VI/2012 ARerospace &Defence eview Interview with CNS Tale of two Warships Sea Harriers in Falklands Lords of the Ocean Quest for MRMR French Navy Today VI/2012 CFM VI/2012 VI/2012 Aerospace &Defence Review “Operating Across the Full flying Sea Harriers off the HMS New Helicopters, the various 27 Hermes this is the true story of aircraft and helicopter types Spectrum” how the VTOL carrier-based are identified. Interview with CNS In an exclusive interview with Tale of two Warships aircraft arguably tilted the tables Sea Harriers in Admiral DK Joshi, Chief of Falklands towards victory. In the article, In Lords of the Ocean Naval Staff on eve of Navy Day, Quest for MRMR The Silver Carrier, the 25 years French Navy Today the CNS reviews the Maritime of the INS Viraat (nee HMS Capabilities Perspective Plan for Hermes) are reviewed. 2012-2017 and enumerates his vision for the Indian Navy at the The Shtil-1 air defence system aboard INS Teg, end of the second decade of this showing a 9M317 missile on its launcher century. Deg Teg Fateh ! (photo by Angad Singh) 87 A pictorial essay by Angad Singh onboard the Talwar-class guided missile frigate INS Teg, during a EDITORIAL PANEL day’s sail in the Arabian Sea. MANAGING EDITOR Vikramjit Singh Chopra Lords of the Ocean 60 Vayu visited Boeing at their EDITORIAL ADVISOR Seattle facilities where the Admiral Arun Prakash Indian Navy’s new Boeing P-8Is are being built. This EDITORIAL PANEL 38 A Tale of two Warships new generation long range Pushpindar Singh Former CNS Admiral Arun maritime reconnaissance and Prakash reviews the near anti-submarine warfare aircraft Air Marshal Brijesh Jayal simultaneous induction of will join INAS 312 Albatross in Air Cdre. Jasjit Singh The French Navy Today Soviet-origin aircraft carriers 2013 and endow exceptional 110 Vayu’s managing editor visited Lt. Gen. Kamal Davar by India and China. While capability for maritime the French Navy and its bases, Gp Capt JC Malik the Admiral Gorshkov has yet dominance. warships and other establishments Dr SR Valluri to be commissioned as INS for an update on their plans and Vikramaditya, the former Varyag Cdr M Nirmal new equipment. Also, focus on has metamorphosed into the specialist equipment, ships and Monica Arora Lianoning and carrying out sea weapons provided by the leading Angad Singh trials with the J-15 shipborne marine and defence industries in Richard Gardner (UK) version of the J-11 fighter. France. Reuben Johnson (USA) Simon Watson (UK) 65 India’s Quest Bertrand de Boisset (France) for Nuclear Triad Dr Nick Evesenkin (Russia) Raveen Janu writes on the Tamir Eshel (Israel) Project 75 and Project 75-I in context of the 30-year ADVERTISING & MARKETING MANAGER submarine building plan approved by the CCS in July Husnal Kaur 46 The Gorshkov Saga 1999. Completion of these 125 The Frontier War of 1962 : BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER and INS Vikramditya projects is essential to fulfill the whither air power? Indian Navy’s ability to project In this second part of article Premjit Singh Angad Singh reviews the short and uneventful career power from the sea. written by Air Marshal Bharat of the Baku, later renamed Kumar, the decision not to use the Admiral Gorshkov till a boiler IAF’s combat sinews is reviewed room explosion hastened and analysed. This is followed by her decommissioning. Sayan a book review of the 1962 War by Majumdar continues with an Wg Cdr M. Sadatulla. Published by: analysis of what he calls “The THE SOCIETY FOR AEROSPACE STUDIES Morphed Aircraft Carrier”. Also : D-43, Sujan Singh Park, Interviews with Khalil Rahman of Atlas Elektronik, Bernard New Delhi 110 003 India Buisson of DCNS India and Tel: +91 11 24617234 Stephen Greene of Textron Fax: +91 11 24628615 In Defence of the Seas Systems; Advanced Technology e-mail: [email protected] 68 Vayu’s UK editor Richard Amphibious Aircraft; Highlights e-mail: [email protected] Gardner examines the of ILA 2012; 70th Anniversay of multiple-choice decisions “Neu-Neu” ; ‘The Yellow Boys’. Printed at Aegean Offset Printers 52 VTOL+VIFF = VICTORY faced by operators seeking Commander Tony Ogilvy, gives to upgrade their maritime Regular features : The opinions expressed in the articles a first hand account of the role published in the Vayu Aerospace and patrol aircraft (MPA) fleets. Commentary, Outlook, Viewpoint, Defence Review do not necessarily reflect of Sea Harriers in the Battle of A number of options are Aviation & Defence in India, the views or policies of The Society for the South Atlantic in 1982. As studied. In the related article World Aviation & Defence News, Aerospace Studies. Commander 801 Squadron, RN on The Quest for MRMRs and Vayu 25 years back, Tale Spin. Visit us at: www.vayuaerospace.in C O M M E N T A R Y over as chief of the army after the 1962 debacle, the report was Unending wait for aircraft carrier to examine the conduct of military operations leading up from he recently concluded Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental the outbreak of hostilities till China’s unilateral ceasefire of TCommission on Military Technical Cooperation, co-chaired November 20. The report, prepared by Lt General Henderson by Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Russian Defence Minister Brooks and Brigadier P.S. Bhagat, was submitted in April 1963, Anatoly Serdyukov, was held against the backdrop of yet another and thence forwarded on to the defence ministry. And there it has delay in the delivery of the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral presumably remained, with the Centre failing — refusing — to Gorshkov (rechristened INS Vikramaditya). Ever since India declassify it. In the absence of a detailed reading of the report, the signed an agreement eight years ago in 2004 for the purchase of public domain has been flooded with speculation about where the this 44,500-tonne aircraft carrier, the delivery schedule has been authors have situated India’s key failing — its spare equipment marked by slippages. and weapon stores, the quality of military planning, the dynamic The delivery has now been pushed ahead by a year to between the military and political leadership or even the type of December 2013. With the ageing INS Viraat soon heading for resistance offered on the ground before abandoning key posts. a phase-out and the construction of an indigenously designed However, the declassification by the American authorities recently aircraft carrier at least another six years away, the delay in the of letters written by Prime Minister Nehru to President Kennedy, induction of the Russian aircraft carrier has meant that India reprinted first in this newspaper, is ample documentation of how will have to wait for some more time to fulfil its ambition to grave the situation appeared in those hours leading up to China’s have two battle carrier groups. Disappointing as it is, the fact surprise withdrawal on November 20. It does our democracy no remains that bilateral defence relations otherwise remain on a good to disallow scholars from reading official accounts of that firm footing. India has contracted to buy an additional 42 Sukhoi very difficult month in Indian history. Su-30MKI fighters to boost this fighter fleet to 272, an additional To be fair to the establishment, it cannot be easy to publicly 59 Mi-17 V5 helicopters to raise this fleet to 139 and missiles undertake an evaluation, because the Chinese threat never for the P-5 submarines. In addition to remaining a major source vanished. Indeed, in the past few years Beijing has periodically of arms supplies, defence relations with Russia have expanded amplified its claims on Arunachal Pradesh. Yet, New Delhi will to include significant collaboration on high-end weapon systems not be able to alter the public tendency to see the issue as being – the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile and the fifth generation framed by the 1962 War if it does not allow a more informed fighter aircraft (T-50) being two significant examples. Having scrutiny of that time. The fiftieth anniversary and India’s national jointly developed the army and naval variants of the BrahMos, interest demand it. the two sides have now decided to build the air force variant of this deadly missile. From The Indian Express The special relationship is reflected in other ways as well. Russia has leased India a nuclear-powered submarine and In Free Fall steadfastly continues to desist from selling defence hardware ingfisher Airlines (KFA) is down but whether its out or not to Pakistan. Yet the fact remains that Russia is not the same as Kdepends on how expeditiously it produces a credible revival the Soviet Union and India needs Russia so long as it is unable plan. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation is justified in to build a strong military-industrial base to become sufficiently suspending its licence owing to misgivings about passenger self-reliant. To its credit, India has diversified its source of safety, deepened by a crisis created by KFAs nonpayment of weapons to both Israel and the United States. The delay in salaries to staff. Thought a non-performing asset by many lenders, the induction of the aircraft carrier only underlines the need surely debt-strapped KFA shouldve been made to account for for India to step up its efforts to achieve self-reliance in key itself much earlier. Today, its lenders worry theyll protect only defence technologies. a small part of their exposure if KFA sinks.KFA employees are From The Tribune also uncertain about their future. Civil aviation authorities have contributed to creating this mess.KFA was given wide latitude despite defaulting on Darkness of 1962 payments to staff,vendors and taxmen.Nothing illustrates this t is not an overstatement to say that the shock, and even better than the controversy sometime ago over the removal of a Ihumiliation, of 1962, is still very raw.