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Cope India Updates

Cope India 2005 - IAF comes out with flying colours

Calcutta: For the second year running, the Indian Air Force came out with flying colours in their brush with the world's most technological advanced airpower -- the United States of America.

Like fish taking to water, Indian fighter pilots took their maiden introduction to Airborne Early Warning and Control System technology, which flew over the country's skies for the first time. Fresh from having proved their mettle in manoeuvres with their United States Air Force counterparts in exercises last year on F-15 Tomcats, IAF pilots held their own, when they came up against the Fighting Falcons -- F-16's, billed as the most superior fighter in the world during the almost two week long joint exercises.

Their performance held in an AWACS environment won them the pat from the visiting American Vice Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Lieutenant General DA Deptula and commanders of the F-16's. "IAF pilots performed exceedingly well during the exercises which for the first time were being held in an AWACS environment", Deptula told newsmen here. His top F-16's commanders Captain Eathen White was more forthcoming saying that 'IAF pilots were outstanding. We watched them very closely and have learnt a lot from them".

Indian fighter pilots were agog for flying in tandem with the E3 Sentry AWACS system saying it "definitely was a force multiplier. Giving you an eye deep beyond you". They said there were all fired up for the induction of the Indian AWACS system by 2007. "Our pilots were exposed to flying in an AWACS environment which will help us when we induct our AWACS," Air Marshal F H Major, Air Officer Commanding in Chief Eastern Air Command, who was also present, said.

On their flying experience in tandem with the AWACS, Indian pilots said it gave them an eye deep into rival territory. "We could pick up incoming targets whether aircraft or missiles almost 400 kilometers away. It gives a grand battle coordination in the air", they said. Indian flight controllers were allowed by the US Air Force personnel to handle the AWACS system during the exercises, senior IAF officers said.

Though both Air Force officials shied away from giving any figures of "kills" or "hits", USAF pilots said they had been impressed by the flying skills of the Indian pilots. Deptula as well as Major stressed that the pilots flew in mixed groups simulating dissimilar Air Combat Missions, Basic Fighter Manoeuvres and large-scale engagements in which no individual scores were kept. "The US Air Force is the largest and most technologically advanced air force in the world with rich operational experience. At the same time, the home grown ingenuity and skill of the IAF pilots has earned them respect from different nations of the world", Major said.

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Russia for further military-technical cooperation with India

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin today said that Russia was ready to further develop the military-technical cooperation with India. "The relations between our military agencies, are developing in the most intensive form." Mr Putin said, welcoming the visiting Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in the Kremlin.

He pointed out that Russia and India, conducted joint wargames, last October and Russian naval ships visited India last year as well this year.

"We are planning to hold such joint manoeuvres in near future too," Mr Putin said, referring to the growing military ties between the two countries within the framework of Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGCMTC).

Earlier, addressing a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov after the concluding session of the IRIGCMTC, Mr Mukherjee said that draft agreement on IPR on defence had been finalised and it will be signed during the coming visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in the first week of December.

He also said that the two sides had made "substantial progress" on the medium term aircraft (MTA) agreement and expressed the hope that it will be ready for signature during the India-Russia summit.

The two Defence Ministers signed the Protocol at the results of the 5th session of the IRIGCMTC. The IRIGCMTC's two joint working groups also signed two protocols in the presence of the two Ministers.

"I am happy to note that all important issues which were discussed have been resolved," Mr Mukherjee said, expressing satisfaction at the "useful and fruitful" conclusion of the session.

He also invited Mr Ivanov to visit New Delhi for the 6th session of the IRIGCMTC, next year. On his part, the Russian Defence Minister said the IPR agreement on defence, was highly important as it "opened new prospects for bilateral military and technical cooperation."

He added that the designing of the fifth generation aircraft and multipurpose cargo aircraft were key trends in the bilateral military-technical cooperation between the two countries. "India is Russia's only military partner with whom the country had a long-term cooperation plan (until 2010)," Mr Ivanov stressed.

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Cope India 2005 photo update

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Cope India 2005

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Leaders say Cope India 'great success'

KALAIKUNDA AIR STATION, India (AFPN) -- Exercise Cope India ‘06 ends Nov. 20, but U.S. and Indian air force leaders have already said the training has been a resounding success.

The exercise, which began Nov. 7, involves Indian Airmen and about 250 U.S. Airmen from Pacific Air Forces bases.

“Such exercises not only help in promoting mutual understanding and learning from each others’ experience, but also enhance interoperability and help refine joint operational procedures,” said Air Marshal F. H. Major, air officer commanding-in-chief of the Indian Air Force’s Eastern Air Command.

The exercise marked the first time F-16 Fighting Falcons have flown against Indian fighters -- including their newest Su-30MKI variant -- in dissimilar air combat training. E-Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft also participated.

At times, Indian and American fighters mixed it up in the air.

“We’ve learned firsthand about the capabilities of their aircraft and the skills of their pilots,” Lt. Col. Pete Bastien said. He commands the detachment of E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system aircraft here from the 961st Airborne Air Control Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan.

This is the third Cope Thunder. Vice commander of Pacific Air Forces Lt. Gen. David Deptula said the command “is succeeding in its objectives of building greater partnerships and relationships with key countries throughout the region.”

Achieving the exercise goals is “a testimony to our men and women from both countries’ air forces in doing a lot of hard work to be able to execute this kind of exercise with the degree of success they did,” the general said.

In addition to learning from their Indian counterparts, the exercise served as a chance for U.S. Airmen to practice their expeditionary skills, said Col. Rusty Cabot, commander of the deployed U.S. forces.

“Getting to a deployed location in an expeditionary fashion -- and bringing together folks from different units who never worked together before -- was a challenge,” the colonel said.

But it was a challenge the Airmen met successfully, the colonel said.

“We pulled together as a cohesive team throughout this exercise,” he said. “It’s as if we’d been working together for years. We’ve done an outstanding amount of work.”

The F-16’s came from the 13th Fighter Squadron at Misawa Air Base, Japan. Airmen from Yokota AB, Japan, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and Hickam AFB, Hawaii, rounded out the American contingent.

Exercise scenarios began with basic fighter maneuvers before building to large force employments of mixed aircraft packages flying against one another.

In one scenario, Indian Su-30’s escorted AWACS -- and clashed with F-16 attackers.

“That’s 180 degrees from what I’ve always trained to do and thought about,” AWACS detachment commander Lt. Col. Pete Bastien said. “We think of the Su-30 as our adversary.

Through the exercise, General Deptula said participants gained “the trust of each other’s air forces so that in the future -- for any possible contingency that pops up -- we’ll be able to hit the ground running and work together.

“What that ultimately does is improve peace and stability in the region,” the general said.

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India, US hold defense industry meet

As part of expanding bilateral military cooperation, India and the United States held the first ever meeting of the Defence Production and Procurement Group in Washington on Friday.

The DPPG talks, which will continue into Monday, will start addressing the acquisition of multi-role combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force. S Banarjee, Director General of Acquisitions in Defence Ministry, is leading the Indian side while his counterpart in the Defence Security and Cooperation Agency General Jeff Kohler heads the US team.

India is in the market for the aircraft and the government has reportedly identified five companies, two of which are American - Lockheed Martin for the F-16s and Boeing for the F-18s. Both Washington and New Delhi will also look into how DPPG can start addressing the plethora of issues pertaining to the defence procurement. The DPPG parleys will be followed by Defence Policy Group meeting from Monday.

The three-day DPG meet will discuss future activities and look at threat perception on a conceptual level. The parleys will be between Indian Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt and the Under Secretary of Defence for Policy at the Pentagon, Eric S Edelman.

The Indian team will have members from agencies including Ministries of defence and external affairs. The Indian defence secretary is also scheduled to meet US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, who is expected to spell out his ideas on how to carry forward bilateral cooperation on matters pertaining to defence.

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Top Indo-US naval officials hold discussions

NEW DELHI, NOV 18 (PTI)

Top naval officials of India and the US have discussed ways to enhance inter-operability between the two forces and measures to facilitate speedy communication and exchange of operational information.

The two sides also discussed the issue of Common Operation as well as various options to improve the situational awareness in the Indian Ocean with special emphasis on combating terrorism and piracy at sea, a Navy spokesman said here today.

This was the ninth meeting of the Executive Steering Group (ESG) held at the Naval Headquarters, which was led by Deputy Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral J S Bedi, and US Seventh Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Jonathan W Greenert.

The ESG is an institutionalised mechanism designed to further service-to-service interaction between the two navies within the ambit of Indo-US defence cooperation.

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Indian Ministry of Defence Annual Report 2004-05

Indian Ministry of Defence

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Indian Ministry of Defence

Monk

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Why don't you make a seperate thread for the Cope India '06 air exercises? I think lot of people would like to read this stuff and see the pictures. They may not come across it, hidden away in this thread.

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"Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except all those others that have been tried from time to time. "

"Although prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it be postponed."

Sir Winston Churchill

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Next time

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Navy will examine US offer

NEW DELHI: The Navy's long-pending objective to bolster its maritime snooping capabilities has finally taken a step forward now, with the Pentagon notifying US Congress of its plan to "lease" two P-3C Orion reconnaissance aircraft to India.

While the US Congress has 30 days to block this $133-million contract, Pentagon pushed for the go-ahead by holding it would "strengthen" the Indo-US strategic partnership, "which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in south Asia".

The Navy, on its part, said it would study the lease offer to find out whether it "meets our needs and is cost-effective".

"The American offer is based on a suggestion made by Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash earlier this year," said a senior officer.

The Navy says the "lease offer" is "independent" of its project to procure long-range maritime patrol (LRMP) aircrafts, with anti-submarine and ship warfare capabilities, to fill the gap in its long-range reconnaissance capabilities.

The Navy has a "spying" fleet of just eight old Russian Tupolev-142M and three IL-38 (undergoing mid-life upgrade in Russia at present) planes to patrol the country's huge 2.01 million sq km Exclusive Economic Zone.

These, of course, are backed by a small fleet of Dornier-228 aircraft and Israeli Searcher-II and Heron UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) for medium-range surveillance up to 200 nautical miles.

Though the Orions figure as the top contenders to bag the contract to replace the eight ageing TU-142Ms, the Navy is also keen to examine other options ranging from Russian IL-38s to the still under-development Boeing-737 P-8A multi-mission maritime aircraft.

"A global tender is being issued for this. If we acquire the two Orions on lease, they can also be used to build our skills in operating such planes," said an officer.

The US wants India to buy the eight P-3C Orions from its existing inventory under the fast-track "foreign military sales" programme. With an upgradation package and initial product support, the deal is estimated to be over $900 million.

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Indian Minister Hails Defence Ties With Russia

Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee expressed satisfaction on Friday with his country's already sizeable defence procurement cooperation with Russia and outlined hopes of their jointly building a new fighter jet.
"Russia is India's biggest supplier of defence products and I don't foresee any change to that in the next few years," the Vremya Novostei newspaper quoted Mukherjee as saying in an interview as he visited Moscow this week.

"Our defence cooperation will widen and deepen... Currently contracts worth around 9.0 billion dollars are being fulfilled," Mukherjee said.

Russia's defence industry has built on Soviet-era ties with India and now supplies around 70 percent of India's arms imports. New Delhi is the second-biggest buyer of Russian military hardware after China.

As India develops its own defence industry, the two countries are increasingly developing joint projects, with some production already carried out in India under licence, including building of Su-30 MKI fighter jets and T-90 tanks, Mukherjee said.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is himself due in Moscow next month, when he will sign agreements that include one aimed at protecting intellectual property rights.

The two countries held joint military exercises in the Indian state of Rajasthan last month.

In Friday's interview Mukherjee reiterated India's hopes of developing a new fighter jet with Moscow, follow an agreement signed this week to jointly build a new transport plane.

"Our armed forces and industrial enterprises in this sphere would like to take part in all stages of the production of a fifth generation fighter jet," he said, ruling out however a purely financial role for New Delhi.

Recent Indian purchases include the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, while the two countries are jointly building BrahMos anti-ship missiles.

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India-US-Special forces-ESG dialogue

India and the US discussed the need and methods to increase the complexity of the IN-USN MALABAR series of exercises as well as measures to increase interaction between the special forces of both navies.

According to the Indian Ministry of Defense, the 9th Executive Steering Group (ESG) addressed issues such as the 3-year Operational Cooperation Plan between IN and USN at a meeting held at the Indian Naval Headquarters in New Delhi on Nov 16-17, 2005.

The meeting was co-chaired by Vice-Admiral J S Bedi, the deputy chief of Naval Staff and Vice-Admiral Jonathan W Greenert, commander of the US Navy's 7th Fleet based in Yokosuka, Japan. The two flag officers were assisted at the ESG by their respective staff.

The US delegation included Rear Admiral Victor Guillory, commander of Task Force 76 and 25, and other officers.

In addition, the ESG meeting also addressed the important issue of a common operational plot for enhanced inter-operability between the two navies and measures to facilitate speedy communication and transfer of operational information.

Various options were also discussed to improve the situational awareness in the Indian Ocean with special emphasis on combating terrorism and piracy at sea.

The Executive Steering Group (ESG) is an institutionalized mechanism designed to further service-to-service interaction between the two navies within the ambit of Indo-US defense cooperation. The ESG has a high level navy-to-navy component, known as the Naval ESG.

The Naval ESG meets annually and is chaired jointly by the Indian Naval and US Naval Officers of the rank of vice-admiral.

The main function of the Naval ESG is to define the path along which both navies need to engage each other so as to ensure mutual benefit.

The ongoing interaction between the navies of India and USA stems from a three-year roll-on plan, which is determined and reviewed in successive meetings of the ESG.

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Cope India 05: Eyes on Indian skies

Till a few years ago, Air Force Station Kalaikunda — about 190 km from the city — did not feature in the list of the country’s star Indian Air Force bases. Today, it is the first base in India to have played host to United States Air Force F-16s and an E3C Sentry AWACS. The Singapore Air Force has also held parleys with the Government of India about using the base for practice sessions.

"Countries like Singapore are small in size and there is no space for practice. The Kalaikunda AF Base is strategically located, in the sense that it has a number of practice ranges nearby. It is also close to the Bay of Bengal over which practices can be held comfortably. Kalaikunda was chosen because of the large airspace around it and the size of the fleet participating. Many countries like Singapore are interested in making use of the base,” says Air Marshal F H Major, air officer commanding-in-chief, Eastern Air Command.

The base is tucked away in the eastern part of the country and is nowhere near the prying eyes making the station comfortable for fighter planes.

Kalaikunda now houses two squadrons of MiG-27s and has been recently upgraded. The MiGs, which are due for upgradation, may soon be replaced by Mirages.

However, IAF aircraft may not participate in the practice sessions of the SAF, slated to be held sometime in January 2006. IAF officials also made it clear that the base will not be leased out. "We may allow some of our friendly air forces the use of our bases and other facilities. These countries will have to pay messing charges and for other facilities used. However, no IAF installation will be leased out,” said Group Captain T K Chatterjee, chief operating officer of the base.

Kalaikunda has a ground-to-air practice facility close by and an airto-air range at Chandipur on the Bay of Bengal. Extensive utilisation of these ranges was made at the recently concluded Indo-US joint air exercise or Cope India 05. However, unlike normal practice, neither US nor Indian aircraft were armed with live armaments during the show. All shooting was simulated.

Such exercises allow the Indian defence industry exposure to possible international buyers.During Cope India 05, one of the items on display was Lakshya — an indigenously developed unmanned aerial vehicle — that can launch targets in the air for practice.

"These vehicles are used during practice sessions and releases aerial targets for the aircraft to shoot down. The Lakshyas can be retrieved and used again making the whole process economical and safe. The targets are tagged along on a cable measuring 1.5 km before being released. All the vehicles are stationed at Chandipur,” said squadron leader Atul Pant, in charge of one of the two Lakshya squadrons.

While countries like the US may not be interested in such hardware, smaller countries which decide to use Indian bases for exercises may make use of these.

Not only will these be used during exercises in India but many air forces can procure Lakshya for use in their countries. Indian industries are also developing a number of armaments and missiles for use by friendly nations.

"Till now, only advanced countries like US and Russia allowed training facilities to smaller nations. Indian defence institutions also provide training to personnel from friendly nations. In recent times, army, air force and navy have held a number of joint e xe rc i s e s with other nations. However, it is IAF which will be the first to allow its base to be used for practice,” a senior official said. India has already developed its advanced light helicopter, Dhruv.

Many countries like Israel and Chile have expressed interest in procuring it. One helicopter has already been leased to Israel. During defence minister Pranab Mukherjee’s recent visit to Chile, an agreement was signed regarding the export of helicopter components from India. "The base can be used as effective platforms to display Dhruv and Tejas, our light combat aircraft, that is being developed now. We can also pick up some tips about the kind of equipment used by other forces,” added an official

Lt Gen D A Deptula, vice-commander of the Pacific Air Forces, claimed that such exercises like Cope India 05 will boost understanding and cooperation for maintaining peace in the region. "It is a winwin situation for both the countries and also help us to face any contingency. We realised the need for better cooperation during the tsunami that hit many countries in this region in December 2004,” he said. Air Marshal Major though made it clear that IAF will not allow the use of any of its bases for military activities against a third nation.

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Aircraft deal: Russia offers MIG-35s

Moscow, November 19

The fight for the contract of 125 fighter aircraft, which the Indian Air Force (IAF) is looking to purchase, is due to carry on till the very end with none of the prospective parties involved in the future bidding process ready to give up in the favour of the other, especially the USA, which seems to be ahead of the others in common perception as of now.

While the French, who are offering the latest version of the Mirage-2000, have decided to go till the very last and are confident of getting the contract from the Indian Government, the Russians are also making intense preparations. It is an all out preparation for the war here in the city that is so used to bloodier versions of war.

The Russians have made their intentions clear to fight tooth and nail till the contracts are not decided as the stakes are very high. It will be one of the biggest contracts in the Indian defence history. The Russian Government and MIG (Russian Aircraft Corporation) are undertaking drastic changes and unprecedented preparations to get it.

Each of the fighter planes that the IAF would buy could cost anywhere between Rs 150 crore to Rs 200 crore, while the total contract would be well over Rs 25,000 crore. There are indications that the Indian Government could be issuing the Request for Proposals (ROF) in January finally putting the process for the purchase in motion.

On Wednesday evening, when Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and the high level defence delegation accompanying him reached the MIG’s sprawling corporate complex in Moscow there were enough indications available that Russia was taking the whole process seriously and would be going all out to bid for the contract.

Receiving Mr Mukherjee and his delegation was the recently appointed new chief of MIG-Alexei Federov, the man who till recently was heading the company that manufactured Sukhoi-30s for the Indian Air Force. Mr Federov is a sort of legend in Russian aviation circles-the man headed Irkut Corporation after the Communist collapse, built the company from almost nothing to create the new series of Sukhois. And he led the successful negotiation with India and sold SU-30s in 1996-it was one of the biggest military contracts after the Communist collapse.

Now Mr Federov and his lieutenants have been brought into MIG-this time to fight its battle against the global giants like Lockheed Martin, which makes F-16s, Boeing, which makes F-18 Super Hornets, and the French Mirage-2000 manufacturers. Lockheed Martin at present being the frontrunner seeing the emerging Indo-US relations.

Mr Federov was not the only surprise. MIG Corporation made a detailed presentation on what they are offering to the IAF- they don’t call it the MIG-29 but MIG-35s.

The aircraft are an improved version of the MIG-29s with capabilities that MIG Corporation claims no other fighter aircraft in the world has. It has an all aspect thrust vector control; can actually stop mid-way during flight. This quality will not only allow the fighter to get better accuracy in its attack role, but would also help it to avoid an enemy fighter chase, among other things, they argue.