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Interview with the Chief of DRDO, Avinash Chander -Part II

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Interview with the Chief of DRDO, Avinash Chander -Part II

Saurav Jha
: Talking about the future, one area that is always supposed to be 'five years away' is that of directed energy weapons (DEW). India too has programs in this sphere with weaponization being pursued in labs such as CHESS. So what is the status of India's DEW pursuits?



Avinash Chander: We have been for too long on the fringe of this area. Our initial aim was to create a centre which will look at how to convert technologies into weapon systems. That centre has just come up. But definitely within the next decade we are looking for sufficient deployable capability. We must have a deployable weapon system within one decade.



Saurav Jha: Which of the two technologies is likely to be weaponized earlier, high power microwave or solid state laser?



Avinash Chander: lasers will have better opportunities to start with. Because for harnessing microwave power in a more 'directional' way, much more work has to be done.



Saurav Jha: Turning to cybersecurity, there is today a sort of melding between cyber and electronic warfare techniques with American programs such as 'Senior Suter'. How is India keeping pace with such trends?



Avinash Chander: Well, India needs to create a cyber test range. That is very critical and very important. Cyber is an area where nobody shares and you cannot share either, understandably. You can share information but not the tools. Each side has to develop its own tools and that is where our stress is. The good part is that Indians are rather keyed up in the information technology domain. I think we have to only channelize that manpower towards more innovative defensive applications.



Saurav Jha: Dr Chander, aerospace is another domain where India is looking to emerge with credible homegrown platforms. In that sense, will the Tejas Mk-I attain final operational clearance this year?



Avinash Chander: We are working hard to do that. I am sure all the weapon trials will be over. There may be some delay in the refuelling system, but other then that we are confident that we'll meet targets.



Saurav Jha: What is the rough unit cost of a Tejas Mk-I?



Avinash Chander: I can't comment on the exact figure, but I think it is around Rs 200 crores plus. HAL will be able to give you the exact figure.

plese read rest of the interview here
 
Saurav Jha: What about artillery rockets such as the Pinaka Mk-II?

Avinash Chander: Pinaka MK-II has been tested and we are offering it for user evaluation trials. It has a range of 65 km and we are now starting work on a Pinaka-III which will be a fully guided rocket with better accuracy and longer range.


Saurav Jha: Turning to tube artillery, what is the status of the Advanced Towed Array Gun System (ATAGS) programme?

Avinash Chander: ATAGS programme is going strong. We expect the barrel firing to be done by the end of this year. The programme is on schedule.

Saurav Jha: Will it be available for trials by 2017-18?

Avinash Chander: Yes the entire gun should be available for trials by 2017-18. 2017 in fact.


Saurav Jha: Dr Chander, what about small arms?

Avinash Chander: We have developed a joint venture protective carbine, which we have offered to the Army for evaluation trials. We have also developed a corner-shot rifle, which is also available for trials. Beyond that we aren't taking up that many small arms projects. OFB of course is doing some other things. But today I feel this is an area where domestic industry can play a major role, because industry has the full capability to do this class of systems. We should see how we can involve industry in this area.
 
Interview with the Chief of DRDO, Avinash Chander -Part II

Saurav Jha
: Talking about the future, one area that is always supposed to be 'five years away' is that of directed energy weapons (DEW). India too has programs in this sphere with weaponization being pursued in labs such as CHESS. So what is the status of India's DEW pursuits?



Avinash Chander: We have been for too long on the fringe of this area. Our initial aim was to create a centre which will look at how to convert technologies into weapon systems. That centre has just come up. But definitely within the next decade we are looking for sufficient deployable capability. We must have a deployable weapon system within one decade.



Saurav Jha: Which of the two technologies is likely to be weaponized earlier, high power microwave or solid state laser?



Avinash Chander: lasers will have better opportunities to start with. Because for harnessing microwave power in a more 'directional' way, much more work has to be done.



Saurav Jha: Turning to cybersecurity, there is today a sort of melding between cyber and electronic warfare techniques with American programs such as 'Senior Suter'. How is India keeping pace with such trends?



Avinash Chander: Well, India needs to create a cyber test range. That is very critical and very important. Cyber is an area where nobody shares and you cannot share either, understandably. You can share information but not the tools. Each side has to develop its own tools and that is where our stress is. The good part is that Indians are rather keyed up in the information technology domain. I think we have to only channelize that manpower towards more innovative defensive applications.



Saurav Jha: Dr Chander, aerospace is another domain where India is looking to emerge with credible homegrown platforms. In that sense, will the Tejas Mk-I attain final operational clearance this year?



Avinash Chander: We are working hard to do that. I am sure all the weapon trials will be over. There may be some delay in the refuelling system, but other then that we are confident that we'll meet targets.



Saurav Jha: What is the rough unit cost of a Tejas Mk-I?



Avinash Chander: I can't comment on the exact figure, but I think it is around Rs 200 crores plus. HAL will be able to give you the exact figure.

plese read rest of the interview here
Might as well put up the entire interview mate- interesting stuff indeed.
 
Saurav Jha: Talking about the future, one area that is always supposed to be 'five years away' is that of directed energy weapons (DEW). India too has programs in this sphere with weaponization being pursued in labs such as CHESS. So what is the status of India's DEW pursuits?



Avinash Chander: We have been for too long on the fringe of this area. Our initial aim was to create a centre which will look at how to convert technologies into weapon systems. That centre has just come up. But definitely within the next decade we are looking for sufficient deployable capability. We must have a deployable weapon system within one decade.



Saurav Jha: Which of the two technologies is likely to be weaponized earlier, high power microwave or solid state laser?



Avinash Chander: lasers will have better opportunities to start with. Because for harnessing microwave power in a more 'directional' way, much more work has to be done.



Saurav Jha: Turning to cybersecurity, there is today a sort of melding between cyber and electronic warfare techniques with American programs such as 'Senior Suter'. How is India keeping pace with such trends?



Avinash Chander: Well, India needs to create a cyber test range. That is very critical and very important. Cyber is an area where nobody shares and you cannot share either, understandably. You can share information but not the tools. Each side has to develop its own tools and that is where our stress is. The good part is that Indians are rather keyed up in the information technology domain. I think we have to only channelize that manpower towards more innovative defensive applications.



Saurav Jha: Dr Chander, aerospace is another domain where India is looking to emerge with credible homegrown platforms. In that sense, will the Tejas Mk-I attain final operational clearance this year?



Avinash Chander: We are working hard to do that. I am sure all the weapon trials will be over. There may be some delay in the refuelling system, but other then that we are confident that we'll meet targets.



Saurav Jha: What is the rough unit cost of a Tejas Mk-I?



Avinash Chander: I can't comment on the exact figure, but I think it is around Rs 200 crores plus. HAL will be able to give you the exact figure.



Saurav Jha: Dr Chander, it seems that in-house design for the Tejas Mk-II is complete and ADA is moving towards design validation?



Avinash Chander: Yes.



Saurav Jha: So how will a partner for design validation be chosen?



Avinash Chander: At the moment we are only looking for a consultant, like we had for Mk-I. We are not really looking at a partner for production. But if a viable interesting offer comes in, I am sure the government will take a look at it.



Saurav Jha: Even on a bilateral basis?



Avinash Chander: Even on a bilateral basis. But irrespective of that the program will continue. It is not dependent on any international collaboration.



Saurav Jha: At the same time given that the Americans, have started preliminary studies on sixth generation fighters, and are producing their second fifth generation fighter, what is the status of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) project?



Avinash Chander: AMCA is going to be a fifth plus generation aircraft. Once again, the design is getting completed. And we are making a detailed feasibility study which has to get accepted. Broad parameters and configuration have been generally agreed upon. We are looking to complete this part within a year or two and then move further.



Saurav Jha: But Dr Chander don't you think the engine issue could become an impediment to quick progress on this program as well?



Avinash Chander: For the moment, we are planning to import the engine, either through a joint development or through an agreement. In any system today, it is impossible to have a zero foreign exchange component. What matters is the IP of the total aircraft, which is Indian. In that there will be components that you might be buying from elsewhere, because it is more cost effective. There are ICs that you will be buying anyway, but what you make with those ICs is ultimately your system, your design.



Saurav Jha: But in the defence domain there are operational security considerations...



Avinash Chander: Well, as far as the engine is concerned, yes. But then that is where you have to have a certain relationship, certain equations. And you have to see over a period of time, as to how to secure your supply line. It may be through purchase, it may be through setting up a parallel line, through some in house activities. But once you see the process... then the solutions also evolve.



Saurav Jha: Now one area most crucial for operational capability is the availability of ammunition. We often hear about the military being worried about shortages in this sphere. Do you see this situation changing in the next ten years?



Avinash Chander: This is one area where DRDO was not really involved or looking much at because most of the things were being imported or being produced here under transfer of technology. But of late because of the critical gaps that have emerged we have started entering this sphere along with OFB. So there are many areas now where we are getting in, like tank ammunition for instance. Particularly FSAPDS, which we are now going to benchmark with imported systems.



Saurav Jha: So are you looking at comparative trials between indigenously developed and imported FSAPDS?



Avinash Chander: Yes we are going to have comparative trials and we are confident that our system will meet requirements.



Saurav Jha: What are some of the other ammunition initiatives that are advancing well?



Avinash Chander: Well, there is the 155 mm bi-modular charge system, which was one of the most critical items held up, has already been evaluated and has proved to be very successful. We are confident that bulk orders for production will be coming soon. And a huge plant in Nalanda is coming up for that which will become operational by 2016 or so. A very effective joint process between DRDO and OFB has shaped up this system and it is now performing better than what we have been importing.



Similarly, coming to other areas such as mines, grenades etc. We have developed grenades like the Shivalik multi-mode grenade, which have much better performance than what was being earlier produced, better safety record and so forth. We are also doing very well in different kinds of mines.



So there are a wide area of munitions that we have started getting into, mostly need driven.



Saurav Jha: What about artillery rockets such as the Pinaka Mk-II?



Avinash Chander: Pinaka MK-II has been tested and we are offering it for user evaluation trials. It has a range of 65 km and we are now starting work on a Pinaka-III which will be a fully guided rocket with better accuracy and longer range.



Saurav Jha: And what would the guidance scheme be?



Avinash Chander: Inertial with satellite updates.



Saurav Jha: Multi-constellation satellite update? From the IRNSS as well?



Avinash Chander: Yes it will be able to receive updates from multiple constellations including the IRNSS.



Saurav Jha: Turning to tube artillery, what is the status of the Advanced Towed Array Gun System (ATAGS) programme?



Avinash Chander: ATAGS programme is going strong. We expect the barrel firing to be done by the end of this year. The programme is on schedule.



Saurav Jha: Will it be available for trials by 2017-18?



Avinash Chander: Yes the entire gun should be available for trials by 2017-18. 2017 in fact.



Saurav Jha: Dr Chander, what about small arms?



Avinash Chander: We have developed a joint venture protective carbine, which we have offered to the Army for evaluation trials. We have also developed a corner-shot rifle, which is also available for trials. Beyond that we aren't taking up that many small arms projects. OFB of course is doing some other things. But today I feel this is an area where domestic industry can play a major role, because industry has the full capability to do this class of systems. We should see how we can involve industry in this area.



Saurav Jha: Indeed, in the United States there is a veritable cottage industry based around AR-15 derivatives...



Avinash Chander: Exactly, there's nothing in these systems which cannot be done by any good engineering industry. So I think we need a policy relook which gets private industry into small arms. They can use their own technologies, some joint ventures, some DRDO based products and then they will prove themselves over time. I think we have done good products in this sphere but have not been able to market it effectively. And if people here don't want it, we can always give it to a private player who can look for export avenues.



Saurav Jha: Dr Chander, all kinds of convoluted arguments are sometimes made in this country against Indian military exports, even though imports are somehow deemed thoroughly moral by the same set of people. How would you respond to this?



Avinash Chander: If you see any market, it is the need which creates the capacity. Nobody creates idle capacity hoping for a market. If a market is seen to exist for exports you will have any number of private players willing to come forward to take part in it. What India needs is the freedom to create. All these years we have been bogged down by controls.



The government is committed to military exports and we are also committed because today we have many indigenously developed world class technologies under production. Given that these are actually replacing imported systems, they can definitely be deemed export worthy. If we want to make our systems cost effective, if we want to have an area of influence, India has to get into military exports.
 
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