8ak interview: Raytheon talks about Missile Defence System offered to India; L&T tie-up for tanks

06 Mar 2010 8ak: Raytheon’s David Hartman spoke to 8ak exclusively on the Integrated Missile Defence System – Hawk 2, which it has offered to India in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) around 18 months ago. He says that even though the system has been there for a long time, timely upgrade has enabled the system to be modern in nature. Explaining the entire Hawk-21 system using a mock-battlefield, Mr Hartman says that the offer includes an active seeker missile system.

Earlier, 8ak had also interviewed Precision Electronics, Managing Director, Mr Ashok Kanodia about their tie up with Raytheon's Electronic Division for offering advanced communications solutions. Further Raytheon had announced a tie-up with L&T for upgrade of the T-72 tanks. Raytheon will provide infrared imaging sights and electronics to improve target accuracy and increase overall system lethality of T-72 tank battalions. Raytheon has provided more than 20,000 thermal sights in 15 countries.

Fritz Treyz, vice president, Raytheon Network Centric Systems India Operations said that "Together (with L&T), we are exploring other opportunities to provide net-centric modernization defense solutions to meet growing demands in India and the global marketplace.

" L&T will develop the fire control systems based on its experience across multiple weapon systems for land, naval and air defense applications. With customer support, L&T will perform the final integration of fire control system and sensors on the T-72 tanks. "L&T is the only Indian company in the private sector that is leading a team for the T-72 upgrade program." said M. V. Kotwal, senior executive vice president and member of the L&T board of directors.

On the commercial side, Raytheon has just won an order from the Airports Authority of India to install AutoTrac III, its next-generation air traffic management system, to help reduce delays in aircraft arrival and departure at the Chennai International Airport.

Defexpo interview with Brahmos - frigates, exports, partnerships

20 Feb 2010 8ak: During Defexpo, Manu Sood, Editor, 8ak Interviewed Praveen Pathak, Addl General Manager, Marketing for Brahmos on the latest developments on the BrahMos, induction in to the Talwar class frigates being built in Russia's Kaliningrad Shipyard, the partnership with Russia and the potential for exports. According to Brahmand, the missile will be exported to South Africa, Brazil, Chile and Indonesia. 

India to focus on development of Agni-V after successful testing of Agni-III variant

10 Feb 2010 8ak: Upbeat after the successful testing of 3,500 km Agni-III missile on Sunday, DRDO is gearing up to fast track the development of deadlier 5,000 km variant of Agni-V missile capable of hitting Harbin, provincial capital of Heilongjiang and one of the furtherest Chinese cities from India. 

It was the Army which conducted the successful flight. With this, the induction process of the missile has commenced. “This launch is a stepping stone to the DRDO realising its next intermediate range ballistic missile, Agni-V,” V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister told the Hindu.

This is the fourth test of the country's most powerful missile. The first test of the missile was conducted on July 9, 2006 from Wheeler Island. After the launch, it was reported that the second stage of the rocket had failed to separate and the missile had fallen well short of its target. Agni-III was again tested on April 12, 2007, this time successfully, from the Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa. On May 7, 2008 India again successfully test fired this missile. 

Top DRDO sources told 8ak that the aim is to capatalise on the twin success of Agni-III tests and fresh Rs 4,000 crore order of Akash missile form the IAF and test the Agni-V by 2011 at any cost. Adding further the source said that what makes the fifth variant lethal is not only its range but also because it has a canister-launched weapon system. Thus, providing a major tactical advantage as it can be launched from anywhere in the country.

The DRDO is looking to test the missile in 2011.  The Agni-V is a three stage solid fueled missile with composite motor casing in the third stage. Two stages of this missile will be made of composite material. Agni-V will be able to carry multiple warheads and will have countermeasures against Anti- ballistic missile systems. Advanced technologies like ring laser gyroscope and accelerometer will be used in the new missile. A must read on Agni-V from Ajai Shukla which has quotes from Avinash Chander, Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory.

Successful Agni-III missile tests provide India with a credible deterrent, boost for DRDO

10 Feb 2010: NDTV quotes Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu as saying that India and China are friends and that China does not see the missile as a threat. 

08 Feb 2010 8ak: In a significant step forward for India’s missile development program, DRDO has successfully tested the 3,500 km range Agni-III missile on Saturday. The missile, which was tested from the Inner Wheeler Island at Dhamra, a launch site in Bhadrak district, about 200 km from Orissa capital Bhubaneswar, travelled 350 km into the sky before re-entering the atmosphere.

8ak had earlier reported that India was in the process of testing Agni-III. The test was critical for the armed forces because the missiles range gives India the capability to hit territories deep inside China, which includes important cities like Beijing and Shanghai. According to TravelMath, the distance from India's capital New Delhi to Beijing is about 3,800km and 4,200 for Shanghai. (missiles will be fired from eastern borders, not Delhi, hence all major Chinese cities are within the range).

This is the fourth test of the country's most powerful missile. The first test of the missile was conducted on July 9, 2006 from Wheeler Island. After the launch, it was reported that the second stage of the rocket had failed to separate and the missile had fallen well short of its target. Agni-III was again tested on April 12, 2007, this time successfully, from the Wheeler Island off the coast of Orissa. On May 7, 2008 India again successfully test fired this missile. The Agni-III missile is expected to be fully operational by 2012-2013.

The tests are significant as it validates the missiles operational readiness while extending the reach of India's nuclear deterrent to most high-value targets of the nation's most likely adversaries. The missile, with its range, is expected to bolster India’s credible deterrence capability against China. 

A top DRDO official told 8ak that the missile’s Circular Error Probable (CEP) is within 40 meters range, which makes it one of the most sophisticated and accurate ballistic missiles of its range class in the world. Work on the upgraded version of Agni-III missile known as Agni-V has commenced. The missile is expected to have a range of 5,000-6,000 km. It is a three stage solid fuelled missile with composite motor casing in the third stage. Two stages of this missile will be made with advanced composite materials. Agni-V will be able to carry multiple warheads and will have countermeasures against Anti-ballistic missile systems.

India has a very ambitious missile development program. Over the years India has tried to develop numerous new missiles to bolster its attack and retaliatory capabilities. In 2009, the 700km-range nuclear-capable submarine- launched ballistic missile (SLBM) Samaria was tested. Other indigenously built missiles to be tested by India in 2009 year are the 350km-range Prithvi and Russia-India developed supersonic missile Brahmos. These missiles are being developed under the aggressive Integrated Guided Missiles Program (IGMP) launched in 1983 by India to develop futuristic missiles technology based on hypersonic rockets to provide a potent weapon to the armed forces in order to enhance national security.

The DRDO is also developing Astra beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air missile (BVRAAM) for which the captive flight trials are going on. A 2008 Dawn News report quoting India's Mail Today (via Defence.pk) claims that Pakistan has a far more superior missile capabilities compared to India. An overview of Pakistan's missile technology is on Nuclear Threat Initiative. 

Indian fighters to be armed with BrahMos missiles in 2012

06 Feb 2010 8ak: India’s frontline fighter aircraft Su-30MKIs will be armed with BrahMos missiles the vice president of the Irkut Corporation, Vladimir Sautov, said at the Singapore Air Show 2010 on Thursday. As of now IAF Su-30s are being modified in order to incorporate the new BrahMos missiles as a part of its arsenal. The modification work is being carried out by Rosoboronexport, the Sukhoi Design Bureau and NPO Mashinostroyeniya.

Once the induction of the airborne version of BrahMos begins, all three arms of the forces will have the supersonic missiles in their inventory. The Missile developed jointly by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s Mashinostroeyenia is considered to be the most sophisticated and fastest in its class around the globe.

There is a possibility that the two nations will jointly develop a hypersonic Mach 8 version of BrahMos in the future. Mach 8 version if developed, will fulfil an Indian Navy requirement of a formidable Suppression of Enemy Air Defence (SEAD) LACM and also pose a deadly threat to enemy warships sporting elaborate air defence radar systems like the "AEGIS type" vessels under construction for the Chinese People Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).

BrahMos supersonic cruise missile can be launched from land, aircraft, Submarines and Ships and has a maximum range of 290 km. The acronym BrahMos is perceived as the confluence of the two nations represented by two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskya of Russia. It travels at speeds of Mach 2.5 to 2.8 and is about three-and-a-half times faster than America’s subsonic Harpoon and Tomahawk cruise missile.

The ship-launched and land-based missiles can carry a 200 kg warhead, whereas the aircraft-launched variant (BrahMos A) can carry a 300 kg warhead. It has a two-stage propulsion system, with a solid-propellant rocket for initial acceleration and a liquid-fuelled ramjet responsible for sustained supersonic cruise. Air-breathing ramjet propulsion is much more fuel-efficient than rocket propulsion, giving the BrahMos a longer range than a pure rocket-powered missile would achieve.

BEL bags Rs 4,279 crore deal for Akash missiles

05 Feb 2010 8ak: Bangalore-based defence publics sector undertaking (DPSU), Bharat Electricals Limited (BEL) has bagged an order for 750 additional Akash Surface-to-Air-Missile (SAM) worth Rs 4,279. The order comes as a boost for the DPSU as the IAF was not happy with the missile and had floated a proposal to abandon the program. 

Defence Minister A.K. Antony said "Earlier, there was a proposal to abandon the Akash missile system. But the IAF deployed it on a trial basis and is now happy with the system. After testing it in two squadrons last year, they have placed orders for six more squadrons. This shows the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and BEL are capable of producing equipment for our armed forces,”.

The order is over and above the Rs 1,221 crore deal the IAF had signed with BEL for supplying 250-Akash missiles for two squadrons. The fresh order for 750 SAM will enable the IAF to raise six-additional squadrons of Akash missiles. 

The missile can target aircraft up to 30 km away, at altitudes up to 18,000 m. Akash can be fired from both tracked and wheeled platforms. It is capable of carrying nuclear warheads with a payload of 60kg. The first test flight of Akash missile was conducted in 1990, with development flights up to March 1997. The Akash Project has been the most expensive missile project ever undertaken by the government of India in the 20th century. Total development costs for the missile and associated radars and systems was almost $US120 million.

The missile has a launch weight of 720 kg, a diameter of 35 cm and a length of 5.78 metres and flies at supersonic speed, reaching around Mach 2.5. The Akash missile has been developed jointly by DRDO and BEL as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program initiated by the government in the 1983 to develop futuristic missiles technology based on hypersonic rockets to provide a potent weapon to the armed forces in order to enhance national security. Other missiles developed under this program include the 700km-range nuclear- capable submarine- launched ballistic missile (SLBM) Sagarika, the 350km-range Prithvi, 3,500km-range Agni 3, Nag anti-tank missile and Trishul SAM. 

A study the blue-print of IGMP shows the advancement that India has made over the years in development of missile technology. The program underlines India's capability to attain self-reliance and present a deterrent from a hostile attack. Armed forces are however concerned about the low rate of production of these missiles and the long time it is taking to induct them into the services.