Prasun, Could you please write an article on ISRO technical capability, Indian Satellites, Launch Vehicles, and other associated Technology in comparison with the west, ie,. France and US please.
Please focus on the technology Gap ISRO has with the west and how long it takes to meet such a gap?
And Indian Sub continent Satellite demands and ISROs supply, how India engages with neighbours in this field etc please?
do read this write up and give your views on whether the NaMo factor is a deeply devisive and polarizing factor
i says bcoz sometime back you said 2002 riots were done by VHP & B Dal and guys like Togadia have ben marginalized.
But look some days back he did give a statement in Gujarat, a NaMo party senior said somethign about DNA of particular region, a NaMo supporter baba said something about honeymoon, dalit and women. top it all another NaMo suppoter said his opponents will have to go to Pak. what kind of language is this, dont you think its unnecessarily polluting the minds and decisions just before voting towards bais
I would like to say one thing though.Development and operational deployment of a credible TBMD system would be no doubt a good thing Infact a great feat to achieve.I absolutely support this. But only a missile shield may not be enough to deter our adversaries.A shield,no matter how much strong can be breached at some particular places with repeated blows.Besides,relying on only the shield would create a defensive mentality and sap the offensive edge out of the Indian forces.
So don't you think it would be prudent for India to deploy sufficient numbers of conventionally armed Prithvi III,Brahmos blk 3 and Shaurya ground launched precision guided munitions and subsonic LACMs in order to deter our enemies,especially the Chinese rascals.Only then they would think twice before thinking of attacking Indian targets with massed T assaults.
Sir! How Iran, after have so much restriction still developing a lot of new product but India having much broader market opportunity but still no sign of development?
Sir, Commenting after quite some time. 1)What is the status of lr-sam and is it the long range AD system the IN needs or do we require naval versions of S-300 type missiles for fleet AD? 2)Why isn't the IN going for 125mm naval gun on its DDGs when Russian systems are being offered? 3)What do you make of the hamid Mir episode and the fact that Geo has openly come out against 'Hazrat Fauj'? An intersting reads: This one is on the long overdue integration of Northeast with 'mainland'
Not sure missile shield is the right way. The new pak missiles already have independently maneuverable warheads and the missiles themselves can adapt various trajectories. This is without taking into account the very short flight times and the cruise missiles.
Excellent documentary on ‘Future Airpower Secrets’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLJJh5N_JpM
Documentary on the K-278 Komsomolets, the only Project 685 Plavnik-class SSGN built that sank due to a raging fire April 7, 1989. All but 5 crewmen evacuated prior to sinking. 42 perished, many from smoke inhalation and exposure to the cold waters of the Barents Sea. A total of 27 crew members survived:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUivTRZb0FA
Remarkable two-part documentary on the CIA-funded Project AZORIAN, whose story of began on March 1, 1968, when a Soviet K-129 SSK sailed from the naval base at Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula to take up its peacetime patrol station northeast of Hawaii. But something went terribly wrong, for in mid-March 1968 the SSK suffered a catastrophic accident and sank 1,560 miles northwest of Hawaii with the loss of its entire crew 16,500 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The documentary traces in detail the trials and tribulations of "Project Azorian" over the next six years, culminating on August 8, 1974, when the commercial vessel specially modified to perform the secret mission, the Hughes Glomar Explorer, raised a portion of the K-129 to the surface and took it to Hawaii for detailed examination:
To JOYDEEP GHOSH: It’s a free country where everyone has a right to express his/her own views & be held accountable for them. To cut a long story short, the NaMo factor is as deeply a devisive and polarizing factor as the Rajiv Gandhi factor was in the immediate aftermath of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Furthermore, don’t attribute statements to NaMo that WERE NEVER uttered by him. Rather, do hold all those accountable who have actually made such statements & if they’re on the wrong side of the law, then they must be held accountable & the law must be allowed to take its own course.
To VIKRAM GUHA: Yes, as per the poster, that’s how the kill probability has been calculated. MIRVs have very limited manoeuvrability & this can easily be countered by sophisticated proportional navigation algorithms of the interceptor warhead.
To SATYA: Actually developing such systems is quite different from being seen to have developed such systems. Most of Iran’s claims are merely for domestic consumption purposes.
To VIKRANT: 1) IN requires only MR-SAM, not LR-SAM. 2) Ideally, 155mm guns ought to be procured. 3) Hamid Mir has traditionally been a publicity-seeker by reporting without facts-on-hand. And so yet again he has made allegations that will be impossible to be proven in a court of law & he will thus become the nett loser.
To RAW13: Neither ballistic missiles nor their MIRVs are of the all-singing-and-dancing-type, irregardless of their nationalities. And those in service with the PA certainly can’t fly depressed trajectories. Furthermore, the projected BMD network is meant for neutralising those ballistic missiles that are conventionally armed & are therefore meant for use as ‘terror weapons’ against cities. Lastly, cruise missiles are never neutralised anywhere in this world by BMD networks. Cruise missiles are always best intercepted by E-SHORADS, as was amply proven during OP Desert Storm in 1991.
As always many thanks for sharing this interesting piece of information . I have 3 questions in this regard :
(1) In your opinion what are the chances that DRDO will succeed in designing a BMD system indigenously ?
(2) Is there a possibility that just like a few previous projects that DRDO had undertaken this BMD project will also end in failure & then GOI will have to spend billions to procure an Arrow 3 , THAAD etc from abroad ?
(3) Isn’t this another example of misplaced priority on the part of MoD . The armed forces face a bigger threat from cruise missiles & TBMs . Shouldn’t anti cruise missile / TBM systems be purchased first before funds are allocated for designing a BMD system ?
prasun da.. Still waiting for ins kamrota and ins kolkata.. After the ins kolkata incident what's the revised time frame for ins kolkata and ins kamrota?? And what abt ins arihant heard that it 'll be at sea trial sometimes around march, but no news after that.. Thnks in adv..
I saw a Patriot launcher on the internet with 16 patriots.Why can't the DRDO have a configuration to have at least 6 or may be 16 like the one the the link below.Just 3 missiles on one vehicle seems to be very less.
@Rohit, That looks deadly.... Thanks for that image.
On a separate note, It seems DRDO and ISRO also need to train and equip DD News and Private channels regarding Photography, Video Shooting and Audio Production Technologies, GIVEN the media that comes out of these institutions during PSLV/GSLVs and Missile trails and Testing phases comes out to be on PATHETIC standards. What an awful country and people... Sometimes I feel If British might have given living rights in India after Independence, India would have surpassed US long time back and might become a beacon in the world on every sphere of life and technology. Just for info, am living in UK.
Prason da : 3 missiles as per DRDO have 99 % accuracy so it means after one kill next loading is to be done but the way 16 patriot missiles are packed in one launcher it can cause 5 kills.
Why are patriots stored in canisters and why Akash is not?
To SUJOY MAJUMDAR: Let’s try answering those questions by way of timelines. Firstly, is it possible for a country that takes 10 years to do just systems analysis & project definition (for the Arjun Mk1 MBT) & 6 years for the Tejas Mk1 MRCA, to complete all such work for a 2-tier BMD network in just 2 years between 1996 & 1998? Obviously not. Consequently, it is evident that between 1996 & 1998 a proven systems architecture was sought off-the-shelf & obtained from Israel & by 2001 the hardware, inclusive of the 2 EL/M-2080 Green Pine LRTRs & a single IAI-designed & TADIRAN-built battle management, command, control, communications and intelligence (BMC3I) centre simulator without any mission software, was delivered. Concurrently, R & D work began on the PAD & AAD interceptor vehicles in 1998, plus on the mission software algorithms from 2001. By 2008 these were all ready for testing & by late 2009 it emerged that 1) the liquid fuelled PAD was unsuitable & what was reqd was a solid-fuelled PDV for making interceptions at an altitude of 200km. 2) The AAD required optimisation & thus were born the AD-1 & AD-2 interceptors. 3) While the PDV required dual sensors (Ku-band active radar & IIR sensor) for terminal guidance, the AD-1/AD-2 interceptors reqd only IIR seekers. Consequently, it can safely be inferred that the original systems analysis was WRONG & from the very outset, R & D ought to have been focussed on the development of 1) dual-sensor terminal guidance & 2) solid-fuelled PDV instead of the liquid-fuelled PAD (i.e. needless waste of time, money & effort). Add to it the DRDO’s stubborn refusal till to date to employ solid-fuelled TBMs as target missiles (even though the Shaurya & Agni-1/2 are available) & consequently credible test-points for performance evaluation of the BMD interceptors are unavailable. Work on developing the PDV began in late 2008 & its first test-firing took place on April 27, 2014. It will take at least nine more test-firings & that too against a solid-fuelled IRBM or TBM to prove the PDV’s mission effectiveness. If only one PDV is fired every year, it means the PDV will be available only by 2023. Then there’s the issue of designing & fabricating a ‘desi’ LRTR, about which there’s no verifiable evidence of any homegrown R & D activity being undertaken as of now. As for the anti-TBM/anti-NLOS-BSM AD-1/AD-2, don’t be surprised if it emerges as an ‘elongated avatar’ of the Barak-2. CMD systems for neutralising cruise missiles are already under induction, like the EL/M-2084 Arudhra MMR & will in future be followed by the vertically launched SR-SAM.
To SUMIT SEN: All indigenous warship construction efforts are now at a standstill & will be like this until the new government at the centre presents a new fiscal budget. The same goes for the commissioning schedules for the lead boat of each warship family, be it a DDG or ASW corvette. S-2/Arihant simply cannot proceed on her sea-trials unless & until a DSRV is made available to cater for unforeseen emergencies. And it was A K Antony who in 2008 indefinitely postponed the procurement of a DSRV from the world’s foremost manufacturer of such products—Canada’s Ocean Works.
To ROHIT: One cannot compare the Akash Mk1 with the MIM-104 Patriot by any stretch of the imagination. The Akash Mk1’s design is of 1970s vintage, using some components designed in the 1980s, & series-produced since less than a decade ago. However, in terms of deployment footprint, one Akash Mk1 Group Control Centre can control no less than eight Batteries (with 96 missiles), each comprising four launchers each housing 3 missiles. The Barak-2 LR-SAM system (for the IAF) will comprise eight VL-SAMs per motorised TEL.
To REDDY: It has nothing to do with the UK’s living rights in India posat-1947. Instead, it’s all about bringing about a transformational change in the national mindset & that too by a true leader of national stature. You may be interested in knowing that the taxation/revenue collection system imposed during the British Raj was an exact replica of the system put in place in India by Emperor Akbar. And the command-and-control structure & the teeth-to-tail ratio of the Imperial Indian Army & even the British Army was an identical replica of those first introduced by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who in turn had imbibed the best of both the British & French advances in RMA of that era. Prior to this, the Brits never even knew about dividing field artillery assets into light, medium or heavy. In other words, wherever the Brits found merit in whatever, they never hesitated to imbibe & practice for themselves.
To GESSLER: Of course it is pure unadulterated balderdash. And the evidence is there right in front of your eyes. If only anyone knew how big a deal it is to structurally modify an aircraft to even host an extra bulkhead, leave alone a directed-energy weapon! And in the entire narrative you’ve quoted, there’s not even a single mention of institutions like ASTE or CEMILAC! Without their inputs & flight-test regimes, no such modifications can even be dreamt about, rest assured.
To MG6357: 1) Almost all Ka-28PLs & Sea King Mk42Bs are grounded since their TTSLs have already expired. Only the Sea King Mk42Cs & the HH-3Cs remain operational. About 30 SA.316B Alouette IIIs remain in service, along with the 13 Ka-31s. 2) The Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk should have been ordered by 2012, but there again A K Antony has been sitting on it due to some anonymous complaint being filed against the S-70B & in favour of the NH-90. 3) Within the MoD, there’s no such plan. 4) Nope. Nothing of that sort is either in the works or in the pipeline.
Based on the empirical evidence that we have against the DRDO I wonder why a PIL is not filed in the Supreme Court asking the DRDO to stop work on the BMD immediately . Un-necessarily billions of rupees of tax payers money will be wasted for the next 5 years & eventually DRDO will issue an RFI for a BMD system after that .
Re the link that you have posted about India asking Russia to sell weapons to Afghanistan & bill it to India . This is a classic example of short sightedness on the part of GOI . Why can’t a Kalyani Group or a Punj Llyod or any other Indian company be asked to design a 155 mm, 52-calibre towed howitzer & sell it to Afghanistan ? This would have saved the country millions in foreign exchange as Russia will have to be paid in dollars or Euros .
Now compare this tomfoolery with what the US Govt is doing . It is asking Industry for inputs pertaining to the development of it’s next generation combat ships
Honestly , as much as I want I do NOT think that a change of guard at the Center will bring about a complete turn around to the sad state of affairs in this country .
1) What may be the reason behind successive failure of Akash SAM in user trial ? As it getting reported, is it common occurrence across the globe, or is there any problem brewed up ?
2) Prasun Da, is there any silver lining for present BMD Programme of DRDO ? As Sujoy, questioned, can this programme be stopped in Midway ? Could a JV formed regarding BMD ? Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2001, supported George Bush Jr.'s NMD proposal?
3) There's a lot of Hot Debate went on in your previous thread, Firepower of IA vis-a-vis PA, snd some info shared by Anurag, kindly your views on that ?
4) Is it possible to convert Agni -III & V into Space Launch Vehicle ?
hi prasun i dont understand why we are still stuck with just 2 green pine radars and associated c4. Are we gong ahead with the improved swordfish radar as claimed . i would have 10 such radars and have some on the anadaman islands and laccadive islands to monitor the airspace. I am thrilled by the dual sensor on the missile and the relative data fusion which is the way forward. China claims it is ahead in BMD with the s-300 sam tech, is that true, I do see a nascent anti satellite tech involved in the recently conducted missile test, All we have to do is to have a bigger air frame and a proven IIR and radar seekers, am i right
@Prasun, The NASR has depressed trajectory (short range) and the Shaheen series (last block manufactured) incorporated some of the avoidance features. The Cruise Missiles (babur/raad) we both agree are very hard to stop. So my point was why waste this money, when the ABS is nothing more than what the patriot missiles did in the gulf war, against the old scuds...nothing! There the US AF had complete control of the air. Iraq also fired missiles from the desert, pak is full of mountains. Surely the money could be spent in better ways?
Ps. What did you think of the comments by our COAS wrt Kashmir? (this is how most paks feel, though many here dis-agreed with me before)
The IA vs PA will always be a hot debate. That's all it will remain, because neither army is really able to fight a war now with any degree of conviction that they will prevail. There are too many deficiencies in both. In any case the Generals are too busy enriching themselves and their families.
Prasun, what exactly is the status of the Super Su MKI deal? When will it begin and in what numbers??? You had made a blod entry in 2011 stating from "air supremacy to air dominance" that I have just been reading but none of this seems to have happened to date....
Cruise missiles are not impossible to stop. Technology Has advanced much more. Right now it is hard to stop cruise missiles approx 50% chance.But it will improve as the barak 8 missiles and the maitri sams come in with IIR and radar seekers. Dont forget the spider sam system which are very effective against cruise missiles. They can take out mach 2 bogeys.fighters will find it scary to come as they will never know if a missile is coming their way targeted by AESA radars . Awacs can easily pick them up as well. Its a matter of time.Israel has the iron dome for short range rockets and can be easily modified to take on cruise missiles with their multi shot capability. Then there is the David sling which is much more advanced.There are ways and it is a matter of time when an anti cruise missile program is in place.Its costly but we have the money.As for ABM, its along time since the gulf war and today`s patriots are very effective.IF ABM is a waste then why is US , europe,Israel,russia and your all weather master investing in them.?
Dear Prasun, ASTRA AAM has been successfully test fired from Sukhoi 30 MKI. How is it going to fulfill IAF's requirements??? How much indigenous it is? Has DRDO reverse engineered the Russian one or developed it from the scratch? Plz. come up with ur reply at ur earliest.
@prasunda Your thoughts on this debate on "Illegal Bangladeshis"? Figures of around 6 crore have been quoted. Would like to know of your views on this considering there is no metric to know or understand how many of those illegal immigrants were Hindus or Muslims.
You mentioned once that repeat orders of Scorpene submarines would cost lesser than the previous order.
Now Mr Ajai Shukla says that only six submarines in further order would cost $8.25 billion which means about 1.38 billion each. If 400-600 million more is added, one can buy French Barracuda class SSN. Is this highly price justified?
India still has the IPR and design rights of Type 209 which can be reactivated or sold to one of the private shipyards. I wonder how much will it cost?
I understand the relevance of diesel submarines for coastal defence but at this price??? I would think twice.
HI Prasun As the astra has been test flighted , please give us a complete article on it with pics, please do so. I am curious why the astra has big mid section wings when all missiles like the amraam .sd-10 ave small wings . What is the aerodynamic consequences of it. Is it a trade of for more maneuverability to drag??
I never said they can't be stopped. Its just the bang for bucks question. Cruise Missiles, are indeed easy to shot down, only problem is finding them. Ever tried to shoot a needle in a haystack? Look at the size of india...where, which direction will they come from and in what numbers, raad is also air launched. They have stealth shaping/coating, low enough speed not to generate too much IR signature and are low to the ground so IR masking is happening (against AEW search).
I would love to see india spend so much to cover the entire border with SAMs. Imagine this happening during the fog of war...suddenly your task gets even harder by a factor of 10. In war one of the first thing each AF will do is knock the radar stations out using MAR-1 (ARM) type missiles. If the radar stations within 100km of Pak border are out, the reaction time for the missile batteries gets shorter...and before you know it, its bulls-eye!!! There is a reason PAF spent so much money on CM, because even crappy mirages can launch them, safe'ishly from Pak airspace.
The IA vs PA will always be a hot debate. That's all it will remain, because neither army is really able to fight a war now with any degree of conviction that they will prevail. There are too many deficiencies in both. In any case the Generals are too busy enriching themselves and their families. "
RAW 13 , thanks for your reply, now as per your view regarding the fighting of the Armies, according to my opinion war is won by employing strategies, in accordance with the resources, their optimum usage, ensuring the favourable result, as it is the nature of the Globe, the corruption is there everywhere, varying with the degree, depending upon the moral character of a race, but it remains to be seen where the happening is frequent and rampant, IA is not totally immune to those, as the same is getting reported, and reports also get published about dealing of the same by the Authorities in Administration, but I am afraid to say about PA, as being the dominating institution of Pakistan, there are frequent charges of corruption being labelled not from the outside of that country but from inside, and the difference remains, how the corruption is being tackled or approach being taken.
To SUJOY MAJUMDAR: What I can state with conviction is that there’s absolutely no need for a BMD network. There never was & there never will be. For starters, none of India’s three armed services had ever formally stated such a requirement & it is therefore highly questionable how the successive Govts of India since 1996 have ever released R & D funds to the DRDO for initiating such a project. Instead, such funds ought to have been pumped in to the projects aimed at developing the SR-SAM & MR-SAM/LR-SAM systems for ensuring air-defence against NLOS-BSMs & cruise missiles. As for Indian financial assistance for Afghanistan’s armed forces, the latter had explicitly asked India for servicing the fleet of Afghan Mi-17s & An-32Bs & also for supplying surplus-stock T-55 & T-72M1 MBTs. Kabul had also never asked for 155mm/52-cal howitzers, but for 122mm D-30 howitzers & related ammo supplies.
To PINTU: 1) The answer lies in the DRDO-issued photo of the Akash-1’s recent firing trials. Why were the missile launchers detached from the motorised vehicles? What extra re-wiring arrangements were required as a result of such a configuration? Were these arrangements responsible for power unavailability & the consequent failure of the missiles to leave the launchers? If the firing trials were meant to test the Akash-1 in its operational configuration, then why were the launchers detached from their motorised vehicles? Finally, why were such firings conducted from the ITR? Why couldn’t the firings be carried out at Surya Lanka, as is the norm for already-inducted air-defence systems?
2) The BMD’s R & D project has been a sheer waste of time & effort. It ought to have morphed a long time ago into a project aimed at developing solutions against the menace of NLOS-BSMs & cruise missiles.
4) Yes, it is.
To RAD: That’s because beggars can’t become choosers. And despite years of claims & bombastic remarks, there’s no project in existence to develop a ‘desi’ LRTR, be it a swordfish or kingfish or any other type of fish. China is ahead of India in the area of integrated air-defence against NLOS-BSMs & cruise missiles. But there’s no R & D project to develop BMD networks inside China.
To SNTATA: Delivered, yes, but when will it be commissioned into service? Actually, delivery took place last August when the IN’s project-specific warship overseeing team arrived on board INS Kolkata. This warship will be commissioned with its LR-SAM silos fitted, but not with the missile-launchers. When it comes to vertically-launched missiles, one cannot separated the missile-rounds from their hermetically-sealed missile launchers.
To NEO: There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes R & D that’s already reached fruition & some more outstanding R & D is now being undertaken. The airframe modifications on an industrial-scale will get underway sometime in 2016, according to the revised schedule.
To GOOGLER: EL/M-2248 MF-STAR, yes. There’s a question-mark over the RAN-40L since A K Antony has blacklisted Finmeccanica & consequently, it’s not if even the IAC-1 will have the RAN-40L on-board.
To ROHIT: No way. US special operations forces are always strategically employed, while those of India are employed tactically.
To REDDY & SOUBHAGYA: Good news, yes. But why launch it from a Su-30MKI, when the Astra Mk1 BVRAAM is being developed to arm the Tejas Mk1 MRCA? After all, there are more than enough R-77 BVRAAMs available for both the Su-30MKI & MiG-21 Bisons & MiG-29UPGs, while the Mirage 2000UPGs will have MICA BVRAAMs. So why has the Tejas Mk1 been unable to test-fire the Astra Mk1 to date? Unresolved systems integration problems/challenges?
To ABS: Such disparaging & unsubstantiated remarks will only worsen bilateral relations between India & Bangladesh & that too at a time when Bangladesh been trying very hard to be friendly to India. Although several politicians have made such allegations for more than a decade now, no one to date has come forward with verifiable data/statistics. I will therefore be extremely surprised if the figure is more than even 1,500. Secondly, it is impossible for illegal migrants to stay hidden & undiscovered forever, even in sparsely populated Indian states like Tripura or Meghalaya, leave alone the more populated states like Assam or West Bengal. At best, therefore, what some politicians are attributing matters to without going into the details concerns the existence of the ‘chit mahals’ along the India-Bangladesh boundaries—a matter which should have been amicably resolved for good in the 1970s itself.
To RAJEEV CHATURVEDI: You honestly want to believe a guy who claims that the IN has a fleet of 10 Kilo-class SSKs??? The figure he’s given refers to a brand-new SSK design for Project 75I, & is not related to the Scorpene SSK at all. But, being ‘desi’ journalists, such folks cannot be expected to delve into the details & explain them in layman’s terms to their audiences.
your answer " No way. US special operations forces are always strategically employed, while those of India are employed tactically " to my question disturbs me a lot. Is there any indian special force which is at par with the us seals,delta,sas etc.
You love to see india having a sam umbrella, that will happen soon.Its not that every village will be defended by sams its only the place of importance . As for your south african import raad is also a cruise missile and not some super stealthy as made out by you it will get knocked off as it pops up. Indeed it is difficult to find them now but its a matter of time .Well there are lots of them coming your way as well.The mirages trying to fire ARM missiles will have to come close to the radar as they cannot come in high , so i think they will have to launch 25 km away thats too close, well we have the ramjet powered 100km+ kh-31p and the super israeli HAROP anti radar drones with 400 +km range and loitering capacity .
As for the kashmir students forced to shout anti pak slogans,well they asked for it. what will your students do in pak if some hindu students support india in a cricket match! they will be a fatwa and the taliban will be on them !! well it all started by kashmir students supporting you. you shoot a teenage girl student for going to school!! and nobody has the guts to stop that.
99% of the news published in the hindu news paper is what I call safe news. that means it publishes news that has no real value or little value and mostly useful for the sake of news and for retired people.
the nature of the news it publishes consists of; interviews of bus drivers, librarians, and seasonal news like schools, roads, fruits, birds, festivals, music and cinema news, exams, educational articles copied from net, shameless western propaganda articles, etc. Even it is afraid of publishing some deficiencies in societies esplly in TN and often takes the stand of apologetic news with respect to pak and kashmir, and always try to appease some one for the sake of secularism etc. It is even less worthy than the toilet paper. it is overrated paper in chennai. as every dog has a day, it publishes an investigative article one for each decade and drops at times.
I want to say this because after reading the links posted by you, I like the way how they presented the news in such an analytical way.
Prasun Da, thanks for your reply, regarding Akash, I should have been more attentive towards the photographs, depending upon the situation, I must wonder how many tests should have been followed.
Regarding my queries, about Points raised concerned to firepower of both IA & PA, I should revisit your thread regarding Indian MGS procurement.
To ROHIT: Why are you so disturbed? Before asking such questions, one must first seek answers to far more basic questions, like how come the US with a population of only 35 crores can sustain itself as the world's foremost superpower, while India with a population of 120 crores is classified as a refusing-to-develop-country?
I totally agree with you on your views of the hindu newspaper.N Ram is another self appointed pseudo secularist and his views are leftist usually. Good he is not there now but his stink seems to still float around the editorial column and news
Prasun,
ReplyDeleteCould you please write an article on ISRO technical capability, Indian Satellites, Launch Vehicles, and other associated Technology in comparison with the west, ie,. France and US please.
Please focus on the technology Gap ISRO has with the west and how long it takes to meet such a gap?
And Indian Sub continent Satellite demands and ISROs supply, how India engages with neighbours in this field etc please?
Thank You so much.
@Prasun da
ReplyDeletedo read this write up and give your views on whether the NaMo factor is a deeply devisive and polarizing factor
i says bcoz sometime back you said 2002 riots were done by VHP & B Dal and guys like Togadia have ben marginalized.
But look some days back he did give a statement in Gujarat, a NaMo party senior said somethign about DNA of particular region, a NaMo supporter baba said something about honeymoon, dalit and women. top it all another NaMo suppoter said his opponents will have to go to Pak. what kind of language is this, dont you think its unnecessarily polluting the minds and decisions just before voting towards bais
http://defenceexpress.blogspot.in/2014/04/in-argument-with-narendra-modi-supporter.html#comment-form
your views pls
thanks
Joydeep Ghosh
@A nice thread as always.
ReplyDeleteI would like to say one thing though.Development and operational deployment of a credible TBMD system would be no doubt a good thing Infact a great feat to achieve.I absolutely support this.
But only a missile shield may not be enough to deter our adversaries.A shield,no matter how much strong can be breached at some particular places with repeated blows.Besides,relying on only the shield would create a defensive mentality and sap the offensive edge out of the Indian forces.
So don't you think it would be prudent for India to deploy sufficient numbers of conventionally armed Prithvi III,Brahmos blk 3 and Shaurya ground launched precision guided munitions and subsonic LACMs in order to deter our enemies,especially the Chinese rascals.Only then they would think twice before thinking of attacking Indian targets with massed T assaults.
What's your view sir??
Prasun Da ,
ReplyDeleteIn the 1 st poster , DRDO states that " Kill Probability of 99.8 % for launch of 4 simultaneous (2 Exo + 2Endo) Interceptor" .
Does this mean that 4 Interceptor missiles will be fired against 1 incoming hostile warhead ?
I am certain that the chances of interception against Chinese MIRVs that have manoeuvrable capabilities will be a lot less than 99.8% .
Thank You
Vikram
Sir! How Iran, after have so much restriction still developing a lot of new product but India having much broader market opportunity but still no sign of development?
ReplyDeleteSir,
ReplyDeleteCommenting after quite some time.
1)What is the status of lr-sam and is it the long range AD system the IN needs or do we require naval versions of S-300 type missiles for fleet AD?
2)Why isn't the IN going for 125mm naval gun on its DDGs when Russian systems are being offered?
3)What do you make of the hamid Mir episode and the fact that Geo has openly come out against 'Hazrat Fauj'?
An intersting reads:
This one is on the long overdue integration of Northeast with 'mainland'
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/when-mary-kom-stares-down-at-narendra-modi/
Not sure missile shield is the right way. The new pak missiles already have independently maneuverable warheads and the missiles themselves can adapt various trajectories. This is without taking into account the very short flight times and the cruise missiles.
ReplyDeleteExcellent documentary on ‘Future Airpower Secrets’:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLJJh5N_JpM
Documentary on the K-278 Komsomolets, the only Project 685 Plavnik-class SSGN built that sank due to a raging fire April 7, 1989. All but 5 crewmen evacuated prior to sinking. 42 perished, many from smoke inhalation and exposure to the cold waters of the Barents Sea. A total of 27 crew members survived:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUivTRZb0FA
Remarkable two-part documentary on the CIA-funded Project AZORIAN, whose story of began on March 1, 1968, when a Soviet K-129 SSK sailed from the naval base at Petropavlovsk on the Kamchatka Peninsula to take up its peacetime patrol station northeast of Hawaii. But something went terribly wrong, for in mid-March 1968 the SSK suffered a catastrophic accident and sank 1,560 miles northwest of Hawaii with the loss of its entire crew 16,500 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. The documentary traces in detail the trials and tribulations of "Project Azorian" over the next six years, culminating on August 8, 1974, when the commercial vessel specially modified to perform the secret mission, the Hughes Glomar Explorer, raised a portion of the K-129 to the surface and took it to Hawaii for detailed examination:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAGIOSwQmuk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HshJczqbouk
To REDDY: The best write-ups on this topic were published earlier this year in FRONTLINE at:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.frontline.in/magazine/?date=2014-02-04&magid=5605345
To JOYDEEP GHOSH: It’s a free country where everyone has a right to express his/her own views & be held accountable for them. To cut a long story short, the NaMo factor is as deeply a devisive and polarizing factor as the Rajiv Gandhi factor was in the immediate aftermath of the anti-Sikh riots of 1984. Furthermore, don’t attribute statements to NaMo that WERE NEVER uttered by him. Rather, do hold all those accountable who have actually made such statements & if they’re on the wrong side of the law, then they must be held accountable & the law must be allowed to take its own course.
To VIKRAM GUHA: Yes, as per the poster, that’s how the kill probability has been calculated. MIRVs have very limited manoeuvrability & this can easily be countered by sophisticated proportional navigation algorithms of the interceptor warhead.
To SATYA: Actually developing such systems is quite different from being seen to have developed such systems. Most of Iran’s claims are merely for domestic consumption purposes.
To VIKRANT: 1) IN requires only MR-SAM, not LR-SAM. 2) Ideally, 155mm guns ought to be procured. 3) Hamid Mir has traditionally been a publicity-seeker by reporting without facts-on-hand. And so yet again he has made allegations that will be impossible to be proven in a court of law & he will thus become the nett loser.
To RAW13: Neither ballistic missiles nor their MIRVs are of the all-singing-and-dancing-type, irregardless of their nationalities. And those in service with the PA certainly can’t fly depressed trajectories. Furthermore, the projected BMD network is meant for neutralising those ballistic missiles that are conventionally armed & are therefore meant for use as ‘terror weapons’ against cities. Lastly, cruise missiles are never neutralised anywhere in this world by BMD networks. Cruise missiles are always best intercepted by E-SHORADS, as was amply proven during OP Desert Storm in 1991.
Thanks Prasun.
ReplyDeletePrasun Da ,
ReplyDeleteAs always many thanks for sharing this interesting piece of information . I have 3 questions in this regard :
(1) In your opinion what are the chances that DRDO will succeed in designing a BMD system indigenously ?
(2) Is there a possibility that just like a few previous projects that DRDO had undertaken this BMD project will also end in failure & then GOI will have to spend billions to procure an Arrow 3 , THAAD etc from abroad ?
(3) Isn’t this another example of misplaced priority on the part of MoD . The armed forces face a bigger threat from cruise missiles & TBMs . Shouldn’t anti cruise missile / TBM systems be purchased first before funds are allocated for designing a BMD system ?
Many Thanks ,
Sujoy
prasun da.. Still waiting for ins kamrota and ins kolkata.. After the ins kolkata incident what's the revised time frame for ins kolkata and ins kamrota?? And what abt ins arihant heard that it 'll be at sea trial sometimes around march, but no news after that.. Thnks in adv..
ReplyDeleteHi Prason da :
ReplyDeleteI saw a Patriot launcher on the internet with 16 patriots.Why can't the DRDO have a configuration to have at least 6 or may be 16 like the one the the link below.Just 3 missiles on one vehicle seems to be very less.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Maintenance_check_on_a_Patriot_missile.jpg
@Rohit,
ReplyDeleteThat looks deadly....
Thanks for that image.
On a separate note, It seems DRDO and ISRO also need to train and equip DD News and Private channels regarding Photography, Video Shooting and Audio Production Technologies, GIVEN the media that comes out of these institutions during PSLV/GSLVs and Missile trails and Testing phases comes out to be on PATHETIC standards.
What an awful country and people...
Sometimes I feel If British might have given living rights in India after Independence, India would have surpassed US long time back and might become a beacon in the world on every sphere of life and technology.
Just for info, am living in UK.
Prasun ji, can you confirm if this is true or just balderdash -
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/IndoGlobalDefence/posts/596173797146340:0
Reportedly, the KALI microwave weapon was tested at Siachen to create an avalanche.
Prason da : 3 missiles as per DRDO have 99 % accuracy so it means after one kill next loading is to be done but the way 16 patriot missiles are packed in one launcher it can cause 5 kills.
ReplyDeleteWhy are patriots stored in canisters and why Akash is not?
Prasun ji,
ReplyDelete1. How many Ka-25, Sea King and Chetak helicopters are in service with IN and how many more years would those serve IN?
2. What would be the replacements for those helicopters?
3. Is there any plan for developing our own SSN? If yes, what is the time period for the same?
4. Is there any development going on regarding Dhruv to fold it's blades like Sea King helicopters to enable serve them on IN Ships ?
Thank you.
http://news.yahoo.com/india-turns-russia-help-supply-arms-afghan-forces-132037710.html
ReplyDeleteI think India is moving wisely on this Afghan matter. Is it?
ReplyDeleteTo SUJOY MAJUMDAR: Let’s try answering those questions by way of timelines. Firstly, is it possible for a country that takes 10 years to do just systems analysis & project definition (for the Arjun Mk1 MBT) & 6 years for the Tejas Mk1 MRCA, to complete all such work for a 2-tier BMD network in just 2 years between 1996 & 1998? Obviously not. Consequently, it is evident that between 1996 & 1998 a proven systems architecture was sought off-the-shelf & obtained from Israel & by 2001 the hardware, inclusive of the 2 EL/M-2080 Green Pine LRTRs & a single IAI-designed & TADIRAN-built battle management, command, control, communications and intelligence (BMC3I) centre simulator without any mission software, was delivered. Concurrently, R & D work began on the PAD & AAD interceptor vehicles in 1998, plus on the mission software algorithms from 2001. By 2008 these were all ready for testing & by late 2009 it emerged that 1) the liquid fuelled PAD was unsuitable & what was reqd was a solid-fuelled PDV for making interceptions at an altitude of 200km. 2) The AAD required optimisation & thus were born the AD-1 & AD-2 interceptors. 3) While the PDV required dual sensors (Ku-band active radar & IIR sensor) for terminal guidance, the AD-1/AD-2 interceptors reqd only IIR seekers. Consequently, it can safely be inferred that the original systems analysis was WRONG & from the very outset, R & D ought to have been focussed on the development of 1) dual-sensor terminal guidance & 2) solid-fuelled PDV instead of the liquid-fuelled PAD (i.e. needless waste of time, money & effort). Add to it the DRDO’s stubborn refusal till to date to employ solid-fuelled TBMs as target missiles (even though the Shaurya & Agni-1/2 are available) & consequently credible test-points for performance evaluation of the BMD interceptors are unavailable. Work on developing the PDV began in late 2008 & its first test-firing took place on April 27, 2014. It will take at least nine more test-firings & that too against a solid-fuelled IRBM or TBM to prove the PDV’s mission effectiveness. If only one PDV is fired every year, it means the PDV will be available only by 2023. Then there’s the issue of designing & fabricating a ‘desi’ LRTR, about which there’s no verifiable evidence of any homegrown R & D activity being undertaken as of now. As for the anti-TBM/anti-NLOS-BSM AD-1/AD-2, don’t be surprised if it emerges as an ‘elongated avatar’ of the Barak-2. CMD systems for neutralising cruise missiles are already under induction, like the EL/M-2084 Arudhra MMR & will in future be followed by the vertically launched SR-SAM.
ReplyDeleteTo SUMIT SEN: All indigenous warship construction efforts are now at a standstill & will be like this until the new government at the centre presents a new fiscal budget. The same goes for the commissioning schedules for the lead boat of each warship family, be it a DDG or ASW corvette. S-2/Arihant simply cannot proceed on her sea-trials unless & until a DSRV is made available to cater for unforeseen emergencies. And it was A K Antony who in 2008 indefinitely postponed the procurement of a DSRV from the world’s foremost manufacturer of such products—Canada’s Ocean Works.
ReplyDeleteTo ROHIT: One cannot compare the Akash Mk1 with the MIM-104 Patriot by any stretch of the imagination. The Akash Mk1’s design is of 1970s vintage, using some components designed in the 1980s, & series-produced since less than a decade ago. However, in terms of deployment footprint, one Akash Mk1 Group Control Centre can control no less than eight Batteries (with 96 missiles), each comprising four launchers each housing 3 missiles. The Barak-2 LR-SAM system (for the IAF) will comprise eight VL-SAMs per motorised TEL.
To REDDY: It has nothing to do with the UK’s living rights in India posat-1947. Instead, it’s all about bringing about a transformational change in the national mindset & that too by a true leader of national stature. You may be interested in knowing that the taxation/revenue collection system imposed during the British Raj was an exact replica of the system put in place in India by Emperor Akbar. And the command-and-control structure & the teeth-to-tail ratio of the Imperial Indian Army & even the British Army was an identical replica of those first introduced by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who in turn had imbibed the best of both the British & French advances in RMA of that era. Prior to this, the Brits never even knew about dividing field artillery assets into light, medium or heavy. In other words, wherever the Brits found merit in whatever, they never hesitated to imbibe & practice for themselves.
To GESSLER: Of course it is pure unadulterated balderdash. And the evidence is there right in front of your eyes. If only anyone knew how big a deal it is to structurally modify an aircraft to even host an extra bulkhead, leave alone a directed-energy weapon! And in the entire narrative you’ve quoted, there’s not even a single mention of institutions like ASTE or CEMILAC! Without their inputs & flight-test regimes, no such modifications can even be dreamt about, rest assured.
ReplyDeleteTo MG6357: 1) Almost all Ka-28PLs & Sea King Mk42Bs are grounded since their TTSLs have already expired. Only the Sea King Mk42Cs & the HH-3Cs remain operational. About 30 SA.316B Alouette IIIs remain in service, along with the 13 Ka-31s. 2) The Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk should have been ordered by 2012, but there again A K Antony has been sitting on it due to some anonymous complaint being filed against the S-70B & in favour of the NH-90. 3) Within the MoD, there’s no such plan. 4) Nope. Nothing of that sort is either in the works or in the pipeline.
To Mr. RA 9: Yes indeed.
Recent documentary on OP OPERA, the IDF-AF's destruction of Iraq's Tammuz-1 nuclear reactor in Baghdad in 1981:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xTf2sCOq44
Prasun Da ,
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the detailed answer .
Based on the empirical evidence that we have against the DRDO I wonder why a PIL is not filed in the Supreme Court asking the DRDO to stop work on the BMD immediately . Un-necessarily billions of rupees of tax payers money will be wasted for the next 5 years & eventually DRDO will issue an RFI for a BMD system after that .
Re the link that you have posted about India asking Russia to sell weapons to Afghanistan & bill it to India . This is a classic example of short sightedness on the part of GOI . Why can’t a Kalyani Group or a Punj Llyod or any other Indian company be asked to design a 155 mm, 52-calibre towed howitzer & sell it to Afghanistan ? This would have saved the country millions in foreign exchange as Russia will have to be paid in dollars or Euros .
Now compare this tomfoolery with what the US Govt is doing . It is asking Industry for inputs pertaining to the development of it’s next generation combat ships
http://news.usni.org/2014/04/30/navy-asks-industry-input-follow-littoral-combat-ship
Honestly , as much as I want I do NOT think that a change of guard at the Center will bring about a complete turn around to the sad state of affairs in this country .
Thanks again ,
Sujoy
http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/Successive-Failure-of-Akash-Trial/2014/05/01/article2199350.ece
ReplyDeletePrasunda,
1) What may be the reason behind successive failure of Akash SAM in user trial ? As it getting reported, is it common occurrence across the globe, or is there any problem brewed up ?
2) Prasun Da, is there any silver lining for present BMD Programme of DRDO ? As Sujoy, questioned, can this programme be stopped in Midway ? Could a JV formed regarding BMD ? Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2001, supported George Bush Jr.'s NMD proposal?
3) There's a lot of Hot Debate went on in your previous thread, Firepower of IA vis-a-vis PA, snd some info shared by Anurag, kindly your views on that ?
4) Is it possible to convert Agni -III & V into Space Launch Vehicle ?
Thanks in advance
The reports coming out from different sources regarding Akash is quite contradictory.
ReplyDeletehi prasun
ReplyDeletei dont understand why we are still stuck with just 2 green pine radars and associated c4. Are we gong ahead with the improved swordfish radar as claimed . i would have 10 such radars and have some on the anadaman islands and laccadive islands to monitor the airspace.
I am thrilled by the dual sensor on the missile and the relative data fusion which is the way forward. China claims it is ahead in BMD with the s-300 sam tech, is that true, I do see a nascent anti satellite tech involved in the recently conducted missile test, All we have to do is to have a bigger air frame and a proven IIR and radar seekers, am i right
@Prasun, The NASR has depressed trajectory (short range) and the Shaheen series (last block manufactured) incorporated some of the avoidance features. The Cruise Missiles (babur/raad) we both agree are very hard to stop. So my point was why waste this money, when the ABS is nothing more than what the patriot missiles did in the gulf war, against the old scuds...nothing! There the US AF had complete control of the air. Iraq also fired missiles from the desert, pak is full of mountains. Surely the money could be spent in better ways?
ReplyDeletePs. What did you think of the comments by our COAS wrt Kashmir? (this is how most paks feel, though many here dis-agreed with me before)
@Pintu,
ReplyDeleteThe IA vs PA will always be a hot debate. That's all it will remain, because neither army is really able to fight a war now with any degree of conviction that they will prevail. There are too many deficiencies in both. In any case the Generals are too busy enriching themselves and their families.
Dear Prasun & Sumit Sen,
ReplyDeleteINS Kolkata will be delivered to Navy next month, without the battery of LR-SAMs, but with missile launchers fitted.
http://idrw.org/?p=37192
Prasun, what exactly is the status of the Super Su MKI deal? When will it begin and in what numbers??? You had made a blod entry in 2011 stating from "air supremacy to air dominance" that I have just been reading but none of this seems to have happened to date....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.freewebs.com/jeffhead/aegisvesselsoftheworld/aegisl.htm
ReplyDeletePRASUN, WILL THE P-17AS AND P-15BS COME WITH THE RAN-40L/MF-STAR COMBO?
ReplyDeleteAre Marcos at par with the US Navy Seals.
ReplyDeleteDo they have all such equipments and training to be at PAR
to raw13
ReplyDeleteCruise missiles are not impossible to stop. Technology Has advanced much more. Right now it is hard to stop cruise missiles approx 50% chance.But it will improve as the barak 8 missiles and the maitri sams come in with IIR and radar seekers. Dont forget the spider sam system which are very effective against cruise missiles. They can take out mach 2 bogeys.fighters will find it scary to come as they will never know if a missile is coming their way targeted by AESA radars . Awacs can easily pick them up as well. Its a matter of time.Israel has the iron dome for short range rockets and can be easily modified to take on cruise missiles with their multi shot capability. Then there is the David sling which is much more advanced.There are ways and it is a matter of time when an anti cruise missile program is in place.Its costly but we have the money.As for ABM, its along time since the gulf war and today`s patriots are very effective.IF ABM is a waste then why is US , europe,Israel,russia and your all weather master investing in them.?
News: Astra successfully test-fired from Sukhoi-30 MKI
ReplyDeleteDear Prasun,
ReplyDeleteASTRA AAM has been successfully test fired from Sukhoi 30 MKI. How is it going to fulfill IAF's requirements??? How much indigenous it is? Has DRDO reverse engineered the Russian one or developed it from the scratch? Plz. come up with ur reply at ur earliest.
THNX.
@prasunda
ReplyDeleteYour thoughts on this debate on "Illegal Bangladeshis"? Figures of around 6 crore have been quoted. Would like to know of your views on this considering there is no metric to know or understand how many of those illegal immigrants were Hindus or Muslims.
Prasunda,
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned once that repeat orders of Scorpene submarines would cost lesser than the previous order.
Now Mr Ajai Shukla says that only six submarines in further order would cost $8.25 billion which means about 1.38 billion each. If 400-600 million more is added, one can buy French Barracuda class SSN. Is this highly price justified?
India still has the IPR and design rights of Type 209 which can be reactivated or sold to one of the private shipyards. I wonder how much will it cost?
I understand the relevance of diesel submarines for coastal defence but at this price??? I would think twice.
Can you please clarify this issue?
ReplyDeleteHI Prasun
As the astra has been test flighted , please give us a complete article on it with pics, please do so.
I am curious why the astra has big mid section wings when all missiles like the amraam .sd-10 ave small wings . What is the aerodynamic consequences of it. Is it a trade of for more maneuverability to drag??
@rad,
ReplyDeleteI never said they can't be stopped. Its just the bang for bucks question. Cruise Missiles, are indeed easy to shot down, only problem is finding them. Ever tried to shoot a needle in a haystack? Look at the size of india...where, which direction will they come from and in what numbers, raad is also air launched. They have stealth shaping/coating, low enough speed not to generate too much IR signature and are low to the ground so IR masking is happening (against AEW search).
I would love to see india spend so much to cover the entire border with SAMs. Imagine this happening during the fog of war...suddenly your task gets even harder by a factor of 10. In war one of the first thing each AF will do is knock the radar stations out using MAR-1 (ARM) type missiles. If the radar stations within 100km of Pak border are out, the reaction time for the missile batteries gets shorter...and before you know it, its bulls-eye!!! There is a reason PAF spent so much money on CM, because even crappy mirages can launch them, safe'ishly from Pak airspace.
@Prasun, seems like not everyone thinks like you:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/05-May-2014/kashmiri-students-forced-to-shout-anti-pakistan-slogans
When will the m777, Chinook and Apache deals for India be signed?
ReplyDelete" Anonymous raw13 said...
ReplyDelete@Pintu,
The IA vs PA will always be a hot debate. That's all it will remain, because neither army is really able to fight a war now with any degree of conviction that they will prevail. There are too many deficiencies in both. In any case the Generals are too busy enriching themselves and their families. "
RAW 13 , thanks for your reply, now as per your view regarding the fighting of the Armies, according to my opinion war is won by employing strategies, in accordance with the resources, their optimum usage, ensuring the favourable result, as it is the nature of the Globe, the corruption is there everywhere, varying with the degree, depending upon the moral character of a race, but it remains to be seen where the happening is frequent and rampant, IA is not totally immune to those, as the same is getting reported, and reports also get published about dealing of the same by the Authorities in Administration, but I am afraid to say about PA, as being the dominating institution of Pakistan, there are frequent charges of corruption being labelled not from the outside of that country but from inside, and the difference remains, how the corruption is being tackled or approach being taken.
To SUJOY MAJUMDAR: What I can state with conviction is that there’s absolutely no need for a BMD network. There never was & there never will be. For starters, none of India’s three armed services had ever formally stated such a requirement & it is therefore highly questionable how the successive Govts of India since 1996 have ever released R & D funds to the DRDO for initiating such a project. Instead, such funds ought to have been pumped in to the projects aimed at developing the SR-SAM & MR-SAM/LR-SAM systems for ensuring air-defence against NLOS-BSMs & cruise missiles. As for Indian financial assistance for Afghanistan’s armed forces, the latter had explicitly asked India for servicing the fleet of Afghan Mi-17s & An-32Bs & also for supplying surplus-stock T-55 & T-72M1 MBTs. Kabul had also never asked for 155mm/52-cal howitzers, but for 122mm D-30 howitzers & related ammo supplies.
ReplyDeleteTo PINTU: 1) The answer lies in the DRDO-issued photo of the Akash-1’s recent firing trials. Why were the missile launchers detached from the motorised vehicles? What extra re-wiring arrangements were required as a result of such a configuration? Were these arrangements responsible for power unavailability & the consequent failure of the missiles to leave the launchers? If the firing trials were meant to test the Akash-1 in its operational configuration, then why were the launchers detached from their motorised vehicles? Finally, why were such firings conducted from the ITR? Why couldn’t the firings be carried out at Surya Lanka, as is the norm for already-inducted air-defence systems?
2) The BMD’s R & D project has been a sheer waste of time & effort. It ought to have morphed a long time ago into a project aimed at developing solutions against the menace of NLOS-BSMs & cruise missiles.
4) Yes, it is.
To RAD: That’s because beggars can’t become choosers. And despite years of claims & bombastic remarks, there’s no project in existence to develop a ‘desi’ LRTR, be it a swordfish or kingfish or any other type of fish. China is ahead of India in the area of integrated air-defence against NLOS-BSMs & cruise missiles. But there’s no R & D project to develop BMD networks inside China.
To SNTATA: Delivered, yes, but when will it be commissioned into service? Actually, delivery took place last August when the IN’s project-specific warship overseeing team arrived on board INS Kolkata. This warship will be commissioned with its LR-SAM silos fitted, but not with the missile-launchers. When it comes to vertically-launched missiles, one cannot separated the missile-rounds from their hermetically-sealed missile launchers.
ReplyDeleteTo NEO: There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes R & D that’s already reached fruition & some more outstanding R & D is now being undertaken. The airframe modifications on an industrial-scale will get underway sometime in 2016, according to the revised schedule.
To GOOGLER: EL/M-2248 MF-STAR, yes. There’s a question-mark over the RAN-40L since A K Antony has blacklisted Finmeccanica & consequently, it’s not if even the IAC-1 will have the RAN-40L on-board.
To ROHIT: No way. US special operations forces are always strategically employed, while those of India are employed tactically.
To REDDY & SOUBHAGYA: Good news, yes. But why launch it from a Su-30MKI, when the Astra Mk1 BVRAAM is being developed to arm the Tejas Mk1 MRCA? After all, there are more than enough R-77 BVRAAMs available for both the Su-30MKI & MiG-21 Bisons & MiG-29UPGs, while the Mirage 2000UPGs will have MICA BVRAAMs. So why has the Tejas Mk1 been unable to test-fire the Astra Mk1 to date? Unresolved systems integration problems/challenges?
To ABS: Such disparaging & unsubstantiated remarks will only worsen bilateral relations between India & Bangladesh & that too at a time when Bangladesh been trying very hard to be friendly to India. Although several politicians have made such allegations for more than a decade now, no one to date has come forward with verifiable data/statistics. I will therefore be extremely surprised if the figure is more than even 1,500. Secondly, it is impossible for illegal migrants to stay hidden & undiscovered forever, even in sparsely populated Indian states like Tripura or Meghalaya, leave alone the more populated states like Assam or West Bengal. At best, therefore, what some politicians are attributing matters to without going into the details concerns the existence of the ‘chit mahals’ along the India-Bangladesh boundaries—a matter which should have been amicably resolved for good in the 1970s itself.
To RAJEEV CHATURVEDI: You honestly want to believe a guy who claims that the IN has a fleet of 10 Kilo-class SSKs??? The figure he’s given refers to a brand-new SSK design for Project 75I, & is not related to the Scorpene SSK at all. But, being ‘desi’ journalists, such folks cannot be expected to delve into the details & explain them in layman’s terms to their audiences.
To FINDER: Your guess is as good as mine.
Excellent analysis on the way successive CNS of the IN have been appointed:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140423/edit.htm#5
Yet another excellent analysis on the true state of the PLA:
ReplyDeletehttps://medium.com/war-is-boring/8a12e8ef7edc
An appreciable analysis on India's nuclear doctrine:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/for-a-clear-nuclear-doctrine/article5979229.ece?homepage=true
But the writer fails to acknowledge the fact that the draft nuclear doctrine had a validity period of only 15 years, as proven here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZJx6m_HSzg
http://www.janes.com/article/37219/update-saudi-arabia-displays-ballistic-missiles-for-the-first-time
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8HufjxiwJA
Dear Prasun da :
ReplyDeleteyour answer " No way. US special operations forces are always strategically employed, while those of India are employed tactically " to my question disturbs me a lot.
Is there any indian special force which is at par with the us seals,delta,sas etc.
to raw13
ReplyDeleteYou love to see india having a sam umbrella, that will happen soon.Its not that every village will be defended by sams its only the place of importance .
As for your south african import raad is also a cruise missile and not some super stealthy as made out by you it will get knocked off as it pops up. Indeed it is difficult to find them now but its a matter of time .Well there are lots of them coming your way as well.The mirages trying to fire ARM missiles will have to come close to the radar as they cannot come in high , so i think they will have to launch 25 km away thats too close, well we have the ramjet powered 100km+ kh-31p and the super israeli HAROP anti radar drones with 400 +km range and loitering capacity .
As for the kashmir students forced to shout anti pak slogans,well they asked for it. what will your students do in pak if some hindu students support india in a cricket match! they will be a fatwa and the taliban will be on them !! well it all started by kashmir students supporting you.
you shoot a teenage girl student for going to school!! and nobody has the guts to stop that.
99% of the news published in the hindu news paper is what I call safe news. that means it publishes news that has no real value or little value and mostly useful for the sake of news and for retired people.
ReplyDeletethe nature of the news it publishes consists of; interviews of bus drivers, librarians, and seasonal news like schools, roads, fruits, birds, festivals, music and cinema news, exams, educational articles copied from net, shameless western propaganda articles, etc.
Even it is afraid of publishing some deficiencies in societies esplly in TN and often takes the stand of apologetic news with respect to pak and kashmir, and always try to appease some one for the sake of secularism etc. It is even less worthy than the toilet paper. it is overrated paper in chennai. as every dog has a day, it publishes an investigative article one for each decade and drops at times.
I want to say this because after reading the links posted by you, I like the way how they presented the news in such an analytical way.
Prasun Da, thanks for your reply, regarding Akash, I should have been more attentive towards the photographs, depending upon the situation, I must wonder how many tests should have been followed.
ReplyDeleteRegarding my queries, about Points raised concerned to firepower of both IA & PA, I should revisit your thread regarding Indian MGS procurement.
To ROHIT: Why are you so disturbed? Before asking such questions, one must first seek answers to far more basic questions, like how come the US with a population of only 35 crores can sustain itself as the world's foremost superpower, while India with a population of 120 crores is classified as a refusing-to-develop-country?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteTO ANONYMOUS@ 10.32
I totally agree with you on your views of the hindu newspaper.N Ram is another self appointed pseudo secularist and his views are leftist usually. Good he is not there now but his stink seems to still float around the editorial column and news