Indian Army receives indigenous Pinaka rockets

New Delhi, Feb 29 (IANS) After “prolonged and untiring efforts”, the indigenously developed Pinaka rocket was formally handed over to the Indian Army Friday. Pinaka, which is fired from a multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL), has an ideal range of 38 km.

Sudipta Ghosh, chairman of the Ordnance Factories Board (OFB), handed over the system to the Indian Army vice chief, Lt. Gen. Milan Lalitkumar Naidu, at a function at Ordnance Factory Chanda in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district.

The ordnance factory will supply 300 Pinaka rockets to the army this year and 1,000 rockets next year, a defence ministry statement said.
Speaking on the occasion, Ghosh described the Pinaka deliveries as “another milestone in the OFB’s history of more than 200 years”.
Ghosh also said the ordnance factories have started offering warranty on their products, including small ammunition, bombs, rockets and weapon systems.
Refuting concerns about the quality of OFB products, Ghosh said the malfunctions, if any, were attended to by experts or the product was replaced to the customers’ satisfaction.
He said the ordnance factories were open to the idea of joint ventures as foreign vendors scout for partners to fulfil the offset clause in defence purchases which mandates that 30 percent of all deals valued at more than Rs.3 billion ($75 million) be reinvested in the country.
All the 40 ordnance factories spread across the country have recently earned the ISO-9002 certificate, the OFB chairman pointed out, and said this made them the ideal route for fulfilling the offset obligations.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had begun developing the Pinaka system in 1983 and it was tested in action during the 1999 Kargil conflict in Jammu and Kashmir where it proved its effectiveness.
Mounted on a heavy-duty truck for mobility, Pinaka’s multi-barrel rocket launcher can fire a salvo of 12 high explosive rockets in under 40 seconds, saturating an area of four square kilometres.
A Pinaka battery consists of six launchers, six loader-cum-replenishment vehicles, three replenishment vehicles, a command post vehicle with a fire control computer (FCC) and a meteorological radar.

India's Defence Budget Hiked 10 Percent To Rs.1,056 Bn (Third Lead)

Friday 29th of February 2008
With the Indian armed forces embarking on an extensive modernisation drive, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Friday hiked the defence expenditure for fiscal 2008-09 by 10 percent to Rs.1,056 billion ($26.5 billion) - and promised even more funds if these were required. The allocation accounts for 14 percent of the government's total spending of Rs.7,508 billion during the fiscal beginning April 1. 'The allocation for defence is being raised by 10 percent from Rs.96,000 crore (Rs.960 billion) to Rs. One lakh five thousand six hundred crore (Rs.1,056 billion),' Chidambaram said while presenting the budget in the Lok Sabha Friday. 'I have assured the raksha mantri (defence minister) that more money would also be provided if necessary, especially for capital expenditure,' he added. While the 10 percent hike exceeds the 7.8 percent increase granted for the 2007-08 fiscal, the allocation is still below 2.5 percent of the GDP, even as successive parliamentary committees have recommended this be raised to at least three percent if the armed forces are to rapidly modernise. The armed forces are eyeing military hardware worth Rs.155 billion over the next five years in a series of big-ticket purchases of combat jets, helicopters, artillery guns and ships. Defence Minister A.K. Antony immediately welcomed the hike, saying it would aid in the armed forces' modernisation drive. 'I am happy. You have heard the finance minister say on the floor of the house that more money would be provided, if required, particularly for capital expenditure,' Antony told reporters in parliament after the budget had been presented. 'This will aid in the modernisation drive of the armed forces,' Antony said, adding: 'After the finance minister's statement, I can say I am happy with the budget.' Of the total allocation, Rs.480 billion has been earmarked for the purchase of hardware and Rs.579 billion for the three services and for R&D. Of the three services, the 1.1 billion-strong Indian Army will expectedly get the lion's share of Rs.362 billion, followed by the Indian Air Force (Rs.108 billion) and the Indian Navy (Rs.74 billion). The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been allocated Rs.33 billion. In addition, Chidambaram has earmarked Rs.155 billion for pensions and Rs.440 million for the 22 Sainik Schools in the country to enable them improve their infrastructure and sports facilities. The finance minister also extended a huge helping hand to millions of ex-servicemen across the country by opening up employment opportunities in the banking sector.

India Says No To Logistics Deal With US, For Now

Times of India
February 27, 2008
Pg. 15
By Rajat Pandit, Times News Network

NEW DELHI: India is keen to further bolster defence ties with US, with more joint combat exercises to build interoperability, procurement of military hardware and pacts to ensure secrecy and end-use verification of American defence equipment.
But the Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), proposed by US over two years ago on the lines of its Access and Cross-Servicing Agreements signed with over 60 countries, is off the Indian radar screens for now.
This, in short, is the Indian defence establishment's message for visiting US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates. With the UPA government still floundering to propel the Indo-US civil nuclear deal towards a successful conclusion, it does not want to further antagonise the Left by signing the LSA.
Under the LSA, Indian and American militaries propose to provide each other with logistic support, refuelling and berthing facilities for each other's warships and aircraft, spares and other services on a reimbursable or equal-value exchange basis. With CPM leader Prakash Karat describing the LSA as ''far more dangerous than the nuclear deal'' in its implications, the agreement has been stuck in the Cabinet Committee of Security for the final approval for quite some time now.
India, however, is ready to sign other defence pacts like the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and the End-Use Verification Agreement of US-sold defence equipment.
After arriving here on Tuesday afternoon, Gates said his aim was to further strengthen military ties with India, which will continue to expand regardless of the fate of the civil nuclear deal, especially in the arena of arms sales and joint military exercises. The US, of course, wants to counterbalance the rapid rise of China in the region. It is also very eager to corner a major chunk of the $30 billion or so India will spend in importing weapon systems and platforms over the coming five years.

Gates Butters Up India for U.S. Guns

by Nandini Lakshman

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is on a sales mission to India. Apart from the big-ticket military hardware the U.S. hopes to sell its close friend and ally as part of the secretary's two-day visit, Western defense contractors are keen to develop India as a long-term customer and hope to wean the country from its long-term weapons supplier, Russia.

Gates' Feb. 26-27 trip comes less than two weeks after the four-day Defense Expo 2008 which concluded in New Delhi on Feb 19. Hawking their wares there were almost all the big, global weapons players: Raytheon, Boeing, Sweden's Saab, France's Dassault, Britain's BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman, and many arms dealers from Israel. Gates' visit also occurs close to India's Mar. 3 internal deadline to consider bids worth $10.2 billion for 125 new fighter jets.
Gates met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and opposition leaders like L.K. Advani, head of the Bharatiya Janata party; at these meetings he was expected to push America's case as an ideal partner for India, given the Asian nation's defense requirements. At a brief press conference in New Delhi Gates stated that he wanted to "expand the significantly improved relations between the U.S. and India." The second day of the visit is expected to bring a slew of new defense deals.
Gates' trip comes in sharp contrast to the last Pentagon visit to India in November, 2006. Then, Under-Secretary of Defense Frank Lavin arrived with a 250-member delegation representing 175 U.S. companies to negotiate hookups with Indian companies to build nuclear reactors

Moscow: India and Russia may have moved some way towards settling the cost escalation issue on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (ex-Admiral Gorshkov) during the course of a visit of a high-level Indian defence delegation to Moscow. Reports in the Russian media suggest that though some progress may have been made, discussions are likely to continue next month.

The Indian delegation, led by defence secretary, Vijay Singh, also made an inspection visit to the carrier to physically verify the additional refit work that is required to be done on the carrier, as claimed by Moscow.

The five-day visit of the delegation concluded on Sunday.

In his talks with Russian energy and industries minister, Viktor Khristenko, and other senior officials, Singh was apparently assured that Moscow was making great efforts to contain the situation.

The Russians claim that a lot of extra work and resources were required by the Sevmash Shipyard that was handling the refit contract and that new technical parameters had resulted in cost escalations, which exceeded the initial $700 million agreed upon in the initial contract.

According to reports, the Indian side has agreed with the Russian assessment and may now be willing to fork out the extra sums being asked for.

As per the original contract signed in 2004, the 45,000 tonne displacement carrier was to be delivered by August this year. However, the Russians have expressed their inability to deliver the ship on the original financial terms, and time schedule, and are now demanding an additional $1.2 billion for completing the refit.

DRDO eyes a stronger future

Josy Joseph

Tuesday, February 19, 2008 09:01 IST

Organisation plans to test nuclear missiles Agni-3, K-15 in near future

NEW DELHI: After years of flak and rejection, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is trying to emerge as a more confident research body by integrating lessons learnt from decades of struggle to develop cutting edge military technologies.

DRDO scientists say even in failed projects there were several lessons that would come in handy as they look at next-generation projects such as unmanned ground vehicles and a future battle tank, besides second generation missiles. After more than two decades of mostly successful missile development, the Integrated Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) was formally closed recently, over 10 years behind scheduled completion in 1995, while several big projects such as the Arjun tank and light combat aircraft have not yet shaped up to expected standards.

Drawing on the several lessons from these past failures and limited successes, DRDO is embarking on numerous new projects. In an effort not to reinvent the wheel, it is also taking on board foreign partners and private support.

Based on all these, DRDO is now promising to deliver the next generation main battle tank in just five years of Army placing its demand. On the missile front, after the formal closure of the IGMDP, it is working on five key future missiles. At least one of them, Brahmos, a joint venture with Russia for a super sonic cruise missile, is already a roaring success. It is working on another joint venture, a long-range surface-to-air missile for the Navy, with Israel. The other three are primarily indigenous missile

Kalashnikovs to be 'made in India': Russian firm

by Staff Writers
New Delhi (AFP) Feb 19, 2008
India could soon begin producing "original" Kalashnikov assault rifles under licence and stop buying knock-offs of the ubiquitous weapon, a Russian firm said Tuesday.

Speaking at the end of a four-day weapons fair in New Delhi, Izhmash JSC said it was negotiating with India on the local production of the guns to equip India's ill-armed security establishment.

"India should use high quality original AK rifles to defend its territory instead of cloned AK series weapons produced by some other countries," Izhmash JSC's foreign economic activity director Alexander Zavarzin said.

India needs hundreds and thousands of combat weapons for its police forces and paramilitary agencies as well its million-plus army.

But up to now India has been buying Kalashnikovs from a country which did not hold a valid licence to produce the weapon, he said, without naming the supplier.

The company, which has already signed a contract to arm the Venezuelan army with 100,000 Kalashnikovs made locally under licence, gave no further details on the prospective deal with India including its possible value.

Officials at Izhmash JSC have in past estimated their losses at around 360 million dollars a year because of copies produced in Bulgaria, China, Poland and the United States.

The legendary AK-47 has proved popular around the world for its ruggedness, reliability and ease of use.

Russia last year did arms deals worth 14.5 billion dollars with India, its former Cold War ally, and remains the country's top defence supplier -- although the New Delhi DefExpo2008 saw an increased presence of US firms.

With ties between New Delhi and Washington improving, Indian officials have confirmed US aircraft giant Lockheed Martin will be awarded a one-billion dollar contract for six Hercules transport planes.

The Indian navy is also looking at eight long-range maritime reconnaissance planes from Boeing, in a deal potentially worth two billion dollars, reports say.

And Boeing and Lockheed Martin are also competing against the Russian MiG-35 and MiG-29, Saab's Gripen and Dassault's Rafale and Mirage for a 10-12 billion dollar deal to sell 126 fighter jets to India. The bidding ends March 3.

Nuclear-armed but technology-hungry India is now the top arms buyer among emerging nations and is expected to shell out 30 billion dollars over the next four years.