India Looks for New Partner to Arm its Scorpene Class Submarine

Cancellation of the Black Shark torpedo deal has had a crippling impact on Indian Navy’s plan of lending teeth to its fleet of six under-construction submarines, two of which are ready to be inducted any time soon.
 The Indian Navy is looking to purchase heavyweight torpedoes to be mounted on the Scorpene class submarines, production of which is currently underway at the Mazagon dock shipyard.
The Navy has reportedly contacted a number of global firms for a deal under the Strategic Partnership route that envisages that an Indian private company will tie up with a foreign manufacturer willing to transfer technology. In return, the government will assure orders and allow exports as well.Project75, under which the six Scorpene class submarines are being built with the help of French firm DCNS, originally envisaged equipping the submarines with Black Shark heavyweight torpedo as their primary weapons. However, in June last year, the Indian government cancelled a $200 million deal with Whitehead Alenia Systemi Subacquei (WASS), a subsidiary of Italian arms manufacturer Finmeccanica, due to corruption allegations involving another Finmeccanica subsidiary, Agusta Westland.
The INS Kalavvari, to be inducted in the Indian Navy by end of August has successfully undergone a series of weapons trials including the test firing of a German SeaHake torpedo and the launch of a French-made Exocet SM39 anti-ship missile, already in use by the Indian forces.. The second Scorpene class submarine christened INS-Khanderi is also on the final stages of sea trial and is expected to be formally inducted in the Indian Navy by the end of this year.
According to sources, the Indian Navy needs at least 24 submarines to maintain a minimum force level but it has only about 15 subs. Of the 15, half of them are used in a restricted manner or not at optimum level and are kept as war reserves. The Indian Navy expects the Scorpene class submarines, which operate very silently and are capable of multifarious roles, to add teeth to the might of the Indian Navy by strengthening its crucial Submarine Arm.

- sputniknews

Tejas fighter finally achieves production target

Eight Tejas to roll out this year; heavily outsourced to private sector

Since December 2013, when the indigenous Tejas fighter was operationally cleared to join the Indian Air Force (IAF), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has struggled to establish an assembly line that could build the homegrown light fighter quickly and cheaply.

With just three Tejas delivered until this year out of the 20 ordered in 2013, the IAF’s complaint that the Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) had taken too long in development gave way to the charge that HAL was not building the fighter fast enough to replace the IAF’s retiring MiG fighters.

HAL’s manufacturing shortfall became even starker last November, when the defence ministry cleared the acquisition of 83 more Tejas 1A fighters. This successor to the Tejas Mark 1, with four specified capability improvements, is required to enter production in 2019. This plan hinges on establishing a high-capacity assembly line.

Now, finally, HAL’s Tejas assembly line in Benguluru is meeting its targets. On a visit by Business Standard to the Tejas assembly line, HAL chief T Suvarna Raju has confirmed that eight Tejas fighters will roll off the line this year – the rated capacity of the assembly line.

Furthermore, with an additional investment of Rs 1,231 crore sanctioned for enhancing capacity, the Tejas line is projected to build 10 fighters in 2018-19; and 16 Tejas Mark 1As each year from 2019-20 onwards.

Thereafter, the line is expected to build the Tejas Mark II fighter, an advanced variant of the Tejas with a more powerful General Electric F-414 engine and upgraded avionics.

Outsourcing to private defence firms has been key to achieving HAL’s production targets. “HAL is now focusing mainly on putting together large assemblies that are built and supplied by private aerospace companies. That has allowed us to speed up work exponentially”, says Raju.

HAL has created five “Tier-1” suppliers that each build a part of the Tejas. The front fuselage is supplied by Dynamatic Technologies Ltd, Bengaluru; the centre fuselage by VEM Technologies, Hyderabad; rear fuselage by Alpha Tocol, Bengaluru; wings by Larsen & Toubro, Coimbatore; and the tail fin and rudder by National Aerospace Laboratory and Tata Advanced Materials Ltd.

Each of these Tier-1 suppliers sources components and sub-assemblies from lower-order Tier-2 and Tier-3 suppliers, creating an aerospace industry around the Tejas.

In addition, a range of equipment is sourced from other private firms that are emerging as players in the aerospace realm: avionics racks and air intakes from Lakshmi Machine Works, Coimbatore; electrical panels from Amphenol, Pune; slats and elevons from Aequs, Belgaum; pipelines from Rangson, Mysore, and precision mechanical assemblies from Sri Koteswara Cam Systems, Secunderabad.

HAL plans to eventually outsource 69 per cent of the production of Tejas structural modules, with just 31 per cent of the work done in-house – consisting mainly of assembly and equipping work.

A visit by Business Standard to the Tejas production hanger reveals the most technologically advanced production line that HAL has ever set up – significantly more high-tech than the Hawk advanced jet trainer line that was established with BAE Systems.

The production jigs, on which Tejas components are fabricated, are calibrated with lasers to an accuracy of 50-80 microns (one micron is one-thousandth of a millimeter). This ensures repeatability, which means that every component coming off a jig is precisely the same, and can be switched across aircraft.

There are also robotic machines to drill the thousands of holes that are required in each Tejas’ carbon “skin”. These robots drill in two days what manual drillers earlier took two months to do.

“It earlier took us 19 months to build a Tejas, from start to finish. This is now down to 11 months, and we will be building each Tejas in nine months by September this year”, says Raju.

HAL’s plan for expanding Tejas production to 16 fighters per year involves establishing a second assembly line. This has physically replaced the Hawk trainer line that is close to completing delivery of its orders.

The cost of Rs 1,231 crore is being half-funded by HAL, with the IAF and navy picking up the tab for the other half.

Tejas production schedule    

Year	Production	Cumulative	Configuration
Upto March 31, 2017	3 Tejas Mk 1	3 Tejas Mk 1	IOC configuration
2017 – 2018	8 Tejas Mk 1	11 Tejas Mk 1	IOC configuration
2018 – 2019	10 Tejas Mk 1	20 Tejas Mk 1	5 single-seat IOC 4 twin-seat IOC 1 (spare capacity)
2019 – 2020	16 Tejas Mk 1A	20 Tejas Mk 1 16 Tejas Mk 1A
2020 – 2024	67 Tejas	20 Tejas Mk 1 83 Tejas Mk 1A
2024-25 onward	Tejas Mark II

(IOC: Initial Operational Configuration)

-  ajaishukla

Indian Navy goes hunting for heavyweight torpedoes for submarines, approaches global companies

The Indian Navy has approached a select few global manufacturers to buy heavyweight torpedoes for submarines. Heavyweight torpedoes are critical for submarines and the Indian Navy has an acute shortage of these torpedoes.

India will be getting its Kalvari Class submarines - conventional diesel- electric boats made by DCNS of France - soon after a gap of three decades. These submarines, however, won't have any heavyweight torpedoes. Without the heavyweight torpedoes, the new submarines will be almost "toothless." The next of the Kalvari class - INS Khanderi - is expected to join the Indian Navy by end 2017.

This May, India cancelled its previous contract to buy 98 Black Shark heavyweight torpedoes at an estimated cost of $200 million. The manufactures of the torpedo - Whitehead Alenia Systemi Subacquei (WASS) - is a subsidiary of Italian arms manufacturer Finmeccanica. The Italian arms manufacturing giant was blacklisted after it was alleged that another subsidiary of the company - AgustaWestland - had paid bribes to secure a contract to sell 12 medium lift helicopters to India.

Sources told India Today, that the select foreign manufacturers will have to choose their Indian partners and that torpedoes will be manufactured using the Strategic-Partnership (SP) route.

The Modi-led NDA government is keen to reduce India's dependence on foreign equipment manufactures. It has opened up defence manufacturing to Indian private sector.

The SP route envisages that the Indian private companies will tie-up foreign manufactures to get technology and in return the government will assure orders and allow exports as well.

 indiatoday

India Wants To Breathe Extra Life Into Its Old Jaguar Jets By Adding New Radars

India says it has successfully test flown a modified Jaguar multi-role aircraft with a foreign-made active electronically-scanned array (AESA) type radar. Depending on how extensive this upgrade program becomes, it could be a significant boon for the Indian Air Force, which has struggled with modernizing its diverse fleets of fighter and multi-role jets.

T. Suvarna Raju, chairman of the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics, Limited (HAL), made the announcement on Aug. 11, 2017, according to a report by The Hindu. HAL would not say what radar it used, but it is reportedly the Israeli Elta ELM-2052, which that company reportedly agreed to supply in 2015 for both the Jaguar and Indian-designed Tejas fighter jet.

HAL said the new radar alone could give the nearly 40-year old Jaguars, which it built under license from the Anglo-French consortium SEPECAT, at least another decade of service at life. “An Indian fighter flying with an AESA radar is in itself a landmark,” Raju told The Hindu.

No other Indian multi-role jets, including the country’s Russian-made Mig-29K Fulcrum and license-built Su-30MKI Flanker fighter jets, as well as the Tejas Mk 1 prototypes, have a fast-scanning AESA in the nose. According to Elta, the ELM-2052 has air-to-air, air-to-ground, and air-to-sea modes, which can track multiple targets at once and provide moving target indication and mapping functionality.

Adding an AESA radar to the Jaguars makes good sense and would give pilots the ability to detect more targets at greater ranges and with better fidelity, as well as being better able to resist jamming. Many air forces, including the U.S. Air Force see the new units as a relatively simple way to squeeze more capability of older jets in general. Perhaps the biggest limiting factor is finding a radar that will fit within the pre-existing radar space on any particular aircraft, but some modern AESA designs, like the ELM-2052, are modular in nature and get substantial capability out of a small radar aperture size. Elta boasts that it can size the ELM-2052’s antenna to fit where ever it needs to go, including in the tight confines of the Jaguar’s nose radome.

The Indian radar installation also shows important progress on the broader and long-running Display Attack Ranging Inertial Navigation III (DARIN III) upgrade program for the Jaguars, which began in 2009. The Indian Air Force had launched the first DARIN modernization project in the 1990s followed by a second round of upgrades in the early 2000s.The first DARIN III prototypes didn’t fly until 2012 and reportedly “could not meet expectations,” according to India Today. At that time, HAL wasn’t expected to complete the improvements on an estimated 50 to 60 of India’s approximately 120 Jaguars until 2019. The Indian Air Force said the first two-seat Jaguar IB trainers with the DARIN III modifications had reached initial operational capability in November 2016.

It’s is not clear how many of the Jaguars will ultimately receive the AESA radar update, either. India’s 18 Jaguar IM versions, optimized for maritime strike missions carrying Sea Eagle and Harpoon anti-ship missiles, have a traditional profile nose cone, but the IS multi-role variant has a narrower chiseled front end housing a combination laser range finder and target designator.

HAL could have to develop an entirely new nose section to fit the ELM-2052 onto the IS aircraft, which make up the bulk of India’s Jaguar fleet and the majority of the aircraft slated for the DARIN III upgrade package. This is where Elta’s scalable design could really shine.

We also don’t know what, if any, of the DARIN upgrades will apply to the dozens of second-hand Jaguars India is looking to acquire from France. The French Air Force operated A and E variants that have a similar nose profile to the IM and could more readily accept the AESA installation. All government officials would say is that “India is actively considering acquiring them after proper refurbishment,” according to Defense News. It is also very possible the 30 or so French jets that are supposedly being eyed could end up being used as spares for India’s upgraded Jaguar fleet.

Even if it feasible, though, such a significant modification would slow down the DARIN III project even more and increase its overall cost. The Indian Air Force, which originally hoped to have the upgraded Jaguars start to enter service by December 2012, can little afford to drag the project out longer than it has already.

Unfortunately, the DARIN III saga, as well as a separate and equally sluggish push to replace the Jaguars’ engines, seems reflective of the Indian Air Force’s modernization efforts. In January 2017, the country’s Minister of Defense, Manohar Parrikar, announced plans to sign a deal to license produce up to 200 single-engine fighter jets by 2021 at an estimated cost of approximately $45 million apiece.

The two major contenders for this tender are Lockheed Martin and its F-16 Block 70 and Saab and its Gripen E. In June 2017, Lockheed Martin separately announced plans to shift a significant portion of its F-16 production line to India, which many observers saw as giving the company an advantage in the domestic fighter competition. Saab has also offered a significant amount of technology transfer to go along with any purchase of Gripen aircraft.

But when and even if the Indian Air Force will ultimately receive any new fighter jets is unclear. The reason the country is looking for 200 new aircraft in the first place is because it scaled back purchases of the Dassault Rafale multi-role combat aircraft, which had won an earlier competition in 2012 worth approximately $20 billion, amid accusations of graft. The original plan was to purchase 136 of the French-made fighter jets, but now the Indian Air Force is only slated to get 36.

Another factor is the poor performance so far of HAL’s domestically-designed Tejas fighter jet, which first flew in 2001. The Indian Air Force expects to receive the first Tejas Mk 1A aircraft, which will also feature the ELM-2052 AESA radar among other features, by 2020 at the earliest.

However, in January 2017, the Indian Navy rejected the navalized Tejas variant, complaining that it is too heavy to operate effectively from the country’s sole aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, as well as the Vikrant-class replacements now under construction. Both Vikramaditya and the Vikrant-class use ski jumps to launch aircraft and the Tejas can’t meet the “thrust-to-weight requirement to take off with a full fuel and arms load,” Indian Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba said, according to The Times of India.

There’s also a reasonable question of where the money for all of these procurements will come from. In addition to upgrading a significant portion of the Jaguar fleet, the Indian Air Force has been modernizing its Dassault Mirage 2000 at a cost of $43 million per aircraft and needs to replace hundreds of MiG-21s and MiG-27s that are simply becoming too old to fly safely. As of November 2016, the Indian Air Force had only committed to buy approximately 120 Tejas, worth approximately $12 billion, to replace more than 300 of the Soviet-era MiGs.

At the same time, India’s top regional competitor, China, is working on multiple fifth generation stealthy fighter designs, advanced unmanned combat air vehicles, and other new aircraft, to say nothing of its networked air defenses. India has been less than pleased with the result of its cooperation with Russia on the fifth generation PAK-FA fighter jet. This increasing gap between the two countries’ air arms is more pounced given that they have been engaged in a protracted standoff over a disputed border in the mountainous Sikkim region since June 2017, which observers worry could lead to a more significant conflict.

India’s Air Force also has to contend with its Pakistani counterpart, which, though far smaller and less advanced than China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force, has been looking to improve its own capabilities in recent years. Most notably, Pakistan and China had been working together on updating the JF-17 Thunder light multi-role combat aircraft, which first entered Pakistani service in 2008. These upgrades could include an AESA radar and the Block 3 aircraft may be ready for as early as 2019. There are also reports that Pakistan is interested in buying the Chinese J-31 stealth fighter.

Given these regional developments, the DARIN III upgrades, including the AESA radar, are essential for keeping the Jaguars combat capable, even if only as a second-tier multi-role aircraft. Additional upgrades, including improved, Israeli-made podded self-defense jammers could also add more capability to the aircraft.

Regardless, given the difficulties India faces in modernizing its Air Force, it’s likely that it will continue to operate the Jaguars, with or without the full suite of upgrades, for the foreseeable future.

 thedrive

Lockheed denies report on F-16 tech transfer to India

A recent report claiming the US denied critical F-16 technology to the government of India is erroneous, the US Air Force and F-16 manufacturer Lockheed Martin say.
New Delhi is searching for a new single-engine fighter to recapitalise the Indian air force’s aging fighter fleet. The report from Defenseworld.net quoted the Indian Minister of State for Defence saying the US has not agreed to transfer F-16 technology and production to India. But a USAF and Lockheed spokesman confirmed to FlightGlobal that the issue of technology transfer is still being coordinated.
Although Lockheed announced plans to partner with Tata Advanced Systems at the Paris air show, the company has been careful to characterise this alliance as conditional. Lockheed committed to manufacturing Block 70 Falcons in India only if the company wins the contract.

“Any media reports claiming the US has denied or approved the transfer of F-16 technology to India are simply not true,” Lockheed says. “The government of India is still determining its single-engine fighter requirements and government-to-government discussions between India and the USs are ongoing. No decisions have been made yet regarding technology transfer.”
A US State Department spokeswoman referred questions to Lockheed.
“As a matter of policy, we do not discuss potential or pending arms sales before they are notified to Congress,” the spokeswoman says.
Rumors that the US might have denied the transfer of F-16 technology to India appeared plausible, given the programme’s record of technology transfers to foreign buyers.In 2015, the US denied Korea’s request for AESA radar, infrared search and track, electro-optical target tracking devices, and jammer technology transfers for its future KFX fighter. In the meantime, Korea is pushing for lower technologies for the jet, while continuing to domestic development of AESA.

 flightglobal

Government to spend billions on upgrade of tanks, infantry combat vehicles

The defence ministry has approved projects worth thousands of crores to sharpen the fighting capability of its tanks and infantry combat vehicles, amid the national auditor revealing gaping holes in the military’s battle readiness.
The projects approved include ammunition for more than 1,500 Russian-origin BMP-2/2K infantry combat vehicles, top-end missiles for 3,000 T-90/T-72 tanks and lakhs of rounds for L-70 air defence guns, officials said. The ministry’s department of defence production (DDP) gave the green light to the programmes on July 10.
Documents with HT show that the army requires nine lakh rounds of advanced 30 mm ammunition for the BMPs that can be fired from the existing gun without any design modifications. Each round could cost up to Rs 15,000, according to the army’s estimates. 
The DDP approved the purchase of 3,000 third-generation missiles for the army’s tank fleet, with a maximum effective range of 8 km and shelf life of five years under field conditions.
The army’s operational and technical parameters state the new missile should have a “hit probability greater than 90% on a standard NATO tank.” The army’s proposal says, “As the design of the existing INVAR missile has been optimized both in terms of range and depth of penetration, it is imperative to upgrade to next generation missiles with enhanced capability.”
The army’s T-90 fleet will be equipped with ‘armoured fighting vehicle protection and counter measure system’ at a cost of around Rs 2,500 crore. These enhanced protection measures deflect or destroy threats from guided missiles, rocket propelled grenades and rockets. Army officials said the systems would significantly enhance the survivability of tank crews in combat.
The approvals have been granted under the ‘Make’ category of acquisition in the Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 that lays down that only Indian vendors are eligible for the projects.
The T-90 fleet will be equipped with 1,200-1,500 HP modular engines “to cater for high battle field agility.” The army has a requirement for 2,011 such engines with each likely to cost Rs 5 crore.
Another significant project cleared relates to buying 3.3 lakh rounds of ammunition for the L-70 air defence gun systems over the next 12 years. The army’s proposal said, “With increase in air threat envelope and multiplicity of threat platforms, there’s a requirement to enhance the lethality and accuracy of the present ammunition of L-70 gun.”
The defence ministry has sought Rs 20,000 crore from the government to accelerate the military’s modernisation. Also, in July, the Centre bestowed sweeping financial powers on the army to meet critical deficiencies in ammunition, spares and different types of armament following a security review conducted after last year’s Uri terror strike.

 hindustantimes

India Freezes Purchase of Additional AH-64E Apache From US

Indian Army was to receive its first tranche of eleven AH-64E Apache helicopters under the options clause of an earlier deal; but government says it has no immediate plans to place the order.

Hard-pressed by operational requirements at the country's restive north-east region, the Indian Army, in its requisition, had demanded that they be provided with eleven US made helicopters. However, in a clear indication of Indian government's unwillingness to purchase additional AH-64E Apache helicopters from the United States, the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) has called off its meeting that was to discuss the Indian Army's requisition. The DAC is India's apex decision making body for defense purchases.
In September 2015, The Narendra Modi led government had cleared a deal with Boeing for the purchase of 22 AH-64E Apache helicopters. Ever since, the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force have been in a tug of war for acquiring the aircraft.
The earlier regime, led by Dr Manmohan Singh, had said that any future procurement of attack helicopters would be for the Indian Army. However, the Indian Air Force laid claim on all 22 helicopters and even refused to heed to the Indian Army's proposal to share half of the fleet.
 The Indian Army then moved a separate proposal seeking 39 attack helicopters. According to the proposal, the Indian Army was to receive its first tranche of eleven helicopters under the options clause of the 2015 deal. But India's Minister of State for Defense, Subhash Bhamre informed the Parliament earlier this week that the government has no plans to expand the 2015 deal with Boeing. "No follow-up order has so far been placed with any foreign ordnance company for procurement of attack helicopters," he said.

Presently, the Indian Army operates the homemade Dhruv-WSI (weapon system integrated) attack helicopters. It has already placed an order of over 100 such helicopters from state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. 50% of the components of the twin engine, multi-role helicopter is imported. They are considered highly efficient for close air support and high altitude operations. Dhruv Helicopter is equipped with 20 millimeter turret gun and can carry 70 millimeter rockets, the Mistral air to air missile, air to ground missile, helmet pointing system and anti-tank missiles.

sputnik

Indian Navy Floats Global Tender for High-Tech Night Vision Helmets

The Indian Navy has requisitioned for two options - uncooled thermal imaging devices and image intensifier tube with wide field of view.
  Indian Navy has started the process to equip its forces with highly advanced helmet mounted night vision devices. Such devices will help naval personnel in search & seizure procedures as well as security operations. The tender states that the initial order will be for about 1000 such devices and the quantity may be expanded in future.India's ministry of defense has sought response in detail from vendors interested in transferring the technology to Indian manufacturers. The global tender is expected to be issued in second quarter of 2018. The devices would be made available to the naval personnel from 2019.

"Amongst the vendors cleared by Field Evaluation Trials, a Contract Negotiation Committee (CNC) would decide the lowest cost bidder and conclude the appropriate contract," reads the request for information issued by the India's Ministry of Defense.

 Meanwhile, as per a requisition made by the Indian Army in December last year, India is also looking to purchase long range thermal imaging night vision with fusion technology for the Indian Army's T-90 tank, light machine guns, and rocket launchers. The Indian Army has asked for 15000 night sight for rocket launchers, 5000 night sight device for medium machine guns and more than 125000 for other small handheld arms. It is estimated that army will have to spend approximately $3.2 billion for such purchase.

 sputniknews

India all set to deploy Apache choppers at borders to boost firepower

In a bid to boost its firepower at the borders, India is planning to deploy its deadly American Apache attack helicopters at the sensitive Pathankot airbase in Punjab as well as Jorhat in Assam to fortify the northeastern sector. The defence ministry cleared a $2.2 billion contract with the US in 2015 for 22 Apache attack helicopters that will strengthen the Indian Air Force's capabilities on the frontiers with Pakistan and China.

"At present, the Air Force is planning to deploy the two squadrons of the Apache helicopters in Pathankot in Punjab and Jorhat in Assam to meet the security requirements of the western and the eastern theatre," sources in the defence ministry told Mail Today. The Pathankot airbase already has a component of the Russian-origin Mi-35 attack helicopters, which are used for supporting the advance of the Army in war against the enemy infantry and tank regiments while Jorhat would be getting an attack helicopter unit for the first time.

The infrastructure for hosting the helicopters in the two bases would also be completed as per the delivery schedule along with the other requirements at these bases. Indian pilots and air crew are also getting trained on the new choppers so that they can operate the helicopters when they arrive in India. The preparation of the Indian crew is also part of the deal that the two sides signed.

The Air Force has been flying the attack helicopters for a long time in support of Army's operations but the land force now wants to control the aerial assets also as it feels that its pilots would be better suited to support operations on the ground. In this regard, the Army is also moving a case for acquiring 11 Apache choppers as part of the repeat order for the ones the IAF is getting. Apache will be the first pure attack helicopter in the Indian forces.

The IAF already operates two squadrons of the Russian origin Mi-25 and Mi-35 attack helicopters, which are deployed close to the front lines on the Pakistan border. But these choppers are on the verge of retirement and were designed only to carry troops into heavily defended territories. Equipped with laser and infrared systems for all weather, day-night operability, the Apache fires the Hellfire air-to-air missiles apart from its arsenal of 70-mm rockets and automatic cannon.

The twin-engine Apache, operated by two pilots, is capable of detecting 256 moving targets with its doughnut-shaped Longbow radar and engaging them simultaneously. The choppers are scheduled to be delivered in the next couple of years to the Air Force along with the Chinook-64D heavy lift helicopters, which would be used to airlift machinery and heavy equipment in support of troops deployed in high mountainous regions such as Ladakh and the Northeast.

India had signed the deals for the Apache and Chinook helicopters simultaneously after a tendering process of almost eight years involving Russian and American firms. The Chinook choppers are planned to be based at the Chandigarh airbase, which is also home to the world's biggest choppers - the Russian Mi-26, which is used rarely these days for special airlift missions only. The public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is also working on developing the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter in the attack chopper category but it is in a lighter class than the Apaches.

The LCH would be built in large numbers by HAL and would be deployed by the Army and the IAF in both the western and northeastern sectors. The HAL has also developed a weaponised version of the Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv choppers called Rudra, which are getting deployed without much teeth in bases such as Likabali in the Northeast and Bhatinda near Pakistan.

 indiatoday

China ‘gifted’ 50 kilogram of Uranium to help Pakistan make nuclear bombs against India

China’s sinister designs against India has been talked about for decades since 1962. As the Communist country, once again tries to push India into a war in Sikkim sector, we take a look at how Beijing helped Pakistan’s nuclear programme, despite being one of the permanent members of the United Nations and publicly committed to non-proliferation. On November 13, 2009, the Washington Post published shocking accounts written by Abdul Qadeer Khan, father of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme.

According to the Post, Khan wrote that China provided 50 kilogram of bomb-grade uranium, which was enough for two atom bombs, to Pakistan in mid-1982. Khan narrated the entire story of sinister China-Pakistan nuclear cooperation, which started right after India tested its first nuclear bomb in 1974.

The terms of nuclear agreement between the two countries were set in mid-1976. India’s test in 1974 had “provoked” Khan, who was then working as a metallurgist at a Dutch centrifuge manufacturer, to offer his services to then Pakistan premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. After arriving in Pakistan, Khan worked out the details along with two officials – including former secretary Agha Shahi – before visiting Beijing to attend Mao’s funeral in 1976.

In China, Khan held talks with three top Chinese nuclear weapons officials and shared his knowledge about European-designed centrifuges, that could “aid China’s lagging uranium-enrichment program.” According to Khan, Pakistani officials helped China set up a centrifuge plant at Hanzhong in central China. For this Pakistan had sent “135 C-130 plane loads of machines, inverters, valves, flow meters, pressure gauges.” The Pakistan team stayed in Hanzhong for three weeks to complete their task. In return for the help, China sent to Pakistan “15 ton of uranium hexafluoride (UF6), a feedstock for Pakistan’s centrifuges that Khan’s colleagues were having difficulty producing on their own.”

According to Khan, the uranium hexafluoride gas helped Pakistan to start producing bomb-grade Uranium in 1982. Chinese scientists also helped Islamabad in solving “other nuclear weapons challenges”. However, as Pakistanis’ competence grew, Islamabad started to fear of a preemptive strike on its key nuclear sites by India or Israel.

In 1982, the then Pakistani military ruler Mohammad Zia ul-Haq talked to Khan about the fears of possible Indian or Israeli strike. Haq sent Khan and a Pakistani military general to Beijing “with a request in mid-1982 to borrow enough bomb-grade uranium for a few weapons.” The then Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping okayed Pakistan’s request.

“After winning Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s approval, Khan, the general and two others flew aboard a Pakistani C-130 to Urumqi. Khan says they enjoyed barbecued lamb while waiting for the Chinese military to pack the small uranium bricks into lead-lined boxes, 10 single-kilogram ingots to a box, for the flight to Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital,” the Washington Post reported in 2009.

Interestingly, Pakistan kept the Chinese material in storage until 1985. By that time, they had developed some nuclear weapons on their own. In the same year, Khan got Zia’s approval to ask if the Chinese wanted their material back. However, the Chinese responded to Pakistan that the nuclear material be considered “as a gift… in gratitude for Pakistani help”.

Throughout the period, the US was aware of the Chinese-Pakistani collaboration and also of the fact that Beijing and Islamabad were “worried about India”, according to the post.

Khan is believed to have passed of nuclear weapons know how to many states including Iran and Libya.

China has officially denied its nuclear weapon collaboration with Pakistan.

 financialexpress

India’s Tejas programme suffers more delays

The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed further delays in the country’s programme to produce the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The MoD said in a statement on 4 August that state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has delivered just four aircraft to the IAF out of 40 ordered in 2005. All these aircraft were previously scheduled to be delivered to the IAF by 2017–18.
The four aircraft so far delivered are from a batch of 20 designated for initial operational clearance (IOC), while the remaining 20 aircraft were designated for final operational clearance (FOC).
The MoD said that 12 remaining aircraft under the IOC batch are at the production stage and four more aircraft, which will be used as trainers, will be produced following necessary approvals by the MoD’s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).
It added that production of the 20 FOC aircraft will also depend on clearance by the ADA, which has led the Tejas development programme for the past three decades.
The MoD said that HAL has undertaken a raft of initiatives to increase the production rate of the Tejas LCA.
These include, it said, HAL obtaining authorisation in March 2017 from the government to ramp-up production capacity from eight to 16 aircraft per year, and the establishment of a second manufacturing line to support “structural and equipping activities”.
HAL has also increased the number of jigs involved in manufacturing the aircraft’s front fuselage, centre fuselage, rear fuselage and wings, and reduced the manufacturing cycle time by improving supply chain management and boosting workforce.

 janes

Army To Get Over 1 Lakh Lightweight Helmets: Government

The government today said it is procuring 1.58 lakh lightweight and safer ballistic helmets for the Indian Army. "A contract for procurement of 1,58,279 ballistic helmets through capital routes has been concluded in December 2016," Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to a question.

The helmets are being manufactured by Kanpur-based company MKU limited, army sources said, adding they will be lightweight and have better safety features. "There is no shortage of quality protective material for soldiers of the Indian Army fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir," Mr Bhamre said.

To a separate query on whether the interim verdict of the International Court of Justice on Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav has brought out glaring deficiencies in the military legal system of Pakistan, Mr Bhamre did not comment.


On whether there was a need for major changes in the military justice system in India, Mr Bhamre said the existing laws are up-to-date and in sync with human rights, humanitarian laws and criminal and service jurisprudence.

To another question, Mr Bhamre said a committee headed by Lt. Gen. DB Shekatkar (retd.) has recommended closure of the Army Education Corps. "The recommendations of the committee are under consideration of the government," he said.

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