Geopolitics

s k O E a C e

INDIA’S ARMAMENT PROGRAMMES

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VOL II, ISSUE XI, APRIL 2012

DEFENCEn DIPLOMACYn SECURITY

CATCHING

UP? To be among the best, Indian soldiers need modern arms and ammunition

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FROM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF’S DESK

Time to do away with the ‘hit-and-trial’ process The Ministry of Defence would do well to clean up its act and get rid of the byzantine maze that potential arms vendors have to go through. Only when we set up a designated agency for arms acquisitions will the country rise to the top of the list.

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The government is determined to push ahead the ‘on record’ mission of producing 70 per cent of defence acquisition domestically by the end of this decade. At the moment, this figure stands at 30 per cent. At the core of this desire is, of course, the belief that selfreliance is also critical for an ambitious superpower.

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CII-Deloitte report, ‘Prospects for Global Defence Industry in Indian Defence Market’, that was released during the K Srinivasan Eurosatory-2010 defence exhibition in Paris said that defence capital expenditure budget was expected to achieve a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 10 per cent from 2011 to 2015. It also said that the country was estimated to spend about

$80 bn in the next five years on defence acquisitions, making it one of the most attractive markets for global defence firms.

No wonder, the global arms industry was salivating and literally every vendor had a rep or an office in New Delhi.

If that is one end of the equation, at the other end is the unalluring fact that between 2006 and 2010, India surpassed China as the world’s largest importer of arms. It was a rising power’s desire to not just be an economic powerhouse, but fulfil its regional and global

DRDO’s Dr S Pillai explaining the BrahMos land attack configuration to Defence Minister A K Antony.

aspirations with a potent and modern armed force that could reflect its military might beyond its shores. Just look at the statistics: India will spend about $100 bn on military modernisation programmes by 2015.

India’s spending on defence as a share of its GDP has remained relatively steady around two per cent. Therefore, the Defence Budget has grown by some 64 per cent (in real terms) since 2001— reaching $36.3 bn in the 2011-2012 Budget.

Approximately 40 per cent (some $14.5 bn) is allocated to the Defence Capital Outlay Budget.

Side by side, the government is determined to push ahead the ‘on record’mission of producing 70 per cent of defence acquisition domestically by the end of this decade.

At the moment, this figure stands at 30 per cent. At the core of this desire is, of course, the belief that self-reliance is also critical for an ambitious superpower. Moreover, there is a long-standing view that for manufacturing, muscle is critical to super power ambitions and defence manufacturing a critical catalyst. At the moment, most of our private sector companies have really become jobwork agents for the big contractors and there is literally little effort to expand either the knowledge base or even manufacturing.

Just about 14 months back in January 2011, India released its first-ever Defence Production Policy. It is a complete outline of what the Ministry of Defence expects in the years to come. There is a well thought-out articulation of its outlook to support the private sector and expand the country’s R&D. With major markets like the US shrinking their budgets, it is markets like India that are critical for major manufacturers. But if the country wants a real Transfer of Technology (ToT) and greater work at home, it will have to move fast to drastically tweak its offset policy. At present with 26 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), few global players will be willing to part with technology costing billions of dollars and developed after years of hard work. As a consequence, few Indian companies have acquired the sort of global vision in R&D or shop floor expertise that is the hallmark of European and American manufacturers. One can even add the Israelis to this list.

Most of those who will be there at Defexpo 2012 will actually be gung-ho about the future and, on record, at least, they will have nice things to say. But the hard fact of the matter is that in private they will moan and groan at what they perceive as the lackadaisical and terribly confusing offset regime. With the defence offsets being extended to internal security and civil aviation, new areas of opportunities have been opened to Indian industry and SMEs, but till there is a welldefined policy on critical issues like FDI, off-

sets will continue to flounder. Because there will be an offset consideration, companies will proliferate but in real terms they will be tool and dye units, or will they be at the forefront of making India a big defence superpower? That is a matter of debate.

Finally, India has over 150-odd defence procurement agencies apart from, of course, the acquisition wing of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and some other institutions that do their procurment suo moto, there is simply no consistency in how weapons and other equipment are acquired. In fact, there is no standardisation and in some cases, the same equipment has been procured under different specs!

To all this you can also add the following: There is no central notification of defence tenders as every agency is a satrap by itself.

Scores of tenders are cloaked in secrecy in the name of security considerations.

And scores of others are published in papers with poor circulation.

To top it all dozens of ‘single tender’ deals are finalised on the plea that the equipment is urgently required.

It is quite astonishing that a country that the world’s number one buyer of arms has no designated agency to help potential vendors to navigate the byzantine maze that is defence procurement in India. It can overwhelm most people. It is a hit-and-trial process. That was the scenario in 2010 and it is no better in 2012. This time the Defexpo is bigger and better. But it won’t always be the case unless the Ministry of Defence cleans up its act.

We have put together a comprehensive package of the Indian Army and Navy’s acquisition mission. It is a formidable purchase list with many of the weapons under acquisition or finalisation. What we have left out is the big ticket acquisition by the Air Force. That is another story and we will reserve it for future.

Before I end, I must note that this special issue is the result of the wealth of information provided by Vijainder K Thakur. Members of our editorial team — Justin C Murik, Rohit Srivastava, Ruchi Sinha, Mohit Kansal, Modassar Nehal, Hemant Rawat, Punit Mishra and Ashok Kumar — worked really hard with my colleagues Prakash Nanda and T Ghosh in digging out additional information and adding values to Thakur’s text.

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Most of those who will be there at Defexpo 2012 will actually be gung-ho about the future and, on record, at least, they will have nice things to say. But the hard fact of the matter is that in private they will moan and groan at what they perceive as the lackadaisical and terribly confusing offset regime.

Hope you all will enjoy reading the issue.

srini@newsline.in

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defexpo g CONTENTS www.geopolitics.in I

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È DEFENCE

S E C U R I T Y

S Y S T E M S

È DIPLOMACY

E X H I B I T I O N

È SECURITY

GEOPOLITICS

HEMANT RAWAT

12 12 I MISSILES

64 40 I ARMY

NAVY

BRAHMOS

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64 I NAVY

THE WRATH OF INDIA

NEW-AGE ARMOURY

SILENT AND DEADLY

From the aircraft, land, sea or from under water, Indian missiles can now be launched from every conceivable sphere

The Army is on a massive modernisation drive to deal with the challenges of a new millennium.

Fast, stealthy and armed to teeth, meet the new breed of Indian warships fresh from the docks of the nation.

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CONTENTS

INTERVIEW

HEMANT RAWAT

LOÏC

HEMANT RAWAT

86 PIEDEVACHE

DRDO

On MBDA’s plans after the order for nearly 500 MICA missiles

32 I HELICOPTERS

37 I UAVs

UNMANNED WONDERS

The indigenisation of the helicopter programme has resulted in a slew of innovative new Indian choppers.

From drones that hover over battlefields for hours, to deadly UCAVs, a new strain of remotelycontrolled aircraft is in the offing.

88 DENNIS

HEMANT RAWAT

ROTARY MUSCLE

D SWANSON

On Boeing India’s future plans in the defence sector

Editor-in-Chief

K SRINIVASAN Editor

Managing Editor

PRAKASH NANDA Consulting Editor

SAURAV JHA

TIRTHANKAR GHOSH

Assistant Editor

JUSTIN C MURIK

Senior Designer

RUCHI SINHA

Senior Correspondent

ROHIT SRIVASTAVA

Designer

MOHIT KANSAL

Director (Corporate Affairs)

RAJIV SINGH

Staff Photographer

PETER

HEMANT RAWAT RAKESH GERA

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GEOPOLITICS Vijainder K Thakur is the principal contributor to this special edition

GUTSMIEDL

On Cassidian’s plans of putting India in the global value chain

Director (Marketing)

Conceptualised and designed by Newsline Publications Pvt. Ltd., from D-11 Basement, Nizamuddin (East), New Delhi -110 013, Tel: +91-11-41033381-82 for NEWSEYE MEDIA PVT. LTD. All information in GEOPOLITICS is derived from sources we consider reliable. It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part. Opinions/views expressed by third parties in abstract or in interviews are not necessarily shared by us. Material appearing in the magazine cannot be reproduced in whole or in part(s) without prior permission. The publisher assumes no responsibility for material lost or damaged in transit. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw or otherwise deal with all advertisements without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the Indian Advertisements Code. The publisher will not be liable for any loss caused by any delay in publication, error or failure of advertisement to appear.

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Readers are welcome to send their feedback at geopolitics@newsline.in.

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Copy Editor

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On Textron’s introduction of innovative new technologies

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On BEL’s plans to leverage joint ventures with foreign companies

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CRUISING HEIGHTS IMPLEMENTATION OF GROUND HANDLING POLICY DELAYED — ONCE MORE

September 2011

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www.cruisingheights.in

A STAR IS NOT

BORN Air India’s Maharaja may be broken — the rejection

by Star Alliance of Air India’s membership and the whimsical performance of its erstwhile CMD — but he has not given up the fight

Jet joins low fare battle...

The Praful Patel years

MAKS puts Russia on top

With IndiGo and SpiceJet taking away passenger share at home and abroad

PP established milestones that have acted as catalysts for the Indian airline industry

This year’s Moscow Air Show firmly put Russia on the map of global aviation majors

IT IS TIME AERA NOTICED THE EXISTENCE OF AIR CARGO

Rs 60

June 2008

FIREWALKERS INC

As fuel prices touch the stratosphere, airlines owners get edgy. It’s like walking on hot coals: they are cutting costs, dropping routes and wondering what to do next

July 2011 ` 90

www.cruisingheights.in

INDIAN SUMMER

GOAIR’S JEH WADIA INDIGO’S RAHUL BHATIA AIRASIA’S TONY FERNANDES INDIAN CARRIERS, WITH A MASSIVE DOSE OF HELP FROM MALAYSIA CREATE, A “FRENZY” AT THE PARIS AIR SHOW BY ORDERING A WHOPPING 452 PLANES — ALL FROM AIRBUS.

CRUISING HEIGHTS CRUISING HEIGHTS THE BATTLE FOR INDIAN SKIES HAVE BEGUN

PRIME MINISTER’S THRUST AREAS FOR REVIVAL OF CIVIL AVIATION

www.cruisingheights.in January 2012

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STAKEHOLDERS LIST OUT THEIR IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES TO BOOST THE DIPPING AVIATION SECTOR AND THEIR FORTUNES.

201p1 er of the year Was

chop

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2012

Down: The KF story

Time to move Airports for with caution… smarter fliers

Vijay Mallya has to get his act together if he wants his airline to survive

But infrastructure enhancement initiatives will help revive air cargo in 2012

The initiative to usher in hi-tech to make the whole experience of flying an enjoyable one is on

February 2012 ` 90

www.cruisingheights.in

Europe is no-entry zone

Operation Revival Air India

Gurudev effect on Netaji

The EU’s stand to penalise carriers earns it worldwide criticism.

Maharaja gets a booster even as obstacles continue to stymie the recovery process.

Kolkata International airport terminal gets ready for an June launch.

Not

Directorate-General of Civil Aviation ticks off all carriers on safety parameters.

Plus:

Maha CM’s chopper call sign woes

Mobiles to revolutionise air travel

Panda pair to Paris on a plane

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BrahMos: Bestowing a tactical advantage BrahMos, the landmark joint venture between India and Russia, has achieved many milestones and soon we will see two more versions of it; namely, the sub-marine launched and air-launched missile. With these two versions, the missile will be operational in all the four dimensions of battle space, i.e. land, sea, air and subsea. India is eagerly waiting for the air-launched version of the missile that will be used on the Russian Su-30MKI. Technical Specifications Length Diameter Weight (kg) Ground / Sea Launched Air Launched Speed (M) Min Cruise Height (m) Warhead (kg) Air Lanuched Ground / Sea launched Engine

PIB

Guidance Target Seeker LACM Anti-ship Variants

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8.4 m 670 mm 3200 2500 2.8 10 300 200 Solid Propellant Booster, Liquid Ramjet Inertial / Satellite Multi spectral active Radar LACM Directionally launched anti-ship Vertically launched anti-ship

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rahMos is a success story which started on February 12, 1998, with the signing of a joint venture between Russia and India. The missile was intended to be a supersonic anti-ship cruise missile.

Derived from the names of two rivers -- the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia - the BrahMos is joint venture between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroeyenia that have together formed BrahMos Aerospace. The joint venture agreement was signed by none other than India's missile man and later President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam from DRDO and N V Mikhailov, then First Deputy Defence Minister of Russia. Dr A Sivathanu Pillai has been heading the organisation dynamically as the founder CEO from day one.

BrahMos is a two-stage vehicle with solid propellant booster and a liquid ramjet system. It has a range of 290-km with supersonic speed of Mach 2.8 and can carry a 200-300 kg payload.

BrahMos is four times faster than the American Tomahawk and three times the speed of the American Harpoon or the French Exocet cruise missiles. The supersonic speed provides the missile with a shorter flight time that does not allow the target to disperse further and be within the target range of the missile. The supersonic speed along with its varied flight path makes the missile non-interceptable by any known weapon system making it a true 'Fire and Forget' missile.

Moreover, the heat energy of the missile is almost 10 times more than any other subsonic cruise missile, due to its high velocity. The missile can fly anywhere between an attitude of 10 meters to 15 km.

Joint Venture Russia holds 49.5 per cent of the investment while India holds the remaining 50.5 per cent and the venture is constantly evolving. The initial paid-up capital for the venture was $ 250 million.

The mandate for the company was to design, develop, produce and market BrahMos cruise missile weapon system.

To design a product and complete its development for successful induction in the services is just half the task. The major element that lacks in almost all defence projects in India is the readiness of production facilities to produce these systems, unavailability of the same leads to massive delays resulting in loss of interest by the user in the product.

Far-sightedness and leadership skills of the BrahMos management have resulted in the parallel development of integration facilities along with a consortium of industries producing various parts for the BrahMos. Around 14 major industries and a large number of small and medium industries of India and 7 major industries from Russia are making different sub-systems for the missile which are then transported to Hyderabad at the BrahMos facility where the missile is integrated and checked for user-delivery. Quality assurance has a vital role to ensure

that the combat missile perform to the requirement. These industries have become a single BrahMos missile industry complex.

Today, BrahMos is delivering systems to the armed forces as per schedule plans of the user.

This definitely deserves a thumbs up for the impeccable management and planning of its CEO and MD. In a recent conference, he said "to be a leader we have to plan and visualize the future. This will only help us to maintain the unique position BrahMos enjoys in the World arms market today for years to come".

As a strategic plan, to augment the production capability of the missile, BrahMos Aerospace has established a wholly-owned subsidiary - the BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (BATL) by taking over the erstwhile Kerala Hitech Industry Ltd in December 2007. This facility manufactures missile components and is also involved in missile integration. The launcher for the airborne version has been developed and produced by them.

BATL will be the second integration facility along with different critical sub-systems manufacturing including the ramjet engine. In the near future, the engine will be manufactured in India. At present, the BrahMos engines are produced at Orenburg in Russia but soon BATL and one more Indian company will be qualified to make the missile's engines.

The production target for BrahMos is 1,000 missiles over the next ten years, at the current capacity for the Indian forces. BrahMos are operational with Indian Army and Navy with orders for the ground based systems for the Indian Air Force.

In June 2007, the Indian Army inducted the first battery of the land version. The land-attack version, BrahMos Block III has recently successfully undergone tests to prove the vertical diving capabilities of the missile at supersonic speed.The missile is meant for mountain warfare where targets are hidden behind the ranges. This missile version will be capable of hitting almost vertical targets especially those located behind steep hills.

Defence Minister A K Antony, stated recently in Parliament that the "Indian Army has operationalised two BrahMos regiments in the first phase". The first ships to be equipped with BrahMos were Project 61ME (R-class) destroyers. The anti-ship naval version has been integrated on these destroyers and will also be mounted on the three 7,000-tonne Kolkata class destroyers (being built by Mazagon Docks) and the Talwar-Class (Yantar Shipyard in Russia). The Indian Navy also plans to deploy them on submarines and possibly on land-based patrol aircraft.

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BrahMos is four times faster than the American Tomahawk and three times the speed of the American Harpoon or the French Exocet cruise missiles

Export Potential The BrahMos missile has the potential of becoming India's major weapon export in the coming decades giving the country a share of the arms business. BrahMos plans to export up to 2000 missiles to friendly countries, worth $10 billion of export. Indonesia, UAE, Brazil, Thailand, Chile, S Africa, Vietnam and Malaysia are among the nations which have shown huge interest.

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Agni III and Agni IV The Agni family is India’s answer to the Chinese ballistic missile advantage.

With its 3500-km range, it provides India with the much required reach to targets deep within China. Agni V, the next missile in the family, is going to be the first intercontinental missile to be produced in India.

SNAPSHOT AGNI-III Two-stage, mobile, solid fuelled Intermediate range ballistic missile Equipped with a state-of-the-art computer system Technologically superior than Chinese DF-21

Technical Specifications Agni-III Length Payload Range Warhead Launch Weight

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17m 1.5 tons 3,500km 200-250kt 50 tons

FEATURES ¾ More than 80 per cent of the components that go into the missile come from around 150 industries of different sizes, including 60-70 large private and public sector companies, that have been involved in the project ¾ The public sector Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) is producing the missile as its lead integrator ¾ Indigenous Ring-laser gyro Inertial Navigation System (RINS) is used for better accuracy. The missile also uses a Micro Navigation System (MINGS) with the two systems complementing each other in redundant mode ¾ Agni IV features advanced technologies such as composite rocket motor, ring laser gyro based inertial navigation system and flex nozzle steering PIB

SNAPSHOT AGNI-IV Composite rocket motor Road mobile, solid fuelled, two stage Earlier referred to as Agni-II+/Agni-II Plus/Agni-II Prime

Technical Specifications Agni-IV Length Weight Warhead Range

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20m 17 tons 800 kg 3,500 km

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K-15 and K-4 missiles The Indian nuclear triad is incomplete without the sub-surface nuclear launch capability. This deficiency is being fulfilled by developing submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The first of the series is Sagarika K-15, which is ready for induction into the Arihant-class indigenous nuclear submarines.

SNAPSHOT K-4 Submarine-launched ballistic missile For indigenous nuclear submarine To replace: K 15 Missile to be inducted by 2017

Technical Specifications LOCKHEEDMARTIN.COM

K-4 Length Diameter Weight Range

: 10 m : 1.3 m : 20 tonnes : 3500 km

FEATURES

SNAPSHOT K-15 Known as Sagarika, or K-15, or B-05 Submarine-launched quasi-ballistic missile For indigenous nuclear submarines Installed in Arihant Design and Development Agency # Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) # Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) # Research Centre, Imarat (RCI) First test on February 26, 2008

Technical Specifications K-15 Length Diameter Weight Warhead Range

: 6.5m :1m : 7 tonnes : 500 kg : 700 km (435 miles)

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他 The missile can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads. Designed and developed at DRDL, the missile's motors and propulsion systems were provided by ASL. RCI developed its avionics, including control and guidance systems and inertial navigation systems 他 The K-15 missile is a two-stage solid propellant-based missile 他 Sagarika can be classified as a quasiballistic missile. It stays within the atmosphere and flies to its targets at hypersonic speeds, performing manoeuvres to confuse enemy defences. Its time to target is considerably less than that of a ballistic missile, giving the enemy lesser reaction time 他 Sagarika's first stage takes it to an altitude of 7 km. The second stage lofts it further up to 40 km. The missile then flips over and flies at a constant altitude at seven times the speed of sound like a Cruise missile. A longer, 5,000km range, 12-m-long version of the K15 is under development for future

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Nirbhay Cruise Missile Nirbhay is an intermediate-range (1000 km) subsonic land-attack cruise missile under development by Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) in Hyderabad since 2007. The 1,000-km range subsonic missile is being developed to supplement the 300-km range supersonic BrahMos missile.

SNAPSHOT Country of Origin: India Terrain hugging, stealth missile Based on the Lakshya-2 pilotless target aircraft developed by ADE Uses solid propellant rocket motor for launch and a turbojet for cruise Nirbhay is a two-stage, surface-to-surface missile.

Long range loitering missile Expected to be tested in April

Technical Specifications Range : Trajectory : Weight :

1000 km Terrain Following 1000 kg

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Nirbha y

DIGITAL FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM ¾ It is relevant to note that DRDO recently developed a Digital Flight Control System incorporating Autonomous Way Point Navigation with Global Position Satellite updates for the Laskhya-2 which during a test flight in January 2012 demonstrated its ability to fly at heights ranging from 12 m to 800 m. ¾ At present the missile is going through final integration.

CAPABILITIES Â Nirbhay will be capable of delivering different warheads as per mission requirement. Â The missile will be capable of carrying 24 types of warheads but it is not clear if it would be nuclear capable. Â Missile will be adapted for integration Su-30MKI

TOMAHAWK / BABUR ANALOG

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he missile is being designed to match the capabilities of the US Tomahawk and its Pakistandeveloped variant Babur.

RAYTHEON

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Tactical Missile for Indian Army Prahaar is a quick-reaction battlefield missile with a maximum range of 150 km that is comparable to Lockheed Martin's MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATacMS) Missile.

SNAPSHOT Technical Specifications : Single stage, solid propellant missile Length : 7.3 metres Diameter : 420 mm Weight : 1280 kg Warhead : 200 kg Range : 150 kilometres Guidance : Inertial navigation, on board flight computer guidance, electro mechanical actuation systems

PIB

Type

Country of Origin: India Developed by DRDO in less than two years Circular Error Probability (CEP) of less than 10 metres Prahaar uses radar imaging for terminal homing

FEATURES 他 The missile system was developed by DRDO to provide the Indian Army a cost-effective, quick-reaction, allweather, all-terrain, highly-accurate battlefield support tactical system. 他 The missile is launched from a Road Mobile System, which can carry six missiles at a time and can be fired in salvo mode in all directions covering the entire azimuth plane. 他 Multiple launchers can be interlinked to deliver a near-simultaneous MultiAxis Attack on the target with devastating effect. 他 The missile can fly different trajectories and strike targets at different ranges up to 150 km.

DEVELOPED FROM AAD INTERCEPTOR OF BMD CRUCIAL GAP PLUGGED

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he missile fills the vital gap between Multi-Barrel Rockets and a Medium -Range Ballistic Missile like Prithvi-II and Agni-1. The existence of the road mobile, tube launched 'Prahaar' (to strike) 150 km range quick-reaction tactical missile was announced on July 2, 2011.

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OPERATIONAL STATUS

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he Prahaar is currently being weaponised for use by the Army.

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Nag Anti-Tank Missile Nag is a fire-and-forget anti-tank missile with a four km range under development by DRDO. The missile is designed to be carried either on NAMICA (Nag Missile Carrier)tracked ICV or on the Advanced Light Helicopter. Design work on the missile started in 1988 and the first test was carried out in November 1990. The missile is currently being inducted into the Indian Army in limited numbers.

SNAPSHOT

FEATURES

HELINA VARIANT

Country of Origin: India Replacement for Russian Konkour and European Milan missiles Firms involved: Bharat Dynamics NAMICA: Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Larsen & Toubro Fire-and-Forget missile Heavier, more powerful than American Javelin and Israeli Spike Designed to operate from vehicles and helicopters Uses its autonomous on-board guidance to hit even a fast-moving tank Image-Seeking Optical Guidance

 DRDO is developing a helicopterlaunched version of the Nag called Helina with a range of 7 km.  Unlike the shorter range Nag, which acquires a target lock before launch, Helina will feature a “lock-on after launch” capability.  Helina missiles will arm the weaponised version of Dhruv ALH which will carry eight missiles in two quadruple launchers mounted on either side, linked to a nose-mounted stabilised thermal sight and a laser range-finder package.

USP

TANDEM WARHEAD

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he missile has what is called a tandem HEAT (High Explosive Anti Tank) warhead. The warhead has two stages — in the first stage the missile makes a hole in an enemy tank and in the second stage it goes inside and blows it up.

ag doesn’t provide the enemy with a warning or give away its launcher’s position. It is stealth personified. Nag is visible for just one second after launch, within which the missile’s booster accelerates it to 90 per cent of its maximum velocity. A sustainer motor uses smokeless nitramine propellant then accelerates the missile and sustains it at its top speed, making the missile practically invisible.

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he missile features a high strength composite airframe with foldable wings and fins, Imaging Infra-red (IIR) seeker with high immunity to counter-measures, onboard real-time processor, compact sensor package and electric actuation system and digital autopilot

CAPABILITIES ¾ A thermal-imaging sight on the launcher allows an operator to search for a target under all-weather conditions. ¾ Once a target is spotted, it locks the sight on it, causing a digital snapshot of the target to be stored in the autonomous guidance system of the missile as a reference image. ¾ After launch, as the missile closes in on the target at 230 m/sec, an optical seeker on it takes repeated snapshots of the target, comparing each with the stored reference image. ¾ The guidance system translates deviations into corrective signals to the missile’s fins to alter its trajectory and steer it precisely to the target.

VIJAINDER K THAKUR

RF (MMW) SEEKER

R

esearch Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad, has developed an mmW seeker for the missile that will give it true all-weather capability.

TOP ATTACK The missile has a top-attack capability to strike a tank where its armour is the weakest.

22 I geopolitics I April 2012

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Astra air-to-air missile DRDO is developing an active radar-homing, beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile named Astra.The missile has a cruise speed of up to Mach 2.2 carrying a 20 kg fragmentation warhead.

SNAPSHOT WEAPONS.TECHNOLOGY.YOUNGESTER.COM

Country of origin: India Foreign collboration: Russia 5m proximity fuse

RUSSIAN ACTIVE SEEKER

T

he active radar seeker of the missile and its launcher have been sourced from Russia. The seeker is switched on when the missile comes to within 15km of the target. DRDO eventually hopes to develop its own active seeker and launcher.

CAPTIVE TRIALS

Technical Specifications Warhead: 20kg fragmentation warhead Range: 80 km head on, 20 km astern Weight 160kg Length: 3.8m Diametre: 0.178m

24 I geopolitics I April 2012

¾ Seven captive flight trials of the missile were conducted in November 2009 at Air Force Station Lohegaon, Pune, using a Su-30MKI aircraft. The missile was tested for carriage at supersonic speeds and to loads of 7Gs on underwing pylons. ¾ More captive trials will establish the compatibility of the missile's electronics with the Su-30MKI avionics. ¾ The actual firing of Astra from a Su30MKI will follow completion of all captive trials. ¾ To begin with, DRDO hopes to equip IAF's Su-30MKI and the Mirage 2000 with the Astra missile, since both aircraft have powerful airborne radars to leverage BVR capability. Later, it hopes to integrate the missile with the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft and the MiG-29s. ¾ Even though the missile is in the early stages of its development, DRDO has drawn up plans to jointly develop a short-range air defence system with MBDA using a vertically-launched variant of Astra.

SpyDer ADS-SR Missile System for IAF On September 1, 2008, India signed a contract with M/s Rafael, Israel, for the purchase of 18 SpyDer quick-reaction missile systems (Surface-to-air Python and Derby), after multi-vendor global tendering. Deliveries against the contract are ongoing.

SNAPSHOT Country of Origin: Israel Firms involved: Rafael, BEL Range: 100 km Cost: $11 million

MOBILE AIR DEFENCE SYSTEM

T

he SpyDer mobile air-defence systems are being procured to replace Russian-made OSA-AKM and ZRK-BD Strela-10M/SAM systems currently in use by the IAF.

SYSTEM CAPABILITY

T

he system has a 360-degree engagement capability in all-weather conditions, day or night, and can intercept incoming threats at a range of between 0.62 miles and 9.3 miles (1 and 15 km). The missiles can hit targets as high as 28,000 feet and as low as 65

TIRADEN/WIKIEPEDIA

SYSTEM CONFIGURATION

feet.

他 SpyDer is a truck-mounted low-level quick-reaction missile system, with four boxes like launch cells on each truck. Each Spyder system has four missile launcher trucks, a radar truck and a missile re-supply truck. 他 The SpyDer-SR slant-launched SHORAD system and the SpyDer-MR vertical-launched medium range system are designed to protect against attack aircraft, combat helicopters, bombers, UAVs and UCAVs and stand-off weapons. 他 Both systems use Rafael's Derby, air-to-air active radar, beyond visual range (BVR) missile and Python 5, air-to-air dual-band-imaging infrared (IIR) missile. The system is unique in that it is able to combine the use of these two missiles in any given mission. 他 Derby is 11.2' long, weighs 267 lbs and has a range of 65 km. The Python 5 is 10' long, weighs 231 lbs and has a range of 15 km.

OFFSET, NOT TOT

T

he contract does not envisage any transfer of technology (TOT). Under the 30 per cent offset clause, Rafael Advanced Defense System of Israel will manufacture the IR imaging seeker for the Python 5 missile in India jointly with BEL.

April 2012 I geopolitics I 25

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DRDO-MBDA Maitri SR-SAM DRDO and MBDA of France are collaborating to develop the Maitri point defence (15km, 9.3mi) surface-to-air missile under a 2007 governmentto-government agreement. Work on the missile is expected to begin after DRDO and MBDA finalise an agreement.

SNAPSHOT

MBDA /DRDO WORK SPLIT

Country of origin: India/France Firms involved: DRDO, MBDA, Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) Radar: Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (ERDE), Bengaluru

¾ Maitri will be build on the work done by DRDO while developing the Trishul missile, using technology transfer from MBDA to fill the technological gaps that led to the failure of the Trishul project. ¾ MBDA will provide the seeker, thrust vector control, terminal guidance system and composites for a modified propulsion system. DRDO will provide the software, command and control system and launchers. ¾ MBDA will also provide production technology to Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), which will work as the system integrator and roll out the missile.

PECHORA AND OSA-AK REPLACEMENT

T

he missile will fill the gap created by the Indian government's decision to wind up development of the Trishul point defence missile system. It will replace the Russian-origin Pechora and OSA-AK missile systems with Air Force and the Army.

VARIANTS 1. A ship-borne point and tactical air defence version for the Navy.

2. A mobile-wheeled and tracked system for use by the Air Force and the Army.

RADAR

T

he Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (ERDE), Bengaluru, is developing two indigenous radars for the Maitri project. These would be new-generation variants of Central Acquisition Radar (3D-CAR), with the ability to track 150 targets simultaneously at a distance of 200 kilometres. The naval variant would be called the Revati and the Air Force version Rohini.

STATUS

VIJAINDER K THAKUR

26 I geopolitics I April 2012

 MBDA has also pitched the missile as a contender for the Indian Army Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) tender.  Development of the missile is expected to be completed within three years of the project go-ahead, when initial testing will commence.  The IAF expected to start receiving the missile by late 2013, but probably won't do so till at least 2015.

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Barak-8 Surface-toAir Missile DRDO and Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) are collaborating to develop two missiles: the Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM) for the Indian Navy and the Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) for the Indian Air Force. The naval missile is also referred to as Barak-8. The Indian Army has also shown interest in the missile system.

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY Technical Specifications Range Ceiling Radar Targets

: 70/80 km : 16 km : (AESA) Radar System : 12 targets with 24 missiles

DRDO Two Pulse Rocket Motor Pneumatic Actuation system Safe and Arm for Rocket Motor

RAFAEL Multi-function Phased Array Radar Missile Seeker

SNAPSHOT Country of origin: India/Israel Provides all-weather, day/night engagements in complex saturation scenarios Companies involved: Rafael, Israel Aerospace Industries Limited, Tata Advanced Systems (TASL)

28 I geopolitics I April 2012

CHARACTERISTICS ¾ Features vertically-launched active radar seeker missile with flexible dual pulse smokeless solid fuel motor that provides high maoeuvre capability at target interception range throughout the missile's wide envelope. ¾ Barak's high agility provided by a tungsten jet vane system for thrust vector control and a highly-evolved electro-pneumatic control actuation system. ¾ The missile launcher comprises an eight-round module, three or more of which could make up a typical system. ¾ The system is supported by the new EL/M-2258 Alpha Multi-Function Surveillance, Track and Guidance Radar (MF-STAR). ¾ It can deliver an accurate, high-quality arena situation picture and discern low Radar Cross Section (RCS) targets even in the toughest environmental conditions. ¾ According to Elta, MF-STAR is able to initiate tracks against sea-skimming missiles at ranges in excess of 25 km, and out to more than 250 km for a high-flying combat aircraft. ¾ It provides mid-course guidance to the Barak-8 missile till its active homing takes over.

GEORGES SEGUIN/WIKIMEDIA

DRDO/RAFAEL WORK SPLIT

O

n February 27, 2009, India signed a contract with Israel Aerospace Industries Limited (IAI) to co-develop an Air Defense System for the IAF and the Indian Navy. The contract includes a 30 per cent offset clause under which Israel will procure military or aviation products and services from India, and invest in Indian defence companies.

Under this clause, IAI will make purchases from Mumbai-based Tata Advanced Systems (TASL), which will partner with IAI to develop missiles, drones, radars, electronic warfare systems and homeland security systems — all areas of Israeli defence industry specialisation. Two missiles will be developed under the project: MR-SAM to replace the SAM-3 Pechora AD missiles of the IAF and the LRSAM for the Indian Navy to equip its new warships.

Akash Missile System

SNAPSHOT Country of Origin: India Developed from Russian SA-6 system All-weather missile Digitally-coded command guidance system

Akash is a medium-range, command-guided, mobile anti-aircraft missile, which entered operational service in March 2012 after being under development for nearly 30 years.

Being ramjet-powered, the Akash missile has better terminal manoeuring capability than rocket-powered boost-coast missiles. The missile reaches velocities of 600-700 m/s.

OPERATIONAL STATUS

T

he IAF has ordered two squadrons of the missiles, with a planned follow-up order for six more. Each squadron will have two flights equipped with four Akash launchers and a total of 125 missiles. The total IAF order will now be for 1,000 missiles. The Indian Army has ordered two Akash regiments with six firing batteries each.

UNIQUE FEATURE

T

he Akash missile offers better manoeuvrability than typical surface-to-air missiles because it does not have a coast phase; it's boosted throughout its flight envelope. According to DRDO, no other missile in the world offers this feature.

CHARACTERISTICS

A

kash has an 88 per cent kill probability within a specified kill zone. It has even intercepted a target with a 0.02 sq metre of radar cross-section (a fighter has a 2 sqm RCS) and is capable of engaging cruise missiles. Akash is supported by multi-target and multi-function phased array fire-control radar called 'Rajendra' that has a range of about 60 km.

The Akash missile system is mobile, with the missile launcher, radar and command centre all mounted on T-72 chassis.

The mobile command centre selects up to four of the most threatening air targets, and two Akash missiles are fired at each from the T-72-based Akash launchers, which move alongside. The Rajendra radar continuously guides the missiles, eventually "flying" them smack into the enemy fighters.

PIB

Technical Specifications Length Diameter Weight Range Engine Guidance Warhead Top speed

5.8 m 0.35 m 720 kg 25 km Ramjet Command 60 kg Mach 2.5

April 2012 I geopolitics I 29

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Protecting Indian skies India began to develop its Ballistic Missile Defence system in 1999. A double-tiered system consisting of two interceptor missiles — Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) missile for high-altitude interception and the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) Missile for loweraltitude interception — will be ready for deployment by 2016 and should be able to intercept any incoming missile launched 5,000 kilometres away.

PERSPECTIVE

PHASE 2

I

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30 I geopolitics I April 2012

nterceptor Missiles: Two new anti-ballistic missiles can intercept Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM). The Phase 2 missile defence system will be based on the AD-1 and AD-2 interceptor missile that are currently under development. They will be test-fired in 2012.

Radar Unlike the Phase 1 Swordfish radar developed by India in partnership with Israel, the radar to support Phase 2 interception will have 80 per cent indigenous components.

DRDO

n the first phase, which is currently underway, DRDO will develop and deploy a system for defence against missiles with less than 2,000-km range like Pakistan's Ghauri and Shaheen missiles and China's solid-fuel Dongfeng-21. It will include, first the PAD and then AAD. The PAD will give way to PDV by 2013. The PDV is said to be a two solid-stage hypersonic anti-ballistic missile, intended to replace the existing PAD in the PAD/AAD combination. The PAD, will intercept missiles at exo-atmospheric altitudes of 50-80 km (3150 mi).

Radar support ¾ The 'Swordfish' Long Range Tracking Radar (LRTR) was developed jointly by LRDE, Bengaluru and ELTA of Israel.

The LRTR is based on the Israeli Green Pine early warning and fire control radar that India imported from Israel in 2001-2002. ¾ A Multi-Functional Guidance radar was developed in collaboration with French company Thales to track incoming missile in their terminal phase and guide the interceptor missile onto the target.

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Light Combat Helicopter In today’s manoeuvre warfare, the best option for the Indian Army to dissuade the enemy’s advancing armour is to use anti-tank-guided missiles from attack helicopters.

To achieve this objective, HAL was given the responsibility to develop an attack chopper.

SNAPSHOT

PIB

Dedicated light helicopter for combat operations Glass Cockpit 20 mm gun, rocket and anti-tank missiles Armour protection Night-attack capability Crashworthy landing gear for better survivability Two Shakti engines

FEATURES Technical Specifications Max takeoff weight Max. speed Range Service Ceiling Climb rate

: : : : :

32 I geopolitics I April 2012

5.5 t 265Kmph 550 Km 6.5 km 5 m/s

¾ It has a narrow fuselage where a pilot and a co-pilot/gunner sit in tandem configuration. Incorporates a number of stealth features including canted flat panels for low radar cross-section and infra-red suppressor. ¾ Integrated Avionics and Display System (IADS)

Battlefield surveyor Nishant is a drone that is capable of providing day-and-night battlefield reconnaissance, surveillance, target tracking and localisation and help correct artillery fire.

SNAPSHOT

POWERPLANT

Country of origin: India Capable of operating during day or night Autonomous flight capability Jam-resistant command and digital down link Design and development: Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) Collaborating firms: Defence Electronics Applications Laboratory (DEAL), Dehradun, Research & Development Establishment (Engineers), Pune Aerial Delivery Research & Development Establishment (ADRDE), Agra

T

he Nishant is powered by a 55-hp rotary, water-cooled Wankel engine developed jointly by ADE, NAL and VRDE.

PAYLOAD

T

he UAV carries a Gimballed Payload Assembly (GPA), a remotely steerable payload with Day Light TV and FLIR.

CONTROL ¾ The UAV and its payload are controlled from the Ground Control Station (GCS). ¾ A 300m fibre optic link connects the GCS with an antenna vehicle. ¾ The GCS features an electronic map display. It facilitates mission planning and validation, semiautomatic checkout of UAV, simulation and pilot training and remote control of antenna system. ¾ The antenna vehicle houses the RF elements of the Ground Data Terminal.

DRDO

Technical Specifications Length Span Cruise Speed Max Speed Min Speed Ceiling Endurance Command Range Payload link Launch

: : : : : : :

4.63 metres 6.64 metres 125-150(kph) 185kph 110 kph 3600 metres 4.5 hours

: 160 km : 100km : Mobile Hydro Pneumatic Launcher (MHPL)

DEVELOPMENT STATUS Â In February 2011, Nishant completed confirmatory flight trials by the Indian Army at Chandan Range in Pokharan, near Jaisalmer, in Rajasthan. Â Following the successful completion of the trials, the Army took delivery of a set of four Nishants and ground systems. More orders are expected.

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Advanced Light helicopter The first indigenous attempt at designing and developing a light helicopter for transportation of men and cargo of the Indian Army has been completed by HAL. It has a lot of export potential and civilian use.

SNAPSHOT Designed with assistance from Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Multi-role, multi-mission helicopter in 5.5 tonne class Dual-flight controls

HEMANT RAWAT

FEATURES

Technical Specifications Length : 15.87 metres Max. Take-off Weight : 5500 kg Fuel Capacity : 1100 kg Cruising Speed : 250 kmph Max Continuous Speed : 270 kmph Range : 660 km Endurance : 3.5 Hrs Service Ceiling : 4500 m

Capable of both utility and attack roles Advanced systems: Integrated Dynamic System (IDS), Anti-resonance Vibration Isolation System (ARIS), Full Authority Digital Electronic Control (FADEC), Hingeless Main Rotor, Bearingless Tail Rotor and Automatic Flight Control System Nearly 29 per cent of its empty weight comprises composites Cockpit section of the fuselage is of Kevlar and carbon-fibre construction Avionics systems: HF/UHF communications radio, IFF recognition, Doppler navigation, and a radio altimeter

RUDRA WEAPONISED DHRUV (ALH-WSI)

INDIAN NAVY

 Ready for induction  Weapons trials are going on  Equipped with forward-looking infra-red and thermal-imaging sights interface

34 I geopolitics I April 2012

Weapons  20 mm turret gun  70 mm rocket pods  Anti-Tank Guided Missiles  Air-to-Air Missiles  Equipped with SAAB-supplied Integrated Defensive Aids Suite (IDAS) with Electronic Warfare self-protection  Milan anti-tank missile integration test is ongoing  First helicopter is expected by Army Post missile trials in first half of 2012

Light-Utility Helicopter To replace the ageing French-made Cheetah and Chetak, HAL is developing light-utility helicopters. The programme is going to be another milestone towards indigenisation and self-reliance in Indian defence needs.

SNAPSHOT To compete in an upcoming 187-helicopter tender Four Bladed composite hingeless main rotor Four Bladed composite bearingless tail rotor Composite Airframe Glass Cockpit and Active Vibration Control System (AVCS) First flight by 2015

Technical Specifications Max AUW Empty Weight Engine Power Seating

: : : :

Speed Min Range Min Payload at 6 km Service Ceiling

: : : :

3015 Kg 1870 Kg 700 kw 2 Pilots + 6 passengers 240 kph 350km 75kg 6500m

PROGRESS 他 In February, 2010 HAL floated a tender for integration on LUH with an output of 1,000kW, and 550kW at 6,000m altitude. 他 The design of the transmission and rotor system has been completed. 他 One ground test vehicle (GTV) and three prototypes of the LUH are planned, with a first prototype flight in 2012 and initial operational clearance by 2014. 他 HAL expects to sell at least 100 helicopters in the civil market.

H C TIWARI

April 2012 I geopolitics I35

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Powering the Dhruv A turboshaft helicopter engine jointly developed by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and France’s Turbomeca, the Shakti programme was initiated in 1999 to power the HAL Dhruv helicopter. It was only on August 16, 2007, that the first test flight of the Dhruv with the new Shakti engine took place. By late 2007, HAL started fitting the Shakti engines in the Dhruvs produced by it.

Technical Specifications Type Length Dry weight Compressor

SNAPSHOT Country of Origin: India Foreign Collaboration: France Firms involved: HAL, Turbomeca

: : : :

Turboshaft 1,250 mm 205 kg Two centrifugal compressor stages, coupled with a sin gle-stage high-pres sure turbine.

HAL

DAVID M

ONNIAU

X/WIKIM

EDIA

Maximum power output: 1032 kW

36 I geopolitics I April 2012

Stealthy eye in the sky The Searcher Mark-II UAV has a short-take-off and landing; an endurance of about 20 hours covering over a hundred-mile area; low-noise to dodge detection and the capability to operate in adverse weather conditions.

SNAPSHOT

In October 2010, India floated a Request for Information for a high-altitude, longendurance UAS. Flight Magazine reported in June 2011 that Northrop Grumman responded to the RFI earlier in the year pitching its MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) unmanned aircraft system to the Indian Navy.

A potential stumbling block in the sale of BAMS to India could be the international Missile Technology Control Regime, although India is not a signatory.

ISRAELI-WEAPONS.COM

Country of origin: Israel Low-noise integrated four-stroke engine for low audio detection Built from composite materials to reduce radar detection Adverse-weather capability Safe, reliable and easy operation Two simultaneous Automatic Takeoff and Landing systems for maximal safety Fully redundant, state-of-the-art avionics

ADDITIONAL ACQUISITIONS

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Rustom-H MALE UAV ADE is developing the Rustom-H MALE UAV as a replacement for Israeli Heron UAVs currently in service.

CAPABILITIES It is being designed to operate at a height of 30,000 ft with 24 hours endurance and will be used for surveillance and target tracking.

It will have a service ceiling of 35,000 ft, operating radius of 250 km using line of sight communication, 350 km using relay communication, and a range of 1,000 km.

It will feature Automated Take Off and Landing (ATOL) using an external pilot, and a payload of 350 kg comprising long-range electro-optics, synthetic aperture radar, maritime patrol radar, electronic and communication intelligence payload, radar warning receiver and a traffic collision avoidance system.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Operating Altitude : 30000 ft Service Ceiling : 35000 ft Line of Sight : 250 km Relay Communication : 350 km Range : 1000 km Speed : 225 kph Payload : 350 kg Electronics : Electro-optics, synthetic aperture radar, maritime patrol radar, electronic and communication intel ligence payload, radar

POWERPLANT

I

n May 2011, AW&ST reported that the Rustom-H would be powered by an NPO-Saturn 36MT turbofan.

38 I geopolitics I April 2012

AURA UCAV

DRDO plans to develop a Stealth UCAV capable of releasing bombs and missiles under the AURA (Autonomous Unmanned Research Aircraft)

SNAPSHOT Country of Origin: India Firms: Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) at Bengaluru Defence Avionics Research Establishment, Bengaluru Defence Electronics Application Lab (Dehradun) Gas Turbine Research Establishment (Bengaluru) Stealth UCAV Capable of releasing missiles, bombs and PGM at enemy targets Internal Weapons Bay

PROJECT STATUS Â The programme was first officially acknowledged in April 2011 by DRDO’s chief controller R&D (aeronautics) Dr Prahlada. Â The AURA UCAV is contemplated as a X-47B UAS analog that can autonomously fly a profile, deliver a payload and return to base.

POWERPLANT ¾ In August 2011, a DRDO official told the press that the UCAV might be powered by the indigenous 75kN thrust Kaveri engine. ¾ Kaveri has two versions. One of these, Kaveri K-10 with 90kN thrust, is proposed to be developed with Snecma as powerplant for the AMCA.

Unmanned endurance expert The Heron is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle powered by a single Rotax 914 turbo aircraft engine with 85.79kW output. The UAV is manufactured by Israel Aircraft Industries at its Malat division. The UAV is capable of capturing and relaying real-time images of locations and targets to a shore-based control room or a ship.

SNAPSHOT Country of Origin: Israel Firms: Israel Aircraft Industries, ELTA system Operating ceiling: 30,000 ft Range: 350 km

ISRAELI-WEAPONS.COM

Maximum speed: 207km/h

SENSORS The Heron navigates using an internal GPS receiver. It can operate in pre-programmed flight mode, under manual control using LOS data link to Ground Control. The LOS link can use ground-based relay stations.

Herons are equipped with state-ofthe-art synthetic aperture radar (SAR), electro-optic (EO) and infrared (IR) sensors.

The SAR, manufactured by IAI subsidiary ELTA system, is equipped with GMTI to detect ground vehicles.

The radar can be used to identify vessels from very long distances and use silhouette target acquisition.

An onboard AIS gathers details of ships such as vessel type, vessel name and destination.

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Slow transformation World's second largest, the Indian Army, with 1.1 million active soldiers, has embarked on a massive modernisation programme. The challenges faced by the Army are immense and diverse —ranging from a fast-expanding Chinese behemoth in the east to a restive nuclear-armed Pakistan in the west.

Coupled with these, the Indian Army is also involved in anti-insurgency operations in both Kashmir and the North-East.

The Army, unlike its other sister services, has not been able to get what it wants. Its modernisation plans have not been able to take off due to varied reasons. The much talked-about transformation is still more of an idea. The artillery modernisation is a decades-long story of missed opportunities. In the last few years, three RFP/RFI for artillery have been cancelled on one pretext or the other. The most futuristic plan of induction of locally-developed FICV (Future Infantry Combat Vehicle) has got delayed for a year. Army air defence modernisation, battle management system, infantry modernisation, netcentric warfare, main battle tank Arjun, are a small list of some of the programmes that are crucial but are delayed year-after-year. The Army wants its own aviation wing; at the moment, though it uses attack and heavy-lift helicopters, they are operated by the Air Force. The Army has its own UAVs, but it would like their further modernisation and precision.

40 I geopolitics I April 2012

VIRENDRA SINGH

“For the first time in the Indian Army, we have fully used the allocated budget for procuring weapons. We submitted 106 procurement proposals to the defence ministry.”

GENERAL V K SINGH, Chief of Army Staff

PROCUREMENT MISFIRES ¾ The Army has accepted that some of these delays are of its own making. It has been blamed, for instance, for formulating impossible qualitative requirements. Many programmes have seen no participants qualifying to the staff

requirements. To solve this, the Army has constituted a task force which is studying the issue. ¾ The Indian Army's top leadership will need to push its issues in a big way with the ministry. The Defence Budget 2012 has seen Army getting

a raw deal. The budget for capital procurement has not been up to the mark. The Army is our ultimate guarantee of sovereignty and the resolution of our border issues is not possible without strengthening this institution.

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King of the

Battlefield The project to design and develop the Arjun Main Battle Tank (MBT) was approved by the government in 1974 with an aim to equip our mechanised forces with cutting-edge indigenous technology. After many years of trials and tribulations, it has now proved its worth. As on December 10, 2011, DRDO planned to implement Mk-II upgrades over two phases. In Phase I, 45 tanks would roll out with 56 upgrades and in Phase II, the remaining 79 tanks, with all the 93 improvements, would come off the assembly line.

NEW FEATURES IN MK II Ability to fire anti-tank-guided missiles through the tank’s main gun.

Extra protection for the tank’s crew through explosive reactive armour, or ERA. Thermal-imaging panoramic sights that allow the Arjun’s commander to scan his surroundings even by night.

An automatic target tracking (ATT) system which will add to the accuracy when firing on a moving target.

Advanced air-defence gun system for

SNAPSHOT Country of origin: India  Foreign content 9 Engine power pack (engine and transmission): Renk, Germany.

9 Gun system 9 Gunner’s main sight (GMS): OIP Systems, Belgium 9 Gun control equipment (GCE): Bosch, Germany 9 Thermal Imager: OIP Sensor Systems (Belgium) and SAGEM (France) Â Indigenous Content 9 Other than these three, nearly 10,000odd components are sourced from Indian industry

42 I geopolitics I April 2012

protection against attack helico pters.

Enhanced Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) with a capacity of 8.5 KW against Mark-I’s 4.5.

Mine Plough.

Advanced Land Navigation System (ALNS).

Digital control harness.

Improved gun barrel with an Equivalent Firing Charge (strength of the barrel to sustain firing) of 500 rounds against T-72’s 250 rounds.

ANTI-TANK MISSILE PANORAMIC SIGHTS

T

he Arjun Mk-II will be equipped with Israeli LAHAT missile. Initial trials using the missiles were carried out in 2005. A new set of trials are planned to test the integration of the LAHAT missile with the tanks sighting and control system and the performance of its laser-warning system.

O

nce spotted, the target is electronically allocated to the gunner for engagement, allowing the commander to resume scanning for more targets. An “un-cooled thermal imaging” sight, developed at the Instrument Research and Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun, allows the driver of the tank to clearly see 300-500 metres, even on a pitch-dark night.

EXPLOSIVE ARMOUR ARJUN MK-II TRIALS

E

xplosive Reactive Armour (ERA) entails an additional two-tonne penalty, pushing the tank’s weight up to 60 tonnes but, DRDO believes the tank’s 1,500 HP engine easily accommodates the extra weight. DRDO plans to initially fit the same Russian ERA that protects the T-90 and the T-72, and later develops an indigenous ERA.

A

rjun Mk-II trials are scheduled to start in October 2012. A Government of India (GoI) press said that limited technical trials with some major and minor improvements on Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun Mark-I, as part of MBT Arjun Mark-II, had been carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in the deserts of Rajasthan.

Technical Specifications Weight (tonnes) Length (m) Width (m) Height (m) Crew

58.5 10.638 3.864 2.32 4 Armament Main Gun 120 mm rifled Machine Gun HCB 12.7 mm AA Engine MTU 838 Ka 501 diesel, 400 hp (1,040 kW) P/W ratio (hp/ton) 26 Max Speed (kph) 70 Max Gradient (deg) 30

DRDO

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India’s future

Main Battle Tank India’s future main battle tank (FMBT) is projected to start replacing the Army’s T-72 tanks starting 2020. A feasibility study on FMBT is being carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). As on January 2, 2012, the Indian Army was still finalising the Preliminary Staff Qualitative Requirements (PSQR) for the FMBT.

DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

O

n December 6, 2010 in a written reply in Parliament, Defense Minister AK Antony announced that Preliminary Staff Qualitative Requirement (PSQR) of Future Main Battle Tank (FMBT) had been formulated by the Army. A feasibility study on FMBT is being carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The tank is projected to start replacing the Army’s T-72 tanks starting 2020.

BHARAT POWER PACK

T

he tank will feature an indigenous 1,800 hp engine and transmission, collectively called Bharat Power Pack.

According to DRDO, the first prototype of the new engine will be ready by 2016.

DRDO has assembled a national team comprising members from the academia (IIT, Automotive Research Association of India, Pune), the user and industry (Kirloskar Oil Engines, BEML, and the Mahindras), besides its own scientists to develop the engine. A foreign consultant of international repute has also been engaged.

A 1,500-hp engine is considered adequate to power a 50-tonne tank, but DRDO expects the weight of the FMBT to creep up and so it is developing an engine with an extra 300 hp. DRDO has received consultancy proposals from Ricardo of Britain and AVL of Austria. Simultaneously, DRDO is identifying an Indian manufacturing partner or prime contractor. The Indian “prime contractor” would assemble the FMBT engines from engine components supplied by a network of subcontractors.

44 I geopolitics I April 2012

Active Suspension To begin with, the FMBT will feature a hydro-pneumatic suspension like the Arjun Mk-2. CVRDE proposes to develop an active suspension for the tank by 2030.

An active suspension has sensors to see the terrain ahead and make anticipatory adjustments to the suspension to ensure a very smooth ride.

Weight (tonnes) Engine (HP) Gun Suspension

: : : :

Crew Safety

:

60 1800 120mm smooth bore Hydro-pneumatic, later Active Suspension Active Protection System (APS)

SMOOTHBORE 120 MM GUN

D

RDO currently uses a rifled gun on its tanks, but the FMBT will be armed with India’s first smoothbore 120-millimetre tank gun that would allow it to fire anti-tank missiles and high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds.

JONCATALÁN/WIKIPEDIA

Technical Specifications

PIB

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Future Infantry Combat Vehicle The Future Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) will replace Russian vintage personnel carrier BMPII Sarath, license manufactured by the Ordnance Factory Board. There are three private and one public companies contesting this bid worth `65,000 cr.

Technical Specifications Active-protection system (APS) Automatic cannon system Third-generation anti-tank-guided missiles Capable of amphibious tasks Crew

: Three

Troop

: Seven soldiers in full battle load

Automatic remedial measures

: Chaff and smoke

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FUNDING Â The MoD will fund 80 per cent of the prototype development cost and the rest of the 20 per cent will be funded by the developing firm. Â The pricing is around `12-13 crore for each vehicle and with the ATGM it is expected to reach the `15-16 crore-mark. Â The final shortlisting of the two vendors by the Defence Production Board, which will develop prototypes for user trials, was expected by January 2012.

SNAPSHOT PIB

9 Part of mechanised infantry modernisation programme 9 Four Indian contenders with foreign collaborators 9 To replace BMP II infantary combat vehicle 9 Order for 2600 FICVs 9 Two contenders will be selected for producing the vehicle separately 9 The best prototype manufacturer will be awarded the contract 9 Vehicle will be in service in Indian Army from 2020 to 2060 9 Twenty per cent of the 2600 vehicles will be tracked

BAESYSTEMS

FEATURES Make India y The FICV programme is going to be the first acquisition by the Indian armed forces under the 'Make India' procedure of the Defence Procurement Policy (DPP) 2008. y In October 2008, an MoD team visited various companies as part of a feasibility study, to assess whether Indian companies were capable of handling the FICV programme.

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST y The Expression of Interest (EoI) was issued to four Indian companies: Tata Motors, Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Mahindra Defence Systems and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), in May 2010. y Companies submitted their responses by October 2010. The EoI of the FICV provides details of the capabilities that the Army is looking for in its next-generation combat vehicle for the contingencies of the next two decades at least.

Common system y Companies have been asked to submit separate proposals for the wheeled and tracked versions. The two systems are required to use common parts for cheap production and hassle-free maintenance. y The commercial proposal will be released for the wheeled version only, but the Army is also interested in the tracked version and, therefore, an additional proposal for a tracked version will be submitted. Around 20 per cent of the total number could be for tracked variants.

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SNAPSHOT

BAESYSTEMS

Country of origin : Sweden FH : 77 BO5 Range : 40 kilometres Weight : 11,500 kg Transfer of Technology (ToT) from Bofors Contributing firms DMD, Slovakia

Artillery

The God of War The Army has initiated an Artillery Modernisation Programme. Under the programme, the Army plans to buy 145 ultra-light howitzers, 158 towed-and-wheeled, 100 tracked, and 180 wheeled-and-armoured guns in the first phase. The Army last purchased an artillery gun in 1987 when the last Bofors howitzer was delivered.

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THE STAR OF KARGIL Â An order has been placed for 100 155mm / 52 caliber howitzers with the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) in February 2012 on the basis of Transfer of Technology (ToT) done by Bofors. Â In 2011, DRDO announced its intent to develop a 155mm / 52 caliber gun for the Indian Army. Â Speaking on the occasion of DRDO Awards Function on June 3, 2011, Dr VK Saraswat, SA to RM, Secretary Defence Research and Director General DRDO said DRDO is “Hoping to launch new programs for Gun Development of 155mm / 52 Caliber Artillery Gun in both stand-alone and selfpropelled versions, so as to take care of future artillery requirements of the next decade.” Â DRDO’s Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) and BEML are working together with a foreign firm for building and supplying the gun.

SHOOT AND SCOOT

I

t was reported in September 2010 that the Slovakian company, DMD, and BEML would collaborate to produce a wheeled 155 mm 52 caliber gun. BEML was also looking at a tracked version of the gun.

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M777 Towed Indian government has authorised the purchase of 145 ultra-light M777 towed howitzers for the Indian Army under its Artillery Modernisation Programme. The USmade gun will equip mountain artillery divisions deployed at high altitudes along the LAC and LOC.

ACQUISITION DETAILS

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BAESYSTEM

A

total of 145 guns are proposed to be acquired under a contract worth $650 million (nearly `2,950 crore). The acquisition is being made from BAE Land Systems (US) under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme without competitive bidding. It is part of the Indian Army’s estimated $2.5-billion artillery modernisation programme.

S Y S T E M S

E X H I B I T I O N

SNAPSHOT Country of origin : USA Weight : 3,175 kg Range : 24-40 km Special Munition : Excalibur GPS-guided Transportable by Helicopter

PROTECTING THE PEAKS

D

eliveries of the guns, earmarked to equip the two new mountain divisions (Six regiments) being raised, will span 18-24 months.

FEATURES The M777 howitzer is replacing the M198 howitzer in the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army.

The 155 mm gun’s relative light weight of 3,175 kg, achieved through the extensive use of titanium, allows it to be slung under a helicopter and quickly deployed in mountainous terrain.

In contrast to the M777’s light weight, the 155 mm FH77B Bofors howitzer acquired by the Indian Army starting 1986 weighed 11,500 kg.

In tests conducted by the US Army, firing at a target 24 km away the gun landed 13 of 14 Excalibur rounds that it fired within 10 metres of their target.

BANG FOR THE BUCK

O

ther countries besides the US that use the M777 howizter are Britain, Canada and Australia. In September 2011, it was reported that Saudi Arabia had ordered 36 guns.

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Creating the super

soldier

Futuristic Infantry Soldier-As-A-System (F-INSAS) is a programme of the Indian Army to enhance capabilities of future soldier. The programme is aimed at enhancing the “lethality, survivability, mobility and sustainability and situational awareness� for future soldiers.

Schedule

DRDO Participation DRDO has initiated projects to design and develop Multi-Calibre Individual Weapon System and Air Bursting Grenade for Individual Weapon.

CORE TECHNOLOGIES

JVS.WIKIA.COM/CAD_52

The programme is spread over the 12, 13 and 14th fiveyear plans (2012 to 2027).

Modular weapons Body armour and individual equiment Weapon sights and hand-held target acquisition devices Communication equipment Portable computers

WEAPON SYSTEMS Close-quarter battle (CQB) carbines Assault rifles with detachable under-barrel grenade launchers Light machine guns equipped with third-generation night-vision devices and laser designators

PROCUREMENT PROGRESS MoD has issued global tenders for lightweight ballistic helmets with internal communication gear.

MoD is currently preparing RFPs (request for proposals) for modular bullet-proof jackets, holographic reflex weapon sights, soldier-wearable computers, communication and surveillance equipment .

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DECODING THE BATTLEFIELD

I

nfantry soldiers will be equipped with an Integrated Computer and Communication System with highquality communication and data services. The system will feature a wrist display for soldiers and portable planning board for commanders, GPS, digital magnetic compass, dead reckoning module (in the case of GPS failure) and UHF and VHF communication.

Night-vision binocular

Helmet: Blast-resistant and bullet-proof

Target designator: Gunmounted laser-target designator for accurate targeting

Handheld GPS navigator

Assault rifle: Modern lightweight assault rifle with smaller barrel for better handling

Hand-held thermal imager for night surveillance

DAVID MONNIAUX

Rugged tablet: Part of battlefield management system, provides soldiers with map, troop locations and objective

VHF/UHF radio set: For communication with troops

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Arming the Infantry The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has taken out global tenders for new assault rifles and Close Quarter Battle (CQB) carbines. The Ministry is currently making RFPs (request for proposals) for light-machine guns.

SNAPSHOT Large number of guns to be produced Multiple contracts for different guns Use of diverse systems by separate agencies

ASSAULT RIFLES Â The new assault rifles will be modular allowing replacement of sub-assemblies without specialised tools. Â They will feature interchangeable barrels, a combination of some or all from amidst 5.56 X 45mm, 7.62 X 39mm, 7.62 X 51mm, 6.8 X 43mm and 6.5 Grendel. Â In addition, the rifles will feature holographic reflex sight and Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) to launch air-bursting grenade. Soldiers will use the 7.62 x 39mm barrels for counterinsurgency operations and the 5.56 x 45mm barrels for conventional warfare.

OFF-THE-SHELF ARMOURY

I HEMANT RAWAT

t has been reported that the Army plans to acquire around 44,000 CQB carbines off-the-shelf with TOT to facilitate local manufacture by Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). Similarly,it plans to purchase 66,000 advanced assault rifles and then license manufacture them.

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The Israeli Tavor Assault Rifle has been inducted in large numbers in the Indian Army The under barrel grenade launcher lends additional firepower to the infantry

The M4 carbine is widely used by special forces around the world

The HK MP5 is one of the most widely used submachine guns in the world

SPECIALISED ARMAMENTS The new assault rifles will be modular allowing Rifles will feature holographic reflex sight and Under replacement of sub-assemblies without specialised Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) to launch air-bursttools. ing grenade.

They will feature interchangeable barrels, a combina- Soldiers will use the 7.62 x 39mm barrels for countertion of some or all from amidst 5.56 X 45mm, 7.62 X insurgency operations and the 5.56 x 45mm barrels for 39mm, 7.62 X 51mm, 6.8 X 43mm and 6.5 Grendel. conventional warfare.

HEAVY MACHINE GUNS The Army is also shopping for tripod-mounted 12.7 mm heavy machine guns, which can fire armour-piercing rounds.

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Tanks for

mountains The Indian Army’s mountain strike capability requires a substantial fillip. To achieve this the India Army is planning to buy light tanks that can be employed in mountains and the Himalayan plateau. But the process of acquisition has been rather slow.

SNAPSHOT 9 Tanks for mountains 9 To check Chinese superior infrastructure across the mountain ranges.

9 RFI released in October 2009 RFP undergoing formulation 9 Capable for operating in riverine terrain 9 Can be employed in urban environment in counter-insurgency operations 9 To beef up Army strike capability in mountains and plateaus

Technical Specifications To climb 30 degree gradient To have cold start capability To have anti-tank capability To have reactive armour and capable of carrying extra armour Modular design Weight

: 22 tonnes

Height

: 2.8m

Length

: 7.8m

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FEATURES 他 The Indian Army had released a request for information (RFI) in October 2009 for light tanks. The Army has studied the responses and is in the process of formulating the actual tender. 他 The RFI clearly states that the tanks will be used in "semi-mountainous and mountainous regions in North and North-East, developed and semi

developed terrain in the Western borders and in the island territories". 他 India needs light tanks for use in offensive operations on the Tibetan plateau in case there is another border war with China.

Light tanks will be useful during counter-insurgency operations in the north-east and in central India. These are more easily trans-

portable and are an inescapable requirement for the initial stages of intervention operations. 他 Light-wheeled tanks that can operate in deserts and mountains with reasonable fire power and can also carry troops like any personnel carrier will provide the much-required flexibility that is not available with traditional systems of either tanks or carrier.

BAESYSTEMS

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Vehicle for Special Forces Indian Special Forces are under-equipped and repeated attempts to procure equipment for their specific needs have not been fruitful. The SFs are using improvised commercial off-roaders to operate in remote and inaccessible areas behind enemy lines. The Indian Army has released a Request for Information for the second time after the scrapping of the previous tender due to a single-vendor situation.

SNAPSHOT Country of origin: India For Special Forces To operate in difficult terrain in remote areas Transportable by medium-lift helicopter and aircraft Para-droppable from aircraft Heavy and medium machine guns Milan anti-tank-guided missile Automatic grenade launchers

Technical Specificationd (as per RFI) Length Width Height Range Speed Ground clearance

: Not more than 4.7m : Not more than 2.1m : Not more than 1.65m : Not less than 400 km on highways : Max speed not less than 110 kmph on highways : More than 250mm under the lowest part of the vehicle

Operating Temperature : -10째C to +45째C Max Operating Altitude : Between 9000ft and 15000 ft MSL. Fording Capability : Should not be less than 200mm.

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FEATURES Tyres Suspension Self-Recovery Gradient

: Tubeless tyres : Independent suspension and a four-wheel drive : Self-recovery along with 50m wire/synthetic rope length. : Vehicle should be capable of negotiating a vertical and tilt slope of not less than 25 degrees and a vertical step of minimum 30 cm

Angle of approach and departure : Not less than 25째 and angle of departure of not less than 20째 Turning Circle Diameter : Not more than 14 m Fuel Tank Capacity: Not less than 50 ltrs.

SPECIAL OPERATION A Fast Attack Vehicle for the PARA (Special Forces) to enhance the mobility and reach of the Special Forces in all types of terrain, with integral firepower, good cross-country mobility and stability.

Unique requirements of the Special Forces can’t be fulfilled by the existing vehicles.

Therefore, to enhance their survivability and speed, the Special Forces require a cuttingedge top-of-the-line strike vehicle.

The LSV should be able to transport four people, including a driver, with a full combat load of personal weapons and space for carriage of in-service radio sets, spare ammunition, water and fuel.

TRANSPORTABILITY ¾ The vehicle to be light enough to be carried by Mi17/ Mi17 (1V) helicopters. The specification also suggests that the vehicle should be transportable and be hardy enough to be para-dropped by IL76 and An-32 transport aircraft. ¾ The vehicle to be transportable by any other strategic, tactical or medium transport aircraft. The maximum weight of the vehicle, including the minimum 950 kg of payload should not exceed 3000 kg, the maximum weight that Mi17s can carry.

STRIKE CAPABILITY

R

FI is looking for the LSV that has lethal strike capability. Weapons mount capable of firing a 7.62mm general purpose machine gun with minimum frontal arc of 120 degree. At the rear, the vehicle is expected to have Milan anti-tankguided missiles, a .50/12.7 heavy machine gun and an automatic grenade launcher.

MAHINDRA

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Man portable air defence

MISTRAL (MBDA) Warhead : Detonation mechanism : Guidance system

:

High Explosive Laser proximity or impact triggered Infrared homing

The Indian Army last year publicised an RFI for the man portable very short range air defence (VSHORAD). The tender saw a number of global majors’ interest in the $1.28bn tender.

SNAPSHOT

State-of-the-art day-and-night sight Man portable, ship launched, vehicle launched, submarine launched High Altitude Areas greater than 3500m Operational in plains, semi-desert, desert, coastal areas and in maritime conditions Transfer of Technology (ToT) to the nominated agency in India Establishment of production facility after ToT RFI for 800 launchers and over 5,000 missiles To replace Russian Igla Portable multi launcher

CHIROON ( LIG NEX1) y y y y y

Close proximity detonation: Detonates 1.5 m near target Engine solid-rocket motor Guidance system is infrared homing Operational with South Korean Army

RBS 70 SAAB Automatic target tracking

MBDA

y y y y y y

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Integrated thermal imager Visual target assignment Simplified aiming functions Simultaneous detection of several targets All-target capability (with BOLIDE Missile)

COVER STORY

Army-Air Defence Artillery Air Defence Artillery is the Army’s defence against incoming enemy air assaults. The Indian Army’s air defence guns and missiles are of vintage Russian origin and obsolete against the third and fourth generation fighters. The upgradation has got delayed in spite of the industry’s enthusiasm.

ZSU-23-4B SCHILKA y y y y

Russian origin Of 70s vintage Self-propelled and mounted system Crew: commander, driver, gunner, radar operator y Four 23 mm 2A7 auto cannons ammunition

L/70 y y y y y

Medium-weight anti-aircraft systems Longest-serving artillery pieces Designed by Bofors Crew dependent on use Maximum range 12,500 m

ZID.RU

OSA-AK SYSTEM y y y y

Introduced in 1985-86 to India Crew of five soldiers Highly mobile and low-altitude Short-range tactical surface-to-air missile system y Armament of 6 9M33, 9M33M1, 9M33M2 or 9M33M3 missiles y First mobile air defence missile system with radars on a single vehicle

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Battlefield Management System In today’s battlefield, the Army with better situational awareness wins. To achieve this, the latest communication technology solutions have been incorporated into a Battle Management System (BMS).

SNAPSHOT DEFENSE-UPDATE.COM

Provides battlefield situational awareness Enables a faster decision process by commanders at all echelons.

Enables better decision Reliable operational information in real time Shortens the sensor to shooter loop Connects the soldier to higher commander

C4ISR Any modern army today requires the seamless connection of all its formations and assets across the battle theatre area and outside the theatre in a network through secure datalink. India is working towards this Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Information, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) system and is acquiring assets for the same.

SNAPSHOT DEFENCEFORUMINDIA.COM

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Based on communication network Connects all field and static formation Real-time information-sharing between higher and lower formations Shortens OODA loop (for observe, orient, decide, and act) Provides situational awareness

Anti-Tank Guided Missile Anti-tank guided missiles are essential in halting the enemy’s marching armour formation. India has not been able to manufacture Nag ATGM in right time. At present, India has around 50 per cent less missiles than sanctioned strength. India has ordered Russian and French missiles to augment its dwindling anti-tank missile capability.

KONKURS - M

MILAN 2T

JAVELIN

SNAPSHOT

SNAPSHOT

SNAPSHOT

Designed in 1960s Manufacturer in India Bharat Dynamic Limited (BDL) Russian origin Second-plus generation missile Detonation by contact Wire-guided SACLOS Individual and Vehicle launched 15000 missile ordered from BDL for `1380 cr in 2009

Missile Shelf Life 10 yrs Fire control with integrated thermal sight Passive imaging infrared Guidance: Lock-on before launch, automatic self-guiding Warhead: Tandem shaped charge Propulsion: Two-stage solid propellant Man-portable anti-tank weapon

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

Weight : Length : Diameter : Warhead : Engine : Wingspan : Operational range : Speed :

14.6 kg 1,150 mm 135 mm (5.3 in) tandem HEAT solid-fuel rocket 468 mm (18.4 in) 70 m to 4 km 200 m/s

FEATURES ¾ Wire-guided and aero-dynamically controlled missile. ¾ It is designed to destroy moving and stationary armoured targets with Explosives Reactive Armour at a range of 75 to 4000 metres ¾ Tandem Warhead simple in operation and immune to electronic counter-measures

License produced by BDL Original Manufacturer MBDA 4100 Milan 2T ordered by Army Around 30,000 operational in Army Guidance system — SACLOS wire Steering system —Thrust Vector Individual and Vehicle launched Contact Detonation

Weight Length Warhead Engine Operational range Flight ceiling

: : : : : :

7.1 kg 1.2 m tandem HEAT solid-fuel rocket 400-2000 m Speed 200 m/s

FEATURES ¾ Semi automatic, wire guided second generation missile ¾ Tandem warhead for Explosive reactive armour ¾ Counter measure proof ¾ Awarded in 2009 for 592 cr

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION Weight Ready to Fire Reload Time Weight Length Diameter Range Weight

: 48.8 lb 22.1 kg : <30 sec <12 sec : <15 sec : 15.1 kg : 108.2 cm : 12.7 cm : 2,500 m : 15.1 kg

FEATURES ¾ Javelin has been selected by the armed forces of 12 nations. ¾ The large diameter warhead will destroy all known armoured and light vehicles and is capable of engaging buildings and bunkers. ¾ If ordered the missile will be license manufactured in large number in India

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1 Aircraft Carrier (Virat)

8 Destroyers 3 Delhi Class (Delhi, Mumbai, Mysore) 5 Rajput Class (Rajput, Rana, Ranvir, Ranjit, Ranvijay)

8 13 Frigates 4 2 Shivalik Class (Shivalik, Satpura) 3 Talwar Class 4 (Talwar, Trishul, Tabar) 3 Brahmaputra Class (Brahmaputra, Betwa, Beas) 3 Godavari Class (Godavari, Ganga, Gomti) 2 Giri Class (Taragiri, Vindhyagiri)

Corvettes Khukri Class (Khukri, Kuthar, Kirpan, Khanjar) Kora Class (Kora, Kirch, Kulish, Karmuk)

18 Submarines 4 Shishumar Class (Shishumar, Shankush, Shalki, Shankul) 14 Sindhughosh Class (Sindhughosh, Sindhud hvaj, Sindhuraj, Sindhu vir, Sindhuratna, Sind hukesari, Sindhukirti, Sindhuvijay, Sindhurak shak, Sindhushastra)

“We cannot afford to be weak at sea ... history has shown that whatever power controls the Indian Ocean has, in the first instance, India’s seaborne trade at her mercy, and in the second, India’s very independence itself.”

India’s the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said this on March 28, 1958, standing on the quarterdeck of INS Mysore, the second cruiser to be acquired by independent India’s Navy. More than five decades later, this quote is as relevant today. Faced with threats from extra-regional powers in the Indian Ocean, the Indian Navy is undergoing a transformation to make it into a formidable blue-water fleet.

From policing the vital sea lanes of the Indian Ocean, to projecting the India’s power in the seas beyond it, the task of the Indian Navy is varied and complex. A blue-water navy is essential for projecting India’s power to protect it national interests. To this end, the Indian Navy is undergoing transformation from a brown water (coastal security) to a blue water (expeditionary) Navy. This transformation has been hampered by delays in production, lack of funds and slow process of procurement. But the situation has changed. Unlike its sister services, the Indian Navy has planned its procurement well and has been able to indeginise to great extent. At present, the Indian Navy has 49 ships and submarines under order of which only four are from abroad.

Last year, the Navy concluded eight important contracts for induction of different type of ships. In the next one year, 32 new ships including 25 Fast Interceptor Crafts will be inducted. Major ships to come to India in 2012 are the refurbished Vikramaditya in December this year, and three follow-up ships of the Talwar class from Russia. The Navy will soon start negotiations with shortlisted contenders for 16 multi-role helicopters.

Protectors of the Sea 64 I geopolitics I April 2012

6

Offshore Patrol Vessels Sukanya Class (Sukanya, Subhadra, Suvarna, Savitri, Sharada, Sujata)

4

Anti-Submarine Patrol Vessels Abhay Class ( Abhay, Ajay, Akshay, Agray)

“After the lost decade (the cashstrapped 1990s), we are now able to place orders, and acquisitions are happening; only that our yards are unable to deliver at globally competitive rates. But notwithstanding that, in the next five years, we would be commissioning on an average five ships or submarines in a year.”

9

Minesweepers Pondicherry/Karwar Class (Bhavnagar, Allepey, Ratnagiri, Karwar, Cannonore, Cuddalore, Kakinada, Kozhikode, Konkan)

12 Missile Boats 17 Landing Ships Veer Class (Veer, Nirbhik, Nipat, Nishank, Nirghat, Vibhuti, Vipul, Vinash, Vidyut, Nashak, Pralaya, Prabal)

THE CHALLENGES ¾ Having nuclear submarines as the third pillar of the nation's nuclear triad, giving a formidable deterrent capability with the ability to stay concealed for months and hit potential aggressors with devastating firepower at a moment’s notice ¾ Preparing itself for network-centric warfare, which is the way naval warfare is headed

ADMIRAL NIRMAL VERMA, Chief of Naval Staff

VIJAY KUMAR

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Indian Leviathan The Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) is constructing a 40,000 tonne aircraft carrier capable of hosting 30 aircraft under Project 71 of the Indian Navy. The first ship of the class would be named INS Vikrant. The aircraft carrier will support STOBAR (Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery) operations. It will feature a ski-jump like the INS Vikramaditya, instead of a steam catapult, for assisted takeoffs.

DESIGN

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he ship has been designed by the Directorate of Naval Design (DND), work on which started in 2001-02. It used an Italian company, Fincantieri, as design consultants for integrating the propulsion system, while a Russian firm, NDB, is contributing in aviation technology.

COMMISSIONING

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he first steel was cut for INS Vikrant in April 2005. Its keel was laid down in February 2009, and it is scheduled to be commissioned in 2014. The second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-2) is expected to be ready for induction in the Indian Navy by 2017.

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AIR OPS

WEAPONS AND SENSORS

SEA LAUNCH

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he aircraft carrier will be fitted with a vertical launch system for long-range surface-to-air missiles. A close-in weapon system will provide self-defence for the ship against incoming anti-ship missiles and aircraft. Four OTO Melera 76mm Super Rapid guns — two on the bow section and two at the stern side — will be fitted. They can fire 120 rounds a minute at a range of 30,000m.The ship’s system will be integrated with the Navy’s network facilitating the force multiplication through network-centric operations.

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he Vikrant will have two takeoff runways and a landing strip with three arrester hooks supplied by Marine Engineering Research Institute and made by Proletarsky Zavod plant in Russia. The ship will have adequate hangarage capacity and operating area to host 30 aircraft. The Navy plans to equip IAC-1 with a mix of MiG29K/LCA Naval Variant currently under development at ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency).

espite a laid-down schedule, the planned sea launch has been postponed. One of the reasons for the delay is the final fitment of the four GEsupplied LM 2500 engines. After the sea launch, hundreds of km of wiring will be laid. A flight deck, capable of operating the Russian MiG-29K, Kamov-31 choppers and the indigenous naval light combat aircraft Tejas, will be laid.

SAWFNEWS.COM

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Talwar Class The Talwar class is a new class of frigates — modified Krivak-III-class frigates from Russia — designed and built by Russia for the Indian Navy. It has a displacement of 4,000 tonnes and speed of 30 knots and is capable of accomplishing a wide variety of missions. Russia and India signed a $1.6-billion contract for the construction of three modified guided missile frigates in 2006.

BOTTOMLINE

P

rimarily designed to hunt down and destroy large surface ships and submarines. Ships of this class have quite a few systems of Indian origin and manufacture, including their anti-submarine sensor (sonar) suite and complete communication equipment.

NUMBERS The Indian Navy currently operates three Talwar (Russian modified Krivak III) class stealth frigates. They are: ¾ INS Talwar (2002) ¾ Trishul (2003) ¾ Tabar (2004) An additional three ships are on order from Russia. The new frigates — INS Teg, INS Tarkash, and INS Trikand — are identical to the previous lot except that they are stealthier and armed with vertically launched BrahMos missile.

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LATEST

T

he final trial of a new Talwarclass stealth frigate for the Indian Navy has been completed.

The testing was held at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad.The first of these frigates — Teg — was expected to be delivered in April 2011. It has now been finally tested prior to delivery. The other two — Tarkash and the Trikand — are at various stages of construction and testing at the Yantar shipyard. Delivery dates have yet not been finalised.

WEAPONS

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he frigate is armed with eight BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles.They are also equipped with a 100-mm gun, a Shtil surface-to-air missile system, two Kashtan airdefence gun/missile systems, two twin 533-mm torpedo launchers, and an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter.

VIJAY KUMAR

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Stealth Destroyers (Project 15A)

WORLDAFFAIRSBOARD.COM

NAVY

Three in number, these are the largest warships ever constructed at Mazagon, the oldest Indian naval dockyard. These are: INS Kolkata, INS Kochi and INS Chennai.

Equipped with enhanced stealth features and land-attack capabilities, the destroyers have been conceived as a part of what is known as Project 15 A, a follow-on of the earlier Delhi class (INS Delhi, INS Mysore and INS Mumbai).

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COST ¾ Programme cost: `8,459 crore ($1.69 bn) ¾ Unit Cost: `2,820 crore ($562.59mn)

COMMISSIONING ¾ INS Kolkata (March 2012) ¾ INS Kochi (March 2013) ¾ INS Chennai (March 2014)

PERSPECTIVE

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he ship will have state-of-the-art stealth features with a battery of weapon systems including BrahMos surface-to-surface missile, the LRSAM Long-Range Surface-to-Air Missile and the multi-function radar system. It will also be equipped by four AK-630 rapidfire guns and a medium range gun. It will also include torpedo launchers and antisubmarine rocket launchers; two multirole helicopters will add muscle to its anti-submarine operations.

OUTLOOK

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he construction of four more 6700tonne Project 15 stealth destroyers has been approved.The four destroyers of the Project 15B series will be nearly identical in all aspects but it will feature a completely changed superstructure. It will also differ in the sensor and weapons suite that they will carry. They are expected to be more stealthy. They are supposed to be equipped with the 1,000-km range Nirbhay cruise missile currently under development or the already developed BrahMos missile, and the long-range Barak-8 based LR-SAM AD missile system being developed with Israeli assistance.

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Silent and deadly

NAVY

The Shivalik-class frigates or Project 17-class frigates are multi-role frigates with stealth features â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the first of its kind to be built in India. The lead vessel of the class was commissioned on April 29, 2010. The Shivalik class (Project 17 and Project 17A) will be the main frigates of the Indian Navy in the first half of the 21st century.

The class and the lead vessels have been named after the Shivalik hills. Subsequent vessels in the class are also named after hill-ranges in India.

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PROJECT 17A

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NAVY

n June 2009, the DefenCe Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared a project to build seven stealth frigates using advanced manufacturing process like modular shipbuilding. The P17A warships will be India’s most advanced and stealthy frigates. They will be manufactured in India by the Mazagon Dock Limited, Mumbai (MDL) and the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata. These frigates will be more advanced and stealthier than the P17 Shivalik-class warships currently being inducted into the Navy.

ORDERBOOK STATUS

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ll ships of the class are being built by Mazagon Dock Limited. Currently three Shivalik-class project and 17 frigates have been completed while a further seven Shivalik-class project 17A frigates are on order.

FEATURES

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he ships feature reduced radar, infrared and sound signature making it difficult for an enemy to detect and attack them. They have inclined surfaces to reduce their radar cross-section and use low-noise propellers, propulsion devices and machinery with ‘’vibration damping’’. Though much smaller than the Delhi class of destroyers, their weapons package is far more potent. These include the latest surface-to-surface vertical launched missiles, surface-to-air missiles and state-of-the-art radar and communication equipment. Combat management system (CMS) of the ship enables her to deal with multiple threats simultaneously.

The stealth features will include 1. Missile silos flush with the deck.

2. Torpedo launchers blending along the sides of the vessel.

3. Concealed hangar for a Kamov helicopter.

BOTTOMLINE

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he ships are literally “all weather” and can operate in an ednvironment contaminated by nuclear, biological or chemical agents. A ‘Total Atmospheric Control System’ (TACS) ensures filtration of the air going into the ship at all times. In addition, it ensures the complete removal of radioactive, chemical or biological impurities, thereby protecting the crew and shipborne systems.

PERSPECTIVE

B

oth MDL and GRSE have no prior experience in modular ship building and the Navy wanted the first two warships of the class to be built at a foreign dockyard to enable the two Indian dockyards to imbibe the new technology and process. Security concerns are reported to have ruled out the use of a foreign shipyard since it would have entailed sharing the detailed design of the ship. Construction was to start by 2011, but GRSE and MDL are still in the process of upgrading their infrastructure to take on modular construction. The first ship is expected to be delivered within three-four years of the start of construction. All the seven frigates are expected to be delivered by 2021.

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Demining the oceans A South Korean shipyard — Kanganam Corporation — is constructing the first two of the eight minesweepers— the Mine Counter-Measures Vessels (MCMV) — for the Indian Navy. The Indian Navy wants the minesweepers to be an important element of its blue-water navy for the protection of Indian interests.

ACQUISITION

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he South Korean firm Kanganam Corporation emerged as the lowest bidder for building minesweepers. Minesweepers are specialised warships capable of detonating sea mines. The price range would be about $670 mn for each of the eight minesweepers.

As per the plan, Kangunam Corporation will deliver the first two MCMVs by 2016 and Goa Shipyard Limited, with the help of transfer of technology, will complete the rest of the contractual agreement by year 2018.

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OPERATION

ocating mines is done by high-definition sonar and the mines are mainly neutralised with a remote-controlled underwater vehicle. MCMVs usually combine the roles of minesweepers and mine hunters and belong to in-between these two types of vessels. The MCMVs will be capable of operating in areas of naval interest to locate, classify, sweep, hunt and neutralise all types of marooned and drifting mines. The MCMVs will also be deployed with local naval defence and search-and-rescue missions. The MCMVs, with a planned lifespan of 30 years would be 50 to 60 metres long with a beam of 11 metres, have a maximum speed of at least 16 knots and an endurance of at least 10 days.

HISTORY

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he Indian Navy has been on the lookout for minesweepers to replace the ageing fleet of Pondicherry and Karwar-class minesweepers. The 200-foot-long Pondicherry-class ships are minesweepers built for the Indian Navy by the Soviet Union from 1978-88 and are modified versions of the Russian Natya-class minesweeper. The Karwarclass ships, which were added later, are upgraded warships with the addition of surface-to-air missiles. These 12 minesweepers with Indian Navy will be obsolescent by the end of the decade.

OPTIONS

INDIANNAVY.NIC.IN

M

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eanwhile, the Indian Navy is also contemplating on acquiring two used Ospreyclass minesweepers from the US that were decommissioned by the US Navy in 2007. The US government has given the go-ahead for sale of these two vessels to friendly countries.

LCA Naval Variant The `1,714-crore programme to develop the LCA-Navy fighter and trainer versions was sanctioned in 2003. The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which is heading the LCA programme, aims to deliver the fighter version to the Navy by 2014.

AIRCRAFT

ROLLOUT

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The LCA Naval Variant is being developed in two phases. 他 Phase One: One trainer (NP1) and one fighter (NP2) are being developed along with Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF) at Goa, and other test facilities.

The two prototypes developed under this phase will serve as Technology Demonstrators to prove Aircraft Carrier Compatibility. 他 Phase Two: It would have two aircraft (NP3, NP4) in the Tejas Mk2 configuration powered by GE-414 engines.

CA-Navy would be based on the Tejas Mk-1/Tejas Mk-2 being developed for the IAF. The LCA (Navy) NP1 is powered by the GEF-404-IN20 engine and is designed for ski-jump take-off and arrested landing. It will be operating with a wide variety of operational weapons and equipment like the Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile, Anti-ship Missiles, Conventional bombs, Air Defence guns, CCMs and drop tanks.

BOTTOMLINE

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CA Naval will be compatible with the two INS Vikrant-class Indigenous Aircraft Carriers being built in Cochin.

NAVY

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Slayer of the deep INS Arihant is the first of the Indian-designed-and-built nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine developed under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project initiated in 1974. Launched in 2010, it is due to be commissioned in the Navy by December 2012 on completion of harbour, sea and weapon trials.

HISTORY

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he Arihant is essentially a Navy project with BARC providing the reactor. The Navy designed the vessel, built its power plant, and did all the welding. Larsen and Toubro fabricated the hull. Various parts were built at Visakhapatnam, Mumbai and Kalpakkam.The submarine, with a crew capacity of 95, is powered by a

miniature 83 MWe pressurized water reactor (PWR) fuelled by highlyenriched uranium. The miniaturised nuclear reactors were designed and developed with Russian help. India currently operates 14 conventional diesel-electric submarines. Of them, 10 are Russian-origin Kilo-class vessels and four are German HDW vessels.

OUTLOOK

S

ea trials are under way. This will also involve weaponsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; trials at the final stages before the subs are ready for induction. The sea trials wll include sensors and electronics test and safety and weapons trials. INS Arihant will complete Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nuclear triad. Some time back, the Russians handed over INS Chakra (Akula-2) nuclear submarine to the Indian Navy on a ten-year lease. Work on the second indigenous nuclear submarine, named INS Aridhaman, is in full swing and work on the third submarine known as S3, will start soon.

The Indian Navy will get four submarines of the Arihant class and all of them will be joining the Indian Navy by 2025. It is envisaged that by 2025, India will have around 30 conventional submarines in her flotilla.

PIB

WEAPONRY Gursharan Kaur, wife of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh breaking the auspicious coconut on the hull of the 6,000-tonne submarine, INS Arihant marking its launch, at Visakhapatnam on July 26, 2009.

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he INS Aridhaman is expected to be ready for sea trials by 2015. This will be equipped with the 750 km Sagarika (K-15) Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM). Later on, they will get the underdevelopment 3,500 km K-4 SLBMs. Arihant has four silos to carry twelve 750 km range, Sagarika SLBM or four K-4s.

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Project 75-I Submarines The Indian conventional submarine fleet is fast dwindling. To make up the numbers, the Indian Navy plans to open a production line in India of Project 75 (Scorpene subs). This new line will be called Project 75-I, producing indigenised Scorpenes at Indian private or public shipyards.

Technical specifications Displacement Displacement With API section Length Length with API section Max Speed Submerged Max Speed (k) Surfaced Range at 5k submerged Armament

: Normal 1750(tonne)

: 2000(tonne) : 66.4m : 76.2m : 20knots : 12knots : 550nm : 6 x 533-mm torpedo tubes.

12 torpedoes or SM.39 Exocet anti-ship missiles

CHARACTERISTICS

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he project is a follow-up to Project 75 which involves six air independent propulsion (AIP)-equipped submarines.

These incorporate a high degree of stealth and land-attack capability as well as the ability to launch missiles from under water.

The salvo launch of missiles at a single or multiple targets is possible. The DCNS will offer a Scorpene equipped with the MESMA AIP kit. Built at an Indian shipyard, public or private, the contract involves special emphasis on full transfer of technology.

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E X H I B I T I O N

SCORPENE ( PROJECT 75)

S

corpene submarines incorporate acoustic discretion and combat system performance technologies developed for nuclear-powered classes operated by the French Navy. They feature a modular design and excellent endurance. They are claimed to be one of the few medium-displacement designs suitable for extended ocean patrol duties.

FEATURES ¾ The construction of the first, second and third submarine commenced in December 2006, December 2007 and August 2008, respectively. ¾ The first submarine was to be delivered in December 2012 and thereafter, one every year till December 2017. ¾ The first Scorpene is now scheduled to be commissioned in the second half of 2015 followed by a sub every nine months with the last being delivered in September 2018. ¾ There will be two lines of construction operational when production commences under the P75-I project. ¾ MoD may order an additional three Scorpene subs under Project 75 in view of the delay in the progress of Project 75-I. ¾ AIP systems could be integrated into the fifth and the sixth submarines rolling out of MDL in 2018.

DCNS

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MRMR

BOEING

In February 2012, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) gave a nod to Indian Navy’s proposal to acquire nine advanced medium-range maritime reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft.

The acquisition will cost over $ 1 billion and will be one of the several measures to shore up India’s vast coastline against attacks—both conventional and terror-related.

IN THE FRAY

AIRBUS

ARPINGSTONE/WIKIPEDIA

Manufacturers who submitted information include: ¾ Boeing (P-8) ¾ Swedish SAAB (SAAB 2000) ¾ French Dassault Aviation (Falcon 900MPA) ¾ Brazilian Embraer (E145MP) ¾ Airbus Military (Case C-295) ¾ Hawker Beechcraft

The Falcon family trijety modified for Maritime Surveillance and operated by the French Navy and by several foreign Coast Guards.

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This is a twin-turboprop tactical military transport aircraft manufactured by Airbus Military in Spain.

SAAB

BOTTOMLINE

The Saab 2000 is a turboprop airplane able to cruise at a speed of over 665 km/h

¾ The MRMR acquisition will complete the three-tier security blanket that is the Indian Navy’s strategy to secure the country’s coastline. While the P-8Is will secure the outer periphery, the MRMR will oversee the critical sandwich layer in the middle with drones like the Israeli Heron and Searcher-II the eyes in the sky in the inner layer. ¾ The MRMR with its state-of-theart radar, is expected to be a flying arsenal with missiles, rockets and torpedoes for both antiwarship and anti-submarine warfare. The MRMR is required to have a range of 500 nautical miles and an endurance of 6 hours.

PERSPECTIVE

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ndia has a vast 5,422-km coastline, 1,197 islands and 2.01 million sq km of Exclusive Economic Zone to protect.It is one of the most complex and longest in the world and requires surveillance that has to be coordinated and cutting edge.The new aircraft, which will replace the aging fleet of 12 Islander aircraft in service, are to be equipped with an Airborne Early Warning system. The Indian Coast Guard has an additional requirement for six MRMRs without an Airborne Early Warning system.

HISTORY

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BEECHCRAFT

request for proposal (RFP) for supply of six Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft was floated by India’s Ministry of Defence in June 2008. Bids against the RFP were received from Boeing (P-8, a variant of P-8I), Russian Illyushin (IL-38 variant), French Dassault (Falcon 900MPA), Airbus (Case C-295) and Israel’s Elta System electronics (Gulfstream 550 mounted EL/W2085). The RFP weas later cancelled.

A reliable and flexible special-mission aircraft based on the ERJ 145 regional aircraft platform

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Landing Platform Dock In October 2010, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) approved the procurement of four large amphibious assault warships or Landing Platform Docks (LPDs) to increase the “strategic sealift capability” of the Indian Navy. The capability would also be useful for assistance to civil administration, disaster relief and other contingencies. The Indian Army has almost 10,000 soldiers in three amphibious brigades earmarked to protect its strategically important island territories in Andaman & Nicobar islands as well as Lakshadeep islands. The large amphibious ships, capable of carrying helicopters, transports and tanks along with troops, will allow the amphibious brigades to be moved for operations to these island territories.

SNAPSHOT Country of origin: India  Collaboration with Fincantieri, Italy  Capable of carrying helicopters, transports and tanks  Useful for disaster relief  Procured under “buy-and-make” category of Defence Procurement Procedure

LICENSE MANUFACTURE

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wo LPDs will be procured directly from a foreign manufacturer and two licence manufactured in India at Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL) at Visakhapatnam. The procurement of the LPDs is a follow-up to the purchase of the 16,900-tonne USS Trenton in 2007. The assault ship was acquired along with four landing craft for $92.5 million. It was rechristened INS Jalashwa. Besides INS Jalashwa, Inidia has two smaller 5,600t Shardul Class LST-Ls, and four remaining 1,324t Polnochny Class LST-Ms. The LPDs will enable the Indian Navy to transport infantry battalions, with all their equipment, over long distances and land them on foreign shores.

THE ‘MOTHERSHIP’

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Landing Platform Docks warship is engaged to land and support ground forces, on enemy coasts during an amphibious assault.

The Landing Platform Docks are essential to the success of any amphibious operation. Landing Platform Docks (LPDs) are capable of hosting landing craft, either on deck-mounted davits, or in an internal well deck.

US NAVY/JOE KANE

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FOCUS

Landing Craft Utility On September 29, 2011, the Indian Navy signed a contract for the supply of 8 Landing Craft Utility (LCU) from Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata. The first ship is to be delivered in 35 months. GRSE earlier built three Shardul Class Landing Ship Tanks (LSTs) — INS Shardul, INS Kesari and INS Airavat — for the Indian Navy.

SNAPSHOT

AMPHIBIOUS SPEARHEAD

Country of origin: India Manufacturer: GRSE, Kolkata

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Used for hard beaching of amphibious forces — troops, equipment and vehicles

eveloped during World War II Landing Craft Utility (LCU) is a type of boat used by amphibious forces to transport equipment and troops to the shore. These craft are also used by countries that have a long coastline.

Used to transport tracked or wheeled vehicles and troops from amphibious assault ships to beachheads or piers

DEFENSE.GOV

Transported on-board amphibious assault ships, like Landing Platform Docks (LPDs)

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Fierce duel for Navy choppers The Indian Navy has completed the field evaluation trials for Multi-Role Helicopters — a $one-billion deal for procuring 16 multirole helicopters for beefing its rotary-wing capability and capacity for the anti-submarine warfare fleet.

SIKROSKY

IN THE FRAY Trials of the American Sikorsky S-70B and European NH-90 have been completed and the report is being studied by the Navy at the moment, Defence Ministry sources said to Defencenow.com. Â The NHIndustries’ NH90 is a mediumsized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter manufactured by NHIndustries. The first prototype had its maiden flight in December 1995. To date, 14

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nations collectively ordered over 573 helicopters with deliveries starting in 2006 Â The Sikorsky S-70 is a medium transport/utility helicopter family manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. It was developed for the US Army in the 1970s.The S-70B SEAHAWK is a modern, battleproven Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) / Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) mission solution

BOTTOMLINE

HISTORY

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he MRH’s core role would be anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare. It can also play a critical role in search and rescue, cargo carrying and casualty evacuation. The Navy foresees three primary roles: ASW, anti-surface warfare (ASuW), and special operations.

Secondary roles include electronic intelligence, search and rescue (SAR), external cargo carrying, casualty evacuation and combat SAR.

he Navy urgently needs the MRH to replace its ageing Sea King fleet inducted in 1970. Over the years, the Sea Kings not only formed the ASW squadron on the aircraft carriers, but also became the ASW chopper of choice — equipping all Indian-manufactured ships like the Godavari-class frigates and the Delhi-class destroyers. The Sea King also became the preferred mount for the Marcos (Marine Commandos). At least 42 variants have been used in total, of which about 30 are still in service.

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his is not all. The country is gearing up to identify another machine for the over 75 heavy-duty choppers that will have anti-submarine and anti-warship warfare capabilities plus the capacity for amphibious assaults and commando operations.The Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) that is chaired by Defence Minister A K Antony, has given an in-principle approval for the process to acquire these machines at a cost upwards of $2 billion. The NMRH acquisition will be in addition to the ongoing procurement of 16 multi-role helicopters.

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he procurement of 16 choppers is part of the Navy’s plans to have a fleet of around 60 choppers. As per the RFP (request for proposal) issued by the Navy in 2008, it can go ahead with a repeat order of 44 more such machines in future.

The winning bidder would be required to supply the first MRH within 46 months in three phases. The contract also mandates fulfilment of the offset obligations by the winning bidder, which requires it to reinvest 30 per cent of the contract amount back into the Indian defence industry.

EUROCOPTER

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“We go beyond the buyer-seller relationship…”

ROHIT SRIVASTAVA spoke to MBDA’s Country Head LOÏC PIEDEVACHE as he looks to build on the weapon-maker’s success of bagging a massive contract to supply MICA missiles for the Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 aircraft.

È A multinational formed by a merger of AérospatialeMatra Missiles (of EADS), Finmeccanica and Matra BAe Dynamics in December 2001, MBDA is a missile developer and manufacturer with operations in France, Britain, Germany, Italy, and the United States.

On the Indian defence market

The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) is an experienced negotiator so the discussions for the MICA missiles were certainly arduous and protracted, but this is understandable, given the importance of this weapon to India’s future security. Of course, I’m delighted that the contract has now been signed but to me it represents much more than the supply of missiles to the IAF’s upgraded Mirage 2000 combat aircraft. More importantly, it represents another building block in MBDA’s growing relationship with India and its armed forces as well as its industry. My role in India is to find ways of developing a long-term partnership between the MBDA Group and India. With this contract, we are definitely moving in the right direction. Milan, Exocet, Mistral and now MICA are linking MBDA and India’s interests and future firmly together. With very active proposals in place for MBDA, products such as ASRAAM, PARS 3, Marte, not to mention weapons for the recently-selected MMRCA aircraft, the future looks extremely interesting indeed.

Many of the world’s defence contractors are facing pressure in their domestic markets. This is certainly the case in Europe and even in the US, where Defence Secretary Panetta recently announced cuts to the Pentagon’s budget. So the major players are feeling the winds of economic change, and for some time, MBDA has recognised the need to export. India, as one of the BRICS countries, is of course a growing market, a fact reflected in the year-on-year increases in defence expenditure. So naturally, global firms are attracted to the business potential on offer. MBDA has a number of proposals in place from the ASRAAM missile for IAF’s Jaguar bomber to the Mistral Manportable Air-Defence System (MANPADS) for India’s three armed forces. But here I would like to stress, our strategy is quite special in India. It goes beyond products and the traditional buyer-seller relationship. For quite some time now, we have highlighted our desire to forge deep and long-lasting partnerships in India,

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On the MICA contract

not only with the armed forces but also with Indian public and private sector industry. If you look at our international teams working on the Meteor Beyond-Visual-Range air-combat missile or on our Aster air-defence programme, you will see a fully integrated, multinational approach. I want to see this happening with joint MBDA/Indian teams working on new capabilities together, meeting not only Indian needs but also the needs of the wider global market place. MBDA is not only a technology leader, it is also recognised for the skills it has developed over the last ten years in developing an integrated multi-national business model. We do not only talk about international partnerships, we are making them work to the best effect everyday.

On offset

For projects exceeding around `300 crore, India stipulates a minimum of 30 per cent of contract value going towards offset in the Indian defence or aeronautical sectors. Offsets are all part of doing business in the global market and MBDA is proud of its record in fulfilling its offset obligations. We are perfectly happy in working through the offset requirement in India. In fact, this will further help MBDA create the wider industrial links we are looking for.

On the DRDO-MBDA Maitri missile The Maitri short-range surface-to-air missile (SRSAM) is an Indian programme with DRDO as the design authority. The Indian weapons industry will be responsible for the production of radars, launchers, C2 (Command and Control), missiles and system integration. So you should ask the DRDO itself about the current programme status.

On JV in the private sector There are a couple of projects that we definitely would like to advance as joint developments with India. I can say we are in advanced discussions and have identified potential partners but at this stage, and in fairness to these potential partners, I do not want to go into any more detail. With regard to the strong points of the Indian defence industry, I think most important is the Indian government’s vision for the sector. The government’s very commitment to advancing an indigenous industry base and acquiring the necessary technologies is crucial in itself. The process being helped by the government’s pragmatism in realising that tangible results can only be achieved by bringing together global players as well as India’s large, medium and small private and public enterprises. Missile manufacturing calls for a number of complex electronic and electro/mechanical sub-components as well as airframes. India already has a strong manufacturing base; it can also boast of some of the world’s top chip- designing companies and the prowess of the country’s IT sector needs no introduction by me. So the highly-qualified,

well-trained skill base is already there, well established and ready to provide an ideal launch pad when it becomes involved in India’s indigenous missile industry.

On the key missiles under development Much of our development work has to remain confidential. Of course, our engineers are continuously looking at ways for enhancing existing weapons with new technologies as they become available. One area we are advancing is the concept of standardisation, the standardising of missile electronic architectures, such as the “bus” that links the different computer components within a missile. We are also finalising the development of a single-generic computer core, known within MBDA as C3 (Common Computer Core), which can be used across a variety of missiles, hence reducing cost and risk.

Meteor is probably one of the most significant weapon developments we are working on — a key weapon for the Rafale, Eurofighter, Gripen and hopefully for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Additionally, the UK recently announced a contract award which will see MBDA equipping that country’s Type 23 destroyers with a new air-defence system known as the Sea Ceptor. Importantly for MBDA, this product will be closely linked to the UK’s Global Combat Ship programme, a programme that will not only see the Royal Navy supplied with a new Type-26 class of ship but also various other customer fleets as well.

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“We are perfectly happy in working through the offset requirement in India.

In fact, this will further help MBDA create the wider industrial links we are looking for.”

On vertical-launched MICA missile The growth plan for MICA was a logical one. A missile-developed to neutralise threats in the air functions much in the same way was if it was air-launched from an aircraft or launched from a ground or naval-based vertical launcher. Such versatility is an important logistics issue for customers as well, both in terms of their missile stockpile and the benefits to be gained from a wider customer community and the resultant opportunities of sharing through life enhancements as they become available.

On challenges in anti-ship missile development Today’s navies have a multi-faceted and increasingly important role to play so it is a small wonder that many navies, India’s included, are in the process of modernisation. Stealth plays a big part in the design of many new vessels with superstructures being very sleek and free from clutter to minimise their radar profile.

I can’t go into too many details but MBDA antiship missiles with their enhanced seeker capabilities and combined with new radar systems are facing this new challenge. Perseus is not an existing product in our catalogue but an element of MBDA’s Concept Visions initiative.

Within this initiative, MBDA personnel conceive solutions for possible future requirements.

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“Boeing has a 70-year relationship with India” ROHIT SRIVASTAVA spoke to DENNIS D SWANSON, Vice President, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, about the future of the company in India.

On India and Boeing India has always been one of the most important markets for Boeing Defence, Space & Security. I have been mandated to grow the business and expand relationships with customer, Indian suppliers and the industry. With my background in supplier management, industrial participation, offset and counter trade, I am looking at building partnerships in India. Boeing has a 70year relationship with India primarily based upon commercial airplanes. Our defence presence in the country is fairly recent but we have many steady inroads to grow relationships and strengthen Boeing’s presence in India.

On industrial engagement

È Boeing, the world’s leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined, has significantly expanded its footprint in India in both civil aviation and defence.

The company has also opened a Research and Technology centre in Bengaluru to collaborate with India’s technical talent for research in aero structures, materials and network systems.

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My experience has shown how offsets can be used to leverage capabilities and help contribute to a country’s industrialisation goals.

Boeing has a flawless record in executing on offsets. We have accomplished $42 billion in 40 countries in 30 years. With offsets, you have to take a look at the long term where you can establish value by working closely with the industry and armed forces. Air Chief Marshal Browne talks about building indigenous capability in India and reversing the trend to over 70 per cent of defence equipment being procured in India. Partners like Boeing can help achieve that goal. Boeing sees this as a longterm partnership and not as a transactionalbased relationship. Offset can play a significant role in developing those capabilities, with public sector companies like Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), private companies and small and medium enterprises (SME) that are really the foundation of a robust aerospace sector. With Boeing in India, we will continue to work with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in flawless execution.

On partnerships with Indian industry Boeing sees great value in partnering with India.

We continue to work with private sector, government sector and industry to expand our partnerships. Indian companies are providing parts and

components for aircraft that the Indian armed forces will receive and significantly build their technology and defence production capabilities.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is currently contracted to manufacture the F/A-18 gun bay door, F/A-18 wire harnesses, P-8I weapons bay doors, P-8I tailcones, and P-8I Identification Friend or Foe Transponder (IFFT).

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has delivered the Indian-designed Data Link II for the P-8I, a communications system that will enable exchange of tactical data and messages between the Indian Navy aircraft, ships and shore establishments. BEL has also delivered the Identification Friend or Foe Interrogator (IFFI), a battle management system that will enable P-8I aircraft to distinguish friendly aircraft and forces.

Finally, BEL is on contract to provide F/A-18 cockpit panels and has already started delivering on that contract.

In addition to Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), private industry companies play a large role in Boeing’s industrial strategy.

Dynamatic Technologies and Tata Advanced Materials Limited (TAML) have already delivered P-8I power and mission equipment cabinets and TAML is on contract to provide P-8I Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) door fairings. Avantel has delivered the P-8I Mobile Satellite Systems.

Beyond direct work placement, Boeing collaborates with Indian industrial partners on lean manufacturing techniques and Boeing’s programme management and supplier management best practices. Boeing is also looking at ways to partner with several small and medium enterprises throughout India.

On Boeing’s people Boeing has established a Boeing Analysis & Experimentation Centre (A&E Centre) in Bengaluru in collaboration with BEL. The centre provides defence experimentation and decision support services to understand the future war fighting needs of the Indian armed forces. The centre is staffed with former Indian military per-

sonnel and modeling and simulation engineers from Boeing. The Boeing team works hand-inhand with BEL personnel, with plans to create a BEL node in the future.

Boeing’s Research and Technology Centre, also based in Bengaluru, has engineers working on the development of cutting-edge technology.

On the strength of the Indian SME sector SMEs are the foundation of a strong aerospace sector and play a significant role. We have seen small companies in the defence sector tripling and quadrupling in size because of investments in technology transfer, production assistance and production best practices. From an offset perspective, those are areas that should be considered for crediting.

On the fear that offset changes are too slow I have to give credit again to the MoD. for the evolving Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) and providing leadership for the execution of offset policies. As the policy evolves and changes are made, a good practice would be to make retroactive programmes that were initiated in 2006 and 2008. Clauses like extended periods of performance allow companies like Boeing to execute complex work because it takes time to get qualifications, capabilities and technologies.

Banking credits is another area where OEMs can bank credits for future obligations.

On the MRMR The P-8I baseline contract for eight aircraft had the option for an additional four. We have been actively engaged with the MoD and the Indian Navy for the completion of the contract. We are working on the offset proposals. On the medium-range maritime reconnaissance (MRMR) requirements, Boeing has responded to RFI questions but we have not received an RFP yet.

Boeing’s MRMR requirements will depend on the technical requirements. The P-8 platform can play a significant role in fulfilling long-range and medium-range missions. Synergies exist in having a common fleet of 737 aircraft, in terms of maintenance, training, certifications and spares.

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“Air Chief Marshal Browne talks about 70 per cent indigenous capability that he wants. It is partners like Boeing that will help achieve that goal. As we see this as a long-term partnership not as a transactional base relationship, offset can play a significant role in developing those capabilities, with government companies like HAL, private companies and small and medium enterprises.”

On coastal radars

HEMANT RAWAT

We have not had any specific discussions on coastal radar-type systems. If you look at the C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) and coastal protection, we have assets such as UAVs with Scan Eagle and Integrator. We have had discussions and briefings with the Indian Navy on the Scan Eagle.

The Scan Eagle has the ability to launch and retrieve either at land or sea. It can be launched from boats so it’s not an expensive system. It is a very light and functional, and can fly up to 24 hours on less than two gallons of gas.

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“India holds tremendous long-term potential for us…”

Cassidian sees tremendous opportunities, both in India’s defence and its homeland security market, and seeks to plug the country firmly into its global value chain. GEOPOLITICS spoke PETER GUTSMIEDL, CEO of Cassidian India, on the company’s plans in India.

On the India mission I am looking forward to plugging India firmly into our global value chain and want to put Cassidian on a very strong footing here. We already have a robust collaboration with the DRDO, HAL and private sector companies like Larsen & Toubro. I will strive to establish more partnerships in cuttingedge technology areas and to widen our industrial footprint.

What is also important is integrating our engineering centre into our global engineering organisation and promoting it as a global ‘Centre of Competence’ within the company for certain niche technologies.

On the MMRCA tender

È The defence and security subsidiary of the EADS group, Cassidian, is a major provider of global security solutions, lead system integration and aerial, land, naval and joint systems.

Cassidian's slogan is Defending World Security and its mission is to support the people whose mission is to protect the world.

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Cassidian’s engagement with India is not limited to the MMRCA tender. India holds tremendous long-term potential for us and plays a crucial role in our globalisation strategy. Irrespective of the MMRCA decision, we aim to become a catalyst for India’s industrial and technological development. Together with public and private sector local partners we want to drive more business to India. This includes enabling India to export high value defence and security equipment.

We continue to invest in this country and we will create more jobs.

“India is of utmost importance for us and we intend to create a long-lasting strategic partnership with this fast-growing country.

Appointing a top manager like Peter Gutsmiedl as first India CEO reflects our strong commitment to further deepen cooperation with this nation. His track record makes him the perfect choice to grow our business in close cooperation with Indian companies.”

Bernd Wenzler, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of EADS DS India Ltd. On opportunities in India I see tremendous opportunities, both in India’s defence and in its homeland security market.

One reason why this sector is growing rapidly is the Indian government’s strong support to increase indigenous capabilities. I cannot stress this enough: For us, India is more than just a key market. It is offering attractive possibilities for mutually beneficial industrial collaborations with both public and private industries. Last year ,for example, we announced the formation of a joint venture with Larsen & Toubro in the field of defence electronics. To effectively support such collaborations and to boost indigenous capabilities, we are proactively investing in defence research and development in India. Our engineering centre in Bengaluru has broken new ground: It is the first of its kind, defence-oriented engineering centre in India owned by a foreign company.

On involvement in Indian programmes Cassidian is delivering on a consultancy contract for India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) with the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA). We have a similar contract with the DRDO to provide consultancy services for developing the system architecture of India’s indigenous Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) radar. In cooperation with the Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE), Cassidian has successfully developed a Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS) for Indian rotary wing and widebody aircraft. We’re really proud of the result: The sensor has been certified as indigenous equipment by Indian authorities and is expected to be produced to be fitted on India’s Cheetah helicopters. On the homeland security front, Cassidian was awarded India’s first major public safety TETRA network contract by Andhra Pradesh Police to cover the region of Cyberabad. We have also deployed a modern TETRA radio network to secure the Indian Parliament.

On the TETRA system for the Indian cities TETRA is a scalable technology,which can be used to make our cities safer by allowing different police and security organisations and emergency response teams to come together on a single shared communication network, which is robust and can guarantee fail-safe, seamless

communication and information flow in times of emergencies. Other networks like the GSM are susceptible to break down and jamming in critical situations. A TETRA-based network allows for a coordinated response by various agencies, which can in the first place assist in the prevention of a security hazard by providing better and timely intelligence. Secondly, in the aftermath of an emergency it can help mount a coordinated response, which can save lives.

Cassidian has deployed city and even nation-wide networks based on TETRA/TETRAPOL technologies around the world. For example, in Singapore, Cassidian has installed a city-wide network. Nation-wide networks have been established in countries such as Germany, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, etc.

In 2010, Cassidian along with its partners deployed a modern TETRA radio network at the Indian Parliament. This state-of-the-art digital, encrypted communication system helps in enhancing the coordination between the different agencies entrusted with Parliament's security.

Cutting-edge TETRA handsets along with the supporting network infrastructure, allows security personnel to access a huge amount of data including images of visitors and vehicles at the push of a button. This considerably improves access control.

Cassidian handsets are also integrated with GPS. So, controllers can track movement of people and vehicles. The network is backward integrated allowing complete interoperability with legacy analogue systems. And very important: The system is designed in such a way that future security applications can be developed based on customer requirements and can be integrated seamlessly with the existing network.

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“I see tremendous opportunities, both in India's defence and in its homeland security market. One reason why this sector is growing rapidly is the Indian government's strong support to increase indigenous capabilities. I cannot stress this enough: For us, India is more than just a key market. It is offering attractive possibilities for mutually beneficial industrial collaborations with both public and private industries.”

On DefExpo 2012 Absolutely. It is one of the largest land, naval and internal security systems exhibitions in the world. We aim at becoming a catalyst for India’s industrial & technological development and thereby support indigenisation of its defence capabilities. Events like the DEFEXPO 2012 allow us to interact with our customers and potential partners and showcase our products and technologies. I am looking forward to use this wonderful opportunity.

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“We can provide a spectrum of products for India…”

Currently supplying the Indian Air Force with the Sensor Fused Weapon programme, Textron Systems has a number on pioneering products in its porfolio. GEOPOLITICS spoke to KEVIN J COSGRIFF, Senior Vice President, International Business and Government, about the company's plans in India.

On Textron Systems and its presence in India The larger Textron enterprise established Textron India Private Limited in 2004 with a stateof-the-art facility in Bengaluru’s Global Village.

Its mission is to support Textron’s many wellknown brands within the country through engineering expertise, sourcing and business development.

On the Sensor Fused Weapons (SFWs) for the

Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force is acquiring 512 Sensor Fused Weapons from the US government.

While highly precise and powerful, SFW also incorporates our proprietary safety features to prevent harmful unexploded ordnance. We remain actively engaged in the delivery of the system at the current time.

On the key technologies at DefExpo 2012

È Textron Systems is an aerospace and defence development and manufacturing firm providing a host of innovative technologies. The company is a business unit of Textron Inc, an industrial conglomerate that includes Bell Helicopter, E-Z-GO, Cessna Aircraft Company, and Greenlee, among others.

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At this year’s DefExpo, we will showcase: The Spider Networked Munition System — Spider is a man-in-the-loop, networked munition area denial system designed to replace indiscriminate landmines. It consists of three major components: a communications system for man-in the-loop control, a simple trip line sensor system to tell the operator of an intrusion, and a munition system that can provide both lethal and nonlethal responses. Spider’s man-in-the-loop control and off-on-off feature, which allows the system to be recovered from the field, give the operator the ability to secure an area while protecting friendly forces and civilians.

Scorpion Networked Ground Munitions System — The Scorpion system integrates sensors, munitions and networking technologies to detect, track, classify, report, engage and destroy light wheeled and heavy tracked vehicles. Continuous man-in-the-loop control, similar to the Spider system, allows operators to secure an area and protect friendly forces and civilians. The ruggedised system can be equipped with either lethal or non-lethal effects. Tactical Remote Aerial Munition (T-RAM) — T-RAM is a unique

backpack-carried, tube-launched system designed to carry a variety of lethal warheads and sensors. With loitering capability and delivery from open or defilade position, the T-RAM provides precision lethal effects against personnel and light vehicle targets.

Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS) — A scalable suite of UGS suitable for a variety of tactical and homeland security applications such as convoy protection, perimeter security and border control that includes the nextgeneration MicroObserver UGS system.

MicroObserver reliably detects, classifies and tracks personnel and vehicles in border and base security, critical infrastructure protection, perimeter security and force protection applications, offering low false-alarm rates, a self-forming and self-healing network, and a mission life of more than two years.

Common Unmanned Surface Vessel (CUSV) — The Fleet-Class CUSV offers multimission capabilities with a reconfigurable payload bay, sliding autonomy, and hightow-force capacity. It delivers proven command and control, adapted from AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems’ battle-proven One System architecture, and provides power and performance while being self-righting and operational through Sea State 4. CUSV has excelled during several recent US Navy exercises, accumulating more than 800 hours of in-water operations, and is ready for use today.

Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) — Textron Marine and Land System LCAC is a highspeed, over-the-beach, fully-amphibious landing craft capable of carrying up to 75 tonnes of payload at speeds over 40 knots. It’s a proven cornerstone of the US amphibiousprogramme, and a revolutionary means to land at more than 80 per cent of the world’s shorelines. Supporting military or humanitarian missions, LCAC is designed to function in extreme conditions ranging from Arctic cold to Sahara heat.

Armoured Security Vehicle (ASV ) — Optimised survivability, all-terrain performance

and battle-proven firepower describe the ASV. Its enhanced ballistic protection provides 360-degree defence against direct and indirect weapons, mines and improvised explosive devices. The ASV’s record of protecting its soldiers is unmatched in any vehicle in its class. Add to that an exceptional operational readiness rate over 90 per cent, a top speed of more than 65 miles per hour (104 kilometres per hour) and run-flat tires, and you have an armoured vehicle that delivers.

On expectations from DefExpo 2012 We look forward to the exhibition as an opportunity to connect with our existing customers and partners in the region, while

establishing new relationships with potential customers and partners. We are excited to introduce our family of ground products including Unattended Ground Sensors, the Spider and Scorpion Networked Munitions Systems and the T-RAM. In addition, we’ll showcase our CUSV, which is a versatile, multi-mission maritime asset.

On the clients in India As mentioned, we are currently supporting the Indian Air Force through the Sensor Fused Weapon programme. In addition, we are contributing to the Indian Navy’s exploration of hovercraft technology. As the designer and manufacturer of the LCAC vessels used by the US and Japanese navies, we are uniquely skilled and experienced in this area.

Our intelligence offerings are another area in which we are able to support the broad spectrum of Indian armed forces and national agencies including the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the National Intelligence Grid. Among our core competencies are tactical and geospatial intelligence systems, as well as a range of unmanned aircraft systems and command-and-control technologies, that can be employed for intelligence and counter-terrorism activities.

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“Textron Systems is likely best known in India as the designer and manufacturer of Sensor Fused Weapon (SFW), a combat-proven, air-delivered area weapon. We are currently engaged in delivery of SFW systems to the Indian Air Force through a foreign military sale announced in December 2010.”

On the offerings for internal security There are several, depending on the customer’s needs. One of the most versatile products we’ll showcase is our MicroObserver UGS system, which is both easy to use and highly accurate. Our Unattended Ground Sensors are ideally suited for a variety of homeland defence missions including border control, waterway operations and protection of vital infrastructure from power plants to embassies.

They are flexible, easy to use and a valuable capability multiplier anywhere persistent surveillance is required.

On the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for India We offer a mature, multi-mission-capable family of small and tactical unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). This includes the expeditionary Aerosonde Small UAS, which is designed to execute both shipboard and land-based operations in space-constrained areas. The Aerosonde aircraft provides persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and offers high endurance. Our best-known platform is the renowned Shadow Tactical UAS, in service with the US Army and Marine Corps, as well as several international customers. The Shadow system has proved itself over more than 700,000 flight hours, the majority of which took place in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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“We will look to acquire advanced technologies…”

One of the country’s premiere Defence Public Sector Undertakings, which produces a varied number of products, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) supplies key components that are integral for the nation’s defence. Geopolitics spoke to this Navratna’s Chairman and Managing Director ANIL KUMAR on the company’s future plans.

È BEL is one of the eight PSUs under Ministry of Defence, Government Of India, and has even earned the government’s Navratna status. The country’s premier electronics organisation, with nine manufacturing units, BEL is engaged in the design, development and manufacture of sophisticated, state-of-theart electronic equipment for the use of Indian armed forces, and paramilitary organisations.

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On BEL’s vision

I would like to see BEL as a `25,000-crore company by 2020. But at the end of the day, we should make profits even as our turnover increases. Focus on Research & Development (R&D) is definitely the way forward as with our own R&D, we stand a better chance of adding more value to our products. We have 2,000-odd engineers working in R&D. To give a boost to the R&D set-up in BEL, we will make more investments in infrastructure so that our engineers are better equipped. We will look at Technology Transfer for acquiring advanced technologies wherever they are not available within our country. We, however, want to reduce the dependence on foreign companies and build up skills in-house. We will explore Joint Ventures (JV) if they are advantageous to us. Quality of products and marketing will be the other two key areas of focus.

Missiles, radars, C4I or Network Centric Systems (NCS), Electronic Warfare and Homeland Security are some of businesses we want to get into in a big way. We have identified Nuclear Power, Homeland Security and Railways as our future growth areas. We have already entered two of these areas already nuclear power instrumentation and homeland security. Work related to the railways — signalling and anti-collision devices — has just started. Our Panchkula unit is getting an order from Coal India Ltd to develop an anti-collision device for dumpers at mines. We will also focus on night-vision devices like thermal imaging devices, both cooled and uncooled, and may manufacture detectors as these are not available in the country now. We will give a push to the homeland security business. We are participating in a tender floated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd and hope to get some order for electronic instrumentation for atomic power plants. It will be an additional business for our Kotdwara unit.

We are pursuing the C4I (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence) or NCS business in all the three armed forces. Tactical Communication System,

Battlefield Management System and Battlefield Surveillance System will all turn out into huge money-spinners.

On sales target this year

We have some major projects lined up for Q4 and we are confident of surpassing last year’s turnover of `5,530 crore. The order book at the end of January 2012 is around `26,000 crore as compared to `23,600 in the beginning of FY 2012. Having received orders worth `6,000 crore in the first three quarters, we are expecting inflow of another `4,000 crore orders in the last quarter.

On recent projects

The indigenously-developed Weapon Locating Radar (WLR) has met all the user requirements.

This project was proactively taken up by BEL with Electronics Research and Development Establishment (LRDE), a DRDO lab. We expect to receive an order for 30 numbers before March 2012. Presently, GS evaluation is going on and we believe that yet another order for 12 units would come in once the deliveries begin. We are also looking at a smaller and more compact version of this radar for mountainous terrains.

A major project we have taken up is the Software Defined Radio (SDR) with which all three Services’ requirements are being simultaneously addressed with variants. By June this year we should have the first model and by December, we should be able to offer it for user trials. The SDR has been designed in such a way that it can work with the legacy systems of the armed forces. Over the years, as the old ones are phased out, the SDRs will take their place.

The Ministry of Rural Development placed an order for 6 lakh Tablet PCs to carry out the Socio Economic Caste Census and I am happy to note here that BEL rose to the challenge by supplying the required numbers in record time.

On the projection for the next fiscal

Going by the current order book of `26,000 crore, we are expecting a significant turnover for the next financial year. A major share of the

turnover will come from Weapon Systems, Radars, Fire Control Systems, Network-Centric Systems, Communication Systems, Electronic Warfare, Surveillance Systems, Tank Electronics and Smart Cards. The Company has also initiated diversification activities in the areas of nuclear instrumentation, solar energy, airborne radars, etc. A major share of our turnover in the next two years will be come from Weapon Systems, Radars, Fire Control Systems, Network Centric Systems, Communication Systems, Electronic Warfare, Surveillance Systems, Tank Electronics and Smart Cards.

On exports

The Company is targeting $42 million of exports this year. The total order book for exports is about $63 million. Countries in Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia, SAARC, Middle East and CIS countries are the markets for export of BEL products. The identified

products are HF & VHF Communication equipment, Battlefield Surveillance RadarShort Range, Opto-electronic products such as Eye Safe Laser Range Finders, Night-Vision Devices and solar products and components.

Apart from products, contract manufacturing business from USA and Europe is also being addressed.

On involvement in the MMRCA deal

As per the provisions of RFP, the vendor has to undertake offset contracts to a minimum of 50 per cent of the value of foreign exchange component of the commercial proposal. The total value of offset contracts in the area of BEL’s interest. BEL has initiated discussions with vendors to secure a significant part of the above opportunity and has signed MoUs with OEMs and their major suppliers.

On current R&D projects

Some of the ongoing R&D activities in BEL are in areas such as Software Defined Radios, High Capacity Radio Relays, Tactical Communication System, Phased Array Radars, Missile Systems, Doppler Weather Radars, Eye Safe Lasers & Laser Target Designators, Uncooled & Cooled Thermal Imagers, Fire Control Systems, Network Centric Warfare & C4I Command Control Systems, New Generation Electronic Warfare & Avionics technologies and New Generation Sonars.

Some of the R&D projects, which are under development or in advanced stages of completion include Weapon Locating Radar, Aslesha, Bharani, Doppler Weather Radar, Software Defined Radio, Routers, Encryptors, 100W HF Radio for BSS, VHF Radio for Coastal Surveillance, Electro Optic Fire Control Systems, Coastal Surveillance System, Towed Array Sonar, Track & Wheel Integrated EW System for Army, Integrated ESM and ECM Systems for Navy, Missile Warning Systems for Air Force, Combat Management System for various ships, Akash for Army, L70 Gun Upgrade, Eye Safe LRF Modules, Multi- Function Hand-Held Thermal Imager, High Repetition LRF for Air Defence, NBC Recce Vehicle and Sighting & Fire Control Systems.

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GEOPOLITICS

“We want to reduce the dependence on foreign companies and build up skills in-house. We will explore Joint Ventures (JV) if they are advantageous to us. We have identified Nuclear Power, Homeland Security and Railways as our future growth areas.”

On Joint Ventures

The amendments in Defence Procurement Policy (DPP) have given an opportunity to BEL to form JVs with leading global defence players and acquire the required critical technologies. The above approach will also put BEL in a position, wherein it can source state-of-the-art subsystems/products from such joint ventures and play the role of a system integrator for large strategic defence systems.

We are very actively pursuing a JV with Thales, France, for the manufacture of civilian and select defence radars.

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INTERVIEW

“The Special Forces in the Abbottabad raid used our products…”

Ceradyne Inc, USA, is the world leader in ballistic helmets and ceramic-based body armour technology. GEOPOLITICS spoke to MARC C KING, Vice President, Corporate, about the company’s foray into the Indian market.

On Ceradyne As a vertically integrated, high capacity producer, Ceradyne is a key component and vital resource to the defence industry. We own and operate the source of our raw materials allowing precise control of our supply chain.

Ceradyne has provided innovative ballistic protection solutions that are the lightest and most durable armour systems available.

È Ceradyne is a vertically integrated manufacturer of lightweight, DEFENDER ceramic composite armour systems for personnel, vehicle, naval vessel, helicopter and aircraft applications. Ceradyne has been a leader in the manufacturing of advanced technical ceramics for ballistic applications since 1969.

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On Ceradyne products Our products’ range within the defence sector includes, Advanced Body Armour Systems, Aircraft Armour Systems, Homeland Security, Missiles Radomes, Naval Vessel Armour Protection, Seamless Ballistic Helmets and Vehicle Armour Systems.

On major markets Our products are used in a wide variety of markets including Automotive/Transportation, Defense, Electronics, Industrial, Medical, Nuclear Power, Oil and Gas/Downhole Drilling and Solar Energy.

On spreading awareness in India It is indeed a fact that Ceradyne has not been a big name here. However, we are now going full force to let our products be known and our participation this year in Indian DefExpo 2012 is an indicator of these efforts.

On effectiveness of Ceradyne products Our strength can be known by the fact that, throughout the Iraqi war, there has not been a single causality due to frontal assault due to the presence of Ceradyne Armour on the body of the soldiers.

On participation in DefExpo 2012 In spite of its global presence for many years, it is the first time Ceradyne Inc is participating in DefExpo, 2012, this year. It is the knowledge of wide ranging modernisation being done in the Indian Armed Forces, which is one of the main reasons to look at India for its needs.

INTERVIEW

“The role of private shipbuilders will be welcome” One of India’s premier shipyards constructing warships as well as offshore platforms, Mazagon Docks is an asset to the country’s defence infrastructure. GEOPOLITICS talked to Chairman and Managing Director R K SHRAWAT about the projects of the company.

On the ongoing projects at Mazagon Docks Three stealth frigates of the Shivalik class are on order, of which two have already been delivered.

Three destroyers of the Kolkata class are also on order and all three of them are in outfitting stage. Six submarines of the Scorpene class under transfer of technology (ToT) with DCNS of France are also under construction. We have also received the order for construction of four destroyers which are follow-on of the Kolkata class. We expect orders for the follow on frigates of the Shivalik class to be finalised soon.

sation is in the final stages and will soon be functional.

On the manufacture of Scorpene

submarines

The construction of six submarines of the Scorpene Project has commenced. The pressure hull of four submarines has been completed and the hull of the balance two submarines will also be completed soon. Outfitting of submarines has also commenced. Deliveries of the submarines are scheduled between 2015 and 2018.

On the block-building method

On the role of private shipyards in defence

Comprehending the future needs, MDL has already embarked upon a modernisation project.

The project comprises a 300-tonne Goliath Crane to aid lifting of mega pre-outfitted blocks of over 250 tonnes on to the slipway, a modular workshop for construction of pre-outfitted blocks necessary for integrated construction methodology and lastly an additional new wet basin to berth warships and submarines. The moderni-

I see great opportunity for the private shipyards to enhance the capacity of war shipbuilding significantly. The Navy has a long-term perspective plan which envisages a modern fleet, complete in all respects. There will be a need to have diverse players to fulfil this plan; hence, the role of private shipbuilders will be welcome.

shipbuilding

È Mazagon Docks is engaged in shipbuilding, ship repairs and fabrication of offshore structures with facilities situated at Mumbai and Nhava. The company has the capability to build warships, submarines, merchant ships up to 30,000 DWT. The company has a large number of workshops with sophisticated equipment and machines specific to hull fabrication and ship construction work.

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RIGHT ANGLE

Changing the mindset

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s India doing enough to keep its military healthy?

When one talks of health, every doctor tells us that it is the state of being hale, sound, or whole, in body, mind, or soul. If these criteria are applied to Indian forces, things appear to be ominous, particularly in the wake of the latest budgetary allocations for them.

The military’s job is no longer limited to defend the territorial integrity of the country. The job now also involves power projection commensurate with the rising status of India as a global player, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Our forces have to protect national interests as the country becomes the vital link between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. In other words, the Indian military is required to be in tune with both the security and strategic interests of the country. And that requires quality leadership, quality manpower, quality arms and quality ammunition.

As regards the leadership and manpower in the Indian armed forces, there is nothing much to complain about. In ability and integrity, Indian soldiers are among the best. The problem, however, arises in Prakash the area of armament. With a narrow base of research and development (R&D), India imports nearly 70 per cent of its arms requirements.

The latest Stockholm International Peace Research Institute study says that India has overtaken China to emerge as the world’s biggest importer of military systems. However, this “distinction” hides more than it reveals.

In financial terms, the import-figure is high because of the high costs involved in procuring some selected items. It does not imply that India has adequate modern arms and ammunition. Our equipment-procurement process is so imbalanced that the Army has no modern artillery guns. Indian tanks suffer from an acute shortage of night-vision devices. The Indian Air Force has no basic trainers. The Navy has not enough submarines to support the country’s fleet strength, which, in any case, is far below the optimum level. The list is illustrative, not exhaustive.

The problem is further compounded by the fact that India’s bureaucratic structure often creates delays in timely procurements. In fact, in most cases, attempts to buy weapons prove to be simply tortuous.

None other than the Army Chief, General V K Singh, lamented two months ago: “The procurement game is a version of snakes and ladders where there is no ladder but only snakes, and if the snakes bite you somewhere, the whole thing comes back to zero." His comment was understandable in the wake of the Army’s efforts over 10 years in buying new artillery going in vain, thanks to the civilian-controlled Ministry of Defence (MoD) blacklisting foreign defence contractors from time to time. It is no wonder why allocated money in annual budgets for defence often remains

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unspent. The current financial year has been really pathetic in this regard; more so, because in the last quarter, the Finance Ministry asked the MoD to postpone signing of new purchase-contracts to after March 31, 2012, the next financial year!

Against this background, one should see the latest budgetary proposals for defence in 2012-13. At first glance, the `1, 93,407-crore ($38.5 bn) allocation is an 18 per cent increase over last year’s budget. On closer scrutiny, however, there is nothing much to boast about this figure. First, it amounts to about 1.9 per cent of India’s GDP, much below the required 3 per cent-mark. In contrast, this year China’s military budget stands at approximately 670 billion yuan ($106.4 billion). Secondly, the budgetary allocations for our forces are to be seen in relation to the revised expenditure (RE) for the last fiscal that was announced as `170,937 crore ($34 bn). The increase, thus, is of the order of 13 per cent from the actual amount spent in 2011-12. The real worth of this figure is even lower if the inflation factor, coupled with rising value of the US dollar vis-a-vis Indian rupee, is taken into Nanda account. Around this time last year, one US dollar was `44.45; this year it is about `50.

Third, India’s defence expenditure has two components — the revenue and capital — the former spent on salaries and allowances and the latter accounting for acquisition of new equipment and inventory items and modernisation of existing ones. Ideally it should be a 50:50 ratio, but in India’s case it is about 65:35.

That means we have fewer resources for new acquisitions. The problem would have been mitigated to a great extent if India, like China, had developed its military-industrial base for better indigenous designs and production capabilities. But that is not happening.

The latest budgetary allocations for R&D are `4,640 crore as against last year’s `4,628 crore. But, again, given the inflation and rising dollar, the value of the latest allocations are in fact lower than that of the last year.

Regrettably, the aforesaid trends are fairly old, visible over many years. But their mitigation process has been very slow. And that is mainly because the government is averse to a healthy public discussion on them.

Defence allocations are hardly debated in Parliament.

Even reports of the two high-powered committees — the Kelkar and the Rama Rao panels — about the challenges to India’s acquisition procedures and the need for better efficiency of defence public sectors/DRDO remain shrouded in secrecy.

It is high time for a change in the mindset of South Block. India’s security is too important a subject to be left alone for being handled by the Defence Minister and his Babus.

prakashnanda@newsline.in

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Reg No.DL(E)-01/5363/2011-2013 RNI No. DELENG/2010/35319 Posting Date. 8-9/04/2012