DRDO, PSU and Private Defence Sector News

[nitesh]

DRDO to Launch Over 70 Products in DefExpo-2012 | news.outlookindia.com

 

[Vishwarupa]

DRDO gears up for modern warfare

DRDO gears up for modern warfare - The Economic Times

NEW DELHI: From the first test of Agni-V in a fortnight, an operational submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) by 2013 and a missile shield for Delhi by 2014 to combat drones, quick-launch micro satellites and Star Wars-like laser weapons in the coming years, DRDO promises to deliver on all fronts.

Defence Research and Development Organization, with its 51 labs, of course, often makes tall claims only to consistently overshoot timelines and cost estimates. But DRDO chief Dr V K Saraswat on Saturday, at the ongoing " DefExpo-2012" here, was all gung-ho about the tactical and strategic weapon systems in the pipeline.

For starters, India's most-ambitious nuclear missile, Agni-V, which classifies as an ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) with a strike range of over 5,000-km, will be tested in mid-April, he said. India will break into the exclusive ICBM club that counts just US, Russia, China, France and UK as its members, once Agni-V is ready for induction by 2014-2015. The missile is crucial for India's nuclear deterrence posture since its strike envelope will be able to cover the whole of China.

Concurrently, said Saraswat, "The K-15 SLBM is now getting ready for the final phase of induction after its two recent tests were successful." The 750-km-range K-15 will arm India's homegrown nuclear submarines.

As for the two-tier ballistic missile defence system, designed to track and destroy incoming hostile missiles , Saraswat said its Phase-I would be completed by 2013 and Phase-II by 2016. DRDO is now also focusing on "space security'', with special emphasis on protecting the country's space assets from electronic, or physical destruction by "direct-ascent" missiles, in the backdrop of China developing advanced ASAT (anti-satellite) capabilities.

Work is also in progress to develop several directed energy weapons , including a 25-kilowatt laser system to destroy incoming missiles in their terminal stage and a 100-kilowatt solid-state laser system to take out missiles in their boost phase itself.

 

[rahulrds1]

DRDO to invest Rs 1,000 cr in new facilities


The Defence Research and Development Organisation will invest over Rs 1,000 crore to create 4-5 new facilities for testing and quality.

The investment and creation of these facilities will be over the next two-three years. These include a full-fledged missile launch control centre in Port Blair, a hypersonic wind tunnel testing facility near Hyderabad, a hi-tech electronic range in Andhra Pradesh and another centre for testing and calibration of materials.

These facilities will improve the country's capabilities in testing missiles, electronic components, materials, systems etc,, according to Mr Avinash Chander, Chief Controller (R&D), Missiles and strategic systems of the DRDO.

The need for these facilities has arisen due to the increase in missile projects and the demand for standardisation and quality in the components and systems that are needed for the range of weapons that the DRDO has to support the Indian Defence forces.

source : [http://www.thehindubusinessline.com] Business Line : Industry & Economy News : DRDO to invest Rs 1,000 cr in new facilities

 

[rahulrds1]

DRDO investing Rs 1,000 cr in testing, quality facilities (further reading and details from Business Line : Home Page News & Features)

Hypersonic Wind Tunnel

The hypersonic wind tunnel facility will come up in Shamirpet about 35 km from Hyderabad. It will be useful in simulating hypersonic flight speeds (up to Mach 10, a Mach number is the speed of sound) on the ground in the facility.

Image source : Wikipedia(wikimedia) [ http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Wind_tunnel_x-43.jpg]

"With the next generation of missiles to be developed by India going to be in the hypersonic area, the facility is very important, Mr Chander told Business Line here.

The DRDO already has a project on hypersonic missile development technology. At present, BrahMos, the Indo-Russian joint venture developed cruise missile is in this class with speeds of Mach 2.8. The DRDO facility will require around Rs 600 crore investment. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is also building one such facility.

Electronic Range

While it has been decided to locate the electronic range in Andhra Pradesh, the DRDO is looking out for suitable land. It will be a software-driven facility. In addition to simulation and evaluation of weapon systems, it would be possible to create complex battle field conditions in the range to test out various hardware and software.

The Defence Electronics Research Laboratory, Hyderabad along with a few other labs and national institutes has developed an electronic warfare platform. With future wars expected to be heavily dependent on software, complex electronics and communications, the national facility would be very critical, said defence scientists.

 

[smanekshaw]

DRDO is a colossal flop

DRDO is a complete and utter failure.
3 of the last 6 launches of Prithvi have been failures. Arjun is a colossal failure. Nag, Akash, LCA--All flops.
They can't even make a damn howitzer. They can't even copy a czech truck after 35 years. What a bunch of clowns.

I had worked with them for 2 years before quitting in disgust. Their uav program is a colossal flop. The scientists are incomptent and unmotivated. They promise the moon but can't deliver a mustard seed.

Here is a typical program that DRDO will agree to
They will promise a missile with the longest range, lightest weight, biggest warhead and shortest length all rolled in one. It's like asking for a wife who is tall&short, fat&thin, big nose and small nose. They know it is impossible to achieve especially with the pathetic 'talent' at their disposal.
The govt deliberately keeps DRDO like this so that they can keep making money importing everything including rifles, artillery shells etc.

Their core strengths are making Ashirvad food packets and portable toilets. They should stick to it.

 

[Ray]

DRDO is a lumbering elephant.

Trim it down and get rid of the flotsam and jetsam and it can revive!

 

[smanekshaw]

DRDO is a lumbering elephant.
More like a dead elephant.

Trim it down and get rid of the flotsam and jetsam and it can revive!

Fire them all!!
Instead of buying arms we should be buying companies. Don't buy Rafael, buy Dussault. Don't buy Howitzers, buy Bofors.
That's the way to proceed. Send about 50 handpicked good scientists to be trained in all the companies that are bought and then build from the knowledge of others.

Putting a 1000 monkeys(DRDO) on a typewriter won't result in shakespeare.

 

[nitesh]

The Hindu : Cities / Delhi : Innovations at their best at IIT-Delhi

Imagine a soldier in the thick of battle, what if he had a machine that could completely camouflage his dress and arms? "Thermocromic colorants for the development of camouflage articles are well known. What we have done is to develop a electrically conducive fabric, so that with the press of a button the temperature changes thereby automatically making the fabric change colour to match the background, this devise is called the Responsive Camouflage Textiles," said Muksit Ahamed Chowdhury, an M.Tech student who has built this along with faculty members Dr. B. S. Butola and Prof. Mangala Joshi.

 

[arya]

now days DRDO is doing good work but we have to put some pressure on other psu .

they must have to act .

 

[Shaitan]

DRDO unmanned car

 

[Rahul Singh]

Frustration of vested interests amidst applaud and jubilation.

The Missile that Cannot Fire

 

[nitesh]

IIT-D working with Navy to build Sonar classifiers

New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) are jointly developing new Active Sonar classifiers for Indian submarines which will help the navy differentiate between enemy submarines and friendly ones and the sophisticated equipment will undergo trials by the end of this year.

In the new Sonar systems, the echo returned by the targets are insonified by sonar pings which are analyzed. It is the analysis of the returned echo which forms the backbone of target classification. The echoes are directly related to the physical characteristics of the targets in question. The characteristic of the Echo envelope provides the means to accurately determine size, shape and composition information about targets from the features present in their scattering across sections.

 

[JAISWAL]

India all set to develop reusable rockets: DRDO
.
.
New Delhi: After the successful launch of Agni-V Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), India is all set to develop reusable rockets which will combine the technologies of both ballistic and cruise missiles.

As part of plans to develop reusable ballistic missiles, Defence Research and Development Organisation will test indigenously developed scram jet engine next year, DRDO Chief VK Saraswat said in an interview to Doordarshan.

"We have propulsion technology, we have re-entry technologies, we have the technology which can take a re-entry system which will deliver a payload and have yet another re-entry system which will bring the missile back when it re-enters the atmosphere on its return journey," he said.

New Delhi: After the successful launch of Agni-V Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), India is all set to develop reusable rockets which will combine the technologies of both ballistic and cruise missiles.

As part of plans to develop reusable ballistic missiles, Defence Research and Development Organisation will test indigenously developed scram jet engine next year, DRDO Chief VK Saraswat said in an interview to Doordarshan.

"We have propulsion technology, we have re-entry technologies, we have the technology which can take a re-entry system which will deliver a payload and have yet another re-entry system which will bring the missile back when it re-enters the atmosphere on its return journey," he said.

India is all set to develop reusable rockets which will combine the technologies of both ballistic and cruise missiles.
"We have demonstrated the performance of a scram jet engine operating at Mach six speed (six times the speed of sound)," he said.

On the range of Agni-V missile which was successfully test-fired recently off Odisha coast, the DRDO chief said with moderate modifications, "it can be extended to any range which is of our interest."

On technological capability available with the agency, he said, "DRDO has built the necessary technologies, production infrastructure and design capability for developing a booster or a sustainer... We have the capability to develop a re-entry nose cone which can withstand higher temperature and velocity."

Reacting to reports that India does not possess sufficient indigenous technology for missile guidance systems, Saraswat said Agni-V has used a completely indigenous and high precision missile guidance system with "0.001 degrees of per hour accuracy."

On criticism that DRDO sometimes does not live up to expectations, he said the agency was as good as its counterparts in advanced countries.

"Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), F-18 and Eurofighter took similar number of years and cost wise they were three times more than what we have put in our LCA," he said.

On development of Kaveri engine, Saraswat said it too has performed well and was, "flown an IL-76 aircraft in Russia, 55 hours of successful flight... We are going to upgrade it so that it can be used in India's LCA Mark-II and future systems."
.
.
India all set to develop reusable rockets: DRDO - India News - IBNLive

 

[nitesh]

DIAT to provide eyes and ears for countryÂ’s first armed war bird - Indian Express

As India prepares to join the elite club of countries possessing Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV), a DRDO laboratory in the city has been working on conceptualising and designing the eyes and ears of India's first armed war bird.

Scientists at DRDO's Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), a deemed university, have been working on designing radars and sensors of Aura, the first indigenous UCAV currently under development at the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Bangalore.

In an exclusive interview, DIAT Vice-Chancellor Prahlada said, "Scientists at DIAT are working on development of radars for the UCAV programme currently under way at ADA. The expected timeline for development of a prototype is about a year-and-a- half from now. The radar will provide C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) capability to the aircraft. Research is on on development of lightweight radars to reduce weight of the aircraft, save maximum energy and provide realtime feedback to the control centre," said Prahlada.

Aura, a stealth UAV capable of firing precision-guided munitions at targets is expected to add teeth to the country's existing fleet of UAVs. While the first flight is expected to take place in 2015, the targeted year of induction 2017. Prahlada added, "Work is currently on regarding selection of materials, components and technological aspects of the radars. We are currently working with our own budgets."

It may be noted that DIAT receives annual funds of Rs 50 crore and is expected to get an increased funding of Rs 100 crore per year over the next three years. "DRDO wants to develop DIAT into a centre for basic research, which can then be implemented in technology being developed at DRDO laboratories and industries. World over, the basic R&D is outsourced to universities and that is exactly what is being implemented here at DIAT. The laboratory has already entered into an agreement with Naval Postgraduate School and professors there regularly interact with researchers here and vice-versa. Plans to enter into a collaboration with Israel are under way," he said.

The laboratory has 200 MTech students and 50 PhD scholars. Future plans include introduction of a management wing to confer an MBA equivalent degree to personnel from the DRDO, Armed Forces and even civilian sectors. Prahlada also spelt out the need for starting an aeronautical programme at DIAT.

 

[JAISWAL]

Oman Tribune - the edge of knowledge
++
DRDO to test indigenous scram jet engine next year
.
.
NEW DELHI Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) will test the indigenously
developed scram jet engine next year, according
to DRDO chief VK Saraswat.
"We have demonstrated the performance of a
scram jet engine operating at Mach six speed (six
times the speed of sound)," he said in an
interview given to Doordarshan.
Theoretical projections place the top speed of a
scramjet between Mach 12 (15,000 kmph) and
Mach 24 (29,000 kmph), according to Wikipedia.
The fastest air-breathing aircraft is a SCRAM jet
design, the NASA X-43A, which reached Mach
9.8. For comparison, the second fastest air-
breathing aircraft, the manned SR-71 Blackbird,
has a cruising speed of Mach 3.2.
After the successful launch of Agni-5 Inter-
Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), India is all set to
develop reusable rockets which will combine the
technologies of both ballistic and cruise missiles.
On the range of Agni-5 missile, which was
successfully test-fired recently off Odisha coast,
he said with moderate modifications, "it can be
extended to any range which is of our interest."
On the technological capability available with the
agency, he said: "DRDO has built the necessary
technologies, production infrastructure and
design capability for developing a booster or a
sustainer.
"We have the capability to develop a re-entry
nose cone which can withstand higher
temperature and velocity."
Reacting to reports that India does not possess
sufficient indigenous technology for missile
guidance systems, Saraswat said Agni-5 has
used a completely indigenous and high precision
missile guidance system with "0.001 degrees of
per hour accuracy."
On criticism that DRDO sometimes does not live
up to expectations, he said the agency was as
good as its counterparts in advanced countries.
"The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), F-18 and
Eurofighter took similar number of years and cost
wise they were three times more than what we
have put in our LCA," he said.
On the development of the Kaveri engine,
Saraswat said it has performed well and was,
"flown on an IL-76 aircraft in Russia for 55 hours
of successful flight. We are going to upgrade it so
that it can be used in India's LCA Mark-II and
future systems."

 

[nitesh]

a very rare gesture of giving babus and politicians there due, the numbers are wrong here it seems for order

APJ Abdul Kalam credits Indira Gandhi for Agni-V missile success story : North News - India Today

Kalam, who went on to become the President, revealed this to top bureaucrats on Civil Services Day on April 21 - two days after the successful launch of the nuclear-capable Agni-V missile that has a range of 5,000 km and can reach Beijing and Shanghai at the push of a button. He said the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has fulfiled Indira Gandhi's dream of a long-range missile.

He then recalled another incident that would become the launching pad of Agni-V and other missiles in the nation's arsenal. He said then Orissa chief minister Biju Patnaik gave the Wheeler Island off the state's coast in the Arabian Sea to the DRDO in 1993, but with a rider. The Orissa strongman told him that he should promise a missile that would reach China.

"Today, the production agency for Prithvi, Agni, Akash and Brahmos missiles has a total order valued at over Rs.93 lakh crore. Such is the power of vision of our political and bureaucratic leadership," he added.

 

[nitesh]

cross posting:

"India has all the building blocks for an anti-satellite capability" : India News - India Today

Days after the milestone first test of India's strategic ballistic missile Agni-V, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat sat down for a detailed interview with Senior Editor Sandeep Unnithan. The DRDO chief explains why the missile is a technological breakthrough and how it gives India the capability to target satellites in space.

Why is the Agni-V different from the previous Agni missiles?


VKS: Agni-V is a completely new missile system. It is a 21st-century missile because of the technologies used and a game changer because of its strategic deterrence value. The missile went from drawing board to launch pad in just over three years. The government sanctioned the Agni-V project in December 2008. We began design work on it in April 2009. The missile was on the launch pad on March 14, 2012 and launched five days later.

What are the new technologies that the DRDO has developed for this missile?

VKS: Agni-V has taken us to a new level of technological maturity. This missile is entirely different from the Agni 3 and 4. The second and third stage booster of the missile are made entirely of composites. The third stage is a new booster that we developed. It is the lowest end of the tapered cone that ends with the warhead. That itself, in terms of composites, is a breakthrough. The navigation system is highly accurate. Don't forget that this missile travels at over Mach 20 in its terminal stage. Both the ring laser gyros (a device that measures the orientation of the missile and helps in inertial navigation) and the accelerometer (which measures the missile's rate of acceleration) are indigenously developed as part of the indigenous ballistic missile defence (BMD) programme. We also proved redundancies of our new onboard navigation system. A backup navigation system that was less accurate but more robust was put in place. This navigation system was supported by a unique fault tolerance software that we installed in the missile. The re-entry nose cone that contains the warhead had to be completely redesigned with new material and resins. This is because when the missile re-enters the atmosphere, it is hurtling towards the ground at over 20 times the speed of sound. Friction on the nose cone causes temperatures in excess of 2000 degrees centigrade. This system had to be proved on the ground and that was a major technological development for us.

We are also working on a canister-launched system for the Agni-V. We have designed a canister that can eject the 50-tonne missile 50 metres in the air and fire the first stage. The canister will allow us to store the missile for ten years with no maintenance. The missile will be carried on railcars and on a 12x12 road-mobile truck. Carrying the missile on a road-mobile launcher is better because it is more flexible, you just need some level ground to launch it. The first launch of the A5 was from a railcar, we hope it will subsequently be fired from road-mobile launchers.

Costs and production of the Agni-V? There is a concern that you will not be able to produce more than one or two missiles a year.

VKS: The A5 costs approximately Rs.50 crore per missile. We will need two more tests before starting serial production after two years. The DRDO is working with production agencies for this. All I can tell you is that we will produce more than just 1 or 2 missiles a year.

What were the challenges posed in tracking such a long-range missile?

VKS: The Agni-V required a different range deployment. The range of over 5,000 km meant the missile would land north of Antartica. That meant the ships tracking the launch would have to sail nearly a fortnight before the launch window. We had a slight difficulty in that all our tracking systems are ship and shore-based. We don't have airborne sensors. We needed three ships to track the launch: two near the splashdown and one to track the mid-course correction. The ships are due to return on April 30 or, 11 days after the missile test. We have a highly integrated tracking range comprising 15 sensors, seven radars and seven telemetry systems. They did an admirable job of tracking the missile flight in real time.

Does DRDO have the capability of destroying satellites in space?

VKS: Today, India has all the building blocks for an anti-satellite system in place.

We don't want to weaponise space but the building blocks should be in place. Because you may come to a time when you may need it. Today, I can say that all the building blocks (for an ASAT weapon) are in place. A little fine tuning may be required but we will do that electronically. We will not do a physical test (actual destruction of a satellite) because of the risk of space debris affecting other satellites.


How did you develop these ASAT capabilities?

VKS: There are a few essential parameters in intercepting satellites. You should have the ability to track an orbiting satellite in space, launch a missile towards it and finally have a kill vehicle that actually homes in to physically destroy it.

We have a Long Range Tracking Radar (LRTR) used in the Ballistic Missile Defence Programme that has a range of over 600 km. We will increase the range to 1,400 km allowing us to track satellites in orbit.

It is far more difficult to intercept ballistic missiles than it is to intercept satellites. Satellites follow a predictive path. Once you track a satellite, you will know its path.

In the BMD project, we track and intercept a 0.1 square meter target over 1,000 km away. A satellite is ten times larger-over 1 meter wide.

We have the communication systems in place, again developed for the BMD project. The first-stage booster developed for the Agni-V can inject a warhead 600 km into space. We also have a kill vehicle developed for the BMD project. The kill vehicle actually homes in onto an incoming missile. We have the Infra-Red and Radar frequency seekers on the kill vehicle that accurately guide it to its target.

At what phase of development is the BMD programme?


VKS: Phase-1 of the BMD programme will be completed by 2013. In this, we will intercept Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles with a range of 2,000 km. The second phase will be completed by 2016. In this, we will be able to intercept intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) with ranges over 5,000 km. Phase-1 has two missile interceptors called the PAD and the AAD. This year, we will be testing a new interceptor missile called the PDV. This missile will replace the PAD. Two missiles, the AD1 and the AD2 will be tested by the end of 2013 under Phase 2 of the BMD.

What about cruise missile defence?

VKS: That is a whole new ballgame because it calls for an entirely new set of missiles and radars. My team is presently studying CMD. We are looking at it as a possible next programme after finishing the BMD programme.

The DRDO has made breakthroughs in the K-series missiles for the nuclear submarine project. Why didn't you use a land-based variant of this missile?

VKS: The technologies involved in both missiles are different. An underwater missile has to deal with the pressure of a10 metre column of water above it. Hence the configuration of the missile is different. It is heavier, the structure is different. Unlike the Agni missile, this missile carries a lot of dead weight.


When will the indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant be commissioned?

The submarine will test all its systems this year.

Field trials of the Arjun Mark 2 ?

VKS: We have the first test of the Arjun Mark 2 in June, this year. We have given the army 80 per cent of the changes in Mark 2. There are 126 more Arjuns being built, in addition to the 126 delivered to the army. We are confident of getting another order of 350 Arjun mark 2 tanks.

What stage is the Future Main Battle Tank (FMBT) project at?

VKS: We are holding discussions with the army for this. We will finalise the specifications of the tank in six to eight months. We are looking at industrial partners for this. We want new technologies for weapons, mobility and signatures for the FMBT. We have to decide on the type of armour to use for it, whether active or passive. The FMBT will be a tank complimentary to the Arjun. It will not replace it. Each tank has its own theatre. The T-90 MBT (used by the Indian army) has its theatre, the Arjun has its own theatre.

When will the Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LR-SAM) be tested ?

VKS: The first successful trial of the LR-SAM was in 2010. After this we decided on a complete change of configuration. We will have another test of the modified missile in Israel in June 2012. The missile system has already been integrated into the first P15A warship (the INS Kolkata, being built at Mazagon Docks Ltd, Mumbai).

 

[agentperry]

in case of bmd, India phased out PAD missiles with PDV even before the induction of the PAD itself, phasing out even before induction, great isnt it!

 

[nitesh]

cross post:

‘We have not understated the range of Agni V. We as a nation don’t have to hide anything with respect to our capabilities’ - Indian Express

 

[nitesh]

good read:

My experiences at DRDO