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Astra missile to be tested on Monday

BALASORE (ORISSA), MAR 23 (PTI)

India's indigenously developed beyond visual range Astra missile is slated to be tested from a range at Chandipur near here on March 26.

Hectic preparations are on for the fourth test-firing of the air-to-air missile from the integrated test range, 15 km from here, defence sources said.

There was also the possibility of another launch the next day, they said.

A team of scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from Hyderabad and ITR have been busy for the last couple of days to give the preparations the final touches.

The missile was first launched on May 9, 2003 from ITR and the second and third trials were conducted on May 11 and May 12, 2003, at the same range.

The Balasore district administration, at a meeting with ITR authorities, have decided to shift over 6,100 people, including around 1,800 children, belonging to 826 families of six villages living within a radius of 2.5 km of the launch site to four temporary shelters on the date of the launch.

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India to set up a UAV base in Andamans: Antony

Port Blair, March 24: Amidst rising threats of terrorists infiltrating into the country through the sea route, India on Saturday announced plans to establish an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) base and station more aerial reconnaissance aircraft in the Andaman archipelago.

The plans to mount a high technology surveillance apparatus to monitor the sea traffic around the archipelago was announced by A K Antony on his first visit to the island territories after taking over as the Defence Minister. The archipelago numbering 572 islands converges into the vital Malacca straits, the pathway of 60 per cent of the world's energy and commercial trade.

"We have initiated moves to locate most modern surveillance equipment on these islands to counter rising threats of terrorism, sea piracy and weapons and drug trafficking," Antony told newsmen.

The minister was accompanied by Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt and chief of the Integrated Defence Staff, Lt Gen Hardev Lidder.

Asserting that the government was according topmost priority to stepping up security surveillance in the areas as well as boosting coastline security, Antony said these steps were being taken in view of projections by intelligence and other security agencies that terrorists could strike or infiltrate through the sea routes.

The agencies feel that infiltration through land borders was proving difficult in the light of hi-tech surveillance system put up, he said.

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Astra missile tested after a long gap

BALASORE, MAR 25: After a gap of nearly four years, indigenously developed Astra air-to-air missile was tested from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here on Sunday. The sleek beyond visual range missile with a range of 80 km was fired from launch complex-II of the ITR, 15 km from here, at 11.56 am, defence sources said.

However, plans to test the Dhanush, the naval version of the home-grown Prithvi surface-to-surface missile from a warship in the Bay of Bengal off the Orissa coast were postponed, they said.

Developed by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory in Hyderabad, Astra is an advanced long-range missile with a solid propellant engine and advanced guidance equipment. It is capable of achieving speeds of around Mach 4.

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Indian AF, Ministry Clash Over Missile Buy

India’s Air Force and Defence Ministry are clashing over procurement of air-launched anti-ship missiles. Ministry officials complain that only one bidder has been shortlisted, while Air Force leaders claim they are being pressured to accept lesser capabilities.

Boeing’s Harpoon was the only missile among those offered by five competitors that service officials said met their requirements to replace the Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles that arm the Jaguar aircraft fleet.
Because of the single-vendor situation, an Indian Air Force official said, the Defence Ministry has pressured the service to modify its technical requirements and refloat the tender.

The Air Force in October floated a limited global tender to France’s MBDA, Israel’s Rafael, Russia’s Rosoboronexport, and U.S. firms Boeing and Raytheon, seeking to procure unspecified numbers of anti-ship missiles for $100 million.
One of the main technical requirements is that the new missile have a minimum range of 100 kilometers, Air Force officials said. Only the Harpoon met that requirement.

The Defence Ministry recently directed the Air Force to reduce the required range of the anti-ship missile, the service official said — an unheard-of intrusion into Air Force affairs.
However, the service rejected the Defence Ministry’s directives and has stated it will not compromise the qualitative requirements of the new missile, the Air Force official said.

Defence Ministry officials said the procurement has been affected by the single-vendor issue, but they refused to comment further on the retendering controversy.

Sea Eagles are in service with Indian Navy Sea Harriers and Tu-142 maritime reconnaissance aircraft, but the Air Force wants to replace the Sea Eagle to improve its Jaguars’ anti ship capabilities.

The Sea Eagle is a computer-controlled, all-weather, fire-and-forget sea-skimming missile. Its active radar target seeker has a 110-kilometer range. The missile can disable warship electronics with jamming and countermeasures, the Air Force official said.

The service plans to buy new-generation, long-range anti-ship missiles to increase its firepower in littoral warfare, a Defence Ministry official said. The new missiles, in addition to a long range, should have a fast response to overcome advanced defenses.

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ISRO to launch foreign satellite as primary payload first time

Bangalore, March. 25 (PTI): India for the first time will launch a foreign satellite -- an Italian one -- as a primary payload on a home-grown rocket, as space scientists prepare to further demonstrate the country's cost-effective launch services capability.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched foreign payloads as piggybacks in the past; next month's mission would see the space agency launching the 360-kg AGILE spacecraft as a primary payload.

Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the workhorse rocket of Bangalore-headquartered ISRO, would blast-off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota with AGILE and India's Advanced Avionics Module (AAM) as secondary payload.

The launch is scheduled between April 20-30.

"It will send a right message to global community. This contract (to launch AGILE) was obtained against competition, and once we are able to launch it on time and at a good price, I think this (foreign payload launches) will start coming more and more to us", ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair told PTI here.

AGILE is a space scientific mission devoted to gamma-ray astrophysics supported by the Italian Space Agency, with the scientific and programmatic co-participation of the Italian Institute of Astrophysics and the Italian Institute of Nuclear Physics.

The 180-kg AAM is aimed at testing some of the advanced avionic package for use in the future PSLV flights, the space agency said.

Officials said PSLV configuration for next month's flight would be modified to use only the core vehicle (without the six solid propellant strap-on motors).

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Fleet leaves for historic exercise

PORT BLAIR: A naval fleet, led by one of Indian Navy’s most potent destroyers, left the harbour here on Sunday on a long voyage that would not only set several new milestones for the Navy but also raise the discussion over China’s growing military might to new levels.

Over the next few months, the naval fleet of five ships would stage for the first time in 15 years an Indo-US naval exercise in the Pacific Ocean, an Indo-Russian naval exercise in Russian waters, and spend almost four months out in the sea. But most crucially, the fleet would carry out a historic trilateral exercise with US and Japan.

The Indo-US-Japan naval exercise is being played down by the Indians, but for strategic watchers it is another indicator that the three major players are intensifying their cooperation for various reasons, the key concern being the growing Chinese might.

On Saturday, Defence Minister AK Antony said India’s security initiatives are for its own security and refused to discuss China as a threat. But, the first-ever trilateral Indo-US-Japan naval exercise is an effort to increase the level of cooperation between the three who are both affected and concerned by the growing Chinese might. The Chinese have increased their defence budget this year, and are modernising its military.

India has been consistent in playing down any possibility of viewing the big neighbour as a threat, while trying to intensify cooperation with China. Navy officers said the five-ship fleet, led by INS Mysore as the lead ship, would begin their deployment first with Simplex, a joint exercise between the navies of Singapore and India. Later, the fleet will sail to the Pacific where the Malabar series, the Indo-US joint naval exercises started in 1993, would be held for the first time.

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Astra test fired for second consecutive day

BALASORE (ORISSA), MAR 26 (PTI)

For the second consecutive day, India's indigenously developed Astra air-to-air missile was test-fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here today.

Astra, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation laboratory, Hyderabad, was fired at around 10 am, defence sources said.

However, the second trial of the missile planned for the day has been postponed, the sources said.

The sleek beyond visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) is an advanced long-range system capable of engaging targets at more than 80 km away.

The sources said DRDO's prestigious 'Astra' programme launched in June 2004 was expected to be ready for production by 2009.

It was aimed at providing the Indian Air Force with an indigenously designed BVRAAM to equip it for Mirage-2000, MIG-29, Su-30 MKI and the light combat aircraft (LCA), they said.

For the trial today, a population of over 6,100 people belonging to 826 families living in six villages within a radius of 2.5 km of the ITR launch pad had to be evacuated to four temporary shelters.

The district officials, who were present at the four shelters, were instructed to send the people back to their homes after it was known that no further trials would be undertaken today, official sources said.

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ISRO takes delivery of mobile launch pedestal

CHENNAI: The Sriharikota Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday took delivery of a mobile launch pedestal made by KCP Ltd.

M. Annamalai, Director, Sriharikota Centre, said this was the centre's second mobile launch pedestal and would play a key role in its satellite launch programmes.

The order was placed over one-and-a-half years ago and it involved making a mobile launch platform weighing 600 tonnes with metal sheets of 10-120mm thickness. It is on such platforms that the launch vehicles that carry the remote sensing satellites and communication satellites are built.

Partnership with the private sector was a key factor for the ISRO, he said.

V.L. Dutt, Chairman, KCP Ltd., handed over the inspection documents to Mr. Annamalai, marking the formal handing over of the platform.

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I yam off for few weeks, 'll come back after my exams, if anybody interested in updating this page, please do

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Eurocopter wins big Indian Army deal

New Delhi: Eurocopter has won the Indian Army's much-awaited deal for 197 modern light helicopters, estimated at around US$ 550 million.

According to a report in the latest issue of India Strategic magazine on defence and foreign affairs, the army chose Eurocopter's AS 550 C3 Fennec over the Bell Helicopter's Bell 407 after trials in hot, humid and high altitude conditions in Rajasthan, Punjab and Kashmir, including in Siachen - the Himalayan battlefield between Indian and Pakistani forces.

The new machines will replace the old and aged 1970s generation Chetak and Cheetah helicopters of the Indian Army, which has an appropriate plan to modernize and expand its Army Aviation Corps (AAC) in line with current and future rapid mobility battlefield requirements.

Eurocopter will supply 60 helicopters in a fly-away condition, made at its plants in France and Germany, while the remaining 137 will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at its Bangalore facility.

Company sources told India Strategic that it would take three years to supply the Made in Europe lot, but that assembly lines would be set up simultaneously at HAL to facilitate their manufacture in India under Transfer of Technology (ToT).

Eurocopter also has the obligation to invest 30 percent of the deal back in the Indian defence industry under the now mandatory offset clause, a brainchild of Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt.

Commercial negotiations between Eurocopter, a subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS) company, and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) are slated to begin this month to fine-tune the deal as also to work out the weapons and electronic warfare package. A formal contract would be signed then.

The cost of weapons and other systems would be extra.

HAL has manufactured more than 600 Chetaks and Cheetahs, variants of the French Alouette, of which some 350 are used by the Indian Army.

The remaining are with the Indian Air Force (IAF), Navy and Coast Guard. It stands to reason that as their helicopters also need replacement, the Eurocopter's current order would multiply three-fold over the next few years to nearly $2 billion.

The three services have had an element of commonality in some systems in the past, but now, this is a requirement mandated by MoD to effect savings both in money and time. It is cheaper to manufacture and maintain a common system.

According to Lt Gen Vinayak Patankar (Retd), defence analyst and India Strategic's Editor Army, the acquisition of the new helicopter is timely and that as the Fennec is a sophisticated multi-role machine, the Indian Army could use it for Reconnaissance and Observation, Electronic Warfare, Anti-Tank role, and also to inject and extricate personnel from the battlefield.

The Indian Army, which needs many more helicopters for varied roles for medium to heavy lift requirements, had been wanting a light, agile machine the for the last 15 years to replace the now-vintage Alouette. Incidentally, Allouette was the first turbine helicopter in the world, and its maker, Aerospatiale, was later absorbed into Eurocopter, which already has a strong relationship with HAL.

The two companies have an agreement to co-develop business, and EADS has supplied parts for the slightly bigger and versatile HAL-made Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, which has already been inducted by both the IAF and Army.

It may be recalled that more than 70 percent of various systems with the Indian armed forces are of Soviet vintage, and all the three services were starved of modernization due to the freeze imposed by the V.P. Singh government over allegations of corruption in the Bofors guns deal in the late 1980s.

The 1999 Kargil war, in which India neither had the gun locating radars to find and neutralize Pakistani artillery, nor adequate munitions for its Bofors guns, triggered the removal of the paralysis in the MoD, and ever since, many new systems from ships to submarines, tanks and aircraft have been ordered.

The deal for the Fennecs is the second helicopter deal by India, the first being the IAF's follow-on order for 80 Mi 17 IV medium lift helicopters from Russia last year.

Notably, all the helicopters with the Indian armed forces are more than 20 years old and need to be replaced.

According to a Bell Helicopter survey, the helicopter market in India will be worth about $4 billion over the next few years.

EADS President and CEO Lutz Bertling said during a recent visit to India that his company could supply the first helicopter within 2007 itself, adding that he was also willing for collaboration to produce a medium lift helicopter in India.

The Indian government had floated the requirement for the light helicopters in 2004 but revised it in 2005 to introduce the offset clause. Initially, there were five contenders including Agusta (Italy), Bell (US), Eurocopter, and Kamov and Kazan (Russia).

EADS manufactures the Ariane rockets used sometimes by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for its satellite launches as also the commercial Airbus aircraft.

According to an EADS statement, HAL has a contract to provide 600 sets of doors for various Airbus aircraft, and of which it has delivered over 300. A new batch of A320 doors has been ordered recently. HAL has also produced parts for the A320 nose undercarriage. The production of A340 emergency doors is also due to start at HAL.
-IANS

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IAF agrees to release pilots to state-owned carrier

New Delhi, April 09: Softening its rigidity, Indian Air Force has now agreed to release its pilots to civil aviation stream in a phased manner in the face of acute shortage being faced by state-owned carriers.

In a major gesture, the new Air Chief Fali Homi Major today announced that IAF would now release 15 to 20 pilots at regular intervals to join the civil flying stream.

"We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Air India whereby we will be releasing 15 to 20 pilots at intervals to be absorbed in the National carrier", he said here.

His words come as a big relief to Air India, which faces a shortfall of 118 pilots. Government already has plans to merge the two national airlines into a single entity soon.

The total number of additional aircraft in the next five years is estimated at 500 for which an additional 5,000 pilots would be required. Currently, 2,940 pilots are employed as against the requirement of 3,160 pilots, leaving a shortfall of around seven per cent.

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BAE in battle for $15bn fighter orders from India and Japan

BAE Systems has entered a dogfight with the world’s leading makers of combat jets to secure orders from India and Japan worth up to $15 billion (£7.6 billion).

The Times understands that both the Indian and Japanese Governments will take a significant step towards replacing their ageing fighters in October, and defence companies are positioning themselves to win the lucrative contracts.

BAE is attempting to sell the Eurofighter Typhoon to both countries but Europe’s leading fighter is up against American F16s and F18s and Russia’s Mig-29.

Japanese officials recently visited BAE’s base at Warton, Lancashire to see a Typhoon demonstration and the company’s representatives are promoting the aircraft in India.

The Indians and Japanese are expected to issue a request for proposals in October, which will formally ask companies to submit a tender for the replacement programme.

Following BAE’s success in selling 72 Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia, the British company is leading efforts to sell to India and Japan on behalf of the other Eurofighter partners, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The Indians want to buy 126 fighters to replace their old Mig21s in a deal worth up to $9 billion.

The Japanese are replacing their 90-strong fleet of F4s, which are now 35 years old, in a deal that could cost between $6 billion and $10 billion.

The Japanese have always bought US military hardware in the past but in a significant breakthrough for the Eurofighter consortium, officials have admitted they are now looking at the Typhoon.

Analysts in Japan believe that this change in position reflects surprise that the country was not “trusted” by US Congress to buy F22s. Congress has blocked the sale of Lockheed Martin’s F22 to any foreign government but if the ban was lifted it would probably head the Japanese wish-list.

The US is trying to sell Boeing’s F18 Hornet to Japan but military analysts have said that the jet does not meet the country’s needs.

Japanese reluctance to buy anything other than American military hardware has been eroding in recent years. In 2005 the Japan Coastguard bought Augusta Westland EH-101 helicopters rather than American competitors.

The Indian Government is considering a wider range of possible replacement aircraft. It has traditionally bought from Russia, which still offers the most cost-effective fighters, but last year received clearance from the US to buy F16s and F18s. Other candidates for the Indian order include Dassault’s Rafale and Saab’s Gripen.

A BAE spokeswoman said: “BAE Systems, on behalf of the Eurofighter Consortium, is leading activity to position Typhoon in Japan to meet their FX fighter requirement. We are also aware that India has a requirement for 126 multi-role combat aircraft. We await details of what the Indian air force requires and Eurofighter will respond accordingly.”

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BHPV to make components for naval combat plane

VISAKHAPATNAM: Bharat Heavy Plates and Vessels Limited (BHPV), which had successfully developed heat exchangers for the prototype Light Combat Aircraft, is now making 13 sets of similar components for the LCA’s naval variant – Tejas.

BHPV has been assigned with the design and development of Precoolers and Full Authority Digital Electronic Controller Coolers (FADEC).

The heat exchangers will reduce the ‘engine bleed temperature’ to safe levels and cool the FADEC.

According to officials sources, BHPV is also developing oxygen concentrator for the Onboard Oxygen Generating System, which provides oxygen- rich air at all altitudes to the pilots of Tejas.

It may be recalled that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Defence Bangalore- based Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) have awarded the contract for manufacturing of series of heat exchangers for LCA the BHPV amidst stiff global competition.

A top official of the BHPV told this website’s newspaper that emphasis was being laid on developing new products which would help the company in getting more orders.

The LCA project came as boost for the BHPV which required such prestigious orders to enhance its profile at a time when speculation was intense that it (BHPV) would be taken over by BHEL.

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PSLV to carry Italian satellite; lift-off from Sriharikota on April 23

CHENNAI: The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C8), which will deploy an Italian satellite Agile, will lift off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on April 23.

B.N. Suresh, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, said, "The launch preparations for PSLV-C8 are progressing satisfactorily.

They are going on without any problem."

The 360-kg Agile, meant for astronomical observations, has arrived at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. The PSLV-C8, the 11th in the series, will also carry the Indian Space Research Organisation's Advanced Avionics Module (AMM), which weighs about 180 kg.

For the first time, the PSLV-C8 will fly without its six strap-on booster motors. The "core alone" vehicle will have two roll-control motors in the first stage for achieving symmetry.

The PSLV will be launched without the strap-on motors because the weight of Agile and AMM put together is only 540 Kg.

A PSLV with the normal configuration, which includes the strap-on motors, can put a satellite weighing 1,600 kg in orbit.

The PSLV, a four-stage vehicle, is 44 m tall and weighs 295 tonnes. The PSLV-C8, minus the strap-on motors, will weigh around 240 tonnes.

The Agile satellite will have payloads to investigate gamma ray bursts, pulsars and supernova remnants.

The Agile mission is supported by the Italian Space Agency, the Italian Institute of Astrophysics and the Italian Institute of Nuclear Physics. The satellite will go into a circular orbit 560 km above the earth.

Equipment bay

The AMM, which will monitor the performance of the vehicle, will carry an advanced computer, a next generation telemetry system and an advanced inertial navigation system. "All these new systems will be tried out. The AMM is as good as having another equipment bay," Dr. Suresh said. The AMM will be useful only as long as the flight lasts. It will go into space along with the spent fourth stage.

Antrix Corporation, the commercial wing of the Department of Space, is receiving a fee for launching the Italian satellite.

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India, Russia sign fighters swap deal

India and Russia have signed a $500 million (about Rs 2,0145 crore) deal for the swapping of 18 Sukhoi fighter jets in service with the Indian Air Force for the latest version of air superiority multi-role warbirds tailored to meet Indian requirements, a media report in Moscow said.

"Rosoboronexport has signed a $500-million contract with India for the delivery of 18 Su-30MKI fighter jets and the purchase from it of 18 used Su-30K planes at a price that reflects their resale value," business and political daily Kommersant reported. The contract has been under negotiation since the end of 2005 and it would make it possible to conclude one more contract for $1.6 billion (about Rs 6,800 crore), the daily said.

Aircraft Corporation Irkut, the manufacturer of Sukhoi aircraft for India took a bank credit in advance to build the new fighter jets for the IAF and has already produced 12 of 18 warbirds. The remaining planes may be completed by the end of this year. With that deal complete, negotiations can be resumed over the delivery of an additional 40 kits for the licensed assembly of Su-30MKI models in India, the daily reported.

Although the arms exporting monopoly agency "Rosoboronexport" has declined to confirm the report it is believed that Su-30K planes from India may be resold to Russia's friendly nations in "conflict prone" regions like African horn, Southeast Asia or the Arabian peninsula, who have "modest means".

Under the multi-billion dollar deal, 18 Su-30K planes were delivered to India between 1997 and 1999 when Russia's Sukhoi Corporation had started the development of its MKI version, claimed to be the only multi-role fighter of its type in the world with thrust vectoring engines.

According to Kommersant, IAF's Su-30K have an average record of about 1,500 flying hours and require an overhaul and upgradation costing $12 million (about Rs 51 crore) per aircraft. While a new Su-30 MKI costs $40 million (about Rs 171 crore). It writes that the 18 used fighters of IAF were originally planned to be purchased last year for resale to Belarus. Unofficial sources say the planes may have been intended for sale to Syria or Eritrea through Belarus. That deal fell through when Russia and Belarus came into conflict over the price of Russian natural gas. However, last month, Minsk denied that Russian weapons were being resold through Belarus to the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Russia will shortly begin the shipments of 38 "Smerch" multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) to India under a $450 million (about Rs 1,930 crore) deal signed two years ago. The first lot of Smerch reactive multi-launch rocket systems made by OAO Motovilikhinskiye Plants will be dispatched to India in the coming days, Kommersant reported.

Last week, 'Rosoboronexport' and the Indian defence ministry signed a new option contract on deliveries of additional 24 MLRS for $300 million (about Rs 1286 crore) for 24 units. The total cost of the 'Smerch" MLRS deliveries will be $750 million (about 3,218 crore) , making it one of Russia's largest export orders for infantry weapons, the daily claimed.

The contract for the delivery of 38 "Smerch" rocket systems was signed on December 31, 2005 with the estimated value of $450 million m(about Rs 1,930 crore), including military vehicles, navigations systems, personnel training and Rosoboronexport's commission.

The first lot of weapons was to be sent to India in the spring of last year, but the Indians had some doubts about the reliability of the rocket engines. That issue has now been settled. The Smerch has a range of 90 km and barrage time of 38 sec.

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