Indian Military

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).

New Delhi – The recent visit by the US President to India has paved the way for greater defence cooperation and is expected to boost military ties to a high level. With greater freedom in technology exchange and defence import/export and relaxation on controls, it is likely that Indo-US co-development of high tech weaponry will reach the maximum possible level.

Due to US sanctions and other US government restrictions, the Indian Defence Ministry and its Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has never joined hands with the US defence industry to produce critical weaponry or big-ticket projects.

On the other hand, India is doing joint development contracts like the $12 billion Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project with Russia which will be signed next month and there is the $2-billion partnership between the DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to co-develop an anti-aircraft missile. The US has not come close to any projects of such magnitude because of government policies and sanctions.

[Stratpost]

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has issued a notification to the US Congress for the possible Foreign Military Sale of ’21 AGM-84L Harpoon Block II Missiles and associated equipment, parts and logistical support for a complete package worth approximately $200 million’.

The DSCA notification also listed as part of the sale, ’5 ATM-84L Harpoon Block II Training Missiles, Captive Air Training Missiles, containers, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor representatives’ technical assistance, engineering and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support’.

While earlier, the Indian Air Force (IAF) had acquired 24 Harpoon Block II missiles for its Jaguar aircraft, the DSCA says this sale is intended for the P-8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft that the Indian Navy had ordered in January, 2009.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Navy today successfully test-fired several surface-to-air missiles to assess its air defence capabilities, officials said.
Three surface-to-air missile tests were carried out in Sonmiani area of Sindh province, a navy spokesman said, adding all missiles hit their targets precisely.
Naval chief Admiral Noman Bashir and Air Defence Commander Vice Admiral Tayyab Ali Dogar witnessed the drill.
"The successful testing will add to the defence capability of the Pakistan Navy," Bashir said.
A combination of surface-to-air missiles was tested, the navy said in a statement.
The "fire and forget" missiles are equipped with highly sensitive infrared homing heads that can intercept high speed aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
These weapons give the navy the flexibility to operate with various missiles and strengthen the ground-based air defence, the statement said.
The area of responsibility of the navy's Air Defence Battalion stretches from Sir Creek in the east to Jiwani in the west, it added.

New Delhi — The advanced version of the indigenous Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will be test-fired in February and will enable the manifestation of a fully operational missile shield for vital areas and installations in the country.

The BMD system will be a two-tier system and has been upgraded for greater range. The aim of the two-tier system is to first destroy an incoming missile, at a higher altitude, in the exo-atmosphere and if that fails, the endo-atmospheric interception will take place. The Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) intercepts missiles at altitudes between 50-80 kilometres and the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile destroys them at heights between 15-30 kilometres.

According to DRDO, the upgraded BMD system with its missile shield will be able to intercept missiles at exo-atmospheric altitudes of 150 kilometres and endo-atmospheric height of 80 kilometres. The need to enhance the BMD system’s exo-atmospheric and endo-atmospheric altitudes was felt by the DRDO due to the modern warfare scenario where enemy missiles will need to be intercepted with more stealth and capability.

SEOUL: Military talks between the rival Koreas have "collapsed," a unification ministry official in Seoul said on Wednesday, dealing a setback to efforts to restart international aid-for-disarmament talks.
Tensions have eased on the divided peninsula since the start of the year, with both sides calling for dialogue, raising hopes the neighbours could rebuild relations shattered over the past two years by a series of deadly attacks and failed nuclear talks.
Colonels from the two Koreas, still technically at war since their 1950-53 civil conflict ended in a truce, not a treaty, talked for two days but failed to get past the first hurdle of the preliminary meeting -- setting the agenda for senior discussions.
"The talks have collapsed; they haven't even agreed on a date for their next meeting," the official told Reuters, referring to the first meeting since the North's attack on the southern island of Yeonpyeong in November, which killed four people and raised the threat of possible all-out war.

PESHAWAR: A teen suicide bomber in a school uniform attacked soldiers during morning exercises at a Pakistani army training camp on Thursday, killing 27 troops and wounding 40 others, police and the military said.
The attack in the northwest town of Mardan showed that despite years of army operations against their hideouts along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, Taliban and al-Qaida-linked fighters retain the ability to strike back. It was one of the worst attacks on security forces in recent months.
Senior police official Abdullah Khan said 27 soldiers died and around 40 were wounded, some critically. Khan said an examination of the body parts at the scene indicated the bomber was a teenage boy, which is a common finding in suicide bombings in Pakistan.
The army, which tends to release information much slower, put the death toll in an earlier statement at 20 and confirmed the general circumstances.
Despite his apparent disguise, the bomber's ability to get his explosives into the facility undetected signalled a failure on the part of the military.

PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber in a school uniform attacked soldiers during morning exercises at a Pakistani army training camp on Thursday, killing 20 troops and wounding 20 others, police and the military said.
The attack in the northwest town of Mardan showed that despite years of army operations against their hideouts along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, Taliban and al-Qaida-linked fighters retain the ability to strike back. It was one of the worst attacks on security forces in recent months.
The army confirmed the casualties and circumstances in a statement. Police official Abdullah Khan said some wounded were in critical condition.
Despite his apparent disguise, the bomber's ability to get his explosives into the facility undetected signalled a failure on the part of the military. Such army areas are usually heavily guarded, though an attack on the same training facility in 2006 killed 35 soldiers.
Troops quickly cordoned off the area and even police had a difficult time getting through.

New Delhi – After the handover of the first  ‘Tejas’ Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in January, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has now made an order of 24 additional F404-GE-IN20 from General Electric Aviation. These 24 after-burning engines would power the first operational squadron of Tejas LCA. These GE 404 IN 20 will be for Tejas Mark -1 LCA only while the 99 engines which were ordered earlier were GE 414-INS6 for Tejas Mark-II.

In January, the Tejas LCA was fitted with the F-404-GE-IN20 engine on a trial basis to conduct the final flight testing evaluation. The F404-GE-IN20 is the highest rated F404 model by General Electric and includes a higher-flow fan, increased thrust, a Full Authority Digital Electronic Control (FADEC) system, single-crystal turbine blades and a variety of single-engine features. The Tejas LCA has been accorded with the initial operational clearance (IOC) earlier this year.

According to the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the indigenous Kaveri engine maybe ready for installation in 2018.

VIENNA: A solution for the Iranian nuclear standoff moved further into the distance on Friday, as international nuclear inspectors reported on new information pointing to recent nuclear weapons work and on Tehran's plans to start a new nuclear facility by summer.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) pointed out in its report that because of "new information recently received", it had further concerns about the possible past and ongoing development of an Iranian nuclear missile.
A senior official close to the investigation said material received from one or more member states would "provide additional information on what happened after 2003", if it was confirmed.
US intelligence agencies had earlier said that Iran likely stopped working on nuclear weapons in 2003.
The IAEA also detailed what other information it has on seven possible weapons-related activities in Iran, including testing underground explosives and designing a nuclear missile.