DSA april 2016

april 2016

Volume 7 issue 7

India : Partnering with defence giants

editor-in-chief

D

efence is one sector where it is not always possible to make all of the equipment required for national needs. Not all the ships, aircraft, tanks and such other hardware can be made in toto by one country alone. There is always a need to share or import, some parts of the equipment or wholly, when it comes to fulfilling defence requirements. An open mind on this aspect of defence needs to go a long way in overcoming delays and difficulties in equipping national armed forces. A closed mind will only create further hurdles and delays, helping none in the process.

Which doesn’t necessarily mean blindly accepting anything and everything on offer. There has to be a well thought out analysis of what the country needs, how much and by when. From that assessment begins the process of equipping the armed forces, through domestic, international or such other means that fulfil the demands which exist. There must be a holistic study of what the national requirements are currently and likely to be in the mid to long term future. That study, then, shapes equipment policies and national security budgeting and planning. Which then opens up various avenues, growth, employment, opportunity, technology and all through defence.

Make in India has been launched as the test case programme of the current Government of India. It covers various aspects of the economy, production and investment opportunities for global players to partner with and in, India. Once a no go area, the defence sector too has been thrown open to international players to invest in and manufacture in India. Indian players have been encouraged to partner with global defence manufacturing companies and begin making domestically. This opportunity opens up the sector dramatically, just as it provides for large scale investments and employment domestically.

There is a critical need to cooperate with global defence manufacturing companies that have evinced interest in India. This is essential in order to overcome equipment shortfalls from which the armed forces are suffering as well as bringing a completion to long pending domestic defence programmes.

Nowhere is international cooperation critical than in the need to find partners for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft project. The Tejas has been flying for more than a decade and has crossed numerous milestones in its exciting journey. But it still requires some help in making it a more complete aircraft.

The missing component is its engine. And which is a technology India has for some strange reasons not been able to master. It has been able to send a craft to Mars, but jet engine propulsion still seems to elude Indian researchers and designers. All of this can change when Indian and international manufactures begin cooperating. Despite decades of trying, India has yet not mastered the jet engine. Experienced international players can help, but for that India has to make the conditions. Nobody is waiting in queues to enter Indian defence manufacturing unless the country makes the environment more conducive.

The defence manufacturing sector can only grow in India if the domestic research and development monopoly is shaken. The Defence Research and Development Organisation currently controls with a know-all grip. There is no doubt that the DRDO has contributed to national security when the conditions were far less conducive than they currently are. In those bleak days, the DRDO made efforts to keep India going. That determination and resilience cannot be ignored for sure. But times have changed and with global political conditions likely to remain as dynamic as they are, it is unlikely India will have to face those bleak days again. Unlikely, but not impossible.

It is vital, therefore, that the various Indian private sector players partner with their global business allies. Bring manufacturing to India, create employment opportunities and further domestic defence capabilities while equipping the armed forces with first rate weaponry. But in all this euphoria, it mustnot be forgotten that at the end of the day equipment made in India is only good for the country if it can use it the way it wants, when it wants and against whomever it wants. Any restrictions are unwelcome and unnecessary. So, when Indians partner with global players to manufacture defence equipment in India it is critical that control keys remain domestic.

For those are game changers.

Manvendra Singh April 2016

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publisher’s view

Partnering With Global Defence Giants

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Volume 7 | Issue 7 | April 2016 Chairman Shyam Sunder Publisher and ceo Pawan Agrawal President Urvashi J Agrawal Director Shishir Bhushan Editor-in-chief Manvendra Singh Corporate consultant KJ Singh Corporate communication Mamta Jain Natasha Sales Anup Kumar Sinha Creative Amit Kumar Gaur Representative (J&K) Salil Sharma Correspondent (Europe) Dominika Cosic Production Dilshad and Dabeer Webmaster Sundar Rawat IT operations Ankit Kumar Photographer Subhash Circulation and distribution Ashok Gupta E-mail: (first name)@dsalert.org info: info@dsalert.org articles: articles@dsalert.org subscription: subscription@dsalert.org online edition: online@dsalert.org advertisement: advt@dsalert.org Editorial and corporate office Prabhat Prakashan Tower 4/19 Asaf Ali Road New Delhi-110002 (India) +91-011-23243999, 23287999, 9958382999 info@dsalert.org | www.dsalert.org Disclaimer All rights reserved. Reproduction and translation in any language in whole or in part by any means without permission from Defence and Security Alert is prohibited.

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Editor: Manvendra Singh

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oday the world’s development and economy are based on two major factors – collaboration and consortium.

It is analogous to the match-making between two like-minded persons, economies, businesses, industries and sumptuous players. When we scrutinize the history of any advanced economy on the globe, we realise that these nations have reached the pinnacles of development, growth and productivity when they opened their gates for collaboration and allowed their industries and business houses to make consortiums with other like-minded groups and industries in accordance with their requirements under various segments.

India got freedom in 1947 and of course, some measures were taken for the development of the country. Unfortunately, they were quite inadequate and we all see the result today that there are still some sectors where we seriously trail behind countries like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and many more which are much smaller in size as well as in resources. It was only towards the end of last century that our government realised the importance of consortiums and collaborative efforts and the Indian economy was allowed access to foreign partners. Regrettably, the Defence and Security domain in India which was supposed to be on top priority has still a very long way to go in being self-sustainable.

We would like to believe that equations have changed after the new government came to power in 2014. With conscious attention to strengthen national security, important decisions have been taken to boost the morale of stakeholders in Indian Defence and Security arena. Special measures have been instituted by the current government to encourage collaborative efforts.

Some good initiatives have become very lucrative for various industries in a quest to enter the Defence sector. For the first time, many industries in the private sector have demonstrated their dynamism for joint ventures with global leaders in Defence and today we see that Indian industry leaders like Mahindra, Tata, Reliance, Bharat Forge, Larsen and Toubro Ltd, Godrej, Jubilant Aeronautics Pvt Ltd, Bharat Electronics Ltd and others have formed joint ventures with other international giants like Boeing with Tata, Airbus and BAE with Mahindra, Cassidian of Germany with Larsen and Toubro, Thales with Bharat Electronics Ltd, Russia with HAL etc. These joint ventures are going to play a vital role in the future for the national security of India.

This phenomenal metamorphosis has happened as a consequence of tenacious and determined initiatives and government support under the leadership of our Prime Minister Mr Modi who is one of the best visionary leaders we have ever had. His focussed approach and understanding of an immediate requirement to strengthen the Indian Defence apparatus has actually made it possible otherwise most industries were occupied with their family business activities and they never thought of entering the highly competitive and technology-oriented domain of Defence production.

We, at DSA, salute Mr Modi for his guts and enterprising direction in tackling critical issues with result oriented initiatives and we are very sure that in due course of time, India’s national security will be effectively strengthened and our people will feel safe and secure under the current leadership of the country.

Dear Readers, I feel elated and proud that this edition of DSA eulogizes and applauds a living legend, Arjan Singh, Marshal of the Indian Air Force and a perfect personification of the highest amplitude of a bonafide defence officer on his 97th Birthday, 15th April. Marshal Arjan Singh has exemplified patriotism and is synonymous with courage, duty, respect, selfless service, moral values and ethics. He is an embodiment of honour and integrity around the world.

This edition on ‘Partnering with International Defence Giants’ deliberates on joint ventures for Indian defence along with an analytic and critical appraisal of DefExpo 2016. It is, probably, the first edition of any magazine covering this subject. Our esteemed contributors have tried to highlight the entire gamut of the current defence scenario.

Happy reading!

Jai Hind!

April 2016 Defence AND security alert

Pawan Agrawal

Contents

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An ISO 9001:2008 Certified Magazine

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A Tribute To A Living Legend Air Chief Marshal N C Suri

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DSA Interview Marshal of the Air Force

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Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) Amit K Maitra

Defence Modernisation-Ways Lt Gen OP Kaushik (Retd)

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Create DRDO-User Synergy Manvendra Singh

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Supersonic Missile System Praveen Pathak

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Independent Armed Forces Col KV Kuber

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Saab - Indian Collaboration Jan Widerstrom

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BEL-Thales Systems Limited Dr Ajit T Kalghatgi)

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NSS and Global Nuclear Instability Vice Admiral Arun Kumar Singh (Retd)

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The Saga Of Indian ‘Weapons of Peace’ Ravi Gupta

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Defence Industrial licence KA Badarinath

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Pitfalls In Policy Gurmeet Kanwal

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For online edition log on to

Defence AND AND security securityalert alert April 2016 Defence

www.dsalert.org

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the living legend salutation

A Tribute To A Living Legend

I

am deeply appreciative of the fact that the ‘Defence and Security Alert’ Magazine have taken it upon themselves to publish an interview with Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh, DFC, who is truly a living legend of the Indian Air Force and has brought tremendous credit to himself and the Air Force. This is particularly as the April issue of the magazine coincides with his 97th Birthday.

I have had the privilege of being closely associated with him for the last 24 years and have no hesitation in saying that he is a man of many seasons. Although it is very difficult to sum up the qualities of such a great personality in a few words, I have nonetheless decided to touch upon just a few as an Air Warrior and as a human being.

As an Air Warrior, it is noteworthy that he flew more than 740 operational sorties during World War II, most of which were on the Burma front. In 1943 as a Squadron Leader, he took over command of No 1 Squadron which was equipped with Hurricane aircraft. He led the squadron with dynamism and displayed outstanding qualities of leadership and personal commitment. This can be authenticated by the fact that under his command the squadron flew 2200 hours of operational sorties in a period of 20 weeks. For his outstanding service and valour in battle he was awarded Distinguished Flying Cross

by Lord Mountbatten, the Supreme Commander of South East Asia. This was most memorable as Lord Mountbatten flew to the squadron’s operational location and personally pinned the medal on his chest.

There are many other firsts that he has had, and among them was when flying Canberra aircraft he refused to remove the ejection seat ‘safety pin’ which was available only to the pilot and not to the navigator. This was primarily because he felt strongly that as the captain of the aircraft it was his moral responsibility to ensure the safety of his crew which in this case was the navigator. Thus he subjected himself to the same risk as his crew member. It is qualities like these that endeared him not only to the flying fraternity but to all personnel.

He held several appointments in the Air Force before becoming Chief.

It was during his tenure as Chief

that the 1965 Indo-Pak War took place. It goes without saying that he excelled as a leader and during the period of the war visited the various operational stations which acted as a great motivating force for the Air Chief Marshal N C Suri PVSM, AVSM, VM squadrons fighting the war. He Former Chief Of Indian had the privilege of commanding Air Force (1991-1993) the Air Force for five years starting with the rank of The writer was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a Air Marshal and then continuing fighter pilot in 1952 and retired in the upgraded rank of as Chief of Air Force in 1993.

Air Chief Marshal.

He served in the Air Force for Another very interesting almost 42 years and took active part in the 1962 Indo-China episode during his tenure as conflict and subsequently, the Chief was pertaining to the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak his salary in the post held by wars. He was awarded the him. Some departments in the ParamVishishtSeva Medal, AtiVishishtSeva Medal, government were actively trying VayuSena Medal. to downgrade the salary of the Chief which was not acceptable to him. He, therefore, continued to serve without drawing his salary for close to one year. The matter was eventually amicably resolved at the political level.

As a human being, he demonstrated many admirable qualities and created a deep sense of belonging among the personnel who served under him. The welfare and wellbeing of his subordinates was always upper most in his mind. This was evident even after he was appointed as the Marshal of the Air Force by his donating over ` 2 crores to the Air Force for welfare purposes. This over the years has benefited many needy Air Force families. In addition, he gave ` 25 lakhs to No 1 Squadron which he had commanded during the world war. Quite apart from this, he gave a significant monetary contribution to the Khalsa College in Amritsar and to the first station that he had commanded. Recently, he has donated a lot of land that he owned to his relatives in need and also to the village to which he belonged.

A few years ago the Sikh forum in London wanted to honour him and the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh with their highest award as an outstanding Sikh. I personally relayed this to them.

I was delighted to hear the same response from both of them that an award as an Indian may be acceptable but not just as a Sikh. I also recall having written an article a few years ago for the award of Bharat Ratna to Marshal Arjan Singh which was published by the Chandigarh Tribune. This was at a time when many people with much lesser credentials were being considered for this. I still believe that he is the most deserving candidate for this highest National Award that the Government honours him with it.

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interview Marshal of the Air Force

An Icon And Inspiration To Young Minds Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh, DFC, in an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with DSA expounds his views and shares his vision for the Indian Air Force.

Defence and Security Alert: You were the Air Chief for five and a half years during the most challenging phase in the life of Indian Air Force and are also the first and the only Marshal of the Indian Air Force. Please encapsulate for us, your experience of joy and elation, despondency and despair including your reminiscences of the all-important period of 1965 War. Marshal of the Air Force: 1965 War presented an opportunity to the Indian Air Force to prove our worth to the country and display our skills against Pakistan. The Military leadership in Pakistan tried to cut off Jammu and Kashmir through an armoured cum infantry attack on the Akhnoor Sector. They became over confident that IAF will not be given a go-ahead by the Indian government for an allout offensive action on Pakistan. Perhaps they also presumed that IAF will be at best used in a support role as was in 1962 Indo-China War.

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When the then Chief of the Army Staff Gen JN Chaudhari came to my office in Vayu Bhawan at around 4 PM, he told me that unless the IAF steps in, it would be difficult to stop Pakistan in the Chamb-Jaurian Sector. I told him that I cannot order the IAF to go for operations on my own. Moreover with IAF involvement, the conflict will escalate to a full-fledged War. We straight away went to the Defence Minister Yashwant Rao Chavan, the great Maratha leader, who asked me if IAF was ready. I promptly said ‘Yes’. And within no time he gave goahead to launch the air strikes. I cautioned him that since it was getting dark, there is a possibility that we may hit our own people and tanks. However, Chavan told me that he understands this.

I came to Vayu Bhavan and issued orders to launch immediate air attack. Within no time, 22 aircraft from Pathankot, Ambala and Adampur were able to strike at all the major air bases in Pakistan like Sargodha, Peshawar, Kohat and so on. Subsequently, more air attacks were planned in such a manner that our aircraft would fly over Kashmir Valley which provided us cover against the radar detection in Pakistan. We were able to damage much in Pakistan. Pakistan is a narrow country and according to our information they had moved their aircraft to a safer location in Afghanistan in a place called ‘Zahidan’.

In hind sight, I feel that I should not have used the vampire as they were slow to manouvre and generally vulnerable and easy targets. But during the war, you want to employ all your assets so as to achieve the maximum impact. Our Pilots especially Keelor brothers, Nebb, Pathania, Jaggi Nath and few others instilled fear in the Pakistanis. I used to travel to all the forward bases to meet our forces and motivate them to do well. However, any loss of life and aircraft always upset me; it still does.

Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh

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interview Marshal of the Air Force

DSA: As an Air Warrior and Chief of Indian Air Force, have you ever felt a sense of regret or disappointment at 1965 War not lasting a few days more and giving India a convincing victory rather than ending in a tame, truncated stalemate?

Marshal of IAF: In my opinion, the 1965 War ended in a stalemate. I must add though that we were in a position of strength and had the war continued for few more days, we would have gained a decisive victory. I advised the Prime Minister Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri not to agree for the cease fire. But I think he was under tremendous pressure from United Nations. But let me tell you that Shastri was not a weak man at all. He was a man of peace and never wanted the population of either countries to suffer because of War. During the war, he gave only one direction – not to hit the civilian population.

DSA: Your celebrated four principles have guided your personal and professional life and have led you to the glorious zenith of a professional career.

At what stage of your illustrious life did these four principles crystallise and come together to form a shining credo worthy of emulation?

Marshal of IAF: ● I have followed four simple rules in my life. ● Firstly, you should be thorough in your profession; ● Secondly, you should complete the job at hand to the satisfaction of everyone; ● Thirdly, you must have implicit faith in your subordinates and ● Fourthly, your efforts should be honest and sincere.

My experience in Government College Lahore, my training at RAF College Cranwell and later as Squadron Commander of No 1 Squadron during the Burma Campaign made me believe that if one follows these four rules, no one can stop you to be satisfied and successful. I motivated my air warriors to enjoy and perform their duties to their best. I still feel that if you follow these four principles you can never go wrong.

DSA: Your level of empathy for the officers and ranks under your command is legendary. The

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episode of a navigator not having an ejection seat and your ensuring that your ejection seat also could not be enabled to function stands out as an incredible example of leadership and compassion nonpareil. Please share with us what made you take this decision risking your own life?

Marshal of IAF: When I learnt that the Navigator in the Canberra does not have a safe option to bail out during an emergency, I decided to disable my ejection seat as well. I did this as I felt that it was unethical on my part to leave the Navigator in a difficult situation like this. The Navigator is your partner in flying and the risks need to be shared.

I still meet one of my old colleagues, Madan Sethi, who was also a Canberra navigator, at the Delhi Golf Club and we laugh it out on this.

DSA: You have done many top of the line training courses with RAF and other leading British training institutions. Please tell us about your experience, quality of training and what Indian Air Force can learn from them?

Marshal of IAF: It was so that during those days we did not have our own Training Institutes and we used to get trained in UK. Apart from my Training at RAF College, Cranwell, I did my Staff College from RAF Staff College, Bracknell. I also went to Joint Services Staff College and Imperial Defence College, London, UK. I must say that the British had a very methodical and well defined training Curriculum then. I guess it must be now as well. We, in IAF, were greatly influenced by the Training philosophies of the RAF and accordingly developed and later refined our training methodologies.

DSA: What are your views on India’s preparedness level in the background of adversarial and nuclear neighbours? And what is the status of Indian Air Force in view of the prevailing and future threat perceptions?

Marshal of IAF: In my opinion, the pace of modernisation of the IAF is far from satisfactory. The new acquisitions are taking inordinate long time. It

Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh in conversation with Pawan Agrawal, Publisher and CEO of DSA Magazine

took us around two decades to purchase AJTs and the negotiations for MMRCA are still under way even after a decade. The indigenous development of weapon platforms is also very slow. The first Squadron of LCA is still not raised. The dwindling strength of fighter Sqns is a matter of concern.

We may be still numerically stronger to PAF but technologically also, we need to have a clear decisive edge. This can be only achieved by a well-defined vision and roadmap for modernisation. I understand that the present government is trying to bridge this gap rapidly.

We have to be also prepared for a potential two front War as China has modernised their military infrastructure rapidly over the last two decades, especially adjoining our borders. Moreover, their defence co-operation with Pakistan also needs to be closely monitored.

DSA: Since independence, many countries in our neighbourhood and around the world have witnessed military coups and takeovers. But in India democratic traditions reign supreme. What are the cardinal Indian values that have helped our military men to resist the temptation?

Marshal of IAF: Unlike our neighbours, India's military has stayed steadfast to democracy. The Indian armed forces have not intervened in politics and the country has successfully preserved democracy. The decision making on national security is with the democratically elected government. The services obey the orders of the government with full faith. The service chiefs are firm and frank in putting across their opinions to the government on the operational preparedness and requirements of the forces. Here, the military has full faith and belief in the democratically elected civilian government.

DSA: OROP has been occupying a lot of space in the media in the recent past. What are your views on this contentious issue?

Marshal of IAF: We need to appreciate the harsh conditions under which the services operate, the

risks to their lives, the insecurity surrounding the families, early retirements and so on. OROP is an impending demand of the veterans over the last four decades. I have also participated in this movement in 1983 once where I sat on Dharna at India Gate with few veterans. The present government has agreed to OROP, however, I also understand that all the OROP demands of veterans have not been agreed to but I still feel that the outstanding issues can be resolved with dialogue. I must add though that It is disrespecting to brand the veterans as greedy as some intellectuals are trying to do.

DSA: In the prevailing security environment, sociocultural mores, burgeoning ambition and lucrative career opportunities elsewhere, what can and should attract young and talented men and women to join the defence forces?

Marshal of IAF: Motivated youngsters are joining the services. However, now they have got far many lucrative avenues than ever. It remains a challenge to the government and the service headquarters to attract the young to join the defence services. Better avenues in the corporates, performance based incentives, ambitions are all responsible for the brain drain. The Government, after consultations with service headquarters need to formulate policies which stop brain drain, provide attractive perks and in turn, motivate the youngsters to join the services.

DSA: You have led such a distinguished and inspiring life. You have been an Air Chief, an Ambassador and a Lt Governor. What ideas and thoughts would you like to share with the officers and ranks of the defence forces, the people of India and DSA readers around the world?

Marshal of IAF: I must say that I followed the four rules through out and got the support of my friends and colleagues while performing the duties.

I must say that I was blessed to have got the opportunity.

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interview Marshal of the Air Force

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global partnership UAV INDUSTRY

Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI)

The Promise of Ashton Carter’s Strategy in India By participating in co-production and co-development of UAVs, Indian industry will acquire new product development, manufacturing, logistics and marketing skills. The two joint-venture partners’ challenge is to find concrete areas to step up product development, manufacturing, logistics and export marketing cooperation so that only their strategic logic sets the pace of product development and penetration, persuasion and prosecution of their export marketing ventures.

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n early June 2015, Defence Secretary frigate designed and built in India, with its engines Ashton B. Carter met with senior Indian officials supplied by General Electric and many of its systems to work on initiatives that were set in motion and subsystems also acquired from abroad. during President Obama’s January 2015 visit to US and Indian defence officials have been discussing India. During that visit, Obama and Prime Minister the exchange of technology on major military items, Narendra Modi focussed on shared concerns ranging such as jet engines and launch catapults for aircraft from maritime security and cooperation and joint carriers. Jet engines and aircraft carrier technology training on aircraft carrier and jet engine technology. represent the larger projects that the Pentagon is Modi, who has a broad vision of India as a global considering for co-production with India. power, has a noticeably great affinity for the United As the main architect of the India-US Defence States. Also, in the wake of China’s efforts to project Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), Carter power into the Indian Ocean and beyond, both the staunchly advocates treating India like some of United States and India share an interest in building the closest US partners in terms of the extent closer ties, especially on defence matters. and level of technology transfer, co-development, Modi has given priority to domestic manufacturing, co-production and collaborative ventures and including production of military hardware. Sanjeev expedited approval process for licenses, among Shrivastav, an analyst at the Institute for Defence other activities. Under Carter’s leadership, the Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, argues that the Modi Pentagon, with its special India team, is ready to help administration views an extensive co-production deal senior officials cut through their own with the United States as ‘a significant move forward.’ bureaucratic barriers and red tape.

Carter visits India frequently. However, his June During the June 2015 visit to India, Carter arrival as the US defence secretary heralded a new completed the details of two small research projects beginning. He landed that the US and Indian in the southeastern militaries would city of Visakhapatnam conduct together.

By participating in co-production and toured the projects are and co-development of UAVs, Indian These Indian Navy’s very small, but their eastern command importance could be industry will acquire new product headquarters. This first significant, depending development, manufacturing, visit by an American on the outcomes. defence secretary to The expectation, logistics and marketing skills an Indian military according to US operations command officials travelling with highlighted the importance of maritime defence and Carter, is that Washington and New Delhi would manufacturing ties between the two nations. After a become accustomed to working with each other briefing from the Indian commander, Carter visited a through these small-scale initial projects.

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Carter also signed the 2015 US-India Defence Framework, the stated purpose of which is ‘to open up this relationship on everything from maritime security to aircraft carrier and jet engine technology cooperation’. Before the visit last June, Carter had told delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue plenary session in Singapore that the framework agreement with India was meant ‘to blaze a trail for things to come’. What benefits accrue to whom as the US and Indian industry partners undertake technology transfer, co-development, co-production and collaborative ventures?

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

The small portable, hand-launched and remote -controlled, electric-powered RQ-11 Raven is built

by AeroVironment, Inc, in Monrovia, California, and has changed the way military ground forces operate. The design, development and manufacturing and market reach of this particular unmanned aerial vehicle provide a case study of technological advancements and joint venture co-production and co-development requirements.

In 1987, AeroVironment introduced the first true small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for military use. Since then, the US military’s UAV market has witnessed meteoric growth, as UAVs have proven their value in operations around the world. Several industry reports project that US military UAV manufacturing will generate $ 86.5 billion in revenue over 2013–2018. These forecasts provide the following breakdown of US sales of UAVs: ■ Research, development, tests, and evaluations ■ UAV, as an assembly ■ Payloads ■ Ground control systems ■ Service, support, and maintenance ■ Training ■ Data management ■ Revenue by UAV groups (by vehicle airspeed, weight, and operating altitude) Since the US Department of Defence (DoD) is the single largest consumer of UAV technology, industry experts predict that the US Government will continue investing in UAVs to keep its technological and pure force supremacy in the coming decades.

A market research study by the Teal Group Corporation predicted that the United States will account for 65 per cent of total worldwide research, development, test and evaluation spending on UAV technology over the next decade and about 41 per cent of the procurement. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of UAV system payloads and key UAV manufacturers. Philip Finnegan, the Teal Group’s director of corporate analysis and study author, forecasts the UAV market at 89 per cent military and 11 per cent cumulative civilian uses for the decade. He foresees the military market share decreasing to 86 per cent and the civilian market rising to 14 per cent by the end of the 10-year period covered by the forecast.

Thomas Nielsen, President of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, reminds us

that, in addition to the military use of UAVs, other applications should not be overlooked: fire safety, land safety, search and rescue, firefighting and other crime prevention – just to name a few such activities. Forecasts from market research firms indicate that UAV applications will continue evolving in all these domains.

Amit K Maitra Today, UAVs are used to monitor The writer is a founding national borders and pipeline member and president of the utility assets and protect civilians Foundation for Emerging via search and rescue missions Solutions, which was (eg, find people who are lost and established to strengthen the in distress). These missions are capacity of people throughout the world to evaluate the well served by small UAVs, as they challenges, operations and can be launched easily, day or night, to provide precise situational solutions facing governments as they formulate national awareness whenever and strategies to keep their wherever they are needed. defensive and offensive cyber capabilities current According to several industry and in line with the reports, UAV electronics will international community. be the world’s fastest-growing aerospace payload market, with new sensor programs for current and future air vehicles presenting surprising growth opportunities.

David Rockwell, author of the electronics portion of the Teal Group study report, identified and listed a few speculative new programs in the out-years that demonstrate how wise companies’ managements will plan for future growth.

Varied Strategies of Small UAV Companies

The US military and allied forces extensively use AeroVironment’s UAVs, which deliver valuable capabilities to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) superiority in today’s combat zones.

Aero Vironment’s Raven is the most widely used unmanned aircraft system in the world today.

It can be operated manually or programmed for autonomous operation with the system’s advanced avionics and precise GPS navigation. The hand-launched Raven weighs 4.2 pounds. With its 4.5-foot wingspan, it provides aerial observation, day or night, at line-of-sight ranges of up to 10 kilometers (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: UAV Line of Sight Source: Report on Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Perceptions & Potential, Aerospace industries Association, may 10, 2013

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global partnership UAV INDUSTRY When an optional stablised gimbaled payload is added, Raven delivers real-time colour or infrared imagery to ground control and remote viewing stations. AeroVironment’s common Ground Control Station interfaces with all its tactical ISR air vehicles, thereby reducing the training required as well as the time and cost involved. The company has won every DoD competition for programs of record involving small UAVs. Despite AeroVironment’s market presence and the global UAV industry’s growth forecast, the December 2013 DoD report, Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap FY2013–2038, points to the grim reality of defence funding. A comparison of DoD funding plans versus industry predictions shows DoD will not be the bulk user within that market. The Bipartisan Budget Control Act of 2013 imposed budget cuts on the DoD, thereby reducing the DoD’s UAV procurement expenditures from $ 3.9 billion in 2013 to a requested $ 2.4 billion for 2015.

Procurement contracts for the compact drone (as UAVs commonly are called) dropped from $ 30 million in 2013 to $ 13 million for 2015.

Two factors constrain US companies from contributing to the UAV industry’s growth independent of government contracts: commercial use of drones are subject to Federal Aviation Administration regulations, and companies also must overcome export licence restrictions before they are allowed to make foreign sales of these drones. AeroVironment’s, ‘Hummingbird drone,’ ordered by the Pentagon and a favourite for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, took an enormous hit in 2015. According to Chief Executive Officer Timothy Conver, revenue is expected to drop to $ 230 million in the coming fiscal year. Table 1 provides a partial listing of the company’s recent developments.

Given uncertainty in the US domestic market, AeroVironment has ventured into international marketing opportunities. DTTI offered a fortuitous foundational opportunity to overcome bureaucratic obstacles, including export approvals, and arrange cooperation with an emerging economic power at the research, co-development and co-production stages for select defence systems. Today, the company is focussed on a pathfinder project involving a mini-UAV initiative with Indian industry partners.

Table 1. AeroVironment’s Recent Developments

Date

Approach

Description Importance

June 2014

New Product launch

AeroVironment Inc. and BP (U.S.) launched the first FAA-approved, commercial UAS to provide mapping. Geographic Information System (GIS), and other commercial information services to BP‟s Prudhoe Bay oil field.

February 2014

Agreement

AeroVironment Inc. and Lockheed Martin Corporation (U.S.) signed an agreement to jointly pursue opportunities in UAS development.

November 2013

Contract

The company was given a contract worth $ 2.3 million for the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Concept Definition Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) Medium Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aircraft System Program.

October 2013

Contract

The company was awarded with a contract worth $ 13.5 million by the U.S. Army, for RQ-11B Raven Unmanned Aircraft System Gimbaled Sensor Payloads.

August 2013

Contract

The company received an order worth $ 13.8 million for the RQ-11B Raven Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Gimbaled Payloads.

Source: Data compiled by author from AeroVironment published literature on the company website (www.avinc.com <http://www.avinc. com>), and several other Market Research Reports published through the Internet, including U.S. Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Market Forecast 2013-2018, Jan. 9, 2014, Market Research Media, Ltd.; Teal Group’s 2014 Market Study: UAV Market Profile and Forecast, July 17, 2014, Teal Group Corp. See http://www.marketsandmarkets.com /Market-Reports/commercial-drones-market-95137996.html.

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In discussing the Make in India initiative, US officials These two steps incorporate design refinement note that it requires time and tenacity to create highand continuous updating of the product; new tech military defence sector industry. The mini-UAV state-of-the-art techniques also form part of the projects will help develop deeper levels of cooperation technology transfer package and are transferred and partnership between US – Indian businesses, through documentation and people. militaries, and American and Indian engineers, to Another very important element of transferrable produce cutting-edge designs. This understanding technology is that of product management techniques. is warranted, because Make in India is not about These techniques are not exactly product oriented, transferring old technologies from the United States nor do they directly relate to the steps outlined above. for final product assembly in India: Rather, it aims at They include the development and management joint development of new technologies through design, skills to ensure sufficient and timely production of engineering, manufacturing, testing, production, deployment, operations and sustainment. Keith Table 2: Steps in Production and Handling of a Complete Webster, director of International Cooperation, Office System of Technology Development and Transfer of the US Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (OUSD[AT&L]), notes that modest programs like mini-UAVs will allow both the US and Indian participants to understand how they can work together more effectively, work out procedures, and learn from that experience.

Webster views Aero Vironment’s arrangement with the Indian counterpart as an excellent opportunity for lessons learned about the complexities of the transfer process. As mentioned earlier, a rapid reaction-cell has been instituted within OUSD (AT&L) specifically to move Indian transactions faster and it has approved the export licence for AeroVironment to proceed with the pathfinder project. Now, the company must determine both the technology package and Source: Maitra, Amit K. Transferring Technology Across Borders: Policies, Practices the transfer process. AeroVironment must assess its and conditioning Factors, GENERAL SYSTEMS, Vol XXI, 1976 Indian partner’s current industrial base to support the manufacture of the particular UAV model and high-quality products at a predetermined cost. This the locally manufactured components that could element and that of quality assurance techniques be integrated into the UAV model. These questions constitute the most valuable ingredients that many are germane to the UAV pathfinder project, as they overseas suppliers have to offer to Indian industry in provide the highly sophisticated nuances related to a technology transfer package. electronic components and circuitry and the ability to In April 2015, Prime Minster Modi announced plans develop a local capability for component integration. to shelve the purchase of 126 Rafale warplanes from The questions help France’s Dassault Aviation identify and list the SA, a contract that would According to industry reports, basic steps to produce have seen 108 planes built a complex product like in India. Talks stalled for UAV electronics will be UAVs, including research, several years over pricing the world’s fastest-growing laboratory development, and a requirement for prototype development, Dassault to assume aerospace payload market manufacturing process liability for the 108 jets to development, pilot be built under licence by production, and engineering support. From these Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). steps, elements of a technology transfer package The state-run company has been plagued by quality evolve in the following manner (see Table 2): problems: for instance, its indigenous Tejas fighter ● A product design is achieved through laboratory jet took more than 20 years to develop. India has development and prototype development. This several options, such as inviting private companies element can be directly transferred through to either replace or complement HAL. Justin Bronk documentation and the hardware itself. at London’s Royal United Services Institute for ● Manufacturing techniques are established Defence and Security Studies observed that finding through the combination of manufacturing an alternative to HAL for making one of the world’s process development and pilot production steps. most advanced fighter jets may be difficult. Indian Again, these techniques can be transferred industry is not ready to produce a fighter jet of this through documentation and hardware. complexity. Technical knowhow, coupled with human ● Quality assurance techniques are developed knowhow, is the winning combination for India. from product testing in pilot production and As a first step toward more specific analysis and data gathering entailed in engineering support. evaluation of all technology components required to

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global partnership UAV INDUSTRY establish a high-technology manufacturing facility, including that for the AeroVironment type of pathfinder project, a Total Technology System framework is warranted. A Total Technology System built in the form of an audit matrix is shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Audit Matrix

Source: Maitra, Amit K. Transferring Technology Across Borders: Policies, Practices and conditioning Factors, GENERAL SYSTEMS, Vol XXI, 1976

To fully enhance the concept of evaluating stages and mechanisms of technology transfer, pathfinder type of projects should use the audit matrix to identify which aspects of technology are critical to different types of industry. There is no one best means for technology development and transfer. For mass production technology, one element may be more important than another. For Indian industry, design, development, test, evaluation, integration, verification, validation and quality checks may bring more critical new technology than the start-up phase.

These determinations depend not only on the type of technology being supplied, but also on the overall needs of the Indian industry and its environment.

The AeroVironment pathfinder project offers an excellent vehicle for raising questions about the type of technology and its particular transfer mechanism, and the cost, quality and extent of its importance to the ongoing project and the Indian environment. To that end, Table 4 discusses the rationale and aim of asking questions, such as what and when and how: How best can the AeroVironment pathfinder project guide a potential Indian partner on tried and tested methods of sustainable product engineering design and development processes and tools?

Table 4: Questions and Answers Readily Accessible Through the pathfinder Project

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Rationale

Given the wide scope and broad impact of DTTI’s programs and policies, as well as the differing workflows and approaches of Make in India across the sectors, examples are needed of effective practice that are collaboratively developed but reflect institutional difference within a real-world–environment.

Aim

The AeroVironment pathfinder project will aim to develop shareable models of good practice with regard to implementation of DTTI’s requirements. In doing so, the project will enable their own and associated Indian industry partners to find out what works best in implementing DTTI projects, in a variety of institutions across sectors, and will share this knowledge openly thereby aiding other Indian industry partners in the wider sectors.

How will they achieve this?

The AeroVironment pathfinder project will produce guidance that will enable Indian industry partners to improve awareness and clarity of tried and tested sustainable product design and development principles, approaches, tools and resources. The project aim is to embed this new thinking into their product design and development ‘stage gate’ (decision-making) processes and in key documents and guidance materials.

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The pathfinder project permits the company to initiate joint programs, by sharing development and production of a new UAV aimed at Indian domestic and export markets. The scope of the global market for UAV applications comprises Military, Civil and Commercial, and Homeland Security. Military involves ISR, Combat Operations, Battle Damage Assessment /Target Designation Mission. Civil and Commercial contain Agriculture, 3D Mapping, Film Industry, Photography, Oil and Gas, Product Delivery, Wildlife Research and Survey, and Climate and Pollution Monitoring. Homeland Security includes an array of applications, including Border Security, Fire Fighting, Traffic Monitoring, Disaster Management, Search and Rescue, Police Operations and Investigations, and Maritime Security.

A snapshot of the global market for UAV payloads points toward Electro-Optical/Infrared Sensor, Cameras, Synthetic Aperture Radar, Signals intelligence, Electronic Intelligence, Communications Intelligence, Maritime Patrol Radar, Inertial Navigation System, Laser Sensors, Electronic Warfare, Optronics, and others including Autopilot, Lidar, Weapons, Automatic Target Recognition. See Figure 2.

cooperation so that only their strategic logic sets the pace of product development and penetration, persuasion and prosecution of their export marketing ventures. Until then, as Figure 3 shows, their individual shares remain visible targets to acquire from everywhere.

From this case material, it is possible to form a general observation about a particular firm’s or industry’s willingness to share front-end technology, impart sophisticated design and engineering capabilities, instruct foreign nationals in management skills, etc.: Foreign firms, facing narrowing opportunities to earn returns in their domestic markets, are eager to meet various conditions in a meaningful way so they can utilise their technology asset effectively. They prefer a US Government policy that is flexible toward strategic trade and disclosure of technology products and information. DTTI allows defence systems, equipment, weapons and their subsystems to flow in both directions across the United States and India. AeroVironment pathfinder project illustrates, to paraphrase Carter, what can be achieved by opening the private sector, where companies are both eager and better prepared to assist both India and the United States.

Acknowledgements

The Indian market for Raven type of UAV is wide open The author thanks Mukesh Aghi, President of US India and by virtue of its pathfinder project, AeroVironment Business Council (USIBC), Washington, DC and Rahul has established a beachhead in South Asia and will be Madhaban, Director of USIBC - Defence and Aerospace, able to enjoy a comparative advantage over its licence. who graciously reviewed the ongoing programs involving By participating in co-production and the US and India business communities. Keith Webster, co-development of UAVs, Indian industry will acquire Director of International Cooperation, Office of the new product development, Undersecretary of manufacturing, logistics, Defence for Acquisition, and marketing skills.

Technology and Logistics AeroVironment’s Raven is the It will co-develop (OUSD), US Department most widely used unmanned products and co-produce of Defence (DOD), technology for UAV aircraft system in the world today Duncan M. Lang, India markets in six main Rapid Reaction Cell geographic regions: North (IRRC), OUSD, Maureen America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa, Schumann, Defence Press Office, Office of the Assistant and the Middle East. to the Secretary of Defence (Public Affairs), DOD and The two joint-venture partners’ challenge is to find numerous others provided valuable comments on concrete areas to step up product development, various issues related to DTTI. The content is solely manufacturing, logistics, and export marketing the responsibility of the author.

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global partnership DPP

Defence Modernisation - Ways Two other developments which have encouraged foreign collaboration in ‘Make in India’ effort are economic health of the country and ‘buy back’ concession for the foreign collaborators to export from India to other countries’ surplus production from joint plants. Our economy has come out from ‘Hindu rate of growth’ and has started being accepted as a vibrant and emerging economy. Two events which give positive indications towards ‘Make in India’ efforts in Defence production are: likely launch of ‘Arihant’, the Indian made nuclear submarine next month and Tata Motors signing a strategic agreement with Bharat Forge, Pune based Public Sector Undertaking, and USbased General Dynamics Land Systems for India’s ` 50,000 crore Future Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) production in India.

T

hese events are important on three counts.

First, India has started making genuine efforts towards indigenous production of Defence equipment. Second, Indian private sector has started taking interest in producing for Defence; although, Tata Motors were given the contract for manufacturing the FICV. Several other firms like Mahindra & Mahindra, Titagarh Wagons, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Defence and Rolta India were also contesting for the project. Third, major producers of Defence equipment from abroad are keen for joint collaboration for producing India’s Defence needs in India.

on ‘Make in India’, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Defence production increased up to 49 per cent and priority to joint collaboration for producing Defence equipment in India between Indian private firms, Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) and foreign manufacturers who have expertise and latest technology in producing a specific item.

Paucity Of Skills

Factors responsible for industrial development are – land, capital, raw materials, skilled people and a technology base. Whereas India has plenty of first three, we are grossly inadequate in skilled people and technology. Simply having an educated work Huge Backlog force, as we have, does not give us any advantage.

We have been concerned about weapons and Our 70 per cent engineering graduates are not equipment shortages in all the three Armed Forces employable because they lack employability skills. as well as replacement of decades-old obsolete Joint production of Defence equipment, with systems. The Parliamentary Standing Committee foreign collaborators will provide an opportunity on Defence, in its last report, highlighted these to our educated youth to interact and train with deficiencies and recommended increases in allocation technologically advanced countries. for Defence budget. Major reason for slippages in In the past, we also faced problems related to getting Defence preparedness spares and ancillary items for which we remained have been bureaucratic delays in clearing the files dependent on foreign From 1982-83 till date, over and keenness of political Joint production 10 per cent yearly allocation suppliers. leadership to import for Defence in India will for Defence purchases has weapons from abroad rather create local supplies of than giving an impetus to We have suffered been surrendered as unspent ancillaries. indigenous production. Due a lot due to monopolistic to the lackadaisical attitude attitude of foreign suppliers on the part of Ministry of Defence officials resulting in and many a critical weapon system had remained out difficulties in finalising purchase deeds with foreign of use because the suppliers took their own time in suppliers, starting from the year 1982-83 till date, over meeting our operationally immediate requirements.

10 per cent yearly allocation for Defence purchases Immediate Upgradation has been surrendered as unspent.

With the NDA Government coming to power, Defence preparedness and modernisation of Armed Defence Procurement Policy has been revamped Forces is a continuous process of a professional with three essential features; namely, emphasis military establishment. There are numerous examples

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of nations being destroyed by adversaries because their Armed Forces were not prepared. We, ourself, suffered a humiliating defeat, in the year 1962, at the hands of Chinese on this account. Present security environment of our country is disturbing and we have threats developing from all four dissections.

Our present force levels in all the three Services are inadequate to cater for the existing and emerging threats but more dangerous are slippages in modern weapon systems and technologies. Defence forces are loaded with four decades old weapon systems and are in need of immediate upgradation.

Attractive Destination

Will it be feasible to find willing foreign collaborators to participate in Make in India programme? It may be difficult to obtain the effort in highly sophisticated technologies, but I opine keeping in view that India, today, is the biggest market for Defence sales, cut-throat competition among armament manufacturers in the world, high cost of production abroad vis-vis low costs in manufacturing in India, foreign manufacturers will find it attractive to collaborate with India in our ‘Make in India’ effort.

Interest has already been shown by some countries in producing within India deep-penetration strike aircraft, military transport planes and submarines.

We need to accelerate our efforts to attract foreign manufactures to manufacture within India items of other critical shortages also.

With the changes adopted by the government in Defence production, Indian corporate sector firms have come forward to produce Defence systems within the country. In the year 2015, in response to Army’s expression of interest for manufacturing FICVS, seven firms responded and made offers. Our private sector is well developed to take on Defence production. It was government’s deliberate policy to keep Defence production with only ordnance factories due to which they were isolated from undertaking Defence production.

are also suffering on account of critical shortages in this item.

It is well within the capabilities of our private sector to produce these items and the government must involve them. We have to give an assurance to private firms regarding assured demands so that facilities that they create involving huge Lt Gen OP Kaushik investments can be accelerated.

PVSM, AVSM, VSM, Export of surplus production M-IN-D (Retd) could be one of the options.

Time has come to actively The writer has been the Chief of involve our private sector in Staff of the Eastern Command, Indian Army and a former producing for Defence to achieve Vice Chancellor of Maharshi self-sufficiency, save foreign Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana. exchange and reduce alarming dependence on foreign suppliers.

Not only will it create thousands of jobs for our youth, but also provide opportunities to learn new skills and technologies.

Design/Development Inadequacy

Our levels of Defence production are much below desired standards and we have earned glories by adapting foreign designs. Not enough effort has been

Accumulated Shortages

Currently, Indian Army is involved in fighting insurgents and terrorists in the East and the North West. Our paramilitary forces – BSF, ITBP, CRPF and the Civil Police are actively engaged in countering Naxalites and the Maoists in the Central and Eastern parts of India. We have an all-time challenging deployment in the Siachen glacier where troops have to fight the nature more than the enemy. We are acutely short of meeting even the day-to-day requirements of our forces in these operational commitments. Snow scooters, required to ferry heavy baggage within the glacier are still being imported and there is a deficiency of the level of 70 per cent. It can easily be produced within India as we have highly developed scooter producing industry in the private sector. Similar is the case with special snow clothing, snow boots and mountaineering equipment which are 100 per cent imported from abroad. In the counter-insurgency areas, Army is short of nearly 3 lakh bullet proof vests. Paramilitary Forces

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global partnership DPP

made even to improve those designs. China was the budgeted estimates for 2015-16 which amounted far behind us in Defence production and, like us, to ` 85,894 crores. On account of less money for depended almost 100 per cent on Soviet supplies. But capital expenditure, Defence preparedness has been they got involved wholeheartedly to improve on those on the decline and critical shortages in weaponry and borrowed designs and, today, that country is listed other necessary equipment are adversely effecting among the first five exporters of Defence equipments in operational readiness. These glaring deficiencies the world. It is sad that indigenous designing capacity, have been regularly reported to the Parliament by the real measure of self-reliance, is not in evidence. the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd as well as the Comptroller and has been active for well over Auditor-General. The IAF is We must involve (our IITs) six decades, but has not been short of 9 fighter squadrons able to design a single Indian against authorisation of 42. The actively in producing designed aero engine. Most of our Navy’s submarine fleet has only ‘Make In India’ designs naval crafts are copies of foreign a dozen of them most of which equipment. Same is the case with are 25 years or more old. Navy regard to Arjun tank, missiles and the air defence is also short of 72 vessels of various capacities and systems. We have remained content in getting foreign capabilities and 222 aircraft against authorisation supplies. We have a large scientific community. Our made in their 15 years Maritime Capability Perspective IIT’s are feeding the foreign manufacturers with the Plan for 2012-2027. Overall deficiencies of the Army best of the talent produced by them. We must involve are about 30 per cent and are especially acute in them actively in producing ‘Make in India’ designs. artillery guns; infantry weapons; tank ammunition; The country should be prepared to offer them better anti-tank missiles and air defence systems. pays and other perks than the foreigner employers and make our scientific communities’ working conditions Three Per Cent Hurdle so attractive that experts from abroad are drawn Armed Forces have been demanding an allocation of to work in India. We can do it as we have created 3 per cent of GDP. There is no doubt, modernisation a vast spread of technological institutes. Experts needs of Defence Forces need more money. More than from abroad will bring technological knowledge and 40 countries of the world incur Defence expenditure knowhow and our young scientists will get knowledge of 3.5 per cent of their GDP. Our immediate and skills by interacting with them. This is the adversaries, Pakistan and China, spend about 3.5 per only way by which we will achieve self-sufficiency cent. In terms of per capita expenditure, India incurs levels in defence production.

Defence expenditure which is one of the lowest in the world. If we have to have armed forces of respectable Inadequate Budgeting status with latest weaponry, share of Defence The Defence budget for 2016-17 has been allotted budget will have to be increased to 3 per cent ` 3,40,921 crore, including ` 82,332 crores for of GDP which actually was promised when Defence pensions. It appears to be substantially high Shri Narasimha Rao was the PM. amount. Capital expenditure, which primarily caters There is, however, a change at political leadership level for Defence purchases is ` 78,586 crore. It is less than providing positive signal for Defence preparedness.

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The Defence Minister while speaking at a panel discussion on Make in India initiative in the Defence sector at IIT Roorkee on 18 March, 2016 said, “Make in India is our priority for Defence procurement …

But the first priority cannot be forgotten, the primary task of our military, which is operational readiness ... So that no one can look at us with big eyes”. The PM, while addressing the combined commanders’ conference in December 2015 said, “In a world of rapid changes, India faces familiar threats and new ones. Our challenges cover land, sea and air at the same time. It includes the full range, from terrorism to conventional threat to a nuclear environment.

Our responsibilities are no longer confined to our border and coastline. They extend to our interests and citizens, spread across a world of wide spread and unpredictable risks”.

Make in India by joint collaboration between private sector, foreign supplier and our PSUs. We should encourage other private firms, who have capabilities and capacities and foreign business contacts, to participate in joint manufacture of Defence needs in India. Such enterprises will bring remarkable success in our endeavour to achieve our aim of ‘Make in India’. There are numerous firms in India that have the ability and resources to participate in such joint ventures.

Economic Upswing

Two other developments which have encouraged foreign collaboration in ‘Make in India’ effort are economic health of the country and ‘buy back’ concession for the foreign collaborators to export from India to other countries’ surplus production from joint plants. Our economy has come out from Provide The Funds ‘Hindu rate of growth’ and has started being accepted Above statements call for immediate action on as a vibrant and emerging economy with 7.5 per cent the part of the Ministry of Defence to make up growth rate annually which is one of the highest the deficiencies of the Armed Forces. I have no in the world. This has resulted in India’s increased doubt that the present leadership, which is alive participation in ten ASEAN countries, Japan and and concerned with Defence Korea. We are engaged in preparedness, will make seeking free trade agreements To have armed forces of necessary money available with Australia, SAARC and will not allow slippages to countries and some of the respectable status with latest occur in Defence preparedness countries in Latin America and weaponry, share of Defence as we had seen during the foreign producers of Defence UPA Government from 2004equipment are finding it budget needs to be increased 2014. However, demands profitable to indulge in joint to 3 per cent of GDP are so huge that our existing ventures in India.

Defence industrial sector will A healthy and efficiently run not be able to contend with it. Our Defence industry joint collaboration programme in producing for lacks in matching technology and instrumentation Defence will liberate us from ignoble label of world’s to meet the modernisation needs of the Armed biggest importer of weapons and raise us to the level Forces. We will have to involve our private sector of a self-reliant country with genuine concern to as well as foreign manufacturers of weapons and maintain its Defence Forces’ operational equipment in this mission. We must concentrate on readiness. w

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global partnership THE LOADED DICE

Create DRDO-User Synergy

For Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Defence industry to grow, DRDO will have to limit its role to that of an incubator rather than attempting to do everything. Incubate ideas, concepts and technologies while the users define requirements, doctrines and then generate development of those products through both domestic and international players. There is no better method than a peer review. And in India, there is no better peer to the DRDO than the Indian Space Research Organisation. A good starting point is to observe the functioning and ethos of the Directorate of Naval Design.

I

t is a testament to Indian genius that the country flew its first jet fighter more than half a century ago. And it is also a reflection of how vested interests work in this country that India has yet to operationally induct an indigenous jet combat aircraft despite flying its first prototype more than fifty years ago. This is a story more of deliberate misses than any attempted hits and it is a story of how conveniently goal posts can continuously be shifted when other interests override national security and prestige.

engines, as is the norm globally, the baby was thrown out along with the bathwater.

Fast forward about half a century and the maiden flight of the first Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Technology Demonstrator 1 (TD1) aircraft takes place at 1018 hrs on 4 January, 2001. By now a myriad agencies had come on board, not least the Defence Research and Development Organisation. Even before the Marut had been fully retired, concept papers had already begun to do the rounds for another indigenous combat aircraft project. Starting from scratch the The Marut Experience designs took inordinately long, as did the subsequent This is, of course, the story of the Hindustan integration of various systems. A distinct lack of Aeronautics Limited HF-24 Marut, a fighter-bomber cooperation from the principal user, the Indian Air aircraft which made Force, didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t help much its maiden flight on either. The Indian Navy It seems Arjun has yet to meet seemed more committed for 17 June, 1961. Designed by the legendary German its carrier based version. the fullest approval of the Kurt Tank, the Marut This absence, or lack, of Army, with neither a sealed suffered from insufficient user-developer interface power ratios. Despite was to remain a constant in vision nor fixed parameters going into production, India's indigenous defence and serving the country research and development in the 1971 war, the Marut was retired, in toto. story. Chapters have been written about it, and will Rather than developing later versions with better nevertheless continue to be penned in the future as well.

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DRDO Omnipresence

DRDO was established in 1958 by the merging of an already functioning Technical Development Establishment within the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production with the Defence Science Organisation. The errors that have subsequently kept cropping up can be rooted to the fundamental mistake made during the merger in 1958. Instead of keeping a user driven, Research and Development Organisation (R&D) was initially incorporated into a new entity. And then sidelined to a spectating role, like a disengaged observer. This structural flaw has yet to be rectified fully, even as the DRDO has grown bigger than its original or required role.

It, now, has a network of scores of laboratories involved in developing technologies as varied as aeronautics and life sciences, agriculture and armaments, missiles and combat vehicles, information and engineering systems, instrumentation and special materials, advanced computing and simulation, naval systems, electronics and training.

Manpower figures would obviously show quite significant expansion over the years. There is no study that has been undertaken on how much manpower is actually required and what its role should be.

Such rationalisation can only be done when there is an independent review about the functioning of the DRDO, but more about that later. So much so that DRDO now has more than 5000 scientists and another roughly 25,000 scientific, technical and administrative personnel.

In this exhaustive list of technologies under development, three projects stand out for their longterm impact as well as the larger message conveyed about the working culture of DRDO. The missile programme has much written about it, so there is no reason to repeat eulogies. By all accounts it has

been on track, and induction of completed development projectiles on course. And subsequent advancements also incorporated into later models. The other two milestone projects are the Tejas Light Combat aircraft and Arjun Main Battle Tank.

The Tejas Megaproject

Manvendra Singh India conceived the Tejas LCA The writer is Editor-in-chief programme in 1983, with the of Defence and Security Alert project definition phase completed (DSA) magazine. He is a in 1989 and the first phase of the well-known defence journalist full scale engineering development and columnist. He was member came to be sanctioned in 1993. of Indian Parliament till 2009 from one of the largest DRDO’s subsidiary, Aeronautical constituencies in Rajasthan.

Development Agency is responsible for project design, monitoring and development of technologies of importance to Tejas. Owing to its experience in the Marut project Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is also the principal partner in Tejas LCA. Numerous DRDO laboratories have been a part of the Tejas project.

These are:

Aeronautical Development Establishment, Electronics and Radar Development Establishment, Gas Turbine Research Establishment, Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Advanced Systems Integration and Evaluation Organisation, Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification, Defence Bio-engineering and Electro-medical Laboratory –all in Bangalore; Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory in Hyderabad; Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment, Armament R&D Establishment,

The stated list of technologies and projects that DRDO is engaged in is as under: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Airborne Telemetry Receiving System All Electric Type Weapon Control System for ICV Antenna Systems Bhima self-propelled gun Biomedical Devices for Internal Use (Implants) Biomedical Devices for External Use Briefcase SATCOM Terminal Code Programme Diagnostic Products for Infection Imaging EOCM-Class Laser System Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) FSAPDS Ammunition Indigenous X-Ray Industrial Tomography System Integrated Weapon System Simulation Kaveri Engine Lakshya drone Laser Warning Sensors Light Combat Aircraft Manipulator Arm

● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

MBT Arjun Missiles (Agni, Prithvi, Nag, Trishul, Akash) MMIC—Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit Model-Based Data Fusion Naval Weapon Systems Nishant UAV Palmtop Green Microchip Laser Module Pan/Tilt Platform for Vision Systems Pinaka—Multibarrel Rocket Launcher Radiation Protection Products Rajendra Radar Rapid Quantification and Detection Techniques for Pesticides In Fruits and Vegetables Recovery Parachute System Sangraha Electronic Warfare System Sanyukta Mobile Electronic Warfare System Special Materials Technology for Dengue Control Technology for Titanium Sponge Production

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global partnership THE LOADED DICE High Energy Materials Research Laboratory in Pune and Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment, Avadi.

Public Sector Undertakings such as:

Bharat Electronics Limited, Bangalore; Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Hyderabad; Indian Petro-Chemicals Limited, Vadodara; Bharat Heavy Plates and Vessels, Visakhapatnam have also been engaged in the Tejas programme. In addition to these numerous other scientific, academic and private organisations have also been involved in the decade’s long project for India to finally fly its own combat aircraft.

Scientific-military Disjoint

The root of this problem lies, as mentioned earlier, in the birth of DRDO as an amalgamation of Army entities with civilian/scientific ones. Over years this has left no user role in conceptualisation, research, design and development of products. So, DRDO went on in its own way, dabbling in everything that caught The Arjun Monolith its fancy, without user oversight to question it. The It is decades since the DRDO-designed Main Battle solution to this problem is to have a review of the Tank Arjun, began to roll its wheels. Since then functioning of the DRDO and there is no better method it has been more a case of battles been fought than a peer review. And in India, there is no better through ink than actual conflict of ideas between peer to the DRDO than the Indian Space Research user and developer. The DRDO and the Army Organisation. It is no secret that the beginnings of have been equally responsible for deliberate media India’s missile programme owe a lot to ISRO, not least manipulation to sell their the secondment of Late APJ side of the story. And as Abdul Kalam to DRDO. A Absence of user-developer the development of Arjun beginning, therefore, can be gathered pace, the Army made with the peer review interface was to remain a and then the future course deployed the tried and constant in India’s indigenous of action charted out. tested tactic of simply shifting goal posts as the For India’s Defence defence research and ball neared the line, or industry to grow, DRDO will development story in this case Arjun came have to limit its role to that to pass the test. So what of an incubator rather than began as a 1970s idea has now developed into the attempting to do everything. Incubate ideas, concepts Arjun Mark II advanced fourth generation tank. and technologies while the users define requirements, Because the first version took so many years to pass doctrines and then generate development of those the test, which it did, the Mark II was developed in products through both domestic and international comparative quick time. Arjun Mk II was successful players. With India already the world’s largest in outperforming the Russian T-90 in a one-to-one importer of arms, there is no reason to hide behind trial. Arjun Mark II has incorporated numerous the cloak of national security when it comes to foreign upgrades and improvements, from night vision, manufacturers and their equipment. A good starting enhanced firing capability in terms of missile and point is to observe the functioning and ethos of the barrel changes, suspension, air-defence gun and an Directorate of Naval Design. enhanced auxiliary power unit. But it seems Arjun In the limited capacity that it possesses, DND does has yet to meet the fullest approval of the Army, with sterling service to the Navy and India. If ever there was neither a sealed vision nor fixed parameters within a service success story in terms of research, design, which it can claim MBT Arjun should perform. integration of systems, it is the DND. And after doing all that it can, production is given to manufacturers in India. A similar model can quite easily be adopted by the DRDO, with ample user participation, and production by the multitude of Indian private players that are waiting in line to get into Defence manufacturing. Domestic Defence manufacturing capacity is limited in the government sphere, so it is vital to get the private sector involved. For India needs to overcome its shortfall at a faster rate than it is currently capable of achieving. More the merrier is an adage as old as time, and it is certainly valid for this vexing issue. Unless India is able to introduce more private players into Defence manufacturing, its national security concerns will remain as unanswered as they currently are. Which is not a very healthy situation to be in.

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global partnership BRAHMOS JV

SUPERSONIC MISSILE SYSTEM The universal missile has been successfully tested in sea-to-land, sea-to-sea, land-to-land, land-to-sea and subsea-to-land configurations, even as it is preparing to be test-flown for the first time in air-to-ground configuration from the Indian Air Forceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s frontline Su-30MKI strike fighter in near future.

Praveen Pathak The writer is General Manager (Market Promotions and Exports) BrahMos Aerospace

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efence technology has always been Defence hardware indigenously and also, by considered a strategic asset for any nation. partnering with their ally, USA. Even in the 21st century, only a handful of countries have achieved the capability Swimming Against The Tide to design and produce high technology weapons, Since decades, India on its part, has keenly focussed systems, and platforms. Such a strategic area has been on building up its own Defence industrial base despite dominated for many decades by two leading global the long years of restrictive technology denial regimes powers â&#x20AC;&#x201C; USA and Russia. The two arch rivals have imposed by the developed nations. In the face of many always vied to outpace each other in developing and adversities, today India has risen to a respectable producing top-notch military and aerospace systems. position in acquiring critical military technology A few European countries, including the UK, in several areas, including in warship building, France, Germany and aircraft and aeronautics, Italy too, have invested systems, combat Proved its credence as a versatile, missile in high-end Defence vehicles, electronic multi-platform, multi-target, warfare systems, radars technology programmes, independently and also, and sonars, unmanned multi-mission weapon in partnerships. So has vehicles, advanced Israel, which has gained computing, networking expertise in producing sophisticated weapon systems. and simulation for the Indian armed forces.

Coming to the Asian continent, the lead in Defence The journey, however, is quite long, arduous production domain has visibly been taken over and never-ending because technology is

by China in recent years, which has, according ever-changing and to keep pace with this swift to military experts, reverse-engineered most of its change, is a very challenging task. military hardware and systems. Japan and South When it comes to gaining expertise in a critical Korea have also endeavoured to develop some asset like Defence technology, it often becomes

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global partnership BRAHMOS JV imperative to form alliances and partnerships for the obvious reasons that such an expertise demands huge investments, highly-skilled workforce, uninterrupted research and development work as well as infrastructural set-up.

Even as the Indian Government’s ambitious ‘Make-In-India’ campaign gets fresh impetus, one missile system that has stood out distinctly as the most shining emblem of a highly successful military collaboration programme between two most trusted allies, India and Russia, is the BrahMos missile.

The universal supersonic cruise missile, pegged as the world’s, ‘fastest and best’, has brought in the finest scientific minds from the two partnering countries to produce the formidable weapon.

and maintained a distinct track record of highest rates of success which no other missile system of its genre has achieved.

Multi-mission Weapon

Initially conceptualised as an anti-ship cruise missile system, BrahMos has subsequently validated its capability as a powerful land-attack strike weapon. It has gone on to prove its credence as a versatile, multiplatform, multi-target, multi-mission weapon, powerful enough to strike down the enemy anywhere, anytime.

The missile has been operationalised in the Indian Navy since 2005 and in the Indian Army since 2007.

The universal missile has been successfully tested in sea-to-land, sea-to-sea, land-to-land, land-to-sea and subsea-to-land configurations, even as it is preparing Russia-India Team Work to be test-flown for the first time in air-to-ground The teaming up of two scientific institutions of configuration from the Indian Air Force’s frontline excellence – the Defence Research and Development Su-30MKI strike fighter in near future.

Organisation (DRDO) of Once the airborne BrahMos India, and the JSC MIC NPO is tested successfully, it is Vision 2050 will create Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) set to complete the cruise of Russia in 1998 has triad for India by being BrahMos Next-Generation missile launched from land, sea, subgiven way to the JV entity, (NG) and hypersonic BrahMos Aerospace, which sea and air, thus providing a has successfully conceived, crucial tactical trump to India BrahMos-II (K) designed, developed, produced, and its armed forces. tested and delivered the worldWhile a lot is being discussed class BrahMos missile to the Indian military. about Transfer of Technology (ToT) clause in defence One of the proud possessions by the Indian deals around the world, in the BRAHMOS JV, the Defence Forces, BrahMos has charted a highly equation works in ‘equal partners, equal stakes’ basis. successful trajectory within a very short span of time. The JV partners in the supersonic cruise missile Since its first successful test firing in June 2001, the programme have worked hand-in-hand in designing, missile has undergone a total of 48 flight tests so far from developing, producing, testing and delivering the highground-based, naval surface and submerged technology weapon to the Indian Armed Forces within a platforms in both vertical and inclined configurations very short time span.

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The Russian expertise has contributed in designing and developing the critical propulsion systems, ie the ramjet engine technology and booster for the missile.

The Indian scientific community has contributed in developing several key components, including the fire control system, electronic system, guidance system, avionics and materials for air frame of the tactical weapon and also, the complete ground weapon complex.

Moreover, the JV programme has set a perfect example of PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model.

Based on the unique model of ‘missile industrial complex’, BrahMos has brought along several public and private sector firms from both India and Russia that have contributed in making the missile a world-class weapon.

To keep pace with the ever-evolving military technological advancements, the BrahMos JV has also set its sight firmly on the future, with its Vision 2050 roadmap keenly focussed on designing and developing even more advanced variants of the supersonic cruise missile system.

Futuristic Variants

In fact, the Make-In-India campaign has once again unfolded a plethora of opportunities for the India-Russia JV programme to flourish further and reap immense mutual benefits by bringing in cutting-edge technological advancements from both the partnering nations, culminating in the design, development and production of more advanced, futuristic variants of the world-class missile such as the BrahMos Next-Generation (NG) and hypersonic BrahMos-II (K) which have been conceptualised.

The BrahMos JV programme has, indeed, re-energised the Indian Defence industry to come forth and produce several critical systems and sub-

systems for a modern high-technology weapon. As the two partner nations intend to work on futuristic, more sophisticated variants of the missile, full-scale production and assembly of BrahMos is also being planned to be undertaken in India, including its engines which have so far been developed only in Russia.

Additionally, the weapon also holds great potential for export to countries friendly to both India and Russia, as stipulated in the 1998 Inter-Governmental Agreement, thus giving a major fillip to India's military export ambitions in the near future.

BrahMos, the brain-child of India’s DRDO and Russia’s NPOM, has been conceived, cradled, nurtured, and finally shaped into a formidable worldclass weapon. The missile remains unrivalled in its genre as it has no competitors to date, neither will it have one in the foreseeable future as the successful JV programme and its two strong partners promise to achieve newer technological breakthroughs by developing futuristic, more lethal variants of the ‘ultimate’ weapon.

The JV programme has also laid the groundwork for the Indian defence industry to emulate and embark on the ambitious journey of not only successfully designing, developing and delivering cutting-edge military systems to the Indian armed forces, but also in realising the long-cherished dream of making India a world leader in Defence production and export.

In a nutshell, the BrahMos JV today has become a synonym of ‘innovation, achievement and success’ and stands out as the most perfect example of a highly successful Defence JV project the world over.

The JV, in fact, has provided the broad contours for establishing more such successful Defence partnership programmes in the future.

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global partnership MICRO-MANAGEMENT Energy

Independent Armed Forces or Smart Cantonments It is imperative to provide our Armed Forces with efficient energy solutions they so richly deserve and the offset angle can be explored for an effective mechanism of implementation, with minimal cost, minimal bureaucratic intervention and expeditious delivery mechanism. Can the nation afford to provide to our Armed Forces clean, green and efficient energy to enable them to operate in an environment of uninterrupted, stabilised and effectively distributed power supplies? Have been talking a lot about Smart Cities. Can we create â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Smart Cantonmentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;? Efficient, effective and smart power supplies are fundamental to creation of smart cantonments.

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have served the Indian Army Corps of Signals, stress and environmental strain. For an equipment, with pride for 28 years before I opted for a power cut is like a heart attack, suddenly pulling out premature retirement. Signals, is the technology the lifeline. The electronics in the equipment suffer arm of the Indian Army, providing them with severe degradation as a result of power outages. communications and information. They are also There is, therefore, a requirement to create an enabling known as the information mechanism for our armed warriors. In my brief army life, forces to act with freedom from Aging/degradation can be energy concern. Electronics dealing with sensitive electronic equipment, the frequent And Power; One can't do arrested by provision of power outages often for long without the other. While power regulated power supplies durations, place a strain on the generation is relatively simpler, system generators, basically its consequent distribution is meant for operations. The situation is worse for the far more complex and less efficient. Electronic systems man behind the machine, that, during the meager are an integral part of all the military systems, in fact rest hours that a solider is privileged to, he suffers they dictate the worthiness of a system; better the extreme weather conditions, thanks to power outages. electronics, more effective and contemporary is the Damage caused by power outages are system. Quality of power supply to the electronics in the multidimensional, they affect the military systems system are pretty demanding as are the requirements more harshly than the man behind the machine, for distribution and consequent application of clean who anyways, bears the brunt of both the operational and accurate power to the target systems at the input.

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It is a matter of daily experience that our radios, music systems, TV, microwave and other gadgets develop defects purely due to poor power quality. The fundamental enemy of electronics is power quality.

In both military and commercial applications, every electronic system needs a power supply. As in the case of the motion for supplies the three configurations of military people, the supplies are AC to DC, DC to DC and DC to DC. Consequently, some may be inclined to believe that commercial and military power supplies are one and the same, however, reality is otherwise.

Most commercial power supplies have a shorter mean time between failures (MTBF) rating than military ones, implying more interruptions without warning. Military systems are more sensitive to the quality and reliability of power supplies and behave erratically when so subjected to poor power quality. In military electronic applications, loss of power or reduced/increased application of power can be cataclysmic â&#x20AC;&#x201C; often life threatening.

All military electronics invariably incorporate BITE, the built in test facility, as also ability to recognise impending failures. As the demand for predictability increases, new power conversion products have the inherent ability to identify and route power to the specified areas. Military stations and cantonments house a variety of systems and equipment from the communications electronics to radars, sensors, onboard avionics and the like. Protection of these vital sensors and C4ISR systems from unregulated power supplies is an essential pre-requisite.

Mid-life Upgrades

India is unique in its inventory, holding vintage equipment far beyond their acclaimed shelf life. While the shelf life of a military system is defined by the life expectancy of its sub-systems and the one with the lowest shelf life draws the bottom line. This is the reason for the upgrades of systems to be mainly centred around electronics in it. Take the case of the Mirage or Jaguar upgrades or any of the other systems, the focus has been on electronics. This is both due to the aging/degradation of the electronics in the systems as well as the quest for advancements.

Aging/degradation can be arrested by provision of regulated power supplies. The Armed Forces are continuously subjected to training and validation of their concepts and therefore, deploy their operational systems on a regular basis. This needs to be supplemented by rigorous and regulated power supplies to protect the costly equipment.

Men Behind Machines

Col KV Kuber The writer is an alumnus of the prestigious National Defence Academy and the Technical Staff College. He specialised in Electronic Warfare.

Commanded an Electronic Warfare Regiment in operations and has conducted EW operations. He founded and established the DOFA and was the chief architect of the offset policy since its inception in 2005. He has been an Adviser with the National Small Industries Corporation and played a key role in bringing MSMEs into the mainstream defence business, through NSIC. Presently, he is an Adviser with the DRDO for Technology Acquisitions.

The Armyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cantonments are spread across the country housing a number of personnel and their families. The state of availability of accommodation is grossly below the mark and our soldiers get to live with their families in army cantonments for a fraction of their lifetime service, which in most cases is less than 40 per cent. Even with short exposures to armyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s way of life, the soldiers and their families are at the mercy of long power cuts and frequent disruptions; thus besides causing physical inconvenience inflicts monetary damages onto the small electronic appliances they may have in their homes. This is gross injustice to the soldiers who place the nations call before all else and are ever ready for supreme sacrifice.

They, therefore, require to be provided with continuous and regulated clean energy. This will have twin benefits, one enhances the life of a soldier and the other, they then carry this forward to their villages for spreading this awareness, accruing benefits for the country, far greater than can be envisaged.

We dream for a better future for the Armed Forces, we need to build one. We need to improve how the Army uses electricity and consequently, the entire nation. To do all of this, utilities, regulators

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global partnership MICRO-MANAGEMENT Energy

and customers need a vehicle enabling mutually beneficial collaboration. We need innovators providing industry’s capacity for change. We need an Interactive Energy Platform, which empowers utilities and their customers to become allies in increased grid performance, affordable and reliable energy and community improvement to solve energy challenges.

The Proposal

Benefits: ● Enhances the life of electronics both in the military systems and household. ● Longer life implies later upgrades, thus affecting enormous savings on the capital/revenue budget ● Enhanced quality of life ● Create Smart Cantonments. ● Inherent advantage to national effort, when the soldiers spread this awareness to their villages.

It is proposed to provide the Indian Armed Forces with an energy solution that they can fully and completely Methodology rely upon, both in peace time and in operations. There are more than fifty cantonment areas in Further, the smart cantonments concept can ride the country. We can pick up four or five such upon this basic infrastructure. cantonments and another five military stations, to In technical parlance, this translates into the include all three Services. We may also identify a following: couple of DRDO laboratories and a couple of DPSUs. ● Attack the electric grid’s core problem – the load This makes it a ten-area pilot project to demonstrate duration curve. The need to unlock affordable the efficacy of such a system in varied environment. capacity when cantonments need it to improve overall Once the technology demonstration is done, the system utilisation, grid reliability and security. feedback from these areas will help in formulation of ● Create and manage alternative means of energy the larger programme. solutions by use of green energy sources such as This may be attempted on a programme based model wind and sun. to cover all of the cantonment areas in accordance ● Free the armed forces of the national grid, with well-defined timelines and phased-manner. resources from the national grid can be better The entire programme can be implemented in a utilised for the larger population. relatively short duration. ● Armed forces can also support villages and utilities in the vicinity and provide the excess power Funding generated/not utilised to their benefit, creating a Funds for this project can come from a variety new and strong partnership for a fully electrified of sources. One is that the Armed Forces may India so it can be achieved themselves pay for the sooner for our country. solution they opt for, then Longer life implies later ● On this will ride the other they have complete ownership upgrades, thus affecting smart components such of the same. The second is as W2E, (Waste to Energy), VCs can be approached enormous savings on the that wherein the waste generated for initial funding and then a capital/revenue budget by the cantonment can business plan can be worked be effectively utilised for out for revenue generation, in generating energy and sensors for assessment of a phased manner. Once the solution is implemented, various solutions including security solutions. the Army can pay to the service provider what they

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presently pay to the electricity department. All excess electricity generated by the service provider can also be routed to the national grid and charged accordingly. A suitable business model for the same can be worked out.

Make In India And Made In India

Two sectors that can effectively contribute towards this flagship initiative of the government are the Defence and Power sectors. Here we are. We are actually integrating the big two to be able to provide a solution that can, thereafter, be replicated for smart cities solutions, also.

Offsets And Energy

There has been a thought to include energy as an avenue for discharge of offsets. India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) has approached Ministry of Power to recommend to the MoD, inclusion of key smart grid technologies such as Energy Storage, Automated Demand Response/Automated Demand Side Management, Microgrids and Renewable energy technologies as an avenue for the OEMs for discharge of offset obligations. These technologies can help us as a nation increase our electricity supply and reliability by better grid management and significantly reducing the need for new fossil fired generation resources. This will help generate employment, bring in foreign investment and promote ‘Make in India’ initiatives. There is nothing more important to a country’s growing economy and GDP than access to reliable, affordable and efficient electricity. This guarantees that the most basic needs of its soldiers are met with spinoff benefits to the citizens, while providing the ability to support increased productivity and economic outputs.

Offsets Model

First step is for an insertion in the offsets policy, energy assurance and security as an avenue for discharge of offsets in Armed Forces areas.

The OEM funds the offset project and gets offsets credits in return. One such typical example is given below.

Say for a cantonment such as Pathankot that is in the news for all the wrong reasons, let us undertake this project.

For purposes of a theoretical discussion, broadly speaking, to implement an energy solution, including power generation and applying smart grid solutions such as the Interactive Energy Platform1, using a grid agent and a Distributed Energy Resource (DER), to integrate distributed energy generation, renewable energy source and energy storage systems and other smart grid components, let us say US$ 3 million is required. For three such cantonments or for a pilot project involving different sizes of cantonments areas, DPSUs and a couple of DRDO labs, say US$ 15 million is required.

This 15 musd is funded by an OEM which has an offset obligation. In this case let us put to use the Innovari technology and use an IOP2 , which will implement this solution. All components and subsystems available in India, irrespective of cost effectiveness, will be procured from India only. All production, design3 , assembly, integration and programme4 implementation will be affected in India.

Power generation companies and PSUs like BHEL can be integrated in a suitable manner.

Therefore the steps involved here are as under:● OEM funds the programme, 15 musd. ● IOP implements the programme in identified cantonments. ● The Armed Forces base provide a completion certificate once the project is implemented in their area. ● OEM gets the offsets credits once the completion certificate is given. ● IOP is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep. ● Business plan involving the IOP and Army garrison for revenue, in terms of pay by use of the electricity and smart solution. ● OEM can be remunerated in accordance with the business plan of IOP.

Implications Of Offsets

The following are the implications: ● Armed Forces cantonment areas become smart with no direct investment. ● Their vital electronic and human assets are energy proof. ● They have paved the way for smart cantonment and other components can be add-ons. ● The energy solution for all the cantonment areas in the entire country will cost approximately 80 to 90 musd, which is a minuscule fraction of the offset obligations of the OEMs. ● For a small investment from OEMs, the entire country can boast of energy independent military areas. ● This will act as a motivator for other spin-off applications. ● Our vital electronic laboratories and DPSUs will be able to get an energy solution they so very richly deserve. ● This will overall directly benefit the Indian Armed Forces, both their equipment and personnel.

In conclusion, it is imperative to provide our Armed Forces with efficient energy solutions they so richly deserve and the offset angle can be explored for an effective mechanism of implementation, with minimal cost, minimal bureaucratic intervention and expeditious delivery mechanism. This is in consonance with the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Made in India’ initiatives of the government. This is probably a true and genuine service the nation can do to its soldiers and its forces.

1Courtesy Innovari, a US company that provides such solutions and is known to have worked with its Armed Forces too. www.innovari.com 2Choice of IOP will be a function of implementability and this can be made from the number of companies in this domain 3 Companies like Accord Software and Systems an MSME can do a great job here 4 Companies like P3Voith India, are experts in this field

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global partnership SAAB JV

Saab - Indian Collaboration

Saab has had an established presence in India for many years now – in fact, this year we have completed 40 years of our collaboration with the Ordnance Factory Board. We have a joint venture with Aequs in Belgaum, Aerostructures Assemblies India, which is manufacturing assemblies for commercial and defence aircraft.

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he Government’s focus on Make in India lies at the core of India’s development premise today and will have a tremendous impact on Indian industry for many years to come.

Make in India is based on the realisation that rapid industrialisation is the only way for India to meet its great challenges, including finding employment for the millions of people entering the labour market each year. We have seen clearly, since the introduction of the initiative in 2014,that this is not just a slogan – there is a very clear intent to develop an indigenous defence industry of global scale.

Transfer of Technology

Sweden and Saab have a proven track record of being open to sharing critical technology. We call it Transfer of Technology in its true sense. This includes training, transfer of know-how, capability development, and development of a strong supply chain for cutting-edge technology systems. We are not talking about telling someone how to use a screwdriver; we are talking about sharing critical

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technology so our partners can be self-reliant and build a state-of-the-art domestic industry.

Sweden-India Team Work

We see a perfect match between the skilled Indian work force and Swedish know-how in the defence industry.

This combination can lead to the creation of a number of high-tech jobs in manufacturing, and also increase avenues for education in defence engineering - through collaboration between Indian and Swedish Universities, including exposure to the Saab production concept and way of working. This will benefit not just India alone, but also Saab and Sweden - real progress is where both parties in a partnership can say that they have learnt something beneficial from the partnership.

The Government’s focus on Make in India lies at the core of India’s development premise today

Jan Widerstrom

SAAB Joins Hands For Indian Defence

The writer is Chairman, SAAB India Technologies Pvt Ltd.

line. The NAIS provides coverage Saab has had an established presence in India to the entire Indian Coast, for many years now – in fact, this year we have whereby 74 lighthouses are completed 40 years of our collaboration with the now fitted with Saab systems. This system is helping Ordnance Factory Board. We have a joint venture safeguard India’s coastline through monitoring and with Aequs in Belgaum, Aerostructures Assemblies identification of maritime traffic.

India, which is manufacturing assemblies for commercial and defence aircraft. Our Aerostructures Robust Technology division has a very large footprint across India – we Saab and Reliance Defence are jointly developing work with companies such as Mahindra Aerospace, the next generation of Combat Management Systems Tata Advanced Materials, Cim Tools and more. We in India. In collaboration with Grintex, we have have also set up the Saab deployed Advanced Surface India Technology Center, Movement Guidance & Saab works very closely with which is involved in R&D Control Systems (A-SMGCS) the Government to ensure in collaboration with Tech at nine of the eleven busiest Mahindra. Engineers at airports in India. The Saab absolute probity in business is enhancing this center are working opportunities across the world A-SMGCS situational awareness and closely with teams in Sweden on developing the runway safety at these next generation of defence systems. airports. We have tied up with Bharat Forge to work In 2012, Saab, in collaboration with Elcome together on Air Defence systems for India.

Besides these partnerships, we are in discussion Integrated Systems, implemented the National Automatic Identification System on the Indian coast with many more companies. We have a clear vision in India - to be a true and genuine partner to India’s defence industry. For us, India is a home market. The focus is not simply on winning bids, but on building business in partnership with Indian partners across the entire hierarchy of manufacturers, all the way from sub-component suppliers to strategic partners.

Global Players In Defence

In Sweden, Saab works very closely with the Government to ensure absolute probity in business opportunities across the world. It is a judicious and coherent system which is largely unparalleled elsewhere. This is what PM Narendra Modi is aspiring to ensure with his Make in India vision- that Defence industry policies are transparent, every citizen of India feels pride in the outcome, and the overarching requirement of all such activities is that they benefit India. India has a 14 per cent share in the global defence trade and is likely to spend around $ 130 billion on defence in the coming 7-8 years.

That makes it one of the largest defence markets in the world, and the opportunity it presents should be taken advantage of. This will increase India’s self-reliance in defence production and will also have a spillover effect on the rest of the economy. We look forward to working even closer together with the Indian Government and industry to ensure that Make in India is a true success.

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DefExpo 2016 CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Portion of DPP-2016 released But No Method of Selecting ‘Strategic Partners’ India became world’s number one importer of Defence weapons and systems last year and therefore is a market now which few Defence manufacturers or suppliers can afford to ignore. This is more so when most Indian built and imported platforms have supplies from ancillaries from all over the world.

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ndia’s 9th Defence Exposition (DefExpo) the biennial Land, Naval and Internal Homeland Security Systems Exhibition was held over four days from 28th March some kilometers from Betul beach in Goa – first time outside the Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.

Piecemeal Unveiling of DPP 2016

Defence Minister Mr Manohar Parrikar unveiled a part of the much awaited Defence Procurement Procedure-2016 (DPP-2016) with five chapters including many changes like increase of Offsets for orders of more than $ 300 crore, faster procedures

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especially in trials, caution in blacklisting-but the critical procedure for nominating and selecting Strategic Partners for major pending orders was not included, and that disappointed the foreign seniors of companies at the show.

Mr Parrikar stressed ‘Make in India’ initiative and ‘Start-up India’ and asked all to seek opportunities in the Defence sector stating he had tweaked the policies to address the concerns of Defence manufacturers and suppliers and enhanced transparency. There is stress in the new DPP on newly introduced categories in MAKE and BUY And MAKE under indigenously designed, developed and manufactured (IDDM)

provisions. The Small and Medium Scale Industries in Defence sector are supported with a share of the pie.

DefExpo 2014. The companies participated during DefExpo 2014 were 624. The net exhibition More Private Sector Companies area sold during this edition was It has to be conceded that many Indian companies are 40,725 square meters against now able to deliver state-of-the-art systems especially 27,515 square meters in 2014. for naval ships, planes and tanks. Electronic goods The charges for stalls were like sonars, combat management systems, simulators, high-around ` 20,000 per sq power supplies and controls have Indian companies ft – which provided a higher searching for space though India is deficient over all revenue for the Ministry of in air warfare weapons, radars, electronics, seeker Defence organisers. The FICCI, Cmde Ranjit B Rai (Retd) The writer is a Naval Analyst technologies, planes and large UAVs and aero engines for ASSOCHAM, CII, NIRDESH and author. which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fashioned the Government’s ship design set Make In India policy and pushed Skill India initiatives. up near Calicut in Kerala and A new initiative to build with strategic partners for big DRDO organised excellent conferences which were orders including Indian PSUs and private companies is well attended by senior visitors and from over 40 awaited. It is expected to open opportunities with 49 per foreign invited delegations. cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) being permitted.

India became world’s number one importer of The initial results with small private companies Defence weapons and systems last year and therefore supplying equipment for support and technologies is a market now which few Defence manufacturers for DRDO and PSU units was refreshing to hear from or suppliers can afford to ignore. This is more so entrepreneurs, as one went around. when most Indian built and imported platforms have supplies from ancillaries from all over the world.

World Leaders In Attendance Indian companies have taken the parent suppliers A record 1000 exhibitors which included 410 from as partners and that explained the large record the eight world leaders in weapons production (USA, attendance which was 35 per cent more than last year.

Russia, UK, France, Israel, Germany, Italy and South Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar inaugurated Korea) were joined by a larger number of private sector DefExpo in the presence of the Laxmikant Parsekar, companies than ever before vying for a piece of the the Chief Minister of Goa, Railway Minister burgeoning Indian arms bazaar. The Defence Public Mr Suresh Prabhu, Minister of State for Defence, Sector Undertakings were there in full strength.

Rao Inderjit Singh, Union Minister of State for Indian Defence Public Sector, soft ware and AYUSH Shripad Naik, MP from South Goa connected companies and private sector shipyards Narendra Keshav Sawaikar, Chief of the Army Staff and Tata’s, L&T, Alpha General Dalbir Singh, Design, ZEN technologies Chief of the Naval Staff and Mahindra and It has to be conceded that many Admiral RK Dhowan, Mahindra took large Defence Secretary Indian companies are now able to G Moh an K u mar, areas. They displayed lifesize equipment, including deliver state-of-the-art systems. S e c r e t a r y ( D e f e n c e missiles and models: both Production) AK Gupta indoors and outdoors and senior officials and especially vehicles, tanks, torpedo launchers, planes, Air Marshal Dhanoa in the absence of Air Chief UAVs and robots with dummy demonstrations.

Marshal Arup Raha who was on a visit to Israel.

47 countries from different continents were at the Laxmikant Parsekar, the Chief Minister of Goa, exhibition against 30 countries which participated in welcomed the delegates from all over the world to

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DefExpo 2016 CRITICAL ANALYSIS

the State of Goa and made a pitch to make Goa into on opportunities UK offers to partner in Make in India. an industrially advanced State in the country, and A new trend in Defence relations between Russia and spoke of many steps taken by the Government to India was noticeable at DefExpo with its willingness enhance the ease of business to participate in India’s within the State.

‘Make in India’ programme There was talk of Russian The inaugural ceremony with 16 companies and a assistance to design and was followed by live large delegation. There was demonstrations of various build nuclear hunter-killer talk of Russian assistance PSU and private sector to build warships in India, submarines. equipment including Main refit Kilo class submarines Battle Tank Arjun Mk I and and design and build nuclear II, various types of heavy bridging equipment, wheeled hunter-killer submarines, six of which have been armoured vehicle, Tata’s 6 Axle truck (for which it has approved by the DAC with Indian strategic partners. an order for 619) kicking up the red iron ore dust of Unlikely any other nation will be as forthcoming.

Goa with roaring engines making powerful noises.

The large Elbit Hermes UAV looked impressive. Elbit Ancilliaries has partnered with Alpha Design and Adani group Some highlights of Indian private companies were and unmanned combat aerial vehicles is the future. Everest showing compressed air bottles for Arihant Overhead, the flypast by the Naval Light Combat nuclear submarine through DRDO’s Defence Material Aircraft Tejas (which made its first foreign flight at Development Establishment at Hyderabad; Avrora the Bahrain Air Show) evoked pride. And the Sarang showing how it has helped TCS to make the nuclear Dhruv helicopter aerobatic team and a Scandinavian submarine simulator; Solar displaying the solid fuels two plane team drew great applause from the crowd. for missiles and ISRO. Data Patterns showed its BrahMos fire control system for the Army version and Sidelights one for the air launched. There were many such On the sidelines of the exhibition, Parrikar met the All nuggets of small companies supplying equipment for Woman Navy sailing team which will sail round the major projects. L&T showed its unmanned underwater world in a boat being built by Aquarius Marine (which vehicle (UUV) and other equipment including the built the Mhadei) at Goa. He accepted the first Sonar progress made in fuel cell development at Ambarnath dome for Type 15 warships built by Kineco at Goa near Mumbai. The list is long and DefExpo promises which was designed by DRDO for MDL as the one from to be a turnaround for the Indian Defence a different firm had cracked. The Minister of State for establishment if all players are given a level playing Defence from Sri Lanka Ruwan Wijewardene visited field under the new dispensation of DPP and an GSL where two OPVs are being built for Sri Lanka. exhibition of will by the Government and Service UK’s Minister of State Phillip Dunne personally briefed Headquarters’ support.

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global partnership BEL-THALES

Limited BEL has established vast manufacturing infrastructure across four strategic business units for production. These include specialised assembly and test facilities for RF & Microwave Super components, Near Field Test Range (NFTR) Antenna test facilities and Far-field Antenna test facilities. Thales is a world leader in mission-critical information systems for Aerospace and Space, Defence and Security markets. Thales’ designs, manufactures and sells a comprehensive range of radars tailored to the needs of military and civil users.

Bharat Electronics Limited and Thales

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) was set up in Bangalore in 1954, under the Ministry of Defence and is India’s foremost Defence electronics company.

BEL is a multi-product, multi-technology, multi-unit conglomerate with over 350 products in the areas of Military Communication, Radar, Naval Systems, C4I systems, Weapon Systems, Electro optics and Electronic Warfare systems.

BEL has been manufacturing Radars since 1964 for the Defence forces based on in-house development, transfer of technology from DRDO and technical collaborations with several leading foreign Defence OEMs. In the process, BEL has established vast manufacturing infrastructure across four strategic business units for production. These include specialised assembly and test facilities for RF & Microwave Super components, Near Field Test Range (NFTR) Antenna test facilities and Far-field Antenna test facilities. EMI/EMC, ESS and environmental test facilities have also been set up.

Technological Challenge-Expanded Capability

BEL has gained expertise and experience in absorbing and further developing technologies.

There have also been several success stories in the field of indigenous development of radars and BEL has been enjoying the status of a premier Radar House in India. The Radar segment is a thriving business area and constitutes about 25-30 per cent of BEL’s turnover from sales covering Surveillance, Tracking, Navigation, Air Traffic Management and Fire Control Radars.

However, there are many gaps in technology that need to be overcome in order to produce sophisticated radars of the future. More than ever, Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) management in all Radar segments is posing a technological challenge. Networked Radars, Small Form Factor Radars, Radars for aerospace and space applications are the emerging requirements.

For such opportunities, BEL scouted for engagement with a reputed International Radar company which could complement BEL’s strengths to address the fast developing Radar business.

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‘Make in India’ initiatives

In line with the Government’s Make in India policy, BEL has been taking several initiatives to achieve self-reliance in Defence through strong thrust on: ● In-house R&D and indigenisation ● Increased outsourcing from Indian private industries ● Public-Private Partnerships ● Joint Ventures ● Capacity expansion and modernisation In-house R&D and indigenisation: ■ R&D being the key area of focus, constant efforts on R&D has enabled BEL to achieve 80 per cent of its turnover from indigenous technologies.

■ BEL has been substantially investing around 8 per cent of its turnover on R&D annually and is planning to increase to 10 per cent progressively in the next 3 years.

■ BEL has institutionalised a process for 3-year Roll-on R&D plan based on customer perspective and technology roadmap.

■ BEL is in the process of setting up a new Product Development & Innovation Centre for developing common sub-systems and futuristic products.

■ BEL has empanelled around 180 partners for collaborative R&D including 100 Indian private industries to further augment its R&D and Product design efforts and also bridge the technology gaps. Around 120 projects have already been identified for collaborative R&D. Increased outsourcing from Indian Private Industries: ■ BEL recognises outsourcing as one of the strategic tools to achieve cost benefits and also complement the strengths of private sector to build a strong industrial base.

■ BEL is focussing more on core areas and R&D. ■ BEL has formulated long-term outsourcing and vendor development policy.

■ BEL has also prepared a policy for use of its test facilities by the Private entities.

■ BEL has achieved procurement level of 8 per cent from MSMEs during 2014-15 against 4.73 per cent during 2013-14.

■ To give further impetus to ‘Make in India’ manufactures and sells a policy, BEL has nominated Nodal officers across comprehensive range of radars all its 9 Units. tailored to the needs of military ■ In order to broaden the domestic Vendor base, and civil users. A large pool of BEL added 750 new indigenous vendors during engineers and researchers give 2014-15 and has planned to add around 800 Thales a capability to design and deploy equipment, systems new indigenous vendors during 2015-16.

■ BEL has implemented online vendor registration and services to meet the most and e-procurement processes. complex security requirements.

Public Private Partnerships: In the Radar segment, Dr Ajit T Kalghatgi The indigenously developed Surface to Air Akash Thales is well known for The writer is currently Chairman Missile system, which was inducted into the Indian mastering the development of of BEL-THALES Systems Air Force by the Honourable Raksha Mantri, is a great real-time software for complex Limited and Director (R&D) of success story and BEL is proud to be a part of it. Radar systems, as well as Bharat Electronics Ltd. Barring a few electronic components, every bit of mission critical software and Akash has the Made in India tag.

C4I software.

BEL is selected as one of the development and production agency for major MAKE category Joint Undertakings projects such as Tactical Communication System BEL and Thales have had well past experiences and Battlefield Management System, to be in working together and supplying Radars to executed in partnership with Indian Defence services and Industry players. life time support for Akash Missile System is an providing Joint Ventures: the same. Thales expressed In order to further strengthen excellent example of Public willingness to co-operate BEL’s design capability in the and partner through a Joint Private Partnership area of Radars, BEL formed venture arrangement for select a new joint venture with a business areas and to work on European major Thales, France, for civilian and select joint development programs. defence Radars.

Capacity Expansion & Modernisation ● BEL spends around ` 400 crores on expansion and modernsiation of infrastructure every year. ● World-class manufacturing and test facilities set up in the recent past are: ■ Super components facility ■ Integration test facility for Weapon systems ■ Antenna test range facility ■ High roof hangar for Radar and Antenna integration ■ Modern production set-up for airborne applications ■ Environmental test facilities ■ BEL is planning to spend around ` 1,500 crores in the next 3 years as part of capacity expansion and modernisation.

Industry Perspective Thales

Search for a joint venture partner from amongst several international companies was based on the world standing of the company and the sharing of a common vision. Thales was invited to be this joint venture partner. As the erstwhile CSF, Thales had not only provided technical assistance during the setting up of BEL six decades ago but also participated in several successful projects and technology transfers over the decades. Professional work culture, complementary strengths and willingness to partner and share technology and market access made BEL-Thales partnership an obvious choice.

Thales is a world leader in mission-critical information systems for Aerospace and Space, Defence and Security markets. Thales’ designs,

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global partnership BEL-THALES

SK Sharma, CMD, Bharat Electronics Limited

The Joint Venture Company, BEL-Thales Systems Radars, potential future products like Long Range Limited was incorporated in August 2014. Equity Surveillance Radars and Active Phased Array based contribution in the Joint Venture is 74 per cent by Fire Control Radars have been identified. Teams with BEL and foreign direct investment of 26 per cent by experts from partners have been pooled together and Thales (comprising 21 per cent from Thales India co-development work has commenced for the initial Private Limited and 5 per cent from Thales Air Systems projects. Indigenisation, co-development and Make in SAS, France). The Joint Venture will truly benefit India for the local as well as international market is the from the confluence of motto of the JV. The Joint work culture of the parent Venture has a turnover With substantial technology organisations by imbibing forecast of around INR the best practices of both.

3000 Crores over the next transfer from Thales, this JVC Appropriate technologies Access to global is expected to grow as a Centre decade. will help mould the markets will enhance company into a trusted for development, evolution and business growth with designer and supplier. significant sales coming customisation of products The Scope of the Joint from exports. As has been Venture is to Design, the case in other sectors Develop, Market, Supply and Support Civilian and of business, product customisation from engineering, a few selected Defence Radars for Indian and Global cost and features perspective will have an edge to the markets. Located in Bangalore, the JVC will acquire products made for India. capabilities in essential Radar technologies and fill certain gaps in technologies in the country for Role Of BEL In Defence Sector: production of state-of-the-art radars. With substantial New services to modernise Armed Forces technology transfer from Thales, this JVC is expected BEL is working in many strategic areas such as AESA to grow as a Centre for development, evolution and based modern Radars, Next Generation Electronic customisation of products. The aim is to bring out Warfare Suites, Air Defence Systems, Tactical complex, high technology Civilian and select Defence Communication Systems, Battlefield Management Radars for Indian and Global markets in a time bound Systems, Passive Night Vision Devices and Multiand cost effective manner. sensor Stabilisation Systems.

The JVC will address a larger share of the fast BEL has entered into many strategic alliances developing Indian and International Radar and for addressing the emerging requirements of the Radar Systemsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; business. Besides the initial Indian Defence forces with Defence laboratories, products selected, such as Air Traffic Management Ordnance Factory Board, DPSUs and other reputed (ATM) Radars, and Short Range Surveillance global/Indian companies. The various products/

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systems include Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) systems, EW systems for various terrains for the Indian Air Defence Radars, Tactical Communication Systems, Army, Software Defined Radios for the Armed forces, Battlefield Management System, Sonar Systems, Thermal Imaging sights for Tanks and Weapons etc.

Next Generation Night Vision Devices, Gun upgrades BEL is currently playing the role of a System /new gun programmes, Inertial Navigation Integrator and will continue to involve and play a Systems, Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance collaborative role in developing the large private sector Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Electronic players and MSMEs in the growth path. BEL expects Ammunition Fuses, Electronics Systems for to further move up the value chain and become a Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV), Satcom full-fledged Lead System Integrator across technology Terminals and Missile Containers. domains and design value chain.

Strategies To Retain BEL’s Leadership India has evolved as the most lucrative Role Of BEL vis-à-vis Private Players aerospace and defence market globally with mega Currently, BEL is the system integrator in Military acquisition programs coupled with the government’s Radars, Missile Systems, Electronic Warfare and proactive stance towards modernisation of the Indian Avionics and other strategic electronic systems in defence forces. The defence collaboration with Private budget, as projected by industry and the MSMEs. Professional work culture, FICCI, in the next 10 years Akash Missile System is is to the tune of US$ 620 excellent example of complementary strengths and an billion with 50 per cent for Public Private Partnership, willingness to partner made capital acquisitions for the which has resulted in a Indian defence forces. The world-class Missile system.

BEL-Thales partnership an Indian Defence Aviation Going forward, there will industry is one of the be increased private sector obvious choice participation in the Indian fastest growing markets in the world propelled by defence and aerospace this increasing defence spend. As per the FICCI sector. Government is currently exploring a Strategic report, the annual opportunity for Indian companies Partnership Model, to identify and develop large private (PSU & Private) is expected to reach $ 41 billion in sectors as Lead System Integrators similar to PSUs. size by FY22 and $ 168 billion of cumulative BEL is bullish on the opportunities available and opportunity between FY14-22 driven by keen to capitalise on these opportunities in the domestic and external demand. defence and aerospace sector. BEL will continue to In the changing business environment, BEL collaborate with DRDO and select foreign technology has taken several steps towards enhancement of partners and would be working on the next generation in-house R&D such as creation of short/medium/ products and systems in the areas of Radar, Missile long-term Technology Plans, close co-operation with Systems, Communication, Naval Systems and other DRDO Labs, other national research laboratories Defence systems and products. and R&D organisations including academia, R&D In the backdrop of increasing competition in the Committees to chart out technology roadmaps and defence business from private industry, BEL is action plans and Collaborative R&D with niche gearing up with strategies and action plans to technology companies. maintain its technological edge and ensure future BEL, in association with DRDO labs, is developing growth. With its inherent strengths, strong R&D, the next generation modern Radars (AESA-based), state-of-the-art infrastructure, competent workforce Surface to Air Missile Systems, Electronic Warfare and diverse product range, BEL intends to retain its suites for fighter aircraft and helicopters, Integrated leadership position in strategic electronics.

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global partnership DANGEROUS DISPARITIES

NSS and Global

Nuclear Instability Hopefully the fourth Nuclear Stability Summit (NSS) at Washington, which will be President Obama’s last, will find answers to this ‘Damocles sword’, which could be more cataclysmic than climate change. Emulating India’s nuclear No First Use doctrine would be a good start.

H

aving received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, in his first year as President, Obama started the Nuclear Security Summit in 2010, with the initial aim of ensuring security of fissile material so that they cannot fall into the hands of terrorists. The incident of 6 September, 2014, when some Pakistani naval personnel and terrorists attacked the Pakistan Navy warship (frigate), PNS Zulfiqar in Karachi port with the possible aim of seizing any nuclear weapons raised alarms (In 2014 Pakistan announced that it would carry nuclear-tipped cruise missiles on its ships and also on its under induction, Chinese Qing class conventional submarines). The fourth NSS will meet in Washington from 31 March to 01 April, 2016.

Prime Minister Modi will be attending this NSS for the first time, and hopefully, he will remember that the joint statement of 18 July, 2005 signed by President GW Bush and PM Manmohan Singh had assured that India would become a member of the NSG and get the privileges – rights of a recognised NWS – both these hopes remain unfulfilled.

Upgradation Of N-Capabilities

While global media attention has been focussed on the latest ‘hydrogen’ bomb test announced by

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North Korea on 5 January, 2016, and the 15 July, 2015 ‘nuclear deal’ (called ‘Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action’) between Iran and ‘P5+1’ ( USA, UK, France, Russia, China + Germany) the fact remains that the major nuclear powers (including the P5 or five ‘accepted’ Nuclear Weapon States or NWS ie USA, Russia, China, UK, France) are involved in a frantic arms race to upgrade their nuclear weapons, delivery systems and other related systems like BMDS (Ballistic Missile Defence Systems), Directed Energy Weapons (DEW or laser weapons), Cruise Missile Defence Systems (CMDS) and AADS (Anti-Aircraft Defence System). USA is investing one trillion USDs (US dollars) or 35 billion USDs annually to ‘rebuild’ its triad, with new generation (NG) stealth bombers, SSBNs and also upgrading its existing arsenal of B 61 nuclear bombs to ‘usable, tailored yield’ tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs) called B61 Mod12. Not to be outdone, Russia, despite its economic downswing and falling oil prices, continues to spend US$ 16 billion annually to upgrade its triad with the proposed NG strategic bomber (TU-PAK DA), ‘TOPOL- M’ ICBMs, Borei class SSBNs. China, currently, spends US$ 10 billion annually to upgrade its triad and is the only P-5 NWS to increase its nuclear arsenal. UK and France, each have an annual budget of US$ 7 billion for their

strategic forces and are attempting to improve their thermo-nuclear warheads by a combined ‘TEUTATES’ project. American BMD systems (THAAD, Patriot and the shipborne AEGIS SM-3) are being exported to American allies, while India and China are buying the Russian S-400 system (BMDS, CMDS, AADS).

Proliferation Unabated

The era when nations like South Africa, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan (the last three being products of the disintegration of the USSR in 1991), voluntarily gave up their nuclear weapons, is long past. Indeed given its strained relations with Russia, Ukraine, perhaps regrets having surrendered its nuclear weapons voluntarily, while Japan and South Korea confronted with Chinese sabre rattling in the West Pacific may be tempted to build nuclear weapons. Similarly, some West Asian nations, seeing the consequences of western inspired ‘Arab spring’ and regime changes in Iraq, Libya (and attempts at regime change in Syria) may be tempted to ‘acquire’ nuclear weapons, as will the terrorists of ISIS, Al Qaeda and Taliban. Today, nations - rich or poor, and even States on the verge of becoming failed States, are not only keeping their nuclear weapons, but a few are even increasing their arsenals. Indeed given the regular sabre rattling by China in Ladakh (along the LAC) – it is surprising that the western world ignores this growing threat to India – but is more worried about an India-Pakistan nuclear war, and of course, Chinese sabre rattling in the Asia Pacific Region (APR). President Obama, in his second term as President, has set some goals for reducing nuclear weapons and fissile material stockpiles, but he faces an almost impossible task, for various reasons, including opposition from within the USA itself.

respectively. In 2010, French and UK SSBNs (each carrying about 60 to 90 nuclear weapons) collided in the Atlantic Ocean, whilst on submerged deterrent patrol, thereby endangering the world (fortunately no nuclear explosions or radio-active leaks took place).

In the last few years both China and USA have tested anti-satellite Vice Admiral (ASAT) weapons, thus pointing the Arun Kumar Singh way for a possible nuclearisation (Retd) of space also.

The writer is specialised This article does not question in Navigation, Missiles, the right of any sovereign nation Conventional and Nuclear to possess nuclear weapons submarines. His important or employ a particular nuclear appointments included, doctrine, but merely examines Director of Tactics, Flag Officer Submarines, Command of the prospects of nuclear stability the Eastern Fleet, Director in Asia, and also the stockpiles General Indian Coast Guard, of nuclear weapons available to Commander-in-Chief of the India, China, and Pakistan. North Andaman & Nicobar Command and finally, Korea, which in 2016 claimed to Commander-in-Chief of the have tested a fusion bomb, has Eastern Naval Command. been indulging in reckless sabre rattling, and has invited very severe UN sanctions in March 2016, but remains a source of tension for its neighbours, including China, Japan and South Korea – even the USA is worried that some day North Korea may develop an ICBM with capability to hit mainland USA.

Counter-value Doctrine

It is also clarified that nuclear weapons are of two types viz the ‘fission’ bombs (with yields of 14 to 20 kilo tons or KT) dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (which use a conventional explosive to trigger the Failed Or Failing States uranium or plutonium charge) and the more powerful In 2013, the well-known website www.foreignpolicy.com thermonuclear (‘fusion’) weapons (which use a fission had examined 12 factors to determine failed States. bomb to trigger the plutonium charge to get yields In their list (‘Postcards from hell, 2013’) of failed or ranging from about 60 KT to over 25 mega tons). These ‘expected to fail States’, at nuclear bombs (fission or the top is Somalia, with fusion) achieve deterrence Counter value means Afghanistan placed at No 7. by their ability to destroy (called counter value Two nuclear armed nations targeting enemy assets which cities who are close allies of China which means targeting are not a military threat, like enemy assets which are not are placed at No 13 (Pakistan) and No 23 (North Korea). The military threat, like cities cities with large populations awith situation has only worsened, large populations). with the economies of both The same weapons can these nations on a downward spiral. The last two also be used to target enemy underground missile are noteworthy, as Pakistan has refused to sign the silos, nuclear weapon storage facilites, national and Fissile Materials Control Treaty, since it needs time military command and control centres (this is called to build up its weapons grade fissile material stocks, counter force). The Cold War, when both the USA and while North Korea has carried out four nuclear tests erstwhile USSR had over 30,000 nuclear weapons (2006, 2009, 2013 and 2016), thereby indicating the each, conclusively proved that counter force was very sorry state of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. expensive. Today, it is generally accepted that counter On the other hand we have rich medium powers like value is the most cost effective form of strategic UK and France, who have no known enemies (the deterrence. In addition, another type of bomb (typically only threat that these two first world nations face a plutonium ‘fission’ bomb generally below 5 to 10 KT) is illegal immigration and terrorism) but continue to can be used against enemy army or warship formations maintain an arsenal of 180 and 300 nuclear bombs and these are called TNW (Tactical Nuclear Weapons).

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global partnership DANGEROUS DISPARITIES

Russia and USA have ‘theoretically removed’ TNW operational nuclear weapons, with about 2,000 kept from their arsenals by mutual agreement, as their use in a state of high operational alert. India, Pakistan by battlefield commanders could initiate a nuclear and China had each increased their stockpile of war – of course, these TNW could be ‘reactivated’ and nuclear weapons by 10. It is estimated that in 2016, used at short notice.

India has about 110-120 nuclear weapons, Pakistan China and Pakistan have TNW, but India does 120-130, Israel 80, North Korea 10 and China ‘over’ not. This is important, as India’s NFU (No First Use) 250. In 2015, SIPRI had reported that the overall nuclear doctrine of massive retaliation is based purely number of nuclear weapons had reduced (due to on counter value targeting, whilst Pakistan has an reductions by USA and Russia), and nine nations ambigious nuclear doctrine which is based on first (North Korea, USA, Russia, UK, France, China, India, strike and use of TNW. China, which in its previous Pakistan, Israel) possessed 15,850 weapons of which six Defence white papers had a NFU doctrine, had 4,300 were deployed with operational forces. initially created ambiguity India, which produces only plutonium based in its seventh (2013) Joint statement of 18 July, Defence white paper by not thermonuclear fusion making a mention of its 2005 had assured India would weapons, may continue nuclear doctrine though to expand its arsenal become a member of the NSG it did subsequently clarify at about 5 to 10 bombs that it still has a NFU and get the privileges – rights a year, given that its doctrine. Thus, China deterrence is based of a recognised NWS – both and Pakistan are likely to only on counter value each have a much larger these hopes remain unfulfilled targeting. Pakistan which arsenal than India's. Even has four operational presently, both these weapon grade plutonium nations have sufficient weapons to destroy all the making nuclear plants in Khusab district of Punjab, 50 Indian cities which have a population over one is producing some weapon grade plutonium already million, and make India a non-functional State. and this figure will reach about 100 kgs plutonium annually after 2015 (enough for about 25 fission type Quantifying The Arsenals TNW annually), while its existing highly enriched Taking into account only counter value targeting, if we uranium (HEU) capability will continue to produce count cities with population above one million people, about 5 to 7 uranium fission bombs annually. than China has 160, India has 50 and Pakistan has Thus Pakistan may be capable of producing about 10 cities. The number of bombs needed for purely 30 nuclear weapons annually in a few years from counter value targeting, with a NFU doctrine would now, provided it has the requisite ‘capacity’ in terms mean that India would theoretically need about of machinery and skilled manpower. Alternatively, 500 bombs to simultaneously deter Pakistan and (if there are ‘capacity constraints’) it may produce China, as some weapons could be lost in a surprise lesser bombs, but build up its stockpile of enemy first strike, some bombs or missiles may weapons grade fissile material. malfunction, whilst some may be shot down by BMDS In 2011, a team from George Town University (USA) (Ballastic Missile Defence System) etc. The future startled the world with its findings that China had Indian arsenal could even be kept at about 250, if an estimated 3000 nuclear weapons (instead of the India targets only the 80 largest Chinese cities, 240 assumed earlier). This claim was contested by and this same deterrence capability would the International Panel on Fissile Materials, which in suffice against Pakistan also.

2011, estimated that China could make 450 to 600 In 2013, SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace thermonuclear warheads, using its estimated stockpile Research Institute) announced that eight nations of 1.8 tons of plutonium. Further, China had about (USA, Russia, UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, 20 tons of HEU which could be used to make 640 to Israel) possessed a total of about 17,270 nuclear 1060 Uranium bombs. In my opinion, as some of this weapons, of which approximately 4,400 were HEU would be needed as the triggering device for the

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thermonuclear plutonium bombs, China would have enough spare HEU for about 400 uranium (fission) bombs. This combined figure of plutonium fusion bombs and uranium fission bombs, when added to China’s unknown arsenal of TNW would mean that China may already have a nuclear arsenal of about 1,000 nuclear bombs and is, perhaps, waiting for USA and Russia to announce a reduction of their arsenals to 1,000 each (from the present 1,550 each) before announcing its nuclear weapons holdings. These figures are only theoretical, because in a crisis, both these nations will simply ‘re-activate’ the thousands of nuclear weapons (including TNWs) presently ‘taken off from the arsenal list and awaiting dismantling’.

or a terrorist camp. Such a PGS could be mistaken for a pre-emptive nuclear strike after detection by long range radars, and could lead to a massive nuclear retaliation

by Russia or China. Further, Russia is worried that the sophisticated American BMDS (being based in Europe, near Russia) would reduce the effectiveness of its nuclear deterrence capability as this BMDS would intercept any Russian missiles during flight to USA via Europe. As mentioned earlier, India and China have also tested BMDS and are inducting the Russian S-400. The Indian BMDS has worried Pakistan, which is increasing its arsenal to overcome the Indian BMDS by multiple attack capability on any city defended by a BMDS (eg, Delhi and Mumbai).

Yet another hurdle is Russia's rapidly dwindling Nuclear Track 2 population. Today it’s 143 million and by 2030, it Presently Indian-Pakistani scientists, diplomats will reduce by 10 per cent to about 129 million. Given and military experts (all retired) hold bilateral track its 8,000 km land border with emerging superpower 2 ‘Nuclear Stability’ talks regularly. These talks China, and its ‘strategic problems’ with USA, Russia have produced sensible proposals on civil nuclear is unlikely to reduce its arsenal below 1,000, even plant safety (including if USA wants to. Given severe nuclear accident its animosity to Israel, Indian-Pakistani scientists, management) and nuclear and also differences stability (maintaining with neighbouring Sunni diplomats and military experts unilateral moratoriam on Pakistan, Iran (a Shia (all retired) hold bilateral track 2 majority nation, which testing, keeping nuclear weapons de-mated, ‘Nuclear Stability’ talks regularly has signed the NPT) is prevention of inadvertent also likely to acquire nuclear escalation, nonnuclear weapons in a few attacks on each other’s National Command Authority years, despite its 2015 nuclear deal with ‘P+1’ powers, etc). Since India’s concerns also include China mentioned earlier. This may prompt rival Saudi Arabia (including its BMDS, SSBN and MIRV capabilties), (a Sunni nation) to ‘request’ Pakistan to transfer a few trilateral (India-Pakistan-China) track 2 talks would nuclear weapons to it, since it has provided ample be logical. However, the problem is that China’s funding for Pakistan's military capability.

Unfortunately, planet earth does not appear nuclear arsenal needs to cater for the nuclear weapons of USA and Russia. destined for nuclear stability and a nuclear arms race has begun. A surprise North Korean nuclear attack Extant Threat Perceptions on South Korea, or Japan, or a major Pakistan based USA is worried that the new Chinese DF-21 D (A2AD) terror attack on India, or a major incident in the ballistic missile will become a game changer in the South China Sea or East China Sea, involving China APR, by threatening to destroy US Navy aircraft and USA, could lead to a conventional war (this will carriers at ranges of 1,500 km and hence has increased ruin the global economy), which could spin out of the number of Aegis warships which have a BMDS control and result in use of TNW and finally, a capability based on the SM-3 missile. Also, China full-fledged nuclear war in Asia and the world. and Russia are worried about the new American PGS Hopefully the fourth NSS at Washington, which will (Prompt Global Strike) capability by which USA plans be President Obama’s last, will find answers to this to hit any global target with a ballistic missile carrying ‘Damocles sword’, which could be more cataclysmic a large conventional warhead, within one hour of a than climate change. Emulating India's nuclear NFU decision being taken to hit some specific strategic target doctrine would be a good start.

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global partnership GAPs BETWEEN do’s AND donT’S

The Saga Of Indian ‘Weapons of Peace’ The biggest contribution of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme has been a ‘CAN DO IT’ feel for the people of India and not just DRDO. India’s academia and industry – both public and private sector – had participated on an unprecedented scale. A unique ecosystem and programme management structure had been evolved, propelling India’s entry into the ranks of the ‘Haves’.

S

un was preparing to set on that cloudy minutes, or the splashdown at desired target point, evening amidst frequent lightning while but the voluminous data sent by specially installed attention of the whole world was focussed onboard sensors and devices. The information and its on the small island in the Bay of Bengal. analysis apart from building confidence in reliability Yes literally, the eyes in sky, the satellites of every of effectiveness of the weapon system helps in further capable nation were zooming on to the region. Already refining the system and designing still more advanced the buildings, handers, hostels had been vacated and ones in the never ending maddening game of ‘how bulk of the people had been shifted to giant boats come his shirt be whiter than mine’ thrusted upon and sent to safe distances. Those needed on island even a peace loving nation like India by the prevalent were to be confined to a specially designed building threatening expansionist environs.

Mix of curiosity and anxiety among international called block house before range safety officer could power circles was give a go ahead. Waiting in understandable. Successful my room for signal to shift The test has since been launch of A5 was going to be with two wonderful friends to the block house, I was succeeded by two more trials. a game changer for several still in my room, when I got reasons. Indigenous, like The last one A5-03 being its predecessors in Agni a brief call from Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat, then SA historic in its own way-firing series, A5 in fact, was far to RM (Scientific Advisor more advanced in terms of the missile from a canister to Raksha Mantri) and technological refinement, DRDO chief: “We will do it being second to none. The tomorrow morning, you can tell”. History was in the A5 was going to be realisation of long cherished making on 18 April, 2012 when after due assessment dream of acquiring much needed visible and credible of situation caused by incessant lightning, the maiden strategic deterrence commensurate with its threat launch of three stage, solid rocket propelled Agni 5 perception against blackmail of a nuclear threat. (or simply A5), India’s first long range ballistic missile Designed to be stored and carried in a canister and capable of delivering devastating blow to an enemy transported on road-mobile indigenous launcher as far as more than 5,000 km away with two digit -cum- transporter, the phenomenal reach of A5 could (meters) precision had to be postponed, in order to be visualised by placing centre of a 5,000 km radius avoid possibility of losing part of desired sub-second circle at various places near periphery of the nation. information about health of numerous onboard Enthusiasm Of Women Rocket Scientists subsystems during the flight.

Our colleagues had begun to return to the rooms Critical In-flight Data for some rest. The three of us, with mixed feelings When test firing of a delivery vehicle of such class and somewhat sad or perhaps annoyed with the is carried out during peacetime, the most valuable rain gods, were still discussing in the corridor when output is not just the magnificent rise of giant missile a group of young lady scientists noticed us and from the launch pad, or the long journey covered in few shouted reassuringly, ‘‘Don’t worry sir, it’s going

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to fly tomorrow morning”. It is not that we had any doubt in our minds, but the sparkle in their eyes was indeed a reflection of deep involvement of young minds, their commitment and unshakable self-confidence. Bubbling with energy, there was no sign of tiredness though entire team of A5 had been working, more or less day and night, away from families and small children back home for several days, weeks in some cases, reassuring themselves that the components and subsystems developed by them were going to behave flawlessly as part of the giant system of systems. Indeed, those were unique and proud moments to see the beautiful, serene and otherwise lonely island that has been now renamed as ‘Abdul Kalam Island’, bursting with round-the -clock activity amidst tight but barely visible security, with people sporting informal dresses, irrespective of age, rank or gender, including the DRDO chief, working together as an extended family. (DRDO is the popular name for Defence Research and Development Organisation of India’s Ministry of Defence, engaged in design, development and leading to production of state-of-art military systems, material, processes and equipment for armed forces)

A5 had taken place within three years of sanction of the project in 2009, a good enough indication of techno-managerial maturity of the organisation in terms of conceptualising, executing and taking to conclusion technologically complex projects involving not just development of giant system of systems, but Ravi Gupta newer technologies as well, in a The writer is former Scientist speedy manner.

‘G’& Director Public Interface, The test has since been DRDO. succeeded by two more trials.

The last one A5-03 being historic in its own way, firing the missile from a canister, was held on 31 January, 2015. A canister is a complex tube like structure specifically designed to store the missile during transportation, protecting the missile, enhancing its shelf life, sharply reducing response time and offering advantages of camouflage. The canister ejects the missile into the air before missile’s motors are fired. In nutshell, it gives capability to launch missile from anywhere, at very short notice.

In post-independence India, initial work on developing Red Letter Day guided missiles had begun in DRDO soon after its History was indeed created when the next day, ie 19 formation in 1958 and was pursued in unfavourable January, 2012, Agni 5 roared into the morning sky at circumstances. Bharat, once a great and flourishing 0807 hrs, meticulously followed the assigned trajectory, nation that once ruled the world markets had to pass dropping on way its three stages including the through a down phase caused by wrong decisions innovatively designed and fabricated conical composite and priorities of its people combined with betrayals rocket motor that has significantly contributed to by disgruntled, selfish enemies within, giving reduced weight of A5, and finally splashing down in opportunities for invaders to initiate a long era of loot, the target area about 5,000 km away in the Indian plunder and socio-cultural onslaught. Downsized from Ocean south of the equator, with great precision. Bharat to India, not only its wealth was systematically The flight was closely destroyed or looted monitored throughout its away, it also lost bulk of Would arm twisting by sending path by land and shipits traditional knowledge 7th Fleet during 1971 war have based sensors, besides and skills, time tested possibly by the global deep rooted systems of taken place if India had had its powers peeping down governance, economics, own weapons of peace? through their air and and education. space based assets. ‘MD Post-independence India announces the successful completion of mission had to struggle with aftermaths of ‘partition bloodbath’, A5-01’ Dr Avinash C h a n d e r , ‘post-independence wars’, ‘droughts’, ‘endless redthe Mission Director of A5-01 declared with a visible tapes meticulously crafted by colonial rulers for slaves sense of pride and satisfaction. A pridefully elated and faithfully adopted by subsequent rulers’, rollerDr Saraswat congratulated the team and said “We coaster ‘international fuel prices’, free falling currency, have made history by successfully launching A5-01 mounting corruption, numerous divisive forces and not - Heartiest Congratulations ...”. The block house was really conducive (often obstructive) policies. erupting with blissful ecstasy with people affectionately carrying their leaders on their shoulders and hugging Cradle Of Indian Missiles each other. The news was breaking barriers of Metcalfe House on the banks of river Yamuna had boundaries with channels across the globe focussing come to house the Defence Science Laboratory DSL on India’s entry into the elite club of just a few nations (now renamed as LASTEC), often called the mother possessing similar capabilities. The A5 was now on way of DRDO labs. The DSL had a small group called to join the arsenal of ‘Weapons of Peace’, as indeed SWDT (Special Weapons Development Team) working they are in the hands of Bharat, the peaceful and on missile technologies and was able to successfully responsible largest democracy of the world. test fire its small tactical missile from the sands of riverbed. The activity was shifted to Imarat Kancha in Beating The Boycotts the outskirts of Hyderabad during early sixties itself.

Notably, the maiden and fully successful flight of In the background discussed in preceding paragraph,

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global partnership GAPs BETWEEN do’s AND donT’S

the nation had many other priorities. Resultant resource crunch faced by DRDO kept the progress much slower than achievable. With ‘never say die spirit’ next two decades witnessed slow but significant progress in terms of learning and mastering many key technologies as also few systems such as ‘Devil’ surface-to-air missile. However, emerging geopolitical scenario and dynamics of wars thrust upon people of India led to enhancement in priority for indigenous development of state-of-the-art guided weapons. Thus, the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme – IGMDP- was conceptualised in a scenario of ‘Control Regimes’ set to deny India access to required guided missiles or any associated technology, test equipment or machinery.

associated technologies available in only a few powerful nations and denied to India, necessitated them to be reinvented. It was done and was done successfully at a fraction of cost elsewhere.

But the biggest contribution of IGMDP has been a ‘CAN DO IT’ feel for people of India and not just DRDO. India’s academia and industry – both public and private sector – had participated on an unprecedented scale. A unique ecosystem and programme management structure had been evolved, propelling India’s entry into the ranks of the ‘Haves’. Unique centres of excellence and specialised facilities were created. Research Centre Imarat (RCI) was formed to develop denied technologies indigenously whereas Advanced Systems Laboratory-ASL was formed to focus on long distance ballistic missiles and re-entry ‘Can Do It’ Aplomb technologies. Integrated Test Range was established The IGMDP, sanctioned to provide infrastructure in 1983, under leadership Such systems and associated for safe test launches of of visionaries like Dr VS missiles and to monitor the technologies available in only missiles throughout their Arunachalam, the then SA to RM and Dr APJ Abdul flight path with the help a few powerful nations and Kalam, Director, Defence of suitably located radar denied to India, necessitated and telemetry stations Research and Development and electro-optic tracking Laboratory – DRDL, was a them to be reinvented mega programme in view systems. The work centres of the magnitude of R&D activities ever undertaken for IGMDP were not limited to DRDO laboratories in India. The programme aimed at development of such as R&DE(E), HEMRL, ARDE, SSPL, TBRL four guided missiles namely Prithvi, Akash, Nag and and so on but many other R and D and academic Trishul. The fifth major objective was development institutions as well, with Dr Kalam as a powerful and demonstration of re-entry technology essential unifying and binding force generating synergies. The for long range ballistic missiles. Such systems and success of IGMDP laid foundation for development

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Understanding Strategic Weapons And Deterrence The course of second world war (and that of India’s freedom struggle led by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose) was abruptly altered by the infamous ‘Little Boy’ and ‘Fat Man’, the two nuclear bombs that annihilated two very thickly populated cities of Japan, namely Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to unconditional surrender of an otherwise determined Japan.

That’s the power of a strategic weapon. Now, if Japan had similar weapons and capability to drop them across the Pacific Ocean, would the US have still dared to use the atom bomb against Japan? This scare of ‘eye for an eye’, the ‘fear of retaliation’ is called strategic deterrence. Would arm twisting by sending 7th Fleet during 1971 war have taken place if India had had its own weapons of peace? of many advanced guided weapon systems and generated capabilities to achieve contemporary systems in reasonable time, Spectrum of missiles emerged with success of IGMDP as base and are still emerging. Here are a few: Prithvi: Powered by indigenous liquid propellant rocket motor Prithvi tactical missile had its maiden flight on 25 February, 1988 at 1123 hrs and was inducted in 1994 as a tactical weapon. Later, variants were evolved for different users namely Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Forces Command with ranges varying from 150 km to 350 km and payloads of 1,000 kg and 500 kg.

Agni series: These (Agni 1 to 5) are solid rocket propelled platforms with high payload capacity and designed to deliver strategic weapons with high precision even at long distances and cover ranges from about 300 km to more than 5,000 km. Technologies and capabilities developed in the process have opened new possibilities such as ‘satellite launch on demand from anywhere’, ‘MIRV’ (Multiple Independently targetable Re-entry Vehicle) and ‘Anti-Satellite Weapons’.

Underwater Launched Strategic Missile – BO5

Yet another feather in the cap, the fully indigenous ballistic missile designed to be launched from a submarine completed pre-production trials about three years back. Akash SAM based Air Defence System Akash is a cost effective, command guided, fully integrated, mobile, multi-directional, multi-target air defence system, equipped with advanced Electronic Counter Counter-measures (ECCM).

It offers point defence as well as area defence in a fully autonomous mode of operation allowing automated management of air defence functions such as programmable surveillance, target detection, target acquisition, tracking, identification, threat evaluation, prioritisation, assignment and engagement. Akash can operate between altitudes around 30 m to over 18 km with a wide no-escape zone. With orders worth more than

` 23,000 crore from our own Army and Air Force already under execution, more in the pipeline, Akash system with its low cost and high performance has huge export potential.

Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) System

A BMD system is a highly complex precision weapon armed with a capability that is superior to hitting a bullet with bullet. The endo-atmospheric (within the atmosphere) interceptor AAD has been successfully tested several times against physical targets simulating trajectory of a typical 2,000 km range ballistic missile.

Astra Air-to-Air Missile

Astra is India’s first indigenous ‘Beyond Visual Range’ air-to-air missile. It possesses very high Single Shot Kill Probability (SSKP) making it highly reliable. Astra is an all-weather missile with active radar terminal guidance, excellent ECCM features, smokeless propulsion and possess improved effectiveness in multi-target scenario, making it a highly advanced, state-of-the-art precision weapon.

Long Range Cruise Missile – Nirbhay

A thousand kilometer class cruise missile under development, Nirbhay is powered by a turbofan engine and guided by an advanced navigation system. It is capable of flying very low to dodge enemy radars and loiter near the target to strike at the optimum moment.

Helina Anti-Tank Missile

Helina is the helicopter launched version of Nag anti-tank missile. Helina, a ‘lock-on before launch’, ‘fire and forget’ missile with a range of over 7 km is capable of striking in top attack mode as well.

Glide Bomb

In the direction of developing systems to drop bombs with high precision from safe distances, a 1,000 kg glide bomb was successfully tested by DRDO over a year ago. The bomb dropped by an Indian Air force aircraft and guided by its ‘on board navigation system’ had glided for nearly 100 km before hitting the target with great precision.

BrahMos

BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile jointly developed and manufactured by BrahMos Aerospace, an IndoRussian joint venture of DRDO with ‘NPO Mashinostroyenia’ of Russia formed in February 1998 amalgamating strengths of the two organisations. It flies at supersonic speeds throughout its flight range of about 290 km (restricted due to Missle Technology Control Regime). Vertical launch from canister, high precision, target discrimination capabilities, combined with steep diving even at supersonic speeds make BrahMos a unique and deadly weapon that is designed to be launched from ground, ship, submarine and aircraft. Indian Navy and Army have already inducted BrahMos in large numbers. Aircraft launched version for Air Force is likely to be inducted soon.

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global partnership PROPRIETARY RIGHTS HURDLE

Defence Industrial Licence High pitched campaign launched by Prime Minister Modi in his whirlwind tours globally has definitely brought the big players back to the Indian Defence scene. But, big time projects are yet to take off on the ground.

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hen Blagnac based French major Airbus took the position that 49 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Indian Defence joint ventures may not be attractive enough, it was not completely off the track.

Airbus must have been wanting to control two of its proposed Indian production facilities by owning more than 49 per cent to be actively part of Defence establishment’s multi-billion modernisation drive via the ‘Make in India’ campaign launched assiduously by the Narendra Modi government in the last 18 months.

hub to produce C-295 transport aircraft and naval helicopters. Tata and Mahindra have entered into two separate contracts with Airbus for these projects.

Boeing Position

If officials were to be believed, Chicago-based US aviation major Boeing may also prefer to own majority stake and have management control in its joint venture with Tata Advance Systems announced last November to initially produce aero-structures and later consider manufacture of AH 64 Apache helicopters in India.

When the announcement was made last fall, Chris Chandwick, President and Chief Executive of Boeing Protecting Proprietary Rights Defence, Space and Security did not commit on moving Airbus India Chief Pierre de Bausset hinted rather the entire AH 64 Apache helicopters ecosystem to India. bluntly that the company would like to control its But, he did say that ‘‘the partnership (with Tata) operations in India given that proprietary technology, will capitalise on India’s industrial capability, products and their processes involved would innovation and talent to contribute to Boeing’s long cater to the global line. term competitiveness and position us (Boeing) for Bausset was perhaps not alone in pursuing such future growth in the global marketplace’’. a line and reflects the This was interpreted sentiment of several by several analysts Modi government seems flexible in that Boeing had plans top line Defence players seeking to set up allowing foreign ownership beyond to move its proprietary new production lines technology, products 49 per cent on ‘case to case’ basis here or move some and services in both existing units for highcommercial and technology equipment, aircraft and ships to India. defence aerospace to India, provided it had some While sounding cautious of prospects in Defence control on its outfit in the country. sector that’s slowly unfolding to global players, To begin with, Boeing was to leverage Tata’s Airbus has also announced its willingness to put in capabilities to produce composite panels for the power about $ 800 million in the proposed manufacturing and mission equipment cabinets, auxiliary power

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unit door fairings for the P-81 long-range maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft apart from ground support equipment for the C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlifter.

Narendra Modi government seems flexible in allowing foreign ownership beyond 49 per cent on ‘case to case’ basis to push up investments in this sector that has largely failed till now to attract big ticket deals.

Though unstated, it means that majority ownership and possible management control of Indian Defence joint ventures would be considered in case the global players were willing to move their top-end manufacturing facilities for aircraft, shipping lines and equipment along with technology to India.

In November 2015, Modi government had announced relaxation in 49 per cent FDI limit in Defence joint ventures. While FDI up to 49 per cent in Indian Defence joint ventures were put on RBI automatic route, foreign investment beyond this limit will have to go through specific vetting by Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The idea was to propel more serious players to enter Indian Defence market that’s currently catered to by imports accounting for 70 per cent of military ware acquisition.

At the same time, BJP-led NDA seems determined to ensure expansion of the country’s Defence manufacturing capabilities by involving domestic companies like Reliance, Mahindra, Tata, Biyani, Godrej, Punj Lloyd, Larsen & Toubro etc.

Several of these top line Indian corporates have announced their intention to play along apart from Defence state-run companies, Ordinance Factories, strategic Defence establishments and DRDO.

22 taking into consideration demand for military ware within and outside India.

Already, the government has accorded industrial licences to more than 38 companies for manufacture of high-technology Defence items in last one and a half year. About 28 other joint ventures have been allowed to commence production of Defence items where industrial licences are not required.

KA Badarinath The writer is associate editor with Financial Chronicle.

Fast-tracking

Modi government’s fast track clearances on industrial licences also reflects marked departure from erstwhile moribund Defence establishment where not much moved.

For instance, Tata Advanced Systems that has a collaboration with US-based Lockheed Martin was given go-ahead way back in November 2014 to commence assembly of aero-structures that include centre wing box and empennage for Defence aircraft.

The joint venture has a 100 per cent buyback arrangement with foreign partner, Lockheed Martin.

Lockheed Martin chairperson Marillyn A Hewson has publicly stated that her company would consider the request of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to set up base for production of its trademark helicopters, Hercules transport planes and fighter aircraft in India.

Reliance-Dassault JV

Reliance Aerospace Technologies that entered into a joint venture with French aerospace giant, Cautious Expectation Dassault Aviation and another tie up with US-based On the other hand, most foreign players seem Boeing has been allowed to commence production to be on ‘wait and watch’ mode to see if the facilities in Andhra Pradesh for several high-end Cabinet panel would approve ‘at least one test case’ products and services as the Defence deals stipulate with FDI beyond 49 per cent.

30 per cent domestic sourcing of equipment, spares Several Original Equipment Makers (OEM) globally and indigenous material for the Rafale combat jets, have evinced keen interest in Indian Defence market. Falcon jets and Boeing’s P81 aircraft.

On the last count, top representatives of 977 companies Reliance Aerospace – Dassault joint venture was from 46 countries seem to have done their India rounds given green signal at least eight months before the to get a hang of opportunities available in the market. Narendra Modi government decided to buy 36 Rafale What most companies seem to be currently doing aircraft in flyaway condition on a ‘government-tois explore the potential government’ contract market and seek with an investment of Airbus would like to control its ‘compatible’ joint venture ` 60,000 crore to meet the partners in Indian immediate needs of Indian operations in India given that companies before actually Defence establishment. proprietary technology, products writing out big cheques.

Bharat Forge, Mahindra Industry association, and their processes are involved Telephonic Integrated FICCI and financial Systems, Punj Lloyd, services company Mahindra Aero Structure Centrum Capital in a report last month have projected are other major Indian companies that are set to be Defence spending of about $ 620 billion till 2022, half benefited from the industrial licences for Defence joint of which was to be capital expenditure. venture with foreign collaborators.

The FICCI–Centrum report also pointed to vast High pitched campaign launched by Prime Minister opportunities that the Indian Defence market provides Modi in his whirlwind tours globally has definitely for domestic players, both government- owned and brought the big players back to Indian Defence private players. The report has projected business worth scene. But, big time projects are yet to take off on $ 166 billion for Indian companies during 2014- the ground.

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global partnership Proprietary flexibility

Pitfalls In Policy

While the cardinal features of IDDM are unique, it will be difficult to implement as the indigenous component of both design and manufacture will not be easy to determine. Also, given the lack of success with the ‘Buy Indian’ category since its inception, it is extremely doubtful whether the introduction of IDDM will result in a rapid growth in indigenous manufacture.

N

o country that is not substantially self-reliant in Defence production can aspire to become a dominant military power in its region and, in due course, on the world stage. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has selected ‘Make in India’ as a key feature of his policy for economic development. While addressing investors during his visit to the United Kingdom in November 2015, he once again invited them to come and make in India. The aim of indigenisation of Defence manufacture should be to make India a design, development, manufacture, export and servicing hub for weapons and Defence equipment by 2025.

During the UPA-II regime, the Defence Minister, Mr A K Antony, had repeatedly exhorted the Armed Forces to procure their weapons and equipment from indigenous sources. However, it was not well appreciated by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) bureaucracy that the government needed to drastically reorient its own procurement and production policies for indigenisation, or else the import content of defence acquisitions would continue to remain over 70 to 80 per cent.

Defence Technology Base

Policy Changes Underway

Based on the recommendations of the Dhirendra Singh committee that reviewed the entire gamut of the defence acquisition process and extensive inter-ministerial consultations, the Defence Minister has approved several far-reaching changes to the current Defence Procurement Procedure (2013) in recent months. The new policy emphasises reduction in the import content of weapons system and Defence equipment, encourages indigenous design and gives a boost to the small-scale sector. In keeping with the Prime Minister’s exhortation to ‘Make in India’, the new policy lays stress on ‘Make’ rather than ‘Buy and Make’ for future Defence acquisitions.

According to the new policy approved by the DAC in January 2016, the highest priority will be given to indigenous design and manufacture. A new category called ‘Buy Indian (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured – IDDM)’ has been introduced. This category will replace ‘Buy Indian’ as the category that is the most favoured for awarding future contracts.

To qualify, vendors must ensure that not only is the product indigenously designed, but also that at least 40 per cent of it is manufactured in India. In case the design is not indigenous, 60 per cent of the product must be manufactured in India.

It is axiomatic that the country’s procurement of weapons’ platforms and other equipment as part of its plans for Defence modernisation, must Difficulties With IDDM simultaneously lead to a transformative enhancement The implementation of this policy will gradually result in the Defence technology base and manufacturing in greater investment in indigenous research and prowess. In case the measures required to upgrade the development and the harnessing of Indian talent for Defence technology base are not instituted, Defence military modernisation. India will eventually become procurement will remain mired in disadvantageous a source of state-of-the-art military technology rather buyer-seller, patronthan the receiver that client relationships like it is at present. While that with the erstwhile Without technology procurement the cardinal features of Soviet Union and now, IDDM are unique, it will will remain mired in Russia. While India be difficult to implement disadvantageous buyer-seller, manufactured Russian as the indigenous fighter aircraft, tanks and component of both design patron-client relationships other equipment under and manufacture will not licence, the Russians never be easy to determine. actually transferred technology to India. Whatever Also, given the lack of success with the ‘Buy Indian’ India procures now must be procured with a Transfer category since its inception, it is extremely doubtful of Technology (ToT) clause being built into the contract, whether the introduction of IDDM will result in a rapid even if it means having to pay a higher price. growth in indigenous manufacture.

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The ‘offsets’ policy, the implementation of which has been hampering the award of contracts for Defence equipment, is also being tweaked to make it more viable. Earlier, it was mandatory for foreign manufacturers to source at least 30 per cent of the parts of the item being sold from Indian suppliers if the contract was for ` 300 crore or more. This is being raised to ` 2,000 crore as most Indian companies were not in a position to absorb such offsets. Also, offsets will now be permitted in the services sector as well.

Both of these are steps in the right direction as these will allow better utilisation of the concept of offsets – which is to gradually enhance the participation of Indian industry in Defence manufacture – without being encumbered by them.

The L1 – lowest bidder – method of awarding Defence contracts is also proposed to be amended.

The DPP will allow for a bid from a single vendor to be accepted if there is no other manufacturer who meets the qualitative requirement. The government has also decided to subsidise research and development, particularly for micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs).

Policies Needing Review

The privatisation of most of the ordnance factories and some of the Defence PSUs should be considered on priority. Publicly owned manufacturing facilities are always inefficient and seldom meet the laid down production targets. They also lack dynamism and normally develop a risk-averse professional culture.

Today, it is well accepted that it is not the business of the government to be in business. The private sector has shown its readiness and technological proficiency to take up the production of weapons and equipment designed and developed by the DRDO

and must be trusted to deliver.

Though FDI in Defence manufacture has been increased from 26 to 49 per cent, this is still not attractive enough for the MNCs to invest in India. Given the time and effort that goes into locating a joint venture partner, the risks involved and the fact that they are expected to bring in proprietary technology, the MNCs prefer to have a controlling stake.

This policy should be reviewed by the government, but adequate regulatory measures should be built in to guard against the pitfalls of permitting majority stake.

Gurmeet Kanwal The writer is Distinguished Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) and former Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), New Delhi.

Corruption Aspect

In a meeting held on 22 February, 2016, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Mr Manohar Parrikar, the Defence Minister, was expected to approve major changes to the policy on the blacklisting of Defence manufacturers who violate their contractual obligations by way of indulging in corrupt practices. It was expected that Defence suppliers suspected of corrupt practices will no longer be automatically blacklisted. After a preliminary enquiry into allegations of corruption, the company will be suspended pending a more detailed enquiry and the procurement of the concerned item will be placed on hold. If the charges are proved, the company will be penalised monetarily based on the gravity of the offence.

Only in exceptional cases will a company be barred completely from bidding for Indian contracts.

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global partnership Proprietary flexibility

However, the DAC postponed the decision. The new policy will provide some relief to 15 defence companies that are blacklisted at present, including six MNCs and 23 others that are being scrutinised for non-compliance. It will also give a fillip to the military modernisation process that has been stalled due to the automatic blacklisting of errant companies.

Exports Policy

manufacture and servicing hub that will one day be a far cry from the present state of importing 70 to 80 per cent of its requirements.

The procurement of Defence equipment is an extremely important facet of preparedness for future conflict. Defence preparedness is a function of the training and morale of the combatants, the suitability of the force structure, the efficacy of the weapons with which the force is armed, the adequacy of the supporting equipment, the availability of the right quantities of ammunition and explosives, and the serviceability state of the war machinery. Due to critical deficiencies in several of these elements, the present state of Defence preparedness – particularly that of the army – leaves a lot to be desired.

The government’s policy for Defence exports also needs to be reviewed and made more liberal. While exports of defence equipment have been permitted, the procedures for according the approvals that are necessary and the regulatory framework need to be streamlined. Companies in the private sector will be in a better position to consider investing in Defence manufacture if they are free to export Too Many Shortfalls their products to overseas buyers. Obviously, any More than anything else, the former Army Chief, Gen changes will need to take into account the fact V K Singh’s leaked letter to the Prime Minister and the that sales cannot be permitted to States under UN CAG’s reports of 2012 and 2015, revealed that the state sanctions and non-State of Defence preparedness actors. One element of is a cause for serious The government’s policy for policy that has still not concern. Parliament’s Defence exports also needs to be Standing Committee been addressed is the formulation of guidelines reviewed and made more liberal on Defence has noted for the selection of these developments with international partners for alarm. Attributing the joint ventures in the Defence sector. deficiencies to ‘hollowness’ in the Defence procurement system, Gen V K Singh reportedly wrote in his letter Impact On Defence Preparedness to the PM, ‘‘The state of the major (fighting) arms ie.

India is expected to spend up to US$ 100 billion Mechanised Forces, Artillery, Air Defence, Infantry on Defence acquisitions over the next ten years. and Special Forces, as well as the Engineers and According to a February 2016 report by SIPRI, it is Signals, is indeed alarming’’. now the largest importer of weapons systems and The major issues raised by the former COAS include Defence equipment in the world and accounts for the following: The Army’s entire tank fleet is ‘devoid 14 per cent of the world’s Defence imports. India of critical ammunition to defeat enemy tanks’, the air imports three times as much Defence equipment defence equipment is ‘97 per cent obsolete and it as China and Pakistan. The pragmatic steps being doesn’t give the deemed confidence to protect … from taken by Defence Minister Parrikar, will gradually the air’, the infantry is crippled with ‘deficiencies of result in increasing the indigenous content in crew served weapon’ and lacks ‘night fighting’ Defence manufacture as also raising India’s capabilities, the elite Special Forces are ‘woefully technological threshold. These will go a long way short of essential weapons’, and there are ‘large-scale towards making India a design, development, voids’ in critical surveillance. w

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RNI RNINO. NO.DELENG/2009/31195 DELENG/2009/31195

VOLUME 7 ISSUE 4

January 2016

INDIAN ARMY

SENTINELS OF NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY