Indian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

aksha

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A $5 billion deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter aircraft from France is on the agenda of a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council in South Block on Friday, August 28. The Rafale deal has been listed for discussion as a 'confidential project' in the meeting.

The government hopes the DAC will clear the purchase of the jets before French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrives in New Delhi on Tuesday. Sources say the government is keen to sign the deal during the defence minister's visit.

Prime Minister
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announced that India would buy 36 Rafale fighters off-the-shelf during his state visit to Paris this April. Talks with French manufacturer Dassault are currently deadlocked over price.



Dassault has refused to lower the cost of the aircraft or give offsets (reinvesting 50 per cent of the contract value into the Indian market). Sources told MAIL TODAY that the DAC will aim to take certain deviations to allow negotiations to move forward and enable the deal to be signed.

The MoD scrapped a decade-old project this month to acquire Multirole Medium Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). In 2012, the Rafale had ended up as finalist in the IAF's quest for 126 jets but the talks were deadlocked for three years over technical issues.
 

Zool

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This coming week should be an interesting one! Along with the latest Rafale rumor, the last solid word we heard from Russian officials was that the Su-35 deal would finally be concluded with China by the end of MAKS. Which do you think has a better chance of happening? Personally I'd bet on Rafale -- and I'm not at all optimistic about it, so that's saying something :)
 

aksha

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Israel and Russia have started creating two aircraft for Airborne Early Warning and Control for India. Work has already started in Taganrog, where they are installing Israeli radar on an IL-76.

The Military Gazette wrote that Israel and Russia have started creating two aircraft for Airborne Early Warning and Control for India. This is the joint project called Falcon – an airborne early warning radar system created by Elta, installed on the IL-76 aircraft manufactured by the Ilyushin Company.

Back in 2004, India signed a contract for the delivery of three of these aircraft, which were delivered in 2009-2011. Work on the creation of another two new aircraft is being carried out under an option provided for in this contract. As the publication noted, Israel purchased two IL-76 airframes from Uzbekistan. Russia, for its part, acquired two mostly completed IL-76 platforms from the Chkalov Aviation Production Association (now the Tashkent Mechanical Plant) in Tashkent. The aircraft frames were brought from Tashkent to the Beriev Aviation Scientific-Technical Complex in Taganrog, where they will be custom finished by the Israeli side, and where Israeli radar will be installed.

According to the web portal IzRus, in October 2012, the Commander-in-Chief of Indian Troops and President of India Pranab Mukherjee presented a postage stamp in honor of the 80th Anniversary of the Air Force of the country, on which the Falcon aircraft was depicted. As the Indian newspaper The Daily News reported back then, this system “multiplied the defensive power of the country”, and therefore it deserved to be immortalized on a postage stamp.
 

aksha

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The upgraded Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft will be installed with India-made multi-function displays under an Indo-French partnership, as part of a programme to enhance the operational life of multi-role fighters by around 20 years.

Samtel Thales Avionics Ltd (STAL), a joint venture between Samtel Avionics and French firm Thales, has successfully dispatched the first batch of multi-function displays for Mirage 2000 upgrade programme of the Indian Air Force from the newly-commissioned production facility in Greater Noida.

"Samtel Thales Avionics thus becomes the only Indo-French partnership in defence space in India to have a high-technology product in production for a major offset programme, and is the only company in India eligible for more Mirage 2000 MLU displays," an industry source here said.

The potential of this project is valued at approximately Rs 100 crores, to be realised over the next 3 years.

The latest multi-functional displays are part of the programme to upgrade all of India's Mirage 2000H to Mirage 2000-5 MK2 variant with state-of-the-art avionics and latest weapon systems to enhance the operational life of multi-role fighters by around 20 years.

The sources said that the joint venture will also come into play if Thales bags contract for upgrade of Mirage 2000 from anywhere in the world.

The entire project is expected to cost about Rs 10,000 crore.

French Defence majors Dassault Aviation and Thales have already handed over two upgraded aircraft to India in March.

The rest of the about 46 aircraft fleet will be upgraded in Bangalore under the responsibility of state-run HAL with the complete support and involvement of Dassault Aviation and Thales, the French firms, who are the original manufacturers.

The upgrade on the aircraft include a night vision goggle-compatible glass cockpit, advanced navigational systems, advanced Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system, advanced multi-mode multi-layered radar, fully integrated electronic warfare warfare suite besides others.

It also includes a new firing system for Air-to-Air MICA missiles.

Earlier, Patrice Caine, Chairman and CEO, Thales, who was in India recently had said that India is at the top ten key focus nations for his company.
 

aksha

Captain
MI2Watch: Opto-electronics on Samtel radar; 100 Sukhois now flying with INDIAN MFDs

Samtel Avionics is among the few companies that got on to the Make in India wagon almost a decade ago, before such a concentrated campaign was launched in the country. Samtel's MoU with the Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE), a DRDO lab in Bengaluru way back in 2004, set the pace for the company to get into the Make in India mode, delivering home-grown products.

In a freewheeling interview ahead of the 10th edition of Aero India, set to begin at AFS Yelahanka on February 18, Puneet Kaura, Executive Director, Samtel Avionics, told OneIndia that the MoU with DARE opened up new avenues for the company.


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"The MoU was to develop indigenous technologies to facilitate production of rugged multifunction displays (MFDs) in India. This technology was successfully deployed on Su-30 MKIs under the Samtel-HAL JV. Later, we formed a JV with HAL to address the avionics requirements including Test Benches and Systems for all HAL star platforms - both fixed and rotary wing," Puneet said.

An early bird to Make in India concept

"Today over 100 sets of MFDs have been delivered by Samtel-HAL JV for induction on Su-30 MKIs are already flying. Sicne 2007, Samtel has successfully teamed up with global players such as Honeywell, Curtiss-Wright, and General Dynamics Canada and became part of their global supply chain aso as to manufacture their products in India for their international customers," Puneet added.

He said while the government is stressing upon Indian companies to begin exporting to global customers now, Samtel has already been doing the exercise for many years.
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"We are the sole source for Honeywell worldwide for avionics equipment for their General Aviation range in the US. These displays have been in serial production for many years with the supplies going regularly to Honeywell for integration," Puneet added.

Over the years, Samtel has developed a range of products under the aegis of DRDO, using the indigenous ruggedisation technology. "Samtel and DRDO have been able to indigenously develop the technology to ruggedize Bare AMLCD COTS panel to withstand harsh avionics environment by maintaining high level of optical and functional performance of these displays during the operation.

The technology developed over an exigent five-year long development and qualification journey, is not product specific, and can be laterally deployed on any fixed or rotary platform," he said.

Turnover to touch Rs 200 crore

Puneet, one of the youngest and visible faces in India's aerospace and defence, admitted that the gestation periods are very longer in this sector.

"Even though we started in 2004, our supplies to HAL began only in October 2010. The first full year of revenue was 2010-11, when we had a turnover of Rs 50 crore. Total consolidated growth in last five years has been 400per cent, with the turnover projected to grow to 200 crore in 2015-16," he said.
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At the AeroIndia exhibition, Puneet said that the company would aim to showcase a range of its star MFDs products and advanced avionics systems for military and non-military market.

"Focusing on the Make in India theme, we plan to demonstrate our competencies and our synergies with leading Indian and international players, which underscores our strength to deliver in accordance with global standards. Our booth will provide an insight into Samtel's ‘Push and Pull' strategy of partnering with global system integrators which leverages our joint strengths to cater to the Indian and international markets," he added.

New areas on Samtel's radar

Puneet said Samtel has already moved forward from being a display manufacturing company to a multiple-product, high-end technology company.

"One area of growth which will be the future focus of Samtel is opto-electronics. We have a very strong division in opto-electronics, where there is a lot of traction. We are also developing competency in Ruggedised Military Electronics - which is going to be a major focus area in the coming few years," he said.

He said the BTP (Built-to-Print) activities are also expected to drive the business into the future.

We have also developed and supplied Automated Test Equipment (ATEs) to IAF, and as there is a huge demand in this domain, we are building capabilities in this as well. Our partnership with General Dynamics Canada is for co-production and co-marketing of products for military and ground market, for armoured and commercial vehicles - a relatively new area for Samtel," he added.

Products for Indian armed forces

* Samtel-HAL JV has supplied approximately 100 sets of multifunction displays to HAL which are currently flying on Su-30 MKI aircraft.

* Samtel HAL Display Systems has received the PO for supply of MFD for LCH from HAL (MCSRDC). Post development phase, there is a requirement of supplying around 750 MFDs for LCH.

* After the successful integration on LCH, Samtel says an opportunity might arise to integrate the same MFD on ALH, thus replacing the imported MFDs.

* Samtel has supplied 3ATI units to BEL for the Tarang programme. These units are meant for radar and missile warning receiver systems which will be integrated on many platforms such as Su-30 MKI, MIG 29, Jaguar, Tejas, IL-76 and MI-25.

* Supplied 19" rugged displays to BEL for the Battlefield Surveillance System (BSS) for Indian Army. These displays were required inside the command and control shelters to display a variety of information.

* Received the PO from CVRDE for Arjun Main Battle Tank's (Mk II) Commander Sight Displays. These displays would be integrated with Arjun MBT Mk II (124 Tanks) and Futuristic Main Battle Tank (124 tanks).

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aksha

Captain
ah!!
The MTA project is still on

from retd. Squardon Leader Vijender K. Thakur

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During MAKS-2015, Russia's NPP Polyot is reported to have discussed with the German company Rohde & Schwarz the possibility of joint development of communication equipment for the Russian-Indian military-transport aircraft MTA.

A NPP Polyot official
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, "We have confirmed the intention to work together, have prepared our proposal to the Indian side for the next round of negotiations."

Rohde & Schwarz, which has an Indian subsidiary, makes secure communication products such as Software Defined Radios as well as test equipment for avionics and navigation assemblies.

NPP Polyot earlier discussed communication requirements, including data links, for the MTA and FGFA with IAF officials during Aero India 2015.

For those who may have missed the point, the big news is that the much delayed MTA project is still live and kicking!
 

aksha

Captain
regarding the the the rumours about the IAF abandoning the FGFA
we should remember that IAF doesn't still know this plane.
it is only after they put this fighter in service that they themselves will know how many to buy.

for example The SU 30
originally
the SU 30 was orginally bought to help russia's mil industry from economic mess and a threat to sell the SU27 to Pakistan

then they went on to buy atleast 270

as they say
“A man never knows what he wants until he’s got it! Then he wonders how he ever managed without it.”

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"It’s a very good machine but we are not interested ” was Straight and firm reply given out by Chief of the Air Staff Surinder Mehra in1990’s when he was questioned about plans to purchase Soviet Union’s Sukhoi Su-27 Strategic air superiority fighter .Mehra further added that ” Su-27 does not fit in with the IAF’s re-equipment plans.”

Soviet Union’s Sukhoi Su-27 twin-engine super maneuverable fighter with its long-range interception capabilities and BVR missiles created a flutter in International Arms market. first introduced in early 80’s indirect rival to American F-15s.

Also Su-27 impressed many but it was not finding any takers till early 1990’s, it was smaller sibling from rival campMiG-29 Fulcrum introduced in the same period which was hot pick among many countries including Indian air forcewhich had already had picked up Mig-29s by then. IAF team after attending Singapore Airshow in 1990’s evaluated the aircraft on instance of Russians and found aircraft impressive but were vary about high operating costs and non-familiarity of operating Heaver class aircrafts in its operational history.

It is well documented that by mid-1990’s after collapse of Soviet Union, Sukhoi’s Irkutsk Plant without orders was on verge of close down but by then Russians resorted to pressure tactics and a visiting Russian defence delegation to Pakistan same year offered Sukhoi-Su-27 air superiority fighter to Pakistan Air Force, offer was later Protested by India, Which asked Moscow to maintain Regional Security Balance and to withdraw the offer.

When Mulayam Singh Yadav a reluctant defence minister was appointed in the HD Deve Gowda government he signed a contract to buy up to 50 Russian Sukhoi Su-30 MK fighter jets in a deal worth $1.8 billion, which many military analysts believed was forced upon Indian air force since with the Induction of Mirage-2000 and Mig-29 into IAF , Air-force was not suffering for want of a highly rated aircraft at that time nor was any such demand made by IAF . While Opposition alleged kickbacks and lack of transparency shown in the deal but without any hard evidence deal was executed by a weak Government in Power which might have crumbled to external pressures.

Su-30K jets which were delivered to India under a contract signed in 1996 were souped up Su-27UB two-seat operational conversion trainer modified with avionics appropriate for fighters. Along with its ground-attack capabilities, since Russia was unable to deliver Su-30MKI Configuration fighters on time and rest was history.


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Very few people know the actual tale of the development of state-of-the-art multirole fighter Su-30MKI, where ‘I’ stands for India. It has been hogging the limelight ever since it was first inducted by the Indian Air Force.

But there is an interesting tale behind the birth of this warbird; how, for the first time in its history, the Indian Air Force got a fighter jet tailored to meet its specific requirements for decades to come. Not many are aware that, like deadly BrahMos cruise missile, Su-30MKI (Multirole, Commercial, Indian version), is also an embodiment of the vision and foresight of India’s ‘missile man’ and (now former) President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, who spares no effort in reiterating his immense faith in Russia’s technological prowess.

In 1994, ahead of the Moscow visit of then Indian Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, Russian state arms exporter ‘Rosvorouzhenie’ (predecessor of Rosoboronexport) invited journalists for a briefing on Indo-Russian defence cooperation.


In this backdrop the press was told that Moscow was going to offer India its latest Su-30 fighter and the Russian government has invited a senior IAF official to discuss the issue.

An old friend, representing HAL in Moscow, argued that no such plane exists and said Air Vice- Marshal S. Krishnaswamy would be arriving to evaluate Su-27 fighter, which was the best the Soviets had developed to counter US F-15 Eagle.

Eventually, India signed the initial Sukhoi deal worth US $ 1.8 billion with Russia’s Rosoboronexport (formerly Rosvorouzhenie) State Arms Trading Corporation on November 30,1996 for the purchase of 40 Su-30K planes and development of ‘MKI’ version and its subsequent license production in India.

At that time diplomats said that it was a major departure from the ‘buyer-seller’ relationship in defence with Russia and a confident step for transition to joint research and development of cutting edge weapon systems and platforms.

It was on August 15, 2002 that I got a call from the Kremlin press office inviting me to a tour of the Sukhoi Design Bureau with President Vladimir Putin two days later. Naturally the invitation was accepted with gratitude.

Sukhoi’s T-50 PAK-FA project had just won the race for the development of a futuristic –fifth generation fighter aircraft by defeating its rival MiG’s similar project, and there was a buzz about China and India taking interest in joining the Russian project.

As we were waiting for the President to arrive, Mikhail Simonov, the erstwhile chief designer of Sukhoi, who personally knew me, walked up to me and said that he would tell me the true story:

“When AVM Krishnaswamy came to our design bureau in 1994, he simply blasted our Su-27 fighter, considered the best in the West. I was very upset, given the fact that I was under probe on the alleged charges of treason for selling Su-27 fighters to China, I was rather depressed. So, I decided not to attend the evening reception hosted by the Indian Air Attaché in honour of Krishnaswamy,” recounted Simonov (1929-2011).

“However, my deputy persuaded me to go. I rang the bell of the Air Attaché’s apartment and Krishnaswamy opened the door with a welcoming smile. I saw a flower vase on a side table and was told to bring another of similar size and pour vodka in both of them. I gulped down one vase with vodka and challenged the Indian Air Marshal to follow suit, if he wanted me to come in and have serious discussions. Hats off! He did exactly what I requested and we got down to work and you see the result – the world’s best multi-role fighter. This also freed me from the ‘treason’ charges, since I invested the entire proceeds from the sale of Su-27 fighters to China for the development of absolutely new fighter with multiple roles,” he recounted.

“The Su-30MKI is the joint product of Sukhoi and IAF designers and engineers. The rich experience of joint development has enabled us to pick India as the partner in the fifth generation fighter aircraft on the basis of PAK-FA T-50 project,” said Simonov proudly, looking like a hefty Don Cossack out of (Mikhail) Sholokhov’s Nobel prize winning novel ‘And Quiet Flows the Don’ ”.
 

aksha

Captain
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Why couldn't MRF, that is supplying tyres for IAF's Su-30MKI fighters, make the same for other aircrafts?

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, "from reputed Indian firms for indigenous development of main and nose wheel tyres of all types of aircraft operated by the IAF". Additionally it stated that the, "company should be able to develop the main and nose wheel tyres as per the procedure laid down in DDPMAS 2002 and carry out complete qualification trials for the same as per Qualifying Test Schedules approved by CEMILAC".

Vendors would have to provide 10 samples of their product for testing & certification, which would be followed by the placing of contract.

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This EOI stands out because, in 2014, tyre manufacturer
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that it would supply the main wheel tyres for the IAF's
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aircrafts. The Company, which
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in this R&D effort had, "agreed to do all design, development and quality tests at their own cost in the nation’s interest",
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. Subsequently, the IAF asked it to also go ahead with development of the Flanker's nose wheel tyres. Thus, in its initiative to replace the imported tyres on
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with Indian ones, MRF should've been the obvious partner. Leveraging the benefit of 6 years of R&D, it would have come up with solutions faster, & more cost-effectively, than others.

Tyres fitted on to an average aircraft are subjected to conditions, far diverse & of magnitude much higher than an average land-based vehicle. When an aircraft sits on the tarmac, the tyre bears its entire weight. During taxiing on the runway, it must provide the aircraft with a cushioned ride, without overheating. At the time of landing, the tyres must not only cushion the impact of landing, it must also transmit the dynamic loads applied during braking onto the ground. The graph, below, depicts the Speed Vs. Load experienced by different vehicles.
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Thus, as seen, while a racing vehicle may reach speeds matching that of an aircraft, the load experienced is miniscule. Similarly, while the off-the-road vehicle may experience loads comparable to the aircraft, it moves at a much lower speed. As rightly stated, "Aircraft tires have the worst of both loads and speeds".

One can hazard a few guesses behind the rationale of this EOI. The first, as already stated, is that IAF is dissatisfied with MRF's 'Aero Muscle' tyres, despite
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[
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] having certified it. Second, its a move to cultivate multiple vendors, thus preventing MRF monopoly. Third, since the Su-30MKI tyres were an outcome of MRF's own initiative, it would emerge as natural winner of this EOI, thereby preventing allegations of favouritism, giving IAF the chance to scope the market to weigh in its options. Fourth, either by IAF's assessment or by its own admission, MRF would be unable to scale up to meet the IAF's demands for tyres for its entire fleet of aircrafts, the fourth largest Air Force in the world. IMHO, the EOI is a result of the 3rd possibility.

Whatever the reason,
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.
 
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