india defance

Press Trust of India reports that India and Russia have concluded a major military, counter piracy naval exercise off the Somali coast in the Arabian Sea. Indian and Russian navies hold biennial naval war-games.

-- RIA Novosti confirms that the exercise focused specifically on counter piracy operations.

-- "The second stage of the INDRA-2009 exercise was held off the Somali coast and was primarily dedicated to anti-piracy operations, The Russian and Indian warships that took part in the exercise practiced escorting commercial ships in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden,"" Russian Naval Chief Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky was quoted as saying.

-- Admiral Vysotsky added that the warships made extensive use of deck-based aircraft to locate and monitor the movements of small boats that could have presented potential threats to merchant vessels. While Indian navy's 'INS Tabar' stealth frigate took part in the drill, the Russian side was represented by Pacific Fleet's Udaloy class destroyer 'Admiral Vinogradov', the Northern Fleet's nuclear-powered 'Pyotr Veliky' missile cruiser, 'Admiral Levchenko' destroyer and several support ships.

-- The first stage of INDRA-2009 was limited to PASSEX type exercise in practicing combat interoperability and communications drills with the involvement of Russian 'Pyotr Veliky' missile cruiser and the guided-missile destroyer INS Delhi as "Admiral Vinogradov" also known as submarine killer could not turn up due to 'technical problems'

Russia may complete the trials of the accident-hit'Nerpa' nuclear attack submarine, which is to be leased to the Indian Navy, by the end of this year.

"The contractual timeframe is very tight. The delivery is by end of 2010. But the management of Amur Shipyard has taken the initiative to complete the work by the end of 2009, in a way to'exonerate' itself before the customer," Marina Radayeva, spokesperson of the shipyard, said.

The pre-delivery trials of the submarine are expected to be resumed next month, Radayeva was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency. She said the new delivery schedule is being discussed with the customer - Russian Naval Staff as well as with the Indian Navy, which will lease it from the Russian Navy.

According to earlier reports Russian Navy was to transfer'Nerpa' to the Indian Navy on 10- year lease in June-July this year.

Honeywell International said on Tuesday that it will bid for the Indian Air Force Jaguar re-engine programme.

Jaguars are a key strike asset for the Indian Air Force, which are expected to be in operation for another 25 years. The Air Force has about 125 twin-engine Jaguars in its fleet.

An official with Honeywell told newspersons that its F125 IN engine was a better product than the Rolls Royce 811 engine, which are currently part of the Jaguars. Honeywell Vice-President for military aircraft, Mr Vicki Panhuise, said that its F125IN engine can save up to Rs 7,000 crore for the Indian Air Force in life cycle costs compared with other upgrade options being currently considered.

He said his company will apply for the RFP which is expected to be floated during the second quarter of the current calendar year. The deal is expected to be closed by the fourth quarter of 2010.

Mr Panhuise said the Honeywell’s engines are at least 500 pounds lighter and more powerful than the others. It has unique features such as dual full – authority digital engine control system, modular construction and integrated engine health monitoring system.

The F125IN is the designation of the F125 engine for the Jaguar application, benefitting more than 540,000 hours of operational experience on the F125.

Mr Panhuise said Honeywell plans to produce the military version of its traffic collision alerting systems and other key safety and mechanical systems for the Indian Air Force C -130J programme.
Lockheed order

The Indian Air Force has ordered six Lockheed Martin C -130J aircraft. As a result of the order, Honeywell’s blanket agreement with Lockheed for aircraft equipment, the company anticipates delivering approximately $10 million in aircraft equipment for the programme.

Honeywell has around 10,000 employees working in India, which is nearly 10 per cent of the total workforce of the company globally.  
   
  

Even as the Indian Air Force (IAF) awaits the delivery of its first airborne early warning and control systems (AWACS), Israel is displaying a compact version of the system mounted on a business jet at the Aero India international air show that opened here on today.

India has purchased three Phalcon AWACS systems from Israel that will be mounted on the Russian-built IL-78 transport aircraft. What Israel is now offering is the third generation Conformal Airborne Early Warning and Control System (CAEWCS) fitted into a modified Gulfstream 550G business jet.


“The best part about our system is that it is more compact and has greater endurance than the IL-78,” an Israeli official said.

The Israeli offering has an endurance of nine hours, against the IL-78's six hours. This enabled the Gulfstream to fly non-stop from Israel to the Aero India venue at the Yelahanka Air Force Base here.

Based on dual-band technology, the radar was upgraded in 2008 and is being displayed for the first time in India.


The CAEWCS, which is in service in the Israeli Air Force, serves a variety of operational missions including airborne early warning, air situation picture generation and air combat command and control.

Washington's restrictions on resale and other conditions could dampen New Delhi's interest in American defense goods, said officials, excutives, and observers in both countries.

As the world's aerospace industry converges on Bangalore for the biennial Aero India exhibition, Indian officials say they won't accept Washingon's standard conditions for U.S. arms customers, including that customers seek permission before reselling U.S. equipment.

"We're frustrated at both sides that this has been an issue for at least two-and-a-half or three years now and we haven't found a way to come to closure on it," said Jeffrey Kohler, Boeing vice president of international strategy for Integrated Defense Systems Business Development and the former head of the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).

The End Use Monitoring (EUM) provision "has been an issue all along," Kohler said. "We've sort of pushed it down the road while the two governments work on it. But we're reaching a very critical point now. Lockheed is reaching a critical point on the C-130. We [Boeing] now have a major contract that, obviously, we would like to see this issue resolved."

If no agreement is reached this year on EUM language, Kohler said, "There will be a serious blow to the relationship and, obviously, it would make it virtually impossible for U.S. defense companies to work with the Indians."

The annual value of U.S. arms sales to India is set to soar from tens of millions of dollars to billions this year. U.S. defense sales to India totaled $76.4 million in 2007, according to the U.S.-based Aerospace Industries Association. Then came 2008, in which New Delhi agreed to buy six Lockheed Martin C-130Js for $596 million, and last month, when the government agreed to buy eight Boeing P-8I maritime reconnaissance planes for $2.1 billion.

With Boeing and Lockheed competing for India's $10 billion fighter jet contract, and New Delhi's interest in ballistic missile defense systems, such as Patriot Advanced Capability-3 and the Aegis combat system, some believe the United States could be on track to become India's top weapon supplier, displacing Russia, which sold the country arms worth more than $2 billion last year.

But disagreements over post-sale limits could stop that from happening.

'Will Not Comply'?

Several Indian Defence Ministry officials said privately that New Delhi will not comply with EUMs and other export-control limitations that Washington requires of its weapon customers. They said the government has promised on several occasions not to share U.S. weapon technology with other countries. But they said India will not be told how and where to operate the equipment it buys for its own military.

Among the limitations they cited were the EUM, which would allow U.S. officials to block retransfers of the planes; the Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement, which guides the sharing of sensitive information between two nations; and the Logistics Supply Agreement, which regulates things such as logistics support and fuel for fighter jets and naval warships.

Indian Defence Ministry spokes-man Sitanshu Kar said the two countries were discussing these issues, but he declined to elaborate.

Sources in both countries said India wants the United States to alter the EUM provisions.

Rick Kirkland, president for South Asia of Lockheed Martin Global, said the United States and India are discussing how to implement "a number of agreements," including EUMs, for U.S.-India trade in general.

"All of these agreements, of which End Use Monitoring is one of them, are going to need to be put in place and understood and accepted so we can get to the point where we're dealing in the same construct with India that we are with all the other countries that we do defense business with," Kirkland said. "I'm very confident these are all issues that are going to be resolved."

DSCA spokesman Charles Taylor said his agency has no plans to change EUM requirements or exempt any country.

But he said DSCA Director Vice Adm. Jeffrey Wieringa recently met with Indian officials to talk about India's defense acquisition strategies. He declined to say whether new guidelines on EUM provisions resulted.

India has shown in the past they "will sign contracts that have the End Use Monitoring terms and conditions contained," Taylor said.

However, one Indian Defence Ministry official said, U.S. and Indian officials modified the EUM in at least one other deal: the 2005 purchase of three Boeing business jets for the Indian Air Force squadron that ferries top dignitaries. A senior Indian Navy official said the agreement still contains the provision for physical annual verification by U.S. officials, but Washington has said the provision won't be implemented strictly unless concerns arise.

C-130s, P-8I

Sources said India has been reluctant to sign EUM provisions in the C-130J deal.

Sources in India and the United States said New Delhi either did not sign EUM provisions as part of the C-130J deal or agreed to terms that temporarily delay the signing of those conditions.

Lockheed's Kirkland said he doesn't know whether India agreed to the EUM conditions. He said Lockheed is not party to those provisions in the government-to-government deal. But he said New Delhi had signed the letter of offer and acceptance, the government-to-government agreement.

The DSCA's Taylor said that, to his knowledge, India has signed an EUM for the C-130Js as well as for the 2007 sale of the USS Trenton, an amphibious warship now called the INS Jalashwa.

"When they signed the [C-130J] agreement, they signed to accept the terms and conditions of everything contained, and contained in that are the terms for the End Use Monitoring," said Taylor, whose agency handles foreign military sales and notification to Congress of those sales.

Lockheed already has started building the C-130Js for India, with the first plane set for delivery in January 2011.

As for the P-8I deal, India has signed no EUM provisions, one Indian Defence Ministry source said. He said the Boeing aircraft won't arrive before the end of 2013, so the Indian government can buy time until then to sign the EUM provisions for the deal.

Boeing and the Indian government have agreed to the P-8I sale, but the deal is still undergoing the process of notification to Congress, according to Kohler.

Unlike the C-130J purchase, a foreign military sale handled through the DoD, the P-8I deal is a direct commercial sale in which the selling company obtains export licenses for the planes and the agreement between the company and the country contains retransfer or EUM provisions. The U.S. State Department regulates this type of sale but isn't a party to it.

Other Countries

Many European countries don't have end-user conditions as strict as the U.S. ones, but they do evaluate the risk that equipment might be sold to a third party. British officials were displeased in 2006 when India sold two Britten Norman maritime patrol aircraft to Myanmar, which is under a European Union arms embargo.

Britain complained to New Delhi and received a "one-finger salute," according to one defense exports specialist in the United Kingdom. The specialist said India might sell more equipment to Myanmar, perhaps surplus Britten Norman patrol aircraft, and there is little Britain can do about it.

Israel, which sells more arms to India than to any other country, tightened its defense export controls last year to require that the end user be clearly defined on all export licenses and contracts signed by authorized defense goods sellers in Israel. As with the U.S. system, the buyer in the deal must seek Israel's approval for resale of the product.

But there are no procedures to make sure that happens, an Israel Ministry of Defense official said.

"There's no way we conduct an investigation or inspection in customer countries," the official said. He said Israel is counting on the strengthened export procedures to forestall problems with retransferred exports, and there have been no violations so far.

Last year's U.S.-India civilian nuclear cooperation deal may strengthen defense ties, but India's ties with Iran, including security cooperation agreements, may make U.S. and Israeli officials wary.

Nevertheless, observers see U.S. firms and officials continuing their vigorous pursuit of Indian defense business.

"Ultimately, what the U.S. does will depend upon their national interests and international strategic aspirations," said Ravi Vohra, retired Indian Navy Rear Adm. and director of the New Delhi-based National Maritime Foundation. "India has placed several important orders with U.S. companies. Thus the window has opened and I do not think the American companies, having got a foothold in India after several years, would want their government to scuttle future chances."

Bangalore, Feb 11 (PTI) France is ready to transfer technology of its surface-to-air missile to Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India so that this country can build its own version, French Minister of State for Defence Jean-Marie Bockel said today.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of air show, Aero India 2009, he said the offer is currently under discussions with Indian authorities.

On the absence of Rafale, made by France's Dassault Aviation, one of the contenders for India's 126 fighter jets contract, from the show, he said Rafale is on display back in France and is available for those who want to test it.

"All the Rafale that could have been sent to India for this air show...Are presently in (combat) operation in Afghanistan", he said.

"Rafale will be present at all stages of evaluation (in India in its bid for the contract) and we believe it's the best plane available", Bockel said.

Asked if France would stop sales of weapons to Pakistan in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks blamed on elements within that neighbouring country, he said "France wants Pakistan to act very concretely and fully against terrorism at all the levels of the State".

"We say that to Pakistan, we will continue to say it to Pakistan", Bockel added. PTI

Aero India 2009 is Asia's premier air show and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is very excited to have a large presence at the show this year. In addition to our overall corporate presence at the show Aeronautics will showcase the F-16IN Super Viper and the C-130J Super Hercules.

The F-16IN Super Viper is part of the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition that is currently underway in India. The F-16IN is tailored exclusively to meet or exceed all of India's MMRCA requirements, and it is ready for integration into India's infrastructure and operations now. Evolutionary integration of technologies make the F-16IN the most advanced fourth generation fighter in the world today.

C-130J-Night Warrior
Lockheed Martin will showcase the C-130J at the air show. India purchased six C-130Js in early 2008. Deliveries to India will begin in 2011. The Indian Air Force's new Super Hercules will be the longer fuselage or "stretched" variant of the C-130J, similar to those being delivered to the U.S. Air Force.

The 7th Aero India is organized by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. It is managed by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at Air Force Station Yelahanka, Bengaluru, India from February 11-15, 2009.

Swedish aeronautics maker Saab said Monday it had tied up with India's Tata group to develop a new variant of its Gripen fighter jet as it pitches for a 12-billion-dollar deal from New Delhi. TCS possesses expertize in aerospace software development through acquisitions, tie ups and talent development initiatives.

Saab executive Kjell Moller said the tie-up with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was not only aimed at jointly developing the Gripen but also at getting a chance at the biggest fighter jet deal in the world in years. The Swedish company is competing with firms from Russia, Europe and the United States to sell 126 warplanes to the Indian air force.

India, which will begin trials in April of the shortlisted jets including the Gripen, has said it will buy about two dozen units in flyaway condition and manufacture the remaining 100 or so planes at a local state-run facility here.

"We will transfer technology and competencies to TCS, which will play a key role in the development of the next-generation Gripen and other products," Moller said ahead of the air show this week in Bangalore. "The contract will continue irrespective of us getting the Indian order," the Saab vice president said.

Madhavpur (Porbandar): Three wings of defence come together for biggest-ever joint amphibious exercise 

In the dead of night, two groups of Blue Nation’s marine commandos sailing on motorised rafts arrived at the Madhavpur beach of Green Nation, which had been taken over by terrorists of Islamic Red Nation. A madrasa nearby, which had been turned into a terrorist camp, was the target of Blue Nation’s armed forces. They responded to an SOS call by the hydrocarbon-rich Green Nation. 

A fierce gun-battle ensued. The commandos, supported by fighter jets, captured the beach and sent a signal to the flotilla of Landing Platform Docks. Immediately, the vessels released tanks that reached the shore in no time and unleashed a three-pronged attack using armoured personnel carriers and infantry. Within an hour, terrorist camps were destroyed and Madhavpur was captured. 

On Monday, Madhavpur beach in Porbandar district, which is located only a few miles from the International Maritime Border Line with Pakistan, became a war zone. The Indian Army, Navy and the Air Force conducted the largest-ever joint amphibious exercise in the country. Code-named Exercise Tropex-2009, the war games involved over 4,000 personnel of 9 Infantry Brigade, with tanks and BMPs, guns and engineering equipment. A huge fleet of nine ships, aircrafts, fighter jets and a submarine were also part of the exercise. 

The most complex military manoeuvres involving coordination and synergy from conceptualisation to planning and execution, were demonstrated on the shores of Madhavpur. The Coast Guard was also a part of it. Joint capabilities of the three services to strike the enemy were demonstrated amply in the programme. This is for the first time the Joint Doctrine on Amphibious Warfare of Indian Armed Forces, formulated in 2008, was put into practice in its full scope. 

The military top brass were all praise for the participants. It was hailed as a display of a very high degree of jointmanship between the three services. 

“This was the largest exercise ever conducted. We have done what is considered a very complex exercise that calls for high level co-ordination and synergy between all three military wings,” said Vice-Admiral J S Bedi, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command. 

Lieutenant General Pradeep Khanna, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Command, said, “So far, this had been only a part of the classroom. For the first time, it has become a reality and that too on a large scale.” 

“Correct sequence and time displayed during the exercise indicates good coordination between all the three wings,” said Air Marshal K D Singh, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, South Western Air Command. 

The exercise has come at a time when tensions between India and Pakistan have been escalating. However, the officers denied any connection with the post 26/11 rhetoric between the two countries. Brigadier Cherish Mathose, commander of 91 Brigade, said terms like ‘militants from Islamic nations’ and ‘Madrasa’ were simply a part of the story and nothing else. 

The pre-assault planning, and mobilisation having been achieved at Karwar in Goa on February 5, the troops landed on Madhavpur four days later using the newly inducted LPD INS Jalashwar, several landing ships, tanks, helicopters, shore-based aircraft, a submarine and hovercrafts. 

The SWAC deployed its Jaguars that fired rockets with pin point accuracy on the target from an altitude of 200 feet, while Mig-29s marshalled the skies.

The following are excerpts of Lockheed Martin executive's (Orville Prins and Ralph Heath) briefing to reporters. Lockheed Martin Corp is the biggest defense contractor in the United States and is pursuing opportunities in the Indian Defense segment.

-- Lockheed Martin has signed about 30 initial agreements with Indian companies aimed at meeting the country's industrial and military offset requirements for an $11 billion, 126 medium range multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) tender for the Indian Air Force (IAF). "We've signed these memorandums of understanding with the Indian industry in anticipation of the Indian Air Force's medium multi-role combat aircraft order," Orville Prins, Lockheed's vice-president for business development in India said.

-- Lockheed has offered its scaled up Block 60 F-16IN fighter in the competition which also features Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company's Eurofighter Typhoon, the Swedish Saab Gripen's JAS-39, the French Dassault's Rafale and the Russian MiG-35.

-- Lockheed's agreements include developing a simulator for the C130J Hercules transport aircraft with Mumbai-based Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, a top Indian utility vehicle maker. The IAF has already contracted for the supply of six of these classic military transporters with options for at least six more.

-- Lockheed said it is also developing a flight refueling system with state-run Hindustan Aeronautic Ltd. Other foreign partners on this project are Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. and Sargent Fletcher Inc.

-- "In Asia, India is the most significant opportunity," said Ralph Heath, executive vice president at Lockheed Martin and president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. "The Border Security Force has expressed interest in one or two C130J planes," Heath added. He also said that the company was looking at partnering Indian companies in developing products for the global market. "There is technical expertise here that will add value to Lockheed Martin's products...so we are seeking a two-way partnership to benefit all," Heath said.

-- "In fact, the Indian Navy has expressed an interest in the F-35B which has short-takeoff and vertical-landing capability for aircraft carrier operations," Prins informed the media. "It (the F-16) is the bridge to the F-35 for India." The fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter is currently being developed with first deliveries slated for 2010. Lockheed, Pentagon's biggest contractor by sales, is also looking at civil contracts from the Indian government.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Defence minister A K Antony has called for achieving self- reliance in defence production, stating it was of importance to ensure security of the nation and economic progress. 
Launching the missile integration complex of the BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram (BATL) here today, Mr Antony said the country presently relied on foreign suppliers for 70% of its defence equipment and arms, pointing out that there was great scope to substantially increase the indigenous capability in this area. 

He said the country stood to benefit from indigenous production of defence supplies, because it would free us from bottlenecks related to internal policies of the countries that supply us arms. 

The BrahMos unit here is expecting revenues of Rs 26 crore for this fiscal, up from Rs 17 crore last year. BrahMos Aerospace CEO and managing director A Sivathanu Pillai said BATL expected to receive the AS 9100 certification by the end of March, and that component production volumes were expected to increase substantially as ISRO's space launches increased in frequency

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