Indian defence industry exports watch

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Jindal Stainless (Hisar) Limited to foray into defence sector

With this, JSHL has now emerged as one of the first companies in India to commercially manufacture High Nitrogen Steel for the defence sector.
KOLKATA: The government's Make in India campaign received a major boost with Jindal Stainless (Hisar) Limited, one the country’s largest integrated stainless steel producers marking its foray into defence sector.
The company has signed a licensing agreement with Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), an arm of the defence ministry for transfer of technology for manufacturing High Nitrogen Steel (HNS) for Armour applications.
The development is part of a comprehensive joint effort leading up to almost a decade of reserch and dvelopment work by JSHL and Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL) to develop HNS, an official JHSL statement issued on Wednesday said.
With this, Jindal Stainless (Hisar) Limited (JSHL) has now emerged as one of the first companies in India to commercially manufacture High Nitrogen Steel for the defence sector. The use of HNS will replace the existing import of Rolled Homogenous Armour (RHA), improving cost efficiency in material acquisition for armour applications by 50%.
This major development will not only accelerate the indigenization process of Indian defence arsenal in line with government’s ‘Make in India’ drive but will also help in easy availability of best material for manufacturing lighter armour vehicles, as import procurement often delays the manufacturing process. High Nitrogen HNS exhibits higher energy absorption level, enhances crashworthiness to the entire artillery system and has significantly higher impact values as compared to RHA which make HNS a far superior material for blast protection. HNS has passed multiple levels of ballistic tests in different calibers with 8-10 times higher impact/blast protection.
HNS has potential application in all armoured vehicles including Infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV), Light Specialty Vehicle (LSV), Light Armoured Multipurpose Vehicle (LAMV), Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV), Main Battle Tank (MBT), Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV), Aviation and Naval systems. JSHL is also working to produce additional variants of HNS with enhanced blast and ballistic protection to cater to niche requirements of the Indian Defence sector.

High Nitrogen Steel is used in the manufacture of Light Infantry vehicles among others
 

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India Inc. shifts focus to the defence sector

India Inc. is now focusing on the defence sector.
From Reliance defence to L&T and Bharat Forge all the companies are giving exposure to the defence sector looking at the great potential in this sector.

Spurt is seen in the number of Indian companies offering products in the lucrative defence sector.

Many companies are seeking to become the Boeing and Lockheed Martins of India, collaborating with global defence manufacturers to locally build advanced military hardware.

Defence will emerge as the largest business for the Reliance Group as Reliance Defence gears to tap defence opportunities worth Rs.1 lakh crore annually in the Indian defence market. Reliance Defence has submitted bids for 30,000 crore of defence orders.

The country's largest stainless steel maker Jindal Steel will foray into the Defence sector by forging a pact with DRDO for transfer of technology relating to high-nitrogen steel for armour applications.

There are big and established names such as Bharat Forge, Tata group, Larsen and Toubro, Godrej Group and the Mahindra Group which is aggressively bidding in the defence sector.

There is a huge opportunity for private sector in the defence business as currently India imports 70% of its defence requirement in value terms and accounts for 14% of the global defence imports in 2016.

And increasing private participation by corporate sector into the defence sector will not only give boost to this sector but will also give a major push to ‘Make in India’ campaign.
 

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L3 Aviation Products India Receives CAR 145 Certification From Directorate General of Civil Aviation
BENGALURU, India, March 2, 2017 – L3 Aviation Products announced today that its Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in India has received Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) 145 certification from India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
This approval clears the way for L3 to repair and support civil avionics at its dedicated MRO facility in Bengaluru. With this certification, L3 can now provide service and support for its FA2100/FA2300 Flight Data Recorders fielded on Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) aircraft, as well as a range of other avionics equipment flown on commercial airliners and business jets across the country.
“This service will ensure OEM levels of quality and support, reduce turnaround times and provide a best-value, in-country solution to the civil aviation community in India,” said Krishen Ganase, President of L3’s Aviation Products sector. “L3 is proud to have a strong commitment and growing presence in India, manufacturing, supplying and supporting avionics products for more than 1,500 aircraft. L3 Aviation Products is one of the first avionics OEMs to establish an MRO facility in India.”
Visitors to Aero India 2017 can meet with L3 Aviation Products representatives in exhibit E3.42/43 throughout the event, February 14–18 at Air Force Station Yelahanka, Bengaluru.
L3 Aviation Products is a provider of General Aviation (GA), commercial and military avionics. The business manufactures a diverse line of safety- and efficiency-enhancing products for next-generation requirements, including transponders, ADS-B systems, configurable voice and data recorders, collision avoidance systems, navigation products, display systems and processors. L3 Aviation Products also offers aftermarket services, including MRO and integrated performance-based logistics for military and commercial systems. To learn more about L3 Aviation Products, please visit www.L3aviationproducts.com.
Headquartered in New York City, L3 Technologies employs approximately 38,000 people worldwide and is a leading provider of a broad range of communication and electronic systems and products used on military, homeland security and commercial platforms. L3 is also a prime contractor in aerospace systems, security and detection systems, and pilot training. The company reported 2016 sales of $10.5 billion. To learn more about L3, please visit the company’s website at www.L3T.com.
 

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Essar Steel forays into defence manufacturing sector

Essar Steel aims to participate in the indigenisation of products used in Naval Defence, including naval destroyers, offshore patrol vessels used by both Navy and Coast Guard, rocket launchers, floating docks and submarines.
BANGALORE: Essar Steel has forayed into the high growth Defence manufacturing sector by developing steel grades which find application in Land and Naval Defence. The estimated expenditure in Defence sector is over USD 200 billion over the next 5 years.
The company has developed several products which are import substitutes as well as innovated to develop indigenous armour plate for ballistic protection.
Wide range of import-substitute products.
Essar Steel’s import substitute products have been used in the construction of advance naval destroyers, offshore patrol vessels and floating docks. They also provide ballistic protection to combat vehicles and battle tanks. In addition, Essar Steel products are used in the construction of Coast Guard vessels and in the repair of naval ships.
Essar Steel aims to participate in the indigenisation of products used in Naval Defence, including naval destroyers, offshore patrol vessels used by both Navy and Coast Guard, rocket launchers, floating docks and submarines. In Land Defence, their products are used for battle tanks, motor casing of missiles, mine protected and combat vehicles, military and civil vehicles, artillery guns, morcha and machan.
Alongside growing domestic demand, these products also have a large export potential. Market estimates put the annual demand potential at approximately 2 lakh tonnes, of which 50% is in flat steel and the remaining in structural steel.
Mr Dillip Oommen, MD & CEO, Essar Steel, said: “The Defence sector is witnessing exponential growth. Essar Steel would like to be a part of this growing segment so we can capitalise on our strengths, which include state-of-the-art manufacturing and product development. We have developed an excellent track record by successfully supplying steel to many Defence projects. This has given us the confidence and encouragement to expand our product portfolio for this segment.”
The revised Defence Procurement Policy 2016 encourages “Make in India” and supports indigenous manufacturing of defence equipment and spares. The goal is to achieve an indigenisation level of 60% to 70%, against the existing 40%. Apart from saving foreign exchange for clients, it will bring about self-sufficiency and self-reliance, as well as position the country as an exporter of defence goods. The Union Budget for 2017-18 outlays a Defence expenditure of US $53.50 billion—up from US $30 billion in 2009-10. About 80% to 90% of Defence manufacturing in India is dominated by the DPSUs and the OFB. However, several big corporate houses in India have also forayed into this sector and have announced partnerships and expansion plans. While Essar Steel has been servicing the Defence sector for the past 6-7 years, the entry of private players in this sector has enhanced the marketability of its products.
State-of-the-art facilities
Essar Steel has set up a 1.5 MTPA state-of-the-art 5-metre-wide steel plate facility at Hazira to meet the requirements of the Defence sector. The plant has three types of rolling capabilities that include thermo-mechanical controlled rolling, normalised rolling and temperature controlled rolling. Further, it has two types of heat treatment capabilities—quenching & tempering, and normalising. These capabilities make this mill a versatile mill that is capable of producing any grade of steel for Defence applications. The plate mill is backed by advanced steelmaking facilities and has better control over raw materials through its upstream pellet making facilities. Essar is known for producing high end clean steel required for various sectors like auto, engineering, white goods, yellow goods, power sector, hydrocarbon sector pipe & tubes and Defence.
Essar Steel has set up an R&D Centre at Hazira that is approved by Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. It has been developing products for the Defence sector for the past seven years, and focuses on application-based product development. The Defence grade steel developed by the company meets the standards of the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Combat Vehicle R&D Establishment, Directorate of Naval Architecture and Directorate of Naval Design.
 

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Maharashtra expects $5 billion investment in defence manufacturing

The Maharashtra government today announced setting up of a Rs 1,000 crore fund for helping manufacturers in defence sector.
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government today announced setting up of a Rs 1,000 crore fund for helping manufacturers indefence sector and said it expects aninvestment of $5 billion in this area in the state.
"We are setting up a fund of Rs 1,000 crore for helping all such manufacturers in defence sector," Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters at a joint briefing along with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar here.
The fund will support MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) in the defence sector, he said.
"Maharashtra is the first state to frame a policy for defence manufacturing after private investment has been allowed," Fadnavis said.
The Chief Minister also announced unveiling of a defence and aerospace policy.
"When we presented our draft policy before the investors and manufacturers at the 'Defence and Aerospace: Make with Maharashtra' conference here today, their response was positive. We will finalise it soon after incorporating today's discussions," he said.
"They (manufacturers in private sector) made a few suggestions, including one on treating this sector as essential services. We will take a decision on this demand after consultations with the Defence Minister," he said.
"We have moved a step forward in this sector. Today defence manufacturers got to know about opportunities in Maharashtra," Fadnavis said.
Almost 25 per cent of the total ordnance factories of India are in Maharashtra alone, the CM said.
"We already have an edge over others," he added.
Meanwhile, the Defence Minister said Maharashtra's fund to support defence manufacturers would be a game changer.
 

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Lack of helicopters hits Navy's operational capabilities against enemy submarines

The critical shortage of helicopters has emerged as the most alarming operational gap+ in the Navy, even more than submarines, minesweepers and missiles, with new acquisition and production projects failing to make any headway for well over a decade now.

The Navy, in fact, desperately requires+ 147 multi-role helicopters (MRHs) with anti-submarine warfare capabilities, without which its warships are virtually defenceless against enemy submarines, and 110 twin-engine naval light utility helicopters (NUHs) to replace obsolete single-engine Chetaks.

But even the initial procurement of 16 MRHs, with an option for eight more, has not materialised+ despite being granted the "acceptance of necessity" way back in 2005.

Instead, the global tender for this project issued in 2008 is now on the verge of being scrapped, with cost negotiations with helicopter-manufacturer Sikorsky (acquired by US armament giant Lockheed Martin) remaining deadlocked.

Moreover, the long-winded acquisition of 123 more naval MRHs as well as 110 NUHs is yet to even kick off because of the defence ministry's failure to finalize the "strategic partnership" model under the "Make in India" policy.


The situation has become so desperate+ that the Navy has now submitted a "dissent note" to the MoD against the move to junk the procurement of 16 S-70B Seahawk choppers from Sikorsky, say sources.

The MoD remains strongly opposed to Sikorsky's demand for a steep price hike for the 16 choppers on the ground the contract finalization has been pending for several years, as was reported by TOI earlier.

"In its dissent note, the Navy says the 16 MRHs are a critical operational necessity. Sikorsky extended the validity of its old commercial bid several times but, in early-2016, held it could not do so any longer. But MoD feels the new price is too high, over 40% more than the original benchmarking price," said a source.


The Navy is inducting four to five warships every year, in tune with its plan to become a 212-warship force by 2027, but has virtually run out of MRHs to operate from their decks to detect, track and kill enemy submarines.

Such choppers fly ahead of warships to "dunk" their sonars into the deep waters, "ping" for enemy submarines and let loose torpedoes and depth charges against them to clear the path for the fleet.

The Navy currently has just 10 Kamov-28 and 17 Sea King helicopters to defend its existing fleet of 138 warships. While the Sea Kings are well over 20 years old, the Kamov-28s are now undergoing a mid-life upgrade under a $294 million deal inked with Russia last year.

Incidentally, with the armed forces overall requiring around 1,200 helicopters of different types over the next 10-15 years to replace ageing fleets at an estimated cost of over Rs 1.5 lakh crore, sources say the tri-Service Integrated Defence Staff has also formulated a "consolidated helicopter acquisition strategy" under the Defence Procurement Procedure-2016.

 

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By ET
In FY19-FY20 we will see a lot of growth in aerospace and defence: Amit Kalyani, Bharat Forge
"About 35% to 40% of our business is from non-automotive sectors where we are seeing tremendous growth."
In a chat with ET Now, Amit Kalyani, ED, Bharat Forge, says the revenues items have already started accelerating for the company.

Edited excerpts:
There was a nice smart uptick, the markets as well liking it, the stock is up 3.5%. Do you believe that this is going to be the trajectory now of the US Class 8 truck orders and the pain point is way behind you?

The first half of the year would see a consolidation and then from the second half of the year, we will start to see a gradual recovery and this is exactly what we are seeing. The US class 8 market bottomed out and now have started to stabilise to start growing and we believe that 2018 will be a strong year for the US Class 8. So the remaining portion of 2017 will strengthen because they have to build the pipeline in order to service the increased demand for next year.

What exactly has changed in the US market and why do you think demand is coming back?

Fundamentally, when the commodity cycle collapsed, there was a lot of overcapacity in the system which has now been consumed and also there are new growth drivers in theeconomy including the renewal of the oil and gas. Now there is a increased defence spending. Obviously, the whole plan to increase infrastructure spending in the US is a big positive, aided by the emission cycles coming up in 2019 which will lead to a pre-buy in 2018. These are a variety of factors that are creating increased demand.

I heard you mentioned that FY18 would be a stronger year and will see the build up happening in the remaining of FY17 as well. Will the trajectory be as strong as you are showing in February because in Jan it was 21600, Feb it is 22900. Does this keep on moving up?

There are two elements to this. One is the base demand that will be there for 2017 plus the incremental build up of the pipeline that will take place in 2018. In order to consider a demand at this level plus minus 5% odd should be quite comfortable. Towards the last few months of 2017, you might see a slight increase.

There is talk about the imposition of import taxes in the US. If indeed they were to be slapped, is it going to be a threat to speak for businesses like you?

Obviously, this is a matter that is still unclear but what is being thought about and talked about quite clearly is that first bring the OEM level jobs back into the US, which means assembly and manufacturing of end products which is far easier to do than to get the entire supply chain back into the US. The latter takes a much longer time and for this tremendous skills, manpower and investments will be needed over a long term period.

What is the contribution of Class 8 trucks to Bharat Forge’s aggregate picture?

Total contribution of Class 8 trucks in the US from the US market to our total business is in the region of about 20%.

If demand comes back and demand is making a comeback, can we expect a significant amount of operating leverage and margin expansion to kick in?

Operating leverage definitely because we have all the capacity in place and any incremental business, will have substantial incremental contribution and therefore margins, yes.

Can I also assume that this is just the beginning of a new inventory cycle for Class 8 trucks?

Yes, at least for the next one and a half years for sure.

So would you like to give me a number that what would be the sales like for next?

I do not want to forecast the OEM sales but as we had said, the OEM sales for the year would be somewhere in the region of 220000 or so in the beginning of the year which was based on various forecast from ATC and others.

Could it be at a range which is at least 10-15% higher than the current numbers not looking for a specific forecast here?

I do not really know but quite frankly, the current levels themselves are pretty strong and if they hold and continue at this level, there will be a great scenario for everyone concerned.

You have told us that 20% of your business is looking good. What about the remaining 80%? Are you also getting a similar sense?

Europe is about 40% of our sales which is still very strong both on the pass cars and CV side. About 35% to 40% of our business is from non-automotive sectors where we are seeing tremendous growth. The entire oil and gas sector has recovered and is seeing quarter on quarter growth plus we are increasing our content by broadening our offerings here.

In addition, if you look at the rail and the aerospace sectors, these are the sectors that are growing for us -- both rail in India and abroad, aerospace in India and abroad. We have a solid pipeline, we have a good order book and this will continue as the programmes come on stream. In the automotive business in India also we are seeing increased penetration and growth from both passenger cars and commercial vehicles and the defence business on the capital side as and when the orders come out. We are in a very good position but meanwhile we have grown our business on the defence side and aerospace side on the revenue front where today it is already a Rs 200 odd crore business and this could easily go to Rs 400-500 crore in the next two-three years just on revenue items which means consumables.

What are most people banking on aside of these positive numbers coming in? Are you betting big on aerospace and defence which are in a sense counter cyclical for FY19 onwards?

Yes, in FY19-FY20 we will see a lot of growth in both aerospace and defence. In defence, there are two categories for us-- one is revenue supplies and the other is capital purchases. Capital purchases means big defence programmes like the artillery guns etc. which we have bid for where we are in a very good position and revenue items are which are basically all the consumables used in maintaining and operating the entire defence forces.

So, we are present in both the capital items are of course long lead time items but the revenues items have already started accelerating in terms of revenue for us.
 

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Defense Start-Ups Initiative

Government of India has launched ‘Start-up India’ initiative in January 2016, which aims at fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation by creating an ecosystem that is conducive for growth of start-ups. The data of start-ups recognized by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP), is maintained by ‘Start-up India’ and at present, there is no recognized start-up in the Defense sector. However, in order to encourage start-ups and give them an opportunity to contribute in the defense production, Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and all Defense Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) have been mandated to follow the guidelines of Ministry of MSME regarding ‘Relaxation of norms for start-ups and Medium & Small Enterprises in public procurement on prior experience – prior turnover criteria’.
The Government has taken following actions to encourage culture of innovation in defense sector:-
(i) Under the new Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 promulgated in April 2016, the ‘Make’ Procedure has been simplified. The procedure provides for funding of 90% of development cost by the Government to Indian industry for design, develop and manufacture of defense equipment. Projects not exceeding development cost of Rs.10 crore (Government funded) and Rs.3 crore (industry funded) have been reserved for MSMEs under this procedure.
(ii) The Government has recently approved a Defense Innovation Fund (DIF) with initial funding by two DPSUs; Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The fund aims at creation of ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defense, by engaging R&D institutes / academia and industry including start-ups and provide them the funding to carry out innovative development which has the potential for future commercialization.
(iii) The Government has also launched a scheme of Technology Development Fund (TDF) which aims at funding the development of defense and dual use technologies that are currently not available with the Indian defense industry, or have not been developed so far, thus creating an ecosystem for enhancing cutting edge technology capability for Defense applications. The TDF scheme is implemented by Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) and provides for assistance in the form of grant to public and private industries for design and development of key defense technologies.

PIB

Thanks IDN
 

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Defense Start-Ups Initiative


The Government has taken following actions to encourage culture of innovation in defense sector:-
(i) Under the new Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016 promulgated in April 2016, the ‘Make’ Procedure has been simplified. The procedure provides for funding of 90% of development cost by the Government to Indian industry for design, develop and manufacture of defense equipment. Projects not exceeding development cost of Rs.10 crore (Government funded) and Rs.3 crore (industry funded) have been reserved for MSMEs under this procedure.
(ii) The Government has recently approved a Defense Innovation Fund (DIF) with initial funding by two DPSUs; Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The fund aims at creation of ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defense, by engaging R&D institutes / academia and industry including start-ups and provide them the funding to carry out innovative development which has the potential for future commercialization.
(iii) The Government has also launched a scheme of Technology Development Fund (TDF) which aims at funding the development of defense and dual use technologies that are currently not available with the Indian defense industry, or have not been developed so far, thus creating an ecosystem for enhancing cutting edge technology capability for Defense applications. The TDF scheme is implemented by Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) and provides for assistance in the form of grant to public and private industries for design and development of key defense technologies.

PIB

Thanks IDN
You Know i was talking to a Indian dude on facebook about Railgun technology India would posses and he said India would have coil gun not rail gun and i was like seriously bro you and me could make a coil gun at our home making a coil gun should not be a rocket science taken the high tech equipment Indian sceintist Have


What do you think India is making a coil gun or a Rail Gun
 

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What do you think India is making a coil gun or a Rail Gun
Mumbai based Zeus Numerix has prepared for simulations.
http://www.zeusnumerix.com//public/..._Design_of_Electromagnetic_Rail_Gun_PR074.pdf



ARDE's rail gun might in fact be a coil gun rail gun hybrid using bitter coil based transmission line along with rails.
http://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/tenders/viewTender.jsp?paramMicro=9672

In media,
http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/05/indias-navy-wants-100-technologies-by.html?m=1

https://m.reddit.com/r/GlobalPowers/comments/3ayo3e/secret_project_18class_destroyer/
[Reddit is more fictional though].
 

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Mumbai based Zeus Numerix has prepared for simulations.
http://www.zeusnumerix.com//public/..._Design_of_Electromagnetic_Rail_Gun_PR074.pdf



ARDE's rail gun might in fact be a coil gun rail gun hybrid using bitter coil based transmission line along with rails.
http://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/tenders/viewTender.jsp?paramMicro=9672

In media,
http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/05/indias-navy-wants-100-technologies-by.html?m=1

https://m.reddit.com/r/GlobalPowers/comments/3ayo3e/secret_project_18class_destroyer/
[Reddit is more fictional though].
that sound cool but why did they go for an coil gun rail gun hybrid
i mean they should have concentrated on making rail gun instead , Coil gun is not very hard its like comparing an Aircraft Engine to Land Engine
 

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India's defence procurement and modernisation: Can a new organisation fix the persisting problems?
Posted: Mar 07, 2017
By: Lt Gen Philip Campose (Retd)

A committee nominated by India’s Ministry of Defence has recently submitted its recommendations for integrating and streamlining the defence acquisition process by raising a Defence Procurement Organisation. As per information available, this new organisation, headed by a Secretary-level official, will function as a new ‘vertical’, directly under the Defence Minister, with the objective of optimising and integrating the procurement process, media reports suggest.
No doubt, such a measure was long awaited and will remove some of the glitches in the existing system. However, keeping in view that many past changes, structural and procedural, to energise the defence acquisition process have fallen by the wayside, without providing discernible dividends for the military, it may be useful to analyse this new development critically to predict whether the outcome on account of this change will be any different.
Any measure of success of attempted improvements in the defence procurement system would be best determined by measuring the likely resultant outcomes, both qualitative and quantitative, in ‘capability development’ of the Armed Forces.
Will introduction of the new organisation help the three Services in acquiring long pending needs of artillery guns, fighter aircraft, assault rifles, air defence weapons, submarines, helicopters and drones in a timely manner -- say, in the next three to five years? Will it ensure that the operational needs and war-wastage reserves of the three Services, in terms of requisite scales of ammunition, equipment spares, stores and vehicles, will be made up immediately? Or, will the bigger problems like inadequate budget and corruption charges continue to dog the procurement process and prevent capability building of the military?
It is common knowledge that capability development of the three Services is lagging far behind targets due to a combination of problems like inadequacy of defence capital budget, delays in decision-making, bureaucratic prevarication, monopoly by defence public sector undertakings (resulting in keeping out the private industry), frequent changes in qualitative requirements (QRs) by the Services, infirmities in the system of trials, and frequent charges of corruption, which result in ‘blanket’ blacklisting of vendors in a thoughtless of manner.
Unless all these deficiencies are addressed by the new system, it will be ‘business as usual’, with lack of improvement in predictable outcomes.
Let us take the more prominent of the existing infirmities one by one, to examine whether the new system will address these effectively.
Firstly, the problems of delays in decision-making, combined with the risk averseness of the bureaucracy.
The reasons for these delays and problems are on account of fear of wrongdoing by those involved in the process, especially due to the presence of unscrupulous middlemen, who exist on the sidelines to facilitate corrupt practices. Hopefully, the new system will provide better clarity, transparency and accountability, and concurrently, plug the existing loopholes which enable such wrongdoings. Otherwise, ‘big ticket’ proposals (which are critically needed for capability development) will continue to fall victim to risk-avoidance strategies of the bureaucracy.
Secondly, the infirmities in the system of formulating General Staff Qualitative Requirements (GSQRs) and for carrying out trials by the Services.
Blind adherence to the ‘L1’ principle (instead of ‘T1-L1’) leaves space for qualitative inadequacies. Will the new system ensure that GSQRs are correctly formulated and vetted to ensure that they are practicable, and yet, enable procurement of the best available equipment at the most competitive prices? Has it addressed the earlier infirmities in trial methodologies, which enable vendors to keep seeking additional time to correct faults in their equipment -- resulting in inordinate delays and resultant scope for wrongdoing?
Thirdly, does the new system provide a level playing field to our private defence industry?
Unless the new system provides equal opportunity to the best of our private defence industry and entrepreneurs to compete fairly with the public sector units, defence procurement and the related ‘Make in India’ policy will continue to be just a pipe dream -- as far as the more critical defence procurements like guns and aircraft are concerned.
Fourthly, will the new organisation ensure that complaints -- malicious or justified -- do not hold the system to ransom and scuttle the entire procurement process?
Have measures been instituted to ensure that a delay afflicted case like the ‘replacement helicopters’ proposal (where a complaint resulted in long-drawn investigations, leading to multi-fold cost penalty) do not occur in future? Our procurement system must learn to deal effectively with the flurry of complaints and corruption charges, which inevitably pursue every procurement proposal, and yet procure the desired item in time.
And finally, the problem of inadequacy of capital modernisation budget -- which is the primary reason why the military is not able to put into effect their plans for acquisition of ‘big ticket items’ to achieve their modernisation plans.
Will the new organisation and system be able to ensure that adequate budget is allocated and that capital funds for capability-building, once allocated, cannot be withdrawn or re-appropriated (surrendered?) by the Ministry of Defence or Ministry of Finance for any other purpose? Obviously, if the new organisation does not result in better availability of capital budget, no amount of structural or procedural changes can bring about better results in terms of capability-building outcomes.
In sum, the actual reason that we are unable to procure critically needed weapons, equipment and ammunition are larger strategic questions like the ‘Guns vs Butter debate’, for which the country has yet not found satisfactory answers.
The Defence Minister’s continuing efforts at structural improvements are commendable and would make a positive effect on capability-building if adequate capital budget was allocated to the defence forces. But, unless we resolve the larger issues mentioned herein, that have prevented the existing system to come up with favourable outcomes in the past, the new Defence Procurement Organisation may end up only being described as ‘old wine in a new bottle’, with no major benefits accruing to the military.
(The author is a former Vice Chief of Army Staff. Comments and suggestions on this article can be sent to [email protected])

Source Link: http://southasiamonitor.org/news/in...isation-fix-the-persisting-problems-/sl/22437
 

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that sound cool but why did they go for an coil gun rail gun hybrid
i mean they should have concentrated on making rail gun instead , Coil gun is not very hard its like comparing an Aircraft Engine to Land Engine
Budget & timeline issue.
We have no experience for making a complete railgun. So, experience gained from coil gun will be useful.
Like AEW&C helped us for AESA Radar.
 

Prashant12

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United Arab Emirate guns to fire with Made in India shells

NAGPUR: After importing the Bofors guns over 30 years ago, India is now looking forward to export the ammunition required for the weapon. The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is close to bagging an order to make 155mm shells, which are used in Bofors-type artillery guns, for the United Arab Emirate (UAE) army.

The ordnance factories' exports will multiply 10 times once the Rs 235 crore order is finalized. "At present, exports are within Rs 20-25 crore," said sources.

The shells will be made in the Ordnance Factories in Vidarbha located at Nagpur, Chandrapur and Bhandara. All three are mainly engaged in making high calibre ammunition like the 155mm shells.

The deal is a part of recent firming up of ties between India and UAE. Similar cooperation is being proposed in other sectors too. The crown prince of Abu Dabhi Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayeed Ali Nahyan was India's guest during the Republic Day celebrations.

Sources privy to the development said that the proposal came up during the last week of February when an Indian delegation visited UAE. The offer came from UAE to which India responded quickly. "The contract has been signed by India and now the UAE's stamp is awaited on the documents," said sources.

This will be the first ever major defence contract with UAE. "The 155mm shells which are used in Bofors type guns with a range of over 35km will be exported by India for the first time," said a source in the Ordnance Factory.

OFB will be making the 155mm extended bore full range shells of boat-tail version for UAE. The shells mainly come in boat-tail and base-bleed versions. The OFB makes both versions. The boat-tail version is older and the factories have established the expertise in making the shell.

Even as the guns of 155x39 calibre were imported from Sweden in the 80s, the Ordnance Factories had long back begun making the shells indigenously. In last three years, the gun too has been indigenized with the Gun Carriage Factory (GCF) at Jabalpur having got an order to make 116 guns. Named Dhanush, the indigenous gun is of a higher calibre at 155x45 mm giving a better range.

The order will also be giving a major fillip to ordnance factories which now mainly depend on the Indian army for orders.

Ordnance factory has 50-odd products for exports. So far, exports have been mainly to countries like Maldives, Sri Lanka, Indonesia with a few orders bagged from Germany too. The products include brake parachutes for Su30 and MiG 29 fighter planes, 91mm TRA gun for the Navy, small calibre ammunition.

"One of the favourites of the overseas buyers is the 12.7 air defence gun (Prahari)," said a source in the factory.

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Spare parts for Russian weapons may be made in India
Russian military spare parts manufacturers to visit India.

The Make In India policy opens up new opportunities for Russian companies. Source: Getty Images
Officials from Russian manufacturers of spare parts for arms and ammunition will visit India to discuss the possibilities of setting up operations in the country, informed sources told RIR.
The officials will be part of a delegation led by Russian Minister of Trade and Energy Denis Manturov, who will visit Delhi on Mar. 17-18.
The Russian manufacturers will meet Indian corporates as well as acting Defence Minister Arun Jaitely, who has been given the defence portfolio after Manohar Parrikar left his post to become the chief minister of Goa.
The Make In India policy, opens up new opportunities for Russian companies, leading Russian defence analyst Konstantin Makienko wrote in February 2017.
“Russia is the only country that has huge experience of licensed production of its military equipment in India,” Makienko wrote. “In fact, ever since the Soviet Union entered the Indian market in 1960s, Moscow worked according to the Make In India principle.”
He added that even the first projects of supplying MiG-21 second generation aircraft included a license transfer allowing their production in India. “This practice continued with new MiG-23 and MiG-27 aircraft and reached its peak with the implementation of the Su-30MKI programme,” Makienko wrote. “Russia was also quite actively cooperating in other projects, such as in ship building in Indian shipyards, as well as in producing T-72C and T-90C tanks for the Indian Army.”
 

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India’s Steel Companies Are Entering The Defense Business Supply Chain
More and more Indian companies, including steelmakers such as Tata (NS:TISC) and Essar (BO:ESAR), are entering the defense manufacturing sector. Essar Steel, for example, recently announced a game plan to develop steel grades for land and naval defense applications.
Essar Steel made a low key entry into the sector about five years ago, but it’s now turned bullish on defense because of the increased marketability of its products. Essar’s products include an indigenous armor plate for ballistic protection. Some of its products are innovative while others are simple substitutes for imports for India’s native contractors looking to keep more of their supply chains close to home. The latter have been used in the construction of naval destroyers, offshore patrol vessels and floating docks. Other products are used in the construction of Coast Guard vessels, so also the repair of naval ships.
In land defense, Essar Steel’s products are used in battle tanks, the motor casings of missiles, combat vehicles, and artillery guns.
The steel major has already set up a 1.5 million metric ton a year, 5-meter-wide steel plate facility for the defense sector products. It now wants to increase its participation in the indigenization of defense products, including offshore patrol vessels and submarines.
Make in India: Defense Edition
The past few years have seen more players like Essar getting into defense, which is experiencing exponential growth. The stakes are pretty high. One estimate has it that the expenditure in the defense sector in the next five years could cross $200 billion.
The Defence Procurement Policy 2016 encourages Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” policy and supports indigenous manufacturing of defense equipment and even spare parts. The policy aim is to achieve an indigenization level of about 70%. Right now India’s companies supply only 40% of the products used for its national defense.
Indian defense manufacturing was once a near-monopoly that welcomed only a few public sector units. But, under the Modi government of late and even before, private groups like Reliance Industries Ltd., Tata Group, Mahindra Group, Hinduja Group and Adani Group have all gotten into the defense game.
The statistics speak for themselves. Between January 2001 and February 2016, the Commerce Ministry granted 333 industrial licenses to private firms for defense manufacturing, according to data provided by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. For now, although India is one of the largest importers of arms in the world, indigenization of defense products is expected to bring down its reliance on imports, currently at about 14% of global arms imports.
Tata Steel Defense Products
The Tata Group, for example well-known for Tata Steel, has more than eight companies in the defense manufacturing sector. These companies include Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Advanced Materials Limited (TAML), Tata Motors Limited, Titan Company Limited, Tata Steel (Specialty Steel business in Europe), TAL Manufacturing Solutions Limited and Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division. Most of these companies also participated in the Aero India 2017 exhibition held this February.
The participating companies of the Tata group offer end-to-end design to manufacture solutions. TAML manufactures various composite parts for aerospace applications, structural components, engine components, personal and vehicle armor. In fact, it’s the first company in India to be certified in composite manufacturing, supplying personal armor products to the Ministry of Defense, Govt. of India for the Indian defense forces.
Tata Steel supplies high-integrity alloys to major commercial and military aerospace programs around the world. Key end users include Airbus and Boeing (NYSE:BA).
by Sohrab Darabshaw
 

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Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Defence

17-March-2017 17:48 IST

Purchase of Defence Equipment
Government is pursuing initiatives to achieve higher levels of indigenisation and self-reliance in the defence sector by harnessing the capabilities of the public and private sector industries in the country. These measures include according priority and preference to procurement from Indian vendors and liberalization of the licensing regime.
During the last three financial years, 94 contracts involving Rs. 82,979.70 crore have been signed with Indian vendors for capital procurement of defence equipment.

During the same period, 56 contracts involving Rs. 53, 684.32 Crore have been signed with foreign vendors for capital procurement of defence equipment.

This information was given by Minister of State for Defence Dr. Subhash Bhamre in a written reply toShrimatiP.K. Sreemathiteacherin Lok Sabha today.

NAMPI/Rajib

Release ID: 159464
 

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