Navy launches stealth destroyer INS Visakhapatnam

India Navy’s new stealth destroyer, Visakhapatnam, designed indigenously and fitted with advanced features, was launched here today, boosting the maritime force’s firepower capability.

The Kolkata-class warship, the first of P15-B stealth destroyers, was launched by Minu Dhowan, wife of Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R K Dhowan, at Mazgaon Docks Ltd (MDL).

Top Navy and MDL officials were present on the occasion.

The ship, weighing approximately 3,000 tons during the launch, is slated to be christened as ‘INS Visakhapatnam’ on commissioning.

The 163-metre-long vessel will be propelled by four gas turbines, and is designed to achieve a speed of over 30 knots at a displacement of approximately 7,300 tons.

The indigenously designed stealth destroyer will have state-of-the-art weapons, sensors, an advance Action Information System, in Integrated Platform Management system, sophisticated Power Distribution System and a host of other advanced features.

It will be fitted with supersonic surface-to-surface missile system. The system enables the ship to engage shore-based and naval surface targets at long range, making it a lethal platform for strike against enemy targets.

The ship’s air defence capability, designed to counter the threat of enemy aircraft and anti-ship cruise missiles, will revolve around the vertical launch and long range surface to air missile system.

Four 30 mm rapid-fire guns will provide the ship with close-in-defence capability, while an MR gun will enable her to provide effective naval gunfire support.

Indigenously developed twin tube torpedo launchers and rocket launchers will add punch to the ship’s anti-submarine capability. The vessel is follow-on of P15A Kolkata-class destroyers with enhanced features.

The vessel is expected to be commissioned in the Navy in 2018.

The indigenisation content in P15-B class destroyers is a notch above her illustrious predecessors in line with the ’Make in India policy’ of the Government.

The P15-B stealth destroyers have been designed by the force’s in-house unit — Directorate of Naval Design.

The design of Project 15B destroyers is testimony of the Navy’s firm commitment towards achieving indigenisation by using high-end technology in the field of weapons/sensors/ machinery and stealth.

Mazagaon Docks, the country’s premier warship building yard, is engaged in producing sophisticated world—class warships and submarines. At present four destroyers and six submarines are under various stages of construction at MDL.

                                                                SOURCE : http://idrw.org/

Why the BrahMos armed Sukhoi is bad news for India’s enemies

India has signalled its intent to strike enemy targets with devastating force early on in a conflict.

In September 2010 India’s newly constituted tri-services Strategic Forces Command (SFC) submitted a proposal to the Defence Ministry for setting up two dedicated squadrons of aircraft comprising 40 Su-30MKI air dominance fighters. The task of this “mini air force” is to deliver nuclear weapons.

The picture became clearer in October 2012 when the Cabinet Committee on Security green lighted a programme to carry out structural and software modifications on 42 Su-30MKIs and acquire 216 air-launched BrahMos missiles. Until then, the BrahMos – the product of an India-Russia joint venture – was for exclusive use by the Navy.

In March 2015 the SFC received the first of these 42 Sukhois equipped with the air launched version of the supersonic BrahMos. This is the first time that the SFC, which at present depends on the Indian Air Force (IAF) for delivering nuclear weapons under its command, is acquiring its own aerial assets.

Currently, India’s nuclear delivery system is based on land-based ballistic missiles such as the Agni and Prithvi plus the IAF’s nuclear-capable Mirage 2000, Su-30 MKI and Jaguar fighter-bombers. The final element of the nuclear triad, submarine-launched missiles, is still being tested.

Individually, the Su-30 and BrahMos are powerful weapons. But when the world’s most capable fourth generation fighter is armed with a uniquely destructive cruise missile, together they are a dramatic force multiplier.

The BrahMos’ 3000 km per second speed – literally faster than a bullet – means it hits the target with a huge amount of kinetic energy. In tests, the BrahMos has often cut warships in half and reduced ground targets to smithereens. The Sukhoi’s blistering speed will add extra launch momentum to the missile, plus the aircraft’s ability to penetrate hardened air defences means there is a greater chance for the pilot to deliver the missile on to its designated targets.

Likely targets

Considering that India’s primary enemy is Pakistan and that country’s chief backer is China, against which India has fought two conflicts – losing in 1962 and winning in 1967 – these two countries are the obvious targets.

Against Pakistan, the targets are obvious. A two-squadron attack using most of the SFC’s air assets can within minutes utterly cripple the country’s command and control centres; nuclear power plants, including the Kahuta ‘Death Star’ where the majority of the “Islamic” bombs are manufactured; the Sargodha Central Ammunition Depot west of Lahore where these warheads are stored; ballistic missile bases in Gujranwala, Okara, Multan, Jhang and Dera Nawab Shah; Pakistani Army Corp headquarters in Rawalpindi; the Karachi Port, Pakistani’s only major harbour and its Naval HQ; and ordinance factories that manufacture tanks and fighter aircraft.

The supersonic BrahMos armed with a conventional warhead can theoretically penetrate hardened command, control and communication centres. However, there is no guarantee these targets will be 100 per cent destroyed unless the BrahMos is nuclear tipped. A pre-emptive nuclear strike will therefore ensure that Pakistan’s offensive capability is effectively neutralised and it is never again a threat to India.

Against China, the Sukhoi-BrahMos one-two punch seems counter-intuitive as Chinese targets are located deep inland or on the coast. However, the Su-30MKI has a maximum range of 3000 km (extendable to 8000 km with in-flight refuelling). Now add the BrahMos’s 300 km reach and India can hit targets 3300 km inside China.

Why the Sukhoi-BrahMos option?

The Su-30MKI is an obvious choice. The SFC does not want untested fighters but the ones which can be relied upon to deliver nuclear-tipped missiles. The aircraft has a titanium airframe strong enough to fly a high-speed terrain following profile. The batch of 42 Sukhois will also have hardened electronic circuitry to shield them from the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear blast.

Having a dedicated aircraft for the nuclear attack role offers India’s war planners strategic flexibility and increases the odds of success. Because ballistic missiles are used only as a weapon of last resort, they cannot really be deployed at will. Once released, they cannot be recalled and if shot down are not easily replaced. Fighter aircraft, on the other hand, can perform repeated sorties and be directed to bomb targets as they move. For instance, if Pakistan moves it warheads out of Sargodha depot, which is presumably under constant watch by Indian satellites, the Sukhois can be vectored against a column of Pakistani trucks transporting their nuclear cargo.

The SFC’s mini air force of 42 Sukhois can also launch their missiles against Pakistani targets from within Indian airspace or while flying over international waters, thereby complicating the enemy’s defences. It is a lot easier for India to destroy Pakistani war fighting capability because not only is Pakistan relatively smaller but it has also concentrated its defences in one province, Punjab.

Further developments

Because heavy modifications were necessary for integrating such a heavy missile onto the Su-30MKI, initially it seemed to make little sense to deploy a single missile. Aviation Week reports that initially even Sukhoi was reluctant to go along. That prompted HAL to go solo, but Aviation Week says Sukhoi came on board in 2011. The Russian side provided HAL with technical consultancy especially for the modifications to the fuselage in order to accommodate the 9-metre-long missile.

“Work is also underway on a modified lighter and smaller-diameter version of the BrahMos for deployment on the Indian navy’s MiG-29K and, potentially, the Dassault Rafale,” says Aviation Week.

And signalling the country’s immunity from western sanctions, DRDO scientists say the 300 km cap on the missile’s range will be removed. The next generation BrahMos is likely to be a longer range weapon. And with the planned increased in speed, the missile will have considerably enhanced kinetic energy despite its smaller size optimised for relatively smaller aircraft such as the MiG-29.

That’s really bad news if you are in the Sukhoi-BrahMos crosshairs.

                                                               SOURCE : http://idrw.org/

Focus Shifts to Tejas MK-2, Project all set to go Critical

Mini Collapse of MMRCA deal has clearly shifted focus back to the development of Tejas MK-2 now. Defence minister Mahonhar Parrikar and Indian air force are closely monitoring the progress of Tejas MK-2 and have begun a monthly review of the project. Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) which is developing Tejas MK-2 is feeling the heat but is confident that things will fall in place soon as a major review of the project will be undertaken soon with all concerned parties.

Tejas MK-2 will get final Technical freeze by the end of this year. project definition of Tejas MK-2 will be completed and the project will finally provide a road map to complete all the tasks to be executed over a fixed period of time before Aircraft is ready for Induction.

Avionics & Radar

idrw.org has learned from reliable sources that final Cockpit design layout for Tejas MK-2 has been frozen, MK-2 will sport Touch based two 6×8 main display with Smart MFDs and one 5×5 smart MFD which will have Day and Night mode .

Indigenously developed Uttam AESA radar for Tejas MK-2 has completed Software development for air-air sub-modes and have begun development of software which will allow air-to-ground modes which are crucial for aircraft to carry out high-resolution mapping, multiple grounds moving target detection and track, combat identification, electronic warfare, and ultra high bandwidth communications will be completed by year end and IAF and ADA along with LRDE will carry out Project Review at the same time .

Engines

ADA along with GE have carried out Computer assessment of the F414-GE-INS6 engine with 98 kN of thrust in Tejas MK-2 aircraft and have concluded that no major changes in Air intakes are required. GE too has confirmed that the development of F414-GE-INS6 engines is progressing well and will be on schedule and GE engineers will be in India Into carry out mating of the engine with the aircraft when first aircraft is ready.

No Prototypes

ADA will produce 3 Production aircraft which will be of Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) standards and Final Operational Clearance (FOC) will happen in next 3 years after the first flight of first Tejas MK-2 aircraft. they’re won’t be any prototypes and all aircrafts developed for the testing purpose will be identical to each other.

Astra BVRAAM Integration likely

India’s first Beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) Astra missile developed by the DRDO will be integrated with the first batch of Production variant of Tejas MK-2 to be delivered to the Indian air force. IAF is keen on getting Astra missile integrated with Tejas MK-I and MK-2 aircrafts. DRDO plans to start production of a missile by 2018-19.

First Flight

While IAF wants first flight of Tejas MK-2 to take place by end of 2017, ADA can only do it by end of 2018 but both are working together to speed up the process and might agree to some level of compromise, since ADA is not building any Prototypes, but an IOC Standard Production aircraft Integration of all crucial components along with weapons and radar will lead to longer build time said sources. Tejas MK-1 and Tejas MK-2 will share less than 30 % of the components with each other and all agencies are working on selecting component suppliers.

Second Production line

IAF and MOD are exploring feasibility of starting Second production line for Tejas MK2 while IAF is still not put a final figure on MK-2 aircrafts they want but it is estimated that final figure might be close to 300 aircrafts till then IAF is committed itself in procuring an initial 83 Tejas Mk 2s and the Indian Navy has expressed its firm requirement for 46 LCA Mk2 for Indian Navy. Talks have been held with Private Defence companies and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) is emerging as a viable option said source.


                                                              SOURCE : http://idrw.org/

Mega MMRCA project for 126 jets to be scrapped

The Modi government has sounded the death knell for the deadlocked $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project to acquire 126 fighters, which was dubbed the “mother of all defence deals” around the globe after competition for it was launched by the previous UPA regime in 2007.

Defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday also made it clear that if India goes in for additional French Rafale fighters, after the outright purchase of 36 jets decided during the Modi-Hollande summit in Paris last Friday, it will also be through government-to-government deals.

The stalled final negotiations for the MMRCA project, in which Rafale emerged the winner in January 2012 after a hotly-contested open global competition, had envisaged the induction of 126 fighters – the first 18 through direct acquisition from France, with the rest to be made by Hindustan Aeronautics in India after transfer of technology.

Even though Parrikar did not utter the words “scrap” or “cancel” in connection with the MMRCA project, he used enough analogies to stress exactly that. “A car cannot travel on two roads at the same time. The other road (MMRCA) had a lot of problems,” Parrikar said.

But the minister did not specify how many additional Rafales would be acquired after the first 36 Rafales are inducted directly from France, which itself is likely to take well over two years. But the number now will certainly not be as much as 126 fighters, with Parrikar holding it would “financially be a very steep slope to climb”.

But he added that “all options are being kept open”, including the ‘Make in India’ component for additional Rafales if required. Holding that “nitty-gritties” are not worked out at the PM-level, he said India and France would now hold discussions on the future course of action. “The fine print of what has been agreed (in the Modi-Hollande summit) is not with me yet,” he said.

Concurrently, the Modi government is also trying to improve the serviceability of the 272 Sukhoi-30MKIs contracted from Russia for over $12 billion. It is just 55% for the 200 Sukhois inducted till now. The DRDO-HAL combine is also being pushed for faster induction of 120 indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft. “The gap can be filled,” said Parrikar.

“PM Modi has taken a bold decision (to bypass the stalled MMRCA project). Instead of going through the RFP (request for proposal or global tender) route, where there was lot of confusion and chaos, it has been decided to go for the G2G route. My personal opinion is that in certain areas of defence, especially of strategic (non-nuclear) equipment, the G2G route is much better,” he added.

The final negotiations for the MMRCA project with French aviation major Dassault had stalled for over an year now due to the company’s continuing refusal to take “full responsibility” for the 108 jets to be made by HAL as well as a stiff hike in their production costs here, as reported earlier by TOI.

“It had gone into a loop or a vortex. A decision had to be taken to break the vortex since IAF’s operational requirement (the force is down to just 34 fighter squadrons) was becoming steeper day-by day. The qualitative selection (of Rafale in the MMRCA contest) was already done,” said Parrikar.

The minister, in fact, pointed to the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative between India and the US to stress that the G2G route was much better in acquiring high-end military hardware. India, incidentally, has inked deals worth over $6 billion with the US for 12 C-130J Super Hercules and 10 C-17 Globemaster-III aircraft without any open tender or competition.

                                                                       SOURCE : http://idrw.org/

India likely to get F3 standard Rafale fighter jets

India will place orders for 36 Rafale aircrafts which will be of exact standard which were tested by Indian air force under MMRCA Technical evaluation trials few years back which means it will be of the current production standard which is F3.3.

Dassault is currently manufacturing Rafale fighter jets which are of standard F3.3. Egypt which recently also has placed orders for 24 aircrafts will get Same standard F3.3 Rafales said Dassault officials. F3.3 standard Rafale will be equipped with an active array RBE2 AESA radar from Thales.

About F3.3 standard

F3.3 standard Rafale will be able to carry Reco NG aerial reconnaissance (AREOS) pod and 3rd generation Multifunction Targeting pod ” Damocles ” both which have been developed by Thales. ability to carry French ASMP-A air-launched nuclear missiles is irrelevant to export customers like India and Egypt and that capability will be taken off the fighters for India.

The f3.3 standard also gives Rafale ability to carry Scalp-Storm Shadow cruise missiles for Deep strike roles. Buddy-buddy in-flight refuelling. In Close air support roles use of laser-guided bombs, AASM and GBU-49 GPS-guided bombs along with Mica IR/EM missiles for Interception and air-to-air combat roles.

Delivery Schedules

After bagging order from Egypt, Dassault had planned to increase current annual production line of 11 aircrafts per year to 30 over next few years. India’s delivery schedule is still under negotiation and Defence minister Manohar Parrikar already has said that Indian Air force will start getting Rafale jets in next two years.

Future Rafale “F3 R” standard launched

Earlier last year French government and Dassault Aviation have agreed to start work on “F3 R” standard which will bring  further upgrades to F3.3 standard. F3 R will feature software enhancements to make full use of the RBE2-AA radar, Meteor long-range air-to-air missile integration, SBU-64 dual-mode laser/GPS AASM smart bomb integration, improvements to Thales SPECTRA self-defence system, an Identification Friend or Foe interrogator/transponder with full Mode-5/ Mode-S-compatibility ,  New“F3 R” standard Rafales will enter production from 2018 on-wards.

                                                                     SOURCE : http://idrw.org/

Direct purchase of 36 fighters will alter original Rafale deal

India will now negotiate direct purchase of 36 Rafale jets from France through a government-to-government deal worth around $4 billion, without any “Make in India” or technology transfer component, to meet IAF’s urgent “critical operational necessity” for new fighters.

After Modi held extensive talks with French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Friday, it was announced that fresh commercial negotiations will now be held for the direct acquisition of two Rafale squadrons (each has 18 jets) in “flyaway” condition.

“France has agreed to fast-track the deliveries and give us better terms for the outright purchase and longer maintenance support for the jets. Finding the money for this contract should not be a problem since it will have to be paid in instalments linked to deliveries,” said a source.The “politico-strategic” decision of negotiating the direct purchase of 36 Rafale jets that was taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi just before he left for Paris on Thursday afternoon, will lead to a “modification” of the original deadlocked $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project for 126 fighters, said sources.As reported by TOI earlier, final negotiations for the MMRCA project — which envisaged direct acquisition of the first 18 jets from France with the remaining 108 being built in India by Hindustan Aeronautics after transfer of technology — have been stalled for over a year now.France, incidentally, has failed to find international customers for its Rafale fighters, except for Egypt which agreed to buy 24 of them in February.

The insurmountable hurdle in the MMRCA negotiations was Dassault’s substantial hike in pricing for the 108 fighters to be produced by HAL as well as its refusal to take “full responsibility” for them. India, in turn, was clear it could not accept a hike in the L-1 (lowest bidder) price provided by Dassault since it had led Rafale to defeat the Eurofighter Typhoon in commercial evaluation in January 2012.Down to just 34 fighter squadrons when at least 44 are required to be comfortable against China and Pakistan, IAF can now hope to get 36 new fighters soon to arrest its fast-eroding air combat power. The defence procurement procedure allows such acquisitions on a single-vendor basis due to “strategic considerations”, both to achieve major diplomatic, political and economic benefits” as well as meet critical operational military necessity.

India, for instance, has inked deals worth over $6 billion with the US for 12 C-130J Super Hercules and 10 C-17 Globemaster-III aircraft on a direct government-to-government basis without any open tender or competition.Concurrently, as reported earlier by TOI, India is trying to fast-track the stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft project with Russia. It has asked for the FGFA deliveries to begin 36 months after the contract is inked, instead of the 94 months envisaged earlier.

BJP member Subramanian Swamy on Friday threatened to take legal recourse if the government went ahead with the Rafale deal with France, saying there were shortcomings in the fighter.Swamy, national executive member of BJP, requested PM Narendra Modi not to go ahead with the Rafale deal, which was negotiated by the previous UPA government, and said the performance of the French jet “turned out to be worst of all the aircraft” in Libya and Egypt. “If the PM decides to go ahead with the deal, I will have o option but to approach the court to get it set aside,” he said.

                                                                     SOURCE : http://idrw.org/

Modi’s France visit gives wings to IAF dream project

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to France next week will herald a new  chapter for the Indian Air Force, as its dream project of having 360 degree ‘eye in sky’ is likely to take  off with both countries finalising a deal for procuring two Airbus-330 aircraft to be used as platforms for  AWACS-India programme.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), in its meeting held last Saturday, has given a go ahead  to the proposal of acquiring the aircraft for Rs 5,113 crore and the formal signing of the deal is likely during  Mr Modi’s three-nation tour, that will also take him to Germany and Canada. The DAC has also approved ‘Project Maitry’, under which, India and France will be working on  development of Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SR-SAM) for the Indian Navy.

The two Defence deals are being seen as a consolation for France as the hectic efforts to seal a  deal of acquiring 126 Rafale fighter jets for the IAF were unlikely to get the desired results. The French leadership was particularly keen to finalise the 20 billion dollars defence deal for  Medium-Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) during Mr Modi’s Paris visit, as the long-drawn talks  for finalising the contract remain inconclusive even after three years of tough negotiations between the two  sides.

A proposal for buying eight Airbus A-330 MRTT mid-air refuellers for 2 billion US Dollars was also  hanging in balance for quite a long time. In this backdrop, the proposal for buying two Airbus A-330 aircraft has come as a silver lining for not only France but also for the IAF as its quest for acquiring AWACS (Airborne warning and control system)  is finally and firmly getting its roots.

India’s new ‘eye in the sky’ will be mounted on Airbus A-330 with Defence Research and Development  Organisation (DRDO)-developed rotodome radar fitted on it.

The IAF has planned to develop six such AWACS with an estimated cost of 1.12 billion US Dollars.  The cost of the first two of the AWACS is pegged at more than 817 million Dollars.

For France, revival of 5 billion USD Short-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (SRSAM) project for  the Indian Navy is being seen as a big achievement.  Project Maitri between French MBDA and India’s  DRDO was started in 2007 but lost its steam as India’s own Surface to Air missile Akash was preferred  by the IAF and the Army.

The project got a new lease of life after the Navy showed interest in the French SR-SAM system.

At present, Navy’s warships are equipped with Israeli Barak air defence system having a range of  around 10 km which is under process of getting increased to about 70 km.

Airbus was eagerly waiting to receive Mr Modi at its headquarters in Toulouse, which is widely  known as the manufacturing hub of the country’s French civil and military aviation sector.  “For us, most important part of Prime Minister’s visit to France is his tour to Toulouse as this will  be the formal launch of our AWACS-India project,” said an IAF official.

DRDO and the IAF have been pushing the project for more than a half decade. The government  sanctioned the 1.12 billion USD project for developing six AWACS platforms sometime in 2012 and  the RFP (Request for Proposal) for the aircraft procurement was issued to foreign vendors.

The IAF was focusing on two large platforms–Airbus A-330 or Boeing — 767 for long  endurance of its AWACS. It finally chose the first one. At present, the IAF has three Israeli Phalcon radar based AWACS mounted on Russian IL-76 platform.  The first such AWACS was delivered in 2009, with the third in 2011.

The fleet of three AWACS uses  significantly advanced technologies such as electronically steered phased array radar, IFF, C3I, ESM,  data-link, and elements of SIGINT, COMINT, and ELINT. Procurement of two more AWACS under  option clause from IAI was cleared by the DAC in February 2014, and this is likely to materialise by 2016. Additionally, DRDO is working on a mini-AWACS project, under which indigenous AEW&C  systems are to be mounted on three Embraer-145 jets obtained from Brazil for 210-million dollars.

                                                            SOURCE : http://idrw.org/

Z-10 helicopter makes first flight in Pakistan

China’s first Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation Z-10 helicopter shipped to Pakistan completed its first test in Rawalpindi, according to internet users cited in overseas Chinese-language news outlet Duowei News.

Earlier reports surmised that Pakistan was choosing its next-generation attack helicopters from either China’s Z-10 or Turkey’s A-129 to replace its obsolete AH-1S Cobras purchased from the United States back in the 1980s. Meanwhile, rumors from the Russian embassy suggested that Pakistan had placed an order for Mi-35 heavy assault gunship helicopters from Moscow. The Mi-35 may be used to test the Z-10’s performance in a real combat environment, although the Russian reports remain unconfirmed.

Pakistan has been one of China’s strongest allies since the Cold War. With India looming as a rival and potentially an enemy, it is very likely that Pakistan will operate a Chinese attack helicopter in the future. The Z-10 helicopter is capable of attacking an enemy target up to four kilometers away, a distance that leaves the Z-10 simultaneously out of the range of ground forces. It would also enhance the ability of Pakistan’s armed forces to combat terror cells.

Since the United States already provided AH-1F helicopters to Pakistan in 2007 to replace some of the latter’s older Cobras, Islamabad has not made a decision yet about purchasing the Z-10. Pakistan has still hinted at some interest towards that A-129 despite favoring the Z-10.

                                                             SOURCE : http://idrw.org/