INDIA: Building a Modern Arsenal in India

[desiman]

Hi dd,

Thanks for all your efforts in posting in this thread. Do you post in forums other than def.pk?

Really appreciate your input.

Sorry guys for no post for sometime, was in Cuba on vacation lol No prob bro, just trying to get the right info to you guys. I do post in other forums under different names but yes if you want more info feel free to msg me.

 

[desiman]

LCH 1st Flight "In A Few Weeks", Says HAL Chairman

 

[desiman]

Indian Army To Upgrade Vintage Ack-Ack Guns

Thirty-two years after the first lot of them were first inducted into service with the Army's Air Defence Artillery (now the Corps of Army Air Defence), the Ministry of Defence is finally considering an upgrade for the Army's (t)rusty Soviet era ZU-23-2 twin-barrel anti-aircraft autocannons. While a total of close to 1,000 guns were inducted, an unknown number remain in service. According to the request for information (RFI) that has been sent out to firms in Israel, Poland and Russia among others, the Army is essentially looking for a rugged electro-optical fire control system (EOFCS), electro-mechanical gun drives and a new rugged power supply for all the gun's systems.

 

[desiman]

The Indo-Israeli Barak-8

The Barak-8, the next generation long-range surface-to-air missile that India and Israel are currently developing as part of a co-development contract signed in 2007. Not that it matters, but I broke the story about India and Israel signing up to co-develop the next-generation Barak in early 2007 when I was with the Express. IAI has published very little about the missile in the past, and continues to keep its specs under wraps. Here's some stuff, hot of the IAI press:


The new generation Barak-8 Air and Missile Defense weapon system currently provides a complete solution to every type of airborne threat, whether that threat be from aircraft, tactical missiles, helicopters, or unmanned aerial vehicles. The system has two versions - maritime and land-based - each relying on an advanced, phased-array radar integrated with an advanced launch system containing “smart” missile interceptors, and a state-of-the-art command and control (C2) system, altogether providing full 360° coverage.

Barak-8 is unique in that it has a built-in ‘intelligence’ within the missile battery’s C2 system. The C2 system can ‘talk’ with other missile batteries, with external radars, and with air traffic control systems, creating an optimized scenario for detecting, engaging, and destroying the target. It is manifested by the threat being automatically neutralized through the most appropriate missile battery launching the missile. Especially impressive is that a radar connected to a given missile battery that may have detected the threat may not necessarily be part of the same battery that will respond to the threat. This allows us to maximize the system’s capabilities and create the most optimal interception scenario. It should be noted that the advanced, digital, phased-array radar was specifically developed by IAI Elta Systems, Ltd.

The system is designed from the start to intercept planes and tactical missiles such as air-to-ground missiles and naval anti-ship missiles. The Barak-8 is based on advanced concepts of defense system architecture, including advanced seekers, warheads, high performance maneuvering capabilities, and the ability to be optimally controlled. The missile can receive and process continuous updates on the position and flight trajectory of the target, and use these updates to adjust its own flight to best intercept and destroy the target. The unique missile propulsion system allows the missile to maintain energy, even after it has been airborne for an extended time, and reserve sufficient energy for the end-game or the target’s final engagement and hit. It must be remembered that the enemy missile is also trying to maneuver and evade the Barak-8.

The battlefield does not only have one or two threats that the Barak-8 must neutralize; in fact, there are a wide range of threats, coming from all directions and creating a number of potential targets, including our own forces’ airplanes.

Everything that was mentioned up until this point applies to any number of threats. Of course, no one battery, no matter how sophisticated, will be able to deal with dozens of missiles simultaneously. Integration and network coordination of resources creates synergy among the batteries and helps to successfully deal with a battlefield saturated with targets. For instance, within a given formation or fleet of naval ships, each equipped with a Barak-8, they communicate with one another through the secure communication channels and data link within the integrated system. In an automated manner, the system knows how to optimally allocate targets throughout various batteries of the naval formation, and among the various batteries of the network; and eliminate every threat, be it missiles, planes, or helicopters.

Similarly, land-based versions of the Barak-8 system can be easily and quickly deployed across tens of kilometers between the individually deployed batteries, and provide 360° coverage over the widest possible protected area against cruise missiles, airborne munitions launched from planes or ships, and other threats.

The system has the ability to interconnect with other systems and can thereby receive information on the threat from a wide variety of sources. It’s in its final stages of development, to be completed in 2010-2011. IAI already has customers for both the maritime and the land-based defense systems.

 

[desiman]

Inside the Phalcon

 

[desiman]

Devil In The Details? Bogey In The Indian Navy's P-8I Aircraft Contract

The Indo-US contract for eight Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaisance & anti-submarine warfare (LRMRASW) aircraft was signed at the beginning of this year, but, according to sources in the Navy, there appear to be some bogeys that seem to have passed the muster of South Block bureaucrats, certainly the ones who signed the deal. With such committed focus on the end user monitoring (EUM) clauses, sources point to a certain other clause in the contract that could spell potential trouble in the future, not just for the P-8I relationship, but others Indo-US contracts as well.

According to Section 6.1 under Article 28 of the contract between the two governments, the US will be liable for no penalties in the event that any "malicious code" is detected in the software that governs the P-8I's sensors and systems. Malicious code, among other things, could include deliberately embedded bits of software designed to do one or many of a variety of things, which could include encrypted recording of platform usage information -- data that only American inspectors will be able to decrypt during end-user inspections, without making it apparently so. Sound far-fetched. It apparently isn't. Anyway, the point is, if Indian engineers are lucky enough to detect the malicious software (in some fortuitous spasm of counter-intelligence), then as per the contract on paper, there will be no penalties. All the US will have to do is to modify the hardware or software and remove the malicious code, with no other liabilities.

There are folks who believe this is precisely what the US government has seen done in contracts with Pakistan's P-3 and F-16 fleet. Could something be amiss or is this paranoia? Has something far more dangerous passed under the radars of South Block?

 

[desiman]

Rafale In Bangalore In September

Photos of the Rafale in September when it was conducting the initial leg of its field evaluation trials for the MMRCA FET phase

 

[desiman]

Lockheed Launches Attack On Gripen's MMRCA Campaign

The gloves are off, not that they were ever on. Just a few days after Gripen held a well-reported press conference in Delhi last week, Lockheed-Martin has hit out at the Swedish plane-maker's campaign for India's $10.2-billion medium multirole combat aircraft (MMRCA) competition. At a reception for Lockheed-Martin's new India head Roger Rose, there was lots of talk on Gripen country head Eddy de la Motte's repeated affirmation that there would be "total transfer of technology" if the Gripen was selected. Lockheed-Martin Vice President (Business Development, India) Orville Prins told journalists that the Gripen campaign's assertion that there would be 100 per cent ToT was "dishonest and inaccurate".

Prins pointed out that with an admitted 35 per cent of the Gripen being made up by American components and systems, there was no way that the Swedes could trumpet full transfer of technology, simply because a full transfer of technology would mean formal release of the said technology by the US government, which may or may not be forthcoming. "Without formal sanction for technology release, it simply not honest to say you can transfer all technology. It is plainly false," Prins said.

Like I said, the gloves are off, and even the world's biggest aerospace firm feels the heat sometime or other. The F-16IN campaign considers itself seriously threatened by the Gripen IN's concerted effort to fritter out American content. It's interesting how Lockheed-Martin would also rely on a political leash on the Swedes, rather than concentrate its effort on attacking its competitors on technology. But then again, even the Swedes know this isn't a meat and potatoes campaign.

 

[desiman]

IAF Wants Extra Radar Mode On MMRCA AESAs


For all the stated technological advancements present in the only two operational AESA radars competing in the MMRCA competition, the Indian Air Force has informed the two principle integrators (Boeing and Lockheed-Martin respectively) that radar modes available on the Northrop-Grumman AN/APG-80 radar (F-16IN) and the Raytheon AN/APG-79 (F/A-18E/F) do not include a specific one that the IAF refuses to do without: the "weather radar mode". Though both Boeing and Lockheed-Martin tried to convince the IAF that their respective radars (and integrated avionics) were built to provide data and flightpath solutions through, over or around bad weather, the IAF has insisted that it wants the AESAs offered with a traditional weather radar mode as a separate mode option. The default modes demanded by the IAF, excluding interleaved and data-fused modes, are air-to-air search, air-to-air track, ocean surface search, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mapping, ground/sea target indicator and track and active beam mapping.

Lockheed-Martin has made it official now that the APG-80 radar will therefore undergo a certain amount of further development work to meet the IAF's requirement. This applies to Raytheon as well.

 

[desiman]

Cockpits of the MRCA contenders

Rafale

Gripen

F-18

F-16

Typhoon

Mig-35

 

[desiman]

YEAR-END REVIEW – 2009

Ministry of Defence



The country’s march towards indigenization and strengthening of the Armed Forces through modernization and state-of-the-art weapons acquisitions were the highlights of the Ministry of Defence during the year 2009. The Navy took a giant leap with the launching of the first indigenously built nuclear propelled strategic submarine named ‘Arihant’ in July. The Indian Navy is well on its way to acquire a lethal punch in the years ahead when it gets the first indigenous aircraft carrier. The keel for the carrier was laid in Kochi in February. The Navy also received the first batch of three MiG-29K fighter jets. The Air Force got a big boost when the first of the three AWACS, the IAF’s eye in the sky, joined its fleet in May. The Army’s focus during the year was on indigenization with the induction of locally built MBT Arjun and T-90 Bhishma tanks.



To facilitate the indigenous defence industry and fast track acquisitions by transfer of technology from foreign vendors, the Ministry of Defence issued an updated Defence Procurement Procedure-2009 in October. The year also fulfilled a longstanding aspiration of the Armed Forces personnel when the President inaugurated the Armed Forces Tribunal in August. The other significant events during the year include Rescue and Relief during cyclone Aila that hit West Bengal and humanitarian aid to war-ravaged Sri Lanka and the participation by a 400-member tri-service contingent in the French National Day Parade for the first time.



NUCLEAR POWERED SUBMARINE ‘ARIHANT’ LAUNCHED



India’s first indigenously built nuclear propelled strategic submarine named ‘Arihant’, meaning ‘Destroyer of the Enemies’, was launched on July 26 at the Ship Building Center, Visakhapatnam. India thus joined a select group of nations which have the technological capability to build and operate nuclear propelled submarines. Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, while congratulating the Director General of the ATV (Advanced Technology Vehicle) Programme, Vice Admiral (Retd) DSP Verma and all personnel associated with it for achieving this historic milestone in the country’s defence preparedness, noted that they overcame several hurdles and barriers to enable the country to acquire self-reliance in the most advanced areas of defence technology. The Prime Minister made a special mention of the cooperation extended by Russia.



The 6,000 ton ‘Arihant’ is undergoing trials for two years before its commissioning.



KEEL LAYING CEREMONY OF INDIGENOUS AIRCRAFT CARRIER



In February the keel was laid in Kochi for the first indigenous aircraft carrier, making India the fourth nation to join a select club of designers and builders of over 40,000 tonne Aircraft Carriers. The ship that will carry 30 aircraft including Mig-29Klub, LCA Tejas and Kamov Ka-31 helicopters and include a complement of 1,600 crew, is expected to add punch to the Navy’s capability when it joins the fleet in 2014. The carrier is the largest vessel for which construction has been undertaken at any Indian shipyard.



COMMISSIONING OF LANDING SHIP TANK INS AIRAVAT etc.



INS Airavat, the third Landing Ship Tank (Large) of the Shardul class was commissioned in May. As a platform designed for amphibious operations the ship can carry 10 Main Battle Tanks, 11 Combat Trucks and 500 Troops and has a considerable range and endurance at sea. With its weapon package, control systems and habitability conditions significantly enhanced from the earlier Magar class, Airavat delivers considerable punch and amphibious capabilities to the fighting prowess of the Indian Navy.



Four Fast Attack Craft namely INS Cora Divh, Cheriyam, Carnicobar and Chetlat were also commissioned over the year.



MiG-29K ARRIVAL



The first batch of three MiG-29K aircraft were received on December 04, 2009 at INS Hansa Goa. A total of 16 aircraft have been contracted from MiG RAC. These aircraft will be flown intensively after their acceptance.



CONTRACT FOR NAVY’S PATROL AIRCRAFT



A contract was signed in January with Boeing Industries for eight P-8I Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft worth $2.137 Billion. Delivery of aircraft is scheduled between 2013-15.



NAVAL ACADEMY AT EZHIMALA



The Naval Academy at Ezhimala, Kerala was commissioned on January 08, 2009. This Academy named INS Zamorin will be the largest officer-training Naval Academy in Asia. The Academy, spread over an area of 2452 acres along the North Malabar coastline, would be conducting a four year 'B Tech' programme in 'Electronics and Communications' and 'Mechanical Engineering' for naval cadets.



1ST BATCH OF WOMEN OBSERVERS JOIN INDIAN NAVY



Two lady officers were inducted as the first women Observers of the Indian Navy. Sub Lieutenant Seema Rani Sharma and Sub Lieutenant Ambica Hooda were awarded ‘Wings’ on November 20, 2009.



COASTAL SECURITY


In June a meeting chaired by the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony decided to set up a high level committee under the Chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary to review the measures taken for coastal security at regular intervals. The other members of the committee will include the Chief of Naval Staff, Secretaries of all concerned Ministries such as Defence, Home, Petroleum and Chief Secretaries of Coastal States.



One significant achievement of the year has been the integration of all maritime stakeholders, including the several State and Central agencies into the coastal security matrix. Intelligence and information sharing has undergone a transformational change. The Indian Navy has established four Joint Operation Centres in all Naval Commands. All coastal security operations are now coordinated from the Joint Operations Centre, which are manned round the clock by Naval and Coast Guard teams. In addition, the state Marine Police and other agencies such as Customs, Intelligence Bureau, Ports etc are also networked with these centers. Besides the four Joint Operation Centers at Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Kochi and Port Blair, each coastal district also has its own Operation Center for coordinating activity in their districts. The Coast Guard set up a station at Gandhinagar, Gujarat in December to strengthen maritime and coastal security in the northwestern region.



In a focused drive to enlist the support of fishermen for their role, awareness campaigns targeting coastal and fishing communities were conducted.



Recognizing that the Marine Police and CISF are not fully trained in maritime tasks, the Indian Navy has provided training assistance to all coastal states and CISF personnel. 263 CISF personnel have already undergone training at INS Chilka, the premier training establishment for sailors in the Indian Navy. Local Naval and Coast Guard elements in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Maharashtra have also taken up similar training for the Marine Police. Nearly 1600 marine police personnel have been trained. This effort continues during joint patrols, in which the Navy and Coast Guard participate along with the Marine Police, CISF and Customs.



ANTI-PIRACY OPERATIONS



The Indian Navy maintained one ship on anti-piracy patrol duties in the Gulf of Aden throughout the year. During the year the Indian Naval warships escorted over 700 merchant vessels through the treacherous Gulf of Aden. About 14 piracy attempts were successfully thwarted by the Indian Navy.



From early November an additional ship has been deployed to patrol the maritime areas of Seychelles and Mauritius to counter the increasing cases of piracy in these areas.



FIRST OF IAF AWACS ARRIVES IN INDIA



The first of the three Indian Air Force AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) platform arrived in India from Israel in May. Three Mig-29 and Jaguar aircraft escorted the giant IL-76 configured in its new avatar, each that took off from an advanced fighter airbase of South Western Air Command (SWAC). Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, SWAC, Air Marshal KD Singh, Air Defence Commander Air Vice Marshal P Singh and the AOC Jamnagar, Air Commodore C Hari Kumar and air warriors of the airbase welcomed the crew of the AWACS aircraft that included the Commanding Officer of the first AWACS squadron, Group Captain B Saju. Their maiden touchdown on Indian soil also marked the first landing of the AWACS in an IAF airbase.



IAF REACTIVATES AIRFIELDS IN LADAKH



On September 18, 2009 an IAF AN-32 aircraft landed at Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in eastern Ladakh. Though helicopters have been landing at this ALG, this was for the first time that a fixed-wing aircraft has landed at the compacted airstrip of Nyoma, located 23 kms from the Line of Actual Control at an altitude of 13,300 feet. It marked the culmination of joint effort by the IAF and Indian Army to enable the IAF to operate in the inhospitable terrain of Leh-Ladakh region in support of the Army.



The landing came 15 months after an AN-32 landed at Daulat-Beg-Oldie (DBO), the highest airfield in the world situated at an altitude of 16,200 feet.



SU-30 INDUCTED IN TEZPUR



The Su-30 aircraft was formally inducted at Air Force Station Tezpur on 15 June 15, following the upgrade of the airbase in the northeast.



PRESIDENT INDUCTS VVIP BOEING BUSINESS JET 747/700 INTO IAF



President Pratibha Patil inducted the new state-of-the-art VVIP jet into the IAF on April 1, 2009. The President later undertook a flight to Assam aboard the new Boeing 747/700, christened as ‘Rajdoot’. The sparkling white 60-passenger-capacity aircraft, designed on the lines of the US President’s Air Force One and equipped with a wide range of security cover and latest communication devices, replaces the Boeing 737.



PRESIDENT FLIES SU-30, BOARDS AIRCRAFT CARRIER VIRAAT



The President of India, Smt Pratibha Devisingh Patil became the first woman President anywhere across the world to fly a fighter jet. She undertook the historic half-hour sortie on the Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft at the Lohegaon airbase, Pune on November 25. Next month the President boarded the INS Viraat, India’s only aircraft carrier, and witnessed the operation of Sea Harrier Vertical Take-Off and Landing fighter jets from its decks. The 50-year-old 28,000 tonnes aircraft carrier rejoined the Indian Navy in August after a year-long refit at the Cochin Shipyard.



MMRCA FLIGHT TRIALS BEGIN



The Indian Air Force began flight evaluation tests for the procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) in August. US' Boeing and Lockheed Martin, French d'Assault, Swedish SAAB, European consortium EADS and Russian MiG are vying for the deal worth around Rs. 48,000 crore ($10.2 billion). The IAF hopes to complete the tests by April, 2010.



IAF EFFORTS IN ECLIPSE STUDY



The Indian Air Force successfully undertook sorties to help Indian scientists study the total solar eclipse that took place on July 23. Two separate missions from Agra and Gwalior were flown along the path of the moon’s shadow, a mission that was deemed hugely successful by scientists associated with the experiment. While one AN-32 transport aircraft carrying scientific equipment, cameras and scientists that took off from Agra landed back after a three-hour flight, a Mirage-2000 trainer from Gwalior took spectacular images of the celestial spectacle from 40,000 feet. With weather being clear at the altitudes and coordinates planned by the IAF pilots, both AN-32 and Mirage-2000 pilots were able to accomplish the mission successfully.



ARMY RAISES FIRST ARMOURED REGIMENT OF MBT ARJUN



History of sorts was made on May 25 when the Indian Army proudly equipped itself with the first Armoured Regiment of the indigenously built Main Battle Tank, Arjun. The development marked the fruition of 35 years of research in self-reliance by dedicated Indian scientists against all odds. 16 tanks (cumulative 45 Arjun tanks) were handed over to Lt.Gen.D.Bhardwaj, DGMF, towards formation of the 1st Arjun regiment at a function in Avadi, Tamil Nadu. MBT Arjun is the state-of-art main battle tank designed and developed by the Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), Avadi along with other DRDO and industrial partners. MBT Arjun is provided with excellent mobility, superior firepower and protection and its features are comparable to contemporary tanks operated by cavalries around the world.



INDIGENOUSLY BUILT T-90 ‘BHISHMA’ TANKS ROLL OUT


India rolled out its first batch of the indigenous, Russian-designed T-90 tanks in August, which will be the country’s main battle tank over the next three decades. The successor to the T-72 tanks, the T-90 - renamed Bhishma after the Mahabharat stalwart - is the one of the most advanced tanks in the world. It has night-fighting capability and can fire guided missiles from its turret. It is also designed to ensure protection of crew from radioactivity in the event of a nuclear attack. The Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi in Tamil Nadu will make 100 T-90 tanks annually over the next 10 years. The tank will be the spearhead of India's armoured corps and the mainstay of its offensive operations.



ARMY’S EFFORTS TO RESTORE NORMALCY IN J&K



The terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir have drastically come down and infiltration has been largely checked, thanks to the strict vigil on the Line of Control maintained by the Indian Army. In view of the improved situation in the state, the Army withdrew two Divisions comprising closed to 30,000 troops.



THIRD SUCCESSFUL TEST OF BALLISTIC MISSILE INTERCEPTOR



India inched closer towards its endeavour to put in place its own home-grown Ballistic Missile Defence System by successfully carrying out the third Interceptor test on March 06, 2009 from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Wheeler Island in Orissa. The two-stage Interceptor Missile fitted with advanced systems hit the target enemy missile at 75 kms altitude. This third consecutive interception of Ballistic Missiles once again demonstrated the robustness of the Indian Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system.



DEFENCE PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE 2009 RELEASED



An updated and revised Defence Procurement Procedure-2009 was released in October 29, and it came into effect in November. It promotes indigenous defence industry, ensure transparency and accountability in all procurement cases and liberalizes Offset provisions to enable vendors to fulfil their obligations. The amended DDP-2009 introduced a new category named ‘Buy and Make (Indian)’ which enables indigenous private and public industry to enter into joint ventures with foreign suppliers by Transfer of Technology and not by Research and Development.



ARMED FORCES TRIBUNAL INAUGURATED


The long-awaited Armed Forces tribunal was inaugurated by the President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil on August 07, 2009. Set up by an Act of parliament in December, 2007, the Armed Forces Tribunal has its Principal Bench in New Delhi and eight regional benches spread across the country. It has been followed with the setting up of the Tribunal’s regional benches in Chandigarh, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kolkata and Chennai. The Tribunal will have 15 courts in all, - three each in New Delhi, Chandigarh and Lucknow and one each in Jaipur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai and Kochi.



Aggrieved armed forces personnel will now be able to appeal against sentences handed down by the court-martial. The Tribunal has the powers to grant bail to any person in military custody. The Armed Forces Tribunal provides a judicial forum for the redressal of grievances of about a 1.3 million strong armed forces personnel and another 1.2 million Ex-Servicemen.



RESCUE & RELIEF DURING ‘AILA’ CYCLONE etc.



Acting upon the request of the West Bengal government, the Ministry of Defence dispatched medical teams of the Armed Forces personnel to the devastating cyclone ‘Aila’ affected areas of North and South 24 Parganas districts of the state in June. Many columns of the Army and several divers from the Indian Navy were also engaged in providing relief and rescue. These teams provided medical aid to several thousand people in the Aila affected areas. 5,000 kgs of relief stores were also distributed in the flood affected areas, which include clothing, food items and tentage. Divers from Indian Navy and Army personnel rescued 450 marooned persons and evacuated them to safer areas. Armed Forces also pressed into service Gemini boats in cyclone affected areas to distribute relief materials. IAF also pressed the Mi-17 helicopters into service to provide aid to the affected people.



When parts of Andhra Pradesh and northern Karnataka were badly affected by floods in the first week of October, the Army, Navy and IAF carried out extensive operations, rescuing over 3,600 people. More than 4.5 tonnes of rations were distributed by the Army to the marooned people in the two flood affected states. The Air Force deployed 32 aircraft and helicopters, carrying out 340 sorties.. The Navy also deployed two Chetak helicopters and diving teams for flood rescue operations.



In February the IAF also launched Operation Humsafar to supply food and medicines to the snowbound remote areas of Doda district.



AID TO WAR-RAVAGED SRI LANKA



On the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, medical teams from Armed Forces were sent to war-ravaged northern Sri Lanka. Indian Air Force IL-76 transport aircraft airlifted several tones of medical aid to Colombo in March.



JOINT EXERCISES



The Indian Army conducted the joint exercise ‘YUDH ABHYAS-09’ with the US Army at Babina near Jhansi in October, towards coordinated peacekeeping and disaster relief operation. A Mechanised Infantry Battalion of Indian Army and 2nd Squadron of 14 CAV of 254 Stryker Brigade Combat Team comprising 325 US troops participated in this exercise. The Indian and Maldivian troops conducted ‘EKUVERIN-09’ exercise in Belgaum.



Exercise COPE INDIA 2009 was held in October at Agra between IAF and US Air Force. Six IAF Jaguars participated in a joint Air Exercise with the Royal Air Force of Oman at Thumrait, Oman the same month. Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet Task Force comprising four warships carried out joint exercise ‘SIMBEX 09’ in March with the Singapore Navy. The Fleet also exercised with the US and Japanese Navies under the aegis of the MALABAR exercise. Additionally enroute, the fleet conducted exercises with the navies of Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Korea and Indonesia. On the other hand, a Western Fleet Task Force comprising four ships were deployed to Europe from May, 2009. The fleet ships touched over 15 ports and in addition to having dedicated joint operations with the Royal Navy and the French Navy under the codenames ‘Konkan’ and ‘Varuna’ the ships also conducted exercises enroute with 12 different navies viz. the Algerian Navy, Portugese Navy, German Navy, Turkish Navy, Israeli Navy, Russian Navy, Royal Netherlands Navy, Spanish Navy, Moroccon Navy, Hellenic Navy, Egyptian Navy and the Royal Navy of Oman.



Indian Naval warships and aircraft also conducted joint surveillance of the extensive Exclusive Economic Zone in the waters of Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles. Our ships conducted coordinated patrols with the navies of Thailand and Indonesia.



SEPARATE PAY COMMISSION FOR ARMED FORCES ANNOUNCED, PAY HIKE PROPOSALS IMPROVED


In a New Year bonanza for the Armed Forces on January 1, 2009, the Prime Minister’s Office informed the Defence Ministry that the Armed Forces personnel would henceforth have a separate Pay Commission, which is delinked from the civilian pay panel. On April 21 the Government notified Pay Band-4A with a Grade Pay of Rs 8000 for Lieutenant Colonels and equivalents in Navy and Air Force, which benefitted about 15,000 officers. Later the Government approved higher wages under the Sixth Pay Commission for Lieutenant Generals and equivalent officers, putting them at par with the Director Generals of Police, a key demand of the Armed Forces. About 33 per cent of the total number of Lt Generals in the Army, Air Marshals in the IAF and Vice Admirals in the Navy, were granted the Higher Administrative Grade (HAG) Plus scales.



AERO INDIA 2009



The 7th Edition of Aero India, Asia’s premier Air Show, was held in Bengaluru from February 11 to 15, 2009. In size and number, this was the biggest air show, hosted by India so far. 592 exhibitors from 25 countries participated at the show. A number of aircraft including F-16, F-18, MiG-35D, Eurofighter, IJT, ALH Dhruv, AJT Hawk, C-17, Embraer 135 Business Jet Legacy 600, C-130J Hercules, Citation XLS,G 550, AN-12 Cargo and A-310 MRTT were on display. Defence Ministers of France, Peru, Bolivia, Surinam, Mongolia, Oman and Maldives came for the show. Besides high level delegations from 40 countries also attended the Show.



SAINIK SAMACHAR CENTENARY



The Armed Forces Journal ‘Sainik Samachar’ celebrated its Centenary on January 2, 2009. Sainik Samachar had started as Fauji Akhbar, an Urdu weekly on January 2, 1909, with an aim to provide Army personnel with ‘a summary of news with a military bias’. It was re-christened as Sainik Samachar on April 04, 1954. The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony released a Coffee Table Book ‘Soldiering On...’ on the occasion.



INDIAN ARMED FORCES CONTINGENT PARTICIPATES IN FRENCH NATIONAL DAY PARADE



A 400-strong contingent of the Indian Armed Forces comprising marching columns and a combined military band from the Army, Air Force and Navy participated in the French National Day parade on July 14, 2009 in Paris. This was the first time an Indian military contingent was accorded the honour. The contingent was commanded by Air Commodore RK Mathur.



ANTONY TAKES OVER AS DEFENCE MINISTER FOR THE SECOND TIME



Following the resounding win of the United Progressive Alliance in the April-May General Elections to the 15th Lok Sabha, Shri AK Antony took over as the Defence Minister for the second time on May 25, 2009. Shri Antony has been at the helm of the Defence Ministry since October 25, 2006.



APPOINTMENTS



Shri Pradeep Kumar took over as the Defence Secretary on July 31 following the superannuation of Shri Vijay Singh. Shri Kumar was already working as Secretary (Defence Production) in the Ministry of Defence. Earlier on May 31, Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik took charge as the 19th Chief of Air Staff from Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major and later the Navy got Admiral Nirmal Verma as its new chief, following the superannuation of Admiral Sureesh Chopra.



Eminent missile scientist Dr. Vijay Kumar Saraswat took over as the new head of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from Shri M Natarajan on September 1, 2009. Dr. Saraswat spearheaded the development of country’s strategic and tactical missile systems including the ‘Agni’ series of strategic missiles covering a range up to 3,000 kms.

 

[desiman]

2020: Defending India

NATO’s Allied Force saw induction of more than 400 planes into the Balkan skies. Phase - I witnessed cruise missiles, F-117 Nighthawks, B-2 bombers, F-15/16 Eagles, F-16 Falcons and B-52 bombers which rolled in from as the diverse directions and places as Adriatic Sea, Missouri, Italy and England. With that Kosovo moved to a new level of misery. The largest air attacks since WWII commenced on a country which does not threaten the global equilibrium nor its neighbors. And none know the precise exit strategy nor the endgame. However, this much is clear that the resultant giagantic refugee problem will heavily eat into the NATO manpower and resources for a long time to come.

Of late, unfortunately, the American foreign policy has been driven by ultimatums. Whenever, a disagreement occurs, the lone super power needs to deliver on such threats. But the air attacks without ground troops support cannot always win. So Osama bin Laden remains where he was. Saddam continues to visit his mistresses. And now NATO’s credibility is up for grabs. The Balkans is likely to be the graveyard of air-attacks-alone theory. For history argues that a determined infantry cannot be evicted by massive air attacks. The Kosovo spillover will not only impact on the health of the EU, but also put a question mark on the American global dominance.

However, Americans are likely to continue with such ill-advised actions on a variety of flashpoints worldwide in a desperate attempt to disallow emerging new power equations. This will further tie down in knots the NATO credibility. Let’s try to visualise how India can re-organise internally to meet the new challenges arising out of the deteriorating international scenario.

The Indian Faultline. This faultline can be traced back to the Mauryan empire’s unwise decision of renouncing war. Like corporate graphs, the military power graph of a nation either gradually creeps upwards or if not in use, the law of gravity pulls it downwards! Thus unwittingly, in subsequent centuries the neglect of the military component resulted in unprecedented foreign invasions. Incomprehension of the dynamics of military power by the subsequent rulers and the attempts to absorb, appease and amalgamate the invading armies put the foreign rulers at the seat of power in Delhi with ease. This is akin to allowing an adversary in a soccer match to dominate your half of the field. Obviously goals will be scored.

The other aspect of the Indian Faultline rests on the fact that majority of the Indian rulers employed the military power ruthlessly internally to pacify the outlying provinces (instead of attempting economic development) while refusing to correctly posture it to meet the threats from invasion. This short sighted approach continued on India’s attaining independence. Many elders (product of a similar mindset) tend to defend the actions of Indian political leadership of 1947 on singular ground of inexperience. One tends to disagree because all it needed was to review the historical evidence of foreign subjugation and the leadership would automatically have deduced the reasons. And initiated corrective measures. This small exercise really did not require a very high caliber in leadership either.

On one hand, the international stability appears to be in a tail spin. Because the lone super power is determined to rise and shine at every flashpoint despite the time tested principle of never jump into somebody else’s civil war. On the other hand, India is finally waking up to the fact that the world does not feed on morals! India needs to re-look and re-fashion its internal factors to meet the prevailing new external lawlessness.

The Have-Nots. Indians over the centuries have done to the Untouchables, what the Americans did to the Blacks. Suppression. The Blacks even today cannot easily rise in the American society because of one simple fear that they will return the favour in ample measures. Fortunately for India, the Untouchables retain their levels of tolerance like the rest of the Indians. Therefore, rapid education and economic development of the backward/rural areas needs to be implemented on a war footing. Time lost in this respect will be directly proportionate to heightened levels of social disharmony which India can ill-afford as an emerging power.

Unity-in-Diversity. The Indian tragedy is that this slogan since 1947 has only harped on the aspect concerning diversity, encouraging divisive tendencies from Kashmir to Kanyakumari! For aspirations towards building a modem nation-state, the buzz word has to be integration and not disintegration. Give spin to integration by merging the MoD with Service Headquarters and right down the line to the Theatre Command. More efficiency at a much lesser cost with availability of a larger fire power.

A unique functional role model of unity in diversity for India is its military. Be it the Sikhs, Rajputs, Jats or the Madras Regiments, the cultural diversity is adequately maintained at the lower end of the spectrum. Uniformity through training is achieved at the higher end of the spectrum. The social scientist and the economist must sit together with the military analyst to understand, innovate and devise methods to integrate the society accordingly. The military role model respects and encourages secularism and yet manages to effectively knit the diversity in a rare unity. Overall national uniformity in approach is vital for the national health and cannot be disputed. Nor should it be erroneously mistaken as militerization of the Indian mind. Internal harmony will also reduce consumption of military power within. Such surplus of military component then readily will be available to face the external threats. To develop national uniformity in approach, the following elementary steps are recommended.

■Post-independence military actions, battles and wars must be taught to students from the ninth standard onwards. This literature is not only secular but can galvanize the young through acts of courage, compassion and bravery exemplified by the Indian soldier, sailor and the airman. It will also be of immense help to create a larger vision of a diverse India in the young mind. Further, to hone the skills of civilian instructors in the teaching of post independence history in military science departments in colleges, officers from the three services should be put on deputation for two years under study leave provisions.
■On scrutiny, the only all India services are the Army, Navy and the Air Force. Indian Administrative Service or Indian Police Service merely adorn an all India nomenclature. For example an IAS officer from Bihar cadre normally ends up spending his professional tenure between Bihar and Delhi. This needs to be modified like the military. Officers of the civil services like IAS, IPS, etc. should be posted through out the country to increase their vision and interaction with diverse regions and communities. This will provide a fillip to integration.
■A major boost to uniformity in approach can be achieved by lateral induction of the military in civil services. Officers of the Armed Forces imbibe in them the best man and material management techniques that the country can offer. If they are laterally inducted into central and state administrative and police structures with their seniority intact, they will perform miracles in providing a responsive and a responsible administration. Similarly jawans can be absorbed in the state and central police forces. Training costs come down, efficiency goes up, shortages of manpower ends, and the military remains young. Besides, this simple measure bestows honour and recognition of the soldier’s contribution to the nation. Above all this will act as a force-multiplier in national integration.
Internal Reforms. Analysing the Indian genius and skills, one factor stands out. It works the best in a free atmosphere. Scores of Indian fast food joints are now ahead of those owned by multinationals. Infact, for the first time, the latter are forced to cut down their retail prices and cater to the Indian palate. Modern banking facilities at a lesser cost provided by HDFC Ltd. Bank is ahead of the foreign banks. Zee TV revenues score over a foreign channel. Therefore, accelerated pace of internal reforms to free and unleash the Indian enterprenuial energy in the next five years is a must-must.

Simultaneously lowering the over-whelming government structures by 35% in the next five years is mandatory for India to gain momentum. The system is not only clogged but eats up revenue in far excess of what it can collect. And hardly delivers. However, the social net for the next twenty years needs to remain intact till the have-nots are brought into the main stream through education. Here, I emphasize on the spread of education in the rural areas because this not only creates new skills and competence but helps check the explosion in population. In actualities, India can afford to export vast amount of brains and yet have an internal surplus! The government needs to exploit this factor.

Defending India. To defend India, we have everything going for us except a vision and a will to ruthlessly implement it. Indians must remember that despite building up of sufficient alliances in our region and out-of-the-region, we must not become complacent and neglect the growth of military power in future. Education of the masses, encouraging the free enterprise, developing the economy of the outlying provinces through an efficient administrative machinery on a war footing (and thus freeing the military power from enormous internal consumption), disallowing demographic changes in the border areas from outside in particular, and giving thrust to national integration while retaining diversity at the lower end of the spectrum are the areas that need to be conceptually worked upon. Simply, put to defend India, the India First generation must take over from the fading elders of India Last generation.

 

[ambidex]

Devil In The Details? Bogey In The Indian Navy's P-8I Aircraft Contract

So what is the way out. Any input please.

 

[desiman]

So what is the way out. Any input please.

The plane will go through a variety of checks before it is handed over to India. These checks included structural inspection, performance checks, software and internal hardware checks and many other procedures. Indian engineers are well up to the task to spot such malicious code and have been trained to do so keeping in mind that a big part of Indian arms comes from foreign dealers. Rest assured no such code will make it through their watch. These types of clauses are part of every country’s procedures to safe guard themselves from any problem that could arise. Its not only limited to the USA, even Russia and China do this. The deal is on track and will be accomplished even before its due date.

 

[goondude999]

hey desidog, i'm really impressed with ur 1)knowledge and 2)enthusiasm to share ur knowledge.... good job!!!