India to enhance military flying in Northeast

With threats from China looming large, India is set to increase its military flying in the Northeast as a large heliport will be operational in Tawang by September.

This will open up a new window for the Indian Air Force to enhance flying in areas close to the Sino-Indian border.

Not to be left behind, the Indian Army, too, will have a new aviation base in Assam to house a squadron of indigenous armed choppers.

An advanced landing ground (ALG) in the strategic Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh was to be completed by April, but was delayed by a few months with the new projected date of completion set for September 2017, sources told DH.

Though categorised as ALG, it would actually be a heliport as fixed-wing aircraft cannot operate from the monastery town because of its elevation and rarefied atmosphere.

The IAF may fly its Mi-series of Russian choppers as well as the indigenous advanced lightweight helicopters from Tawang.

In 2009, the Cabinet Committee of Security approved a Rs 1,000-crore IAF plan to upgrade eight existing ALGs under the Eastern Air Command. Those selected were Tuting, Mechuka, Along, Tawang, Ziro, Passighat, Walong and Vijaynagar in Arunachal Pradesh.

In the last year and a half, the IAF activated six of them – Walong, Ziro, Along, Tuting, Passighat and Mechuka – even as the seventh one at Tawang nears the finish line. The force has given up on Vijaynagar for the time being in the absence of connecting roads.

While Passighat is meant for fighter flying as well as a civil aviation base, five other ALGs would be used for transport aircraft operations, whereas Tawang can only handle the helicopters.

The army is coming up with it own aviation squadron in Assam’s Likabali town, which will house the indigenous armed Rudra choppers. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd handed over 22 of these gunships – armed version of the Dhruv advanced lightweight helicopters – to the army and eight to the IAF.

The Likabali base is also likely to be functional within a month or two in keeping with India’s plan to improve military infrastructure in areas close to its disputed boundary with China. The army’s first armed helicopter unit in the Northeast will have 10 aircraft.

 deccanherald

Russia, US & Germany Duke It Out for Lucrative Indian Armored Vehicle Contract

India's Financial Express newspaper has reported that a decision on the country's long-delayed Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) project could be reached by the end of the month. Russian observers say Moscow has a good chance of winning the contract, but doing so will require sharing the defense industry's latest armored vehicle technology.

A source told Financial Express last week that the Defense Acquisition Council, India's main arms purchase decision-making body, would make a decision on whether or not to reissue their statement of interest in the FICV program before the end of July.

The newspaper explained that several Indian companies, including L&T, Mahindra Group, Tata Motors, Bharat Forge and Reliance Defense were in the running for the $7.5 billion, 2600+ vehicle defense order. Possible foreign partners include Russia's Rosoboronexport, General Dynamics, and Germany's Rheinmetall Group.

The Indian FICV project envisions the local design and production of air-transportable infantry fighting vehicles, most of them in tracked variant, although some are expected to be produced in a wheeled version as well.
The new vehicles are meant to replace the 1,400 Soviet-designed BMP-1 and BMP-2 IFVs currently in service with the Indian ground forces. The FICV project calls for a crew of three, and the ability to carry up to eight infantrymen. The design is also expected to minimize losses from mine and IED explosions.

In addition to Russian, US and German companies, Delhi has already engaged in negotiations with French, Israeli, South Korean and British companies on the FICV. When it was originally unveiled in 2009, the FICV project was meant to be entirely homegrown. However, Indian companies showing interest in the contract quickly started talk of partnerships with foreign companies. Mahindra Defense Systems partnered with the UK's BAE Systems, while Tata Motors partnered with Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics.

In 2012, media reported that Russia had proposed selling India localization rights to the BMP-3. In late 2013, it was reported that Delhi would not abandon the FICV project in favor of a licensing agreement with Moscow. However, since then the project has been repeatedly frozen and restarted, with the Indian Defense Ministry seemingly unable to find a suitable design for its new IFV.

Russian defense experts believe Moscow has a good shot of participating in the FICV project, since Russian armored vehicle builders have considerable experience with both tracked and wheeled armored vehicle designs.

Weapons export specialist Andrei Frolov told Russia's Svobodnaya Pressa newspaper that based on his conversations with Russian armored vehicle builders in contact with Indian officials, "it can be concluded that Delhi is not interested in the purchase of armored cars, including the BMP-3, but plans to establish production on its own territory."

"Furthermore," he noted, "the armored fighting vehicle must be created in a design bureau in India, and because local designers don't have the necessary resources, their industrial groups turn to cooperation with foreign firms which have the relevant experience."

Delhi, according to Frolov, considers the BMP-3 to be a worn-in design that's unsuitable for the technology boost intended to be provided by the FICV project. They must be made to realize, however, that "the creation of a modern infantry fighting vehicle is a complicated business. For example, in Russia, the implementation of the new Kurganets-25 project…involved dozens of enterprises. In India, for this to be accomplished, new factories will have to be created."

As far as the competition goes, Frolov suggested that the German option is probably too expensive, with Rheinmetall Group's Puma IFV coming in at a cost of about $7 million euros apiece in its German iteration. As for the Russian option, the main weak point of the Kurganets-25 (tracked) and Bumerang (wheeled) IFVs is that they have not yet been broadly adopted into the Russian armed forces, according to the analyst.

The US too has a decent shot at the contract, Frolov said, even if they may end up getting chosen based on political considerations. US defense firms have the added benefit of the fact that Indian companies are already cooperating with them on defining their new IFV concept.

Asked why the FICV project has been suspended and resumed so many times, Frolov explained that the problem lies in the fact that new IFVs seem to be a low priority for Delhi, compared to other weapons systems at least. "They would like new planes and submarines [too], but don't have enough money for everything. Notwithstanding the fact that their park of IFVs is outdated, this issue is still not a priority for them. It's obvious that before they create the production base for armored vehicles, several more years will pass; the whole park cannot be renewed overnight."

Vladimir Shvarev, deputy director of the Moscow-based Center for the Analysis of World Arms Trade, also believes that Russia has a good chance of participating in the FICV project, if it is ever finalized.

"The program has been stalled for quite some time now," the expert stressed. "The main reason is that the Indian Defense Ministry cannot formulate the finalized requirements for their armored vehicle."

"Furthermore," Shvarev recalled that earlier this month, "media reported that the Ministry of Defense, bypassing tender procedures, voiced its intention to give two state enterprises – the Ordnance Factory Board and Bharat Electronics a project for the modernization of 693 Sarath IFVs –the localized version of the Soviet BMP-2. Some of those vehicles were delivered from the USSR, while about 1,250 have been assembled in India. The value of the modernization contract is estimated at $371 million."

Ultimately, Shvarev suggested that on the one hand, the modernization project is a logical decision, given the outdated condition of the country's park of IFVs. "On the other hand, modernization is likely to again push the design of the prospective vehicle off another several years," he said.

 sputniknews

India kick-starts ‘mother of all underwater defence deals’

Highlights

• 6 countries are in the fray to build six advanced stealth submarines for an estimated Rs 70,000 crore in collaboration with an Indian shipyard.
• This conventional submarine programme called Project-75 (India) is likely to be the first mega project under the new ‘strategic partnership’ policy.

India has finally kick-started its "mother of all underwater defence deals" after an excruciating 10-year delay, with France, Germany, Russia, Sweden, Spain and Japan being in the fray to build six advanced stealth submarines for an estimated Rs 70,000 crore ($10.9 billion) in collaboration with an Indian shipyard.

This conventional submarine programme called Project-75 (India), languishing in politico-bureaucratic apathy, files and committees since it got the government's "acceptance of necessity" way back in November 2007, is likely to be the first mega project under the new "strategic partnership" policy finalized by the defence ministry in May.

But it's early days yet. The six shipbuilders, Naval Group-DCNS (France), ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (Germany), Rosoboronexport Rubin Design Bureau (Russia), Navantia (Spain), Saab (Sweden) and the Mitsubishi-Kawasaki Heavy Industries combine (Japan), have to first respond to the RFI (request for information) issued to them last week by September 15, say officials.

The Navy will then formulate the NSQRs (naval staff qualitative requirements) before the formal RFP (request for proposal) is issued to the six for submitting their technical and commercial bids for evaluation. The Indian shipyard for the strategic partnership with the selected foreign collaborator will be chosen in a parallel process.

"It may take around two years for the original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-Indian shipyard combine to be down-selected. Moreover, the first new submarine will roll out only seven to eight years after the final contract is inked. But the aim is to fast-track the entire process," said a defence ministry official.

The Navy wants the six new diesel-electric submarines to have land-attack cruise missiles, air-independent propulsion for greater underwater endurance and the capability to integrate indigenous weapons and sensors as and when they are developed.

"The stress will be on transfer of technology from the OEM and indigenization. The submarines, to be built with indigenous steel, should also be less maintenance-intensive to ensure a better operational cycle with minimal downtime," said the official.

As per approved plans, the Navy should have 18 diesel-electric submarines as well as six nuclear-powered attack submarines (called SSNs) and four nuclear-powered submarines with long-range nuclear-tipped missiles (SSBNs) for effective deterrence against China and Pakistan, as was earlier reported by TOI.

But the force is grappling with just 13 old conventional submarines, only half of them operational at any given time because at least 10 of them are over 25 years old, apart from two nuclear-powered submarines, INS Arihant (SSBN) and INS Chakra (SSN).

The six French Scorpene diesel-electric submarines being built in Mazagon Docks under the Rs 23,652 crore Project-75, after an over four-year delay, will all be delivered by 2021. But by then, many of the 13 existing submarines will be up for retirement despite mid-life upgrades and refits.

While Russia, Germany and France already have submarine-building experience in India, the possibility of Japan also being included as a contender for Project-75 (I) was first reported by TOI in January 2015. Given the personal chemistry and the desire to deepen the bilateral strategic ties between PMs Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe, India had then asked Japan if it was interested in offering its latest 4,200-tonne Soryu-class submarines for Project-75 (India).

But even though Japan has junked its decades old self-imposed arms export embargo, it has little experience in hawking its military products in the global arms market. "Project-75 (I) may just be the right arena for Japan," said an official.

 timesofindia

India raises chopper power on China border

Aggressive air support is crucial for advancing ground troops in a short and intense war. Last week, the government also allowed the Army to make ‘emergency procurements’ without going into red-tapism, to be prepared for a ‘short intense war’.

According to officials privy to the development, Boeing, which manufactures these helicopters, will start delivering from early next year, and all 22 machines will be handed over to IAF in a time span of nine months. IAF has been asked to develop infrastructure, including hangers and helipads, to create base for these helicopters.

According to IAF, 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 frontlines on the Pakistan border. But these helicopters 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, besides its arsenal of 70 mm rockets and an automatic cannon. Apache helicopters are capable of detecting 256 moving targets and engaging them, the twin-engine Apache is operated by two pilots.

- The attack choppers can track up to 128 targets in a minute and prioritise threats
- Armed with fire-and-forget Hellfire missiles, besides its arsenal of 70 mm rockets and an automatic cannon.
- These missiles equip the helicopter gunships with heavy anti-armour capabilities
- The stealthy chopper is equipped with laser and infrared systems for all-weather, day-night operability
- Both crew members are capable of flying the aircraft and performing methods of weapon engagements independently.

 New Indian Express

Russia-India talks on buying new generation MiG-35s

As the new generation Mig-35 fighter, touted as being superior to the US F-35, made its public debut at the MAKS Aerospace Exhibition, its Russian makers say talks are on with India for buying the jet.

In the partially cloudy sky at the Zhukovsky airport, the 4++ generation jet roared through its routine, keenly watched for the first time by hundreds of spectators.

Ilya S. Tarasenko, Director General of JSC Russian Aircraft Corporation "MiG" (JSC RAC "MiG") said on the sidelines of the airshow that the new jet is "better" than the 5th generation Lockheed-Martin F-35 which made its public debut at the recent Paris Airshow, adding it could easily take on its rival in a dogfight.

To a question on whether India has expressed interest in the jet, he said: "Of course they have."

"After having presented the MiG-35 in January we began to actively promote it in India and in the world. We are proposing supply of the aircraft for tenders in India and we will actively work with the air force in order to win the tender," Tarasenko said.

"We are in the negotiation stage on technical and technological specifications that MiG can present to India and the requirements that India has for this aircraft. Since this is a very new plane, it will still take some time to negotiate on exactly what India needs and adjust the product to it," he added.

That, however, would be easier said than done, given the torturous manner in which the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been searching for a medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) to replace its ageing fleet of Soviet-era MiG-21 jets that were first inducted in the 1960s. After floating a tender for 120 planes in 2007, evaluating six different aircraft and short-listing two, the process was abruptly cancelled and India ordered 36 Rafale jets in 2015, with the final document only recently being inked.

According to Tarasenko, the MiG-35 is 20 to 25 per cent cheaper than its competitors, and for India, which already has experience of flying various various variants of MiG fighters and with its support and maintenance facilities, it would be easy to adapt to the new plane.

"MiG aircraft have been used by India for almost 50 years. We propose our new products to India among the first and intend to continue supplying India with our most modern aircraft," he said.

"I would like to note that we propose not just the aircraft, but also training as well as after-sales service for 40 years. I can say that in comparison to our competitors, we are 20-25 per cent cheaper," he said.

Tarasenko said the technical specifications of the aircraft are "close" to that of a fifth generation jet.

"Its flight capabilities, its new weapon range and defence systems, including stealth features, are close to a fifth generation aircraft. The plane is light and multi-functional and has high maneuverability."

He also noted that all components of the aircraft, which has been developed by Russia amid sanctions, are Russian.

The IAF's fleet of Sukhoi Su-30MKIs and other Russian platforms have faced difficulties in the past in procuring spare parts with Russia having problems in sourcing them from countries like Belarus and the Ukraine.

economictimes

How Japan Could Sink China's Navy in a War: Ramjet Missiles

A new anti-ship missile promises to give a tremendous boost to the Japan Self Defense Force's ability to deter naval aggression. The missile, known as XASM-3, can travel at speeds of Mach 3, evading missile defenses to sink enemy surface ships. The missiles will be a significant worry for China, whose navy will have to sail within range of the missiles in order to reach the North Pacific Ocean.

Traditional anti-ship missiles such as the U.S.-made Harpoon and French Exocet use rocket motors and turbojet engines to fly at subsonic speeds. The missiles are collectively known as “sea skimmers” due to their ability to fly as little as fifteen feet above the waves. The advantage to this low altitude flight is that incoming missiles are hidden from targets by the curvature of the earth. The lower a missile flies, the shorter the detection range. A radar sixty feet off the ground can detect a sea skimming missile flying at thirty feet at a range of nineteen miles. Assuming a Harpoon missile flies at a height of ten meters, enemy air defenses will pick it up on their radars only in the last two minutes of flight, giving them little time to react.

The use of subsonic sea skimmers was the status quo in the West until recently. Although new technologies had been developed such as the Soviet ramjet-powered P-270 Moskit missile, the Cold War ended before the United States, NATO and other allied nations could catch up. The lack of an enemy fleet during the 1990s further stalled missile development, and the emphasis on land warfare starting in 2001 meant that older missiles such as Harpoon soldiered on without a replacement in sight.

One country, however, maintained its emphasis on naval warfare. It observed a neighbor—and traditional adversary—quickly improve the quality and quantity of its navy, building scores of frigates and destroyers, its first landing platform dock amphibious ships and begin work on a fleet of aircraft carriers. That country was Japan, which has quietly watched as the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has gone from a green water navy capable of operating only in regional seas relatively close to home to a full-fledged blue water fleet operating as far as the Indian Ocean and Baltic Sea. The PLAN is now considerably larger than the Japan’s Maritime Self Defense Force in both overall tonnage and number of ships.

Under development since the mid-2000s, the new XASM-3 anti-ship missile promises to go a long way toward redirecting the balance of power back to Japan. Like the Moskit, XASM-3 is powered by a ramjet and has a maximum speed in excess of Mach 3. Like anti-ship missiles before it, XASM-3 also flies at just above the wavetops. The combination of the two means any ship unlucky enough to be on the receiving end would have less than thirty seconds from detection to impact to act.

According to Navy Recognition, XASM-3 is a ramjet rocket powered engine a range of ninety-two miles—and very likely more. The missile is seventeen feet long with a weight of nearly two thousand pounds, making it smaller than the U.S. Navy’s Tomahawk land attack missile and SM-6 air defense interceptor. XASM-3 reportedly has with inertial/GPS navigation switching over to an passive or active seeker in the terminal phase. The Air Self Defense Forces’ F-2 multi-role fighter will carry up to two of the missiles. Production of the missiles is set to start next year in 2018.

At the same time, the Maritime Self Defense Forces are reportedly gaining a new missile, the XSSM. The new missile will outfit Japanese warships and the missile appears to be a good fit for the Mark 41 vertical launch system. This will allow Japanese destroyers, which previously carried two to eight anti-ship missiles externally in box launchers, to carry XSSM missiles in the Mark 41s instead. This will translates into greatly improved anti-ship firepower, as even older Takanami-class destroyers have thirty-two Mark 41s and the Kongo Aegis destroyers have ninety silos. A third basing mode for the XASM/XSSM appears likely: like many countries, Japan still maintains land-based anti-ship missiles, a one time seeming anachronism that now appears more relevant than ever.

China now regularly sends surface task forces through Japan’s Ryukyu Islands chain, stretching from the southern Japanese island of Kyushu to Taiwan. This is not necessarily an inflammatory gesture: China’s Northern and Eastern Theater Navies must transit the Ryukyus to head to the open Pacific Ocean, or take the long way around Taiwan instead. In peacetime the PLAN, although traveling through Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone, can invoke the right of innocent passage to legally pass through.

The geographic distribution of the Ryukyu Islands, coupled with a land-based anti-ship missile with a ninety-two-mile range, will spell serious trouble for the PLAN if it tried to force its way through in wartime. Truck-mounted anti-ship missile batteries batteries on most of the inhabited islands—from the southernmost island of Yonaguni, farther north to Ishigakijima, Miyakojima, Okinawa, Tokunoshima and finally Amamishima—would form a continuous, overlapping barrier of anti-ship missiles impossible to escape. Land-based missiles would also serve to shape the battle: as the PLAN traveled north or south to avoid the “Ryukuan Gauntlet”, they could run into Japan’s excellent Soryu-class diesel electric attack submarines, Hayabusa-class guided missile patrol boats or F-2 fighters armed with the XASM-3.

The development of more capable anti-ship missiles will go a long way toward redressing the imbalance of forces between Japan and China, and making Japanese littoral waters an unattractive place to be in wartime without building a single new ship. The formidable nature of these missiles throws a bucket of cold water poured on any notions that Japan could be intimidated—or beaten—at sea. The only escape from these missiles will be to avoid war.

 nationalinterest

Indian Army to fast-track indigenisation of spares for battle tanks, military systems

With delays in import of critical equipment severely affecting its combat readiness, the Army has decided to fast-track indigenisation of key components and spares for battle tanks and other military systems.

The Ordnance Factory Board, an umbrella body of 41 ordnance factories, has decided to bring down import of spares and components from current 60 per cent annually to 30 per cent in the next three years, a senior Army official said.

The Master General of the Ordnance (MGO), responsible for artillery and other key military supplies to frontline bases, has also started extensive talks with leading Indian defence firms to evolve a strategy for indigenisation of key spares and components of tanks and other weapons systems.

The MGO and OFB procure spares worth over Rs 10,000 crore annually, the official said. It has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long-time, affecting maintenance of military systems procured from that country. Russia has been a major supplier of military platforms to India.

The decision to go for indigenisation of spares is part of the government's overall approach to enhance battle readiness of the 1.3 million strong Army after a thorough review found "gaps" in its operational preparedness.

The official said the Army plans to involve micro, small and medium enterprises to produce smaller parts of the weapons systems. Extensive discussions were already held with around 80 MSMEs. A policy document finalising the roadmap is likely to be issued in the next couple of weeks.

The initiative to go for indigenous production of spares is in sync with defence ministry's policy to cut import bill on defence and promote the domestic industry.

Earlier this month, the government had empowered the Vice Chief of Army to directly procure ammunition and spares to maintain readiness for short duration "intense wars".

The full financial powers was given to the Army after an internal review found that optimum level of "war stores" were not being maintained.

The Army has been pressing the government for ensuring speedy procurement of key military platforms citing evolving security challenges.

In April, top Army Commanders had brain-stormed over the prevailing security scenario as well as external threats facing the country and decided to enhance combat effectiveness.

 firstpost

India issues RfI for six conventionally powered submarines

The Indian Navy (IN) has sent a request for information (RfI) to selected overseas manufacturers asking for details about locally building six diesel-electric submarines under the long-delayed Project 75 India (P-75I) programme, which is worth over INR500billion (USD7.8 billion).
Official sources told Jane’s that the RfI, which was issued on 19 July, was despatched to France’s Naval Group, Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Spain’s Navantia, Sweden’s Saab and Russia’s Rosoboronexport.
The document asks all original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to provide by mid-September operational details of their respective submarines with air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems and anti-surface, anti-submarine and land-attack capabilities.

 janes

Fake Chinese Spares For India-Made Bofors Guns, Alleges CBI Complaint

Cheap Chinese parts passed off as 'Made in Germany' found their way to the production line of Indian-made Bofors artillery guns called Dhanush used by the Army, prompting the CBI to file a case against a Delhi-based company.

The Indian-made gun has cleared trials with the Indian Army and has proved its ability to strike targets 38 km away as compared to the original Bofors gun which has a range of approximately 27 kilometres. The Army plans to acquire 414 Dhanush guns.

But an initial probe by the CBI suggests that the Gun Carriage Factory in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur, that built the initial few guns, had accepted a Chinese made crucial part called 'Wire Race Roller Bearings'.

The first order for four bearings was placed by the factory in 2013. In August 2014, the company was asked to provide six. The delivery of two bearings each was made on three occasions between 7 April 2014 and 12 August 2014.

The CBI said production and performance of the Dhanush gun is extremely crucial for India's defence preparedness and "wire race roller bearing" is its vital component.This was done as a special case though its tests showed that the bearings supplied by Delhi-based Sidh Sales Syndicate were unacceptable due to deviations in dimensions.

The company had claimed that it was sourcing the spares from a German firm, CRB Antriebstechnik and even produced certificates from this company. The CBI's complaint said the spares were also embossed as 'CRB-Made in Germany'.

The CBI, however, found that the documents were forged and German company didn't even manufacture the parts it was supposed to have supplied.

To further back its case, the agency has also seized emails exchanged between the Delhi-based company and the Chinese firm which had supplied the parts.

 ndtv

Indian Army's ammunition stock will exhaust after 10 days of war: CAG report

The stock of as many as 61 types of ammunition - out of a total of 152 types of ammunition considered critical by the Indian Army to fight a war - is available for just 10 days only, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found.
The stocks of just 20 per cent of the armoury - 31 types of ammunition - were found to be satisfactory, the CAG has found. The CAG report was placed before the Parliament today.
The Indian military is required to hold ammunition enough to fight a short intense war of 20 days. Earlier, Indian military was required to have store supplies, spares and ammunition - called War Wastage Reserve (WWR) - to fight a 40 day intense war. In 1999 the WWR was scaled down to only 20 days.

The CAG says that of the 152 types of ammunition identified as critical stocks of only 31 were available for 40 days whereas as many as 12 types of ammunition was available for 30 to 40 days and stocks of as many of 26 types of ammunition was available for a little over 20 days.
The CAG report says that while WWR stocks of some of the critical items have improved - for instance explosives and demolition items- ammunition for Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV) and Artillery ammunition "meant for sustaining superior fire power were under critical level".

SHORTFALL NOT MET DESPITE SPECIAL PLAN
Concerned by shortfall, the previous UPA government had come up with a plan - Ammunition Road Map - to rapidly add to ammunition stocks by 2015. The CAG report, however, observes that "despite a lapse of more than three years - from March 2013- no significant improvement in availability of WWR ammunition was noticed".
SHORTAGE OF AMMUNITION AFFECTS TRAINING OF SOLDIERS
Lack of ammunition stocks is severely affecting training of the Indian Army. The CAG has observed because of shortage of ammunition, the Army Head Quarters had imposed "restriction" on training. It says in 2016, of the 24 types of ammunition required for training only three were available for more than five days for training activity. And, the availability of as much as 88 per cent of ammunition was far below requirement. "Majority of training ammunition - 77 to 88 per cent - remained critical i.e. less than five day".

SPECIAL POWERS TO INDIAN ARMY TO MAKE EMERGENCY PURCHASES
Concerned by huge shortfall of ammunition, the Government recently gave the vice-chief of Army Staff powers to make to emergency purchases.
Sources told India Today that the Indian Army has identified 46 types of ammunition, about half dozen types of mines and 10 weapon systems as extremely critical. "These can now be purchased immediately bypassing the long winded procurement procedure," a senior officer said.

 indiatoday

CAG slams Indian Navy for delay in anti-submarine warfare corvettes projects

The Comptroller and Auditor General has come down hard on the Indian Navy for causing inordinate delay in construction of four anti-submarine warfare corvettes.
In a report tabled in Parliament, the federal auditor said two of the four warships were delivered to the Navy were not fitted with required weapons and sensor systems due to which they could not perform to full potential as envisaged.
The CAG was severely critical of the Navy's Directorate of Naval Design (DND) for delay in finalising the design of the corvettes, saying approved designs were amended 24 times.
The Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), a defence public sector undertaking (DPSU), was issued letter of intent for the project in 2003 but major modifications in design of the ships continued till 2008.
The first corvette was delivered to the Navy in July 2014 and second one in November 2015. According to the contract for the project, the third corvette should have been delivered in July 2014 and fourth in April 2015.
"Against the 18 weapons and sensors to be installed on ASW corvettes, audit observed that the two ASW corvettes delivered were not fitted with 'X' weapon and sensor systems. Thus, ASW corvettes could not perform to its full potential as envisaged," the CAG said.
The auditor also observed that Sea Acceptance Test (SAT) on six weapons and sensors in the first corvette and all weapons and sensors on the second one were pending satisfactory completion.
"Thus, the effectiveness of the main feature of anti-submarine warfare was yet to be fully proved."
(SAT) is conducted to test vessel's speed, equipment, manoeuvrability and safety features.
The CAG also expressed dissatisfaction over licence production and supply of Hawk Mk 132 AJT aircraft by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
It said not insisting for licence for manufacture of unlimited number of aircraft by the ministry of defence (MoD) while negotiating for "batch I" contract resulted in avoidable payment of licence fee for licenced manufacture of unlimited number of aircraft.
The CAG also said HAL incurred an expenditure of Rs 107.05 crore on account of procurement of six additional engine kits in anticipation of order from MoD which remained infructuous.
The HAL produces the plane under licence from BAE. under licence from the BAE Systems.
"Though establishment of facilities for major servicing of airframe and engines was envisaged to be completed by March 2016 and March 2018 respectively, considering aircraft directly procured by MoD, HAL was yet to establish the facilities till date," it said.

 firstpost

‘ThyssenKrupp Marine ready for complete tech transfer’

India MD says the German conglomerate’s AIP system for submarines is used by nine navies

German conglomerate ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems is banking on its vast experience in design and construction of submarines and the fact that it has delivered subs for coastal and blue water deployment to the navies of 19 countries, to help deliver India’s next-generation submarines, the P-75(I). The Indian Navy had recently flagged off the next stage of P-75(I) by issuing Request For Information (RFI) to foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

Even as the Strategic Partnership policy is set to unlock submarine building in the country, ThyssenKrupp is in talks with private Indian shipyards for tie-ups, and is keen to be the foreign OEM of choice for the P75(I) programme. The German submarine specialist had recently landed a contract to modernise two Indian Navy type 209/1500 submarines.

Lauding the massive technological capability available at Indian shipyards, Gurnad Sodhi, Managing Director, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems India, spoke to BusinessLine about how the P-75(I) contract would be an important milestone for the company, and how his team is looking forward to integrate any weapon system the Indian Navy may opt for. Edited excerpts:

Six advanced submarines are to be built under P-75(I). Why is air-independent propulsion (AIP) an enabling factor?

A crucial factor in non-nuclear submarines is the AIP system. Ever since there have been submarines, the goal has been to extend their diving time.

AIP helps make this possible, significantly increasing the underwater range and reducing the risk of discovery. Our AIP technology will help boost combat operation capability of India’s stealth vehicles.

The Indian Navy has announced it would not include its indigenous AIP system in the Scorpene submarines. How can you compete with other foreign OEMs with the AIP technology?

Most OEMs do not have a proven technology.

The German AIP is the only proven AIP in the world at present, and is actively being used by many navies worldwide where our boats are operating.

We have already committed that ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems will be happy to provide complete transfer of technology (ToT) to the Navy for the AIP system for P75(I).

To enable ToT, do you have any likely Indian partners in the fray?

We have already built two Type 209 submarines in collaboration with Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in the early nineties, and have a good relation with them. The Indian government had last month finalised and elaborated the Strategic Partner of the DPP (Defence Procurement Procedure) 2016.

We have visited and examined most Indian shipyards — private as well as public —like Larsen and Toubro, Reliance Defence, MDL, Hindustan Shipyard, and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, and are aware of the immense technological capability available at each yard.

We will be happy to collaborate with any shipyard (public or private) with whom the the Indian government wishes us to build our boats in India under P75(I).

Have you received any indication in this regard?

We have regular interactions with the Indian Navy, and have amply demonstrated our commitments. Both the Navy and the Indian government are aware of this.

Has the company undertaken any AIP-related ToT?

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems’ air-independent propulsion system is successfully running on our 209PN and 209R, 212A, 214 and Dolphin AIP submarines in six navies across the world — the German, Italian, South Korean, Israeli, Portuguese and Hellenic (Greek) Navies.This technology has been exported, and is presently being used for the manufacture of 3 + 6 Type 214 submarines under construction, with complete ToT in South Korea, in collaboration with Hyundai Heavy Industries.

 thehindubusinessline