No end in sight for Indian navy’s wait for torpedoes after scam

[AMCA]

Another blunder by India. Now the navy will be stuck with inferior PSU developed weapons.

This will be a public-private initiative. Either L&T or TATA would grab the opportunity to build em.

 

[Omega007]

Any Idea on the range of Thakshak?

No new info available for the time being,but one thing is for sure - when it becomes operational (by 2018..............hopefully),its specs will simply dwarf that of any other torpedo out there.

 

[Rangila]

@Alphacharlie

In Naval under water warfare
-Stand Off Range is not more than 20 Km

Above is not a benchmark, nor is it a golden standard in today's underwater warfare.
Come up with substantiation & corroboration against your claim please.

Don't rely on movies a la Crimson Tide..

 

[nik141991]

Another blunder by India. Now the navy will be stuck with inferior PSU developed weapons.

You should pay money through your pocket then to get superior weapons

 

[Abingdonboy]

Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (WASS) Black Shark Torpedoes
by Rahul Singh
India’s first Scorpene submarine, floating at the Mazagon Docks in Mumbai. Plans to purchase torpedoes for the submarines have run into a roadblock, as the company involved in the arms deal has been tainted in a previous Scam.

A crucial naval requirement for heavyweight torpedoes is stuck as the defence ministry awaits legal opinion on whether it can place an order for the lethal underwater weapon from the subsidiary of a tainted arms firm.
The navy plans to buy Black Shark torpedoes for its Scorpene submarines - under-construction at a yard in Mumbai - from Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (WASS), a subsidiary of Italian defence conglomerate Finmeccanica embroiled in a chopper scam.

After a desperate push by the navy that has called the torpedoes an “operational necessity”, defence minister Manohar Parrikar referred the proposed acquisition to the law ministry a few months ago but no guidelines have been issued so far.

The law ministry’s opinion on the case will be hugely significant as it will decide if the government can award military contracts to subsidiaries of banned companies, shaping an overarching principle for future deals. WASS had emerged as the lowest bidder for supplying the heavyweight torpedoes for the Scorpene submarines, the first of which will get commissioned late next year.

India, however, banned Finmeccanica last year from taking part in future military tenders after its UK-based subsidiary AgustaWestland faced bribery allegations in the Rs 3,727-crore VVIP chopper deal. The deal with WASS was put on hold in July 2014.

“No decision has been taken on the Black Shark deal. It’s still with the law ministry…the government knows we require the torpedoes urgently,” a senior navy officer said.

There’s no ban on ongoing contracts with the Italian defence major. The defence ministry imposed a partial ban on Finmeccanica last year but did not blacklist the company following the attorney general’s advice that a complete ban on the group could affect the military’s combat readiness. The NDA government has advocated a flexible approach in dealing with such firms if the military’s combat readiness is at stake. The Centre is working on new defence procurement rules that will have specific guidelines for arms agents and blacklisted firms.

In August, Parrikar told Parliament that his ministry “has decided to seek opinion in the matter (WASS torpedoes) from the Ministry of Law and Justice.” The first Scorpene submarine, Kalvari, is scheduled to kick off its weapon trials towards June 2016. Six submarines are being built at the Mazagon Dock Ltd with technology from French firm DCNS under a Rs 23,562 crore project called P-75.

No end in sight for Indian navy’s wait for torpedoes after scam | india | Hindustan Times

The MoD/DM is following the established norms, once the Law Ministry submits that it has no objection to this deal (which they will as per the Attorney General's guidelines on this matter) the deal will be green-lit and the torpedoes will be delivered for INS Kalveri in time for her induction.

This is India- things have to follow a certain path no matter how convoluted that may be. Yet another deal AK Antony aka the "Saint" royally screwed on his way out of the door.

 

[Indian Patriot]

You should pay money through your pocket then to get superior weapons

What do you think taxes are? Instead of wasting public money on inferior domestic public sector enterprise it is better to buy foreign. The day domestic quality meets international standards then India can think of PSUs.

This will be a public-private initiative. Either L&T or TATA would grab the opportunity to build em.

I hope so.

 

[Hindustani78]

Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL) designed, developed and produced a Drill and Practice torpedo equivalent to an Italian A-244S torpedo, which is in the arsenal of Indian Navy.


NSTL has taken up a two-pronged approach for development of a light weight anti submarine torpedo and a heavy weight wire guided torpedo Varunastra, Takshak, Thermal Torpedo that can be fired against a ship or submarine. This approach has resulted in optimum utilization of the technologies common to both light weight torpedo and heavy weight torpedo.

The first heavyweight torpedo, to be fired from submarines to hit enemy ships, is very powerful. It is also called a wire-guided torpedo, which explodes with clinical precision when it is released to destroy the target.

Varunastra torpedo carrying high-energy explosives weighing 200 kg, could hit a hostile target within a range of 30 km. It is estimated to have a weight of 1,500 kg.

The torpedo is equipped with a high-speed electric propulsion with powerful manoeuvring abilities and a low drift navigational system.

thermal torpedoes will have more speed than other torpedoes. Designing stealth technology to avoid ships and submarines from enemy detection and futuristic underwater weapons,mines and submersibles are part of NSTL’s action programme.

The NSTL has developed both light-water torpedoes (LWTs), named TAL, and heavy-weight torpedoes (HWTs), named Takshak and Varunastra. Takshak has two versions, a submarine-launched variant with wire guidance and a ship-launched one with autonomous guidance. Varunastra is an advanced version of the ship-launched HWT. Under development is a torpedo called Shakti with thermal propulsion, which can generate 500 kilowatt of power and rev up the engine within a second. “Thermal propulsion is a challenging technology,” said Rangarajan. “It is a totally indigenous effort. We have already consolidated several technologies in its development. Only the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia had torpedoes with thermal propulsion when we took up the challenge.”

The LWT is 2-3 metres long, weighs 200 kg to 300 kg and packs 50 kg of explosives. It can be launched from ships and helicopters. When a helicopter releases the LWT, the latter drops down with the help of a parachute, which gets detached when the torpedo hits the water. TAL has a speed of 33 knots an hour and can operate at a maximum depth of 540 m. It is under production by Bharat Dynamics Limited, Hyderabad, for the Navy.

The Advanced LWT (ALWT) is currently under design and will be in production in 2015-16. In Takshak, which is an anti-submarine system, the wire is the medium of communication between the torpedo and the firing ship. If the wire breaks, Takshak would become an autonomous torpedo like its ship-launched variant. It can travel up to a distance of 40 km for taking out submarines and can operate up to a depth of 400 m.

 

[Ankit Kumar 001]

Well Germany is interested to supply us with these weapons, we should do look at there offer.

 

[Hindustani78]

Well Germany is interested to supply us with these weapons, we should do look at there offer.

Germany’s Atlas Elektronik GmbH is tying up with one of billionaire Anil Ambani’s defense companies to make an advanced torpedo in India, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi pursues a $60 billion expansion of the country’s navy.

The goal is a joint venture with Ambani’s Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering Co. to make a heavyweight torpedo in India, according to Khalil Rahman, the chief executive of the German company’s local unit.

"Up until now, most of the projects to which we have sold were to supply equipment directly from Germany," he said in an interview in New Delhi. "But it’s now clear some of the projects are coming out in the ‘buy and make in India’ category. What we need to do is to develop a supply chain, so that the sub-components are built in India."

Modi is seeking to almost double the size of India’s navy with locally made vessels to deter China in the Indian Ocean, spur manufacturing and encourage defense exports. His challenge is convincing global arms makers that India has the funds to match its ambitions and is making it easier to operate in Asia’s third-largest economy.

"Everyone starts with very good intentions," Rahman said in the Sept. 29 interview. "What happens in India generally -- I’m not talking specifically about defense procurement procedures -- things are very heavily regulated and we end up with complicated procedures to do anything. But things are beginning to change."

Atlas, a ThyssenKrupp AG and Airbus Group SE company, says the SeaHake weapon -- which is used by the German navy -- can be fired from submarines and surface vessels. India is looking to add at least 100 warships by 2027, including 18 submarines.

"Anti-submarine warfare is the main preoccupation in the Indian Ocean at the moment," Rahman said.

Atlas recently identified local businesses good enough to slot into the company’s global supply chain for the torpedoes, Rahman said.

SeaHake® mod4
THE UNDERWATER BENCHMARK

The weapon has a modular design that includes up to four silver zinc battery modules and is able to achieve a range of more than 50 km (27 nmi) and a speed exceeding 92.6 km/h (50 kn