Tuesday, October 16, 2018

The Multi-Phase Castration Of HAL: From Early 1960s Till To Date


Off late, it has become extremely fashionable to refer to the MoD-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) as a ‘strategic asset’ and shed crocodile tears about the ‘diminishing status’ of India’s premier and oldest aerospace manufacturing corporate entity. However, a fact-check reveals that those very political parties and their ‘netas’ who are today crying hoarse over HAL receiving step-motherly treatment were in the yesteryears the very ones responsible for subjecting HAL to multi-phase castrations which have since proven to be catastrophic for HAL today.
Phase-1 Of Castration: The 1960s
During this period, the process of castration started soon after the 1962 Sino-Indian border war, when a confused India refused to heed the well-intentioned advice of the US (which, as the quiet but steadfast ally of India) to devote her limited financial resources on the creation of an indigenous combat aircraft development-cum-manufacturing capability. While the US had advised India to import only limited quantities of combat aircraft of foreign origin, it had also offered to bear the cost of developing the indigenous, supersonic HF-24 Marut medium multi-role combat aircraft (M-MRCA).
The US had proposed for the Indian Air Force (IAF) the importation of highly subsidised (as part of a military assistance programme) Douglas F-4D Skyray, equipped with a Westinghouse APQ-50A search radar and 16,000lb thrust Pratt & Whitney J57-P-8 turbojet. This combat aircraft was designed exclusively for the high-altitude interception role, with a high rate and angle of climb. It had set a new time-to-altitude record, flying from a standing start to 49,221 in 2 minutes and 36 seconds, all while flying at a 70-degree pitch angle. The proposed F-5D Skylancer was derived from the F-4D and was intended to be a Mach 2-capable successor to the Skyray when powered by a General Electric J-79 turbofan.
However, for reasons that have only been partially explained to date, India refused to procure either the Douglas F-4D Skyray or the Northrop F-5A Freedom Fighter, and instead kept on insisting on the need to procure off-the-shelf up to three squadrons of Lockheed F-104G Starfighter interceptors, along with the parallel importation of MiG-21PF interceptors and the subsequent licenced-manufacturing of follow-on variants of the MiG-21. It was this lack of clarity-of-thought that sealed the fate of the HF-24 Marut, as explained by the slides below.
The HF-24 Marut was conceived to meet an IAF Air Staff Requirement (ASR) that called for a multi-role aircraft suitable for both high-altitude interception and low-level ground attack. The specified performance parameters called for a speed of Mach 2 at altitude, service ceiling of 60,000 feet, and a combat radius of 805km. Additionally, the ASR demanded that the basic design be suitable for adaptation as a lead-in fighter trainer, an all-weather combat aircraft and for ‘navalisation’ as an aircraft carrier-based aircraft.
India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal ‘Chaachaa’ Nehru tried to attract leading aeronautical designers from the West to develop the HF-24. It was to his credit that he convinced Dr Kurt Tank from Germany to take up this assignment along with his able deputy Engineer Mittelhuber. Both arrived at HAL in Bangalore in August 1956. As head of the design team it was Tank who gave the design shape and substance. A full-scale representation (wooden glider) of the projected HF-24 was ready by early 1959. A flight-test programme was initiated with this glider on April 1, 1959. The design was given the designation of Hindustan Fighter 24 or simply HF-24.
Assembly of the first HF-24 prototype (HF-001) commenced in April 1960 and after a comprehensive three-month ground-test programme, HF-001 (later re-numbered BR-462), with the late Wing Commander (later Group Captain) Suranjan Das at the controls, flew for the first time on June 17, 1961. The HF-24 was then powered by twin Bristol Siddeley Orpheus 703 Mk.1 turbojets each rated at 21.57kN thrust. The wings were designed to carry four pylons rated at 454kg each. In addition, each wing carried about 700 litres of fuel in the integral tanks. An integral tank means the internal space within the wing is sealed up and filled with fuel floating between the structural members. This means each wing carried a payload of about 1,425kg of fuel and weapons. All this was achieved within a commendably short period of 15 months from starting of design to assembling a flightworthy airframe and finally, to the maiden flight.
On June 27, 1961 the BR-462 prototytpe was shown to Prime Minister Nehru. By November 1961, a structural test airframe had been completed and was subjected to extensive structural and functional tests in rigs designed and fabricated by HAL. On October 4, 1962 a second prototype (BR-463) joined the flight-test programme and the two prototypes were extensively tested by Das and a team of three IAF test pilots for aerodynamic stability, engine operating protocols, armament stowage, instrumentation, emergency procedures, etc. HAL and the IAF conducted 1,800 test-flights between 1962 and 1967 to iron out the defects of the Marut. In April 1967 No.10 ‘Flying Daggers’ Squadron became the first unit to be equipped with India’s first indigenous MRCA. The Marut eventually equipped three IAF Squadrons: No.10 Sqn, No.220 ‘Desert Tigers’ converted in May 1969 and the No.31 ‘Lions’ in March 1974. India thus became the sixth country to design and fly a homegrown supersonic combat aircraft after the US, UK, USSR, France and Sweden.
The design of the HF-24 had been based around the expected availability of the afterburning Bristol Siddeley (later Rolls-Royce) Orpheus BOr.12 engine rated at 30.29kN dry and 36.34kN with afterburning, which Rolls-Royce had planned to develop. Unfortunately, the British requirement for this powerplant was discarded and the Indian Govt of India under the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in a shortsighted decision declined to underwrite its continued development even though the developmental budget (which the US had offered to provide) was only £13 million. This catastrophic decision was to bedevil the Marut programme permanently.
The HF-24’s design team was consequently forced to adopt the non-afterburning Orpheus 703 Mk.1, which also powered the Folland Gnat L-MRCA, as the permanent solution. Although HAL did develop an afterburning version of the Orpheus 703 Mk.1, and called it the HJE-2500 (rated at 25.44KN thrust with reheat), the IAF refused to service-induct the HF-24 Mk.1R variant using such engines. Though the IAF considered the prospect of using the Tumansky RD-9F turbojet (rated at 37kN with afterburner, it was ultimately rejected on grounds of surging and limited MTBO.
Phase-2 Of Castration: The 1980s
As revealed below, the IAF had a detailed plan for up-sizing the Folland Gnat as a contemporary L-MRCA with the help of HAL and friendly international; aerospace OEMs like BAE Systems (then British Aerospace, which had proposed to co-develop with HAL a digital fly-by-wire flight-control system for both the Jaguar IS interdictors of the IAF as well as for the projected L-MRCA) and SNECMA Moteurs, whose turbofans were available for import.
However, all such well-intentioned roadmaps were junked by India’s then gullible, ill-informed and ignorant political leadership and instead, the programme for indigenously developing the ‘Tejas’ light combat aircraft (LCA) was initiated in August 1983, when the MoD sanctioned an interim development cost of Rs5.6 billion for carrying out the project definition phase (PDP). The MoD consequently split the programme into the Technical Development Phase and Operational Vehicle Development Phase. The DRDO subsequently obtained feasibility studies from three leading aircraft companies (British, French and German). Use was made of these studies in presenting a case to the Govt of India for indigenously designing and developing the LCA. In an unusual step, a ‘Society’ was set up to oversee the LCA’s developmental process. At its apex was and still is a 15-member General Body, whose President is the Defence Minister. The next rung is a 10-member Governing Body, whose Chairman is the Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister and Secretary DRDO. The third rung is a 10-member Technical Committee, headed by the Director of the DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which was established on June 16, 1984. In October 1985, the IAF issued the LCA’s ASR. The projected requirement then was for 220 LiCAs (200 single-engined combat aircraft and 20 tandem-seat operational conversion aircraft), with service-induction commencing by 1994. On January 7, 1986 at a conference room in Delhi’s South Block which houses the offices of the MoD, officials of ADA unveilled detailed plans for developing and manufacturing the LCA. Subsequently, the Project definition (PD) phase commenced in October 1987 with the help of Dassault Aviation as project consultant, and the PD phase was completed in September I988. So, what went wrong and why? It is all explained in the following slides.
And where do matters now stand? The slide below illustrates how GE Aero Engines had in mid-1987 envisioned the LCA Mk.1’s airframe to be.

Instead, this is how it has turned out to be!
Phase-3 Of Castration: The 1990s
This decade was the most critical and disastrous. What was required was long-term strategizing, which was to have been followed by the articulation of an industrial roadmap catering to both military and commercial aviation requirements. Instead, that decade turned out to be all about lost opportunities and ill-conceived decision-making processes. For instance, while the IAF had decided in the mid-1980s itself that it would require basic turboprop trainers (BTT), advanced jet trainers (AJT) and lead-in fighter trainers (LIFT) for its future fixed-wing flying training requirements, there was no corresponding industrial roadmap conceived for indigenously meeting such requirements. Despite this, the HTT-35 BTT’s full-scale mock-up, was designed and fabricated in-house by HAL in the late 1980s and rolled out in the early 1990s—all in all a four-year effort.
 
The objective at that time was to team up with a global avionics supplier (most probably THALES) and co-design the semi-glass tandem cockpits and offer the aircraft for evaluation by the IAF by 1998. However, after 1994 the HTT-35 disappeared, literally! One can only speculate on what exactly happened to this full-scale mock-up, or on why did the MoD or the IAF develop a coordinated ‘memory loss’ on the need to series-produce the HTT-35 almost a decade ago! For it was realised as far back as 1998 that the induction of fourth-generation combat aircraft would force the IAF sooner than later into undertaking a critical revision of its flying training practices that included basic flying training, advanced flying training, and lead-in fighter training (LIFT).
Despite this, the HTT-35 BTT was scrapped (only to be reborn in the following decade as the HTT-40), and instead of calling for the development by HAL of the HJT-36 as a swept-wing AJT, the IAF in its all-knowing wisdom wrongly decided 19 years ago to have the HJT-36 as an intermediate jet trainer (IJT). This perhaps explains why the IAF has, since 2008, been maintaining sustained silence over HAL’s inability to develop the HJT-36.
On September 29, 2009 the MoD cleared the acquisition of 181 BTTs for the IAF and on May 24, 2012 a contract worth US$640 million (Rs 3,780 crore) was inked with Switzerland-based Pilatus Aircraft Ltd for procuring off-the-shelf an initial 75 PC-7 Mk.2 BTTs (with 38 more to be ordered later), together with an integrated ground-based training system and a comprehensive logistics support package. Concurrently, the MoD decreed that HAL develop the indigenous HTT-40 BTT, for which an order for 106 units was promised. However, the MoD on February 28, 2015 approved the IAF’s move to exercise options for procuring an additional 38 PC-7 Mk.2s, thereby reducing the number of HTT-40s to be acquired to 68. HAL was required to set up a production line in Bengaluru with a rated output of two HTT-40s in the first year (2017), followed by eight in the second year and 20 aircraft from year-three onwards. By 2012 HAL had sanctioned Rs.177 crore ($30 million from its own internal funds for the preliminary design phase and detailed design phase activities.
The first HTT-40, powered by a Honeywell Garrett TPE 331-12B engine, was first rolled out in February 2016 and was first test-flown in May. On October 29, 2015, the MoD decided to carry on with the HTT-40’s development despite the IAF stonewalling HAL’s detailed project report (DPR). The IAF stated that while an imported PC-7 Mk.2 would cost Rs.38.3 crore, the HTT-40 would be 25% more expensive, or Rs.43.59 crore at 2011 prices. The extra cost per HTT-40 includes Rs.1.81 crore as the cost of production; and Rs.7.11 crore as the cost of design and development, of which the IAF is required to pay 80%. A 16% rise in the cost of foreign exchange at that time added another Rs.1.97 crore per aircraft, taking the price up to Rs.43.59 crore. To this was to be added another 4.5% annual inflation costs to, which were on a 2011 base. That raised the HTT-40’s per-unit cost to Rs.59.31 crore in 2018 and Rs.64.77 crore in 2020.
Added finally to all these was the direct operating costs of maintaining the airworthiness of two separate types of BTTs equipped with two different types of turboprop engines and avionics suites—a luxury no other air force in the world enjoys! All such headaches could have been avoided had the HTT-35 BTT been developed and ordered by the late 1990s.
Similar was the case the HAL-developed HJT-36 IJT, whose development was sanctioned in 1999 with an initial funding of Rs.180 crore. On March 7, 2003 the first HJT-36 prototype made its maiden flight, following which the Cabinet Committee on National Security in March 2005 approved an order for 12 limited series-production HJT-36s, which were slated for rollout by 2008 and service-induction by 2011. Following this, another 73 series-production aircraft were to be ordered. In mid-2005, HAL and Russia’s Rosoboronexport State Corp signed a $350 million contract to licdence-build 250 NPO Saturn-developed AL-55I turbofans, with an option for 1,000 more. HAL had then estimated that the per-unit price of each HJT-36 would be around $10 million for a 225-unit order.
The first batch of AL-55Is began arriving two years later than scheduled in June 2008 and the first HJT-36 prototype equipped with it undertook a 30-minute flight on May 9, 2009. HAL was, however, not able to fit the standby generator on the aircraft. The HJT-36 prototypes subsequently met with accidents in February 2007, February 2009 and April 2011, causing further setbacks. Eventually in August 2014, the MoD admitted in Parliament that the project was well behind schedule, while HAL admitted that the HJT-36 was overweight and suffering from serious aerodynamic problems that have implications for air safety due a design flaw.
The AL-55I, which initially had a time-between-overhauls (TBO) of only 100 hours, subsequently had its TBO increased to 300 hours, with its total technical service-life (TTSL) being pegged at 400 hours. But the IAF wanted the TBO be about 1,200 hours, since an IJT is required to fly six to eight sorties daily, clocking around 10 hours. If the TBO is just 100 hours, the turbofan will have to be replaced every 10 days. This will require more engines and overhauls, apart from the IJTs sitting on ground for longer periods.
In all, the project to develop the HJT-36 has proven to be a total waste of the Indian taxpayers’ money, since the IJT requirement became redundant and unnecessary from the day (March 26, 2004) the MoD had inked the contract with BAE Systems for procuring an initial 66 of 123 Hawk Mk.132 AJTs (including 17 for the Indian Navy). The final nail in the coffin of the GJT-36 was struck on May 24, 2012 when the initial 75 PC-7 Mk.2 BTTs were contracted for.
The 1990s also witnessed total lack of clarity when it came to commercial aviation industrial developmental activities. What was required was a holistic approach that encompassed not just the co-development and series-production of a family of regional commuter jetliners (starting with 30-seaters, and then stretching the airframe to include 40-seaters and 50-seaters as had been done by Brazil’s Embraer and Canada’s Bombardier Aerospace), but also the domestic production of a range of aircraft cabin interior fixtures and upholstery, plus the localisation of periodic maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) activities for those airliners that were being imported from Boeing and Airbus (such activities, to this day, are outsourced from MRO centres located in Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka).
By the early 1990s, while HAL had settled down to licence-build more than 100 Dornier Do-228 19-seat STOL twin-turboprop aircraft for both commercial and military customers in India, the time was then ripe for HAL’s Aircraft Research & Design Centre (ARDC) to be expanded for undertaking the co-development and co-production of another new-generation product from Dornier—the 33-seat Do-328 was designed and initially series-produced by Germany’s Dornier Luftfahrt GmbH (in 1996 that firm was acquired by the US-based Fairchild Aircraft Inc and the resulting corporation, named Fairchild-Dornier, continued series-production of the 328 family in Germany, and also developed and produced the follow-on 44-seat 428JET variant of the regional commuter jetliner).
Instead, HAL was ONCE AGAIN totally sidelined and the then Govt of India in May 1998 created the Centre  for  Civil  Aircraft  Design  &  Development  (C-CADD)  as  the nodal point  of the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR),  with  a mandate to play a lead role in the design and development of small and medium sized civil aircraft. So henceforth, NAL became the lead designer-cum-developer for civil aviation aircraft, with HAL merely acting as the prime industrial contractor. Consequently, NAL, being essentially a laboratory like ADA with no available human resource expertise required for designing and developing any type of aircraft, quickly began the process of making erroneous decisions, starting with the attempt to develop a 14-seat twin turboprop-powered commuter aircraft called ‘Saras’.
The ‘Saras’ had already been developed in 1991 as the ‘M-102 Duet’ by Russia’s JSC V Myasishchev Experimental Machine Building Plant which later opted out of the project due to financial constraints and offered to sell all IPRs of this project to C-CADD in June 1998. The then NDA Govt’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in June 1999 approved sanction for the C-CADD to complete the M-102 Diet’s developmental process, following which in September 1999 the project was renamed as ‘Saras’. Russia’s Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute TsAGI and Gromov Flight Research Institute (GFRI) were roped in as project consultants. NAL next received an order from the IAF to supply 15 ‘Saras’ aircraft, whose deliveries were to begin in 2014 and conclude in 2017. The first HAL-built prototype (PT-1) was powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-66 turboprop engines and its maiden flight took place on May 29, 2004. The ‘Saras’ was originally proposed to have a weight of 4,125kg but it increased by about 24% to 5,118kg. Two prototypes have been produced to date. The second prototype (PT-2) was built by HAL with composite materials to decrease its overall weight by 400kg compared to that of the PT-1. PT-2 was powered by twin uprated Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67A engines and it made its maiden flight on April 18, 2007. This prototype crashed near Bidadi, situated 30km away from Bengaluru, in March 2009 during a routine flight-test.
Another consultancy contract was inked between the C-CADD and TsAGI and GFRI on February 18, 2011 under which the two Russian parties were required to assist C-CADD in weight-budgeting and aerodynamic optimising the airframe of the ‘Saras’ (by conducting wind-tunnels tests at TsAGI), plus assistance for ensuring the certification of airworthiness of the aircraft, since India’s state-owned Directorate General of Civil Aviation is only an endorser of foreign CoAs and it does not possess the kind of human resources required for undertaking any CoA-related tasking of an industrial nature.
Thus, as a result of Russian assistance, the C-CADD was able to make the following modifications to the airframe of PT-1N: significant reduction of control forces, optimisation of nacelle design (for the engine mounts), modifications of the environmental control system and cabin pressurisation system, installation of an automatic stall-warning system, modification of linear flap-tracks and trim-taps on the elevators, enhancement of rudder area for better controllability, modification of flight-test instrumentation, modification of electrical systems for reducing voltage losses, and provision of nose boom for the air-data system for redundancy, .Apart from above modification on the aircraft, the following additional safety measures have also been ensured by the team.
Despite all this, the project’s funding was terminated in 2012, but was revived in 2016 following which NAL assembled a young team of 40 engineers and technicians for working on the project for the next nine months. The modified PT-1N prototype made its maiden flight on January 24, 2018 from the IAF’s Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) in Bengaluru. According to C-CADD, the production version of ‘Saras’ will be a 19-seater and will undergo both civil and military certification processes for which two Limited Series prototypes will have to be built at a cost of Rs.500 crore. If all goes well, then the first series-produced ‘Saras’ will be handed over to the IAF. The C-CADD has estimated a total domestic requirement for 160 ‘Saras’ aircraft. What, however, eludes an answer is what exactly will the ‘Saras’ be able to offer that the 19-seat HAL-built Do-228 STOL commuter aircraft cannot? And why was C-C-CADD tasked to develop a 14-seater twin-turboprop commuter when HAL had already begun licence-producing 19-seater twin-turboprop commuters more than a decade earlier? Why was the development or co-development of a 30-seater twin-turboprop or twin turbofan-powered commuter not considered at all?
But the greatest failure in the last decade of the last century was the inability to series-produce the Hansa (swan)—the all-Indian, all-composite low-wing tricycle gear two-seater general aviation monoplane for flight training as well as personal flying. The first Hansa prototype flew on November 23, 1993, while the first definitive version of the aircraft--built by Taneja Aerospace & Aviation Ltd—flew on May 14, 1999. Subsequently, only 14 production version Hansa-3s were built  from 2001 to 2010 of which 11 were delivered to India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation, one to IIT-Kanpur and two to CSIR-NAL. Absolutely no further efforts were made to series-produce the Hansa in large numbers, as a result of which on July 14, 2018 a Rs.105.5 crore contract was signed with Slovenia-based Pipistrel for the Virus SW-80 aircraft, whose Indian version is known as ‘Garur’. These aircraft, for which the RFP was floated way back in 2011, are now being operated by the IAF (72 were ordered), Indian Navy (12 were ordered) and the NCC (110 were ordered). It was only on September 8, 2018 that NAL inked a contract with Delhi based Mesco Aerospace Ltd for the design, development, production and marketing of the Hansa-NG, which will be ready for its first flight by around September or October 2019 and would begin commercial flights from 2020. Mesco Aerospace will also set up a service centre and undertake marketing of Hansa-NG in India and abroad. The targetted selling cost of the aircraft would be around Rs.80 lakh for the basic version and Rs.1 crore for fully loaded version. The Hansa-NG is expected to be used for pilot training in order to obtain private pilot and commercial pilot licenses, and also for bird reconnaissance at airfield, cadet training, coastal surveillance and hobby-flying in the country. The ultimate irony is that while India had succeeded in designing and producing an all-composite light aircraft way back in the early 1990s, China's first all-composite five-seat aircraft, the Sunward SA-160L, completed its first flight at the Lusong airport in Hunan only on October 8, 2018. Hunan Sunward Science & Technologies Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Sunward Intelligent Equipment Co Ltd, produced this aircraft with an empty weight of 900kg and a maximum takeoff weight of 1,600kg. The company had started developing the SA-160L in 2015 and plans to series-produce it from 2019.
Phase-4 Of Castration: The Previous Decade
In a text-book example of reinforcing failure, the then Govt of India in 2003 decided out of the blue to co-develop with Russia’s Ilyushin OKB a turbofan-powered tactical transport aircraft, which was initially known as IRTA-21. Russia and India signed a protocol agreement in June 2004 to begin joint development of the IL-214. Engineering and feasibility studies were completed in late 2004 with unusual alacrity.
JSC Irkut Aviation & Industrial Association (JSC IAIA) was selected by Russia as the lead industrial partner, while HAL was chosen by India. HAL revealed the withdrawal of JSC IAIA from the project in March 2008. In its place, Ilyushin Aviation Complex (IAC) was selected as the new lead industrial contractor from Russia. As per the plans drawn up then, all design and prototype development activities were to be the responsibility of Ilyushin OKB, while the front fuselage, wings and avionics were to be built by HAL, with IAC producing the aft and centre fuselage sections.
The IL-214 was to have featured a high-wing monoplane design, glazed-in nose, T-shaped tail empennage, semi-monocoque fuselage, two telphers, a cargo winch and rollers comprising cargo handling equipment. The airframe was to be built with aluminium alloys and composite materials. The stepped cockpit was to be equipped with six multifunctional displays along with two heads-up indicators. The cockpit was to have accommodated three flight crew-members, including the pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer.
Developmental prototypes and early production examples of the IL-214 MRTA were to have twin Aviadvigatel PS-90A1 turbofans, each developing 17.4 tons of thrust, while series-production aircraft were to be powered by twin Aviadvigatel PD-14M turbofans each rated at 152.98kN thrust. The aircraft was expected to conduct its first flight by 2017, and was to enter service by 2018.
Russia’s United Aircraft Corp (UAC) and India’s HAL subsequently set up a subsidiary company to co-develop the MRTA. The new company was supported by US$600.7 million in funding. The Indian portion of the MRTA's serial production was to take place at HAL’s Transport Aircraft Division in Kanpur. India was to have acquired 45 IL-214s and Russia 105.
However, in January 2016 it was announced that the HAL would no longer be involved in the project and that Russia would proceed with the project alone. On January 13, 2016, it emerged that IAC had frozen the project, and that Russia would assume full responsibility for detailed design and production of the MRTA. As a result, in June 2017 the aircraft received its new official designation of IL-276. Documentation for the manufacturing plant—Aviastar in Ulianovsk—will be prepared after IAC completes similar work on the smaller Il-112V tactical airlifter for production at the VASO plant in Voronezh.
So what went so horribly wrong? Firstly, the R & D workshares worked out by Russia and India were non-implementable. While Russia possessed all the infrastructure and human resources required for prototype development, none existed in India. Consequently, in reality, all that HAL was required to do was finance the prototype development phase for IAC, while IAC was to ensure that a fully functional and certified aircraft was made available to HAL for only part-production. As a result, HAL would not have benefitted in any manner as far as prototype development of the IL-214 was concerned. Secondly, it was realised that the full bill for co-developing the IL-214 MRTA would well have reached the US$3 billion mark, for which the total number of aircraft to be ordered would have had to be in excess of 300 aircraft in order for the project to remain financially viable. Despite this writing on the wall, no one in either Russia or India even bothered to co-develop a commercial air transport variant of the IL-214, which would have created the required extra demand for such aircraft.
Now, contrast this with Embraer of Brazil’s effort to develop the KC-390 tactical airlifter. Brazil sanctioned money for this project in May 2008, following which Embraer inked an industrial partnership agreement with Boeing Co. The first KC-390 prototype made its maiden flight on February 3, 2015, followed by Embraer declaring the KC-390 to have initial operating capability in December 2017, ahead of full operational capability which is expected before the end of this year.
(to be concluded)

162 comments:

  1. this means if the Marut took to the skies permanently India would have had a flying TANK literally instead of the F/A 18 SH!! Wonder where the famous Patrakars were and are in pointing out this stupid mistake Leaders made. I also wonder why those scared of the US "threat" to India's sovereignty (allegedly) never look at the US offer of assistance all those years back and India's persistence in going with the USSR with sub standard products - at least durability wise. NAM does not look like a non-aligned to me- appears it was more pocket/personal power aligned movement.

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  2. Prasun sir, wish u and ur family a very happy durga puja.may godess durga bless u with prosperity ,hapiness, health and more knowledge..
    I just wanted to ask between super sukhoi and su35 .which ones better?

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  3. Prasun da,

    https://www.firstpost.com/india/rafale-row-caught-in-a-chimera-of-political-ambitions-rahul-gandhis-hosanna-on-hal-ignores-upas-damning-report-on-psu-5382971.html

    Hope he's read it. Of course yours is very detailed one.

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  4. Nice article full of information .Thank you for enlightening us .
    পুজোর দিন খুব ভালো কাটুক আপনার ও আপনার পরিবারের।

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BjX78Oa-TYs
    Again so called leak. Are there any vested interest acting upon. Rahul again will go ga ga...
    If NDA fails to come to power will this bachelor idiot do harm to rafale procurement .
    Buddga

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  5. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mul4YivuMVQ
    The New Ka-27M Russian Helicopter does Indian Naval Aviation need this type of helicopter.

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  6. Sir,you have stated many times that India has a far higher number of acclimatized soldiers compared to China and you have also said that the Indian Army is far more battle hardened than the PLA.So will India be able to get back Aksai Chin and the Shaksgam Tract in case there is a future military conflict between India and China?

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  7. Sorry to say that Khangeraees ****ed the HAL and HAL/ADA in turn destroyed the Tejas LCA.

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  8. To SIDHARTH & UNKNOWN/BUDDHA: VMT. This is what happens when those who are not domain experts (like France’s Mediapart) invent conspiracy theories & typically everyone else goes into a tizzy like headless chicken! And all this despite the truth being in plain sight & staring at everyone. Here are the facts:

    Since Dassault Aviation as the Rafale’s prime industrial contractor is contractually bound to provide performance-based logistics (PBL) support for the IAF’s Rafale fleet, Dassault was looking for a company that already had adequate real estate that could quicvkly be converted into a captive airport. This wasn’t available from HAL & HAL would have had to construct a new runway & tarmac & taxi facility at a Greenfield site to cater to the PBL component—an effort that would take more than 7 years, given the difficulties of land acquisition in India. It was for this reason that Dassault was looking for an Indian industrial partner that already had real-estate that could quickly be developed into a captive airport. And of all the Indian industrial contenders, only Reliance Aerospace had the reqd quantum of real estate at its MIHAN SEZ in Nagpur. It was this that played the pivotal role in Dassault Aviation’s selection of Reliance as its principal Indian industrial partner. Now, why exactly are airports important for providing PBL? Because PBL involves the quickest dispatch of spares support whenever an aircraft gets grounded due to hardware malfunctions. Thus, not only spares, but also related jigs & toolings have to be dispatched by the PBL provider to the IAF air base where PBL support is reqd whenever there is an aircraft-on-ground (AOG) situation. In such situations, the IAF despatches its transport aircraft to the site where the OEM’s bonded warehouses housing the spares & related jigs & toolings are stored, so that such hardware can be air-freighted ASAP to the operational IAF air bases where PBL-support is reqd. So, the DRAL JV at MIHAN SEZ will not only manufacturing components for Dassault Aviation’s Falcon family of bizjets, but it will also house all the bonded warehouses containing all Rafale-related spares, plus related related jigs & toolings.

    It is only those folks who do not understand exactly how in-country PBL is provided by an OEM to its customers, that get totally confused & hence come up with convoluted conspiracy theories.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Prasun,

    What an apt and well timed write up. Last few days I am literally in a tweet back & forth on Rafale deal with many INC supporters, all started unintentionally. They already have madeup thier mind that Rafale is a scam of epic proportions & modi is maha chor. I am accused of being a unofficial spokesman and a blind bhakt. In most cases I shared your blog link on rafale pricing and vola topic would change from pricing to favoratism and HAL. How it was robbed of its right.

    Quite interesting to see that. And looked quite manufactured too.

    Seems INC learner it's tricks from BJP.

    Also there are 3 columns written on Rafale deal in last few days. One by a retired diplomat in Hindu and other 2 by Bharat Karnad. Why is the whole list of people against Rafale deal. Politics cannot be the only driving factor here.

    https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/decoding-the-rafale-controversy/article25230283.ece/amp/

    https://bharatkarnad.com/2018/09/22/why-the-rafale-deal-as-predicted-has-blown-up-in-modis-face/

    https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/current-affairs-trends/opinion-why-rafale-and-s-400-missile-system-will-not-give-indias-defence-sector-an-edge-3049861.html/amp

    Coming to another of my favourite topoic China, China per globaltimes recently completed testing of hd1 supersonic missile. Said it is cheaper than bramhos and will be offered to Pakistan.

    How true is this news.

    Also, in 2015, China was testing new missiles for its BMD based on Russia’s 9M82 and 9M83. We're they successful on this. Are they going to offer FD2000 to Pakistan. And what is the status of Indian BMD, XR Sam. Will there be a LPAR made by DRDO as part of BMD?

    Regards,
    Srinivasa Nanduri



    ReplyDelete
  10. Remembering your much earlier and even some recent points, I blasted the Anti-Rafale lobbies on the face book. Logic is that your logic's are so simple that anyone can understand them except Pappu.

    ReplyDelete
  11. To SRINIVASA NANDURI RAMANUJAM & RAJESH MISHRA: VMT. While nitwits like that karnad fella are spinning their own yarns & that too in a world detached from reality, the following require clarifications:

    Claim: There are 3 questions that the govt needs to address to neutralise the snowballing controversy. The first is the rationale for the announcement made by Modi, during his official visit to France, in April 2015, that India would buy 36 Rafale aircraft in a government-to-government deal, thereby scrapping ongoing negotiations with Dassault Aviation for 126 aircraft.
    Reality: Elementary. There were simply no financial resources of the quantum reqd for procuring 126 MMRCAs in one go. Financial resources were then urgently reqd for inking several long-overdue contracts for urgent procurements in order to ensure immediate war preparedness, thanks to the UPA-2 govt’s apathy.

    Claim: The second question relates to pricing. Since the earlier negotiations for 126 aircraft were never concluded, a straightforward comparison is not feasible. Earlier negotiations did not cover weapon systems or the performance guarantees and spares. However, since the Modi government boasted that it had negotiated a better deal and promised to provide details, it has now been hoisted with its own petard. It proudly announced that it had obtained a 50% offset undertaking which would give a boost (nearly ₹30,000 crore) to the ‘Make in India’ programme in the defence sector. Perhaps, it failed to realise that the higher offset would be factored into the aircraft price, driving it higher.
    Reality: Offsets expenses are NEVER factored in into the acquisition costs whenever off-the-shelf purchases are resorted to. Only when licenced-production is involved do the acquisition costs go up due to the need to set duplicate the various manufacturing facilities in the customer’s country. That’s precisely why a HAL-built Su-30MKI costs far more than an IRKUT JSC-built Su-30MKI.

    Claim: The third question relates to the offset share given to Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd, or DRAL (a 51:49 joint venture between Reliance Aerostructure Ltd and the Dassault Group). The Congress has cited ₹30,000 crore while the Dassault Chairman, Eric Trappier, has stated that the figure is 10% of it as it has signed offset partnerships with more than 30 other Indian partners and the choice of Indian partners was its independent decision. This is inconsistent with former French President François Hollande’s statement to a French news website, Mediapart, in September that Reliance was proposed by the Indian government and that the French did not have a choice in the matter.
    Reality: The key questions are: Was Reliance’s selection dictated by the Govt of India or made compulsory? If not, then why was Reliance proposed? And was it the only company proposed? Firstly, no one made it compulsory for Reliance to be selected by Dassault. Secondly, all the Indian companies proposed as potential offsets-related contract recipients had to be identified & named by the Govt of India since it is the Govt’s responsibility to suitably vett the security & financial status of such industrial parties as mandated by the India-France inter-governmental agreement. Lastly, as I have explained above, Dassault desperately reqd to team up with an Indian industrial partner that had immediate availability of land on which an airport could be built so that Dassault Aviation’s PBL services could be made available to the IAF’s Rafales. And Reliance was the only one to offer such tailor-made real estate & that’s why the DRAL JV will execute the PBL-related service packages for the IAF.

    ReplyDelete
  12. To SRINIVASA NANDURI RAMANUJAM: The PAF is destined to get the supersonic CM-400AKG anti-ship missile from China. The HD-1 is still in the nascent stages of R & D. FD-2000 is an LR-SAM that isn’t optimised for BMD. For the Indian BMD network’s terrestrial early warning component, the LRTRs will operate in the S-band (and not L-band) & they will be locally made, just like the MOTR S-band active phased-array radar for ISRO was.

    To PRATAP: Here’s the video-link of the abduction:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqB-W2Px_jI

    And this is the Rheinmetall 35mm GDF-009 Skyranger air-defence cannon that’s preferred by both the IA & IAF:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88PWySnaLmI

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3zhkpVsn28

    ReplyDelete
  13. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O-TOoOQ2KgY

    Prasun da, how accurate is pravin sawhney's analysis on doklam, surgical strike and cpec?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your thoughts sir? https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/view-india-stands-a-chance-to-escape-us-sanctions-over-s-400-deal/articleshow/66251457.cms

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi,

    What is your view about UAE interested in LCA Tejas

    https://m.economictimes.com/news/defence/uae-interested-in-hal-made-light-combat-aircraft-tejas/amp_articleshow/66253936.cms

    Yash

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  16. To YASH: The word 'interested' denotes many things & therefore it must not be ASSUMED that the UAE is interested in procuring the Tejas LCA. Here's the official Indian statement:

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DptH9tvWwAEtxE1.jpg

    The UAE is very eager to learn how to go about developing a MRCA & what are the various milestones & military-technical/military-industrial processes that one has to go through when developing a MRCA. This is because the UAE has teamed up with Russia's RAC-MiG to co-develop a 5th-gen L-MRCA. It is for this reason that the UAE's Defence Minister visited HAL to see for himself all that goes into the development & production of MRCAs so that the information thus gathered will be used as data-points for the developmental stage of the L-MRCA that the UAE wants to co-develop with Russia's RAC-MiG.

    ReplyDelete
  17. https://youtu.be/wr3mSzokg_0
    If this then it is serious loss.
    Why air forces don't make underground hardened shelter that can withstand such natural calamity and missile attack.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sir can you please explain china's string of pearl strategy

    ReplyDelete
  19. what is the hidden agenda by army in taking defense attaches of various countries to leh ?

    ReplyDelete
  20. As usual a most detailed and factual article from you with facts, figures and dates that preclude arguments. Please give me a detailed analysis of this article by Carlo Kopp from way back in 2009. How valid is this today, what changes have hapened or are going to happen in the pre 2020 Era.

    http://www.ausairpower.net/DT-SuperBug-vs-Flanker.html

    Also prasun, the more I read about the gripen, the more I am impressed by what the gripen E offers including its GAN AESA, meteor and scalp and brimstone firing abilities, modular architecture offering easy up gradation, low rcs, decent combat range... It seems a league ahead of everything except the rafale, typhoon and maybe a fully functional f35... When you ad the gripens low price and Saab offer for full tech transfer, it seems like a no Brainer

    The engine being the ge414 shouldn't be an isue as snecma is already committed to helping on the kaveri and the ge414 lends commonality of spares and maintainable with lca 2...

    What are the catches that makes iaf look at alternatives like f16./18.. Given that the iac vishal is decades away and that the gripen m is much closer, naval variant of f18 or rafshale ouldn't be a point. Also being in the weight class of the mug 29 and lca n, gripen m should be able to operate fully loaded from Vikram Aditya and vikrant giving it a further edge. The meteor and aesa armed gripen operating from our carriers could make them the most potent carriers in the ior. Please comment in detail Dada. I also request any regular readers with more knowledge than me to please also contribute...

    Please

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Prasun,

    After Nepal, seems India now is loosing Bhutan too.

    https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/oct/17/india-china-rivalry-looms-over-bhutan-election/

    And in Srilanka, seems China is doing well given the circumstances. And Yameen playing his tricks in Maldives.

    Our MEA has it's hand full and yogi ji is busy renaming a city called Kaushambi later Allahabad into this prayagraj. Misplaced priorities.

    It's like this self defeating prophecy that China taking over South Asia in slow motion and we are busy with literally nonsense and self delusional smugness.

    God save India.

    Regards,
    Srinivasa Nanduri

    ReplyDelete
  22. I wonder why some people ask oft repeated questions when I know for a fact they are shopping for answer because they have already googled the question before...like that string of pearl question which the yellow journos have saturated the media with. Anyway for a perfect answer I hereby Beijingise PKS as Pie sung kung sen (like Sun yat sen)

    ReplyDelete
  23. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uEhOukdy8n4
    Russia's Yakovlev Yak 130 Mitten Light Strike Aircraft
    Sir with Tejas MK1A going no where
    Can Indian Airforce need to think of arming it's BAE Hawk as close in air support role and tell Hal and other agency to fully concentrate on Tejas MK2
    And they can mean the time go for tejas MKI dual seat trainer with ground attack capabilities .
    It will help India airfo4ce as you previously suggested lift version of Tejas.
    What stopping them is my thought.
    শুভ বিজয়ার প্রীতি শুভেচ্ছা।
    Buddha

    ReplyDelete
  24. "Lastly, as I have explained above, Dassault desperately reqd to team up with an Indian industrial partner that had immediate availability of land on which an airport could be built so that Dassault Aviation’s PBL services could be made available to the IAF’s Rafales. And Reliance was the only one to offer such tailor-made real estate & that’s why the DRAL JV will execute the PBL-related service packages for the IAF. "


    I believe even HAL has such a facility in Ozar/Bangalore....is it the sole criterion for reliance selection then it does raise doubt sir

    ReplyDelete
  25. I don't know how much of what this idiot says is true, his denial that cpec puts Pakistan in a debt trap clearly makes him biased. But even if half of what he attributes to raw is right, then I must say well done boys to raw

    http://www.indiandefensenews.in/2018/10/pak-scan-hybrid-warfare-challenges-for.html?m=1#

    ReplyDelete
  26. PrasunDa,

    শুভ বিজয়া,ঈশ্বর আপনার ও আপনার পরিবারের মঙ্গোল করুক

    Best Regards,

    VIKRAM

    ReplyDelete
  27. Prasun Da, where is phase 4 of castration: the previous decade ?

    ReplyDelete
  28. https://m.timesofindia.com/india/budget-crunch-hits-iafs-new-arms-deals-upgrade-of-airbases/articleshow/66288113.cms
    This is alarming situation

    ReplyDelete
  29. hi prasun
    when the oerlikon cannon is the best in the world why cant we waive the sanction in the national interest and get them ?
    how is the truck mounted canon coming a long ? is there a possibility to make it into a air defense canon as well?
    why is US trying to sanction us, as it will kill their chances of the f-16 deal?

    again as you said f-16 is the best bet fir us , are we going to do the same mistake of trying to make it in India for a higher price ? what are the tech goodies that come along with it?

    they can kill the LCA as well by denying the Engine etc?


    ReplyDelete
  30. @prasun da

    i bet you will not publish this

    when i said about Bhutan you said will it sit on China's lap, looks like it will happen soon

    https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/china-woos-bhutan-to-indias-displeasure/articleshow/66255356.cms

    as your antipathy towards INC but reality is all ills for india's defense have been BJPs doing, list is endless but main reasons are listed below

    1. rejecting MDL plea for manufacturing HDW subs & going for Scorpene subs

    2. going for Su30mki floated by LONDON BASED arms dealer Sudhir Choudhary instead of lapping up France proposal for 150 Mirage 2000, if that proposal was accepted IAF wouldnt be starring at such low numbers

    3. wasting tax payers money by going after SARAS, IJT 36, BTT 40

    4. selecting T90S instead of going for Tank Ex and Arjuns 1/2

    5. selecting the lone bid of Airbus-TATA consortium in 2015 for C27J Spartan even when USAF has sent all its C27J spartans into aircraft boneyard despite them being fairly new bcoz of defects

    so judge for yourself whether it is INC OR BJP which has caused problems for India Defense.

    hope you publish it give proper

    Joydeep Ghosh

    ReplyDelete
  31. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/washington-lets-delhi-know-buy-our-f-16s-can-give-russia-deal-waiver-5409894/

    Excerpts:

    "With India signing a pact with Russia to purchase the S-400 missile defence system, Washington has informally conveyed to Delhi that it could avoid sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) if India were to give an assurance that it would buy the F-16 fighter aircraft from the United States. Not keen on buying an aircraft already in service with Pakistan, India has refused to give any such assurance till date."

    "Although US officials argue that the F-16 being offered to India is F-16 Block 70, far superior to Block 50/52 in Pakistan’s inventory, Delhi is not keen on buying a fighter aircraft which has been with Pakistan Air Force for nearly three decades. Besides ‘political’ reasons, Delhi also argues that F-16 would not be compatible with its indigenous Brahmos missiles.

    The Indian Air Force has issued an RFI (request for information) for buying 114 fighter aircraft (single/double engine) under a competitive bidding process, which could feature F-16 and F-18. But that open competition will not include any assurance to Washington from Delhi about buying an American aircraft."

    So(if this article is true),America has said that India can avoid sanctions if it gives an assurance that it will buy the F-16.But India does not want to buy the F-16.So what's next?Can't we buy something else from them ?Or we could agree to reduce our trade surplus with them?

    ReplyDelete
  32. Shubho Bijoya Prasunda

    It seems that the v22 osprey can be folded down to a width of 18ft from its actual 84 feet. It can function as a aewc with a Raytheon aesa pod, at the same time carry over 22 thousands pounds of fuel, functioning as a top up refuller for mug 29k and also do Sar functions when needed. It is said that at max loading the iac vikrant can caryy 30 fixed wing plus 10 rotary with full deck plus hangar loading. Won't it and the VikramAditya both become more potent carriers if 4 rotary helos are replaced with 2 osprey, the remaining 6 helos can work for sub hunting roles... It Seems that such a configuration could enhance the effective barrier cap of an Indian Ac by a few hundred miles giving it far greater survivability and attack capability. Is such a thought being considered.. What can be similar out of the box solutions for our flattops..
    This article gave me the idea

    http://ukarmedforcescommentary.blogspot.com/2012/08/giving-eyes-to-aircraft-carriers.html

    ReplyDelete
  33. posted ur link in fb dada ... belated wishes to you, i had been on some travelling spree for a week

    ReplyDelete
  34. Is it that India will have to purchase the F-16 under a sort of duress. Please inform.

    ReplyDelete
  35. To DHARMIN: His conclusions on the lack of national security planning in India are spot-on, but his interpretation of the Wuhan Summit & China’s military power are erroneous since they are not based on facts.

    To RAGHAVENDRA: YThis was long-overdue, since there is nothing there to hide at all.

    To AMIT BISWAS: There was never any land readily available at either Ozhar or Bengaluru. Hence HAL was on the lookout for securing land under a Greenfield project. And whenever any govt tries to acquire land, then it takes at least 10 years to do so1 That’s why Project Seabird’s Phases-2/3 could not be completed in the previous decade.

    SHUBHOMOY CHATTERJEE: What else can one expect from someone who as a young Lt was captured by the BSF in April 1971 (he was captured by the Mukti Bahini & was handed over to the BSF) & was incarcerated in a PoW camp in Assam!

    To VIKRAM GUHA: The very same to you & all your loved ones, as well as everyone else who participates as commentators in this blog.

    To JOYDEEP GHOSH: What’s all this sudden & uncalled-for excitement all about? Bhutan is undergoing its own internal churns because it has been isolationalist for a very long time. No country can survive like that for long. To get a better understanding of what’s happening there, do watch these:

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

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azvLu9HWRlQ

    And all political parties in power since independence have failed to secure India militarily. There are no exceptions. I don’t know why you should try to compare one party with another when all have been complicit of the same crime.

    To CSC: While the V-22 Osprey is a versatile platform, it will not be compatible with any Russia-origin military platfiorm, be it an aircraft or a warship.

    To ENIGMA: India does not wish to capture the whole of Aksai Chin, but wants to gain back enough territory that will bring it closer to the Xinjiang-TAR Highway. Shaksgam valley cannot be captured unless Gilgit-Baltistan is first captured. And for the whole PoK to be captured & re-united with the rest of J & Km a national consensus needs to be developed. Right now, no one in India is working on it & hence this is not even discussed in India’s Parliament. For example, does anyone in India even know about these:

    https://www.amazon.in/Forgotten-Atrocities-Memoirs-Survivor-Partition/dp/1257914197

    Bal K. Gupta https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEC9LO-JAyY

    https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/pakistan0906webwcover_0.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  36. @DHARMIN
    I went through that video and it sprung to me like a bang on the face, that how shallow in knowledge and analysis this guy Pravin Shawney is!!!

    He seemed to have a panchant for using catch phrases to try and fool the audience but end result is he proves himself to be a real nonentity! The entire discussion sounded like Rahul Gandhi replying to on subject that he seems to have just a very little knowledge about! I am really surprised that our country seems to give such high position of importance of being a national security analyst to such shallow person.

    Kane

    ReplyDelete
  37. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-will-hit-back-with-double-the-force-if-sovereignty-challenged-pm/articleshow/66302143.cms

    This loud mouth certainly forgot that PoK is still occupied and he is really unaware of the resolution passed to unite Pok with India, but he is still the best compared to rest.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Prasun Sir,
    Russia is building Alexandrit class minesweepers and they've completed 2 ships of this class with one commissioned in dec'16 n following news report (if true) mentions dat india was interested in license production subject to prior examination of performance of ships of dis class.......do u have any info on dis n should India be interested in these ships apart from off d shelf purchase of some old spare ships from U.S. suggested by you.

    http://www.defenseworld.net/news/17002/India_Suspends_Talks_With_Russia_On_Alexandrit_Class_Minesweeper_Production#.W8zLZntuI0M

    ANMOL

    ReplyDelete
  39. On the basis of your reply to ENIGMA am i right to assume that no limited war will happen now? If the govt and army are not prepared then why was Gen Rawat warning of military action in interviews?

    ReplyDelete
  40. Prasun da, now you would agree that no cross LOC war will happen. I always knew that its not going to happen because if we were politically and militarily capable we would have done it by now. People who flooded you with questions about it the past 1 year should also know accept the reality now. Only small scale raids will happen like happened today in Rajouri in which 3 of our troops were matyred and 2 BAT members were killed.

    ReplyDelete
  41. To DASHU: LoLz! I’m glad you’ve finally zeroed in on such doublespeak. In fact, if any neta is really serious about honouring the police forces, then he/she ought to have operationalised the police refdorms as mandated by the Supreme Court way back in 2006. Here’s more data on what exactly the reforms were & what had the Supreme Coirt mandated:

    http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/programs/aj/police/india/initiatives/seven_steps_to_police_reform.pdf

    http://www.supremecourtcases.com/index2.php?option=com_content&itemid=135&do_pdf=1&id=21218

    http://www.prsindia.org/administrator/uploads/general/1517552577~~Police%20Reforms%20in%20India.pdf

    https://thewire.in/government/sc-police-reforms-directives

    And of course, the netas still continue to offer salutes when rules clearly state that no civilian is supposed to salute any uniformed personnel not is he/she to receive any salute from any uniformed personnel:

    http://164.100.117.97/WriteReadData/Gallery/PhotoGallery/2018/Oct/H2018102156303.JPG

    To RAD: Excellent BBC documentary on what goes into the making of an experimental test-pilot:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFfWqd9p33k

    Debate on Indian Army reforms & restructuring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz9tX_qlRUY

    UAEAF F-16s in EX Red Flag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toBAghgUPTs

    To KAUSTAV: Programmable Bullets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnluzkfPsrg
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOIAlmvSvEo
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugoXQdPSYAM

    https://media.defense.gov/2018/Oct/05/2002048904/-1/-1/1/ASSESSING-AND-STRENGTHENING-THE-MANUFACTURING-AND%20DEFENSE-INDUSTRIAL-BASE-AND-SUPPLY-CHAIN-RESILIENCY.PDF

    ReplyDelete
  42. Sir how IAF su30mki pilots performance against f16 and f15 in red flag, many Indians blogger claim MKI kicked enemy f16,f15 but usa pilots told other story what's the truth

    ReplyDelete
  43. Prasun Sir,

    Great write up and looking forward to read the last part though It's so frustrating to see so many lost great opportunities.

    1) I want to ask what should be the future course of action as far as commercial aviation industrial developmental is concerned?

    2) What do you think of SARAS's future in civilian aviation?

    3) Do we have In-house capacity to further develop Saras into 40-70 seater likes of Dassault Falcon series coupled with turbofans?

    regards

    ReplyDelete
  44. Sir, was the option for 38 more PC-7 exercised?
    Did 40 units Arjun 130 mm catapult ever got ordered?

    And do we really operate 122 mm SPH Gvozdika?

    thanks,

    VSJ

    ReplyDelete
  45. https://m.tribuneindia.com/article/additional-sukhois-not-an-answer-to-fleet-shortage-iaf-tells-ministry/671756/amp
    Sir does it point to the fact that Intian Airforce wants Super Su30MKI ..They are not interested in acquiring more Su30Mki as it is almost generation behind of present aircraft configuration.

    https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/russias-top-guns-how-dangerous-are-su-27sm-and-su-30sm-fighters-33957
    This link proves how far this machine is legged behind
    Security Scan and the Big picture present good analysis

    ReplyDelete

  46. HI PRASUN
    i happened to watch the test pilots series when it came out in UK and i remember taping it on VHS cassette for keeps but its all gone now . Thrilling to say the least.

    I posted a couple of blogs and they dont seem to appear above , i wonder if some thing wrong?

    what would be the estimated cost to convert to super sukhois, if it is too much then is it not wiser to get a newer ac?

    how is your 30 mm canon project working out ? can a ak630 equal a oerlikon 35 mm in any way ?

    ReplyDelete
  47. Hi Dada
    Why aren't we looking more seriously at the gripen ... It has the only GAN AESA which is also steerable giving an unparalleled sensor fused picture to the pilot. The skyward g irst is a level higher than the pirate irst on the eurofighter ... Its ew suite is superb and modular, meaning easily upgradeable .... its a low RCS fighter with a great range and good power . SAAB is offering amazing tot ... Pls do an honest comparison of the gripen as an option for India ... Esp as it's under development naval version can operate from our STOVL carriers being in the same weight category as the mug 29 or LCA n and being a generation ahead

    ReplyDelete
  48. PrasunDa,

    (1) When China manufactures Russian aircraft in China the price falls, but when India manufactures Russian jets ( and I assume aircraft of any other country) the price rises to a great extent. Why does this happen ?

    (2) Former U.S Def Secretary & CIA Director Bob Gates in an interview to CNN today said that Russia wanted to place ballistic missiles in South Russia aimed at Iran & Pakistan. Will you please share some insight why Russia wanted to do that ? Iran & Pakistan are not enemies of Russia, isn't it ?

    Thanks,

    VIKRAM

    ReplyDelete
  49. Prasunda,
    Thanks a lot for explanatory video of the programmable bullets and the excellent PDF on US MIC analysis you shared with us on the same post. GBU Sirji.
    There is a lot of interest by SMEs in India specially Gujrat to participate in Defence manufacturing, but they want to be direct supplier to the Armed Forces rather than be subcontractors to big entries. There is a manufacturing base but they are looking for guidance. What would you advise in general and would you be willing to guide / advise some such SME industrialists?

    ReplyDelete
  50. 1 brilliant first hand account of what life is for a sailor on a true blue water navy..

    http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/24298/tales-of-nuclear-cruiser-uss-long-beach-from-a-sailor-who-built-his-career-aboard-her?utm_source=spotim&utm_medium=spotim_recirculation

    ReplyDelete
  51. https://youtu.be/K8cEtKDMsAM
    The Big Picture : USA Russia Stand off.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Whereforth art thou mighty Caesar, the plebian await your wisdom?

    Please answer all the queries above and then do a detailed piece as only you can on DEW weapons in India and the world. I read this rather informative price on LASTECs work in this field and think that finally it seems the private sector is getting into work with drdo.. That gives hope

    https://www.strategicfront.org/forums/threads/indian-advancements-in-directed-energy-weapons.258/

    ReplyDelete
  53. Prasun ji,

    Any update about Super Sukhoi upgradation? How many aircrafts will be upgraded if plan goes ahead?

    ReplyDelete
  54. khuda gave one lifeline to Pak through Saudia today straight 9 B, but the question is on the return of what?

    ReplyDelete
  55. What is your take on this?

    http://www.defencenews.in/article/Pakistan-planning-to-launch-attack-on-India-via-sea-route-581230

    ReplyDelete
  56. hi prasun

    Is the barak missile so expensive that it is 111 mil$ per ship. ?

    where has the hansa failed ? has it got any flight problems for it to be discarded in favor of the Pipestrel?.

    has it been proved that rheinmetal gave commission or used an agent , why cant we negotiate a gov to gov deal as they are the best canons in the world?

    ReplyDelete
  57. https://youtu.be/QzkzaJSrL0c
    Sir what's your view about this report...quite hard to digest ...

    ReplyDelete
  58. Am trying to put you in trouble now :)
    Question 1 - What is Hindu?
    Question 2 - Who invented/discovered term "Hindu"
    Question 3 - What is the relation between Hinduism and Hindu.
    I know it's off topic , just asked anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  59. To ANMOL JUNEJA: As far as MVMVs go, the IN has already made it clear that it wants proven MCMVs that are also the best, i.e. the Lerici-class MCMV design from Italy’s Intermarine.

    To KAPIL & AYUSH: No need to assume at all. After all, back in 1971 areas like Turtok & the highest peak to be captured so far in the world’s history of arfare (5,609 metres ASL) were captured between December 7 & 17, 1971, accounting for 110 sq km of real estate falling into Indian hands. Out of 80 PA posts in the north, 36 were captured & by December 17, the IA was all set to capture Olthingthang as per the original war-plans of the IA, but the ceasefire order prevented any further IA advance. Hence, let us not count the chickens until they’re hatched.

    To JASSS GILL: As the videoclip on the UAEAF clearly explains, RED FLAG is never a shooting match between opposing forces, but rather it is the world’s most realistic battlespace top be simulated for AirLand operations. Hence, such exercises are never used to prove who’s better, but instead are meant to teach the participants how to survive & co0mplete their assigned missions.

    To ABHAY JAIN: 1) This is a multi-disciplinary endeavour that involves the union ministries of civil aviation, defence, heavy industries, finance & commerce. Unless all these ministries agree on a common plan of action, nothing will take off as far as aerospace industrialisation goes. Nor hjave I come across any report or document to date which reveals that such inter-ministerial deliberations have taken place so far. 2) As I have explained above, it is an utter & total waste of time, money & effort. HAL itself had stated in the late 1990s that it was capable of undertaking the development of regional commuter turboprops with 70-seat capacity, but the MoD had then overruled HAL & had insisted that HAL remain limited to the military aircraft manufacturing sector. 3) The Saras’ airframe cannot be stretched. HAL can do in-house design but it will require a foreign OEM as an external consultant to validate the design & all related data-points during flight-testing, since there’s no credible authority in India that is capable of awarding the certificate of airworthiness for such homegrown solutions.

    To VSJ: 1) Yes. 2) That was never a stated official reqmt of the IA & hence the K-9 Vajras were eventually acquired. 3) No.

    To UNKNOWN: It was the then CAS of the IAF, ACM P V Naik, who had first explained what the Super Su-30MKI was all about during the Aero India 2011 expo. Hence, whether the IAF wants the Super Su-30MKI or whether there exists any such project by such a name are all needless questions.

    ReplyDelete
  60. To RAD: I had first watched that TV-series in late 1987 while residing in Singapore. Each Super Su-30MKI upgrade will cost about US#30 million per unit inclusive of new AL-41F turbofans. AK-630M in truck-mounted configuration can indeed work out if fire-control is provided by both an optronic director as well as by a truck-mounted version of the ‘Uttam’ AESA-MMR. BTW, yesterday on that very day in 1971 the IAF began conducting photo-recce sorties over East Pakistan & the recce period lasted from October 24 till November 22 for setting up targetting priorities. Hopwever, sadly, no such airborne recces were carried out over West Pakistan, even after Pakistan had declared national emergency on November 21, 1971. Had the IAF commenced such sorties over West Pakistan from that date, then the IAF’s deep-interdiction efforts would have produced far better results & the PA’s ground offensives in both Chhamb & Shakargarh Bulge would easily have been neutralised purely by the IAF’s offensive airpower. Way back in early November an East Pakistani Benmgali had defected from the PA & had supplied detailed info to the IA’s Eastern Command about the PA’s build-up in the Shakargarh Bulge area & Lt Gen J F R Jacob had then officially warned about it in a letter to Lt Gen Candeth, the then GOC-in-C of the IA’s Western Command.

    To SHUBHOMOY CHATTERJEE: Gripen-NG comes out as far more expensive than the F-16 & also inferior to the F-16 in terms of mission effectiveness & endurance. It was originally developed purely for homeland air-defence with extremely limited strike capabilities & hence its flight endurance is almost the same as that of the existing Tejas Mk.1.

    To VIKRAM GUHA: 1) LoLz! I’m sure the day when China releases its Su-27 licence-production costs, the whole world will realise how much more expensive it was to do so, when compared to Russian costs. 2) Whether or not one is an enemy of the other depends on capability & intent. The latter can change overnight, while capabilities take longer to emerge.

    To KAUSTAV: Without a coherent military-industrial policy that is deliberated upon by the the union ministries of civil aviation, defence, heavy industries, finance & commerce, there can be no industrial roadmap & without that, all such military industrialisation by any state of India will never take off.

    To ASD: A total of 268 Su-30MKIs will be upgraded as per the present plans of the IAF.

    ReplyDelete
  61. To DASHU & JASSS GILL: There’s already 1 PA Infantry Division deployed thjere for the past 1.5 years, although this has not been officially announced. The Saudi bailout is not in the form of any financial handout. Instead, it is a deferred payment methodology under which the Saudis will supply crude oil (about 200,000bpd) for a 2-year period, exactly as it had done so between June 1998 & March 2002. Payment will take place at a later date. This in turn will enable Pakistan to conserve its foreign exchange reserves. No money will be exchanged since the US has not authorised the transfer of any money in US$ denomination to Pakistan. And that’s why the next visists with the begging bowl in hand are slated for China & Malaysia.

    To ANUP: Yes, that’s for the seven Project 17A FFGs.

    To PRRANSHU YADAV: LoLz! Not by the sea route, but by the riverine routes along northern Punjab & southern Jammu in India, whjere numerous rivers criss-cross.

    To DASHU: 1 & 2) All those who are residents of the area to the east of the Hindukush mountain range were called Hindus by the Sumerians, Turks of central Asia & by the Arabs. The area of which these ‘Hindus’ resided was known to all of them as AL-HIND. Later the colonial Brits morphed this into HINDUSTAN. 2) Hinduism was a term concocted by the colonial Brits. That’s why in all ancient Indian texts or epics dealing with philosophies of life, no terms like Hindu or Hinduism or Hindutva have ever been mentioned or written down.

    To UNKNOWN/BUDDHA: Beautiful videoclips of the complete developmental & production processes of the Rafale:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY6UBWywLQ8

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVah8EeJezI

    ReplyDelete
  62. https://m.timesofindia.com/india/sinha-shourie-bhushan-move-sc-for-fir-over-rafale-deal/articleshow/66356153.cms
    Will this create chaos in rafale purchasing .
    Thank u sir for the above Rafale link ...It is very nice to see how true 4.5th gen MMRCA is made...
    What is your view in recent CBI saga..
    Recent some news articulate that along with Indian Airforce ,Indian Army too wants Avenger UAV.
    Is it for both recoinssance and strike mission ?
    Sunil Lamba Naval admiral is visiting Tawang...It is very good for interoperability of the forces.
    Different brance should interact more commonly .
    New gen fighter of france looks quite impressive .
    Should indian be engaged in this project ...
    Buddha .

    ReplyDelete
  63. Ita's given that I spite of what Pappu says, India should and will order at least 36 more rafale esp with the reliance dassault jv moving into the supply chain.

    The snecma kaveri engine is also progresing well and is delivering on tests at upto 98kn wet thrust. Work is on towards the 110 kn wet thrust. The astra is ready, astra mk2 should be ready in 2 years. With astra, derby er and elm2052 aesa the mk1a will be a good indertictor, more than anything paf has and matching most of what plaaf can throw at us. With kaveri and a new Gan radar and improved payload and range mk2 as and when ready will also be capable in our environment till 2035 - 2040.

    Super sukhoi upgrade should also happen from 2020
    The issue is with the 100 od planes needed in the 2020 to 2025 period. For that my question is

    I am talking about the gripen e/f which is on offer to india, 1500 km combat range, 4000 km ferry range far higher than lca... Also only fighter on offer with Gan aesa and meteor and advanced ew and ir suites.. The price point is about 80 - 85 million per jet, not much higher than the f16 block 70. Plus ita's new plane, upgradeable for at least the next 30 years. The only thing going for the US f 16 is the geopolitical leverage... Plus it doesn't have a naval variant. Gripen n with similar weight and size as lca n or mug 29 is a far superior aircraft that can operate from even our existing carriers.. Pls do a detailed and impartial analysis Dada.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bro do u hv any source saying kaveri giving 98kn thrust output??
      Regarding gan aesa that ur talking ..its not fully operational yet..saab is still not able to solve some glitches..so hv to wait for few more yrs to get a fully operational radar..
      Gripen n is far away from reality..nd its same as tejas mk2.so better to invest in desi products..

      Delete
  64. Earlier from within the Hinduism was called and understood simply as "Dharma". The remote people outside it were generally called and understood as "Mlechchha".

    ReplyDelete
  65. Prasun sir, reports are cmng in that drdo ngarm is going to be tested soon..is it true?
    U said SAAW will have emp capability though no media reports hv spoken about this capability ..but why then develop ngarm ? Why two types of weapons with different capabilities while both hv same range?

    ReplyDelete
  66. Prasun Da,

    Since your views have always been sought by the media & since you also write several articles for the media, I have a question for you in this regard.

    For the past 3-4 years I have noticed that some writers like Kanchan Gupta, Jaideep Mazumdar (Swarajya Magazine), Vivek Agnihotri etc have published some very malacious information against us Bengalis ( apart from Keralites, Kannadigas, Sikhs,Tamilians).

    For instance in Swarajya Magazine, Jaideep Mazumdar wrote "lakhs & lakhs" of Bengalis are into illegal trade like drug trafficking. Vivek Agnihotri wrote that Kannadigas & Bengalis should ideally not be employed by corporates because they maybe Urban Naxals. Kanchan Gupta warned that just because Mamata Banerjee spoke out against the NRC, there maybe attacks against Bengalis outside Bengal.

    My question is maybe these people enjoy political patronage but why are they not getting arrested by state governments of the state against whose citizens they are publicising fake news ? Such malicious news can get innocent people killed.

    Thanks,

    ReplyDelete
  67. Hi Sujit
    Its safran Kaveri not snecma and yes there are many links available online which say it's cleared safran technical audit after 145 hours of testing and is now headed for limited flight tests

    ReplyDelete
  68. https://medium.com/@HarelDan/x-marks-the-spot-579cdb1f534b

    Patriot C-band radar detection with Sentinel sat.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Most people ghet to see Chinese propaganda military parade but have a look at the Japanese one! Shame Japan is not allowed to export weapons because India would have benefited immensely
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAgd9pkpCO4

    ReplyDelete
  70. Sir,just curious.I have watched many Pakistani programmes(some of the links were shared by you in the past)like Mahaaz with Wajahat Saeed Khan,Ikhtilaf-E-Raye,Sawaal Awam Ka,etc in which the hosts go to areas near the LoC like Neelum Valley,Battal,Poonch-Rawalakot sector,Battal,Bhimber,Forward Kahuta,etc and talk to the PA soldiers stationed there and also to the civilians living there and make tall claims about their strength and the support given to the PA by the local population living near the LoC.My question is,why do these reporters go only to the areas of the so called "Azad" Kashmir that are close to the Loc and not to the areas of Gilgit-Baltistan that are close to the LoC like Fraono,Hassanabad Chorbat,Olthingthang,etc?Any particular reason for that sir?Also,can you recommend to me any Indian equivalent of programs like Mahaaz,etc that have episodes in which the hosts go to the areas of J&K near Loc and talk to the IA soldiers and the civilians there?

    Regards,
    Enigma.

    ReplyDelete
  71. Can you please give your openion on this? It seems machine learning and AI could "invent" novel airframes for future fighter jets that humans might never discover on their own. And where does India stand in AI research?

    https://youtu.be/aR5N2Jl8k14

    ReplyDelete
  72. Sir
    1.what is the fire control radar for the DRDO qrsam?
    2.do you think hal will undertake development of new additions demanded by IAF apart from aesa radar,in flight refuelling capability or will it be forfeited to speed up Tejas mk1a development process
    3.with regard to the tapas uav, will it be inducted or will the services go for avenger uav?
    4.what is the status of helina missile?

    ReplyDelete
  73. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/advocate-approaches-cbi-for-registration-of-fir-into-rafale-deal-5420384/lite/
    These nonsense will stop at nowhere.....They are hell bent doing damage to rafale procurement.
    Your view sir...

    https://www.ndtv.com/opinion/rafale-shows-rahul-gandhi-can-very-much-take-on-modi-1938166?amp=1&akamai-rum=off
    And this...Rahul the ignorant fool to be portrait as mature leader and upcoming Prime minister..Is hard to digest....Atleast mamata begum is better than this dynastic idiot
    Buddha

    ReplyDelete
  74. Prasun Da,

    Thanks for an eye opening account regarding state of HAL. I have not any found any other blog to have such a vivid and timely analysis.

    BTW, what is your views on present political crisis in Sri Lanka, on allegation for plot of 'assassination Sri Lankan President by the agents of RAW, subsequent arrest of an Indian National(Marceli Thomas has been sent in the Mental Hospital though claiming innocence), as well as Nalaka Silva, former DIG of Terrorist Investigation Division,Sri Lanka, then sacking of PM, Ranil Wickremesinghe by the President Sirisena, and appointment of Mahindra Rajapakshe as PM, is anything being cooked up ? What may be its possible implication on ties of the island Nation with India, vis - a - vis China, in any means is their a possibility that Chinese intelligence agency are involved ?

    Thanks in advance .

    ReplyDelete
  75. Recently I came across this intriguing article about Chinese efforts to solve problem of interference by plasma during atmospheric re-entry of spacecraft. It could also be used to make ballistic missiles and hypersonic vehicles more accurate. During re-entry a plasma sheath forms around the RV which prevents any radar inside the RV from sending emissions out or the RV from receiving radio signals. If it is solved it could eneble these missiles to use terminal radar homing which would significantly reduce their CEP.I hope India does not lag behind.

    http://www.parabolicarc.com/2015/06/18/scientists-propose-method-communicating-spacecraft-during-reentry/

    ReplyDelete
  76. Prasunda,

    Looks like the DRDO test tange at Rutland Island has only now obtained clearance from the environment ministry and still needs Coastal rgulatory zone and other such clearances. Wo'nt it take years for it to be ready then ? If so, will it not take several years before we are ready to begin MIRV testing ?

    Satyaki

    ReplyDelete
  77. *http://alert5.com/2018/10/27/u-s-government-buys-aesa-x-band-fighter-array-technology-from-saab/

    what kind of tech could the US be buying here from saab?

    *http://www.wionews.com/world/belgian-purchase-of-us-jets-against-european-interests-emmanuel-macron-173711

    plenty of nervous people in europe

    ReplyDelete
  78. Prasun Da,
    Is it possible to convert existing FV433 Abbot spg into a 120mm self-propelled breech loading mortar system? Or,Is it possible to upgrade those existing FV433 Abbot 105mm spg?

    ReplyDelete
  79. what is this new turn between Israel and Pak? who are the travelers in that bizjet

    ReplyDelete
  80. China is erasing its border with Hong Kong
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MQyxG4vTyZ8

    ReplyDelete
  81. Prasunda, I did not understand ur reply wrt the v22 osprey as an awec platform for Indian carriers. The v22 being a vtol aircraft can take off and land from any Indian carrier... Regards interoperability that's purely dependent on the radars, other sensors that we integrate on to the v22... If we can operate us UK made sea kings off our ships, then why not v22. It offers much greater speeds, range, altitude and even flexibility of operating as a tanker...

    ReplyDelete
  82. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1ioA2ttS_I4
    Nice development on Apache front
    Does India have such thought .
    Buddha

    ReplyDelete
  83. @prasun da

    1. a possible good news for for IAF as USAF AMC could ask for restart of C17 production line IAF needs atleast 10 more

    https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/airlift-tanker-annual/2018/10/26/could-the-air-force-restart-the-c-17-production-line/

    2. looks like we are back to square one in Sri Lanka

    https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/sri-lankas-pm-mahinda-rajapaksa-calls-for-snap-elections-1938959?pfrom=home-livetv

    3. IMHO LCA mk2 could well turn out to be the exact but enlarged version of slide 23

    thanks

    Joydeep Ghosh

    ReplyDelete
  84. Is this fake news OR some secret parleys happening?

    https://www.dawn.com/news/1441902/uproar-over-claim-about-israeli-jet-landing-in-islamabad

    ReplyDelete
  85. Prasunda,
    It seems that the 2+2 frigates deal with Russia was indeed on the table when Putin came to India. It only took the final negotiations of the Rupee payments to be finalised.

    Its a done deal now.... unless of course this is fake news. Considering how much fake news as dis-informartions campaign are being floated nowadays, I won't be suprised if this is a fake news too, though.

    https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/india-inks-950-million-deal-for-russian-frigates/articleshow/66408319.cms

    Kane

    ReplyDelete
  86. I do not know whether the Pakistanis will sign the instrument of surrender in front of Israel or India.

    ReplyDelete
  87. prasun sir,
    Is it true that india gave up on raising 17th mountain strike core which was to posted near chumbi in the eastern borders under chinese pressure?

    ReplyDelete
  88. https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/negotiations-on-lease-of-russian-nuclear-submarine-deadlocked-over-price-issues-1357892-2018-10-07

    "The Akula-class SSN dubbed the 'Chakra-3' to replace the INS Chakra whose ten year lease from Russia runs out in 2022. India paid for an estimated $1 billion refit and lease of this submarine which was completed in 2008 and handed over to the navy in 2011. One of the reasons for the current deadlock is the Russian side asking over double the cost of the earlier lease."

    ReplyDelete
  89. Hi Prasun Da I think ur on some kind of reconsaince mission

    ReplyDelete
  90. Prasunda

    Another well done video of the air-to-air tankers.

    https://youtu.be/8bIDGqhxVPM

    Kane

    ReplyDelete
  91. To PIMPALE: For the past 1 week I was busy with the following:

    Reading these 2 books:

    https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91sPzvMHL4L.jpg

    https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71Ca6VxKk%2BL.jpg

    And also following these discussions:

    Haunted by Chaos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8REbCbtlcgA

    Xi Jinping’s Rise Profiled: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_WY63wm6Hw

    Xi Jinping, Champion of Poor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSJNbbhPyNA
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YiHvEgJ2uk

    Xi Jinping at Southern Theatre Command HQ: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ng5tVW1RXs

    China’s Strong Arm Tactics in Xinjiang: f https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH2gMNrUuEY

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUg-w0tdyBs

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmvyjwLxC5I&t=5s

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFWKZrizvI0

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc5vVat5iuc&t=40s

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmvyjwLxC5I&t=5s

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DazSCxfUdE&t=11s

    Governing the Ungovernable in Pakistan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tMWNNcIbSE

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

    Terrorism from Pakistan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QTXQkV7Zzg

    And most importantly, these:

    https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/ap_2018-09-18_thequettaexperience.pdf

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd4u99jmycw

    And finally, because of this (http://www.supremecourt.gov.pk/web/user_files/File/Crl.A._39_L_2015.pdf) all social media sites & cellphone services in Pakistan were blocked yesterday, thanks to such rants:

    https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6wgxlp

    https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6wgtsa

    Thus, the stage is now set for the epic clash between Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi’s definition of Riyaasat-e-Medina (which surprisingly does not abide by the principle of interest-free banking) & those Barelvis who have accused Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi & Gen Qamar Bajwa vas non-Muslim infidels.

    ReplyDelete

  92. Hi prasun
    I really wonder in amazement about the time you spend on reading up details pertaining the security of India > i dont think even the guys who supposed to do the work your doing are reading as much.
    But in any other country your knowledge will be used for the security of the country. but here i feel people in the system will feel jealous of you.
    Do they listen to your inputs?

    ReplyDelete
  93. Sir, unconfirmed reports say India acquired sky capture air defence system from Israel for $550 million. Is it true??

    ReplyDelete
  94. Dear Prasunji,
    I know this blog is dedicated to defence matters. But I also know you answer queries on other topics too. My question is of the second kind.

    1) You have stated before your belief in extra terrestrials. Do you belive then that all religions in the world refer to these extra terrestrials when they mention God?

    2) If so how come there are so many different faiths all over the world which call god/gods by different names? Was earth colonised /invaded by multiple alien species?
    Or is there a link that connects the various faiths?

    3) You have mentioned direct energy weapons being used in mahabharata. Obviously this tech is so advanced even we in the 21st century can't replicate it yet. If true, this shows a very highly advanced civilisation in the past. What then happened to this advanced civilisation that caused it to devolve to a primitive one. Did the gods smite them? I believe the annunaki legends of sumeria speak of some such cataclysmic event. Are all the flood myths that we hear, that which caused the retrogression?

    Thanks.
    Seeker

    ReplyDelete
  95. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/01/trump-near-deals-with-india-south-korea-on-iran-oil-imports-reports.html
    "America poised to grant waivers to India and South Korea that will allow the countries to continue buying oil from Iran, despite the renewal of U.S. sanctions next week, according to news reports."
    "On Thursday, the Economic Times reported that the administration will allow India to purchase 1.25 million tons of Iranian oil each month through March. A source told the English-language Indian newspaper that India and Washington have "broadly agreed on a waiver" and that "India will cut import by a third."

    Sir,you had said a month ago that Trump was waiting to see whether India would cut/eliminate oil imports from India.So now,does this waiver(if the report is true) mean that a waiver for the S-400 is guaranteed as well?And why is Trump exempting India and South Korea?

    ReplyDelete
  96. The Angels (Devta) can be super developed human beings or may be aliens from our own universe. But the Gods have to be from some other sets of dimensions or may be emanating from all the dimensions.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Rajesh aliens exist and highly evolved extra terrestrial forms.come to earth. However conjecturing devi devtas or ram.or krishna or avataaras with aliens is not grounded on facts and misses a very crucial.aspect of.hindu philosphy. Researchers like Eric.von Daniken, serials on history channel on ancient aliens has led a.certain segment to believe that gods of human beings are essentially alien beings.all these.authors and serials.come.from.the West which is culturally associated with chtistianity. In Christianity God is in heaven and outside human body. After death one goes to heaven and meets God. In hindu philosophy or.dharmic philosophy there is no God outside yourself in some.heaven. God is within you and you have to realise him by inner meditation. Hence yoga which means union of soul with the ultimate soul or.god. therefore those who have realised this union are God like.people but not god. They are worshipped as they transmit this knowledge of mergence to their disciples. There is no similar concept in Christianity on spiritual evolution of man and realisation of God within. Therefore authors who come from thus background and culture end up wrtign books or creating serials that talks of various gods coming from.the sky or outer space or heaven our outside the human.body. I am telling you it is not entirely true and more nuance has to be read into it.

      Regards

      Kunal

      Delete
  97. @Seeker
    I know Prasunda will answer your questions in his own original way.

    If I may add my input here. Do buy the books of Erich von Däniken. He has been a extra-ordinary expert on this theme. A word of caution. Those who want to believe will believe. But at least Däniken tries to give a lot of scientific support to his findings.

    Here is a list of reading:
    Chariots of Gods
    Gods from Outer Space
    Miracles of the Gods: A Hard Look at the Supernatural
    The Stones of Kiribati: Pathways to the Gods
    The Gods and their Grand Design: The Eighth Wonder of the World
    The Return of the Gods: Evidence of Extraterrestrial Visitations
    Evidence of the Gods

    I must say thes books do give a very unusual look at some strange things on our world. Of course some of the things mentioned as evidence for alien visitations have been refuted since by science bt others not.

    Happy reading.

    Kane

    Kane

    ReplyDelete
  98. Sir, Great images and videos coming from Pakistan. Islamic extremists are on rampage for 2 days since Asia Bibi was acquitted. Today Sami ul Haq was send to hell. Looks like the chaos will only magnify from here. The economy is already going into the ground. Hope Modi govt and especially our army are keeping a close eye the moment might me coming soon.

    ReplyDelete
  99. epic clash did not even last for a week !!!

    ReplyDelete
  100. To DASHU: LoLz! Looks like PRATAP above has already addressed your concerns. The cooking is still in progress & hence kindly be just a bit more patient to see the final outcome.

    To PRATAP: This is one issue that unites Sunnis & Shias, Deobandis & Barelvis. The PA now has only 130,000 available for internal security. Exactly how many infantry squads will therefore be deployable throughout the country? How will a 6-man squad be able to hold off against a rampaging mob of 150 people?

    ReplyDelete
  101. Kane
    I asked this before and will ask you again this time. All those theories will fit perfectly if one could answer the one puzzling question. If it took Aliens to create humans with such intelligence etc. that means the aliens must have been created by some super alien to be cleverer than humans.Then logically each such intelligent species must have origin somewhere other than just pure biological/chemical mishaps. WHO CREATED the first such intelligent species then?
    Forget any religious part, do search Creation Ministries International and their articles written by scientists and watch their videos for an alternate view.

    ReplyDelete
  102. hi Prasun
    HAL says jaguar line complete? do they mean the upgrades are over so fast , with the new f124 egine ? what ever happened to the engines/?

    They seem to be opening a 3 rd line fr the LCA as though an after thought to keep employees occupied??

    Is BARC developed bullet vest unique in Tech?, they seem to have used diff matrial other than ceramic to stop steel core bullets??

    how good is the shakti processor by IIT chennai? i believe it is a baby processor good for phones like Snapdragon chips etc. what is the real importance of the design viz a viz the equal in foreign processors? 11 crores is peanuts ~! we can do more if resources are there??

    The one thing i cant fathom is ,that it is made in a FAB in India ? where is that ?
    Does it mean we can design a chip at least at 1 ghz speed ?equal to the latest intel chip given the resources?
    which will be a great boost to our computer and defense manufacturing.

    I believe lot of engineers from India worked on the INtel chip design as well as the AMD processors as well? Cant we have a national agenda to make them ?.

    ReplyDelete
  103. is it curtains ghataak rifle 7.62x51 and .39 as reports are spread of ak-103 production happening.

    ReplyDelete
  104. Greetings sirji...
    1.Recently Sami-ul-haq was assassinated.Word is that this was done by Mossad shortly after an Israeli Jet flew to Pakistan,while it is also said that this along with the attempt on Hamid Gul's son was done by ISI itself to threaten all the mullahs who were about to go head-on with PA.What's your assessment???
    2.If I am not wrong,there is requirement for 5 Strategic Transport Aircraft as C-17 can't be procured more.What's are the alternatives??
    3.Is AD-1 anywhere near to it's first test???
    And lastly,just a personal question if it doesn't offend you....
    4.Are you an Aeronautical Engineer?If not,then what are your opted field in academics?I am a high school student,and as a Military Aviation aspirant, I find your blog great learning source.
    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  105. Prasunda ye article Ka 4th part DRDO Ka delivery type hi gaya, aa hi Raha hai .... Aaya Nahi hai

    ReplyDelete
  106. To UNKNOWN/SEEKER & KANE: If you really want to go deep into the subject, then I suggest you absorb this:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9R1dss0NzM&t=175

    This will reveal exactly how little we happen to know about our existential dimensions.

    ReplyDelete
  107. http://forceindia.net/cover-story/dragons-air-power-tar/

    ReplyDelete
  108. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w7irEcQHChw
    Memory, Consciousness & Coma [Full Talk], Sadhguru at Harvard Medical School

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HetsIUEnO3U&t=982s
    Sir Ken Robinson in conversation with Sadhguru |


    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3xxt8XuYsCk&t=14s
    In Conversation with the Mystic - Jonathan Coslet with Sadhguru | Capitalism and Spirituality

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KlITeRcTZsc
    Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev | Full Talk at Oxford Union

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XYeUFflb7Bk
    From Unconscious to Conscious Evolution | Sadhguru

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aMzdiZj8Fio
    Inner Management


    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tzOTyD99ChA

    Sadhguru Addresses the UN - IDY 2016
    This person seems quite amazing with his effort to the rejuvenate nature river and his explanation of differences of intellectuality and intelligence
    And classification of mind ..
    His approach is unlike others.
    Thanks for the previous link about alien at different frequency.
    I read your introduction part of the article in force ..Rest after getting the magazine.
    Many queries are pending...Hope you will ans everyone for the best suited question..
    What I feel very soon new topic based article will be there in this blog.
    Sir rest part of this article ....We are bit curious to know ....
    And শুভ দীপাবলি আপনাকে ও আপনার পরিবারকে।
    Buddha.

    ReplyDelete
  109. Sirji, israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) recently has been awarded a contract worth USD550 million to supply its Sky Capture air-defence command-and-control (C2) system to the army of an Asian country which country its INDIA if yes for which system L 70 OR zu 23

    ReplyDelete

  110. LIFT versions, atleast 60-90 of the Tejas Mk1/MK1A variant with a dual Trainer / Combat role, in addition to the LCA Mk1A should be taken up immediately for manufacture. That ensures that all 3 lines are engaged before the Mk1A is ready for manufacture while Mk2 design matures.

    ReplyDelete
  111. https://youtu.be/eGKFTUuJppU
    Who am I ?
    Great analysis....
    Unfortunately majority of education system are neglecting this idea and we are heading no where
    Vedic text must be taught by skilled teachers from the very early part of our education system...
    Buddha.

    ReplyDelete
  112. @Pierre Zorin, you must have written to someone else. I am no alien visitations believer...

    And Prasunda,
    With due respect, while not having any objection to others points of view vis-a-vis their belief-systems, I am not a believer of alien visitations or other such folklore that says we have been enlightedn by aliens...or even devas and danavas ect.

    I am a aethist and one who has never learned to do prayers or resorted to prayers in times of stress or life-threatening dangers, or even wishing for some benefit from the almighty.

    At the same time, I am under no evangelical throes of delusion, that it is my duty to bring other people, who have other belief systems, to bring them the light of science, a la Richard Dawkins.

    I do accept that there are vast universe out there and alien life is bound to be there, as I find the thought of the other option, that we are the only CHOOSEN ONE, irrational from all aspects- science, statistics, logic and even luck.

    But I do read extensively, all kinds of literature and science sources, as well as pseudo-science and science fiction. Science fiction, a lot in particular.

    Just to make it clear in where I stand.
    Sorry for being out of the general theme of your blog.

    Kane

    ReplyDelete
  113. Hi Prasun,

    Is this govt. being somewhat less proactive or maybe less competent in managing the immediate neighbourhood? I expected it to be a lot more aggressive in neutralsing the influence of China and Pakistan but I feel they aren't really up to the task.

    It seems to me that the whole neighbourhood is coming unglued. I would appreciate it, if you can weigh in about the happenings in SL, Bhutan, Nepal, Punjab, and Assam.

    For how long are these guys going to be on the defence with Pakistan notwithstanding the "offensive" against FTs/LTs in J&K.

    AJS

    ReplyDelete
  114. Sir why Indian institution has not developed aircraft or helicopter launched rocket both in guided and unguided version.
    Russia america and western countries are doing this since long time and india is still importing these basic rockets ...Though it boosts in developing complicated agni V but lacks seriously in developing basic helicopter launched rockets and rocket pods.
    LCH and hal rudra later LUH will use imported rockets is something incomprehensible where all boost of pseudo make in india effort.
    Also the case of pistol and small fire arms.
    Pardon If I've stated anything wrong.
    Buddha.

    ReplyDelete
  115. I think our existing Government is all better than all the democratic past. But presently it is trapped in an imbroglio as to whether it has to be the Rama-Mandir or the POK inclusive of G&B or both. Please inform.

    ReplyDelete
  116. To AJS CHIRP: LoLz! To me it appears that the autumn had also ushered in extremely high levels of toxicity into the minds of the ‘netas’ & their followers & this is what is leading to the convoluted debates & exchanges within the country. For instance, baseless ritualistic religiosity is taking precedence over sound common-sense. Take Sabarimala for instance, WRT which all rules & regulations were man-made & were inspired by ritualistic religiosity-derived sentiments like not allowing women inside, as if the Almighty had decreed that the female was inferior or impure when compared to the male. Similarly the Ram Mandir issue, which to me is just a pre-election gimmicry that all parties want to milk for their own narrow ends. But the saddest part is to see the spectacle of the IA’s COAS giving the keynote speech on internal security!!! Has the IA since the early 1990s degenerated to such an extent that the COAS of the IA has to explain India’s internal security challenges? Who then will talk about external security challenges? I reckon all this is happening because there is a crisis of leadership, i.e. the civilian ‘netas’ are not issuing proper directives for national security management, as a result of which the country’s military leadership is unable to orientate itself toward meeting the external security challenges.

    To UNKNOWN/BUDDHA: LoLz! Imparting education in Veidc texts on a mass scale is indeed a tall order in today’s India, since to me it appears that folks first have to be taught how to make use of/apply sound common sense in the day-to-day matters.

    To KAUSTAV: I’m afraid such matters are not on the table for India’s ‘netas’. Instead, topmost priority is being accorded to the construction of statues & places of worship & senseless one-upmanship on issues of ritualistic religiosity. Very soon therefore India’s hinterland will have to be dotted with statues of all hues/types. Perhaps the construction of one such statue at the SEZ in Mihan will help quall all the squabbling WRT the Dassault-Reliance JV. Apparebtly in India that’s what pleases the Gods, if we are to believe in what the ‘netas’ are preaching nowadays.

    Now, turning to saner matters, here’s a full preview of the Zhuhai Air Show, which commences tomorrow:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlYJZGng3kM

    And an interesting debate on what transpired in Beijing WRT CPEC:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QmGqL2fMXk

    To JASSS GILL: It is Vietnam.

    ReplyDelete
  117. Hi Prasun,

    Wasn't Doval supposed to be the guy that kept the amateurs on the straight and narrow?

    Really, how do we have such myopic, diffident people in the govt. time after time? These chaps have put the country in full retreat. Quite contrary to what was expected.

    AJS

    ReplyDelete
  118. @Kane

    The national security people don't hold the luxury to hold beliefs into it or not, this is not the question of beliefs, this is the question of what happening actually in the sky above.

    About atheism, believe me, 90% of people who say they are atheists are actually agnostic. And they somewhat believe in God and higher power, but not in religion in general.

    But I am in other 10%, not in that 90%.


    And as for this so-called UFO phenomenon and pseudoscience. I never understood actually what is pseudo in UFO phenomenon.

    But if it is, then why again and again and again, western powers form committees each decade to research this phenomenon.

    This is national security threat what you assuming just as a belief system, and btw people somehow assume a UFO or UAP directly means aliens or ET. That is not the case btw.


    But when US's DoD start to release videos of such encounters and events, there is something going on.

    Here is the DoD footage
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rWOtrke0HY
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf1uLwUTDA0
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxVRg7LLaQA

    And here is the F/A-18 pilot talking about this event

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDj9ZZQY2kA

    If this is all false, why not someone suing that pilot?



    So again, the beliefs you hold are luxury, people in high echelons don't hold one. They are in situation where there nuclear sites were buzzed by unknown UAPs.



    As for ET created us, why people outright reject it. I never understood why this theory and evolution theory cant go hand in hand?

    Why this is so hard to think or make a hypothesis (no one saying there is a god) that someone altered our DNA or maybe even created a new DNA out of nowhere. It can be right, it can be wrong, nobody saying it is right.

    But outright rejecting is totally idiotic when humanity on verge of creating new species out of nowhere


    Creating a new species: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/vbjpzj/chinese-scientists-used-crispr-to-make-a-new-species-with-one-giant-chromosome

    It is the level of a bacteria, but its a start.


    Designer Baby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAhjPd4uNFY&

    Anti aging using CRISPR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zHyUI13NDg

    But the most immediate results are ending Cancer from planet earth
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5769084/

    The trials for ending Cancer using CRISPR is already started.


    So we are a god in ourselves if the definition of people about God is whoever create new species or change DNA is a god( which I reject).

    ReplyDelete
  119. @Pierre Zorin

    There is no reason to believe that if we are created by aliens, then aliens might be created by God.

    There are no gods. Period.
    if only god argument gives you comfort then let me try to explain god scientifically.


    There might be a Boltzmann brain which after the death of all celestial body, stars, planet and even blackhole, the entropic equilibrium be achieved, and because of small fluctuations in entropy and infinite time if given. The Universe itself create a Boltzmann brain.


    And it creates its own reality with like that Boltzmann brain came into existence with memory which trying to prove it is not a Boltzmann brain, and everything is an illusion. where we are just waiting for the end of the universe.

    And if equations are right, the highest probability of intelligence is after Blackhole age, not during Star age.


    we are just subatomic particles tied together to create intelligence, just remnants of a universe, waiting for Vacuum decay to happen in which Higgs Field find more suitable local minima ultimately destroying each subatomic particle and destroying and deleting Universe.

    ReplyDelete
  120. https://m.timesofindia.com/home/science/is-solar-systems-first-tourist-a-spaceship/articleshow/66505181.cms
    Interesting article.

    ReplyDelete
  121. Hi Prasun,

    Can you share with us some information on how INS Arihant manages to operate in careful secrecy.

    Who has the discretion to launch? How does it communicate with land and satellite facilities?

    Where in the seas would it likely operate

    Thanks,
    Anmol

    ReplyDelete
  122. Prasunda,

    1. Now that our PM has announced that INS Arihant has completed a deterrent patrol, does that mean that some version of the K-4 slbm (maybe not the definitive version) is now operational? Deterrence patrol with the 750 km range B-05 makes no sense.

    2. If the answer to Q.1 is "yes", deos it mean that the K-4 has undergone more tests than have come out in the news?

    Kritavarma

    ReplyDelete
  123. how many millions of police needed to monitor 2 hr deepavali crakcer bursting monitoring?
    total dick heads occupied high offices in india in judiciary and executive branches

    ReplyDelete
  124. Why it took INS Arihant 9 from launching to complete 1st deterrence petrol?

    ReplyDelete
  125. @anmol Chaudhary

    Of course not one Navy out there with nuclear subs will tell exactly how do they communicate when submerged for months underwater and how will they recieve the command to launch a nuclear missile...

    But there is a section in this video (by Combat Approved series of RT) that gives a clear indication as to how the subs are communicating with land command centers while submerged. You will find it around 18 minutes into the video

    https://rtd.rt.com/series/combat-approved-series/k-433-svyatoy-georgiy-pobedonosets-nuclear-submarine/

    Kane

    ReplyDelete
  126. Prasunda,
    I was pondering on the issue of how a 10 Mts K-15 missile is loaded into the verticle missile launch tubes while the submarine is on patrol.

    As I was reading that the Arihant carries 12 K-15 missiles on patrol, does that mean the launch tubes are loaded already with the 12 missiles i.e meaning 12 launch tubes?
    Or is it like 3 tubes in one large tube as it says that in the case that K-4 will be loaded, only 4 K-4 would be carried by Arihant.

    Is that a correct assumption? I wonder if this information is in public domain.

    Kane

    ReplyDelete
  127. Very disappointed to see BJP Govt is not doing much to dispel the lies propagated by RG on Rafale and Corruption. There is no proper communication from BJP. Except Modi and Amit Shah, there is no leaders among BJP.
    The debacle in recent Karnataka and other by-election show BJP losing seats. Now it looks like BJP may lose MP and Rajasthan as well.
    It is not that I am a BJP person. I am worried about RG being the PM of India. I am extremely concerned about his ambitions and way of working. He doesn't have any particular view point or objective. He will be ruled by his coteries.
    It would be particularly bad for Hindus. Already in SM, there are rumors about the imminent lose of 2019 Lok Sabha election and people are already saying, "your play ground until May 2019, after that it would be ours." I am afraid of attacks on Hindus, especially the young girls/ladies, attack on religious places, etc.
    Is India heading for a civil-war or clash of political vengeance?
    Recently I met an ex-colleague, a Muslim. I asked him what are the merits and demerits of Modi government. He is a core supporter of Muslim League and INC.
    He said, the good things are development, not many terrorist attacks (none by Indian Muslims, which I didn't know) and a few things. About demerits, he said about currency-ban (but said he didn't get affected by that since he is a tax-paid employer) and silence from Govt about Rafale, Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, etc. When I asked him, whether he would vote for NM or RG, he said even if he rates NM above RG, he would vote for INC or Muslim candidates. These are the instructions he gets from mosques, and community leaders.

    What would be the situation in 2019 election? BJP cannot live just by the charisma of NM. The failure to address Rafale, Mallya and Nirav Modi issues are going to cost BJP.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear raj chill out. Muslims in I dia have such stupid and self centred leaders that the general Muslim Awaam votes on religious sentiments. They are different as individuals and as a community. You vote as per your understanding. Media mainstream and social media was talking of.akhileshseher in up elections. They were also talking of congress being ahead to Bjp marginally in karnataka. Now they have a coalition government. They are all lies. At the grass roots things work differently. When the central.campaigning starts in full flow, sentiments would fast change. Don't bother about media reports they are.manipulated.

      Regards

      Kunal

      Delete
  128. Prasun sir,
    Chinese j-10 uses al-31fn turbofan.then how can it has thrust vector control nozzle which is seen in chinese intl aviation & aerospce exhibition
    Regards

    ReplyDelete
  129. Wishing you and everyone here a happy Diwali.May this diwali shed some light on our brain dead netas...

    ReplyDelete
  130. Dear Mr.Kane,

    The eyewitness account that I can give you, is a revolver mechanism of the INS Arihant missile launch tube, observed fortunately a few years ago when the sub was being fitted out at Vizag. Multiple missiles are accommodated in one launch tube and mechanism rotates to allow for the launch missile to be in designated position from the vertical launch tube. My belief is 3 K-15 in one launch tube as have only seen the missiles in media. More than the range and number of missiles the INS Arihant carries, what made all Indian submariners proud is that an Indian submarine would be on perpetual patrol at sea. This is normally done by having 2 crews for one submarine. When one patrol returns, the fresh crew departs thus ensuring one submarine at sea. However, atleast 3 N-Subs with 2 Red/Blue crews each can only ensure that atleast 1 N-Sub from the squadron is always on patrol at sea. There are replenishments necessary after a patrol as well as some minor-major refits. The SSBNs are good. But an SSN could have been made faster and more in number. The Arihant itself took long to make with Russian experts sometimes having the cabling of an entire deck ripped out, to be installed again. In addition, I have heard of decks, equipment, etc. being ripped out and designs changed even after installation. I am sure that the situation should have improved and follow on submarines, atleast of the same class, would be built faster. SSBN limitations notwithstanding, an N-Sub always on long range patrol is a significant achievement for any navy. However, my belief is 6 SSNs and 6 SSBNs would ensure atleast 2 SSN and 2 SSBN on continuous patrol.

    Prasunda can certainly provide more accurate and correct updates on the current position and future plans of the IN, regarding SSNs and SSBNs, which would interest readers of this blog.

    ReplyDelete
  131. To ANMOL CHAUDHARY: It is all explained here:

    ttps://trishul-trident.blogspot.com/2012/03/elf-comms-facility-coming-up.html

    To KRITAVARMA: 1) INS Arihant SSBN-80 is equipped to carry only K-15 SLBMs. Also, deterrent patrol does not mean that the SSBN was fully weaponised. Only those warships & submarines that are deployed on ‘war patrols’ are fully weaponised & carry their full complement of weapons. 2) K-4 will be available only on the S-4 SSBN.

    To GOURAV: Because that’s how any nuclear-powered vessel is & therefore no stone can be left unturned for ensuring that the boat is 100% safe.

    To KANE: Why should SLBMs be loaded onto an SSBN while the SSBN is at sea? Has any navy in this world ever tried to do so? And as I had explained above, a deterrent patrol is different from a war patrol.

    To MOHAN: Here are the videos of the TVC in action:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrozN1P0X0c

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf7-a3BfMtU

    ReplyDelete
  132. Prasunda,

    Can the SSBN-80 be switched to the K-4 once the K-4 is proven from pontoons or are there other limitations ? You said that the S-2,S-3 and S-4 are identical.

    Kritavarma

    ReplyDelete
  133. Happy Deepavali to Prasun and all members.

    ReplyDelete
  134. Prasun Da, what engines are being used by the Chinese in J10B with characteristics of TVC ? Did they developed it in-house ?

    ReplyDelete
  135. Prasun sir,
    1.Is tvc being developed by the chinese in j-10?
    2.is pok air land campaign being delay or will not happen?
    Regards

    ReplyDelete
  136. Prasunda,
    at the risk of sounding stupid, I don't understand how 4 launch tubes in Arihant and yet it carries 12 K-15. Or does it have 12 verticle launch tubes?

    That was what I was trying to ask you, maybe the question was wrongly formed.

    Also I didn't under stand Why Arihant can carry only 4 no of K-4 but 12 nos of K-15 (as per the details in Wiki page of Arihant).

    Kane

    ReplyDelete
  137. Whilst Indians are infighting and too busy with trivial things they forget Indians actually are more clever than their Western counterparts - just Indians are too embroiled in religious and other non essential issues instead of uniting their brains together as a nation. I find a significant number of Australians extremely dumb in their own country and the sort of idea they come up with would be mistaken to be Indian government's. What's more they are not interested in listening to sound reason at least as far as driving and cars are concerned. Most Australians these days drive at 20-30km below posted speed on open roads and then speed up if someone is trying to overtake, deliberately slow down at traffic lights to get it red then floor the pedal to stay ahead, will abuse your life out if you try to overtake. Today a dumb bastard was fiddling with his backseat while driving, then started grooming his hair slowing down to 23km/hr - all the cars ahead went through the light when it was green, it took him that long the lights turned red. I was fuming as I was trying to get home and without abusing him I yelled out I have other things to do even if he didn't and his woman called me wacko and then he yells out go back to your own country cunt. On the face they tell you Indians and their own Aboriginal people are equals but once push comes to shove the real face of Australia shows. The worst thing is all states use the roads for revenue raising- they will pounce as soon as you speed up even though the road could be deserted and yet will do nothing if you are abused and encounter dangerous drivers. If you complain you get told nothing can be done. Honestly if they did not have white skin they would have to be rated as one of the dumbest nations in the developed world. Makes me so sad that the British race illegally occupied another country and by virtue of their Western links become "developed" whilst thousands of years of history in India is ignored, abused and people far too busy doing this to their fellow men and women over religion and remaining a refuse to develop country! There I had my vent finally!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Australian police says they can't do anything! Now look how we shame Indian police when they also raise their hands. What is wrong in religion? Is religion the cause of India's backwardness? Is indulgence in religion cause of backwardness? Or is lack of self esteem and self worth cause of backwardness. Just think over it. And try to attend any of the start-up events in india. You will be amazed with the ideas.

      Regards

      Kunal

      Delete
  138. @ Pierre Zorin,

    While I'm not all that sure how intelligent we Indians are, I've faced similar situations in Australia, US & London. I personally feel White women are in orders of magnitude more racist than White men, but that's just my observation.

    Re their suggestion that Indians and their own Aboriginal people are equals, do note that they Aboriginals as second class citizens & even allowed UK to test nuclear weapons in areas where Aboriginals lived. IOW, they are telling you Indians are citizen second class in their country.

    In my personal experience countries like Australia, Canada don't have too many jobs either. Indians generally do low end jobs in Australia - cab driver, security guards, cooks, cleaners etc.

    Anyway, ramblings aside, sorry about the bad experiences that you had.

    -Manoj G

    ReplyDelete
  139. To KRITAVARMA & KANE: Both of you ought to recall what I had explained 2 years ago & what was subsequently proven last year by anecdotal recollections by former naval & DRDO officials that are still available on YouTube. What I had explained or revealed then was that: 1) Between 1968 & 1998 the IN’s reqmt was only for SSNs. 2) From the late 1970s onwards the IN got interested in SSGNs. 3) The reqmt for SSBNs arose ONLY AFTER May 1998. So, as a result of all these, the IN since 1982 expressed interest in SSGN s that could also act as SSNs. In July of that year the Project 670 SKAT SSGN with R-70 Amethyst ASCMs was offered to India. The then Indian PM Indira Gandhi led a high-level delegation that included Rajiv Gandhi to the USSR & this was an unusually long trip lasting from September 20-26, 1982 during which the delegation visited Moscow, Estonia & Kiev. During this trip the framework agreement was inked for procuring an SSGN on lease, followed by licenced-manufacturing of a newer 6,000-tonne SSGN model, plus procurement of MiG-29B-12, whose existence was first acknowledged by Moscow during a crucial dinner banquet hosted in the Kremlin by Leonid Brezhnev. The USSR then also conducted coastal surveys & recommended that the navigation channel north of Bheemunipatnam in Andhra Pradesh be the site for basing the SSGNs. After the inter-governmental contract for the SSGNs was inked in 1988 as part of the KNPP contract, work began in earnest In India under the ATV Project & Sagarika Project. For the latter, as since acknowledged by Sudhir Mishra (CMD of BrahMos Aerospace) in a DD interview, he was based in Russia from 1993 onwards till the creation of BrahMos Aerospace in February 1998, since the SSGNs were to be armed with BrahMos ASCMs. But after May 1998 when there arose a reqmt for SLBMs, the only available option was to ensure that the VLS cells for BrahMos-1 could also launch SLBMs & hence the K-15 was designed so as to fit into the VLS cell without any complication. Fitment of the follow-on K-4 SLBM therefore became impossible on the S-2 & S-3 SSBNs, but was possible only on the S-4 & that too after significant modifications to the SSGN’s hull design (including a 10-metre plug-in section of the hull) since additional pumps/piping was reqd to ensure safe buoyancy levels after the heavier SLBMs were ejected from the VLS cells. That’s why the S-4 SSBN will take a longer time to build & that’s why (it pays to pay attention to the laws of physics) the S-2 & S-3 SSBNs will never be able to carry K-4 SLBMs. So eventually the S-2 & S-3 boats will be fully armed with BrahMos-1s AFTER the S-4 SSBN becomes available in the following decade. The 6,000km-range SLBMs with MIRVs, however will not be able to go on board the S-4 SSBN & hence the larger 13,700-tonne S-5, S-6 & S-7 SSBNs will be reqd for each hosting 12 such SLBMs. Nor is it true that the IN’s SSBNs will be operationally deployed anywhere in the Bay of Bengal, where there are no deep basins or trenches reqd for SSBNs to lurk within & hence even during the Cold War era not a single SSBN from any navy ever ventured into the Bay of Bengal. The only 2 areas which are the favourite lurking grounds for SSBNs worldwide are the Mariana & Chagos trenches in the Pacific & Indian Ocean areas.

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  140. To SUMANTA NAG & MOHAN: The engines are AL-31FNs. Beijing, on the other hand, has dramatically stepped up the development of new-generation turbofans and turboshafts since the turn of the century, with at least US$23.7 billion being invested on R & D activities between 2010 and 2015. The principal R & D players are the Shenyang Liming Aero-Engine Group for the Shenyang Aircraft Co; Xi’an Aero-Engine Group for the Xi’an Aircraft Co; and Chengdu Aero-Engine Group/Guizhou Liyang Aero-Engine Group for the Chengdu Aircraft Co. In addition, AVIC Commercial Aircraft Engines (ACAE), a company formed in August 2016 with an investment of around $7.5 billion and through the merger of 24 companies with about 10,000 employees, is spearheading the development of turbofans for commercial airliners and business jets now being developed by Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, Ltd (COMAC). Being developed are the 78kN-thrust CJ-500 turbofan and the 80kN-thrust WS-12C Tianshan turbofan for mid-sized business jets, the 340kN-thrust CJ-2000 turbofan for the Sino-Russian CR-929 widebody airliner, and the 196kN thrust CJ-1000AX Changjiang turbofan for the C-919 narrow-body airliner. This is a twin-spool, unmixed, high-bypass ratio direct-driven turbofan with clockwise co-rotating spool and five bearing-support struts for rotors. It includes a first-stage fan, three-stage booster section, 10-stage high-pressure compressor, single annular combustor section, two-stage high-pressure (HP) turbine and a six-stage low-pressure (LP) turbine.

    Cont'd below...

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  141. The Shenyang-Liping WS-20 high-bypass turbofan for the Xian Aircraft Industrial Corp Y-20 Kunpeng strategic airlifter has been developed to produce 14 metric tonnes of thrust, which will enable the Y-20 to achieve its maximum payload of 66 metric tonnes. Touted as China’s most powerful turbofan to be developed to date, the WS-20 has been flight-tested on an IL-76 testbed since 2014. The WS-10A is a low-bypass, two-shaft turbofan in the 130kN-thrust class. This engine had a TBO of only 30 hours, while the AL-31F turbofan powering the Su-27 had a 400-hour TBO. The WS-10A has suffered blade warp and destruction both during ground testing and also under high-RPM, rapid-turn conditions in flight that produce high centrifugal and g-forces. China’s third-generation single-crystal turbine blades can withstand temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Celsius) and have found application on the 140kN thrust WS-10B turbofanm which has a TTSL of 1,500 hours. However, China still is far away from mastering the production technologies for superalloys, thermal barrier coatings, powder metallurgy, and single-crystal blades using rare-earth metals. The 150kN-thrust WS-15 Emei, designed for the Chengdu J-20 stealthy MRCA, exploded during a ground running test in 2015 due to quality-control issues with its single-crystal turbine blades. Lastly, there is the 49kN-thrust Minshan turbofan that has been developed for the for Hongdu L-15 LIFT. Turboshaft engines already developed by China include the 1,300shp WZ-9 for attack helicopters, 2,400shp WZ-10 for medium-lift helicopters, and the 525shp WZ-161 for light medium twin helicopters.

    To UNKNOWN/KUNAL: There’s nothing wrong with any religion, period. But there’s everything wrong when religious philosophies worldwide mutate & degenerate into ritualistic religiosity that are then obviously exploited for power-grabbing gains. This is happening in India today across-the-board *since the past century) & perhaps because the 20th century did not witness the emergence of any India-origin/India-based religious philosopher.

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  142. Prasun Da,

    Since the 6,000km-range SLBMs with MIRVs, will only go on board the larger 13,700-tonne S-5, S-6 & S-7 SSBNs

    1. What purpose will the Arihant & the upcoming Arighat serve ? Deterrent against Pakistan only ?

    2. The larger SSBNs (S-5, S-6, S-7) won't enter service before 2030. Am I right ?

    Thanks,
    Sujoy

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  143. Hi Prasun,

    You mentioned 6000 km slbm. But some reports say the slbm will be 7500 - 8000 km range and based on agni5. What is the truth behind this speculation.

    Also, on Indian military modernization, especially, aviation, government seems out of bounds. Why can't they finalise a uniform military and civil aviation policy.

    On BMD, it is speculated that AD1/AD2 is now ready to testing. How true is it.

    Regards,
    Srinivasa Nanduri

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  144. Sir

    But don't you think the ideas like religion is already relic, and there is no requirement of such ideas where idea of nation states exist.

    The glue which is known as religion is already dried out.

    Afterall German had to rely on German nationalism to form German state,, not on protestants or Catholic.

    Same in the case of India , we had to rely on Indian nationalism to form India , not on Hinduism. US had to rely on American nationalism, French on French revolution.

    The first one actually French who did a coup against God , afterall in
    all Europe kings were bestowed by God.


    There are some states which are still based on religion, like Israel and Pakistan. But those are exceptions.

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  145. Hi Prasun,
    With the recent rumors of Indian Govt signing G2G transactional sale of AK103 going abuzz, has the plan for inducting MWICS or Ghaatak SLR finally burried.
    I am not a defence expert. However; from a laymans observance, shouldn't IA induct the locally manufactured product and allow the indian manufacturer continuously improve the product? There seems to be a severe negligience of emphasis on Continuos Improvement, which is critical to any process or product. The end user, be it IA or IAF wants a finished product but doesn't want to induct and assist in improvinng home grown product. Which removes the opportunity for the manufacturer to better themselves and tailor a product around requirements. No off the shelf opffering can completely fullfill operational requirements, but; if you give the time for home grown product to mature and work on its development the end user will end up with a significantly better result and a relief to govt's ex-chequer.
    Now, how govt wastes these savings, i.e. statues for birds to beat on them, is a separate discussion. I am surprised that Govt finds the funds to build statues for the past relics but hasn't got the money to build memorial for soldiers of 71 war or wars thereafter who paid the ultimate sacrifice for this country.
    Regards,
    BROWN DESI

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  146. To SUJOY MAJUMDAR: That’s why it is always MOST IMPORTANT to get into the final detail to find out what was said & what was omitted. Firstly, this is what was said:

    The submarine recently returned from its first deterrence patrol, completing the establishment of the country's survivable nuclear triad. Stressing the significance of the successful deployment of INS Arihant for the completion of India's nuclear triad, the Prime Minister congratulated the crew and all involved in the achievement which puts India among a handful of countries having the capability to design, construct and operate SSBNs. Noting that the indigenous development of the SSBN and its operationalisation attest to the country's technological prowess and the synergy and coordination among all concerned…
    http://pib.nic.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1551894

    Nowhere is it stated that this ‘deterrent patrol’ involved a fully armed SSBN carrying SLBMs. That’s why the term ‘deterrent patrol’ can also mean a sub-hunting role under which the SSBN-80 was either on the lookout for or was shadowing a nuclear-powered submarine of an adversary country. Secondly, the PM offered congratulations only WRT designing, building & operating SSBNs. No congratulations were offered for designing, building & operating either SLBMs or long-range HWT torpedoes. Therefore, to me this ‘event’ does not in any way confirm beyond any doubt that India’s nucl;ear triad has been operationalised. Furthermore, countries who send undeniable messages about the credibility of their survivable sea-based nuclear deterrent do so by publicizing these:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5fOaBnlT2E

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKvlGDy-P5U

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya6X36a1UIk

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

    Therefore, this announcement was just meant to convey a message to the PLAN that even if the INS Chakra SSGN is now under repairs, the IN still possesses the capacity to deploy nuclear-powered submarines for the purposes on monitoring the PLAN’s SSN-based undersea patrols within the IOR. Hence, the messaging was targetted towards China & not Pakistan at all. It also serves as a secondary gift to the IN in terms of giving the IN something big to talk about during the first week of next month when the Navy Day will be celebrated.

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  147. To SRINIVASA NANDURI RAMANUJAM: Range of any missile depends not only on missile aerodynamics & quantum of soplid-fuel, but also on the gravitational pull of the Earth, which heavily influences the SLBM’s flight trajectory. Hence, it is the optimum launch location that counts. Same principles also apply to satellite launch rockets, as you may well be aware.

    To ARPIT KANODIA: That may well be true, but it would apply to theocratic religions originating from the west of India, since such religions had always emphasized on the ‘social contract’ for the sake of maintaining civic stability. That role today has been taken over by the concept of nation-states. In India’s case, the term ‘Dharma’ was never an over-arching theocratic code for maintaining civic stability, but was instead a code of conduct with a philosophical underpinning that stood for universal brotherhood. But most of the folks nowadays in India have no time to tax their minds on such deep issues & in stead prefer to engage in competitive benchmarking of theocratic religions & in the process have reduced Vedanta/Dharma philosophies into regressive ritualistic religiosity, with each one trying to show how superior one’s religious theocracy is.

    Lastly, do watch this from 0.31.15 till 0.41.45:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NESur58yAw

    Later today the Pak Federal Cabinet will decide the future fate of FIVE (05) 'dangerous' spies that have been detained in Pakistan!

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  148. Prasunda,
    Thanks a lot.

    This clarifies the picture a whole lot better as there was serious fog of disinformation created (I imagine deliberately to keep the enemy guessing) in the entire field around the ATV project and its new babies Arihant and Arighat.

    Kane

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  149. Dear Sir
    Please Read the Link Below

    China is claiming AESA radar for JF 17

    Please give your Views


    https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/new-lkf601e-air-cooling-airborne-aesa-radar-for-all-jf-17-block-i-and-ii.585608/

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  150. hi prasun
    the J-10 b has a TVC system did the russians help them out ? the j-10 seems to showing of the same maneuvers that the su-30mki does in air shows?

    building the s-2 s3 s4 series subs are ok but where are the dedicated SSN sub hunters going to be built.?

    will the surface launched astra be better in performance than the vl-mica that was pushed on us . what are the general flight speed s of these SAMS.? i suppose they can be the basis of a cruise missile defense system? or will it be better to have a IIR base missile version of it .?

    was the news of flooding on the arihant a deliberate false news?


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  151. https://youtu.be/jmZr9wtez-I
    Security Scan :INS Arihanta
    Buddha

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  152. as you have given us the link about british financial empire last time,
    this is the opposite of this
    TRILLION POUNDS Tax payers money spent to save a single bank RBS

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjnHGZft5T0

    The Bank That Almost Broke Britain - Documentary (2018) [HD]

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  153. https://m.timesofindia.com/india/defence-ministry-enhances-financial-powers-of-armed-forces-to-rs-500-crore/articleshow/66546783.cms
    Nice development ...

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  154. To ARUN & RAD: Your questions have been answered in the following thread.

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