INDIA: Building a Modern Arsenal in India

[desiman]

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) - Manufacturing Support India | Indian Business Promotion Services | SME Development | Industry Monitor | Seminars Conferences and Trade Fairs India.

Institute like these are from where a large crop of India's defense purchasers and supply chain managers come from, for anyone who is interested. Most universities in India and the world offer some kind of direct or indirect training and education in supply chain management. This is a great field to work in with many opportunities even in tough economic times.



Just as example of what a procurement course would include


Based on a survey conducted by CII amongst Indian companies to identify issues, which prevent them from doing business with defence, most of the respondents identified understanding of defence procurement policies and procedures as one of the major issues. To enhance business opportunities in Defence sector, widening knowledge on updated Ministry of Defence procurement / acquisition procedures are essential. To facilitate industry to take advantage of the opportunities that exist in Defence, CII offers Defence Acquisition Management Courses for Industry.

The CII - Defence Acquisition Management (CII - DAM) course would assist the companies to familiarise their personnel with the Defence procurement procedures. In addition to the understanding of the defence procurement system and who's who in defence procurement, the course would cover defence acquisition policy including discussions on the new procurement procedures. The course would provide latest information pertaining to:

Defence acquisition reform initiatives
The relationship between requirements generation, resource allocation, science and technology activities and acquisition programs
Defence acquisition procedures and processes
Procurement procedure for supply of spares and components
Procurement procedure for Information Technology products and services
Procedures related to supply of canteen items
Understanding the Joint Service Guide and MoD Procurement Procedure
DRDO procedures
Procurement procedures of Government owned Defence Production Units
Quality Assurance in Defence - The DGQA / DGAQA procedures
Procurement with respect to direct procurement by the Armed Forces
Procedures related to Defence exports
The faculties would be well-trained senior serving and ex-service officials from the Armed Forces, Ministry of Defence and Defence PSUs.

 

[desiman]

Revived Defence Procurement Procedure Comes With ‘Buy And Make (Indian)’ Option

The new defence procurement procedure has adopted the Buy and Make (Indian) option under the transfer of technology category for making Indian defence system more indigenous.

The DPP-2009 will take effect from Nov 1, 2009.

"A new category named 'Buy and Make (Indian)' has been introduced. If a project is selected by the Defence Acquisition Council to be categorised as 'Buy and Make (Indian)', Indian firms will play a lead role in negotiating and obtaining technology and co-production arrangements with the foreign manufacturers. As such, the RFP (request for proposal) will be issued to the Indian firms and not to the foreign OEM (original equipment manufacturer)," said a senior defence official.

Under the current procedure, “if an item is categorised as 'Buy and Make', a production agency is identified by the government for transfer of technology. The negotiations are carried out by the defence ministry with the foreign OEMs”.

 

[desiman]

Continued
However, past experience has shown that “this has not helped in building up higher technical capabilities as the technology transfer has been essentially transfer of engineering skills for production of some of the non-critical components and the critical items are invariably obtained from the foreign firms”.

“This method has also not encouraged formation of joint ventures or alliances for co-production with Indian companies”, says the official.

"Under the DPP-2009, Indian firms identified to have requisite technical and financial capabilities would be required to submit project proposals indicating a detailed road map for development and production of the items over its life cycle”.

“They will also be required to spell out the proposed production arrangement with the foreign manufacturer along with the content of the transfer of technology. The product so manufactured and supplied by the Indian company must have 50 percent indigenous content," said the official.

According to the official, the approach under new category would be more akin to 'Make' procedure. However, the development and production would not be through indigenous research and development but through transfer of technology from the foreign firm”.

"This change in DPP-2008 would enable pro-active participation of Indian industry in manufacturing defence products through co-production arrangements, such as joint ventures, with foreign manufacturers and through transfer of technology," the official added.

 

[desiman]

Changes in Indian Defence Procurement procedures

As part of the implementation of the report of the Group of Ministers on reforming the National Security System post Kargil Operations, new Defence Procurement Management Structures and Systems were set up in the Ministry of Defence(MOD) in 2001. For operationalizing these structures and systems, the procedure for Defence Procurement existing since 1992, was revised. The Defence Procurement Procedure-2002 (known as DPP-2002) came into effect from 30th December, 2002. It was applicable to procurements flowing out of ‘Buy’ decision of Defence Acquisition Council(DAC). The scope of this procedure was enlarged in June 2003 to include procurements flowing out of ‘Buy and Make’ decisions. The procedure was further reviewed and DPP-2005 came into effect from 1st July, 2005

2. The DPP-2005 was also reviewed and revised based on experience gained in its implementation, and further enlarged to include revised Fast Track Procedure and Procedure for Indigenous Warship Building. It also included procurements categorized in the ‘Make’ category for bridging the existing critical gap and provided requisite framework for increased participation of Indian Industry in the Defence Sector. The DPP-2006 thus came into effect from 1st September, 2006.

3. While promulgating DPP-2006, it was envisaged that review of the procurement procedure would be undertaken every two years. The present volume is the outcome of the experience and feedback gained in implementation of the existing procedure. The revised procedure being named as DPP-2008, will come into effect from 1st September, 2008. DPP-2008 aims to strengthen the procurement framework by making it more transparent, impartial and accountable.

SALIENT FEATURES OF DPP 2008

TRANSPARENCY

i). Vendors will be given advance information before the issue of RFP in all procurement cases excepting those for security sensitive products. This information given on MOD website will provide them a lead time for preparation of their offers in response to the RFP.

ii). All verbal communication with the vendors during the course of trials will be confirmed in writing.

iii). The result of technical/trial evaluations along with reason(s) for disqualification would also be intimated to vendors after the acceptance of technical/staff evaluation reports.

iv). Defence PSUs would be required to sign Integrity Pact with their sub-vendor(s) in all cases where the procurement value exceeds Rs.20 crores.

FIELD TRIALS

i). A trial methodology would be given in the RFP. Trial directive framed by the Services would be issued in conformity with the trial methodology. This would contribute in making evaluation process more transparent.

ii). Trial team will be broad based when equipment is being procured for more than one Service or TOT is being obtained.

iii). The Technical Oversight Committee would also provide oversight on the adopted trial methodology during trials vis-à-vis trial methodology given in the RFP and the trial directives.

CHANGES IN OFFSET POLICY

i). With a view to secure greater engagement of global industries in promotion of indigenous defence industry, Offset Policy has been revised to include offset credit banking enabling foreign vendors in creation of offset programmes in anticipation of future obligations.

ii). A vendor will be able to discharge the banked offset credits for the RFPs which are issued within two financial years of the date of approval of the banked offset credit. If a vendor is able to create more offsets than his obligations under a particular contract, the surplus offset credits can be banked and would remain valid for the period of two financial years after conclusion of the said contract.

iii). Under the existing offset guidelines, a private industry was necessarily required to have an industrial licence for being entitled to participate in offset programmes. In the revised guidelines, a private industry will be required to have an industrial licence only if so stipulated under the guidelines/licensing requirements for the defence industry issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.

ENCOURAGING COMPETITION BY BROADENING VENDOR

i). In order to make broad based Service Qualitative Requirements(SQRs) Service Headquarters may obtain inputs by issuing Request For Information(RFI) on MOD website. To ensure that SQRs are broad based and would result in multi-vendor situation, a compliance table of SQRs, vis-à-vis technical parameters of available equipment in as much details as feasible, would be prepared at the stage of formulation/approval of SQRs.

ii). If only one vendor is found compliant to the SQR parameters after the technical evaluation stage, a review would be carried out by the Technical Evaluation Committee(TEC) to derive causes of such single vendor situation for recommending suitable corrective measures for review of the acquisition scheme.

QUALITY AND RELIABILITY

i). To ensure better reliability and quality assurance, vendors would be required to give details of reliability model and basis of reliability prediction. The efficacy of such model will be verified during technical and environmental evaluation.

ii). A seller is required to rectify any failure in the equipment during the period of warranty. The seller, however, is not required to inform the cause of such a failure. Knowledge of cause of failure may be of valuable help to the user in long term maintenance of the equipment. The new provision in the warranty clause requires that the seller shall intimate the assignable cause of the failure to the user.

ENHANCEMENT OF FINANCIAL POWERS TO SERVICES

i). The Services have been given greater delegation of financial powers for capital acquisition to enhance efficiency and expedite decision-making. Service Headquarters will now approve cases up to Rs.50 crores. Financial power delegated to the Defence Secretary has also been enhanced to Rs. 75 crores. Further, the Defence Procurement Board(DPB) would accord AON (Acceptance of Necessity) to cases up to Rs.100 crores. Only cases above Rs.100 crores are to be brought before the DAC.

ii). To cut delays, the existing provisions for grant of extension of time against RFP has been limited to only eight weeks.

iii). In multi-vendor cases, once L-1 vendor is identified, normally there would be no need for any further price negotiations.

To check long delays in issuing of RFP after AON and quantity vetting, a provision has been incorporated that the AON would lapse where RFP after approval of quantity is not issued within two years from accord of AON. In such cases, fresh AON will be considered only after re-examination of available technology and operational necessity.

 

[desiman]

A lot of people here talk about TOT all the time and don’t really know what it is all about, is not as easy as it sounds lol. Please read further for full details.

The Transfer of Technology (TOT) philosophy aims at educating the recipients of technology not only on the infrastructural requirements and requisite know-how for production, but also at providing the licensed manufacturers with vital details about the sources for the capital equipment and components.

The manufacturers are provided the specifications of the capital equipment and components in order to facilitate them in the procurement process. The batch acceptance procedure and the accepted quality norms are also included in the assistance.

Direct transfer of technology process

Subsequent to the signing of the agreement, the main supplier provides first level of training, following which the recipient sets up his manufacturing infrastructure. Based on the technical assistance available from PRIMARY SUPPLIER, the recipient fabricates the production model and offers it to the PRIMARY SUPPLIER for quality evaluation. After successful evaluation of the model, the PRIMARY SUPPLIER recommends the manufacturer’s infrastructure and the production model to the testing wing of the Department of Telecom, India.

Turnkey Process

The PRIMARY SUPPLIER also has the capability to set up manufacturing facilities for the products on a turnkey basis. This approach expedites the setting up of manufacturing infrastructure and achievement of bulk production by the manufacturer. After the setting up of the requisite infrastructure, the production model is offered by The PRIMARY SUPPLIER for acceptance on behalf of the manufacturer. Once this is successfully achieved, The PRIMARY SUPPLIER gradually withdraws its support and the manufacturer takes independent control of the operations.

The Technology transfer package consists of:

Design Documents

Engineering Inputs

Testing and Validation Documents

Manufacturing Documents

Production and Quality Control Documents

User Documents

Training

Technical Assistance

Recipients of the technology abroad have the option to commence production with:

Integration and testing of finished systems

Semi Knocked Down (SKD) assembly

Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits

Repair Centres

THE PRIMARY SUPPLIER maintains a repair centre at customer’s location for repairing the cards of THE PRIMARY SUPPLIER exchanges in the customer’s network. This repair centre is primarily for such sites as require immediate repair of the cards. In addition, THE PRIMARY SUPPLIER has assisted Department of Telecom in the establishing of more than forty two repair centers.

Training/Workshops

THE PRIMARY SUPPLIER also conducts intensive operation and maintenance oriented training courses for field personnel of the customer. Theoretical as well as hands on training is provided. These training course are tailored to suit field requirements. THE PRIMARY SUPPLIER also conducts workshops for various Telecom circles whenever any new software features/or hardware upgrades are introduced. The objective is to educate the user about the new features. THE PRIMARY SUPPLIER also extends faculty support for lectures to the customers.

 

[desiman]

Transfer of Technology (TOT): Myth or reality?

Transfer of technology has been a buzz phrase in India for defense acquisitions since decades. So far India has little to show for all the technology transfers and license production that have taken place.

I have heard the phrase being bandied by politicians, bureaucrats and technocrats, since my school days, nearly 40 years ago.

India has been manufacturing MiG-21 variants since the 70s. Let alone developing a new aircraft based on the MiG-21, HAL was never able to even improve the aircraft in any way - Adding a dorsal fuel tank, for example, as in the MiG-21 Bis.

India designed and developed the Marut HF-24 in the late 1960's with assistance from German designer Dr. Kurt Tank and a lot of British help. HAL could never come up with a follow up.

We license produced the Jaguar? What good did that do? Where did the technology that was transferred go?

Whether transfer of technology works or not is linked to the technology base that a country has developed.

Talk to any DRDO official and they tell you the Russian never transfer technology.

At Aero India 2009 the DRDO chief publically termed Russian TOT as a farce.

What DRDO officials mean is that the Russians don't tell us how to build their products from scratch. The question is not only - Should they be telling you how to do so? - but also - Can they effectively tell how to do - considering that we do not have a technological base matching theirs?

A large amount of metal alloys and composites goes into an aircraft. The alloys used differ from each aircraft component. The strength of the metal varies with the manufacturing process used to produce it. When transferring technology should the manufacturer tell from where to source the metal or how to manufacture it? If your country hasn't mastered the manufacturing processes what good would that do?

Recently someone referred to the possible French and Swedish readiness to part with source code for their AESA radars. (I am not aware this is true.)

While getting the source code along with the radar helps, it cannot be construed as transfer of technology.

Anyone who has worked with software knows the complexities of imbibing code.

Any code is based on thousands and thousands of lines of library code. Is the library source also being offered? Even if it is being, you will need to spend months, possibly years, to understand its flow and logic.

How generic is the code? How much generic can it be? Hardware specific code tends to be less generic to facilitate faster development and processing. Reuse of code is also limited by continuous improvements in hardware and software.

Code that took 100 person years to develop cannot be mastered within one or two months, even if you deploy 2,000 people for hacking it, assuming the cost of deploying 2,000 top notch software professionals on the project makes economic sense.

The example, is applicable to most electronic components fitted on a fighter aircraft, each of which uses software.

No transfer of technology allows you to copy manufacture. You can only license produce the quantity negotiated. So the vendors hold back a lot of data, like wind tunnel and flight testing data that would make it easy to modify the aircraft.

Broadly speaking, with a TOT agreement in place, the manufacturer will share with you just enough information to allow sourcing non critical components from the domestic market, or certain acceptable foreign markets.

If we buy the Rafale, the French are not going to teach us how to build a fifth generation version of the Rafale.

Talking about French friendliness, here is a detail that I have mentioned elsewhere on this site. When they supplied us the Durandal runway denial bombs for use on the Jaguars, they missed out on a small detail that prevented the Jaguar from dropping it.

The IAF discovered the flaw years after acquiring the bombs, when Jaguars attempted to test fire them on a target runway in Pokharan for the first time.

Pre acquisition trials were conducted in France and since the bomb was so expensive IAF waited for the life of the first lot of bombs to nearly expire before testing them. Three Jaguars unsuccessfully attempted to release the bombs in front of the Defense minister, COAS and other top officials.

There were a lot of red faces that day, not just in the squadron tasked with the trials but right up the chain of command.

The software patch, when it arrived from France, took minutes.

Oh! Did I mention the squadron tasked was flying HAL manufactured Jaguars.

 

[desiman]

Indian Army to induct modern soldier weaponery

India has has unveiled its plan for the development of weapons and gear for individual soldiers through a public-private effort called Futuristic Infantry Soldier-As-A-System (F-INSAS).

Indian defence Minister A.K.Anthony indicated that a public-private partnership is being envisaged for improving the firepower, communications, and mobility of the soldier.

Indian Defence Ministry officials said that the public-private partnership is being adopted to produce cost-effective systems in large quantity.

Currently, the Qualitative Requirements for F-INSAS is being compiled together by the developer and the Indian Army, and critical technology requirements are being evaluated.

Sources indicated that two critical technologies, a multi-calibre individual weapon and an air-bursting grenade, will be designed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Other arms and gear will include anti-tank guided missiles, thermal sights and launchers, bulletproof vehicles anti-materiel rifles, advanced carbines, surveillance radars, ground sensors, secure communications, guided ammunition, laser rangefinders, and light clothing and bulletproof jackets.

Clothing will also incorporate nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) protection.

 

[desiman]

INDIAN ARMY GETS FIRST HOMEMADE ROBOTIC VEHICLE
The Indian Army has received the first ever homemade unmanned ground vehicle which will be used for; surveillance, to detect nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and mines.

The prototype of the Unmanned Ground Vehicle, which has been developed and handed to the Indian Army for trials, is based on an infantry fighting vehicle BMP-II platform.

It has been developed by the state-owned Combat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (CVRDE) based at Avadi operating under India’s defense research agency, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

DRDO scientists say the unmanned vehicle is a precursor to the planned futuristic unmanned artillery tank.
The prototype of the unmanned infantry vehicle consists of Drive-by-Wire (DBW) system which includes electromechanical actuators and drives for the driver interfaces such as acceleration, brake, gear shifting, steering, clutch, parking brake, etc. said a scientist of DRDO. The signals from the engine like, engine rpm, vehicle speed, etc are acquired by a data acquisition card and displayed in the graphical user interface(GUI).

The Indian Army plans to use a variety of unmanned systems besides the unmanned infantry soldier carrying vehicle. It plans to build Futuristic Main Battle Tanks which will operate without the crew.

The tanks would be linked with command information system linked to reconnaissance aircraft and satellites.

 

[desiman]

NBC Reconnaissance Vehicle Inducted Into Army

The Indian Army has inducted NBC (nuclear-biological-chemical) reconnaissance vehicle developed by Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). Although the Indian Army has already inducted over $140 million worth of NBC defence equipment and another $400 million worth of it is in the pipeline, it has placed an initial order for eight such vehicles. The vehicle will cost four times less as compared to a similar imported vehicle.

The NBC reconnaissance vehicle, based on a BMP-IIK chassis for cross-country capability, is fitted with nuclear, chemical, meteorological and positional sensors for monitoring contaminated areas. The vehicle will counter threats from armies that use NBC warfare.
The vehicle, with adequate shielding for the crew, will be used to monitor and demarcate areas contaminated with NBC agents, collect and store samples and transmit data to the command control centre. The vehicle can transmit data to command headquarters on request through the Communication Link Controller and a Star-V radio set. It also has various nuclear and chemical monitors in dismount role for personal monitoring.

DRDO has already developed products like nerve agent detectors, dosimeters, portable gas chromatographs, auto-injectors, first-aid kits, antidotes, NBC respiratory masks and suits, NBC filters, decontamination kits and NBC reconnaissance vehicles, among others.

Other key NBC products being developed in India include unmanned aerial and ground vehicles fitted with NBC detection sensors, nanotechnology-based biosensors, laser-based detection for chemical clouds, self-contained inflatable NBC shelters and a `model’ hospital to handle NBC victims.

 

[desiman]

ARDE Develops New Carbines for Army

The Indian Army is soon hoping to induct a new modern sub-machine carbine (MSMC) which has been developed by Pune-based Armaments Research and Development Establishment (ARDE).

The final trials for the MSMC will take place in December this year. The MSMC is a lightweight compact automatic gun with a small barrel; unlike a rifle, it fires rapidly and is suitable for close quarter combats.

ARDE director Anil M Datar said that the ARDE is in the process of proving 99.7 per cent reliability for the 5.56 calibre MSMC which is effective to a maximum range of 200 metres.

The MSMC will be replacing the Russian 9mm-caliber carbine currently used by the Indian Army and paramilitary forces.

The MSMC is a part of the Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) programme initiated in 1982 to provide an indigenous small arms weapons system for the Indian armed forces.
A rifle, a light machine gun (LMG) and a carbine were eventually designed as part of the INSAS family. However, the carbine failed to clear its test while the INSAS rifle and LMG were inducted for operational use.

The concept of a single ammunition system for all the three systems was the problem and the 5.56 ammunition proved to be too ‘heavy’ for the short range MSMC, giving a higher recoil and flash effect than was needed.

ARDE seems to have corrected the problem with a shorter length of the round, though of the same calibre.

Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) indicates that the introduction of the soft-body armour made the erstwhile 9 mm carbine with the Indian Army ineffective.

This paved the way for the development of the 5.56 mm Modern Submachine Carbine (MSMC), and its ammunition, aimed at defeating enemy soldiers protected with soft-body armour at a range of 200 metres.

According to the DRDO scientists , the weapon is lightweight and compact and has proved highly accurate and reliable during user trials.

The ammunition for MSMC is of conventional type with the bullet cylindro-ogival for better ballistics as compared to a 9 mm round. A steel insert has been introduced in the tip of the bullet to achieve better penetration power and it enhances the ammunition performance to a level superior than that of its contemporaries.

The distinguishing features of the 5.56 mm MSMC includes a pistol grip, which allows single-hand firing capability, magazine feeding through pistol grip, a retractable butt for better stability while firing, ambidextrous cocking, fire selector to suit left and right hand firers and a three-point sling for better carrying and maneuverability.

The other technologies used in MSMC include a unique semi bull-pump weapon feed system behind the trigger mechanism, noise-reduction technology and the integration of laser spot designator on MSMC for close quarter battle

 

[desiman]

VERY GOOD NEWS,
India To Revive Kaveri Engine Project

After a series of apprehensions, the indigenously designed ‘Kaveri’ engine, which was meant to power the homegrown ‘Tejas’ Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), is back again in the spotlight as the main contender for the LCA.

India had recently deemed the ‘Kaveri’ engine unfit after its on-going flight tests and was on the verge of finalizing either the Eurojet EJ-200 or the General Electric F-414 engines for the ‘Tejas’ LCA. However, India has made a turnaround in its decision and intends to go in for a powerful version of the ‘Kaveri’ engine to be co-designed by the French firm Snecma.

The cause for this change of plans is due to the skepticism that India has in acquiring the Eurojet or General Electric engines. India feels that Eurojet and General Electric would not be providing India with critical engine technologies despite the mandatory Transfer of Technology (ToT) in the purchase contract. The tender stipulates that 50 per cent of the technology must be transferred to India. However, there are chances that the international firm may not give the critical high-end technology that would be important for India.
Defence Ministry sources indicated that India will now co-develop an engine in India rather than manufacturing one under licence. The state-owned Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)’s Gas Turbine and Research Establishment (GTRE), which has a design partnership with French engine-maker, Snecma, has been asked to design a more powerful successor for the ‘Kaveri’ engine.

Minister of State for Defence, Dr Pallam Raju said that the ‘Kaveri’ engine has been underestimated in terms of the benefit it will bring to India. Since large scale research and development has already been invested in the ‘Kaveri’ engine, it will be a waste of time and money to put this in the back-burner. He added that the French firm ‘Snecma’ are willing to go beyond just transfer of technology and since it is a value-added offer, it will give India better technology than what India would get from ToT from Eurojet or General Electric.

Defence Ministry officials feel that India will need to take a crucial decision soon since the ‘Kaveri’ engine has already run into lot of delays and cost-overruns. GTRE is positive that the Snecma-GTRE venture will be fully capable of producing an engine as good as the F-414 and the EJ-200. It will involve improving from the current ‘Kaveri’ engine’s maximum thrust of 65 Kilo Newtons (KN) to the 95 KN that the EJ-200 and F-414 currently have.

 

[desiman]

INDIA'S SUBMARINE KILLERS
Indian Navy’s Project–28 Kicks-Off

The Indian Navy’s programme to build four world-class anti-submarine corvettes is gaining more momentum as international shipbuilders will be bidding to participate in the project. The programme to build these stealthy corvettes comes under ‘Project 28’ initiated by the Indian Navy.

The anti-submarine corvettes in Project 28 are being built by the state-owned Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and international bidders will be invited to bring in technology to build a major part of the corvette including the entire superstructure with lightweight composites. The Ministry of Defence will shortly issue tenders to three experienced global players including Kockums of Sweden, a subsidiary of Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems (TKMS), Greek shipbuilder Intermarine and the Korean Kangnam Corporation.

The superstructure which the international bidders will build with lightweight composites will enable the ship to be more stealthy and stable since it will reduce the weight of the ship. The superstructure is the upper part of the ship that rests on the hull and a crucial part of the shipbuilding project.
Sources indicated that India can use the composite superstructure for the third and fourth ships of Project 28.

Currently, the first corvette is already 90 per cent completed and 80 per cent of the superstructure is ready for the second corvette.

The current dilemma being faced is the pricing of the corvettes under the Project 28 for which orders were placed in 2003. Since then, GRSE has been working on Project 28 and by now, significant cost overruns have escalated the price of the corvettes under Project 28. Under the earlier Letter of Intent (LI) by the Indian Defence Ministry, the price was $560 million for the four ships of Project 28 ($40 million per corvette). As of now, it has reached $1.4 billion ($350 million per corvette). The Indian Defence Ministry is in a tight spot and will have to pay the amount since the cost of the first ship of Project 28 was to determine the real cost of Project 28. However, the Defence Ministry will make the commencement of production date of March 2006 to compensate for the delays caused by specification changes.

The main cause of delay has been the stringent standards of stealth for every piece of equipment on board set for the suppliers. Hence, they have struggled to develop engines, transmission, air-conditioning and power-generating systems. Since the Indian Navy has indicated that the machinery must work silently and that the majority of parts must be sourced or produced locally, GRSE is finding it tough to live up to the Navy’s expectations. The Indian Navy has clearly indicated that no compromise will be made in terms of standard for Project 28.

The corvettes under Project 28 will be the Indian Navy’s new anti-submarine warfare (ASW) surface combatant for the 21st century and will be completed by 2012. The corvette will weigh a 2500 tonnes and will be armed with stealth-mounted guns, the latest electronic warfare suite which, together with other key operational equipment and is shielded using stealth technology incorporated into the design of the bulwarks. The structure of the ship would be such that it would cut down noise drastically to prevent it from getting detected by enemy submarines whilst it will be able to detect enemy submarines and destroy it.

This should reassure the people who thought that we were not taking enough steps to curb the sub thread from our neighbors.

 

[desiman]

DRDO Supplies $6 Billion Weaponry To Defence Forces

India’s defence research agency, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a number of systems worth $6 billion have been inducted into the Armed Forces. Announcing in the parliament Dec. 16, Defence Minister A K Antony said a large number of systems are in the process of development production and induction.

Antony said India is fully focussed towards enhancing self-reliance in military hardware. However, achieving self-reliance in this area is a joint responsibility that has to be met through national efforts by all Government agencies including Ministry of Defence, Defence Industries (both Public and private), Ordnance Factories and DRDO.

A press release issued by the Defence Ministry said , “ As per provisions in Defence Procurement Procedure for “Make” Category, DRDO is concentrating only on development of strategic, complex and security sensitive systems.”
DRDO has also been developing need based products for the Armed Forces operating at high altitudes, deserts, rain forest, deep sea, etc. To increase their operational efficiency. These products are extremely useful in protecting our soldiers against adverse environmental conditions. Technologies, developed by DRDO, have been transferred to industries for their bulk production to meet the demands of Armed Forces.

Antony informed the parliament that there are no financial constraints in DRDO to attract trained talents. Sixth Central Pay Commission has also recommended a number of incentives for scientists which have been accepted and implemented by the Government. Attrition of scientists has reduced in the last two years in DRDO.

I know the DRDO is heavily criticized here, but a person who really knows the DRDO can tell you that they are on par with anyone when it comes to research. With a huge team of very dedicated and capable scientist and a huge budget the DRDO will always play a key role in safeguarding India and maintain India's indigenous capabilities.

 

[desiman]

DRDO Rolls Out Multi-Purpose Micro Air Vehicles

Indian scientists from Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) are presently developing Micro Air Vehicles (MAV) for varied defence applications such as surveillance and disaster management. These MAVs are made of a unique mix of material and are not easily detectable by radars.

The research and development on the MAVs are promoted by the National Design and Research Forum (NDRF), with support of Aeronautical Research and Development Board (AR&DB), Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and various private groups.

The MAV are like tiny vehicles that work like spies in sky. They weigh only 300 gms and are 300 millimetres long. Since these MAVs are not entirely made of metal and carbon fibres, they are hard to intercept by radars and sensors. These MAVs have a range of two to five kilometers and they fly some 100 to 200 metres above the ground for 30-40 minutes and capture images.
Lt. Gen (Dr) V J Sundaram, key scientist behind the MAV who was the former Director DRDO said that the MAV may be of the order of $16,000 and the sensors alone will take up 30 to 40 per cent of the cost. As of now, the MAV programme has become a national research initiative and a proposal of $19.6 million has been submitted to the Government to approach the project in an integrated manner. While MAVs will come in handy for the Indian Defence Forces, it can also be applied in other areas such as disaster management since they can be easily operated and deployed.

The Indian defence research organisations first supported MAV concepts in 1998. A study of MAVs was initiated in 2002 and a “national perspectives” report was produced in April 2003. A decision to develop MAVs was taken in 2005 and in the same year there was a US-Indian workshop on the technology. A fixed-wing MAV project was proposed in 2006. In 2008, a prototype was produced for fixed, rotor and flapping-wing MAVs and work has been going on to enable technologies including navigation, power supply and launch and recovery.

 

[desiman]

HAL To Supply 159 Helicopters

State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will supply 159 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) to the Army and the Indian Air Force from this year till 2016 at a cost of $1.25 billion.

MM Pallam Raju, Minister of State for Defence informed the parliament that HAL has so far delivered 22 ALHs to Indian Air Force (IAF) and 40 to the Army. Contracts for supply of 159 ALHs to the Army and IAF were signed in December 2007. These Helicopters are planned to be delivered during 2009-2016.

HAL has designed and developed the Advance Light Helicopter (ALH) in 5.5 ton category to suit the requirement of our Armed Forces. In addition, homegrown Light combat Helicopter (LCH) and Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) are at the development stage.
The LCH will be used as an attack helicopter, would weigh around 5.5 tons, be able to fly for three up to a height of six kilometers and be powered by two engines. It will carry a homegrown gyro-stabilized sighting system comprising a high-performance thermal imager and laser rangefinder with a four-kilometer detection range of a NATO tank target.

While HAL is now exploring a foreign partner for its indigenous Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) programme. The LUH programme will be separate from the ongoing Dhruv advanced light helicopter and light combat helicopter programmes.