DRDO chief confirms submarine ballistic missile ready
New Delhi, July 7: The country is set to complete its nuclear triad with DRDO indicating that it has completed development of a Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM). While earlier DRDO refused to comment on the project, its chief M Natarajan on Saturday said a âspecial purpose missileâ for the Navy has been launched
Ministry sources said he was referring to the Sagarika or PJ 02 project SLBM. The two-stage missile, with a range of over 800 km, has been successfully tested thrice. This will give India the capability to launch nuclear weapons from land, air and under sea.
Sources said an award for developing a âspecial armament system for a strategic programme of national importanceâ given to a team led by S K Vasudeva is an indication that the project would shortly be made public.
The missile has been developed for deployment on the indigenous nuclear submarine code named Advanced Technology Vehicle. The submarine is scheduled for sea trials next year.
DRDO also said it was working on an advanced version of the Agni III to increase its range by 1,500 km. Nata- rajan said scientists working on the project have figured out a way of adding a third stage to the missile that will push up its range to 5000 km.
âIt looks possible to extend the range in the same model. We may be able to fit in another phase to extend it to another 1,500 km,â Natarajan said. The Agni III missile will be ready for induction into strategic command by 2010.
Australia wants to upgrade defence ties with India
NEW DELHI: After years of being suspicious of India's growing military prowess, especially the expanding role of its Navy in the Indian Ocean region, Australia now wants to upgrade strategic and defence ties with India.
The emerging contours of this yet fledgling defence cooperation will be discussed when Australian defence minister Brendan Nelson comes visiting on Wednesday, with talks scheduled with his Indian counterpart A K Antony, external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and the three service chiefs, among others.
India and Australia hope to build up on the bilateral MoU on defence cooperation signed during Australian prime minister John Howard's visit to New Delhi in March 2006.
Officials say greater interaction between the Indian and Australian navies, along with regular meetings of the newly-constituted bilateral Maritime Security Operations Working Group, upgraded military exercises and high-level exchanges are on the cards.
Significantly, the two countries are now also finalising an arrangement to share counter-terrorism, maritime security and other "classified" information. Nelson's visit, of course, comes at a time when Indian doctor, Mohammad Haneef, has been detained in Australia for alleged links to the failed car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow. And as such, cooperation in the counter-terrorism arena will figure high on the agenda.
But coming back to defence, both India and Australia share a common wariness about China and its rapidly-modernising 2.5-million-strong People's Liberation Army, coupled with the communist country's desire to spread its arc of influence in the entire Asia-Pacific region.
Nelson, incidentally, is coming to India after a visit to China, where he tried to assure Chinese defence minister General Cao Gangchuan that Australia was not ganging up militarily with US, Japan and now India to contain Beijing in the region.
China, on its part, remains deeply suspicious of this emerging so-called quadrilateral "axis of democracy" in the Asia-Pacific region.
DRDO Develops Stealthy Under Water Mines for Indian Navy
The Naval Scientific Technological Laboratory (NSTL) here, a wing of Defence Research Development Organisation, has developed a deadly device called underwater mine which will do the job. Evolved by indigenous technology at the NSTL, the underwater mine will join the Indian arsenal shortly to bolster Indian Navy's weapon shop.
Testing and rating of the device has been completed successfully and the weapon and the project will be handed over to the Indian Navy. The device which will be planted underwater, can destroy enemy objects including sub-marines, war ships and even small boats which may come within a particular radius of the location of the device.
The NSTL has completed the requisite administrative formalities before the device is released officially. NSTL which has planned to hand over underwater mine in the first week of July put it off due to some technical reasons.
A senior official told this website's newspaper that their project has been completed successfully but declined to divulge the cost of the project. Normally, the cost of research and development of this type of weapons is no constraint, but NSTL executed the project within the stipulated budget, the official revealed.
This is the first of its kind device. It will add a feather to Indian Navy�s cap, particularly in view of future challenges it might encounter, a senior scientist claimed with pride.
With regard to the success of the underwater mine venture, the naval sources expressed their delight and said it would be a real push to the Indian Navy: We are also eagerly waiting for the day to induct the device into the Navy's arsenal.
Indian Navy prefers Net-Centric Operations project of CAIR for assessing data flow
Bangalore: With networking of weapons systems and sharing of battlefield data the only means of ensuring seamless information flow and improved joint command and control, the Indian Navy appears âvery interestedâ in the Net-Centric Operations (NCO) project of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR).
The proposed indigenous NCO project from the Bangalore-based Defence laboratory will not only permit shared situational awareness among the various naval units, but also filter and process data flowing from the various thermal, visual, acoustic and radio frequency sensors from the same battlefield, allowing the battlefield commander to take speedy and effective decisions.
The CAIR laboratory, which was one of the ports of call during the Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehtaâs recent visit to Bangalore after assuming charge, demonstrated the capabilities of such an in-house NCO command and control system.
<b>Seamless network </b>
Sources told The Hindu that a seamless Net-centric battle management network would exponentially âenhance the Navyâs operational capabilities by linking various units and sending the information to the appropriate person at the right timeâ. Though indigenous, the project could see a few critical technologies being imported.
The Naval chief, who was on his maiden visit to Indiaâs aeronautical capital, also visited the Indian Space Research Organisation, the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS), the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) and the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) during his three-day visit to Bangalore.
He was accompanied by key Defence Research and Development Organisation personnel, including Chief Controllers (Research and Development) Dipankar Banerjee, N. Sitaram and Prahlada.
According to naval sources, the visit was a familiarisation trip, allowing Admiral Mehta to see first-hand what is happening in the research world, acquaint himself with new programmes and also to know what technologies were available. It also allowed him to know what work the various Bangalore-based research laboratories are doing both for the Defence forces as well as other government agencies.
<b>Eyes and ears</b>
While the Navy is already in possession of around ten of the ADE-developed subsonic reusable aerial target system, Lakshya, the LRDE has been the eyes and ears of the Navy, providing maritime patrol and 3D medium-range surveillance radars.
The Navy had also, in the past, been interested in the ADEâs Nishant UAV programme, which the laboratory demonstrated to the Coast Guard in 2006.
The Navy could also be interested in CABSâ Airborne Early Warning and Control System project that is being built for the Indian Air Force.
India activates first listening post on foreign soil: radars in Madagascar
Manu Pubby
Posted online: Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at 0000 hrs
The station will link up similar facilities in Kochi, Mumbai to gather intelligence
New Delhi, July 17: India has activated its first listening post on foreign soil that will keep an eye on ship movements in the Indian Ocean. A key monitoring station in northern Madagascar, complete with radars and surveillance gear to intercept maritime communication, was quietly made operational earlier this month as part of Indian Navyâs strategy to protect the countryâs sea lanes of commerce.
The monitoring station, under construction since last year when India took on a lease from Antananarivo, will link up with similar naval facilities in Kochi and Mumbai to gather intelligence on foreign navies operating in the region. âA naval asset with limited anchoring facilities has been activated. It will facilitate possible manoeuvres by the navy in the region,â a ministry official said.
While the station will also monitor piracy and terrorist activities, its primary aim is to counter the growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean Region. The station is Indiaâs first in southern Indian Ocean that is gaining importance due to increasing oil traffic across the Cape of Good Hope and the Mozambique Channel route preferred by super tankers.
The US already has a permanent military base with aerial assets and monitoring facilities in Diego Garcia, 1,400 nautical miles north-east of the Madagascar facility.
India is looking at developing another monitoring facility at an atoll it has leased from Mauritius in the near future. While the ministry remains silent, sources say some forward movement has recently been made on the project.
âWith berthing rights in Oman and monitoring stations in Madagascar, Mauritius, Kochi and Mumbai, the navy will effectively box in the region to protect sea lanes right from Mozambique and the Cape of Good Hope to the Gulf of Oman,â an official said.
The navy has already made its presence felt along the African coast with regular warships deployments to monitor piracy and terrorist movements. India also inked an agreement with Mozambique last year to mount periodical maritime patrolling off its vast coast. In 2003, the Indian navy provided seaward protection for the African Union summit at Mozambique.
Arms imports from foreign vendors often not upto mark: Defence Minister Antony
Concerned over the delays in supply of crucial weapon systems by foreign vendors, Defence Minister A K Antoday has said imported arms were often not "found upto the mark" and sought "aggressive indigenisation" through public and private sectors to offset the dependence.
He said the domestic defence industry--both public and private--should move forward to overcome it since indigenisation was the only solution to reduce reliance on foreign companies.
He said such an over-dependence often led to "delays" in supply of hi-tech systems crucial to country's defence, and the imported armament systems received were many a time not "found upto the mark".
The minister made these comments in his address to the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to his ministry.
The remarks come in the backdrop of delays India is facing in supply of weapons platforms like the frontline Sukhoi fighter planes and aircraft carrier Gorshkov from Russia and Awacs from Israel.
Antony, also cautioned that the current spree of arms purchases from abroad could not be sustained for long and domestic industry needed to invest more on research and development.
India is currently spending billions of dollars on acquisition of hi-tech weapon systems and, according to official figures, the country spent almost 350 billion dollars on arms imports in the past seven years.
Defence Minister Anthony Pushes For Aggressive Defense Indigenisation
Defence Minister Shri A K Antony has called for aggressive Indigenisation in Defence Production. Addressing the Defence Ministry Consultative Committee Meeting on Defence Shipyards in Delhi today, he said this will not only include Defence PSUs but also the private sector.
Shri Antony said to achieve this both public and private sector must invest more on research and development. The Minister said the stress on Indigenisation is required because of delay in supplies from foreign vendors which sometimes happens due to change in policy. He said sometimes we find the quality of imported equipment is also not upto the mark. While advocating more and more cooperation between public and private sector Defence industry, the Minister cautioned that this will not be done at the cost of Defence PSUs.
The Defence Minister also directed the Defence Ministry officials to explore the possibility of setting up an institution to cater to the design needs of the Armed Forces related to ships, submarines, aircraft and other equipment. He said ââ¬ÅI must also state that the design capabilities of Indian Defence Shipyards leave much to be desired. One of the major challenges, facing the shipyards is the lack of design capabilities.ââ¬ï Shri Antony said, shipyards and Navy should take immediate measures to upgrade their design house or tie up with well known global majors.
The Defence Minister said the Defence shipyards constitute an important element of India's indigenous Defence production capabilities. The Minister informed the members that the total value of production of the three Defence shipyards during the year 2005-06 was Rs. 1430.33 crore, which rose to Rs 2557.51 in 2006-07. He said unlike other DPSUs, the Defence shipyard share a very close relationship with their customer i.e. Indian Navy. The Defence Minister said, the Navy has prepared a maritime perspective plan that outlines the total requirement of ships, submarines, etc. upto the year 2022. Shri Antony also informed the members that the three shipyards i.e. Mazagon Dock Limited, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd and Goa Shipyard Ltd are Miniratna category I and have shown consistent profits during the last three years. He said today the order-book position of the three shipyards is comfortable. "The shipyards have embarked on major modernization projects and their focus is on reducing build times and keeping abreast of various technological developments in shipbuilding. Thus, in future a holistic approach on shipbuilding is proposed to be followed by the shipyards", the Minister added.
The members while appreciating the performance of the three shipyards made various suggestions to further improve their working. Many members were of the view that the shipyards should seriously look into the problem of time and cost overrun. A member suggested that instead of going for outsourcing the shipyard should try to develop required capabilities, indigenously. A suggestion was also made to send the engineers and technicians from these shipyards to abroad for higher training instead of going for outsourcing. A member suggested the need for benchmarking the products for shipyards so that it could be compared with the best in the world. Another member suggested that salary structure of technicians in the shipyards to prevent them from quitting the job in large numbers. Another member suggested that Government should explore the possibility for securing order for these shipyards from abroad.
Earlier, Shri PK Rastogi Addl Secretary Defence Production gave a detailed power point presentation about the three shipyards.
Members of Parliament who attended the meeting were Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Shri Suresh Kalmadi, Shri Naveen Jindal, Shri MA Kharabela Swain, Smt Jayaben B Thakkar, Shri Samik Lahiri, Shri A
Shivajirao Patil, Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Shri Shankhlal Majhi, Shri Madhur Goud Yaskhi, Shri M Shivanna and Shri Rameshwar Oraon from Lok Sabha and Shri Robert Kharshiing, Shri Santosh Bagrodia, Shri Syed Azees Pasha, Shri Vinay Katiiyar, Shri Dharam Pal Sabharwal and Shri PR Rajan from Rajya Sabha.
Minister of State for Defence Production Rao Inderjit Singh, Defence Secretary Shri Shekhar Dutt, Secretary Defence Production Shri K P Singh, Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister Shri M Natrajan, Director General Acquisition Shri S Banerjee, and various senior civil and military officials also attended the meeting.
DRDO chief confirms submarine ballistic missile ready
Express News Service
Sunday, July 08, 2007
New Delhi, July 7: The country is set to complete its nuclear triad with DRDO indicating that it has completed development of a Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM). While earlier DRDO refused to comment on the project, its chief M Natarajan on Saturday said a âspecial purpose missileâ for the Navy has been launched.
Ministry sources said he was referring to the Sagarika or PJ 02 project SLBM. The two-stage missile, with a range of over 800 km, has been successfully tested thrice. This will give India the capability to launch nuclear weapons from land, air and under sea.
Sources said an award for developing a âspecial armament system for a strategic programme of national importanceâ given to a team led by S K Vasudeva is an indication that the project would shortly be made public.
The missile has been developed for deployment on the indigenous nuclear submarine code named Advanced Technology Vehicle. The submarine is scheduled for sea trials next year.
DRDO also said it was working on an advanced version of the Agni III to increase its range by 1,500 km. Nata- rajan said scientists working on the project have figured out a way of adding a third stage to the missile that will push up its range to 5000 km.
âIt looks possible to extend the range in the same model. We may be able to fit in another phase to extend it to another 1,500 km,â Natarajan said. The Agni III missile will be ready for induction into strategic command by 2010.
DRDO making 1000km subsonic cruise missile Nirbhay
SUJAN DUTTA
New Delhi, July 19: Indian defence scientists have taken up a new cruise missile development programme. The missile named Nirbhay (The Fearless) is in the same class as the USâs Tomahawk and will have a range that is 300km longer than Pakistanâs Babur.
Nirbhay is Indiaâs seventh missile development project after the Agni series, the Prithvi series, Brahmos (in a joint venture with Russia), Akash, Trishul and Nag. The last three were part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme founded by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
Nirbhay is being developed alongside Astra, an air-to-air missile designed to hit targets beyond visual range.
A cruise missile can be guided to a target. A ballistic missile is fired at a pre-determined target. Nirbhay will carry onboard a terrain-identification system that will map its course and relay the information to its guidance and propulsion systems.
âEvery modern military needs to have missile options. The requirement for Nirbhay was projected by all three armed forces to fill a gap in our missile programme,â Avinash Chander, the director of the Advanced Systems Laboratory, Hyderabad, who is in charge of the project, told The Telegraph in Delhi today.
Nirbhay will be a terrain-hugging missile capable of avoiding detection by ground-based radar. It would have a range of 1,000km.
âWe have Brahmos, which is a supersonic cruise missile and the need was felt for a subsonic cruise missile that will be capable of being launched from multiple platforms in land, air and sea,â Chander said.
In the schedule drawn up for Nirbhay, a technology demonstrator is slotted for early 2009. Chander said the design for the system is complete and âhardware preparations are onâ. He said Nirbhay would weigh around 1,000kg and travel at 0.7 mach (nearly 840kmph) and would be capable of delivering 24 different types of warheads.
The Pakistan's chinese made subsonic cruise missile Babur (also called Hatf VII) has ranges of 500 to 700km. The USâs Tomahawk has many versions, the latest of which has ranges in excess of 1,500km.
Sooo, about the procurement of those 126 jets that we've been hearing for years now. Is that ever going to happen or are they going to scratch their ass some more while pilots die in old Russian junk from the Cold-War era?
<!--QuoteBegin-Pandyan+Jul 30 2007, 06:43 AM-->QUOTE(Pandyan @ Jul 30 2007, 06:43 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Sooo, about the procurement of those 126 jets that we've been hearing for years now.
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After 123, is it turn of 126 jet deal
23 Jul 2007, 0002 hrs IST,
Rajat Pandit,TNN
NEW DELHI: Will 123 equal 126? That is, will the now finally ready 123 Agreement for civilian nuclear cooperation between US and India give American fighters the required thrust to zoom ahead of other contenders in bagging the IAF project to acquire 126 multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA)? The US certainly thinks so, and is once again dangling the bait of spin-offs from its futuristic fifth-generation fighter (G-5) programmes if either F-16 'Falcons' or F/A-18 'Super Hornets' bag India's gigantic Rs 42,000 crore ($10.4 billion) project for 126 MRCA.
<b>Towards this end, F-16 manufacturer Lockheed Martin made a technical presentation to IAF last week on the ongoing F-35 'Lightning-II' project, indicating this G-5 fighter could fulfil India's fighter jet needs in the future after the slated induction of 126 MRCA in the next decade.</b>
India, of course, is keen on a G-5 fighter, with a lethal mix of stealth, beyond-visual range combat capabilities, reduced radar tracking signature, super-manoeuvrability and supersonic cruising ability.
The MRCA project, after all, basically involves fourth-generation fighters in terms of avionics and weapons, with the contenders being the Russian MiG-35, Swedish JAS-39 Gripen, French Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and the American F/A-18 'Super Hornet' and F-16 'Falcon'.
But the US is way behind Russia as far as attracting India to its G-5 fold is concerned, even though its programme is far more advanced. "The F-35 presentation was only that of a preliminary nature. Everybody wants to give us presentations now," quipped a top IAF official.
"But yes, negotiations with Russia to join its G-5 fighter programme are in an advanced stage now," he added. India has already conveyed its "conditional willingness" to join the Russian Sukhoi consortium's G-5 project, designated as PAK-FA and touted to be a rival to the F-35.
The US offer is not new. Even in 2005, as reported by TOI earlier, the US had promised spin-offs from its G-5 projects like F-35 and the newly-operational F/A-22 'Raptor' since the MRCA project would involve technology transfer and licenced production in India.
But the pitch has certainly become more aggressive in recent days with India finalising the RFP (request for proposal) for the MRCA contract. <b>Interestingly, the F-35 presentation to IAF came even as top Indian and US officials began their negotiations in Washington to remove the remaining hurdles to the 123 Agreement.</b>
The multi-role F-35 stealth fighter, slated to become fully operational around 2012 with over $40 billion being spent on its development, will meet the futuristic needs of US as well as close allies like UK. Some others like Canada, Italy, Holland, Turkey, Australia, Norway and Denmark also have some financial stake in the project.
India certainly has hard choices to make but is sure to use the MRCA project to serve its larger geo-political ends. <b>Defence minister A K Antony, on his part, has outlined three "guiding principles" for the MRCA contract.
One, IAF's operational requirements should be "fully met." Two, the selection process will be "competitive, fair and transparent" to ensure best value for money. And three, Indian defence industries should get an opportunity "to grow to global scales" due to the large project.</b>
Sukhois to guard India's eastern sector
Barrackpore (North 24-Parganas), July 24: The air force will station 40 Sukhoi 30s at its Tezpur base in Assam and also strengthen the Kalaikunda airbase in Bengal.
âWe are doing this to tighten our air security in the eastern region. These new aircraft (Sukhoi 30s) will operate from Tezpur,â the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command, said here today.
Air Marshal P.K. Barbora added that six more specialised helicopters would be procured, taking their total number to 86.
No Sukhoi 30s are currently deployed in the eastern region, which is guarded by MIG 21 and MIG 27 aircraft. Senior officers stressed that the fortification was meant to keep the force âready for combat in any eventuality in the regionâ.
Barboraâs remarks came during a visit to Udayan, a school for physically and mentally challenged children operated by the Air Force Wivesâ Welfare Association in Barrackpore. He said the air force had given permission for a civil aviation training institute to be set up at the Panagarh airbase.
The force had also agreed to allow a commercial air cargo handling facility at Panagarh, as proposed by the Bengal government. But it could not come up as DGCA and Airports Authority of India rules came in the way.
Indian warships ready to head to West Asia
1 Aug 2007, 0258 hrs IST,Rajat Pandit ,TNN
NEW DELHI: Much more than Army and IAF, the much smaller Navy is keeping the Tricolour flying high on foreign shores in tune with India's growing geo-political and strategic interests.
After an ambitious overseas deployment in South-East Asia and the Far East in March-May, Indian warships will now head for West Asia in August-September to "engage constructively" with as many as six countries.
Then, of course, the Navy will take part in the huge five-nation wargames with US, Japan, UK, Australia and Singapore in the Bay of Bengal in the first week of September, in an extension of the Indo-US "Malabar" series of exercises.
Much to the Left's discomfiture, the gigantic nuclear-powered American aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, which created waves when it anchored near Chennai in early July, will be participating in this exercise.
And so will another American aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk and nuclear submarine USS Chicago, apart from 20 other warships and several fighter and reconnaissance aircraft, in probably the largest amassing of deadly war machines in the Bay of Bengal since the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
Though as many as 12 Malabar exercises have already been held with the US, apart from several joint search-and-rescue exercises, the Indian Navy is not apologetic about its deep links with its American counterpart.
"But the Indian Navy is not US-centric...we are India-centric. We exercise with many foreign navies to gain and share operational and doctrinal expertise, imbibe best practices and generate interoperability," said assistant chief of naval staff (foreign cooperation) Rear Admiral Pradeep Chauhan.
In this context, he pointed to the deployment of guided missile destroyers INS Rajput and INS Delhi, frigates INS Betwa and INS Beas, and tanker INS Jyoti to West Asian region.
<b> India completes Airbus A319 and Boeing P-8 maritime evaluations</b>
DATE:17/08/07
India has completed evaluations of a maritime patrol derivative of the Airbus A319 and the Boeing P-8 Poseidon in support of a navy requirement for eight anti-submarine aircraft.
Other bidders for the deal are Israel Aerospace Industries and Elta Systems with a Dassault Falcon 900 business jet derivative, Lockheed Martin with a remanufactured P-3 Orion, and a Russian consortium with the Ilyushin Il-38.
As neither the P-8 nor the A319 derivative yet exist, the flight trials conducted in the USA and Spain involved simulations, flying leased commercial Boeing 737 and A320 family aircraft on representative flight profiles and mission system evaluations using US Navy and Spanish airforce P-3s. EADS Casa is offering its FITS mission system, which has been installed in Spain's upgraded P-3Bs.
The mission system for Boeing's P-8A uses developments of sensors already operational in US Navy P-3Cs, but the company's offer of a P-8I variant to India would allow the integration of indigenous systems such as communications, datalink and identification friend-or-foe equipment. The US company is negotiating agreements with several Indian companies to meet industrial participation requirements.
Australia, meanwhile, is negotiating to join the US Navy in developing the first capability upgrade spiral for the P-8A, having earlier turned down an offer to join the system development and demonstration programme now under way. Canberra has selected the P-8 to replace its AP-3Cs, which will be retired from 2018, with a requirement for 12-20 aircraft.
The baseline P-8A will fly in September 2009, with initial operational capability set for 2013 and the first capability upgrade spiral to be available around 2015, in the same timeframe that Australia needs its first deliveries, says Rick Buck, programme manager, P-8 international operations.
<b> IAF invites applications</b>
Pune, August 16
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has invited applications from engineers (BE or B Tech holders) for commissioned officers in Aeronautical Engineering (electronics) branch through fast Track Selection (FTS) mode for 72 AEC (men)/44 SSC (men and women) course commencing on January 8.
All engineering degree holders born between January 2, 1980 and January 1, 1990 with a first class (minimum 60 per cent in aggregate) in electronics, telecommunication, electrical, electronics & communication, instrumentation, computer science are eligible to apply.
Candidates will have to report on August 25 at the Air Force Station, Lohegaon between 8 am and 11 am with eligibility certificates and photo identity cards.
<b> Indian Navyâs initiative to get stealth frigates</b>
Bangalore: To augment its surface combatant fleet with a new class of multi-role, fast stealth frigates, the Indian Navy has floated a global request for information (RFI).
The RFI was issued last December to a number of Russian, European and American shipyards for building one vessel in an international shipyard and six in India, most probably at the Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai, or the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata.
The deal is expected to be worth around Rs. 30,000 crore.
The Navyâs initiative comes in the wake of the inability of the Indian shipyards to deliver on time, and on account of delays in acquiring modern equipment in the past two decades due to constraints on defence budgets.
The RFI, the first official step in any defence contract, is followed by a request for proposal (RFP), the proposals, contract and price negotiations, before the deal is finally inked.
The stealth frigate project, named Project 17A, is part of the Navyâs plans to acquire a follow-up generation of ships to the ongoing but delayed Project 17, under which Shivalik class multi-role frigates are being built.
Project 17 envisages building a total of 12 ships. The seven ships, for which the RFI has been issued, form part of the project.
Lockheed optimistic
Interestingly, the Navyâs requirement for stealth frigates is being looked at optimistically by the worldâs biggest military contractor Lockheed Martin. It has just replied to the RFI. According to Royce Caplinger, Managing Director, Lockheed Martin Global Inc., the company has also identified an overseas shipyard, which will build the first ship of this class for the Indian Navy.
Speaking to The Hindu from Washington, Mr. Caplinger, however, refused to divulge the name or country of the identified shipyard because of proprietary obligations.
He said: âWe are hopeful of continuing into the next [RFP] phase.â
Lockheed Martin, which is also in the process of replying along with an Indian prime (Larsen & Toubro Ltd.) to the Navyâs RFP for setting up Integrated Platform Management Systems on the Navyâs ships, has thought it prudent to base a Maritime Sensors and Systems Team in India.
According to the former Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral P.J. Jacob, India should encourage the setting up of âGreenfieldâ shipyards if the Navy is to, as planned, acquire around 35 ships over the next decade.
Defence cooperation with Russia to be maintained:Indian envoy
August 16th, 2007
Moscow, Aug 16 (RIA Novosti) Defence ties between India and Russia would be maintained in the years ahead even as the two countries are negotiating fresh deals for military hardware, New Delhi's envoy here has asserted.
Ambassador Kanwal Sibal was speaking during a media interaction on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Indian independence.
Russia is currently servicing about $10 billion worth of contracts with India for military hardware.
Discussions were on for the supply of 40 additional Sukhoi Su-30MKI combat jets and 80 MI-17 medium lift helicopters to the Indian Air Force (IAF), and 47 T-90 tanks to the Indian Army in addition to the 1,330 that have already been contracted for, Sibal pointed out.
"There is a great deal of trust between the two countries, but we need to go beyond this defence cooperation because the kind of volumes and figures that we have in mind in term of our future trade cannot be based on defence cooperation alone," the envoy maintained.
"Therefore we must expand commercial and economic cooperation...We have to remove the weakness of our economic relations...but time is in our favour," he added.
With 70 percent of the hardware with the Indian armed forces being imported, Russia is India's biggest supplier of arms and other equipment. However, with India looking to expand its options, Israel has emerged as the second largest supplier, having sold equipment worth over $4.5 billion in the past five years.
This apart, as many as six different aircraft are in contention for an IAF order for 126 combat jets, with the Russian MiG-35 also being in the race. The bulk of the IAF's fleet of fighter and transport aircraft is of Soviet or Russian origin.
There have been major hiccups of late in India-Russia ties - the chief of these relating to huge time and cost overruns in refurbishing the decommissioned aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov the Indian Navy has purchased.
The carrier, which was to be delivered by 2008, is now likely to arrive only around 2012. This is because the shipyard at which the ship is being refitted has begun work on a new nuclear-powered submarine and most of the workforce has been shifted to the new project.
Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony has admitted to "problems" with the Gorshkov deal and has hoped these would be "sorted out" soon.
Antony is likely to visit Moscow in October, ahead of the annual summit between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Indian Army to induct portable laser weapons made by DRDO
17 Aug 2007, 1210 hrs IST,PTI
JAMMU: Soldiers engaged in counter-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast will soon have a new weapon to help them take on militants -- portable non-lethal laser dazzlers that can stun and blind their opponents.
"Two versions of the portable non-lethal dazzlers (PNLD), including a hand-held laser dazzler, are set to be inducted into the Indian armed forces for use in counter-insurgency operations.
This will make the 21st century soldier a technology-driven jawan," a top defence source told a news agency.
The laser dazzlers, which can be mounted on existing weapons used by the soldiers, were tested in Kashmir in October last year and will be inducted into the army possibly by next year, sources said.
They could be used against militants operating in the hinterland of Kashmir and against those infiltrating into the state across the Line of Control (LoC).
The Defence Research and Development Organisation's Laser Science and Technology Centre (LASTEC) in Delhi has developed two variants of the PNLD suitable for counter-terrorist operations.
The hand-held and weapon-mounted versions of the PNLD have a maximum range of 50 meters and 500 meters respectively, the sources said.
Both variants are completely non-lethal directed-energy weapons employing intense visible light and produce randomly a flickering green laser output that is sufficient to cause temporary blindness or disorientation.
The dazzlers also have an in-built safety interlock to prevent misuse and the weapons do not cause permanent blindness, the sources said.
<b> Indian Army to induct laser weapons made by DRDO</b>
Anil Bhat in Jammu | August 17, 2007 12:19 IST
Soldiers engaged in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the north-east will soon have a new weapon to help them take on militants -- portable non-lethal laser dazzlers that can stun and blind their opponents.
"Two versions of the portable non-lethal dazzlers, including a hand-held laser dazzler, are set to be inducted into the Indian armed forces for use in counter-insurgency operations. This will make the 21st century soldier a technology-driven jawan," a top defence source told PTI.
The laser dazzlers, which can be mounted on existing weapons used by the soldiers, were tested in Kashmir in October 2006 and will be inducted into the army possibly by 2008, sources said.
They could be used against militants operating in the hinterland of Kashmir and against those infiltrating into the state across the Line of Control.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation's Laser Science and Technology Centre in Delhi has developed two variants of the PNLD suitable for counter-insurgency operations.
The hand-held and weapon-mounted versions of the PNLD have a maximum range of 50 meters and 500 meters respectively, the sources said.
Both variants are completely non-lethal directed-energy weapons employing intense visible light and produce randomly a flickering green laser output that is sufficient to cause temporary blindness or disorientation.
The dazzlers also have an in-built safety interlock to prevent misuse and the weapons do not cause permanent blindness, the sources said.
The dazzlers also have an integrated low power red laser beam for aiming in twilight and dark conditions.
The weapon-mounted dazzler has an integrate daylight sight too.
After trials of the dazzlers in the north-east and Kashmir, a memorandum of understanding was signed for manufacturing the systems for the army, the sources said.
Under the MoU signed by the Defence Research Development Organisation with SDS Electronics Pvt Ltd of Panchkula, the transfer of technology for the two versions of the PNLD was completed in November 2006, the sources said.
The laser dazzlers use "diode pumped solid state" lasers with a wavelength of 532 nm and weigh 850 g.
Blinding weapons are banned by the 1995 United Nations Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons.
As these dazzlers do not cause permanent blindness, they skirt this regulation, the sources said.
On 18 May 2006, the US military announced it would issue dazzling lasers designed to be attached to M-4 rifles to troops in Iraq.
This weapon is intended to provide a non-lethal way to stop drivers who fail to stop at checkpoints manned by US soldiers.
The US forces also used the Saber 203 dazzlers in Somalia in 1995 during Operation United Shield.
IAF game for extending Agatti airstrip
NEW DELHI, MARCH 9: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has set forth its vote of support on a proposal with the Civil Aviation Ministry seeking to extend and expand the only airstrip on the Lakshadweep islands. An extended runway on Agatti Island, the IAF has said in an official communication to the Defence Ministry, will give its fighters and military transports a 400-km range and logistical advantage in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean.
The proposal âââ‰â¬Â currently with the government âââ‰â¬Â is to reclaim land in the 400-metre gap between Agatti Island and the tiny uninhabited Kalpati coral islet nearby, and thereby allow an extension of the tarmac from the current 4,235 feet to approximately 7,000 feet and attendant increase of space from the current 18.36 hectare.
The airstrip is currently only suitable for light Dornier and other aircraft and helicopters. With an extension, that could also include reinforcement of the tarmac and an upgrade of available visual and instrument navigational aids and infrastructure, the airport will be able to handle fighters (for instance, maritime strike Jaguars and Sukhoi-30MKIs from Lohegaon) and heavy transport, both civil and military.
Agatti âââ‰â¬Â the âââ¬Ã
âgateway to Lakshadweepâââ¬Ã Ã¢ââ‰â¬Â is the only island in Lakshadweep that has an aerodrome and passenger handling facilities which receives flights daily from India, and recently by Kingfisher Airlines three times a week. Apart from military logistics utility, better facilities would also bring down civil ticket costs that feed still nascent tourism to islands like Bangaram, Kadmat, Minicoy and Agattiâââ‰â¢s own 20-bed resort hotel.
Speaking to The Indian Express, commander of the IAFâââ‰â¢s Western Air Command, Air Marshal Padamjit Ahluwalia said, âââ¬Ã
âIt will give our fighters and transports a sizeable range advantage in the open ocean. It is now up to the government.âââ¬Ã Ahluwalia made his representation on the proposed airstrip extension when he was Southern Air Commander in Tiruvananthapuram in January.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/25229.html
Indian space programmes on demand worldwide: ISRO
Hyderabad, September 27, 2007
First Published: 17:15 IST(27/9/2007)
Last Updated: 20:44 IST(27/9/2007)
Indian space programmes for education, healthcare, management of natural resources and weather forecast and disaster management are in great demand the world over due to their domino effect on living standards, a top Indian space agency official said in Hyderabad on Thursday.
"Nations across Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific are making a beeline to seek our expertise and resources for replicating the success of our space programmes and applications.Latin American countries are keen to implement our space programmes in to improve education and healthcare of their people, says Nair.
"Most advanced countries want to collaborate with India in using such space services for their people, while others are trying to copy our models for tele-education, tele-medicine and village resource centres," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairperson G Madhavan Nair told reporters at the 58th International Astronautical Congress held in Hyderabad.
Giving an assessment of the global space agencies of ISRO's impressive achievements in the space arena, Nair said India was not only being counted among them, but was in demand for collaborations in the ongoing programmes for the benefit of humankind and explorations.
"Bilateral meetings with the heads of space agencies from the US, Russia, Europe, Japan and China during the space summit have created a lot of opportunities for partnerships and mutual cooperation in the space missions being undertaken by them as well as us.
"Latin American and African countries are keen to implement our space programmes in improving education and healthcare of their people. Similarly, the Asia-Pacific nations are seeking our expertise in disaster management, flood control, exploration of minerals and identification of ground water resources," Nair pointed out.
In lunar exploration, Japan has offered to share the data from its Kaguya mission and join hands with ISRO for setting up a base on the moon for explorations of other planets in future.
"The US and European space agencies (NASA and ESA) are already onboard our lunar mission (Chandrayaan-1) with their experimental payloads as piggybacks for studying the origin and evolution of the earth's only natural satellite (moon).
"NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and China have also offered to cooperate with us beyond the ISS (international space station) to explore the moon and other planets," Nair affirmed.
Asked whether ISRO would seek NASA's assistance in the proposed manned mission and beyond, Nair said that as in the case of developing capabilities in launch vehicles and satellites, the space agency would have self-reliance in building heavier rockets and spacecraft for future lunar and manned missions into space and possible moon later.
"Experience over the decades, especially during the sanctions period when dual-use technologies were denied, shows it would be prudent to be self-reliant in developing our own capabilities for taking up future missions in space, to the moon, Mars and inter-planetary explorations," Nair asserted.
Indian space programmes for education, healthcare, management of natural resources and weather forecast and disaster management are in great demand the world over due to their domino effect on living standards, a top Indian space agency official said in Hyderabad on Thursday.
"Nations across Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific are making a beeline to seek our expertise and resources for replicating the success of our space programmes and applications.Latin American countries are keen to implement our space programmes in to improve education and healthcare of their people, says Nair.
"Most advanced countries want to collaborate with India in using such space services for their people, while others are trying to copy our models for tele-education, tele-medicine and village resource centres," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairperson G Madhavan Nair told reporters at the 58th International Astronautical Congress held in Hyderabad.
Giving an assessment of the global space agencies of ISRO's impressive achievements in the space arena, Nair said India was not only being counted among them, but was in demand for collaborations in the ongoing programmes for the benefit of humankind and explorations.
"Bilateral meetings with the heads of space agencies from the US, Russia, Europe, Japan and China during the space summit have created a lot of opportunities for partnerships and mutual cooperation in the space missions being undertaken by them as well as us.
"Latin American and African countries are keen to implement our space programmes in improving education and healthcare of their people. Similarly, the Asia-Pacific nations are seeking our expertise in disaster management, flood control, exploration of minerals and identification of ground water resources," Nair pointed out.
In lunar exploration, Japan has offered to share the data from its Kaguya mission and join hands with ISRO for setting up a base on the moon for explorations of other planets in future.
"The US and European space agencies (NASA and ESA) are already onboard our lunar mission (Chandrayaan-1) with their experimental payloads as piggybacks for studying the origin and evolution of the earth's only natural satellite (moon).
"NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) and China have also offered to cooperate with us beyond the ISS (international space station) to explore the moon and other planets," Nair affirmed.
Asked whether ISRO would seek NASA's assistance in the proposed manned mission and beyond, Nair said that as in the case of developing capabilities in launch vehicles and satellites, the space agency would have self-reliance in building heavier rockets and spacecraft for future lunar and manned missions into space and possible moon later.
"Experience over the decades, especially during the sanctions period when dual-use technologies were denied, shows it would be prudent to be self-reliant in developing our own capabilities for taking up future missions in space, to the moon, Mars and inter-planetary explorations," Nair asserted.
http://www.mavenarts.com/idea/?p=188
How India developed the SPACE STATION !! (Success Story)
Posted November 23, 2006
In the early 1960âs â¦India was slowly awakening to the Space ageâ¦.Although rest of the world was preparing to reach for the Moonâ¦we were making our humble beginningâ¦a small rocket took off from Thumba on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram, announcing the birth of the modern space age in India. That was when the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) formally came into existence. Over the years, TERLS have given birth to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)â¦
Some Pics that will make every Indian proudâ¦
Pics that sayâ¦we may not be as successful as the US or Russiaâ¦but we are there neverthelessâ¦so watch out for usâ¦
Carrying Rocket Parts on Cycle
This was how the Rocket Cone was transported to the Launch Pad at Thumba !!
The long journey
The other day a national daily carried a 1966 photograph taken by Henri Cartier-Bresson of a rocket-cone being taken by bicycle to the Thumba testing facility in Kerala by two people ââ¬â one tending the cycle and the cone on foot, the other walking by his side. In the picture at least, the road leads to nowhere with a couple of palms standing mute sentinel to the efforts of a 20-year-old Free India trying to find its feet in the world of rocket technology.
The photograph ââ¬â taken by a master ââ¬â portrays in microcosm the past of this nation and also its future. In short, that rocket-cone being taken on the back of a bicycle was the precursor of today's geo-stationary satellite launch vehicles which the country is hawking around the world. It has taken all of 40 years for the Indian rocket-technician to reach this point in his quest for attainment, a point which compares favourably with countries in the West generally where such technology was first used in the 1940s during the Second World War.
What makes the Cartier-Bresson creation somewhat poignant is that, for a large swathe of the country, the bicycle continues to represent the basic norm of civil transport, a phenomenon that has been completely over-shadowed by the huge strides made by rocket-technology since those early days.
So while the business of economic development has taken time to percolate to the rural areas, the Indian mind has leapt forward to a point where it seems ready to take on the world.
As President Abdul Kalam told US President Bush on Thursday, "The India that you are visiting is in the midst of profound change. It is on a scale that has never been attempted before in a democratic framework... has lessons for the whole world because it is being attempted under the most challenging of conditions".
That Cartier-Bresson photograph tells the world exactly how much India has travelled the distance towards progress and modernity since 1947 yet keeping the moorings of Indian society intact.
Ranabir Ray Choudhury
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...0400011000.htm
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