India placed orders worth Rs 83,858 crore for Military purchases from 2011 to 2014

India have spent big from the 2011 fiscal year to the last fiscal year on the Army, Air Force and Navy for procuring arms, weapons and other defence-related systems. 

Defence minister Manohar Parrikar said the three services have placed orders worth Rs Rs 83,858 crore. During this period, India's own defence sector earned Rs 69 crore by export of military hardware. 

According to the Parrikar, the IAF placed orders worth Rs 55,406 crore to foreign companies between 2011-12 and 2013-14 while the Navy and the Army placed orders worth Rs 25,454 crore and Rs 2,998 crore respectively. 

Replying to questions in the Lok Sabha, the defence minister also said that foreign direct investment amounting to Rs 24.36 crore has been received after government opened the defence industry for private sector. 

"The expenditure on capital acquisition in respect of orders placed on Indian vendors and foreign vendors during the period 2011-12 to 2013-14 was 53.9 per cent and 46.1 per cent respectively," he said. 

Giving details of efforts by the government to strengthen the domestic defence industry, he said a total of 144 companies have been issued licences and letters of intent for manufacture of military hardware in the last 14 years. 

He said 29 joint ventures and FDI proposals have been approved while noting that the procedure for "buy-and-make (Indian) and make" categories of acquisition over "buy (global)" category to encourage Indian defence industry. 

As per the new FDI policy in defence, foreign investment upto 49 per cent has been allowed through FIPB (foreign investment promotion board) route and beyond 49 per cent, with the Cabinet committee on security. 

The defence minister said Indian private sector industry has also been allowed to receive maintenance transfer of technology (MToT) in "buy (global)" cases. 

He also said that an online system of receiving application for issue of no-objection certificate for export of military stores has been introduced besides formulating a defence export strategy. 

Parrikar said during the last four years, NoCs for export of goods which are in the nature of military stores have been issued for many countries including Algeria, Nigeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, Paraguay, Japan, Afghanistan, Spain, Nepal, Belgium, Malaysia, Norwat, Romania and Port of Spain. 

The NoC has also been issued for supply of such goods to Vietnam, France, UK, UAE, Bangladesh, Ghana, Sweden, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Egypt, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Israel, Republic of Korea, Macau, Oman, Tunisia, Kazakhstan, Uruguay, Canada, Russia, Tajikistan and Singapore among others, Parrikar said. 

He said Indian defence sector earned Rs 46.08 crore by exporting military goods in 2011-12, Rs 5.62 crore in 2012-13 and Rs 17.74 crore in 2013-14. 

The defence minister said in the last four years, orders have been issued debarring six firms along with their allied and subsidiary firms from business dealings with the defence ministry for a period of 10 years. 

He said allegations of kickbacks and commissions are dealt with as per provisions of defence procurement procedure (DPP) and wherever necessary, the cases are referred to the appropriate agency including the CBI. 

Replying to another question, he said a proposal to procure medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) from French firm Dassault Aviation was under consideration and no agreement has been signed yet. 

India has been holding talks with Dassault for the nearly $10 billion deal for 124 Rafale fighter jets. 

To a separate question, Parrikar said six Scorpene submarines are currently under construction at Mazgaon Dock Ltd, Mumbai, in collaboration with DCNS of France. 

He said no proposal has been received from Japan government for construction of submarines. 

"The defence acquisition council has constituted a core committee in December 2014 to identify suitable Indian shipyards for construction of submarines indigenously which is required to submit its report within three months," he said.

Israel DM: Glitch in Arrow 2 Missile Fixed

A glitch that prevented the Israeli Arrow-2 missile defense system from intercepting its intended target was corrected, Defense Ministry officials said Tuesday.

In a briefing to reporters here, an official at the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO) acknowledged for the first time that a test last September successfully acquired, but narrowly missed, its target. The near-miss was first reported by Defense News shortly thereafter.

"Intercepting such a threat requires a significant broadening of the limits of the system ... the interceptor passed very close to the target, but did not directly strike it," The Jerusalem Post reported, quoting MoD officials.

The exact reason behind the failure was not provided, however, officials initially attributed the glitch to easily correctable software issues.

Bugs like these are inherent to developing such systems and do not reflect the long-term viability of Arrow-2, Uzi Rubin, a former director of IMDO and an international consultant on emerging threats, said.

"Things like this happen. Tests are not an insurance policy and if I knew a test was going to succeed, I wouldn't do it at all. It would be a waste of time and money. You must factor everything in; in some cases you're going to fail and if it points out a flaw then that's a success, not a failure," he said.

He also clarified that the failure does not affect the developmental upper-tier Arrow-3 or Israel's existing stockpile of Arrow-2 missiles.

Last December, the first intercept test for the Arrow-3 anti-ballistic missile developed by Israel Aerospace Industries and Boeing was aborted due to safety concerns.

"You don't fire if you think you're going to endanger anyone," Rubin said, explaining that the intercept would have been tested close to a densely populated area.

"What failed was not a test, what failed was an attempt to do the test," he said.

IMDO also spotlighted the Iron Dome anti-rocket system, which proved successful during Operation Protective Edge.

During the conflict, Iron Dome — also jointly funded by the US — intercepted 740 Gazan rockets for a 90 percent success rate.

Special Forces of INDIA

The Special Forces of India are Indian military units that have a training specializing in special operations.

INDIAN ARMY SPECIAL FORCES

Para Commandos : The Para Commandos are a special forces unit of the Indian Army. Formed in 1966, the Para Commandos are the largest and most important part of the Special Forces of India. Their function and capabilities are similar to that of Russian Spetsnaz and British SAS.They are a part of the highly-trained Parachute Regiment of the Indian Army and, generally, all the Indian Special Forces (SF) personnel are selected from it.

Ghatak Units : Ghatak Units, or Ghatak Commandos, are elite infantry platoons attached to each infantry battalion of the Indian Army and are tasked with leading an assault ("dhaava") as shock troops. There is one platoon of these soldiers in every battalion. Ghatak literally means "Striker" or "Lethal" in English.

INDIAN NAVY SPECIAL FORCES

MARCOS : MARCOS (previously named as Marine Commando Force (MCF)) is an elite special operations unit of the Indian Navy. "MARCOS" is short for "Marine Commandos".

The force started off as the Indian Marine Special Force, the first batch qualifying in February 1987. It was later renamed as the Marine Commando Force (MCF) in 1991. The force has acquired a reputation for its tough professionalism over the two decades it has been in existence. Now it is considered amongst the finest maritime special forces in the world and one of the few units qualified to jump in the water with a full combat load.

The force was initially trained by the other special forces of the country. This was later supplemented by foreign training facilities, notably the SEALS of the U.S. Navy and further training was conducted with the British Special Forces. Over the years, the force set up its own training facility, first as an adjunct of the operational company at Mumbai, later as the Naval Special Warfare Tactical Training Centre. Wide exposure to different forms of warfare have been obtained through field operations in counter insurgency and anti terrorist operations within the country, and joint exercises with more than a dozen countries across the world.

INDIAN AIR FORCE SPECIAL FORCES

Garud Commando Force : The Garud Commando Force is the Special Forces unit of the Indian Air Force. It was formed in September 2004 and has a strength of approximately 1500 personnel. The unit derives it's name from Garuda, a divine bird-like creature of Hindu Mythology, but more commonly the word for eagle in Sanskrit.

Garud is tasked with the protection of critical Air Force bases and installations; search and rescue during peace and hostilities and disaster relief during calamities. Presently, the GARUDs are deployed in Congo as part of the UN peace keeping operations.

India increases Defence spending by 7.9% to $40 billion to confront China

India announced on Saturday a modest 7.9 percent increase in defence spending for the fiscal year starting April 1, suggesting that it will move only gradually with the military's long wish list for fighter jets, ships and artillery.

After years of neglect, India is trying to narrow the military gap with China, which has been building up its fleet of ships and submarines making forays in the Indian Ocean.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, unveiling the federal budget for 2015/16, said defence spending will rise to 2.47 trillion Indian rupees ($40.07 billion). For the current fiscal year, the allocation was 2.29 trillion rupees, a jump of 12 percent over the previous year.

"Defence of every inch of our land is above everything else," Jaitley said.

But the limited rise in the military budget - three-quarters of which is spent on maintaining the world's third largest standing force - means only some new weapons will be ordered this year.

Gurmeet Kanwal, a retired brigadier and fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation, a New Delhi think tank with ties to the government, said the state has to make initial downpayments for a range of pending orders.

He listed them as 126 fighter aircraft from Dassault, 197 light helicopters, 145 Ultra-light Howitzers, 15 Apache attack helicopters and 22 CH-47F Chinook medium lift helicopters.

The navy needs new submarines and stealth ships to counter the Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean, which New Delhi has long seen as its sphere of influence.

China is expected to authorise robust 2015 defence spending this coming week despite its slowing economy, largely to beef up the navy with anti-submarine ships and develop more aircraft carriers beyond the sole vessel in operation.

Last year, the two giant neighbours were locked in a stand-off on their disputed Himalayan border that cast a shadow on President Xi Jinping's first summit meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

But economic ties have rapidly expanded between the two countries and Modi is expected to visit China later in 2015.

Nine DRDO projects running behind schedule

Nine projects of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are behind schedule for various reasons, the Lok Sabha was told. 

Corrective/remedial measures have been taken to complete the ongoing projects in time, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in a written reply in the House. 

Nine projects which are delayed include ::

1. Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Phase II

2. Naval Light Combat Aircraft (LCA Navy)

3. Aero Engine Kaveri

4. Air Borne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) System

5. Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LR-SAM)

6. Helicopter Version Third Generation Anti Tank Guided Missile

7. Helina, Air-to-Air Missile

8. Astra, Dual Colour Missile Approach Warning System for Fighter Aircraft

9. Advanced Light Weight Torpedo. 

Parrikar further said there has been a shortage of scientists in DRDO. 

"The present policy relating to appointment of scientists in DRDO is functioning effectively. However, there is shortage of scientists in DRDO as there has been no increase of scientific manpwer since 2001 while a number of projects have grown multifold in terms of size and technological complexity over the past 15 years," he said. 

DRDO has initiated a cabinet note for augmentation of manpower by 1316 posts (1260 scientists and 56 works cadre officers) and these are proposed to be filled in a phased manner in three recruitment years.

Four immediate support vessels inducted into Indian Navy

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday commissioned into the Indian Navy four Immediate Support Vessels (ISVs) that are armed with heavy machine guns and state-of-the-art radar-navigational equipment.

CM Fadnavis commissioned the four ISVs-- T-26, T-27, T-28, T-47 into the navy, a release said.

"The ISVs are versatile ships which are capable of conducting patrolling operations and high-speed interceptions at sea using speeds in excess of 40 knots and are deployed for security of Offshore Development Areas (ODA) and coastal maritime assets," it said.

The induction and deployment of these ships will augment the ongoing efforts to bolster coastal security and provide protection to offshore assets from asymmetric threats, it added.

On the occasion, Fadnavis said that the ISV will enhance the capacity of the Indian Navy to provide better security.

"He (Fadnavis) noted with pride that this commissioning ceremony also showcases the ship-building capabilities of the country following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call of 'Make-in-India'. He assured all present that the government of Maharashtra will work closely with the Indian Navy in the field of coastal security," the release added.

Avro replacement: Independent panel set up to look into Airbus

The government has set up an independent committee to look into the various issues vis-a- vis a single-vendor scenario for its Avro replacement programme as the Airbus-Tata consortium has emerged as the only bidder for the contract.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar informed Lok Sabha of the development today in a written reply. A proposal to procure 56 transport aircraft to replace the ageing fleet of Avro aircraft through the ‘Buy & Make’ route was accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on July 23, 2012.

Of these, 40 aircraft are to be manufactured in India by an Indian Production Agency (IPA) from the private sector. The IPA is to be chosen by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).

The RFP for the project was issued to eight foreign transport aircraft OEMs on May 8, 2013. However, only one vendor has submitted a techno-commercial bid in response to the RFP.

“An Independent Committee has been set up to look into various issues related to a single-vendor situation before a decision is taken to proceed in the case,” Parrikar said.

The European aviation major had last week said it would be a “shame” if the project was delayed further while arguing that it cannot be faulted for being the only bidder.

BrahMos-M Weapons to Bolster India’s Defense Capability Significantly

After Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over the first BrahMos-A missile integrated Su-30MKI aircraft to the Indian Air Force, Indian and Russian designers concentrated on creating the supersonic mini-BrahMos (BrahMos-M) missiles, meant to boost the defense capability of India’s Navy and Air Force.

“Su-30MKI has become a very lethal weapon delivery platform with the successful integration of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile,” emphasized HAL Chairman T. Suvarna Raju in an official statement on February 19, during the second day of Aero India show at Yelahanka, Bengaluru.

Experts note that currently Su-30MKI aircraft can carry one deadly BrahMos missile, while initially it was expected the fighter jet would be equipped with three such cruise missiles. However, experts say that the missile is too big for a fighter jet.

BrahMos-A is a short-range supersonic cruise missile based on the Russian P-800 Oniks prototype. It can be launched from submarines, ships, aircrafts and land travelling at speed of Mach 3. The missile weighs about 2.5 tons is over 8.5 meters in length. However, designers underscore that the BrahMos-A is too heavy for IAF’s MiG-29K fighter jets; on the other hand Indian submarines’ missile launchers will require certain modernization to hold BrahMos-A.

So far, the creation of a new BrahMos-M will solve that problem. Developed by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), NPO Mashinostroyeniya of Russia and BrahMos Aerospace the new missile will have lighter weight and smaller diameter in comparison with BrahMos-A; equipped with a compact engine it will reach speeds of Mach 3.3 carrying a payload of 300 kilogram to a range of 300 kilometers. With a weight of 1.4-1.6 tons and a length of 6 meters the BrahMos-M will be a breakthrough, meeting the demands of Indian Navy and Air Force, serving as a “universal” weapon system, military experts emphasize. The missile will boost the military capability of Indian armed forces and bolster the country’s defense industry.

Reportedly, BrahMos Aerospace is planning to equip 18 IAF’s MiG-29K as well as submarines with 533-mm torpedo tubes with the innovative missiles. India’s 40 Su-30MKI will carry both BrahMos-A and BrahMos-M weapons. Military experts note that the new missile will provide New Delhi with a significant competitive advantage in the region, improving its geopolitical positions. Both India and Russia are considering large-scale BrahMos exports; furthermore, the countries have pledged to present the new hypersonic BrahMos version in the nearest future.

US keen on next generation Javelin under DTTI

The US is keen to partner India to jointly develop and manufacture the next generation Javelin anti-tank guided missile under the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI). India had in October decided to buy 8,356 Spike anti-tank guided missile and 321 launchers from Israel for Rs 3,200 crore, rejecting US offer of Javelin missiles that Washington was lobbying hard for.

Describing it as a “lost opportunity”, American defence sources said US is now keen to incorporate it under the DTTI.

Told that India has already booked Spike, a sources said, “Yes but our understanding is that India would need more. Both can work on Javelin next generation under DTTI.”

US was aggressively pushing for Javelin missiles and had last year also offered to co-produce and co-develop the missile.

It had initially not agreed to provide critical technologies of the missile demanded by India and had also shown reluctance to make available the missiles for being evaluated by Indian experts in the field trials.

US has already sold equipment worth Rs 60,000 crore in the past 10 years to India but none of these weapon sales programme is about joint production or co-development and does not include transfer of technology.

However, in a change of attitude, US has agreed with with India on joint development and production of defence systems.

Under DTTI, which was firmed up during US President Barack Obama’s visit, both countries agreed on four “pathfinder projects”.

These are next generation Raven Minis UAVs, roll on and roll off kits for C-130, mobile electric hybrid power source and Uniform Integrated Protection Ensemble Increment 2.

Both countries also agreed on a working group to explore aircraft carrier technology besides designing and development of jet engine technology.

ISRO plans to launch 10 satellites this year

S.K. Shivakumar, director, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bengaluru, on Friday said the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has set an ambitious vision to launch about 10 satellites this year.

“Currently, we are launching four or five satellites every year. The idea is to expand our space programmes and set off launch of at least 10 satellites per year from 2015 onwards,” the space scientist said.

Dr. Shivakumar, one of the scientists behind the country’s successful ‘Mangalyan’ mission or Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), was speaking on the topic “Indian satellites and success of MOM” at the National Science Day lecture at the All-India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH) here.

He said India had launched 72 satellites on its own from 1975 till date in 45 launch vehicle missions and two satellites had been launched with the support of foreign agencies. The launch of the 73rd satellite for navigation had been scheduled in March. Forty-one countries had taken ISRO’s help to launch their satellites, he explained.

Dr. Shivakumar said it was a big challenge to launch 10 satellites for various applications every year and added that infrastructure for supporting the vision was being created to boost the satellite production system.

About 2,500 people were presently working on the satellite production system at the ISRO’s satellite centre in Bengaluru and played a key role in realising the idea of enhancing the launch of more satellites.

Wary of China, India and Japan set to forge aircraft deal

India is getting set to acquire the massive ShinMaywa US-2i amphibious aircraft from Japan as part of their expanding bilateral strategic partnership, with both nations wary of China’s assertive behaviour in the Asia-Pacific region.

The defence acquisitions council (DAC), chaired by Manohar Parrikar, on Saturday will take up the proposal to “empower” the joint working group (JWG) to negotiate the purchase of at least 12 US-2i aircraft for the Navy for around $1.3 billion.

“It will be like an AON (acceptance of necessity) that the Navy requires 12 US-2i as of now, and the commercial negotiations for them can begin. The Coast Guard, in turn, may require five such planes,” said a defence ministry source.The JWG set up by India and Japan has been discussing “cooperation on the US-2 amphibian aircraft”, including technology transfer and licenced production, since 2013 but a decisive stage seems to have been reached now.

When PM Narendra Modi visited Japan last September for talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, the two directed the JWG to “accelerate progress in the discussions and preparations for a roadmap for the development of the Indian aircraft industry through the US-2 aircraft cooperation”. This, as is evident, envisages a much bigger project in the making, which will probably kick-off with the initial defence acquisition of 12 aircraft.

The Modi government has also asked Japan, which recently lifted its five-decade-old arms export embargo, if it’s interested in fielding its Soryu-class submarines for the over Rs 50,000 crore project to build six stealth submarines in India, as was first reported by TOI.But Japan, with no experience of hawking its military wares, is likely to find it difficult to participate in a competition that will also have Russia, France, Germany and others in the fray. The US-2i project, however, is more of a direct government-to-government deal without such obstacles.

The US-2i is quite a unique aircraft, capable as it is of short take-offs from land as well as water with a range of over 4,500 km. Powered by four big turbo-props, it can land even on rough seas amid three-metre high waves.

Though basically designed for air-sea search and rescue operations, the US-2i can also rapidly transport 30 combat-ready soldiers to “hot zones” in an emergency. “The aircraft will give a huge boost to our operational logistics in areas like the far-flung but strategically critical Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It can also land spares and equipment in close proximity to warships on the high seas,” said an official.

Incidentally, the relatively new naval air station INS Baaz at Campbell Bay in the A&N archipelago overlooks the Malacca Strait while dominating the Six-Degree Channel, in keeping with India’s overall policy to counter China’s strategic moves in the Indian Ocean region as well as ensure security of shipping lanes.

India, Russia planning to launch a research station towards the Moon in 2015

India and Russia are planning to launch a research station towards the Moon in 2015 – the Chandrayaan-2. This was learned from the list of key projects for the current year, released on Tuesday by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

The main task of the second Indian moon mission, the Chandrayaan-2, being carried out jointly by ISRO and Roskosmos, is to study the chemical composition of the surface of the Earth’s natural satellite. To do this, they will launch an orbiter station to the Moon, which will then send a lander craft with an on-board Lunokhod. It will collect soil samples and carry out chemical analyses, transmitting the data to Earth.

Roskosmos is developing the Lunokhod and lander that will deliver it to the surface of the Earth’s natural satellite. It is expected that with the power supplied by solar panels, the Lunokhod will operate for about one year on the Moon.

The exact date of launch of this satellite, weighing 2,650 kg, from the Sriharikota Spaceport has not been announced yet.

The Chandrayaan-1 was launched on October 22, 2008, becoming the first mission of the Indian independent space program. The Chandrayaan-1 apparatus operated in the Moon’s orbit for 312 days, exploring its surface, including by means of an impact probe.

India Considering Russian Shipyard for Construction of Advanced Warship

India is considering whether to place an order for four more warships with Russia's Yantar shipyard that has already built six frigates for the Indian Navy, the shipyard's acting chief executive told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.

"We will explore the possibility of new orders to build [vessels] for the Indian fleet. In any case, India has already said it is interested in acquiring four more advanced modified ships," Oleg Shumakov, acting CEO of Yantar shipyard, located in Russia's Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea, said.

Representatives of the shipyard are expected to discuss the question of future contracts during talks in India later in February, Shumakov added.

He described the shipyard's experience in building Talwar-class frigates for the Indian Navy as "fruitful and mutually beneficial."

In July 2014, the shipbuilding firm delivered the last of the three guided missile frigates to India, in accordance with a $1.6-billion contract signed in 2006. Each frigate was armed with eight BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, jointly developed by Russia and India.

Brahmos-II Hypersonic Cruise Missile by 2023

A Russia-India joint cruise missile research group will develop the world's first hypersonic cruise missile by 2023, the company's CEO was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying Wednesday.

The company was founded in 2005 with the goal of building a modern cruise missile for the Russian and Indian air forces. Their first weapon, the BrahMos I, is now considered to be one of the fastest supersonic missiles in the world, traveling at speeds up to three times the speed of sound, or 3,675 kilometers an hour.

Hypersonic missiles, a high research priority for top military powers like China and the United States, travel beyond five times the speed of sound, or 6,126 kilometers an hour.

"For the moment we are conducting studies. A group of specialists is working on the project. I think that development will take from seven to eight years," said CEO Sudhir Kumar Mishra at the Aero India 2015 air show in Bangalore.

"This will make it the first hypersonic missile in the world," he added.

Hypersonic weapons are the next step in missile development, promising to empower nations capable of developing them with the ability to strike targets in record time with devastating accuracy.

Russian Deputy Defense Minister Dmitry Bulgakov said on Tuesday that Russia has created a new type of fuel that is highly energetic, and can propel a missile — presumably the BrahMos II — to hypersonic speeds.

India to acquire Harpoons for HDW submarines

The Indian government has sent a Letter of Request (LoR) to the US government for the purchase of 22 Harpoon missiles for the Indian Navy’s Shishumar-class of submarines.

India has already ordered 26 Harpoon missiles for the eight Indian Navy P-8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft for an estimated USD 200 million and 24 Harpoon missiles for the Indian Air Force (IAF) Jaguar aircraft in an order worth USD 170 million.

Dennis Swanson, the head of India operations for Boeing Defense Space and Security, the prime contractor for Harpoon missiles, told StratPost, “We see significant potential for the Harpoon’s capabilities to be applied on other platforms by the Indian armed forces.”

While India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is to integrate the missiles on to the Jaguar, Boeing will integrate them on to the P-8I aircraft, itself.

The new order for the Indian Navy’s four Shishumar-class (HDW Type-209) submarines is expected to cost an estimated USD 200 million and the planned purchase is currently waiting on the US government’s Letter of Acceptance (LoA).

The order will include ’12 UGM-84L Harpoon Block II Encapsulated Missiles, 10 UTM-84L Harpoon Encapsulated Training missiles, 2 Encapsulated Harpoon certification training vehicles, containers, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, personnel training and training equipment, publications and technical data, US Government and contractor engineering and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support’, according to notification issued by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) to the US Congress.

Defence Ties with Israel in India’s Self-Interest

The veil of secrecy that surrounded diplomatic or defence contacts between India and Israel during Congress rule has now given way to a more open manner of exchanges after the BJP government took office. Israeli defence minister Moshe Ya’alon’s visit and his meeting with prime minister Modi reflected the winds of change in the relationship. Ya’alon offered defence technology towards the ‘Make in India’ initiative that India sorely seeks. 

There is no reason why India must be shy of Israeli cooperation. Every nation, especially an emerging regional power like India, needs to shore up its defence.

The Congress doubtlessly pursued a policy of shunning Israel because of its virtual obsession with the Muslim vote bank. In an atmosphere of brazen appeasement of the minority that Congress governments followed, there was no room for a truck with Israel except through hush-hush meetings and unpublicised deals. Any open give-and-take held the prospect of annoying the Arab nations. 

But as Ya’alom pointed out last week, Israel has emerged as India’s second biggest arms supplier after Russia over the past two decades. He said Israel, a tiny country which has fought enemies from all around by developing technologies to intercept rockets and missiles, can cooperate closely in the defence and security sector with its offers of flexible technology transfer.

India is estimated to have purchased defence equipment worth over $10 billion from Israel. Big-ticket items procured include the 2004 deal for three Phalcon Airborne Warning and Control Aircraft worth over $1.1 billion. Other niche technological equipment purchases have included unmanned aerial vehicles and aerostat surveillance radars for the Indian Air Force besides underwater surveillance systems for the Indian Navy. It is indeed apt that India’s foreign policy now is not dictated by what others think but by enlightened self-interest.

Major terror attack against India could trigger nuclear war: Experts

Pakistan may use nuclear weapons against India if the latter goes for a large scale military assault against it in retaliation for a major terror attack emanating from across the border, two top American experts have warned US lawmakers.

Given the presence of a strong government in New Delhi and the pressure on it from Indian citizens in the event of a repeat of 26/11 type terror attack, the ties between the two neighbours have greater danger of escalating towards a devastating nuclear warfare, in particular from Pakistan.

Such a dangerous scenario can only be avoided by the US working with Islamabad to ensure that there is no further large scale terror attack on India emanating from Pakistan, two top American experts George Perkovich and Ashley Tellis told members of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee Subcommittee on Strategic Forces during a hearing yesterday.

“South Asia is the most likely place nuclear weapons could be detonated in the foreseeable future. This risk derives from the unusual dynamic of the India-Pakistan competition,” said Perkovich, vice president for Studies Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“The next major terrorist attack in India, emanating from Pakistan, may trigger an Indian conventional military riposte that could in turn prompt Pakistan to use battlefield nuclear weapons to repel an Indian incursion. India, for its part, has declared that it would inflict massive retaliation in response to any nuclear use against its territory or troops,” he said.

“Obviously, this threatening dynamic whereby terrorism may prompt conventional conflict which may prompt nuclear war – challenges Indian and Pakistan policy-makers. India and Pakistan both tend to downplay or dismiss the potential for escalation, but our own history of close nuclear calls should make US officials more alert to these dangers. The US is the only outside power that could intervene diplomatically and forcefully to de-escalate a crisis,” Perkovich said.

Tellis said the most useful US contribution towards preventing a Pakistani use of nuclear weapons in such a scenario and the Indian nuclear retribution that would result thereafter would be to press Pakistan to exit the terrorism business or risk being left alone (or, even worse, the object of sanctions) if a major Indian military response ensues in the aftermath of any pernicious terrorist attack.

“Other than this, there is little that the United States can do to preserve deterrence stability between two asymmetrically-sized states where the gap in power promises to become even wider tomorrow than it is today,” he said.

Both the experts, who are from the Carnegie, told members of the Senate sub-committee that Pakistan today has more nuclear weapons than that of India.

ISRO :: India will soon have superior earth observation capabilities

India will soon have satellites with superior earth observation capability, said space agency chief AS Kiran Kumar here on Thursday.

"The future of earth observation relies on three factors - continuity and improvement of the operational constellation of satellites, sustained observation of all climate variables and global co-operation for comparing observation data," the Indian Space Research Organisation chairman said while speaking at the International Conference on Climate Change and Disaster Management here at Kovalam.

Another speaker at the conference was Jean-Yves Le Gall, president of French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, who urged coordination of space missions and pooling of resources for stepping up space-based observation of climate change phenomena.

Tanja Masson-Zwaan, president, International Institute of Space Law (IISL), stressed the importance of space technology in solving issues connected to climate change.

"Today climate change and disaster management are perhaps the most important issues being faced." 

The event is being jointly organised by the IAA, ISRO, IISL, India's earth sciences ministry and the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment.

Spending Soars. Yet, India’s Military In Crisis

The defence budget of India—the world’s largest arms importer—has more than doubled over the past decade from Rs 80,500 crore to Rs 229,000 crore for the financial year 2014-15.

Yet, the defence forces are critically short of arms, and men and women at arms.

The army, navy and air force are short of officers by 17% (7,989), 17% (1,499) and 3% (357) respectively, according to latest data tabled in the Lok Sabha. Consider the arms deficits in the three services:

–The Indian Air Force (IAF) is short of 272-306 fighter aircraft (as this IndiaSpend report explains) and 56 medium transport aircraft.

–The Indian Army needs about 3,000 to 3,600 artillery guns, 66,0000 assault rifles, 2 lakh pairs of ankle leather boots and 66,000 rounds of armour-piercing ammunition for T-90 tanks.

–The navy needs 12 diesel-electric submarines, 6 nuclear attack submarines and 7 stealth frigates.

The three defence wings also collectively need more than 1,000 helicopters. This is an indicative list: The actual list of defence requirements and shortages is longer.

Yet, the Ministry of Defence ­accounts for the second-highest share of India’s budget, after the finance ministry.

The defence budget accounts for 1.78% of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 12.76% of total central government expenditure, said Amit Cowshish, distinguished fellow at Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA). 

The revenue-to-capital ratio of the defence budget is 60:40. Revenue expenditure is for payment of salaries and maintenance of defence bases and equipment. Capital expenditure is for equipment purchases and modernisation.

India is expected to spend Rs 94,587.95 crore in 2014-15 as capital expenditure, a 20% increase from Rs 78,872.23 crore last year.

“The requirement of funds (for defence purchases) is directly related to carried-forward committed liabilities and signing of new contracts,” Cowshish said in an email interview with IndiaSpend. As a result, the forces could expect a similar increase in the 2015-16 budget “if – and this now seems to be a big if – new projects, such as the one for a new combat aircraft, go through”.

Let us now look at sector-wise allocations of the defence budget.

Among the three defence wings, the army has consistently cornered the highest funding. In 2014-2015, It accounted for Rs 92,601.32 crore, which is 40% of total expenditure, followed by the air force and navy at Rs 20,506.84 crore (9%) and Rs 13,975.79 crore (6%), respectively. 

The pension question ::

The budget allocation does not take defence pensions into account, as this is placed under a different budget head. The MoD allocated Rs 50,000 crore for defence pensions in 2014-2015, an increase of 9% from Rs 45,500 crore in 2013-14.

Last year’s budget earmarked Rs 1,000 crore for the one-rank-one-pension scheme for ex-servicemen. This might grow to an estimated Rs 8,000 crore this year, as the Times of India reported.

More than two million ex-servicemen in India have been demanding one-rank-one-pension, which ensures that the same pension is paid to personnel who have retired in the same rank with the same length of service, irrespective of retirement date.

Funding research and development ::

Investing in defence research and development (R&D) is expected to boost India’s indigenous arms industry and reduce its dependence on imports. The Indian government spent 42.7% of defence capital expenditure on arms imports in 2013-2014, according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha.

As we mentioned before, India is the world’s largest importer of arms as per Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), an independent international institute that researches conflicts, armaments, arms control and disarmament.

The MoD has almost doubled the capital expenditure for R&D to Rs 9,298.25 crore in 2014-2015 from Rs 5,257.60 crore in 2013-2014. Besides, the MoD has provided Rs 5,984.67 crore for salaries and maintenance of research centres.