Indian Build Up

[Neo]

India invites bids for 126 fighter jets​

By Iftikhar Gilani

NEW DELHI: India invited bids on Tuesday for 126 fighter jets as part of its plan to modernise its air force. One of the biggest military aircraft tenders ever issued worldwide is expected to amount to a staggering Rs 420 billion (around $10 billion).

A defence ministry release issued here stated that a request for proposals (RFP) has been sent to six vendors, including American Lockheed Martin (for the F-16 Falcon), the company which supplies similar planes to Pakistan.

The other five in contention are Russia’s MIG-35 (RAC MiG), the Swedish JAS-39 (Gripen), the French Dassault Rafale, Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Eurofighter Typhoon (made by a consortium of British, German, Spanish and Italian firms).

The 211-page RFP document deals with issues related to initial purchase, transfer of technology, licensed production and lifetime maintenance support for the aircraft. It also specifies that the final selection will involve an exhaustive evaluation process, as detailed in 2006 Defence Procurement Procedures.

The strength of the Indian air force fighters has plunged to an all-time low of 32 squadrons (576 aircrafts). Under the proposal, 18 fighter jets will be bought off the shelf and the remaining 108 will be manufactured in India under the transfer of technology agreement. The RFP also stipulates an option of purchasing another 64 fighter jets under the same terms and conditions.

The Defence Ministry expects the first 18 jets will be inducted into the air force by 2012. The manufacturer will have to spend 50 percent as direct offsets on the aircraft or defence manufacturing industry in India, the statement said. A Defence Ministry spokesman said a professional team would first technically evaluate the proposals for compliance with the air force’s operational requirements. The process would then involve extensive technical and field evaluations, particularly as the aircraft are likely to be in service for over 40 years. The final selection would be transparent and fair, the spokesman said.

India has a history of kickbacks in military purchases. The 1987 Bofors gun scam, which led the downfall of Rajiv Gandhi’s government, still reverberates the political corridors.

To avoid speculations on kickbacks, Defence Minister Shri AK Antony outlined three guiding principles for this largest procurement scheme while chairing the defence acquisition council meeting on June 29, 2007. The guiding principles, priority-wise, are meeting the air force’s operational requirements, ensuring a competitive, fair and transparent selection process to realise the best value for money, and providing Indian defence industries an opportunity to grow to global scales.

Reuters adds: India’s air force, made up mostly of vintage Russian MiG jets, is getting depleted and could lose its edge over rival Pakistan if old planes are not replaced fast, analysts say.

However, India’s defence deals are known to make slow progress and the first planes under the new deal may not arrive for another five years or so, they say.

Some defence analysts have said that geopolitical concerns could override technical issues, leading India to pick an American aircraft as New Delhi and Washington push their strategic ties and seal a new friendship.

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Bull]

Govt ignores Left protest on Indo-Israel ties
31 Aug 2007, 0101 hrs IST, Rajat Pandit,TNN
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NEW DELHI: Since 2000, India has bought military hardware and software worth $7 billion from Israel. The Left may demand severance of defence ties with the Jewish state but the already robust relationship is all set to expand even further.

India's fresh shopping list and joint projects with Israel, accessed by TOI, shows a staggering agenda of military cooperation, ranging from miniature UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and PGMs (precision-guided munitions) to a wide array of sophisticated missiles and avionics packages.

India has already become Israel's largest defence customer, with purchases worth $1.5 billion in 2006 alone. And now, Tel Aviv is poised to grab a major chunk of the whopping $30 billion that New Delhi will spend on defence purchases over the next five years.

Even as preparations are afoot for a visit by Israeli defence minister Ehud Barak in September-October, here is a rundown on projects under discussion: Missile systems: The showpiece under this is the Rs 10,000-crore joint project to develop an advanced Barak medium-range surface-to-air missile system for IAF and Army. This comes after 14 Barak-I anti-missile defence systems were bought for Navy, at around Rs 130 crore apiece, after the 1999 Kargil conflict.

There is more to follow. After buying Python air-to-air missiles and Crystal Maze PGMs for IAF fighters, India is now on course for Derby air-to-air missiles, Delilah-II air-launched cruise missiles and Gabriel-III sea-skimming anti-ship missiles for both IAF and Navy.

For the Army, after the Lahat laser-homing attack missile, the Spike multi-purpose anti-tank guided missile is on the cards. The Army will also get SpyDer quick-reaction anti-aircraft missile systems after IAF's Rs 1,800-crore contract for 18 such air defence systems.

Then, of course, the two sides are discussing spin-offs from the Israeli Arrow-II ballistic missile defence (BMD) system. India has already imported two Israeli Green Pine radars, which can detect and track hostile missiles from 500 km away, to use them in the development of its own BMD system.

UAVs: Having inducted over 60 Israeli Searcher-II, Heron and other UAVs since Kargil, the armed forces are now looking for some more spy drones.

Apart from providing technical help to the Indian UAV programmes, Israel is also discussing the sale of 'Skylite-B' micro-UAVs for Indian special forces. "Combat" UAVs, which can launch missiles, too, figure in the long-term plans.
Special forces: Apart from contracts for Tavor-21 5.56 mm assault rifles and Galil sniper rifles, valued around $20 million, India is now looking at Desert Eagle/Jericho handguns, Micro-Uzi machine pistols and Negev 5.56 mm light machine guns for its elite special forces.

Radars: Israel is providing India with potent "eyes in the skies" to detect enemy air intrusions. Under the $1.1-billion AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) project, for instance, India will begin inducting three Israeli "Phalcons" from mid-2008 onwards. Similarly, IAF wants to procure four more EL/M-2083 Aerostat radars, mounted on blimp-like balloons tethered to ground, as a follow-on order to the two such radars inducted in 2004-2005 under a $145-million deal.

Aircraft upgrades and avionics: After assisting the $626-million upgrade of 125 MiG-21 'Bisons', Israel will now be involved in upgrades of Mirage-2000 and MiG-29 fighters as well as TU-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft and Mi-17 helicopters. Israel is already providing 'litening pods', used for precision-targeting with laser-guided bombs, for Jaguars and Mirage-2000s, as also the avionics package for the new Sukhoi-30MKI jets.
Israel is also part of the Rs 476-crore upgrade of 14 naval Sea Harrier jump-jets, with missiles and EL/M-2032 multi-mode fire-control radars. The glass-cockpit kits for 'Dhruv' advanced light helicopters are also coming from Israel. Incidentally, the gigantic Rs 42,000-crore project to procure 126 fighters for IAF, the global tender for which was floated on August 28, will also have an Israeli imprint in terms of avionics.

To add to all this, Israel is also involved in the Army's artillery modernisation programme, F-INSAS (future infantry soldier as a system) project and the upgrade of its T-72 tank fleet.

 

[Bull]

BANGALORE: The indigenously developed Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH) achieved a major milestone when it was flown for the first time with a new and more powerful engine that has been jointly developed by Indian and French engineers.

The 1,000-horsepower Shakti engine has been co-developed by Dhruv manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Turbomeca of France and will enable the helicopter to operate at high altitudes and in adverse desert conditions. The engine has an indigenous content of 20 percent and this is likely to gradually rise to 80 percent.

"Shakti's higher power will enable a whopping 150 percent increase in payload capability at high altitudes (of 5.5-6.5 km) and operation in harsh terrain," HAL chairman Ashok Baweja pointed out.

Some 70 Dhruvs are currently flying and are powered by 800-horsepower Turbomeca engines.

Two helicopters, one a utility version with a glass cockpit and another armed with air-to-air missiles, rockets and turret guns were flown Thursday in the defence area of the HAL airport here.

Among the audience were officials from the certification authorities - India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation and France's Cemelac.

The 30-minute demonstration, on a bright sunny day and under windy conditions, included a number of mid-air manoeuvres like forward and reverse flight, banking 360 degrees and soft-landing vertically.

The armed variant in blue for the Indian Air Force (IAF) was piloted by Wing Commander C.D. Upadhyaya and the utility variant in olive green for the Indian Army by Wing Commander Unni Pillai, both HAL test pilots.

"As the flight was meant for demonstrating the operational capability of the Shakti engine, we flew at low speeds and limited our manoeuvres," Upadhyaya told IANS after landing.

"We will open the envelope as we undertake more such flights in the coming months and widen the helicopter's scope in battlefield conditions," he added.

Designed for multi-mission, multi-role operations, the armed version of Dhruv provides flexibility to meet the stringent requirements of the army and the air force.

The new glass cockpit will have the latest avionics and weapon systems. The four flat multi-functional colour displays on the dashboard will provide all the information the pilots will require during an operation.

Baweja said a modern electronic warfare suite comprising a radar warning receiver, a laser warning receiver and missile approach warning system would detect a missile even as it was launched towards the copter and trigger countermeasures to deceive and deflect it.

"The fast detection and assessment of the threat and quick response by the launch of decoys to deflect the missile will make the difference between survival and death," he added.

The IAF variant will be equipped with "fire and forget" air-to-air missiles that can be launched in both the visual range and beyond visual range modes. The helicopter's 20 mm turret gun can be linked either to an electro-optical system or the pilot's helmet pointing system, Upadhyaya explained.

The military variant will also be integrated with "fire and forget" anti-tank guided missiles.

For operating in all-weather conditions during day or night, the new generation Dhruvs will be equipped with an electro-optical day/night observation and targeting system consisting of an infra red camera, close-circuit colour television camera, a laser range finder and a laser designator.

"The state-of-the-art integrated system will provide high performance visual imagery of terrain and targets even in total darkness and allows day and night operation with sensors. The ability to detect, identify and range the target will optimise its weapons' utilisation," Upadhyaya noted.

As part of certification process, the Shakti powered Dhruv will be test flown here and at sea level. It will also be flown at high altitude in the Himalayas and in the hot deserts of Rajasthan.

 

[Bull]

New Delhi, Sept 04: Keen to cast off the ghost of the Bofors kickbacks scam, Sweden has proposed new avenues of defence cooperation to India, including joint development of jet fighters and submarines.

"The Swedish government is proposing to invest in Gripen fighters and is keen that India too take a investment stake in jointly developing these new generation fighters," visiting Swedish Vice Minister for Defence H G Wessburg said.

Gripen is one of six jets vying for India`s biggest ever global tender worth over Rs 42,000 crore (10 billion dollars) for the purchase of 126 fighter aircraft.

Gripen is made by Swedish major SAAB International, which recently made its first overseas sales of the jet to South Africa and some European nations.

"Stockholm`s offer is not related to the Indian Air Force`s request for proposals (RFP)," Wessburg said, affirming that Sweden wanted broad-based cooperation in defence research and development.

 

[Bull]

NEW DELHI: Car maker Mahindra & Mahindra on Wednesday said it has invested $6-7 million in developing its new army off-roader 'Axe'. The company is looking to sell the vehicle to Indian and Israeli Army.

''The vehicle is being tested by the Israeli Army and would soon be tested by the Indian Army,'' M&M President (Automotive Sector), Mr Pawan Goenka, said on the sidelines of SIAM Annual Convention here.

He said the commercial production of the vehicle would start once the company receives order from the Army. The company is sourcing the engine for Axe from an Israeli firm and has no plans to develop its own engine for the off-roader.

On the Indian automobile industry, he said growth in the second half would continue at 10-12 per cent and M&M anticipates to continue growing at about the industry average.

''M&M, in terms of sales, including Logan, has grown 37 per cent in April-August period and we hope to maintain this momentum for the remaining part of the fiscal,'' he said. The company was still two years away from its US foray, he added. - PTI

 

[Bull]

Bangalore, Sept. 8 (PTI): The first of the 66 advanced fighter jets that India buys from the UK is likely to be delivered within this month, the Air Force chief said Friday.

Air Chief Marshal, F H Major, said the country would start receiving the jet trainers by the end of this month or first week of October. India had placed the order in 2003 at a cost of US$ 1.3 billion.

"India is currently in the process of a comprehensive capability building exercise...military aviation is in the process of a major transformation. You will not recognise the IAF five years down-the-line," he said while delivering a lecture on "Strategic aerospace power: technological and maintenance challenges" on the occasion of NAL (National Aerospace Laboratories) foundation day.

"IAF is now making a serious attempt to reduce its complex, multiple inventories. We want lesser types so that it's easier to maintain," he said.

Under the proposed MRCA (multi-role combat aircraft) deal, India would purchase 126 more fighters. This would throw up a "golden opportunity" for Indian aerospace industry to flourish like never before as it offered Rs 22,000 crore as offsets - 50 per cent to the approximate project cost of Rs 45,000 crore.

 

[EagleEyes]

"IAF is now making a serious attempt to reduce its complex, multiple inventories. We want lesser types so that it's easier to maintain," he said.

Finally got some sense in the head.

 

[IceCold]

Whats the delay in placing the order for MRCA? India has got all most all the quotations from allmost every top fighter manufacture in the world ( US, Russia, France, Sweden) with tot offer. Why is the government taking so long for something which is needed urgently. IAF officials seem already worried about the depleting IAF fleet strength and there quantitative egde over pakistan.

 

[Bull]

$60 Billion By 2012 ,That is India’s projected defence spend.

Right now it has readied this shopping list

• 26 medium multi-role combat aircraft: $8 billion.
• C-130J special operations cargo aircraft: $1 billion.
• 1,000 T-90S tanks: $2.5 billion.
• Phalcon AWACS systems: $1.1 billion.
• Helicopters for the army: $600 million.
• Six Scorpene submarines: $3.5 billion.
• Equipment for special forces and infantry: $800 million.

It isn't difficult to see why there's so much buzz about India in the international arms trade.

With a defence bill expected to touch a staggering $60 billion over the next five years, New Delhi has become the focus of top international arms manufacturers. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, India is the world's second largest arms importer—next only to China.

And with a modernisation plan that will run till 2020, its shopping list is only expected to grow in the next decade.

What has suddenly brought India's defence procurement under the international spotlight is its Rs 42,000-crore plan to buy 126 multi-role combat jets for the Indian Air Force. Union defence minister A.K. Antony had announced it on June 29 after a Defence Acquisition Council meeting. Within two months' time—on August 29—the council cleared the "mother of all defence acquisitions", what's more, the ministry of defence issued the request for proposals (RFP) for the jets from prospective bidders. The message was clear: India meant serious business.

Putting the mega-deal on track is seen as a quantum leap for India as an importer. But the planned acquisition doesn't end there. The modernisation plan for the three services implies a procurement spree—aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, tanks, guns, helicopters. While the iaf is likely to order a batch of 120 combat jets and a few C-130J cargo aircraft to make up its requirement of 300 aircraft, the army needs another 1,000 T-90 tanks, and the navy hopes to have at least 20 more frigates, two aircraft carriers and eight more submarines by '20

Going ahead rapidly on its modernisation programme, India is poised to be a major market in the next five years. Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, director of the Centre for Air Power Studies who has been tracking India's growth in defence for over three decades, says the annual capital allocations indicates India's growth profile. "At conservative estimates, we are looking at $12 billion allocated under the capital budget meant for acquisitions ever year. That makes it a $60 billion market in the next five years."

Deba Mohanty, a senior fellow with the Observer Research Foundation, notes India's emergence as a top importer of arms began in the late '90s. He feels India ranks high among top military spenders in the world despite having a small annual defence budget that works out to only 2.2 per cent of the GDP. "We've started a massive modernisation bid but both the defence industry and the domestic private industry have been unable to keep pace with our growing needs.

 

[IceCold]

This will for sure start an arms race in southasia. Thats one hell of an allocation to the defence sector. But bull you havent mentioned about LCA and arjun in this wishlist, what about the funds for the development of these projects? 60 billion includes development cost too for the defence projects currently undergoing and in the future.

 

[Bull]

This will for sure start an arms race in southasia. Thats one hell of an allocation to the defence sector. But bull you havent mentioned about LCA and arjun in this wishlist, what about the funds for the development of these projects? 60 billion includes development cost too for the defence projects currently undergoing and in the future.

Niether we have mentioned about the ATV,Akulas, new Subs from Europe, New frigates, New Aircraft Carriers, maritime recon....

 

[IceCold]

Niether we have mentioned about the ATV,Akulas, new Subs from Europe, New frigates, New Aircraft Carriers, maritime recon....

I'm not sure i got your point here.

 

[Bull]

I'm not sure i got your point here.

I meant $60Bn includes the ATV,Akulas, new Subs from Europe, New frigates, New Aircraft Carriers, maritime recon which wasnt mentioned in the main article.

 

[su-47]

The build up is not aimed at any country, but rather to protect our startgic interests as we grow into a regional and world player

 

[IceCold]

The build up is not aimed at any country, but rather to protect our startgic interests as we grow into a regional and world player

Well i think the indian government differes from you su47, they have said it a number of times that their military capability is china and pakistan centric, specially china i would say. Pakistan cannot let it go unnotice and so they will definately speedup building their military, so its basically a triangle going on untilmately resulting in an arms race in southasia.