83% Indians view China as major security threat: Survey

Eighty three per cent of Indians view China as a major security threat, even as 63 per cent would like relation with the neighbouring country to be strengthened, an opinion poll has claimed.

China’s possession of nuclear weapons, its efforts at strengthening its relations with other countries in the Indian Ocean region and China-India border dispute have emerged as the major reasons because of which the wariness was generated, according to the poll which was launched at Observer Research Foundation here today. 

Titled ‘India Poll 2013: Facing the future – Indian views of the world ahead’, the poll was conducted by Lowy Institute for International Policy and Australia India Institute (AII) here.

As per the survey, Pakistan is seen as a major threat by majority (94 per cent) of Indians because of the country’s nuclear weapons and its claims of sovereignty over Kashmir.

The data also reflected that 83 per cent Indians hold a strong liking for the United States. Other countries for which the people expressed affinity were Singapore, Japan and Australia.

The other issues which worry Indians are corruption, domestic policy and democracy etc, the poll said.

Opinions of 1,223 adults were taken by the team that conducted the poll.

China deploys Su-27 fighters in Tibet, can target key Indian air bases

China’s all-weather fighter base in Tibet is now widening its range of options in the event of a conflict with India. Intelligence intercepts and satellite monitoring has confirmed that China may have to some extent overcome Tibet’s extreme altitude and temperatures to operationalise an all-weather airfield near the Tibetan capital Lhasa.

The airfield is Gonkar, where China has deployed Su-27 fighters. Sources told CNN-IBN that the Gonkar airfield will enable Chinese fighters to widen their selection of Indian targets from Ladakh to Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Sources say Gonkar is a direct response to the Indian Air Force stationing Su-30MKI fighters in Chabua and Tezpur in Assam. These fighters with a combat radius of about 1,000 km can hit targets deep in Tibet and mainland China.

“I would say the development of Gonkar airfield started well before the upgradation by us of our defence infrastructure, which has taken off only in the past five to seven years. Gonkar started off much earlier, they had started building underground hangars and defence and began positioning their fighter aircraft there,” former RAW officer Jaidev Ranade said.

The Chinese Air Force Su-27 fighters were observed in the winters and now with the onset of summer, they are still there, which suggests that China has built up infrastructure for their support.

It is advantage China since Gonkar is at an altitude of 16,000 feet. The fighters can take off only with less weapons payload or fuel. China has probably solved the problem by stationing an aerial refuelling aircraft at Gonkar or nearby. This will increase the range and endurance of the Su-27s.

With recent developments at Raki Nala in eastern Ladakh, the implications are clear. China has been engaged in a deliberate upping of the diplomatic and military pressure on India, probing for weaknesses, testing India’s resolve with the expectation that India will blink and back down.

HAL's Aerospace Division To Have Facilities For Cryogenic Engines

The manufacturing facilities for integrated cryogenic engines will be set at up at HAL’s Aerospace Division in Bangalore said Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO.) Delivering the seventh L.M. Khatre Memorial Lecture “Indian Space Program: Emerging Frontiers” at HAL Convention Centre here today he said HAL will continue to play an important role in the future programs of ISRO.

In his speech, Dr. R. K. Tyagi, Chairman, HAL stressed that creativity and innovation are key to success in aerospace sector. He said HAL is the biggest investor in defence R&D in India as it spent about 12 percent of its turnover on research activities, far ahead of other PSUs and private players. "We filed 67 patents in 2012-13 and aiming for more this year", he added.

Dr. Tyagi also said civil aircraft development should be a national priority as India is slated to emerge as the third largest aviation market by 2020. Not only this, India has the potential to be an maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) hub due to the growing aircraft fleet, location advantage and availability of cost effective talent. With established quality systems, infrastructure, dedicated overhaul division etc. HAL can contribute in a big way in all these segments, he added.

Mr. P.S. Krishnan, Chairman, Aeronautical Society of India (Karnataka chapter) also spoke on the occasion, largely focusing on the role of DRDO.

First Boeing P-8I Joins Indian Navy

Navy Statement: Indian Naval Aviation received a major fillip with the arrival of the first of eight Boeing P-8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance and Anti Submarine Warfare aircraft at Naval Air Station Rajali, Arakkonam, Tamil Nadu today, 15 may 13. Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, AVSM, Chief of Staff, Eastern Naval Command presided over the event that was attended by Commodore Puneet Bahl, Commanding Officer, INS Rajali, representatives from the Command and Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of defence (Navy) as well.

The P-8I aircraft, based on the Boeing 737-800(NG) airframe, is the Indian Naval variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing has developed for the US Navy. The aircraft is equipped with both foreign as well as indigenous sensors for Maritime Reconnaissance, Anti Submarine operations and for Electronic Intelligence missions. The aircraft is fully integrated with state of the art sensors and highly potent Anti Surface and Anti Submarine weapons.

These LRMR/ ASW aircraft have been procured under the contract signed in 2009. The IN is in process of acquiring an additional four P-8I aircraft under the option clause. The induction of the P-8I aircraft into the Indian Navy would greatly enhance India's maritime surveillance capability in the Indian Ocean Region.

Mig-21 not widow-maker but trusted flying companion

The man who has done 6316 sorties with the MiG-21, arguably the most by any air force pilot, says there isn't anything wrong with the aircraft many call the 'widow-maker' and 'flying coffin'. As the one-time warhorse aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) completed 50 years in the fleet in 2013, Air Commodore (retd) SS Tyagi, the former station commander of IAF bases in Naliya and Jamnagar in Gujarat believes it is time to set the record straight. Don't blame the machine, he says. Blame the elements that the pilot has to deal with. 

Tyagi should know. He has clocked 4,003 hours of flying in the much maligned aircraft - and never crashed. 

"The MiG-21 is a very demanding aircraft," says the 70-year-old who retired from the air force in 1996. "The Russians did not design it keeping the comfort of the pilot in view. This is a machine that can help a pilot exalt his capabilities to the end of the skies. However, even a transitory lapse can be disastrous particularly during hard maneuvering." 

To fly an aircraft like this in an unfriendly aviation environment like that of India, which has mist, moisture and birds, requires a lot of effort. Also, a pilot has to be always alert not to be caught off-guard while descending since the speed while approaching land is higher in MiG-21s than other aircrafts. "There is not much visibility on offer and you have a plethora of problems to cope with, particularly bird hits that cause flame out. The maximum number of MiG-21s may have been lost due to these factors than pilot error," points out Tyagi. 

Till April 19 last year, IAF lost more than half its MiG-21s. Union defence minister AK Antony had told Rajya Sabha last year that 482 MiG-21s had been involved in accidents. As many as 171 pilots, 39 civilians and eight persons from other services were killed in these accidents. At the time, Antony had said that "both human error and technical defects" were responsible for the crashes. 

So why have so many pilots died if the MiG-21 is as safe as Tyagi claims? "In the developed world, countries don't care if they have to lose an aircraft," he reasons. "If the aircraft develops a technical snag, the pilot simply ejects. However, an Indian pilot would try to save the aircraft till the last moment. In the process, he loses vital time and that often becomes a question of life and death for him," he says. 

The ace flyer has many anecdotes from his flying days which he says point to the reliability of the MiG-21. "Once when I was at Pathankot airbase in 1978, the technical staff and pilots had a bet on flying 60 sorties in MiG-21s from 7 am to 1.30 pm without getting the aircraft serviced. The losing side was to give the winner 24 bottles of rum. The MiG-21s flew 60 sorties - we would have won the bet except that we were late by just five minutes because a bird interrupted the last sortie. However, in our eyes, the MiG-21 was still a winner. It is a tough call for an aircraft to do so many sorties without a breakdown but it survived the test." 

Today, MiG-21s make up 10 squadrons of the IAF. Once, they constituted 60 per cent of its inventory. Tyagi says that even now, it is a cost-effective option. "Compared to a Rs 500 crore Mirage, Su-30 MKI and Tejas, an upgraded MiG-21 Bison costs just about Rs 40 crore. But unfortunately, its achievements have been overshadowed by negative publicity."

IAF’s SA-8s SAM failed repeatedly

In a joint exercise by Indian Air Force (IAF) and DRDO, a Russian short range surface-to-air missile was test fired from a defence base off the Odisha coast on Wednesday. The OSA-AK missile reportedly failed to hit a tow body suspended from a pilot less target aircraft (PTA) as it fell down before reaching the target.

Sources said air force personnel conducted the test, a part of target simulation exercise in the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur on sea during noon.

The missile was fired from the launching complex – III and the PTA was flown from the launching -II of the ITR.

While three rounds of the missile were fired at 11.25 am, 11.45 am and 12.45 pm, the missile was to hit the tow body during the third attempt.

“The missile fell down immediately after take off. Though in initial two attempts the 10-km range missile travelled a certain distance, but during the target simulation exercise it failed to reach the target,” said a source.
It was the third attempt in last three days which also proved futile.

While on Monday the pilot less target aircraft fell down before releasing the tow body and flying for a stipulated period due to technical snags, a similar attempt on Tuesday also failed as the missile could not be fired.

A defence official said the aim and objective of the exercise was to gauge the effectiveness of the missile and killing capabilities mid air.

The Russia-manufactured missile has already been procured by India for the IAF fighter air-crafts.
OSA-AK missile has been developed to be used against aircrafts, surface-to-air missiles and air-to-air missiles.
The missile has already been inducted in the army and it was first user trial by the IAF.

Sources added that if all the preparations go according to the plan, another exercise will be conducted within a day or two. Thereafter, the missile would be fired from the fighter air crafts targeting the PTA

More Indian Special Forces To Face China

The Indian Army is continuing to expand its airborne forces. The current ten battalions are to be being expanded by two. There are two types of Indian parachute battalions. Eight are special forces (formerly Para Commando) battalions. That is, they are trained for operating against terrorists and irregulars in peacetime but are also trained to use parachutes and would do so in wartime as light infantry landed in enemy territory. The other four battalions are not trained as special forces and are just parachute infantry. The two new battalions will be parachute battalions (not special forces, at least not immediately). India will station the two new parachute battalions near the Chinese border, where more army and air force units are being moved to match the Chinese buildup there that has been going on for years.

The parachute battalions are but one component of Indian special operations troops, which is a very varied group. For example, the Special Protection Group personnel are assigned the task of protection for India's Prime Minister and VIPs from terrorist attacks. The elite MARCOS unit acts as India's Navy SEAL teams and performs special ops on the high seas.

The primary counter-terror unit in the country is the 15,000 man National Security Guards and the ones who have borne most of the responsibility for tackling India's persistent insurgent problems over the last couple of decades. 

Over the last decade the army has formed a force of over 7,200 commandos so that each of the 359 infantry battalions in the army could have a twenty man Ghatak (commando) platoon. This gave each battalion some well-equipped shock troops.

There are also special police units. These are not just SWAT but trained and equipped for more complex commando operations. These police units, like most of the military special operators, spend a lot of time dealing with Islamic terrorists and political and ethnic rebels inside India.