quadbikeI think the biggest problem for China is that customers all over the world would suddenly accept 3x the price of a PC/etc made in US/EU in protest.
China is not the only place which can make cheap PC components. Taiwan makes better quality stuff anyday. And many companies have their manufacturing centres in Indonasia, Singapore, Malaysia etc.
China needs the world more than the world needs China.
quadbikeIndia to gear up for ‘star wars’
NEW DELHI: India has no option but to get ready for “star wars” in the future, with countries like China working overtime to develop advanced ASAT (anti-satellite) capabilities with “direct-ascent” missiles, hit-to-kill “kinetic” and directed-energy laser weapons.
The defence ministry’s spanking new “Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap” seems to recognize this overriding necessity, outlining as it does a wide array of high-tech offensive and defensive capabilities Indian armed forces will need over the next 15 years.
Identifying priority areas ranging from space warfare, ballistic missile defence (BMD) and combat drones to electronic warfare, NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) defence and submarines equipped with AIP (air-independent propulsion), the roadmap holds that “technological superiority is increasingly going to be the decisive factor in future battles”. The 76-page MoD roadmap to “provide the industry with an overview” about military requirements by 2025 does seem ambitious as of now, given the present poor state of the country’s defence-industrial production base.
Nevertheless, it gives significant insight into what India plans to acquire in terms of futuristic military capabilities. The roadmap, after all, draws heavily from classified as well as unclassified parts of Army, IAF and Navy doctrines, the still-evolving long-term integrated perspective plan (2012-2027) and DRDO’s S&T roadmap, among others. While India is already working in some of these sectors, the roadmap underlines the need to get cracking in the others as well. Ever since China shocked the world with an ASAT weapon test to destroy a satellite in January 2007, alarm bells have been clanging in the Indian defence establishment.
The MoD roadmap, on its part, identifies development of ASAT weapons “for electronic or physical destruction of satellites in both LEO (2,000-km altitude above earth’s surface) and the higher GEO-synchronous orbits” as a thrust area.
Apart from “EMP (electromagnetic pulse) hardening” of satellite and sensors to protect them against ASAT weapons, it says armed forces want to induct satellite systems for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions in a major way. The uses range from synthetic aperture radar all-weather imagery and precision targeting to automatic target recognition technology and high-speed communication.
Army’s need for “directed energy weapons (DEWs)” is also spelled out in the roadmap. These include mobile air defence to engage enemy rockets, missiles, fighters and helicopters, as also DEWs to neutralize UAVs at a distance of 8-10 km. Moreover, precision weapons and dazzlers are needed for swift counter-terrorist operations with minimum collateral damage.
Another thrust area is UAVs, especially armed ones like the American Predator and Reaper drones equipped with Hellfire missiles. “UAVs with advanced sensors and weapons are going to dominate all facets of the future battlefield,” it says.
quadbikeIAF finger at crash pilot
Bangalore, May 23: The Indian Air Force has dismissed suggestions that the “tabletop” airstrip in Mangalore makes for tough landings and take-offs that puts passengers and aircraft at risk.
Voices from within the aviation community are also indicating that pilot error may have caused the crash.
“Everybody (airlines) have been landing there. There have been thousands of landings and take-offs from there,” the vice-chief of air staff, Air Marshal P.K. Barbora, said here today. Barbora was the chief guest at an event here to mark the inaugural flight of a helicopter gunship that defence public sector Hindustan Aeronautics claims has been indigenously designed and developed.
Defence minister A.K. Antony was expected here but cancelled his visit to mourn the deaths of passengers in the Air India crash in Mangalore yesterday.
“I think the inquiry report will be able to come out with the findings in detail,” Air Marshal Barbora said.
The former chief of air staff, Air Chief Marshal (retired) Fali Major, also asked for pilots to be more vigilant.
“This is a crash whose cause could be quite easily found out because there are witnesses,” he said. Major also warned that pilots with years of experience could also get complacent.
The pilot of the Air India flight that crashed had more than 10,000 hours of flying. The co-pilot had also made 66 landings at Mangalore.
“No matter how senior pilots are and how familiar they are with airports they are operating in, they must have the highest levels of alertness and concentration during landing and take-off,” Major said. “I expect everything about this crash to be known quite quickly,” he said.
quadbikeMore copters from HAL in the offing
Bangalore: State-run military plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) plans to build three prototypes of its indigenous light combat helicopter (LCH) and aims to achieve initial operational clearance in two years, a top official of the firm has said.
The helicopter gunship would need to register 500 hours of flight for the initial clearance, Ashok Nayak, CMD, HAL, told reporters on the sidelines of the inaugural flight of the first prototype on Sunday. The LCH was dedicated to the nation after the flight.
Nayak said the Indian Air Force had a requirement for 65 such helicopters and the Indian Army too has shown interest in the product.
The design and development phase of the project cost Rs 376 crore, Nayak said.
The LCH is the second indigneous helicopter built by HAL, whose Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) has been inducted into the armed forces and has been exported to countries such as Ecuador and Mauritius. The plane maker, which reported sales of Rs 11,415 crore last fiscal, has an order book position of Rs80,000 crore.
Besides the LCH, it is also working on a developing a multi-role transport aircraft and Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) and upgrades of Indian Air Force aircraft.
quadbikeThank God for this, no further delays !
SC refuses to stay modernisation of 30 IAF airfields
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the ongoing modernisation of 30 military airfields of the Indian Air Force, dismissing a petition filed by US-based military equipment manufacturer Selex Sistemi Integrati.
A vacation bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and CK Prasad dismissed Selex Sistemi’s petition, pleading that the contract awarded to Tata Power Company, the successful bidder, be stayed.
Earlier, on April 19, 2010, the Delhi High Court had declined to stay awarding of the contract to the Tata Group firm — referring the matter to a larger bench.
The apex court did not agree with submissions made by Selex Sistemi, which contended that the contract was awarded to the Tata Group firm without considering due procedures.Rejecting the petition, the apex court said that these were military modernisation programmes that could not be delayed any further. “No court in this country can pass an interim order in such (vital) cases,” the court said, declining the US-based firm’s request.
The government had issued an international Request For Proposal (RFP) for the modernisation of airfield infrastructure at 30 IAF airports. Following this, five firms — including Selex Sistemi and TPC — submitted their bids.
After verification and due process, the government later awarded the tender to the Tata Group company, though Sistemi’s bid was for Rs 1,141 crore against TPC’s Rs 1,094 crore.
This was challenged by Sistemi, which alleged that the whole procedure was “unfair”. It further contended that TPC had left a large number of blank spaces in the bid documents, and had not “quoted for items which the bid documents had stated were mandatory”.
quadbikeShiv Aroor’s report on NAL Saras.
NAL Saras In Tailspin, Russians Called In
Fifteen years after it pulled out from India’s Saras light civilian transport aircraft programme, Russia’s Myasischev Design Bureau (MDB) is back in the prestigious but persistently shaky airplane project under development by India’s National Aerospace Laboratory since the early nineties. The bureau, along with Russia’s Tsentralniy Aerogidrodinamicheskiy Institut (TsAGI) and the Gromov Flight Research Institute (LII), have been hurriedly commissioned into the programme to assist in refinement and core modification of the Saras design, which after six years of flight testing, has finally been judged to have faulty design elements. I’m told a team from Myasischev arrived in Bangalore on May 17 on a month-long visit for detailed discussions with programme leaders on the scope of work to be conducted on the Saras, a programme that has been in a fairly troubled state ever since its second prototype crashed tragically last year, killing its three-man test crew. Crash investigations had also pointed to serious flaws in the aircraft’s basic design, which could be why the Russians have hurriedly been brought back in. The composition of the Russian team currently at NAL Headquarters in Bangalore tells you a little about what the project is looking for. The team consists of MDB chief designer Dr Alexander Bruk, his deputy Dr Alexander Arkhipov, Chief Specialist on Flight Dynamics Dr Eduard Abramenko, Engineer Designer on Control System Dr Vladimir Vinogadov and Dr Victor Frolovskiy from the Department of Design. The scope of work to be conducted by Myasischev includes flight testing and certification of the aircraft as well.
quadbikewhy just the Fennec and Ka-226t? there’s a plethora of light utility helicopters out there.. Polish PZL-4, EC 120 Colibri, etc
They were not sent the RFI I think. May be IAF thought they may not have met the performance parameters at altitude.
quadbikeWhat Kramer Posted. I resized and posted directly.
FIRST PHOTOS: HAL’s Light Utility Helicopter Makes Its First Appearance
quadbikesorry ! I henceforth won’t post such large sized pics except for one or two to give a glimpse. The only problem is that the blogger’s page is for subscriber’s only, so I posted the pics.
If you have time what you should do is post the small sized images and upload the large ones to tinypic or imageshack and then link the small ones to the big one.
That way when some one clicks on it they will get the bigger picture. :diablo:
quadbikeRavi Shankaran sold navy’s purchase plans for 20 years
New Delhi: Ravi Shankaran, 46, a key accused in the sensational war room leak case, may have sold Indian Navy’s secret equipment purchase plans for the next 20 years, a probe has revealed.
The ex-navy commander and nephew of former naval chief Arun Prakash’s wife was arrested by UK Police on April 21 and could be extradited to India soon.
Shankaran was granted conditional bail, but was soon taken back into custody as he failed to fulfill the conditions, it is learnt.
“We had received intimation about Shankaran’s arrest on April 29. He was arrested under the Extradition Act, 2003, UK, and produced before a court the same day. We are pressing the UK authorities through the Indian mission in London for assistance in his extradition,” a senior CBI officer said.
DNA had first exposed the war room leak on July 31, 2005. The navy had found in a probe that several of its serving and retired officers and that of the air force and the army and bureaucrats were involved in leaking classified information relating to its planned purchase of a wide range of sophisticated equipment from the directorate of naval operations, or the war room.
A CBI probe found that Shankaran, who was running a private firm after quitting the navy, and Abhishek Verma, an arms dealer, were the key figures in the scandal. Vijender Rana and Kulbhushan Parashar, both former naval commanders, were the main conduits in the smuggling of the classified information.
The probe revealed that Shankaran, who had quit the navy before the war room leak was exposed, sold the classified information to commercial firms. “Shankaran had left India before CBI registered a case. Initial investigations revealed he escaped in November 2005,” the CBI officer said.
Other persons accused in the scandal were arrested in April 2006. Look-out notices against Shankaran were issued to all immigration checkposts in India on April 10, 2006, followed by nonbailable warrants by a trial court on April 21, 2006. After CBI discovered that he had fled India, requests for issuing a red corner notice were made to Interpol. Shankaran’s passport was revoked on May 1, 2006.
A charge sheet was filed by CBI on July 3, 2006, and on its provisional arrest request, a UK court issued warrants against Shankaran on March 30, 2007. Later, the agency forwarded a formal extradition request to the Indian high commissioner in London on May 9, 2007.
quadbikeWork on maritime patrol aircraft to start this year
Work on the Indian Navy’s latest acquisition, the long-range maritime patrol aircraft that will add strength to its ability in domain awareness and deal with threats below the surface, will get underway later this year.
For the present, the United States Navy is gearing up to put the second plane (T2) to test its primary mission system next month, having conducted preliminary trials for airworthiness during April on test plane one (T1) at its facility.
The Boeing Company is developing the long-range patrol aircraft for the U.S. Navy, called P8A, and the Indian Navy is getting the P8I to specifications as provided by it.
The contract was signed in January 2009, with the first delivery scheduled 48 months from the date.
“The Indian Navy is the first foreign customer that Boeing is developing for the U.S. Navy,” P8I Programme Manager Leland Wight told a group of journalists from India after a tour of the Renton facility here, where the737 platform, on which the P8 is being developed, is finally assembled.
The group was later taken around the T2, at the Puget Sound facility, where the aircraft is being prepared before being handed over to the U.S. Navy.
The aircraft has multiple weapon stations armed with anti-submarine Harpoon missiles, torpedoes in weapons bay that can be launched into water up to 1,000 feet and advanced radar and sensors. The plane can travel 1,200 nautical miles. It can stay on for four hours before heading to its base and with mid-air refuelling, it can undertake a mission for longer hours.
It has five identical mission operator consoles, with each having the ability to select which sensor they want to study with two observer stations. The aircraft is designed for user to expand and configure 21 crew seats.
The Indian Navy conducted a preliminary design review in October last and held a conference here in February this year. Equipment provided by the Electronics Corporation of India Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited to go on board is being checked. Fabrication of the first aircraft will begin during the last quarter of 2010, he said.
Technically, the Indian Navy has to arrange for acceptance trials for each aircraft it ordered, but it has decided to take delivery after initial ones, since the basic airframe and other equipment are being subjected to tests by the U.S. Navy. The Indian Navy has reserved the option to place order for additional four aircraft.
quadbikeLCH marks a new era in Indian combat avionics
Bengaluru, May 23 (ANI): The successful test flight of the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) on Sunday will would go down in the history of Indian combat avionics as a new era in indigenous development of dedicated fighter helicopters in the country.
The Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) has been developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
The inaugural test flight of the LCH, which is yet to be christened, has made India enter the elite club of countries in the world which have the capability of designing, developing and manufacturing state of the art advanced combat helicopters.
The successful test flight was conducted at the HAL’s airport here, which was witnessed by a number of distinguished guests, and a huge number of people.
Defence Minister A K Antony, his deputy Pallam Raju and Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik were to attend the function, but they cancelled their visit after Saturday’s air disaster at Mangalore.
Secretary Defence Production R K Singh, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshall P K Barbora, Chairman HAL Ashok Nayak besides many other dignitaries were present on the historic public flight of the LCH.
Describing the LCH as the “Tiger Bird”, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshall P K Barbora said: ” It’s a red letter day not only for the HAL but the whole nation. In avionics, the circus must go on,” he said while referring about Saturday’s tragic incident in Mangalore.”
“It is an unveiling of an asset for which the Indian Air Force was desperately looking for. The display was superb. I congratulate the whole HAL team, especially the rotary wing design team,” Air Marshall Barbora said.
He said the LCH has some unmatched combat and stealth features. “This is no mean achievement. There are very few countries that have the capability to build this (LCH) kind of aircraft. I am quite hopeful that the LCH would be ready for induction in the Indian Air Force in coming two to three years,” Air Marshall Barbora added.
The LCH, which weighs 5.8 tonnes, has strike the enemy target moving at a maximum speed of 268 kilometers per hour.
The “Tiger Bird” has been fitted with a 20 mm Turret gun right in the nose, which not only gives it a stunning “fighter” look but also enhances the capability to destroy target with utmost precision.
Due to its narrow fuselage with flat panels and tandem seating arrangement, in which the pilot and the co-pilot sit behind one another, the LCH is one of most compact fighter helicopter at present.
The glass cockpit, night operation capabilities, along with highly sophisticated mission systems such as the Target Acquistion and Designing System (TADS), Helmet Mounted Sight (HMS) and the Infrared (IR) Supressor are only a few out of numerous advance systems fitted in the LCH.
Apart from basic combat roles, the LCH qualifies for several other tasks as well such as the offensive employment in Urban Warfare, Counter Surface Operations (CSFO) and Counter Insurgency operations. By Shashank Shantanu (ANI)
quadbikeNavy war room leak accused arrested in London
London: In a major breakthrough in the naval war room leak case, Ravi Shankaran, one of the main accused and a close relative of former navy chief admiral Arun Prakash, was arrested in London.
Shankaran was arrested by London police on April 12 but was granted bail by a Westminster court.
The arrest and subsequent bail comes 4 years after an Interpol Red Corner notice was issued against Shankaran in 2006.
He is one of the main accused who allegedly passed on vital information to certain arms dealers for procurements for the Indian Navy.
A Delhi court had declared him a proclaimed offender in 2006 with the government revoking his passport and approaching a UK court for his arrest. However, he managed to evade the London police and was believed to be living in countries like France, Italy and Denmark.
So far, four navy officers have been suspended in the case. The information, which was commercial in nature, was likely to benefit international arm companies and help them bag defence contracts. There were also allegations that it included information pertaining to Scorpene submarine. However, that was later denied by the authorities.
At the time of the incident, admiral Prakash had offered to resign but was not allowed to do so.
The other accused in the case include retired Indian Air Force (IAF) wing commander S L Surve, retired navy commander Kulbushan Parashar and sacked navy commanders Vijender Rana and V K Jha.
On March 20, 2006, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against Surve, Shankaran, Jha and Rana along with Raj Rani Jaiswal, Mukesh Bajaj, retired wing commander S K Kohli, Kashyap Kumar and Kulbushan Parashar under various sections of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
Meanwhile, efforts are on to seek the extradition of Shankaran to India. It may take weeks before the British government takes any decision on the matter. Despite being granted bail, Shankaran however enjoys limited freedom and is required to report to the Scotland Yard.
quadbikeIndian Air Force to deploy 80 Mi-17 helicopters within four years
The Indian Air Force (IAF) will induct 80 Mi-17 transport helicopters within four years, an IAF official said on Thursday.
The first batch of newly-acquired Mi-17s would be delivered to the IAF by the end of this year, the Press Trust of India quoted an IAF official as saying .
The IAF would receive the remaining Mi-17s in a phased manner in the next four years, said the official.
The IAF official said these Mi-17s are newly-developed types, capable of carrying a load of five tons, including 15 fully- equipped troops, while the existing Mi-17s in the IAF’S transport fleet only have the load capacity of 3 tons or so.
There are about 150 Russia-made Mi-8 and Mi-17 transport helicopters in the IAF. They are playing a vital role in the short- distance air transport. However, those Mi-8s are old-styled, and Mi-17s are originally-designed, showing poor performances in the relief operations of the Indian ocean tsunami in 2004 and the heavy snowfall in India-controlled Kashmir in 2005.
In December 2008, India and Russia signed a contract for supplying 80 Mi-17s for the IAF to replace the aging Mi-8s. The contract was worth about one billion U.S. dollars.
The new Mi-17s could carry out many military and civilian tasks, such as ferrying troops and weapons in high-altitude mountainous areas, airdropping relief supplies and evacuating casualties in the disaster-hit areas, the IAF said.
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