In fact: How Army’s obsolete air defence puts key installations at risk

[dadeechi]

In fact: How Army’s obsolete air defence puts key installations at risk
Missiles have an average shelf-life of 7 years, and most have finished theirs. Their life is extended every year after a sample test, but the Army is wary of their reliability.
Written by Sushant Singh
Published:Aug 23, 2016, 0:50


It is not a secret that some of the country’s most important installations, such as nuclear plants, dams, power plants, oil refineries and ammunition depots will be at risk from enemy aircraft in the event of a war. In March 2012, the then Army Chief General V K Singh (retd) wrote to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that “97 per cent of Army’s air defence inventory was obsolete”.

More than four years later, nothing has changed to improve the state of the Army’s air defence. Virtually none of the upgradation and acquisition programmes to modernise air defence capabilities have seen any progress.

While the overall surveillance and defence of airspace is the responsibility of the IAF — which too has only 32 fighter squadrons against a requirement of 45 — the Army’s air defence corps is specifically responsible for providing the terminal air defence for important installations through Ground-Based Air Defence Weapon Systems (GBADWS).

The “terminal” or final protection against an enemy aircraft at these installations is provided by an air defence (AD) gun. The Army has two AD guns in its inventory, L-70 40 mm guns of Swedish origin, and ZU-23 twin barrel guns of Soviet origin. The L-70 is of 1960s vintage, while ZU-23 is from the 1970s. Both were obsolete by the turn of the century.

“Both in terms of speed and distance, these AD guns are incapable of engaging the aircraft currently being used by our adversaries which travel faster than the speed of sound,” an Army official said.

The Army took up the case for replacement of these guns in 2005. A Request for Proposal (RFP) for 428 AD guns was issued by the Defence Ministry in August 2013, but was withdrawn later that year as only one vendor responded to what most suppliers saw as unrealistic specifications not available anywhere globally. A fresh Request for Interest was issued in April 2014, but it has not even resulted in an RFP so far.

The Army then mooted a proposal for upgrading the existing AD guns. Public sector Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) was last year given the contract to upgrade 200 L-70 guns, while private sector Punj Lloyd Limited was selected to upgrade 468 ZU-23 guns. After the staff evaluation, the Ministry concluded price negotiations with Punj Lloyd in March 2016.

The second component of the GBADWS is the missile systems, which are again more than 25-30 years old. KVADRAT Surface to Air Missile, STRELA-10M and the OSA-AK were used during the Yom-Kippur War of 1973, and are way past their operational usefulness. Tunguska and IGLA-1M are of 1980s’ vintage, and unsuited for modern warfare.

RFPs to acquire new AD missile systems, such as the Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORAD), Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SRSAM), and Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) were issued between 2010 and 2013, and trials have been completed. Trials for VSHORAD were completed in 2013, but staff evaluation has not been completed so far. Same is the case with SRSAM and QRSAM, whose trials were successfully completed in February 2015 and March 2016.

Only after the staff evaluation does the Defence Ministry enter into price negotiations with the selected company. According to the Defence Procurement Procedure, the staff evaluation is supposed to be completed within a maximum of 12 weeks.

To add to the crisis, the holding of AD missiles and gun ammunition is also very low — sources estimate it to last fewer than 7 days against a minimum requirement of 20 days of war — as pointed out by the CAG in its report last year. This has resulted in restrictions on training firing practice. A Colonel who commanded an AD Regiment on the western border told The Indian Express that his unit didn’t fire a single round in four and a half years of his command. The Ordnance Factories Board has been unable to manufacture AD gun ammunition in requisite quantity, and attempts to import them have failed.

Missiles have an average shelf-life of 7 years, and most have finished theirs. Their life is extended every year after a sample test, but the Army is wary of their reliability. An old missile or gun ammunition can malfunction, causing damage to men and material.

sushant.singh@expressindia.com

http://indianexpress.com/article/ex...fence-puts-key-installations-at-risk-2991235/

 

[salarsikander]

BS there is Akash system by army

 

[Hellfire]

@dadeechi seems a very shoddy work by the author.

 

[SSGcommandoPAK]

In fact: How Army’s obsolete air defence puts key installations at risk
Missiles have an average shelf-life of 7 years, and most have finished theirs. Their life is extended every year after a sample test, but the Army is wary of their reliability.
Written by Sushant Singh
Published:Aug 23, 2016, 0:50


It is not a secret that some of the country’s most important installations, such as nuclear plants, dams, power plants, oil refineries and ammunition depots will be at risk from enemy aircraft in the event of a war. In March 2012, the then Army Chief General V K Singh (retd) wrote to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that “97 per cent of Army’s air defence inventory was obsolete”.

More than four years later, nothing has changed to improve the state of the Army’s air defence. Virtually none of the upgradation and acquisition programmes to modernise air defence capabilities have seen any progress.

While the overall surveillance and defence of airspace is the responsibility of the IAF — which too has only 32 fighter squadrons against a requirement of 45 — the Army’s air defence corps is specifically responsible for providing the terminal air defence for important installations through Ground-Based Air Defence Weapon Systems (GBADWS).

The “terminal” or final protection against an enemy aircraft at these installations is provided by an air defence (AD) gun. The Army has two AD guns in its inventory, L-70 40 mm guns of Swedish origin, and ZU-23 twin barrel guns of Soviet origin. The L-70 is of 1960s vintage, while ZU-23 is from the 1970s. Both were obsolete by the turn of the century.

“Both in terms of speed and distance, these AD guns are incapable of engaging the aircraft currently being used by our adversaries which travel faster than the speed of sound,” an Army official said.

The Army took up the case for replacement of these guns in 2005. A Request for Proposal (RFP) for 428 AD guns was issued by the Defence Ministry in August 2013, but was withdrawn later that year as only one vendor responded to what most suppliers saw as unrealistic specifications not available anywhere globally. A fresh Request for Interest was issued in April 2014, but it has not even resulted in an RFP so far.

The Army then mooted a proposal for upgrading the existing AD guns. Public sector Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) was last year given the contract to upgrade 200 L-70 guns, while private sector Punj Lloyd Limited was selected to upgrade 468 ZU-23 guns. After the staff evaluation, the Ministry concluded price negotiations with Punj Lloyd in March 2016.

The second component of the GBADWS is the missile systems, which are again more than 25-30 years old. KVADRAT Surface to Air Missile, STRELA-10M and the OSA-AK were used during the Yom-Kippur War of 1973, and are way past their operational usefulness. Tunguska and IGLA-1M are of 1980s’ vintage, and unsuited for modern warfare.

RFPs to acquire new AD missile systems, such as the Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORAD), Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SRSAM), and Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) were issued between 2010 and 2013, and trials have been completed. Trials for VSHORAD were completed in 2013, but staff evaluation has not been completed so far. Same is the case with SRSAM and QRSAM, whose trials were successfully completed in February 2015 and March 2016.

Only after the staff evaluation does the Defence Ministry enter into price negotiations with the selected company. According to the Defence Procurement Procedure, the staff evaluation is supposed to be completed within a maximum of 12 weeks.

To add to the crisis, the holding of AD missiles and gun ammunition is also very low — sources estimate it to last fewer than 7 days against a minimum requirement of 20 days of war — as pointed out by the CAG in its report last year. This has resulted in restrictions on training firing practice. A Colonel who commanded an AD Regiment on the western border told The Indian Express that his unit didn’t fire a single round in four and a half years of his command. The Ordnance Factories Board has been unable to manufacture AD gun ammunition in requisite quantity, and attempts to import them have failed.

Missiles have an average shelf-life of 7 years, and most have finished theirs. Their life is extended every year after a sample test, but the Army is wary of their reliability. An old missile or gun ammunition can malfunction, causing damage to men and material.

sushant.singh@expressindia.com

http://indianexpress.com/article/ex...fence-puts-key-installations-at-risk-2991235/

When I first saw this thread I thought it was about Pakistan's Air Defense

 

[dadeechi]

When I first saw this thread I thought it was about Pakistan's Air Defense

Now you know that both India and Pakistan have been competing to know who is the better of the worst.

 

[Abingdonboy]

In fact: How Army’s obsolete air defence puts key installations at risk
Missiles have an average shelf-life of 7 years, and most have finished theirs. Their life is extended every year after a sample test, but the Army is wary of their reliability.
Written by Sushant Singh
Published:Aug 23, 2016, 0:50


It is not a secret that some of the country’s most important installations, such as nuclear plants, dams, power plants, oil refineries and ammunition depots will be at risk from enemy aircraft in the event of a war. In March 2012, the then Army Chief General V K Singh (retd) wrote to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that “97 per cent of Army’s air defence inventory was obsolete”.

More than four years later, nothing has changed to improve the state of the Army’s air defence. Virtually none of the upgradation and acquisition programmes to modernise air defence capabilities have seen any progress.

While the overall surveillance and defence of airspace is the responsibility of the IAF — which too has only 32 fighter squadrons against a requirement of 45 — the Army’s air defence corps is specifically responsible for providing the terminal air defence for important installations through Ground-Based Air Defence Weapon Systems (GBADWS).

The “terminal” or final protection against an enemy aircraft at these installations is provided by an air defence (AD) gun. The Army has two AD guns in its inventory, L-70 40 mm guns of Swedish origin, and ZU-23 twin barrel guns of Soviet origin. The L-70 is of 1960s vintage, while ZU-23 is from the 1970s. Both were obsolete by the turn of the century.

“Both in terms of speed and distance, these AD guns are incapable of engaging the aircraft currently being used by our adversaries which travel faster than the speed of sound,” an Army official said.

The Army took up the case for replacement of these guns in 2005. A Request for Proposal (RFP) for 428 AD guns was issued by the Defence Ministry in August 2013, but was withdrawn later that year as only one vendor responded to what most suppliers saw as unrealistic specifications not available anywhere globally. A fresh Request for Interest was issued in April 2014, but it has not even resulted in an RFP so far.

The Army then mooted a proposal for upgrading the existing AD guns. Public sector Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) was last year given the contract to upgrade 200 L-70 guns, while private sector Punj Lloyd Limited was selected to upgrade 468 ZU-23 guns. After the staff evaluation, the Ministry concluded price negotiations with Punj Lloyd in March 2016.

The second component of the GBADWS is the missile systems, which are again more than 25-30 years old. KVADRAT Surface to Air Missile, STRELA-10M and the OSA-AK were used during the Yom-Kippur War of 1973, and are way past their operational usefulness. Tunguska and IGLA-1M are of 1980s’ vintage, and unsuited for modern warfare.

RFPs to acquire new AD missile systems, such as the Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORAD), Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SRSAM), and Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM) were issued between 2010 and 2013, and trials have been completed. Trials for VSHORAD were completed in 2013, but staff evaluation has not been completed so far. Same is the case with SRSAM and QRSAM, whose trials were successfully completed in February 2015 and March 2016.

Only after the staff evaluation does the Defence Ministry enter into price negotiations with the selected company. According to the Defence Procurement Procedure, the staff evaluation is supposed to be completed within a maximum of 12 weeks.

To add to the crisis, the holding of AD missiles and gun ammunition is also very low — sources estimate it to last fewer than 7 days against a minimum requirement of 20 days of war — as pointed out by the CAG in its report last year. This has resulted in restrictions on training firing practice. A Colonel who commanded an AD Regiment on the western border told The Indian Express that his unit didn’t fire a single round in four and a half years of his command. The Ordnance Factories Board has been unable to manufacture AD gun ammunition in requisite quantity, and attempts to import them have failed.

Missiles have an average shelf-life of 7 years, and most have finished theirs. Their life is extended every year after a sample test, but the Army is wary of their reliability. An old missile or gun ammunition can malfunction, causing damage to men and material.

sushant.singh@expressindia.com

http://indianexpress.com/article/ex...fence-puts-key-installations-at-risk-2991235/

The picture is NOWHERE near as bleak as portrayed in this article. Anyway, in 5 years India's entire AD network will have been revamped from top to bottom and will be amongst the most advanced in existence.

VSHORADs, QR-SAM, SR-SAM (SPYDER and Akash) MR-SAM (BARAK-8 land based), LR-SAM (Barak-8ER), S-400, BMD etc all are either being inducted or will be very very shortly along with some of the world's finest sensors (ground based and airborne).

This is one area India has covered in the immediate future.

@PARIKRAMA

 

[Ankit Kumar 002]

BS there is Akash system by army

They won't cover the needs for anti aircraft artillery, very short range (MANPADS) , Quick Reaction roles( SPYDER SR and Tor M2KM are competitors here ).

 

[Hellfire]

They won't cover the needs for anti aircraft artillery, very short range (MANPADS) , Quick Reaction roles( SPYDER SR and Tor M2KM are competitors here ).

Point defence is adequately being covered in terms of MANPADS.

 

[PARIKRAMA]

A 6 months old article.. But gives out good pointers, so posting it here for ready reckoning

Brief plan about Air Defence Artillery

• The Corps of Army Air Defence holds a large variety of guns and missile systems.
• It has 40mm L/70, ZU-23-2 Twin gun, ZSU-23-4 Schilka, Tanguska, Kvadrat (medium-range missile system), OSA-AK (short-range missile system) and Igla shoulder-fired missile system in its inventory.
• The 40mm L/70 which is about four decades old, needs immediate replacement.
• Considering the high costs of new weapon systems, the Army is going in for weapon upgrades for L-70, ZU-23-2 Twin gun, and ZSU-23-4 Schilka.
• Meanwhile, the army is looking for successors to L-70 and the ZU-23-2.
• Successor to Schilka (ZSU-23-4) already exists in the form of Tangushka, but in limited numbers.
• A request for information has already been issued to find a replacement for Schilka.
• Actions to replace the obsolete missile systems for mechanised columns is also underway.

Current scenario and future plans
Gun Systems 40mm-L/70.

• 40mm-L/70 is the main stay of AAD and has been the warhorse of AAD since 1964.
• It was to be replaced by 2000 however there is no progress.
• The Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) development effort also kept its replacement at a limb for about two decades.
• Not many gun systems are currently available but a possible choice was Skyshield of Rheinmetall AD but unfortunately the company was blacklisted by India but the present government is reviewing the situation and the process of acquisition may restart soon.
• This area is most critical as India cannot afford to replace all of them with missiles.
• The time frame for such a major acquisition will take about five years to fructify.
• After that notionally if 10 regiments have to be provided with the new guns then at the rather ambitious rate of one regiment per year, it will take 10 years to equip all the 10 regiments.
• That takes it to 2030 and if the gun remains current for even three decades, the time frame will be 2060.
• The air threat will change rapidly and these systems will become obsolete thus the need for urgency with more modern guns and ammunition.

Upgrade of 40mm L70.

• The gun has been upgraded jointly by BEL and Ordnance Factory, Jabalpur; with electric power lay and electro-optical sighting system.
• The process of induction of this system is in progress.
• However at best this an interim solution as the basic gun remains of the early 1960s vintage and this combination cannot work in the night and fire control radar is still required. 23mm Twin gun.
• This is a fair weather gun system which is of more than three decades old however its rate of firing is very good (2,000 rounds per minute).
• It is suitable for mobile role and employment in the mountains.

Upgrade of 23mm Twin gun.

• It has been upgraded by BEL and Punj Lloyd.
• Punj Lloyd had tied up with a Polish company and their system has been shortlisted for the Indian Army.
• The upgrade includes power lay and electro-optical sighting system which will enhance its capability manifold and also provide it with night firing capability.
• Schilka system. It is a highly mobile system for supporting armour formations and is in service since the early 1970s.
• Its successor was Tangushka, one regiment of which was procured, but there were many twists and turns for buying additional mounts.
• The result is that the armour formations are devoid of mobile AAD guns as the old Schilkas are obsolete and difficult to maintain.

Schilka upgrade.

• The Schilka upgrade has been carried out jointly by BEL with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the fire control radar and Elta for the thermal imager and the laser range finder.
• The upgrade package includes a more powerful engine, digital computer, better electrooptical sighting system and a new fire control radar.
• The four barrel 23mm gun with a rate of fire of 3,400 rounds per minute has been retained and there is a provision for firing shoulder fired missiles.
• The induction has also started and the upgraded system will manage the air threat for the next decade or so.
• Meanwhile, a better system should be acquired. Super-Vulcan of IAI.
• The Super-Vulcan is an advanced tank-based, mobile air defence system in service in the Israeli Air Force.
• It has M113/Vulcan/Stinger launchers with an enhanced suit of TV and FLIR target auto-tracking capability.
• It has an effective range from 500 m to 6,000 m against helicopters and 8,000 m against aircraft.

Missile Systems Quick Reaction SAM (QR SAM) system.

• The current system is OSA-AK which is a highly mobile system, acquired for the air defence of armour formations.
• This system is more than 20 years old and needs to be replaced.
• DRDO’s effort to develop Trishul system did not succeed and a RFP had been issued twice.
• Hopefully the current RFP will be taken to its logical conclusion.
• Following systems are available globally:

Tor-M1 9M330 SHORAD system.

• The Tor-M1 SHORAD (SAM-15) designed by Almaz-Antey of Russia, is a classic mobile Russian system designed especially for air defence of armoured and other mobile formations.
• Tor is successor to OSA-AK SHORAD (SAM-8) system. It can engage targets from medium to very low-altitudes, against many types of aerial targets like helicopters, fighters, UAVs, guided/cruise missiles and precision guided weapon; in an intense jamming environment.
• The combat vehicle can operate autonomously and can also fire onthe move.
• The system can be brought into action in three minutes and typical reaction time, from target detection to missile launch, could range from 3.4 seconds for stationary positions to 10 seconds while on the move.
• Each fire unit can engage two separate targets.
• Tor-M1 can detect and track up to 48 targets at a maximum range of 25 km.
• It can engage two targets simultaneously at a range of 1 to 12 km and altitude of 10 to 6,000 m with a kill probability of 92-95 per cent.

Surface launched advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (SLAMRAAM).

• SLAMRAAM is a key player in Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems’ state-of-the-art integrated air and missile defence systems which can counter current and future cruise missile threats, and a wide range of air breathing threats. SLAMRAAM is capable of defending manoeuvring land forces, high-value fixed assets and mass population centres.
• SLAMRAAM is the US Army’s domestic variant of the Norwegian advanced surface-to-air missile system (NASAMS). SLAMRAAM system uses the AMRAAM fire-and-forget missile, a surveillance radar, a fire distribution centre and AMRAAM launchers.
• The SLAMRAAM launcher mounts six AMRAAM missiles on a turreted high-mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle which provides 360° coverage.
• The US Army uses the Raytheon AN/ MPQ-64 Sentinel radar to carry out the surveillance and target search, acquisition, identification and tracking functions.
• The electronically scanned phased array radar uses range gate pulse doppler operation at X-band, has a scan rate of 30 rpm and range of 75 km.

Hawk-AMRAAM air defence system.

• Raytheon and Kongsberg Defence have jointly developed the Hawk-AMRAAM air defence system, which combines the capabilities of Hawk and AMRAAM missiles by integrating the system with FDC.
• The system can include the Sentinel radar and the Hawk AN/MPQ-61 high power illuminator for target tracking and illumination, although it is possible to hook up with any number of radars and missile systems to the FDC.
• It has been reported that Hawk has been upgraded and named Hawk 21 with the FDC developed by Kongsberg as part of NASAM system.

QRSAM is now getting developed inhouse so these may bot be required anymore

Medium Range SAM (MRSAM) System Kvadrat.

• Kvadrat is the current system which is more than 35 years old and has the technology of early 1960s thus an RFP has been issued but later on withdrawn due to poor response.
• As DRDO’s Akash has not been found suitable for mobile role, a few regiments of Akash has been contracted for semi-static role.

Joint venture (JV) of DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries.

• This JV is for the development of long/medium-range SAM.
• There are many name to the same system like Barak next-generation, longrange SAM (LRSAM) and MRSAM.
• Land version is called MRSAM, is said to be a very advanced SAM that can track and shoot down incoming missiles and other flying objects with very high level of accuracy.
• While LRSAM is for Navy, the Air Force has already an order for MRSAM and the Army variant has been recently approved.
• However, given the requirement this number is expected to go up. The missiles will be manufactured by the Bharat Dynamics Limited.

With barak 8 MRSAM , this aspect is also taken care of

Shoulder-fired SAM Systems.

• The current system is Igla which is also in service with the Indian Navy and the Air Force.
• A tri-service RFP was issued and comparative trials have been carried out but there has been no further development.

This tender is as good as its dead unless we are looking for something new.. Might as well as see a G2G direct order for a Russian succesor of Igla

Source: SP’s Land Forces

@Abingdonboy @hellfire @MilSpec @SpArK @anant_s @Water Car Engineer
Pls correct and add more points as in last 6 months some changes would have occurred surely

VSHORADs, QR-SAM, SR-SAM (SPYDER and Akash) MR-SAM (BARAK-8 land based), LR-SAM (Barak-8ER), S-400, BMD etc all are either being inducted or will be very very shortly along with some of the world's finest sensors (ground based and airborne).

This is one area India has covered in the immediate future.

@PARIKRAMA

What you are saying is correct my friend but such a tier system will also take time .. May be beyond 5 years as well.. Yes in a decade we can be more sure that this multi tier system would be available for AD purposes.

What we need sis a tri command services and a network BMD and AD command center in hub and spoke model.

The Army AD systems will be activated in a very deep ingress and for that multi layer Missile Defence have to either fail or the ingress has to bypass all of them to reach such a point where Army AD has to engage. This is a bit difficult considering the advent of IAF's focus on airspace security and its AD systems being more thorough ..

What also needs to be pointed that individually each of the systems like S400 or even our own BMD AAD/PAD system will also have smaller systems like for S400 the Tor and Pantsir etc.. Each of them also carries Guns and limited range SRSAMs. Thus, even if the bogey successfully jams the S400 system the guns acts as AD and still makes it difficult for their deep ingress into Army installations as well where their own AD is located.

Its true its delayed but not that bad if we combine all what we are ordering and modernising together with a real time satellite monitoring system in a networked environment.. Again Tri services command and hub and spoke model for BMD and airspace security is the need of the hour.