participation of foreign companies as technology partners.
This would mean the formation of a commercial alliance between the Japanese shipbuilders Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation with local companies. As has been reporting, Australia is interested in this type of submarines, of which at this time would be negotiating the purchase or joint manufacture of up to twelve submersibles. Japan has offered to Indian Navy maritime patrol seaplanes US-2i that India had pledged to acquire six units, negotiation that has been announced since January last year.
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The Indian Navy will launch its second Project 15B Visakhapatnam-class guided missile destroyer, christened Mormugao, at the Mazagaon Dock Limited (MDL) shipyard in Mumbai on September 17 ahead of schedule, to local media reports. During the launch the warship will be floated on water for the first time. The ceremony will be attended by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba.
As I reported previously (See: ), the lead ship of the Visakhapatnam-class, Visakhapatnam, was launched in April 2015 and is expected to be commissioned in July 2018. The Mormugao is set to enter service with the Indian Navy in 2019. Two more vessels of the class are planned.
The warships of the Visakhapatnam-class are based on the older Project 15A Kolkata-class destroyers design, three of which will join the Indian Navy by the end of 2016. The Kolkata-class destroyer INS Kolkata was commissioned in August 2014, with the other two remaining warships of the class to be commissioned by the end of the year.
The Visakhapatnam-class is the most advanced destroyer class ever to be built in India, according to Indian defense officials. Displacing 7,300 tons, the stealth guided missile destroyer has a crew of 50 officers and 250 sailors. It is powered by four Ukrainian gas turbine engines, and capable of reaching a maximum speed of about 30 knots. The ship’s operational range is around 4,000 nautical miles.
Around 65 percent of components of the Vishakhapatnam-class are domestically designed and produced, including 11 of its weapon and associated sensor systems, according to Indian naval officials. The multirole warship features a host of new weapon systems, as I noted elsewhere:
The principal armament of the Visakhapatnam-class will be , which boast an operating range of 290 km and were co-developed by India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and the Russian defense industry.
The BrahMos is capable of traveling at speeds of up to Mach 3.0, making it one of the world’s fastest cruise missiles, and operates on a so-called fire and forget principle. Furthermore, I explained:
In addition, the ships will be equipped with the Barak-8/NG — an Indo-Israeli surface-to-air missile (SAM) — jointly developed by Rafael-IAI and the DRDO. The weapon was successfully tested in Israel in November 2014. The Visakhapatnam can carry up to 32 of these medium-long range air defense missiles.
Furthermore, the ship boasts a license-built 76 mm Oto Melara Super Rapid Gun, four fully-automated Russian AK-630 close-in weapon systems (likely fitted on the vessel’s bow), and a yet-to-be-selected 127 mm gun (however, claim that the ship will just be armed with a 127 mm main gun instead of a 76 mm Super Rapid Gun Mount).
The Multi-Function Surveillance Threat Alert Radar (MF-STAR) is the Israeli equivalent to the U.S. Navy’s Aegis Combat System and allegedly on par with the Chinese “Aegis” system installed on the .
For antisubmarine warfare, the new stealth guided-missile destroyer features twin-tube launchers and RBU-6000 Smerch-2 rocket launchers. It can also carry two multiple-role helicopters (e.g., Sea King or HAL Dhruv helicopters).
The total cost of the program is estimated at around $4.9 billion.
This class is okay for the Indians...and represents something that can finally help defend their carriers more effectively, though they will need two for each carrier IMHO..India set to launch it's second Visakhapatnam class destroyer.
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