Indian Military

[Ajai Shukla] In Rajasthan, this May, the indigenously developed Nag (Cobra) missile will undergo a final round of trials before entering service in the Indian Army’s arsenal. Developed by the Defence R&D Laboratory (DRDL) in Hyderabad, the army is delighted with how the Nag has performed in a series of earlier trials. A senior army officer calls it “the world’s deadliest anti-tank guided missile (ATGM)”. Indian infantry formations urgently want a potent ATGM to handle Pakistani tank forces that now bristle with capable Ukrainian T-80 and Chinese T-85 tanks.

India’s existing Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle rockets can ferry a 2,000kg- class satellite towards a geostationary orbit 37,000km above Earth. The GSLV-Mk3 is expected to carry a 4,000kg-class satellite towards a geostationary orbit.

The GSLV-Mk3 can also carry a 10,000kg payload into a low-earth orbit — an altitude of about 200km — and is thus viewed as a crucial technology that Isro will need to develop in its bid to launch manned space capsules.

[ANI] The French Army band performed here on Saturday, as India invited military bands and cultural troupes of armies from around the world to strengthen ties and promote peace through music. The itinerary included performances by world-class musicians of The Royal EME (UK), The French Army, The Sri Lankan Army, The Bangladesh Army and The Nepalese Army apart from bands of the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.

[IDRW] In a months’ time Joint venture by GTRE and Snecma will be bring enhance thrust to the Kaveri Engine and new engine will be available in four to five years from now on , new joint venture most likely will be signed when French President Nicholas Sarkozy will come to India in April 2010.

[Flight International] Saab-led Gripen International has revived its war of words linked to the Norwegian defence ministry’s selection of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and rejection of its Gripen NG offering last November. The move comes as the next-generation version of the Swedish fighter is in the final phase of competitions in Brazil and Switzerland, and as Saab attempts to revive stalled procurement efforts in three eastern European states.

[Financial Express] In one of the initiatives to strengthen economic ties with Saudi Arabia, India has offered to launch commercial satellites for the Kingdom. According to officials, “Under an MoU between the two countries for cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) marketing arm Antrix Corp is shortly going to start discussions with the Kingdom for launching their satellites. We are ready to launch their satellites as that is commercially viable for ISRO.”

[RIA Novosti] Russia and India are expected to sign three contracts in military technical cooperation totaling $4 billion, including retrofitting the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, Vedomosti Russian daily reported.

[Col Ajai Shukla] The Policy turnaround will give BEL Rs 10,000-cr project without tendering. The Ministry of Defence is poised to deliver a disheartening blow to India’s nascent private defence industry. After inviting private companies into the Rs 10,000-crore project for developing the Indian Army’s futuristic Tactical Communications System (TCS), the ministry is abandoning competitive bidding and handing over the project to a defence public sector undertaking, Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL). The reason cited by the ministry: Secrecy.