Defence and Security of India Sep 2013 by Armada International & Asian Military Review

NAVAL MODERNISATION

SELF-RELIANCE MAIN SPRINGBOARD Indian Navy’s force building have gone through a long drawn out process I S GOVIND COMMUNICATIONS

NEED FOR LEARNING LESSONS

Asymmetric battlefields require cross-communication connecting across the spectrum I PRAKASH KATOCH SEPTEMBER 2013

DEFENCE and SECURITY of INDIA

DSI

www.defencesecurityindia.com

VOLUME 5

ISSUE 6

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MILITARY HELICOPTERS IN INDIA

SUB-OPTIMAL WARFARE, BECAUSE OF ITS ASYMMETRIC NATURE, REQUIRES HIGH TROOP MOBILITY WHICH IS PROVIDED BY MILITARY HELICOPTERS THAT MOVE MEN AND MATERIAL ACROSS BATTLE-SPACE WITH AGILITY. I B S PAWAR

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LETTER FROM THE

editor

he launch of INS Vikrant, an aircraft carrier of the 40,000 tonnes class built by the Cochin Shipyard has validated two aspects about the country’s abilities to undertake such complex tasks. The defence industrial base of the country capable of delivering such examples of high technology raises hope that when push comes to shove, it can rise up to the occasion. The next in line is the 65,000-tonne Indian Aircraft Carrier II (IAC II). According to last reports, it is still on drawing boards and a debate is on whether to have nuclear propulsion for it. Whatever be the decision, it will be worth considering giving the contract for IAC II to a private shipyard. There are only a handful of Indian corporates who have the capacity to build it. Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and Pipavav are the two who stand out. The L&T is already working on the second indigenous nuclear submarine. Pipavav had expected that it would be given the contract for building the six follow-on conventional submarines even as Mazagon Docks struggle to finish work on the six Scorpenes. But after an inspection by the ministry of defence team, led by a joint secretary, Pipavav was considered unable to construct those subs. However, it needs to be kept in mind that Cochin Shipyard was not a defence public sector unit. It is administered by the ministry of shipping. It did not have any record of building ships of the displacement of 40,000 tonnes. It acquired the ability to do it – the Russian advisers helped. The Steel Authority of India Ltd chipped in with the special steel. And we had an indigenous aircraft carrier, being the fifth country of the world to build and operate a carrier of its own. So, if a private shipyard like L&T or Pipavav is given the contract of the IAC II, they could tap into the large number of small and medium sector (SME) suppliers chain that Cochin Shipyard had helped build and the knowledge pool the country has acquired from the construction of the Vikrant, and equip itself to rise up to the task.This would require the large amount of knowledge banking, which the country lacks and should acquire. The navy could rightfully take pride for being a ‘builders’ navy, and deepen the talent pool of scientists and technologists in the country. Not only will this put the country on the path of qualitative self-reliance, but it will also help achieve the goal of having three carrier battle groups for the force, less expensively.

Pinaki Bhattacharya

SEPTEMBER 2013

DSI

A large amount of knowledge banking is required, which the country lacks and should acquire. The navy could rightfully take pride for being a ‘builders’ navy, and deepen the talent pool of scientists and technologists in the country.

CONTENTS

CHOPPERING AROUND

INDIAN MILITARY HELICOPTERS

Sub-optimal warfare, because of its asymmetric nature, requires high troop mobility which is provided by military helicopters that move men and material across battle-space with agility.

SEPTEMBER 2013

NAVAL MODERNISATION

SELF-RELIANCE MAIN SPRINGBOARD Indian Navy’s force building have gone through a long drawn out of process of early acquisitions from the West to now, when most of the ships – surface and sub-surface – are built indigenously.

SOLDIER MODERNISATION

STILL WAITING FOR F-INSAS

Indian Army’s ambitious Future-Infantry Soldier as a System (F-INSAS), stands interminably delayed and deferred by over six years if not longer

COMMUNICATIONS

NEED FOR LEARNING LESSONS

FIREPOWER

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ROCKETS, MISSILES AND PRECISIONGUIDED MUNITIONS

Asymmetric battlefields require cross-communicating systems that connect nodes across the spectrum of inter-service agencies, and across the entire ‘security sector.’

In the possible future wars, Artillery will play a key role of shaping the battlefield by suppressing enemy air defence and to undertake decisive victory.

DEFENCE RELATIONS

PARAMILITARY FORCES MODERNISATION 48

SIGNS OF THE TIMES: INDO-EU DEFENCE RELATIONS India’s defence relationship with the European Union is less multilateral and more bilateral, in terms of proximity with individual members.

RECHECKING THE PMFs AND CAPFs

Ministry of Home Affairs used Rs 4,600 crores for modernising CAPFs and that Rs 610 crores were allotted to J&K and north eastern states to meet security related expenditures.

CONTRIBUTORS

ANIL BHAT

LT GEN (RETD) PRAKASH KATOCH

BRIG (RETD) GURMEET KANWAL

CMDE (RETD) S GOVIND

Anil B ha t was commissioned in 19th Battalion, The Madras Regimen in 1972 and later transferred to 4th Horse. Selected as a spokesperson for Defence Ministry’s Directorate of Public Relations, he is a recipient of Vishisht Seva Medal. A former Research Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, he has authored Information and Security: Where Truth Lies, Assam Terrorism and the Demographic Challenge and After Abbottabad, Terror to turmoil in Pakistan.

P ra k a sh K a t oc h is a veteran Special Forces Lieutenant General who also served as Director General Information Systems. He is a leading defence analyst and contributes regularly to Indian and foreign publications. An elected Council Member of the United Services Institution of India, he held the Field Marshal KM Cariappa Chair of Excellence for the year 2011-2012 and has coauthored the book ‘India’s Special Forces – History and Future of Indian Special Forces’.

Gu rm e e t K a n w a l , has recently laid down office has a director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, a think tank devoted to the Army. He commanded the infantry brigade during the Operation Parakram on the Line of Control in 2001-2003. A soldier scholar, he has done extensive work on the Indian nuclear programme, authoring several books including, Indian Army: Vision 2020 and Nuclear Defence: Shaping the Arsenal. He is a well-known coloumnist and analyst on national security issues.

C om m odo re Gov ind is a retired naval officer and a submarine specialist. He commanded various frontline ships and submarines as well as submarine training and operational bases. He held appointments at Base, Command and Fleet headquarters. He headed the Directorate of Submarine operations as well as Submarine acquisition at Naval Headquarters. He retired from HQ IDS, where he served in the Perspective Planning & Force Development Branch.

LT GEN (RETD) BS PAWAR

RAHUL BEDI

An alumni of Rashtriya Indian Military College and National Defence Academy, L t Ge n B S P a w a r was commissioned into Artillery in June 1968. He was Maj Gen Artillery, Western Command during Operation Parakram and was awarded the Ati Vashist Seva Medal. He also headed the Army Aviation Corps and was instrumental in the operationalisation of the Advanced Light Helicopter during his tenure. A defence analyst, he writes for a number of defence journals/ publications and is also on the Editorial Board of some of them.

R a hul B e di is the New Delhi correspondent for Jane’s Defence Weekly, UK and contributes to it on a diverse range of security and military related matters. He is also the India correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, London and the I rish Times.

SEPTEMBER 2013

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DEFENCE and SECURITY of INDIA SEPTEMBER 2013

VOLUME 5, NUMBER 6

EDITOR Pinaki Bhattacharya CREATIVE DIRECTOR Bipin Kumar DESIGNER Sachin Jain (Dep. Art Director), Mukesh Kumar, Ajay Kumar (Asst. Art Director), Sujit Singh (Sr. Visualiser) JR. FEATURESWRITER Anandita Bhardwaj SENIOR MANAGER INTERNATIONAL MARKETING Vishal Mehta (E-Mail: vishalmehta@mtil.biz) MANAGER MARKETING Jakhongir Djalmetov (E-Mail:joha@mtil.biz) DEPUTY MANAGER MARKETING Tarun Malviya (E-Mail: tarunmalviya@mtil.biz) SALES & MARKETING COORDINATOR Atul Bali (E-Mail: atul@mtil.biz) CIRCULATION & DISTRIBUTION Vipul Jain PRODUCTION & PRE-PRESS Sunil Dubey, Ritesh Roy, Devender Pandey MTC PUBLISHING LIMITED 323, Udyog Vihar, Ph-IV, Gurgaon 122016 Ph: +91 0124-4759500 Fax: +91 0124-4759550 CHAIRMAN J. S. Uberoi PRESIDENT Xavier Collaco FINANCIAL CONTROLLER Puneet Nanda GLOBAL SALES REPRESENTATIVES Benelux Cornelius W. Bontje Ph: +41 55 216 17 81, cornelius.bontje@armada.ch France/Spain Stephane de Remusat, REM International Tel: (33) 5 3427 0130 Email: rem-media@sfr.fr Germany/Austria/Switzerland/Italy/UK Sam Baird, Whitehill Media Tel: (44-1883) 715 697 Mobile: (44-7770) 237 646 E-Mail: sam@whitehillmedia.com Israel Liat Heiblum, Oreet - International Media Tel: (97 2) 3 570 6527 Email: liat@oreet-marcom.com Nordic Countries/South Africa Emanuela Castagnetti-Gillberg Ph: +46 31 799 9028, egillberg@glocalnet.net Russia Alla Butova, NOVO-Media Latd, Tel/Fax : (7 3832) 180 885 Mobile : (7 960) 783 6653 Email :alla@mediatransasia.com South Korea Young Seoh Chinn, Jes Media Inc. Tel: (82-2) 481 3411/13 E-Mail: jesmedia@unitel.co.kr East-Central Europe/Greece/Turkey Zena Coupé Tel: (44) 1923 852537 Email: zena@expomedia.biz USA (East/South East)/Canada Margie Brown, BLESSALL Media LLC. Tel : (+1 540) 341 7581 Email :margiespub@rcn.com USA (West/SouthWest)/Brazil Diane Obright, Blackrock Media Inc. Tel: +1 (858) 759 3557 Email: blackrockmedia@cox.net Defence and Security of India is published and printed by Xavier Collaco on behalf of MTC Publishing Limited. Published at 323, Udyog Vihar, Ph- IV, Gurgaon 122016 and printed at Nutech Photolithographers B-240, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-I,New Delhi-110020, India. Entire contents Copyright © 2008. All rights reserved. Reproduction and translation in any language in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Requests for permission should be directed to MTC Publishing Limited. Opinions carried in the magazine are those of the writers’ and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors or publishers. While the editors do their utmost to verify information published they do not accept responsibility for its absolute accuracy. The publisher assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material or for material lost or damaged in transit. All correspondence should be addressed to MTC Publishing Limited.

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CHOPPERING AROUND

INDIAN MILITARY HELICOPTERS

Sub-optimal warfare, because of its asymmetric nature, requires high troop mobility which is provided by military helicopters that move men and material across battle-space with agility.

SEPTEMBER 2013

Present Status

BS PAWAR

KEY POINTS ! Indian armed forces currently have 600 helicopters of various vintages and of different varieties. ! Some of the RFPs have been issued, to be cancelled on account of inappropriate practices charges. ! A number of established names in the chopper field are in the fray vying for the contracts from the army, navy, the air force, the BSF and the ICG.

Sea King helicopters prepare to land on Indian Navy's aircraft carrier INS Viraat

he Vietnam war also referred to as the helicopters’ war, formed the test bed for validating the concepts of air mobility and assault. The helicopter was universally employed for various missions, including attack, air assault, aerial resupply, reconnaissance and command and control, the most common being transportation of troops/ stores as utility or cargo helicopters. Actual integration of assault and armed helicopters evolved during the Vietnam war, leading to the concept of organic tactical mobility. Today’s Military helicopters are an integral part of the land, sea and air operations of modern armies, including their ever increasing employment in subconventional conflicts (counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations) the world over. A typical military helicopter force should have all class of helicopters ranging from light observation to utility/lift (light, medium & heavy) including specialized roles (attack/armed) as per the operational requirement of a country’s armed forces. The operational diversities of the Indian Military coupled with variety of terrain (from sea level to Siachen glacier) underline the need for state of art, modern technology helicopters capable of operating both by day and night in a complex battlefield environment of future. As per reports the Caption caption armed forces are looking to inductcaption as many caption as 900 helicopters in the coming decade ranging from attack/armed and high altitude reconnaissance to medium and heavy lift including VVIP variants.

DSI

Presently the Indian military holds in its inventory approximately 600 helicopters of all types and class including some specialised ones. However, they are mostly old and vintage and few in numbers, far from the quantity required. The light observation helicopters (Chetak and Cheetah) held with the Army, Navy and Air Force have outlived their utility and need immediate replacement. Though joint trials for their replacement (army & air force) were completed more than a year back, the Defence Ministry (MoD) is dithering on the final decision due to the ongoing investigation into the alleged kickbacks/bribes related to the acquisition of Agusta Westland VVIP helicopters, though one fails to see the connection. In the utility category, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) manufactured Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) is already in service with the army, air force and coast guard. The navy has not found them suitable for ship borne operations. The ALH is an all weather, night capable twin engine machine with state of art avionics and glass cockpit and has recently been test evaluated for high altitude performance with the fitment of a more powerful engine ‘Shakti’, being produced jointly by HAL and French Turbomeca- this will enhance its capability for operations in high altitude, specially the Siachen Glacier. In the medium lift category the airforce holds the MI-8 and the MI-17 Russian helicopters. While the MI-8 is obsolete and requires immediate replacement, the MI-17 fleet needs some refurbishing/upgrades as well as additional inductions. This process is already underway. The navy’s situation in this segment is no better with the Russian Kamov-28 becoming obsolete. In the heavy lift category there is nothing worthwhile in the inventory, barring a few Russian MI-26 helicopters whose high altitude capability is poor- trials for induction of this class of helicopters have been held. The weakest Link is in the holding of specialized helicopters, especially the attack helicopters. The Russian MI 25/MI 35 held are vintage and require replacement on priority. Even the Sea King anti submarine warfare helicopters (ASW) held with the navy need upgrade/ replacement with induction of state of art modern ASW helicopters.

CHOPPERING AROUND An MI-17, medium lift category helicopter from Russian Helicopters

Future Requirements/Acquisitions Army Aviation

The Army Aviation Corps today holds the largest number of helicopters amongst the three services, the majority being of the light observation class (Cheetah and Chetak). Their vintage and non availability of spares is making their maintainability a nightmarea fact acknowledged both by the HAL and the military. Their replacement process has been put on hold pending the outcome of the CBI inquiry into the VVIP helicopter deal. The helicopters which have cleared the trial stage and are awaiting the opening of the financial bids are the French Eurocopter AS 550 Fennec and Russian Kamov Ka 226T. The Italian Agusta Westland AW-119 ‘Koala’ was disqualified on technical grounds midway through the trials. While the Fennec is a single engine helicopter with a standard main and tail rotor design, the Russian Ka-226 is twin engine and has contra-rotating rotors. The plan is to induct 197 helicopters (133 - army & 64 – air force) to replace part of the existing fleet and subsequently induct the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) in this category being developed by HAL. In the utility/lift category the induction of indigenously manufactured ALH commenced in 2002. Since then 50 helicopters have been inducted and operationalised so far-another

40 are planned for induction in the coming decade. The latest version of ALH fitted with the more powerful ‘Shakti’ engine, has also entered service. Another variant of the ALH is the armed version called the ‘Rudra’, which was officially handed over to the army during the last Aero India show, the first unit is already under raising with the army planning to induct a total of 60 helicopters for its Pivot Corps. Rudra is a typical armed helicopter with an array of weapon systems including gun, rockets, air to air and air to ground missiles, along with a modern sighting system and integrated electronic warfare self protection suite. However, in its present configuration it has not been integrated with a suitable anti tank guided missile (ATGM), as the air version of Nag ATGM ’Helina’, being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation is not yet ready. As an interim measure the same is planned to be acquired by imports. In contention are the PARS 3 of MBDA France and SPIKEER of Israel. Trials have already been completed and the decision for induction is pending with the MoD. The ATGM is the main weapon system of an armed/attack helicopter and without it the helicopter merely remains a gunship inhibiting the exploitation of its full potential. The army is also looking to acquire a suitable helicopter in the 10-12 ton class for

special operations as well as enhancing its overall tactical lift capability. The HAL is looking at the feasibility of a joint venture with a foreign vendor for a 10-12 ton class multirole helicopter whose variants would also be available to the navy and air force. However, very little progress has been made in this project so far. With the recent decision of the MOD on the ownership issue of attack helicopters in army’s favour, the army has projected its own requirements of attack helicopters. The Russian origin MI 25/ MI 35 attack helicopters, though army assets, are manned, controlled and operated by the air force. The trials for their replacement were conducted by air force with the American Apache Longbow-AH 64D scoring over its Russian contender, the MI-28 (Havoc). As per plan 22 Apache’s are to be inducted to replace the vintage fleet of the MI-25/MI-35 attack helicopters and will form part of the air force inventory. The army has put forward its requirement of an additional 33 Apache’s to equip its three Strike Corps. As per reports the latest version of the upgraded Apache Block-III (Guardian) is likely to be inducted into the Indian military, which demonstrates many of the advanced technologies being considered for deployment on future attack helicopters.

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Chinooks are planned for induction- this will greatly enhance intra-theatre troop movement/ logistical support - during critical phases of the battle, especially on our northern borders. The plan for acquiring 12 Agusta Westland AW101 Merlin helicopters for VVIP requirements remains doubtful in view of the ongoing inquiry.

Navy

Russian MI-26, a heavy lift helicopter with high altitude capability

Air Force

The air force is also in the process of modernizing its helicopter fleet. Its existing fleet of Chetak and Cheetah helicopters is to be replaced by either the Russian Ka 226T or the French AS 550 Fennec once the decision is taken by the Government. However of main concern are the medium (MI-8 and MI-17) and heavy lift (MI-26) helicopters. While the MI 8 is obsolete and needs phasing out, the existing MI-17 holding is not adequate. The existing MI-17 helicopters held have been refurbished/upgraded for night capability and 80 MI-17 V5 helicopters (upgraded version) with glass cockpits, night capability and hard points for fitment of weapon pods are in the process of being inducted. Order’s have also been placed for additional 59 MI17 V5 helicopters with Russia to cater for the phasing out of certain older MI-17 helicopters this also includes the requirements of the Border Security Force which has a mini air force of its own under the home ministry. In the heavy lift category the army along with the air force was looking for a suitable helicopter, which would be capable of lifting (under slung), the M-777 ultra light howitzer being acquired USA for our Northern Borders. The trials have been completed with the American CH-47F Chinook being selected over the Russian MI 26. A total of 15

The army is also looking to acquire a suitable helicopter in the 10-12 ton class for special operations as well as enhancing its overall tactical lift capability. HAL is looking at the feasibility of a joint venture with a foreign vendor for a 10-12 ton class multirole helicopter whose variants would also be available to the navy and air force. However, very little progress has been made in this project so far.

The Indian Navy operates a helicopter fleet consisting of the Sea King (ASW), Kamov (anti surface vehicle) and the modified Chetak-MATCH (Mid Air Torpedo Carrying Helicopter). In addition they have a fleet of Chetak helicopters for ship borne operations. These helicopters are old and need replacement/upgrades. Navy is looking at overhauling its fleet air arm including helicopters. The acquisition of Kamov-31 airborne early warning (AEW) helicopters from Russia in the 1990’s has proved a versatile platform for airborne operations at sea - more numbers are likely to be inducted. The navy is also progressing a case for the acquisition of multirole helicopters (NMRH project) to replace its ageing fleet of Sea King’s and Kamov. Reportedly Sikorsky’s S-70B and the European consortium led NH 90 were short listed but the project has run into trouble due to a complaint filed by one of the contenders. While 16 helicopters were planned to be inducted initially, the total requirement is of approximately 90 such platforms. . Navy along with the army is also closely monitoring the HAL proposed joint venture for the 10-12 ton class multirole helicopter project. In addition the Navy is urgently looking at replacing its Chetak fleet including the MATCH. In this regard an RFP has been issued for 56 twin engine, 4.5 Ton Naval Utility helicopters (NUH) to all top global players ranging from Boeing, Bell and Sikorsky to Kamov ,Eurocopter and Agusta Westland also including the HAL. Plans are to commence induction by mid 2016.

Future Developments-Military Helicopters

The new generation helicopter platforms are expected to feature the latest advances in aeronautics giving military helicopters improved flight performance especially in relation to speed. This offers the new generation machines unprecedented capabilities- lighter and stronger construction

CHOPPERING AROUND

A line of parked Indian HAL’s Dhruv at the Helicopter division in Bangalore

flight Sikorsky’s X2 achieved a speed of 287 mph, a major leap from the current standard helicopter speeds. Its military version the Sikorsky ‘S-97 Raider is stated to be the future light tactical helicopter of the US Military. Finally, the development of innovative concepts, along the lines of V-22 Osprey (tilt rotor technology), could generate fresh momentum in the utility/logistics domain. The V-22 is already deployed in Afghanistan and was instrumental in the rescue of a downed US pilot in Libya. Such an aircraft would be ideal for deployment on our Northern borders where the infrastructure is woefully inadequate. The Navy has shown an interest in this type of aircraft due to its enhanced speed, range and endurance with capability to operate from ships as well as Carrier decks. Another area of future development is helicopter UAVs. Lockheed Martin’s KMAX helicopter UAV is currently deployed in Afghanistan for logistic resupply and is proving to be quite a hit. It has been able to fly in adverse weather conditions when manned helicopters could not fly. The Indian armed forces are seriously examining this option.

HAL Ventures for Indian Military

An AugustaWestland NH90 helicopter materials, increased autonomy, more powerful engines, reduced acoustic signatures, more accurate navigation systems, enhanced data acquisition and protection systems, and more effective weapons and munitions. The Apache Block-III is a vivid example with 26 new technologies being incorporated in the upgraded version. The world over the armed forces are seriously looking at the multirole concept in helicopters, due to the changing nature of conflicts (sub conventional) and financial constraints. The ALH is a classic example of a multirole helicopter with its utility and armed version (Rudra) available to the Indian armed forces. In terms of data acquisition, day/night observation and detection capabilities will increase and become more diversified specially in respect to information

sharing and cooperation with other aircraft and UAVs. Target engagement capabilities with regard to weapon range and precision is likely to remain the focus of future development. With sub conventional operations gaining ascendency around the world, helicopter survivability will assume greater significance. Advances in stealth, such as reductions in radar and acoustic signatures offer major results in this area, as does the development of early detection/jamming counter-measure capabilities. Some of the above technologies are already being incorporated in the development of Eurocopter’s X2 and X3, and Sikorsky’s X2 co-axial compound helicopter as technology demonstrators. The main focus is on speed, stealth, reliability and survivability. Infact in its demonstration

The HAL has embarked on a number of ventures for the Indian military, the most significant being the development of the light combat Helicopter (LCH). The LCH is slated to be a state of art attack helicopter with capability to operate at high altitudes (16000 feet) and would meet the unique requirements of the Indian military. The LCH uses the technology of the existing ALH and its configurations except that the fuselage is suitably modified and streamlined for tandem seating. A number of development flights have taken place since its maiden flight on 29 Mar 2010 and it is expected to enter service by 2014. Both the air force and army are the potential customers for the LCH. The HAL has also undertaken the development and manufacture of a three ton class light utility helicopter (LUH). This is to cater for the light utility class (reconnaissance & observation) of all three services and is over and above the 197 replacement helicopters for Cheetah/Chetak, as per reports the design freeze stage has been reached. HAL’s plans for development of a 10-12 ton class MRH, a concept being adopted by the militaries world over is

SEPTEMBER 2013

A Russian Kamov Ka 226T presently at a nascent stage with no progress in sight. In a significant development the private sector has recently entered the rotorcraft sector thus challenging the exclusive preserve of the HAL. Tata Sons in a joint venture with Agusta Westland have

established a production facility in Hyderabad for the production of the AW119Ke, the advanced version of the Koala. As per reports this facility is operational and is already in the process of building the AW119Ke for the global and Indian market. Meanwhile a Tata firm called Tata

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Advanced Systems Limited has tied up with the helicopter giant Sikorsky and established a major hub at Hyderabad for producing the S-92 Super Hawk helicopters. Presently only the cabins are being manufactured at this facility but the project envisages the assembly of the entire NH-92 in the near future. These are very positive developments and will go a long way in fostering growth in the aerospace industry specially helicopters. In view of the above HAL will have to keep in mind the developing future helicopter technology and incorporate the same in its future projects for the armed forces, even if it involves joint ventures, to meet the future operational requirements. Military helicopters will play a vastly enhanced role in any future conflict. Their crucial role in counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations cannot be over emphasized. The operations in Afghanistan have fully corroborated this aspect. The modernisation process of the existing military helicopters with the army, navy and air force has commenced but the momentum needs to be maintained.

‘We continue to work with all major helicopter manufactures’ In an interview to DSI, Arijit Ghosh, Country Head, Defence and Space, Honeywell India speak about the company's long association with HAL What is Honeywell’s contribution to the development Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL)? One of Honeywell Aerospace’s biggest partners in India is Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). More than 40 years ago, Honeywell partnered with HAL to manufacture the Honeywell TPE331 turboprop engine. It is the first engine to be fully manufactured in India,and powers the Dornier 228 aircraft of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. In addition to the TPE331 engine, Honeywell alsoprovides HF Radio, a Vibration Monitoring System and Environmental Control System and subsystems on the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), and has licensed the Primus 500 weather radar system for use on the HAL Do 228.

HUMS technology is now a part of all modern helicopters’ architecture. Which international brands of choppers have Honeywell’s HUMS incorporated in them? We continue to work with all major helicopter manufactures, foreign and domestic, to ensure they have the latest HUMS technology. Some of those brands include Aerospatiale, AgustaWestland, Eurocopter, HAL, Kamov and many others. With 40 years of collaboration with HAL, why has Honeywell not focused on the helicopter sector for civil markets? Honeywell systems are already present in helicopters such as Bell 407 and AS 365 which are flying for civil operators in India.

HAL helicopters that are made for civil markets, such as ALH Dhruv civil version, also has mostly same Honeywell systems as in the military version. What are the other areas of aerospace that Honeywell is involved in? Honeywell has products and technologies spanning across commercial aviation, business aviation and defense aviation. Among other technologies, Honeywell creates safety avionics, weather radars, flight management systems, propulsion engines, auxiliary power units (APUs), wheels and brakes, environmental control systems, navigation systems and inertial measurement units (IMUs).

NAVAL MODERNISATION

SELF-RELIANCE

MAIN SPRINGBOARD

Indian Navy’s force building have gone through a long drawn out of process of early acquisitions from the West to now, when most of the ships – surface and sub-surface – are built indigenously.

S GOVIND

KEY POINTS ! A major chunk of the navy’s ships are now suffering from end-of-life phases and obsolescence. ! Though the domestic shipyards have developed definite shipbuilding expertise, many of the on board weaponry and sensors are still foreign. ! Though some of the private players of the country like Kirloskars are coming up, making good on early promises.

ndia’s strategic location straddling some of the most important Sea Lanes of Communications (SLOCs) passing through the Indian Ocean, its long coast line and outlying island territories on both coasts, a large EEZ with offshore oil and gas fields, and the fact that 90% of its trade by volume and 77% by value is shipped across the sea drives home its importance as a maritime nation. The economic growth of the country is closely linked to uninterrupted supply of oil imports which come through the sea. When one takes into account the meagre domestic production and greater demands for oil in the future, dependence on imports is only going to rise and exposes the vulnerability at sea. One has to only look back into history to realize the folly of not having a strong and capable

navy to defend India’s territorial integrity as well as to safe guard its maritime interests. During one of the Naval Commanders Conference, the Hon’ble Prime Minister is reported to have stated that “Our immediate geo-strategic environment comes with its own conventional, strategic and non-conventional security challenges. India’s strategic calculus has long encompassed the waters from the Gulf of Aden to the Strait of Malacca.” This is a tacit acknowledgement of the influence of the seas on the country’s national interests as well as the role that the Indian Navy needs to play to protect them at all times.

Building a Navy

The Indian Navy’s voyage of capacity and capability build-up from the time of independence has been truly remarkable and can be divided into three distinct legs. The first leg encompassing about two decades saw a slow and gradual ‘gathering of force’ from the West as it acquired an Aircraft Carrier, two Cruisers, six Destroyers, eight Frigates, two Tankers and a handful of Mine sweepers and Seaward Defence Boats. In the second leg commencing from the late sixties, she first does a tack to the East in her attempt to ‘strengthening of force’ through induction of Osa class Missile Boats, Foxtrot class of Submarines, Petya class ASW and Nanuchka class missile Corvettes as well as Rajput class Destroyers with integral helicopters from the erstwhile Soviet Union. This period is also the harbinger of indigenous warship building commencing with the Leander Class Frigates. This was

followed by the Godavari class which brought to fore Indian ingenuity through amalgamation of Soviet weapons with western sensors. By early 1990’s, through fine course keeping between East and West, the Navy added a plethora of surface, air and underwater platforms to become one of the largest navies in the world. A lull on the acquisition front due financial constraints saw the navy lying in the doldrums for almost a decade resulting in the subsequent attrition of force levels. As soon as the funds situation improved, the Navy set sail on the third leg of its voyage through a modernisation drive aimed at ‘consolidation of force’. Simultaneously, the advent of Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) has also brought about a change in the orientation of the force from being ‘platform centric’ to one of ‘capability driven’. As of today, the Indian Navy is a

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AFP

India’s first indigenously-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant during launch ceremony in August 2013

formidable three dimensional force comprising of about 120 surface ships, 14 submarines and about 186 aircrafts. A large chunk of this force is nearing the end of its operational life and need replacements. The Chief of Naval Staff is reported to have stated that the naval modernisation program is being pursued in accordance with the long term Maritime Capability Perspective Plan (MCPP) of 2012-2027 with an emphasis on capability creation to accomplish various tasks entrusted with the navy.

Surface ship programs

With the commissioning of “INS TRIKAND” the last of the three follow-on frigates of Talwar class on 29 Jun 2013, only the delivery of “INS VIKRAMADITYA” is pending from foreign sources. Even though the decommissioned carrier was offered free and India was to only pay for refit and

refurbishment costs, it is a classic example of there being nothing like free lunches. Starting from an initial cost of $ 800 million, the final reported cost of the carrier, minus aircraft and weapon systems, is reported to be around $ 2.4 Billion. This modified Kiev class aircraft carrier is presently undergoing extensive trials and likely to arrive India early next year, after a delay of more than five years. Whilst the launching of the indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) under Project 71 at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) is a momentous occasion, the fact that it is already behind schedule by three years is a cause for concern. However, this being a maiden attempt where everything is on a learning curve and that the gigantic nature of the project is sure to intimidate even the most resolute, remedial measures may become necessary to ensure its induction

into service by 2018. Having experienced the travails of being dependent on a foreign source for a vital platform like this, it may be prudent for the MoD and Indian Navy to not only place an order for the next carrier but also to devise ways and means of retaining experience and skills at the yard as well as utilizing the same in refits and modernisation plans for all the carriers. Cochin Shipyard not being under MoD, it may be necessary to enter into a long term contract of fifteen to twenty years with the yard through a special dispensation. Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) has been building ships for the navy since the early 70’s. Starting with the Leander class and graduating into the Godavari class of frigates, MDL has taken a step further by successfully delivering three “DELHI” class destroyers of an indigenous design under Project 15. The yard had completed delivery

NAVAL MODERNISATION INS Trikand, the last of the three “Follow On Talwar Class” frigates was commissioned into the Indian Navy in July

of the third stealth frigate “INS SAHYADRI” of “SHIVALIK” class last year under Project 17. The Yard is presently working on a contract for building three more destroyers with improved features as a ‘follow-on’ of ‘DELHI’ class under Project-15A. It is learnt that the Yard has also been nominated for construction of four more stealth frigates under Project-17A. With the setting up of huge shipyards under private sector and availability of world class infrastructure therein, the era of nominating shipyards is over and all future ship construction programs are to be on open tender basis. In order to consolidate and remain relevant, MDL has signed Share Holder Agreements (SHA) for setting up Joint Venture (JV) with private shipyards Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering Company Limited (PDOECL) and Larsen & Toubro for construction of surface warships and conventional submarines respectively. Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) is another DPSU which has been contributing to the indigenous growth of the navy. This yard has already built and delivered Frigates, LSTs, Tanker, Corvettes as well as Patrol

As of today, the Indian Navy is a formidable three dimensional force comprising of about 120 surface ships, 14 submarines and about 186 aircrafts with a large chunk of this force nearing the end of its operational life. It is reportedly stated that the naval modernisation program is being pursued in accordance with the long term Maritime Capability Perspective Plan (MCPP)

forces. Presently, this yard is executing contract for delivery of four Project 28 ASW Corvettes which are to be named after the first four Petya class ASW Corvettes acquired from the erstwhile Soviet Union. The third ship of the series “INS KILTAN” was launched on 26 Mar 13 and the fourth is scheduled to be launched end this year. Delivery of the first ship is expected by early next year with the remaining following at one year intervals. A number of small inshore/ offshore patrol craft are also under construction for the navy. Orders have also been placed on Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) for construction of 4 Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPV) and another 5 on Pipavav Defence Ltd. A total of 8 Mine Sweepers are also being procured out of which 6 are likely to be built at GSL under ToT. Plans for acquiring 4 LPD ships under ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ category are under process. One of the three - L & T, Pipavav Defence and ABG shipyard are likely to be awarded this contract under which 2 will be built by the winning yard and 2 will be constructed at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) through design transfer. Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for 8 coastal

SEPTEMBER 2013

ASW craft has been accorded by the MoD and RFP is likely to be issued shortly. Three cadet training ships are also under construction at ABG shipyard while the process for replacing the older Fleet support ships is under consideration.

Submarine Arm

Indigenous submarine construction started in the 1970s under the ‘Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV)’ program, a euphemism for the nuclear propelled submarine, as a joint effort between Indian Navy and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Limited. Two more private companies, Tata Power and Walchandnagar Industries are also associated with this project. After overcoming many difficulties and with help from Russian experts, the vessel was finally launched as “INS ARIHANT” on 26 July 2009 and its nuclear reactor went ‘critical’ on 10 Aug 2013. This strategic submarine with the capability to launch ballistic nuclear missiles (SSBN) completes the triad of nuclear deterrence and provides the country with assured second strike capability. Two more

INS Viraat, a Centaur class aircraft carrier is the oldest carrier in Indian Navy submarines of this variety are reported to be under construction. The induction of a nuclear propelled attack submarine (SSN) “INS CHAKRA” last year on a lease for ten years from Russia is expected to train adequate crews for

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manning the indigenous SSBNs. The SSN is a versatile platform with great agility and fire power whose endurance is limited only by logistics and crew fatigue. There is a need for India to commence construction of four to six submarines of this class to provide the sea denial capability and ensure protection of the country’s vital interests. MDL has also been involved with construction and modernisation of conventional submarines since 1980s. After delivering the last submarine of HDW design Type 1500 “INS SHANKUL” in May 1994, it went into hibernation due to lack of orders precipitated by the resource crunch of the 90s. Only the modernisation programmes of these boats kept alive the submarine division of MDL from losing all experience in this vital field. In 1999 the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the “30 year submarine building programme” which envisaged construction of 24 submarines in India. Of the 24 submarines, six submarines each under project 75 and project 75(I) are to be built with assistance from foreign builders and 12 were to be built based on an indigenous design. Submarine construction

NAVAL MODERNISATION Indian Navy’s modernisation efforts should not only concentrate on induction of new technology intensive platforms but must also aim at enhancing the knowledge and skill sets of its men who would be charged with manning and operating these latest ships, submarines and aircraft. If past record in refits is anything to go by, then timely procurement and creation of maintenance facilities and infrastructure should go hand-in-hand with acquisition of platforms and systems.

”

recommenced at MDL with the signing of a contract with DCNS, France for six ‘SCORPENE’ class submarines in Oct 2005, under Project 75. Sadly, the program is running behind schedule and delivery of the first submarine is expected only in 2016. The RFP for acquisition of six submarines under Project 75(I) is likely to be issued shortly and the major submarine builders - HDW from Germany, DCNS from France, NAVANTIA from Spain and ROSOBORONEXPORT from Russia are expected to bid for this project. Out of the six boats, two will be imported while MDL and HSL will build three and one respectively under Transfer of Technology. These modern submarines will be equipped with Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system and armed with anti-ship and land attack capable missiles

as well as torpedoes. The recent tragic loss involving ‘INS SINDHURAKSHAK’ calls for fast tracking this project.

Naval Aviation

The acquisition of aviation assets has not kept pace with the induction programme of surface ships and has resulted in large shortfalls. Availability of integral air has been a perpetual problem and had a debilitating effect on the operational capability of the fleets. Efforts are underway to tackle this deficiency and add potency to the capabilities of the surface units. The Navy presently operates a depleted strength of 13 Sea Harrier aircraft from ‘INS VIRAAT’. Forty-five MiG-29Ks, which include 8 trainer aircrafts, have been ordered from Russia for equipping both ‘INS VIKRAMADITYA’ and ‘INS VIKRANT’.

Taking into consideration that these two carriers are to have 24 and 16 aircraft each and the likely attrition rates of the aircraft as evidenced in the case of Sea Harriers, contingency plans for timely acquisitions/replacements must be factored in right now. There are reports of the naval variant of LCA produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) completing technology demonstration trials successfully. This needs to be progressed to the next level of operational acceptance and subsequent integration for carrier operations. The helicopter fleet is at a dangerously low strength and to fill the voids the Navy had floated a RFP for purchase of 16 multi role helicopters in 2011. Two helicopters, the S-70 Black Hawk of American Sikorsky and NH-90 of European NH industries, are in contention and the

SEPTEMBER 2013

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INS Shahyadri, a Shivalik class stealth multi-role frigate for the Indian Navy built by Mazagon Dock Limited

A contract for medium lift, multirole combat aircraft, like this Agusta Westland NH 90, is possibly to be signed contract is likely to be signed early next year. The Navy has a requirement for another 50 of the same variety for undertaking anti surface, anti - submarine and Special Forces tasks as well as about 56 helicopters of multi-utility role. A majority of the Sea King helicopters acquired in the 1980s are due for phasing out and the above inductions are intended as replacements as well as to cater for the expanding fleet size as envisaged in the MCPP. The first P-8I Neptune long range maritime patrol and ASW aircraft manufactured by Boeing Industries arrived in India on 15 May 2013 and eleven more are to follow. These aircrafts will replace the Russian TU-142M aircraft acquired from ex-USSR in the 1980’s and bridge the critical gap in the Navy’s surveillance capability. Efforts are also on

to acquire another 12 long range and six medium range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, probably as replacements for the IL-38 and Islander aircrafts. HAL is scouting for technology partners to jointly produce an Indian Multi Role Helicopter (IMRH) in the range of 10-15 tons variety to meet the demand of Indian armed forces. Due to the different operating conditions at sea, the IMRH would have a naval variant and another for air force and army. Whether this effort fructifies in time or not will have a bearing on HAL responding to the Navy’s requirements.

Areas requiring attention

While we can take pride in the success of indigenous shipbuilding, it is also important to take stock of indigenisation in the attendant fields. A ship does not represent

only the hull and systems but also encompasses propulsion and power generation as well as weapons and sensors. Almost all the frontline ships have GT/ Diesel propulsion systems for which we are dependent on imports. It is only some of the Corvettes which are equipped with diesel engines assembled in India by Kirloskar Oils and Engines Limited (KOEL). There is a need for increasing the selfreliance quotient in this sector. DCNS, France which is supplying propulsion packages for the Project 28 ASW corvettes is partnering with ‘Walchandnagar Industries Limited’ in producing some parts of the propulsion package. In the field of guns and missiles we are way too dependent on imports and this needs corrective measures. It is only recently that we have started inducting the

NAVAL MODERNISATION

Indian Navy received first P-8I Neptune long range maritime patrol aircraft by Boeing in May 2013 supersonic “BRAHMOS” anti-ship cruise missile, a joint Indo-Russian effort, on our major warships. A DRDO – Indian Navy – Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) joint development program for a long range surface to air missile is understood to be progressing satisfactorily. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) is the only DPSU producing missiles for all three services and needs capacity augmentation urgently. This may be the right time for BDL to form a JV on the lines of ‘BRAHMOS’ with DRDO and IAI to meet the requirements of Navy. BDL has also established facilities at Visakhapatnam for producing under license the ‘Black Shark’ torpedo by WASS Italy, whose contract is hanging fire with signatures to be affixed on the documents and it is hoped that experience thus gained will come in handy in realizing the indigenous torpedo under design by DRDO. While OFB has managed to produce the medium calibre CRN 91 and AK 630 guns under license, L&T has produced torpedo tube as well as RBU 6000 launchers which are being fitted on board Project 28 ships. In so far as surveillance/ weapon radars are concerned we are totally dependent on foreign sources. DRDO has been working on radar ‘REVATHI’ for some time which is nominated for fitment on Project 28 ships. There have been good results on the sonar

”

front by way of a New Generation Hull Mounted Sonar “HUMSA-NG” for surface ships and “USHUS” for submarines which are being manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in collaboration with DRDO. However, greater efforts are needed to realise the airborne

dunking sonar, towed array systems and torpedo decoy systems which are under various stages of development. Indigenous Electronic warfare (EW) systems have been fitted onboard a large number of ships but improvements are required to attain world class standards. Indian Navy’s modernisation efforts should not only concentrate on induction of new technology intensive platforms but must also aim at enhancing the knowledge and skill sets of its men who would be charged with manning and operating these latest ships, submarines and aircraft. If past record in refits is anything to go by, then timely procurement and creation of maintenance facilities and infrastructure should go handin-hand with acquisition of platforms and systems. Since a majority of the ships are being built by the Indian shipyards, it may not be a bad idea to make them responsible for “Life Cycle support” in terms of hull, propulsion and other auxiliary systems, right from the beginning. Such an arrangement will enable Naval Dockyards to be developed as “Centres of Excellence” for weapon systems and sensor equipment. Finally, attempts at self reliance must not reinvent the wheel but ensure establishment of arrangements by the Indian industry, for timely and reliable logistic support, which truly holds the key to a healthy and sustainable operational force at sea.

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SOLDIER MODERNISATION

STILL WAITING

FOR F-INSAS Indian Army’s ambitious Future-Infantry Soldier as a System (F-INSAS), stands interminably delayed and deferred by over six years if not longer

RAHUL BEDI

KEY POINTS ! F-INSAS prototype focuses on the need to provide the infantry soldier with greater lethality, movement, survivability ! India aims to accomplish its F-INSAS through a mix of imported and locally developed equipment and systems ! Under F-INSAS the army also plans on acquiring some 15,000 5.56mm light machine guns and around 1000 sniper rifles

he Indian’s army’s six-year old programme to upgrade its 359 infantry battalions and over 100 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and Assam Rifles (AR) units deployed on counter-insurgency operations (COIN) under its ambitious Future-Infantry Soldier as a System (FINSAS), stands interminably delayed. Officials associated with the programmne said the F-INSAS aimed at harnessing technologies to enable the army to deploy a fully-networked, all-terrain and all-weather infantry with enhanced firepower and mobility for the future digitised battlefield, stands deferred by over six years if not longer beyond its 2013 deadline of fielding a prototype. Conceived in August 2005 and

announced by former army chief, General J J Singh two years later, the F-INSAS prototype focuses on the need to provide the infantry soldier with greater lethality, movement, survivability, sustainability, communications and situational awareness. The programme is primarily an aggregate of ‘System of Sub-Systems’ to transform the Indian infantryman into a self-contained fighting machine enabling him to operate across the entire spectrum of future battles including nuclear war and low intensity conflict in a network-centric environment. It seeks to equip him with an effective sensor-shooter interface in which each soldier is seamlessly integrated with his section, platoon and company. Conceptually, F-INSAS is envisioned as a ‘friendly enabler’ not only with regard to what it delivers individually, but also with respect to how each module is used in conjunction with other components which make up the whole. ‘Future Soldier’ programmes began emerging in armies around the world in the late 1990s with the broad aim of rendering each trooper capable of exchanging all information relevant to the battlefield with higher command echelons. Thereafter, some 21 armies launched Soldier Modernization Programmes (SMPs) endeavouring to heighten the infantry soldiers situational-awareness capacity, fire power, protection and NATO-defined C4I (command and control, communications, computers and intelligence) potential. Aping foreign SMPs, India aims to accomplish its F-INSAS through a mix of imported and locally developed equipment and systems for an estimated Rs 250 billion

SEPTEMBER 2013

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AFP

An Indian army soldier takes aim with a US made M4 Carbine 5.56mm rifle as a US Army Sergeant looks on during an Indo-US army exercise

SOLDIER MODERNISATION

AFP

A member of the Indian Army keeps eye through the binocular during an army exercise

($4.16 billion) in its first phase by 2025-27, a deadline it is almost certainly unlikely to meet. During its planning stage Infantry Directorate officers visited France, Israel, Italy and the US to assess their respective SMPs and incorporated many of their elaborate, albeit expensive and at times technologically overextended features into F-INSAS. “The recurring postponements in the FINSAS programme are primarily due to a lack of focus and clarity within the higher echelons of the army on system requirements” admitted a senior officer associated with the programme who declined to be named. The army itself , he declared is primarily responsible for the delays, unable even to formulate qualitative requirements (QRs) for many of the planned inductions in addition to over reach on some to the point of unreasonableness. The F-INSAS programme, he warned is long overdue and needs to be fast-forwarded as security threats posed by nuclear rivals Pakistan and China are steadily escalating. Additionally and more alarmingly, Army Headquarters is yet to obtain the Ministry of Defence’s (MoDs) approval or Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the hugely expensive FINSAS programme at a time when the military budget is facing major cutbacks. In November 2012 India’s federal finance ministry cut the MoDs Rs 795.97 billion capital acquisition outlay by Rs 100 billion or 12.5 per cent for Fiscal Year 201213 in what was a major blow to the army’s already sluggish modernisation efforts. The marginal hike in defence spending in FY 2013-14 abetted by the continuing devaluation of the Rupee against the US Dollar too has negatively impacted the military’s badly-needed upgrade, particularly the F-INSAS programme. Senior army planners said the infantry makeover was further jeopardised by the MoDs preference for the inefficient and poorly-managed Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to design weapons and systems and the equally wasteful public sector defence units (DPSUs) and the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to build them. “Anxious to protect its turf, the MoD discourages the army from tapping into the relatively more efficient, responsive and cost effective private sector to design and manufacture major systems particularly in optics, electronics and information-

SEPTEMBER 2013

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Soldiers wearing Ceradyne body armour and helmets developed from high performance materials technology (IT) related spheres” former Lieutenant General Vijay Kapoor said. This ongoing tussle in MoD corridors between the private and public sectors will doubtlessly impact the F-INSAS programme in which little or no progress is so far visible, he declared. Fundamentally, the F-INSAS programme involves equipping over 305,000 infantry troops and around 90,000 RR and AR personnel employed on conventional, COIN operations or both with a modular, multi-caliber suite of weapons and body armour. Assorted individual equipment like target acquisition and handheld surveillance devices, including 3d generation night vision devices (NVDs) and communication apparatus, too form part of its upgrade package. A range of computers capable of transmitting and uploading voice, data and video clips on wrist displays for soldiers and ‘planning boards’ for commanders, ‘smart’ vests packed with sensors, integrated ballistic helmets with heads-up display (HuD), miniature radios, global positioning

F-INSAS aimed at harnessing technologies to enable the army to deploy a fully-networked, all-terrain and all-weather infantry with enhanced firepower and mobility for the future digitised battlefield, stands deferred by over six years if not longer beyond its 2013 deadline of fielding a prototype.

systems (GPS) and portable power packs complete the F-INSAS programme. But after six years nothing tangible has been achieved. Even acquiring a multipurpose tool of which some 300,000 are needed for each upgraded infantry soldiers’ survival kit has been delayed by the army despite trials in 2010-11, featuring vendors from Italy, Switzerland and the USA. Army officers said this was due primarily to the army’s rigid and at times questionable trial procedures alongside its inability to take timely decisions which, in turn, aggravated suppliers. There has, however, been incremental progress in weapon acquisitions with the army beginning in August 2012 the process of procuring 44,618 5.56mm Close Quarter Battle (CQB) Carbines to replace the outdated, WW II 9mm version; it tested five models at the Infantry School in Mhow, Pokhran in Rajasthan and at high altitude locations. Competing for the Rs 20 billion CQB carbine tender are Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) Galil Ace carbine, Italy’s Baretta ARX-

SOLDIER MODERNISATION

AFP

Indian army soldiers ride on a jeep as they display an Indian made Flame MK-11 anti-Tank Missile

160 and USAs Colt and Sig Sauer’s offering the M4 and 516 Patrol models. The selected vendor will be mandated to transfer technology to the OFB to licence produce 380,000-400,000 CQB carbines and 5.56mm ammunition for use not only by the army but eventually by the paramilitaries and state police forces in a programme estimated to cost over Rs 50 billion. However, despite trials for CQB carbines and 5.56mm ammunition-of which 233 million rounds are to be acquired-being concluded over a year ago the final Staff evaluation by army headquarters still under process. Senior infantry officers had expected price negotiations for the carbines to have begun by mid-2013 ahead of the contract being inked by 2014 followed by deliveries shortly thereafter. Bureaucratic delays both by the army and MoD have expectedly deferred the CQB contract and in turn exacerbated the operationally dire situation prevailing for over two years under which infantry units are being forced to operate without even the obsolete 9mm carbines as the OFB has

stopped producing rounds for them. Alongside, technical or paper evaluation in support of the army’s initial requirement for 66,000 Multi Caliber Assault Rifles5.56mm and 7.62mm-featuring five models is yet to be completed. Field trials remain in abeyance but could be held by end-2013 or early the following year followed by followed by summer evaluation in 2014. The rival rifles weighing 3.6 kg fielded by the Czech Republic’s Czeca (CZ 805 BREN), IWI (ACE 1), Baretta (ARX 160) and Colt ( Colt Combat Rifle) and Sig Sauer (SG551) requires them to readily convert from 5.56x45mm to 7.62x39mm merely by switching the barrel and magazine for employment on COIN or conventional offensive operations. They also need to be fitted with detachable under barrel grenade launchers (UBGLs) and be capable of firing OFB-produced 5.56mmx45 (SS109) ammunition rounds. The new assault rifle will replace the locally developed Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) 5.56mmx45mm rifle developed over 35 years and inducted into service in the

early 1990s which has proven to be inefficient and operationally troublesome. Defence minister A K Antony informed parliament late last year that the DRDO-designed and OFB-built rifles were being replaced since “technological development had created more superior rifles over the years”, a euphemism for the indigenously designed product being inadequate. The short-listed assault rifle vendor too will be required to transfer technology to the OFB to licence build the weapon system to meet the army’s immediate shortfall of around 218,320 pieces. Armament industry officials estimate that India’s assault rifle requirement will, in due course be 2-3 million pieces to equip besides the army the large Central Paramilitary Forces and the provincial police. Together, the CQB carbine and assault rifle inductions will eventually be one of the world’s largest ever small arms contracts worth over $5 billion. The other significant hurdle in finalising the carbine tender is the stalemate over Image Intensifier (II) and Thermal Imaging

SEPTEMBER 2013

AFP

A soldier of the Indian army talks on a satellite phone provided by the army

(TI) based surveillance and target acquisition devices, the lack of which has, till now rendered India’s infantry soldier ‘night blind’ in close quarter battle situations. Despite the urgency to make good this operational void the army has, surprisingly yet to finalise its revised requirement for both hugely expensive systems II and TI systems the acquisition of which will have a massive financial impact on the F-INSAS project. Presently, some 45,000 II based 3d generation Night Sights (Monocular) for fitment onto CQB carbines need to be acquired but their QRs need final confirmation. The CQB carbines the army has evaluated have an effective range of 200mts but under pressure from unnamed ‘vested interests’ it mysteriously wants the specification of the II Tube-the core of the night sight-to be pitched at an inordinately extended Figure of Merit (FoM) rating of 1700. This hugely expensive and heavily restricted FoM 1700 rating allows users to see clearly in pitch darkness including heavily clouded moonless nights and even in thick jungle at night. But the fundamental drawback is that this capacity is unavailable in India and needs to be imported at high cost. In 2010 the MoD had, for Rs 1 billion facilitated the transfer of controlled ‘supergen’ technology from France’s Photonic to the public sector Bharat Electrical Limited (BEL) to manufacture II Tubes with a FoM 1400 rating.

Bureaucratic delays both by the army and MoD have expectedly deferred the CQB contract and in turn exacerbated the operationally dire situation prevailing for over two years under which infantry units are being forced to operate without even the obsolete 9mm carbines as the OFB has stopped producing rounds for them.

”

Other than Photonis the only other provider of II-based technology is USAs ITT. And while former is not permitted by the French government to export technology beyond FoM 1400 outside the European Union, US legislation prohibits ITT from transferring know-how overseas beyond FoM 1200. Meanwhile, the field evaluation of night sights conducted last year by the Infantry

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Directorate on the CQB carbines on dark nights proved that the sights equipped with FoM 1400 were more than adequate for its 200m effective range. Besides, factoring in the cost differential of nearly 50 per cent between FoM 1400 and FoM 1700 versus the respective visual range enhancement of no more than 10 per cent renders the army’s QRs for night sights for the CQB carbines not only impractical but as some officers suggest somewhat subjective. They hinted that a handful of unproven European night vision manufacturers had entered into joint ventures with well connected local entrepreneurs who were reportedly influencing decisions on night sights. Officials said BEL is capable of meeting the army’s requirement for 45,000 night sights based on II tubes with a FoM of 1400 but army headquarters remains insistent on FoM 1700 which would necessitate costly imports. Additionally, BEL can also provide the ‘Auto Gating’ or brightness control facility on the night sights at no additional cost. Army experts justify the high cost of fitting the proposed assault rifles with ranges of over 400 mts with night sights with FoM 1700 as an effective force multiplier rather than on the CQB carbines. Under F-INSAS the army also plans on acquiring some 15,000 5.56mm light machine guns and around 1000 sniper rifles for select “Ghatak” infantry commando platoons but these too await final QR formulations. Similarly QRs for critical battle field communication and navigation equipmentincluding Dead Reckoning Modules (a miniature self-contained electronic navigation unit that pinpoints the user’s position in case of non-availability or failure of navigational satellites), digital compasses, assorted computer, dual-band radio sets and soldier-individual power packs were far from completed. But requests for proposal (RFPs) for some 170,000 modular bullet proof jackets (BPJs) weighing around 10.5kg and an equal number of Ballistic Helmets had been dispatched to domestic manufacturers in June and December 2012 respectively, some four years behind schedule. Contracts for neither had yet been signed. Conversely, tenders for basic knee and elbow protection pads too awaited finalisation in what is proving to be a ruinous infantry modernisation programme.

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INNOVATIVE COMBAT TRAINING SYSTEM

he development of computer simulation software and visual aids has been making a tangible progress from year to year, augmenting capabilities and role of simulators used for operational and combat training of military units. Virtual training, being actively introduced, does not only allow saving military systems' service life and fuel and ammunition cost, but also enhances quality and efficiency of military

personnel training for all types of modern armed conflicts, such as local anti-terrorist operations or wide-scale conflicts. It must be added that high-level unit cooperation and rapid reaction to quick changes of tactical situation are most important factors contributing to combat success. This is why the evolution of educational and training facilities has reached by now the stage of versatile integrated simulators

The typical delivery set for the reinforced mechanized infantry company

providing joint training of specialists in various military services and branches. Russia is pioneering in this technology among others. These days the Rosoboronexport arms sales state company offers its foreign partners a new-generation tactical simulator - Сombat-E based onCommon SyntheticBattlefield Environment (CSBE). It is developed by the world-famous Transascompany which has a 20-year experience in the development of training systems for all military services. The Combat-E is one of the most advanced tactical simulators providing huge functionality and most perfect imitation of real-life algorithms of tactical missions. The system can be employed for unit training in various security agencies and military branches with due account of their service specifics and assigned missions. One of the system’s key features is its ability to visualize large-area landscapes composed of 3D topographic layers, automatically rendered from the reference 2D map, which comprise various types of terrain, woodlands, roads, settlements, rivers, etc. This technology allows the system to visualize any real-world terrain taking into account its properties, as well as generate 3D layers based on existing digital maps.

Tactical situation is plotted on the map (and, at the same time, on the 3D layer) by means of standard conventional symbols that can be replaced/supplemented on customer request. One of major hard-to-solve problems for modern battlefield simulation systems is the generalization of tactical situation at different scales and data representation formats while preserving spatial parameters and logical ties. For such cases Russian specialists have developed an effective solution - the "smart symbols" technology. It allows users to quickly plot and edit various variants of tactical situation, control time and space parameters, automatically transfer any scenario to a virtual battlefield, and even change the initial tactical concept during a training session in the tactical simulator. Such flexibility of the Combat-E system opens huge opportunities for commanders and staffs to perfect their tactical thinking and hone their interoperability. The Combat-E system helps to greatly enhance efficiency of commanders' training in interactionorganizationand performing tactical tasks, selecting and equipping combat positions, strongholds, defensive lines and so on. The simulator allows practicing tactical training tasks and fire missions for teams within a unit according to standards set by directive documents. And finally, the Combat-E system can form the basis for tactical exercises conducted

at the brigade-battalion-company level. Unit shakedown objectives can be reached only during joint training in organizing and performing combat missions against realistically simulated opponents. The technology implemented in the simulator allows modeling tactical actions of computer generated forces, movements and combat qualities of separate targets on the battlefield. Maximum approximation to reality is reached by: ! using all the parameters for enemy actions simulation that are necessary to take efficient decisions (calculation of visibility range with due account of the terrainelevation model, vegetation types and general smoke content

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over the battlefield, revealing signs etc); ! selecting enemy's training level in

accordance with given standards; ! adjusting algorithms of command and

signal exchange, target designation, distribution and guidance; ! adopting realistic models of vehicle movement and various weapons' ballistic trajectories; ! allowing optional introduction of crew simulators made by other manufacturers, in compliance with the HLA international standard; ! employing a real-time computed tasks library, including direct, ballistic and radar range, road/off-road path planning, search area definition, etc. Thus, the simulator modeling system can generate complex dedicated environment for real-world battlefield in correspondence with combat capabilities and technical characteristics of specific weapon/military equipment items. At present the Combat-E simulator is inducted into the Russian Army, allowing the developers to continue its upgrading based on the operational experience gained. According to specialists, the simulator offered by Rosoboronexport, if actively employed in the armed forces, can significantly raise efficiency of tactical training, enhance unit preparedness for tactical exercises, and improve commanders' qualification and methodological skills.

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INNOVATIVE COMBAT TRAINING SYSTEM

The typical delivery set for the reinforced mechanized infantry company

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over the battlefield, revealing signs etc); ! selecting enemy's training level in

accordance with given standards; ! adjusting algorithms of command and

COMMUNICATIONS

NEED FOR LEAR Asymmetric battlefields require cross-communicating systems that connect nodes Future Battlefield

PRAKASH KATOCH

KEY POINTS ! An overlap of communication and information systems to achieve full C4I2SR awareness require deployment of advanced ICTs. ! The high demand of bandwidth requires a dedicated defence band. ! The US system, WIN-T, integrates bandwidth dynamically amongst millions static and mobile communication users, based on priority.

he battlefield of today requires transverse communications. Not only is interoperability imperative intraService and inter-Services in the military, it is also necessary across the entire Security Sector since unconventional warfare and asymmetric threats are borderless in contrast to classical conventional battlefields. Communication systems need to meet multi-mission requirements, functioning through cyber and electronic warfare environment while engaged in battle. Development of the software defined radios and cognitive radios are operational breakthroughs. There is increasing overlap of communications and information systems in militaries across the world, optimizing Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Information and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4I2SR) System provides great operational advantage for the defence establishment; force multiplier for commanders at all levels.

The battlefield has become non-linear, multi-dimensional battle space characterized by increased lethality, high degree of mobility coupled with simultaneity of engagement and increased tempo of operations in compressed time and space coupled with high degree of transparency. This calls for swift and concerted response by the military and quick decision making, framework in place, with a joint command and control structure to direct operations. No single Service can cope with future scenarios. For Army, mission specific link up with sister Services and fighting elements of Security Sector will optimize combat potential even at tactical levels. Militaries require micro-processing and miniaturisation technologies complementing real-time intelligence and information sharing, distributed decision making, and rapid execution of orders from a wide variety of forces and systems for concentrated effect over the entire spectrum of operations. Communication networks today are a system of systems and a network of networks; they have to be integrated seamlessly and interoperable to be of value despite the challenges of spectrum, bandwidth, low density and laws of physics.

Strategic Communications

In terms of strategic communications, the major project coming up for the Indian Military is Project Defence Communications Network (DCN), which has been awarded to HCL Infosys in early 2013 for development over two years. Phase 1 will consist of two data centres in hot standby and multiple switching centres with adequate redundancy and over a hundred entities with assured backup through an overlay of satellites. This exclusive network will permeate down to the level of the Corps Headquarters of the Army and equivalents of the Navy and Air Force, the Strategic Forces Command and Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff

(IDS). Post the test bed phase; the project will be implemented with a two year period. However, most significantly, the project does not include development of requisite software. If the three Services and Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) develop the software individually, there will be

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NING LESSONS SEPTEMBER 2013

across the spectrum of inter-service agencies, and across the entire ‘security sector.’ This newly tested WIN-T Increment 2 will provide on-the-move connectivity into a mine resistant vehicle

attendant problems of interoperability. The vital handshake therefore is missing without which DCN actually boils down to a highway sans traffic. This denotes a lopsided approach and indicates the low priority accorded to a strategic communications project like the DCN.

Tactical Communications

Tactical Communication System (TCS). The TCS had been approved thrice by Defence Ministers in the past and should have been fielded into the Army in year 2000. This critical delay should actually be a case study; bureaucratic red-tapism, lackadaisical approach or pressures from DRDO / PSUs. Truncated test bed for information systems result in avoidable problems coming up at fielding/equipping stage that could have been corrected in the test bed itself. Concurrent are avoidable additional costs accruing through upgrades required immediately post fielding these systems. Since 2002, MoD has been vacillating on categorization of the TCS project under Make (High-Tech Systems) and Make (Strategic, Complex and Security Sensitive Systems), since private sector participation is allowed in the former category and not latter, and classifying it as former category was attributed to the secrecy of the “frequency hopping algorithm” contained in a tiny microchip. However, now Bharat Electronics (BEL) and a consortium of L&T, Tata Power SED and HCL Infosys Ltd have reportedly been selected by the government. This is the first project under the ‘Buy Indian, Make Indian’ clause introduced in the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP). The government will pay 80 per cent of the development cost while 20 per cent will be funded by the industry. For TCS, both the selected parties will make the prototype system and the best bidder will then execute the whole project. The TCS is vital for operational preparedness and force multiplication endeavour. Decisive victory in future conflicts will be difficult to achieve without robust and survivable communications, both in the strategic and tactical domain. The TCS is to have: a new generation meshed network exploiting the growth in microprocessor, radio, mobility and satellites; based on light weight high mobility vehicles which will form highly

COMMUNICATIONS August 2012 completed fielding to 100 percent of the units identified to receive the system. Increments 2 and 3 have also been planned progressively. The Communications Infrastructure provides secure, agile, and survivable end-to-end connectivity and on-demand bandwidth that is dynamically allocated, based on operational priority and precedence among millions of space, air, sea, and terrestrialbased fixed, and mobile users. The $10 billion Win-T program is jointly developed by Team Matrix. The prime contractor is General Dynamics leading a team including Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Harris Corporation, L-3 Communications and CISCO Systems.

An Army officer on top of a Network System truck during the Republic Day parade, New Delhi mobile communication nodes connected as a grid; largely based on tested COTS technologies; high bandwidth with voice, video and data; high capacity point to point radio backbone with multiple redundancies; high capacity point to multipoint wireless access at the user end; robust and survivable trunk and access radios; redundancy and scalability based on satellites; inbuilt protection against cyber and electronic attacks using firewalls and frequency hopping spread spectrum techniques; encryption and multi-level network security; real time management of spectrum; integration with legacy systems, strategic networks, national communication systems; effective interoperability within the Army and other services during joint operations; light weight user terminals; integrate OIS.

USA

Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) is the US Army’s current and future tactical communications network backbone that provides seamless, assured, mobile communications for the soldier along with advanced network management tools to support implementation of a commander’s intent and priorities – incrementally. WIN-T Increment 1, formerly known as the “Joint Network Node Network,” began fielding in 2004 and provides networking at-the-quickhalt capability down to battalion level, with a follow-on enhanced networking upgrade, referred to as the “Colorless Core Upgrade,” underway to improve the efficiency and security of the network. WIN-T Increment 1 components reside at the theater, corps, division, brigade and battalion level and in

The FALCON trunk communication program being introduced incrementally in British Army has been developed by BAE Systems. It provides modem, secure communications infrastructure for deployed formations and operating bases. Designed around Internet protocol architecture, the system replaces ageing asynchronous transfer mode equipment with a scalable application that can be configured rapidly to meet the needs of an expeditionary force. It also interoperates with other digital communications technologies now entering service with the British military and provides a secure messaging channel to coalition allies, operating as a meshed network consisting of nodes deployed in mobile shelters mounted on the back of Supacat transport vehicles, a wide area service provision (WASP) designed to provide wireless data and radio connectivity. It is built around a networking technology called All Internet Protocol (ALL-IP), which allows it to link seamlessly into other systems. Because Falcon can connect to systems such as Cormorant and Skynet, it provides a reachback capability to headquarters in the United Kingdom and can link with civil and coalition networks. Falcon uses less manpower and has greater bandwidth compared to previous systems and is transportable by C-130 Hercules aircraft.

Canada

The $1.4 billion Tactical Command and Control, and Communications System (TCCCS) developed by CDC Systems UK Limited, a business unit of General

SEPTEMBER 2013

A US Army Combat Net Radio on display Dynamics Corporation, has replaced old radio equipment used by the Canadian Army. It includes the Combat Net Radio (CNR). The TCCCS allows users to access other users through various nodes and the Information Distribution System. It operates over fibre optic cables and UHF and SHF Line-of-Sight Radio Relays. The ranges of tactical communications links are extended through the long range capability of the Iris System (which supports land tactical and strategic communications capabilities) to strategic, allied, or commercial networks. The Combat Net Radio system consists of a full range of tactical radios. These include net-radio, point-to-point, ship-to-shore, airground-air, long range, and voice and data communications covering the HF, VHF, and UHF bands.

Domestic Scene

Success in conflict situations is contingent on jointness as seamless integration. No single weapon or force reaches its full potential unless employed with complementary capabilities of the other Services. Smooth and real time communication will be the battle winning factor. Jointness, however, in our military presently is misnomer. We have yet to fully realize essential requirement of viewing information from the strategic viewpoint, recognizing it as mission critical resource and required a synthesis of communications and information. Communications cannot be planned in isolation anymore. They must be

The IndianArmy has a complete Corps nominated asTest Bed but none of the Operational Information Systems (OIS) under development / already fielded could be tested in envisaged manner â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at a full Corps level.This was because of the lack of a Tactical Communication System (TCS) which should have been fielded into theArmy in year 2000.

â&#x20AC;?

part and parcel of the Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence and Interoperability (C4I2) package in concert with our pursuit of Net Centric Warfare (NCW) capabilities. The DCN is only a very small part of how defence communications need to be strategized, synergized and developed. In the present dispensation, communications of the three

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Services are mismatched and the concept of ICT is yet to fully take off, which can be gauged from the following: ! There is no common Tri-Service ICT / Communication Philosophy. ICT plans discussed actually are a separate one for Communications and another one for Information Systems. ! There is mismatch between radio Sets of the three Services. For certain contingencies and army is required to give additional radio sets to sister Service(s) as ad hoc measure. ! DCN is coming up as a strategic highway development of software by individual Services and HQ IDS implies serious problems of interoperability. ! Little progress has been made in evolving common standards and protocols for the military. Large number of command and control equipments and networks are being established by individual services but lack common standards and protocols. Additionally, several intra-Service interoperability constraints exist. ! e-learning in the Army has not begun because Army Intranet is not yet fully secure. Army Intranet extended to HQ IDS since was withdrawn some three years back. Army Intranet has also not been extended to Defence Services Staff College and College of Defence Management since these are joint institutions under HQ IDS though 90 percent of students and faculty are from Army. This indicates utter disregard to jointness. ! The TCS approved by successive Defence Ministers which should have been fielded in year 2000 is still 5-6 years away, its void seriously affecting test beds and fielding of OIS. Then, TCS is only looking inwards within Army. Not only sister Services, its linking with fighting elements of the Security Sector is still not being thought of. ! Contracts were concluded with Bharat Electronics in March 2011 by the Army for equipping the Command Information Dissemination and Support System (Rupees 1,035 crores) and for the Battlefield Surveillance System (Rupees 2,635 crores) but these contracts have not been taken to their logical conclusion in the required time frame. ! The military still has not developed an Enterprise level Geographical Information System. ! No Tri-Service Policy for Information Assurance has been evolved. Similarly, no Tri-Service Policy for Data Handling and Data Storage has been defined and therefore

COMMUNICATIONS FALCON being put on trial by the UK Armed Forces

data centres mushrooming all over. ! The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has no institutionalised framework within itself for strategic though. That is why we have voids of National Security Strategy, Roadmap for Revolution in Military Affairs, Tri-Service NCW Philosophy, Tri-Service ICT / Communication Philosophy etc. Even the initial projections for a defence communications satellite were solely by the Navy.

Requirement The MoD and military must focus on the following: ! Accept true military jointness cannot be achieved without a CDS. The political hierarchy needs to thrust down military jointmanship as fait accompli by appointing a CDS with full operational powers. This would also help evolve effective vital policies like TriService ICT / Communication Philosophy amongst others, and viewing ‘Information’ from the strategic viewpoint and recognizing it as mission critical resource. ! The project to evolve common standards, structures, exchange formats and protocols for the three Services must be accorded top priority. ! Experience of advanced militaries proves that bandwidth requirements increase exponentially over the years. This must be catered to with a dedicated Defence Band with adequate security. ! Uniformity of communications and information systems under procurement by

the three Services should be ensured including items like Software Defined Radios (SDRs). The SDR is being built by the DRDO on a priority basis. ! Communications and Information Systems planning should be seamless; horizontally and vertically with adequate safeguards and authority. An integrated communication network that enables requisite standard signal communication support to all the three Services needs to be established. Even a project like TCS (which needs acceleration) should cater for parallel links with sister Services to meet mission specific requirements.

A soldier speaks on the radio

! The military must evolve and implement an enterprise level Information Security Assurance Program (ISAP). Necessary enablers to provide core competencies for gestating and sustaining the ISAP must be developed as part of capacity building. Presently, numerous applications are coming up all over, some of them without adequate security solutions. This would jeopardize security once total networking is achieved. ! The Army Intranet must be made fully secure and should be re-extended to HQ IDS. It should also connect the DSSC and CDM for which additional funds could be allotted by HQ IDS with approval of MoD. This will enhance jointness and facilitate elearning of the three Services. ! Indigenous capability needs to be developed against enemy Electro Magnetic Pulse (EMP) attacks (nuclear and non nuclear) as also for checking / testing of hardware and software against embedded malware. The Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR) needs to exponentially increase capacity to develop new and varied algorithms in order to keep pace with rapid induction of new systems. The Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) must find ways and means to accord SAG approvals in telescoped time frame. We need to speedily advance our chip manufacturing capabilities, a sphere in which we are decades behind China and which has serious implications for network and communication security. Communications, Information and their confluence are vital for our military given present and future conflict scenarios. In the jointmanship paradigm our military has only taken some nascent steps. Actually, we are decades away from integration in its true form and spirit. We need to take measures from the existing state of `cooperative functioning’ and `patchy jointness’ to `deconflicted operations’, advancing to `joint’ and finally `integrated operations’. Unless vital steps as indicated above are taken, shedding the baggage of legacy thinking, jointmanship will be elusive and our goal of achieving Net Centric Warfare (NCW) capabilities will remain utopian. MoD and the Military need to take holistic stock and act. We must speedily establish a reliable and robust ICT network which allows interoperability of the three Services within themselves, and with the requisite government agencies spanning the strategic, operational and tactical domains.

COMMUNICATIONS FALCON being put on trial by the UK Armed Forces

Requirement The MoD and military must focus on the following: ! Accept true military jointness cannot be achieved without a CDS. The political hierarchy needs to thrust down military jointmanship as fait accompliby appointing a CDS with full operational powers. This would also help evolve effective vital policies like TriService ICT / Communication Philosophy amongst others, and viewing ‘Information’ from the strategic viewpoint and recognizing it as mission critical resource. ! The project to evolve common standards, structures, exchange formats and protocols for the three Services must be accorded top priority. ! Experience of advanced militaries proves that bandwidth requirements increase exponentially over the years. This must be catered to with a dedicated Defence Band with adequate security. ! Uniformity of communications and information systems under procurement by

A soldier speaks on the radio

DEFENCE RELATIONS India has placed contract for 126 multi role combat aircraft Dassault’s Rafale

SIGNS OF THE TIMES: INDO-EU DEFENCE RELATIONS India’s defence relationship with the European Union is less multilateral and more bilateral, in terms of proximity with individual members.

PINAKI BHATTACHARYA

AFP

SEPTEMBER 2013

KEY POINTS ! The EU does not have a mandate to conduct regional security programmes in concert with other countries. ! The selection process of the MMRCA has focussed on rejuvenated ties with the European countries. ! The future promises an even closer relationship between the countries as India spends billions in garnering arms, ammunition and equipment.

hese are the best of times. These are the worst of times. On the one level, India’s relationship with Europe is on a high as New Delhi gets ready to redeem the pledge of awarding the biggest ever armaments contract in the world, to France – the contract for the 126 medium, multirole combat aircraft, Dassault’s Rafale. The total deal could be worth upwards of $ 20 billion, with a rupee touching the depths.

On the other hand, the ministry of defence (MoD) continues to grapple with its relationship it established in Italy with the large conglomerate, Finmeccanica. As is well known, MoD contracted to buy 12 AW101 helicopters from one of the subsidiaries under the Finmeccanica umbrella, Agusta Westland. But the deal came under a cloud with Italian independent prosecutors’ investigation revealing corporate malfeasance, in terms of using middlemen and bribery. These two examples, in effect, define, for this moment in time, the Indo-European Union (EU) defence relationship, especially underscored by the crisis of the fiscal imbalances of member nations of the EU, affecting the future of the Union and the fate of the common currency, Euro. Yet, India’s strategic relationships with individual countries of the EU are some times – as in the case with France – even older than the country’s strategic ties with the USA. India has a strategic relationship with the EU but it’s sans defence and security issues. That is not reflective of any disinclination on the part of either of the parties to indulge in those issues. But considering that the EU, headquartered in Brussels, was not empowered by its member nations to define a sort of a ‘European Concert’ that could create a collegiality on issues of joint defence and foreign policy. The EU did make an effort in 2010 to create a form of intervention in making joint security policy architecture that could represent all interests of the region. Brussels created the structure, European External Action Service (EEAS). As an Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) researcher noted the same year, “It would host an expert’s pool by bringing in desk officers working at the European Commission, area experts at the Secretariat of the European Council and officials from the foreign ministries of the member states under one roof in Brussels.” Baroness Catherine Ashton, a British Labour Party politician was appointed as the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy as well as the Vice President of the European Commission. She visited

DSI

India and held discussions during a fourday visit to India in June, 2010 and she depicted a picture of the EEAS as a “one stop shop,” which would tackle the challenges of the 21st century, the IDSA researcher noted. It is important to note that the EU-India strategic partnership was symbolised by the presence of the team accompanying Baroness Ashton, which comprised of Giles de Kerchove, the EU Counter Terrorism Coordinator and Lt Gen Ton van Osch, Director General, EU Military Staff. If that could not provide content to the relationship, what could? Of course, the EU-India strategic engagement is largely based on talks…and more talks. There are also attempts at individually and jointly influence other nations for institutional changes that can help bar terrorism from being launched from their territories, besides working in concert at the international institutions like the UN to bring in resolutions that would delegitimise terrorism totally, and remove the confusion about freedom fighter/terrorist paradigm. But the EEAS has still remained in the background with member countries still preferring to work both through the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and/or bilaterally. Take the case of the MMRCA deal. There were two contenders, as is known, from Europe – the Eurofighter and Rafale. While the manufacturing companies of the two aircrafts were of European origin, it was not so much the EU that campaigned for them, but France (for Rafale) and Germany and Britain (for Eurofighter), on their own. This was despite the fact that EADS, the European consortium that manufactures Eurofighter, had cross holdings in Dassault of France. So, effectively, even though EADS lost the race to the French company, it actually did not lose out on the deal!

European Bilateralism

France had a long-standing good relationship with India. Even after the 1998 nuclear tests and India declaring itself a ‘nuclear weapon state’, when almost all the Western powers were busy imposing economic sanctions on New Delhi, the

DEFENCE RELATIONS French did not fall in line. Not only did they not sanction India, they were the first to get into ‘strategic relationship’ with the country. Besides, even earlier, in the mid-1980s when India, under Rajiv Gandhi began looking for diversifying the sources of its defence supplies, beyond then Soviet Union, the French were one of the first to jump in. They supplied the country with the frontline fighter aircraft, Mirage 2000, which they had made. After Gandhi’s decision to weaponise the nuclear capability of the country, for a long time the Mirages were the only means of nuclear weapon delivery, in the unlikely event of a nuclear exchange. Kanwal Sibal, the former Foreign Secretary, and a current chair at the Vivekananda Foundation, wrote in late 2012 that France, which had no colonial hangover of maintaining the balance between India and Pakistan, was far more forthcoming in providing the newly independent India with defence materiel. He wrote: “India acquired from France, in the 1950s itself, Ouragan, Mystere and Alize aircraft, AMX tanks and air to surface and anti-tank missiles. In the 1960s, India went in for licensed production of French Alouette helicopters, to which were added Lama helicopters for high-altitude operations in the 1970s.” Indian air force’s relationship with French aerospace companies like Dassault and Thales is longstanding. About a couple of years ago when the requirement was a felt-need for life extention of Mirage 2000 aircrafts, the country found that even if a Israeli offer was cheaper, it still had to remain tied to Thales as the source codes of the aircrafts’ avionics was proprietary and it could only go to the French to get the upgrade. Hence, a $ 2.4 billion contract with Dassault and Thales was entered into to refurbish 51 Mirage 2000s. All the French contracts have not favoured India. Take the $ 3 billion contract with the French naval construction giant, DCNS, for building six conventional submarines that it developed with the Spanish company, Navantia, in the mid-2000s. The submarines were to be built under technology transfer by the Mazagon Docks (MDL). Amidst the usual reports of bribery by the French company and their use of middlemen, the construction began in 2009. But four years hence, in 2013, there is no sign of the first submarine to be delivered to the Indian Navy. The current schedule of

delivery begins in 2016, continuing till 2021, with one submarine being produced every year. There has also been a cost escalation in the process, which is not detailed by either the government or the French company’s side. Meanwhile, the time delay that led to exchange of angry missives between DCNS and MDL, have not culminated in helping the Navy’s submarine arm counter its rate of depletion. Of course, the MMRCA deal is the icing on the cake of the Indo-French relationship. The choice of Rafale as the chosen aircraft have been after a grueling process of selection that encompassed all the three major players in the Indian defence market, the USA, Russia, and the various European consortia. The IAF is admittedly proud of the fact that they have kept the biggest deal ever in the history of the country scrupulously clean. The current contract negotiation process has been going on without much of a hiccup.

The British have been the old colonial masters of the country, and they had bequeathed much of the early military equipments and weaponry of the Indian armed forces. Till the 1950s, the island nation had been the primary source of military supplies. But that tapered off once the military rivalry between Pakistan and India sharpened, culminating in the 1965 war. However, in recent times, the British were hot on the heels of the Indian military planners as they took two decades to decide on a jet trainer for the air force. The British part of the BAE Systems (formerly British Aerospace), that included the USA as a partner broke, the logjam in the area with a contract for the Hawk advanced jet trainers. They won the contract worth $ 1.5 billion for 66 Hawks, of which 42 were to be made by HAL in the country. The two companies faced a few teething problems at the beginning of the Indian build part, but they

SEPTEMBER 2013

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Technicians stand by a French Mirage 2000 jet fighter ready to take off from the military airbase

AFP

MoD contract for 12 AW 101 is under investigations

have obviously now been ironed out. The BAE Systems delivered the 24 that are to be supplied by them directly, on time. The BAE Systems’ adroit placement as an Anglo-American joint venture make them intervene in the Indian market, that has been variously described as one with $ 150-200 billion to be spent over a decade, in various shades. For example, the BAE Systems is also close to snapping up a deal for Light Howitzers for the Indian Army through the US government route of Foreign Military Sales. This shows how the world’s few armaments majors have positioned themselves through complicated intercorporate relationships for cornering the big ticket items on which even if they compete with their collaborators, they end up benefitting all. On India’s part, ever since the United Progressive Alliance government has taken

On the one level, India’s relationship with Europe is on a high as New Delhi gets ready to redeem the pledge of awarding the biggest ever armaments contract in the world, to France – the contract for the 126 medium, multirole combat aircraft, Dassault’s Rafale.The total deal could be worth upwards of $ 20 billion, with a rupee touching the depths. On the other hand, ministry of defence (MoD) continues to grapple with its relationship it established in Italy.

office, it appears to have decided not to deny any of the majors – backed by their governments – a share of the cake, but instead, satiate them at least partly, by spreading the money thin. Considering that the total volume of the money is humungous, even the smaller packets can be substantial for individual corporate bottom-line. Besides the big ticket items, MBDA, the European missile manufacturer - a combination of the French, Italian and British companies – is waiting for the negotiations for Rafale to end, so they can provide the missiles the aircraft will carry. Already, they have made some major headway in the form of selling their MICA missiles for the refitted Mirage 2000s; and providing their Mistral for the weaponised ALH, Rudra. Italy’s shipbuilder, Fincantieri, have already provided two fleet tankers, ‘Deepak’ and ‘Shakti,’ the Indian Navy has procured. Finmeccanica, the giant sized Italian conglomerate may be a little at odds with the New Delhi at the moment, but the news that they have not been ‘blacklisted’ as yet keeps them in play in the Indian market. And they are looking at opportunities to break out. Agusta Westland is in competition with Eurocopter for 56 light utility helicopters that the navy plans to buy. For another 14 choppers the Indian Coast Guards want to buy, the Italian company is in competition

DEFENCE RELATIONS

AFP

SEPTEMBER 2013

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian with Defence Minister AK Antony with Sikorsky. Finmeccanica has also an India office that is overseeing an order from the navy for 3-D air surveillance radar that is expected to be fitted on INS Vikrant, the indigenous aircraft carrier that was recently launched at the Cochin Shipyard in Kerala.

Indian Market

The ministry of defence, under AK Antony, has taken a few key decisions in the past eight years that will have long term impact on the Indian arms bazaar. One of those decisions relate to the ambition of emerging as the manufacturing hub for armaments and platforms for the Asian market. The other stems from the first desire: foreign companies should not consider India as only a buyer, but think of Indian corporates as partners, either within the framework of defence offsets, post-contract, or earlier as another base for builds. The opportunities in the Indian military modernisation market are many and varied. The trans-national corporations who have opened Indian operations are seeing that. Cassidian, a new EADS entity, looks at its Indian engineering centre in Bengaluru with a lot promise, revealing its attitude towards India as a resource hub for itself. “This is the first defence oriented engineering facility opened by a foreign company in India and the only such engineering facility by Cassidian outside Europe,” a company spokesperson says. Cassidian, describes itself as a worldwide

The ministry of defence, underAKAntony, has taken a few key decisions in the past eight years that will have long term impact on the Indian arms bazaar. One of those decision relate to the ambition of emerging as the manufacturing hub for armaments and platforms for theAsian market.

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leader in global security solutions and systems, providing Lead Systems Integration and value-added products and services to civil and military customers around the globe: air systems (aircraft and unmanned aerial systems), land, naval and joint systems, intelligence and surveillance, cyber security, secure communications, test systems, missiles, services and support solutions. Safran’s presence in India started in the 1950s with the sale of equipment for airplanes and helicopters. Since then it has quickly

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evolved to include partnerships with Indian industry, based on joint developments, production and support licenses for airplane, helicopter and rocket engines (including the Shakti engine for the Dhruv Helicopter), landing gear, navigation systems etc., as well as the associated support services. Safran S.A. is a French multinational aircraft and rocket engine, aerospace component and security company. It was formed by a merger between the aircraft & rocket engine manufacturer and aerospace component manufacturer group SNECMA and the security company, SAGEM. Headquartered in Paris, France, its worldwide operations leave a large footprint across many nations. EADS with its newly redesigned division named according to the globally recognisable brand, Airbus, which integrates Airbus Military, Astrium and Cassidian into one Defence and Space Division. The group, the EADS board, expected in a strategic review undertaken recently, enhanced integration and cohesion by the renaming. Airbus has already notched up its first success in the India by successfully winning the bid for Multirole Tanker Transporter (MRTT) contract. The company had a rather torrid time after bidding for the contract in 2009 and winning the sweepstakes. Its competitor was the Russian IL-78MKI, that lost the race. When the MoD proposal went for the finance ministry clearance it did not get the nod of then finance minister, Pranab Mukherjee. The ministry objected on the ground that the trials did not seem even handed, and the Airbus Military 330 aircraft seemed over priced. So the proposal was returned to the MoD. But the second time around, the ministry again plumped for the aircraft and showed that the ‘life cycle cost’ of the aircraft was less when compared to the Russian aircraft, though the latter had a low base price. And this time the finance ministry did not seem to have too difficult a commitment to make. The Indian Air Force will buy 12 of these tankers for about $ 4 billion. At the end, though it seemed all a bit chaotic, the Indian way of finding the rocks to cross the river (Chinese saying), history will still be possibly be kind to the ministry of defence under the stewardship of Antony, that he made experience to grow from a crawl to taking baby steps, rather exciting for all.

FIREPOWER

SEPTEMBER 2013

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ROCKETS, MISSILES AND PRECISION-GUIDED MUNITIONS In the possible future wars, Artillery will play a key role of shaping the battlefield by suppressing enemy air defence and to undertake decisive victory. Firepower as a Force Multiplier

KEY POINTS ! Possible future wars in the subcontinent are likely to be limited. ! Artillery will play key role in shaping the battlefield. The Russian Smerch MBRLs will play a key role in laying fire with their 12-tube, 90 km range. ! While Prahar and Prithvi are conventional 90-350 kms SSMs there is a need for a 500 km range SSM that can hit across the Himalayas.

is a very high probability that the next conventional conflict will again break out in the mountains. The next conflict in the Indian context will be fought under a nuclear overhang. Serious attempts will be made to ensure that the conflict remains confined to the mountains as a spillover to the plains may escalate out of control to nuclear exchanges. In any future war that the Indian armed forces are called upon to fight in the mountains, gaining, occupying and holding territory and evicting the enemy from Indian territory occupied by him will continue to remain important military aims. Only massive asymmetries of firepower provided by guns, rockets and missiles armed with precision-guided munitions (PGMs) can possibly achieve the desired military objectives. If proof was needed of Pinaka 214 MM Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher System passes through

AFP

GURMEET KANWAL

The role of modern armed forces is to prevent conflict through deterrence and if it does break out, to fight and win â&#x20AC;&#x201C; preferably on the adversaryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s territory. Future wars on the Indian Sub-continent are likely to be limited wars. These are likely to spin out of ongoing conflicts like the six decades old military stand-off along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), the Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) on Saltoro Ridge west of Siachen Glacier conflict zone and the proxy war being waged by Pakistan. Despite the ongoing rapprochement between India and China, a limited border conflict cannot be ruled out due to the unresolved territorial and boundary dispute and the yetto-be demarcated Line of Actual Control (LAC). As the ongoing conflicts are mainly along land borders in the mountains, there

FIREPOWER A Raytheon Excalibur missile

this self-evident fact, it was amply provided during the 50-day Kargil conflict in 1999 where asymmetric artillery and air force firepower had paved the way for victory. Firepower and manoeuvre are two sides of the same coin and both complement each other. However, in tactical situations in which either one lags behind due to the fog of war, the other must rise to the occasion and compensate if a favourable outcome is to be achieved. It is well known that future conventional wars on the Indian Subcontinent will be fought under the nuclear shadow. Hence, it will be extremely risky to plan a battle that involves deep manoeuvre, particularly in the plains. In such a situation, favourable outcomes will be possible only through the massive application of artillery and aeriallydelivered firepower. This major restriction on the manoeuvre component of military operations on land will lead to much greater emphasis having to be placed on firepower to achieve military aims and objectives. In offensive operations on the future battlefield, the artillery will launch fire assaults or “attack by firepower” in conjunction with other combat echelons to shape the battlefield and, ultimately, create suitable conditions for the decisive defeat of the enemy. In fact, with the long reach of its missiles, rockets and medium guns, artillery firepower will systematically degrade the enemy’s preparations for the

The Indian artillery must induct PGMs in large numbers to give effect to its emerging role of causing destruction rather than merely neutralisation of the battlefield. The Krasnopol 155 mm PGM of Russian origin is the only PGM held at present.The PGM holding of the artillery must go up to 25 to 30 per cent of the total ammunition held by 2022, the end of the 14th Defence Plan. PGMs must also be developed for use with unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs).

attack from the concentration area onwards. The concentrated application of massed artillery firepower will disrupt the enemy’s combat cohesion throughout the defensive battle. The Indian artillery will play an increasingly important role in the successful execution of integrated land-air operations on the modern battlefield by suppression of the enemy’s air defence (SEAD) assets to enable own attack helicopters to operate freely and to also enable ground attack aircraft of the IAF to launch strikes successfully. With its ever-increasing range and lethality, the artillery is now capable of simultaneously fighting the contact, intermediate and deep battles. Its nucleartipped ballistic missiles such as the Agni series of missiles will guarantee India’s nuclear deterrence. Its conventionally armed ballistic missiles such as the Prithvi

SEPTEMBER 2013

US Marine Corps fire an M982 Excalibur round from an M777

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Pinaka rocket launcher system. A contract worth Rs 5,000 crore has been signed for two regiments of the 12-tube Pinaka MBRL weapon system, developed by the DRDO, Larsen and Toubro and the Tatas. The 214mm Pinaka rockets will have an approximate range of 37 km. Two more regiments of Pinaka MBRL are likely to be added later. As the development of Pinaka exceeded the planned time frame and also to acquire a much longer rocket artillery system, a contract for the acquisition of three regiments of the 12-tube, 300mm Smerch multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) system with 90 km range has been signed with Russia’s Rosoboronexport. This weapon system can hit targets both at tactical level and operational depth and is a major boost for the long-range firepower capabilities of the army.

Short-range Surface to Surface Missiles (SSMs)

and Prahaar and long-range rockets like Smerch and Pinaka will influence the final outcome of a battle by striking deep. Unmanned Combat Air vehicles (UCAVs) are likely to join the arsenal soon. The utility of UCAVs has been amply proved during the recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq and their entry will add a new dimension to the firepower punch of the artillery. In short, the integrated and synergetic application of artillery firepower at the point of decision will gradually but surely pave the way for victory and also help to reduce the army’s casualties. The artillery will be a co-equal partner with the manoeuvre arms in the successful execution of firepower and manoeuvre provided it is equipped with modern 155 mm guns, long-range rocket launchers and surface-to-surface missiles without any further delay and is armed with PGMs in large quantities.

Multi-barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) Systems

The Indian artillery has been equipped with the 40-barrel 22-km range 122 mm Grad of Russian origin since the early-1970s. With high explosive shells, a battery of six Grad MBRLs could saturate a large area target of 400x600 metres with a salvo of 240 warheads in 20 seconds. This is truly devastating firepower that catches the adversary out in the open and causes horrendous damage before he can run for cover. Extended range (ER) rockets are being introduced for the 122 mm Grad MBRL that has been in service for over three decades. The ER rockets will enhance the weapon system’s range from 22 to about 40 km. However, no PGMs were developed for this weapon. As a replacement system, the Indian army opted for the indigenously developed

Efforts are also underway to add ballistic as well as cruise missiles to the artillery arsenal so as to be able to hit targets at strategic depths inside enemy territory. The singlestage, 150-km range Prithvi-I SSM is known to be dual-capable, that is, it can carry a nuclear as well as conventional warhead. It was introduced into service in 1994 and has been improved considerably since then, particularly in terms of accuracy. Its conventional warhead includes a 1,000 kg high explosive and improved conventional munitions (ICM) projectiles. It can also be armed with a PGM if considered necessary. However, it is an ageing missile launched by liquid fuel propellants and will soon be phased out of service. The DRDO has developed the 150-km range solid fuel Prahar SSM for tactical use during conventional conflict. Prahar has an accuracy of better than 10 metres. “We are withdrawing the tactical 150 km-range Prithvi missiles and will replace them with the Prahar missiles, which are more capable and have more accuracy,” DRDO chief Avinash Chander said in June 2013. Prahar was first test fired in mid-2011. The uniqueness of the missile system is that it can be fired in the salvo mode also from one launcher vehicle in which four missiles can be fired in one go.Though the range is inadequate for this missile to be fired from the plains over the Himalayas against Chinese forces in Tibet, it could be useful

FIREPOWER counter measures due to their high speed and very low radar cross section and are far superior to sub-sonic cruise missiles like Pakistan’s Babur cruise missile. The BrahMos will be a true force multiplier. Nirbhay, a sub-sonic cruise missile, is being developed by the DRDO. Nirbhay is an extension of the Lakshya – a pilotless target for air-to-air shooting practice by aircraft.

An Indian BM30 SMERCH passes through republic day parade

Precision-guided Munitions (PGMs)

against the Pakistan army and other static targets on the western front. India needs a SSM with a range of up to 500 km for use against targets in Tibet. However, conventionally-armed SSMs can be mistaken for nuclear-tipped SRBMs and are inherently destabilising when nucleararmed adversaries engage in conflict. The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile (Mach 2.8 to 3.0) has been developed under a joint venture partnership between India and Russia. It has a velocity of Mach 2.5 to 2.8 and cruises at an altitude of 15 km. With

a precision strike capability, very high kill energy and range of 290 km, it is being inducted into the army. A ceremonial induction function of the Block-I version was held in July 2007. Since then, the Block-II version has successfully completed trials. It is a versatile missile that can be launched from TATRA mobile launchers and silos on land, aircraft and ships and, perhaps in future, also from submarines. About 50 BrahMos missiles are expected to be produced every year. These terrain hugging missiles are virtually immune to

Developments in PGMs

fter the Vietnam War, the development of precision weapons gained tremendous importance as collateral damage became unacceptable. In the field of artillery guns, the 155 mm Cannon Launched Guided Projectile (CLGP) was the first to be developed. This was referred as the ‘Copperhead’, which was a 155 mm fin-stabilised laser guided projectile. The range of the projectile was a minimum of 3 km and a maximum of 16 km. The Russians developed a similar system known as Krasnopol which was used for 152 mm and 155 mm gun system. These PGMs were effective against tanks and hard targets. However, they needed good visibility and a lot depended on the skill of the observer, operating the laser designator. Two types of precision ammunition were developed for the artillery, the precision guided kit and the extended range precision guided shells. There are two known precision guided kits in use. The first is Alliant Tech system XM 1156 and the second is the Israeli Top Gun GPS/ INS 2 D course correction fuze. Both these equipment are screwed on to the nose of the existing projectile like a normal fuze. The XM 1156 is guided by GPS and has an accuracy of 30 metres. The Top Gun is guided by INS with GPS in loop and provides an accuracy of 20 metres. The M982 Excalibur is a 155 mm extended range artillery shell developed by Raytheon Missile System and BAE System. With a combination of GPS satellite and inertial guidance, the round provides an accuracy of 4 to 6 metres at a range of 37 km. The Block II of this ammunition carries either 65 Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICM) or two Sense and Destroy Armour Munitions (SADARM). Excalibur has been used operationally in Iraq and Afghanistan. —P K Chakravorty

It is necessary to achieve destruction of hard targets such as bunkers, tanks,ICVs and missile launchers with the least number of shells so that collateral damage is minimised if it cannot be altogether avoided. A small number of PGMs can achieve what a very large number of ‘dumb’ high explosive shells cannot. The effects that are desired to be achieved in effects-based operations (EBOs) can only be achieved through the widespread use of PGMs. In Gulf War I in 1991, approximately 20 to 30 per cent of the ammunition fired by the US and its allies comprised PGMs. In Gulf War II it went up to 50 to 60 per cent. During more recent conflicts, such as the one in Libya, the employment of PGMs was as high as 90 per cent. Modern artillery firing 155 mm precision strike ammunition can be employed across the full frontage and depth of the battlefield to cause extensive damage and destruction to the enemy’s forces. Today, Laser-guided artillery shells can destroy bunkers, bridges and small buildings with a single-shot kill probability (SSKP) as high as 80 to 90 per cent. Targets that can be seen by the troops in contact with the enemy can be ‘illuminated’ by a Laser beam by a ground-based artillery observer (or spotter) carrying a Laser Target Designator. Targets that are hidden behind crest lines and on reverse slopes can be ‘designated’ by an airborne artillery observer in an army aviation helicopter or even by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Improved conventional munitions (ICM) shells carrying anti-personnel grenades and lethal ‘air-burst’ ammunition can be ‘dispensed’ over soft targets such as administrative bases, rations and fuel storage dumps, headquarters and rest areas. These have to be accurately directed using commando artillery observers or TV camera equipped UAVs to achieve the desired effect. Other force multipliers include gun locating radars for effective real-time counter-bombardment, UAVs equipped with

SEPTEMBER 2013

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A set of Brahmos missile on display TV cameras and suitable for high altitude operations for target acquisition, accurate target engagement and damage assessment, and powerful integrated observation equipment (IOE) fitted with night vision devices for long-range target engagement by day and night. The Indian artillery must induct PGMs in large numbers to give effect to its emerging role of causing destruction rather than merely neutralisation of the battlefield. The Krasnopol 155 mm PGM of Russian origin is the only PGM held at present. At least 50,000 rounds of Krasnopol were reportedly procured in 2002-03. Current holdings of PGMs are rather low because these are very expensive to procure. This shortcoming must be removed over the next two five-year defence plans. The PGM holding of the artillery must go up to 25 to 30 per cent of the total ammunition held by 2022, the end of the 14th Defence Plan. PGMs must also be developed for use with unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs). This will be one investment that will yield excellent results. Three types of ammunition are generally said to fall in the category of PGMs. The first is terminally homing or ‘hit to kill’ PGM like the Russian Krasnopol laser-guided projectile or the Bonus shell of Bofors/ BAE Systems. The second type is the sensor fused or ‘shoot to kill’ ammunition, which is akin to Sensor Fuzed Munition (SFM) of the US. The third is ‘course corrected area effect warhead’, for example Raytheon’s GPS-guided Excalibur PGM for 155 mm artillery. Similar projectiles have been developed for the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS).Though guidance during flight is normally based on GPS, Israel’s Rafale has recently developed an

The Indian artillery will play an increasingly important role in the successful execution of integrated land-air operations on the modern battlefield by suppression of the enemy’s air defence (SEAD) assets to enable own attack helicopters to operate freely and to also enable ground attack aircraft of the IAF to launch strikes successfully. Ballistic missiles such as theAgni series of missiles will guarantee India’s nuclear deterrence.

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Electro Optical Homing devices called Marigold, which is based on image matching and does not use a GPS. With no communications, no humans, and only a camera in the loop, the system offers jamming-proof precision fire, which is highly accurate. India’s Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP) and Technology

Perspective and Capability Roadmap (TPCR) have laid down the requirement of future PGMs as having a CEP of three metres. Improvements in the field of command and control (C4I2SR) must keep pace with innovations in ammunition design. Here the artillery has made some progress but much more needs to be done. Good command and control networks combined with state-ofthe-art reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA) systems will enable the optimum utilisation of all available firepower resources during times when hundreds of calls for artillery fire saturate the communications networks and resources are at a premium. The introduction into service of the Artillery Command and Control System (ACCCS) is the beginning of capacity building for effects-based operations that will form the backbone of network-centric operations in future. However, achieving such capabilities requires huge capital investments and the funds necessary need to be planned for as part of the modernisation process. Hence, it is imperative that artillery modernisation is undertaken in the fields of guns, rocket launchers, missiles, PGMs and C4I2SR with alacrity so as to generate both qualitative and quantitative firepower asymmetries to achieve unassailable dominance on the future battlefield. Unfortunately, the modernisation plans of the artillery have stagnated for one reason or another for almost two decades. The civilian political leadership, the military hierarchy and the bureaucracy need to enhance their efforts to break the logjam and perhaps even take calculated risks with procurement procedures, if necessary, in view of the operational urgency.

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WHY INS SINDHURAKSHAK EPISODE WON’T HURT INDO-RUSSIAN TIES

Scene of the accident site in the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on14 August 2013, where the INS Sindhurakshak, sank after an explosion early in the morning

ne point need to be emphasized upfront with regard to the sinking of INS Sindhurakshak after explosions and fire on 14 August while the 16-year-old submarine, bought from Russia, was docked at Mumbai naval dockyard: the incident will not affect Indo-Russian ties. As of now, there is nothing to suggest in the power corridors of New Delhi that Indians are going to play the blame game with the Russians as the 2300-tonnes diesel-powered vessel had last year returned from Russia after a substantial upgrade, costing $ 18 million. On the contrary, the Indian officials find the Russians very cooperative. On Friday, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who is also in charge of the Russian defence industry, made twin offers to India: to help India probe the causes of the submarine explosion by sending Russian specialists and to strengthen Indian Navy's muscle power depleted by the loss of INS Sindhurakshak. This is what Rogozin said: “Whatever the outcome [of the Sindhurakshak blast probe], India remains our leading partner, not just only in the off-the-shelf purchases of weapon platforms…India is our premier partner for the long haul in co-development of

military hardware. We will help India build up its capabilities in this sphere.” Navy divers at the conning tower of the stricken INS Sindhurakshak, after the submarine sank following an explosion at the naval dockyard in Mumba. AFP Russia can offer immediate help to India in two very important ways: first, by giving midlife-upgrade to India's already aging nine Kilo class submarines which can increase their combat life by at least seven to eight years; and second, by leasing to India three or four nuclear submarines like it has already leased INS Chakra to India. There is a strong possibility that India will go to the Russians on both these points. The first is a time consuming affair and it will take two to three years from the day an agreement to that effect is finalised. The negotiations for this agreement will be tortuous as the upgrade of the Kilo class submarines will cost somewhere around $ 100 million to $ 200 million as the upgrade would necessarily entail equipping the boats with latest avionics, sonar systems and missiles. The second is a faster way of getting the Russian help. Both the options will have to be

exercised simultaneously by India in the larger national interest. The Indian Navy's minimum requirement for an effective ChinaPakistan naval deterrent is of at least 20 submarines. With the loss of INS Sindhurakshak, the submarine fleet has got reduced to just 13. India has not bought any new submarine for last 16 years and the last induction of a submarine in Indian Navy was on 5 April, 2012 in the form of the Russian-leased nuclear submarine INS Chakra. Plan A will give value for money as once the Kilo class submarines are done with midlife-upgrade, these boats will definitely become deadlier steel sharks. This will obviously have to be done in a phased manner as India cannot send all its nine Kilo class submarines to Russia for an upgrade at the same time for operational reasons. Plan B - taking on lease more nuclear submarines from Russia - will provide more teeth to the Indian Navy but it will also be far more expensive. INS Chakra has come on a ten-year lease from Russia with the price tag of $1 billion. Presuming that Russia will lease more nuclear subs to India at the same price - an improbable possibility - three

nuclear submarines' lease would be costing over $ 3 billion. If the Indian Navy has to look ahead it has to completely phase out all diesel-electric submarines in the next decade. It is an era of nuclear submarines and the Indian Navy must be already sensitized to the huge strategic and operational advantages of nuclear submarines over diesel-electric ones, like the Sindhurakshak was. A nuclear submarine allows a navy to remain under water for months on and gives a much more superior stealth advantage. Both the above-mentioned options as well as the sinking of INS Sindhurakshak will dominate three top-level Indo-Russian bilateral engagements in the next two months first a pull aside meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G 20 summit at St Petersburg (5-6, September), then the Indo-Russian Inter Governmental Commission - Military and Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) meeting to be held between the two sides' defence ministers in Moscow in October, and shortly later in the same month the 14th annual sumit between India and Russia in Moscow. This writer understands that next month's meeting between Singh and Putin will be for less than one hour and since the two leaders will be conversing with each other with the help of interpreters the meeting will be effectively for just about half an hour. However, even in this short duration, the INS Sindhurakshak will definitely come up for discussion and the two leaders may also have a brief look at the possible roadmap for near term Indo-Russian collaboration in this context and leave the matter to be clinched for the next two meetings.

INS SINDHURAKSHAK: SHAKEN, NAVY MAY OPT FOR EMERGENCY PURCHASE OF SUBS

ith the loss of INS Sindhurakshak, the navy is considering “emergency acquisition”, which will cost the government up to Rs 3000 crore. The navy’s underwater capabilities have taken a hit after explosions and fire sank the Kilo class submarine. At present the navy has nine Kilo class conventional submarines, but only five of them are in operation. Of the nine, two have gone for mid-life refit, two are under repair maintenance. INS Sindhukirti is in Hindustan Shipyards Limited in Vishakhapatnam. A top naval source told dna that navy’s reducing underwater capability has raised alarm. “After losing our frontline submarine, we are seriously working on the option to go for emergency acquisition to gain underwater strength,” an officer said. The navy may put up a proposal before the ministry of defence for clearance for emergency acquisition. Taking a

submarine on lease from Russia could also be an option. If the navy goes for an emergency acquisition, it would not require to follow regular procedure for acquisition like issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) and selection of lowest bidder after competitive bidding. INS Sindhurakshak had arrived on April 29 this year from Russia after a Rs.815 crore mid-life upgrade, which included installation of radars and missiles. Naval sources said salvaging of the submarine is a remote possibility though at some point of time navy would be taking services of professionals to salvage the boat. Meanwhile, countries like Russia and US have come forward to offer assistance in rescue and salvage operation. “At present, rescue and salvage operations are going on together. The Board of Inquiry (BOI) can start only after we are able to extract the ship from the sea,” an officer said. —Courtesy: DNA

Safety violations likely cause of Sindhurakshak accident, says Russia Violation of safety regulations could be the most likely cause of the explosions on submarine Sindhurakshak because of which it sank, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has said. Rogozin, who was quoted by Russia's official news agency Itar Tass, has said India had raised no questions over the technical aspects of the submarine built and recently overhauled by Russia. Quoting experts, he told the news agency that the violation of safety regulations was the most probable cause of the accident on Wednesday.

Indian Chief of Naval Staff Admiral DK Joshi briefing Defence Minister AK Antony about the sinking of INS Sindhurakshak submarine following an explosion in Mumbai on Wednesday, 14 August 2013

—Courtesy: Firstpost

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ROT-DSI 2013:Layout 1 04/10/13 11:35 AM Page 2

WHY INS SINDHURAKSHAK EPISODE WON’T HURT INDO-RUSSIAN TIES

Scene of the accident site in the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on14 August 2013, where the INS Sindhurakshak, sank after an explosion early in the morning

INS SINDHURAKSHAK: SHAKEN, NAVY MAY OPT FOR EMERGENCY PURCHASE OF SUBS

Indian Chief of Naval Staff Admiral DK Joshi briefing Defence Minister AK Antony about the sinking of INS Sindhurakshak submarine following an explosion in Mumbai on Wednesday, 14 August 2013

—Courtesy: Firstpost

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PARAMILITARY FORCES MODERNISATION

An Indian Border Security Force soldier stands guard along the India-Pakistan border at Wagah

SEPTEMBER 2013

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RETOOLING

THE PMFs AND CAPFs In March 2012 it was reported that Ministry of Home Affairs used Rs. 4,600 crores for modernising CAPFs and that Rs. 610 crores were allotted to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and north eastern states to meet security related expenditures.

ANIL BHAT

KEY POINTS ! Assam Rifles, India’s oldest

paramilitary force of 46 battalions, is under administrative control of the MHA, but under ops control of Army ! The BSF came into existence with aim to promote trans-border security & presently is the largest Border Guards in the world. ! The ITBP, born after the 1962 military debacle was restructured in 1978 making it now to be a formidable mountain force

AFP

n May 2, 2013, the Cabinet approved Rs 11,000- crore plan to modernise central armed police forces (CAPF) including the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) which is deployed along the SinoIndian Line of Actual Control (LAC). Although the plan was conceived long ago, the timing of the approval became quite

obvious in view of the recurring incidents along the LAC and also along the IndiaPakistan Line of Control (LoC). In March 2012 it was reported that Ministry of Home Affairs used Rs 4,600 crores for modernising CAPFs and that Rs 610 crores were allotted to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and other north eastern states to meet security related expenditures. The 26/11 Pakistani terrorist attack on Mumbai as well as the heavy rate of casualties that Maoists have been able to inflict on CAPFs like the CRPF, are again important wake-up calls for the process of modernisation to be implemented urgently and meaningfully. The term “paramilitary forces” (PMF) was generally used to refer to a variety of armed services that aid law enforcement and the Armed Forces. The term normally included central armed police and often included some state armed police. At the Army’s request, government authorised Army to provide definitive terminology, which narrowed definition of “paramilitary” to include only Assam Rifles, Indian Coast Guard and a third one which is classified. Since a March 2011 ruling, all others are categorized as “Central Armed Police Forces”.

PARAMILITARY FORCES MODERNISATION Most of the arms, ammunition and equipment for PMFs and CAPFs including the uniforms, normal vehicles, specialised bullet-proof vehicles, troop carriers, logistics vehicles, mine protected vehicles are manufactured indigenously at Indian Ordnance Factories, a conglomerate of 41 factories, 9 training institutes, 3 Regional Marketing Centres and 4 Regional Controllers of Safety, controlled by Ordnance Factories Board (OFB) and functioning under the Department of Defence Production of Ministry of Defence. Some weapons produced under OFB for Armed Forces, PMFs and CAPFs are : Pistol Auto 9 mm 1a Sub Machine Gun Carbine 9 mm 1a1 Sub machine Gun Carbine 9 mm 2a1 5.56 mm Assault Rifle 5.56 mm Insas Rifle 5.56 mm Insas Rifle 5.56 mm Excalibur Rifle 5.56 mm Kalantak Micro Assault Rifle Amogh 5.56 X 30 mm Carbine Rifle 7.62 mm 1a1 Assault Rifle 7.62 mm Anti Material Rifle Vidhwanshak Multi Grenade Launcher 40 mm Under Barrel Grenade Launcher 40 mm LMG 5.56 mm Insas LMG 5.56 mm Insas Gun Machine 7.62 mm 1b Gun Machine 7.62 mm Gun Machine 7.62 mm 12.7 mm Anti Aircraft Gun 51 Mm Mortar 81 Mm Mortar 120 Mm Mortar 81mm Long Range Mortar

All PMF and CAPF battalions deployed in counter-insurgency, counterterrorism/against Left Wing Extremists (Maoists) are issued limited number of AK47 assault rifles (captured from terrorists and militants in Kashmir and the N-E, besides also smaller force level purchases from the East European countries).

PMFs ASSAM RIFLES

Assam Rifles, India’s oldest paramilitary force of 46 battalions currently, officered by Army and some its cadre officers, though commanded only by Army officers, is under

Paramilitary Assam Rifles soldiers patrol on a road in the an insurgency hit area administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), but under operational control of Army for performing many roles including internal security counter insurgency and border security, aid to the civil power in times of emergency, and the provision of communications, medical assistance and education in remote areas. Since 2002 it has been guarding the IndiaMyanmar border under the government policy of “one border, one force”. With Assam Rifles being under operational command of the Army, almost all its arms and equipment are on the lines of those of infantry battalions in plains and mountainous areas. In view of the mountain strike corps to be raised to counter the rising Chinese threat, there may be some more battalions added to its existing strength.

INDIAN COAST GUARD

Indian Coast Guard was raised on 01 Feb 1977, for policing Indian waters under administrative cover of the Ministry of Defence. By the Maritime Zones of India Act, passed on 25 Aug 1976, India claimed 2.01 million sq km of sea area as its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) with rights for exploration and exploitation of marine resources, both living and non-living. Territorial waters as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is a belt of coastal waters extending at most 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) from the baseline (usually the mean lowwater mark) of a coastal state and the EEZ . Coast Guard, which protects the maritime and other national interests in India’s maritime zones, may often have to function

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The newly Commissioned Indian Coast Guard Ship H-191, in Mumbai Harbour ! District hqs- 12

! Regional hqs- 5 ! CG Stations- 41

! Aircraft Squadrons/air enclaves/air

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stations-09 All ICG personnel are trained at Indian Navy training establishments. Armaments fitted on ICG ships are mostly those produced in Indian Ordnance factories, except for some OPVs, which have the Italian Oto Melara guns. Standard small arm for ICG personnel is the 5.56 mm INSAS and most of those mentioned above.

in close liaison with Union agencies, institutions and authorities, as became obvious after the 26/11 Pakistani terrorist attack on Mumbai. With a modest beginning of two old frigates seconded by the Navy and five small patrol vessels from MHA, in 1978, the Coast Guard has attained a force level of 80 ships and craft and 45 aircraft and helicopters as follows:! Advance Offshore Patrol Vessels - 08 ! Offshore Patrol Vessels - 06 ! Pollution Control Vessels – 02 ! Fast/Inshore Patrol Vessels -29 ! Air Cushion Vehicles - 12 ! Interceptor Boats - 30 ! Dornier Aircraft - 36 ! Chetak Helicopters - 24 ! Advance Light Helicopters-Dhruv – 04

CAPFs BORDER SECURITY FORCE

The Border Security Force came into existence on 01 Dec 1965, under K F Rustamji, its first chief and founding father, with the aim of promoting a sense of security among the people living in border areas, preventing trans border crimes, unauthorised entry into or exit from the territory of India and to prevent smuggling and any other illegal activity. Subsequently, BSF additionally began to be deployed for counter insurgency and internal security duties. Having participated in the Indo-Pak war of 1971, it has been involved in fighting insurgency and militancy in Punjab, J & K and North- East, rescue and relief during calamities and since recently, also been deployed in the areas affected by Left Wing Extremism. BSF has been defending the borders along with the Army and checking

infiltration on the borders during the current standoff with Pakistan. From a force of 25 battalions in 1965, it has today 173 Battalions. With its own Air and Water Wings, Artillery Regiments and Training Institutes, BSF is presently the largest Border Guards force of the world. In addition to the OFB small arms mentioned, BSF has Heckler & Koch MP5, A3 9mmx19 mm Sub Machine Gun and Beretta MX4 Storm submachine guns. To replace its camels in the Thar desert, BSF reportedly conducted trials of Polaris (USA) field vehicle Ranger 800, Ranger RZR 4800, Ranger RZW SW and sportsman models in May 2013 and found it better than the Chinese Nebula and Indian Maini Group’s products tested earlier.

INDO-TIBETAN BORDER POLICE

Conceived in October 1962 - quite obviously as a result of the Chinese aggression - the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) was raised for security along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China. Beginning with four battalions, it now has 57 battalions of 1000 personnel each deployed in all three segments of the LAC from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh till Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh opposite the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. In view of the additional responsibilities and the task redefined in 1976, the Force was restructured in 1978. It is a specialized mountain force with most of its personnel professionally trained as mountaineers and skiers.

PARAMILITARY FORCES MODERNISATION the SSB for providing authorised infrastructure, in July 2013, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved construction of infrastructure, namely office buildings, residential buildings and Border Out Posts (BOPs), at various establishments of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) during the 12th Five Year Plan at the cost of Rs. 3,510.07 crore. This includes construction of barracks and non-residential buildings. In addition, the CCEA also approved construction of 2,000 houses and 10 barracks at 12 sites at an estimated cost of Rs. 413.88 crore.

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CENTRAL RESERVE POLICE FORCE

Indo-Tibetan Border Police stand guard during a protest rally Owing to the very challenging terrain, temperature and weather conditions, under modernisation ITBP needs better sleeping bags, better snow boots, snow scooters, battlefield surveillance radars, satellitebased surveillance systems, real time imagery systems, cameras mounted on towers overlooking heights and ridges, windmills, which the high velocity winds can move to generate electricity and more infrastructure. One weapon ITBP has acquired apart from the OFB list is the UTG Gen 5 Accushot Competition Master Model 700 Pro with Upgraded Bolt FPS-450 Spring Airsoft Sniper Rifle, an US-made UTG brand product.

capabilities for resistance through a continuous process of motivation, training, development, welfare programmes and activities. Following the recommendations of the Group of Ministers on reforming the National Security System, the SSB was declared as a border guarding force and lead intelligence agency for Indo-Nepal border (January, 2001) and Indo-Bhutan border( March, 2004). Addressing one of the main concerns of

The Central Reserve Police Force, which came into existence as Crown Representativeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Police on 27th July 1939, became the Central Reserve Police Force by enactment of the CRPF Act on 28th December 1949. The Force has grown into a big organization with 207 battalions (bns), including 181 executive bns, 2 Mahila (Women) bns, 10 Rapid Action Force (RAF) bns, 6 Cobra bns (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action-special battalions raised mainly for anti-Maoist operations), 2 DM (NDRF) bns, 5 Signal bns and 1 Special Duty Group bn, 37 Group Centres, 11 Training Institutions and 4 composite 100 bed and 17 composite 50 bed hospitals. CRPF has sent a proposal to MHA for integral helicopters, better quality of antilandmine vehicles and more unmanned aerial vehicles.

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) was raised in early 1963 with the aim of inculcating feelings of national belonging in people living in the border areas like then North East Frontier Agency (NEFA), North Assam, North Bengal, Uttar Pradesh hills , Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh. The scheme was later extended to Manipur, Tripura, Jammu (1965), Meghalaya (1975), Sikkim (1976), border areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat (1989), Manipur, Mizoram. Some more areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat (1988), South Bengal, Nagaland (1989) and Nubra Valley, Rajouri and Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir (1991) were added too. The modus was developing their

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SASHASTRA SEEMA BAL

Sashastra Seema Bal paramilitary personnel attend a briefing for an election duty

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The CISF raised in 1969 with three battalions, to provide integrated security cover to the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) over four decades, has grown to reach 1,12,000 personnel, amounting to at least 110 battalions. No longer a PSU-centric organisation, the CISF has become a premier multi-skilled security agency, mandated to provide security to major critical infrastructure installations of the country in diverse areas. CISF is currently providing security cover to nuclear installations, space establishments, airports, seaports, power plants, sensitive Government buildings and even heritage monuments. Among important responsibilities entrusted to the CISF in recent years are the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (for which 4000 more personnel have been recently authorised), VIP Security, Disaster Management and establishment of a Formed Police Unit (FPU) of the UN at Haiti. With diverse challenges, CISF needs a far wider inventory of equipment as per its tasks mentioned. Delhi airports’ Perimeter Intrusion Detection System has been installed by Israel. The CISF also needs more and improved night vision devices and a separate fire fighting wing to better fireprotect 88 PSUs it guards. All the above are seasoned security forces, which have notched many achievements in various operations and conflicts within the country and on borders, according to their role and have been conferred many gallantry awards. However, considering the levels of external support and illegal availability of sophisticated arms to terrorists they are pitched against, CAPFs need to be far better trained and equipped with weapons, mobility and communications. Any CAPF being inducted into Jammu & Kashmir, North East or Naxal threatened areas must get preinduction training at any of the Army’s battle training schools or the Kanker-based Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College. With Pakistan’s military supported terrorists circulating all over India, modernising PMFs and CAPFs will not be enough till state police forces, which operate with them or by themselves against terrorists, are not also modernised. All state police need to be removed from their archaic mould and given a total makeover so that they are effective and earn the public’s trust. Former

Indian police and paramilitary soldiers take part in a mock drill in Srinagar

The term “paramilitary forces” (PMF) was generally used to refer to a variety of armed services At theArmy’s request, government authorised Army to provide definitive terminology, which narrowed definition of “paramilitary” to include onlyAssam Rifles, Indian Coast Guard and a third one which is classified.

”

DGP, Assam, Mr. Prakash Singh, IPS (retd) in a discussion with this writer stated: “The CAPFs must have better infrastructure and their transport, communications and weaponry will need to be upgraded. Modernisation of forces will be the key. It must be added however that the forces would also require political support and legal protection. The shortage of manpower at the ground level (particularly of state police) must be met immediately. The United Nations has prescribed an average of 222 policemen per lakh (1,00,000) of population.

As against this, we have only 128 policemen per lakh of population in the country. Weapons have been acquired but in a somewhat haphazard manner. Training is still a much neglected area with the most unwanted officers being posted in the training academies. Computerisation has made slow progress. Forensic support is quite inadequate”. The 1999 Kargil war brought out some major drawbacks in the 5.56 mm INSAS. The rifle jammed, its polymer magazine cracked in the cold, it would go full automatic when set for a three-round burst. Many soldiers remained unconvinced about the stopping power of its 5.56 mm bullet and missed their heavy 7.62s. Reportedly, INSAS is an ‘amalgam’ of several modelsRussian AK-47, G41, AUG and SA80 designs-and also not configured with modern engineering production techniques. It is also expensive, as manufacturing necessitated importing costly additional machinery. In the 1990s, an OFB INSAS costed Rs 20,000, whereas the Bulgarian AK-47 costed a mere Rs 2800. The Army and all other forces are looking forward to replacing 9mm carbine, but have not decided on which brand to acquire as yet. With officials of the ministry and the forces mentioned being too tight-lipped, particularly about replacements/new acquisitions, and space constraints, it is not easy to record all of them. However, both those planned and those that are in progress must be expedited and not be allowed to drag on till the items get overtaken by newer versions, or their budget lapses.

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CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL SECURITY FORCE

DEFENCE BUZZ

DEFENCE BUZZ An Update on Defence News

Boeing awards contract to Dynamatic for Indian CH-47

Indian Air Warriors of the newly formed C-17 squadron “SKYLORDS”. Describing the induction of the C-17 Globemaster III in the Indian Air Force as a ‘defining moment’, Antony said, “With this, the IAF has taken a giant stride towards its goal of acquiring multispectrum strategic capabilities, essential to safeguard India’s growing areas of interest”.

Indian Air Force inducts C-17 Globemaster III Giving impetus to the long standing strategic airlift of the Indian Air Force, the Defence Minister AK Antony formally inducted the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III into the IAF at a special ceremony held at Hindon airbase of the IAF. The Induction ceremony was attended by a host of dignitaries including the

Minister of State for Defence Jitendra Singh, the Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne, Vice Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Arup Raha, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Air Command Air Marshal SS Soman, the US Ambassador to India Nancy Powell and other Senior Officials of the IAF, USAF and

Prithvi II missile successfully launched

Boeing and Dynamatic Technologies Limited have increased India’s global presence in aerospace manufacturing through the first supplier contract in the country for the CH-47 Chinook helicopter. Dynamatic will manufacture the aft pylon and cargo ramp assemblies for Boeing’s model CH-47F Chinook. “This contract is another demonstration of our commitment to partnering with India’s aerospace industry to bring the best local talent and technologies to Boeing and in turn to our customers,” said Boeing India President Pratyush Kumar. “Together we will implement advanced manufacturing processes, backed with industry best practices. equipped with advanced high accuracy indigenously developed navigation and manoeuvring system, the missile achieved all its targeting and technical parameters, set out for this launch.The missile trajectory was tracked by the DRDO radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations located along the coast of Odisha.

A missile unit of the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) successfully launched the indigenously developed surface-to-surface/ nuclear capable Prithvi II missile with a strike range of around 350Kms, from the test range at Chandipur, off the Odisha Coast. It was a perfect textbook launch and the missile

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Stealth frigate ‘INS Trikand’ joins Indian Navy INS Trikand, the last of the three “Follow On Talwar Class” frigates built in the Russian Federation, was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Kaliningrad, Russia by Vice Admiral R K Dhowan, the Vice Chief of the Naval Staff, Indian Navy, in a glittering ceremony marked by traditional military fervour that included the Indian and

the Russian navies. The commissioning of INS Trikand marks the culmination of a three ship contract for “Follow On Talwar Class” ships built in Russia, and is therefore a milestone in the Indo-Russian military-technological cooperation. Her sister ships INS Teg and INS Tarkash were commissioned last year.

Singapore and India renew bilateral agreement on joint army training

ICG marks history with maiden all women flight

BrahMos ‘Industry Consortium Meet’ highlights public-private partnership Recently a Coast Guard maritime reconnaissance aircraft had taken off in the skies of Daman and adjoining Arabian Sea with all women crew comprising Asst Comdt Neetu Singh Bartwal (Captain of the aircraft), Asst Comdt Neha Murudkar (pilot in command) and Asst Comdt Shristi Singh (Co-pilot). This Flight was a maiden all women flight by ICG Dornier in the history of Indian Coast Guard and was undertaken from Coast Guard Air Station Daman situated on the Western Sea Board of the country. This achievement was possible with passing out of 1st Short Service Entry (observers) course comprising 03 women officers who had undergone long drawn training in various Naval and Coast Guard establishments for qualifying as an air borne tactician.

To highlight the vital contributions made by public and private industries in making the BRAHMOS missile a world-class and formidable weapon system, BrahMos Aerospace organized the “Industry Consortium Meet 2013” at Hyderabad. The grand event was graced by Former President of India and the country’s ‘missile man’ Dr A P J Abdul Kalam who termed the BrahMos Joint Venture (JV) as a fine example of role model of “courage and excellent leadership.” “BRAHMOS is a fine example of role model of

courage, showing excellent leadership through system design, system integration and system management,” Dr. Kalam said, while referring to the ‘BrahMos Formula’. Underscoring the larger dividends yielded by the IndiaRussia JV, Dr Kalam said, “BrahMos has contributed in national development by providing opportunities in domestic industries — small, medium and large. And, the industries, while actively collaborating with academia, have contributed towards the economic growth of the country in general.”

IAF inducts basic trainer aircraft Pilatus PC7 MKII The IAF’s premier Academy located at Dundigal, Hyderabad witnessed the unveiling of Pilatus, PC 7 Mk II, by the Minister of State for Defence, Jitendra Singh thereby formally inducting the aircraft into the service. Three PC-7 MK II

Permanent Secretary (Defence) Mr Chiang Chie Foo and his Indian counterpart Defence Secretary Mr Radha Krishna Mathur signed the renewal of the Bilateral Agreement for the Conduct of Joint Army Training and Exercises in Singapore. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen and Indian Defence Minister A K Antony. Antony was in Singapore on a working visit. The Bilateral Agreement was first established on 12 August 2008. Its renewal allows the Singapore Army to train and exercise with the Indian Army in India for another five years. The two armies have jointly conducted bilateral armour and artillery exercises, code named Ex Bold Kurukshetra and Ex Agni Warrior respectively. aircraft got airborne in a vic formation led by Group Captain RS Nandedkar to put up a brief display for the audience. This marked the first formal flight of the Basic Trainer Aircraft at the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad. This was followed by handing over of technical documents.

DEFENCE BUZZ Auxiliary craft Pradayak introduced at Southern Naval Command

Honeywell Automation India Limited was awarded two Indo-American Corporate Excellence awards at a felicitation ceremony organized by the Indo American Chamber of Commerce (IACC). Mr. Anant Maheshwari, Managing Director, Honeywell Automation India Limited (HAIL) received the awards from Prithviraj Chavan, Honorable Chief Minister of Maharashtra, India, as a part of the pre-American Independence Day celebrations in the presence more than 500 business and government leaders, celebrities, expatriates and the media. Honeywell received the Corporate Excellence Award for Technology and Communications for driving a successful technology enterprise and its contributions to the Indo-U.S. technology sector. The Corporate Excellence Award in Manufacturing recognizes the company for its innovative manufacturing principles using lean manufacturing, Kaizen, and Six Sigma processes, to deliver high quality products to its customers. This is the ninth year since the IACC, committed to facilitating trade, business relations and strong business ties between India and U.S., instated these awards.

optimism that the barge would enable faster turnaround of warships at Kochi. Somdev Chatterjee, the Managing Director of The Shalimar Shipyard said that it is a matter of pride for the

company, to execute projects for the Indian Navy. The Shalimar Works (1980) Limited, a 125 year old company is presently, wholly owned by the Government of West Bengal.

India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS ‘Vikrant’ launched

Final Operational clearance for LCA Tejas next year: Antony

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Honeywell wins IndoAmerican corporate excellence award

An auxiliary craft, named Pradayak- after another oiler decommissioned in 2007- was inducted into the Navy. Rear Admiral S Madhusudanan, Admiral Superintendent of the Naval Ship Repair Yard, Kochi was the Chief Guest at the induction ceremony. Speaking on the occasion, the Admiral complimented the Ship Yard,-The Shalimar Works (1980) Limited of Howrah in West Bengal for delivering the ship in seven months. He also expressed

Vikrant, India’s first aircraft carrier, decommissioned on 31 January 1997, was reborn as Elizabeth Antony, wife of the Defence Minister AK Antony, christened India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) as ‘Vikrant’ meaning “courageous” or “victorious” in Sanskrit. In a colourful ceremony filled with traditional pomp and fervour at the Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi, Elizabeth Antony launched ‘Vikrant’ in the presence of AK Antony, the Minister of Shipping, GK Vasan, the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral DK

Joshi, the F-O-C in C Western Naval Command Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha, Commanderin-Chief Southern Naval Command Vice Admiral Satish Soni, Chairman and Managing Director, CSL, Commodore (Retd) K Subramaniam and other officials of the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Shipping. In addition, a multitude of Naval officers, yard workers and a few members of the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), the manufacturers of the indigenous warship grade steel, were also present.

The Defence Minister AK Antony expressed optimism that the country’s indigenously developed fighter aircraft- LCA TEJASwill get Final Operational Clearance of the Indian Air Force by the end of next year. Speaking at the Annual Awards Functions of DRDO here, he said, all stakeholders including the DRDO, IAF and HAL must put their energy together in a focused manner to achieve this objective. Antony said countries that depend on imported arsenals cannot become great nation. Antony said we continue to be the largest importer of Defence equipment. The share of indigenous content in Defence procurement is low. “Our experience has been that foreign vendors are reluctant to part with critical technologies. There are delays in the supply of essential spares. There are exorbitant price increases. The Services too realize that we cannot be eternally dependent on foreign equipment and platforms”, he said.

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Air Marshal SS Soman takes over as Commanding in Chief Air Marshal SS Soman AVSM VM took over as Air Officer Commanding in Chief Western Air Command. He replaced Air Marshal Arup Raha PVSM AVSM VM ADC who is appointed as the VCAS. Air Marshal Soman was presented an impressive ceremonial Guard of Honour in front of HQ WAC.

Thereafter, the Air Marshal, who has earlier been Air Defence Commander and Senior Air Staff Officer at WAC, addressed all the principal staff officers. While

talking to all the officers he spelt out his Operational priorities and focus areas. The Air Marshal stressed on preparedness for all types of contingencies.

which can meet varying requirements of the Thai Armed Forces. He said India would welcome the visit of Thai teams to various defence production facilities. Antony said conscious planning, hard work by our scientists and support by the government is resulting in the growth of a strong defence industrial base in the country.

Indian aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has ordered 107 Sigma 95 navigation systems kits from Sagem (Safran) for the Indian Air Force’s combat aircraft. Developed and produced by Sagem, Sigma 95 is an autonomous hybrid inertial navigation system combining laser gyros and GPS/Glonass satellite navigation. It ensures high-precision navigation and broad operational flexibility for both combat and specialmission aircraft. Two-thirds of the systems in this order will be manufacturered in India by HAL, further cementing the partnership agreeement on navigation systems signed by Sagem and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Sagem is a leading supplier of inertial navigation systems for Indian combat aircraft, warships and weapon systems.

period of three years. Expressing determination to enhance the level of selfreliance in defence sector, he

affirmed, “We are looking forward to further growth in indigenous capabilities and achieve a goal of 75% self-reliance. DRDO has tremendous potential and the right critical mass to deliver. Today the ambience is right, with the maturity of Indian industry and our own R&D capabilities”.

India offers Thailand collaboration in defence production

Indian Navy commissions aviation simulators Two state of the art simulators- The Flight and Tactical Simulator (FATS) for Seaking helicopter and the Water Survival Training Facility (WSTF) for aircrew were commissioned at Kochi – the home of Navy’s training command. Vice Admiral Satish Soni, Flag Officer Commanding in Chief Southern Naval Command inaugurated the twin facilities, housed at INS Garuda Navy’s Air Station at Kochi. The Admiral paid homage at the Seaking memorial built at the premises of FATS prior to the event. Speaking on the occasion, Admiral Soni said that such facilities help in reducing accident rates and asked the crew to focus on proper maintenance. The FATS is designed for Pilots and Observers of Seaking helicopters for initial, and periodic training.

The Defence Minister AK Antony today offered to discuss with Thailand possible areas of cooperation and collaboration in defence production. During talks with his Thai counterpart Air Chief Marshal Sukumpol Suwanatat in Bangkok, Antony said India has, over the years, developed a well established defence industry

Avinash Chander takes over as DRDO Chief Padma Shri Avinash Chander took over as Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister, Secretary Defence Research & Development and Dirctor General DRDO (Defence R&D Organization) in a brief ceremony. Avinash Chander has been appointed for a

HAL orders 100 plus Sigma 95 navigation system from Sagem

“LEADERSHIP IN THE ARMY IS DEMANDING, CHALLENGING AND CRITICAL”

INTERVIEW

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This page should normally carry interviews with all the people in the defence sector. But this time, the second time this page is being published as a part of DSI, we make an exception. Chief of Army Staff, General Bikram Singh, allowed us to carry excerpts of a speech he gave on 13 August, 2013 on Leadership. Titled Leadership Challenges: Making A Difference, it was delivered at Armed Forces Medical College in the Southern Army Command headquarters in Pune:

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A leader, to be successful, must possess the values of integrity, loyalty, duty, discipline, respect, selfless service, courage and honour.

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“M

aking a Difference”, was as much about selfdevelopment as leaders, as it was about the development and nurturing of the men and women under their command. Leadership in the Army is demanding, challenging and critical because the stakes were life or death, honour or humiliation, victory or defeat, with no reward for the second best. (You must) continuously invest in yourselves to update your knowledge and awareness on matters military. The future members of Indian Army’s medical fraternity not only should master their own profession but also intimately understand the contours and conditions of peace and war so that they could attend to the needs of the soldier in the desired manner. Their understanding of the challenges faced by a soldier in trying conditions, he highlighted, would automatically spur them to work tirelessly to attend to the soldier’s needs, which in turn would help maintain very high standards of morale. Morale is the mental armour for all soldiers, which protects them against the hard knocks from the challenging environment (and) it has a force multiplication affect on the Army’s combat power and as such, must remain very high. A leader, to be successful, must possess the values of integrity, loyalty, duty, discipline, respect, selfless service, courage and honour. Concurrently, a leader must also possess the required mental, physical and emotional attributes necessary to acquire a respectable stature along with honing of technical, conceptual, tactical

and interpersonal skills. As a non negotiable commitment to his command, a leader must also continue to train, develop and build his team and organisation to ensure that it remains ready and relevant at all times. I urge all present to be soldier doctors and soldier nursing officers so that you could understand the needs of the soldiers and the environment they operate in, which would enable you to contribute to the organisation in a more focussed and purposeful manner.

25-27 MARCH 2014 Qatar National Convention Center

THE MENA REGION’S LEADING INTERNATIONAL MARITIME DEFENCE EXHIBITION & CONFERENCE