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HomeIndia TakesINDIA INKS EURO 13 MILLION DEAL WITH AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE

INDIA INKS EURO 13 MILLION DEAL WITH AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE

defNew Delhi: India has signed a euro 13 million deal with Airbus Defence and Space for the delivery of a dedicated facility in the country for the maintenance and repair its submarine fleet periscopes. The project is due to be completed in September 2016.

 

“When a product is serviced, a lot of time is lost during the transport between different facilities. Once maintenance work can be done locally, the operators can speed up this process and enhance the operational readiness of the Indian fleet,” said Harald Hansen, Director Business Development Sea at Airbus Defence and Space’s Optronics business unit. The maintenance facility contract demonstrates the firm’s commitment to not only supply systems and technologies to customers, but also to equip them with the necessary operational maintenance capability, a statement by the company said.

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The establishment of the periscope maintenance facility and the training of technicians from the Indian Navy in Germany and India can be seen as a first step in establishing an in-country service capability for future naval operations, it said. For the implementation of the facility, Airbus Defence and Space is partnering with Tata Consultancy Services and H&H Precision Private Limited.

 

The company has previously established periscope maintenance facility in Germany, South Korea, Italy and Greece. The optronic products are used for land, air, sea and space missions on a variety of platforms. These include submarines and armoured vehicles as well as aircraft, satellites and UAVs.

(Source: DNA November 21, 2014)

 

 

INDIA LIKELY TO ORDER 106 MORE PILATUS AIRCRAFT TO TRAIN PILOTS

 

NEW DELHI: India is likely to go in for 106 more Swiss Pilatus PC-7 basic trainer aircraft (BTA), the bulk of which will be produced domestically, to help train rookie IAF pilots in a project worth around Rs 7,000 crore.

 

This comes after defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics’ attempt to develop its own BTA called HTT-40 failed to pass muster with the defence ministry. First, it would have been much more expensive than the Pilatus BTA already being inducted by IAF. Second, it would have not met the timelines specified long ago.

 

So, the defence acquisitions council (DAC) is slated to consider the case for 106 additional Pilatus at the meeting to be chaired by Manohar Parrikar on Saturday, say sources.

 

One option is to buy 38 Pilatus off-the-shelf, with the rest 68 being produced by the 5 Base Repair Depot (BRD) of IAF at Sulur. Other options could include importing only 10 BTA, with 96 being made in India.

 

It was in September 2009 that the DAC had approved the urgent purchase of 75 BTA from the global market, while 106 BTA were to be made in India to meet the overall requirement for 181 such planes. Finally, after a global competition, India inked the Rs 2,896 crore deal for 75 Pilatus BTA in May 2012. IAF has inducted 53 of them till now.

 

IAF had then also strongly objected to HAL’s push for its still-to-developed HTT-40 on the ground that two types of BTA would be both “illogical” and “exorbitant” in terms of duplication in spares, maintenance, infrastructure and the like.

 

It’s a no-brainer that fighter pilots have to be properly trained to handle highly-demanding supersonic jets that necessarily have to undertake inherently dangerous combat maneuvres. Similar is true for helicopter and aircraft pilots.

 

“Human error (aircrew)” has been the reason for over 39% of the around 1,100 crashes recorded by IAF since 1970. The other equally big killer is “technical defects” caused by ageing machines and shoddy maintenance.

 

It took India 20 years to ink the first contract for 66 twin-seat Hawk advanced jet trainers (AJTs) in March 2004 — now used to train pilots in the intricacies of combat flying — despite losing hundreds of fighters and pilots in crashes. Another 57 Hawks were then ordered in July 2010, taking the total project cost to around Rs 16,000 crore,

 

The induction of Pilatus, in turn, was urgent since IAF training schedules for raw cadets had gone haywire after the entire fleet of the 114 old piston-engine HPT-32 aircraft, which long served as the BTA, was grounded in August 2009 after a crash killed the pilot.

 

The intermediate training for fighter pilots between the Pilatus and Hawk stages, however, still remains a big problem. HAL is yet to deliver on its Sitara intermediate jet trainer (IJT) despite a delay of 15 years.

(Source: Times of India November 21, 2014)

 

INDIA RESUMES SU-30MKI FLIGHTS FOLLOWING SAFETY CHECKS

 

The Indian air force has resumed flying activities with its Sukhoi Su-30MKI combat aircraft, after lifting a grounding order imposed following an uncommanded ejection involving the type on 21 October.

 

“Flying with the Su-30MKIs has resumed from 14 November”, and the air force is “satisfied with the changes that have been carried out on all aeroplanes across the entire fleet”, the service says. “The court of inquiry set up to probe the accident is expected to have its report finalised and submitted by this weekend,” it adds.

 

India operates an estimated 200 Su-30MKIs, with the example lost in the recent mishap – SB 050 – having been acquired directly from Russia. Production of the type continues at Hindustan Aeronautics’ Nasik facility, wheremore than 150 of a planned 222 of the aircraft have already been delivered. The remaining on-contract strike aircraft will be handed over by 2018-2019.

(Source: Flight Global November 21, 2014)

 

DEFENCE MINISTRY AGREES TO FREE UP 5 MHZ OF HIGH-SPEED BANDWIDTH OF 3G SPECTRUM FOR COMMERCIAL USE

 

NEW DELHI: The telecom and defence ministries have made a partial breakthrough in their talks on 3G spectrum, with the latter agreeing to free up 5 MHz of high-speed bandwidth for commercial use in 17 of India’s 22 circles, enough to accommodate one more telecom operator in those regions. The DoT, however, isn’t in favour of auctioning the freed-up 3G airwaves along with the 2G bandwidth due to be sold next February, dashing the hopes of the industry which has been seeking multi-band auctions.

 

“The department will only auction 3G once it achieves a breakthrough in its negotiations with defence for a swap of 15 MHz (three more slots) of 3G airwaves with that of the (2G) spectrum in 1900 MHz band (held by the telecom ministry),” a top DoT official told ET. “There are a lot of procedural issues and there won’t be enough time for holding simultaneous auctions.” The two ministries started discussions on swapping 15 MHz each of 3G and 2G bandwidth way back in 2009 but have been unsuccessful on reaching a consensus so far.

 

According to an agreement between the defence and the telecom departments in 2009, the former had assured release of another slot of 5 MHz subject to some milestones being achieved, including notification of the defence interest zone and the defence band. The DoT is working on a Cabinet note notifying the two. While the defence ministry has now decided to release the 5 MHz as agreed in 2009, no decision has been made on swapping 15 MHz of airwaves in all the 22 circles.

Defence Ministry agrees to free up 5 MHz of high-speed bandwidth of 3G spectrum for commercial useThe partial breakthrough came after arecent meeting between telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and defence minister ManoharParrikar. DoT now expects to resolve the issue and sell 20 MHz of 3G bandwidth in 17 service areas and 15 MHz in the remaining four by next May.

 

Explaining why the discussions over the swap proposal were taking time, the official told ET: “It is linked to the larger issue of harmonisation of spectrum and we are hopeful that this will be swapped once we can sort harmonisation out”. Harmonisation refers to making spectrum in the 1800 MHz contiguous, or continuous, for both the defence as well as the telecom services. Contiguity increases the spectral efficiency without any added costs. As reported earlier by ET, contrary to the recommendation of the telecom regulator and the plea of the operators, DoT is planning to hold a two-stage auction, first auctioning the 2G airwaves in February (800 MHz, 900 MHz and 1800 MHz) followed by another auction of 3G and the 4G airwaves in May.

 

“It doesn’t make economic sense for the government to auction one slot of 3G spectrum in February and then another three slots in May. This will distort the price of the airwaves,” the official told ET. He said the process of deciding on a price for 3G and then taking Cabinet’s approval would require time and would overshoot schedule set for 2G auctions. “The government has fiscal compulsions to hold the 2G auctions this fiscal (year ending in March). We can’t postpone it beyond the fiscal (year) to hold a simultaneous auction as suggested by the regulator,” he said.

 

The government has budgeted revenue of Rs 9,355 crore from the sale of 2G bandwidth this fiscal year. It has also factored in another Rs 5,000 crore from selling one slot, or 5 MHz, of 3G airwaves. The DoT had written to the telecom regulator last month, seeking a floor price for 3G airwaves. The regulator, however, has asked the department to communicate the quantum of spectrum it wanted to auction.

 

DoT, in turn, said it wasn’t sure on that and called for the regulator to review its proposal of a multi-band auction in February. For harmonisation, streamlining the use of spectrum in the 1800 or the 2G spectrum band, the government has decided that 55 of the total 75 MHz falling between 1710 and 1765 as well as 1805 and 1860 MHz should be made available for use of telecom services. The balance 20 MHz between 1765 and 1785, and 1860 and 1880 has been identified for defence. However, certain portions of the band earmarked for telecom is currently being used by defence and vice versa. Defence will now have to shift out from the band designated for telecom and similarly telecom operators will have to vacate spectrum from the defence band.

(Source: Economic Times November 21, 2014)

 

AIR FORCE DRILL WITH RUSSIA IN SECOND LEG

 

New Delhi, Nov. 20: The first India-Russia air force exercises began a second innings at Halwara in Punjab this week, following up on drills hosted by Russia in its Astrakhan region in August-September.

 

With “Avia Indra 2014”, all three military services of India are now in regular drills with the Russians. The navies exercised with each other in the Sea of Japan earlier this year and an Indian army contingent was hosted in Russia last year.

 

In the Russian phase of the exercise from August 25 to September 5, an 18-member team of the Indian Air Force was involved in counter-terrorism training with Mi35 helicopter gunships. The IAF fighter pilots also flew in the aircraft of the Russian Federation Air Force (RFAF).

 

The IAF combat fighters are mostly of Soviet/Russian origin. In the second phase that began this week, the Indians and Russians were exchanging notes on symbols and languages. Although they operate similar aircraft, the language spoken and written are very different. IAF sources said the Russians would fly in the IAF’s Sukhoi 30Mki fighter aircraft next week. The drills include ground attack manoeuvres at the S.K. Range in Punjab.

 

The Russian delegation is headed by Major General Alexander N, Lyapkin. It includes an air defence crew who will demonstrate anti-aircraft missile firing. The exercise will continue till November 28.

 

Apart from the Sukhoi 30Mki fighter aircraft, which were certified fit for flying after an accident last month, the IAF has deployed Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters for the exercise.

 

Since 2003, Russian and Indian forces have participated in 11 Indra series exercises involving the armies and the navies. With Avia Indra, the air forces have also joined the series of drills.

(Source: Telegraph November 21, 2014)

 

AKASH MISSILE TEST-FIRED AGAIN

 

BALASORE: Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel test-fired medium range surface-to-air missile Akash from the Chandipur-based test range off the Odisha coast for the third consecutive day on Wednesday. The missile destroyed an aerial target at low lying altitude successfully.

 

Defence sources said the indigenously developed sophisticated missile with a dummy payload was launched in full operational configuration from the launching complex-III of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at about 11.20 am.

 

While on Monday two rounds of the missile were fired from the same test range at two separate para-barrels, on Tuesday one missile was fired at a paraflare dropped from a fighter aircraft. Both the missions were successful.

 

The tests were a part of IAF’s practice and evaluation exercise for a new squadron. The repeat performance of the medium range missile proved the readiness of the weapon system and its reliability.

 

A defence official said all mission parameters were validated during the test and the IAF was likely to carry out more such tests in the coming days.

 

Akash, India’s first indigenously designed missile, is capable of engaging aerial threats upto a distance of approximately 25 km. The missile, which has a launch weight of 720 kg, a length of 5.8 metres and a diameter of 35 cm, can carry a pay load of 50 kg.

(Source: New Indian Express November 21, 2014)

 

CX-1 CRUISE MISSILE BETTER THAN BRAHMOS, NOT A COPY: CLAIMS CHINA

 

After China’s CX-1 supersonic cruise missile, displayed at the recent Zhuhai Airshow, was noted to resemble India’s BrahMos missile, the Beijing-based Sina Military Network undertook a comparison between the Chinese and Indian missiles on Nov. 18.

 

The Chaoxun-1 missile designed by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation has earned the nickname Cahoxi 1 (“Copy 1” in English) because of its uncanny similarity to the BrahMos missile jointly developed by Russia and India. However, Wang Hongpo, the chief designer of the missile, said the CX-1 is a completely new design. Wang said it has different wings, aerodynamic guidance and jet vane.

 

Under the restrictions of the Missile Technology Control Regime, the attacking range of cruise missiles like the CX-1 and BrahMos can not exceed 300 kilometers. Wang said this is the main reason the CX-1 shares many similar characteristics with the BrahMos. Sina Military Network noted that the CX-1 flies faster than the Indian missile. It is capable of reaching a speed of Mach 3 at 17,000 meters, whereas the BrahMos can only reach Mach 2.6 at an altitude of 14,000 meters.

 

Launched against targets in low altitude, the speed of the CX-1 is Mach 2.3., while the Russian-built P-800 Oniks on which the BrahMos is designed can only reach Mach 2. Sina Military Network said the CX-1’s ramjet engine may be better than the solid rocket motor of the P-800. However, it pointed out that the attack range of CX-1 can be reduced to 40 kilometers at low trajectories while the Russian missile can travel 120 kilometers.

 

Since the BrahMos is designed to conduct attacks below an altitude of 500 meters, the Sina Military Network said the Indian missile is unsuitable for actual combat situations. Though India plans to produce 2,000 BrahMos, only 200 of them have been produced, the report said, adding that the proof of the CX-1’s superiority will rest in how many nations wish to purchase it.

(Source: Want China Times November 21, 2014)

 

REPORT ON INDIA’S INDIGENOUS CRUISE MISSILE DEFENCE (CMD) PROGRAM

 

The Defence Research and Development organisation has finally disclosed that is is currently working on a Cruise Missile Defence Interceptor Missile Program for the past few years. The Interceptor will be able to detect and destroy low flying long range and air launched cruise missiles.

 

The DRDO with its successful experience in the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) Program will be able to further develop the technology to intercept any low flying incoming missile. It is currently putting together the technology that it has developed in the BMD program and developing the Interceptor Missile.

 

The development in this field will also enahnce India’s knowledge in low level radar technology and the ability to search and destroy small flying hostile objects.

 

DRDO claims that the Interceptor when ready will be able to detect and track a Cruise Missile right from the launch phase with the help of the Akshadeep Aerostat system which is currently being developed by Aerial Delivery Research & Development Establishment (ADRDE) and other low ground based low level radars which will keep track of the cruise missiles trajectory. Upon detection of the incoming missile by the radars, the Interceptor will be auto-activated and an interceptor missile will be fired to seek and destroy. The interceptor missile will be fired when the enemy cruise missile will begin its final descent and will be destroyed before it reaches its target.

 

The Interceptor Program will be able to provide India the much needed shield to its high value strategic assets against enemy attacks while the Army can move in to neutralise enemy forces. DRDO has said that the Interceptor will be ready in a few years and it will be able to neutralise all Pakistani cruise and short range ballistic missiles like the NASR.

(Source: Defence News November 21, 2014)

 

 

UNMISTAKABLE CHINESE NAVAL PRESENCE IN INDIA’S BACKYARD

 

In early September, two Chinese naval ships docked in the Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) in which China has invested $500 million, indicating the possibility of China using its commercial infrastructure assets in Sri Lanka for military purposes.

 

Despite India expressing its concerns to Sri Lanka, another Chinese submarine – this time a nuclear-propelled one – ‘Changzheng-2’ along with a PLA Navy (PLAN) escort warship ‘Chang Xing Dao’ docked in Colombo on November 6, 2014. The growing presence of China in the Indian Ocean is now unmistakable.

 

Pakistan has already openly invited China to construct a naval base at the strategically located port of Gwadar once again underlines widespread anxiety in India and beyond about Beijing’s Indian Ocean objectives. Gwadar is a predominantly Chinese-funded commercial port about 500 km from the Strait of Hormuz and is considered by many as the most significant of ‘pearl’ in Beijing’s ‘string’ of facilities around the Indian Ocean littoral. Though the Pakistani request has not been entertained by China, at least for now, Indian Ocean is fast emerging as the main front in the struggle between China and India.

 

The Indian government has been explicitly acknowledging for the last few years what many have been warning for almost a decade now: China’s role in the Indian Ocean is growing at a rate that underlines much more than a normal expansion of capabilities. Former External Affairs Minister S M Krishna informed the Indian Parliament in 2011 that “the Government of India has come to realise that China has been showing more than the normal interest in the Indian Ocean affairs.”

 

He went on assert that the government is “closely monitoring the Chinese intentions.” But monitoring intentions of a state is a fool’s errand. Intentions cannot be empirically verified and even if one could determine China’s intentions today, there is no way to know what they will be in the future. What India should instead focus on is China’s rapidly rising naval capabilities in and around the Indian Ocean. Though China may have rebuffed Pakistan’s overtures on Gwadar, Beijing’s growing influence in Pakistan doesn’t make it any less of a headache.

 

For some time now, Indian naval expansion has been undertaken with an eye on China, but despite some positive developments, India has nautical miles to go before it can catch up with its powerful neighbour, which has made some significant advances in the waters surrounding India.

 

China’s growing naval capability was on full display as it paraded its nuclear-powered submarines for the first time as part of the celebrations to mark the 60th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) navy in 2009. Gone was the reticence of yore when China was not ready to even admit that it had such capabilities. Chinese commanders are now openly talking about the need for nuclear submarines to safeguard the nation’s interests, and the Chinese navy, once the weakest of the three services, is now the focus of attention of the military modernisation programme that is being pursued with utmost seriousness.

 

China’s navy is now considered the third largest in the world, behind only the US and Russia and superior to the Indian navy in both qualitative and quantitative terms. The PLA navy has traditionally been a coastal force, and China has had a continental outlook to security. But with a rise in its economic might since the 1980s, Chinese interests have expanded and acquired a maritime orientation with intent to project power into the Indian Ocean.

 

Senior Chinese officials have now openly acknowledged that China is ready to launch its first aircraft carrier with tests starting later this year, a capability that is viewed as being indispensable to protecting Chinese interests in oceans. China is acquiring naval bases along the crucial choke-points in the Indian Ocean, not only to serve its economic interests but also to enhance its strategic presence in the region.

 

Yet, China is consolidating power over the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean with an eye on India – something that comes out clearly in an oft-cited secret memorandum issued by the PLA General Logistic Department director: “We can no longer accept the Indian Ocean as only an ocean of the Indians… We are taking armed conflicts in the region into account.”

 

Geographical advantages

Given the immense geographical advantages that India enjoys in the Indian Ocean, China will find it challenging to exert as much sway in the Indian Ocean as India can. But all the steps that China will take to protect and enhance its interests in the Indian Ocean region will generate apprehensions in India about Beijing’s real intentions, thereby engendering a classic security dilemma between the two Asian giants.

 

Tensions are inherent in such an evolving strategic relationship as was underlined in an incident in 2012 when an Indian kilo class submarine and Chinese warships, on their way to the Gulf of Aden to patrol the pirate-infested waters, reportedly engaged in rounds of manoeuvring as they tried to test for weaknesses in each others’ sonar systems. The Chinese media reported that its warships forced the Indian submarine to the surface, which was strongly denied by the Indian navy.

 

“Chinese warships are deployed in the Indian Ocean Region and we are continuously monitoring them and see what is their deployment. Along with it, our aircraft, submarines and warships are always deployed to face any challenge…IOR is our area of operations and we see what is Chinese deployment in IOR and how it can create challenges for us and how we can face them…We are always ready,” the Indian Naval chief Admiral Robin Dhowan has suggested.

 

Despite the naval chief’s assertion, it is not readily evident if the Indian government can effectively manage the Chinese onslaught in the Indian Ocean in the short to medium term.

(Source: Deccan Herald November 21, 2014)

 

TALKS WITH KASHMIR LEADERS FIRST, THEN INDIA: SHARIF

 

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Thursday said his government would talk to separatist leaders in Kashmir before entering any dialogue with India.

 

The remarks were made during his speech to a Kashmir council in Muzaffarabad, PoK — days ahead of the Saarc summit in Nepal, where he is bound to run into Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

“It is our fundamental belief that the Kashmir issue should be resolved through dialogue. My government started dialogue with India but it cancelled scheduled talks between the foreign secretaries… Before starting dialogue with India, I have decided to consult Kashmiri leaders,” he said.

 

India had cancelled secretary-level talks in August to protest the Pakistan high commissioner’s meeting with Hurriyat leaders.

 

Sharif said it was India that was delaying talks. He also accused India of “violating the ceasefire” and shunned repeated accusations from Delhi of Pakistan harbouring militants on its soil. “India spins propaganda against us… to cover up its wrongdoings in Kashmir.”

(Source: Hindustan Times November 21, 2014)

 

CUT IAF RESTRICTED ZONE TO 300M: PANEL

 

GURGAON: A high-level committee under the cabinet secretary has suggested to the ministry of defence that the restricted area of the IAF ammunition depot be reduced from the existing 900-metre to 300-metre radius. According to the report submitted by the committee, the storage capacity of the depot will also have to be reduced by 15%.

 

The committee, comprising experts from the ministry of defence (MoD), ministry of urban development, Indian Air Force officers apart from the commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG), was formed in March this year at the instance of the Punjab and Haryana high court to discuss and suggest a conclusive solution in the IAF Ammunition depot case in both Gurgaon and Faridabad.

 

The committee’s report dated October 24 (a copy of which is with TOI) has been submitted to the ministry of defence for consideration and will be discussed in the next hearing in the high court. The report has dwelt at length on the woes of those residing in the restricted area and other concerns raised by the MoD over the strategic importance of the depot.

 

According to the suggestions of the committee, the most effective solution to bring relief to the residents of the area as well as satisfy concerns of the IAF is to reduce the restricted area of the ammunition depot.

 

The report says, “The committee is not in favour of shifting the AF stations to Tilpat range in view of the strategic locational advantages of the current locations. The 300-metre distance stipulation for safety purpose should suffice for the AF station in Gurgaon which will take care of the security issue of civilians as well. Although it would lead to a marginal decrease of storage capacity by 15%, the layout of the facility may be reworked through ‘igloo’ constructions.” The experts on the committee have concluded that in event of a mishap, the blast radius will not exceed 300 metrea from the depot and will have only a minimal impact. “In the event of a mishap, at a distance of 500-600 metres, it will create a pressure of 1.7 psi in which residential buildings will not collapse but will suffer damage to the extent of 10% replacement cost. People will not suffer fatal injuries,” claims the report. There are a total of 14,154 structures within the 900-metre radius and 3,414 structures within the 300-meter radius.

 

The report suggests that it is not feasible to rehabilitate and compensate for all 14,154 structures as it amounts to an ‘astronomical figure’ that cannot be borne by IAF. Rather, it observed that in reducing the restricted area to 300 metres, 10,740 owners of structures will benefit and will not have to relocate, leaving 3414 structures to be relocated which is affordable.

 

The committee claimed that relocating and compensating the 17,000 families thriving in the area as per present circle rates is not possible and is a big burden. Moreover the committee has out rightly rejected the proposal to shift the Ammunition depot to Tilpat firing range in Faridabad in their report as reaction time in case of a war would increase to one and a half hours from the existing 20 minutes apart from affecting connectivity via rail and roadways.

 

The report claims, ” 54 ASP, Gurgaon(depot) has strategic importance in the northern region, ideal for transportation of stores(read armaments) in case of a two front war. It is most convenient for foreign receipts due to availability of air bridging facility in the vicinity, which has proved very convenient during the Kargil operations.”

(Source: Times of India November 21, 2014)

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