Indian Army thread

[nitesh]

Strategic firing range for army in Tawang- Hindustan Times

As the western front grabs attention following the Mumbai terror strikes, the army has quietly homed in on a strategic acquisition — an artillery firing range in the Himalayas near Tawang.

A major Buddhist pilgrimage boasting of historical links with Lhasa in Tibet, Tawang is the reason why China has been claiming some 90,000 sq km of Arunachal Pradesh.

Senior army officials on the northeastern frontier said the force deposited Rs 8 crore towards “compensatory afforestation” for the Gamrela field firing range at an elevation of 11,000 ft not far from the McMahon Line. This line marks the boundary between India and Tibetan Autonomous Region.

The Forest Department, which controls over 80 per cent land in Arunachal Pradesh, had in 2001 notified Gamrela as a temporary seasonal firing range. In view of Tawang’s strategic importance, the army had since made a move for acquiring the range.

“We are yet to receive the money for compensatory afforestation, which according to the Forest Conservation Act of 1980 is 10 per cent of the land considered for diversion to the army,” conservator of forests and nodal officer R. Kemp told HT from Itanagar. “The final approval for transfer of land will come from the Centre once the payment is received, but we have in principle given our approval.”

The land considered for diversion measures is some 6,000 hectares. The impact area, where actual firing is carried out, thus works out to 600 hectares.

In less than a fortnight, the army carried out two rounds of practice firing involving the indigenously developed 105 mm Indian field guns and 105 mm light field guns with a maximum range of 17 km. “What Gamrela means is battle readiness in snowy conditions and rarified atmosphere, since the nearest field firing range is in the humid plains of Assam 230 km away,” a senior officer said, refusing to be identified.

Notably, the Chinese army uses 122 mm and 130 mm field guns on the Tibetan side of the border.

 

[nitesh]

Indian Army Plans Future Operations with U.S. | India Defence

Less than two months after a series of terrorist attacks on the people of India, senior officials from the U.S. Army, Pacific, joined by the Marine Forces Pacific and Special Operations Command, Pacific, met with members of the Indian army for the 13th annual Indian Executive Steering Group to coordinate training engagements between the ground forces of the two countries.

"Since 1995, we have met annually to enhance our relationship and we have made significant progress over the last many years," said Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, commander, U.S. Army, Pacific, who gave opening remarks with his counterpart Lt. Gen. A.S. Sekhon, Indian army director of general military operations. "Our relationship with India has been and will continue to be a centerpiece of our strategy with the United States Army in the Pacific."

Mixon addressed plans to build a strategic partnership through eight initiatives established by U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey and Indian army Chief of Staff Gen Deepak Kapoor to enhance cooperation.

"The need for these initiatives are more urgent now in light of the Mumbai terrorist attacks," Mixon said. “A great deal of work has been done by our staffs in preparation for the ESG, and I am optimistic that we can work together to produce outstanding results. I would like to continue to build upon these successes so we can enhance our professional and personal friendships."

Sekhon emphasized the importance of the friendship of the countries. "We in the Indian army are looking towards taking our relationship further. Our cooperation has come a long way," he said. "It started from a lower level of cooperation, with subject matter engagements to tactical level exercises with boots on the ground, and I think the doctrinal exchange such as this ESG has really paved the way to take this cooperation further towards higher cooperations."

The week's events include review and assessment of 2008's joint and combined training events and coordination of future actions between both militaries.

Mixon expressed condolences on behalf of USARPAC and expressed faith in the resilience of the people of India withstand the attacks and prosper as a vibrant democracy.

"India is the world's largest democracy and a very close ally to the U.S.," said H. Ali Mohammed, U.S. Dept. of the Army Headquarters international affairs interoperability analyst and ESG attendee. "As such, we must forge ahead to meet all the challenges in the world today."

 

[nitesh]

The New Indian Express - Best of South India News, Entertainment, Cricket, Business, Lifestyle


India Express Buzz
Monday, January 12, 2009 3:40 PM IST

DARE’s indoor antenna range facility
Express News Service
First Published : 12 Jan 2009 03:47:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 12 Jan 2009 12:47:02 PM IST

BANGALORE: The Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE), a laboratory of DRDO based in Bangalore has developed an indoor antenna test range facility to characterise both the electronic support measure (ESM) and electronic counter measure (ECM) antennas, a facility which is the first of its kind in India.

This facility covers a wide range for pattern characterisation with a unique capability to measure direction and finding accuracy too.

It is also capable of characterising antennas for radiation patterns, beam peak, beam with width and directivity.

The facility receives and transmits electronic warning antenna signals, similar to sun rays and is named ‘Udayakiran.’ A few days ago this lab had been successful in indigenously upgrading the avionics system for MiG 27 aircraft.

 

[ejaz007]

Indian army begins probe into Poonch mess

NEW DELHI: Indian Army has begun investigations into a security failure that allowed eight to 10 militants to escape the cordon of 2,000 troops after a nine-day encounter in the Poonch region of Indian-held Kashmir.

Defence sources have denied reports they were provided ‘safe corridors’, and believe the officers commanding the operation have been asked to explain.

The eight-day siege of the Bhatidhar forests in Poonch was called off after the army and police moved in following a three-day calm, and found the jungles and caves empty. Officially, the Indian government has blamed the weather for the humiliation.

The militants killed two soldiers – including an officer – and a policeman, but apparently suffered no casualties, although the Indian Army had earlier claimed killing four Jaish-e-Muhammad fighters. A brief army statement said the “possibility of terrorists having slipped out taking advantage of the rugged terrain and prevailing climatic conditions cannot be ruled out”.

“You can only have an idea of what this terrain is if you personally visit it,” Brigadier Gurdeep Singh told reporters. He added that the troops had destroyed three caves that the militants were using.

The army, which had thrown a three-tier cordon around an 8 square-kilometre area in the forest – about 7 kilometres from the Line of Control – has repeatedly claimed that only 350 troops were involved in the operation. But defence sources said the actual number was close to 2,000. An army officer said the media should not read too much into the failure. “Among hundreds of operations, you have one where you don’t achieve your goal,” he said. iftikhar gilani

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[ejaz007]

An MRAP for India?
12-Jan-2009 12:33 EST

The global trend toward mine-resistant patrol vehicles actually added India back in the late 1990s, when it began to buy used South African Casspir vehicles. India ended up buying 165 of these vehicles from 1999-2001, and they have seen extensive use in Jammu and Kashmir. The Casspir can be thought of with some justification as “the original MRAP,” and still serves with a number of national armies (South Africa, Djibouti, India, Indonesia, Namibia, Peru) as well as with private firms like Denel subsidiary Mechem De-mining.

The vehicles began production in 1979-1980, however, and many have served for a long time now. Even refurbished vehicles won’t last forever, and India’s Maoist Naxalite and Islamist terrorists are showing signs of both informal co-belligerency and cooperation further up the supply chain. With bomb-making skills spreading globally, and IED land mines a growing choice around the world, might there be an opening for an Indian MRAP program?

BAE Systems thinks so. Now, legal agreements have enabled the next step…

It isn’t hard to see why BAE Systems would regard this as a win-win scenario. The firm also sells the more advanced RG-33 family and the FMTV-derived Caiman vehicles under the US MRAP program, and the RG-32M is in service with Sweden, the UN, Egypt, et. al. The danger of market cannibalization must therefore be seen as low, while a partnership with India offers the prospect of new markets for its RG-31 technology.

Jan 7/09: Following approval from the Government of India’s Foreign Investment Promotions Board, Mahindra & Mahindra and BAE Systems announce a Joint Venture (JV) in India focused on land systems for the Indian market. In accordance with current Foreign Direct Investment regulations, the equity split will be 74% for Mahindra & Mahindra and 26% for BAE Systems.

The firms will now finalize detailed planning and structural arrangements, with a view to commencing JV operations as early as Q2 2009. The firm will be headquartered in Delhi, with manufacturing in Faridabad and an initial staff of 50-60 people. The release mentions that initial work is likely to include the up-armoring of Rakshack vehicles and Axe vehicle production, but adds that the firms are expected to begin developing a mine resistant ambush protected vehicle suitable for India BAE release.

The “Axe” is a light, all-terrain jeep with open sides and little mine protection, developed by Mahindra & Mahindra and marketed to India and Israel [Ma’ariv report, in Hebrew] as a special forces vehicle. The Rakshak is another Mahindra vehicle, developed for protected police and paramilitary type work, and up-armored by Israeli armor firm Plasan Sasa.

Feb 12/08: BAE Systems announces that it is in discussions with Mahindra Defence to jointly develop an Indian mine protected vehicle based on BAE Systems’ RG-31 mine protected vehicle.

The RG-31 also serves with many militaries around the world, and over 1,000 have been ordered by the USA as part of its MRAP program and earlier efforts.

An MRAP for India?

 

[nitesh]

http://www.drdo.com/dpi/Swagat.pdf
http://www.drdo.com/dpi/The_Week,_Nov_30,_2008.pdf

 

[nitesh]

Bids received for towed, light howitzers; trials in February

New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS) In a development that would push the Indian Army’s decade-old modernization plan of its artillery, overseas vendors have submitted bids for 180 155mm/52 caliber towed and light howitzers and the trials are expected to commence in February or March, a senior official said Tuesday.The defence ministry had issued the request for proposals (RFPs) for three variants of the howitzers - light, wheeled and self-propelled - a year ago.

“The procurement process for the towed and light howitzer is proceeding as planned. Bids have been received from all the vendors and trials of the guns are planned in February or March,” the senior army official told IANS.

The bids for the 120 self-propelled howitzers are due in February. The entire deal is valued at $2 billion.

“The trials for self-propelled howitzers are planned in May-June,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The eventual contract is to include transfer of technology to build the howitzers in India.

The army is seeking to purchase some 400 pieces of the 155mm/52 calibre howitzer to ramp up depleting stocks of a similar number of guns it had bought from Swedish manufacturer Bofors in the mid-1980s.

“Of these, 140 will be light howitzers that will be spread over seven regiments. Because of advances in metallurgy, this version, as its name implies will be lighter while performing the same as the other two versions,” another officer explained.

The remaining guns will be of the towed and self-propelled variants.

That original deal had been mired in controversy over allegations that Bofors had paid Rs.640 million ($16 million) in bribes to secure the order. The army’s inventory has now dwindled to some 200 guns due to wear and tear.

The Supreme Court has absolved all those accused in the case but the Bofors taint continues, even though the gun has come out on top in a series of field trials held over the past few years. The last of these was in the icy heights of Leh in November 2006.

The fresh tendering has been necessitated as Defence Minister A.K. Antony is said to have asked for the selection process to be made more broad-based as only the Bofors gun remained in contention after the other two were eliminated.

The Israeli Soltam fell out of the race after its barrel repeatedly burst during field trials, while a third gun, the South African Denel, was dropped after the Indian government accused the manufacturer of corruption in another defence deal.

The Bofors gun with its ’shoot and scoot’ capability had proved its mettle during the 1999 Kargil operation when the army went into action to evict Pakistani infiltrators from the Himalayan heights.

Even before the army had publicly acknowledged the utility of the gun in 1998, the government of then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had reopened negotiations for the purchase of additional Bofors guns.

The return to power of the Congress in 2004 changed the complexion of the issue because it was during late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s time that the original deal was negotiated. The Congress, in fact, had been voted out of power in 1989 on the Bofors issue.

 

[nitesh]

EADS Defence plans new industrial base in India | Reuters

EADS Defence plans new industrial base in India
Tue Jan 13, 2009 7:01pm IST

NEWPORT, Wales, Jan 13 (Reuters) - EADS' (EAD.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) defence unit is set to announce a new operation in India, possibly via an acquisition, as it targets further expansion overseas, a senior company executive said on Tuesday.

"We are preparing to set up an industrial base in India -- we have a dedicated team working on it," the French group's defence and security chief Stefan Zoller told reporters, adding that the group was in advanced talks.

"The most booming market for defence that has not already been captured is India ... also there are many skilled engineers in India," he said.

Zoller was speaking on the sidelines of the annual EADS press conference, held at one of the group's manufacturing centres in Britain. [ID:nLD182163]

He also said he expected to deliver the full quota of Eurofighter planes to countries which had placed orders, despite an effort by the UK and Italy to renegotiate the final tranche of 88 planes.

Britain, Italy, Germany and Spain originally agreed to take 620 fighter planes in three stages.

Zoller said he wanted a deal secured by the end of the first quarter of 2009 and expected it to involve the delivery of half the planes now and half later.

"The industry understands it must expect (just) half now, but it can't accept that the overall order for 620 planes will be compromised," he said. (Reporting by John Bowker and Tim Hepher; Editing by David Holmes)

 

[nitesh]

http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/3D2B10EC84E30F146525753E00306D56?OpenDocument

Paratroopers will meet NSG manpower needs, says army chief



New Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI) To meet additional demand for special troops for the National Security Guard, army has agreed to provide its paratroopers for manning new NSG hubs set to come up in four cities to tackle any terrorist threat.
"Whatever paratroopers or other troops are required to enhance the capabilities of the NSG, we will provide them," army chief General Deepak Kapoor said here today on the sidelines of a seminar on 'Threats and Challenges for the Indian Army'.

"The army is certainly facing shortage of officers and we will see how we can combat it. But if the government needs manpower in the anti-terror operations, we will certainly provide them," Kapoor said when queried about the army's manpower constraint and meeting the government demand for NSG.

He said the Special Forces (SF) should enhance its capabilities and develop interoperability with the NSG to tackle the terror threat and stressed the need for every armed unit of the army to have the capability to counter heightened threats from terrorists.

"Every combat arms unit should have a limited, yet focused capability to meet such challenges," Kapoor said.

He said the country will continue to rely on SF of the three Services to tackle the threat from terrorists till the time the NSG was able to expand to its planned capacities.

"The country will continue to rely on some of the SF, which are there with the respective services, predominantly with the army, should there be a situation," the army chief said. PTI

 

[nitesh]

I was just surfing and found this article, thought to put it here

Indian physicists trap light in 'nano' soup

Bangalore: Indian scientists have demonstrated how to trap and retrieve light using a soup of micro and nano sized magnetic spheres — a major milestone in the path towards developing optical computers.

The researchers claim that their unique mixture of tiny particles works at room temperature, holds photons — the particles of light — for far longer than other systems, and can also be tuned with a magnet to store any wavelength of visible light.

The discovery made by a team led by Rasbindu Mehta at Bhavnagar University in Gujarat was first announced in the November issue of the Current Science journal published by the Indian Academy of Science in Bangalore.

Now, a report published in the latest issue of the Royal Chemical Society of London's journal Chemistry World says the discovery could pave the way for photonic 'microchips' that use photons for processing optical information in the same way electrons are manipulated in silicon chips in today's electronic devices and computers.

For over a decade, scientists have been working towards light-based computing that could be many times faster than electronics as light travels at a speed of approximately 300,000 km per second.

Any microchip designed to process optical signals has to store photons, perhaps by slowing or trapping light in carefully designed crystals. Mehta's team coated micron-size magnetite spheres with oleic acid and dispersed them through a ferrofluid, which is a suspension of much smaller magnetic nanoparticles.

When an external magnetic field was applied to the fluid, which was held in a glass cell, laser light passing through the medium was trapped inside. Photons escaped when the field was switched off.

"It is fantastic," said Hema Ramachandran, who heads the photonics unit at the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore, and was one of several physicists who witnessed the demonstration.

"It was a chance discovery," said Mehta's colleague Rajesh Patel.

While investigating the optical properties of their transparent fluid, the researchers noticed that in a certain magnetic field range, light scattering — both forward and backward — became zero.

"We thought the light got trapped inside," said Patel. "So, we switched off the laser (which was shining light through the system) and then the magnetic field, and there it was — a flash of colour lighting up our dark room."

Mehta said his group is yet to develop a theory to explain this novel phenomenon. He believes that the spheres are aligned by the magnetic field and form micro cavities — filled by the ferrofluid — in which the photons get trapped, resonating back and forth.

Changing the external magnetic field alters the refractive index of the cavities that in turn decides which wavelength of light is trapped by the system.

And what is more, according to Mehta, photons can be stored for as long as the magnetic field is switched on.

"This is the first visual evidence of storage and retrieval of light for a long and controllable duration. In all other reports, storage time of photons is restricted to a few nanoseconds," he said

Experiments by physicists in the US have involved stopping light altogether by using a gas of sodium or rubidium atoms chilled to near absolute zero, though that system is too complex and not practical for microchips.

Although Mehta's team seems to have chanced on a method for taming light that is simple, inexpensive and unsophisticated, its practical application is still years away.

 

[nitesh]

Research key to progress: Kalam-Pune-Cities-The Times of India

Research key to progress: Kalam
16 Jan 2009, 0224 hrs IST, TNN


PUNE: Emphasising on the importance of research as the key to progress, former president and senior scientist APJ Abdul Kalam exhorted the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) to "specialise in what others can't give".

Speaking on the topic, Challenges confronting India,' at the DRDO Estate on Thursday, Kalam highlighted the need to keep abreast with the knowledge age. "India is now moving towards becoming a knowledge society, and today's knowledge society says that what worked yesterday won't work today," he said.

Reacting to the recent terror attacks in Mumbai, Kalam said, "Intelligence inputs, fast judgements by the judiciary, integration of multiple forces and a united nation will ensure that we win against evil designs."

"To defend ourselves against terrorism, we need a national campaign to combat it. The good minds in the country have to come together and help the government. It is no longer a task that can be handled by the forces and government agencies alone," Kalam added.

Discussing the issue of increasing defence budgets and international conflicts, Kalam was emphatic in stating that "strength respects strength." "Some nations find nuclear power to be very important. And while it is all well to speak of diplomacy, we must develop our economic and defence strengths because they are the two key parameters that are respected in the international community. We are getting there," he said.

Stressing on developing the country's research prowess, he asked the audience that comprised officials from various defence labs in the city to invest time and money in visualising and developing technology that will be needed 15 years hence. "The key challenge ahead of the DRDO and other labs across the country is to stay ahead of time," he said.

In almost the same breath, Kalam said that nuclear disarmament of all nations is the key to world peace. "India has said in the United Nations that it will give up it's nuclear power if the other n-powered countries of the world do so. I think it is a very positive step taken by us," he added.

Answering a question on the criticism of India's spending on space missions, Kalam said, "I asked the same question to the director of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) after the Chandrayaan mission. I was told that Isro spends 98 percent of it's budget on putting communication and geo-sensing satellites in space. These satellites enable fast communication, and do sensing of critical resources and water. The remaining two percent has to be spent on moon and Mars missions because they have certain characteristics that will make them strategically important in the years to come."

Discussing in detail the Vision 2020' document formulated by him, Kalam spoke of the challenges that India needs to confront in the next 11 years. "Reducing the rural-urban divide to a thin line, symphony between the agriculture, industry and service sectors, provision of education facilities to all meritorious candidates, corruption-free and transparent governance, no crime against women and children, no terrorism and internal peace will make India the best destination for the talented. It should also become a coveted healthcare destination," Kalam envisioned.

Elaborating on the means to bridge the urban-rural divide, he outlined a plan to provide urban amenities to rural areas (PUARA). "Creating physical, electronic and knowledge connectivity among rural areas will lead to economic connectivity. We have already made plans to integrate 7,000 villages under PUARA in the first phase," he said.

Reacting to a question on the country's sorry state of affairs, Kalam urged a young scientist to "look at what we have". "You should know what you should be proud of look at the innovations happening in the key areas. For technological or administrative developments, finally we need good human beings. The advancements are happening, we are getting there," he signed off.

Develop young talent': In his forthright style, Kalam gave the all-scientist audience some pointers for introspection.

"Scientific magnanimity, priority to growth of science and research by young scientists and pride in the success of one's juniors are the keys to developing a great mind," Kalam said. Even as the young scientists chorused in agreement, he was quick to add, "This was not for the budding scientists. This was for the senior scientists sitting here."

 

[nitesh]

good move

The Hindu Business Line : Mini Ratna status for Midhani

Mini Ratna status for Midhani

Hyderabad, Jan. 16

The Union Government has conferred Mini Ratna Category I status to Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd (Midhani). A release from the company said that with this status, the Government of India has granted greater autonomy and delegation of powers to the profit making defence public sector undertaking in terms of capital expenditure, technology & strategic alliances, human resources schemes. —

Our Bureau

 

[nitesh]

The link is: Indian physicists trap light in 'nano' soup - National News ? News ? MSN India - News

 

[nitesh]

domain-b.com : Indian Army to start artillery evaluation trials

Indian Army to start artillery evaluation trials news
17 January 2009

New Delhi: The Indian Army is all set to commence a test programme for artillery guns in various versions after receiving fresh bids from foreign companies. The eventual order for a variety of towed, self-propelled and ultra-light howitzers will be a massive Rs15,000 crore and is expected to complete the army's ambitious artillery modernisation plan.

The tenders are designed to plug in existing gaps in the services' mobile, long-range, high-volume firepower. The army is moving ahead with the intention of inducting the new guns from 2010-2011 onwards. With the submission of bids already over, the selection process is now expected to kick off in the coming days.

According to reports, field trials of 155mm/52-calibre towed guns are likely to commence first, sometime in February-March. The tender is expected to be worth Rs8,000-crore and may involve off-the-shelf purchase of 400 towed guns. Indigenous manufacture of another 1,100 howitzers may take place after transfer of technology.

The trials for the wheeled self-propelled howitzers are slated for the period of May-June. This tender is expected to involve 180 guns and may be worth around Rs4,700 crore.

The last component of the overall contract will involve the acquisition of 140 air-mobile, ultra-light howitzers for around Rs2,900 crore. These ultra-light guns will make it possible for the Army to deploy them in forward, inaccessible areas at short notice with the help of helicopters.

There is also a requirement for tracked self-propelled guns for which commercial and technical bids by foreign vendors are due in February.

Earlier attempts by the Army to get its artillery modernized were stymied mainly due to the infamous Bofors scandal of the 1980s. An unprecedented four rounds of trials for towed guns in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2006 came to naught in 2007. The army chief General Deepak Kapoor has confirmed that the army has not bought a single artillery gun since 1986 when Bofors (the kickbacks scandal) happened. He also said that the army had issued global tenders for all kinds of guns -- towed, ultra-light howitzers, tracked and wheeled self-propelled howitzers. "We are on track now,'' he was quoted as saying.

Bofors, the original Swedish company is now owned by BAE Systems. Its guns and systems are also in the fray along with those of Israeli firm Soltam.

 

[nitesh]

Manorama Online Home

Kerala gets fourth PSU under defence ministry
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Palakkad, Kerala: Kerala Sunday got its fourth public sector unit (PSU) under the defence ministry for manufacturing military wagons and other items for the forces and railways. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Sunday laid the foundation stone of the BEML-Palakkad Manufacturing Complex here in the presence of Defence Minister A.K. Antony.

BEML Limited, formerly called Bharat Earth Movers Limited, is a mini-Ratna Category-I PSU, established in 1964.

Presiding over the function, Antony said that in politics there can be difference of opinion but when it comes to development issues all should stand united.

Achuthanandan said that in the past two years the central government has been considerate towards Kerala.

"Since there is a good investment climate prevailing in the state, we are getting more and more investments," Achuthanandan said.

Rajesh Parida, a top official of BEML, said: "This unit will be ready in 24 months and is coming up in an area of 400 acres of the 1000 acres promised by the state government. The total investment would be Rs.2.55 billion and 500 new jobs would be created".

The unit will manufacture military wagons, floating bridges and other items for the military and railways.

Since Antony became the defence minister in 2005, he has sanctioned for the state new units of defence PSUs like the Brahmos Aero Space, HAL Bangalore and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).