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a joint Company both countries must be agree.

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Indian AF reports in-flight refuelling succes

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully completed the first in-flight refuelling of its Embraer 145 Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C) by an IL-78 tanker aircraft.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully completed the first in-flight refuelling of its Embraer 145 Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&C) by an IL-78 tanker aircraft.

The milestone comes nine months after the first Embraer AEW&C platform in IOC configuration was handed over to the IAF during

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. It was the first time the aircraft had been shown with its indigenously developed mission systems. India has acquired three “green” 145s for conversion to the AEW&C configuration.

The AEW&C System – developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in cooperation with the IAF – features a state-of-the art Active Electronically Scanned Radar, Secondary Surveillance Radar, Electronic and Communication Counter Measures, LOS (Line of Sight) and beyond LOS data link, voice communication system and self-protection suite.

The IAF reportedly operates six IL-78 air-to-air refuelling aircraft. India has twice been on the verge of acquiring Airbus A330 MRTT tankers to upgrade its fleet, but contract negotiations have fallen through in the final stages on both occasions.

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From India Today magazine: A peek into India's top secret and costliest defence project, nuclear submarines
India's indigenous nuclear submarine project hums in top gear with the launch of its second ballistic missile submarine. But other projects face huge technical challenges.

India's top secret nuclear submarine project reached another decadal milestone last month with the launch of a second ballistic missile submarine, the Arighat . On November 19, Union defence minister

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cracked the auspicious coconut on the fin of the submarine in the drydock of the Ship Building Centre (SBC) in Visakhapatnam in a low-key ceremony. Following this, the SBC's drydock was flooded and the submarine quietly floated out. It will be at least another three years before the navy commissions the Arighat.

The event skipped the high-profile public ceremony of the Arihant's launch in 2009 even as the four-decade Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project to field a series of ballistic missile firing nuclear submarines is now moving at a furious assembly-line pace.

Two new units, the S4 and S4 'star', displacing over 1,000 tonnes more than the Arihant class will move into the SBC drydock vacated by the two Arihant class submarines. These submarines, fitted with eight ballistic missiles or twice the Arihant's missile load, will be launched by 2020 and 2022. An official says the Arighat launch has more to do with creating more work space within the cramped SBC for assembling the S4 and S4*. The ATV project is India's costliest defence project. The programme to build four SSBNs (hull classification symbol for a nuclear-powered, ballistic missile-carrying submarine) is India's largest defence programme, estimated at Rs 90,000 crore. Each of these nuclear-powered sharks costs upwards of Rs 4,000 crore, not counting the infrastructure created by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to build their nuclear powered reactors and the Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO) submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).

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India puts forward new plan to buy helicopters after ending talks with Lockheed
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  11 hours ago
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Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky S-70B was selected in 2011 in a global tender issued by the Indian Navy in 2009 for 16 naval utility helicopters. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

NEW DELHI ― After suspending negotiations with Lockheed Martin in April over the price of 16 naval multirole helicopters, India’s Ministry of Defence has mooted a fresh plan for acquiring 24 helicopters for about $1.87 billion.

A high-priority global tender will now be floated instead to source the 24 helicopters off the shelf to meet a pressing need within the Indian Navy, according to an MoD official.

Negotiations with Lockheed were terminated following expiry of the price bid in March, and subsequently the tender was withdrawn in April, he said.



Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky S-70B was selected over NHIndustries’ NH90 helicopter in 2011 in a global tender issued by the Indian Navy in 2009 for 16 naval utility helicopters at a cost of $1 billion.

The service asked the MoD in July to consider procuring the helicopters from the U.S. under the Foreign Military Sales program, a senior Indian Navy official said.

However, the request was turn down because Indian procurement procedures do not allow for single-supplier preference but instead prefer global competitions through which weapons or platforms are selected based on lowest price.

Commenting on delays in India’s defense procurements, a CEO of a foreign defense company, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “MoD must adhere to a strict timeline in selecting the platform and awarding [defense] contracts, otherwise it will lead to huge cost escalation and even the cancellation of the program itself.”

India’s ruling National Democratic Alliance is now kick-starting all major defense programs under the Strategic Partners policy, which is expected to enhance indigenization by cutting imports and boosting exports, according to a second MoD official.

Under this program, 123 naval multirole helicopters costing about $7 billion in the 9- to 12.5-ton categories will be manufactured by a domestic private company with technology transfer from an overseas helicopter original equipment manufacturer.

The helicopters will be built by a private company at a facility in India. The company will be selected though a separate, robust competition requiring technology collaboration with a foreign OEM.

However, no private Indian company has ever built a helicopter platform, but rather only supplied subsystems.

In the next three to four months, an expression of interest will be issued to several private companies including Bharat Forge Limited, Reliance Defence, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra Aerospace, and Tata Advanced Systems. The company will be selected on its financial and technical merits, production track record, and infrastructure capabilities.

Likewise, one OEM will be selected based on the technology transfer offer and option for building indigenous technology, building an industrial ecosystem and providing training support.

Both the OEM and the strategic partner will be selected separately by the MoD.

The ministry has already received an initial response to an August request for information from foreign OEMs such as Lockheed Martin, Airbus Helicopters and Russian Helicopters, the second MoD official said. The final selection will take at least three to five years, and the helicopters will be rolled out in about 10 years.

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India Launches Second Ballistic Missile Sub

The Indian Navy’s second nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine was quietly launched in November.

The second Arihant-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), the future INS Arighant (originally assumed to be named Aridhaman), was quietly launched at the Ship Building Center in Visakhapatnam in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh on November 19, India’s Minister of Defense Nirmala Sitharaman revealed this week,

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to local media reports.

The launch of the Indian Navy’s second indigenously designed and built SSBN comes a little over a year

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. The Arihant-class’ design is based on the Russian Project 971 Akula I-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN). Both the Arighant and Arihant were built with extensive Russian design and technical support.

The future INS Arighant is part of the Indian Ministry of Defense’s four-decade old Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project which aims to build a fleet of four to five SSBNs for the Indian Navy. The new Arihant-class will eventually constitute the sea leg of India’s strategic deterrent triad. India maintains nuclear warfare policy centered on a No First-Use (NFU) doctrine.
“As a result, New Delhi needs to field a credible second-strike capability. [As of now] India keeps its nuclear warheads de-mated from the actual missiles. However, in order for the new sub class to fulfill its role as the sea leg of India’s nuclear triad, SLBMs with mounted nuclear warheads will need to be deployed on the boomers,” I explained in February 2016.

The INS Arihant will likely not be used for nuclear deterrence patrols and primarily serve as a training platform for future submarine crews and as a general technology demonstrator.

The INS Arighant’s reactor was fueled in January and is expected to go critical in the coming months following a round set of sea trials evaluating the new SSBNs general seaworthiness. As I

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in October:

The [Arighant’s] will purportedly have a more powerful reactor than the 6,000-ton Arihant and also be slightly bigger. In addition, compared to the lead boat of the class the [Arighant’s] will have double the number of missile hatches, with eight launch tubes rather than the Arihant’s four.

The [Arighant’s] will also carry more advanced sensors than its sister boat and feature the indigenously-developed USHUS integrated sonar system and the Panchendriya sonar, a unified submarine sonar and tactical control system used for detecting and tracking submarines, torpedoes, as well as underwater obstacles. It can also be used for underwater communication.

The new SSBN can be armed with up to eight K-4 missiles, an intermediate-range nuclear-capable submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is also working on K-5 intermediate (possible intercontinental)-range and K-6 intercontinental range SLBMs for the Arihant-class. The K-4 has an estimated range of up to 3,500 kilometers, whereas the K-5 and K-6 are expected to have maximum ranges of 5,000 and 6,000 kilometers respectively.

For self-defense, the INS Arighant will carry 533-millimeter torpedoes—at least in theory for now. as I

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in October:

[F]ollowing the cancellation of a $200 million contract for 98 Black Shark heavyweight torpedoes at the end of May, the [SSBN] may not have the capability to defend itself against enemy subs for a number of years.

A second batch of 49 Black Shark torpedoes was also to be installed aboard India’s domestically developed and built Arihant-class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. According to Indian media reports, at least three of India’s future fleet of four to five Arihant-class SSBNs were expected to carry the new torpedoes. The cancellation of the order could mean a two- to three-year delay in the launching of the second sub of the class, the [Arighant ], due to torpedo tube modifications.

Alternative to the Black Shark torpedo are currently under evaluation.

The INS Arighant is expected to be commissioned in 2020-2021.

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Scorpene-class Submarine INS Kalvari Commissioned into the Indian Navy

The Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi commissioned INS Kalvari (S-21), the first of the six Scorpene class submarines built under Project 75 (Kalvari Class) into the Indian Navy at an impressive ceremony held at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai today (14 Dec 17). The event marked the formal induction into the Navy of the first of the six submarines being constructed at Mazagon Docks Ltd., in collaboration with the French builder M/s Naval Group.
Welcoming the gathering, Admiral Sunil Lanba stated that this commissioning marked a milestone in the journey of the Indian Navy towards indigenous submarine building. The Indian Navy is deeply committed to the principle of indigenisation and the Government’s thrust on ‘Make in India’. Commissioning of Kalvari is a testimony of our resolve and these achievements are a result of the Indian Navy’s proactive and integrated approach to achieve self-reliance, the Admiral said.

P75 Scorpene
Six submarines of the P75 project are being built by MDL through technology transfers from Naval Group for the Indian Navy. "Kalvari", the first Scorpene class diesel-electric submarine (SSK) was launched in the water on 28th October 2015 in Mumbai. It started sea trials in May last year. The sea trials campaign went well and left Indian submariners with a very good impression. "Khanderi", the second submarine in the series, was launched in January 2017 and started sea trials in June. Four other submarines will follow in the wake of Khanderi, at intervals of nine months.

INS Kalvari is manned by a team comprising 08 officers and 35 sailors with Captain SD Mehendale at the helm as her first Commanding Officer. The commissioning will augment the offensive capability of the Indian Navy, and the Western Naval Command in particular.
The Boat’s undersea warfare capability comprises a cluster of advanced weapons and sensors integrated into the Submarine Tactical Integrated Combat System (SUBTICS). The sonar suite is Low Frequency Analysis and Ranging (LOFAR) capable enabling long rage detection and classification. Post classification, she may choose to engage the enemy by utilising either the sea skimming SM 39 EXOCET missiles (Flying Fish in French) or the heavy weight wire guided Surface and Underwater Target (SUT) torpedoes. Towards self-defence, she is fitted with mobile C303/S anti-torpedo decoys.

The boats attack and search periscopes are equipped with Infrared/ Low Light Level cameras and Laser Range finders. The boat also has her two 1250 kW MAN Diesel Engines for rapidly charging batteries. The submarine boasts of a highly advanced Combat Management System and a sophisticated Integrated Platform Management System.

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Work to integrate Brahmos on 40 Sukhoi aircraft begins

Work has begun to integrate the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile on 40 Sukhoi combat aircraft which is expected to fulfil critical needs of the Indian Air Force in the wake of evolving security dynamics in the region.

The air-launched variant of the Brahmos, the world's fastest supersonic cruise missile, was successfully test fired from a Sukhoi-30 combat jet on November 22, marking a major milestone to enhance the precision strike capability of the air force.

The work to integrate the Brahmos missile on 40 Sukhoi combat aircraft has begun. A timeline for the project is being set, official sources said without elaborating.

it is learnt that the project is expected to be completed by 2020.

The fleet of 40 Sukhoi jet will undergo structural modifications at the state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for integration of the missile on them.

The 2.5-ton missile flies almost three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.8 and has a range of 290 km.

The range of the missile, an Indo-Russia joint venture, can be extended up to 400 km as certain technical restrictions were lifted after India became a full member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) last year.

Brahmos missile is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on India's Su-30 fighter aircraft.

Once the project to integrate the weapon on the combat fleet was over, the IAF capability to strike from large stand-off ranges on any target in sea or land is expected to go up manifold.

"It is a very important project considering IAF's evolving requirement to boost air power when the possibility of a two-front war cannot be ruled out," said an official.

After the test firing of the air-launched version, the IAF had said the missile coupled with the superlative performance of the Su-30 aircraft will give the force a strategic reach and will allow it to dominate the ocean and the battle fields.

The integration of the missile on Sukhoi aircraft is a very complex process involving mechanical, electrical and software modifications of the Su-30 jet.

Brahmos is a joint venture between DRDO of India and NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) of Russia.

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The LCA Tejas That The IAF Has Chosen

India’s home-built Tejas light fighter will finally be formally in squadron service with its primary customer, the Indian Air Force, starting Friday. On July 1, the Indian Air Force will induct a pair of series production airframes of the Tejas Mk.1 at a planned event there’s a conspicuous lack of noise about. Sure, the number of aircraft being inducted will be a tenth it takes to call itself a real squadron. And sure, the Tejas won’t be zipping off on combat air patrol or air defence duties immediately. But the significance of July 1 has perhaps already been lost in the turbulence of both the programme, as well as the way it has by default been regarded.

In October last year, your site

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needs to see service as quickly as possible. That, in a sense, is what will be beginning to happen this Friday. But as you’ve probably heard already, it isn’t the Mk.1 type of the Tejas that has the IAF all lit up, but a configuration it agreed on last year designated the Mk.1A that’ll form the true Tejas backbone in service — 80 aircraft, with the possibility of 40 more have been ordered. In the tumult of operational clearance points and timelines, not very much has been reported on the Mk.1A itself and why the IAF has its sights set on the type, and what has been reported is mostly broad.

The known updates are clear. The Mk.1A will be mid-air refuellable, sport an updated internal Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) — likely in-house kit from the DRDO’s DARE laboratory — an external Self Protection Jammer (SPJ) pod to enhance survivability and an AESA Radar, both of which the Tejas programme is scouting international suppliers for. The IAF has also stipulated that the Tejas Mk.1A needs to be able to fire different types of BVR and close combat air to air missiles. The Tejas has so far fired Vympel R-73 CCMs and a Derby BVR missile. It’ll need to prove itself using the R-77, Python-5 and DRDO Astra too. Those, Livefist learns, are on track.
The meat of the Mk.1A will be a slew of major improvements in the LCA’s squadron-level maintainability contours. It is difficult to overstate just how much importance the IAF has placed on ramped up no-nonsense maintainability, more than a milestone away from the admittedly unwieldy maintenance architecture built into the Mk.1. On maintainability alone, the Tejas Mk.1A will have the 43 improvements out of 57 planned on the bigger, more powerful Tejas Mk.2:

1. Panel interchangeability: In the prototype stage, composite panels were built and matched to specific airframes. For the Mk.1A, tooling will be built up and panels moulded lending themselves to easy interchangeability between airframes, plus spares. The IAF won’t deal with a platform that doesn’t allow at least this level of squadron-level maintainability, so this is priority.
2. Quick access: Several airframe panels that required daily servicing have a large number of screws that need to be removed — a time consuming affair that eats into the platform’s turnaround time. These will be replaced on the Mk.1A by quick release fasteners making it easier and faster for maintainers access, considerably bringing down time required to service aircraft. Importantly, quick release fasteners will remain with the panel and therefore minimise FOD chances.
3. Gromets in composite panels: When fasteners are regularly used for removal and installation, there is a possibility of damage and widening of holes. Mk.1A panels will have to stop this.
4. LRU positions: A number of LRUs will be repositioned for better access. Current configurations make it nuisance to access frequently used LRUs.
5. Additional aids: The Mk.1A package will contain ground handling aids and testers to enable speedier turnaround of aircraft

But what about the Tejas Mk.2? The planned up-engined, beefed up Tejas variant has hit a bit of a vacuum now, with the IAF all but pronouncing that it won’t be pursuing the type. A contest awarded to GE for the the F414-GE-INS6 turbofan engine hasn’t translated into a contract yet. But the Mk.2 programme is still very much on. A top official told Livefist, “As far as ADA and HAL are concerned, we are progressing design and development of Mk.2 as it has been approved by the Govt. There are benefits in continuing with it.”

Improvements planned on the Tejas Mk.2, apart from the more powerful engine and attendant expansion of op envelope, include new sensors, new indigenous actuators, and a new indigenous avionics architecture. The variant will also involve the removal of 250 kg in ballast weight, a further half ton weight reduction through revised design factors, performance improvements by “aerodynamic refinements of geometry”, an internal electronic warfare suite (incorporate in the Mk.1A plan), a brand new suite of indigenous avionics systems currently under development, a new digital flight control computer, OBOGS for mission endurance. Crucially, the Mk.2 will also sport an additional LP bleed port from the engine, a safety feature to ensure crucial backup for flight-critical Bleed Air Shut Off Valve (BASOV) failure for fuel tank pressurisation. In addition, the type will get fuel system improvements, NVG compatible external lighting with LEDs.

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   Surface-to-air missile test fails on 22 December, submarine test failure five days before raises major concerns over India’s nuclear triad expansion.
   
   New Delhi: The Indian missile development programme has encountered a setback with two successive failures within a week, including a worrying development in which a submarine-launched nuclear-capable missile got stuck in its testing canister following an unsuccessful test.
   
   Sources told ThePrint that a recent test of the Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) failed during its test on 22 December at Chandipur-on-Sea in Odisha. It hit turbulence within 1.5 seconds of the missile taking off, as an actuator did not respond to a software command, according to sources.
   
   QRSAM is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to meet urgent requirements of the Indian Air Force for protection of vital assets. It is meant to complement the Akash short-range surface-to-air missile. It is supposed to take down fast-moving incoming air targets like missiles and fighter jets at extremely short notice. This was the third test of the missile.
   
   More worryingly, there has been major concern with the failure of the K-4 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), which is being developed for the nuclear triad to give India the capability to take down long-range targets from under water.
   
   A test carried out on 17 December ended in failure after the missile did not launch from an underwater pontoon, it is learnt. The missile, believed to have a range of over 3,500 km, is to be equipped on the INS Arihant and Arighat nuclear submarines as a second strike option.
   
   Sources said that the K-4 missile did not activate during the test, with its battery getting drained after the launch command was given. It is believed that DRDO scientists were even unable to retrieve the missile from the test pontoon following the failure, raising safety concerns for the programme.
   
   India’s lone nuclear missile-carrying submarine, the INS Arihant, is currently equipped with the 750 km range B-05 SLBM. However, the limited range of the missile and a struggle to keep the Arihant functional raises concerns on the effectiveness of the nuclear triad.
   
   The 3,500-km range K-4 missile was to be the real game changer, giving India a second strike option over all potential target positions. While it has been tested three times before, the unsuccessful test last week raised concerns as the missile was to be launched from the INS Arihant shortly. Careful assessments are now being made to pinpoint the reason for the failure, and assess whether it would lead to safety considerations for a submarine launch.
   
   DRDO has also started work on the K-5, a 5,000 km range SLBM that would be fitted onboard nuclear-powered submarines, as well as a futuristic K-6 project to develop an underwater launched missile with a range of up to 6,000 km.