Indian Military

New Delhi — Indo-Russian military ties are set to grow stronger as India will soon order an additional 59 Russian Mi-17 helicopters from Russia. This decision to acquire 59 helicopters on top of the 80 helicopters ordered earlier has been taken by the Indian Air Force (IAF). The defence acquisition council has cleared the proposal and the request will be forwarded to the cabinet committee on security clearance soon.

The IAF has been trying to augment its fleet of medium-lift helicopters and the acquisition of an additional 59 Mi-17 helicopters aims to fulfil that mission. The existing fleet of medium-lift helicopters will be phased out soon. The Mi-17 helicopters will enhance the IAFs capability to carry out missions in high-altitude areas and relief operations. India had signed a deal with Russia in 2008 to supply 80 Mi-17s to augment its existing fleet of around 150 Mi-8 and Mi-17 medium-lift choppers. These helicopters have over five tonne load carrying capability and are also used to ferry troops.

New Delhi – India’s ‘Tejas’ Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is undergoing sea trials in Goa which is a part of the out-of-station flight-test plan for the LCA. Five prototypes of indigenously developed and manufactured ‘Tejas’ LCA will be put to rough sea trials at the Hansa Naval Air Station (NAS) at Dabolim in Goa.

The ‘Tejas’ LCA requires a host of system integration checks and various weapon modes still need to be tested. Officials pointed out that the ‘Tejas’ LCA needs to be checked for some more sea-level performance points in high-angle-of-attack (AOA) mode.

During the sea trials, the ‘Tejas’ LCA will be subjected to parameter identification (PID) and sea-level flutter vibration tests, with an all-external stores (bombs, fuel tanks, missiles) configuration. The PID is conducted with the latest software version of the digital flight control computer (DFCC) being developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE).

[PIB] A case under section 120B of the IPC read with sections 3(1) (c) and 5 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 has been registered on 20.3.2006 against certain dismissed officers of the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force including Lt. (Retd.) Ravi Shankaran in the "Naval War Room Leak" case and presently trial is pending. The accused Lt. (Retd.) Ravi Shankaran is absconding and is outside the country and evading the process of law. His passport has been revoked by Ministry of External Affairs and a red corner notice has also been issued against him on 12.5.2006. An extradition request was sent to the United Kingdom on 14.6.2007 and Head of NCB, International Criminal Police Organisation, London on 19.2.2008.

The Naval War Room leak in 2005 was the only such case in the past 10 years. In order to avoid such situations stringent IT security measures have been put in place in the Directorate of Naval Operations (including the Naval War-room). In addition, the Indian Navy has an elaborate Counter-Intelligence set up to provide cover to all ships/units/establishments.

New Delhi — The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) has revealed that it is seeking funds to the tune of $2 billion from the Indian government for the development of the advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA).

Speaking at the recently concluded Aviation Conclave 2010, PS Subramanyam, programme director (combat aircraft) and director of the ADA, indicated that the $2 billion fund will initially be utilised to develop two technology demonstrators and seven prototypes. The first flight test of the AMCA is expected to take place by 2017. The ADA falls under the Department of Defence and Research and Development of the Indian defence ministry. The work on fifth generation AMCA has already been initiated with the government giving Rs.100 crores and the rest of the $2 billion is expected in the next couple of years.

The AMCAs are aiming to bridge the gap between light combat aircraft ‘Tejas’ and Sukhoi heavy weight fighters. The AMCA will be designed with a small radar cross-section and will feature internal weapons and advanced electronic systems.

[PIB] Indian Air Force (IAF) got a new batch of officers with 171 newly commissioned Flying Officers graduating from the Air Force Academy (AFA), at Dundigal near Hyderabad, today.

Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal PV Naik reviewed the combined graduation parade and awarded President’s Commission to the graduating Flight Cadets that included 39 women Flight Cadets.

Four Indian Navy officers and one Indian Coast Guard officer also received their flying brevet (Wings) at the graduation parade from the Air Chief.

Among the senior IAF officials present at the ceremony included Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Training Command, Air Marshal D Kukreja and AFA Commandant, Air Vice Marshal Amit Aneja. Civil dignitaries, retired and serving defence officers, parents and relatives of the graduating Flight Cadets were among others who witnessed the parade.

Addressing the newly commissioned IAF officers, the Air Chief impressed upon the technological transformation of the Air Force and exhorted the young officers to acquire full understanding and knowledge of application of new technology to exploit the true potential of aerospace power.

[PIB] India and Sri Lanka today decided on a series of measures to enhance defence cooperation between the two countries. The decisions include conducting a joint naval exercise between the navies of the two countries in 2011, holding formal annual defence dialogue and staff level talks between the Navy and Armies of the two countries beginning next year. The decisions were taken by the two sides at the Defence Secretary level talks in Colombo today. The Indian side was led by the Defence Secretary Shri Pradeep Kaumar and the Sri Lankan side by Mr Gotabhaya Rajapakse. Senior officers of the three Services, Coast Guard, MoD and the Ministry of External Affairs also took part in the discussion. The Sri Lankan side was assisted by the Commanders of the three Services.

New Delhi and Colombo have common security concerns including the security and safety of sea lanes of communication. Both sides agreed that these common concerns will form the basis for bilateral exchanges. In today’s meeting the two sides also reviewed major ongoing projects including reactivation of airfields in war torn areas of Sri Lanka.

[PIB] Nearly three decades after it was first conceptualized, the Initial Operational Clearance for the Light Combat Aircraft was accorded today when the Defence Minister Shri AK Antony handed over a formal “Release to Service Certificate” of Tejas aircraft to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal PV Naik, at a function in Bangalore. The “Release to Service certificate” is prepared by Regional Center for Military Airworthiness, an organization under CEMILAC (Center for Military Airworthiness and Certification) which has thoroughly scrutinized the entire design, development, equipment testing and the results of flight testing of all the systems of Tejas over the last several months. This is the first time an indigenously designed and developed military fighter aircraft is being certified for Air Force operations. This occasion marks a very important achievement in the design and development of Tejas in particular and military aviation in the country as a whole. After this, Tejas aircraft will be available for use by the Indian Air Force Pilots.

NEW DELHI: Colourful tableaux depicting the myriad hues of country's diversity, a vibrant performance by students and armed forces in full battle regalia -- the Republic Day parade on Wednesday had 'mini-India' in itself.
Marching down from the Raisina Hills to Red Fort, the parade showcased India's 'unity in diversity' and the military might as thousands of spectators along the 8km long route cheered the marching contingents and the mechanised columns.
The well turned out and synchronised military and police contingents led by General Officer Commanding ( Delhi) Maj Gen Manvendra Singh marched proudly to the lilting tunes of bands through the Rajpath where President and Supreme Commander of Armed Forces Pratibha Patil took the salute.
The march-past was watched by the Republic Day chief guest Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, defence minister A K Antony and the country's top political and military brass.

NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force has bagged the 'Best Marching Contingent' award amongst the three Services at this year's Republic Day Parade while the Indo-Tibetan Border Police has been adjudged the best amongst the paramilitary.
More than 10 contingents of the three Services marched on the Rajpath and included horse-mounted columns of Army's 61 Cavalry, Punjab Regiment, Grenadiers Regiment, Rajputana Rifles Regiment, Rajput Regiment, Sikh Light Infantry Regiment, Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, 3 Gorkha Rifles and the Territorial Army along with a column each of the navy and the Air Force.
The marching contingents of paramilitary and other auxiliary civil forces included Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, Coast Guard, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Central Industrial Security Force, Sashastra Seema Bal, Railway Protection Force, Delhi Police, National Cadet Corps and National Service Scheme.
Among the 23 tableaux showcasing their respective states and ministries, the tableau from Delhi, with its theme of cultural and religious harmony in the national capital, has bagged the coveted first prize.

New Delhi — The prestigious $10.2 billion contract to sell India 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) will undoubtedly heat up during the forthcoming Aero-India Show 2011 in Bangalore. The main contenders for the MMRCA race will be highlighting the salient features of their aircraft in full-flight displays at the show during the second week of February.

While the main MMRCA contenders have confirmed their participation at the Aero-India show, only the Russian MiG-35 which is in the MMRCA race will not be showcasing its fighter craft. The Indian defence ministry is currently persuading the Russian contender to make its presence felt at the airshow. While the MiG-35 may not make it to the airshow, a Russian delegation is surely expected in India for Aero-India 2011.

The other five contenders for the MMRCA include Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Super Viper, Eurofighter’s Typhoon, Dassault Aviation’s Rafale and Saab’s Gripen. Barring Russia, each contender is bringing in two to three aircraft along with elaborate teams and flight simulators for displays since India will make a choice in July this year.