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Showing posts with the label India's indigenous weapons

Waking the Beast: India’s Defense Reforms Under Modi ( Source- The Diplomat/ Author- Jeff M.Smith)

Image credits- Indian Navy Source- The Diplomat Author- Jeff M. Smith “India has done enough to simplify its defense procurement and other norms,” opined Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar at a speech in Washington last December. “It is time for U.S. Government and Industry to reciprocate. It is easy to blame Indian bureaucracy but in some cases, U.S. bureaucracy is much worse.’’ With all due respect to Parrikar—who has been a breath of fresh air after the paralytic reign of his predecessor, AK “Mr. No” Antony—few in Washington or Delhi would agree. Fortunately, the reforms he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have shepherded are steering India in the right direction ( To read the entire article, click here .......)

LCA Tejas- The rise of the Phoenix

HAL LCA Tejas ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Defence19) On 1.07.2016, history was made when Tejas, India's 4'th generation combat aircraft joined the Indian Air Force after a protracted delay as part of the Squadron No-45 Flying Daggers . The project which was 32 years in making, but the years of investment has finally borne fruit. Made of composites, Tejas is the lightest combat aircraft in the world. Designed as a replacement for the legendary MIG-21 in the Indian Air Force Fleet, Tejas is in many ways more than a project for the Indian aviation industry. LCA project paves way for the establishment of the entire ecosystem of an aircraft design and manufacture, an art that was long lost when the designers of HAL HF-24 Marut left or retired after the project. Hence the LCA team had to begin from scratch. Coupled with crippling sanctions post India's nuclear tests which delayed the project.  LCA as a project can be considered as a success as there has not bee

Made-In-India Jet Fighter: Big Step In Weapons Self-Reliance ( Source- Eurasia Review / Author- Admiral Arun Prakash, South Asian Monitor)

IAF LCA Tejas ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Rinju9) Source- Eurasia Review Author- Admiral Arun Prakash, South Asian Monitor On July 1, 2016, No.45 Squadron IAF became the proud recipient of India’s first indigenous 4th generation+ fighter; the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) dubbed Tejas. This marks, not just an historic landmark for our aerospace industry, but a significant step forward in India’s quest for self-reliance in weapon systems and fits neatly into PM Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign. Not more than a handful of countries can claim the competence to bring a project of such complexity to fruition. It would therefore be appropriate to acknowledge the achievement of our aircraft designers, scientists, production engineers, and the flight-test team for having delivered a state-of-the art combat aircraft to the IAF – although belatedly. It will be a few years before Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) can deliver the squadron’s full outfit of aircraft, but t

India as a major arms producer- The way towards the future

Brahmos Cruise Missile ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons /Hemant Photo79) India has one of the most powerful armies in the world. With an Army totaling more than 1.1 Million wit an equal number of reserves, a big air force and a navy, India has all the makings of a world class power. But India also holds the designation as the world's largest importer of weapon systems. In this article, I would like to analyse what went wrong for country like India that made it fail to develop indigenous capability in weapon systems and it remains the world's largest importer of weapon systems. The Past To get a correct picture, it is always better to revisit the past. Just after independence, a young nation faced it's first challenge in the form a of a Pakistani war on Kashmir. But this was much of a border war and the leaders of the time more concentrating on nation building paid little attention to the army. They had little or no strategic thinking and mostly decisions wer

Revealed: Details of India's Second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Ankit Panda)

INS Vishal ( Credits- You Tube screen capture) Source- The Diplomat Author- Ankit Panda India’s second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-2), the INS Vishal, the second Vikrant-class carrier, is slowly taking shape. Recently, the Indian Navy outlined the specifications of this carrier in a letter of request issued to shipbuilders worldwide. Many of the details, including the tonnage and the physical dimensions of the carrier, are in line with older expectations. For example, the Vishal will displace 65,000 tonnes—25,000 tonnes more than the first indigenous carrier, the INS Vikrant. The Indian Navy’s Naval Design Bureau clarified other features: the carrier will travel at 30 knots, a hair above the Vikrant, and come in at a length of 300 meters, longer than the 262 meter Vikrant. The Navy’s letter of request also outlines plans for the carrier to field between 30 and 35 fixed-wing combat aircraft and 20 rotary wing aircraft. In many ways, though this carrier will be the

Is India's Main Battle Tank Finally Doomed? ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Franz Stefan-Gady)

Arjun MBT ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Author- Anirvan Shukla) Source- The Diplomat Author- Franz Stefan-Gady Last week, the Indian Army released a global request for information (RFI) inviting responses by 31 July to develop a multi-purpose Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV) in order to replace older license-built Soviet-era main-battle tanks (MBTs). “The Indian Army is planning to design and develop a new generation, state-of-the-art combat vehicle platform for populating its armored fighting vehicle fleet in the coming decade. This vehicle, which will be called the future ready combat vehicle (FRCV), will form the base platform for the main battle tank which is planned to replace the existing T-72 tanks in the Armored Corps,” the RFI reads. The Indian military envisions the FRCV system as a platform for as many as 11 different tracked vehicles, including light tracked, wheeled, bridge layer and trawl tanks, self-propelled howitzers (SPH), air defense guns, art