
Shivalik multi mode grenades have started reaching field in numbers. Pic is from August.
A short but very useful video explaining features in shivalik multi mode grenades.Thakur_B wrote:
Shivalik multi mode grenades have started reaching field in numbers. Pic is from August.
Just a few months back IWI had launched Ar-15 pattern piston operated rifle ARAD. Within a few months they have launched another product, Carmel.Thakur_B wrote:https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/201 ... e-the-arad
IWI introduces ARAD rifle. Just in time for IA carbine RFP.
Yes SiG P320 family has been adopted as M17 (full size) and M18 (compact).ramana wrote:Thakur, I noticed in US a new line of 9mm revolverscare being made.
Yes, they do make pistols. SiG P226 being a rather stellar example, which lost out to Beretta for the previous handgun competition of US military ad was overshadowed by Glock in civilian market.Manish_P wrote:?
Didn't know Sig USA made revolvers. I thought S&W, Ruger were the ones still making them
The third iconic design of Eugene Stoner was the Stoner 63. The gun was built like Lego kits. Apart from rifle and carbine variants, it could be converted into Bren like top fed lmg, belt fed lmg, tripod mounted machine gun, a solenoid fired automated machine gun like the NSVT and light enough to be carried by special forces. It was the go to choice of US special forces in Vietnam war. The rifle though great in concept didn't leave a mark much beyond that.ramana wrote:Didn't Stoner produce a whole range of weapons based on the 5.56mm cartridge?
After Browning he is a great gunsmith.
A last-minute change in standards for making the latest multimodal hand grenades that are set to replace the World War II era M36 grenades used by the Indian Army has raised questions. The new grenades will be made by Ordnance Factory Khamaria (OFK) and a private sector entity from Nagpur.
Nagpur’s Economic Explosives Limited (EEL) has emerged as the sole qualifying private company to bid for the hand grenade contract. Request for Proposal (RFP), the document inviting bids, has been issued to EEL as the sole qualifier. The key parameter in a hand grenades’ functioning is the timing of explosion. A specific timing has to be fixed for the grenade to blow up after its pin is pulled. For the multimodal grenades, it has to be not before 3.5 seconds and not later than 4.5 seconds.
After the RFP was issued, an amendment was made allowing leeway for 10% of the production batch. No 5% of the grenades can have a timing between 3.5 and 4.75 seconds and another 5% can have timing between 3.5 and 5 seconds. This happened around August this year following a meeting to discuss the project in the ministry of defence, said a source. The initial delay is needed to ensure the grenade does not blow up in soldier’s hand but it should also not give the enemy enough time to throw it back. A leeway for 10% of the production batch comes as a surprise, said sources involved in the development of the weapon.
Both EEL and the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) officials denied asking for any relaxation. Both sides said they had already achieved over 99% accuracy in maintaining the 3.5 to 4.5 seconds bandwidth during trials so there was no question of them asking for easing the norms. Representatives of EEL management showed TOI a trial report that read the grenade made by the company had achieved more than 99% accuracy. A company official accepted there was a subsequent change in requirements.
OFB officials maintained no change in requirement has been intimated to them. This is because OFB will not be getting an order through RFP. An indent will be placed directly by the army to them. OFK will stick to the 3.5 to 4.5 timing, said an OFB official. “Had the concession been allowed earlier, OFB would have been able to start making grenades in 2012 itself as it was already developed but perfect timings could not be achieved. The project started in 2005 and it took over a decade for the OFB to achieve the timing. Now relaxation for even 10% of the batch is no longer needed,” said an OFB official. EEL came into the picture in 2015, even as OFB was working on the project much earlier, the source said.
OFB has fired a couple of thousand rounds during the trials after which the product was cleared. Even after clearing the timings test, questions were raised about the ring on the grenade by which it is fixed to hold it by the finger. A clarification was needed on the material used for making the ring. There was another query related to rust seen on a joint. With all questions answered, OFB is now waiting for the army to issue production order. For the private sector, RFP process will continue.
So the timing specification is from M 36 mechanical fuse.At first the grenade was fitted with a seven-second fuse but in the Battle of France in 1940 this delay proved to be too long, giving defenders time to escape the explosion, or even to throw the grenade back and therefore the fuse was reduced to four seconds.
This is good news. Punj Lloyd have not done anything worthwhile in the last 10-15 years. This business is for someone with really deep pockets.Thakur_B wrote:https://m.economictimes.com/news/defenc ... 147568.cms
Punj Loyd has sold it's stake in IWI jv which has been picked up by Adani group.
The original 7 second delay was meant for both hand and rifle launched grenades. Later on, the M36, more commonly referred to as Mills Bomb Grenade came in two variants, 4 second fuse for hand launch and 7 second fuse for rifle launch. The brits were proven right about the possibility of grenade being thrown back under 7 seconds and they were proven right by none other than Lachhiman Gurung of Gurkha Rifles, who successfully threw back two live Type 10 grenades with a fuse time of 7-8 seconds tossed at his position. He, however was unlucky with the third one, but managed to survive.ramana wrote:Thakur saab, What is the timer spec for M36 grenade?
That will give us more insight.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mills_bomb
Ok the timer initially was 7 secs delay and led to the Germans throwing it back or escaping the blast.
The timer was then reduced to 4 secs nominal.
So the timing specification is from M 36 mechanical fuse.At first the grenade was fitted with a seven-second fuse but in the Battle of France in 1940 this delay proved to be too long, giving defenders time to escape the explosion, or even to throw the grenade back and therefore the fuse was reduced to four seconds.
In US the M 67 grenade uses the M213 pyrotechnic delay fuze....
Its fuze delays detonation between 4 and 5 seconds after the spoon is released.
So the Shivalik timing is within what's achieved by US too.
Thakur_B wrote:Looks ike SSS defence is trying to create a short stroke 7.62x39 mm rifle. Here's the image of the prototype.
Thakur_B wrote:Thakur_B wrote:Looks ike SSS defence is trying to create a short stroke 7.62x39 mm rifle. Here's the image of the prototype.
Do lookout for SSS in Defexpo 20.
Bhabha BPJ might be a Level-IV jacket and is lighter than contemporary jackets being issued by any major force currently. The SMPP orders will be done by this year, army will go for the next round, for remaining balance requirements.
28November 2019 www.geopolitics.in
INTERVIEW
‘BHABHA KAVACH GIVES THE SOLDIER MULTI-SHOT CAPABILITY’
With the defence and police forces of the nation facing increasing threats from terrorists and hostile bullets at the border, Indian PSUs have come up with innovative solutions and better body-armour products than many of their Western counterparts. The onus now lies upon the union and state governments to prepare the order books for keeping the production lines running. COLONEL ASHWANI KUMAR (RETD.) (Deputy General Manager- Marketing and Armouring), Head Armouring Business, Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited, examines the latest indigenous technologies in manufacturing best quality bulletproof jackets in this interview with AMARTYA SINHA
What are the products on offer for Indian defence forces?
Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited is a leading PSU which specialises in making strategic materials. Other than the traditional strategic materials, we were told by the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Home Affairs to develop bulletproof jackets for armed forces and paramilitary personnel in 2017. From that point, we took on that as a challenge and now we are manufacturing 17 such products for central armed police forces. Among them, our prime products are ‘Bhabha Kavach’ which happens to be one of the lightest bulletproof jackets in its class in the world. No one else has been able to make it other than MDNL. We have got the technology from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai and the product has been made based on that. Other than bulletproof jackets, we also do armour of helicopters. Armouring of troop-carrying vehicles is also done by MDNL. Other personnel and group production equipment are also made for the central armed police forces as well as defence forces. Since we are already a material making company, we could produce a very lightweight material for all these products. So, each and every product of MDNL is quite unique in that way.
As far as bulletproof jackets are concerned, there is a growing consensus among our strategic policymakers that the Indian armed forces should opt for Kevlar vests with modular design. What is your take on this?
Kevlar is an old design. We have many new technologies which are far superior than that. We have the high-molecular weight polyethylene with the carbon nanotube. The weight has been reduced drastically by using this new formula. With 360-degree protection of the human body, whereas a normal jacket weighs around 11 kg, our indigenous jacket is just of 9.5 kg. So, we have successfully reduced 1.5 kg weight and that would matter a lot for a soldier deployed in the battlefield. The infantryman’s fatigue level will decrease. Moreover, unlike other body armours, the Bhabha Kavach gives the soldier multi-shot capability because of its modular design.
Can such body armour resist 7.62mm rifle and machinegun bullets?
That’s a very good question which you have asked. Well, not just 7.62mm bullets, the Bhabha Kavach can even resist APM (armour-piercing) rounds and grenade splinters. It is a Level-4 product. So, you can well imagine how strong and durable the thing is.
What about other ancillary pieces of body armour like helmets, knee-pads, elbow-pads and groin-pads? What is MDNL doing to develop such products indigenously?
We are already working on new generation Kevlar as well as steel helmets. Knee pads are already in production. The technology already exists for making the other products which you have mentioned. It is the prerogative of the government whether such products are required to be acquired for our armed forces. Weight issues play an important role in the battlefield.
Are these products deployed with the armed forces? How has been the journey so far? How do you see the emerging domestic and international markets?
We started our journey in 2017. We have done a combined marketing worth around `40 crores till now. As far as the market dynamics are concerned, there is tremendous scope in India but the quality of products has always been a challenge. The testing procedure is very long. But MDNL has developed the requisite technologies with the best of backup resources. We are masters in technology development and fabrication. But 40 to 50 percent of the raw materials still have to be imported. Polyethylene fibre is still not produced in India. We are looking for collaborations with global partners who can give us the technology for producing polyethylene fibre in India. It requires a huge investment ranging between `500 crores to `1000 crores. We are hopeful that the union government will give us the necessary budgetary support.
What are some of your ongoing R&D projects?
We are currently working on high nitrogen steel. Other than this, we are also developing products for preventing back injuries of soldiers by using specialised silicon kind of rubber. We are also working on lightweight armours by using a blend of metal and ceramics. These new generation armours can be installed on aerial assets like helicopters which will prove to be a boon for our armed forces in the near future.
How accommodative is MDNL towards Indian SMEs for manufacturing the current range of products?
We have a very productive ecosystem which is very much welcoming towards SMEs. They are already a part of our entire production cycle. Most of our projects’ backend are handled by SMEs.
What is your long-term vision? How do you see India emerging as a global manufacturing hub of such products in the distant future?
You see, in 2010 India was producing very low-technology level products in the domain of body armour. We have invested a lot and we have been able to come up to the current standards within a timespan of just three years. If we keep on working at such breakneck speeds, India will be able to cater to the needs of not just South East Asia and the Latin America, but also African countries, Far East Asia and Middle-Eastern nations in the next 5-6 years. We are on course towards mastering all three areas of armour: steel, ceramic and polyethylene. The future is very bright and the potential enormous.
Boosting soldier lethality
However, the million-rupee question that rises in one’s mind is: Why is the government opting for the AK-203 rifle at a time when the OFB has already developed a similar automatic assault rifle capable of firing higher calibre rounds (7.62 x 51mm). The new, indigenously-developed automatic assault rifle that can fire the 7.62 x 51mm ammunition has passed all trials in allweather conditions and is finally on the verge of operational readiness, as confirmed by Vivek C Verma, Secretary, Indian Ordnance Factory Board. “The much awaited 7.62 x 51mm automatic assault weapon is finally ready to be mass produced if the Indian Army opts for it. The breakthrough reportedly came earlier this year after a project management team constituted by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India re-evaluated and re-assessed the weapon through repeated trials in all weather conditions after some recent setbacks,” he said.