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New
Delhi, 14 September 2005
The
USA is pushing for sales of the Patriot, F 16/18 and P3C Orions and
a few news items are posted on the subject. India's DRDO is already
designing a BMD with Green Pine Radar but then there are political
interests in defence deals. The entire defence scene is exciting as
the UPA Government is all set to sign mega deals for the benefits
that such deals offer. Gen Kohler a familiar visitor to India was in
the country again and Americans are an impatient lot and will soon
learn how long and how torturous it is to do defence business in
India. The Americans are moving at a fast pace we keep watch, to see
how the wind blows. The PM is due to visit Paris and then USA in
September and Defence deals will be brought up though the Scorpene
Type 75 deal is sealed up.
US
Shares Anti-Missile Know-How With India
A
high-level United States defence team has given classified detailed
briefing on the Patriot PAC-III anti-missile system, specially its
capabilities against Weapons of Mass Destruction, and on sensitive
technologies of F-18/A Hornet and F-16 fighter jets to Indian Air
Force officials. This is for the first time that a Pentagon team has
briefed Indian officials on the latest Patriot PAC-III anti-missile
system.
Lieutenant
General Jeffrey B Kohler, head of the American delegation, said
India was among the few countries outside US treaty allies to be
briefed on the missile system. "It is part of the US commitment
to develop a strategic partnership with India and sharing classified
details of the Patriot missile system is one of its elements,"
he said. He asserted that Washington was not insisting on any
package deal for sale of the state-of-the-art anti-missile system.
Refusing
to divulge any details about the range of the intrerception of the
anti-missile system, Kohler, director, Defence Cooperative Agency in
the Pentagon, said any sales of the missile system would include
training of personnel and supply of spare parts.
He
said it was for the Indian government to take a decision on the
purchase of the anti-missile system, acknowledging that New Delhi
was also looking at similar systems being offered by Russia and
Israel.
Asked
to elaborate on WMD capabilities of the PAC-III system, Kohler said
the US, after its experience in the first Gulf War had carried out
detailed studies on the impact of missiles using WMD warheads and
the new system had the capacity to neutralise these.
On
the proposed offer to sell the P3C naval spy planes, Kohler said
Washington had submitted a number of new proposals to Indian Navy
along with commercial verifications of the sales. He said the Indian
Navy had evinced incorporating some special features in the Orions
for which the Pentagon had agreed and would set up a special task
force to make them operational.
On
the F-18's and F-16's, the Pentagon official said his team, which
comprised of US Air Force specialists, had outlined to IAF experts
the special features of the Hornets including electronic warfare,
radars, engines and weapons systems.
He
said that the US Navy would field the F-18/A and P3C Orions during
the upcoming Malabar range of joint exercises with Indian Navy in
October.
Kohler
also said that US had submitted proposals for leasing out some of
Navy's Orions to India. Similarly, the F-16 Fighting Falcons would
put up a live demonstration during joint air force exercises to be
held in Kalaikunda in West Bengal in November, he added.
Improved
Patriot
By
Shelby G. Spires
Times
Aerospace
The
Army scored a success with its improved Patriot during a missile
intercept over the New Mexico desert. The test involved two Patriot
Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles against a short-range,
full-body aerodynamic theater ballistic missile target. Another
Flight Trial Is Scheduled For October
Army
Col. John Vaughn wouldn't reveal exact specifications other than to
say the target vehicle was an older Patriot missile that is
"highly manoeuvrable, and that's what we are after."
Vaughn manages Patriot as part of the Lower Tier Air and Missile
Defense Office in Huntsville.
"We
are looking to go after things that do not behave very well and
manoeuver," Vaughn said. "Objects that move around"
during flight
. The
target was destroyed, Vaughn said.
The
test is the culmination of months of preparation and involved about
200 Army workers in Huntsville and "hundreds of people across
the country with contractors and other" workers, Vaughn said.
This
test demonstrated the system's capability to detect, track, engage
and intercept a short-range aerodynamic target, said Bob Hunt,
Patriot spokesman at Redstone Arsenal.
Patriot
will go through another flight test in October, Vaughn said.
"It
will be a variation of the current test, but we will be going after
a slightly different threat," he said.
The
PAC-3 system was first used in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom
in 2003. It is the newest addition to the Patriot family of
missiles.
Patriot
shot to international fame with engagements during the first Gulf
War more than 14 years ago.
"This
missile has gone through significant enhancements since the
1990-1991 Gulf War," Vaughn said. "It's primarily a
different type now."
The
1990s missile approached an enemy target and exploded, upsetting the
flight path. The new version strikes the enemy missile and destroys
it.
The
program is managed by the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for
Missiles and Space and executed by the Lower Tier Air and Missile
Defense Project Office in Huntsville.
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