Construction Of IAF's 'Desi' BMD Network Underway

Following 16 years of software develpment and eight years of hardware development and engineerng with the help of Israel Aerospace Industries and TADIRAN, Phase-1 of of the Indian Air Force’s ballistic missile defence (BMD) network is now under construction under Project Swordfish, which encompasses the building of four L-band long-range tracking radar (LRTR) sites (near Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, near Jaipur and another south of Gandwa in Rajasthan, and at an as-yet unidentified site in Uttarakhand)—all of which will be focussed along India’s western air-defence identification zone (ADIZ). Construction activities are slated for completion by mid-2023.

Under Phase-2, three additional LRTR sites will be built (with construction already commencing earlier ths year) to cater for the northern and northeastern portions of the IAF’s ADIZ.

Separately, work will commence next year on the construction of 12 L-band High-Power Radar sites—eight facing the LAC and four facing the IB, WB and LoC.

In addition, the DRDO-owned LRDE laboratory is developing a C-band (UHF-band) high-power and wide-scanning active phased-array radar for use with the DRDO-developed XR-SAM long-range SAM, which will make use of Ka-band active RF seeker for terminal guidance.

Garpun Bal-E Makes Way For Scanter-6002 On Project 15B INS Visakhapatnam DDG

At first glance, the most obvious improvement on the Indian Navy’s first Project 15B guided-missile destroyer (DDG) INS Visakhapatnam is the inclusion of the TERMA/TATA Aerospace & Defence-supplied X-band Scanter-6002 multi-function surface-search radar that does away with the earlier Russia-origin 3TS-25E Garpun Bal-E (built by JSC Concern Granit-Electron), which still exists on board the Project 17 FFGs, Project 15 and Project 15A DDGs, plus the Project 1241RE Molniya FAC-Ms and Project 25A corvettes.

And above the helicopter hanger in the stern section can be the 12.7mm remote-controlled weapon stations that were supplied by Israel’s ELBIT Systems and the former Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).

So, the principal RF-based radars on board INS Visakhapatnam are the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR S-band multifunction active phased-array radar, the THALES-BEL RAWL-02/PLN-517/LW-08 L-band air-search radar and the Scanter-6002 surface-search radar that will provide fire-control cues for both the OTOBreda/BHEL 76/62 SRGM and the BrahMos-1 supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles.

However, over the years, a wide variety of radars from different OEMs have entered service. For instance, the three Project 17 guided-missile frigates (FFG) have the MR-760 Fregat M2EM D/E-band multifunction radars, EL/M-2238 STAR air-search radars, and the 3TS-25E Garpun Bal-E surface-search radars for target engagement with Novator 3M54E supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles, and the EL/M-2221 STGR radars for the SRGM’s fire-control.

The three Project 15A DDGs use the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR S-band multifunction active phased-array radars, THALES-BEL RAWL-02/PLN-517/LW-08 L-band air-search radars, and the 3TS-25E Garpun Bal-E surface-search radars for target engagement with BrahMos-1 supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles and for fire-control of the 76/62 SRGMs.

The six Project 1135.6 FFGs imported from Russia use the MR-760 Fregat M2EM D/E-band multifunction radars, 3TS-25E Garpun Bal-Es Mineral-ME radars for surface-search, and the Ratep JSC 5P-10E Puma fire-control system for AK-176 naval guns. The last is now being replaced by the Lynx-U2 NGFCS for fire-control of the retrofitted 76/62 SRGMs on board the three Batch-1 Project 1135.6 FFGs (after their mid-life refits).

The four Project 28 ASW corvettes make use of the Revathi S-band air-search radar (replacing the earlier MR-352 Positiv-E surface-search radars) and Lynx-U2 NGFCS (for the 76/62 SRGMs), as do the Project 1241RE Molniya FAC-Ms and three Project 25A corvettes.

The IAC-1 aircraft carrier uses the RAN-40L air-search radar supplied by SELEX Sistemi Integrati (subsidiary of the Leonardo Group) and the EL/M-2248 MF-STAR radar, while the seven Project 17A FFGs will have on board the EL/M-2248 MF-STARs and the 3-D all-digital LTR-25 L-band air-/surface-search radars supplied by Spain’s INDRA.

However, an impressive degree of commonality has been achieved in the arena of electronic warfare with the fleet-wide installation of the Nayan COMINT suite, Shakti jammer suite, the Varuna ESM suite, the Maareech torpedo decoy suite, the Kavach countermeasures dispenser suite and the ORBIT-supplied RUKMANI naval VSATs for Data-Linking.

The Project 15B DDGs are also the third warship-types to be built with DMR-249A steel, with the first being the IAC-1, followed by the four Project 28 ASW corvettes.

AASM/HAMMER PGMs For IAF Tejas Mk.1 L-MRCAs

The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) decision to procure close to 400 Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (AASM) HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) PGMs from the SAGEM subsidiary of France SAFRAN Group along with related RAFAUT-built AUF-2 dual ejector racks for arming its Tejas Mk.1 L-MRCAs is yet another significant step further in the IAF’s attempt to play a significant role as far as joint AirLand ground campaigns go.

Available in 125kg, 250kg, 500kg and 1,000kg versions, the variant that the IAF is procuring is the 250kg variant of AASM/HAMMER, whose primary targets will be the network of unmanned SIGINT stations (encased within white-coloured domes & often mistaken for airspace surveillance radars) and static sites housing Ukraine-origin MANDAT-B1E R-330UM jammers that have since 2011 sprung up at dominating heights all along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Secondary targets will be the high-altitude gunpits that have been constructed since 2017 at locations like the area north of Nathu La and at Chakung facing northeast Sikkim.

To be used in the opening hours of any future military conflict with either China or Pakistan, the 250kg AASM/HAMMER PGMs will enable the Tejas Mk.1s as well as the projected Tejas Mk.1As to launch such PGMs despite flying low at an altitude of 500 feet AMSL over the plains in the western front—a feat which gliding PGMs cannot achieve. When the battlespace is over high-altitude plateau areas or even over mountainous terrain, the Tejas Mk.1s/Mk.1As will be able to fly terrain-masking flight-profles (like flying over river-valleys) to evade detection by hostile ground-based air-defence networks and yet be able to launch the AASM/HAMMER from standoff distances.

This is because all versions of the AASM/HAMMER are propelled by a solid-fuel rocket motor allows the AASM/HAMMER to effortlessly cruise forward and change its altitude upwards for a pop-up cruise phase and vertical-attack in the terminal phase. A laser-homing variant of this PGM was once released from a Rafale that also designated (with a laser designator pod) the 90-degree off-axis target, at 15km range. The PGM launch was deliberately conducted on a partly cloudy day, with the PGM being initially guided toward the target by GPS, while the Rafale descended below the clouds to activate the laser of its LDP.

A Tejas Mk.1/Mk.1A will be able to carry four AASM/HAMMER PGMs, which will be launched in a vertical attack mode that can be selected from the cockpit. The laser-guided version can also be used against targets moving at 80kph--twice the limit of LGBs--and it is easier to operate from a single-pilot MRCA.

Weapons interfacing will be a seamless affair since the source-codes for the stores management system of the Tejas Mk.1/Mk/1A are owned by the DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Agency.

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