Indian Army: News and Discussion

[deltacamelately]

Bet he's never lost a drop of Malt

Hell....there are even talks about how he can take Canada to war if somebody manages to sneak away with his Glen Breton.

 

[nitesh]

cross posting:

Broadsword: 6 months after 26/11, modernisation of police stalled by PSU infighting

For six years, India’s central police organisations (CPOs), which include the CRPF, the BSF and the CISF, have urged the home ministry to equip them with carbines to replace their cumbersome military-use rifles. CPO jawans presently carry the INSAS, and even World War II era .303 rifles, which are no match for the terrorists’ AK-47 and AK-56 assault rifles. Carbines, in contrast, are lighter, smaller, and can spray bullets at a target, better equipping a policeman for encounters in confined and built-up areas.



Just five days before 26/11 — in a telling coincidence — NSG commandos completed trials on two carbines offered to the home ministry by the Ordnance Factories Board (OFB). One of them, the OFB-developed AMOGH, was rejected outright. The other carbine, the SAR-21 MMS, jointly offered by the OFB and Singapore Technologies Kinetic (STK), was found suitable by the NSG for India’s needs.



The stage seemed set for an immediate purchase. The home ministry's five-year modernisation plan urgently sought 47,286 carbines for the CPOs by March 2008. This deadline was extended till March 2010 because OFB-developed carbines failed repeatedly to pass user trials.

Had the home ministry placed the order, the first OFB-STK carbines would have been entering service now. Instead, the process was derailed by a mysterious red herring. The home ministry informed the OFB (in letter No IV-13018/8/2009-Prov.II dated 17 March 2009) that a foreign vendor, Israel Military Industries (IMI), had written in, alleging bias in the carbine procurement.

On March 26, IMI’s Marketing Director to India, Bran Sela, wrote to the home minister, clarifying that the letter had not been sent by IMI. The letter also pointed out that IMI was no longer producing small arms like carbines; its small arms division had been sold to a private Israeli company, Israeli Weapons Industries (IWI).



IWI’s stakes in the carbine deal quickly became obvious. In early March, just days after the fake letter, government-owned Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) threw its hat in the ring, informing the ministry of defence that it would import, market and manufacture IWI weaponry for the Indian market. BEML’s Chairman and Managing Director V R S Natarajan wrote personally to the home ministry (letter No CMD/606/1923 dated 20th April 09) asking for the tendering to begin, so that the BEML-IWI carbine could be offered.



Exactly six months after 26/11, the purchase of carbines is at a standstill, while two defence ministry production units — the OFB and BEML — compete for the order. And defence ministry sources said any decision on this issue is most unlikely after the arrest on May 19 of the recently-retired OFB Chairman Sudipta Ghosh on corruption charges.

 

[nitesh]

India ups vigil on China border

India increases troops

* Two new divisions (40,000 troops)
* Artillery brigade, 9 airstrips
* Military's assessment: China is India's greatest threat
* India wants to match China's forces
* Cost: Rs 5,000 crores

 

[nitesh]

cross posting:

http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1259106

 

[nitesh]

Army opens school in Chennai

 

[nitesh]

We missed this?


Troops at glacial heights along Sino-India border to get ATVs

According a senior official of ITBP, the vehicles which will be procured from abroad will be deployed at the frontiers in two to three months' time after completion of the ongoing field trials.

"At least 62 per cent of our posts are not connected by roads while more than 80 per cent are located above 9,000 feet. The all terrain vehicles would be ultra-light and can easily move on snow, land and shallow water.

"The vehicles can also be used to patrol certain small stretches and the seating capacity would be worked out after the finalisation of fitments and accessories in these vehicles," the official said.

 

[nitesh]

Parmar to take over as DGAFMS, Mehta as new DGMS

New Delhi, May 31: Lieutenant General Naresh Kumar Parmar and Shiv Ram Mehta will take over as the new Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services and Director General Medical Services (Army) respectively from tomorrow, an official release said on Sunday.

 

[Sridhar]

Suspected ISI agent held in Rajasthan

Jaipur: A suspected Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agent, who allegedly carried out printing work for the Indian Army, was arrested in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district on Sunday, a senior police official said. Mohammad Sajid, 29, a resident of Bilalganj at Lahore in Pakistan, was living in Bikaner, as a tenant under the assumed name of Lakhan Joshi since 2005, ADG (Intelligence) M.K. Devrajan said here. — PTI

The Hindu : Front Page : Suspected ISI agent held in Rajasthan

 

[nitesh]

Soldier by choice and a winner all the way

 

[VayuSena1]

India ups vigil on China border

I wonder what has kept the government sleeping and blissfully unaware of the rise of Dragon so far. It is sometimes just apalling to see the slumber of our government bodies. Depsite my government employment, I am Indian government structure's worst critic.

The rate at which we are losing our obsolete equipment and the rate at which we are inducting new ones,.. to match Chinese at this rate would take more than around a decade or so. And by then, China would be equivalent to USA in military might.

 

[nitesh]

Army chief Deepak Kapoor on four-day visit to Chile

 

[nitesh]

Political party bribed army officers: Election Commissioner

SBI launches defence salary package for Indian army

 

[nitesh]

First 50 T-90 tanks to roll out of Indian factory

 

[SATISH]

The Hindu Business Line : Will the Arjun tank keep rolling?



The recent ceremony in Avadi, near Chennai, when 16 Arjun Main Battle Tanks were rolled out by its manufacturer, Heavy Vehicle Factory (HVF) — a part-supply for the 43rd regiment based in Rajasthan — brought cheers to those involved in the effort, both serving and retired alike.

Whether the cheers will last is a moot point as the Director-General Mechanised Forces (DGMF), who was present at the function, was silent about further orders for these tanks. HVF will complete the present and the only order so far by 2010 placed in the beginning of the decade. For long, it appeared that the Army firmly believed that having an indigenous tank in its stable was an idea whose time would never come. This will be evident if the course of history of even the past ten years, let alone the previous two decades, is traced.

Meeting standards


In 2004 the first pilot batch of tanks was handed over in the presence of the then Defence Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee. The Army, however, insisted, before production could proceed, on incorporating stringent specifications for fording capabilities — the tanks being under water at 2.1 meters depth with only 30 minutes preparation time.

This too was successfully demonstrated in the presence of Mr A. K. Antony, Defence Minister, in 2007 as well, by the cooperative efforts of HVF and the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation). Not easily satisfied, the Army now felt it was necessary to carry out (ACURT) Accelerated Usage Cum Reliability Trials of a few tanks; in layman’s parlance, ‘Driving to death’ that includes running them for 8,000 km and firing 800 rounds of ammunition.

Ostensibly this was to work out the requirement of life-time spares although the same could have been done using advanced statistical methods, along with vendor inputs, extrapolating the vast experience of the Army in handling tanks of different vintages and designs since the Second World War. AURCT was also completed in August 2008 and modifications, as required by the experience gained, were successfully incorporated, and the first batch of tanks for this regiment was handed over in March 2009.

To reinforce the morale of HVF and the DRDO, a third-party audit by an independent international tank manufacturer certified that the Arjun was an excellent warhorse, particularly for deserts. Tanks are durable products involving decades of effort and years of manufacture. They are expected to survive not only enemy shelling but also stay with the Army for at least half a century.

Therefore, to acquire true value experience by the Mechanised Forces, tanks of a class and specification should be deployed in sufficient strength so that almost every jawan, non-commissioned officer (NCO) and officer in the armoured corps is imparted has repeated bouts of training and a stint of at least three years in a regiment of Arjun tanks.

This is possible only if the population of Arjun tanks in the Army is over 500 and that too built up within three years. However, the Army continues to have its eyes fixed on purchasing more and more of T-90 tanks from Russia during the same period.

Stalling the exercise


Miffed at the continued reluctance of the Army and armed with the credentials certified by independent audit, the DRDO is challenging the former to conduct comparative trials of T-90 and Arjun. The Army stalled such an exercise by first wanting at least 45 tanks in the regiment and then postponing the trials to October.

The Army is also inserting tactical elements in the test directives, such as, capturing a target which will take the focus away from equitable comparison of equipment capability. However, happily for HVF and the DRDO, it appears that a serious RFP (Request For Proposal) has been received from a Latin American country. Who knows? Fortune may favour Arjun and it may be seen in service in larger numbers abroad than in the country of its origin.

(The author is a former member, Ordnance Factory Board.)

 

[nitesh]

Hope our army's induction plans don't suffer because of this, IA is badly in need of artillery

Antony says no one found guilty in ordnance scam will be spared

 

[nitesh]

This is good news, but isn't total relying on OFC is a bad idea? mens there should be backup in case of OFC fails:

Defence forces agree to free spectrum within three years

 

[nitesh]

Army to induct first network-centric artillery system

New Delhi, June 09: Taking the first step towards acquiring network-centric warfare capabilities, the Army is all set to induct a computerised command and control system to integrate its artillery weapon operations.

Known as Project Sakthi, the Artillery Combat Command and Control System (ACCCS) is a major division of the Tactical Command Control Communication and Intelligence (Tac C3I) system, senior Army officers told reporters here today.

"ACCCS is the artillery component of the TAC C3I grid, which is the first step of the Army to acquire the capability of network-centric warfare at the tactical level," they said.

The system is scheduled to be inducted on Friday. "Sakthi is the first C3I system being fielded in the Indian Army. The role of ACCCS is to automate and integrate all artillery operational functions and provide decision support at all levels of artillery command from the corps level down to the battery or guns level in a networked environment," the officers said.

Developed by the Army's Directorate General of Information Systems, the Sakthi's three main electronic devices -- Enhanced Tactical Computer, Gun Display Unit and Hand Held Computer -- are produced by the defence public sector undertaking Bharat Electronics Limited.

Bureau Report

 

[nitesh]

Defence scandals continue to haunt Army's artillery plans

The government's move to blacklist Singapore Technologies (ST) and six other companies, in the still-erupting corruption scandal around former Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) chairman Sudipto Ghosh, has hit Army's long-derailed artillery programme once again.
For one, ST's Pegasus howitzer was the leading contender to bag its order for 140 air-mobile ultra-light howitzers for Rs 2,900 crore. For another, ST was also a contender in the Rs 8,000-crore project to buy 400 155mm/52-calibre towed artillery guns as well as indigenous manufacture of another 1,100 howitzers after transfer of technology.

"The Pegasus howitzer was, in fact, to be field-tested during this summer in Rajasthan. Our defence procurement policies need a major revamp. Scandals really hit modernisation of armed forces,'' said a senior Army officer.

Army needs ultra-light howitzers to ensure artillery can be deployed in forward, inaccessible areas at short notice with the help of helicopters. In fact, the two new mountain divisions now being raised, with around 15,000 soldiers each, are to be equipped with them.

 

[nitesh]

This will be really good for our soldiers:

Bug-proof garb for army

 

[Sridhar]

Look, who helps our soldiers guard our border

June 11, 2009 12:43 IST

They are an indispensable part of the Border Security Force's border observation posts, checking infiltration and other crimes across the international border besides patrolling with the troops.

They are not sniffer dogs, but the likes of Tiger, Tom, Bhola and others are just stray dogs doing an invaluable service along the Indo-Bangla border.

There is on average at least three such stray dogs in each BoP. They survive on the food of BSF lungar (kitchen) or nearby houses of civilians, BSF DIG Ravi Gandhi said.

The dogs stay with the troops in BSF camps, operation (OP) and naka points, often serving as an early warning agent. They also form a crucial part of the patrolling teams. They give indication (like barking) whenever any stranger/smuggler approaches near the naka (check) point or BSF camp.

It also supports BSF troops in case of need in the form of becoming a party to BSF and creating fear in the minds of miscreants and anti-national elements, the BSF officer said.

So deep is the bond between the jawans and the desi dogs in their BoPs that there are even instances when the BSF battalions, when transferred or deployed in other places, carry these dogs along with them.

They constantly keep their watchful eyes and monitor any unusual movement. There have been a lot of instances when the troops were alerted by these dogs about intruders entering from across the border or smugglers attempting to cross the border, a jawan in a BoP, who often spends his leisure in training and playing with Moti and Kalu, said.

The dogs, officials said, develop these detective traits gradually as they watch the activities of their masters.

"The global recession had its impact on pets in some western countries as people considered dogs as an expendable luxury.But here you are getting their service without any extra cost," an official said

Look, who helps our soldiers guard our border: Rediff.com news