Joint Development Of Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft

Co-development of a Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft has been identified as an important area of cooperation between the Indian and Russian Government. Technical discussions to work out the details are in progress. Efforts are on for finalizing the draft Inter Governmental Agreement in this regard.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Defence Production Rao Inderjit Singh in a written reply to Shri Gurudas Dasgupta and Shri CK Chandrappan in Lok Sabha today.

Induction Of Akash Missile

Indian Air Force has not declined the induction of Akash medium range surface-to-air missile. Development of Akash Missile is a part of Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). As on Jul 31, 2007, an amount of Rs. 492.41 crore has been spent on development of Akash Missile.

Surveillance Of Indian Airspace

Indian Air Force (IAF) has procured Aerostat based radar system for wide area surveillance at a cost of 145 million USD. Airborne Warning and Control Systems are also being procured at a cost of 1108 million USD to enhance air defence surveillance capabilities. IAF has undertaken a project for developing an integrated Air Command and Control System. The Defence Research and Development Organisation has undertaken development of Ballistic Missile Systems.

India to Rework Defence Purchase Procedures

Responding to suggestions from defence manufacturers, India is to rework its procedures for purchasing military hardware to bring them in line with international best practices, an official said. 'We are considering a number of suggestions we have received. At the same time, we don't want to take piecemeal measures. We hope to have the new Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) by the beginning of the (2008-09) fiscal in April,' a defence ministry official told IANS.

A committee headed by former finance secretary N.S. Sisodia is currently studying the suggestions received, while a team of officials has also visited Britain to study the system in place there. 'A comprehensive report is likely to be submitted to the defence ministry by early next year on the basis of which a final decision will be taken on revising the DPP,' the official told IANS, speaking on condition of anonymity. Sisodia, who now heads the think tank Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), has also served as secretary (defence production).

The then defence minister, Pranab Mukherjee, had released the DPP in 2006. For the first time, it laid down in detail the measures to be followed in future for purchasing military hardware. The DPP-2006 contained three critical elements: an offsets clause, no single-vendor purchases, and compulsory transfer of technology (ToT) in all big-ticket deals. Of these, the offsets clause has become a matter of major concern.

Under the offsets clause, 30 percent of all defence deals worth over Rs.3 billion have to be reinvested in India's defence industry. A number of foreign defence manufacturers say this clause is restrictive as it narrows down their options. They say they would like the scope widened to enable them to invest in other sectors as well. They also point out that the clause is subjective, as in the case of an Indian Air Force (IAF) tender for 126 combat jets floated last month the offsets provision has been arbitrarily raised to 50 percent.

'This is rather illogical. If you selectively raise the offsets in one case, it could go even higher in another case, or it could go even lower than 30 percent,' said the representative of one foreign vendor. 'It's not that we are opposed to offsets. They are in operation worldwide and we are only too happy to comply. But the government has to get its act together and formulate a consistent policy,' he added. As a former US official put it, the offsets clause poses a 'challenge' for America's defence vendors.

'It will be a challenge to put together a comprehensive and acceptable offsets plan within the defence procurement procedure,' Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kohler, who has just retired as director of the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency, said during his farewell visit here. According to Kohler, the issue was not so much the percentages but whether this also included the ToT element. 'We estimate the offsets requirement (in the IAF order) to be around $3 million. We suppose this includes the ToT element. If it doesn't, we'll have to figure out how to deal with this,' he maintained.

Every defence deal has two elements: the actual manufacture and the creation of infrastructure and ancillary industries for this manufacture. In the case of the IAF order, the total deal is worth $9 million but the offsets clause would relate only to the $6 billion manufacturing element. Kohler also indicated US manufacturers would have been happier if an indirect offsets clause enabling reinvestment in areas other than the defence sector had been in place rather than the existing direct offsets requirement. 'In one case, a (defence) manufacturer exported an entire automobile plant as an indirect offset. That helped to create huge numbers of jobs and contributed to economic growth,' Kohler pointed out.

Speaking to reporters at the Aero India international air show at Bangalore in February, US ambassador David Mulford had described the offsets clause as 'restrictive', saying he felt it would, at some time, need to be modified. There is also the question of bankable offsets, which means that the reinvestment is not directly linked to a deal but can be made at a later stage. 'It is these and other issues that are now being addressed,' the defence ministry official pointed out.

TATA to Manufacture Defence Vehicles

The Tata Motors Ltd has launched a range of armoured vehicles for defence and bullet-proof vehicles for high net-worth individuals. The announcement was made here at the Military Games 2007, being held October 14-20. The company's range includes an armoured bus, a troop carrier and bullet-proof Sumo and Safari. The vehicles were exhibited at a pavilion at Gachi Bowli stadium. Company officials said its indigenously developed armoured bus was being displayed for the first time. The 29-seater bus has shatterproof glass, under-belly blast protection and side bomb protection. Its light armoured troop carrier is a bullet-proof vehicle that can carry 10 persons and is equipped with hand-grenade protection for underbelly, six firing ports and weapons mount.

India to Test Agni-I

India plans to test-fire its nuclear-capable Agni-I missile on Friday, the Indian Express reported.

The test is expected to determine time and procedures required to launch a nuclear missile. The operation, which is being called a training trial, will result in the missile being inducted into the Indian army, the newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying. The short-range ballistic missile, which has a range of more than 435 miles, can reach targets  In a bid to avert another diplomatic incident, India has warned airlines of the test. In April a test of the Agni-III missile forced an Indonesian aircraft to turn back, resulting in a minor spat between the two countries.

IAF's Su-30 MKIs to be fitted with Israeli tech

The Indian Express also reported that the Indian air force was getting a squadron of Su-30 MKI aircraft fitted with Israeli reconnaissance systems that will enable India to look deep inside China without crossing the border.The aircraft are a replacement for MiG-25s phased out by the IAF last year.

A team from Israel Aerospace Industries will integrate the Elta Reconnaissance System on the fighters at the Bareilly airbase and also set up a ground-receiving station for live images taken by the aircraft, the newspaper quoted an unnamed senior IAF officer as saying. The air force plans to deploy the aircraft at the Tezpur base next year once Russia supplies the planes.
Israel is India's No. 2 supplier of defense equipment. It trails Russia, which is No. 1.
New system opens up high-tech U.S. exports to India A new validated end-user system put in place by the U.S. Commerce Department will allow U.S. exporters of high-tech equipment with possible military uses to sell to Indian buyers without licenses.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said this week the system recognizes steps India has taken to implement an export-control system. "This common-sense approach will make it easier for U.S. companies to sell American products to pre-screened customers in India, while maintaining vigilance over U.S. technologies," he said in a statement. The step paves the way for increased U.S. sales of avionics and aerospace equipment to India.

Sukhoi Jets For Indian Skies

Oct 17, 2007

The Indian Defense Ministry said Defense Minister A. K. Antony would visit Moscow to attend a session of a Russian-Indian intergovernmental commission on military-technical cooperation. Later Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is scheduled to visit on October 17-18. The commission, co-chaired by Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, will discuss the status of defense cooperation and prospects for the future.

Last week, Moscow and New Delhi signed a $1.6 billion contract for 40 Russian Su-30 Flanker fighter assembly sets to be supplied to India by 2010. Russia and India have reaffirmed plans to draft a comprehensive cooperation treaty to boost trade, as well as ties in a range of other areas.

India has signed a contract with Russia for the licensed assembly of 40 multi-role Su-30MKI (Flanker-H) fighter jets, news agencies reported last week. According to experts, the agreement will cost India more than $1.5 billion. It will be a follow-up to the contract concluded in 2000 to deliver 140 fighters of the same type to New Delhi. The contractor will be the Irkut Scientific Production Corporation in Irkutsk, a part of the Sukhoi Aviation Holding Company (AHK). It assembles practically all the Su planes Moscow supplies to the subcontinent.

Under the first contract, Russia was not only to start supplying India with jets from 2000, but also to sell it a license to manufacture them at Indian plants. This was duly done, but local production of the aircraft turned out to be too costly. A far better option was buying them almost ready-made from the manufacturer in Irkutsk.

The present agreement, according to Irkut President Oleg Demchenko, provides for the delivery of practically fully assembled jets from Russia. Fifteen of them will be assembled and flight-tested, 15 assembled but not tested, while the rest will travel to India in kit form.

Assembly of the first four fighters of the specified 40 will begin in the early months of 2008.

The Su-30MKI multi-role fighter is designed to gain command of the air, engage ground and sea targets with guided and unguided weapons, and fight in formation against electronic countermeasures and fire from hostile AD systems by day and night, in all weather conditions. The two-seater jet allows full scope for state-of-the-art onboard radio electronic facilities and its full range of armaments can be used against all types of targets.

This is a whole new kind of multi-purpose combat plane. It has retained and further developed the unique properties of the Su-27 (Flanker) family, including the low speed high AOA (angle of attack) feature not found in any other fighter.

The Su-30MKI has been configured around the serially produced Su-30 (Flanker-C). It can be refueled in mid-air, has two vector-thrust engines, a canard which allows it to fly at supersonic speeds while hugging the terrain, and can carry air-to-ground guided missiles, including those used against several targets at the same time, and up to eight tons of combat payload suspended from 12 points.

For air superiority the jet is considered unmatched among other aircraft.

It mounts an onboard radio electronic system that incorporates state-of-the-art French, Israeli and Indian avionics capable of navigating the craft by GLONASS or GPS.

The new contract is evidence not only that India continues to set its sights on Russian aviation equipment (the Indian Air Force includes 600 planes made in the USSR/Russia and only fifty made in France), but, most important of all, that the complications created by Moscow's delays in refitting the Vikramaditya (Admiral Gorshkov) aircraft carrier, which postponed the delivery date by several years, have not overly affected military-technical cooperation between the two countries.

Moreover, there is information that Moscow and New Delhi will soon sign a new contract for the development of a promising fifth-generation airborne system.

India's Defense Minister Kurian Anthony is flying to Moscow this week to attend a meeting of the inter-governmental commission on military-technical cooperation. He is expected to sign the agreement. Interestingly enough, Sukhoi will feature again in this undertaking.

Specialists tell us that Sukhoi AHK has won a government tender to develop and manufacture Russia's fifth-generation fighter aircraft, or the Future Tactical Aviation Concept (PAK FA).

Company chiefs and the Russian top brass repeatedly proposed that New Delhi join the project to share costs and acquire such a jet for its Air Force. But the Indian military, not to mention the politicians, tactfully avoided giving a final answer to the proposal. They wanted to buy the fifth-generation American F-22, which is already air-borne, or the American-European F-35 (JSF), which is expected to undergo its final tests soon.

But something came unstuck. Apparently either the price proved too high, or the contract terms too burdensome. Whatever the details of the matter, the Indian generals have opted for the Russian offer. Now they are going to order a hundred such aircraft. The likely price of such a deal is almost $6 billion.

True, no real price for a PAK FA deal has yet been set for India, nor is there agreement about who will own the intellectual property rights to the jointly developed aircraft. These key questions will have to be addressed later.

The only news known so far is that these fighters will be built in Russia and in India, that New Delhi will have the right to supply them to third countries, and that the Russian and the Russian-Indian models will differ from each other in a way that as yet remains secret.

It is not ruled out that it might be in the same way as the F-22 and the F-35 differ. One is heavier, with two engines; the other lighter, with one engine.

For itself Russia is building a two-engined fighter. The explanation is that distances in the country are long and the jet must be able to fly from border to border quickly, without intermediate landings. Even with mid-air refueling capability, the aircraft would need more horsepower.

In India, distances are generally (though not always) shorter. As such, one engine may be enough, especially since the Indian Air Force already operates multi-role twin-engined Su-30MKIs, while the Vikramaditya aircraft carrier now being modernized will carry MiG-29K\MiG-29KUB deck-based fighters, which are also equipped with two engines.

So New Delhi's choice of the "lighter" G5 jet is predictable.

However, this remains little more than speculation. The important thing is that despite all the technical odds that have emerged recently between the two countries India is strengthening its military-technical ties with Russia and its defense sector. It is betting on Russia, in the knowledge that Moscow has never let it down.

This suggests that in a tender to supply the Indian Air Force with 126 light fighters, the Russian entry has a chance to win, though the competition includes two American firms - Boeing Company with the F\A-18E/F Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin with the F-16A/B Fighting Falcon; France's Dassault Aviation (with the Rafale); Sweden's SAAB (with the JAS-39 Grippen fighter); the Eurofighter (Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain; the EF-200 Typhoon); and Russia's RSK MiG (with the MiG-35 Fulcrum fighter).

Lockheed Martin to Meet Deadline for India's War Jet Deal

Nov 2, 2007

US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin on Friday said it would meet a March 2008 deadline set by India to bid for the world's largest military aircraft deal estimated at 10 billion dollars.

It is among six global armament firms in the race to sell 126 fighter jets to the Indian air force.

"We have sought no extension and plan to meet the deadline," company vice president Orville Prins told reporters in New Delhi.

The remarks came amid reports that three of the bidders have sought an extension to the March 3 deadline to submit proposals to the Indian defence establishment.

"(But) we are not seeking any changes or dilutions, but some clarifications to make our bid robust," Prins said.

India floated the global tenders in August and said six contenders were on its short list.

US manufacturer Boeing and the Russian makers of MiGs are among those who have asked for more time, officials told AFP.

Industry sources say the Russian-built MiG-35 and MiG-29 aircraft and the Lockheed Martin F-16 and Boeing F-18 are front-runners.

Also in the race to replace India's ageing MiG-21s are Eurofighter's Typhoon, Saab's Gripen and Dassault's Rafale and Mirage.

Eighteen of the fighters would be bought off the shelf by 2012 while the remaining 108 planes would be manufactured under licence in India.

India would also hold the option of purchasing another 64 fighters from the top bidder, Indian officials said.

New Delhi called for bids as the operational fighter fleet of the Indian air force in 2007 plunged to a low of 576 aircraft, from nearly 750 in early 2000.

The contract will be the first time India's huge defence establishment has bought fighters after evaluating rival bids through a global tender.

Under the tender, the deal would be subject to so-called "offset obligations" -- meaning a large part of the cost will have to be spent in India.

The Indian military introduced this clause into all major defence deals in the mid-1990s as a way of protecting itself from non-delivery as well as boosting its own domestic armament industry.

With US offerings seen as having a strong chance, the deal could also mark a major shift away from India's traditional dependence on Russian military hardware.

Gorshkov Deal At Sea

Navy Chief talks tough as Russia demands additional $1.2 bn, cites delay It is a fixed price contract and they should honour it... The ship is our property. We have paid them almost $500 million already. There is no question of pulling out. ADMIRAL SUREESH MEHTA, Navy Chief

INDIAN NAVY Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said on Monday that the government should neither pay more money to the Russians for refurbishing the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, nor pull out of the deal. He said that the contact signed by Russia quotes a fixed price and it should be honoured.
Russia has asked for $1.2 billion over and above the contracted price of $1.5 billion, almost doubling the agreed cost.

"It is a fixed price contract and they should honour it," Admiral Mehta said while also ruling out pulling out of the deal. "The ship is our property We have paid . them almost $500 million already There is no question . of pulling out," he said.

Admiral Mehta said Russia's attitude raised vital questions about India's partnership with the Russians. "Where is our relationship with Russia going," he asked, adding that India had signed the deal with Russia at a time when they were going through a crunch. "They said give us work. I would like to believe we helped them in their times of need."

With the shipyard getting more work and the Russians striking it rich with oil prices rising, the Navy Chief accused them of going slow on the project. His tough talk on Russia comes ahead of the visit of a high-level Russian team for renegotiating the price. The issue had also figured during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Russia for a summit with President Vladimir Putin.

Under the Indo-Russian inter-governmental contract signed in 2004, Russia was to deliver the carrier by August 2008 for $1.5 billion. Apart from seeking a hike that violates the contract, Russia has indicated that the carrier cannot be delivered to India before 2012. The Naval Chief said India was trying to persuade the Russians to work faster on the project. "If they put enough people on the job, the naval carrier will be commissioned by late 2010 or early 2011," he said. Navy comes clean on N-sub For years, the Navy denied the project even existed. But on Monday Admiral Mehta said India's nuclear , submarine - the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) would be commissioned into the fleet in two years time. "The project is somewhere near completion," he said.

IN TROUBLED WATERS The deal is in trouble with Russia asking for more money to refurbish the ship while also saying delivery will be delayed ABOUT THE SHIP Commissioned into Russian Navy in 1987 Bought by India under intergovernmental contract with Russians in 2004, renamed INS Vikramaditya THEN $1.5 billion was the original cost for refurbishing the ship under the fixed-price contract August 2008 was when it was to have been delivered to India NOW $1.2 billion is the additional amount the Russians recently raised, citing delays and additional work as reasons 2012 is when Russia says it will deliver the ship, despite the hike Meanwhile, India has taken up the issue of delays, which attract a penalty as listed in the contract

Admiral Mehta said Russia's attitude raised vital questions about India's partnership with the Rus- sians. "Where is our relationship with Russia going," he asked, adding that India had signed the deal with Russia at a time when they were going through a crunch. "They said give us work. I would like to be- lieve we helped them in their times of need." With the shipyard getting more work and the Rus- sians striking it rich with oil prices rising, the Navy Chief accused them of going slow on the project. His tough talk on Russia comes ahead of the visit of a high-level Russian team for renegotiating the price.

The issue had also figured during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent visit to Russia for a summit with President Vladimir Putin. Under the Indo-Russian inter-governmental contract signed in 2004, Russia was to deliver the carrier by Au- gust 2008 for $1.5 billion. Apart from seeking a hike that violates the contract, Russia has indicated that the carrier cannot be delivered to India before 2012. The Naval Chief said India was trying to persuade the Russians to work faster on the project. "If they put enough people on the job, the naval carrier will be commissioned by late 2010 or early 2011," he said. Navy comes clean on N-sub For years, the Navy denied the project even existed. But on Monday Admiral Mehta said India's nuclear , submarine - the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) - would be commissioned into the fleet in two years time. "The project is somewhere near completion," he said.

Navy Chief -- India Plans to Buy Six New Submarines

India is looking for six more submarines to augment the six Scorpenes being built at Mazagon Docks under a Rs 19,000 crore contrat with the French.

"We are now actively looking at the second line of submarines after the Scorpenes. I think the global tender for the six new submarines should be floated in the next financial year (2008-2009)," navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said recently. The contenders for the six new submarines could include the German HDW and Russian Amur submarines, with the French Scorpenes also being in the reckoning for a repeat order.

At present, India has just 16 conventional diesel-electric submarines — 10 Russian Kilo-class, four German HDW-class and two very-old Foxtrot-class vessels. The Scorpene project, under which the six submarines will roll out between 2012 and 2017, is crucial since naval projections show India will be left with only nine out of its 16 submarines by the middle of the next decade.

The long-term perspective programme is to acquire indigenous capability in design, development and construction of submarines, with a total of 24 submarines to be manufactured in a phased manner. But what about the fact that India neither has nuclear-powered submarines, nor SLBM (submarine-launched ballistic missile) capabilities, at present? "We have come to the final threshold. I think within two years or so, we should have that kind of a capability," said Admiral Mehta.
India is building its own nuclear submarines under the hush-hush Rs 14,000-crore ATV (advanced technology vessel) programme at Vishakapatnam. The first of the five long-delayed ATVs is scheduled to be fully-ready by 2010 or so.

Indian defence scientists are also developing SLBMs and SLCMs (cruise missiles) under the equally-secretive 'Sagarika' project. But it will take another three-four years for an integrated SLBM or SLCM capability to be ready. Asked about the modernisation of Chinese and Pakistan navies, Admiral Mehta said, "They have their national interests to protect, we have ours. Naval developments are not threat-specific, they are capability driven. We define our capabilities in tune with our national interests."

The Secret Nuke Sub Deal

By Sandeep Unnithan

On June 15, 2008, the Indian Navy will commission the INS Chakra, a 12,000-tonne Akula-II class nuclear-powered attack submarine, from the far eastern Russian port of Vladivostok. The submarine, which is being built at a shipyard in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, marks the fruition of a $650-million (Rs 2,600 crore) secret deal signed by the NDA government three-and-a-half years ago, which said that India would finance the construction of an unfinished Russian nuclear submarine hull and then lease it for 10 years. The impending acquisition of the Chakra gives India the long-awaited third leg of the nuclear triad—the others being air and land-based nuclear delivery platforms—widely regarded as the most survivable mode of launching nuclear weapons.

“It is the most crucial strategic capability we are acquiring after testing nuclear weapons in 1998,” says strategic analyst Bharat Karnad. Manned by a specially trained Indian crew, the Chakra—named after Krishna’s weapon—will undertake a 15-day passage through the South China Sea, with no port calls, to India, where it will be formally inducted as a component of India’s strategic forces command.

Nuclear submarines use a miniature nuclear reactor, to produce steam, which drives a turbine. Capable of tremendous underwater speed and almost unlimited endurance, they are in fact limited only by the endurance of their crew. The Akula-II submarine’s speed of 35 knots and diving depth of 600 m is twice that of a conventionally powered submarine. “However, a nuclear submarine is much more than just a submarine with a nuclear reactor,” says Rear Admiral (retired) Raja Menon. “It is the arbiter of power at sea,” he adds.

Armed with indigenously built nuclear-tipped cruise missiles with a range of over 1,000 km, the Chakra will be a potent addition to India’s strategic arsenal. A need which was felt after the Pokhran tests of 1998 when India enunciated a nuclear doctrine of ‘no first use’ and nuclear forces based on a triad of aircraft, mobile land-based missiles and sea-based assets, to ensure that its nuclear deterrent was “effective, enduring, diverse, flexible, and responsive to the requirements of credible minimum deterrence”. While the road and rail-mobile Agni series missiles afforded the land-based legs of the triad, the focus quickly shifted on inducting submarines armed with nuclear weapons. India’s Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV), a euphemism for a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) project initiated in the 1970s was still a decade from induction.

Hence talks on leasing two Akula class submarines—later reduced to one—were begun by the Vajpayee government after the Kargil War in 1999. Code-named Project (I), it was part of the three key naval items on the list of the Indian-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation initiated by the government in 2002. The other two items on the list were the purchase of the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, and the lease of four Tu-22M strategic bombers (which has since been cancelled). Funds for the submarine lease were allotted by the Central Government, but never publicised. The deal for leasing the submarine was signed quietly in Delhi in January 2004 along with the Gorshkov deal, during Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov’s visit.

Yet for years, the government denied plans of leasing nuclear submarines. Ivanov, too, consistently denied reports of the lease, but in 2005, the Russian daily Kommersant noted that the unaccounted for spike in the country’s arms export earnings indicated that the lease had been paid up.

The Chakra will soon be joined by the indigenous ATV, under construction at a secret dry dock in Visakhapatnam. Construction of the 5,000-tonne ATV, a modified version of the Russian Charlie-II class is now nearly complete, and will be launched for sea trials next year. It will be inducted into the Indian Navy in 2009. Armed with indigenously developed ballistic missiles (future variants with the three-stage 5000-km range Agni 3), the ATV will mark India’s entry into the SSBN club and will mean the fruition of a long-delayed strategic programme.

The delays seem to have moved to the Russian side. Originally slated for induction on August 15 this year, the delivery of the Chakra has been delayed by 10 months for the same reasons that delayed the Gorshkov refit in Russia. Earlier this year, Russia escalated the cost of the N sub lease by $135 million (Rs 540 crore), which was rejected by the Indian Defence Ministry delegation. Ministry officials confirmed the advanced stage of both the lease and the projects and said that the Government was debating on when to bring both the programmes out of the closet.

The lease of the Akula-II submarine—originally slated for the cash-strapped Russian Navy and on which construction had ceased at the Amur shipyard in the 1990s—will make India the world’s sixth power to operate a nuclear submarine. It has only one precedent—the three-year transfer of a Charlie-I class nuclear attack submarine (also named Chakra) from the Soviet Union in January 1988, which took advantage of a loophole in international treaties. The treaties prohibit the sale of nuclear submarines but do not object to a lease, provided the submarines are not equipped with nuclear weapons or missiles with a range of over 300 km. The Chakra will be stripped of its inventory of strategic cruise missiles with a range of 3,000 km, as these violate the Missile Technology Control Regime, but India will not be prevented from equipping the submarine with its own missiles.

The present 10-year lease—which may be extended later—differs from that of the Charlie-I class submarine in some important aspects. While the latter’s reactor controls and missile launch area were manned by Soviet naval personnel, the new Chakra will be manned entirely by an Indian crew, which is to leave for Vladivostok in December. Nearly 300 Indian naval personnel, or three sets of crews, have already been trained to man the submarine at a specially constructed facility in Sosnovy Bor, a small town near St Petersburg in Russia. All personnel returned after completion of training this year.

Future ATV crews will also be trained on the Chakra, which offers a valuable training platform. “A leased submarine gives you a tremendous headstart in training crews,” says Menon. “It takes several years to produce a crew of nuclear submarine experts like hydroplane operators and watch keeping officers.” The new Chakra will make up for the expertise that was lost when the Charlie-I submarine was returned to the former Soviet Union but also add a strategic platform into India’s inventory.

Viraat to get new lease of life following Gorshkov delay
From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 08:34 PM IST
Concerned over the delay in the arrival of the Russian-built aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkov, the Indian Navy has decided to give a new lease of life and makeover to its lone aircraft carrier INS Viraat.

'She will undergo a normal refit and her machinery would be strengthened. She would last till the time Admiral Gorshkov arrives,' Vice Admiral Jagjit Singh Bedi, the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Naval Command, told reporters here.

He said the Indian Navy expects the Russian carrier to arrive by 2009 or early 2010.

'The delay will not hamper the strategic planning of the Indian Navy, but we would have been happy had she touched the Indian shores in time.'

Spelling out the modernisation plans of the Indian Navy, Bedi said that as many as 33 ships and submarines are under various stages of construction. Of these, 27 are ships and six are submarines of the Scorpene-class, being built at the Mazagaon Docks Ltd, in collaboration with France.

The ships include three ships of Shivalik-class and three of Kolkata-class. The navy will also order three Talwar-class ships from the Russians.

Besides the Mazagaon Docks Ltd, the ships are being built at Goa Shipyard Ltd, Garden Reach Shipbuilders Ltd in Kolkata and Cochin Shipyard Ltd, where an indigenous aircraft carrier is being built.

At the same time, the Indian Navy is looking at medium range helicopters and is scouting the international market for long-range maritime patrol aircraft.

Bedi said the amphibious warfare capability of the west coast was also being enhanced.

'For any navy it is important to impact the land battle,' he said and pointed out that a ship with amphibious capability will join the Western Naval Command (WNC) 'in the times to come'.

The Vice Admiral said that while INS Jalashva (earlier USS Trenton) has joined the eastern fleet, INS Shardul has been commissioned and home ported in Karwar.

Asked whether the navy has plans to acquire Sea Harriers, he said that the production line of Harrier in Britain has closed down and the Royal Navy currently was using GR-7, the ground attack version of the Harriers.

'They are not making Sea Harriers any more. Moreover, UK is part of the NATO-alliance,' he said and pointed out that of the 13 Sea Harriers that the Indian Navy has, 10 are undergoing limited upgrades.

'When Admiral Gorshkov and the indigenous carrier joins, Harriers would be replaced by MiG-29K and maritime variant of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).'

To a question about naval version of Dhruva, the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), he said: 'Currently, we have eight of them. There are some teething problems, which were are trying to resolve with the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (NAL). It does not meet the requirements of the Indian Navy.'

To enhance the safety and surveillance of the navy, Bedi said that a vessel with Air Traffic Management System has been commissioned.

'The maritime domain awareness will be increased in the other coastal areas too. And in the era of net-centric operations, at a particular time we will be able to get a total picture of what is sailing around our waters,' he added.

India Nuclear Submarine to be Ready by 2009: Navy Chief

Dec 3, 2007

An Indian-built nuclear-powered submarine will be ready for sea trials in two years, and the navy has ordered 32 new warships, naval chief Sureesh Mehta said.  India, which carried out a string of nuclear tests in 1998, has already built ballistic missiles for its army and configured warjets to carry such weapons.  "Our scientists have confirmed that they would have the advance technology vessel (nuclear submarine) project ready for trials by 2009," Mehta told reporters.  In India's nuclear deterrent plans, "placing of nuclear weapons under the sea is the third triad which at present we don't have and we hope at one point we will," he said.

Mehta also said New Delhi was negotiating with Moscow to lease a Russian nuclear-powered submarine, which he said was "to enable our men to train on how to operate nuclear reactors and other platforms."  The announcements came after Mehta said he rejected a Russian request for an additional 1.2 billion dollars to finish a deal struck in 2004 to refurbish a Soviet-era aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkov.  He warned Russia, which accounts for 73 percent of India's military supplies, that delays on the carrier work could mean that preferential treatment in future arms deals could be scrapped.  "We cannot put all our eggs in one basket and so we must have a multi-vendor opportunity," he said. "This is how we are going to deal with Russia now."

India, Russia Ink $1.2b Tank Deal

Even as India wrestles with a Russian demand for additional money for an aircraft carrier it has purchased, New Delhi has quietly inked a $1.2 billion deal for additional 347 T-90 main battle tanks (MBTs) for the Indian Army. The deal was signed over the weekend after a Russian delegation arrived here for talks, an official said Wednesday. The delivery schedule has not been specified.

Weighing 46.5 tonnes and powered by a 1,000 hp engine that gives it a top speed of 60 km per hour, the new T-90s will be equipped with a 125 mm smoothbore gun and will have the capability of firing anti-tank guided missiles. The Indian Army currently deploys 310 T-90s that began arriving in the first five years of the decade. Of these, 186 were assembled at the Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi in Tamil Nadu from Russian-made kits.

The need for the T-90s was felt due to delays in the development of the indigenous Arjun MBT. Originally meant to be a 40-tonne tank with a 105 mm gun, it has now grown to a 50-tonne vehicle with a 120 mm gun. Arjun was meant to supplement and eventually replace the Soviet-era T-72 MBT that was first inducted in the early 1980s. However, delays in the Arjun project, and Pakistan's decision to purchase the T-80 from Ukraine, prompted India to order 310 T-90s, an upgraded version of the T-72, in 2001. Later, an agreement was also signed for the licensed production of another 1,000 T-90s.

The latest deal comes even as the defence ministry is wrestling with the Russian demand for an additional $1.2 billion for the carrier INS Vikramaditya, previously named the Admiral Gorshkov. The agreement for the ship was inked in 2004 for $1.5 billion. The Russians now say considerably more work would be involved than was anticipated in refitting the ship, which has been mothballed since 1995.

India-Russia Relationship Hits A Rough Patch
December 14, 2007

Cracks in the India-Russia relationship are becoming increasingly difficult to paper over.  In October, India faced a snub when External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, on a visit to Russia, could not secure a meeting with his Russian counterpart.  On December 3, India's navy chief, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, publicly questioned Russia's new priorities, suggesting frankly that new oil wealth could be generating a world-view in Moscow that was different from when New Delhi largely funded Russia's defence R&D. It remains unclear whether the admiral had the government's okay to pronounce on foreign policy, but he only stated a fact. After the Soviet meltdown, Russia's military spending plummeted to one-thirtieth of what it was in 1989, when 2.03% of the Soviet Union's GDP was being spent on R&D.

Russian analysts estimate that by 2000, India may have been funding 50% of all Russia's military R&D. This was done by ordering a range of weaponry ? T-90 tanks, Talwar-class warships, Sukhoi-30 fighters, MiG-21 upgrades, and a range of missiles ? and letting Russia develop those products using Indian money. Things, however, have changed dramatically. From 2007-2012, a resurrected Russian State Armaments Programme will spend US $50 million on military R&D.

As Russia's military places long-postponed orders for weaponry, that country's scaled-down defence facilities are unable to fulfill foreign contracts. Senior Indian diplomats point out that Russia's military modernisation programme meant that the Gorshkov over-runs were inevitable. The problem is not just India's. China, too, must deal with a commercially resurgent Russia. Beijing had signed, in 2005, a $1-billion order for 34 giant IL-78 transport planes and 4 IL-78 refuelling aircraft. Now Russia has realised that it cannot meet its own as well as Beijing's requirements. That contract is being renegotiated at a higher price. India, says a senior official with extensive experience in the Ministry of Defence, has no choice but to deal with the new Russia.

Declaring that the navy chief should not have criticised Russia, the official observes that, "The services may feel frustrated by occasional irritants in an extensive defence relationship. But when the navy needs help in designing a nuclear submarine, or wants to lease one to train crewmen, which country other than Russia is willing to help?" The changing military relationship also reflects larger geo-strategic changes. A top diplomatic source points out, "The Soviet-India relationship can never be recreated, since that rested on a shared threat from China. Today, Russia has a benign relationship with China; in fact, China buys more Russian arms than any other country in the world." And even that is changing. In 2006 and 2007, a host of small countries that buy big have supplanted China. Algeria was Moscow's biggest customer last year, signing a $7.5 billion order for a basket of weaponry. Venezuela spent $3 billion on Russian arms, while Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam each bought up a billion dollars worth of Russian arms.

Despite that, there are important Indian interests, says the senior diplomat, which can never be achieved without Russian cooperation. He points out: "India wants to expand its footprint in the energy-rich Central Asian region. It cannot do so without Russian blessings. If India is a player in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, it is thanks to Russia's help. India's long-term energy interests are closely linked with Russia." New Delhi's struggle to generate warmth in an old marriage is not made easier by a new suitor, Washington.

Despite those blandishments, key decision-makers in South Block still believe that the India-Russia relationship must be defined by political common ground ? e.g. Russian backing for India as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and its support in the Nuclear Suppliers' Group ? rather than on disagreements in an arms supply relationship that must eventually be anchored on commercial logic, not political patronage.

India's Defence Imports to Touch $30b by 2012

With its armed forces expected to ink big-ticket defence deals for combat jets, 155mm howitzers, a variety of helicopters and long-range maritime spy aircraft, India's military hardware imports bill is expected to reach a whopping $30 billion by 2012, a new study says. The projections have been made in a paper on 'Avenues for Private Sector Participation in Defence' by the industry lobby Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). It emphasises that in the past three years, India spent as much as $10.5 billion on military hardware, making it one of the largest arms buyers in the developing world.

The paper says that with ever increasing demand for higher allocation in the defence budget and the limited capacity of the government to meet this demand, the defence sector requires a re-look to procure its goods and services from existing allocations in a more efficient manner. At Rs.960 billion for fiscal 2007-08, India's military spending amounts to roughly two percent of the country's GDP.

The paper seeks larger private sector participation in all defence related deals and imports, reminding the government that despite the defence ministry's targets of achieving 70 percent self-reliance in defence production 10 years ago, it has fallen short by 40 percent. Till now, only 30 percent of total defence production has become self-reliant. This is largely because of the limited involvement of the private sector in military manufacturing.

The year 2001 witnessed the first step in this regard as the entry of foreign private players was permitted with 26 percent foreign direct investment being allowed in the sector. By mid-2007, there were about 5,200 companies supplying around 20-25 percent of components and sub-assemblies to state-owned contractors in the defence sector, said ASSOCHAM president Venugopal N. Dhoot, commenting on the findings of the paper.

India's defence imports could be made cost effective by introducing a competitive bidding process for supplies from the private sector of defence needs, the paper says. Leading corporate houses like Tatas, Satyam Computers, Mahindras, Kirloskar Bros, L and amp;T and others can make equipment to suit and meet domestic defence requirements, provided the supplies are sought from them by involving their participation through the competitive bidding process, the paper maintains. The study also recommended outsourcing of many defence activities to the domestic private sector, pointing out that the defence ministry had made some attempts towards this in recent years.

India Buys T-90s Russian Tanks

Jan 15, 2007

India's decision last month to purchase a huge new order of 347 Russian T-90 Main Battle Tanks has many profound lessons to teach arms industry analysts and military strategists in the United States and around the world.

The decision was neither unexpected nor unprecedented. Nearly seven years ago, in 2001, India purchased 310 T-90 MBTs from Russia. And that points to the first lesson: The T-90 is a very good tank. It has its problems, as Russian analysts acknowledge, but it is well-armored, can take a lot of punishment, has formidable hitting power and is extremely reliable in the grueling conditions of combat. Clearly, the Indian army is happy with the T-90s it already has, or it would not have bought a second, even larger number of them.

The second lesson is that India is gearing up for the possibility of major land war: It is not hard to see where, or potentially with whom. Russia has been India's main strategic ally since the mid-1960s, and after 40 years it remains so today. India's new strategic relationship with the United States therefore has certainly not turned it into the kind of close, decades loyal ally that Britain, Germany, Australia, Japan and Israel have all been.

Nevertheless, relations between India and the United States remain excellent and there are no direct areas of strategic conflict or tension between New Delhi and Washington. The two largest democracies in history -- and both English-speaking at that, have never been closer in their strategic relations.

Nor is China the intended target of India's formidable Main Battle Tank buildup. There certainly remain long-term strategic tensions between the two most populous nations on Earth, but they are focused on China.

Beijing has moved steadily to acquire naval and air bases in Myanmar, the Myanmar-ruled Andaman Islands, Pakistan, Mauritius and East Africa. The main purpose of these moves appears to be to project its limited range submarine and combat fighter air power to protect its vital oil supply lanes from the Persian Gulf through the Indian Ocean in its "string of pearls" strategy.

However, at the political level, Sino-Indian relations have been steadily warming for more than four years under both Hindu nationalist BJP-led and Congress-UPA-led coalition governments in New Delhi. Nor would so many tanks be directly relevant to an India-China conflict. China is not focusing on building up its armed forces or long-term infrastructure for them in Tibet. A repeat of the 1962 Himalayas war between India and China is not on the cards.

Where, then would Indian generals anticipate using so many tanks? The answer is clear, in case unstable, unpredictable Pakistan, India's traditional enemy to the west, collapsed in chaos and civil war, or fell into the hands of militant, extreme-Islamist elements who might trigger a war with their giant predominantly Hindu neighbor.

The Indian T-90 purchase therefore has profound implications for the balance of power in South Asia and it underlines the enormous dangers to regional and world peace that the collapse of the political system in Pakistan would cause.

The lessons of the T-90 deal, however, do not stop there.

Why Russia favors India over China)

There is much more to India's decision to buy 347 T-90 Main Battle Tanks from Russia than meets the eye. And far more to the Kremlin's decision to sell them to New Delhi, too.

First, as we have previously noted in these columns, despite India's growing strategic relationship with the United States, New Delhi's traditional primary alliance with Russia, now going back more than 40 years, has not weakened. On the contrary, defense and strategic ties between the two nations are at an unprecedented high.

Russia has been working hard to remove what has for many years been the biggest bottleneck and irritant in the strategic relationship, the very poor record in maintenance service and supply of electronic and spare parts that India experienced though the 1990s for its Russian-built aircraft, especially its Sukhoi interceptors.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been moving energetically in the last few months to restructure the Russian military-industrial complex, or defense contractor sector in more sweeping ways than the country has seen since the collapse of communism in order to try and eliminate these bottlenecks.

Indeed, Indian-Russian military-industrial cooperation has been growing remarkably in other key areas as well. The two countries have just agreed to jointly produce what will eventually likely be hundreds of supersonic, ground-hugging cruise missiles under their joint Brah-Mos development entity.

The strategic implications of this development are extraordinary. For while the T-90 Main Battle Tank is Russian, and not Indian-manufactured, and comparable in quality to the American Abrams M2 MBT, the projected Brah-Mos supersonic cruise missile would incorporate the latest Russian technology but be manufactured in India, and it would give India the capability to build cruise missiles that fly at up Mach 2.8 -- nearly three times the speed of sound, or more than 2,000 miles per hour -- as fast as a speeding bullet. That is also more than three times as fast as the Tomahawk, the main cruise missile in the U.S. high-tech arsenal.

The Tomahawk is subsonic, and many analysts believe it is increasingly vulnerable to the most modern Russian anti-missile defense systems such as the Tor-M1, which Moscow has supplied to Iran, and the new S-400 Triumf, which was first deployed around Moscow last year.

But if the Brah-Mos supersonic cruise missile venture is sobering for the United States, it is infuriating for China. For although Russia and China are partners in leading the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, founded on June 15, 2001, to resist the spread of U.S. and democratic influence in Central Asia, Russia has steadfastly refused up to now to sell India a long shopping list of its most advanced weapons systems, including the T-90 MBTs it feels perfectly happy to sell to India.

India, after all, is farther away from Russia than China. Russia has never had a common border with India in its history and has never been threatened by invasion from India or South Asia. Russian civilization, however, was extinguished in the 13th century by waves of Mongol invaders from the Far East. Later, the Russian Czarist and Chinese Manchu empires came into conflict over control of vast regions of east northeast Asia as long ago as the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689.

Much more recently, there were bloody border clashes between the Soviet Union and China in 1969 that even led to very serious concerns in China that the Soviets might launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against them.

In the eyes of most Americans, democratic India is seen -- in fact correctly -- as a friend of the United States and China an ally of Russia's. Beijing is also seen, not without reason, as increasingly hostile or unpredictable towards U.S. interests, despite the enormous volume of trade and mutual dependence between the two great nations.

Yet Russia feels freer to sell or jointly develop its most sensitive and important weapons systems with India more than it does with China. This reveals that Russia's grand strategy for Asia is far broader and more complex than is generally appreciated.

India Invites Proposals for $2.5 b Artillery Contract

New Delhi Jan 15, 2008

India on Monday said it had invited proposals from global weapons manufacturers for the purchase of 140 ultra-light artillery guns as part of a 2.5-billion-dollar programme to upgrade its ageing military hardware.

Indian army chief Deepak Kapoor said global tenders for 260 other guns would be issued sometime this month as part of the costly but essential modernisation.

Earlier, defence ministry officials quoting General Kapoor had said the 140 guns would cost 2.5 billion dollars but later amended the figures to say that cost was for all 400 pieces.

"The RFP (request for proposals) for the procurement of 140 ultra-light howitzer guns has been issued," General Kapoor told reporters on the sidelines of a military function.

"The army will issue global tenders shortly for the procurement of the 155-millimetre (six-inch) howitzers," he said and added a separate bid for 155 "advanced guns" -- or heavy weaponry -- would be also floated in "a month or so".

Military sources said New Delhi would purchase a part of the consignment off the shelf while the rest would be manufactured under licence in India.

The announcement kickstarts the million-plus army's plans to modernise its ageing Soviet-era equipment, analysts said.

India in 2001 floated global tenders for 400 guns but scrapped the contract last year after testing the hardware sent by Israeli, British and South African firms vying for the deal, which was quoted at 1.5 billion dollars.

South Africa's state-owned Denel armament firm has also been blacklisted by India on charges of corruption in a separate weapons deal.

General Kapoor admitted the delay had hit the modernisation programme of the army, which is locked in a bloody combat with cross-border Islamist militants in disputed Kashmir.

The Indian army has