India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

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Karan M
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

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http://www.defenseworld.net/interview/7 ... vajnLSPtY0

BEL To Take On More JVs, Partnerships and Programs Under New Leadership
Source : Internal ~ Dated : Tuesday, February 4, 2014 @ 12:01 PM
Views : 151
S K Sharma

S K Sharma

In an interview with Defenseworld.net, S K Sharma, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) talks about the company's latest JVs, programs and new projects it intends to pursue.
Questions and Answers

Q : Could you tell us about BEL recent successes?

S K Sharma :

Some of the BEL’s recent successes are:

Bharani, a new Low Level Light Weight Surveillance Radar, was handed over to the Army Air Defence during December 2013.


MoD approval has been obtained for formation of Joint Venture Company with M/s Thales, France, for the design, development, marketing, supply and support of civilian and select defence radars for Indian and global markets.



Established a new manufacturing facility for Microwave Supercomponents and TR Modules at Bangalore Unit to cater to the requirement of new generation Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radars and new Electronic Warfare systems.



Negotiation completed with M/s Photonis, France, for ToT of XR-5 grade (FOM: Min. 1600; Typ: 1700) Image Intensifier tubes for future Night Vision Devices.




BEL received the prestigious Raksha Mantri’s Awards in November 2013 in the categories of Export, Indigenization, Innovation and Design Effort.



In pursuance of BEL’s commitment to quality, 63 engineers certified for Certified Reliability Engineer programme, 36 engineers certified for Certified Quality Engineer programme and 18 engineers certified for Certified Manager of Quality and Organisational Excellence programme by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) during the current year.

Q : In terms of technology and partnerships, can you tell us about the challenges you face?

S K Sharma :

BEL is taking steps to meet the varying challenges to keep abreast with the latest technological developments and the management of emerging large turnkey programmes.

The measures include strengthening the technology development process through short, medium and long-term technology roadmaps, increased investments in R&D and setting up of a Company-wide Knowledge Management System to harness the complete potential of the R&D engineers. BEL is enhancing efforts for in-house developments and also further strengthening the close co-operation with DRDO Labs, other national research laboratories and R&D organizations including academia for indigenous development. BEL is also taking adequate initiatives for joint development with reputed foreign companies to quickly harness specialized technologies into new products.

In order to meet the emerging requirements of large systems, a higher degree of User involvement is envisaged for better understanding of their requirements right from the concept stage to implementation and exploitation. Focus groups have been formed headed by dedicated Project Managers for major programmes.

Q : Can you tell us about the MoU you signed with TCOM, USA for co-operation on developing advanced aerostat surveillance and communication systems?

S K Sharma :

BEL entered into an MoU with TCOM, USA, in 2013 for offering cost-effective, world-class aerostat based surveillance and communication systems to the Indian Defence Services, Security Services and Law Enforcement Agencies to augment their surveillance capabilities.

This MoU is a stepping stone for BEL to enter into manufacturing and supplying of aerostat based surveillance and communication systems.

With the co-operation of TCOM, BEL will also be establishing a facility for carrying out Depot level repair and maintenance of aerostat systems.

BEL has submitted technical proposals against many RFIs/EOIs to various prospective Indian customers. The payloads include Radar, ELINT, COMINT, ESM & ECM and Electro-Optic Systems.

Q : BEL is also developing the fourth-generation Composite Communication System (ACCS). Can you tell us about this?

S K Sharma :

ACCS (Advanced Composite Communication System) is the fourth generation CCS system developed in-house by BEL. It is an IP based voice, data and video integrated communication system developed on a Gigabit Ethernet backbone for addressing the external communication requirements onboard naval ships. The ACCS system facilitates ship to ship, ship to shore and ship to air communications on VLF, MF, HF, V/UHF, Ku, C and S bands. The system is very flexible and can be easily configured for ships and submarines of all classes.



Q : You have also signed an MoU with Elbit Systems for the joint production of Compact Multi Purpose Advance Stabilisation System (CoMPASS). What is the status on this project?

S K Sharma :

BEL entered into a Technology Collaboration Agreement (TCA) with Elbit Systems Electro-optics-Elop Ltd. (ELOP) in 2010 for manufacturing of CoMPASS for ALH program. As per the TCA, BEL has acquired the License, Know-How, Technical Information, Training, Technical Assistance to manufacture BEL’s work share, perform final assembly / testing of the CoMPASS using the ELOP’s work share and to deliver the CoMPASS to ELOP for ALH programme.

BEL can sell the CoMPASS to other end users for future programmes, subject to Israeli Government approval. The technology transfer also enables BEL to provide D-level maintenance to customers.

Q : Can you elaborate on your UAV projects? What is the status of the Rustom UAV?

S K Sharma :

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also known as Remotely Piloted Aircraft, range from simple, hand-operated systems to high altitude, long endurance systems similar in operation to manned aircraft. UAVs are primarily used to gather intelligence and carry out surveillance and reconnaissance for the armed forces.



BEL started its work on UAV programs during the late 1990s in association with ADE in development of Lakshya PTA (Pilotless Target Aircraft). BEL manufactured and delivered Ground Control System (GCS) and various Airborne LRUs of Lakshya with the support of ADE. BEL also worked in the development of state-of-the-art Integrated Digital Flight Control Processor (IDFCP) of Lakshya-2.



Further, BEL successfully manufactured and delivered many Avionics systems for Nishant UAV during 2007-2012. BEL was involved in the development of Advanced Ground Control Station (AGCS), Avionics Preparation Vehicle (APV) and Data Link Systems for Nishant UAV in association with ADE and DEAL. BEL has engineered and manufactured critical LRUs for Nishant Data Link system with ToT from ADE and DEAL.



Presently BEL is working with ADE in the prestigious Rustom Program for Tri-services. Rustom is a remote controlled, Medium Altitude and Long Endurance (MALE) UAV being designed and developed by ADE for the Indian Armed Forces. Flying at an altitude of 35,000 ft, the Rustom captures real time imagery of the battlefield and transmits information to the GCS through a C band data link. In addition to the Line Of Sight (LOS) C-band data link, Rustom will have Ku-band (Satcom) Data Link also for beyond LOS data link.



Presently, BEL is involved in the development of Ground Control Station (GCS) and C-band LOS Data Link for Rustom UAV program, with ADE and DEAL. Development of GCS and data link systems is in advanced stage and these systems will be delivered in the first half of 2014. BEL is giving full support to DRDO in making the Rustom program a grand success.


In addition to the above, BEL has manufactured and supplied different payloads like Radar, ELINT, COMINT and Electro-Optics which are used for surveillance and reconnaissance applications. All these payloads can be adopted for UAV applications.



BEL, in co-operation with M/s WB Electronics, has responded to many RFIs / EOIs of the Indian Defence Agencies and Paramilitary Forces for the supply of Micro / Mini / SR UAVs.



Q : Can you tell us about the offsets you are involved in and with which Companies?

S K Sharma :

BEL is executing offset contracts for OEMs like Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Pilatus and supplying IFF Mk XI, Radar Finger Printing System (RFPS) and Cable Harness, respectively. BEL is also pursuing various offset opportunities with foreign OEMs for Indian programs like Mine Counter Measures Vessel (MCMV), Thermal Imager-based Fire Control System (TIFCS) and Compact Multi Purpose Advance Stabilisation System (CoMPASS).

Q : Can you tell us about your partnership with Boeing?

S K Sharma :

Besides supply of various sub-assemblies for F/A-18, BEL also provides M/s Boeing, USA, the Identification Friend or Foe Interrogators and Data Link II Communication systems for the eight P-8I Maritime Surveillance Aircrafts for the Indian Navy. BEL is a partner with Boeing at the Analysis and Experimentation Centre in Bangalore that opened in 2009.

BEL and Boeing, USA, are also working on expanding their business partnership through different Aircraft and Helicopter programs of the Government of India. Fulfillment of offset obligations and other opportunities of direct exports are being explored by both the companies.
Karan M
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Karan M »

DRDO's new AESA radars - to get the context of BEL's investment in AESA manufacture in the above report

Arudhra, 3D, Medium Power, 300km, S Band
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ey5JMS_tOW0/U ... nd+MPR.jpg

Ashwin , 3D LLTR, 150 km (will replace Rohini), S Band
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FTWdi7dDIPM/U ... nd+MPR.jpg
Victor
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Victor »

I would say that the Bharat Verma article posted by partha above is 95% spot on. Even the terminally blind should be able to see this:
It is amazing that the Indian genius that has successfully launched technologically advanced and sophisticated spacecraft to Mars or has finally mastered ‘cryogenic’ engine technology is unable to produce small arms such as a modern rifle, carbine or a pistol.
and this:
India’s increasing dependence on import of arms up to almost 80 per cent
These are not the ravings of a paid lunatic but hard, cold truth. What remains is to acknowledge it, figure out WHY this is the case and what can be done about it.

Many among us feel that all is well with the Indian PSU model even though the thinking which led to it has been thoroughly discredited and consigned to the dustbin of history. They feel that all these PSUs need is more time and money for shudh swadeshi weapons to come streaming out of every aperture like ghee. What they refuse to see, is that India has already poured untold billions over more than half a century into the PSUs with results that are staggeringly abysmal by any standards, a giant FAIL. While it should be clear that something is very wrong, it should also be clear that there is nothing at all lacking in India's technical or managerial capability. To not acknowledge this amounts to a traitorous anti-India act IMO because our enemies want exactly the same results for India over the next 60 years.

Until India lets it private industry loose on guns, ships, tanks, bombs, missiles and aircraft, we will remain unarmed and overwhelmingly dependent on imports, period, full stop. The quickest and least painful option is to divest all our PSUs 100% starting with the DPSUs yet retaining full government oversight with full government subsidies. We can control which items should or should not have foreign equity and how much. Only in the few strategic areas that nobody will help us and/or where we don't want any foreign input should we retain full government control but that too, under a very different model. What this needs is a full scale assault on the criminal enterprise that is controlling the PSUs right now. Not only will this free India's full potential but even the ex-PSU employees will be happier, richer and more productive in their new companies.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Karan M »

If you were not terminally blind yourself and hence willing to do some research (but which you of course won't or can't), you'd have known there is a modern carbine called the MSMC, and a modern rifle which is being discussed in the other thread. Unfortunately, these statements by the likes of Varma are what sink his credibility (never mind his claims that an Indo China war was going to happen in 2012), but never mind.

What they refuse to see, is that India has already poured untold billions over more than half a century into the PSUs with results that are staggeringly abysmal by any standards, a giant FAIL.

To not acknowledge this amounts to a traitorous anti-India act IMO because our enemies want exactly the same results for India over the next 60 years.

And then we have the immense pomposity of the above from one who has decided to create his own yardstick about who is a patriot and who is a traitor. Lets not look at details either, rhetoric suffices. Facts be darned.

Your claims about the PSU model & the unresearched statements about the private sector are all very well, but the bulk of systems being developed and fielded today, already involve the private sector in significant forms. The Rustom for instance in the Defexpo thread is an example of Public pvt partnership.

But never mind, go on with your claims thatThe quickest and least painful option is to divest all our PSUs 100% starting with the DPSUs yet retaining full government oversight with full government subsidies.

Never mind that the chances of this happening are unlikely in the extreme & second, to depend only on a profit motive seeking private sector for all items is to invite disaster as versus depending on a mix of both sectors with the pvt getting an equal say, something which is being pushed for and will happen.

And nor is India the US, to throw away capital in the form the US does with programs like the JSF. Of course, which program according to you, is American, private & hence automatically a success.
Last edited by Karan M on 09 Feb 2014 08:13, edited 1 time in total.
Karan M
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Karan M »

For the congenitally and deliberately obtuse:

Discussion on the MCIW from midway through the thread
http://forums.bharat-rakshak.com/viewto ... start=2080

MSMC
http://i.imgur.com/il0Id.jpg
Dr Datar expressed satisfaction on the successful user trials of MSMC or Joint Venture Protective Carbine (JVPC)
http://drdo.gov.in/drdo/pub/nl/2013/NL_Nov_2013_web.pdf

But lets not fact checking get in the way of handing out "patriot chits"...like honesty chits are apparently handed out by certain politicians nowadays.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Victor »

Trotting out a few of these time pass projects that go nowhere only buttresses my contention that the PSUs are a waste of time and a serious threat to the country's preparedness. I am quite aware of the threads you accuse me of being blind to but unfortunately, every time I see a photo of our troops, they are carrying used AK47s, not the perennially "in development/under trial" MSMC this and Trichy that. Let them give us a g#ddam gun our jawans actually want to use on the front where their lives depend on it. Until then, what I wrote stands.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by A Sharma »

Desi unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) efforts taking flight for India
Infact a new indigenously developed airborne Ku-band SAR scheduled to commence trials this year on a flying test bed will eventually take pride of place on the Rustom-2.

Interestingly, the new engine configuration is slated to be indigenized with a domestically developed equivalent as a result of a collaborative effort between DRDO's Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (VRDE) and Mahindra Satyam
Karan M
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Karan M »

Victor wrote:Trotting out a few of these time pass projects that go nowhere only buttresses my contention that the PSUs are a waste of time and a serious threat to the country's preparedness. I am quite aware of the threads you accuse me of being blind to but unfortunately, every time I see a photo of our troops, they are carrying used AK47s, not the perennially "in development/under trial" MSMC this and Trichy that. Let them give us a g#ddam gun our jawans actually want to use on the front where their lives depend on it. Until then, what I wrote stands.
Your selective interpretation of available evidence is mind boggling. Indian troops everywhere use INSAS, not some perennially under development item.

Of course, then you'll claim that INSAS is a lousy rifle, nevermind that many do like the rifle. That troops use the Ak-47 in COIN has as much to do with its 7.62mm round & its suitability for the COIN environment with shorter range, relaxed maint requirements and full auto capability at the price of longer range accuracy, such as that expected of a full up battle rifle. But lets not that get in the way either.

That you then claim that projects like the MSMC etc are "time pass" & ignore the reams of Indian made equipment in service, from electronics to rocket launchers to strategic missiles. So basically, dismiss all available evidence in order to selectively vent at Indian PSUs while loudly evangelizing India should buy American and privatize willy nilly, nuance and analysis be darned.

Of course, that the Indian Army has extensive trials of local equipment is a well known fact, but that is cited as a "waste of time". When it does buy imported equipment without extensive trials & they flop (e.g. the reports of Para's complaining that the M4 is not meeting their requirements), lets ignore that either even when that stuff comes from the lauded private sector.

Lets even ignore that the programs you laud as a symbol of first world effectiveness, and private sector genius - their cost escalations alone equate to what India has spent on its entire R&D budget for years on end.

No, what you wrote does not stand. You have not made the case for your statements.

And that you have let your bias & hatred of the "other", which is in this case the PSUs, blind you to all & any evidence when they do deliver & deliver well, despite constraints.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

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A Sharma wrote:Desi unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) efforts taking flight for India
Infact a new indigenously developed airborne Ku-band SAR scheduled to commence trials this year on a flying test bed will eventually take pride of place on the Rustom-2.

Interestingly, the new engine configuration is slated to be indigenized with a domestically developed equivalent as a result of a collaborative effort between DRDO's Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (VRDE) and Mahindra Satyam
Entire article deserves quoting. Many items of info there.

Desi unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) efforts taking flight for India

Saurav Jha
The domain of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has unsurprisingly emerged as a focus area for indigenous military development and production efforts. Indeed domestic UAV programmes are serving as a draw for the private sector with participation from both medium and small scale enterprises (MSME) as well as large conglomerates. And besides the usual clutch of sub-assemblies, major sub-systems such as sensor payloads and engines are also being increasingly sourced from Indian industry.

The flagship UAV programme at the moment is the Rustom-II being developed in the lead by the Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO's) Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) based in Bangalore. The Rustom-II is a medium altitude long endurance(MALE) UAV with an altitude ceiling of 32,000 feet and an endurance of up to 35 hours. This bird is being designed to meet the needs of all three services with different configurations, naturally. However, while the Indian Navy(IN) version is slated to carry mostly electro-optical payloads andmaritime patrol radar, the Indian Army(IA) and Indian Air force(IAF) versions are a more involved proposition tailored to carry Electronic Intelligence(ELINT), Communications Intelligence (COMINT) and Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR) packages as well. Infact a new indigenously developed airborne Ku-band SAR scheduled to commence trials this year on a flying test bed will eventually take pride of place on the Rustom-2.

Two Rustom-2 prototypes have been developed thus far, one of which was displayed at Defexpo 2014 in PragatiMaidan, New Delhi. The programme is currently in iterative development mode with refinements in aerodynamic shaping underway and it is likely that a total of eight prototypes will be built with the last one serving as the base for production variants. While the target weight for the Rustom is roughly around 1800 kilograms (kgs), the current prototypes are about 400 kgs over that benchmark.

Moreover it is unlikely that the final variant will be less than 2100 Kgs. With that figure in mind and typical margins for capability growth, DRDO has decided to fit the Rustom-2 with new diesel engines. As such the two existing 125 HP Rotax 914 engines (one on each wing) are slated to be replaced bynew 200 HP class dieselengines supplied by Lycoming. Interestingly, the new engine configuration is slated to be indigenized with a domestically developed equivalent as a result of a collaborative effort between DRDO's Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (VRDE) and Mahindra Satyam. The Rustom-2's private sector footprint obviously extends into the MSME sector as well. For instance, Bangalore based FLOTECH Engineering & Trading services is supplying aircraft fuel rigs for the Rustom-2 while Nfotec Digital Engineering Pvt. Ltdfrom the same city is providing CAD design and CFD analysis support services to the program.


Slated to take to skies for the first time this year, Rustom-2 prototypes will soon enter a phase wherein critical operational safety aspects such as waypoint navigation back to the nearest friendly airbase in the event of satellite link failure at distances which are also beyond VHF line of sight and the fine tuning of the onboard traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) will be worked upon. After all the operational altitude of the Rustom-2 (i.e 30000 feet) is basically where most civilian airliners fly today. Of course in the near future Indian air traffic control regulations will need to be modified to accommodate the growth of UAV flights in the country. For the moment, the Rustom-2 is confined to military airspace.

The other indigenous UAV bearing legendary Aerospace scientist and engineer, Rustom B.Damania's name, the Rustom-I is also set for interesting times ahead. As revealed byDr K. Tamilmani,Director-General Aeronautical systems, DRDO, to Geek at Large, Rustom-I is likely to be India's first armed UAV and work is underway to integrate the Helina (which is the air-launched version of the Nag anti-tank missile) with it.

Meanwhile, the Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF) has bitten the bullet on the Nishant UAV which is already in service with the IA and some 16 units of a customized version are set to find place in its inventory. Given the terrain in which the CRPF variant will be operated, DRDO labs have worked together to reduce the number of support vehicles for it by a third. Importantly, the CRPF version will fly with an indigenously developed wankelrotary engine with a rating of 55 HP replacing its current ALVIS AR-801 engine.

This engine developed by VRDE is already under production at a private facility in Hyderabad with eight sets scheduled to be delivered soon. The indigenous enginewhich can apparently be uprated to 65 HP will also power the conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) version of the Nishant which weighs some 25 kgs more than the current truck-launched version and will see its first conventional take-off in April this year.


To understand the large domestic private sector footprint of the Nishant program it could be noted that the GIS solution for ithas come from Pegasus software consultants, Digitronics has provided power supply, Meru Precision Industries has supported the development of many sub-assemblies and the Gimballed Payload Assembly and Servo Electronic System has come fromTata Power SED.

The big story of course is the progressive indigenization of the propulsion system for these UAV programs. Propulsion after all is that one thing that stands between the Indian aerospace sector becoming more or less sufficient (naturally more intense efforts on airborne fire control radars is also required) and being dependent on the West or Russia. I would go out on a limb to say that the pursuit of propulsion technology in general should be elevated to the level of a national ideology in India and effective resources must be made available to this objective. I'll leave you with this video of the Rustom-2 undergoing engine ground runs and taxi trials at its home facility.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Victor »

Karan M wrote:Of course, then you'll claim that INSAS is a lousy rifle
I haven't used the INSAS and can't claim this but the army has and does. But of course they are corrupt so they must be wrong, never mind that it is they who are dying, not the OFB wallahs.
So basically, dismiss all available evidence in order to selectively vent at Indian PSUs
The evidence, if you will acknowledge the truth, is that the PSUs have a 60-year plus record that is unacceptable by any yardstick. At what point do we accept that the system has failed? Are we putting all our assets to work? If not, why not? Lives and sacred soil are at stake here, not some babu's or politician's @ss. It should be our duty to get worried and angry about it, not brush it under the carpet.
while loudly evangelizing India should buy American and privatize willy nilly,
This is plain rubbish. When an American weapon is the only/best/quickest/cheapest option, usually among other foreign options and in the absence of Indian options, I will certainly "evangelize" them to use your term. But that is because I want the best for India--the least lives lost of our jawans, the bloodiest nose to the enemy. M777, Apache, Super Hornet happen to fit the bill and I believe this will be borne out eventually. About privatization, I have detailed my reasons why. What is "willy nilly" is the lack of any sensible rebuttals or counter ideas, just blind stonewalling.
And that you have let your bias & hatred of the "other", which is in this case the PSUs, blind you to all & any evidence
I'm in very good company buddy. If you want to see real "hatred and bias", check out what the army and air force think about the PSUs.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Victor »

Rustom-I is likely to be India's first armed UAV and work is underway to integrate the Helina (which is the air-launched version of the Nag anti-tank missile) with it.
Rustom-1 was supposed to be the test bed UAV and it was the Rustom-2 that was mentioned as being the Indian Predator. Rustom-1 (Rutan Long EZ) seems to be too small to carry both the targeting package and a couple of Helinas (a single Helina would be wasteful). Also, it is not optimized for long range or loiter. It uses a more powerful engine than the EZ, Predator and Heron (150hp vs 115hp) and will therefore need more fuel. Rustom-2 should be able to carry 4 Helinas and maybe even a Sudarshan or two along with long loiter time and range but it still has a weight problem and needs to use even more powerful engines. Ideal would be to aim for a single-engine UAV with acceptably long range/loiter time and enough payload for 2 Helinas to save money. We need to signal how cheap we consider jihadi lives to be.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by wig »

DRDO all set to equip armed forces with portable non-lethal laser dazzlers, Multi sensor airborne surveillance system, AUV in offing
*‘Weapon’ to be of immense use in counter-insurgency, riots control

In a major development towards meeting the stringent requirements of the armed forces, the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has developed portable non-lethal laser dazzlers, multi-sensor airborne surveillance system, autonomous underwater vehicle and anti-laser and anti-thermal screening smoke grenades, which would be shortly inducted in the Army, Air Force and Navy for much better defence, attack and surveillance.
Among these indigenously designed and developed technologies, non-lethal hand-held laser dazzlers would be of immense use for the armed forces in Jammu and Kashmir during the counter-insurgency operations and riots/mob controlling as these dazzlers produce randomly flickering green laser output sufficient to cause a temporary dazzling effect on a person or group of persons.
DRDO sources told EXCELSIOR that hand-held portable laser dazzler is a weapon intended to temporarily blind or disorient its target with intense directed radiation. “These dazzlers have in-built safety/interlock features against unauthorized use’, they said while disclosing that the device has been tested under simulated conditions.
“Soldiers engaged in counter-insurgency operations can make immense use of these dazzlers. This device is also meant for use in riots/mob control as the target person(s) will remain disoriented till the device is on”, they said, adding “by making use of this device anyone can be overpowered that too without causing any physical injury unlike in the use of water cannons or rubber bullets”.
Responding to another question, they said that the device can be used both during day and night hours and it will be shortly inducted in the armed forces. “There are basically two versions of the non-lethal dazzlers—hand held and weapons mounted and they have a maximum range of 50 meters and 500 meters respectively”, they added.
“We have also developed optical target locator, which is a laser based portable device for detection of active and passive surveillance systems”, they said, adding “the potential applications of this device are protection of VIPs, active scanning monitoring of specific area and stand off detection of pointed optics viz snippers”. This indigenous device has range of 50 to 300 meter and can be used in day as well as night.
The DRDO has also developed indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control India, which is a compact state-of-the-art airborne surveillance system onboard an executive jet class of aircraft.
“This aircraft has the capability to detect and track, identify and classify targets in the surveillance volume and act as a command control centre to support air defence operations”, sources said, adding “the system integrates sensor data and presents the air situation picture for situational awareness to mission operators onboard and communicates with the ground command and control network via multiple ground exploitation stations”.
In response to a question, they said, “this is basically meant for surveillance along the borders to track down any activity and provide information within 10 to 15 seconds”, adding “through this onboard multi sensor surveillance system we can track the movement of tanks, vehicles and even fighter aircrafts as aircraft can carry out surveillance on its line and 10 degrees above its line”.
They disclosed that initial operational clearance of the airborne surveillance system will be carried out in June this year before its induction in the Indian Air Force.
Another milestone achieved by the DRDO is Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions by the Navy and agencies like the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited for safeguarding offshore installations.
According to Dr C H Suryanarayana, a scientist, who played key role in development of this vehicle, this flatfish-shaped reconfigurable vehicle has the capability of carrying payloads of up to 500 kg. About the potential roles of the AUV, he informed that it can be used for intelligence collection, search and surveillance, deployment of leave behind sensors and ship escort and scouting.
The combat engagements of AUV include delivery system for torpedoes, mines or other weapon, target for torpedo trials and expendable mine/neutralization device, Dr Suryanarayana said. “We have furnished the specifications of this AUV to the Navy and conveyed them that AUV of this size can be made of any specification in order to fully meet the requirement of Navy”, he informed.
In yet another significant development, DRDO has developed Anti Thermal-Anti Laser smoke grenades, which enhance survivability of the Army tanks in the battlefield by way of creating a smoke screen, which is effective even against visual, thermal imagers and laser range finders.
Stating that at present Indian Army doesn’t have such type smoke grenades, DRDO sources said, “the re-trial of Anti Thermal-Anti Laser smoke grenades will be conducted next month following which the same would be inducted in Army”.
“The grenade is mounted on either side of the turret of tank and electrically actuated from the MBT grenade launcher. The grenade forms a smoke screen within 4 to 5.4 seconds at about 90 meter distance on bursting above the ground. A white dense smoke screen is formed from a single grenade, which is capable of providing obscuration in the visible and infrared range”, they informed.
http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/drdo-all- ... -dazzlers/
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Post by Karan M »

I haven't used the INSAS and can't claim this but the army has and does. But of course they are corrupt so they must be wrong, never mind that it is they who are dying, not the OFB wallahs.
Yeah, there are a bunch of IA officers (including some on this board) who thought otherwise, but what would they know...look up what RayC said on the INSAS sometime.
The evidence, if you will acknowledge the truth, is that the PSUs have a 60-year plus record that is unacceptable by any yardstick. At what point do we accept that the system has failed? Are we putting all our assets to work? If not, why not? Lives and sacred soil are at stake here, not some babu's or politician's @ss. It should be our duty to get worried and angry about it, not brush it under the carpet.
When you indulge in out of context rhetoric, without even seeing the proscribed circumstances the DPSUs were made to operate in, the overall Indian economy, the political decisions to support an import gravy train whilst ignoring the success stories the same DPSUs have achieved despite the odds. It smacks of both belief over substance and plain "darn the facts, what I say goes". When and where those organizations received the funding and independence to do their job well, they have done so. If we must see what needs to be done to reform the system (including getting more privatization), it bears remarking as to what has worked as well.
This is plain rubbish. When an American weapon is the only/best/quickest/cheapest option, usually among other foreign options and in the absence of Indian options, I will certainly "evangelize" them to use your term. But that is because I want the best for India--the least lives lost of our jawans, the bloodiest nose to the enemy. M777, Apache, Super Hornet happen to fit the bill and I believe this will be borne out eventually. About privatization, I have detailed my reasons why. What is "willy nilly" is the lack of any sensible rebuttals or counter ideas, just blind stonewalling.
Your belief in the Super Hornet despite the fact it was patently unsuitable for India proves the point that you apply a different yardstick to US claims (dubious in many cases) whilst loudly berating anything and everything Indian as being from the "PSUs" and hence automatically inferior. Another perfect example being the JSF case, full of acquisition malpractice and there you were, defending it away, while at the same time, swearing the private sector alone is the panacea for all ills. This when multiple reports suggest that the unfettered chase of profit above all is one of the key reasons the program went haywire. Another example - the cost escalations in that one program alone add upto Indias sum R&D, defence modernization spend over many many years, but hey, the Indians are incompetent, inefficient, public whatever, while the US smokes magic mushrooms and is always right..

I'm in very good company buddy. If you want to see real "hatred and bias", check out what the army and air force think about the PSUs.
Hardly. Many of them working with the same PSUs support them & their efforts, whilst not being blind to their shortcomings either & wanting more diversity in procurement choices as and when necessary. Of course, when somebody from the user end speaks out, like Mr Bahadur from the AF did on how he was supported in his endeavours, to bring in more privatization, by the same establishment you so decry, you attacked his views as well.

Simply put, you have lost all sense of objectivity on this topic & are merely running down anything & everything. Thats not analysis anymore, but hatred.

The sensible thing to do would be to privatize and give more operational and fiscal control to the DPSUs as well, so all compete on a level playing field. But your statements are pretty idealogical and would rather throw the baby out with the bathwater, even when some of those units are delivering consistently.

But hey, what would I or any Indian who tracks these matters know? We merely rely on data, are not patriotic, not well wishers of India etc etc, whilst living in India & seeing the successes (and failures) first hand & being affected by them as well.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Karan M »

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... rials-drdo


Arihant ready by next year
K-15s ready and will be tested this year
K-4s (3500km) likely next year
Agni-4(4000km) ready for induction
Agni-5 (canisterized) to be tested this year
BMD- final system configuration now being frozen after seven trials - will be tested in this config in a month.
During the Def-Expo on Friday, DRDO chief Avinash Chander expressed confidence that the Agni-V and INS Arihant, the country's first intercontinental ballistic missile and first SSBN (nuclear-powered submarine armed with nuclear-tipped missiles), would be ready for induction by next year.

There has been some concern over the delay in sea trials of the 6,000-tonne INS Arihant, whose 83 MW pressurized light-water reactor went "critical'' on August 10 last year. "The submarine is undergoing the power-raising (in the miniature nuclear reactor) phase, which I am sure will be completed in a month or two. Thereafter, it will go for sea trials. The K-15 missiles (nuclear-tipped with a 750-km strike range) are fully ready and will be tested from the submarine this year," said Chander.

DRDO is also working on a longer range submarine-launched ballistic missile called K-4, with a 3,500-km range, which is likely to be tested for the first time from a submerged pontoon next year.

While the 4,000-km Agni-IV is now ready for induction after completing its three developmental trials, the Agni-V will be tested in a canister-launch version later this year, said Chander.

A canisterized Agni-V, which brings the whole of China within its strike envelope, will allow the armed forces the requisite operational flexibility to swiftly transport and fire the missile from atop a launcher truck. "After two-three trials, Agni-V should be ready for induction by end-2015," said Chander.

On the ballistic missile defence front, the DRDO chief said the final "system configuration" of the two-tier system -- designed to track and destroy ballistic missiles both inside (endo) and outside (exo) the earth's atmosphere - was now being frozen after seven developmental tests. "It will be tested in its final configuration in a month or so," he said.
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Post by Karan M »

http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 791_1.html
The defence system requirements for the country is opening up an opportunity of $150 billion for the industry in the next five years, said A Sivathanu Pillai, chief controller (R&D), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and CEO & managing director of BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd. Out of this, over $100 billion opportunity is for the Indian companies.
$25.9Bn of orders already for DRDO products, more to come in the next five years..
DRDO has developed products and has gone for production for Rs 1,60,000 crore. So many projects are in the completion stage and the products that are going to come out in the next five years has tremendous potential. The indigenously developed products will be manufactured only in India. Unlike the earlier years when only the research and product development was handled in India, DRDO is now product oriented.
Opportunity for Indian industry via DPP
“We have put a mandate that a minimum 30-50% of the product should come from the Indian manufacturers. Another point is that even if it is imported from a foreign country, 30% should be made in India out of that. Out of $150 billion, more than $100 billion opportunity is available for Indian manufacturers,” he explained.
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Post by Karan M »

http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 651_1.html
Government has approved the setting up of semiconductor wafer plants by two consortia, including IBM Corp , Israel's TowerJazz and STMicroelectronics NV , costing a total of Rs 63,410 crore.

India, which wants local production of chips to cut long-term import bills, has renewed a drive to attract investments after a previous attempt failed. The two groups had proposed building plants in India in September.

One of the consortia is made up of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd and TowerJazz and IBM. It plans to set up a plant near New Delhi at a cost of Rs 34,399 crore, a government statement said on Friday.

The second comprises HSMC Technologies India Private Ltd, Malaysia's Silterra and STMicroelectronics. The group has proposed investment of Rs 290,13 crore for a plant in the western Gujarat state, the statement said.

The final agreements for the two plants are expected to be signed by August.

With a view to attract chipmakers to set up plants in India, the government is offering concessions including 25% subsidy on capital spending, tax breaks, and interest-free loans of about Rs 5,124 crore to each plant.

India's demand for electronics products is forecast to rise nearly 10 times during this decade to reach $400 billion by 2020, causing policy makers to worry that electronics imports, with no major local manufacturing, could exceed those of oil.
and Modi is of the view that electronics manufacturing in India has to be boosted as well:
http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 580_1.html
"Electronics imports have a big share in our overall import basket. We must focus on manufacturing, particularly in strategic sectors like defence. There is also a need to focus on promoting hardware as much as software to ensure inclusive growth,"
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Post by Sagar G »

Meet on High Energy Materials
India should go in for collaboration at the international level for developing capabilities in High Energy Materials (HEM), B Bhattacharya, director, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), said on Thursday.

Bhattacharya was addressing the 9th International Conference on High Energy Materials organised by the HEM Society of India (HEMSI) at Kovalam. He also stressed the need to bring down costs in the research and development of HEMs. India does business in HEMs to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore. About 75 per cent of the amount goes for importing, he said.

To avoid this, India should develop advanced technical skills in this area by starting centres of excellence in institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), he said.

HEMs form an integral part of the space technology and the defence sectors.

Inaugurating the seminar, Dr S Ramakrishnan, director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), stressed the need for shifting to ‘green propellants’ for launch vehicles in the long run. He also called for extensive research in the field of HEMs.

Dr Manjit Singh, director, Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, stressed the need for adhering safety precautions while working in the field of HEMs.

There is a need to study the ways and means to dispose unusable materials, he said.

Delivering the HEMSI-M R Kurup lecture, M C Dathan, director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), stressed the need to further develop the solid-state fuel technology.

There are lots of advantages in using solid state fuels as they are cheaper, less complex and yet, highly reliable.

A suitable combination of solid, liquid and cryo fuels can effectively propel any complex rocket systems.

He also stressed on the need to use composites based rocket cases to reduce mass.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Karan M »

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/385 ... ml?mstac=0

India to manufacture indigenous submarines soon
Kalyan Ray, New Delhi, Feb 9, 2014, DHNS:
With its underwater arm severely depleted, India is preparing the ground to launch an indigenous submarine design and development plan.

In the first step, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will set up an agency in Hyderabad to test and certify the steel that will be used in making the indigenous submarine.

The underwater vessel will be made using the same DMR-249A and 249B steel – manufactured by the Steel Authority of India Ltd – that was used to make aircraft carrier Vikrant and P-28 missile corvettes.

“For underwater applications, we need extensive certification while for surface ships, if the material’s property matches with the benchmark, it could be used. The new agency will have best equipment to test the properties of naval steel,” G Malakondiah, one of the chief controllers at DRDO, told Deccan Herald.

The first industrial scale trial of submarine steel was accomplished successfully. Now, the material needs intensive testing for which the agency would be set up in two years. “The unit would be located close to Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, he said.

A parallel effort is on to develop suitable welding technologies and consumables for submarines at Naval Material Research Laboratory, Ambernath.


After the massive accident of INS Sindhurakshak last year, Navy currently has just about 10 functional submarines, most of which are pretty old. Realising the consequences, the government has decided to upgrade four Kilo-class and two HDW-class submarines.

India has purchased six French Scorpene submarines, which are under construction at Mazgaon Dock Limited. The first one is expected in 2016, to be followed by a new submarine in every nine months.

The defence acquisition council approved a second submarine assembly line (P-75I) under which four submarines (out of six) will be built within the country (three at Mazgaon Dock and one at Hindustan Shipyard, Visakhapatnam on transfer of technology) while the remaining two will be made at the collaborator’s yard abroad.

“Tender requirements for P-75I (request for proposal) have been firmed up. It took some time as we wanted to involve four-five major shipyards and had detailed discussions with them,” said Rear Admiral LVS Babu, assistant chief of naval staff (submarine).

The two assembly lines would be the stepping stone for indigenous submarine production as engineers and technicians at the dockyards would receive training and gather experience to take up the challenge.
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Post by putnanja »

Can't we use the same grade of steel used in Arihant for the P-75I too? Is a different grade of steel required for conventional submarines compared to nuclear ones? I believe SAIL supplied the steel for Arihant ??
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by vina »

Can't we use the same grade of steel used in Arihant for the P-75I too? Is a different grade of steel required for conventional submarines compared to nuclear ones? I believe SAIL supplied the steel for Arihant ??
My guess is that Arihant uses Russian supplied steel. What we have is the ABA & B grade equivalent steels for surface ships. For underwater /subs, the benchmark steel is HY-80 (80 Ksi min yield strength) (Seawolf uses HY-100 and there is a HY-130 available, but no subs yet built with it) , where equivalent local steel hasn't been certified yet. Hence the article with all the DDM itis about certification. If you read between the lines and the mangled reporting you can sort of get it.

All this is not rocket science of course given our capabilities, just boring , put nose to the grinding wheel get it done and certified. Contrary to all the crock given out by Shook-Laws and In-Laws about "secret Russian formulas" the material composition of all this just a google search / a mass spectrometer assay of sample away. We never did it until now because our quantities were way under min economic size to put up facilities to make it and qualify the welding and other consumables. For eg, you couldn't even get up a small re rolling mill to make bulb bars out of that stuff unless you had min size. Now with the Navy building programs gathering steam, it seems to be getting done.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by dinesh_kimar »

Vina saab, i salute your knowledge.
To add to it, HY-80 is good for both conventional and Nuke Subs, and good for depth upto 300 feet. Our Type-209s also came with it, IIRC. DRDO has done some good work on it, and with some help of the US Navy, had achieved capability in design. There is an old article from DSJ (2005 ish?) abt it.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by chackojoseph »

Steel, Armour etc is made based on how much pressure is going to be applied, duration, corrosion etc. Compositions, properties etc are usually available via research paper submissions. What is difficult is to replicate processes to make them on industrial scale.

I have been to NMRL, which has developed some welds and processes. One such process is to weld three similar objects in one go. INS Vikrant makers at CSL is using one of their other techniques.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by manjgu »

well said @chackojoseph !! we may have wheat flour but how to make the chapati or parantha is the million USD question ??
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by vic »

Mahindra getting into diverse weapon systems. Credit Kunal Biswas of DFI


Image

Image
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by rohitvats »

It would be interesting to find out with whom Mahindra has partnered for providing the APFSDS round in blue above. Which BTW, is a training APFSDS round and which we have lacked. Unlike other armies, we use the actual APFSDS rounds for target practice and annual training exercises. Which means we use up the rounds pretty quickly and need to replenish inventory sooner.

The shape of the fins at the bottom of the round shows that it is a training round. Interestingly, DRDO was to actually work upon training round in conjunction with DRDO MK2 125MM AFPSDS for our Russian fleet. if such a round can be provided in India, it would mean lot of money saving.

Interesting question to ask is this - does Mahindra have technology to machines such a high precision sabot round? Only HAPP of OFB can do this in India. It would be a welcome addition to our industrial capability.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Karan M »

Supposedly, according to another forum, that round was ARDE TOT to Mahindra. HAPP casts and machines tungsten, the combination of which is what make it special in the Indian context. If this round is made of steel, it should be a much easier job.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by member_28108 »

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/387 ... ronic.html

BEL to invest $100 million in electronic warfare products
Bangalore, Feb 18, 2014, (IANS)
PTI file photo. For representation only
State-run Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) will invest Rs.620 crore/$100 million over the next five years in developing electronic warfare products jointly with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), a top official said Tuesday.

"We will invest $100 million from ensuing fiscal year (2014-15) over the next five years for funding joint programmes with DRDO to develop electronic warfare products required for our armed forces," BEL chairman and managing director S. K. Sharma said at a conference here.

As the country's leading electronics major, BEL manufactures and supplies a range of products, including radars, electronic warfare system, sound and vision broadcasting, missiles and sonars to the Indian army, navy and air force.

With nine manufacturing facilities across the country, the company had jointly developed a mobile integrated electronic warfare system 'Samyukta' with DRDO, Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) and the army's signal corps for tactical battlefield use.

Covering a wide range of frequencies, the system is used for surveillance, analysis, interception, direction finding and position fixing, listing, prioritizing and jamming of all communication and radar signals.

"In view of our capability to manufacture electronic warfare systems, we have decided to associate with DRDO in developing advanced and next generation electronic warfare products from inception to avoid delays in production," Sharma said at the third International Conference on Electronic Warfare (EWCI 2014).

As a force multiplier system, an electronic system needs high level of secrecy to maintain an element of surprise against an adversary. It ensures tactical and strategic advantage for armed forces during an operation.

"We sold electronic warfare systems to the armed forces to the value of Rs.2,000 crore over the years. The market potential is about Rs.10,000 crore in view of the growing requirement for such warfare by the armed forces in the coming years," Sharma added.

Earlier, delivering a keynote address, Air Marshal M. Matheswaran of the Integrated Defence Staff told about 600 delegates from across the country and overseas that information operation and information warfare were inseparable.

"Armed forces tend to put electronic warfare on backburner and information operation in the forefront. Gathering information, building upon that information against adversary by deception or jamming gives tactical advantage," he said.

Stressing on the need to educate and train more engineers on operating electronic warfare systems, he said the academia and industry should take advantage of the policy change to involve the private sector in developing the technology and products to gather information and use it for national security.
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Post by Vipul »

Russian delegation visits HAL's Sukhoi facility in Nasik.

A high level Russian delegation led by Mikhail A Pogosyan, president, United Aircraft Corporation, visited aircraft manufacturing and overhaul divisions of HAL at Nasik recently.

"They had first-hand impression of the state of the art facilities created for Su 30 MKI manufacturing and overhaul facilities at Nasik", said Dr RK Tyagi, Chairman, HAL.

The 4.5 generation aircraft, the main striking force of the Indian Air Force is manufactured at five divisions of HAL Nasik, Koraput (Odisha), Lucknow, Hyderabad and Korwa (UP).

The delegation included representatives of various Russian agencies and companies such as Rosoboronexport, Irkut Corporation, RAC-MIG and Ural Optical and Mechanical Plant. Mr. Pogosyan expressed confidence that Russian and Indian specialists together would achieve the set tasks on various manufacturing programs with distinction.

At present, HAL is producing these aircrafts from raw material phase and till date has delivered 134 aircraft to Indian Air Force. HAL manufactures around 43000 components for airframe, 6300 for engine, and 9600 for accessories. HAL makes 72% of the components in India with 100% technology absorption as per the scope defined in the contract.
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Post by Vipul »

Russian delegation visits HAL's Sukhoi facility in Nasik.

A high level Russian delegation led by Mikhail A Pogosyan, president, United Aircraft Corporation, visited aircraft manufacturing and overhaul divisions of HAL at Nasik recently.

"They had first-hand impression of the state of the art facilities created for Su 30 MKI manufacturing and overhaul facilities at Nasik", said Dr RK Tyagi, Chairman, HAL.

The 4.5 generation aircraft, the main striking force of the Indian Air Force is manufactured at five divisions of HAL Nasik, Koraput (Odisha), Lucknow, Hyderabad and Korwa (UP).

The delegation included representatives of various Russian agencies and companies such as Rosoboronexport, Irkut Corporation, RAC-MIG and Ural Optical and Mechanical Plant. Mr. Pogosyan expressed confidence that Russian and Indian specialists together would achieve the set tasks on various manufacturing programs with distinction.

At present, HAL is producing these aircrafts from raw material phase and till date has delivered 134 aircraft to Indian Air Force. HAL manufactures around 43000 components for airframe, 6300 for engine, and 9600 for accessories. HAL makes 72% of the components in India with 100% technology absorption as per the scope defined in the contract.
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Post by A Sharma »

Walchandnagar Newsletter

GB-S4 is part of series of gearbox designed,manufactured and serviced by WIL.

Out of series the GB-S4 is special-
100% indigenous supply
local development of sources for raw material
development& proving heat treatment locally
DIN-1 Class accuracy(Highest Accuracy for gear grinding in world)
reduction of flushing (cleansing of system) from 300 days for predecessors to 7 days for GB-S4

The highest accuracy class of grinding will help dampen sonar signature of submarine.
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Post by chackojoseph »

DRDO identifies a mechanism for thrombosis induced by high altitude environment

Air Marshal DP Joshi, PVSM, AVSM, PHS, Director General Armed Forces Medical Services has commissioned a study on epidemiology of venous thrombotic disorders in lowlanders at high altitude. Maj Gen Velu Nair, AVSM, VSM, Dean AFMC, Pune is supervising this ongoing multicentric study in collaboration with DIPAS. A cohort of more than 600 soldiers is being studied longitudinally during their induction and subsequent posting at extreme altitudes.
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Post by NRao »

Anyone following the state of Ukrainian arms?
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by wig »

submarines will be provided with indigenous periscopes soon. I also think that the investment in R&D needs to go up from the current rate of 5% of the defence budget
In a step towards enhancing country’s underwater operational capabilities, Indian Navy submarines will soon have indigenous periscopes.

The country at present was importing periscopes. Talking to The Tribune in Dehradun today, Avinash Chander, Scientific Adviser to Union Defence Minister and Director General, Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), disclosed that a periscope constituted an important component of submarines and the DRDO was working towards giving the Indian Navy its first indigenous periscope within the next two years.

When a submarine is submerged, a periscope can provide a view of the objects on the surface of water and in the air. Chander said the DRDO was also working to install state-of-the-art fire control system and night vision devises in Naval ships.

He disclosed that the DRDO was engaged in developing a sensor fabrication facility. The Rs 700-crore project will enable indigenisation of sensors which will enhance efficiency of country’s weaponry. Currently, these sensors were being imported from France, Israel and Russia. Chander said the country’s spending on Research and Development was minuscule, probably the lowest in the world.

“We spent around 5 per cent of our defence budget in Research and Development. It should have been at least 8 per cent”, he said. The countries like South Korea and China are spending 15 per cent and 20 per cent of their defence budgets, respectively, in the R&D. On delays in the research projects, Chander asserted that efforts were being made to make decision-making process faster
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140306/nation.htm#6
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Post by vic »

If the "sensor fabrication facility" is a manufacturing line for thermal sensors then it is greaaaaaat NEWS and addresses my pet peeve that we are not setting up thermal sensor facility even though our requirement of weapons and sights based on thermal sensors is around Rs. 10,000 crore per annum.
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Post by vic »

Though off course they are various types of sensors apart from thermal seekers like:-

MEMS
RLG
FOG
INS, accelerometers,gyros
GPS-IRNSS-GLOSNASS, SOC
Temperature, humidity, wind sensor, muzzle reference
Star sensor
Image Intensification
Radiation, contaminants, biological sensors
X-ray, radar, laser, uv sensors
Mine, IED, explosives sensors
ground, CCD sensors etc etc
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Post by chackojoseph »

Air-gap between internet & intranet, network not compromised : DRDO

Sort of annual ritual. DRONA is not on internet.
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Post by Pranay »

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/busin ... ml?hp&_r=0

Front page in the NYT... (posting in full)
World’s Biggest Arms Importer, India Wants to Buy Local
By GARDINER HARRIS MARCH 6, 2014

NEW DELHI — Of the 30 countries that attended a defense exposition last month to sell weapons to India, the world’s largest arms importer, only the Russians had the chutzpah to dress up their tanks and guns with women in tightfitting camouflage.

The confident and sexy display reflected Russia’s longtime position as India’s dominant military provider, but decades of effort by India to make its own hardware may finally be bearing fruit. India recently rolled out its own fighter jet, a tank, a mobile howitzer and a host of locally made ships.

If India succeeds, the Russians could be in trouble. Russia has nearly $39 billion worth of military equipment on order by India, representing nearly a third of Russia’s total arms exports.

India’s defense minister, A. K. Antony, said at a news conference during the exposition that the country’s reliance on foreign arms makers must end. “A growing India still depending on foreign companies for a substantial part of our defense needs is not a happy situation,” he said.

Whether India can break its import addiction is anyone’s guess, but many arms analysts are skeptical. India is expected to spend about $11 billion this year buying weapons from abroad, despite decades of effort by the government to create a domestic military manufacturing sector.

“I don’t think there’s another country in the world that has tried as hard as India to make weapons and failed as thoroughly,” said Pieter D. Wezeman, a senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which studies global security.

Mr. Wezeman said he was skeptical that India’s new products would change that history, saying that its fighters, tanks and guns were “of questionable quality.”

India ranks eighth in the world in military spending. Among the top 10 weapons buyers, only Saudi Arabia has a less productive homegrown military industry. China, by contrast, has been so effective that it is beginning to export higher-technology arms.

India’s main problem as an arms manufacturer is a corrupt and inefficient government sector that has neither the expertise to develop top-notch weapons nor the wherewithal to make them in abundance, said Manoj Joshi, a fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, a policy group based in New Delhi.

In one telling example, India could buy fully assembled Russian Sukhoi fighters for about $55 million each, but instead mostly relies on kits that are sent to the government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which assembles them at a cost of about $68 million each — nearly a quarter more. In another example, government labs spent billions trying to develop an aircraft engine, only to abandon the effort and buy engines from General Electric for the recently introduced fighter, the Tejas.

“While it’s more complicated assembling Sukhois than putting together an Ikea flat-pack, it’s not that hard,” said Samuel Perlo-Freeman, a program director at the Stockholm institute. “And it’s far from an independent and autonomous development of a new weapons system.”

India has tried to encourage private companies to make arms in India, both in partnerships to the government and independently, but few of these efforts have succeeded. Most of India’s homegrown arms are developed in 50 government labs and built at eight large government manufacturing facilities and 40 government ordnance factories.

Companies have mostly been unwilling to work with the government, and the government has not allowed foreign makers to own more than 26 percent of any Indian factory. It has agreed to raise that limit to 49 percent, but no company has applied for the exception.

Mr. Antony dismissed criticisms of the government’s chokehold on arms production. “Indian scientists and Indian industry are more efficient, and the government will have to support them,” he said.

But Mr. Joshi said India’s government needed to get out of manufacturing. “Our defense industrial base is hopelessly out of date,” he said. “It needs to be dismantled and handed over to the private sector.”

That has left the door open for countries like Russia, whose arms deliveries to India reached a record level in 2012, the most recent year for which figures are available, rising 50 percent from 2011. In the previous five years, India bought 12 percent of the world’s arms imports, and Russia accounted for 79 percent of India’s deliveries, according to the Stockholm institute. American manufacturers have recently won several orders for transport and maritime patrol aircraft, displacing some Russian equipment, but the Russians are still by far India’s dominant arms supplier. In 2012, Russia delivered to India the second nuclear-powered submarine ever exported by any country.

Alexander Kadakin, Russia’s ambassador to India, dismissed any notion of a slowdown in sales to India. “It is inappropriate in my view and even incorrect to speak about Russia allegedly losing its leading positions in the Indian market,” he told an exposition publication.

Because of poor infrastructure, stultifying labor rules and difficulties acquiring real estate, making anything in India is hard. The country’s manufacturing sector is declining and now represents 13 percent of the total economy — about the same share as in the United States.

But its military and civil aviation markets are so enticing that major manufacturers are opening facilities in the country anyway. In 2010, Sikorsky Aircraft, part of the American conglomerate United Technologies, opened a plant in Hyderabad that it operates jointly with Tata Advanced Systems. The facility assembles the cabin for its midsize helicopter, the S-92. The helicopter’s cabin was previously made at a Mitsubishi facility in Japan.

Production was transferred to India not because costs were lower (surprisingly, they were not), but because having a local facility might encourage sales in India, said Ashish Saraf, program manager for the Tata-Sikorsky joint venture, of which Sikorsky owns 26 percent.

But the challenges have been immense. New roads had to be built to the venture’s 11-acre site, and they came slowly. The company had to build its own facilities to treat water, handle sewage and harvest rainwater. It eventually got power from the state but operated initially from six backup generators, which must be kept operational for occasional power cuts.

Employees needed considerable training in aerospace manufacturing and in the early days often left for higher-paying jobs as soon as their training was complete. “Our talent got poached all the time,” Mr. Saraf said. So in addition to expensive training, the company had to undertake an employee retention program.

Shipping has been a challenge. Some of the Tata-Sikorsky plant’s most important equipment was damaged on the trip from the port in Mumbai by India’s terrible roads, delaying production. The plant sends its helicopter cabins back to the port; from there, they are shipped to Pennsylvania, where the aircraft are fully assembled.

To safeguard against damage to the cabins, the company has hired the operator of a fleet of specially made suspension trucks that travel more slowly, at less than 30 miles an hour, and never at night. As a result, the 450-mile journey takes five days. At least two people are needed for each journey, since one must repeatedly get out with a long stick to push low-slung electrical wires up and out of the way of the truck.

“Our early expenses were very high, as we were breaking ground in almost every area we wanted services — Internet, phone, water, sewage, electricity. Everything,” Mr. Saraf said. “The challenges continue in terms of logistics and transportation.”

To encourage local manufacturing, India now requires private foreign arms companies to undertake at least a third of their manufacturing in India, as measured by the value of the weapons. But because of the difficulties in making high-technology equipment in India, billions of dollars’ worth of products from these so-called offsets have been piling up unused.

A $16 billion deal to sell 126 Rafale fighters from the French aircraft maker Dassault Aviation has been in limbo for years, in part because the French have balked at India’s manufacturing requirements. With India’s economy struggling, expensive purchases like the Rafale may no longer be feasible anyway, said Ajai Shukla, defense consulting editor at the Business Standard newspaper.

“We are at a watershed moment, because we cannot afford to keep importing every piece of equipment we need,” Mr. Shukla said. “We have just produced a fighter, a tank and a range of warships. For the first time, India can realistically indigenize.”

Much of India’s military, in any case, does not want Indian-made equipment. So many Russian fighters assembled by Hindustan Aeronautics have crashed in recent years that the Indian Air Force calls them flying coffins. India’s Russian-made submarines and naval equipment have experienced deadly mishaps in the past year as well, leading the country’s naval chief to resign last week. The distrust between the civilian builders and military users has turned the made-in-India effort into an even tougher sell. If the two sides cannot agree, the Russians are ready to step in.

You cannot blame the Russians for taking advantage of the situation,” Mr. Shukla said.
Karan M
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Karan M »

ROTFL, poor NYT seems to be going overboard on its bad, bad India coverage with a BJP/nationalist govt around the corner. The umpteen articles just in the past few weeks about eebil caste system oppressor Khobragade, the fascist/dictator Modi and now its Indian arms imports citing the gora sahabs of SIPRI who simultaneously claim India is a big failure and then wail about Indian misssiles and its destabilizing nukes etc. Man...the agenda of these rags & their sponsors is so transparent, its not even surprising anymore.
member_28454
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by member_28454 »

The biggest challenge to be overcome is the procurement practices and institutional culture of the services. This is something the popular press never highlights. In general any successful indigenous product development has been discouraged until an import is possible,
DRDO is doing the right thing by partnering and providing technology to the private sector, like with the Kestrel, as they are at present far from capable of product development of complex platforms on their own. Witness for instance that all the rest of the proposals from the private players in the FICV procurement are screwdriver jobs.
The private sector is going to run into the same problem as the public sector without institutional change at the services and MoD.
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