SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

The German Defence Minister is expected to visit India next month with a formal proposal to India on its previous offer of a Government-to-Government (G2G) deal for the sale of six ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Next-Generation submarines.

idrw.org previously reported that after Germany made an informal offer earlier this year, India requested Germany to send a formal offer because India also wants to know details of ToT and other liability conditions. After all, these submarines are to be built in Indian shipyards under licensing agreements and with ToT between Mazgaon Docks Ltd. (MDL) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T).

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

According to prominent Journalist ” Saurav Jha “, the Royal Saudi Army that had carried out Desert trials of Pune-based Kalyani Group manufactured Bharat 52, a 155 millimetre (mm), 52 calibres (cal) towed howitzer and Garuda V2, a 105 mm gun mounted on a light vehicle chassis for added mobility in 2020 has placed orders with India for one of the systems of late.

Royal Saudi Army operates the GC-45 howitzer, a 155 mm howitzer that was designed by Gerald Bull’s Space Research Corporation (SRC), the company that was later acquired by the Kalyani Group. Bharat 52 is a GC-45 howitzer in modern Avatar with an upgraded 52-cal barrel with overhaul major improvements in electronics.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

Lockheed Martin and Boeing have begun work on the integration of the AGM-158C LRASM (Long Range Anti-Ship Missile), a stealth anti-ship cruise missile developed into P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) with plans to conclude flight testing and platform integration trials by 2025.

idrw.org has learned that Indian Navy which operates 12 P-8I Neptune Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA)has been eyeing a long-range Anti-Ship Missile for its P-8I fleet for a while now and likely will be interested in the purchase to supplement its AGM-84L Harpoon Block II AShM. Indian Navy has a potential requirement for 100 Next-Gen AShM and LRASM might be on offer to India for its Requirements.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

India and Russia might allow a formal round of talks between two agencies that will be involved in the development of BrahMos-II Hypersonic Cruise Missiles (HCM) later this year as India might get some of the technology from the Russian 3M22 Zircon HCM program.

BrahMos Corporation, a Joint venture between an Indian and Russian company that worked on the BrahMos Supersonic cruise missile will be involved in the program again and India has shown a key interest in the development of a ship-based HCM program to increase its offensive capabilities in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) sources indicated to idrw.org,

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited or Midhani, the Defence Ministry public sector metallurgy unit, has produced a Titanium alloys hub using state of art Titanium casting technology that will reduce the weight of the main battle tanks as per Dr SK Jha, CMD of Midhani.

Titanium alloys have a high strength-to-weight ratio and excellent corrosion resistance, which results in lower maintenance costs.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

India-made Israeli Tavor X 95 rifles made locally in India by Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems under licence from Israel Weapons Industries (IWI) which is already in service with the army’s Special Forces, Navy’s MARCOS and IAF’s Garud Commandos, besides the Border Security Force is getting attention from many African militaries that are keen to conduct locally trials of the Guns for evaluation purposes.

Tavor X 95 rifles assembled in India based on 100 per cent transfer of technology from IWI. The Tavor X95 (also referred to as the MTAR-21) is the variant of the Tavor that was selected as the future standard infantry weapon of the IDF in 2009.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

In the first-ever joint conference between the Indian and African army chiefs in Pune, with 10 army chiefs from Africa as attendees and 31 representatives from the office of the Army chief, India has made the pitch to supply a whole range of Indian-made weapons to the African countries ranging from Akash Air Defence System, Pinaka Rockets to Arjun Main Battle Tanks as many countries are now thinking of shifting from Russia for their weapons requirements.

India is further increasing its line of credit to African countries to procure Indian-made weapons and also has offered deferred payments and lower interest rates from Indian banks with assured local and regional offices of Indian defence companies for procured weapons systems.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

India’s defence export list has been revealed by the Ministry Of Defence (MoD) confirming that India has secured export orders for the first time for its indigenously developed Akash air defence missile systems that are already in service with Indian Army and Indian Air force.

But MoD has not revealed the export customer for the Akash air defence missile system yet with speculation with it either being Armenia or Sudan.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence (SCOD) has advised the Indian Air Force (IAF) to reduce the number of aircraft types in its fleet to have fewer operational as well as maintenance issues and to enhance the efficiency of the fighter fleet, IAF fighter fleet typically consists of 6-7 different fighter types procured from different countries.

IAF has reportedly told SCOD that it procures a mix of low, mid and high-tier fighter jets for different operational roles but in future, it plans to achieve certain commonalities with Made in India fighter jets that will share certain levels of commonality either because of engine or avionics.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

India’s defence export list that has been revealed by the Ministry Of Defence (MoD) confirms that sales for last year also included the indigenous Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) 155 mm/52 calibre howitzer Guns from Armenia instead of Truck mounted 155 mm/52 calibre howitzer Guns.

Last year Defence ministry remained mum on which Artillery Gun System was procured by Armenia that will be manufactured by the Indian Private sector company Bharat Forge, part of Kalyani Group.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

Indian Army is looking to procure 90-95 units of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited developed Prachand, a light attack helicopter from an originally envisioned fleet of 114 units. Indian Army will be operating 5 units of Limited Serial Production (LSP) batch of Prachand to carry out final internal trials before it inks the final order for the fleet.

Indian Army is also waiting for the commencement of trials for the Helina Anti-Tank Guided Missile System trials from the Prachand which HAL plans to start from mid of this year and be concluded by end of this year.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

The Indian Army intends to reduce 60% of its mules by 2030, a critical component of animal transport convoys used to reach extremely exhausting and inhospitable conditions along the Line of Actual Control in areas ranging from Tawang to Ladhak.

The Army wants to buy four-legged robotic mules that can move autonomously across different terrain, self-recover, and avoid obstacles.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

US administration might be in process of granting an export license along with approvals for the Transfer of Technology (ToT) to General Electric conglomerate for the development of a new high-trust engine for India’s 5th generation AMCA program but the technology that will be used to develop a new jet engine based on the baseline F414-INS6 engines is already dated and will be outdated when it enters into production on AMCA Mk2 jets in 2035.

AMCA Mk2 program will revolve around a new engine that can have an “Adaptive cycle” engine, that is designed for maximum efficiency across subsonic, transonic, and supersonic flight speeds. The engine should offer Supercruise capability without engaging afterburners at 1.4 Mach and has Thermal Management (TM) to remove excessive heat without affecting its thermal signature and not reduce its efficiency in Hot-Humid Indian conditions which GE offers lacks.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

On April 7, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will inaugurate the new LCA-Tejas Assembly complex at the Aircraft Division, Nasik, which will expand the country’s LCA-Tejas production capabilities that can be further enhanced if required to meet the demands of exports orders.

idrw.org has been informed that HAL from its two Bangalore production facilities will be able to manufacture 16 jets annually and an additional 5 from the Nasik Plant, which can be increased by 10 units annually if export orders for Argentina or Egypt are closed.

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

The Indian Navy is collaborating with Indian private sector companies to develop a family of unmanned vehicles powered by a ground-based power source and capable of patrolling or gathering intelligence along India’s vast coastline.

Tethered Underwater Drones will allow the Indian Navy ability to travel longer distances underwater which could increase endurance from a few hours to 1-2 days for 24×7 monitoring of an area of interest.