India rejects China proposal for freeze on infra development on LAC

                                                                                          Photo: indiatoday

China has proposed freezing of infrastructure development along the border under a new pact but it is set to be rejected by India which is in the process of building infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

China has made the proposal as part of the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) which is under negotiation between the two countries, highly-placed sources said.

In the proposal, which is in the form of a paragraph in the BDCA, the Chinese side has said there should be a freeze on development of infrastructure in any 'disputed area', they said.

India is set to reject the proposal in its response expected to be conveyed to China by the end of this month, the sources said.

India is in the process of major infrastructure building exercise along the LAC and the Chinese proposal appears to be aimed at scuttling that.

The BDCA was proposed by China during the Defence Secretary-level talks earlier this year.

Sources said the proposed pact would be a "comprehensive" one encompassing some of the protocols and agreements signed by the two countries in the past. The border pact is aimed at avoiding flare ups on the boundary between the two countries.

Other proposals made under the pact include non-tailing of troops if noticed during patrolling along the disputed Line of Actual Control and to not fire at each other under any condition.

India and China have held several discussions on the BDCA during the recent past but after incursion by Chinese troops in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir in April, the movement on the proposed act has increased.

During Defence Minister A K Antony's recent visit to China, the two sides agreed to conclude negotiations on the pact at an early date.

After Antony's talks with Chinese leaders, the two sides agreed on a slew of confidence building measures, including having greater frequency of meetings at the border and increased exchange of visits of both young and senior armed forces officials.

India and China have also agreed to resume their Army-to-Army exercise to be held in China in October this year in the Chengdu military region. The two countries have also agreed to further strengthen the existing agreements and protocols between the two sides and emphasised the importance of enhancing mutual trust and understanding between the two militaries for maintaining peace and tranquility on the border.

PTI / Zeenews

Army to get Rudra choppers, armed with missiles and rockets in Aug

 

After fighting a messy turf war with the IAF over getting its own ``attack'' helicopters, the Army will take a major step forward in getting airborne firepower by raising its first-ever dedicated squadron of "armed'' choppers next month.

The first squadron of ``Rudra'' helicopters, the weaponised version of ``Dhruv'' advanced light helicopters (ALH) manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), will be raised in Bangalore and later deployed in the western sector facing Pakistan, said sources.

While not in the class of heavy-duty ``attack'' helicopters, which have greater combat capabilities and armour protection, each Rudra will be armed with a chin-mounted 12.7mm canon, 70mm rockets, Magic Matra air-to-air missiles and anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) to form a ``deadly package'' against enemy forces.

"The difference between attack and armed helicopters is blurring. The Rudras will constitute the third dimensional maneuver arm to provide ground commanders with a lethal edge,'' said a source.

"The ALHs did excellent rescue work in Uttarakhand recently. With combat firepower, speed and mobility, they will prove their worth in military operations too. While a Dhruv costs Rs 47 crore, each Rudra comes for Rs 71 crore,'' he added.

The Army will initially induct six squadrons (10 helicopters each) of the Rudras, named after the Rigvedic god of the tempest. The first two squadrons will have imported ATGMs but the next four will have the indigenously-developed Nag-Helina ATGMs with a four-km strike range.

While the Army's Aviation Corps (AAC) currently operates around 190 ageing Cheetah/Chetak helicopters as well as 70 Dhruv ALHs, attack and medium-lift helicopters were so far the IAF's preserve only.

The Army for long had been demanding ``full command and control'' over ``tactical air assets'' for rapid deployment, holding that IAF can retain its ``larger strategic role''. Finally, in a bid to resolve the long-standing battles, the defence ministry last year decided ``future'' procurements of attack helicopters will be for Army. IAF, however, will get the 22 AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopters to be acquired from the US for over $1.4 billion.

Induction of Rudras marks a significant boost to Army's endeavour to build its own ``mini'' air force. The raising of ``aviation brigades'' for each of the 1.13-million strong Army's three ``strike'' and 10 ``pivot'' corps (each has around 75,000 soldiers) has already kicked off.

The force wants one attack helicopter squadron each for its three ``strike'' formations - 1 Corps (Mathura), 2 Corps (Ambala) and 21 Corps (Bhopal) — in keeping with their primary offensive role. Moreover, it has plans to induct 114 Rudras for the remaining 10 `pivot' corps.

The force's long-term plans include a squadron each of attack/armed, reconnaissance/observation and tactical battle-support helicopters for all the 13 corps. In addition, the force wants each of its six regional or operational commands to get ``a flight'' of five fixed-wing aircraft for tactical airlift of troops and equipment.- Times of India

India, Russia to discuss 2nd N-sub lease

 India and Russia are to shortly begin negotiations on the least of a second nuclear attack submarine for the Indian Navy. In April last year, the Navy welcomed the INS Chakra into service in Visakhapatnam, an Akula-II class boat. India and Russia are to shortly begin negotiations on the least of a second nuclear attack submarine for the Indian Navy. In April last year, the Navy welcomed the INS Chakra into service in Visakhapatnam, an Akula-II class boat.

The second boat is likely to be the completed, updated Iribis, an Akula that was only half constructed but abandoned as a result of paucity of funds.

In 2003, original negotiations between India and Russia had envisaged the leasing of two submarines—both the Nerpa and Iribis, though the latter was finally dropped, while Nerpabecame the Navy’s second INS Chakra. The Iribis, which goes with the working title Chakra III for the moment, will be the second of a plan of three nuclear attack submarines the navy has planned for, in addition to five ballistic missile boats of the Arihant and Arihant+ class.

The INS Chakra currently in service with the Navy’s eastern fleet has been on nearly non-stop patrol since its induction in April last year, and the Navy is reported to be very satisfied with its capabilities and performance.

source :
defencenews.in

Indian company Dynamatic wins Boeing contract for Chinook components

Indian company Dynamatic has been awarded the contract to supply aft pylon and cargo ramp assemblies for Boeing's CH-47F Chinook helicopters.
"This contract is another demonstration of our commitment to partnering with India's aerospace industry to bring the best local talent and technologies to Boeing and in turn to our customers," said Boeing India President Pratyush Kumar in a statement.

Dynamatic Technologies, which has manufacturing facilities in India, the UK and Germany, specialises in development of airframe structures and precision aerospace components which it has been supplying to Boeing since 2010.
"This order gives us the opportunity to be involved in Boeing's global supply chain at a whole new level," Udayant Malhoutra, CEO and Managing Director, Dynamatic Technologies Limited said in a statement.
Earlier, Dynamatic had supplied the mission and power equipment cabinets for P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft Boeing supplied to India.
Chinook is a multi-mission, heavy lift transport helicopter.

The Economic Times

Russia says in race to bag mega sub deal

It is considered an outsider in the race to bag the Indian navy's contract for a new generation, long endurance conventional submarine but Russia maintains it is a strong contender as it will soon have the Air Independent Propulsion.
It was the lack of the AIP, which drastically increases the capability of a submarine to stay underwater by reducing dependence on compressed oxygen to burn fuel, that was seen as a disadvantage to Russia's participation in the navy's Project 75I to procure six new generation conventional submarines. Conventional submarines can stay underwater for a few days but those equipped with AIP can stay submerged for more than three weeks, giving the operator advantage in terms of stealthy operations and sneak attacks.
Russian designers said the system will be ready by 2016 and may even be fitted on Russian vessels by 2018. "The AIP is no longer a stumbling block to our participation in the P 75I," Andrey Baranov, deputy director general of the Rubin Design Bureau, said. "We will have a prototype of the system ready and in place by 2016."
Russia has offered to help the DRDO develop an indigenous version of the AIP, Baranov said and stressed that India was unlikely to find other partners who would share such critical technology.
"The main difference between our system and others in the world is that we do not store hydrogen onboard but generate it. We also use standard diesel that the submarine has," Rubin Design Bureau chief designer Igor Molchanov said. This, he said, makes the Russian AIP stealthier than the French and frees it of the need for shore-based hydrogen generating facilities which are required by the German system.
Both the French DCNS and the German HDW are strong competitors for the P 75I contract, which will be one of the largest global tenders in terms of money. There has, however, been delay in floating a tender though the decision to procure the submarines — to restore India's edge in underwater operations in the region —was taken years ago.
The correspondent is in Russia at the invitation of the United Shipbuilding Corp.

Indian Express

INS Vikramaditya, India's second aircraft carrier, out at sea again

The INS Vikramaditya, India's second aircraft carrier, is out at sea again. By this time tomorrow, the 45,550-ton vessel built at the Sevmash shipyard in Severodvinsk, north Russia, will be sailing through the Barents Sea.

Over the next two months at least, the ship will be put through stringent testing in the Barents Sea and the White sea. "If all goes well, the Indian tri-colour will be flying atop the INS Vikramaditya this November, after which it will start its journey to India," a senior Navy officer told NDTV.

The INS Vikramaditya, formerly known as Admiral Gorskhov, was to have joined the Indian Navy last year. However, the insulation tiles of its boilers cracked during full power trials, which entail pushing the ship to maximum speed at sea and then testing all systems for accuracy and endurance.
 The fire-brick lining - made of special ceramic to help maintain optimum temperature in the boilers - on the inside of the insulation had come off. A senior official told NDTV that the entire insulation was ripped off and a new one has been installed.

A 500-member Indian Navy team, which was training on-board the Admiral Gorshkov then had spotted the problem with the warship's boilers, especially when the vessel hit top speed of about 30 knots (around 55 kmph).

The repairs delayed delivery of the ship by a year. "Tests carried out in the dry docks have also been successful," the official said.

India and Russia had signed a $2.3-billion (Rs. 14,000 crore approximately at present valuation) contract for refitting the aircraft carrier, which served in the erstwhile Soviet Navy. The first contract was signed in 2004, when no other country was ready to sell such technology to India.

During the sea trails now, all systems of the ship, including its sensor and weapon and propulsion system will be tested and full power trails will be conducted again. A contingent of Indian Navy officials are on board to oversee and inspect the trials.

NDTV

India worried over PLA's expanding transborder military capabilities

India is likely to raise the expanding transborder military capabilities of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), including its stepped-up exercises in the high-altitude Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, when defence minister A K Antony leads a top-level delegation to China from July 4 to 7.

Sources said while India will "reassure" China that it has absolutely no intention of joining any multi-lateral strategic grouping that seeks to "contain" Beijing, it will also underline several "bilateral concerns" that need to be addressed.

"There are legitimate concerns about PLA's military capabilities, assertiveness and intentions, its massive infrastructure build-up along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and, of course, incidents like the Depsang incursion in Ladakh in April," said a source.

India, however, is keen to progressively enhance military ties with China, keep "communication channels open" and "eliminate potential" for Depsang-like incidents to reoccur.

The two sides will also discuss resumption of the joint Army "Hand-in-Hand" (HiH) counter-terrorism exercise towards end-2013 after a five-year gap as well as explore establishing the fourth border personnel meeting (BPM) mechanism near Lipulekh-Mana Pass in the "middle sector" after the existing ones at Chushul, Nathu La and Bum La.

The keenness to "constructively engage" with China's military leadership can be gauged from the fact that Antony's delegation, apart from defence secretary R K Mathur, will include Eastern Army commander Lt-General Dalbir Singh Suhag and Southern Naval commander Vice-Admiral Satish Soni, who are slated to take over as the next Army and Navy chiefs in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The Indian delegation will visit Shanghai, Beijing and the Chengdu Military Area Command, which controls Tibet and almost the entire disputed LAC.

Though the need to fortify de-escalatory mechanisms to prevent face-offs between the two armies will be stressed during the trip, India is in "no hurry" to ink the new Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) proposed by China earlier this year.

"The revised BDCA draft submitted by China is being examined," said a source. MoD was perturbed by the earlier draft since it suggested that both sides should freeze troop and infrastructure levels along the LAC.

MoD is in the process of getting the Cabinet Committee on Security's (CCS) final nod for raising a new mountain strike corps (40,000 soldiers), apart from two "independent" infantry brigades and two "independent" armoured brigades, to plug operational gaps along the LAC as well as to acquire "some ground offensive capabilities" against China. Moreover, India is belatedly trying to counter the major infrastructure build-up by China over the last couple of decades.  - Times of india..

India's first dedicated navigation satellite launched

In a landmark journey into a new era of space application, India on Monday successfully launched its first dedicated navigation satellite using the Polar satellite Launch Vehicle which blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here.

The country's workhorse PSLV blasted off at 11.41pm on Monday night and it ejected IRNSS-1A satellite and placed it in orbit a little past midnight, technically on Tuesday.

Developed by India, the IRNSS-1A, the first of the seven satellites constituting the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) space segment, has a mission life of 10 years.

It is designed to provide accurate position information service to users in the country as well as the region extending up to 1,500 km from its boundary, which is its primary service area.

"IRNSS-1A was launched at a cost of approximately Rs 125 crore," ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan said after the launch.

Consisting of a space segment and a ground segment, IRNSS has three satellites in geostationary orbit and four satellites in inclined geosynchronous orbit and is to be completed before 2015.

Over Rs 300 crore is earmarked for the ground segment and almost all the satellites would cost Rs 125 crore, since all of them would most probably be identical, he said.

The launch was "very precise" he said, adding that when the target of apogee was aimed at 20,650 km plus or minus 750 km, the rocket achieved an apogee of 20,625 km.

IRNSS will be on lines with Russia's Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), United States' Global Positioning System (GPS), European Union's Galileo (GNSS), China's BeiDou satellite navigation system and the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System. -   PTI/Times of india

Russia sells China 100 Su-35 fighter jets

(China Daily Mail)- According to a report by Voice of Russia, China and Russia have concluded an export agreement for 100 Su-35 fighter jets during the Paris Air Show.At the 50th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport, Russia had it’s most intensive participation over the past few years. All the 46 well-known Russian weapon manufacturers and companies, including Sokhoi, Mikoyan and Ilyushin, had presence there. In the exhibition hall, open-air site and flying shows, the audience has witnessed the Russian aviation industry’s newest achievements.

At that exhibition, there was the first flying show of the Su-35 abroad. The Su-35 is the most intrepid fourth-generation fighter jet in the world today. It is equipped with a 30mm machine gun, a radar with a search range of 400 km, and a flight range of 3,500 km without refuelling.

It’s powerful engine enables it to perform various super difficult movements such as horizontal rolling, plane screw spin, Pugachev Cobra and other stunt manoeuvres. It has its unique super “pancake” manoeuvre – a horizontal 360 degree turnaround without reduction of speed. Western media exclaimed in admiration, “It’s not an airplane, it’s a UFO.”

Mikhail Pogosyan, general manager of United Aircraft Corporation, was tremendously satisfied with the Su-35’s performance this time. He said: “The Su-35 is better than all other types of fourth-generation aircraft. Its performance not only embodies excellent pneumatic technology, but also the ability of the unique equipment it carries and its attack capability.

“It is not yet our newest achievement because we are at the same time developing a fifth-generation fighter jet. The two types of aircraft may supplement each other in the future to enhance the combat efficiency of the air forces of Russia and the countries that use Russian-made weapons.”

Source: huanqiu.com 

Prithvi missiles to be replaced by more-capable Prahar: DRDO

Seeking to enhance its precision strike capabilities, India is planning to replace its 150 km-range Prithvi ballistic missiles with the newly developed quick reaction Prahar missiles.

“We are withdrawing the tactical 150 km-range Prithvi missiles and will replace them with the Prahar missiles, which are more capable and have more accuracy,” DRDO chief Avinash Chander told PTI here.

The tactical versions of the Prithvi missiles would be withdrawn from service and will be upgraded to be used for longer ranges, he said.

The DRDO Chief said after the withdrawal of the tactical ballistic missiles from service, there would be a gap in strike capabilities in the range of 100 to 150 km-range.

“The Prahar missile would be used to fill up that gap,” he said.

The 150 km-range ‘Prahar’ is a single-stage missile and is fuelled by solid propellants. It was first test-fired by DRDO in mid-2011 from its range in Odisha.

The uniqueness of the missile system is that it can be fired in the salvo mode also from one launcher vehicle in which four missiles can be fired in one go.

This short-range missile would be an ‘excellent weapon’ which would fill the gap between the 90 km-range of the Smerch multi-barrel rocket launchers and guided missiles like ’Prithvi’, which can strike at 250 km to 350 km range.

The under-development Prahar missile would be offered to the Army for user trials very soon and after its acceptance, it is planned to be part of its Corps of Artillery.

The Prithvi missiles were developed by India under its Integrated Missile Development Programme in the 1980s. The ballistic missile was developed with multiple strike ranges from 150 km to 350 km.

The longer ranges are planned to be in service with both the Army and the IAF. 

 thehindubusinessline

India inducts new power-packed stealth frigate

                                                                                           In tune with its operational drive to turn "stealthy" because surprise and deception are crucial in modern-day warfare, the Navy inducted its latest guided-missile stealth frigate INS Trikhand on Saturday.

INS Trikand is the last of the six stealth frigates ordered from Russia. The Navy had earlier inducted three 4,000-tonne Talwar-class stealth frigates ( Talwar, Trishul and Tabar) from Russia in 2003-2004.

Then, impressed by the punch the frigates packed, India ordered another three (Teg, Tarkash and Trikand) under a $1.15 billion contract inked in 2006.

On Saturday, Navy vice chief Vice admiral R K Dhowan commissioned INS Trikand at a ceremony at Kaliningrad in Russia, which was also attended by the Indian ambassador Ajai Malhotra and other top Indian and Russian officials.

"Her sister ships INS Teg and INS Tarkash were commissioned last year and are now undertaking operations as part of the Western Fleet," said an officer. INS Trikand carries a state-of-the-art combat suite, which includes the supersonic 290-km BrahMos missile system, Shtil advanced surface-to-air missiles, an upgraded A-190 medium range gun, an electro-optical 30-mm close-in weapon system, anti-submarine weapons such as torpedoes and rockets and an advanced electronic warfare system.

"The weapons and sensors are integrated through a combat management system 'Trebovanie-M', which enables the ship to simultaneously neutralise multiple surface, sub-surface and air threats," said the officer.

The ship also incorporates "innovative" features to reduce its radar, magnetic and acoustic "signatures" to ensure it is relatively difficult to detect by enemy radars. Powered by four gas turbines, the frigate is capable of speeds in excess of 30 knots. "The ship, commanded by Captain Ajay Kochhar with a crew of 300 officers and sailors, can also carry an integrated Kamov-31 helicopter suited for airborne early warning roles," he said.

India, of course, is also building its own stealth frigates. Three Shivalik-class frigates, built at Mazagon Docks (MDL), have already been inducted by the Navy. Then, there is an over Rs 50,000 crore plan on the anvil to construct seven advanced stealth frigates, with all weapon and missile systems under the hull for a lower radar "signature", in a programme called Project-17A.

The project will be shared between MDL at Mumbai and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) at Kolkata. - Times of india  

CAG nails lack of disaster alert system

The Uttarakhand calamity has highlighted how advanced communication technology, though available with the government, was not deployed either for preparing for it or for quick response. There were no early warning systems, and once disaster struck, no communication system worked for several days as mobile networks collapsed. A recent CAG report higlights massive failure in harnessing communication technology for disaster alerts.

Why can't our country's well known prowess in space, IT and communication technologies be used for disaster management? A recent CAG report provides the answer: a series of half completed projects, bungled attempts, turf wars and lack of will to get ready for disasters.

So, what happened in Uttarakhand could very well happen elsewhere. After all, 60% of the country is prone to earthquakes of moderate to high intensity, 40 million hectares is prone to floods, 5,700 km coast is prone to cyclones and tsunamis and the whole Himalayas are prone to landslides.

The department of space was to have created a National Database for Emergency Management (NEDM) combining satellite imagery with ground level data. All possible natural and man-made disasters would be covered in it. Started in 2006 it was to be completed by 2011. Till June 2012, Rs 6.34 crore had been spent on data collection and Rs.9.8 crore on buildings, according to a recent CAG report. But the project is non-operational.

Meanwhile, the national disaster management authority proposed a parallel national disaster management informatics system (NDMIS) using GIS data. This is still under consideration by the home ministry.

Satellite imagery for 224 million hectares (mha) out of a target of 320 mha has been collected but since the servers for housing the data are not installed, the data is not available for use. Similarly, a GIS-based database on 169 districts that are prone to multiple hazards is not yet completed, although the coastal districts (prone to tsunami and cyclones) have been covered. But the data is not available for use because computer infrastructure is non-operational, the CAG has revealed. A detailed GIS dataset for six mega cities (Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Mumbai) was to be prepared but it was completed for only the first three, and that too is not available for users.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) was to have used the Airborne Laser Terrain Mapping and Digital Camera (ALTM-DC) to take detailed photographs of 5 lakh square kilometers of flood prone areas in the country. This data could be very useful in determining risks, developing risk zones and hence planning for floods. After spending Rs 23 crore on buying the hi-tech equipment, only 38,020 sq km has been covered till 2012.

Similarly, a synthetic aperture radar for use when satellite systems are non-operational was bought for Rs 20 crore but it is still not operational. It can be used to forecast floods and also during flooding.

One of the most important elements of disaster management - a secure communication network - was planned, linking the prime minister, the home ministry, down to state control rooms and ultimately, district emergency operation centers (EOCs). It was to become operational by December 2005, but the CAG discovered that it is still a work in progress, although all equipment was bought six years ago for Rs.6.7 crore. Some of the reasons for this state of affairs were shocking: the equipment could not be set up at the PM's residence because permission to enter the premises has not been given; in Mumbai, the equipment got burnt in the Mantralaya fire; in Shimla, the antenna fell off the roof.

A parallel National Disaster Communication Network based on existing NICNET and other networks was mooted by the home ministry in 2007 but is yet to see the light of the day.

Five Doppler Weather Radars for giving early warning of cyclones, hailstorms, high winds etc were to be set up jointly by the met and space departments. These are yet to be installed after seven years and spending of Rs 35.64 crore. -  Times of India