Mistral, RBS 70NG and Igla-S complete re-confirmatory Trials

WolfPack86

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The Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORADS) programme to equip the Indian Army with 800 manned twin launchers and 5,000 missiles worth $5.8 billion has been in a state of uncertainty since 2010.

The report on the trials has been submitted to the MoD, who will take a decision on the winner for starting the negotiations.
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reconfirming the rbs70ng.......

big tendor afterall !!
 

WolfPack86

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Igla-s has emerged as the most effective and economical potent for the army's VSHORADS tender. QUESTION - Why can't we develop our own VSHORADS ?
 

WolfPack86

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On the Indian Army’s largest air defence weaponry contest, the contentious $5.8 billion VSHORADS, Rosoboronexport chief Alexander Mikheev tells Livefist, “The Igla-S has emerged more cost effective than competitors after the tenders were opened.’
 

WolfPack86

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Russia confirms on record that it has emerged as L 1 in the VSHORAD contest with it's Igla S. Says it is waiting for a final Indian decision - Rosoboronexport Chief Mikheev
 

Pash

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Russians themselves are replacing Igla-S, with 9K333 Verba. Is there India specific changes (MKI)?
 

sthf

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Utter moronic of IA to buy $5.8 billion worth of MANPADs when plenty of weapon systems take preccedance over it.

Plus, DRDO should be able to come up with a desi alternative given time and money.
 

Armand2REP

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Rosboronexport never did a JV so they do not meet the Make in India requirement.
 

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Utter moronic of IA to buy $5.8 billion worth of MANPADs when plenty of weapon systems take preccedance over it.

Plus, DRDO should be able to come up with a desi alternative given time and money.
How come no project exists with DRDO to build a VSHORADS? even though it has the tech for most of the required components!!!
 

sthf

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How come no project exists with DRDO to build a VSHORADS? even though it has the tech for most of the required components!!!
Most likely because MOD and/or IA didn't ask them to build one.

If DRDO says it can develop a competetive MANPAD in 5 years which will cost a fraction of the imported ones you will see a flurry of articles claiming how the government is not serious about defence or IA generals screaming like spoiled brats at the top of their lungs, "Indian army can't fight two front war because MANPADs".

Bigger things are at play than just the pesky national security.
 

Raj Malhotra

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It is great to know that the cost of an imported man pad is twice the cost of a single Akash missile. Dil mange more import
 

Enquirer

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Most likely because MOD and/or IA didn't ask them to build one.

If DRDO says it can develop a competetive MANPAD in 5 years which will cost a fraction of the imported ones you will see a flurry of articles claiming how the government is not serious about defence or IA generals screaming like spoiled brats at the top of their lungs, "Indian army can't fight two front war because MANPADs".

Bigger things are at play than just the pesky national security.
$6 billion seems like hefty price tag that should have scurried DRDO/MoD alike into launching a 'mission mode' project!
What happened to the 'no more missile import from 2022 onwards' claim???
 

ezsasa

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$6 billion seems like hefty price tag that should have scurried DRDO/MoD alike into launching a 'mission mode' project!
What happened to the 'no more missile import from 2022 onwards' claim???
They can’t delay it any further, this deal has been in works for 5-6 years now.
 

sthf

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$6 billion seems like hefty price tag that should have scurried DRDO/MoD alike into launching a 'mission mode' project!
What happened to the 'no more missile import from 2022 onwards' claim???
Sounds like the reasonable thing to do and therefore will not happen anytime soon. Common sense and IA/MOD are polar opposites.
 
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WolfPack86

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Igla-S, sometimes referred as Igla-Super. It is an improved variant in the Igla, which entered service with Russian Army in 2004. It is known in the West as SA-24 Grinch. It is more efficient weapon with longer range (up to 6 km). The missile was fitted with a new two-channel optical seeker with logic unit. It has higher jamming immunity due to good target selectivity against the background interference. The Igla-S also has increased warhead weight, laser based contact/proximity fuse, algorithm based optimal moment of explosion and high accuracy; all adds to the advantages of the new Igla-S over its predecessor. The warhead also features increased high explosive charge and fragment number. The warhead is made of Indium antimonide which allows lock onto receding target easier. The Igla-S has the same weight and size as the older missile, as well as similar launching/maintenance procedures. With its high combat effectiveness, Igla-S system can be used to engage cruise missiles and drones. This MANPADS has been exported to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Libya, Slovenia, Thailand, Venezuela, Vietnam, and possibly some other countries.
http://www.military-today.com/missiles/igla.htm
 

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Sounds like a reasonable thing to do and therefore will not happen anytime soon. Common sense and IA/MOD are polar opposites.
I can understand that this type of missile wasn't part of the initial set of missiles - given that these need to be highly maneuverable & extremely light (unlike the Nags, Akash, Astra etc).
But, I would have expected them to start on this project earlier this decade, if they were serious about being import free on missiles by 2022!
 

WolfPack86

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Where our friends at @Stratpost rightly take India’s VSHORADS contest — and procurement in general — to the pavement.
 

WolfPack86

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After Big S-400 Deal, Russia ‘Wins’ Indian Army VSHORADS Missile Contest

One of India’s most confounding, meandering and costly weapons contests — seen for months to be hanging by a thread — has finally reached a conclusion that is almost certain to be beset with controversy. A three-way battle to supply the Indian Army with hundreds of very short-range air defence systems (VSHORADS) is at an end with Russia’s Igla-S system being declared ‘lowest bidder’, edging out Sweden’s Saab (with the RBS 70NG) and France’s MBDA (with the Mistral).

The Indian Army has spent nearly two decades trying acquire hundreds of man-portable missile systems that infantry units can use to defend against aircraft, drones and helicopters.

As Livefist reported last month, the contest has seen five years of trials and a spate of letters of protest shot off to the MoD last year and this year by both MBDA and Saab, pointing to what they said were unfair waivers granted to the Russian contender. The Swedish and French competitors plainly alleged that the field of play wasn’t level and that the Russian system, manufactured by Russia’s state-owned Konstruktorskoye Byuro Mashynostroyeniya (KBM), was unfairly favoured by Indian test teams.

Today’s declaration of Russia’s Igla-S as victor in the contest has been expected for weeks. In August, Rosoboronexport chief Alexander Mikheev told Livefist in Moscow, “The Igla-S has emerged more cost effective than competitors after the tenders were opened.”

Army sources say while all three systems have had performance or technical compliance niggles since field evaluations began in 2012, the Russian Igla-S had the most significant issues: firing was deemed not successful during field trials, target acquisition continuously failed, and, to top it all, the Igla-S didn’t have a state-of-the-art sight during trials. With today’s declaration of a Russian win, the Indian MoD has signaled that the issues were either addressed, or waivers granted.

Sources tell Livefist that Russia tried to push the 9K333 Verba system into the contest to replace of the Igla-S principally because of the latter’s performance issues in around 2016. However, replacing a product mid-course under an unusually strict set of targets charted out in the RfP was simply not an option, and would have meant an instant reboot to the contest. Russia was told the Verba couldn’t come anywhere near the race, and the VSHORADS contest would only test the Igla-S.

After the declaration of a contest winner — the lowest bidder or L1 — procedure dictates that a contract negotiating committee (CNC) will process the deal onwards, before it is finally cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for final signatures between India and Russia. But given the bad blood in the contest so far, it remains to be seen how soon today’s win translates into a full contract with Russia. The last 18 months, especially, have been tumultuous to say the least.

For starters, the only system that needed to engage in any firing during the final re-confirmatory trials last year was Saab’s RBS 70NG. While the Russian team has been asked to demonstrate the crucial act of target acquisition, the French team were on site as observers. Each one of the contenders has had compliance issues, though Russia’s refusal to even appear for certain trial rounds during the contest had the other two competitors send up periodic flares. Again, it remains to be seen how these were addressed — or if they were at all. Livefist has learnt that messages of protest had been conveyed as recently as weeks ago.

The systems themselves, to be supplied in small numbers by the foreign supplier, with most of the rest to be built under license in India, are variants of the baseline shoulder-launched missile systems that each offers. Each system, manned by two Army personnel, feature a twin launcher system capable of tracking, engaging and firing at air threats including aircraft, helicopters and drones. The Indian Army needs the large numbers of VSHORADS systems to plug long amplified gaps in its ground-based air defence network.

Amidst reports in 2015 that the contest was about to be scrapped and rebooted, the MoD decided to conduct more trial rounds, a final round held last year. The contest has taken over five years in its second attempt, though the overall requirement actually dates back to 1999 (aborted for the first time in 2005), making the VSHORADS go down as a record in India’s contracting history for length.

Last month, India signed a $5.2 billion deal with Russia for S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems, a deal that should, in normal course, have attracted punitive U.S. sanctions under CAATSA regulations, though India was accorded a waiver. It remains unclear what the path ahead for this deal will be.
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