packardUS to push F-16 sale to Pakistan despite Indian concerns:
http://www.newkerala.com/news3.php?action=fullnews&id=24181
By Arun Kumar
Washington: The Bush administration plans to push ahead with the proposed sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan despite Indian concerns over its largest $5.1 billion arms package deal with Islamabad.
“Our sale is based on what we think are legitimate needs of Pakistan for defensive purposes. And we proceed on that basis, not on the basis of what other people think or don’t think about it,” Richard Boucher, assistant secretary Of state for south and central Asian affairs told reporters at a briefing for the foreign media.
Washington had not heard anything from the Indian government about the F-16 deal, he said. “That’s up to the Indian government, if you want to ask them their attitude, go ahead.”
Foreign relations panels of both houses of the US Congress have scheduled hearings this week to review the F-16 sales after the Bush administration expressed readiness to address any Congressional concerns over it. Unless stopped by the Congress within 30 days, the deal notified by Pentagon June 28 will go ahead.
Hoping that the progress in India-Pakistan relations is not lost after the Mumbai bombings, Boucher said the Bush administration realised that India and Pakistan felt it wasn’t possible to have the foreign secretaries meetings this week.
Washington will continue to encourage India and Pakistan to cooperate against terrorist groups and to cooperate in stabilising the region, he said. “It’s up to them to decide how to proceed. But I think our outlook remains that India-Pakistan cooperation is important for the region, and we hope they will find ways to continue it in the future.”
Describing Mumbai bombings as a horrible tragedy, Boucher said there is a lot of speculation about who was behind them, but one needs to be led by the evidence before one starts trying to draw conclusions and make policy pronouncements on it. “So that will be our attitude, and I think that should be the attitude of others as well.”
Turning to South Asia, Boucher said there are obvious difficulties with South Asian free trade, but South Asian regional cooperation remains very important to Washington and it will be working with the countries of the region to try to encourage them to cooperate with each other.
US-Pakistan relations, Boucher said have been very positive recently with the two countries cooperating across the board in areas that are important for Pakistan’s development, and its success as a moderate, stable, democratic society.
US goal is to help Pakistan achieve success in all those areas it’s working with them: strategic issues, the fight against terrorism, finding energy supply, educating its population, building the democracy – all the areas outlined by President Pervez Musharraf in his programme of enlightened moderation.
US relationship with Pakistan is much broader, and it has initiated a whole series of dialogues with Pakistan – the strategic dialogue to economic dialogue, the education dialogue to science dialogue – all the areas where it has real practical cooperation going on with Pakistan, including helping Pakistan with its energy needs.
In addition to that, there’s a lot of cooperation with Pakistan in terms of helping the Pakistani government support its efforts in the border regions. In both Pakistan and Afghanistan, a similar process is going on of government extending its control.
The fight against terrorism is a tough one, Boucher said. As ever country in the region has an interest in stopping terrorism, US wants to make that a joint effort.
packardThe only way to judge is through air combat record. Pakistanis have a very good record in air combat. They have always enjoyed a higher kill ratio than whatever adversary they’ve faced.
So have the Israelis and the Americans.
Then again, aren’t we here to praise our own country’s pilots. 😉
packard$3 billion PAF upgradation plan unveiled
M RAFIQ GORAYA
ISLAMABAD (July 18 2006): The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mehmood Ahmad, has unfolded a three-year $3 billion up-gradation and modernisation programme of the Pakistan Air Force under which it would get 44 more hi-tech F-16s along with their supporting hardware, weapon system, avionics and back-ups.
He was addressing his maiden news conference at PAF Headquarters here on Monday after taking over command of the Pakistan Air Force in March 2006, and his recent visits to the United States and China for the purchase of hi-tech aircraft and other avionics.
Air Chief Marshal Tanvir said that in order to maintain a minimum credible deterrence in the region, Pakistan is buying 18 F-16s C&D model, block 52 along with very essential hardware and weapons at a cost of $2 billion from the United States.
Additionally, he said there is a requirement to upgrade and enhance the operational capability of the existing 34 F-16s, bought in 1982-83 to a level where they are supportable world-wide otherwise these aircraft would become obsolete operationally and difficult to retain logistically.
He said the US government has agreed to hand over 28 F-16s to Pakistan which were manufactured for Pakistan in 1990s and Pakistan had paid $650 million in advance for these planes, but the US had withheld their delivery imposing sanctions on Pakistan.
He said it was a great diplomatic victory for Pakistan that despite paying back the $650 million advance money, the United States has now agreed to give delivery of these 28 F-16s to PAF at a nominal price after up-gradation of their operational capability.
“Two of these F-16s have already arrived in Pakistan and the rest 26 will join the PAF fleet in about 15 to 18 months”, he happily announced.
He said that up-gradation of the existing 32 F-16s and purchase of the 28 old but operationally upgraded aircraft would cost $1 billion, but they would be very effective “key punch” and front teeth of the PAF.
Air Chief Marshal Tanvir said: “These pieces of hardware are not available in the international market, they take time to produce, but when you sign the contract you only pay 5 to 10 percent of the total amount.”
He said that 18 new F-16s will take three years to start getting manufactured and being delivered to PAF while the existing 34 F-16s may take 7 to 8 years or may be more for up-gradation and modernisation.
The Air chief said that normally Air Forces of other countries do not retain their aero planes for more than two and a half decades but the PAF is still retaining its three to four decades-old planes. “The Mirages that came in 1967 and 1974 are still the major part of PAF fleet and they shall continue to be on our inventory for a couple of more years”, he added.
Speaking about purchase of new F-16s, Air Chief Marshal Tanvir said: “They are vastly different from the old ones; they are bigger in size, carry more fuel; have the ability to carry more weapons, their radars are totally different, their engines are totally new, their avionics are totally new, they have the full capability of fighting in a network centric warfare, they can reach far off distances, and combatible with any hi-tech aero plane in the world today.”
The Air chief said: “We are also very much aware of the force multipliers such as air-borne early warning systems and have recently concluded a contract for the purchase of air-borne early warning and remote system.
“In a modest way, we have also signed a small contract to have other force multiplier the air-borne refueler, not only to get that capability but also to provide training to our air and ground crew in that particular regime”, he added. 🙂
He said: “The ratio of PAF to Indian Air Force (IAF) has traditionally been 1 to three, today we have 300 planes and they have over 900 planes.
“The numbers of IAF aircraft have never over-awed us or bothered us, it is the technological edge that we have enjoyed and it is the edge in the training and morale of the PAF personnel which we have always attained that have done us wonders in the past and that is our strength in future also”, he emphasised.
He said: “The PAF is not dependent on one source of supply of weapons, we are diversified since the JF-17 aircraft that we are co-producing with the help of our Chinese friends, will be a major backbone of the Pakistan Air Force in future.”
With regard to the possibility of US sanctions in future, the PAF chief said: “the environment has changed from the days of 1990s and the US administration talks clearly about the long-term strategic partnership with Pakistan, and I am sure they have also learnt from their experience in the past and will make no mistake in future.”
He said: ” The Pakistan Air Force is the only air force in the world which is engaged in the designing and manufacturing of the aircraft industry since we lack hi-tech industrial base in the country.”
About carrying of nuclear war heads, the Air Chief said since it is a very sensitive area, we have never relied upon any particular aircraft, but our own indigenous capability and we shall continue to retain our indigenous capability, we don’t need have this capability from anyone outside.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2006
packard$3b to be spent on purchase, up gradation of 55 F-16s: Tanvir
ISLAMABAD: Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mehmood Ahmed has said that Pakistan Air Force is fully prepared to meet any challenge and give a befitting response to any aggression adding that 3 billion dollars would be spent on the purchase of 18 new, 26 used and up gradation of 11 F-16s from US.
Addressing a press conference at Air Headquarters on Monday Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mehmood said that PAF although is the smallest element of the armed forces however in the few years air power has gained great importance and we cannot negate this fact. He said our air force is always in a state of preparedness to meet any challenges and aggression. He said that our basic purpose is to maintain peace and stability in the region and this can only be achieved when we are strong and are able to maintain minimum deterrence.
Air Chief said that Air Force is an affective force and remained on full alert during the 2002 border tensions and we made it clear to the enemy that we are fully capable of giving a befitting response to any aggression by the army.
With respect to F-16s he said that right now we have 34 F-16s and negotiations are going on with the US for purchase of 18 new and 26 used F-16s and 11 F-16’s already present would be upgraded.
While giving details, Air Chief said that new F-16s would have optimum facilities including all supporting equipment, technology, weapon system and proper safety system.
He said that eleven F-16s would be upgraded that will help in their operational capability to quite an extent.
He said that Pakistan has F-16s from last 30 years and that’s the reason we are purchasing 26 used F-16s, however we will get them after formal Upgradation.
He said that approximately 3 billion dollar would be spent on the purchase of 18 new, 26 used and up gradation of 11 F-16s from US.
He said that the payment would not be done immediately, however following a formal agreement with US, only 5 to 10 percent would be paid.
He said that after the agreement with US, Pakistan would start getting new F-16s in three years.
He said that used F-16s would be provided to Pakistan within fifteen to eighteen months.
He opine that new planes would be bigger in size, capacity, presence of AVANEX Radar System and can carry more weight than normal planes and travel long distances.
He said that we will not compromise on the standard of the planes as we have other options too besides US in this regard.
“We have China and Europe too for purchasing technology”, he maintained. He said that besides this we are also acquiring Air Borne Early Warning system, Air Borne refuel system, Air Borne radar and other modern equipment.
He said that with the able support of China, JF 17 thunders are being prepared and it will help extremely in making air defense more robust and sound.
He said that we have 300 and India has 900 planes, however we are not into the number game and are not afraid of it.
He said that Pakistan has an edge with moral, training and technology over India in this regard.
Replying to a question, he said that war against terrorism is the policy of the government but armed forces are also actively taking part in it as air force is also a part of armed forces.
He said that wherever the operation is either in Waziristan or Balochistan, usage of airforce can only be done with the permission of the government and we only target the targets and not civilians as alleged by some quarters.
He further said that from the time he has become Air Chief, three planes have been crashed and the actual reason behind is that they are some 35 to 40 years old and have become outdated and we are getting new ones in place of them now that will have new technology.
Responding to another question, Air Chief said that USA has not given us any surety that it will impose any kind of restriction in future during the purchase of F-16s, however both the countries are eager to continue strategic relations.
Responding to another question, he said that we are not transferring any kind of technology to any other country adding that we have assured US in this connection.
Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mehmood Ahmed added that it is all baseless rumors that any of the pilots refused taking part in air operations in Waziristan as we have a professional and efficient force working under the able decisions of the Command.
packardIAF may not get to fly LCA before 2010
Rajat Pandit
[ 16 Jul, 2006 2329hrs ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1762012.cms
NEW DELHI: It’s a story of deadlines being revised again and again, and then again. The much-touted Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) or “Tejas” is now giving the Arjun main-battle tank a run for its money in terms of delays in becoming combat-ready.
Just like Arjun is yet to be inducted into the Army despite its development being sanctioned over 30 years ago, latest estimates hold it will take another six-seven years — if not more — for the fully-operational LCA to be inducted into IAF’s combat fleet.
Though the LCA project was sanctioned way back in 1983 to replace the country’s ageing MiG fighters, its deadline for induction has been revised once again. Sources say LCA’s “initial operational clearance” has now been pushed back to mid-2008, with the “final operational clearance” planned only by 2010.
Moreover, the overall cost of the LCA project, being run by Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Aeronautical Development Agency, could well eventually touch Rs 10,000 crore.
The original project cost, incidentally, was estimated to be only Rs 560 crore. The government so far has sanctioned Rs 5,489.78 crore for the development of two LCA technology demonstrators (TDs), five prototype vehicles (PVs) and eight pre-production aircraft.
To add to this, delay in the development of indigenous Kaveri engine means the first two LCA squadrons will fly with American GE-404 engines. Kaveri’s development cost is now pegged at Rs 2,839 crore, way above the original Rs 382.81 crore sanctioned in 1989.
While it’s certainly not easy to build a top-notch combat fighter from scratch, the defence establishment is clearly guilty of giving hugely optimistic deadlines, far removed from reality, time and again.
Defence officials, on their part, maintain “steady progress” in the LCA project. With TD-1, TD-2, PV-1 and PV-2 having completed over 530 flights till now, in addition to a few tests for 1.4 Mach speed at 14-km altitudes, the manufacturing of PV-3 and PV-4 is now underway.
Holding that the design of the trainer version (PV-5) is also now complete, they say the full-scale engineering development of LCA’s naval version at a Rs 948.90-crore cost is also making steady progress.
Officials say the multi-role Tejas will incorporate all state-of-the-art technologies to meet IAF’s long-term operational requirements.
Along with “unstable aerodynamics” for “higher agility”, LCA will have digital fly-by-wire flight control, composite airframe, full-glass cockpit, advanced combat avionics, multi-mode radar and contemporary weapon systems.
Moreover, LCA will be much cheaper than other contemporary fighters in the world, costing around Rs 100-110 crore. The new American F/A-22 Raptor stealth fighter, for instance, costs Rs 480 crore.
The price tags of the French Rafale and Swedish JAS-39 Gripen jets, in turn, are pegged at Rs 270 crore and Rs 150 crore, respectively.
packardRIAT: Delivering rapid global effect
By Craig Hoyle at RAF Fairford
This year’s RIAT show included a debut appearance by the Pakistan air force, which sent one of its Lockheed Martin C-130B transports to the UK to support this year’s theme of delivering rapid global effect. On static display this weekend, the aircraft features striking tail art depicting the type’s key contribution during humanitarian relief efforts staged after a massive earthquake devastated part of Pakistan late last year.
Pakistan’s participation in the 2006 show makes it the 50th country to have sent aircraft to support the event over its lifetime, and its air force is one of 39 air arms from 26 nations involved in this year’s event. Its contribution was also marked during the plush Gala dinner on Friday night, when Pakistan picked up two trophies, including one for embodying the spirit of the air show through its deployment of the commemorative Hercules.
Other distant participants this year include a Brazilian air force C-130, a Boeing 707 transport from the Royal Australian Air Force and a Royal Malaysian Air Force Airtech CN-235.
Next year’s event should be equally spectacular, with the US Air Force to mark its 60th anniversary during the show. Perhaps visitors to RIAT will be able to see more examples of its firepower above this year’s impressive Boeing B-1 and B-52 bombers? Potential contributors could include the Northrop Grumman B-2 bomber and debut appearances by the Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor and RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle – guaranteed show stealers.
packardI wonder where you lifted these pictures from?
They were posted on http://www.pakdef.info
packard– Pakistan Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons at NATO Meet Anatolian Eagle 2006
– Random pic of PAF Trainer
packardThe giant C-130 Hercules, kitted out to demonstrate its medical evacuation role, appeared at the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, on July 15-16.
packardState Dept sure F-16s sale to get through Congress
WASHINGTON: The US State Department has said the offer for the sale of F-16s to Pakistan “is the right proposal” and expressed confidence the deal will get through Congress, which has already been notified on June 28.
“We think that this is the right proposal for Pakistan,” Sean McCormack told a daily press briefing. “We believe it’s the right proposal for our bilateral relationship as well.” Responding to a question, he said the proposal takes into account not only bilateral concerns but regional concerns also. “There have been extensive consultations with the Hill on this matter,” he said when asked if lawmakers were consulted on the sale.
“It’s not a new… as a matter of fact, the consultations have been going on for 14 months, I think, is the right period of time.”
McCormack said that if staff members or members of Congress have concerns about the sale, the administration is certainly ready to provide more briefings on that (and) have more discussions with them. “They have a say in this and we will be working. We have been and we will continue to be working closely on our consultations with the Hill on the proposed sale,” he added. When asked if he felt confident that the proposal would get through, he replied: “We’re going to work closely with the Hill on it. We certainly hope it does.”
packardBritain urged to ban £23m arms trade with Israel
By Ben Russell, Political Correspondent
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/po…icle1178600.ece
Published: 15 July 2006
Campaigners have demanded that Britain impose a ban on arms sales to Israel after figures showed that the Government licensed £23m worth of weaponry to be shipped to the country in the past year. They warned that British arms sales to Tel Aviv broke the Government’s pledge not to stock the arsenals of countries where there is a risk of regional instability or conflict.
Israel, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are among the countries described as major countries of concern in last year’s annual human rights report by the Foreign Office. The report criticised Israel’s failure to respect the human rights of Palestinians in the occupied territories. Campaigners expressed concern about arms exports to countries throughout the world after the quarterly report showed export licences had been granted for shipments to China, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Exports to Indonesia worth £16m were approved between January and March, including components for combat aircraft, aircraft cannons and military helicopters.
Exports to Pakistan worth £9m were granted, including components for air-to-air missiles.
Exports to Iraq included assault rifles, and components to be used in aircraft, vehicles and guns. Exports to Saudi Arabia included shotguns and sniper rifles.
Arms equipment worth £19m was exported to China, including components for military navigation equipment and naval radar, military aero-engines and “technology for the production of combat aircraft”.
Edited due to the length of the article
packardSaudi air chief visits forces headquarters
By Our Reporter
ISLAMABAD, July 10: Commander Royal Saudi Air Force Lt-Gen Prince Abdul Rahman Bin Fahad Al-Faisal Al-Saud, spent a busy day in the federal capital on Monday. He visited the Air Headquarters where a smartly turned out contingent of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) presented him the Guard of Honour upon his arrival.
Later, he was introduced to principal staff officers of PAF. He also laid a floral wreath on Martyrs’ Monument situated at the Air Headquarters.
The Saudi dignitary called on Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Mehmood Ahmed in his office.
Both remained together for some time and discussed matters of professional interest. ACM Ahmed presented a crest of his office to the visiting dignitary.
Picture: ISLAMABAD – July 10, 2006: Commander Royal Saudi Air Force Lt-Gen Prince Abdul Rahman bin Fahad Al-Faisal Al-Saud being introduced to principal staff officers of PAF at Air Headquarters in Islamabad on Monday.—Dawn
packard510th Fighter Squadron trains with multi-nationals
By Senior Airman Colleen Wronek 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Members of the 510th Fighter Squadron improved international relations and combat capability during the Anatolian Eagle Exercise in Turkey.The two-week exercise had squadrons from Turkey, France, Pakistan and NATO working together as a team.“It was great training with other nations and allowed us to complete many training requirements we can not complete at the home station,” said Col. Scott Zobrist, 31st Operations Group commander. “[During the exercise,] they practiced deployment of aircraft and people, low level flying, basic bombing with practice bombs and large force employment.” The 510th Fighter Squadron flew more than 200 multi-national scenario sorties during Anatolian Eagle.
The advantage of holding the exercise in Turkey was larger airspace and less population. “We can fly from the surface up to 50,000 feet in airspace that is more than 100 miles wide and 100 miles long,” said Maj. George Wyse, 510th FS flight commander. “We were able to train and fight how we would in actual combat operations. “There was also a range there that we can drop practice bombs on. None of this is available back home,” he said.
Working with several countries with diverse languages became a barrier that was quickly overcome. During downtime, crews held a watermelon eating contest as well as an international night where all nationalities shared traditional food and dance. Translators helped communicate during the sometimes hectic work days.
“By far, the biggest advantage of the exercise was interacting with the Turkish and Pakistani air forces,” said Capt. Bethany Keller, 510th Aircraft Maintenance Unit officer in charge. “We worked side by side with them on the flightline everyday and got to know them really well.” Captain Keller said on several occasions they received maintenance assistance from Turkish nationals, and a fuel transfer problem was solved with the help of Pakistanis.
“Most impressive to all of us was their high morale and technical competence, plus the pride they displayed in representing their countries,” she said. Many exercise participants made friends with other nationalities and learned a lot about other cultures. “It made what we do in the military more personal,” Captain Keller said. “After you are exposed to their culture, eat their food, learn about their families and understand their military structure, you realize they aren’t as different as they first seemed.”
packardSouth Asia
Jul 12, 2006
India exposed by missile failure
By Praful Bidwai
NEW DELHI – The failure in rapid succession this week of a satellite launcher and a new ballistic missile have shown up the technological and budgetary difficulties faced by India’s space establishment – civilian and military.
Hours after the US$50 million geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) with a communications satellite on board was ordered to self-destruct – as it veered off course soon after liftoff on Monday – authorities at the civilian Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said one of its four strap-on rocket motors had failed.
Like the GSLV, a new intermediate-range ballistic missile “Agni III” that was launched by the secretive Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO) failed soon after liftoff on
Sunday and crashed into the Bay of Bengal, less than 1,000 kilometers away from the launch site.
The failure of the Agni III was in some ways more serious because it exposed the political limitations of India’s attempts, despite its ambitions, to pursue a military capability which is truly independent of the US’s strategic calculations.
The surface-to-surface ballistic missile, designed to have a range of 3,500 kilometers, took off in a “fairly smooth” manner at the designated hour. But “a series of mishaps” occurred in its later flight path.
The Agni-III was originally meant to be tested in 2003-04. However, the test was postponed owing to technological snags. After their rectification, said reports, the missile’s test flights were put off twice largely for “political reasons”, so as not to annoy the US.
Earlier this year, India decided to postpone the missile test out of fear that a test could hamper US Congressional ratification of the India-US nuclear cooperation deal. Publicly, the Indian defense minister cited “self-imposed restraint” to justify the postponement.
However, last month, General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US military, visited India and declared that “I do not see it [a test] as destabilizing” or upsetting the regional “military balance” since “other countries in this region” (read, Pakistan) have also tested missiles.
Following this “facilitation” or clearance, and after indications of favorable votes in US Congressional committees on the nuclear deal, India’s stand changed. A week later, the DRDO announced it was ready to launch Agni-III.
This is the ninth missile in the Agni series (named after the Sanskrit word for “fire”) to have been tested. The first was tested in May 1989. The last test (Agni-II) took place in August 2004.
Unlike major powers like the US, Russia or China, which test the same missile 10 to 20 times before announcing that it is fully developed, India considers only three or four test flights to be enough for both producing and inducting new missiles.
This is not the first time that the test of an Agni series missile has failed. In the past, some tests of the shorter range Agni-II (range 2,000 kilometers-plus) also proved unsuccessful.
But what makes the Agni-III’s failure significant is that unlike its shorter-range predecessors, it was a wholly new design, developed with the specific purpose of delivering a nuclear warhead.
The Agni-I (range 700 to 800 kilometers) and Agni-II were both products of India’s space program and connected to its Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP), itself launched in 1983. Originally, their design used a satellite space-launching rocket (SLV-3) as the first stage, on top of which was mounted the very short-range (150 to 250 kilometers) liquid fuel-propelled Prithvi missile.
The Agni-III’s brand new design, in which both stages use solid propellants, was to enable it to carry a payload weighing up to 1.5 tons and deliver it to targets as far away as Beijing and Shanghai. At present, India lacks an effective nuclear deterrent vis-a-vis China, based on a delivery vehicle carrying a nuclear warhead. Agni-III was meant to fill the void.
The causes of the failure of the test flight are not clear. Scientists at the DRDO, which designed and built the missile, have been quoted as saying that many new technologies were tried in the Agni-III, including rocket motors, “fault-tolerant” avionics and launch control and guidance systems. Some of these could have failed. Other reports attribute the mishap to problems with the propellant.
“The DRDO isn’t the world’s most reliable weapons R&D agency,” Admiral L Ramdas, a former chief of staff of the Indian Navy, told Inter Press Service. “The Indian armed services’ experience with DRDO-made armaments has not been a happy one. Their reliability is often extremely poor. We often used to joke that one had to pray they would somehow work in the battlefield.”
The agency has a budget of Rs30 billion (US$670 million), which is of the same order as the annual expenditure of the Department of Atomic Energy which is responsible for India’s civilian and military nuclear programs.
“This figure is extremely high for a poor country like India, with a low rank of 127 among 175 countries of the world in the United Nations Human Development Index,” said Anil Chowdhary of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace. “Yet the DRDO has delivered very little.”
None of the three major projects assigned to the DRDO has been completed on time or without huge cost-overruns. These include the development of a Main Battle Tank (MBT), a nuclear power plant for a submarine, and an advanced Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), all involving expenditures of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The MBT project was launched in 1974. But the tank has failed to meet service requirement tests. It is reportedly too heavy and undependable to be used in combat operations. The Indian Army prefers imported Russian tanks over the indigenous MBTs and says it will use the MBTs for training, not operations.
The nuclear submarine project, launched 31 years ago, is not yet finished despite the almost $1 billion spent on it. The LCA project, launched in 1983, is still in the doldrums: the DRDO has failed to develop the right engine for it. Even with an imported engine, the plane is unlikely to enter service anytime soon.
“The primary reason for these shocking instances of underperformance and inability is lack of public accountability and oversight of the DRDO,” says M V Ramana, an independent technical expert attached to the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Environment and Development, Bangalore.
“The DRDO, like all of India’s defense and nuclear service establishments, is not subject to normal processes of audit. It has used ‘security’ as a smokescreen or shield and refused to be held to account,” he adds.
The DRDO says it will try to rectify the faults in Agni-III. Whether or not and whenever that happens, India’s missile development program, with future plans to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of 5,000 kilometers or more, has suffered a major setback.
packardWhy Indian Agni III & INSAT-4C failed? Is it sabotage?
MIL/IR, Jul 11, 2006. Sasi Sukumaran
New Delhi, Tuesday, July 11, 2006 – India has an estimated 200 nuclear warheads and she is further developing long-range missiles as a defence strategy against her neighbors China and Pakistan. But Agni III failed to take off on Sunday, with the maiden test firing of 3500 km and so is the case with Insat – 4C, which flopped on Monday.
India’s Agni III, having a range of 3,500 km, failed to clear its maiden test, 5 minutes after its launch; N-Capable Missile fell into sea barely 1,000 km away. The question arises that its first launch of lifting it to 12 km was perfect but why it lost its height as second stage.
Its test was first set in 2003 but that ran into some technical snag. In 2005, the launch was deferred keeping in mind the sensitivities involving India-US nuclear deal.
A day after Agni III crashed into the Bay of Bengal, a rocket carrying India’s heaviest communication satellite so far, Insat – 4C, lifted off from Sriharikota at 5.38 pm but within a minute, it veered from its trajectory, disintegrating into flaming components.
This cost of Insat – 4C worked out to be Rs. 96 + 160 crore, including the cost of the delivery vehicle, a multi-range rocket that was taking it to its geo-synchronous orbit.
Who is to blame for Insat – 4 C?
ISRO Chief G. Madhavan Nair blamed the failure on a strap-on motor, which helps scientists on the ground steer the rocket and that made the rocket to go out of control. Scientists press a destruct button so that it might not fail on a populated area.
The failures suggest clear sabotage somewhere for which Madhavan Nair has said that sabotage would be investigated.
According to Dr. Raj Baldev, Cosmo Theorist from India, whose comments are given below:
“This sabotage is evident. If Insat – 4C had been successful and become operational, it would have boosted India’s direct-to-home TV service and news-gathering capabilities for 10 years thereby enabling India to earn millions of dollars by launching satellites of other nations.
Dr. Raj Baldev said, “It is a clear sabotage; enemy is stronger in intelligence commanding some one within our scientists and misdirecting the assembly program. This failure is caused by sabotage and has lowered the image of India who was planning to put unmanned mission to the Moon on one hand and trying to develop a proper delivery system for nuclear weapons on the other; both programs have gone with the winds for the time being?”
“Our security does not seem to be up to the mark anywhere. Even security breach on PM’s special flight was detected. The missing bottles of whisky could be anything, it could have been a negative device placed inside the board, but fortunately it did not happen,”Dr. Raj Baldev said.
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