Indian Military

NEW DELHI: Noting that land scams such as Sukna and Adarsh society have projected armed forces in a "bad" light, defence minister A K Antony on Wednesday said policies would be framed to bar local military authorities from directly issuing 'no objection certificates' to private realtors.
Addressing a meeting of the parliamentary consultative committee, he said the scams have exposed the "gaps" in the defence land management system and their records will be computerised.
"The defence ministry will shortly be framing policies covering the issue of NOCs... No NOC would be issued, especially to private builders directly by the local military authorities (LMAs)," he said.
The recent Sukna, Kandivali and Adarsh land scams related to issuing of NOCs by local military commanders to private realtors and have led the ministry to change its policies for granting permission for construction on defence land or in areas adjacent to military stations.

The second prototype of the Light Combat Helicopter nearing completion at HAL, Bangalore. Integrated with weapons and sensors, it is 200 kg lighter than the first prototype, which first flew last May
By Ajai ShuklaHAL, Bangalore
Showcasing the success of its burgeoning helicopter business, aerospace giant Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), will treat spectators at next week’s Aero India 2011 air show in Bangalore to a daring display of helicopter aerobatics by its newly built Light Combat Helicopter (LCH). HAL honchos promise that the LCH will fly manoeuvres that will eclipse the Indian Air Force’s globally acclaimed Sarang aerobatics team, which flies the Dhruv helicopter.
This is rare confidence in a helicopter that came onto the drawing board just three years ago; currently, there is only a single flying prototype of the LCH, which has flown 60 hours since it took to the air last May.

New Delhi– India’s ‘Nishant’ Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is finally ready for the Indian Army after a series of successful flight trials in Rajasthan recently. The Indian Army has taken the delivery of four Nishant UAV’s with ground systems and expects to order more in the near future.

The Nishant UAV has been indigenously designed and developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) laboratory. ADE specialises in UAVs, flight control systems and simulators.

The Nishant UAV will give a decisive edge to the Indian Army in the area of day and night battle-field reconnaissance, surveillance, target tracking and correction of artillery fire. The UAV can also be used for anti-insurgency operations in critical times. The electro-optical, electronic intelligence and communication intelligence payload on-board the Nishant UAV will enable it for an array of operations such as the above-mentioned ones. The Nishant UAV does not need a runway and can be launched from a hydro pneumatic launcher.

New Delhi – The Indian Army can finally boast a stronger helicopter in its fleet with an upgraded version of the ‘Dhruv’ Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) which was handed over to them recently. These new helicopters incorporate a new powerful engine which will enable take-off and landing at a high altitude with ease and help to carry operations in the mountainous terrains of Jammu and Kashmir.

According to state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), five new ‘Dhruv’ ALH developed by them were handed over to the Indian Army. The upgraded ‘Dhruv’ ALH Mark III have a stronger ‘Shakti’ engine developed by HAL and the French firm Turbomeca. The five new helicopters will be used for varied operations in the Siachen area of Jammu and Kashmir. Since the current fleet of Chetak and Cheetah helicopters are being overworked and cannot withstand the altitude and weather posed by Siachen, the ‘Dhruv’ ALH Mark III is the need of the hour for the Indian Army.

The Dhruv ALH is a multi-role helicopter developed and manufactured by HAL and has also been exported to Nepal, Peru, Ecuador and Israel, and is on order by several other countries for both military and commercial uses.

NEW DELHI: Reiterating concerns at the rapid modernisation of China's armed forces, defence minister A K Antony on Wednesday said India needs to carry out "a comprehensive review'' of its defence preparedness as well as "remain vigilant'' to meet any security challenges.
"Modernisation of armed forces in China and its ever-increasing military spending is a matter of serious concern....But we are not unduly worried,'' said Antony, on the sidelines of the Asian Security Conference here.
"We also must strengthen our capabilities and infrastructure in our border areas and we are doing it,'' he said. While this is true, India has begun to upgrade several airstrips and helipads in the North-East and Ladakh, apart from basing Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets at Tezpur and Chabua in Assam, rather belatedly after being jolted out of its slumber by China's strategic moves.
India has also raised two new infantry mountain divisions for the North-East, with 1,260 officers and 35,011 soldiers, with the first battalion of Arunachal Scouts also slated to become operational by May.

SRINAGAR: More than 8,000 Kashmiri young men thronged a recruitment drive centre in Kashmir Valley's Ganderbal district to join the Indian Army.
Braving rain and sleet, the youths reached the Manasbal Sainik School in north Kashmir early Saturday morning hoping to join the million-strong army.
Carrying their testimonials, the youths jostled with each other to make it to the centre. Many stood in queue since dawn.
"I have been waiting outside the gate since 5 a.m.," said a 20-year-old who gave his name as Sajjad. A resident of Anantnag, he came to Manasbal, 34 km north of summer capital Srinagar in search of an army job.
Added a graduate from Anantnag, Ishfaq: "Joining the army has been a passion for me. There is a lot of unemployment here, and the army can give me the chance to earn a decent living."
The drive is being held to recruit soldiers from Srinagar and Anantnag districts. Similar drives will be held for other districts in the valley in the coming days, said an army official.

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New Delhi –The Indian Army has come under the scanner once again following the recent mysterious leaking of a classified report related to the field trial of the M777 ultra-light Howitzer that was concluded recently. The pages of the classified report that have leaked contain evidence that the M-777 howitzer had failed the field trials concluded in December 2010.

The company that now own Bofors, the BAE Systems of US, makes the ultra light Howitzer M777 which is to be procured through a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route by India from the US. The acquisition is to be made through the government-to- government FMS route and is worth over $647 million for 10 regiments (160) guns. However, according to the leaked pages of the report, the Howitzer gun appears to have failed the recent trials on several parameters.

[Stratpost]

The Indian government will soon decide on penal action against an Israeli defense company blacklisted in connection with a graft case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against a former Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) chief, the Indian Upper House of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha was informed Wednesday.

The CBI filed the case against Sudipto Ghosh, former director general of OFB, in May 2009.

Defense Minister Arackaparambil Kurian Antony, in a written reply, said his ministry has issued show cause notices to Israel Military Industries (IMI) last year, following which the company requested supporting documents on the charges against it, which were provided to it.

“A decision regarding the penal action will be taken after examining the reply of IMI and in consultation with the ministry of law and justice and the Central Vigilance Commission,” Antony said.

After examining the First Information Report (FIR) lodged by the CBI against Ghosh, the defense ministry, through an order May 28, 2009, decided to put on hold all contracts with companies named by the investigating agency in the graft case.

New Delhi – In the Indian Union Budget for the year 2011-2012, the Indian Finance Ministry has given special attention to defence by increasing the defence outlay whilst keeping India’s strategic goals at par by facilitating capital for the big-ticket purchases in the current fiscal year.

As per the defence budget for the fiscal 2011-12, the Indian Finance Ministry has given a 11.6 per cent hike which amounts to $34 billion. The hike of 11.6 per cent in defence budgetary allocations is a positive step compared to a mere 4 per cent last year. There has been 9 per cent jump in revenue expenditure and the Finance Ministry has also scaled up capital expenditure by providing more impetus to the modernization plans of the Indian Armed Forces. The defence capital acquisition for the financial year 2011-12 has been hiked to $12.22 billion, while capital expenditure for the same has been raised by about 12 percent to $15.38 billion.

As for the break-up of the total budgetary allocation, the Indian Army has been granted $14.

Right: Attending a Sino-Indian border meeting at the Spanggur Gap near ChushulBelow: Flying back to Leh in an IAF Cheetah past the Panggong Lake
Both our defence budgets reveal only part of what we actually spend
By Ajai Shukla
The announcement of a country’s annual defence expenditure is as much about geo-political signalling as about budgeting. From New Delhi, where the government announced a 12% increase in defence spending last Monday, here is the big message: notwithstanding our focus on development and social justice; and despite the still uncertain international economic climate, India will spend what is needed for an acceptable level of security.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, while presenting the union budget in parliament, allocated Rs 164,415 crore (US $36.