INS SINDHURAKSHAK BLASTS AFFECT NAVY PREPAREDNESS

The explosion on board the INS Sindhurakshak has blown the lid off the Indian Navy’s claims of battle-preparedness. Most of India’s submarines have lived 75% of their operational life and many of them will be decommissioned in a phased manner in the coming years.

Strategic experts claim that successive Indian governments have been obsessed about designing land-based plans to counter Pakistan and China and the navy always took a back seat.

The Indian Navy is supposed to guard the 7,500 km-long coastline, 1,200 plus islands, and 2.2 million sq km of exclusive economic zone (EEZ). It is also meant to control the Indian Ocean region which contains one-third of the world's population and 40% of the world's oil and gas reserves.

“Induction of submarines into our navy was done more or less in an episodic way. The last of the submarines of the Sindhughosh class was inducted in 1999, 2000. And since then, there has been no new induction, which shows huge lacuna on the part of the government in assessing the situation,” said defence and strategic expert Commodore (retired) C Uday Bhaskar.

“If the Scorpenes get delayed any further, the Indian Navy will be left with just about four or five submarines by 2020,” said a senior navy officer, requesting anonymity.

Six Scorpene submarines are currently being built in Mumbai in collaboration with French firm DCNS. The first of these will be ready by 2016-17.

“The Indian Navy is more like a Cinderella Service. It paid a heavy price, because of the inability of bureaucrats and politicians to arrive at the right strategic assessment,” said Bhaskar

Explosion, fire on Navy submarine in Mumbai; 18 personnel missing

MUMBAI: At least 18 Navy personnel are missing after a huge explosion followed by a fire rocked Indian Navy submarine INS Sindhurakshak docked at the high security naval dockyard early on Wednesday, according to Times Now.

Among the missing are three officers, according to Navy sources.

According to TV reports, the submarine has been damaged extensively in the fire and is submerged half under fire, which was brought under control with the help of 16 fire tenders at around 3am.

The Navy has ordered a board of inquiry into the dockyard fire.

Many sailors on board the submarine reportedly jumped off to safety.

Earlier a defence ministry statement issued at 3.15am said, "There is likelihood of some personnel being trapped inside. The details are being ascertained."

Some injured sailors were taken to naval hospital INHS Ashvini in Colaba.

The cause of the explosion and blaze is still not known.

At least 16 fire tenders of Mumbai Fire Brigade and Mumbai Port Trust were rushed to assist the naval fire brigade to douse the conflagration, the smoke emanating from which could be seen in many parts of south Mumbai.

The blast was first heard ashore by deputy chief fire office PS Rahandale who was on leave and attending a private engagement near the Gateway of India promenade. He immediately alerted the fire brigade and other emergency services.

India launches own aircraft carrier INS Vikrant

 India unveiled its first indigenously-built aircraft carrier on Monday, a landmark moment in the $5 billion project that seeks to project the country’s power and check the rising influence of China.

When the INS Vikrant comes into full service in 2018, India will join an elite club of nations that have designed and built their own aircraft carriers including Britain, France, Russia and the US but not China.

“It’s a remarkable milestone,” defence minister A.K. Antony said as he stood on a red carpet in the shadow of the giant ship which was launched from a dry-dock in the city of Kochi and later pulled out into the harbour by tug boats.

“It marks just a first step in a long journey but at the same time an important one,” he added before his wife Elizabeth officially launched the 40,000-tonne vessel by placing a garland on its hull.

INS Vikrant, which will be fitted with weaponry and machinery and then tested over the next four years, is a major technological and military advance for a country competing for influence in Asia, analysts say.

“It is going to be deployed in the Indian Ocean region where the world’s commercial and economic interests coalesce. India’s capability is very much with China in mind,” Rahul Bedi, a defence expert withIHS Jane’s Defence Weekly.

On Saturday, India announced its first indigenously-built nuclear submarine was ready for sea trials, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called a “giant stride” for the nation.

“All these are power projection platforms, to project India’s power as an extension of its diplomacy,” Bedi added.

The world’s biggest democracy is spending tens of billions of dollars upgrading its mainly Soviet-era military hardware to bolster its defences.

Successes in its long-range missile and naval programmes have been tempered by expensive failures in developing its own aircraft and other land-based weaponry, leaving the country highly dependent on imports.

INS Vikrant is two years behind schedule after problems in sourcing specialised steel from Russia, delays with crucial equipment and even a road accident in which vital diesel generators were damaged.

Overall, India lags far behind China in defence capabilities, analysts say, making the success in beating its regional rival in the race to develop a domestically-produced aircraft carrier significant.

China’s first carrier, the Liaoning, which was purchased from the Ukraine, went into service last September.

Beijing is reportedly planning to construct or acquire a bigger ship in the future and Jane’s claimed earlier this month that it has seen evidence that an indigenous carrier was being assembled in a shipbuilding facility near Shanghai.

India has one aircraft carrier in operation—a 60-year-old British vessel acquired by India in 1987 and renamed INS Viraat—but it will be phased out in the coming years.

India’s ally Russia is also set to hand over a third aircraft carrier—INS Vikramaditya—later this year after a bitter row over the refurbished Soviet-era warship caused by rising costs and delays.

The INS Vikrant, which means “courageous” or “bold” in Hindi, had a bare flight-deck decked out only with flags and yellow tassels but it will carry Russian-built MiG-29 fighter jets and other light aircraft when it goes into service.

While its hull, design and some of its machinery are domestically made, most of its weaponry will be imported as well as its propulsion system, which was sourced from GE in the US.

“Its primary role will only be to defend our naval fleet and it will not be used for ground attacks,” retired rear admiral K.Raja Menon.

“It’s a defence carrier so it will attack platforms that are coming to attack our (naval) fleet ...without air defence our fleet just cannot survive,” Menon said.

C. Uday Bhaskar, a retired naval officer and former director of the National Maritime Foundation in New Delhi, said the ship would “enhance India’s credibility”—but it “would not alter the balance of power with China”.

“China’s nuclear expertise and ship-building capabilities are of a higher order,” he told.

The Indian navy is currently working on 39 ships and has begun planning to make another two aircraft carriers, Bedi said.

Indian Navy’s P-8I deployed in Andaman naval air base

India’s latest maritime surveillance aircraft, P8I, has landed at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, signalling the Navy’s plan to increasingly use the islands to keep an eye on the three crucial sea lanes used by China to ferry its cargo.

The maiden landing of the first P8I at INS Utkorsh in Port Blair on Tuesday gave the aircraft’s pilots and crew an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the facilities at the island, which would come handy if the government wanted to operate a few of these surveillance aircraft from the island.

The aircraft is equipped with sensors for maritime reconnaissance, anti-submarine operations and electronic intelligence missions. It carries state-of-the-art sensors and highly potent anti-surface and anti-submarine weapons.

India purchased eight such aircraft from the US in a $2.1-billion deal. The first one had arrived in May, and the second P8I was expected to reach India by September.

The US-origin aircraft, with a range of 8,600 km and an endurance of 10 hours, is based at the INS Rajali, a naval air station on the Tamil Nadu coast.

The new P8I, with the call-sign IN 321, was received in the islands by Andaman and Nicobar Command Commander-in-Chief Air Marshal P K Roy, along with senior officers of the Unified Command.

P8I is the Indian naval variant of the P8A “Poseidon” aircraft that Boeing developed for the US Navy. India is the first international customer of this aircraft. With the first eight aircraft likely to arrive by 2015, the navy is acquiring an additional four P8I.

Acquisition of 12 P8I will complete the first phase of the Navy’s requirement of 24 long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft.

Because of the island’s strategic location, the Navy also plans to deploy its medium-range Dornier surveillance aircraft at its furthest air station at Campbell Bay to keep a regular watch on the oil and cargo traffic passing through the strategic Malacca and other two straits.

AMCA put on "hold"

With Ministry of Defence which now officially has put “ on hold ” country’s ambitions fifth generation stealth multirole fighter development AMCA project to fast track delays incurred by the ADA in development of LCA Tejas combat aircraft and to make sure no more delays are incurred in achieving IOC-2 and later FOC for the aircraft in time . Now details are emerging that IAF also wants ADA and HAL to concentrate more on development and testing of Tejas MK-2 before they can restart work on AMCA.

If MOD and IAF are able to stall work on AMCA again, while raising concern on development of Tejas MK-2, AMCA project will be delayed beyond 2022 for even first flight to occur and production will only start in 2028-30. Sources in IAF, we (idrw.org) spoke to, are worried with delays Lca project is facing and have raised concerns that they might be further delays in development of Tejas MK-2 before it hits production. MK-2 needs to be revalidated on many test points before it is put to production and turnaround time from first flight to MK-2 entering Production is quite narrow (2 years) they are concerns in IAF if ADA and HAL will be able to carry out all tests and development work in the time period, said another source.

Defence experts like Rakesh Sharma in past have raised concerns how whole AMCA Project has been moving forward without clear technical or consultation partner for the Project, Key decisions related to development of New Kaveri engine to power AMCA is still pending and needs to be fast tracked to avoid mistakes which were committed on Lca Project which is still powered by imported American engine.

Defence analyst like Vinayak shetty wants AMCA project to be fast tracked and advocate separate team of manpower and foreign technical partner to work on project. He also mentioned that “Development has to continue parallel to other projects (FGFA, LCA) and priority has to given to Air Staff requirements (ASR) issued by IAF to avoid any technical deficiency in the aircrafts, further avoiding delays in the project.


Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) will require around $2-billion for funding development of AMCA and have received initial funds to carry out design phase of the project , ADA will be developing Two Technology Demonstrators (TD) by 2020 to prove concept before work on Seven prototypes are carried out . AMCA is a single-seat; twin-engine fifth-generation stealth aircraft optimised for strike roles and will be replacing British made Jaguars in IAF service currently.

Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) unveiled a 1:8 scale model at Aero India 2013. Which has strong resemblance to Northrop Grumman developed YF-23 prototype that lost the Advanced Tactical Fighter competition to the Lockheed YF-22 in 1991 in what became the F-22 program. ADA hopes to equip the AMCA with a panoramic active-matrix cockpit display, triplex fly-by-light architecture with an optical-fiber-based digital flight-control computer, serpentine air intakes to suppress radar signature and Advance Aesa Radar.

ASR issued by IAF lead to new and improved aerodynamic optimisation of the aircraft, since IAF wants fully Stealth aircraft rather than near stealth aircraft which ADA was hoping IAF will settle for. AMCA will be in 16-18 tonnes class aircraft with 2-tonnes of internal weapons and four-tonnes of internal fuel with max speed of Mach 1.8.

Ukraine sends first batch of air-to-air missiles to India

The state-run joint stock holding Artem (Kyiv) has sent the first batch of R-27 medium-range air-to-air missiles produced for the Indian Air Force to the customer, the Ukroboronprom concern has reported, with reference to its director general, Serhiy Hromov.
“The first batch of missiles has been shipped to the customer, and the next batch is being prepared for delivery,” Hromov said, noting that the execution of the Indian contract will allow the full utilization of the enterprise’s capacity until the end of 2013.
He expressed the confidence that the Ukrainian-produced high-precision aircraft weapons will continue to be in demand in the regional markets for conventional weapons.“We’re not limiting ourselves to the Indian contract. Our representatives are actively working with traditional customers from Southeast Asia, North Africa and other regions,” the state enterprise director said.
Hromov also said that the state should grant the Artem holding tax benefits provided by the law of Ukraine on the state aircraft industry, which will allow the company to increase its working assets, as well as to use credit resources more efficiently, he said.
Artem signed a contract with the Defense Ministry of India for the supply of R-27 missiles to the Indian Air Force in March 2012. The contract, worth $250 million, is to run from 2012 to 2013.Artem holding company was created in September 1996 on the basis of the Artem Kyiv Production Amalgamation, and is one of the leading aviation companies in Ukraine.

Russian Air Force to Get First T-50 Fighter Jet This Year, IAF Next Year.

The Russian Air Force will take delivery of its first fifth-generation T-50 fighter jet “in the third quarter of this year” for final state test flights starting in the fourth quarter, the service’s commander Lt. Gen. Viktor Bondarev said Tuesday.

President Vladimir Putin had informed lately that T-50 would enter service with the country’s air force in 2016 , while Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) with stealth features based on the T-50 is slated to be inducted in the Indian Air Force by 2022. IAF will get first prototype of the FGFA which is scheduled to arrive in India by 2014 after which it will undergo extensive trials at the Ojhar air base in Maharashtra.

T-50, which will make up the core of Russia’s future fighter fleet, is a multirole warplane featuring “stealth” technology,” super-maneuverability, supercruise capability, and advanced avionics including an active electronically-scanned array radar, according to its designer Sukhoi.

India plans to acquire 214 of these fighter planes by the end of 2030 at an estimated cost of over USD 30 billion. Second prototype will arrive in India in 2017 and the third prototype will arrive in 2019. based on feedback from Indian air force final version of the FGFA will be developed for operational service in IAF which will enter service in 2022 .

FGFA is expected to have compatibility with various missile types, including missiles of Indian and European origins. Majority of the software in FGFA would be of Indian origin, along with Indian avionics.HAL will develop mission computer, navigation systems, cockpit displays, counter-measure dispensing (CMD) systems and will modify Sukhoi’s prototype delivered to India into fighter jets as per the requirement of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

T-50 prototypes delivered to IAF will also be tested in all weather conditions like hot weather, cold weather, Sea level and high altitude tests before inducted into IAF . HAL and IAF along with Russia are working on evolution of the FGFA engine as an upward derivative of the AL-37. Russian Air Force will get 200 single seated and 50 twin-seated PAK FAs while Indian Air Force will get 166 single seated and 48 twin-seated FGFAs.

MiGs touch down on the Vikramaditya’s deck

The final phase of tests on the INS Vikramaditya commenced on Monday, August 5, with a joint practice mission involving naval aircraft from Russia’s Northern Fleet. The mission, in which MiG-29s performed several approaches at different altitudes and a touchdown on the aircraft carrier’s deck, was led by RSK MiG chief pilot Mikhail Belyayev.

Around this time a year ago, Belyayev flew over the Vikramaditya’s deck together with test pilot Nikolai Diorditsa, who has been accorded the Hero of the Russian Federation title. The test pilots flew 517 sorties – including 41 landings and 41 take-offs from the aircraft carrier’s deck – in July and August 2012, testing the aircraft, the fuelling and flight support equipment, the aircraft lifts, its launch assist systems and arresting gear.

Overall, the commissioning team had no complaints about the work of the aircraft wing or the operation of the ship’s support systems. Representatives of the Indian Navy were also satisfied. But the testing wasn’t completed in full; night-time take-offs and landings did not take place, for example, because of a serious failure of the ship’s power plant. The fire-proof protection of all eight boilers gave in to extreme temperatures.

As a result, the aircraft carrier was returned to Sevmash last autumn to undergo a complicated nine-month overhaul with assistance from representatives of the Baltic Shipyard (where the boilers were manufactured). The deadline was duly met, and the aircraft carrier, complete with repaired boilers, sailed into the White Sea on July 3. The ship passed every other trial a day before Navy Day and developed the top speed of 29.3 knots under regular load at full displacement.

According to earlier plans, the full testing cycle involving an aircraft wing and maritime training for the Indian crew is scheduled for completion by October 15. After that, one month will be allotted to eliminate any minor flaws. The INS Vikramaditya should be handed over to the Indian Navy in November.

Upgraded F-35 Block2A joins USAF 58th fighter squadron

The difference between the Block2A and the older ones is the fact that it incorporates the Block 2A avionics software and will start flying in a few weeks.

The new software introduces interesting capabilities. First of all, it allows the pilot to use all six thermal imaging cameras of the EO- DAS AN/AAQ-37 optical set. The purpose of the device is to detect and track the enemy aircraft and provide early warning messages about the launched missiles. Nevertheless it is not integrated with the HMDS yet even if it allows displaying weather info.

In spite of the latest upgrade, the F-35A is still restricted. It can’t conduct IMC flights, night flights, aerobatics (have you ever seen JSF on an Air Show?!) and formation take-offs and landings.

However, the Block 2A software extends the F-35′s capabilities, because it lets the pilot simulate the launch of AIM-120 missiles. Still, the g-limit for the airframe is 5,5 G that is quite ridiculous, taking into account the objectives the JSF is designed to face. Hopefully the g-limit will be lifted soon.

The USAF 58th Fighter Squadron already operates 9 F-35A Block 1B, which were used to train USAF instructors and test pilots. The ultimate number of trained pilots is to reach 45.