‘Indian Navy ships armed with BrahMos can defeat warships of any country’

Stating that all the Indian Naval ships guarding the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea are armed with BrahMos missiles that give only 22 seconds reaction-time to the enemy, Sudhir Mishra, scientist and Director General (BrahMos), DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), said on Friday that these supersonic cruise missiles have given the Navy the capability to “defeat warships of any country.”

While speaking on the topic of the “Role of BrahMos in nation building” at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Ahmedabad, Mishra said, “It is an unmanned aircraft loaded with explosives… A ship usually has a radar that can only see only up to 20 kilometres… the speed of the BrahMos is 970 metre per second. When it is about 20 kilometres away, the enemy gets only 22 seconds to react. It is very difficult to engage a projectile coming with so much speed.”

The BrahMos missile has a range of 300 km and a speed of Mach 3.
 Mishra, who is also the CEO and MD of BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, said there are currently eight variants of the Brahmos that can be fired from different platforms like ships, Sukhios, submarines and land systems.

“One of the Naval captains told me that for a 600 kilometre diameter I have only friends in the ocean. The reason is nobody can afford to be an enemy within this diameter. Because, we are having a capability to defeat warships of any country. When I underline any country, you can include all the countries without telling you the name,” he said. Mishra also showed videos of BrahMos hitting a ship and breaking down into two pieces and said, “This is the fear our enemies and adversaries are having. This kind of capability we provide to our Navy.”

Serving Naval officers have spoken in public about the increasing might of the Chinese in the Indian Ocean which is a key trade route for ships plying to South-East Asia and beyond.

BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd a private entity developed in joint venture with Russia that began operations with Rs 1,300 crore about 21 years ago has today “created business worth Rs 34,000 crore” with only Indian Armed forces as the only customer.

“Had we exported to other countries, we would have certainly become much bigger and made much more money,” Mishra said.

Brahmos Aerospace, the joint venture between DRDO and NPOM of Russia, was formed on February 12, 1998. “DRDO has a 50.5 per cent equity in the project. Had it crossed 51 per cent, it would have become a defence Public Sector Undertaking and the government never wanted another PSU to come up. So we are a private company which is owned and run by the government,” he added.

He said 70-75 per cent of the Brahmos systems were being manufactured in an indigenous manner and more than 200 industries have employed 20,000 workers for the development and manufacture of the missile. These industries include L&T which manufacturers canisters for the missile near Vadodara.

 indianexpress

Indian Army Upgrades Vintage Russian Schilka Air Defence System In Partnership With BEL

The Indian Army on Friday, February 28, upgraded its Russian Schilka Air Defence system to a modern weapon platform. The 510 Amry Base Workshop (EME) in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh rolled out the advanced weapon. The 1980s vintage equipment has been upgraded by a joint venture between the Indian Army and the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

About the upgraded system ::
As per the BEL website, the upgraded system is an advanced air defence system against attacking aircraft and helicopters. The upgradation process included replacing the existing Radar, analog computer, engine, GTE with state of the art system and addition of air conditioning system for crew comfort.

Further, as per reports, the newly upgraded system provides drastic improvements in operational performance, accuracies, power consumption and MTBF. It also enables accurate identification, acquisition and tracking of targets while operating in an ECM environment.

Along with this, the new system is capable of firing aerial targets and accept cueing from external Surveillance Radar. The upgraded system is also capable of engaging enemy aircraft during day or night as well as in all weather conditions.

Upgrade System Features ::
According to Bharat Electronics Limited, the features of the upgraded system include the following:

3D Active Phased Array Radar
Single Target Tracking
Multiple Target Tracking due to Electronic Steering in Elevation
ECCM Features
Low Output Power
Optronic System (CCD/TI/ LRF)
Operator Comfort with Air Conditioner
User-Friendly Operator Displays
New Engine with a drastic reduction in fuel consumption
Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (NBC) protection system.

 republicworld

36 Rafale aircraft will not be adequate for IAF: Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria

The 36 Rafale fighter aircraft will not provide the Indian Air Force a complete solution and there is a need to develop indigenous weapons and technology which will be a major “gamechanger” in the future, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said on Friday.

Bhadauria, while speaking at a seminar “Air Power in ‘No War No Peace’ Scenario”, explained that the induction of the Rafales armed with Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Meteor missiles, will give the IAF an edge over the Pakistan Air Force in terms of BVR technology. The first Rafales arrive in India in May.

But, he said that the IAF cannot just depend on the Rafale’s Meteor BVR missiles to sort out the force’s requirements. He added that when the indigenous Astra missile is integrated with the Su-30 and MiG-29 aircraft, it will ensure better performance and parity across the IAF. He said that the indigenous industry needs to give the IAF an edge in weapons, adding that the force will be “happy” to use such technology in the next skirmish.
 While the IAF Chief said that the force didn’t have the BVR edge over the Pakistan Air Force at the time of the Balakot strikes in February last year, the hit showed the will to strike targets across the Line of Control. He said it was a demonstration on the use of airpower below the conventional boundaries, wherein the IAF can be used for targeting and have escalation control. He added that to prevent collateral damage, the weapons and their quantity was chosen to be just adequate, otherwise the IAF could have “doubled the aircraft and launched four times the weapons”.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who also attended the seminar, said that the Balakot strikes were a strong message to Pakistan that terrorist infrastructure across the border cannot be used as a safe haven to wage a “low-cost war” against India.

He said that following the Balakot strikes the government has initiated “major structural changes” to tackle future threats. But, he added that arresting terrorists like Hafiz Saeed is not enough and unless Pakistan is made accountable it will continue with its policy of “deceit”.

On the Rafales and indigenous technology, Bhadauria said, “The 36 Rafales will not give the IAF an entire solution. But when our indigenous Astra goes on to the Su-30 and MiG-29 that is the real power of parity and better performance that will spread across the air force...Indigenous technology projects need to succeed on a time frame that is robust and the industry needs to give us these products that are indigenous. That is a major game changer that should happen in future. We will be happy that in the next skirmish the weapons that we use are indigenous.”

The Astra is a BVR air-to-air missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. He also said that over the last year the air force has concentrated on advanced weapon systems and has examined some sensors and indigenous missiles that it has expedited. “We cannot just depend on meteor class BVR on Rafale to sort out the entire air force requirements. It is also important that this capability on rafale is complemented with similar capability on other platforms,” he said.

“We had a BVR edge over the Pakistan Air Force at the time of Kargil. We allowed that to slip and thereafter it took a decade and a half in our struggle through the acquisition process to be able to get back to a better capability. It didn’t materialise at the time of Balakot and it will materialise with the Rafale inducting,” he said.

Speaking on Balakot's lessons, Bhadauria said, “First is the demonstration of the will to strike against targets across the LoC. This was a major shift and fundamental to our actions in the future…This was a clear demonstration on the use of airpower that exists a space below the conventional boundaries wherein the IAF can be utilised for targeting and yet have escalation control.”

He also said, “It was important to get the target and to ensure no collateral damage. That was the choice of weapons was chosen and the quantity chosen in a manner that it is just adequate, otherwise we could have doubled the aircraft and launched four times the weapons.”

Meanwhile, Singh said that India’s out-of-the-box response reflected in the Balakot airstrikes forced the rewriting of many doctrines across the LoC and the adversary has to think “100 times for any future misadventures”.

Stressing on the importance of diplomatic and financial pressure to thwart cross-border terrorism, he said, “We have recently seen the impact of collective diplomatic and financial pressure on Pakistan. Terrorists like Hafiz Saeed who were treated like VIPs and heroes, have been put behind bars. We realise that this is not enough and unless Pakistan is made accountable, it will continue with its previous policy of duplicity and deceit. All attempts are being made to work in this direction.”

 economictimes

F-35s for India: Is America About to Make a Big Stealth Sale?

New Delhi still likes Russian technology, but Washington is trying to make a sale and enhance American-Indian ties. If a deal happens, it will further remove India from Russia’s influence. When the Times of India revealed that the Indian air force was revising its single-engine fighter competition to encompass twin-engine jet designs, a collective groan likely rang from New Delhi to Washington—and even Stockholm.

This first appeared in 2018 and is being reposted due to reader interest. The competition was meant to acquire a new generation of short-range jets suitable for defending India’s borders. The Indian air force is gradually retiring its 1950s-era MiG-21 single-engine fighter jets over the next few decades. Currently, it has only thirty-three squadrons of combat aircraft out of a planned forty-four, with ten more squadrons set to retire their aircraft over the coming decade.

An analyst quoted by the Times of India characterized India’s Ministry of Defense as “constantly changing their rules, changing their minds” and having a “knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.” The exasperation stems from two factors. The first is that the single-engine competition had narrowed down to just two choices, the American F-16 and Swedish JAS 39 Gripen. If the government had simply stuck to the original guidelines, the Indian air force could have begun receiving 115 new fighters by the early 2020s and retained domestic production facilities to build even more if desired.

The second factor is that the Indian government is notorious for its incredibly slow arms procurement process—that often results in dysfunctional weapon systems and partially or completely cancelled orders. Take the preceding Medium Multi-Role Competition (MMCR) which began in the year 2001: even though the Indian air force wanted to order more Mirage 2000s, New Delhi insisted on holding a competition that took so long that the Mirage 2000 stopped being available for production. Fifteen years later, bickering over technology transfers led India to order just thirty-six more advanced and expensive Rafale fighters—out of the 126 aircraft originally stipulated.

Then there is the domestically built single-engine HAL Tejas (“Radiant”) Light Combat Aircraft, which India began developing in the 1980s. Over three decades later, the delta-wing fighter has proven so underpowered that the Indian navy refused to adopt it into service and the air force reduced the size of its order. Although HAL is working on an improved Tejas Mark IA and II which may correct some of the aircraft’s flaws, production is lagging behind schedule.

So, unless the Ministry of Defense moves more quickly than before, selection and procurement of replacement fighters could drag on for years while the fighter force continues to shrink.

The single-engine requirement was supposedly revised because the Indian air force never really wanted to constrain the competition to light fighters in the first place. Instead, the Indian air force wanted to procure the rest of the medium fighters the MMCR project failed to obtain. This may have coincided with recent public furor over the cost-per-plane of the Rafale, causing the Modi administration to open up the new competition to a wider range of fighter types.

Single-engine fighters are significantly cheaper and more cost-efficient to operate than their twin-engine counterparts. Twin-engine fighters tend to boast greater range and weapons capacity. As India’s chief likely adversary, Pakistan, is a short hop across the border, short-range fighters have a viable role to play in India’s defense strategy. A downside of single-engine jets is that they tend to suffer higher accident rates because they lack a backup engine.

The single-engine competition had narrowed down to either the updated F-16 Block 70 or the Saab JAS-39 Gripen-E. While the Swedish jet is more advanced, the super F-16 would have been cheaper up front and come with advantageous export conditions due to the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program. Though both aircraft would have been manufactured in India by partner companies, the F-16 deal would have involved an opportunity for India to become the sole distributor of the popular airframe.

Some critics of the single-engine competition grumbled that investing top dollars on an upgraded version of a fighter developed in the 1970s was not a sound investment for the future. However, the Gripen-E and F-16 Block 70 technically both remain on the table, even though the number of eligible competitors has increased.

Notable new twin-engine contenders now include the American Super Hornet, the Eurofighter Typhoon, the French Rafale, and the Russian Su-35 or MiG-35. The Russian fighters offer good bang-for-buck on paper, but India has been frustrated by poor after sales support and frequent breakdowns in much of its Russian hardware—including the MiG-29 and Su-30MKI jets.

Another factor is the Indian navy, which has to account for fifty-seven naval fighters operating from its current ski-jump-style aircraft carriers as well as a planned catapult-equipped flat top carriers. The aircraft under consideration are the FA-18E Super Hornet, the Rafale-M, a navalized Gripen, and the MiG-29K—all of which have land-based counterparts. If both the Indian navy and air force end up choosing similar aircraft, there could be significant cost-savings in terms of spare parts and training.

The Super Hornet is favored to win the naval contract and recent reports indicate it may be the leader in the revised fighter competition as well. Though the Super Hornet does not quite match earlier twin-engine fighters such as the F-15 in terms of raw performance, the newer aircraft are designed with modern digital avionics, and also has a comparatively stealthy radar cross section of only one meter squared. The new Block III model comes equipped with conformal fuel tanks for greater range at lower aerodynamic cost, an infrared search-and-track system and a sophisticated networkable targeting computer.

The Stealth Angle

Fourth-generation jets like the F-16 and Super Hornet are highly capable in most regards, but aerial war games have suggested one major limitation—they lose by lopsided margins when pitted against fifth-generation stealth fighters. Stealth fighters also have much better odds of successfully penetrating hostile air space defended by ground-based surface-to-air missiles.

New Delhi has wanted its own stealth fighters for a while—and has invested the equivalent of over five billion dollars in Russia’s PAK FA stealth fighter program, now designated as the Su-57, in the hopes of getting an India-specific variant called the FGFA. However, the program has suffered major setbacks and Moscow has downsized its production run to only twelve Su-57s. Indian officials have grown increasingly disenchanted with the Su-57, publicly complaining about underpowered engines, subpar stealth characteristics and a lack of transparency as to what lay behind these problems.

Separately, India’s Defense Research and Development Organization has invested significant resource drawing up plans for its own HAL AMCA stealth fighter, with hopes for a flying prototype in the mid-2020s. However, a viable AMCA would require India to acquire or develop key technologies including the manufacture of radar-absorbent materials, high-performance domestic jet engines and advanced AESA radars.

As it happens, a Hindustan Times article from March 11, 2018 indicates that the light-fighter competition will now be linked to the transfer of technologies necessary for producing the AMCA. This naturally leads to the question: who actually has that stealth technology to share? India is already linked to Russia’s Su-57 program but is dissatisfied with the collaboration. Both Boeing and Rafale have some experience with stealth technology, but the clear leader in the field is Lockheed-Martin, manufacturer of the F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter and the earlier F-22 Raptor.

The single-engine F-35 has long been the elephant in the room, as it is being exported to U.S. allies at a price of roughly $100 million per airframe. Though the Lightning isn’t as fast, maneuverable or heavy-lifting as top fourth-generation fighters, it’s stealth characteristics and advanced sensors and avionics allow it to lob missiles at adversaries from far beyond the range it can be tracked by opposing X-Band targeting radars. Furthermore, it’s avionics are designed to share sensor data with less stealthy friendly fighters, enhancing their effectiveness.

Washington would love for India to join in on the deal, and not just because India could pitch in more money to control the bloated per-unit cost of the F-35. The F-35s would be an expensive, long-term and ongoing commitment that would tie the Indian military closely to the United States and help counterbalance China’s modernizing air force. On the other hand, both the U.S. military and Lockheed are tight-fisted when it comes to sharing both stealth technology and the F-35’s networked operating system, which could leave both end users and service providers vulnerable to hacking.

India had historically relied on the Soviet Union and then Russia to furnish its military hardware, so spurning the Su-57 program in favor of the F-35 risks cooling that relationship. Indeed, New Delhi has steadfastly maintained it is not seeking to purchase F-35s. However, India is increasingly concerned with with China’s rapidly growing military capabilities, which include new J-20 stealth fighters and Russian-built Su-35s. This means New Delhi’s geopolitical interests are drawing it closer to Washington instead of Moscow, as evidenced by a base-sharing agreement struck in 2016.

Indeed, on March 4, 2018 the U.S. Pacific Command’s Adm. Harry Harris revealed that New Delhi was making inquiries about purchasing F-35s. Realistically, Indian buy-in to the F-35 would take years to arrange, and the stealth fighter continues to suffer from serious teething issues in U.S. service. Therefore, even if the F-35 is on the table, New Delhi will still likely pursue additional fourth-generation fighters to replenish its shrinking air force.

 nationalinterest

HAL offers new multirole chopper to Indian armed forces

State-run Hindustan Aeronautics LtdNSE -5.61 % (HAL) on Thursday offered an indigenous multirole helicopter to the Indian armed forces for replacing its medium lift choppers such as MI-17s, Kamovs and Seakings.

"We have apprised Defence Minister Rajnath Singh of the progress made on the design and development of the multirole helicopter for induction in the Indian Air Force (IAF), Navy and Army," HAL Chairman R. Madhavan said in a statement here.

The city-based defence behemoth displayed a mockup of the multirole helicopter to Rajnath Singh at its helicopter production facility in the city's eastern suburb.

"We hope to develop the new helicopter in the next 8-10 years when the present fleet of medium lift copters are scheduled to be phased out," said Madhavan.

The aerospace major has submitted to the Defence Ministry a project report for sanctioning funds by the Cabinet committee on security to develop the new helicopter

"The minister has evinced interest in our new offering to the three services," Madhavan noted.

The HAL Chairman also told the Defence Minister that it was waiting for the ministry's order to roll out its Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) for the IAF and the Army.

"LCH is ready for operational induction in the services and our new production hanger has capacity to rollout 30 of them per year," helicopter complex chief executive G.V.S. Bhaskar said on the occasion.

The public sector enterprise has submitted a techno commercial proposal to the ministry for rolling out 15 combat choppers under the limited series production.

"The demand for LCH is estimated to be 160 units by the services," Bhaskar said.

The indigenous 5.5-tonne LCH is powered by two Shakti engines and has many features of the company's Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).

"LCH is the first attack helicopter to land in forward bases at Siachen, 4,700m above sea level, with 500kg load," said the statement.

LCH had received the initial operation clearance (IOC) on August 26, 2017.

 economictimes

IAF to focus on bombs & air-to-air missiles for edge over Pakistan

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is looking at regaining its edge over its Pakistani counterpart in air-to-air missile capabilities that was “allowed to slip” amid a “struggle” to acquire them in a process that has lasted 15 years, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhaduria said Friday.

In a frank conversation on the takeaways from the Balakot air strike and the subsequent dogfight on 27 February 2019, the IAF chief said the force is not just depending on the Rafale aircraft and its weapons to regain the edge but also on other missiles, including indigenous ones.

He was speaking at a seminar organised by the Centre for Air Power Studies.

When Pakistan launched Operation Swift Retort, their F16s were armed with the Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missile — AMRAAM — which has higher capability than that of the R-77 used by the Su 30 MKI and the MICA used by the Mirages.

This meant that while Pakistan could hit Indian aircraft in air from BVR, the Sukhois and the Mirages could not.

Rafale to tilt scale in India’s favour

The 36 Rafale fighters that India will operate come with state-of-the-art radars and unmatched BVR capabilities. They will also be armed with the Meteor air-to-air missiles that have a range of 150 km. This means that a Rafale can take out an enemy aircraft 150 km away, in effect without even crossing Indian airspace.

At present, neither Pakistan nor India have missiles to counter the Meteor, which tilts the scale in India’s favour.

“We had the edge over the Pakistan Air Force in terms of Beyond Visual Range Missile capability at the time of Kargil. We allowed that to slip and thereafter it took a decade-and-a-half of struggle with the acquisition process to be able to get better capability,” Bhaduria said.

He added that the BVR capability will soon materialise with the induction of the Rafale. The first four Rafales will land in India in May.

The IAF chief underlined that in air engagement, especially in a deeply-contested area, it is important to have an edge in weapons.

“Once we retain this edge, it is important that we don’t allow it to slip,” he said.

The IAF chief further said that the force cannot depend on the Meteor alone to meet the requirements and so is looking at other systems too.

The trials for the indigenous air-to-air missile Astra has been successfully completed and is now being inducted. The plan is to increase the range further, sources said.

There are other systems too that India is eyeing, sources added.

‘We struck at the heart of terrorists training camps’

Speaking about the Balakot air strikes, the IAF chief said the government took a “tough and bold decision” to strike at the heart of terrorists training camps deep inside Pakistan.

He said that the successful strike proved how air capability can be used for non-conventional warfare as well.

Even during Kargil, the then government did not allow the IAF fighters to cross the LoC since it was always felt that the use of air power could be escalatory.

“The IAF successfully struck the chosen target. The Pakistan Air Force responded 30 hours later with a large package of aircraft under Operation Swift Retort. IAF ensured they weren’t able to hit targets,” Bhaduria said.

“They were in a hurry to disengage after being surprised by our response. They were doing it for their domestic audience.”

‘Strong will of government necessary’

Speaking at the same seminar, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Bipin Rawat said if the military has to be prepared for the tasks assigned to it, “then it’s important we maintain credible deterrence at land, air and sea at all times”.

“Deterrence comes from keeping every personnel trained and motivated. The credible deterrence comes from the will of the military leadership and intent of political leadership while taking the tough decision,” he said. “This was amply shown after Kargil and the Uri and Pulwama attack.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the security scenario has completely changed in the last few years.

“Kargil and incidents of cross-border terrorism are examples of new kind of warfare,” he said. “Hybrid warfare is the reality of the present day. There is no clear beginning and end in this changing scenario of conflict.”

He further said that for Pakistan, employment of terrorism against India is a low-cost option. “We have taught a lesson to Pakistan on this. Through Balakot, we have indicated that terrorist camps across the Line of Control are no longer secure places for terrorists,” Singh said.

 theprint

India to get MH-60 'Romeo' in early 2021 to counter China, Pakistan

India and the US, during US President Trump's 36-hour whirlwind visit, finalised defence deals worth USD 3 billion under which 30 military helicopters will be procured from two American defence majors for Indian armed forces. Included in this is the Indian Navy's procurement of 24 MH-60 Romeo helicopters at a cost of $2.6 billion.

The deal was sealed under a G2G deal under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme.

These helicopters would serve as replacements for the Sea King 42/42A helicopters that were already decommissioned in the 1990s. The choppers will operate from frontline ships and aircraft carriers providing them the critical attributes of flexibility of operation, enhanced surveillance and attacking capability.
 The delivery of these helicopters is planned as early 2021 and comes at a time when the Indian Ocean Region is witnessing an increasing security threat due to proliferation of submarines.

The MH-60 is famously called as 'Romeo' and is known as a helicopter that can hunt submarines deep inside the ocean. Made by Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, the helicopters can be effectively employed for offensive and defensive roles including Anti-Submarine Warfare, Anti-Ship Strike, Low Intensity Maritime Operations, Search and Rescue, over the horizon Network Centric Operations and Electronic Warfare.

The acquisition of the MH-60R helicopters also provides the Indian Navy with a key capability and effectively contributes to the Make in India initiative. Lockheed Martin would transfer technology to Indian Partners for manufacture of products and services. This would then help in the absorption of niche technology, skill development and manufacture of eligible products leading to generation of jobs, skilling of MSMEs and indigenous production of products for buy-back by the OEM.

 economictimes

Religious minorities continue to face violence in Pakistan: UN rights chief

Religious minorities in Pakistan continue to face violence and repeated attacks on their places of worship and government's failure to amend the blasphemy law provisions led to violence against them, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Thursday. Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, briefing the ongoing 43rd Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on human rights developments around the world, mentioned the case of Junaid Hafeez, a university lecturer in Pakistan, who has been sentenced to death in December for blasphemy.

"Religious minorities in Pakistan continue to face violence, repeated attacks on their places of worship, and discrimination in law and practice," Bachelet said.

"The (Pakistan) Government, despite recommendations from international human rights mechanisms, has not amended or repealed blasphemy law provisions which have led to violence against religious minorities, as well as to arbitrary arrests and prosecution," the former Chilean president said in a statement on Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law.


"The death penalty remains mandatory for blasphemy, and in December, the Multan Court sentenced Junaid Hafeez to death on a blasphemy charge, in contravention of international human rights law," she said.

Blasphemy is a hugely sensitive issue in Pakistan, with even unproven allegations often prompting mob violence. Anyone convicted, or even just accused, of insulting Islam, risks a violent and bloody death at the hands of vigilantes.

Rights groups have said the blasphemy laws are routinely abused to seek vengeance and settle personal scores.

On Wednesday, Pakistan's Minister of Human Rights Shireen Mazari while addressing the UNHRC session said the government was committed to uphold and protect the rights of children, women and minorities through the enactment of progressive legislations.

 economictimes

Decisive Strike Capability Upgrade For Air Force Still To Be Achieved

The game-changing Rafale fighter jets will only start arriving by May and other measures, including a plan to upgrade the air-to-air combat capability of the rest of the fleet are still in the works. Conversations on an additional 36 jets that will cost significantly less than the original order of € 7.6 billion have started but the order is nowhere close to being placed. “As per the current scenario, when we plan an engagement, the ideal situation is two Su-30MKIs against one F-16 for an assured kill," a senior official said

 

NEW DELHI: A year after the Balakot airstrikes and the ensuing air battle the next day on the Line of Control (LoC), a lot of plans have been implemented but a decisive strike capability upgrade for the Indian Air Force is still to be achieved.

The game-changing Rafale fighter jets will only start arriving by May and other measures, including a plan to upgrade the air-to-air combat capability of the rest of the fleet are still in the works.

 

The biggest lesson of the air skirmish, in which Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s aircraft was shot down across the border, was the lack of an edge over the US supplied AMRAAM beyond-visual range missiles that are in service with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).

The engagement range of the AIM-120 AMRAAM, fired from F-16s with PAF, forced Indian fighters to take evasive manoeuvres on February 27 last year. The Indian Su-30MKI and Mirage-2000 fighters that had been scrambled to take on the enemy fighters could not get a firing solution on F-16s as both their radars and weapons were outranged by the American supplied missiles.

It was only Abhinandan who could fire away the close-range R-73 missile as he managed to sneak in close to the enemy fighter formation after taking off from Srinagar. This key capability is still missing, though the arrival of the Rafale jets armed with Meteor air-to-air missiles will change the equation.

“As per the current scenario, when we plan an engagement, the ideal situation is two Su-30MKIs against one F-16 for an assured kill. This is because of better radar and weapon on the F-16. When the Rafale comes in, one fighter jet would be adequate to go up against two F-16s,” a senior official who was involved in the Balakot operations told ET.

 

While the fleet of 36 Rafale jets would come with the Meteor, there has been no move yet to order more of the jets since the Balakot strike. Conversations on an additional 36 jets that will cost significantly less than the original order of € 7.6 billion have started but the order is nowhere close to being placed.

 

economictimes

Pakistan considers Chinese attack helicopters on back of stalled AH-1Z, T129 deals

Pakistan looks set to turn to China for its attack helicopter replacement needs after US embargoes halted sales of rival Bell and Turkish Aerospace products.

Islamabad had in 2015 ordered 12 Bell AH-1Zs under the USA’s Foreign Military Sales process and then followed that in 2018 with a deal for 30 Turkish Aerospace T129s worth $1.5 billion.

But the AH-1Z sale has been on hold since US President Donald Trump cut security funding to Pakistan, and export sanctions related to the US-built LHTEC T800 engines which power the T129 has led to the suspension of that contract.
 This impasse, and a pressing need to retire its fleet of 48 Bell AH-1Fs, is now pushing Islamabad to consider alternatives, Major General Syed Najeeb Ahmed, commander, army aviation, told Defence IQ’s International Military Helicopter conference in London on 26 February.

“We are looking at other options. One of them is in China in the shape of the new attack helicopter they have created called the Z-10ME,” he says. “In case the first two options do not materialise this third option will be considered.”

Pakistan had previously evaluated an earlier version of the CAIC Z-10, but Ahmed says the latest iteration has improved weapons and systems.

Ahmed is extremely doubtful that the AH-1Z deal can be resurrected, and although Turkish Aerospace is developing an indigenous replacement engine for the T129, he is not confident that this will be ready in time.

In fact, Pakistan has set a deadline of July this year for a final decision, Ahmed says.

The relative urgency is driven by India’s capability increases, as New Delhi grows its fleet of Boeing AH-64E Apaches.

“The Cobras are no match for the Apaches that the Indians are getting,” he says. “We definitely want to match that [capability].”

 flightglobal

IAF Chief Denies Reports of Delay in Delivery of S-400 from Russian Side

India has placed an order of five units of the S-400 missile defence system worth $5.5 billion in October 2018. The Russian side had confirmed that production of the system has already begun and the training of Indian specialists will start very soon.

Indian Air Force Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria has categorically rejected the reports about delay in induction of much needed S-400 air missile defence system.

He said India and Russia have been optimising the delivery schedule which will make the induction process quicker.“The programme delivery schedule is being optimised in coordination with Russia to enable the Indian Air Force to operationalise the weapon system quicker,” Air Chief Marshal Bhadauria said while providing details about the force’s renewed focus on readiness and operational training.

Earlier, Indian media reported about the delay in the “game-changing” system which was based on a statement made by Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin in New Delhi during which he said that the delivery of all S-400 air defence missile systems will be completed by 2025.

The statement by Babushkin surprised journalists and defence watchers in Delhi, as India's defence ministry had previously announced on several occasions that the deliveries of the system will commence from October 2020 and will be completed by April 2023.

India had placed an order of five units of the S-400 missile defence system during the 19th India-Russia bilateral annual summit held in New Delhi in 2018.

The contract had infuriated the US administration which threatened economic sanctions on India under a US legislation known as the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

However, India defied the threat and conveyed to the US that the long-range missile system is in favour of the country’s national interest and could not back down on the agreement.
 India's Air Force believes that the system, which entered service in 2007 and was designed to destroy all types of air targets, including drones and cruise missiles, will help in dominating enemy’s airspace. Former Air Force Chief B.S. Dhanoa had said in the past that the induction of S-400 air missile defence systems and Rafale fighter jets will further tilt the technological balance in India’s favour.

 sputniknews

India, US sign contract for additional Apache attack choppers

India and US have signed the contract for six Apache helicopters for the Indian Army which follows a contract for 22 helicopters ordered by the Indian Air Force in 2015. While 17 of 22 Apaches have been delivered to India, the remaining five will be delivered to the Indian Air Force by the end of March 2020.

Notably, the deliveries for the Indian Army Apaches are planned to begin in 2023.

The Apache sale is a hybrid procurement – Direct Commercial Sale (DCS) between Boeing and MoD and Foreign Military Sale (FMS) between the GoI and USG.

The FMS contract for the Apache includes munitions, training, aircraft certification, and components includes engines, EO sensors and the radar. The direct commercial sale portion of the contract primarily consists of the aircraft (less engines/sensors), logistic support, spares and services.

Indian Army will get the AH-64E Apache configuration – the latest attack helicopter version that the US Army first took delivery of in November 2011.

In terms of capabilities, the AH-64E Apache helicopters for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army will be identical.

 economictimes

India and US may soon sign for World's Deadliest UAV's MQ 9 Reaper

As India and the U.S. look to announce defence deals worth around $3 billion during President Donald Trump’s visit beginning on Monday, the proposal to procure armed drones from the U.S. for the three services is very much under way and the qualitative requirements (QR) are currently being finalised, defence sources said.

“The proposal for 10 High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) drones for each Service is on. The qualitative requirements (QR) are currently being finalised,” a defence source told The Hindu. “The pricing and availability (P&A) data has been obtained from the U.S. and joint QRs are being formulated, while the payloads will be different for each service,” the source added.

The Navy’s QRs are ready and that of the Army and the Air Force should be ready by the next meeting of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC), likely within 40 days, the source said.

The CoSC consists of the three chiefs and is headed by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), who is also the permanent Chairman of CoSC.

This week during Mr. Trump’s visit to New Delhi, the two sides are expected to announce deals for 24 MH-60R Multi-Role Helicopters for the Navy and six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for the Army worth around $3 billion. The two deals got the final approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) last week. There are several other big ticket deals in the pipeline, which includes the armed drones, air defence system to protect Delhi, MK-45 127mm naval guns and six more P-8I long patrol maritime patrol aircraft.
 The issue of procuring armed drones from the U.S.— the MQ-9 Reaper or Predator-B built by General Atomics — has been long under discussion, with questions being raised over its necessity given the steep cost and also the operational requirement in the Indian context. With a vast ocean space to monitor and increasing profile in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), the Navy has been the one pushing for High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) drones to beef up surveillance.

“There is a drive towards fleet rationalisation,” a Navy source said, adding that they are at a point where in place of manned platforms they should look at unmanned ones. “As we look at unmanned platforms, the number of minesweepers has been reduced from 12 to eight and requirement for additional P-8Is has been reduced from 10 to six, the Navy source explained.

The HALE drones can conduct surveillance, while the P-8Is will be for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) role, the source stated, adding that the Navy is looking for Seaguardian drones armed with missile and radars for maritime reconnaissance.

“If the process goes as per plan, then we expect to issue the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) by first half of this year,” another source said. The U.S. has in principle approved the sale of these armed drones to India following which the P&A data was made available.Expensive platforms ::

For the Navy, the Seaguardian can fly in sync with its P-8Is, which are also from the U.S. With India signing the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement(COMCASA) in 2018, U.S. origin platforms will also get encrypted systems which will further improve their capabilities. The unmanned platforms reduce the number of personnel, their turnaround and associated costs, officials said.

While the Navy has a different requirement, there have been questions on the need of armed drones for the Army and the IAF due to which the deal has been delayed for a long time. Each drone with its load of weapons and sensors is expected to cost around $200 million. “It is more expensive than a fighter aircraft,” a defence source said.

According to General Atomics, Seaguardian, the maritime variant of Predator-B, can fly at an altitude of over 40,000 feet and has a maximum endurance of 35 hours. It can carry an external payload of 2.1 tonnes across nine hard points.

thehindu

Reports: Sikorsky close to landing $2.1 billion India helicopter contract

A key government committee in India signed off on a $2.1 billion purchase agreement to acquire two dozen naval helicopters manufactured by Sikorsky, with the deal having yet to be finalized.

An initial outline for an agreement was reached in 2018, with India publications citing a Ministry of Defense official last week who indicated a security committee had given its final approval in advance of President Donald Trump’s visit this week to India.

India wants 24 Sikorsky MH-60R helicopters powered with engines from the GE Aviation subsidiary of General Electric. The Seahawk variants would replace more than 30 Sea King helicopters built or licensed by Sikorsky, part of India’s total fleet of 185 helicopters, according to FlightGlobal.com, excluding training aircraft.It is an open question on how much work from any India contract would flow through to Sikorsky’s main plant in Stratford and satellite offices in Shelton and Bridgeport, which with more than 7,600 employees make Sikorsky and parent Lockheed Martin the largest corporate employer in western Connecticut.

Aviation and defense are two industries subject to “Make in India” rules established in 2014, under which India requires some domestic manufacturing work for major purchases by its government. Separately more than a decade ago under former parent United Technologies, Sikorsky teamed with the Mumbai-based conglomerate Tata Group to produce cabins in India for its big S-92 helicopters.

Prior to Lockheed Martin acquiring Sikorsky in 2016 from UTC, Sikorsky won a contract to deliver more than 100 utility helicopters to Turkey, agreeing to help the country establish a major manufacturing and assembly facility there. Earlier this month, however, Lockheed Martin warned that remaining work on that contract could be in jeopardy after the Trump administration slapped sanctions on the Turkish government over the purchase of missile systems from Russia.

Regardless of India’s ultimate decision on manufacturing, much of the precision work occurs in Stratford that goes into sophisticated aircraft like the Seahawk, as well as at a Lockheed Martin facility in Owego, N.Y. that focuses on electronic mission systems.

Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin are currently gearing up for full production of the CH-53K helicopter for the Marine Corps, the largest ever deployed by the U.S. military with the Pentagon planning to purchase more than 200 aircraft over the span of a decade.

 ctpost

India, US to seal $3 billion defence deals: Donald Trump at Motera Stadium

The United States and India will seal multi-billion dollar defence deals in Delhi on Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced as he addressed the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad.

"We will seal defence deals worth $3 billion on Tuesday," the US President said at the Namaste Trump event in Ahmedabad.

"As we continue to build our defence cooperation, the US looks forward to providing India with some of the best and most feared military equipment on the planet. We make the greatest weapons ever made. We make the best and we are dealing now with India," US President Donald Trump said on Monday.
 India and the US will sign two deals on Tuesday in Delhi for 24 MH-60R helicopters for the Indian Navy and six AH-64E Apache helicopters for the Indian Army.

The deal to procure 24 MH-60 Romeo helicopters by India from the US at a cost of USD 2.6 billion and another contract to acquire six AH-64E Apache helicopters for USD 800 million from the US will be a major highlight of the Donald Trump's visit to India.

 indiatoday

Long wait over! Indian Armed forces to get high-tech US Armed Drones equipped with missiles

Preparations are going on to ensure that the deal for procuring for 30 Drones from the US-based General Atomics worth $ 3 billion be inked before the close of this financial year. The three services are expected to get 10+10+10 the MQ-9 Reaper or Predator-B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) drones, which have already been approved by the US President Donald Trump’s administration. The US administration’s approval includes the sale of armed drones to India and will come equipped with missiles and other systems. The drones are for the Indian Army, Air Force and the Indian Navy and the qualitative requirements for the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force are in the process of being finalised.

As has been reported by the Financial Express Online that all the drones will have different configurations as the payloads required by each service is going to be different. According to sources, “The Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) is likely to be issued soon, once all the procedures are followed and completed in a time-bound manner.”

These drones are going to help the Indian Navy to expand its monitoring of the Indian Ocean and to further strengthen its surveillance of its coastal boundaries.

While the Indian Navy is already using the P-8i for the carrying out anti-submarine warfare, the Sea Guardian drones which will be armed with missiles and radars will be used for the maritime reconnaissance.

These drones will come through the Foreign Military sales route and agreement will be between the governments of India and the US and the San Diego based General Atomics. The drones for the Indian Navy will easily work in sync with the P-8i which is already in service. Since in 2018, the two governments had inked the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), the American platforms in the Indian armed forces will get encrypted systems and these will help in improving their capabilities.

Each fully armed drone with sensors and weapons is expected to cost $ 200 million, making it more expansive than a fighter plane.

As reported earlier, the naval variant of Predator –B drones from the General, Atomics has the capability to carry an external payload of 2.1 tonnes.

It can fly at an altitude of over 40,000 feet, with endurance of around 35 hours.

The man behind the $ 3 billion deal negotiations


Dr Vivek Lall who was then Chief Executive for Strategic Development with General Atomics and a renowned US aerospace leader had spearheaded the efforts. Following which the US administration in an unprecedented move had announced its decision to release the Category 1 UAVs when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the US in June 2017 and met President Trump.

The first request was made by the Indian side in 2016 for 22 Sea Guardians to the American company. The Financial Express was the first to report that the Indian Army had made its request to buy these drones when the then US Secretary of Defense James Mattis had a meeting with the former Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi. The Indian Navy had initially requested for 22 Sea Guardian drones built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and this was followed by a request by the Indian Air Force for 100 Predator C drones.

 financialexpress

Submarines May Sink Indian Navy’s Plans For Future Aircraft Carrier

India's plans for a 3rd aircraft carrier may have been torpedoed as the defense chief prioritizes new submarines. This decision will shape the Indian Navy’s strengths and weaknesses at a time when regional players, notably China and Pakistan, are modernizing their navies.

The Indian Chief of Defense Staff, General Bipin Rawat, has been quoted as saying "When we know that there would be two aircraft carriers there, and if the submarine force is dwindling, then our priority should be for submarines". In an interview published on February 10 he also cast doubt on the third aircraft carrier. "It will be bought if it is required… but you cannot predict what the situation will be 10 years from now. We don’t know what will happen."

The submarine programs are likely to be locally developed nuclear-powered submarines. In particular a fleet of 6 next-generation attack submarines. These will extend the potency and reach of the navy, giving it the same number of nuclear attack submarines as France.

Today In: Business
India already operates nuclear boats. The first of 4 Arihant Class ballistic missile submarines has already conducted deterrence patrols. And their new K-4 ballistic missile was successfully tested in January. And a follow-on S-5 Class missile sub is also in the works.

The third carrier had been planned for years and was expected to be much larger than the other two. The unbuilt ship even has a name, INS Vishal. But India’s second carrier, INS Vikrant, is still under construction. That project has been significantly delayed and has yet to be proven in service. This may be a factor.

The defense chief’s hesitation on the aircraft carrier front is important. China already has two aircraft carriers in service. At 65,000 tons each is larger than India’s own two carriers, but Vishal would be around the same size. And China is already building its third carrier with probable plans for a forth.

But meanwhile both Pakistan and China are also improving their submarine forces. Pakistan has been upgrading its submarines for cruise missiles. And also fitting the Turkish Zargana anti-torpedo defensive system. Pakistan is buying 8 Type-039B Submarines from China. These will feature Air-Independent Power (AIP) which should increase their stealth. India’s own non-nuclear submarines do not have AIP although there is local research in this area.

Deprioritizing the Vishal project will be a blow for international defense firms. The carrier, and its aircraft, would likely have imported elements. The Vikrant Class carrier currently under construction was designed with Italian help. So international players were hoping to cash in with design assistance for Vishal. Russia may have offered their Project 23000E Shtorm nuclear-powered aircraft carrier design. This is a contender for their own future carrier. And there were some reports that Britain was offering the Queen Elizabeth class design.

Indian submarine programs have also benefited from outside help. But they are increasingly indigenous. India has been locally producing non-nuclear submarines of Russian, German and French designs. Indian nuclear-powered projects also show clear influence from Russia, but overall can be described as local designs. The Arihant Class for example has clear traces of the Russian Kilo Class submarine.

INS Vishal doesn’t seem to have been formally cancelled, and there are already hints in the Indian press of a challenge to the new direction. But if it ever materializes, it is now many many years away.

 forbes

Final Contract for AK-203 Assault Rifle Set to Be Finalised Shortly - Top Indian Defence Official

Russian assault rifles will replace the country’s home-made and outdated INSAS rifle. The Indian Army has previously made several attempts to replace the rifle but failed.

India and Russia are set to sign the final commercial contract for the purchase of the AK-203 assault rifle soon with all price issues now finalised, according to an Indian Army official.

“Most of the contentious issues are resolved. We will decide on price bid very shortly,” the official who wished to remain unidentified told Sputnik on Thursday.
Indo-Russia Rifles Limited, established between the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), the Kalashnikov Concern and Rosoboronexport — the Russian state agency for military exports — will manufacture the 7.62×39 mm Russian weapon at the Korwa Ordnance Factory in Uttar Pradesh. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the facility last March.
 The official said the infantry division has identified a total requirement of 670,000 AK-203 rifles for the army including 100,000 imports while the rest will be manufactured at the Indian facility.

“There will be certain numbers which will come as semi knocked down kits and subsequently we will looking at developing weapons here in India both for the indigenous requirement within India as also with the capability to export them subsequently,” Major General J.S. Sandhu, chief of Infantry, Indian Army, said.
Sandhu said there is a transfer of technology incorporated in the deal and it is expected that a large part of the requirement will be fulfilled by manufacturing rifles in India.

Each rifle is expected to cost around $1,100 which includes the cost of technology transfer and of setting up the manufacturing unit.

Last March, Modi said the AK-203 rifles will help the country's security forces fight militants in counter-terror operations.

The AK-203 is the latest and most advanced version of the AK-47 rifle which will replace INSAS. Indian security personnel had often complained in the past of jamming, magazine cracking etc. at higher altitudes in the Himalayas.

 sputniknews

India Should Buy the F-15EX from America. Here's Why.

India has been strengthening its defense relations with the United States to address shared strategic interests in the APAC region by purchasing a number of U.S. weapon systems. In the build up to President Donald Trump’s visit to India, the Indian government has cleared the $2 billion deal to acquire twenty-four MH-60 naval multirole helicopters. The United States has also issued the LOA for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) missile shield system to protect New Delhi.

The Indian multi-role fighter acquisition program sees another contender in the F-15EX manufactured by Boeing. Ahead of Trump’s visit to India, Boeing has announced that it will offer the F-15EX to the country. The F-15 is a legacy fighter manufactured in 1972 while the F-35 is a modern fifteen generation fighter. While the F-15 EX is a heavy upgraded air superiority fighter with enhanced weapons payload capacity and advanced avionics, the F-35 is VTOL fighter which can operate from aircraft carriers, helipads, and unpaved runways. The two fighters differ in the mission, roles, specifications, functions, and structural designs.

The F-35 is a VTOL aircraft, a command and control aircraft, and an ISR platform which feeds the pilot with information and options to prioritize the targets. The F-35 is packed with stealth characteristics and sensor fusion. It has a speed of Mach 1.6 and a range of 670 miles. Due to its small size, the F-35 cannot accommodate heavy radars and fuel as compared to F-15EX. Its combat role is further restricted, as it can carry eight missiles and is unable to carry heavy bombs to destroy strategic targets and enemy infrastructure.

The F-15EX resembles the Su-30 MKI in terms of its size. It has a speed of Mach 2.5 and a combat range of 1,100 miles. Due to its size and specifications, the F-15EX fulfills a variety of roles like air superiority, interceptor, deep penetration strikes against enemy infrastructure, strategic bombing, and ground attack.
It can carry weapons like the ASAT, JASSM-ER, GBU-28 Bunker Buster laser-guided bomb, hypersonic cruise missiles, and AGM-84H SLAM ER. It can carry twenty-two air-to-air missiles and other heavy weapons, which is far more than the F-35’s payload capacity. In fact, it carries more firepower than any other fighter aircraft in the U.S. Air Force inventory. In the future it may carry cluster bombs armed with thousands of small attack drones, which have the capability to enter rooms at military bases and target individuals without any collateral damage.

The F-15 can be detected by S-400 missile system from a range of 215 miles, while that range is much lower for the F-35 which is 21 miles The survivability rate in a contested airspace for the F-15 EX is less than the F-35 in view of the modern air defense system. But even at 21 miles the F-35 is vulnerable because, unlike the Patriot systems, the S-400 system is geared towards targeting aircrafts and missiles both at higher and lower altitudes.
The F-15EX lacks the stealth features of the F-35 but complete stealth has not yet been achieved as aircrafts at some possible distance will be visible to radars. In this scenario the F-35 may escape the intermediate range SAMs but will be engaged by short range missiles or point defense systems like MANPADs. A U.S. Air Force F-117 stealth aircraft was shot down by the Serbian military and recently the Iranians downed the stealth RQ-170 drone.

Historically, VTOL aircraft like the Harrier and its successor the F-35 have operated from bases close to the borders of their target areas or from aircraft carriers. They are not capable of deep penetration strikes in enemy territory. Rather they are deployed for cross border strikes, close proximity fights with enemy fighter aircrafts and destroying enemy ships while keeping the aircraft carriers at a safe distance.
Deploying a costly fighter like the F-35 near the border will increase the risk from Pakistan Air Force (PAF). A preemptive strike by PAF will destroy a squadron of Indian Air Force (IAF) F-35s. The F-35 has its own unique characteristics which can be exploited in a tactical environment as it can be called in for close air support to the Army on battlefields. The F-35 can be deployed against tactical targets such as insurgents, terrorist bases and enemy convoys. Due to the F-35s limited range and VTOL capability they can be inducted by the Indian Navy (IN) and not to the IAF.

The F-15 family is battle tested in the Middle East. Today, Israel has deployed F-15 fighters for a possible strike against Iran, and six F-15s were used in Operation Opera where they provided air cover to the offensive F-16 to destroy the Iraqi nuclear reactor in Osirak. In 1985, six Israeli F-15Ds and two F-15Cs flew over 1,200 miles from their bases across the Mediterranean Sea to strike the PLO’s headquarters located on the coast of Tunis, Tunisia. The F-15s have given the Israeli Air Force air supremacy over the Middle East.

The IAF will be operating against China and Pakistan. IAF requires fighters which have a deep penetration strike capability, the ability to loiter in the air for long hours, heavily equipped with weapons systems and can carry conformal fuel tanks so that they don’t have to return to the air base for refueling. Apart from the SU 30 MKI this criteria is fulfilled by the F-15 EX.
India, at present, does not require stealth fighters as the Pakistani air defenses are antiquated and porous. U.S. special forces from JSOC entered Pakistan undetected and assassinated Osama bin Laden. Indian fighter aircrafts penetrated Pakistan air defenses for a strike against terrorist camps at various locations without being challenged. Pakistan will not upgrade its existing air defense network as it allocates a major part of its budget for low intensity warfare with India. Russia will not sell the advanced S 400 missile systems to Pakistan. India has been Russia’s main customer as the IAF, IN, and Indian Army has been buying Russian weapon systems.

The strength of any country is measured by the deterrent capacity of the air force which is manifested in the quality of fighters. The F-15EX has a potent deterrent capability as compared to its smaller cousin the F-35. Heavy fighters are deployed for strategic effect while fighters like the F-35 usually have a restricted role and fit in the naval aviation framework. The enemy may engage the smaller F-35 but will hesitate before deploying fighters against the more potent F-15EX.

The F-15EX fulfills the requirements of the IAF as it can carry an array of weapon systems including BVR missiles. After the Balakot air strikes against the Pakistan terrorist camps the PAF had responded by dispatching a pack of fighters to attack Indian military infrastructure on the border. To counter the pack the IAF’s Mig-21s had to close in on the approaching PAF fighters for a hit. If the IAF had earlier inducted F-15EX it could have launched a BVR missile and would have successfully downed another PAF fighter thus deterring the PAF from launching any further attacks.
The F-15EX can be deployed against the China and due to its heavy engine capacity as it can operate in the high altitudes of Himalayas. The SU 30 MKI are already deployed on the Chinese border in the Himalayas. The F-15EX can be launched from deep inside Indian territory from a protected base and can still strike deep inside Pakistan. It can also be configured to carry nuclear weapons. The F-35 cannot perform these roles due to its restricted capability.

There is a possibility that UAVs which are already conducting the roles and functions of an F-35 fighter may replace it. But the UAVs cannot replace heavy weight fighters such as the F-15EX. Air theorists through aviation history have stressed the importance of achieving air superiority as rapidly as possible. The F-35 with its limited role is unable to attain air supremacy.
The F-15EX is an airspace dominance weapon system while the F-35 is an aircraft for tactical operations. The question is not which is a better system but rather what are the operational requirements of the IAF. While the F-35 is a born fifth generation aircraft the F-15EX has been upgraded to a fourth generation aircraft. Both cannot replace each other and are not in competition with each other.
A close understanding of the roles and functions of both the aircraft brings us to the conclusion that each one is potent in its deployed environment. The F-35 does not fit in the strategic plans of the IAF as it has restricted specifications as compared to the F-15EX. While the F-15EX best suits the operational requirements of the IAF the F-35 best suits the framework of IN.

 nationalinterest

Indian Navy will push ahead with plan for 3rd aircraft carrier despite CDS’ reservations

The Indian Navy is firm on its plans to have a third aircraft carrier despite Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen Bipin Rawat’s scepticism, and will approach the government for permission to initiate formal design consultancy, ThePrint has learnt.

“The third aircraft carrier is an operational necessity,” a source in the Navy said. “It is not that an aircraft carrier can be bought off the shelf. Even if all permissions are given today, it will take 15 years for the carrier to be inducted.”

A second source said the Navy was moving ahead with the design consultancy phase for the carrier, adding that formal permissions would be sought.
The Indian Navy currently operates one aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, while the second, INS Vikrant, is under construction in Cochin, due for commissioning in 2022. Both vessels have a displacement — the measure of a vessel’s weight — of 45,000 tonnes each.

While the Navy has had its eyes set on a third aircraft carrier, General Rawat, who oversees all three military branches in his role as CDS, said earlier this month that it was not a priority. Preference, according to him, would be given to submarines and air-strips on the far-flung Indian islands in the Andamans.

Third aircraft carrier part of long-term capability planning ::

Dismissing any budgetary concerns, sources said every force is driven by long-term capability planning that also takes into account budgeting requirements.

Asked if the Navy had budgeted for both submarines and the third carrier, a source said, “The submarines, both nuclear and conventional, are important. The third carrier is a project for the future but work has to begin now. The work that needs to be completed first is the design element. Budget is catered for.”

Navy chief Admiral Karambir Singh had said in December last year that the force’s long-term capability planning envisaged the induction of three aircraft carriers so that two are available for deployment in the Indian Ocean Region, where China has been making inroads, at all times.

A project study initiated during the tenure of former defence minister Manohar Parrikar decided that the third carrier would be a 65,000 CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take Off but Arrested Recovery) system with electric propulsion.

‘Shore-based air ops not enough’ ::

Navy sources said shore-based air operations, as preferred by the CDS, were still limited by range, and this is where the aircraft carriers came into play.

They added that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had defined the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) as including countries fringing the entire Indian Ocean, from the Strait of Hormuz to Reunion island, from East Africa to Australia, and from Lombok Strait to Malacca Strait.

This vast oceanic expanse, they said, was well beyond the capability of strike aircraft operating from the Indian mainland, which would barely cover even 20 per cent of this area and thus leave vast swathes of IOR unchallenged.

In addition, fighter jets operating in the sea would need a significant amount of time to manoeuvre, especially if challenged by enemy fighters. This limits their range too, they said.

The sources highlighted that shore-based strike aircraft from any service, be it the Navy or the Air Force, would be in a defending position at best within 1,000 km of the coast.

‘Must have two aircraft carriers operational at all times’ ::

The sources reiterated Admiral Singh’s concerns, saying it was important to have a third carrier because it would ensure two are always ready for deployment, even when one is in for refits.

“The Vikramaditya will also age over the next two decades. Moreover, the Navy’s project for 57 fighters along with the the twin-engine Tejas, as well as the currently-used MiG-29K, caters to… three carriers,” one of the aforementioned sources said.
 The sources added that the country had to decide whether it planned to “play a bigger game” in the global maritime structure.

They pointed out how the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy of China, which has been making repeated forays into the Indian Ocean Region, plans to become a four-aircraft-carrier force by the end of the decade.

By 2049, they added, China was looking to have 10 aircraft carriers.

Aircraft carriers ‘back in reckoning’ ::

The sources sought to note how countries like the UK, which had developed doubts about aircraft carriers, had once again woken up to their potential.

The US, one of them said, “of course continues to repose their faith in aircraft carriers”.

While Russia, Italy and France operate aircraft carriers, the sources added, Japan was in the process of converting all its helicopter carriers into aircraft carriers. Australia, they said, had helicopter carriers that are equipped to operate fighter aircraft in a jiffy.

 theprint

240-250 Pak Trained militants active in Kashmir; 25 killed so far in 2020: J&K DGP

The number of listed militants in Kashmir has come down to less than 250, while 25 terrorists were killed by security forces in nearly a dozen operations in the first two months of this year, Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh said here on Saturday. He also said there has been confirmation of only three militants infiltrating into the Valley through the International Border so far this year.

"The number of listed militants has come down from what it was earlier. Around 240 to 250 listed militants are there in the valley," the DGP told reporters at a press conference here.

He said in the last two months, the number of reported and confirmed infiltrated militants is three.

"One of them - a JeM militant - was killed in an operation in Tral recently," Singh added.

He said nearly a dozen successful operations have taken place till now in 2020, which included 10 in the Kashmir valley and two in the Jammu region.

"Till now, 25 terrorists have been killed in these operations. Nine terrorist operatives have been arrested in the valley, while three or four in Jammu. More than 40 OGWs (overground workers) -- who were involved in promoting and supporting terror activities in some form or the other -- have been arrested," the DGP said.

Referring to the misuse of social media through virtual private networks (VPNs), Singh said more cases had come to the fore and police was acting tough against them.

"More cases of misuse of social media have come to the fore. Waseem Dar, a resident of Handwara, was arrested for posting some irresponsible content on (social) media with intent to instigate the public sentiment. We are taking notice of such incidents and action will be taken," he said.

Asked about an SSP-rank officer receiving threats on social media, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, who flanked the DGP at the presser, said police will take action against the person.

"The account name (from which threat was received) is Hafiz Suhail. We have verified and the user's real name is Suhail Wali, a resident of Dalipora Pulwama. We conducted a search at his house but his parents told us he is presently in Dubai. A case will be registered against him and we will take further action," the IGP said.

To a question about the security arrangements for a proposed march here by Kashmiri Pandits, the DGP said, "First, there should be a permission by the civil administration and when that is there, we will take adequate precautions."

 economictimes

Pak must crack down on terrorists for dialogue with India: White House

US President Donald Trump is encouraging a reduction in tensions between India and Pakistan, the White House said on Friday, emphasising that any successful dialogue between the two neighbours would be possible only if Pakistan cracked down on terrorists and extremists on its territory.

“I think what you’ll hear from the President is very much encouraging a reduction in tensions between India and Pakistan, encouraging the two countries to engage in bilateral dialogue to resolve their differences,” a senior administration official said, when asked whether Trump would offer to mediate on the Kashmir issue again during his upcoming Indian visit.

Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will lead a 12-member American delegation to Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi on February 24 and 25.

“We continue to believe a core foundation of any successful dialogue between the two (Indian and Pakistan) is based on continued momentum in Pakistan’s efforts to crack down on terrorists and extremists on its territory. So we continue to look for that,” the official said.

“But I think the President will urge both countries to seek to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Control (LoC) and refrain from actions or statements that could increase tensions in the region,” said the official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

Responding to a question on the Afghanistan peace process, the official said the United States would just encourage India, as it did with regional countries, to do whatever it could to support this peace process so that it could be successful.

 tribuneindia