Russia Offers China Another Batch of Su-35 Fighter Jets

Russia has offered China a second batch of Sukhoi Su-35S (NATO reporting name: Flanker-E) multirole fighter aircraft destined for service in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF), Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS)

“We are expecting a response from China on our offer to purchase modern weapons and military equipment manufactured in Russia, including additional batches of Su-35 fighter jets,” the service said on the sidelines of the “Army-2019″ forum outside of Moscow. According to Chinese media reports, the PLAAF is considering the acquisition of additional Su-35 fighter aircraft.

The FSVTS confirmed in April that Russia completed the delivery of 24 Su-35s.

The first batch of four Su-35 fighter aircraft arrived at a flight training center of the PLAAF in Cangzhou City in Hebei province in northern China in December 2016. A second batch of 10 Su-35 fighter jets was delivered in December 2017. It is unclear when the last batch of 10 aircraft was delivered.

China’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) officially confirmed in April 2018 that the Su-35 had entered service with the PLAAF. “The following month, PLAAF Su-35s for the first time escorted an undisclosed number of Xian H-6K bombers and support aircraft during a long-range patrol over the Bashi channel and around the island of Taiwan on May 11,” I noted elsewhere.

China is first international customer of the Su-35. Beijing and Moscow signed a $2.5 billion contract for 24 aircraft in November 2015. Included in the sale is Russian ground support equipment and spare engines, the delivery of which is expected to be completed by 2020. The per-unit cost of a Su-35 is estimated at around $85 million. As I noted elsewhere:

The Su-35 is an upgraded fourth generation, twin-engine, multirole air superiority fighter aircraft powered by two AL-117S turbofan engines and fitted with thrust vectoring nozzles allowing the aircraft to attain “super maneuverability”.

Additionally, the aircraft features “an export-standard radar system — the Irbis-E passive-electronically scanned-array radar, capable of tracking up to 30 targets simultaneously and purportedly able to engage up to eight — an electronic warfare and communications suite, as well as a newly integrated receiver for the domestically-built BeiDou satellite navigation system.

The PLAAF Su-35s can reportedly be armed with air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, unguided rockets, guided bomb units and unguided bombs including the R-27 (AA-10 ‘Alamo’), R-73 (AA-11 ‘Archer’), RVV-family air-to-air missiles, as well as Kh-35E (AS-20 ‘Kayak’) anti-ship missiles.

Notably, the U.S. imposed sanctions on China for purchasing the Su-35s in breach of the congressionally mandated Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) in September 2018.

 thediplomat

IAF to get upgraded Dornier next month

The air force is set to receive the first of its upgraded Dornier aircraft with an advanced glass cockpit and new avionics next month after a series of hiccups delayed the project by over a year.

Two Dornier 228 aircraft—a hardy, short take-off and landing capable transport plane—are currently undergoing flight tests at Kanpur and Bengaluru with HAL confident of delivery by next month. The air force had signed a contracted for 14 of these aircraft in 2015, while there are several more orders from the Coast Guard and Navy as well. While HAL has been making the aircraft for decades, hiccups occurred for the upgraded version that was to be equipped with a digital cockpit and new avionics.

The programme came back on track in December with HAL selecting a Genesys (US company) and Reliance Infra combine for a Rs 300 crore contract to upgrade the aircraft. The project involves upgrading a total of 37 aircraft for the defence forces.

Competitors for the upgrade included Elbit and SGD engineering from Israel, Ruag Aerospace from Switzerland and SA Airworks from India.

Similar glass cockpits are expected to be eventually fitted onboard a bulk of the 125 Dornier fleet currently in service as they go in for scheduled overhauls. Outsourcing of work orders to the private sector has been identified as a priority achievement for defence PSUs such as HAL by the government.

The air force has signed a contract for the aircraft in February 2015 in which seven had to be delivered with a glass cockpit. However, HAL had to seek a concession later to defer deliveries till August 2018 after two failed attempts to select a partner. This deadline too could not be achieved and the private sector collaborator was selected in December last year to integrate the glass cockpit. The Navy too signed contract for 12 Dornier aircraft from HAL in 2017 that are to be fitted with improved sensors and equipment and a more capable surveillance radar.

 economictimes

India likely to pay for Russian arms in euros to beat US sanctions

India is likely to make its payments for Russian arms in euros to a Russia-nominated bank to bypass the threat of US sanctions for purchase of military hardware including the S-400 air defence missile system, people familiar with the details told ET.

While certain payments for existing defence transactions have been processed through the rupee-rouble route, the people said that a solution was firmed up this month with Russia’s VTB Bank agreeing to receive money in euros.

Over $4 billion worth of payments to Russia have bunched up for this financial year, with the biggest contract being the S-400 system, followed by the Chakra III submarine lease and the procurement of four frigates for the Indian Navy.

Besides, two additional Russian contracts are expected this year for the supply of AK 203 rifles to the armed forces that will be manufactured in Amethi and the inking of an Army contract to procure Ka-226 helicopters that will be produced by a HAL-Russian Helicopters JV.

Sources told ET that VTB Bank is open to using a European account for the money transfer. The Indian bankNSE 2.31 % selected for the transaction will have the least exposure to US currency. VTB Bank has processed large deals in India in the past few years, including the over $12 billion investment into the Essar Group that bailed it from bankruptcy.

As first reported by ET, while the Indian government has been clear that it will not move away from purchasing arms from Russia, the threat of US action under the controversial Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) had scared away financial institutions from processing transactions.


EUROES-FOR-RUSSIA ::

In April 2018, the State Bank of India put a stop to all payments after Russia’s flagship arms trading company Rosoboronexport came under sanctions by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), blocking over $2 billion that had to be transferred. While India found an alternate route for payments by using banks with minimal exposure to the US, the issue took over a year to resolve as Russian financial institutions too refused to be party to transactions that would threaten their global business.

Last year, alternative payment routes were found to transfer money for critical spares and repairs, including work on the INS Chakra nuclear powered submarine that had suffered an accident but a permanent route to send large amounts had remained elusive.

Despite the repeated threat of US sanctions, India has made it clear that it will not back off from the S-400 deal with Russian manufacturer Almaz-Antey that has been in Washington crosshairs for long. At the same time, India negotiated several defence deals with the US, including the purchase of air defence missiles for the national capital, armed drones and naval aircraft.

 economictimes

Navy set to get anti-sub copters

A formal contract to get multi-role helicopters for the Navy is expected to be signed by the end of this year. The acquisition will provide “teeth” to the Navy in its role of dominating the Indian Ocean.

The process to finalise modalities for signing the contract is in the finals stages, sources say. The helicopter will have full anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability, as well as anti-surface warfare capability, including anti-ship missiles.

An ASW-capable helicopter with its sea-dunking sonars is a favoured platform for detecting a submarine as an over-flying helicopter itself cannot be detected or targeted from a submarine.

Such helicopters are needed as over the past one year or more, submarines of the People Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) of China have been constantly noticed in the Indian Ocean. With submarine technology becoming more sophisticated, tracking these under-sea vessels is a challenge. China has 61 submarines, including nine nuclear-powered, allowing longer endurance.

Last year, China signed an agreement with Pakistan for the sale of eight submarines. The first four will be built in China and the remaining four in Pakistan. A submarine, under-sea, can “pin down” six-seven warships just by instilling the fear of unknown and can also track ship movement.

India has selected the Lockheed Martin’s MH-60R Seahawk for its needs. Twenty-four of these are being purchased for $2.6 billion (around Rs 18,200 crore).

The helicopter will add to the potential of the Navy’s Boeing P-8I maritime patrol aircraft. Eight of the P8I are in the fleet and another four are on order. The aircraft have the ability to quickly search a wide area of water, the helicopters can then be launched from ship decks to specific areas. The Indian Navy uses the Seaking Mk 42B and the Kamov 28 copters as ship-deck option. Both are of the 1980’s vintage design and are being upgraded now.

In April, the US cleared the sale of MH-60R Seahawk maritime helicopters to India for an estimated $2.6 billion. This will be the third type of helicopter to be okayed by the US for India in the past five years or so. Earlier this year, the first four of the 15 Boeing-made Chinook heavy-lift helicopters were inducted at Chandigarh air base.

In the next few weeks, the induction of the 22 Apache attack helicopters, also made by Boeing, will commence.


MH-60R Seahawk ::
- India has decided to purchase 24 Lockheed Martin’s MH-60R Seahawk for $2.6 billion (around Rs 18,200 crore)
- It will have full anti-submarine warfare capability, as well as anti-surface warfare capability, including anti-ship missiles

 tribuneindia

Lighter Bullet Proof Jackets Indian Army and the Navy! MKU Limited to provide 1.58 lakh protection overvests

With the future tendering for Bullet Proof Jackets to be on the basis of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms, a leading defence company MKU Limited is currently executing an order for 1.58 lakh Bullet Proof Jackets (BPJ) for both the Indian Army and the Indian Navy.

In an exclusive interaction with the Financial Express Online, Neeraj Gupta, Managing Director, MKU Limited says “The Company has been investing a lot in R&D and product upgrades. Recently we have developed Integrated Load Distribution System (ILDS) for BPJs which make it easier for soldiers to carry more loads without discomfort.”

“A lot of work has been going on ergonomics to make Protection equipment more comfortable and lighter,” Gupta adds.

According to him, the company has already supplied 1.25 lakh helmets for the forces in India and will be completing the total quantity well ahead of schedule.”

Last week, VK Saraswat, member, Niti Aayog, global companies are looking for joint ventures with local Indian companies for manufacturing lightweight body armours (BPJS) and announced that Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had asked the body to prepare a road map for “incentivising” these local companies for manufacturing lightweight body armours.

According to Saraswat, some Indian companies which are producing bulletproof jackets import Chinese raw materials due to price advantage. Government projections indicate there is a requirement for more than three lakh bulletproof jackets for the armed forces and orders have been with the Indian private sector.

Indian companies which were earlier procuring raw materials for bulletproof jackets from the US and Europe have now started looking at China to keep the costs down. The earlier BPJs used by the forces were very heavy and after a lot of research, efforts are on to make the jackets much lighter.

An Indian company SMPP changed its suppliers after winning the bid in April last year and was sourcing raw material from Chinese companies for the 180,000-jacket order from the Indian Army. Industry sources confirmed that almost 40 per cent of the raw material used for the BPJs had come from China and had boron carbide powder.

Responding to a question if the company is sourcing raw material from outside India, the company’s managing director pointed out that “We had technically qualified for the BPJs tender but lost out on price since we did not compromise on raw materials,” says Gupta.

Some global companies have reached out to MKU Ltd for sharing technology and have expressed interest for making the BPJs in India, says Gupta.

MKU Ltd is one of the leading manufacturers of personal armour, platform armour solutions and electro-optic devices, for military, paramilitary, homeland security and special-forces with a customer base spread over 230 forces in over 100 countries.

Gupta says “The aim is to increase capability and reduce the risks for brave men and women who stand in the line of duty to ensure our freedom. We are part of the GKG Group from India, which has its presence in core areas as Defence, Aerospace, Road Safety and Road Construction Technologies.

Adding that the operations of the group are based in India and Germany and “we deliver last mile support to our customers globally through a strong network of over 50 channel partners. We have provided protection to over two million soldiers and 2000+ platforms till date with our personal and platform armour solutions.”

The Company has four manufacturing facilities in India and Germany which are ISO 9001-2008, AS-9100 Rev ‘C’ and BA9000 certified. We have in-house knowledge centres and labs for design, development & testing of ‘Armour Solutions’.

To a question about testing and certification of the products, he said that the products are tested and certified by the leading labs and institutions in the world.

According to him, with three decades of experience behind them, the company has developed formidable experience and expertise in dealing with the defence establishments in India and across the world. The company which in the recent past has been awarded the contract to supply 158,000 helmets with communication headsets to Indian Army is already in collaboration with SAAB, Sweden for Future Soldier & Soldier Modernisation programs, he shares.

 financialexpress

Indian Defense Ministry Seeks Shipyards Willing to Build Six New Submarines

The Indian Defense Ministry set in motion last Thursday the process of getting six new submarines built under its new Strategic Partnership program, which aims to increase domestic development by partnering Indian firms with foreign ones to produce military hardware.

The MoD sent “Requests for Expression of Interest” (REols) out to Indian shipyards on June 20, inviting bids to produce six Project 75I-class diesel-electric attack submarines for the country’s navy. The shipyards will have two months to respond, and those that make the cut will be shortlisted as Strategic Partners (SP) under the ministry’s new partnership program inaugurated last year, The Diplomat reported Wednesday.Potential foreign partners for the contract include Naval Group (France), Kockums (Sweden), Rubin Design Bureau (Russia) and Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (Germany), The Diplomat reported.

Procurement of the six Project-75I subs was approved by the Defense Acquisition Council in January, although it’s been in the works since 2007, The Diplomat noted. The new boats are derived from the Kalvari-class submarines, themselves the product of a joint venture between French naval manufacturer DCNS and Mumbai’s Mazagon Dock Limited. The total cost of the submarines is projected to be 45,000 crore rupees ($6.5 billion), New Delhi Television reported.

The purpose of the SP program is to create a vehicle for compliance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” program, which aims to increase the amount of home-grown technology and manufacturing of Indian arms in a bid to minimize dependency on foreign providers.

Under the program, qualifying domestic companies will partner with foreign firms willing to engage in technology transfer. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approves the deal, and specially constituted Empowered Project Committees (EPC) oversee the entire process, the Press Trust of India reported in July 2018.

"This will give a major fillip towards encouraging self-reliance and aligning the defence sector with the 'Make in India' initiative of the Government," the defense ministry said in July 2018, according to PTI.

“The Indian companies would be shortlisted based on their capability for integration of system of systems, expertise in shipbuilding domain and the financial strength,” the MoD said in a June 20 statement. “The OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] would be shortlisted primarily based on their submarine design meeting the Indian Navy’s Qualitative Requirements and qualifying the Transfer of Technology and Indigenous Content (IC) criteria.”

 sputniknews

Pakistan blacklisting absolutely a possibility: FATF president

There is “absolutely a possibility” that Pakistan could be on its blacklist after the international financial watchdog’s next meeting in October in Paris, the outgoing president of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Marshall Billingslea, said on Friday. The comments were made at a press briefing at the end of the FATF plenary held in Orlando, Florida, an audio call of which was released to the press on Monday morning.

Pakistan had “significant” work to do and was, with regard to an action plan agreed in June 2018, “lacking in almost every respect”, Mr. Billingslea said.

“Pakistan was cautioned in February at the plenary that they had missed almost all of their January milestones. And they were urged to not fail to meet the milestones in May. Unfortunately, Pakistan has yet again missed its May milestones,” he added.

“Now the action plan itself is set to complete in September. So this [the June 16-21 Orlando plenary] was not the plenary where we would discuss a blacklisting issue. This was the plenary where we examine how far and how far behind Pakistan is on its action plan … and I must say they are far behind,” Mr. Billinglsea said.

“There is much that must be done by September. If they fail to implement the action plan by September then the FATF has made clear that we will consider next steps.”

China, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council were among those at the Orlando plenary who had asked that Pakistan be given more time to comply with the action plan, The Hindu had reported over the weekend.

Getting on the FATF blacklist, which currently only has Iran and North Korea on it, could severely cripple and isolate a country financially, resulting in a downgraded credit rating and denying it loans and development assistance.

Mr. Billingslea said he did not want to specify or prejudge outcomes and that this was his last plenary as President of the FATF, but reiterated that Pakistan had much work to do if it was going to meet the action plan requirements.


Not responsive enough ::

In response to a question on whether Pakistan’s Central bank had enough regulatory measures in place and concerns about the grey economy in the country, Mr. Billinglsea said that Pakistan did not adequately appreciate the transnational terror financing risks.

“… Pakistan does not either appreciate or chooses not to acknowledge the transnational, trans-border terrorist financing risk they face. Even though they did issue an addendum, an annex, to their national risk assessment following the February discussion. There are also a number of other structural and legal changes that have to be undertaken, including successful prosecution of terrorist financing cases,” he said.

India had been pushing for Pakistan to get on the FATF blacklist for its failure to take “credible, verifiable, irreversible and sustainable measures” against terrorist activities.

Mr. Billinglsea said, in response to a question on Pakistan having the capacity to meet its milestones, that if they did not currently have the capacity, they are expected to generate it, and soon, in order to meet their targets.

IMF decision ::

He said that any conditionality associated with Pakistan’s loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would not automatically have a connection to the FATF outcomes, although the IMF could choose to link the two. The U.S. has been pushing for a conditionality on an approximately $6 billion IMF loan to Pakistan, agreed in May.

“So the IMF is an observer organisation to the Financial Action Task Force and so they have complete visibility into everything that occurs within the task force, including a very detailed understanding of what the Pakistani action plan is. The decision however, to condition fund disbursement under an IMF programme based on structural benchmarks that might be associated with the Financial Action Task Force is purely an IMF decision,” he said.

 thehindu

Russian S-400 'superior' than US Patriot missile system – experts

Even as the US has reiterated its reservations about Turkey and India’s purchase of the S-400 missile system, Indian and Pakistani military experts believe that it was the best available air defence system in the world.

They maintained that American alternatives at present were no match to this tested Russian system.

Former deputy chief of Indian Air Force (IAF) Kapil Kak and ex-director general of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Gen Ehsanul Haq told Anadolu Agency that the US attempts to foist its interests on sovereign countries, would prove counterproductive.

Both of them believed that the US behaviour was in a way an attack on the strategic autonomy of these countries.

"My view is that Turkey and India will very jealously protect autonomy in their strategic decision making. They will find it very difficult to align with the US dictate on the S-400 issue. The US administration should find a diplomatic solution to the issue and retain its political and military linkages with Turkey," said the former ISI chief.

A US government official on Monday warned against purchase of the Russian equipment while speaking to Indian journalists in Washington ahead of an expected visit by US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to New Delhi as part of preparations to arrange a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Japan later this week.

“With respect to S-400, we are urging all our allies and partners, India included, to forgo transactions with Russia that risk triggering CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) ... This is a time we will be encouraging India to look at alternatives,” said the official, according to Indian media reports.
 Retired Air Vice Marshall Kapil Kak, who has commanded fighter jets and is involved in strategic planning in India, said in terms of tracking and scanning of radars, height parameters and the area it can cover, the S-400 system was the best in the world.

He said the US offer to supply American Patriot missile defence system was not an alternative to match their strategic requirements.

"My back up on calculation is that S-400 is superior than any other system, be that the American Patriot. It also depends on Patriot derivate that is on offer. For S-400, we know exactly what it means. We are not sure when Americans talk to us about Patriots. It has been used in the Gulf war and upgraded subsequently. But as far as the configuration, we know, it is not superior to S-400. I do not think, it will either interest Turkey or India," said Kak, who has also served as chief instructor at the Defense Services Staff College at Wellington, the capital of New Zealand.

He said given the geopolitical realities in the region, Turkish armed forces were in need to purchase the best defence system.

The former air force officials said the US argument that the purchase will compromise the configuration of its fifth-generation F-35 aircraft, does not hold the ground.

He reminded that as NATO allies, Turkey and the US are already committed to the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), which secures the US military equipment.

It also facilitates interoperability between militaries and sale of high-end technology.

India also signed this agreement last September after the conclusion of a meeting between the foreign and defense ministers of both countries in New Delhi.

The former Indian air force official, however, said there was a marked difference between Turkey and India.

Even as the US was pushing both to relinquish the deal, Kak said at the end New Delhi may succeed to secure an American waiver. "My own reading is that the US approach towards Turkey will be far harder than towards India, because of various geopolitical and regional factors," he said.

"We have been told at the senior most levels that India will be exempted. India will not have to pay the price in way of economic sanctions if it goes ahead with purchasing the Russian missile system. But there is no clarity still. My own reading is that India is closely watching America's approach towards Turkey. But I feel they [Americans] will be generous towards India," said Kak.

He also disclosed that like Turkey, the US has been offering alternatives to India as well.

"They [Americans] have been also offering us not only the F-21 aircraft, which is an upgrade of F-16 but have assured to set up their production line in India itself. So, India can become exporters of these jets," he said.

The setting up of production line is an attractive proposition, given the fact that there are 4,000 F-16s and F-21s in the world.

But when deciding about the French Rafale aircraft, the IAF had already rejected the American F-16 deal. In April 2015, India purchased 36 French Rafale fighter jets, rejected American and other offers.

On whether the American approach will affect Pakistan as well, which is another major non-NATO ally, Haq said the military relationship between the two countries has lost its momentum.

"Fortunately, or unfortunately, the status of non-NATO military ally has not given any benefit to Pakistan. The US Pakistan military relationship has gradually lost its momentum. There are hardly any military transfers to Pakistan, even military training arrangements have been at a standstill. Consequently, the US ability to do anything about Pakistan's defence procurement from Russia is minimal," he said.

 trtworld

Rafale's capabilities are twice that of Mirage 2000: Air Marshal R Nambiar

Highlights

• The first of the 36 Rafale aircraft India is buying from France is expected to be handed over to the Indian Air Force in September this year
• Five Mirage 2000, two MiG 21s and one Sukhoi 30 MKI were on static display at the air force station, besides the SPICE bomb

The capabilities of the Rafale fighter jet are twice that of the Mirage 2000 warplane, Air Marshal R Nambiar, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command, said on Monday.

"Rafale offers a wide variety of capabilities something which is double than what Mirage 2000 can do. We will be supreme in the sky when Rafale comes to our theatre. We will have air dominance or maybe air supremacy in this side of the world," he told ANI here.

The first of the 36 Rafale aircraft India is buying from France is expected to be handed over to the Indian Air Force in September this year.

Nambiar, who flew Mirage 2000 sorties during the Kargil conflict, said, "I have a great sense of achievement that Kargil happened and the way it turned out finally...At the beginning of the Kargil war, the IAF lost two fighter aircraft and one helicopter. Our morale was in the dumps. Looking back at history I am elated and delighted that it turned out so well."

He also said that the induction of the Mirage 2000 aircraft into the IAF was a game changer in the way air battle is fought in terms of accuracy, precision and fire-power.

Comparing the laser-guided bomb to the SPICE missile which was used during the Balakot air strike, Nambiar said, "For short range, that is, for 10 km-range from the target, we can use the laser-guided bomb. But if the target is defended by boundary which you do not want to cross and escape air defence missile system, then SPICE is the choice, as it has a 60 km-range."

On the change in tactics from Kargil to Balakot, he said that today's weapons have a far longer range and are beyond visual range.Our visual range could go up to 18 km but today a weapon system can go 10 times that. Tactics have to be changed and adapted to the present and powerful systems. A new induction will enhance our capability and we need to tune ourselves to a new missile and aircraft," he said.

On Pakistan's claim on Balakot, Nambiar said, "My chief has mentioned that the Balakot strike was successful and people who know best about it are Pakistanis. I suggest you ask them how successful it was."

Commemorating 20 years of the Kargil conflict, the IAF at its Gwalior airbase recreated the Tiger Hill attack and displayed aircraft used during 'Operation Vijay'.

Five Mirage 2000, two MiG 21s and one Sukhoi 30 MKI were on static display at the air force station, besides the SPICE bomb.

 livemint

India, US nearing industrial security pact for defence tech transfers

India and the United States are closing in on an industrial security agreement that will allow the transfer of defence technology, sources said on Monday, ahead of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's talks in New Delhi this week to promote strategic ties.

Disputes over trade and protectionist moves have escalated between the two countries in recent months, but defence ties remain strong with Washington seeking to build Indian capabilities as a counterweight to China.

India has bought weapons worth more than $15 billion from the United States over the past decade as it seeks to replace its Russian-origin military and is in talks for helicopters, armed drones and a bigger Indian plan for local production of combat planes together worth billions of dollars.To allow for transfer of technology for building combat jets locally and other joint ventures, the United States had sought guarantees for the protection of classified information and technology.

A draft of the agreement called Industrial Security Annex is now ready and will go up before the Indian cabinet for approval in the next few weeks, sources aware of the India-US defence negotiations said.

It would be the first time New Delhi has entered into such a pact with any country, although the United States has such agreements in place with several countries, one of the sources said.

Lockheed Martin and Boeing are both in the race for a deal estimated at over $15 billion to supply the Indian air force with 114 fighter planes to replace its ageing fleet of Mig 21 jets.

The planes have to be built in the country as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make-in-India drive to cut expensive imports and build a domestic industry.

Pompeo will arrive in New Delhi on Tuesday and will hold talks with Modi and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyan Jaishankar the following day.

After years of hesitation, India signed an agreement in 2016 to allow both countries to access each other's military bases and a second one last year on secure military communications.

A third accord on sharing geospatial information is still in the early stages, the source said. These are all foundational agreements designed for closer military cooperation, the source said.

 livemint

Make in India: HAL delivers gun bay door for the F/A-18 Super Hornet

It was time to celebrate when the State owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Monday delivered the 150th gun bay door for the F/A-18 Super Hornet of Boeing Company.

These gun bay doors being manufactured at the HAL facility in Bengaluru are an example of American aerospace Boeing Company’s ongoing commitment to India and its robust investment in Indian defence and aerospace ecosystem.

The F/A-18 Super Hornet, a twin-engine supersonic all weather, carrier-capable multirole combat jet delivering cutting-edge, next-generation multi-role strike fighter capability and is expected to be offered to the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force (IAF).

As has been reported by Financial Express Online, the IAF will soon invite Expressions of Interest (EoI) from foreign manufacturers for 114 combat aircraft. Top company officer had said that Boeing is ready to set up a completely new production facility in India for the production of its F/A-18 Super Hornets, depending on the numbers of machines ordered by both the Navy and IAF.

State-owned HAL has been Boeing’s long-term supplier in India for quarter of a century and was awarded the contract to manufacture gun bay doors for the Super Hornet in 2007.

Said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India, “This delivery of the 150th gun bay door for the Super Hornet demonstrates that Indian suppliers are an integral part of Boeing’s global supply chain. This milestone is yet another endorsement of our commitment to India, which is well recognized today, because we’ve been investing and making in India for several years now.”

Adding, “Our investments in India are robust and ongoing, spanning technology, hi-tech innovation, production capacity, establishing a supply chain network, and developing skilling centres for aerospace manufacturing in India.”

“HAL is committed to strengthening aerospace manufacturing in India. This delivery is not just an important milestone for the company but also for Boeing and the Indian industry, ” said its chairman and managing director R Madhavan.

To help realize the Make in India vision to its full potential, the US Company has offered to build a 21st century aerospace ecosystem in India for manufacturing the F/A-18 Super Hornet with Indian partners, HAL and Mahindra Defence Systems (MDS). Such a move is expected to create thousands of jobs and hundreds of suppliers in India.

So far Boeing Company’s sourcing from India stands at $1 billion with over 160 existing industrial partners.

 financialexpress

Work Begins On India’s Next Gen Nuclear-Powered Submarines

The plan to build six nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) kicked off in 2015 when the NDA government gave a go ahead to a long-pending project for the Indian Navy.

Work has started on the Rs 1 lakh crore project to produce next generation nuclear-powered submarines for the Indian Navy, with a defence public sector unit working on a special alloy for the hull. A scale model is likely to be tested soon as part of the design process.

The project to build advanced nuclear submarines designed for long range underwater patrols and armed with conventional weapons has been granted over Rs 100 crore seed money by the government for the initial phase with officials predicting a development period that is expected to stretch beyond 2025. The plan to build six nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) kicked off in 2015 when the NDA government gave a go ahead to a long-pending project for the Indian Navy. Then Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba confirmed in 2017 that the project is underway.

Sources said considerable progress has been made in the design phase of the new boats with a scale model likely to be fabricated and tested shortly. These scale model tests will be critical to check development, accuracy and quick success would mean that the Directorate of Naval Design (Submarine Design Group) is on the right track.

Defence Public Sector Unit Mishra Dhatu Nigam (MIDHANI) is also working on indigenising a new material for the hull that will be designed to dive to depths much beyond the Arihant class of indigenous nuclear-powered and armed submarines. Details of the new, more powerful nuclear reactor, which is being designed for the programme are not yet known. 

Sources explained that while lessons learnt from the Arihant build are being incorporated, a totally new material will be used for the SSN project given the unique requirements of the Navy for depth and speed.

The INS Arihant and Chakra – on lease from Russia - are the two nuclear-powered submarines currently in service with the Navy. The second of the Arihant class was launched in 2017 and is in advanced stage of completion. The Arihant class is armed with nuclear capable missiles and is critical to India’s second strike capability. ET first reported in March that India and Russia signed a $ 3 billion deal to lease an advanced nuclear attack submarine that will be fitted with indigenous communication systems and sensors. The deal for the submarine – being termed as Chakra III after the first two similar vessels India obtained from Russia – would involve an extensive build programme on mothballed hulls at a Russian shipyard that will be supervised by Indian Navy personnel.

economictimes

Having Failed to Threaten Turkey, US is Trying to Choke off Russo-Indian S-400 Deal

Concerns are growing in the Trump administration over Turkey and India's adamant decision to buy the Russian-made S-400. Indian military observer Rakesh Krishnan Simha and UK-based geopolitical analyst Adam Garrie have shared their views on whether Washington will make New Delhi an offer it won't be able to refuse in order to nix the S-400 deal.

While Turkey has made its mind up on purchasing Russian-made S-400 Triumf air defence systems regardless of Washington's threats, the Trump administration has increased pressure on India, warning it against acquiring the advanced anti-aircraft weapon and citing sanctions under the 2017 Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) ahead of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo official visit to the country.

However, the Indian Ministry of Defence made it clear in early June that it would proceed with the implementation of the S-400 deal despite potential sanctions.
 "There is a saying that is common to ancient India and Greece: 'Those whom the gods want to destroy, they drive mad first.' The US is behaving like a madman", says Rakesh Krishnan Simha, an Indian journalist, foreign affairs analyst and military observer. "Not content with getting multi-billion dollar orders from India for all sorts of advanced weapons such as M777 artillery, Neptune sub hunting aircraft and the C-130J Hercules special ops aircraft, the US is now at the point of returning to its old ways of threatening its allies to toe its line."

The military observer emphasised that "this approach won't work against India, which has a fiercely independent procurement system".

"Moreover, the S-400 deal is a done and dusted deal, with payments already made", Simha stressed. "The S-400 is something that both the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian government have been pushing for years. It is needed for India's air defence system which has been neglected for the past several decades. The US has nothing comparable to offer India because the S-400 is a long range weapon while all American offerings are short range systems. India already produces short range air defence missiles so it has no need to import them".

India signed a $5.43 billion deal to purchase five S-400 regiments in October 2018. At that time, then-Secretary of Defence James Mattis actively promoted a CAATSA waiver for India.

"We will work everything out. Trust me," Mattis told journalists while commenting on the Russo-Indian arms deal on 3 December 2018 during the official visit of then-Indian Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman to the Pentagon.

However, the waiver proposed by the Trump administration in 2018 under National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) applied only for Russian legacy systems that cost less than $15 million.


CAATSA & S-400: 'US Playing a Highly Strategic Game With India' ::

"The US has been playing a highly strategic game with India in respect of the CAATSA/S-400 issue", says Adam Garrie, a UK-based geopolitical analyst and director of the Eurasia Future think tank. "On the one hand, the US realises that India is playing its own strategic game that New Delhi calls 'multi-alignment'. As such, the US occasionally plays along in order to endear itself to its relatively new Indian strategic partner".
 According to the geopolitical analyst, Washington is exercising the same stick-and-carrot approach towards India it tends to employ against other countries.

"The only difference is that whilst other countries get the proverbial stick from Washington, India is for the time being getting a carrot and stick. That said, over time the carrot continues to shrink in size whilst the stick elongates", he presumed.

Garrie highlighted that, currently, Turkey's firm stance on acquiring the Russian air defence systems serves as a major irritant for Washington.

"Turkey's decision to put its foot down on its own S-400 purchase in spite of heavy threats from Washington has set a precedent that the US clearly wants to push back against", the analyst said. "As India is not in NATO, it is even easier for the US to make realistic threats against its new friend India in respect of sanctions than it is with its old friend Turkey".

Previously, Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it clear to the US that he would not backpedal on the Russo-Turkish S-400 deal regardless of Washington's threats to exclude Turkey from the F-35 programme. Moreover, on 18 May the Turkish president dropped the hint that Ankara may engage in joint production of the S-500 Prometey, a Russian surface-to-air missile and anti-ballistic missile system.

Turkey is due to receive the S-400 systems in July 2019.

US Trying to Divert India From Russian Arms by Crook or by Hook
Washington is increasingly courting India under the Trump administration. Trump's 2018 Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA) called for strengthening and broadening of diplomatic, economic, and security ties between Washington and New Delhi facilitating technology sharing including "license-free access to a wide range of dual-use technologies". Earlier, in July 2018 the US provided India with strategic trade authorization (STA) Tier-1 status which followed Washington's recognition of the country as a US “major defence partner” in 2016.
 However, the Trump administration's apparent decision to impose pressure on New Delhi over S-400 may mar US previous efforts.

"India is the second largest arms importer in the world and Russia's number one weapons buyer", Simha noted. "Over the next five years, India is planning to splurge $100 billion on weapons to modernise its armed forces. For Washington diverting India from Russian weapons serves twin purposes - weaken Russia's armaments industry and gain a major new client".

Commenting on the matter, Garrie envisaged that "in the short term, India will necessarily be chiefly reliant on Russian weapons but gradually the US looks to replace Russia as the top source of Indian weapons purchases".

According to the UK-based geopolitical analyst, Washington is likely to deploy "a wide array of tools" in a bid to coax India "into breaking off arms purchases from Russia".

"Washington will wait until the proverbial economic stars align and then tell India that it can choose a US strategic partnership into which it has already invested a great deal of geopolitical capital or otherwise it can risk having excellent Russian weapons but an economy that will take a battering from the US financial system", Garrie suggested.

Meanwhile, apart from the S-400 deal, India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved a $1.93 billion procurement of 464 Russian-made T-90MS main battle tanks (MBTs) in April 2019, while in May New Delhi started formal talks with Moscow about the acquisition of Russian 21 MiG-29 fighter jets and Kamov Ka-31 Airborne Early Warning and Control helicopters.

 sputniknews

Why Is India Buying More Russian Air-to-Air Missiles?

Why is India ordering $700 million worth of missiles from Russia?

One reason may be humiliation over Pakistan using long-range air-to-air missiles to shoot down an Indian fighter last February. Yet the purchase comes amid reports that of problems with Russian missiles.

“Close to 300 short-range air-to-air missiles, the R-73, and 400 medium-range air-to-air guided missiles, the RVV-AE, also known as the R-77, have been ordered,” according to Indian newspaper The Print.

The choice of the R-77 is interesting. It is the Russian equivalent of the radar-guided U.S. AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile). First introduced in 1991, the AIM-120 is a beyond-visual-range weapon: it is listed by the U.S. Air Force as having a range of 20-plus miles, though an extended-range version under development would considerably increase the missile’s reach.

But the Indian Air Force has had an unpleasant taste of AMRAAM. It was probably an AIM-120, fired by a Pakistani F-16 at long range, that downed an Indian Air Force MiG-21. On February 26, Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistan, hitting bases used by militants who regularly attack attacked Indian forces in the long-disputed Kashmir region. Pakistan retaliated the next day with an airstrike on Indian positions along the border. “The Pakistani Air Force strike package included eight F-16s, four Mirage-3 aircraft, four Chinese made JF-17 ‘Thunder’ fighter,” said India’s NDTV news site. “Other aircraft in the formation were escort fighters to protect the Pakistan strike formation from any IAF retaliation. The large Pakistani attack formation was detected at 9.45 am, when they came within 10 kilometers [6 miles] of the Line of Control. A small number of these fighters then proceeded to cross the Line of Control, when they were intercepted by eight IAF jets, which included four Sukhoi 30s, two upgraded Mirage 2000s and two MiG-21 Bisons.”
 What happened next is unclear. Pakistani jets intercepted the attackers: India says U.S-made F-16s were involved, though Pakistan denies this. India claimed to have shot down an F-16, which Pakistan also denies. At a news conference soon after the incident, India displayed debris marked “AIM-120,” which it claimed as proof that American-made weapons were involved. Those claims are significant because Pakistan’s use of F-16s to strike India could violate agreements with the United States.

But India had little choice in admitting that one of its old MiG-21s was shot down, after its pilot was captured and paraded on Pakistani television. At the same time, Indian press has portrayed the AIM-120 as less than effective. “The American make was unsuccessfully used by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) to target Indian Su-30 MKIs on 27 February, a day after the IAF strikes on Balakot,” claimed The Print.

In any case, India now seems eager to upgrade its air-to-air missile arsenal, especially longer-range weapons. But India’s polyglot collection of aircraft and missiles poses integration problems. “Integrating other missiles — for instance, the Israeli Derby air-to-air missiles — with the Su-30 will require permission from Russia,” Indian defense sources told The Print. “Russia and India can jointly implement the program of modernization of the IAF’s air-to-air missiles. All the requirements of the Air Force can be discussed and met. The work could start as soon as possible once the formal request is made.”

 nationalinterest

India lining up defence deals worth $10 billion with US amid trade row

Highlights

• The latest deal being finalised by India under the foreign military sales programme of the US is for the acquisition of 10 more Poseidon-8Ilong-range maritime patrol aircraft
• The other deals in the pipeline include 24 naval multi-role MH-60 ‘Romeo’ helicopters

India is lining up defence deals worth around $10 billion for the US over the next two-three years despite ongoing trade disputes and immigration concerns, even as New Delhi and Moscow have worked out a payment mechanism to get around Washington’s sanctions regime against acquisition of Russian weapon systems.

The latest deal being finalised by India under the foreign military sales programme of the US is for the acquisition of 10 more Poseidon-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft for over $3 billion, defence ministry sources said. “The procurement case for the 10 P-8I aircraft was cleared by an MoD committee last week. It will now be sent for approval to the Defence Acquisitions Council headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh by August. These 10 P-8Is will be more advanced than the 12 such aircraft already procured by India,” a source said.

The Navy inducted the first eight Boeing-manufactured P-8Is, which are packed with sensors and armed with Harpoon Block-II missiles, MK-54 lightweight torpedoes, rockets and depth charges to detect and destroy enemy submarines, under a $2.1 billion deal inked in January 2009. The next four P-8Is are slated for delivery by 2021-2022 under another $1.1 billion contract signed in July 2016.
The Navy wanted over a dozen more P-8Is but agreed to 10 aircraft because of the concurrent tri-Service proposal to acquire 30 armed Sea Guardian (Predator-B) drones for over $2.5 billion from the US. The case for the ‘hunter-killer’ drones, with 10 each slated for Navy, IAF and Army, is now headed for the DAC.

The other deals in the pipeline include 24 naval multi-role MH-60 ‘Romeo’ helicopters ($2.6 billion), the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System-II for the missile shield over Delhi (almost $1 billion) and six more Apache attack helicopters ($930 million). With the US having already bagged Indian arms contracts worth $17 billion since 2007, and the two countries expanding their strategic partnership on several fronts, India is riled at the continuing threat of financial sanctions under the CAATSA.

The Trump administration has expressed its opposition to India’s inking of the $5.43 billion contract for S-400 Triumf missile systems with Russia in October 2018, which was followed by another $3 billion deal for lease of a Akula-1 nuclearpowered attack submarine in March 2019. India’s case for waivers from CAATSA is likely to figure when US secretary of state Mike Pompeo comes visiting on Tuesday.

India has resumed some payments to Russia for defence contracts inked earlier through a new mechanism that uses a mix of foreign currency and a Rupee-Rouble transfer system. Indian banks with “exposure to the US” had earlier suspended payments and instalments to Russia to avoid the threat of punitive sanctions under CAATSA. “The US has to realise that India has a separate longstanding strategic partnership with Russia… it cannot be wished away. There is no plan to cancel the S-400 deal,” said a source.

TOI

On fast track: Deadly new hypersonic missiles to give India strategic edge

After a long struggle it appears that India’s Hypersonic Missile programme is taking some shape. On 12 Jun 2019, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) launched a Hypersonic Technology Development Vehicle (HSTDV). There is no official information available about exactly what this test did achieve.
It’s very difficult to quantify precisely what this test did achieve and what it did not. As per DRDO, the missile was successfully launched and various radars, telemetry stations and electro-optical tracking sensors tracked the vehicle through its course. Now, detailed analysis of collected data would be done by the scientists. However, no detailed data assessment requiring more than eight days’ time is required to announce details about the status of the carrier and demonstrator vehicle’s performance.

Hence, it could be safe to argue that this test has been a partial success. Not much official details as such are available in respect of DRDO’s HSTDV programme. Hypersonic missiles are next generation missiles and no operational missiles are yet available with any country in the world. Also, this technology is extremely complicated and hence it is understandable that DRDO, at this point in time, is not ready to share much of the details.

The US, Russia and China have made much of investments towards hypersonic weapon technologies. India probably entered in the field of hypersonic around 2004 and its programme is much smaller in scale. India has received some assistance from countries like Russia and Israel. A country like UK has allowed India to use some of their test facilities. Apart from DRDO, a private sector agency called BrahMos Aerospace (India’s joint venture with Moscow is known to be developing the BrahMos-II, a hypersonic cruise missile. This missile is expected to get ready by 2023. In the memory of India’s missile man and ex-President late Dr Abdul Kalam, now missile is known as BrahMos-II(K).

Hypersonic missiles are missiles which travel at speeds in excess of five times greater than the speed of sound (minimum speed should be more than Mach 5, or 3,800 miles an hour). At present, there are two types of hypersonic systems called boost glide and scramjets. India has interest in the scramjets.

Hypersonic boost glide is boosted by ballistic missiles to a particular level and then they glide towards the target, while scramjets use a conventional rocket to accelerate the missile fast enough that the scramjet can take over and then the target is approached. In a scramjet engine (air/oxygen taken from atmosphere is mixed with fuel and ignited) the airflow remains supersonic.

During recent test by DRDO, the cruise vehicle was mounted on an Agni-I solid rocket motor to take it to the required altitude. DRDO and BrahMos Aerospace are possibly developing missiles which can carry a warhead of around one tone to a distance of around 500 to 750 km. These missiles are expected to travel with a maximum speed in the range of 6 to 7.5 Mach.

Russia claims that they have already developed a missile in the range of 8 to 9 Mach. China has carried out minimum six successful tests of their hypersonic missiles while the US programme covers a wide range of hypersonic missiles. Their scientific community is confident of developing scramjets capable of speeds of up to Mach 24. Recently, they have developed an engine made entirely by 3D printer for their hypersonic programme.

The 20 th century witnessed much of debate on technologies which can increase the speed of the weaponry. But, now the era of hypersonic weapons could be said to have actually arrived. These weapons which could be both conventional or nuclear-tipped, are supposed to overpower the missile defence architectures (THAAD or S-400 systems). These missiles are getting described as ‘game-changing weapons’ or ‘stealth’ missiles.
At present, there are more questions than answers with regard to how effectively this technology could be put to use. However, these are early days it also needs to be remembered that these missiles are likely to be destabilizing weapons and could create an Arms Race amongst the major powers. This is the right time to carry out a detailed global debate on the efficacy and employability of this weapon system.

 financialexpress

India, US close to inking industrial security pact

India and the US are inching towards inking an industrial security pact that will unlock access to key defence technologies for the Indian industry, with officials saying the agreement could be finalised within a couple of months.

The Industrial Security Annex (ISA) will add to existing agreements on protection of classified military information and is critical for any transfer of technology by a US firm to its Indian partners. The draft of the annex has been circulated and is likely to get Cabinet clearances in the coming weeks, following which the bilateral agreement will be signed.

While several US companies including Lockheed Martin and Boeing are already working on defence products with Indian partners — mostly to meet offset obligations — the projects are primarily of the ‘build to print’ kind that do not involve transfer of key technology, officials explained.

Once signed, the ISA will enable transfer of key high end technology pieces that are regulated under US law. The pact is also expected to enable the floundering India US Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) that was signed in 2012 but has not resulted in any major project on the ground yet.

Sources said that the ISA will involve Indian government assurances on the safety and security of technology against transfer and access to third parties. Once operational, US companies wishing to transfer technology to India will be able to do so through the government route. Sources explained that for critical technology, US companies will submit documentation to the US government that will share it with their Indian counterparts through diplomatic channels.

This technology piece will then be sent to the Indian industry by the government which will first satisfy itself that adequate safeguard mechanisms are in place for its protection. The ISA will be vital for US companies to participate in all upcoming Make in India projects like the 110 fighter jet deal and the requirement of 111 Naval Utility Helicopters that are currently being processed under the Strategic Partnership (SP) model.

While the ISA will require cabinet level clearances, it is an add on to the General Security Of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) that was signed in 2002. India and US have already signed the COMCASA.

economictimes

Trump Approves Strikes on Iran, but Then Abruptly Pulls Back

President Trump approved military strikes against Iran in retaliation for downing an American surveillance drone, but pulled back from launching them on Thursday night after a day of escalating tensions.

As late as 7 p.m., military and diplomatic officials were expecting a strike, after intense discussions and debate at the White House among the president’s top national security officials and congressional leaders, according to multiple senior administration officials involved in or briefed on the deliberations.

Officials said the president had initially approved attacks on a handful of Iranian targets, like radar and missile batteries.

The operation was underway in its early stages when it was called off, a senior administration official said. Planes were in the air and ships were in position, but no missiles had been fired when word came to stand down, the official said.

The abrupt reversal put a halt to what would have been the president’s third military action against targets in the Middle East. Mr. Trump had struck twice at targets in Syria, in 2017 and 2018.

It was not clear whether Mr. Trump simply changed his mind on the strikes or whether the administration altered course because of logistics or strategy. It was also not clear whether the attacks might still go forward.

Asked about the plans for a strike and the decision to hold back, the White House declined to comment, as did Pentagon officials. No government officials asked The New York Times to withhold the article.

The retaliation plan was intended as a response to the shooting down of the unmanned, $130 million surveillance drone, which was struck Thursday morning by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, according to a senior administration official who was briefed on the military planning and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential plans.

The strike was set to take place just before dawn Friday in Iran to minimize risk to the Iranian military and civilians.

The possibility of a retaliatory strike hung over Washington for much of the day. Officials in both countries traded accusations about the location of the drone when it was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile launched from the Iranian coast along the Gulf of Oman.

Mr. Trump’s national security advisers split about whether to respond militarily. Senior administration officials said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; John R. Bolton, the national security adviser; and Gina Haspel, the C.I.A. director, had favored a military response. But top Pentagon officials cautioned that such an action could result in a spiraling escalation with risks for American forces in the region.

Congressional leaders were briefed by administration officials in the Situation Room.

The destruction of the drone underscored the already tense relations between the two countries after Mr. Trump’s recent accusations that Iran is to blame for explosions last week that damaged oil tankers traveling through the strait, the vital waterway for much of the world’s oil. Iran has denied that accusation.

Iran’s announcement this week that it would soon breach one of the key limits it had agreed to in a 2015 pact intended to limit its nuclear program has also fueled tensions. Mr. Trump, who pulled the United States out of the 2015 pact, has vowed that he will not allow Tehran to build a nuclear weapon.On Thursday, Mr. Trump insisted that the United States’ unmanned surveillance aircraft was flying over international waters when it was taken down by an Iranian missile.

 nytimes

US weapon system that India is set to buy tests new missile

US aerospace company Raytheon announced on Wednesday that it had tested the AIM-9X Sidewinder, a short-range air-to-air missile, from the NASAMS air defence system for the first time.

NASAMS is the acronym for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, a mobile air defence system manufactured by Raytheon and Kongsberg, a Norwegian company. Media reports earlier this month claimed that India had begun the process to acquire an upgraded version of the NASAMS called the NASAMS-II from the US, in a deal worth approximately Rs 6,000 crore. NASAMS is meant to shoot down aircraft, drones and cruise missiles.

The NASAMS test of the Sidewinder missile was conducted by the Royal Norwegian Air Force in May. From the start, NASAMS has used the ground-launched version of the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM). Incidentally, the AMRAAM was fired by Pakistani F-16 jets against Indian fighters during the aerial skirmish over Kashmir in February. The AMRAAM is a radar-guided missile, while the Sidewinder uses an imaging infra-red seeker, which homes in on the heat signature of a target.

The addition of a heat-seeking missile would allow the NASAMS to better engage stealthy targets that are able to evade radar detection as well as destroy targets when adversaries are able to jam radar systems electronically.

"This flight test opened the door for NASAMS customers to add a vital, short-range layer to their ground-based air defence," said Kim Ernzen, vice president of Raytheon Air Warfare Systems. "Pairing Sidewinder with AMRAAM means forces can have complementary interceptors with a mix of sensors to better engage and destroy threats that may attempt to overwhelm a defence system,” Ernzen added.

The AMRAAM missiles fired from the NASAMS are estimated to have a range of around 40km. The Sidewinder's range is expected to be less than that. At least seven countries have purchased the NASAMS system. The NASAMS has been providing air defence to the Washington DC area since 2005.

The Times of India reported earlier this month the US could send a letter of acceptance for the sale of NASAMS to India by July-August. Once a contract is signed, deliveries are expected in two to four years. In 2018, then defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman cleared the start of the procurement process for NASAMS. NASAMS is being procured for providing air defence to Delhi and is slated to operate alongside the indigenous ballistic missile defence system and the Russian S-400.

The US is also offering India its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and Patriot missiles in a bid to get New Delhi to cancel its purchase of the S-400 missile system from Russia.

 theweek

The growing Lockheed mystery: Why is US in a rush to push F-21 to India?

The F-21 seems to be an offshoot of the single-engine F-16 multi-role fighter.

More than 50 years ago, the then Soviet Union gave the latest MiG-21 fighter to a beleaguered Indian Air Force. Two decades later, in the early 1980s, the United States gave a “state-of-the-art” latest General Dynamics-manufactured multi-role F-16 fighter to Pakistan despite Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's objections. However, it all began earlier, when both US President Richard Nixon and his aide Henry Kissinger hated the Indian Prime Minister's guts which were amply demonstrated to the world in the December 1971 Bangladesh war. Not surprisingly, the US supplied the best of its fighters to Pakistan and snubbed India.
India faced several crises since 1947 but the striking feature of these is that New Delhi weathered all of them without ever using American fighters till date. India only used British (De Havilland Vampire, Hawker Hunter, English Electric Canberra), French (Ouragon aka Toofani, Mystere, Mirage-2000 and now Dassault Rafale), Russian (MiG-21, 23, 25, 27, 29; Sukhoi-7, 30MKI) and Anglo-French (SEPECAT) Jaguar strike aircraft.

Though times have changed, there does not seem to be any sign of an imminent entry of US fighters into an Indian Air Force squadron service. And this must be what has been bothering the US President and his team. Of late, signs of desperation appear to have been be the reason behind “browbeating”  India: “Buy our equipment. Do not buy Iranian oil. Buy US-made fighters. Do not buy a Russian-made missile defence system. Or else…!” The superpower seems to be going overboard. But why?
A few years ago, the US Lockheed Martin F-16 could not make the grade through open competition between six bidders. And now suddenly the US wants the F-21, which is being touted as the successor of, and superior to, the F-16, to be bought by India! How? Through US “foreign military sales”  (FMS). Through, “government-to-government transaction” as is being done in the Middle East. Will it be fair on the part of the US to compel New Delhi to get a bad name? As it is, there is no end to the list of defence scandals in India. Why then is the US pressuring India by every means?

Seen in this background, the growing buzz and the media blitz over the Lockheed Martin F-21 being offered to India made this columnist turn the pages of the last 40 years of the annual edition of Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft to learn afresh the history of the appearance of this unseen and unknown fighter aircraft. As one had neither heard, nor seen any reference to this “state-of-the-art” fighter ever before — one thought that the very name F-21 may be an extremely lethal aerial platform — implying it as “the fighter of the 21st century”.
After almost four weeks, one found no reference of the F-21 in any aviation book. But then, if a mega-fighter aircraft contractor like Lockheed Martin makes a proposal for the Indian Air Force, there must be something in it. Else, Lockheed Martin may lose credibility and its customer base in an era of sluggish market demand and fierce competition amongst multiple manufacturers chasing a shrinking consumer base.
Coming back to the “actual” F-21! What exactly is it? Wherefrom has it been derived? How long will it take to fly, from “the drawing board to squadron service”? From whatever has trickled in thus far, the F-21 seems to be an offshoot of the single-engine F-16 multi-role fighter. “Tailor-made”, primarily, for exclusive Indian Air Force requirements and secondarily, to be exported by India, as Lockheed Martin has in mind shifting its entire production line and technological knowhow to India as a joint venture with a local company.

That all sounds like music to India's ears, no doubt. Nevertheless, it raises more questions than give any answers. In what way will the F-21, not a single prototype of which has been produced yet, be the ideal choice for the Indian Air Force? Is the choice of a fighter aircraft the sovereign right and decision of the Indian Air Force and the Government of India, or a foreign contractor's imposition?
Is not the Indian Air Force the sole institution responsible for specifying its own requirements, stipulate as to how it would operate its fighters; against what sort of adversaries and in what operational environments?
Not a single Air Force in the world is using the Lockheed Martin F-21 because it has not yet been produced. Hence, the puzzle: Where do we start from? From the F-16? But then, the F-21 is reportedly different from, and superior to, the F-16! Nevertheless, if the Indian Air Force is to choose the F-21 and nothing else, then the best option, at present, would be to scan through the specifications of the latest version of the F-16 — to at least have an idea. But here again is the old dilemma. Did not the Indian Air Force reject the F-16 only the other day while selecting its medium multi-role combat aircraft, from amongst six bidders, including the US Boeing twin-engine F-18; the Russian twin-engine MiG-35; the Eurofighter twin-engine Typhoon; the French Dassault twin-engine Rafale and the Swedish single-engine Saab Gripen? So, what changed?
According to Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft 2018-2019: “4,588 F-16” fighters so far have been delivered to 24 users, included in which are the US Air Force and Navy, and the last F-16C (block 50) was reportedly delivered to Turkey in May 2011. Thus, eight years have passed for the F-16 without any sale/order.
Understandably, “in March 2017, it emerged that Lockheed Martin planned to cease manufacture of the F-16 at Fort Worth, Texas, in order to devote more resources to the (single-engine) F-35 Lightning II. The last F-16 to roll off the Fort Worth line in September 2017, whereupon the company will transfer equipment tooling to its plant at Greenville, South Carolina, which is to assume responsibility for the F-16.” — Jane’s 2018-19.
In other words, the F-16’s days are over. It’s got to be reborn. What better place for a rebirth than in India? If indeed Lockheed is serious about the F-21, then it should declare the broad improvements (without divulging its trade secrets and militarily sensitive info) for India to consider. As is well known, there are approximately 20 parameters to be looked at in an aircraft, and compared with the competing craft. These are: “type; programme; (past) users, if any; costs; design features; flying control; structure; landing gear; power plant; accommodation; systems; avionics; armament; dimensions (external); wings; areas; weights and loading; max take off weight; payload; performance; range; and radius of operation”. One can only hope that the F-21 clears this examination!

 asianage

Ahead of Mike Pompeo's visit, India takes first steps to sign major defence deal with US

On the eve of the visit of the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, to India, the first step towards a major defence deal with the United States has been taken.

India wants ten more P-8I aircraft for surveillance, reconnaissance and anti-submarine operations in addition to the eight it contracted for in 2009 for the Navy. The search for the additional ten P8!s cleared its first hurdle today when the Services Capital Acquisition Categorization Higher Committee (SCAPCHC), headed by the Chief of Integrated Staff or CISC, a senior lieutenant-general and including the three vice chiefs of staff of the three services cleared the proposal of about Rs 22,500 crore.

This is only the first step. The deal will have to be cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh and including the three chiefs and the defence secretary and then, by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and including the finance, defence, home and external affairs ministers.

The purchase will be through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route, meaning it is a government-to-government deal. It is also a follow-on order. This avoids the lengthy process of bidding and usually, charges of corruption and favouritism. Many large orders have taken the FMS route including very recently, the 145 M-777 light howitzers for the Indian Army and also, the C-130 and C-17 aircraft and the Apache and Chinook helicopters.

"This is a follow-on order and through the FMS system. We have indicated we especially want this aircraft," a senior navy official said.

The Pompeo visit later this month comes at a time when Indo-US defence ties are at a high, primarily after the signing of the COMCASA (Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement) and a similar logistics agreement earlier.

But there are also some major differences: the USA is not happy with the purchase of the S-400 air-defence missiles from Russia. The Indian side feels there were indications of acceptance by the USA earlier. Issues like the purchase of Iranian oil, though that is coming down and the differences over the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) trade agreement also have to be sorted out between the two countries.

The USA is also keen that the Indian Air Force buys the F-35 fighter aircraft. India is keen to buy about 114 fighters and the French, Russians and Swedes are also bidding for the deal.

 timesnownews

India to get NASAMS-II from US, Israel, Russia

Two places in Rajasthan will be the epicentres for launching the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System II (NASAMS-II) which will be used to create the ambitious multi-layered shield over Delhi and Mumbai.

India is in the process of acquiring the NASAMS-II from the US along with the Israeli, Russian and home-made systems. Once the deal is signed off, the missile system would cost Rs 6000 crore.

Two places in the state will going to be important for the NASAMS-II. These locations are in two little known villages in Alwar and Pali districts will soon gain strategic importance as they have been selected by the Defence Ministry’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for setting up radars to track enemy missiles.

The forest department has cleared the acquisition of 850 hectares of land in Khoa in Kishangarhbas tehsil of Alwar district and 350 hectares in Roopnagar, near Beawar in Pali district for installing ballistic missile defence grid that will protect the western and northern parts of the country.

This was done after the union ministry of environment and forest in 2014 cleared the DRDO proposal on the conditions laid down by the ministry. The ballistic missile defence grid will help guard New Delhi and Mumbai.

The state government has also allotted 80 hectares of land in Pilani for setting up the Bramhos missile assembly line.

These two sites in Khoa and Rupnagar have been strategically chosen by UDRDO and has a stealth feature. The ballistic missile defence system can be put in place at short notice.

To counter air-borne threats, DRDO will put a mixture of counter-attack missiles which will be able to shoot down enemy missiles both within the earth''s atmosphere (endo-atmospheric) and outside it (exo-atmospheric).

freepressjournal