RayRSri Lanka denies radar system was deficient
B. Muralidhar Reddy
COLOMBO: After maintaining silence for over a day on a report that a radar system gifted by India had failed to detect the Tiger aircraft that targeted the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) base near Colombo on Monday, Sri Lanka on Thursday said the report was “wrong.”
Information Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa was initially reluctant to answer a question on the banner-headline report in the Colombo-based English daily The Island, on the plea that investigations were in progress on the matter.
Asked why the Government was not ready to confirm or deny a report that suggested that Sri Lankan air space was not safe pending the installation of a new radar system, the Minister said: “We have never said so. Now I am saying, the report is wrong.”
RayRSimply put, we have not heard the SL Govt. officially say something like “Indian RADAR did not work”. Its actually quite silent about the issue. Just shouting LTTE terrorism blah, blah, blah! RADAR malfunction thing is coming from other people, unofficial channels, etc, etc.
Is Upali group anti-govt? Its certainly Non-Govt. Lets say, like an opposition party but a reasonable one. Neutral or such. On the other hand the Lasantha Wickramatunga and the Sunday Leader is extremely Anti-Govt, particularly if the Govt. is not a UNP Govt.
But, I honestly don’t know what happen. Don’t think I’ll ever know exactly, what happen. Was it RADAR malfunction? Well certainly could be and it could have happened for many reasons. Poor maintenance could be one. Did they actually turn off the RADAR for some reason? Certainly not impossible. Stupidity/ignorance/incompetence? Small story: 2001 attack on the International Air-port & Air-Force base; Citizens around the area had complained of an unidentified bus parked near by. They promptly informed the police, but they said “must be tourist :rolleyes: “. We all know what happened after that. So yeah, thats certainly a possibility!
I agree and yes it will be difficult to know what exactly happened.Also the LTTE could have had a flight plan to specifically evade the radar.Anyway thanks for all that.:)
RayRIf there’s an enemy attack and the civilian radar picked up the inbound aircraft but not the military radar for whatever reason, who is to blame?
The military.
If it were turned off, it was turned off because?
They werent expecting an air attack is my guess.
People actually saw the LTTE plane coming and yet the radar cannot be made usable.
What is the relationship between people seeing the plane coming and reparing of the radar?:confused:
No matter how you slice it, it’s bad piece of equipment.
See this is where you are trying to flame.I am not very surprised though.I wont accept your bait.
Anycase all the comments and newspaper reports seems very surprising,because quite a lot of number of Indra II radars are used by the IAF and knowing the exacting standards of the IAF,I cannot accept that the radars have any problem.
As for the malfunction part or being switched off part,its very natural.There isnt any piece of equipment on the face of this earth which doesnt malfunction.
I guess the Israelis also should replace the barak on their corvettes if they dont want to be hit again by silkworms!
RayRWhere did the SL Govt. say that? No such comment on the official Govt. news papers.
Divaina & the English counterpart The Island belongs to the Upali Group and NOT the SL Govt.
hello hyperwarp,thanks for that information.But I am thinkin that the papers wont say”We are looking for a scapegoat”.
btw..is the Upali group anti-govt?
RayRSanction on paper is one thing, in specific the project only took off in 1990-92. Simple reason- funds!!
Ask anyone who was involved in the project, paper project definition etc apart- the real work began in the 90’s, when the money came in…and stalled for well nigh 3-5 years when the money ran out!! :rolleyes: 😎
Not to forget the years of sanctions in between.And much of the work done before the sanctions was lost irretrieveably.
RayRRafale,EF or the Mig-35 126 pieces please.
Thanks.
Do you accept payment by check?
😉
RayRRussia Offers Project 22 350 Frigate to Indian Navy
Dated 29/3/2007
Russia has offered India the export version of its new Project 22 350 frigate as part of a tender for the construction of seven ships.
Only one ship of that project has been laid so far. That one was begun in February 2006 at the Northern Wharf.
According to the Indian press, proposals to participate in the tender were sent to European, American and Russian wharves at the end of last year.
The Indian program is worth $6.6 billion and foresees the construction of one ship in a foreign wharf and six ships in India under license. Between 1998 and 2003, Russia built three 1135.6 frigates for India.
The Indians have begun the construction of three of their own Project 17 frigates at the Mazagon wharves.
Those ships were designed in conjunction with the Russian Northern Design and Construction Bureau and the Canadian CAE based on the Project 1135.6. Up to 12 more of improved Project 17A model may be built as well.
RayRINDIAN NAVY ENGAGES US AND RUSSIA AWAY FROM HOME
19:2 IST
Ships of the Eastern Fleet, under the command of the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, Rear Admiral R K Dhowan, are presently on an ‘Overseas Deployment’ (OSD) to the South-east and East-Asian regions. The group consists of the guided-missile destroyers Mysore, Rana, and Ranjit, the guided-missile corvette Kuthar, and, the fleet tanker Jyoti.During the two-month deployment, from 18 March to 23 May 07, the ships are scheduled to effect port-calls at a number of ports, spreading the message of goodwill, presenting a microcosmic mosaic of India in every facet – from the sociological to the technological, and, building bridges of friendship across the seas that make every littoral state a neighbour of India. The scheduled ports of call include Singapore and Yokosuka (which is located at the entrance of Tokyo Bay, in Japan). The port call at Yokosuka is particularly significant as it is a major event in the ongoing celebrations of ‘2007’ as the ‘India-Japan Friendship Year’). No less important are the port-calls at Qingdao (which is located on the southern coast of the Shandong peninsula of China, bordering the Yellow Sea) and Vladivostok (located on the Sea of Japan, some 100 km east of the Russo-Chinese border – the name itself means “Lord of the East”). Also of significance are port-calls at Ho Chi Minh city (located near the Mekong river delta in Vietnam and earlier known as Saigon), and, Manila (capital of the Philippines).
The deployment as a whole is an intrinsic part of the ongoing effort at ‘constructive engagement’ within the maritime field, being undertaken by the Indian Navy in concert with other instruments and mechanisms of the nation’s diplomacy. The port-calls and the opportunities to engage and exercise with the navies of the regions would enable the Indian Navy to gain and share operational and doctrinal expertise, transformational experiences, examine and imbibe ‘best-practices’, promote interoperability, and, enhance ‘maritime domain awareness’, – all of which are areas that the Indian Navy lays especial emphasis upon.
The first of the exercises to be undertaken during the current deployment is the 2007 edition of the bilateral exercise ‘SIMBEX’, which are a regular feature of the operational interaction between the Indian Navy and the Navy of the Republic of Singapore, and, which involves both, harbour and sea-going segments. This year, the first phase of exercise ”SIMBEX’ was conducted in and off Port Blair, while the second phase has just concluded at and off Singapore, from 22 to 28 Mar 07.
The next on the agenda is the 2007 edition of the annual exercise between the Indian and the US navies, which bears the generic name ‘MALABAR’. ‘MALABAR CY-07’ (the acronym ‘CY’ stands for ‘calendar year’) will also be undertaken in two phases, with the first phase being with units of the USA’s Pacific Command and conducted off the Japanese island of Okinawa (- which is the largest in Japan’s Ryukyu chain of islands that stretch well south of the four main islands of that country), from 06 to 11 Apr 07. When and where the second phase of ‘Malabar-CY 07’ will take place is still under examination.
The Eastern Fleet commander will then split his forces. One group of two destroyers will proceed to Qingdao from 12-16 Apr 07, where they will, on 17 April, exercise with units of the navy of the People’s Republic of China. The remaining ships will, on 17 Apr 07 itself, undertake a daylong trilateral exercise, off Yokosuka, with units of the ‘Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force’ (JMSDF) and the US navy.
The Indian naval force will consolidate itself thereafter and proceed to Vladivostok, where they will engage in the harbour phase (22 to 24 Apr 07) and, later, the sea-going phase (24 to 26 Apr 07) of the biennial exercise ‘Indra-2007’, involving units of the Russian Navy. During the return leg of the deployment, once the fleet-units are off the Philippines, they will once again split into two groups, with one group engaging in ‘passage-exercises’ with units of the navy of the Philippines, and the other, engaging units of the navy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in similar passage exercises.
Two ships of the fleet will thereafter proceed to Singapore to participate in the 2007 edition of the prestigious ‘International Maritime Defence Exhibition’ (IMDEX) hosted every two years by that country. INS Mysore and Kuthar would participate in ‘IMDEX’ at Singapore from 15 to 19 May 07. This would provide us with an opportunity to showcase our ship building capability through these indigenously designed and built ships, as also our ability to align and keep pace with the rapid technological advancements in the field of military hardware and systems. The Chief of the Naval Staff will, himself be present for the event, as will his counterparts from as many as twenty-two countries. IMDEX-2007 will be followed by a passage-exercise involving all participating navies and our ships will be representing our country in this activity as well. The final operational engagement will be a bilateral passage-exercise with ships of the ‘Royal New Zealand Navy‘, before the deployment draws to a close at Port Blair, from where ships will resume their normal in-country activities.
The Indian Navy ships proceeding on the overseas deployment are, as always, equipped to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief at short notice, if required. This stems from our experience of the past, wherein our ships, while on overseas deployments, have had to be diverted to render assistance. In 2006, for example, such short-notice assistance was called-for and provided to Indonesia (in the aftermath of the Yogyakarta earthquake) and was also in evidence during the non-combatant evacuation operations (Op Sukoon) undertaken in respect of a number of nationals, who were safely moved from the war-ravaged port of Beirut to Cyprus, during the Israeli action in Lebanon.
RayRThe IAF’s MRCA contract: A three way shoot-out
Rajiv SinghGiven the spate of announcements regarding fresh procurements for a range of defence equipment by India’s defence services, the long pending request for proposal (RFP) for the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) 126 multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) order has now come strongly into the spotlight. The IAF had projected its requirement for these aircraft as far back as 2001. Six years later, with scores of fighter aircraft crashes and pilot deaths behind it, the service is still waiting for the RFP to be issued.
The high drama attending the recently concluded Aero India 2007 show, at Air Force Station Yelahanka, Bangalore, has also served to bring the issue into the public domain. It was indeed a unique experience for this country to find all the big guns of the global arms market making their anxiety about bagging the IAF contract so obvious.
A discerning observer would have been amused by the incredible variety of arms and systems that were now available for India’s asking. Nothing, it seemed, was taboo any more – for a ‘pariah’ nation that not so far back in time was struggling under sanctions imposed by these very same Western countries. Companies, and countries, tripped over themselves on a daily basis offering the very best of the goodies that they possibly could – AWACS, Patriot missiles, AEGIS, Eurofighter, AESA radar – nothing was sacrosanct anymore. All available, if only India should say yes.
Underpinning all the offers, however, was one overriding anxiety – the IAFs MRCA contract. The tender, possibly the most sought after in the global arms market today, is now set to become alive as the ministry of defence goes about preparing the RFP.Soon after the air show concluded, a media report, quoting sources, said that the ministry of defence was hastening to put the finishing touches to offset clauses in the RFP and that the revised RFP would be ready by March 31 this year, as promised by the defence minister. The revised RFP would be expected to emphasise lifecycle costs, air refueling capability as well as the aircraft’s long-range characteristics.
The contract itself is expected to be worth at least 😮 $11 billion over its lifetime.
A steady depletion …
The IAF’s demand for new fighters, to replace gradually eroding force levels, is not only one of long standing – a matter that would have merited concern in its own right – but the fact that the force has lost a large number of fighter pilots over the years has also added an urgency as well as an emotive tinge to the issue.
The MRCA also acquired an added edge with the US Government decision to sell 36 new F-16C/Ds to Pakistan. This fresh batch will add to the 40 F-16s originally supplied to Pakistan – 32 of which are still flying. For the first time, these new F-16s will also be equipped with beyond-visual-range (BVR) missiles.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has already phased out about half a dozen of its MiG series of combat squadrons in the past couple of years – the latest phase out being one of an MiG-23MF squadron in the second week of March this year. Consequently, the present strength of the IAF fighter squadrons is now down to about 30, down from 39, which was declared as a minimum requirement a couple of years ago by the then chief of air staff. A much smaller country, Pakistan, fields about 18 fighter squadrons, or about two thirds of what India has. Given China’s vastly expanded, and upgraded, capabilities on the other side of our frontiers, this is a tricky situation for the air force.
According to some estimates, the current ratio for fighter aircraft vis-Ã -vis Pakistan favours India by 1:2.17. If the Indian Air Force’s aged MiG fleet is discounted, the ratio comes down to 1:1.79. The crunch lies in the fact that the induction of 40 new F-16s by Pakistan will further reduce the ratio to 1:1.15. If you factor in China, which fields similar Su-30s (the MKK version) as the IAF, you can guess the predicament that the IAF finds itself in.
…but also an accretion
“While there is a lag in the procurements vis-Ã -vis the phasing out, it is not alarming,” says air chief marshal SP Tyagi. “The proposed compression of the delivery schedule of HAL-built Su-30MKI aircraft will help check the depletion. We also plan to procure additional squadrons of fighter aircraft. We are upgrading our older fleets to effectively utilise them over their remaining service life.”
The IAF has received Government sanction for an additional 40 Su-30MKI aircraft, over and above the numbers originally ordered for these aircraft, last year. Though no dates have been announced for their arrival it would appear that they would be put on a fast track delivery mode.
Delivery of the HAL assembled MKI versions will also be speeded up, with some reports suggesting that the numbers produced would be increased from eight per annum to 12. The number of MiG-21 BiS squadrons (upgraded versions) will be increased, while deliveries of the upgraded Darin II Jaguar ground attack jets by HAL have begun.
Induction of force multipliers like laser-guided and other precision guided munitions, standoff weapons, better radars and longer-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has also been speeded up.
The IAF is already operating six Il-78 Flight Refuelling Aircraft (FRAs), which extend the range and staying power of the SU-30MKIs, Mirage 2000s, Jaguars and MiG-29s. The pending induction of three Israeli Phalcon AWACs, mounted on Uzbek supplied IL-76 aircraft, starting later this year, are the other force multipliers.
Critically, as far as the MiG-21 ‘Flying Coffin’ controversy goes, the IAF would appear to have licked the problem. It reported no MiG-21 crashes for 2006 and now boasts of the lowest accident rates, at par with the best maintained air forces in the world.
In the running
A request for information (RFI) was sent out for four jets in 2004 – the Lockheed Martin’s F-16, the MiG-29OVT, the Dassault Mirage 2000-5 and the SAAB JAS-39 Gripen. The list subsequently expanded and now includes Boeing’s F/A-18 Hornet and the four-nation Eurofighter Typhoon. Dassault’s Rafale is a likely contender in place of the Mirage 2000-5, while the MiG-29 OVT has been replaced by the re-designated MiG-35.
The Europeans and the Russians have a presence of long standing in the country. If the Russians are banking on their long-standing relationship with the Indian armed forces, and the manifest capabilities of the MiG-35, to help them land the MRCA contract, then their long standing rivals, the US companies, are pinning their hopes on a freshly developed coziness in the relationship between the two countries to see them through. The US administration and companies have made their intentions to enter the strategically and commercially important Indian market very clear.
So, the face off for the MRCA contract is now between West European, Russian and the US companies – and by extension, the nations backing them. Converting, what at best had always been a two-pony race between European and Russian manufacturers, into a three way face off, with US companies now stepping in as the spoilers, could also be considered as a singular achievement for the Indian defence planners.
If arms deals provide technologically advanced nations the wherewithal to arm-twist client nations in times of crisis, the forthcoming Indian contract is making them sweat. Contracts as big as the IAF tender not only spell big money for companies but also translate into a lot of jobs for national economies and so it is not surprising that nations are throwing their weight behind ‘national’ companies. The arm-twisting can happen now – by India.
😉
By the time they sign on the dotted line, it is likely that these countries, and companies, would have given away enough to preempt any arm-twisting in the future. This would, of course, depend on the integrity and commitment of our defence planners. So far, as the game is playing itself out, the signs are good – but then, as they say, there is always many a slip between the lip and the cup.If the MRCA order should be issued now the new planes are expected to arrive only by 2010. A order starved MiG RAC, however, promises a shorter delivery schedule, for there are no backlogs for it to clear – it has no orders other than the 18 odd MiG-29K for the Indian Navy. It also says that the MiG-35 is ready for series production.
The cost estimates range from $6-11 billion (Rs265-485 billion) over the life of the contract.
More than the money, it may be the strategic value of the contract😎 – with India emerging as a likely super power – that competing nations may actually be hankering after.
RayRIt seems Sri Lanka had originally looked at a more advanced radar before agreeing to the India system under political pressure.
Thats just the SL Gov looking for a scapegoat.
Read wisepanda’s post #44.
Government sources have confirmed to The Indian Express that the Indira II radar, supplied by India and installed at the Katunayake airbase near Colombo, had been switched off at the time of the LTTE air attack at 0045 hours on March 26. The other Indira II radar has been deployed by Lankan forces in the eastern part of the country and had been pulled south this year.
And the radar is Indra II not Indira II.
RayRVery nice pictures in this thread.:)
RayRYJ has a fixed intake where as both babur and tomahawk seem to have retractable that opens up during flight. The size of fins and their position on babur is more comparable to tomahawk. All three have wings that open during the flight. YJ has a distinct antenna missing in the other two.
YJ-62 and babur look identical to me.
RayRPicture of HongNiao 2(can anyone confirm?) from Defense Talk:
The HongNiao 2 kinda looks like a Styx with slightly smaller wings.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/images/styx-dnsc9305857.jpg
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/images/styx-ssn-2-dnst8700345_jpg.jpg
RayRAstra test-fired again successfully
[ 29 Mar, 2007 1250hrs ISTIANS ]
RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updatesBALASORE: India on Thursday conducted another test of its home grown air-to-air missile Astra, considered a new system in the guided missile development programme, from a military base in Orissa.
Astra was fired from complex-II of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in the coastal district of Balasore, at 11:33 am, military sources said.
The missile has a striking range of 25-40 km:confused: and its launch speed is estimated to be 0.6 to 2.2 mach. It was earlier tested from the same range on March 25 and 26.
Developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), the missile has a length of 3,570 mm and a diameter of 178 mm. It is likely to be ready by 2011-12.
The latest tests are aimed at providing the Indian Air Force with a beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile to equip the Mirage 2000, MiG-29, Su-30 MKI and the Light Combat Aircraft, sources added.
The local administration evacuated over 6,000 people in six villages, within 2.5 km from the ITR campus, to temporary shelters.
RayRWell ofcourse you dont know, It is a part of the legend of nine unknown men, a secret society to preserve ancient knowledge from falling in wrong hands which was started by Ashoka in the Guptan-Mauryan empire. :dev2: :diablo:
Well IAF operates many SIGINT platforms; so i guess such assets falls under this group?
Do you mean to say they consider my hands as wrong hands?;) 😀
I think SIGINT would qualify under the broad category of EW,although ELINT would be more specific for EW.
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