SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

A Promotional video of the LCA-Tejas realized by the DRDO shows first glimpses of the Uttam AeSA Fire Control Radar installed on one of the LSP-Tejas that has been used as a Testbed aircraft. Uttam Mk1 that will be seen on the LCA-Tejas Mk1A fleet will have 780 TR modules which will be installed on the last batch of 52 Mk1A that goes into production from 2026 onwards.

Mk1A will also be getting Astra Mk1 Beyond visual Range air to air missiles with a range of 110km for which presently systematic flutter testing to be followed by the inflight flutter and captive trials will commence in the next few months before the missile is cleared to fire.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

French Navy-owned Rafale-M which is in INS Hansa in Goa for the last two weeks to carry out flight-testing at the shore-based test facility (SBTF) has successfully demonstrated take off with 4 MBDA MICA IR/ EM, 2 2300 L Drop tanks, and 1 Exocet AM39 anti-ship missile.

If results are found satisfactory next round of trials might take place onboard INS Vikramaditya, where it will not only able to demonstrate regular take-offs and landing but also take down to hangar using lifts and perform engine swapping. Boeing re-commenced its F-18 E/F trials on the ski-jump facility in the states and similar trials will likely begin in March at SBTF in Goa said officials familiar with the matter to idrw.org.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

Marching this Republic Day Parade tableau will feature Suite of Sensors, Weapons & EW System for LCA-Tejas Mk1A Program. Uttam AESA Radar, Airborne Self Protection Jamming Pod (ASPJ), Rudram-1 an air-to-surface anti-radiation missile, Astra a beyond-visual-range active radar homing air-to-air missile, 1-ton Long Range Glide Bomb (LRGB), Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon (SAAW) a precision-guided anti-airfield weapon and 450kg Tara High-Speed Low Drag (HSLD) GPS / INS guidance and control kit and glide fin kit.

Interestingly none of the mentioned weapons systems have been tested onboard nor have been integrated yet. Prototypes of Uttam AESA Radar have commenced testing onboard two LSP jets and will be introduced from the 21st Tejas Mk1A aircraft. Airborne Self Protection Jamming Pod (ASPJ) is still undergoing testing onboard Su-30MKI but is yet to begin testing onboard Tejas.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

DRDO-Tata Motors developed Wheeled Armored Platform (WhAP) that was showcased for the first time in 2014 and only one unit inducted by the Indian Army for Internal testing bases might eventually might new customers in the Paramilitary forces as Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Assam Rifles will start trials of the newly built WhAP soon.

Tata Motors has started manufacturing pre-production WhAP customized as per requirements of the Para Military forces and soon will be transferred for user trials. Unlike the Army version that is equipped with stabilized 30 mm cannon 2A42 on the turret , the Paramilitary variant will only get a 7.62 mm PKT coaxial machine gun mounted to the left of the main armament with 2,000 rounds.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

A significant step towards Atmanirbhar in Defence and the first success story of Make-II Projects. Indian Army has signed the first contract today under Make-II for Maneuverable Expendable Aerial Target with Anadron Systems Pvt Ltd worth ?96 Cr, for Army Air Defence & Indian Air Force.

In 2018, the Indian Army had given its sanction for prototype development of ‘MEAT’ (Manoeuvrable Expendable Aerial Target) under the `Make II’ Category to give realistic training to the men during annual exercises for which the need for suitable aerial target system was felt.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

India has issued second a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for a launch of an experimental flight vehicle in the Bay of Bengal this month for the period from 22-25 January 2022 as per information provided by Twitter user @detresfa_. the designated area is 600km that indicates it might be a test of the HSTDV cruise vehicle mounted on a solid rocket motor .

India already has issued NOTAM for 19-21 January 2022 which seems to be for the BrahMos-ER , an Extended Range version of the BrahMos Supersonic Cruise missile. Defence Ministry already had asked DRDO to fast track Hypersonic missile program and it is expected that this time HSTDV will be tested without the shield. HSTDV program will be followed by Two separate hypersonic cruise missile programs under ” Project Vishnu”.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

Indian Air Force (IAF) along with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has decided to cancel earlier plans to procure 21 airframes that are in deep storage in Russia to be later upgraded with UPG Standard kit to boost its declining combat aircraft strength as per the latest media reports coming out of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) held recently.

IAF in 2020 had cleared the deal after inspecting the airframes that are in storage for the last 20 years after cancellation from an export customer and these airframes were never made into fully assembled jets due to which they were offered at a reasonable price.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

After Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved procurement of six additional P-8I aircraft for the Indian Navy in 2019, recent media reports suggest that DAC in consultation with the Navy has dropped plans to acquire more submarine hunters and rather focus now will be on the DRDO proposed development of Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft (MMMA) on Airbus developed C295 Transporter that would include three tactical consoles, an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, identification friend and foe equipment, an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor, and other equipment consistent with the maritime patrol mission.

Indian Navy has a fleet of 12 P-8I Neptune and the last four ordered in 2016 were delivered just recently and have begun operation from INS Hansa base in Goa under the Western naval command. Indian Navy was the first export customer of the P-8I Neptune when it placed orders for 8 aircraft in 2013 with Boeing and still has the largest fleet after United States Navy.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

The Department of National Defense of the Philippine government has issued a Notice of Award (NoA) to BrahMos Aerospace notifying that the proposal of the company has been accepted for the acquisition of the shore-based anti-ship missiles system for the Philippine Navy. The contract value of the first export BrahMos deal has been pegged at $375 million.

BrahMos Aerospace has been asked to carry out performance security which is similar to the security deposit that means a financial guarantee that the company needs to furnish as the successful tenderer for the due performance of the contract that already has been carried out.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

Indian Defence Ministry is planning to cancel many Request for Information (RFI), Request for Information (RFI), Request for Proposal (RFP) and Expression of Interest (EoI) floated over the last few years in response to stop the further import of defence equipment as now the government plans to give first preference would be given to the acquisition of Indian Developed Designed and Manufactured (IDDM) products.

Some of the projects that will be shelved are procurement of 5000 Igla-S Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) Missile Systems from Russia but Army will take deliveries of contracted orders for a small number of Igla-S systems from Russia under emergency procurement, but the preference will be given to the DRDO developed Man-Portable Air Defence System (MANPAD) that is under development and five units are presently under fabrication to be used for its developmental trials soon.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

India has issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) for a launch of an experimental flight vehicle in the Bay of Bengal for the period from 19-21 January 2022 as per information provided by Twitter user @detresfa_. the designated area is 780km that indicates it might be a test of the Extended range variant of BrahMos-ER.

But the designated area does seems to be quite similar to what was issued in September 2020 when the HSTDV cruise vehicle mounted on a solid rocket motor was tested. Defence Ministry already had asked DRDO to fast track Hypersonic missile program and it is expected that this time HSTDV will be tested without the shield. HSTDV program will be followed by Two separate hypersonic cruise missile programs under ” Project Vishnu”.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

European missile firm MBDA is currently offering the Indian Navy its New Long-Range Anti-ship Missile System With Land Attack Capability ” TESEO MK2/E “, which the company claims has a range of 350km at very low altitude against all classes of warship and land targets, that relies on an advanced mission planning system that allows it to operate in congested and cluttered scenarios.

TESEO MK2/E is Low radar signature, High subsonic cruise missile that weighs only 700kgs which supports Salvo firing and has a two-way data link system, for target update/reassignment mid air.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari speaking to Vayu Aerospace has confirmed that the Indian Air Force (IAF) is looking to procure more CH-47 Chinook Helicopters for which it has started the process to get it cleared from the Cabinet Committee on Security later this year.

India had finalized a multi-billion dollar contract with Boeing to procure 22 Apache helicopters and 15 Chinooks for the IAF in September 2015. The original contract had provision for follow-on orders of 6 AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters that were cleared in 2019 but this time it will be operated by the Indian Army’s Aviation Corps (AAC). IAF likely will press for 7 follow-on orders of CH-47 Chinook Helicopters that are part of the original contract but idrw.org has been told CCS might clear only 4-5 units due to the high procurement cost of these Boeing built helicopters.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

ADE Director Dr. S Venugopal speaking to Dr. Anantha Krishnan Tarmak Media House has said that Rustam-1 SR ( Short range)-UAV that was developed to be a testbed for the bigger MALE Class Rustam-2 is an excellent UAV, to begin with, and it was later decided that the DRDO developed air to surface missile system for the UAV Class will be integrated into the UAV that is now been called Archer.

Venugopal said that the advantage of Archer and Rustam-2 is that both use the same avionics and systems including LRUs and Ground stations that can operate both UAVs with a switch of software that will reduce maintenance and logistics issues for the squadron that will be operating both classes of drones from its base.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG.

South Asian Terrorism Portal (SATP) that keep track of military and paramilitary casualties in the South Asian countries said in its latest report that Pakistan armed forces are taking more casualties than their bigger Indian counterpart in the last three years and fatalities are only rising and last year alone Pakistani armed force suffered over double the casualties then India.

According to SATP Data, In 2019 Pakistan had 137 casualties while India had 132, but 2020 saw a rise in Pakistani casualties that jumped to 178 while in India it went down to 106. 2021 in the backdrop of Taliban take over Afghanistan and TTP increasing frequency of its attacks on Pakistani forces it suffered 226 casualties while Indian casualties were the same as the previous year at 104.