Destroying Myth of Indian Indengious Weapons Capability

[Bossman]

Nishant UAV Crashlanded during a Test Flight

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), Nishant, which was on a test flight, crashlanded in an agricultural land at Chikkatumutagiri in Bangarpet taluk on Friday following technical problem. The UAV was scheduled to land at Defence Research and Development and Development (DRDO) premises at Muduwadi Hosahalli in Kolar taluk. The vehicle was launched at 11 am and was scheduled to return at 4 pm after flying over Hosur in Tamil Nadu. However, it developed problems around 2.45 and crashlanded with a loud sound. Wings were damaged in the accident. No one was injured in the accident.

On hearing the thud, a teacher and students in a nearby school rushed out and saw the damaged vehicle. In Bangalore, a DRDO spokesperson denied that the UAV had crashlanded. However, he confirmed that the UAV was the advanced version of Nishant.

Spokesperson Jayaprakash maintained that the wings of the UAV were slightly damaged when the aircraft landed on an uneven ground. "The area where the UAV landed was earmarked for emergency landings and it landed using a parachute. The villagers assumed it was a crash," he claimed.He also said that there was no significant damage and that the aircraft was going to be used again.

 

[Bossman]

DRDO scientists accused of human sacrifice bid
12 October 2009, 11:40am IST
BHOPAL: Two senior scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in Gwalior, who allegedly tried to kill their junior colleague in a human sacrifice bid, will be interrogated as soon they return from leave, police said on Monday.

"We can't say anything right now. The picture would be clear after the scientists' statements are recorded," Gwalior additional superintendent of police Manohar Verma said.

Shradha Sharma, wife of Sushil Kumar, a junior scientist at the DRDO, had complained to the police on Saturday night that two senior scientists - M. Kameshwar Rao and A.S.S.V Bhaskar - had tried to kill her husband as part of a human sacrifice ritual.

Shradha said that Rao invited Sushil, who was unwell at the time, to his residence in the DRDO campus Oct 6 night to "cure" him. When Sushil reached there, the scientist was performing a worship ritual in the presence of Bhaskar and then he asked him (Sushil) to sleep.

"As he went to sleep, the scientist sprinkled water on him and took out a sharp-edged weapon but Sushil suddenly woke up and escaped," his wife told the police.

The police Sunday filed a case against the senior scientists for causing hurt, criminal intimidation and for wrongful confinement, Verma said.

"We would record the statements of both the accused after they return from their leave and resume work...perhaps by Tuesday," the officer said.

The police are seeking help from senior officials, including Col V.N. Bharadwaj of the DRDO.

"We are also investigating the matter from other angles and trying to gather as much information as possible from various sources like the security guard, neighbours etc," Verma said

 

[Bossman]

Ecuador may return Indian helicopters after crash:

Moscow, Thursday, October 29, 2009: Ecuador could return 6 helicopters recently bought from an Indian company after one of the aircraft crashed at an air show last week, the Unverso newspaper reported on Thursday.

One of the 7 Dhruv combat helicopters Ecuador had purchased from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited crashed during an air show in the Ecuadoran capital, Quito, last Saturday, injuring the pilot and co-pilot.

Ecuadoran Air Force chief Rodrigo Bohorquez was quoted as saying the contract allowed the return in the event of an irreparable fault.

A special commission is investigating the accident.

The rearmament of the Ecuadoran Air Force was announced in August. The Latin American country's government said it was ready to buy aircraft from Brazil and South Africa. In late September, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa said combat aircraft from any nations, be it Venezuela, Colombia, the United States or Israel, would be welcome as gifts.

Venezuela has already given Ecuador 6 Mirage-50 planes it had substituted with more advanced Russian Sukhoi jets. Last year, Ecuador also received three Russian Mi-17 helicopters to carry out defense and patrol missions.

After Moscow talks between President Dmitry Medvedev and Correa on Thursday a contract was signed on the delivery of 2 Mi-171E helicopters.

RIAN

---------- Post added at 09:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:32 AM ----------

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009
India's Rustom UAV Crashes During First Flight
Bad news. The first technology demonstrator of India's RUSTOM medium altitude long endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programme crashed during its first test flight on Tuesday, November 16, at the Taneja Aerospace airfield near Hosur in Karnataka. Sources present at the test have told LiveFist that the Rustom took off and flew for a bit. One its return path, it crashed into a grove of coconut trees. The RUSTOM-1was almost completely destroyed in the mishap. The DRDO statement issued today smacks of a muff-up. "The taxing and take-off was exactly as planned. Due to misjudgment of altitude of the flight, the on-board engine was switched off through ground command which made the on-board thrust developed to go to zero. There are a lot of gains from the flight," the DRDO statement says. Whenever anyone says there have been "gains", and even if it's true, you can bet your last buck that it's been a bad accident (see photo on the left ©The New Indian Express)

It goes on to add, "The flight proved the functioning of a number of systems such as aerodynamics, redundant flight control, engine, redundant data link etc which go a long way towards development of complex UAVs. A lot of planning and care have been taken and notification through relevant authorities were done in order to cater for safety aspects in addition to taking a third party insurance for the flights. It is the first flight of its kind using a 700 kg airframe & sophisticated controls & hence prone to development hazards." The photo to the left shows the late Professor Rustom Behram Damania (after whom the UAV programme is named) demonstrating the Light Canard Research Aircraft (LCRA) to then President KR Narayanan. Prof Damania pioneered the LCRA upon which the Rustom UAV is based, though he is better known for his work on the Hansa light composite trainer.

The crash is an undeniable blow to the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), which was in the midst of pioneering the Rustom, first displayed to the public at Aero India 2009 (see photo at top). Here's hoping the ADE team quickly finds out what went wrong and moves forward. This is a Rs 1,000-crore programme that we cannot afford to have delayed, as it indubitably now will be. Stay tuned for updates.

 

[acetophenol]

6.For the Indian Air Force, DRDO has developed Retarder Tail Units and fuze systems for the 450 kg bomb used by strike aircraft, 68 mm "Arrow" rockets (HE, Practice and HEAT) for rocket pods used in an air to ground and even air to air (if need be), a 450 kg high speed low drag (HSLD) bomb and practice bombs (which mimic different projectiles with the addition of suitable drag plates) and escape aid cartridges for Air Force aircraft. All these items are in production.

 

[Bossman]

Ajai Shukla
HAL, Bangalore
Business Standard, 2nd Sept 09

The Indian Air Force is desperately short of aircraft for training its flight cadets. With the entire fleet of basic trainers --- the HPT-32 Deepak --- grounded after a series of crashes, advanced training is suffering equally due to unexpected delays in the manufacture of the Hawk advanced jet trainer (AJT) in India.

Now HAL, under sharp attack for the delays, has unequivocally blamed BAE Systems, UK for failing to properly honour its contract to transfer technology, design drawings, tools, manufacturing jigs and components essential for smoothly rolling out the Hawk in India.

BAE Systems, UK had signed a $1.2 billion contract with India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2004 to supply 24 ready-built Hawk-132 AJTs (already delivered) and transfer the technology for building another 42 in HAL, Bangalore.

According to the contracted schedule, the first 15 Hawks should have already been built in Bangalore. Instead, only 5 have been completed.

HAL’s Chairman, Ashok Nayak, has listed out for Business Standard a string of lapses by BAE Systems, which, he alleges, is behind this delay. “This is the first time that BAE Systems has transferred technology for building the Hawk-132 AJT abroad. Some of the jigs (frames on which aircraft parts are assembled) and tooling that they supplied HAL relate to earlier models of the Hawk, which has gone through several versions over the years.”

BAE Systems last transferred Hawk technology abroad more than a decade ago, when Australia built 21 Hawk-127 trainers --- an earlier version of the Hawk --- in the late 1990s.

Mr Nayak also says that when HAL pointed out the discrepancy to the BAE Systems team stationed at the Hawk assembly line, “they had to refer back to the UK for everything. They weren’t able to address these issues themselves.”

While most issues have now been resolved, there are still some continuing delays. Hawk windscreens, manufactured by Indian vendors must be sent to BAE Systems, UK for certifying their strength and clarity. This procedure, says HAL, is taking unduly long.

Guy Douglas, BAE Systems’ spokesperson in India, strongly refutes HAL’s version. In an emailed response, he states “BAE Systems does not accept that the programme delays being experienced by HAL, on their contract with the Government of India, are materially down to BAE Systems. BAE Systems has completed all hardware deliveries to support the licence-build programme. BAE Systems has repeatedly made clear that it stands ready to assist HAL, should they require it. In this respect, a number of proposals have been made by BAE Systems to HAL and we await their response.”

Ashok Nayak denies that HAL has had any difficulties in assimilating the technology needed for manufacturing the Hawk in India.

The HAL Chairman states, “We have assembled the Jaguar and other aircraft. That is not the problem. Why were the jigs and fixtures that [BAE Systems] supplied incorrect? We have their Technical Assistance Team’s signatures on each and every one of them. I can quote you minimum 300 such examples, and some of them took weeks to sort out.”

Nor is the MoD impressed with BAE Systems’ execution of the Hawk contract, signalling its disapproval earlier this year by floating a fresh global inquiry for India’s requirement of 57 additional trainers. That was an unambiguous rap on the knuckles for BAE Systems; with an assembly line already producing AJTs in Bangalore, the additional requirement would normally have been added on to the ongoing licensed production.

Now, however, BAE Systems is back in talks with South Block over the order for 57 more Hawks.

 

[Water Car Engineer]

^^^

Poor frustrated Pakistani, just don't want to see India going up the ladder.

More pictures INS Kochi destroyer.

INS Chennai destroyer

Shivalik Frigate firing

 

[acetophenol]

7.Radar warning receivers for the Indian Air Force of the Tarang (wave) series. These have been selected for most of the Indian Air Force's aircraft such as for the MiG-21 Upgrade (Bison Upgrade), MiG-29, Su-30 MKI, MiG- 27 Upgrade, Jaguar Upgrade as well as self protection upgrades for the transport fleet. The Tranquil RWR for MiG -23s (superseded by the Tarang project) and the Tempest jamming system for the Air Force's MiG's. The latest variant of the Tempest jamming system is capable of noise, barrage, as well as deception jamming as it makes use of DRFM. The DRDO has also developed a High Accuracy Direction Finding system (HADF) for the Indian Air Force's Su-30 MKIs which are fitted in the modular "Siva" pod capable of supersonic carriage. This HADF pod is meant to cue Kh-31 Anti radiation missiles used by the Su-30 MKI for SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defences).

 

[Bossman]

Govt announces closure of work on Trishul missile
27 Feb 2008, 1650 hrs IST,PTI
Print Save EMail Write to Editor




NEW DELHI: After incurring a staggering cost of Rs 282.68 crore on its development, Government on Wednesday announced the closure of work on the multi-mission Trishul missile.

"Development of Trishul missile system has been completed as technology demonstrator," Defence Minister A K Antony said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

He said till January this year, a sum of Rs 282.68 crore had been incurred on the development of the system. A number of trials of the missile had been unsuccessful.

The Minister said the country's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) has not been abandoned, but was near completion.

He said under the programme, surface-to-surface missiles Agni and shorter range Prithvi have been successfully test fired and were in various stages of induction.

For the development of technology demonstrator Agni version and 250 and 350 kms range Prithvi missiles, the cost incurred has been Rs 372.29 crores, he said.

But it was the surface-to-air Akash missile which had cost the exchequer the highest investment of Rs 516.86 crore for its development.

The missile has also taken the maximum time to develop. But the recent spate of user trials of the missile had been accurate within the desired limits of lethality, Antony said

 

[acetophenol]

DRDO stated in 2009 that its latest Radar Warning Receiver for the Indian Air Force, the R118, had gone into production. The R118 can also sensor fuse data from different sensors such as the aircraft radar, missile/laser warning systems and present the unified data on the multi-function display. The DRDO also noted that its new Radar Warner Jammer systems (RWJ) were at an advanced stage of development, and would be submitted for trials.The RWJ is capable of detecting all foreseen threats, and jamming multiple targets simultaneously. At the same time, another high accuracy ESM system is being developed by the DRDO for the AEW&C project.

 

[Bossman]

India admits failed cruise missile test:


New Delhi, Wednesday, January 21, 2009: A supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by Russia and India failed to hit its target in a test previously reported as successful, Indian military scientists said Wednesday.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation, which on Tuesday claimed the test of the BrahMos missile had been a ‘total success,’ said the missile had flown only in the general direction of its target.

‘The missile performance was absolutely normal till the last phase, but it missed the target, though it maintained the direction,’ BrahMos project chief Sivathanu Pillai told the Press Trust of India.

The 8 m (26 ft) missile weighs about three metric tonnes and can be launched from land, ships, submarines or aircraft, travelling at a speed of up to Mach 2.8.

It has a range of 290 kms (180 miles) and is designed to carry a conventional warhead.

The missile was fired from the Pokhran range in the western desert state of Rajasthan, bordering Pakistan that was also the site of India's nuclear tests in 1998.

The Times of India newspaper Wednesday suggested the failure was a result of an attempt to configure the missile to carry a nuclear warhead.

Pillai did not comment on the newspaper's report but said his scientists were trying to debug the guidance system of a missile that had been tested 20 times in the past 8 years.

‘A new software used for this mission will be revalidated through extensive simulations and a flight trial will be carried out in a month's time to prove the augmented capabilities of the missile,’ he said.

India and Russia — its largest military supplier —hope to mass produce the BrahMos for export.

Nuclear-armed India, the largest arms buyer among emerging countries, has already begun arming its navy and army with the BrahMos as a tactical battlefield weapons system.

The missile is named after India's Brahmaputra River and Russia's Moskva River.

D

 

[acetophenol]

se; delete

 

[Bossman]

Defence Chiefs unhappy with frequent grounding of Dhruvs, complain to HAL
The Hindu : National : Defence Chiefs unhappy with frequent grounding of Dhruvs, complain to HAL
Ravi Sharma



Bangalore: With a number of Advanced Light Helicopters (ALHs) being frequently grounded because of paucity of spares and serviceability problems, the three defence Chiefs have expressed their unhappiness to the manufacturer, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
The crux of the Chiefs’ message is that even as they would like to see a faster and on-time induction schedule, they would also necessarily like to have in their inventories, trouble-free flying helicopters.
Sources told The Hindu that the Chiefs have communicated to the HAL, Bangalore that it was paramount that the ALHs be available for flying duties more often than they were at present.
According to a senior Indian Air Force pilot, while a serviceability of 70 to 80 per cent of all available helicopters was desirable at any given time, the ALHs inducted so far were yet to come close to that figure.
The communication is a follow-up to complaints made by senior defence officers including the Deputy Army Chief, when they met officials from the HAL and the Defence Minister A.K. Antony during the latter’s maiden visit to the public sector unit after he had taken charge of the defence portfolio. The Army has been most vociferous in its protests, since Army Aviation is the biggest user of the ALH.
The ALHs, christened Dhruv, were inducted into the armed forces in 2002 with the first one going to the Indian Coast Guard. Currently around 70 Dhruvs have been inducted into the defence forces, with a majority in the inventory of Army Aviation.
While acknowledging that induction was a painful process requiring the setting up of ground support and handling equipment, ground spares support, placing in position warranty and product support teams, senior officials in the HAL agreed that the ALH programme was yet to mature to desirable levels.
Experts said the problems were compounded because the HAL was compelled to launch the helicopter’s production phase simultaneously with its limited series production phase.
This was because the ALH project, launched in November 1984, was years behind schedule and had to be speeded up.
Sources said the defence major had taken note of the observations regarding the vibration problem and the non-availability of spares and had initiated corrective steps.

 

[acetophenol]

Other EW projects revealed by the DRDO include the MAWS project (a joint venture by the DRDO and EADS) which leverages EADS hardware and DRDO software to develop MAWS systems for transport, helicopter and fighter fleets. DRDO also has laser warning systems available.
A DIRCM (Directed Infra Red Countermeasures) project to field a worldclass DIRCM system intended to protect aircraft from infra Red guided weapons.
The DRDO is also developing an all new ESM project in cooperation with the Indian Air Force's Signals Intelligence Directorate, under the name of "Divya Drishti" (Divine Sight). Divya Drishti will field a range of static as well as mobile ESM stations that can "fingerprint" and track multiple airborne targets for mission analysis purposes. The system will be able to intercept a range of radio frequency emissions, whether radar, navigational, communication or electronic countermeasure signals. The various components of the project will be networked via SATCOM links.
Additional DRDO EW projects delivered to the Indian Air Force have include the COIN A and COIN B SIGINT stations. DRDO and BEL developed ELINT equipment for the Indian Air Force, installed on the service's Boeing 737s and Hawker Siddeley Avro aircraft. DRDO has also developed a Radar Fingerprinting System for the IAF and the Navy. The Indian Air Force's AEW&C systems currently being developed by the DRDO will also include a comprehensive ESM suite, capable of picking up both radars as well as conduct COMINT (Communications Intelligence).

 

[Bossman]

Despite India's protests, Vietnam buys arms from Pakistan:

Ignoring concerns of its long standing ally India, Vietnam has
purchased a second consignment of small arms from Pakistan


Friday, August 17, 2007: According to Defence Weekly, Vietnam acquired 100 SMG-PK 9 mm submachine guns and 50 sniper rifles from the state-run Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) in Rawalpindi as a follow-on order to an equal number of similar weapons it purchased last year.

The SMG-PK is configured on the Heckler & Koch MP5 series of which four models are available.

India, which has burgeoning defence relations with Hanoi, "discreetly" protested the acquisition by Vietnam's police ministry for its counter-terrorism unit, reports, but to little avail.

Military analysts in New Delhi said India's hesitancy in vindicating its assurances to Vietnam of providing it varied military hardware, including the locally designed surface-to-surface Prithvi missile, could well be responsible for Hanoi turning to Pakistan, albeit to partially meet its defence requirements.

India's vast military-industrial complex also does not produce submachine guns or sniper rifles, despite years of attempts by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to design both.

India recently imported sniper rifles from Israel while a contract to import submachine guns and carbines is under consideration by the army.

"India is handicapped by its excessive caution in boldly exercising its strategic options coupled with its highly complex and uncoordinated procedures required to export military goods," Major General Sheru Thapliyal (retd) said. In a world of quick shifting strategic alignments, India will be left behind if it does not resolve both these shortcomings, he warned.

(India is quite aggressive against its small neighbors.
It exercises caution only in case of China and we all know why.)

India strongly supported North Vietnam in its war with the US in the 1960s and 1970s in the face of tremendous Western opposition and began developing defence ties with it in the mid-1990s as part of its wider Look East approach.

This strategy proliferated in recent years as nuclear rival China, with its peaceful rise, has steadily been fashioning political, economic and military dependencies around its strategic periphery particularly in East and Southeast Asia through multilateral economic and military engagement.

There is also a growing feeling amongst Indian and Western analysts that Asia's strategic architecture created over decades by the US through its military deployments and engagement policies appears to be crumbling, giving way to an ascendant China.

This, in turn, was fostering a deep sense of uncertainty and insecurity among many Asian states, including India, even though diplomatic, military economic and political ties between Delhi and Beijing were steadily improving.

HT

 

[acetophenol]

first test protoype of indian awacs: