Indian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Indian Coast Guard, Marine Police express interest in Israeli USVs
August 30, 2014: Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which unveiled its Katana unmanned surface vessel (USV) at Defexpo this year, has received feelers from the Indian Coast Guard and Marine Police forces of states like Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, asking for more information and a demonstration of the system.

The forces have similarly expressed interest in the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Protector USV. Developed primarily as a homeland security vessels, the Katana and Protector have been developed for missions including protection of exclusive economic zones, including - harbor security, patrol of shallow coastal and territorial waters, surface and electronic warfare and offshore platform protection (plus oil rigs, pipelines, and more). According to IAI, features of the Katana include autonomous navigation, collision avoidance, advanced control system and more.

The vessel is equipped with various payloads (including electro-optical), communication systems, radio (Line of Site, LOS, or NLOS), radar and optional weapon systems. The Protector is projected as an 'integrated naval combat system' based on unmanned, autonomous, remotely controlled highly manoeuverable and stealthysurface vehicles.

The Protector's well regarded anti-terror mission module payload includes sensors and weapon systems. The search radar and the Toplite electro-optical (EO) pod enable detection, identification and targeting operations. The weapon systems are based on Rafael's Typhoon remote-controlled, stabilized weapon station, capable of operating various small caliber guns.

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KOLKATA: The Andamans and Nicobar Command (ANC) should be in control of a complete naval fleet to effectively counter any threat from China, vice admiral P K Chatterjee, commander-in-chief, Andaman and Nicobar (CINCAN), said in Kolkata on Monday. He was in the city as chief guest during the launching ceremony of a Landing Craft Utility (LCU) at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE). The LCU is the second in a fleet of eight such vessels being built by GRSE for ANC.

"The ANC was created in 2001. Certain thoughts went into creating this tri-services command and these are enshrined in the policy documents. Apart from the ships that we now possess, we require Command and Control Ships and submarines. In fact, we require an entire fleet. I know that this isn't an easy task. It is important to create infrastructure to support assets. At the same time we must ensure that infrastructure doesn't lie idle. Sufficient infrastructure is required for our existing assets as well as those we host from other commands," Vice Admiral Chatterjee said.

He pointed to the fact that over the last two years, the footprints of 'India's northern adversary' has extended into the Andamans Sea. This has been through the Malacca Strait. The situation will get critical once a canal is built through the Isthmus of Kra.

"There are far too many interested parties and the canal through the Isthmus of Kra will certainly become a reality. Once this happens, the distance from the South China Sea to our territory will be reduced by nearly 1,300 km. The distance of the Andamans and Nicobar Island from the mainland will remain the same though. In this way, our reaction time will be comparatively reduced. I am sure that the Government of India is aware of this issue and taking necessary action. I feel things will happen," the CINCAN said.

The Isthmus of Kra is the narrowest part of the Malay Peninsula. It is only 44 km wide and a canal through it in southern Thailand will allow ships to bypass the Malacca Strait, one of the busiest shipping channels in the world. While this canal holds a lot of promise for shipping and trade, it is fraught with danger for countries like India that would hardly get any time for preparations in case of aggressive intentions on the part of China. According to Vice Admiral Chatterjee, creating better infrastructure in the ANC wouldn't add to defence spending.

"Just as there are 'fronts' along land borders, everybody - including the residents of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands — should consider the ANC a maritime front which needs to remain at a constant state of alert. Defence spending won't increase due to the ANC. It will all depend on how equipment is placed. Existing assets only need to be relocated. If submarines are deployed in the ANC, infrastructure will have to be created. This will take time due to several issues like land acquisition. I would say that we are stronger in the Andamans than we were five years ago. But, we shouldn't rest on our laurels," the CINCAN, who is also the country's senior-most submariner said.

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aksha said:

The IAF An-32 that crashlanded in Chandigarh yesterday.

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New Delhi: State-owned HAL and DRDO on Tuesday carried out the maiden sortie of the first LCA Tejas aircraft produced for the Indian Air Force by them in Bengaluru.

The aircraft named 'Series Production 1' would now undergo a series of trials under the Acceptance Performance Tests before it is handed over to the IAF, DRDO officials said here.

IAF plans to have four such aircraft in its Bangalore-based Tejas squadron before it starts evaluating them and approves it for final operational clearance, they said.

The IAF has ordered 40 LCA Mk 1 aircraft and is likely to induct five more squadrons of an advanced version of the aircraft being developed by the DRDO and HAL.

The aircraft had received initial operational clearance last year and has to get the FOC in next few months before it starts operational flying.

The aircraft was being manufactured by HAL in partnership with the DRDO over the past several years, and the programme has been long-delayed and has seen several cost and time over-runs.

HAL has so far built seven LCA aircraft for trial purposes, which have been used to determine the final configuration of the plane to be given to the IAF.

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REVEALED: Navy Ship That Could Save Dying Indian Shipyard



I'm pretty sure this is a ship few are aware of. Which is amazing, considering that when it joins service next year, it'll be one of the navy's largest vessels. In June this year, the keel for the ship, designated VC 11184 at Visakhapatnam's Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL), was laid. At 175 metres and 10,000 tons, it'll be comparable in size to the INS Jalashwa and Deepak-class fleet tankers in service. But what is it?

On Feb 25, 2013, after great hesitation, but prodded by the Department of Defence Production to take the lead in giving the decaying shipyard a chance, the Indian Navy signed up with HSL for a specialty vessel for ocean surveillance. Tantalisingly little is known about the what sort of ship this is -- whether for hydrographic application or otherwise. The images and schematics you see above happen to be the first available information on the ship, slated for delivery to the Indian Navy by next year.

What we do know is that the ship has been designed by Vik Sandvik's India office out of Chennai. The only news report on the vessel describes it as required for 'studies in oceans'.

Brought under control of the Ministry of Defence in 2010, HSL has reeled from crippling financial problems that continue to threaten the shipyard, including its core business as a repair and refurbishment shipyard for ships and submarines. It's a dire situation for HSL. Battling a paralysing financial situation and with no bank willing to help, the shipyard has had to dip into its 'Refurbishment & Replacement of Machineries & Infrastructure (RRMI) funds' just to make available the working capital to complete its shipbuilding projects, including the naval ship project revealed here.

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India will receive six decked MiG-29K/KUB fighters by the end of the year, for use on the INS Vikramaditya, which has the capacity to carry 30 of these fighters. Indian naval pilots continued to be trained by MiG to operate these aircrafts.

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Besides refurbishing the MiG-29UPG and MiG-29K/KUB aircrafts, the centre will provide advisory services for Indian technical staff. The Russian company also wants to build a consignment warehouse for aircraft spare parts in India.

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NEW DELHI: India will finally be able to strengthen the eroding defensive shield around its 14 frontline warships, with the Modi government clearing the long-delayed "critical" acquisition of 262 missiles to arm the Israeli Barak-I anti-missile defence (AMD) systems fitted on board them.

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday evening gave the final nod to the Rs 880 crore acquisition of Barak-I missiles, which has been hanging fire for the last six years despite successive Navy chiefs sounding the red alert over this "critical operational deficiency", said sources.

The Barak AMD systems, installed on aircraft carrier INS Viraat, guided-missile destroyers like INS Mysore and Shivalik-class stealth frigates, are designed to intercept and destroy incoming enemy missiles at a range of 9-km. India had ordered the first Barak-I system for INS Viraat in the late 1990s to counter Pakistan's acquisition of sea-skimming Exocet and Harpoon missiles.DRDO's failure to develop the indigenous Trishul AMD system paved the way for further orders after the 1999 Kargil conflict, with a Rs 1,160 crore Barak contract being inked in October 2000 by the then Vajpayee-led NDA-1 government to arm the 14 warships.

But after the UPA regime came to power, the CBI in 2006 named former defence minister George Fernandes, his party associates Jaya Jaitly and R K Jain, alleged arms dealer Suresh Nanda and former Navy chief Admiral Sushil Kumar, apart from armament firms Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Rafael, in the infamous Barak kickbacks case.

This effectively derailed the Navy's case for fresh procurement of missiles to replenish its depleting stocks, even though the UPA regime did not blacklist IAI and Rafael on the ground that it would prove "counter-productive".








Though the CBI late last year closed its case due to lack of evidence, the UPA-2 regime had refrained from taking the fresh procurement case to the CCS for the final nod. The Navy, in fact, had even curtailed its practice firings of the Barak missiles due to their paucity in recent years.



(INS Viraat)

Incidentally, the next-generation AMD systems with 70-km interception range are being built in a joint DRDO-IAI project, though the name 'Barak' has been dropped due to the stigma attached with it. The long-range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM) system to arm warships is worth Rs 2,606 crore, while a medium-range SAM system for IAF is pegged at Rs 10,076 crore.

Hit by huge delays, both the systems will be ready only by December 2015 now. Consequently, India's new aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and latest indigenous destroyer INS Kolkata are currently operating without these missile defence systems.

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India’s second home grown carrier-borne fighter aircraft is expected to fly within a month, but its induction into the Navy is still several years away.

“The NP (naval prototype)-2 is now ready. It is undergoing ground testing. The first flight is likely in the next 15-20 days,” K Tamilmani, director general in charge of aeronautical systems at Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) told Deccan Herald here.

The first Light Combat Aircraft of the Navy, NP 1, flew on April 2012 for 22 minutes after taking off from HAL airport in Bangalore. NP 1 was a two-seat trainer whereas NP-2 is a single-seat fighter.

The government so far has sanctioned construction of four indigenous naval fighters for aircraft carriers. Only after reviewing their performance will the Defence Ministry take a decision on whether DRDO and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited can be entrusted with the responsibility of building indigenous fighter for naval operations.

The Vikrant, indigenous aircraft carrier , which is under construction at Cochin shipyard and a second carrier that will be bigger than the Vikrant, are designed to carry LCA Navy as their weapon.

In the trial phase, the next challenge for LCA Navy will come by December when it will have to take off from a specially created shore-based ramp – a replica of the ski-jump in an aircraft carrier – in Goa.

“Take off from the shore based testing facility is likely by November,” Tamilmani said. A Navy officer, however, pointed out that it could happen latest by December, subject to the approval of the defence minister.

Since LCA Navy is a STOBAR (short take off but arrested recovery) aircraft, the naval pilots will subsequently have to first practise a precise landing using an arrester hook on the shore-based facility before trying it on the ship. As of now, DRDO plans to approach the regulator for certification of LCA Navy by 2017.
The naval fighter is three years behind schedule as going by the original plan, NP-2 was to fly by the end of 2011.

The Centre sanctioned the LCA (Navy) programme in 2003 – ten years after approving development of Tejas LCA for the Indian Air Force and two years after the first flight of Tejas.

The sanction was to develop one trainer and one fighter (NP-1 and NP-2) along with the shore based testing facility. Later, two more prototypes (NP-3 and 4) were approved.

Flying with the GE-F-404-IN20 engine, it will be operating with beyond visual range missile, anti-ship missiles, conventional bombs, air defence guns, close combat missile and drop tanks.

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NEW DELHI — The Indian government, acting on Air Force demands, has offered to spend $12 billion to encourage private firms to establish an aircraft manufacturing facility — a move that would break Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s monopoly on aircraft manufacturing after years of delays on several projects.

Specifically, the Indian government has offered an advance order for the homemade light combat aircraft (LCA) Mark-2, a Defence Ministry source said.

The offer was conveyed to senior private sector executives during several meetings with MoD officials in the last month, the source said. India’s private defense majors, Tata Group, Mahindra & Mahindra and Larsen and Toubro, are the most capable of setting up an additional military aircraft plant, either independently or in partnership with overseas firms.

None of the executives who participated in the meeting would comment on whether they would consider building such a facility.

Madhukar Vinayak Kotwal, president, Heavy Engineering of Larsen & Toubro, said, “Since this [building of an additional facility] is a matter currently under discussion at various levels in the government as well as in industry associations, we would like to refrain from giving any comments at this stage.”

The LCA, developed by Bangalore-based Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is nearly 20 years behind schedule. The first order for 40 of the Mark-1 version of the aircraft has been given to state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL). The final operational clearance is expected to be granted in 2015, after which the aircraft can go into production.

The Indian Air Force has a future requirement for only the next-generation LCA Mark-2, which would be powered by the higher thrust General Electric GE-414 engine. But the aircraft is still in the development stage and is not expected to be ready for production before 2017-18. The Air Force has a requirement for 250 LCA Mark-2s, which the government estimates would be covered by the $12 billion advance order.

The Air Force has demanded establishment of an additional aircraft facility to break the monopoly of HAL, India’s sole military aircraft manufacturer, and has complained of delays in delivery of aircraft.

HAL, with annual sales of $2.3 billion for the year that ended March 31, has produced more than 50 types of aircraft and helicopters, and has been designated as the production agency for the $12 billion Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft program, in which Dassault’s Rafale has been short-listed as the favored aircraft.

“It is absolutely essential to set up an additional military aircraft facility here, as HAL is overloaded for the next 10 years and has become too unwieldy,” defense acquisition expert Miral Suman said.

Vivek Rae, former director general (acquisition) in the MoD, said, “India sorely needs aircraft manufacturing capability in the private sector. We cannot afford to put all eggs in the HAL basket.”

Subhash Bhojwani, retired Air Force air marshal, agreed an additional manufacturing facility is needed, but said HAL should be made more commercial.

“HAL is into the design and contemporary manufacture of fighters, transports, trainers and helicopters, as well as avionics and engines,” he said. “It is possibly the only company in the world to be so diversified. However, while this may sound good in a book of world records, it isn’t good as a commercial model.”

Defense analyst Amit Cowshish, a retired Defence Ministry bureaucrat, said the objective should be “not to create an entity that could compete with HAL but to have additional capability in India to manufacture aircraft so that the requirement, both of the military and civil sectors, could be met in a more cost-effective manner and in shorter time frames. Of course, competition would help in improving HAL’s efficiency.”

Sujith Haridas, deputy director general of India’s industry lobbying agency, the Confederation of Indian Industry, said, “It is very much desired to have an additional manufacturing facility, but one should not ignore that it takes several decades of consistent investment and efforts to create a mammoth system integrator like HAL.”

Would It Build Fighters?
Analysts disagree about whether the new facility should be used to build fighter aircraft

India’s private sector is able to set up such a facility, and could acquire the capability to build the LCA Mark-2 over time, but it could be a challenge, Cowshish said.

“LCA is a program in the pipeline for more than three decades. HAL and DRDO have worked hard on it, and the final operational clearance is expected sometime later this year,” he said. “To bring in a new manufacturing agency at this stage may not be a very good idea. Though it is possible to pass on the technology to the private industry for manufacturing the aircraft, selecting such an agency may turn out to be a [technically] tricky affair.”

Defense analyst Rahul Bhonsle said, “Setting up a new military aircraft facility is no doubt a Herculean task. But the new facility will be looking primarily at system integration.”

But Muthumanikam Matheswaran, retired air marshal and adviser (for strategy) to the chairman of HAL, said no private-sector aircraft facility could build the LCA.

“There appears to be a misconception that if ADA wishes, the LCA can be produced by the private sector. Nothing can be further from truth. The LCA cannot be produced by anybody without the major involvement of HAL.” ■

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