Ministry of defence reconsidering blacklisting policy

In February 2013, Italian prosecutors arrested Giuseppe Orsi, the chief executive of Italian defence multinational, Finmeccanica on suspicion of paying bribes to facilitate the sale of VIP helicopters to India. Since then, the ministry of defence (MoD) has been in a quandary about whether to blacklist Finmeccanica and all its subsidiaries, or only AgustaWestland, the subsidiary that built and sold the AW-101 helicopters to India.

 Blacklisting all Finmeccanica companies - which include marine specialist, WASS; radar and communications specialist Selex Electronics Systems; aerospace giant, Alenia Aeromacchi; and armaments major, Otomelara - would undermine Indian tenders, in which they are important players.

On Saturday, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said the MoD would see how wrongdoers could be punished without blocking acquisitions and the flow of spares.

 "It is a serious challenge. We have to balance between two competing public interests. One is contracts are meant to be abided with and not violated, even by our suppliers. The other is the larger public interest in terms of our national security and defence preparedness. We are finding an answer. You will hear from us soon."

Referring to the AW-101 VIP helicopters, of which India had taken delivery of three before ending the contract with AgustaWestland for twelve, Jaitley said the decision "relates to cases where (a) violations have taken place and (b) the consequences of those violations affect our defence preparedness…particularly where parts and spares are to be made available."

 The MoD has been alarmed by the potential consequences of blacklisting all Finmeccanica subsidiaries. WASS has been selected in a $300-million tender to supply 98 Black Shark torpedoes for the Scorpene submarines. A reconsideration of this would delay the operationalisation of the Scorpene, several years late. When the submarines start joining the navy's fleet in 2016, it will be armed only with the Exocet anti-ship missile. There will be no weapon to take on Pakistan's silent new Khalid-class submarines, the French Agosta-90B. WASS is also a contender for a new decoy system for torpedoes.

 Finmeccanica company, Otomelara, is the licensee for 76-millimetre (mm) guns, built by Bharat Heavy Electricals, which equip all Indian warships. Otomelara is a leading bidder in the navy contract for heavier 127 millimetre guns, considered more suitable than the lighter, older guns. It is being considered for supplying 12.7-mm stabilised guns.

 A subsidiary, Selex Electronics Systems (Selex ES), is fitting radar systems on the INS Vikrant, the navy's indigenous aircraft carrier being built by Cochin Shipyard. Cancelling this would cause major delay in a project three years behind schedule. Selex ES is bidding to upgrade the navy's Kamov-28 anti-submarine helicopter. It has completed trials for supplying an advanced pilotless target aircraft, for training air defence gunners.

 Meanwhile, Alenia Aeromacchi, a subsidiary, is a desired partner in the project for the Indian private sector to build 56 transport aircraft to replace the obsolescent Indian Air Force (IAF) Avro. Alenia's C-27J transport aircraft, a proven design, is considered closest to what the IAF desires.

 AgustaWestland is a leading contender for supplying the navy with a multi-role helicopter in the 12-tonne class, to fly from warships and perform the job the Sea King 42B has been doing for decades. With three AW-101 VIP helicopters delivered, ending the contract would create uncertainty about spares and support.

 Since the blacklisting of AgustaWestland, the United Progressive Alliance government failed to take a decision on Finmeccanica. Since it came to power, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government has sent mixed messages.

 In June, Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh had indicated he would not favour trigger-happy blacklisting that may hinder Indian defence procurement by preventing many companies from responding to Indian tenders. Yet, earlier this month, the MoD sent a circular directing that, while tenders involving Finmeccanica companies could continue being evaluated, no Finmeccanica company would be awarded a contract.

Rafale fighter jet deal contract with France almost ready: Indian Defence ministry

The much-awaited multi-billion Rafale combat aircraft deal with France has moved a step further with the defence ministry finalizing a 'draft contract', according to top defence ministry officials.

 

Rafale was declared the lowest bidder in Janaury 2012 but the deal has not been inked so far on account of escalation in the cost. The Cost Negotiation Committee, which was set up in February 2012 to work out the modalities for the deal has not reached a conclusion after 30 months of negotiations.

 

The government raised its concerns over this last month, during the visit of French foreign minister Laurent Fabius to New Delhi.

 

"Yes, we are in the process of finalizing the draft contract for the deal. And we also expect the Cost Negotiation Committee to submit its report soon," said a senior defence ministry official, who was privy to the developments.

 

But the official refused to give a time frame for inking the deal. "It is very difficult to predict any date for signing the contract. But, it should happen in the next few months," the officer said, requesting anonymity.

 

The Indian Air Force (IAF), which is coping with a depleted combat strength, claims that even if the deal is signed by the end of the year the first lot of Rafale aircraft would arrive only by 2017, by which time the IAF would have to phase out its MiG-21 squadrons.

 

The likelihood of an early signing is encouraging. Besides, the ruling NDA government has promised to address all the needs of the armed forces to ensure defence preparedness.

 

According to officials privy to the development, the defence ministry has asked representatives of M/s Dassault Aviation – the French manufacturer of Rafale aircraft – to revise the price structure which has gone beyond expected estimates.

 

Officials claim that when the tender was floated in 2007 the cost of the programme was $12 billion (Rs42,000 crore).When the lowest bidder was declared in January 2012, the cost of the deal shot up to $18 billion (Rs90,000 crore). Now with the inclusion of transfer of technology, the life cycle cost and creation of an assembly line, the deal has climbed to a whopping $20 billion.

 

The air force is seeking to replace its aging MiG-21s with a modern fighter and the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) fits between India's high-end Sukhoi-30MKIs and the low-end Tejas LCA lightweight fighter. The IAF has a sanctioned strength of 45 fighter jet squadrons. However, only 30 squadrons are operational as old aircraft have been retired.

 

Eighteen of the 126 new aircraft are to be purchased directly from Dassault and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited will manufacture 108 under a licence, at a new facility in Bangalore.

 

Defence minister Arun Jaitley informed parliament last week that "given the complexity of the procurement case, the process of negotiations with Dassault Aviation on various aspects of the commercial proposal and provisions of draft contract is on."

 

Dassault Aviation emerged as L-1 bidder for procurement of the MMRCA based on its quotation.

Sukhoi PAK-FA to be armed with IMPOSSIBLE-TO-EVADE K-77M missile

Sukhoi's PAK-FA fifth generation fighter plane being jointly developed by Russia and India is all set to be armed with never-seen-before advanced air engagement system.
 

 

The K-77M air-to-air missile will combine fire-and-forget guidance and single-shot-kill that will triumph over any evasive manoeuvres by the target.
 

"The major innovation of the K-77M air-to-air missile is its guidance system, based on an active phased array antenna (APAA) of its own, Izvestia daily reports. With APAA onboard, the missile has zero reaction time to unexpected evolutions of the target, which means that once it locks on an aircraft, it would hit it no matter what aerial acrobatics the target would perform to shake off the inbound killer missile," quoted Russia Today.

 

 

The APAA is the most modern technology and is extremely expensive to produce. It consists of large number of cone-shaped cells installed on the nose of the missile. The information obtained from all the cells help system complete a picture and engages the target.

 

The Sukhoi PAK-FA
 

Indian Air Force has signed partnership deal with its most trusted ally- Russia, to jointly develop a Fifth Generation Fighter Place that is expected to be ready by 2022. The Indian version would be based on currently in-development Russian Sukhoi PAK-FA T-50 prototype.

 

 

The aircraft will be jointly developed by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) and the Sukhoi concern in Moscow. Once operational, it will replace the existing fleet of, Soviet-era, MiG-29 and Sukhoi Su-30MKI.

 

 

 Under the USD11-million deal, India will receive its first working prototype by 2014, followed by a second prototype in 2017 and the third in 2019, from Russia.
 

The three prototypes would be subjected to extensive evaluation to test various components, onboard systems and general handling of weapon delivery.

Development of Sukhoi FGFA on course, full-scale development contract being drafted

The front-end engineering design of Sukhoi FGFA, the fifth generation fighter plane being jointly developed by Russia and India for Indian Air Force has been completed.

 

The United Aircraf Corporation (UAC), the company beghind the designing of the state-of-the-art fighter jet, is under the process of preparing the contract for full-scale development of the jet.

The Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) or Perspective Multi-role Fighter (PMF) is a fifth-generation fighter being developed by India and Russia.

 

The Indian model will bear slight difference from its Russian counterpart based upon the needs of Indian Air Force.

FGFA was the earlier designation for the Indian version, while the combined project is now called the Perspective Multi-Role Fighter (PMF).

Two separate prototypes will be developed, one by Russia and a separate one by India.

 According to erstwhile HAL chairman A.K. Baweja (speaking shortly after the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Committee meeting on 18 September 2008), both the Russian and Indian versions of the aircraft will be single-seater. The first aircraft is to begin testing in India in 2014, with introduction into service expected by 2022.

 

Last year, India and Russia signed a contract to arm the jet with never-seen-before advanced air engagement system.

The K-77M air-to-air missile will combine fire-and-forget guidance and single-shot-kill that will triumph over any evasive manoeuvres by the target.

"The major innovation of the K-77M air-to-air missile is its guidance system, based on an active phased array antenna (APAA) of its own, Izvestia daily reports. With APAA onboard, the missile has zero reaction time to unexpected evolutions of the target, which means that once it locks on an aircraft, it would hit it no matter what aerial acrobatics the target would perform to shake off the inbound killer missile," quoted Russia Today.

 

A few small production pushes for LCA

A newly created division for the light combat aircraft (LCA) and a bid to make 80 per cent of its components locally are among recent moves taken to spur production of the made-in-India fighter plane once it crosses the last milestone for airworthiness, according to its developer and production agencies.

 

The LCA Division was carved out a few months ago at the manufacturing partner, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. here.

 

In the last one year, R&D agency Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and HAL met small- and mid-sized component manufacturers several times and encouraged them to take up some more components. They aim to raise the LCA’s indigenous content to 80 per cent in three years, up from the present 50 to 55 per cent. The steps are meant to double the rate of delivering the aircraft to the Air Force.

 

Production target

 

Chief of Defence Research and Development Organisation Avinash Chander, and HAL and ADA officials met about 50 Indian vendors at one such meeting. HAL Chairman R.K. Tyagi told them that starting 2015–16, “we aim to roll out 16 LCAs every year, [increasing] from the initial target of eight a year”.

 

Currently, 168 of the 344 LCA components are made in the country.

 

A key defence scientist involved in the programme said HAL and ADA would help manufacturers to pick up at least 10 more simple components and offer the use of government-owned manufacturing and test facilities.

 

“We have the capacity in the country and we have started the process [of increasing local manufacture]. This cost would not exceed the cost of imports. What is significant is, in the long run, this expanded vendor base will readily support future programmes such as the fifth generation fighter aircraft and the multi-role transport aircraft [that HAL and Russia are to co-develop], the advanced medium combat aircraft and LCA MkII,” the scientist told Submariners World.

 

The LCA already has a separate production facility and hangars set up at around Rs. 300 crore.

 

Under development for 25 years, the LCA will enter production and join the Air Force once it passes the last test for battle-readiness, the final operational clearance (FOC). Defence scientists maintain that the FOC should be possible before 2015 as planned.

 

LCA business partners decide to increase indigenisation

The business partners working on India's prestigious Light Combat Aircraft - a lightweight multirole fighter jet - have decided to ensure the indigenous content of components used in the aircraft touches 80 per cent in the next three years.

At the indigenous strategic partners' meet of LCA organised by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited here, Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister, Avinash Chander said it is possible to achieve such a goal since 165 out of 344 Line Replacement Units (LRUs) are already made in India.

In his address to the vendors on Monday, representing around 50 companies, he pointed out that LCA dream had been achieved in-spite of denial of technology, according to an HAL release.

"It is clear that we have capability and the government will do everything possible to strengthen the knowledge base.

Even funding can be provided and national facilities (such as testing) may be shared with private players to bring down costs to create a vibrant aerospace eco-system", he added.

HAL Chairman R K Tyagi said the production of LCA is on track with the creation of dedicated production division at HAL Bangalore.

"We are aiming to roll-out 16 LCAs every year from the initial target of eight per year. Having specific business partners on such an important project has been of great help", he added.

T Suvarna Raju, Director (Design and Development, HAL) in his address said coming together of stakeholders is necessary to understand and share the knowledge since India is poised to have its own fighter aircraft comparable to the best in the world.

Yet Another 'Failure' for Akash Missile

Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel on Tuesday conducted a user trial of surface-to-air sophisticated missile Akash from a defence base off the Odisha coast. The missile targeted at Mirage aircraft reportedly failed to deliver the desired results.

 

Defence sources said the indigenously developed missile was test fired from the launching complex - III of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea. The missile was to hit the Italian aircraft Mirage, flown prior to the weapon’s launch in a simulated coordination.

 

While DRDO officials claimed that the missile met all mission parameters, sources at the test range told this paper that the missile failed to destroy the target due to delay in take off. “There was a slight disturbance in simulation following a few seconds delay in take off for which the missile failed to hit the target,” the source informed.

 

The test was aimed at gauging the flight consistency and effectiveness of the missile. The complete Akash missile system including targets was operated by IAF personnel exploiting the overall capabilities of system in different envelops. The missile has been already inducted into IAF and the system is in continuous production and induction.

 

As reported by ‘The Express’ earlier, the Akash system has a problem with its radar since long for which the Army had been denying to induct it in the forces for years. The launcher did not get required command in time to fire the missile leading to delay in take off in a couple of occasions in the past.

 

The missile has a range of 25 km to 30 km and an effective ceiling of 18 km. Fuelled by solid propellants, the weapon can fly at supersonic speed of around 2.5 Mach. The 5.8 metre long sleek missile has a launch weight of 720 kg and can carry a warhead of 50 kg.

 

Akash missile system has a passive phased array radar, which is capable of tracking 64 targets and controlling upto 12 missiles simultaneously. As claimed by the DRDO, it can be used to counter ballistic and cruise missiles, enemy aircraft and air-to-surface missiles.

A Melancholy Milestone For MiG

Last month the Indian Air Force celebrated the 50th anniversary of receiving its first MiG-21 jet fighter. While the celebration was upbeat, masking the fact that India is rapidly getting rid of its MiG-21s, and not just because they are old. On the bright side, obtaining manufacturing rights to the MiG-21 enabled India to build a domestic aircraft manufacturing industry that now produces military and commercial aircraft. The same thing happened in China, which began manufacturing the MiG-21 at about the same time. That’s the good news.

 

The bad news is that India has lost so many MiG-21 fighters to accidents that it is trying to retire this type of aircraft as quickly as possible. Over the last half century, India has bought 976 MiG-21s and over half are gone, mostly because of accidents. While India was something of an extreme case in this area (other users don't fly their MiG-21s as much), it's been typical of MiG aircraft. All this is part of the decline of the once feared, and admired, MiG reputation. 

 

Starting in World War II (the MiG-1 entered service in 1940), through the Korean War (the MiG-15 jet fighter), and the Cold War (the MiG-17/19/21/23/27/29), MiGs comprised the bulk of the jet fighters in communist, and Indian, air forces. But after the Cold War ended in 1991, the flaws of the MiG aircraft (poor quality control and reliability, difficult to fly) caught up with users, in a big way. In the last few years most of the bad news about military aircraft reliability, accidents, and crashes has involved MiG products. For example, all Indian MiG-27s have been grounded several times in the last few years because of suspected mechanical problems. These fears are not new. The MiG-27 and Cold War era Russian warplanes in general do not age well.

 

In 1963 India had good reason to believe that, with the MiG-21 Russia had learned from experience and created a superb jet fighter. That was not the case, but like many users of MiG jet fighters India stuck with the brand. They were not the only ones. The most extreme example of this was Albania that, in 2005, retired the last MiG-15 fighters still in service. 

 

A late 1940s design, partly based on work Germany had done during World War II (and using captured German engineers and plans, as well as British technology and Russian aircraft design ideas), the MiG-15 looked good on paper. The six ton MiG-15 was fast, rugged and resistant to damage. But the flight controls made it difficult to maneuver as effectively as "inferior" (on paper) American aircraft. MiG-15s were usually the losers in aerial battles with aircraft like the American F-86 or F-80. Recognizing those flaws, there followed the six ton MiG-17, which corrected most of the MiG-15s faults, and added a new one; difficulty maneuvering at low altitudes. In the mid-1950s, the nine ton MiG-19 showed up, further refining the original MiG-15 idea. The MiG-19 was supersonic, but as pilots discovered, it was maneuverability, not speed, that brought victory. The MiG-19; was quickly followed in the late 1950s by the 8.5 ton MiG-21, which is still serving in dozens of air forces. Most modern jet fighters weigh in at twenty tons or more, and dwarf the MiG-21 in other ways as well. India was the last major user of MiG-21s to admit that they were using flawed and inferior aircraft, and have rapidly been replacing them with non-Russian aircraft or non-MiG aircraft (like the Su-30) from Russia.

Missile misses target again

In a joint exercise by Indian Air Force (IAF) and DRDO, a Russian short range surface-to-air missile was test fired from a defence base off the Odisha coast on Wednesday. The OSA-AK missile reportedly failed to hit a tow body suspended from a pilot less target aircraft (PTA) as it fell down before reaching the target.

Sources said air force personnel conducted the test, a part of target simulation exercise in the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur on sea during noon.

The missile was fired from the launching complex - III and the PTA was flown from the launching -II of the ITR.

While three rounds of the missile were fired at 11.25 am, 11.45 am and 12.45 pm, the missile was to hit the tow body during the third attempt.

“The missile fell down immediately after take off. Though in initial two attempts the 10-km range missile travelled a certain distance, but during the target simulation exercise it failed to reach the target,” said a source.

It was the third attempt in last three days which also proved futile.

While on Monday the pilot less target aircraft fell down before releasing the tow body and flying for a stipulated period due to technical snags, a similar attempt on Tuesday also failed as the missile could not be fired.

A defence official said the aim and objective of the exercise was to gauge the effectiveness of the missile and killing capabilities mid air.

The Russia-manufactured missile has already been procured by India for the IAF fighter air-crafts.

OSA-AK missile has been developed to be used against aircrafts, surface-to-air missiles and air-to-air missiles.

The missile has already been inducted in the army and it was first user trial by the IAF.

Sources added that if all the preparations go according to the plan, another exercise will be conducted within a day or two.

Thereafter, the missile would be fired from the fighter air crafts targeting the PTA.