uh whatever you say, now get out of this news thread.

Frontal photo of Saras.

http://specials.rediff.com/news/2004/aug/23slid2.jpg

the US offered second-hand or block30ish F16 which was promptly
rejected. E2 was never on agenda.

Israel currently lacks a new-age BVR project. perhaps the name is
misleading and like Erez says could be a new BVR missile with secondary high energy WVR abilities. the IIR mode should permit the radar seeker to be switched off once target is acquired or used intermittently which will make countermeasures more difficult.

http://www.hindu.com/2004/08/22/stories/2004082201371100.htm

Navy one up in war games

NEW DELHI, AUG. 21. As the Indian Navy starts preparing for the next round of joint exercises with the U.S. Navy, comes the news that its detection unit was more successful in war games conducted at the previous `Malabar’ series of exercises off the western coast.

The Indian Navy team spotted the noiseless American nuclear submarine more often than the visiting team during anti-submarine warfare exercises.

This is not the first time that the Indian armed services have bested their western counterparts. In 2002, Indian Army special forces dethroned defending champion South Africa and beat among others, the special air service (SAS) troopers from the United Kingdom and the American Rangers in an endurance and tactical competition held in Botswana.

And earlier this year, the Indian Air Force (IAF) beat the U.S. Air Force during mock battles with IAF fighters at Gwalior. Global aviation journals reported the “poor showing” by U.S. F-15 C fighters during “dissimilar air combat training” with IAF’s Sukhoi fighters.

Naval officials were modest about this distinction which came about even though India does not have a nuclear submarine and its first and last tryst with it ended over a decade ago after the three-year lease for a Soviet submarine expired.

“We are more familiar with the waters here whether it is in terms of composition (muddy) or the variations in depth,” said an official downplaying the better showing by the Indian team. Senior officials are not sure at this stage if the Americans will again bring a nuclear submarine.

But they agree that frequent exercises with western navies have made them more combat-ready and helped sort out friction on the high seas caused by the presence of a large number of warships from the `coalition against terror’ nations since October 2001.

Understanding

As the Indian Ocean began getting overcrowded with the beginning of operations in Afghanistan and later against Iraq, both sides felt there was interference in operations by the other side.

But this `mutual interference’ has since been minimised and both sides have “come to a degree of understanding. We have accepted their presence and they have also acknowledged that the Indian Navy needs to operate in the Indian Ocean,” observes the Chief of Naval Staff, Arun Prakash.

The Indian Navy’s ability to match skills with bigger counterparts has been noticed by other countries.

Mozambique requisitioned Indian Navy ships to guard the coast during a summit of African nations, and recently Malaysia has asked whether it would conduct security patrols in the piracy-prone seas in its zone of influence.

Three countries have also asked whether the Indian Navy will sanitise the narrow Malacca Straits through which 50,000 high-value cargo-carrying ships pass annually.

the IMI trajectory correction system to be used in india’s pinaka MLRS
system ( photo here: http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_417.shtml )

has undergone successful induction trials on the IDF MLRS systems.
excerpts from a JDW report:

Test success for Israeli rocket guidance system

ALON BEN-DAVID JDW Correspondent
Tel Aviv

Israel Military Industries (IMI), along with subcontractor Elisra
Electronic
Systems, has successfully concluded firing tests of its Trajectory
Correction System (TCS) munition for the Lockheed Martin 227mm Multiple
Launch Rocket System (MLRS), according to IMI.

During the 10 August test, conducted at a range of 33km, “all six
rockets
fired scored a direct hit on their targets, proving zero CEP [circular
error
of probability]”, IMI chairman Arie Mizrachi told JDW. “It was a huge
success, exceeding all our expectations,” he added.

Following completion of tests, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) will
begin
deploying TCS rounds, which are planned to replace the IDF’s entire
standard
MLRS munitions. “The system affords the IDF an extended accurate arm,”
said
Israel’s minister of defence, Shaul Mofaz.

……

“The TCS provides the MLRS rockets with missile-like accuracy for the
cost
of a rocket,” said Mizrachi. “While an MLRS standard rocket costs
$40,000,
the TCS add-on kit will cost only an additional $30,000, but will
enable a
decrease of 90% in the number of rockets required to neutralise a
target.
Two TCS guided rockets will achieve the same results as 18 unguided
ones,”
he said.

The TCS is based on a terrestrial position-locating system that tracks
the
rocket and sends signals to the rocket’s electronic unit. The rocket’s
add-on kit also comprises a navigation device that corrects the flight
path
of the rocket according to the signal received from the ground control
unit.
Navigation is conducted through control of the thrust vectors during
the
rocket’s steering phase. According to IMI, the TCS is capable of
tracking
and guiding eight rockets simultaneously. The declared range of the TCS
is
35km, but is believed to be above 40km.

When Israel obtained 64 MLRS units from the US in 1994-95, it had
insisted
on permission develop a guidance system for the rockets.
…….

JDW has learned that IMI is offering the system to foreign customers,
some
of which attended the recent test. IMI would not disclose the identity
of
the potential customers, but an IMI source said that “some of them were
interested in TCS for their MLRS and others are seeking to install the
TCS
on different rockets” 😉 .

…….