The saga of the indigenous creation of an ab initio propeller driven trainer aircraft and an initial jet trainer (IJT) aircraft for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy by the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd reads like the script of a farce. HAL started the process of “indigenization” of these two types of trainer aircraft with the Pushpak propeller-driven trainer and the Kiran jet trainer. A young flyer learned the basics of flying on the… Read More »Trainer aircraft
The Indian armored regiment’s modernization is not as pathetic as the Indian artillery regiments, which has not seen the induction of single Howitzer gun since 1988. However, the modernization program of the armored regiments cannot be said to be satisfactory. The Indian Army has placed its full reliance on the Russian T-90-S tanks, which are now under assembly in the Heavy Vehicles Factory in Avadi. However the Arjun Mk-2 has emerged as the main competitor… Read More »Tank upgradation
Though the sanction for 814 artillery guns worth Rs 15,750 crore ( US$ 2.56 billion) was cleared last November, by the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar headed Defence Acquisition Council, the MoD is yet to issue a Request for Proposal. These guns would be acquired under the Buy and Make procedure, under which 100 guns would be purchased off the shelf while 714 would be made in India. The Defence Acquisition Council was set up in… Read More »Artillery guns
The recently concluded Aero India 2015 was a much bigger show as compared to last decade and with Indian Prime Narendra Modi delivering inaugural address raised hopes among many international and domestic defence players that India is back on the race. The response was overwhelming and this could be considered as the most optimist and large Aero show that has happened in India so far. But the problem is under UPA government Indian MoD brought… Read More »Make in India
The state of the submarine arm of the Indian Navy is dismal. With a high of 20 vessels in its inventory in the 80s when the threats to the Indian mainland were minimal it is now down to 13 obsolescent boats when the Chinese are lurking in our backyard. Unfortunately some of the losses have been due to human error and breach of standard operating procedures leading to the resignation of a Chief of Naval… Read More »Submarine needs
After about 28 years of misbegotten abstention in acquisition of new artillery guns for the Indian Army there is a glimmer of hope that an indigenous Bofors gun could emerge from a dusty drawer in the Gun Carriage Factory in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. Before being swept out of power the Congress-led UPA government rectified a grave error of judgment by initiating inhouse conversion of the drawings supplied by the original equipment manufacturer Bofors AB of… Read More »Artillery modernization
India and Russia are once again set to further deepen their defence nuclear technology cooperation. The issue of acquiring second Akula class nuclear submarine on lease from Russia was extensively discussed during the visit of Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu in the third week of January this year. The special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia will get a new boost if India decides to acquire the second nuclear powered submarine from Russia… Read More »Defence cooperation
The modernization of India’s tank fleet must begin with the upgradation of the long-delayed Arjun tank before the cumulative capability enhancement garnered in the design, development and productionisation from the drawing board to commissioning of the former can be applied to the next generation Indian armor. Just as in the Arjun, the decisive factor in its fighting parameters will depend on an engine with sufficient horsepower to carry its final all-up weight. This time, given… Read More »Tank modernization
With the recent successful test of 1000 kg glide bomb guided to its target with “great precision” a multi-disciplinary group of Defence Research and Development Organisation laboratories led by the rocket specialist Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad, India has taken a giant leap in precision guided munitions. Rapid productionisation should help alleviate the shortages of tank and 155 mm howitzer shells in the Central Ordnance Depots. The glide is facilitated by fins front and back and… Read More »PGMs and battlefield
The Indian armed forces have been acquainted with the “air-land battle” concept since 1987 when General K Sundarji conducted the massive deployment of air, land and sea components during Operation Brasstacks in the Rajasthan desert and the Gujarat marshlands. It was described by military commentators at the time as being the largest mobilization of military manpower since World War II, dwarfing anything the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) had done since its inception. Much of… Read More »Joint operations