Indian Army: News and Discussion

[sayareakd]

Why not India develop the rail in north east ?

sir, please visit that area, then you will realise how hard it is to build road their........

 

[RPK]

Link

Indian Army chief to visit Myanmar on Sunday

New Delhi: Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor will on Sunday begin a three-day visit to Myanmar to nurture direct military-to-military ties with the neighbour on the eastern flank.

"The Army Chief will be on a three-day visit to Myanmar. We have always had close ties with our counterparts in Myanmar. There have been cooperation in counter-insurgency training and all," a senior Indian Army official said, requesting anonymity.


Myanmar, second largest of India's neighbours on the east, is important for the realisation of the country's Look East policy since China has always tried to bring Myanmar within its own strategic embrace.

Kapoor's visit comes at a time when China has announced construction of a rail link up to the Myanmar border. The move has raised concerns in the Indian armed forces as it would give China a route for transporting reinforcements in case of confrontation with India.

Earlier also there have been high level visits between chiefs of the armed forces of the two countries.

The then Indian Army chief's visit in November 2005 was followed by the visit of then Indian Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash in January 2006.

In February 2005, Myanmar Navy chief Vice Admiral Soe Thein visited India. Two Indian warships visited Yangon to participate in some basic exercises with the Myanmar Navy December 22-26, 2005.

A corvette of the Myanmar Navy participated in the multi-nation exercise Milan-06 off the Andaman coast January 9-14, 2006.

India has also shown keenness to supply naval hardware to Myanmar. During former navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta's visit to Yangon in 2007, India agreed to supply three Islander aircraft to Myanmar.

Myanmar has geo-strategic importance to India as it provides China an access to the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean Region and to Strait of Malacca from where most of its energy supplies are routed. Still, military cooperation between India and Myanmar pales in comparison to its ties with China.

China is providing major assistance in the modernization of naval facilities at Akyab (Sittwe), Mergui, Hanggyi Islands and Great Coco Islands.

Myanmar is presently ruled by a military junta and faces US sanctions because of alleged human rights violation and suppression of pro-democracy activists.

 

[Martian]

"Kapoor's visit comes at a time when China has announced construction of a rail link up to the Myanmar border. The move has raised concerns in the Indian armed forces as it would give China a route for transporting reinforcements in case of confrontation with India."

It is said that when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Isn't it dangerous, due to the problem of misinterpretation, of looking at all Chinese activities through a military viewpoint? Isn't it more plausible that China is building a rail link to Myanmar for economic reasons, such as transportation for lumber trade?

 

[Arun]

It is said that when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Isn't it dangerous, due to the problem of misinterpretation, of looking at all Chinese activities through a military viewpoint? Isn't it more plausible that China is building a rail link to Myanmar for economic reasons, such as transportation for lumber trade?

Bro if thats the case why cant you leave Iran free to make Nuke ,they repeatedly said that its only for civilian use.Instead you guys are panicking,thinking that they will make a nuke bomb and use it against allies wright.[Well i do agree to that,thats another story ]. Like wise we have the wright to counter any potential threat,and so pls .

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Times Now Reporting :- BrahMos to be deployed in Ladakh

 

[youngindian]

Uncertainty looms over DEFEXPO 2010 defense exhibition

Sun, Oct 11, 2009

The fate of the 2010 edition of DEFEXPO, one of Asia’s premier land and naval defence systems shows looks uncertain as the halls marked for the event in the exhibition ground at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi may not be available during the show days of February 15-18, 2010 as the same were said be earmarked for renovation for the Commonwealth games later in the year.

Informed sources told Defenseworld.net that there is a possibility that the show could be shifted out to an exhibition centre in Greater Noida, about 25Kms outside Delhi.

However, the organizers, Defense Exhibition Organization (DEO) were trying their best to hold the show in the original venue itself to avoid inconvenience to the large number of exhibitors already committed to participate, the sources added.

In another development, booking of space is yet to start as the DEO has not yet completed the process of appointing an event manger for the show.

India’s two main trade associations, CII and FICCI had been issued request for proposals but their response is not yet known.

The previous editions of DEFEXPO had been organized by CII but this time, the DEO had wanted to appoint an event manager for a longer time than merely for the next edition.

Amidst all this uncertainty, major exhibitors appear exasperated over whether the show will take off or not. “We have already made hotel bookings, and are committed to spending more than a million dollars as our total DEFEXPO participation cost, if the show does not happen, we will be very unhappy”, said a potential foreign exhibitor.

An executive of a prominent international defense company said, “we have to organize export and import formalities, make hotel arrangements, arrange meetings with Indian officials besides press and other events.

All this needs time to organize and we are fast running out of time”.

Uncertainty looms over DEFEXPO 2010 defense exhibition : Defenseworld.net

 

[RPK]

Armed forces conduct mock security and emergency drill in Kerala

Kochi, Oct 13(ANI): To counter any untoward act of terrorism, the armed forces on Tuesday conducted a mock security and emergency drill in Kochi.

The Indian Army, Coast Guard, Navy and state police participated in the joint exercise, which was aimed to learn and execute coordinated action plan during any emergency situation.

Deputy Commissioner of Police of Kochi, P Prakash, said that the operation was conducted on a planned schedule and will be undertaken from time to time at various places.



Prakash further said that similar mock security drills were also being conducted near coastal regions, starting from Thrivanuthapuram to Kasargod and Manjeshwar in the north region of the State.

The mock drill also witnessed Indian Navy’s helicopters in action, as a squad of commandos were airlifted to the roof of a twelve-story under construction building where around a dozen ‘terrorists’ were ‘hiding’ on different floors and rooms.

The exercise was performed with precision, as the commandos accomplished their task by eliminating the entire lot of ‘terrorists’ who had taken ‘refuge’ in the building. (ANI)

 

[youngindian]

Army has to wait for new choppers

Friday , Oct 16, 2009

After a controversy that led to the cancellation of the tender in 2007, the Armed Force’s wait for new light helicopters to replace ageing Cheetah choppers that are the lifeline of thousands of troops deployed along the border is set to get longer due to major delays in the procurement process.


While the contract was cancelled two years ago after various discrepancies emerged in the selection process, the fresh Rs 3,000-crore tender to procure 197 helicopters is set to get delayed by at least a year with the government yet to take a decision on carrying out trials of the competing aircraft.


After new tenders were issued to six aviation giants last year, trials to evaluate the performance of the helicopters were expected to be carried out in India this summer, followed by a round of winter trials in November-December.


However, even after completing all technical evaluations and assuring the competing companies that validation trails will be held ‘shortly’, the Defence Ministry is yet to invite anyone for trials. While the summer deadline is far gone, pushing back the procurement by six months, the ministry has not even called the competitors for a round of winter trials, effectively pushing back the entire process by a yearThe trials will now only be possible next year, which means that the first of the new light helicopters will not arrive before 2013-14, more than five years behind schedule. As reported by The Indian Express, the earlier procurement process that started in 2002 had come under a cloud after discrepancies emerged in the selection process. Besides getting hit by the delay in trials, the current procurement process also got a setback last November after on the contenders, US aerospace giant Bell, pulled out from the tender citing a ‘stringent’ offsets clause that requires the winning contender to pump in 50 per cent of the purchase price into the Indian defence industry.This delay comes even as the Armed Forces are struggling to maintain the fleet of ageing Cheetah helicopters that are used to carry supplies to troops posted at extreme altitudes on the Pakistan and China border. The Cheetah choppers, which are of the 1970’s vintage, ferry medicines, food and also carry out casualty evacuation for troops that are posted at positions located over 20,000 feet on the border. In the new

tender, the Army was to get 133 helicopters while the remaining would have gone to the Air Force.

While Cheetahs are being used by both the Army and IAF for operations in extreme locations, the indigenous Dhruv helicopter is not faring well in high altitude tests that are currently being carried out in Ladakh and surrounding areas. The primary problem, evaluators say, is the helicopter’s inability to carry a ‘meaningful load’ of cargo to high altitude helipads.


Army has to wait for new choppers

 

[Arun]

Guys latest videos and photos from YUDH ABHYAS released, since i cant post the photos here i am leaving the link:

I got it from Livefist :

Photos : LiveFist - The Best of Indian Defence: Indo-US Mechanised Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2009

Videos : LiveFist - The Best of Indian Defence: NEW VIDEOS! Indian & US Armies At Ex Yudh Abhyas 09 In Babina

 

[nitesh]

On War Footing

The November Offensive

* The offensive will be spread over the next five years
* A special forces school, a special forces unit and an army brigade HQ will be set up near Bilaspur. The Bde HQ will participate in anti-Maoist ops in the future. The army is looking for 1,800 acres of land to set up the infrastructure.
* The IAF is looking for 300 acres for its base
* MHA is sitting on a plan to redeploy the Rashtriya Rifles
* For now, 27 battalions of the Border Security Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police will be moved into Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Maharashtra
* The paramilitary forces will be supported by six Mi-17 IAF choppers
* The helicopters will have on board the IAF's special force, the GARUDS, to secure the chopper and conduct combat search and rescue operations
* The offensive will be in seven phases. Each phase has been marked areawise as Operating Areas (OAs).
* OA-1 involves moving along a north-south axis from Kanker, Chhattisgarh, and on an east-west axis from Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and span the Abuj Marh forests used by the Maoists as a training centre and logistics base

***

The deep scars on constable Anup Sethi (name changed) are still visible to those who care to see. A year ago, while on an undercover mission in Dantewada, one of the worst-affected districts of Chhattisgarh, Sethi was caught by the Maoists, his AK-47 snatched away and his face and arms slashed with knives. He was allowed to live, since he was once a Naxalite. Back in uniform now, Sethi regrets the loss of his AK-47, but has now opted for something the Indian army discarded a decade ago: the older 7.62 mm Self-Loading Rifle (SLR). “It shoots straighter and kills better,” he says, patrolling deep in the jungles of Dantewada on a sunny afternoon.

For years, the ragged security infrastructures in the Naxal-affected states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have worked in isolation, pitting their motley crew of state police and central paramilitary forces against Maoists—the whole thing was marked by an absence of strategy. The wheels might now begin to turn. Come November, and the Centre will mark the beginning of a coordinated, seven-phase offensive to take on Maoists in their core areas. For the first time, the ground is being laid for involving the Indian army and air force should the need arise, and strengthening existing state and paramilitary forces.

With each part of the operation designated areawise as OAs or Operating Areas, the November Offensive will mark the first phase. A two-pronged attack, it will begin simultaneously in the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, together characterised as OA1. The objective is to proceed on a north-to-south axis from Kanker and a west-to-east axis from Gadchiroli, and meet at the 6,000 sq km swathe of forest called the Abuj Marh, which is “unknown jungle” in the local Gondi dialect of the tribals (see map). Indeed, the Marh is an impenetrable forest that has not even been mapped for revenue records and has therefore served as a major training and logistics base for the Maoists for years. The strategy now is to push ahead, hit Abuj Marh and then hold ground.

Red hood: Locals pledge support to Maoists in the jungles of Bastar


OA1 secured, it’ll serve as a logistics base for the next phase of operations—OA2—to be conducted in the Maoist-affected districts of Dantewada, Narayanpur, Bijapur and Bastar. Orissa’s bordering districts won’t conduct any offensive operations, with troops being deployed only in a defensive posture to hold ground and prevent Maoists fleeing Chhattisgarh from entering the forests there.

Preparations have been under way for a while. As a major step, however, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) cleared a pending proposal of the army headquarters to set up a special forces school, a special forces unit and a brigade HQ in Chhattisgarh. “The army wanted 1,800 acres of land, and we identified Bilaspur as the area for setting up the brigade headquarters,” Vishwa Ranjan, the director-general of police, Chhattisgarh, told Outlook. “As of now, Indian army officials are scouting around for contiguous land and the district collector has been instructed to help them set up the headquarters.” Bilaspur is Chhattisgarh’s third-largest city, and also the headquarters of the South Central Railway. With this, the army will be set to play a role beyond its present responsibility of training paramilitary forces like the Border Security Force (BSF) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).

The Indian air force too will, for the first time, have a task cut out for it in anti-Maoist operations. Six Russian Mi-17 helicopters have been earmarked to aid the paramilitary forces on ground. Two each will be placed in Nagpur in Maharashtra, Orissa and Jagdalpur, the district headquarters of Bastar, to aid troops in conducting operations in inaccessible areas as well as casualty evacuation. The choppers will also carry the IAF’s special forces—the Garuds—to secure the aircraft and conduct combat search and rescue operations. According to sources in the air headquarters, the CCS also agreed that the air force choppers will have the permission to fire back in self-defence.

Dantewada a house is checked for a suspected Maoist


Besides, the Centre and states are planning to send in nearly 27 battalions (of 800 to 1,000 men each) of the BSF and ITBP into Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Maharashtra to augment existing troops. The MHA is also sitting on a plan to redeploy the elite Rashtriya Rifles in the area once the brigade HQ is set up. A specialised force raised by the army to combat insurgency in Kashmir, RR will be diverted from Jammu & Kashmir “once the situation is more stable in Kashmir”, a senior official of the Union ministry of home affairs told Outlook. The BSF and RR, unlike other paramilitary forces, have heavy weaponry like medium-range machine guns, mortars and rocket launchers. This will take the new offensive to an altogether different level.

And Chhattisgarh is slated to be a major theatre of action in the November offensive. DGP Vishwa Ranjan was a former Madhya Pradesh cadre police officer who spent the better part of his professional life in the Intelligence Bureau studying the Maoists, their tactics and strategies and gathering intelligence on their activities and sudden growth in the last several years. He was chosen by the central and state government to head back to Chhattisgarh to train and deploy a police force that seemed to be losing its way against the Maoists. “The Maoist literature available with us clearly states that they are preparing for a war with the Indian army,” says Ranjan. “They have trained and equipped themselves for such a war. But come November and we will be launching a fresh new offensive against them.”

After Ranjan took over, training methods were changed, fresh forces raised and new equipment brought in. Serving and retired Indian army personnel were brought in to train the Chhattisgarh police and reorient them in jungle strategy and warfare, battlecraft and special operations. The idea was to give the men the confidence to take on the Maoists and raise a force like Andhra’s Greyhounds, a specialised police force that operated in the jungles bordering Chhattisgarh and Orissa tracking Maoists. Earlier, the state had set up a counter-terrorism and jungle warfare school in Kanker district in 2005, and put it under the charge of Brig B.K. Ponwar, a retired commandant of the army’s jungle warfare school. Serving jcos from the army now impart training to all Chhattisgarh police personnel at the school. “Training in the school is now mandatory for all officers and men of the Chhattisgarh police,” says DGP Ranjan. The Chhattisgarh police in turn has set up a new school to train the men and officers of the Special Task Force men under a former Special Forces officer, Col R. Sharma.

Training Day: Army SF instructor Col Sharma at the STF school


The infusion of the army’s platoon- and company-level tactics has already begun to pay dividends. The police now conduct surgical operations, living off the land in dense forest for weeks chasing Maoist ‘dalams’ and local guerrilla squads who have their own doctrines, strategies and training (see box).

Will this strategy work? Hitherto, the government had neither any strategy nor the will to counter the problem. The MHA, the nodal agency for all internal security issues, did have a Maoist management division, but it was staffed with bureaucrats who had never served in Maoist-affected states or had any experience in counter-insurgency. The police bore the brunt of the Maoist attacks, yet weren’t included at the policymaking level to be able to make a meaningful contribution.

With things drifting thus, police casualties had begun to mount in the recent past, compounded as their woes were by lack of adequate training and equipment. The deployment of the Central Reserve Police Force proved to be another disaster. Ill-equipped and ill-trained for the job, many of its personnel lost their lives in mines and IEDs laid on village roads by the Maoists. Understandably, the CRPF panicked and restricted its men from operating beyond a radius of 5 km beyond their camps, which has now been revised to a radius of 8 km.

Things began to change and an anti-Maoist strategy began to take shape once P. Chidambaram took charge as the new minister of home affairs post-26/11. To begin with, a serving brigadier of the Indian army was brought into the MHA to formulate strategies, while a police officer was posted as a joint secretary in the anti-Maoist division. Serious deliberations thereon have culminated in the November offensive.

The MHA intends to start development works in areas that are cleared and secured. But as the build-up for the offensive begins, police in the area is getting rapidly militarised and the scars of a protracted conflict have begun to appear on civil society. Are Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra headed the Manipur or Kashmir way? Will the recent spate of violence by the Maoists evoke a more lethal response from a state digging in its heels for a long war? Many more shades of grey might invade the frame gradually as the battle for the soul and the very idea of India enters a decisive phase.

 

[Quickgun Murugan]

Indian Troops Step up Burma Border Patrols

Indian Troops Step up Burma Border Patrols

India has deployed more troops on its Assam border with Burma to counter illegal drug and arms trading by insurgent groups, according to sources in the region.

The deployment follows a three-day visit to the Burmese capital, Naypyidaw, last week by Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor, during which he discussed counter-insurgency and border ethnic issues with junta leaders.

A Chin source living in Mizoram State said about 2,000 troops had been deployed in the four frontier states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.

The source, Ehang Len Piang, said: “Illegal heroin crossing the border from Burma is giving Indian authorities a headache.” Addiction among young Indians was a big problem, he said.

India has a 1,630 km border with Burma. Insurgent groups such as the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the People’s Liberation Army, and Naga and Kuki forces are active in four border states—Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.

The New Delhi newspaper Hindustan Times reported on Sunday that the trade in drugs and guns is carried out by Burmese Kachin, Wa and Shan armed ethnic groups and by Chins in western Burma. They also smuggled forged Indian currency into India, the newspaper said.

Lt Gen NK Singh, chief of the Indian Army’s 3rd Corps, told the Hindustan Times: “There have been quite a few seizures of small arms and drugs in recent months. Most of those involved were Chins, who have the advantage of looking like the Mizos of Mizoram and speaking a similar language.”

Min Tang, a member of the Chin National Council in India’s Mizoram State, said about 1,000 UNLF members lived on the Burmese side of the border.

He said they traded heroin and Chinese-made weapons with the Chin—and he accused Burmese officials of accepting bribes to allow the trade to continue.

Indian attempts to stem the trade and curb the insurgent groups have so far met with little success. Since 1993, the Indian government has developed a closer relationship with the Burmese junta, engaging in increased trade and providing it with military hardware.

The Burmese government has agreed to support Indian attempts to combat the insurgent groups and their illegal trading, but says it is difficult to access border areas because of poor roads.

 

[bengalraider]

Actually illegal trafficking is quite like a cottage industry in the north-east, most villages have their share of boys who buy backpack full of things not available in china or Burma at the local market and take them across the border and bring cheap electronics back. The IA and the police can do little to stem this trade which is carried along old hunting tracks and jungle routes that the tribals know.
I remember meeting this manipuri guy (or was he naga i don;t really remember , well he was from the north-east)on the Azad hind express ) who wanted to sell me a bootleg Chinese I phone fro 700 bucks(for the record i refused),he proceeded to tell me how they knew about jungle tracks and routes used for tribal wars that were not known to anyone else and also how the trip to China took 2 days over the hills .

 

[Arun]

French anti-terror force offers to train NSG men
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009

French anti-terror force offers to train NSG men IDRW.ORG

French elite anti-terrorist force GIGN (the National Gendarmerie Intervention Group) has offered special training to India’s National Security Guard (NSG) commandos on a reciprocal basis.

“We are considering the offer. We plan to soon put up a proposal before the government for sending our men to France for training,” NSG director general NPS Aulakh said on Friday.

If the proposal gets the nod, this will be the first time NSG commandos will train abroad.

Aulakh said the government is procuring sophisticated weapons for NSG commandos based on the experience of the elite anti-terror force during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks from countries such as Austria, France and Switzerland.

“The process of equipping the force with new weapons is in the final stages,” Home Minister P. Chidambaram said, while addressing commandos at the 25th Raising Day ceremony.

“We’ll defend India…Every day, we are adding to our capacity to deal with the terror threats,” added the minister

Asked whether the Indian Army has expressed its inability to provide officers and men on deputation to the elite commando force owing to a manpower shortage, the NSG chief said: “The Army is also in the extension mode. But we are not facing any problem. As and when the Army sends men to us, we send them for training.”

The director general said crack teams of NSG commandos would soon take position at the Indira Gandhi International Airport as the government has provided five acres to the NSG to create a base for the elite force. The commandos were also training for interventions required at the Metro railway stations across the country.

An anthem for the NSG written by renowned lyricist Gulzar and sung by Shankar Mahadevan was also released on the occasion of the raising day.

 

[Sridhar]

Army doesn’t want others to wear fatigues

BY : DNA
The Indian Army uniform is getting too ‘uniform’. The Border Security Force personnel are wearing a similar fatigue, complain army officials. Private security agencies and owners of factories, restaurants, farm houses, big shops, malls and plush colonies too are draping their guards in army uniform.
It has given the terrorists chance to masquerade in army uniform. The October 10 strike by Taliban gunmen at the Pakistan army headquarters in Rawalpindi brought back memories of the 2002 Swaminarayan Temple attack in Gandhinagar. More than 50 civilians were killed when Kashmiri separatists, dressed like National Security Guard commandos, fired indiscriminately inside the temple.
There had been other similar massacres — the attack on Amarnath pilgrims; at Raghunath temple in Jammu. Dressed in army uniforms, the terrorists found it easier to kill.
The Indian Army has renewed its demand for a law barring everyone else from donning its combat uniform. “If a civilian can purchase an army uniform from a garment store, so can terrorists,” said a senior army official.
To bar access to its uniform, the Army has suggested that only authorised stores and tailors, located at military cantontments, be allowed to sell the uniform. And that too, on confirmation that the buyer was an armyman.
There is also a demand for unauthorised use of the uniform being made a cognisable and non-bailable offence, with mandatory and automatic punishment.


Army doesn’t want others to wear fatigues IDRW.ORG

 

[RPK]

NSG queues up for Stinger stun gun, ITBP for Nighthawk

Link

Why kill, when you can capture and get them to sing like Kasab?” reads the advertisement for Stinger — a non-lethal stun gun that appears to have caught the imagination of the country’s top security forces, including the National Security Guard (NSG), at the ongoing Indesec Expo 2009. This sleek gun, which the FBI uses, is actually proving to be quite a head-turner at the Expo.
“Many security agencies, including the NSG, have shown interest in procuring the Stinger,” said Vandit Aneja of Kommlabs Dezign, a Noida-based company promoting this US made gun in India. However, what is acting as a dampener is the fact that India doesn’t have a licensing policy for non-lethal weapons which, in turn, has prevented the introduction of Stinger-like guns, which can incapacitate without actually killing the target, in the country.

Other star attractions at the Indesec Expo are a micro UAV that can be launched from the shoulder to conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions in dense forest and vast tracts of inaccessible areas and heavily armoured “bomb and mine-proof” vehicles that can move unhindered in heavily mined areas. Little wonder, India’s security establishment is turning up in droves to see and explore what is on offer in the security bazaar. NSG Director General N P S Aulakh, for one, was seen visiting a host of these stalls on Monday, checking out a variety of security gadgets and equipment on display. While the NSG is learnt to have shown interest in the Stinger, that could come in handy for the commandos of this elite force during anti-hijack operations, senior officials of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the Border Security Force (BSF) and Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) have evinced keen interest in Nighthawk MAV (micro aerial vehicle) that can travel a 10-km distance in an hour’s time, conduct surveillance and reconnaissance activity over a designated area. In fact, sources said the ITBP, which mans the India-China border, is looking to procure at least three Nighthawk MAVs.

“Weighing less than a kilo, the Nighthawk can be launched from the operator’s shoulder,” said Shulin Nishant of MDI Incorporated, the company promoting the Nighthawk, a device that has already elicited queries from the DRDO, the West Bengal Police, the Gujarat Maritime Board and the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School in Mizoram. Nighthawk, in fact, is now being billed as a device that can be of immense utility in the Naxal-hit areas.

Similarly, Kanpur-based Shri Lakshmi Defence Solutions has lined up three variants of armoured vehicles — the blast and mine-proof vehicle Drona, the fast moving attack vehicle Viper and the armoured troop carrier Dhruv . “We have supplied Drona to the Karnataka Special Task Force and VIPER to the CISF. We have got enquiries from the NSG, the Army and the CRPF,” Shri Lakshmi’s Col (Retd) K R Bhatnagar said. The company is trying hard to sell these vehicles to paramilitary forces engaged in fighting the Naxals. Costing close to Rs 70 lakh per piece, these armoured vehicles are being manufactured at Rahsupur near Kanpur, following a technology transfer from a US-based company.

 

[RPK]

Army Commanders' conference to begin tomorrow

fullstory

New Delhi, Oct 20 (PTI) To review its operational preparedness and modernisation plans, the Indian Army will hold a four-day Commanders' Conference here beginning tomorrow.

"The operational preparedness of the Army will be reviewed by the top commanders to include the operational plans and modernisation of weapons and equipment proposed and in progress," Army officials said here.

"Some of the new concepts in the operational as well as administrative levels evolved in the recent past will also be discussed," they added.

The conference will also deliberate on the security situation prevalent in the country and neighbouring countries, officials said.

Issues having direct impact on the welfare of troops will also be discussed including travel entitlements of troops, utilisation of military land, and other administrative procedural issue requiring modification.

Army's existing policies on Group Insurance Scheme and Army Welfare Education Society will be reviewed during the conference.

 

[RPK]

Link

Sat phones, oxygen cylinders for ITBP on Sino-India border



New Delhi: In an effort to strengthen its position along the Sino-Indian border, the government has decided to provide more than 100 satellite phones, all terrain vehicles and oxygen cylinders to the ITBP.

The troops deployed at icy-glacial heights will also get high-altitude clothing at par with Army soldiers who are deployed at the Siachin glacier.


The Ministry of Home Affairs has also sanctioned computers, recovery vehicles, fibre reinforced polymer huts, high-power snow cutters, deep search mine metal detectors, hand grenade stimulator's and other surveillance devices for the Indo-Tibetan Border Police troops.

Addressing his men before the 48th Raising Day of the force, ITBP Director-General Vikram Srivastava today said that the troops will also be provided with modern Border Out-Post (BOP) equipped with solar power generating apparatus.

"Every BOP will be provided with two 620 litres capacity oxygen cylinders. A number of such initiatives have been taken for the benefit of our troops posted at these difficult areas," Srivastava said.

The DG also said four battalions (4000 men) of the force would be soon inducted for anti-naxal operations in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

The ITBP has also been sanctioned ration at par with the Army, he said.

 

[IBRIS]

India takes hard look at U.S. defense technology

Kolkata, India — India and the United States are exchanging expertise in two ongoing joint military exercises in India this month. Both nations’ armies launched a two-week joint ground combat exercise, codenamed Yudh Abhyas, or “war study,” at Babina in India’s Uttar Pradesh state on Oct. 12.
Concurrently, both sides are conducting exercises in airlift, airland and airdrop delivery techniques, as well as aeromedical and disaster management practices, at the Indian Air Force's Agra airfield near New Delhi in an exercise named Cope India, from Oct. 15-24.

While such exercises have been institutionalized as annual affairs, they have greatly expanded in scope.

Many analysts feel that beyond the rhetoric of interoperability, such exercises serve as a venue for the United States to showcase its defense technology to Indians looking to diversify their sources of military equipment. The U.S. pitch focuses on technologies that could allow India to counter China’s military development.

These joint field exercises include the first-ever maneuvers between U.S. mechanized units and their Indian equivalents. The U.S. Army brought in 17 Stryker 8x8 multirole vehicles of the type that have been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They form the standard wheeled armored personnel carriers for the U.S. military and constitute a family of vehicles that can be deployed for diverse uses from direct fire support to mobile ambulances.

Incidentally, the joint exercises are happening at a time when the Indian Army has issued requests for proposals for light tanks and tank destroyers, both tracked and wheeled. A sudden requirement for these vehicles has apparently arisen over a need to counter Chinese moves along certain stretches of the disputed India-China border, using armored vehicles nimble enough to be deployed in mountainous terrain.

U.S. defense contractors see India as a huge market for a number of niche products in which the United States is clearly a world leader. Moreover, they do not need to spend time underlining the fact that China already has access to a number of Russian developments, and buying the same may not therefore give India an edge.

On the other hand, the Western embargo on weapons sales to China since the Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989 has ensured that China will not have anything comparable to the latest U.S. systems to which India is now being granted access, barring Chinese espionage of course.

The Indians, however, remain prudent in such matters. They will certainly not jeopardize their longstanding relationship with the Russians, now that both nations have extended their military-technical collaboration till 2021 and are currently engaged in over 200 joint development projects.

Nevertheless, India does require certain technologies from the United States to counter China’s expansionism. For example, both sides have deployed transport aircraft in their joint air force exercises. Included in the U.S. line-up are the C-17 Globemaster III and the C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft. Interestingly, India has already ordered six of the latter and is seriously considering 10 of the former. Russia has aircraft in these classes, but does not have the U.S. equivalent operational capability.

Indians are also acutely aware that the United States is a world leader in sensors and electronic attack capability. In fact, one of the main reasons why India buys complete U.S. systems is because of this technology inside them, which is probably unmatched elsewhere and can give India an edge over the Chinese.

The deal for eight Boeing P-8I multi-mission maritime aircraft, crucial in antisubmarine warfare, and the earlier purchase of weapon-locating radars from the United States, underlines this fact.

The U.S. lead in defense electronics may also swing the Indian Air Force’s tender for the US$11 billion-plus multirole medium-range combat aircraft in their favor. The IAF has repeatedly said that the avionics suite of the aircraft – which is seen in the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, UAC’s Mig-35, SAAB Gripen, Lockheed Martin F-16 and the Boeing F-18 aircraft – will be a key determinant in the final selection.

To be considered favorably, the fighter’s nose radar should be active electronically scanned array, the IAF says. Not surprisingly, the United States is a world leader in this technology, and its F-16 and F-18 aircraft field the mature AESA technology.

While AESA technology would be a key consideration in the final selection of a fighter plane for India, the degree to which technology transfer is agreed upon will be just as important. The Indians have made it clear throughout the aircraft selection process that the best technology may not necessarily win unless it is ready to be transferred in its entirety. This is where U.S. firms have a handicap.

In the past, the U.S. government has refused to share source code for radar even with close allies like the United Kingdom. However, with the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal in place and an End User Monitoring Agreement almost sown up, it seems that the United States could be willing to give up its old habits for the sake of the Indian market and the ensuing regional geopolitics.

The main thing the Indian military establishment remains wary of in engaging with the United States is the propensity of U.S. manufacturers to offer a system to India once an indigenous equivalent has crossed some significant milestones. To be fair, this is a tendency exhibited by other countries as well.

It is here that India’s leadership will be put to the test, as the country’s Defense Research and Development Organization becomes a significant innovator in its own right in years to come.

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(Saurav Jha works as an independent consultant in the energy sector in India. He is consulting editor of India Power magazine and author of a forthcoming book on nuclear power. He can be contacted at [email protected]. ©Copyright Saurav Jha.)
India takes hard look at U.S. defense technology - upiasia.com

 

[youngindian]

Book highlighting achievements of Indian Army released by General Kapoor

October 22nd, 2009

New Delhi, Oct 22 (ANI): Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor today released a coffee table book “Milestones”, which highlights achievements related to Indian Army’s regiments, corps, formations, institutions, units and individual soldiers, covering a span of more than a century.

The Army Chief at Kashmir House released the book during the ongoing Army Commanders Conference.

This is the first venture of its kind and it comprises of nearly 150 assorted events since World War-1 duly supported by striking visuals.

The book is divided into three chapters, viz Wars and Operations; Miscellaneous Milestones and Sports and Adventure.

The Additional Directorate General, Public information of the Indian Army, has published the book. (ANI)

Book highlighting achievements of Indian Army released by General Kapoor

 

[RPK]

India plans to strengthen posts along Sino-Indian border

New Delhi: Government on Friday indicated that it is planning to strengthen troop posts along the borders with China and acquire modern weaponry and specialised vehicles for soldiers guarding the icy frontier.

"We are considering an ITBP restructuring plan. The plan includes measures to strengthen border posts," Home Minister P Chidambaram said at the 48th raising day of the ITBP, which guards the 3,500 km long Sino-Indian border.


Surveillance equipments, modern weaponry and specialised vehicles will also be procured to equip the force, he said.

Chidambaram said the "country is going through a difficult phase" in terms of cross border terror, situation in Jammu and Kashmir, insurgency in North-East and left wing extremism in various states.

"We are confident that we have the strength and capacity to overcome these challenges," he said.

The Home Minister said under the plan, the ITBP will have 15 new battalions, three recruit training centres, a counter insurgency and jungle warfare school as also a high altitude medical training centre.

Chidambaram said the Home Ministry has delegated "enhanced financial powers" to the Directors General of the Central para-military forces to make the procurement process faster.

Referring to the welfare measures for jawans, he said the government has streamlined the payment of their Provident Fund and they can now draw money in 26-30 days.