Chandrayaan-2 to take off in 2017 : ISRO chief

India’s second lunar probe, Chandrayaan-2, is planned to be launched in 2017, the parliament was told on Thursday. ”The Chandrayaan-2, India’s second mission to the Moon, has Orbiter, Lander and Rover configuration.

It is planned to be launched during 2017-2018 time frame by Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota,” Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

According to the Indian Space Research Organisation, Chandrayaan-2 is an advanced version of the Chandrayaan-1 mission. Chandrayaan-1 was launched from the Chennai-based spaceport on October 22, 2008. It was a successful mission where the spacecraft orbited around the Moon at a height of 100 km from the lunar surface for chemical, mineralogical and photo-geological mapping of the Earth’s natural satellite.

Chandryaan-2 will be an indigenous mission where the ISRO will develop the lunar Lander and be responsible for the Orbiter and Rover as well as the launch by GSLV.

Read More

ISIS and weapons of mass destruction

ISIS,  A major threat to the world soon have to be a nuclear terrorist organization. IS claimed that they can purchase the limited nuclear warheads from pakistan by giving money to the corrupt politicians this is because IS is the richest terror group.

The hyperbolic article, which the group
attributes to the British hostage John Cantlie, claims Isis has transcended its roots as “the most explosive Islamic ‘group’ in the modern world” to evolve into “the most explosive Islamic movement the modern world has ever seen” in less than twelve months.

Photojournalist Cantlie is regularly used in the terror group’s propaganda and has appeared in a number of videos, including a YouTube series called “Lend Me Your Ears”. He has been held a hostage by Isis for more than two

years. The piece, entitled “The Perfect Storm”, describes militant Islamist groups such as Boko Haram, which recently pledged allegiance

to Isis, uniting across the Middle East, Africa and Asia to create one global movement. The article claims this alignment of groups has

happened at the sane time as Isis militants have seized “tanks, rocket launchers, missile systems, anti-aircraft systems,” from the US and Iran before turning to the subject of more extreme weapons the group is not in possession of – such as nuclear weapons.“Let

me throw a hypothetical operation onto the table,” the article continues. “The Islamic State has billions of dollars in the bank, so they call on their wil?yah in Pakistan to purchase a nuclear device through weapons dealers with

links to corrupt officials in the region.”

It admits that such a scenario is “far-fetched” but warns: “It’s the sum of all fears for Western intelligence agencies and it’s infinitely more possible today than it was just one year ago.

Read More

Features of Indian Latest Warship : A stealth Destroyer

Indian Navy’s new destroyer, Visakhapatnam, with enhanced capability to operate in nuclear, biological and chemical atmosphere, will be launched in Mumbai on Sunday. Indian Navy’s new destroyer, Visakhapatnam, with enhanced capability to operate in nuclear, biological and chemical atmosphere, will be launched in Mumbai on Sunday. The ship is the first of the four follow follow-up order of the Kolkata class warships and will give a major flip to India’s maritime capabilities when it is inducted in 2018. Ahead of its launch, here are a few facts about the stealth destroyer. 1) The ship, named Visakhapatnam (Project 15 B), a stealth destroyer, is 65 per cent indigenous and has a number of weapon systems which have been made at home. 2) At 7,300 tonnes, Visakhapatnam will be the largest destroyer commissioned by the Indian Navy and will be equipped with the Israeli Multi Function Surveillance Threat Alert Radar. 3) The ship will be carrying 8 BrahMos missiles. 4) Navy officials said the Visakhapatnam is likely to be inducted in the Indian Navy by 2018. 5) The Visakhapatnam will be armed with a 127 mm main gun while the INS Kolkata has a 76mm Super Rapid Gun Mount. 6) She is equipped with a Ship Data Network, an Automatic Power Management System and a Combat Management System. Essentially, all information critical for the operation of the warship during all operations is available to key officers through the SDN which the Navy describes as a data information highway. 7) These ships are amongst the most technologically advanced Guided Missile Destroyers of the world, with state of the art weapon/sensor package, advanced stealth features and a high degree of automation. 8) With a displacement of 7,300 tonnes, each ship will be spanning 163 metres in length and 17.4 meters at the beam. It will be propelled by four gas turbines in Combined Gas and Gas configuration. 9) The ships are capable of achieving speeds in excess of 30 knots and have maximum endurance of 4000 nm at economical speed of 14 knots. 10) The destroyers incorporate new design concepts for improved survivability, sea keeping, stealth and ship manoeuvrability. These ships will be equipped to carry and operate two multiple role helicopters. 11) These ships have been designed for a complement of 50 officers and 250 sailors. 12) The ship’s fire power consists of sophisticated weapons-sensor suite including vertically launch capable Surface to Air and Surface-to-Surface Missiles for long distance engagement of shore and sea based targets.

Read More

Airbus to set up final assembly lines for military aircraft, helicopters in India

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus SAS of Toulouse said it is willing to set-up final assembly lines and establish supply chain and related infrastructure for military transport aircraft and helicopters in India.

Mumbai: Aircraft manufacturer Airbus SAS of Toulouse said it is willing to set-up final assembly lines and establish supply chain and related infrastructure for military transport aircraft and helicopters in India. The defence and space unit of Airbus has also plans to develop and manufacture electronic sensors with a partner in India, and has advanced discussions to support state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s combat aircraft programmes. In a statement, Airbus said one of its units, Airbus Helicopters is in discussion with Indian companies to finalise teaming arrangements for various helicopter programmes, including the Naval Utility Helicopter, the Reconnaissance and Surveillance Helicopter as well as the Naval Multi-Role Helicopter competitions. “India already takes a centre-stage role in our international activities and we want to even increase its contribution to our products. We support Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ call and are ready to manufacture in India, for India and the world,” said Airbus Group chief executive officer Tom Enders. It was in April 1975, state-run Indian Airlines (now Air India Ltd) ordered three A300B2s, the first contract secured by Airbus in a country previously dominated by American aircraft manufacturers. Airbus had set up an Indian fully-owned subsidiary, Airbus India Operations, in December 2013. In India, Airbus Group already operates two engineering centres — one focused on civil aviation and the other on defence — and a research and technology (R&T) centre which together employ over 400 people. During the meeting with Modi, the Group’s senior representatives conveyed their decision to expand these centres so that they can take on comprehensive design responsibilities for future Airbus Group programmes. At present, Airbus commands over 70% market share in the fleet of Indian scheduled airlines. In 2014, Airbus’ procurement from India stood at over $400 million from around 40 companies (public and private) which together support more than 5,000 jobs locally. The top three procurement areas have been in engineering & IT services, aero-structures, and detailed parts & systems. “The prime minister was informed that procurement from the country is set to grow further as the Group plans to award additional manufacturing and engineering work packages to local companies, which will accelerate their integration into the Group’s global supply chain,” Airbus said in a statement. Airbus said it is willing to set-up final assembly lines and establish supply chains and related infrastructure for military transport aircraft and helicopters in the country. “These would be in full compliance of the procurement policies specified by the Indian Ministry of Defence and local Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) guidelines,” it said. Airbus’ defence and space had submitted a joint proposal with Tata Group to produce the modern C295 aircraft in India as a replacement for the ageing Avro aircraft of the Indian Air Force. On 20 February, Mint reported that Airbus Group is in advanced talks with India’s largest engineering company Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) for setting up a radar manufacturing facility in India quoting Christian Scherer, executive vice-president (head of marketing and sales) and member of executive committee at Airbus Defence and Space GmbH. Airbus also works directly with Indian companies in designing and manufacturing aerostructures. These companies include Tata Group, Mahindra Group, Aequs Pvt Ltd, L&T, Dynamatic Technologies Ltd, Infosys Ltd, HCL Technologies Ltd, Geometric Ltd and Tech Mahindra Ltd.

Read More

Rafale deal : A boost to IAF (Indian Air Force)

New Delhi: In a surprising decision which is likely to have a major impact on the Indian Air Force (IAF), the Centre has scrapped the $20 billion Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal for purchase of 126 Rafale fighter jets which was negotiated by the previous United Progressive Alliance government. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar claimed that Rafale fighters cannot replace the ageing MiG-21 which will be phased out in the next 6-10 years.

Parrikar said that India's indigenous Light Combat aircraft Tejas will replace MiG 21 as both are almost of the same category while the Rafale is a much bigger jet with a longer range and more weapons carrying capabilities. "We have not purchased any new aircraft of latest technology in the past 15 years. IAF desperately needs fourth generation aircraft, the fifth generation that we are working on will take 10-15 years," said Parrikar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to France negotiated with the government there to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets in fly-away condition under a new deal. After meeting French President Francois Hollande in Paris on April 11, Modi announced that IAF would get 36 Rafale jets.

Under the MMRCA deal, India was to get only 18 Rafale directly while the rest 108 fighters were to be manufactured by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. But the final deal between India and France was stuck over who would be responsible for the manufacturers' guarantee on 108 jets which were to be built HAL. India wanted Rafale maker Dassault Aviation to take full responsibility which the latter had not agreed to.

Read More

ISRO to launch a test flight of reusable launch vehicle

NEW DELHI: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will carry out a test flight of Reusable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) any day between April-June this year. 

The reusable vehicle will bring down the cost of satellite launches substantially in future, making such operations quite competitive in global commercial launch market. 

"Technology Demonstrator winged body vehicle weighing 1.5T will be lofted to a height of 70 km using solid booster, thus attaining five times the speed of sound. Thereafter, it will descend by gliding and splashing down into the sea", said an official statement. 
This test flight would demonstrate the Hypersonic aerodynamics characteristics, Avionics system, Thermal protection system, Control system and Mission management. 

"Development of Reusable Launch Vehicles is a technical challenge and it involves development of many cutting edge technologies. The magnitude of cost reduction depends on development and realization of fully reusable launch vehicle and its degree of reusability", said the statement issued on Wednesday. 

The ISRO has taken steps to develop next generation launch vehicle GSLV MkIII, capable of launching four ton class communication satellites to Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit, which would bring down the cost of satellite launches. 

Besides, the ISRO is setting up Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) to provide positioning and navigational services in Indian mainland and surrounding region up to 1,500km. 

The IRNSS consists of seven satellites in a constellation, three satellites in geostationary orbit and four satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The objective of IRNSS is to provide positioning services over Indian region with an absolute position accuracy of better than 20 metres. 

"The IRNSS provides two services namely Standard Positioning Service (SPS) for Civilian users and Restricted Service (RS) for strategic users", said the statement. 

Out of the seven satellites required in the constellation, three satellites namely, IRNSS-1A, 1B & 1C have already been successfully placed in the orbit. 

Read More