Def Min approves proposal for 22 Cheetal helicopters

The Defence Ministry Tuesday approved a proposal to procure around 22 Cheetal helicopters for Army, which is likely to deploy these choppers for supporting its high altitude operations in Ladakh and Siachen.

A meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the apex Ministry body headed by Defence Minister A K Antony to decide on procurements, cleared the proposal to procure around 22 Cheetal choppers for Army, Defence Ministry officials said.

The Cheetals are an upgraded version of the vintage Cheetahs with more powerful engines manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

These choppers are being procured as there is a delay in the acquisition of new Light Utility Helicopters (LUHs) for replacing the Cheetah/Chetak fleet of IAF and Army due to cancellation of procurement procedures in the recent past, they said.
 Army has some of its squadrons of Cheetah/Chetak choppers deployed in Siachen base camp and around Leh in Jammu and Kashmir to support its troops deployed at and along the world's highest battlefield there, the officials said.

The Defence Ministry is procuring 197 LUHs of which 133 would go to Army while the remaining would go to IAF.

European Eurocopter and Russian Kamov 226 Sergei are in the race for supplying these new choppers but the Defence Ministry is yet to take a final decision on starting commercial negotiations with the two vendors.

The Navy has also issued a tender for procuring 56 choppers that will replace its fleet of the vintage Cheetah/ Chetak helicopters.

PTI/Zeenews

Putin may announce $7 billion arms deal during India trip

Russian President Vladimir Putin may announce about $7 billion worth of weapons contracts, including for Sukhoi fighter jets, when he visits India next week, according to three people in the defence industry.

During Putin’s visit on 24 December, the two countries will announce contracts for 42 Sukhoi Su-30MKI jets, made by United Aircraft’s Irkut Corp., and almost 1,000 AL-31 warplane engines to be delivered through 2030, according to the three people who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment.

India, Russia’s top arms customer, has at least doubled its defence budget over the last decade as it looks beyond a traditional rivalry with Pakistan to counter China’s rising power. Putin, who returned to the presidency this year, has spearheaded Russia’s efforts to fend off competition for the contracts from the US and Europe.

“These will be truly historical deals if signed,” Konstantin Makiyenko, the deputy head of the Moscow-based Centre for the Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, said by phone on Monday. “I don’t remember a contract for 1,000 engines at all and deals for over 40 planes happen twice in a decade.”

Syed Akbaruddin, a spokesman at the Indian ministry of external affairs, wasn’t available to comment. Vyacheslav Davidenko, a spokesman for Russia’s state-owned weapons exporter Rosoboronexport, declined to comment.

Russian defence-industry exports have exceeded $14 billion this year, higher than the government’s target, Putin said on Monday. The country has signed new contracts worth $15 billion in 2012, he added.

Then-defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov said 10 October that Russia expected to sign a deal to ship 42 Sukhoi jets to India by the end of the year, RIA Novosti news service reported.

India has already received about 150 Russian jets, according to CAST estimates.

 

- Livemint

Indian Sub Repaired in Russia Tested Cruise Missiles

Having passed repair and modernization at Zvezdochka shipyard (Severodvinsk, Russia), Indian Navy's diesel-electric submarine INS Sindhurakshak successfully carried out test launches of Club-S cruise missiles, reported the shipyard's press service.

The submarine hit sea surface and coast-based targets by cruise missiles 3M-54E and 3M-14E. "Missile test is the closing round of the submarine's trials", reports ITAR-TASS referring to the shipyard's press service.

Upon returning to the outfitting quay, the yard and the crew will jointly prepare the sub for delivery and a transfer to basing site in India.

According to press service of Zvezdochka shipyard, the submarine is equipped with up-to-date missile system Club-S; somewhat ten Indian- and foreign-made systems have been mounted on the sub, including Ushus sonar and CCS-MK-2 radio communication system.

"Upgrade of cooling system, placing of Porpoise radar, and some other works improving the sub's combat features and safe operation have been done", pointed out the Zvezdochka spokesman.

On June 23, 2012, INS Sindhurakshak was supposed to leave covered slipway for further launching.

In June 2010, delegation of Zvezdochka and representatives of Indian defense ministry signed the contract for 27-month long repair and modernization of INS Sindhurakshak.

Being specialized in overhaul and dismantling of nuclear-powered submarines, Zvezdochka Ship Repair Center has modernized four Indian subs since 1997 – INS Sindhuvir, INS Sindhuratna, INS Sindhughosh, and INS Sindhuvijay. The shipyard also continues repair and modernization of similar submarine INS Sindukirti in her home base Vishakhapatnam, India.

All these submarines are Russian-made Project 887EKM (Kilo class) developed by Rubin design bureau, St. Petersburg.

They are designed for antisubmarine and antiship warfare; defense of naval bases, coastal and sea lines of communication; reconnaissance and patrol operations.

In the course of modernization under Project 08773, these subs are equipped with advanced Russian Club-S cruise missile system (developed by Novator Design Bureau) with firing range of about 200 km, Indian sonars Ushus and radio communication systems CCS-MK.

INS Sindhurakshak was built in 1997 by Admiralteyskie Verfi shipyard (St. Petersburg) by the order of Indian Navy.

Rusnavy

BrahMos set to become a “Super Rocket”

The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile is all set to become a “super rocket” soon, which would beef up India’s tactical defence capability significantly. However, the test launches of the air variant of the BrahMos II hyper-sonic missile, which were supposed to be completed by 2012, are experiencing delays. The realistic date for completion of these tests is now believed to be 2015.
 Sources in the Indian strategic establishment said India has upgraded its BrahMos missiles by “wedding” these with Russia’s advanced satellite navigation systems. The “marriage” of the BrahMos’s navigation systems with Russia's Kh-555 and Kh-101 strategic long-range cruise missiles has made BrahMos a “super rocket”. The word “rocket” here is used in context of a weapon, not a space rocket.

The new avatar of BrahMos will have to undergo tests and field trials before it becomes operational with the Indian defence services. However, this would not take unduly long.
The improved version of BrahMos will be endowed with a sub-strategic capability and would increase its tactical range too. The new version would also be capable of carrying nuclear warheads and can be launched from sea, land and air, like the old version. Its range of hitting targets would now be over 180-300 miles (300-500 km).
The new air-launched version of BrahMos will be carried by Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft. The Indian Air Force is set to be a far more potent force by 2020 when it is scheduled to deploy 200 advanced Sukhoi fighters, equipped with the new version of BrahMos “super rockets.” This will be a lethal combination and will make the Sukhois strategic bombers.
Another important feature of the upgraded BrahMos missile is that it has added GPS-GLONASS technology to it. This is of vital strategic importance as GLONASS, Russia’s navigation service provider, gives India access to military signals, while the American GPS does not.
BrahMos missile is jointly developed by India and Russia and is named after two major rivers – Brahmaputra of India and Muscova of Russia. The missile is capable of flying at a very high speed at tree-top levels which adds to its tactical utility.

BrahMos is a two-stage missile with a solid propellant booster engine as its first stage which brings it to supersonic speed and then gets separated. BrahMos is the first supersonic cruise missile known to be in service and is deployed on INS Rajput since 2005. The missile has 'fire and forget' principle, adopting varieties of flights on its way to the target. Its destructive power is enhanced due to large kinetic energy on impact. Its cruising altitude could be up to 15 km (9.3 miles) and terminal altitude is as low as 10 meters.
Compared to existing state-of-the-art subsonic cruise missiles, BrahMos has three times more velocity, 2.5 to 3 times more flight range, 3 to 4 times more seeker range and 9 times more kinetic energy. The missile has identical configuration for land, sea and sub-sea platforms and uses a Transport Launch Canister (TLC) for transportation, storage and launch. The missile is universal for multiple platforms and can pin point accuracy with high lethal power aided by large kinetic energy on impact. It has shorter flight times leading to lower target dispersion and quicker engagement.
 So far India has deployed BrahMos missile in the western sector only against Pakistan. However, since the missile is fitted on a mobile launcher it can be transported anywhere in the country and deployed within a short time. The Indian Army is planning to deploy it against China as well in near future. India started a massive war preparedness drill in Arunachal Pradesh in the north-eastern sector codenamed “Pralaya” on February 29, 2012.
BrahMos is a stealth supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land. It is about three-and-a-half times faster than the USA's subsonic Harpoon cruise missile and three times faster than USA's subsonic Tomahawk missile. India has also planned an air-launched variant which is expected to come out in 2012 and will make India the only country with supersonic missiles in all the defence forces. However, the 2012 deadline is unlikely to be met.
A hypersonic version of the missile, which is also presently under development with speed of Mach 7 to boost aerial fast strike capability, is expected to be ready by 2016. BrahMos has the capability of attacking surface targets by flying as low as 10 meters.
The air launch version and the submarine launch version of the missile system are in progress. The Indian Army has so far placed orders for the BrahMos missile to be deployed by three regiments of the Army and two of them have already been inducted operationally. A hypersonic version of the missile, which is also presently under development with speed of Mach 7 to boost aerial fast strike capability, is expected to be ready by 2016.
The army and navy versions of the BrahMos missile weigh three tons or more. The missile is also available for exports whosoever is interested in it as long as they are ready to shell out about $2-3 million apiece. The cost depends on the version. The BrahMos has been developed as a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India and the Federal State Unitary Enterprise NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) of Russia under BrahMos Aerospace. The missile is named after two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.

Russiia & India Report

India may procure two more AWACS

(IANS) India may procure two more Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft.
Defence Minister A.K. Antony stated this in the Lok Sabha Monday in response to a question from a member who wanted to know if the government had decided to beef up air defence.
Antony said the long-term integrated perspective plan of his ministry envisaged deployment of a mix of large AWACS aircraft and small Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) system aircraft.
"While three AWACS already stand operationalized in the Indian Air Force, there is a proposal for procurement of two additional AWACS," he said.
Simultaneously, he added, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was engaged in indigenous development of three AWE&C systems.
The minister said the development of AWACS (India) "is envisaged to be completed in about 84 months from the date of formal sanction".

: Newstrackindia

India upgrading submarine fleet

 India is constantly upgrading its submarine fleet with modern weapons and sensors, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said Monday.
 This was done to "ensure that the combat capacity of the country remains at the desire level", he said in a statement in the Lok Sabha.

"The government has approved the submarine programme to adequately augment (the) submarine fleet of the navy," he said.

The minister was asked if the government had signed any agreement with foreign countries regarding procurement of submarines with state-of-the-art technologies.

He said the government signed a contract in 2005 with Mazagon Dock Ltd, Mumbai, to construct six Scorpene class submarines under Project-75.

Mazago Dock Ltd was building these submarines after signing an accord with a French company, he said.


Indiatvnews

US-made Apache choppers will be for the Air Force, says chief N A K Browne

22 Apache helicopters, which are in the process of being acquired from the US, will be for the Indian Air Force (IAF), Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne said today.

"The Apaches are going to be with us only as it is an ongoing acquisition process," the Air Force chief told Press Trust of India on the sidelines of a 1971 Indo-Pak war anniversary function.

The Defence Ministry had recently allowed the Army to have combat choppers and said that all future acquisitions will be for it.
"The government has decided to let the Army to have its own heavy-duty attack helicopters.

"The decision to vest the future inductions of attack helicopters with the Army has been taken keeping in view the operational requirements in the field," Defence Minister AK Antony had told Parliament.

He had also said that the IAF was procuring 22 AH-64D Block-III Apache helicopters from Boeing Company of USA.

Air Chief Marshal Browne said the Apaches are not just for taking out enemy tanks or for air-to-ground operations but they can be used for multiple tasks such as taking out enemy radar stations and for air-to-air missions.

The Army had said recently that it was planning to send a proposal to the Defence Ministry for seeking transfer of attack helicopters from the Air Force at the earliest.

Sources said the Army had also suggested that the proposal would also include transfer of the Apache helicopters which are being procured.

The IAF and the Army in the recent past have been involved in a battle of sorts for controlling the attack helicopter fleet and the Defence Ministry has decided in favour of the Army.

The Army already has an aviation wing but the Defence Minister has approved a long-pending demand of the 1.3 million-strong force for attack helicopters, overruling stiff opposition from the Air Force.

The Army had been demanding attack helicopters, saying these are mainly used for operations by it.

The IAF had been strongly resisting it, with Air Chief Marshal Browne saying the country cannot afford to have "small air forces".

The IAF is in final stages of completing the acquisition process of 22 Apache choppers from the US after the American machine edged out the Russian Mi-28 Havoc in the tender.

NDTV

US To Deploy Troops, Missiles to Turkey

(RIA Novosti) :  The United States said Friday it will send troops and missiles to its NATO ally Turkey in response to alleged security threats from Syria.
The order for the deployment of two Patriot missile batteries and 400 US troops to operate them was signed Friday by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta as he travelled to Turkey, a spokesman said.
"We are deploying two Patriot batteries here to Turkey along with the troops that are necessary to man those batteries, so that we can help Turkey have the kind of missile defense it may very well need in dealing with threats that come out of Syria," US media quoted Panetta as saying during a visit to the Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey.
Panetta’s spokesman, George Little, described Turkey as a “very strong ally” of the United States and said the missile and troop deployment would be for “an unspecified period of time.”
"The purpose of this deployment is to signal very strongly that the United States, working closely with our NATO allies, is going to support the defense of Turkey, especially with potential threats emanating from Syria," Little told US reporters travelling with Panetta.
Refugees fleeing the 20-month-old conflict in Syria have poured over the border into Turkey and shells from the fighting have occasionally fallen into Turkish territory, raising concern that the volatile situation in Syria could destabilize areas outside the country’s borders.

France's DCNS to acquire 15% stake in Pipavav Defence for Rs 1,350 crore

French warship maker DCNS will buy close to 15% stake in Nikhil Gandhi-promoted shipbuilder Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering for about Rs 1,350 crore, according to people close to the development.

"DCNS will invest a little more than Rs 1,350 crore to acquire a significant minority stake in Pipavav Defence," one of the persons said. "They had earlier signed a strategic alliance with Pipavav, but have now decided to be a strategic investor. The stake sale will be completed over the next few days." A formal announcement is likely soon.

DCNS, owned by the French government, specialises in building surface combatants, submarines, systems and equipment. The company reported revenues of $3.3 billion last year.

"DCNS recently received in-principle nod from the French government to invest in Pipavav. The deal will be closed by next week," another person involved in the deal said. Pipavav's top executives were not available for comment.

SHARES VALUED AT 30% PREMIUM

The deal would value the shares of Pipavav at a premium of 30% to their Friday closing price of Rs 92.95 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, where it ended down 3.28%. The French company's interest in Pipavav is a sign of the growing interest among foreign players to invest in India's defence sector. Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi has expressed interest in acquiring stake in LarsenBSE 0.78 % and Toubro's shipbuilding subsidiary.

In May, Pipavav had sought shareholders' approval to raise up to $200 million (about Rs 1,100 crore) to finance its growth plans for the defence sector.

Earlier this month, the company had formed a joint venture with Mazagon Dock, the country's biggest naval shipyard. Interestingly, Mazagon Dock had said in February that it was manufacturing six SSK Scorpene submarines (P75) under transfer of technology from DCNS.

According to people in the know, DCNS plans to increase its stake in the Indian firm to 26% by next year and bring in three of its executives on the company board once necessary approvals are in place.

Last month, Pipavav had announced a deal with Saab, under which the Sweden-based defence and security company would invest Rs 201 crore for a 3.5% stake.

Public-private partnership in the defence sector was opened last year, and Mazagon Dock was the first off the block. Three others - Cochin Shipyard, Hindustan Shipyard and Garden Reach Shipbuilders - are expected to follow suit.

Pipavav's deal with Mazagon Dock, notified by the defence ministry recently, will help Pipavav execute at least some of Mazagon's order book, which runs into at least Rs 1 lakh crore. Following the notification, insurance company LIC recently increased its stake in Pipavav to 8.74%.

Indian shipyards contribute only 0.1% to the global shipbuilding industry. In contrast, shipyards in China, Japan and South Korea produce more than 75% of the vessels manufactured globally, forcing Indian shipyards to look for orders from the domestic defence sector.

India has about 150 warships in service with its navy and another 75 warships in Coast Guard.

The Economic Times

Manufacturing Details Stall Franco-Indian MMCRA Negotiations

More than 10 months after India chose the French Rafale to meet its $15 billion medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) requirement, contract negotiations are mired in issues related to offsets, the transfer of technology and the role of Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL). The Press Trust of India quoted industry sources as saying that Dassault has requested from the Indian Ministry of Defence the freedom to decide the proportion of work to be done by HAL, versus private Indian companies. Last February, Dassault signed an MoU with Reliance Industry, India’s largest private-sector company, for collaboration in manufacturing.

At a French parliamentary hearing on December 4, Dassault Aviation CEO Charles Edelstenne expressed “relative optimism” about the progress of talks. “It’s a complicated country, the negotiations are tough, but there is a desire to wrap up on both sides,” he added. Of the 126 aircraft envisioned, 18 are to be delivered as flyaways and the rest to be manufactured in India, with final assembly by HAL.
An official told AIN that HAL needs to define a partner that will facilitate Tier 2 and 3 suppliers, or assume that responsibility itself. Proponents of HAL say that the government-owned company has far more experience in selecting suppliers for high-technology defense projects than private companies such as Reliance or Tata.
One vendor noted that since India lacks the appropriate level of avionics and engine production capability, “there is no clarity on how value can be added by Indian industry and 50-percent offsets absorbed.” The MMRCA project does not fall within the new and more liberal defense offsets policy that permits them to be sourced from adjacent sectors such as homeland security and commercial aviation.
Elections are looming in 2014, and while reports have indicated the contract could be signed early next year, the government, fearing reprisals from opposition parties, is unlikely to proceed unless matters are ironed out in the next few months. One defense official suggested to AIN that if decisions are deferred beyond the election, the MMRCA requirement might be cut to around 60 aircraft as newer solutions–such as the Indo-Russian fifth-generation fighter aircraft, and unmanned combat air vehicles–become available.

AIN Online

Japan sends fighter jets after Chinese plane flies over disputed isles in East China Sea

Japan protested to China on Thursday after a Chinese government plane entered what Japan considers its airspace over disputed islets in the East China Sea, the Japanese foreign ministry said.

The incident prompted Japan's military to scramble eight F-15 fighter jets, the defence ministry said. Japanese officials later said the Chinese aircraft had left the area.

Sino-Japanese relations took a tumble in September after Japan bought the tiny islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, from a private Japanese owner.

"Despite our repeated warnings, Chinese government ships have entered out territorial waters for three days in an row," Japanese chief Cabinet secretary Osama Fujimura told reporters.

"It is extremely regrettable that, on top of that, an intrusion into our airspace has been committed in this way," he said, adding that Japan had formally protested through diplomatic channels.

A defence ministry spokesman said as far as he knew it was the first time this year that a Chinese plane had intruded into airspace near the islands.

The incident comes just days before a Japanese election that is expected to return to power the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) with hawkish former prime minister Shinzo Abe at the helm.

Abe has vowed to take a stern stance in the dispute over the islands, which are near potentially huge maritime gas reserves, and has said that the ruling Democratic Party's mishandling of its diplomacy had emboldened China.

Abe has also promised to boost spending on defence including on the coastguard.

Smaller Asian countries such as the Philippines have also become increasingly worried about Beijing's growing military assertiveness and its claims to disputed islands in the South China Sea. 

   : Times of india

Tata gun, swadeshi bofors are different products: Gun Carriage Factory chief

So unlike misgivings in certain quarters Tata does not pose any threat to us. In fact the new range, he said, would give Indian army a vast choice and is a happy development."
Tata's launch, according to sources, had led to a major upheaval in the GCF where an expert team of 125 personnel had been working round the clock for last two years to come up with a technically superior and upgraded version of their Swedish counterpart.
The project was fast tracked at the behest of the defense ministry and A K Anthony had come down to personally monitor its progress four months ago. So the successful foray by a rival did not sound particularly encouraging, admitted a senior team member. Posturing by the workers union did not help matters, he said. In fact, the union leaders went to the extent of imputing a conspiracy to shut down GCF- one of the oldest defense installations in the country- and prepared to strike work.
The GM lays all these doubts to rest. We have brought out two prototypes and they are undergoing filed trials he said.
The first trial was held on November 30 at the central proof establishment (CPE) Itarsi and the next is slated for third week of this month when we transport the gun to PXE Balasore before finally handing it over to Indian Army.
The timing by Tata SED, he remarked, was a bit intriguing, "because it coincides with our launch and has contributed to some unnecessary confusion". Sure that 155/45 caliber boomer which can strike an object within the range of 40 kilometers, would give all national and international competitors a run for their money, Yadav said, "GCF, don't forget, has 109 years of experience in artillery manufacturing and others including Tata are just entering the field.

Times of India