On February 18, when Shri Narendra
Damodardas Modi becomes India’s second ever Prime Minister to inaugurate the
Aero India expo (the first was Shri H D Deve Gowda), he, accompanied by Defence
Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar and Minister of State for Defence Shri Rao
Inderjit Singh, can be expected to view both the aerobatic demonstrations by
both home-grown and foreign platforms as well as visit those exhibition halls housing
the exhibits of India’s Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSU) as well as
those of the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO). It remains
to be seen if the expo organiser—the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Defence
Exhibition Organisation (DEO)—will take the assembled VVIPs to view the
exhibits of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). In case the VVIPs do
make it there, this by itself will constitute a grim reality check. Why so?
Because traditionally, the booth—itself left segregated in an insignificant
corner inside a makeshift exhibition hall—is largely left unmanned. Anyone
familiar with ISRO’s exploits and achievements will indeed find this hard to
believe or digest, but this has been a fact of life for far too long! One
therefore can only hope that NaMo takes stock of this and demands urgent
remedial measures from the DEO.
Let’s now venture into the expo proper:
although it has been hailed as an aerospace expo, Aero India has traditionally
been strictly for military aviation. Why? Simply because the DEO has no idea about
what exactly constitutes the aerospace industries and markets. Consequently, no
one from the DEO bothers to canvass abroad for participation by the space
agencies and OEMs from countries like the US, France and Russia. Similarly, you
won’t find any reputable foreign MRO service provider, nor any original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) producing commercial aircraft interiors, galley equipment, avionics,
in-flight entertainment systems, etc. etc. Likewise, if anyone thinks that the
expo will play host to OEMs for airport ground support hardware or aerobridges,
he/she will definitely draw a blank. Of the 328 OEMs from 33 countries
participating in Aero India 2015, the US will have the largest representation
with 64 companies, followed by France with 58 companies, the UK with 48, Russia
with 41 and Israel with 25. Although the total number of foreign companies
participating has risen sharply from 212 in Aero India 2013 to 328 this year,
rest assured that 99% of them will be hawking their products for off-the-shelf
purchases.
Participation by Indian exhibitors,
which has risen from 156 companies in 2013 to 266 this year, will be accounted
for mostly by the DPSUs and DRDO laboratories, with only a tiny sprinkling of
MSMEs. For the very first time there will be participation from three states—Karnataka,
Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh—that wish to attract foreign OEMs setting up shop in
their territories.
Suggested
Reality Checks
Here are a few questions that NaMo and
Shri Parrikar ought to ask their Mod-owned DPSU hosts if and when they visit
their respective pavilions:
Why has the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL)
consistently shied for a full decade now away from obtaining EASA airworthiness
certification for the Dhruv ALH?
Why has the Indian Army’s Aviation Corps
not yet raised its first squadron of the ‘Rudra’ helicopter-gunship despite taking
delivery of the first such helicopter back in February 2013?
What is the Dhruv ALH’s percentage of
claimed indigenisation by weight, by volume, by cost, and by technological
content? This is because imported equipment may constitute only 20% of the
platform by weight and volume, but could account for as much as 80% of the cost
and technology content.
Similarly, what will be the claimed
indigenisation by weight, by volume, by cost, and by technological content of
the HAL -developed Light Utility Helicopter’s (LUH) and Light Combat Helicopter’s
(LCH)?
Which entity—HAL or the DRDO’s
Aeronautical development Agency (ADA)—should be primarily responsible for commercially
marketing the Tejas family of multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA)? And this is
why I’m asking this question: If a certain customer, let’s say Egypt, is
interested in procuring the Tejas Mk1 MRCA’s tandem-seater version configured
as a lead-in-fighter trainer (LIFT), but it wants to procure the aircraft with non-Israeli
multi-mode pulse-Doppler radars, helmet-mounted displays and laser designation
pods, which entity should be held accountable for delivering the customer-specified
end-product: HAL, the aircraft manufacturer, or ADA, the aircraft designer-cum-systems
integrator?
Which OEM supplies all the synthetic
resins that are used for fabricating all the co-cured composite airframe
structures for the Dhruv ALH, LCH, LUH and the Tejas MRCA? Is the OEM a ‘desi’
one?
Why does India still need to import
Ni-Cd batteries for the Tejas MRCA, Dhruv/Rudra ALH, HJT-36, Mi-25 and Mi-35P
platforms, as well as for the Searcher Mk2 and Heron UAVs?
Why has no one in India ever thought
about devising indigenous alternatives to imported weapons ejector racks/pylons
for platforms like the Dhruv/Rudra ALH and Tejas MRCA?
Why has the DRDO failed to develop chaff
countermeasures kits for both fixed-wing and rotary-winged manned military
platforms?
If the hybrid RLG/GPS-based inertial
navigation system developed by the DRDO’s RCI laboratory has been successfully
flight-tested numerous times on board different types of ballistic and cruise missiles, then
what prevents it from being used on-board platforms like the Tejas MRCA and
LCH?
When will the fully functional
DRDO-developed Rustom-1 MALE-UAV begin entering service? Why has the DRDO
failed to adhere to the original service-entry deadline of late 2013?
Why has the DRDO failed so far to
develop COMINT and ELINT payloads for both the Rustom-1 and Rustom-2 MALE-UAVs?
Why does the DRDO-developed Ku-band
synthetic aperture radar (SAR) occupy twice as much space volume as that of the
in-service EL/M-2055D SARs delivered by the ELTA Systems subsidiary of Israel
Aerospace Industries?
Does the DRDO possess any technological
roadmap for developing a family of airborne AESA-MMRs? Or has it restricted
itself to developing only the ‘Uttam’ AESA-MMR for the projected Tejas Mk2/LCA
(Navy) Mk2 MRCA when, worldwide, established OEMs and developers of AESA-MMRs
are busy introducing newer mission-specific applications, such as the EL/M-2022ES
that can go on-board both UAVs and manned maritime surveillance/ASW platforms?
Will the MoD insist on procuring
left-hand-drive TATRA heavy-duty trucks from BEML for mounting the DRDO-developed
and BEL-built S-band Arudhra MPRs and Ashwini MRSRs? Or will the MoD ensure a
level playing-field by soliciting competitive bids from both BEML and India’s
private-sector truck manufacturers?
What do you think of this?
ReplyDeleteRafale proposal 'effectively dead' as Dassault bid not cheapest
http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/rafale-proposal-effectively-dead-as-dassault-bid-not-cheapest-115021600056_1.html
Any truth in this?
That's the cheapest form of yellow journalism. No one in the history of aviation has ever submitted a 'sketchy commercial bid' in response to a highly detailed RFQ document containing reams of forms to be filled up for technical evaluations & price evaluations. Indicative price-levels are never ever presented by anyone, rest assured.
ReplyDeletei am waiting to read an article from this joker when the deal is signed.he will surely come up with an even more stupid rationale for why india signed the deal.
ReplyDeletei sometimes wonder whether he is just plain stupid or is he being paid to be one?
One more item, Indian RLG INS substituting Sigma-30.
ReplyDeletePrasun,
ReplyDeleteHere I may not agree with you. Ajai Shukla is a respected journalist and often he is proven right. While you tend to hyper-inflate issues but in the end, it goes against your opinion.
When LCA Tejas got the IOC-II, you mentioned so many things that were wrong in IOC but at the end of the day, IAF went ahead and inducted the fighter. It has now even put SP-1 in service.
I have the feeling that the same will happen to Rafale as well. This deal has created lots of heated arguments but at the end, its heaps of money for few aircraft without any notable technology. Therefore, it would not be a surprise if Indian RM cancels it.
Here, I hope Shukla is correct and the Rafale deal is cancelled because almost entire Indian online defence discourse is against this deal. That includes insiders and outsiders, both. You have mentioned it will be signed in June which is not far. I will wait and watch.
Ajai shukla may be respected journalist to less unintelligible folks like most of us with superficial knowledge and do not to really get to the depths of things and get the information from trolling blogs. I find prasun analysis to be logical and qualitative and gives substantial information to backup.
ReplyDeleteAjai shukla blog are fun which I read them to see other perspective but do not give too much weightage. I find most of the free indian defence blogs junk or i am missing the qualitative ones.
In case gov does not go with rafale, it would be loss from the Indian perspective not judgment of whether prasun is correct or incorrect.
I sincerely hope rafale goes thru.
Sir, what exactly is the status of the Rudra? When will it become operational in the IA and IAF??
ReplyDelete@SK,
ReplyDeleteyou're talking NONSENSE
"inside and outside" discourse is against the Rafale? WRONG, the IAF is 150% FOR the Rafale and makes this clear every opportunity it gets (a shame no one is listening to them) the only ones against the Rafale are those being PAID to be so OR who are to DUMB but to repeat what these sold-out journalists are reporting.
The Indian media is ONCE AGAIN hurting our national security because of their non-exsistent standards and absurd levels of ignorance.
@ROBOTIC
ReplyDeleteI didn't ask for your idiotic rant, so shut the F**k up. You are not the last patriot left in India, nor the most important or sharper one. So, stop ranting and stay off.
Indian media may go overboard sometimes but so does India's Imported Air Force. You have no F***ing idea how this Air Force is ridiculed outside India. Its probably only air force of a major power whose trainers come from Swiss and British, Fighters from Russian and British, Transport from American, Russian and Germans and rest everything from the United States of Spare Parts. This is the same airforce which has four levels of aircraft training program. Still, it ends up crashing one squadron of aircraft every three years. It can even crash C-130J, a non-crashable aircraft. Its maintenance command and trades/services functions are horribly broken but it has resisted improving their status. It is one air force which has zero long range vision so contrast to Indian Navy, it has no willingness to guide and nurture Indian aviation industry. Rather, it would pump Indian dollars in foreign economies for God knows what kind of benefits.
Now, with the 4th gen Rafale purchase it would break the back of the country's economy for 189 planes, which won't be enough even for one front, let alone preparing for two front war. This IMPORTED AIR FORCE IS A BLOODY SHAME for the country. So stop preaching and do some comparative study, instead of fighting with your shadow.
@SK
ReplyDeleteOnline discourse ?You have to be joking . When the military takes advice from little keyboardwarriors that will be the day .
Who exactly are you to cast aspersions on the airforce? Everyone has the right to rant all the want just don't expect to be taken seriously.
Prasunda,
ReplyDeleteThe Indian Navy recently released a RFI for acquiring shipborne UAVs
http://tenders.gov.in/viewtenddoc.asp?tid=del718794&wno=1&td=TD
In your opinion which foreign/domestics companies have the type of UAVs the Navy is looking for?
Thanks,
HI prasun
ReplyDeletewhat is all this talk of the sukhoi mki being reliable and cheap!. we know the downtime is much more than the western ones .Its not multi role like the rafale Can we pull a hard deal in case the rafale deal does not go thru , by asking them for further transfer of tech of critical spare parts of the sukhoi. Also the russians can blackmail us into higher prices when they realize that India has to come to them for sukhois. There seem to be one silver lining ,ie the ruble is only half its value to day.So theoretically we can buy sukhois at half its value!! More over russia is hard up for dollars to stem the fall of the ruble .Could it be a win win situation!!??
But i am aslo skeptical as there are reports that they have not transferred the gun tech for the t-90 tanks , is it true?.
To JAY BHANUSHALI: He is being paid, no doubt about that, apart from being afflicted with terminally stupidity. Furthermore, those days are long gone when internal MoD documentation classified as ‘RESTRICTED’ used to be ‘leaked’. The present-day NSA Ajit K Doval is already seized of this matter as he should be, since such internal documentation is not meant for public consumption especially when matters are poised at a crucial stage. Therefore, don’t expect if the OSA’s clauses are invoked to sort out those ‘desi’ journalists who quote such internal documentation for the sake of justifying their utterly ridiculously conclusions that are in reality just mumbo-jumbo.
ReplyDeleteTo SK: Respected by whom? And often proven right in which cases? And FYI show me one single case in the world when a military aircraft or helicopter was subjected to sequential airworthiness certification processes like IOC-1, IOC-2 & FOC. You won’t find any. For the Tejas Mk1, the IOC-1/2 stages were just events for public consumption for the gullible. Whenever any aircraft is accepted for service-entry, the entire set of airworthiness certification documentation, along with the aircraft logbook, plus flight & maintenance manuals are all presented in one lump-sum all in a single day. This event is known as the commissioning ceremony & from that day onwards, the process of acquiring FOC begins, & it ends in most cases 36 months after service-entry. This is what will happen once the Rafales begin being delivered to the IAF. And what is this continuous harping about ‘without any notable technology’? What technology do you have in mind? Pray be specific instead on harping on generalisations. And also quote other notable worldwide examples of the passover/transfer of such technologies from one country to another. And the online discourses that you mention doesn’t impress anybody simply because no serving or retired IAF or IN official has so far been part of such discourses. Just hold your horses till you come across official MoD figures about the acquisition costs of the Tejas Mk1/2 & LCA (Navy) Mk1/2 MRCAs & then start judging what is cost-prohibitive to procure & what isn’t.
To ROBOTIC: How can it become operational sans its complement of ATGMs? While the IA wants the PARS-3LR, the DRDO is opposing it by claiming that the HELINA is equally good. But when exactly will the HELINA become available? No one seems to be able to answer that.
ReplyDeleteTo VIKRAM GUHA: The IN is clearly impressed with the Fire Scout from Northrop Grumman.
To RAD: Yes, the Su-30MKI is indeed reliable & cheap, PROVIDED timely spares supply is available from the OEMs & the IAF is willing to stockpile 3 years worth of required spares. This will increase the Su-30MKI’s operational availability levels. But lo & behold! Ukraine used to supply lots of components for the Su-27/30 families & Russia therefore never felt the need to set up its own production facilities for such components. So, with the ongoing spat between Ukraine & Russia, how can Rosoboronexport State Corp overcome this problem? Can Russian OEMs overnight begin producing such components? What effect will all this have on the IAF’s Su-30MKI fleet? Did the RM Manohar Parrikar think about all this before uttering his infamous mumbo-jumbo about the Su-30MKI’s comparison with the Rafale last December? Or was it a classic case of wagging the boneless tongue without factoring in the consequences of such an act? The Ruskies did teach the OFB how to produce the 2A46M 125mm barrels, but they never parted with their know-how on RHA & ERA tiles.
PS: BDL at AI-2015 is showing off its industrial production capabilities concerning the Nirbhay LACM & Barak-2 MR-SAM. Am off tomorrow to attend the DRDO seminars. Will start posting photos of the exhibits only from February 23, though, since this time I have an extremely tight & gruelling schedule & have to leapfrog from AI-2015 to the IDEX-2015 expo in Abu Dhabi.
Egypt a few hours ago inked a US$5.9 billion deal with France for procuring a FREMM FFG & 24 Rafales & their related PGMs.
ReplyDeleteI know that you are busy now.But could you shed some light on the Pakistan China Afghanistan talks .Pakistan appears to be of the opinion that this indicated Afghanistans tilt away from India .
ReplyDeletePrasun,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your clarification. About transfer of notable technology, I remember when the Rafale deal was finalised in 2012, the ongoing justification was ToT on following technologies:
1. M-88 Engine and its hot core technology
2. AESA radar
3. Robotic riveting and latest methods of aero-structure manufacturing
4. All rotables and consumables
5. SPECTRA suite and its source codes
There were many other ToT, so much so that many in France opposed this deal because they argued that it was against the French industrial base. When Mr Hollande came in power, there were several statements backtracking on ToT and assuring to keep the Rafale industrial base intact in France. So I am not surprised when I read reports that none of the above mentioned technologies are being transferred. Rather, clever words are being used in the contract to obfuscate ToT.
Then comes this refusal of taking guarantee of the Rafale manufactured in HAL. I would understand if Dassault says that it cannot guarantee on the delivery timeline by HAL because lets face it, HAL is lousy on deadlines. But I do not understand why they will not even stand for the quality of produced aircraft or its design integrity? What is the objective of producing it here then when they may be sub-standard aircraft? And this issue is now being argued by senior authorities in the public media, which tells me that all is not well and most probably, Dassault is taking IAF for a ride.
Hi prasun
ReplyDeletethis is a good opportunity to cultivate ukraine as it is impossible to rely on russia for the spare parts that you talked about.Is it that india is not prepared to stock 3 years worth of spares or russia is not delivering on time?
It will be also easier to get defense tech from them as how china did by buying the plans for the ship borne su-27 fighter. But we should keep of the russian ukrainan conflict.
I believe that they make the r-73 and r-27 missiles still. They also have developed a band IIR sensor for the r-73 missile .Its high time we start making our own short range IIR missiles to complement the astra .
why are they not transferring the tech for era etc when they give us higher tech stuff in other deals?I hear the kanchan Armour is as good as the best in the world and that it stops APFSD rounds and hesh rounds? they did not claim it can stop HEAT shaped charges?.
I really wonder how DRDO invites you to talks when you constantly lay apart their deficiencies?.
I will be attending Aero india-2015 on the 20th before the crowded days.
Do document things that are not privy to the common visitor with lot of pics!
Hi Prasun,
ReplyDeleteMany countries have been investing in 5th Gen fighter planes. However, there is no such news about French 5th Gen fighters? Why?
RaviN
Hi Prasun Da,
ReplyDeleteHave you seen in the last one week , I have seen about 25 different articles on Rafale deal and not to my surprise all showing it in the negative light. Most are written by self claimed defense expert journalists.
In my view after so many controversies the Rafale deal is now effectively dead. What do you think India will do now ??
1. But more super -Sukhoi 30? I think its bad to keep the same type of aircraft in that high numbers.
2. Go to L-2 bidder EF 2000 ? The govt can invite the EADS directly and negotiate.
3. Fast track the FGFA project by infusing funds from MRCA project?
4. Got to Americans and procure F-35 JSF at $100 million per piece.
5. Double the LCA Mk1 and fast track Mk 2 project.
What do you think ?
To SK: Let me clear your doubts. 1) No one wanted the M88 turbofan’s hot-section/engine core production know-how. It wasn’t even listed in the IAF’s M-MRCA RFP. What was ‘expected’ by some (as expressed in Op-Eds by ex-IAF officials) was SNECMA Moteurs’ help to GTRE for developing the core of the Kaveri turbofan. However, nothing official was ever expressed by anyone from the MoD or IAF to any French party. 2) For the AESA-MMR, only source-codes were specified in the RFP & THALES has agreed to share them with the IAF so that IAF-specific target recognition algorithmns can be developed in-house. 3) Those will all come from the various French OEMs. 4) These will be indigenised over a 15-year period. 5) Only the source-codes have been sought by the IAF for periodically updating the EW threat library & THALES has agreed to these. No one from the MoD or IAF ever asked THALES to ‘teach’ India how to go about designing an integrated EW suite architecture.
ReplyDeleteAs for product liability issues, the ‘desi’ journalists are only engaging in needless speculation. There is one easy, elementary way of throwing light on this issue: just ask the Russians if they are providing similar product liability coverage for HAL-built Su-30MKIs, or if they or the UK have in the past provided similar coverages for all HAL-assembled aircraft. The answer is a firm NO. Prime liability is always vested with the party that is undertaking final assembly of the aircraft as per global licenced-production norms. Thus, as you can now see, the devil always dwells within the detail & the ‘desi’ journalists are always loathe to delve into such matters. Consequently, disinformation spreads like wildfire & everyone lapping it all up ends up being totally confused. You may be surprised to know that such ‘desi’ journalists hardly ever dare to talk to the OEM representatives during expos like Aero India or DEFEXPO, & instead end up spending time only enjoying the free lunches & dinners, hanging around only the MoD’s hospitality chalet, & attending only those briefings that are given by the DRDO & DPSUs.
To RAD: LoLzzzz!! You will be surprised to see with your own eyes how the Aero India expo turns into a global laughing stock by the 3rd trade day of the expo. How? Hordes of folks wearing Kaanjivaram sarees will be thronging the expo site, meaning that the 20th will be trade day only in name. Reality is that the expo organisers never have followed the event management protocols & consequently the public starts entering the expo site even from Day-2!!! That’s why all the CEOs of foreign participating companies are present at the show site only on Day-1 of the expo, because they know that even the Defence Minister will not bother to meet them or go around the exhibits on Days 2 & 3 of the expo. The RM attends only the first half of the first day of the expo. This is how pathetic the expo’s organisation has been so far over the years.
ReplyDeleteTo RAVI N: Because most, if not all, new-generation network-centric technologies found on fifth-generation MRCAs can already be found on the Rafale.
To BRADSHAW: You mean to say that due to ill-informed controversies generated by an utterly & horribly ill-informed ‘desi’ band of journalists the MoD has taken a call & decided against inking the Rafale M-MRCA contract? Do you really reckon the MoD & IAF HQ are so spectacularly inept that they will wholeheartedly embrace the conclusions of the ‘desi’ journalists? Is this what your conclusion really is???
And opt for the EF-2000? What’s the guarantee that the Eurofighter GmbH consortium will offer a far better deal? Instead, chances are that Eurofighter GmbH will demand even more after it learns that the MoD is not averse to moving the goalposts in the 11th hour—something the MoD is well aware off & therefore the RM has already ruled out this option & as well as the option of a re-tendering process.
To SK: Here's more speculative mumbo-jumbo from the so-called 'respected' journalist:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/ajai-shukla-how-rafale-is-killing-the-air-force-s-future-115021601822_1.html
If you may recall, this chap was the same fella who some 3 years ago had compared the F-35 JSF to the FGFA & had remarked that "the FGFA is not as great as it is made out to be". Remember this, when he was reporting on the F-35 JSF's presentation given by Lockheed Martin to the IAF & IN? So how come the sudden turnaround now, with the FGFA now becoming 'priceless'?
Also, any credible journalist worth his/her salt will know that all military hardware procurement contracts inked between India & Russia since 2004 have been Euro-denominated ones. Ruskies always prefer charging in Euros, not USD. A simple check with either the Russian Embassy or the Rosoboronexport State Corp's representative office in New Delhi would have revealed this fact of life. But even this is perhaps too much to expect from any contemporary 'desi' journalist.
Hi
ReplyDelete1) Paket-NK Russian Latest Anti Sumarine Torpedoes and also Anti Torpedoes hard Kill system is Better than R90 Rockets IN uses??
2) Are there any plans this being offered to IN and Is IN interested ????
3) Can't this solve threat of PAkistan Navy NEXTGEN Wire Guided Torpedoes and better submarines??
Prasun, what's the real reason for the delay in the Rafale deal ? Money ? Contract discussions ? Or is it a serious make-or-break dispute ?
ReplyDeleteHI Prasun
ReplyDeleteI have been attending aero india for a long time and its really disgusting to see airmen taking their family and sitting them in a cockpit and taking pictures.Talk of security !.Half the crowd that comes in are in a holiday mood and barge into stalls and beg for souvenirs! and leaflets .
I happened to see once an exasperated BAE official being mobbed for bae hawk tie pins because he made a mistake of giving one to a kid.Immediately every body rushed and started begging him with out stretched hands !!.The idea of half the people was to collect as much pamphlets and souvenirs and go home as though they achieved some thing!
It is a good idea that they jacked up the prices of the business visitor to rs 2500 to stop these types.But let us see.
A couple of aero india`rads back i came upon a chinese defense attache dressed in military attire giving an interview in HINDI! to the press, i was shocked and impressed!!
will you be attending onalldays?
HI
ReplyDeletehttp://idrw.org/archives/58293#more-58293
This says govt has approved 7 frigates and 6 SSGN Nuclear powered submarines.
Who will provide design and production consultancy for SSN as IN doesn't have that capability . Is Russian ready to provide or France Baracudda can be used also ??
Hi Prasunji,
ReplyDeleteGovt approved construction of 6 SSNs. So now the long term perspective plan is to have 18 SSKs of which 9(6+3) will be from project 75 (Scorpene SSK) and may be another 9(6+3) from project 75I (which Govt has approached Japan for Soryu class).
Now the new SSN is projected to be 6000+ ton vessel. Now could this design turnout to be based on our Arihant SSBN design? or will be completely new design incorporating best available technologies from P75, P75I and Arihant designs? your thoughts. VMT.
Hi Prasunji,
ReplyDeleteDoes the new SSN project conceptualize setting up an integrated Submarine R&D house which will be responsible for designing, validating in house future Indian submarines. Since HSL is projected to carry out SSN construction, does the R&D institute will also be based in Visakhapatnam? Your thoughts. VMT.
Dear Sir,
ReplyDeletehttp://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1710717/china-not-ready-win-wars-says-us-report?page=all
is the above report true??
Prasun,
ReplyDeleteWhat engines he is talking about? Last i read, HAL Korwa was producing AL31 engines through raw materials and there had been complete TOT on engines. So which kits are being sent?
http://hindi.sputniknews.com/asia/20150218/1013481510.html
Prasun,
ReplyDeleteWhat is your opinion on this guy and his arguments that LCA becomes subsonic on low level flight? He gives actually a tough picture!!
http://profprodyutdas.blogspot.in/2014/12/the-ada-lca-2014-open-source-review.html
To SBM: Of course yaar, it is all about money. What folks go not realise is that the new Govt in July presented only a SUPPLEMENTARY budget for FY 2014. When the new budget for FY 2015 is presented at the end of this month, everything will become clear & the required sum for the M-MRCA contract will become available.
ReplyDeleteBTW, BDL confirmed that this July there will the maiden firing of Barak-2 LR-SAM from INS Kolkata, following which series-production of the first tranche of 100 naval LR-SAMs will commence.
RAD: I attended today & will do so till February 20. On the 21st I’m off to Abu Dhabi. By the way, the following are been shown for the very first time:
1) Upgraded ZSU-23-4 Schilka.
2) Fully functional SWATHI WLR.
3) Scale-model of CABS’ next-gen AEW & CS using an Airbus A330-200 platform.
4) HAL’s HTFE-25 turbofan.
5) GTRE’s MANIK turbofan for UAVs.
6) Full-scale mockup of the Uttam AESA-MMR.
7) NAMICA’s configuration in a poster.
8) A DRDO-developed stores ejector rack.
9) DATA Patterns-developed X-band monopulse seeker for BrahMos-NG.
10) BrahMos-NG, which will be 6 metres long & will have a diameter of 530mm, meaning it will be launched from 533mm torpedo tubes.
11) MBDA/ALPHA Technologies-developed terminal seeker for Pinaka-2 MBRL rocket.
12) Full-scale mock-up of the LUH with folding main rotor-blades.
To SS: LoLzzz!!! So some of the decision-makers are indeed reading the contents of this blog after all. The SSN will be lighter than S-2/Arihant, which is reality is an SSGN. The SSN won’t displace more than 4,500 tons. But more about that later, rest assured.
Prasun Da, As usual an insightful thread which is clearly distinct from the rest of 'so-called defence blogs', many thanks for it,
ReplyDeleteBy the Way eagerly waiting for your views against the queries of the previous thread, thanks and regards.
Prasun,
ReplyDeleteThis new SSN, which you suggest is of 4500 ton size, is very close to the size of Project Barracuda of DCNS. The submarine model has been shown in previous Indian defexpos and other shows. There must be some similarity in its components with Scorpene. The construction might be similar. Are these indicators of something?
Sir,
ReplyDelete1.Has IA asked for a terminal seeker equipped Pinaka mk2 Mbrl round? And were any orders placed for this terminal seeker mbrl round or is it just a proposal with the Drdo and army still to adopt it?
2.what is the total no of Zsu-23-4 army is upgrading? Is it more than 100.
3. The Brahmos blk2 and 3 which are now being produced by BAL do they have an indigenous seeker from Alpha tech,Datapatrn or is it still being imported from Granit in St Petersburg?
4. Isnt the Brahmos NG a rebadged Brahmos-M? Has any concrete progress being made on the NG variant.
5.Can you provide some insight into Brahmos 2 ? As to when will it have its first flight and its range/deployment options.
6.Is the contract for 2 more Phalcon on IL-76 or iL-476 and 4 more EL/m-2083 aerostat mounted radars going to be inked when the Israeli def minister visits us?
7. How many Akash mk1 can BDL produce at the moment per annum? And are they any reports on the mk2 variant?
Genuine Questions PrasunDa..however, somebody should make the DM aware of it.
ReplyDeletePrasun da,
ReplyDeleteNLCA mk2 have enhanced dimensions of l=14.56m, b=8.9m than LCA mk2.
What is the empty weight , internal fuel, payload, MTOW of NLCA mk2,NLCA mk1 and LCA mk2?
Any take away from aero show.
Prasun Da,
ReplyDeleteWhat is the weight reduction achieved in LCH TD3.
What is it empty weight and MTOW?
hi Prasun
ReplyDeletewhere would you generally be in the show on the 20th radfor me to say hi,ie if you are not averse to it.
Hi Prasun,
ReplyDeletejust for fun..you will probably like this image. Can you caption this? I caption this "The 3 idiots"..whati8ng for your caption
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B-MLNbyCQAAZ35o.jpg:large
Hence Mr. Ajai Shukla has proven totally wrong once again...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.livefistdefence.com/2015/02/rafale-sukhoi-cant-replace-each-other.html
To PINTU: VMT. Will do. And will also upload the photos of Aero India 2015 at the same time, hopefully by the early hours of February 22. There’s a helluva lot to upload in terms of new products & news-posters.
ReplyDeleteTo SK: It will eventually bear a close resemblance to the SNBR, i.e. the hull design will be derived from the Scorpene. This the ONLY way of keeping the costs under control & achieving economies of scale. That’s the writing on the wall & the MoD seems to be reading that writing with utmost seriousness as of now.
To ARUP: 1) It is not really a homing terminal seeker, but a kind of trajectory correction system to replace the IMI-supplied TCS. However, if the embargo on IMI is removed by the MoD, then the TCS will continue to be the preferred choice for Oinaka-2. 2) 48. The IA always had only 48 Schilkas. 3) Still imported from JSC Granit. 4) One could say that. R & D work has already begun on BrahMos-NG. 5) Not before 2018. 6) 3 more aerostat-mounted airspace surveillance systems, not 4. All outstanding procurement contracts will be inked ONLY AFTER the FY 2015 budget is passed by Parliament. 7) About 500 per annum. Akash-2 is still under development.
To SANJEEV KUMAR: Those figures will be firmed up ONLY AFTER the first prototypes of both versions are rolled out. LCH TD-3 is being developed with HAL’s internal funds. Its design will be frozen & it will become the first prototype of the LCH. Met with the LCH’s test & evaluation team today (they’re all my old friends) & it is now confirmed that the entire warning suite comprising RWR, LWR & MAWS will be mounted on the outer edges of the stub-wings. In addition, the Rudra versions of both the IAF & IA have an integrated warning suite supplied by SaabTech. But the IA’s Rudras have a narrow-band RWR, whereas the IAF’s Rudras will have a wideband RWR.
To RAD: I will be visiting the various booths as usual & interacting with the OEM representatives & it is impossible to commit to a particular spot at any given time. It’s quite a fluid scenario. BTW, this time too far too many folks not connected in any way to the aerospace industry, including kids & minors, have started flooding the exhibition areas from today morning onwards.
ReplyDeleteTo SPANKY’s BLOG/SWAROP: LoLZZZZZ! More like birds of the same feather (terminal stupidity goes viral) flocking together. I could not have come up with a caption better than your’s no matter how hard I try.
SS: Yeh toh honaa hi thaa.
BTW, updates for today are as follows:
1) RAFAEL is displaying a scale-model of a Mirage 2000 armed with Spice 1000 & Spice 250 PGMs.
2) ALPHA Technologies has teamed up with ELBIT Systems to offer the Lizard LGB kit that converts existing low-drag bombs produced by OFB into laser-guided PGMs. The Lizard kit features control fins in the nose itself & therefore no tailfin kits are required (like those for the Paveway family) & are therefore much cheaper.
3) The IAF has through its own in-house resources designed two PGMs: a turbofan-powered cruise missile with folding wings, & an unpowered glided version. Both missiles have all-composite airframe structures.
4) The IRDE-developed & BEL-built cooled LORROS has begun entering service & it can be vectored with the help of target acquisition inputs supplied by MR-BFSRs like the BEL licence-built Stentor. Both the LORROS & Stentor are mast-mounted & are mounted on a BMP-2 vehicle.
5) HAL has decided not to seek EASA airworthiness certification for the Dhruv ALH’s civilian version because “it is a financially expensive exercise”.
6) All elements of MAFI being implemented by TATA Power SED have been imported from OEMs located in New Zealand, Finland & the UK.
7) The synthetic resins required for fabricating the co-cured composite airframe structures for the Tejas LCA family are imported by TAML.
8) The S-band AESA radar of the EMB-145I AEW & CS has 1,200 T/R modules.
9) The Indian OEM for supplying the X-band seeker for the the BrahMos-NG has not yet been selected. Both DATA Patterns & ASTRA Microwave are in the running for the contract. While DATA Patterns’ solution uses a gimballed mechanically-scanning radar antenna, ASTRA Microwave’s solution offers an AESA, making it the superior offer.
10) All chips required for fabricating the S-band, L-band & X-band T/R modules by BEL or ASTRA Microwave are being sourced from foundries located in Malaysia & Singapore.
BTW, Finmeccanica has a booth in Hall-AB that is manned by a few Finmeccanica marketing officials, but the booth is devoid of any product exhibits. It is absolutely EMPTY! Unless Finmeccanica has come up with a technological breakthrough that makes use of visibility cloaking technologies (LoLz).
ReplyDeleteSingapore has expressed interest in setting up a chip foundry in India . Will this have any implication on defence production ?
ReplyDeleteHi prasun
ReplyDeleteok, if we source our chip design from sing and malaysia wont they get hold of the design and use it especially sing as the tech capability is high,
Minors and women again ,? Oh no,!?
Sir,
ReplyDelete1. Isnt the composite structures of HAL Tejas produced by HAL itself or NAL? Are all of the composite structures of Tejas manufactured by TAML?
2.Is there any chance that the LCH will get a laser hard kill Dircm or a softkill radiated IR jammer besides Rwr,Lwr and Maws, it being a dedicated gunship. And will this happen with the IAF Rudra ?
3. How many Spice 250 and 1000 has IAF ordered till date for Mirage 2000? Will more be ordered in successive tranches ?
4.Can you pls provide some performance related info on the S band radar of Emb as to its range, no pf targets tracked simultaneously.
Can you also shed some light on its Sigint and Elint suites? Are theu indigenous ot sourced from Elta.
5.The Ashwini Aesa radar was originally meant for the Srsam program. Now with the srsam program in the backburner will it be deployed with Akash batteries or as a standalone system.
6. How many Ashwini and Arudhra radars has IAF ordered? In a thread on IACCCS you had given the figure of 34 for Arudhra which is a rebadged ELm-2084.
7. Has the Drdo shown any posters of the 1 ton 100 km ranged glide bomb which was recently tested ? Can you pls provide some info on it as to whether it has a mmw or IIR seeker coupled with INS and sat nav or is it just like a glide Jdam with no seekers.
8. Are the IAF designed standoff PGM cleared for production or they are still being tested?
And pls provide some pics of Su30mki with its Maws suite and lwr if Dare has showed those models this time.
Thanks a lot.
Some very good news and a serious warning to all the employees of all the departments..
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/nd9b6k4
Prasun Da,
ReplyDeleteAccording to this Reuters report, Saab is in talks with 2 Indian dockyards so that they can bid for an upcoming submarine tender.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/02/19/airshow-india-europe-idINKBN0LN0ZG20150219
Can you plz tell me which 2 dockyards are being referred to? I suspect one is Pipavav.
Thank You
-Sujoy
Dear Prasunji,
ReplyDeletePlease elaborate on IAF in house cruise missile and glide bomb. Is IAF Glide bomb different from DRDO glide bomb which was recently tested?
Rgds
Hi Prasun,
ReplyDeleteLOL!!! yeah birds of same feather indeed. That shukla guy has gone mad in recent times and is churning out one after another BS. From terror boat story to Dassault bashing. This guy was advocating F-35 last year only while bashing FGFA. Now suddenly he has turned FGFA supporter. he is changing his color like a chameleon.
Thanks
Swarop
Full text of Modis's Aero India 2015 speech
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thehindu.com/news/resources/full-text-of-address-by-prime-minister-modi-at-aero-india-2015/article6908293.ece?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS_Syndication
BTW - PrasunDa, The Air Chief of IAF,said today what you have been saying for the past 2 years. The Su-30MKI cannot replace the Rafale as these are two different types of aircraft.
Best,
Vikram
To PRAV: The question then is what exactly is happening to this proposal? What’s the follow-up?
ReplyDeleteTo RAD: Nope. Nothing like that will happen because the operating software that will be embedded by the end-user will always be encrypted.
To ARUP: The structures were designed & developed by NAL. But TAML is series-producing them, not HAL. All resin-films for such structures are imported. 2) Of course such hardware will be there on the LCH. The Israelis, US & Russians are competing for this. Rudra won’t have such a system. 3) No idea. 4) That was provided way back in 2011, 2013 & last year when I had scanned & uploaded the EMB-145I’s brochures. 5) Ashwini will be used for the IAF’s Akash-1s & SpyDer-SRs. 6) No orders can be placed until the user-evaluations are successfully concluded. 7) Nope. It wasn’t shown. 8) They are all in the experimental stage.
To REDDY: The hammer will soon be coming down on those ‘desi’ journalists who have been quoting departmental officials of the MoD to lend credence on their reporting on issues like the M-MRCA competition, and the HTT-40 BTT versus PC-7 Mk2 issue. Revealing the names of case/desk officers dealing with particular projects is a very serious breach of law & is liable to prosecution under OSA. Already there’s talk now of even MoD documents being leaked by the rogues that were arrested yesterday in Delhi.
To SUJOY MAJUMDAR: They’re Pipavav & ABB Shipyard.
To PAWAN: They’re still in the experimental stage using internal & even personal funds & have not been officially sanctioned by IAF HQ.
To SPANKY’s BLOG/SWAROP: The NSA has taken a very serious view on public disclosures of names of civilian MoD case/project/desk officers & it is he who has given the green light for taking legal action against certain targetted ‘desi’ journalists who can easily be prosecuted under the OSA on charges of industrial espionage.
To VIKRAM GUHA: The CAS of the IAF during his press conference on February 18, through his remarks, clearly proven the fact that a former tank commander of the IA cannot make informed remarks or conclusions without first analysing the technical & financial issues involved. It’s that simple.
ReplyDeleteBTW, here are today’s ‘news updates’ from the expo:
1) No of LCHs required in total is 179, inclusive of the IA’s reqmt which is now being firmed up.
2) The LUH & NLUH will both be built at a Greenfield facility spread over 610 acres in Tumkur, Karnataka.
3) HAL has so far spent Rs.600 crores on the LUH/NLUH’s R & D phase. First flight is slated for 2017.
4) HAL is building another prototype of the LCH, this being the TD-4. For airworthiness certification purposes, only TD-3 & TD-4 will be used & this process will conclude by the first half of 2017.
5) The ‘Uttam’ AESA-MRCA will have 1,000 X-band T/R elements. But its designers from LRDE admitted that flight certification of such a MMR will be a daunting challenge.
6) The MMR on board the Tejas Mk1 MRCA will use the gimballed mechanically scanned antenna built by ECIL, while all the back-end avionics like the transmitter, receiver, exciter & programmable signals processor will be supplied by ELTA Systems (i.e. these being the very same ones used by the EL/M-2032). Two prototypes are presently flying with such MMR installations.
7) IAF’s CAS has confirmed that SpyDer-SRs have been ordered by the IAF, with deliveries soon commencing.
8) The IA is upgrading its OSA-AKM SHORADS with Polish assistance, while BDL is refurbishing the missile rounds.
9) BrahMos-A & BrahMos-NG are two different missiles. While the former’s specs were uploaded by me during DEFEXPO 2014, the Mach 3.5 BrahMos-NG will have a length of 6 metres, it will be lighter & more slender so that it can go inside a 533mm torpedo tube. In other words, P-75I SSKs now won’t be required to accommodate the 8 VLS cells.
Most interestingly, I’ve obtained from CEMILAC some interesting comparative charts listing out all the design & performance parameters of Tejas-type MRCAs & 5th generation MRCAs. Will upload them by February 22 night.
Sir, Thanks for the answers.
ReplyDelete1. How many units batteries of Spyder-SR has the IAF ordered? Did the CAS say anything abt them? Amit Zimmer of Rafael has said in an interview that Rafael has already sold 4 batteries to India. Are these the IAF orders or the IAF 's order is in addition to this.
2.The mechanically scanned antenna of the radar on Tejas mk1 is its performance comparable to thet antenna of ELM-2032 if not better?
3. Can you pls upload some info on the upgraded Osa-Akm of IA?
Wouldnt it have been much better oIf Army had gone for brand new Tor M2 mounted on Tata 6x6 chassis than flogging an already obsolete Sam system.
4. Will the missile performance of the Osa Akm be enhanced in any manner or it will just be relifed. IA seems to believe strongly on Old is Gold.
5. And Sir i missed a thing. Will Drdo export the 3rd Emb-145i if they ever land a contract with a friendly nation say Indonesia. This was suggested by Livefist in his article on Emb-145I. I knew all the 3 Embr are for IAF .
ReplyDeleteHI Prasun
ReplyDeleteVisited the show yesterday and thankfully not much of kanjeevarams floating around though they were there.
I noticed that the canard on the naval LCA ie , if we can call it a canard, was, upturned to 45 degrees! this confirms my suspicion that it will be an active canard rather than a canard that deploys up or down in a fixed manner during takeoff and landing.In That case i expect the naval LCA to be more agile than the IAF version, comments please.
Wont the Tejas prototypes be available for flight testing of the Uttam after the the tejas gets its FOC
ReplyDeleteHi Prasun...
ReplyDeleteBeen following your blog for a while now...suddenly sensing hostility towards the DPSU and also the govt..no much reference was made abt former PM or Defense minister (by name at lest).just something i noticed...(no political fan here :P)
Neways abt rafael is the cost(jet and infrastructure and life cycle) a bit high...and most important can India afford it ?? wanted an understanding of the jet from financial point of view
Hi Prasun Da,
ReplyDeleteThe deal between govt and Dassault is stuck on the issue that Dassault should take responsibility of the quality of the Rafales produced by HAL. Now, dassault has already stated that it will take up 100% responsibility of all the Rafales produced by Reliance Aerospace.
If the govt of India accepts this proposal , it will have 2 major advantages,
1. Dassault will be responsible for the quality of aircraft's produced inline with the RFI/RFP.
2. It will be a major boost for the govt policy for increasing the share of
private companies in defense sector. Moreover, HAL monopoly will break and it will be forced to complete other projecte like Su 30 , FGFA , AMCA , LCA etc. on time.
Why are the images of the Prithvi III SRBM not available in the public domain though it seems that the PDV anti ballistic missile test vehicle is physically a close relative just as the PAD was of the Prithvi I/II? Is the P-III SRBM not operational or has it grown into the canisterised Shourya?
ReplyDeleteKahan ho yaar. 22nd ki jagah 23rd is ending now and no news about AeroIndia or IDEX. Post soon.
ReplyDeleteDada, please enlighten us about Aero India 2015 event.Tejas is a good plane because IAF also certified it.Please do not put blame to DRDO always.they are good in missiles.
ReplyDeleteTo ARUP: 1) The figure quoted by RAFAEL is correct. But more will be procured in future. 2) That’s what is now being flight-tested on-board PV-1. 3) Will do that later. TOR-M1 or SR-SAM or any other radar-guided SHORADS is totally useless today since MR-SAMs are far more sophisticated today to take care of threats in such domains. Worldwide, radar-guided SHORADS are being done away with progressively. India too therefore does not require such radar-guided SHORADS. 4) No enhancement is required. 5) Who has ever claimed that India regards Indonesia or for that matter Malaysia as being friendly? If they were friendly countries then why has India prevented their national oil & gas exploration companies from participating in competitive bidding for exploration blocks located along the Andaman & Nicobar Islands? And lastly, which Govt of India authority will be responsible for marketing the EMB-145I-type AEW & CS platforms for export? As things now stand, the DRDO is not mandated to undertake such efforts since its mandate is just for military R & D. No one in DRDO is qualified for leading any kind of marketing effort. Only companies can do that. So the question that then arises is: which Indian DPSU is the prime industrial contractor for offering a complete solution that encompasses the AEW & CS platform, its through-life product support, & its related flight-training & mission simulators? Has any DPSU to date inked any contract or agreement with either Embraer or the DRDO for ensuring guaranteed provision of such goods & services? Has the DRDO’s CABS developed any marketable mission simulator for the EMB-145I AEW & CS?
ReplyDeleteBottomline: It’s always way too easy to make bombastic claims & remarks. But start scratching the surface & the truth clearly emerges. As I have stated time & again, the devil always lurks within the detail. So, if you want to remain gullible & blindly absorb all that is vomited out by certain ill-informed ‘desi’ journalists, then I can only wish you ‘good luck’.
To RAD: All canards are active. Neither the Tejas Mk1 nor the LCA (Navy) Mk1 in weaponised modes fulfill the agility reqmts (especially sustained turn-rates) as mandated in the ASQR & NSQR. That’s the very reason why the Tejas Mk2 & LCA (Navy) Mk2 projects are being undertaken. Not only that, all that has been taken up so far as far as their R & D efforts go concern only the cockpit avionics updates. No one is willing to go on record about the far more daunting airframe redesigns. And that is because the IAF & IN have both mandated that IRST should be incorporated & secondly, agility should be enhanced by reducing aerodynamic drag. And this can be done in only two ways: incorporation of active canards (& not LEVCONs) & if that’s not possible, then incorporation of thrust-vector control nozzles. And the latter isn’t possible since GE Aero Engines hasn’t developed such TVC nozzles for the F414 family of turbofans. So, the only option now left on the table for ADA is to incorporate active canards & this in turn will require the MRCA’s fuselage to be stretched & when this happens, then wing cord/ wing area too will have to be increased. This, ultimately, will result in a totally new airframe design that will require comprehensive flight-testing for airworthiness certification purposes—a process that will take almost 4 years to complete. So, if the first of 3 Mk2 prototypes is rolled out between 2018 & 2020, then SP-series Mk2 will start rolling off from HAL no earlier than 2025, & FOC-status will be achieved only three years later in 2028. And that was precisely the reason why this time at the expo no one from ADA or the IAF or IN was even willing to talk about the Mk2 variants. This being the state of affairs, even the mere mention of the AMCA would appear to me to be grossly blasphemous, although the DRDO honchos openly stated during the expo that they once again wanted to opt for imported turbofans for the AMCA!!!
To COMMONCENSE: Hostility for you is the reality of life for me. All that I’ve uploaded above are questions that deserve compelling answers, nothing more, nothing less. As for the Rafale’s acquisition costs, just compare them to that of the Tejas Mk1 (by also including the R & D expenditure incurred so far) & then decide whether or not it is cost-prohibitive to procure the Rafale. And if you still want the costs to be reduced, the option of importing the Rafales directly from Dassault Aviation is always there. I fail to understand in what way anyone in India will benefit from licence-producing them inside India.
ReplyDeleteTo KAUSTAV BHATTACHARYA: Externally, there’s no difference at all. Prithvi-3 has not been series-produced. And it is not SRBM but a surface-to-surface battlefield support missile, meaning it is powered all the way to its target even in the terminal stage, which any SRBM is incapable of.
To AN ADMIRER: Arey yaar, what’s the rush? Just try your best to swallow all the shit that’s being poured out by the ‘three idiots’ band of ‘desi’ journalists & after you’ve been afflicted with indigestion & you are ready to vomit out all that shit, I will be more than happy to offer you far more palatable stuff.
To ANON@9.45PM: If Tejas Mk1 is ‘good’, then why the IAF has agreed to take only 40 of them? Why does it now want a radically re-designed Mk2? And why only from the third SP-series Tejas Mk1s will all the IAF’s Tejas Mk1s conform to the specified manufacturing standard? What’s then missing from the first & second SP-series Tejas Mk1s? And FYI, the only missile programme that’s so far delivered on time & on cost is the BrahMos-1. All others are running far behind schedule.
come on guys:
ReplyDeletehave fun:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZDKXmAVnps
EXCELLENT ANALYSIS:
ReplyDeleteChina’s Incomplete Military Transformation: Assessing the Weaknesses of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR800/RR893/RAND_RR893.pdf
https://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/2015/02/13/flaws-graphic.jpg?itok=Tmy09nNQ
Prasun,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your replies. My questions are following:
1. If TVC can fulfill LCA's agility requirements, Why can't ADA look towards other engines in same category with TVC? For exmample - Eurojet has one. Another effort could be joining with GE or funding them to develop TVC for F414? What options are being sought after then?
2. Is there any thought being given to SAAB and its Gripen NG type collaboration in ADA? A while ago, similar news were published which said Saraswat had started something but Avinash Chander scuttled it. Now Saraswat is in NITI, so any new consideration on that scene?
3. Does India possess any anti-stealth radar? Can you tell in detail about it?
Prasun-
ReplyDeleteGreat thread as usual.
I think it is not important to make the Mk1 or Mk2 the best fighter in the world, in my opinion it should be treated purely as a gap filler which is significantly better, safer than the 21s/23/25/27s it is going to replace. It should be mass producible, cost effective and reliable. The Mk1 (3 SQ lifts/2 SQ Fighters) and Mk2 (8 SQ) with avionics and engine upgrades alone covers that. Again IMHO Mk1/Mk2 should be produced as such and the active canards, etc should be for Mk3 version (8-10 SQ)...development for which can be started now but with realistic expectations of reaching SP only after 2025. Why is this not possible? Trying to release a perfect fighter is leading to delays which are preventing us from taking advantage of a good (not perfect) design we have today and exercising the entire supply chain. Same is the case with Arjun, and/or Scorpene based SSN.
Ashish
Prasun da,
ReplyDeleteRuskie have hinted they will provide strike variant of Su-30 (probably Su-34 Fullback) to India, if Rafale is opted out.
Are Su-34 and rafale are in the same league or former is more advanced?
HI Prasun
ReplyDeletecan i take it that the
levcon on the navy lca is an active canard!
I ran into an ADA guy who was involved in the LCA MK2 and he said they were still designing for weight reduction and other features.So the design has not been frozen yet!!. He was candid to admit that the mk2 was going to be heavier because of the engine and stretched fuselage.
I think we may end up with the MK2 having the the same thrust to weight ratio with improved instantaneous turn rate and better fuel load. So nothing great like the gripen`s modification
You mentioned 2028 as the probable time frame for the lca mk2 .Is it worth waiting so long?.
why cant we induct the lca now with better better ew , better missiles and net centric capacity which will largely off set the disadvantages as it will be data linked to a awacs and
in war both sides will start shooting BVR missiles.
IF the Rafale does not materialize we could ask the russians to incorporate the terrain foll mode on the aesa radar and pack precision weapon like the french AASM to reduce the vulnerability of a large ac like the sukhoi in a low low attack profile.
I personally believe that we should not miss this golden opportunity to buy more su-30mkis at half the price in todays ruble value.
To SIDDHARTH & RAD: Rest assured, the Rafale deal is on & WILL BE INKED by this June. There's no going back on this. And more Su-30MKIs will be ordered, since the IAF force planning structure calls for a total Su-30MKI fleet of 350.
ReplyDeleteNow, lets's have a few laughs, shall we (LoLz)! Firstly, RUAG Aerospace has just confirmed here at IDEX-2015 that it is totally satisfied with the initial trial supplies of all-composite Do-228 airframes from TATA since they're of superior quality & are also cheaper than those made by HAL. Consequently, RUAG as the Do-228's OEM & IPR holder will henceforth place orders only with TATA & will no longer work with HAL. What this means is that HAL will no longer be certified to build new Do-228 airframes & it will henceforth have to buy the airframes from TATA. This is a huge loss of business confidence for HAL, while TATA emerges as the nett gainer.
Secondly, Finmeccanica here at IDEX-2015 has just confirmed that the former Raksha Mantri AKA had early last year also passed a directive to cancel the order for RAN-40L radar for IAC-1 & it was subsequently conveyed to Finmeccanica that the RAN-40L contract also stood terminated.
To RAD: And here's the best news update of the day:
ReplyDeleteRUAG Aerospace will transfer the entire manufacturing facility for the Do-328 regional twin-turboprop commuter aircraft to TATA in Hyderabad. The Indian market alone for this type of aircraft is estimated at 300 aircraft (all for civilian commuter transport), especially for commuting between Tier-3 airports. The export market potential is even bigger. Even the IAF, IN & ICGS will eventually jump in with orders for Do-328s for executive transport purposes.
Prasun Da,
ReplyDeleteCan you detail the need for MK2 LCA for IAF
To RAD: Here's more background data on the Do-228 deal involving TATA & RUAG.
ReplyDeletePrasunda,
ReplyDeleteSemms our Saudi friends have taken note of India's recent RFI/RFPs related to the Navy.
The Saudis intend to spend over $16 billion to expand their Eastern Naval fleet
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/show-daily/idex/2015/02/22/saudis-detail-eastern-fleet-for-us/23865799/
Prasunda,
ReplyDeleteOn your comment regarding LCA Tejas's problems, I read this comment in one forum:
"Even tejas mk1 was not seen flying with its top AOA limit of 26 Deg and 8 plus G limits in any flying limits.
its extreme flight envelope is not yet fully opened.
And even within 6G and 20 Deg AOA limit of AeroIndia 2013 it completed a vertical loop within 21 seconds.
Ask Prasun SenGuptha what will be the thrust to weight ratio of tejas mk2 after GE-414 and what is the wing loading and G limit, AOA limit of tejas mk2 after GE-414 ?
And let him compare those figures with contemporary fighters and then we will see what agility problem remains."
I am wondering who is right here? On one hand, there are recorded interviews of all Tejas pilots, Suneet, Maolankar and others who say that its a great plane. On other hand, IAF's stalling methods say that something is missing in the picture.
What do you say? What is Tejas? is it really MiG 21+++ or Equal to Mirage - 2000? Where is the capability? Finally, when BVR age is dominant, why would you be so concerned with its agility?
HI Prasun
ReplyDeleteIn My opinion AKA is the most destructive RM this country had ever had, real arshole!!. He only banned india from acquiring defence products and nothing else apart from showing his mundu clad figure atop of an lca or a ship like a clown as though he designed it.
great news that ruag has transferred the do-228 to tata, i hope this is the start of some thing good.
great news that we are going in for more su-30s .
If the ran-40 radar was cancelled what stops parikar from re opening the same if it is in the national interest ?. what other choices do we have ?,the israeli mfstar aesa radar would be a good alternative.
I did come across a model of a trajectory correction system by MBDA this was a surprise to me ! the gentleman told me that it is being used on the pinaka, rather than the israeli TCS!! any dope on that.It seems better as it had a cruciform wing set for active control.Please give dope.
To Prasun,
ReplyDeleteHow can RUAG favoring Tata over HAL be a good thing?? Tata is a Pvt Co which for profit will act as a front for foreign companies. Whereas in case of HAL, it's owned by the citizens of the country where foreign OEMs will have to part with valuable intellectual property which in case of Pvt Cos they simply can do away with.
India Navy has been flying HAL manufactured Dorniers for years. Have there ever been any quality issues?
Why Indian Pvt Cos (some frequently in the news for industrial espionage) are all of a sudden so desperate to get into defense particularly if you consider their complete lack of interest in defense since it was opened for Pvt Cos in early 2000.
Why Dassault is willing to provide 100% guarantee for Rafales manufactured by Reliance (a company in the news for industrial espionage and next to zero exposure in defense manufacturing) whereas so reluctant to give same guarantees for same Rafales manufactured by HAL, a company with years of designing and manufacturing advanced aerospace systems at no profit no loss basis?
If you adhere to highest standards of journalism then please throw light on my queries and do not delete my comment (like "desi" journalist).
Hi Prasun,
ReplyDeleteIt seems IDEX is generating more news and business deal than AERO India ever does. Wake up call for our guys.
Also recently I attended a talk given by Data Patterns CEO. Hew as claiming that DP has developed seeker for Brahmos completely indigenous. There is no Russian help at all. is it true? That would actually be a big leap.
Thanks
Swarop
Dear Prasunji,
ReplyDeleteWhat is your view on on video surfaced recently probably of K-4 SLBM. Its ejection from silo was little wired, can you elaborate on that for our understanding.
Regards,
"Desi journalist " .. All of this has been explained before .You are Sentinel the commenter from IDRW aren't you
ReplyDeleteSo can we understand that the LCA-Mk2 is going to be a futuristic aircraft and it does not belong to the present.
ReplyDeleteWhat roles of Jaguar can be satisfactorily performed by the LCA-Mk1. BTW have any authority so far has shown any interest in the LIFT version.
What good uses and applications the Su-34 can have for India in present and future. Is it suitable in the TAR region against China.
Kindly Comment!
Ok this is my considered opinion on the MMRCA, to all enthusiasts.
ReplyDeleteMMRCA is a 'Go', the integrity and liability clause will be sorted out (or has been) by way of internal contracts between the DRDO and Dassault with each one responsible for issues as listed between them (The Chairman DRDO gave a hint of it a few days back). The contract itself will take at best 3 months. There is no PLan B as stated in the media by the Air chief himself...here are the reasons:-
a. Buying equal number of SUs involves double the number of pilots.
b. That involves double the number of training hours and therefore trainers and the cost of training.
d. The cost of upgrading these SUs to required standard with new avionics and weapons will be costlier.
e. The cost to the Revenue budget is that much more to include salaries, housing, administration etc.
f. SU Blast Pens required are much larger than any other aircraft and thus cost so much more (as much as an Arjun tank!!), while the MMRCA gets into the existing ones
A sum total of all this would actually land up being considerably more than the cost of 126 Rafale as everybody is into "life cycle" costing these days! It would be safe to assume that the deal in all probability would be signed with a little bit of negotiation. We hope for that...
Prasun, TY for your regular and insightful updates , It would be nice to have your sense on the technical challenges of the AMCA
To SK: 1) The reason for rejecting the TVC nozzle option is simple: selection of an entirely new turbofan fitted with TVC nozzle will necessitate the redesign of the entire airframe of the Tejas Mk2—a most time-consuming exercise since it will require exhaustive flight-testing as well. The only option therefore is to explore the canards incorporation approach while retaining the F414 turbofan. Furthermore, TVC nozzles are still maintenance-heavy—which further increases the cost of ensuring cost-effective aircraft serviceability.
ReplyDelete2) There’s no need at all to seek any help from Saab. GE Aero Engines is already helping ADA to define the redesign parameters of the Tejas Mk2 MRCA’s air-intakes, while BAE Systems has from the very outset (since the early 1990s) been acting as ADA’s consultant for optimising the flight-control logic that’s used by the digital flight-control computer. Dr V K Saraswat is not a specialist on aircraft aerodynamics. He knows everything about only ballistic missiles & liquid-fuel propulsion systems. Instead, the views expressed by experienced aviators like AM (Ret’d) Philip Rajakumar (former CTP or the NFTS) & AM Matheswaran (now strategic adviser to HAL) on such issues matter more & have far greater credibility & their views were published in most of the Show Dailies that were distributed at the AI-2015 expo.
To ASHISH: All the issues you’ve raised could easily have been overcome HAD the IAF & IN decided to induct the tandem-seat version of the Tejas Mk1 as a LIFT. At least 80 of them could well have been ordered in the previous decade itself, which in turn would have stabilised the industrial eco-system required for undertaking the subsequent large-scale manufacture of the Tejas Mk2 MRCA. The fundamental problem here is that of lack of strategic visioning. What this means is that an R & D effort involving any major platform cannot be just be dictated by iron-clad ASQRs & NSQRs. Instead, they have to be treated as national military industrial capability creation projects that will evolve & mature with the passage of time. This fundamental diktat has never been adhered to in India & that’s the ONLY reason for the delays being witnessed today.
To SIDDHARTH: Su-34 still uses only PESA-MMR while the Rafale has AESA-MMR. Rafale carries a 9.4-tonne payload while the Su-30MKI can manage only 8 tonnes. No one is opting out of the Rafale. What’s going to hit India in the months ahead is the consequence of the Russia-Ukraine spat, i.e. how fast will Russian OEMs be able to replace the Ukrainian vendors that have been supplying components & sub-systems for platforms like the Su-30MKI & Mi-17V-5. Has anyone given any thought to this issue? Will this result in all such IAF-operated platforms being either grounded or being forced to resort to reduced flying hours? Think about it.
To RAD: Yes, they do function like active canards. The debate around the issue of Tejas Mk2’s airframe design has been distorted due to ADA’s exhibition of deceptive scale-models of this MRCA. In reality, there will be visible changes in airframe design. More Su-30MKIs will definitely be bought to bring the fleet strength to 350. This was decided as far back as 2007. MF-STAR is S-band, whereas RAN-40L is L-band.
ReplyDeleteTo TECHNOLOGY, PHOTOGRAPHY & TRAVEL: That has been explained several times before. Simply put, the IAF requires MRCAs capable of defensive counter-air & tactical interdiction operations, while the Su-30MKIs & Rafales are to be used for air superiority & deep-strike missions.
To SUBIR BHATTACHARJEE: Firstly, what’s shown during air shows are aerobatics, not air combat manoeuvres. Therefore, extreme flight manoeuvres are never exhibited duri8ng such events. Secondly, aerobatics are flown by aircraft in clean formation & not in weaponised configuration. Therefore, doing vertical loops in 21 seconds or 20.5 seconds is just immaterial. As for parameters like wing-loading, G-load, AoA limit etc etc, these are just figures asked by adolescent fanboys. In air combat, what matters most is the instantaneous turn rate, sustained rate, climb rate, pitch rate & roll rate—all this when carrying weapons. Has anyone to date from ADA or the IAF released any such figures? Has any foreign OEM from the West, Russia or China released any such figures for their MRCAs? Such figures can’t be extrapolated from aerobatic manoeuvres performed during air shows. Nor will experimental test-pilots reveal such figures for obvious reasons. Agility still matters when dissimilar air combat engagements involving gun-versus-gun scenarios.
To DESI JOURNALIST: I don’t have to adhere to any standard of journalism simply because I’m not a journalist. I’m here to just present facts & draw logical inferences based on factoids. And who has ever confirmed that HAL is owned by the citizens of India? How many citizens own how many shares of HAL? FYI all shares of HAL are owned wholly by the MoD. And do you know that as per the ‘Rules of Business’ of the Govt of India it is the Defence Secretary, & NOT the Defence Minister that’s responsible for ensuring the defence of India??? So, will you entrust the defence of your country into the hands of someone who is not even accountable to the people of India through Parliament? Trying finding answers to that first, before trying to judge whether or not TATA is a better option than HAL. AS if as you claim HAL functions on a no-profit no-loss business model, then from where does HAL muster the finances to present annual dividend cheques to the MoD?
To SPANKY’s BLOG/SWAROP: Indeed, Aero India is a pygmy when compared to expos like IDEX, Dubai Air Show, Singapore Air Show & Airshow China. Wait till you see the photo I took of ISRO’s booth at AI-2015. In China the pride of place is given to its space industry & it is a huge pavilion, not just a mere booth. And even at the opening ceremony of AI-2015, NaMo spoke only about the Make in India theme for fulfilling India’s defence hardware reqmts. Not a word about the commercial air transportation infrastructure (like airports & commuter airliners) that will be required to support the projected 50+ ‘smart cities’. Not a word about the vast MRO service reqmts, & no word about the vast reqmt for flying training schools & academies for training air-traffic controllers. In other words, Aero India is strictly an expo for military aviation, instead of being an aerospace expo. Plain & simple myopic mindset for all to see.
ReplyDeleteDATA Patterns is indeed developing the X-band active terminal seeker for the BrahMos-NG, which was earlier known as the BrahMos-M (not to be confused with the BrahMos-A). The other company developing such a seeker is ALPHA TECHNOLOGIES. Lastly, there’s ASTRA Microwave. All 3 are competing for supplying the seekers for BrahMos-NG. The seeker for Nirbhay, on the other hand, has been developed by LRDE & is being productionised by ECIL. Then there’s VEM Technologies that’s producing active seekers for missiles like the PFV & PAD & Astra-2 BVRAAM.
To PAWAN: Nothing weird about it at all. It looks weird because of the angle at which the filming was done.
To MR. RA 9: Yes, it will be futuristic. As for Tejas Mk1, it is not LCA by any chance. It is a MRCA. It’s high time the term LCA was done away with. The Gnat/Ajeet is LCA, but not Tejas Mk1 for sure. Right now, the Tejas Mk1’s single-seat version can easily perform the battlefield air-interdiction (close air support) role when armed with lightweight laser-guided PGMs (rocket-propelled as well as gliding-type) weighing no more than 150kg each. Also, incorporation of semi-retractable in-flight refuelling probe from UK-based Cobham will do away with the need for external fuel tanks, thereby freeing up space for carrying more offensive payloads. Lastly, there’s the LIFT option for the tandem-seater, but sadly, no one seems to be paying any attention to it. Instead, money continues to be spent on unwarranted projects like the HJT-36 IJT, whose AL-55I engine will have to be junked after logging in a mere 300 hours! And this in a day-and-age when global turbofan OEMs are willing to guarantee as high as 10,000 hours of operation. Interestingly, the HAL pavilion this time did not show even a scale-model of either the HJT-36 or the HTT-40 (another useless project).
To PART OF THE SYSTEM: VMT, but AMCA? With due respect, I’m not willing to look at anything beyond the Tejas Mk2 MRCA. And if at all AMCA is to be considered, then the FGFA will have to be dropped. There’s simply no money to spare for both the FGFA & AMCA. Only one of the two can be procured keeping financial realities in mind.
ReplyDeleteTo VIKRAM GUHA: In that case, you & every other Indian is guaranteed to have a 56-inch chest after seeing this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1J7_oHq5xo&hd=1
In this talk-show, aired the day-before-yesterday, Pakistani Ministers are explaining how R & AW has successfully infiltrated some 90% of all Pakistan-based NGOs & how R & AW is wreaking havoc throughout Pakistan. If R & AW ever wants to publicly go on a recruitment spree, then this programme will truly come in handy for attracting aspiring spooks(LoLz)!
To VIKRAM GUHA: And here's an eye-opening & frank analysis by a former Pakistani Foreign Secretary of the various faultlines inside Pakistan vis-a-vis India since the time of Partition:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAooYTTtCdQ&hd=1
Hmmmm... It all was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteSir,Thanks for the answers.
ReplyDelete1. Like OsaAkm Tor M2KM also uses radar command link guidance. So they both are radar based. If IA can go for upgrading the old OsaAKM there shouldnt be any qualms abt going for a new system. VL-iRSt or Spyder SR could have been bought.
2. And what is missing in the first 2 SP series Tejas? Arent they built to IOC-2 build standards? Why will IAF start squadron formation only from the 3rd SP . There is something amiss here which all of the desi journalists have overlooked.
3. Is the Darin 3 upgrade going as per schedule? Are you aware of the no of IS upgraded or undergoing upgrade as of now.
Has any decision been taken regarding the fitment of new turbofans on Jags.
4. Why doesnt IAF ask ADA to integrate Alamo and Adder with Elm-2032 for Tejas mk1? And why isnt anyone integrating the Spice 250 ,1000 and other smart standoff PGM with Tejas.
5. MoD has asked HAL to maintain a fleet availability rate of more than 70 percent for Su30mki. And IrAl has asked IAPO JSC for ToT of 36 consumables so that HAL Nashik can manufacture them. Also there was a proposal to stockpile all spares rotables for a period of 5 years for the mki. Can you shed some more light on this issue. The MoD is going blitzkrieg for improving availability rates.
Hi prasun
ReplyDeleteyour confirmation of the canards being active on the LCA is great news. Its going to become more agile when it is fully flight tested. PItching the nose up with the canards is more efficient than pushing the tail down to achieve nose up attitude in a delta wing like the mirage-2k and the LCA. I wont be surprised if the IAF wants the same!.
There was a desi glide bomb with fixed wing ! in AI 2015 please give us dope on that .I wonder why we went that way ,that is fixed wing when world over glide bombs have dual wings.Reminds me of the nirbhay.
What is the position od trhe darin 3 up grade .
Is there any hiccups in the desi awacs so far.
More on the bazalt guided bomb please.
@Prasun da
ReplyDelete1. what you said about Tata making Do228 and Do328 doesnt makes perfect sense, while HAL can continue with Do228 Tata can make Do328, btw if you remember in the past i had asked why HAL does make Do328 you had said its not needed
2. If indeed Do328 is made in India it will virtually kill Avro748 replacement deal, NAL Saras as well HAL/IL MTA since it is being said a US aircraft co. is likely to set up a assembly/MRO facility in Gujarat. most likely its LM for C130Js. It means that Do328 will fill the first 2 requirement and the C130Js will fill the MTA requirement, your views pls
3. You were probably right about LCH being used for hunting drones, its like cutting cake with sword. As per discussions on this blog, i feel the IA/IAF both need the LAH and LCH versions, as for shooting down drones i think a SLAMRAAM is a better option, your views
4. As things stand IN will have 2 versions of Brahmos SLCM, original Brahmos SLCM in VLS mode for SSGN and Brahmos Mini/NG SLCM in TT mode for SSN/SSK which you yourself have mentioned, but then few thread ago to my question you replied that duties will get mixed up, so what is to be done?
5. Whats the purpose of 25 KN turbofan by HAL
6. I was right about LCA SP1/2 not making it to squadron which you earlier said would do and now say wont, any reason why they wont?
thanks
Joydeep Ghosh
Hi Prasun ji, what's your opinion on this news from Times of India? -
ReplyDeletehttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-inks-a-deal-for-supply-of-24-Rafale-aircrafts/articleshow/46364875.cms
Original designers of Tejas fighter perhaps undermined the importance of Canards and also forgot to include the weapon load within the optimum design calculations.
ReplyDeletethen why no US fighters have canards ? just a query may be a dumb one
ReplyDeletePrasun Da,
ReplyDeleteMy Q' was in accordance to one of the poster i saw in Aero tamasha 2015, which talks about LCA as MRCA,
Well I awaiting for the day when we have real effort on miaturization, and using reliable and powerfull SOC's for the Avinoics and other systems, I believe we could reduce the over all weight of the electroics part in LCA, I doubt DRDO is rally capable on this aspect, What is ur take
Is it possible that India can ink a deal for supply of 24 Rafale MRCA. This may be a news reverberating between Egypt and India.
ReplyDeletePrasun Da,
ReplyDelete(1) Can you plz explain if this news is true , that India wants immediate delivery of 5th gen stealth fighter from Russia
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/want-immediate-delivery-of-5th-gen-fighter-india-to-russia/46014.html?utm_content=buffer32c69&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
(2) Is it true that the export version of the ABHAY sonar has really impressed a numer of countries and they intend to purchase it?
Thanks,
Vikram
Hi Prasun,
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of Anti radiation missiles does IAF carry? Any thoughts on their effectiveness? Is there a need to buy HARM?
One question regarding LCA-Tejas, is there any plans of fitting conformal fuel tanks on it.
ReplyDeleteIf news reports are to be believed the issue of manufacturers quality liabilities has been "resolved" and Dassault and HAL will now have to BEGIN negotiating a joint framework license agreement.
ReplyDeleteIt is puzzling to note that despite the liability clauses being front and center on the RFQ (which all involved parties including HAL would have read) no one on the Indian side has in the last 3 years thought of the relatively straightforward solution that has now been put forth.
HAL should have had at least a basic framework agreement draft in place to be presented to whichever OEM won L1 status. The fact that only now after years of negotiating with MoD will Dassault be able to talk directly with HAL is disgraceful. And HAL's statements about Indian labour being not as productive or automated to explain the higher cost and presumably shoddier QA standards should cause scandal. The level of shamelessness is unfathomable...instead of using the opportunity to improve their production techniques by learning from Dassault or any other OEM they are just going to sit back and carry on with business as usual.
Obviously if I was Dassault I would be hesitant to sign a liability clause when the local manufacturer is making statements like this even before they have started! And it speaks to a general malaise in procurement when only after years of negotiating has the bureaucracy woken up to the fact that there has to be some way in which the OEM can actually work to ensure that its product is being made properly. If I was an OEM and facing billions in liquidity damages for QA lapses made by a 3rd party, the first thing I would want is some supervisory control over that 3rd party! Especially when that 3rd party is a completely unaccountable entity known for its lackadaisical approach to QA and is OWNED by the very people who would impose penalties on ME as an OEM! The conflict of interest is staggering...
What a farce
@Rohan
ReplyDeleteThanks Man.
You are the only one from the readers of this blog talking straight and made sense.
Hi Prasun,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think about this post?
http://bharatkarnad.com/2015/02/23/pakistan-soon-to-commission-a-darht-facility/
Best Regards
Raj
To ROHAN: Extremely well-put & explained. It goes without saying that advanced military hardware being imported & licence-produced MUST BE accompanied by the OEM-supplied manufacturing processes--a point I had been harping about since the past 1 year. Simply put, HAL had no other option but to capitulate & accept the global industrial norms being practised. Moreover, since the Rafale M-MRCA procurement involves only ToT for licenced-production, all essential design data of the M-MRCA will be unavailable to HAL. Consequently, in the event of accident/crash investigations, the IAF & HAL will have no other option but to approach the concerned French OEMs for critical assistance & inputs for the Board of Enquiry. In light of this, it is farcical to even presume that HAL will be ultimately held liable for all licence-built Rafales. It was therefore made known from the very outset to the MoD, IAF & HAL that French QA/QC standards & industrial manufacturing processes too will have to be imported en masse, just like it has been the case with the Su-30MKI & all other licence-built platforms. And as for HAL's R & D track-record, here are a few pointers:
ReplyDelete1) Dhruv WSI/Rudra project was sanctioned in 1998, but series-production has yet to begin.
2) LCH project sanctioned in 2006. Series production expected to commence only in late 2017.
3) LUH project sanctioned in 2008. Maiden flight of first prototype expected only next year.
Furthermore, production of OEM-certified Do-228 airframes has just been shifted from HAL to TATA.
To RAJ: It’s just another false canard being spread for disinformation purposes. Just as was the case involving KRL in Kahuta in the mid-1970s & early 1980s, when it was being propagated that all the URENCO-designed uranium enrichment hardware was being installed at KRL, when in reality they were all destined for Hanzhong in China’s Xi’an province. By 1987, it became amply clear to everyone that KRL hosted industrial facilities for only licence-assembling Baktar Shikan/Re Arrow 7 ATGMs & Anza Mk1/QW-1 MANPADS.
To DJAM: Only the Kh-31P Krypton from Russia & MBDA-built ALARM are in service. More ALARMs will be imported for the Mirage 2000UPGs & Rafales, while the DRDO is developing an indigenous solution that will become available only by 2019, hopefully.
ReplyDeleteTo JAYANTA BORDOLOI: At the moment, no. Only the Rafale will come with CFTs.
To VIKRAM GUHA: 1) That report is totally untrue. All efforts are now being focussed on the Rafale M-MRCA procurement effort. 2) Not the ABHAY, but the HUMSA-NG, which has already been exported to Myanmar & Bangladesh too wants it. And the Sri Lanka Air Force has officially requested for the purchase of 20 LCHs.
Dear Prasunji,
ReplyDelete1. Is it true that Pak nuclear weapons are more reliable and are of high quality.
2. Does India need to conduct more hot tests to measure effectiveness of its TN bomb?
3. There was news that India a deal with Russia for four frigates. Which design project is being considered?
Regards,
Hi
ReplyDeleteBMS is awarded to BEL + ROLTA . Can you give more info about BMS and its capablities .
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/indl-goods/svs/engineering/bel-rolta-chosen-as-development-agency-for-rs-50000-cr-bms-project-defence-ministry/articleshow/46385033.cms
2) TCS when is that taking place ?? who are the contenders
Sir What do you make of this article ..'http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-takes-note-of-su-30mki-s-poor-serviceability-114102300006_1.html
ReplyDeleteSo who is responsible for the poor availability of the SU 30 HAL or the IAF ?
Sir please provide any further details about the Sri Lanka AF's interest in the LCH.
ReplyDeleteSpy Cables: ‘China behind South Africa nuclear break-ins’
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLY1Q4NSkdM&hd=1
Spy Cables: Israeli cable reveals South Africa missile theft cover-up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWs-n1g35Yw
To ARUP: 1) Upgradation of OSA-AKM is being taken up by the IA & IAF only as an interim measure pending the arrival in sufficient quantities of the Python-5-equipped SpyDer-SR. In the long-term, therefore, no new radar-guided SHORADS will be procured. 2) Nope. SP-1 & SP-2 are devoid of MMR & internal EW suite. 3) The two prototypes of Jaguar IS/DARIN-3 are still being flight-tested b y the IAF’s ASTE. CEMILAC has not yet certified them for service-induction. No decision has been taken on incorporation of F125 turbofans. 4) What for? R-73/Astra-1 combination is good enough. PGMs like Spice 250 or Spice 1000 are far too expensive to be acquired for a light MRCA like Tejas Mk1. Only Mirage 2000UPG will have Spice 1000. 5) Your answer can be found here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/govt-takes-note-of-su-30mki-s-poor-serviceability-114102300006_1.html
To RAD: It’s no ‘desi’ glide bomb. The SWAK glide-kit comes from Belarus’ 668 Aircraft repair Plant JSC & it is being offered by Basant Aerospace whose website I had provided in an earlier thread.
JOYDEEP GHOSH: 1) Why should anyone continue buying Do-228 airframes from HAL when TATA can supply the same much cheaper? 2) NAL’s Saras was buried a long time ago & therefore it no longer flies anywhere. Do-328 comes in 2 versions: Do-328-110 turboprop-powered version & Do-328-300 turbofan-powered version. Both types are required in India in large numbers for commercial air transportation. Do-328-300 can easily fulfill the reqmt for HS-748 replacement. IL-214 MRTA is much bigger than the Do-328-300 & is a regional transport for flying the major trunk routes, & not feeder shuttle flights that the Do-328 family can perform. 3) Even a Dhruv Mk4/Rudra armed with Mistral ATAMs can shoot down tactical UAVs. From the very outset, therefore, the LCH should have been configured as a LAH. 4) BrahMos-1 can still be fired from SSGNs, while BrahMos-NG can easily be fired from all existing SSKs. 5) It’s meant for powering HALE-UAVs.
To DASHU: Because they have very high thrust-to-weight ratios, & the 5th generation MRCAs like F-22 have TVC nozzles.
To TECHNOLOGY, PHOTOGRAPHY & TRAVEL: That’s precisely the reason why the IAF is insisting on Cockpit-NG-type fitments on Tejas Mk2 MRCA. I can state with certainty that the number of senior IAF officials who visited the ELBIT Systems booth at AI-2015 (where the Cockpit-NG was shown) & were all ga-ga about the Cockpit-NG was FAR FAR MORE than the number of IAF officials who visited the ADA booth to see the fixed-base simulator that mimicked the ADA-designed Tejas Mk2 cockpit.
ReplyDeleteTo PAWAN: 1) More reliable than whose? Against their Indian counterparts? 2) Yes. 3) It’s for Batch 3 of Project 1135.6 FFGs, which will bring the total number of such FFGs to 9 in IN service.
To VISHAKH: I have photos of the BMS posters designed by both BEL & ROLTA. Will upload them later. TCS is still far away & contenders are BEL, & a consortium of TATA Power SED & L & T. Next to come will be F-INSAS & that too will be given to BEL.
To PRAV: Of course it is the IAF that’s responsible, no doubt about it. The IAF should have gotten itself out of the depot-level MRO business long ago by closing down its aircraft MRO-specific Base Repair Depots & the private-sector along with HAL should have been solely responsible for providing such MRO & product-support services. The IAF should focus on only its core activity, i.e. maintaining its combat proficiency. All support activities like depot-level MRO & even simulator-based flying training services should be privatised. This is the global practice nowadays.
To GESSLER: There’s nothing more to say. It’s now up to the MoD & HAL to rise up to the occasion. Even Myanmar will be procuring such items if India get’s her act together. No one wants to end up buying platforms whose OEMs are located thousands of miles away, because everyone wants to cut down on product-support costs as much as possible. So, is India-based OEMs can provide relatively advanced platforms & guarantee their reliable through-life product support, then almost all SAARC countries & even some Middle Eastern, African & Southeastern countries will opt for India-made platforms.
The 'desi' Indian journalists are on yet another junket trip to Islamabad. Watch how the ill-informed likes of Prem Shankar Jha once again end up turning themselves into the region's laughing stock:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnzg28T998s&hd=1
Prasun da,
ReplyDeletein an earlier thread you had mentioned that our boosted fission devices are sufficient and there is no need for a fusion device. Now you said that we need to test our TN device. But doing another test would bring the wrath of international audience, would be counter to our various nuclear arrangements with US and like. The sanctions and unwanted attention would counter our economic growth.
so why are you saying we need further testing, when the same effect can be achieved with what we already have except say miniaturized warheads.
In another query, we already have 6 Talwars, so adding 4 more to it would bring it to 10 right?. Even though economically right, is it not better to ask our desi pvt shipyards to buy same or similar designs and provide 4-6 of that design from India. It might cost more, and may take 2-3 more years than Yantar. But in long run, it would aid in our capability building, right.
thanks in advance
Sreenivas R.
Dear Prasunji,
ReplyDeleteThanks for answering questions. I was comparing whether Pakistani have capacity and resources to produce nuclear bomb of higher yield and detonation methods.
I seen that video of Desi Journalists in Pakistan, one was pleading for Ms Jyoti was pleading for Pak Visa while Mr Jha was all goody goody about India Pak relations.
I think these journalists were intentionally chosen for Pak trip to confuse or make Pak feel good
Regards,
HI Prasun
ReplyDeleteWhen you talked about the glide bomb being from belarus, are you referring the one with the black, long carbon fiber construction exhibit?.
Dear Prasunji,
ReplyDelete1.Do you have any information about performance of PAF Y-8 based AWACS?
2. Given the price of latest batch of 14 F-35 for Israel, can't it be considered for IAF? Caveat- It is just a query.
Regards,
Dear Sir
ReplyDeleteWhy is the JAGUAR RE engine ie F 125 getting delayed ; why is it not a priority
It is now clear that Jaguars will
be used till 2030
Hi
ReplyDeletehttp://www.indiandefensenews.in/2015/02/india-israel-to-build-surface-to-air.html
Is ARMy also decided to go for Barak 8 Missile like AIrforce ??
Can you give more info and when it si expected??
To SREENIVAS R: I still stand by my earlier statement on boosted-fission devices. But in case in the time to come the country needs to deploy an arsenal of thermonuclear warheads, that then would necessitate additional underground tests, since the results obtained in May 1998 were not conclusive enough. And obviously when such tests are to be conducted in future, they will be in response to a deteriorating regional/international security scenario. Therefore, international wrath under such circumstances is more likely to be mild & subdued. As for imported FFGs of Russian origin, the number reqd is only 3, not 4. The number 4 applies to the number of P-17A FFGs to be built by MDL.
ReplyDeleteTo RAD: The cruise missile & glide-bomb mockup displayed at the IAF booth during AI-2015 is just a ‘home-grown’ project, a personal hobby project self-financed out of his own pockets by the IAF’s AOC-in-C Eastern Air Command Air Marshal S B Deo. I had therefore already stated earlier on the 18th that these ventures have no official backing or support from IAF HQ.
To PANKAJ: Because there are other priorities, such as the Rafale M-MRCA procurement. But eventually the re-engining will take place, rest assured.
To VISHAKH: Not yet. The IA is still committed to procuring only the Akash-1s & SpyDer-SRs.
To PAWAN: Pakistan’s ability to deliver WMDs remains limited, purely due to the limited number of missiles of all types at its disposal & the number of ground-based TELs available. AS for the PAF’s China-supplied AEW & CS, it is the ZDK-03, whose photos I had uploaded in my report last November of the Airshow China 2014 in Zhuhai. Regarding F-35s for Israel, it must be remembered that their procurement is being financed entirely by the US. Israel is not paying from its own pockets. The US has been giving such financial grants-in-aid to both Israel & Egypt since 1979.
ReplyDeleteAnd finally, those ‘desi’ journalists simply don’t possess the intellectual appetite for accurately accessing regional geo-political developments. For example, have they been able to fathom why exactly the Afghan Cricket team is wearing blue overalls instead of the Islamic colour of green? Which country is financially helping Afghanistan in such an endeavour? And why did President Obama publicly recognise India’s role inside Afghanistan last month & why Secretary of State John Kerry dismissed Pakistani allegations of Indian interference in Baluchistan & FATA as being mere mumbo-jumbo? Why does the US want India to continue playing a critical role in Afghanistan’s economic stabilisation process? Why have both the US & Afghanistan refused to lend a sympathetic ear to Pakistani protestations about India’s influence in Afghanistan? Why has the US decided to retain a sizeable military presence in Afghanistan till 2016, instead of withdrawing by 2014 as announced earlier?
The fact of life is that Afghanistan, the US & India all have a shared interest in keeping Pakistan at boiling point at a time when there’s a dysfunctional civilian administration in Islamabad & when the PA is playing a greater role in international policy-making. Now, even Iran has joined forces with the US & India to maintain pressure over Pakistan. China too is wary because the PML-N is playing politics with the Sino-Pakistani economic corridor project by refusing to construct the north-south highway via KPK & Baluchistan & instead is insisting on relocating this highway to Punjab. And to make matters far worse, politicians from POK (inclusive of Azad Kashmir & Gilgit-Baltistan) have decided en masse to leave the PML-N & PPP & instead join Imran Khan PTI in the forlorn hope of ushering in some kind of economic development in these areas.
Lastly, why is the new Secretary R & AW Rajinder Khanna now in Washington DC at the same time as the visiting ISI’s DG? Will they meet face-to-face for some parleys? Is Pakistan now finally willing to trade away its ‘covert proxy warfare against India’ card in return for Afghanistan & India ceasing their proxy wars inside Baluchistan & FATA? These are the answers that have to be reported upon by the ‘desi’ journalists. But alas! All this is too much to ask from them.
Analysing South Africa’s Spy-Files:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay6GPlkvckY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZCx0Ytn6WM&hd=1
To PAWAN: What Musharraf doesn’t explain or admit is that in its quest for attaining strategic parity with India, the PA has reduced Pakistan to such a state that the average Pakistani today does not even have the money to buy & eat the grass that was promised by the late Z A Bhutto! Pakistan today remains the same ‘national security state’ that it was since the early 1950s & has never transitioned into a welfare state that India is. And going by the latest official forecasts, the 18-hour power-cuts in Pakistan will linger on till 2020. It’s all beautifully explained in great detail by Shamshad Ahmed Khan, Musharraf’s former foreign secretary, here:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAooYTTtCdQ&hd=1
In other words, Pakistan today has degenerated into being the Islamic ummah’s greatest embarrassment. No wonder it is unable to do anything as several Pakistanis in death-row in Saudi Arabia continue to be beheaded.
Prasun,
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to OFB's 155mm 45 cal gun? Did it pass the trails? Has OFB started producing it? Is there any clarity on the order?
What is happening to 814 155MGS order? Any news about Kalyani and Tata guns?
Fuselage stretch is only to reduce drag by 5 percent , not with the aim of adding canards or levcons for the all important IAF version. ANd already wing area was increased to keep the same wing loading. So whatever needed structural changes were already done.
ReplyDeletemk2 won't follow the TD first PV later and LSP after that. It will follow built for SP model straight away and SU-30 MKI was inducted with no IOC, FOC and english manuals on a silver plate given to IAF by russians. And already 100 F-35s are in USAF with not even an IOC.
It was the green field nature of tejas mk1 and stringent objection from IAf which led to tejas mk1 project being made to tow the time consuming TD-PV-LSP- model from antiquated jag production line. mk2 will have brand new high tech tejas mk1 production line and established vendor chains for quicker program realization. And any delay can easily be offset by ordering additional tejas mk1 fighters.
Dear Prasunji,
ReplyDeleteOnly $ 3.25 Billion increase in defence budget looks meagre given requirements of Armed forces.
Regards,
Prasun Da,
ReplyDelete(1) Iran just released pics of a home grown SLCM but did not specify the launch platform
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1lkJ5sKMBw#t=72
(2) TOI had reported last week that Indian naval staff qualitative requirements (NSQRs) being drafted for the nuclear subs.
http://m.timesofindia.com/india/Got-approves-construction-of-7-stealth-frigates-6-nuclear-powered-submarines/articleshow/46281364.cms?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=TOIIndiaNews
Can you please shed some light n the NSQR? What exactly the IN wants?
Thanks,
Vikram
Canards appear to be like the front wheel driven vehicles which provide instant control and command comparatively better to the rear wheel driven vehicles. So the agility and instant action get improved. This has nothing to do directly with the engine power, because rear driven vehicles are also very popular in the market. Actually the presence of canard may also mean that the original design was somehow under the peril.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dawn.com/news/1166326/gilgit-baltistan-quagmire
ReplyDeleteHi Prasun ..please carry on with your good work and avoid the ranting from Mr SR
ReplyDeleteDear Mr. sakthivel ramasamy..what you are suffering is called Diarrhea (loose motions and vomit)..go visit some Dr tamilmany, Dr chander etc or other drdo/hal doctors
Many ppl visit this blog daily and are fond of it and some even addicted to it. There are many other places where you can take your sorry ass like broadsword or livefist....I bet you are some distant relative of some drdo/hal aunty. This blog is informatics and close to the reality ..He might get wrong here or there or can go overboard sometime but to be honest this is the place I always visit first to get a better more saner perspective..
LCA MK1 id def not 30 mil. Take below 2 pills .one in morning other one after food ..these will give you some relief and and get rid of this BS you have in your mind...chill dude take it easy..
1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1DF8-qBuao
2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtD7UfbE2hY
To SAKTHIVEL RAMASAMY: Why they’re being deleted? Simply because you’re copying/pasting rants drafted by retards who have no clue about what exactly was revealed by ADA, DRDO & CEMILAC officials during successive press-conferences on February 19 & 20 & which were later reported in various AI-2015 Show Dailies. In case you or those retards are interested in finding out more about such press-conferences, then I suggest you start collecting these Show Dailies & read their contents, since the ‘desi’ newspapers never published the details of any of these press-conferences.
ReplyDeleteTo SAKTHIVEL RAMASAMY: And as per your copy/paste claim about “any delay can easily be offset by ordering additional tejas mk1 fighters,” are you really that naïve to assume that GE Aero Engines will deliver additional F404-GE-IN20 turbofans whenever anyone in India fancies it? FYI production of this turbofan ended almost five years ago & will resume ONLY IF the likes of you are willing to foot the bill for re-opening the F404 engine manufacturing line. Therefore, think 20 times before you contemplate the reproduction of bogus rants & claims in this thread.
ReplyDeleteMy God..you are in bad mood today !!
ReplyDeleteWhat you expect a serving AF chief to say, Tejas is not up to the mark and we deserved/expected better....he don't want to get fired..that's a safe comment that he has given..that comment means we know what LCA is capable of and what not and to what extent.."IAF chief Aroop Raha has gone on record in Aeroindia2015 saying "that there are no doubts over tejas's capability"."
Tejas will be there ..it will do its job..we in india could have done better but whatever we have got we will happily live with it..Period
You are quoting this n that..every T, D n H ..wtf
Get over it..get over this obsession.."I am right n others are wrong". Both can be right and both can be wrong in some measures.
DRDO/HAL/ADA should be tried for treason based and their performance.These so called scientists ..uncle aunties are good for nothing liars.. I had a bad bad feeling and experience visiting Aero India...Its a prime example of sickening south Indian monopoly , reservation delivered mediocrity..Its about time India diversify from Banglore and Hydrabad...they have become centre of negligence...m no racist..its just that these places needs a cleanup of system and breaking up of status quo..
Abt Mirage2000 and Mig29 upgrades.. Airframe had life left and AF wanted 3 Mig29upg + 3 Mirage 2000 sqdn and first line of defense/offence as and when hostilities break out with Pakistan..as they are combat proven. Its a decision they have taken. They better know what they are doing...Could have brought Rafale instead of Mirage upgrade but its their prerogative.
We are a debating society ..your POVs could be right wrong whatever..it doesn't matter...If you are in position of power influence ..do smthing about it..if not just keep on learning..there are many l;ayers of truths ..like many layers of Onion...and trhere is no absolute right or worng..so relaaxxxxxx
Hi Prasunda,
ReplyDeleteGoa Shipyard Ltd has been nominated as the production agency for 12 Mine Counter Measure Vessels.
(a) Will GSL have to scout for a foreign partner or will they stick with the South Korean company,Kangnam Corporation?
(b) Why didn't the Govt adopt the competition route for this tender similar to the LPD tender?
Best Regards,
Sujoy
Dear Prasunji,
ReplyDeletePlease delete this ramasawamy 's postings as he is creating non-sense. I can't understand if one doesn't agree why keep posting and vitiate the environment.
To VIKRAM GUHA: It is a C-705 ASCM from China’s CPMIEC launched from a locally-made mini-submarine of North Korean design. Regarding SSNs, the IN prefers a single-hulled design & in all probability a Scorpene powered by a PWR (like the SNBR of Brazil) will eventually be procured.
ReplyDeleteTo SUJOY MAJUMDAR: 1) GSL since the late 1980s has had an industrial tie-up with Italy’s Intermarine SA, which was L-2 in the MCMV competitive bidding process. Now that the L-1 has been disqualified, the L-2 bidder automatically qualifies as the winner.
To PAWAN: Retards like SAKTHIVEL RAMASAMY never factor in the fact that for aerobatic demonstrations, combat aircraft NEVER fly with their maximum fuel loads in order to ensure more-than-usual high thrust-to-weight ratios. In fact, dedicated formation aerobatic teams like the ones of the Russian Air Force fly stripped-down Su-27s & MiG-29s that are devoid of even MMRs & other related combat mission avionics. Consequently, to assume that the flight manoeuvrability characteristics displayed by a MRCA during aerobatic demonstrations also applies in equal measure to the very same MRCA when armed with its weapons load & carrying more internal fuel, is outrageously preposterous.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfxcAqu0as4
ReplyDeletenice analysis sir
posting after a long time.
ReplyDeletewhere ever you seach u get the impression/reports stating that pakistans nuclear arsenal is bigger than indias.
what is ur take on that especially india has to face two nuclear adversaries.
can u give the approx. no of warheads held by india.
also lets consider that (god forbid) pakistan launches tactical nukes against indian forces.knowing that indian goverment has assured retailatory strikes, i want to know weather
1.the indian response will be limited to copycat stikes or massive stike.
2.in the event of massive stike the objective will be to destroy pakistan completely or just 1-2 cities.
3.and what to do to prevent pakistan from mounting a massive counter strike (esclating response)in the event india does a limited strike.
finally what will be the international response in case indias retaliates massively and complelety destroys (i mean completely ) pakistan.
frankly as far as i can understand india and pakistan can never be at peace 60 years have produced no result .it will be better if the best man wins and the other is put out of the scene completely.
(obviously pakis is the bad one)
To BUDDHA: Do watch these:
ReplyDeleteAll-new Top-Secret Nazi UFOs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4mWmBGErVU&hd=1
UFOs Declassified:
1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07iUs6szif4
2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u36WB7kHV4
3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea-sKqmeniY
4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQbl5KEsrY8
Does the LCA Tejas Mk.1 production line end with the 20 IOC + 20 FOC order or will there be orders for Kaveri Engine (GTX-35VS/etc.) mounted LIFT versions of the LCA Mk1? Is the saga of the indigenous Kaveri engine project at GTRE closed for good or shall we see progress on that front for production versions?
ReplyDeletePrasunda,
ReplyDeleteI realize that just because at times you criticize Govt Of India, DRDO or the Indian media a few of these individuals hold a grudge against you and at every available opportunity visit this blog to spew venom.
However, in a country like ours where a third class graduate becomes PM and is called a Pandit,what you experience on this blog is on expected lines.
Also, no matter how hard you try entities like Govt of India, DRDO etc will not change. Case in point, look at this recently released tender by CABS for Active Antennae Array Unit for AWAC&S
http://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/tenders/viewTender.jsp?paramMicro=9238&utm_content=buffer6e1fd&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
So why is it that tender especially to foreign vendors have to be released when we are told that DRDO has developed similar AAAU?
Eventually it is the Indian taxpayer who loses millions when investments have to made by the Govt on both the DRDO as well as importing expensive hardware from abroad.
Unfortunately, people who criticize you can never answer such hard hitting questions. Because they cannot differentiate between a screwdriver and a hammer.
Regards,
Vikram
'Make in India' for HAL trainer, import of Swiss trainer capped
ReplyDeletehttp://www.business-standard.com/article/specials/make-in-india-for-hal-trainer-import-of-swiss-trainer-capped-115030100034_1.html
Shuklaji strikes again..
Other reports quotes defence ministry officials as "The remaining requirement will be met by the HAL which will supply its indigenously developed HTT-40. Adequate orders will be given to the HAL to make the development commercially viable"
Is Shuklaji correct in quoting some official as saying in a media briefing as “The DAC has ordered the IAF to order the HTT-40 in adequate number, to make this project commercially viable.” ??
It looks more like IAF has won the battle for now and has put the ball in HAL's court to come up with a feasible HTT-40 model within a definite timeframe. Shuklaji makes it look like HAL has prevailed and IAF has been forced to order HTT-40.
To VIKRAM GUHA: LoLz! VMT & extremely well-put. As for the futuristic AEW & CS platform to be developed by CABS, previously CABS had developed only a single-array AAAU for the EMB-145I with the help of some consultancy from Embraer. This time, for a three-array AAAU, the only likely bidder will be ELTA Systems, since it is the only one that has succeeded in coming up with a circular radome-mounted solution that is for everyone to see on the A-50I PHALCON. But before all that can happen, the CABS first & foremost has to select the airborne platform—which has yet to happen. The design of the three-array AAAU will be dictated entirely by the airframe integrity characteristics of the platform.
ReplyDeleteTo MR: LoLz! It is still early days & no one will place firm orders for the HTT-40 BTT until it receives its airworthiness certification from CEMILAC. And we all know that even after 15 years of waiting, the HJT-36 IJT has yet to receive such airworthiness certification. Therefore, this is yet another game of wits being played out & the final solution is years away from appearing in plain sight.
To RITURAJ: The Dhanush towed 155mm/45-cal howitzer will definitely enter series-production, as will the 52-cal ATAGS. The MoD has already nominated the OFB for being the nodal facility for producing 155mm howitzers, as per the OFB’s latest advertorial published in some magazines. Consequently, even the MGS will have to be built at OFB’s facilities, albeit of a foreign design. By all accounts, the Caesar will emerge as the winner, since it is the most proven of all other competing systems. The TATA/DENEL solution has not yet been adopted by any other country—not even South Aftrica—a point that goes against its favour. OFB this October will also unveil its 130mm upgunning solution. What this all means is that solutions like those being proposed by Kalyani Group WILL NOT BE entertained. In other words, their investments made in creating production facilities for Bharat-52 etc have all gone waste. Whether the Bharat-52 will still be allowed to be exported abroad remains to be seen.
ReplyDeleteTo KAUSTAV BHATTACHARYA: Tejas Mk1 MRCA’s production will end after fulfilling the orders of the IAF & IN. As for the Kaveri turbofan, it will indeed be fully developed & flight-certified. Following the previous series of flight-tests on an IL-76MD, several design/manufacturing refinements have been carried out & another round of airborne flight-tests are scheduled on board the IL-76MD testbed in Russia. If all goes well there, then CEMILAC will approve the installation of a single Kaveri on board a IAF MiG-29B-12 for extensive flight-testing. If the results are good, then & only then will the Kaveri be approved for installation on a Tejas Mk1 PV for type certification-related flight flight-tests & if all goes well, then & only then will a LIFT version of the Tejas Mk1 powered by the Kaveri be available.
Dear Prasunji,
ReplyDelete1. Why Govt is authorising OFB for Howitzer when companies like Kalyani, L&T and Mahindra are better placed for faster execution of projects. At this pace IA won't have required number of artillery even in 2025.
2. Will IAF deploy SPYDER and AKASH as complementary systems or SPYDER is for China border only.
3. It seems after making lot of noises last year about thrust on defence modernisation this Govt has also been sucked by Babus of Defence Dept is back to old pace and ways of doing things. Budget increase is really discouraging.
4. Are there chances of IAF opting for C-17 given that Being has already shut down the plant and is having some spare units to deliver on first come first serve basis.
5. what is your assessment about emerging situation in J&K. Mufti is already all praise for contribution of Pak and militants.
6. BTW Prasunji, do you have faith in prediction by likes of Nostradamus.
Regards,
Hi prasun
ReplyDeletewe have to appreciate baba kalyani for the risk he took in importing the complete production line of the austrian 155mm gun,you mentioned all the orders are going to the OFB,GOD save us!! as our jawans are gong to have more barrel bursts and excuses to follow , this is a clear sign to the private industry to never trust the gov in any manner they are just full of empty lies.
Again parrikar has asked the fools to make the htt-40 ,when is it going to be flown ?, when is it gong to be certified? I would be very happy if it could be certified in next 7 years.Can we wait that long to train our pilots?.
both wrong decisions.He should know better that baba kalayani makes forgings for BMW and mercedes ie the best in the world and he gives the orders to OFB? what ever gun selected it should be also made by the private industry, as we will definitely get a better product in time and cost.
You are saying that the kaveri program is still on where as we hear that the program has been shut down?.
HI Prasun
ReplyDeletewhy on earth are they asking for a foreign AAU for the future awacs?
what is all this hogwash statement that drdo is going to make it alone like the emb-145 awacs. Is it do able ,?what is the actual scene
u said>>: What Musharraf doesn’t explain or admit is that in its quest for attaining strategic parity with India, the PA has reduced Pakistan to such a state that the average Pakistani today does not even have the money to buy & eat the grass that was promised by the late Z A Bhutto! Pakistan today remains the same ‘national security state’ that it was since the early 1950s & has never transitioned into a welfare state that India is. And going by the latest official forecasts, the 18-hour power-cuts in Pakistan will linger on till 2020. It’s all beautifully explained in great detail by Shamshad Ahmed Khan, Musharraf’s former foreign secretary, here:
ReplyDeleteWow, 18 house power-cuts..., and Musharaf ruining Pak economy?... What kind of grass you are smoking? Is it from Afghanistan?...
Wow, dont really have words to respond to this willful ignorance / self delusion. Wow,wow,wow. :)
Prasun,
ReplyDeleteAm writing in response to Anonymous:Feb 28:7:49PM. Why are you not deleting that post?
I find the views expressed by this individual highly prejudiced and racist. He/she claims otherwise but it is very clear what the undercurrents are when he/she says "sickening south indian". It is a sad state of affairs for our country that we still have so many individuals with such regressive mentality.
No question about it that DRDO and other DPSU employees are the not the country's best - in any DRDO organization in any part of the country. The best people don't go to these organizations for a simple fact that the salary is nowhere near the top bracket. Not to mention the lackadaisical bureaucratic work culture of these organizations.
If the same "uncle auntie" had been of a fairer complexion and spoke with better english accent, doubt that anon7:29 would have spoken about them in the same tone.
Thanks.
To PAKISTANI: Did I ever say anywhere that Musharraf has ruined Pakistan's economy? Or are you incapable of reading English? And FYI I'm smoking the very same stuff that the four participants in this panel discussions are smoking:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63PhsvPCgzM&hd=1
Absorb the contents of this discussion & then decide whether or not Musharraf ruined Pakistan's post-9/11 economy. And by the time you're done through this discussion, your wow wow wow will become aw shit aw shit aw shit!
To LACHIT: Like I had stated a few times before, estimations of the size of Pakistan’s WMD arsenals are based entirely & erroneously on Western perceptions of the annual productivity levels of the PHWRs at Khushab. What Western analysts lack is accurate data on the plutonium reprocessing capacity, which in any case is not carried out inside Pakistan, but in China. A far more accurate methodology of calculating Pakistan’s WMD arsenal will involve 1) accurately plotting the number of TELs supplied thus far by China to Pakistan for different types of ballistic & cruise missiles; & 2) the deployment footprint of the PA’s 18,000-strong Defence Security Corps, which is responsible for guarding the WMD arsenals. Once these two templates are analysed, the miniscule size of Pakistan’s available WMDs will easily emerge. As for India, the estimated number of plutonium cores available for insertion into warheads is less than 100 but greater than 60.
ReplyDelete1) If battlefield TNWs are used against India, the Indian retaliatory response will be proportional. That’s the very reason why cruise missiles like Nirbhay are being developed.
2) That kind of overwhelming response will be given only after Pakistan launches a full-scale first strike.
3) India will never launch a pre-emptive first-strike with WMDs. This is already highlighted under India’s official nuclear doctrine.
4) We need npt bother about that at all since Pakistan too is equally aware of the consequences of launching an all-out nuclear first-strike.
While there’s a sizeable civilian constituency inside Pakistan that wants comprehensive & permanent peace, the ruling elite—comprising some politicians, plus the entire bureaucracy & the armed forces—is loathe to give up the dream of having the cake & eating it as well. That this cabal considers India its arch-enemy is proven by the fact that, while India has never had any objection to using the term ‘MFN’, Pakistani decision-makers have shied away from using this term since India is always projected as the enemy. Hence the origin of the term ‘Non-Discriminatory Trade Access’ from Pakistan.
To PAWAN: 1) That’s because the trade union lobbies within India have not yet been domesticated. 2) SpyDer-SR & Akash-1 will be complementary systems. 3) Budget increase is more than enough. It’s the armed forces that need to be right-sized. The IA of today is bloated. Similarly, on a different note, the CAPFs are also being increased in size year after year. This too has to be capped by strengthening & enabling the local law enforcement agencies to introduce reforms of the type already mandated by the Supreme Court. 4) C-17 is still under production by Boeing & the IAE Air Force recently placed orders for some of them. 5) Irregardless of which govt is in power at the state-level or at the Centre, for as long as there’s an all-out effort by both to improve the economic situation inside J & K, increase employment levels & ensure all-year-round transportation connectivity, the local inhabitants of J & K will be happy & contented. Because they too know only too well the steadily worsening situation inside PoK. 6) Nostradamus’ predictions were all based on mathematical law of probabilities. Not all of them have come true.
ReplyDeleteTo RAD: There’s no reason thus far to believe that the OFB-produced Dhanush will be inferior in any sense. So far, things have gone quite well. As for the HTT-40, it’s still early days & unless & until the aircraft is certified by CEMILAC, no firm orders will be placed for the HTT-40. And that’s the very reason why follow-on PC-7 Mk2s are being ordered. Kaveri turbofan’s R & D activities were never shut down & I hope they are taken to their logical conclusions. As for the AAAU, the CAB S first wants to firm up the AAAU’s design & weight parameters & only after selecting the AAAU’s design & supplier will the CABS firm up the specs for both the platform & the fixed radome for housing the AAAU. This is because potential suppliers of the platform will be required to conduct wind-tunnel tests & other analysis of their offers when fitted with the radome-mounted AAAU, & also finalise the internal electrical wiring/power consumption reqmts. In addition, selection of one particular type of AAAU will also automatically dictate the number & configuration of operator consoles reqd inside the platform. In all probability, the A330-220 will be selected as the preferred platform.
Dear Prasunda...it has been 4 years since you wrote this blog on Tejas-MK2..http://trishul-trident.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/tejas-mk2-mrcas-r-d-effort-gathers-pace.html
ReplyDeleteNow, after 4 years what has been the progress by HAL. I do understand that the goal post has been shifted twice, but according to you can we expect the first combat ready Tejas MK-2 before 2025...and how will it fray against the fighters of our neighbors China & Pekistan.
Prasun,
ReplyDeleteCan you please respond to my earlier post (Anonymous March 2 1:42AM).
Thanks,
Arjun
@Arjun,
ReplyDeleteIndians with Fairer complexion?? All Indians are brown, some darker brown, some less so. How does it make any difference? You come outside India and see how foreigners treat all of them alike.
That person has used wrong language to express his frustration. But the fact remains that DRDO's performance is not upto standards. If it was a private company, at least 50% people would get sacked every year. Avinash Chander or V K Saraswat were not from South. Its the entire culture of working inside DRDO which needs a drastic change. This DRDO, DPSU and OFB, - three idiots - have ruined India's military industrial complex.
Prasunji,
ReplyDeletePlease give some updates on cheetal helicopters.
Thanks,
Amit
@Pakistani
ReplyDeleteI do empathize with your frustration to defend or sweep below the carpet the actual facts in pukistan. ie the "land of the pure!!.
The whole world knows that you are the laughing stock and one of the most hated nations in the world along with north korea, iran , libya and others.
musharaff was warned by america that pak would be bombed to dust so he had no other way but comply and get alms in the form of arms.Even with these alms and from your patron saudi you are unable to do any thing apart from hosting the likes of OBL and other terrorists. They are killing your children!! they will do more .. you guys have a bright future.
Any news about kaveri marine version? It seems with fadec control it ll be pretty satisfactory
ReplyDeleteHi Prasun
ReplyDeleteThe cabs guys should have a fair idea about the AAU as it is installed in the israeli phalcon .Its nothing new. Does this mean the AAU will be imported with foreign AAU and the dome ?. what about our desi trx L band modules.?Are we gong in for design consultancy or the import of the whole AAU unit with the radome. Some drdo officil has mentioned that they are making the dome and it is progressing well.
I really doubt if we have the capability to make the radome as we are unable to make a radome for our LCA!.will the russians and Israelis help if asked for?
Is the su-30mki cheaper to buy due to the fall of the ruble?.
Dear Prasunji,
ReplyDeleteThanks for answering my all queries.
I have already written to PMO and Finance Minister requesting increased budget allocation for Defence.
My personal wish is to see that by 2020 Indian defence forces having capacity to wage and win 2 front war if a such scenario arise or defend Indian interests overseas as expeditionary force.
Regards,
The best thing about this blog are the lively passionate debates and that is not taking anything away from the amazing front page content.
ReplyDeletePks vs sakhthivel was a fabulous one, eye opening points raised by both sides.
I have followed this blog for years even in its older avatar and other than once(T90 tank debate with a rusky) never saw pks back down. IMHO would have made a pretty good commando.
Wellwisher
u said>>: What Musharraf doesn’t explain or admit is that in its quest for attaining strategic parity with India, the PA has reduced Pakistan to such a state that the average Pakistani today does not even have the money to buy & eat the grass that was promised by the late Z A Bhutto! Pakistan today remains the same ‘national security state’ that it was since the early 1950s & has never transitioned into a welfare state that India is. And going by the latest official forecasts, the 18-hour power-cuts in Pakistan will linger on till 2020. It’s all beautifully explained in great detail by Shamshad Ahmed Khan, Musharraf’s former foreign secretary, here:
ReplyDeleteAnybody which can UNDERSTAND english, can interpret easily what was meant by what you said.
On the youtube link you posted, it was about political corruption. National Accountability Bureau was made by Musharaf to rein in political corruption. His intention was good, execution not so good.
I find dichotomy in you message, in one you say that PA ruined economy and in the other via youtube, show corrupt politics as the reason. Whether NAB got the job done or not , is a separate discussion which can take a few pages. But NAB was MADE by MUSHARAF in response to corruption.
u also said China too is wary because the PML-N is playing politics with the Sino-Pakistani economic corridor project by refusing to construct the north-south highway via KPK & Baluchistan & instead is insisting on relocating this highway to Punjab. And to make matters far worse, politicians from POK (inclusive of Azad Kashmir & Gilgit-Baltistan) have decided en masse to leave the PML-N & PPP & instead join Imran Khan PTI in the forlorn hope of ushering in some kind of economic development in these areas.
What businessman in their right mind would want to lay train lines through mountainous terrain of kpk and baluchistan instead of using existing infrastructure? Where did the chinese specifically say that it should go totally through kpk and bal0chistan , exclusively. Do you have any chinese links?
And politicians leaving enmasse from corrupt ppp and pml-n, is the new black. People are very against corruption in Pak, that's why there are discussions like the one you posted a link for, are being done. Why are you trying to portray that somehow people are veerrry oppressed in GB and POK? Project much??...And still wow,wow,wow, to narrow mindedness.
Dear Prasunji,
ReplyDeleteSince yesterday I am reading articles about India's intention on Gilgit Baltistan region and sadly it seems India's position on PoK is only for negotiation purpose. It will be more than willing to leave PoK with Pakistan if Pakistan accept LoC as International Border.
Is it due to fact that Indian Govt want economic development so no more interested in taking it back by force because otherwise chances are nominal?
Please share you views on same.
Regards,
To Pakistani- It somehow look like genetic defect with pakistanis that they adore and respect same people who destroyed them or are destroying them and list start from Bin Qasim to Mahmood of Gauri, Abdali to present day people like Aslam Baig, Hamid Gul, Munir Akram, Musharraf etc.
ReplyDeletePolitcal corrouption is just one aspect of problem, main defect is ideology on which Pakistan thrive. Musharraf constitute NAB to keep politicians under his control. fact is except military every institution in Pakistan is dysfunctional courtesy PA.
Every night there are Retd Army General appear on Pakistani channels and brain wash people to think that PA is their saviour. Read Ayesha jalal or Ayesha siddqa to understand situation rather than arguing on flimsy logics.
Caveat- I am not saying India don't have problems but thanks to success of democratic institutions things get back to normal after aberrations.
Take care
Dear Mr. Prasun,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your replies. I would be grateful for some more spoon feeding.
From where are the Carbon Fibre Composite Materials for the Tejas Programme sourced. I need to know specifically about the CFRP, Fabric and Resins. Is ToT available or have some Indian companies already developed the capability to manufacture these items? Are Technical Textile Industries available in India who manufacture / weave aerospace textiles for the Tejas and other programmes?
To JAYANTA BORDOLOI: It all depends now on ADA’s ability to redesign & re-engineer the Tejas Mk1’s airframe & include all those on-board mission avionics like IRST as mandated by the IAF & IN.
ReplyDeleteTo ARJUN: What is there to respond about? You never posed any queries.
To WELLWISHER: Sakthivel raising eye-opening points??? Like what? Can anyone elaborate on this? Nor was there any need to back down with any Rusky regarding T-90 versus Arjun Mk1. Points I had raised way back in 2009 were all vindicated two years ago when the T-90AM/MS surfaced & now the T-14 Armata MBT. It’s not at all about backing down or any form of one-upmanship, but all about presenting facts & drawing logical inferences.
To PAKISTANI: Only political corruption? And which institution fathered such corrupt politicians? Which COAS of the PA ensured Nawaz Sharif’s rise to power? Which institution fathered the PML since the 1980s? Do you have any idea on the size of the parallel economy that’s run by the PA under the auspices of the Fauji Foundation? If not, then do read Ayesha Siddiqa’s seminal work MILITARY INC. And one were to buy your PoV about no saner businessman wanting to build transportation infrastructure through mountainous terrain, then how does one explain or justify this very same type of construction through the Karakoram mountain range that’s envisaged? Why should hydroelectric projects be executed over such forbidding terrain? In other words, you’re contradicting yourself in your counter-narrative. As for weblinks, here they are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZDpxGFZuEQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE3H1rebhCo&hd=1
And am I really trying to portray that somehow people are veerrry oppressed in GB and POK? Frankly, there’s no need to portray anything. The ground realities are for all to see. What you should ask is why are Pakistani TV channels forbidden by the PA to visit & report from Gilgit-Baltistan,
To Kaustav Bhattacharya: All synthetic resin-films required for fabricating various composites-based structures are 100% imported. During AI-2015, NAL confirmed it, ISRO confirmed it, & HAL confirmed it as well along with TATA. Imports are from the US, Japan & now Russia as well.
ReplyDeleteTo PAWAN: That position is no longer adhered to. Now, India’s stated position is more in line with the Parliamentary resolution of February 1994 that calls for reunification of J & K.
ReplyDeleteu said >>And am I really trying to portray that somehow people are veerrry oppressed in GB and POK? Frankly, there’s no need to portray anything. The ground realities are for all to see. What you should ask is why are Pakistani TV channels forbidden by the PA to visit & report from Gilgit-Baltistan,
ReplyDeleteI know you are a fan of Pak TV ,,but no CHINESE weblinks regarding economic corridor?. I asked for chinese (originally) as THEY ARE PAYING for it, they will dictate its route. You have given links of Pak news, which are speculations.
Rail link from northern areas is a MUST, rail link passing through kpk and balochistan is an (expensive) OPTION. I hope you can distinguish between the two.
And about reporting from Azad kashmir and GB, from where do you hear this garbage, / desperately want to hear this garbage?...
Military Inc, Lol. Your reasoning is very interesting. Adieu Mr. Desi Journalist formally known as Prasun. ;)
Hi Arjun,
ReplyDeletePlease don't mind and don't take offence..my comments had nothing to do with north/south , fairer , brown , blue or yellow.. monopoly can be from any group of society.. nepotism, favoritism is a recipe of disaster.
Don't be so sensitive dude. What Rituraj has written is right. Those words were out of frustration and disappointment.I know quite a few ppl from HAL who go through this discrimination. ppl who are daughter-in-laws and so-in-laws keep on getting promotions..that's a fact and I know it first hand. HR needs a revamp there. I was giving my submission ..don't want anybody's approval or endorsement...all said and done.. apologies for generalized the south indian remark .. peace
Hi Prasun,
1) Is there any time frame for all 814 MGS arty.looks like everything is heading for 2027.
2) Any deal in pipeline(or done) with AREVA france for 6 nuclear subs that we are planning..They are helping Brazil then India should be getting smthing as well..may be unannounced..behind the door..? ?
3) Please share if you have any update/info on assault rifle (66k) and carbine(44k)trials.
4) Nexter Ceasers derivative Trajan and Israeli gun were undergoing TGS trials ..is it over. evaluation ?
Thanks !!
Can the entities like HAL, DRDO, OFB be given one more chance now under Mr. Modi. I think it should be their last chance. Please comment!
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDelete1) There are news that Bell 407GT 2013 latest version , with Armed Missile capability would enter the compitition . Is it correct and what are its chances .
2) In terms of price which helicopter is cheapest Russian, Europen or USA Bell for 197 helicopter .
3) Would armed version better meet indian requirements as they can be used against small targets as IA is small in comparison to Chinese .
Sir, the last C-17 has now roled of the production line game over for the AIF who wanted 6-10 more.
ReplyDeleteI guess you were wrong about them ordering more and the production line being simply reopened (which you said in a past response) when more orders were placed.
Now the IAF has screwed itself, 10 C-17s isn't enough to replace more than 20 IL-76s so what are they going to do now? Waste more of our taxpayer money?
I assume they will now be forced to look at the A400 sir?ro
To Pakistani:
ReplyDeleteStupidity at it's best read following article from aljazeera.
Pakistani army's '$20bn' business
http://www.aljazeera.com/focus/pakistanpowerandpolitics/2007/10/2008525184515984128.htmlAccessed
Hi Prasun,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the answers to my queries.
Thanks
Swarop
To Pakistani->
ReplyDeleteAnd about reporting from Azad kashmir and GB, from where do you hear this garbage, / desperately want to hear this garbage?...
Deteriorating security situation and violations of human rights in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan were raised during the 27th Session of United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. During an event, political and human rights activists highlighted the gruesome political and security situation in Azad Kashmir, an occupied territory ruled directly by Islamabad. Exiled Kashmiri leader Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri showed his concern over the growing interference of Pakistan’s Army and spy agencies in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW_NxQTEMuI
Dear Prasunji,
ReplyDeletePosting again
1. Is there any plan by NAL/ISRO/HAL to indigenize Synthetic resins required for fabricating composite based structures?
2. When will the MAFI Phase-1 project of IAF carried out by TATA Power (SED) will complete as Bhatinda Airfield has been modernize last year march. Also what is the status of Phase-2 of MAFI Project.
3.http://idrw.org/archives/59133 as per above mentioned link as claimed by DRDO scientist Mrs. Tessy Thomas of 100% self-suffiecient for Missile project is that true.
4. As per your reply for PLA weaken state of affairs and incomplete modernization as per us based RAND think-tank, this means that if there is any high-intensity conflict bet. PLA & IA then the chances of stalemate likelyhood situation given similat state of IA.
Also can you provide links for the assessment carried out by such think-tanks on present sate of Indian armed forces and fighting capability over land, air and sea (including sub-surface) and our situation w.r.t PLA.
Thanks & Regards
"Exiled Kashmiri leader Sardar Shaukat Ali Kashmiri "
ReplyDeleteMeaning neither pakistan nor india has anything to do with him. Is he a credible source?.
PA ruined pakistan's economy by the" quest for attaining strategic parity with India" or Military Inc is destroying economy by being a pillar of economy (20B $ worth)?
Which is it?, I somehow remember the author putting his finger on the former not the latter. Hmmm, is nt it as sign of desi journalism?...
hi prasun
ReplyDeleteAs the nuclear embargo has been lifted on india can we get the help of other nations to design a PWR for our subs legally as brazil is doing ?.
who is to blame for the delay of the MTA aircraft?
@prasun
ReplyDeleteSakhtivels comment - apparently 100 planes handed to USAF without IOC- is it true then?-you did not refute this one.
That aircraft ditch their armaments when making a run from a bvr.
There were a few more but I cannot seem to find them now on this forum.
I understand you countered well , my point was that some of his points and yours together gave a better understanding of one aspect of pilot tactics to a lay person like me. Something I would never know,read or be able to find by myself.
Cheers
Wellwiser
Dear Prasunji,
ReplyDeletePM confirmed what you said yesterday. He affirm in Rajya Sabha that 1994 resolution will be followed in letter an spirit. I know you will say that It is common sense but then people like me still lack that much of it.
Regards,
Sir ji, why don't Indian automobile manufacturers set up shop big time in countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Vietnam and other SE Asian countries?
ReplyDeleteCarmakers like Tata, Mahindra have good stuff to offer at affordable prices...Mahindra has already made it big in some countries like South Africa.
Our real strength is in two-wheelers where Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj and TVS can rule. Bajaj is already a household name in many South American countries and even somewhat in Turkey & Indonesia. They can make it even bigger.
The GoI needs to formulate a plan to market Indian brands to the world, and the big Groups are almost always to take on new customers and new markets.
HI Prasun
ReplyDeleteIs this talk of snecma m-88 powering the j-17 true ?, can we pressurize them if true to stop the supply .What stops them from changing over from the russian to the better french engine.
Though it is difficult redesigning the chinese wont hesitate to do that.The french are known for not having any remorse to sell arms to any one if they can make money.
what happened to the quid pro that the french will not sell to pakistan after the mirage-2000 upg deal
Prasun,
ReplyDeleteIs Indian Army too large a force for India? Has it become unnecessarily big? Why do foreign scholars keep arguing that Indian Army needs to resize itself because its revenue budget is eating into its modernisation program? Whereas, on forums like Bharat Rakshak etc, there is a great resistance against any restructuring of Indian Army. I wonder what is the truth and actual picture?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWYr4yA3ukk
ReplyDeletenice retrospection
sir ur opinion is highly regarded
@Prasunda
ReplyDeleteWhy is India letting the Balochistan card slip from it's hands by looking for a quid pro quo. When it could be used as a long term deterrent. And could be handled very deftly at balkanizing Pakistan. Supposing the Indian Army goes ahead and wrests strategic portions of the PoK in 2017(And a few people tell me that something like that might be afoot), using the Balochistan card would effectively neutralize any further blackmail from Pakistan.
And any which way, regardless whether Pakistan stops exporting terror or not, it could always be leveraged as an instrument to keep Pakistan tied down.
I don't think this is quite a good strategy that is being adopted by NaMo and his team.
@Gessler,
ReplyDeleteTata, Mahindra, Bajaj etc are private companies that are free to expand as they see fit. Do you really want the GOI to formulate a plan for their expansion and growth and expansion into other countries? Sure, the government can facilitate entry into other countries but the plan must start with these companies themselves.
News of the day:
ReplyDeleteReliance bought Pipavav Defense. Will it make anything better for India's defense shipping industry?
The dark side is, already people equate Reliance Industry with corruption. So now people will say, Reliance will influence Modi Govt to manufacture ships with Pipavav.
Your comments, please.
RaviN
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/defence-finance-wing-redflags-upas-trainer-aircraft-deal/
ReplyDeleteIs the above another piece of yellow journalism?
Someone has seen the writings on the wall. Acche din perhaps ;)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ibtimes.co.in/barkha-dutt-resigns-ndtv-rajdeep-sardesai-sagarika-ghose-other-indian-journos-who-resigned-623710
শুভ দোলযাত্রার আর হোলির আগাম শুভেচ্ছা জানাই, প্রসুন দা কে আর এখানকার সবাইকে আর তাদের পরিবারকে।
ReplyDeleteHappy Dolyatra and Happy Holy in advance to Prasun Da and everybody here and your family.
Here's a very interesting video on China.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-QRVYVg50g
Raj
ReplyDeleteWhat the heck? How can a foreign spy, spying for our enemy Pakistan, on bail?
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/NIA-files-charge-sheet-in-Pak-instigated-espionage-case/articleshow/46477421.cms
How come Indian intelligence is so shortsighted?
RaviN
Hi Mr Prasun
ReplyDeleteThanks for deleting ersakthivel comments.
I can understand You had no reply for them so it was better to avoid and then delete them.
Why will you try and reason with an individual passionate towards defense.
ersakthivel some of your points were valid.
Here are some of my questions:
1)How many times IAF changed the requirements
2)How much funds were available
3)Is Tejas getting the same treating as of Arjun
4)Why is this partial approach towards Home made weapons
5)SIT said that passing/testing criteria varied between foreign and domestic products.
6)Can we afford Rafale?
Just simple layman queries.
I hope u will reply instead of deleting this.
Regards
Pulkit
Note :I have CTRL+V the above text if you delete I will post again till u respond thank you.
I am a busy person use a keyword
"IAFWANTSFOREIGNTOYS" so that I can search straightaway.
I think LCA is a very capable aircraft. What killed it, is this things indians have, they want the best. Even though it was your first effort to build an aircraft after a long, yet it had to be the best. The result is that, its still on the drawing board. This is mainly the result of a nation lacking any confidence, hence it has to prove itself all the time.
ReplyDeleteJust look at the impact of Obama's parting words ;-)
If you ever want to open your eyes and understand some of the dynamics within India, outside bollywood world, have a read of this, my incredible indian's:
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.rediff.com/mkbhadrakumar/2015/02/12/a-history-lesson-from-south-india/
@raw13 .. It is better to watch bollywood rather than bhadrakumars retarded articles ."the buddhist purge that he based his entire article on has been disprovevan a long time ago . Besides the hold of the feudal lords over caste was destroyed in kerela by communists not missionaries or the raj .
ReplyDeleteBesides these so called fuedal lords were the most loyal bootlickers of the british who were happy at the way the rajans kept control over their people and paid up on time .
ReplyDelete