Minister Orders, India's Agni-V To Fly Before Year End

Indian Defence Minister AK Antony today said the country must have a ballistic missile with 5,000-km range. After presenting the DRDO awards today, Antony called upon the organisation to quickly deliver the AGNI 5 MISSILE.

"DRDO must demonstrate its capability to reach the range of 5,000-km at the earliest. The interceptor missile development programme has taken India to an elite club of nations that possess the capability to demonstrate and deploy missile defence. DRDO should now work towards developing a credible ballistic missile defence for our country," Antony said.

Speaking to reporters later, DRDO chief Vijay Kumar Saraswat said that the Agni-V test launch will take place before the end of this year.

New Light On Why India Rejected The F-16 & F/A-18

ASHLEY J TELLIS, commentator and senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment has a new piece in India's FORCE magazine which quite substantially fleshes out the stated reasons why the two US contenders in India's M-MRCA fighter competition -- the F-16IN and F/A-18E/F -- were eliminated in a late April decision. The Pentagon, Boeing and Lockheed-Martin, which have been quite silent (about the reasons for the elimination) since the decision, appear to have got their side of things across quite amply, and in great detail, in Mr Tellis' column. For starters, they've shown him those rejection letters they got. A highly readable report. Here's some of the juice:

Tellis' report notes that the F-16IN was found non-compliant on five counts: "growth potential, carefree handling (and automatic sensing of external stores), sustained turn rate, engine change time, and assurance against obsolescence over a 15-year period."

Tellis puts the F-16IN's failure to meet the IAF's enging change time requirement down "largely to an idiosyncratic mishap during the field trials". He writes, "It is certain that if the trials were to involve multiple stochastic demonstrations of engine change, the F-16IN would have easily made the mark. Unfortunately, second chances are sometimes not available, and the IAF, for its own reasons, chose not to accept Lockheed Martin’s subsequent evidence of being able to meet the engine change standards laid down in the ASQR."

Tellis also suggests that the "blurry" nature of the reasons why the F/A-18 was rejected give him doubt about whether the IAF gave the Super Hornet an "equitable shot". He notes that the reasons Boeing was given for the rejection of the F/A-18 were four: "the maturity of its engine design, the growth potential of its engine, assorted performance shortfalls, and issues related to special preventative maintenance".

Peeved IAF Looks Beyond Russia To Revive Ilyushins

Seemingly exasperated by low-availability/serviceability for years as a consequence of what it has described unofficially as "unpredictable Russian support" and the country's apparent unwillingness to honour after-sales commitments, the Indian Air Force is looking for the first time beyond Russia for long-term maintenance and product support of its fleet of Ilyushin-76 heavy transports and Ilyushin-78M tanker transports at Agra, Chandigarh, Delhi and Nagpur.

In April this year, the IAF broke with tradition and floated a global tender to provide its Il-76/78 fleet "service support to ensure IAF requirements to maintain present airworthiness standards" for a period of five years, extendable to ten. The IAF has been improvising plenty to keep the heavy jets airworthy, but does not believe it can continue to do so without solid support. The Russian OEM, apparently, cannot be relied upon. The IAF has stipulated that bidders need to have the support of the Ilyushin Design Bureau.

According to the tender document, "The primary requirement of the contract is to ensure a minimum serviceability of 70% of number of [aircraft] included in the contract during the currency of contract. Period of contract shall be five years, further extendable for another five years. The vendor is required to meet this requirement by providing all the required maintenance and product support." It further stipulates that, "on any single day the serviceability of each fleet (IL-76 and IL-78) should not fall below 50% of total number of ac included in the contract."

Interestingly, the IAF has offered to pay the winning bidder an incentive if higher serviceability percentage above the minimum specified is achieved during execution of the contract. And they'll be penalised if they fall short of the required mark.

Nine IAF Ilyushins which will be undergoing overhaul and total life extension at the time the contract is expected to be awarded will not be included. An additional unspecified number of Ilyushins has remained grounded indefinitely "for want of spares/aggregates which have become unserviceable or expired their TBO/TTL".

Here's the full IAF request for information.

India Planned Attack On Pak Navy Mehran Base To Kill Chinese Engineers OMG!!

The terrorist attack on Karachi's Mehran Naval Station on May 22 was conceived and launched by India with the primary objective of killing the Chinese engineers present there, a Pakistani newspaper has claimed, citing 'informed sources'.

Four to six Taliban terrorists had entered PNS Mehran on May 22, destroying two maritime surveillance aircraft and killing ten military personnel during their 17-hour siege of the naval air base. 

"India is the only country in the region that feels troubled by the Pakistan Navy, which had awfully beaten the Indian Navy in Operation Dwarka of 1965. Since then, it has been an earnest desire of India to harm the Pakistan Navy but it was perhaps not possible on the battle front, hence it struck the PNS Mehran," The News quoted sources as saying.

[UPDATED] REPORT: Russia Snubs India, Cancels 2 Joint Exercises

In a thumping sign that "relations between India and Russia [have] soured in recent years", it has come to light that Russia abruptly cancelled an INDRA-series naval exercise with India last month and has now cancelled an INDRA-series army exercise scheduled for June, reports abovetopsecret magazine senior editor amardeep. The Russians apparently notified the Indian contingent of its decision on the naval exercise inappropriately late -- well, after the five participating Indian warships (including five destroyers) steamed into Vladivostok.

US, Russia nuclear arsenal data released

The United States has 30 percent more deployed long-range ballistic missiles  and nuclear warheads than former Cold War foe Russia, according to new data released Wednesday by the State Department.
Both countries are required to report key figures from their nuclear weapons arsenals as part of the landmark new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) adopted by Moscow and Washington on February 5.
The United States has 882 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) and heavy bombers, compared with 521 for Russia, according to the State Department, which published the new START aggregate numbers.
The United States also has 1,800 deployed warheads and 1,124 launchers, as well as deployed and non-deployed heavy bombers, compared with Russia's 1,537 deployed warheads and 865 launchers and heavy bombers, according to the figures.
The figures are current as of February 5, 2011, "as drawn from the initial exchange of data by the parties" that was required within 45 days of the treaty coming into force.
The new START limits each side to 1,550 deployed warheads and 700 deployed ICBMs and SLBMs and heavy bombers, meaning the United States would still need to reduce its arsenal under the terms of the treaty.
The first nuclear pact in two decades has been feted as vital to global security because it reduces old warhead ceilings by 30 percent from a limit set in 2002, and establishes a streamlined new inspection procedure designed to eliminate cheating.
In October 2009, two months before the end of the original START treaty, the State Department issued strategic offensive arms figures that showed the United States possessed 5,916 "attributed" warheads, compared to Russia's 3,897.
A person familiar with START described it as a "totally different counting system" than the new START, which uses a more accurate counting in listing 1,800 actually deployed US warheads on ICBMs, SLBMs or heavy bombers.
A more realistic comparison, the person told AFP, would be with the approximately 2,150 operationally deployed strategic US nuclear warheads listed as of last December.
In May 2010, after extensive debate within President Barack Obama's administration, the Pentagon revealed the extent of its nuclear arsenal for the first time.
It said the US stockpile of nuclear weapons consisted of 5,113 warheads, including active warheads ready for deployment at short notice, as well as "inactive" warheads maintained at a depot in a non-operational status.
The new START accord limits still allow for enough weaponry to blow up the world many times over.
Obama has described the treaty as a modest step toward "a world without nuclear weapons," but stressed he knew the goal would not be reached quickly and would take "patience and persistence."

Construction of HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier

Construction of HMS Prince of Wales, the second of the two new Queen Elizabeth (QE) Class aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, started today at BAE Systems' Govan shipyard on the Clyde.
Employees and guests gathered at the shipyard as Secretary of State for Defence, Dr Liam Fox, was invited to press the button on the company's plasma machine to cut the first steel for the vessel, marking a pivotal stage in the programme to deliver the nation's flagships.
Dr Fox said: "We are committed to delivering this next generation of powerful British aircraft carriers that will mark a step change in our carrier strike capability and form the cornerstone of the Royal Navy's Future Force 2020. This major construction project is creating and sustaining thousands of jobs in shipyards around the country."
Mick Ord, Managing Director of BAE Systems' Surface Ships business, said: "This is a proud day for our workforce, our Aircraft Carrier Alliance partners and the thousands of people throughout the supply chain who are contributing to the delivery of the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers. The construction of these 65,000 tonne ships is a huge feat of engineering and the rapid progress we have made, with work starting today on the second carrier, clearly shows the skills and expertise we have across British industry."


Second Sea Lord, Vice-Admiral Charles Montgomery, who also attended the steel cutting ceremony, said: "The Queen Elizabeth Class will provide Britain with the means to deliver air power from the sea, wherever and whenever required, and in a stronger and more decisive form than ever before. In addition they will be able to undertake a wide range of tasks including support to peace keeping operations and delivery of humanitarian aid in time of crisis. They will undoubtedly prove a tremendous asset both to the Royal Navy and to the UK as a whole."
BAE Systems is a member of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, working in partnership with Babcock, Thales and the Ministry of Defence to deliver the biggest and most powerful surface warships ever constructed in the UK. Sustaining thousands of skilled jobs throughout industry, work is well advanced with construction on the first of class HMS Queen Elizabeth underway at six shipyards across the country, including BAE Systems in Glasgow and Portsmouth, as well as Alliance partners at Appledore, Merseyside, Newcastle and Rosyth, where final assembly will take place.


The company provides overall leadership and programme management to the QE Class programme. It also plays a central role in the design and build of the ships. Construction of the mid and stern sections of HMS Queen Elizabeth are underway at the company's Govan yard while the forward and lower stern sections are in build at its Portsmouth facility. BAE Systems is also set to begin work on the two island structures for the first ship, which house the bridge and air traffic control facilities in the coming months. Additionally, BAE Systems is responsible for the design, manufacture and integration of the complex mission systems for the aircraft carriers.
Each 65,000 tonne aircraft carrier will provide the armed forces with a four acre military operating base which can be deployed worldwide. The vessels will be versatile enough to be used for operations ranging from supporting war efforts to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief. The QE Class will be the centre piece of Britain's military capability and will operate at least 12 of the carrier variant Joint Strike Fighter jets, allowing for unparalleled interoperability with allied forces.