Bangla-China Ties not to affect bond with India

 Source : Indian Defence News

 

Chief of Army Staff General Mohammed Abdul Mubeen has said that China is just helping Bangladesh in infrastructure development and that Dhaka's ties with Beijing will not affect friendly relation between Bangladesh and India.

He said on Tuesday that Bangladesh and China did not have a strategic relation and the relation between the two had nothing to do with Dhaka's ties with New Delhi.

The Chief of Army Staff was talking to media persons after reviewing the Passing out Parade of India's premier National Defence Academy near Pune in the country's western state of Maharashtra.

Gen Mubeen is currently on a five-day tour to India on an invitation from the chief of the Indian Army Gen V K Singh.

He was the third foreigner to take the salute of the newly passed out cadets of the prestigious institution after late Chinese premier Chou En-Lai and former chief of the then Royal Nepal Army Gen P J Thapa.

During the visit, Gen Mubeen is scheduled to interact with Indian defence minister A K Antony, national security advisor Shiv Shankar Menon and top officials of the Indian Army and the Ministry of Defence.

He will also visit Paratroopers' Training School at Agra in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. He is also likely to visit Indian Army's Eastern Command at Fort Williams in Kolkata.

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Defence Shipyards Lose Out to Private Players

Source : Indian Defence News 

India's defence public sector shipyards have lost to private players for construction of a number of naval vessels in recent times, Defence Minister A.K. Antony informed the Lok Sabha.

In written reply to questions, Antony said the defence shipyards have cited higher wages for its workers and time overruns for procurement of material for ship construction have pushed the cost of its shipbuilding.

The contracts for which the private shipyards have scored over the defence shipyards included naval offshore patrol vessels, barges, hovercraft, fast patrol vessels, interceptor boars, cadet training ships and fast interceptor craft.

"Defence shipyards lost to private yards (for these vessels)," Antony said.

"The defence shipyard have indicated that major reasons of losing out are ... higher wage rates for the labour and thereby increase in overheads, and longer time taken to procure the materials by observing the laid down procedures thus pushing up their prices," he added.

We always forget the victims and Heroes!!

Three years after 26/11, it seems we too have done our duty - by getting angry in the days following the attack, by paying an online tribute to the brave men who died defending our peace..by writing Jai Hind a few times on facebook, by repeating this cycle and getting worked up once again on the first anniversary of the event last year...

State Govt has already fulfilled its duty (by announcing "compensation")
Central Govt has done its duty (by sending Home Minister to review the situation and file report..)
Rashtrapati has done his duty; he condemed the incidence
Opposition has already done its duty (..called for Bandh plus..said that ..govt has failed)

Today, 26/11 & the pain, the sorrow and the anger are a distant memory
We have forgotten our brave-hearts, the men who went into action even as we were comfortably watching the "attack" on TV. It felt like a war-film, a great action movie...except that this was real..and it was happening in a real place - and real people were getting killed...But the men who died defending our liberties that day are today in danger of being forgotten......

Happy Birthday ‘Kasab’..!!!

  You are 3 years old now. U can continue to be our guest..India loves you darling..”Atithi Devo Bhava” Your stay expenses are on us..Your lawyer is free…You have more security than 99% of Indians..Promise we will interrogate you as long as you live & breathe..

We Should Die of Shame :(

 
Think about how the families whose sons fought with bravery, and even gave up their life for the safety of the nation — must be feeling!!

Never Forget....Never Forgive...

The day we shall never forget , the day when terrorists took over humanity and slain the innocents!

Copycat China

Russia getting angry at China for copying their military hardware technology. In the past two years, Beijing hasn't placed a major order from Moscow.

After decades of importing and reverse-engineering Russian arms, China has reached a tipping point: It now can produce many of its own advanced weapons—including high-tech fighter jets like the Su-27—and is on the verge of building an aircraft carrier. 

Not only have Chinese engineers cloned the prized Su-27's avionics and radar but they are fitting it with the last piece in the technological puzzle, a Chinese jet engine.

Few things illustrate this more clearly than the J-11B, a Chinese fighter that Russian officials allege is a direct copy of the Su-27, a one-seat fighter that was developed by the Soviets through the 1970s and 1980s as a match for the U.S. F-15 and F-16.

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India Develops High-Grade Titanium Technology

India has joined a select group of nations which can develop high purity aeronautical grade titanium for space and defence applications. The technology has been developed by a DRDO laboratory.

India set to order 59 more Russian copters

"The 59 more Mi-17s, which will cost around $1 billion, will be ordered . They will also be weaponized for combat operations like the first 80. The new Mi-17s will also make it possible for IAF to deploy additional choppers for logistical support in anti-Naxal operations.

All the wars since the planes were invented. US fighters and helicopters were much ...more superier to the Russian Planes in different conflicts where they faced each other. 2nd World war, Korean War, Arab Israeli War, Iraq War, Libyan War. Russian Planes were shot down. and destroyed on the ground even before they could fly in large Numbers. 

These Netaji love to fly in American planes as VVIP going abroad. But our Armed forces get Junky planes who are world champions in crashing in peace time or war.

China Eases Military Recruit Rules

China says it will begin accepting military recruits who are heavier and those sporting visible tattoos, as part of an ongoing push to attract young people into military service.

The state-controlled China Daily newspaper said prospective enlistees in the People's Liberation Army with tattoos on the face or neck will no longer be rejected if the artwork is smaller than two centimeters in diameter.

Weight restrictions have also been relaxed at both the upper and lower ends. New regulations allow for body weight up to 25 percent greater or 15 percent lower than current requirements. Policy now bars those 20 percent heavier and 10 percent lighter than those standards.

The rules were revised this week in what the newspaper described as part of a push to entice more well-educated young people into China's 2.3 million-member army.

Biggest War Game

SOURCE: TNN/IDRW

The Army’s biggest war game Sudarshan Shakti has begun in the Thar desert. Lt General A K Singh, the Southern Army Commander, visited various units on Saturday.

The exercise is to test the operational effectiveness of the Pivot and Strike Corps of the Southern Army and validate certain new concepts. ThePivot Corps training manoeuvres are underway with the Strike Corps manoeuvres following closely on its heels.

The Army commander was briefed on the progress of training by Lt General Sanjeev Langer, GOC, Strike Corps. He also witnessed day and night training manoeuvres. A large demonstration would be organised on November 23, in which Army and Air Force senior officers and journalists would attend.

Another interesting outcome of the joint exercise will be the integrated air-land war-fighting machinery which will assess and highlight the synergy between the Indian Army and IAF. Hence, IAF aircraft, including Sukhoi-30, MiG-29s, MiG-21 ‘Bisons’, Cheetah, Chetak and Mi-25 attack helicopters, are also taking part in the exercise.

Source said ‘The Southern Army is working towards ‘Capability-based approach’ based on series of transformational initiatives spanning, concepts, organizational structures and absorption of new age technologies, particularly in precision munitions, advance surveillance system, space and network-centricity, under the overall guidance of the Indian Army, for which the Army chief and the Southern Army Commander were the main proponents. The unique feature is the joint exercise between the Southern Army and its counterparts in the Air Force and Navy. Defence sources said approximately 30,000 troops, over 200 tanks and many Fighter aircraft are participating in the exercise.

Bhopal based sudarshan chakra 21 Strike Corps& 12 Desert Corps of Jodhpur are participating in the exercise. The military exercise has become very important as being seeing the current scenario & also participation of two Corps has made that even more relevance. With over 30,000 troops participating in the exercise, this is the biggest military manoeuvres being conducted so far in history of Indian Army. The exercise will continue till end of December. The dynamic process of operations, both offensive and defensive, integrating and validation of concepts of modern warfare that have emerged during the transformation studies of Indian Army, network centricity, testing and evaluation of new equipments are some of the objectives to be achieved in the exercise. 

The exercise aimed at rapid mobilization involved several mechanized operations towards offensive operations. Battlefield transparency and operational plans based on real-time situational awareness was enhanced using intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) inputs from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and satellites.With air assets to play a decisive role in future battles, the increased air assets of the Army and Air Force would be employed in an integrated manner in the exercise.

Rustom E Hind

Source : IDRW/PIB

Indigenously designed and developed RUSTOM-1 made 5th successful Flight this morning while flying at an altitude of 2300 ft AGL (above ground level) & at a speed 100 Knots during 25 minute of cruise near Hosur. It may be noted that this Medium Altitude Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (MALE – UAV) is developed by DRDO with Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) Bangalore as the nodal laboratory.

It had its maiden flight in 2010. Mr. PS Krishnan, Director, ADE said that the flight was successful as all the modifications done worked well and all the parameters were achieved by the UAV which was weighing 661Kg and the total performance was good. In specific the objective of testing modified lift off scheme, modified altitude and speed hold logics worked excellently well.

Indian Army has shown keen interest in this programme. This UAV has the potential military missions like Reconnaissance & Surveillance, Target Acquisition, Target Designation, Communications Relay, Battle Damage Assessment and Signal Intelligence.

This UAV can attain a maximum speed of 150 Knots, 22,000 ft of altitude and endurance of 12-15 Hours with an operating range of 250 Kms when fully developed.

MMRCA Updates

SOURCE: PTI/IDRW

Defence Minister AK Antony on Friday made it clear that there will be “no political considerations” in awarding the multi-billion dollar 126 combat aircraft deal which entered its last phase with the opening of commercial bids of two bidders.

Two companies including European Eurofighter and French Dassault Rafale are now left in the medium multi-role combat aircraft (M-MRCA) tender and their commercial bids were opened on November 4 by the Ministry. 

“There will be no political considerations in defence procurement and that is our stand which everybody knows,” he told reporters here.

The minister was asked if the Defence Ministry would take into account geo-political considerations before deciding on the winner of the mega deal.

Antony said as far as his ministry was concerned, “defence procurement is strictly professional and (based on) price. Technical evaluation is 101 per cent professional and then after that comes the price.”

The Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft bid is backed by four partner nations including Germany, Italy, the UK and Spain whereas the Rafale bid is backed by the French government.

In April, the Defence Ministry had shortlisted the two aircraft while four companies including American Lockheed Martin and Boeing, Russian MiG 35 and Swedish Saab were rejected.

After the opening of commercial bids, the Defence Ministry is now busy with the process of determining the Life Cycle Cost (LCC) of the two aircraft to determine the lowest bidder, which will be offered the contract.

Asked to react on recent reports about the cancellation of howitzer tenders, the Defence Minister said, “We have cancelled only when there was controversy in the ‘ghost episode’ and after that no tender has been cancelled.”

However, he did not elaborate what the ghost episode was.

“Instead of having difficulties at the final stages, we have to be careful at every stage of procurement processes,” he said, noting that modernisation programmes were picking up and plans of three Services “gaining momentum”.

The Army artillery modernisation plans are likely to be delayed as its two projects to procure 145 ultra-light howitzers and 180 self-propelled wheeled guns have run into rough weather due to different reasons.

To a query on the “critical shortage” of ammunition faced by the Army, Antony said, “In the last one year, we have made continuous efforts to find solution to the historical baggage and there is nothing new now.

“There are some practical problems in the past and we are now sorting out those things. In the past, procurement was only for six months. Now we are signing long time contracts for spares and we think very soon we will be able to find solutions,” the Defence Minister said.

Recent Development Efforts for Military Airships

During the past decade’s operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. military has come to rely heavily on the continuous or nearly continuous presence overhead of both manned and unmanned aircraft to support ground troops. Unmanned aircraft that remain aloft in particular locations (or “orbits”) have been primarily used to provide timely information about activities on the ground and to attack ground targets on short notice. Most prominent among these aircraft are the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) fleets of unmanned Predators, Reapers, and Global Hawks; however, satellites and manned conventional aircraft, including fighters and long-range bombers, have also contributed.

The demand for those so-called “persistent” or “loitering” missions has led the Air Force to substantially enlarge its fleet of unmanned aircraft, and the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps to field or plan to field similar aircraft to provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and light-attack capabilities of their own. Unmanned aircraft are particularly attractive for such missions because they can be designed to provide durations beyond the physical endurance of human air crews and because they do not put humans at risk during operations in potentially hostile airspace.

In light of the demand for aircraft capable of remaining aloft for long periods of time, considerable interest in airships as alternatives to conventional aircraft exists. Although unmanned airships are unproven, they have the potential to remain in the air for long periods—providing mission durations that are many times longer than would be practical for conventional aircraft. Consequently, the military services are exploring a variety of designs for unmanned airships capable of carrying ISR sensors. 

 

MMRCA Updates

Source : IDRW

India is all set to dash through the last lap in its quest to buy 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft, estimated to be worth $10.4 billion, when the defence ministry Friday opens the commercial bids of Eurofighter Typhoon and Rafale to take a final call on the lowest bidder.

The four-year-long winding tendering process that began in August 2007 will reach its most crucial moment when the Indian bureaucrats and the Indian Air Force (IAF) officers open the tender papers in the presence of representatives from the manufacturers — European consortium from Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain EADS Cassidian and the French Dassault, defence ministry officials said here Thursday.

 

This is but one last step before the lowest bidder is identified, as the Indian officials will peruse the commercial offers to see what the fly-away cost of the aircraft will be and then work for the next fortnight to arrive at the life cycle cost and the technology transfer cost on set parameters.

The offset offers of the two companies too will come under scrutiny, a clause included in the tender as per Indian Defence Procurement Procedures (DPP) of 2006. This requires the winner of the tender to invest 50 percent of the deal amount back in Indian defence industry in an effort to energise it.

The offset clause, an accepted norm in global military purchases, under the Indian DPP mandates that any foreign firm that wins a defence deal worth over Rs.300 crore will have to plough at least 30 percent of the contract amount back into Indian defence industry.

All the four aspects of the commercial offer — fly-away cost, life cycle cost, technology transfer cost and offsets — will be taken into account when the final winner of the contract is identified, according to officials.

The Indian contract is critical for both the firms, as it would help in keeping the production lines of their respective aircraft alive for at least the next half-a-decade.

India had in April this year down-selected Eurofighter Typhoon and Rafale and asked them to extend their expiring commercial bids till middle of December this year.

By that act, India effectively rejected the other aircraft that were on offer — American firms Lockheed Martin’s F-16 and Boeing’s F/A-18, Russian United Aircraft Corporation’s MiG-35 and Swedish SAAB’s Gripen.

The shortlist had taken place after a rigorous flight and weapons trials of the six aircraft held at different terrains — Bangalore in South India, Leh in Jammu Kashmir’s high altitude Ladakh region and in Rajasthan’s desert under searing heat conditions.

After losing out in the MMRCA race, the Americans openly expressed their displeasure and are now pitching their new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter ‘Lightning-II’, reportedly a fifth generation combat plane, from the Lockheed Martin stable under their foreign military government-to-government sale if India cancels the MMRCA tender.

This, when India has already signed a deal with Russia for the joint development of a fifth generation fighter aircraft or FGFA on the Sukhoi T-50 plane design.