Indian Army News & Discussions
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Corruption cases in force won’t be hushed up: Army Chief
Army Chief General Bikram Singh, who took over as the 25th Chief of Army Staff in the backdrop of insinuations rife about him going slow against the rot within the force, made it amply clear that no corruption cases will be hushed up during his tenure.
In his public statements coming after nearly a month of taking over the reins of the 1.13 million-strong Indian Army, the General said that even though during his tenure officers will not be kept under extreme scrutiny, any case of corruption will be dealt with a strong hand.
“I assure the nation through you that no corrupt element will be tolerated in the system and guilty will be brought to the book. We will proceed against such elements according to rule book and the cases will be taken to the logical end,” General Bikram Singh said during an informal interaction with media persons.
In his month-long tenure alone quite a few high-ranking officers have been under the scanner for corruption related cases. Investigations were presently on against one Lieutenant General, one Major General, two Brigadiers and two Colonels. Along with this, the Commandant of the prestigious National Defence Academy (NDA) was also shunted out after his Staff Officer – a Colonel rank officer was arrested in the cash for job scam.
After taking a month’s time to take stock of the affairs of the Indian Army, in the wake of a slew of controversies involving the force, the General has outlined his vision for the remaining next 23 months of his tenure. General Singh has given strict instructions to all the men in uniform to adhere to the ethos of the Olive Green as the flouters will not be spared due to the fear of embarrassment.
With the previous chief General (retired) VK Singh focusing more on “transformation” of the force, the incumbent has made it clear that the focus will be on “modernization” and “transformation” will be a sub-set of it. “Modernisation is a broader topic. We have taken stock of the ‘hollowness’ in the military preparedness and we are working towards resolving it,” General Singh added.
General Singh has the challenge of plugging the gaping holes in the military preparation of the Army – the army aviation, artillery and ammunition – are all in the dire need of modernization. Under his leadership the Army has got a sympathetic view of its demand for a ‘mini air force’ operating combat helicopters and fixed wing aircraft, despite a vocal opposition from the Indian Air Force (IAF). Following the final approval, the force will be inducting its first squadron of attack helicopters.
defence eXpress: Corruption cases in force won’t be hushed up: Army Chief
Army Chief General Bikram Singh, who took over as the 25th Chief of Army Staff in the backdrop of insinuations rife about him going slow against the rot within the force, made it amply clear that no corruption cases will be hushed up during his tenure.
In his public statements coming after nearly a month of taking over the reins of the 1.13 million-strong Indian Army, the General said that even though during his tenure officers will not be kept under extreme scrutiny, any case of corruption will be dealt with a strong hand.
“I assure the nation through you that no corrupt element will be tolerated in the system and guilty will be brought to the book. We will proceed against such elements according to rule book and the cases will be taken to the logical end,” General Bikram Singh said during an informal interaction with media persons.
In his month-long tenure alone quite a few high-ranking officers have been under the scanner for corruption related cases. Investigations were presently on against one Lieutenant General, one Major General, two Brigadiers and two Colonels. Along with this, the Commandant of the prestigious National Defence Academy (NDA) was also shunted out after his Staff Officer – a Colonel rank officer was arrested in the cash for job scam.
After taking a month’s time to take stock of the affairs of the Indian Army, in the wake of a slew of controversies involving the force, the General has outlined his vision for the remaining next 23 months of his tenure. General Singh has given strict instructions to all the men in uniform to adhere to the ethos of the Olive Green as the flouters will not be spared due to the fear of embarrassment.
With the previous chief General (retired) VK Singh focusing more on “transformation” of the force, the incumbent has made it clear that the focus will be on “modernization” and “transformation” will be a sub-set of it. “Modernisation is a broader topic. We have taken stock of the ‘hollowness’ in the military preparedness and we are working towards resolving it,” General Singh added.
General Singh has the challenge of plugging the gaping holes in the military preparation of the Army – the army aviation, artillery and ammunition – are all in the dire need of modernization. Under his leadership the Army has got a sympathetic view of its demand for a ‘mini air force’ operating combat helicopters and fixed wing aircraft, despite a vocal opposition from the Indian Air Force (IAF). Following the final approval, the force will be inducting its first squadron of attack helicopters.
defence eXpress: Corruption cases in force won’t be hushed up: Army Chief
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Were working with the US government, to release Patriot Missile systems to India
Director, Business Development, Integrated Air and Missile Defence, Raytheon, David Hartman
Director, Business Development, Integrated Air and Missile Defence, Raytheon, David Hartman
________________________________ What is your primary focus in the Indian market?
My primary focus is the integrated air and missile defence (IAMD), air defence weapons and missile defence (the larger systems the US is planning to deploy in various locations); ballistic missile defence (BMD) systems and ground-based midcourse defence (GMD) systems. The difference here is that this time we have joined with our partners from Raytheon missile systems and they talked about their capabilities to excel at missile defence against higher weapons with very long range. All this in the context of the integrated air and missile defence we have presented in Defexpo.
We were using the notion that no single system does it all. Thats why you need an integrated and a layered system. You have to go from very short range-
helicopters and UAVs as potential threats to worrying about long range ballistic missiles. Again it is the integration across the whole battle space which is very important and that is what we are talking about.
We also focus on the challenges in establishing the IAMD as it is not an easy proposition in order to accomplish that integration. So you start to think about what your doctrine is and how you employ your systems with presented ideas like mass mobility, and integration. But then you also have to be able to develop the concept of operations and how will you take these capabilities and employ them into the defence design based on the needs.
How did you implement such integrated defence systems in the US market?
We were talking about it for a long time and we are working to include Raytheons command and control systems. IAMD somewhat comes down to such command and control. There is a US programme called IBCS (integrated battle command systems) in which all the sensors and the construct will be pulled-in and managed from the command and control system. But that is an engineering challenge, a technical challenge. There is a lot of work to be done in that area.
How are the Indian programmes advancing for you?
We see very promising and good opportunities here. Several requests for information (RFIs) have been issued for different ranges and classes of weapons and weve responded to them. We are expecting requests for proposal (RFPs) in several of them soon.
There was an RFP for short range surface to air missile (SRSAM) and we did not respond to that primarily because the system that we could offer includes components that have to be sold through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route by the US government. We discussed this with the Indian Army about our need for a language that would allow us to get it, but they were not willing to change the RFP at that point. So we had to no-bid because they did not allow an FMS.
How do you plan to take care of such issues in the future
We are working very hard to inform and educate our Indian customers. If we talk to them about the FMS, sometimes there is a misunderstanding about what the implications are.
In the case of Indian Air Force, FMS is not an issue. They purchase significant equipment from the US through this route for example, C-130J, P-8I, C-17 are all FMS cases. Within the army, I have been discussing these issues for a long time now and we have covered a certain distance now. There is increasing recognition that the technology we have and the capabilities that were able to offer them have value. And that may be some parts of it have to come through the FMS route.
Indian armed forces already have a lot of radars and missiles. Will you be able to integrate your systems with the platforms available already?
Absolutely. First of all, we recommend that you start with what you have and then you improve your capability. A lot of the discussions in the Indian market are about indigenous development, and the time it takes to create capabilities. We recognise that it is important for India. But in my mind the reason that we are here and where we can help is that there is a gap in knowing you need something and making the decision in which we are going to invest in research and development to get the capabilities and finally getting it.
Director, Business Development, Integrated Air and Missile Defence, Raytheon, David Hartman
___________________________________________ You can look at any number of American systems and their R&D phase. It stretches to become a very long period of time. And thats a very significant investment of money. So my point is, if you accept that it is going to take you a long time to get to where you need to go but you also have a need to able to respond to threats today there is a significant gap. What we are trying to do is to offer capabilities which are mature systems that will fill this gap.
Are you talking about developing such capabilities here over an extended period of time?
There will be an ongoing Indian programme to develop capabilities. We are not challenging that. What we are trying to offer is the capabilities that fill the gaps that have been identified. And I make that statement only on the basis that if the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force did not believe that the gaps existed, they would not be putting out RFIs and RFPs.
Talking about what Raytheon can do to support the R&D infrastructure, we have some very mature systems that perhaps the US has taken out of its inventory for subsequent release and post-structure. We have capabilities within our inventory today that look like they satisfy the requirements being proposed by the Indian services. For example MRSAM and our Patriot weapon systems which are a very good match.
In terms of SRSAM and QRSAM for the army and LOQRM for the air force, the ranges of missiles that they want and need, we believe our HAWK XXI system could be a very good solution. Those three are the short and mid range capabilities with a range of 10-40 kilometres. And that fits our Hawk system very nicely. With Hawk, we could offer significant transfer of technology and a very significant amount of the indigenous production. So we are working with the partner to see if there is a business case and we could get India in the business of developing and producing the entire weapon system.
Have you started working with Indian firms to develop Hawk XXI system already?
Weve been exploring Indian companies, having preliminary discussions with them. But remember how these things work with the US government; we first need to get release authority from the US government to be able to have these conversations. We are just in the process of finalising that with the US government and we believe it looks very promising in terms of the degree and the amount of Transfer of Technology (ToT) that is to be offered.
Given the possibility that you can form Joint Ventures (JVs) with Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), would you prefer DPSUs over private firms for your weapon systems?
We are at such a stage in our discussions that I wouldnt want to disclose exactly who we are talking to, as we dont have an agreement yet. But I would say that we are in dialogue with the PSUs as well as private industries.
You spoke about bridging gaps within the Indian armed forces. What products do you think will fill these gaps?
Raytheon has a long experience in all the segments and layers in the integrated air and missile defence system. From the short range to the very long range missiles and sensors. We have Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORAD) capabilities with the Stinger man-portable weapon system which is now on the periscope. We have Hawk XXI systems; we have another offering called NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System), with Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM) capability.
AMRAAM usually flies with the air force. But we have a ground launch configuration now. In between the two of them is the command and control centre. The sensor of both Hawk XXI and NASAMS are the same except the radar, which belongs to the Norwegian company we team with, Kongsberg. They make the fire direction centre (FDC). These are the complimentary systems that fit very nicely in the short to medium range.
In the Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) class, we have the Patriot weapon system. The high endo-low exo range Network Centric Airborne Defence Element (NCADE) weapon system is being fielded to the US Army and has been sold internationally. Raytheon also makes the kill vehicle on the US ground based interceptor and most importantly, SM-3 which is a navy weapon. In India where the integrated structure is going to be air force, army and navy, the SM-3 is going to fit in.
What does Raytheon offer for the fastest detection and identification of threats?
We are talking primarily about interceptors kill mechanism. The fastest detection relates to the sensor side of the defence system. For weapon systems like Hawk, NASAMS and Patriot, Raytheon builds sensors for all of the radars. In a fully integrated air and missile defence structure, there are other sensor platforms that you want to bring in order to establish the fastest intrusion detection.
For example, a challenging sensor phenomenon in the threat set-up is when you have smaller targets that are able to fly close to the ground. While it is difficult to sense these threats from the ground, it gives better opportunity to detect such threats if you are operating high and looking down. Raytheon makes the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defence Elevated Netted Sensors (JLENS) aerostat which is designed primarily for cruise missile defence. Recently, the US has done very successful tests where JLENS detected a target which the Patriot system could not see.
In the missile defence world, given the longer range threats the answer is that you have to have much more powerful and longer range surveillance radar. We built all the surveillance radars in the US missile defence programme upgraded early warning radars, long range radars with the protection range of thousands of kilometres. All of that has to be integrated together to give the leak proof protection for the civilian and the military networks.
How do you think you will survive in this market given the competition?
We are in this business for a very long period of time. The US has invested money in the R&D and the technology necessary to stay consistently ahead of the development of threats. The layered approach is the only approach that is going to be successful it has a leak proof defence. So, Raytheons participation in all these programmes, which were primarily developed for the US Army with years of engineering experience and solving problems with regard to the sensor technology puts us in a very good position especially to respond to the needs of the Indian Air Force and Indian Army.
I understand there is a lot of competition globally. Thirty years ago, Raytheon did not have any competition in this area we had the product and we were able to sell it quite successfully. We continue to be very successful. But every year it becomes more and more of a challenge as there are good platforms that are being offered right now.
Who do you think your biggest competitors here are?
It is very similar to the competition else where. Russia, Israel and France are here. The point that I want to make when it comes to the competition with the Russian systems is that we have successfully competed against them in a number of countries. We have Patriot deployed in 11 partner countries apart from the US today. There is some recognition of the capabilities that we bring. But will that always be true? I dont know. But we have never lost with this one.
What is your immediate focus in the on-going Indian competitions?
The leading opportunities that I see are with the MRSAM, LRSAM and Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM). We know there is some desire among the armed forces for the active secret missile technology which is in our AMRAAM. So we would like to be able to offer that at one point of time when the RFQ is out. I have been working on Patriot system. It fits the MRSAM requirements very nicely and at the moment.
The Indian Army and the Indian air force noticed that the US government has not released the Patriot weapon system to offer it to India. We are working with the US government on this. They have done some recent steps and there is some movement in that direction but it is too early to predict. Early warning radar is the other area that we are working on that fits Indias requirements for long range radars. Again, we are working with the US government, to be able to release such technology.
We are working with the US government, to release Patriot Missile systems to India
Director, Business Development, Integrated Air and Missile Defence, Raytheon, David Hartman
Director, Business Development, Integrated Air and Missile Defence, Raytheon, David Hartman
________________________________ What is your primary focus in the Indian market?
My primary focus is the integrated air and missile defence (IAMD), air defence weapons and missile defence (the larger systems the US is planning to deploy in various locations); ballistic missile defence (BMD) systems and ground-based midcourse defence (GMD) systems. The difference here is that this time we have joined with our partners from Raytheon missile systems and they talked about their capabilities to excel at missile defence against higher weapons with very long range. All this in the context of the integrated air and missile defence we have presented in Defexpo.
We were using the notion that no single system does it all. Thats why you need an integrated and a layered system. You have to go from very short range-
helicopters and UAVs as potential threats to worrying about long range ballistic missiles. Again it is the integration across the whole battle space which is very important and that is what we are talking about.
We also focus on the challenges in establishing the IAMD as it is not an easy proposition in order to accomplish that integration. So you start to think about what your doctrine is and how you employ your systems with presented ideas like mass mobility, and integration. But then you also have to be able to develop the concept of operations and how will you take these capabilities and employ them into the defence design based on the needs.
How did you implement such integrated defence systems in the US market?
We were talking about it for a long time and we are working to include Raytheons command and control systems. IAMD somewhat comes down to such command and control. There is a US programme called IBCS (integrated battle command systems) in which all the sensors and the construct will be pulled-in and managed from the command and control system. But that is an engineering challenge, a technical challenge. There is a lot of work to be done in that area.
How are the Indian programmes advancing for you?
We see very promising and good opportunities here. Several requests for information (RFIs) have been issued for different ranges and classes of weapons and weve responded to them. We are expecting requests for proposal (RFPs) in several of them soon.
There was an RFP for short range surface to air missile (SRSAM) and we did not respond to that primarily because the system that we could offer includes components that have to be sold through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route by the US government. We discussed this with the Indian Army about our need for a language that would allow us to get it, but they were not willing to change the RFP at that point. So we had to no-bid because they did not allow an FMS.
How do you plan to take care of such issues in the future
We are working very hard to inform and educate our Indian customers. If we talk to them about the FMS, sometimes there is a misunderstanding about what the implications are.
In the case of Indian Air Force, FMS is not an issue. They purchase significant equipment from the US through this route for example, C-130J, P-8I, C-17 are all FMS cases. Within the army, I have been discussing these issues for a long time now and we have covered a certain distance now. There is increasing recognition that the technology we have and the capabilities that were able to offer them have value. And that may be some parts of it have to come through the FMS route.
Indian armed forces already have a lot of radars and missiles. Will you be able to integrate your systems with the platforms available already?
Absolutely. First of all, we recommend that you start with what you have and then you improve your capability. A lot of the discussions in the Indian market are about indigenous development, and the time it takes to create capabilities. We recognise that it is important for India. But in my mind the reason that we are here and where we can help is that there is a gap in knowing you need something and making the decision in which we are going to invest in research and development to get the capabilities and finally getting it.
Director, Business Development, Integrated Air and Missile Defence, Raytheon, David Hartman
___________________________________________ You can look at any number of American systems and their R&D phase. It stretches to become a very long period of time. And thats a very significant investment of money. So my point is, if you accept that it is going to take you a long time to get to where you need to go but you also have a need to able to respond to threats today there is a significant gap. What we are trying to do is to offer capabilities which are mature systems that will fill this gap.
Are you talking about developing such capabilities here over an extended period of time?
There will be an ongoing Indian programme to develop capabilities. We are not challenging that. What we are trying to offer is the capabilities that fill the gaps that have been identified. And I make that statement only on the basis that if the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force did not believe that the gaps existed, they would not be putting out RFIs and RFPs.
Talking about what Raytheon can do to support the R&D infrastructure, we have some very mature systems that perhaps the US has taken out of its inventory for subsequent release and post-structure. We have capabilities within our inventory today that look like they satisfy the requirements being proposed by the Indian services. For example MRSAM and our Patriot weapon systems which are a very good match.
In terms of SRSAM and QRSAM for the army and LOQRM for the air force, the ranges of missiles that they want and need, we believe our HAWK XXI system could be a very good solution. Those three are the short and mid range capabilities with a range of 10-40 kilometres. And that fits our Hawk system very nicely. With Hawk, we could offer significant transfer of technology and a very significant amount of the indigenous production. So we are working with the partner to see if there is a business case and we could get India in the business of developing and producing the entire weapon system.
Have you started working with Indian firms to develop Hawk XXI system already?
Weve been exploring Indian companies, having preliminary discussions with them. But remember how these things work with the US government; we first need to get release authority from the US government to be able to have these conversations. We are just in the process of finalising that with the US government and we believe it looks very promising in terms of the degree and the amount of Transfer of Technology (ToT) that is to be offered.
Given the possibility that you can form Joint Ventures (JVs) with Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), would you prefer DPSUs over private firms for your weapon systems?
We are at such a stage in our discussions that I wouldnt want to disclose exactly who we are talking to, as we dont have an agreement yet. But I would say that we are in dialogue with the PSUs as well as private industries.
You spoke about bridging gaps within the Indian armed forces. What products do you think will fill these gaps?
Raytheon has a long experience in all the segments and layers in the integrated air and missile defence system. From the short range to the very long range missiles and sensors. We have Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORAD) capabilities with the Stinger man-portable weapon system which is now on the periscope. We have Hawk XXI systems; we have another offering called NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System), with Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM) capability.
AMRAAM usually flies with the air force. But we have a ground launch configuration now. In between the two of them is the command and control centre. The sensor of both Hawk XXI and NASAMS are the same except the radar, which belongs to the Norwegian company we team with, Kongsberg. They make the fire direction centre (FDC). These are the complimentary systems that fit very nicely in the short to medium range.
In the Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) class, we have the Patriot weapon system. The high endo-low exo range Network Centric Airborne Defence Element (NCADE) weapon system is being fielded to the US Army and has been sold internationally. Raytheon also makes the kill vehicle on the US ground based interceptor and most importantly, SM-3 which is a navy weapon. In India where the integrated structure is going to be air force, army and navy, the SM-3 is going to fit in.
What does Raytheon offer for the fastest detection and identification of threats?
We are talking primarily about interceptors kill mechanism. The fastest detection relates to the sensor side of the defence system. For weapon systems like Hawk, NASAMS and Patriot, Raytheon builds sensors for all of the radars. In a fully integrated air and missile defence structure, there are other sensor platforms that you want to bring in order to establish the fastest intrusion detection.
For example, a challenging sensor phenomenon in the threat set-up is when you have smaller targets that are able to fly close to the ground. While it is difficult to sense these threats from the ground, it gives better opportunity to detect such threats if you are operating high and looking down. Raytheon makes the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defence Elevated Netted Sensors (JLENS) aerostat which is designed primarily for cruise missile defence. Recently, the US has done very successful tests where JLENS detected a target which the Patriot system could not see.
In the missile defence world, given the longer range threats the answer is that you have to have much more powerful and longer range surveillance radar. We built all the surveillance radars in the US missile defence programme upgraded early warning radars, long range radars with the protection range of thousands of kilometres. All of that has to be integrated together to give the leak proof protection for the civilian and the military networks.
How do you think you will survive in this market given the competition?
We are in this business for a very long period of time. The US has invested money in the R&D and the technology necessary to stay consistently ahead of the development of threats. The layered approach is the only approach that is going to be successful it has a leak proof defence. So, Raytheons participation in all these programmes, which were primarily developed for the US Army with years of engineering experience and solving problems with regard to the sensor technology puts us in a very good position especially to respond to the needs of the Indian Air Force and Indian Army.
I understand there is a lot of competition globally. Thirty years ago, Raytheon did not have any competition in this area we had the product and we were able to sell it quite successfully. We continue to be very successful. But every year it becomes more and more of a challenge as there are good platforms that are being offered right now.
Who do you think your biggest competitors here are?
It is very similar to the competition else where. Russia, Israel and France are here. The point that I want to make when it comes to the competition with the Russian systems is that we have successfully competed against them in a number of countries. We have Patriot deployed in 11 partner countries apart from the US today. There is some recognition of the capabilities that we bring. But will that always be true? I dont know. But we have never lost with this one.
What is your immediate focus in the on-going Indian competitions?
The leading opportunities that I see are with the MRSAM, LRSAM and Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM). We know there is some desire among the armed forces for the active secret missile technology which is in our AMRAAM. So we would like to be able to offer that at one point of time when the RFQ is out. I have been working on Patriot system. It fits the MRSAM requirements very nicely and at the moment.
The Indian Army and the Indian air force noticed that the US government has not released the Patriot weapon system to offer it to India. We are working with the US government on this. They have done some recent steps and there is some movement in that direction but it is too early to predict. Early warning radar is the other area that we are working on that fits Indias requirements for long range radars. Again, we are working with the US government, to be able to release such technology.
We are working with the US government, to release Patriot Missile systems to India
RPK
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DRDO, Army working on futuristic artillery gun - India News - IBNLive
New Delhi: That the Indian Army's artillery regiments are in desperate need of a makeover is well known. But the process of modernisation and upgrade has moved at a glacial pace. The only new weapon in sight is the M777 light howitzer which has been cleared for procurement from BAE Systems in the US. The DRDO has now stepped in, reviving an old artillery project that had been shut down some years ago owing to the Army's lack of interest in an indigenous project.
Working this time with the Army's full backing, the DRDO has begun work on a new 155mm 45-calibre gun that could take a decade to develop and field. Dr S Sundaresh, head of the team for the new artillery project, said in an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN that the gun would comprise certain high-end technologies that could require a foreign collaborator.
ON THE NEW GUN
We are proposing to develop a futuristic gun in consultation with the Army. We are in dialogue with the Army for some of the new technologies we are proposing to introduce into this gun, for example a special coating for the barrel to enhance its life, the smart recoil system with rheological fluid or an electrical drive to elevate and traverse the gun. We are in dialogue with the Army to finalise the Preliminary Staff Qualitative Requirements (PSQR) hopefully in the next couple of months. We have already started design work and will modify the design to suit the PSQR.
Since these are new technologies, we expect in about four to five years time we should be ready with a prototype for user trials, followed by summer and winter trials. Production could commence in about nine to 10 years' time. So the development cycle is 5-7 years including evaluation by the Army.
ON NEW TECHNOLOGIES
We want to try new technology in the area of recoil. The standard recoil systems are hydro-pneumatic but we are looking at an electro rheological liquid which has adaptive viscosity characteristics. So it will have adaptive damping, you will get a smooth consistent recoil no matter what the weight of the shell and what range you are firing at. That makes for a more reliable recoil system. The PSQRs demand new technology such as barrel coating. So the plan is to first build the barrel using current technologies and then try coating. Once that barrel development technology has matured, we can add new technologies and improve its performance. A number of foreign firms are willing to offer the coating technology. We are in dialogue but nothing has been firmed up yet. In order to cut down on time, we may get the technology from abroad, especially about the barrel coating and the recoilless system.
ON TANK GUNS VS ARTILLERY GUNS
Basically, both tanks and non-rocket artillery have rifled guns but when you look at the length of the barrel, the artillery gun barrels are much longer than tank barrels. The artillery shell is heavier, so the force of recoil is heavier. Accordingly, you require a proper recoil mechanism and a muzzle brake system.
ON LONE RANGER EFFORT
Nobody else in the world is developing a new gun. BAE Systems Bofors, Denel and Singapore Technologies have developed technologies for the guns they built. Nexter of France has also done the same but no serious development is taking place in terms of new guns. All guns are being produced with existing technology, so we will be the only country taking up this development. We have a large requirement and even if we take up development today, we can meet our requirements 10 years from now for a state-of-the-art gun system.
The Ordnance Factory Board is working on a gun based on the ToT documents received from Bofors. So they will be building a 155mm 39-calibre gun as well as a 155mm 45-calibre one. DRDO is helping them with the 45-calibre barrel design and external ballistics.
ON SELF PROPELLED GUNS
Self propelled guns are now at the RFP stage and we have teamed up with BEML for the Army tender. BEML is taking the turret from the Czech firm Zusana and the same will be integrated on the Arjun tank chassis. Hopefully trials will commence within a year.
New Delhi: That the Indian Army's artillery regiments are in desperate need of a makeover is well known. But the process of modernisation and upgrade has moved at a glacial pace. The only new weapon in sight is the M777 light howitzer which has been cleared for procurement from BAE Systems in the US. The DRDO has now stepped in, reviving an old artillery project that had been shut down some years ago owing to the Army's lack of interest in an indigenous project.
Working this time with the Army's full backing, the DRDO has begun work on a new 155mm 45-calibre gun that could take a decade to develop and field. Dr S Sundaresh, head of the team for the new artillery project, said in an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN that the gun would comprise certain high-end technologies that could require a foreign collaborator.
ON THE NEW GUN
We are proposing to develop a futuristic gun in consultation with the Army. We are in dialogue with the Army for some of the new technologies we are proposing to introduce into this gun, for example a special coating for the barrel to enhance its life, the smart recoil system with rheological fluid or an electrical drive to elevate and traverse the gun. We are in dialogue with the Army to finalise the Preliminary Staff Qualitative Requirements (PSQR) hopefully in the next couple of months. We have already started design work and will modify the design to suit the PSQR.
Since these are new technologies, we expect in about four to five years time we should be ready with a prototype for user trials, followed by summer and winter trials. Production could commence in about nine to 10 years' time. So the development cycle is 5-7 years including evaluation by the Army.
ON NEW TECHNOLOGIES
We want to try new technology in the area of recoil. The standard recoil systems are hydro-pneumatic but we are looking at an electro rheological liquid which has adaptive viscosity characteristics. So it will have adaptive damping, you will get a smooth consistent recoil no matter what the weight of the shell and what range you are firing at. That makes for a more reliable recoil system. The PSQRs demand new technology such as barrel coating. So the plan is to first build the barrel using current technologies and then try coating. Once that barrel development technology has matured, we can add new technologies and improve its performance. A number of foreign firms are willing to offer the coating technology. We are in dialogue but nothing has been firmed up yet. In order to cut down on time, we may get the technology from abroad, especially about the barrel coating and the recoilless system.
ON TANK GUNS VS ARTILLERY GUNS
Basically, both tanks and non-rocket artillery have rifled guns but when you look at the length of the barrel, the artillery gun barrels are much longer than tank barrels. The artillery shell is heavier, so the force of recoil is heavier. Accordingly, you require a proper recoil mechanism and a muzzle brake system.
ON LONE RANGER EFFORT
Nobody else in the world is developing a new gun. BAE Systems Bofors, Denel and Singapore Technologies have developed technologies for the guns they built. Nexter of France has also done the same but no serious development is taking place in terms of new guns. All guns are being produced with existing technology, so we will be the only country taking up this development. We have a large requirement and even if we take up development today, we can meet our requirements 10 years from now for a state-of-the-art gun system.
The Ordnance Factory Board is working on a gun based on the ToT documents received from Bofors. So they will be building a 155mm 39-calibre gun as well as a 155mm 45-calibre one. DRDO is helping them with the 45-calibre barrel design and external ballistics.
ON SELF PROPELLED GUNS
Self propelled guns are now at the RFP stage and we have teamed up with BEML for the Army tender. BEML is taking the turret from the Czech firm Zusana and the same will be integrated on the Arjun tank chassis. Hopefully trials will commence within a year.
black_jack
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Army nabs NDFB rebels, informers in Udalguri dist
GUWAHATI: The anti-talks faction of National Democratic Front of Boroland ( NDFB) has suffered a blow with the Red Horns Gunners of the Army nabbing five rebels and two women informers, along with weapons, in the Chaglijhar area of Udalguri district on Monday and Tuesday.
Based on intelligence inputs, the army with the help of police launched the operation at Natunbasti village in the Chaglijhar area on Monday night and apprehended two Bangladesh trained anti-talk cadres. The cadres were indentified Filow Showlat alias Khunsai and Nerswn Boro alias Norsa. The duo belonged to the 38th batch of the outfit.
Following interrogation and information provided by the duo, the army apprehended three more cadres and two female informers from the same area. The trio have been identified as Sensuna Basumatary, Bhagya Boro and Pranjul Basumatary.
The army recovered a foreign-made 9mm pistol, 15 live rounds of bullets, 10 Chinese grenades and electronic detonators.
The five militants were involved in creating terror in Adivasi settlements of the Chaglijhar area. The army and police swung into action after a group of villagers from Chaglojhar complained the army about the cadres threatening the residents and extorting money.
"The nabbing of these cadres has made the locals feel relieved," said an army officer. The army also caught a linkman with one pistol, two rounds of ammunition and 10 kg of narcotics at Mohanpur village in Udalguri district on Sunday.
Army nabs NDFB rebels, informers in Udalguri dist - The Times of India
GUWAHATI: The anti-talks faction of National Democratic Front of Boroland ( NDFB) has suffered a blow with the Red Horns Gunners of the Army nabbing five rebels and two women informers, along with weapons, in the Chaglijhar area of Udalguri district on Monday and Tuesday.
Based on intelligence inputs, the army with the help of police launched the operation at Natunbasti village in the Chaglijhar area on Monday night and apprehended two Bangladesh trained anti-talk cadres. The cadres were indentified Filow Showlat alias Khunsai and Nerswn Boro alias Norsa. The duo belonged to the 38th batch of the outfit.
Following interrogation and information provided by the duo, the army apprehended three more cadres and two female informers from the same area. The trio have been identified as Sensuna Basumatary, Bhagya Boro and Pranjul Basumatary.
The army recovered a foreign-made 9mm pistol, 15 live rounds of bullets, 10 Chinese grenades and electronic detonators.
The five militants were involved in creating terror in Adivasi settlements of the Chaglijhar area. The army and police swung into action after a group of villagers from Chaglojhar complained the army about the cadres threatening the residents and extorting money.
"The nabbing of these cadres has made the locals feel relieved," said an army officer. The army also caught a linkman with one pistol, two rounds of ammunition and 10 kg of narcotics at Mohanpur village in Udalguri district on Sunday.
Army nabs NDFB rebels, informers in Udalguri dist - The Times of India
black_jack
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Gen Bikram Singh conferred with honorary General of Nepal Army
Indian Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh was on Wednesday conferred with the Honorary General of the Nepali Army by President Ram Baran Yadav.
Singh was also presented with a sword, a certificate and the insignia of the Nepal Army during a function at Rastrapati Bhawan in the
capital.
Prime Minister Baburam Bhattrai and Chief of Army Staff of Nepal Army Chhatra Man Singh Gurung were present on the occasion.
Nepali and Indian armies have a tradition of conferring the rank of honorary general to each other's chiefs.
Gen Bikram Singh conferred with honorary General of Nepal Army - Hindustan Times
Indian Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh was on Wednesday conferred with the Honorary General of the Nepali Army by President Ram Baran Yadav.
Singh was also presented with a sword, a certificate and the insignia of the Nepal Army during a function at Rastrapati Bhawan in the
capital.
Prime Minister Baburam Bhattrai and Chief of Army Staff of Nepal Army Chhatra Man Singh Gurung were present on the occasion.
Nepali and Indian armies have a tradition of conferring the rank of honorary general to each other's chiefs.
Gen Bikram Singh conferred with honorary General of Nepal Army - Hindustan Times
black_jack
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India eyes Russia to overcome ammunition shortage
New Delhi: Facing a critical shortage of ammunition for Army's fleet of T-90 and T-72 tanks after the blacklisting of an Israeli firm, the Defence Ministry is now looking to procure these shells from Russia.
The severe shortage of tank ammunition was first highlighted by then Army chief Gen VK Singh in a top secret letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in March this year which later found its way to the media.
After the blacklisting of supplier of the FSAPDS (Fin Stabilized Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot) used by T-90 and T-72 tanks, Russia has now been approached for supplying these tank shells, Defence Ministry sources said here.
A contract negotiation team under a Joint Secretary-level official had also gone to Moscow recently to discuss the price of FSAPDS ammunition but further parleys will have to be held to decide on the cost issue, they said.
To avoid such shortages in future, the Defence Ministry is also seeking a transfer of technology from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to produce the ammunition indigenously.
Gen Singh had pointed out in his letter that only three to four days of this particular ammunition was left in the inventory of the armoured regiments. Later on, the Army had also informed the Standing Committee on Defence about the shortage and how the situation had worsened by the recent blacklisting of its supplier Israeli Military Industry (IMI).
Recently, the Army Headquarters had initiated the process to procure within 12 to 18 months around 75,000 to one lakh rounds of FSAPDS ammunition from global sources but apparently not much progress has been made so far.
After the issues were brought out by the then Army Chief, Defence Minister A K Antony had taken urgent steps to address them and has held several rounds of meetings with Army and Defence Ministry officials to review preparedness and do away with the stumbling blocks in the modernisation process.
Gen Singh's letter had highlighted the obsolescence of the air defence systems in the Army and to address the issue, the Defence Minister has cleared the procurement of quick reaction surface-to-air missile systems for eight new regiments that are to come up.
Likewise, the procurement for 145 Ultra-Light Howitzers (ULH) from the US has also been cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).
India eyes Russia to overcome ammunition shortage
New Delhi: Facing a critical shortage of ammunition for Army's fleet of T-90 and T-72 tanks after the blacklisting of an Israeli firm, the Defence Ministry is now looking to procure these shells from Russia.
The severe shortage of tank ammunition was first highlighted by then Army chief Gen VK Singh in a top secret letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in March this year which later found its way to the media.
After the blacklisting of supplier of the FSAPDS (Fin Stabilized Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot) used by T-90 and T-72 tanks, Russia has now been approached for supplying these tank shells, Defence Ministry sources said here.
A contract negotiation team under a Joint Secretary-level official had also gone to Moscow recently to discuss the price of FSAPDS ammunition but further parleys will have to be held to decide on the cost issue, they said.
To avoid such shortages in future, the Defence Ministry is also seeking a transfer of technology from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to produce the ammunition indigenously.
Gen Singh had pointed out in his letter that only three to four days of this particular ammunition was left in the inventory of the armoured regiments. Later on, the Army had also informed the Standing Committee on Defence about the shortage and how the situation had worsened by the recent blacklisting of its supplier Israeli Military Industry (IMI).
Recently, the Army Headquarters had initiated the process to procure within 12 to 18 months around 75,000 to one lakh rounds of FSAPDS ammunition from global sources but apparently not much progress has been made so far.
After the issues were brought out by the then Army Chief, Defence Minister A K Antony had taken urgent steps to address them and has held several rounds of meetings with Army and Defence Ministry officials to review preparedness and do away with the stumbling blocks in the modernisation process.
Gen Singh's letter had highlighted the obsolescence of the air defence systems in the Army and to address the issue, the Defence Minister has cleared the procurement of quick reaction surface-to-air missile systems for eight new regiments that are to come up.
Likewise, the procurement for 145 Ultra-Light Howitzers (ULH) from the US has also been cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).
India eyes Russia to overcome ammunition shortage
black_jack
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Largest ever army recruitment rally held at Senapati
mphal, July 24 2012: The recruitment rally which is being conducted at Senapati with the mandate of recruitment of Other Ranks (OR) in general and technical vacancy of the Indian Army, from the state of Manipur has been a great success.
The recruitment process was flagged off by Major General Binoy Poonnen,VSM GOC, Red Shield Division on 21 Jul 2012 .
The rally is being conducted by Director, Area Recruitment Office (ARO) Rangapahar assisted by ARO Silchar and a team of medical officers.
To ensure just, equal, fair and credible recruitment process all tests are being conducted in a transparent manner by employing latest technology in the presence of locals and media.
Col BS Yadav and Col Ajay Tomar, Area Recruitment Officer (ARO) have expressed their satisfaction and happiness over the overwhelming response.
They also appreciated the high standards of physical fitness, zeal, and enthusiasm displayed by the prospective candidates from all over Manipur.
The recruitment rally has so far seen unprecedented response where in approx 16000 children from all over Manipur participated in last three days and over 1000 children cleared the first stage.
The record response of the children to join Indian Army exhibits their desire to join mainstream.
Major General Binoy Poonnen,VSM, GOC, Red Shield Division has complimented the people of Manipur for their efforts in coming forward to seek a way out of insurgency and in joining the mainstream.
Largest ever army recruitment rally held at Senapati : 25th jul12 ~ E-Pao! Headlines
mphal, July 24 2012: The recruitment rally which is being conducted at Senapati with the mandate of recruitment of Other Ranks (OR) in general and technical vacancy of the Indian Army, from the state of Manipur has been a great success.
The recruitment process was flagged off by Major General Binoy Poonnen,VSM GOC, Red Shield Division on 21 Jul 2012 .
The rally is being conducted by Director, Area Recruitment Office (ARO) Rangapahar assisted by ARO Silchar and a team of medical officers.
To ensure just, equal, fair and credible recruitment process all tests are being conducted in a transparent manner by employing latest technology in the presence of locals and media.
Col BS Yadav and Col Ajay Tomar, Area Recruitment Officer (ARO) have expressed their satisfaction and happiness over the overwhelming response.
They also appreciated the high standards of physical fitness, zeal, and enthusiasm displayed by the prospective candidates from all over Manipur.
The recruitment rally has so far seen unprecedented response where in approx 16000 children from all over Manipur participated in last three days and over 1000 children cleared the first stage.
The record response of the children to join Indian Army exhibits their desire to join mainstream.
Major General Binoy Poonnen,VSM, GOC, Red Shield Division has complimented the people of Manipur for their efforts in coming forward to seek a way out of insurgency and in joining the mainstream.
Largest ever army recruitment rally held at Senapati : 25th jul12 ~ E-Pao! Headlines
angeldemon_007
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^^^
Where did you found this pic ? It doesn't seems to have APC, commander's panoramic sight, thermal imager and the automatic weapon station on the turret....
Please is it somebody's depiction of how it will look or is it really arjun mk2 minus the stuff i wrote above.
Where did you found this pic ? It doesn't seems to have APC, commander's panoramic sight, thermal imager and the automatic weapon station on the turret....
Please is it somebody's depiction of how it will look or is it really arjun mk2 minus the stuff i wrote above.
Sergi
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It isn't Mark-2 probably Mark 1A.
Mark-2 that undergo tests in summer had all you write and it's colour was different.
angeldemon_007
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Thanx....However i think turret of Mark 1A as well Mark 2 will be the same. If thats the case and if drdo took help from Israelis for this (as per prasun sen gupta) then thats not good enough. The turret is just putting ERA tiles in slanting position just like what Russians did and which Indians should be able to do without any help. Israelis have developed such a modern turret like Merkava 4 and if we took their help then drdo wasted the taxpayers money.
