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Saturday, February 16, 2013

Highlights Of Aero India 2013 Expo: Part-3

The three posters below detail glass cockpit designs for fourth and fifth-generation combat aircraft designed by Canada-based CMC Electronics/Easterline, which is competing against ELBIT Systems for supplying the glass cockpit for the Tejas Mk2 and LCA (Navy) Mk2 MRCAs.
Kongsberg of Norway is proposing its HSM version (below) of the NSM for the Indian Navy’s sixteen 10-tonne shipborne helicopters, for which Sikorsky’s S-70B Seahawk is the frontrunner.
Everything you wanted to know about the MAFI project is detailed below.
Telephonics’ OceanEye multi-mode radar (below), already on board the Boeing-built P-8Is, is also being proposed on the S-70B Seahawk for the Indian Navy.
Telephonics’ RDR-1600 weather radar (below) is already flying on the IAF’s Mi-17V-5s and AW-101s as well as on all Dhruv ALH Mk1/2/3 helicopters.
Radionix Ltd of Ukraine, which had originally developed an internal jammer (below) for MiG-29s and Su-27s/Su-30s, is offering a version of this suite for the Tejas Mk2 and LCA (Navy) Mk2.

139 comments:

Anonymous said...

Parsun, how is India going to cancel the augestawestland choppers when it already received 3 of them...

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@4.06AM: You will now hear a lot of cacophony ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. The fact, however, remains that Finmeccanica, a publicly-listed company, is now in the docks & there’s no way the European Union or the EU Parliament will let go of this scandal. Unlike the Bofors & HDW scandals, this time the truth will come out in the following 30 to 90 days since it not only involves the national prestige of Italy, but also of the UK. In the end, therefore, Finmeccanica will most likely have to fork out a sizeable sum of money as liquidated damages & pay back the Govt of India & it will be pressurised to do so by the Govts of both Italy & the UK. This is then likely to lead to a substantial easing of the domestic political pressure that the present-day Govt of India is now facing, & will probably lead to the remaining nine AW-101s being delivered later this year. So far, the MoD has made the right moves in terms of issuing a show-cause notice to AgustaWestland, meaning if no credible answer is forthcoming, then & only then will the contract be abrogated after the next six days, & the MoD will then be legally entitled to claim ownership of the earnest money & encash the bank guarantee that Agusta Westland was reqd to deposit with the MoD at the time of contract signature. I personally believe that the contract should not be cancelled & instead financial damages should be sought through legal means. This is exactly what Taiwan had done when a major scandal had broken out more than a decade ago regarding its acquisition of six La Fayette FFGs from DCNS & THALES. Taiwan did not cancel this contract nor did it surrender its ownership of the FFGs. Instead, it sued THALES & ultimately in a case filed with the International Court of Arbitration, Taiwan won the case & THALES had to pay back US$950 million to Taiwan as damages. Now that is what is known as a win-win solution.
The ‘desi’ mass-media is still missing the woods for the tress. While the headless chicken at TIMES NOW are trying in vain to link Abhishek Verma with the AW-2101 deal, HEADLINES TODAY has already proclaimed former CAS of IAF, ACM S P Tyagi, as guilty without any credible evidence. As the 64-page investigation documentation from Italy clearly reveals, Abhishek Verma was involved in a totally different deal involving the future sale of eight A-109Ps for the Delhi State Govt. Similarly, what is true is that some Indian State Govts (like those of Rajasthan, J & K & Andhra Pradesh) that had bought AW-139 executive transport helicopters from AgustaWestland were actually fleeced by these Switzerland-based Italian middlemen. Nor can anyone fathom exactly how & why HEADLINES TODAY is trying to link the AW-101 scandal with the upcoming firing trials in Nyoma, Ladakh, of the various contenders that are bidding for supplying VSHORADS/MANPADS for the three armed services. All in all, therefore, these ‘desi’ journalists are one helluva confused species whose arses need to be hauled to the courts & be sued for defamation.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

Watch these two interesting programmes on India-Pakistan-Afghanistan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzIjNlzCh_M&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH1uVjUb7ek&feature=player_embedded

rad said...

hi PRASUN
In pics uploaded by you there are many processors that claim to be made in india , have we the fab tech to do it or some one is doing it for us .
Regarding the maitri sam, i dont understand the navy going in for this sam as it has already the barak 70 km sam that takes care of every thing . The only other reason is that they will use it for anti missile ops and leave the barak to do the long range work
Why cant we go in for AESA seekers like japan and quantum well ir seekers rather than go the old way .

Anonymous said...

sir,
is it true that the helicopter deal with Finmeccanica, some core engine technology was going to be transferred?

why does India want maitri when India has Barak2/8?

thanks

Anonymous said...

I think the smart thing to do here is to develop ties with Japan since they have a very high tech army and strap for cash and also provides strategic alliance against China. and all treaties with Japan should be codevelopment.

Anonymous said...

Hi All

Dont give much head to the media reg. this VVIP chooper deal,,Indian media has little or no credibility..What will happen to these chopper deal, only time will tell..But the media houses seems to be in hurry to post news by twisting and turning things at thier will and convenince..They are trying to link other defence deals with this chooper controversy incl the deal to buy 197 LUH, but agaustawestland was disqualified even before field trials, so there is no link of the 197 LUH deal.One media house even aired How the middleman in VVIP chooper deal was also an agent of Dassualt before 1998 and went on to say that this cast a shadow or controvercy with the MMRCA deal..How pathetic!!!!..Prasun da rightly says "You will now hear a lot of cacophony ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous"..

Anonymous said...

from the above two links its obvious that thay are giving credit to some uncredited people .

Anonymous said...

However,regarding Afghanistan,India was nowhere in picture from the bigining and at the end winner would be the pakistan and china. No doubt in that.

Anonymous said...

India is doing a great injustice(harm) to herself by not supporting Baluchistan struggle and not balkanizing Pakistan to small countries .
This was my own view .

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To RAD: As the two topmost posters clearly say, the products were DESIGNED by ANURAG. Febrication has been out-sourced. Regarding Maitri SR-SAM, they will go on board existing vessels like the three Brahmaputra-class Project 16A FFGs & three Godavari-class Project 16 FFGs & probably the Project 25/Project 25A corvettes & even the Indian Navy’s futuristic NOPV acquisitions as well as on INS Vikramaditya since in all these vessels there isn’t enough space for accommodating the longer Barak-2 & the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR radar. The Barak-2 will on the other hand be standard fit along with the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR on the three Project 15A DDGs, four Project 15B DDGs, seven Project 17A FFGs & on the IAC-1/INS Vikrant, for starters.

To Anon@11.37AM: No, that’s not true at all. Regarding Maitri SR-SAM bersus Barak-2, I’ve already explained the intricacies above.

To Anon@11.41AM: Japan has never been strapped for cash, not at least for the past five decades.

To Anon@1.28PM: Now the ‘desi’ print & electronic media are trying to engage in one-upmanship & claim credit for spreading their ill-conceived disinformation!!! Just read this: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/whose-story-is-it-anyway--times-now-takes-credit-for-express-chopper-deal-expose/1074978/0

Things are getting more & more bizarre by the hour, thanks to these headless chicken!

To DASHU: On the contrary, the analysis by rational Pakistani commentators (unlike former foreign secretary Shamshad Ahmed) in those two programmes clearly indicates that Pakistan is extremely irked by three factors: that of all countries involved inside Afghanistan as aid-givers, it is India that is, quantitatively speaking, the most well-liked & appreciated, while Pakistan is the most-hated; & secondly, for reasons unfathomable by Pakistan, the Afghans like to go to Indian military academic institutions for training & abhor Pakistani military academic institutions. And thirdly, even the Pashtuns of Afghanistan are extremely pissed off with Pakistan’s policies regarding the Pashtuns on both sides of the now-defunct Durand Line. That is precisely why the rational Pakistani analysts are now calling for the initiation of a trilateral dialogue between Afghanistan, India & Pakistan. And of course, the fact remains that China has done a pragmatic appreciation of the entire scenario & has concluded that whatever India has so far done & achieved in Afghanistan is for the long-term good of both Afghanistan & Central Asia & consequently, India’s positive efforts need to be recognised, respected & possibly replicated by the likes of China.

Anonymous said...

From anon@1.28 pm

Thanks Prasun da for sharing this link...WE ALL SHOULD CHECK THIS LINK and it will be clear how these desi headless chikcken media is posting nonsense..They are now fighting with each other over who first exposed the chooper scam!!Really silly and shameful,,I wonder why no one has dragged them to court

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@4.32PM: VMT. And as I had predicted & stated above, this scandal questions the very honesty & integrity of the Govts of Italy & the UK & all-out efforts will be made by these two govts to get to the bottom of the matter without any cover-ups. Looks like the first step has already been taken by the UK. Read this: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/British-PM-Cameron-to-pay-official-visit-to-India-next-week/articleshow/18529199.cms

Gessler said...

Hi Prasun,

1) How much processing power does the Ashwin AESA-MMR possess (in kW)?

2) If Maitri is put on a land vehicle in verticle-laucnch envelop what kind of vehicle will we use for it? Tracked like Akash or wheeled like Spyder?

3) Any plan currently to tweak LCH's wings to carry upto 16 ATGMs?

4) How good do you think are LCH's countermeasures systems? Does it have adequate defence against MANPADs?

5) Is anyone in India developing uranium-depleted compunds for tank armor like M1 Abrams' armor?

6) Has Tata Motors absorbed some know-how from its acquisition of Jaguar-Land Rover that it can possibly apply in the defence sector?

7) Has HAL delivered the 1st Dhruv to the Surinamese National Army as yet?

8) Who will be the biggest private-sector beneficiary if Dassault starts transfer of tech for building Rafale components under license? Reliance IL or someone else?

9) Are just 12 AAR/MRTTs enough for IAF's future needs? I think we need atleast 30.

Will IN also buy AARs?

10) Any update on Nirbhay?

11) Some say that Maitri is based on India's former SAM project Trishul. Is that true?

12) Will Tejas Mk-1/2 also receive Spice-2000?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To GESSLER: 1) The rotating AESA-based X-band Ashvin multi-function volume-search radar will be similar in performance parameters & looks to the THALES-developed Arabel radar. 2) All Maitri/SR-SAM launchers will be motorised 8 x 8 mobile autonomous launchers (MAL), to be sourced from TATA Motors. Each TEL will house six cannisterised SR-SAMs & the Battery Command Vehicle will also house the Ashvin. There will be six MALs per Battery. The Indian Army is acquiring Akash Mk1 launchers in two versions: one mounted on T-72M hulls for desert terrain & another mounted on TATA-built 8 x 8 MALs for deployment on hard-soil (to be rolled out by the year’s end. 3) No such plans. 4) Self-protection features being the same for LCH as those on the Rudra, they’re more than adequate. 5) No. Not required. 6) Of course. 7) Yes. 8) SAMTEL-THALES Display Systems. 9) The IAF needs more dedicated aerial refuelling tankers than MRTTs. A fleet of 18 IL-78MKI-90 aerial refuelling tankers backed up by 10 A330-200 MRTTs will be just nice. Indian Navy already has AARs in service…the MiG-29Ks are all equipped for undertaking buddy-buddy refuelling with UPAZ-1 pods. 10) There are, based on my conversations with CEMILAC authorities & DGAQA officials during Aero India 2013, but will keep them to myself for now. 11) How can that truly be??? Trishul project was a vain attempt by India to re-engineer the OSA-AK, which failed miserably. The Maitri/SR-SAM is a fire-n-forget missile, unlike the semi-active Trishul. 12) Any combat aircraft that is qualified to carry RecceLite pods is also capable of being armed with Spice 2000. Both the Mirage 2000UPG & Tejas Mk1 will be flight-qualified with RecceLite, as I had explained a couple of threads back.

KSingh said...

Prasun,

Thanks for all you clarifications wrt the AW-101 deal. Yours is a lone voice of truth in a ocean of BS.



Why is it not a SINGLE Indian journalist or commentator is reporting the truth or any of what you are saying?

Why are these Media outlets oblivious to the truth?


Have you tried contacting any media outlet to educate them on the intricaces of the deal and the nature of the wrongoind especially on the Italian and UK side?


These fools in the media are making India look like a joke.

Vikram Guha said...

Hi PrasunDa,

How important is C4ISR as far as Integrated air defense is concerned ?

Thanks,
Vikram

sntata said...

Dear Prasun,
1."According to Japan Times, Pakistan’s Hatf-V or Ghauri missile is a complete failure owing to faulty guidance system."
http://defenceforumindia.com/news/
How far is it true?
2.Can the Naval variant of Maitri intercept incoming missiles?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To KSINGH: VMT. Ignorance prevails for as long as one has eyes & yet one does not see. While it is crystal-clear now that Finmeccanica had only used the AW-101 contract for generating slush-money for domestic Italian political purposes, this is not a TRP-generating affair & therefore all kinds of ridiculous flavours have to be added by one & all within India’s electronic media. What India’s MEA ought to do now is to go on the offensive & raising this issue within the European Union’s Parliament, thereby generating even more pressure on Italy to squeal ASAP. I believe the UK has already awakened to the utterly disastrous consequences of a global nature emanating from such a scandal (since the crime committed involves a UK-based OEM like AgustaWestland Helicopters PLC) & next week when the British PM David Cameron comes calling in Delhi, he will most likely announce the commencement of investigations to be initiated by the UK’s Serious Fraud Investigations Office. Actually, the real story is still lying untouched in the UK since the over-invoicing was reportedly done by AgustaWestland ON BEHALF OF Finmeccanica. Therefore, the climax of further revelations will take place from within the UK & not in Italy. Anyone with even a modicum of knowledge about corporate law should be able to figure out this elementary fact-of-life, but regrettably, I cannot expect even this from the ‘desi’ print & electronic media houses.
I don’t have to contact any of these ‘desi’ entities since I know for sure that they frequently browse through this blog. In fact, if you may recall, a year ago when the scandal first came to light, they had used the same AW-101 photo that I had posted in one of my earlier threads in which I had superimposed red-coloured arrows to mark the locations of the integrated EW/countermeasures suite. Both HEADLINES TODAY & TIMES NOW had then used those photos (because till then this blog was the only one to have hosted a photo of the AW-101 in IAF livery) & LIVEFIST too had used this very same photo & after I had sent a kind reminder about the origin of that photo with my superimposed read-coloured arrows, LIVEFIST promptly gave it the appropriate photo-credit. But no credits or even a word of thanks had then come from either HEADLINES TODAY or TIMES NOW, nor was I even bothered to stoop lower than them & demand it.

To SNTATA: It is 1,000% correct. By the way, do see this: http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/373321/30-minutes-pollbound-nagaland-in-focus.html

Isn’t it pathetic that no Indian PM was even bothered to visit Nagaland over the past 10 years???

To VIKRAM GUHA: It is extremely important, to say the least.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To SNTATA: Of course, it will be able to, especially the subsonic types like C-802A & C-704 & C-602.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To KSINGH: Here’s another story to which the ‘desi’ mass-media outlets are totally oblivious: who is the individual or party that has been financially sustaining the fugitive-from-justice Ravi Shankaran (of the Navy War Room leak fame) for the past six years in the UK? Anyone with average IQ ought to figure out the fact that it is one helluva big deal to not only reside in the UK, but to also retain the services of a Queen’s Counsel for fight one’s case as a defendant, especially for a guy who never struck any mega-deal. Yet, how come this chap Ravi Shankaran manages to live as a free & financially self-sufficient man in the UK?

Gessler said...

Hi Prasun thanks for answers...

You said 28 refuellers would be fine,,,does this mean aftr the 6 x A330 MRTTs are delivered, IAF will order more A330s and more IL-78s?

Please elaborate.

KSingh said...

Prasun,

So who exactly, on the Indian side, is in the wrong- if anyone??


And will the truth come out for sure that shows this is an European scandel and NOT an Indian scandel? As right now I have not heard ANYTHING about the European hand in all this from either the Indian media or the Western/European media.


Let me tell you, as a resident of the UK, this stroy is being reported as a case of "Indian corrupt politicans at it again" (or along those lines) will the truth about the UK's hand in this come out?


And will the truth exonerate the Indian govt and former IAF officers who have been caught up in this saga?



And if what you say is true- why is the Indian MEA not going on the offensive and clarifying exactly what is going on? Right now the picture you are painting is the GoI is a victim in this so why doesn't the GoI just come out and say this?

Anonymous said...

Prasunda,

1. As North Korea tests further, it will after one or two more tests attain a proven thermonuclear capability. Wont Pak acquire TN warheads as a result ?

2. What will be our reaction to this situation ? Will any GoI irrespective of political party test again to validate our capability and prevent nuclear disadvantage vis a vis Pak ?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To KSINGH: NO ONE from the Indian side (i.e. from the MoD or the IAF) is on the wrong, period. Had they been, then they would not have been residing in India till now & instead would have left the country to reside in places like Switzerland in order to evade extradition, which is exactly what the Italian perpetrators have done & which is what the likes of Ravi Shankaran are now doing by residing in the UK. As for the fact that it is an European scandal of epic proportions, Italian prosecutors have already stated that Italy’s far-right Lega Nord is alleged to have received kickbacks to “swing the deal in Italy”, whatever that means! This revelation has come from Lorenzo Borgogni, a former top employee of Finmeccanica and an Orsi-baiter, who blew the whistle on AgustaWestland’s deal with the Govt of India. Borgogni has told Italian prosecutors in a detailed statement that kickbacks were paid by AgustaWestland (not Finmeccanica, mind you) for the Indian contract through the use of middlemen and that the total amount came up to Euro 51 million. Borgogni has also detailed how the money was paid through a network of middlemen and consultants, with the main allegation being that at least Euro 10 million was funnelled back to Italy and paid to the Lega Nord party in return for its support to Orsi's bid to become President of Finmeccanica. After such a revelation, can there be any other doubt in anyone’s mind about the Europeans being the principal perpetrators & beneficiaries of such corrupt practices??? This is an open-and-shut case of money laundering, under which the money coming from over-invoiced sub-contracts awarded by UK-based AgustaWestland to some Indian companies acting as sub-contracting vendors for AgustaWestland was routed by AgustaWestland through shell-companies based in Tunisia & Mauritius (i.e. the money never entered India) & then from there the money was re-routed to European or Middle Eastern offshore tax-havens from where the Lega Nord would have been able to access such slush-money. In financial parlance, this is how the ill-gotten money is ‘washed’ & converted into ‘legit’ clean money. Of course, once the truth emerges in the near future, those now being wrongly-accused of being on the take (like former ACM S P Tyagi) will have a field day filing defamation suits & reaping a whirlwind within India, mark my words. This should also caution all other India-based discredited bloggers against ‘ill-assuming’ that ACM Tyagi was a runner or had received protection money for influencing the AW-101 deal, for they’re all presenting a very sorry picture of not only their sick minds, but are also denigrading the institution of the IAF.
Also do rest assured that the Govt of India will indeed go on the offensive. It is still early days & just wait for the arrival of David Cameron next week in Delhi & everyone will hear from his own mouth what he has to say about the sordid actions of UK-based AgustaWestland. Like I said earlier, the Brits being a trading nation by nature, will definitely get down to the bottom of this scandal real fast, even if the Italians are seen to be dragging their feet.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@2.44AM: Test what? Already South Korea has officially stated that there was no radioactive fallout or radiation trace of any nuclear explosion, meaning the DPRK tried to pull a fast one on its own citizens & in reality that that happened was a big-bang caused by triggering of conventional TNT…end of story. And what kind of disadvantage does India have against Pakistan? It is a well-known fact that Pakistan had received only 12 warheads from China in 1998 & of this, only two were exploded in Chagai in May 1998, leaving Pakistan with only 10 remaining n-warheads. Everything else one hears based on just Western academic estimations of the quantum of fissile materials produced by Pakistan-based China-supplied n-reactors or uranium enrichment plants is pure baloney & utter boulderdash. Even Dr A Q ‘Bhopali’ Khan had said in a TV interview yesterday that Pakistan is a country that does not even manufacture bicycle chains, but can still produce ballistic missiles for carrying nuclear warheads. And mind you, he NEVER said in that interview that Pakistan indigenously produces its nuclear warheads as well. All that he said was that Pakistan is now a nuclear-weapons state. This is a significant on-the-record omission (about n-warhead production) that ought to be noted by all interested parties.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To GESSLER: No, not additional A330-200 MRTTs (six is more than enough for long-distance expeditionary power projection), but additional IL-78MKI-90 refuellers.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To KSINGH: As proof of what I have stated above, kindly browse through this: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/have-no-links-with-agustawestland-haschke-is-lying-sanjeev-tyagi/373318-3.html

What this proves is that all those Indians named by the Italians as their alleged accomplices are all very much inside India, are not afraid to talk to TV channels, & are very much available 24/7 for being investigated. What you’re now witnessing within India are shell-shocked personalities & institutions, like those whose names have been dragged in (just as Amitabh Bachchan’s name was wrongfully dragged in for the Bofors scandal in the 1980s) like ACM S P Tyagi, & the MoD & IAF, which are slowly realising now that they had been taken for granted as SUCKERS by the Brits & Italians & had been led up the garden-path in an unsuspecting manner. And that’s exactly why these Italians had even boasted (based on their wiretap intercepts) that the “Indian officials are 'morons', who will take years to track the links & the money-trail” concerning their nefarious money-laundering activities on behalf of certain Italian political parties. Therefore, all the more reason now for the Govt of India to insist on taking delivery of all 12 AW-101s & then suing AgustaWestland for contract violation (for deliberately & willfully violating the contract’s Integrity Clause) & claiming liquidated damages. What this will then amount to is that not only will the 51 million Euros be have to be paid back to the MoD, but other financial damages will also have to be paid by AgustaWestland to the MoD, i.e. AgustaWestland will end up implementing the AW-101 contract at a significant nett loss in financial terms. Now, do you for a moment think that the UK’s PM David Cameron allow such a disaster to unfold? Therefore, just wait for Cameron to arrive in Delhi next week & then we all will know what really transpired between AgustaWestland & Finmeccanica & how India will have to be compensated. But this much I know for sure: this is a let-down of epic proportions for the Romans & Anglo-Saxons & a major foreign policy disaster for two EU member-states & unless London & Rome take urgent corrective measures, both Finmeccanica & AgustaWestland could well go bankrupt in the near future since no one else in the world will ever trust these companies for honouring their respective contractual obligations. Therefore, both the UK & Italy now have no choice but to do exactly what France’s THALES Group had done two years ago with Taiwan, i.e. cough up a mutually agreed-upon financial damages payment package with India’s MoD ASAP.

KSingh said...

Thanks once again Prasun!


But why is it that no other Western/Euro media outlet has even picked up this story yet wrt the Finmeccanica/AW side of it.

Yes there has been reports on the Indian AW-101 deal but not the wider implications of the deal wrt Italy/Finmeccanica/AW/UK.


if it is all you are saying then this is HUGE news and the significance of these events really cannot be understated for the global, but especially European, defence industry.


Why are defence magazines not going apre shit over this news?


And why is the truth behind this deal ie the Italians/Brits defrauding the GoI/IAF, not come out yet?



Like you say this could very well be foreshadowing to bankruptcy major defence firms. And yet there is ZERO coverage of it??


Why is the significance of all this lost on the world?

KSingh said...

+ do you expect all the Indians wrongfully implicated by the Italians in this deal to take legal action against the Indian media outlets and the Italian govt officals?


KSingh said...

++ Prasun,


how do you explain this:


http://ibnlive.in.com/news/agustawestland-chopper-deal-probe-may-point-to-more-defence-personnel/373246-3.html?from=AP



it seems the italians are saying MORE Indian defence personal are involved and have received bribes- is this true?

suranjan dey said...

prasun da,thanks for giving info about aero india 2013.From all the defence blogs your's is the most informative and thanks for answering the queries very generously.others don't gives the answer of queries either due to lack of knowledge or they are very arrogant.Thanks once again

Anonymous said...

Watch these two interesting programmes on India-Pakistan-Afghanistan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzIjNlzCh_M&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH1uVjUb7ek&feature=player_embedded


Kutte ki dum tedi ki tedi. It will takes ages for a change in the prejudices of Pakisatnis.

Anonymous said...

// " The three posters below detail glass cockpit designs for firth-generation combat aircraft designed by Canada-based CMC Electronics/Easterline, which is competing against ELBIT Systems fir supplying the glass cockpit for the Tejas Mk2 and LCA (Navy) Mk2 MRCAs. "//

prasun, slight correction again, it's 'fourth-generation' and wrongly typed as 'firth-generation' in the passage, and 'fir' to be replaced by 'for' in "Elbit systems fir...."

Unknown said...

Hello prasun.few questions
1.what is the status of Shaurya missile?
2.Is it really hypersonic?
3.on what warships of IN will it go?
4.Is any land version made,if yes is it from silos or from TEL?
5.what are its uses?

rad said...


HI Prasun
My Blood boils every time i hear about a scam , not for the money but that the soldier or pilot is going to deprived of fighting ability ,much to the joy of pak and china.Obviously ST anthony will debar finnmecanica which is the only thing he knows . Finmeccania is also a partner in MBDA hence in Anthony`s logic it will be banned, the mirage will be with out missiles after the upgrade!
I heard that Anthony i s buying lathis to give to pilots and soldiers!
NO tv channel talks of the implication to the armed forces , they all beat their chest in being the first to unearth the scam and do not remotely think of the defence implications.In any defence deal some Ba---d will take money and the nation is going to suffer , where are we heading?

Anonymous said...

@rad

I agree with you ST. Anthony wont bother blackisting firms to maitain his "So called" clean political image..even if blacklisting deprives india of critical operational rediness.But AgustaWstland is a Italian govt. contolled firm and both Italy and UK are involved in thier day to day activity..So as Prasun da says this chooper controversy will take a diplomatic turn, with both UK and Italian Govt try to persuade India to come to a setlement without blacklisting the firm..So even if Antony wants to blacklist, this time it wont be easy..also Finmecanica and its subsidies are deeply involved in the indian defence market, so blacklisting will be huge setback for india s security..So if UPA and Antony has some sense left ,they wont simply blacklist the firm..As Salman Khursid said in the media that India has not committed so far to cancel the contract or blacklist the firm..this seems that this time blacklist wont happen..Guess so!!

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To KSINGH: The vernacular Italian press is already covering it. The English-language newsprint & electronic media, unlike their Indian counterparts, prefer to first do some elementary research before jumping to conclusions, hence the delay in according coverage. Defence magazines will not go ape-shit over such news-items since such publications generally cover military-industrial issues in a positive manner so as not to lose any advertisement revenues. Even in India therefore you won’t find any such publication even bothering to draft unbiaised write-ups on such issues. It never happened during the Bofors & HDW scandals of the 1980s & it won’t happen now as well. I can only hope that the Indian officials wrongly implicated by the hyper-ventilating ‘desi’ print & electronic media entities will this time take legal actions against all such entities. At least I would, if I were in their shoes.
Regarding the CNN-IBN story you’ve highlighted, this refers to another prospective deal altogether, & news about it came out 1 year ago. It apparently involved an Indian Army Brigadier posted at Army HQ who had reportedly demanded US$9 million for facilitating the AW-119 helicopter into the competition for supplying 197 LUHs & RSHs for the IAF & Indian Army. But nothing more happened since the AW-119 could not even pre-qualify for this competition & in any case now, the MoD has decided that the LUH & RSH helicopter reqmts will not be met with imported solutions, but with the HAL-developed 3-tonne LUH now under development.

To SURANJAN DEY: VMT.

To Anon@10.09AM: VMT for the heads-up.

To KSHITIZ KUMAR: It is still a technology demonstrator. It is hypersonic during its depressed ballistic trajectory flight profile. It was never meant for deployment on board warships. Land-launched version is available if the end-users want it.

To RAD: Just hang in there for another 48 hours & things will get clearer after PM Dr MMS has a chat with his UK counterpart David Cameron. It will be premature now to jump to any doomsday conclusions.

chandran said...

Hi Prasun,
1. When comparing specs of Tejus MkI and JF-17, I cannot help but notice the huge performance gap between the two (as advertised/claimed by pak).Even though Tejus is made of carbon composites and sports a more advanced engine than JF17,it weighs almost same while the range, load capacity and mnvring characteristics are inferior.Is it related to the design flaws in Tejus or is it that JF17 capabilities are exaggerated?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To KSINGH: Read this: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/agustawestland-deal-india-likely-to-seek-more-info-during-uk-prime-minister-david-camerons-visit/1075549/0

Just as I had predicted!

To CHANDRAN: All performance-related figures published so far about the Tejas Mk1 are PROVISIONAL, since the aircraft is still undergoing certification-related test-flights. Finalised performance parameters will be known only AFTER the Tejas Mk1’s LSP-7 & LSP-8 models are awarded the certification of airworthiness by CEMILAC.

Unknown said...

1.If it is a technology demonstrator
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/article2482010.ece?homepage=true is this another shit?
2.will it never see induction"a hypersonic missile which can manuevar is an attractive option especially with the range of more than 700 km.
3.why bhramos tel has only 3 missiles?

Vikram Guha said...

Thanks PrasunDa.

So is INDIA taking any steps to develop C4ISR capabilities ?

Regards,
Vikram

Anonymous said...

sir plz answer my few queries,1-Do you think that tejas mk1 can be inducted in iaf in 2014 because its performs only upto 5g at aero india2013.2-recent mig27 flogger crash in rajasthan any comments from you.3-Don't you think that defence ministry has made mistake by not transfering mirage production line here as if it was transfered here then we might not have a depleting squardon rate and the mirages are far better than obsolete migs of soviet era.Thanks in advance.

Anonymous said...

Prasunji,

In the recent show of Naval LCA MK II by ADA, It sports two conformal weapons bays near its two air inlet ducts. But they seemed to be smaller. Can they accommodate BVRAAMs? Also what could be the detecting and tracking range of the AESA radar that goes on board the Tejas MK II fighter. Is it possible that all the crucial electronics that goes into making of Tejas MK II fighter will all be flight tested and throughly validated on the Tejas MK I platforms that are handed over to the IAF? VMT

Anonymous said...

Prasunji,

Why can't the Indian Navy spearhead the AMCA as it will surely be looking for a future Generation (5+) air superiority fighter which can meet its future ambitions to house a 5 generation platforms on its aircraft carriers. This can be very fruitful to India, as a fighter which is designed to operate on an aircraft carrier can be easily adopted (with some design modifications) as an high performance air superiority fighter for Indian airforce as well. VMT.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To KSHITIZ KUMAR: 1) Of course it is shit, because nowhere in that report is it stated that it will be inducted by India’s armed forces, nor is it stated that it was developed in response to a specific reqmt for India’s armed forces. 2) Hypersonic missiles have severe limitations in terms of manoeuvrability. 3) How many do you want on the TEL?

To VIKRAM GUHA: Of course, that’s the very reason why the armed forces are inducting UAVs in such large numbers & also the reason why the Navy & IAF will in future have their own dedicated telecommunications satellites.

To Anon@8.05PM: 1) How can that be? The IAF has till today not even stood up the squadron that is supposed to convert to Tejas Mk1 nor are the 20 Tejas Mk1 SP-series for the squadron available even now. All Tejas Mk1 PVs & LSPs are being flown only by IAF test-pilots & being maintained by HAL’s ground-crew. Without the available squadron & its full complement of aircrew & ground-crew, how can anyone even dream about beginning the process of inducting any combat aircraft into service? How can initial operation induction even get underway when the 1st designated Tejas Mk1 squadron is nowhere in sight in Sulur AFS? Therefore, all talk of IOC-1, IOC-2 etc etc is pure bullshit & whosoever is talking about all this is either plain dumb or hallucinating, & making India the laughing stock of the world. 2) MiG-27UPG crashes are inevitable, since the aiercraft’s R-29B turbofan has historically proven to be problematic & it was for this reason that Russia had proposed way back in 2000 to re-engine the MiG-27Ms with AL-31F turbofans. However, since this option was not exercised, it is inevitable that a heavy price has to be paid if the MiG-27UPGs powered by R-29B turbofans are retained in service. 3) The Mirage 2000 licenced-production option should have been taken up in the mid-1980s itself, but was wrongly rejected by India in favour of large-scale procurements of MiG-23BNs, MiG-23MFs, MiG-27Ms & MiG-29B-12s. This was a fatally flawed decision on India’s part & today India is still paying a heavy price for it.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@8.34PM: I haven’t come across any such illustrations or depictions so far. Detection & tracking ranges of AESA-based MMRs will be the same as those for existing PESA-based MMRs like the NO-11M ‘Bars’. While most of the mission avionics for Tejas Mk2 will be the same as those for the Tejas Mk1, other elements like IRST sensor & AESA-MMRs plus the all-new-design glass cockpit won’t be on the Tejas Mk1 & will therefore have to be flight-qualified separately—a process that will require at least 400 additional hours of flight-testing. Therefore, the Tejas Mk2 MRCA will be available for squadron induction only by 2020.

To Anon@8.58PM: It will be futile for any prospective end-user to invest any money on the AMCA programme unless & until the Tejas Mk2 & LCA (Navy) Mk2 MRCAs are successfully developed & delivered. Furthermore, why go for AMCA when the FGFA will be available earlier for both the IAF & IN? Why therefore waste money on trying to re-invent the wheel at a time when there are several other greater priorities as far as military hardware procurement go? What is it exactly that the AMCA will be able to do which the FGFA won’t be able to? Unless & until all these questions are answered in a convincing manner it is futile to even talk about the AMCA.

Anonymous said...

prasun , just had a laugh of the day.

you were talking about SAMTEL display systems,out of curiosity, i just went to the main SAMTEL website and tried to browsing their groups websites.

just check out theses websites and read the above message, we will know the professionalism of our defense companies.

//" http://www.samtelcolor.com/ "//

//" http://www.samtel-hal.com/ "//

//" http://www.samtel-thales.com/ "//

the message reads " This domain name expired on Feb 10 2013 05:25AM
Click here to renew it." ....hilarious!!!

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@10.49PM: Probably the company decided to create new consolidated websites after a string of mergers & acquisitions. Their present websites are:

http://samtelgroup.com/

http://www.samteldisplays.com/

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

Interesting Australian documentary on Israel's 'Prisoner X'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOFLve2owJ0

Anonymous said...

Prasunji,

Regarding the what AMCA can offer which FGFA can't. Think the analogy can be same as that for the F 35II Litening (F 22A's High development and procurement costs, high operating costs etc.) The F 35II is meant to be a cheaper alternative which can be procured relatively in large numbers (But how cheap this can be a unit F 35 costs $ 140 million vs $ 180 million for F 22A) and is also optimized for ground strikes... what I mean is can the same analogy of F 35 can be applied for AMCA project?.. VMT

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@11.21PM: Regretfully, that analogy doesn’t apply, since the F-22 Raptor was originally conceived as an air superiority combat aircraft & not as a MRCA. Also, it was barred for export to any other country. That’s why the F-35 JSF was developed as an ‘exportable’ MRCA model that will not be subjected to tough US technology-control restrictions. In case of the FGFA, from the outset it was decided to design it as a MRCA, as opposed to a single-role aircraft like the F-22 Raptor. Therefore, procuring two types of fifth-generation MRCAs doesn’t make any sense. At best, it would have made sense had the AMCA been conceived a single-engined MRCA like the F-35 JSF. But going by external looks of the scale-models of both FGFA & AMCA, I fail to notice any feature that will make the AMCA cheaper than the FGFA.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

Here’s another shining piece of ‘desi’ yellow journalism: http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/VVIP-chopper-deal-Italy-s-loss-could-be-Russia-s-gain/Article1-1012782.aspx

What needs to be understood is that the MoD at this stage CANNOT invoke the integrity clause simply because the on-going investigations in Italy haven’t even reached the trial-stage. Unless & until the Trial Court convicts anyone or any party, thereby conclusively establishing that wrongdoing was committed, India is contractually bound to observe & adhere to all terms & conditions of the contract, meaning, there’s no legal basis for India to invoke the Integrity Clause against AgustaWestland Helicopters until the Italian Trial Court hands out a verdict & if India still does so or even suspends the progressive payment tranches & acceptance of the remaining nine AW-101s, then it is India that will be accused for violating contractual law. I do hope that the Solicitor-General of the Govt of India & the Legal Branch of the MoD’s Acquisitions Wing take note of this elementary fact-of-life before advising RM A K Antony on the next course of action.

Mr. Ra 13 said...

Why the Europeans almost always succeed in catching our people on the wrong foot to the rejoicing glee of our media.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Mr.RA 13: This happens because the counter-intelligence branches of the Directorates of Military Intelligence, Air Force Intelligence, Naval Intelligence & the IB, R & AW and NTRO have not yet been empowered to keep tabs on domestic & foreign unsavoury characters when the marketing/lobbying processes are underway inside India & abroad. To top it all, the sheer multiplicity of such agencies without an accountable chain of command has only given rise to turf-wars, instead of ensuring seamless acquisition, processing & analysis of the gathered information. Consequently, what you get is this: orders + counter-orders = disorder. That, in a nutshell, is the reason why India is always in a state of shell-shock & why knee-jerk reations are resorted to whenever any such scandal surfaces.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

An excellent appraisal of all that’s wrong & right WRT developing the Tejas Mk1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IetllK9z65s

What this proves beyond any doubt is:
1) An operational weapon system cannot be developed purely by scientists & technocrats, as I have repeatedly stated. If it is, as is the case with Tejas MRCA, then the end-product will only end up as a product for, of & by scientists & engineers. This is also the very reason why NAL’s Saras project was doomed from the start.
2) Development of flying training aids like tactical flying simulators with six-axis motion & fixed cockpit procedures trainers along with maintenance simulators ought to precede the delivery of operational combat platforms, this again being a point I have repeatedly emphasised. Non-availability of such training aids till now will undoubtedly delay the formation of the IAF’s first operational Tejas Mk1 squadron at Sulur AFS, since there are just not enough tandem-seat versions of the Tejas Mk1 available to ensure speedy operational aircrew conversion. This point should therefore, once & for all, put an end to all kinds of speculative predictions about targetted IOC-1/2/3/4 & FOC-1/2 schedules that periodically seem to be blurted out from various DRDO & MoD officials.

Anonymous said...

"But going by external looks of the scale-models of both FGFA & AMCA, I fail to notice any feature that will make the AMCA cheaper than the FGFA."
Don't you think you are way too early to do this prediction ?

In my opinion whatever is the cost(i am saying this because i am sure it won't be close to Raptor) India need this project if india wants to develop its aerospace industry.
And for the critics of this project, Project fails all the time but research stays forever. There has been lot of failed projects around the globe but there's always a lesson there.
I am confident the lesson learnt from Tejas and FGFA and offsets of MMRCA and little bit of foreign help will no doubt help ADA to succeed. Please don't confuse ADA with HAL or NAL. What ADA has achieved with LCA is marvelous and people have no idea how much the projects like Arjun, LCA, Akash, BMD, Brahmos etc. are gonna help us in future projects.

Anonymous said...

"The ownership of the Maitri programme will be fully Indian. With baseline technologies from the now defunct Trishul SAM programme, the Maitri programme basically envisages the sale of certain key technologies by MBDA to DRDO (seeker, endgame avionics, thrust vector control, propulsion modifications), though production will not be under a corporate joint venture on the lines of BrahMos, but would rather be carried out entirely by Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), India's state-owned munitions production agency."
These are the excerpt from Livefist blog's recent article.
Is it true ?

Are we seeing the magic of offset ?

What exactly happened during Hollande's visit that made people to say "India’s Rafale jet talks brighten after rough patch" ?
Has he cleared some critical tech transfer that made indian side happy ?

What exactly is in this 6 billion $ deal ? 6 billion $ is a big number.

People are also saying that Cameroon is gonna work hard to take MMRCA away from France. Can we expect some huge offer in defence and aerospace arena from Cameroon ?

rad said...

HI Prasun
I am still confused about the maitri sam cost , the barak long range sam which i s supposed to be state of the art cost us only 2$ billion or some thing to develop and
deliver with the fire control system and AESA radar etc . Why this 6 billion . A long range sam of 70km is supposed to be more costly than the short range sam as well.Please explain.

Anonymous said...

Prasunji,

As per the statements of some top IAF officials, the main aim of AMCA as a fighter is to make India self reliant in design and manufacturing of a High performance fighter bomber (Medium weight MRCA) which should enable India to master key 5 generation technologies (Which FGFA project doesn't offer). Once all key technologies are mastered for AMCA the same can be applied for FGFA replacing Russian key technologies (which were not on offer) and make ourselves self reliant. Nobody's saying that 5 Generation fighters are the last manned fighters since USA has already started to conceive a 6 Generation platform. So why stay behind in mastering technologies and making ourselves self-reliant in developing key weapon systems (Still how many years we rely on bought aircraft?). This analogy seems to add some weight behind AMCA project (for which both IAF's and IN's total involvement should be there for developing this projects requirements based on their future ambitions, operational doctrines and estimated power projections) after all India can't sit and do nothing with a rapidly modernizing China. Also both Russia and India can't just sell such sensitive 5 generation fighter. A scaled down fighter for export is a feasible option. Your thoughts, VMT.

Anonymous said...

So whats your guess on Israel's 'Prisoner X' ?

Anonymous said...

Hi Prasun, the report on Bars says that its already upgraded this year while another upgrade is being planned in two stages. Can you tell us what the current upgrade is all about?

Sujoy Majumdar said...

PrasunDa,

There was this talk that from middle of this year onwards the BRIC countries will trade with one another in their own currencies . Something that China already does with Russia and Brazil .

If this practice does come into effect can India therefore pay Russia & Brazil in their currencies & vice versa ? This will be really good as we can save tons of hard currency .

Thanks,
Sujoy

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@8AM: Way to early with such predictions??? What is it that you are unable to see with your eyes? Isn’t the AMCA scale-model representative of a twin-engined MRCA? And isn’t it a fact that the turbofans for this aircraft will have to be designed & developed from scratch? Isn’t it a fact that trying to develop such turbofans for only a limited number of aircraft will be financial unbearable? Look around elsewhere & you will not come across a single OEM anywhere that has survived by developing one one type of turbofan & that too for a single platform. In India’s case too, development of the indigenous aerospace industry will take place only through investments in high-volume business activities like making investments in commercial MRO activities, facilitating the growth of the general aviation sector &for both fixed-wing aircraft & helicopters) & their related MRO facilities, & beginning to develop turboprop & turboshaft engines got such commercial air transportation platforms. That’s precisely the reason why OEMs like Mahindra & TATA have begun with exactly such business activities & are not even bothered to try the impossible, i.e. becoming OEMs for high-end military platforms. Doing R & D just for the sake of developing technology demonstrators (like SARAS) is a non-productive exercise. As is the practice of re-inventing the wheel by seeking direct industrial offsets from the M-MRCA programme. As for ADA’s & HAL’s track records, the recent multimedia presentations emanating out of Aero India 2013 have at last revealed all that’s structurally wrong at the highest decision-making levels of the Govt of India. Unless these are resolved (& I don’t see them being resolved anytime in future as there’s no inclination to do so), the situation will akin to an army of lions being led by a donkey.

To Anon@8.11AM: Not offsets, but the process of investing money to buy over certain number of IPRs for sub-systems & components of the 1990s era & then producing these sub-systems & components in fairly large numbers. Nothing significant happened last week regarding the Rafale, since contractual negotiations have always been proceeding smoothly. But the most noteworthy development was the finalisation of plans for launching GSAT-7 fleet communications satellite from Arianespace’s launch centre in French Guyana. Had already explained above what the US$6 billion includes. Eurofighter GmBH had officially acknowledged its defeat in the M-MRCA competition during Aero India 2013. Therefore, there’s nothing else that 10 Downing Street can now do to reverse the flow.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To RAD: Barak-2’s deployment will be on a very limited number of platforms to begin with (as I had explained above) & therefore its production volume is nowehere near that of the SR-SAM, which will be produced in far larger numbers for all three armed services. Production volumes for SR-SAM & all related components will be far greater than those of the Barak-2.

To Anon@11.37AM: That argument doesn’t hold any water since it will take the production of more than 1,000 AMCAs in order to make the project financially viable. Today, even the US has to resort to risk-sharing industrial partners from various countries in order to fund the JSF programme & that’s why Russia too has enlisted India’s financial support for the FGFA programme. If both the US & Russia can’t self-finance their respective R & D efforts related to fifth-generation MRCAs, do you really think India can do so? And by the time the AMCA surfaces sometime in mid-2030s, technologies would have advanced far more ahead than what one is trying to master today. If today it is still not possible to indigenise no more than 50% of the LRUs & sub-systems on board the Tejas Mk1 MRCA after more than two decades of project implementation, then surely by 2035 what will be achievable by way of indigenous R & D will be no more than what will be available from foreign OEMs by 2020, i.e. there will still exist a technology lag of 15 years, that is IF the present-day discredited project management practices are still adhered to. And going by present-day developments on the ground, I fail to see any path-breaking effort or practice being implemented by anyone in power within India to overcome present-day managerial & skilled human resource deficiencies as well as in R & D infrastructure.

To Anon@1.41PM: It’s all written down in the pages that I’ve uploaded above.

To SUJOY MAJUMDAR: It won’t result in any significant savings of foreign currency since India’s energy import bill is rising by the day. Unless India takes urgent steps to reverse its over-dependence on foreign supplies of coal, gas & crude oil, the Indian economy will be in dire straits by the end of this decade.

Anonymous said...

Sir, Has any Indian company participated in IEDX 2013...??

vishakh said...

Gladius future soldier equipment for German Army

This system has all the components IA wants for FINSAS .

What is status of FINSAS , When is final configuration expected be finalised ??

Has BEL delievered the Communication Module for soldires as part of FINSAS with Finnercatier???

Except Rifles is there any finalization of other componets like Helmets , NVG , Communication , Clothes etc etc

Anonymous said...

Prasun, no its not written down. It doesnt mention what the current upgrade has and only details what phase1 and phase 2 will be. So i guess even you dont know about this but what is in the Press release..

Sujoy Majumdar said...

Thank you Prasunda .

So is INDIA joining the Belarus-Kazakhstan-Russia Custom Union ?

Thanks,
Sujoy

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@8.27PM; Yes, companies like ZEN Technologies Pvt Ltd, MKU Group, etc.

To VISAKH: F-INSAS’ final status will be frozen only by next year. BEL is only one of the prospective vendors & the fate of its offer will be known only next year when competitive evaluations are conducted of all components of the F-INSAS project.

To Anon@9.01PM: It is clearly written what the current upgrade now being implemented is, i.e. Phase-1. Phase-2 will involve modifying the BARS to the MIRES configuration by integrating the back-end of the BARS with the front-end (i.e. AESA antenna) of the MIRES AESA-MMR.

To SUJOY MAJUMDAR: Yes, India will be joining the Eurasian Customs Union.

Ajay Mathur said...

The UK must be in SERIOUS , SERIOUS trouble that of all people they have decided to do business with us Indians who till the other day were described as a "beastly race" of "dark skinned people" by most British Politicians . Aren't "INDIANS & DOGS " supposed to "Stay Away" from Englishmen ?

Till the other day most ENGLISHMEN would not sit beside you in a bus in UK . The kind of ATROCITIES that the British did for 200 years in INDIA is unparalleled .

They systematically destroyed every bit of INDIA and stole all our wealth . And today they have again come down to do business.

Modern day UK regularly brainwashes it's citizens with "hate India " materials , as to how impoverished we are , how much corruption there , class-caste inequality etc etc. The current recession in the UK has also been ascribed to INDIA cuz according the UK Govt . (a) millions of pounds of taxpayers money are send to INDIA as economic aid ; (b) all available jobs have been outsourced to INDIA leaving Whites unemployed.

Heberian said...

@ Ajay Mathur - move on, get real. Live in today. We need business as much as they need it... perhaps even more so. Think... is there no caste/class shit going on in our India shining? Is there no corruption in the Congress and the BJP and at the RTO's? Is Dharavi where you want to live? Why do we have so many fairness products.. and vaginal fairness products like "Clean and Dry Intimate Wash" only in India? "Stole all our wealth"... ask our bloody maharajas that. Sigh.

Heberian said...

@ Prasun -

Hope all is well with you. I would like your inputs on something I read, if its not too much of a bother.

I read : " Similarly in the area of submarines the relevant agencies have been in touch,’’ India’s High Commissioner in the U.K. Jaimini Bhagwati told journalists."

The UK does not have diesel-electric boats...so what do you think the high commissioners statement quoted above implies?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Anonymous said...

Prasun, Its written that a new production standard has been evolved and all radars are being modified to that standard. And that beyond this, there is Phase 1 and Phase 2, with Phase 1 in negotiation right now. My question is what is in the current production standard and how is it improved over earlier.

Anonymous said...

Heberian, you are welcome to your british motherland and leave india if it bugs you so much.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To HEBERIAN; VMT, things couldn’t be any better for now. The issue of ‘submarines’ refers to the various shore-based facilities required for the projected fleet of six Scorpene SSKs, which will start arriving from 2018. UK-based OEMs like BABCOCK etc, therefore, are bidding for several turn-key projects involving the establishment of shore-based facilities like hardened armaments storage depots, weapons handling & loading systems, perimeter security & related communications systems for shore-based naval installations (especially for Project Varsha in India’s southeastern seaboard) like submarine bases.

To Anon@6.43PM: Get rid of that sanctimonious attitude, will you? Either make compelling arguments to support your POV & if that's too much to ask, then just FO from this blog!!!

Heberian said...

@ Prasun - Thank you very much for your prompt answer. That clears things very well for me. I could'nt help wondering if some help was sought in sub design, and so my question. I have been silently enjoying your posts and your answers to comments because you havent had a chance to write much about our eastern neighour of late. That remains my area of great interest. Enjoy the rest of you your evening, sir!

@ Anon@6.43 pm - I have done more for my motherland than you can do in your wettest dreams. And that is what allows me to look at the shortcomings of my motherland in an unbiased and pragmatic manner... rather than spouting nonsensical arm-chair nationalism of the sort that is better suited to our neighbor to the west or to some sangh-pracharak.

Oh and by the way, I do enjoy my stays in Britain when I visit. Blighty can be quite nice, apart from the rain.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@6.43PM; Aha! Now that you’ve zeroed in & asked a specific question, you deserve to get a specific & to-the-point answer. Firstly, I would like to draw your attention to the two visuals that I’ve just uploaded at the bottom. Under Phase-1, the all-metal N11-10i (bulkhead container) of the ‘Bars’ has been replaced by HAL with an indigenously-designed & built all-composites built -11i container, which from early last year began going on-board all HAL-built Su-30MKIs, with those Su-30MKIs already delivered to be retrofitted with such containers during their 1,000-hour inspection-related MRO schedules. Under Phase-2, the N11-1 PESA antenna array will be replaced by an all-new-design AESA antenna-array (see bottommost visual). Phase-2 is part of the Super Sukhoi upgrade package.

Anonymous said...

Prasun, thank you, so that is a weight reduction exercise via replacing the support structure. Also, but I think the N11-2-011 (transmitter) and also the software are perhaps modified to a new revised standard. I base this on Ausairpower comments where Carlo Kopp says Bars radar transmitter is available in ratings from 4-7 Kw and also from your posted pictures which state that based on Indian trials and feedback, improvements were made to the latest hardware and software standard. Software is something which is understandable. Question is what is latest hardware standard which is something that is very interesting.

Are there better TWT available for immediate use in Bars than current 4KW TWT.

In PESA IRBIS, there are two 10 KW TWT used for average power of 5KW.

Anonymous said...

sir , is it prudent from the security point of view to involve any foreign companies in construction of ashore facilities in project varsha..shouldn't these projects be very secret & away from foreign eyes..too many foreigners at such locations could be dangerous..
what are streps taken by NHQ for such issues..coz mostly it is senior naval officer caught in all wrong things..

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@11.51PM: The twin transmitters of N-11M ‘Bars’ PESA-MMR were upgraded to same standard as IRBIS-E PESA-MMR back in 2007. And as you’ve rightly pointed out, software upgrades are routine & so far about four types of enhancements have been uploaded. The switch from all-metal to all-comppsites-built avionics bulkheads was necessitated as part of a weight-saving exercise due to the future incorporation (as part of the Super Sukhoi upgrade) of additional internal avionics LRUs associated with the installation of the three-array ELT-568 self-protection jammer (same as that on the MiG-29UPG) in a distributed manner (see the newly uploaded bottommost pix) + the six MILDS-F MAWS sensors, two of which will be mounted internally& the remaining four on the underwing pylons.

To Anon@12.22AM: So far, all such projects undertaken for any shore-based establishment of the IN or IAF have all been worked upon by foreign OEMs & their field-service representatives, be it INS Kadamba (Australian-Dutch consortium designed & built it), or INS Kattabomman (where the VLF transmitter was supplied & recently upgraded by its OEM, the US-based Continental Electronics), or the dry-docking facilities for INS Vikramaditya) again designed & built by an Australian-Dutch consortium), or the Vizag-based Shipbuilding Centre (SBC), which has been on lease to Larsen & Toubro since 1997 & consequently been accessible by various Russian OEMs & their workers. Presently, for TATA Power SED to implement the MAFI project, all of TATA Power SED’s sub-contractors hailing from Raytheon & Northrop Grumman too are going to all the 30 IAF air bases & the two naval air bases. There’s no other alternative to such practices. But I still can’t understand why would anyone be worried about ‘operational secrecy’ being compromised in any manner, since operational secrets & related data are never housed within such naval or air bases, but at the respective fleet & air command HQs.

Anonymous said...

Prasun, the N011M has a single TWT not two. Replacing it with dual ones is what is proposed in Phase 1 (not yet done). Even Irbis just cleared development, so having this in 2007 is impossible.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

IRBIS-E was declared flightworthy way back in 2007 & was first displayed in public during MAKS 2007. Its service-induction was delayed due to the delayed orders placed by the Russian Air Force for the Su-30SM & Su-35BM. Implementation of Phase-1 of the 'Bars' PESA-MMR upgrade got underway early last year as I had stated above.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To AJAY MATHUR: As the saying goes, when you point one finger at others, the other four of your fingers are pointing back at you. Having said that, kindly allow me to give a few pointers that should help you recover your lost sense of self-esteem.
1) Before Asoka became Asoka The Great, he was known as Asoka The Butcher.
2) When Zahiruddin Babar invaded India in 1526, he massacred en masse other Muslims like Ibrahim Lodhi. The same was the case when Ahmed Shah Abdali attacked the Mughal Sultanate in Delhi.
The above clearly reveal that as far as conquests go, there are no holy cows & therefore to just single out the Brits as mass-plunderers borders on blasphemy. Now, coming back closer to home, here are my first-hand observations of very very recent vintage:
1) Dead bodies of stray dogs, cats & crows lying on the roads & lanes of most cities of India for at least 78 hours at times.
2) Not even a single dustbin in sight on any major street of most cities of India.
3) Neither motorbike riders nor the pillion-riders wearing any helmets in most cities of India.
4) College-going male students openly pissing bang opposite their academic institutions by day & night in full view of female students in most major cities of India.
5) In Bengaluru, posters exhorting everyone to observe lane discipline on major roads when, on looking at the road’s surface, there are no marked lanes in the first place!
6) Again in Bengaluru, when officially the first three days of Aero India 2013 were trade show days meant strictly for business invitees & official delegations, one was aghast to see during all those three days senior citizens living on pensions, children aged below 16 years & so-called students (whose only passion was to click their self-portraits with cellphones while posing beside the indoor & outdoor exhibits) entering the show site by the thousands. I have photographs to prove it.
7) The metal-detectors & x-ray scanners stationed at the entrances through 2A were non-functional for all 5 days of the aerospace expo. So much for fool-proof security of Yelahanka AFS!
8) Monkeys (langoors) were openly wandering around INSIDE the hangars (especially An-32B maintenance bays) where the indoor exhibitors for Aero India 2013 were located. So much for the IAF’s maintenance & flight safety philosophy at Yelahanka AFS. I have photographs to prove it.
I could go on & on, but suffice to say that people become civilised & are respected & their talents are nurtured only when they originate from & live in a civilised environment. One cannot claim the right to dignity & respect if one hails from “jaanvaaron ka samaj’. Consequently, only after one becomes civilised can one claim his/her right to be treated & acknowledged accordingly by other civilised societies. Almost the same applies to those who clamour for the creation of Islamic States or Caliphates, but they forget that the mandatory prerequisite for an Islamic State is first creating & establishing a State of Islam, something which no one has been able to achieve or establish for the past 1,400 years.

Mr. Ra 13 said...

Regarding the falling of Su-30 MKI at Pokharan, if it is not due to the design fault or malfunction, then as repeatedly suggested by you the extensive use of Tejas-Mk1 as LIFT can avoid such mishaps.

Otherwise Su-30 MKI too will be in the danger of progressing on the path of the Mig-21. BTW the sabotage angle also can never be overlooked.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Mr.RA 13: Let’s first rule out the possibilities. 1) The latest crash wasn’t due to a bird-hit since the Si-30MKI was flying at dusk. 2) It wasn’t aircrew disorientation since there was no controlled flight into terrain & clearly the aircrew had enough time to bail out to safety.
This means the crash was probably due to on-board systems failure. The question is, which particular system? That will be known fairly soon, rest assured. But on a related topic, a LIFT is the dire necessity of the hour, since there’s a huge aircrew proficiency gap to be bridged between a Hawk Mk132 AJT & Su-30MKI, despite the usage of type-specific flight simulators & cockpit procedures trainers.
Lastly, looks like reality has dawned upon the MoD & its saintly Raksha Mantri, for the word now is that the AW-101 contract won’t be cancelled & deliveries will continue. After all, unilateral cancellation of contract cannot be resorted to unless & until any wrongdoing is proved in a court of law. Had the contract been unilaterally cancelled, then it would have been the MoD that stood accused of violating the letter & spirit of the contract. I sincerely hope that the MoD next adopts a posture similar to the one adopted by Taiwan vis-à-vis THALES Group (which I had highlighted above) in terms of sorting out matters in a win-win manner.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Mr.RA 13: In a current-affairs programme aired last evening in Pakistan, prominent think-tanks & analysts openly stated that the long-running sectarian bloodbath one has been witnessing in Baluchistan is nothing but a proxy war being fought between the Saudis & Iranians.

Mr. Ra 13 said...

Yes! At least the latest statements arriving from Iran provide enough credence to your line of understanding. It can be well understood that under no circumstance Pakistan can dare to oppose Iran, and so if anybody is damaging the Iranian interests within Pakistan, it had to be the Saudis working with the Sunni-Talibani nexus.

Millard Keyes said...

Digressing a little,kudos to Prasun and Heberian for telling the truth like it is.There is no denying Indians are not popular in the West.But a lot of it also has to do with the question why - leaving aside any racial bias.India is not just a land of contrasts in a positive way but sadly the negatives outweigh the positives.Things Prasun mentioned are undeniable.Spitting paan inside workshops, taking a leak anywhere, lack of clean and working toilets, garbage disposal, decent roads and maintenance, sewerage I mean looking at the state of the infrastructure who will respect India?My then 3 year old went to see Kolkata zoo and the poor kid could not go to the toilet!His mother and him said the toilets and even the entrace tio it and surrounds were full of crap with no room to walk.Then here's lion - a rare Gir forest one - caged up in a small cage with its tail missing!Every sitting area were full of dust, broken in need of maintenance and men and women piddling right in front.Can't even tell you what other dire sights we saw.This is meant to be my children's country of heritage!Not to mention thousands piddling all over the saltlake soccer stadium.Just some of the "highlights".What about an Indian PM never visitng Nagaland in 10 years?Which British PM ever avoided his or her constituency?One needs to earn respect not expect it.It's time people speak out the truth and look in the mirror if there is any hope of change.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To PIERRE ZORIN: By the way, the latest example of Point No4 incident I had mentioned above took place at nighttime bang opposite the main entrance to Jadavpur University in Kolkata in the week prior to Aero India 2013. The incident had involved two male students who had parked their motorbikes smack on the road-divider (of all place!) & were pissing on a wall of another Govt of India-owned academic institution opposite the University’s main entrance. On spotting this, I immediately stopped my car, got out & gave a sound whacking lasting some 3 minutes to one of the two students in full view of the other students that were hanging around. I left the whacked-up student with this advice: “with freedom & rights come obligations & responsibilities. Forget to adhere to the latter & you’ll lose the former as well.”
In all the past 25 years that I’ve been to Kolkata, I’ve always ended up whacking at least 50 persons during every visit, for reasons like someone pissing at public places, or someone spitting on roads/lanes, or someone eve-teasing on the streets (targetting especially the female student groups from the North East), or someone shouting at eateries or coffeeshops, or someone drunk & wandering on the streets, or groups of youngsters & the occasional adults standing smack in the middle of pavements/footpaths & gossiping while obstructing the movements of other users of the pavements/footpaths. And I can promise to everyone that I will continue to do this for as long as my strength permits me to do so. I also make it a point to always carry a pair of Chubb-made handcuffs I had bought years ago in London to make an on-the-spot citizen’s arrest if the situation requires me to do so, depending on the gravity of the offence being committed. Many a time, just showing these handcuffs to morons like eve-teasers along with a few insulting shouts does the trick.
I will also soon upload the photos of Aero India 2013 to prove what a horrific experience it was for those foreigners that were attending the expo. I can only hope that this will shame the MoD, the IAF & FICCI to such an extent that they will never allow such a shameful spectacle to be repeated.

Gessler said...

To Prasun K Sengupta @ 2:13AM

8) Monkeys in aircraft hanger. Goddamit. Isn't it possible one of those monkeys pullout a fuse or two leading to aircraft crash?

Fuck our stupid govt., stupid MoD and irrespondible and inefficient IAF.

rad said...

HI Prasun
Nice to hear that u bashed
up some pissers, they deserved it !
There was a video posted which depicted the release of he sudarshan LGB , upon release it tumbled and nearly departed , much seems to be wanting . The seeker is going to break lock if it happens.Please give us more info

Ajay Mathur said...

Dear Mr.Sengupta,

Much of the history pertaining to ancient INDIA is lost forever thanks to the BRITS . So there is absolutely no way of finding out about Babur or Ashoka . He may have killed Muslims , cuz MUSLIMS were ruling Delhi/India.

Regarding the other problems plaguing India that you have highlighted it stems from a lack of enforcement of law .

FYI -

People regularly relieve themselves in public in both the US & UK in some secluded area of the city .

Orgy sessions are a norm in schools in US & UK and teenage pregnancy is rampant.

Due to such outstanding lifestyles the West came out with diseases like AIDS , Hepatitis and promptly exported them to Asia & Africa.

The entire Financial meltdown was orchestrated in the West.

More importantly finding faults with India will not rectify the problems of the West.

The point I was making in my previous post is about historic British discrimination towards Indians. If you get into a bus , a white passenger sitting next to you will immediately get down from the bus . There are bars/restaurants that do NOT allow dark skinned people to enter. The British notion has always been that Indians are an uncivilized lot .

Today , facing bankruptcy Cameron comes down to lay a wreath in Jallianwala Bagh after 94 years & yet falls short of an apology . Because according to the Brits , apologies are meant for humans not sub humans like INDIANS.

Regards,
A Mathur



Bhaswar said...

@Mr. Mathur,

Sir, let us be clear, whatever the British did to our country- and what they did was indeed heinous in many regards- is a thing of the past. If they are racist then they are all the more poorer for it. Continued discrimination against Indians, perceived or real, does not hinder the development of this nation nor of the Indian people. What Prasun Sir is pointing out is that our own flaws hold us back. The actions of other nations do not require scrutiny as long as they are not harmful to the interests of India- on the other hand our own pusillanimous attitude- aversion towards rationality- lack of drive and vision- these things do hinder our national interests and what's worse is that they originate from within us.

Why should we care what the British did? Can they subjugate us again, would they even dare try? The answer is a clear NO! Can they alter the destiny of our nation for better or worse? The answer is a clear NO! It is futile to concern ourselves with them- as two responsible nations we aspire to have good relations, mutually beneficial trade and commerce and if our interests converge then perhaps some strategic initiatives. There is no reason for us to extend ourselves beyond that and we don't.

Our own actions and ingrained proclivities on the hand require deep scrutiny. We are a nation where a man convicted of rape is punished by the courts to feed and tend to cows- TO DAMN COWS!!- as if that is a punishment that washes away his heinous crime! The Khaap panchayats persist in promoting caste based discrimination even though our constitution- the supreme and unassailable law of this land- states that such discrimination is a punishable offence. THEY DARE TO DEFY OUR CONSTITUTION IN BROAD DAYLIGHT- AND WHERE IS THE MUCH DESERVED CONDEMNATION FOR SUCH AN ACT- IT IS MUTED AND KEPT SILENT FOR POLITICAL GAINS! Recently these "wise" khaap panches ORDERED a lower caste couple to act as siblings rather than as a married couple or face the consequences. Our people are more concerned with the welfare of cows than the welfare of women- god forbid a cow gets butchered and riots will ensue and if a dalit woman gets raped then its a footnote in the back pages of a newspaper. BEFORE POSTING ANY MORE POSTS ANSWER THIS ONE QUESTION- A COUNTRY WHERE A SIGNIFICANT PART OF ITS POPULATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE WORSE THAN CATTLE DUE TO THE INCIDENCE OF THEIR BIRTH IN SOME "CASTE"- HOW CAN SUCH A COUNTRY EVER PROGRESS LET ALONE TELL THE WORLD TO RESPECT IT? DO THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF OUR PAST- OF PEOPLE LIKE ARYABHATTA AND CHANAKYA EXCUSE OUR PRESENT HORRENDOUS PRACTICES? ARE WE TO TAKE THOSE THOUSAND YEAR OLD ACHIEVEMENTS AND HOLLER UPON THEM PROCLAIMING THAT WE ARE SHINING AS THE WORLD MOVES ON?

Bhaswar said...

furthermore Mr. Mathur,

Your previous post was filled with vitriol. You felt compelled to bring your point across by liberally mixing it with invective, abuses and crassness. Is that how we express ourselves on a forum where, if you were to check on the upper right hand side of the page, thousands of foreigners visit?!

We either want more madrasas or some god forsaken temple in the middle of ayodhya- DAMN the fact that instead we don't have enough schools and hospitals- I live in Delhi and I invite you to visit AIIMS- gaze upon the line of the rural poor who gather from across the country- sleep on cold pavements and starve as they await medical relief. IS A TEMPLE OR A MOSQUE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THEIR LIFE? APPARENTLY FOR THE LARGE MASSES AND POLITICAL PARTIES OF THIS COUNTRY IT IS INDEED MORE IMPORTANT THAN THEIR LIVES!

What the British did can no longer harm us or impede us. Today- their actions in the present- they cannot harm us or impede us. But our own marked idiocies can and do harm us and impede us. That is what Prasun Sir is trying to convey to you. He is pointing out the errors- he cannot climb atop a platform and holler for change nor is he a politician but as an Indian he's showing that he has the courage to point out our shortcomings- fixing these shortcomings is up to us and my current young generation. Keep these things in mind before criticizing others. By all means offer solutions and constructive opinions which are meant to address our ailments.

Heberian said...

@ Shreeman A Mathur -

I still managed to get amazed by the sheer density of your thinking.

Think :

- No colour based discrimination in Bharatvarsh? Seriously?
- No caste based discrimination at levels worse than anything seen in any other country. Have you gone to villages in UP/ Bihar/ Tamil Nadu and checked if we practice untouchability?
- Orgies - have you had a look at our temples at Khajuraho?
- Terrible behaviour : even the likes of you might not have forgotten the brutality in Delhi in December
- Teenage pregnancy... HAve you ever checked the numbers for our nation? Exclude the unsafely done ones. Just the numbers from the Maria Stopes clinics are enough to boggle the mind.

I have personally never experienced any of the racism in the UK that you describe. Obviously, you havent spent much time over there... OR you must have shot off your mouth with you nincompoopical ideas of superiority and inferiority.
- Historical discrimination... you think that the Rashtrakutas did not discriminate against the Palas or vice versa when they won?

You know what this smacks off... a deep seated insecurity and persecution complex. If we had more people like you, even I would laugh at our countrymen.

We need business, we need massive investments... only then can we even hope of preventing future generations to grow up thinking like you.

Try and grow up mentally.

Heberian said...

@Bhaswar -

Very well said!

However, I fear you are wasting pearls before swine :)

Vivek said...

Hi Prasun
I am new to your blog and like it, its very informative and your reverts are also detailed and prompt
Can u pl share the latest status about the arihant class, exactly how many will we build eventually (arihant class and after that), what timelines, how many would be ssbn and how many nuclear attack ones, how many akula class will we eventually buy from russia

rad said...

HI Prasun
It would have been a good idea to have asked the french to develop a longrange dual mode air to air missile and then take it from there rather then reinventing the wheel
I hope they are asked to make a modified version of the maitri into an air to air missile.

Sujoy Majumdar said...

Hi Mr.Ajay Mathur,

I agree with you that Britishers do NOT like us primarily because of the color of our skin which I have seen with my own eyes in the UK . And this applies to the US , Australia as well . Sad but true.

However , it is also true that in the last 65 - 66 years we could have achieved a lot more . We have failed to . Or else today we would have become a developed country .

Ask yourself this question. How did the US win independence from UK 175 years before India ?

Regards,
Sujoy

Arjun said...

Hi Prasun,
1.There is news that BAE Systems is ending their partnerships with Mahindra Defence Systems because it has decided the future defense market for its products was not as bright as it had earlier calculated. How can this be true when India is one of the top defense spenders? It is rare that a big defense firm would do a JV with just 26% equity and BAE still got into the JV. What could be the actual reason they are pulling out.
2.Even last year Rafael was denied a joint venture with Mahindra Defence Systems by Ministry of Defence, what could be the reason for this.

Arjun said...

Since i know your love for desi journalists, this one's for you.
Have a good laugh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=e_Fp8uWVV2I

Anonymous said...

Hi Prasun, What's the cause of the latest Su-30 crash over Pokhran range ? Will IAF order two more Su-30 to make up for this and the previous crashes ?now will the entire fleet be grounded for thorough checks. Crashes of MiG-27,21 are all right as they are going to be phased out but a Su crash is really discerning .

Currently what internal EW jammer suite Su-30 moo has ? Is it the Ukrainian Omul system? Is Omul podded escort jammer in IAF service ?

Will the two colour maws that DARE is currently developing go on Super Sukhoi upgrade ? Will the apertures be distributed throughout the airframe ?

Mr. Ra 13 said...

Among all the cruel empires, british were most democratic and softest.

britishers centrally united India, but managed to separate pakistan and bangladesh from it albeit temporarily.

british have done a lot of atrocities on India, but that stands compensated by the self sacrifices and actions of the likes of our many sacred souls like Laxmi Bai, Tatya Tope, Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh and Subhash Bose etc through their blood.

We must be proud of our martyrs of the Jalliyanwala Bag and should not expect or beg to british to provide an apology. If the british furnish any such apology on their own accord it depends upon their own conscience. Jalliyanwala Bag should be given the status of a modern Tirtha of India.

Anonymous said...

Hi prasun,
Thanks for replying to previous posts.... Have some more questions...

1) what's the status of arjun mk2. Also army doesn't want to use it coz its heavy.... But accr to drdo it has lesser weight/area covered.... so doesn't that means it will have less pressure exerted over an area.... Also army says that bridges in pakistan cannot handle 65 tonne load then doesnt drdo already developed bridge laying mechanism for that load.... Still wont accept in large nos. Why?
2) drdo or midhani has developed scb tech ..... Has the tech been transfered to industry means is it mass produced? And what the generation of blades they produced...2nd or 3rd.... Cause 1st gen scb does not have much adv. over DS blades.
3) when is nirbhay going to test?

VMT in adv.
A G

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To GESSLER: It’s no use bitching about it. After all, those responsible hail from the very same society that we come from. None of the decision-makers simply parachuted into India from nowhere, nor did they undertake any kind of inter-galactic journey to finally end up in India. It is all about the mindset: the very mindset that provokes a motorbike rider or scooterist to not don helmets is also the very same mindset that provokes one to be casual about flight-safety. There’s really no difference between the two.

To RAD: Not just pissers, but spitters as well! The video-clip showed the Sudarshan’s captive carriage & weapons release trials of a dummy LGB in order to ascertain the LGB’s roll-and-pitch stabilisation logic. As the poster of the Sudershan that I had uploaded after the ISC/DRDO expo in Kolkata last January clearly shows, the inertial navigation & terminal glide-path of the LGB has improved immeasurably since then. As for that report by the ‘desi’ journalist, he’s got his facts all wrong, except one concerning the CEP, which he undoubtedly read about in this blog. As the IRDE brochure & posters (that I had uploaded after DEFEXPO 2012 last April & again last month) clearly state, the gimbaled laser seeker was developed by IRDE while the LGB’s control surfaces were designed & fabricated by VEM Technologies Pvt Ltd. Neither IIT Delhi nor the ADE were involved with such kits. The FINGS unit has come from ASL.

To AJAY MATHUR: Much of the history pertaining to ancient India was indeed lost, but by the Indians themselves UNTIL the colonial Brits began the process of discovering them & bringing them back into the public realm. The Asiatic Society In Kolkata houses all such records till this day. You will also find in several of Kolkata’s cemeteries the graves of several officials of the erstwhile British East India Company who had even ‘turned native’ & had gotten married to Indian women. As for lack of enforcement of laws, what’s the reason for that? Certainly not the colonial hangover, but rather the prevalence of a mindset that continues to haunt & possess even till this day the corridors of power throughout independent India. Discrimination will always exist in a colonial environment between the rulers & the ruled, that’s not the issue. The bigger picture that one must address is how come only 2 lakh Anglo-Saxons were required to rule over 20 crore Indians for a period of some 150 years. One cannot blame someone for being smart, but one can definitely issue ‘show-cause’ notices to one for explaining the reasons for one’s stupidity.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To BHASWAR: VMT for the lucid & painstaking explanations, which explain the issues threadbare. What is deeply regrettable is that such enlightened objectivity, however, is fast becoming an extinct quality in the subcontinent.

To VIVEK: It’s all explained in great detail at: http://trishul-trident.blogspot.in/2011/12/indian-navy-swears-by-its-tavor-family.html

&

http://trishul-trident.blogspot.in/2012/06/clearing-mist-on-indias-small-turbofan.html

Thus far, India’s MoD has sanctioned the fabrication of only three SSBNs: S-2 (Arihant), S-3 and S-4. Financial sanction for fabricating the S-5 SSBN’s hull has yet to be obtained. So far, plans have been firmed up for building only three definitive SSBNs: S-5, S-6 & S-7. Once that happens, S-2, S-3 & S-4 will become SSGNs armed with the SLCM variant of Nirbhay. As for SSNs, the plan calls for acquiring up to nine of them, most probably a derivative of France’s Barracuda-class SSN. I’m presentl in the midst of drafting an update of the ATV Project & Sagarika Project & will try to upload it in the near future, since I’ve got several photos (taken during DEFEXPO 2012 last April) that clearly illustrate the depth of Russian & Indian industry involvement in the project, especially the specific OEMs hailing from both countries & what their contributions have been. For instance, TATA Power SED, which supplied the Arihant’s IPMS & combat management system. Plus scores of SMEs spread throughout Pune that supplied several thousands of components (& displayed them as well during DEFEXPO 2012). As for follow-on Akulas, earlier plans for leasing one have been shelved.

To SUJOY MAJUMDAR: According to the contracts between China & Russia regarding the S-300PMU & S-400 families of LR-SAMs, they can’t be deployed anywhere else other than the coastal belt of Mainland China & this is precisely the reason why China had to develop its own HQ-9 & HQ-16 LR-SAMs. In addition, India’s basket of nuclear arsenals is expanding to cater to all possible scenarios & will in future comprise ICBMs, SLBMs as well as ALCMs, SLCMs & LRCMs. Indigenous development of BMD & CMD capabilities, therefore, required first & foremost for neutralising the conventionally armed TBMs, IRBMs, ALCMs & GLCMs that can be used as ‘terror weapons’ against civilian soft targets. The PDV interceptor does away with the Prithvo-derived missile-body & will be an all-new-design missile. The change of heart among the Saudis is not sudden, but rather a gradual one in light of the steadily faltering writ of the state within Pakistan. I’ll expand more on this in a new thread fairly soon, rest assured.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To ARJUN: Well, this had to happen, due to the 26% cap on foreign FDI. This had long been the writing on the wall. On the other hand, BAE Systems being a global MNC, can easily establish its own 100%-owned subsidiary within India & this option, I believe, will serve BAE Systems’ long-term marketing plans much better, given its huge stakes & involvement in India. RAFAEL’s JV with Mahindra was denied because the MoD was pressuring RAFAEL to instead team up with BEL & BDL.
And VMT for the weblink. Never knew the Rafale had an extra mode of operation, that of masquerading as a Tejas Mk1! An excellent discovery indeed!

To Anon@11.44PM: 1) Very get to know fairly soon. 2) No groundings have taken place so far, implying that the cause of the crash was suspected human error. 3) Su-30MKI fleet will eventually exceed 340 units, mark my words. 4) Su-30MKI presently has no internal jammer. OMUL is being proposed for both the Super Sukhoi upgrade as well as for Tejas Mk2. 5) Of course, everything has been explained about MAWS in previous threads.

To Mr.RA 13: Very well put.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To AG@12.40AM: The Arjun Mk1 & Mk1A ARE NOT HEAVY. Here’s the explanation:
1) The ‘alleged’ cock-ups that have been highlighted recently about the Arjun MBT family are not what they seem, but they’re being perceived as performance deficiencies of the MBT, when they’re clearly not. Add to this the misconceptions that are arising due to the inability of the writers of such reports to convey the true operational picture. Kindly allow me to explain it all in layman’s terms: India’s MBT fleets during peacetime are stored in the hinterland far away from their wartime staging areas close to the border. This means to get to the border areas the almost all MBTs have to be transported by railways, this being known as exterior lines of communication. Once these MBTs arrive by rail in their respective theatres of operation, they then have to disembark & be re-loaded on road-mobile motorised trailers in order to reach their respective staging areas, typically 40km/70km away from the border, and this type of road connectivity is known as interior lines of communication. It is this transfer of lines of communication (from exterior to interior) that is time-consuming, as witnessed during OP Parakram. Within the interior lines of communication, most of the roads & bridges are not MLC-70-class, meaning while they can cater for loads of up to 50 tonnes (which augurs well for MBTs like the 46-tonne T-90S & 38-tonne T-72M1s), they cannot cater for loads for heavier MBTs like the Arjun. There are two logical options for overcoming the above-two limitations. One calls for prepositioning a substantial number of MBTs closer to the border so that they do away with the need for using exterior lines of communication & make use of only interior lines of communication. Secondly, within the interior lines of communication, all bridges & roadways ought to be upgraded to MLC-70 standard. Now, in both cases, this calls for acquiring real estate (land) from state governments for establishing several new Army cantonments containing warehouses & workshops for mechanised & motorised vehicles & their spares inventories, plus housing quarters, along with the commencement of a massive road transportation upgrade programme. It is THIS that is the main hurdle that is extremely difficult to overcome, since land is a state subject & therefore the states & the Centre tend to spend years haggling with each other before the land can be acquired by the MoD. For upgrading the interior lines of communication too, it is the state’s responsibility & if the state is unwilling to spend money, then there’s very little that the MoD can do. Therefore, it makes no sense for the IA to acquire any state-of-the-art heavy MBT if such MBTs are not able to be deployed at short notice whenever & wherever they’re needed. This is what the problem is all about, & it has nothing to do with any performance parameter (like battlefield mobility) of the Arjun MBT. In case of a future round of hostilities between India & Pakistan with a nuclear backdrop, the traditional areas for the clashing armoured forces will be the Thar/Cholistan deserts & the Chhamb area within the Shakargarh Bulge (Chicken’s Neck area), both being areas devoid of any man-made obstacles like ditch-cum-bundhs (DCB) & irrigation canals. The Arjun MBT has therefore been optimised for operating precisely in these areas & the IA has no complaints about it at all. But at the same time, the Army finds both its hands tied behind its back when it comes to the improvement of interior lines of communication in states like Rajasthan, Punjab & J & K, simply because it is totally helpless & can’t do anything at all to make things better. Only the Centre, its MoD & the concerned state govts can offer solutions, which they’re not willing to at the moment.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

continued from above...

Therefore, if anyone is to be directly blamed for sabotaging the Arjun MBT programme, it is not IA HQ, but the Centre & state govts. It is these two entities that are seen to be conspiring to condemn the IA to live with & operate lighter underperforming tanks like the T-72CIA & T-90S, instead of going for the best that the country’s military-industrial entities have painstakingly developed.
2) There are problems related to spares availability & training. Regarding the former, the IA has failed so far to preposition spares stockpiles with its various EME Workshops that are tasked to support the Arjun MBT fleet. Secondly, in the area of training, there’s only two sets of driving & gunnery simulators that’s been procured thus far, when the reqmt is for treble that number.
3) The MAIN agency responsible for creating such product support problems/deficiencies is the Army HQ’s Master-General Ordnance (MGO) Branch, whose sole responsibility it is to ensure assured through-life product support for all types of in-service hardware. The problems arose because for some very strange & bizarre reason, Army HQ has never (and this continues till this day) involved the MGO Branch during an imported weapon system’s field trials or prototype development of an indigenously-developed weapon system. Consequently, what happens is that the MGO Branch enters the picture ONLY after a certain type of hardware is procured in bulk & inducted into service. While this is a much lesser problem for imported weapon systems (since the foreign OEM mandatorily furnishes all documentation related to through-life product support, thereby furnishing all relevant data on a silver platter to the MGO Branch), the problem becomes acute in case of an indigenous weapon system, since the MGO Branch will have to ascertain for itself (via the AUCERT process) what the through-life product support reqmts will be, & then draft the maintenance manuals. All this could have been avoidable had the MGO Branch been involved directly with the CVRDE during the Arjun MBT’s prototype development stage, so that by the time the Arjun Mk1 entered service, all data reqd for the process of spares stockpiling—like their estimated quantities & estimated costs—would have already been available, which in turn would have enabled Army HQ to place orders far in advance for items that require long-lead times for production, and suitably pre-stockpile such spares at the designated EME Workshops.
4) The Arjun Mk1A’s road wheels have been modified to accommodate the wider tracks now being supplied by DIEHL of Germany, primarily for catering to high mobility reqmts in the desert terrain without degredation in cruise speeds.

Vivek said...

Thanks a lot for the prompt revert
Will be waiting for your post on atv/sagarika project update, specially since arihant seems to be a never ending wait
On the SSN piece, if 9 of them have to be aquired and are not likely to be russian then what r v waiting for, when does the process start, because historically every country goes for ssn before ssbn
Also, any idea about India's nukes, not the potential number but the actual one and how many would be mated, if any.
Thanks

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To VIVEK: VMT. There’s no other alternative but to be patient regarding the Arihant, because this is India’s first endeavour in this field (it took 11 years for building the Arihant/S-2) & even though Russia has been extremely generous in nurturing the ATV project, the fact remains that submarine-building is an extremely complex process in which there’s zero-tolerance to any kind of QA/QC deficiency, since the smallest deficiency will result in loss of lives, as the history of nuclear-powered submarines reveals worldwide. It is for this reason that after harbour trials, the Arihant has had to spend a long time in the wet-basin as the inevitable discovered flaws of all the mechanical & electrical systems are all addressed & corrective action taken. In addition, extra-special care has to be taken for ensuring the structural integrity of the PWR (since the Russian design provided to India was for a PWR originally developed for nuclear-powered ice-breakers), its heat exchanger & the gearbox. Only after all these have been exhaustively tested & the vessel’s weight, balancing & buoyancy parameters have been validated will the Arihant be able to proceed for her sea-trials during which another exhaustive round of tests regarding max speed, max diving depth & rates of descent/ascent will require validation—a process that could well exceed two years. Every other country that has developed such undersea warfare capabilities has had to undergo this same schedule, & India therefore cannot be the exception to the rule. Preliminary design-related & project definition work on the SSN front has already begun, but this too will be a long drawn-out process due to the technological challenges involved. The rate of rejection for fabricated components by various vendors is always very high for the first class of any vessel being built, be it for the Arihant or the Scorpene SSK. Ask in vendor based in Pune or Hyderabad or Trichy & they’ll all concur.
As for India’s nuclear arsenal, the present estimate is about 60 warheads that are stored in disassembled condition.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To VIVEK: To add to the above, the performance of certain on-board sensor systems & weapons has been sub-optimal. For instance, the NPOL-developed cylindrical-array sonars & towed-array sonars—be it for submarines or warships—have range deficiencies & have to date been able to deliver only 40% of what was originally promised. Similarly, weapons like Varunastra torpedo have proved to be a huge disappointment, as it suffers from deficiencies in both speed & depth of coverage. Consequently, when INS Kolkata (P-15A) DDG gets commissioned by this August, it won’t make use of the Varunastra & will instead use Russia-origin torpedoes. IN officials are expected to confirm all this on-the-record sometime during the INS Kolkata's commissioning ceremony, so stay tuned.

Gessler said...

Hi Prasun, thanks for the reply. You're right we cannot blame anyone without blaming ourselves first because the comman man is the root cause of much of the nation's problems.

1) I hope the Arihant N-reactor won't blow up during trials. Where does this reactor stand compared to the quality/reliability of French N-reactors used on their Navy's N-subs?

2) Can you explain in detail what are the defense industry-related technology/know-how that Tata Motors has absorbed/planning to absorb from J-LR?

3) Is it possible for India/France to develop a A2A missile variant of Maitri SR-SAM?

4) How many Maitris would the IA/IAF/IN procure respectively?

5) Are we building/developing any supersonic target drones? Both Lakshya and Abhyas are subsonic.

Thanks in advance.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

Just as I had suspected, the latest nuclear weapons test by DPRK was a bluff. Read this: http://news.yahoo.com/spy-agencies-scrounge-details-north-korean-nuclear-test-224411467.html

Here’s something even more interesting: http://news.yahoo.com/germany-charges-2-selling-iran-121635275.html;_ylt=ApVeAaqrewtmehmzhmTNq2XNt.d_;_ylu=X3oDMTVxbXUwdmM2BGNjb2RlA2dtcHRvcDEwMDBwb29sd2lraXVwcmVzdARtaXQDQXJ0aWNsZSBNaXhlZCBMaXN0IE5ld3MgZm9yIFlvdSB3aXRoIE1vcmUgTGluawRwa2cDOTExNmFhNjYtYmI2My0zYTZiLWI1OWItNGUxYWE1MWFmZjQzBHBvcwMzBHNlYwNuZXdzX2Zvcl95b3UEdmVyAzkwYmMyZDkwLTdiNWUtMTFlMi05N2ZlLWFhMTY3N2JiN2Y3Mg--;_ylg=X3oDMTJyb2tlbGRnBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDNGY3NDQzMTUtZGY1Ni0zNzQxLWJhOTAtOTFlZTE4YjZhNWIxBHBzdGNhdANwb2xpdGljcwRwdANzdG9yeXBhZ2U-;_ylv=3

To GESSLER: 1) The PWR won’t blow up for sure. The R & D challenge was to modify the Russia-designed PWR because it was a design originally meant for installation on board nuclear-powered ice-breakers. The Russians chose this design for sale to India was due to Russia’s interpretation of the NPT under which the sale of such materials was not strictly forbidden by the NPT & therefore Russia would not be accused by anyone of violating its treaty commitments under the NPT. This has since proven to be true since no one has so far taken Russia to task for this. Now, the challenge for both Russian & Indian DAE scientists & DRDO technocrats was to modify this PWR into a fail-safe system that could withstand the rigours of operating within a closed-loop system as that prevalent within a SSBN’s hull. This was achieved between 1998 & 2004 & installation of the PWR (built by Walchangnagar Industries) & its BHEL-built heat-exchanger & gearbox took place in 2006 at the SBC in Vizag. Prior to that, an exact replica of the integrated propulsion system was installed at Kalpakkam (the half-boat) so that endurance & life-cycle estimation tests could be carried out. 2) There’s nothing to absorb since TATA Motors already owns all the IPRs of J-LR. All that one can do next is come up with innovative spinoffs of the solutions already proven by J-LR. For instance, it won’t take much to come up with innovations that use the Range Rover vehicle, for instance, for developing JLTV-type specialist strike vehicles. 3) Everything’s possible, but if this is done, it will make a laughing stock out of the DRDO, since one can turn around & ask why the hell no one ever thought about developing a SR-SAM version of the Astra Mk1 BVRAAM. 4) About 10,000 rounds at least. 5) Not yet, but a BrahMos whose warhead section has been replaced by on-board telemetric tracking systems & a self-destruction mechanism easily becomes a supersonic target-drone.

Anonymous said...

"Everything’s possible, but if this is done, it will make a laughing stock out of the DRDO, since one can turn around & ask why the hell no one ever thought about developing a SR-SAM version of the Astra Mk1 BVRAAM."
QRSAM are not that easy to build especially because of very low reaction time that is required for interception.

Anonymous said...

Prasunji,

What are the actual performance results of Red Flag 08 when Su-30 Mki fighters participated in that exercise. VMT

Sujoy Majumdar said...

Many thanks PrasunDa.

Will eagerly wait for your analysis of the developing India - Saudi Arabia relations .

Regards,
Sujoy

Sujoy Majumdar said...

PrasunDa , I forget .

Am sure you must have heard about that [in]famous speech of Lord McAulay at the British Parliament in 1835 ( link below )

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7461/439/1600/Lord%20MacAulay.jpg

Is it true that this speech in a way captures all the sinister acts committed by Brits in India for 200 years ?

Thanks again .

-Sujoy

Akhil Suri said...

Hi Prasun,

Would like to know your views on this http://indrus.in/economics/2013/02/20/india_must_be_russias_number_one_priority_22397.html

Russian Entrepreneur foundation head says that US/NATO & CHina will attack India to prevent it from becoming a superpower.

-Akhil

Anonymous said...

Prasunda,

regarding the DPRK's test, the analysts say upto a 6 kiloton yeild seismic activity was measured. Is it possible to produce that kind of seismic shock with conventional weapons. they say that it was deep inside some mountains hence no trail of radio products. So if it were a PR stunt sure uncle sam is the last to fall for the trap. instead what the north would have done is to walk into more restrictions even may be from their only friend China.

Sreenivas

Vivek said...

Thanks a lot for the details, must compliment you for being so promt and informative, very much unlike almost all other blogs like tarmak/live fist/broadsword etc, all this tempts us to ask more and more........so a few more queries :
1. What happened to our 1st overseas military base in tajikistan, why didnt the russians cooperate, any future plans for having our men/platforms at oman, vietnam or IOR island countries
2. Tarmak says nirbhay to be tested on 10th march, any news
3. Any update on astra, reports suggested a test from su30 this year, same is the case with slcm brahmos test this year

Anonymous said...

Sir, In ans to my comments you have previously stated many times that the internal EW jammer suite is of Russian origin. Now you are saying that there is no internal jammer . Pls confirm . In Trishul blog spot you have stated that Su-30 has an internal EL-8212 jammer .

Has it been finalised that ELT-568 jammers will go on board all Su-30 mki during Super upgrade ? What RF towed decoy was finalised for Su-30 upgrade ?

Milds-f is a UV based MAWS. If these are fitted on Su-30 then where will the DARE developed two colour maws be fitted ?

Bars radar has a single TWT unlike two 10 kw TWtof Irbis-E. So, when you said that transimitter of Bars were bought to the same standards as Irbis did you mean that no of TWT of Bars were increased to 2 of 10 KW each or did you mean that power rating was increased from 4 to 7 kW?

Can you provide some more details of the crash ? Was it due to systems failure ?

With the recently ordered 42 Su-30 does the no of Su-30 ordered goes up to 314 with 4 crashes ? Will IAF order replacements for the two crashes ? As you said that nos will eventually go up to 340 does it mean that 30 Super Sukhoi will be ordered ?

Which version of Spice LGB kits is IAF ordering the one with glide wings with 50 km range or the one without wings ?

Anonymous said...

IS THERE ANY DIRCM (Directed Infra Red Countermeasures) UNDER DEV. IN INDIA OR ANY PLANS TO PROCURE SIMILER FROM ABROAD

Bhaswar said...

Prasun Sir,

Q- With the talk about the Agni-6 project and the MIRV development- I was wondering that are we actually going to test MIRVs in this decade- as in snap one of those breathtaking pictures like the re-entry of the Peacekeeper MIRVs that is all over the net? And when can we hope to see the miniaturization of the missiles from the current 18-20 meters to the global 12-14 meters without any range penalty? And why do various news articles quote the DRDO fellows as stating that the A-6 will tower at 40m and weigh 70000Kg?! The wikipedia page even states that while the first and second stages of the missile will be solid fueled the third stage will be liquid fueled? HOW DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE?!

Q- We haven't really tested an operational miniaturized high yield warhead have we? As in there were various reports regarding how the tests in 98 were sort of a partial failure- could you lay these doubts to rest once and for all?

Q- If we actually plan to have SSBNs at seas armed with SLBMs then won't we have to expand our current warhead count aggressively, considering that if our MIRV program is successful then each sub could carry anywhere from 64-48 warheads, so even 2 SSBNs would eat up our current inventory leaving nothing for the land based systems like the A-5?

Unknown said...

1.sir helina weighs at the same weight as hellfire would then and has same range too then why don't we adopt helina as hellfire?
2.Is CLGM third generation missile?
3.What happened to the tender for supplying of NVDs to IA has TATA won with its 3rd gen offer?
4.Recent reports in DNA said army is close to trying new assault rifles,they said Beretta ARX160 might win?Is this report true

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_jawans-may-soon-have-top-class-italian-machine-guns_1797581

SK said...

Prasun,

1) Bharathi shipyards is building a 300 Crore technology demonstrator vessel for DRDO. Do you know what it is for. Is it for missile telemetry & tracking. Its about time they have their own vessels instead of using naval vessels.

2) You stated that IAF needs more IL-78MKI than A330-200 MRTT's. But in the recent tender A330 has beat IL-78 on acquisition & total lifetime cost. So wouldn't it make more economic sense to order additional A330's. MRTT feature will be a added bonus.

3) Does the PS-90 equipped IL-78MKI-90 carry more fuel/payload then the ones in IAF inventory.

abs said...

@Prasunda
Do you think the AP Muslim political outfit named AIMIM could be having any terror role? I have been to their FB page and must say I was shocked to see the kind of communal hatred these people spread. Besides the subscribers of this page have no qualms in even shamelessly and utterly hilariously claiming "many Hindus got converted to Islam after they criticised Islam" or at other times warning and threatening like "Dekhte ho kya in Ankhon mein? Isme hain Angarein". Must say even without the terror angle, these people do tend to pat themselves on the back by resorting to such ridiculous marketing blitzkrieg such as "conversion and all".

abs said...

^^
Also what do you make of this?
http://idrw.org/

Vikram Guha said...

PrasunDa,

Those SOBs called Al Qaeda have come up with a tip sheet on avoiding drones .

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hBh6arenH5kKAG97vGQC1_-l19Sw?docId=26c299308f07403f9f1fed2c65530d54

As always wud appreciate your take on this .

Regards,
Vikram

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@3.42PM: The answer to your question lies within the aims & objectives of the IAF’s decision to take part in its first-ever Red Flag exercise in 2008. The aim was not to engage in a game of one-upmanship or prove who’s better. Instead, the aims & objectives were two-fold: First, to gain experience in terms of deploying to a distant country & learning about the aerial logistics challenges that would be encountered during the process. Second, to gain a first-hand insight on the planning, execution & debriefing processes associated with EX Red Flag so that all these could be REPLICATED WITHIN India for the benefit of both the IAF as well as for those friendly air forces that had the willingness & capacity to go to India for participating in bilateral or multilateral air exercises. These presently comprise the air forces of the US, UK, France & Singapore. Thanks to all this, the IAF’s first-ever dedicated infrastructure for hosting such periodic air exercises is now almost in place at Kalaikunda AFS.

To SUJOY MAJUMDAR: It does indeed, since India was always the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ for the colonial British Empire which, till the mid-1800s, was still accountable for 98% of the then world’s GDP. And what amazed the Brits most that that time was the sheer opulence, glutton & ‘ayyashi’ of the then ruling Kings & Nawabs, all of which was brilliantly portrayed by the late Satyajit Ray in his movie ‘Shatranj ke Khiladi’. Had India’s then ruling elite & nobility placed more emphasis on the majesty & grandeur of governance (which then would also have some if not all Indian kingdoms to embrace & even contribute to the Industrial Revolution), then no one would have been able to colonise India in a progressive manner. Instead, it was the self-righteous & self-centred ‘ayyashi’ that proved to be a devastating self-destructive cocktail for the entire subcontinent.

To AKHIL SURI: That analysis is partly true, but is also wildly outrageous on many counts. Suffice to say that Russians have been historically been linked to India since ancient times & therefore they still cherish a particular closeness with India. It has now been virtually proven by DNA-matching that the earliest inhabitants of India were of the ‘brown’ Australoid’ race & up till some 12,000 years ago, the India of those times comprised the present-day subcontinent as well as another contiguous landmass (now sunken) called Kumari Kandam (i.e. a landmass linked with India’s southern peninsula, Madagascar to the west, Sumatra in the centre & Australia to the east), all of which are documented in ancient India’s ‘Sangam’ literature. In fact, Kumari Kandam was more populated & flourishing than the present-day subcontinent & what is now being researched is whether the ancient sites like Ayodhya were in fact located somewhere within Kumari Kandam. It was also around this time that the Caucasian ‘Aryans’ (the ancestors of the present-day Russians) began migrating eastwards from the area around the Caspian Sea to the Indo-Gangetic Plains of northern present-day India. What followed next was reportedly cross-racial breeding & the Dravidian & Indo-Aryan sub-races emerged. Subjects like these are very much the focus of on-going Russian anthropological research.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To SREENIVAS: It is always very much possible to produce such a seismic shock by triggering a huge mass of TNT within an enclosed environment. Secondly, no radioactive residue can be contained within the underground blast-site unless the site is for a one-off/one-time nuclear explosion, which is quite a risky & cost-prohibitive undertaking, since no one to date has come up with successive fully-instrumented n-weapons test sites. Therefore, any radioactive residue has to be released to the atmosphere so that the site can be used for follow-on n-weapons test. Since this did not happen, the only logical conclusion/option left on the table is that this was a massive underground conventional explosion purely for DPRK’s domestic propaganda purposes.

To VIVEK: Those other blogs you’ve mentioned focus on just reporting what they’ve learnt or been given through official briefing channels. The blog-owners don’t understand their subject-matters & that’s the reason why they either refrain from clarifying matters or don’t know what answers to look out for & where & how to obtain them. 1) There was never any Indian overseas military base in Tajikistan. There was only an aerial logistics detachment comprising a Mi-17 helicopter at Farkhor air base directly above Afghanistan Kunduz Airport. 2) Maybe, let’s just wait & see. Don’t be surprised if the Nirbhay bears a close resemblance to the Novator 3M-14E LACM. 3) No further updates on them. SLCM testing of any kind is still another year away.

To ANON@12.48AM: 1) There were plans for installing an ELISRA-developed internal jammer on Su-30MKI, but this was option was rejected. EL/L-8222 is a self-protection pod that’s mounted externally. Only MiG-29B-12 from the outset had a Russian internal jammer. 2) Yes. Ariel-1 from Cassidian. 3) The two-colour version of MILDS-F MAWS has already been developed by Cassidian (not DARE). DARE is developing the MSWS. MAWS is only one component of MSWS. 4) No of TWTs were increased from 1 to two. 5) Super Sukhoi units won’t be new-build, according to latest IAF plans, but will be an upgrade package involving existing Su-30MKIs. 6) Both.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To Anon@1.34AM: NO.

To BHASWAR: 1) MIRVs will be tested by 2016. Miniaturisation has already taken place, if you compare the Agni-1 with the Shaurya. There’s no Agni-6 project, period. Everything else one reads on this subject is just jingo-based speculation. 2) The boosted-fission warhead was indeed a miniaturised high-yield warhead that is scalable, if required. Therefore, thermonuclear warheads are not desperately sought. 3) Assuming that the S-5 SSBN will be able to carry 12 SLBMs each armed with three MIRVs, then the S-5 & S-6 SSBNs will carry 24 SLBMs or 72 MIRVs. Consequently, the land-based component of the nuclear triad will comprise no more than 40 ballistic missiles inclusive of IRBMs & ICBMs armed with both unitary warheads (about 18) & MIRVs (about 66). Finally, there will be some 60 air-delivered munitions (ADM) or air-launched Nirbhay & LRCMs, each armed with unitary n-warhead). Of all these, the IRBMs & ICBMs & ADMs will be available by this decade, while the SLBMs will be available only after 2020.

To KSHITIZ KUMAR: 1) Hellfire can be easily launched from both Rudra & LCH, since the COMPASS multifunction turret can also do laser target designation. 2) Yes. 3) Not yet. 4) Most untrue.

To SK: 1) Yes. It is related to one of the DRDO’s reqmt for floating test-ranges equipped with X-band telemetry tracking radars & high-precision optronic sensors. The other reqmt is for a floating test-range for monitoring the performance of seabed sonars & underwater weapons like torpedoes & autonomous underwater vehicles. It is for the latter that KELTRON recently won a DRDO for supplying mid-frequency thin-line towed-array. By the way, remember the two floating vessels equipped with monitoring sensors flanking the latest underwater test-firing of the K-15 SLBM? These vessels, as well as all such vessels now being built were designed & equipped according to specifications drafted for the DRDO by Israel’s RAFAEL Advanced Defence Systems, since this company has pioneered the usage of such vessels during offshore test-firings of all kinds of guided-weapons. The DRDO-RAFAEL deal came about as a quid pro quo AFTER the DRDO inked the joint R & D contract for the Barak-2 SAM in the previous decade.
2) The IAF’s MRTT reqmts are quite limited for now, while those for AAR (air-to-air refuelling) are greater. Consequently, the IAF will have a healthy mix of AARs & MRTTs in a 70: 30 force-mix. 3) Not more fuel, but more payload. Even the A-50I PHALCON uses the IL-78MKI-90 platform. See this: http://trishulgroup.blogspot.in/2008/10/il-78mki-90-detailed.html

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To ABS: The question that then arises is this: why is this Facebook page not being declared ‘out-of-bounds’ by the Govt of India? For any such page that ouvertly features hate-content automatically also qualifies as being a provocateur for terrorist acts. The obvious ought to have been done by the Union MHA eons ago!

To VIKRAM GUHA: Such limitations will apply to only those tactical UAVs (like SAGEM’s Sperwer being used by the French in Mali) that are equipped with only optronic sensors. MALE-UAVs equipped with belly-mounted radars with SAR & GMTI modes (like Heron-1 equipped with EL/M-2054 or EL/M-2055D) will not be fooled.

Vivek said...

Hi Prasun
As per one of your reverts today regarding nukes and all types of delivery platforms, you seem to suggest that India would eventually have more than 210 warheads (including MIRV) on ICBM/IRBM/ADM/SLBM, this is against your current estimate of just about 60 warheads, will we actually increase our numbers so much over the next 10 years or so?
Thanks in advance

Bhaswar said...

Prasun Sir,

Thank you for the prompt reply. But this still means that we will need at least 200 assembled warheads by 2020-25, no? Our current no. is around 60-80 right? Also, aren't the S-5 and S-6 meant to carry 16 SLBMs? I can understand the idea of limiting the range of our land based ballistic missiles to 5000-6000km but shouldn't we build our SLBMs to have a range of 8000-10000km, after all the larger the area out of which the sub can launch the safer it is and the more difficult it becomes for the enemy to try and detect it?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To BHASWAR: Not 16, but 12 SLBMs in two side-by-side rows of six. The IN wants SLBMs with a range of 8,500km if possible. But a range of 6,500km will be acceptable. For acquiring the necessary amount of weapons-grade plutonium, a new PHWR is now coming up at BARC's Trombay facility to replace the 40mW Cirus n-reactor. This new reactor, along with the existing Dhruva & the two 540mW PHWRs in Maharashtra & the PFBR at Kalpakkam will be employed for generating the amount of fissile materials (about 3 metric tonnes) required for the n-arsenal.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To VIVEK: Yes. Things are indeed headed that way.

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