India eyes safer skies with Russian S-400 Triumf

In what could be a game-changing arms acquisition, India is planning to acquire the new-generation Russian S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems that can destroy incoming hostile aircraft, stealth fighters, missiles and drones at ranges of up to 400-km.

Sources say the defence acquisitions council (DAC), chaired by Manohar Parrikar, will "soon" take up the proposal moved by the IAF to purchase around a dozen S-400 long-range systems from Russia.

"The project is at an initial stage at present. But it will be a government-to-government contract when it is finalized, with the S-400 systems being inducted over several years," said a defence ministry source.

The procurement proposal comes ahead of Parrikar's impending visit to Russia, which will be followed by the Modi-Putin summit in Moscow in December. It also comes around a year after China sealed a $3 billion deal with Russia for acquisition of six S-400 batteries.

China is slated to get the S-400 batteries, which is designated `SA-21 Growler' by NATO and rivals the anti-ballistic missile capabilities of the US Patriot PAC-3 system, from 2017 onwards.

Countries locked in territorial disputes with China in the East and South China Seas, ranging from Japan and Taiwan to Vietnam and the Philippines, are all worried at the prospect of the People's Liberation Army getting such a force-multiplier to dominate the airspace. India obviously is also wary of China acquiring such a military capability, even if it is defensive in nature, since it can make all the difference during a conflict.

The S-400 basically has three kinds of missiles, with different capabilities, that can fly at supersonic and hypersonic speeds to intercept all kinds of targets at ranges from 120 to 400-km. Russian experts even proclaim the S-400 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system can "radar lock and shoot down" stealth fifth-generation fighters like the American F-35 jets.

India, on its part, is now belatedly trying to plug the gaping holes in its airspace surveillance and defence network with progressive induction of a wide array of sensors and weapons.

With both IAF, tasked with the country's air defence, and Army saddled with increasingly obsolete air defence weapons, the ongoing induction of the indigenous 25-km range Akash area defence system has come as a major relief for them.

Induction of the Israeli Spyder low-level quick-reaction missile systems, with a 15-km range, is now planned from 2016-2017 onwards. The project was stuck since the Tatra trucks -- on which the missile systems were to be mounted - had got enmeshed in corruption scandals. The contract was recently amended to replace the Tatra trucks with Tata trucks.

Deliveries of the medium-range SAM systems jointly developed by Israeli Aerospace Industries and DRDO, with an interception range of 70-km, will also begin from 2016-2017.

Along with induction of these weapons, IAF is also now expanding its fully-automated surveillance network called IACCS (integrated air command and control system) to the entire country, with the cabinet committee on security recently approving another Rs 8,000 crore for the project. Eventually, the Army and Navy's Akash Teer and Triguna air defence networks will be integrated with the IACCS.

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India has asked Russia for FGFA test flight

Ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Moscow in December, India has asked Russia to allow IAF test pilots to fly its fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) to evaluate its capabilities.

“Flight-testing will help decide the way forward on the collaboration between the two countries on the FGFA. All options, ranging from an off-the-shelf purchase of 60-65 jets to joint production, are on the table,” said a top defence ministry official on Friday.
The fact that India needs an FGFA, which combines stealth, super-cruise capability, super-maneuverability, data fusion and multi-sensor integration on a single fighter, in the years ahead cannot be disputed.
For a country that is yet to even make its first indige- IAF down to 34 squadrons (includes 14 squadrons of obsolete MiG-21s & MiG-27s)

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India to buy 10 armored UAV from Israel

Government approves $400-million plan to purchase Armed Heron TP drones for Indian Air Forc. 

The government has quietly approved the purchase of 10 missile-armed drones from Israel — a crucial acquisition that will enhance India's cross-border military strike capability. The $400-million proposal for buying armed Heron TP drones from Israel was cleared last week and these drones may join service within a year.
These drones will be operated by the Indian Air Force, which has a fleet of reconnaissance drones. IAF also has a fleet of Harpy UAVs from Israel, which are self-destructing systems primarily tasked with taking out enemy radar positions.
Heron drones can carry a payload of over 1,000 kg and will be equipped with air-to-ground missiles that detect, track and take down targets deep in enemy territory.

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Desi Bofors aka Dhanush Howitzers to be inducted soon

JABALPUR: In what would be a shot in the arm for a force that has not had a new 155mm artillery gun inducted since the Bofors, the Indian Army is set to soon be handed over the indigenously-developed howitzer 'Dhanush', also known as 'desi bofors'.

"Dhanush, the indigenously-developed 155mm gun with 45 calibre having advanced features, is likely to be handed over to the army in November this year," Senior General Manager of Jabalpur's Gun Carriage Factory (GCF), NK Sinha, said.
The gun, a towed howitzer with a strike range of 38 km, has been developed by Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), Kolkata, after going through the design and voluminous documents running into more than 12,000 pages which were delivered to India under the first phase of Transfer of Technology (ToT) as part of the Bofors gun deal in late 80s, an official said.
Costing about Rs 14 crore apiece, Dhanush is comparable to most current generation weapons systems which are in use by different countries, the official added.
Along with electronic gun-laying and sighting systems and other features, the indigenously-developed gun has an enhanced 11 km range as against the gun range of 27 km of the imported Bofors.
Indian Army had stationed a special team of officers at GCF to help monitor the progress, coordinate proof resources and provide guidance regarding the qualitative requirements vis-a-vis the gun system from the user's perspective, the official said.
"A team from the 506 Army Base Workshop, close to CGF, was constantly providing technical inputs which it acquired for the project for over more than two decades," he added.
The Swedish Bofors company (now owned by Britain's BAE System) could not complete the ToT for the 155mm howitzer with 39 caliber to India as the deal got embroiled in a major political row over alleged kickbacks in 80s.
Subsequently, OFB struggled for a long time to produce the howitzer indigenously despite the fact that it has manufactured and supplied several components or spare parts to keep the Bofors howitzers operational in India, especially during Kargil war.

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BSF starts using sand scooters in sandy areas

JAISALMER: For the first time in the country Border Security Force (BSF) is using sand scooters along with camels. The jawans have started patrolling the border area in Shahgarh Bulj using sand scooters. Two sand scooters of American company Polaris have been deployed here.

The jawans face new challenges everyday that threaten the security of the nation. To deal with such challenges, the Centre, three years ago, had planned to provide all terrain vehicles (ATVs) to BSF. Several companies from China, America and other countries sent their ATVs which were tried by BSF at Shahgarh Bulj. After all the trials of various sand scooters, a report was sent by BSF special committee to the Centre. The committee had recommended American company Polaris's sand scooters.
In the first phase these scooters will be used along with camels on the sand dunes. The BSF is planning to gradually reduce the use of camels, but has refused to completely remove them from the area.
Sources said that initially Chinese company's Nebula Jaguar 500cc ATV scooter trial was held between May 17 and 19 some years ago.
Sources said that BSF headquarters in New Delhi had formed a committee led by a DIG to witness the trial of these ATVs. BSF special DG Singla said that under the pilot project, two scooters will be used for guarding the border. It will be seen how successful these scooters are and how they are utilized. After assessing all the factors, a decision will be taken to buy new scooters.

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