Mighty India Power

March 29 had been selected for a landmark attempt: The first flight of the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH). Already a year late, and facing criticism for having gone several hundred kilograms overweight, the LCH had much to prove. Attack helicopters involve the most complex aeronautical, stealth, sensor and weapons technologies. HAL's state-of-the-art LCH aims to gatecrash an exclusive club of light attack helicopters that includes Eurocopter's Tiger and China's ultra-secret Zhisheng10 (Z-10). In high-altitude performance, the LCH will be in aclass by itself: Taking off from Himalayan altitudes of 10,000 feet, operating rockets and guns up to 16,300 feet, and launching missiles at UAVs flying at over 21,000 feet. At 3.30 pm, the twin Shakti engines roared to a crescendo and the LCH pilots, Group Captains Unni Pillai and Hari Nair, lifted off the ground. The futuristic helicopter, all angles and armoured sheets, flew for adistance just a few feet above the runway; t...

On April 1, the Indian Navy will launch a new warship, a missile destroyer in the P-15 alpha class. The indigenously made destroyer was built at India's biggest warship-building shipyard, the Mazgaon Docks in Mumbai. "This is the third ship of the Project 15 alpha class which are essentially the follow ons of the very successful Delhi-class. They are missile destroyers and one very big difference is that most of the weapon systems are entirely indigenous. So it is a very big landmark. Now this 15 alpha has even better equipment fit, various systems are more advanced than even the Delhi class. So it is a much better ship," says retired Vice Admiral H S Malhi, Chairman and MD, Mazgaon Docks Limited.

In a hat-trick for missile technologists and the armed forces in the last two days, Agni-I, which can carry nuclear weapons and has range of 700 km, was flight-tested successfully from the Wheeler's Island, off the Orissa coast, on Sunday. The ship-based Dhanush and Prithvi-II were test-fired in a salvo mode on Saturday. The medium range surface-to-surface Agni-I, fired at 1.07 hours from a mobile launcher, homed in on the target within a few metres of accuracy as it splashed down in the Bay of Bengal. The launch was carried out by Army personnel as part of a training exercise. Best-ever launch Describing it as one of the best-ever launches, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials said the specialised navigation and guidance system enabled the missile to reach the target with a high degree of accuracy after a 500-second flight duration. During the course of the flight, it reached an altitude of 300 km and re-entered the atmosphere, withstanding high temperatu...

India today successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable, 700-km range ballistic missile Agni-I from Wheeler Island off the Orissa coast, a day after launching two other short-range missiles. "It was a fantastic mission carried out by the Indian Army. The test-firing of the Agni-I missile met all parameters," S P Dash, the director of Integrated Test Range on the island, about 100 km from here, told PTI. Fired from a rail mobile launcher, the surface-to-surface, single-stage missile, powered by solid fuel, roared into the sky leaving behind a column of thick orange and white smoke at about 1305 hours. "After piercing the sky, the missile re-entered the earth's atmosphere and its dummy warhead impacted in the waters of the Bay of Bengal in the down range," a defence official said from the launch site, adding that the guidance and re-entry system worked well. The missile was equipped with a new navigational technology which helps it to home on to the target. During...

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D3), fitted with an indigenous cryogenic stage, from Sriharikotta in April, and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15) in May, P. S Veeraraghavan, Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, said on Wednesday. Terming the launch of the GSLV-D3 by April-end "a landmark in indigenous technology," he said the vehicle would put into orbit an advanced communication satellite (GSAT- 4). "So far we have been using Russian cryogenic engine." Mr. Veeraraghavan was speaking at the inaugural of a seminar on 'Application of nuclear and space technology for the benefit of farmers,' here. The PSLV-C15 would put into orbit Cartosat 2B, an Algerian satellite, two Canadian nano-satellites and a satellite developed by students of various colleges in Karnataka some time in the beginning of May. Growing demand There was a growing demand for more communication satel...

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing for big launches this year that will a landmark for the technology developed within the country. The Indian space agency will launch a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D3) in April and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15) in May from Sriharikotta, indicated the Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, P. S Veeraraghavan on Wednesday. The launch in April will include an indigenous cryogenic stage. Mr. Veeraraghavan described the achievement as "a landmark in indigenous technology," as the agency was using cryogenic engines from Russia until now. He was speaking at a seminar on 'Application of nuclear and space technology for the benefit of farmers' when he expressed that the launch vehicle will put an advanced communication satellite called GSAT- 4 into the orbit. The other vehicle, PSLV-C15 will put into orbit Cartosat 2B along with an Algerian satellite, two nano-satellites from Can...

India on Saturday successfully testfired indigenously developed ballistic missiles ’Prithvi—II’ and ‘Dhanush’ from different locations off the Orissa coast, adding more firepower to the armed forces. “The tests were successful. Both the missiles testfired early today met all the parameters,” the director of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, S P Dash, told PTI. While the ‘Prithvi-II’ was testfired from complex-3 of ITR Chandipur, 15 km from here, from a mobile launcher at around 0548 hours, the ‘Dhanush’ was fired from INS-Subhadra in the Bay of Bengal near Puri at around 0544 hours by the Navy personnel as part of user training exercise. The test firing of the short-range, surface-to-surface ’Prithvi-II’ ballistic missile having a range of 295 km, which has already been inducted into the armed forces, was a user trial by the Army. The sleek missile is “handled by the strategic force command”, the sources said. Prithvi, the first ballistic missile developed under the country...

Defence Minister A.K. Antony commissioned ICGS Vishwast, a new generation Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel (OPV), at an impressive ceremony here Wednesday. 'Vishwast, meaning 'Trustworthy', is a projection of the Indian Coast Guard's will and commitment to maritime order and security,' a defence ministry statement said. ICGS Vishwast, the first of its class, has been indigenously designed and built by the Goa Shipyard Limited and is equipped with the most advanced navigational and communication sensors. The special features of the ship include an integrated bridge system, an integrated machinery control system, a high-power external firefighting system and an indigenously built gun mount. The infrared surveillance system to be installed on board will provide additional capability to detect targets at night that otherwise could evade radar detection due to their small size or rough weather. The ship is designed to carry one helicopter and five high-speed boats for ...

As part of building a two-layered Ballistic Missile Defence shield, India will conduct a missile interceptor test off the Orissa coast on Sunday. During the test, an indigenously-developed Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile will engage and destroy an incoming target missile, a modified Prithvi, in an endo-atmospheric interception at a low altitude of 15 km. The Prithvi will take off from the Launch Complex-3 at Integrated Test Range in Balasore. Within minutes, theAAD, will be fired from the Wheeler Island. As the target missile climbs to an altitude of 120 km and descends rapidly, the AAD, equipped with a radio frequency seeker, will zero in onto the “hostile” projectile and destroy it at a low altitude. Sunday's test will be the fourth such test being carried out by scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

India is to testfire its indigenously developed Advanced Air Defense (AAD) missile off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa Sunday, Press Trust of India (PTI) cited Defence Ministry sources as saying Saturday. "The missile, which is capable of destroying any hostile ballistic missile at a low altitude, will be testfired from the Intergrated Test Range in Wheeler Islanad in Chandipur in the state's Balasore district. The missile is to destroy a target in mid-air over Bay of Bengal. The interception is to take place at low altitude," the sources said. AAD is an anti-ballistic missile designed to intercept incoming ballistic missiles in endo-atmosphere at an altitude of 30 km. AAD is single stage, solid fueled missile. On Dec 2007, AAD successfully intercepted a modified Prithvi- II missile acting as an incoming ballistic missile enemy target. The endo-atmospheric interception was carried out at an altitude of 15 km. On March 6, 2009, India again successfully tested its ...

Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) is all set to launch its Agni-V missile by early 2011, said DRDO distinguished scientist and Chief Controller (R&D), Life Sciences, Dr W Selvamurthy on Thursday. Selvamurthy was addressing presspersons at the Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL). “The Agni-V ‘surface to surface missile’ will be able to cover 5,000 km radius with a pay load of 1.5 tonne of both nuclear and conventional warfare,” he said. Selvamurthy said that Agni-V was a three-stage missile unlike Agni-III- -which was a stage 2 missile. He said that the Agni-V could be called an ‘Inter Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM)’ since it had the capacity to cover 5,000 km radius. On the Agni-III missile, he said the tests conducted on the missile have been satisfactory and the army will take its decision regarding the induction of the missile. He said that space security is also a major concern. “DRDO has not taken up any antisatellite space programme. But if required, ...

The Indian Army is gearing up to test fire the indigenously-built Nag anti-tank missile from Rajasthan in May. The short-range missile, developed by Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, will be inducted in the Army after completing the final round of test trials, sources said. The Army has earmarked Rs 335 crore to buy 443 Nag missiles. Nag is a third generation missile which operates on the “fire-and-forget” principle. While the land version of the missile has a range of 4 to 6 km, its air version has a range of 7 to 8 km. The 42-kg missile can fly at a speed of 230 meters per second.

Communities across the country are going gaga over Google. With hopes of becoming a test bed for the online search giant's ultra-fast Internet network, Topeka, Kansas, temporarily changed its name to Google. Duluth, Minnesota, created a spoof YouTube video mocking Topeka's effort, pledging to rename every first-born male Google Fiber and female Googlette Fiber. Highlands Ranch, a suburb south of Denver, is gathering community members to form a human "We Love Google" sign at a local high school football stadium. "We know we have to do something unusual to get Google's attention," said Jamie Noebel, community-relations manager for Highlands Ranch. Google announced plans last month to a build a fiber-optic network that would offer residential Internet speeds of 1 gigabit per second - about 100 times faster than the speeds available to most Americans today. Put another way, users would be able to download a high-definition movie in less th...

No.F.1/4/2009-Estt(Pay-I) Government of India Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Department of Personnel & Training New Delhi the 8th March, 2010. OFFICE MEMORANDUM Subject: Restriction of officiating pay under FR 35 - clarification - regarding. The undersigned is directed to say that in terms of the provisions contained in Fundamental Rule 35, the Central Government may fix the pay of an officiating Government Servant at an amount less than that admissible under the Fundamental Rules. Accordingly, orders have been issued from time to time indicating the circumstances and the extent to which provisions of FR 35 would apply. ThisDepartment's OM NO. 18/7/98-Estt (Pay-I) dated 15th December, 1998 lays down the ceilings based on the pay scales sanctioned by the Government on the recornendation of the Fifth Central Pay Comission. 2. The question of revising these ceilings consequent upon implementation of CCS(RP) Rules, 2008, which have replaced...

After the moon, it is destination Mars for the Indian space agency. Work on the next generation launch vehicle Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III, planned for a 2011 launch, took a big leap with the ground test of liquid core stage late on Friday. Scientists conducted the static test or ground firing of its liquid core stage (L110) of GSLV Mk III launch vehicle for 150 seconds, monitoring about 500 parameters, at the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) test facility at Mahendragiri on March 5, 2010, evening. The next static test for 200 seconds will be conducted after analysis of this data. The next-gen rocket is world's third largest in fuel mass and length and its 200-ton 25-m long solid propellant rocket booster - next only to US and Europe space shuttles -- has been developed in house. Indian Space Research Organization [ISRO] officials say the new 42m or 12-storey building high 6.3 ton rocket can put a four-ton satellite in orbit while also pac...

The Indian Defense Ministry’s Sixth Land and Naval Defense Systems Exhibition held in New Delhi last month showcased newly inducted equipment by the country’s navy and army. Defexpo 2010 saw over 650 companies from around the world display their products and systems for possible acquisition by India’s military. But the indigenously developed Shaurya missile, capable of being fired underwater by Indian submarines, was the pièce de résistance of the exhibition. The missile is a canister-launched, solid-fuelled hypersonic surface-to-surface tactical weapon capable of carrying a payload of conventional or nuclear warheads. With a range of 700 to 1,900 kilometers, the trajectory of the missile, unlike ballistic missiles, can be preprogrammed to make it difficult for anti-missile systems to intercept. Using conventional fuel-air explosive warheads, the missile can cause devastation similar to that of a mini-nuke. The missile has been optimized for the Indian nuclear submarine program, ...

Forty-eight hours after the news about Chandrayaan-1's discovery of ice on the moon, here comes more good news. On Thursday, Isro successfully tested a new generation high performance sounding rocket marking a major step towards low-cost access to space by India. "Today's flight marks a major step towards developing a low-cost access to space," Isro chief spokesperson S Satish told TOI, while pointing out that there could be another test during the next three months. Designated as advanced technology vehicle (ATV), it weighed three tonnes and is the heaviest sounding rocket ever developed by Isro. The launch took place at 8.30am in Sriharikota. Satish said for the first time India tested air breathing propulsion technology. The rocket reached an altitude of 46 km in 120 seconds after lift off. It then splashed into Bay of Bengal — the total duration of the mission being 240 seconds. Once fully operational these hi-tech sounding rockets have the capability to f...

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted the flight testing of its new generation high performance sounding rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) on Wednesday. Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV-D01), weighing 3 tonnes at lift-off, is the heaviest sounding rocket ever developed by the ISRO. It carried a passive scramjet engine combustor module as a test bed for demonstration of Air- Breathing propulsion technology.During the flight, the vehicle successfully dwelled for 7 seconds in the desired conditions of Mach number (6 + 0.5) and dynamic pressure (80 + 35 kPa). These conditions are required for a stable ignition of active scramjet engine combustor module planned in the next flight of ATV. The successful flight testing of ATV-D01 is a step ahead towards the advanced technology initiative taken up by the ISRO in the area of Air- Breathing propulsion.

In less than two weeks, India will test its Ballistic Missile Defence shield again, by launching an interceptor missile to kill an incoming “enemy” ballistic missile mid-flight. This is the fourth time that the Defence Research and Development Organisation will be testing its interceptor missile. While the incoming missile will lift off from the Integrated Test Range at Balasore in Orissa, the interceptor will blast off from the launch complex on the Wheeler Island, off Damra village, said V.K. Saraswat, Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister. A variant of the Prithvi missile will mimic the enemy’s ballistic missile trajectory. An Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile will confront and kill it, in endo-atmosphere, at an altitude of less than 20 km. The launch window is between March 10 and 15. The Prithvi is a single stage, surface-to-surface missile that uses liquid fuel. The AAD is a single stage anti-ballistic missile that uses solid fuel. It is 7.5 metres long. The DRDO sc...