L&T Developed tube launched AUV Adamya

L&T Developed tube launched AUV Adamya

Larsen and Tubro showcased it's autonomous underwater vehicle once again in the defense expo, which was front running in the Navy's tender to procure ten such tube launched AUV's. The Adamya AUV made by L&T capable to be launched from submarines 533mm torpedo tubes. Which having operational endurance of more than eight hours.

The Adamya AUV can be launched from submarine torpedo tube without having any further modifications in the submarine, it can also be launched from surface ships with simple launch and recovery systems comes with the Adamya AUV pack.

Adamya is five meters long heavy weight AUV is designed to perform underwater mission for so long time, L&T says the Adamya's underwater endurance is more than eight hours with the speed of some 4 knots. which can dive upto 1500 feet. with the operational payload of multiple systems can be customized by the user.

The AUV can undertake various missions which include, Hydrographic survey, underwater mine detection and countermeasure, Intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance mission, offshore survey, harbor security, clandestine monitoring, environmental monitoring and anti submarine operations. The payloads can be switched by respective missions. with the capacity of some 50 kilo grams.

In the front section of payload, it can carry a forward looking sonar, an underwater camera, CTD sensor ( Conductivity, Temperature and depth ), and a customized payload.  afterwards it comes with a large space for customized payload along with other connectivity solutions. This where most of the mission payloads can be kept.

 The vehicle controlled by a combination of Doppler velocity logger, Intertial navigation system and GPS. The AUV powered by a Lithium Polymer battery which can give enough power supply to the AUV to work upto eight hours at an nominal speed of some 4 knots. The AUV propelled by a contra rotating blades and two thrusters which is located in forward and end section.

The real time data can transmitted from the AUV using the on-board systems like RF Antenna, Wi fi and Acoustic modem, which can communicate easily to the mother ship or friendly warships close by. 

The Adamya AUV ready for productions and trails, which navy is yet to sanctioned by Ministry to buy the AUV from L&T. Every warships nowadays has such AUV's for multi mission. While Indian Navy yet to acquire.

The video representation of the Adamya AUV

Rustom 2 Drone L&T Joins with DRDO

Rustom 2 Drone L&T Joins with DRDO 

   State run DRDO shares Rustom 2 armed drone technology with leading private player L&T to build, modernize and export [ if government approved ] Ingeniously made armed version of Rustom 2 drone, L&T already invested in the Rustom 2 development program, the desi Predator drone. Army, Air force and Navy already shown interested in the armed drone, expecting first batch orders of some 75 units, DRDO and L&T plans to complete all trails before 2017, and mass produce those units along with another private partner Taneja aerospace and aviation limited.

     DRDO fast tracks the Rustom 2 Project, In this years Aero India they signed many contracts with  state owned companies like BEL and HAL, for integration and ground control systems. later another contract signed with TAAL for fuselage building and now, they signed another contract with L&T for aerial target systems and training equipment. DRDO plans to build two different variant of Rustom 2, one is the reconnaissance variant another is the armed variant. both carry similar payloads, while one comes with improved surveillance systems as payloads, and another version comes with 350 kg payload of air to surface bombs or missiles.

    DRDO planned to build six prototypes, two models for each Army, Air force and Navy variants. It's reported DRDO and TAAL demonstrating Rustom 2's capabilities to navy. The Navy is the first customer to earlier variant of Rustom 1, who is using most desi projects. Army too asking DRDO to demonstrate Rustom 2's capabilities. Army plans to procure more than 20 units in first phase, and planning for more later. Air force isn't hurry since due to the delay of Rustom 2, Airforce singed a contract with Israeli company to supply ten IAI Eitan armed drones. It's suspected that Air force Rustom 2 comes with large modification of Israeli systems with increased payload.

    Rustom 2 is designed to perform attack missions by flying low and meantime fly high for long time surveillance. high altitude drones fly longer time than other aircraft, due to it's weight, engine power and  Speed. to maintain long flights the drones must fly above the commercial air traffic line to evade any confrontations with civilian planes. still no information available about the Rustom 2's flying altitude, however it's believed it can fly above some 40,000 feet.

    Also DRDO signed a agreement with state owned VRDE - Vehicle research and Development Establishment to produce engines which will be used in the Rustom 2. VRDE and private player Mahindra already signed a contract to jointly build a 200 HP engine. So it's clear all the Rustom 2 drones comes with indigenous engine. in April 2014 DRDO successfully completed the ground trails of the engine with Rustom 2 supported by HAL.

   As of March 2015 only two Rustom 2 prototypes developed. it's believed they build more in coming days with the support of Taneja. However there is  no information about the Rustom 2's combat range. it's believed Rustom 2 will fly more than six hours, with the speed of some 300 kilometers, and the combat radius of  900 kilometers.

   Rustom 2 can carry 350 kg of weapons, mostly desi made Helina anti armor missiles in quad pack, or two 100 kg guided bombs, mostly laser guided LGB's. it's hard to achieve launching the Spice glide bombs since it needed guidance from on board aircraft, DRDO's Defence Electronics Application Laboratory provides all critical data links connecting the drones and control center, using secure satellite data link. It's expected the Rustom 2 will be inducted into the forces after 2017.

Hawk-eye of the battlefield - Battle Field Management System

Battle Field Management System (BMS) providing commanders with real time battlefield information

Source - Net 

    The situation on a battlefield is fluid and keeps changing rapidly. More the awareness of the happening of the battlefield, better decisions can be made and better counter-measures be deployed and thus a promising victory. But in a fluid environment, the situation keeps varying and the only way any situational awareness can be attained is by maintaining eyes and ears in the battlefield. Can this mission be left to the human beings? Can the mission be carried out by increasing the reconnaissance missions? Or is there any technology, which not only works on the battlefield but also keeps tab of the activities? The answer is simply implementing a management system that can manage the battle field activities named the BMS.

    Battlefield management system (BMS) is a state-of-the-art system which promises the helps in rapid acquisition and processing of information relating to the battlefield. This process of rapid acquisition and processing of information helps to greatly enhance the command and control cycle of a military unit. Charged with the BMS, a military unit can have a complete situational awareness of the battlefield. The BMS displays all crucial data required by a Field Commander at any given point of time, hence enhancing the decision making capability of the unit. In the chaos of battle, the ability to manage and control events at combat levels, as they unravel on the battlefield is the key to the success of an operation. BMS thus helps in maintaining a situational analysis and decision-making pertaining to the battlefield.

Source - Tarmak 007

 

  BMS is a highly versatile, flexible, multilevel and fully inter-operable tactical command and control information system providing ground forces from the level of a Commander down to the individual soldier – with integrated situation awareness, a common communication infrastructure, collaborative planning tools and knowledge-based command and control capabilities.

       The need for a BMS in the Indian Army has been echoing for years and was felt clearly after the Kargil operation. Indian army has been actively studying the BMS implemented across the globe. Indian army has the ambition of implementing a reliable BMS with around INR 50000 Crore/ $ 8 billion. Indian Army has already floated an International tender for equipping the army with a BMS under the ToT or Make in India campaign. The competition for the tender has been intense and various companies have formed working groups with Indian giants to equip the army, with the latest BMS system.

Source - Net

Source - Net

    Rolta in collaboration with Bharat Electronics (BEL) has been actively pitching for their latest BMS system for the project. Tata Power SED and L&T Defence have also formed reliable working partnership to field their system. Both these working partners will now develop a BMS individually and will then field the same for field tests. The selected BMS will be rapidly inducted and the selected company will be reimbursed with 80% of the development cost. The first Prototype of the BMS would available with the army by 2017 for field testing which would last for around a year.

    BEL has been selected as a ‘developmental agency’ and is charged with the development of every aspect relating to the project. BEL has also established a testing hotbed for BMS, which enables continuous evaluation and implementation of user requirements. BEL has been a key partner of DRDO in the development of several Tactical Command, Control and Communications & Intelligence (Tac C3I) systems being used by the Indian Army. Having worked as the developer and integrator of several Tac C3I systems, BEL have a unmatched knowledge regarding the Indian army needs.

       With newer and newer technology reaching the battle-filed, it remains evolving every second and with the advent of more lethal weaponry the battlefield has been turned out to be extremely chaotic. But technology like BMS has now made it possible for battlefield commanders to see their areas of responsibility in depth and in real time, and has also helped to develop an accurate common picture of the battle space. This can further be shared right to the bottom of the command with a click of the button. This has been made possible only by enabling rapid acquisition, processing and transfer of information, enhancing situational awareness and acquiring capability to react to information. 

    The Management of the information available on the battlefield is crucial and decides the course of the war. The information management is war course decider and the implementation of these decision needs to e precise. The BMS is a third generation warfare system. This third generation system effectively digitizes the battlefield. The sensors and weapons which are used in current warfare are now using extensive digital technology. The sensors, weapons and units which help in enabling the digital technology collectively help in integrating and bolstering the usages of Battle Management Systems (BMS).

   The BMS can effectively provide an integrated ‘Common Operating Picture’ which can be used by the all armed forces to plan evasive plans collaboratively. This helps in exercising highly effective control over operations in a dynamic and ever changing battlefield. The main principal of the BMS is based on Observe-Orient-Decide-Act (OODA). This process involves quickly, observing and reacting to unfolding events more rapidly than an opponent, can thereby "get inside" the opponent's decision cycle and gain the advantage.

      Most advanced countries have a very well implemented situation awareness packages but what is crucial is integrating these packages and digitizing them. In an implemented BMS it is crucial for the system to cover the whole military command from the highest order to a even foot soldier. The BMS sought by the Indian Army is expected to perform a variety of operational situational awareness tasks and should also be of decision making support end to a battalion. The Commanding Officer will have a very high amount of situational awareness and through this can command his unit to a very effective position against the enemy with the help of a secure communication link.

Source - Net

   The BMS system being sought by the army is a mobile tactical command and control platform which are integrated with sensors, various weapon platforms and decision making command units. This effectively reduces the time taken for making these decisions with the help of real time analysis of the battle field. BMS will comprise of wearable or hand-held information relay systems which are mounted or controlled on a individual soldier, this information is further relayed to a central command through a secure communication link.

  BMS also compromises of vehicle mounted information systems which are relay the information back to the Central command. This information relayed back is quickly analysed and with the advance systems is placed in real time situations and crucial decisions. The decision made now is verified with various other commands charged with the crucial surveillance task. These commands are responsible for noting the location position of the enemy and the friendly forces. Once the positions of these forces are made available and the battle field scenario is drawn up the information is soon analysed and is forwarded to the strike units which have the crucial weapons systems. These weapon platforms are integrated part of the BMS. With a higher level of combat information available these forces can retaliate/Strike forward enemy positions inflicting huge drawbacks on the hostile forces and paving the way for forward movement of ‘friendly forces’.

   The BMS is one of the crucial projects for the army and can turn out to be a major factor deciding the outcome of a operation. BMS is also one of the projects selected by the government for ‘Make in India’ platform. BMS was cleared from the DAC (Defence Acquisitions Council) tables in July, 2013. The EoI (Expression of Interest) for the project was issued by November, 2013. Around 15 companies received the EoI for the project which involved the Larsen & Turbo, BEL , Rolta , Tata Powers and various other companies. The companies were given four months to form consortium, forward the proposals and a detailed plan to be submitted to the MoD by July 2014.

   The foreign consortium involved of Israel Aerospace Industries, Rafael and Elbit from Israel, Thales of France, BAE systems from UK and General Dynamics of US. The MoD would be funding around 80 % of the project cost and the remaining 20 % to be funded by the foreign companies. Two consortiums would be selected and their BMS would be put to test on battle fields and the best one would be finally cleared by the MoD to be implemented on the Battlefield. The implementation of BMS has a long way to progress with at least 3 years required to test the systems at various and finally to be implemented at a battle field level. BMS is a force multiplier that gives a combat edge to a military force, enabling faster and accurate decisions to be made which may totally change the course of an operation. With the location of every single tank, artillery, soldier known the command can easily make course changing decisions. If the system is put in place the command will have a hawk eye over the battlefield enhancing the capabilities of the command to manage ground forces of the third largest army in the world.

• BMS is centric around a wireless network plan. This wireless network is in-charge of linking all machinery used on the battle-field. 
• Various machinery, communication systems, information relay systems and recon devices used  by soldiers on the battlefield is linked to the unit commanders, kilometers away.  
• With each of the device integrated and relying information, a common battle-field picture can be formed thus helping in decision making. 
• The same decision made in the level of a general or the unit's commander can be relied right down to the last position on the battlefield. 
• Currently there are two working partners which have been instructed to pitch up “special purpose companies” for the project. 
• The first consortium is between BEL and Rolta. The second is between Tata Power SED and Larsen & Toubro. 
• Ministry has also cleared these consortium's of the four, to develop BMS for the army.  
• The companies are expected to individually develop two separate BMS system and field them for rapid field tests with the army.
• After selecting the best,  MoD will reimburse the selected company 80 per cent of the development cost spend on the project. 
• Even though a single product is reimbursed, both consortium are expected to mass-produce their completed and cleared prototype.  

Article - Karthik Kakoor

L&T gears up to indigenously build the massive Juan Carlos LHD vessel

Indian giant Larsen & Turbo teams up with Navantia to offer the massive 26000 tonne Juan Carlos LHD vessel 

The Multi Role Support Vessel is a warship that was sought by the Indian Navy to perform multiple roles from a single platform. Indian Navy aimed to perform humanitarian and disaster relief operations, evacuation missions, aviation operations using the rotary wing aircraft attached to these vessels. The vessels were also required to perform amphibious assault operations and force projection. Indian Navy was also charged to protect the water and islands around the strategic Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The Navy along with the Coast Guards was charged the overall responsibility of the Lakshwadeep Islands.  The Andaman and Nicobar Islands form an archipelago in the crucial Bay of Bengal waters. Andaman and Nicobar Islands were captivated by the Japanese during the World War II.

Repeated reporting of suspicious activities in and around these Islands has been a major problem the Navy has been unable to solve. Constant threat to these Islands from a sea borne hostile force is something India can’t role down. To curb the presence of Chinese vessels and influence in and around these strategic islands the Andaman and Nicobar Command was carved out. Performing amphibious operations on these Islands is something Indian forces have to be always committed to be and with various vessels being placed under the ANC it has turned out to be a major Amphibious Warfare Hub. Amphibious operations have been part of the warfare for quite a long time. The primary method in amphibious operations is to deliver troops to shore. The forces are delivered to the shore through mechanized landing crafts and the forces are usually given air support through the Rotary and fixed crafts attached to the vessels.

Navantia is a Spanish state owned shipbuilding company which has been a pioneer in designing and building military and civil ships.Navantia has experience in building technologically advanced ships like frigates, amphibious ships, patrol vessels, and submarines. Navantia is part of the consortium's involved in building the Scorpene submarines in India. Larsen & Turbo or the L&T has been a leading service provider for the Indian armed forces. L&T has designed several key components over the years for India’s robust naval platforms. L&T has been part of several key projects powering India’s dreams of being a super power. L&T has a shipyard capable of constructing vessels of up to displacement of 20,000 tons at its heavy engineering complex at Hazira. The shipyard  for long has been part of several key naval projects. L&T and Navantia formed collaboration and the vessels would be built and integrated in the L&T complex at Hazira. Navantia and L&T have decided to field the Juan Carlos for the program.

    Juan Carlos is a multipurpose assault ship. The ship can be effectively used for amphibious operations and humanitarian missions. The ship is equipped with a Ski-jump which allows STOVL operations.  This unique feature of the ship has earned laurels for the designers. With the ski jump the ship can also be used as an air carrier and can project the power of the operating nations across its region. The Juan Carlos is currently being operated under the Spanish Navy which has fielded AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft. Juan Carlos has a vast flight deck of 663 ft. The flight is equipped with eight landing spots which can handle operations of up to eight rotary aircraft simultaneously. The ship can carry up to 30 helicopters or 12 Harrier jets. The ship is believed have designed to accommodate the more advanced and the new F-35 lightning which can be used under a STOVL configuration. The Ship can accommodate up to 12 F-35s. The ship has a displacement of about 26000 tonnes and can travel at speeds up to 21 Knots under full load.

    The ship has operation range of about 17000 kms after a single replenishment. The ship’s well deck is huge and can accommodate up to four mechanized landing crafts that can land the troops on shores with ease. The Spanish navy currently operates the LCM-1E as the min mechanized landing crafts off the Juan Carlos. These crafts are powered by MAN D-2842 LE 402X diesel engines which churns out around 1085 hp. The craft can reach a top speed of 25 kms/hr when loaded with troops. Equipped with radar navigation, GPS, gyro needle/magnetic compasses these crafts can operate as far as up to 37 kms from the mother ship. The communications is taken care of by the VHF and UHF communications system. Currently these crafts serve the Spanish, Australian and Turkish forces. The ship has a sprawling 65,000ft of hangar area which can accommodate up to 12 aircraft. The ship is also provided with two heavy deck lifts.

    Juan Carlos can accommodate a compliment of up to 900 soldiers and can also make space for up to 50 Leopard 2E tanks main battle tank thanks to its well designed stern well deck which measures a staggering 227 by 55 ft. The main living quarters of Juan Carlos can provide quarters for up to 400 people. The main search radar of the Juan Carlos is the Indra Lanza-N 3D search radar. The radar has azimuth of 360 degrees and has a maximum range of 470 kms and can detect incoming targets within the range of 3-10000 feet. The planar array antenna consist of precision cut horizontal linear elements vertically stacked, each with its own receiver. Ultra low side lobes are achieved by precise control of the phase and amplitude of the signal fed to each element. The array is driven by distributed solid-state transmitter modules which are phase controlled. The shapes and the positions of the narrow pencil beam are controlled in range and elevation Target height is obtained using mono-pulse techniques, with enhanced measurement at low elevation angles by means of special pencil beam combination techniques. 

    Using advanced digital pulse compression techniques, the processor provides extremely accurate range and height information while automatically adapting to the prevailing environmental conditions. For advanced surface search capabilities the ship is equipped with the ARIES–LOW PROBABILITY OF INTERCEPT (LPI) RADAR. The ARIES family is a complete Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) and High Resolution Radar (HRR) solution. The ARIES family is suitable for the detection and acquisition of low Radar Cross Section (RCS) surface targets in severe sea clutter environments. This radar maintains a 360-degree search for all targets within line-of-sight distance from the radar, determining the ranges and bearing of the detected targets. For smoothened air operations of the flight deck the ship is also equipped with Precision approach radar developed by Indra. Precision approach radar (PAR) is a radar guidance system which can provide lateral and vertical guidance to a pilot approaching for landing.

    Juan Carlos comes with state of the art REGULUS electronic warfare systems. The RIGEL systems take care of the decoys systems. The ship is also armed with a defensive system. The defensive system is taken care by 4 20mm guns and a heavier 12.77 mm machine gun takes charge of the longer range threats. The ship is powered by a diesel-electric propulsion unit. The first of the ship under this class the Juan Carlos was started in May 2005; the ship was launched on 10th March 2008 and was inducted to the Spanish forces on 30th September 2010. The total spending for the ship was estimated at around US$600 million

    Australia purchased two ships of the class which were designated as the Canberra-class LHD. Navantia was to complete the ship in Spain from keel to flight deck and then to be transferred to Australia for further development of system by BAE systems. The first o the ship under this class was named HMAS Canberra and was commissioned to the forces in November 2014. The second ship HMAS Adelaide is under construction and is expected to be delivered to the force by 2016. Turkey has opted for the Juan Carlos and is expected to be furnished under a ToT and the contract is signed for an expected $500 millions. 

    India has for long has had ideas of operating three main CBG’s and be backed by two small carriers that can effectively fulfill India’s need for monitoring the EEZ without opting for the main CBG’s whose operations may cost in crores. The ship also promises an longer period of endurance in the high seas and can be used for operations across the Indian Ocean Region(IOR). Navantia has been part of India’s Nava technology for quite some time and with tie ups to L&T the position of Navantia has only been compounded. But Juan Carlos currently has an Diesel-Electric propulsion system against India’s need for an all exclusive Electric propulsion system. The maximum speed attained by Juan Carlos is only 21 Nautical miles which crosses India’s requirements by a very small margin. The podded thrusters have again been used in the design. But if Navantia and L&T comes up with an newer design Juan Carlos can surely be one of the ships Indian Navy would like to operate.

Article-Karthik Kakoor

Foreign Assistance to Construct INS Vishal

Foreign Assistance to Construct INS Vishal

   After Officially disclosing details about the IAC-II project, Indian navy has forwarded formal request to foreign shipyards to assist an Indian shipyard in constructing India's biggest naval ship code named 'IAC-II'. The construction of the IAC is considered to be extremely demanding and with India aiming to integrate the latest technology it is crucial India receives help from foreign nation.  Indian navy has now formally forwarded request to American ship building company Lockheed Martin, Britain's BAE Systems, DCNS of France and Russian shipyards under Rossoobornexport.


Indian navy is now in  the process of selecting the Indian shipyard which will be heading the project. The biggest naval vessel to be built by an Indian shipyard was IAC-1/INS Vikrant, 40000 tonne aircraft carrier which was completed at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL). Just before the start of the IAC project CSL had received major boost to its infrastructural capabilities to accommodate the project. In the fray for the project are Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) and L&T's Hazira plant which was instrumental in the completion of INS Arihant, India first nuclear powered submarine.


The vessel to be built under IAC-II is expected to be longer than IAC-I and is expected to displace around 65000 tonne when completed. IAC-II is also expected to be filled to the brim with the latest available modern technology, Indian navy is actively pitching to equip the aircraft with the latest western technology. With this Indian navy has already inclined towards the support of Lockheed Martin and BEA systems. The vessel will feature a CATBOR deck meaning the aircraft will be launched with a steam or EMALS propelled catapult. 

The project also will face the competition of private industries in the form of L&T which has associated itself closely with the grown of Indian defense programs over the decades. L&T has Kattapulli yard under it's disposal which has received major infrastructural boost. The shipyard has churned out both naval and civilian vessels, concentrating mainly on huge oil tankers which displace around 20000 tonne. The shipyard has also been producing vessels for the Indian coast guard and foreign naval forces. L&T is currently involved in the construction of seven patrol vessels for the Indian Coast guard. The shipyard also is involved in the construction of  54 fast interceptor boats for the Coast guard.






The competition from the Indian shipyard's can be easily refined out, even though nine shipyards have been invited the capabilities of the shipyards for the construction of super carrier is a matter of concern. HSL, CSL and L&T making the cut is confirmed for now and the best bet of the lot would be CSL given the experience and the infrastructure the shipyard. CSL poses readily available infrastructure which will need minimal changes. On the other hand HSL which can be enhanced for handling the work will be shortly have it's hands tied in the construction of the six nuclear powered attack submarines. Even though L&T has been a reliable partner, handing over a product of this scale will be prove to be suicidal for India. Rather L&T can be engaged in building indigenously mastered surface combatants like frigates and destroyers.


India is inclined towards US technology given  the consortium both the nations have formed. The relationship between the largest democracies have reached a new level, during Obama's visit to India the nations agreed to set-up working groups for co-developing carrier technology. With Indian navy now opting to request Lockheed Martin for help the agreement seems to be in the making. Lockheed Martin is a leading naval advisor and project executer for US navy and has been instrumental in providing the USN with state-of-the-art Littrol ships, destroyers and massive landing docks. 

   
The maker of US super-carrier are infact Northrup Gruman which have been building Nimitz class carriers since their introduction. It is believed India hasn't forwarded the LoR to Northrup, the exact reason behind this is yet to be known. Only BAE systems has publicly acknowledged about receiving the LoR and has confirmed it's participation in the program. Lockheed Martin is yet to announce and acknowledge its role in the program but what is certain is the adoption of US technology on-board this massive vessel. India has set foot in acquiring the latest technology and aims to equip the ship with EMALS and also to power the carrier with nuclear power.


EMALS is a child of US navy which has been successfully developed and is currently being implemented on the 100000 tonne Gerald R Ford-class carrier. The technology has already been tested for launching dead weights from the decks of the carrier, EMALS has also launched multiple aircraft from the land-based  testing model. Implementation of EMALS is a win-win situation for the Indian navy, the system will drastically boost the launch capabilities of the naval aviation. The operational capability of naval aviation is constrained to a great level owing to the STOBAR design of India's current carrier INS Vikramaditya. Induction of EMALS and CATOBAR technology will help the navy launch heavier aircraft with minimal strain to the air-frame.  The operational range will also receive a major boost considering the fuel saved during the entire launch process. 

Apart from US, the other reliable partner India can lookout will be BAE systems. India has imported two of its former aircraft carrier from Britain and hence has a active working group with the company. BAE systems has been instrumental in Britain super carrier, Elizabeth class and has been working relentlessly to equip the carrier with the latest technology. Though Elizabeth class employs a STOL deck little modification will yield in a CATOBAR deck and India's experienced marine engineering team can handle the whole work on the deck. The major problems will be mastering the propulsion and aircraft launch system. BAE has also publicly acknowledged its participation in the program, Lockheed Martin and BAE systems have working groups which are closely working to squeeze in the F-35 for Britain's future carrier. With India opting for western technology the induction of BAE into working group will a major boost.

       DCNS has been a key naval partner for India, the Scorpene's are an example for India's trust on France. India extensively uses France products in its navy, DCNS was the key in France mastering its super carrier dreams. DCNS actively pitched its product for France Super-carrier Charles de Gaulle which is similar to India's IAC-II dreams. DCNS has also been instrumental in France acquiring the Mistal class LHD's. Mistral will be a key competitor in the LHD tender floated by India. DCNS will surely give a run for Lockheed should India consider asking a competitor for the reliable US technology. 

       

   Russian shipyards have also been invited and have received the LoR, but this can be consider as eyewash method the navy implemented to keep the Russia federation crunching for Indian projects. The first issue with the Russian shipyards would be reliability and cost overruns, this was experienced when India inducted INS Vikramaditya. The cost projection increased exponentially sending the Naval command into a tizzy and time limits were repeatedly increased. Almost every project India went with Russia has had problems blocking the complete execution of the project but  Russia undoubtedly is the most trusted partner of India. Russia has given India a sneak peak into almost all modern technology and has helped India in mastering its ship building capabilities.Weather any Russian shipyard will partner Indian shipyard for the project is a question best left unanswered considering the strain the relationships the countries have suffered. The only logical thought towards this would be India's quest to master "Western technology" through this project.


With the new government stressing for a robust naval force, the IAC project has received some serious review's at the top most level. The Defense ministry has allotted $5 millions for the project and has slashed the time frame by requesting foreign partners to reply in the shortest possible time frame. By the year end we'll be seeing the project taking off and IAC-II taking shape. Indian navy has completed the design phase and is now confused in freezing the propulsion system for the carrier. If everything falls into plae there is no doubt of India operating a super carrier in the next decade.

Editor - Karthik Kakoor

Army SPH Racing; MSTA and K9 on final Run

Army SPH Racing ; MSTA and K9 on final Run

      Artillery is one of the backbone of the Amry to to hold and perform offensive mission over enemy position. The Artillery comes several types, mostly easily classified as Towed and Self propelled, Towed means the Artillery need a wagon which can tow the heavy Artillery, although the Fire power is much huge and Long Range, another is Self propelled here Artillery fixed in a Tracked or wheel platform, mostly look like a Heavy tank.

           Indian Army has a Requirement of all kind of Artillery's, Here Army nearly closer to select the winner of Self propelled Howitzer. after heavy competition Russian 155mm MSTA and the South Korean K9 thunder which also a 155mm/52 cal Howitzer. Both in the final run to supply five hundreds of Howitzers to Indian Army

        Under the deal the Foreign company can supply first Hundred Howitzer directly from their production line, another four hundred will be built in India under any Private Companies, here the Current Racers Joined with Larsen and Tubro for Samsung K9 Thunder, and it's believed that OFB hands with the Uraltransmash MSTA. Both are the superior Platforms,

Samsung K9 Thunder

      Thunder is developed by the Korean Company Samsung a leading South Korean PSU, the Thunder also having a automatic reloader vehicle to arm the Howitzer to fire the Rounds continuously. the reloader vehicle called as K 10 Automatic reloader, the reloader can work with several systems, like It can reload a group of K 9 Thunder Howitzers.

       The main advantage of the of the Self propelled Howitzers is the all welded steel armour construction which can save the crew and the Howitzer from small 12.7 mm heavy machine Gun fire from Heavy rounds, Mortars and other Howitzers, even those heavy Howitzers can with stand of Anti Tank Mines. the Tanks has five members, the Tank commander, Driver, Gunner and Two loaders,

      The Howitzer can fire 155 mm shells from it's 52 caliber Mani gun, which can fire most kind of HE ( High Explosive ) and Rocket assisted Projectiles for extended Range of Targets, the effective firing range is nearly some 30 kilometers, to highest of 56 kilometers with RAP shells. the Howitzer also has a Heavy machine gun to fight against infantry and personal uses, the Howitzer have one 12.7 mm 50 Cal rifle for both anti personnel and anti air uses.

       The K9 has the unique capability of firing multiple rounds in same targets making completely damaging the target, it can fire shells with the interval of five seconds, makes it affordable fire power.

with the MRSI mode- Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact, the Howitzer can fire three rounds into the Target within fifteen seconds, but all of them can hit the Target in same time, with the help of Modifying the Shells trajectory.  

         The K9 weights some 47 Tons sounds the same tonnage of Main battle Tanks. with the help of 1000 HP engine it can attain the speed of 67 kilometers per hour.

           The Automatic reloader also share same Transport and body, to achieve the range and speed of the Howitzer. it can able to feed 12 shells into the Howitzer within a minute, each reloader has 104 ready to feed shells. the K 10 has automatic reloading technique, which requires low man power. the reloader also have the 12.7mm Heavy machine gun from protect the tank from outside threats.

      The entire Howitzer units are Protected from CBRN ( Chemical Biological Radiation and Nuclear) also withstand from and any kind of heavy EMP attacks. 

         The Samsung and L&T Signed a contract early 2012. to participate in the Indian Army Howitzer contract.

Uraltransmash MSTA-S

       The MSTA -S also shares same characteristics with the K9 thunder, unlike the Howitzer fitted in the T 80 Main Battle Tank Chassis and Runs with the T 72 Tanks engines, makes the Indian army can easily maintain and service the Howitzer system if any Problems persisted.

          The MSTA-S looks huge is size but weights only 42 Tons, makes 5 Tons lesser than the K9 Thunder. the MSTA-S fire power is bit low compared to the 15 rounders per minute, but MSTA fires only six to eight rounds per minute.

        But the Range is almost equal to the K9 thunder,  shares the same 12.7mm Heavy machine gun, also it's come with smoke launchers, to escape from threats and laser guided Anti tank missiles.

       The MSTA runs with 840 HP engines which gives the Howitzer to attain speed upto some 60 kilometers per hour, slightly less speed and power than the K9.  

      It's believed that Indian PSU OFB or BEL in hands with the Russian MSTA to produce the Howitzers in India. 

France India Nuclear Deal Signed

 France India Nuclear Deal Signed 

Olkiluoto-3 Nuclear Reactor in Finland constructed by Areva

European Pressurized Reactor by Areva

      France on Friday became the first major nuclear power to agree to manufacture nuclear reactor parts in India, and committed to reducing the cost of six reactors it is selling to New Delhi, the assurance coming during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit today.

   India and France also inked three pacts on inter-planetary research on the 50th anniversary of their co-operation in space after Modi's meeting with French President Francois Hollande.

 

   The nuclear and space pacts were the key diplomatic gifts Modi will take home with him from France. In return, he assured Hollande India will directly purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets, ignoring standard tender procedures.

  "The agreements to reduce the cost of nuclear power are very important for us to progress in our co-operation. This is representative of our deep trust in each other," Modi said in Hindi after the meeting late evening in Paris.

   Areva, the French nuclear operator signed an agreement with Indian firm Larsen & Toubro to jointly manufacture nuclear components - a move that fits in with Modi's "Make in India" initiative aimed at encouraging domestic manufacturing.

   But crucially, Indian production of key nuclear parts will likely also reduce manufacturing costs and the eventual burden on the taxpayers when India purchases reactors made from these components.

   Finally, the Indian manufacture of nuclear components will yield something India has long craved - technology transfer from a key nuclear power. "We have no reason for any distrust in our relationship," Hollande said.

   Areva and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), India's sole nuclear operator, also signed a separate agreement to finalise the cost of the six reactors. France has so far been demanding a price equivalent to Rs 9 per unit of electricity, a rate India has argued is not viable. Instead, India has pitched a maximum cost of Rs 6 per unit.

   The breakthrough in the logjam over pricing represents a second advance in three months in India's nuclear ties with key world powers, after the understanding New Delhi reached with Washington on resolving US concerns over nuclear liability during President Barack Obama's visit to India in January.

Written by  Charu Sudan Kasturi Posted in The Telegraph