SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is working on Combat Air Teaming System (CATS), a planned unmanned and manned combat aircraft air teaming system with Private sector company NewSpace Research & Technologies. In Its new promo video, it showcased a Rotary Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (RUAV) that seems to be based on the ALH-Dhruv platform.

ALH-Dhruv RUAV can be seen launching Air Launched Flexible Asset-Swarm (ALFA-S) loitering munition in the promo video. ALH-Dhruv RUAV will be the latest addition to the CATS program that was not showcased earlier with the ability to take off and land on warships capable of carrying helicopters.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

Upping its recent offer to co-develop a 116kN “Enhanced Performance Engine” or “EPE” variant of baseline F-414 engine for India’s 5th generation AMCA fighter jet program, General Electric officials claimed to idrw.org that the EPE variant will be backward compatible and can be re-equipped on aircraft that are already powered by the baseline F-414 engine without requiring any modification to the rear lower fuselage or its engine bay section.

EPE will have the same length, max diameter, and inlet diameter as the baseline F-414 engine, other than changes to a few internal components like fuel line pipe and a few of the sensor positions it will be plug and play system for aircraft that are already flying with F-414 engines.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

Jayadeva E.P, Director (Operations) at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at the Investor meeting said that once HAL and the Indian Air Force (IAF) finalize equipment and systems that will be upgraded on 150 units of Sukhoi-30MKI, HAL will approach Russia for its approvals to the Super Sukhoi program since it is the OEM of the product and many components and spares still come from Russia.

Jayadeva confirmed that Sukhoi-30MKI will be getting largely Indian-made systems like AESA Fire Control Radar developed by DRDO’s LRDE, New Mission Computers, Upgraded Cockpit by HAL, New IRST system from BEL, and several other systems like LRUs from Indian vendors, while it is still depended on Russia for some components for its engines.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

BrahMos might be the Gold standard when it comes to cruise missile technology but it is also very expensive and India can make no more than 15 units in a month in case of prolonged war, BrahMos inventory will deplete fast as seen in the Russia-Ukraine war where Russia is running out of precision-guided cruise missile due to shortage of western chips due to which Top brass at Indian Army after multiple deliberations soon will allow proposals from Private sector companies.

idrw.org has been told that few Private sector companies have offered to develop low-cost cruise missiles that can be used as tactical weapons systems that are not only cheaper to manufacture but production of which can be ramped up when required.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

Last month, A Team from the Aircraft Research & Design Centre (ARDC) of HAL along with employees of a Private sector company were in Indian Air Force Museum, Palam to scan and create a 3D CAD Model of the complete fixed-wing fighter jet that has been long retired and now is on display.

The aircraft that was scanned was none other than the Hindustan Fighter -24 (HF-24) Marut which was the first fighter jet that was developed in independent India in the early 60s and then was retired from the IAF in 1985 onwards.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

Indian Army has issued a request for proposal (RFP) for 250 All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) under emergency procurement through Fast Track Procedure (FTP) under Buy (Indian) category. RFP calls for 50-60% Indigenous content in the ATVs that can accommodate 4 personnel including a driver that has a powerpack no less than that 150bhp that can carry a payload of 600kg and weighs less than 2 tons.

ATVs are to be operated up to 17000 feet and are Heli-portable by IAF’s Chinook/Mi-26 for underslung and should be Para droppable. Indian Army RFP mandates the Demonstration of the equipment at Buyer Nominated Location in High Altitude Area.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

Defense PSUs Hindustan Aeronautic Limited (HAL) in its Annual Report 2021-22 confirmed that under the company’s new initiatives it has started the development of the Hindustan Lead in fighter Trainer (HLFT-42) program. HLFT-42 being a LIFT aircraft it was assumed that it will be based on the Baseline LCA-Tejas Trainer since HAL earlier had shown the LCA Trainer in the LIFT Concept.

Jayadeva E.P, Director (Operations) at HAL at the Investor meeting said that HLFT-42 will be a low-cost alternative to the LCA-Tejas Trainer which will be all metal and will not have a Digital fly by wire (FBW) system, instead, it will have a power-assisted flight controls system (FCS).

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

SOV-400, a new submarine design from Larsen & Toubro has a submerged displacement of 550 tons and can be armed with two 533mm heavyweight torpedoes carried externally will be getting some major upgrades to its capabilities that will include a new Lithium-ion battery pack to make it much more lethal and now plans to promote the Midget submarine at the export market.

idrw.org was told by L&T officials at the recently concluded Def Expo 2022 that the Indian Navy has not shown much interest in the program, even though the Indian Navy wanted two midget submarines initially and 3 at later stages to strengthen its underwater capability for covert operations and surveillance missions in shallow waters by the Marine commandos but SOV-400 doesn’t seem to fit the bill.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

Ambassador Dinesh Bhatia recently met Chief of Joint Staff of the Argentina Armed Forces-Teniente General Juan Martin Paleo as a follow-up meeting after his recent trip to India where he and his team visited the Hindustan Aeronautic Limited (HAL) facility in Bengaluru to check out LCA-Tejas, LCH, and LUH.

A top-level Argentinian delegation also had visited the recently concluded DefExpo 2022 in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar as both countries continue to explore new partnerships in the defense sector.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

International Aerospace and Defence companies that have registered Subsidiaries in India have approached the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to express their interest in becoming part of supply chain for India’s proposed next-generation AMCA fighter jet program that is to be executed under a public-private joint venture between the DRDO, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Private players in India.

idrw.org has been told that there is now a question as to what it means to be an Indian company, does a subsidiary of a foreign Aerospace company can be classified as an Indian company or it still will be considered a foreign entity and will be kept out Indigenous defense programs in the country.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

After getting backing from the former Chairman of HAL, now Air Chief Marshal (Retd) Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria in a recent media interaction said that India should pursue the development of a more advanced variant of the Kaveri engine even though AMCA will be getting a new 110kN class of engine that will be co-developed with a foreign OEM.

idrw.org was the first to report a few months back that former heads of Defence PSUs and eminent scientists and engineers are backing the development of a 90kN class of engine that will be further developed based on the existing Dry Kaveri engine Core that is under development for the Country’s UCAV program.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

Indian Army has issued Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the procurement of 375 Light Bullet Proof Vehicles under ‘Buy Indian’ under the Fast Track Procedure. LBPV should be able to withstand a direct hit of 7.62mm SLR, 5.56 mm INSAS, and 7.62mm AK-47 round and two-hand Grenade exploding directly under the vehicle.

Gross Vehicle Weight should not be more than 4500 Kg that can carry Min 600 Kgs including a Driver + Co-Dvr + 4 fully equipped soldiers with battle loads comfortably.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

General Electric (GE) has submitted a proposal for the co-development of a new engine for India’s AMCA 5th generation fighter program that will be based on the baseline 116 kN thrust derivative of the existing GE’s F414 engine confirmed Youngje Kim, GE Aviation’s vice-president for Asia-Pacific Region Military Systems Operation to BW Businessworld in an exclusive interview.

The United States of America in 2019 stated that its export control regime prevented transferring of the core technology that was requested by India due to which talks between both countries had failed. Kim confirmed that all the technology asked by India previously has been offered now to avoid European Engine manufacturers clinching this deal.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has started work on Long-Range Precision Munition that will give India’s Prachand Combat Helicopter stand-off range that can neutralize targets in a range up to 20-25 km or more. Since the program is at the initial stages, it will be equipped with other Air-launched ATGMs.

DRDO-developed Stand-off Anti-tank (SANT) Missile has claimed a range of 10-12km and Helina / Dhruvastra ATGM has claimed a range of 5-8km which have already completed their developmental trials and have been cleared for induction and will be armed on Prachand and ALH-WSI Rudra soon. idrw.org has been told that State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited will commence trials of SANT and Helina / Dhruvastra ATGM Missiles from 2023 onwards on Prachand.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

HAL’s 1200kW Turboshaft engine that completed High altitude cold weather trials at Leh last year will be ready for trials and will complete certification by 2025 as per details provided to idrw.org. HTSE-1200 engine can be used as a power plant for 3 to 6-ton category helicopters.

The HTSE-1200 engine developed by HAL Engine Division at Koraput in association with Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL) is HAL’s effort to reduce its dependency on the French Safran that has been providing rotary engines for LUH and ALH Engine programs.