ModernArmyLack of adequatefunding support andtimely decisionmaking are themajor flaws

PAGE 4

CrucialRequirementNot huge weapons,but arming the footsoldier is what thecountry shouldfocus on

PAGE 7

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A COMMERCIAL FEATURE

AHMEDABAD, BANGALORE, BHUBANESWAR, CHANDIGARH, CHENNAI,HYDERABAD, KOCHI, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NEW DELHI & PUNE

M A R C H 2 9 - A P R I L 0 1 , 2 0 1 2 | N E W D E L H I

HE SEVENTH DEFEXPO 2012, THEbie]nnial Defence Exhibition on Landand Naval Systems, organised byIndian ministry of defence, is ready forbusiness, with exhibitors ranging fromglobal defence giants to Indian smallscale industries participating in theshow, at the national capital.

With 70% of Indian defence require-ments being fulfilled by foreign ven-dors, the event organised byDepartment of Defence Production onbehalf of the defence ministry luresforeign exhibitors in large numbersand the 2012 edition of the exhibitionhas just gotten bigger. While the 2010DefExpo was attended by delegationsfrom 74 countries, this year the four-day event from March 29-April 1 will beattended by delegates from 90 coun-tries. The scale of the event has billedit to be the largest of its kind in Asia.

India’s first major defence exhibi-tion was an air show, Aero India 1998,while the first land and naval systemsexhibition --- the first of the DefExposeries --- took place in 1999.Encouraged by their success, thedefence ministry decided to hold aDefExpo and an Aero India air showevery two years. The DefExpo --- thisone is the seventh --- is held on evenyears, while the Aero India show is

held on odd years, both of them in themonth of February.

The Defence ExhibitionOrganisation’s stated aim is to pro-mote Indian defence industry. Thattranslates not just into cheaper dis-play space for Indian companies, butalso extra discounts for small andmedium enterprises (SMEs) and smallscale industries (SSIs), many of which

work at the cutting edge of militarytechnology. The number of compa-nies participating this year is likely toobserve an upward swing from thefigure of 650 in 2010.

An indoor-shell scheme in DefExpois available for foreign exhibitors at apremium of $709 per square metre incomparison to $431 per square metrethat was available at the International

Auto Expo held at the same venue.The rate has also doubled for the ven-dors in comparison to the rates at2010 DefExpo.

But foreign defence companieshardly mind the expense, as for themthe DefExpo 2012 is an importantopportunity for winning a share of theIndian defence market, which arecently released CII-KPMG reportestimates would be worth some $100billion between now and 2022.Besides this, India will spend $9.7 bil-lion by 2016 on homeland security.

Currently, 70% of Indian defencerequirements are met by internationaldefence majors. The defence ministerhas set a target of reversing the ratioby meeting the 70% of Indian defencerequirements at home. Also themandatory offsets obligations thatmakes necessary for the defence play-ers to re-invest 30% of the total valueof the deal above Rs 300 crore in thecountry, has made the foreign ven-dors look for suitable Indian partners.

Tie-ups with Indian companies arealso being driven by foreign vendors’need to discharge offsets liabilitiesaccruing from recent and future salesto India.

TURN TO PAGE 5

GEARING UPFOR BUSINESS

GLOBAL A CII-KPMG REPORT ESTIMATES INDIA WILL SPEND$9.7 BILLION BY 2016 ON HOMELAND SECURITY & DEFENCE

THE SUCCESS OF ADEFENCE EXPO ISDETERMINED BYTHE AMOUNT OFBUSINESS THATIS DONE

T

SelfRelianceDPrP articulates theagenda forsupporting a strongdomestic defenceindustrial base

PAGE 2

MaritimeProwessIndia plans toconstruct as many asthree nuclear-poweredsubmarines at home

PAGE 12

The government had

envisaged meeting 70% of its

defence procurement needs

from within the nation by 2010702

A Commercial Feature

THE CURIOUSCASE OF DEFENCEINDIGENISATION

DEFENCE INDUSTRY THERE IS A NEED TO INCREASE THECAPACITY OF THE DOMESTIC INDUSTRIAL BASE THATSUPPORTS DEFENCE, SAYS DR. BHASHYAM KASTURI

W

RECENTLY THERE HAVE BEENnews reports of RelianceIndustries, India's largest privatesector company, showing inter-est in the defence industry. Andwhy now, India’s defence indus-try is among the largest in theworld. Reliance Industries,according to reports, tied upwith Dassault Aviation of Franceand this fact can easily betermed as a major developmentin the defence manufacturingsector in India. The tie-up is forpursuing strategic opportunitiesof collaboration in the area ofcomplex defence manufactur-ing and support in India.

It must be remembered thatDassault's Rafale aircraftemerged as the lowest bidder inthe multi-billion dollar contestto supply the Indian Air Forcewith 126 fighter jets.

In fact, Reliance chairmanMukesh Ambani had chosen DrVivek Lall, a former top executivewith Boeing, who headed US air-craft manufacturer’s military avia-tion in India, to lead the compa-ny's foray into the sector. Lall hasbeen given the mandate toexplore possibilities in the defenceand homeland security sector.

As a matter of fact, under DrLall, over the past few months,Reliance Industries has alreadyentered the homeland securitysystems to make mega citiessecure, and signed agreementswith Raytheon and Siemens.

Reliance, in addition to itsother businesses, now mightposition itself as a defence,internal security and aerospacesolutions vendor.

Reliance Industries hasalready participated in theMaharashtra government’s Rs

600 crore CCTV surveillanceprogramme for Mumbai. Thetender was released in Januaryand a decision is expected soon.The company is likely to gettough competition from foreign,especially Israeli firms, whichare well-embedded in the Indiansecurity requirements.

It must be added that Dr Lallis quite an able business leaderand, under his leadership,Boeing was able to rake in $10billion in four years. Son of a for-mer Indian diplomat, Lall is an

aerospace engineer and hasearlier worked with NASA and atRaytheon, and is an expertauthority on aerospace andstrategic security issues. Lall hasbeen recognised at Cambridge,UK, as one of the only 2,000outstanding scientists in theentire 20th century.

RELYING ONSECURITY

ENTRY RELIANCE’S FORAY INTO THEDEFENCE SECTOR IS A WELCOME STEP

RELIANCENOW MIGHTPOSITIONITSELF AS ASECURITYVENDOR

ITH A PROPOSED EXPENDITUREof $80 billion on military modernisa-tion by 2015, there is a need to rede-fine the self-reliance mantra in theIndian context. This is perhaps whyIndia unveiled its first ever DefenceProduction Policy (DPrP) last year. Atthe heart of the new policy is first thebelief that self-reliance in defence pro-duction is a key to global power sta-tus and second is the wish to increasethe capacity of the domestic industri-al base that supports defence. DPrP issignificant in that it concisely articu-lates the agenda for supporting adomestic defence industrial base (avision since 1948) and it highlights theneed for greater involvement by theprivate sector and broadening thecountry’s defence research and devel-opment base.

Historically, defence production inIndia has been in the hands of gov-ernment and it was only in 2001 thatprivate industry was allowed to par-ticipate in licensed defence produc-tion. The infrastructure for defenceproduction currently consists of 40ordnance factories (OF), 9 defencepublic sector undertakings (DPSUs)and 50 research and developmentlaboratories. In May 2001, the gov-ernment opened defence industry toprivate sector participation of up to100% and FDI permissible up to 26%– both, of course, subject to licensing.

In 2009-10, the actual expenditureon the OFs was Rs 240 crore whilebudgetary provision for 2010-11 was Rs769 crore. In the case of the DPSUs, thefigures suggest that their share hasdecreased from 61% in 1999-2000 to21% in 2004-05 (see table 1).

Compare this with the provision for

R&D. It was Rs 4,153 crore for the period2009-10 and Rs 4,578 crore for 2010-11(budgetary provision). Therefore, thepicture is clearly skewed in favour ofR&D in India. Expenditure for the depart-ment of defence R&D, which overseesnearly 50 research labs, has remainedconsistent at about 6% of the defencebudget. In these circumstances, howdoes one expect defence industry toproduce anything of value to the armedforces? And yet, indigenous defenceproduction is heavily weighted towardsthe public sector, which accounts foraround 86% of the market!

The government had envisagedmeeting 70% of its defence procure-ment needs from within the nation by2010. But this strategy has not paidthe expected dividends. DPSU produc-tion has been mainly that of licensedproduction based on imported tech-nology. The country’s DPSUs exportedproducts worth just Rs 4.28 billion in2007 and $100 million in 2009, anincrease from $26 million from 2001.But by October 2011 the Departmentof Industrial Policy and Promotion(DIPP) had issued 200 Letters ofIntent/Industrial Licences to variousprivate entities, with proposed invest-ment totalling Rs 11,773 crore.

India’s OFs manufacture tanks,armoured vehicles and trucks in addi-tion to other products. The DPSUsproduce combat aircraft, helicopters,warships, missiles, defence electron-ics, heavy earth moving equipmentsand specialist alloys. DRDO being theprimary R&D organisation makes itsdesigns available for manufacturethrough the OFs and DPSUs. The per-formance of DRDO has been subjectto a range of criticism, but it has creat-ed islands of excellence in areas suchas small arms, missiles and EW sys-tems. The challenge is to produceweapon systems and other equip-ment that the user has confidence inand in large quantities. Not like theArjun Main Battle Tank!

The private sector has contributedto the supply of raw materials, semi-finished products, parts and compo-nents to DPSUs and OFs to a greatextent. For instance, the hull ofArihant nuclear submarine was fabri-cated at L&T's Hazira facility, while thecontrol systems were built by TataPower, and Walchandnagar Industriessupplied the systems for the steamturbine integrated with the reactor.The DPSUs and OFs are outsourcingtheir needs, to the range of 20-25%, tothe private sector (mainly SMEs).

In spite of these figures, the inabili-ty of the Indian defence industry inthe public sector has resulted in thearmed forces becoming importdependent. The result is the govern-ment attempting to reach out to theprivate sector in the DPrP 2011 bystating that it will be the govern-ment’s endeavour to build up arobust indigenous defence industrialbase by ‘proactively’ encouraginglarger involvement of the private sec-tor. For instance, this year theDepartment of Defence Production(DDP) articulated a set of guidelinesfor establishing joint venture (JV)companies by the DPSUs with com-panies in India and abroad. The ideais sound and should lead to new ini-tiatives, but analysts say that thedetailing makes the JV difficult and,after all, the devil lies in the detail!

Self-reliance should be a mantrato achieve the equipping of theforces at the right time with theproper monetary investments, withoperational requirements in mind. Itmeans that one has to create theindustrial base that is able to absorbthe R&D output in a phased andtimely manner so that productioncan be meaningful. It does not meanchanting the mantra till such timethat it loses relevance.

THE AUTHOR SPECIALISES ON DEFENCE MATTERS

AND VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE PERSONAL.

DEFENCEEXPENDITURE TREND

Revenue Exp. Capital Exp.

198

9-9

0

199

5-9

6

199

0-9

1

20

00

-01

20

05

-06

20

06

-07

20

07-

08

20

08

-09

20

09

-10

20

10-1

1

SOURCE:http://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/IndiasDefenceBudget2010-2011_akadyan_030310

Am

ou

nt

(Rs

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60000

40000

20000

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DDRR.. VVIIVVEEKK LLAALLLL,, PPRREESSIIDDEENNTT && CCEEOO,,RRIILL,, NNEEWW VVEENNTTUURREE

INDIA'S NATIONAL SECURITYchallenges are varied and com-plex, ranging from contestedborders to regional peacekeep-ing to domestic unrest and nat-ural disasters. As we become aneconomic and political leader inSoutheast Asia and across theglobe, we need better defencesolutions to support us in ourgrowing roles.

Mahindra Defence Systems(MDS) is a division of Mahindra& Mahindra (M&M), a group thatis one of the top ten industrialhouses in India and ranked inthe top 200 list of the World'sMost Reputable Companies byForbes. M&M has had a relation-ship with the armed forces forover 60 years now.

MDS has grown to be one ofthe largest up-armouring facili-ties in Asia. The company pro-vides up-armouring onMahindra vehicles as an originalequipment manufacturer. It alsoup-armours most of other vehi-cles as specified by its cus-tomers. In fact, MDS's up-armoured products are fieldtested and are in service withthe Indian armed forces, para-military and police forces of var-ious states in India, and securityforces of foreign countries.

MDS's solutions have beentested and approved by theIndian ministry of defence andthe Bureau of Police Researchand Development of the min-istry of home affairs in India.

The company has a state-of-the-art manufacturing facilityand the associated R&D to offercustomised solutions based onbuyer requirements.

Among the various productsand solutions the companyoffers are mine protected vehi-cles, light armoured vehicles,high mobility specialist vehicles,infantry combat vehicles, artillery

systems and their upgrades.Here it must be added about

Defence Land Systems India,which is Mahindra's joint venturewith BAE Systems, a long-standingworld leader in defence technolo-gy. Drawing from BAE’s proventechnology and Mahindra’sexpertise in designing automo-biles for Indian roads, the compa-ny brings to India the best indefence solutions adapted for itsunique challenges and conditions.

In November 2011, M&M andTelephonics Corp, a leading

designer, developer and manu-facturer of high-technology inte-grated information, communica-tion and sensor system solu-tions to military and commercialmarkets, announced a MoU toform a JV company, whichwould provide the Indian min-istry of defence and the Indiancivil sector with radar and sur-veillance systems, identificationfriend or foe (IFF) devices andcommunication systems.

SECURINGTHELAND

RISE MDS IS NOW ONE OF THELARGEST UP-ARMOURING FACILITIES

MDS’SPRODUCTSARE FIELDTESTED ANDARE INSERVICE

*Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre figures.

The violence had been raging for months and taken their

homes and many of their families. They were among the

27 million people around the world threatened by conflicts

by the end of 2009.* At times like this the A330 MRTT can

help international security forces protect a civilian population day in, day out.

THE A330 MRTT. IT’S MORE THAN A TANKER. FOR THEM IT’S A LIFELINE.

It can be a lifesaver. A strategic fly-by-wire tanker with unparalleled flexibility,

reliability and survivability. The A330 MRTT can carry more fuel for refueling, more

people and more essential cargo than any other aircraft. It can

maintain fighters on-station for longer, or convert to the role

of a flying hospital faster. Find out more about what the A330 MRTT means for

an uncertain world at airbusmilitary.com

The number of T-72 M1 Ajeya

MBTs that have been

manufactured under licence

at the Avadi factory17004

A Commercial Feature

THANKS TO ITS EXPERTISE IN THEaeronautical field, and its high level ofquality and innovation by using the latesttechnologies, the French company Alkanis the genuine partner of all the projectleaders as well as aircraft manufacturers.

With their international recognition,Alkan equipment are in operation inmore than 65 countries and are qualifiedon more than 60 different aircraft.

Alkan is now delivering carriageequipment for Mirage 2000 operated bythe IAF. Such equipment includes all cen-terline, inboard and outboard pylons forMirage 2000 with its inbuilt equipment;and the engine removal trolley for M53,the Mirage 2000 engine.

Alkan release Unit type 2037 has beenselected by HAL for the ALH-WSI and allfuture armed helicopters being manufac-tured and designed by HAL.

A transfer of technology agreementhas been signed to enable HAL to locallymanufacture and overhaul the state ofthe art 2037 Release Unit.

Meanwhile, Alkan CEO Armand Carliersaid, “This agreement clearly demon-strates the confidence placed in Alkanproduct and organisation. We are veryproud of this long-term partnership withHAL. I am following the management ofsuch a project and believe this ToT is thefirst stone of a long collaboration in India.We are happy to support the growth andexpertise of the impressive Indian aero-space industry.”

T HE INDIAN ARMY HAS KEPT THEnation together through various crisesfor over six decades sinceIndependence. It is a first-rate armywith large-scale operational commit-ments on border management and incounter-insurgency operations.However, many of the Army’sweapons and equipment are obsoles-cent and need to be modernised.

Lt Gen JP Singh, former Deputy Chiefof the Army Staff, had said in an inter-view, “The critical capabilities that arebeing enhanced to meet challengesacross the spectrum include battlefieldtransparency, battlefield managementsystems, night-fighting capability,enhanced firepower including terminal-ly guided munitions, integratedmanoeuvre capability to include self-propelled artillery, quick reaction sur-face-to-air missiles, the latest assaultengineer equipment, tactical controlsystems, integral combat aviation sup-port and network centricity.”

While the Army has drawn up elab-orate plans for modernisation andqualitative upgradation of its capabili-ties, the pace of modernisation hasbeen rather slow due to the lack ofadequate funding support and timelydecision making. India’s defence budg-et is pegged at less than 2% of theGDP at present. According to defence

minister AK Antony, “New procure-ments have commenced … but we arestill lagging by 15 years.” Unless imme-diate measures are taken to speed upthe pace of modernisation, the currentquantitative military gap with Chinawill soon become a qualitative gap aswell. Also, the slender conventionaledge that the Indian Army enjoys overthe Pakistan Army will be eroded fur-ther as Pakistan is spending consider-ably large sums of money on its mili-tary modernisation, allegedly underthe garb of fighting radical extremism.

Main battle tanks are the spearheadof India’s conventional deterrence inthe plains. Pakistan has acquired 320T-80 UD tanks and is now acquiring Al-Khalid tanks that it has co-developedwith China. The Indian armour fleet isalso being modernised gradually. Theindigenously developed Arjun MBThas entered serial production to equiptwo regiments. 310 T-90S MBTs havebeen imported from Russia and a con-tract has been signed for 347 addition-al T-90 tanks to be assembled in India.

A programme has been launched tomodernise the T-72 M1 Ajeya MBTsthat have been the mainstay of theArmy’s Strike Corps and theirarmoured divisions since the 1980s.The programme will upgrade thenight fighting capabilities and fire con-trol system of the tank. Approximately1,700 T-72 M1s have been manufac-tured under licence at the HeavyVehicle Factory (HVF), Avadi. TheBMP-1 and, to a lesser extent, the BMP-2 infantry combat vehicles, whichhave been the mainstay of the mecha-nised infantry battalions for long, arenow ageing and replacements, capa-ble of employment for internal securi-ty duties and counter-insurgencyoperations in addition to their primary

role in conventional conflict, need tobe found soon.

Despite the lessons learnt duringthe Kargil conflict of 1999, whereartillery firepower had paved the wayfor victory, modernisation of theartillery continues to lag behind. TheRegiment of Artillery is still relying onvintage guns like the 105mm IFG andthe 130mm medium gun. The BoforsFH 77B 155mm howitzer was intro-duced into service in 1987. The onlynew additions to the arsenal in the lastfive years have been two regiments ofthe Smerch MBRL from Russia, tworegiments of the BrahMos supersoniccruise missile and some weapon locat-

ing radars. Much more needs to bedone to modernise this arm.

The Corps of Army Air Defence isalso faced with problems of obsoles-cence. The vintage L-70 40mm ADgun system, the four-barrelled ZSU-23-4 Schilka (SP) AD gun system, theSAM-6 (Kvadrat) and the SAM-8 OSA-AK need to be replaced by moreresponsive modern AD systems thatare capable of defeating current andfuture threats. The indigenously devel-oped Akash surface-to-air missile hasnot yet been inducted into service.The modernisation of short-range and

medium-range SAMs also needs to bespeeded up.

The modernisation plans of India’scutting-edge infantry battalions,aimed at enhancing their capabilityfor surveillance and target acquisi-tion at night and boosting their fire-power for precise retaliation againstinfiltrating columns and terroristsholed up in built-up areas, are mov-ing forward but at a slow pace. Theseinclude the acquisition of shoulder-fired missiles, hand-held battlefieldsurveillance radars and hand-heldthermal imaging devices for observa-tion at night. Protective gear alsoneeds to be acquired to reduce casu-alties. Stand-alone infra-red, seismicand acoustic sensors need to beacquired in large numbers to enableinfantrymen to dominate the Line ofControl with Pakistan and detect infil-tration of terrorists.

Similarly, the operational capabilitiesof army aviation, engineers, signalcommunications, reconnaissance, sur-veillance and target acquisition (RSTA)branches need to be substantiallyenhanced so that the overall combatpotential of the Army can be improvedby an order of magnitude. Modernstrategic and tactical level commandand control systems need to beacquired on priority for better syner-gies during conventional and sub-con-ventional conflict. Plans for the acquisi-tion of a Tactical CommunicationsSystem and a Battlefield ManagementSystem need to be hastened. Despitebeing the largest user of space, theArmy does not yet have a dedicatedmilitary satellite to bank on for its sur-veillance needs.

THE AUTHOR IS DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR LAND &WARFARE STUDIES, NEW DELHI. AND VIEWSEXPRESSED ARE PERSONAL.

ARMY STILL SLOW ONMODERNISATION

UPGRADE WHILE THE ARMY HAS DRAWN UP PLANS FOR MODERNISATION, THEPACE HAS BEEN RATHER SLOW, SAYS BRIGADIER GURMEET KANWAL (RETD.)

HAL SIGNS A TOTCONTRACT WITHFRENCH ALKAN

MANY OF THEARMY’S WEAPONSAND EQUIPMENTARE OBSOLETEAND NEEDUPGRADE

THISGENUINEFRIEND

FOR THE INDIAN ARMY, NIGHTblindness has been an issue ofconcern for long and it will bespending billions on sophisti-cated equipment in the comingyears to bolster its capability tofight in the dark.

If we talk about tanks, theyare usually deployed to breakinto enemy defence in a fast-paced operation and denyingthem the opportunity toregroup themselves. The suc-cess of an armoured offensiveis based on the surprise ele-ment. Surprise can be achievedby holding armour back untilthe last moment or by movingit by night. Till just a few yearsago, only 20% of Indian tankswere capable of operating inthe night as against 80% ofPakistan and 100% of China.The Indian Army tanks requirenight vision devices (NVDs),including thermal imagers andinfra-red equipment to negoti-ate through rugged terrain.

“ NVDs are a very importantequipment, giving tanks a lotmore versatility,” the ministerof state for defence MM PallamRaju had recently said.

Over the past couple ofyears, the force has been ableto fit NVDs on 70% of the tanks.For the rest 30%, the procure-ment of NVDs will be done inthe next few years. Indian ArmyChief VK Singh, while revealingthat the army has been able tofit NVDs on 70% of its tanks,said it will be spending $1 bil-

lion to see and fight better inthe dark. “Projects are alreadyin the pipeline to ensure thatwe have the night seeing capa-bility that our adversaries have.It may take three-four years,”the Army Chief added.

The Army has three frontlinetanks – Russian-built T-72s andT-90s, and the indigenously-built Arjun. Some 1,200 in num-bers, T-72 tanks form the back-bone of Indian Army’sarmoured might, but the lack of

NVDs has been hamperingtheir night operations.

Efforts are on to equip the T-72s with the new ThermalImaging Fire Control Systems,Night Fighting Systems andLaser Warning Systems toenhance their service life. Thefirst effort to refurbish the tanksin 2004 ended in disappoint-ment. Since then a fresh tenderhas been issued to modernisethe tanks that will take someyears to fructify. The defence

ministry, under AK Antony,recently said that four propos-als for fitting NVDs are on themove. Among the Army's pro-posals are the 700 ThermalImaging Stand Alone Systems(TISAS) and 418 ThermalImaging Fire Control Systems(TIFCS) for its T-72 fleet at a costof around Rs 1,150 crore.

Coming to infantry, the Armyis also looking to make good ofthe acute shortage of NVDs it isfacing. Its soldiers face a glar-ing shortage of NVDs, the onesin service are a generationbehind what our adversariesalready have. So, the Armyrequires new third-generationNVDs for its soldiers and nightsights for their rifles.

Defence PSU BharatElectronics Ltd has invested insecond-generation devices andhas even set up a factory. It iscurrently scouting for a foreignpartner to manufacture third-generation devices. In fact, thecurrent night sights that our sol-diers use, say, on their lightmachine guns are so power inef-fective that their batteries drainout within two hours. The situa-tion is so bad that the inventoryholding that the Army authoris-es for each section, comprising10 soldiers, is just one NVD.While the ideal holding shouldbe 10, the Army is currentlypressing for at least 50% of itssoldiers to be equipped withNVDs. Something really has tobe done, soon.

HERE COMES THEDARK KNIGHT

NIGHTRIDER INDIAN ARMY HAS TO SPEND A LOT ONACQUIRING NIGHT-VISION SOPHISTICATED EQUIPMENT

THE INDIANARMYSOLDIERSARE FACE AGLARINGSHORTAGEOF NVDS

EXPERTISE

The number of years the

Swedish company Saab has

completed, pushing forward

the boundaries of technology755

A Commercial Feature

IN PRACTICE, THE OFFSET LIABILITY HAS BEEN SET ashigh as 50% in the contract for multi-role combat air-craft. This has to be discharged through the purchaseof products or services from Indian defence compa-nies, or through investments into the industrial infra-structure of Indian defence JVs, or through investmentinto Indian R&D organisations. In all three cases, theforeign vendor must identify an Indian partner throughwhich it will discharge its obligations. DefExpo 2012provides defence companies with a platform for meet-ing prospective offset partners.

Premier Indian military research body DefenceResearch and Development Organisation (DRDO) islikely to retain its position as the largest exhibitorduring the show. Like 2010 edition, Israel and Russia –also India’s largest defence partners – will have amajor participation during the show.

After reaching a step closer to win the largest mili-tary deals of its time for 126 medium multi-role com-bat aircraft, French companies will have a significantpresence at the show. Among other exhibitors will be

French warshipbuilder DCNS thatwill display theScorpene submarinedesign, six of whichare under construc-tion for the IndianNavy at the MazagonDock Limited (MDL).

After bagging themulti-billion contractto provide weaponcompliment for

Mirage fighter jet, the French defence companyMBDA is planning to display a wide range of weaponssystems from its product line at DefExpo, includingthe Mistral VSHORAD, the Mistral ATAM for the IndianArmy’s Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv Mk IVWSI (Weapons System Integrated), as well as its PARS3 LR anti-tank guided missile system, which is alsobeing considered for the Dhruv.

Major Indian defence companies to put up theirproducts on display include Hindustan AeronauticsLtd (HAL), Larsen & Tourbo, Mahindra & Mahindra,Tata, Punj Loyd etc.

To facilitate the creation of these linkages, DefExpo2012 will continue to provide facilities for Business-to-Business (B2B) meetings between vendors. Vendorshave also scheduled a host of product launches dur-ing this exhibition.

The success of any defence exhibition is eventual-ly determined by the amount of business that isdone. Measured in those terms, DefExpo 2012 maynot generate an enormous amount of actual deals.But the large acquisition plan by Indian armed forceswill make it an important engagement in the diariesof defence firms across the world.

T HE SAAB APPROACH TO INDUSTRIALcooperation and successful transferof technology is based on an exten-sive interaction between the part-ners, aiming at long-term industrialexpansion as well as technology andspin-off effects, not ending with theend of obligation, and not restrictedto the current application of technol-ogy. Saab views the transfer of tech-nology as a base for long-term coop-eration.

For Saab, India is more than a mar-ket. It is one of Saab’s home marketsand, therefore, the focus is not simplyon winning bids but on building busi-ness in partnership with reliableIndian partners across the entire hier-archy of manufacturers, all the wayfrom strategic partners to sub-com-ponent suppliers. What that means islong-term commitment to invest-ments in India and taking advantageof India’s manufacturing skills andcost structures to the world. Equallyimportant, for all major future pro-grammes, Saab wishes to partner anIndian company, either through ateaming agreement or through ajoint venture.

Inderjit Sial, MD of Saab IndiaTechnologies Pvt Ltd, says that Saabguarantees access to all levels of tech-nology and management of all aspectsof the product lifecycle. Saab will sharetechnology with partner companies,localise production and offer it to bothIndian and global customers. Saabbelieves that these will deliver largebenefits to Saab as much as it will toIndian companies. For one, by bringingits production to India, local adaptationwill be easier and faster by being closerto its customers here.

Inderjit Sial says that Saab actuallytransfers the latest technology to itsindustrial partners. The transfer oftechnology includes not just the tech-nology base for development of thecurrent product portfolio but alsoextends the knowledge that enablesthe receiver to utilise and apply thetechnologies transferred. Saab’sdevelopment programmes offer aunique opportunity for India to gaininsight into all levels of aircraft tech-nology as well as transfer of knowl-edge and technology. Saab believesthat the Indian Industry has the nec-essary capability and can absorb thestate-of-the-art technology for manu-facturing world-class products.

Saab looks at the Indian industry

as its potential partner in productdevelopment for the world market. Afirst step in this direction is the col-laboration between Mahindra Satyamand Saab, which was announced inNovember 2009. The two companieshave already initiated the setting upof a centre of excellence for net cen-tric warfare that will be a develop-ment centre for mission critical appli-cations and command and controlsolutions for global opportunities,accessible to either of the partners.

With the backing of the Swedishgovernment and in close cooperationwith Indian industry, Saab is develop-ing industrial cooperation packagestailored to meet India’s strategic prior-ities and create industrial develop-

ment and true economic growth.Saab is currently working with a num-ber of large Indian companies andsees them as its partners on a long-term basis. The company sees theIndian industry willing to invest, sharerisk and manufacture products thatare globally competitive. It believesthat defence purchases should nolonger be, for the buying country, aquestion of capital expenditure but anissue of capital investment.

Adds Inderjit Sial: “Saab, with itstechnological excellence, can createsynergies with Indian partners tosupply customised military solutionsthat completely fulfil the operationalrequirements of India’s defence. Saabis looking for partners in the Indianmarket to support the delivery ofindigenous security solutions. In fact,the Saab Group intends to make Indiaa ‘home market’ by leveraging India’smanufacturing strengths for exportsto world markets.”

As Saab completes 75 years ofpushing forward the boundaries oftechnology, it has made a long-termcommitment to India’s national secu-rity goals by being a partner in devel-oping an indigenous, global scale,self-sustaining defence industry. Saabis supported by Swedish governmentin efforts to form new internationalpartnerships and export of technolo-gy. Saab and Sweden have an estab-lished track record of technologytransfer. With new offset policies stip-ulated by the Indian ministry ofdefence well in place, Saab is allgeared up to explore the opportuni-ties for long-term industrial coopera-tion with public and private sectorplayers in India.

IT IS THE SWEDISHCONNECTION

LOCALISATION SAAB OFFERS GENUINE INDUSTRIAL COOPERATION,TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY AND SO MUCH MORE

FROM PAGE 1

((FFRROOMM LLEEFFTT)) RRaajjnnii KKaanntt,, PPrraaccttiiccee DDiirreeccttoorr AAeeoorroossppaaccee && DDeeffeennssee,, WWiipprroo,, GGooppii PPaaddiiyyaatthh,,VViiccee PPrreessiiddeenntt AAuuttoo,, AAeerroossppaaccee && DDeeffeennssee,, WWiipprroo,, MMiiccaaeell JJoohhaannssssoonn,, SSeenniioorr VViiccee PPrreessiiddeennttaanndd HHeeaadd ooff SSaaaabb''ss bbuussiinneessss aarreeaa EElleeccttrroonniicc DDeeffeennccee SSyysstteemmss aanndd HHååkkaann KKaappppeelliinn,,MMaarrkkeettiinngg mmaannaaggeerr,, bbuussiinneessss aarreeaa EElleeccttrroonniicc DDeeffeennssee SSyysstteemmss,, SSaaaabb

SHOW WILLSEE INDIANFIRMS HAL,L&T, M&M,TATA, PUNJLLOYD, ETC

World class capability

TAILORED DEFENCE AND SECURITY SOLUTIONS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY SHARING AND LOCALLY FOCUSED PARTNERSHIPS.

Visit us in Hall 9 at DefExpo 2012.

Preview our exhibition presence at www.baesystems.com/defexpo2012.

The number of pilots and

technicians Airbus has trained

to operate transport and

maritime patrol aircraft10,0006

A Commercial Feature

OMNIPOL IS AN INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISEDcompany that has been trading in defence andaerospace technology for more than 75 years. Thecompany is one of the leading exporters andimporters of defence equipment in the CzechRepublic. The company’s vast experience andbroad knowledge of international markets makes ithighly competitive selling the products of Czechindustrial and development enterprises.

Era is a pioneer and leading supplier of next-gener-ation surveillance and flight tracking solutions for theair traffic management, military, security and airportoperations markets. With proven multi-lateration andADS-B technologies delivering high-performance,high-reliability surveillance solutions, the companyhas over 100 airport, air traffic management and mili-tary customers throughout the United States, Europe,the Middle East, Africa, South America and Asia.

Both the Czech companies Omnipol and Era willparticipate in the 2012 DefExpo India exhibition. TheOmnipol/Era stand at the Expo (Stand number 18g.4b)forms a part of the national exposition of the CzechRepublic where the companies will introduce the lat-est Czech built reconnaissance system, including theVera-NG Passive Surveillance System.

Vera-NG is the fifth generation of Era‘s Passive ESMTracking (PET) technology, which was designed,developed and manufactured in the Czech Republic.The system, based on the time difference of arrival(TDOA) multi-lateration principle, processes signalsemitted by air, ground and naval transmitters of allkinds including radars, jammers, SIF/IFF transpondersand TACAN/DME interrogators.

Vera-NG is an integrated ELINT and PassiveSurveillance System designed for detection, locationand tracking of air, ground, and naval surface targets.It is capable of being used as an early warning, fieldintelligence service or air defence system formingpart of an integrated defence unit. Its passive opera-tion (no electromagnetic emissions) makes Vera-NGthe ultimate in covert surveillance, giving it the abilityto ”see without being seen”.

The system, in its basic configuration, consists offour unmanned and remotely controlled receivingstations plus one processing station with an operatorworkstation. It can be mounted on various types ofhigh-mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicles(HMMWV) depending on requirements.

S EEING A GROWING DEMAND FORmuch smaller, simpler and cheaperplanes with the capability to loiterfor extended periods of time whileproviding airborne surveillanceover long ranges, has Airbus’s mili-tary division and state-run IsraelAerospace Industries decided tojointly develop a new airborneearly warning and control aircraft?We believe we have a very powerfuland cost-effective airborne early warn-ing system which uses the AirbusMilitary C295 aircraft as a platform fora radar provided by the Elta division ofIsrael Aerospace Industries. All of theelements of this system are technicallymature and have been proven in otherapplications by the two companies, soalthough it is highly advanced in termsof capabilities, it is also a very low-riskdevelopment.

In flight tests last year we demon-strated that there is no problemmounting the rotating radar on top ofthe aircraft in what is called arotodome. So we will have a systemthat provides true 360-degree cover-age, high performance compared tocompeting products, and the lowestlife-cycle costs of any AEW aircraft.This is critically important for nationsthat need an AEW capability to covertheir territory but cannot justify theenormous expense of a large jet air-craft like an AWACS, or even fornations that have an AWACS but needa smaller and more cost-effective air-craft for tactical purposes.

We are actively marketing this air-craft while we continue with the engi-neering studies and we are getting avery good response.

Do you think that because ofemerging conflicts across theglobe you will be offering the mar-ket the right solution with theright technology?There is no doubt that more and morenations are realising the high impor-tance of having their own AEW capa-bility to ensure the security of theirhomelands. Many countries are in thedifficult situation of having limited

financial resources but also needing toprotect large territories or lengthycoastlines, often against unconvention-al opponents using infiltration tech-niques to get into the country. TheC295 AEW is an ideal solution in thosecircumstances, allowing surveillance ofvery large areas but at a cost thatmakes best use of a defence budget.

What is the update on AirbusMilitary's strategic collaborationagreement with PT DirgantaraIndonesia (PTDI) to assist with therevitalisation of the Indonesiannational aerospace industry?We signed the new co-operationagreement in October last year withthe full support of the Indonesian gov-

ernment and are awaiting final valida-tion shortly. It will allow PTDI torestructure its activities and prepareitself to become a tier-1 supplier for theaerospace industry at an internationallevel. The first elements of the plan arebeing put in place and there are teamsof Airbus Military specialists in differ-ent areas such as production, process-es, manufacturing and IT starting towork with their PTDI counterparts.

What are your plans for theIndian market?We are extremely active in India and weconsider it one of our most importantmarkets. Right now we are competingfor the Indian requirement for anadvanced tanker transport and we are

optimistic that we can win that contestwith our A330 MRTT, which is the onlynew generation tanker/transport that isflying and certified right now. The RoyalAustralian Air Force have now receivedtheir first four A330 MRTTs and theyare delighted with them, so we are sureit would be a superb solution for theIndian Air Force too.

But there are other important Indianneeds that we are very well-placed toaddress. The C295 is an outstandingcandidate to meet India´s transportaircraft requirement and we are nowresponding to the first requests forinformation from India. It is extremelywell-proven in hot, high and austereairfields around the world, it is veryrugged and has the lowest life-cycle

costs in its class. Then there is alsointerest from India in new maritimepatrol aircraft and that is a sectorwhere we are the world leader with theCN235 and the C295, so we are payingclose attention to India´s needs in thatrespect. India is a challenging marketto penetrate but we have been learn-ing quickly how the Indian tenderingprocess works and how they do theirprocurement. It is a strategic marketfor us and we are confident that even-tually we will do business there.

Last year it was announced thatAirbus Military planned to startdiscussions with India over poten-tial acquisition of the A400M mili-tary airlifter. What is the current

status of the same?Obviously the A400M is a long-term

prospect for India. But this year we arebeginning to market the aircraft tocountries outside the core nations thatlaunched the programme and India isone of the first places that we want tovisit and to physically demonstrate theaircraft. Of course, India already hasordered C-17 strategic transports and ithas older tactical transports like the C-130 and Antonovs, but the A400M hasa totally unique combination of capa-bilities. It can fly at heights and speedscomparable to jet transports, butunlike them it can conduct operationsfrom rough and short airstrips close tothe action or to the scenes of humani-tarian disasters. It is much faster thanthe C-130 and can fly twice as far orcarry twice the weight. Additionally, itis a very capable tanker that can flyfast enough to refuel fighters and slowenough to refuel helicopters. So I thinkthat as we get the chance to show theIndian Air Force what the A400M cando they are going to become increas-ingly interested in it partly for puredefence purposes and partly to enableIndia to play its role on the world stagein humanitarian operations.

Have you launched simulator train-ing centre for the A400M, CN-235and C-295 where pilots, techniciansand allied staff will be trained?We have trained more than 10,000pilots and technicians over the years tooperate our transport and maritimepatrol aircraft. Less than two years agowe opened a state-of-the-art new train-ing centre at Seville in Spain which is asuperb facility with full-flight simulatorsand very extensive computer-basedtraining. There are currently simulatorsfor the C295 and CN235 and the firstA400M simulator will be installedready to begin pilot training as the air-craft enters service. There is room forsix simulators at the training centre andthese are the most modern devicesavailable which can accurately simulateeven special missions like para-troop-ing, flight with night vision goggles, andrough field take-offs and landings.

HERE TO ADDRESSINDIAN NEEDS

SOLUTIONS Airbus Military is the only military and civic/humanitarian transportaircraft manufacturer to develop, produce, sell and support a huge family ofairlifters ranging from 3 to 45 tonnes of payload. Antonio Rodriguez-Barberan,SVP Commercial, Airbus Military, shares the company's India plans. Excerpts:

CZECH COMPANIESOMNIPOL AND ERA AREPARTICIPATING IN THE 2012DEFEXPO INDIA EXHIBITION

EAST EUROPE

THECZECHARE HERE

INDIA IS ACHALLENGINGMARKET TOPENETRATEBUT WE HAVEBEENLEARNINGQUICKLY

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The approximate number of

weeks MoD takes to finalise its

choice of equipment after

receiving a response to its RFP1507

A Commercial Feature

TOP 10 DEFENCE BUDGETS 2011 (US $ BILLION) GLOBAL HOMELAND SECURITY EXPENDITURE

TOP 10 DEFENCE BUDGETS IN 2011 AS % OFGDP*

SOURCE: : http://defense.aol.com/2012/03/16/the-military-imbalance-how-the-u-s-outspends-the-world/

EXPENDITURE HERE IS A QUICK LOOK AT DEFENCE SPENDING ACROSS VARIOUS COUNTRIES,DEFENCE SHARE AS A PERCENTAGE OF GDP, AND HOMELAND SECURITY EXPENDITURE

CHINAUNITED STATES

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

UNITEDSTATES

OTHER TOP 10COUNTRIES

UNITED KINGDOM FRANCE

JAPAN RUSSIA SAUDI ARABIA

GERMANY INDIA BRAZIL

89.8 62.7 58.8

58.4 52.7 46.2

44.2739.3 37.3 36.6

Who Spends Where & How

EXPENDITURE ON HLS BY VARIOUS AGENCIES INTHE FINANCIAL YEAR 2009-2010

MoD (Maritime Security) MHA State Police Private

WITH INDIAN DEFENCE PURCHASESprojected to cross $30 billion soon(inclusive of the recent spate of dealsfor the IAF and the Indian Navy) andthen to around $80 billion a decadelater, Defexpos will continue to grow.The steady gaze of the hawks is onwhat both the Indian armed forcesand the police cum paramilitarywould require, especially as a reportin the Washington Post (Sept 19, 2010)

had projected that India was a $1.7 tril-lion market for internal (homeland)security itself. But that would takesome years, if not a decade.

While the purchases by the policeand paramilitary forces are not astime consuming as those of the min-istry of defence's, but there is still noconsensus about their role in battlinginternal security challenges and howthat must be accomplished. (The

debate over the NCTC is a case inpoint.) Once they decide to take a call,as some police chiefs have begun todo, then their process would be farless tedious than the MoD's, whichafter receiving a response to its RFPcould take up to 152 weeks to finaliseits choice of equipment, and that toowith the lowest price (L-1) factor beinga clincher, as we learnt in the recentFrench Rafale aircraft deal. In the case

of internal security purchases there isvast budget lying unused, and thesuppliers of military technologieswould do well to zoom in on thepolice and paramilitary forces whohave been looking for technologies,have the funds, and could buy whatthey please (provided they put up themandatory proposal to the home min-istry). Often this is held up for want ofa trip to abroad to shortlist the besttechnologies!

If there is a lesson to learn fromover two decades of battling terror,then it is: 'India must prepare to pre-empt' future terror strikes. Little how-ever has been done to that effect. Thearmed forces have systematically con-vinced our political masters to givetoys to their boys, in case tensionsspill over onto the battlefields - per-haps in the post-terror strike eventual-ity - with force multipliers like state-of-the-art fighter jets and blue waternaval might. But the true bulwarkagainst the terror strike itself, the footsoldier is still far from well equipped.He suffers the grind of soldiering,keeping vigil and when required bat-tling terrorists unto death.

The weapon systems that'll be ondisplay at the Defexpo - fromarmoured fighting vehicles to anti air-craft guns, vision devices, communi-cation systems, and the gadgetries touse in modern ships and submarines -shows that we haven't quite learnt ourlessons yet. Because there'll be littleon display to equip and augment the

role of our foot soldiers - the infantry-man and our special forces such asthe NSG, Marcos, Para Commandos -who are the cutting edge to battling26/11 type assaults. Partly because thestuff they require don't allow thosewho sell arms, to make big profits;and partly because our very ownDRDO keeps promising that they'llcome up with cheaper one-size-fit-alloptions, for our men. In an era when

terrorists have access to all the tech-nology, barring aside a handful of spe-cial units, most of our soldiers andpolicemen are ill-equipped to battlesuicidal warriors.

For instance, the police and para-military forces do not have the pro-tection system for their personnel ortheir vehicles. Whereas today's ter-rorist will at least carry the automat-ic AK-47's, some policemen stillcarry antique bolt action rifles,which are slow and tedious to oper-ate. And while a terrorist uses satel-lite phones and GPS navigationalsystems, the policeman has VHFradio sets that cannot function incities like Mumbai with high-risebuildings. Lethal explosives are nowa norm amongst terrorists - oftenreferred to as IED's - our haplesspolicemen have neither the trainingaids nor the sensors that they'llneed to detect and neutralise them.

Moreover, small, well-equippedteams are a key to the quick respons-es that battling terrorism requires.Only the special-forces have those inplace, not the ordinary policemanwho is bundled off to undertake acounter-terror or counter-insurgencyrole with little or no training. India'spolice have a long way to go, asIndia's politicians are yet to agree ona common approach to battling ter-ror. In short, we cannot at presentexpect their police - their first line ofdefence - to stall a terrorist attack.

The story of India's armed forces isa diametrically opposite. While theMoD has - after its meticulousprocesses - approved the purchasesof military hardware of about $25 bil-lion recently; the army, which is thekey to fighting today's low-intensityconflicts, has received approvals forless than $500 million worth of equip-ment! India's defence planners remainobsessed with the threats from Chinaand Pakistan and projecting India'spresence in blue waters, and thusacquiring expensive force multipliers-like fifth generation aircraft, long-range artillery and aircraft carriers -while ignoring the foot soldier. It ishowever India's homeland securityand the ability to confront terrorismby 'preparing to pre-empt' that musttake greater priority over preparing aconventional war that might neverhappen. And we need to equip ourforces accordingly.

THE AUTHOR SPECIALISES ON DEFENCE& HOMELAND SECURITY MATTERS. AND VIEWSEXPRESSED ARE PERSONAL.

THE POLICE ANDPARAMILITARYFORCES DO NOTALWAYS HAVETHE NECESSARYPROTECTIONSYSTEM

ARMING NOT HUGE WEAPONS, BUT ARMING THE FOOT SOLDIERIS WHAT THE COUNTRY SHOULD FOCUS ON, SAYS MAROOF RAZA

W

4 2%OTHERS

46 %

46 %

38 %

38 %

5 %CHINA

4 %UK

5 %SAUDIARABIA

4 %GERMANY

3 %FRANCE

33 %US

4 %INDIA

SOURCE: : Security Watch India

WHAT INDIA NEEDSFROM DEFEXPO

KILOMETRES OF BORDERLINE: 21,103NUMBER OF POPULATION: 1,210,193,422ONE PARTNER FOR SECURITY SOLUTIONSNATIONWIDE SECURITY. The boundaries of India consist of thousands of kilometres of land andmaritime borders. Inside those frontiers millions of people live and work in large cities or small villages. With our outstanding nationwide security capabilities, we are a trusted partner for governments and security agencies that face the challenge of protecting their territory and citizens. www.cassidian.com

DEFENDING WORLD SECURITY

Visit us on

Defexpo 2012March 29 - April 1

Pragati MaidanNew Delhi, India

Hall 11, Stand 4

If a commercial carrier cansave even 50 pounds of fuelper flight, it will reapmassive paybacks508

A Commercial Feature

INERTIA Inertial systems are more than just a backup forGPS navigation, says Mike Madsen

TT--HHAAWWKKUUNNMMAANNNNEEDDAAEERRIIAALL VVEEHHIICCLLEE

enabler, will be a ground-based augmentation sys-tem (GBAS) that corrects and enhances the GPSposition and orientation registered by an aircraft'sonboard systems.

A GBAS does not incorporate an embeddedinertial system as backup for GPS in the event ofsignal failure. Rather, it provides real-time differen-tial correction of the GPS signal in all-weather con-ditions. Local-reference GPS receivers locatedaround the airport send data to a central locationat the airport. This data is used to formulate a cor-rection message, which is then transmitted toapproaching aircraft via a VHF data link. A receiveron board the aircraft uses this info to correct GPSsignals, enabling a much more precise approachthan existing instrument landing systems (ILS).

So far, Honeywell's SmartPath is the only GBASto receive FAA system design approval. A singleSmartPath installation at a major airport can beused for multiple precision approaches of up to26 aircraft within the local area.

From an air carrier's perspective, GBAS providesmuch more salient benefits. An aircraft equippedwith GBAS technology can utilize curved orstacked or otherwise complex runway approach-es, which allows tightening of the approach lanes.GBAS will not only ensure a higher standard ofsafety, especially at mega-volume airports, it willalleviate delays and minimize fuel burn. If a com-mercial carrier can save even 50 pounds of fuel ona single domestic flight by using a more efficientapproach, it will reap a massive payback in annualenterprise-wide savings. Yet another benefit tothe airlines: an aircraft will require only a singleset of navigation equipment to enable both local-and wide-area augmentation. This lowers initialand maintenance costs for each platform, whichno longer need to carry separate receivers forthe half-dozen or so existing navigational aidsthat currently guide an aircraft’s regional andlocal approaches.

THE AUTHOR IS PRESIDENT OF DEFENCE & SPACE,HONEYWELL AEROSPACE.

S ATELLITE-BASED NAVIGATIONenables warfighters to operatemore swiftly and precisely thanever before, and it has supplanted -in barely two decades - legacy sys-tems for managing civil air trafficas well. The modern PNT - or posi-tioning, navigation and timing -paradigm is based on the assump-tion that the space-based GlobalPositioning System (GPS) is acces-sible most of the time to provideposition, velocity and timing infor-mation, thereby allowing everyuser to operate on the same refer-ence system and timing standard.

However, this much relianceupon GPS availability creates apotential vulnerability in both mili-tary theaters and domestic air-space if GPS signals becomedegraded or denied. Threats con-tinue to proliferate - some fromhostile sources, others simplyfrom the complex infrastructurewe've created:

Tactical jamming of GPS recep-tion in the battlespace;Conduct of military operationswhere use of GPS is counter-indicated;Radio-frequency interference inthe GPS bandwidth in domesticairspace; Potential jamming of airport orcommercial aircraft systems byterrorists;Brief satellite transmission out-ages that affect regional air traf-fic management.

When operators or systems can-not access GPS signals, critical PNTinformation can be gathered onlywith self-contained, inertial-basedinstruments. Inertial navigationsystems (INS) are generally viewedtoday as a less accurate solution tobe used only as a fallback in GPS-denied circumstances. However,the engineers who are developingthe navigation and air-traffic man-agement systems of the future rec-ognize the value of INS not merelyas a backup but as a unifying ele-ment that enhances navigationalprecision and provides a hubaround which other avionics sys-tems can be clustered.

For that reason, we've contin-ued to refine the performance ofinertial systems while reducingtheir size, weight and unit cost.We're also making them morerugged to withstand high G-forcesand battle shock. As unmannedaircraft systems (UAS) continue tocommand more of the airspace,both military and domestic, wecontinue to explore new conceptsof UAS operation, which in turndrives our R&D of inertial systems

in new directions. Embedded GPS/inertial naviga-

tion (EGI) systems have proventhemselves in both military andcivil operations, exploiting thecapabilities of both technologiesin truly synergistic fashion. TheGPS provides signals that cali-brate the INS, while the INSupdates the platform's positionand angle at a higher rate thanthe GPS can. For high-dynamicvehicles such as missiles and pre-cision-guided munitions, INS fillsin the gaps between GPS posi-tions. In the event that the GPSreceiver loses its signal, or theaircrew chooses to increasestealth by temporarily shuttingdown GPS reception, the INS cancontinue to compute the plat-form's position and orientation.

Integrating EGI TechnologyInto Older PlatformsDue to fiscal pressure, we've seencutbacks in most sectors already,but also a reprogramming ofspending across the board. This

shift has refocused the market onmodernizing older platforms,increasing their operating efficien-cy and otherwise extending theirservice life.

At Honeywell, we've continuedto move the market forward withnew technology but have alsoadapted our defense products tothis demand for modifications,upgrades and other service-lifeextensions. In other words, we'reapplying the cost-of-ownershiplogic embraced by our commer-cial carriers to our defense cus-tomers' needs.

Unmanned Aircraft Systemsin GPS-Denied ScenariosMore than half the sorties currentlybeing flown in Afghanistan byNATO forces are unmanned andplanning for unmanned air trafficmanagement in the NationalAirspace System (NAS) has reachedthe final stages. Although some mil-

itary UAS are taking on combatmissions, most are currently usedfor intelligence, surveillance andreconnaissance (ISR) missions.

At Honeywell, we're also explor-ing possible GPS-denied solutionsfor future operation of unmannedaircraft in the national airspace.One promising approach: integrat-ing an EGI system with DME (dis-tance-measuring equipment.)DME is currently used by all airlin-ers and many general-aviationplatforms to measure distance bytiming the propagation delay ofVHF or UHF signals.

Toward the Future:Smaller Is BetterThe Defense Advanced ResearchProjects Agency (DARPA), the AirForce Research Lab (AFRL) andthe Office of Naval Research(ONR) have all issued recent RFPsfor further development of micro-sized inertial measurement units(the basic sensor of an INS) withvarious objectives in mind. TheDARPA contract awarded to

Honeywell in August 2011, calls fora high-velocity, shockproof timingand inertial measurement unit(TIMU) of approximately 10 cubicmillimeters. This would reduce theindustry standard of 50,000 cubicmillimeters by a mind-bogglingfactor of 5,000.

Air Traffic Managementof the Future Has ArrivedTwo major civil-aviation initiativesare currently in development:NextGen for the U.S. and SESAR forthe EU. Both are designed to radi-cally improve precision, safety andeconomy of air-traffic manage-ment for years to come. A highlynetworked system of systems, theFAA-mandated Next Generation AirTraffic Management System(NextGen) will be GPS-centric butwill incorporate a good deal ofexisting infrastructure as backupto provide multiple redundancies.At the heart of NextGen, its core

WHEN SYSTEMSCANNOT ACCESSGPS SIGNALS,PNT INFO CANBE GATHEREDONLY WITHINERTIAL-BASEDINSTRUMENTS

MMIIKKEE MMAADDSSEENN,, PPRREESSIIDDEENNTT OOFF DDEEFFEENNCCEE&& SSPPAACCEE,, HHOONNEEYYWWEELLLL AAEERROOSSPPAACCEE

TEXTRON SYSTEMS Corporation has been providinginnovative solutions to the defence, homeland secu-rity and aerospace communities for more than 50years. At the Defexpo India 2012, Textron Systemswill showcase its combat-proven technologies, thehighlights of which include ground-based smartweapons, tactical vehicles and unmanned systems.

"As we develop and deepen our relationships with-in the country, it is clear that the combined strengthof Textron Systems' technical capabilities and experi-ence can benefit India," said retired vice-admiralKevin J Cosgriff, who is the senior VP, InternationalBusiness and Government, Textron Systems. "Weremain fully engaged with the Indian government,armed forces and business partners to bring ourinnovative yet proven technologies to the region."

Among these technologies are ground-basedsmart weapons, which use the company's precise,reliable sensors and safety mechanisms to completemilitary missions while protecting friendly forces andnon-combatants. Attendees will be able to learnabout Textron Systems' family of tactical wheeledArmoured Security Vehicles. Also represented will bethe company's fleet of marine craft, including theLCAC. "Defexpo is an important venue to discussissues and technologies that can be helpful to India'sdefence and homeland security," said Cosgriff.

TEXTRON SYSTEMS WILLSHOWCASE ITS COMBAT-PROVEN TECHNOLOGIES ATTHE DEFEXPO INDIA 2012

LEAD

DEFENCESYSTEMSINTEGRATION IS THE

KEY TO NAVIGATION

Heroism. One powerful idea.

Dual rescue hoists. All-weather agility. When search-and-rescue crews need the ultimate

in flexibility and performance, they turn to the Sikorsky S-92®. And when we needed the

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TEL: +91 11 40881000Hamilton Sundstrand  | Otis  | Pratt & Whitney | Sikorsky | UTC Climate, Controls & Security 

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Heroism. One powerful idea.

The number of America’s

army veterans Northrop

Grumman employs, nearly

18% of its total workforce13,0009

A Commercial Feature

S Military sales business in the USrelies on government militaryspending, in addition to budgetpressures, are you beginning tosee the impact of the troop draw-downs in Iraq and Afghanistan,primarily on/in ElectronicSystems for ID/IQ contracts suchas the vehicular intercommuni-cation systems that are used bythe Army?Yes, we are seeing an impact on ourbusiness as the drawdown in USdefence and security spending pro-ceeds. However, we maintain a posi-tive outlook for such critical capabili-ties as the vehicular intercommuni-cations system.

Despite the global financial slow-down, Northrop GrummanCorporation has for the fourthconsecutive year been honouredas a GI Jobs Military FriendlyEmployer, ranking 11th overall.Can you share more on this? Howdid the company manage thisranking?Northrop Grumman supports, and isproud of, our military veterans. Thevalues fundamental to the military—such as integrity, duty, responsibili-ty—are the same values we expect inour workforce. Just as active dutywarfighters are equipped to succeedin their mission, American militaryveterans are equipped to succeed atNorthrop Grumman.

One initiative we are very proud

of is Operation IMPACT (InjuredMilitary Pursuing Assisted CareerTransition). Through this programme,Northrop Grumman provides careertransition support to military servicemembers who have been severelyinjured in the global war on terrorand to their families. NorthropGrumman has built a Network of

Champions with 60 other companieswho are also committed to assistingseverely wounded service membersand their families in finding careeropportunities. Reinforcing its long-standing commitment to hiring veter-ans, in mid-February, NorthropGrumman announced its participa-

tion in the Joining Forces Initiative, aneffort to help America's veterans asthey transition to the civilian work-force. Northrop Grumman employsmore than 13,000 veterans, nearly18% of the total workforce, and iscommitted to increasing its alreadyextensive outreach to veterans andtheir families.

What is new that will be on dis-play at the Defexpo?At Defexpo 2012 Northrop Grummanwill be showcasing its industry-lead-ing range of Intelligence,Surveillance and Reconnaissance(ISR) capabilities. We will specificallyhighlight the E-2D AdvancedHawkeye airborne early warning andcontrol system, the MQ-4C BroadArea Maritime SurveillanceUnmanned Aircraft System (BAMSUAS), and the lighter-than-air, long-duration hybrid airship system.

How successful have your been inselling your products in India, con-sidering it is such a big market?Northrop Grumman’s strong relation-ship with India goes back manydecades and is built on a legacy oftrust and performance across numer-ous programmes and endeavours.The company supports India in a vari-ety of defence and civil applicationsincluding air traffic control communi-cations systems and radars,unmanned ground vehicles for theIndian Army and marine navigation

systems for the Indian Navy. It bringssignificant, relevant capabilities forhomeland defence modernisationand command & control, intelligence,surveillance and reconnaissance(C2ISR). Northrop Grumman is com-mitted to working with India to be thetrusted provider of the mostadvanced technology and capabili-ties to ensure the defence of Indiatoday and into the future. Our desireis to support existing and future pro-grammes with the Indian ArmedForces, and we fully intend to partnerwith Indian industry.

What is the current status of theintegrated bridge systems (IBS)for two new fleet tankers beingbuilt in Italy for the Indian Navy?There were two shipsets. Both IBSsystems have been delivered andaccepted by the Indian Navy. Thevessels are now in service and usingthe IBS. All indications are that theIndian Navy is satisfied with the IBS.

Will the massive downturn indefence spending impact defencetechnology?Reduced defence spending world-wide creates a challenging and com-petitive environment in which to oper-ate. Northrop Grumman has a wide-range of systems and capabilities,covering the full spectrum of defencerequirements. The company remainsfocused on the value of performanceand finding innovative ways to ensure

our systems and services remainaffordable for our customers.

Any new technologies you haveto offer to the global market?Northrop Grumman is a companyfounded more than 80 years ago oninnovation and determination.Covering the full-range of defenceand security hardware, software andservices from under the water toouter space to cyberspace, NorthropGrumman’s core competencies arealigned with the current and futureneeds of our customers and addressemerging global security challengesin key critical areas, such asunmanned systems, cyber-security,

C4ISR and logistics. We are a pre-mier provider of manned andunmanned aircraft, space systems,missile systems and advanced tech-nologies critical to a nation’s securi-ty. With four operating sectors –Aerospace Systems, ElectronicSystems, Information Systems andTechnical Services - NorthropGrumman is well positioned to pro-vide near- and long-term solutionsthat meet a nation’s current andfuture requirements with its state-of-the-art technologies and advancedcapabilities. Northrop Grummanremains committed to being themost trusted supplier of defenceand national security solutions.

“WE WILL SHOWCASEISR CAPABILITIES”

PERFORMANCE The Manager, International Business Development,AEWBMC & Control Systems, Northrop Grumman Aerospace, Tom C Trudell,says the company is committed to working with India to be the trustedprovider of the most advanced technology and capabilities. Excerpts:

NORTHROPGRUMMAN’SRELATIONSHIPWITH INDIAGOES BACKMANY DECADES

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Military Engines

The year in which DCI was

created to assist military

equipment sales, especially

to foreign countries197210

A Commercial Feature

CASSIDIAN HAS APPOINTED PETER GUTSMIEDL ASthe first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of its Indiaoperations. Based in Bengalore, the heart of India’saerospace and defence industry, he will lead thenext phase of Cassidian’s engagement with India.Before assuming this new position, Gutsmiedlgained 22 years of experience in various senior andboard level roles at Cassidian, which is the securityand defence company of EADS.

Welcoming his new responsibility, Gutsmiedl stat-ed: “I am looking forward to my new task of plug-ging India firmly into Cassidian’s global value chain.We have started to establish a deep industrial foot-print here in collaboration with public and privateIndian entities such as HAL, DRDO, Larsen & Toubroand others. Cassidian’s Engineering Centre inBangalore provides an excellent base, both for deliv-ering tailor-made equipment to local customers andfor supporting our global initiatives from India.”

Gutsmiedl has been instrumental in the success ofCassidian programmes related to EurofigherTyphoon, Tornado, F-18, F-4, A400M, AWACS,EuroHawk and several UAV programmes. Before hismove to India, he was head of engineering atCassidian Air Systems. He also served as head of pro-gramme management for Strike Aircraft & AirborneMission Systems. Peter Gutsmiedl holds a PhD inPhysics from the Technical University of Munich.

M FOR MANY YEARS, THE DÉFENSEConseil International (DCI) group hasspecialised in French military know-how transfer in the frame of arma-ment exportation contracts. Today, asDCI celebrates its 40th birthday, thecompany also proposes to its cus-tomers training, consulting and assis-tance services independently ofarmament sales. This segment repre-sents the largest part of DCI'sturnover.

DCI was created in 1972 to assistmilitary equipment sales to foreigncountries. Its main mission consistedof providing operational trainingcourses based on the know-how ofthe French Armed Forces.

Today it is an upper medium sizeservice provider in which the Frenchgovernment is the concurring share-holder and now operates throughoutthe defence and security spectrum.DCI is a partner of the French ArmedForces for 10 years within the scopeof service contracts and seek toexpand its activities to EuropeanUnion countries.

To meet their requirements interms of skills or expertise, DCI pro-vides its customers with tailoredservices which include academic,operational and technical/operationaltraining, as well as technical assis-tance and consulting services.

Last year, MBDA France andDéfense Conseil International-COFRAS, DCI’s land force and militarypolice department, signed a MoU tooffer training covering MBDA’s prod-ucts and technical expertise in the

anti-tank, long-range artillery and airdefence domains and DCI’s tacticalexpertise to customers.

Company executives said, “Theprogrammes we are now proposingto our export customers are becom-ing more and more personalised. Itwas therefore necessary to formaliseand perpetuate a relationship with aspecialist such as DCI in the tacticaluse of weapons. The link up with DCI-COFRAS will thereby guarantee amore comprehensive training to ourcustomers.”

Academic training plays an essen-tial part in structuring elite militarypersonnel. It therefore constitutes acentral pole of DCI's activity itenables officers of friendly foreigncountries to obtain French diplomaswhose level and “French ArmedForces” label areinterna-tionallyrecognised. In the aeronautic field,DCI can now propose a full academictraining offer with the possibility toobtain a university degree (includingMaster courses) thanks to a tripartitepartnership with the MéditérranéeUniversity and the Air Force acade-my.

DCI delivers operational and tech-nical/operational training enabling itscustomers to rapidly acquire the nec-essary qualifications for the opera-tion and in-service support of militaryequipment. These training pro-grammes cover a wide range of skillsand levels, ranging from initial train-ing to highly specialised training.

For India, the company plans to beinvolved with training for otherequipment like planes and helicopter.There are more than 200 coursesand can very well adapt to India’sneeds. “For India, we can train yourforces on Indian equipment, as youhave many armament manufacturersin your country. We can impart toIndian forces the skills and training toimprove their level of know-how andskills in terms of operational activi-ties,” company officials said.

The armed forces of friendly for-eign countries may require occasion-al or regular assistance to develop anarmament programme, operate spe-cific equipment, ensure its in-servicesupport or renovate it.

Owing to its technical and opera-tional skills, DCI is in a

position to assist and advise itspartners through all stages ofdefence programme devel-opment, from the require-ment specification and thedevelopment of an opera-tional use concept, tothe implementation ofthe delivered equip-ment and their in-service support,and sometimes toeven their decom-missioning.

TAKING UP VARIOUSRESPONSIBILITIES

VERSATILE FROM ACADEMIC TO OPERATIONAL TRAINING, DCIIS DOING IT ALL AND DOING IT WITH ÉLAN

CASSIDIAN APPOINTSPETER GUTSMIEDL AS FIRSTINDIA CEO

DCI ASSISTS ANDADVISES ITSPARTNERSTHROUGH ALLSTAGES OFDEFENCEPROGRAMMEDEVELOPMENT

WELCOME

A NEWROLE TOPLAY

GOODRICH CORPORATION, AFortune 500 company, is a lead-ing global supplier of systemsand services to the aerospaceand defence industry. “If there'san aircraft in the sky - we're onit,” the company says. Goodrichhas one of the broadest portfo-lios of systems and products inthe aerospace industry and pri-marily provides proprietary,flight-critical products. The com-pany offers systems and prod-ucts for large commercial air-craft, business and regional air-craft, helicopters, engines and,as mentioned earlier, fordefence and space applications.The company focuses onincreasing value for customersthrough innovative technologythat increases operating effi-ciency and reduces life-cyclecosts, supported by a globalafter-market organisation.

The company's arm, GoodrichLighting Systems, which is ratedone of the largest aerospacelighting company in the world, issupporting the Indian indige-nous aircraft programmes formany years. It provides lightingproducts for the LCA Tejas pro-gramme as well as the IJT Sitara,the ALH Dhruv and its deriva-tives, the LTA 228 and the NALSaras. It is also on most of theforeign platforms operated bythe Indian armed forces, likeMiG-29, Hawk, C-130, P-8I.

Goodrich Aerospace ServicesPvt Ltd, located at Whitefield,Bangalore, has grown significant-ly in the past 14 years and the sitehas over 1,200 employees.

The company is participatingin the Defexpo, where it is exhibit-ing mission-critical defence tech-nology that brings real-time infor-mation to air crews and warfighters along with leading field-proven safety systems. Goodrichis also demonstrating its mis-sion-critical guidance, navigationand stabilisation products includ-ing updated TERPROM terrain

software designed to increaseflight safety and tactical aware-ness for both fixed wing and heli-copter crews.

Also on display will beGoodrich’s IntelligenceExploitation System (IES), a wellproven and fielded system thatingests data from multiple sen-sors including the Goodrich DB-110 sensor, rapidly disseminatingresultant created intelligence; theadvanced, proven DB-110 real-time, digital, tactical reconnais-sance system that captures

images both during day andnight using electro-optical/infrared technology trans-mitting this data, in real-time, toanalysts on the ground; stabilisedgimbal technology for force pro-tection on helicopters, fixed wingaircraft and small UAVs; andwide-area persistent surveillance

equipment, developed to providebroad area situational awarenessfor ground forces.

Goodrich's inertial navigationbusiness is currently workingwith VSSL ISRO and has sup-plied many inertial systems foruse in space applications. Thisoperation is currently looking atthe use of a new integratedIMU/GPS unit for future spaceprogrammes. The company saysthat it is happy to continue con-versation with governmentorganisations on this activity orin its other areas of expertise.

Recently GoodrichCorporation's Sensors andIntegrated Systems team inPlymouth, UK, won a prestigioussupply chain award from theaerospace industry trade groupADS, for achieving nearly per-fect on-time delivery and prod-uct quality for an entire year.The company says that the 21stCentury Supply Chains (SC21)gold award for Goodrich inPlymouth marks the first time inhistory that a manufacturingoperation has received theaward. Goodrich was selectedfor its efforts across its entirebusiness and manufacturingoperation in Plymouth, as wellas a 99% successful track recordfor on-time delivery and productquality to all customers world-wide over a 12-month period.

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VARIETY GOODRICH TECHNOLOGY IS INVOLVED IN MAKINGAIRCRAFT FLY, HELPING THEM LAND & KEEPING THEM SAFE

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A Commercial Feature

CASSIDIAN CONSIDERS INDIAnot only as a key market withincreasing defence and securityneeds but even more so as arapidly growing country thatoffers new opportunities forlong-lasting strategic partner-ships. Therefore, Cassidian iscommitted to invest in India'sindustry and people. In the pastfew years, Cassidian createdseveral partnerships with organ-isations such as the DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO), whichbuild a solid basis to expand thecooperation with Indian aero-space and defence companies.

An excellent example for thecommitment to increase itsindustrial footprint in India is thenew Cassidian EngineeringCentre in Bangalore, which wasopened in February 2011. It hasbeen established to provideengineering services toEuropean partners as well asIndian customers. The engineer-ing centre is the first defence-related centre of this kind creat-ed by a foreign company inIndia. Indian engineers workingfor this centre have been sent toCassidian in Germany to attendtechnical and inter-cultural train-ing courses.

Cassidian also created a jointventure (JV) with India's elec-tronics giant Larsen & Toubro(L&T) in the fields of defenceelectronics. The JV, based atTalegaon near Pune, and inBangalore, will be active in thedefence electronics market. Itaims to cover manufacturing,design, engineering, distributionand marketing in the fields ofelectronic warfare, radars, avion-ics and mobile systems (such asbridges) for military applica-tions. L&T holds 74% in the JVwhereas Cassidian's share is26%, according to FDI laws. TheJV will cooperate closely withCassidian's Engineering Centre.

Together with the Aerospace

Development Agency inBangalore, Cassidian signed aconsultancy contract about thefuture cooperation for the LightCombat Aircraft (LCA). Cassidianwill use all its technologicalknow-how, competence andexpertise to make India's LCA areal success.

In 2009, Cassidian signed acontract to deploy a modernTETRA radio network to secureIndian Parliament. Cassidian hasteamed up with its local partnerSanchar Telesystems Ltd to pro-vide Indian Parliament with adigital, GPS-based, encryptedcommunication system. The

new system will ensure voiceand data communication, auto-matic vehicle and personal loca-tion and the capacity to connectto high-speed data applications.The TETRA system has provenits performance superiority andmeets India's strict technical andoperational requirements. It willenhance the security ofParliament by delivering high-quality voice and data as well asproviding the infrastructure forthe upcoming high speed databased value added applications.The Parliament security contractreflects the country’s majorongoing investment in infra-structure and its dedication tothe modernisation of its securityinfrastructure and forces.

Cassidian maintains closecooperation with the Indianindustry and R&D organisations.One example is the successfulcooperation with DARE to devel-op a Missile Approach WarningSystem for Indian rotary wingand wide-body aircraft. The sen-sor has been adapted to theIndian forces' self-protectionsuite and has been certified as“indigenous equipment”.

NEW ALLIANCESWITH INDIA

COOPERATION CASSIDIAN WILL INCREASE ITS INDUSTRIALFOOTPRINT IN INDIA OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS

CASSIDIANHAS TEAMEDUP WITHSANCHAR TOPROVIDEPARLIAMENTSECURITY

M BDA IS A GLOBAL LEADER IN MIS-SILES and missile systems andhas three major aeronautical anddefence shareholders - BAESystems (37.5%), EADS (37.5%)and Finmeccanica (25%). “We arethe first truly integratedEuropean defence company,”said Antoine Bouvier, ChiefExecutive Officer, MBDA.

The recent MMRCA announce-ment did hold some significancefor MBDA. On the same, AntoineBouvier said, “As Europe’s lead-ing missile systems company,MBDA is very closely linked tothe weapons capabilities of boththe European platforms thatwere short-listed. So for us it wasa win/win situation. But actuallyit was a win/win situation for theIndian Air Force (IAF) as well.Whichever choice had beenmade, the IAF was destined to bethe recipient of one of theworld’s outstanding performersin terms of tactical and opera-tional capability along with asuite of MBDA weapons capableof making the difference in anypotential future conflict. What ismore satisfying is that ourinvolvement with the MMRCAplatform, along with the recentlyannounced Mirage upgrade, isyet a further step in our partner-ship strategy with the Indianarmed forces and industry.”

At the same time, there wasthe MICA announcement too.Bouvier added, “This announce-ment was great news for MBDAand a wonderful way to start theNew Year. Negotiations regarding

such important contracts arealways going to be tough andprotracted so it was not such asurprise that the Indian MoD didnot rush its decision. However, Iwas always confident of successbecause MICA is such an obviouschoice for the Mirage. Mirage inits Mirage 2000-5 standardarmed with a mix of MICA IR andMICA RF weapons provides a for-midable capability that is alreadyappreciated by the French AirForce, among others.” There is nodoubt about the fact that MICAwill provide excellent enhance-

ment to the IAF’s operationalcapability to defend and advanceIndia’s interests. Bouvier addedmore, “Another reason for myconfidence was that MBDA has somuch experience of working withthe Mirage, with Dassault as wellas with Thales the radar supplier,also of course with HindustanAeronautics Ltd which will equal-ly be part of the consortiumworking on the project. So the

decision also represents the lowrisk option as well.”

MBDA is known for its uniqueability to offer a range of prod-ucts providing solutions for eachof the three armed forces. On itsmost sought-after products,Bouvier said, “In straight forwardterms of quantity, the Milan closecombat support weapon is usedby armies around the world. Thisis the missile which is manufac-tured under licence by BDL inIndia.” Another system, he added,is the Mistral missile. “India haschosen the Mistral to provide the

Dhruv helicopter with its air-to-airself defence capability and is alsoevaluating the weapon to meetthe country’s VSHORAD require-ment for the three forces,”Bouvier said.

Probably the world’s bestknown anti-ship missile is Exocetwhich, with global sales of some4,000 missiles, is clearly a worldleader in this domain. He told usthat India’s Scorpene submarine

will be equipped with the SM39variant and new variants of theAM39 for air-launch and theMM40 Block 3 for surface-to-sur-face missions are currently beingmarketed.

As regards the view of thenations involved (in MBDA) withregard to transfer of the latestand sensitive technologies toIndia, Bouvier said, “MBDA hasclearly stated for some time thatour idea of partnership with Indiais more than just a standardbuyer/seller relationship. In thelong term, I see Indian defenceindustry working closely, perhapsin multi-national teams withMBDA, on future products notonly for the Indian customer butfor the European and a global cus-tomer base as well. With regard tosensitive technologies, for us todiscuss transfer we do need thesupport of our various Europeangovernments and that certainlyseems to be forthcoming.”

As far as long-term plans forIndia go, Bouvier said that partner-ship is the key word that repre-sents MBDA's strategy and long-term plan for India. “India has a lotto offer in terms of indigenousskills, in engineering, in electronicsas well as in software develop-ment, so I see a very good fitbetween MBDA and certain sec-tors of Indian industry. For us thefuture will see combined teams,either here in India or in Europe orboth, working to meet the needsof our respective domestic cus-tomers as well as the globalexport market,” he added.

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In 1999, the CCS approved a

submarine building plan that

envisaged induction of 24 new

submarines by 20302412

A Commercial Feature

S INDIA IS GROWING IN ITSstature, its Navy is developing longlegs to be able to project its powermuch beyond its maritime border.The Indian Navy, whose area ofinfluence and interest stretchs fromStrait of Hormuz to Strait ofMalacca, is now set on a path toaugment its submarine fleet andthe indigenous construction ofnuclear submarine is the mostimportant part of it.

India had last inducted a modernsubmarine in its flotilla 18 yearsago. Most of the long-pendingacquisition and construction pro-gramme of the Indian Navy arefinally nearing fruition and its sub-marine strength is down to 14 now.

It was way back in July 1999 thatthe Cabinet Committee on Securityapproved a 30-year submarinebuilding plan, which envisagedinduction of 12 new submarines inPhase-1 (2000-12) and another 12 inPhase-2 (2012-30). Even though theacquisition and constructionprocess has been long-delayed, allthe projects are now getting backon track at a steady pace.

Its first nuclear-powered subma-rine, INS Arihant, meaning "slayerof enemies", is getting ready forextensive field trials by the end of2012 and the government's nod forthe construction of the next two inthe series has also come. The proj-ect has propelled India into theselected club of five nations -including US, UK, Russia, Franceand Germany - capable of con-structing and operating suchsophisticated platforms.

The top brass of the Indian Navyhas indicated that INS Arihant -constructed under a project code-named Advanced TechnologyVessel (ATV) - will be ready foroperational deployment after aseries of sea trials. When thenuclear-propelled strategic subma-rine becomes fully operational itwill be culmination of a nearlythree-decade-old project that wasinitiated when Indira Gandhi wasthe PM, in the 1970s.

The deployment of INS Arihantwill complete India's nuclear triad -the capability of launching ballisticweapons from land, air and sea - insync with the country's nuclear pol-icy of "no first use". Nuclear-power,which enables the submarine toremain submerged for long dura-tion, will help India have a robustand survivable retaliatory strike if itever comes under nuclear attack. Anuclear-powered submarine canremain submerged under water for

more than three months and isvery difficult to detect as itsengines emit minimal signaturesound and enemy aircraft and anti-submarines detection ships cannotpick up signals.

After facing initial hurdles liketechnology denial and miniaturis-ing the nuclear reactor to fit the110-metre long and 11-metre widesubmarine, INS Arihant, with theactive help of Russia, was launchedinto the waters on July 26, 2009.Having a displacement of 6,000-tonne, the submarine can carrynearly 100 sailors.

The work on the second subma-rine in the series - INS Aridaman -has also started. The Indian Navy isapproaching induction of nuclearsubmarine in its armada step-by-step. Recently it was handed overthe Russian-built Akula-classnuclear submarine. Known in theworld as one of the quietest anddeadliest submarines, it is namedINS Chakra after the invincibleweapon of Lord Krishna. The sub-marine is already being operated

by the Indian Navy. The vessel,bought on a ten-year lease under asecret deal, will be used to train theIndian Navy's sailors to operate anuclear submarine.

Besides the nuclear submarines,the Indian Navy is also focusing onconventional submarine arm. Thestate-owned Mazagon DocksLimited (MDL) is currently buildingsix conventional diesel-electric-powered Scorpene submarineswith the help of French DCNSunder Rs 23, 562 crore Project 75.

The first of the submarines willbe delivered in 2015 and the lastone in September 2018. While MDLsuccessfully absorbs the sophisti-cated technology, the ministry ofdefence is getting ready to issuetenders for the construction of sixnew submarines, a Rs 50,000 croreproject to foreign collaborators likeRussian Rosoboronexport, FrenchDCNS, German HDW and SpanishNavantia for Project 75-I.

AUGMENTINGMARITIMEPROWESS

DEPTH THE ACQUISITION ANDCONSTRUCTION PROGRAMME OF THEINDIAN NAVY NEEDS MUCH ACTION

DCNS, the defence major,announced that the companywill take part in Defexpo India tobe held at Pragati Maidan inNew Delhi from March 29 toApril 1, 2012.

DCNS will be present at Hall12, Booth 12.2k and at the centreof the focus the Indian P75Scorpene submarine will be dis-played, together with its SUB-TICS combat system and itsoptional MESMA AirIndependent Propulsion section.

Recently, DCNS India deliv-ered the first locally-producedScorpene submarine equipmentto Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) forthe P75 Scorpene submarines,thus illustrating DCNS’s commit-ment to the indigenisationprocess. At Defexpo, DCNS localpresence will be strong withDCNS India representativesexplaining the successful indi-genisation for the P75 pro-gramme in India.

“Defexpo is a very importantplatform for DCNS to showcasethe services we can provide toour customers through genuinetransfer of technology. We havea deep industrial expertise, fromdesign to in-service support,”said Bernard Buisson, ManagingDirector of DCNS India.

Besides, the DCNS booth willshowcase the Mistral-Class LHD(199 metre, 21,500 tonne)together with the Gowind OPVL’Adroit (87 metre, 1,000 tonne).For the record, the third Mistral-Class for the French Navy wasdelivered ahead of schedule andthe construction of the firstMistral-Class LHD for the

Russian Navy has started.Regarding the Gowind OPVL’Adroit, it has been manufac-tured and commissioned in lessthan two years, and is beingused by the French Navy sinceOctober 2011.

Willing to present the group’swide range of expertise, DCNSwill also display the newBarracuda SSN for the FrenchNavy together with the design ofa new generation aircraft carrier.

Through the P75 Scorpenesubmarine, the AIP modules andthe Barracuda SSN, DCNS wishesto showcase its wide submarineexpertise. With the Mistral-classamphibious ship (LHD/LPD),DCNS intends to demonstratethe adequacy of this cost effec-tive, sea/war proven design,selected by the Russian Navy.The Mistral-Class could alsomeet the requirements of theIndian Navy.

As far is DCNS’s future plansin India are concerned, Mr.

Buisson said, “DCNS has ongo-ing programmes worldwide, isfinancially stable and has a com-fortable orderbook (14.8 billionEuros, 2011 figure). Thus we feelwe are the best placed to under-take any project that the IndianNavy has to develop. With thevitality and long term prospectof the Indian Economy we seebig opportunities to enlarge ourfootprint, with increased localmanufacturing, through JVs orinvestment in Indian companiesor shipyards”.

UNDER WATEROVERSEA

RANGE DCNS TO SHOWCASE A WIDE RANGE OFEXPERTISE AT THE DEFEXPO INDIA 2012

A

INDIA HADLAST INDUCTEDA MODERNSUBMARINE INITS FLOTILLA 18 YEARS AGO

DCNS INDIADELIVERS THE FIRSTLOCALLY-PRODUCEDEQUIPMENT

TEAMING UP WITH INDIA ON DEFENCE AND SECURITY

For decades now, Saab has been supporting India’s security

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234-0100_Partnerships_India_Business Standard_Ad_330x250.indd 1 2012-03-20 12.05

The number of detailed

components Sikorsky, in a

JV with Tata, will produce for

the aviation industry 400013

A Commercial Feature

I N JUNE 1931, A RUSSIAN AIRCRAFTdesigner who had immigrated to theUS applied for a patent that described amachine capable of vertical flight. Thedesigner’s name was Igor Sikorsky. Hisradical design featured a single mainrotor with an anti-torque tail rotor.

By early 1939, Sikorsky and his smallteam had fulfilled their dream — build-ing and flying what became the VS-300helicopter. The aircraft was the firstrotary wing design to provide stable,controlled vertical lift. Today, the samebasic design lives on, providing safe,reliable flight to the vast majority ofrotary wing aircraft operating aroundthe world.

Since that historic year, SikorskyAircraft Corporation, a subsidiary ofUnited Technologies, has developed areputation for high quality helicopterplatforms.

Sikorsky Military Systems providesdependable products with a wide vari-ety of capabilities to nations through-out the world. Sikorsky’s goal is to sup-ply state-of-the-art aircraft and themission systems to maximise perform-ance. Whether Sikorsky is called uponto supply the legendary combat per-formance of a Black Hawk helicopter,the powerful mobility of a heavy-lifthelicopter, or the safe transport of theUS President, Sikorsky MilitarySystems can be trusted to ensure suc-cessful completion of the mission.

The Sikorsky military product lineincludes the US military’s robust BlackHawk and Seahawk helicopters (flownby 29 countries), the CH148 Cyclonemaritime helicopter for the CanadianForces, and the CH-53K heavy lift heli-copter under development for the USMarine Corps. These military aircraft

provide numerous missions, includingcombat support, troop transport,humanitarian relief, command and con-trol, and anti-submarine warfare.

Arguably the best known of allSikorsky aircraft is the US Marine Corps’fleet of Sikorsky VH-3D helicopters thathas flown the US President for decades.

Among the company’s commercialhelicopters are the proven S-76 and S-92 platforms that transport crews to oiland gas rigs, provide search and res-cue, medical evacuation, and VIP andcorporate transport.

With success comes growth. SikorskyAircraft’s 17,500 employees not onlydesign and manufacture advanced heli-

copter designs, they provide rotary andfixed-wing aircraft after-market serviceand support worldwide.

As part of United Technologies,Sikorsky has been partnering withIndian aviation since early 1950s to sup-port transportation, homeland security,disaster relief and infrastructure devel-opment. The first Sikorsky helicopterflight in India occurred in 1954, whenthe first Prime Minister of India flew in aSikorsky helicopter. Since then, thecompany has nurtured this relationshipand is ready to expand its presence inIndia. A regional executive at Sikorsky’scorporate headquarters in the US leadsthe operations for India and South Asia.

Sikorsky has proposed various heli-copter platforms to meet the require-ments of Indian defence forces. Thecompany is partnering with localindustry to bring advanced aviationtechnology to India. Sikorsky’s part-nership with Tata Advance Systems issuccessfully producing cabins for S-92helicopters in Hyderabad, India.Sikorsky, in a JV with Tata Group,would also be producing 4,000detailed components for the aviationindustry in Hyderabad. Sikorsky seeksto grow its commercial helicoptermarket presence in India. Sikorsky’s S-76 helicopter has filled a niche marketfor corporate VIP transport. The com-pany recently delivered a S-76C++ VIPhelicopter to the government ofMaharashtra.

Sikorsky is committed to the futureof the Indian aerospace industry, andis well positioned to meet the growingIndian helicopter market requirementfor EMS, search and rescue and othercivil utility roles. Partnerships in Indiawill continue to fuel the growth of theaviation market, and provide solu-tions, innovations and a technologicaledge to India.

Helicopter design innovation contin-ues to be a Sikorsky hallmark. InSeptember 2010, Sikorsky’s chief testpilot, Kevin Bredenbeck, flew an experi-mental helicopter called the X2Technology demonstrator, featuringtwin counter-rotating main rotors, apusher propeller and fly-by-wire con-trols. The aircraft reached 250 knots(463 kmph) to achieve an unofficialworld speed record for helicopters.Buoyed by its success, the company ismaturing the X2 Technology design forevaluation by the US military.

VERTICAL LIMIT SIKORSKY IS PARTNERING WITH LOCAL INDUSTRY TOBRING ADVANCED AVIATION TECHNOLOGY TO THE SUBCONTINENT

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WITH SUCCESS COMESRAPID GROWTH

PRATT & WHITNEY, A UNIT OF UNITEDTechnologies, recently received a con-tract to produce the first four F117-PW-100engines that will power the Boeing C-17Globemaster III for the IAF. The engineswill be delivered in the second quarter of2012. Earlier in 2011, India’s ministry ofdefence signed a Letter of Offer andAcceptance with the US government toacquire 10 C-17s. India will take delivery ofits first C-17s in early 2013.

“We are delighted the IAF has selectedthe C-17 with Pratt & Whitney F117engines to support its airlift mission,”said Bev Deachin, VP, Military Programsand Customer Support, Pratt & Whitney.“The F117 is suited for a wide range ofoperating environments and conditionsand it has demonstrated superb per-formance and reliability from theAntarctic to the deserts of the MiddleEast. We look forward to helpingstrengthen India’s aerospace capabilitiesand humanitarian efforts.” Four F117sprovide exclusive power for the C-17Globemaster III — the premier airlifter.

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Since its formationten years ago,

MBDA has focusedon operational excellence

and industrial cooperationas the best means of providing armed forces around the world

with the latest advancesin military technology.

The minimum number of

new 3.5-kg assault rifles the

Indian Army seeks to

procure for its soldiers60,00014

A Commercial Feature

S NEW CHALLENGES EMERGE IN thebattle scenario, the Indian Army isseeking to modernise its infantry armby equipping its soldiers with sophisti-cated assault rifles, wide array of smallarms – ranging from close-quarter bat-tle (CQB) carbines, light-weight assaultrifles, anti-material bunker-burstingrifles and specialised sniper rifles.

The Indian Army is eagerly await-ing the replacement of its old assaultrifles. The Army has already floated atender approximately valuing Rs13,000 crore for procuring over60,000 assault rifles for its soldiersfrom a foreign vendor. These new 3.5-kg assault rifles to be acquired are inline with the Army's F-INSAS (futureinfantry soldier as a system) project,which is geared towards enhancingthe “lethality and survivability” offoot soldiers.

The aim behind F-INSAS is to trans-form soldiers into self-contained,fully-networked, mobile killingmachines, with a high degree of “situ-ational awareness” and capable ofoperating in all-terrain and all-weath-er conditions.

Under it, infantry soldiers are to beprogressively equipped with light-weight integrated ballistic helmets

with “heads-up display” and minia-turised communication systems;portable visual, chemical and biologi-cal sensors; hand-held computer dis-plays, GPS and video links; and lethalfirepower with laser-guided modularweapon systems.

Of the 40 overseas vendors, whomthe ministry of defence sent aRequest for Proposal (RfP) inDecember 2011, only four haveapplied for the tender, and the winnerwill replace the 1990s’ vintage, theindigenous 5.56mm INSAS assaultrifle, inducted by the Army in itsinventory reluctantly.

The four vendors had submittedtheir bids by mid-February. The Armywants its latest rifles to be equippedwith detachable under-barrelgrenade launchers, night-visiondevices, laser designators and so on.The other requirement is that therifles should be able to fire locally-produced ammunition. Sources said:“The trials have begun and consider-ing the requirements of the force, theguns will be tested in deserts,extreme cold weathers, high altituderegions and so on. At all the places

the earmarked guns for testing willbe fired to check their accuracy, stop-pages if any and other technicalrequirements.”

The tender for 66,000 rifles wasdispatched to over 40 overseas ven-dors in December 2011. According toArmy officials the size of the deal isset to increase as the force wouldequip all its infantry soldiers. Eightlakh-strong Central ParamilitaryForce and the state police forces isalso upgrading their armoury and willbe spending $2-3 billion, consideringIndia’s internal security scenario.

According to the IndianProcurement Policy, the selected ven-dor will have to ensure transfer oftechnology to the state-ownedOrdnance Factory Board (OFB), whichwill then manufacture the guns underlicence within the country. 30% of thevalue of the deal is also required tobe invested within the country.

The INSAS rifles were inducted intothe Army in 1997-98 and have beenemployed extensively in counter-insurgency operations. However, theArmy has always felt the rifle inade-quate in meeting its operationalrequirement. On many occasions, incold regions, the firing mechanism ofthe gun often gets jammed. The gunwas designed by DRDO over a periodof 10 years and manufactured by OFBin another four years.

The Army was compelled to importone lakh Kalashnikov-designed AK-47rifles from Bulgaria in 1995 for count-er-insurgency operations. Its specialcounter-insurgency force, RashtriyaRifles, continues to use AK-47.

Later, in 2002, the Army imported3,070 Tavor 21 Assault Rifles of Israelimake for its special forces in a dealvaluing $20 million. Paramilitary’sspecial force units have also showninterest in the rifles.

DRDO’s Armament Research &Development Establishment (ARDE)lap has also embarked on a project todevelop a Future-INSAS rifle to goalong with the future infantry soldierproject that the Indian defence estab-lishments are currently working on.The rifle is envisaged to integrate intothe F-INSAS project by including asensor and a thermal imaging deviceonto the rifle itself.

Another inclusion in the Future-INSAS family of weapons will be amodern sub-machine carbine with5.56mm x 30mm calibre incorporat-ing both a pistol and a rifle design, sothat the soldier can fire the weaponusing just one hand. The future rifleand carbine will come alongside theF-INSAS project, which itself will becompleted in three phases. The firstphase of the project would be com-pleted in three years.

ARMINGTHE FOOTSOLDIER

TRANSFORMATION INDIAN ARMY ISCONSIDERING NEW WEAPONS FOR ITSFUTURE INFANTRY SOLDIER PROJECT

SHARES OF DEFENCESERVICES IN DEFENCEBUDGET 2010-11

SOURCE:http://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/BudgetingforIndiasDefence2010-11_lkbehera_030310

A THE AIM IS TOTRANSFORMSOLDIERS INTOSELF-CONTAINEDMOBILE KILLINGMACHINES

51 %ARMY

7 %DRDO

1 %OFs

27 %AIRFORCE

15 %NAVY

IN THE BUDGET 2012-13, THEIndian defence sector got arobust hike of 17.6% over theprevious year's outlay, with themaximum amount of moderni-sation funds allocated for theIndian Air Force (IAF), which ishoping to finalise a multi-billiondollar contract for new genera-tion combat aircraft. But at thesame time, the country's militaryexpenditure remains less than2% of the GDP. Of the Rs 1.93lakh crore ($40 billion) defencebudget, about 41% has been ear-marked for capital acquisitions.The IAF get over Rs 29,853 crorefor modernisation while theIndian Navy will get over Rs23,865 crore. The Indian Army,meanwhile, got the lowest sharefor modernisation, which stoodat Rs 18,828 crore.

Thus, the defence budget con-firms the fact that Indian Army isnow essentially becoming a man-power-intensive force thatspends most of its money on itsown sustenance. At the sametime, the Navy and IAF are on theway to become modern, space-age forces. Also evident is thefact inflation and the slide in thevalue of the rupee has causedthe military’s modernisationbudget to be effectively reducedfor the first time in decades. Moreworryingly, India’s dependenceon foreign weaponry could con-tinue with R&D expenditureslashed in real terms.

A key reason for the IAFemerging as the biggest benefi-ciary of the capital budget is theexpected signing of a contractthis year for 126 Rafale mediummulti-role fighters. Normally, 15%

of the overall price is paid at thetime of signing. And so with theRafale contract expected to befor Rs 70,000 crore, the IAF willpay close to Rs 10,000 crore thisyear, with the balance distrib-uted over the decade. The IAF isalso making payments for the

earlier contracts for theAmerican C-130J Super Herculesand C-17 Globemaster III trans-port aircraft. A contract couldalso be signed this year for 197light utility helicopters, and forurgently needed trainer aircraftfor rookie IAF pilots.

The Navy is budgeting for theimpending contract for Project

17A frigates that will be built inMazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) andGarden Reach Shipbuilders &Engineers (GRSE). It is also mak-ing payments for several ongo-ing warship programmes suchas Project 28 anti-submarinecorvettes being built by GRSE,and Project 75 Scorpene sub-marines and Project 15A and 15Bdestroyers being built at MDL. Inaddition, it is paying Boeing forthe P8I Poseidon multi-missionmaritime aircraft that are beingbuilt in the US.

It must be remembered thatthe increase in this year'sdefence budget was made pos-sible by the expansionary fiscalpolicy adopted by the govern-ment. It must be noted thatalthough the increase looksimpressive initially, studying fur-ther you realise that theincrease is not driven by themodernisation needs as muchas by manpower needs.

If we look at R&D, the DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO), India’smain source of indigenousdefence systems, will also haveto make do with less. In rupeeterms, the R&D allocation of Rs4,640 crore for 2012-13 justabout matches last year’s R&Dspend of Rs 4,628 crore.

Lastly, if we dissect the num-bers, we will find that the Armygets an approximate outlay ofRs 97,300 crore, followed by theIAF, which gets Rs 48,190 crore,and the Navy, which gets Rs37,310 crore. At the same timethe DRDO gets some Rs 10,635crore and Ordnance Factoriesget Rs 135 crore.

HOW THE THREESERVICES FARE

BUDGET THE BUDGET 2012-13 GIVES A DECENT Rs 1.93 LAKHCRORE ALLOCATION TO THE DEFENCE INDUSTRY

THE DEFENCEBUDGETCONFIRMSTHAT NAVYAND IAF AREBECOMINGMODERN

The year in which theanalogue of Amur-1650submarine was commissionedby the Russian Navy201015

A Commercial Feature

COOPERATION ROSOBORONEXPORT OFFERS INDIA MILITARYAND DUAL-USE PRODUCTS, TECHNOLOGIES AND SERVICES

HE CURRENT INDO-RUSSIAN military-techni-cal cooperation involvesdozens of large-scaleprojects. Both countries

implement these projects in the tradi-tional atmosphere of mutual respectand consideration, trust and friend-ship, which form the strongest bondfor this unique, privileged and mutu-ally-beneficial strategic partnership.On the eve of the Defexpo India 2012exhibition, Viktor Komardin, deputydirector general of theRosoboronexport Corporation,Russia's sole exporter of military anddual-use products, technologies andservices, and head of its delegation,commented: "The Defexpo IndiaLand, Naval and Internal SecuritySystems Exhibition is one of the mostprominent Asia-Pacific defenceshows." In fact, Russian defence man-ufacturers have been exhibiting theirproducts at this event since 2000. Headded, "It is obvious that Russian par-ticipation in the exhibition is both atradition and a tribute to our highlyvalued strategic partnership.Moreover, it is underpinned by mutu-ally beneficial projects. According tothe 2011 statistics, out of 57 countrieswith which Rosoboronexport cooper-ated, the largest amount of defenceequipment exports went to Asia-Pacific countries, including India."

Komardin said thatRosoboronexport wants to continuethis trend in 2012. "We are ready todiscuss most urgent issues of the mili-tary technical cooperation with ourfriends during the exhibition. It is alsofavoured by the fact that Russia andIndia have always cooperated at thehighest level of confidence. At pres-ent, the cooperation is gradually ris-ing to principally new standards, fromdelivering finished weapon systemsto carrying out joint in-depth researchand development works, to procuringRussian technologies and setting uplicence production lines. We aresteadily working together to strength-en our cooperation on a mutuallybeneficial basis," he said. It must beremembered that both states areinterested in increasing India's indus-trial contribution to the developmentand production of Russian equipmentfor the Indian Army and Navy. "Russiawillingly makes advances to its strate-gic partner. For instance, we renderassistance in building Russian-designed surface vessels in the Indianshipyards," he said.

Actually one of the centrepiecesthat the Russian delegation brings toDefexpo is the modernised T-90Smain battle tank (MBT) manufacturedby the Uralvagonzavod joint stockcompany. The new tank presentationis expected to be a key event andcatch attention at the exhibition sincethe upgrade will be shown for the firsttime outside Russia. The country willalso reveal a new combat vehicle thatembodies advanced armour tech-nologies and, according to the com-pany, surpasses all other foreign com-petitors. "It is well known that the T-90S MBT is long in service with theIndian Army, so India may considerthis upgraded, in fact, totally newvehicle, as a candidate for futureacquisition," Komardin said.

Well, the talks won't be limited totanks only. The Indian government'stender on licence production of non-nuclear submarines is another vitalproject. Rosoboronexport has actual-ly offered India its newest Amur-1650submarine, the analogue of whichwas commissioned by the RussianNavy in 2010. The submarine isarmed with a powerful and well-bal-anced weapon system, includinganti-ship guided missiles that arelaunchable in salvoes. "The Amur-1650 can engage with cruise missilesand also land-based targets. But onlyRussia can supply such missiles toIndia. Besides, testing of a new air-independent propulsion plant for thissubmarine is coming to an end. Andthis is a crucial condition of theIndian tender," Komardin said.

India is also keen on vehiclesdesigned for special operations units,including those existing within itsarmed forces. So Russia offers theGAZ-2330 Tigr (Tiger) vehicle."Figuratively speaking, this vehiclemakes no allowance for road condi-tions. Be it sticky mud or dust storm,highlands or cramped urban terrain,the Tigr just breaks through to the tar-get. Its running gear is derived fromthe famous BTR-80 type APCs provenin many wars and combat operations.

Tigr's armour withstands a hail of 7.62-mm bullets. This is what makes theTigr dangerous. Especially to thosewho are outside the law. And thismakes it interesting to India's specialoperations forces," Komardin said.

Among other areas of bilateralmilitary technical cooperation,Komardin said that the prospects forbuilding in India a reliable air andmissile defence system is important,especially without which it would beuseless to discuss a full-fledged statesecurity. So Rosoboronexport willpresent at the expo a wide variety ofmodern Russian anti-air weapon sys-tems designed to provide guaran-teed protection of administrativeand political centres and infrastruc-tural nodes, military bases, mineralsfield production facilities, etc. "Ourexposition will include the Buk-M2Emedium-range and Antey-2500long-range air defence missile sys-tems," Komardin said.

The Buk-M2E multichannel medi-

um-range air defence missile systemis designed to engage strategic andtactical aircraft, cruise missiles, heli-copters and other aerodynamicvehicles within the entire range oftheir operational altitudes (from0.015 km to 25 km) under intensiveelectronic countermeasures andhostile fire. "One Buk-M2E battalioncan simultaneously engage 24 airtargets, approaching from any direc-tion, at the range of up to 45 to 50km. The system is effective evenwhen engaging maritime targetsand ground-based radio-contrasttargets," Komardin said.

The famous Antey-2500 systemprovides air target engagement atthe range of 350 km and at the alti-tude of up to 30 km. It is designed toprotect major administrative, indus-trial and military installations, troopgroupings from massed air strikesdelivered by modern air attackmeans, including aircraft of all types

and ballistic missiles launched at therange of up to 2,500 km, as well ascruise missiles. "All elements of theAntey-2500 system are mounted onthe unified all-terrain tracked chassisallowing its deployment from march& preparation for fire within 5 min-utes," Komardin added.

"At the expo we will also presentpromotional materials about otherglobally-known Russian air defencesystems such as the Tor-M2E short-range missile system, Pantsir-S1gun/missile system, and Igla-S man-portable missile system. We plan tobrief visitors and exhibitors on vari-ous types of Russian military equip-ment, such as frigates and boatswith their armaments, helicoptersand air tankers, combat systems forland forces including the BMPT tanksupport combat vehicle, BTR-80armoured personnel carrier, BMP-3Minfantry combat vehicle, and Smerchmultiple rocket launch system, aswell as automatic and special-pur-

pose weapons, engineers and com-munications equipment, trainingfacilities, and other items of interestto our partners," he said. Certainly,this market has a huge potential.

"Of course, our work agenda forthe exhibition includes also projectsthat are currently under way - fromarms upgrading and operation ofservicing centres to the develop-ment of the fifth generation fighter,multifunctional transport aircraftand Brahmos missile. There is also alot of other important projects, nei-ther of which will be left unnoticed. Iam sure that Defexpo India 2012 willbecome a perfect venue for opinionsexchange on a wide range of issuesand, what's more, will give a new andpowerful momentum both to rela-tions in the military technicaldomain and, in a wider sense, tomutually advantageous interstateeconomic cooperation in whole,"Komardin concluded.

“Both countriesimplement large-scaleprojects in thetraditional atmosphereof mutual respect andconsideration, trustand friendship whichform the strongestbond for this unique,privileged andmutually beneficialstrategic partnership.”T

SECURING THESUBCONTINENT

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