Some India News

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http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?gid=73&id=429460

Navy Capable of Making Nuke Subs

The Indian Navy, dependent on foreign technology for its warships for long, has developed the capability of designing nuclear-powered vessels and building an indigenous submarine, top naval designers said here today.

The country has "developed the capability" but it was for the government to decide whether or not to go ahead with the building of such strategic vessels, said Capt C S Rao and Commodore RN Vadiyanathan, Principal Directors of the Naval Design Bureau.

Briefing newsmen on the upcoming golden jubilee celebrations of the design bureau -- the only facility of its kind among the three services -- Vadiyanathan said the building of Scorpene-class submarines has begun and from the third submarine onwards, the indigenious content would be scaled up.

The government had cleared a 30-year submarine building programme and after the completion of the Scorpene project, it may decide to go in for an "indegenious underwater vessel", the two top naval designers said.

But they did not not comment on progress in the indigenious nuclear submarine project, christened the Advanced Technology Vessel.

Besides developing capability for building aircraft carriers and submarines, the navy has made immense strides in developing stealth technology that is being used in the three Shivalak-class warships being built at a state-run shipyard, Vadiyanathan and Rao said.

"We have 35 warships in various stages of development. These range from stealth ships to destroyers, frigates, anti- submarine vessels, landing ships for tanks and corvettes," Vadiyanathan said.

One of the most outstanding achievements of the indigenious warship building programme was the development of the Delhi-class of guided missile destroyers with a displacement of 6,500 tonnes. These were among the most potent vessels in the naval strike force.

"We have not rested on our oars," the designer claimed and said work was underway on uprgaded versions on these destoryers, to be called the Kolkota-class.

Both Rao and Vadiyanathan said their "crowning glory" was the work on the first indigenious aircraft carrier, which is yet to be named.

This was the largest design project of the country, they said, asserting the carrier would be indigenious with some technical consultancy being outsourced abroad.

There are "no hiccups" in the project and the carrier is on schedule to be delivered to the navy by 2012. A follow-on order for at least one more carrier is expected.

The carrier will have a flying deck that can accommodate 30 aircraft -- 13 fighters and the 17 helicopters. It will have a mix of Mig-29K jets bought from Russia, the naval version of LCA and medium and light helicopters.

Indian Navy to induct 31 warships

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/india/article_1221740.php/Indian_Navy_to_induct_31_warships

New Delhi, Nov 14 (IANS) Construction of the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier has begun and it is scheduled to enter service with the Indian Navy by 2012. The force also is set to induct three stealth frigates and 27 other warships being constructed at different shipyards across the country.

At 37,500 tonnes, the aircraft carrier will be the biggest warship built in India, while the construction of the three stealth frigates - so named because they are virtually undetectable by radar - mark a new milestone in the country's naval design capabilities, navy officials said Tuesday.

'The design of the carrier was a technological challenge hitherto not faced by the navy involving complexities in structural design, propulsion system and aviation facilities,' Commodore K.N. Vaidyanathan of the Directorate of Naval Design (DND) told a select media gathering here.

Established in 1970, DND is a key element of the Corps of Naval Constructors that enters its golden jubilee Friday.

The carrier will carry a mix of 30 combat jets and helicopters.

As for the 4,900-tonne Shivalik class stealth frigates, these 'mark a watershed in the design history of the navy as they incorporate a technology available to a very few navies around the world,' Vaidyanathan pointed out

The vessels, which are scheduled for delivery 2008-09 feature a 'low ship signature and can operate at silent speeds for prolonged periods, making them virtually undetectable by radar,' he pointed out.

Among the 27 other vessels on order are 2,500-tonne anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvettes, 6,640-tonne Kolkata class destroyers incorporating stealth technology, as also patrol boats, fast attack craft and seaward defence boats. These ships are due for delivery between 2008 and 2012.

From modest beginnings with the design of auxiliary craft, survey vessels, and seaward defence boats, the navy took a quantum leap forward with the construction of six Nilgiri class frigates between 1972 and 1981, with the last two vessels undergoing extensive design modifications. Notable among these was their ability to operate a Seaking medium lift helicopter, making them the smallest platform to do so.

The DND then got into the act by designing a modified version of the Nilgiri class frigates with a mix of Russian and Western weapons and sensors. This resulted in the Godavari class frigates, which were much larger than their predecessors but faster - in spite of using the same propulsion system. This was followed up with the Brahmaputra class frigates.

More successes followed with designs such as the Khukri class missile frigates and its successor, the Kora class.

Till the indigenous aircraft carrier, one of the most ambitious projects undertaken by DND, was the design of the Delhi class guided missile destroyer, of which three have been built. At 6,500 tonnes, this is the largest warship built in India till now and forms part of the Indian Navy's main strike force.

'These ships represent the cutting edge of technology and are recognised the world over for their design and operational capabilities,' Vaidyanathan pointed out.

In a workshop at Hazira, desi underwater missile launcher gets ready for trial
By indianexpress
Published: November 13, 2006
http://www.idrw.org/index.php?categoryid=1&p2_articleid=499&com_action=displaycomments

On the floors of the workshop of a well-known public limited company at Hazira, Project 78 (P78) is getting ready. The engineering works are complete and minor electrical wiring remain to be completed, a task which, according to sources, is scheduled to be finished by the end of the month and formally handed over to the Navy for tests. P78 is not just another engineering project. It is India’s underwater test missile launcher almost entirely indigenously designed and fabricated. It simulates the necessary conditions to launch a cruise or a ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine. In the present instance, P78 is the first crucial step towards strategic weaponisation, since it is being geared to launch a missile tipped with a nuclear warhead. The missile for which the launcher is being readied is the mysterious Sagarika, first thought to be a cruise missile but now, again according to sources, virtually confirmed to be a ballistic missile. A cruise missile is a low-trajectory missile guided to its destination by an on-board computer. The ballistic missile has a high trajectory and transcends the atmosphere to re-enter from above the targeted site. Sources say that Sagarika will come in both versions — cruise and ballistic. It is, however, confirmed to be an advanced clone of the naval version of the Prithvi series. Prithvi-I is land-based, II is air-launched and III, sea launched. The difference is that Sagarika is designed exclusively for being launched from a submarine, hence is an SLBM (SLCM is a cruise missile.) The state of development of the SLBM/SLCM could not be confirmed but what could be confirmed was the targeted date for the test launch of the missile itself. A highly placed source directly involved with India’s prestigious, albeit long-suffering, advanced technology vessel project (ATV Project) — a euphemism for the indigenously being-developed nuclear submarine — disclosed to The Indian Express that Sagarika will have its first underwater flight test in September 2001. According to a retired Naval intelligence source, this means Sagarika is already ready and waiting for tests or in a very advanced state of completion. That is why the frenetic activity to have the P78 underwater missile launcher delivered to the Navy before April 2001 makes sense. The revelation assumes significance since it is the first solid and tangible fulfilment of the aim of the ambitious draft Indian nuclear doctrine to possess a viable and credible ‘‘second strike’’ capability to inflict ‘‘unacceptable damage’’ to an attacking enemy. It is a matter of recognised strategic principle that a viable and credible second nuclear strike capability is vested with sea-launched, in particular nuclear-propelled submarine-launched missiles, because they are difficult to track down using air or surface-launched enemy missiles. The Indian Government has consistently denied the existence of both the ATV project and the development of the SLBM Sagarika with a range of about 300 km. ‘‘Even today, no one is about to admit to the project. However, once the underwater missile test takes place in September, it will be there for the whole world to see,’’ the source said. Sagarika developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), needs to have a nuclear-powered submarine, for conventional diesel-powered submarines do not have the logistics and manoeuvrability to launch the missile from under water. This means that, despite its long and chequered history, the indigenously designed ATV Project is well on course since the ATVP and Sagarika complement each other. This correspondent talked to AK Anand, director, reactor project group of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Anand refused to either confirm or deny it. However, on a recent visit to MAPS (Madras Atomic Power Station) and IGCAR (Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research) sources at Kalpakkam confirmed to this correspondent that the nuclear reactor for the submarine was being fabricated there.

Cruise missile to be tested next year
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/416869.cms
NEW DELHI: Sagarika, India's first submarine-launched nuclear-capable cruise missile, will be ready for flight trials by early next year, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) sources said.

The turbo-jet powered, vertically launched cruise missile with a range of 700 nautical miles and capable of delivering a 500-kg warhead, is being developed by DRDO with Israeli assistance. India is simultaneously seeking to rope in European missile firms for the project that is being kept under wraps.

The sources said the missile's first prototype, incorporating a solid fuel booster, should be ready for a test flight by early 2008.

At the same time, the DRDO is continuing the development of the submarine-launched version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile developed jointly with Russia.

The development of these two missiles, which will turn India into only the world's fifth power with such a capability, appears to be the silver lining in the country's missile programme that has been plagued by long delays and huge cost overruns.

Its clear Sagarika will have two versions, SLCM and SLBM.

 

[Bull]

fingers crossed