'The Profession of Arms Is a 'Calling', Rather Than Being Just a Job'

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Page 6 Modernisation and Acquisition Plans ‘The profession of arms We need speedy induction of 155mm/52 calibre howitzers to replace the present equipment. Lt General (Retd) V.K. Kapoor is a ‘calling’, rather Page 8 Keys to Success: Net-centricity, Command, Control, Synergised Operations There is not only the need to undertake periodic holistic reviews but more than being just a job’ importantly technologies available globally photographs: anoop kamath / Sp Guide Pubns must be optimised ensuring required security to enhance our C4I2SR capabilities. Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch

Page 9 India’s Infantry Modernisation The lack of progress of acquiring even the weaponry, which is the easiest and most fundamental, is depressive to say the least because it directly and most adversely affects the soldiers fighting ability in the field. Lt General (Retd) V.K. Kapoor

Page 11 Decades of Obsolescence Majority of AAD weapon systems are of erstwhile Soviet origin with an average vintage of 30 years. Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand

Page 12 Night Vision Technologies Night vision devices comprise an image intensifier tube, a protective housing and a mounting system. Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch

Plus Consolidating & Equipping the Special Forces Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch 14 Interview Communications and electronic surveillance provide critical support in handling Loïc Piedevache, MBDA, Country Head, India 16 of counter-insurgency and terrorist operations. Lt General Nitin Kohli, Signal Mine-resistant Ambush Officer-in-Chief and Colonel Commandant, Indian Army, in an interview with Protected Vehicles SP’s Land Forces, gave out details of the role played by the Corps of Signals in Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch 17 the areas of low-intensity conflict and counter-insurgency operation. Managing the Land Borders Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch 18 SP’s Land Forces (SP’s): Can you define these requirements, is the key enabler of It seems that the Air Force and the Navy Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for the Army the role and give out the charter of duties the transformation process of Indian Army are far ahead in this field. May we have Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand 19 of the Corps of Signals? towards net-centricity. your observations and comments on this Lt General Nitin Kohli (SO-in-C): The Corps vital issue? SP’s Exclusives / News in Brief 21 of Signals as “Information Warriors” are SP’s: The challenge today is to achieve SO-in-C: Net-centricity in functioning of responsible for providing telecommunica- successful integration of sensors, shoot- the Indian Army is the ultimate goal given tion and information connectivity to the ers and the decision-makers, thereby by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS). This Indian Army. It has also been charged with enabling a dynamic, reliable and secure is to be achieved in three stages. We have the responsibility of providing substan- operational decision loop. How far have already completed the stages of “network- tive communication support to the Indian we achieved this capability? Where we are ing” and “net enabling” the Indian Army. Air Force and Navy. The Corps, based on as far as network-centricity is concerned? Various applications to achieve the desired Applied for

1/2014 SP’s Land Forces 1 >> Interview

of LAC, the month of October capability building efforts have replacements, and holdings of all in May this year it is unlikely 2013 saw India and China taking been tardy and sluggish to say the types of missiles, anti-tank and that any big-ticket item, like artil- some necessary steps forward least and the political leadership, specialised ammunition was criti- lery howitzers, air defence guns/ in order to end the growing trust the bureaucracy and the military cally low. Thus pointing out the missiles, aviation assets, night deficit on both sides. Of the nine themselves are all to blame for lack of preparedness to fight and fighting aids, sensors of various pacts signed by Prime Minister this indefensible and unpardon- win wars on the battlefields of the categories or even basic small Manmohan Singh and Chinese able state of affairs as it directly 21st century arms such as new assault rifles premier Li Keqiang on October impacts upon the security of the Following this it seems that and new carbines for the infan- 23, 2013, during the Indian Prime country. Some details in respect of the Defence Ministry had asked try will fructify. In the meanwhile Minister’s visit, one of the most the army are given in the succeed- Army Headquarters to fast-track the Cabinet has sanctioned the important was on maintaining ing paragraphs. acquisitions and the list of es- raising of a Strike Corps for the peace and tranquility along the Indian Army’s modernisa- sentials was prepared and sent. mountains and the work on it has Defexpo India 2014, the eighth in LAC between the two countries. tion schemes amounting to over However, the situation has not commenced. However except for the series of biennial Land, Naval In the context of the violence on `70,000 crore in the Eleventh improved but in fact has wors- manpower it is not understood and Internal Homeland Security LoC, both India and Pakistan on Plan (2007-12) alone, have not ened in the last one year. On the as to how will the Army equip Systems Exhibition, will be held December 24, 2013, decided to fructified. The revised Defence one hand, nothing has come so this operational level formation at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi ‘re-energise’ existing mecha- Procurement Procedure (DPP) far, on the other hand, missiles which, apart from basic weapon-

EDITORIAL from February 6-9, 2014. India’s nisms to maintain the ceasefire over the years has done little to and specialised ammunition hold- ry and communications, requires Ministry of Defence believes that on the LoC as per the declara- accelerate the pace of moderni- ings which have a shelf life, have many types of force multipliers to Defexpo India is clearly steering tion that came at a meeting of sation. A dispassionate analysis dipped further. The government be effective in the mountains. the path of steady growth and has the Directors General of Military would indicate that the voids in has now sanctioned the Twelfth Moreover what is surprising been receiving overwhelming and Operations (DGMOs) of the two equipment and munitions in the Five Year Defence Plan as a re- is that this sorry state of affairs unprecedented international re- sides, who held face-to-face talks Army to fight a modern war to- sult of the severe criticism over in the field of defence prepared- sponse with each edition. While for the first time in 14 years at the gether with the lack of moderni- delays in the past. However, for ness is not even being talked this maybe true, however this Wagah border. sation of equipment in virtually the Army it is a cosmetic paper ex- about by the major political par- time let us hope that Defexpo has While efforts to maintain all fighting arms of the Army is ercise as even the Eleventh Plan ties in their in their attempts to more deliverables at the end. The peace and tranquility at the bor- alarming and has caused a ca- procurements have not materi- woo voters prior to the elections reason is that there is no discern- der is advisable and beneficial, it pability gap vis-à-vis our likely alised. Thus considering the lack in 2014. In fact the current weak- able forward motion in defence is also indicative of the fact that adversaries and this is becom- of implementation of the Eleventh nesses need wide publicity so procurements. While the military skirmishes along unresolved bor- ing more pronounced day by Plan and the Army’s modernisa- that the people themselves put is anguished at the inordinate de- ders can break out at any time day. It is in this context that the tion process, the procurement of the pressure on the Government lays in procuring new equipment and this constitutes a challenge as letter written by General (Retd) both Eleventh and Twelfth Plans of the day. A country like India, to replace obsolescent hardware, well as a threat. In any case me- V.K. Singh, the former Chief of need to be hastened. which faces innumerable secu- the industry is frustrated at the less dia reports as well as statements Army Staff (COAS), to the Prime The defence budget for 2013- rity challenges, needs a political than the pedestrian pace at which from the former army chiefs from Minister on March 12, 2012, 14 grew by 5 per cent over the leadership which is alive to the the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is 2009 onwards indicate that the which was deliberately leaked to previous year, with defence capi- dangers of not being militar- moving. The succeeding para- army considers that it may have to the media, should be viewed. It tal acquisitions growing by 9 per ily prepared for future conflicts. graphs will give an idea of the frus- fight on two fronts simultaneously highlighted that the mission reli- cent. But, with inflation averaging The current leadership presents trations of military leadership.Se- in a future war. Therefore it has to ability of mechanised vehicles more than 5 per cent since Feb- a dismal picture and the future curity, both internal and external, ensure that a two-front capability was poor, the artillery was obso- ruary, and the rupee depreciating leadership seems blissfully un- is an area of serious concern for exists apart from an internal capa- lete and inadequate, air defence by 14 per cent against the dollar aware of the dangers. the miltary. The aggression on bility to counter-insurgencies and was antiquated, armour was over the same period, that mod- the Line of Actual Control (LAC) terrorism by non-state actors and unreliable due to regular barrel est nominal budget increase is by China and the violence on the that it is operationally prepared accidents caused by mismatch actually a real budget decrease line of control (LoC) by Pakistan for such eventualities. It is in this between indigenous barrels and and considering the austerity in the past seven to eight months context that the unhappiness of ammunition, night-fighting de- measures required to be under- have occupied large media the military finds expression. In- vices were insufficient, aviation taken with a slowing economy, space in recent times. In the case dian army’s modernization and corps helicopters needed urgent and the parliamentary elections Lt General (Retd) V.K. Kapoor

net-centricity in functioning are under The Corps of Signals is always thinking in place with well-defined charter and stan- development. These will facilitate availabil- ‘Interoperability between ahead of ways to usher in state-of-the-art dard operating procedures (SOPs). The triad ity of the networks at both the sensor and the three services communication technologies to empower of “people, processes and technologies” is shooter end in real time. the soldier. Our focus is to bring about a par- being effectively implemented to achieve the has always been high adigm shift in exploiting radio technologies desired end towards securing our networks. SP’s: Will the Indian Army’s present com- with versatile features. munications allow it the flexibility required on the agenda of all SP’s: What are your roles in low intensity for future operational settings both conven- SP’s: How is the interoperability being conflict like terrorism and insurgencies? tional and fourth-generation wars? commanders’ ensured between the Army, the Navy and SO-in-C: Communications and electronic SO-in-C: I am confident that the Corps of the Air Force and other concerned civil surveillance provide critical support in han- Signals is ready to meet all the challenges of agencies, in the absence of integrated dling of counter-insurgency and terrorist a conventional or futuristic war. development of communications? operations. These roles have been addressed The proposed SDR will also have the req- SO-in-C: Interoperability between the three by the Corps of Signals in the areas where SP’s: What is your vision for the Corps of uisite waveforms to integrate with the exist- services has always been high on the agenda low-intensity conflict and counter-insur- Signals? ing legacy systems. of all commanders. This has been given due gency operations are being prosecuted. SO-in-C: The vision of the Corps of Sig- importance through an important strategic We have established an Army owned pilot nals is to attain and maintain information SP’s: Can you give out the mobile and network which will connect important tri mobile cellular system which has proved to ascendancy by developing a robust and offensive communication needs of the services locations across India to provide be a great force multiplier in providing real secure information infrastructure to cater Army and how are these being met? common fabric for communication and time information to our ground teams oper- to the network-centric warfare in the digi- SO-in-C: Tactical battlefield, characterised information requirements. This project is ating in inaccessible areas during the con- tised battlefield of future times. by high mobility, is intense and dynamic in under implementation and its completion duct of counter-insurgency operations. nature. Current and futuristic needs require would form the bedrock of interoperability Close electronic warfare support is being SP’s: Software defined radio (SDR) is robust, reliable, flexible, scalable, secure, between the three services. provided to Special Forces in low-intensity receiving enormous recognition and gener- seamless and highly available communica- conflict in all the sectors. Electronic warfare ating widespread interest in the telecom- tions at the tactical level. SP’s: With both China and Pakistan being system supporting LIC have been tailor- munication industry and in the military. At present the requirement of mobile so active in the field of cyber warfare what made for the specific nature of the conflict What is your view on it? and offensive communication is being met steps are being taken to ensure cyber with the aim to giving intimate electronic SO-in-C: SDR is one of the best technological by combat net radio (CNR) and army radio security in the Army’s communication net- warfare coverage. advancements in the field of electronics and engineered network (AREN). Fibre network works? IT which will be adequately harnessed by the has also reached the forward edge of our SO-in-C: In the cyber domain, threats are SP’s: What are the developments for domi- armed forces in the near future. It offers a host operational locations to handle the high continuously evolving and the race between nating electromagnetic spectrum in future of benefits such as standard architecture for a bandwidth communication needs of the security system designers and those who wars? Are we acquiring state-of-the-art wide range of communication products, uni- field formations. want to exploit weaknesses is ever prevalent. equipment in the field of electronic war- form communication across various users, The only viable option is to plug the weak- fare? Are our systems capable of conduct- significant cost reduction, over the air down- SP’s: What are the developments envis- nesses by being proactive. We are constantly ing static and mobile operations? loads of features and services, advanced net- aged in combat net radio? evaluating our security threats and plug- SO-in-C: Capability is being acquired to working capabilities, etc. SDR development is SO-in-C: Combat net radio is the cutting ging the loopholes on almost daily basis. dominate ever wider range or the electro-

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of our border areas. Our adversaries are fied personnel is also high in the private using the electromagnetic spectrum both industry? How do you ensure that quali- for communication and surveillance. Sys- fied officers are motivated to stay on in the tem capable of exploiting the weaknesses of arm? What are the incentives, in your view, our adversaries’ use of the electromagnetic which will prevent the younger officers spectrum in a fast moving battle scenario is from leaving the Army? being acquired. SO-in-C: Here I take the view that the pro- The electronic warfare equipment being fession of arms is a ‘calling’, rather than procured is state-of-the-art and targets being just a job. Therefore, the truly moti- advance communication and surveillance vated will continue to serve in the right ear- system acquired by the adversary. Substantial nest. The sense of satisfaction and prestige indigenous capabiliy also exists in the field. derived from donning the uniform is much greater than any other monetary/positional SP’s: Is the industry geared to provide aspect. The attraction of career opportuni- modern hardware and software technology ties in the private industry, however, is a live to support communication requirements in challenge. To address this, we are striving the future? to increase the promotion avenues in our SO-in-C: India is one of the fastest grow- Corps, to meet the career aspirations of ing IT markets in the world with lead- the officer cadre. For meritorious officers, ing international giants establishing who are non-empanelled, there exist lateral their bases in India. IT is a vital enabler avenues to Directorate General of Qual- in enhancing reach and productivity in ity Assurance (DGQA), Defence Research all kinds of verticals. Private industry in and Development Organisation (DRDO), India has certainly geared up towards pro- SP’s: How does the Corps of Signals keep Rao Ambedkar Institute of Telecommuni- National Disaster Management Agency viding robust and scalable software solu- pace with the fast developing information cation Training (BRBRAITT) and National (NDMA), etc on deputation. Also, irrespec- tions with somewhat limited hardware and communication technologies in the Institute of Technical Teachers Training tive of non-empanelment, depending on development infrastructure to support world? Do you have a cell monitoring this and Research (NITTTR) to provide training their proficiency and technical acumen, the communication requirements of the important aspect regularly? Are any officers to selected trainers. Moreover, implemen- officers continue to be posted to high-tech Indian Army. attending courses in the western world? tation of various projects, offers an oppor- appointments, dealing with important As of now, our indigenous capability SO-in-C: Continuous training and unflinch- tunity to our officers to be exposed to new projects. Employment in domain expertise to manufacture micro-chip is very limited. ing endeavour to keep oneself abreast with technical options and upgrade themselves. appointment also enables us in keeping our There is an urgent need to develop research current development is the only way to officers motivated. and development (R&D) and production keep pace with the rapidly changing tech- SP’s: What future role do you envisage for capability to meet requirements of our nologies in the field of information, com- the information warriors of the Corps of SP’s: How are the women officers perform- armed forces if manufacturing of chips in munication and technology (ICT). We are Signals? ing in the Corps of Signals? India, keeps pace with the software devel- thus seized of this challenge and are mak- SO-in-C: In the future, we envision the SO-in-C: The Corps of Signals has been opment, it will go a long way in improving ing multipronged efforts to keep pace with Corps of Signals to be the cutting edge dif- posted with women officers since 1993. cyber security. the changing technology. To this end, in ference for the Indian Army by providing Women officers have made valuable con- There is tremendous scope for the indus- our training institutions, viz., Military real time, state-of-the-art effective means of tributions to the organisation over the last try to participate in the development and College of Telecommunication Engineer- communication and decision-making in an 20 years. They are holding all positions production of systems and technologies for ing (MCTE) and Signal Training Centres evolved net-centric Indian Army. This shall in the Corps, such as tenanting high-tech the Indian Army. The participation of the (STCs), environmental scan, evaluation help the Indian Army attain information appointment, instructors at institutes, Indian industry in the modernisation, col- and syllabus upgradation are a continuous superiority and ascendancy in the next gen- staff officers in various headquarters, par- laborative research and development and process. We also have our officers going to eration wars. ticipation in adventure activities, imple- equipping of the Indian Army, will provide the IITs for doing post-graduate courses. menting ICT projects in units/establish- improved capability and also boost the We are also utilising the facilities of govern- SP’s: The information and communication ments, etc. As on date, the Corps has 189 Indian economy. ment institutes like the Bharat Ratna Bhim field is very vast and the demand for quali- women officers. SP Saab’s Giraffe AMB Radar Systems

nternal disturbance has Giraffe AMB – multi-mission a high reliability and low cost for mainte- defence systems. Extensive integrated claimed more lives of India’s security surveillance radar nance. The Giraffe AMB high sensor per- ECCM features personnel than the counter-terrorism With more than 50 years experience in air formance and wide range of command and • Integral sea surveillance and counter-insurgency operations defence and naval radars Saab has a true control functions makes it the best choice • Weapon location and impact warning in the country. Indian Air Force has multi-mission radar system in full serial for tactical air surveillance, mobile air space • Integrated IFF Ibeen brought in to provide air cover and production. management and ground-based air defence • Netting facility, fusing sensor data from surveillance services to the paramilitary Giraffe AMB belongs to a long history from Manpads to medium-range SAM sys- multiple radars to create a real time area forces operating out of disturbed areas. of successful Giraffe radar systems where tems as well as for coastal surveillance and air situation picture There have been instances of paramilitary advanced technology and Saab’s’ long expe- coastal defence with surface-to-surface • An advanced ground-based air defence base camps coming under rocket and mor- rience is combined into a powerful and cost- anti-ship missile systems. coordination function tar attacks within the homeland. Convoys effective 3D radar system which also can The Giraffe AMB is specified for opera- • Military air traffic control and airspace of government dignitaries face increased include an advanced command, control and tion in extreme climates. Testing and veri- control functions by use of flight corri- threats of rocket and mortar attacks in dis- coordination centre for short- and medium- fication have included tests in all different dors to enhance air defence operations turbed areas. Given the heightened context range air defence systems. climates, ranging from in-land, coastal and and air tasking messages to support for homeland security against any Naxal Giraffe AMB builds on the same concept hot desert to arctic snow. planning of airborne sorties overreach, India today requires radar sys- of high mobility and easy operation as ear- A Weapon Location function giving • Voice and data communication tems for Base Protection as facilitated by lier generations of Giraffe radars including Giraffe AMB capability to detect, track, • Remote control and presentation Giraffe AMB offered by Saab. uncompromising features for: classify and accurately determine the • Integrated simulator training There have been pirate attacks on the impact position and the origin of enemy Giraffe AMB was taken into service dur- Indian maritime assets which could have • An unparalleled 3D target update rate indirect fires, especially rockets and mor- ing 2004 for the Swedish Armed Forces with been neutralised by surveillance-based combined with high altitude coverage tars. This function has been used success- a very comprehensive communications timely action. Attack on the Indian Embassy and monopulse accuracy in elevation fully and saved lives among our customer suite. The Swedish systems are intended for in Afghanistan in the recent past envisages • Simultaneous personnel. air and sea surveillance as well as ground- a response like that of US Department of - automatic air surveillance and track- Giraffe AMB is a modular and scalable based air defence control and co-ordination State which bought the Saab Giraffe AMB ing including tracking-on-jam with product to enable cost-effective tailoring of I-HAWK, BAMSE, RBS70 and AA guns. for infrastructure protection. multiple reception beams to each specific customer need. The fully It is now in full-scale series production Saab (including the radar part of Eric- - automatic surface surveillance and equipped Giraffe AMB system is very com- and is subject to continuous pre-planned sson which Saab acquired in 2006) has tracking prehensive as indicated in the list below. The improvements. since World War II developed and produced - automatic weapon and impact location non-chosen functions also provide future The Giraffe AMB system is now widely advanced radar systems for both seas, air • Modern open-architecture processing for growth potential, should requirements used by demanding customers around the and land applications. Today Saab can offer easy integration into GBAD weapon sys- change. world, including Swedish Army, French Air the most reliable and advanced mobile radar tems or net-centric defence architectures • A state-of-the-art 3D surveillance Force, British Army (LEAPP programme), systems, giving multi-mission capabilities • Military air traffic control radar for air targets with capacity for Estonian Army, US Department of State and simultaneous use of the system for air • High strategic mobility both medium range (out to 120 km) and Australian Army and is one of the defence; situation awareness; military ATC; • High survivability on the battlefield surveillance/early warning and highly main components for Saabs offer regarding

SP www.spslandforces.com force protection and coastal surveillance Giraffe AMB has in operation proved accurate cueing of ground-based air SRSAM in India.

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 Lt General (Retd) V.K. Kapoor Nexter is now collaborating with Indian sibly a fourth artillery division for deploy- of Israel. The new barrel length of 45-cali- private defence contractor Larsen and Tou- ment along the 4,057-km-long unresolved bre has enhanced the range of the gun to s part of its Artillery Moderni- bro (L&T) while Elbit has partnered with Chinese border—further complicates the about 40 km with extended range ammuni- sation Plan, the Army is looking the Kalyani Group, the world’s largest forg- Army’s equipment shortages. tion. However, the project for manufacture at inducting several types of how- ings manufacturer headquartered in Pune. The FARP’s proposed acquisitions of ammunition which was to be done by the itzers through inter-governmental The Kalyani Group, better known as Bharat include: 1,580 new 155mm/52-calibre IAI of Israel has been delayed as the firm has pacts and global tenders. The last Forge, after one of its more successful sub- towed gun systems (TGS); 814 mounted been blacklisted. majorA acquisition of towed gun-howitzers sidiaries has acquired Ruag’s entire artillery 155mm/52-calibre platforms; 145 off- India has another 300, 130mm M 46 was that of 400 pieces of 39-calibre 155mm manufacturing unit in Switzerland and has the-shelf 155mm/39-calibre ULHs. The guns. In early 2012, the Army approached FH-77B howitzers with a range of 30 km set it up in Pune in 2012. finance plan also envisages the outright the Ordnance Factory Board, Kalyani from Bofors of Sweden in 1987, which got Senior Artillery officers point out that purchase of 100, 155mm/52-calibre self- Group, Larsen and Toubro (L&T), Punj embroiled in political controversy. This gun Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan (FARP), propelled tracked (SPT) howitzer and 180 Lloyd and Tata Power Strategic Engineer- proved its mettle in the Kargil conflict. After which was mooted in 1999 envisaged self-propelled wheeled (SPW) howitzers ing Division (SED) with a proposal to retrofit about 25 years of neglect during which the `5,000-7,000 crore procurement of 3,000- with another 120 to be built locally under a the M46s to 155mm/45-calibre standards 100mm and 122mm field guns of Russian 3,200 of assorted calibre howitzers by the technology transfer agreement. under the Defence Procurement Proce- origin and the indigenously developed and end of the Army’s Fourteenth Five Year One hundred and eighty pieces of dure’s (DPP) ‘Buy and Make (Indian)’ cat- manufactured 75/24 howitzer joined the Finance Plan in 2027. This plan has been 130mm M46 Russian medium-guns have egory. Under this dispensation, local public long list of obsolete equipment, the Army still totally wrecked because of inordinate delays been successfully “up-gunned” to 155mm and private sector companies are eligible to awaits the procurement of about 1,580 how- in decision-making and procurement. calibre with ordnance supplied by Soltam formulate JVs with foreign manufacturers itzers of 155mm, 52-calibre. Out of these, The FARP had envision importing, and to develop and build weapon systems for the 400 are to be procured outright and 1,180 indigenously develop and build howitzers Indian military. All four private companies manufactured indigenously with transfer of by technology transfer agreements to pri- The Army still awaits submitted their project feasibility reports on technology (ToT). vate and public sector joint ventures (JVs) to the M46 retrofit to the Ministry of Defence Trials of a modified Nexter TRAJAN equip the more than 200 artillery regiments the procurement of (MoD) in March 2012, in response to its 155mm/52-calibre TGS and Elbit’s refur- that remain pivotal to the Army’s ‘manoeu- about 1,580 howitzers restricted request for information (RFI) dis- bished, lighter ATHOS 2052 howitzer were vre by fire’ offensive capabilities and revised patched to them earlier. They now await the to be held during May 2013 as a part of war-fighting doctrine. of 155mm, 52-calibre. request for proposal (RFP). summer trials in the western Rajasthan des- Shortages of suitable equipment capa- It is now learnt that when the Bofors ert using the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) ble of delivering long-range firepower Out of these, 400 are 155mm howitzers were procured in 1987, manufactured ordnance. These tests will be will adversely affect the Army as it faces transfer of technology had taken place, followed by winter firings and the selection the prospect of equipping two newly cre- to be procured outright and it has now been revealed that the OFB of one system by the Artillery Directorate to ated mountain divisions in north-eastern which had been sitting on these designs for proceed to cost negotiations (the estimated India. China’s rapid militarisation in Tibet and 1,180 manufactured the past 25 years, on being coaxed by the budget being $2 billion). These trials con- is worrying the military. Raising an addi- Army have now accepted to produce proto- stitute the fifth attempt to select a suitable tional Mountain Strike Corps, comprising indigenously with ToT. types of 155mm/39-calibre and 45-calibre

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photograph: PIB tion to the 12 AN-TPQ 37 Firefinder WLRs UAVs acquired from Raytheon, USA, under The Heron, a medium-altitude long-endur- a 2002 contract worth $200 million, ance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is Israel, has been acquired in addition to the reported to be assembling 28 WLRs. These Searcher I and II UAVs. Four troops of Her- radars will be based on both indigenous ons were acquired. Medium-range battlefield and imported components and are likely to surveillance radars (BFSRs) have been intro- be approved for introduction into service duced into the inventory of the Army’s sur- after extensive trials that are ongoing. The veillance and target acquisition (SATA) units radar is expected to match the capabilities for enhancing the medium-range ground of the Firefinder system and will have a surveillance capability of the Army. The detection range of about 40 km. long-range observation system (LORROS) provides day and night surveillance capabil- Missiles ity up to a range of about 11 to 13 km. The Army has inducted the Prithvi and the The artillery combat command and Agni series of missiles and the BrahMos control system (ACCCS) have been success- missiles in their operational formations. fully developed and have been deployed in a The Prithvi and the Agni series of missiles large number of Corps. are nuclear capable missiles also capable of Pinaka multi barrel rocket launching system firing conventional warheads. The Army’s Speed Up Acquisitions Block III version of the BrahMos missile is The recent aggressive moves by the People’s capable of trajectory manoeuvres and steep Liberation Army (PLA) of China in Ladakh Six prototypes of the Bofors FH-77B tary sales (FMS) route from BAE Systems. dive with multiple way points using advance region in the North, its claims over Arunachal 155mm/39-calibre and 155mm/45-calibre This deal has been cleared by India’s Cabi- guidance system and software. Pradesh in the north-east and its nexus with guns built by the OFB’s Jabalpur unit are cur- net Committee on Security and trials have Pakistan, poses considerable challenge to our rently undergoing user trials in Rajasthan, also been conducted but the deal has still MBRLs military preparedness. We cannot afford to which will be followed by another round of not fructified. On September 13, 2013, the Multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) lower our guard against our likely adversar- testing at high altitude, later in 2013. This Defence Acquisition Council headed by the Pinaka has a range of 37.5 km, can be ies. Superior firepower is a war winning fac- follows several months of successful in- Defence Minister cleared the deal four days brought into action within three minutes tor and currently we are in a weak position house firing trials by the OFB after the MoD, before the arrival of the US Deputy Secre- and can fire a salvo of 12 rockets in 44 sec- in this respect. We need speedy induction of under pressure from the Army, approved the tary of Defence, Ashton B. Carter. onds. Pinaka can neutralise a target area of 155mm/52-calibre howitzers to replace the acquisition of 114 indigenously built FH- 1,000 x 800 metres. Production of rockets present equipment. Our requirements being 77B 155mm/45-calibre towed howitzers in Counter-bombardment is in full swing. Manufacture of 40 launch- so large, the required numbers would not be October 2012. Senior Army officers said this Counter-bombardment (US term counter- ers, 16 battery command posts, 40 L and available even in the world market at short order was expected to rise to 200 guns. fire) capability is also being upgraded, 20 replenishment vehicles have been com- notice and therefore induction itself will be a but at a slow pace. At least about 40-50 pleted and systems have been handed over long-drawn process. Ultra Light Howitzers weapon locating radars (WLRs) are to the Army. Five lots of restricted high Hence there is no time to lose. The One hundred and forty five ultra light how- required for effective counter-bombard- explosive rockets and 23 lots of pre-formed lack of decisiveness of our leadership must itzers (M777) are being procured from the ment, especially in the plains; but only a fragmented warhead rockets have been be arrested if we have to be ready for all United States through the foreign mili- dozen have been procured so far. In addi- delivered to the Army. eventualities. SP

1/2014 SP’s Land Forces 7 >> network-centric Keys to Success: Net-centricity, Command, Control, Synergised Operations

There is not only the need to undertake periodic holistic reviews but more importantly technologies available globally must be optimised ensuring required security to enhance our C4I2SR capabilities. This is essential in the face of mounting threats.

 Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch larly with telescoped time frame required for to media, the US firm Raytheon is also talk- lents of sister services, Strategic Forces Com- decision-making. Surveillance has many ing to the IAF regarding airborne SR radars. mand and HQ IDS, has been awarded to HCL he new war paradigm applications from the operational and strate- Raytheon has received two request for infor- Infosys in early 2013 for development over demands integrated and net- gic to the tactical level. The recent disclosure mation (RFIs) from the IAF but India has not two years. However, the project does not worked decision support systems of the US National Security Agency (NSA) decided whether to go for an active electroni- include development of requisite software; with space, land, surface and sub- snooping on foreign governments, diplo- cally scanned array system or a mechanically implying the services and HQ IDS require surface sensors with state-of-the- matic missions, businesses and individuals scanned arrangement. Meanwhile, Navy developing software individually with atten- Tart weapons and equipment whose potential helps the US manipulate nations in its own has issued an RFI for 3D radars to enhance dant interoperability problems. requires optimum utilisation and synergy to national interests. Today, computers, tele- surveillance aboard ships more than 3,000 Military survey products are primarily inflict maximum damage on the enemy. The phones, cameras, social network analysis, tonnes to provide 360-degree surveillance Google based maps that hardly measure up key to success will lie in attaining higher lev- biometrics, aerial means, satellites, humans, to detect aircraft, helicopters and incoming to military requirements; 30 years behind els of net-centricity; effective command and identification of credentials, global position- anti-ship missiles. No new radars and UAVs meeting routine mapping requirements control across the force, an accelerated deci- ing system (GPS) and a host of other devices have been inducted by the Indian Army. The and large-scale mapping vital for opera- sion-action cycle and an ability to conduct are all being used for surveillance. Recon- move to identify and induct MAVs is progress- tional information systems (OIS) not done synergised operations simultaneously with- naissance is the military term to gain vital ing slowly. The DRDO is designing a range of at all. DIA is the central repository for all in the defence and security establishment. information about enemy forces or features MAVs (Black Kite, Golden Hawk and Push- intelligence inputs pertaining to the three With speedy technological advancements, for analysis and/or dissemination. Exam- pak already developed) but are yet to match services but we are yet to integrate the command, control, communications, com- ples of reconnaissance include observation up with COTS products like the ‘Netra’ by aspects of topography with DIA. Within the puters, information and intelligence, sur- posts, patrolling by troops/scouts/special Idea Forge, a spider like MAV suited for all existing setup, adequate resources in terms veillance and reconnaissance (C4I2SR) sys- forces/intelligence specialists/unmanned types of operations including counter-ter- of remote sensing, electronic intelligence tems provide sterling opportunities for the aerial vehicles (UAVs), aerial, surface and rorism and counter-insurgency or the MAV (ELINT) payloads and cartography are not defence and security establishment acting subsurface platforms, etc. In the military, with an infrared sensor developed by Aurora available to produce high quality fused data. as important force multiplier for command- surveillance reconnaissance (SR) is done Integrated System. An enterprise geographic information sys- ers at all levels. From this, it can be surmised using binoculars, long-range devices like With respect to C4I2SR, the military is tem (GIS) is yet to be developed and a defence that intelligence surveillance and recon- spotoscopes, night vision devices (NVDs), yet to evolve an network-centric warfare spatial data infrastructure (DSDI) is perhaps naissance (ISR) are not stand-alone entities weapon sights, thermal imagers (HHTIs), (NCW) Doctrine which should have been the decades away. Army’s primary focal points and must be viewed within the ambit of a radars of all types, UAVs and micro-aerial start point to develop the NCW architecture. for NCW are the tactical command control composite C4I2SR system. vehicles (MAVs), aerial, surface and sub- Non-merger of HQ Integrated Defence Staff communication and intelligence system Human Intelligence (HUMINT), tech- surface platforms and satellites. The Army (IDS) with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), (Tac C3I) system and the TCS aside from nical intelligence (TECHINT), signal intel- is moving towards better surveillance and lack of operational authority of the former the management information system (MIS) ligence (SIGINT), open source intelligence target acquisition (SATA) equipment with and the lack of a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and GIS. In case of Tac C3I, artillery com- (OSINT) all combine into all source intel- each Artillery Brigade being equipped with have contributed to this. Neither voice or mand, control and communications system ligence. Advantages of HUMINT are enor- a battery and each Corps being given a SATA data networks nor radio communications of (ACCCS) is already being fielded. A contract mous including in environment of insur- Regiment with UAVs and radars as the back- the services are interoperable to the desired with the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) gency and terrorism, which cannot be bone for all SATA Regiments. degree. Radio sets differ in their frequency was concluded in March 2011 for `1,035 replaced sole reliance on TECHINT. Yet, even The Indian military is expected to induct bands, wave forms and secrecy algorithms. crore for equipping CIDSS along with a sec- the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) with radars worth over $8.5 billion in the next Networks of the three services do not talk ond contract of `2,635 crore for the BSS mandate to operate trans-border sources decade. Various indigenous developmental to each other. Common standards and pro- but these contracts have not been taken to is denied permission to do so and directed projects for radars and associated equipment tocols, mutually compatible database struc- their logical conclusion in the required time to rely on TECHINT. This is the root cause as well as international acquisitions are tak- tures, development/deployment of interfaces frame. Complete fielding of CIDSS will likely for our inability to cope with irregular and ing place. The indigenous projects include between systems using disparate platforms take another seven-eight years and being asymmetric threats. Army’s fledgling Tech- development of active electronically scanned and commonality of hardware have not the hub of the Tac C3I will delay any mea- nical Support Division (TSD) unit that has array (AESA) radar to be fitted on the LCA commenced. Services cannot exchange indi- sure of net-centric capability. Test bed for been in the news recently too has report- MK II as well as a ‘through wall imaging vidual UAV pictures and the Air Force picture the air defence control and reporting system edly been shut down. To top this we are also radar’. India has initiated integration of the does not come directly into Army’s Opera- (ADC&RS) is yet to materialise though con- hampered with poor mapping even within indigenously-built airborne early warning tions Rooms. No common secrecy algo- tract with BEL was signed in March 2008. our own territory. Intelligence is the final and control (AEW&C) system with the Bra- rithm has been developed. Requirement of Expression of Interest (EoI) in respect of product of information and information is zilian Embraer EMB-145 aircraft which India a military satellite was first projected by the the BMS has been recently issued. BEL and an operational asset, the strategic value of is acquiring. The EMB-145I aircraft has been Navy and later caught on by Army and Air a consortium of Larsen and Toubro (L&T), which has been increasing by the day. At modified to carry the Indian-made Active Force. Adequate bandwidth is at premium. Tata Power SED and HCL Infosys Ltd has the national level, the Multi Agency Centre Array Antenna Unit (AAAU). In addition, Military’s Project Defence Communications been selected for making prototype TCS and (MAC), National Intelligence Grid (NAT- new generation of multi-function radars Network (DCN), strategically connecting the the best bidder will then execute the project. GRID) and the National Counter Terrorism which can be integrated with any weapon Corps Headquarters of the Army and equiva- The Army Strategic Operational Informa- Centre (NCTC) are efforts to synergise intel- system to provide surveillance, early warn- tion Dissemination System (ASTROIDS) ligence even though NCTC has not earned ing, interception guidance and raid assess- sanctioned in 1995, to connect Corps HQ consensus because of fears by states of the ment are also being developed, including a With respect to C4I2SR, upwards to Army HQ, with Information Centre misusing its powers. It is an estab- medium power radar (Arudra), a low-level the military is yet to Systems Security Association (ISSA), DRDO lished fact that the side which has informa- transportable 150-kilometre radar and a as the development agency, but has been tion advantage has more chances of being synthetic aperture radar—all capable of evolve a network-centric recently foreclosed lacking requisite soft- the winner. In military terms, acquisition being integrated into any weapons system. ware and faulty security overlay. RFI for a of intelligence or information will depend The Defence Research and Development warfare (NCW) Doctrine fresh project is under preparation. on a plethora of sensors including HUMINT, Organisation (DRDO) is also developing 3D From the aforesaid it is apparent that processing it speedily and disseminating radar systems: the Central Acquisition Radar which should have been there is not only the need to undertake it in real time or near real time at required (CAR) for use with Akash surface-to-air mis- periodic holistic reviews but more impor- levels including commanders and shooters siles (SAMs); ‘Rohini’ for the Indian Air Force the start point to develop tantly technologies available globally must simultaneously. Surveillance implies moni- (IAF) and ‘Revathi’ for the Navy. A third be optimised ensuring required security to toring activities and changing information variant (3D tactical control radar) for Army the NCW architecture. enhance our C4I2SR capabilities. This is SP www.spslandforces.com on ground essential for responding particu- reports is also being produced. According essential in the face of mounting threats.

8 SP’s Land ForceS 1/2014 modernisation >> India’s Infantry Modernisation The lack of progress in acquiring even the weaponry, which is the easiest and most fundamental, is depressive to say the least because it directly and most adversely affects the soldiers fighting ability in the field. It is therefore clear that the Army is currently grappling with the Phase 1 itself, i.e. the phase in which new infantry weapons with body armour, individual equipment and clothing have to be inducted.

photograph: SP Guide Pubns  Lt General (Retd) V.K. Kapoor attitude and approach to terrorist organisations, even though such organisations pose a ndia faces diverse threats and danger to Pakistan’s own social and political challenges. While there is an existential fabric. Thus India faces a strong likelihood of threat of conventional conflicts arising more intensive low-intensity conflict situa- from unresolved borders in the west tions in Jammu and Kashmir in the future. with Pakistan and in the north and In view of the increasing focus on low- Inorth-east with China, on the other hand, intensity conflicts, the aim of this article is there is the formidable challenge develop- to draw the reader’s attention to the delay ing within the borders of India. This is in modernisation of India’s infantry and its from home-grown insurgencies, militancy future infantry soldier programme. and terrorism which arise due to a variety of reasons. To add to these two scenarios is F-INSAS the continuing and constant threat from The future infantry soldier as a system state-sponsored terrorism nursed and nur- (F-INSAS) had been initiated more than tured in India’s immediate neighbourhood six years ago to make the infantryman a and its direct and indirect linkages to con- weapon platform with situational aware- ventional conflicts, in the region, in the ness, increased lethality and sustainability future. All this makes this part of South in the digitised battlefield. F-INSAS was to Asia more volatile and unpredictable. be effected in three phases: Phase I included The existence of terrorist camps across Defence Minister A.K. Antony inspecting weapons, body armour, clothing and indian INSAS rifle during Defexpo 2012 the India-Pakistan border and the line of con- vidual equipment; Phase II was the target trol (LoC) and the likelihood of Pakistani Tali- acquisition system and Phase III comprised ban, who are currently engaged in fighting in Afghanistan border, turning their attention be prepared to face. The continuing infiltra- the computer subsystem, radio subsystem, their Western provinces and on the Pakistan- towards the LoC, is a setting that India must tions across the LoC demonstrate Pakistan’s software and software integration.

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Vectronix_sterna_UK_246_191_2014-01-22.indd 1 23/01/2014 09:46 1/2014 SP’s Land Forces 9 >> modernisation

Photograph: US Army The F-INSAS programme was anno- could be one of the world’s largest small unced by former Army Chief General J.J. arms contracts in recent times worth over Singh in August 2007 which involved $5 billion in due course. equipping over 3,00,000 infantry troops and around 1,00,000 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) Other Equipment and Assam Rifles (AR) personnel employed A basic equipment of the infantry man for conventional and counter-insurgency is the multi-purpose tool, akin to a Swiss operations or both with a modular, multi- knife, 3,00,000 of which are needed for calibre suite of weapons, body armour each upgraded infantry soldiers’ survival and assorted individual equipment and kit. This procurement was delayed by the target acquisition and hand-held surveil- Army despite trials in 2010-11 featuring lance devices, including third-generation vendors from Italy, Switzerland and the night vision devices (NVDs). It includes, as United States. stated in Phase 3, communication appara- A major obstacle pertaining to the tus and computers capable of transmitting F-INSAS programme is the stalemate over and uploading voice, data and video clips image intensifier and thermal imaging for on wrist displays for soldiers and ‘plan- (TI)-based surveillance and target acqui- ning boards’ for commanders, ‘smart’ vests sition systems the lack of which had ren- packed with sensors, integrated ballistic dered India’s infantry largely ‘night blind’. helmets with heads-up display (HUD), min- The initial proposal is for 45,000 third- iature radios, global positioning systems generation night vision devices (NVDs) (GPS) and portable power packs. So the under F-INSAS. Army is currently tack- complete package for the proposed infantry ling the Ministry of Defence (MoD) which upgrade was impressive. insists that Army should acquire them F-INSAS is to be a part of the battlefield from the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), management system (BMS) of the Army i.e. based in Bengaluru. battalion level and below. The formations In negotiations with the Army, BEL above the battalion level i.e. brigade and reportedly wants the Infantry Directorate above will form a part of the tactical com- to reduce its figure of merit (FoM) scale for munication system (TCS) of the Army at the NVDs from 1700 FoM, that enables sol- the Corps level. This part of the project of diers to see clearly in total darkness to 1400 integrated communications and digitisa- FoM which provides visibility only at dusk, tion of the battlefield comprising command dawn and in moonlit nights and which the information and decision support systems defence public sector undertaking (DPSU) (CIDSS) is being handled by the Director has on offer. Interestingly in 2010 the MoD General Information Systems (DGIS) while had, for `100 crore facilitated the transfer the induction of weaponry and equipment of highly restrictive ‘supergen’ technol- of the infantry in the F-INSAS programme ogy to BEL from France’s Photonis. The is being handled by the Directorate Genera- BEL failed to absorb it and develop a more tion of Infantry. advanced version. Alternate NVDs with The lack of progress of acquiring even 1700 FoM capability have been offered by the weaponry, which is the easiest and most private defence contractor Tata Power (Stra- fundamental, is depressive to say the least tegic Electronics Division) in Bengaluru that because it directly and most adversely affects reportedly meets the Army’s preliminary the soldiers fighting ability in the field. It is qualitative requirements (QRs) and are therefore clear that the Army is currently under consideration. grappling with the Phase 1 itself i.e. the QR’s for critical battlefield communica- phase which in which new infantry weap- tion and navigation equipment—including ons with body armour, individual equip- dead reckoning modules, a miniature, self- ment and clothing have to be inducted. contained, electronic navigation unit that The Indian’s Army’s six-year-old proj- pinpoints the user’s position—digital com- ect to upgrade all its infantry battalions passes, assorted computer, dual-band radio and 106 units of Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and sets and soldier-individual power units have Assam Rifles (AR) units under its elabo- yet to be completed. rate F-INSAS programme, is inordinately Requests for proposal (RFPs) for some delayed. Officials associated with the pro- 1,70,000 modular bullet proof vests weigh- gramme have said that the F-INSAS pro- ing around 10.5 kg and an equal number totype, modelled on the US Army’s Future of ballistic helmets had been dispatched to Force Warrior and aimed at deploying a F-INSAS prototype is modelled on the domestic manufacturers in June and Decem- fully-networked, all-terrain and all-weather US Army’s Future Force Warrior and aimed ber 2012 respectively, some four years behind force with enhanced firepower and mobil- at deploying a fully-networked, all-terrain schedule. Tenders for knee and elbow protec- ity for the future digitalised battlefield, is and all-weather force with enhanced tion pads are awaiting finalisation. firepower and mobility for the future delayed by four to five years, if not lon- digitalised battlefield ger beyond its 2012-13 deadline. Conse- Conclusion quently, the overall infantry upgrade, to be India’s strategic neighbourhood is one of the accomplished through a mix of imported most volatile and dangerous regions of the and locally developed equipment and sys- Sig Sauer’s offering the M4 and 516 Patrol Assault Rifles world. It has all the ingredients of becom- tems and estimated to cost `25,000 crore models. These weapons have undergone Army is also on the lookout for assault ing a future battleground of treacherous (approximately $4.0 billion) may well be field trials at the Infantry School at Mhow, rifles (AR) to replace the INSAS 5.56mm conflicts. With disputed borders in the west, deferred beyond 2025. in Central India, the Thar desert in Rajas- Rifles with technologically superior weap- north and north-east and the formidable The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) than and high altitude locations in India’s ons. In the race are assault rifles of the internal challenges, India faces a wide vari- headed by the Defence Minister and includ- northern and north-eastern regions. Czech Republic’s Czeca, IWI, Baretta and ety of threats and challenges. Moreover, this ing the three Chiefs (Army, Navy and the The tender for the 5.56mm close quarter Colt and Sig Sauer, all weighing around nuclearised region also has the dubious dis- Air Force) have approved the induction of battle (CQB) carbines requires each weapon 3.6 kg. The other requirements include tinction of having in its midst the epicentre a new assault rifle, 5.56 (with capability of system to weigh less than three kg, fire 600 the ability to convert from 5.56 x 45mm to of international terrorism, nourished and switching to 7.62mm barrels if required) rounds per minute to a minimum distance 7.62 x 39mm calibres by merely by switch- nurtured by Pakistan and its sympathisers along with a new generation carbine to of 200 metres and be capable of operating ing the barrel and magazine for employ- in the Arab-Islamic world. Therefore, while replace the 9mm carbine which has already in extreme temperatures. Picatinny rail- ment in counter insurgency and/or con- likelihood of full-scale state-on-state wars been weeded out of the Army without get- mounted reflex and passive night sights, ventional offensive/defensive operations. may be reduced, India will more likely face ting a replacement. visible and invisible laser spot designators They also need to be fitted with detachable border skirmishes on its unresolved borders and multi-purpose detachable bayonets under barrel grenade launchers and be and low intensity conflict operations includ- Carbines are a part of their qualitative requirements capable of firing Ordnance Factory Board- ing counter-terrorism and counter-insur- There has been some progress in the field (QRs). The selected vendor will be required produced 5.56mm x 45 (SS109) ammu- gency in the future. This mandates a quick of carbines. In August 2012, the process of to transfer technology to the OFB to licence nition rounds. This procurement will also and thorough modernisation of India’s procuring 44,618 5.56mm close quarter build 3,80,000-4,00,000 CQB carbines and involve transfer of technology to the OFB infantry which is clearly not happening battle (CQB) carbines to replace the out- 5.56mm ammunition, for use not only by the to licence-build the assault rifles. Army’s despite the rhetoric by the political leader- dated 9mm model and 33.6 million rounds Army, but eventually the Central and state immediate requirement is for around ship and military hierarchy. The slow rate of ammunition in a contract worth over police forces in a programme estimated to ulti- 2,18,320 rifles where as India’s assault of progress of the F-INSAS programme is a `2,000 crore was set in motion. The manu- mately cost over `5,000 crore. Army sources rifle requirement is estimated at between reflection of the larger malaise that inflicts facturers in the race were Israel Weapon said the carbine and ammunition trial reports two-three million to arm the large Central modernisation of the armed forces in India Industries (IWI) Galil Ace carbine; Italy’s were being assessed and it was expected that Paramilitary Forces and the state police. At for which the blame lies squarely with the

SP www.spslandforces.com Baretta with its ARX-160, USA’s Colt and the deal may witness finalisation by 2015. this scale, India’s assault rifle acquisitions Ministry of Defence.

10 SP’s Land ForceS 1/2014 air defence >> Decades of Obsolescence Majority of AAD weapon systems are of erstwhile Soviet origin with an average vintage of 30 years. To add to the woes of operational readiness, there is shortage of certain types of ammunition which casts its shadow on training. This leads to the dilution of skill of the gun, missile and radar crews.

photograph: PIB  Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand development in this. After the clearance of Barak by India, this venture may also ttention catching head- move forward. Russia’s BUK-M1 is the only lines like ‘State of Unpre- suitable mobile system as other systems paredness’ and ‘Leaky Army Air like Aster30, Israel’s Barak Next Genera- Defence Umbrella’ have been tion, MBDA’s MICA and Lockheed Martin’s used in the past to explain the Patriot Advance Capability-3 (PAC-3) will currentA state of preparedness of Army Air have to be mounted on a suitable platform Defence (AAD) and to highlight the lack of to make it mobile. Out of all these, PAC-3 even rudimentary modernisation in this seems the most capable. important pillar of warfighting machine OSA-AK (SAM8): This is also a tank- but it seems that nothing can awaken the mounted mobile system of Soviet origin. decision-makers from slumber. It is of 1980s vintage and was inducted In this respect, a review of the current around 1987. It has a range of about eight weapon systems held by AAD is given in the km and its replacement should be planned following paragraphs: now, considering the long gestation period of new acquisitions by India. Trishul was Gun Systems being developed by DRDO as part of Inte- Bofors 40mm L/70: The 40mm L/70 is grated Guided Missile Development Pro- the oldest system held with AAD which gramme (IGMDP) but it has not succeeded was inducted in 1964. In its time, it was and thus has been foreclosed. Russia’s a good gun which has undergone only OSA-AK weapon system TOR M-1 which has a range of 12 km is marginal upgrade. Its fire control radar the only original mobile missile system. has undergone changes and currently it The new terminology being used for such has the upgraded Flycatcher. The Defence space Industries providing new radar, elec- since 1974. Its successor is supposed to be a system is quick reaction SAM (QRSAM). Research and Development Organisation tro sights and some other sub systems. Hin- the Akash system to be developed by DRDO A request for proposal (RFP) was issued but (DRDO) have not been able to develop an air dustan Powerplus Caterpillar is providing a under the Integrated Guided Missile Devel- no progress was made and it was dropped. It defence gun and the quest for a successor new diesel engine. The cabin is also being opment Programme (IGMDP). Akash has is understood that MBDA is working closely system has undergone many futile twists air-conditioned. The system is expected for been developed but only in static role. It has with DRDO to develop maitre (means friend- and turns. There are not many new gun trials during March 2014. been accepted in static role by the Army but ship) which is an offshoot of Mica (range 20 systems currently in the global market as Kvadrat Missile System (SAM-6): the void for mobile systems still remains. km). It is possible that they will help DRDO the advanced nations are inclined towards This is a tank-mounted missile system which DRDO had initiated a joint venture with in critical technologies like active seeker to missiles and other nations do not need such is highly mobile and radar controlled with a Israel to develop a medium-range surface- have a new avatar of Trishul as QRSAM or systems or are carrying on with the old range of about 20 km. It has been in service to-air (MR-SAM) but there is not much maybe a short-range SAM. SP systems. The only suitable system is Rhein- metall AD’s Skyshield which has advanced hit efficiency and destruction technology (AHEAD) ammunition which contains 152 heavy tungsten metal, spin stabilised sub- projectiles and ejected by a time fuse. But regrettably, Rheinmetall air defence is at present under the shadow of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), thus there is no way this gun system can be acquired unless MoD does a U-turn, as it did for Barak missile recently. L/70 gun has recently undergone an upgradation carried out by the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). The upgrade involves electric drive, electro-optical sighting system and a laser-range finder. MoD has given the contract to BEL for about `600 crore. 23mm Twin-Gun: This gun is of erstwhile Soviet origin and is about 25 years old. It is a light weight, mechanical gun which can carry on for some more time provided it is upgraded with electric drive and an electro-optical sighting system with a laser range finder. BEL is also carrying on upgrade of this gun with the help of Israel and field trials are expected shortly. Schilka: Schilka is a highly mobile tank-mounted air defence gun system with fire control radar. It is of erstwhile Soviet origin and has been in service since 1973. Currently, the gun system has some more life left but the radar is obsolete. The engine also needs replacement. Tungusgka was selected as its successor which was also of Soviet origin. It is a gun-missile system but for some reason only a few was imported during 1995 and there was no further acquisition due to unknown reasons. At present only Russia is producing such systems and thus the choice of successor gets limited to them only. Pantsir-S1 is a suitable gun—missile system of KBK (Russia) which can succeed Schilka, but this system is nowhere in the horizon. BEL is carrying out Schilka’s upgrade with Israeli Aero-

1/2014 SP’s Land Forces 11 >> Technology Night Vision Technologies Night vision devices (NVDs) comprise an image intensifier tube, a protective housing and a mounting system. Many NVDs also include sacrificial lenses, infrared illuminators and telescopic lenses. Night vision goggles, night-scopes, night-monocular, night weapon sights are vital to any army. Longer reach and improved resolution promotes the chances of winning.

Photograph: Photonis greater detection distances, improved system performance under low-light conditions and operational life in excess of 10,000 hours compared to 2,000- 4,000 hours of second generation tubes.  Fourth-generation: In 1998, gated filmless technology was created by remov- ing the ion barrier film and gating power supply enabling substantial increases in target detection range and resolution. The filmless micro channel plate provides a higher signal-to-noise ratio than standard third-generation IITs resulting in better image quality under low-light conditions. Autogated power supply improves image resolution under high light conditions and a reduced halo effect that minimises interference from bright light sources. The reduced Halo maximises the effectiveness of the NVD in dynamic lighting conditions. However, it was found that the same performance results could also be achieved using a third-generation tube with a thinner ion barrier film and an auto-gated power supply.

Subcontinental Scene Indian Army has on its inventory in various categories and quantities of NVDs but ideal equipping both in terms of quan- tity and quality is yet to be achieved. In 2008, media had reported the lack of NVDs in Indian Army particularly in the 3,000-strong tank fleet (only 10 per cent of tanks had night-fighting capability) and soldiers faced glaring shortages of NVDs, The Photonis Group is a global with NVDs in service a generation behind business serving the photo-sensor what Pakistan already had; Indian Army technology needs of world leading customers in the areas of night was holding second-generation NVDs while vision, industry and science and Pakistan had a range of third-generation medical imaging NVDs from the US under the War on Terror Pact. Finally in April 2013, The Ministry of Defence (MoD) approved a `2,820 crore  Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch imaging, it is important to understand that IR others classify them as generation one, two, proposal to provide NVDs to the Indian can be split into three categories; near IR (0.7 three and four. Advanced version of genera- Army; 5,000 thermal imagers (TIs) will he urge for the ability to see to 1.3 microns wavelength), mid IR (1.3-3 tion three is also being referred to as gen- be procured from the Bharat Electronics by night went up in wartime microns wavelength) and thermal IR (three eration three ultra. Classification of NVDs Limited (BEL). Though Pakistan continues but today conflict situations are microns to over 30 microns wavelength). The depends on what type of image intensifier to receive modern NVDs from the United an everyday affair. Night vision key difference between thermal IR and the tube (IIT) is used in the particular device: States to fight terrorism, its Institute of devices (NVDs) comprise an other two is that thermal IR is emitted by an  Zero-generation: These were sniper Optronics (IOP) also manufactures NVDs Timage intensifier tube (IIT), a protective object instead of reflected off it. Most thermal scopes used in World War II, not really for Pakistan armed forces; crew served housing and a mounting system. Many imaging devices scan at a rate of 30 times IITs but image converters requiring a night vision weapon sight (TVS-5A), indi- NVDs also include sacrificial lenses, infra- per second, sense temperatures from -20 source of invisible IR light mounted on or vidual served night vision weapon sight red (IR) illuminators and telescopic lenses. degree Celsius to 3,600 degree Celsius and near the device to illuminate the target. (PVS-4A), driver’s night vision periscope NVDs are being used by the security sector can detect changes in temperature of about  First-generation: These were Starlight (DNVP-1A) and aviator’s night vision as well as civilians. Night vision goggles 0.2 degree Celsius. Thermal imaging devices Scopes developed in early 1960s. They goggle. IOP’s future plans include NVDs for (NVGs), night-scopes, night-monocular, are generally ‘un-cooled’ or ‘cryogenically produced an image that was clear in the armoured vehicles and helicopters. India’s night weapon sights are vital to any army. cooled’. The un-cooled ones are more com- centre of the field of view but suffered BEL is understood to have partnered with Longer reach and improved resolution pro- mon wherein the IR detector elements are from large optical distortion around the Photonis after considering extending a motes the chances of winning. contained in a unit that operates at room periphery. relationship with ITT Exelis. ITT Exelis has temperature. These devices are noiseless, acti-  Second-generation: Development of set up offices to pursue the Indian mar- Types of NVD vate immediately and have in-built batteries. the micro channel plate (MCP) in the ket post memorandum of understanding NVDs are of two types: image intensifiers (II) Cryogenically cooled devices have elements late 1960s ushered the second genera- (MoU) signed with Tata at 2012 Defexpo and thermal imagers (TI). Image intensifiers sealed inside a container that cools them to tion NVDs which are high quality with for manufacturing systems using imported are more common as their light amplifica- below zero degree Celsius. The advantage exceptional brightness and resolution. US tubes. Reportedly, Qioptiq’s Kite sight tion technology uses the small amount of of such a system is the incredible resolution The MCP accelerated and multiplied has been trialed with India since 2009 ambient light like moon, stars-light and con- and sensitivity that result from cooling the electrons substituting coupling of three with a potential acquisition later this year verts this light energy (photons) into electri- elements. These systems enable identifying IIs of the first generation. with demonstrations of the company’s cal energy (electrons). These electrons pass whether a person is holding a weapon more  Third-generation: Fielded in the early TI and II solutions having begun. Qioptiq through a thin disk that’s about the size of a than 300 metres away. Thermal imaging can 1980s, these devices saw two major also established a joint venture with Rolta small coin and contains more than 10 mil- detect persons in near-absolute darkness with technological improvements; gallium in 2009 to pursue opportunities in India. lion channels. As the electrons go through little or no ambient light. arsenide (GaAs) photocathode and ion America Technology Network (ATN) says the channels, they strike the channel walls, barrier coating to the MCP, providing it sold to India MARS 4 and 6 TI weapon releasing thousands of more electrons. These Categories combined increase in resolution, sig- sights and the monocular NVM-14 in multiplied electrons then bounce off of a NVDs are generally classified into four cat- nal to noise ratio and photosensitivity 2011 for the Army. Similarly, Optix says phosphorous screen which converts the elec- egories albeit with differing classifications— over tubes with a multi-alkali photo- they have several projects in India, three of trons back into photons, letting you see even some classify them as generation zero, one, cathode—increasing sensitivity to light which are with the Navy including sales of

www.spslandforces.com when it’s pitch dark. To understand thermal two, three and four (yet to be defined) while from the near-IR range of the spectrum, the twin-tube Diana variant NVG.

12 SP’s Land ForceS 1/2014 Technology >>

Photograph: Exelis South East Asia Choosing NVDs In South East Asia, the infantryman has Exelis AN/PVS-14 Three important performance parameters had a head or weapon mounted image night vision goggle that need to be borne in mind are the sig- intensifier (II) with support weapons fitted nal-to-noise ratio (SNR), resolution and with a thermal imager (TI) having longer modular transfer function (MTF) and life- range and better vision. A combination of time of an II. SNR is the measure of the the two NVDs is currently under exami- light signal reaching the eye divided by the nation—integration of the device within perceived noise as seen by the eye. Higher a single device or use of clip on ther- the SNR, better the ability to resolve image mal devices to existing II devices which details under low light conditions. MTF is appears more affordable and exploits the the maximum line density on a target that existing capital investment. Sales of NVDs can be resolved by human eye. High MTF to South East Asian countries have been values at low spatial frequencies provide reported as follows: sharp images with a good contrast. Lifetime  Psyer sold their PNP-MS and PNP- of an II is extremely important for night MUNS II sights and their PNP-MT and vision applications. PNP MUNSTI TI sights to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. COTS Market  Sagem sold their MATIS and OB50 TI The global market is awash with NVDs. sights to Malaysia. NOCTURN digital extreme low light CMOS  Optix sold their Diana single tube NVGs Camera developed by Photonis USA, Inc to Thailand and Exvision Thermal Cam- is a state-of-the-art device for surveil- era to Singapore. lance imaging in 24x7 lighting conditions  America Technology Network sold whose applications include CCTV secu- THOR TI sight to Thailand and sold rity and surveillance, man portable vision NVG-7 and NVM-14 NVGs to Indonesia systems, long-range target identification, and sold monocular, biocular goggles unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and other and hand-held sights to Vietnam. reconnaissance, plus 860 and 1064nm  The Electro-Optical Systems Technology laser line detection. met Republic of Korea night vision II requirement using Photonis tubes.  ITL sold Mini SEAS to Australia, Thai- fusion are now available. Clip on devices are Improved Technology  Qioptiq sold 350 VIPR 2 sights for Aus- land and Singapore. gaining ground in the fusion arena. Qioptiq Conflict situations demand that we provide tralia’s Land 125 Phase 2 programme.  Pulse Inteco sold 800 of its Rantel-2 launched a new clip on thermal sight dur- the wherewithal to our soldiers to have Trials have been held in Malaysia and night vision monocular devices to Thai- ing 2012 for use with the Thales Optronics greater advantage through battlefield trans- Singapore. land. Lucie-D goggle. Similarly, Vectronix’s 300- parency by night including through poor vis-  Infrared Security Systems sold 35 ther-  ITT sold PVS-14 and -7 night vision gog- metre range thermal acquisition clip-on sys- ibility due to rain, fog, mist, snow, sandstorm, mal sighting systems to Malaysia and gles to Australia, Japan, Singapore and tem (TACS-M) which is NVG host agnostic blizzards. Digital technology should provide thermal imaging viewer (TIV) to Malay- Thailand. although the company has naturally built in improved image quality and enhanced capa- sia and Thailand. A number of systems incorporating image compliance with its Tarsius I2 solution. bility to meet battlefield conditions. SP

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1/2014 SP’s Land Forces 13 >> special forces Consolidating & Equipping the Special Forces

In modern Special Forces like the USSF, any induction of new weaponry or equipment into the US Army first goes through the USSF, which also has research and development capabilities to modify commercially available off the shelf (COTS) products to suit specific Special Forces requirement—a capacity yet to be established in Indian Special Forces

 Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch permit its procurement. More than a decade has gone by back, the firm reportedly came under a ban, as has been and still the Army’s Special Forces are without these laser happening in scores of cases. Since these occurrences are ikipedia that earlier listed out target designators. Light weight, heli-transportable all- without having identified another source of procurement, some 50 odd Special Forces in India (pre- terrain vehicles though authorised, are yet to be procured. the armed forces and in this specific case Special Forces are dominantly police forces) now mentions Though a Singapore firm was to provide these a decade at a great disadvantage with respect to capacity building. Para Commandos, Special Frontier Force (SFF), Ghatak Force, Force One, Marine CommandosW (MARCOS), Garud Commando Force, 51 Spe- cial Action Group (SAG), National Security Guard (NSG), Special Protection Group and CoBRA. But the ambiguity and misunderstanding persists. The Army Special Forces, MARCOS, Garud, Special Groups (SGs) of SFF and 51 and 52 SAG of NSG actually fall within the purview of Special Forces. Ironically, while these Special Forces numerically total up to as many as US Special Forces (USSF), India has failed to optimally employ this potential gainfully as strategic forces, including for creating a deterrent against the sustained proxy war launched by our enemies from across our borders. Unprecedented rapid expansion in sharp contrast to global norms governing such forces, have diluted our Special Forces capabilities including in manpower quality, training and equipping. Being under different chains of command, there is little commonality in equipment even within the Military’s Special Forces. Then is the essential requirement of provisioning ‘packaged equipping’ that is generally ignored. ‘Packaged equipping’ implies that if a subunit of Special Forces is authorised particular weapons and equipment, these must be made available as a package in the required quantities. Pack- aged equipment is essential because if a subunit does not have the complete authorised equipment, its combat capability will obviously be less. The equipping of Special Forces needs to be viewed to include personal clothing, personal equipment including protection, weapons and fire power, explosives and counter explosives, mobility, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, induction and extraction related equipment, hand-held electronic warfare equipment, etc. In modern Special Forces like the USSF, any induction of new weaponry or equipment into the US Army first goes through the USSF, which also has research and development (R&D) capabilities to modify commercially available off the shelf (COTS) products to suit specific Special Forces requirement—a capacity yet to be established in Indian Special Forces. In terms of personal clothing and equipment, no special preference is being given to Special Forces in terms of quality. Compare this to the ‘Quantum Stealth’ camouflage fabric developed by the Hyperstealth Biotech- nology Corporation aimed at making the soldier invisible, which is being planned to be introduced in selected groups in the US and Canadian armies—obviously Special Forces. The fabric is reportedly lightweight, is successful without cameras, batteries, lights or mirrors, and more significantly can work against military infrared (IR) scopes and thermal optics. Unfortunately, indigenous development by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) have not been able to provide even the very basic requirements of say rucksacks and rappelling gloves, leave aside weapons, imports being relied upon in case of the latter even by infantry—assault rifles, carbines, light machine guns, etc. Ironically, even the night vision and surveillance devices produced indigenously continue to be inferior to imported counterpart in terms of weight, bulkiness, etc, despite the fact that we still are importing 100 per cent IR tubes, and our own R&D are yet to develop these. Then is the glaring void of light weight hand-held laser designators for which an empowered committee had visited Israel in 2002 but unfortunately Israel had won the bid as L1 while the equipment in question was still in unassembled form under laboratory testing. The French equipment was

www.spslandforces.com available but L2 and hence bureaucratic red tape did not

14 SP’s Land ForceS 1/2014 Special forces >>

Photograph: Wikipedia Another glaring void is the information country in the world, the Army’s Special system package for communication with Para commandos of the Indian Army Forces battalions and the Parachute Bat- all the required entities including calling with Tavor automatic weapons talions are grouped in the same regiment in required shooters. A Special Operations and whenever the Parachute Regiment Command Post (SOCP) that was to be devel- was headed by a Colonel of the regiment oped has again been delayed by more than without any Special Forces experience, the a decade despite the fact that single vendor whole emphasis was to somehow convert indigenous capability existed and the ven- the entire Parachute Regiment into Special dor had actually sold the software to the Forces, in complete disregard to the adverse Special Group of the Special Frontier Force consequences to the overall Special Forces (SFF). Ironically, mired with red tape, devel- capability and the concept of the Special opment of the SOCP under powers of Army Forces. The two star appointment in Mili- Training Command (ARTRAC) was eventu- tary Operations Directorate as Additional ally shelved and the requirement has been Director General (Special Forces) is headed dovetailed into the battlefield management by a paratrooper (not Special Forces) offi- system (BMS) which itself has been hic- cer since its raising few years ago, which cupping in delays and has recently taken continues till date. To top this, the one the next step, the expression of interest star appointment under him designated as (EoI) has recently been issued on November Deputy Director General (Special Forces) 11, 2013. If all goes well then prototype gets posted by an officer from the unit/regi- development and fielding for user evalua- ment of the prevailing Army Chief merely tion is likely to happen by December 2016 to get a stamp of serving with the Military and equipping from 2017 if the trials are Operations Directorate. The effect of all successful. This schedule is possible only if this has been that weapons and equipment there are no more hurdles. In general terms, clothing and load carriage, latest survival years but was raised to 2.5 per cent in 2011 imported for Special Forces battalions get the equipment lacking currently with the equipment, etc. because of global commitments. In our case, distributed among normal parachute units. Special Forces are light-weight hand-held What has also hit equipping of Spe- we went in for a 120 per cent increase in This plus the new raisings in rapid succes- laser target designators, information sys- cial Forces is the unprecedented expansion period 2001-04 alone including convert- sion is seriously affecting the manpower tem package to communicate with required of Special Forces in completed contrast to ing 3 x Para battalions to Special Forces and and in equipping the existing Special Forces entities to include voice, data, video stream- global norms ignoring the overall dilution adding the fourth assault team in all Special battalions. Special Forces battalions that ing, light weight long-range global commu- including in terms of manpower, training, Forces units. The unprecedented expansion should be holding some nine lakh rounds nications to call multiple weapon strikes, equipping—all culminated into lowered was resorted to by deliberately feeding the of ammunition for imported Tavor assault state-of-the-art listening and surveillance combat capability. The Army already has hierarchy that 20,000 USSF were operating rifles are down to about 40,000 rounds. devices—from miniature devices hand-held eight Special Forces battalions and the ninth in Iraq and Afghanistan, which was untrue How this affects even routine firing train- to micro-aerial vehicles (MAVs), helicopter such unit is under raising. The tenth one is to since this included 82 and 101 Airborne ing needs no explanation. This is just one transportable all-terrain vehicles, corner be raised after this raising is completed. This Divisions of the US. Actually even in the example. Yet, the hierarchy remains oblivi- shots, goggles/devices to see through walls, is in stark contrast to expansion of Special peak period of USSF deployment only 90 x ous. There is certainly a need for reflection. hand-held electronic warfare (EW) weap- Forces in foreign armies. The average autho- Operation Detachments Alpha (ODAs) were What the Special Forces need is consolida- ons, state-of-the-art explosive devices with rised rate of annual expansion of the USSF physically used (each ODA is 10-12 strong). tion not expansion, and packaged state-of- long-term timers, all-terrain light-weight remained constant at 1.8 per cent for many This happened because unlike any other the-art equipping. SP

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1/2014 SP’s Land Forces 15 >> Interview

MBDA, a world leader in missiles and missile systems, is a multi-national group with 10,000 employees on industrial facilities in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany and the United States. In 2012, the Group recorded a turnover of 3 billion euros, produced about 3,000 missiles and achieved an order book of 9.8 billion euros, new orders came to 2.3 billion euros. MBDA works with over 90 armed forces worldwide. MBDA is the only Group capable of designing and producing missiles and missile systems to meet the whole range of current and future operational requirements for the three armed forces (army, navy, air force). Overall, the Group offers a range of 45 products in service and another 15 in development. In an interview with SP’s Land Forces, Loïc Piedevache, MBDA Country Head India, gave details of the programmes. ‘India is at the core of MBDA’s current and future business strategy’

 R. Chandrakanth weapons which we are discussing with the have been finalised for quite some time and stockpile management and inventory con- IAF to maximise the operational capability negotiations were successfully concluded trol is concerned. SP’s Land Force (SP’s): What is the pres- of the new MMRCA aircraft. between the Indian and French govern- ent outlook in India for MBDA considering ments back in February 2013. We are now SP’s: What is the progress on the integra- that decisions may be delayed on several SP’s: One of the major concerns of India waiting for the green light which we hope tion with Jaguar of the Indian Air Force with defence programmes including the Mirage is transfer of complex technologies. Could will be given in the very near future. Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile fleet upgrade, in view of the impending you give details of MBDA’s plans in this Trishul, which as you rightly say was (ASRAAM)? elections and also due to certain scandals? direction with specific examples? dropped, was one of four programmes MBDA: We’re making excellent progress MBDA: India lies at the core of MBDA’s cur- MBDA: Sovereignty in defence supply and within India’s Integrated Guided Missile with ASRAAM and, as has been reported, rent and future business strategy so we take technology is important for a major power. Programme which also included Akash, this highly advanced air dominance a long-term approach regarding the busi- This goes hand in hand with an advanced, Prithvi and Nag. SR-SAM will be a larger, weapon has been selected by the IAF. How- ness outlook. Therefore, regardless of elec- indigenous defence industry capability and much more powerful, more technically ever, at this moment it is still too early to tion results, we will continue to support has clearly been recognised as a priority by advanced weapon with significantly greater talk about integration. India with defence solutions as and when India. The transfer of complex technologies range and overall capability than Trishul. required and to the best of our ability. will play an important part in India achiev- No helicopter version is planned as SR- SP’s: What are your long-term plans for The MICA contract for the Mirage ing this goal. These technologies must be SAM will be a vertically launched weapon India? How do you plan to nurture the mar- upgrade is progressing exactly as per sched- advanced and complete and involve know- intended for ground tracked/wheeled vehi- ket here? ule and we are discussing a number of how that has been developed over many years cles for the IAF and on ships for the Indian MBDA: Our long-term plans remain other important Indian defence equipment of working on highly complex weapons pro- Navy. It is also highly suitable to meet the unchanged, namely supporting India’s requirements as well as building up our net- grammes, not just basic componentry. This is Indian Army’s short range air defence immediate requirements with a range of work of Indian industrial partners. So for where MBDA offers a major advantage over requirements as well. our most advanced guided weapons solu- us, the outlook is very promising. its competitors. We have made it clear, and tions while continuing to build on our net- we have domestic governmental support in SP’s: Are you giving any assistance for work of industrial partners, both public and SP’s: MBDA has nearly 50 products on this, that we are keen to transfer and share India’s Very Short Range Air Defence Sys- private, within the Indian defence sector. offer, which are the ones where you see technology of the highest level with India. tems (VSHORAD) project? an immediate fit/requirement in India and We have shown this with the SR SAM proj- MBDA: Yes we are very closely involved SP’s: There is a move to support Indian what efforts have been made to market ect with the DRDO. At Defexpo 2014 we will with this project in proposing MBDA’s Mis- students with scholarship for study in them here? also be discussing the possibility of working tral MANPADS system. The fire-and-forget France. Could you explain how this would MBDA: MBDA has the most comprehensive on a co-development with India on a fifth- Mistral missile has been remarkably suc- help MBDA? product catalogue in the sector and as such generation combat support missile based cessful around the world and has chalked MBDA: As explained, we have a long-term is the only company able to meet the guided on the latest development which MBDA is up a 96 per cent success rate in over 4,600 strategy with regard to India, a strategy weapons needs of all three armed forces – working on for the French Army – a system firings. Deployed in the Mistral MANPADS based on partnership. We recognise that air force, navy and army. known as MMP, a step change in capability system, we are confident that its range of this also means investing in Indian talent. Currently we have a number of product with features way in advance of any compet- features and operational advantages make This recently announced scholarship will campaigns underway in India, all of which ing system, current or planned. it the ideal solution for the Indian armed support Indian students studying at ISEA- are aimed at clearly defined requirements in forces. What is more, should the weapon be SUPAERO, one of France’s top academic India. These include Mistral MANPADS for SP’s: Could you update on the proposed selected, MBDA is in a position to advance institutions as far as the aeronautics sec- the VSHORAD requirement, ASRAAM for agreement with Defence Research and an industrialisation solution which could tor is concerned. Of course the immediate the IAF’s Jaguar upgrade and PARS 3 LR to Development Organisation (DRDO) to see the missile produced in India with benefit will be to the young students them- provide the ALH Rudra with its ATGM capa- design and co-produce the Short Range all the transfer of technology that this selves, providing a major boost in starting or bility. For maritime operations we are pro- SAM system (SR SAM)? Will there be a heli- implies. Given that this is the same missile advancing their careers. However, we would posing Exocet and Marte for both fixed and copter version of this? as deployed by India’s ALH Rudra helicop- hope that some would eventually work with rotary-wing platforms. Of course we have MBDA: The design and performance param- ter, such a solution would also offer India us as on joint projects with India as we fur-

SP www.spslandforces.com a full range of air-to-air and air-to-surface eters of SR-SAM, also referred to as Maitri, significant logistics advantages as far as ther develop our industrial ties.

16 SP’s Land ForceS 1/2014 Modernisation >> Mine-resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles The requirement of MRAPs in India will remain in the foreseeable future. The need is not only to refine our concepts and measures of area dominance but also develop and provision mine-protected vehicles that provide better protection, in line with the increasing capabilities of the terrorists and insurgents.

Photograph: SP Guide Pubns

Tata’s MPV

 Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch heavy casualties while battling Maoists, the core group of Maoists having been trained n this era of insurgencies, terror- extensively in mine, IED and explosives by ism, proxy wars and employment of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), irregular forces, the use of mine-resis- facilitated by the Inter-Services Intelligence tant ambush protected (MRAP) vehi- (ISI) of Pakistan. cles by armies around the world has Ibeen on the increase. In such environment, American Experience the casualties from mines and improvised America’s MRAP programme is operated explosive devices are usually more than under the US Marine Corps Systems Com- bullet injuries. The Indian Army has been mand. The Marine Corps had originally fighting in such environments for over past planned to replace all Humvee vehicles in two decades as in Sri Lanka when the Indian the combat zones with MRAP vehicles, but Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was deployed apparently went for a mix. With the engage- there. The history of MRAPs is old and in ments in Afghanistan, $1.1 billion was earlier time primarily comprised armoured earmarked to accelerate production of the fighting vehicles deployed for such use. The MRAPs and induct them into Afghanistan. earliest deployments of armoured fight- As a result, the number of casualties and ing vehicles designed to specifically coun- fatalities due to roadside bomb attacks in ter mines and improvised explosive devices Afghanistan came down by almost 90 per (IEDs) were during the six-year Bush War in cent, partially due to the increased num- Rhodesia, vehicles that later were developed ber of MRAPs. These MRAPs were big (14- upon by South African Defence Forces. tonne weight) and could withstand most of the then bombs and IEDs the insurgents Casualties were using. Over the years, the insurgents As per the Landmine Monitor, at least have been forced to use heavier IEDs and 73,576 casualties in 119 countries had bombs to target the MRAP but the number occurred between 1999 and 2009. These of incidents has decreased and the Taliban included at least 5,197 casualties caused have resorted more to use smaller anti- by mines, improvised explosive devices and personnel bombs that target soldiers on explosive remnants of war. The figures for patrol. In June 2009, the US Department of India, during the same period, are mentioned Defense (DoD) awarded a production con- as 2,931. However, it may be recalled that tract for 2,224 MRAP all-terrain vehicles to IPKF had to battle extensive network of Lib- Oshkosh Defense for immediate induction eration Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) mines into Afghanistan and in October 2009, the and IEDs including claymore mines fitted on first M-ATV was shipped to Afghanistan: , 411 Elegance Tower, 8 District Centre, trees and in foliage and that while over 1,900 The US categorises MRAP in three Allison Transmission India Pvt. Ltd. died in the fighting, more were injured, some categories: Category I, as mine-resistant Jasola, New Delhi-110 025, India T. + 91 11 3095 5555 F. +91 11 3095 5566 losing limbs, due to mine and IED injuries. In utility vehicle (MRUV) that are smaller, Plant: A-21, Sipcot Industrial Park, Oragadam-602 105, Kancheepuram, recent years, the Central Armed Police Forces Tamil Nadu, India. T +91 44 3718 3718 F.+91 44 3718 3309 (CAPF) have been having periodic, sometime Continued on page 20

1/2014 SP’s Land Forces 17 >> border management Managing the Land Borders

Digital imaging technology, miniaturised computers and numerous other technological advances over the past decade have contributed to rapid advances in aerial surveillance hardware such as micro aerial vehicles (MAVs), forward-looking infrared (IR) and high-resolution imagery capable of identifying objects at extremely long distances.

Photograph: NAL  Lt General (Retd) P.C. Katoch complex surveillance of borders and battlefields. Aside from a laser weapon they can ndia has a land border with six also be armed with incapacitating chemicals, countries over varied terrain, totalling combustible payloads or even explosives for about 15,072 km; 5,852 km combined precision targeting. with China-Nepal-Bhutan, 3,431 km While our Defence Research and Devel- with Pakistan, 1,452 km with Myan- opment Organisation (DRDO) is also devel- Imar and 4,337 km with Bangladesh. A oping UAVs and MAVs and has produced major portion of the land border is along the ‘Razzler Dazzler’ for crowd control, it difficult terrain and passes through high would be useful to mate ‘Razzler Dazzler’/ and very high altitudes. Then there is a laser weapon with the MAV ab initio rather coastline of 7,863 km in addition to an than looking into this aspect after a few exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of 102 mil- years later. Interestingly, there is a whole lion sq km. We have an unstable neigh- range of micro mini-UAVs available off-the- bourhood and Pakistan as the epicentre shelf that can tremendously boost surveil- of global terrorism has subjected India to lance capabilities at the cutting edge. For cross-border terrorist strikes over the past example, the lighter than air surveillance two decades both across the land border (LTAS) systems have almost unlimited and coastline. Difficult terrain and hos- flight time, can carry up to 200 pounds tile weather make border security difficult. (plenty for a point-and-click SLR camera or Infiltration and illegal immigration occur full-size high-definition video camera) and at rapid frequency. The land borders are can reach up to 2,500 feet in the air. Then manned by a mix of forces like the Army, there are a range of fixed-wing and rotary- Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan NAL Golden Hawk 450 MAV wing MAVs that are also available in the Border Police (ITBP), Assam Rifles (AR), world market. For effective coastal surveil- Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), etc—all not lance, the coastline necessarily must have operating under the Army or for that matter acoustic, inductive sensors and infrared that are hand launched and are planned to a no gap radar and electronic surveillance, under the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The sensors. Seismic sensors detect vibration be inducted into the infantry. satellite cover and also own vessels, Navy, coastline and EEZ are guarded by the Navy on the ground and they can distinguish Digital imaging technology, miniaturised Coast Guard and civilian must be fitted with and Coast Guards. Then there is the issue between people and vehicles. Inductive sen- computers and numerous other technologi- radio frequency identification (RFID) and of guarding the airspace to prevent recur- sors detect metal in an object that is mov- cal advances over the past decade have con- geo-location devices, RFID being the wire- rence of incidents like the clandestine arms ing, while an infrared sensor can detect tributed to rapid advances in aerial surveil- less non-contact use of radio-frequency drop at Purulia. human body heat from a distance of up to lance hardware such as micro-aerial vehicles electromagnetic fields to transfer data, for India began fencing the 190-km bor- 100 metres. There are many kinds of con- (MAVs), forward-looking infrared (IR) and the purposes of automatically identifying der with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir ventional sensor technologies, each having high-resolution imagery capable of iden- and tracking tags attached to objects. (J&K) during 2001. In 2001, some 40-km its advantages and disadvantages. tifying objects at extremely long distances. In addition comes the aerial surveillance of fencing was laid and the overall task as In India, the unattended ground sensors America’s MQ-9 Reaper UAV used for domes- cover combined with sea patrolling. The per government officials is likely to be com- (UGS) are mostly imported but being primar- tic operations, carries cameras that are capa- requirement really is not only to optimise pleted over the next two years. However, ily meant for guarding houses/premises, are ble of identifying an object the size of a milk technology but more significantly coordi- there are many impediments because of rendered ineffective with snowfall. Unfortu- carton from altitudes of 60,000 feet, and has nating and matching the technology with firing by Pakistanis and infiltrators using nately, we have indigenously not been able to forward-looking IR that can detect the heat the human resources deployed at the bor- improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to make come up with one suitable for snow condi- from a human body at distances of up to der. It goes without saying that considering entries for infiltration and clandestinely lay- tions. The fencing along the border has been 60 km. Britain is working on plans to build the expanse of our borders, it is undoubt- ing mines to hinder construction. Portions fitted with cameras and the consoles are with a fleet of surveillance UAVs ranging from edly an expensive affair. Large defence firms of the fence gets annually destroyed in ava- requisite commanders though limitations MAVs to UAVs capable of carrying tasers for are ready to provide the ‘virtual fence’ that lanches, requiring relaying. Heavy snows exist during adverse weather and visibility crowd control or weapons for killing enemy applies software structures to the security in North Kashmir during winter also cause conditions do exist. This capability is beefed combatants, latter implying a weaponised system but at an exorbitant price. In our major portions of the fence to get buried up with night vision devices (NVDs), night drone invaluable against terrorists infiltrat- case, a holistic assessment of what technol- completely, rendering it ineffective. In the vision goggles (NVGs) and hand-held ther- ing across borders. The US military is devel- ogy should be applied where and in what plains sector, Pakistan has resorted to tun- mal imagers (HHTIs) but these are always oping swarms of tiny unarmed drones that measure must be weighed vis-à-vis national nelling under the fence for both purposes in limited supply and not across the board can hover, crawl and even kill targets. These security requirements. It would be pru- of infiltration and smuggling. On the India- with every boot on ground. Use of radars, micro-UAVs will work in swarms to provide dent to focus on: early induction of the BSS Bangladesh front, of the 3,000-km fencing as done abroad to detect smugglers as along and BMS to enable provision of real-time sanctioned, close to 75 per cent of the work the US-Mexico border, has the danger of giv- In India, the unattended information at the cutting edge; fielding of has been completed but disputes between ing away the electronic signatures of the MAVs and micro mini UAVs with the infan- the two countries have arisen over some 180 equipment to the enemy. Besides, radars also ground sensors (UGS) try; mating indigenous MAVs under devel- sites on the border, where fencing needs to have a dead zone. Significantly, electronic opment with the ‘Razzler Dazzler’/laser be done up to 150 yards of the zero line. Lay- surveillance with border dogs is a success- are mostly imported but weapon, progressing to a weaponised MAV; ing of IEDs or mines along the fence is not ful mix. Use of UAVs for border surveillance develop/provision appropriate UGS for snow feasible because of cultivation in many areas is being done but in limited numbers due being primarily meant conditions; review scaling of night vision permitted right up to the border and locals to paucity of resources and restrictions on devices (NVDs), night vision googles (NVGs) residing in close proximity to the border. flying multiple UAVs simultaneously in the for guarding houses/ and hand-held thermal imagers (HHTIs) In foreign countries, border fences same area/zone. should be reviewed. Faced with infiltration, have extensive provision of floodlighting. Additionally, the induction of the battle- premises, are rendered cross border terrorism and illegal immigra- Solar panels, rechargeable batteries and field surveillance system (BSS) and battlefield ineffective with snowfall. tion since the past several years, protecting diesel generators provide the system with management system (BMS) in the Indian our borders is a vital requirement for our enough power to run off the power grid. Army are still a few years away and hence, Unfortunately, we have national security. As the asymmetric war Operators can pan and tilt the cameras the UAV picture cannot be delivered directly is likely to heighten with the implosions remotely whenever any suspicious activity to the cutting-edge soldier on the ground indigenously not been within Pakistan and fallout of post-2014 is observed. However, such arrangements that can prevent the breach or intrusion. withdrawal of the US troops from Afghani- are not feasible along an active border The UAV picture goes to the ground control able to come up with stan on the region, there is an urgent need with an enemy like Pakistan that resorts to station and only then the information is con- to upgrade our border security, using the unprovoked firing repeatedly. While the age- veyed to the cutting edge soldier, by when its one suitable for snow best technology. Our DRDO and private old tripwires are very much in use, modern actionable value may be lost. More impor- conditions. industry should focus on this aspect. The electronic surveillance involves detection of tantly, what has been lacking is the delayed policy-makers need to review this critical

SP www.spslandforces.com movement, and is largely based on seismic, induction of the mini-aerial vehicles (MAVs) requirement holistically.

18 SP’s Land ForceS 1/2014 Unmanned >> Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for the Army A global race to develop UAVs is on and as per one estimate, global spending on UAVs is likely to be more than $94 billion by 2021. Army has many roles for the UAVs like reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition, intelligence gathering, damage assessment, search and rescue, aerial command centres and extending the communication links by networking. During peacetime, UAVs are valuable in border management, counter-insurgency operations, urban warfare and anti-terrorism.

Photograph: Northrop Grumman  Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand targeting and assessment. Designated as the RQ-7B by the US Army, the UAV enables bri- here have been attempts in gade commanders to see, understand and act the past to develop a remotely- decisively when time is critical. The aircraft controlled aerial platform, as soon can see targets up to 125 km away from the as powered flight achieved some brigade tactical operations centre and recog- maturity, around World War I, nise tactical vehicles up to 8,000 feet above Twhich included the Hewitt-Sperry Auto- the ground at more than 3.5 km slant range, matic Airplane. During World War II, many day or night. The Shadow ground control more were developed as aerial targets and station transmits imagery and telemetry to fly attack missions. Germany also got data directly to the joint surveillance and tar- into the race and developed and employed get attack radar system, all sources analysis some for operations. Jet engines were tested system and advanced field artillery tactical post-World War II like the Teledyne Ryan data system in near real time. Firebee I. Other pioneers were Beechcraft Northrop Grumman (TRW/IAI) with their Model 1001 for the US Navy in BQM-155/RQ-5/MQ-5 Hunter: The 1955. But the development really acceler- Hunter was based on the Israel Aircraft ated during the Vietnam War when the US Industries’ (IAI) Impact UAV. TRW provided Air Force became concerned of losing pilots systems integration and management of over enemy territory. They were then called the Hunter in the USA. The BQM-155A remotely-piloted vehicles (RPVs). The pace takes off from normal runways but booster- of development increased with the shooting Northrop Grumman’s MQ-5B Hunter assisted zero-length launches are also possi- down off the United States’ spy plane U-2 ble. The major payload items are a combined with Francis Gary Powers as pilot. Israel TV/FLIR sensor and a data relay system. had the honour of developing the first mod- acquisition (RSTA), intelligence gathering, and communications, including real-time Mission radius for single vehicle flights is ern battlefield RPV called Tadiran Mastiff in damage assessment, search and rescue, tactical reconnaissance, tracking, combat about 150 km, which can be extended to 1973, which had good endurance for loiter- aerial command centres and extending the assessment and geographic data, directly 300 km using a second Hunter as airborne ing and transmitted live video streaming. communication links by networking. Dur- to a small tactical unit or individual sol- relay. Maximum endurance is about 12 The US as usual pioneered all innovative ing peacetime, UAVs are valuable in border dier. AeroVironment’s common ground hours. The UAV lands like a conventional technological drives and RPVs are no excep- management, counter-insurgency opera- control system for all their UAVs allows the aircraft (it can optionally use its retractable tion, which have now developed into a very tions, urban warfare and anti-terrorism. operator to control the aircraft manually or hook to engage arrestor wires), but a para- important pillar of aerial reconnaissance, UAVs come in various sizes depending upon programme it for GPS-based autonomous chute system is available for emergencies. In surveillance and intelligence gathering. their role. Tactical UAVs can be hand held navigation using operator-designated way- January 2003, Northrop Grumman devel- This was clearly demonstrated during the at platoon level and progressively get bigger points-way-points. The UAVs are man-por- oped a repackaged version of their brilliant two Iraq wars and now in Afghanistan. The as their role enlarges from tactical to opera- table and can be assembled and launched anti-tank guided anti-armour submunition, US has also added the role of an attacking tional to strategic role. UAVs are also called in less than five minutes. Puma AE (All which can be deployed by suitably modified platform by arming them with missiles like unmanned aerial system as it includes Environment) is designed for land-based Hunters and were delivered to the US Army Hellfire. In the US, they are extensively used the ground control infrastructure. The US and maritime operations which is capable during 2003. In 2003, Northrop Grumman by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Army classifies them as: Tier-I: small UAV of landing on land as well water, with a purchased the Hunter programme from defence forces and homeland security. like RQ-11B Raven; Tier-II: short-range flight endurance of 3.5+ hours and a com- TRW. Subsequently, the company developed The term unmanned aerial vehicles tactical UAV like RQ-7B Shadow 200; and munications range of 15 km. Wasp AE is the MQ-5B, a Hunter variant which has (UAV) came into usage in the early 1990s Tier-III: medium-range tactical UAV like the all-environment version of AeroViron- been further optimised for the multi-mis- and replaced RPVs. The US Department MQ-5A/B Hunter, IGNAT/IGNAT-ER or ment’s battle proven Wasp III. It is specially sion role. Hunter is to be replaced by MQ-1C of Defense defined it as “A powered aerial the extended-range multi-purpose (ERMP) designed for maritime and land operations Grey Eagle probably by 2014. vehicle that does not carry a human opera- MQ-1C Gray Eagle. with a communications range of five km Northrop Grumman’s Bat UAV: Bat tor and uses aerodynamic forces to provide AeroVironment’s Tactical Intel- and flight endurance of 50 minutes. Shrike is a family of multi-mission UAVs designed vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be ligence, Surveillance and Reconnais- VTOL is a man-packable, vertical take-off for tactical missions such as counter IED, piloted remotely, can be expended or recov- sance (ISR) lightweight UAVs: The and landing system, designed for frontline communications relay, signals intelligence, erable, and can carry a lethal or a non-lethal RQ11BRaven is a lightweight UAV designed day/night ISR. electronic warfare which has a land and payload. Ballistic or semi-ballistic vehicles, for rapid deployment and high mobility for AAI (an operating unit of Textron a maritime version. Bat has flown a large cruise missiles and artillery projectiles are both military and commercial applications Systems) Shadow: The Shadow 200 tacti- variety of payloads such as electro-optical/ not considered UAVs.” requiring low-altitude reconnaissance, cal UAV is a state-of-the-art platform, in ser- infrared (EO/IR), synthetic aperture radar About 80 countries have acquired UAV surveillance and target acquisition. Raven vice with the US Army and Marine Corps for (SAR), signal intelligence (SIGINT), elec- technology. China and Pakistan have also can be operated manually or programmed carrying out reconnaissance, surveillance, tronic warfare (EW) and communications developed their own UAVs. China is esti- for autonomous operation. Raven B is the relay. It is launched from a rail launcher mated to have at least 25 separate UAV standard small UAV for the US Army, USSO- and recovers into a portable net. It can be systems under development. More than COM, and the US Marines. Over 11,000 UAVs come in various sizes operated from single laptop that runs the 600 programmes are under development Raven airframes have already been deliv- ground control stations. Bat is also beyond worldwide. Iran has developed its indige- ered to customers worldwide. With a wing- depending upon their role. line of sight (BLOS) capable. Bat12 version nous UAV called the ‘Ambassador of Death’, span of 4.5 feet and a weight of 1.9 kg, can carry a payload and Communications which has a range of up to 960 km. Hezbol- the hand-launched Raven provides aerial Tactical UAVs can be hand up to 34 kg, has a maximum altitude of lah launched an Iranian-made drone into observation, by day or night, at line-of-sight held at platoon level and 15,000 ft MSL, maximum speed at level Israeli territory, where it was shot down ranges of 10 km or more with an altitude flight 89 knots true airspeed (ktas) and by the Israeli Air Force in October 2012. A of 30-152 metres AGL. The Raven delivers progressively get bigger loiter speed of 60 ktas.Bat12+2 has mar- global race to develop UAVs is on and as per real-time colour or IR imagery to ground ginally higher capability like it can carry a one estimate, global spending on UAVs is control and remote viewing stations, as well as their role enlarges from payload of up to 45.3 kg and the maximum likely to be more than $94 billion by 2021. as IR laser illumination of ground targets. altitude is 17,000 ft. AeroVironment’s tactical ISR portfolio tactical to operational to General Atomics Aeronautical Sys- UAVs for the Army also consists of lightweight UAVs like Puma tems’ Gray Eagle UAV: GA-ASI’s Gray Army has many roles for the UAVs like AE, Wasp AE and Shrike vertical takeoff and strategic role. Eagle extended range/multi-purpose UAV is reconnaissance, surveillance and target landing (VTOL) designed for providing ISR an essential part of the US Army’s Aviation

1/2014 SP’s Land Forces 19 >> Unmanned / modernisation

Modernisation Plan, which is an advanced About 80 countries have China: China is also developing many CH-3 is a pair of AR-1 missiles or a pair of derivative of the combat-proven Preda- types of UAVs in the heavy- and medium- FT-5 small diameter bombs. Thus somewhat tor. Gray Eagle can carry out the role for acquired UAV technology. range. China displayed Pterodactyl at the similar could be expected on Burraq. China persistent RSTA and attack operations. It Paris Air Show in 2013, which is its first has been helping Pakistan in transferring has an endurance of 25 hours, speeds up China and Pakistan have unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV). sensitive military technology to them. to167 KTAS, can operate up to 29,000 feet They also have a scaled down version of and carries 488 kg of internal and exter- also developed their own Global Hawk. PLA Army BZK-006 (WZ-6 or Indian Perspective nal payload. The aircraft can carry mul- UAVs. China is estimated K/JWR6?) tactical reconnaissance UAV was India has acquired Heron and Searcher from tiple payloads aloft, including EO/IR with on display during the 60th National Day mil- Israel for its armed forces for ISR. However, laser designation, SAR, communications to have at least 25 itary parade on October 1, 2009, onboard its it does not have UAVs which could be inte- relay and four Hellfire missiles. Its mission launch vehicle. Each station can control two grated with brigade and below. Recently, the set includes but is not limited to wide-area separate UAVs systems UAVs at a same time. It has a length of 4.3 media reported that the Indian Army plans intelligence surveillance, reconnaissance, metres, height 1.5 metres, endurance of 12 to buy 49 mini-UAVs for the Northern The- convoy protection, improvised explosive under development. More hours and uses rocket assisted takeoff and atre. They will provide ISR for border man- device detection and defeat, close air sup- parachute landing. BZK-007 UAV has also agement; ceasefire violations and tracking port, communications relay and weapons than 600 programmes been in service with PLA Army and Navy as the infiltration of the terrorists. In addition, delivery missions. a tactical reconnaissance UAV (dubbed BZK- it was also reported that the Indian Gov- IAI’ Searcher UAV: Searcher is a multi- are under development 007). It can carry a variety of equipment ernment has cleared the procurement of mission tactical UAV which can carry out worldwide. including daylight/IR TV cameras, high def- around 15 Heron UAVs from Israel at a cost the role of surveillance, reconnaissance, inition CCD camera, as well as remote sen- of around `1,200 crore. The earlier fleet of target acquisition, artillery adjustment of sors of different spectral bands or even SAR. both Searchers and Herons are also likely fire and damage assessment. Searcher has It has a maximum take-off weight of 750 to undergo upgrades. DRDO is developing been constantly improved from Mk1 to MkII by the Israel Air Force and is the fourth-gen- kg, mission payload is 70 kg and the maxi- Rustom series of UAVs where Rustom-1 is and MkIII. The Searcher Mk III has multiple eration system based on leading-edge tech- mum level speed is 240 kmph. MALE class, Rustom-2 is high-altitude long- operational configurations, SAR/ground nology with new fully automatic take-off Pakistan: A recent press release stated endurance class and Rustom-2 is an UCAV. moving target indicator (GMTI), SIGINT and landing features. It provides deep-pene- that Pakistan had inducted its first fleet of Rustom’s-1 prototype is being tested and the and EO/IR and is built from composite tration, wide-area, real-time intelligence to “indigenously developed UAVs, namely Bur- other two are under development. DRDO materials to reduce radar detection. It has national agencies, theatre commanders and raq and Shahpa for the Army and the Air has also developed a tactical UAV called Nis- a maximum speed of 198 kmph, maximum lower echelons with primary role being intel- Force. Shahpar is a tactical canard pusher hant which is in the production stage. Nis- altitude of 23,000 ft, can carry a maximum ligence, surveillance and target acquisition. UAV which is claimed to be an autonomous hant is a highly mobile, compact and easily payload of 120 kg, has endurance of 18h IAI’ Mosquito: Mosquito is a micro- UAV with an eight hour endurance, payload deployable system that can undertake day/ and the mission radius is 350 km. UAV, providing real-time imagery data in of 50 kg and could relay data in real time out night battlefield reconnaissance, surveil- IAI’ Heron: Heron 2 is the largest restricted urban areas. The system offers a to a range of 250 km. Observers believe that lance and target tracking. It can also help in medium-altitude long-endurance UAV built fully automated flight with GPS based “in Burraq appears to be a Pakistani variant correction of artillery fire. With an endur- in Israel. It has a wingspan of just under 26 flight” way point control. The Mosquito is or a development of the Chinese Rainbow ance capacity of 4.5 hours, it can attain metres, length of 14 metres, and the aircraft hand or bungee launched and lands on its CH-3 UCAV, but little else is known. Reports maximum speed of 185 km per hour. Cen- has a maximum take-off weight of 4,650 kg belly. The mission radius is three km, endur- regarding Pakistan developing an UCAV, tral Reserve Police Force and Border Secu- with a typical mission payload of 1,000 kg. It ance 0.7 hour, and ceiling up to 500 ft AGL, named Burraq, dates back to 2009. Burraq rity Force are already using DRDO’s light has an operational altitude of 45,000 ft and loiter speed 33 ktas, max speed 60 ktas based on CH-3 specifications, would be able weight Netra UAV in the Naxalite region is capable of missions of more than 36 hours and maximum payload weight of 150 gm to carry around 100 kg payload and has an since 2012. It is reported that Nishant will duration. The system has been dubbed Eitan with a wingspan of 0.35 metre. endurance of 12 hour. The payload of the also be acquired by them. SP

Mine-resistant Ambush...continued from page 17

lighter and designed for urban operations; alent explosion under the crew compart- China US forces in Afghanistan, there has been Category II, as the joint explosive ord- ment and provides protection to passengers China is yet to taste real insurgency and the criticism and debate of different kinds; com- nance disposal (EOD) rapid response vehicle from 5.56mm and 7.62 small arms protec- People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is so far safe fort levels in various models, menacing size (JEERV), designed for missions like lead- tion from a distance of 10 metres. Its high from mine and IEDs. But China has already inhibiting locals, logistics of fuel consump- ing convoys, troop transport, ambulance, torque and power to weight ratio enables developed and produced the CS/VP3, which tion, etc. But the fact still remains that the explosive ordnance disposal and combat operations in mountainous terrain. In is an APC in the MRAP category designed US troops preferred to travel in the MRAP engineering; Category III, that are heavier August 2011, this MPV was inducted with by Chinese Company Poly Technologies. It compared to the Humvee for obvious added with seating capacity of six, meant for force the CRPF battling Maoists in Jharkhand: was showcased in 2012 at a defence exhibi- protection. However, the new US strategy protection and dedicated mine- and IED- Tata Motors MPV: This is a 14-tonne tion in Malaysia. The CS/VP3 has a carriage of ‘no boots on ground’ will imply that the clearing functions. Some examples in Cat- MPV called ‘Aria’ is a four-wheel drive can capacity of 2 + 10 and is capable of self- MRAP producing companies in the US will egory I (MURV) are BAE Caiman 4x4, BAE and can seat eight persons. Developed in recovery. With a combat weight of 15,000 henceforth need to rely mostly on exports. OMC RG-31, BAE RG-33 4x4, Force Protec- 2012, the company claims it can withstand kg, maximum speed of 100 kmph and range tion Cougar H 4x4, International MaxxPro, bigger blasts because of its greater weight: of 800 km, it provides protection from small Future Textron M1117 Guardian and Oshkosh Ashok Leyland MPV: The Ashok Ley- arms (7.64mm and 7.63 AP) and 16 kg TNT India facing a two-and-half front threat is Truck Alpha: land Defence Systems MPV is a 4x4 multi- equivalent blast. It can mount twin 7.62mm likely to face greater turmoil with China and Examples of Category II (JERRV) include purpose all-terrain vehicle with high mobil- or 12.7mm machine guns: Pakistan continuing to wage proxy wars Force Protection Cougar-HE 6x6, BAE RG- ity. It offers protection to passengers against against us, increased radicalisation in Paki- 33L 6x6, GDLS RG-31E, Thales Australia 5.56mm and 7.62mm small arms fire, 14 kg Deployment of MRAPs/MPVs stan and its likelihood to export more and Bushmaster IMV, Protected Vehicles Inc TNT blast equivalent under the hull and 21 Deployment of MRAP vehicles every time more terror with withdrawal of the US and Golan, International MaxxPro XL and BAE kg equivalent blast under the wheels. The and everywhere is not without problems and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Caiman 6x6: MPV can be fitted with a remote controlled not without debate. This has been the case forces from Afghanistan. India also has a Example of Category III MRAP is the weapon station armed with up to 12.7mm in India too. The induction of MPVs in the unstable neighbourhood with violence rid- Force Protection Buffalo MPCV: calibre weapon. The gunner’s position too Maoist areas brought down Central Reserve den Bangladesh and Myanmar, China arm- can be protected with an armour kit. The Police Force (CRPF) casualties but then the ing to the hilt the United Wa State Army Indian Experience vehicle has high mobility with a power to insurgents started using greater volume (UWSA) in Myanmar as its proxy and attitude Battling insurgency in Northeast and weight ratio of 13.5 kW/T and can attain of explosives (up to 80-100 kg), as was the of the China spawned Maoists of Nepal. All Jammu and Kashmir (J&K); the base and a maximum speed of 90 kmph with a range practice with the LTTE and since the core this coupled with numerous terrorist organ- advance base workshops of the Indian Army of 1,000+ km. group of Maoists was trained by the LTTE. isations operating within India, already had been working overtime to produce a The other factors were the paucity of secu- being exploited by our enemies bodes a vio- mine protection vehicle (MPV). Concur- Indian FICV Project rity forces in the Maoists areas, which pre- lent future that may get stepped up in case we rently, India started importing South Afri- The Indian Army’s hunt for the future cluded effective area domination and gave cannot ably manage the social change of our can ‘Caspier’ vehicles. Some 185 Caspier infantry combat vehicle (FICV) intended to time to Maoists to dig, lay explosives and large population with 65 per cent population vehicles were bought in 1999-2001. These replace the Indian Army’s 2,600 BMP-2 hide all signs at leisure. Maoists have easy below the 35 years age group. have been used to good effect in J&K. How- vehicles at an estimated cost of `50,000 access to explosives and detonators because ever, bomb making skills of the insurgents crore, appears delayed. In early 2010, of large-scale mining in the area, both legal Conclusion like Maoists have improved and there is need the MoD invited Tata Motors, the Mahin- and illegal. Availability of MPV also tended The requirement of MRAPs in India will to provision improved MPVs to security dra Group, Larsen and Toubro and the the security forces to stick to road and remain in the foreseeable future. We need forces in counter-insurgency operations: Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to submit tracks instead of cross country movement, to provide maximum security against Mahindra Mine Protected Vehicle proposals to develop a FICV. However, the enabling Maoists to plan and lay ambushes. such threats including in the Maoist (MPV-1): This 18-passenger capacity, 230 Acquisitions Wing of the MoD had not So when casualties of CRPF personnel insurgency areas. The requirement is not HP diesel engine MPV was developed in announced any criteria for selection and started mounting with MPVs getting blown only to refine our concepts and measures 2010 by Defense Land Systems, a joint ven- going by reports, plans to cancel the tender up, the Director General (DG) CRPF rightly of area dominance but also develop and ture of Mahindra & Mahindra Limited and and go for re-tendering. This implies a delay banned the use of MPVs. In J&K where area provision MPVs that provide better pro- BAE Systems of the US. Using a V-shaped by few more years by the time the BMP-2 domination has been effective, employment tection, in line with increasing capabili-

SP www.spslandforces.com steel hull, it can withstand 21 kg TNT equiv- will be replaced. of MPVs has given good results. Among the ties of terrorists and insurgents.

20 SP’s Land ForceS 1/2014 Sp’s Exclusives / news in brief >>

Tata motors to unveil ‘WhAP’ at Defexpo 2014 ness, and has proven itself over 25 million accumulated range artillery requirements of at least three regiments hours of operation, with over 15 million hours in real while the larger acquisition plan picks up pace for 155mm battle environments. The unveiling of WhAP will be self-propelled and towed artillery. The Arjun chassis was projected at three different levels: (a) the product as a earlier the basis for the Bhim self-propelled howitzer, whole, as the fruits of three-way cooperation between a based on the Denel T-6 turret. Efforts to replace the gun private company, a state-owned entity and a foreign con- have yielded no result so far, with an earlier endeavour tractor to demonstrate that this model works and can be resulting in a single-vendor situation with the Samsung speedily done, (b) as a demonstration of the private sec- Techwin K9 turret. tor’s ability to field speciality vehicles for the huge Army requirements, and finally, (c) to show that a conglomer- Saab to field biggest team yet at Defexpo 2014 ate approach is the way forward for advanced systems. As reported earlier by SP’s, the Indian Army requires 3,500 Tata Motors will be unveiling a brand new specialty vehi- light bullet proof vehicles (LBPV), 2,500 infantry mobil- cle, the Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP) at Defexpo ity vehicles, an unspecified number of light armoured 2014 next month. The vehicle platform, developed jointly multipurpose vehicles, 500-600 light specialty strike spe- with the DRDO’s Vehicle Research & Development Estab- cialist vehicles and 228 light strike vehicles — a total of lishment (VRDE) in Pune, is a mobility platform featuring over 7,000 vehicles of various kinds, and will conceivably a Norwegian-built Kongsberg MCT-30-R medium-calibre require vehicles like the WhAP as well. remote turret sporting a US-built ATK 30mm/40mm Mk44 Bushmaster automatic cannon as a primary DRDO may unveil 130mm Arjun Catapult at weapon and a secondary FN Herstal M240 7.62mm DEFEXPO 2014 general purpose machine gun. The vehicle also comes integrated with the Raytheon-Lockheed Martin JAVELIN anti-tank guided missile system and a commander’s inde- Swedish firm Saab, fresh after the delight of winning a pendent weapon station fitted with a General Dynamics major fighter competition in Brazil, will be fielding its larg- M2HB 12.7mm machine gun. est yet team and display this year at Defexpo 2014. The Kongsberg turret has been integrated with the After making a big splash with several new systems at Tata vehicle and will be unveiled for the first time at Defexpo 2012, the company returns with a series of prod- the expo in Delhi. The 22.5-26 tonne vehicle sports an ucts covering the land, air, naval and civil security domains 8x8 wheel configuration, a 600hp engine, a maximum at Defexpo 2014, which will include the RBS 70 NG (which forward speed of 100 kmph, minimum grade climbing is in the final stages of the VSHORADS competition against ability of 30 degrees and a trench crossing ability of the Igla-S of Russia and MBDA Mistral), BAMSE medium 2,000mm. According to literature shared with SP’s, range, all-weather capable air defence system, RBS15 long- Kongsberg and Tata Motors have agreed to collaborate After successfully demonstrating the first prototype of the range fire-and-forget surface-to-surface and air-to-surface, to demonstrate the concept of the 30mm remote weapon Arjun Catapult system to the Indian Army during auto- anti-ship missile, AUV 62-MR, autonomous underwater station on the Tata WhAP armoured 8x8 vehicle. Both motive and firing trials in 2012, the Defence Research and vehicle for enduring mine reconnaissance, AUV 62-AT companies have investing in technical resources to Development Organisation (DRDO) is now all set to unveil autonomous underwater ASW target, SOTACS multispec- ensure the smooth integration of the turret to the vehi- the system for the first time at Defexpo 2014. Integrated by tral camouflage suit for soldiers providing protection against cle, with technical exchanges having taken place at each the Combat Vehicles R&D Establishment (CVRDE) at Avadi detection from visual observation, night vision devices others factories. Sources at Kongsberg said, “The long- near Chennai, the Arjun Catapult was developed by inte- and thermal sensors, Carl Gustaf multi-role, man-portable term potential will depend in the end-user requirements grating a Russian-origin M-46 130mm ‘Catapult’ gun to a shoulder-fired weapon, Small Arms Virtual Indoor Trainer, for such systems on wheeled or tracked vehicles. This modified Arjun chassis and automotive system. IDAS EW system designed to provide self-defence in sophisti- initiative forms part of Kongsberg collaboration plan for DRDO sources say, “The product is ready for its debut cated, diverse and dense threat environments, and LEDS 50 India and roadmap to “indianisation”. The exhibition at at Defexpo, but further improvements are under incor- active protection for land vehicles. SP Defexpo 2014 will demonstrate a joint approach to the poration to firm-up the configuration for production and Indian user and allow them to study the potential of release to the user, which may take a few more months —SP’s Special Correspondent such an approach.” and final trials.” While the system is not, by any stretch, The remote weapon system concept affords soldier a long-term solution, it is being pitched by DRDO as an For complete versions log on to: protection and survivability, enhanced situational aware- interim gap-filler, to take care of the self-propelled short- www.spslandforces.com

India test launches Agni-IV (EOTS) located along the coast tracked and a 16-tonne capacity heavy drop system Singapore from January 21-23, 2014. nuclear missile monitored all the parameters throughout (HDS) to enhance the Indian army’s abil- The visit by the Army Chief assumes spe- the flight, while two ships located near the ity to airdrop military stores, including cial significance in the light of enhanced target point tracked the vehicle and wit- vehicles, supplies and ammunition. Devel- defence cooperation between the two nessed the final event. DRDO DG and Indian oped by DRDO’s Aerial Delivery Research countries and our growing relationship Defence Minister’s Scientific Advisor Avi- and Development Establishment (ADRDE), with Singapore. Both sides have indicated nash Chander said the launch is of greater three system prototypes have also met per- a desire to work towards building a mutu- significance as the system was tested in its formance parameters during two successful ally beneficial defence cooperation. Mili- deliverable configuration with the active drops at an undisclosed location. Primar- tary-to-military cooperation between the participation of Strategic Forces Command ily designed for paradropping of military two countries encompasses joint artillery (SFC) personnel.”The missile is now ready vehicles, including BMP class and ammuni- and mechanised forces exercises held in for induction and its serial production will tion trolleys from IL-76 heavy-lift aircraft, India, exchange of visits, training courses now begin,’’ Chander said. the system is claimed to be an extension of and attendance in various training events, technology developed by DRDO for P-7 HDS, seminars and conferences. During the visit, Indian Army test launches Prithvi II the 7t capacity HDS already accepted by the the Army Chief will be interacting with the nuclear capable missile Indian Army. Indian Defence Minister’s Sci- senior hierarchy of Singapore including the The Indian Army has successfully test-fired entific Advisor and Department of Defence Minister for Defence. His discussion with the Prithvi-II nuclear capable missile from R&D Secretary, Avinash Chander, said the Singapore authorities will cover a range launch complex III of the integrated test system offers ‘drop and drive’ capability and of fields including security and defence range (ITR) at Chandipur, off the Odisha once inducted, would considerably enhance engagement. In addition, he will be visiting coast. Carried out by the Strategic Force the capabilities of armed forces. important Singapore Armed Forces train- Command (SFC) under supervision of the ing establishments. India has successfully test-launched the scientists from the Defence Research and Visit Of Army Chief General Bikram 4,000-km range nuclear capable bal- Development Organisation (DRDO), the Singh to Singapore US Army conducts live fire drill listic missile, Agni-IV, from the Wheeler launch achieved all its targeting and tech- using Stryker M1135 NBCRVs Island off the coast of Odisha. Launched nical parametres set out for the training The US Army’s 1st Armored Brigade Com- from a Defence Research and Develop- exercise. An SFC spokesperson said the test bat Team (1ABCT) personnel have con- ment Organisation (DRDO) developed road launch was carried out as a culmination to ducted a live fire exercise using the Stryker mobile launcher, the composite solid fuel a strategic training exercise. “The aim of M1135 nuclear, biological and chemical rocket motor technology-propelled mis- this exercise was to validate our readiness reconnaissance vehicles (NBCRVs) at the sile hit the target with two digit accuracy, by undertaking launches in various contin- Rodriguez live fire complex in South Korea. meeting all mission objectives and proving gencies,’’ the spokesperson said. Primarily aimed at building and main- its capabilities. The test-firing represents taining soldiers’ operational readiness the missile’s third consecutively successful DRDO Heavy Drop System for and effectiveness in operating NBCRVs, trial and the last one in the series of devel- Indian Army the week-long semi-annual training event opment launches. An array of long-range The Indian Defence Research and Develop- The Chief of Army Staff, General Bikram prepared the qualifying crews to handle radars and electro-optical tracking systems ment Organisation (DRDO) has developed Singh proceeded on an official visit to their assigned weapon systems. Around 20

1/2014 SP’s Land Forces 21 >> news in brief

M1135 crews participated in the training, training in tactical missions. The contract port. Apart from enhancing the Iraq Secu- which included 18 crews from 23rd Chemi- covers delivery of a total of eight EC135 rity Forces’ capability to support current Publisher and Editor-in-Chief cal Battalion, and two crews of the 1st Bri- helicopters, and a logistics package that ongoing ground missions, the Hellfire mis- Jayant Baranwal gade Special Troops Battalion, 1ABCT and will support fleet sustainability in future. siles are also expected to be used in future Editor 2nd Infantry Division. Airbus Helicopters Espana CEO, Francisco contingency operations.The potential sale Lt General (Retd) V.K. Kapoor Verge, said: ‘’The EC135 meets the require- also contributes to the foreign policy and Israel test launches Arrow 3 ments of the Spanish armed forces in full, national security of the US by helping to Assistant Group Editor R. Chandrakanth ballistic missile and this contract is another show of confi- improve the security of a strategic partner, The Israel Missile Defense Organization dence in us on the part of the Spanish Min- while directly supporting the Iraq Govern- Senior Technical Group Editor (IMDO) has conducted a successful flight istry of Defence.’’ ment and serving the interests of the people Lt General (Retd) Naresh Chand Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey test of the Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile of Iraq and the US. system at an Israeli test range over the Singapore and New Zealand Contributors Mediterranean Sea. Carried out in collab- armies conduct exercise Thunder Harris to supply additional Falcon India oration with officials from the US Missile Warrior 2014 III wideband tactical radios to General (Retd) V.P. Malik, Lt General (Retd) Vijay Oberoi, Lt General (Retd) R.S. Nagra, Defense Agency (MDA), the launch repre- USSOCOM Lt General (Retd) S.R.R. Aiyengar, sents the second flyout test of the intercep- Harris has been awarded a series of con- Air Marshal (Retd) Vinod Patney, tor, and did not involve interception of a tracts for supply of additional Falcon III Major General (Retd) Ashok Mehta, dummy missile. The test-firing also marks manpack and hand-held tactical radios Major General (Retd) G.K. Nischol, a significant milestone in Arrow-3’s devel- to the US Special Operations Command Brigadier (Retd) Gurmeet Kanwal, opment, and provides confidence in future (USSOCOM).Valued at a combined $18 Brigadier (Retd) S. Mishra, Rohit Sharma Israeli capabilities to defeat the emerg- million, the orders cover delivery of Fal- Chairman & Managing Director ing ballistic missile threat. An unnamed con III AN/PRC-117G and AN/PRC-152A Jayant Baranwal senior defence source was quoted by the tactical radios to support expansion of Executive Vice President Jerusalem Post as saying the intercep- deployment of a SOCOM-accredited wide- (Planning & Business Development) tor obtained hypersonic speed following band tactical communications network. Rohit Goel launch, and reached an altitude of 100 The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is con- The network enables the operators to send Administration km entering space. “It followed various ducting a joint artillery exercise, code- and receive tactical voice, video and data, Bharti Sharma objects, such as stars, and gained further named Thunder Warrior 2014, along with resulting in enhanced situational aware- Creative Director altitude. Its engine stopped after six min- the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) at ness and intelligence, surveillance and Anoop Kamath utes,” the source said. the Waiouru Training Area in New Zea- reconnaissance (ISR). Harris RF Commu- Design land. Around 400 personnel from the nications Department of Defense business Vimlesh Kumar Yadav, Sonu Singh Bisht Spanish Army receives two EC135 21st and 24th Battalions, Singapore Artil- unit President George Helm said the Fal- helicopters lery (SA) are participating in the exercise, con III wideband radio systems are deliv- Research Assistant: Graphics Survi Massey which started on 13 January 2014. The ering the tactical internet to the battle- SAF troops carried out a battalion live-firing field. “This new network is opening up a Sales & Marketing exercise using the Primus self-propelled world of new combat applications such as Director Sales & Marketing: Neetu Dhulia General Manager Sales: Rajeev Chugh howitzer (SSPH) in collaboration with the collaborative chat, biometric enrollments, gunners from the Royal Regiment of New video conferencing and video ISR,” Helm SP’s Website Zealand Artillery, (NZDF). The live-fire drill said. “These are next-generation capabili- Sr. Web Developer: Shailendra P. Ashish was witnessed by Singapore’s Second Min- ties, delivered today, using a proven com- Web Developer: Ugrashen Vishwakarma ister for Defence Chan Chun Sing, who also mercial business model that thrives on Published bimonthly by Jayant Baranwal interacted with SAF troops participating in competition and innovation.” on behalf of SP Guide Publications Pvt the exercise. The exercise is scheduled to Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a conclude on January 25, 2014. Diehl Defence demonstrates retrieval system, or transmitted in any form The Spanish Army Airmobile Force ground-based air defence system or by any means, photocopying, recording, (FAMET) has taken delivery of two EC135 China plans to establish first joint electronic, or otherwise without the prior multi-role helicopters from Airbus Heli- military command system written permission of the publishers. copters at its facility in Spain. Represent- The Ministry of National Defense of the Printed in India ing the first two EC135s delivered as part People’s Republic of China is planning to by Kala Jyothi Process Pvt Ltd of the contract awarded by the Spanish establish a joint operational command for © SP Guide Publications, 2014 armament procurement agency in Decem- a more coordinated and combat-capable Subscription/ Circulation ber 2013, the helicopters are expected to force to efficiently respond to a crisis. China Annual Inland: `600 • Overseas: US$180 fulfil the army’s pressing requirement to Daily cited the ministry as saying that the Email: [email protected] provide its combat pilots with advanced joint operational command system estab- [email protected] lishment is a basic requirement in an era of Letters to Editor information, and that the county has there- [email protected] >> Show Calendar fore initiated positive pilot programmes in For Advertising Details, Contact: this regard. The new joint operational com- 6-9 February [email protected] DEFEXPO 2014 mand will be set up in due course, the state [email protected] Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India media reported, amidst rising PLA’s disputes Diehl Defence successfully demonstrated SP GUIDE PUBLICATIONS PVT LTD www.defexpoindia.in over territorial claims in the region, accord- its ground-based air defence system IRIS- Corporate Office ing to Press Trust of India. The move follows T SLM in the presence of international A 133 Arjun Nagar, Opp Defence Colony, 19-20 February the Japanese media reports that China is experts and military representatives from New Delhi 110 003, India Defence Logistics 2014 planning to restructure its seven military 16 nations at the Overberg Test Range Tel: +91(11) 24644693, 24644763, Copthorne Tara, London, UK regions into five. A joint operations com- in South Africa recently. The IRIS-T SLM 24620130 www.defencelogisticsevent.com mand controlling the army, navy and air ground-based air defence system is char- Fax: +91 (11) 24647093 19-21 February force, as well as a strategic missile unit acterised by its modular design and open Regd Office AUSA Winter will be created by each of the new military system architecture. In the current cam- Fax: +91 (11) 23622942 Von Braun Center, Huntsville, AL, USA regions, the report said. National Defence paign, IRIS-T SLM consisted of the new Email: [email protected] www.ausameetings.org/winter University of the People’s Liberation Army CEAFAR radar of CEA Technologies, Aus- Representative Offices professor, Ouyang Wei, said that a joint tralia, a tactical operation centre (TOC) Bengaluru, INDIA 26-27 February command system would help the military employing both the BMD-Flex command, Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey Border Security Conference respond quickly to a contingency. control and communication system of 204, Jal Vayu Vihar, Kalyan Nagar, Bengaluru 560043, India. Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan, Sofia, Terma A/S, Denmark, and the Oerlikon Bulgaria Tel: +91 (80) 23682204 www.smi-online.co.uk/security/europe/ Iraq requests AGM-114K/R Hellfire Skymaster battle management system of missiles sale from US Rheinmetall Air Defence, Switzerland, as MOSCOW, RUSSIA conference/border-security LAGUK Co., Ltd, Yuri Laskin The US Defense Security Cooperation well as the IRIS-T SL launching station Krasnokholmskaya, Nab., 3-5 March Agency (DSCA) has notified Congress of with Diehl Defence missiles. All elements 11/15, app. 132, Moscow 115172, Russia. Integrated Air and Missile Defence a potential foreign military sale (FMS) of were integrated into the system by the Tel: +7 (495) 911 2762, The Swedish Air Defence Regiment, AGM-114K/R Hellfire missiles and associ- Diehl Defence Sensor, Fire, and Weapon Fax: +7 (495) 912 1260 Halmstad, Sweden ated equipment to Iraq. Under the estimated Control. IRIS-T SLM detected the low fly- www.airmissiledefenceevent.com www.spguidepublications.com $82 million sale, Iraq has requested supply ing target drone of type DO DT-25 and www.spslandforces.com 24-26 March of a total of 500 AGM-114K/R Hellfire mis- established a stable track which was classi- RNI Number: DELENG/2008/25818 Future Artillery 2014 siles, Hellfire missile conversion, along with fied as hostile. The missile was launched at Kensington Close Hotel, London, UK blast fragmentation sleeves, installation a distance of about 20 km and intercepted www.future-artillery.com kits, containers, transportation, spare and the target with a direct hit. During the repair parts, support equipment, personnel entire flight, target data updates from the 14-17 April 2014 training and training equipment. The pack- radar were provided to the missile through Defence Services Asia (DSA 2014) age also covers publications and technical the data link allowing the infrared seeker PWTC, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia documentation, engineering and logistics to lock onto the target in flight for the end- www.dsaexhibition.com/index.php/travel- support services, as well as other related game. All hardware and software compo- accommodation/official-partner SP www.spslandforces.com elements of logistics and programme sup- nents performed flawlessly.

22 SP’s Land ForceS 1/2014 Founded by Shri S P Baranwal in 1964, Guide Publications began its humble journey. Today SP Guide Publications (SP’s) is the Asia’s Largest Publishing House for Aerospace & Defence Sectors. We at SP’s look forward to coming years and decades with even stronger conviction.

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