DRDO, PSU and Private Defence Sector News

[FGFAPilot1]

what are its defences ?
it can easily be shot down by a missile

 

[Daredevil]

what are its defences ?
it can easily be shot down by a missile

They will be on our side of the border. I don't think they are being used at the borders as of now. They are being used only at the coastal lines of India to monitor smuggling and infiltration.

 

[Godless-Kafir]

This has some advantages and disadvantages over AWACS because it can stay up for 24hrs and does not consume fuel. It can easily be defended over ground and even if it did travel away it can be armed with a few AoA missiles.

 

[plugwater]

what are its defences ?
it can easily be shot down by a missile

These cannot be used during wartime.. So i don think there is any need for defenses..

 

[icecoolben]

what are its defences ?
it can easily be shot down by a missile

Before it goes down, it would have pin pointed the source of launch.
Since the aerostat has 300 km of detection, even a brahmos missile travelling at mach 3 will take 330 seconds to reach target. But no adversary of ours has that range missile. Thus for any cruise missile travelling at near mach 1 will take 1000 sec 16 minutes to hit the target, by which time our fighter jets would have been scrambled to intercept the threat. I don't think our reaction time is less than 10 min. Besides during 16 minutes of flight if the target is found to be hostile. then S-300 or Akash or any SAM can be activated to neutralise the threat.

U don't neceassily require an aircraft carrier to do this job, do we?

 

[Rahul92]

These cannot be used during wartime.. So i don think there is any need for defenses..

These are of high end utility these can be used in war at any cause

 

[Rahul Singh]

what are its defences ?
it can easily be shot down by a missile

It can only be shoot down by anti radiation missiles, for which launch platform will have to come within at least 300km radius because there is no ARM in the world which has range excess of 300km. Considering capability of Israeli made Aerostat with EL/M-2083 in Indian services, i believe Indian made will also have equivalent radar which can very well be LRTR (Swordfish). LRTR has range of 800 Km at ground level and as we know range increases with height expect range at 1Km altitude even more............. In sum, long range detection capability of this Aerostat is its defense.

These cannot be used during wartime.. So i don think there is any need for defenses..

Whether it will be used during war will depend on range of its radar. If it carries Swordfish then it can certainly be used in wartime. Close 1000Km detection range is very very safe standoff distance.

 

[Rahul Singh]

Great !! I fail to understand why something so simple is creating so much of a damn hype ??? Other than being useful for carrying out scientific data from the upper atmosphere or similar scientific applications, I hardly find it of being of any use to modern military surveillance !

The U.S. uses dozens of aerostat systems in Iraq and Afghanistan, to guard bases. The EL/M-2083 costs about $20 million each. Israel itself is using two of them, and has four more on order.
Link

Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $79 million contract to provide L-88(V)3 radar systems to the U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command's Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS) along the southern border of the United States.

With its overlapping radar coverage, TARS supports air sovereignty and counterdrug operations conducted by North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs Air and Marine Interdiction Coordination Center. TARS provides nearly continuous surveillance of the nation's southern coastal and inland border from Puerto Rico to California
link.

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[JHA]

Considering capability of Israeli made Aerostat with EL/M-2083 in Indian services, i believe Indian made will also have equivalent radar which can very well be LRTR (Swordfish)

Considering the size of Swordfish and power it consumes, it is impossible to have them on AEROSTAT..The best radar we can have on our AEROSTAT is El-2083.. Radar on this aerostat has a tracking capability of 100 km right now..

 

[sandeepdg]

You talk about other nations but dont know even about India.
check this out .
[URL="India Buys Israeli Aerostat Radar"][/URL]
Aerostats are very much in use even now with improved radar and its sensitiveness. Its a very good way to monitor incoming enemy movement.

Oops , my bad !! I forgot about the two Aerostats we bought from Israel. Its good for static surveillance over a limited area, and cheap, those are the plus points, I agree. But its worth for a sensitive task like coastal or border area surveillance, since they are extremely vulnerable to attack as well as highly sensitive to climatic disturbances. The Americans use them for surveillance of their bases in Iraq and Afghanistan, but then again its static surveillance over a limited area.

 

[ashicjose]

I think just a single bullet need it to be a history.

 

[SHASH2K2]

I think just a single bullet need it to be a history.

Then I would say that you dont know much about aerostats. a single bullet cannot do any damage to it .Its quite robust though it doesnt look like that .Moreover an Aerostst will not be at isolated locations and it wil always have support staffs to take care of small problems.

 

[SpArK]

 

[RPK]

India evaluating R&D for indigenous 90-seater civilian aircraft

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India...seater-civilian-aircraft/Article1-644826.aspx
Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, December 31, 2010First Published: 01:41 IST(31/12/2010)
Last Updated: 01:52 IST(31/12/2010)Share more...0 Comments Tweet Email print

A grant of Rs 49.56 crore has been made for conducting a feasibility study for an indigenous 90 seater civilian plane to fly on regional and feeder routes, an official said on Thursday. "A feasibility study with a total cost of Rs 49.56 crore with a duration of one year for development of a National Civil Aircraft for regional connectivity is being conducted," said the spokesperson of the science and technology ministry.

The study has been commissioned by the state run Council for Scientific and Industrial Research under a 15 member committee and will be in a collaboration with the aviation arm of the research institution, National Aerospace Laboratories.

According to officials involved in the project, the design and development of the prototype is estimated to cost around $1 billion (a little over Rs.5,000 crore). The flight trials are expected in 2015-16.

Another mandate given to the expert panel is to explore a public-private partnership right at the beginning. Interested industrial houses will be asked to submit their expression of interest for selection, officials said.

Earlier, a high powered committee (HPC) was constituted under space scientist G. Madhavan Nair to look into the feasibility of the project.

Various estimates indicate a latent demand of around 500-600 regional jets in India, and 3,500-4000 globally. The major players in the segment include Canadian Bombardier, Brazil's Embraer, European ATR and USA's Cessna.

According to the spokesperson, the project is also expected to draw from the experience of aerospace experts in state-run institutions such as the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Hindustan Aeronautics.

"The National Civil Aircraft Development Project involves configuration, market survey, development of a joint venture and full-scale engineering development for the ambitious plan," spokesperson said.

"The report is expected some time in the middle of 2011," the spokesperson added.

 

[RPK]

Defence Technology Commission to be functional next year

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...-functional-next-year/articleshow/7195493.cms


NEW DELHI: Being established for boosting research and encouraging private participation in the defence sector, the Defence Technology Commission is expected to be functional by February next year.

The Commission under Defence Minister A K Antony is being set up after the Government agreed to implement the recommendations of a Committee under former Science and Technology Secretary P Rama Rao to restructure DRDO, Ministry officials said here.

It is expected to be functional from February 2011. The Commission forms part of a series of measures aimed at transforming and revitalising the DRDO in form and substance, they said.

The Commission would be based at the DRDO headquarters here and would be supported by a Secretariat there.

In May this year, the Defence Ministry had taken several key decisions on DRDO including its de-centralisation and making it a leaner organisation by merging some of its laboratories with other public-funded institutions with similar discipline, interest and administrative system.

Under the measures, the Ministry plans to engage an eminent Human Resource (HR) expert as consultant to revamp the entire HR structure of DRDO and establish a commercial arm of the organisation.

To increase private participation in DRDO activities, it has also been decided to select industry partners through a transparent process by evolving a suitable mechanism.

DRDO would also ensure full autonomy to all laboratories as far as science and technology initiatives were concerned. While empowering the directors of the laboratories, DRDO would put in a mechanism in place to ensure the accountability of the laboratory directors.

One of the major recommendations of the Rama Rao Committee was to make DRDO leaner by merging some of its laboratories with other public funded institutions having similar discipline, interests and administrative systems.

The new commercial arm of DRDO would be a private limited company with a seed capital of about Rs 2 crore. It would deal only with spin-off products and technologies meant for civilian use.

 

[anoop_mig25]

how many committies they are going to formed .by the way what is the result of committee of rama rao what he recommended

 

[nitesh]

http://frontierindia.net/india-to-s...earch-and-development-in-defence-shipbuilding
India to set up R&D center for Warship : National Institute for Research and Development in Defence Shipbuilding

AK Antony, Union Defence Minister will lay the foundation Stone of National Institute for Research and Development in Defence Shipbuilding (NIRDESH) at Chaliyam, near Beypore in Kozhikode Kerala on 4th January. The National Institute is being set up on the directions of the Union Defence Minister with the intention of promoting self reliance in production capabilities relating to all kinds of warships, submarines and other related platforms required by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard to safeguard and protect maritime interests of India.The Institute will also give a further fillip to the indigenisation efforts of the Indian Navy which is already the Standard -Bearer among all the three services as far as indigenization efforts are concerned.

Indian Navy has its own warship design wing. It is manned by Naval personnel. NIRDESH will cater primarily to Indian defence forces and will have participation from shipyards, Navy, Coast guard etc.

 

[nitesh]

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/hemrls-latest-ammo-safe-from-enemy-missile/732092/
HEMRL's latest: Ammo safe from enemy missile

Pune Scientists at the Pune's High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), a DRDO establishment, have come up with 12 explosives under the series —Insensitive Munitions — that explode when fired at enemy targets but do not detonate if the stored explosive is accidentally heated, or hit by enemy rockets.

So, if an enemy missile drops on the storage of these explosives, the probability of it exploding and damaging our soldiers and ammunition storage is minimal, said the experts at the HEMRL.

"Insensitive Munitions are future warheads. Compounds with higher explosive capacity are risky to store as the enemy can target the storage that can cause massive destruction. This is the first time Indian scientists have succeeded in developing IM compounds," said Dr A K Sikder, joint director, HEMRL.

The new series includes 10 newly developed molecules along with CL-20, known to be the world's most powerful non-nuclear explosive, recently developed indigenously by the laboratory. "All these are insensitive high explosive molecules and their applications range from being used in warheads as explosives or to gun or rocket propellants. A number of them finds applications in designing structure of missile or warheads so as to protect the housed explosives from enemy missiles. The increased explosive power is important for the 'much needed' miniaturization of the warhead," added Sikder.

The cost of production of these explosives in the laboratories ranges between Rs 3,000 to 70,000 per kg, Sikder said and added, "All these compounds are at various stages of production. For instance, preparation methods of most of these compounds, with a few exceptions, have been established to five kg per batch-size at the DRDO. This can be increased further depending upon the compound with the help of Public Private Partnerships (PPP). The ultimate aim is to get them produced from the Ordnance Factories that would enable bulk production as well as bring down cost of production."

The development is a result of efforts by the team of scientists at HEMRL.

"Reduced Shock Sensitivity (RSS) RDX is another success of the laboratory. It is shock insensitive high explosive ingredient for Insensitive Munitions and enhances safety of ammunitions from accidental initiation. It will replace sensitive RDX in all formulations. Moreover, it finds applications in rocket propellant formulations too.

 

[nitesh]

http://www.hindu.com/2011/01/03/stories/2011010362441400.htm
Sea trials of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle scheduled for January-end

KOCHI: The sea trials of the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) designed and developed by the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), Durgapur — a constituent establishment of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) — are slated to begin off the Chennai coast during the last week of January.

 

[Parthy]

DRDO working on cutting submarine vulnerability

Work is apace at the Defence Research and Development Organisation's Naval Materials Research Laboratory at Ambernath in Maharashtra on developing a land-based prototype plug, and subsequently an engineered, operational version of an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system that will significantly cut the 'indiscretion rate' of diesel and electric submarines.

The 'indiscretion rate' is the percentage of time a submarine spends snorting when it is most vulnerable. By eliminating the need for conventional submarines to frequently resurface for recharging batteries by breathing in air, it would considerably enhance their sub-surface endurance.

Satisfied

Talking to The Hindu here recently, J. Narayana Das, DRDO's Chief Controller, Research and Development (Naval Systems, Materials and Human Resources), said the Navy was satisfied with the DRDO's proposal. "We are first having a land-based demonstrator. And, as we progress, we will concurrently start an engineered version because engineering anything for a submarine platform is a completely different ballgame."

(Incidentally, The Hindu has learnt from sources in the Navy that it has asked the DRDO to come up with a fully engineered fuel cell AIP by 2014 for possible use in the last two of the six Scorpene submarines being built in Mumbai's Mazagaon Dock. The Navy has also given sanction for the land-based prototype AIP in August this year.)


http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/30/stories/2010123067642400.htm