Ready to supply uranium to India as soon as possible: Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull today said his country is ready to start export of uranium to India as soon as possible, two-and-a-half years after the two countries signed a civil nuclear cooperation deal.

Soon after holding wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Turnbull said cooperation between the two countries in the energy sector has been on an upswing and Australia would like to assist India in generation of nuclear power.

"We are working closely with India to meet our respective requirements for the provision of fuel for India's civil nuclear programme," he said, adding Australia was looking forward to supply of uranium to India as soon as possible.

On his part Modi said Australia is now ready to export uranium to India with the passage of a legislation in the Australian Parliament with bi-partisan support.

A joint statement issued after the talks said Modi and Turnbull reiterated their support for continued bilateral nuclear cooperation and that they anticipated commercial export of Australian uranium to India could begin soon.

Australia has about 40 per cent of the world's uranium reserves and exports nearly 7,000 tonnes of yellow cake annually.

India and Australia began talks on the Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in 2012 after Australia lifted a long- standing ban on selling uranium to energy-starved India. The agreement was signed during a state visit to India by Australia's then prime minister Tony Abbott in September 2014.

India, which has nuclear energy contributing just 3 per cent of its electricity generation, will be the first country to buy Australian uranium without being a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

In the talks, Turnbull noted Australia's strong support for India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The Australian side also expressed its support for India's membership of the Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement, the two export control regimes.

Resolving to deepen maritime cooperation, the two prime ministers recognised that India and Australia share common interests in ensuring maritime security and the safety of sea lines of communication.

"Both leaders recognised the importance of freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce, as well as resolving maritime disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)," said the joint statement.

The comments are seen as an reference to China's growing assertiveness in the South China Sea.

"The two Prime Ministers highlighted their shared desire to ensure that Indian Ocean architecture keeps pace with regional issues and addresses emerging threats and challenges in the region," the statement said.

Modi and Turnbull agreed that the bilateral maritime exercise first held in the Bay of Bengal in 2015 will be repeated off Western Australia in the first half of 2018.

On defence ties, the statement said both countries remain strongly committed to the breadth of their defence ties and recalled the Special Forces Bilateral Exercise conducted in October 2016.

"They also welcomed a decision for the first bilateral Army-to-Army exercise to take place in 2018. They looked forward to the inaugural secretaries' defence and foreign affairs dialogue in the '2+2' format as a new mechanism to build on the deep strategic partnership."

Modi and Turnbull also emphasised on the need for an early peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan through Afghan-owned and Afghan-led process; and called for ending external support for terrorism.

On the issue of students, the Australian prime minister said he will ensure that they get outstanding opportunities.

The two leaders also decided to deepen efforts to "deter and disrupt" human trafficking, including to ensure the return of persons, subject to verification by Indian and Australian authorities.

Turnbull reiterated Australia's support for India's membership of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC).

In the meeting, Modi also welcomed Australia's continuing support for India as a permanent member in a reformed United Nations Security Council.

Recognising India's strong economic trajectory, Turnbull informed Modi he would commission an India Economic Strategy to define a pathway for the Australian business community to collaborate with India on its reform agenda.

The statement also said India and Australia are keen to secure a timely conclusion of a high quality Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

The Australian prime minister also congratulated Modi on his leadership in setting up of the International Solar Alliance and announced that Australia intends to join the alliance.

On India's skill development programme, Turnbull said Australia's industry-led vocational education and training system can play a key role training 400 million Indians by 2022.

On the sports sector, Turnbull invited "elite" Indian sports teams to train in Australia ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast.

 economictimes

India Successfully Tests Next-Gen Arjun Battle Tank’s Strike Capabilities

Sources told Sputnik that defense scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) saw the successful test of an anti-tank weapon with a strike range of five kilometers at a testing facility in Orissa state. Scientists test-fired high explosive anti-tank weapon from Arjun MK 2 in salvo mode against a decommissioned tank. Sources said the test was successful and it had the desirable impact on the target.

DRDO scientists have been developing the Arjun MK 2 Main Battle Tank since 2012. Arjun MK 2 is said to be a substantially improved and more capable version of the Arjun MK 1, 118 of which are now in delivery. But the Army has a problem with the weight of the tank: it weighs approximately 68 tons with scientists trying to lighten the load. Sources said scientists will use indigenously developed lighter high nitrogen steel in the baseline hull of the tank. They will also use all-aluminium road-wheels instead of all-steel road wheels and ventilators to reduce the weight.

Defense sources told Sputnik that the Indian Army wanted Arjun MK 2 to weigh 50-55 tons but the DRDO has conveyed its inability to bring it down to that level. The Army is said to have objected to the tank's 68 ton weight, saying it was too heavy and limited the area where it can be deployed.

In February this year, Bharat Electronics had unveiled a remote controlled weapon station (RCWS) for 12.7 mm gun of MBT Arjun Mk II battle tank at Aero India 2017 in Bengaluru. This enabled the soldier to aim and fire at aerial targets from the safe interiors of the battle tank. Presently, the 12.7 mm guns of all tanks are manually operated. The RCWS is armed with the 12.7 mm Russian NSVT heavy machine gun. Other weapons like 7.62 mm MG can also be fitted with it.

 sputniknews

Israel Aerospace Industries Wins $500 Million 3D Radar Tender in India

Under the tender, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will supply 66 new-generation 3-D surveillance and tracking radar to the Indian Army under technology transfer. The radar has been developed by Elta especially for the Indian Army. The closest rival was Thales from Netherlands.

The radar will be equipped to track wide variety of platforms including low-level high-speed fighter aircraft, hovering helicopters, low ultra-light aircraft and UAVs.

Indian Army will operationalize these high mobility and low power consuming radars in difficult Himalayan terrain bordering Pakistan and China. Indian Army has asked for radars which can provide accurate range, azimuth and elevation angle measurements for each target, and capable of differentiating between different type of threat.

The Elta radar will track multiple targets in all weather conditions and its most important feature is its ability to be deployed fast. It will replace Flycatcher Radar which was manufactured in collaboration with HSA and supplied to the army in 1987

Indian defense ministry had issued global tender in 2012 to Selex Sistemi Integrati of Italy, Raytheon of the United States, Thales, IAI, and Rosoboronexport of Russia.

 sputniknews

As Turnbull visits, India and Australia negotiate uranium shipment

As India prepares to welcome Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull next week, negotiators from both sides are hammering out details for the first shipment of Australian uranium under the bilateral civil nuclear agreement.
A Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), negotiations for which were launched nearly six years ago, will not be signed during Turnbull’s visit, with officials saying that both sides continue to have concerns that are yet to be addressed.
The focus of Turnbull’s visit during April 9-12 will be driving high-level exchanges and contacts, security and defence relations and boosting cooperation in education and skill development, sources said.
With Australia’s Civil Nuclear Transfers to India Act becoming effective in December last year, both sides are engaged in commercial negotiations for the sale of uranium to India. “We are hopeful there will be a commercial shipment this year,” a source said.
“Now it is only a question of commercial deals being done and negotiations are ongoing,” Jaideep Mazumdar, joint secretary (south) in the external affairs ministry, told a news briefing. “There are no procedural constraints, it is only a question of commercial negotiations being concluded on issues such as price, quantity, purity.”

Australia will also continue its support for India’s bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and there has been considerable discussion on how to handle New Delhi’s application at the next plenary of the elite group that controls trade in nuclear technology and know-how, sources said.
Australian high commissioner Harinder Sindu said: “CECA will not be signed during the visit. The negotiations are underway and continuing.”
Turnbull and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi will confirm the importance of the CECA but there are “issues on both sides”, Mazumdar said.
India has concerns about sanitary and phytosanitary conditions for its fruits and vegetables. Australia wants better access to Indian markets for its food and agricultural products and has concerns about high Indian tariffs for products such as wine.
“CECA will happen but it is an incredibly complex process. We achieved a lot in 2015 and are now left with a handful of the most difficult issues,” a source said.
For the Australian government, India is among the “top five priority relationships” and Turnbull’s visit will not be about signing “MoUs that don’t go anywhere”, sources said.
Instead, Turnbull will focus on the security relationship with India, which has emerged as a key strategic partner. There will be focus on security in the Indian Ocean, trans-national crime, terrorism, more military-to-military exchanges and exercises such as the AUSINDEX naval wargame, the second edition of which is to be held late this year.
Turnbull will also be accompanied by a delegation that includes the vice-chancellors of almost half of Australia’s universities, reflecting the focus on education and skill development. There are currently 61,000 Indian students in Australia and the focus will be on building educational partnerships, including joint studies and research.

 hindustantimes

India to examine whether to acquire MiG-29 jets from Malaysia

A committee of defence experts will examine whether to consider buying MiG-29 fighter jets from Malaysia and upgrade them for use by Indian Air Force. 

A committee of defence experts will examine whether to consider buying MiG-29 fighter jets from Malaysia and upgrade them for use by Indian Air Force. At the end of his visit here, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak had said India is keen to buy MiG-29 fighter jets from his country and upgrade them for use by IAF. Government sources said a committee of experts will examine the issue following which a decision may be arrived at.
Najib had said the proposal was among the aspects of military cooperation agreed to by Malaysia and India during
his visit to New Delhi and talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the India’s Ministry of Defence and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (TUDM) would look at the form of cooperation, including handling the Sukhoi aircraft and spare parts.“There is a possibility too that they (India) will buy our MiG 29 aircraft for refit. We reciprocate by accepting spare
parts for our Sukhoi aircraft programme,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency. According to leading military aviation magazine, ‘AirForces Monthly’, the Royal Malaysian Air Force in 1995 procured 18 MiG-29N from Russia, and presently has 10 MiG-29N and 2 MiG-29NU (Trainers) in its fleet. Earlier, it had been reported that India had taken into consideration if they would pay for the repairs of grounded helicopters and tranport planes from the Afghan’s air force. This could be considered as India’s willingness to help Kabul’s millitary, something which has time and again irked Pakistan. According to reports, India estimated that it would cost $50 million for new parts and repairs to 11 grounded Soviet-made Mi-35 helicopters and seven transport aircraft, after sending a team of experts to assess the Afghan air force’s needs last year, the Indian ambassador to Kabul told Reuters.

 financialexpress

Israel Signs $2 Billion Missile Deal, Will 'Make In India'

Israel has signed a US $2 billion contract with India to supply it with missile defence systems, the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries said on Thursday. They confirmed that they have been awarded their largest defence contract of almost US $2 billion for supplying advanced medium-range surface-to-air missile systems (MRSAM) to India. IAI said it would also supply additional long-range air and missile defence systems (LRSAM) for the first locally produced Indian aircraft carrier.

The contract is worth US $1.6 billion for IAI, with the rest going to another state-owned defence company Rafael, that will be providing components for the systems. "The current contracts represent an enormous expression of confidence by the government of India in IAI's capabilities and advanced technologies, which are being developed with our local partners as part of the Indian government's 'Make in India' policy," IAI Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Joseph Weiss said in a statement.

President Reuven Rivlin, who is said to have discussed the deal with Indian leaders during his trip to India in November last year, called to congratulate Mr Weiss on this "historic" deal terming it truly "exceptional".

"Please pass on my congratulations to all who contributed to this important achievement. You have come such a long way to arrive at this point, it is truly exceptional," President Rivlin told IAI's CEO.

Israel's willingness to share technology and form joint ventures with Indian companies to develop and manufacture military equipment supporting the 'Make in India' initiative is said to have been well received in New Delhi.

In the case of MRSAM, an advanced air and missile defence system that provides protection against a variety of aerial threats, the technology is said to have been jointly developed by IAI and India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in collaboration with Rafael and IAI's Elta division. Indian companies such as Larsen & Toubro are said to have also participated in the project.

MRSAM's current version is operational with the Indian Air Force, Indian Navy and Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

The system includes an advanced phased-array radar, command and control, mobile launchers and missiles with advanced RF seekers.

 ndtv

India keen to buy MiG-29 fighter jets from Malaysia: Najib Razak

 

India is keen to buy MiG-29 fighter jets from Malaysia and upgrade them for use by its air force, Prime Minister Najib Razak has said. Najib said the proposal was among the aspects of military cooperation agreed to by Malaysia and India during his just-concluded visit to New Delhi and talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the India’s ministry of defence and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (TUDM) would look at the form of cooperation, including handling the Sukhoi aircraft and spare parts, Malaysia’s official Bernama news agency reported on Wednesday.
“There is a possibility too that they (India) will buy our MiG 29 aircraft for refit. We reciprocate by accepting spare parts for our Sukhoi aircraft programme,” he said at the end of a six-day visit to India which started on 30 March in Chennai.
According to leading military aviation magazine, AirForces Monthly, the Royal Malaysian Air Force in 1995 procured 18 MiG-29N from Russia, and presently has 10 MiG-29N and 2 MiG-29NU (Trainers) in its fleet.
Najib said the visit this time to India was successful in terms of investments between the two countries, where 31 MoUs were signed with investments totalling $35.99 billion.
The cooperation encompassed construction of harbours and roads, development of solar energy, smart city, palm oil and coconut, technology park and higher education. Najib also said Malaysia was striving to obtain six highway construction packages totalling 3,000 kms in Rajasthan involving an estimated investment of $1.5 billion. “My visit to Jaipur showcases Malaysia’s keenness on the highway project in Rajasthan and the model to be implemented by Malaysia will be an example to the states neighbouring Rajasthan,” Najib was quoted as saying by the report.

 Livemint

Vladimir Putin gives nod to joint venture for manufacturing Kamov helicopters

Russian President Vladimir Putin has finally given the go ahead for setting up an Indo-Russian joint venture for production of Kamov military helicopters for India under a USD 1 billion deal inked in 2015.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has finally given the go ahead for setting up an Indo-Russian joint venture for production of Kamov military helicopters for India under a USD 1 billion deal inked in 2015.
In October last year, India and Russia had finalised a broad agreement for the JV between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)and two Russian defence majors.
HAL, Russian Helicopters and Rosoboronexport will sign an MoU to complete the formalities for setting up the joint venture, Defence Ministry sources said.
They said 60 Kamov-226T helicopters will be supplied to India in fly-away condition, while 140 will be manufactured in India.
Once the joint venture has been set up, the Indian government can start interaction with the board members of the new entity on the depth of technology, technology transfer, exact number of choppers to be produced in India and other key issues, said a top official involved in the project.
The inter-government agreement was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Russia in December, 2015.
Last year in October, Russian Helicopters, Rosoboronexport and HAL Corporation had almost completed the formalities for the joint venture to localise the production of Ka-226Ts and deliver them to the Indian market.
When the JV is registered, it can negotiate the terms with customers and parent companies.
The schedule of delivery and localisation as well as the terms and the number of units will be up to the JV to finalise.
India is procuring Kamov choppers to replace its aging Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.

 financialexpress

Procurement of over 100 more Barak-I missiles cleared

The defence ministry on Monday approved arms procurement proposals worth over Rs 860 crore, which include additional Israeli Barak-I missiles for Indian warships as well as European equipment to defuse or destroy underwater enemy mines.

Chairing the high-powered defence acquisitions council (DAC) for the first time since he took over the additional charge of the defence ministry on March 13, finance minister Arun Jaitley directed officials to expedite clearance of several pending military modernization proposals after reviewing them.

The clearance for the procurement of over 100 more Barak-I missiles for around Rs 500 crore comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's impending visit to Israel in July, which will be the first by an Indian PM since bilateral diplomatic relations were established in 1992.

As was earlier reported by TOI, India in February has also cleared a Rs 16,830 crore project between DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries to develop the next-generation Barak-8 medium-range surface to air missile (MR-SAM) systems for the Army.

This project follows the two similar DRDO-IAI programmes already underway for MR-SAMs for Indian warships (initial cost was Rs 2,606 crore) and IAF air defence squadrons (Rs 10,076 crore). Moreover, IAF is now also getting set to take part in its first-ever air combat exercise in Israel, which is called "Blue Flag", later this year.

The procurement proposal for the additional Barak-I missiles, cleared by the DAC on Monday, is for the earlier version of the anti-missile defence systems fitted on 14 Indian warships after the 1999 Kargil conflict. While this system has an interception range of 9-km, the Barak-8 system has a kill range of 70-km against enemy aircraft, drones and missiles. As of now, the Barak-8 system has been fitted on the three new Kolkata-class destroyers.

Israel is among the top three arms suppliers to India, notching up sales worth almost $1 billion every year. The acquisitions range from Phalcon AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) and Searcher, Heron and Harop UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) to Aerostat and Green Pine radars and several types of missiles & laser-guided bombs.Another big deal in the works is for two more Phalcon AWACS, which are to be mounted on Russian IL-76 military aircraft, to add to the earlier three already in service with the IAF and four more Aerostat radars for well over $1 billion.

The other proposals cleared by the DAC include the Rs 311 crore purchase of "clip-on suites" to counter mines at sea, as also the procurement of "expendable bathy thermograph systems" under the foreign military sales programme from the US. The thermograph systems basically check temperatures at various water depths to ascertain the range of sonars meant to detect enemy submarines.

TOI

US Senators Urge Progress on US-India F-16, Guardian Drone Deals

Last week, a pair of U.S. senators from both the Republican and Democrat parties have jointly sent two letters (see here and here) to U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urging the completion of two defense deals between India and the United States.

Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), co-chairs of the U.S. Senate India Caucus, in one letter, call on the United States to approve a deal to co-produce Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters in India. In a second letter, the two call for the U.S. government to approve the export of the General Atomics Guardian. The Guardian is a nonlethal variant of the MQ-9 Reaper drone, used by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The two senators acknowledge the “strategic importance of the growing United States-India defense and economic relationship,” which has enjoyed broad bipartisan support in Washington, D.C., for well over a decade now. They further note that India “increasingly serves as an integral partner in the United States’ security architecture in the volatile South Asia region.” This comment echoes Mattis’ own remarks to India’s national security adviser two weeks ago. Mattis commended India for promoting “stability in the South Asia region” then. In addition to highlighting the strategic value of the deals, Cornyn and Warner highlight the potentially positive effect of the deals on preserving U.S. employment in the defense sector.

With the inauguration of the Trump administration, things have been slow-moving on the U.S.-India defense cooperation move. When Mattis spoke to his former Indian counterpart, Manohar Parrikar, in February, he brought up the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative. His predecessor, Ash Carter, had long spearheaded that project to encourage U.S.-India collaboration on defense commerce and technology. In its final year in office, the Obama administration further recognized India as a “major defense partner,” an effectively bespoke status for New Delhi that signaled the United States’ intent to deal with New Delhi as it would with its closest allies in the region.

Despite Cornyn and Warner’s calls to action, the two deals in question are actually quite far from being actual “deals.” Following the demise of the old Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender, which had been awarded to France’s Dassault for its Rafale fighter, and India’s decision to sideline the domestically developed HAL Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, India will open up another 200-jet competitive bidding process for foreign suppliers, looking for a medium-weight aircraft to succeed its fleet of MiG-21 fighters. The F-16 may be a compelling option for New Delhi here, as it had been during the MMRCA process, but under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, New Delhi will look to negotiate aggressively for concessions on technology transfer and domestic production.

Meanwhile, the process toward concluding the sale of the Guardian drone is further along in the sense that New Delhi officially filed a letter of request last year to the United States, kicking off the latter’s Foreign Military Sales process. With the change of administrations in the U.S., there has been little publicly reported on the state of this deal. The United States has yet to formally accept the Indian request and was examining the requests’ compatibility under its export rules for unmanned systems and based on existing commitments under the Missile Technology Control Regime, which India joined last year.

 thediplomat

ISI transferred Rs 800 crore to separatists to fund Kashmir unrest

Between 2016 and 2017 a sum of Rs 800 crore was transferred to the separatists in Kashmir to create the unrest, an Intelligence Bureau file states. Money came in through various channels, the IB dossier reads while also adding that fund transfer had slowed down after November 2016.

The money was sent exclusively to fuel the Kashmir unrest, the IB file also states. Money was paid to stone pelters and also to hold demonstrations, the dossier further notes. The IB has been working on this dossier since early 2016.

It indicates that the unrest was plotted before July 2016 itself. However the protests erupted after the death of Burhan Wani the Hizbul Mujahideen commander in an encounter.

While tracking the money trail, it was found that a chunk of the cash was moved through hawala routes. There was also a considerable amount of money that was sent in through the terrorists. Terrorists were told to carry large chunks of cash and hand deliver the same to the touts of the separatists who would wait at the border to receive them.

While money was used to pay off the stone pelters, there was also a large chunk that was spent on propaganda. Payments were paid to spread propaganda through social media and messaging applications. There was also money that had been paid to raise Islamic State flags in the Kashmir Valley, the IB also notes.

 oneindia

Teeth for combat choppers, eyes in the sky, long range missiles: DAC agenda for today

Defence Minister Arun Jaitley is to chair a Defence Acquisition Council meeting today which will, among others, smoothen the acquisition of the S-400 long range missiles, clear an AEW&C system for the IAF and fast track the purchase of anti-tank missiles for the Army's Rudra helicopters.

This is Jaitley's first DAC meeting as defence minister since he took over additional charge of the ministry on March 13. The DAC which is the MoD's principal body to clear capital acquisitions, is expected to remove the offset clause in the Request for Proposals of five S-400 'Triumf' long range missiles to be acquired from Russia for over $5 billion.

An intergovernmental agreement (IGA) on the sale of the S-400 was signed last October between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the 17th India-Russia summit in Goa. Russia insisted on waiving the offset clause that mandates a reinvestment of 30 per cent by the country in Indian aerospace and defence sectors, to speed up deliveries of the missile system. A DAC waiver on the mandatory offset clause will mean the S-400 deal can be signed with Russia sometime this year.

The DAC is also expected to take a call on the scrapping of the Short Range-Surface to air missile (SR-SAM) project for the Indian Navy. The project 'Maitri', being jointly developed by France's MBDA in collaboration with the DRDO, is meant for all three services. The Navy is believed to be pursuing an alternate replacement for the Israeli 'Barak' short range missiles currently installed to protect principal surface combatants from enemy missiles.

Another item on the DAC agenda is a Rs 1900 crore purchase of an additional DRDO-Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems (AEW&C) aircraft based on the Embraer 145 jet. The first DRDO-developed radar fitted on the Embraer and dubbed the 'Netra' was handed over to the IAF at Aero India 2017 on February 15. A second 'Netra' is to be delivered later this year.

Also on the DAC agenda is the purchase of 124 Anti Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) launchers and 1326 missiles for Rs 724 crore for the indigenously-built Rudra helicopters. The Army has ordered 60 ALH Rudra Mark-IV armed helicopters a few years ago but they currently do not have an ATGM because the indigenous Helina (Helicopter launched Nag) missile is yet to enter service.

The 124 ATGMs are expected to fulfill a critical void in the Army's fleet of 60 Rudra gunships which are on order.Two ATGMs, MBDA's PARS-3 and Rafael's Spike ATGM have been short-listed. These will be fast-tracked without the initial trials that will be done post the contract. The contract is expected to entail re-configuration by the manufacturer- the world over ATGMs are usually in a quad pack but the Rudra has only a two-tube launcher.

 indiatoday