DefExpo 2018 Chennai

[Javee]

I'm closer to you but don't have a vehicle too. Will have to take a taxi, all the way.

I am going on the 13th. Can pick you two on that day. Send me mail .
Added later: You also have PM.

I'm going to go on the 13th too with a friend, can pick 1 or 2 guys from Mylapore/Adyar area.

[Philip]

We have many good products.The chief problem is enough orders! There simply isn't enough money in the kitty thanks to the miserly defence budget.For political reasons,huge farm waivers,etc.,and other freebies keep being gifted by central and state administrations,in the hope of currying favour with the voters at election time. To meet the combined challenge from both China and Pak,we need to have at least 3% of the budget for defence. Now that a few have truly turned the corner like Tejas,arty,LCH,Akash.BMos,etc.,large orders must be placed
so that economies of scale plus exports are possible.Tejas must also be given to pvt. industry for accelerated production.A foreingn delegate as criticised India for wanting to make 100% at home,saying its not possible,may be true,but why we cannot carve out a slice of the intl. defence pie in our own interests beats me!

[Bob V]

Missed putting out this earlier.

So, me & Kakarat visited the Expo yesterday. First impressions regarding the choice of the venue - a bit far from the city but conveniently located on the ECR (which hardly encounters any traffic snarls). The Air/Sea display viewing area couldn't have been more apt. Infact it was the perfect spot to view the warships passing by, MARCOS parachuting down right infront of you, artillery & tanks driving past generating huge dust-storms, SARANG displaying their maneuvers right above & the flypast by fighters & chopper right infront of you! The only downside was that, the parking arrangements were a mess due to lack of policing, which resulted in several vehicles heading for the exit at the same time & causing a block, that dragged on for more than an hour, late in the evening.

Couple of firsts - came across couple of MARCOS at one of the stall (they indeed stand apart with their demeanor & confidence!), was given a guided tour of a very important & yet to be inducted weapon system by a generous host (no photos allowed), saw Gen. Bipin Rawat & Adm. Sunil Lanba upclose, fiddled with an INSAS 5.56mm & several contemporary assault weapons, experienced flypast at very low altitudes, including an LCH coming straight at you, from the shorelines (scary sight!), interacted with prominent figures from the defence manufacturing industry etc.

Bottom line - most of the hosts at the stalls are borderline hostile to general visitors who are interested in just observation & interaction. Maybe they are paranoid about letting out their trade secrets. One gentleman started questioning us, when we took some pics of a vital in-production component, supplied to frontline a/c. But once we introduced ourselves & revealed our intentions, he was bit open & forthcoming. He went on to say that there are gangs from our neighbor to the north, who are employed to capture photos of each and very component, out there on display. Thus, the reason why the hosts are usually reserved & refuse answering questions related to their products,. Similar case, at stalls of some Pvt. companies. Compared to this, the guys at the PSU stalls (DRDO, OFB, GRSE, GSL, MDL) were very friendly & ready to answer each & every question of ours. Some even allowed us to touch & feel their products (have posted in the Small Arms thread). Unfortunately we were were running on a tight schedule & couldn't spare more than a few minutes at each stall.

We will be visiting again in the next 2 days, to cover what we missed earlier. Others who are visiting, let us know when so that we can have an informal BR meet.

[arshyam]

if you are going today please check if even the Expo is open to general publc on 14th or only the live demo

It is. The stalls will be there and according to the registration desk "may I help you" staff, the public can go and see them on Saturday, apart from the demo. But the person didn't seem too sure if the people manning the booths will be on duty or not. My guess is, maybe one or two junior people to keep an eye on things, but no one who might be high enough to answer technical questions. So plan accordingly.

Please visit the Israeli stalls and check on the latest on M777 induction which i could not do due to time constrain

You meant BAE, right? The person there said that the Army already has 5 pieces to get trained on, and more are on the way (under production, of course). Timeline-wise he wasn't sure, but said the contract was for 3 years and it will most likely stick to it. I asked him about heli-transport, and he showed four places where it could be hitched, and said only 3 points could be hitched if needed. But some IA brass arrived at this time, so I decided to move on.

[arshyam]

Interestingly, there were two other people question the BAE guy before I spoke to him. They were asking about the projectile weight, time to deploy (he said 1-min), rate of fire, etc. I thought they sounded like DRDO people who work in this field, but then finally didn't know that we have a standing order for this gun! Just found it interesting enough to share.

[shiv]

Man - all this sounds more interesting than the last 3 Aero India shows..

[arshyam]

Wait till you see my next post

[arshyam]

Okay, those who are going tomorrow, take your car, or cab, etc. I took the bus today and got stuck. Though bus services are available in general, they may run late given that ECR shuts off during the display. The VIP movement today made it worse, though that won't be a factor tomorrow.

Apart from the parking facilities (which I didn't use, but saw that there seemed to be sufficient space spread over multiple lots), the expo was well organized. Lots of water and cool drinks in each hall, food court was well equipped (and reasonably priced), and decent signage to get around. Restroom facilities have been provided around the perimeter. Saw a few kids (young teens) inside, so perhaps they are not enforcing the age limit. There is also a sound and light show in the "India pavilion" (hall that runs every 30 mins, I think. I sort of stumbled upon this.

Static displays were not too good. Haphazardly parked equipment without a thought for photography. So my picture of the Arjun mk-1 was marred by a pillar at one side of the frame, and so on. Arudhra, Nirbhay launcher, and other radar systems were afflicted by the same problem. It reminded me of shiv saar's comment on how the static display of the IMRH was displayed in Aero India (it was simply plunked down inside a hall, with no thought to project its size relative to everything else in the hall). We still have a long way to go in presentation, but it is definitely better this time. Make and made in India had pride of place today.

I caught the the morning airshow from the road side as I was walking to the venue, and a bunch of cops were standing there. Initially, a bunch of paratroopers seemed to come from nowhere and appeared to land on the beach. Then the show had the Sarang team (IAF), Seaking and Dhruv (IN - not sure if the Dhruv was naval, but it flew along with the sea king), 3 LCH in different camo, and Su-30 + 2 Tejas. , and the ship guns boomed with flares - for some reason the cops seemed to enjoy this bit particularly . I ended up sharing some pics I had taken - least I could do in the baking sun (they were there mostly due to the recent protest nonsense and were none too happy about it).

Couldn't observe much about what was happening in the sea, since the police (heavy presence today, btw) were not allowing free movement due to VIP presence.

Photos and brochure pics later once I've had the chance to review them.

[arshyam]

I too caught some of what Bob saar mentioned - many people were curious why I was taking pics of the equipment and displays. They seemed to relax when I said it was only a hobby of mine.

[arshyam]

Also, the weather wasn't too bad (and I say this after walking 5km in the baking sun). Reason: beach and sea breeze. Whoever picked this location, please take multiple bows. The location enabled the integrated live-show, and makes it memorable. I plan to go there again tomorrow to catch the evening display properly (15:30-16:00). The morning one is around 11:00-11:30, across the road (they have a pavilion with seats). Take caps and sunglasses, and you should be good.

[arshyam]

Last post .

For the naval visit, what's the plan? I plan to be at the Island grounds entrance by 6:30 itself. I am thinking since they start at 8:00, being a Friday and summer vacation for kids, more people may take the day off for a visit. That way, if I can wind up at the port by noon latest, I can still easily do one more visit for the live display in the afternoon.

[Vips]

Super. Any display or information on the aero engines they are developing?

I have a photo of it, its a small engine. We went very late to their stall so no one there to speak on it

Thanks Kakaratji, If you are revisiting please inquire about this engine and ask if there are further plans to go for higher powered ones.

[ramana]

Arshayam, Kakarat and BobV, Was there a BEL stall and did it have any data on the Arty fuzes coming up in Pune?

Also talk more to the OFB and DPSU folks.
And socialize BRF threads.
Thanks for the info so far.

[shiv]

Beleive it or not - I have images on HDD from Defexpo 2001 in Dilli. After those initial shows interest simply faded out.

Even Goa was only fair to middling in the attention it received. But Chennai is stellar.

[Kakarat]

Last post .

For the naval visit, what's the plan? I plan to be at the Island grounds entrance by 6:30 itself. I am thinking since they start at 8:00, being a Friday and summer vacation for kids, more people may take the day off for a visit. That way, if I can wind up at the port by noon latest, I can still easily do one more visit for the live display in the afternoon.

6:30 will be too early 7:30 would be fine
Please mail me so that we can meet tomorrow, all those planning for ship visit tommoro please mail me kakarat2001 at gmail

[Kakarat]

The Latest version of the 7.62X51mm Assault Rifle being developed by OFB Rifle Factory Ishapore for the Indian Army displayed at DefExpo2018
https://twitter.com/kakarat2001/status/ ... 2261281792

[arshyam]

Last post .

For the naval visit, what's the plan? I plan to be at the Island grounds entrance by 6:30 itself. I am thinking since they start at 8:00, being a Friday and summer vacation for kids, more people may take the day off for a visit. That way, if I can wind up at the port by noon latest, I can still easily do one more visit for the live display in the afternoon.

6:30 will be too early 7:30 would be fine
Please mail me so that we can meet tomorrow, all those planning for ship visit tommoro please mail me kakarat2001 at gmail

Sent email. As a precaution, I won't be taking my mobile with (they said no cameras and nothing about mobiles) but don't want to risk it.

Details for the ship visit: https://defexpoindia.in/Exhibition%20timings.pdf

[arshyam]

I am going on the 13th. Can pick you two on that day. Send me mail .
Added later: You also have PM.

I'm going to go on the 13th too with a friend, can pick 1 or 2 guys from Mylapore/Adyar area.

If you guys are staying the entire day, can we try to meet before/after the afternoon live demo? Hopefully a few of us will be able to join after the ship visit in the morning.

[ramana]

Looks like Rustom II engine is ready. Puts out 185 hp minimum.

Would be good for a two passenger plane.
Since its for UAV, it would be quite reliable.

[Javee]

I'm going to go on the 13th too with a friend, can pick 1 or 2 guys from Mylapore/Adyar area.

If you guys are staying the entire day, can we try to meet before/after the afternoon live demo? Hopefully a few of us will be able to join after the ship visit in the morning.

Sure, I'll be there until 4 .

[JayS]

Bottom line - most of the hosts at the stalls are borderline hostile to general visitors who are interested in just observation & interaction. Maybe they are paranoid about letting out their trade secrets. One gentleman started questioning us, when we took some pics of a vital in-production component, supplied to frontline a/c. But once we introduced ourselves & revealed our intentions, he was bit open & forthcoming. He went on to say that there are gangs from our neighbor to the north, who are employed to capture photos of each and very component, out there on display. Thus, the reason why the hosts are usually reserved & refuse answering questions related to their products,. Similar case, at stalls of some Pvt. companies. Compared to this, the guys at the PSU stalls (DRDO, OFB, GRSE, GSL, MDL) were very friendly & ready to answer each & every question of ours. Some even allowed us to touch & feel their products

I had similar experience in Aero India overall. I do not understand why the idiots cannot put a simple "No Photo" board in their stalls. If they are so sensitive about it, why even display such things...? Its utter waste to visit foreign OEM stalls. Desi stalls are so much more fun.

[arshyam]

Just got back from the naval visit. One word: AWESOME!! I managed to visit all 4 ships, INS Airavat, INS Kamorta, INS Sumitra, and INS Sahayadri. The naval personnel were happy to answer my questions, but since they had asked not share much on social media, I am going to stop here.

Well organized, with good parking, seating, drinking water and announcements. They also had a xerox machine to help those who didn't bring a copy if the ID. No kids, handbags and better not to take cell phones. They do allow phones, but ask not to take photos on board. Enter at gate 7, opposite the War memorial on flag staff road.

Go early if going on Sunday. We went there at 6:45, and still had a hundred people before us.

Didn't meet any BRF folks, though. Very difficult given the crowd and the vastness of the port.

Now heading out to the expo again.

[Philip]

http://www.defencenews.in/article/Russi ... xpo-547570

Extensive report on the 200+ systems of Ru on display at the expo.Ck out the full report.
5 conventional sub types
Sev, warship types from FFGs,to corvettes,aux, vessels,MCMs,etc.
MBTs and AVs.
SAMs-S-400s,Buk-3,ATGMs,etc.
Helos.
latest versions of the kalashnikov.

[arshyam]

If you guys are staying the entire day, can we try to meet before/after the afternoon live demo? Hopefully a few of us will be able to join after the ship visit in the morning.

Sure, I'll be there until 4 .

Saar, how to identify each other? Hopefully you read this: I'll be wearing dark blue denim shorts and an INS Sahayadri cap.

[Javee]

Sure, I'll be there until 4 .

Saar, how to identify each other? Hopefully you read this: I'll be wearing dark blue denim shorts and an INS Sahayadri cap.

If you are still here, I'm at stall 4 near MKU..don't think its easy to find

[arshyam]

Saar, just left...

[Aditya_V]

Tommorrow it is open for General visitors planning to visit alogn with Family, all you need is to carry Aadhar/Passport or some ID proof right.

[arshyam]

^^ Correct.

[pankajs]

[pankajs]

Anant Industries at DEFEXPO 2018

[Javee]

There are couple big Indian manufacturers that were in known to me before, for eg, Punj Llyod makes a variety of small arms. Another company from Bengaluru who had a big pavilion is Alpha Design. Russians were a little cold/curt while Americans and Indian pvt sector were happy to engage, YMMV.

[Javee]

Aditya, it will be a nightmare tomorrow, son possibly go nearly so that you can spend some time near the exhibits.

Arshyam, no worries.

[Bob V]

I'll be wearing dark blue denim shorts and an INS Sahayadri cap.

How did you manage to lay hands on that ? Me & Kakarat were standing near the main gun of INS Sahyadri, for more than 30mins, interacting with very friendly officer. We managed to develop a very good rapport with him, over the course of our conversation. Later on when we moved to the aft of the ship, we realised that they were handing out caps freely. But by the time we approached them, the stocks had got over. Wish we had approached that officer, with this request initially; it never clicked in our brains, at that time.

[Bart S]

Just got back from the naval visit. One word: AWESOME!! I managed to visit all 4 ships, INS Airavat, INS Kamorta, INS Sumitra, and INS Sahayadri.

How long did the whole process take, from checking in at Island Grounds to finishing the tour? And can one optionally tour just one or two ships or is it a fixed tour? Is there a lot of walking involved?

[tsarkar]

A lovely photo. The deeper waters off the East Coast allows ships to sail closer. This also requires good navigation acumen.

[shiv]

^^ Nice. I learned how to swim in the sea 50 km south of this area..Looks the same.

This land should be reserved for such events. Or else real estate will swallow it soon

[Bob V]

Just got back from the naval visit. One word: AWESOME!! I managed to visit all 4 ships, INS Airavat, INS Kamorta, INS Sumitra, and INS Sahayadri.

How long did the whole process take, from checking in at Island Grounds to finishing the tour? And can one optionally tour just one or two ships or is it a fixed tour? Is there a lot of walking involved?

It was announced that the event would begin at 8am. Hence, we started at 7:30am. But when we reached there, we found out to our shock that the entire Island Grounds was already filled with people waiting in queue. We were told that around 1500 had already completed the visit by then. It appears people started arriving at the venue from 6am itself.

Our turn to board the bus came only around 10:15am. A 15 min ride to the docks. Then we spent another 2.5 hrs visiting the 4 ships there. This was followed by another 30min wait for the return bus. So entire process, from check-in to check-out, took 5.5hrs for us.

Actually the tokens are meant to be used only for visiting any 1 ship. This choice is decided on a first come first serve basis. But since there was a huge crowd today, they were a bit relaxed & allowed people to move around the docks & visit other 3 ships too.

There is a guided tour available - in the sense that officers/sailors are standing near every weapon system & willing to speak on it. But you are free to roam around too. And yes there is indeed a lot of walking involved (my pedometer app says I walked 4km around those ships !)

So if anyone has plans to go, on this Sunday, better be there at the venue by 6am.

[SSridhar]

Some unprocessed, un-watermarked pictures here

[sudhan]

Some unprocessed, un-watermarked pictures here

Excellent! Thanks!

The 'guided' Pinaka was one for me

[ArjunPandit]

There are couple big Indian manufacturers that were in known to me before, for eg, Punj Llyod makes a variety of small arms. Another company from Bengaluru who had a big pavilion is Alpha Design. Russians were a little cold/curt while Americans and Indian pvt sector were happy to engage, YMMV.

OT for Defexp 2018
In the Defxpo that took place in Delhi, I went into the russian pavillion and they had a lot of stuff, turrets, guns, bombs. They too were cold in general (not unusual of russian professionals). Some did not have write up in English or english fluent people. Ran into a old lady whose company made thermobaric bombs, she was very old, but talked about old russian/india bonhomie. She didnt seem very happy with the new love for America and said they are not trustworthy. She said one should trust weapons that you know will not be sanctioned during war rather than those those work well and are promoted by beautiful chicks. The delhite in me couldnt resist she's beautiful too. To which she said she's not a chick anymore.