Indian Air Force: IAF Guns for 42 operational fighter squadrons by 2022

[1.44]

It's amazing the passing of people such as these Capt.Gurdial Singh Paul,legends such as Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw etc.It feels like the end of an era.
Rest in Peace Sir

 

[Yusuf]

Rest in Peace.

 

[LETHALFORCE]

India-Specific Assorted News Briefs From Paris Air Show 2009

TRISHUL: India-Specific Assorted News Briefs From Paris Air Show 2009

India-Specific Assorted News Briefs From Paris Air Show 2009


Indian company Samtel (hall 4, E16) has launched a full-colour cathode ray tube display at Le Bourget. The CRT is designed for Airbus aircraft and is integrated into a 6 x 6in (150 x 150mm) Thales display unit. Samtel has signed a contract with Thales to develop the CRT through its AS9100-certificated production facilities in India. The unit has been specified under strict supervision by Thales to match stringent air transport specifications and quality requirements. (Why is this being done in India when the world over everyone else is going for AMLCDs is anyone's guess!--Prasun)

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed a contract to supply a HAROP Loitering Munition (LM) system to a foreign customer, believed to be India. The contract is estimated to be worth over $100 million. Itzhak Nissan, President and CEO of IAI said: "HAROP is an extremely impressive system, and everyone at IAI is proud of this accomplishment. This is a state-of-the-art loitering munition system, which features accurate detection capabilities and minimizes collateral damage to the surrounding area." Separately, the German Armed Forces and the German Ministry of Defense (MOD) have approved an operational requirement utilizing IAI's HAROP system. The project will be implemented in cooperation with Rheinmetall Defense as the prime contractor. The German MOD has already invested funds for the adaptation of HAROP to its specific requirements. Part of the adaptation was successfully performed by a joint IAI/Rheinmetall Defense team, and a follow on contract is planned for this year. This activity is a reflection of the successful cooperation between IAI and Rheinmetall Defense, which has also included projects involving Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). HAROP is a long endurance LM which can be launched from a variety of platforms, and is equipped with tactical UAV capabilities: high performance FLIR/ color CCD EO seeker with 3600 hemispherical coverage. It searches, detects, attacks and hits high value re-locateable, time critical, land or sea-based, moving targets with pinpoint accuracy at long ranges. A HAROP unit is comprised of LM launchers and a Mission Control Shelter (MCS) that enables missile control with a Man in the Loop operation, engagement or abort attack capability in real time, avoiding collateral damage. The HAROP can be applied to a variety of battle scenarios, including low and high intensity conflicts, urban warfare and counter terror operations. HAROP LMs are launched from transportable launchers and navigate towards the target area, where they loiter and search for targets. Once a target, static or moving, is detected, it is attacked and destroyed by the HAROP LM. The attack can be performed from any direction and at any attack angle, from flat to vertical which is highly essential in urban areas. The operator monitors the attack until the target is hit. Another HAROP LM can observe and send real time video of Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) to the operator. The operator can command to abort the attack in order to avoid collateral damage, returning the LM to loitering mode, and restart the attack later.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has been awarded multiple orders of 34 units by India of its advanced Multi-Mission Radar (MMR) type EL/M 2084. ELTA Systems Ltd., a group and wholly owned subsidiary of IAI, is the prime contractor and developer of the EL/M 2084. ELTA's MMR addresses an emerging requirement to include all land-based radar functions in one operational unit. MMR combines a Weapon Locator Radar and an Air Defense Radar. The radar detects Surface-to-Surface medium- and short-range missiles, rockets and mortars, calculates the anticipated impact and launching points, and provides target data to air defense weapons systems. MMR is based on Active Electronically Steering Array (AESA) architecture and provides outstanding performance that was combat proven in the recent fighting in the Gaza Strip. The radar is mobile and scalable in order to meet different performance requirements. Scaling is performed by means of an antenna of varying physical size and the amount of transmit-receive (TR) module content. The current orders include 3 different versions of the radar.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has recently signed a contract worth tens of millions of dollars to provide India with GRIFFIN 3, the Next Generation Laser Guided Bomb (NGLGB) Kit. The GRIFFIN 3 Kit is an advanced guidance kit which is attached to a general purpose or penetration aerial bomb. Itzhak Nissan, President and CEO of IAI, said: "The GRIFFIN 3 is a product which stands out in its exceptional accuracy and ability to ensure maximum penetration of a general or penetration aerial bomb". The GRIFFIN System provides much better hit accuracy than previous generation kits, even in high wind conditions or when aiming for a moving target. Another important feature of the GRIFFIN 3 is its trajectory shaping capability, which, when used with a penetration warhead, is integral to achieving maximum penetration. The GRIFFIN 3 has an optional GPS guidance feature to enable dual guidance capability, and is one of a wide range of IAI's laser guided munitions. Others include LAHAT, a lightweight missile for helicopters, armored vehicles, and tanks; Nimrod, a longer range laser guided missile; and Fire Ball, a laser guided rocket kit.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has recently signed a contract with India to develop and supply the land-based Barak 8 Air and Missile Defense (AMD) System. The Barak 8 AMD, an advanced all-weather, day/night system capable of multiple simultaneous engagements in complex scenarios, provides a 360-degree defense against a wide variety of airborne platforms and munitions from short and medium ranges. The land-based system is based on the Naval Barak 8 AMD system that has been sold to the Israeli Navy and to foreign customers. Itzhak Nissan, IAI's President and CEO said: "We are very proud of the Barak 8 AMD system. IAI employed its technological and experiential knowledge-based on both the Naval Barak 8 AMD system, and on its four decades of work in the aerospace field to reach this significant accomplishment. The system is composed of a combination of IAI-manufactured products, creating a powerful system which can be a cornerstone to any defense plan." The Barak 8 AMD system includes a unique battle management, command, control, communication and intelligence center (BMC4I); an interceptor; and a Land-Based Multi-Function Surveillance, Track & Guidance Radar (LB-MF-STAR). The BMC4I, produced by the MBT Division of IAI's Missiles, Systems, and Space Group, offers both stand alone operation for a single fire unit, and joint task force coordination (JTC). The JTC mode allows for the synergy of all available resources, giving the user maximum operational flexibility. The Barak 8 interceptor, developed in collaboration with RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., can intercept at short and medium ranges. It is dual pulsed and has an advanced seeker, providing all-weather, day/night engagements in complex saturation scenarios. The interceptor is vertically launched from a mobile ground launcher.

The 196kg EL/M 20600 RTP recently ordered for the IAF’s upgraded Jaguar IS is a unique Radar Targeting Pod integrating High Performance Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging, Ground Moving Target Indication (GMTI) and Precision Target Tracking.The RTP is a complete All-Weather, Autonomous Real Time System. It provides high quality radar images of ground targets and terrain from Stand-Off ranges, even through clouds, rain, fog, battlefield smoke and man-made camouflage. The RTP incorporates ELTA’s multi-year vast experience in the development and manufacturing of a varietyof radars including Airborne Fire Control, SAR, GMTI and Multi-Mission Suites. The RTP enables:
Long Range, Wide Area Surveillance & Reconnaissance
Detection, Classification, Precision Tracking and Targeting of Ground Targets
Optimized Time Sensitive Targets (TST) engagement
Network Centric Warfare (NCW) support: Target data sharing and “Kill Sequence” execution
Short Sensor-to-Shooter loop
Accurate Geo-location data for targets
Support of a wide variety of Air-to-Ground weapons
Installation on board Trainers, Helicopters andvarious A/C
The RTP supports fighter Air-To-Surface missions:
Real-Time Tactical/Armed Reconnaissance
Precision Strike of Stationary & Moving Ground Targets
Bomb Damage Assessment (BDA)

The EL/K-1891 on board the IAF’s PHALCON AEW & C platform is a full duplex X or Ku Band microwave Satellite Communication (SATCOM) network ideally suited for uninterrupted wideband over-the-horizon (OTH) communication. Each subscriber port of the SATCOM network can be either static or mobile (ground-based mobile, airborne or shipborne) and must be within the satellite's footprint area with its antenna tracking the satellite. Communications between any two subscribers is bidirectional and routed via standard links of a commercial geostationary satellite. The digital data rate on the carrier link can be as high as 128 kbps and can include voice, data and compressed JPEG video. The SATCOM network is employed for military, paramilitary and commercial applications.

 

[Vladimir79]

We recieved a bunch of orders for Superjet 100 at Le Bourget. Many people went home empty handed.

 

[youngindian]

India Dumps Its MiG-21s

July 5, 2009:

India has decided to retire 60 percent of its 250 MiG-21 fighters over the next two years. The only ones remaining will be the upgraded MiG-21bis models. The reason is simple, the aircraft are too expensive to maintain and too dangerous to fly. Last month, India lost another MiG-21 to an accident. In the last few years, India believed it had cleared up many of the reliability problems with the MiG-21. Actually, they have, but the MiG-21 remains a dangerous aircraft to operate. India has been using MiG-21s since the early 1960s.

India lost 250 MiG-21s to accidents between 1991 and 2003. When consulted, Russia pointed out that India had insisted on manufacturing many of the spare parts needed to keep MiG-21s operational, and many of these parts were not manufactured to Russian specifications. While Russia does not have a reputation for making the highest quality equipment, their standards are often higher than India's. It's no secret that much of the military equipment made in India is pretty shabby by world standards.

Most of the 110 pilots lost in these MiG-21 accidents were new pilots, which pointed out another problem. India has long put off buying jet trainers. New pilots go straight from propeller driven trainer aircraft, to high performance jets like the MiG-21. This is made worse by the fact that the MiG-21 has always been a tricky aircraft to fly. That, in addition to it being an aircraft dependent on one, low quality, engine, makes it more understandable why so many MiGs were lost.

The MiG-21 problems were overcome by 2006, a year in which no MiG-21s were lost. India improved maintenance, spare parts quality and pilot training to the point that the aircraft was no longer considered the most dangerous fighter to fly. But they were more expensive to keep in safe flying condition.

It’s not just the older warplanes that are causing headaches. Last April, one of India's sixty Su-30 fighters crashed. But it's mostly the older birds that provide the most problems, and MiGs in general are the most problem prone. Recently, an Indian MiG-27 was lost as well (and all there MiG-23s were recently retired because of reliability problems). All this is particularly upsetting to Indians, who had been assured by the Russians that the Su-30 was a modern (built to Western standards of reliability) aircraft. Such assurances were necessary because of earlier Indian experience with the MiG-21.

But India was not the only one, besides the Russians, who had problems with Russian made warplanes. During the Cold War, the U.S. had several dozen Russian aircraft they used for training their fighter pilots. Despite energetic efforts to keep these aircraft flying, their accident rate was 100 per 100,000 flying hours.

That's very high by U.S. standards. The new the F-22 has an accident rate is about 6 per 100,000 hours, mainly because it's new. F-15s and F-16s have an accident rate of 3-4 per 100,000 flight hours. India, using mostly Russian aircraft, has an accident rate of 6-7 per 100,000 hours flown (compared to 4-5 for all NATO air forces.) The Indian rate had been over ten for many years, and it is still that high, and often higher, with other nations (including Russia and China), that use Russian aircraft designs.

The B-52 has the lowest accident rate of (less than 1.5 per 100,000 flying hours) of all American heavy bombers. The B-1s rate is 3.48. Compared to the supersonic B-1 and high-tech B-2, the B-52 is a flying truck. Thus the B-52, despite its age, was the cheapest, safest and most reliable way to deliver smart bombs.

New aircraft always have higher accident rates, which is how many hidden (from the design engineers and test pilots) flaws and technical problems. The F-22 is expected to eventually have an accident rate of 2-3 per 100,000 flight hours. This part of a trend.

Combat aircraft have, for decades, been getting more reliable, even as they became more complex. For example, in the early 1950s, the U.S. F-89 fighter had 383 accidents per 100,000 flying hours. A decade later, the rate was in the 20s for a new generation of aircraft. At the time, the F-4, which served into the 1990s, had a rate of under 5 per 100,000 hours. Combat aircraft have gotten more reliable and easier to maintain, despite growing complexity, for the same reason automobiles have. Better engineering, and more sensors built into equipment, makes it easier for the user and maintenance personnel to detect potential problems. Aircraft used the computerized maintenance systems, currently common on new aircraft, long before automobiles got them. Unless you have a much older car that still runs, or a real good memory, you don't notice the enormous increase in automobile reliability. But older pilots remember, because such changes are a matter of life and death if you make your living driving an aircraft. And commanders know that safer aircraft give them more aircraft to use in combat, and more aircraft that can survive combat damage and keep fighting.

Unmanned aircraft have a much higher rate, which is largely the result of not having a pilot on board. The RQ-1 Predator has an accident rate of about 30 per 100,000 hours. Older model UAVs had much higher rates (up to 363 for the RQ-2A).


Attrition: India Dumps Its MiG-21s

 

[venom]

IAF to join scientific community in solar eclipse tests

New Delhi (PTI): The Indian Air Force will join the scientific community in carrying out tests and filming the solar eclipse on July 22 this year by flying a fighter jet and a transport aircraft that day.

A Mirage-2000 fighter jet and an AN-32 medium lift transport aircraft would be flown by IAF pilots to assist scientists from Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology, which will carry out the tests, an IAF spokesperson said today.

"While the Mirage would fly out from Gwalior, the AN-32 will fly from either Bagdogra in West Bengal or from Patna.

The aircraft will fly to Agra, when the experiments and the filming of the total solar eclipse will be carried out," he said.

Scientists from Noida-based Vigyan Prasar, Udaipur-based Solar Observatory and Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics would participate in the experiments and the filming.

"Four scientists from these institutions and six-member crew from Doordarshan will fly on board the AN-32 and they would do the experiments and filming by keeping the rear ramp of the aircraft open. Since they will be flying at very high altitudes, oxygen masks would be used during the flight," the spokesperson said.

The IAF teams, scientists and the DD crew members would reach the air base from where the AN-32 would fly out a day or two earlier and would be taken out on a trial flying on July 21, the spokesperson said.

Under an agreement with Vigyan Prasar, the Air Force School at Gwalior IAF base would be assisted in establishing a Astronomy club, apart from providing them astronomy kits and solar viewers by the scientific institution.

The total solar eclipse this year will be the last for this generation, as the next would happen 80 years later.

The eclipse will be visible in parts of India from Gulf of Cambay in Gujarat in the west to Arunachal Pradesh in the east. The eclipse corridor will pass close to Gwalior air base.

The Hindu News Update Service

 

[venom]

IAF mountaineers recover black box of crashed AN-32 plane

A team of the Indian Air Force Adventure Cell has recovered the black box of the AN-32 aircraft that crashed on June 9.

The aircraft was heading towards the Indian Army's advance base camp near Menchuka in Arunachal Pradesh when it crashed in the Tato Hills, killing 13 defence personnel.

The Indian Air Force used its mountaineering team comprising of Squadron Leader Namit Rawat, Warrant Officer Nizamuddin, Junior warrant officer Narendr Kumar and N R Choudhary to recover the cockpit voice recorder and the flight date box.

"It just proves that adventure is not only fun but can also be used in other productive fields, especially when life of IAF personnel and assets are involved that will help to find facts and help to reduce future accidents," Squadron Leader Rawat said.

Rawat said the team reached the base camp, which was nearly 500meters above the debris site at a height of 7,900 feet, on June 16 and immediately started searching for the black box. The team was joined by two technical officers, a court of inquiry pilot member and an instrument fitter technician of the IAF.

The team located the tail section of the aircraft amongst the scattered debris hanging precariously over few trees and inverted in an awkward 75-degree angle. The CVR and FDR are normally housed in the tail section of the aircraft. These were retrieved successfully by the team after an hour-and-half operation, Rawat said.

According to a communiqui issued by the IAF, the team also looked for more panels that could help the accident investigation team.

The recorders have since been sent to Jorhat in Arunachal Pradesh for further information (ANI)

 

[Sridhar]

A team of the Indian Air Force Adventure Cell has recovered the black box of the AN-32 aircraft that crashed on June 9.

The aircraft was heading towards the Indian Army's advance base camp near Menchuka in Arunachal Pradesh when it crashed in the Tato Hills, killing 13 defence personnel.

The Indian Air Force used its mountaineering team comprising of Squadron Leader Namit Rawat, Warrant Officer Nizamuddin, Junior warrant officer Narendr Kumar and N R Choudhary to recover the cockpit voice recorder and the flight date box.

"It just proves that adventure is not only fun but can also be used in other productive fields, especially when life of IAF personnel and assets are involved that will help to find facts and help to reduce future accidents," Squadron Leader Rawat said.

Rawat said the team reached the base camp, which was nearly 500meters above the debris site at a height of 7,900 feet, on June 16 and immediately started searching for the black box. The team was joined by two technical officers, a court of inquiry pilot member and an instrument fitter technician of the IAF.

The team located the tail section of the aircraft amongst the scattered debris hanging precariously over few trees and inverted in an awkward 75-degree angle. The CVR and FDR are normally housed in the tail section of the aircraft. These were retrieved successfully by the team after an hour-and-half operation, Rawat said.

According to a communiqui issued by the IAF, the team also looked for more panels that could help the accident investigation team.

The recorders have since been sent to Jorhat in Arunachal Pradesh for further information (ANI)

No links , Are you a kid ? Should i repeat every time.

 

[vijaytripoli]

Battle Royale
An upgraded Jaguar in the horizon
By Prasun K. Sengupta



This promises to be the mother of all combat aircraft-specific upgrades: upto 120 existing SEPECAT/HAL-built Jaguar IS interdictor/strike aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will be re-engined as well as re-equipped with a fourth-generation combined cockpit/mission avionics suite along with a related defensive aids suite, all of which will result in the twin-engined Jaguar IS being reborn as a formidable all-weather platform with enhanced technical service life, enhanced weapons carriage capability (especially precision-guided munitions, or PGM), and also a platform capable of undertaking dedicated suppression of enemy air defence (SEADF) missions.

Last month, the IAF set up a high-level systems evaluation committee whose first task will be to identify a suitable turbofan for the re-engining component of the massive upgrade-cum-service life extension programme. The engine evaluation-cum-selection process will be overseen by K.V. L. Rao, the former Project Director (propulsion systems) of the Defence Research & Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which is leading the R&D efforts of the Tejas Mk1 and projected Mk2 light combat aircraft (LCA). Bidding for supplying up to 280 turbofans (including 40 spare engines) are UK-based Rolls-Royce and US-based Honeywell, with the competitive evaluation process being expected to reach its conclusion by next month. Honeywell is offering its F125IN, a 43.8kN thrust (with afterburning) turbofan, while Rolls-Royce, whose Adour Mk811 (rated at 32.5kN thrust with afterburning) presently powers the Jaguars, has proposed its Adour Mk821 turbofan. Honeywell, which first showcased the F125IN at the Aero India 2009 expo in Bangalore last February, claims that its proposed solution boasts ‘improved pilot safety, lower maintenance costs and outstanding reliability’. Honeywell has also since stated that the F125IN’s modular construction and integral dual full-authority digital engine control system (FADEC) would save the IAF one and half billion dollars in life-cycle costs as compared to its competitor. Rolls-Royce, on the other hand, claims that its Mk821, which is built on the proven technology of the preceeding Adour engines, ‘offers a low-risk route to the twin benefits of greater thrust and lower life-cycle costs’.


According to the aero-engine manufacturer, choosing the Mk821 will also offer a high degree of commonality with the Adour Mk871 turbofan that currently powers the BAE Systems/HAL Hawk Mk132 lead-in fighter trainers now in delivery to the IAF. Rolls-Royce recently demonstrated the successful installation and ground-testing of an Adour Mk821 engine in an ex-Royal Air Force Jaguar at Cosford, which was witnessed by IAF officials. During these tests the Adour Mk821 ran at full reheat and reportedly passed all performance targets set down by the IAF. The tests were conducted by Rolls-Royce’s Chief Test Pilot Phill O’Dell, who said: “As a former RAF Jaguar pilot myself I was impressed with the performance and functionality that the Mk821 delivered. This had no adverse affect on the aircraft, highlighting the ease of the integration process and the compatibility of the engine with the airframe. This is no real surprise as they were literally made for each other.” Martin Fausset, managing director of Rolls-Royce Defence Aerospace, said: “As the only engine certified for the Jaguar we were always confident that the Adour Mk821 could be successfully installed without any aircraft modification, even with the new technologies and enhanced performance, but this exercise has allowed us to demonstrate this high level of compatibility to the IAF. We believe that we have proved that the Adour Mk821 meets all IAF performance requirements at the lowest risk.” The Mk821, according to Rolls-Royce, includes several technology inserts from other civil and military programmes and has been specifically designed for the IAF’s operational requirements, offering the twin benefits of greater thrust and lower life-cycle costs.
FORCE - A Complete News Magazine on National Security - Defence Magazine

 

[I-G]

22 MiG's crashed, three casualties in last three years: Antony

22 MiG's crashed, three casualties in last three years: Antony
8 Jul 2009, 1743 hrs IST, PTI


NEW DELHI: Defence minister A K Antony on Wednesday said that 22 MiG series fighter aircraft of Indian Air Force (IAF) have crashed, causing three
casualties in the last three years.

"A total of 22 MiG aircraft of the IAF have crashed from April 1, 2006 till date and there were three causalities in these crashes," Antony said while replying to a query in Rajya Sabha.

Replying to another query on accidents in the last one year, he said, "There have been 10 crashes involving fighter aircraft in last one year from June 29, 2008 to June 28 this year."

The defence minister said that each and every accident in the IAF was investigated by a Court of Inquiry (CoI) and efforts are always underway to upgrade flight safety in the Air Force.

"Constant interaction with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), both indigenous and foreign, is also maintained to overcome technical defects of the aircraft. In addition, anti-bird measures are also undertaken," the defence minister said.
22 MiG's crashed, three casualties in last three years: Antony - India - The Times of India

 

[venom]

Can any one list out the no & names of aircrafts involved in crashes.....

 

[John]

mig-29, mig-27, mig-21 and i think even a mig-23, the numbers well no way of finding the numbers. Loosing aircraft is a common thing for the IAF, i am just glad and surprised its only 22.

 

[Payeng]

I have learnt that flare dispensers have been fitted into Mig 27 bahadur after the Kargil incident any body have any information on that?

 

[p2prada]

The defence minister said that each and every accident in the IAF was investigated by a Court of Inquiry (CoI) and efforts are always underway to upgrade flight safety in the Air Force.

I hope some day, this Court of Inquiry becomes jobless.

 

[ZOOM]

Certainly constant Mig crashes is matter of grave concern, at the same time Anthony didn't given figures of non-mig crashes like MKI, Transport and Helicopter crashes, else figures must be too high for comfort.

So it seems to have become well established that we would not be able to stop this crashes despite multi-billion doller worth of upgradation. Our Airpower because of this crashes becoming increasingly vulnerable for high grounding rate of this fighter jets. As after every fighter jet crash, we require to ground a type of fighter jet which has recently crashed till inquiry get completed regarding the cause of crash. This is an indication of our vulnerable Airspace which can be effectively used for Hijeck like terror attack.

Can anybody provide any details pertaining to Court Inquiries and Aircrash Investigation report?

 

[Singh]

Can any one list out the no & names of aircrafts involved in crashes.....

India

 

[John]

damn...lots of our pilots lost...this is sad...mig-29s, mig-23, mig-27, mig-21 (the really old ones)...su-30...sad...

 

[venom]

Let us develop a military space programme M P Anil Kumar

In the first segment of his study of the Chinese and Pakistan military programmes and their impact on India, M P Anil Kumar, a former fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force, noted how China's military space programme could pose a threat to India. In this concluding piece, he looks at India's muted plans for space warfare.

The Indian Air Force fancies its transformation into an expeditionary force, a continental air force with strategic reach to defend India's geopolitical interest. The AWACS (the first one inducted on May 28th) will be the bellwether of this expeditionary force.

With the acquisition of force-multipliers like the AWACS, aerostat radars, aerial refuellers, Sukhoi-30 MKI fighters, unmanned aerial vehicles, etc, that old gospel of point air defence was given a burial and area air defence was elevated as the new article of faith. Many strands of the new credo were tested and practised in the exercise Gagan Shakti in October 2006.

Pakistan tried to acquire an airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform (Boeing 707-based E-3C) from the USA as early as 1979 but failed. The Pakistan Navy will soon have a flock of ten Lockheed P-3C Orion long range, high endurance maritime surveillance airplanes.

Three of these are to be fitted with E-2C Hawkeye-2000 AEW suite. The Pakistan Navy also has a pair of ageing Breguet Atlantique maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The Pakistan Air Force in a few years will fly six Swedish AEW&C platforms (PS-890 Erieye radar mounted on SAAB 2000 turboprop).

Pakistan in all probability will invest and collaborate in the development of the ongoing Chinese AWACS project KJ-2000 on the Ilyushin-76 airframe and KJ-200 'Balanced Beam' AEW&C project on the Shaanxi Yun-8 airframe.

Apart from its standard scanning modes, the AWACS is designed to operate and 'fingerprint' in a silent surveillance mode known as the passive detection system (PDS). In this mode, much ELINT could be gathered from electromagnetic emissions, meaning peacetime PDS can excavate significant details of the adversary's tactics and orbat (order of battle). This knowledge is inestimable as it could tilt the balance decisively during wartime.

In sum, in another five years, the PAF and Pakistan Navy could jointly keep a constant vigil on the assets as well as activities of the Indian army [Images], navy and air force.

Pervasive capabilities possessed by China and Pakistan have weighty implications for India during both peace and war.

To respond to China's calibrated hostility and Pakistan's incurable hostility, the Indian armed forces have to defend nearly 15,200 km of land frontier, 7,517 km of coastline (including Andaman and Nicobar and the Lakshadweep islands) and the airspace above it.

We need as many as 30 AWACS to patrol this vast geographical expanse round-the-clock, which is simply beyond our budget, which calls for a cost-effective, optimal deployment and employment of various ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) assets.

Since early warning is going to set the pace of air war and catalyse successful military missions, with the potential acquisition of AEW&C systems, Pakistan, through its force-multipliers, aims to nullify the IAF's superiority, and thereby shrink the asymmetry, achieve near-parity and blunt the Indian conventional deterrence in a way.

With Pakistan on course to achieve what can be termed 'AEW symmetry,' the IAF will perforce have to reboot with a different operational doctrine. (In all wars hitherto anchored by the AWACS -- from the Beqaa Valley air war in June 1982 to the 2003 Iraq war -- the Israeli Air Force and the United States Air Force blitzed and pulverised the adversaries under total AEW asymmetry.)

Should this disconcert us? Yes, and No.

Foremost, we need to acknowledge Pak capabilities and then use our heads to outwit, outgun and outgeneral the Pakistani military. Also, a state of symmetry does not mean a stallion will turn into a jackass. Force multipliers will retain its mojo and utility; AWACS will remain a strategic asset, retaining its punch. Operational tactics and strategies can be rejigged continually to beat the AEW-symmetry environment.

Among other things, the AEW symmetry will compel the IAF to relocate its combat aircraft squadrons further inland to increase survivability. This dispersed deployment in depth beyond the sweep of adversary's AEW/ESM systems is a long-term, capital-intensive process.

Even today, high-tech hardware is only as good as the man at the machine. Self-explanatory. Needless to add, the force with better leadership, training, innovation, motivation, aggression and tech-savvy personnel will naturally be the quicker one on the draw, and should carry the day.

Space ahoy!

How do we worst the AEW-symmetry in our unfriendly neighbourhood? One obvious first step is creating asymmetry through the assimilation of our space prowess. We need to develop and deploy space-based assets so as to cumulate sensor inputs, datalink it to the networked military command and control system from where it can be fed to the field units and commanders. This will enhance the battlefield situational awareness through real-time projection of the battlefield.

For this, the Indian armed forces will have to attain network centric warfare (NCW) capability, but they are just inching, not marching towards that goal. NCW will pivot upon the networking of terrestrial, nautical & aerospatial radars; AEW platforms; air defence fighters, missiles & artillery batteries; communication centres; electronic warfare systems and aggregation of other air defence assets of army and navy.

Thus, a net-centric apparatus will enable the military to interlock geographically scattered units to operate as a unified force, thus maximising our reach and offensive power, thus maximising our chances of aerospace dominance. Hence, the government's present piecemeal approach and hesitation to found an integrated, triservices NCW system are truly baffling.

Though we enjoy the edge over Pakistan in satellite technology, one cannot rule out China -- Pakistan's soul mate and an alleged, unapologetic proliferator -- sharing its know-how and intelligence with Pakistan. China is light years ahead of us in offensive space technology; so our endeavour should be 'space denial.' In case of Pakistan, we must go all out to achieve total 'space control.'

India must also prepare a contingency plan for the worst-case scenario -- China emerging as a 'rogue space power.'

These are easier professed than done. For, high-tech structures like an aerospace command require dedicated military satellites interlinked with other ISR infrastructure. Leave alone establishing a fully-operational aerospace command, we are aeons away from using space for real-time snooping, warning, jamming and guiding precision-strike munitions.

Policy stasis, the bane of this nation

With space having emerged as the fourth medium for military operations, the IAF had brought out its blueprint titled 'Defence Space Vision 2020' two years ago. The IAF had also laid claim to the aerospace command as natural progression for them, and therefore, wanted its bureaucracy to run it.

Since space-related technologies will be accessed by all three services, since future wars will be fought jointly and at theatre levels, since command and control will be executed via military networks, the Integrated Defence Staff is the most deserving agency to host the aerospace department.

Acknowledging this logic, last June, the defence minister announced the formation of an Integrated Space Cell under the IDS headquarters in Delhi [Images] to counter what he called 'the growing threat to our space assets.' The remit of this cell is, however, rudimentary -- to liaise with the relevant elements among the armed forces, the department of space and ISRO -- and the cell could degenerate into another talking-shop!

Though China's ASAT shocker and Pakistan's pains to attain AEW symmetry should have galvanised us into action, our establishment (the unhurried politico-bureaucratic setup) seems to be reading the hare and the tortoise fable, not 'Vision 2020' or related literature, and daydreaming about the Indian tortoise breasting the tape ahead of the Chinese hare! Well, the establishment is travelling mostly in time, not much in space!

(The US Department of Defense in 1973 created an Office of Net Assessment -- the Pentagon's [Images] internal think-tank. Many militaries have constituted a body comparable to the ONA since. Unlike military or national power, hard or soft power, Net Assessment focuses on intangible, even inconspicuous aspects that could be taken advantage of during a conflict.

For example, if a country's governmental decision-making is slack, strategists will flag this national character for exploitation. Hence somebody needs to drive home this point to our slowcoach mandarins that their chronic tardiness is in effect making them a fifth column.)

With space and time collapsing rapidly in modern warfare, the establishment of a triservices Space Command (under the IDS) cannot suffer further deferral. The Space Command should be charged with total administrative and operational control over the whole gamut of space warfare.

As space assets must be seen as auxiliary tools to serve our security requirements, let us develop a military space programme by investing in space technologies without being apologetic about it, without the typical Indian ambivalence, fence-squatting and dilly-dallying.

Given the national security implications, one can only hope that the defence minister will goad the lazybones and will infuse much-needed urgency, energy, purpose and direction to our military space programme.

Let me sign off on an optimistic note by quoting what General Colin Powell had said: 'Perpetual optimism is a force-multiplier.'


Let's develop a military space programme: Rediff.com news

 

[John]

HAL Cancels 10-12 ton Chopper Co-development Bid, to Re-tender in August

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has scrapped an active tender for the co-development of a 10-12 ton class helicopter for which Eurocopter and Mil were shortlisted as potential technology and investment partners. HAL has communicated to the two short-listed companies that the tender had to be scrapped because qualitiative requirements of the armed forces have substantially changed. A fresh tender is scheduled to be out in September.

LiveFist

 

[nitesh]

Force One likely to take guard by August - Express India

The Hindu : National : ALH delay holding up de-induction of old Army copters: CAG report