Mighty India Power

India agreed to buy 80 Mil Mi-17V-5 helicopters worth $1.2 billion during a visit to Delhi by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev early this month. These will replace 35-year old Mi-8 choppers the Indian Air Force currently flies. The deal includes weapons options and an offset obligation worth $405 million. Accompanying Medvedev were Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdukov and United Aircraft Corp. chief Alexei Fedorov. Most of the key Indo-Russian defense projects were discussed during the visit, including the joint development of a fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA); modernization and transfer of Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov to India; multipurpose cargo aircraft, a long-mooted joint development; and the delivery of more Su-30MKI combat aircraft and licensed production by Hindustan Aeronautics.  Regarding the FGFA, Fedorov said the two countries would sign a contract early next year to jointly develop the fighter. Sukhoi is already working on the project. Add...

Indian defence scientists have successfully tested the Russian-manufactured Smerch (Tornado) Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). At least five tests, which gauged flight stability, accuracy and consistency, were held at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur.  "The Smerch can launch 12 rockets at a time," a defence scientist told Express Buzz. "It is able to fire single rockets or salvo from two to all 12 rockets. A full salvo lasts 38 seconds." The scientist also explained that the MLRS was capable of launching surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles. "The system can be integrated with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to provide a new dimension to artillery defence system," he added. According to Army Technology, the 9K58 Smerch 300mm MLRS was designed to defeat soft and hard-skinned targets, artillery and missile systems. The MLRS fires a 300mm 9M55K rocket with a solid propellant rocket motor capable of a 20-70km range. The 9M55K rocke...

India is soon to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the United States to boost its missile defence system. The MoU is aimed at giving India the state of the art technology that will allow it to intercept any threat from ballistic missiles. In the cold war era Russian and Americans were in a state of conflict, tension and competition. Both the superpowers were engaged in costly defence spending and in a massive conventional and nuclear arms race and numerous proxy wars. Then American President Reagan's dream-dubbed star war didn't quite shape up but was scaled down to a more realistic version of ground-based anti-missile systems. India's Agni missile -- a strategic strike missile -- is being tested. Now, India is joining hands with the United States of America to create its own missile shield to protect and destroy. The missile defence programme is intended to be a defensive screen with the ability to track and destroy incoming ballistic missiles. The command ...

BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with a strike-range of 290 kms was on Thursday successfully test-fired in a vertical launch configuration for the first time by the Indian Navy. With this launch, BrahMos has become the world's first and only supersonic cruise missile capable of being launched from both vertical and inclined positions from naval platforms. "BrahMos missile was successfully test fired in vertical-launch configuration from an Indian Navy ship in the Bay of Bengal today," Defence Ministry sources said. The test, the sources said, was carried out at midday from a moving Rajdoot class warship. The vertical launcher used in the test has been designed and developed by the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Corporation. "The test has proved and demonstrated the new universal vertical launcher designed and developed by the Corporation," they said. "The mission objectives of the test were fully achieved," the sources said. The launch, carrie...

India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) has achieved a major milestone when its prototype landed at Leh air base in the high-altitude Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. "Tejas (LCA) programme reached a major milestone when the prototype vehicle PV-3 landed at Leh on December 13 this year at 1326 hours," Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials said here on Tuesday. The event is seen as significant on many counts as Leh airfield is situated at an altitude of 10,600 feet and is one of the highest airfields in the world with a temperature variation ranging from plus 5 degrees Celsius to minus 20 degrees Celsius. The objective of the current phase of flight trials at Leh was to expose the on-board systems to the extreme low temperatures while making an assessment of the aircraft performance in the rarefied atmospheric conditions, DRDO officials said. Two Tejas prototypes PV-3 and LSP-2 were involved in this important environmental test. The LSP...

A missile defence system for the national capital is being deployed by the Indian Air Force. Three Israeli-made balloon or blimp-held radar called Aerostat will be deployed around New Delhi after an intelligence alert of a threat from low-flying aircraft. An Aerostat is also being deployed in Agra for the Taj Mahal. The Aerostat-based missile defence system is a generation behind the systems used by the US. India is in talks with the US and Russia to check out their more advanced missile defence systems (such as the Patriot III and the SV-300). Its Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is also carrying out trials for an indigenous Prithvi Air Defence system. The Aerostat radar has been used along the international border in Punjab and in Gujarat (Kutch). The radar is currently in use in south India after the LTTE used aircraft to bomb Sri Lankan military facilities last year. An official of the Indian Air Force said the decision was taken after defence minister A.K. ...