Mighty India Power

The Agni-IV, India's latest strategic nuclear-capable missile, is among the world's best and better than Pakistan's missiles, VK Saraswat head of its developer, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said here on Wednesday. "I have no doubt that Agni-IV compares with what is available in its class of missiles like the Pershing (US medium range ballistic missile)," Saraswat said at a press conference when asked if India can now say its missile technology is superior to that of Pakistan. "If I am comparing Agni-IV with Pershing-I or Pershing-II missiles in terms of technology...I am talking in terms of technology, not in terms of range, as Pershing missiles have higher range...it meets global standards," he said, to stress the point. "Whether our missiles vis-a-vis our adversaries, it meets the Pershing standards or not, that you have to find out," he said in response to a comparison with Pakistan's balli...

India has tested the Shourya nuclear-capable surface/surface missile September 24, 2011, at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur off Orissa coast, about 15 km from Balasore. "The launch of the missile was perfect like in text book and followed the path exactly to the pre-defined target in the Bay of Bengal," S.P. Dash, director of the test range, said. Authorities evacuated more than 2,000 people living close to the launch site in Orissa state - shifting them to temporary shelters, due to security concerns over the test. This flight paves the way for its production and induction into the Services. It was designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads. The missile can be used by both the Navy and the Army because it could perform various roles.

Utility vehicles major Mahindra Group's maiden aircraft, the C-NM5, has completed a successful test flight, the company announced here Wednesday. The 45-minute flight of the C-NM5, conducted Sep 1, tested the basic handling of the 5-seater all-metal aircraft. Subsequent flights evaluated the aircraft stability and control under different flying conditions and further tests are continuing to comply with international regulatory standards before putting it up for global sales. The aircraft has been developed in a public-private partnership between National Aerospace Laboratories and Mahindra Group's Mahindra Aerospace, with GippsAero, Australia (a subsidiary of Mahindra Aerospace), said Anand Mahindra, vice chairman and managing director of the $12.5 billion Mahindra Group.

After launching development of stealth UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles), India is now also looking at designing solar-powered spy drones which can cruise in the sky for several days at a time.  "We are looking forward to develop solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a long range and endurance capability as we plan to diversify our expertise in UAV technology," Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) spokesperson Ravi Gupta said.  The one-of-its-kind UAV will be designed and developed to endure long-range sorties ranging up to a month in all weather conditions, Gupta said. The high-altitude, long endurance (HALE) solar-powered UAV will not just reduce Indian military's carbon footprint but more importantly provide a cost-effective and flexible 24x7 ISTAR (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance) platform akin to "a pseudo-satellite" orbiting closer to the ground.  Besides the armed forces, paramilitary p...

India is getting ready to add another fighter aircraft to its fleet with the DRDO working on an Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft. In a little over a decade from now the Indian Air Force will be needing replacements for its MiG-29, Mirage and Jaguar fighters. The DRDO through its Bangalore based Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) will unveil the design for that replacement to the air force brass next year, an indigenous design for a stealth aircraft  Director General VK Saraswat DRDO said, "Our requirement is to look for a fighter aircraft which will be required after 2025 and that aircraft should have all capabilities in terms of agility, maneuverability, load carrying capacity, low radar cross-section, super cruise."  The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft could be in the 20 tonne range and composite materials will comprise much of its structure. Weapons will be carried in internal concealed bays and It will be powered by two "Kaveri" engines.  "It will be p...

The export version of Russia's T-50 fifth-generation fighter, also called as the PAK-FA, is likely to compete in a South Korean tender for 60 fighter aircraft with advanced Stealth capability. The version is being jointly developed by India and Russia and will be ready to fly in 2016. India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will be a major beneficiary of this procurement as many of the aircraft electronics systems are to developed in India as part of the workshare agreement between India and Russia. The two countries are sharing the development cost of the project estimated at US$35 billion. A RiaNovosi report quoting an unnamed official of the Moscow based Center for Analysis of World Arms Trade said that the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) had expressed an interest in having the T-50 compete along with Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightening II Joint Strike Fighter, Boeing's F-15 Silent Eagle and the Eurofighter Typhoon. A report from Se...

Prahaar  (Sanskrit:प्रहार, Strike) is a solid fueled surface-to-surface guided short-range tactical ballistic missile by DRDO of India . It would be equipped with omni-directional warheads and could be used for hitting both tactical and strategic targets  DEVELOPMENT The Prahaar is the latest missile to be added to India's arsenal of ballistic missiles and was developed keeping in mind the Indian Army's 'Cold Start' doctrine, which envisions a rapid thrust by armored regiments into Pakistan in the event of a provocation. The Prahaar would play a key role in disrupting and destroying enemy infrastructures as well as lines of communication before Indian ground forces move in. The missile was developed with two main factors in mind:, accuracy and rapid response. Accuracy was important as it allows for the targeting of individual, 'tactical' targets, as opposed to an artillery strike or rocket barrage which is usually directed at broader areas of impact. The P...

Air Defence Ship  The construction of the first indigenous aircraft carrier 'Air Defence Ship' at Cochin is scheduled to be completed by December after which the 40,000 tonne vessel will be launched, the Lok Sabha was informed. "Regarding the ADS being constructed at the Cochin Shipyard limited (CSL), 75 per cent of hull work has been completed and is expected to be launched in December 2011, after which further work will be undertaken prior to its commissioning," Defence Minister A K Antony said on Monday in reply to a query. He said Indian-made warship quality steel was now available in the country, which will reduce the country's dependence on foreign sources. "With the infrastructure and experience, indigenous aircraft carrier-sized ships can be built at CSL. Now Indian-manufactured warship quality steel is available, which will reduce dependence on foreign countries," he said. Outlining India's plans to have an aircraft carrier on b...

India is working towards realising its dream - to create a re-usable satellite launch vehicle. An engineering model of what scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) call the re-usable launch vehicle, is currently housed at a secure and secret facility in Kerala. Covered with special heat resistant tiles, soon it will roar skywards. A reusable launch system (or reusable launch vehicle, RLV) is a launch system which is capable of launching a launch vehicle into space more than once. This contrasts with expendable launch systems, where each launch vehicle is launched once and then discarded. The news about Indian Space Shuttle is not new. In the end of 1980s and beginning of 1990s India had plans to develop the small Space Shuttle named Hyperplane that would to be orbited by non-reusable launchers. Then plans differed to project Avatar RLV as a single-stage system.AVATAR (Aerobic Vehicle for Hypersonic Aerospace TrAnspoRtation) is a single-stage reusable spaceplane ...

After launching development of stealth UCAVs (unmanned combat aerial vehicles), India is now also looking at designing solar-powered spy drones which can cruise in the sky for several days at a time. The high-altitude, long endurance (HALE) solar-powered UAV will not just reduce Indian military's carbon footprint but more importantly provide a cost-effective and flexible 24x7 ISTAR (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance) platform akin to "a pseudo-satellite" orbiting closer to the ground. "Yes, Army and IAF have asked us to develop the solar-powered HALE UAV. Initial work is in progress for such a drone which can undertake a 15-day continuous flight over 30,000-feet,'' DRDO's chief controller R&D (aeronautics) Dr Prahlada told TOI. The drone will harvest solar energy during the day, storing it in fuel cells to provide power for electric motors for night flying. "Solar efficiency is low but we are looking at a pay...

Another dimension to the ''moon mission'' may open up as Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning a joint mission with United States’ National Aeronautics Space Administration’s (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to collect samples from the moon. “This (project) is in the planning phase, alongside India’s lunar mission programme activities centered around ‘Chandrayaan II,”  ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan told a news conference here after the successful launch of PSLV-C16 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, 100 km North of Chennai. NASA is planning to execute this mission in the year 2016, while the ISRO will provide the “communicating orbiter” of the project, besides chipping in with a few scientific instruments, he said. That will be called the “Moonrise Mission.”

Reaffirming its workhorse tag, India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) today completed its 17th successful mission in a row when it launched the country's remote sensing satellite Resourcesat-2 from the spaceport of Sriharikota. Today's successful launch by PSLV-C16 , which also carried two nano satellites, has again demonstrated India's commercial launch capabilities in the multi-billion dollar global market in the sector. After overcoming the lone failure of PSLV-D1 launched on September 20, 1993, it has been a success story all the way for the ISRO's homegrown four-stage launch vehicle. Since 1994, PSLV, designed and developed by ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, has launched a total of 44 satellites, including 25 from abroad. Among the key launches undertaken by the PSLV are India's maiden moon mission Chandrayaan-I in October 2008, four Cartosats and Resourcesat-1. A standard PSLV version is 44 metres tall wi...

Recently India conducted a successful ballistic missile defence test which was capable enough to intercept and kill the incoming missile. This shows that Indian ballistic missile defence program comprising of long range tracking radar, command and control system and the interceptor, is maturing at a faster pace. As a result, the South Asian strategic stability would be challenged as there are diversification of threats and limited response options, BMD adds value to the complexity of the region. Read More...

ISRO today announced that it will launch three satellites, including an advanced remote sensing satellite to study and manage natural resources, on April 20. "Preparations for the launch of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C16) carrying Resourcesat-2 satellite are progressing well at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. In this mission, PSLV-C16 will launch Resourcesat-2, Youthsat and X-Sat satellites," the space agency said.

India today successfully tested a ballistic missile interceptor from a defence base in Orissa as part of its endeavour to create a shield against incoming enemy missiles. The indigenous interceptor 'Ballistic Missile Defence System' was fired from Wheeler Island off the Orissa coast near Dhamra in Bhadrak district, about 170km from here at 9.37am. It successfully destroyed the incoming ballistic missile. A modified version of Prithvi II was used as the target enemy missile and was fired from the the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur on sea in Balasore district, about 70km away from Wheeler Island across the sea. The interceptor was fired five minutes after the target missile was fired.

In a major announcement relating to India's moon mission - Chandrayaan-1, NASA has confirmed the discovery of water on the moon by Chandrayaan-1. This was announced by Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope, one of the most powerful space observatories in the world, The Chandra Altitudunal Composition Explorer (CHACE) on the night of November 14, 2008 made the dicovery. The CHACE was one of the three instruments on board Chandrayaan-1's indigenous Moon Impact Probe (MIP), which was dropped on to the Moon surface. The HST was launched in 1990 by Nasa space shuttle Discovery. HST's confirmation was announced recently by the American Astronomical Society which was made public on Saturday. It is a major boost to India's space programme. Referring to the AAS endorsement, Tirtha Pratim Das, a scientist who was a part of the CHACE project, said in Vikram Sarabhai Space Centres internal journal 'Voyage' : "The CHACE experiment on board the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) ...

The HAL Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) is a multirole combat helicopter being developed in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for use by the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army.

The Russian aircraft manufacturer United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) is entering a new era of cooperation with India, with the launching of the development of Prospective Multi-Role Fighter (PMF).  Embarked December 2010 by UAC, Irkut and HAL, it was inaugurated in a press conference held at Aero-India 2011. Mikhail Pogosyan, recently nominated the new general director of UAC presented his view of the evolving cooperation between the two countries. “The 5th Generation fighter is a most important step for the future relationship of the two countries’ said Pogosyan. The Russian T50 providing the basis for FGFA has already performed 40 flights and is undergoing ground testing,  using three test articles, undergoing various static ground tests. Two additional T50 prototypes will join the test unit this year, accelerating the development progress. Pogosyan expects the program to complete the first phase next year. He assured that the Indian concern for sharing technology in the pr...

Space commission have announced a Indo-US joint moon mission. The commission gave ISRO the go-ahead to partner with Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of the US, which has sent missions to Mars and Venus, for the project. The mission called Moonrise is slated for launch in 2016 and now it's for NASA to take the final call on the proposal. ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan said the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has invited proposals under its New Frontiers Programme announced in 2009. He said the proposal was an outcome of India-US cooperation announced during the visit of President Barack Obama to India last year. As per the cooperation agreement, ISRO will send a satellite to orbit around the moon to transmit data to control centers from the robotic rover JPL plans to send to the lunar surface. NDTV News

The 8th Aero India air show kicks off with some of biggest, fastest and deadliest aircraft on display. Once again, it's the Indian air force's multi-billion dollar fighter deal that's the focus of the show.

The 62 nd   Republic Day  Celebrations : Flag Hoisting Ceremony  by Hon'ble President of India Followed by Republic Day Parade from Rajpath Webcast by National Informatics Centre

India's first locally designed and manufactured Light Combat Aircraft 'Tejas' is formally inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) at a ceremony in Bangalore. Tejas was handed over to the Indian Air Force on Monday for what is called an initial operational clearance. IAF has already placed orders with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for 40 aircrafts, which is seen as a replacement for the MIG 21's. The multi-role supersonic aircraft have undergone a series of tests. Tejas has completed all test points for low level flights, off the coast of Goa. It has also conducted operations in the extreme climate of Leh and operated from an IAF air base in the South Western Air Command.

DRDO is finalizing the missile defense test  that will attempt to intercept an incoming target at an altitude of more than 93 miles - nearly twice the reach of previous intercepts. Defense Research and Development Organization Director General V.K. Saraswat told journalists "the trials are expected later this year." India's missile interceptors have successfully brought down missiles nearly 50 miles above the earth's surface during the earlier trials. DRDO researchers ultimately aims to increase the interception altitude capabilities to as much as 186 miles. India's missile defense program is comprised of extended-range radars and interceptors. The missile shield has had three successful tests in slightly more than four year