JaiDassault Aviation will not take stake in EADS
PARIS (AFX) – Charles Edelstenne, chief executive of Dassault Aviation, said his company will not become a shareholder in the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) and is not interested in acquiring the 15 pct stake currently held by Lagardere SCA.
Edelstenne also said Dassault Aviation will not bid for an order for 126 fighter planes from the India’s Air Force, even though Dassault had been in talks for the past several years to sell India its Mirage 2000 jets.
He said the government’s decision to open a bidding process for the plane order, and worries that the contract will be delayed for several years, generated too much uncertainty for Dassault to re-start Mirage production, which has been suspended since 2002.
‘I have therefore taken the decision not to respond’ to the government’s call for tenders, Edelstenne said, though he added that Dassault could propose its Rafale range of fighters to the Indian government, once the tender has officially been opened.
Dassault hopes the Rafale fighter will capture 13-15 pct of the market for air force fleet renewals, excluding France, across the world over the next few years, a potential market of some 5,000 planes.
‘These past years, our market share has been 13-15 pct. So we think Rafale exports could represent one plane for every seven renewals, or about 350 planes,’ Edelstenne said.
JaiOriginally posted by Vick @ BRF. Posting the excerpts.
Israel, India pursue advanced Barak missile system
Jane’s Missiles and Rockets
Richard Scott and Rahul Bedi
Israel and India are to collaborate on the development of a next-generation Barak (‘Lightning’) shipborne area air-defence missile system, sources in Tel Aviv and New Delhi have confirmed.
The Israel Navy plans to acquire a long-range air warfare capability for which it has studied an evolved Barak system – known as Barak-8 – alongside the Standard Missile SM-2 Block III. “We have now made our choice to proceed with the Barak-8,” a senior naval source told JNI in early February.
Although adopting an aerodynamic configuration essentially similar to the earlier Barak-1, the extended range Barak-8 active radar homing missile will be approximately 4.5 m in length (twice the size of Barak-1) and will have a maximum range of 70-80 km. “Barak-1 is capable of intercepting incoming missiles at close range,” said the source. “With Barak-8, we want to be able to take out surveillance aircraft or the launch platform before it has released its weapons.”
According to the Israel Navy, Barak-8 will be compatible with the Lockheed Martin Mk 41 tactical-length vertical-launcher system. After launch, the missile will initially receive mid-course guidance updates from an E/F-band multifunction radar, with Elta’s new EL/M-2248 MF-STAR active phased array radar understood to be the preferred solution. During the terminal phase, the missile will fire a second motor and fire up its active radar seeker to home onto the target.
JaiEyrie is also a PESA.
Most references point to PS-890 being an AESA. For example :
JaiPutting the invisible warriors together
MAZAGON DOCK, R-DAY EVE: At 4,800 tonnes and with exhaust from engines generating 500 times your car’s horsepower, this hulk is an odd candidate for unobtrusiveness.
Still, that is precisely the frigate Sahyadri’s distinguishing trait. She’s a warship that can creep up, hushed, on an enemy submarine, release an accurately-aimed torpedo and turn tail at a zippy 30 knots—the Sahyadri is a stealth warship.
And catching up with the elite club of US, French, Swedish and Russian navies’ stealth researchers are the 6,000-odd riggers, welders, electricians and engineers who’re building the Sahyadri and her sisters Shivalik and Satpura docked in the nearby wet basin at the Mazagon Dock Ltd, a 200-year-old shipbuilding yard at Mumbai’s Dockyard Road.
Not yet, but under P17—Project 17, okayed by the government in 1997 and production on since 2001—the Shivalik class will be the first indigenously conceptualised and executed stealth fleet of the Indian Navy.
So, while they’re no Swedish Visby or French Lafayette, the Shivalik class frigates will be a smaller, much more indistinct—for some time, invisible—blip on an enemy radar thanks to special radar-absorbent coats. Also, starting 7 am every day, teams of welders work on executing design alterations without compromising the smooth edges. Alert CISF jawans won’t allow visitors inside, but missile-launching systems are fully retractable—smooth edges means lower radar reflectivity. ‘‘The enemy now has to be a good deal closer to pick you up on his radar,’’ Krishnan explains affably. ‘‘That’s the advantage zone, since you can strike before being spotted.’’
Teams of engineers chalked out detailed working drawings based on designs prepared by the Naval Design Bureau with Russian collaboration—the Russians delivered three stealth warships of the Talwar class in 2002-04—using the Tribon software, which allows 2D drawings to be used as backdrop references for modelling 3D steel structures, placing of equipment, routing of pipes etc.
By the time the ships are ready, noise and vibration-proof mounts for gearboxes and other machinery will soak up acoustic signatures, electric coils running through the interior will reduce magnetic signature of the steel hull by creating an opposite magnetic field. Thermal signature will be significantly reduced through infrared suppression tools, exhaust-cooling and specially designed funnels.
Field Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Naval Command Vice Admiral Madanjit Singh calls it a huge technological challenge, one that presents itself to every Naval employee as he learns to operate the newfangled equipment. ‘‘But the most important thing is the reduced number of people you require to operate such a ship—25 to 30 per cent less, since everything is automated.’’
With neighbours having recorded signals of practically every Indian ship (Krishnan says enemies can conduct a vibration analysis of a ship and through an elimination procedure, say with reasonable accuracy, that a particular ship is, say, the INS Talwar) stealth provides an advantage, however small.The ships are fitted with a mix of Indian, Russian and Western weaponry systems—surface-to-air missiles, surface-to-surface missiles, torpedoes, anti-submarine rockets, anti-aircraft guns, sonars and radars.
‘‘These are warships that will be serving for the next 30 years after they’re launched,’’ says Singh. ‘‘So they’re designed to incorporate midlife upgrades.’’ He adds that the Navy hopes to build at least six to eight ships of this class and since costs have risen, each year’s delay is a further setback.
Sail to stealth club begins
• The P-17, India’s most prestigious naval project for now, is an order for three indigenous stealth frigates, at a total cost of over Rs 3,000 crore.
• All three, the Shivalik, Satpura and the Sahyadri, are docked at Mazagon Dock Ltd’s shipbuilding yard. Having been launched—traditionally, the launch is a significant milestone in shipbuilding, though modern warships see nearly two-thirds of their fitting after launch—in 2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively, all three would have been delivered for trials and commissioning to the Indian Navy in the next three or four years
• Fifty per cent of the Shivalik’s fitting out is done, including the youngest generation of weaponry
JaiLand-based BRAHMOS Testing in full swing: Pillai
VISAKHAPATNAM: BRAHMOS Aerospace, a Indo-Russian joint venture was now extensively testing the Army version of surface-to-surface missiles.
Talking to newspersons here, BRAHMOS CEO and MD Sivathanu Pillai said the company is now engaged in testing and manufacturing BRAHMOS missiles that can be deployed in Indian Army. The deployment was likely to take place soon, he said.
He said the task of induction of BRAHMOS into the Indian Army had been challenging as it called for various types of war heads compared to those launched from the sea. There was a sea of difference in guidance system and platform of the two versions of the missile.
“The Army version calls for different types of warheads to be used on different targets like Army concentration, hard targets like buildings or expansive targets like an air base,” he said.
The induction of anti-ship version of BRAHMOS developed for the Indian Navy had already begin and several naval warships were already carrying such missiles.
JaiThrust of Future Aircraft Engine Based on RD-33 to Be Increased to 10 Tonnes
The general director of OAO Moscow V.V. Chernyshev Machine Building Enterprise (MMP Chernyshev), Aleksandr Novikov, has reported to an AviaPort.RU correspondent that right now the developer of aircraft engines for MiG airplanes, FGUP Klimov Plant (St. Peterburg) is carrying out work on a further increase of the thrust of an engine based on the RD-33 to the 10-tonne level.
He also noted that RD-33MK engines of the next modification will be installed on the ship-borne MiG-29K/KUB fighters, delivery of which is planned for 2007 – 2009 to India, with an increase in thrust to 9 tonnes instead of the 8.3 tonnes of the basic engine and with increased service life and reliability.
JaiINS Kadamba – Sea Bird to be Functional from End-2006
Mangalore, Dec 20: “The first phase of the INS Kadamba (Sea Bird) naval base at Karwar in Uttara Kannada district will be over by the year 2006. With this Sea Bird will start functioning at its full strength,” said Naval officer in-charge of INS Kadamba Commodore K P Ramchandran.
“Already “INS Aditya” has been shifted to Karwar from Mumbai and “INS Nirdeshak” will soon be shifted too. The completion work of INS Kadamba will be carried out in 3 phases. Once the first phase is completed, 50 ships will be shifted to INS Kadamba from Mumbai naval base,” he said.
As reported earlier ‘Ship Lifting’ facility for dry-docking of the ship has been installed at INS Kadamba for the first time in the country. The ship lift is capable of lifting up to 10,000 tones and measures 175 meters in length. Moreover, aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, to be imported from Russia can only operated at Karwar based INS Kadamba naval base.
JaiRussia begins trials of Sea Wasp engine for Indian navy
Moscow, Dec. 19 (PTI): Russia today began bench trials of a new jet engine being developed for deck-based fighters for the Indian Navy under ‘Admiral Gorshkov’ aircraft carrier deal. ‘Sea Wasp’ engine, being developed by St. Petersburg-based Klimov plant for the Indian version of deck-based MiG-29K fighters, is an upgraded version of RD-33 engine used in earlier MiG-29 jets.
“It has greater thrust and capability to work in all environments including harsh tropical conditions at sea,” MiG corporation spokesperson Elena Fyodorova, said. Klimov plant is part of the Russian Aircraft Corporation (RAC) MiG.
“The work on the development of the engine for Indian naval jets is moving ahead of schedule by three months,” Fyodorova said.
Under the Gorshkov aircraft carrier deal, India is to buy two squadrons of MiG-29K, with an option of buying total 60 fighters to be later deployed on indigenous aircraft carrier being built under the Air Defence Ship (ADS) project.
JaiIndia, Russia to develop aircraft version of BrahMos missile
“Development for the aircraft version is a new initiative, which was not originally contemplated. Towards that we have added $50 million in the company as investment from both India and Russia,” CEO and MD of BrahMos Aerospace A Sivathanu Pillai told PTI in Bangalore Friday.
Pillai said the Indian Air Force would integrate the missile with Sukhoi-30 fighters. “We have now completed the feasibility study for integrating the BrahMos with Sukhoi-30 for air force. They ( The Russians ) have accepted the report and now we are in the process of making certain changes in the missile, which will suit its integration with the Sukhoi and 2007 is the target date for flying in the aircraft,” he said.
“We are going to do some more trials to meet the various requirements of the army against land targets. Once that process is over, the army would also induct the system,” he said.
According to Pillai, the Russian government, as a joint venture partner, would install the system on their ships.
“We are working out as to how to do it,” he said.
Essentially an anti-ship missile, BrahMos has a striking range of 290 km. “We have to restrict the range being a player at the international (level) now. If you want to sell the product outside (overseas), you have to follow certain conditions. That’s why we have restricted the range,” Pillai said.
“We are addressing various countries, which are friendly with us, by conducting various exhibitions and interacting with their defence ministries and at the government-to-government level,” he said.
According to Pillai, there are some countries who think the system is good, but are reluctant to buy it since India is not a big player in arms sales so far. Pillai said the cost of the BrahMos missile depends on its platform, configuration and application. “We have not finalised the cost as a standard module,” he said.
JaiJaiDefence ties with Moscow will remain robust: Pranab
India and Russia will discuss classified issues including a review of the production capability of the BrahMos cruise missile. Both sides are interested in ramping up production to 400 missiles each year and have already committed funds.
JaiPentagon OKs military planes’ lease to India
Washington, November 15: The US Defense Department on Monday told Congress it approved the sale to India of logistics support worth $133 million for two Lockheed Martin Corp. P-3C reconnaissance aircraft it plans to lease.
The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the logistics support includes training devices, operations and maintenance training, as well as spare parts.
Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed would be the prime contractor, which DSCA said would help improve India’s security, while at the same time strengthening the US-India strategic partnership.
Congress has 30 days to block the proposed sale, although such action is rare.
DSCA spokesman Jose Ibarra said the notification did not include the leasing of the actual Lockheed P-3C Orion aircraft and had no immediate details on that part of the deal.
The Pentagon said the two leased P-3Cs would replace two existing Indian Navy patrol aircraft, Soviet-built IL-38 Mays, which were quickly reaching the end of their operational life.
“To maintain security, it is necessary that India replace these fixed-wing aircraft with an airborne operational capability for land-based maritime patrol and reconnaissance,” DSCA said in a statement.
Lockheed officials in February first announced the company was in talks to sell up to 12 P-3Cs to the Indian navy. The company had no immediate comment on Monday’s news.
Pakistan, announced in August it had acquired eight P-3Cs from the United States, which would help boost its naval capabilities.
JaiTesting of Air Launched version of BrahMos
Russia flies in missile components for trials
After the successful trials of the ship-launched and land-to-land versions of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, India and Russia now aim to try out air-launched and submarine-launched variants of the missile.
A Russian airforce transport aircraft flew directly from a Russian airbase to the Bhubaneswar airport on Friday to unload “sensitive cargo” relating to the new variants of the BrahMos missile. The cargo carried in two trailers, which left for the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur accompanied by police escorts and a fire tender.
“We are now focussing on the air-launched version which would be integrated with Sukhoi MKI (Mark India) multi-role fighter aircraft and submarine-launched version,” sources said.
JaiPF naval squadron to set out on cruise to Indian Ocean
VLADIVOSTOK, September 20 (Itar-Tass) – A naval squadron of Russia’s Pacific Fleet (PF) under the command of Vice-Admiral Sergei Avramenko, PF Deputy Commander, sets out on a long-distance cruise to the Indian Ocean on Tuesday.
The squadron consists of the large anti-submarine ships Admiral Tributs and Admiral Panteleyev, the PF flagship – guided-missile cruiser Varyag, the intermediate sea-going tanker Pechenga, and the tugboat Kalar.
The Russian ships will first arrive at the Indian port of Vishakhapatnam on October 14. Large-scale joint Russo-Indian exercises Indra-2005 will be held in the Indian Ocean from October 17 to19.
JaiBrahMos missile enters production this month
India expects to enhance its long-range strike abilities with the PJ-10 BrahMos cruise missile, jointly developed by India and Russia.
According to sources in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the programme of modifications of the BrahMos for fitting it on the Su-30 combat jets used by both the countries has commenced.
The modified design of BrahMos will be lighter than the current missile, the sources added but did not disclose the exact modifications or weight of the missile which could be fitted-in on Su-30.
According to sources of the Russian collaborating company, Mashinostroyenie, “The BrahMos missile has successfully completed its test, and the first customer is the Indian navy. Serial manufacture has begun in both Russia and India. The initial batch of BrahMos missiles will number approximately 70.” The BrahMos basic model is anti-ship but it could also be adapted for use against land targets. It could also be adapted for airborne platforms, the sources said.
Mashinostroyenie designed the missile and its propulsion system, all-important software and the guidance system is designed by Indian counterpart – DRDO.
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