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

Vips · Post by **Vips** » 28 Oct 2017 02:45

L&T to invest ₹500 cr in missile-integrated facility.

arsen & Toubro has shortlisted Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat to set up its missile-integrated facility at an investment of around ₹500 crore, in a joint venture with French company MBDA, one of the world’s largest exporters of missile systems.

“The location will depend on which government gives the best incentive on aerospace and defence-related business,” said Jayant D Patil, Whole Time Director (Defence Business), L&T.

In February, L&T formed a joint venture with MBDA to develop missile systems, and supply anti-tank guided missiles for coastal batteries and high-speed target drones. “We believe in future all missiles will be built within the country,” Patil told newspersons after the launch of Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) 1 for the Indian Coast Guard.

Built at the L&T Shipbuilding in Kattupalli, north of Chennai, the OPV 1, named Vikram, is the first of seven such vessels to be delivered by L&T to the Coast Guard, with the total contract valued at ₹1,432 crore.

Patil said L&T has the capability to build a full-fledged battle tank, which will be built at the company’s new tank-building factory at Hazira in Gujarat. India’s first 155-52 calibre gun will be delivered from Hazira plant by end of this financial year, he said.

L&T also hopes to get orders for the Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle, for which a decision is likely to be announced by the government soon, he said.

Patil said a total of nearly ₹1,000 crore would be spent for setting up the missile integration facility and Hazira factory.

“We have so far invested around ₹8,000 crore on defence-related manufacturing facilities. We do not expect to invest more in this sector. We have done 10-15 times more investment than anybody else [except one or two shipyards],” he said.

L&T is building a hypersonic wind tunnel at a cost of nearly ₹240 crore near Hyderabad for Defence Research and Development Organisation.

It had built a similar facility for ISRO in Thiruvananthapuram, costing nearly ₹140 crore, to study the effects of air flowing past a solid object like space vehicles, he said.

Patil said the focus will remain on ships for Indian Navy and Coast Guard, even as the government plans to procure 6-8 vessels every year with a significant chunk coming to the private sector.

The Ministry of Defence plans to procure items worth ₹16-lakh crore in the next 10 years. Of this, nearly 50 per cent is expected to come to the private sector.

“We expect business contribution by the defence sector to L&T’s standalone revenue to double to nearly 10 per cent by 2021,” he said without giving any value.

B Kannan, MD and CEO, L&T Shipbuilding, said the ship would undergo harbour and sea trials, and is expected to be handed over to the Coast Guard before March.

L&T Shipbuilding has an order book of nearly ₹1,700 crore that will keep its ship yards busy for the next three years. It also bagged an order from Vietnam to build 12 high-speed vessels, he said.

csaurabh · Post by **csaurabh** » 29 Oct 2017 07:25

Hi, does anyone know how to contact the 'defense innovation fund' ? They don't seem to have a website, and all I can find is news that it has been set up.

Vips · Post by **Vips** » 30 Oct 2017 07:39

CRPF approves Trichy Assault Rifle after tests.

The Trichy Assault Rifle (TAF) designed in-house at Ordnance Factory, Tiruchi (OFT), and developed to match specifications of AK47 has passed the quality test for use by paramilitary forces, sources in the OFT said here on Friday.

The approval of the weapon by the CRPF in New Delhi has brought immense relief to OFT employees. Acceptance of TAF by paramilitary and military forces has been a long-pending demand of the employee unions who were prepared to rectify the shortcomings pointed out by the Army.

The first lot of TAF was handed over to the Chhattisgarh police earlier this year. Thereafter, OFT received orders for AK-47 from police departments from a few States that were fighting insurgency, and production and assembly lines were established for mass production. However, employee unions were keen on having a steady stream of supply of the weapon to CRPF and other elite forces, including CISF and BSF.

It was because the State governments that had procured the weapon for their police forces had problems with making payments, according to C. Srikumar, general secretary, All India Defence Employees Federation (AIDEF).

Approval of the weapon by paramilitary forces will, in all probability, pave the way for its supply to the Army as well, Mr. Srikumar pointed out.

Approval of TAF is a shot in the arm for the employee unions that had been expressing concern over the decline in manpower at the OFT. Manpower had declined to around 2,000 from about 3,500 10 years ago (welcome development) , V.Balachandran, national executive member of the AIDEF, said.

The development comes in the backdrop of AIDEF and two other employee unions: INDWF and BPMS which together represent the cause of four lakh employees in 41 ordnance factories in the country

, opposing import of AK-47 rifle, and assailing the Centre's move for introduction of public-private-partnership model.

The OFT had to upgrade its product offerings a few years ago in the wake of the shift of Army and Central armed paramilitary forces towards 7.62 mm calibre rifles with automatic firing, so as to incapacitate and kill the enemy in counter-insurgency operations with higher probability. The TAF was manufactured in three variants — fixed butt, side foldable butt and under folding.

It can be fired in single shot, automatic and burst fire mode. In automatic mode, it fires 600 rounds per minute, as per the technical specification.

Vips · Post by **Vips** » 01 Nov 2017 06:06

After rap from PMO, DGCA to soon clear Mumbai pilot’s plane.

Hauled by the Prime Minister’s Office, the DGCA has decided to begin the process of registering Amol Yadav’s 6-seater aircraft. ET had reported on October 12 how the DGCA had been dragging its feet for six years over Yadav’s aircraft, who is a pilot by profession and is also building India’s first 19-seater aircraft.

ET has learnt that PMO has pulled up top officials of the DGCA – aviation regulator -- and asked them to follow a procedure to clear Yadav’s project expeditiously. After several meetings between the DGCA and Yadav on Monday, the regulator said it would register his six-seater aircraft and would ensure its air-worthiness without any further delay.

The DGCA told Yadav that it would issue new Civil Aviation Regulation (CAR) rules in a day or two, and have asked Yadav to re-apply for the project assuring him that it would clear his application for registration the same day he applies for it. “I have been told that they would give me a registration the same day of my application as per the standards followed in countries like the US and would issue my aircraft an air-worthiness certificate after inspecting it. Let’s hope that the DGCA follows up on its promise,” said Yadav.

Sources said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote a letter to the PMO on October 16 after reading the ET report saying the ‘DGCA was making a complete mockery of the system’ and its refusal to issue a registration to Yadav’s aircraft was against the ‘minimum government maximum governance principles’.

Yadav thanked both PM Modi and CM Fadnavis for helping him.

“I would like to thank Narendra Modi and Devendra Fadnavis for intervening in this issue. I would also like to appreciate the role played by officials of both the PMO and the CMO, especially Kaustubh Dhavse, OSD to Maharashtra CM, who have supported me a great deal,” said Yadav.

The six-seater aircraft had occupied its pride of place during the Make in India week in 2015 held in Mumbai, and the Maharashtra government even wanted Yadav to build India’s first 19-seater aircraft. The project, however, got stuck as the state government wanted a technological demonstration that the six-seater could fly which wasn’t possible as the DGCA was refusing to register Yadav’s aircraft.

In spite of PMO’s involvement, the DGCA issued new CAR on August 28 which ensured that not only Yadav’s aircraft, no other Indian aircraft manufacturer could register their aircraft. The DGCA, in its August 28 CAR, had stipulated that the weight of the new aircraft built by amateurs should not exceed 1,500 kg, just below the 1,600 kg that Yadav had mentioned in his 2011 application. This was unusual because countries which manufacture aircrafts like the US do not put any such restrictions. The regulator also stated in the draft CAR that aircraft should be built as per minimum standards, without specifying what these standards were. ET tried to get in touch with Sanjeev Kumar Singla, private secretary to the PM, who was looking into the issue and DGCA chief BS Bhullar, but they were not available for comments.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 03 Nov 2017 21:24

Products developed by ARDE, Pune

https://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/labs1/ARDE ... chieve.jsp

Quite an extensive list.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 03 Nov 2017 21:41

Trichy Assault Rifle

nam · Post by **nam** » 03 Nov 2017 23:35

After rap from PMO, DGCA to soon clear Mumbai pilot’s plane.

The story would have been lost in some pages in ET, if not for the uproar it raised on teetar, when the news came out. Lot of tweets went to PM & CM Maharashtra.

Our babus understand danda. It is the danda is thick enough, things move.

Kakkaji · Post by **Kakkaji** » 04 Nov 2017 02:26

In a big boost to defence, India successfully tests glide bomb

NEW DELHI: India on Friday successfully test-fired an indigenously-developed, lightweight ‘glide bomb’ at Chandipur in Odisha. The ‘smart anti-airfield weapon’ (SAAW), developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI), other labs and the Indian Air Force, was fired from an air force aircraft.

“The guided bomb released from the aircraft and guided through precision navigation system, reached the targets at greater than 70 km range, with high accuracies,”

JE Menon · Post by **JE Menon** » 04 Nov 2017 14:45

Not sure if these two DRDO videos from Shiv Aroor were posted here:

Official DRDO Film On AEW&C Jet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7cd9eYCGo8

DRDO 2017 Flagship Products Catalogue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=644k7KkCsJs

India's Nuclear Submarine Plan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cki_rpUJKI

AdityaM · Post by **AdityaM** » 04 Nov 2017 22:46

Right, here's an image of an Indian T-72 MBT, fitted with @DRDO_India's new Explosive Reactive Armour Mk-II. Looks like a T-90 now, innit?

https://twitter.com/sjha1618/status/926829322651910148

A better picture is posted as first post on this page.

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 05 Nov 2017 07:42

https://twitter.com/SJha1618/status/926832150170570752
And here's the Beam Delivery Vehicle for the 100 KW Aditya Gas Dynamic Laser DEW Demonstrator. Source: @DRDO_India

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 05 Nov 2017 07:44

https://twitter.com/ShivAroor/status/926396477848502273

India's @DRDO_India tested an air-launched precision weapon today built to destroy airfields ~70km away. What it looks like. (via @Livefist)

JayS · Post by **JayS** » 08 Nov 2017 11:23

From Parliamentary Committee report:

The Committee observe that DRDO has developed the following major systems for the
Forces viz. Army, Navy and Air force -

Army: Prithvi, Agni, Akash, BrahMos, Lakshya
Nishant, MBT Arjun Mk-I, AAD Mk-I, AERV, Sarvatra, Pinaka, ROV, Radar-3D TCR, WLR,
BFSR, Samyukta EW, DivyaDrishti and Samvahak.

Navy: Dhanush, LRSAM, BrahMos, Sangraha EW, Varuna ESM, Dolphin ESM, Humsa
NG, USHUS,TAL, Revathi – Radar, Maareech, Varunasta, Submarines and Escape Set.

Air Force: Prithvi, Akash, MRSAM, Lakshya, Eagle EW, LCA Tejas, AEW&C, Rohini,
Aslesha, SAR-Radars, Avionics for MiG 29, Su-30, Laser Designator cum TI, Aerial
Delivery Systems and CPSS.

Regarding Manpower in DRDO:

Committee are happy to note that in DRDO, the existing strength of 7863
scientists, is almost equal to the sanctioned strength of 7878. Thus, the shortfall in
manpower in the organisation is negligible. Also, the Committee appreciate the fact that
from the year 2011 to 2015, the rate of exodus of scientists from the DRDO has
decreased. This is a welcome development. The Committee feel in this regard that
positive steps such as the ‘Incentive Scheme’ for Scientists could be initiated in the
DRDO so as to minimize the attrition of Scientists from the organization to zero percent

But there was a proposal to increase the sanctioned strength since its inadequate. Note that there has been no increase in DRDO sanctioned strength post 2001..!! Total 1320 posts of scientists in 3 steps of 460/yr is proposed. Proposal sent to PMO for approval. Not clear it its approved or not. Since I have not seen any major recruitment in DRDO in recent times, it can be safely assumed that the proposal is still pending approval.

The Committee had recommended initiation of positive steps such as the
Incentive Scheme for scientists so as to minimise the attrition of Scientists. The
Ministry has stated that Seventh Central Pay Commission (CPC) has not
recommended Performance Related Incentive Scheme (PRIS) for DRDO. The
Committee find the decision of the Government in not providing incentives, similar
to those being provided to the scientists of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE)
and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) questionable. The Committee, in
this regard wish to reiterate their earlier recommendation for pursuing the matter at
the appropriate level so that the Scientists of DRDO too are provided performance
related incentives.

The Committee had recommended as under: -
'The Committee, however, feel concerned to note that there has been no
review/increase in scientific manpower of DRDO since 2001, though the number of
projects as well as technological and tactical Defence requirements have
increased manifold. The Ministry has intimated in this regard that the proposal is
pending with the Ministry of Finance. The Committee recommend that this matter
may be taken up with the Ministry of Finance on top priority so that the manpower
requirements of DRDO and India’s strategic needs can be taken care of properly.
This will further enhance research capability which can be exported and revenue
earned thereof can be used for more R&D.'

The Ministry in its Action Taken Reply has stated as under:-
'The Cabinet Note seeking approval for authorisation of 436 additional posts in the
first phase, out of total requirement of 1316 posts was forwarded to Cabinet on 08
Jun 2015. Prime Minister’s Office vide PMO ID No. 4221110/Pol/2015 dated 31 Jul
2015 sought for the action taken report on the directions of Cabinet Committee on
Security and the same was forwarded by DRDO on 14 Aug 2015 to PMO.
The 1316 additional posts as and when sanctioned are proposed to be filled In the first phase, Scientists will be inducted in the following disciplines as under:-
S. No. Discipline Numbers
(i) Electronics & Communication 122
(ii) Mechanical Engineering 108
(iii) Computer Science 75
(iv) Chemistry / Chemical Engineering 35
(v) Armaments / Material Science 28
(vi) Physics 20
(vii) Aeronautical / Aerospace 19
(viii) Life Sciences 10
(ix) Naval Architecture 3
420
(x) Critical Immediate requirement of works
officers cadre
16
Total 436

Normally, the recruitment process takes 12 months to complete i.e. from
notification of vacancy to joining of selected candidates. Thereafter, the selected
young scientists are detailed for induction training of the 6 months duration before
they are deployed in research projects.'

Some improvements in Program management in DRDO:

'Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has already started
taking concrete steps to conduct the Project Monitoring Board meetings, which is
chaired by Secretary, DR&D and Executive Board which is chaired by cluster DG
to minimize slippages at the initial stage itself. This is being done so that projects
are not closed down abruptly without achieving the desired goals. To ensure the
same, alerts are being sent for reviews due and approaching imminent milestones.
Also, every project is monitored through RFD in which annual target is fixed for
every project.

In continuation to the efforts to minimize delays, DRDO has revised the
‘Procedures for Project Formulation and Management’ (PPFM) effective from April
2016 onwards. Some of the major changes brought out in the revised PPFM
document include selection of projects based on attribute scale and ongoing
workload, greater emphasis on pre-project activity, risk management, linking
procurement plan with project sanction to avoid delays, in-depth costing guidelines
and stringent review mechanism. Apart from this, increased attention is being given
in the 13th Five Year Plan (FYP) wherein background details are being asked
related to proposed new projects.

DRDO has also a mechanism, wherein before the closure of the project,
the highest monitoring body reviews the projects, assess the status of completion
and gives appropriate directives.'

Note this one:

The Committee had recommended as under: -
'During the course of deliberations, the Defence Secretary acknowledged that
DRDO, by itself, is also responsible for delay in its research work. The Committee,
in this regard, take note of the problems faced by DRDO in the matter of nonavailability
of platform for trials. The Committee feel that a better coordination
between DRDO and the Services could easily solve this bottleneck and also cut
short the time frame in the development and testing of weapon systems. The
Committee, therefore, feel that the Ministry should make concerted efforts in this
direction so that testing and trial platforms are always available to them for crucial
research and development work.'

The Ministry in its Action Taken Reply has stated as under:-
'A new category “Mission Mode-User Trials” have been introduced in order to
expedite trials of developed systems/products.'

This 'probably' is the reason we are seeing paradigm shift in systems testing as we have noticed in the case of NAG, Dhanush (assuming similar mechanism for OFB), ASTRA, PGMs etc.

Thakur_B · Post by **Thakur_B** » 08 Nov 2017 14:58

Gagan wrote:Trichy Assault Rifle

That is not the rifle that is being tanked about, the one below is. That was the old FAL derivative design that was abandoned. The TAR is in service with Delhi Police as well who are all praise for the rifle. This picture was tweeted by DCP Delhi Police for it's build quality.

Thakur_B wrote:Ordnance Factory Trichy made AKM. DCP Delhi police has commented that they are as good in quality as Bulgarian/Russian variants.

rkhanna · Post by **rkhanna** » 08 Nov 2017 16:02

Sputnik is claiming we just tested a Mach 6 Rail Gun?

Anybody have more information, can't trust Sputnik or IRDW

GopiD · Post by **GopiD** » 08 Nov 2017 16:15

rkhanna wrote:Sputnik is claiming we just tested a Mach 6 Rail Gun?

Anybody have more information, can't trust Sputnik or IRDW

Check the below link. Saurav Jha tweeted about this 2-3 days ago. The news is almost a copy of what he tweeted.

https://twitter.com/SJha1618/status/926460307446177794

JayS · Post by **JayS** » 08 Nov 2017 16:42

GopiD wrote:
rkhanna wrote:Sputnik is claiming we just tested a Mach 6 Rail Gun?

Anybody have more information, can't trust Sputnik or IRDW
Check the below link. Saurav Jha tweeted about this 2-3 days ago. The news is almost a copy of what he tweeted.

https://twitter.com/SJha1618/status/926460307446177794

And he picked it up from BRF. I had posted that ARDB link here. And tweeted about it too.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7342&p=2227364#p2227364

But this sputnik guy writes:

Such railguns are touted as one of the future technologies of warfare, as they use kinetic and laser energy instead of controlled explosives for firing missiles.

rkhanna · Post by **rkhanna** » 08 Nov 2017 19:50

Thanks guys . Caught up at work and missed this news

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 08 Nov 2017 23:58

sputnik guy is obfuscating the message.
What does he mean

Such railguns are touted as one of the future technologies of warfare, as they use kinetic and laser energy instead of controlled explosives for firing missiles.

Rail guns are electro magnetic. What the heck is kinetic and laser energy?
kuch be

shiv · Post by **shiv** » 13 Nov 2017 07:53

https://twitter.com/writetake/status/929592229139595264

Young ARDC team from #HAl is set to begin the stall and spin trails on HTT-40 in December/January. The prototype(s) have begun flights trials with the anti-spin gantry already installed. Stay tuned for an update.

srai · Post by **srai** » 13 Nov 2017 10:40

^^^
Shouldn't the trainer be able to be done by Indian private industries with "foreign collaboration"

PC-7 another lost opportunity

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 14 Nov 2017 03:54

Two X-Posts...

Karan M wrote:For an example of changed times under Modi GOI. Note TOT to two of India's better and proven explosive manufacturers, who are also competitors. This will allow DRDO (and these firms) to scale well across programs without having to constantly manage unionized DPSUs.

http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2017/11 ... scale.html

Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh, signed two Licensing Agreements for Transfer of Technology (LAToT), with M/s Solar Industries India Ltd, Nagpur, and M/s Premier Explosives Ltd, Secunderabad, for the industrial scale production process of Fine β-HMX and Fine RDX, respectively, in September 2017.

β-HMX, also called octogen, is a powerful and relatively insensitive nitroamine high explosive, chemically related to RDX. Like RDX, the compound's name is the subject of much speculation, having been variously listed as High Melting Explosive, Her Majesty's Explosive, High-velocity Military Explosive, or High-Molecular-weight RDX.

RDX is an organic compound widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a nitramide, and similar to HMX. A more energetic explosive than TNT, it was used widely in World War II.

Dr Manjit Singh, Director, TBRL, and industry representatives signed the agreements. Dr S Christopher, Chairman, DRDO and Secretary, Department of Defence R&D; Dr G Satheesh Reddy, and senior scientists from TBRL were also present on the occasion.

and

Karan M wrote:More examples:
https://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/pub/newsle ... ber_17.pdf

ATAGS:

DRDO lab
Armament Research and Development
Establishment (ARDE), Pune, along
with other DRDO labs, viz., Instruments
Research and Development
Establishment (IRDE), Vehicle Research
and Development Establishment
(VRDE), Proof and Experimental
Establishment (PXE), Centre for
Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
(CAIR), and Defence Electronics
Applications Laboratory (DEAL)
Partners:
The endeavour has been supported
by Army through the Weapon Design
and Development Team. Private
Industrial Partners such as Tata Power
SED, Bharat Forge Limited, Mahindra
Defence, Punj Lloyd and Ashok Leyland
are involved in the development. BEL
and OFB also actively contributed in
realisation of critical items

BPJ - note TOT to MKU, not merely DPSU:

DRDO transferred the technology
of Bullet Proof Jackets (BPJ)
to M/s MKU Limited, Kanpur.
The jackets will be manufactured for
the Indian Army and paramilitary
forces personnel.

Speaking on the occasion,
Dr Christopher, urged the company to
absorb the technologies developed by
DRDO and maintain a strict vigil on the
quality of the Jackets.

Now the Pinaka:

http://www.financialexpress.com/industr ... 18/895488/

“Currently we are looking for missile assembling for ‘Pinaka’ rocket launcher. But any job related to rockets can be done and going forward missile integration as well,” Nuwal said, adding the transfer of technology agreement with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is already in place. “Once the construction is completed, we can then proceed for the assembling, subject to when the defence sector places orders,” he added.

SIIL’s facility in Nagpur manufactures HMX and HMX based compositions like Octol, Oma and Okfol for high explosive anti-tank ammunition and missiles like Akash, LR Sam, Invar and Konkur. It also manufactures propellants for BrahMos missile.
The OFB issues with Pinaka clearly led to this decision.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 14 Nov 2017 13:03

The Empire strikes back!

The Indian state-owned industrial-military complex of DPSUs plans to strike back at the privatisation of parts of the Indian defence industry.Once the dam is broken with first solid orders for big tkt, deals,the superior (hoped for) performance of the pvt. defence industries (6 have reportedly been picked for the same.2 Tata cos.,Reliance,L&T,Adani and Mahindras,),the orders for the DPSUs will plummet.Hence the cours eof action gvien below.

The GOI should take steps in advance to declare these industries as "essential services",which strictly they are and prepare for para and mil. forces to take over the admin. of them. In a way,handing over some of them to be run directly by the military may be a good thing in the long run.By this planned action,the DPSUs will be damaging their interests.far better would've been a dialogue with the MOD/GOI to ensure that in the privatisation,which is actually an expansion of def. business for India,within India,that their genuine interests and "talents" should not go down the drain.

http://www.defencenews.in/article/Defen ... ion-444496

Defence Employees Plan Indefinite Strike in Early 2018 to Protest Privatisation
Tuesday, November 14, 2017
By: News Click

Even as the workers in India are planning for an indefinite general strike with district mobilisations in its run-up set to begin in January 2018, the defence employees are also likely to launch an indefinite strike during early 2018.

A massive protest demonstration is going to be held in New Delhi on 28 December 2017, which will be followed by a week-long strike. If no negotiated settlement with the government emerges at the end of the strike, the defence employees will go on an indefinite strike.

The decision had been announced jointly by the three major defence employees unions - the All India Defence Employees Federation (AIDEF), Indian National Defence Workers Federation (INDWF), and the Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh (BPMS) in mid-October. Preparations for the demonstration in Delhi and the indefinite strike are proceeding apace. A declaration to this effect was adopted at a meeting of the three federations on 12 October.

The Struggle Committee of Defence Civilian Employees to Save Defence Industry, a forum consisting of AIDEF, INDWF and BPMS, has written to the Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to inform her about the imminent strike.

The letter says that if the decisions taken by the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Defence Production (DDP) under the Ministry regarding 41 Ordnance Factories, Army Base Workshops under Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), Depots under Ordnance Services Directorate and Military Farms are implemented, there will be far-reaching consequences. The implications will be most adverse for the 216-year old Ordnance Factories and its employees as well as the other defence establishments.

The Federations represent four lakh defence civilian employees, and yet no discussions or consultations have been held with them regarding such policy decisions, the unions said.

The government's decision to give licenses to 222 private companies for defence manufacturing, and to ease the license policy with 100% FDI being allowed for products including those being manufactured by Ordnance Factories, is ill-advised, said the federations in their joint declaration.

They criticised the DDP's "arbitrary decision" to outsource 143 items being produced by Ordnance Factories, and the decision to stop the production of military vehicles at the Vehicle Factory Jabalpur.

The federations expressed concern at the handing over of small arms production to Punj Lloyd, "whose reputation is under scanner since the company is a loan defaulter of Rs.14,000 crores."

The DDP's directive to the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to stop the system of working overtime on Sundays in lieu of holidays to compensate production loss has resulted in the Ordnance Factories failing in their allotted production target "to the tune of Rs. 2250 crores" and in a huge shortfall in the monthly wages of employees.

The unions are opposing the decision to dismantle the various depots under the Directorate General of Ordnance Services and the Army Base Workshops under the Directorate General of the Corps of Electrical & Mechanical Engineers (EME). The whole exercise is being done "arbitrarily with an intention to hand over the EME Workshops to L&T etc," said the federations.

The Army Headquarters / Adjutant General's Branch has said that 31,012 employees are going to be affected or rendered "surplus" as a result of the decisions of the Ministry of Defence.*(3 cheers for this!)

The decision to close down 39 Military Farms of the Indian Army would result in 1200 permanent employees getting scattered to different places, and 3000 casual workers being thrown out of their jobs.

The DRDO is being asked to hand over technology of the products which can be manufactured in the Ordnance Factories to the private sector, a recent example being the handover of the technology of the Bi-Modular Charge System (BMCS) jointly developed by OFB and DRDO to private firms.

The Ministry of Defence / Army has also decided to import the "K-9 Thunder" Howitzer Gun from South Korea through L&T, even though its reliability has been challenged by the South Korean Army and the media in South Korea after two soldiers were killed in the trial of the gun.

32% of the sanctioned posts of defence civilian employees are lying vacant, while the Military Engineer Services is in serious crisis due to acute shortage of manpower. The DRDO is also being shrunk, with major research projects being handed over to contractors or private agencies.

The federations demanded that the 41 Indian Ordnance Factories be dedicated as national assets and be treated as an integral part of the Armed Forces. The country is maintaining a large contingent of Army, Navy and Air Force for the security of the country, and the Ordnance Factories should be maintained as the fourth Force of the Defence of the country and also in "War Reserve" capacity.

The assurance given by Defence Ministers in the past that "jobs which can be done by Ordnance Factories should not be outsourced and for any new products required for Armed Forces, Ordnance Factories may be given first Priority" should be fulfilled, demanded the defence federations.

The decision of the DDP to designate 143 items of defence production as "Non-Core" should be withdrawn. Any Defence requirement is a core item, and terming a defence product as "Non-Core" is wrong, said the federations. When in the past the Army went in for procurement of such items from outside in the name of "low technology", the result has been inadequate supply and poor quality of the items supplied.

The three Federations said that till a negotiated settlement is reached between the Ministry of Defence and the Federations, the unity forged between them will be preserved. Any decision with regard to agitational programmes will be taken jointly by the three Federations.

AIDEF, INDWF and BPMS have called upon their affiliated Unions to prepare for the agitation, and to constitute Struggle Committees at the area and unit levels for the purpose.

JayS · Post by **JayS** » 14 Nov 2017 16:28

Government should strike down such attempts of blackmailing mercilessly. Use it as an excuse to liquidate OFBs. I am sure BJP will win 10x more votes if they close down OFBs or privatize them, than the votes they would lose, going by the perception people have about DPSUs and how privatization is considered as panacea of all the problems. GOI should not wait for natural death of OFBs like HMT. Because it would cost the Nation 000s of crores in that process which can be better spent in Def RnD/MFG.

nam · Post by **nam** » 14 Nov 2017 17:59

Let GOI announce, those who strike will be fired and replaced with ex-services.

Further on only ex-services will be employed and no unions allowed.

Thakur_B · Post by **Thakur_B** » 14 Nov 2017 18:08

Oh yeah, I wish individual factories are long term leased to competent private sector players. Bring your technicians, put em here and start pumping out product. Factories still owned by government, product IP owned by government, profit to the bidder. Upgrades to the factory can be jointly carried out by the government and lessee.

JayS · Post by **JayS** » 14 Nov 2017 18:49

nam wrote:Let GOI announce, those who strike will be fired and replaced with ex-services.

Further on only ex-services will be employed and no unions allowed.

GOI can enforce ESMA.

nam · Post by **nam** » 14 Nov 2017 21:04

I had mentioned earlier that life long employment for 75000 people is blocking a industry which could makes billions for the country and provides major boost to technology manufacturing. It is cheaper to give this lot a life long salary to not come to work.

It is no-brainier, staring at our face. As usual, we are sleeping.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 14 Nov 2017 21:56

JayS, yes they should.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 14 Nov 2017 23:18

Good to see that BRF speaks on this issue with one voice!
This is sheer blackmail to cover up for decades of patchy performance and a cushy lifestyle of the DPSUs.I remember AKA's speech at his last Aero-India warning the DPSUs.MP did the same when he took over , but despite years of the NDA's stewardship of defence, some of the DPSUs have learnt little and performed "as per usual".Just look at the colossal waste of defective ammo produced by the OFB.Has a single top official part of that entity been fired for the same, which is costing the country hundreds of millions of $$$?

True, pvt. industry handling such sophisticated projects is a great leap of faith, but some like L&T have had great success supplying the IN and CG with various ships, sub components and an FDN ,some before time and within budget too.The DPSUs are running scared.There is also a political dimension to the plan too.No need to explain further- elections are due in 18 months time and some states shortly. But the moment has arrived for pvt. industry to make its contribution to the national indigenisation goal in ample measure. Time for NS to start using the broom to sweep out the dead wood in the DPSUs when it happens, a great opportunity to reform the entire state-owned "mil.- industrial complex ", whose numerous entities needs both drastic surgery as well as euthanasia!

Vips · Post by **Vips** » 15 Nov 2017 05:16

Its a good thing Dassault(and by extension, the Indian government) has decided to go with Reliance and not HAL for the Rafale contract.
The (Con) gress party has targeted the Indian govt today for ignoring HAL and going with Private Sector alleging a scam.

Don't want to go OT but just want to add that all the DPSU need to be privatised pronto and if the the trade unions behave truant then they should be treated like Naxals and dealt with an iron hand.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 16 Nov 2017 12:52

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-in ... st-2542279

Dr Sudhir Mishra, the Director General of BrahMos missile system division said the money would be spent on manufacturing or upgrading aircraft, tanks, guns and various other equipment

Distinguished scientist and Director General of BrahMos missile system division of the DRDO, Dr Sudhir Mishra, today said the country would require various military equipment worth USD 150 billion in the next 10 years.

Inviting private players to grab the opportunity by entering the defence equipment manufacturing, Mishra said the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is ready to share its technology with the manufacturers.

Mishra, who is also the CEO and Managing Director of 'BrahMos Aerospace', an India-Russia joint venture of the Ministry of Defence, was speaking at an interactive session on defence manufacturing organised by the Gujarat chapter of CII here.

"In the next 10 years, there is a requirement of around USD 150 billion of military equipment. This is a realistic and quite a moderate figure. This is a big opportunity for the entrepreneurs," he said.

According to him, USD 150 billion would be spent on manufacturing or upgrading aircraft, tanks, guns and various other equipment.

"There are many items, which we are going to manufacture or procure. Many of them have already become a reality, such as upgradation of MiG-29 and Mirage aircrafts.

We are also going to procure around 500 more T-90 battle tanks in a short time," he said.

Expressing concern over the overall manufacturing scenario in the country, he invited private players to consider taking up production of defence equipment.

"In our country, contribution of manufacturing sector in the GDP is 18 per cent for the last seven to eight years, while the contribution of service sector is 65 per cent. This is an anomaly. Manufacturing should be around 35 to 40 per cent and service sector has to be 15 to 25 per cent," he said.

"At present, we own 6 to 7 per cent of the global software market. But now, we cannot grow beyond this, as we mostly carry out outsourcing and low-end software jobs. That is why, the new government at the Centre came up with 'Make In India'. Now, we are trying to catch up," said Mishra.

"DRDO is ready to share the technology, as we alone cannot do it. Private players can take that technology from us and develop it for the market. You can approach us and start manufacturing," he added while addressing budding entrepreneurs from this sector.

Vips · Post by **Vips** » 17 Nov 2017 01:38

4 shipyards in battle for 6 hi-speed landing craft .

Pushing towards developing the Indian Navy’s amphibious warfare capabilities, four major local shipyards are in a race to construct six highspeed landing craft (HSLC) that will strengthen the country’s ability to land troops, tanks and armoured vehicles on enemy shores.

Reliance Naval & Engineering, L&T shipyard, Goa Shipyard and Cochin Shipyard have responded to the Navy’s request for information (RFI) to procure the HSLC, issued on September 22, sources with knowledge of the matter said. The RFI seeks details of contractors’ technical and financial capabilities to manufacture the equipment.

“The companies responded with their technical capabilities, their design of the product and how they will execute the manufacturing,” said one of the sources.

The HSLC are a much-needed requirement of the Navy, which wants them capable to be operated from landing platform docks (LPDs), or large amphibious warships.

During an amphibious operation, an LPD anchors about 25-30 miles off the coast and about four HSLC emerge out of it and transport troops and vehicles, including tanks, to the shore. In addition, the Navy wants the crafts to have the ability to be used in ‘over the horizon’ scenarios, which means beyond the visual and radar range of the shoreline.

The Navy wants the HSLC to transport tanks, armoured vehicles, equipment and cargo of at least 65 tonnes, plus a minimum of 180 troops, from ship to shore. This paraphernalia will obviously be transported in different configurations.

The HSLC will have strong bulletproof and armour plating with machine guns on both sides, providing protection to the personnel it is transporting. They will also have cameras for all-round viewing.

Besides amphibious operations, the crafts can also be used for humanitarian aid, disaster relief and logistic support for island territories. The six crafts are estimated to cost a total of Rs 3,000 crore and are for delivery in 2023.

The Navy’s LPD project also includes procurement of four warships for Rs 20,000 crore. It is one of the biggest contracts for the private sector, wherein Reliance Defence has teamed up with French defence major Naval Group, and L&T has tied up with Spain’s Navantia in the race to build the platforms. The commercial bids are yet to be opened.

These LPDs must have large capacity for storing and transporting tanks, vehicles, troops and even helicopters. Each LPD must have four landing craft mechanised (LCMs), which are smaller as compared to the HSCL and cannot carry vehicles and tanks.

With the acquisition of the HSLC, the LPDs can have a combination of HSLCs and LCMs for amphibious operations.

Helicopters on the deck of the LPDs can also be used for transporting soldiers. This is where the navy’s procurement of naval multi-role and utility helicopters also becomes important, because those will play a crucial role in anti-submarine warfare and transportation of troops.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 17 Nov 2017 02:55

Why are Cochin and Goa shipyards competing for this small ship contract?
Looks like wasting scarce resources.
This is more like Garden Reach capability.

Vips · Post by **Vips** » 17 Nov 2017 23:13

Terma in contract with Tata Advanced Systems Limited for Surface Surveillance Radar.

Danish aerospace, defense, and security company Terma in partnership with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), India as Prime contractor has been awarded a contract to execute Indian Navy’s Surface Surveillance Radar (SSR) project for 31 radars.

The SSR program is the first procurement by MoD under the “Buy and Make (Indian)” category of the Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP).

The project involves delivery, installation, and commissioning of radar systems on Indian Navy vessels as well as delivery of simulators, establishment of depot level facilities, and integrated logistics support with deliveries spread over 10 years. The radar is being manufactured in India with Transfer of Technology from Terma, Denmark. The SCANTER 6002 is a state-of-the-art, high-performance solid state radar capable of 24X7 operations.

ArjunPandit · Post by **ArjunPandit** » 18 Nov 2017 01:00

TATA/TASL is certainly growing in the organic fashion, unlike adani and ambani who are airdropped in this industry. Ambani still bought pipavav..
Approach followed by TATA/TASL will certainly give long term good results.

Karan M · Post by **Karan M** » 18 Nov 2017 01:55

What is organic in buying out a foreign firms design and license assembling it per se? Its just the same old which our DPSUs used to do. Nothing special in that approach.
TASL's work on MRSAM, BMD C3I though is different and involves its own IP.

JayS · Post by **JayS** » 18 Nov 2017 02:17

I would say TATAs are punchin way below their weight. By now they should have acquired good number of small/medium mfg companies overseas. But all they are doing is scredrivergiri, mainly through offsets. In fact they should have been in Tier1 suppliers for LCA. I was rather disappointing with TASL for mission out on it. Also in last decade 2 OEMs were sold in Eurpe for a few hundred million each. Could have been picked up by Indian cos. Tatas have good brand name. Would have been easier for them.

ArjunPandit · Post by **ArjunPandit** » 18 Nov 2017 02:31

^^JayS & KaranM, your comments are on absolute terms and I agree with them, however, my point was only related to them as compared to other biggies. Their risk aversion, is understandable in light of volatile indian govt policies.
PS: This is where i think the tacit civil military compartmentalization in our society harms us.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 18 Nov 2017 04:50

JayS et al, All foreign aerospace majors everywhere were founded by visionary technocrats whose names are still preserved in those company names: Loughead, Boeing, McDonnell, Douglas, Northrop, Grumman,(most worked together in Lockheed in 1920s) Dassault,Mikoyan and Gurevich et al.

No aerospace company was founded by a conglomerate just interested in 15% giri or nameless bureaucrats.
So where the engineers with mojo willing to create great companies and enterprises?

UB is willing to mentor a drone company for a parcel delivery business. Wont find a better opportunity than that.