Boeing delivers India's first maritime patrol aircraft P-8I

The Boeing delivered 19 December of the first P-8I ordered in 2008 by India. Derived from the new P-8A Poseidon for the U.S. Navy, the maritime patrol aircraft will enable India to significantly strengthen its means of anti-submarine and surface warfare. They will replace the Il-38 May currently in service. Boieng states that two other aircraft will be delivered to the Indian Navy this year, joining the fourth and fifth aircraft is underway. In all, eight P-8I have been ordered, plus an option for four additional units.

Developed on the basis of the civilian airliner Boeing 737 to replace the P-3C Orion, Poseidon is a jet of 38.56 meters long and 38.8 meters wide with a maximum takeoff weight of 83.5 tons. It is designed to implement Harpoon and

INS Saryu Enters Service With Indian Navy

Indian Navy Statement: Air Marshal PK Roy, Commander-in-Chief, Andaman and Nicobar Command, commissioned INS Saryu into the Indian Navy at Goa today.  INS Saryu is the lead ship of the indigenous Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel (NOPV) Project to be inducted into the Indian Navy. Designed and built by Goa Shipyard Limited, the ship aptly demonstrates the immense potential of the country's indigenous designing and ship building capabilities.

Capable of carrying a helicopter (ALH) onboard, the ship's weapon and sensor outfit includes a SRGM 76.2 mm gun with an electro-optic fire control system, two 30mm guns as close in weapon systems, latest navigational and early warning radars, chaff

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launchers for self protection and an integrated ESM system to undertake all assigned missions. She is also equipped with two rigid inflatable fast motor boats.

The ship is propelled by two SEMT diesel engines which are the largest engines of its type to be inducted in the Indian Navy, enabling the ship to achieve speeds in excess of 25 knots. The entire propulsion and power management of the ship is controlled electronically by means of a Remote Control System which incorporates the Automatic Power Management System also. A fully integrated LAN system onboard along with a CCTV management system ensures optimal utilization of onboard equipment and better crew efficiency.

Indian Navy gets its most sophisticated system yet in P8-I maritime aircraft

The Boeing P8-I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft (LRMRA) which the Indian Navy got lat month is the most sophisticated weapon system in its inventory yet.
The aircraft, which is now being used for training by Indian naval personnel in coordination with the US Navy in the US, has the latest radars, electronic warfare systems, and weapons to kill hostile submarines, several of which lurk underwater in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal around the Indian coast.
Built on the body of a civilian Boeing 737-800 jetliner with the wings of a 737-900, the P8-I is actually an attack aircraft, capable of discriminating between friendly and hostile vessels far away and then hit them with desired priority and lethality.
Its key capability though is to detect and delete hostile submarines, as also small boats in shallow waters which pose the most serious threat to Indian naval assets.
India has purchased eight P8-Is from the US Navy under the US government's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme and the government has cleared four more for which there was an option. Another 12 P8-Is, or similar aircraft, should be acquired later.

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The $2.1 billion-plus deal for aircraft covers onboard offensive and defensive systems and training. Weapons like the Boeing Harpoon Block II missiles, sonobuoys, Raytheon's Mk 54 torpedoes, some freefall weapons cost additional.
The P8-I is a derivative of the US Navy's P8-A multi-mission maritime aircraft (MMA) developed at the cost of billions of dollars. The first P8-A was delivered to it in March 2012, and so far, it has received five of the 117 ordered aircraft.
The Indian Navy is the first foreign customer and not much apart in time.
Understandably though, the P8-Is would not have the same range and features as the P8-As, but then the Indian requirements are met appropriately. In any case, there cannot be 100 per cent commonality as neither would the US share its latest technologies nor is India looking for interoperability with US assets.
Mission computers form the heart of the P8-I, integrating various sensors, radars and weapons on board, directing their power, reach and the required urgency in neutralizing hostile targets.
There are five to seven consoles for the operators, who can command the system to initiate and execute real-time action and attack.

INS Tarkash to anchor at Salalah port

INS Tarkash, the second of the three stealth Frigates under construction at Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad, Russia, is scheduled for a halt at Salalah from December 22 to 23. The ship will be open for visit by Omani and Indian nationals from 10:00 – 13:00 hours on Sunday, December, 23.

The ship was commissioned and inducted into the Indian Navy by vice -admiral Shekhar Kumar Sinha, flag officer commanding-in-chief, Western Naval Command on November 9, 2012 at Kaliningrad, Russia.

The occasion was graced by the presence of the ambassador of India to the Russian Federation. The ship is on its maiden passage post commissioning. The induction of this fifth multi-role stealth frigate with an advance combat suite and optimal blend of cutting edge technologies would considerably bolster the Indian Navy.

Indian Aircraft Carrier INS Vikramaditya (Gorshkov) now expected in last quarter of 2013

As informed by the Russian side the delivery of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (Gorshkov), after completion of repairs and sea trials, would be made in the last quarter of 2013. The aircraft carrier was subjected to extensive trials for the first time for 108 days from 8th June 2012 to 23rd September 2012, with a part of the Indian crew on board, undergoing training during the sea trials.

While a substantial scope of ship's equipment and aviation trials were completed during this period, the main propulsion plant trials to full power could not be completed due to defects encountered on boiler section. Rectification of the defect is likely to take six months.Liquidated Damages (LD) clause for delays in delivery is incorporated in the contract. As per contract, LD is to be ascertained and levied within six months of ship's delivery.

The Russian side has been requested to take up necessary measures to ensure delivery of ship in the last quarter of 2013.

India : First Scorpene Submarine by 2015

India is expected to commission its first Scorpene submarine being developed by French naval construction group DCNS, by 2015. The state-owned Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) is producing six SSK Scorpene submarines (P75) under Transfer of Technology from DCNS at a total cost of little over Rs 20,000 crore. Simultaneously, DCNS India, its Indian subsidiary, is working on the selection of Indian companies as partners for local production of the Scorpene’s equipment. DCNS India signed a contract with SEC Industries for the manufacture of high technological equipment for the P75 Scorpene submarines in September 2011 and the second contract was signed in May this year for additional items. The remaining five submarines are expected to be delivered by 2018. Bernard Buisson, Managing Director of

Russian Shipyard to Deliver Warship to Indian Navy

rigate 'INS Tarkash' under construction at the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad is due to be handed over to the Indian Navy next month.

INS Tarkash is the second Talwar-class ship being built for Indian Navy under a contract signed in 2006.

Frigates of this class are designed for anti-submarine, surface ship warfare, as well as air defence.

Length of the ship is 125 meters; beam is 15 meters; displacement is about 4,000 tons; full speed is 30 knots; cruising range at 14 knots is 5,000 nautical miles; crew strength is over 200 men including 20 officers.

Yantar shipyard won the tender for three such frigates and began construction of the lead ship INS Teg in the summer of 2007. Afterwards, building of other ships started – frigate INS Tarkash (laid down in Nov 2007, launched in 2010) and INS Trikand (laid down in June 2008, launched in May 25, 2011).

First three Project 11356 frigates were built by Baltiysky Zavod shipyard (St. Petersburg) in 1999-2004, commissioned into Indian Navy and are currently in service.

India’s SSBN Shows Itself

Could it be? It is not entirely clear, but a new satellite image might be showing part of India’s first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, the Arihant.

A new satellite image appears to show part of India’s new SSBN partly concealed at the Visakhapatnam naval base on the Indian east coast

 

The image, taken by GeoEye’s satellite on March 18, 2012, and made available on Google Earth, shows what appears to be the conning tower (or sail) of a submarine in a gap of covers intended to conceal it deep inside the Visakhapatnam (Vizag) Naval Base on the Indian east coast.
The image appears to show a gangway leading from the pier with service buildings and a large crane to the submarine hull just behind the conning tower. The outlines of what appear to be two horizontal diving planes extending from either side of the conning tower can also be seen on the grainy image.

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The Arihant was launched in 2009 from the shipyard on the other side of the harbor and moved under an initial cover. An image released by the Indian government in 2010 appears to show the submarine inside the initial cover.

The new cover, made up of what appears to be 13-meter floating modules that can be assembled to fit the length of the submarine, similarly to what Russia is using at its submarine shipyard in Severodvinsk, first appeared in 2010. Images from 2011 show the modules in various configurations but without the submarine

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India plans to base its indigenous Airborne Early Warning & Control system on the western border, Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne said today.
"Yes, we have identified. Work is going to start (on where it would be based)", said the Air Chief Marshal, adding that "it will be in the western border to start with".

He was speaking at a press conference after a function to commemorate arrival of AEW&C India aircraft, which is the fully modified EMB-145 regional jet of Brazil's Embraer aircraft manufacturer. "This (AEW&C) will be used for surveillance and control".

According to DRDO officials, the system would detect, identify and classify threats in the surveillance area and act as a command and control centre to support air operations.

India: Naval Exercise with Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force

The first Japan-India Maritime bilateral exercise codenamed JIMEX-12 with Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) was conducted on 9th June 2012, off Yokosuka, Japan during the deployment of Indian Naval ships to South East Asian countries during May-July 2012. JMSDF ships Ohnami and Hatakaze, along with a JMSDF aircraft and Indian Naval ships Rana, Shakti, Shivalik and Kamuk participated in the exercise. The exercise included onboard interactions, Tactical Manoeuvres, Search and Rescue exercise and Steam Past. 

WE'RE NOW PAYING FOR INDIA'S NAVY AS IT SPENDS OUR £280M AID ON WARSHIPS

THERE was fresh anger over taxpayer aid to India last night as it emerged the country is spending £1billion on three warships.

Britain is still handing over £280million a year despite India admitting it doesn’t need the help and regards the amount as “peanuts”.

As the Royal Navy suffers severe budget cuts, India has splashed out on Russian-built frigates, including one said to carry the world’s fastest Cruise missile. The news follows this month’s announcement that India is planning a £50million unmanned spacecraft mission to Mars.

Conservative MP Philip Davies said: “It seems to me that a country that spends billions on defence is more than capable of looking after its own people without £280million a year from British taxpayers. They could just spend £280million less on defence. 

“Also, the money we give to India we have to borrow, so by the time we have repaid it, it’s a lot more.”

Overseas aid spending has escaped Coalition austerity cuts.

Ministers are committed to increasing it to 0.7 per cent of national output, up from £7.8billion this year to £11.5billion by 2015, to reach targets set by the United Nations.

India’s new Cruise missile-carrying frigate, INS Teg, is the first of three Talwar class warships ordered from the Yantar shipyard in Russia.

Delay in Construction of Six Submarines

The original delivery schedule of the first submarine was December 2012 and remaining submarines were to be delivered with a gap of one year each. Consequent to the approval of Government for revision in cost and delivery schedule in 2010, the delivery of the first submarine has been revised to June, 2015 and that of the last (6th) submarine to September, 2018. The delay in construction of the submarines is attributable to initial teething problems in absorption of new technology, delay in augmentation of Industrial Infrastructure at M/s Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) and delay in procurement of some items by MDL due to their high cost as compared to the earlier indicated cost. Complexities of the issues involved have resulted in cost escalation.

North Sea Boats to Launch New 63m Stealth Fast Missile Patrol Vessel for Indonesian Navy

The new 63 metre long vessel is a cutting edge trimaran design that is considered to be the most advanced naval vessel of its type ever built in South East Asia.

It incorporates a radical wave piercing hull form for improved seaworthiness and stability, and has been built from full carbon fibre composite materials, utilising the vacuum infusion process and vinylester resin.

This method results in a structure that has increased strength, but also offers the benefits of lower operating,

Indian Navy Freezes Flat-Top Configuration

The Indian navy is likely to call an end to its tryst with ski-jump aircraft carriers, deciding that its next big vessel will be a flat-top with a catapult-launch system.
While India's first home-built carrier, known as the Vikrant, is to be a 44,000-ton short-takeoff-but-arrested-recovery (Stobar) carrier, the second ship—tentatively titled Vishal (“Immense”)—is seen as a 65,000-ton flat-top with a steam-catapult system. The Naval Design Bureau, which oversees design and implementation of all indigenous warship building efforts, is expected to freeze its requirements by year-end.
A commodore with the Naval Design Bureau says, “A decision has been taken to move away from conventional Stobar and short-takeoff-or-vertical-landing (Stovl) operations.”
The navy's Sea Harrier fleet is closing out its service. The Indian carrier Vikramaditya—the former Russian carrier Admiral Gorshkov—and first indigenous carrier (Vikrant) will be transition vessels to Stobar operations. The next logical step is catapult-assisted takeoff-and-barrier-arrested recovery (Catobar), “which brings with it immense advantages in the mix of assets we can deploy on deck,” says the commodore.
The navy has been known to want to deploy heavier fighters from a carrier. Still, the freeze on a flat-top catapult-launch design also dramatically changes the navy's future fighter requirement. In 2009, the service invited information to support a purchase of aircraft for deck-based operations, which did not specify launch type but had been presumed to be Stobar. Several companies were asked for information: Russia's MiG and Sukhoi for the MiG-29K and Su-33, respectively; Dassault Aviation with the Rafale (noting that the Rafale could be modified for Stobar operations); Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter; Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet; and two aircraft concepts—Saab's Sea Gripen and Eurofighter's Naval Typhoon.
A catapult carrier could narrow the field to a competition involving a modified Su-33, the F/A-18, F-35C and Rafale. The Rafale—currently in final negotiations for the Indian air force's largest-ever fighter purchase, worth around $12 billion for 126 aircraft—has already pushed its case with the navy, underlining type commonality.

Navy's wavering delaying warships by years

The Indian Navy’s insistence that warships built in India must have cutting-edge weapon systems is having potentially dangerous consequences: Half-built warships rusting in the dockyard, waiting for fancy weaponry that gets more and more delayed.
Such is the story of Project 15A, the construction of three 6,800-tonne destroyers by the public sector Mazagon Dock Ltd, Mumbai (MDL), India’s premier warship builder. Project 15A was sanctioned in June 2001, and construction began in 2003, with delivery of the first ship, INS Kolkata, promised in June 2008. The second (INS Kochi) and third (INS Chennai) vessels of the Kolkata Class (a warship class is traditionally named after the lead ship) would follow at one-year intervals.
Instead, as Business Standard saw on a visit to MDL, the three hulks float aimlessly, seawater corroding their steel as they wait for key systems that are not yet ready. INS Kolkata was launched in March 2006; it has already spent seven years in the water. But the navy will be lucky to get it next year, five years late. INS Kochi and INS Chennai will follow in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Indian Navy Looking For New Light Helicopter As Well as Sea King Replacement

The Indian Navy is looking at spending up to $1 billion for 56 new Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) to replace the its ageing Chetak (Alouette) choppers, The Times of India is reporting. The request for proposal was recently issued and calls for 56 helicopters, three simulators, 28 spare engines, and associated equipment. Delivery must be started within eight years of the signing of the contract, according to the Times.

Sikorsky, Eurocopter, AgustaWestland, and Kamov are reported to be interested.

India also plans to spend $2.5 billion replacing its Sea King helicopters, the newspaper noted. Details of that project are still being finalized.

New Yasen-class submarine faces further delays

he Severodvinsk nuclear Yasen-class multipurpose attack submarine will go into service no earlier than 2013, Interfax reported on Monday, citing a source in the military-industrial complex.

The delay is already the second occasion when the launch of the cutting-edge submarine has been postponed, Gazeta.ru reported.

Tests ongoing

“During trials, the Severodvinsk revealed that its nuclear power plant does not produce the planned power levels. And the boat does not meet the required noise levels. With suchserious shortcomings the ship can not be accepted into the military fleet,” Interfax quoted the military source as saying.

The Indian Navy has lost 15 Sea Harrier aircraft lost in mishaps

The Indian Navy has lost 15 Sea Harrier fighter aircraft in various accidents since 1983, Defence Minister A K Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday.

In written reply to a question in the House, he said, "15 Sea Harrier fighters and three trainers have been lost in accidents since 1983. Only three aircraft accidents out of these have been attributed to material failure."
He said strengthening of air combat capability of the Navy an ongoing process through upgradation and acquisition.

On operating MiG-29K aircraft from aircraft carrier INS Viraat, Antony said, "MiG-29K cannot be operated from INS Viraat since it employs the Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) technique whereas INS Viraat is a Short Take Off Vertical Landing (STOVL) facility carrier."

He also informed the House that Navy has already commissioned one nuclear-powered submarine, procured from Russia on lease in January.

Indian navy to buy 56 utility helicopters for $1bn

 

India has set the ball rolling for another mega defence deal, worth close to $1 billion, for the acquisition of 56 naval utility helicopters customized for surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, anti-terror, electronic intelligence gathering and search and rescue operations.

The armed forces are looking to induct as many as 900 helicopters in the coming decade, including 384 light-utility and observation, 90 naval multi-role, 65 light combat, 22 heavy-duty attack, 139 medium-lift and 15 heavy-lift, among others, as was first reported by TOI earlier.

The new tender or RFP (request for proposal) for the 56 naval helicopters was issued to all top global aviation majors — ranging from Boeing, Bell and Sikorsky to Kamov, Eurocopter and AgustaWestland — last week.

"The naval utility helicopter are planned for induction from 2016 (onwards)," said Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma. As per the RFP, the project involves induction of the 56 choppers, three simulators, 28 spare engines and associated equipment within eight years of the inking of the contract.

Navy’s aircraft carrier not to be ready until 2017

The Navy’s first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) will not be ready before 2017, overshooting the delivery schedule by more than three years, Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma has admitted.
“There were problems in manufacturing the gear box, which involves complex technology. The truck bringing generators overturned near Pune last year, further delaying the schedule,” Verma said.

The keel of the 40,000 tonne-carrier was launched on February 28, 2009 by defence minister A K Antony when the Navy and Cochin Shipyard aimed at launching the ship in water by 2010 and equipping it with arms and fighter aircraft in another four years.

To be named ‘INS Vikrant’, the carrier was to be inducted in the service by 2014.
With almost three years‘ delay now, IAC’s launch in water may happen only sometime in 2013 or early 2014.

Its design was initially approved by the government in 2003. The modular construction began in 2005.

Explaining the problem encountered with the gear box, a navy officer said the Indian company picked for the job could not meet the laid down specifications.