SP's Land Forces 05 - 2013

Volume 10 No. 5

SP’s

`100.00 (India-Based Buyer Only)

AN SP GUIDE

PUBLICATION

ROUNDUP

www.spslandforces.net

In This Issue Page 4 Night Vision Technologies Night vision devices comprise an image intensifier tube, a protective housing and a mounting system. Many NVDs also include sacrificial lenses, infrared illuminators and telescopic lenses.

>> cover story Photograph: PIB

Electronic warfare jammer

Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch Page 6 DPP 2013 vs. DPP 2011 A comparative overview of DPP 2013 and DPP 2011 indicates that for the first time there is greater clarity on defining indigenisation and how this is to be achieved.

Brigadier (Retd) Rahul Bhonsle Page 8 Army’s Equipment Profile

The defence budget for 2013-14 grew by five per cent over the previous year with defence capital acquisitions growing by nine per cent.

Lt General (Retd) V.K. Kapoor Page 11 Egypt’s Destiny at the Crossroads Western countries have repeatedly called for Morsi’s reinstatement. The US has lost standing and become unpopular with all sides.

Ranjit Gupta Page 12 Future Trends in Army Air Defence Systems Air defence has evolved due to the rise of air power which initially started with fighter/bomber aircraft.

Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand Plus Military Exercises with Friendly Countries Lt General (Retd) V.K. Kapoor

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SP’s Exclusive

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Show Report / AUSA 2013 SP’s Special Correspondent, Washington DC

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News in Brief

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ISR: The Essential Force-Multiplier We are in a state of perpetual conflict, which has become a global phenomenon with many nations engaged in asymmetric wars. The new war paradigm demands integrated and networked decision support systems with space, land, surface and sub-surface sensors with state-of-the-art weapons and equipment whose potential requires optimum utilisation and synergy to inflict maximum damage on the enemy.  Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch

Stop Press

ntelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) is the coordinated and integrated acquisition, processing and provision of timely, accurate, relevant, coherent and assured information and intelligence to support commander’s conduct of activities. Land, sea, air and space platforms have critical ISR roles in supporting operations in general. ISR encompasses multiple activities related to the planning and operation of systems that collect process and disseminate data in support of current and future military operations. By massing ISR assets, allowing a period of immersion, develop-

During the extensive presentations at the Seminar on Digitisation of Battlefield organised by SP Guide Publications and CLAWS on October 31, 2013, at Le Meridien, New Delhi, it emerged that the Expression of Interest (EoI) to the empanelled vendors for the Battle Management System (BMS) programme of the Indian Army is going to be issued within the next seven to 10 days.

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Full report of the seminar may be referred to on www.events.spguidepublications.com, www.spslandforces.net, www.spsmai.com and in the upcoming issues of SP’s Land Forces and SP’s M.A.I.

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>> cover story E D I T O R I A L

The month of October 2013 saw India and China taking some necessary steps forward in order to end the growing trust deficit on both sides which was exacerbated by the intrusions of Chinese troops in Ladakh earlier this year. Of the nine pacts signed between India and China during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit, one of the most important is on maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border between the countries. Given the continuing differences on the line of actual control (LAC), this border defence agreement signed on October 23, 2013, assumes significance and it is the fifth such agreement which concerns peace and tranquillity along the LAC between India and China. The four earlier agreements include the accords almost on similar lines signed in 1993, 1996, 2005 and 2012, all relating to peace and tranquillity, confidence building and working mechanism between the representatives of both nations.

Additionally, both sides pledged to realise the “full promise” of their partnership and share “the friendliest of relations”. With more than a third of the world’s population living in India and China, the two countries can be “one huge trading bloc”, say the strategic analysts on both sides. China is already one of India’s top trading partners: the two sides have agreed for a new $100 billion bilateral trade target for 2015, up from over $66 billion in 2012. The two countries together account for 36.7 per cent of the world’s population, 10.8 per cent of its gross domestic product, and 10.4 per cent of

the global trade. Hence in one sense, India-China relations have transcended bilateral dimensions to acquire global strategic significance and were indicative of the stakes in this high-profile meeting of the premiers of two of the world’s largest nations.

The Border Defence Agreement of October 23, 2013, provides a template as it explains in conclusion that this agreement “may be revised, amended or terminated with the consent of the two sides” and any such revision or amendment, “mutually agreed by the two sides, shall form an integral part of this agreement”. Clearly, this provides elasticity to the agreement, in terms of addressing any future issues.

The highlights of the agreement are: • The two sides shall implement border defence cooperation by exchanging information, including information about military exercises, aircraft, demolition operations and unmarked mines and take measures conducive to the maintenance of peace, stability and tranquility along the LAC in the India-China border areas.

• The two sides will jointly combat smuggling of arms, wildlife articles and other contrabands.

• Under the agreement, Indian and Chinese sides will assist the other side in locating personnel, livestock and means of transport and aerial vehicles that may have crossed or are possibly in the process of crossing the LAC. • Work with the other side in combating natural disasters or infectious diseases that may affect or spread to the other side.

• The cooperation shall be implemented through flag meetings and periodic meetings between officers of the relevant military regions.

• The Article VIII of the agreement says that both sides shall exercise maximum self-restraint, refrain from any provocative actions, not use force against each other if the border defence forces of the two sides come to a face-to-face situation in areas where there is no common understanding of the LAC. • The two sides, under the Article VII, also agreed that either side will have the right to seek a clarification from the other side in case a doubtful situation arises with reference to any activity in border areas.

• The two sides agreed that they shall not follow or tail patrols of the other side in the India-China border areas.

• The agreement also provides for about regular meetings of the representatives of the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India and the Ministry of National Defence of the People’s Republic of China.

Let us hope that this progressively leads to the solution of the boundary issue in the long run.

Lt General (Retd) V.K. Kapoor

Photograph: SP Guide Pubns

ing layering and cross cueing of sensors, an improved clarity and depth of knowledge can be established.

net-centricity; effective command and control across the force; an accelerated decisionaction cycle; and an ability to conduct synergised operations simultaneously within the defence and security establishment. Command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, information, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4I2SR) systems act as important force multipliers for commanders at all levels. We need C4I2SR to create positive asymmetrical capabilities and comprehensive competitive edge over adversaries.

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Intelligence The sources of intelligence are multifaceted that encompass human intelligence (HUMIINT), technical intelligence (TECHINT), signal intelligence (SIGINT), open source intelligence (OSINT), etc—all cumulating into all source intelligence.

The advantages of HUMINT at the strategic, operational and tactical levels are not very well understood. It is well known that when I.K. Gujral was the Prime Minister, the government had banned deployment of HUMINT sources trans-border. Ironically, successive governments did not reverse this decision and so HUMINT has been moribund in India ever since giving automatic advantage to our adversaries. Even the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), which has a mandate to operate trans-border human sources is denied permission to do so and is directed to rely solely on TECHINT. Reliance on TECHINT alone is wholly inadequate. The Americans realised this and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was taken completely by surprise when the Pokhran II tests happened. That is the reason their Special Forces and proxies have been operating in Iran for the past eight years. We are unwisely spending crores of rupees on TECHINT while spending relatively nothing on HUMINT. This is the reason we are unable to strategise and cope with irregular and asymmetric threats—both national and transnational.

At the national level, the Multi Agency Centre (MAC), the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) and the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) are efforts to synergise intelligence even though NCTC has not earned consensus because of genuine fears by states of the Centre misusing its powers. In military terms, acquisition of intelligence or information will depend on a plethora of sensors including HUMINT, processing it speedily and disseminating it in real time or near real time at required levels.

activities and the changing information on ground. It is essential in terms of own response particularly in view of telescoped time frames needed for decision-making.

Surveillance has many applications from the operational and strategic to the tactical level. Today, computers, telephones, cameras, social network analysis, biometrics, aerial means, satellites, humans, identification of credentials, global positioning system (GPS) and a host of other devices are all being used for surveillance.

Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain vital information about enemy forces or features of the environment for later analysis and/or dissemination.

In the military, surveillance and reconnaissance (SR) encompasses binoculars, long-range devices like spotoscopes, night vision devices, weapon sights, HHTIs, radars of all types, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and micro air vehicles (MAVs), aerial, surface and sub-surface platforms and satellites. The Army is moving towards better surveillance and target acquisition equipment.

Surveillance and Reconnaissance

Why ISR?

Surveillance is the monitoring of the

Information is collected on the battlefield

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Military Scene

through systematic observation by deployed soldiers and a variety of electronic sensors.

Surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance are methods of obtaining this information. This is important as it recognises the importance of taking the information from all of the sensors and processing it into useful knowledge. The intelligence data provided by these ISR systems can take many forms, including optical, radar, infrared images or electronic signals. Effective ISR data can provide early warning of enemy threats as well as enable military forces to increase effectiveness, coordination, and lethality, and the demand for ISR capabilities to support ongoing military operations has increased.

Importance We are in a state of perpetual conflict, which has become a global phenomenon with many nations engaged in asymmetric wars. The new war paradigm demands integrated and networked decision support systems with space, land, surface and subsurface sensors with state-of-the-art weapons and equipment whose potential requires optimum utilisation and synergy to inflict maximum damage on the enemy. The key to success will lie in attaining higher levels of

The Indian military is expected to induct radars worth over $8.5 billion in the next decade. Various indigenous developmental projects for radars and associated equipment as well as international acquisitions are taking place. Indigenous projects include development of active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar to be fitted on the proposed LCA MK II as well as a unique ‘Through Wall Imaging Radar’, both being developed by the Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE), Bengaluru. India has initiated integration of the indigenouslybuilt airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system with the Brazilian Embraer EMB-145 aircraft which India is acquiring.

The EMB-145I aircraft has been modified to carry the Indian-made active array antenna unit (AAAU) mounted atop the plane’s fuselage. In addition, new generation of multifunction radars which can be integrated with any weapon system to provide surveillance, early warning, interception guidance and raid assessment are also being developed. These include a medium-power radar (Arudra), a low-level transportable 150-kilometre radar and a synthetic aperture radar.

These radars will be broad so that they can be integrated into any weapons system.

DRDO is also developing 3D radar systems: the Central Acquisition Radar (CAR) for use with Akash SAMs; “Rohini” radar is the Indian Air Force (IAF) variant and the “Revathi” is for the Indian Navy. A third variant, known as the 3D tactical control radar for the Indian Army is also being manufactured. The US defence and aerospace major Raytheon is also talking to the IAF regarding airborne surveillance and recon-

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naissance radars that would be used along India’s borders. Raytheon has received two requests for information (RFIs) from the IAF but India has not decided whether to go for an AESA system or a mechanically scanned arrangement. Meanwhile, the Indian Navy has issued a RFI for 3D radars to enhance the surveillance capability of warships. The 3D radars will be deployed on ships more than 3,000 tonnes to provide 360-degree surveillance to detect aircraft, helicopters and incoming anti-ship missiles.

No new radars and UAVs have been inducted by the Indian Army. The move to identify and induct MAVs, that have already emerged as veritable force multipliers in other armies, has not progressed much predominantly since the Infantry has been focused more on the Futuristic Infantry Soldier As a System (F-INSAS). Meanwhile, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is designing a range of MAVs (Black Kite, Golden Hawk and Pushpak already developed). There are indigenous products in the market like the ‘Netra’ by Idea Forge, a spider-like MAV suited for all types of operations including counterterrorism and counter-insurgency, and the MAV with an infrared sensor developed by the Aurora Integrated System.

With respect to C4I2SR, the military has yet to evolve a NCW doctrine which should have been the start point to develop the NCW architecture. Non-merger of HQ Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) into the Ministry of Defence (MoD), lack of operational authority of former and void of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) have contributed to this. Neither voice or data networks nor radio communications

of the services are interoperable to the desired degree. Radio sets differ in their frequency bands, wave forms and secrecy algorithms.

Networks of the three services do not talk to each other. Common standards and protocols, mutually compatible database structures, development/deployment of interfaces between systems using disparate platforms and commonality of hardware have not commenced. Services cannot exchange individual UAV pictures and Air Force picture does not come directly into Army’s Operations Rooms. No common secrecy algorithm has been developed. Requirement of a military satellite was first projected by the Navy and later by the Army and Air Force. Adequate bandwidth is at premium. Military’s project, defence communications network (DCN), strategically connecting the Corps Headquarters of the Army and equivalents of sister services, Strategic Forces Command and HQ IDS, has been awarded to HCL Infosystems in early 2013 for development over two years.

However, the project does not include development of requisite software; implying that the services and HQ IDS require developing software individually with attendant interoperability problems.

While the government has failed to appoint a CDS, the services have failed to establish Integrated Theatre Commands and Integrated Functional Commands. Void of an Enterprise GIS is glaring. Military survey products are primarily Google-based maps that hardly measure up to military requirements; 30 years behind meeting routine mapping requirements and large-scale mapping vital for operational information systems

(OIS) not done at all. Defence Intelligence Agency is the central repository for all intelligence inputs pertaining to the three services but we are yet to integrate the aspects of topography with DIA. Within the existing setup, adequate resources in terms of remote sensing, ELINT payloads and cartography are not available to produce high quality fused data. A defence spatial data infrastructure (DSDI) is perhaps decades away.

The Army’s primary focal points for NCW are the tactical command, control, communications and information (Tac C3I) system and the tactical communications system (TCS) aside from the management information system (MIS) and GIS. Tac C3I system providing upward connectivity up to Corps HQ level comprises the artillery command, control and communications system (ACCCS), air defence control and reporting system (ADC&RS), battlefield surveillance system (BSS), battlefield management system (BMS) and the command information decision support system (CIDSS), latter integrating all. Tac C3I will also integrate the electronic warfare system (EWS) and electronic intelligence system (ELINT) but this is distant in the absence of common standards, structures, exchange formats and protocols.

Upward connectivity from Corps HQ to Army HQ level is to be provided through the army strategic operational information dissemination system (ASTROIDS) sanctioned in 1995 with Institute of System Studies and Analysis (ISSA), DRDO, as the development agency, but has been recently foreclosed lacking requisite software and faulty security overlay.

RFI for a fresh project is under preparation.

Fielding of the CIDSS pan-Army will likely take another seven-eight years. Being the hub of the Tac C3I, this will delay any measure of net-centric capability in the Army. Development of the BSS too has been unduly delayed since it is linked with the application of the CIDSS under development. Contract for the ADC&RS was signed with BEL in March 2008 but the test bed is yet to materialise. Expression of interest (EoI) in respect of Army’s battlefield management system is likely to be issued shortly.

The TCS, approved by successive Defence Ministers in past should have been fielded in 2000. Currently, the Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and a consortium of L&T, Tata Power SED and HCL Infosys Ltd have reportedly been selected by the government. Both selected parties will make the prototype systems and the best bidder will then execute the whole project.

The Army also needs to focus on the human resources requirements for NCW. Aside from examining need for an IT cadre, niche areas like in cyber security and software development need long tenures that are lacking today.

Need for Efficient C4I2SR System While the Army, Navy and Air Force are enhancing respective ISR capabilities, in terms of military’s NCW capabilities, we have not progressed much beyond taking sporadic initial steps. Tri-Service synergy is largely lacking. The Navy and Air Force have progressed with regard to intra-service NCW capabilities but the Army will take another decade-and-a-half to two decades to build required capacity. What we need is an efficient C4I2SR system. SP

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>> Technology

Night Vision Technologies Night vision devices (NVDs) comprise an image intensifier tube, a protective housing and a mounting system.

Many NVDs also include sacrificial lenses, infrared illuminators and telescopic lenses. Night vision goggles, night-scopes, night-monocular, night weapon sights are vital to any army. Longer reach and improved resolution promotes the chances of winning.

Photographs: Photonis, Exelis

 Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch

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he urge for the ability to see by night went up in wartime but today conflict situations are an everyday affair. Night vision devices (NVDs) comprise an image intensifier tube (IIT), a protective housing and a mounting system. Many NVDs also include sacrificial lenses, infrared (IR) illuminators and telescopic lenses. NVDs are being used by the security sector as well as civilians. Night vision goggles (NVGs), night-scopes, night-monocular, night weapon sights are vital to any army. Longer reach and improved resolution promotes the chances of winning.

Types of NVD NVDs are of two types: image intensifiers (II) and thermal imagers (TI). Image intensifiers are more common as their light amplification technology uses the small amount of ambient light like moon, stars-light and converts this light energy (photons) into electrical energy (electrons). These electrons pass through a thin disk that’s about the size of a small coin and contains more than 10 million channels.

As the electrons go through the channels, they strike the channel walls, releasing thousands of more electrons. These multiplied electrons then bounce off of a phosphorous screen which converts the electrons back into photons, letting you see even when it’s pitch dark. To understand thermal imaging, it is important to understand that IR can be split into three categories; near IR (0.7 to 1.3 microns wavelength), mid IR (1.3-3 microns wavelength) and thermal IR (three microns to over 30 microns wavelength). The key difference between thermal IR and the other two is that thermal IR is emitted by an object instead of reflected off it. Most thermal imaging devices scan at a rate of 30 times per second, sense temperatures from -20 degree Celsius to 3,600 degree Celsius and can detect changes in temperature of about 0.2 degree Celsius. Thermal imaging devices are generally ‘un-cooled’ or ‘cryogenically cooled’. The un-cooled ones are more common wherein the IR detector elements are contained in a unit that operates at room temperature.

These devices are noiseless, activate immediately and have inbuilt batteries. Cryogenically cooled devices have elements sealed inside a container that cools them to below zero degree Celsius. The advantage of such a system is the incredible resolution and sensitivity that result from cooling the elements.

These systems enable identifying whether a person is holding a weapon more than 300 metres away. Thermal imaging can detect persons in near-absolute darkness with little or no ambient light.

www.spslandforces.net

Categories NVDs are generally classified into four categories albeit with differing classifications— some classify them as generation zero, one, two, three and four (yet to be defined) while others classify them as generation one, two, three and four. Advanced version of generation three is also being referred to as generation three ultra. Classification of NVDs depends on what type of image intensifier tube (IIT) is used in the particular device:  Zero Generation: These were sniper scopes used in World War II, not really

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The Photonis Group is a global business serving the photo-sensor technology needs of world-leading customers in the areas of night vision, industry and science and medical imaging

Exelis AN/PVS-14 night vision goggle

technological improvements; gallium arsenide (GaAs) photocathode and ion barrier coating to the MCP, providing combined increase in resolution, signal to noise ratio and photosensitivity over tubes with a multi-alkali photocathode—increasing sensitivity to light from the near-IR range of the spectrum, greater detection distances, improved system performance under low light conditions and operational life in excess of 10,000 hours compared to 2,000-4,000 hours of second generation tubes.  Fourth Generation: In 1998, gated filmless technology was created by removing the ion barrier film and gating power supply enabling substantial increases in target detection range and resolution. The filmless micro channel plate provides a higher signal-to-noise ratio than standard third-generation IITs resulting in better image quality under low-light conditions.

Autogated power supply improves image resolution under high light conditions and a reduced halo effect that minimises interference from bright light sources.

The reduced Halo maximises the effectiveness of the NVD in dynamic lighting conditions. However, it was found that the same performance results could also be achieved using a third generation tube with a thinner ion barrier film and an auto-gated power supply.

Subcontinental Scene

Conflict situations demand that we provide the wherewithal to our soldiers to have greater advantage through battlefield transparency by night including through poor visibility due to rain, fog, mist, snow, sandstorm, blizzards

IITs but image converters requiring a source of invisible IR light mounted on or near the device to illuminate the target.  First Generation: These were Starlight Scopes developed in early 1960s. They produced an image that was clear in the centre of the field of view but suffered from large optical distortion around the periphery.  Second Generation: Development of the micro channel plate (MCP) in the late 1960s ushered the second generation NVDs which are high quality with exceptional brightness and resolution.

The MCP accelerated and multiplied electrons substituting coupling of three IIs of the first generation.  Third Generation: Fielded in the early 1980s, these devices saw two major

Indian Army has on its inventory in various categories and quantities of NVDs but ideal equipping both in terms of quantity and quality is yet to be achieved. In 2008, media had reported the lack of NVDs in Indian Army particularly in the 3,000-strong tank fleet (only 10 per cent of tanks had night-fighting capability) and soldiers faced glaring shortages of NVDs, with NVDs in service a generation behind what Pakistan already had; Indian Army was holding second-generation NVDs while Pakistan had a range of third-generation NVDs from the US under the War on Terror Pact. Finally in April 2013, MoD approved a `2,820 crore proposal to provide NVDs to the Indian Army; 5,000 thermal imagers (TIs) will be procured from the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). Though Pakistan continues to receive modern NVDs from USA to fight terrorism, its Institute of Optronics (IOP) also manufactures NVDs for Pakistan armed forces; crew served night vision weapon sight (TVS-5A), individual served night vision weapon sight (PVS-4A), driver’s night vision periscope (DNVP-1A) and aviator’s night vision goggle. IOP’s future plans include NVDs for armoured vehicles and helicopters. India’s BEL is understood to have partnered with Photonis after considering extending a relationship with ITT Exelis. ITT Exelis has set up offices to pursue the Indian market post memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Tata at 2012 Defexpo for manufacturing systems using imported US tubes. Reportedly, Qioptiq’s Kite sight has been trialed with India since 2009 with a potential acquisition later this year with demonstrations of the company’s TI and II solutions having begun. Qioptiq also established a joint venture with Rolta in 2009 to pursue opportunities in India.

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America Technology Network (ATN) says it sold to India MARS 4 and 6 TI weapon sights and the monocular NVM-14 in 2011 for the Army. Similarly, Optix says they have several projects in India, three of which are with the Navy including sales of the twintube Diana variant NVG.

South East Asia In South East Asia, the infantryman has had a head or weapon mounted image intensifier (II) with support weapons fitted with a thermal imager (TI) having longer range and better vision. A combination of the two NVDs is currently under examination—integration of the device within a single device or use of clip on thermal devices to existing II devices which appears more affordable and exploits the existing capital investment. Sales of NVDs to South East Asian countries have been reported as follows:  Psyer sold their PNP-MS and PNPMUNS II sights and their PNP-MT and PNP MUNSTI TI sights to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.  Sagem sold their MATIS and OB50 TI sights to Malaysia.  Optix sold their Diana single tube NVGs to Thailand and Exvision Thermal Camera to Singapore.  America Technology Network sold THOR TI sight to Thailand and sold NVG-7 and NVM-14 NVGs to Indonesia and sold monocular, biocular goggles and hand-held sights to Vietnam.  The Electro-Optical Systems Technology

met Republic of Korea night vision II requirement using Photonis tubes.  Qioptiq sold 350 VIPR 2 sights for Australia’s Land 125 Phase 2 programme.

Trials have been held in Malaysia and Singapore.  Infrared Security Systems sold 35 thermal sighting systems to Malaysia and thermal imaging viewer (TIV) to Malaysia and Thailand.  ITL sold Mini SEAS to Australia, Thailand and Singapore.  Pulse Inteco sold 800 of its Rantel-2 night vision monocular devices to Thailand.  ITT sold PVS-14 and -7 night vision goggles to Australia, Japan, Singapore and Thailand.

A number of systems incorporating image fusion are now available. Clip on

In South East Asia, the infantryman has had a head or weapon mounted image intensifier with support weapons fitted with a thermal imager having longer range and better vision.

Choosing NVDs

Night vision goggle LUCIE

Three important performance parameters that need to be borne in mind are the signalto-noise ratio (SNR), resolution and modular transfer function (MTF) and lifetime of an II. SNR is the measure of the light signal reaching the eye divided by the perceived noise as seen by the eye. Higher the SNR, better the ability to resolve image details under low light conditions. MTF is the maximum line density on a target that can be resolved by human eye. High MTF values at low spatial frequencies provide sharp images with a good contrast. Lifetime of an II is extremely important for night vision applications.

COTS Market

Thermal Acquisition Clip-on System (TACS-M)

devices are gaining ground in the fusion arena. Qioptiq launched a new clip on thermal sight during 2012 for use with the Thales Optronics Lucie-D goggle. Similarly, Vectronix’s 300-metre range thermal acquisition clip-on system (TACS-M) which is NVG host agnostic although the company has naturally built in compliance with its Tarsius I2 solution.

The global market is awash with NVDs. NOCTURN digital extreme low light CMOS Camera developed by Photonis USA, Inc is a state-of-the-art device for surveillance imaging in 24x7 lighting conditions whose applications include CCTV security and surveillance, man portable vision systems, longrange target identification, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and other reconnaissance, plus 860 and 1064nm laser line detection.

Improved Technology Conflict situations demand that we provide the wherewithal to our soldiers to have greater advantage through battlefield transparency by night including through poor visibility due to rain, fog, mist, snow, sandstorm, blizzards. Digital technology should provide improved image quality and enhanced capability to meet battlefield conditions. SP

5/2013 SP’s Land Forces

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>> Defence Policy

DPP 2013 vs. DPP 2011 Photograph: PIB

A comparative overview of DPP 2013 and DPP 2011 indicates that for the first time, there is greater clarity on defining indigenisation and how this is to be achieved. Attempts have been made to establish a level playing field between the public and private sector as well as Indian and foreign vendors. Effective monitoring of offsets is envisaged thereby ensuring value addition in terms of transfer of technology.  Brigadier (Retd) Rahul Bhonsle

P

rocurement for the armed forces in India is governed by the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). These regulations were adopted as an outcome of the Group of Ministers Report on national security reforms in 2001. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) set up the Defence Procurement Management Structures and Systems and the first DPP was issued in 2002.

The DPP is revised every two years based on experience gained in implementation, requirements of the services and developments in defence research and development (R&D) and industry. This has led to considerable refinement in defence procurement to include introduction of offsets and integrity clause, improvements in the ‘Make Procedure’ and sustained focus on indigenisation.

DPP 2013 promulgated by the MoD on June 1, 2013, is a result of this progressive evolution and is a follow up of DPP 2011.

The main changes and additions made in DPP 2013 vis-à-vis DPP 2011 are outlined as follows: The thrust areas identified in DPP 2011 were expansion of offset eligibility to include civil aerospace, internal security and training.

The procedure for ‘Make’, under shipbuilding category was also elaborated. DPP 2013 on the other hand includes some fundamental changes with greater thrust given to indigenisation. Broadly speaking DPP 2013 is a more comprehensive document. This is also obvious from the sheer volume of 428 pages in DPP 2013 as against 291 pages of DPP 2011.

Covering some of the specific issues, for the first time, a preferred order of categorisation has been outlined in DPP 2013 which defines the order of priority for procurement from indigenous sources. Thus the Categorisation Committee, while considering capital acquisition, has to ensure that the following priorities are adhered to:  Buy (Indian)  Buy & Make (Indian)  Make (Indian)  Buy & Make  Buy (Global) There are no fundamental changes in categorisation in DPP 2011 and 2013 which remain the same as stated below:

www.spslandforces.net

Acquisitions covered under the ‘Buy’ decision: ‘Buy’ means an outright purchase

of equipment. In ‘Buy (Indian)’ and ‘Buy (Global)’, ‘Indian’ would mean Indian vendors only and ‘Global’ would mean foreign as well as Indian vendors. ‘Buy Indian’ must have minimum 30 per cent indigenous content if the systems are being integrated by an Indian vendor.

Acquisitions covered under the ‘Buy and Make’ decision: ‘Buy & Make’ decision

means purchase from a foreign vendor followed by licensed production/indigenous manufacture in the country.

Acquisitions covered under the ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ decision: ‘Buy & Make

(Indian)’ decision mean purchase from an

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SP’s Land Forces 5/2013

A file photo of A.K. Antony unveiling the Defence Procurement Procedure 2011

Indian vendor including an Indian company forming joint venture/establishing production arrangement with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) followed by licensed production/indigenous manufacture in the country. ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ must have minimum 50 per cent indigenous content on cost basis.

Acquisitions covered under the ‘Make’ decision: Acquisitions covered under the

‘Make’ decision include high technology complex systems to be designed, developed and produced indigenously.

As per DPP 2013, the statement of case (SOC) seeking acceptance of necessity (AON) is required to include detailed justification for recommending categorisation as well as reasons why each of the higher preferred categorisation has not been considered. For instance if AON is sought for tank ammunition in the ‘Buy (Global)’ category which is the lowest in the order of preference, a detailed justification for not considering other higher preferences will have to be given in the SOC. In a move to ensure timely completion of process, tendering service qualitative requirements (SQRs) are required to be frozen before AON has been accorded, and validity of AON has also been reduced from two years to one year. Thus service HQs will have to complete all formalities including preparation of a draft request for proposal (RFP) to ensure that the AON does not expire as period of validity is reduced to one year.

Given the thrust on indigenisation, “indigenous content” has been defined in DPP 2013. This is to be arrived at by excluding from the total cost of equipment/ item the following elements at all stages (tiers) of manufacturing/production/ assembly:  Direct costs (including freight/transportation and insurance) of all materials, components, sub-assemblies, assemblies and products imported into India.  Direct and indirect costs of all services obtained from non-Indian entities/ citizens.  All licence fees, royalties, technical fees and other fees/ payments of this nature paid out of India, by whatever term/ phrase referred to in contracts/ agreements made by vendors/sub-vendors.  Taxes, duties, cesses, octroi and any other statutory levies in India of this nature.

Moreover, this is not restricted to OEMs but extends all the way to the lowest tier of the sub-vendor, and import content in the products supplied by the sub-vendors will

Approval for all deviations from the DPP, however, will henceforth be sought from the DAC instead of the Defence Minister

not qualify towards indigenous content.

Transfer of technology (ToT) is also defined in various categories in DPP 2013, which had not been included in DPP 2011.

This will overcome ambiguity existing at present. There are five categories of ToT with the highest being where complete transfer is involved and lowest where there will be no transfer. These categories are outlined as follows:  Category 1: Complete transfer of technology.  Category 2: Complete transfer of technology of sub-vendor.  Category 3: Partial transfer of technology with non transfer of technology of sub-vendor.  Category 4: Only drawings will be provided.  Category 5: Proprietary item – no transfer of technology.

DPP 2013 also specifies for the first time that all commercial transactions including evaluation will be carried out based on international norms as per International Commercial Terms (INCOTERMS 2010).

This will bring payment terms for Indian bidders on par with those for foreign bidders; ensure specificity in stages and modes of payment and removal of excise duty in determination of L-1 or lowest bidder.

In an attempt to derive greater benefit from offsets, MoD had issued revised defence offset guidelines (DOG) which was applicable from August 1, 2012. These have now been included in DPP 2013. Under these provisions, the Defence Offset Monitoring Wing (DOMW) has been set up and has become functional under the Department of Defence Production (DDP).

The offsets proposals submitted by the vendor will henceforth be evaluated by the Acquisition Wing which will also conclude offset contracts with vendors, alongside the main contract. Post-contract monitoring and auditing of offsets will be done by the DOMW. While offsets have been introduced for the first time in DPP 2005, the value derived was limited. Offset monitoring by DOMW is expected to overcome this deficiency.

To establish a level playing field, maintenance transfer of technology (MTOT) is now open to public as well as private sector. Hitherto fore MTOT was reserved for ordnance factories and defence public sector undertaking and was done through nomination.

In a boost to the micro, small and medium enterprises sector, while DPP 2011

had identified setting up of a fund to provide necessary resources for development of defence equipment, the source has been specifically identified in DPP 2013. The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will earmark an amount of `500 crore for providing loans, and further, a fund of `50 crore for equity support out of “India Opportunities Fund” managed by its subsidiary, namely, SIDBI Venture Capital Ltd. Given the emerging concerns on cyber security, vendors will have to certify that the hardware and software being offered, as part of the contract, does not contain embedded malicious code that would inhibit functioning of the equipment or cause physical damage to the user. In such cases, firms will be held liable and will be debarred from participation in future contracts of MoD/Government of India.

Consultations on security guidelines for Indian defence industry are also required to be issued by the MoD as per DPP 2013. Draft Security Guidelines that will apply to all licensed defence industries have been circulated for consultations with various stakeholders. This will establish a strong security framework for Indian private industries participating in defence production DPP 2013 has also enhanced delegation of financial powers from `50 crore to `150 crore for capital acquisition by the Service HQs. This will to some extent reduce necessity for processing cases to the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC). Approval for all deviations from the DPP, however, will henceforth be sought from the DAC instead of the Defence Minister.

To sum up, a comparative overview of DPP 2013 and DPP 2011 indicates that for the first time, there is greater clarity on defining indigenisation and how this is to be achieved. Attempts have been made to establish a level playing field between the public and private sector as well as Indian and foreign vendors. Effective monitoring of offsets is envisaged thereby ensuring value addition in terms of transfer of technology.

It is now up to the Defence Acquisition Wing and the DDP, the Services and HQ Integrated Defence Staff, to ensure that these provisions are implemented to achieve the aim of DPP 2013 that is timely procurement preferably through indigenous sources while deriving best value for money. SP The author is a strategic analyst and a prolific writer on strategic affairs.

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ANTICIPATE TOMORROW

>> modernisation

Army’s Equipment Profile The defence budget for 2013-14 grew by five per cent over the previous year, with defence capital acquisitions growing by nine per cent. But with inflation averaging more than five per cent since February and the rupee depreciating by 14 per cent against the dollar over the same period, that modest nominal budget increase is actually a real budget decrease for defence.

Photograph: SP Guide Pubns

 Lt General (Retd) V.K. Kapoor

T

he Indian Army’s 600 odd modernisation schemes amounting to over `70,000 crore in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-12) alone, have not fructified. The revised Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) over the years has done little to accelerate the pace of modernisation. A dispassionate analysis would indicate that the voids in equipment and munitions in the Army to fight a modern war together with the lack of modernisation of equipment in virtually all fighting arms of the Army is causing a capability gap vis-à-vis our likely adversaries and this is becoming more pronounced day by day. It is in this context that we should view the letter written by General (Retd) V.K. Singh, the former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), to the Prime Minister on March 12, 2012, which was deliberately leaked to the media. It highlighted that the mission reliability of mechanised vehicles was poor, the artillery was obsolete and inadequate, air defence was antiquated, armour was unreliable due to regular barrel accidents caused by mismatch between indigenous barrels and ammunition, nightfighting devices were insufficient, aviation corps helicopters needed urgent replacements, and holdings of all types of missiles, anti-tank and specialised ammunition was critically low and thus pointing out the lack of preparedness to fight and win wars on the battlefields of the 21st century.

www.spslandforces.net

Twelfth Five-Year Plan Following this, it seems that the Defence Ministry had asked the Army Headquarters to fast track acquisitions and the list of essentials was prepared and sent. However, the situation has not improved but in fact has worsened in the last one year. While on one hand, nothing has come so far, on the other hand, missiles and specialised ammunition holdings which have a shelf-life, have dipped further. The government it seems has now sanctioned the Twelfth Five-Year Defence Plan as a result of the severe criticism over delays in the past. However, for the Army it would be a cosmetic paper exercise as even the Eleventh Plan procurements have not materialised. Thus considering the lack of implementation of the Eleventh Plan, the Army’s modernisation plans, both Eleventh and Twelfth Plans, need to be implemented.

The defence budget for 2013-14 grew by five per cent over the previous year, with defence capital acquisitions growing by nine per cent.

But with inflation averaging more than five per cent since February and the rupee depreciating by 14 per cent against the dollar over the same period, that modest nominal budget increase is actually a real budget decrease for defence and considering the austerity measures required to be undertaken with a slowing economy, the Army will have to prioritise its requirements. It does however indicate the accumulating voids in our capabilities in various arms which will adversely affect the Army’s fighting capabilities in future wars.

The notable features of arm wise modernisation and the steps been taken in acquisition of equipment are as follows:

Armour The Army had equipped two regiments with

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SP’s Land Forces 5/2013

T-90 main battle tank

have since been delivered. The ICV BMP-2/2K is being modernised by upgrading its existing NBC System, fire detection and suppression system, ERA panels to provide extra protection and a new power-pack. The scheme to fit environmental control for ICV BMP-2 is in an advanced stage of procurement. Additional battlefield surveillance radar (mediumrange) mounted on high mobility wheeled vehicles are also being procured.

The Indian Army has planned for a futuristic infantry combat vehicle (FICV) to replace the BMP-2 with key operational and performance parameters envisaged in the Indian context. A project to build 2,600 FICVs costing approximately `60,000 crore has been approved by the government. This project is a pioneer in ‘Make Hi-Tech’ category where for the first time the defence industry has invited participation by private established agencies.

The project is in an advanced stage for development of a prototype.

Arty Fire Power Arjun tanks out of the 124 Arjun main battle tanks (MBT) ordered by it earlier. As a result of the satisfactory feedback by the units and from the tank crews, an additional 124 Arjun Mark II tanks have been ordered subject to satisfactory development of the upgraded Mark II version of the tank for equipping two more regiments. These tanks will have substantially upgraded capabilities of firepower, mobility and protection. The development of Arjun Mark I tank with 43 improvements has commenced and limited technical trials incorporating the improvements have been carried out in Rajasthan. The first batch of MBT Arjun Mark II is likely to go in for production by 2014-15 at the Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) in Avadi. As regards the T-90 tanks, 310 T-90S tanks had been ordered from Russia in the first instance. Of these, 124 fullyassembled tanks were directly imported from Russia and 186 kits were imported for assembly in India. The first indigenously assembled T-90S rolled out from the Heavy Vehicles Factory on January 7, 2004. These tanks have now been fully operationalised. Additional 347 T-90S tanks have been inducted into service which brings the total to 657 T-90s tanks. As per media reports, the Army has till now inducted around 780 of the 1,657 T-90S tanks it eventually wants.

The defects in the fire control systems of T-90S tanks due to excessive heat in the turrets during the summers is being remedied through air conditioning of the interior.

On September 13, 2013, a major deal was cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) for the manufacturing of 236 additional T-90 tanks for the Indian

A major weakness in the overall air defence matrix is the lack of a battlefield management system which is also linked with the national air defence network

Army. The order, worth over `6,000 crore, will be executed by the Avadi Heavy Vehicles Factory that already has a licence from Russia to manufacture T-90 tanks from kits purchased from Russia. Another contract, worth about $470 million, has been signed for the deliveries of the Invar missiles, which will be installed on Russian-built T-90 tanks.

This has to be completed within the next five years. Invar is a laser-guided anti-tank missile with a range of five kilometres and the capability to penetrate explosive reactive armour (ERA). According to local media reports, India plans to purchase 25,000 Invar missiles for its T-90 tanks, including 10,000 to be procured directly from Russia and 15,000 more to be manufactured domestically under a Russian licence.

The programme launched to modernise the T-72 M1 Ajeya MBTs is still unsatisfactory and has not progressed much. About 1,700 T-72 M1s have been manufactured under licence at HVF, Avadi. The T-72 M1 modernisation programme under Project Rhino will extend the service life of the MBT by 20 years; enhance their accuracy with new fire control system (FCS) whose trials are under way. This will give night-fighting capability through a thermal imager integrated with the tank‘s FCS. Three hundred T-72 tanks of the Army had been fitted with thermal imaging stand-alone sights (TISAS).

Later, 300 more TISAS were added bringing the total to 600 TISAS. The remaining about 1,000 T-72 tanks will be fitted with more modern integrated fire control systems.

However, the overall night fighting capability of India’s armour is currently inadequate and operationally unacceptable.

The T-90, the improved T-72 M1 tanks and Arjun tanks, will constitute India’s armour might in the future till a new MBT is chosen or designed indigenously. Meanwhile, light tanks for the Eastern theatre are still being debated.

Mechanised Infantry The Mechanised Infantry is currently equipped with the BMP-2 infantry combat vehicle (ICV) named Sarath. The ICVs are being equipped with thermal imaging night sights and image intensifiers. The Army had ordered 198 carrier mortar tracked, which

As part of its Artillery Modernisation Plan, the Army is looking at inducting several types of howitzers through inter-governmental pacts and global tenders. The last major acquisition of towed gun-howitzers was that of 400 pieces of 39 calibre 155mm FH-77B howitzers with a range of 30 km from Bofors of Sweden in 1987, which got embroiled in political controversy. This gun proved its mettle in the Kargil conflict. After about 25 years of neglect during which the 100mm and 122mm field guns of Russian origin and the indigenously developed and manufactured 75/24 howitzer joined the long list of obsolete equipment, the Army still awaits the procurement of about 1,580 howitzers of 155mm, 52 calibre. Out of these, 400 are to be procured outright and 1,180 manufactured indigenously with transfer of technology (ToT).

Trials of a modified Nexter TRAJAN 155mm/52 calibre TGS and Elbit’s refurbished, lighter ATHOS 2052 howitzer were to be held during May 2013 as a part of summer trials in the western Rajasthan desert using OFB manufactured ordnance.

These tests will be followed by winter firings and the selection of one system by the Artillery Directorate to proceed to cost negotiations (the estimated budget being $2 billion).

These trials constitute the fifth attempt to select a suitable 155mm howitzer for the Indian Army.

Nexter is now collaborating with Indian private defence contractor Larsen and Toubro (L&T) while Elbit has partnered with the Kalyani Group, the world’s largest forgings manufacturer headquartered in Pune. The Kalyani Group which is better known as Bharat Forge after one of its more successful subsidiaries has acquired RUAG’s entire artillery manufacturing unit in Switzerland and has set it up in Pune in 2012.

Hundred-and-forty-five ultra-light howitzers (M777) are being procured from the US through the foreign military sales (FMS) route from BAE Systems. This deal has been cleared

by India’s Cabinet Committee on Security and trials have also been conducted but the deal has still not fructified. On September 13, the Defence Acquisition Council headed by the Defence Minister cleared the deal four days Continued on page 10

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Military Exercises with Friendly Countries Joint training, mutual interaction and sharing of experiences amongst both the armies shall further strengthen cultural and historical ties between the nations and take the bilateral relations forward  Lt General (Retd) V.K. Kapoor

J

oint and combined exercises with friendly foreign countries are an important part of defence cooperation.

These involve sharing experiences, understanding the changing dynamics of military operations, developing interoperability and streamlining the procedures for joint and combined operations including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

In the months of September-October, the Indian Army conducted joint operational exercises with France and Nepal.

Indo-French Joint Exercise Shakti 2013 Indo-French Joint Army Exercise ‘Shakti 2013’ was conducted between the Indian and French Army from September 9-20, 2013, in the French Alps at Grenoble.

This was the second joint military exercise between the two countries which have a history of extensive cooperation in the defence arena, the first one was held in India in October 2011. Exercise Shakti moved into the ‘tactical phase’ after a week-long ‘orientation phase’. In the first week, the troops of the Indian Army contingent belonging to

the 5th Battalion, the Kumaon Regiment, underwent various modules acclimatising themselves to the terrain, equipment and procedures followed by the French Army. The exercise was conducted in the general area of Tignes in the French Alps region while the contingent was located in a place called Lebouisse. Various activities conducted by the contingent include practice of rappelling at a rock face of approximately 80 metres at Le Chevrin and mountaineering practice on a training circuit called Via Ferratta. The circuit at Via Ferratta has different levels of difficulty and the well-trained Indian contingent impressed their French hosts with their agility and climbing prowess.

The contingents from both countries have also developed a strong relationship by partnering with each other in various joint activities like navigation exercises, medical casualty evacuation drills and presentations on topics of mutual interest. The French Army contingent was particularly impressed with the Indian Army’s experiences in high altitude mountain warfare in the Siachen Glacier.

After the first week, the stage was set for the next phase of the exercise with troops moving to Vulmix, approximately 25 km

from Lebouisse for the tactical part wherein operations relating to counter-terrorism were practised. The preparations made by both contingents were tested in an operational environment to derive maximum lessons and the aspects of interoperability as envisaged in the planning phase were validated in the final exercise.

Indo-Nepal Joint Training in Pithoragarh An Indo-Nepal Joint Military Training, Exercise Surya Kiran-V, was conducted at Pithoragarh from September 23-October 6, 2013. In this exercise, an Infantry battalion from the Indian Army and an equivalent strength from the Nepalese Army shared their experiences gained during the conduct of counter-insurgency operations.

Based on an agreement during the 7th Nepal-India Billeted Consultative Group on Security, the two countries commenced joint training at platoon level (30 men each) in 2011. The first two joint exercises focused primarily on jungle warfare and counterinsurgency operations. Troops shared their experiences and exhibited skill sets during joint training at Counter-insurgency and Jun-

gle Warfare School at Vairangate in Mizoram and a similar school at Amlekhganj in Nepal.

The level of joint training was upgraded to company level (consisting of approximately 120 men) in 2012, based on experience gained in previous two exercises in 2011.

Company level joint training also focused on counter-insurgency and jungle warfare operations in hilly terrain as the Himalayan region all along Indo-Nepal border is covered with thick jungles. Surya Kiran-V is the fifth IndoNepal training exercise. It aimed not only at training troops in counter-terrorism operations, but also in enhancing defence cooperation and military relations between the two nations. It provided an ideal platform for the personnel of the two countries to share their experiences on counter-terrorists operations; especially in mountainous terrain, as also on aspects of disaster management. The training also envisaged a full-fledged exercise on organisation and conduct of disaster response and disaster management operations.

Joint training, mutual interaction and sharing of experiences amongst both the armies shall further strengthen cultural and historical ties between the nations and take the bilateral relations forward. SP

5/2013 SP’s Land Forces

9

>> modernisation Army’s Equipment...continued from page 8 before the arrival of the US Deputy Secretary of Defence Ashton B. Carter.

The Army has inducted the Prithvi and the Agni series of missiles and the BrahMos missiles in their operational formations.

The Prithvi and the Agni series of missiles are nuclear capable missiles also capable of firing conventional warheads. Block III version of the BrahMos missile with the Army is capable of trajectory manoeuvres and steep dive with multiple way points using advance guidance system and software.

Multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) Pinaka has a range of 37.5 km, can be brought into action within three minutes and can fire a salvo of 12 rockets in 44 seconds.

Pinaka can neutralise a target area of 1000 m x 800 m. Production of rockets is in full swing. Manufacture of 40 launchers, 16 battery command posts, 40 L and 20 replenishment vehicles have been completed and systems have been handed over to the Army. Five lots of restricted high explosive rockets and 23 lots of preformed fragmented warhead rockets have been delivered to the Army.

Air Defence Artillery The Corps of Army Air Defence holds a large variety of guns and missile systems. It has 40mm L/70, Zu-23-2 Twin gun, ZSU-23-4 Schilka, Tanguska, Kvadrat (medium-range missile system), OSA -AK (short-range missile system) and Igla shoulder fired missile system in its inventory. The 40mm L/70 which is about four decades old, needs immediate replacement. Considering the high costs of new weapon systems, the Army is going in for weapon upgrades for L-70, ZU-23-2 Twin gun, and ZSU-23-4 Schilka. Meanwhile, the Army is looking for successors to L-70 and the ZU-23-2. Successor to Schilka (ZSU-234) already exists in the form of Tangushka, but in limited numbers. A request for information (RFI) has already been issued to find a replacement for Schilka.

In the missile systems, Kvadrat (mediumrange) and OSA-AK (short-range) are also at the end of their life cycle. They were to be replaced by Akash and Trishul surface-to-air (SAM) missiles. Trishul has been foreclosed and Akash is being inducted for semi-mobile roles. For air defence of mechanised units, it has been planned to acquire medium-range SAM (MRSAM) and quick reaction SAM (QRSAM) systems. RFP for QRSAM is being issued and there is a joint development venture of DRDO and Israel for MRSAM for all the three services. Successor to Igla have been shortlisted and trials have been held.

However the results have not been finalised.

Shortlisted systems include Saab RBS-7O, MBDA, Mistral, a Russian surface-to-air missiles system and South Korea’s LIG Nex1.

A major weakness in the overall air defence matrix is the lack of a battlefield management system which is also linked with the national air defence network. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has now undertaken the development of such a system.

www.spslandforces.net

Infantry The Futuristic Infantry Soldier as a System (F-INSAS) has been initiated to make the infantryman a weapon platform with situational awareness, increased lethality and sustainability in the digitised battlefield.

F-INSAS is to be effected in three phases: Phase I includes weapons, body armour, clothing and individual equipment; Phase II is the target acquisition system, and Phase III comprises the computer subsystem, radio subsystem, software and software integration. F-INSAS will be a part of the battlefield management system (BMS) of the Army.

The Defence Acquisition Council had approved of a new assault rifle, 5.56mm calibre and a new generation carbine to replace the 9mm carbine which had been weeded out of the Army without getting a replacement. The progress in the field of carbines is that in August 2012 the pro-

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SP’s Land Forces 5/2013

cess of procuring 44,618, 5.56mm close quarter battle (CQB) carbines to replace the outdated 9mm model and 33.6 million rounds of ammunition in a contract worth over `2,000 crore was set in motion.

The manufacturers in the race were Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) Galil Ace carbine, Italy’s Baretta with its ARX-160 and USA’s Colt and Sig Sauer’s offering the M4 and 516 Patrol models. These weapons have undergone field trials at the Infantry School at Mhow, in Central India, the Thar Desert in Rajasthan and high altitude locations in india’s northern and Northeast region.

The Army is also on the lookout for assault rifles (AR) to replace the INSAS

5.56mm Rifles with technologically superior weapons and in the race are ARs of the Czech Republic’s Czeca, IWI, Baretta and Colt and Sig Sauer, all weighing around 3.6 kg. The other requirements include the ability to convert from 5.56x45mm to 7.62x39mm calibres by merely switching the barrel and magazine for employment in counter-insurgency and/or conventional offensive/defensive operations. They also need to be fitted with detachable under barrel grenade launchers and be capable of firing OFB-produced 5.56mmx45 (SS109) ammunition rounds. It will also involve transfer of technology to the OFB to licence build the AR’s. Army’s immediate require-

ment is for around 2,18,320 rifles where as India’s AR requirement is estimated at between two million and three million to arm the large Central Paramilitary Forces and the state police. At this scale, India’s AR acquisitions could be one of the world’s largest small arms contracts in recent times worth over $5 billion in due course.

The F-INSAS project, like scores of other Army modernisation programmes, is hardly making any progress, thus negatively affecting operational preparedness of the Army.

It’s a massive task and will take exceptionally long by the Army to be completed, at the current rate of progress. Not even Phase 1 has been completed. SP

middle east

Egypt’s Destiny at the Crossroads

>>

Photograph: Wikipedia

An Egyptian protester during the 2011 Egyptian revolution holding the Egyptian flag

Western countries have repeatedly called for Morsi’s reinstatement. The US has lost standing and become unpopular with all sides. There is nothing that India can say or do which will have the slightest impact on how developments evolve.  Ranjit Gupta

C

atching the virus from Tunisia, hundreds of thousands of people spontaneously spilled onto the streets of Cairo on January 25, 2011, demanding the overthrow of Muhammad Hosni Mubarak’s 30-yearold autocratic dictatorship. The Muslim Brotherhood opportunistically climbed onto the bandwagon 10 days later but somewhat tentatively. The Army could have chosen mass murder but opted to remove Mubarak from office on February 11, 2011. Instead of quickly moving towards a civilian dispensation, the Army started ruling directly through the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). People were back in Tahrir Square demonstrating against them—the people had not got rid of Mubarak to be ruled by the Army. The Army was forced to organise elections.

Despite the Brotherhood’s unparalleled ability to mobilise its supporters and deliberately soft pedaling its assertive Islamic persona before and during the election campaign, in the first round of the presidential elections the voter turnout was a low 46 per cent of which Mohamed Morsi secured only 24.78 per cent, with Brotherhood votes falling from six out of ten in the parliamentary elections to four in ten now. Later only 32.9 per cent of the electorate voted in the referendum approving the new Constitution the Islamists had drafted securing an underwhelming 63.8 per cent.

These percentages were a clear indicator of the popular mood and suggested caution and introspection rather than celebration.

Eighty-five-year-old and persecuted most of its life, the Brotherhood found itself catapulted as a ruler, dramatically breaking away from its traditional role of agitator, assassin, insurgent and opponent. The Brotherhood failed to capitalise on this historic opportunity by pushing its Islamist agenda for which people had almost explicitly denied a mandate. Morsi’s whimsical, increasingly autocratic and inept rule ignoring a steeply declining economy, resulted in crowds significantly larger than when anti-Mubarak protests took place, demanding his ouster.

All this clearly indicates that despite 91 per cent of Egypt’s population being Muslim, people do not want an Islamic state but good governance. People had not got rid of Mubarak and later the SCAF to live under an Islamist dictatorship. They want true democracy. Raw ‘people power’ had won thrice against heavy odds, exhibiting

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait are absolutely delighted at the overthrow of the hated Muslim Brotherhood

that the country’s political landscape has changed dramatically, perhaps irrevocably.

Assembling impressive support from civil and political society across the spectrum, Army Chief General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced the removal of the Morsi Government on July 3 and a roadmap for transition to an elected government within the next nine months. A revised constitution is being drafted. The Army is clearly calling the shots. Large posters showing Sisi with Nasser are ubiquitous all over Cairo. There is growing suspicion that the Army intends to wield power for the longer term, but unlike during the SCAF interlude, this time from behind a civilian facade. My hunch is that people are unlikely to allow any long-term Army rule.

Following Morsi’s ouster, protests by thousands of Brotherhood supporters for almost eight weeks elicited a brutal crackdown by the Army and retaliation by the protestors resulting in over 1,000 deaths.

The detention of its top leadership, initiation of cases against them which could result in harsh punishment including death penalties, continuing arrests of its members and supporters, confiscation of their assets, closing their TV stations, have been deeply polarising decisions. The Brotherhood should call off further protests in its own interest and Egypt’s interests as well and join in the national dialogue process.

The transitional administration has announced its intention to revoke the Brotherhood’s registration as a non-governmental organisation. This is a particularly retrograde step. Even though the Muslim Brotherhood behaved irresponsibly while in power, its involvement in the country’s political landscape provided legitimacy to the democracy movement; sending it underground would lead to dangerous radicalisation of huge numbers of people. Political Islam cannot be put back into the bottle.

All this has led to a global focus on the stand-off between the Army and the Muslim Brotherhood. The fact is that both these entities have been playing a cynical tactical game to gain upper hand, using, but then sidelining, the extremely significant third player— the common people. Egypt is now witnessing a no holds barred contest between Muslims and Islamists being played out in public— unprecedented for a Muslim country. The Army should not be the arbiter. Given Egypt’s influence and standing, the outcome holds profound implications for the Arab world.

Given the deepening divides, the uncertainty of the Army’s intentions and of reactions of the masses, and continuing instability, is likely to be the norm in the foreseeable future. Given these complexities, for Egypt’s sake, the international community needs to support whatever stand the people take.

absolutely delighted at the overthrow of the hated Muslim Brotherhood. They have promised $4 billion each as aid. The Saudi Foreign Minister has publicly pledged to fill the gap should Western countries suspend or cancel their economic and military aid.

Egypt has threatened that should this happen, it would turn to Russia.

Other countries pleased with the outcome are Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Russia and Syria—otherwise enemies on the same side! Can it get more complicated?

Sisi sent Assad, who has been the major gainer, a return gift by expelling the Syrian National Alliance from Cairo.

Turkey and Tunisia have been strongly critical. Iran has been equivocal. Hamas,

Qatar and Turkey are the biggest losers.

Cairo’s Al-Jazeera bureau has been closed.

Western countries have repeatedly called for Morsi’s reinstatement but have little leverage to make that happen. The US has lost standing and become unpopular with all sides. There is nothing that India can say or do which will have the slightest impact on how developments evolve. Making any substantive statement taking sides would be counterproductive. Like the great Third World behemoth, China, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has made a judiciously anodyne statement calling for all parties to exercise restraint. SP The auther is a retired diplomat.

International Implications Egypt is too big and strong for foreign countries to get intrusively involved as they had done in Libya and Syria.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait are Untitled-3 1

17/08/12 5:31 PM

5/2013 SP’s Land Forces

11

>> Trends

Future Trends in Army Air Defence Systems Air defence has evolved due to the rise of air power which initially started with fighter/bomber aircraft.

Over a period of time attack helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise and ballistic missiles became part of the air threat.

Photograph: Lockheed Martin

 Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand

A

rmy Air Defence (AAD) is a system which includes surveillance sensors, fire control devises, kill weapons like guns, missiles and directed energy weapons, and a battle management system to integrate all these subsystems. Air defence has evolved due to the rise of air power which initially started with fighter/bomber aircraft. Over a period of time attack helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cruise and ballistic missiles became part of the air threat. Thus the race between ‘air threat’ and ‘counter-to-air threat’ continues with both dimensions exploring new technologies to outdo each other. The overlay of unconventional warfare has added to the complexity of solutions.

Future Trends in Air Threat  Increased reliance on stealth by fighter/

bomber aircraft. Example of F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II of the US are there.  Improved avionics providing better beyond visual range (BVR) capability to fighter aircraft.  Increased use of UAVs, armed UAVs and micro/mini-UAVs.  Increased missile threat.  Proliferation of precision guided munitions (PGMs).  Threat from rockets, artillery and mortars, all using PGMs.  Better electronic warfare capability for jamming air defence systems.

All this results in multi-platform, silent and standoff threat.

Future Trends in AD Guns Guns: Guns including machine guns were first used to counter air threat. These weapons were not designed for air defence role. During World War II, air defence guns started getting evolved. The most popular gun used by the Allies was 40mmL/60 of Sweden origin which was a purely mechanical gun with high rate of fire. This gun was succeeded by 40mmL/70 which was radar controlled. This gun is still in service in India for almost 50 years.

Other countries produced many types of air defence guns with varying ranges, calibre and fire control system. Errors in firing due to a moving target in all three dimensions simultaneously like the fighter aircraft, gravity and effect of atmospheric conditions was made up by providing better fire control systems and a high rate of fire. High rate of fire limited the calibre of the gun or else the gun would become very heavy and thus impeding mobility. Conventional guns have reached a plateau in development, thus the focus for development is on fire control systems and ammunition. Some future trends are:  Unmanned and remotely-controlled turret with integrated ammunition feed will ensure better reaction time and reduction in crew.  Multi-weapon platforms with guns and missiles on the same platform to provide multi-layered defence and improved kill

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Conventional

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Lockheed Martin’s Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile

capability. Co-locating fire control systems on the weapon platform for shorter reaction time and reduction in crew.  Provide mobility with high mobility vehicles.  High rate of fire with multi-barrel guns having independent breech blocks.

Alternatively those have very high accuracy which enables reduction in the rate of fire and have higher calibre for better kill and longer range.

Electro-magnetic (EM) gun: The muzzle velocity is provided by EM forces and not by the expansion of propellant guns.

EM gun can propel a three kg projectile at speed of more than 3000m/s. It is still under development.

Directed energy weapons (DEW): These weapons are right out of Star Wars. DEW weapons use their energy to disable/destroy targets and have a high requirement of power. They can be based on high power microwave, charge particle beam or laser.

DEW weapons are under development in many countries including India. They are the classic PGMs.

The race between ‘air threat’ and ‘counter-toair threat’ continues with both dimensions exploring new technologies to outdo each other

Ammunition Air defence guns have a limitation of calibre (normally maximum of 40mm) and so the shell is very small. The result was that it was difficult to fit an airburst or a proximity fuse in the nose. The calibre also limited the high explosive content of the shell. This has been overcome with developments in electronics and kill content. Airburst or proximity fuse bursts close to the target, and thus increases the kill zone. Some examples are: Advanced Hit Efficiency and Destruction (AHEAD): This is produced by Rhe-

inmetall. AHEAD has a cone of 100-150 tungsten alloy pellets as the kill content.

The muzzle velocity is calculated for each round and time to the target is fed in the precision fuse resulting in the shell exploding at optimum range to create a sub projectile cloud. The pellets are hurled at great speed to destroy the target.

Penetrator with Enhanced Lateral Effect (PELE): PELE is also manufactured by

Rheinmetall. This is a very unique concept where fragmentation of the shell is caused without explosive and fuse but has high penetrative power and lethality. The outer shell and its inner filling are made of material with different densities which cause rise in pressure on impact and fragmentation.

Driven Ammunition Reduced Time of Flight (DART): DART projectile is guided by

a beam, has canard control with a range of five-km and a proximity fuse which bursts between 5 metres and 10 metres.

Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Systems SAM systems were developed to overcome the shortcomings of the air defence guns like limited range and accuracy. Serious

attempts to develop SAM systems started during World War II but none were made operational. During the Cold Warera, known systems deployed were the US’s Nike Ajax and the Soviet Union’s S-75 Dvina.

Dvina was very popular and was deployed in many countries. The Indian Air Force was the first service to deploy missiles in India. Later on, both the Army and the Navy acquired SAMs. There were a large variety of SAMs developed world over ranging from radar controlled larger systems like HAWK of the US and Kvadrat of Russia. Ranges also varied from long-range to mediumand short-range. There were many configurations from static platforms to mobile platforms and man-portable air defence systems (Manpads). A guided missile has a propellant engine, guidance system, steering system and a warhead to destroy the target. Guidance systems can be radar or many other systems like radio-controlled, infrared, laser and using millimetre radar.

The current developments are providing hyper velocity, better warhead and active seeker for a guidance system. The SAMs must cater for multiple long-range threat to very short-range threat with a very short reaction time. The missile should have twoway data link with high capacity and independent of the radar for very short reaction time and accuracy.

The Army needs highly mobile systems to deploy and redeploy very fast with a very short reaction time. It should also take care of short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), attack helicopters, cruise missiles and UAVs. Current systems like Patriot Advance Capability 3 (PAC3) and latest version of Barak 8 claim to have all these attributes. PAC3

SP’s Exclusive / Trends >>

US Marines-Indian Army amphibious staff exercise

The US Marines 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and troops from the Indian Army’s 91 Brigade conducted a joint amphibious staff exercise Shatrujeet 13 this month in Kochi, Trivandrum and Peryakadu on the west coast, along with staff exchanges in Goa. According to a statement put out by the US Marines, “The purpose of the exercise (involving the Battalion Landing Team 1/4 and Combat Logistics Battalion 13 of the MEU) was to enhance US-India militaryto-military relations and exchange knowledge. They achieved this through coordination of a brigade-sized attack in scenario driven classroom.” The Marines arrived on amphibious assault ship USS Harpers Ferry.

The staff exercise was conducted under the aegis of the Defence Policy Group, and will be looking to enhance interoperability between the two sides progressively.

Indo-Russia Military Exercise Indra 2013

Taking military-to-military relations to the next level, the first combat group level exercise between India and Russia, Indra-13, has been conducted successfully in the Thar Desert, with both sides satisfied with the level of interoperability and cooperation established in the joint military training drill.

A combat group strength of Russian Army personnel and an equal complement of Indian Army soldiers from the South Western Command took part in the two-week war game that witnessed integration of their tactical and technical skills in a UN peace enforcement scenario involving mechanised forces. State-of-theart equipment for surveillance and target acquisition specialist weapons for close quarter battle, explosive and IED detectors, as well as the latest communications equipment was fielded.

Over several days, both sides jointly planned and executed a series of integrated tactical drills for neutralisation of visualised threats potentially encountered in UN peace operations. The exercise has also turned out to be a deep validation of the South Western Command—the Indian Army’s youngest command, and its infrastructure to hold joint military exercises.

diameter of 420 mm weighing 1,280 kg, and a single stage solid propulsion system goes to a height of 35 km before reaching the targets of the range of up to 170 km in just over 250 seconds. The missile equipped with state-of-the-art high accuracy navigation, guidance and electromechanical actuation systems with latest onboard computer achieved terminal accuracy of less than 10 metres. The missile with a payload of 200 kg has a fast reaction time, essential for the battlefield tactical missile. The road mobile system which can carry six missiles at a time, can be fired in salvo mode in all directions covering the entire azimuth plane.

According to DRDO, “India will for the first time display during an international event its latest state-of-the-art weapon systems, platforms, sensors, communication systems and equipment designed and developed by DRDO.”

DRDO to unveil export variant of Prahaar missile in Korea

Army for 49 hand-launched UAS

Pragati, a modified only-for-export variant of the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) newest tactical surface-to-surface battlefield missile Prahaar, will be unveiled at the International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition scheduled to be held at Seoul, South Korea, from October 29-November 3, 2013, where more than 30 countries are participating.

The Pragati, with a stated range of 60-170 km stands to be presented over two years after the Prahaar was first tested and advertised to fill the “vital gap between multi-barrel rockets and medium-range ballistic missiles”. Identical in most respects to the Prahaar, the Pragati will be a road-mobile system, with the missile 7.3 meters long and with a

The Indian Army is looking for 49 manportable hand launched unmanned air systems specifically designed for tactical surveillance in the border areas of Jammu & Kashmir. The Army’s Udhampur-based Northern Command has floated a tender specifying the need for a system that is capable of over-the-hill reconnaissance and imagery surveillance aimed at tracking movement of terrorists or infiltrators, incursions, human movements and to battlefield intelligence.

The Indian Army currently operates a small fleet of Searcher Mk.2 drones of Israeli origin, but requires unmanned systems deployable at the platoon and company level for tactical unit-level operations. In 2009, the Indian Army got a taste of such systems at Babina during

Exercise Yudh Abhyas with the US Army, when the Raven UAS was deployed. The Indian Army has also got a chance to see indigenous hand-launched platforms like the NAL SlyBird and ADE Imperial Eagle, both of which are still currently in development.

Golden 2013 for ALH Dhruv

2013 has been a blessed year for the indigenous advanced light helicopter (ALH) Dhruv helicopter. Following the handing over the first weaponised Dhruv variant, christened ‘Rudra’ to the Indian Army earlier this year, the proven helicopter platform clocked 1,00,000 flying hours this month—a major psychological boost to one of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) most successful programmes.

In a statement, HAL said, “The landmark has been achieved in the early hours of October 9 with the flying of helicopter IA 3104 of 301 Army Aviation Sqn (Spl ops)”. The Dhruv is currently in service with the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force (IAF), Coast Guard, Border Security Force and state governments after deliveries began in 2002. Currently, nearly 150 serve with the armed forces, while a smaller number serve with civil agencies. Earlier this month, HAL additionally received a ‘Best Engineering Marvel Award’ for project innovativeness from Engineering Watch for the Rudra armed helicopter. With exports to Ecuador and a few other countries, HAL is not looking to push the upgraded Dhruv Mk.3 abroad in a big way. SP —SP’s Special Correspondent For complete versions log on to: www.spslandforces.net

Photograph: IAI

warhead is a unique “hit-to-kill” (kinetic kill vehicle) capability that completely eliminates the need for a proximity-fused warhead. However, the missile has lethality enhancer (a small explosive directional warhead) which launches a stream of lowspeed steel fragments in the direction of the target in order to make the missile crosssection greater to enhance the kill probability. Barak 8 is a short- to long-range, providing point and area defence on land and sea. The missile is based on advanced missile state-of-the-art phased array, multimission radar, multi-layers communication and flexible command and control system.

There are many more advanced systems being developed including for Manpads. The aim is to counter multiple air threat with a single missile system with speed and accuracy, in all-weather conditions.

radar can also produce multiple beams for multiple target tracking. India has indigenous AESA radar with its Akash SAM system.

Varied Band Spectrum: Operating in VHF band is difficult to jam and can detect targets with low radar cross section.

Over the Horizon Radar (OTH): The OTH uses bounce effect of HF waves with a detection capability of thousands of kilometres. It is primarily used for surveillance and anti-stealth.

Multi-band Spectrum: It functions simultaneously in multiple frequency bands with the help of AESA. Search and tracking is carried out in different bands. It has very effective electronic counter countermeasure (ECCM) system.

Barak 8 Indo-Israeli surface-to-air missile

Electro-optics Fire Control Systems (EOFCS): EOFCS is a passive system which

Fire Control Systems A surveillance and fire control system is integral part of a SAM system. Earlier there were separate radars for surveillance and fire control. Such a configuration is still required for long-range missiles although such information can also be provided by UAVs as well through satellites. Radar’s effective range depends upon its antenna height and hence this is a limitation for low flying targets. For short-range quick reaction missiles, the function of surveillance and fire control is combined in single radar.

The other challenge is to detect stealth objects. Some developments: Phase Array Technology: It uses active electronically switched array (AESA) in which transmitter and receiver functions are composed of numerous small solid-state transmit/ receive modules (TRMs) which emit separate radio beams that interfere constructively to produce a beam. It is possible to change the operating frequency with every pulse. AESA

The Army needs highly mobile systems to deploy and redeploy very fast with a very short reaction time

uses EO systems like forward looking infrared (FLIR), IR search and tracking (IRST), thermal imagers and CCD camera for fire control, is gyro-stabilised with an independent sighting system.

Counter Stealth: Many developments are going on to detect stealth platforms like multi-band, passive systems, passive coherent location (PCL) mode. EADS has displayed a passive radar system that can detect reflections from three different bands, namely FM, digital audio broadcasting and digital video broadcasting-terrestrial bands.

Laser technology is also being explored to detect stealth. SP

5/2013 SP’s Land Forces

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>> show report / Ausa 2013

Focus on Cost-effective Technologies The scene at AUSA 2013 was contrasting, while Army Generals after Generals talked about downsizing and prioritising, the equipment manufacturers were aggressive in their marketing and highlighted how their equipment met the requirements of the armed forces in the current economic turmoil Photographs: AM General, ATK, Bell Helicopter, Wikipedia

 SP’s Special Correspondent, Washington DC

AM General’s BRV-O

T

he annual convention and exposition of the Association of United States Army (AUSA) which was held from October 21-23 at Washington DC continues to hold centre stage, despite the looming budgetary cuts in defence expenditure. Testimony to this has been the over 700 Army and industry exhibitors who used over 5,00,000 square feet of space, besides engaging in animated conversations about cost-effective technologies.

The scene at AUSA 2013 was contrasting, while Army Generals after Generals talked about downsizing and prioritising, the equipment manufacturers were aggressive in their marketing and highlighted how their equipment met the requirements of the armed forces in the current economic turmoil. The US Department of Defense has put in place sequestration and the Pentagon has to walk a tightrope financially considering that it has to downsize its projected budgets by nearly $500 billion over the next decade. While this certainly affected defence equipment manufacturers who now have increasingly started looking at emerging markets and Asia is one big defence spender. Meanwhile, the US Army is working on downsizing its manpower from the 4,90,000 soldier threshold to about 4,25,000 as per the US Army Chief of Staff, General Raymond Odierno. Sequestration has cost the Army $1.7 billion in just the first year, he said, resulting in hundreds of vehicles and thousands of communications systems out of service for lack of maintenance and soldiers unable to train. General (Retd) Gordon R. Sullivan, AUSA President, commented, “AUSA and senior Army leaders, with budget challenges at top-of-mind, have crafted another world-class professional development experience that benefits our Army, our industry partners and the American people by keeping key audiences informed about how our Army is truly ‘globally responsive and regionally engaged’.” The theme for this year’s professional development forum was: “America’s Army: Globally Responsive, Regionally Engaged.”

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KMW Pitches Puma for Bradley Replacement At AUSA, discussion revolved around how the ground combat vehicle (GCV), a replacement to the Bradley being developed by BAE Systems and General Dynamics, may get affected in the budgetary slash.

Despite that Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) of Munich, Germany, made an aggressive pitch of the Puma military fighting vehicle as an ideal replacement for the M2 Bradley fighting vehicle. KMW’s display included a cross-section of a Puma hull that had sustained a direct hit by an anti-tank mine during a field test. It also displayed the Puma’s unmanned turret—equipped nearly completely with US-manufactured gear. The two weapons—a 35mm cannon and .50-calibre machine gun—are made by ATK Inc. A US division of Meggitt Defense Systems built the ammunition-handling system. Moog Inc. built the turret system.

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Soldier firing H&K’s XM25

calibre cannons, precision guidance for artillery and mortars, the XM25 individual semi-automatic airburst system, and small-, medium- and large-calibre ammunition.

ATK also featured its Eagle Industries and Blackhawk brand tactical gear and apparel, special mission aircraft upgrades, facility management expertise and its portfolio of advanced fuses, warheads and tactical propulsion systems.

FLIR’s Ruggedised Optical Cabling

KMW’s Puma military fighting vehicle

Bell, Sikorsky in Race to Develop Aircraft for US Army Two of the four major players for the possible replacement platform for the US Army’s fleet of ageing rotor aircraft strove to make their respective cases during AUSA. The impetus for the two companies—Bell Helicopter Textron and Sikorsky Aircraft—came from an October 3 announcement by the Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Centre (AMRDEC) which named them and two other firms—AVX Aircraft and Karem Aircraft—as the four finalists to develop suitable aircraft. Under the AMRDEC directive, the four companies will have nine months to refine and develop their designs. Each must produce a demonstrator aircraft by the summer or fall of 2017.

Bell Helicopter presented a full-scale representation of its Bell V-280 Valor third-generation tilt-rotor and provides programme updates on the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior. John Garrison, President and CEO of Bell Helicopter, said, “Through continued investment, Bell Helicopter provides the most trusted affordable and effective solutions for the US Army’s missions today and tomorrow.”

Sikorsky Aircraft offered a distinctly different aircraft into the contest, unveiling its new name—SB-1 Defiant which it is developing jointly with Boeing and other corporate partners. Defiant closely resembles a conventional helicopter in looks and performance.

The stark difference is its coaxial dual-rotor design. “Running in counter-rotation to each other, the two large rotors would allow the aircraft to move with twice the manoeuvrability and speed of conventional helicopters,” said Sikorsky spokesman Frans Jurgens.

Lighter Body Armour With body armour adding between 35 and 40 pounds to the loads, soldiers must carry into combat; it stands to reason that Army leadership is pressing its industry partners to develop better systems. While no one really expects to see soldiers sporting camouflaged versions of Tony Stark’s ‘Iron Man’ suit anytime soon, companies believe they are making significant inroads. SaintGobain, a long-time provider of ceramic

Bell V-280 Valor third-generation tilt-rotor

0plates used in a wide array of the Army’s body-armour packages, believes the future lies in development of non-carbide materials that are lighter in weight than the current carbide-based ones.

Boeing Tests HEL MD Laser Boeing announced that it would conduct live fire tests of its high energy laser mobile demonstrator (HEL MD) tactical laser by the end of 2013. HEL MD is a tactical laser programme designed to defeat rockets, mortars and small unmanned aerial vehicles.

AM General’s Light Tactical Vehicles America’s builder of light tactical military vehicles, AM General, presented several offerings from its diverse family of light tactical vehicles and training operations.

They included the blast resistant vehicle offroad (BRV-O) joint light tactical vehicle; the ground mobility vehicle 1.1 (GMV); the modernised HMMWV chassis and the on/ off road light tactical vehicle simulator.

UTC Displays Array of Products The company exhibited a wide range of technologies and solutions from laser warning systems applications for land platforms and helicopters to products for guidance and navigation control. Small UAS was presented along with multiple UAS applications, including cloud cap technology TASE gimbals and piccolo autopilots. Sensors unlimited shortwave infrared (SWIR) cameras were on display, including a handheld variant, all providing the benefits of being able to see through obscurants such as fog, haze and smoke.

Elbit’s Cutting-edge Solutions The company presented an array of cutting-edge solutions designed to enhance the capabilities of the US armed forces. Elbit Systems of America’s innovative solutions for land vehicle refurbishment, upgrades and aviation services caught the attention of the attendees at AUSA.

ATK’s Medium-calibre Cannons ATK highlighted multiple products that support the US Army, including medium-

FLIR demonstrated use of ruggedised, active optical cabling (AOC) with its Star Safire 380-HD sensor. FLIR leverages ruggedised AOCs developed by Zephyr Photonics that enable the transition to optical cables without the typical troubles associated with use of fibre optic cabling in harsh environments. Zephyr’s AOCs provide FLIR with electrically pluggable, standard, MIL-SPEC connectors that enable form, fit, function replacements for the heavy and legacy copper interconnects.

General Dynamics Bags Contract General Dynamics announced that the US Special Operations Command gave them a contract for the Flyer advanced light strike vehicle (ALSV). The three-year contract is for up to 10 vehicles representing a total value of $5.8 million if all options are exercised.

Telephonics’ Advanced Communications Telephonics, an industry leader in both the defence and civil markets for advanced communication systems, offered a variety of wired and wireless communication solutions designed to meet stringent customer requirements for affordable advanced communications. Telephonics systems can be found on 54 platform types around the world including fixed-wing, rotary-wing, lighter-than-air aircraft and ground control shelters. The Trulink wireless intercommunication system is one of the most versatile, full duplex intercoms available. Trulink is ideal for flight line operations, transport, aero-medical evacuation, crews, ground vehicles and unmanned system crews.

Kongsberg to Overhaul Protector M151 Kongsberg announced that it will overhaul and repair the Protector M151 remote weapon stations (RWS) in service with the Canadian military, under a newly signed contract with the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND). Work will be conducted by Kongsberg Protech Systems (KPS) in Canada. The Canadian military has operated the Protector M151 RWS on its RG-31 platform since Kongsberg supplied the systems in 2005.

General Atomics’ Unveils Artillery Version of Blitzer General Atomics unveiled a land-based artillery version of its Blitzer electromagnetic rail gun (EMRG) and that it could be ready for production in “two to three years”. Blitzer began as a 2007 US Office of Naval Research programme to develop prototype technologies to support the US Navy’s (USN’s) futuristic rail gun programme, which is now led

by BAE Systems and Boeing. SP

news in brief >> New Cyber Defence Unit in UK The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) will recruit hundreds of computer experts for the creation of a new cyber defence unit to help protect the country’s critical data and computer networks. Featuring both reservists and regular forces, the Joint Cyber Reserve Unit will not only safeguard the UK from cyber attacks, but will also launch their own ‘’strikes in cyber space’’, if necessary, according to the MoD. The UK Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the Ministry is developing a full-spectrum military cyber capability, including a strike capability, to boost the UK’s range of military capabilities in response to the growing cyber threats.

Swedish FMV receives first batch of Archer artillery system from BAE

The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) has taken delivery of the first batch of four FH77 L52 Archer artillery systems under contract from BAE Systems during a ceremony at the company’s facility in Karlskoga, Sweden. The delivery follows a $200 million contract secured by BAE for supply of a total of 48 artillery systems, including 24 each for the Swedish and Norwegian armed forces, along with associated ammunition handling systems in 2010. FMV Director General Lena Erixon said the delivery is a combined effort of Norwegian Defence Logistics Organisation (FLO), BAE Systems Bofors and FMV. A development of the 155mm towed FH77 L39 system, the Archer is a fully automated 155mm howitzer and a M151 Protector remote-controlled weapon station (RCWS) mounted on a modified 6x6 chassis of Volvo A30D all-terrain truck, and is designed for rapid deployment and high mobility in demanding operational scenarios.

Saab to provide self-protection system for India’s ALH

Swedish defence and security company Saab has secured two orders, worth about SEK 216 million ($33 million) from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). As part of the deal, the company will provide an integrated electronic warfare self-protection system to equip the advanced light helicopter, which belongs to the Indian Army and Indian Air Force. The company’s integrated defensive aids suite (IDAS) will protect crew and aircraft, as well as enhance the survivability in sophisticated, diverse and dense threat environments. The system provides a timely warning against different types of threats such as radar, laser and missile approach, and automatically deploys the required countermeasures. The company will develop and produce the IDAS system at its facility in Centurion, South Africa, while deliveries are expected to start in 2014. The IDAS system has been successfully used in many airborne platforms, which include Saab 2000, AgustaWestland A109, Super Lynx 300, Boeing CH-47 Chinook, Denel Rooivalk and Oryx, Eurocopter Cougar. The technology is also used in Puma and Super Puma, NH Industries NH90 C-130 and L100 Hercules and Sukhoi Su-30MKM.

AeroVironment to deliver additional Raven sensor payloads to US Army

AeroVironment has received a contract to supply additional RQ-11B Raven unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) Mantis i23 gimbaled sensor payloads to the US Army. Awarded under the December 2012 indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract, the competitively awarded $20 million deal provides for continued modernisation of the Army’s Raven fleet. Mantis i23 is a rugged, multi-axis sensor payload with pan, tilt and zoom. It is designed to improve Raven’s target-tracking capability by enabling a greater level of visual fidelity and continuous observation of an item of interest irrespective of the air vehicle’s flight direction. Featuring a high-resolution colour and infrared thermal video sensor, the modular payload replaces two separate Raven system payloads, including a stationary electro-optical sensor and a stationary infrared sensor required earlier for day and night operations.

Selex ES and Ultra CCS to supply cameras for UK Army Selex ES and Ultra Electronics Command and Control Systems (Ultra CCS) team secured a contract for delivery of driver’s and local situational awareness cameras for the demonstration phase of the UK Army’s Warrior infantry fighting vehicle modernisation. Awarded by Lockheed Martin UK as part of the £1-billion warrior capability sustainment pogramme (WCSP), the contra ct covers supply of camera solution for up to 13 warrior vehicles. Comprising of Selex ES driver’s night vision system four (DNVS4) sensor and the Ultra CCS HUBE cameras, the new cameras will offer an under armour capability to vehicle crew to see 360° around the vehicle and drive by indirect view in both day and night conditions.

South Korea seeks Patriot anti-tactical missiles from US The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has notified Congress of a potential foreign military sale (FMS) of Patriot anti-tactical missiles and associated equipment to South Korea. Under the estimated $404-million sale, South Korea has requested supply of a total of 112 Patriot anti-tactical missiles (ATM), which in turn are scheduled to be upgraded to the guided enhanced missile-tactical (GEM-T) standard through a direct commercial sale. The proposed ATMs sale and subsequent GEM-T upgrade will contribute to South Korea’s goal to develop a more capable defence force and also improve interoperability with the US forces.

US Army Contracts GDLS for More Stryker Vehicles Conversion General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) has got a contract for conversion of the US Army’s additional flat-bottom Stryker infantry combat vehicles (IFV) to a newer, more survivable double-V hull (DVH) design.

Awarded by the Army’s tank-automotive and armaments command (TACOM) and lifecycle management command (LCMC), the $118-million contract covers conversion of a total of 66 vehicles. Involving an exchange of flat-bottom Stryker hulls for the newer DVH design, the Stryker DVHexchange pilot programme was jointly launched by the army and the company in response to a requirement for additional DVH vehicles and to lower the overall vehicle cost in 2012.

Air Marshal Arup Raha will be the next Air Chief The Indian Government has decided to appoint Air Marshal Arup Raha, at present the Vice Chief of Air Staff, as the next Chief of the Air Staff after the retirement of Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne on December 31, 2013. Air Marshal Raha was commissioned into the IAF on December 14, 1974, in the Fighter Stream of the Flying Branch.

He has served as Air Attaché at the Embassy of India in Ukraine. Besides various technical courses, Air Marshal Raha has done National Defence College, Staff College, Strategic Nuclear Orientation Course and Junior Commanders’ Course. He has commanded Central Air Command and Western Air Command. He is one of the Honorary ADCs to the Supreme Commander.

Raytheon Stinger Missile Completes Finnish VSHORADS field trials

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Jayant Baranwal Editor Lt General (Retd) V.K. Kapoor Assistant Group Editor R. Chandrakanth Senior Technical Group Editor Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey Assistant Editor Sucheta Das Mohapatra Contributors India General (Retd) V.P. Malik, Lt General (Retd) Vijay Oberoi, Lt General (Retd) R.S. Nagra, Lt General (Retd) S.R.R. Aiyengar, Air Marshal (Retd) Vinod Patney, Major General (Retd) Ashok Mehta, Major General (Retd) G.K. Nischol, Brigadier (Retd) Gurmeet Kanwal, Brigadier (Retd) S. Mishra, Rohit Sharma Chairman & Managing Director Jayant Baranwal Executive Vice President (Planning & Business Development) Rohit Goel Administration Bharti Sharma Creative Director Anoop Kamath

Raytheon’s Stinger missile has successfully completed a series of very short-range air defence system (SHORADS) field trials in Finland. Around six Finnish gunners were trained on three missile system tracking trainers during the trials, with each successfully simulating tracking and engaging targets flown by the Finnish Army Materiel Command. The targets included an F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft, NH-90 tactical transport helicopter (TTH) and Banshee medium speed aerial target system.

Raytheon Missile Systems Stinger Program Director, Mark Nicol, said the trials confirm that the development of a man-portable airdefence system (MANPADS) that can truly outperform Stinger is yet to take place.

Army in humanitarian service The Army Air Defence (AAD) establishment at Gopalpur in Odisha, which lay on the direct path of the cyclone Phailin that struck landmass on October 12, evening, saved the four adjoining village population located in its vicinity from the onslaught of the cyclone that left a trail of flattened fields, uprooted trees and damaged power pylons among other things. The villagers were given shelter in the Army establishment and were provided food and other basic amenities before letting them proceed to their homes on October 13, morning. Although the cyclone has abated from the region, the AAD College, one of Indian Army’s premiere training establishment, had geared up to not just safeguard its own assets but also the lives of the civilians living around their camp. SP

>> Show Calendar 4-7 November Defense & Security 2013 IMPACT Exhibition Center, Bangkok, Thailand www.asiandefense.com 18-20 November Armoured Vehicles India 2013 Sheraton Hotel, New Delhi, India www.armouredvehiclesindia.com 25-27 November AUS&R 2013 Expo Autonomous, Unmanned Systems & Robotics Rishon-LeZion, Tel-Aviv, Israel www.i-hls.com/2013/07/ausr2013

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