Monday, July 31, 2023

GIDS Exhibits At IDEF'23 Originate From China & South Africa

IDEF’23, the 16th International Defence Industry Fair held between July 25 and 28, 2023 at Istanbul, Turkiye, saw Pakistans state-owned Global Industrial & Defence Solutions (GIDS) exhibiting several of its products that were clearly of China-origin. This should not come as a surprise, as such a practice has been in existence since the mid-1990s. For instance, the Hatf-9/Nasr MBRL is in essence the WS-32 400mm, 4-tube MBRL, while the Fatah-1 MBRL is the eight-tube WS-35 302mm MBRL.

These MBRLs were developed by China’s Chengdu-based Sichuan Aerospace Industry Corp, but were marketed by China’s state-owned ALIT and China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corp (CPMIEC).

China’s cruise missile design, research, development, and manufacturing are now concentrated in a single business division within one of two state aerospace conglomerates, the China Aerospace Science & Industry Corporation (CASIC) Third Academy. One of seven design academies under CASIC—which has more than 100,000 employees—the Third Academy—is China’s principal R & D and manufacturing entity for all types of cruise missiles. Established in 1961, the Third Academy has been involved in the design and development of 20 types of cruise missiles, including the indigenous Haiying- and Yingji-series and their export versions. Today, it boasts of 10 research institutes and two factories, with 13,000+ employees, including 2,000 researchers and around 6,000 technicians.

Hongdu Aviation Industry Group (formerly Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Co), under Aviation Industry Corporation of China, produces FL- and TL-series of anti-ship cruise missiles for export. Finally, for three decades China has marketed a wide range of indigenously produced cruise missiles (and other weapons systems) through the China Precision Machinery Import & Export Corp (CPMIEC), the CASIC Third Academy’s export management branch. Established in 1980, CPMIEC is a member of the Xinshidai Group and jointly owned by CASIC and the Chinese Aerospace Science & Technology Corp (CAST).

It was CASIC that in August 2001 succeeded in smuggling out of Kiev all relevant production engineering data packages of a LACM called Korshun, which had by then been developed by Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk-based Yuzhnoye State Design Bureau, with production tooling being built by the Yuzhnoye Machine-Building Production Association, or Yuzhmash. The Korshun’s powerplant was a redesigned RD95-300 turbofan that bore a strong resemblance to the 36MT engine developed by Russia’s NPO Saturn.

Dimensions of the Korshun included a wingspan of 3.1 metres, length of 6.3 metres, diameter of 0.514 metres, and a mass of 1,090kg. Range of the LACM was then claimed to be 600km when carrying a 500kg warhead. in 2002, China created a consortium of state-owned R & D institutes and companies (called the Xi’an Sicong Group) that included the Shanghai Institute for Optics & Fine Mechanics, China North Opto‑Electro Industries Corporation (OEC), Changchun Institute of Optics & Fine Mechanics, and Luoyang Opto-Electro Technology Development Centre.

These entities had earlier obtained vital optronic technology inputs from Ukraine’s TOCHNOST. By late 2003, the CASIC Third Academy (also known as China Haiying Electro-Mechanical Technology Academy or CHETA) and 8359 Research Institute had, along with the Beijing University for Aeronautics & Astronautics, Shanghai Jiaotong University, China State Electronics Systems Engineering Corp, Sichuan Aerospace Industry Corp and the Tianjin Institute for Power Sources, had completed fabrication of the first six prototypes of the 1,500km-range DH-10A LACM variant of the Korshun, and in August 2004 the first test-firings were conducted at an instrumented offshore range in the Bohai Sea.

CASC’s Beijing Xinghang Electromechanical Equipment Factory (159 Factory) is the final assembly facility for the DH-10A, while Beijing Hangxing Machine Building Factory (239 Factory) and the Xinxin Factory in Shanghai produce the various on-board components.

The LACM and its AKD-20 ALCM variant carries a range of different 770lb or 1,100lb warheads. The GLCM variant has a length of 7 metres, launch mass of 1,350kg, warhead mass of 300kg, and cruise speed of 0.9 Mach. The GLCM variant has since been sold to Pakistn as the Babur and Harbah cruise missiles.

China’s PL-12 BVRAAM is equipped with active radar-homing seeker developed by Ukraine’s Radionix. It uses a dual-thrust solid rocket motor and can exceed Mach 4 and endure 38 G. The missile’s omnidirectional sensors are accurate to within 1 metre. Its active radar seeker is the Ka-band ‘Onix’ from Radionix, which has a range of 25km, search area of +/-40 degrees in azimuth and elevation and offers “fire-and-forget” capabilities. It has a 24kg warhead and uses a radio proximity fuse. Initial versions of the PL-12 had used the Russia-origin Agat/Istok 9B-1350E Ku-band seekers.

A ground-launched variant of the PL-12 is the Faaz BVRAAM and its Faaz-SL variant from GIDS.

China’s latest PL-15 BVRAAM, under development since 2009, was first test-fired on September 15, 2015. The missile, which too uses the Onix seeker,  weighs 210kg, has a range of 145km and uses a dual-pulse, smokeless solid-propellant rocket motor for extended range (two fuel chambers and one exhaust nozzle) that was originally developed by South Africa’s DENEL Dynamics for the ‘Marlin’ BVRAAM. For long-range engagements the first pulse fires and the missile glides towards its target before the second pulse fires at a later point in time. For shorter engagements, both pulses can be fired almost simultaneously. Top speed is close to Mach 4. Flight control is by servo motor controlled fins. The PL-15’s airframe can sustain 30 G and its leading edges can function in temperatures of both -50 degrees Celsius and + 900 degrees Celsius once launched.

The Faaz family of BVRAAMs shown by GIDS at IDEF’23 is, in reality, the Umkhonto family of BVRAAMs developed by South Africa’s Dynamics.

The Shahpar-3 UAV from GIDS is, in reality, the FH-95 UAV from the China Aerospace Science & Technology Corporation. Its MTOW is 1,000kg, maximum payload weight is 250kg, service ceiling of 42,000 feet and a flight endurance of 24 hours.

The Tipu 155mm GPS-guided projectile is, in reality, NORINCO of China’s GP-155B projectile.

The range-extension kits (REK) emanating from GIDS too come from China.
The Burq ASM is in reality the AR-1 ASM from China.

Finally, the Taimur ALCM showcased by GIDS is, in reality, a souped-up variant of the TS-20 PGM developed by Tengden of China, which will be powered by China-origin turbojets.

The latest PGM to be imported by the PAF from China is shown below.

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Indian Army Begins Limited Upgrade Of T-90S MBTs

The Indian Army has begun the process of upgrading four regiments of its T-90S main battle tanks by ordering about 400 units each of the following hardware.

The upgraded T-90S MBTs will be deployed with the Indian Army's Combat Group formations in Ladakh and Sikkim. The E-LynX SDRs will replace the existing TADIRAN CNR-900M vehicular high-power radios.
And the following are two of the 12 fast interceptor craft that Goa Shipyard Ltd is delivering to the Indian Army for deployment in Panggong Tso Lake.

Thursday, July 13, 2023

BARC & ECIL To Co-Develop PWR Control-Systems For Indian Navy's Six Projected SSNs


A tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Navy (IN), BARC and Hyderabad-based ECIL on July 10, 2023 in the presence of VADM Dinesh K Tripathi, FOC-in-C, Western Naval Command, and Dr Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Secretary Dept of Atomic Energy. The MoU aims to facilitate indigenous development and production of 11 types of control-systems and their multifunctional display/control consoles for the IN’s projected six nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN). These include those used by the 90mWt pressurised water nuclear reactors. Such systems were earlier imported from Russia’s JSC Concern Avrora SPA for the S-2, S-3 and S-4 SSGNs of the IN. Trial-batches of the indigenously-developed and built control-systems will be delivered to the IN’s Hyderabad-based Defence Machinery Design Establishment (DMDE) for type-certification, following which formal procurement contracts will be inked. This step would go a long way towards furthering and augmenting self-reliance within the IN.


Wednesday, July 5, 2023

HAL Attains A Critical Milestone In Rotorcraft Development & Manufacturing

Following 18 years of hardwork, state-owned DPSU Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd on July 4 received 'restricted' type-certification (for flight operations up to medium-altitudes) from the Brussels-based European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the Dhruv ALH twin-engined 5.5-tonne helicopter. Dr D K Sunil, Director (Engineering, R & D) of HAL received the type-certification documentation in the presence of Filip Cornelis, EASA Director for Aviation, Directorate-General Transport & Mobility; Luc Tytgat, Strategy & Safety Management Director of EASA; S K Mishra, Joint Secretary of India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation; and Vikram Dev Dutt from India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). HAL had begun work for obtaining such type-certification back in July 2005.

The EASA type-certification establishes that: 1) HAL is capable of designing helicopter platforms meeting the stringent European airworthiness certification requirements. 2) HAL-developed manufacturing processes for the Dhruv meet the stringent European airworthiness certification requirements. 3) All the Dhruv ALH-related type-certification documentation prepared by the DGCA over the years has worldwide endorsement from EASA. 4) Civilian variants of the Dhruv ALH will from now on be able to compete on par with its global counterparts worldwide. 5) Domestic rotorcraft operators will from now on be able to obtain hull insurance for the Dhruv ALH civilian variants from commercial insurance companies, which was impossible before.

This now sets the stage for HAL to obtain similar airworthiness type-certification for the civilian variant of the single-engined Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), now being series-produced at the greenfield HAL facility at Tumakuru; and for the Hindustan-228 STOL twin-turboprop commuter aircraft.