Indian Defence and Strategic News Thread

[Kunal Biswas]

Gen. V.K. Singh is new Chief of the Army Staff

In this handout picture released by The Press Information Bureau on March 31, 2010, Incoming Chief of Army staff General V.K. Singh (R) shakes hands with outgoing Chief General Deepak Kapoor (L) in New Delhi.

General Vijay Kumar Singh on Wednesday took charge as the Chief of the Army Staff from General Deepak Kapoor, who retired from service.
At a brief ceremony here, Gen. Kapoor handed over the baton to Gen. Singh, the seniormost infantry officer.
Gen. Singh, 59, is a third generation officer of the Rajput Regiment and was until recently the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Kolkata-based Eastern Command. A veteran of many battles, he participated in the 1971 Bangladesh war and saw action in “Operation Pawan” in Sri Lanka, for which he was awarded the Yudh Seva Medal.
He brings to office a vast experience in counter-insurgency operations and operations in the Line of Control and the high-altitude environment. During his illustrious career, Gen. Singh performed outstandingly in all courses of instruction.
A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, he has excelled in a number of professional courses overseas. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army Rangers Course of the U.S. Army War College. Gen. Singh held various high-profile command, staff and instructional appointments and commanded his battalion in an active Line of Control environment, and brigade in an operationally sensitive area. While in command of the counter-insurgency force in Jammu and Kashmir, he was awarded the Ati Vishist Seva Medal for his distinguished service as General Officer Commanding.
Gen. Singh commanded the prestigious strike corps in the Western Sector before taking charge of the Eastern Command. He has twice served as an instructor at the Infantry School, Chief Instructor at JLW (Commando Wing) and instructor in the Indian Military Training Team.
He will be the 24{+t}{+h} Indian to be the Army Chief, and was awarded the Param Vishist Seva Medal last year.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/nation...icle347272.ece

[Kunal Biswas]

India and U.S. likely to clash over nuclear liability bill

American suppliers unhappy with lack of “absolute liability” for operator

Pilloried in India for crafting a nuclear liability bill that his critics say is aimed at pleasing American companies, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is now facing criticism from an unlikely source: the U.S. nuclear industry.
The debate in India is over the liability limits the bill will establish in the event of a nuclear accident: Rs. 500 crore for the operator of a nuclear facility out of a total of approximately Rs. 2,100 crore, the difference between the two figures to be borne by the government. In line with an international treaty that India will accede to, the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), the bill also legally channels liability to the operator but not in as clear-cut a way as American nuclear companies which are lining up to supply reactor components would like.
Speaking on background because of the sensitivities involved, an American nuclear industry source told The Hindu on Wednesday, “CSC Annex Article 3.3 says, ‘The liability of the operator for nuclear damage shall be absolute'… [But] the draft India bill has no provision making the operator absolutely liable, as required by the CSC.”
This objection assumes significance in the light of claims made by senior Indian officials in briefings to the media and political parties that the Rs. 500-crore cap applies only to “no-fault liability.” Nuclear operators and their suppliers would continue to be exposed to claims of tortious liability — liability for damages caused through some fault of theirs — by Indian victims in the event of an accident.
Indian officials on Wednesday cited Article 46 of the bill — which says the liability law will not take away from the provisions of the existing laws allowing action in the event of a nuclear accident — and reiterated the government's willingness to make the bill's provisions more explicit. They said the Article 35 exclusion of civil courts jurisdiction applied only to claims arising out of a ‘no-fault liability'. Civil courts would remain fully empowered to hear tort claims.
‘Right of recourse'

On his part, the American nuclear industry source also identified the ‘right of recourse' granted to nuclear operators by the Indian bill against suppliers as a major problem area. Article 17(b) of the bill — first highlighted in The Hindu — allows the operator to sue his supplier for recovery of any damages he is forced to pay if a nuclear accident results from “the wilful act or gross negligence on the part of the supplier of the material, equipment or services, or of his employee.”
“Like the lack of absolute or strict liability, 17(b) is inconsistent with the CSC, as well as the Paris and Vienna Conventions and the nuclear liability laws of every other country with a nuclear power programme,” the U.S. nuclear industry source said.
The American source also found fault with Article 46. “If this article means the operator would not be exempt from any other proceedings [other than criminal liability], that too would be inconsistent with the CSC requirement for exclusive operator liability. CSC Annex Article 3.9 provides, “The right to compensation for nuclear damage may be exercised only against the operator liable ... The draft bill has no such provision channelling liability exclusively to the operator.”
While the Obama administration has not said anything to India about these “problem” clauses, Indian officials say they are aware that the nuclear industry association in the U.S. is beginning its lobbying drive. “They have held a meeting and it is only a matter of time before Washington raises this with us,” an official said. “But they are also in a bind. After all, the Indian law is consistent with the CSC. But that doesn't mean we have to give up our rights under tort law and common law.”

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/nation...icle347175.ece

[Kunal Biswas]

India seeks nuclear pact with Japan

India wants Japan to shun its apprehensions and join hands in the atomic energy sector. This would stimulate the Japanese economy as well as provide muscle to the bilateral strategic partnership, said former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, who was the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Indo-U.S. nuclear issues.
“We see Japan as a strategic partner contributing to India's economic and social development. It is against this background that we must explore the prospects for civil nuclear energy cooperation,” Mr. Saran observed at a seminar on Indo-Japan cooperation in peaceful use of nuclear energy organised by the influential International Friendship Exchange Council (FEC) in Tokyo. He was fielded as part of the Foreign Office's recent approach of asking veteran diplomats to articulate India's position internationally on various issues.
Acknowledging Japan's political sensitivities concerning nuclear weapons, Mr. Saran pointed out that India had been accepted as a responsible nation that eschewed proliferation and was committed to total disarmament. India has signed seven civil nuclear cooperation pacts and two more are in the pipeline. In global R&D on nuclear energy, India is part of the International Thermal Energy Research project in which Japan is the lead country.
He then spelt out areas where both countries could cooperate — reprocessing, R&D and setting up nuclear plants. Japan has a closed fuel cycle in which it reprocesses spent fuel and has set up Fast Breeder Reactors (FBRs). India too would reprocess spent fuel for second generation FBRs. “It would be worthwhile if we could engage in a collaborative effort [in FBRs],” Mr. Saran observed.
The other area for cooperation was reprocessing. Japan has been in reprocessing for 18 years while India recently signed a pact with the U.S. in the same sector. Mr. Saran wanted Japan to share its experience in this area which could also give its nuclear industry a major boost when the country is facing depression.
Clean energy

On the move to adopt clean energy options, Mr. Saran referred to Japan's cooperation with China and wanted to know if the time had not come to do so with “a fellow democracy and strategic partner as well.”

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/nation...icle347264.ece

[Kunal Biswas]

India plans to launch 10 satellites every year

Indian space scientists and engineers are bracing up to launch an average of 10 satellites per year to meet the rising demand for various space applications, including communications and remote sensing, a top space scientist said.
“We are planning to launch 10 satellites per year, beginning fiscal 2010-11. We have a series of satellites and launch vehicles at various stages of preparation,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Radhakrishnan told IANS.
Though the state-run space agency was to launch five satellites in this fiscal (2009-10), it could launch only three - Oceansat-2, Risat-2 (radar imaging satellite) in association with Israeli Aerospace Industries, and Anusat, a micro-satellite. Oceansat-2 also carried six nano-satellites of foreign countries as additional payloads.
The launch of two satellites - GSAT-4 and Cartosat-2B - got delayed due to unavoidable reasons, one of them being further flight duration tests of 800 seconds (13.3 minutes) conducted for the indigenous cryogenic engine to be used for the first time in the heavy rocket GSLV-D3 (geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle).
Hitherto, the space agency used Russian cryogenic engines in heavy rockets for launching above two-tonne class spacecraft.
“We have concluded our review meetings to launch satellites for communications and remote sensing. In the immediate, we are launching one satellite in April and another in May. Our target date for launch of GSAT-4 is mid-April and we are working towards it,” Radhakrishnan said.
The space agency is set to keep the window open April 15-19 for launching the 2.2-tonne GSAT-4 onboard GSLV-D3 from its Satish Dhawan space centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, about 80 km north-east of Chennai.
The space centre is scheduled to move the 440-tonne rocket to the second launch pad at the spaceport April 7-8 with the technology demonstrator satellite (GSAT-4).
“Early May, we plan to launch the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-C15) to carry Cartosat-2B, an Algerian satellite, and two micro satellites - Youthsat from Canada and Studsat built by college students from Karnataka,” the chairman said.
The GSAT-4 will be launched into the geo-stationary transfer orbit (GTO) using the cryogenic upper stage of the GSLV-D3.
“As an advanced communication satellite, the GSAT-4 will have multi-beam Ka-band regenerative transponders. It will also carry GPS (global positioning system) augmented navigation system in C, L1 and L5 bands as an additional payload,” Radhakrishnan, a rocket scientist, noted.
As part of its advance preparation, ISRO is also working on launching a Resourcesat-2, Risat-1 and Mega-Tropiques in the remote sensing area during the later part of this year.
“In the communications area, we are lining up three heavy satellites - GSAT-5 and GSAT-6 from Sriharikota and GSAT-8P onboard the Ariane launch vehicle from Korou in French Guayana - by this year-end or early 2011,” Radhakrishna said.
ISRO plans to put up Hylas satellite of its commercial arm Antrix before March 2011.
Noting that demand for multiple satellites in communications and remote sensing areas would increase in the coming years to meet the diverse needs of a booming economy, the chairman said the space agency was preparing to launch 10-12 satellites a year hereafter.
“In fiscal 2011-12 too, we plan to launch about 10 satellites, including Saral, Insat-3D, GSAT-9, GSAT-12, GSAT-10P, IRNSS 1& 2 (Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System), Astrosat and Aditya-1,” Radhakrishnan pointed out.
ISRO uses the Indian National Satellite (INSAT) series for telecommunication, television broadcasting and meteorological services and Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites for resources monitoring and management.
The PSLV is used for launching remote sensing satellites into polar orbits and GSLV for launching communication and meteorological satellites into geo-synchronous transfer orbit.
“For launching four-tonne class satellites into GTO, we are developing GSLV-Mark III. We have already carried the static testing of the advance rocket’s solid booster, which will be the third largest of its kind in the world,” he added.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/states...icle347010.ece

[Kunal Biswas]

India bans vessels on hijack-****e stretch

India has banned all motorised vessels from sailing south or west of a line between Salalah and the Maldives in a bid to stem the tide of pirate attacks. The latest incident was the hijacking by Somali pirates of at least seven vessels with about a 100 Indian crew on board.
Tuesday's ban order would be among the several measures India was taking to prevent further pirate attacks, said Nautical Adviser to the Government of India M.M. Saggi on Wednesday. He was speaking to The Hindu after inaugurating the National Maritime Day celebrations here.
“We have represented our case with the International Maritime Organisation and the United Nations and are coordinating action with other navies to protect the seafarers,” Mr. Saggi said.
All motorised vessels were being banned in the danger-****e area in view of the pirates hijacking vessels and using them to sail into outer seas to attack large vessels, he said.
The order from the Directorate-General of Shipping clearly stated that hijacked dhows may be used by the pirates to carry out attacks on merchant vessels. The order said, ‘‘All sailing vessels registered in India are prohibited with immediate effect from plying south or west of the line joining Salalah and Male.”
The Directorate-General also advised registrars of sailing vessels to incorporate the restrictions for operating in the trading area in the certificate of inspection issued under Section 421 of the Merchant Shipping Act. The order also warned of penal action in case of a violation.
The Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean south of the Maldives have become the greatest challenges to Indian merchant vessels.
Mr. Saggi said that ‘James Park,' a U.K. flag vessel, with six Indians on board was hijacked on December 28. ‘Asian Glory,' another U.K. flag vessel, was hijacked on January 1 this year with five Indians on board. ‘Iceberg,' a Panama flag vessel, was hijacked on Tuesday with six Indians on board.
In the latest bout of pirate attacks, seven Indian MSVs (motorised sailing vessels) have been hijacked — four of them on March 28. A total of 94 Indians are reportedly on board these vessels, and the numbers are being ascertained.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/nation...icle347056.ece

[Kunal Biswas]

Indian Mujahideen man’s judicial custody extended

This February 6, 2010 photo shows suspected Indian Mujahideen terrorist Shahzad (centre) after police produced him in a court in New Delhi.

A Delhi court on Wednesday extended by 14 days the judicial custody of suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist Shahzad in the Batla House encounter case.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Naveen Arora sent Shahzad, who is also an accused in the September 13, 2008 Delhi serial blasts, to jail till April 12, 2010.
The IM suspect, arrested from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh on February 1, 2010 by the State Anti-Terrorism Squad, had earlier also been sent to 14 days of judicial custody as the police did not seek his custodial interrogation in the case.
Besides two alleged IM terrorists, Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma of Special Cell of Delhi Police was killed in the shootout between the police and terrorists at L-18 flat at Batla House on September 19, 2008, which took place a week after the serial blasts here that claimed 26 lives.
Police claimed Shahzad and Junaid, who were allegedly involved in the serial blasts, had escaped from Batla House during the encounter.
Police had sought 10 days’ remand of the accused on the ground that he has to be interrogated in connection with the recovery of a laptop and two mobile phones from Azamgarh at his instance.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/nation...icle346939.ece

[Kunal Biswas]

Country will meet Maoist challenge by two-to-three years: Chidambaram

With Maoist violence continuing unabated, Home Minister P Chidambaram has said the country will be able to counter the menace by 2013.
“We must meet the challenge to fight against Maoists and terrorism in the next two-to-three years. We know it is a big challenge for India, but we will be able to meet the challenge in the next two-to-three years,” he said at a function organised by the Business Standard here last night.
Mr. Chidambaram said India is facing another challenge -- that of preventing criminals making entry into Parliament.
“We are the largest and disciplined democracy in the world. We need honest and decent people to come to Parliament,” he said.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/nation...icle337798.ece

[Kunal Biswas]

All NSG hubs to get bomb disposal vessels

This July 1, 2009 photo shows National Security Guard commandos at the inauguration of the NSG regional hub in Chennai.




NSG will station new and stronger bomb disposal vessels at all the four newly created hubs for ensuring full-fledged response by the elite force in case of a terror attack.
Official sources said the Total Containment Vessel (TCV), used for the first time during the Delhi serial blasts would be stationed at Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.
The green-coloured TCV made its mark during the 2008 serial blasts when a bomb in Central Park here was detonated within the safe confines of the vessel.
The TCV is a highly-sophisticated bomb disposal equipment used by over 24 military organisations around the world.
The NSG, which has just one TCV at present, is in the process of acquiring 14 more.
The force is also in the process of acquiring 22 bomb suits and a host of other equipment to maximise its operational capabilities.
The force is shopping for Shot Gun Spas or Spas Gun, which will be used to force open doors.
It is also looking for Laser Listening Devices, a favourite of intelligence agencies across the world as it can be used to eavesdrop conversations even more than 400 metres away.
The procurements are being made based on the experience during the Operation Black Tornado against terrorists in Mumbai during the terror attack in November 2008.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/nation...icle343274.ece

[JBH22]

NEW DELHI: India's worst-case scenario is a two-front war. Add the insurgencies in Kashmir and North-East, and rampant naxalism in other parts, and it becomes a complex two-and-a-half front situation.

Even as the top military brass undergoes a changeover, with Air Chief Marshal P V Naik becoming the new chairman of chiefs of staff committee on Tuesday and General V K Singh the new Army chief on Wednesday, the armed forces feel they have to be prepared to tackle any eventuality on either of the two fronts as well as asymmetrical warfare in the hinterland.

Towards this end, in addition to the western front with Pakistan, India is now also concentrating hard on the long-neglected eastern sector with China to swiftly build `capacities' and `capabilities' in tune with `threat perceptions'.

The armed forces certainly do not want war even on one front, leave alone two. But they have to factor in worst-case scenarios. Pakistan, for instance, remains a worry, especially with the ongoing over $10 billion US military assistance to it for the so-called `global war on terror', which ranges from new F-16 C/D Block 52 jets and refurbished P-3C maritime patrol aircraft to Harpoon and AIM-9M Sidewinder missiles.

"It's definitely a matter of concern for us. We have made it known (to US),'' said ACM Naik. But should India not leverage its mammoth $10.4-billion project to acquire 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), in which two of the six aviation majors in the fray are from US, to register its protest?

"There is no connection between the two at present. The MMRCA deal will be a fair and square one, with its field trials ending towards end-April,'' replied the IAF chief.

China, with its rapidly modernising 2.25-million People's Liberation Army, of course, is perceived to be the real long-term threat, even if India is reluctant to say so in as many words.

"Yes, we are upgrading the eastern theatre. But it's not country-specific...We are developing capabilities, which were long overdue there...I am glad,'' said ACM Naik.

Outgoing Army chief General Deepak Kapoor, in turn, also said while there was no possibility of a conflict with China as things stood now, `professional' armed forces had to `develop capabilities and infrastructure' to take care of all security challenges.

As was first reported by TOI last December, Army is already revising its five-year-old war doctrine to effectively deal with a possible `two-front war', with a new `proportionate focus towards the western and north-eastern fronts'.

Army has already begun to post officers for the two new infantry mountain divisions and one artillery brigade being raised for the eastern sector, primarily Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

The new divisions, with 1,260 officers and 35,011 soldiers, will be fully operational by 2012. Army, in fact, has infrastructure development plans worth Rs 11,652 crore for the eastern sector.

Similarly, IAF is upgrading airbases and helipads in North-East, which includes night-landing facilities, with Tezpur already getting the first lot of Sukhoi-30MKI fighters. "The aim is that the airfields should be able to support the most modern aircraft,'' said ACM Naik.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...ow/5744073.cms

[JBH22]

State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) earned Rs.11,415 crore in sales this fiscal (2009-10), registering a 10 percent growth over the last financial year at Rs.10,373 crore, the company said Wednesday.
According to provisional figures released here, the defence behemoth posted Rs.2,617 crore in profit before tax as against Rs.2,335 crore last fiscal, a growth of 12 percent year-on-year (YoY).

Though gross profit has modestly improved by 12 percent this fiscal as against 7.9 percent last fiscal, sales have declined to 10 percent from 20 percent last fiscal.

Net profit for the fiscal will be declared when the accounts are audited by Sept 2010.

Net profit was Rs.1,740 crore last fiscal.

'The order book has touched Rs.12,000 crore with new bids for domestic and export projects. An interim dividend of Rs.300 crore has been declared for the fiscal under review,' the Navaratna company said in a statement here.

We have also inducted a new military variant of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH Mk III), with an indigenous Shakti engine for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Army for high altitude operations,' a HAL official said.

The armed variant (ALH Mk-IV) of the ALH is undergoing weapons trials.

The company is in the process of designing and developing a light utility helicopter (LUH) in the two-six tonne category.

In the fixed wing category, the company received follow-on order valued at Rs.6,180 crore for the Intermediary Jet Trainer (IJT) from the IAF. Its prototypes are integrated with the new Russian engine AL-551.

During the year, HAL also secured an order valued at Rs.3,100 crore from the IAF to upgrade its Jaguar fleet.

'Plans are underway to develop a new basic turboprop trainer to replace the ageing HPT-32 aircraft with the services,' the company added.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/n...p?newsid=12656

[JBH22]

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has begun negotiating for nine more A-50EI aircraft from Russia. India aims to acquire three of the A-50EI aircraft under the main contract and have another six in an option.
The recent negotiations are a part of a trilateral contract between Russia, India and Israel, which was formalised in October 2003. As a part of the contract for the supply of the A-50EI aircraft, Russia is represented by the firms Beriev, Ilyushin and Vega while Israel is represented by ELTA Electronics Industries, which supplies the Falcon radar for the aircraft.
The A-50EI airborne early warning aircraft is the export version of the Beriev A-50 Shmel, with the Phalcon radar from Israel. The Russian firm Beriev manufactured the A-50 aircraft and it is based on the Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft with PS-90A engines.
While India received the first A-50EI from Russia in mid 2009, the rest of the two are expected to be supplied to India this year. As for the Indian Air Force, it has been a long wait for these airborne early warning aircraft. Originally, Israel and India signed a US$1.1 billion deal, according to which Israeli Aircraft Industries would deliver the Indian Air Force three Phalcon Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) radar system in March 2004. India signed a separate deal with the Ilyushin Corporation of Russia for the supply of three Il-76-based A-50EI heavy-lift aircraft which were to be used as platforms for these radar systems, for an additional US$500 million. In November 2007, the Indian Defence Ministry faced major delays in the supply of the Russian Il-76 platform and the induction of the Phalcon radar was now postponed to 2009-10.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/n...p?newsid=12657

[JBH22]

Carl Zeiss signs licensing agreement – first optics already delivered
23:00 GMT, March 31, 2010 Carl Zeiss Optronics GmbH, the defense wing of the Carl Zeiss Group, has signed a licensing agreement with Indian company Optic Electronic (India) Private Limited in New Delhi for the production of red dot sights. The company had already ordered 15,000 red dot sights from the traditional German company for Indian armed forces.

“We impressed the Indian military with the quality of our products and expect to produce up to 400,000 red dot sights through the licensed production in India,” says Ralf Klädtke, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss Optronics.

Currently, experts from Carl Zeiss are training Indian specialists in Wetzlar to monitor production in the future. Red dot sights from Carl Zeiss are standard optics on the G36 rifles used by the German Army. The cooperation with Carl Zeiss was initiated by the Indian armed forces.

HEHE i think its for the RR unit they wanted optics for their rifles from latest news.Good infantry is not being left out

[JBH22]

BALASORE: Days after successful trials of nuclear-capable Prithvi-II, Agni-I and ship-launched Dhanush missiles, India today conducted the flight trials of laser-guided bombs (LGBs) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur off Orissa coast.Sources said the officials of Indian Air Force successfully carried out two rounds of tests of the LGBs using the newly-developed guidance kit from the Jaguar fighter aircraft. In January two flight trials of the LGBs were conducted from the same defence test facility.The flight trials were conducted to test the effectiveness of the guidance and control systems of the LGBs. “The LGBs were released from the aircraft as per prescribed standard operating procedures. On-board systems in both the trials worked satisfactorily and the mission objectives were met,” said an official.The flight trials of the LGBs were, however, conducted in a simulated air attack condition. Dubbed as air simulation exercise, the aim and objective of the tests were to provide training to the fighter pilots to use the sophisticated weapons developed by the country besides testing the effectiveness of the system.“A number of tests has been done both through simulation and flight tests over the last few years to reach the required performance levels. The bomb, once released by the mother aircraft at appropriate range, will seek the target and home on to it very accurately and with high reliability,” said a defence scientist.Bangalore-based Aeronautics Development Establishment (ADE) has developed the guidance kit for the LGBs and it is designed to improve accuracy of air-to-ground bombing by IAF.

http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/n...p?newsid=12659

[JBH22]

31 Mar 2010 8ak: In yet another move to enhance defence cooperation with India, the United States has offered the latest to sell the latest Airborne Stand-off Radar (ASTOR) system. The sophisticated system is being operated by British forces in Afghanistan with five ASTOR aircraft and eight ground stations.
ASTOR uses the Bombardier Global Express business jet, known in service as the Sentinel R Mk 1, and an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. The system provides a highly effective 24-hour surveillance and target acquisition capability. It delivers wide area, all weather surveillance and reconnaissance imagery in near real time for peacekeeping, warfighting and homeland security needs.
The system has a dual mode Synthetic Aperture Radar/Moving Target Indicator (SAR/MTI) sensor. The SAR provides high-resolution images for decision makers and the MTI monitors the quantity, direction and speed of moving targets for unparalleled situational awareness. The company has also built an AESA radar for F 16s, should a country buying it make the choice in its favour.
Speaking to India Strategic magazine, Admiral Walter F Doran, president Asia for Raytheon said that ASTOR flies high enough - 40,000 to 45,000 feet - to cover a large ground area, and to be beyond the range of most surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). It is also equipped with a self protection suite to put out flares and chaff to confuse and deflect any threatening missiles.
Apart from ASTOR, Raytheon’s David Hartman revealed to 8ak in an exclusive interview, that they had also offered India the Hawk-2 missile systems to India in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) around 19 months ago.
In another important development pertaining to missile systems, English People’s daily quotes DRDO Director General V.K. Saraswat saying that India will start to deploy its anti-missile interception system in 2012 to neutralise incoming ballistic missiles.

http://www.8ak.in/

[JBH22]

Narinder Gupta

April 1, 2010


Media reports have amply brought out China’s huge build-up of military and road infrastructure along the Line of Actual Control. Evidently this is a cause of great concern for India which lags behind considerably in building such infrastructure along its side of the border. A total of seventy three border roads have been envisaged by India, and the responsibility for constructing these roads is distributed among different road construction agencies including the Border Roads Organization, Central Public Works Department, and State Public Works Departments. However, only nine out of these 73 roads have been completed so far. The target date for completing all these roads is 2012. The pace of progress is too slow, and the target date appears impossible to meet. Under these circumstances, there is a need to look at various options for increasing the pace of construction, including removal of the hurdles that act as a hindrance at different stages of road construction, or alternately extending the time limit beyond 2012.
As noted, the construction of the 73 envisaged roads is distributed among different agencies. This requires one point co-ordination to monitor progress and to decide the course of action. This can be done at the level of Border Roads Development Board, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Cabinet Secretariat or any other agency which is in a position to do the needful. Unless such an arrangement is put in place, there will always be a lack of co-ordination, thus causing delays in completing these strategically important roads.
In addition, the construction agencies face various constraints during different stages of building these roads. One of the most important constraints presently faced in case of many roads is the mandatory requirement of obtaining forest clearance under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 before construction begins. Similarly, diversion of land for non-forest use that falls under Wildlife Sanctuaries/National Parks requires prior permission from the National Board for Wildlife as well as the Supreme Court. These requirements lead to time delays in many cases and construction becomes tardy. In many instances construction activity is almost a non-starter. These constraints not only lead to time overruns but also huge cost overruns. We cannot afford to ignore the fact that timely completion of these roads is something where compromise may have an adverse effect on strategic and operational requirements to meet eventualities from across the borders. Keeping this in view, the Border Roads Development Board in its meetings must perhaps invite all concerned parties and impress upon them the necessity of early clearances.
During the construction of these roads which are mostly located at high altitude and in inaccessible areas, many other impediments are bound to arise. One such is transporting the construction equipment and materials to the work site, particularly to areas where these have to be airlifted. However, due to the limited availability of airlift capabilities, a significant amount of time is wasted thus delaying completion. Another problem faced by executing agencies is that good and reputed contractors may not be willing to undertake construction work in such areas. Consequently, many executing agencies have to undertake the work themselves which entirely depends on the extent of their available working capacity. This indicates the need for re-working priorities to ensure better mobilization in order to complete these roads according to the time schedule fixed for the purpose.
Inadequate funding is also often quoted as a constraint by various agencies. However it is common knowledge that funding requirements are met through budgetary support by different ministries and the flow is regulated according to requirements on the ground. This varies from case to case and is based on Detailed Project Reports (DPR) and cost estimates of a road project to be undertaken. Therefore a DPR needs utmost care at the time of its preparation. A faulty and defective DPR can play havoc and delay the entire process. In fact it is one of the most crucial stages in project management. The problem may actually not be inadequate funding but the assessment made by the executing agency before initiating work. The timing of funding is also extremely important. These aspects seem to have been neglected to a large extent and need to be addressed under a single organizational and institutional entity irrespective of the agency or the ministry undertaking or overseeing the work. Otherwise, the completion of these roads by 2012 is unlikely to be achieved.

Usual incompetence and explanation to justify delays.