Indian Military

New Delhi — The Indian navy will receive a major fillip in its maritime reconnaissance capabilities since the Indian Defence Ministry has cleared the purchase of four long-range surveillance aircraft and four big amphibious assault warships.

The entire project has been cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council and the naval projects consisting of the acquisition of warships and surveillance aircraft will amount to the tune of over $4 billion. The four new aircraft will be the P-8I Poseidon long-range maritime patrol aircraft besides the four amphibious warfare ships called Landing Platform Docks (LPDs).

The acquisition of P-81 surveillance aircraft will enable the Indian Navy to monitor the Indian Ocean region besides augmenting its anti-warship and anti-submarine warfare capabilities. The P-81 aircraft will be armed with torpedoes, depth bombs and Harpoon missiles besides long-range radars and sensors.

As for the amphibious warships or LPDs, it will enable the Indian Navy to transport infantry battalions and their equipment to long distances besides helping in disaster management and other relief operations.

[Stratpost]

The Indian Defense Secretary on Wednesday dismissed the possibility of India planning the acquisition of a fifth generation fighter aircraft, alternate to the Russian PAK FA.

Pradeep Kumar, who is the top civil servant in the Ministry of Defense told reporters on Wednesday that, while the agreement for design and development of the PAK FA is expected to come through with Russia, after the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approves the details, “You can’t have two types (of fifth generation fighters).

Pointing out that even the US was, even now, working on the development of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, Kumar categorically repeated, “There is no question of having two fighters.”

The Indian Navy, in a Request for Information (RFI) for carrier-borne fighter aircraft issued last year, had asked for information on the F-35 from the US defense and aerospace major, Lockheed Martin. The company, along with other vendors, had made presentations on the aircraft to the navy, but presumably, the idea of acquiring the F-35 has gone no further than that.

New Delhi – With the Indian Ocean region becoming very vulnerable to terror threats, the Indian Navy has decided to beef up its security along the Indian shores and has decided to go in for additional surveillance planes as well as spy drones.

The Indian Defence Ministry has floated a global Request for Information (RFI) for the medium range maritime reconnaissance aircraft (MRMR) with an operating range of over 350 nautical miles, and HALE (high-altitude, long-endurance) unmanned aerial vehicles or spy drones, with a service ceiling above 40,000 feet and endurance over 25 hours.

According to the Indian Navy, the acquisition of MRMR planes and spy drones can only compliment the surveillance on the Indian shores. The MRMR planes will be equipped with radars as well as anti-ship and submarine warfare capabilities. The Indian Navy has already finalised the acquisition of 12 P-8I Poseidon long-range maritime reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft from Boeing at $3.1 billion. The first P-8I is slated for induction in early-2013.

New Delhi – Boeing of United States has begun fabricating the first part for the Indian Navy’s first long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft on Dec. 6 in Wichita. The P-8I, based on the Boeing Next-Generation 737 commercial airplane, is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing is developing for the U.S. Navy.

A press release issued by the company said the employees at Spirit AeroSystems — where all Boeing Next-Generation 737 fuselages, nacelles and pylons are designed and built — cut the P-8I’s first part, a bonded aluminium panel that later will be installed on the fuselage’s upper lobe to support an antenna. The panel and other fuselage components will come together on Spirit’s existing Next-Generation 737 production line.

“Today marks the P-8I program’s move from the design phase to the build phase,” said Leland Wight, Boeing P-8I program manager. “We’re on schedule and the Indian navy is looking forward to receiving its first plane.

[Stratpost]

US defense major Boeing will be pitching a ‘diet’ version of the P-8 Poseidon aircraft in response to the Request for Information (RFI) issued by the Indian Navy for Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) Aircraft, due by the end of the year, next week.

Boeing has already begun work on the first of eight P-8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft to be supplied to the Indian Navy, in a deal concluded in the beginning of 2009 at a cost of US $ 2.1 billion.

Company sources told StratPost that even though the derivative proposed for the MRMR RFI will look the same as the P-8I and be based on the 737 platform, it will have smaller tanks and a shorter range and will only have surface warfare capability. The P-8I is capable of both surface as well as sub-surface warfare.

The RFI also asks vendors if the aircraft can carry out electronic intelligence gathering and counter-measures, besides maritime patrol and search and rescue within an operational envelope of 350 nautical miles or almost 650 kilometers, as well as a patrol endurance of at least three and a half hours.

[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.

[Stratpost]

Tim Alexander, Program Manager, International Weapons Programs, Boeing Defense, Space and Security. Photo: Shashanka Nanda/StratPost

US defense and aerospace company Boeing is to start building the the air-to-surface Harpoon missiles ordered by the Indian Air Force (IAF) for their Jaguar maritime patrol aircraft.

Tim Alexander, Program Manager, International Weapons Programs for Boeing Defense, Space and Security told StratPost in mid-February, “We will start that work from within Boeing – the design aspects and our engineering staff will work it. We may not have a finalized contract by then but we will have a funding source,” adding, “They (US government) can give us money to start the work. Regardless of the final concluded contract. So we’re going to start work very soon – maybe by the end of this month or early next month.

[Stratpost]

Dr. Vivek Lall, who was heading Boeing’s Defense, Space and Security unit in India is now leading a new technology venture being set up by Indian industrial giant Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).

Industry sources have informed StratPost that Lall, who joined RIL two weeks back, is reporting directly to the Chairman and Managing Director, Mukesh Ambani. His brief is to stand up the new venture, which will focus on technologies like advanced materials and advanced communications systems, that are likely to have a bouquet of applications in the homeland security, aerospace and defense sectors, not to mention spin-offs into other areas.

Although the immediate intention is not to necessarily produce complete products for these sectors, the underlying idea is to conduct fundamental research and development, and effect partnerships with companies around the world to bring these basic critical technologies to India, along with the associated knowledge and skills.

The purpose of this is to create capabilities in India that would be necessary for any meaningful and genuine indigenous development and manufacture of equipment and services in these sectors.

NEW DELHI: Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba, a veteran warship commander, today took over as the first three-star Chief of Staff of the Vishakhapatanam-based Eastern Naval Command.
Lanba is replacing Rear Admiral Karambir Singh, who will proceed to Port Blair on transfer as the Chief of Staff the tri-services Andaman Nicobar Command.
The post, which till now was being held by a Rear Admiral-rank officer, has been upgraded in view of Navy's increasing capabilities on the eastern sea board.
The Navy has been strengthening its capabilities on the eastern front as important assets such as the amphibious warfare vessel INS Jalashwa, nuclear submarine Arihant and an important conventional submarine base, are based there.
It is also planning to deploy its recently acquired Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft P-8I there.
It will also deploy an aircraft carrier fleet on the Eastern front after the induction the Admiral Gorshkov and the under construction Indigenous Aircraft Carrier in next three to five years.

[Stratpost]

The process leading up to the decision by the Indian Ministry of Defense to issue invitations to eliminate four of the six companies in the contest to win the Indian Air Force (IAF) tender for 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) has large holes in its standard of diligence.

Only the the French Dassault’s Rafale and the European Eurofighter Typhoon were invited to extend their commercial bids, with the Russian MiG-35, the Swedish SAAB’s Gripen, Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin’s F-16, all left out of the contest.

While much has been written about this decision, the news of which was first broken by StratPost, questions have surfaced in the subsequent two weeks, that show crucial gaps in the diligence of the process followed by the ministry. Many of the issues arising from these questions have been earlier reported and analyzed by StratPost.

The tender process entailed the examination of the aircraft on offer on three key aspects. Firstly, the IAF was required to conduct a technical evaluation of the six aircraft, the report for which it submitted after completion last July.