Adani buys small arms group unit
The Adani Group has entered the small arms business with the acquisition of Punj Lloyd’s stake in Punj Lloyd Raksha Systems Private Limited (PLR), a joint venture company between Punj Lloyd Industries Limited (PLIL) and Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) in Gwalior that will produce machine guns, carbines and other weapons for the local and export markets.
The acquisition – through a joint venture in which Israeli manufacturer IWI holds a 49% stake – will help the group acquire capabilities ranging from UAVs to helicopter systems to major aero structures.
The transfer of ownership of PLR was done in late 2019 after Punj Llyod sold its share to a third company that was then picked up by the Adani Group.
The entity is poised to pick up major orders from the defence ministry, with final discussions underway for 16,400 light machine guns for which IWI is the lead contender. A larger competition for 41,000 guns is also underway. Besides, paramilitary forces and state police, too, have requirements for these small arms.
The Gwalior facility was inaugurated in March 2017 and was the first Indian private sector company that started manufacturing small arms and ammunition.
The facility is designed to manufacture a range of weapons including the Tavor Assault Rifle (already in use by special forces), the X 95 Assault rifle, Galil sniper rifles, Negev LMGs and Uzi sub machine guns. The first set of Indian manufacture X 95 rifles were rolled out by the facility in October 2018.
The Adani group has strong plans for its defence business, starting with the acquisition of Bangalore-based Alpha Design Technologies and setting up of a new manufacturing facility in Hyderabad to make Hermes 900 drones in collaboration with Israel’s Elbit Systems.
The company has already been shortlisted as a potential strategic partner for the Naval Utility Helicopter (NUH) contract and is also making a bid for the multi-billion dollar project to build next generation conventional submarines in India under the P 75 (I) project.
OFB Will Manufacture Smart Bombs, Futuristic Combat Vehicle
Director General Ordnance Factories and Chairman Ordnance Factories Board (OFB), Hari Mohan, said at the first-ever conference of employees of 41 ordnance factories at the National Academy for Defence Production at Ambajhari, that ordnance factories were planning to manufacture `smart bombs’ or guided artillery ammunition rounds of 81 mm, 51 mm, 120 mm and 130mm calibre. OFB would also soon roll out a “Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle” made for the Indian Army.
“OFB started manufacturing Armoured Personal Carriers for the army from 1983-84. But now the OFB has developed its own Futuristic Infantry Combat (FIC) Vehicle for the army,” he said.
“It is almost 85 percent ready. In coming months the FIC will be fully ready and exhibited in the next Defence exhibition,” Mohan added.
Sea Ceptor Supersonic Missile Defence System Offered
L&T MBDA Missile Systems Ltd has submitted its first bid to the Indian Armed Forces – offering the latest generation Sea Ceptor naval air defence system, in its RFP response for the Indian Navy’s Short-Range Surface to Air Missile (SRSAM) requirement.
The Sea Ceptor, that made its debut at DefExpo-2018, will be built in India. It provides complete protection against multiple air targets simultaneously. Sea Ceptor utilises the Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) that features a fully active RF-seeker, two-way datalink and soft-vertical launch system.
A new functional simulator for ATGM5 anti-tank guided missile will make its debut at DefExpo-2020, the joint venture between Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and European MBDA said in a statement.
In addition, the company has offered Exocet MM40 Block 3 short-range anti-ship cruise missiles in response to India’s RFI for the Medium Range Anti-Ship Missile.
Presently, MBDA is delivering MICA air-to-air missile systems, and METEOR ramjet powered and network-enabled beyond visual range air-to- air missiles, and SCALP missiles for Indian Air Force (IAF) Rafale fighters.
The IAF is also taking the delivery of ASRAAM fire-and-forget missiles for India’s fleet of upgraded Jaguar jets, bought under New Generation Close Combat Missile program.
India’s indigenously-built Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv and Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) have been armed with MBDA Mistral ATAM air-to-air missile launchers.
Maruti Gypsy Production Begins Again
Early last year, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL), the largest-selling car maker in the country, announced the discontinuation of its aged but highly capable Gypsy mini SUV in the local car market. The much-revered off-roader was discontinued from 1 April 2019 due to the SUV’s inability to meet the updated safety regulations.
The Indian Army, which has been the largest buyer of the Maruti Gypsy, had decided to switch to the Tata Safari Storme. However, it has now come to light that the car maker will soon resume the production of its ‘mountain goat’ as it has received a fresh order from the Army.
However, this time around, the iconic off-roader won’t be available to the private car buyers. While the Maruti Gypsy not only fails to conform with the updated safety regulations, but its G13 1.3-litre four-cylinder engine will even fail to achieve compliance with the BSVI emission norms. However, the Army is exempt from complying with both updated safety and emission regulations.
Korean Defence Firms To Pitch Weapons Systems At Defexpo
Ten South Korean companies including Hanwha Defence, Korea Aerospace Industries and LIG Nex1 have confirmed their participation in DefExpo 2020.
Hanwha Defence’s self-propelled anti-aircraft defence system named Biho, which means flying tiger, is waiting the final nod for supplies to India from the local defence ministry.
According to a report by the Defence Agency for Technology and Quality last year, India spent the world’s fourth largest $66 billion for defence in 2018, with purchase of weapons reaching the second largest of $13.9 billion in the world.
HAL Needs New Orders To Keep Production Going
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is betting on the Indian Air Force (IAF) to place a multi-billion dollar order for an advanced version of the indigenously produced Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Tejas, before the financial year ends to prevent a complete halt of production at its facilities.
The IAF plans to buy 83 LCA Mk-1A jets, taking the total number of Tejas variants ordered to 123. As part of its existing orders, HAL has to supply 24 LCA jets and a few Sukhoi-30s to the IAF.
HAL’s order books are empty beyond 2021-22 and new orders from the armed forces are critical for continuity in production, the government has told Parliament’s standing committee on defence.
Another order that HAL is eyeing is the supply of 70 locally produced basic trainers to the IAF. If it gets the order for the Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40), HAL could begin production of the trainers by early 2021.
HAL’s production over last several years has been growing with highest turnover of Rs 19,705 crore recorded in the financial year 2018-19. However, the major part of existing orders for supply of aircraft and helicopters will be liquidated shortly with the major manufacturing order of Su-30MKI being completed in 2019-20,” the defence ministry told the standing committee on defence in December 2019.
The ministry stressed that production would be hit for want of new orders. “Considering production/procurement lead time of 18 to 24 months involved in the manufacture of aircraft/helicopters, the existing facilities at HAL face the threat of idling and production will show a declining trend for want of confirmed orders.”
51st K-9 Vajra Flagged Off At L&T Gun Making Facility
Defence minister Rajnath Singh, on 16 January, flagged off the 51st K-9 Vajra-T gun at the Larsen and Toubro Armoured Systems Complex at Hazira, Surat.
The gun weighs 50 tons and can fire 47 kg bombs at 43-kilometre distant targets. It can also turn around at zero radius.
L&T had in 2017 won the Rs 4,500-crore contract from the Ministry of defence to supply 100 units of K9 Vajra-T 155 mm/52 calibre tracked self-propelled gun systems to the Indian Army under the Centre’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.
The K9 Vajra contract involves delivery of 100 such systems in 42 months, which is the largest contract awarded to a private company by the Ministry of defence.
Army to Sign Mou For AK-203 Assault Rifles
The Army is likely to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in FebruaRY 2020 for the procurement of over 7.5 lakh AK-203 assault rifles, which are to be manufactured locally by an India-Russia joint venture (JV), Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh.
About 1 lakh rifles will come directly from Russia and the remaining will be manufactured by the JV in India.
The facility is being set up between the Ordnance Factories Board (OFB) from the Indian side, and Rosoboron Exports and Kalashnikov on the Russian side. The OFB owns 50.5% equity and Russian side holds the remaining 49.5%. The JV was formed following the Inter-governmental Agreement between India and Russia in February 2019.
The JV has obtained all the requisite licences for production and export. The Ministry of Defence has already floated a Request For Proposal (RFP) to the JV for the supply of 6.71 lakh rifles.
In addition to the AK-203, the Army recently began inducting the first batch of 10,000 SIG-716 assault rifles. Troops engaged in counter insurgency operations in the Army’s Northern Command have started receiving these rifles, sources said. The rifles are being procured under a contract signed in February 2019 with Sig Sauer of the U.S. for 72,400 SIG-716 assault rifles worth over ?700 crore.
The initial idea was to equip the entire Army with the SIG-716. Given the huge cost, it was decided that the rifles would be provided to frontline troops, while the remaining forces can be equipped with AK-203 rifles.
The Army has been looking to replace the indigenous INSAS (Indian National Small Arms System) rifles in use with a modern rifle. The MoD had approved the procurement in January 2018 through the Fast Track Procurement route. Of the 72,400 rifles, 66,400 are for the Army, 2,000 for the Navy and 4,000 for the Air Force. The entire quantity is expected to be delivered within 12 months from the date of signing the contract.
CONTROP Wins DRDO Tender for iSky-50HD Systems
CONTROP Precision Technologies Ltd has won a tender by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the supply of its iSky-50HD systems, for use on unmanned air platforms.
The iSky-50HD is a member of CONTROP’s iSky family of lightweight, compact EO/IR observation systems, which have been specifically designed for use in challenging airborne environments. The iSky-50HD features highly-sensitive multi-spectral sensors, which are gyro-stabilized and have advanced image processing algorithms, thereby providing maximum sensor ranges and performance, for a variety of airborne defence applications. In daily operation around the world since the 1990s, the iSky systems are integrated into a wide variety of UAV, helicopter, fixed-wing aircraft and aerostat platforms.
