DRDO, PSU and Private Defence Sector News

[Parthy]

Pilot ejection to be quicker and safer

The time taken by a pilot to eject from his aircraft during emergencies has been reduced to a few milliseconds, thanks to a system developed by the DRDO laboratories in Pune. The Canopy Severance System (CSS), fitted to the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), is not only quicker but safer too, say DRDO officials.

According to them, other aircraft have a canopy jettison system which is mechanical and takes longer to be operational. In this, the entire canopy of the cockpit flies off and could result in injury to the pilot. The indigenously developed CSS, however, uses explosives and allows just a portion of the canopy to be severed. This minimizes the chance of injury during flight, said a communication from DRDO laboratories. Cockpit canopy removal or destruction is a vital part of the escape process. "Ejection usually takes 14 seconds but with the new system, it would take a pilot just 20 milliseconds to eject from the aircraft," a DRDO spokesperson told TOI.

"The CSS of the Tejas aircraft is based on a high explosive. It can also be operated from outside the aircraft, especially when the pilot is unconscious due to injury or in the event of a crash-landing," he said. "The system has been developed using technologies available in India. Therefore, it is cost effective," he added.

The Armament Research & Development Establishment and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory also played a major role in developing the system. The Aeronautical Development Agency is developing the LCA in collaboration with Hindustan Aeronautical Limited."



http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...d-safer/articleshow/7315183.cms#ixzz1BSjaKdjh

 

[nitesh]

The article clearly displays the apathy towards home grown products and to what level the rot has sinked in. Every body has to take there share of blame. Hopefully the things continue to change in right direction
http://frontierindia.net/dpp-2011-old-battlenecks-remain-khana-khilana-khazana
DPP 2011: Old Battlenecks remain, Khana – Khilana – Khazana

 

[nitesh]

http://www.drdo.gov.in/drdo/pub/nl/2011/january.pdf
January news letter, lots of tidbits of information

 

[nitesh]

http://frontierindia.org/blog/drdo-display-on-26-jan-2011-republic-day-parade/

DRDO display on 26 Jan 2011 republic day parade

 

[Parthy]

Embraer To Roll Out Indian AEW And C On Feb. 21

India's Embraer-built Airborne Early Warning & Control System (AEW&C) is scheduled for rollout Feb. 21 in Brazil.

A senior defense official confirmed to Aviation Week Jan. 27 that the first flight of the modified EMB-145 is expected around May. "The first EMB-145 will land in India in August 2011 for system integration and subsequent induction into the Indian Air Force (IAF)," the official says.

India's Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the AEW&C program in October 2004. The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) gave the task to the Bengaluru-based Center for Airborne Systems (CABS). The initial project was approved at a cost of Rs 1,800 crore ($396 million) to develop two operational systems and one engineering prototype within 78 months. But the IAF could only finalize the operational requirements in 2007. CCS looked into the delay and extended the probable date of completion to March 2014, while approving funds to carry out additional tasks.

"The AEW&C with the systems integrated by CABS will fly in India in early 2012," the official says. "CABS have already begun the integration on ground-based systems [according to the] exact specifications [of] the EMB-145, including the seating arrangements."

AEW&C is seen as a force multiplier for IAF's surveillance activities and is expected to boost India's network-centric warfare capabilities. "In addition to surveillance and tracking of aircraft and UAVS, the system can also detect emissions and communications from radar," the official says.

The Indian AEW&C system can operate with a maximum crew of 12. "It can fly non-stop for 10-12 hours with midair-refueling," the official adds. "The all-up weight is 24 tons. The aircraft is being modified to enable mounting of mission systems and be certified for airworthiness, including . . . icing conditions, by Brazilian authorities as per the FAR 25 standard."


http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/gene...braer To Roll Out Indian AEW And C On Feb. 21

 

[chex3009]

DRDO plans to test 10 missiles this year

DRDO plans to test 10 missiles this year​

BALASORE: The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) has planned a series of missile tests in the coming months to prove its might. At least 10 missiles, including the country's first intercontinental range ballistic missile (ICBM) Agni-V have been slated for flight tests this year.

Defence sources said while the first missile to be test-fired this month is the most sophisticated K-15, the test of other projectiles that are in the pipeline include advanced air defence (AAD) interceptor, Agni-I, Agni-II, Prithvi air defence (PAD) interceptor, BrahMos, Prithvi, Astra and Agni-V. "The focus this year will be on the maiden test of the 5,000 km-range Agni-V, which has been scheduled to be test-fired in September. This is the first ICBM India has developed and it is considered a China-specific missile. If launched from the line of control, it can hit targets in China's northernmost city Habin," said a source.

Besides Agni-V, India has so far developed two long-range missiles the 2,000 km-range Agni-II and 3,500 km-range Agni-III. However, the Agni-V ICBM has been designed by adding a third composite stage to the two-stage Agni-III missile. It is built with high composite content to reduce its weight.

The 17.5-metre-long Agni-V would be a canister launch missile system to ensure it has the requisite operational flexibility to be swiftly transported and fired from anywhere. Though the missile weighs around 49 tonnes, one tonne more than Agni III, its range has gone up to far more.

"But before the test of Agni-V, its shorter-range cousins like the 700 km-range Agni-I and 2,000 km-range Agni-II have been planned to be test-launched in April. While on January 31, the submarine-launched ballistic missile will be tested from a pontoon (replica of a submarine) off the Andhra Pradesh coast, the AAD interceptor test is to be carried out on February 10, which will follow the test of other missiles," the source informed. Apart from the Agni-V, the DRDO is now focusing on the ballistic missile defence (BMD) system. As part of the project, it has already developed two interceptors exoatmospheric (outside the atmosphere) and endoatmospheric (within the atmosphere). After the endoatmospheric AAD test, in which the interceptor will kill the incoming missile at an altitude of 15 km, the test of the exoatmospheric PAD interceptor will be conducted.

"We are trying to programme such a coordination that the PAD interceptor would destroy the incoming enemy missile at an altitude of nearly 150 km. During earlier PAD tests, the missile successfully intercepted the target missile at an altitude of 45 km and 80 km," a defence official said.

The scientists also keep a watch on the flight tests of Prithvi, Agni-II and beyond visual range Astra missiles. Last year, while a user trial of Prithvi-II had failed miserably, the first experimental test of the extended version of Agni-II ended with failures.

A series of three trials of Astra had also failed to deliver desired results, putting the credibility of DRDO at stake. The failure of Prithvi-II on September 24 last was the worst as it is touted as one of the proven missiles of the country. However, on December 2, Prithvi-II missiles were tested successfully within a gap of one hour.

While the Agni series of missiles and the interceptors would be launched from the Wheeler Islands, BrahMos, Astra and Prithvi will be tested from the integrated test range (ITR) at Chandipur off the Orissa coast.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhubaneswar/DRDO-plans-to-test-10-missiles-this-year/articleshow/7374636.cms

 

[Armand2REP]

Hope for success. Too many DRDO failures to date...

 

[plugwater]

We are trying to programme such a coordination that the PAD interceptor would destroy the incoming enemy missile at an altitude of nearly 150 km. During earlier PAD tests, the missile successfully intercepted the target missile at an altitude of 45 km and 80 km," a defence official said.

I thought it is a new interceptor with solid propellant. Whats the point in having a liquid propellant missile which is so bulky to move and deploy in large numbers.

 

[black eagle]

India's NAL gears up for the big leagues
Highlights from the story....

NAL has also led development of the Saras, a 14-seat multi-role transport aircraft designed primarily for the military. It is working with another private-sector firm, Mahindra Aerospace, on the NM5-100, a five-seater turboprop aimed at air taxi, training, tourism and medevac roles.
Despite the issues with Saras, NAL is contemplating a far more ambitious project with the RTA-70. Although it was envisaged as a turboprop aircraft, NAL now says the RTA-70 could be powered by turbofan engines, with the government viewing the aircraft as a stepping stone to larger models. NAL is studying the two options, and will deliver a report to the government in April 2011, after which a decision will be made.

NAL expects demand for regional aircraft in India to reach 250 by 2025. This is driven by the wealthy Indian middle class and its demand for flights on low-cost carriers. Also, industries are moving into India's smaller cities, increasing the viability of regional flights to such destinations. NAL also sees possible demand for 150 military variants to replace the Indian air force's Antonov An-32 fleet.

Irrespective of the RTA-70's powerplant, it is likely to come in two variants: a shorter one with 70-90 seats and a longer one with 80-100 seats. Its range will be 1,350nm (2,500km), suitable for most long sectors in India. Avionics are likely to be produced locally, including an indigenous fly-by-wire control system to save weight. Upadhya estimates the aircraft could be in service as soon as 2017, and that NAL is open to international and local partners.

On Saras:

NAL says a replacement for the second prototype is likely to be ready in 2011, with a glass cockpit and further use of composites.



http://chaffandflare.blogspot.com/2011/01/indias-nal-gears-up-for-big-leagues.html

 

[nitesh]

http://www.sahilonline.org/english/news.php?cid=2&nid=10086
India self-sufficient in missle technology: Saraswat

Bangalore : India is self-sufficient in missile technology and had the necessary technological wherewithal to produce various classes of missiles for the three Defence forces of the country, Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister V K Saraswat today asserted.

Talking to newspersons here, he said during the current year, DRDO would be testing various new missiles including Agni-5 and few other strategic missiles required for Indian Air Force, Army and the Navy.

Beginning February, these tests would commence, he said adding that the need of the hour was to gear up the Indian industry, both private and public sector, to take up integration of missiles so that the required volumes could be produced.

He said the country could also emerge as an exporter of some of the missile systems such as Akash and Nag.

Asked whether some deals for such exports could be signed immediately, he said the prime responsibility at the moment was to meet the huge demand posed by the Armed Forces. ''We do have requests and we can think about it only after meeting domestic requirements'' he added.

 

[youngindian]

India's NAL gears up for the big leagues


http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/01/31/352409/indias-nal-gears-up-for-the-big-leagues.html

 

[Parthy]

No top level scientist has left DRDO in recent years : DRDO

Today DRDO refuted that top scientists have left DRDO in recent years. DRDO has released a press note to reiterate the facts mentioned by Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat, Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri during the "Aero India-2011-Curtain Raiser Press Meet" held at Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bangalore, on 28th January 2011. The SA to RM was responding to a question asked by a journalist seeking his views on the likely impact of receding recession on attrition among young scientists during the press meet. A misinterpreted version of his statement has appeared in a leading Newspaper on 29th and 30th January.

As per DRDO "no top level scientist has left DRDO in recent years, except for reasons of superannuation. During past six months, about 20 young scientists have left the organization seeking more lucrative jobs. In an organization with over 7500 scientists the number is certainly not a cause of concern."

The attrition rate which had reduced drastically during the past two years has slightly increased in recent months. The DRDO release mentions "The issue is not a cause of concern. DRDO, with excellent and rare infrastructure facilities for R&D, favorable work environment, attractive opportunities for career progression and professional growth, handsome compensation, pride in serving the nation, attached social status and reasonable job security, is today a favorite destination for the aspirants seeking R&D as career."



http://frontierindia.net/no-top-level-scientist-has-left-drdo-in-recent-years-drdo

 

[black eagle]

Conceptual drawings of future AGNI-3 variants...

AGNI-3A

 

[black eagle]

Agni-3b

 

[shuvo@y2k10]

if india succesfully develops the mirv can the agni2 and agni 3 also be customized to carry the mirvs apart from agni5?

 

[nitesh]

http://www.dailyindia.com/show/422691.php
DRDO's UAV 'Nishant' completes confirmatory flight trials

 

[black eagle]

"Defence exports have dropped to laughable level": ex-General


SOURCE : PTI
Defence exports from the country"s Ordnance Factories have fallen to such meagre levels that the quantum is "laughable", a former Army General has said.Defence exports from Ordnance Factories have slided from"a paltry Rs 41.07 crore in 2008-09 to a laughable Rs 12.28crore in 2009-10. It is a reflection of the nature and quality of items being produced indigenously," Maj Gen (Retd) Mrinal Suman said.
Suman regretted that India has also not been able to produce "a single defence system with cutting-edge technology". There has been a "total failure" of policies governing foreign and private participation in defence production, with imports rising to as high as 75 per cent in 2009-10, Suman said writing in an article in the premier journal "Indian Defence Review".
Maintaining that all hopes raised by the 2002 Defence Procurement Procedure have been "belied", Suman said the last decade has been "a chronicle of tall claims, missed opportunities and inability to translate policies into implementable programmes. The current regime has been a total failure".
To buttress his point, Suman, who himself was associated with defence procurement while in office, said imports have climbed to 75 per cent rather than dropping to the targeted 30per cent.
"While every critical item is being imported, India continues to be happy producing (aircraft) doors and windows for foreign aviation majors," Suman said in an article in the premier journal "Indian Defence Review".
Despite "repeated assertions" of the government to integrate private sector in defence industry, "there is little progress on ground. The private sector continues to be a peripheral player" producing some low-tech items and components, he said.
Building a strong case for turning India into a manufacturing hub, he said for this, it was imperative that foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in.
However, FDI should be technology-centric with inherent flexibility. "It could be 26 per cent for low-tech products,51 to 74 per cent for matured systems and 75 to 100 per cent for cutting-edge technologies," he suggested.
Observing that all countries leverage offset clauses in consonance with their national economic priorities to fill an important technological or economic void, he said, "Strangely,India does not accept technology against offsets."
With the "current flawed policy", offsets were not contributing to upgrading of the indigenous technological base, he said, calling for amending the current offset policy to make transfer of technology the preferred mode.
Asserting that India must become a key player in the global supply chain, Suman made a strong plea for setting up of a multi-disciplinary "Defence Capability Development Board"under the Commerce Ministry to oversee the entire gamut of related activities and act as a single window interface for all entrepreneurs.

 

[black eagle]

Wearable Computer for Indian soldiers

India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is working on a wearable computer for soldiers.

The computer would have many useful applications, offering connectivity to soldiers in a group or with command headquarters. In case of a problem, like a missing soldier, the computer would help in locating him and his unit.

In tough, inhospitable terrains, the computer could also have GPS locators for guidance and direction.

There are thousands of applications that in fact can be there depending upon the requirements.

A prototype of the Wearable Computer was displayed at the Indian Science Congress held in the southern Indian city of Chennai recently.

The device was capable of carrying out scores of applications like Situational Awareness, Command Control, Navigation, Sensor Data Processing, Video and Voice Streaming.

DRDO has successfully developed computer software for Indian Air Force's SU 30 MKI's aircraft, missiles and other combat systems.

http://www.indiastrategic.in/topstories879.htm

 

[nrj]

Indian Defence Production Policy: Got the policy, where's the plan?

Sometime during the last DefExpo, held in New Delhi in February 2010, RK Singh, the Secretary of the Department of Defence Production, had announced that the Indian government would soon come out with a defence production policy, a commitment successively pronounced by the defence minister and defence ministry mandarins in various public forums. Most members of Indian defence and security affairs (including from industry chambers CII, Ficci, Assocham, etc.) have been suggesting that the government come out with a 'roadmap for Indian defence industry', and the defence minister's unveiling of the first Defence Production Policy (DPrP) on 13 January 2011 – the first ever written policy document on critical national security issues – has come as a welcome development.

Now that DPrP is in effect, it is time to make a preliminary assessment on its objectives and possible consequences. First, DPrP's main objective is "to achieve substantive self-reliance in the design, development and production of systems required for defence forces". Second, it "aims to create conditions conducive for the private industry to play an active role in defence production". Third, it gives importance to "harnessing the untapped potential of the small and medium enterprises in the indigenisation process". Fourth, the policy will actively encourage "involvement of academia, R&D institutions, technical and scientific organisations". Fifth, the policy will encourage "formation of consortia, joint ventures and public-private partnerships to synergise and enhance national competence in defence production". Last but not the least, the policy suggests the government "set up a separate fund to provide necessary resources to production stakeholders like the public and private industry, SMEs and academic/scientific institutions for research and development efforts". In sum, DPrP strives to achieve a reasonable degree of self-reliance in defence by enlarging the scope of industrial and R&D institutional participation beyond DRDO and defence public sector units to include private industry, SMEs, scientific research institutions and relevant academia.

Now that the DPrP is in place, let the objectives of this important policy be pitted against ground reality to find out whether the latter has influenced the formulation of the former, and if so, to what extent, and if not, how autistic is the problem in the current context. Such an exercise will hopefully enable the government to consider further revision, if any.

First, conceptually, self-reliance in defence, a contested term with different subjective meanings yet generally understood as 'attainment of a certain degree of strategic autonomy by a country in design, development and production of military goods and services', has moved from an autarkic model (state-controlled) to embrace openness through diversification and collaboration for the past few decades. DPrP has tried to follow the same pattern but fails to chart a definitive plan of action, which requires, ab initio, a technology roadmap and identification of products, services and R&D that can be pursued by the defence industry. Unfortunately, while such a roadmap was indeed prepared by the Integrated Defence Staff and put it in the official Website some time ago, the same has been withdrawn now! A carefully prepared holistic roadmap for the industry is a necessary pre-condition for a meaningful DPrP.

Second, the DPrP, instead of charting out clear roles for categories of stakeholders, has actually concocted the structural aspects of defence production. For example, while the role of SMEs has been emphasised without explaining how, it has surprisingly left out Raksha Udyog Ratnas (RURs), considered to be the future locomotive of the Indian defence industrial base! The role of academia and R&D institutions have been mentioned but how will they be involved in the structure have not been spelled out. Similarly, neither the philosophy nor the methods of creating collaborative models like public-private partnerships, joint ventures or consortia have been explained. More deliberations are required to look into structural aspects of the policy.

Third, DPrP rightly recognises that the development of complex systems is generally a stage process and thus allows some flexibility of 'buy' option. This is a delicate issue. Often times, as DRDO has demonstrated in many of its flagship programmes in the past, critical development projects are based on unrealistic time frames, frequent quality requirement (QR) changes, bureaucratic and political apathy, resource crunch and problems in technology acquisition. DPrP must spell out a practical strategy to ensure long-term complex projects reach their eventual conclusions.

Fourth, DPrP envisages a separate fund for R&D efforts by industry and academic and scientific institutions. It actually means that DRDO will have its own fund while another fund will be created for the industry. Such funding efforts, unless carefully synchronised and synergised, are likely to lead to duplication of efforts rather than any healthy competition. DPrP should find a viable option on funding. Fifth, DPrP, like the Defence Procurement Procedure, has failed to give a workable solution to the problem of transfer of technology (ToT). Most ToT agreements in defence have thus far ended with licence production arrangements, thus giving little benefit to the production agencies. Last but not the least, the defence minister's annual review of progress in self-reliance in defence efforts will end as a ritual unless a common minimum quantification of self-reliance efforts is arrived at. Else, we will be perpetually confused as to how self-reliant we are in defence production.


----
By Deba R Mohanty

(The author is a senior fellow in Security Studies at the Observer Research Foundation)

 

[nitesh]

these shows the confusion in top echelons of power

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/135774/air-chiefs-veiled-dig-china.html

Touching on the topic of reverse engineering, Nayak indirectly questioned China and said: "Is reverse engineering ethical or is it an illegitimate entry through the backdoor?" He added that the world knew of a country that recently got a fifth generation aircraft recently.

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/article1164791.ece?homepage=true

"I do not think any country in the world, however friendly they are, would like to part with their most modern 'A' grade technology with any other. That is the reality," he said, inaugurating the eighth edition of Aero India 2011 International Seminar here.

"Until we gradually develop our own strong technological base in critical technologies we cannot say India has come of age," he said while reiterating thrust on achieving self-reliance in critical defence technologies.

It was essential for all stakeholders, including DRDO, industry, universities, research institutions and other arms to come together. Such coordination, Antony said, would receive government support.



the problem is that we want to be self sufficient in critical areas, but self sufficiency doesn't come overnight. It is a process. Some time before retd. vice marshal barbora said what is wrong in "reverse engineering" and now chief takes digs on that. Until the end users comes to terms with gradual increments this vicious cycle will continue. They need to become a willing partner rather then a nosy customer. No short cuts here.