tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23475463605139704692015-04-28T04:29:21.225-07:00Indian Defence Goalnayeem sheikhnoreply@blogger.comBlogger698125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-80602301212741923972015-04-28T04:29:00.000-07:002015-04-28T04:29:21.245-07:00Indigenously Built Dhanush Gun Clears Winter & Summer Trials<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CGmoRQDQmws/VT4ULZ6cCGI/AAAAAAAATrw/YxBX7y7CuVw/s1600/DSC06786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="color: #ffc619; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CGmoRQDQmws/VT4ULZ6cCGI/AAAAAAAATrw/YxBX7y7CuVw/s1600/DSC06786.JPG" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background: rgb(17, 17, 17); border: 1px solid rgb(17, 17, 17); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 1px; position: relative;" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLDTvdtlC10/VT4URiFSU5I/AAAAAAAATr4/CYmf8z2q5fo/s1600/Dhanush_155mm_45_calibre_towed_howitzer_Ordnance_Factories_Board_OFB_India_Indian_defense_industry_640_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #ffc619; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLDTvdtlC10/VT4URiFSU5I/AAAAAAAATr4/CYmf8z2q5fo/s1600/Dhanush_155mm_45_calibre_towed_howitzer_Ordnance_Factories_Board_OFB_India_Indian_defense_industry_640_001.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background: rgb(17, 17, 17); border: 1px solid rgb(17, 17, 17); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 1px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">The indigenously designed and manufactured 155mm x 45mm calibre artillery gun, Dhanush has successfully met all technical parameters during the winter and summer trials. Informing the Members of Parliament of the Consultative Committee attached to his Ministry, the Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar today said Dhanush incorporates many improved features than the guns which the Army is possessing at present. The Consultative Committee was discussing the Role Performance and Future of Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), one of the oldest and largest production organisation of the Ministry of Defence. OFB is a conglomerate of 39 ordnance factories with another two new projects being set up at Nalanda in Bihar and Korwa in Uttar Pradesh. </div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">Shri Parrikar said another notable achievement of OFB in the recent time has been the indigenous development of 40mm Multi Grenade Launcher (MGL) for 40 x 46mm Low Velocity Grenades (LVG). He also said the Assault Rifle ‘Ghaatak’ (7.62x39mm) Assault Rifle (AR) developed through in-house Research and Development has met all the parameters as per the General Staff Qualitative Requirements (GSQRs) during the trial evaluation by Para Military Forces under the Ministry of Home Affairs. </div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">The Defence Minister said the Ministry has taken a number of initiatives towards improving the performance of OFB. This includes efforts to operate OFB on a Corporate model (not Corporatise) with a commercial accounting system. The procurement manual has also been revised keeping in view the Make In India plan to facilitate long term procurement. Shri Parrikar said Quality Audit of eight factories will be undertaken by a globally reputed firm to improve upon the existing processes and attain Zero Defect production system. He said OFB is undergoing a paradigm shift from that of a manufacturer of defence equipment to a Complete Solution Provider. OFB’s new role will encompass design, development, bulk production and life cycle sustenance equipment. Shri Parrikar said OFB would be made into a lead integrator of major platforms and as a manufacturer of world class defence equipment. With the offset regime in place, OFB is also looking forward towards delivering many sub-systems to leading overseas players. </div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">During the discussion, Members of Parliament appreciated the contribution of OFB towards national security and for the transformation it has undertaken over the years. Some Members wanted that a manufacturing unit of OFB should be set up in the North – East. </div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">Members of Parliament who attended the meeting included Shri MallikarjunKharge, Shri PinakiMisra, Shri Anil Shirole, Prof.Saugata Roy, Dr.Mahendra Prasad, Shri Ashwani Kumar, Shri Pankaj Bora and Shri Shamsher Singh Manhas. </div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">The Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh, the Defence Secretary Shri RKMathur, Secretary Defence Production Shri G Mohan Kumar, Secretary Defence Finance Shri PrabhuDayalMeena, Secretary Ex-Servicemen Welfare and Ms. Vandana Srivastava also attended the meeting. </div></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-30311356808273538142015-04-28T00:30:00.001-07:002015-04-28T00:30:36.685-07:00DAWN PAKISTAN: NUCLEAR SAFETY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img height="250" src="http://wallpoper.com/images/00/23/87/73/infographics-nuclear_00238773.jpg" width="400" /><br /><br />IT’S not easy to make nuclear weapons, build missiles to carry them long distances, and to produce highly enriched uranium or plutonium. But the hardest part of making nuclear weapons is keeping them safe so they do not detonate except under orders from the National Command Authority. Because escalation control will be extremely difficult after the appearance of a single mushroom cloud, an accidental, inadvertent or unauthorised detonation can lead to ruin.<br /><br />Nuclear safety and security techniques and practices are designed to prevent these eventualities. Gates and guards and personnel reliability programmes help with nuclear security. Nuclear weapon design features and other safety techniques help provide insurance against accidental, inadvertent or unauthorised detonations. Nuclear safety and security reinforce each other. Sometimes these categories merge. For example, authorisation codes required to arm and use a nuclear weapon, called permissive action links, can be considered as essential for both nuclear safety and security. Additional design features are also required.<br /><br />The US has a ‘one-point safety’ standard for its nuclear weapons. This means that the probability of achieving a nuclear yield greater than four pounds of TNT must not exceed one in a million for any event involving the initiation of the warhead’s high explosive at a single point on its periphery. The US achieved this exacting safety standard after decades of effort, significant investment, and a learning curve from nuclear testing.<br /><br />Warhead safety mechanisms will be put to the test in the event of conventional warfare. During crises, both Pakistan and India rely for deterrence purposes on missiles that are advertised to carry nuclear warheads as troops are mobilised in fighting corridors. In past crises, Pakistan has used missile flight tests and movements of medium-range missiles to clarify resolve to India. Medium-range missiles can be kept far from potential zones of fighting and are hard to target.<br /><br />Short-range missile systems constitute a new feature in deterrence equations on the subcontinent. India has flight-tested the Prahaar, a missile with up to 350 kilometre range. Pakistani analysts assert that the Prahaar could carry nuclear weapons. Pakistan has flight-tested the nuclear-capable Nasr with a range of perhaps 60 kms. It has been advertised as being capable of carrying nuclear warheads to reinforce “full spectrum deterrence”, so as to dissuade Indian leaders from authorising military advances on Pakistani territory.<br /><br />The US has a one-point safety standard for its N-weapons.<br /><br />To have their proper deterrent effect, short-range missile systems need to operate close to the forward edge of prospective battlefields. In the event that crisis management fails and warfare begins, these missiles can either be in motion or be fixed targets. Either way, the Pakistani and Indian air forces are trained to employ aggressive tactics, and these missiles will be fair game. If they are struck, if they are carrying nuclear weapons, and if these weapons do not incorporate advanced safety features, mushroom clouds could result.<br /><br />While much is known about how to make nuclear weapons, fissile material and delivery vehicles, little information is in the public domain about mechanisms for nuclear safety. States that already have decades of experience can share best practices regarding nuclear security, but some critical information regarding nuclear safety is highly classified. Even if long-time nuclear weapon states were willing to share sensitive information, potential recipients would not allow outsiders anywhere near their nuclear design information. In other words, there is a mutual taboo about information exchanges relating to nuclear safety.<br /><br />Understanding nuclear safety issues is hard for political and military leaders. They are not trained in nuclear physics, mechanical engineering and chemistry. They cannot make independent judgements about nuclear weapon safety and must rely on guarantees provided by technical experts and lab heads.<br /><br />US presidents have relied on competing design teams at different nuclear labs to double check assurances they received and to confirm technical calculations. Because US labs had comparable design capabilities and were highly competitive, this proved to be an effective way to confirm assurances given. In addition, junior analysts at national labs were encouraged to question the design decisions of their elders, and could do so without sacrificing their professional advancement.<br /><br />Nuclear safety begins with avoiding intense crises and warfare. Nuclear safety can be advanced by a competitive but collaborative laboratory culture. Rethinking dangerous military practices is another way to improve nuclear safety and security. Weapons that are hardest to maintain control over in wartime and closest to live fire are, by definition, the least safe and secure. If weapon designs are not one-point safe, making them hard to find and keeping them at a distance from ongoing military operations is the best insurance policy against the accidental, inadvertent and unauthorised use of nuclear weapons.<br /><br />The writer is author of Better Safe than Sorry: The Ironies of Living with the Bomb.<br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2015/04/dawn-pakistan-nuclear-safety.html" target="_blank">Source</a></div></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-31649958100174536102015-04-28T00:22:00.002-07:002015-04-28T00:22:27.178-07:00GORKHAS IN INDIAN ARMY ALLOWED TO GO ON LEAVE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img height="250" src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-K857q2W3Vlo%2FVT8mayBf2TI%2FAAAAAAAAJWo%2FUNRypzxJrCM%2Fs1600%2FIndian_Army_Gorkhas.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="400" /><br /><br />Gorkhas in the Indian Army who want to attend to their families in earthquake-hit Nepal will be allowed to take leave, Army officials said on Monday.<br /><br />"If some Gorkha personnel feel they have to take leave, they can. It will not be a problem," an army official said.<br /><br />There are some 38,000 Gorkhas in the Indian Army, of which 25,000-28,000 are from Nepal.<br /><br />"Personnel from Gorkha Rifles 1, 3, 4, 5 and 8 are from that area. We will also be reaching out to the immediate families of these personnel in the Indian Army," the official said.<br /><br />The army will also take help of ex-servicemen in Nepal during relief and rescue work and while rebuilding the earthquake hit areas, he said.<br /><br />"There are around 130,000 ex-servicemen in Nepal. These ex-servicemen have a respectable position locally and play a key role in decision-making. They are capable of guiding us to places where relief may be needed," the official said.<br /><br />Indian Army chief General Dalbir Singh, who belongs to the Gorkha Regiment and is an honorary general of the Nepalese Army, spoke to his counterpart General S.J.B. Rana after the devastating earthquake.<br /><br />Officials said there was constant coordination with the Nepalese Army.<br /><br />"The mantra is whatever Nepal requires, we will help them with that," a senior Army official said.<br /><br />The official added that while Nepal had a strong Army of over one lakh, they lacked equipment to tackle a crisis of this sort. India would provide such equipment.</div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-39689900804028816612015-04-28T00:12:00.003-07:002015-04-28T00:12:37.788-07:00CRISIS FOR AIR FORCE AS REPORT CLAIMS INDIA IS RUNNING OUT OF FIGHTER PILOTS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img height="268" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2015/04/27/23/2812547C00000578-3058008-image-a-83_1430175286261.jpg" width="400" /><br />The pilot-cockpit ratio of the Indian Air Force, when compared to the U.S and Pakistan, is very low<br /><br />by Gautam Datt<br /><br />Not only running short of combat jets, the Indian Air Force (IAF) also does not have enough fighter pilots. The latest report of a parliamentary panel has sounded alarm bells ringing on the acute shortage of fighter pilots in the IAF, claiming that it could be one of the reasons for high rate of accidents.<br /><br />The IAF claims that its fighter crash rate has marginally improved over the years but it continues to face serious shortage of aircraft. The pilot-cockpit ratio of the Indian Air Force, when compared to the U.S and Pakistan, is very low. The current fighter squadron strength of IAF is 35 against the desired 42. If that was not enough, the shortage of fighter pilots means lesser number of sorties.<br /><br />In its latest report, the standing committee of Parliament pointed out that it was astonished to learn that IAF’s pilot cockpit ratio was only 0.81 for fighter jets.<br /><br />Compared to other air forces the situation is really grim. The panel also noted that pilot cockpit ratio in the US is 2:1 and even in Pakistan it is 2.5:1.<br /><br />The sanctioned pilot to cockpit ration in IAF is 1.25 for fighters, 1.5 for transport planes and 1 for helicopters.<br /><br />“The committee takes serious view of the fact that our squadron strength is already short of what has been authorized by the Government and moreover, insufficiency in number of available pilots in the Air Force further deteriorates our operational capabilities,” said the parliament panel headed by Major General (retd.) B.C Khanduri.<br /><br />The IAF reported 83 accidents between May 2007 and January 2015. The panel also claimed that there was a problem in the training of pilots which is contributing to frequent accidents.<br /><br />“From the above information, it is evident that there is either lacuna in training that is being imparted to our pilots and support officials or the systems installed are technically illequipped,” said the panel adding that onus of accident was on the senior management of IAF.<br /><br />The panel has noted that the fighter squadron strength of IAF will reduced to a paltry 25 by 2022.<br /><br />To overcome this critical shortage, the NDA Government recently went for a fast-track purchase of 36 French Rafale multi-role jets after scrapping the acquisition programme for 126 of these fighters initiated by the UPA government.<br /><br />The Air Force hopes to increase the number of Su-30 MKIs in the coming years to cope with the deficiency. It is also looking at the induction of Rafales and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) before the proposed deal with Russia.<br /><div><br /></div><a href="http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2015/04/crisis-for-air-force-as-report-claims.html" target="_blank">Source</a></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-2338157939740862562015-04-28T00:03:00.000-07:002015-04-28T00:03:24.217-07:00BLOCK ENEMY ACCESS TO DRDO DEFENCE SECRETS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="246" src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-DLtALpck-Jw%2FVMx6tWiuiCI%2FAAAAAAAAEwc%2FxIzreA11dxc%2Fs1600%2FCyber_Terrorism.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="400" /></div><br />The TNIE exclusive that shows that India’s premier defence research agency—Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)—has a strength of more than 50,000 temporary or casual employees who have complete access to all of its classified and research activities should ring alarm bells in the corridors of power. The recent spate of arrests of contract employees working in DRDO and other defence establishments in connection with espionage cases shows they pose a strong threat to India’s security. That this has been going on for some time is an index of how vulnerable our defences have been to espionage.<br /><br />The recent arrest of a photographer employed on contractual basis at DRDO’s Integrated Test Range in Chandipur for passing confidential information on various missiles test-fired from Wheeler Island to his ISI conduit in Kolkata had sent shock waves in the ministry of defence (MoD). Soon after, a contractual employee working for the MoD was picked up by the Delhi Police for espionage. The issue put South Block in panic mode and an alert was issued in March, which said that “contractual/ casual employees should not be posted in sensitive locations and not allowed to given access to the classified information”.<br /><br />During the UPA regime in 2010 a high-level inquiry had been ordered by then defence minister A K Antony on the grant of a critical missile design project by a DRDO scientist to a private contractor. Despite such cases in the past, over 55 laboratories of the DRDO, mandated to develop products and technologies to modernise our armed forces ranging from missiles to combat aircraft, have roped in over 50,000 casual employees to assist scientists. The special report in TNIE reveals that contractual employees are generally hired under two categories—technical and non-technical. It is indeed time that a thorough check be made of all casual employees and they be excluded from any access to secret documents, processes and sensitive information. India’s defence secrets cannot be kept so grossly unguarded against enemy access in an atmosphere of hostility of our neighbours, Pakistan and China.</div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-3267982987524256252015-04-27T23:55:00.001-07:002015-04-27T23:55:48.145-07:00ECIL TO DELIVER HI-TECH SYSTEMS TO ISRO<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img height="292" src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F--4Md7dOZFRI%2FVT8dzFXFSqI%2FAAAAAAAAJWM%2F4-hl9_zZhlY%2Fs1600%2FTypical_PLC.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="400" /><br />The PLC & SCADA projects will be flagged-off today by Dr MYS Prasad, Director, SDSC, SHAR, at Administrative Building, ECIL, Hyderabad<br /><br />Hyderabad: The Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), will dispatch indigenously developed and manufactured- Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and Supervisory Control & Data Acquisition (SCADA)- to Sriharikota, for use in India’s Space Programme at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC). The PLC & SCADA system will be flagged-off by Dr MYS Prasad, Director, SDSC, SHAR at Administrative Building, ECIL, Hyderabad on Tuesday.<br /><br /><img height="267" src="http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01087/HY19ECIL_1087837f.jpg" width="400" /><br />Dr Anil Kakodkar, Member Atomic Energy Commission and Y S Mayya, C&MD ECIL unveiled ECIL made MPROGICON programmable Logic controller in Hyderabad<br /><br />This MPROGICON 5000 series PLC is a robustly designed, high availability fault tolerant system, with less power consuming industrial grade components suitable for operation in severe environmental conditions. The PLC system thus could serve as a building block in any complicated and critical process control environment associated with industries like steel, coal, chemical, oil & gas, energy and mission critical establishments like space and missile systems.<br /><br />The remarkable advantage of ECIL’s PLC is its indigenous design and malware free firmware. Coupled with ECIL’s philosophy of certainty of supply and support, protection against obsolescence and nation-wide service network, MPROGICON 5000 Series PLC system provide scalable solution to varied needs of the customers. This series is a family of PLC systems covering all the segments of the Industrial Automation needs.<br /><br />The present PLC system under dispatch is for one of the important projects of SDSC, SHAR. The scope of work includes Supply of Redundant PLCs and Linux based SCADA System. This system will be supplied, installed and commissioned at SHAR, Sriharikota.<br /><br /></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-69581396182850246082015-04-27T23:47:00.002-07:002015-04-27T23:47:19.098-07:00CHINA BETTER PREPARED FOR WAR?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="186" src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-VuvalqMM5KE%2FVOmQOB8HnWI%2FAAAAAAAAGB8%2FsubApmM09VQ%2Fs1600%2FIndian_Army_51.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="400" /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">An army exercise being conducted in the North-East Region of India</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">by Sridhar Kumaraswami</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">In an explosive revelation, a report of the parliamentary standing committee on defence has stated that in case of war, the Indian Army will take “more than a day to reach” the crucial Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh due to a “critical situation” regarding border road infrastructure while “our neighboring countries” (an obvious veiled reference to China) can “reach the borders within two to three hours”.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">China covets Arunachal Pradesh, especially the Tawang area within Arunachal, and refers to the state as “south Tibet”. This is probably the first time that the vulnerability of the Indian Army — to protect Tawang in case of a war against the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) — has been accepted. “The committee are dismayed to note that in Tawang area, the situation is very critical so far as the connectivity is concerned. In case of war, the Army cannot reach there in a day. While our neighboring countries can reach borders within two to three hours, our Army takes more than a day to reach there. This is a matter of great concern with regard to our defence preparedness,” the parliamentary standing committee on defence has stated, in a report submitted to Parliament on Monday. The revelation was made during concluding remarks by the committee on activities of the BRO which is now under the MoD and tasked with construction of border roads.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">In other reports submitted to Parliament, the committee also mentioned how the slow pace of acquisitions has had an adverse impact on operational preparedness of the armed forces. In an important recommendation, the parliamentary committee said capital expenditure and allocation for the armed forces should be “non-lapsable and (on) roll-on allocation (basis)” for the armed forces between financial years so that crucial acquisition of weapons and equipment is not delayed. On the IAF, the parliamentary committee said the IAF now has “35 active fighter squadrons”, adding that the IAF had informed it that “by 2022, the IAF will be around just 25 (fighter) squadrons thereby losing even the slight edge over the rival neighboring nation” (an obvious reference to Pakistan).</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2015/04/china-better-prepared-for-war.html" target="_blank">Source</a></div><br /></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-59180647420713257862015-04-27T02:24:00.001-07:002015-04-27T02:24:10.502-07:00PARRIKAR VISITS ARMY BASE WORKSHOP, PRAISES FACILITIES<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img height="222" src="http://images.indianexpress.com/2015/04/parrikar_759.jpg" width="400" /><br />Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at the 512 Army Base Workshop at Khadki<br /><br />Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday visited 512 Army Base Workshop in Khadki. Parrikar was received by Lt Gen RJ Noronha, Chief of Staff, Headquarters Southern Command. The minister was briefed by Brig Akash Popli, Commandant and Managing Director 512 Army Base Workshop, on the range of repair activities undertaken at the base workshop.<br /><br />512 Army Base Workshop is the flagship base workshop of the Indian Army and is currently engaged in the overhaul of Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV) of East European origin. The workshop, set up in Mumbai in 1853, is today the largest base workshop of the Indian Army, with civilians and combatants working together. In addition to overhauling Infantry Combat Vehicles and Armoured Recovery Vehicles, engines for meeting the requirement of the field army are also being overhauled. A press release from the Defence PRO said that the minister appreciated the re-rubberisation facilities. 512 Army Base Workshop is also one of the primary spares supplier to the Artificial Limb Centre (ALC) at Pune, wherein spares for prosthetic limbs are manufactured and supplied for the rehabilitation of disabled soldiers.<br /><br />Parrikar was shown the indigenisation activities undertaken under the Make inIndia initiative and was also briefed on the modernisation projects being undertaken to lift the workshop to contemporary industrial standards.<br /><div><br /></div></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-68355370950661567992015-04-24T01:48:00.004-07:002015-04-24T01:48:20.542-07:00INDIA LOOKS TO BECOME ARMS SUPPLIER INSTEAD OF BUYER<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="187" src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-nAxwrJ64YtM%2FVIfmTYeE3NI%2FAAAAAAAADG4%2FM8d2gjMY1Fs%2Fs1600%2FArjun_MBT_1.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="400" /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Indian Army's ARJUN Main Battle Tank</div><br /><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently pointed out that India imports nearly 60 percent of itsdefense needs. In fact, a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute – SIPRI –finds that India was the world’s biggest arms importer in the last five years.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">Mr. Modi wants to change that. He is urging a “Made in India” policy that extends to the country’sdefense needs. He has even said the country should try to export weapons.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><b>Foreign manufacturers</b></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">The United States is already partnering with India to produce weapons with Indian companies. Forexample, the U.S.-based Lockheed Martin company joined with India’s Tata Advanced Systems toproduce parts for the C-130J Super Hercules plane.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">Rahul Madhavan is the director for aerospace and defense with the U.S.-India Business Council. He saysthe Defense Trade and Technology Initiative is a sign of change. That program calls for U.S. and Indiandefense firms to produce weapons together rather than continue the buyer-seller relationship.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">Mr. Madhavan said the program is a sign of the power the U.S. sees in the Indian market.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">“You can look at India as an export market for the world… 'Make with India,'” not just “Make in India,” hesays.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">Similarly, Sweden's Saab is trying to sell their light, single-engine Gripen planes to India’s air force. Saabis proposing to produce the Gripen in India with a local partner.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><b>China’s growing arms exports</b></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">The push to develop India’s defense industry comes as China’s defense exports are growing.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">Currently, the U.S. remains the largest weapons exporter; however, the SIPRI report says China was thethird largest weapons exporter between 2010 and 2014. And, the report says, China’s weapons exportsare growing quickly. The weapons are heading to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and many Africancountries.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">Weapons exports are more than just trade deals. Jon Grevatt of the defense intelligence group IHSJane’s says China’s growth in exports has also increased its strategic influence, or power. Mr. Grevatt says many of China’s customers are “economically challenged” countries and must rely onChina until they pay for the cost of the weapons.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">A more powerful China is a concern for India and the U.S., says Lisa Curtis, a senior researcher at theHeritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. Ms. Curtis says the U.S. sees India’s growing defense budget as a way to balance China.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><b>Challenges for India’s defense industry</b></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">But many experts are asking whether India’s defense industry can really challenge China’s exportbusiness and political weight. Some foreign policy experts believe that, despite U.S. interest in helping the Indian defense industrygrow, a weak Indian defense industry makes this unlikely. After all, India has been trying to develop itsdefense industry since the 1950s – well before China.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">One reason India’s defense industry is slow to grow is restrictive policies. A law limits the level offoreign ownership in a defense partnership to 49 percent. In other words, a U.S. defense firm would nothave a majority share in the company.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">Mr. Madhavan of the U.S.-India Business Council says U.S. companies will want to have control of theintellectual property. “Billions of dollars of taxpayer money is invested into research and engineering,” hesays.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">Most industry experts do not think India will be a major player in global weapons exports soon. In fact,Jon Grevatt of IHS Jane’s says India’s weapons export business will struggle in the global market formany years to come.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-668569713663094242015-04-24T01:47:00.000-07:002015-04-24T01:47:05.202-07:00INDIAN AIR FORCE PLANE AIRLIFTS BODIES OF 17 INDIANS KILLED IN NEPAL ACCIDENT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="249" src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-MJd6gEZ84qs%2FVTlIkFMxN_I%2FAAAAAAAAJMo%2FQdC7rPvdZQE%2Fs1600%2FNepal_Bus_Accident.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="400" /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">A special Indian Air Force aircraft today airlifted the bodies of the 17 Gujarati pilgrims killed in a bus accident in central Nepal.</div><br /><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">"Aircraft carrying 17 dead, 22 injured and 43 safe passengers of the 2nd bus to arrive at Ahmadabad," Indian Embassy here said in a statement.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">The plane took off from the Tribhuvan International Airport at 3:25 pm local time, Birendra Shrestha, the Acting General Manager of the airport, said.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">The accident happened yesterday when a bus carrying around 45 pilgrims, who were returning to Gorakhpur in India after a pilgrimage to Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, plunged some 100 metre down from the hilly road at Naubise village in Dhading district.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">Forty four passengers who were travelling in another bus are also being flown to India.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">At least 17 Indian pilgrims including nine women were killed and 28 others injured in the accident.</div></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-27153564722251994242015-04-24T01:45:00.004-07:002015-04-24T01:45:44.272-07:00INDIA FOR MODERNIZATION OF ARMED FORCES<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="246" src="https://www.thedollarbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Armed-Forces-The-Dollar-Business.jpg" width="400" /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">The Government of India is committed to provide all support towards the modernization of Armed forces, says the Union Defence Minister. The Ministry of Defence, on Thursday, expressed the Government of India (GoI)’s willingness to provide technology support to its armed forces in a move towards a process of modernization.</div><br /><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">A statement in this regard was made by Manohar Parrikar, Union Defence Minister, GoI, in his address at the Annual Unified Commanders’ Conference for Tri-Services Commanders, in New Delhi on Thursday.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">“The Government of India is committed to provide all support towards the modernization of Armed forces,” he said, according to an official release.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">Addressing the conference, the Union Minister further said there is a need to exercise financial prudence and also stressed on the need for optimization of all the available resources. Stating that the technology is more important for modern warfare, the Union Minister also called upon the Commanders to focus more on motivation and morale to the soldiers, sailors and the Air Warriors.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">India, through its initiatives, has been pitching for modernization of defence and the latest reiteration by the Union Defence Minister is likely to boost the country’s abilities to bring in more technology-related developments in the Indian Defence sector.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">This statement by the Union Defence Minister gains importance in view of the recent talks held between the India and South Korea over the defence cooperation. Addressing the India-Korea Defence Industry Forum in Seoul, the Defence Minister had called upon the Korean defence companies to enter into Indian defence market as the long-term partners.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">The Union Minister had called upon the Korean companies to enter the Indian defence sector in reference to the already-existing demand for the Korean products in India, that are well-known for electronics and technology products.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">The Government of India has been riding high on technology cooperation with the United States, especially in terms of technology transfer. The United States Department of Defence in many instances stood up committed for technology cooperation with the Indian defence sector under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">India has also expressed its keenness to import the US state-of-art aircraft technology to be inducted in the Indian Navy and according to the defence reports, the project is likely the one referred by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi as one of the country’s largest one of its kind being built by the US technology.</div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">We will have to wait and see to what extent will India succeed in ensuring modernized armed forces in the era of technology-driven warfare.</div></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-7589189909745858052015-04-24T01:44:00.003-07:002015-04-24T01:44:25.917-07:00WHAT DOES INDIA'S CARRIER AVIATION FUTURE HOLD?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="231" src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-AQyMvI-YdHo%2FVTkEDhzDu4I%2FAAAAAAAAJLA%2FXPj9Y8caehs%2Fs1600%2FRafale_Carrier.png&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="400" /></div><br /><br /> A Rafale Fighter lands on French Nuclear Aircraft Carrier Charles De Gaulle<br /><br /><b>Despite the disappointment stemming from India’s Rafale deal, the country’s future in carrier aviation remains bright.</b><br /><br />In the fallout of the Rafale deal, can the Indian naval air arm be saved? More to the point, could French-built Rafale fighters still, eventually, fly from Indian aircraft carriers?<br /><br />As the Diplomat has detailed, one of the fruits of India’s relationship with the United States should be the EMALS catapult system. Catapult launched (CATOBAR) aircraft differ from their conventional and Short Take Off (STOBAR) cousins in several ways, primarily with respect to their ability to endure the stress involved in the catapult system. Although INS Vikramaditya currently operates MiG-29Ks from her STOBAR deck, no one has yet made clear which fighter will fly from India’s catapult-capable carriers.<br /><br />At the moment, only five fighters operate off CATOBAR carriers; the F/A-18 Hornet (and its Super Hornet cousin), the A-4 Skyhawk (theoretically off the nearly immobile Brazilian carrier Sao Paulo), the Rafale and Super Etendard, which fly off the Charles de Gaulle, and the F-35C Lightning II. Various schemes have been proposed over the years to develop CATOBAR variants of the MiG-29, Su-33, Eurofighter Typhoon, and Saab Gripen, but none of these have yet come to fruition.<br /><br />Of these, the F/A-18 will be very old by the time INS Vishal (presumably the first CATOBAR Indian carrier) will enter service, and the Etendard ceased production in 1983. CATOBAR conversions of the Typhoon or Gripen would be extremely risky, and converting the Soviet fighters would combine that risk with considerable age.<br /><br />This leaves the Rafale, the F-35C, and some as yet unannounced project by some as yet unannounced country. Although the Rafale normally operates in CATOBAR configuration, it is designed to have the capacity to launch as a STOBAR (short take off) aircraft, meaning that it could help resolve one of the central problems with India’s carrier acquisition strategy. To recap, India is purchasing or building three different carriers of wildly different sizes and capabilities, limiting the extent to which it can take advantage of a common pool of expertise and spare parts.<br /><br />The Rafale can’t resolve this problem entirely, because fighters optimized for serving on STOBAR carriers could not easily operate on the CATOBAR carrier, and vice versa. However, the use of a common airframe would surely create some commonalities in maintenance and training. The F-35C, on the other hand, is strongly disliked by the service that is supposed to be purchasing it in great numbers. And for anyone who has viewed India’s effort to purchase the Rafale with some combination of bemusement and frustration, imagine for a moment the process of getting India involved in the F-35 project.<br /><br />The Rafale isn’t perfect; it’s expensive, the frame has limitations, and it will never achieve the stealth capabilities of the F-35C. But the French have demonstrated that it can fly, and the Indians have demonstrated (finally) that they can buy it from the French. While the size of the current sale may disappoint many in France, and the lack of technology transfer may disappoint many in India, the foundation for future cooperation remains strong.</div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-41120450860477318542015-04-24T01:35:00.005-07:002015-04-24T01:35:56.489-07:00Xi visit to Pakistan: Strategic implications for India<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img height="274" src="http://www.indiandefencereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/xi-jinping-nawaz-sharif.jpg" width="400" /><br /><br />The much-anticipated visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Pakistan is finally taking place on April 20 after having been postponed in September last year due to the internal political turmoil in Islamabad triggered at the time by Imran Khan. The two- day visit has aroused high expectations and has been preceded by a lyrical article in the Pakistan media authored by the Chinese president wherein he notes: “This will be my first trip to Pakistan, but I feel as if I am going to visit the home of my own brother.”<br /><br /><b>The current Xi visit to Pakistan is indicative of the manner in which China seeks to leverage the geography of Pakistan to its benefit.</b><br /><br />China’s relationship with Pakistan has a distinctive ‘all-weather’ quality to it and the strategic underpinning to this bilateral was laid in the late 1950s when the Sino-Indian relationship was deteriorating. Pakistan, given its geographical location and innate hostility to India, was perceived by Beijing to be a valuable long-term investment. It is instructive to note that the latent rivalry between Chairman Mao Zedong and prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was discernible in the Bandung Conference held in Indonesia on April 18, 1955 – and President Xi will be traveling to Indonesia for the 60th anniversary of Bandung to be held on April 22.<br /><br />This uneasy and wary Sino-Indian dynamic that flared up in the October 1962 war is now located in the larger southern Asian geo-economic context of the early 21st century and China’s aspirations. The current Xi visit to Pakistan is indicative of the manner in which this bilateral relationship has deepened and the manner in which China seeks to leverage the geography of Pakistan to its benefit. The Xi article dwells on the manner in which his host country is remembered in China and specifically alludes to Pakistan having opened an air corridor for China to reach out to the world in the early years after the 1949 revolution; and more specifically – having “supported China in restoring its lawful seat in the United Nations”.<br /><br /><b>This UN reference will definitely arouse intense comment in India, given the popular view that it was Nehru who advocated the case of Beijing over Taipei as the legitimate representative of China in the UN Security Council.</b><br /><br />Be that as it may, the Xi visit has been heralded by some very ambitious signals about the scale and scope of the assistance that Beijing is planning to unveil. Development and infrastructure assistance upto a tune of US$46 billion is being hinted at, and this will comprise power generation and transport connectivity in the main. The core is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that envisages a link from the Pakistani port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea all the way to Xinjiang in northwest China. This multi-billion dollar project is expected to be completed in 2030 and, when completed, it will have the potential to radically alter the trade, economic and energy map of southern Asia. It must be added that upto 80 percent of the $46 bn fiscal investment will flow back to Chinese entities engaged in the power and infrastructure projects.<br /><br /><b>The core is the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that envisages a link from the Pakistani port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea all the way to Xinjiang in northwest China.</b><br /><br />From the Indian perspective, the fact that this proposed route will transit PoK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) will be a matter of grave concern, given the political overtones such a Chinese investment will generate. This issue will in all likelihood figure prominently in the Narendra Modi visit to Beijing later in May.<br /><br />The central issue at hand is whether China’s ambitious economic and connectivity imitative can trump or finesse the political and security issues that have progressively contributed to a very complex and tangled triangular relationship that involves China-Pakistan and India.<br />An unresolved territorial dispute still shadows the China-India relationship and the India-Pakistan contestation over Kashmir is alive in a very visible manner. The fact that Pakistan has unilaterally ceded parts of the composite state of Jammu and Kashmir to China in 1963 has added to the intractability of the issue. Now with a major economic and connectivity project being unveiled by China (the Belt and Road initiative) and the centrality of Pakistan in this regard – India will have to calibrate its responses in a very careful manner.<br /><br />One fact is irrefutable. If this century is indeed to be an Asian century with China as the pre-eminent economic entity – then the texture of the Beijing-Delhi axis is critical to the realization of this exigency. An India that is suspicious of Chinese intent in South Asia and feels either cornered or boxed-in by Beijing’s covert support to Rawalpindi (the HQ of the Pakistani Army) will degrade, deflect and delay China’s rise.<br /><br />In short, the China-Pakistan bilateral cannot be pursued as a zero-sum game that will be inimical to India. There is a deeply held consensus in Delhi that Beijing has provided opaque Weapons of Mass Destruction (nuclear weapons and missiles) support to Pakistan and consistently chosen to either ignore or tacitly endorse Rawalpindi’s investment in terror against India as a tool of state policy. This is unsustainable and Beijing’s silence over the release of 26/11 mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi is illustrative of China and terrorism.<br /><br /><b>…with a major economic and connectivity project being unveiled by China (the Belt and Road initiative) and the centrality of Pakistan in this regard – India will have to calibrate its responses in a very careful manner.</b><br /><br />For the huge fiscal investment that China is planning to make in Pakistan to be economically viable – the country must be stable and secure, and this is a far cry from the existing reality. If Pakistan is to effectively deal with the growing domestic radicalization and spiral of sectarian violence that has engulfed it – the ‘deep state’ that is complicit in supporting the Islamic right wing and terror groups has to be weaned away from this destructive addiction.<br /><br />Gwadar in Balochistan is symptomatic of both the strategic opportunity that geography confers and the malignancy of short-sighted political manipulation that the Pakistani ruling elite have engaged in for decades. Xi Jinping’s ambitious plan to invest in a grand land and sea route that would revive the rhythms of the old Silk Route is indeed visionary – but it has to first redress the prevailing ground realities in Pakistan.<br /><br />The Xi article makes a normative reference to the need for a harmonious neighborhood and observes: “China and Pakistan need to coordinate diplomatic strategies more closely to build a harmonious neighbourhood. Our two countries have common or similar positions on major international and regional issues. It is important that we maintain close communication and coordination to protect our common interests and foster a peaceful and stable neighboring environment.”<br /><br />Surely China cannot have a ‘similar’ position with Pakistan/Rawalpindi in relation to terrorism and this contradiction cannot be glossed over. This is the sub-text that will be carried over to the Xi-Modi meeting later in May when the Indian prime minister visits Beijing.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.indiandefencereview.com/news/xi-visit-to-pakistan-strategic-implications-for-india/" target="_blank">Source</a></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-52747359214580355462015-04-23T00:33:00.001-07:002015-04-23T00:33:36.732-07:00Finally Vikramaditya Gets it's Air Defense Systems<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="261" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GxDPMcg1Y24/VThSSrOsFDI/AAAAAAAACXg/niEKQCrKnOM/s400/INS-Vikramaditya-Indian-Navy-04.jpg" width="400" /></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img height="272" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Kk11FmVZxvQ/VThSS9Qd6aI/AAAAAAAACXk/ES4NfGS46cY/s400/B3-qNmeCEAArN-m.jpg%2Blarge.jpg" width="400" /></div><br /><br /><br />INS Vikramaditya the biggest ship to be operated by the Indian Navy, a floating airfield, city in the sea. The perfect power projector India and always ready to guard the troubled Indian Ocean waters. Entering the Indian Navy service in 2013, the Aircraft Carrier is now scheduled for a minor re-fit in its home port, Karwar.<br /><br /> The ship was inducted without the all crucial CIWS (Close in Weapon System) or the PMDS (Point Missile Defence Systems) which can engage any kind of objects varying from missiles, UAV's to aircraft's. Being huge floating airfields the carriers cannot steer as easily as the destroyers or the frigates. The defensive suite of a carrier has a very limited range with a few kilometers ranging from 0-10 kilometers where as the frigates and destroyers enjoy a range of around 0-80 kilometers. <br /><br /> The ship has now anchored in its home port INS Kadamba,Karwar for its scheduled minor re-fit after serving the navy for two long years. The ship will now be armed with the all crucial defensive suite which includes installing Barak1 missiles and AK 63O CIWS systems and also including the radar and the associated control systems for operating the defensive suite.<br /><br /><img height="264" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8wHIVY8Hwoo/VThSTeGfdDI/AAAAAAAACXw/6umU19N9zy0/s400/VXLfZpK.jpg" width="400" /><br /><br /> The Barak-1 PMDS is an imported missile system from Israel and Indian Navy has placed this reliable system on all its front line warships and this system will be replaced by the more powerful Barak 8 system which is a jointly developed product of the DRDO and IAI. Vikramaditya will armed with 24 (3x8) VLS Barak-1 missiles.<br /><br /> The system has been acquired from the soon to be decommissioned frigate INS Godavari, the EL/M-2221 STGR fire control radar which is the primary target acquisition module for the Barak-1 system will also be imported from the aging frigate. INS Godavari was built in1983, and had adopted the Bark-1 systems in 2005.<br /><br /><img height="270" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XTpXpr_9HoM/VThUoxVkI6I/AAAAAAAACYI/E2kjmH5jt6w/s400/Govt-to-Clear-demand-of-Navy-to-Re-stock-Barak-1-missiles-from-Israel.jpg" width="400" /><br /><br /> The Barak-1 has a good shelf life and can hence be used in the modern battlefield against any incoming threats. INS Godavari will also be shedding its four AK 630 CIWS system which was also added to the ship only after 2005. Unlike Barak-1 the AK 630 was produced by the state run OFB (Ordnance Factory Board) under licence from Russia. <br /><br /> Russia had offered Kashtan CIWS which comes with two or four SR SAM missiles, but India had declined this offer. Rumors of India opting the American Phalnx CIWS was also adrift but was swiftly downplayed by sources stating no such tender was called and there was no tender for arming Vikramaditya with these systems.<br /><br /><img height="283" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NKLVcK6TI_8/VThUk7ZZEvI/AAAAAAAACYA/5rm0iT1-TzQ/s400/8ieIsxP.jpg" width="400" /><br /><br /> Although media reports of arming Vikramaditya with the more advanced Barak-8 system it looks doubtful with IN fitting out the ship with the EL/M-2221 STGR which cannot be further linked with the Barak 8 systems.<br /><br /> The Scheduled Refit will mean Vikramaditya will taste the waters after a brief four to six month dry docking schedule. Vikramaditya will surely be missed of the Indian waters but is promised to return with more advanced systems to counter any threats it’ll face in the near future. yes we know we can build anything Faster, Just like LCA<br /><br /><a href="http://sajeevpearlj.blogspot.in/" target="_blank">Source</a></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-77663404057585474612015-04-22T23:54:00.000-07:002015-04-22T23:54:25.994-07:00UPGRADED MIRAGE FIGHTERS LAND AT JAMNAGAR<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img height="189" src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-iUps_4wg6NU%2FVQnwao2ev1I%2FAAAAAAAAHdc%2FAaBMxgOc8rI%2Fs1600%2FMirage_2000_Main.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="400" /><br /><br /><img alt="Embedded image permalink" height="222" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDMjxHpUIAAr634.jpg" width="400" /><br /><br />Two upgraded Mirage 2000 fighter aircrafts landed at Jamnagar Airbase of the IAF from Istres, France, today. Defence major Dassault Aviation had delivered the first two upgraded aircrafts to IAF just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit to France earlier this month, where he had declared India's intent to buy 36 Rafale fighters through direct military sale.<br /><br /><img alt="Embedded image permalink" height="256" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDMjzNuUgAAABGL.jpg" width="400" /><br /><br /><img alt="Embedded image permalink" height="265" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDMjys8VEAA40Ae.jpg" width="400" /><br /><br /><img alt="Embedded image permalink" height="265" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDMkO6mUgAE7NQu.jpg" width="400" /><br /><br /><img alt="Embedded image permalink" height="284" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDMkQkOVEAEjWYU.jpg" width="400" /><br /><br />"During their long flight, the Mirage 2000 had stop overs at Athens, Luxor, Doha," Sitanshu Kar, Chief spokesperson of the Defence Ministry said.<br /><br />The acceptance ceremony was held at Istres, Dassault Aviations Flight Test Centre.<br /><br />The contract for the upgrade of Indian Mirage 2000 fleet was inked in July 2011 and the maiden flight of its first upgraded Mirage 2000 was completed successfully by Dassault Aviation on October 5, 2013, following a two year development phase dedicated to the equipment kit including the radar, the electronic warfare suite and the mission computer. The rest of the fleet will be upgraded in Bangalore under the responsibility of HAL and with the complete support and involvement of Dassault Aviation and Thales teams.<br /><div><br /></div></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-17476409622146075382015-04-22T23:49:00.003-07:002015-04-22T23:49:29.475-07:00IAF CHIEF RAHA CONCERNED OVER DELAYS IN TEJAS, SITARA DELIVERY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img height="222" src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-SKLfUejhP_A%2FVTftuSM7diI%2FAAAAAAAAJFY%2FnKJN1ns9_B8%2Fs1600%2FIJT_Sitara_1.png&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="400" /><br />HAL's Intermediate Jet Trainer - SITARA<br /><br />Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on Wednesday expressed concerns over the delays in delivery schedules of 'Tejas' Light Combat Aircraft and intermediate jet trainer 'Sitara', both being developed indigenously, and their impact on operational capability.<br /><br /><img height="400" src="http://static.dnaindia.com/sites/default/files/2015/04/22/329910-iafchief.jpg" width="400" /><br />IAF chief Arup Raha<br /><br />"The Air Chief expressed concerns over the delays in delivery schedules and their impact on operational readiness. He also expressed his concern on the effect of these delays on basic pilot training in the IAF," the IAF said in a statement after the three-day Air Force Commanders' Conference concluded.<br /><br />On the last day, representatives of Ordinance Factory Board (OFB), Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) briefed the Air Chief in the presence of Secretary, Defence Production.<br />The OFB, BDL and HAL teams put on table the constraints on their side and both parties agreed to take the programmes forward through discussions and by working out mutually acceptable solutions, the statement said.<br /><br />His remarks comes at a time when IAF is flying with 34 Squadrons of fighter aircraft even though the sanctioned strength is 42. A worrying scenario is that over 10 squadrons of MiG 21s will start seeing phasing out from 2017. However, the effort is on to extend them by a few more years.<br /><br />IAF has been banking on Rafale, the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft Tejas and the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft deal with Russia to augment its strength. However, all the three projects are running behind schedule. Adding to the worry is the continued delay in Sitara intermediate jet trainer (IJT) programme, which was first sanctioned in 1999.<br /><br />Sources said the project has been further delayed by few more years years after missing seven deadlines for getting initial operational clearance following the formal approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security in March 2005. Future plans for enhancing IAF's capability were also discussed during the conference.<br /><br />In his concluding address the Air Chief expressed satisfaction with the operational preparedness of the IAF to meet any challenge to National security. He elaborated upon the "fragile and tenuous situation" in the neighbourhood and the importance of the IAF to remain ever prepared and vigilant and respond swiftly.<br /><div><br /></div></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-70965711225212080862015-04-22T23:47:00.003-07:002015-04-22T23:47:41.131-07:00SUPREME COURT ASKS IF ARMY'S NEW PROMOTION POLICY HAS BEEN APPROVED BY CENTER<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img height="189" src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-Oz7vZatyMyo%2FVSAfXPcmqdI%2FAAAAAAAAIK8%2FYyTuZKSL6tg%2Fs1600%2Findian_Army_Banner_1.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="400" /><br /><br />The Supreme Court today asked the Center to file its response as to whether it had approved the Army's "command exit promotion" policy, which has been quashed by the Armed Forces Tribunal, meant for officers of the rank of Colonel and above from January, 2009.<br /><br />"Had the Defence Ministry filed an affidavit before the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) that it has approved the 'command exit promotion policy'?" a bench of justices TS Thakur and R Banumathi said.<br /><br />It asked the Defence Secretary or a person authorized by him to file an affidavit within a week stating "whether the government had accepted the recommendations of the AV Singh Committee (AVSC) with regard to the 'command exit promotion policy'".<br /><br />The bench also said that the response of the government should contain details about the promotion policy being followed and if the AVSC report was not approved then whether the Ministry had taken up the issue with the Army or not.<br /><br />The bench is hearing the appeal of the Defence Ministry against AFT's decision to quash Army's "command exit promotion" policy on the ground that it is violative of Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution. The apex court had on March 25 stayed the March 2 decision of AFT to quash Army's promotion policy. Some army officers had claimed that the new promotion policy had adversely affected them as it is "arbitrary" and highly skewed in favour of Infantry and Artillery, as compared to other branches of the Army.<br /><br />Earlier, the court had asked the Defence Ministry to file its rejoinder to the response of the officers on whose plea AFT had passed the order. Advocate Meenakshi Lekhi, appearing for several officers, had submitted that all ranks of personnel from Colonel and above would be affected due to the "biased" promotion policy.<br /><br />She was appearing for the main petitioners including Lt Col P K Choudhary on whose plea AFT had said that the 2009 promotion policy had resulted in preferential promotions to officers of select branches of Army and hence should be scrapped.</div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-72691042119636249642015-04-22T23:45:00.003-07:002015-04-22T23:45:59.777-07:00STEALTH FRIGATE: GRSE BAGS RS 20,000 CR ORDER FROM NAVY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img height="219" src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-hizZbd27xZ0%2FVTf87a6feGI%2FAAAAAAAAJGU%2FZXFWIxKkavk%2Fs1600%2FINS_Talwar_2.png&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="400" /><br />INS Talwar - Indian Navy's Advanced Stealth Frigate<br /><br />Defence PSU Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd has bagged its biggest order of building three advanced stealth frigates for Rs 20,000 crore from the Indian Navy. "This is the highest-ever order which GRSE has got. This shows how much trust the government and the Navy has on us. It is a big shot in the arm for us," GRSE's Chairman and Managing Director Rear Admiral A K Verma told reporters here today.<br /><br />Under project P-17A, Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL), Mumbai, will make four stealth frigates while the Kolkata shipyard will make three such frigates, all of which will be of the same design.<br /><br />"Frigates are one-man army which can attack under water, surface level and also at air. It can also carry helicopters and has detection abilities as well. It will become the most potent weapon of the Indian Navy," Verma said.<br /><br />Once the final design is ready, the construction at GRSE will begin after three years and the first ship will be ready by 2023. "The rest will come at one-year intervals and within ten years all the ships would be ready. We would be working in close collaboration with both the Navy as well as MDL," the official said.<br /><br />Commodore Ratnakar Ghosh, Director (shipbuilding), GRSE, said they are building a new modernised integrated modular construction unit which would be used for manufacturing the frigates.<br /><br />"It is because of the modular construction that we can bring down the time of construction to five years. Traditional shipbuilding method takes much more time," he said.<br /><br />GRSE already has Goliath cranes and workshops with sliding roofs from where 200-tonne blocks can be lifted out.</div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-5175349269932750912015-04-22T23:44:00.000-07:002015-04-22T23:44:01.546-07:00WOULD AMERICA BACK INDIA IN A WAR?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img height="225" src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-rtAzeFtqnW8%2FVTf4VSQ_HFI%2FAAAAAAAAJGI%2Fav_AzHZwBmA%2Fs1600%2FWar_Image.png&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="400" /><br /><br />Last month, I had the privilege of taking part in a Track 1.5 strategic dialogue on Indo-U.S. relations. Held in New Delhi, the gathering was an unabashed success, and the richness and candor of the discussions aptly reflected the renewed momentum of the bilateral relationship. Over the course of the event, much mention was made of Obama’s recent visit, and of one document in particular: the U.S. India Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region.<br /><br />Shortly after having completed my presentation on Indo-U.S. cooperation in the Indian Ocean, I was asked a pointed question by a retired Indian Navy Admiral. Should India, queried the Admiral, read more deeply into both governments’ decision to jointly reference the importance of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea? More specifically, did this mean that the United States would provide military assistance to India in the event of a Sino-Indian naval confrontation in maritime Southeast Asia?<br /><br />As the distinguished veteran concluded his remarks, I could almost hear the sighs of relief emanating from some of the U.S. government participants. Thank God, they were no doubt thinking, that this question was addressed to a non-government employee. I found myself compelled, however, to give the vague and somewhat bureaucratic response that any U.S. official would have made.<br /><br />Much would depend, naturally, on the circumstances of the incident, and whether China was clearly perceived as the aggressor. But, I added, one must not forget that while India was a valued strategic partner of the United States, it was not an ally. Strategic partnerships, however tight and wide-ranging they may appear, do not come with the binding security guarantees that traditionally characterize alliance structures.<br /><br />And therein lies the rub. Even though the Indo-U.S. entente is perhaps this century’s single most important bilateral relationship, with the greatest potential to positively shape the Asian security environment, it is not-nor will it ever be-a formalized alliance. The reasons for this singular state of affairs are well known.<br /><br />Indeed, since independence, New Delhi’s grand strategy has always been coterminous with a quest for greater strategic autonomy, and with a solid aversion for any form of partnership that could lead to entanglement. This autonomy is perceived as a key enabler, allowing India to practice a “multi-vectored” diplomacy that maximizes freedom of maneuver, while minimizing the risks of friction that could flow from more solidified alignments.<br /><br />Historical studies have pointed to the inherent plasticity of any successful grand strategy. This is something that India’s foremost strategists have fully interiorized, with a much-discussed-and unfairly lampooned-2012 study placing a strong emphasis on subtlety over “narrow linear narratives about what serves our (India’s) national interest,” in a world which is described as both fragmented and in flux. India’s grand strategy, the authors pursue, “will require a skillful management of complicated coalitions and opportunities in environments that may be inherently unstable and volatile rather than structurally settled.”<br /><br />As India’s growth in wealth, influence and power becomes more manifest, it has presented the United States with a unique form of diplomatic challenge. While Chinese nationalists have argued in favor of a “new model of great power relations,” India’s political leadership seeks, first and foremost, a new model of strategic partnership. This partnership may come to yield a number of rich dividends in the defense realm, in terms of technology and intelligence sharing, joint training, or arms sales. Yet singularly absent are the most important components of any alliance—a clear strategic direction, and a sense of reciprocal security commitments and/or guarantees.<br /><br />India may, according to some reports, hold more joint military exercises with the United States than any other country, but nobody quite knows the conditions under which Indian jawans and U.S. grunts would find themselves crouching in the same foxhole.</div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-44771836558453856202015-04-22T23:42:00.000-07:002015-04-22T23:42:02.656-07:00KARWAR: WARSHIP TO BE EQUIPPED<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img height="252" src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-DJSRGBpAZgw%2FVPDHcuIUPnI%2FAAAAAAAAGTc%2FCqpEo9oxrkQ%2Fs1600%2FTROPEX_2014_8.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="400" /><br /><br />Kadamba naval base of Karwar is busy in preparing to install air defence system in India's largest warship INS Vikramaditya in another two months. The warship which was anchored in the Kadamba naval base few months back is now involved in patrolling. After it returns to the naval base, air defence system will be installed and the equipment in it will be refitted. The process will be completed by July end, informed Navy sources.<br /><br />The Navy plans to transfer an Israeli Barak missile system from a Godavari-class ship to the aircraft carrier that was bought from the Russians. This will be a shot in the arm for the over Rs 15,000 crore aircraft carrier that has been without a defence system, since it joined the Indian Navy in November 16, 2013.<br /><br />The aircraft carrier does not have any self-defence weapons on board, barring a chaff and flare system. An escort group of warships had been sent to Russia to bring the carrier to India. The new installation will take place during the ongoing 'short refit' that is been carried out on the carrier at Karwar. Interestingly, it does not even have a close-in weapons system (CIWS) to shoot incoming air attacks close range.<br /><br />Sources said a CIWS from a Godavari-class ship, will also be installed on it during the ongoing refit.<br /><br />Vikramaditya, a floating airfield, has an overall Length of about 284 metres and a maximum beam of about 60 metres, stretching as much as three football fields put together. Standing about 20 tall from the keel to the highest point, the ship has a total of 22 decks and carries 1,600 personnel.<br /><div><br /></div></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-70585162034341927282015-04-22T23:40:00.001-07:002015-04-22T23:40:17.382-07:00INDIA'S NEW MEGA WEAPON: NUCLEAR-ARMED SUPERSONIC MISSILES<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img height="196" src="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-gxWAwxkfBLM%2FVTfIdzvuamI%2FAAAAAAAAJFE%2FHkYZj9scO-A%2Fs1600%2FSukhoi_LineUp.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" width="400" /><br />Indian Air Force's formidable Sukhoi Su-30 MKI Squadron<br /><br />India’s nuclear command has begun receiving fighter jets armed with the country’s most advanced, supersonic cruise missile. According to media reports, India’s Strategic Forces Command (SFC) has begun receiving 42 Su-30MKI air dominance fighters modified to carry air-launched BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. This will significantly enhance the striking power of the air leg of India’s nuclear triad.<br /><br />“Individually, the Su-30 and BrahMos are powerful weapons,” Russia and India Report noted. “But when the world’s most capable fourth generation fighter is armed with a uniquely destructive cruise missile, together they are a dramatic force multiplier.”<br /><br />The Sukhoi Su-30 MKI is a twin-seater, highly maneuverable, fourth-generation multirole combat fighter aircraft built by Russia’s Sukhoi Design Bureau and licensed to India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The plane will serve as the backbone of India’s Air Force through 2020 and beyond. Delhi has already acquired around 200 jets, and eventually plans to acquire 282 of them.<br /><br />The Brahmos is a joint development between joint effort between India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroeyenia. Capable of traveling at speeds of Mach 3.0, the Brahmos is the fastest cruise missile in the world. As Russia and India Report explained, “The BrahMos’ literally faster than a bullet – means it hits the target with a huge amount of kinetic energy. In tests, the BrahMos has often cut warships in half and reduced ground targets to smithereens.”<br /><br />The same report notes that the Su-30 will add to the Brahmos’ already deadly effect. “The Sukhoi’s blistering speed will add extra launch momentum to the missile, plus the aircraft’s ability to penetrate hardened air defences means there is a greater chance for the pilot to deliver the missile on to its designated targets.”<br /><br />Pairing the Su-30 with the Brahmos missile will also drastically expand the striking power of the air leg of India’s nuclear triad. The Su-30 itself has a range of up to 1,800 kilometers while the Brahmos missile can strike targets nearly 300 kilometers away. Thus, the newly modified Su-30s will allow India’s nuclear aircraft to strike deep in the heart of China or Pakistan, Delhi’s two main adversaries.<br /><br />The plan to modify the Su-30 to carry the Brahmos missiles was first hatched back in 2010 when the SFC submitted a proposal for two squadrons of Su-30s to be put under its command. Later, in 2012, India’s cabinet approved the project to modify 42 Su-30s to carry 216 Brahmos missiles. According to the Times of India, the integration project was mostly carried out by BrahMos Aerospace, with HAL also contributing crucial modifications.<br /><br />The first of the new planes was handed over to the SFC in February and is believed to have undergone tests last month. Production on the second of the modified Su-30s has already begun. It is unclear when the SFC expects to receive the rest of the planes.<br /><br />The Brahmos-armed Su-30s is only one of the ways that India is strengthening its strategic deterrent. It has also been busy testing the Agni-V, which is three-stage solid-fueled intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a range of about 5,000 km. When the Agni-V is inducted into service, India will have the ability to strike any part of China with nuclear weapons for the first time. Furthermore, India is currently testing ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), which will complete the nuclear triad</div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-6604733398916856962015-04-22T01:58:00.000-07:002015-04-22T01:58:09.445-07:00Modernising artillery to fight future wars<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img height="266" src="http://images.tribuneindia.com/cms/gall_content/2015/4/2015_4$largeimg21_Apr_2015_213848263.jpg" width="400" /><br />Indian soldiers demonstrate combat skills during the Army Day parade in New Delhi in January. The Army celebrated the 67th anniversary of its formation with soldiers from various regiments taking part in a parade.<br /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">AFTER a decade of neglect under the two UPA regimes, military modernisation appears to be picking up pace again under the new NDA government. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by interim Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, had approved projects worth Rs 80,000 crore in October 2014. The new Defence Minister, Manohar Parrikar, while chairing his maiden meeting of the DAC on November 22, 2014, cleared the long-pending proposal to acquire 814 truck-mounted guns of 155 mm/ 52-calibre for approximately Rs 15,750 crore. However, the approval merely amounted to “acceptance of necessity” (AON) — the first step in the acquisition process. It will be many years before the first few regiments are equipped with these guns.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Limitations of manoeuvre</b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">Firepower and manoeuvre are generally considered the two complementary sides of the tactics coin. During future conventional conflict on the Indian Sub-continent, large-scale manoeuvre will not be possible in the mountains due to the restrictions imposed by the difficult terrain and in the plains against Pakistan due to the need to avoid escalation to nuclear levels. Hence, India's firepower capabilities need to be enhanced by an order of magnitude, especially in terms of Precision-Guided Munitions (PGMs). This will require substantial upgradation of the firepower capabilities of India's armed forces. Ground-based firepower resources comprising artillery guns, rockets and missiles and aerially-delivered firepower consisting of fighter-bomber aircraft and attack helicopters, both must be qualitatively as well as quantitatively augmented. Similarly, sea-to-land attack capabilities must also be enhanced.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">Modernisation of the artillery has been neglected for over two decades, despite the lessons learnt during the Kargil conflict of 1999, in which artillery firepower had undeniably paved the way for victory. Approximately 400 pieces of the 155 mm/39-calibre FH-77B Bofors howitzers were acquired over 25 years ago. Though India paid for the designs, the guns were never manufactured locally as commissions were alleged to have been paid and Bofors brought down a government.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">Since then, no new guns or howitzers have been introduced into service. The artillery is now equipped with obsolescent weapons and equipment like the 105 mm Indian Field Gun (IFG) that needs immediate replacement. The artillery also requires large quantities of precision guided munitions (PGMs) for the destruction of hard targets such as tanks and bunkers and a potent real-time reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA) capability. And, in view of their performance in Afghanistan and Iraq, the time has come to add UCAVs armed with PGMs to the artillery's arsenal. Only then will it be possible to achieve future military objectives, including the destruction of the adversary's war machinery.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Large-scale overhaul</b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">Under the army's Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan (FARP) formulated in 1999, the Regiment of Artillery had decided to standardise the calibre of its guns at 155 mm so as to ensure commonality of ammunition. The artillery plans to acquire a total of 2,820 guns of all types to replace obsolescent guns and to equip the new regiments that will form part of 17 Corps, the Mountain Strike Corps now under raising. The modernisation plan had been stymied by the blacklisting of some firms in the fray. One example is that of the project for the acquisition of 180 pieces of 155mm/52-caliber wheeled self-propelled (SP) guns.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">The tender was cancelled after the trials were completed. The contenders included Rheinmetal Defence of Germany and Konstrukta of the Slovak Republic. Fresh tenders were issued and the proposals received are being reviewed. The primary contenders now are the Teckwin 'K-9 Thunder' of Samsung, South Korea and the Russian Rosoboronexport's tracked gun, which is an upgraded 155 mm version of the 152 mm MSTA-S SP Gun. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">The single largest artillery acquisition will be of 1,580 pieces of towed 155 mm/52-calibre guns over a period of 12 to 15 years. Of these, 400 guns are to be imported and the remaining 1,180 produced in India with transfer of technology (ToT). Over the last eight to 10 years, several request for proposals that were floated for this project were cancelled due to the corrupt practices being followed by some companies. New tenders were floated for 155 mm/52-calibre long-range guns for the plains and trials have been underway since October 2013. Trials are also reported to be in progress for 100 pieces of self-propelled guns for the desert terrain. 180 pieces of 130 mm M46 Russian guns have been upgraded to 155mm/45-caliber with kits supplied by Soltam of Israel. The maximum range of the gun has gone up from 27.5 to 39 km. Another 300 guns are proposed to be upgraded in due course. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">Taking to long to decide</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><img height="269" src="http://images.tribuneindia.com/cms/gall_content/2015/4/2015_4$largeimg121_Apr_2015_214228243gallery.jpg" width="400" /><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">The MoD is also considering the acquisition of 145 pieces of 155 mm/39-calibre M777 howitzers of the US-based MNC BAE Systems for the mountains through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route from the US in a government-to-government deal. However, the deal is reportedly stuck for want of agreement on the offsets obligations and upward revision in the price intimated to Congress by the US government from $647 million to $885 million. Also, as India has taken too long to decide, some of the factories involved in the manufacture of various components of the M777 have begun to close down. If this acquisition falls through, the process will have to begin afresh.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">Indigenous efforts to manufacture 155 mm howitzers include that by the Ordnance Factories Board to produce a 45-calibre 155 mm howitzer. This project was initially based on the designs for which Transfer of Technology (ToT) was obtained from Bofors in the 1980s, but has matured into an indigenous design during development. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Technical trials</b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">The DAC approved a proposal from the OFB to manufacture 144 pieces of 155 mm/45-calibre howitzers with the option to acquire another 400 provided the prototypes successfully meet the army's GSQR in user trials. The prototype of the OFB gun is undergoing technical trials. Meanwhile, the DRDO has embarked on its own venture to design and develop a 155 mm howitzer in partnership with a private sector company. The acquisition of 814 truck-mounted guns that has been approved by the Defence Minister recently will be undertaken under the “buy and make in India” category with ToT. While the first 100 guns will be imported, the remaining 714 will be produced in India. The total project cost is estimated to be Rs 15,750 crore. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">Several Indian companies are known to be interested in the indigenous design and development of modern artillery systems in conjunction with overseas partners. Bharat Forge (partner Elbit of Israel), Tata Power SED (Denel, South Africa) and L&T (Nexter, France) are likely to bid for this contract when the RfP is issued by the MoD.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Rocket launchers</b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">Progress on the multi-barrel rocket launcher front has been better than that in the acquisition of tube artillery. A contract for the acquisition of two regiments of the 12-tube, 300 mm Smerch multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) system with 90 km range was signed with Russia's Rosoboronexport in early-2006. The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile (Mach 2.8 to 3.0), with a precision strike capability, very high kill energy and maximum range of 290 km, was inducted into the army in July 2007. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">These terrain-hugging missiles are virtually immune to counter measures due to their high speed and very low radar cross section. The indigenously designed and manufactured Pinaka multi-barrel rocket system is likely to enter service in the near future. These three weapon systems together will provide a major boost to the artillery's ability to destroy key targets at long ranges. However, a surface-to-surface missile (SSM), with a range of 500-600 km, so that it can be fired from the plains on targets in Tibet, is the missing link in planning for a future war in the mountains. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><b>Counter-bombardment capability</b></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">The counter-bombardment capability of the Army also needs to be upgraded. At least about 40 to 50 weapon-locating radars (WLRs) are required for effective counter-bombardment, especially in the plains, but only 12 AN-TPQ 37 Firefinder WLRs have been acquired from Raytheon, USA, under a 2002 contract worth US$200 million. Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited is reported to be assembling 28 WLRs. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">These radars will be based primarily on indigenous components with very little import content and are likely to be approved for introduction into service after extensive trials that are ongoing. The radar is expected to match the capabilities of the Firefinder system and will have a detection range of about 40 km. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">Artillery modernisation must be given a major boost so that the Army's firepower is enhanced quickly to the levels required to ensure victory on future battlefields. In conjunction with aerially delivered firepower, the artillery is the only combat arm that can cause degradation and destruction of the adversary's combat potential and ultimately break his will to fight. </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15.1999998092651px; line-height: 16px;">Any further delay in the implementation of artillery modernisation plans will be extremely detrimental to national security interests. If the new projects that are now in the pipeline are pursued vigorously, artillery modernisation will once again begin to gather steam. </span></span></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-80917179962647688682015-04-22T01:52:00.000-07:002015-04-22T01:52:30.684-07:00Suspected Boat Apprehended In North Arabian Sea By Indian Navy & Indian Coast Guard<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wDIo67n4TjQ/VTXp2bsC1II/AAAAAAAATl4/_dUvfEEn57Q/s1600/111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #ffc619; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wDIo67n4TjQ/VTXp2bsC1II/AAAAAAAATl4/_dUvfEEn57Q/s1600/111.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background: rgb(17, 17, 17); border: 1px solid rgb(17, 17, 17); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 1px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><br style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;" /><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JvO_KfmcT4o/VTXp3shz-rI/AAAAAAAATmA/afL8b2USMbc/s1600/009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #ffc619; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JvO_KfmcT4o/VTXp3shz-rI/AAAAAAAATmA/afL8b2USMbc/s1600/009.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background: rgb(17, 17, 17); border: 1px solid rgb(17, 17, 17); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 1px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><br style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;" /><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XbBQ1Iw8qfE/VTXp4i_QyfI/AAAAAAAATmI/OBj8N2cBogo/s1600/008_1_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #ffc619; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XbBQ1Iw8qfE/VTXp4i_QyfI/AAAAAAAATmI/OBj8N2cBogo/s1600/008_1_.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background: rgb(17, 17, 17); border: 1px solid rgb(17, 17, 17); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 1px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><br style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;" /><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-61ugcqgaig4/VTXp5DVQdvI/AAAAAAAATmQ/YbQuT3LVLSE/s1600/007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #ffc619; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-61ugcqgaig4/VTXp5DVQdvI/AAAAAAAATmQ/YbQuT3LVLSE/s1600/007.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background: rgb(17, 17, 17); border: 1px solid rgb(17, 17, 17); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 1px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><br style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;" /><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jYuJToxTy8U/VTXp7h6uabI/AAAAAAAATmY/2hDuRS2JPrA/s1600/006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #ffc619; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jYuJToxTy8U/VTXp7h6uabI/AAAAAAAATmY/2hDuRS2JPrA/s1600/006.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background: rgb(17, 17, 17); border: 1px solid rgb(17, 17, 17); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 1px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><br style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;" /><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IZpau852hj8/VTXp8eO2u6I/AAAAAAAATmg/rzURyd9EEz4/s1600/005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #ffc619; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IZpau852hj8/VTXp8eO2u6I/AAAAAAAATmg/rzURyd9EEz4/s1600/005.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background: rgb(17, 17, 17); border: 1px solid rgb(17, 17, 17); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 1px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><br style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;" /><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FIVOyzWlefM/VTXp85QXTlI/AAAAAAAATmk/AJwjQYYuj18/s1600/003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #ffc619; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FIVOyzWlefM/VTXp85QXTlI/AAAAAAAATmk/AJwjQYYuj18/s1600/003.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background: rgb(17, 17, 17); border: 1px solid rgb(17, 17, 17); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 1px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><br style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;" /><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uF_8uJyy6HM/VTXp-G_cdJI/AAAAAAAATmw/DtCwJ0RotVs/s1600/002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #ffc619; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="267" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uF_8uJyy6HM/VTXp-G_cdJI/AAAAAAAATmw/DtCwJ0RotVs/s1600/002.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background: rgb(17, 17, 17); border: 1px solid rgb(17, 17, 17); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 1px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">In a closely coordinated operation undertaken by the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy, a boat carrying a large quantity of narcotics was apprehended in international waters, off the coast of Gujarat on 20th April 15. The operation also resulted in the apprehension of eight Pakistani nationals manning the boat.</span><br /><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">The operation was launched on 18 April 15, based on the intelligence inputs, and was conducted in close coordination by Coast Guard Regional Headquarters(NW) and Headquarters Western Naval Command. Multiple units from the Coast Guard and Navy were deployed for the operation, which included Indian Coast Guard Ship Sangram along with IN Ship Nirghat and Kondul. The search was augmented by extensive aerial searches undertaken by Coast Guard and Naval aircraft including Dorniers, IL-38 and P8Is. In a display of seamless coordination, the suspect boat was intercepted by ICG Ship Sangram in the wee hours of morning of 20 Apr 15, and thereafter apprehended later in the morning, whilst IN ship Kondul provided support to the entire evolution. The initial investigations by Coast Guard Ship Sangram have led to recovery of 232 packets of narcotics(suspected to be Heroin and worth upto Rupees 600 Crores in the international market). Additionally, satellite communication phones and Global Positioning Systems, being used to facilitate transhipment of the contraband to another boat were also confiscated. </div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">The apprehended boat is being brought to Porbandar for further investigations by law enforcement authorities.</div></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-75435402117739943222015-04-22T01:51:00.000-07:002015-04-22T01:51:01.705-07:00Naval Investiture Ceremony Onboard INS Viraat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; 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font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><img height="246" src="http://i.ndtvimg.com/i/2015-04/navy-gallantary-awards_650x400_51429550414.jpg" width="400" /></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CDA4EWfUkAE6D_2.jpg:large" width="400" /></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">The Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral R.K. Dhowan conferred the Gallantry and non Gallantry awards to the recipients, during the Naval Investiture Ceremony, held onboard INS Viraat, at Naval Dockyard, in Mumbai on April 20, 2015.</div></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2347546360513970469.post-44405423387721177242015-04-22T01:46:00.003-07:002015-04-22T01:46:34.827-07:00IAF Commanders Conference<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tQAas0BrwAY/VTTpw79g29I/AAAAAAAATk4/8yBLa4NPCBM/s1600/s2015042064522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #ffc619; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="173" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tQAas0BrwAY/VTTpw79g29I/AAAAAAAATk4/8yBLa4NPCBM/s1600/s2015042064522.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background: rgb(17, 17, 17); border: 1px solid rgb(17, 17, 17); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 1px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><br style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;" /><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EbK9mWnOKFQ/VTTp00Ni5KI/AAAAAAAATlA/jnonlrOl0Hw/s1600/s2015042064523.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #ffc619; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="185" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EbK9mWnOKFQ/VTTp00Ni5KI/AAAAAAAATlA/jnonlrOl0Hw/s1600/s2015042064523.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; background: rgb(17, 17, 17); border: 1px solid rgb(17, 17, 17); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 1px; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: black; clear: both; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">RM’S Interaction with IAF Commanders during Air Force Commanders’ Conference – Apr 2015 </span></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">Air Force Commanders’ Conference (AFCC) – 2015 commenced at Air Headquarters (Vayu Bhawan), New Delhi on 20 April 2015. Shri Manohar Parrikar, Hon’ble Raksha Mantri inaugurated the bi-annual conference. </div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chief of the Air Staff welcomed Shri Manohar Parrikar, Hon’ble Raksha Mantri, Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, Hon’ble Raksha Rajya Mantri and Shri RK Mathur, Defence Secretary. He also introduced the Air Force Commanders to the Hon’ble RM. </div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">The aim of this bi-annual conference is to enhance the operational capability of the IAF. CAS updated the RM on operational status of the IAF, induction of C-17 and operationalisation of C-130 aircraft. He also highlighted the efforts put in to increase the aircraft serviceability and the corresponding increase in flying task of IAF as compared to the previous year. Achievements of the IAF especially during the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations were covered by the CAS. He also elaborated on the IAF’s Focus Areas and covered the future road map for the IAF. The CAS also expressed his concern for well being, morale and enhancement of physical fitness of air-warriors. </div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">The Hon’ble RM complemented the IAF for professional conduct during relief and rescue operations especially during J&K floods and rescue of Indians from Yemen. He also emphasized on aviation safety and conserve available resources. </div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: black; color: #999999; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, FreeSerif, serif; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px; text-align: justify;">During the conference senior leadership of IAF deliberates on issues pertaining to air operations, maintenance, human resources and administration. CAS also presented trophies to various Command Headquarters for excellence in sports, welfare activities and promotion of Hindi in IAF. </div></div>nayeem sheikhhttps://plus.google.com/106714962642516631077noreply@blogger.com0