BlackArcherCCS clears acquisition of 2 more Phalcon AWACS
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Tuesday cleared a proposal to acquire two more Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) at the cost of Rs.7,500 crore under a tripartite contract with Israel and Russia.
The Indian Air Force already had three such platforms, which give an ability to see deep inside enemy territory. All three AWACS, comprise Israeli-made radars mounted on Russian heavy transport planes IL-76.
The CCS chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi also approved a proposal for induction of the fourth regiment of supersonic cruise missile Brahmos and two more of Pinaka rocket launchers in the army.
BlackArcherDisappointing, to say the least. I didn’t expect this from the Narendra Modi govt.
Indian defence budget shows 10% drop in dollar terms
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In a rare occasion in India’s budget-making, Jaitley did not even reference defense spending in his speech.With a total allocation of 2.58 trillion rupees this year compared with 2.52 trillion rupees last year, that represents a hike of 2.3 percent. However, the current exchange rate is about 68 Indian rupees to one US dollar, while last year the exchange rate was about 60 per dollar, thus resulting in less purchasing power.
Military officials said they were waiting for the second full budget of the ruling Narendra Modi government but are disappointed with the lack to attention to the defense sector.
One Indian Air Force official said that unlike the election promise in 2014, the Modi government has not allocated sufficient resources to meet the long-term needs of a military preparing to fight wars simultaneously on the Pakistan and China borders.In addition, money allocated last year has not been used.
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“The Modi government came to power in 2014 riding on the slogan less government and more governance,” Mehta said.
With a marginal hike in spending, especially for the capital projects, it will be difficult to fund the projects already in the last stages of procurement.
The projects, which are in the last stages of procurement, include:
• Purchase of 36 Rafale aircraft from France on a government-to-government basis.
• Purchase of 473 software-defined radios from Rafael of Israel.
• Acquisition of 56 C-295 transport aircraft from Airbus, which will be partly built by the Airbus-Tata combine under the Buy and Make India category.
• Purchase of six A330 tanker aircraft from Airbus.
• Purchase of 280 engines for Jaguar aircraft from Honeywell of the United States.
• Acquisition of an additional 35 basic trainers from Pilatus of Switzerland.
• Purchase of five units of Russian-made S-400 Triumf advanced air defense systems from Russia.
• Purchase of three C-130J transport aircraft and six C-17 Globemaster aircraft and additional four P-8I aircraft from the US.
• Acquiring 145 M777 ultra light howitzers from the US subsidiary of BAE Systems.
• Purchase of 321 launchers and 8,000 Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israel.
• Purchase of 12 mine counter-measure vessels.
• Acquiring 16 naval multirole helicopters from Sikorsky.
BlackArcherIndia’s home grown basic trainer HTT-40 set for first flight by end of March
NEW DELHI: India’s home grown basic trainer aircraft, the HTT 40 is set for a first flight by the end of March as work on the project has accelerated after a firm push by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. The aircraft, the prototype of which was rolled out in January, is to be used for the first stage training for all flying cadets of the three services.
Officials associated with the project have told ET that the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) basic trainer has started the ground runs phase of the developmental process and that a first flight could take place as early as March. “We have been running Engine Ground Runs and are looking for a first flight within the next 4-6 weeks. This would be a major landmark for the project,” a senior official said.
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BlackArcherBlackArcherINS Arihant passes deep sea tests, ready for operations! Could be commissioned into the IN soon
INS Arihant ready for operations , passes deep sea tests
NEW DELHI: India’s first nuclear armed submarine is now ready for full fledged operations, having passed several deep sea diving drills as well as weapons launch tests over the past five months and a formal induction into the naval fleet is only a political call away.
Multiple officials closely associated with the project to operationalize the INS Arihant nuclear missile submarine have confirmed to ET that the indigenously-built boat is now fully-operational and over the past few months, several weapon tests have taken place in secrecy that have proven the capabilities of the vessel.The Arihant, which is the first of five nuclear missile submarines or SSBNs planned for induction, has also undergone deep sea dives off Vishakhapatnam where it was build. A Russian diving support ship —the RFS Epron that arrived on October 1 — has been accompanying the Arihant on its deep sea dives and launch tests, officials told ET.
The Epron — a Prut class submarine rescue vessel — was also the Russian representation for the recently concluded International Fleet Review (IFR) in Vishakhapatnam. India does not currently possess a submarine rescue vessel of this class – a vital requirement during weapon firing tests where all possibilities need to be catered for. The Arihant incidentally did not take part in the IFR even though it was ready due to security concerns. The presence of 24 foreign warships, equipped with sensors and equipment that could pick up vital electronic intelligence being the main deterrent.
The Navy has managed to keep under wraps several weapon launch tests from the Arihant over the past five months. The submarine is to be equipped with K 15 (or BO-5) short range missiles with a range of over 700 km and the K 4 ballistic missile with a range of 3,500 km. “It has passed all tests and in many things has surpassed our expectations.”
Technically the submarine can now be commissioned at any time,” a senior official said. Sources told ET that the commissioning date could be as early as next month if the Modi government desires. A communication facility to interact with the submarine has already been commissioned into the Navy.
At present, work is already in progress on two more Arihant class submarines at the Ship Building Center (SBC) in Vishakhapatnam which will be larger and more advanced than the first boat. The navy is also accelerating work on INS Varsha – a new strategic naval base with underground pens on the Eastern Coast near Kakinada – where the nuclear assets would be based.The Navy’s Submarine Design Bureau is also presently working on a new class of nuclear powered attack submarines (SSNs) that it hopes to induct within the next 15 years. The plan is to build at least six SSNs in India, with financial sanction given last year for the project that could cost upwards of Rs 90,000 crore. At present, the only nuclear powered platform in service is the INS Chakra, a Akula class SSN on lease from Russia.
BlackArcherThe article suggests they’re looking to upgrade the IAF’s existing Hawks to a combat-capable configuration. Its not really a very cheap aircraft ($20 mil in 2010 – last Indian contract) given other far more capable options are available at not much higher a cost.
It doesn’t state explicitly that this is meant to be an upgrade to the existing fleet, but even if it is an upgrade for the Hawk Mk132, HAL could offer a similar variant for export.
Apparently, the idea is to improve on the maneuverability performance as well, most likely thanks to the new Adour engine that will be integrated.
HAL BAe eye JV for Hawk and Jaguar work
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Dave Corfield, head of Hawk India, Military Air & Information, BAE Systems, said, “Our goal is to combine our strengths with HAL’s to co-develop and co-produce a more capable version of Hawk for use in India and also to export from India to the worldwide market. A joint study by BAE Systems and HAL has indicated significant market potential for this class of aircraft. This more capable version of the Hawk is the Advanced Combat Hawk, or ‘Dream Hawk,’ combining improved maneuver performance with laser designation, precision smart weapons and state-of-the-art synthetic training.”
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some analysts are dubious about the outcome of this JV.
BlackArcherWith no backseat pilot, install an ammo drum and a 25mm Gatling gun in the nose. Call it the Hoghawk.
Damn, wish one of our artist here would make a frankenplane pic out of it!
That would basically be the Hawk 200, a single seat Hawk light fighter..but the airframe wouldn’t probably be able to handle a Gatling canon like the A-10. Would require way too much re-engineering. a gun-pod installed on the centerline would be good enough for CAS. Smart munitions like the APKWS and Brimstone or an indigenous Nag based alternative would make a lot of sense. It could easily carry Spice 250 bombs as well and with the Litening LDP, could be a handy bomb carrier. Operating costs with the uprated Adour engine would be lower than any other light fighter, including even the Tejas.
BlackArcherMore on the Combat Hawk
Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has conducted weapons tests with its license-built BAE Systems Hawk 132 advanced jet trainer (AJT), and is confident of the project’s export potential.
The light attack Hawk upgrade also includes display and avionics modifications revealed at the Aero India show in Bengaluru in February.
“We are looking at exports of the weaponised Hawk or Light Attack Hawk and feel that there would definitely be a requirement for this type of aircraft in many countries,” says HAL chairman T Suvarna Raju.
“We are looking at the further weaponisation of the Hawk, though it has already been declared as weapons capable to a limited extent with guns and rockets,” he adds. “We have done some trials with rocket pods and are looking beyond this.”
The Indian air force likes the upgrade proposal, and the airframer will incorporate further suggestions made by the service, Raju told Flightglobal at HAL’s corporate office in Bengaluru.
On 26 May, the airframer announced that a memorandum of understanding with BAE had been concluded, “for a Hawk Mk 132 upgrade, development of combat Hawk for Indian and export markets and maintenance solutions for supporting the Jaguar and Hawk fleet.”
“Customers have been kept up to date with developments for Hawk, which include targeting pod simulation, laser designator pod, real and simulated ‘smart’ weapons integration, helmet-mounted display system and increased thrust engine with full authority digital engine control,” said a BAE official, in an earlier email response to Flightglobal.Commenting on the Hawk upgrade at Aero India, an MBDA official said: “Should we be asked to weaponise Hawk with ASRAAM, we would certainly be able to assist.” The company’s Brimstone “could be ideal for the Hawk,” the official said. “At only 50kg [110lb] per missile, with a dual-mode seeker for added operational flexibility, this air-to-ground multi-target weapon would certainly add a major capability to the Hawk.”
HAL has proposed a unique display and avionics upgrade for the Hawk, with two large 8 x 6” multi-function displays replacing the smaller, existing displays. A moving map display will be added and electro-mechanical instruments such as vertical speed indicator and altimeter will be removed.
The Indian air force has 91 Hawks, with a single example having been lost in a crash (attributed to pilot error) in 2008. The first contract for 66 Hawk 132s was signed in 2004, which saw BAE deliver 24 aircraft in fly-away condition; HAL completed licensed production of the last of the remaining 42 in 2012.
A follow-on order for 57 aircraft – 40 for the air force and 17 for the navy – was signed in 2010, and 25 and 11 aircraft respectively have been produced to date. HAL will deliver the remaining 15 and six aircraft respectively by 2016-2017.
A third contract for 20 aircraft for the air force’s Suryakiran aerobatic display team has yet to be concluded
BlackArcherHAL to roll out combat version of Hawk trainer by February 2017 – eyes export potential
NEW DELHI: India is set to soon offer a locally made combat version of the Hawk aircraft for export to the world with license producer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) set to roll out the first of the highly weaponised light attack planes by February 2017.
The Combat Hawk, which has already generated interest for its potential in unconventional operations, is currently under development jointly with its original manufacturer BAE with HAL looking to integrate a new engine, weapon systems and possibly a radar. “The aim is to demonstrate the aircraft by the next Aero India show that is to take place in 2017. The project is on track. There is a strong demand for such an aircraft,” a senior official associated with the Hawk aircraft project told ET...
HAL, which builds the plane under license at Bengaluru, is set to deliver all 123 aircraft to the two services a year ahead of schedule, opening up capacity at its line. Besides the under negotiation order for 20 plus aircraft for the Surya Kiran aerobatic display team of the air force, the Navy too has expressed interest in ordering 17 more aircraft.
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