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.

Jan Widerstrom, Saab talks about ~30 programs in India, Gripen, Samtel JV

01 Mar 2010 8ak: Jan Widerström, Saab India President talks to Manu Sood, Editor, 8ak about the ~25 programs they have responded to in India including missile defence, maritime patrol aircraft and the JV with Samtel Display System (SDS) for the RIGS Head Up Displays (HUD).

Eddy de la Motte, Director, Gripen for India says that the demonstrator aircraft is flying with the AESA and missile approach warner and that the Gripen will be in India in March 2010 for further tests. 

SDS has also been designated as an offset partner should Saab's Gripen win the MMRCA bid. The second MoU announced during Defexpo 2010 for the RIGS (brochure), where SDS will assist in the development of RIGS electronics and software and will also develop and manufacture parts of the RIGS HUD.

RIGS, built on an open systems architecture, consists of one or two display units, to serve one or two crew members in cockpit, and an electronics unit. RIGS provides an electro-optical presentation system (head up display), which is used for presentation of navigation, attitude, flight, reticle and video/EVS information to the aircraft or helicopter crew by day, night and in adverse weather conditions.

Current Enhanced Vision Sensor (EVS) technology connected to RIGS enables pilots to see through darkness, smog, smoke and various levels of snow, rain and fog. Safety is therefore enhanced via early detection of runway incursions and improved awareness of terrain during night and day operations and to prevent controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and White-/Brown-out accidents. 

Mr. Puneet Kaura, Executive Director, SDS said that the system will initially be marketed to the Indian commercial and military airborne market but SDS will look at leveraging their relationship with HAL and also look at the export market in the near future.

Defexpo Interview with STK on carbines, update on FH2000 towed howitzer trial delay

24 Feb 2010 8ak: According to industry sources, the Indian Government has issued 4 different RFI/RFPs for the purchase of cornershot weapons, long range, light machine guns, close quarter battle carbine and 9mm guns. In view of ongoing modernisation the need for better carbines is not only across the forces but immediately required as well. In this light, 8ak interviewed Brig Gen Patrick Choy at Defexpo about ST Kinetics carbine products.  

Earlier article on STK's prospects in India and explanation around the Sudipto Ghosh case.

After the interview, a STK spokesperson also explained the recent accident that has delayed the trial of their iFH2000 towed howitzer in India. She said "The iFH 2000, which is engineered to the Indian GSQR, was damaged in an accident during transportation before it was shipped to India. Consequently, we have requested the Army to postpone the trials. The replacement parts are being shipped in by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). We are sparing no effort to rapidly repair and air freight the howitzer to meet the trials. The incident is beyond our control and we have expressed our regret to the Indian Army and the MoD. The MoD has indicated that they have rescheduled the trials. We are confident that we would finish the repair and air-freight the iFH 2000 to India in Apr 2010."

Eurofighter Typhoon flying in from Germany to start user trials

12 Feb 2010 8ak/Eurofighter PR: On Monday, 15 February, aircraft of the German Air Force will take off from Germany for Bengaluru where the Eurofighter Typhoon will be examined by the Indian Air Force in the MMRCA Field Evaluation Programme. Until March, trials will also be conducted in Jaisalmer and Leh. There, the combat aircraft will demonstrate its desert and high altitude performance. Eurofighter Typhoon’s deployment to India coincides with the start of DEFEXPO 2010 in New Delhi where its capabilities will be showcased in a unique simulator at the Eurofighter Typhoon stand.

On 13 Aug 2009 Ajai Shukla reported on the contradictory signals that Eurofighter received from the Indian government. Overall, there is general agreement that it is a fabulous plane but the pricing is an issue. EADS would again be vary given its very recent negative experience with the Airbus mid-air refueller cancellation. While even the IAF had concluded that it was almost a done deal, the Finance Ministry shot it down on the basis that it was too expensive. Could the same happen if the Eurofighter was chosen for the MMRCA?

And another area of focus will be the Eurojet engine that powers the plane. It makes commercial sense for India to choose the same engine for the MMRCA that they would choose to power the Tejas. 8ak's latest coverage on Eurojet is here. 

Dissatisfied with Indian carbines, Army seeks foreign carbines

04 Feb 2010 8ak: The Indian army has launched a Request for Inquiry for procuring foreign made 5.56 carbines even though two government agencies manufacture 9mm carbines locally. The two companies manufacturing the 9mm carbines are the Indian ordnance factor at Kanpur. The other is Pune-based unit of Defence Research Development Organisation, known as Armaments Research and Development Establishment (ARDE).

The RFI asks the vendors to specify the weight, length, rate of fire and other features like laser spot designator, or flash eliminator, of their product and has not issues a minimum qualitative requirement. The RFI also seeks to know, if the vendors would be interested in Transfer of Technology (ToT) of the carbines to India. 

8ak sources said that the main reason for looking to procure these weapons from abroad was due to the poor quality of the guns made in India. The source added that the manufacturers provide top quality equipment for trials, but supply a redundant version to cut costs and maximise profits. This practice is not followed abroad, who believe in supplying what they have provided during trials. He said that reliability is also an important factor in favouring foreign products over Indian products. Interestingly, the India Special Forces use a mix of 5.6mm Israeli Tavor-21 and Czechoslovakia’s 7.62mm M-58VZ.  

This is not the first time Indian army has expressed unhappiness over the quality of local products. The army, due to prolonging defence modernisation projects, has in the past raised concerns over the reliability of indigenous 5.56x45mm Insas (Indian National Small Arms System) rifle. Soldiers of an infantry unit told 8ak that the rifle often over heats very fast and the cartridge tends to crack after falling to the ground. The rifle can also not fire more than three rounds at a go and the size of the sling is small and does not take into account the bullet proof jacket worn by them. As a result, it is not only uncomfortable to hold but overall of a very low reliability.

However, their biggest worry was the tendency of the rifle to jam. Taking these factors into account, the army has been pressurising the government to import new assault rifles but their replacements are nowhere in sight. The army is also considering opting for foreign manufactured grenades since the local manufactured pineapple-sized explosive, the 36-M, has proven to be just as unreliable.

Feature: Eurojet could transfer single crystal blade technology to India

04 Feb 2009 8ak: Eurojet management today confirmed that if required they are willing to transfer single crystal turbine blade technology. This is currently not under the scope of the LCA engine RFP and a separate commercial agreement would have to be signed.

Under the licensed-production of the Russian Sukhoi Su-30MKI it is believed that Russia transferred some of this technology to India. However Mr Harmut Tenter, Managing Director of Eurojet claims that their technology is a generation ahead. This is a complex process in which the entire blade is a single giant crystal which is grown instead of being cut. As a result the blades can withstand up to 200 degree higher temperatures whilst also improving the efficiency, longevity and performance of the engine. More on the engine technology here. 

On the offsets issue, Mr Tenter pointed out to the good working relationship of European companies with HAL, for example on the gearbox for the ALH Dhruv helicopter which is amongst the most advanced in the world. According to him Eurojet will be glad to partner with any company that the MoD nominates including HAL. In addition Eurojet is open to partnerships with the Indian private sector. Meanwhile in the U.K. Rolls Royce has won a US$1.4 billion contract to maintain the Eurojet engines in their Eurofighter Typhoons. In this light, 8ak asked Mr Tenter if there could be a role for the Indian private sector in engine maintenance; he replied that this is entirely possible but for the IAF and Government of India to decide. 

While low initial orders would mean that the numbers may not justify setting up a complete production facility in India, Mr Tenter says that this is something they could consider in the future even for areas unrelated to the current engine order. Eurojet, like EADS, has repeatedly claimed that they are looking at long term partnerships and Mr Tenter points to the success of Airbus as an example of a successful, trans-national European consortium. Perhaps this was a hint that India needs to follow a co-development/global supply chain model rather than pursuring 100% indigenous one (for eg look at the state of our Saras regional aircraft). 

On Feb 2 after the LCA test and demonstration, defence minister, Mr A.K. Anthony declared an additional 8,000 crores (~US$1.8b) for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas programme. It is believed that a significant portion of this is for the engine technology. While Sncema has offered to help resolve the problems with the Kaveri engine, the need of the IAF is immediate and it is felt that even our research agencies cannot now justify the delay that would arise from waiting for the Kaveri-Snecma engine to be developed. This means that only GE's F414 and Eurojet are in the competition for the LCA engine. GE has a lot of advantages but it would require re-designing the Tejas whereas Eurojet claims that no re-design would be required with their engine. Shiv Aroor has pointed out that no proof may exist to back this claim.

Some analysts feel that India would be more susceptible to sanctions from Eurojet, since it is a consortium of companies from 4 countries, than from the U.S. In response, Mr Tenter said European companies do not impose end-user controls on India and have proven to be reliable partners even during crises. As an example he pointed to the Kargil war, during which work on the Dhruv continued uninterrupted. This was even before Germany, the lead nation in the Eurojet consortium, signed a defence co-operation agreement with India in 2006, improving defence collaboration further. Mr Tenter added that should India choose Eurojet, it would enter a minimum 40 year relationship akin to a marriage and that Eurojet and their partner countries would take their commitment very seriously.

Reading a 2 year old article on the Kaveri - GE - Eurojet dilema, it seems that even though the issue was just as urgent 2 years ago, no action was taken. 8ak believes that whether GE or Eurojet wins, the issue must be resolved quickly and the long delayed Tejas must be brought to commercial production and the export of which will give India great international repute and the local industries the boost it needs.