Ah..thanks for the link! So the EO pod is now standard equipment for the Dhruv Mk3s that will be coming out of HAL.

Yes it is. EW suite, Glass cockpit (IDAS), HMS and EO pod on MK3 and Mk4. MK4 is weaponized to boot. Glass cockpit is on Mk2 as well. Mk3 and Mk4 have a more powerful engine and a new active vibration control system.

Check mail.

Japan’s new rules don’t allow exports of everything to anyone & everyone. Only NATO members & countries in a similar alliance (i.e. Australia & New Zealand, maybe Singapore) are pretty much unrestricted. Thus, Australia is now at much the same level as the USA as far as Japanese arms exports are concerned, & “even the Aussies’ is therefore inappropriate. I’m afraid they’re ahead of you in the queue. You’d have to change your foreign & military policies considerably to get their status.

Modi and Abe share a good personal rapport, that might help things & Japan is the flavor of the month for the new Indian Govt. In these sort of things the right sort of nudge from top leaders can suddenly make all sorts of justifications and loopholes appear for bureaucrats and regulatory authorities.

but those were primarily avionics modernization programs, weren’t they? Without structural upgrades, those Mi-24/35s will eventually run out of service life..and with a large number of LCH gunships also in the pipeline, the IA may look to retire these when it can afford to do so.

True that..perhaps they can do a MiG style life extension. Spares at least shouldnt be an issue, unlike the MiG-23/27

http://ibnlive.in.com/blogs/sauravjha/2976/65382/seeking-the-future-an-interview-with-dr-g-satheesh-reddy-director-research-centre-imarat.html
Pics in link

This has a direct impact on the IAF and its sensors/equipment plans

Seeking the future: An interview with Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Director Research Centre Imarat

The brainchild of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, Research Centre Imarat is India’s premier missile sub-systems laboratory. With a vast forested campus RCI is the jewel in DRDO’s missile crown and is today an institution doing cutting edge research and development in missile guidance systems, control and actuation, onboard computing and even batteries. Moreover under the leadership of its current director Dr G Satheesh Reddy, RCI is graduating to full systems development for precision guided munitions (PGMs). Dr Reddy, a DRDO ‘outstanding scientist’, has numerous awards to his credit and is a leadinglight in the field of military navigation and sensing technology today. Geek at Large caught up with him in his RCI office…
…….

SauravJha: Talking about tactical systems, what kind of optical gyroscopes are they using at the moment?

Satheesh Reddy: Fibre Optic Gyroscopes (FOG) mostly. Akash uses a FOG for example. In fact FOG technology is quite mature and FOGs arebeing produced in numbers. 200 FOGs for instance were recently delivered for the Akash program. FOGs are also being used for Tanks. We have FOGs of bias drift less than 0.01 degree per hourat the prototype stage currently. These are meant for ship based applications.

SauravJha: And what would you say about the state of RLG technology at RCI?

Satheesh Reddy: Well, it’s ‘state of the art’. World standard navigation grade RLGs are quite mature here.

SauravJha: Where are these RLGs built?

Satheesh Reddy: They are built in and around the RCI campus.[/b]

SauravJha: Under a government owned company operated (GOCO) format?

Satheesh Reddy: Similar. Our first GOCO facility is actually the one that builds electrohydraulic servo valves.

SauravJha: Will the proposed new detector facility also be built on this campus?

Satheesh Reddy: No not here. In any case we aren’t really being denied high accuracy focal point arrays (FPAs) nowadays.

SauravJha: Dr Reddy, the recently unveiled missile autonomy mission will see the development of tactical missiles that would clearly need seekers for the end game. In that context would you tell us more about the radio frequency (RF) seeker technology being developed here in RCI?

Satheesh Reddy: On the RF seeker front, we have quite a few developments taking place. We have developed a millimeter wave (MMW) seeker that is being produced by private industry. This MMW seeker is capable of both lock-on-after-launch(LOAL) and lock-on-before-launch(LOBL) configurations.

SauravJha: What is the MMW seeker meant for?

Satheesh Reddy: It is meant for PGMs and for the next generation anti-radiation missile (NGARM).

SauravJha: PGMs of the kind?

Satheesh Reddy:Like the lightweight PGM under development here in RCI at the moment. This PGM has already been test-fired from an unmanned aerial vehicle and a sizeable number can also be carried by a missile like the Prithvi or by an aircraft like the Su-30 MKI. The Prithvi configuration can be used for attacking runways for example.

Continuing on the RF seeker front, RCI is also developing a Ku-band seeker for anti-aircraft applications. This is a scaled down version of an existing active radar seeker developed by us and is a requirement for the Astra. System qualification is expected to commenceearly next year.

An X-band seeker for anti-ship applications is also being pursued very seriously and trials will be held in the first quarter of 2015.

SauravJha:Turning to IIR seekers, Dr Reddy what is the status of the new seeker for the Nag? Will it satisfy the Army’s requirement of achieving target acquisition at a range of 4 km even in the most trying desert conditions?

Satheesh Reddy:That seeker is headed for trials this year. It can actually be used out to 6-7 kmsin better conditions.

SauravJha: And has work begun on a two colour seeker?

Satheesh Reddy: Design work is under way. We expect it to head for developmental trials in 2016.

….

SauravJha: Coming back to RF seekers, how would you characterize India’s current manufacturing capability in this sphere?

Satheesh Reddy:There are at least 5-6 domestic companies now both private and public who are doing credible RF seeker work. With four of them right here in Hyderabad. BEL also has a very good RF practice. As I told you earlier the MMW seeker is already being produced by our companies.

SauravJha: Dr Reddy to wrap up, what are the kind of munitions expected to have system on chips for their onboard computing requirements?

Satheesh Reddy: Well, things like smart bombs.

totally agree! it looks really menacing in that shot..and I must say I quite like that dark camo on the Russian helis..:D

I’ll be quite sad to see the Mi-24/35 retire from Indian service once the AH-64Es enter service in numbers.

Do we have any firm reports saying the Ah-64s will replace the Mi-24/35. Perhaps IAF may keep both? The Mi-24/35 did go through an extensive Israeli modernization after all.

Anyone with the interests of India at heart would oppose it tooth and nail. Arguing for the tender to be scaled back or scrapped is one thing, but simply substituting another contender for Rafale is absurd.

I think it is useful to observe the (public) silence of both the Russians and Americans on this matter, in contrast to the very public clamouring from Germany and the UK. At a certain point, continued advocacy of Typhoon becomes both juvenile on the part of those nations, and disrespectful of India and its processes.

With $20 billion & counting at stake, and a wide worldwide record of many Govts taking economics over country AF choices (Switzerland, Brazil etc) – the Germans & UK, can’t be faulted for trying extra hard.
🙂

Frankly, the only ones who can really scupper this deal are Dassault themselves. I am not so sanguine after seeing what happened in Algeria, several ME “almost there” deals etc.

On a + note, the Scorpene program is now on track with a DCNS claimed (and very creditable if achieved) 50% indigenization of systems.

Chaps. I get the hatred and pure vile you reserve for my country. I really do, but trying to make the flimsiest of connections with aviation by such posts just proves the depth pf insecurity you have.

Can we stick to aviation. If not, why not just open a “Things I hate about Pakistan thread” seperately and lets keep this one clean?

Posts reported by the way

Projecting much? Its interesting to see the amount of hatred & bile including religious bigotry (as you yourself admit) that you have for India, yasser (anyone can do a search on your name in Pakdef) but you are clutching at straws here.

As I am not you & I don’t spend all my time & life on the PAF thread (whereas you do the very opposite, trolling away on every India related thread).

Lets get the point here, this news is relevant.

This attack comes after several other high profile attacks on Pakistani establishments by insiders.

It bears uncanny similarity to both the attack and subsequent coverup as in the Erieye case, from February 2013 on the attack in August 2012

Original link – google will throw up the story as well.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-159025-Tax-payers-kept-in-the-d…

ISLAMABAD: The February 6 admission by senior officials of the defence ministry that a Saab-2000 aircraft fitted with an Airborne Early Warning & Control System (AWACS) was totally destroyed in the August 15, 2012 terror attack on the Kamra airbase, implies that the concerned authorities had been keeping the tax payers in the dark for the past six months by claiming that it was only the nose cone of the precious aircraft which had been partially damaged and that it would be repaired by the manufacturers in Sweden.

The fact that the Kamra airbase raiders had completely destroyed one of the four Saab-2000 AWACS planes was made public for the first time by Additional Secretary Defence Rear Admiral Farrokh Ahmad during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence on February 6, six months after the Minhas airbase at Kamra was attacked by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

The meeting was chaired by President Zardari’s sister, Azra Fazal Pechuho, as the chairperson of the 18-member Committee. Responding to a question by Ayaz Ameer, one of the Standing Committee members, Rear Admiral Farrokh Ahmad conceded that a Saab-2000 AWACS which was parked at the Minhas airbase was completely destroyed by “miscreants” when the Kamra came under attack.

When asked by Ayaz Ameer to further enlighten the Committee on the issue, Secretary Defence Lt Gen (R) Asif Yaseen Malik admitted that one fourth early warning ability of the PAF was knocked out by the raiders with the ruining of one of the four Swedish-made Saab-2000 planes.

But the secretary defence did not respond to Ayaz’s query about the actual loss suffered by the national kitty due to the ruining of Saab-2000 AWACS. As The News asked PAF spokesman Group Captain Tariq Mahmood about the likely price of the Saab-2000, he sought a couple of days to collect the required information. Asked about the price of the Saab-2000 AWACS, a senior PAF official said while requesting anonymity that the perished plane was worth 130-140 million US dollars. But a highly placed defence ministry official differed with the figure, saying that the plane destroyed at Kamra was worth 250 million US dollars.

However, a senior defence ministry official said on the condition of anonymity that the Saab-2000 AWACS destroyed at Kamra was worth $250 million. Ayaz Ameer, a former army captain, estimated the price of Saab-2000 somewhere between 250 and 300 million US dollars.

It was on the night of August 15, 2012 that nine fidayeen attackers dressed in military uniforms and armed with rocket propelled grenades and suicide vests, stormed the Minhas airbase. Minhas remained under attack for two hours and finally culminated in the death of two PAF personnel and all the nine attackers who were successful in their mission of destroying one of the Saab-2000 AWACS planes.

TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan subsequently claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was carried out to avenge the killings of Baitullah Mehsud and Osama bin Laden. The fidayeen, Ehsan had declared, succeeded in achieving their targets and had delivered a lethal blow to the PAF. But neither Ehsan explained “the lethal blow” inflicted by TTP nor did the PAF deem it fit to concede the destruction of the Saab 2000 aircraft.

Following the attack, PAF spokesman Tariq Mahmood conceded that at least one of the rockets fired by the attackers hit a hangar holding PAF aircrafts. “The rocket pierced the hangar wall while shrapnel from the blast damaged one of the aircraft parked inside. But I cannot reveal the name of the craft… please wait for the inquiry report”, said the spokesman. But the finding of the inquiry, which was ordered by Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt and conducted by Air Marshal Athar Hussain Bukhari, has yet to be made public.

Hours after attack, Defence Minister Naveed Qamar said on August 15, 2012, that the death toll of the militants and the minimal damage caused to the base was clear proof of the preparedness of the Pakistani forces.

Talking to newsmen in Islamabad, Qamar said: “The security of the PAF was alert to retaliate in case of a possible attack and they did. The terrorists had suicide vests clasped around them and were carrying heavy arms. However, with minimum damage caused to the Pakistani assets – with only one plane damaged – the security forces were able to eliminate the terrorists.”

Naveed Qamar, however, did not mention the fact that the plane destroyed at Kamra was a Saab 2000 worth $240 million.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik was next to claim on August 17, 2012 that due to the advance warnings about a possible attack on the PAF installations, the attempt to harm the Pakistani assets at Kamra was foiled and all the attackers were killed. Kamra is one of the most important airbases of PAF which also hosts the 33 multi-role fighter wing of the PAF, one squadron of JF-17 and one squadron of FT-6 trainers. It was in October 2005 that the Pakistan government had struck a deal to purchase five Saab-2000 planes.

The first of these was delivered to the PAF on December 29, 2009, and the second one in April 2011, which was followed by two others. And the prime aim of the TTP fidayeen was to locate and destroy one such valuable plane which was parked at Minhas airbase.

Remarkable similarities including a post event coverup.

Now, I was reading about Musharraf’s tenure and at the time:

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006 116story_6-11-2006_pg7_1

Monday, November 06, 2006

PAF officers tried to kill Musharraf: UK paper

LONDON: Several young officers from the Pakistan Air Force with access to President Pervez Musharraf’s innermost security circle were among 50 people arrested for trying to assassinate him soon after he returned from a visit to the US and Britain in late September, according to a report published in The Sunday Telegraph on Sunday.

The rocket strike was aimed at the president’s high-security personal residence-office in Rawalpindi. “About 50 people are being held on suspicion of involvement in the September attack, which involved a battery of Russian-made 107 m projectiles launched by a signal from a mobile phone,” Pakistani intelligence sources were quoted as saying by The Sunday Telegraph.

“Alarmingly, many are understood to be young officers serving in the Pakistan Air Force, some of whom have access to high-security zones of the presidential offices, parliament and the intelligence service,” they said.

The report said that although interrogations had not revealed any of them to have links with Al Qaeda or the Taliban, they were none the less believed to have acted out of growing anger at Musharraf’s alliance with America in its war on terror.

The original links may have been archived but googling will get you the exact excerpts above.

Again, a Pakistani paper quotes Wikileaks in 2011 noting how PAF officers were getting radicalized:

http://tribune.com.pk/story/172946/us-fears-paf-airmen-sabotaging-f-16s/

US fears: ‘PAF airmen sabotaging F-16s’
Published: May 21, 2011

A 2006 cable cites a senior air force official saying airmen were being radicalised.

According to a WikiLeaks cable, Pakistan’s airmen were being radicalised by extremists and were sabotaging Pakistani F-16s deployed for security operations along the Afghan border, NDTV reported on Friday.

The cable sent on March 2006 from the US embassy to Washington, quotes then Deputy Chief of Air Staff for Operations Air Vice Marshal Khalid Chaudhry as saying that the airmen, most of whom came from rural villages, were being radicalised by extremist clerics.

The cable quotes Chaudhry as saying, “You can’t imagine what a hard time we have trying to get them to trim their beards.”

The cable also reveals that Chaudhry claimed “to receive monthly reports of acts of petty sabotage, which he interpreted as an effort by extremists amongst the enlisted ranks to prevent PAF aircraft from being deployed in support of security operations in the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata) along the Afghan border.”

Chaudhry was briefing visiting US officials at the Pakistan Air Force Headquarters and impressing upon them the need to ensure “the F-16 deal has enough sweeteners to appeal to the public – a complete squadron of new F-16s, with JDAM and night-vision capability – but not to offer the PAF things that it cannot afford.”

The cable quotes Chaudhry as telling the delegation, “off the record”, that PAF aircraft were regularly called to provide air support to military and security forces when they get into tight spots in Fata … “, adding that the Army brass and the ground forces commanders would deny it.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2011.

Now, this latest attack shows that radicalization in the Pak services is not a “one off” and they are now fighting and attacking their own people.

So lets recap for you since the mere mention of these facts has you frothing at the mouth and attacking the messenger.

Multiple Pak Army, Pak AF, Pak Naval assets attacked with inside help. PAF folks reported to be sabotaging their own aircraft. PAF folks held attempting to assassinate their then leader. Pak Navy now facing attack from insiders who attempt to commandeer a ship.

Question which bears asking is what next for the PAF given it also handles nuclear weapons and is also attacking the TTP which is staging these attacks with military insiders.