Pakistan plans to buy the Su 35 S from Russia

Pakistan plans to buy the Su 35 S from Russia

        As Russian State news agency said earlier that they were in talks to export the advanced Su 35 S to several countries, those countries need one or two squadron of such fighters, they earlier relies on the Russian MiG 29 and the Su 27,   as new threats emerging and threat of 4.5gen multi role fighters around their door steps. small countries also pledged to modernize their Air forces, Russia plans to Export those fighters to Indonesia, Algeria, Vietnam and Venezula, also Kremlin does not ruled out  Pakistan in potential export list.

     Pakistan recently confirms that they were in Talks and agreement level to buy Advanced Russian air defense missile system like Tor M and Attack Helicopters Mi 35 and Mi 28,  The Relationship between Russia and Pakistan growing steadily and smoothly, with the involvement of constructing advanced nuclear power plants in Pakistan with the Chinese fund and Russian construction,

     Pakistanis has a squadron of advanced Block 52 variants of F 16, used for Ground attack and Air superiority, although it's a medium multi role Aircraft, used for only in theaters, not for long range strikes, Pakistan also have lesser or zero operational Aerial Tankers to refuel those aircrafts in the Air, the need of Long Range Heavy fighter is a long time wish for the Pakistanis, even if it comes in a handy price or as a offer of credit is more than enough for the Pakistanis.

      Earlier in the 2012, Pakistan requested the Russians to supply a squadron of Su 35, due to the Indian pressure the Russians rejected the Pakistani plea. but due to sanctions and internal economic problems Russia no longer wait to supply most lethal war machines to third world countries, Also it's believed the   Pakistanis can get a squadron of Su 35 S along with Missiles, Bombs, Spare and Ground supports under just a billion dollars. a handy price to show off against Indian Air force.

       The Indian Airforce dominates the Pakistani skies with it's advanced long Range Su 30 MKI along with some support Aircraft like Medium fighters MiG 29 and Mirage 2000, Thus gives the IAF can strike Pakistan anywhere and anytime by forcing their Fighter jets in the ground, due to the heavy in size, larger radar and long range missiles Su 30 MKI can Kill any incoming PAF fighter jets when it's completed it's take off. So Pakistan don't want to risk their combat jets.

       But adding a squadron of Su 35 S will change the scenario completely, a CAP profiled Su 35 can save the Pakistani Borders 24x7 and destroy any incoming fighters at long range. mathematically and theoretically the Su 35 S is more advanced than the Su 30 MKI, in terms of thrust weight and low drag, by  analytics Su-35 has 16% more thrust, 20% less weight and 20% less drag. Overall it's 56% aerodynamically better than Su-30 MKI, So it's clear IAF forced to use the Next generation stealth fighters to counter the Advanced Su 35 operated by the Pakistanis.

        Even if the Pakistanis signed the contract with Russians to supply the Su 35S. it expected that they will Deliver only after delivering much modern Fifth Generation PAK FA T 50 to Indian Air force. not confirm but we hope. 

Kalam's unrealised 'Nag' missile dream to become reality next year

Kalam's unrealised 'Nag' missile dream to become reality next year

   One unrealized dream of 'Missile man' A P J Abdul Kalam who died on July 27, will become a reality next year.

    Production of the anti-tank missile 'Nag', a 'fire and forget' missile developed to hit and destroy   stationery or moving battle tanks will begin next year. Defense advisor to Raksha Mantri, G Satheesh Reddy told TOI that while the other missiles planned as part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) had become a reality, in so far as 'Nag' was concerned there had been some limitations related to technology. Those have now become overcome. "The 'Nag' missile will be go for production next year," Satheesh Reddy said. The other missiles 'Prithvi', 'Dhanush', the five versions of 'Agni', 'Akash' and 'Astra' as part of the IGMDP have already been developed.

    The 'Nag' missile developed by the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) which Abdul Kalam headed, will move like a 'cobra' to hit battle tanks in a range of 4 km to 7 km distance.

    "Everything that Kalam planned has become a reality. He was someone who had both technical and managerial skills to pursue plans," Satheesh Reddy who worked under Kalam when he joined the DRDL in 1986 said. Satheesh Reddy who was noticed by Kalam for the work he was putting in associated himself with Reddy who worked on navigation technology.

    If India has several missiles and variants of them, it was also due to the efforts of Kalam. "He brought about integration between various groups which were working independently towards their set goals. The integrated reaped dividends," he said.

   If India is now in a strong position because of the its missiles, especially the 6,000-km range intercontinental ballistic missile, it was also due to Kalam's 'big thinking'.

     "Think big. It is a sin to think small," Kalam would tell colleagues in the DRDL and DRDO. And if anyone amongst his colleagues would keep silent during a discussion, he would prod him or her to speak and contribute. Even if he had already taken a decision on some matters, he would still keep his mind open to ideas.

     Kalam's nature was always to protect his colleagues and take the blame from his superiors if something went wrong, Satheesh Reddy recalled.

Article written by Ch Sushil Rao,Published in Times of India

Maj Gen Prithviraj aka Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam : Pokhran 2

 Maj Gen Prithviraj aka Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam : Pokhran 2

   It was one of those still winter mornings. No winds rustled through the thorny shrubs. No eddies of dust progressed to minor storms that sprayed grains of sand like raindrops on a windshield. Even the herds of rutting deer that roamed the range had fallen silent.

    So the tyres crunching through the sand and the roar of engines sounded like Godzilla on the march as the convoy of bulldozers and trucks made their way slowly through the desert. Till they came upon a fairly deep well marked by sand bags around its circumference.

    A few brisk orders and the dozers started pushing huge mounds of sand into the well. Men with shovels joined the activity and within an hour they had not only sealed the well but also built a mini-mountain of sand around it. They then unwound a huge reel of wrist-thick cables till the black wire snaked all over the place. Satisfied they took out smoke canisters, placed a dozen on the mound they had just built and lit them up.

    As the giant grey mushroom clouds billowed into the sky, the 20 odd men looked up expectantly. There was nothing visible to the naked eye but the vast blue expanse. One of the men shook his fist and shouted at the invisible adversary, "Catch us if you can." The others doubled up in laughter. They enjoyed the little game of deception they were playing. At the thought of how the next day spooks from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) would download images from the satellite and would scratch their heads or whatever wondering what the hell the Indians were up to in the middle of the desert.

    When the convoy returned to base, Colonel Gopal Kaushik, commandant of the 58 Engineer Regiment of the Indian Army, wrote in his daily report: "... Jan 1998, Dummy exercise carried out. More tomorrow." The 58 Engineers were specially chosen for the crucial task of maintaining the shafts in which India's nuclear devices would be tested. They were told to take all measures to ensure total secrecy. So effective were the regiment's tactics that when India carried out five nuclear tests in May 1998, it went down as one of the CIA's biggest intelligence failures.

    It wasn't as if the agency was ill-equipped. It had kept the test range under constant surveillance for years using billion-dollar spies in the sky -- four powerful satellites -- that could even snap photographs of the wristwatch of an Indian soldier far below and read out the time. On ground the CIA boasted of "humint" or human intelligence, its array of agents and well-greased moles trained to sift through the countless half-truths that swirled through New Delhi's power corridors.

WAKING KUMBHAKARAN

    Unlike Pakistan's nuclear test site at the remote Chagai Hills in Baluchistan, there was little India could do to hide its activity at Pokhran. In the semi-desert like conditions, its gently undulating terrain can support only shoulder-high thorny bushes. The bushes are sparse and like the dunes don't provide much cover from a probing satellite. But the 58 Engineers had a year and a half to rehearse. They also had the wealth of experience handed down to them by the dozen-odd regiments that had maintained the shafts. There were occasional bursts of activity that alerted the US to the possibility of tests -- thrice to be precise. In 1982, 1995 and 1997. Each episode taught the Indians what not to do. General V.P. Malik, chief of army staff, says, "Over the years our boys did an excellent job out there in the desert. But so far we could never speak about it."

    The subterfuge employed by the Indian Army included using code names or words, many of which were downright undiplomatic. The shaft used to test India's hydrogen bomb, for instance, was known as the White House. As risque was Taj Mahal -- the code name for the shaft in which the atomic bomb was detonated. Imagine the bomb team telling Delhi after the tests: "The White House has collapsed." Or "The Taj Mahal has blown up." They never had to. So why the names? The team's defence: for God's sake, these are just code words and the crazier they sound the easier their recall.

    The name of the third shaft, where a sub-kiloton or low-yield test was conducted, was less controversial. It was called Kumbhakaran, after a mythological figure who when disturbed from his deep slumber would fly into a frightening rage. Since the well in which the shaft was sunk had lain dormant for many years the name was appropriate. There were three other shafts designated Navtala (Hindi for nine wells), a name given to the area because it had old, disused drinking-water wells. The team used three of them to sink shafts for the tests and these were called nt1, 2 and 3.

    All the six shafts were to be used for the May 1998 tests, but the bomb team only exploded five devices. The device in NT 3 was pulled out and taken back under orders from R. Chidambaram, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chairman, because he felt the team had the results they wanted with just five blasts. As he told the team laconically, "Why waste it?"

'IS SIERRA SERVING WHISKY?' 

 
    As part of the drive to maintain secrecy the country's two top scientists, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Chidambaram, donned army greens whenever they visited Pokhran. The 80-odd scientists and technologists from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and DRDO who descended on Pokhran to conduct the tests in May were also given army fatigues and false names. With so many code names or words around, the conversation at times was bewildering even to those who were part of the loop. At least one top scientist told the team that he found it easier to do his physics calculations than decipher the code language. Would they please stick to normal words so that he could get his work done? The team demurred.




    So in the run for the tests, an army officer manning the operations room was asked by Delhi: "Is Sierra serving whisky in the canteen yet? Has the store arrived?" Decoded that meant: "Has the nuclear device been lowered in the special chamber (canteen) in the shaft called White House (Whisky was its other name) and have the scientists (Sierra) started working on them?"

    A little later Delhi was on line with another query: "Has Charlie gone to the zoo? And is Bravo saying prayers? Mike is on." The decoded version: "Has the DRDO team (codenamed Charlie) gone to the deer park (the zoo or the control room)? And has the BARC team (codenamed Bravo) gone to the bunkers where the nuclear devices are being assembled (prayer hall). The dg, military operations (Mike) wants to know the progress."

     In the spring of 1997, K. Santhanam and Lieutenant General Inder Varma paid a secret visit to Pokhran. As drdo's pointsman on the nuclear issue, Santhanam, chief adviser on technology, was closely involved in India's plans to weaponise its capability since 1986. He was brought in by V.S. Arunachalam, Kalam's predecessor who played a key role in India's nuclear weapons quest in the '80s. Santhanam's code name was Lieutenant Colonel Srinivas, a sobriquet he had earlier frequently used to pen articles in the lay press.

     Lieutenant General Varma, DG, military operations, code named Mike, was the army's key man for all such nuclear operations. His task was to ensure that shafts and facilities at Pokhran were kept in a state of continuous readiness so a test could be done within 10 days of a decision. And to ensure secrecy. His formula: "Keep it simple."

     On that visit, the duo told the 58 Engineers that they had to dig two more shafts of an average depth of 50 metres within the next month. And all efforts must be made to shield it from the prying eyes of satellites. The regiment got cracking. Its officers first looked out for a new area to sink the two new wells.

     The nine disused wells at Navtala came in handy. These were fairly deep. That meant the team had less to dig. They had noticed that one way satellites could tell new activity was going on was because engineers usually erected a fence around the shaft to keep away both stray cattle and other units not concerned with the digging operations. This time they dispensed with a fence. To dissuade others a sign was put up: "Danger. Mined Area. Keep Out." That worked.

      The army regiment got even bolder. They knew the intelligence agencies were like diplomats: if you told them the truth they would never believe you. So instead of taking attention away from the two shafts they were to dig, they virtually shouted for the satellites to look. They pitched tents around one of the shafts and put up a signboard: "Water Position". At the other site they parked four dozers and put up another giant signboard that said "Dozer Cadre Training". On satellite images they stood out like smoke trails in a clear sky. After a flurry of such subterfuge, the regiment waited for reaction. Indian intelligence agencies reported no undue concern in key countries. The army knew its ploy was working. It also realised that one of the reasons why US satellites had detected fresh activity in Pokhran in 1995 was possibly the movement of huge mounds of sands close to the wells. These were to be used to seal the shafts when the devices were lowered. The army figured that western intelligence agencies knew they had started shifting sands by studying how the winds shaped the mounds. If winds were creating new mounds, they would align them in the direction they were blowing. But if dozers were used to shift sand the new mounds contrasted distinctly with other dunes.

     Army planners then came up with a solution. Whenever they moved sand they monitored the wind and ensured that the mounds were aligned according to the direction it was blowing. The technique worked and months before the test several dummy runs were done to see if the CIA was perking up.

SHAKTI STHAL 

     Up ahead from Pokhran is Khetolai, a lazy stone and sand Rajasthani village (population: 1,200) that put up with much of the discomfort caused by India's nuclear preparedness. In the aftermath of India's 1998 nuclear tests, some zealots had repainted its signboard. Above the word Khetolai in smaller letters was painted, "Shakti Sthal" or Place of Strength.

     Sohanram Vishnoi, principal of Khetolai's only school, still remembers how violently the ground shook that May morning in 1974 when India exploded its first nuclear device. Then only 15 years old, he was certain his house would collapse. He recalls the local mendicant's explanation for the quake. The sadhu told him gravely that the world rotated around the horn of a cow. Occasionally the cow, tired of carrying the weight of the world, would shift it from one horn tip to the other. The earth would then shake violently as it did that on that summer's day.

     In May 1998, Sohanram saw increased activity at the Pokhran range and knew something serious was going on. On the morning of May 11, Major Mohan Kumar Sharma of the 58 Engineers drove up and requested Sohanram to keep the schoolchildren outdoors for a couple of hours. He wouldn't divulge the reason but Sohanram told the stunned officer, "Don't worry, we know you are going to do another test. We are fully behind you."

 From the Book of  Weapons of Peace Article Published in India Today 

The secret 'K' missile family

 The secret 'K' missile family

  Named after Kalam, a secret family of advanced weapons is taking shape but the Government is yet to decide on the induction of their land-based variants.

   In a dramatic breakthrough in its nuclear offensive capability, India has successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) with an eventual range of 3,500 km. Tested secretly off Visakhapatnam in January this year, the 10-m long and 1.3-m wide missile emerged from a pontoon submerged 50 m underwater and breached the surface. Painted black and white so that it can be distinguished in water, it has passed a critical parameter.

    Named after India's missile man, former President APJ Abdul Kalam, the nuclear-tipped K-4 is quite significant in a batch of new-generation counter-strike strategic missiles. The top secret indigenous "K" missiles are faster, lighter and stealthier. They also make India only the sixth country to develop undersea strategic missiles.

    A second firing, to be conducted off Visakhapatnam within two months, will revalidate a critical parameter-the ability of a 20-tonne projectile to withstand 50 kg of water pressure and eject from a submerged launcher before engaging its rocket booster. What makes an SLBM relevant in the Indian context is that it is part of the third leg of the nuclear deterrent (air and ground-launched weapons being the other two) and the ideal invulnerable second strike weapon stated in the nuclear doctrine. Defence officials say a long range SLBM like the K-4 will enable an Indian nuclear submarine lurking in the Bay of Bengal to target China and Pakistan simultaneously. Launched last year, India's first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine Arihant has been designed to carry four K-4s or 12 of the 750-km range K-15s.

    DRDO officials say that the K-4 will be ready for induction before the end of the decade. This is because most technologies, including the sophisticated guidance packages, were already perfected while developing the shorter range K-15 SLBM. Defence officials, however, are cautious because despite a history of missile expertise, Russia has witnessed multiple failures of its new Bulava SLBM. In the works is an as yet unnamed longer-legged variant of the K-4 with a 5,000-km range. The 12-m long missile is meant to arm future nuclear submarines.

     But while the DRDO parades its Agni and Prithvi missiles on Republic Day, it will not even acknowledge the existence of any of these "black projectsâ€? that have been cloaked under the Advanced Technology Vessel Project (ATV) that builds the Arihant class of nuclear submarines.

   By 2008, the missile was successfully test fired seven times, and tested to its full range up to four times. The tests of 26 February 2008, were conducted from a submerged pontoon 50 metres (160 ft) beneath the surface off the coast of Visakhapatnam. A land-based version of the K-15 Sagarika was successfully test-fired on 12 November 2008. A full range test of the missile was done on 11 March 2012. The twelfth and final development trial of the missiles was conducted on 27 January 2013. According to DRDO Director General V. K. Saraswat, the missile was again tested for its full range of 700 km and met all its objectives with a single digit impact-accuracy.The test will be followed by integration of the missile with INS Arihant. 

Article by Sandeep Unnithan and published in India Today

Any Options left to stop the Infiltrations

Any Options left to stop the Infiltrations 

   It's been like a normal scenario, Pakistani terrorists infiltrating the international Border and strike Civil buildings and Peoples, finally Army comes and kills those Terrorists, a Typical Asymmetric warfare, But what steps do India take to counter that moves done by Pakistani Terrorists, after Pakistanis failed in the Kargil, they move another plan by adopting Jihadi's to carryout Strikes and Suicidal bombings along the Kashmir Border, by advancing they finding  more ways to infiltrate the soft borders along the LoC.

    Just like Kashmir, in Punjab Today  Pakistani terrorists carried out attacks and leaving several peoples killed and wounded many other, inflicting damages to civil properties, making peoples feel insecure, the same scenario repeating here in Punjab a Indian state shares border with Pakistan, the same what happening in Kashmir everyday.

   Here India should rethink it's strategy when dealing with the Pakistanis, India suffer heavy damages due to this asymmetrical warfare done by the Pakistanis, The New Government assures that they will take tough actions to stop those Border infiltrations, but so far they take zero decisions to deal with the Pakistanis and tries to stick with diplomatic options, where Pakistan is not interested in such Diplomatic talks.

    The earlier government also does the same, when Pakistan attacks Indian Positions or supporting Terrorists to infiltrate the borders and carryout attacks against civilians, they calls the Pakistani High Commissioner and lodges it's protest, or comments like India will give befitting reply to Pakistani attacks, but truth is no real effects happens in the ground, and the same saga repeats itself.

   What the Current government is doing, they also repeating the same, as earlier expected, once New Government takes the power they will carryout Air strikes  along the LoC by targeting the Pakistani Terror Camps and  Bunkers Operated by the Pakistani regular Army. so far a Year the Pakistan continues its normal game, India too sounding the same just like earlier what UPA Regime did.

    Still no proper actions taken to stop those Cross Border actions, Earlier last Month, as Surprisingly Indian Special forces raid on a NSCN camp outside Indian Borders, even that Pakistan Threatens India into the situation just like a warning India won't try the same with Pakistan which makes bigger consequences. Within a week A border infiltration done by Pakistani Terrorists and killed some civilians before shot by the Indian Military forces.

    There is a clear evidences that Almost all of the Terrorists incidents happens nearby the Border is done by the Pakistani Terrorists with the support of Pakistani military, The Government knows that very well. But still no actions taken to stop this, while still believing they can give a life to a corpse means they can solve the issues with diplomatic options.

Indian Civil Nuclear Project

Indian Civil Nuclear Project

   Nuclear power is one of the major power source in India, but comes only after thermal, Hydroelectric and  renewable energy sources like wind mills and solar panels, But India Plans to increase the Nuclear based power generation to equalize the country's growing power requirement. So far India has some 22 Nuclear reactors in seven Nuclear  Power plants across India, producing estimated power output of some 6000 mega watts of electricity, recently the Russian made Reactor in Kudankulam produces nearly 1000 mega watts from it's first operational power plant, which is the highest single power plant's power production in India.

    India plans to construct more number of Reactors in Kudankulam and Rajastan with the support of Russia and France respectively, in Kudankulam government plans to construct ten bigger nuclear reactor each can produce 1000 mega watts, so far only one has operational, and the second in testing run and third is in construction stage, and in Rajastan the French backed Areva project which expected to produce 9000 mega watts of power from it's five to ten Nuclear Reactors,the project is yet to started, recently the Indian PM signs a Memorandum of understanding with the French Government and Areva company about the price negotiations for the consuming units,

   Even with the Huge numbers of Planned and operational reactors, India need huge amount of nuclear fuel that's the Uranium, despite sanctions in early 2000, India bought nuclear fuel from Russia to runs it's reactors in various plants across India, countries like Canada and Australia hold world's largest high grade uranium deposits, to import from nations who supply nuclear fuel need a authorization from Nuclear supply Group organizations and IAEA- international atomic energy corporation, after the sanctions waived  in 2008, India explored opportunities to build more advanced Reactors and buying high grade uranium from foreign suppliers,

    Later India made contracts with several countries to supply uranium, countries include Canada Australia and more, recently the Prime minister signed a contract with Kazakhstan authorizes to supply 5000 metric tons of  high grade uranium to Indian reactors.

     India also has huge uranium deposits but they were very low grade, enriching and processing those uranium makes huge cost than importing from foreign, but recently The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research found uranium deposits around Andhra and Telangana Forests, also the analyzed report mentions that the uranium found in that forest is high grade and equals to the importing uranium's grade, so far the team estimated the uranium deposits in that area could reach more than some 50,000 metric tons.  a Single nuclear reactor which produces 700 mega watts of power needs 125 metric tons of uranium for one year.

    India recently initiated plans to build more strategic uranium reserves in India, to store more than 5000 metric tons of uranium, which supply enough uranium to Indian reactors for more than five years, India has a single Uranium reserve which is located in Hyderabad, it's expected that India will construct two more reserves in coming years.

    India has huge amount of Thorium deposits, but currently there is no working reactors which can use thorium as their fuel, the long Indian coast has a deposit of some half a million metric tons of thorium deposits, and India already initiated projects to build reactors based on thorium as their fuel, currently Kalpakkam has hosting a major works of Thorium based reactors, if those programs were Successful most Future reactors will be built by using thorium as their Fuel.

    It's expected that India can reach 30,000 mega watts of power generation through nuclear reactor by coming 2030.

Star wars weapons from DRDO

Star wars weapons from DRDO

While New technologies are emerging across the Globe, DRDO also mulls it's team to study and materialize modern projects like Direct Energy weapons, for this two special area's taken first one is the Laser another is Railgun, where DRDO already involved both projects in earlier, but due to lack of technological expertises and fund they forced to close the Projects, But now again the Researchers digging shelved direct energy weapon projects.

At first they plans to concentrate on the heavy pulse gun projects, which means a huge particle accelerator can accelerate electrons at high speed, like a example of  very high voltage of current suddenly pass through any electric equipments, the same earlier known as the KALI, KALI means Kilo ampere linear injector, which can produce heavy pulses, that helps the electrons to travel faster and impact the target with powerful electrons, Earlier KALI was jointly developed by the DRDO and BARC.

India planned to use the pulse generator to kill enemy ballistic missiles and aircrafts by destroying it's electronic circuits with the use of highly powerful electron pulses, most missiles and aircrafts runs with bunch of circuit boards and chips, the electronic parts controls the entire airborne systems, if even an one small circuit boards fails the entire system will fall, with the powerful KALI series the Pulses can travel much longer distance to kill enemy long range missiles.

Currently most of the Anti ballistic or Anti air missiles uses kinetic energy to destroy the enemy missiles, some uses the direct kill technology, some uses a Hit and kill vehicle to launch small multiple fragments to destroy the missiles in flight, but most of the Ballistic missiles comes with good defensive systems which can spoof anti missiles, mainly electronic jammer and by deploying decoys, but the same can't work against the Directed energy weapons, no one can spoof the directed weapons, like the pulses and lighting. the pluses travel straight line and impact any disturbing objects and kills it's circuits with high voltage of electrons.

Earlier versions of KALI produces 0.4 gigawatt's of power and accelerate it into more than 1 gigawatt's. with one pulses in each 40 nano seconds, the Pulses travels at the frequency of 3-5 G Hz. and those devices are used for single shots, means only one shot can be fired then takes time to ready for another round of emission, also the systems need more than 12,000 liters of oil to cools the accelerator.

So the new systems can continuously accelerate electrons and requires lesser power and  weights less than the previous systems, the KALI 10K weights more than 26 Tons, earlier DRDO planned to fit the Kali into a IL 76 Plane, but with heavy weight and recharge time forced the plan down, also they planned to use the KALI as a anti satellite weapons, but that one was not frozen, but can be used if war broken out with full force.

As DRDO said these cost effective Highly reliable systems can be weaponized in a decade and will be used in the Armed forces in a decade, means the electron accelerator will be ready before 2035.

Another major future project in the direct energy weapon field is the Electromagnetic rail guns, DRDO set this program as their second priority, the Railgun is something complex, like using a electromagnetic flux to accelerate a projectile, Simply a Projectile or Bullet can be placed in between a electromagnetic, with the high amount of flux produced by the Electromagnet will fire the projectile at high speed and longer range.

 Currently India has no working projects based on Electromagnetic  field, But it's believed DRDO can join hands with private companies to make a good rail gun. so far the American based General Electronic created a Railgun which can be  operationally deployed, can fire the projectiles at 30 Mega Jules.  

How Indian Air Force made history with the Kargil War

      Operation "Safed Sagar" commenced on May 26, 1999 and concluded on July 11, 1999 after all military objectives were achieved. This was the first time in the history of military aviation that air power was used at a height of upto 32,000 feet by the Indian Air Force.

     From April 1999, the Pakistan Army along with elements of Mujahadeen (irregulars) crossed the 168km Line of Control (LoC), along Kargil and occupied high ground and vantage points. The intrusion was announced by the Indian Army by May 7-8 and had come as a complete surprise to the military as well as intelligence agencies. The decision to induct the IAF was taken on May 24 after due deliberations at the highest levels of the Indian government and instructions were issued to jointly, with the Army, evict the intruders. It was emphasised that the IAF must not cross the LoC.

      The targets were small sangars (shelters made of boulders) and isolated tents. This made close air force support to the army extremely difficult. Initially, the targets were not known to the Indian Army and little or no information was available to the Air Force. The stinger was also formidable. This shoulder fired the missile system, a Canberre aircraft, and managed to hit on a recce mission on May 21. Fortunately, the aircraft returned safely. An Mig 21 was lost on May 27 and an MI-17 Heptr the very next day due to stingers. Thereafter, a change of tactics and attack patterns was necessitated to stay above the stinger "bubble". This implied that weapon delivery would need to be above 26,000ft and upto 32,000ft. At such height, the aircraft performance reduces drastically due to less atmospheric density as also the ballistics of bombs. The piloting skills of the Indian Air Force overcame the difficulties and ensured discernable results.

        The first phase of Air Force operations was to conduct a recce to identify the targets, the second was interdiction, which was to hit the logistics and administration camps that supplied ammunition, food, fuel, et al to the occupied posts in the higher mountain reaches. Then the Air Force moved to the final phase -of providing close air support after the target systems were clearly identified. All the phases were executed in close co-operation with the Army.

          Credit must be given to the Mig 21 and Mig 27 pilots, who, with primitive navigation/attack systems, were very effective. The use of hand held GPS (Global Positioning System) was an innovation that produced great results when used for area targets. The constant bombardment had a tremendously demoralising effect on the adversary's psyche.

        The terrain consisted of the Himalayas running in the northwest-southeast direction, with peaks reaching above 22,000 to 25,000 feet. On the northern side of LoC, the valleys were running in the north-south direction with gradual slopes to the peaks. Most targets were on the northern slopes. This made it rather difficult to evolve a strike pattern without crossing the LoC. Wind speeds were somewhere between 50-100 knots per hour.

          The sun rise cast shadows in the valleys from 8AM, when visibility was considerably reduced and targets could not be seen. The clouds engulfed the ridges and peaks by 11AM. Therefore, the window of opportunity was only the three-hour period between 8AM and 11AM.

         The tide turned from the middle of June 1999. At this time, the areas of occupation became known. The Army was now in a position to make an attack plan versus the target systems. As a consequence, the Air Force was able to coordinate with the Army the "close Air support" requirements.

        The Mirage 2000 aircraft, the pilots and engineers performed exceptionally well. In a very short period of time, the "Laser Guided Bombs" were made operational. No pilots or engineers and technicians were trained at the beginning of the campaign, but within a week they carried out trials and training. The accurate delivery of "Laser Bombs" on Tiger Hill - a command post in the Mashkoh sector - was devastating. Innovations like cheating the computers, for different than authorised weapon carriage, were commendable. The lasing time of the laser pods was altered manually with good results. There were no fuzes available for the 1000lb bombs, so pistol fuzes were modified and used effectively. Clearance for carriage of 1000lbs indigeneous bombs was done at Gwalior, the home base of the Mirage 2000 aircraft. There were other innovations like using the "laser designator pod" for recce. The largest logistics camps at Muntho Dalo in the Batalik sector and Pt 4388 in the Mashkoh sector were identified through this method and neutralised effectively. The Mirage 2000 aircraft flew a total of 500 missions with only three drops outs.

       The IAF flew a total of 1,235 missions, striking 24 major target systems and ensuring air dominance over the area of operations through Air Defence Interceptor aircraft like Mirage 2000 and Mig 29s.

Significant air strikes that altered the course of the conflict:

1. June 13 1999 Tololing Ridge Complex in the Batalik Sector

2. June 17 1999 Muntho Dalo the Main Admin and Lgs camp in the Batalik sector

3. June 24 1999 Command and Control structure on Tiger Hill. Direction Centrefor forward artillery in the Dras Sector.

4. June 23 1999 Logistics Camp at Pt 4388 in Mashkoh Nallah

       The Pakistan side's armed intrusion across the LoC during May to July 1999 at the Kargil sector was a misadventure with severe consequences. The Indian side had achieved its final objective of evicting the intruders with the successful Air Force-Army joint operation. The Kargil conflict was a limited Pakistani effort to internationalise the Kashmir issue, which was seen to be losing its momentum. They had assessed that a counter attack would only last a few days and, thereafter, a ceasefire through international pressure, would allow them to stay in their occupied positions and renew their supplies. The Pakistani planners failed to assess the involvement of air power, the capability of the IAF and the Indian Army's determination.

         The hesitation, at the political and military leadership, for the use of air power, delayed the induction of the IAF for over two weeks. It was nearly a repeat of the 1962 Chinese conflict, where air power was not utilised with disastrous consequences. Perhaps a "declaratory policy" to confirm that there will be no hesitation to use air power for any willful violation of the LoC or the international border is warranted. This would have a deterrant effect.

        Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaisance capability are of utmost importance to national security and the induction of two Pakistan Army battalions in the region should have been monitored. Gilgit, Skardu and Gulteri in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) should have been under surveillance round the year. Strategic reconnaissance is a core competency of all Air Force and in India, it is included in external intelligence gathering under R&AW (Aviation Research Centre). The gap between satellite and tactical recce (UAVs, fighters, et al) is strategic recce, which must be with the IAF and resources provided.

         The importance of technology cannot be overstated. Induction of technology would give us greater and sustainable capability, enhancing national security considerably. Do we need high tech, well trained and motivated defence forces in smaller numbers or superior forces in large numbers? Higher level military leadership must be selected through merit. During the Kargil War, it was the middle and junior level leadership that rose to the occassion. The Kargil operation would have never happened if the higher leadership had ensured realistic threat assessment and planning.

       There should be greater interaction between the political and military leadership. Thus far, it is non existent. Military leadership does not only include the chiefs of staff, but also the Air Force, Army and Navy commanders who formulate and execute the operational plans. This would expedite and rationalise the decision making process during conflict situations.

       In the final analysis, Kargil was a military, diplomatic and political success for India. However, the loss of nearly 500 military men and over 1,100 serious casualties, subdues the success. During this Kargil Diwas, we should spare a moment for the great uniformed personnel who gave their today for our tomorrow. Jai Hind.

Article by Air Marshal PS Ahluwalia posted in Daily O

INS Kolkatha test fires Barak 8 soon

INS Kolkatha test fires Barak 8 soon

       The Long Range Surface Air Missile (LR-SAM) will be tested-fired in India, coming October. LRSAM, also known as Barak-8, being co-developed by India and Israel had already been successfully flight-tested against a flying target in Israel in November 2014. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have joined hands for developing LRSAM, which has a range of 70 km

       Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) V Udaya Bhaskar told defence journalists on the sidelines of the two-day Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Summit (ADMS 2015) that the LRSAM project is moving in the ‘right direction.' "The programme has been going on for the last five to six years. The missile will have its Indian leg of trial in October. The current trials are for Navy and we will conduct parallel ground trials for the Air Force and Army variants as well," Udaya Bhaskar said.

        Mass production likely from next year He said BDL hopes to enter into mass production of LRSAMs from next year onwards, depending upon the outcome of the final trials. "There are a lot of tactical weapon requirements coming up. The success of Akash Weapon System (AWS) has given a big boost for indigenization for SAM (Surface to Air Missile) programmes," Udaya Bhaskar said.

       BDL presently has three manufacturing units situated in Hyderabad, Medak district (Telangana) and at Visakhapatnam (AP). The fourth unit is coming up in Amravati district of Maharashtra. "We plan to produce Very Short Range Air Defence Missile (VSHORAD) at the Amravati plant. The fifth unit is coming up in Ibrahimpatnam (Telangana) exclusively for SAM project.





       We are ready to join hands with private partners to take up high-end weapon systems," Udaya Bhaskar added. He said the current orderbook of BDL stood at in excess of Rs Rs 16000 crore. Adding more teeth to Indian Navy.

         DRDO officials had told OneIndia earlier that once cleared for operations, the LRSAMs will be fitted on the P-15 A Kolkata Class guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy. The missile's first ballistic flight test (short-range) was successfully conducted in Israel in May 2010. The first control navigation test of the missile was conducted in 2012. As per the original plan, initial short-range tests are to be held in Israel and the long-range ones in India.

The LRSAM project was sanctioned in January 2006 with an initial funding of Rs 2,606.02 crore.

 Article Published in One India

The future of India's silent warriors - 2

The futuristic under water force of Indian navy

ATV/ARIHANT CLASS NUCLEAR SUBMARINE

INS Arihant married to her element; Source - Net

    Constituted in the late 1980’s, the main aim of the project was to equip India with a second strike platform capable of launching retaliatory strikes against hostile states.

      India realized the significance of deterrence during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, US in support of its ally Pakistan dispatched ‘Task force 74’ led by USS Enterprise into the Bay of Bengal to intervene in India’s fight for Bangladesh.  Realizing the immense fire power the carrier group, India requested the intervention of Russia which dispatched its nuclear powered submarines to trial the task force. It was only for the interference of the Soviet’s the day was saved for India.


      Soon India setup the Advanced Technology Vessels (ATV) project with the sole purpose of constructing nuclear powered submarines which could carry nuclear tipped ballistic missiles. The exact events pertaining to the project was shrouded in secrecy and not much is known about the vessels constructed under the program. The project was cleared as a ‘black project’ and was put under direct control of the PMO. The project is believed to be cleared in the early 90’s and was accelerated soon after India successfully completed ‘Smiling Buddha’.


      The major hurdle in realizing the project was miniaturizing the nuclear reactor for powering the submarine. India’s leading atomic research organization, ‘BARC’ was put in charge of designing and fabricating a nuclear reactor to power the submarine. BARC designed, pressurized water reactor (PWR) using enriched uranium as fuel at its Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research Centre at Kalpakkam. The reactor was capable of producing 83 MW of power and was labelled ‘S-1’ and consisted of the reactor, control systems and the shielding tank, the reactor went critical on 11^th November 2013.

A rare picture of INS Arihant inside HSL; Source - Net

        The state owned shipyard HSL, Vizag was put in charge of the project. The work on the submarine began at a fully enclosed dry dock at Vishakhapatnam. At the heart of the sub was a  83 MW PWR reactor and the sub itself was designed based on the Russian Akula class submarine. Leading private industries were also extensively involved in the project, L&T provided the hull, BEL and HEC was crucial in developing the reactor and shielding compartments, Tata power pitched in with its high end control systems.


       The lead vessel of the class ‘INS Arihant’ was launched on 25^th July 2009 at Vishakhapatnam.  Dedicating the submarine to the nation, PM openly acknowledged and lauded sustained Russian support for the program. The submarine then underwent an extensive fitting out process and by the late 2012 was then moved to docks for sustained harbour trials for system tests and validation. The submarine underwent repeated controlled submerged tests for hull pressure tests. The submarine was repeatedly put through extensive tests to analyse its high pressure capabilities.


         The reactor of ‘INS Arihant’ went critical on 10^th August 2013 and was tested for operational levels in validation tests that lasted for almost a year. After completing its harbour trials the submarine floated out of Vishakhapatnam harbour on 13^th December 2014 on its own power. The submarine has now entered its final phase of testing, the sub will now be tested to its maximum dive depth and will also fire the K-15 missiles.


       The Arihant class submarine is the smallest boomer in the world and India is the only nation apart from the P-5 to have successfully developed a SSBN. Arihant class submarines will be equipped with at least 12 K-15 ‘Sagarika’ missiles, developed by India’s premier defense organization DRDO. The K-15 is a two stage solid propellant fuelled missile which can carry a 1 tonne nuclear warhead. The missile can strike a target at 750 kilometers when carrying a 1000 kg payload. The range of the missile can be drastically extended to 2000 km by reducing the payload to around 200kg.  The submarine will also be equipped to carry the K-4 missile with a range of 3500 kilometer when carrying a 2.5 tonne warhead. The submarine will also carry 6 '533mm torpedoes' for countering any lurking threats.

Artistic look of Arihant; Source - Net

      ‘INS Arihant’ is slated to enter the forces just before the International Fleet Review (IFR) to be held in 2016. INS Aridhaman the second vessel of the class is undergoing extensive validation tests and is expected to be soon launched for harbour trials. India has also started the construction of two more SSBN at its shipyard in Vadodra. The follow submarines will be longer and heavier than ‘INS Arihant’, singling the increase in the number of missiles to be carried by these follow-on submarines.


          INS Aridhaman is expected to displace around 7000 tonne when launched and the follow S-4 and S-5 vessels are expected to displace around 8000 tonnes thus confirming the increase in the missiles to be carried by the sub and also making space for more machinery which will make the submarine stealthier. The submarines will also be powered by a 120 MW IWR nuclear reactor. These vessels will surely serve as deterrent against any hostile forces and will also be a crucial arm in the nuclear triad for India.

Sagarika test fired; Source - Net

The P-75 I Project

          Indian navy recently announced the ‘P-75 I’ project, under which the navy is to acquire six diesel-electric attack submarines equipped with AIP units. The government has accorded its principal clearance to the project and has also set apart Rs. 70000 crore making the project, the biggest defence project of India. The vessels under this program will be a follow on to the ‘Scorpene submarines’ and will feature even stealthier features making the submarine virtually invisible. The sub will be used for ‘hunter-killer roles’ and for land attack missions, which mandates the vessels to be equipped with Vertical Launch systems (VLS) which are capable of firing BrahMos and Nirbhay cruise missiles. The submarine will also be equipped with about six torpedo tubes capable of launching both heavy and light weight torpedoes to counter any lurking threats in the water.

Gotland Class Submarine; Source - Net

      The vessels will also be equipped with indigenously produced AIP systems which will enable the submarine to remain in its element for longer periods. The race for the ‘P-75I project’ has been extremely nimble, DCNS has pitched in its Scorpene submarines as follow on vessels for the project and has already confirmed of providing India with the latest version of Scorpene subs. Russia is pitching its Amur-1650 class submarine, an improved version of the Kilo-class sub. HDW has entered the fray with its Type 216 vessel which is being designed around the Type 212/214 vessel. Sweden is offering India it’s A-26 a futuristic submarine which will replace the ‘Got-land subs’. Japan has been invited to offer its Soryu class sub, but Japan till date has not confirmed anything in this regard. India selecting ‘Scorpene’s’ will be a welcome move, considering the time that would saved due to the existing infrastructure and technology readily available with MDL,Mumbai.


       The relationships between India and Russia is undoubtedly the best and an example for all other international relations. The relationship reaches an all time high when it comes to naval platforms. Indian navy is structured mainly around the Russian naval fleet and developed with the help of Russian shipyards. Today Indian navy is self-sufficient and has set steer for achieving 100% indigenousness in the years to come. The trust attained between India and Russia is unmatched and unquestioned, today India operates INS Chakra, an Akula class nuclear powered attack submarine. There is no question of countries leasing a submarine, to top a nuclear powered submarine to another country, but this was broken with India by Russia such is the relations between the countries.





           India is now actively lobbying to acquire another nuclear powered attack submarine from Russia. India has thrown its weight behind the overhaul and modernization of the uncompleted Iribis, an Akula class sub whose construction was halted midway owing to the cost crunch as the Soviet Union was dissolved. 60% of Iribis construction has been completed and can be transferred to India in two or three years and the same has been confirmed by ‘Vladimir Putin’. India is also lobbying for the lease of Kashalot which has been removed from active service and is being modernized in Amur shipyard.

            Interesting reports of India going for an all together new class of nuclear powered attack submarine have emerged recently in the media. The process for inducting newer submarines will be cumbersome and may take longer time then required. The only submarine to be under current production at Russian shipyards is the Yasen-class attack submarine. The Indian government has also cleared an ambitious plan of inducting six nuclear powered attack submarines which will be designed, fabricated and manufactured indigenously. The induction of Yasen at this phase is a major boost to the operational boost and also to the induction program if conceived as a ToT program under the ‘Make in India’ campaign.

INS Chakra; Source - Reuters

     The Yasen class are multi-mission oriented nuclear powered submarines capable of performing hunter-killer roles and at the same time engage and neutralize land and shipping targets. Displacing about 13000 tonne these submarines are ultra quite when submerged when submerged in its element. Russian navy currently operates a single Yasen class submarine serving under the northern fleet. The lead ship of the class is roumered to have setback Russia’s funds by a whooping US $ 1.6 billion. Being the lead vessel the cost would include the R&D and infrastructural setup cost, but as the follow on vessels are sailed out the cost of the project is guaranteed to decrease drastically.

      The hull is made of low magnetic steel and features spherical bow sonar which is a first for the Soviet subs. The 120 metre long submarine is powered by a single PWR reactor capable of churning out 200 MW or 43000 shp of power which helps the ship attain a max speed of 57 kmph. The submarine is capable of going ultra-quite by engaging its acoustics reduction system and can operate at depths up to 1800 feet. The sub is equipped with Irtysh –Amfora suite and comes equipped with the MGK-500 Shark Gill low frequency active or passive SONAR system and also has the Skat 3 towed array system. The submarine has the highly accurate snoop pair surface search radar and Myedvyeditsa radar systems. The ECM and ESM capabilities of the sub are concentrated around the Rim Hat systems.

      The submarine comes packed to its brim with extremely lethal firepower. The sub is equipped with 8 VLS launch tubes capable of housing 24 cruise missiles, the Yasen currently houses Oniks and Kalbir SLCM but these systems will be removed if exported to India in accordance to the MCRT. The sub if operated by the Indian navy can be expected to sport the Nirbhay, BrahMos and Russian origin Klub missile system. The sub is fitted out with 8 torpedo launch tubes which are capable of firing multiple heavy weight and light weight torpedoes. The submarine can also be used to lay mines for protecting high value assets and ports.

Yasen Class Submarine; Source - Imur

       With the completion of these projects, Indian navy will be on its way to transform from a regional navy to a blue water force. With rapid induction of these platforms, India is surely to check the wild adventures of its neighbors and in the decades to come the navy will be operating more than 35 submarines. Development is a never ending process and the Indian navy has set the course and tenure to be the most formidable naval force in the eastern hemisphere falling just behind its close ally USN.

Article - Karthik Kakoor

The future of India's silent warriors - 1

The futuristic submarines of the Indian navy

Scorpene Submarine; Source - DCNS

      Sailing silently and stealthily where the fishes sleep these are the ultimate weapons of war ever invented by the mankind. Sailing hundreds of feet below the water, these naval platforms are the weapons of apocalypse and which can wipe out continents at the press of a button. ‘The silent warriors’ are respected highly for they sail silently in a piece of tin can measuring several hundred feet in length avoiding any contact and not witnessing sunlight for days together. These warriors are a class apart from the community and are always at war, even when docked, the ship is just not off-duty, the men never off-guard. They’re the silent warriors of the deep seas, the ‘Submariners’ sailing silently in the deepest oceans known to the mankind.


           Indian navy operates a sizable fleet of these technologically advanced pieces of machinery. The underwater force of the Indian navy is composed around the diesel-electric attack submarines. The navy operates 13 diesel-electric attack submarines and 1 nuclear powered attack submarine. The Kilo-class submarines acquired from the Russians are the backbone for underwater operations. The Kilo-class submarines were commissioned to the force as Sindhughosh class, the navy acquired 10 of these advanced submarines from Russia in the late 1980’s and have served for the past three decades.

Shishumar class submarine; Source - Net

       Indian navy also operates the Shishumar-class submarines a refined version of the Type 209 submarines developed by HDW, Germany. Indian navy currently operates 4 of these submarines which are propelled by diesel-electric motors. INS Chakra, an Akula-class nuclear powered attack submarine is being operated by the Indian navy. Chakra is on a 10 year lease from Russia. INS Chakra serves as a training platform for the Indian navy personnel who will be operating the indigenously built boomer, INS Arihant.

       For a country with more than 2500 kilometers of coastal waters an underwater force consisting of 14 submarines is extremely small. India is a rising global power and India’s interest in its resource rich backyard ‘Indian Ocean’ is increasing with every passing day. India is contemplating of increasing its EEZ from the existing 250 kilometers to at least 330 kilometers to utilize the readily available resources in IOR. With India’s arch rival ‘China’ lurking in the IOR, it is crucial India deploys a sizable fleet of the underwater force in the region. With India being an initiator for the ‘No first use’ policy it is crucial India maintains a ‘nuclear triad’ or ‘second strike capability’ platform for retaliatory strikes when provoked.

      Submarines will serve as the key conspirators in imposing a naval blockade on an enemy. China imports 80% of its oil and commodities through shipping lanes, these international shipping lanes pass through the strategic Malacca Straits in the Indian Ocean. The Andaman and Nicobar are strategically placed right at the mouth of ‘Malacca Straits’ and thus a naval blockade imposed at this position can cut off all the major supplies to China crippling its ‘war sustainability’ capabilities to a great extend. The blockade can be imposed only by maintaining a sizable fleet of both surface combatants and submarines, even though India operates highly advanced surface combatants the submarine force has been a matter of worry for the navy.

Kilo-Class Submarine; Source - Broadsword

       Indian government has floated tenders to procure the latest submersible platforms to complement the surface. Constituted under the P-75 project, Indian navy currently has six diesel-electric submarines under construction at Mazagon docks, Mumbai. The recently constituted P-75 I project also promises the navy with six more advanced diesel-electric submarines. Not much is known about the Advanced Technology Vessels (ATV) project, but over the years sources have confirmed about India acquiring 3 SSBN’s. India has also set apart funds for 6 nuclear powered attack submarines (SSN) or hunter killer submarines. In the decades to come India is expected operate at least 30-35 submarines.

The P-75 Project/ Kalvari Class – DCNS Scorpene 

INS Kalvari, the lead vessel; Source - MDL

          Constituted in 2005 the P-75 project was to provide India with the latest diesel-electric submarine.  A tender for acquiring six state-of-the-art conventionally powered submarines at a cost of US $3 billion was floated by India. DCNS of France, Amur Shipyard of Russia and HDW from Germany competed in the project. After a thorough evaluation program, DCNS was awarded the contract to supply India with six diesel-electric powered submarines. DCNS offered India with the ‘Scorpene’ submarines. Initially two of the six submarines were to be built in a French shipyard, and the rest four in an Indian shipyard under an agreed ToT agreement. But the project agreement was reversed and it was decided to manufacture all the six submarines in the Indian shipyard.

        DCNS teamed up with Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) based at Mumbai, the project kicked off with MDL boost to its the infrastructural capabilities. This paved way for the painstaking work of designing the Kalvari class submarine, by a joint team of highly qualified team of marine engineers from DCNS, MDL and NDB. Based on the Scorpene submarines the Kalvari class proved to be the most advanced submarine to be designed and to be manufactured by any Indian shipyard.

     

        The Scorpene submarines were selected over the U214 submarines mainly for its capability to fire the Exocet anti-shipping missiles and with DCNS readiness to equip the submarines with Indian-made AIP systems. The first submarine of the class was laid down in May 2009. Due to holdups in the design and fabrication phase, the project is five years behind the schedule. The first breakthrough in the project came when the first submarine of the class, INS Kalvari was launched on 6^th April 2015 by MoD Manohar Parrikar. The submarine will now enter harbour trials and after completion of controlled dives will enter the final sea trials by the year end. The submarine is expected to be inducted to the force by September 2016.

      The Scorpene submarines are a class apart, diesel powered hunter killer submarines developed by DCNS of France. Displacing 1900 tonnes of water when submerged these submarines can sail almost at zero noise underwater thus avoiding any detection by enemy submarines. This enables the submarine to tail enemy high value targets like the ‘aircraft carriers’ or ‘SSBN’s’ and gain acoustical and thermal images which will prove vital in war times. Powered by two diesel engines the submarine can attain a maximum speed of 37 km/h when submerged and can cut through the waters at 22 km/h when surfaced. The diesel engines are complemented by two Jeumont-Schneider EPM Magtronic batteries which collectively churn out 2800 kW of power, allowing the submarine to operate ultra quite when tailing targets.

Scorpene undergoing Harbor trials; Source - Net

        The hull of the Scorpene submarines is fabricated with HLES-80 high grade steel, which can withstand extremely high pressure and allows the submarine to dive to depths up to 1200 feet. The hull of the submarine can be classified into three sections namely, the bow section containing the torpedo tubes, electric batteries, storage compartments and ballast tanks. The midship of the submarine houses the control rooms, crew quarters and living area. The stern section consists of the main propulsion units, electric batteries, AIP units, control machinery and another set of ballast tanks.

        The Scorpene submarine is equipped with some of the most advanced electronic and sensor suites. These features clubbed with the latest machinery on board makes the submarine extremely nimble and efficient. The SUBTICS or Submarine tactical integrated combat system is a fully integrated tactical suite designed for the coherent functioning of various sub-systems fitted on the submarine. SUBTICS, is packed with state-of-the-art acoustic sensor suites which are crucial in increasing the battle theatre awareness.

      The submarine is also equipped with the latest optronic sensors and navigational sensors enabling the sub to sail through the waters effortlessly. The submarine is also equipped with environmental awareness and tactical navigation planning kits which help in meticulous planning of sea lanes for the submarine to traverse. Secured VLF/SHF communication channels and tactical data link, enables the submarine to relay secured information over the network to other naval platforms.

      Scorpene submarines are equipped with Thales DR 3000 electronic warfare system. The submarine is also equipped with Sagem Series 20 Attack Periscope System (APS) and Series 30 Search Mast System (SMS). The primary radar system for the Scorpene’s is the extremely accurate and efficient Sagem Series-10 compact submarine radar system. The SONAR system of the sub is composed by the, Thales S-cube integrated sonar suite and passive ranging distributed array sonar. 

       Primarily being a hunter killer submarine, it is equipped with six 533mm mts torpedoes which can strike naval targets with pin-point accuracy. The submarine can carry up to 18 black shark heavy weight torpedoes. The sub’s unique ability is to launch cruise missiles capable of striking land targets for which the sub employs the SM39 Exocet anti-shipping missiles. The submarine is redesigned to be fitted with the BrahMos cruise missiles and the indigenously developed Nirbhay cruise missile. The submarine can carry up to 30 mines for mine laying missions.

Article By Karthik Kakoor