INDIA: Building a Modern Arsenal in India

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Indian MoD comments various defence and security issues


10:42 GMT, March 8, 2010 According to the Indian Press Information Bureau, the following information was recently given by Indian Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in written replies to members of the Parliament of India:


Procurement of Aircraft for Navy

Naval aviation is planned for growth in the Maritime Capabilities Perspective Plan. To facilitate an orderly growth, a master plan for naval aviation assets has been drawn.

A contract was signed on January 20, 2004 with M/s RAC MiG, Russia for supply of MiG-29K/KUB aircraft. Some of these aircraft have been delivered in December 2009. Further, a contract for procurement of maritime reconnaissance aircraft was signed with M/s Boeing, USA on 1.1.2009.


Violation of Indian Airspace

There have been 32 incidents of violation of Indian airspace by foreign aircraft during last three years, from January, 2007 till January, 2010. Such violation of airspace is taken up with the concerned country diplomatic channel as per established procedure.
hmmmmm interesting lol

Release of Spectrum

The Defence Ministry has received a proposal from the Department of Telecommunications for the release of Spectrum currently held by the Defence Forces. An MoU was signed between the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Communications & Information Technology (MoC&IT) on May 22, 2009 for release of spectrum.

In view of the provision in MoU to provide an exclusive Optical Fibre Cable network, release of spectrum is not expected to impact future defence communication expansion.


Status of Tejas Light Combat Aircraft Project

A contract for the procurement of 20 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) in Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) configuration was signed with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on March 31, 2006. The total contract cost is Rs. 2701.70 crore. Delay in LCA production is primarily due to refinements carried out in the development phase. A total of Rs. 1712.11 crore has been paid to HAL till December 31, 2009 for the LCA Programme. There was a delay in the development of LCA due to certain technical complexities and denial of critical technologies. Rs. 3301.78 crore was sanctioned for the development of LCA, which includes manufacture of eight numbers of Limited Series Production aircraft. Additional Rs. 2475.78 crore has been approved by the Government for LCA Phase-II programme.

A high level review is being conducted by the Chief of Air Staff once in every quarter and by the Deputy Chief of Air Staff once in every month. LCA is likely to be inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) by March 2011.


Purchase of Helicopters

Contracts have been signed for the procurement of Advanced Light Helicopter from M/s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Medium Lift Helicopters from M/s Rosoboronexport, Russia, and Helicopters for VVIP transportation from M/s Augusta Westland, UK. In addition, cases for procurement of additional Medium Lift Helicopters, Attack Helicopters, Light Utility Helicopters, Heavy Lift Helicopters and Recce and Surveillance Helicopters from various vendors are being processed. All these procurements are based on operational requirements framed by the Indian Air Force. The expenditure on the procurements will be known only after the commercial proposals are opened.

All capital acquisitions are processed as per the Defence Procurement Procedure. The Defence Procurement Procedure – 2008 envisages a timeframe of 20-34 months for finalization of such major capital procurements.


Construction of Border Roads

Out of 61 roads being constructed by Border Roads Organisation (BRO), 43 will be completed on scheduled by 2012. Another nine will be completed by 2013. The remaining nine are likely to be completed by 2018. The reasons for delay are adverse climatic conditions, hard rocks being encountered during construction, delay in obtaining forest and wild life clearances, shortage of manpower and inadequate availability of air effort.

Manpower shortage is reported to be one of the reasons for delay in construction of border roads. The present strength of BRO is 35,987 against authorized strength of 42,636. However steps have been taken to be meet the shortage by recruiting manpower. To expedite the recruitment process, mobile recruitment teams have been constituted at Rishikesh, Pathankot, Jodhpur and Tezpur besides the GREF Centre, Pune. For Group ‘A’ Civil Engineering Cadre officers, a case was also taken up with UPSC for direct recruitment on interview basis.


Construction of all-weather roads on borders

Upgradation and development of 73 Sino – Indian border roads is under progress. In addition development of road infrastructure in Northern & Eastern sector is carried out in a holistic and comprehensive manner.

Government has prioritized and is expediting roads and infrastructure development along borders of Northern and Eastern sector for strategic requirements as well as speedy development of this area. It is planned to complete about 18000 kms of road length by 2022.

There are total 93 Forest clearance cases on 61 roads with Border Roads Organisation (out of 73 roads). Government has obtained Forest clearance for 48 cases and in addition Ministry of Environment & Forest (MoEF) has accorded Approval –in-Principle for 21 cases. MoEF and State Forest Departments are being regularly pursued for finalization of balance 24 cases. All these roads are targeted for completion by 2013.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) adheres to all the guidelines of the Ministry of Environment & Forest, e.g adequate amount is paid for compensatory afforestation, alternative alignment is taken to avoid dense forest/wildlife, muck is not dumped in river etc.

 

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Indian Defence Minister: No choice for DRDO but to be globally competitive

Following is the text of the address delivered by the Indian Defence Minister Shri AK Antony at the inauguration of the three-day 34th DRDO Directors’ Conference here today:

“It is a pleasure to be in the midst of an assembly of DRDO (Defence Research & Development Organisation) scientists. The Conference presents an occasion to evaluate and analyse your strengths and weaknesses and also chart out a futuristic roadmap.

Over the last 50 years, the list of DRDO’s achievements spans the fields of missile development, electronics, tactical weapons and the development of critical defence technologies for our Armed Forces. DRDO has also played a key role in the launch of INS Arihant, India’s first nuclear powered submarine. The successful test of the Interceptor missile in endo and exo atmospheric roles has enhanced India’s capability in Ballistic Missile Defence Capability. The development of indigenous surface to air missile systems Akash and its offshoots of Weapon Locating Radar and 3D surveillance radar will boost our defence preparedness. Recently, DRDO has also handed over 45 MBTs and six stations of ‘Divya Drishti’ to our Armed Forces.

We are living in an age of threats that are unconventional and asymmetrical, at the same time. The economic, political and security dynamics of nations and regions are consistently changing. Thus, our responses to such unconventional threats to security have to be shaped accordingly.

We want the private sector to play a more prominent role in the defence sector. We are revising the Defence Procurement Policy. Our aim is to motivate private companies to invest more financial and human resources in R&D. However, any increased role for the private sector will not be allowed at the cost of the public sector. We want the public sector and the private sector to prosper mutually and not in isolation of each other. We will also never compromise on transparency and fairness in defence dealings.

With increasing participation of foreign companies and the private sector, organisations like DRDO are left with no choice, but to be globally competitive.

Our Government is committed towards achieving self-reliance in the production of weapons systems. We cannot continue to be eternally dependent on imports to meet our requirements. Innovative thinking, particularly in R&D, is a must, if DRDO is to meet its mandate of providing the world’s best equipment to our Armed Forces. For this, DRDO will have to become a forward-looking and a receptive organisation and not remain rooted to old mindsets.

I am pleased to learn that the Conference will also discuss ways and means to enhance combat aircraft programmes, airborne surveillance systems and advanced combat aircraft programmes. The outcome of the deliberations on – ‘Collaboration in Global R&D Environment’ will be eagerly awaited.

Our Government has always extended full support to the DRDO and will continue to do so. We have provided a measure of functional autonomy to DRDO and have never let financial resources be a constraint. DRDO must not fritter away these resources and needs to do some ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking. On its part, DRDO will have to ensure that it retains its relevance in the face of an increased role for the private sector and fast-paced technological changes. It must also realise that it is not doing business in an age of monopoly and thus, needs to be open, receptive and to innovate in the changed times and circumstances.

I am sure that all the scientists and technical personnel of DRDO will continue to work with dedication and commitment. With these words, I wish the Conference all success in its deliberations.”

 

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Bell Helicopter provides support for new CAE training centres in Mexico and India

Houston, Texas, USA | CAE today announced at the Helicopter Association International (HAI) Heli-Expo conference that Bell Helicopter is providing aircraft systems and performance data and technical support for the Bell 412 training programs which CAE will begin offering this summer in Mexico and Bangalore, India.

CAE is locating a suite of Bell 412 training tools in Mexico, including a CAE 7000 Series Level D full-flight simulator (FFS), CAE Simfinity Integrated Procedures Trainer (IPT), computer-based training, e-Learning and other courseware. A similar suite, including a CAE-built Bell 412 FFS, which was previously announced, will be located at the new Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF) training centre in Bangalore, India.

“These two new training operations expand CAE's global network to serve helicopter operators in Central and South America, as well as Asia,” said Jeff Roberts, CAE’s Group President, Civil Simulation Products, Training and Services. "CAE is the only company which offers advanced technology helicopter simulator training in five major regions of the world so pilots may access high-fidelity training close to their home base."

In Mexico CAE will operate the CAE-built Bell 412 Level D full-flight simulator and will deliver all ground school, instrument rating, and simulator type-rating training with CAE instructors.

The HATSOFF training centre is a joint venture between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) of India and CAE. The centre will include a simulator featuring CAE's revolutionary roll-on/roll-off cockpit design, which enables cockpits representing various helicopter types to be used in the simulator. HATSOFF will offer complete training solutions for the Bell 412, Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin, and both civil and military variants of the HAL-built Dhruv advanced light helicopter.

 

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"We are delighted to support CAE's expansion into these global markets," said Danny Maldonado, Senior Vice President and Chief Services Officer. "This partnership provides our customers in Asia and the Americas with convenient access to high-quality training for Bell 412 operators."

The Mexico and India facilities complement CAE-owned and joint venture helicopter training operations located in the following regions:
- Middle East where Emirates-CAE Flight Training in Dubai offers a Bell 412 FFS;

- Europe where Rotorsim, a joint venture of AgustaWestland and CAE, in Sesto Calende, Italy, offers A109 and AW139 simulators;

- North America where CAE’s North East Training Centre in Morristown, New Jersey offers Sikorsky S-76C+/S-76B and AW139 FFSs.


CAE is a world leader in providing simulation and modelling technologies and integrated training solutions for the civil aviation industry and defence forces around the globe. With annual revenues exceeding C$1.6 billion, CAE employs more than 6,500 people at more than 90 sites and training locations in 20 countries. We have the largest installed base of civil and military full-flight simulators and training devices. Through our global network of 29 civil aviation and military training centres, we train more than 75,000 crewmembers yearly. We also offer modelling and simulation software to various market segments and, through CAE’s professional services division, we assist customers with a wide range of simulation-based needs. www.cae.com

 

[desiman]

Company or Organisation Portrait:
Bell Helicopter, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., is an industry-leading producer of commercial and military, manned and unmanned vertical lift aircraft and the pioneer of the revolutionary tilt rotor aircraft. Globally recognized for world-class customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell's global workforce serves customers flying Bell aircraft in more than 120 countries. www.bellhelicopter.textron.com

Just to let you guys know I work for Textron Inc currently

 

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INDIA: Top Defense Firms Vie to Feed Indian Arms Appetite

by Muneeza Naqvi, NYTimes.com - Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) -- Top weapons makers, vying to feed India's voracious appetite for arms, brought their helicopters, night vision goggles and mine-proof vehicles to New Delhi this week in hopes of winning a share of one of the world's largest defense budgets.

With its growing economy and emergence as an Asian power, India has rapidly increased its arms expenditures over the past decade, replacing obsolete Soviet-era military hardware with the latest technology in a race to keep up with regional rivals Pakistan and China.

''India is becoming a major actor worldwide,'' Filippo Bagnato, the executive vice president for technical, industrial and commercial development of the Italian aerospace and defense giant Finmeccanica, said Tuesday.

This year's DefExpo-India -- the sixth such event -- has drawn about 650 defense companies from 35 countries, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Thales and BAE Systems, to set up stalls in a sprawling exhibition center in the heart of the capital.

India, which needs to replace equipment bought from the Soviets in the 1970s and 80s, led the world in the purchase of military hardware in 2004 and is still in the top four, according to Rahul Bedi, a South Asia analyst with London-based Jane's Defense Weekly. He said India is expected to spend $80 billion between 2012 and 2022 to upgrade its military.

International defense giants are hoping to secure most of that multibillion-dollar pie: India imports more than 70 percent of its military equipment, mainly from Russia, Israel, France and Britain. American companies are also slowly finding a foothold in the Indian defense market as the relationship between the two countries has warmed over the last few years.

So despite a notoriously slow procurement process filled with red tape that can take close to a decade to unravel, the sellers keep coming.

''It's ultimately worth it for the sellers because the volumes that are acquired and needed compare with nowhere else in the world,'' said Bedi.

In addition to needing to update aging equipment, India's defense buying spree is spurred by rivalries with both of its major neighbors -- Pakistan and China.

It has fought three wars with Pakistan -- two of them over the Himalayan region of Kashmir. Tensions with China have risen as well in recent years, as the two nations contend for regional dominance.

Bedi said Pakistan's military arsenal, though smaller than India's, is ''a lot younger because their main suppliers are the United States and the Chinese.''

Where the Chinese are concerned, ''they completely outweigh the Indians and are in a different league altogether.''

The current budget for Pakistan's powerful military, which also receives billions of dollars from the U.S. for helping fight Islamist militancy, is about $4.4 billion -- a fraction of India's current $26 billion, which represented a 10 percent increase. On the other hand China's defense spending increased by almost 15 percent last year to $71 billion, a figure that is thought by many analysts to represent only a portion of total defense spending.

Bagnato's Finmeccanica has already sold Sea King helicopters, torpedoes and surveillance equipment to the Indian defense services, and this year is hawking a slew of aircraft and surveillance equipment at its stall.

In 2008, Lockheed Martin Corp. won a contract to supply six C-130J Hercules transport aircraft for India's air force, the first of which are expected to arrive in early 2011.

New Delhi is also shopping for 126 fighter aircraft, a deal worth $10 billion, and 197 helicopters worth about $4 billion.

India's Defense Minister A.K. Antony told reporters at the fair that the country's defense policy ''is not against any one country,'' but added that it was a top priority ''to strengthen our armed forces to act as an effective deterrence.''

For the defense companies, that means India plans to keep spending enormous sums on arms.

 

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Sikorsky considers moving Black Hawk production to India, leasing helicopters to Coast Guard



12:09 GMT, March 10, 2010 Stephen Estill, VP Strategic Partnerships at Sikorsky, recently spoke to Manu Sood, Editor at 8ak (8ak - Indian Defence News) on their Indian plans and their tie up with the Tata Group in India. Estill revealed that the company had divided their strategy into short term goals, medium term goals and long term goals. As per the immediate plans, he said that the company was excited about the ongoing program with the Indian Navy for anti- submarine helicopters for which 2 helicopters have been proposed. One is the S-70B, which is sold under commercial contract basis, fully capable in anti-submarine operations. The other one is MH-60R, currently in service with the US navy, for which Sikorsky has teamed up with Lockheed Martin in the US. As per the agreement between the two companies, Sikorsky provided airframe, dynamic components and rotor systems whereas Lockheed Martin provided anti-submarine equipment. He said that the program was progressing very rapidly and the flight test evaluations would begin in US during the early summers and they company expected to seal the official contract in early 2011.

Elaborating on Sikorsky’s second program, Estill said that the program was with Coast Guard and termed it ‘unique’. As part of the program, the company would dry lease about eight helicopters and wet lease another eight to ten. The helicopter would solve the purpose of coastal defence and patrol missions undertaken by the force. Sikorsky is the only technically qualified helicopter vendor for this program. Talking about the long term plans, he said that the company aimed to equip TATAs to manufacture all helicopters and fixed wing parts in the future and said that co-development of helicopters was indeed a reality in the future. As of now, TATAs will manufacture the cabins for the helicopters, which Sikorsky has to deliver to the UK coast guard.

Sikorsky is also planning to start producing the highly successful and lethal Black Hawk helicopters to increase its presence in India as it gears up to bid for defence contracts up to US$12 billion, a move that could push others to follow. Some people feel that ith HAL's producing entire helicopters, India has the potential to become a global helicopter production hub but are held back by outdated government policies and lack of vision.

Stephen Estill also said that Sikorsky intended to manufacture and develop special mission equipment packages with DRDO and other local technology companies in the long run. On another note, Shiv Aroor reports that the company has decided to formally protest the loss of lucrative tender of 12 VVIP helicopters.

A video of the interview can be viewed here: 8ak - Indian Defence News

 

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India's Maini Group Launches Electrically Operated Feri Rapid Maintenance Cart and Tow Truck


Maini Group has developed electrically operated “Feri - Rapid Maintenance Cart” & “Tow Truck – 8 Ton Tugger” specially designed FOD-free Green solutions for Aircraft Maintenance and Aircraft & Equipment Towing.

These have been formally launched by Mr John Brooks , President , Northrop Grumman International Inc. at the Defexpo 2010 trade show in New Delhi on Feb 15, 2010 at 13:45 Hrs. in Hall #12 Stall #21. Mr Woolf Grosss, Director, NGII also graced the occasion. From Maini group Mr Gautam Maini, Managing Director, Maini Precision Product; Mr Naresh Palta, CEO, Maini Global Aerospace, Mr SA Mohan, President, Maini Materials Movements and other senior executives of Maini group was present.

Maini’s electric carts branded as “Feri”, is the new age drive towards a cleaner, greener and a better tomorrow. Powered by an intelligent electric drive, Feri ushers in a revolutionary way to handle various needs of defence establishments. The zero-emission drive makes it absolutely eco-friendly combined with thoughtful ergonomics. Its smart design and engineering, with state-of-the-art technology has made Feri the most efficient, cost-effective and easily manoeuverable medium for driving within enclosed campuses.

Feri’s design and manufacturing technology is entirely indigenous, developed and implemented by Maini Group for the World. The unique design of Feri makes it a highly customizable electric cart which can be adapted to various requirements across industries. Feri is available in different variants ranging from Golf Carts, People Movers, Utility Carts, Aircraft Maintenance Carts to Special Purpose Carts. The Maintenance cart can be fully customized to cater to the requirements of a particular aircraft fleet and would increase the efficiency of maintenance team muti-fold by providing them high agility and convenience of effortlessly carrying upto the aircraft all tools and testers etc in a highly organized manner. It has space even to carry first response fire – fighting equipment and First Aid Kit. The Electric platform provides a low FOD solution.

Key features include:
• Zero Emission
• Eco Friendly
• Cost Effective
• Low Maintenance
• Easy Manoeuvrability
• Advance Technology
• Silent Drive
• Customizable
• Ergonomic Design
• Safe & Secure

Maini Group’s electrically operated “Tow Truck – 8 Ton Tugger” is ideally suited for towing quite a range of combat aircraft and small to medium utility aircraft and helicopters. This tugger can also be used for pulling trolleys and other equipment around as well as within hangars. Like the Rapid Maintenace Cart, this too has very low FOD probability. It is a most versatile design, completely silent and eco-friendly. Its compact size compares well with Fuel driven Tow Trucks.

Both the offerings take away all the disadvantages and difficulties associated with fuel driven vehicles, removing the need for fuel management and providing a totally green environment for the field personnel.


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For more news of DEFEXPO India 2010, please see: defence.professionals | defpro.com

 

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Diehl Defence strengthens presence in India
Diehl and India Forge Ltd. Sign Joint Venture Agreement


Diehl Remscheid GmbH, an affiliate of the German high-tech enterprise Diehl Defence, and India Forge Ltd. signed a Joint Venture (JV) agreement underscoring a long-term strategic partnership. The JV is subject to approval by the Indian authorities.

The JV aims at strengthening Diehl´s commitment towards the Indian customer.

For several years Diehl Remscheid has been supplying tracks and accessories for the Indian Main Battle Tank Arjun.

The JV Track Systems India Ltd. targets further development and production of Diehl System Tracks for several applications, such as the infantry combat vehicles BMP1/2 as well as the T-familiy of vehicles (e.g. T72, T90) for the Indian market.



Company or Organisation Portrait:

Diehl Defence is a corporate division of the Nürnberg-based Diehl Group, concentrating all business activities in the fields of defence and security. Diehl Defence Holding achieves annual sales of € 690 million with 3200 employees.
Diehl Remscheid is a leading manufacturer of system tracks for tanks and armoured vehicles in more than 60 Armies worldwide.

India Forge Ltd. supplies steel forgings, forged products & equipment, zinc alloy forged items, aluminum products as well as spare parts and accessories for the automobile and non-automobile industries.

Company or Organisation Contact:
Paul Sonnenschein
Director Public Relations
Phone +49 755189-2685
Fax +49 755189-4835
pr@diehl-defence.de
Diehl Defence | Diehl Defence

Jobs

 

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MiG-27 takes part in Vayushakti 2010, Fleet not grounded

04 March 2010 8ak Akshay Kumar: In a move, which took everyone by surprise, the IAFs grounded MiG-27 combat aircraft, not only flew in the mega IAF exercise, Vayushakti-2010, but also dropped bombs in Pokhran during the event.

The participation of the fighter aircraft was in limbo after the IAF decided to ground the entire fleet of 100 MiG-27 aircrafts following a crash, which occurred during a routine sortie in West Bengal in February, just ahead of the mammoth exercise planned by the IAF to show its prowess and assure the nation that the safety of its citizens was in safe hands.

Speaking to 8ak, the IAF PRO Wg Cdr Singha revealed that the enquiry into the crash was on, and would take some time to complete, but it’s wrong to say that the fleet has been grounded permanently. The MiG-27 was very much participating and as everyone saw it dropped bombs during the Pokhran exercise, added Singha.

The MiG-27 powered by R29 engine has been attributed to defects in the past. The accident is a cause of concern as the engine defect is said to have risen due to the overhauling of the fleet by HAL last year. Since Jan 2001, India has lost about 12 Russian-made MiG-27 fighter planes.

 

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Navy to upgrade Dabolim airport with a Shore Based Test Facility


In order to cater to the induction of new combat aircrafts taking place in the Indian navy, the multi-role force has decided to press ahead with its long-delayed expansion plan of the Dabolim airport, situated 30 kilometres from the Goa’s capital Panaji.

Times of India reports that the naval authorities are making preparations to build a Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF) which will be used by its Light Combat Aircrafts (LCAs) and MiG 29K fighter jets.

Commanding Officer of the Naval station INS Hansa, Captain Surendra Ahuja informed the media persons that the SBTF being built at INS Hansa, would be only the second of its kind in the world and would be used to train the fighter before they attempt take-off and landing on aircraft carriers.

To complement the new SBFT facility, the navy is also constructing a 1,255metre strip with a ski jump facing the sea. The ski jump is on the similar lines of the one available on aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, which the navy would be inducting, after its refit at Sevmash shipyard in Russia is concluded.

Amongst the other new facilities planned at Dabolim, the Indian navy intends to construct three new hangers and set up two new simulators. The latest upgrade plan is a conscious ploy of the Indian government to upgrade training facilities within the military establishment with an aim of reducing accidents in the future. The government has also inducted new Hawk AJTs from United Kingdom to enhance training for IAF pilots. In addition to this, the IAF is also in the process of acquiring new turboprop training aircrafts in order to phase out the vintage era HPT-32, which it used before grounding them.

 

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India will receive Russian Krivak IV class frigates on time

Russia will fulfill its obligations on schedule to supply three Project 11356 frigates to India by 2012, a shipbuilding industry official said on Friday to RIA Novosti.

Russia is building three Project 11356 Krivak IV class guided missile frigates for the Indian Navy at the Yantar shipyard in Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad as part of a $1.6 billion contract signed in July, 2006.

"The contract's deadline is 2012. We are not expecting any delays at this point," general director of the Yantar shipyard Igor Orlov said at the 4th International Maritime Defense Show in St. Petersburg.

The official said the hulls of all three vessels had been laid down at the shipyard.

"The first ship will be floated out this year, the second, probably, in spring 2010, and the third - a bit later," he said, adding that the Indian government had provided sufficient and timely project financing.

A delegation of Indian military officials, led by India's deputy chief of the naval staff, Vice Adm. Raman P Suthan, visited the Yantar shipyard in October last year and said it was satisfied with the pace and the construction quality.

Russia previously built in 2004 three Krivak class frigates - INS Talwar, INS Trishul and INS Tabar - for India, but they all were delivered late.

All of the new frigates will be armed with eight BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile systems and not the Club-N/3M54TE missile system, which was installed on previous frigates.

The Krivak class frigate has deadweight of 4,000 metric tons and a speed of 30 knots, and is capable of accomplishing a wide range of maritime missions, primarily hunting down and destroying large surface ships and submarines.

 

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Indian Army to induct first network-centric artillery system

Taking the first step towards acquiring network-centric warfare capabilities, the Indian Army is all set to induct a computerised command and control system to integrate its artillery weapon operations.

Known as Project Sakthi, the Artillery Combat Command and Control System (ACCCS) is a major division of the Tactical Command Control Communication and Intelligence (Tac C3I) system, senior Army officers said.

"ACCCS is the artillery component of the TAC C3I grid, which is the first step of the Army to acquire the capability of network-centric warfare at the tactical level," they said.

The system is scheduled to be inducted on Friday.

"Sakthi is the first C3I system being fielded in the Indian Army. The role of ACCCS is to automate and integrate all artillery operational functions and provide decision support at all levels of artillery command from the corps level down to the battery or guns level in a networked environment," the officers said.

Taking the first step towards acquiring network-centric warfare capabilities, the Army is all set to induct a computerised command and control system to integrate its artillery weapon operations.

Developed by the Army's Directorate General of Information Systems, Shakti's three main electronic devices Enhanced Tactical Computer, Gun Display Unit and Hand Held Computer are produced by the defence public sector undertaking Bharat Electronics Limited.

Shakti, the officers said, would give the troops the capability to concentrate artillery fire power at operational and tactical levels in a reduced time-frame and deliver a decisive blow to the enemy at the desired place.

"The capability of rapid acquisition, processing and dissemination of battlefield information and delivering crushing blows to enemy's critical assets, even before he makes contact with our forces, will be the deciding factor in any future conflict," they said, explaining the need for such a system.

ACCS, they said, would perform five critical functions including 'Technical Fire Control' for trajectory computations and 'Tactical Fire Control' primarily involving processing of fire requests at battery to corps level and ammunition management.

It also ensure 'Deployment Management' for guns and observation posts for defensive and offensive operations, 'Operational Logistics' for assisting in timely provisioning of ammunition and logistics support and 'Fire Planning' to facilitate production of fire plans, task tables and automatic generation of gun programmes.

Army chief General Deepak Kapoor will induct Shakti at a function in the presence of Director General Information Systems Lt Gen P C Katoch and BEL managing director Ashwani Kumar Datt.

 

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: The 22 hour visit by Russian Prime Minister (PM) Putin to India has helped the two countries resolve the differences that had cropped up due to various long standing unresolved issues, including the price rise of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov. Other factors responsible for drifting the two cold war allies apart were Russia’s search for a new market to export its military hardware for which it tried to develop relations with China. And also India’s efforts to build bridges with the West and America, as India believed a strong diplomatic support from them could coax Pakistan into putting a halt to its anti-India rhetoric.

The billion dollar contracts signed during the short visit is an indication that the two nations want to remain close and that Russia was keen to fill the vacuum that propelled Israel as a major partner in the Indian defence market in the past decade. The successful visit is being read by many as a signal to the world that the two nations remain each others prime partners and the brief period of stagnation had passed.

The long list of deals signed between Indo-Russia during Putin’s visit is impressive:

1) US$1.5 billion deal for the supply of 29 additional MiG-29 Fulcrum D-based fighter aircraft.

2) An agreement to sign a contract on the joint development of a new fifth-generation fighter.

3) A revised price-deal of $2.3 billion on the upgraded Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier with a displacement capacity of 45,000 tons, a maximum speed of 32 knots (59 kilometers per hour) and a range of 13,500 nautical miles (25,000 kilometers) at a cruising speed of 18 knots

4) Deals to establish a joint venture to produce navigation equipment for GPS (global positioning system) and its Russian equivalent Glonass, and the use of Glonass signal for military use by India.

5) Several agreements for the construction of up to 16 nuclear power plants in India by 2017.

The swift signing of deals indicates that both Russia and India are trying in their own ways to strike trade deals with each other as a countermeasure to Chinese overtures. While India is apprehensive of China’s new friendship with South Asian countries of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar as a part of its ‘string of pearls’ strategy, Russia is insecure about the vulnerability of its eastern regions. The visit clearly exhibits that the two nations remain each other’s best bet in times of adversities.

Bharat Verma of Indian Defence Review, told 8ak, “we may have given Russia, a tad too much, as they do not have the modern technology which India requires at the moment and the Russia is itself buying some of the technologies from France and other countries, to whom India has direct access, but the fact remains that no nation would fulfil the requirements of India like the Russians and no one would be willing to lease their submarines for a decade to India except Russia, thus Russia undoubtedly is of immense importance to us.”

Verma’s statement hold true as the much hyped 2008 civil Indo-US nuclear deal, which threatened the future of Manmohan Singh led UPA government has not been completely implemented by the Obama administration. This is primarily due to Obama’s reluctance to transfer "dual-use technology" to India, but it has provided the international non-proliferation framework Moscow needed to boost cooperation with Delhi on a range of sensitive areas such as reprocessing technology, joint thorium fuel cycle nuclear power projects and fast- neutron reactors. It is this reluctance that the Russians have exploited well during the visit, as it is evident from the agreements that have been signed on constructing 16 nuclear plants in India by Russians.

The return of the warm ties has also been made possible because, both Russia and India, have been time and again let down by America. On the terrorism front, the Americans have not provided enough aid to the Indians in getting Pakistan to act against the perpetrators of 26/11 attack. The American’s undoubtedly have failed to ensure that its military hardware, which it supplies to Pakistan to fight the Taliban and Al-Qaeda along its western borders, is not used against India by Pakistan. On the Russian front, it has been let down by the Americans due to constant interference in Central and Eastern Europe. The attempt of NATO to intervene in the Georgia-Russia-South Ossetia impasse in 2008 has not helped Russia-US relationship either.

But in foreign policy matters nothing can be translated in to black and white. On the one hand, where we are jubilant about the most successful visit of Russian PM Putin in recent times, certain issues need to be sorted out. The priority should be the Rs 2,000 crore JV mooted almost three years ago to set up an integrated chemical and metallurgical complex to produce titanium dioxide and other titanium products in Orissa, Business Standard reports that the project is in a limbo, as partners have parted ways last month after differences over land allotment. Another major project between Russia’s VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation, the world's largest producer of titanium, and the Kerala government for processing and smelting of titanium, has not taken off either. As per the contract, the company was supply aviation metal to Hindustan Aeronautics, with raw material titanium tetrachloride procured from Kerala Minerals and Mining Limited (KMML), which is owned by the state government.

But the deals do not mean that the U.S. is any less important to either country. It is no secret that the moment Putin returned to Moscow, the US President called his counter-part President Medvedev to discuss the "final stages of preparation" of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and they agreed that "it is now possible to talk about specific dates" for initialing the agreement.

On India’s part, New Delhi has mooted a new legislation which would make it easier for US nuclear energy companies to secure multi-billion dollar contracts in the Indian market. Many security experts believe this deal was inked solely to create a new market for U.S. companies which were finding operations difficult due to the highly capital-intensive nature of the industry with long gestation periods, and not implementation of the complete deal. Thus, the developments in both the countries following the Russian PM's visit exhibits that both countries are looking for greater business proximity to the Americans.

 

[desiman]

Obama's proposal for key changes to high-tech export regulation

In 2001, the then leaders of the U.S. and India, George W. Bush and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had the foresight to set up a council to promote high-tech trade between the two countries, India-US High Technology Cooperation Group (HTCG). As the American.com reports, since then "U.S.-India trade has nearly tripled from $13.5 billion in 2001 to $37.6 billion in 2009. Last year, high-tech products accounted for more than 13 percent of total bilateral trade and nearly 25 percent of all U.S. exports to India."

The potential is much higher especially in the context of defence manufacturing but both sides have legal and political issues to overcome. India says that U.S. laws are too restrictive and is scared of sanctions as in post-nuclear tests in Indian in 1999. America, on the other hand, wants India to acknowledge the benefits of its efforts to ensure that weapons don't fall in to the hands of the wrong groups/country's (U.S.'s non-insurgency-specific weapons sales to Pakistan continues to baffle us). In this light, the ongoing 2 day meeting of the group is significant with a focus on how the barriers can be broken to enhance more trade. In terms of export controls, American.com puts this in context, "In 1999, 24 percent of total U.S. exports to India required a “dual-use” license from BIS, today that number is less than 0.2 percent."

Excerpts from Obama's speech on the issue - "We've conducted a broad review of the Export Control System, and Secretary Gates will outline our reform proposal within the next couple of weeks. But today, I'd like to announce two steps that we're prepared to take.

First, we're going to streamline the process certain companies need to go through to get their products to market -- products with encryption capabilities like cell phone and network storage devices. Right now, they endure a technical review that can take between 30 and 60 days, and that puts that company at a distinct disadvantage to foreign competitors who don't face those same delays. So a new one-time online process will shorten that review time from 30 days to 30 minutes, and that makes it quicker and easier for our businesses to compete while meeting our national security requirements.

And second, we're going to eliminate unnecessary obstacles for exporting products to companies with dual-national and third-country-national employees. Currently, our exporters and foreign consumers of these goods have to comply with two different, conflicting set of standards. They're running on two tracks, when they could be running just on one. So we're moving towards harmonizing those standards and making it easier for American and foreign companies to comply with our requirements without diminishing our security. And I look forward to consulting with Congress on these reforms, as well as broader export control reform efforts." Full speech

In parting American.com notes that "the Indian government has not yet signed the Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA), the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Cooperation (AGC), which are crucial to providing mutual logistical support and enabling the exchange of sensitive communications and equipment