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

Nihat · Post by **Nihat** » 15 Feb 2010 00:40

Drone of '3 Idiots' could now serve Army, NSG; DRDO in talks
Thu, Feb 11 11:38 AM

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that grabbed eyeballs in the Aamir Khan-starrer 3 Idiots could soon be used by the Indian Army and a host of security forces, including the National Security Guard (NSG), for reconnaissance in anti-terror and counter-insurgency situations.

The machine that the student of engineering designed in the film - and which tragically found him hanging in his room on its maiden flight - is the same as the one built by IdeaForge, a company founded by three IIT, Bombay alumni. The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has tied up with IdeaForge to refine the UAV - now named Netra - and is learnt to be preparing to pitch it to the Army.

Netra has already been demonstrated before the NSG, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Delhi Police, Maharashtra Police and the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force, and has drawn special attention from forces currently engaged in anti-Naxal operations. The product will be on display at the forthcoming Defence Expo in New Delhi.

Weighing 1.5 kg, and having a payload capacity of 300 g, Netra - originally called Zeppelin and subsequently Carbon - can perform Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) operations. It can fly in a radius of 1.5 km at altitudes of over 100 m, for 30 minutes per battery charge. Each unit costs between Rs 18 lakh and 20 lakh, but the price is expected to drop once it is manufactured in larger numbers.

The UAV is fitted with a high resolution 2.5X zoom camera, which can be panned and tilted. It beams real-time live aerial images, and can record the footage. An in-built fail-safe mechanism ensures the UAV returns to its home position in case of loss of communication or low battery.

While Netra's design continues to be developed and refined by IdeaForge, DRDO has been collaborating to make the backpack case that is used by the operator to initiate the flight plan and serves as the base station.

"Most of the paramilitary forces who have been shown this product have sought night-operability of this machine so that it can be used for surveillance during night time. Also, one of the forces wants the machine to be operable indoors. We are planning to make some customizations including putting a thermal camera on Netra," said Amardeep Singh of IdeaForge.

The UAV's Zeppelin prototype was the joint winner at MAV 08, an international competition of micro aerial vehicles. "It was then that we decided to further work on the design. We showcased a prototype in December 2008, following which the DRDO got into the picture," Singh said.

Raghvendra Rao

http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20100211/80 ... ve-ar.html

Avinash R · Post by **Avinash R** » 15 Feb 2010 19:44

Most likely the new MSMC

biswas · Post by **biswas** » 15 Feb 2010 19:50

Avinash R wrote:Most likely the new MSMC

Looks rugged, now lets hope it's a decent weapon.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 15 Feb 2010 20:10

waiting for the day a DM knows how to hold a weapon

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 15 Feb 2010 21:25

^^ he is holding it like a pichkari !

even his facial expression is in the 'holi hai' mood ! you know holi is around the corner and all that.

the MSMC seems to have morphed quite a lot since it first emerged.( in 2006 I think, when I drove everyone mad by repeated requests to get more details on the MSMC.

)

from this

to this

which seems similar to the one we see above.

it also looks bulkier. have they increased weight to cater for more powerful rounds ?

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 16 Feb 2010 04:37

India Defense Minister: To Issue New Procurement Policy In 2010

NEW DELHI -(Dow Jones)- India will issue a new defense procurement policy later this year aimed at reducing delays in purchasing weapons and increasing domestic production, defense minister A.K. Antony said Monday.

"This year when we come out with DPP 2010 (Defense Procurement Policy), one of the thrust areas will be reducing delays in procurement," Antony told a news conference at the ongoing DefExpo 2010.

"Instead of depending too much on foreign suppliers, we want to strengthen the defense industry in India. For this, we want public-private partnership," he added.

Any speculation if the GoI will approve the 51-49% stake?? or will continue to keep it at 26%???

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 16 Feb 2010 04:47

'India's Defence Expense to Rise at Par With Growth'

India today said its defence expenditure will increase "in proportion" with its economic growth rate, which is expected to be around eight to ten per cent for the next two decades.

SivaVijay · Post by **SivaVijay** » 16 Feb 2010 17:24

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o_no4M2xEPY/S ... C05235.JPG

Is that a shot gun on Daksh? Can Daksh carry weapons ? If so of what kind? Can any ppl in know explain....

Srivastav · Post by **Srivastav** » 16 Feb 2010 18:11

If iam correct that shotgun is used to detonate explosives

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 16 Feb 2010 22:23

L&T to invest $400 mn on expanding shipbuilding.

"We have lined up investment for around $400 million which will be spent on ship building capacities mostly dedicated to navy near Ennore port," Larsen & Toubro Senior Executive Vice President and member of the board M V Kotwal said on the sidelines of the defence expo 2010.

suraj p · Post by **suraj p** » 16 Feb 2010 22:56

biswas wrote:
Avinash R wrote:Most likely the new MSMC

Looks rugged, now lets hope it's a decent weapon.

OOOOOOOOhhhhhhhh! Is Tony pointing it to Porkistan or Chinkistan!

derkonig · Post by **derkonig** » 17 Feb 2010 00:10

suraj p wrote: OOOOOOOOhhhhhhhh! Is Tony pointing it to Porkistan or Chinkistan!

most likely towards communaaaal phorces....

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 17 Feb 2010 01:55

AgustaWestland and Tata Sons establish a Joint Ventur

17 Feb 2010 8ak: AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, and Tata sons have signed a Shareholders’ Agreement for the formation of an Indian joint venture company which will establish in India a final assembly line for the AW119 helicopter for the worldwide market.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 17 Feb 2010 02:56

With its PSUs and OFB's India never fostered a military industrial complex and we see the results or lack there of. There is no synergy between the users, the makers, and the designers in India for we have an all powerful nexus of bureaucrats with the politicians overseeing all this.

jaladipc · Post by **jaladipc** » 17 Feb 2010 04:13

the problem here is protectionism cum socialism.

If you want cutting end,high end and lethal weapons/systems, you have unleash your R&D horses.few of these DPSU`s are publicly traded.MOD is worried most about their incomes and the pensions they need to pay to their retired employees.

Having Private-public partnership will make the job better than what we see today.But again unless the management lies under private sector, the JV will see the same fate.

Inviting too many foreign companies is also no good.They just walk out with profits and will never support the forces ,when their margins falls.

Hence it is suggestible to support DPSU`s to some extent (like a life giver at the ugly times and wit ends),but completely depending on them will be insane.

shukla · Post by **shukla** » 20 Feb 2010 07:36

India’s growth opportunity in defence

Pratik_S · Post by **Pratik_S** » 20 Feb 2010 17:41

The design of the MSMC good and compact, I hope the jawans prefer it over the MP5.

However they should have adapted the transparent magazine concept of the INSAS which the jawans liked a lot. Looking at the picture the magazine goes inside the handle which will need to be transparent too if they are going to do that.

vipins · Post by **vipins** » 21 Feb 2010 01:08

DRDO to develop technologies to fight terrorists

DRDO chief V K Saraswat said his organisation has opened a Low Intensity Conflict (LIC) Division that would cater to weapons, equipment and life support systems for the paramilitary and police forces.

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 21 Feb 2010 05:36

Technology Focus - February 2010
http://www.drdo.org/pub/techfocus/2010/feb10.pdf
DRDO Newsletter
http://www.drdo.com/pub/nl/2010/feb10.pdf

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 21 Feb 2010 08:14

snahata, this is not a thread for rants and whines. Please use the thread created for that purpose.
click here
Thank you for your cooperation.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 21 Feb 2010 10:57

lot of good information
http://beta.thehindu.com/news/national/ ... 110458.ece

sunny y · Post by **sunny y** » 21 Feb 2010 18:33

Indian MAVs Developed By ADE/NAL
http://livefist.blogspot.com/2010/02/in ... denal.html

Some serious stuff is going on wrt MAV's. Good to see DRDO joining hands with other entities, first it was Ideaforge for Netra & now NAL for these.....
Best of luck DRDO...these things suitable for low intensity conflicts are real money churner..... Now please learn how to do some serious marketing.....

Jamal K. Malik · Post by **Jamal K. Malik** » 22 Feb 2010 19:25

No choice for DRDO but to be globally competitive: Antony

Following is the text of the address delivered by the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony at the inauguration of the three-day 34th DRDO Directors’ Conference here today:-

Over the last 50 years, the list of DRDO’s achievements spans the fields of missile development, electronics, tactical weapons and the development of critical defence technologies for our Armed Forces. DRDO has also played a key role in the launch of INS Arihant, India’s first nuclear powered submarine. The successful test of the Interceptor missile in endo and exo atmospheric roles has enhanced India’s capability in Ballistic Missile Defence Capability. The development of indigenous surface to air missile systems Akash and its offshoots of Weapon Locating Radar and 3D surveillance radar will boost our defence preparedness. Recently, DRDO has also handed over 45 MBTs and six stations of ‘Divya Drishti’ to our Armed Forces.

With increasing participation of foreign companies and the private sector, organisations like DRDO are left with no choice, but to be globally competitive.

KrishG · Post by **KrishG** » 22 Feb 2010 21:52

AgustaWestland, Tata sign deal to build AW119 in India

The companies have signed "a shareholders' agreement for formation of the Indian joint venture company that will establish a final assembly line for the AW119 helicopter for the world market", they say. The announcement follows the signature of a memorandum of understanding in February 2009.

The partnership is due to produce its first AW119 in time for delivery next year, they add, with the aim of increasing production to a rate of 30 helicopters a year. The AW119 is an eight-seat utility helicopter powered by a turboshaft engine.

The joint venture "will be responsible for AW119 final assembly, completion and delivery, while AgustaWestland will retain responsibility for worldwide marketing and sales," it adds.

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 23 Feb 2010 04:40

DRDO Plans New Defence Technology Roadmap

The state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are currently in the process of chalking out a strategic defence and a self-reliance programme for the Indian defence sector. India will be rolling out an array of technology-based weaponry systems, including laser weapons, to network-centric warfare systems.

At the eve of the 34th DRDO Conference to be held in New Delhi, scientists in DRDO factories are busy developing defence-related technologies. These technologies range from indigenous submarines, missile technologies, unmanned aerial vehicles, nano-technology and the network system with significant communication network to transfer information.

Dr V. K. Saraswat, DRDO chief and Defence Ministry scientific advisor, indicated that India is charting out a road map for the next two decades, where newer technology for low-intensity conflicts will be pursued. From energy capsules with one-year shelf life, to hand-held thermal imagers, night sight for machine guns, anti-mine shoes, demolition devices, suffocating smoke ammunition, chilly grenades and blast protection suits are being worked upon to counter the low-intensity conflicts.

DRDO scientists revealed that future weaponry would be a convergence of nano, bio and information technology, with laser-guided systems and future warfare to be network centric. They added that laser technology will be inducted in all weaponry, including tanks, flying objects and guns, in the next 10 to 15 years. India will strive to create advanced indigenous technology in order to live up to the global standards.

Some of the developments in DRDO include the ‘Rustam”, which is a medium altitude long endurance system of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). DRDO has successfully tested low altitude vehicles named ‘Lakshya’ and ‘Nishant’. In addition, a micro air vehicle project is at an advanced stage for tactical usage and support to infantry and artillery to monitor the battle grounds.

vina · Post by **vina** » 23 Feb 2010 08:21

Ah..Finally someone with the guts and gumption to take on the evil system and throw the gauntlet.

I open to din's Business Standard and in the front pages, we have a teaser and then in the Op-Ed pages, our Diyar Karnail Ajai Shook Law seems to have gone on a crusade against the evil MoD. Dekho Hiyar .

I think Shukla is spot on in calling for Anthony's head. He has basically been a disaster at the MoD. Has shown no vision, no leadership, no nothing, except stalling every reform, more of the same protectionist /socialist bable of yesteryears which is way past it's sell by date and most of all, absolute paralysis in decision making in regards to new system induction of any sort, from a humble rifle to artillery to anything worthwhile , all of those having direct bearing on military operational readiness.

Most of all, he seems to be the wrong man at the job. The Congress Party maybe because of the bitter Bofor's experience that felled Rajiv Gandhi's govt wanted someone who was unimpeachable in integrity . While that is perfectly justified, they forgot that the person needed to be competent as well. Well, they got a person of unimpeachable integrity and who enjoy's Sonia Gandhi's trust, but unfortunately no background, skills and qualities for this job and hence incompetent in this current role.

Yeah. For God's Sake, GO!.

preeshcode · Post by **preeshcode** » 24 Feb 2010 00:54

There are forces against the local industry developing. Here are some interesting facts:

1. India is the #1 country with close to $1.4 trillion stashed away in Swiss Bank accounts. Russia is next with only $450 billion stashed away. Remember, the Swiss Bank is only 1 out of 70 tax havens in the world. Most of this money is said to be kickbacks from Defence purchases from overseas company.
2. The Government's increased efforts to blacklist tainted companies clearly implies that kickbacks exist in several overseas acquisitions.
3. Complicated and ever changing specification documents, unconfirmed bulk orders from the armed forces clearly point to moving the goal post, implying that the armed forces are in favor of acquisitions from abroad.
4. There clearly exists an illegal arms procurement middle man industry which prevents armed forces from buying local weapons and preferring overseas weapons due to kickbacks.
5. the fact that the armed forces cry hoarse when locally made products fail but just whimper when overseas systems (for instance, Barak or the Shtil weapon system) fail shows bias.
5. The fact that the government is countering middle men with laws like the offset clause, promising to bring back the illegally stashed money in swiss banks, JV companies in R&D (BrahMos) and Finance Ministry canceling the A330 tanker deal (due to probably shifting the contract to Airbus due to a better kickback) all point to the fact that the government knows more than it is letting on.

I hope more transparency prevails in the defense procurement process and the government aggressively encourages local R&D and investment.

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 24 Feb 2010 04:45

Large Defence Manufacturing Base Needed: Antony

Defence Minister A K Antony today called upon the private and public sector to join hands to help India achieve self-reliance in defence production, asking them to set up a large, modern manufacturing base in the country.

He also asked the industry to have more confidence in the indigenous technology and the DRDO to reduce the long gestation period of its projects and cut down on time and cost overruns.

"The need of the hour is for all stakeholders in the defence sector -- both in the public and private domain, to come together to achieve self-reliance in critical defence technologies," Antony said at the DRDO Directors' Conference here.

"The industry must show more confidence in the capacity of indigenous technology. At the same time, the public and private sector need to come up with modern facilities with a large manufacturing base," he said.

Asking DRDO to strengthen its core competence and create newer ones, Antony said the premier defence R&D organisation also needed to "reduce the long gestation periods and cut down time and cost overruns."

"It is also high time that DRDO shed its reticence in working in tandem with the private industry. We need the maximum possible synergy between various production agencies," he said.

Noting that healthy competitive spirit was imperative for the all-round growth of defence sector, Antony said customers the world over were knowledgeable than ever before and they expected the products to be of high quality, cost-effective and better performing.

"It is therefore, all the more difficult to achieve customer satisfaction. In the context of DRDO, the end users -- our armed forces also have high expectations from the point of view of quality and technology," he said.

"We want our defence industry to further sharpen its competitive edge. This objective can be achieved by blending creative thinking and innovative approaches in producing high quality products and executing projects on time," he added.

R&D is a must for robust defence preparedness, the Defence Minister said adding, the industry and academia needed to play a far more proactive role in broad-basing R&D activities in the defence sector.

"We can achieve our objective of self-reliance only through greater investment in indigenous R&D. Besides investing in physical infrastructure, we also need to invest time and money in human resource development," he added.

Antony also asked defence PSUs and Ordnance factories, which possessed several modern technologies, to utilise the assets and make their products qualitatively better.

"We also need to reverse the trend of over-indulgence on imports. Our Offsets policy has been formulated to provide an incentive to export defence products. However, policies by themselves can mean little, till all the partners in the defence industry, including our armed forces, show confidence in indigenous capabilities," he said.

......................

sanjaykumar · Post by **sanjaykumar** » 24 Feb 2010 08:34

Hey Blondie ...I told you I'd find you....

biswas · Post by **biswas** » 24 Feb 2010 12:53

preeshcode wrote:<snip>

If only some of the money stashed in safe havens was invested in the country.

Kailash · Post by **Kailash** » 25 Feb 2010 12:01

AUV Trials to be conducted again

"Another round of trials will be held in the same lake before trying it in the sea," the scientist said from CMERI at Durgapur

Besides its application for coastal security, the device could be used for various other purposes like sea-bed mapping and environmental data collection in the depths of the Indian Ocean. It could also be used as a tool for coastal security operations with further improvement of the device.

shukla · Post by **shukla** » 25 Feb 2010 14:18

US asks India to raise FDI cap in defence to 49%

Kakarat · Post by **Kakarat** » 26 Feb 2010 15:25

Union Budget 2010: Govt raises defence allocation to Rs 147,344 cr

Rather surprisingly, the allocation for defence ordnance factories has been slashed by Rs.1,835 crore to Rs.1,999 crore against Rs.3,834 crore in the previous fiscal.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has got a hike of Rs.881 crore to Rs.5,260 crore from its revised allocation of Rs.4,379 crore in the previous fiscal.

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 28 Feb 2010 22:09

CSIO-developed technology to be used in next generation fighter aircraft

The Head Up Display (HUD), developed by the Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), Chandigarh, would soon be used in the next generation aircraft.

The CSIO recently completed the last phase of transfer of total 20 units of HUD to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) which would be fabricated in the Light Combat Aircrafts (LCA) to be used by the Air Force. Not only the LCAs, the CSIO has also received order to develop 200 more items of equipment for the next generation aircrafts.

The CSIO is now in the process of development of the HUD systems for SU-30 MKI, Jaguar and MiG series aircraft. Dr Pawan Kapur, Director CSIO, said the organisation has recently received an order to develop 200 more HUD for the next generation aircrafts.

“The technology successfully developed and displayed to the Air Force would be subsequently used by them. It is a long-term programme which would be further implemented in the next generation aircrafts,” said Kapur.
The HUD is supposed to be superior to similar systems in the international market.

According to Dr Kapur, “The CSIO equipment is noiseless and offers a better field of view. It is compact, reliable, non-reflective and designed for high-performance aircraft. HAL is undertaking the fabrication of HUD in the LCAs under close monitoring with CSIO. Various institutes and research bodies including HAL, Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are involved in the process.”

After trials with LCA-TD2 aircrafts, the HUD technology has been successfully developed and integrated with these aircrafts and also the feasibility study of HUD for HJT aircrafts is completed. The HUD for the HJT, a follow-up project of the Tejas HUD, is more compact and lighter, with some more features incorporated into it.
The HUD is an opto-electronic device installed above the cockpit’s instruments with its screen at the pilot’s level. It provides information on the aircraft’s flight parameters like speed, direction, altitude, weapon-status, among others.

tejas · Post by **tejas** » 28 Feb 2010 23:15

Here's an earlier CSIO HUD from ~ 2002 which they claimed was superior to a comparable Israeli product.
Long live socialism!

shukla · Post by **shukla** » 01 Mar 2010 13:25

HAL sets sights on global presence

shukla · Post by **shukla** » 01 Mar 2010 13:42

Interview with Baba Kalyani, who heads the CII's National Committee on Defence, is working to draw the government's attention to several issues to boost the share of private local companies in the Indian defense market..

http://defensenews.com/story.php?i=4518092&c=FEA&s=INT

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 04 Mar 2010 02:28

BAE's ambitious plans for India - land, air and naval systems

02 Mar 2010 8ak: As UK and India vie for closer economic, nuclear and defence co-operation (see Nirupama Rao, India's Foreign Secretary, at IISS conference in the U.K.), BAE Systems is making inroads in to all arms of the Indian defence forces.

Today, it announced that it is developing a mission computer system suite for the P-8I aircraft for the Indian Navy. The aircraft is a variant of the U.S. Navy’s P-8A Poseidon. Developed by a Boeing-led team, the P-8I is a multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft with a broader range of capabilities to operate over land or water while performing anti-submarine warfare; search and rescue; and long-range intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance.

“Maritime surveillance and patrol is becoming more and more important to effective defense,” said Donna Linke-Klein, director of mission computers and antenna solutions for BAE Systems. “The P-8I mission computer system provides superior interoperability for the future battle space.”

BAE Systems’ mission computer system suite for the P-8I is a flexible and ruggedized processing platform that can be configured to meet the general purpose, input and output, video, voice, and graphics processing needs for modern military battle management requirements.

As for land systems, in February 2010 BAE announced the proposed formation of a Land Systems JV with Mahindra Defence Systems and subsequently at Defexpo 2010 launched a new mine protected vehicle (see photo (c) BAE/Mahindra) and is expected to start trials of its towed howitzers in March 2010. It also announced a tie-up with Anjani Technoplast to bid for 59,000 bullet proof vests. In the naval segment, Jane's has reported that BAE is actively scouting for a naval partner to assist in building India's future naval capabilities.

BAE says that the plans for expansion in India is unrelated to the unexpected losses in the U.S. but we expect that they realise Indian production can bring down production costs which will help them stay globally competitive (see "U.K. Aircraft Carriers").
Many other Foreign OEMs realise this too but a key factor holding them back from investing in India is the FDI cap of 26% which the MoD stubbornly refuses to raise despite every major Indian company, including most recently the Mahindra Group, and various committee's urging them to do so.

Craig Alpert · Post by **Craig Alpert** » 04 Mar 2010 02:32

Interview: Precision ties up with Raytheon to offer defence communications' solutions
Google video coming soon...

03 Mar 2010 8ak: During Defexpo 2010, Raytheon (US) signed a MoU with Precision Electronics Ltd (PEL) to jointly develop and provide advanced communications technology for India’s military forces. In this light, Manu Sood, Editor 8ak spoke to Mr Ashok Kanodia, Managing Director, PEL on the partnerships, its battlefield management systems, adhoc networks and the future.

In addition, Gregory Vuksich, vice president, Raytheon Network Centric Systems International Business Development said that “This strategic alignment makes good business sense for Raytheon, PEL and our common partners as well as for India and its military forces. Forming these relationships is a critical aspect of Raytheon’s approach to building a team committed to providing the best high technology electronics solutions for India’s military.”

PEL provides communication solutions to both the military and civil sectors. Backed by a strong design and engineering team and a Ministry of Defence-approved manufacturing infrastructure, PEL is well placed to benefit from the increased defence spending in India and offset programs.

shukla · Post by **shukla** » 07 Mar 2010 08:38

Home grown night-vision aids for Indian army soon..

In India too, the development of indigenous night vision cameras, gun sights and binoculars for internal security would soon be a reality and the dependence on other countries like Israel for their supply would end soon. Scientists at the Materials Research Centre (MRC) at the Indian Institute of Science, (IISc) Bangalore, are in advanced stages of developing homegrown technology for the production of night vision binoculars, gun sights and cameras used extensively by the armed forces and security agencies guarding the borders of the country. Scientists in Bangalore are developing such gadgets using quantum well infrared photo detectors technology.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Pl ... rk/585490/