Crossposting from BRF

Russian nuclear death sub ‘was due for delivery to India’

The Governor of Khabarovsk region, Viktor Ishayev, disclosed that the Nerpa had been testing an automated system that differed from previous models. “The system must be modified. If there is any threat to human lives, the system should not turn on automatically,” he said.

There was speculation that the tragedy could have been caused by something as simple as a cigarette being lit while the vessel was underwater. The Nerpa had 208 people on board, three times its normal crew of 73.

Only 81 were navy personnel and the rest were civilian engineers from the Bolshoi Kamen shipyard that built the submarine. Seventeen of the dead were civilians, prompting claims that they either lacked the necessary safety masks or did not know how to use them in an emergency.

I respectfully doubt that………..If, Russian continues the conflict with Georgia. India will have little choice but to distance itself from the former Evil Empire!

Are you serious ?

Oh nevermind, you started this thread, which means you do believe in what you just said, but seriously it couldn’t be farther from the truth. I was extremely surprised when I saw the title of this thread since India doesn’t have much to do with the Georgia / Russia conflict and the ‘conflict’ is hardly any reason for India to distance it from your favourite Evil Empire.

And the statement

“India will have little choice but to distance itself from the former Evil Empire”

sounds so much like the famous “with us or without us” and what it does is to add entertainment value to the thread for sure.

This post would be incomplete without me posting this well-known icon which someone here likes to use often.

😀

I take it the Su-30’s will have their radars limited again?
The article states its more about North Korea, but the fact that India are involved kind of suggests that it could be china focussed (with India worried about CHinese actions on their northern borders). And odd’s on, the chinese miliatary/ security services are probably overwhelmed by the Olympics, making it more difficult for them to snoop.

It has been reported that the Sukhois have their radars removed, rather than restricted. 🙂

Why some much hate and bitterness in Modern Military forum?

Must be the gas prices !

Russian overflight of US warship ‘benign’: US Navy chief

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The chief of the US Navy said Tuesday an overflight of a US aircraft carrier by a Russian bomber off Japan was “benign” and unprovocative, adding that US crew were not called to combat stations.

Admiral Gary Roughead said he had not asked Moscow for an explanation, but offered one of his own: the Russian military is trying to re-emerge as a global force.

“But I did not consider it to be provocative,” he said of Saturday’s overflight of the USS Nimitz in the western Pacific.

“And, again, the way that our forces responded, our commanders responded, the performance of our systems was exactly what we expected,” he added.

One of the bombers overflew the Nimitz at an altitude of 2,000 feet (600 meters), he told reporters at the Pentagon.

Roughead acknowledged that even during the Cold War US forces rarely overflew Russian warships.

But he said the flight of two TU-95 Bear bombers was detected early and alert aircraft were launched in a timely manner.

“The fact that we had such early detection, that we were able to launch our alerts in a very timely way, and when our airplanes joined up on the bombers, it was a very benign flight that came through, and we just latched onto them and followed them on in,” he said.

“You know, it’s not prudent to fly over an aircraft carrier,” he said at another point. “But our situational awareness is such that, as I said, we had good detection, followed them in, and, in my mind, it’s not something to go to general quarters over.”

Roughead said the incident did not cause the Nimitz to go to general quarters — a call for a ship’s crew to combat stations.

US defense officials said four F-18 fighters intercepted the Russian bombers and escorted them until they had left the area.

Two other TU-95 bombers were intercepted earlier the same day by Japanese F-15 fighters.

Japan issued what it said was a strong protest with Moscow, which denied that its aircraft had ventured into Japanese airspace.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates met the day after the Nimitz incident with Russian Deputy Premier Sergei Ivanov in Munich, but did not raise it in their talks, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.

“Any expressions of concern will probably be carried out through military-to-military quote ‘diplomatic channels,'” but the State Department did not “at this point intend to do anything on behalf of the Department of Defense,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

The Russians have decided to resume “some of their long-range aviation flights” using material left over from the Cold War and were keeping “them in good, working order,” McCormack said

“But beyond that, I don’t think we view it as a particular threat. It is something that we watch, it is something that we watch closely,” he said.

Hello Scorpion,

Do you have a source for that information ? Thanks.

Rockwell Collins to set up engineering centre in Hyderabad

NEW DELHI: Drawn by the Indian talent, US-based aerospace and defence technology solutions provider Rockwell Collins is setting up an engineering centre, the first of its kind outside its headquarters, with an aim to shift a part of its global development here.

“The decision to enter India has been motivated by access to high quality engineering talent, besides the cost savings,” Rockwell Collins Vice-President Global Technology Raj K Aggarwal said.

He said the company’s engineering centre at Hyderabad, which would be operational in October this year, would start with a strength of 20 engineers

“In five years’ time, we plan to increase the number to 500, and initially we will be focusing on displays development and flight management assistance products,” he added.

Besides, the company is also looking for more defence supply, he said, adding that it has already put in a bid for supplying radio for ground communication for the Indian Air Force. “It is currently being evaluated,” he added.

posted on http://bobhenneman.info/forum/index.php

So, is this true?

Could be. Earlier this month it has been reported that an Indian team was sent to Russia to re-negotiate the deal. Perhaps Bob could throw more light on his sources.

Centre to reopen Russia ship deal

New Delhi, Feb. 1: The government has decided to open a Pandora’s box on defence deals by re-negotiating the price of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, three years after it was contracted for $974 million.

The decision to rework the Gorshkov contract, overruling objections from the navy, could have a cascading impact on other military hardware being procured by India’s defence establishment.

There are $14 billion dollars worth of military equipment that India is ordering from or negotiating with Russia alone. It casts doubt on the sanctity of the contract itself.

Defence secretary Vijay Singh is to lead a team of naval officials to the Sevmash shipyard in Russia later this month where tardy work on the carrier has upset its delivery schedule.

“Earlier price negotiations were very sketchy. They (the negotiators) did not anticipate the problems. Once the price is re-negotiated the new proposal will go to the cabinet again for approval,” a defence ministry source said here today.

Re-negotiating the deal means a tacit admission by Delhi that the Russian demand for a higher price is at least partly justified. It largely invalidates the commercial contract to buy the Gorshkov signed in 2004 when George Fernandes was defence minister.

The chief of naval staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, had feared this possibility and spoken out against reworking contracts after the Russians raised a demand for an additional $1.2 million for the 44,500-tonne ship, re-christened the INS Vikramaditya.

India cannot afford to pull out of the deal right away as it has paid up nearly 60 per cent of the contracted amount.

The ministry source said Singh would be escorted to the shipyard and given a physical count of the number of workers employed for the ship.