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Friday, December 8, 2017

Dazzle-N-Destroy Air-Defence Options

New-generation mobile, high-energy solid-state laser-based directed-energy weapons (DEW) are fast emerging as cost-effective counter-rocket, counter-artillery, counter-PGM, counter-UAV and counter-mortar systems, since a laser destroys targets with pinpoint precision within seconds of acquisition, then acquires the next target and keeps firing. Such DEWs will thus augment existing kinetic strike weapons like surface-to-air missiles and offer significant reductions in cost per engagement. With only the cost of diesel fuel, a HEL-based DEW system can fire repeatedly without expending valuable munitions or additional manpower. Target destruction is achieved by projecting a highly focused, high-power solid-state chemical laser beam, with enough energy to affect the target, and explode it in midair. This operational concept is thus for the very first time offering the first ‘reusable’ interception element. Existing interceptors use kinetic energy kill vehicles (such as blast-fragmentation warheads), which are not reusable.
A major advantage of HEL effectors is their outstanding flexibility with regard to escalation and de-escalation. Laser beams are eminently scaleable. When fired at optics, radio antennas, radars, ammunition or energy sources, for example, HEL effectors are able to neutralise entire weapons systems without destroying them. At ranges of 2km, mobile HEL effectors in the 50kW laser class clearly demonstrated their ability to locate, track and destroy optics such as riflescopes and remotely operated cameras. HEL effectors have also been used to quickly cut the power-supply cable of a radar mast and then the mast itself. Laser engagement of an ammo box followed by swift deflagration of its explosive content has also been accomplished. When integrated with a vehicle-mounted active phased-array radar for target acquisition/tracking, such HEL effectors can provide air-defence against UAVs of all types, as well as mortar rounds, PGMs and even manned combat aircraft.
The idea that combat aircraft can use solid-state laser-based DEW systems defensively, creating a sanitised sphere of safety around the aircraft, shooting down or critically damaging incoming guided-missiles and approaching aircraft with their laser turrets, is also fast becoming a reality. Fifth-/sixth-generation multi-role combat aircraft will also use such a system offensively, leveraging their stealth capabilities to sneak up on enemy aircraft and striking with speed-of-light accuracy. The introduction of nimble and compact lasers on the aerial battlefield will likely allow combat aircraft designs to cease putting a premium on manoeuvrability, as lasers are speed-of-light weapons. In other words, as long as the enemy can be detected and is within the laser’s range, they are at risk of being fried regardless of how hard they try to evade via hard turns and other high-g manoeuvres. 
Countermeasures will become more about evading initial detection, staying outside an opposing aircraft’s laser’s envelope, and confusing targetting sensors than out-manoeuvring the adversary. In other words, the dogfights of the future will look nothing like they do today. One issue pointed out by Northrop Grumman is that these lasers, along with future engines and avionics, will put out a huge amount of heat, making thermal control a huge concern for stealthy aircraft, IR search-n-track sensors--both air- and ground-based--are only becoming more sensitive and reliable as time goes on. As a result, future stealthy combat aircraft will have to keep their cool in order to remain undetected over the battlefield.
One way aerospace OEMs like Northrop Grumman are looking at dealing with this problem will be by using a large thermal accumulator to control the aircraft’s heat signature while using laser weaponry, although Northrop Grumman seems to be pursuing a different—albeit more shadowy—way of dealing with the problem. Venting the heat off-board only raises the aircraft’s visibility to heat-sealing sensors. Another option is to develop a thermal accumulator, which is a path the USAF is pursuing. An electrical accumulator stores the energy on-board in the same way as a hydraulic accumulator, releasing the latent energy as necessary to generate a surge of power. But Northrop Grumman’s sixth-generation multi-role combat aircraft concept, for instance, eschews the accumulator concept for thermal management because such a system imposes a limitation on the laser weapon’s magazine size or firing rate, forcing the pilot to exit combat until the accumulator is refilled with energy. Northrop Grumman is therefore pursuing a concept that does not rely on accumulators or off-board venting to manage the heat.
Fibre-lasers are typically around 25% efficient at converting DC current to light.  Thus a 50kW, two-minute blast would require over 6kW-hours of juice—or roughly 10 car batteries worth of power (car batteries have typically around 1.2kW-hour theoretical capacity and are 50% efficient in the real world).  However, fibre-lasers are bulky so may not be mountable on vehicles. Therefore, chemical solid-state lasers, are a more likely possibility, but are expensive on a per-shot basis. The biggest problem will likely be the cooling.  For instance, the US Navy’s existing seaborne 15kW HEL effectors already need heavy advanced cooling systems.  That will suck down yet more power, while increasing the system size and weight. The US Navy’s projected 30kW solid-state laser weapon system (LaWS) requires the laser to be able to have several different power settings: from a so-called dazzle effect to confuse sensors to a lethal ability that would be able to splash an UAV or an inbound anti-ship cruise missile, or to disable a small boat.
On land, the US Navy wants its HEL-based DEW to weigh less than 2,500 lb and achieve a minimum 25kW beam strength, capable of shooting down UAVs.  The long-term goal is to sustain a 50kW blast for two minutes with optronics capable of adjusting to environmental conditions like humidity and smoke/haze.  The beam is also expected to have a fast turn-around time--a 20-minute recharge to 80% of total capacity (power and thermal).
Boeing has developed a 10kW HEL-based DEW that weighs 650 lb and will be operated by a squad of eight to 12 soldiers. Able to be assembled in just 15 minutes, this DEW is capable of generating an energy beam to acquire, track, and identify a target—or even destroy it—at ranges of at least 22 miles. Within five years the energy density of this weapon’s batteries could be doubled and the other components should also be further reduced in size to get the weight down to 200 lb. Both Boeing and Raytheon, along with RAFAEL of Israel, are now developing 300kW HEL effectors could fit into 15-tonne trucks. Similarly, Germany’s Rheinmetall, through its 30kW Skyshield air-defence HEL effector, has demonstrated the ability to combine several laser beams on a single target, which develops sufficient power to destroy UAVs, PGMs and cruise missiles.
China’s Jiuyuan Hi-Tech Equipment Corp, a firm under the China Academy of Engineering Physics (CAEP), claimed on November 3, 2014 that it has developed a land-mobile HEL-based DEW that can shoot down small aircraft and UAVs out to a distance of 2km within seconds.  It is reportedly effective against aircraft flying at up to 50 metres per second up to a maximum altitude of 500 metres. The definitive Sentinel system can locate small aircraft within a 1.2-mile radius and shoot down small drones flying under 110mph and below 1,600 feet.
Another China-based company—GuoRong Technology—recently conducted technical trials of its truck-mounted DEW that can destroy airborne drones. The company claims that its DEW the laser successfully fired at least twice, including one on a plate of aluminum a few millimetres thick at a distance of 360 metres. In less than 10 seconds, the aluminum plate was pierced with a hole about 4 centimetres in diameter, and the drone, with its control unit destroyed, finally crashed to the ground.
India’s defence R & D Organisation (DRDO) too has been involved with the development of HEL-based DEW since 2008, with all R & D work being conducted at the High Energy Laser Integration Facility in the campus of the Hyderabad-based Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS). The CHESS is mandated by DRDO to be the nodal centre for the design and development of DEWs. Another DRDO-owned laboratory, the Laser Science and Technology Centre (LASTEC) is working on the development of laser source technologies for DEWs, and has so far developed core technologies, including gas dynamic high-power laser (GDL) and chemical oxygen iodine lasers (COIL), and has thus far demonstrated 100kW (multi-mode) GDL and 20kW (single-mode) COIL sources. LASTEC has also developed 1kW fibre-laser through collaboration.
Presently, R & D on 5kW and 9kW fibre-laser sources utilizing complex beam-combining technologies is underway. Power output from these sources will be combined in space for various tactical applications. LASTEC has also initiated work on the development of pulsed fibre-lasers for different military applications. To this end, the laboratory’s ADITYA project was an experimental testbed to seed the critical DEW technologies.

71 comments:

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

Sindh Rangers Training Centre:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URGZtBx29GA

PAF Search-n-Rescue Explained:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5KvOlxXOac&list=PLaH3tDQQle4uzSl2VTGHJH9f0kfbysXHZ&index=6

Anonymous said...

Hi Prasun,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_a2nHRL1ko

Watch 1:10 onwards. It seems the PAF has been given a go ahead to shoot down any US drones that violets Pakistani airspace. May be this is just for consumption of the general population because as you mentioned in the previous thread they would have to pay a high cost if they do it.

BR
Raj

rad said...


prasun

waaaaaa waaaaa dont go away like this and leave us without our daily fix!!!

Anik said...

Prasun Da

I have heard that PAF F16 fleet is in dilapidated condition and its avalaibility is very low. Is that true?

Also some of our air bases like Pathankot are well within Pakistani artillery range. In case of war Pakistani army can easily attack such based. What is the advantage of having these air bases so close to the border.

Anik said...

One of our Heron drone crashed inside China due to technical failure. What is the possibility that China used their EW system to disable its link with the control station.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To ANIK: What was ‘lost’ was a Super Heron-1 MALE-UAV, powered by diesel engines & 10 of these UAVs were procured last year. This is what India’s MoD said yesterday: “the UAV was on a “regular training mission” inside Indian territory when it “lost contact with the ground control due to some technical problem and crossed over the LAC (Line of Actual Control) in Sikkim sector.”

Loss of contact with GCS means 2 probabilities: 1) loss of line-of-sight data-linking, which happens only if there is electro-magnetic interference, i.e. electronic jamming by the PLA. 2) the Super Heron-1 being unresponsive to flight-profile commands from the GCS due to extreme icing (due to sub-zero temperatures) paralyzing the control surfaces of the UAV. That’s why such UAVs need to be equipped with de-icing systems.

Black box said...

Hi prasun,
Since admiral has mentioned the nuke SSN project has been Kickstarted,so will India design the sub indipendently from the experience gained from arihant or will Russia show how to build like in the arihant sub.will it be based on beloga sub as u mentioned earlier?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To RAD: Here are some anti-UAV DEWs:

Guorong’s DEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbsGIghMjak

China’s Sentinal DEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myck964u4ow

China’s Anti-UAV Rifle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gft9FLyfp0

US Navy's DEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyUh_xSjvXQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsudx1vr0k8

Boeing’s Compact DEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ijp3-zjTIp0

Boeing HEL-MD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdunGQYmzro

Lockheed Martin’s ATHENA DEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNsUtZmWgdg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XH6NIazR5pA

GBADS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdhKMDJ92fw

MBDA’s DEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GTWER1NI5g

Rheinmetall's anti-UAV DEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TqkWQ_s6A4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUGpCUkFwYI

RAFAEL’s Iron Beam DEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhsghwyt6gk

AUDS Anti-UAV Defence System: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8aZ0zWX3SA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BWtpoWiuNI

Black Sage Technologies DEW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYfR4VZ1PAU

DroneDefender Rifle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6k9Y3glkRk

buddha said...

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/lucknow/section-144-in-up-government-office-to-protect-staff/articleshow/61972945.cms
Something to cheer atleast

Anonymous said...

Nice links. How big is the Sindh Rangers? They showed guys in Basic training, they already look pretty fit and they seem to be concentrating on weigth training and boxing too. The training seems to be bit of GI and CT combined. They come across as highly motivated and well equipped.

I looked at their old pictures. The rangers seemed to be like police but now they look like army. It looks like they have transformed over the last 5-10years. Your thoughts?
MPatel

SUJOY MAJUMDAR said...

PrasunDa,

Sections of the Indian media are suggesting that the Indian drone that crashed in China could be a goldmine for Chinese weapons engineers

https://theprint.in/2017/12/07/if-the-fallen-uav-fell-into-chinese-hands-they-would-strip-it-for-technology/

Do you recon that Chinese weapons engineers will benefit from this ?

Thanks


G Manoj said...

Hi Prasun,

I came across this piece that is being widely re tweeted in Twitter. According to the authors ( who are US based professors) Indic merchants like Marwaris, Khatris etc sold people from Bihar, Odisha, Bengal & South India as Slaves to rulers in Central Asia.

https://www.myind.net/Home/viewArticle/the-exploitation-of-commons-through-islamist-indic-mercantile-collusion-in-bengal

Are these findings true ?

While I have personally witnessed these mercantile communities ( referred as Banias in North India) do some nasty stuff I have very little knowledge about their past antics .

-Manoj

sbm said...

Prasun, there are rumours being spread in a series of op-ed pieces by Abhijit Iyer-Mitra and Angad Singh which state the following:

1) Su-30MKI Russian and Israeli components don't integrate well with the Israeli jammer and that the radio and datalinks don't work properly

2) The P-8s cannot link to Indian warships and neither they nor the Ka-28 helicopters can communicate with the ships or the air defence systems

These comments are gaining credence that the SU-3OMKI was a failure and the P-8 purchase was a mistake.

None of this makes any sense to me. I've never heard of any complaints on Su-30MKI systems but rather on serviceability.

What's the truth?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To BUDDHA: And in the dramatic climax the ineffective & self-styled Yogi will be dethroned by the Dabbang Chulbul Pandeyji!

To MPATEL: Sindh Rangers is a paramilitary outfit, i.e. it is officered by the PA. Only the other ranks are not from the PA. The Rangers are answerable to the Federal Interior Ministry, & not to the Pakistani MoD. The Ranger’s principal mission is to man the IB with India & Pakistan’s Sindh province, but it has since the early 1990s been engaged in internal security operations inside Karachi & hence their stepped-up training for counter-terror operations because the hotbed for religiosity-inspired extremism & sectarian mindsets is the area of northern Sindh and southern Punjab province. Meanwhile, despite the much-touted OP Zarb-e-Azb, lethal firearms continue to surface inside North Waziristan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0lra2AqRoI

Meanwhile, anti-US protests are increasing inside Pakistan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEGdWBoNa8o

Will they culminate in the US diplomatic missions (Embassy & Consulates) being torched by frenzied mobs?

There were also some protests in Srinagar yesterday, but they were kept in strict check by the J & K Police: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjSAt0DpBMQ

To SUJOY MAJUMDAR: I can guarantee that NONE of the writers of such delusional stories has ever examined up-close-personal either an Israel-built UAS or a China-developed UAS, hence their delusional assumptions & conclusions. It will do them some good if they read this:

http://forceindia.net/feature-report/china-blooms-mideast-desert/

To MANOJ G: Human trafficking was as prevalent in those days as it is today. But does that mean that these communities today ought to be held accountable for what their ancestors indulged in?

To BLACK BOX: Yes, my earlier explanation WRT Belouga SSN still stands. Even the IN’s official promo video released earlier this week states that the IN has in-house expertise for designing only DDGs, FFG & corvettes, i.e. no ability to design submarines, be they SSKs or SSBNs or SSNs. Also, do read this:

http://forceindia.net/cover-story/undersea-warriors/

To SBM: LoLz! When you know that these are rumours, then why ask if they are true or false? Why have this urge to make a beeline for consuming anti-depressants just because some CRETINS (whose sources of such ‘news’ are the same that those for another cretin called Bharat Karnad) are making unsubstantiated claims? It’s obvious that such cretins find it luxurious to dwell in a world of make-believe.

Manu Singh said...

Prasun,

Have a look at the following link:
http://www.indopacificsecurity.com/2017/12/brahmos-test-fired-from-sukhoi-indias.html

1. Brahmos is generally accepted as one of the most dangerous missiles in the world.But at some sites, Chinese are arguing that subsonic missiles are better as they can be controlled, directed, and managed even during their transit. IS it true? Can Brahmos be guided during its mid-course or terminal phase?

2. In the above article, the author mentions that Chinese consider the Brahmos mostly a Russian missile, as major components still come from there. Is there any possibility of enough localisation of these Russian components?

3. How do you compare YJ-12// KH-31 supesonic missile with Brahmos?

Thanks

Millard Keyes said...

I remember you saying Prasun China can't afford a war on its Eastern sector and West with India. A letter from Mao apparently contained a similar thought before their attack on India in 1962 which said they were not stupid to fight America in the East and India on the West (as published within Bandalbaaz's recent article from some book). We all know what happened next.
What if a similar plan is in place until China sees itself ready?
At the peak of the Soviet Communism, significant research efforts were placed on non conventional weapons / techniques such as psycho manipulation ( as portrayed in the Manchurian Candidate movie)kinetic energy weapons. These all ended with the collapse of the USSR but China has picked up where they left off and one can't write of Chinese development in electro magnetic warfare. Reports about the Bermuda Triangle incidents all mention electro magnetic interference. A recent article comparing that with the AP - China border area might well be true as China has India as its perfect guinea pig along the border. Remember the old adage, the greatest trick the devil uses is to make people believe he doesn't exist!

Anonymous said...

Sir has Pakistan ordered 3 more Erieye and 4 Milgem class?
We are lagging behind in terms of AWE&CS now?

- VSJ

Rookie said...

Prasun da,

What is the progress of the India-Iran-Oman undersea gas pipeline?
The SAGE(South Asia Gas Enterprise) website says the project is ongoing.

However, Pakistan's EEZ had extended under the UNCLOS back in 2015 making the area where we were going to set up a part of the pipeline come under Pakistan's territory.
Does that hurt the project or something?

Or is our interest waning since we are seeing this push towards green energies?

Or are the Americans somehow trying to curb this deal?

rad said...

hi prasun
i have this sinking feeling that the heron was brought down by dew weapons. what is the actual damage that takes place when the chinks are going to dismantle the heron and get to know every thing .They should be obviously monitoring the data link and could have possibly hacked in .The EO pay load will be a gift to them , as well as all the antennas and hardware though no the software. there will be so much to glean . your views please

G Manoj said...

Hi Prasun,

In a way you are correct. Why should the present generation of Marwaris & other north Indian bania communities be held responsible for the sins of their ancestor.However, these "Chatur Banias" have come up with more innovative way to exploit the same race of people who were exploited by their ancestors. Take a look at this - they are now planning to flood South India, Odhisa, Bengal & probably North Eastern states with Hindi speaking migrants

http://indianexpress.com/article/business/economy/need-more-migration-to-sustain-ageing-peninsular-states-says-cea-arvind-subramanian/

The intention is to completely change the demography in those states by replacig them with Hindi speaking North Indian migrants.

Thanks, Manoj G

Kaustav said...

Prasunda,

At the risk of sounding paranoid, I would submit that the ISI is trying to explore regional fissures to create and exploit divisions along ethnic and religious lines in their usual ham handed manner. The murder of RSS office bearers while being quite an evident instance, the stoking of the cow issue, the love jihad idiocy and maybe even their pet bania maramari Indian exploiting the innocent east indian or the laid back south indian

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To MANU SINGH: 1) The BrahMos-1 being supersonic cruises at an altitude of 16km & therefore cannot do terrain-avoidance flight profiles. And since cubsonic cruise missiles abviously can, no wonder that India too, like China & Russia, is procuring subsonic LACMs. BrahMos-1 does not have on-board data-links for mid-course re-targetting. The on-board data-links are only meant for waypoint confirmations through GPS. 2) That was the case until 2005. Since then, there has been progressive localisation of sub-systems & components production in India by Indian OEMs & who does what was uploaded in a previous thread dealing with Indian PGMs & Cruise Missiles in 2013.

To PIERRE ZORIN: That ‘Vandalbaaz’ has extracted all data on the 1962 war from this website:

http://historicaldocs.blogspot.in/

But forget such Bandalbaazes, & instead go through these interesting assessments:

https://www.efsas.org/Bangladesh%20Research%20Dossier-%20Final.pdf

https://www.efsas.org/EFSAS-Jammu%20and%20Kashmir%20in%20Legal%20Perspective.pdf

https://www.efsas.org/EFSAS-The%20Exodus%20of%20Kashmiri%20Pandits.pdf

https://www.efsas.org/EFSAS%20Study%20Paper-Pan-Islamism%20and%20Radicalization%20of%20Kashmiri%20Youth.pdf

https://www.efsas.org/EFSAS-Pakistan%20Army%20and%20Terrorism;%20an%20unholy%20alliance.pdf

https://www.efsas.org/EFSAS-Corruption%20–%20an%20inherent%20element%20of%20Democracy%20in%20Pakistan.pdf

https://www.efsas.org/EFSAS-Pakistan%E2%80%99s%20Army-New%20Chief,%20traditional%20institutional%20interests.pdf

https://www.efsas.org/The%20New%20Great%20Game-China’s%20Debt-Trap%20Diplomacy-EFSAS.pdf

https://www.efsas.org/EFSAS-CPEC%20and%20JK.pdf

To VSJ: Yes it has & I had mentioned it in a previous thread dealing with Pakistan’s 3-front conundrum earlier this year.

To PRIMORDIAL PETE: 1) No physical construction activity has begun as yet. 2) What was extended was not Pakistan’s EEZ, but the country’s continental shelf.

To RAD: I’m more inclined to conclude that it was icing problems that caused this accident, since this was the first time ever that such UAVs were being used at this time of the year in that area. Furthermore, the UAV was cruising inside India’s airspace & it is impossible for any China-operated jammer to operate inside Indian territory since jamming can only take place if the line-of-sight microwave data-links are interfered with. Suh jamming is possible only if the UAV is being controlled through SATCOM-based data-linking, which is not the case with any of the UAVs being operated by various military operators in India.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To MANOJ G: I would rather classify such mannerisms as ‘survival instincts’. In fact, we all have a lot to learn from such micro-minority communities, be they Marwaris or Sindhis or Parsis. Despite being in such small numbers today none of them crave for or demand reservation quotas & are quite self-sufficient, progressive & well-contented. On the other hand, nowadays we are seeing demands for reservation quotas from majority communities like the Patidars & Jats & Marathas. This has all to do with identity politicking that assumed prominence since the late 1980s as they saw the slowness of India’s economic reforms & lack of adequate job creation efforts. For instance, India’s political class has failed as a whole in ensuring the security of the country’s agriculture sector, especially after embracing the GATT & WTO regulations, which has led to continuing suicides by farmers. What should have been done was to undertake STRUCTURAL REFORMS like creating a symbiotic relationship between farmers & the country’s food processing industries that would have done away with the need for all kinds of agricultural subsidies & waiving of loans, all of which would have removed a huge financial burden for the Govt of India. Had the country possessed adequate number of educational/academic institutions, then there would have been no reason for reservation quotas. Similarly today, the ruling political elite are finding it unable to generate job creation opportunities, & hence are constantly diverting the citizens’ attention to abstractions like cultural nationalism, gau raksha, construction of religious worship sites, etc etc. Here is 1 prime example of such grotesque tendencies:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyEt2lHGWRk

But if you were to ask the common citizen on the streets of Ayodhya, it is highly interesting what they have to say:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHAjx_Lcnws

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbusob28IRU&t=1s

And this is what some in Gujarat are resorting to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPrVFTEqzn4

In other words, state administrations of UP & Rajasthan are increasingly failing to deliver their part of the social contract that they have entered into with the residents of those states. No one talks about the missing Rs.1,7,00 crores missing from the VHP’s coffers, i.e. the money has laundered through fraudulent methods, while Rajasthan shamelessly glorifies the ‘Jauhar’[ (self-immolation) of its medieval womenfolk when on the other hand they ought to realise that the ancestors of the si-called chivalrous Rajputs considered their womenfolk as liabilities fit for suicides & never considered them to serve any worthwhile military purpose, like Rani Laxmibai who took to arms to give a good fight to her colonial enemies. So we have a choice today: either over-glorify the likes of Rani Padmavati like retards, or honour the true glory of the Rani of Jhansi.

Meanwhile, the quantum of volatility inside Pakistan is increasing & calls to cause damage to Western diplomatic missions in that country are increasing, as are self-deluding assertions about Pakistan being untouchable due to its possession of nuclear WMDs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQV_3Lxj7cE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbtQ8HyocS0

Smuggling of Rohingyas from Bangladesh into India is a new business trend:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX9k7qJHZdo

How Hindu women are perceived in Pakistan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2ipYdJsmys

Excellent Vlog on today’s typical Pakistani Maulvi:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT3RtW8CV7Y

Ravi said...

Prasun Da,
Manohar parrikar has presented a grim picture regarding IAF’s BVR capabilities today-

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/parrikar-says-rafale-deal-gives-india-edge-over-pakistan-slams-antony-for-delay/articleshow/62002490.cms

The former defence minister said that in 1999, the Indian Air Force succeeded in pushing out its Pakistani counterpart out of the Kargil conflict zone, because India had Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles with a range of 30 km on SU30 and MiG 29 aircrafts.
"Pakistan had only about 20 km range ... due to which they remained away," he said.
However, between 1999 and 2014, Pakistan acquired a capacity of 100 km range whereas India had upgraded its BVR up to 60 km on SU30, he said.
"We were now in danger of being shot down by Pakistani fighters staying 100 km away and not being able to retaliate and Rafale deal took care of this with a missile with a range of 150 km fitted on aircraft,"

Please tell if it is true and whether or not sukhoi-30 has longer range missiles like R-77 RVV-SD, R-27ER & R-27ET?

Unknown said...

Sir I did some pretty research on history of Military Worldwide and following questions do arise in my mind:
1.You said that RA&W was never involed in any kind of Kinetic operations.But according to former RA&W officer RK Yadav,we did support KIA in Myanmar in past logistically.
2.Why is Hitler so popular in India?I mean,I can realize that majority of Indian Population are unaware of Holocaust but still why?Because of Bose Factor?
3.Nazi Germany did fasinating innovations in Military technology.What special thing Hitler did to get this?
4.Sir Stalin and gollowing communists killed greater no. of innocents then Nazis.But why communists are hailed as progressives and Nazi supports are called tyrants?I am not on either side but just curious.
Thanks in advance sir.

SUVO said...

PRASUN DA,
THANKS for those European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS) links.

Prranshu Yadav said...

Sir, do you think that Dr. Santhanam was right in saying India's thermonuclear test in 1998 was a failure and consequently India only has fission weapons? And are the 6 nuclear tests conducted by India enough to master nuclear weapons technology considering that China has conducted around 45 tests?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in Delhi:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0XcjrKvxkc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4j_ydEmy0g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3doKERi11A

And in Pakistan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Npw4fuGmq_Q

Interesting contrasts indeed!

New Border Viewing Point in Gujarat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoyl-KrDZ1o

Jaisalmer War Museum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q066W670xns

Thar Link Express Jodhpur-to-Karachi Khokrapar-Monabao Railway:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM04xDZvZFo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHQVA-2P-N4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awJXVKShrXA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dRtTjsqxI4

Ground-report from the LoC inside PoK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJilGfEhrSM

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

EX Ajeya warrior 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e697rHvxIWc

Why the hell is the IA soldier asking his British Army counterpart if the 40mm Mk.19 AGL can be used as an anti-aircraft gun??? Or maybe he hails from the ASC & is therefore not conversant with military hardware!

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To RAVI: LoLz! This is the kind of disinformation that’s apread by retards who masquerade as ‘nationalists’. In mid-1999, as per the PAF’s own admission, it lacked the aviation fuel reserves reqd for maintaining CAPs over PoK for no more than 5 days & after June 1, 1999 no CAPs were mouned by the PAF over PoK. Now to the facts which Parrikar is obviously not aware of: in 1999 the IAF had both R-27R & R-27R1 & R-27T1 BVRAAMs on both MiG-29B-13s & Su-30Ks. So from where the figure of 30km attributed to the IAF’s BVRAAMs comes from is best left to Parrikar’s delusion. From 2002 onwards, the R-77s started arriving & they had a max range of 80km. And as for the PAF, even if the AIM-120C AMRAAMs have a range of 100km, they still can never attain that range when fired from the Block-52 F-16C/D simply because the F-16’s APG-68 MMR did not have a tracking range beyond 85km. And don’t confuse tracking range with the mex detection range. Furthermore, a BVRAAM can be fired to its max engagement range only if the launch aircraft is optimally positioned, i.e. it gets flight cues from a ground-based intercept control station or from an AEW & CS platform. And this is possible in the PAF’s case only when the launch aircraft is positioned inside Pakistan’s airspace. And if AMRAAM-equipped F-16s are reqd to operate deep inside Indsia’s airspace, then it will be the IAF’s launch aircraft that will have the upper hand in terms of optimally exploiting their BVRAAMS’ max engagement envelope.

To INTOLERANT PERSON: 1) Not only KIA, but even the CHT’s Shanti Bahini was raised, armed, trained in Agartala from August 17, 1865 onwards. But this doesn’t mean that R & AW was directly involved in kinetic operations. R & AW has never used its personnel for undertaking/executing kinetic operations & has instead outsourced such operations to third-parties for reasons of plausible deniability. 2) Only a fringe minority, & not the majority, idolize the likes of Hitler & these are all from groups like Shiv Sena, karni Sena, Ranbir Sena etc etc who subscribe to the comcept of violent insurrections. The vgreat majority of Indians despise Hitler due to the latter’s role in bringing the ancient symbol of SWASTIKA into disrepute. 3) Hitler did not do anything much. Most of the funding & patroning was done by Himler & his SS. 4) If the Communists are hailed as progressives, then why is North Korea the only country left in this world that subscribes to the Stalinist brand of communism?

To KAUSTAV: LoLz! All these rumblings were there even in the late 1960s right through to the 1990s, but they never got the kind of attention that they do so now in the era of 24/7 TV coverage. So it is best not to entangled with needless conspiracy theories. Leave it to the Pakistanis to relish such conspiracy theories, speaking of which they are now trying to lay the blame on to India-based hackers for the increasing number of ATM frauds, even though the nett financial beneficiaries of all such acts are Shanghai-based hackers! Here, watch this ground-report:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgdnTcUqL2U

Manu Singh said...

Prasun,

Can you give your opinion on Bharat Karnad's latest analysis that Rafale's canards are going to be a major problem in future ?? Do they really use for air-breaks??

https://bharatkarnad.com/2017/12/10/rafale-canards-arent-they-problems/#comments

Thanks

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To MANU SINGH: Today it is the Rafale's canards, tomorrow he will discover that the Su-30MKI & EF-2000 too have canards. And that retard alone knows what will follow next in his world of make-believe! Nor are Jaguar IS platforms underpowered. It depends on the takeoff site, i.e. in Ambala they would not be under-powered while in Jodhpur they will be if they take off in the afternoons with full-load.

So don't be taken in by what this retard oozes out from time to time, for he doesn't even know that that the Tu-22 isn't the BACKFIRE (which the Tu-22M2/3 is) but is the BLINDER. That alone illustrates this retard's utter lack of homework!

Far more worrisome in the 'real world is this:

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/experts-sound-alarm-bells-dividend-can-be-nightmare-make-in-india-at-risk-4977253/

bradshaw said...

Prasun Da,

Lot of confusion with INS Aridhaman or INS Arighat , which is the second vessel of Arihant class , please clarify.. seems everyone is confused on this ! :)

STJ said...

Sir, according to report is INS Arighat the second nuclear submarine launched with same dimensions as ins Arihant.

vikas said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e697rHvxIWc

the officer in the above video is from the rajputana rifles, an infantry battalion.
& he is probably confused by the weapon, & its usage, because of the size of the tripod.
tripods of such size were used in the army to mount LMGs/MMGs for AA role.

Have seen this even with the CRPF

joydeep ghosh said...

@prasun da

1. as per this article S2/Arihant and S3/Arighat are same but S4 and S4* will be a slightly stretched version, i think that could be true since you yourself have said the base reactor for S2 and others is actually not 83 MW but 85 MW, so i think that 1000 ton extra is possible in S4 and S4* to include more missile silos. the S4* being built to keep the SSBN line busy till the real boomer S5/INS Arhidhaman design is finalized for work start by 2025, as the priority SSN line is a separate line within SBC where work has started. This article also talks about chidambaram's contribution towards stretched S4/S4*.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/india-ballistic-missile-submarine-k-6-submarine-launched-drdo/1/1104982.html

2. regarding your thread i want to ask is it possible that DEWs will render Davids sling/Iron dome useless.

3. you have talked about accumulators, cant these be used in a way that allows carrier based jets to stand still by releasing the power for abrupt halt even if they miss arrester wires, as a concept if you remember sometime back i had shared video about C130s using arrester rockets to come to stand still

4. could the drone loss in doklam be delibrate to see if the Chinese can track it, India could not have allowed the israeli drone to fall in chinese hand so easily as they can copy and reverse engineer it(they being expert at it). you have said India delibrately sent a drone inside pak earlier to know their capability, so this can be same too. learnt that chinese troops are now permanently camped at doklam, so this xould be possible

thanks

Joydeep Ghosh

Ashish Gautam said...

Sir a page on FB known as Indian aerospace defense news (IADN) posted regarding LCH that it can be armed with 16 Helina missiles.... Is this information true? Because if I am not wrong then it can carry upto 8 missiles only as it's wing loading capacity is less... Kindly clarify on this matter...
Thank you.

Rookie said...

Prasun da,

What do you make of this?

https://m.economictimes.com/news/defence/global-arms-sale-rise-first-time-since-2010-but-sales-of-indian-arms-companies-decline/articleshow/62016677.cms

What was the cause of this?

Unknown said...

Sir do you think similar incident of that of Carbonyl,Ukraine can happen in India?Is there any possibility?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To BRADSHAW & STJ: Of course such mischievous news-reports are very much designed to sow confusion. So, just wait for the IN to officially name the S-3 SSBN & everyone will then get to know the gospel truth.

To VIKAS: That officer ought to know that the weapon wasn;’t a machine gun, but a 40mm AGL, which was clearly communicated to him. Now, either he wasn;t paying attention, or he has never handled the combination of 7.62mm MMG & 30mm AGS-17 AGL that is routinely used by the IA for area domination.

To ASHISH GAUTAM: Only 8 HELINAs can be carried by the LCH if all its 4 pylons are fitted with twin-pack launchers. Quad launchers each housing 4 ATGMs are still in the design stage.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To JOYDEEP GHISH: LoLz! Unlioke you, I don’t have the luxury of placing even a micron of emphasis on speculative terms like MAY, COULD & MAYBE. I go by empirical data, most of which is available in this blog itself. So, let’s start from genesis:

The August 2004 issue of FORCE magazine had published the first exhaustive news-feature on the ATV Project, which was written by your's truly. And then there were these from my blog about ATV Project & the S-5 SSBN's design:

http://trishul-trident.blogspot.in/2012/06/games-being-played-along-indias-eastern.html

http://trishul-trident.blogspot.com/2014/12/significant-project-milestones-of-s.html

Now some clueless nitwit from INDIA TODAY makes a Bhel-Puri out of all these & comes up with this:

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/india-ballistic-missile-submarine-k-6-submarine-launched-drdo/1/1104982.html

Now to the FACTUAL ERRORS:

Claim: Two new units, the S4 and S4 'star' submarines, fitted with eight ballistic missiles or twice the Arihant's missile load, will be launched by 2020 and 2022.
Reality: The Arihant can already carry 8 B-05 SLBM of 700km-range or 4 K-04 SLBMs of 3,500km-range.

Claim: Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to build their nuclear powered reactors
Reality: BARC has to date not physically built any reactor, period. Building is always done by industry & in case of PWRs, it was a tem-effort of Godrej & Boyce, BHEL Tiruchy, Walchandnagar Industries Ltd & MIDHANI.

Claim: hull fabrication facility in Gujarat
Reality: Only plate-bending was done by L & T in Hazira. Fabrication of various compartments & their inner & outer hull casings was all done at SBC in Vizag, as was the final; welding of all hull sections to form the boat’s superstructure.

Cont'd below...

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

Claim: The Arihant has so far been equipped with 12 B-05 SLBMs. A 3,500km range missile, the 'K-4' is still in trials-the DRDO is to conduct a fourth test of the missile sometime in December, from a specially designed submersible pontoon launcher in the Bay of Bengal.
Realty: Only 8 B-05s are installed in VLS cells & these cells will in future be replaced by a four-cell VLS for the K-04 SLBMs.

Claim: K-5 missile, a 5,000-km SLBM.
Reality: No such SLBM exists. The definitive SLBM will be the K-6 with 6,00)km+ range & 4 MIRVs.

Claim: The ATV headquarters soon dusted out plans for building a series of six indigenous SSNs, shelved by the government over a decade ago due to budgetary constraints.
Reality: No plan was ever shelved. It was always meant to be sequential, i.e. SSBNs first, followed by SSNs.

Claim: The Arihant class were meant to be SSNs. Post the 1998 tests, they were converted into SSBNs-DRDO inserted a plug with four short-ranged ballistic missiles.
Reality: Laws of physics associated with the maintenance of neutral buoyancy fo not allow this. No SSN design has ever been converted or modified into SSBN, although SSBNs can be converted to SSGNs.

Claim: The design got another tweak a decade ago after an intervention from then finance minister P. Chidambaram who was on the political committee which monitors the classified programme. The minister questioned the billions being spent on a boat launching just four nuclear tipped missiles. The ATV project team came back with an 'Arihant-stretch'-an additional 10-metre-long plug for four K-4 SLBMs to be integrated into the S-4, then on the design board. The plug would increase the weight of the submarine by nearly 1,000 tonnes without significantly altering its performance. An additional unit, the S-4* was sanctioned in 2012 when it became clear that the S-5 would take a longer development cycle and would result in the ATV line being idle
Reality: Again, a totally abusive misinterpretation (i.e. outrageous speculation) of the laws of physics. Any PLUG not only adds weight, but also volume, i.e. in total they increase the displacement & therefore the boat’s buoyancy parameters too are drastically affected & hence additional ballast tanks & pumps & pipings are reqd for installation. Hence, the question of a ‘design tweak’ never arose & it was never done & the S-4* JUST DOES NOT EXIST. The S-5 SSBN’s detailed engineering design was available in 2007 itself & was first displayed by the DRDO at DEFEXPO-2012 expo.

Claim: Arihant's 83 MW reactor which uses Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU).
Reality: Uranium used in the PWR is only 44% enriched, which is known as moderately enriched uranium. Only when enrichment exceeds 60% can it be called highly enriched.

And do study at the slides I’ve uploaded above to view officially released parameters of S-5 SSBN & the SLBMs.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To DON: Elementary: the weather. As to who are the cowards, kindly refer to the LoC-related videoclip I had posted yesterday in my comments & listen to what the PA has to say about 2 Troops of the IA's T-90S MBTs already deployed at an altitude of 5,000 feet ASL facing the PA in the Uri Bulge area. That will give you a very good idea about who's afraid of whom. Facing a bunch of rag-tag Jihadis in FATA does not make the PA as combat-hardened as it would need to be if it wants to take on the IA & that too without having the Arjun or Tejas having to enter the fray!

Ganesh said...

Hello Prasun, it is simple fact that hype of high paying job after engineering graduation is gone, only the relevant were and will get jobs and needless to say about proliferation of new engineering colleges for making a fast buck led to this. This is not going to affect anything but provides a reality check. This is a paid article with respectable people's comments to make it sound otherwise

DrJBL said...

Hi prasun,

Is this article accurate?
Its very close to what you have been saying since ages but with some differences
Could you please comment on the authenticity of the information contained in this article



http://m.indiatoday.in/story/india-ballistic-missile-submarine-k-6-submarine-launched-drdo/1/1104982.html

Millard Keyes said...

I have heard there are secrets but Carbonyl? Is this below the earth where such a catastrophe took place and we are still waiting to hear about? :)

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

Interesting read: https://www.amazon.in/Chinas-India-War-Collision-Course/dp/0199475555

To DrJBL: Have already posted my observations above in my reply to JOYDEEP GHOSH.

To SBM: ISIS 5.0 in Trinidad & Tobago https://www.quilliaminternational.com/will-they-return-isis-5-0-in-trinidad-and-tobago-dr-muhammad-fraser-rahim/

Newcomer said...

Hi Sir,
I have being Reading your comments and Posts for some time(not long) and they where very informative(a rare collection of hard to get info)..
I appreciate your work from the bottom of my heart..

I wont be bothering you by asking any silly question's(Because I don't have any technical knowledge other than what I got from hear and there referring and searching)..

But Just one question more of a curiosity.. Do you think Tejas(any version) will see action in coming day's(any time soon)..!! are they capable enough..!! IAF say they are under powered and your view is also the same I too think so..
But they can be used for CAS operation's because IAF has no other economically good option's Do they..?

rad said...

hi prasun
you have shown pic s of a ssbn with russian letters , is it going to be t he future ssbn with russian collaboration ?

seems massive with 24000 tons , can we do it ??

a spate of articles from vishal karpe is foating around , does the name arighat make any sense to you ,is it official?


sbm said...

Thanks for sharing that with me Prasun. It is very well intentioned and could work but for one major problem - the nexus between Islamic extremism and organized crime in Trinidad. Almost all the fighters who went to Syria from Trinidad were either influenced by or directly recruited by elements in the Afro-Trinidadian Islamic community linked to criminal elements. De-radicalization presents a challenge because of the fact that re-radicalization is so readily available via several of the country's 85 mosques. To date neither the police Special Branch nor the Strategic Services Agency (Trinidad's intelligence agency) have the resources, leadership or foresight to monitor and where necessary intervene in situations where radicalization is being encouraged.

Rookie said...

Prasun da,

Your take.

http://zeenews.india.com/india/china-pumping-in-soldiers-and-ammunition-to-seize-advantage-in-doklam-sources-2065639.html

Didn't you go to near the LAC recently.

Are we matching the Chinese in intensity?
Are we ready for the end of winter?
In which areas do the Chinese lead or have an advantage over us now?


Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To NEWCOMER: VMT. The answer is simple: If the Tejas Mk.1 & Mk.1A are both sub-optimal in air combat, then how can they be regarded as optimal solutions for rendering battlefield air interdiction? Won’t such aircraft be equally vulberable for either mission (air combat & battlefield air interdiction) because in both cases they will be facing opposition from both enemy combat aircraft & AAA networks? The logical solution therefore is two-fold: development of the optimal LCA-AF Mk.2 for both counter-air & tactical interdiction missions; & doctrinal amendments which mandate that the IAF will not be responsible for battlefield air interdiction.close air-support & instead the IA’s Aviation Corps will be responsible & will therefore have to be equipped with large numbers of helicopters like LUH, Rudra & the LCH. And this is because historically, it has been proven to be impossible to deliver close air-support when it is reqd the most. In fact, the IA refers to this reqmt as immediate air-support. So, while an IAF aircraft will take anything between 45 minutes or 6 hours to render such supportibe firepower (because it inevitably takes a long time to process such requests for support through various command levels), attack helicopters are always deployed with ground fighting formations & can therefore be rapidly employed as first responders for delivering fire-assaults with either ATGMs or with air-to-ground rockets. Now, if this were to happen, then the IAF will no longer require the quantum of combat aircraft reqd for undertaking battlefield air interdiction missions for immediate air-support & all its existing Jaguar IS/DARIN-3 will be able for tactical interdiction missions, while the Rafales & Su-30MKIs will be dedicated for deep interdiction/air dominance missions. So, in the end, it all boild down to a mix-n-match strategy: acquisition of 180 LUHs, 120 Rudras & 180 LCHs by the IA’s Aviation Corps will give the IA the offensive firepower equal to that of 2 armoured divisions, but with the added advantage of vertical envelopment (i.e. encircling enemy ground formations & subjectinbg them to multi-directional attacks) & rapid response.

To RAD: If Indian shipyards can fabricate 39,000-tonne IACs & 200,000-tonne VLCTs, then where’s the complication for building 25,000-tonne SSBNs? After all, the design is Russian & it comes as a certified & tested product & therefore there are ZERO risks in terms of the boat’s performance or safety. The IN will not confirm any names until the time the SSBN is ready to join service. Meanwhile, amphibian aircraft operations are getting the long-awaited boost:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpVLX4tZgVI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYrHi7zgF1c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OQ8jpHUD3E

Quest Kodiak Amphibian uses Ethanol & not Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF)

https://questaircraft.com/kodiak/

https://questaircraft.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/QuestKodiak_DealerVersion_lowrez_FINAL-Rev.1_July2016.pdf

And before anyone asks, although HAL is trying to develop an amphibian version of the Do-228, it will have to overcome 2 challenbges: 1) development of a turboshaft engine that runs on Ethanol, 2) getting it certified by EASA or FAA, without which the DGCA won’t issue an endorsing certificate of airworthiness & no company will provide hull insurance coverage for such an uncertified aircraft. Prudence therefore suggests that HAL team up with Japan-based OEMs to co-develop a fully certified engine that runs on Ethanol as this will reduce the direct operating costs of the aircraft by a significant margin & make air operations affordable. Once this happens, then there’s a gigantic captive marklet throughout India for such amphibian aircraft.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To PRIMORDIAL INDIAN: LoLz! Is that all that the PLA can mobilize, i.e. 1,200 troops? Facing them are two Corps-sized formations of the IA in both Sikkim & Siliguri Corridor area, numbering more than 60,000 troops & they are perched at higher altitudes from where fire-assaults can be rained against those PLA garrisons that are below in both the Chumbi Valley & in the western portion of the Doklam plateau. So relax & don’t be perturbed by such sensational reports that smack of yellow journalism

To GANESH: Interesting read:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/why-india-needs-to-protect-its-technology-companies/story-7DmBCVD7hrM0BjTLjrtg6I.html

As for this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WGC4EoqkBs&t=93s) what no one is answering is, if this gathering was only of retired politicians & diplomats of both India & Pakistan, then what the hell was the Pakistani High Commissioner to India doing in this gathering? Why was he invited & who invited him? And why does this Kasuri fella get invited in the first place when he for the past 3 years has been spewing venom against India in every Pakistani TV talk-show? And why do some Indian politicians & ex-diplomats get nostalgic about the now-discredited 4-Point Formula put forth by Gen Musharraf when it was NEVER designed to reach a permanent solution to the J & K issue, & which was subverted in 2008 by Gen Kayani with the active support of all Pakistani political parties when they in 2008 unanimously declared that all decisions taken by the illegal military regime of Gen Musharraf were henceforth null & void (watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Buq_IcqI7ng). Of all people, Dr MMS who fully knows about all this should therefore have avoided any kind of contact with Kasuri.

To M PATEL: These may interest you:

PNS Qasim https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUH18jZqmMs

PN’s SSG-N https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXTgdSjC_9o

Unfulfilled Promises to FATA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DxpbZ4yiH8

http://pmo.gov.pk/documents/PresentationFATAReformCommittee.pdf

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To PIERRE ZORIN: First, 24 Rafales were ordered:

https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/defence/press-release/qatar-selects-rafale-its-air-force

Then 36 Boeing F-15QAs were ordered:

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/qatar-orders-36-f-15qa-fighters-438280/

Then 12 more Rafales were ordered:

https://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/group/press/press-kits/qatar-acquires-additional-12-rafale/

And now Qatar orders 24 EF-2000 Typhoons worth US$6.7 billion:

http://www.baesystems.com/en/article/qatar-agrees-contract-for-typhoon-aircraft

How the hell will any air force with such a diverse fleet of MRCAs ever be financially viable or fighting-fit is anyone's guess!

rad said...

hi prasun
what model of sub is that in Russian service?

what is china`s idea of stationing 1800 troops on doklam? face saving or a threat. ?

how does the drdo conduct secret flights of the k series submarine missiles, where do they take place? as we all know a ships and aircraft in the vicinity are at risk?

how does pakistan conduct ballistic missile tests of 2500km when they dont have that space , they shoot into the Arabian sea?



Millard Keyes said...

As you might have guessed, the brain does not run on oil - petroleum. Places like Qatar and all those Arabs have a lot of oil, very little brains. This is why the US, France and the UK are literally banking on them to keep their defence companies afloat. I am yet to see an intelligent Arab emanate from those countries so is it any wonder they are so confused. I saw a movie a long time ago called Betsy's wedding and in that a memorable quote was: "don't screw with your brain and don't think with your dick" never forgotten it. You will find that adage very appropriate for Indian pollies and Arabs.

Ganesh said...

Hello Prasun,

I politely disagree with the points comparing China with India and USA in the article http://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/why-india-needs-to-protect-its-technology-companies/story-7DmBCVD7hrM0BjTLjrtg6I.html
There is no doubt Indian technology companies needs nurture; however, not at the cost of competitiveness. The most important stumbling block is the lax intellectual property protection laws of our land. Trust me, the talent pool available in India (not considering those settled in alien lands) can do many things.

Thanks,
Ganesh

Prranshu Yadav said...

Correct me if I am wrong, but there is a general belief that a country procures multiple types of aircraft designed for the same role so that the country does not totally depend on just one supplier for all its fighter fleet. Otherwise if that supplying country suddenly decides to stop maintenance support for any reason than the entire fleet of the customer country will suffer. Isn't it true that one reason why rafale was selected in MMRCA competition is because France had continued to support India's mirage fleet even after the 1998 nuclear tests while US had imposed sanctions?

But speaking of financial viability of a diverse fleet, I can't think of an air force as diverse as our own. With Su-30MKI, rafale, mig-29, mirage, Jaguar, mig-27, mig-21, Tejas, it literally looks like an airplane zoo. I can't even imagine how such a fleet is financially viable.

Technology, Photograpy and Travel said...

.. the guns or rifles used in the PN’s SSG-N video ... will those long barraled once work so well ? since it might not provide the kind of accuracy needed may be u need to provide us some insight on this ...

Unknown said...

1.There are reports circulating around that there's an upcoming test of K-4 SLBM.What's you say?
2.There's mass confusion on Arighat/Aridhaman.What's realty?
3.What is the status of 6000+ ranged SLBM as of now?
4.Some Pakistani anchors were making fun of Modi and were saying that Pakistan has became more "mature" nation then India and was also claiming that India is becoming childish as now every Indian is having hatred towards pakistan while every Pakistan is having love for India.What's you say on this "warmonger" tag by Rauf Klasra?

SUJOY MAJUMDAR said...

PrasunDa,

1. Russia's foreign minister Lavrov said in Delhi yesterday that India should join the Belt & Road Initiative . Why is Russia forcing India to join China's Belt & Road Initiative ?

2. Former NSA Shiv Shankar Menon stated recently during his book release that there were some specific reason because of which India did not strike back against Pakistan after 26/11. Do you know under what circumstances India refused to strike Pakistan post 26/11 ?

3. Is it true that since there is a huge shortfall of experienced Air Force pilots in Qatar, most fighter jets of the Qatari Air Force are flown by Pakistani fighter pilots ?


Thanks,

SUJOY

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To RAD: It is as yet an unnumbered design that is derived from the USSR-era Project 667BDRM Delfin (NATO designation Delta-4) SSBN. Half of those PLA personnel are from the construction corps for building new trackways & the rest for the Royal Bhutan Army to vacate their observation posts so that the PLA can illegally occupy them. Here’s the update on PLA track-construction (not roads) activity in the Chumbi Valley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94mSWWjaWQk

No ‘secret’ test-firings of ballistic missiles can be carried out if they are conducted from land out to the sea in international airspace. Therefore, both India & Pakistan issue NOTAMS one week before any such test-firing is scheduled & both also inform one another as per a bilateral agreement. Only if test-firings are carried out inland (which only China & Russia can do due to theior massive landmass) can they be kept unreported, but never a secret since space-based early warning satellites of the US, Russia & China can easily detect them.

And finally, kindly do not forget this & don’t ask me this again: For the record, INS Arihant has the pennant no of S-73 & this SSBN was formally commissioned into service on August 26, 2016.

To PRRANSHU YADAV: That’general belief’ is totally wrong & delusional & strangely persists only in the minds of several South Asians. If thie belief were was reality, then why does 70% of all Indian military hardware originate from Russia? And if your PoV about India deciding on the Rafale instead of US-origin platforms, then how come for the Tejas LCA India opted for the F414 turbofan from the US, LM-2500 gas turbines for the Project 17 FFGs & C-17As & AH-64Es from the US?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To INTOLERANT PERSON: 1) Just do a Google check about NOTAMS issued by the DGCA of India about keeping the airspace around Vizag free & that will tell you when such test-firings will take place. 2) Wait for the IN to officially confirm matters. 3) It is still under development as are the MIRVs. 4) Neither are all Indians Pakistan-haters nor are all Pakistanis India-haters. As for maturity, I’, all for proving that Pakistan is the greatest creation on Earth since the advent of Peanut Butter onkly if it can now start its nuclear sabre-rattling against the US by threatening to use nuclear WMDs against the US & Israel for the sake of securing independence for the Palestinians, thereby proving that Pakistan indeed is the only Muslim country in the world that towers above all other Muslim countries & that Pakistan therefore is far more Muslim & Islamic than all other members of the Muslim Ummah. Pakistan also ought to empower Hafiz Saeed to start torching all US diplomatic missions inside Pakistan as a warning to the US.

But the sad truth is that despite all the shouting about the Kashmir issue, no one from the OIC even bothered to mention it this time again, only 22 heads of govt attending the OIC Summit in Istanbul, Saudi Arabia, Egypt & the UAE did not send their heads of state, somehow the Venezuelan President (Loooolllllzzzz!) was present there, & President Erdogan who supports Qatar was humiliated by the absence of the Saudi & UAE rulers. And a Pakistani heads the ‘Islamic’ counter-terror military alliance that is making life hell for the orfinary Yemeni citizens, while Shia Iran is now poised to become the moral/military supporter for the Palestinian cause by supporting Hamas & Hezbollah & this in turn will transform southern Lebanon into a living hell thanks to the Israelis & Saudis & Iran will seek ways of retaliating by creating even far more mayhem inside Balochistan & perhaps even inside Gilgit-Baltistan. On top of all this, the Pakistani Rs has lost its value by Rs.7 against the US$ while the residents of FATA are rising up in arms yet again, but this time against a Pakistani federal govt that refuses to mainstream FATA. So, all in all, against this backdrop, India looks pretty much cozy & far more mature. As for Pakistan-bashing inside India, well, democracy in a welfare state is a noisy process/system & therefore this is nothing to be ashamed of.

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

This clown, who is a Pakistani Passport-holder, is now the self-styled 'President of Azaad Kashmir':

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7q1lSdlXgA

And this is what Manchester-based Kashmiris view him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebd3QezJegw

And of course, truth-revealers like this will never be allowed to give their depositions at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g3bEwKGbls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mktLBOOF5PQ

And this is Rex Tlllerson's salco salvo aimed at Pakistan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S-U_qumEnM

And this is how Pakistan's diplomats are perceived by their own countrymen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SRlL8y_7n0

And the delusional wailing/whining about Jerusalem continues inside Pakistan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCkYf_UfG_4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnY2E2tuG2g&t=172s

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To SUJOY MAJUMDAR: 1) Lavrov made the proposal because Russia has merged its Eurasian Customs Union roadmap with China’s BRI roadmap. So, technically, if India links up with Russia’s roadmap via Chabahar in Iran, then India automatically also becomes a part of the BRI, although this will not tantamount to a direct endorsement of the BRI. 2) There were 2 reasons: First, there was no clarity on what target to hit from the air, i.e. whether to strike the sprawling, 50-acre office in Shiwai Nala (called Baitul Mujahideen or the HQ of Freedom Fighters) in Muzaffarabad that is shared by the LeT & United Jihad Council, or the training camps in Ummal Kura and Sirikot in the foothills of Muzaffarabad.

This is the Baitul Mujahideen from where Zaki ur-Rehman lakhvi was nabbed by Pakistan’s FIA:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDRd0HrNurg

Second, at that time the India PMO was still harbouring hopes of reviving the 4-point peace formula with Pakistan, even though the then civilian govt of Pakistan had in its National Assembly clearly declared all decisions/laws enacted by the Musharraf regime as being null & void & non-binding. This despite the fact that experienced diplomats like Shyam Saran were at that time clearly outlining that the 4-point formula as suggested by Musharraf had specified a lifespan of only 15 years following which a referendum was to be held in both J & K and PoK, i.e. Pakistan was trying to reach the point of holding a plebiscite without first fulfilling the UNSC-mandated pre-conditions that called for Pakistan vacating its occupation of PoK. This has since been explained in some detail by Shyam Saran in his latest book. This shows how woolly-headed the decision-makers of the UPA-1/-2 govts were in terms of strategic visioning. 3) No, not true. PAF personnel in both Qatar & the UAE are employed there on contract strictly as non-combatant instructors. And now whether Qatare is under an embargo imposed by Saudi Arabia & the UAE, it is India that is supplying most of the perishable commodities for consumption by Qatar’s population. So don’t expect Qatar to piss off India in any manner.

To SBM: This writer of pulp-fiction novels doesn not even know that Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders had built not 1, but 2 Class 209/Type 1500 SSKs & INS Kalvari is the 3rd SSK to be built by MDSL:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ins-kalvari-to-be-commissioned-today-but-indian-navy-s-sub-sea-power-is-below-par/story-p9HgIlur02kqhxYr5IBteL.html

The IN’s Project 76 is more than 2 decades old in terms of paperwork & it calls for building SSKs out of designs whose IPRs will be India-owned & it is for gaining such design expertise that the IN had wished to acquire under Project 75I a total of 6 SSKs of a design that will be India-specific & therefore the IN will be the owner of that hull-design but not the IPRs of the barious on-board sub-systems.

And as for which HWTs will go on-board the Scorpenes, do read the interviews of the IN’s senior officials in the December 2017 issue of FORCE, where it is explained how the competitive procurement process of HWTs for such SSKs is proceeding. So, as of now, no SUT or Sea Hake, rest assured.

SUJOY MAJUMDAR said...

Thanks PrasunDa, great insights.

So now that India is supplying all the perishable commodities to Qatar despite the embargo imposed by Saudi Arabia & UAE, isn't India earning the wrath of these 2 countries ?

Maybe they will retaliate against India by stepping up assistance to Pakistani jihadi groups or jihadi groups based in India.

Thanks,

SUJOY

Kapil said...

Sir, everyone is saying that INS Kalvari is the first submarine to be commissioned in the IN in 17 years forgetting that INS Arihant was commissioned last year, which brings me to the question: Why the hell is there so much secrecy around Arihant like a US secret project taking shape at Area 51?

Prasun K. Sengupta said...

To SUJOY MAJUMDAR: LoLz! What has been imposed by KSA & the UAE is a trade embargo, & not a BLOCADE. Embargoes are imposed voluntarily, whereas a blocade is enforced coersively. Hence, the idea behind the embargo was to impose financial costs on Qatar, & not to starve the country to death, since Qater used to depend entirely on land-based & seaborne supplies from the KSA & the UAE.

To KAPIL: 2 reasons: First, 'desi' patrakaars have remarkably short memories & are also loathe to do some decent homework; & Second, it is Russia that has insisted on the enforcement of the strictest non-disclosure terms & conditions. India therefore has no other choice but to comply.

Kaustav said...

The first conventional (non-nuclear) submarine commissioned in 17 years does not include Nuclear submarines Chakra(Akula class) and Arihant

Unknown said...

Parsun da big fan what about astra range and some say india has its supercomputer but everything is imported what about india own processors did india have own processors just import intel processors and say angry india does it just lie to pepoles

Rookie said...

Prasun Da,

What is status of Arjun spare parts?
Is the grounded Arjun issue resolved?