Non-Salary revenue outlay has been enhanced significantly from Rs 62,431 crore in Budget Estimates (BE) 2022-23 to Rs 90,000 crore in BE 2023-24, representing a 44% jump. This expenditure is expected to close critical gaps in the combat capabilities and equip the Forces in terms of ammunition, sustenance of weapons & assets, military reserves etc. This Budget has also sustained the thrust on Modernisation and Infrastructure Development of the Defence Services, by continuing an upward trend in Capital Outlay.

Highlights:

* As a precursor to this increase in the Non-Salary Revenue segment, the government during the Mid-term review had also enhanced the operational allotments of the current financial year by Rs 26,000 crore, which works out as 42% of the present allocation. This unprecedented increase in the Revised Estimates 2022-23 has ensured liquidation of the entire carry over liabilities during the current year thereby ensuring that there is no dent in the next year’s operational outlay of the Services. 

* The enhanced allocations in the Budget will also cater to Training Aids & Simulators for Agniveers and ensure that they achieve the set standards of training for induction in the Defence Forces. EEE status provided to Agniveer Fund

* Thrust on Modernisation & Infrastructure Development Sustained in Union Budget 2023:

Operational allocation of the Armed Forces gets unprecedented jump
* Rs 1.38 lakh crore allocated for Defence Pensions
* Capital outlay pertaining to modernisation & infrastructure development increased to Rs 1.62 lakh crore; 57% rise since 2019-20
* Capital Budget of BRO enhanced by 43% to Rs 5,000 crore; At Rs 23,264 crore, allocation to DRDO increased by 9%
* iDEX gets Rs 116 crore, an enhancement of 93% over 2022-23, to further foster innovation

Capital Expenditure

In the Union Budget 2023-24, the Capital Investment Outlay has been increased steeply for the third year in a row by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore, which would be 3.3 per cent of GDP. This will be almost three times the outlay in 2019-20.

Accordingly, the Capital Allocations pertaining to modernisation and infrastructure development of the Defence Services has been increased to Rs 1,62,600 crore representing a rise of Rs 10,230 crore (6.7%) over FY 2022-23. Also, the increase in the Capital Budget since 2019-20 has been Rs 59,200 crore (57%). This increase is a reflection of the Government’s commitment towards sustainable augmentation in the area of modernisation & infrastructure development of the Defence Services.

Border Infrastructure

MoD is committed towards infrastructure strengthening in the Border Areas, particularly the Northern Borders. Accordingly, the Capital Budget of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has been increased by 43% to Rs 5,000 crore in FY 2023-24 as against Rs 3,500 crore in FY 2022-23. Also, the allocation under this segment has doubled in two years since FY 2021-22. This will boost the Border infrastructure thereby creating strategically important assets like Sela Tunnel, Nechipu Tunnel & Sela-Chhabrela Tunnel and will also enhance border connectivity.

Research & Development

Recognising the crucial role of Research, Innovation and Technological development towards capacity building of the Armed Forces as well as fueling India’s Mission of Aatmanirbharta

Towards strengthening Research and Development in Defence, the allocation to DRDO has been enhanced by 9%, with a total allocation of Rs 23,264 crore in BE 2023-24.

Innovation

To further foster innovation, encourage technology development and strengthen the Defence Industrial ecosystem in the country, iDEX and DTIS have been allocated Rs 116 crore and Rs 45 crore respectively representing an enhancement of 93% for iDEX and 95% for DTIS over 2022-23. This will fulfill the Ministry of Defence’s vision to leverage ideas from bright young minds across the country.

The Union Budget 2023-24 has announced a National Data Governance Policy to unleash innovation and research by start-ups and academia. This will enable access to anonymized data which will further boost the Defence Start-ups and iDEX scheme.

MSMEs

The Union Budget 2023-24 has also announced that the revamped Credit Guarantee scheme for MSMEs which will take effect from 1st April 2023 through infusion of Rs. 9,000 Crore in the corpus. This will enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of Rs 2 lakh crore. Further, the cost of the credit has also been reduced by about 1 per cent. This scheme will give a further fillip the MSMEs associated with the Defence Sector.

Pensions & Welfare

The Defence Pension Budget registers a notable jump of 15.5 % in FY 2023-24. In absolute terms, this amount is Rs 1,38, 205 Crore in BE 2023-24 against Rs 1,19,696 crore in BE 2022-23. Further, RE 2022-23 allocations at Rs 1,53,415 crore records a significant jump of 28%, amounting to Rs 33, 718 crores. This includes an amount of Rs 28,138 Crore to meet the requirement on account of revision of Armed Forces Pensioners/ Family Pensioners under One Rank One Pension (OROP).

Towards the Government’s commitment in transforming Healthcare outreach to our veterans, Defence Budget 2023-24 registers a notable increase of 52% in the allotment for Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) with BE allocation of Rs. 5431.56 Crore in FY 2023-24 against Rs. 3582.51 Crore in FY 2022-23. This enhancement will ensure ‘Cashless Health Services’ and improved ‘Service Delivery’ to our veterans and their dependents across India.

Welfare of Agniveers

The Union Budget 2023-24 has provided Exempt-Exempt-Exempt (EEE) status to the Agniveer Fund.  

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HAL is also poised to scale another summit this year, with its operational turnover for 2019-20 on track to exceed Rs 20,000 crore – for the first time ever.

However, HAL has to take a bank loan to pay its interim dividend. That is because its finances are deep in the red because of huge dues from the Indian Air Force (IAF), by far HAL’s biggest customer. IAF’s dues, which are for aircraft and services already delivered, is likely to be around Rs 17,000 crore – only a little less than its entire year’s turnover. The IAF says the defence and finance ministries that are holding up payments to HAL.

This unpaid bill reflects a rising trend that is evident in HAL’s annual reports. In 2016-17, the IAF’s dues to HAL amounted to Rs 3,995 crore; in 2017-18 it rose to Rs 6,751 crore; in 2018-19 it more than doubled to Rs 13,939 crore; and is likely to rise this year by another Rs 3,000 crore.

With HAL lacking money for day-to-day production, design and development and even to pay salaries of employees, the once cash-rich defence public sector undertaking (DPSU) has had to turn to the banks for loans. HAL’s past two annual reports paint a picture of financial decline. Bank balances dropped from Rs 8,345 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 6,433 in 2017-18 to Rs 101 crore last year. This year, it will be in negative.

Meanwhile, borrowings have steadily risen. HAL’s annual reports reflect borrowings of Rs 950 crore in 2016-17, which dipped slightly to Rs 764 crore the next year, before zooming to Rs 4,058 crore in 2018-19. This year, HAL is learnt to have already borrowed over Rs 8,000 crore and this is on course to rise by another Rs 1,500 crore for running expenses and dividend payouts.

The firm’s annual report for 2018-19 takes note of the dues, but states in its “Significant Accounting Policies” that: “Debts from Government departments are generally treated as fully recoverable and hence the firm does not recognise credit risk of such financial assets. Impairment on account of expected credit loss is being assessed on a case to case basis in respect of dues for a significant period of time.”

Even if the IAF’s debts are fully recoverable, there are significant financial penalties that HAL is paying as a result of its disrupted cash flows. Prior to 2015, HAL’s hefty cash reserves generated income for the company. Today, its balance sheet reflects a growing “cost of finance”: Rs 10 crore in 2016-17, Rs 28 crore in 2017-18, Rs 170 crore in 2018-19 and, apparently, an even larger figure in the current financial year.

Economic Explosives Makes Multi-mode Grenade

Economic Explosives Limited (EEL), a company under the Solar Group, a major producer of commercial and defence explosives, expects to put up its latest electronic multi-mode hand grenade for trials soon. The company has finished internal trials of the electronic grenades and soon user trials, which is an evaluation by the Army, will take place. The electronic device will ensure the perfect timing for explosion in the grenade.

The technology for making the grenade has been shared with the company by Chandigarh-based Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), a unit under DRDO. Based on it, EEL has come up with initial units of the grenade. EEL said it has also developed electronic grenade – mechatronic – which also has a multi-mode function.

TBRL has also shared the technology of the non-electronic multi-modal grenades with EEL, making it the sole private player to take part in the process for supplying the weapon to the army.

EEL has already taken part in a request for proposal (RFP) by the Army to make multi-modal grenades without using the electronic mechanism. The weapon will also be made by the Ordnance Factory, Khamaria in Madhya Pradesh. Both the entities await the bulk production order from the Army.

Maintaining the timing for explosion, once the pin is removed, is a crucial requirement for a grenade’s functioning. As per the Army’s requirements, it has to be not before 3.5 seconds and not later than 4.5 seconds. In the grenades made so far, the process is chemically controlled. “With the electronic chip fitted, precise timing can be maintained.

Govt Bets More on MSMEs For Defence Production

The number of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the domestic defence production sector had increased by 21 per cent from the entire FY19 till the second quarter of the financial year 2020, according to the data shared by the MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari in Rajya Sabha. The total number of MSME vendors of Defence Public Sector Enterprises/ Ordnance Factory Board stood at 15,089 in FY17, which declined to 7,591 MSME vendors during FY18 followed by a marginal increase to 8,643 vendors during FY19. However, it increased further to 10,506 till Q2 FY20. The increase in MSMEs share in India’s defence manufacturing space gains significance amid the government’s focus on leveraging small businesses and startups in the defence sector.

Subhash Chandra, Secretary, Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence speaking at a FICCI event, in 2019, had stressed upon the integration of MSMEs and startups into the defence manufacturing ecosystem. “Industry concerns have also been taken into consideration and demystifying of work processes will come only through interactions. The three-armed forces also need to open their doors for discussions with the industry,” he said.

In February, the government had announced a challenge for startups seeking their solutions to help counter-terrorism unit National Security Guard (NSG). The number of startups, till 4 December 2019, in the aeronautics, aerospace, and defence sector stood at 194 registered with Startup India, minister of state for defence Shripad Naik had informed the Lok Sabha.

Moreover, in November 2019, defence minister Rajnath Singh, in order to help India achieve its goal of indigenization and self-reliance in the defence sector with the contribution of startups and MSMEs, had announced the third phase of Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) under its Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) – programme to boost innovation in the defence sector.

Through iDEX and startup challenge, the government is looking to invest in 250 startups and “achieve 50 tangible innovations in the next five years”  Chandra had said.

OFB Exports 52-calibre Barrels to Bofors

The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), which celebrated its 219th foundation day on 18 March, has exported its newly developed 52-calibre barrel for 155 mm artillery guns to Bofors Test Center, its chairman Hari Mohan said. He said that OFB has exported two 52-calibre barrels to Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors AB, from which it had imported 155 mm howitzer guns in the mid-80s. “We have made a prototype which is truck-chassis mounted,” Mohan said.

In the last 14-15 years, the OFB has done “immense progress” in the field of high-calibre barrels, be it for tanks, medium and heavy artillery guns, and the barrel of Dhanush artillary gun has been indigenously developed, he said. “Now we are embarking upon a barrel further increasing it to 52-calibre. The range of 155 mm Dhanush gun is 38 km. The Bofors gun barrel is 39-calibre, while that of Dhanush is 45-calibre,” he said.

More than 150 rounds of shells have been fired from these 52-calibre barrels, he said.”The barrel is behaving better than expected and the Bofors Test Center is extremely happy,” he said.

Apart from the barrel, Bofors is also taking the breech mechanism and muzzle brakes and all the three are being used, he said on Tuesday.”We indigenously developed the technology for 155mm/52-calibre barrels and exported these to Bofors Test Center,” OFB chairman said. He said the OFB, which had initially handed over six Dhanush artillery guns to the Indian Army, will, in a few weeks, supply another six such guns.

Ordnance Factory Tiruchy Hands Over 500 Rifles to CRPF

Ordnance Factory Tiruchy (OFT), on 12 March, handed over the first consignment of 500 assault rifles to CRPF. Trichy Assault Rifles or TAR, as these are called, are the indigenous version of AK-47 rifle.

OFT started the development of the rifle in 2015 and established a production line in 2017. The first batch of 200 TARs was delivered to Chandigarh police in March 2017. In November 2017, the CRPF tested the rifle for functionality and reliability. It was subjected to a life cycle test by firing 15,000 rounds in one go. In February 2018, the TAR was deployed for a field trial at Jagdalpur, Raipur, Guwahati and Srinagar. Following this, order for 6167 rifles were placed.

OFT would supply TARs in both fixed and foldable butt models, sources said adding that the latter was in the development stage. The TAR is compatible with GP-25, 30 and UBGL M-6 grenade launchers.

OFT has so far supplied more than 10,000 rifles to Central Armed Police Forces including the BSF, SSB, ITBP & CISF. Police force in several States have also inducted TAR under their modernisation scheme.

OFT has also taken up research and development projects such as the trial of 7.62X39mm TAR Carbine(long barrel firearm) and 40X46mm UBGL (Under Barrel Grenade Launcher) for TAR/AK 47, which after induction would serve as an import substitute.

India to Go Ahead With $2.3 Bn Turkish Shipyard Deal

India is going ahead with a $2.3 billion (about Rs 15,000 crore) deal to manufacture fleet support vessels (FSVs) in collaboration with Turkey’s Anadolu shipyard following a review after questions were raised on Turkey’s links with Pakistan and a diplomatic tiff with Turkey after, its president Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the Kashmir issue and attempted to draw similarities to the Palestine conflict.

The formal contract was signed days after India issued a strong statement rejecting all references made to Jammu and Kashmir in a joint declaration by Turkey and Pakistan during President Erdogan’s visit to Islamabad in Fenruary.

Turkey’s TAIS had emerged as the lowest bidder for a contract to manufacture five of the 45,000-tonne FSVs at the Vizag-based Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) last year, but the contract signing was put on hold in October following the repeated raising of Kashmir issue by Erdogan at international forums.

The defence ministry’s vigilance department was asked to review the order and gave a go-ahead. Similarly, inputs were received from MEA on diplomatic implications, after which it was decided to proceed with the Turkish collaborator.

The Indian FSV project was initially given a go-ahead in 2016 after the Navy projected a requirement for ships that could carry fuel and other supplies for warships at sea.

Turkish shipyards are a major supplier of warships to the Pakistani Navy and concerns had been raised on how access to the strategic HSL by its engineers and workers could result in serious security issues. HSL is located close to the Ship Building Centre, where India’s nuclear armed submarines are built, as well as the Eastern Naval headquarters.

Besides four new corvettes, Turkey has designed a fleet support vessel for Pakistan, supports its submarine fleet and has signed a deal to sell 30 T-129 attack helicopters that have been developed in collaboration with Italian company Finmeccanica (since renamed as Leonardo). In September 2019, Erdogan had used the ceremony to launch new corvettes for the Pakistani Navy.

India Secures $40 mn Deal For Weapon Locating Radar

In a major boost to the country’s defence sector, India reportedly overtook Russia and Poland to win a $40 million defence deal to supply four indigenously-built Swathi weapon locating radars (WLR) to Armenia. The deal was a major achievement for the ‘Make in India’ programme in the defence sector.

Swathi WLRs were developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and are manufactured by the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

Armenians had conducted trials of systems offered by Russia and Poland that were also good but they gave a final nod to the Indian system. India has already started the supply of the equipment to Armenia.

Swathi WLR provides fast, automatic and accurate location of enemy weapons like mortars, shells and rockets in its 50-km range. It can simultaneously handle multiple projectiles fired from different weapons at different locations. The system is capable of adjusting the fire of own artillery weapon also. The weapon includes 81mm or higher calibre mortars, 105mm or higher calibre shells and 120mm or higher calibre free flying rockets.

The deal will open a new market for the sale of India’s indigenous systems, which are much cheaper than their European and other rivals. The government is also targeting South-East Asia, Latin America and Middle-East countries to secure defence orders.

Tata Subsidiary, Nova Integrated Systems Opens

NOVA Integrated Systems Limited (NISL), a new defence subsidiary of TATA Sons’ TATA Advanced System Limited (TASL) opened in Hyderabad on 12 March.

NISL will be bringing five new defence projects to Hyderabad which include mobile command and controls for Indian Army, mobile VSAT communication shelter, radar and microwave component manufacturing, electro optics and electronics manufacturing and R&D and prototyping facilities. This will create direct employment to 600 people and help the local defence supply chain to grow.

Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony of NISL, IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao said, “I am glad to be here for the ground-breaking ceremony of NOVA Integrated Systems Limited (NISL), the Defence subsidiary of TASL. The growth of TATA group companies in Hyderabad during the past decade and in particular the past six years has been phenomenal. We are glad that you chose Hyderabad to host over 90 per cent of TASL Aerospace manufacturing and continue to further invest in our ecosystem.”

He also acknowledged TATA group’s contribution in bringing marquee Global OEMS such as Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and GE Aviation to Hyderabad. The projects have been instrumental in making Hyderabad a preferred destination for global OEMs for Make in India Aerospace and Defence, he added.

India Projects $11 Bn

in Offset Deals by 2024

The defence ministry has revealed new details about the scope of defence offsets being undertaken through partnerships between foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Indian offset partners (IOPs). In comments to India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, which were published in a report tabled in parliament on 13 March, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that up until October 2019 it had entered a total of 54 defence offset contracts with foreign OEMs.

Of these contracts, 32 are related to Indian Air Force (IAF) procurements, with 15 and seven defence offset deals linked to Indian Navy (IN) and Indian Army (IA) acquisitions respectively. In terms of the value of these offset contracts, the MoD said in the report that it projects that offsets worth $11.80 billion will be discharged through OEM-IOP partnerships during the period between 2008 and 2024.

Of this amount, approximately $2.8 billion has been discharged of which $1.68 billion has been verified through audits. The remaining offsets were under clarification and examination. It added that more than 170 local firms had been selected as IOPs by foreign OEMs.

Other than offsets, the government has set a defence export target of Rs 35,000 crore by 2024-25. The defence exports rose from Rs 1,500 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 4,500 crore 2017-18 to Rs 10,700 crore in 2018-19. For the current fiscal, the Centre has set a target of Rs 20,000 crore.

BEL Achieves Turnover of

Rs 12,500 Crores

Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) posted a turnover in excess of Rs 12,500 crore during FY 19. The company had a growth of 6 per cent over the previous year’s turnover of Rs 11,789 crore.

BEL’s order book as on April 1 was Rs 51,800 crores. The year saw BEL securing significant orders worth Rs 13,000 crores. Some of the major orders acquired during the year are Akash (7 Sqns), Coastal Surveillance Systems (CSS), upgrade for EW system, radars, AMCs for radars and weapon systems, Software Defined Radio (SDR), sonars, Advanced Communication Systems, etc.

Some of the flagship projects executed during FY 19 were Command & Control Systems, thermal imagers for tanks, upgrade of communication system, land-based EW systems, weapon repair facility, electronic fuzes, various radars, smart city projects, Delhi CCTV project, Schilka upgrade, avionics package for LCA, classroom jammers, real time information system for railways and LRSAM.

BEL achieved export sales of $48.59 million during FY19. Major products exported included cable looms, coastal surveillance system spares, radar, Compact Multi-Purpose Advanced Stabilization System (CoMPASS), electro mechanical parts, etc.

BEL’s Chairman and Managing Director MV Gowtama said, “The global lockdown due to COVID-19 and the economic slowdown had some impact on BEL during the last month of the last quarter of FY 2019-20. Execution/acceptance of some of the major projects could not be completed due to Force Majeure which otherwise would have further contributed to BEL’s revenues during FY 2019-20 itself. However, BEL remained focused on enhancement of its capabilities and competitiveness.”

===============

HAL Finances – In the Red

(Rs crore)

2016-17                2017-18                2018-19                2019-20*

Revenue from operations            18,554  18,624  19,894  20,500

Payments due (mostly IAF)         3,995     6,751     13,939  17,000

Bank balances  8,345     6,433     101         Negative

Borrowings         950         764         4,058     9,500

Cost of finance                  10           28           170         NK

*Estimations for year ending March 2020

Source: HAL annual reports

======================

Shirish Khare, General Manager, Ordnance Factory Tiruchy handed over the first consignment of Trichy Assault Rifles to DS Rawat, DIG, Central Reserve Police Force, on 12 March.

Ground breaking ceremony of Nova Integrated Systems Ltd by KT Ramarao Mininster for IT, Industries, MA & UD and Praveen PA, Director Defence & Aerospace, Government of Telangana, on 12 March 2020.

The post DEFENCE PROCUREMENT : Draft DPP 2020 Revealed appeared first on IMR.

Ordnance Factory Tiruchy (OFT), on 12 March, handed over the first consignment of 500 assault rifles to CRPF. Trichy Assault Rifles or TAR, as these are called, are the indigenous version of AK-47 rifle.

OFT started the development of the rifle in 2015 and established a production line in 2017. The first batch of 200 TARs was delivered to Chandigarh police in March 2017. In November 2017, the CRPF tested the rifle for functionality and reliability. It was subjected to a life cycle test by firing 15,000 rounds in one go. In February 2018, the TAR was deployed for a field trial at Jagdalpur, Raipur, Guwahati and Srinagar. Following this, order for 6167 rifles were placed.

OFT would supply TARs in both fixed and foldable butt models, sources said adding that the latter was in the development stage. The TAR is compatible with GP-25, 30 and UBGL M-6 grenade launchers.

OFT has so far supplied more than 10,000 rifles to Central Armed Police Forces including the BSF, SSB, ITBP & CISF. Police force in several States have also inducted TAR under their modernisation scheme.

OFT has also taken up research and development projects such as the trial of 7.62X39mm TAR Carbine(long barrel firearm) and 40X46mm UBGL (Under Barrel Grenade Launcher) for TAR/AK 47, which after induction would serve as an import substitute.

HAL Pays Out Dividend

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), on 16 March, announced the payment of interim dividend of Rs 33.25 per share, entailing a payout of around Rs 1,000 crore, mainly to the government.

HAL is also poised to scale another summit this year, with its operational turnover for 2019-20 on track to exceed Rs 20,000 crore – for the first time ever.

However, HAL has to take a bank loan to pay its interim dividend. That is because its finances are deep in the red because of huge dues from the Indian Air Force (IAF), by far HAL’s biggest customer. IAF’s dues, which are for aircraft and services already delivered, is likely to be around Rs 17,000 crore – only a little less than its entire year’s turnover. The IAF says the defence and finance ministries that are holding up payments to HAL.

This unpaid bill reflects a rising trend that is evident in HAL’s annual reports. In 2016-17, the IAF’s dues to HAL amounted to Rs 3,995 crore; in 2017-18 it rose to Rs 6,751 crore; in 2018-19 it more than doubled to Rs 13,939 crore; and is likely to rise this year by another Rs 3,000 crore.

With HAL lacking money for day-to-day production, design and development and even to pay salaries of employees, the once cash-rich defence public sector undertaking (DPSU) has had to turn to the banks for loans. HAL’s past two annual reports paint a picture of financial decline. Bank balances dropped from Rs 8,345 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 6,433 in 2017-18 to Rs 101 crore last year. This year, it will be in negative.

Meanwhile, borrowings have steadily risen. HAL’s annual reports reflect borrowings of Rs 950 crore in 2016-17, which dipped slightly to Rs 764 crore the next year, before zooming to Rs 4,058 crore in 2018-19. This year, HAL is learnt to have already borrowed over Rs 8,000 crore and this is on course to rise by another Rs 1,500 crore for running expenses and dividend payouts.

The firm’s annual report for 2018-19 takes note of the dues, but states in its “Significant Accounting Policies” that: “Debts from Government departments are generally treated as fully recoverable and hence the firm does not recognise credit risk of such financial assets. Impairment on account of expected credit loss is being assessed on a case to case basis in respect of dues for a significant period of time.”

Even if the IAF’s debts are fully recoverable, there are significant financial penalties that HAL is paying as a result of its disrupted cash flows. Prior to 2015, HAL’s hefty cash reserves generated income for the company. Today, its balance sheet reflects a growing “cost of finance”: Rs 10 crore in 2016-17, Rs 28 crore in 2017-18, Rs 170 crore in 2018-19 and, apparently, an even larger figure in the current financial year.

Economic Explosives Makes Multi-mode Grenade

Economic Explosives Limited (EEL), a company under the Solar Group, a major producer of commercial and defence explosives, expects to put up its latest electronic multi-mode hand grenade for trials soon. The company has finished internal trials of the electronic grenades and soon user trials, which is an evaluation by the Army, will take place. The electronic device will ensure the perfect timing for explosion in the grenade.

The technology for making the grenade has been shared with the company by Chandigarh-based Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), a unit under DRDO. Based on it, EEL has come up with initial units of the grenade. EEL said it has also developed electronic grenade – mechatronic – which also has a multi-mode function.

TBRL has also shared the technology of the non-electronic multi-modal grenades with EEL, making it the sole private player to take part in the process for supplying the weapon to the army.

EEL has already taken part in a request for proposal (RFP) by the Army to make multi-modal grenades without using the electronic mechanism. The weapon will also be made by the Ordnance Factory, Khamaria in Madhya Pradesh. Both the entities await the bulk production order from the Army.

Maintaining the timing for explosion, once the pin is removed, is a crucial requirement for a grenade’s functioning. As per the Army’s requirements, it has to be not before 3.5 seconds and not later than 4.5 seconds. In the grenades made so far, the process is chemically controlled. “With the electronic chip fitted, precise timing can be maintained.

Govt Bets More on MSMEs For Defence Production

The number of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the domestic defence production sector had increased by 21 per cent from the entire FY19 till the second quarter of the financial year 2020, according to the data shared by the MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari in Rajya Sabha. The total number of MSME vendors of Defence Public Sector Enterprises/ Ordnance Factory Board stood at 15,089 in FY17, which declined to 7,591 MSME vendors during FY18 followed by a marginal increase to 8,643 vendors during FY19. However, it increased further to 10,506 till Q2 FY20. The increase in MSMEs share in India’s defence manufacturing space gains significance amid the government’s focus on leveraging small businesses and startups in the defence sector.

Subhash Chandra, Secretary, Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence speaking at a FICCI event, in 2019, had stressed upon the integration of MSMEs and startups into the defence manufacturing ecosystem. “Industry concerns have also been taken into consideration and demystifying of work processes will come only through interactions. The three-armed forces also need to open their doors for discussions with the industry,” he said.

In February, the government had announced a challenge for startups seeking their solutions to help counter-terrorism unit National Security Guard (NSG). The number of startups, till 4 December 2019, in the aeronautics, aerospace, and defence sector stood at 194 registered with Startup India, minister of state for defence Shripad Naik had informed the Lok Sabha.

Moreover, in November 2019, defence minister Rajnath Singh, in order to help India achieve its goal of indigenization and self-reliance in the defence sector with the contribution of startups and MSMEs, had announced the third phase of Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) under its Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) – programme to boost innovation in the defence sector.

Through iDEX and startup challenge, the government is looking to invest in 250 startups and “achieve 50 tangible innovations in the next five years”  Chandra had said.

OFB Exports 52-calibre Barrels to Bofors

The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), which celebrated its 219th foundation day on 18 March, has exported its newly developed 52-calibre barrel for 155 mm artillery guns to Bofors Test Center, its chairman Hari Mohan said. He said that OFB has exported two 52-calibre barrels to Swedish arms manufacturer Bofors AB, from which it had imported 155 mm howitzer guns in the mid-80s. “We have made a prototype which is truck-chassis mounted,” Mohan said.

In the last 14-15 years, the OFB has done “immense progress” in the field of high-calibre barrels, be it for tanks, medium and heavy artillery guns, and the barrel of Dhanush artillary gun has been indigenously developed, he said. “Now we are embarking upon a barrel further increasing it to 52-calibre. The range of 155 mm Dhanush gun is 38 km. The Bofors gun barrel is 39-calibre, while that of Dhanush is 45-calibre,” he said.

More than 150 rounds of shells have been fired from these 52-calibre barrels, he said.”The barrel is behaving better than expected and the Bofors Test Center is extremely happy,” he said.

Apart from the barrel, Bofors is also taking the breech mechanism and muzzle brakes and all the three are being used, he said on Tuesday.”We indigenously developed the technology for 155mm/52-calibre barrels and exported these to Bofors Test Center,” OFB chairman said. He said the OFB, which had initially handed over six Dhanush artillery guns to the Indian Army, will, in a few weeks, supply another six such guns.

India to Go Ahead With $2.3 Bn Turkish Shipyard Deal

India is going ahead with a $2.3 billion (about Rs 15,000 crore) deal to manufacture fleet support vessels (FSVs) in collaboration with Turkey’s Anadolu shipyard following a review after questions were raised on Turkey’s links with Pakistan and a diplomatic tiff with Turkey after, its president Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the Kashmir issue and attempted to draw similarities to the Palestine conflict.

The formal contract was signed days after India issued a strong statement rejecting all references made to Jammu and Kashmir in a joint declaration by Turkey and Pakistan during President Erdogan’s visit to Islamabad in Fenruary.

Turkey’s TAIS had emerged as the lowest bidder for a contract to manufacture five of the 45,000-tonne FSVs at the Vizag-based Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) last year, but the contract signing was put on hold in October following the repeated raising of Kashmir issue by Erdogan at international forums.

The defence ministry’s vigilance department was asked to review the order and gave a go-ahead. Similarly, inputs were received from MEA on diplomatic implications, after which it was decided to proceed with the Turkish collaborator.

The Indian FSV project was initially given a go-ahead in 2016 after the Navy projected a requirement for ships that could carry fuel and other supplies for warships at sea.

Turkish shipyards are a major supplier of warships to the Pakistani Navy and concerns had been raised on how access to the strategic HSL by its engineers and workers could result in serious security issues. HSL is located close to the Ship Building Centre, where India’s nuclear armed submarines are built, as well as the Eastern Naval headquarters.

Besides four new corvettes, Turkey has designed a fleet support vessel for Pakistan, supports its submarine fleet and has signed a deal to sell 30 T-129 attack helicopters that have been developed in collaboration with Italian company Finmeccanica (since renamed as Leonardo). In September 2019, Erdogan had used the ceremony to launch new corvettes for the Pakistani Navy.

India Secures $40 mn Deal For Weapon Locating Radar

In a major boost to the country’s defence sector, India reportedly overtook Russia and Poland to win a $40 million defence deal to supply four indigenously-built Swathi weapon locating radars (WLR) to Armenia. The deal was a major achievement for the ‘Make in India’ programme in the defence sector.

Swathi WLRs were developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and are manufactured by the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

Armenians had conducted trials of systems offered by Russia and Poland that were also good but they gave a final nod to the Indian system. India has already started the supply of the equipment to Armenia.

Swathi WLR provides fast, automatic and accurate location of enemy weapons like mortars, shells and rockets in its 50-km range. It can simultaneously handle multiple projectiles fired from different weapons at different locations. The system is capable of adjusting the fire of own artillery weapon also. The weapon includes 81mm or higher calibre mortars, 105mm or higher calibre shells and 120mm or higher calibre free flying rockets.

The deal will open a new market for the sale of India’s indigenous systems, which are much cheaper than their European and other rivals. The government is also targeting South-East Asia, Latin America and Middle-East countries to secure defence orders.

Tata Subsidiary, Nova Integrated Systems Opens

NOVA Integrated Systems Limited (NISL), a new defence subsidiary of TATA Sons’ TATA Advanced System Limited (TASL) opened in Hyderabad on 12 March.

NISL will be bringing five new defence projects to Hyderabad which include mobile command and controls for Indian Army, mobile VSAT communication shelter, radar and microwave component manufacturing, electro optics and electronics manufacturing and R&D and prototyping facilities. This will create direct employment to 600 people and help the local defence supply chain to grow.

Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony of NISL, IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao said, “I am glad to be here for the ground-breaking ceremony of NOVA Integrated Systems Limited (NISL), the Defence subsidiary of TASL. The growth of TATA group companies in Hyderabad during the past decade and in particular the past six years has been phenomenal. We are glad that you chose Hyderabad to host over 90 per cent of TASL Aerospace manufacturing and continue to further invest in our ecosystem.”

He also acknowledged TATA group’s contribution in bringing marquee Global OEMS such as Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and GE Aviation to Hyderabad. The projects have been instrumental in making Hyderabad a preferred destination for global OEMs for Make in India Aerospace and Defence, he added.

India Projects $11 Bn in Offset Deals by 2024

The defence ministry has revealed new details about the scope of defence offsets being undertaken through partnerships between foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and Indian offset partners (IOPs). In comments to India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, which were published in a report tabled in parliament on 13 March, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said that up until October 2019 it had entered a total of 54 defence offset contracts with foreign OEMs.

Of these contracts, 32 are related to Indian Air Force (IAF) procurements, with 15 and seven defence offset deals linked to Indian Navy (IN) and Indian Army (IA) acquisitions respectively. In terms of the value of these offset contracts, the MoD said in the report that it projects that offsets worth $11.80 billion will be discharged through OEM-IOP partnerships during the period between 2008 and 2024.

Of this amount, approximately $2.8 billion has been discharged of which $1.68 billion has been verified through audits. The remaining offsets were under clarification and examination. It added that more than 170 local firms had been selected as IOPs by foreign OEMs.

Other than offsets, the government has set a defence export target of Rs 35,000 crore by 2024-25. The defence exports rose from Rs 1,500 crore in 2016-17 to Rs 4,500 crore 2017-18 to Rs 10,700 crore in 2018-19. For the current fiscal, the Centre has set a target of Rs 20,000 crore.

BEL Achieves Turnover of Rs 12,500 Crores

Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) posted a turnover in excess of Rs 12,500 crore during FY 19. The company had a growth of 6 per cent over the previous year’s turnover of Rs 11,789 crore.

BEL’s order book as on April 1 was Rs 51,800 crores. The year saw BEL securing significant orders worth Rs 13,000 crores. Some of the major orders acquired during the year are Akash (7 Sqns), Coastal Surveillance Systems (CSS), upgrade for EW system, radars, AMCs for radars and weapon systems, Software Defined Radio (SDR), sonars, Advanced Communication Systems, etc.

Some of the flagship projects executed during FY 19 were Command & Control Systems, thermal imagers for tanks, upgrade of communication system, land-based EW systems, weapon repair facility, electronic fuzes, various radars, smart city projects, Delhi CCTV project, Schilka upgrade, avionics package for LCA, classroom jammers, real time information system for railways and LRSAM.

BEL achieved export sales of $48.59 million during FY19. Major products exported included cable looms, coastal surveillance system spares, radar, Compact Multi-Purpose Advanced Stabilization System (CoMPASS), electro mechanical parts, etc.

BEL’s Chairman and Managing Director MV Gowtama said, “The global lockdown due to COVID-19 and the economic slowdown had some impact on BEL during the last month of the last quarter of FY 2019-20. Execution/acceptance of some of the major projects could not be completed due to Force Majeure which otherwise would have further contributed to BEL’s revenues during FY 2019-20 itself. However, BEL remained focused on enhancement of its capabilities and competitiveness.”

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The Pune-based Kalyani Group, which has made a major foray into the field of artillery gun systems, is pitching strongly to supply artillery gun systems to the Saudi Arabian military.

Two types of gun systems, both designed and developed by Kalyani Group, will be sent later in 2020 to Saudi Arabia, for trial evaluation by the Royal Saudi Army in the harsh Saudi Arabian desert. The guns include the so-called Bharat 52, a 155mm/52 calibre towed howitzer that is the first gun the Kalyani Group built. Saudi Arabia will also evaluate the Garuda V2, a 105 mm gun mounted on a light vehicle chassis for added mobility.

Kalyani Group, by virtue of its organic skills in metal castings and forgings, is playing the larger role, including building barrels for its own, as well as Tat Advanced Systems’ gun.

Initial Operational Clearance for HAL Light Utility Helicopter

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has received the initial operational clearance (IOC) for its light utility helicopter (LUH), paving the way for its production.

There is requirement of some 484 light copters for the three armed forces and the LUH is expected to fill in with at least 187. However, there is no order for manufacturing so far from either the Indian Air Force or the Indian Army.

The LUH is a single engine, lightweight, highly agile 3-tonne utility helicopter, indigenously designed and developed to meet the operational requirements of Indian Army and the IAF.

The nimble 3-tonne LUH began development in 2009 and first flew in 2016. In just four years, the machine has proved itself admirably in trials in super-high altitude regions like Leh and the hot deserts.

The LUH will replace the Army and Air Force’s fleet of over 200 vintage French-designed Cheetah and Chetak helicopters that have been in service for over 50 years. Navy Chetaks will be replaced by the Naval Utility Helicopter project being steered under the Strategic Partnership project.

The IAF and the Army need 384 light utility helicopters – at least 184 of these will be built by HAL and the remaining 200 machines by the Ka-226 being built by an Indo-Russian joint venture. These procurements will of course be dictated by available budgets.

Show-cause Notice to Reliance Naval

In fresh punitive action against the Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Naval and Engineering Limited (R-Naval) the government has issued a show-cause notice to the debt-ridden company and encashed all its different bank guarantees worth around Rs 980 crore, for its failure to deliver five naval offshore patrol vessels (NPOVs) under a Rs 2,500 crore deal,

R-Naval will have to explain within a month why the contract inked in May 2011, under which the five 2,000-tonne NPOVs were to be delivered from 2014-2015 onwards, should not be cancelled forthwith.

R-Naval had earlier been taken to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) by the IDBI Bank for debt-resolution, with the latter also recently filing an application to initiate insolvency proceedings against the company.

R-Naval had inherited the contract for the NOPVs, the largest such warship deal awarded to the private sector, after it acquired Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company Ltd, which had gone under heavy debt, in 2015.

The work at the Pipavav shipyard in Gujarat had earlier come to a grinding halt but there was some progress after R-Naval took over the reins, with the first two NOPVs, Shachi and Shruti, being “launched” in July 2017.

R-Naval had also announced grandiose plans of constructing even bigger warships and submarines for the Indian Navy as well as servicing and repairing warships of the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet stationed in Japan. But no such plans actually materialized on the ground.

In December 2018, the then Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba had dismissed any talk of “preferential treatment” being given to R-Naval, stressing that some of its bank guarantees were being encashed as a penalty against failure to deliver the OPVs in time.

Boeing Looks to Accelerate Manufacturing

US giant Boeing said, on 6 February, that it was looking to accelerate manufacturing engineering and services, develop a globally competitive aerospace workforce besides investing in innovation, digitisation, research and technology.

Boeing highlighted future investments to accelerate its “Make in India” efforts and the capabilities being proposed for the Indian armed forces, specifically the next generation F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet fighter.

The F/A-18, on offer to the Indian Navy, is fully compatible with the carriers and will boost the growing maritime and defence relationship between the US and Indian navy.

Boeing also affirmed its commitment to provide its defence customers with data-based information for empowered decision support and optimisation of operations and missions.

The Boeing India Engineering and Technology Center in Bengaluru and Chennai undertakes advanced aerospace work and supports Boeing’s global engineering growth. Boeing has made strategic investments in an upcoming wholly owned engineering and technology campus with future avionics manufacturing and assembly capability in Bengaluru.

Boeing Mulls F-15EX offer to India

Boeing is contemplating pitching the F-15EX to New Delhi for one of the country’s long-running fighter procurements – a contest in which its F/A-18E/F is already competing.

The company has requested US government clearance to offer the twin-engined type for an Indian air force requirement for 110 fighters, while it continues to offer the F/A-18 Super Hornet to both the Indian navy and Indian air force, and our F-15 is experiencing a resurgence in interest in the US and around the world.

The licence will allow Boeing to discuss the F-15EX with Indian officials in compliance with the USA’s International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

Boeing’s move would see it offer the latest EX variant of the long-running F-15 to New Delhi. Enhancements over previous iterations include a active electronically scanned array radar and improved payload.

The potential entry of the F-15 into the contest is the latest twist in yet another convoluted Indian procurement exercise. After the collapse of its Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) fighter acquisition in 2015, New Delhi rebooted the requirement, initially as an acquisition of a single-engined type, which was later broadened to include twin-engined aircraft.

Likely contenders for the new, poorly-defined requirement already represent a virtual who’s who of combat aircraft. They include the single-engined Lockheed Martin F-16V – dubbed the F-21 for the Indian contest – and Saab Gripen E/F, alongside the twin-engined Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, and Super Hornet. Russia is also likely to offer the RAC MiG-35 and Sukhoi Su-35.

In addition, there is a separate 57-aircraft requirement for the Indian Navy, which Boeing is also addressing with the F/A-18E/F.

For the air force offer, competitors have made much of their willingness to offer New Delhi generous industrial participation, in line with the “Make in India” programme.

IRHL Aims to Achieve 70% Localisation of Kamov Copters

India aims to achieve the target of 70 per cent local content by the time the last of the Russian-origin Kamov 226T helicopter is delivered, The Russian Helicopters Holding Company (part of Rostec State Corporation) signed a roadmap with the IRHL, on 6 February, for localisation of Ka-226T helicopter production in India.

The first batch of helicopters will come out of our production facility at Tumkur in Karnataka by 2025 if everything goes as per plan. The Defence Acquisition Council of the Ministry of Defence was expected to give a go-ahead to the signing of a formal contract.

The roadmap reflects timelines for setting up production facility in India, contracting with suppliers, transferring design documentation, supplying technological equipment and machine kits, training Indian personnel and other key stages of the project to localise production of Ka-226T.

The copter had two sources of parts – Russian origin and western origin. Around 74 per cent of the copter is of Russian parentage. Its engine is from Safran France.

For the 140 copters to be made in India, the Russian part of the content will be indigenised in phases. We will have 70 per cent local content in place of Russian components by the end of phase IV of production. This will include the technology for rotors.

Indo-Russian Helicopters Limited is a joint venture of Russian Helicopters, Rosoboronexport and the HAL. The company was registered in India in May 2017 as part of a project to localise production of Ka-226T helicopters.

HAL Needs New Orders to Keep Going After 2021-22

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is betting on the Indian Air Force (IAF) to place the Rs 39,000 crore order for 83 Tejas LCA Mk 1A. 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.

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.

Out of the 40 LCAs already ordered by the IAF, 16 have been deliveredin the initial operational clearance (IOC) configuration.

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Following are the major MoUs and joint ventures (JVs) announced during DEFEXPO 2020.

•             Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Israel Aerospace Industries Limited (IAI) and Dynamatic Technologies Limited (DTL) signed a MoU for marketing, manufacturing and selling of IAI’s Unmanned Ariel Vehicles (UAVs) to Indian potential customers such as Indian defence forces, paramilitary forces and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).

•             Bharat Forge Ltd (BFL) signed a MoU with General Atomics, US. Under the terms of the MoU, BFL and General Atomics’ Electromagnetic Systems Group (GA-EMS) will investigate opportunities to develop and integrate power generation, storage, control and distribution technologies related to surface and undersea naval platforms, and advanced projectiles for weapon system platforms to address Indian defence requirements.

•             Airbus has offered to build the Panther or the H145M helicopter in India under the government’s Strategic Partnership (SP) model for the Naval Multi Role Helicopter (NMRH) programme. Designed to cater to all the needs of India’s armed forces, these helicopters would be produced in India in partnership with Mahindra Defence.

•             On 3 February, Alexander Mikheev, Director General of Rosoboronexport, said that with the assistance of FSMTC of Russia and Rostec State Corporation, they registered joint ventures in India to produce Kalashnikov AK-203 assault rifles, whose indigenous content will reach 100%, and Ka-226T helicopters.

•             14 MoUs were exchanged between the Russian OEMs and the Indian companies.

The first ‘Request for Proposal’ for manufacturing of parts in India under the provision of IGA was also handed over by the Indian Navy to the identified Indian industry.

•             Airbus India and Adani Defence & Aerospace signed a MoU to leverage synergies in aerospace and civil aviation sector. Airbus and Adani will explore opportunities for collaboration in the area of aircraft services for Indian and South Asian market. Airbus’ Global Services forecast envisages the Indian aircraft services market to grow to US $6.3bn by 2025.

•             UVision Air Ltd, a global leader in the area of loitering munitions systems of all sizes for a variety of missions,  strengthened its presence in India and announced a JV with Aditya Precitech, an Indian company, for the manufacture and marketing of loitering munitions under the brand PALM (Precision Attack Loitering Munition) Hero Systems.

The 5th  Round of India-Russia Military Industrial Conference was held at Lucknow on 6 February, on the sidelines of Defexpo 2020. During the conference a total of 14 MoUs were exchanged between the Russian OEMs and the Indian companies.

During the MoU signing ceremony titled ‘Bandhan’, DRDO handed over 15 licenses for transfer of technology (LATOT) to 17 industries on DRDO developed technologies. This would enhance cooperation and synergy between industry and Government organisations. The technologies transferred were from the area of electronics, laser technology, armaments, life sciences, materials science, combat vehicles, naval systems, aeronautics, sensors, etc.

•             Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) signed a MoU with RailTel Corporation of India Ltd for co-operation in the field of Cloud services, IoT, eGovernance, Smart Cities, Networks for Defence projects and mission critical Communication systems for domestic and international markets.

•             Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Newspace Research & Technologies Limited (NRT), Bangalore, a startup company, signed a  MoU. Both enterprises seek to co-operate in the areas of  design, development, manufacturing, integration, testing and supply of unmanned systems, Swarm technologies, stratospheric platforms and related payloads, and to provide lifetime support to the Indian Defence forces and non-defence customers.

•             Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd (KSSL), the defence arm of Kalyani Group and Arsenal Joint Stock Company, Bulgaria signed a MoU to form a strategic alliance in India for manufacturing small arms and ammunition.

•             Bharat Forge Ltd., signed a MoU with DASTAN Corp, Kyrgyzstan, engaged in development of torpedoes with advanced homing heads for shipborne and submarine platforms, used by the Indian Navy.

•             Paramount Group and Bharat Forge announced strategic collaboration for indigenisation of defence and aerospace technologies. The high level collaboration agreement is to set up a JV to join the technologies, capabilities and expertise of both groups in the industrialisation and indigenisation of defence and aerospace systems.

•             Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and ideaForge an Indian manufacturer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) signed a MoU to offer drones and allied systems for defence use.

•             Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) signed an MoU to continue their existing co-operation in the field of air defence and artillery gun systems, armoured fighting vehicles, arms & ammunition and related products, systems and accessories, leveraging complementary strengths, to meet the requirements of Indian defence forces, among others.

•             Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) signed an MoU with Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) for co-operation in the field of defence and non-defence products / systems to jointly capitalise on the emerging opportunities in the domestic and international market. BHEL and BEL will make joint efforts to explore markets for products individually developed or jointly developed by both companies.

•             Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) signed a tripartite MoU with Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) and Elbit Systems, Israel. The MoU aims at leveraging the individual strengths of BEL, Elbit and GRSE for the development and customisation of Elbit’s unmanned surface vessels (USV) for the requirements of the Indian Navy. 

•             HEMRL, Pune signed technology development contract with Rosoboronexport, Russia for development of Advanced Pyrotechnic Ignition Systems.

•             Bharat Forge and Thales joined hands to develop F90 rifles, which will serve the defence and law enforcement sectors in India and abroad.

Lockheed Martin signed a MoU with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to explore industrial opportunities in the F-21 programme.

•             Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has signed a collaboration and marketing agreement with JSR Dynamics Pvt Ltd (JSR), a Nagpur-based start-up company. The agreement aims to leverage individual design and manufacturing capabilities of BEL and JSR to develop Glide Bombs, Range Extension Kit and Light Weight Cruise Missile.

•             Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) signed a MoU with CSIR-NAL for co-operation in the field of avionics and establishing infrastructure for composite manufacturing. BEL is jointly working with CSIR-NAL in developing avionics suite for civilian aircraft Saras and Hansa. The avionics suite includes Smart Displays, Flight Control Computer, Communication Suite, surveillance system based on Millimetre Wave Radar, Multi-Function Displays, NAVCOM System, etc.

•             The UK India Business Council (UKIBC) and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) signed a MoU to help both sides in building partnerships and capabilities in the aerospace and defence sector and also to support and build on the huge opportunities for collaboration that exist between the defence industries of the UK and India. Under the MoU, the collaboration will not only advance India’s defence acquisition process but also foster long-term technology and hardware transfers.

UP chief minister Adityanath Yogi announced that Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) would soon supply Dornier 19-seater civilian aircraft to UP.

Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) certificate of Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) was issued to HAL. LUH is designed and developed as a replacement for Cheetah and Chetak helicopters which are currently being operated by Indian Armed forces. LUH is a new generation helicopter in the 3-ton class incorporating the state-of-the-art technology features which will meet the emerging needs in this class of helicopters in the coming decades.

OFB launched “Sharang” the 155mm artillery gun with 36 km range and handed over a model to Chief of Army Staff Gen MM Naravane. OFB also launched JVPC Alpha gun with 100 metres range, Light Machine Gun of 800 metres range and Under barrel Grenade launcher (UBGL).

BDL launched Amogha-3, a man portable fire and forget anti-tank guided missile. BDL also launched Varunastra – the anti-submarine torpedo, manufactured under the technological guidance of DRDO.

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History of Development

The history of air defence artillery in India began in 1939, during the Second World War, when the British Government was forced to raise air defence units in India to counter the Japanese air threat in south east Asia. Few Indian troops were trained in the use of the three-inch ack-ack gun and later the 40mm L/60 gun, as part of the anti-aircraft batteries of Hongkong and Singapore Royal Artillery (HKSRA) and Indian Artillery.

From 1941 onwards, the anti-aircraft units and training establishments began to be raised in India with Indian officers and men being posted into these establishments from the regiment of artillery and infantry units and later through fresh commission and enrolment.

In July 1940, the Anti-Aircraft and Coast Defence Wings were established at Karachi for training of Indian officers, JCOs and NCOs in the anti-aircraft techniques. In August 1940, an important decision was taken by the British War Office to create an anti-aircraft branch of Indian Artillery on the concept of tank artillery. On 14 September 1940, one Indian anti-aircraft Technical Training Battery was raised at Colaba, Bombay. It included nucleus of the first anti-aircraft unit of Indian Artillery – the R (Royal) HAA Regiment. In January 1941, Light anti-aircraft unit called the U LAA Regiment was raised at Malir Cantt (now in Pakistan) and was equipped with L/60 guns. In April 1941, both of these units were re-named and thus R HAA became the 1 Indian HAA Regiment IA and U LAA became 1 Indian LAA Regiment IA.

The post-1971 war period saw rapid modernization and mechanization of AD Artillery. Many a state-of-the-art and latest weapon systems were introduced into service during this period, such as:

•             The Tiger Cat Misisle System (1972): The ZSU-23-4B Shilka (1973) a fully integrated, self-propelled, anti-aircraft system with four liquid-cooled 23mm automatic cannons mounted on the front of a large, flat, armored turret.

•             The ZU-23-2B guns (1976) anti-aircraft gun system comprises twin 23mm cannons on a towed two-wheel carriage.

Subsequently the Igla SAM and the Strela-10M missiles were introduced during 1988-89.

The Corps of AD Artillery came into its own on 10 January 1994. The Directorate General of Air Defence Artillery (AAD) started functioning from the same day. Likewise, the AD Artillery branches at the various command HQs were also formed. The Air Defence and Guided Missile (ADGM) School at Gopalpur started functioning as an autonomous entity and the AD Wing at Artillery Centre, Nasik Road Camp became the ADGM Centre.

The Corps of Air Defence Artillery has been re-designated as Corps of Army Air Defence with effect from 18 April 2005.

Current AD Systems

These are following air defence systems currently used by Indian armed forces:

Anti-aircraft Gun Systems

L-70 AD Gun: The L-70 AD gun forms the backbone of the air defence system of the Indian Army. In 2007, India’s Ordnance Factories Board (OFB) signed for the second upgrade of the 40mm L-70 guns inducted by the Indian army in the early 1960s. The guns are currently produced by ordnance factories under license from the Swedish company. Over 600 such guns are currently in the army’s inventory. Though India’s armed forces are increasingly opting for missile-based AD systems, the army wants to retain gun-based systems as well. The 40-mm single-barrel weapon, the original version of which dates back to the World War-II has been in service with the Indian Army for about 45 years.

Zu-23-2B Guns. This anti-aircraft gun system comprises twin 23mm cannons on a towed two-wheel carriage. The Soviet origin ZU-23 has been in service for over 30 years. Though primarily an AD weapon, these twin-barrel rapid firing guns have been consistently used by Indian Army in border conflicts.

These vintage anti-aircraft guns that form the mainstay of the Army’s air defence network are soon to be replaced. The Indian Army wants its new guns to have an effective range of at least 3,500 meters with the ability to engage targets flying at speeds more than 300 meters per second. The guns should have the capability to engage targets with or without a fire-control radar.

Besides the L-70 and ZU-23, other anti-aircraft systems like the OSA-AK, SA-9, ZSU-23-4 Schilka have been around for about three decades and only some cosmetic modifications to these systems have been undertaken.

Anti-aircraft Gun and Missile Systems

Schilka: A self-propelled weapon system and designed to fight primarily tactical aircraft and helicopters.

Igla: A short-range man-portable air defence [missile] system. Igla 19K310 (SA-16 Gimlet). A further development from the SA-14 and SA-7 series of man-portable surface-to-air missiles.

Tunguska-M: A gun missile system. The advent of tactical precision-guided weapons (PGW) called for the introduction of a missile channel to fight aircraft and helicopters before they could fire PGW. As a consequence, the renowned Tunguska AD gun-missile system was designed by Russia and acquired by Indian Army. It can engage targets while stationary and on the move, using missiles for long-range targets and guns foreclose-in defence.

These AD systems were all acquired from the Soviet (now Russian/Ukrainian) companies.

The Army has indicated to the defence ministry that the AD area is an area of critical concern and the current armoury should be replaced with advanced systems immediately from companies overseas.

Surface-to-air (SAM) Missiles

ZRK SD Kvadrat (SA-6 Gainful): The SA-6 Gainful is a two stage, solid-fuel, low-altitude surface-to-air missile. It has a range of 3,000 to 24,000 meters.

OSA AKM (SA-8b Gecko): It is a single-stage, solid-fuel, short-range, low-altitude, all-weather surface-to-air missile. Four command-guided missiles are carried ready to launch.

Strela-10M3 (SA-13 Gopher): The SA-13 Gopher is a short-range, low altitude surface-to-air missile. The SA-13 missile has a maximum speed of Mach 2 and carries a five kg high explosive warhead.

Strela-2M (SA-7B Grail): It is a man-portable, shoulder-fired, low-altitude SAM similar to the US Army’s Redeye SAM. The missile had a HE warhead and passive infrared homing guidance. They are a tail-chase missile system.

The surface-to-surface missile that form the tactical artillery of Indian Army include the Brahmos cruise missile, the Prithvi missile which comes in four variants and the Agni missile with six variants.

Ongoing Programmes

Gun and Missile System. After almost three years of industry discussion between Indian Army and defence industry over procurement of 428 self-propelled air defence gun missile (SPADGM) system costing around Rs 16,000 crore, Ministry of Defence has finally formalized the roadmap for kick-start the project. In October 2018, Indian Army officially declared Hanwha Defence Systems of South Korea as the only qualified company for the gun and missile system programme.

In the 2013 global tender, the Indian Army shortlisted three companies – Hanwha Defense Systems, which offered its Hybrid Biho system and Russian companies Almaz Antey, which offered its upgraded Tunguska system and KBP Tula, which offer its Pantsir system22. The weapons of shortlisted companies were evaluated throughout 2015 and tested in 2017. However, both the upgraded Tunguska system fielded by Almaz Ante and Pantsir by KBP Tula systems were not fully compliant during the trials. The program entitled for the procurement of five regiments, or 104 systems of gun missiles systems.

The Indian Army is looking for a mix of both gun and missiles mounted on one or separate high mobility vehicles. In addition, the gun as well as the missile should be able to engage aerial targets both with and without the fire control radar, either independently or simultaneously. The SPADGM systems will eventually replace the army’s 1360 obsolete Bofors L-70 (40mm) single barrel and Soviet-era Zu-23-2 towed 23 mm twin-barrel weapon systems.

Replacement of L-70 Guns. In September 2013, the tender issued in 2009 for replacement of L-70 air defence guns, had to be cancelled as only Rosoboronexport of Russia responded, leading to a single vendor situation. The tender had gone to Rosoboronexport of Russia, Bumar of Poland, Thales of France and the Doosan Group of South Korea. The 2009 tender (cancelled in 2013) was also a re-bid of an earlier tender of 2007, which was cancelled because only the OFB in partnership with Rheinmetall Air Defence had submitted the bid which led to a single vendor situation.

Very Short-Range Air Defence Programme

Indian Army had initiated the process to acquire Very Short-Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) missiles in 2010. It went through several rounds of trials before Rosoboronexport’s Igla-S qualified in January 2018 as it was emerged lowest bidder with $1.47 billion. The other two bidders were Swedish SAAB’s RBS70 NG ($2.6 billion) and France’s MBDA Mistral ($3.68 billion). VSHORAD program was initiated to replace Russian Igla-M Systems that have been used by Army since the 1980s. Under this program, Indian Army issued Request for Proposal (RFP) for 5,175 missiles and associated equipment, out of which around 2,300 missiles will be bought in fully formed condition, 260 will be in semi-knocked down (SKD) condition and 1,000 missiles will be completely knocked down (CKD) and 600 missiles will be produced in India under Make in India initiative.

Igla-S (SA-24). Igla-S is the latest model of Russian MANIPADS (man-portable air defence system) technology as it offers superior performance over earlier supplied SA-18 missiles to India. It is designed for use against visible aerial targets at short range such as tactical aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAVs), cruise missiles and countermeasures. As per the requirement of Indian Army, it will have maximum range of 6 kms, altitude of 3 kms along with all-weather capability.

National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System. The programme was initiated in 2018, when Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the acquisition of National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System-II (NASAMS-II). India has begun the process of acquiring the NASAMS-II from the US to fully secure its airspace against aerial threats ranging from drones to ballistic missiles. NASAMS-II will be used along with indigenous, Russian and Israeli systems to establish a multi-layered missile shield over the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

NASAMS-II is an upgraded version of the Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace/Raytheon National Advanced Surface to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) and features new 3D mobile surveillance radars and 12 missile launchers for quicker reaction. The new air-defence system will eventually supplement the long-delayed indigenous two-tier ballistic missile defence (BMD) shield that is in an advanced stage of development by DRDO.

Comments

If the enemy is acquiring and is equipped with ‘first-look, first-shoot, first-kill’ capabilities with smarter sensors, longer stand-off weapons and stealthy platforms, it is imperative that our aerial and ground-based weapons are a step ahead. Manual, second or even third-generation systems are becoming redundant, given that the sensor-to-shooter loop is getting shortened by the day.

Automation of responses also calls for greater diligence in air space control and Identification of Friend and Foe (IFF) to avoid fratricide or ‘blue-on-blue’ kills.

The IAF is equipped quite satisfactorily to generate the big situational picture using various radars and sensors and to share it with the Army and Navy. The Navy is also well on its way in strengthening its maritime AD capabilities. The Army, however, is struggling with delays to modernise its Air Defence Corps with ground-based air defence weapon systems (GBADWS) to safeguard the Army’s integral assets and manage surface coordination.

Research projects must be user-led to ensure they do not suffer time and cost-overruns, which force the Services to meet their requirements through imports after considerable funds and efforts have been sunk in foreclosed projects.

A common AD weapon systems thread must run across all the three Services, not only to ensure smooth inter-service integration and interoperability of weapon and support systems, but also for driving the economy of scale, keeping in mind the high cost of GBADWS. Such commonality can be achieved in many operational areas such as a common successor gun system or a common Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) system, which can be mounted on different types of platforms as suited to each Service (shoulder fired/ pedestal/ vehicle/ ship-mounted, etc). Also, commonality can be achieved in fielding a similar genre of short-, medium- and long-range SAMs (SRSAMs, MRSAMs and LRSAMs) for the Services, which can have different ranges and launch platforms suited to specific Service needs.

Except for the successor guns (close-in weapon system or CIWS), action towards achieving commonality is being progressed in terms of VSHORADS, SRSAMs (Akash), MRSAMs (Barak) and LRSAM (Barak variant) besides ADC&RS. Even CIWS must follow suit.

The post An Overview of Indian Air Defence Programmes appeared first on IMR.

Apart from QA activities, the organisation is responsible for import substitution and associates itself with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for its development projects. In order to carry out its functions efficiently and effectively, the organisation is divided into twelve Directorates including ten technical directorates and two non-technical directorates. Each technical directorate is responsible for a group of technologically distinct equipment, namely: Stores, Armaments, Vehicle, Electronics, WP (Engineering and Hull Machinery, etc), Naval, Engineering equipment, Radar and System, Combat Vehicles, Metallurgical and explosive stores.

Today, there is huge emphasis on empowering startups, encouraging MSME participation and promoting private sector participation for defence manufacturing in India. DGQA is incentivizing domestic defence manufacturing through a number of schemes and policies including:

•             IP Facilitation Scheme

•             Self-Certification Scheme

•             Defence Export Promotion Scheme

•             Green Channel Policy.

Two schemes of DGQA coming up in the near future are Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) and Third-Party Inspection Scheme (TPIS).

IP Facilitation Scheme

To enhance Industrial competitiveness Intellectual property rights (IPR) are evolving as strategic tools. In all spheres of business. Intellectual property (IP) refers to notions or ideas pertaining to intellect. IPRs include patents, copyright, Industrial design rights, trademarks, trade dress, and others. IPR plays a very important role in nearly every segment and has become a central feature for decisions pertaining to investment for many establishments. In defence manufacturing, IPR comprises innovations (patent protected), manufacturing designs and origins of technology. It affords protection for investments in developing new technology and ways to finance research and development events. The purpose of IPR is to protect investments in the expansion of new technology, thus giving boost and resources to activities related to finance research and development.

A number of ordnance factories, defence PSUs and even individual officials of these organizations have carried out innovative research leading to the development of certain materials, component/sub-assemblies/ assemblies for performance upgrade of the existing systems/ platforms. Simultaneously, they have reduced India’s dependence on imports. Such innovations may be treated as intellectual properties and need to be protected by way of filing of patents. Some organizations and individuals have made their own isolated efforts. There is a need for a structured mechanism to facilitate and encourage such activities with a primary objective to “Boost IP culture.” This would emphasize the importance of intellectual capital and encourage in-houseR&D in such organizations.

Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti was started in 2018 and it is aimed at inculcating IP culture in Indian defence manufacturing ecosystem. In this mission, an Intellectual Property Facilitation Cell (IPFC) has been constituted under the sponsorship of DGQA.

The Cell trains people from public/ private sector on IPR and enables filing of new IPR applications. The Action Plan 2019-20 aims to establish a structure which allows full deployment of novel ideas and innovation for achieving self-dependence in the defence sector.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the IPFC and National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), Ministry of Science and Technology to promote a culture of novelty and IPR in the defence industry.

Self-Certification Scheme

The MoD has formulated the “Self-Certification Scheme” for DPSUs and private industry to allow ease of business with the aim of “Make in India”. DPSUs and industry are encouraged to take responsibility of quality standards and improve and maintain quality of [heir products via this scheme.

Until now, DGQA issued quality assurance (QA) to vendors. With the introduction of this scheme, a mechanism has been created for awarding “self-certification status” to vendors who have state-of-the-art manufacturing infrastructure and demonstrated capability to consistently fulfil the stipulated requirements. The scheme provides eligibility criteria for grant of self-certification status, assessment, validity, revocation/ renewal of the status and acceptance of self-certified stores. It provides requirements, criteria and assessment procedure for self-certification, its validity and withdrawal, and executive instructions for acceptance of stores under the scheme.

This status is honoured by all procurement agencies under MoD. The objective is to integrate quality throughout the manufacturing process and, hence, ensure better reliability of the end product.

The vendor’s processes should be stable with process capability index (Cpk) greater than 1.33. DPSUs and private industry should have an established quality management system (QMS) in place as per the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 and its revisions. The test labs of the of the vendors should have quality systems in conformity with ISO/ IEC 17025 and preferably be NABL accredited. The self-certification status is valid for three years.

Defence Export Promotion Scheme

The draft Defence Production Policy 2018 has set an objective lo enhance annual defence exports to Rs 35,000 crores by 2025 from the current level ofRs 6,000 crores annually. After the opening of liberalization of the defence sector in 2001, there has been a significant rise in the defence production by private sector enterprises. However, the increase in number of has not grown on the same scale.

The Defence Export Promotion Scheme has been launched with an objective to provide two options to prospective defence exports for improving marketability of their products globally.

Option 1. The first option is to get a certificate “Fit For Indian Military Use” if the vendor is found to be technically qualified bidder in a procurement situation. Where more than one vendor is technically qualified, the scheme proposes to create mechanism to grant relevant certification to the technically qualified bidder for their respective products and the associated specifications. A certificate would be issued by the Department of Defence saying “Fit for Indian Military Use”. This certificate can be produced by the prospective exporter for marketing their products in the global market. The request can be made to the DGQA, DGAQA or DGNAI.

Option 2. A second option is applicable in case a product is not required by the Indian armed forces while an Indian manufacturer has the capability to develop an item with export potential. The scheme would provide access to testing infrastructure of the MoD for initial product validation and subsequent field trials, under certain conditions.

The notified field firing ranges open to private industry for sharing are given in the table. The cost of testing and evaluation would be arrived at on a ‘case to case’ basis and would be borne by the exporter/ manufacturer.

Green Channel Policy

An important area of defence procurement is that of procurement of spares and stores. While this area is usually not covered as extensively as compared to big-ticket capital acquisitions, it is a key requirement for armed forces and defence procurement. The ‘Green Channel Policy’ is an MoD initiative that is being executed DGQA, with the purpose of improving ease of doing business. It is aimed to help achieve the vision of ‘Make in India’ within the sector of defence manufacturing.

The scheme is designed to cater to companies that manufacture defence items that have continuous requirement or mass consumption. These are primarily termed as defence stores and spares. Firms that meet the eligibility criteria may apply for this for permission to obtain ‘Green Channel Status’. Upon obtaining the ‘Green Channel Status’ through the granting of a ‘Green Channel Certificate’ the supplier gains deemed registration status, waiver of pre-dispatch inspection and acceptance of stores under the supplier’s guarantee/ warranty against the contracts concluded by different agencies under the MoD.

Firms that fulfil the eligibility criteria will be allowed to self-certify products meant for mass consumption of the Indian armed forces. Having said that, there is an exception with regards to ‘critical stores’ such as those that are meant to serve airborne applications, which are governed by airworthiness certification and quality assurance regulatory requirements. These stores being critical in nature along with more rigorous quality assurance procedures and practices are excluded from the provisions of self-certification.

The applicant firms need to pay a registration fee and deposit an irrevocable bank guarantee with the nodal agency – DGQA.

Upcoming Schemes of DGQA

Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme

The development of a manufacturing base in the country is a top priority for the government, especially in the aerospace and defence sector. A critical focus area to further develop the defence industrial base is defence testing infrastructure. Domestic defence production would be well supported by an easily accessible state of the art testing infrastructure. However, this is another capital-intensive segment and would require continuous upgradations and modifications to be in sync with changing technologies and requirements. Hence, it is not an economically viable investment for individuals, particularly smaller defence industrial units to set up facilities in-house. This is where the Government can step in to provide the thrust that is required to set up the requisite testing infrastructure.

The Government has released a draft scheme aimed at setting up greenfield defence testing infrastructure for aerospace and defence related production. The facility would be a common facility under the private sector with government assistance. A major objective of the scheme is to encourage MSMEs and start-ups participation as the infrastructure, once set up, would provide easy and feasible access to the domestic defence industry. Given the fact that the very nature of setting up Defence Industrial Corridors (DICs) is to support large number of industries in the sector, the scheme provisions for giving a preference to DICs for setting upDTIs.

The private sector is expected to set up testing and infrastructure facilities with financial assistance from the central government in the form of grant-in-aid for setting up these DTIs. The segments for which DTIs can be set up include

•             Testing facilities for drones/ UAVs/ RPAs

•             EMI / EMC testing for radars and electronic/ telecom equipment

•             Specialised test-driving tracks

•             Ship motion testing

•             Radiated noise and shock testing

•             Ballistic and blast testing facilities

•             Electronic warfare

•             Environment test facilities

•             Rubber testing for defence and aerospace sectors

•             Test facilities for aerospace industry

•             Software testing

•             Any other area lacking testing infrastructure

Each DTI will be set up via a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), a Section 8 company under the Companies Act 2013, which would he the Implementation Agency (IA) comprising private entities including private companies, industry associations, and R&D institutions. The grant in aid from the central government would be limited to a sum total of Rs 400cr while the assistance for individual DTIs would not exceed 75 per cent of the project cost. The grant broadly covers 3 small, 3 medium and 2 large facilities with estimated costs at less than Rs 20crore, between Rs 20 and 50crore and greater than Rs 50crore respectively. The number at facilities under each category could however be altered if need arises.

At least seven private entities could constitute the IA but eachsuch constituent should not have more than 25 per centof totalshare capital of the IA. There are other conditions to be fulfilled as well. The roles and responsibilities of IAs have also been spelt out.

This scheme is expected to support start-ups and MSMEs, which will then bridge gaps in defence testing infrastructure In the country. The government expects these new facilities, once established, to resolve three critical bottleneck in defence production. A few large private companies in India have reportedly spent huge amounts to create their own laboratoriesto validate their manufactured products. However, not all firms/ companies can afford this given the fact that there are only few assured orders. These facilities would, therefore, remove this bottleneck, thereby increasing work on the research and development front.

Third Party Inspection Scheme

Third Party Inspection (TPI) scheme for outsourcing quality assurance functions for defence stores has been formulated covering modalities for outsourcing TPI agencies to perform quality assurance functions for defence stores manufactured by the private industry within India.

For an entity to be eligible to become a TPI agency, it should satisfy below criteria:

•             Accreditation by the quality council of India (QCi) for certification / conformity assessment pertaining to quality management system (QMS) of manufacturers (1509001:2015).

•                             Accreditation for certification of “Conformity Assessment – Requirements for the Various Types of Bodies Performing Inspection as per IS/ISO/IEC 17020: 2012.

•                             Accreditation by OCI for ZED Maturity Assessment Model, initially provisionally approved and later formally accredited by NABCB and approved by DCMSME (for MSMEs)(in cases involving capacity assessment and certification task outsourced to TPI).

Indian agencies which meet the above eligibility criteria and are interested in registration as TPI for the purpose of this scheme may apply to DGQA for which the format and the procedure has been laid down.

Comments

The different schemes of DGQA target key aspects to build a robust defence industrial base along with creating a more conducive and efficient defence manufacturing ecosystem. Certain schemes are also designed to better integrate MSMEs into the defence manufacturing ecosystem and help reduce barriers to entry into the defence sector. All in all, the ecosystem is being so developed that there comes a higher degree of participation and responsibility on the part of the supply chain to execute orders in an effective and transparent manner.

Quality assurance is vital to guarantee that qualitative requirements, technical specifications, and any other applicable guidelines and / or characteristics of an equipment are met. Given the focus on indigenous defence manufacturing, it is important to have a strong quality assurance framework to ensure that the domestic defence industrial base can produce the highest quality of defence equipment.

These schemes encourage holistic defence production and a testing ecosystem such as in the upcoming defence industrial corridors in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and in hubs like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune.

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Quality Assurance and MSMEs

With reportedly more than 10,000 MSMEs contributing to the defence sector In India, it is Imperative that policies for testing and quality assurance are prepared with this segment in rnind. Not only are MSMEs a big community In the defencesector, they cannot afford to have individual affiliations and individual testing centres, thereby making their involvement more important. Hence, policies should be devised to enable MSMEs to get their products tested and certified without having lo make significant capital investments. While the Government is presently drafting an MSME-focused schemeIpolicy for the defence sector, there are others in draft for the manufacturing sector. They include:

Draft Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS). The policy aims to set up 6-8common greenfield defence testing infrastructure facilities under the private sector with Government assistance (up to 75% of project cost as grant-in-aid). The objective of the proposed scheme is to promote indigenous defence production, with special focus on participation of MSMEs and Startups by bridging gaps in defence testing infrastructure in the country.

Financial Support to MSMEs in ZED CertificationScheme. The objectives of the scheme include inculcating zero defect and zero effect practices in the manufacturing process while ensuring continuous improvement. The scheme promotes adaption of quality tools/ systems and energy efficient manufacturingand encourages MSMEs to constantly upgrade their quality standards to adopt zero defect manufacturing processes. The subsidy provided by the government would be within 80%, 60% and 50% for micro, small and medium enterprises respectively.

Lean Manufacturing Competitiveness Scheme: This is a business initiative to enhance competitiveness in the manufacturing sector, thereby imbibing a culture of continuous improvement and increase in overall productivity. The provision of financial assistance to MSMEs is up to Rs 36 lakhs per mini cluster of 10 units for a period of 18 months or till completion, in an 80:20 ratio, where the MSME’s contribution is 20%.

Tool Rooms and MSME Technology Centres. Technology centres facilitate an integrated development of MSMEs by providing quality tools and industry ready manpower along with consultancy in tooling and related areas and processes. Assistance to MSMEs is provided through tooling facilities for enhancement of their efficiency and through consultancy on process and product development and skill development.

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Notified Field Firing Ranges of Indian Army For Private Industry

S. No.    FFR         State     Maximum           Weapons to be tested

                                                Range (KM)

1              Bamori (Saugor)               Madhya Pradesh              3              Small Arms (SA) weapons 81 mm mortar,

                                                                Rocket Launcher (RL), Automatic Grenade          

                                                                Launcher (AGL) and 14.5 mm Artillery Trainer

2              Sikkim (HAA Area)           Sikkim   6              All infantry weapons and field guns at limited range

3              Teesta  West Bengal       10           All infantry weapons and field guns at limited range

4              Balwanta (Nasirabad)     Rajasthan            3              SA weapons 81 mm mortar RL, AGL and 14.5 mm             

                                                                Artillery Trainer

5              Gamrala (HAA Area)       Arunachal Pradesh          6              All infantry weapons and field guns at limited range

6              Mahajan              Rajasthan            20           Tank and Infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV) Gun, Tank

                                                                and ICV Missiles. All Infantry, Army Air Defence               

                                                                (AAD) and Artillery weapons

8              Pokhran               Rajasthan            32           Tank and ICV Gun, Tank and ICV Missiles, All                                      

                                                                Infantry, AAD and Artillery weapons

9              Babina  Madhya Pradesh              10           Tank and ICV Gun, Tank and ICV Missiles, All

                                                                infantry, AAD and Artillery weapons

The post Defence Industry : Schemes to Incentivise Defence Manufacturing appeared first on IMR.

India’s indigenous ballistic missile defence (BMD) system has reportedly been completed with the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) seeking government approval to install and activate the system near the country’s capital, New Delhi.

The IAF, which is responsible for the country’s air defence, and the DRDO, which has developed the system, will now move a joint proposal for the government’s clearance.

Once the permission has been granted by the government, it will take three to four years to install the BMD system. Furthermore, it was up to the government to extend BMD to the country’s financial hub, Mumbai.

Neither DRDO nor the IAF have publicly commented on the purported completion of the BMD system.

India kick started its BMD program in 1999 following the Kargil War and in response to China and Pakistan’s expanding missile arsenals. The BMD system is two-tiered. The first layer is the Prithvi Air Defence (PAD)/Pradyumna and Prithvi Defence Vehicle (PDV) interceptors designed to destroy missiles at Exo-atmospheric altitudes of 50-180 kilometres. (The PDV will reportedly eventually replace the older PAD/Pradyumna Ballistic Missile Interceptor.)

The second layer consists of the single stage solid rocket-propelled AAD/Ashwin interceptor missile designed to shoot down incoming enemy missiles in the Endo-atmosphere at altitudes of 15-40 kilometres.

India’s indigenous BMD system can reportedly intercept medium range ballistic missiles. PAD and PDV are designed for mid-course interception, while AAD is used for terminal phase interception system after missiles enter the earth’s atmosphere.

DRDO last successfully tested an AAD interceptor missile against a medium-range ballistic missile target in August 2018. The organisation also test fired the AAD in December 2017. Additional tests of the AAD and PDV interceptors were conducted in March and February 2017 as well as in May 2016 and November 2015 respectively. In past tests, Prithvi-II or III tactical surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missiles usually stood in as ballistic missile targets.

India also conducted its first successful anti-satellite (ASAT) test, dubbed “Mission Shakti,” in March 2019. DRDO fired a modified version of the PDV anti-ballistic-missile interceptor, a so-called PDV Mark II missile to destroy a satellite orbiting at 285 kilometres in altitude. Some analysts have speculated that this will provide India with the capability of Exo-atmospheric interception of intercontinental-range ballistic missiles.

Army May Soon Get Robot Option For Recce Ops

Robots on wheels, robots on tracks and robots resembling a ball, not unlike a robotic character seen in the new Star Wars films may soon be rolling out to join Indian Army troops.

For the last three years, Bangalore-based DRDO lab, the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robots (CAIR), has been perfecting four different models of mobile robots designed to infiltrate military and combat zones, map the area and help friendly troops punch their way in.

The ‘Sentry’ is a four-wheeled robot which looks almost spider-like with a large central eye and a battery of sensors in front. The unit is designed to probe flat or semi-flat landscapes for the military.

The second machine, called ‘Mini-UGV’ is a squat, tracked robot resembling a large, toy tank designed to infiltrate buildings occupied by terrorists and survey the various floors.

Both of these models are completely autonomous, which means that if you give them a destination, they will create their own waypoints and chart a course to the destination using their inbuilt Artificial Intelligence module.

The ‘Sentry’ is also capable of patrolling a medium-sized perimeter constantly for as long as the battery held a charge. The maximum battery endurance of both machines is about four hours.

Both systems use a battery of sensors, including GPS, 360-degree cameras and an infrared sensor.

The operational doctrine has already been formulated for all the robots. Eight of these various robots are designed to operate as a team. Each robot has something called ‘multi-agent collaboration.’ This means they can talk to each other.

Both machines have completed testing and are ready to be deployed.

‘Mirchi Bomb’ Developed

DRDO’s Defence Research Laboratory (DRL) in Tezpur has come up with a range of devices that can be used in different situations of low intensity conflict. From chilli spray, which can be kept in a woman’s purse for self defence to grenades that can be lobbed to control crowds or manage hostage situations, there are now a range of products-a mirchi bomb for every situation.

DRDO, which had first identified Bhut Jolokia as the hottest chilli in the world, had been working for some years to tap the fire of the chilli.

The product was first conceptualised in 2010 and now the lab has it in a range of packaging. The larger grenades can be lobbed into crowds to control mobs. They also come with a thin hose which can be pushed under a door into a room with hostages and abductors. Several state police forces have tested the products, so has the National Security Guard (NSG). The aim was to make a weapon that would only target the ocular system and not the respiratory system. The product, which comes as a non explosive, eco-friendly and non-toxic stream, has minimal side effects, which go away within a few hours.

Bhut jolokia is a sensitive plant which only grows in exacting conditions of soil, temperature and rainfall, to yield the kind of fire that once put it at the top of the Scoville scale, which is used to measure the fire in chilli. Because of the difficulty in getting a steady and large supply of capsaicin from the plant, the laboratory now bases its products on the chemical alone, which is not extracted from the plant, but has the same chemical formula. Bhut jolokia has slipped several ranks on the hottest chillies of the world list, most of the newer entries are commercially grown hybrid varieties.

The post Defence Research : DRDO News appeared first on IMR.

Inaugural Session

Welcome Address. Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia, Director CENJOWS highlighted the significance of air & missile defence. In the wake of the Balakot strike by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Pakistan on 26 Feb 2019, a new paradigm had been created, he said, and air defence (AD) in future would have to be ready 24×7. The 14 September 2019 attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities by armed drones and cruise missiles had also significantly changed the nature of future wars by opening new domains, which would mandate countermeasures by Air Defence. He emphasized the importance of finding new solutions by the Indian defence industry and R &D community. He reiterated the aim of the seminar which was to bring all stake holders on a common platform for discussing the integration of new technologies, optimizing legacy system and come out with an action plan on the way ahead.

Special Address. Lt Gen PS Rajeshwar, Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee highlighted the rapidly changing dimension of air threat and the need for evolving countermeasures to meet the threats in an environment of joint and network centric wars. He stated the need to relook at the Vulnerable Areas/Vulnerable Points, which require protection, work out the right mix of hard and soft kill weapons, based on an accurate threat assessment. While doing so the inter-se cost factor must also be kept in mind. He said that new technologies would have to work in concert with older concepts which would remain relevant but must mesh with new technologies seamlessly.

Theme Address. Lt Gen AP Singh, Director General (DG) Army Air Defence (AAD) described the emerging challenges for AD, which included drones, advanced aircraft, missiles, hypersonic glide vehicles and cyber warfare. He explained that the AD forces would have to counter stand-off attacks as also close strikes by drones, operate in conventional and sub conventional roles, be prepared 24×7, operate in a highly saturated EW environment and network its operations to ensure seamless and instant fusion as well as passage of data. He highlighted the huge opportunities available to all stake holders to come up with solutions for the emerging milieu. He stated that the AAD required sensors, guns and missiles, Lasers and High-Power Microwave (HPM) systems, electric warfare (EW) suites, control and reporting systems, which would have to work in a networked and joint environment. He exhorted all stake holders to create home grown and cost effective solutions to meet the needs of the AAD.

IMR-EY Knowledge Paper on Air Defence. A Knowledge Paper on Air Defence prepared by IMR and Ernst & Young (EY) was released by the guests during the Inaugural Session.

Industry Perspective. Col KV Kuber, Director, (Defence and Aerospace) Ernst & Young gave the industry perspective on the emerging air threats and the new-generation AD systems, which would be required for countering them. He stated that the drone strikes in Saudi Arabia highlighted the asymmetric impact of low cost equipment on the world economy and the need to guard against such threats. He spoke about the ongoing AD programmes, the evolution of high tech equipment manufacturing by the Indian defence industry, the need to hand-hold important projects by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and highlighted the slow pace of procurement cases. He reiterated the need to put in measures to remove the blockages in the procurement process and the importance of cost-to-kill ratio, which should be factored during the development and procurement cycle. He also gave an insight into the growth story of defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs), Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian defence industry and the emerging changes in this field.

Session 1 : Contours of Aerial Threat

The session was chaired by Air Mshl BR Krishna, DG Air Operations, Air HQ.

Wg Cdr P Prakash, Wing Commander Air Defence-IV, Air HQ spoke on “Air THreat Manifestation” and included an overview of the evolving facets of air threat and preparedness measures to meet the threats. He highlighted the the importance of counter drone technologies and latest measures being undertaken for capability building.

Col S Rajeev, Colonel Air Defence (Operations) Army AD Directorate, Army HQ, spoke on “Emerging threats from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones.” He highlighted the latest trends to include swarm drones, MUMT (manned-unmanned teaming), networked and failsafe C&R links. He highlighted the focus areas which include detection and identification means and, thereafter, the weapon assignment which would include both hard and soft kill.

Ranadeep Saha, Deputy General Manager Radar Development, Larsen & Toubro, spoke on “Fire Control Radars in Air Defence Scenario” and highlighted the Radar development programme of L&T and the new technologies which were being incorporated.

Joseph (Yossi) Horowitz of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems spoke on ” M-SHORADS – Protecting Manoeuvring Forces Against Air Threats” bringing out that M-SHORADS were ideal for protecting manoeuvring forces against air threats. He highlighted that MSHORADs were being incorporated by most advanced nations including USA in their concepts and that solution could provide an effective shield against emerging air threats including drones.

Session 2 : Emerging Technologies

The session was chaired by Lt Gen (Dr) VK Saxena, former DG AAD, Army HQ.

Gp Capt AP Deshpande, Gp Capt Air Staff Requirements, Air HQ, spoke on “Developments in Air Munitions and Delivery Systems.” He gave an insight into latest trends and the tech requirements in aircrafts for future wars.

Capt (IN) Robin Chakraborty, Capt SR (Gun), Naval HQ spoke on “Emerging AD Technologies – Naval Systems”. He explained the Naval AD philosophy and the challenges of AD in maritime environment. He highlighted the emerging technologies in naval systems like precision weapons, net enabled munitions, advanced delivery systems, ability to operate in GPS denied environment, etc.

The chairperson highlighted the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in AD systems and gave an insight into other fields of emerging technologies, which will make the AD environment most challenging in times to come.

Second Day

Inaugural Session

Welcome Address. Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia, Director CENJOWS recalled the discussions of the previous day and encouraged the delegates to highlight the way ahead for meeting the challenges, both external and internal in the AD domain.

Special Address. Lt Gen Satinder Singh, Commandant Army AD College, gave an insight into the evolution of AD and the challenges posed by use of disruptive technologies by both state and non-state actors. Use of technology had made everyone vulnerable and the need for a responsive 24×7 alert AD system was necessary. He highlighted the necessity to optimize the available resources, use innovations and collaborations with academia and industry to find solutions to the emerging challenges. He spoke on the need to incorporate new technologies like Directed Energy Weapons (DEW), HPMW, Automated C&R system in the Army AD and the requirement to train the AD warriors to be able to exploit them for success in future battlefields.

Session 3 : Integrated Air Defence Battle and Challenges

The session was chaired by Air Vice Mshl Surat Singh, Asst Chief of Air Staff Operations (Space), Air HQ.

Capt (IN) MS Khurana, Director Naval Operations (DNO) spoke on “Air Defence of the Fleet” and discussed the maritime environment, which posed additional challenges for AD. He highlighted that the sea was a medium for all users, a global common and the need, therefore, to have state-of-the-art communications, net-centricity, identification friend or foe (IFF), surveillance and weapons to counter the emerging air threats.

Brig V Mahajan, Commander 786 (I) AD Brigade, spoke on “Concept of AD Electronic Warfare Operations.” He spoke about the need to make EW an offensive arm of the AD plan. He highlighted that with the emerging drone and UAV threats this would yield cost-effective solutions in countering the air threat. He gave an overview of the EW systems and their employment for active AD protection along with the other existing systems.

Session 4 : Self Reliance in

Air Defence

The session was chaired by Maj Gen SP Goswami, Addl DG Army AD, Army HQ.

Col GL Sharma, Colonel AD (SRSAM/ MRSAM), AAD Directorate, spoke on “Self Reliance in Defence Production – Can India Achieve It?”. He highlighted the various challenges which existed in our current procurement system and compared the best practices of other nations. He proposed changes in the Defence Procurement procedure (DPP) and policy issues which would assist in streamlining the system.

Dr Amit Kumar from Advanced Systems Laboratory, DRDO, spoke on “Latest Developments in Missile Defence Systems.” He highlighted the extensive use of advanced technologies and the development of the Indian ballistic missile defence (BMD) system over the years.

Closing Session

Special Addesss. Dr G Satheesh Reddy, Chairman DRDO and Secretary Department of Defence R&D gave a special address and highlighted the complex air threat environment, which was emerging. The use of advanced technologies like hypersonic glide vehicles, UAVs/ drones, sixth-gen aircraft, advanced missiles with long ranges, use of AI and advent of autonomous systems would pose immense challenges in securing the skies in future, he said. He highlighted the future requirements in AD systems, which would include Radar systems capable of detecting such threats, Laser and HPMW systems, BMD systems, failsafe communications and networked systems for real time 24×7 actions. He also gave an insight into the indigenous AD programmes, which were ongoing and those planned in the future to meet those challenges.

Closing Address.  Maj Gen Ravi Arora gave the Vote of Thanks and thanked all the delegates and participants for their presence on the two days and invigorating discussions.

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Summary of Recommendations

The seminar provided an opportunity to all the stake holders to discuss the relevant issues pertaining to Air and Missile Defence. A number of important and relevant issues emerged which will indicate the way forward in providing secure Air Defence to the country. These are summarized as follows:-

•             Air threats emerging as a result of complex systems and advanced technologies, used in conjunction with drones and armed UAVs by both state and non-state actors were creating challenge which are both outward and inward looking. Longer ranges of aircraft and munitions as well as shorter ranges and sizes of drones require evolving effective systems and structures to meet these threats.

•             Drones and UAVs have changed the dimension of air threat as demonstrated in the attacks in Saudi Arabia. Drones mitigation will need Point Defence at various VAs/VPs across the country and both hard and soft kill options need to be factored in. India also needs to put in place a comprehensive drone policy along with criminal and legal aspects covering all issues of dereliction.

•             Drones and UAVs mitigation will involve Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and other central and state organisations. There is a pressing need to create a common forum where all stake holders can resolve issues. SOPs for detection, identification and bringing down these threats especially in the hinterland need to be put in place. Seamless communication between all agencies, C&R, and common protocols and procedures is the need of the hour.

•             The training of CAPFs, Army AD and IAF AD elements should be done together so that the issues highlighted above can be resolved. Army AD College can be nominated as the nodal training centre for all CAPFs for this aspect.

•             The Indian defence industry, DRDO and DPSUs need to invest in R&D for developing niche technologies for our future needs. Imports need to be reduced and indigenous cost effective solutions found to meet our future requirements.

•             Defence procurement needs to be simplified and bottlenecks identified and removed in order to ensure timely procurement. Hand-holding can be carried out if required to promote indigenous manufacture. Services should plan incubators to encourage R&D catering to their specific needs. Lateral move of domain experts from Services to DRDO, academia and industry should be encouraged for specific projects.

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Dr G Sathesh Reddy, DG DRDO and Secretary Dept of Defence Research

Lt Gen AP Singh, Director General Army Air Defence

Lt Gen PS Rajeshwar Chief of Integrated Staff to COSC

Lt Gen Satinder Singh Commandant Army Air Defence College

Air Mshl BR Krishna Director General Air Operations

Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia Director CENJOWS

Speakers from left Dr Amit Kumar from Advanced Systems Laboratory, DRDO, Maj Gen Ravi Arora, Chief Editor IMR, Maj Gen SP Goswami, Addl DG Army Air Defence and Col GL Sharma, Col AD (SRSAM/ MRSAM), AAD Directorate

Speakers from left, Capt (IN) MS Khurana, Director Naval Operations, Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia, Director CENJOWS, Air Vice Marshal Surat Singh, ACAS Operations (Space) and Brig V Mahajan, Commander 786 (I) Air Defence Brigade.

Air Vice Mshl Surat Singh ACAS Operations (Space)

Joseph ‘Yossi’ Horowitz Rafael Advanced Defense Systems

Ranadeep Saha, Deputy GM Radar Development, L&T

Capt (IN) Robin Chakravorty Capt SR (Gun), Naval HQ

Gp Capt AP Deshpande Gp Capt Air Staff Requirements

Capt (IN) MS Khurana, Director Naval Operations

Col S Rajeev, Colonel Air Defence (Operations) Army AD Directorate

Col KV Kuber, Director Defence & Aerospace, Ernst & Young

The post Event Review : Air & Missile Defence India 2019 appeared first on IMR.

State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) Limited has identified 500 acres of land near Sulur and Karanampettai to set up a defence corridor. SIPCOT will provide the compensation for patta lands to be acquired.

SPICOT plans to conduct talks with the landowners to acquire the land from them to set up industrial units in the defence corridor. It was also trying to identify 500 more acres of land in the same locality.

SIPCOT would bear the land acquisition cost and later the acquired land will be sold to industries willing to start their units in the defence corridor in Coimbatore.

The Tata Group has approached SIPCOT seeking land in the defence corridor in Coimbatore. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore, was also planning to establish its unit in Coimbatore defence corridor.

Uttar Pradesh to Provide Subsidy for Defence Industry

The Uttar Pradesh government, on 3 December, decided to provide 25 per cent subsidy and 100 per cent stamp duty waiver for setting up defence industry in the state. The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Now, the companies that will set up defence industries will be provided all facilities including power, road and fencing of land, according to Industrial Development Minister Satish Mahana.

F-16 Wings by Tata-Lockheed to be Ready by October 2020

TATA Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Limited (TLMAL), a joint venture between $50 billion Lockheed Martin and TATA Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), is gearing up to roll out the first F-16 wing by October 2020 from its Hyderabad facility. The company is currently building the prototype for the wings of the aircraft, which flies in 26 countries.

TLMAL will have a capacity to make 3-4 wings a month in the steady state. It has completed the 3D modelling for the F-16 wings.

The company will be roping in MSMEs in the country to supply structural components such as wiring and harnesses.

Hyderabad has a strong defence ecosystem for manufacturing. TLMAL in its Adibatla facility near Hyderabad will focus on composites, metal-to-metal bonding and assembly. Using these, the company is going to bid for multiple areas and structures catering to defence, commercial and transport sectors.

The company which has created the metal-to-metal bonding facility in Hyderabad is getting ready now to cater to aircraft makers such as Boeing and Airbus.

TLMAL is also looking at building Bulk Fuel Tank Transport (BFTT) to transport fuel or oil (up to 5,000 gallons) for vehicles through C130J at times of medical emergencies or natural disasters. This is the first design and build programme in India by the private sector. There is demand in India, Africa, Indonesia, Canada and Netherlands. The first prototype will be ready by February-March 2020.

Going forward, TLMAL is also looking at structural repair, electronics, system and integration repair and harnesses for not only Indian Air Force but for the global defence forces.

Reliance Buys 51.78% Stake in Asteria Aerospace

Reliance Industries said, on 13 December, that its wholly-owned subsidiary Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Ltd (RSBVL) has acquired over 51 per cent stake in Asteria Aerospace for Rs 23.12 crore. The said investment represents 51.78 per cent holding in the equity share capital of Asteria.

RSBVL proposes to make a further investment of up to Rs 125 crore, subject to Asteria achieving agreed milestones, and is expected to be completed by December 2021.Post the further investment, the shareholding of RSBVL will increase to 87.3 per cent of the equity share capital of Asteria.

Asteria, incorporated in India in June 2011, is a full-stack drone technology company with in-house drone manufacturing capabilities, and also offers software solutions to provide actionable insights from aerial data, intending to deliver “drone-as-a-service” digital platform.

An early stage company, Asteria had a turnover of Rs 1.96 crore in 2018-19.

Hurdles Cleared for HAL’s Goa Helicopter MRO Project

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s proposed project of helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) in Goa would become functional soon as all the hurdles have been cleared now, Union minister Shripad Naik said on 8 December. The project is meant for maintenance, repair and overhaul of engines that are fitted on HAL-designed and manufactured helicopters.

The HAL and French company, Safran Helicopter Engines, had entered into a joint venture – Helicopter Engine MRO Private Limited – to set up this helicopter maintenance plant at Honda village in North Goa.

Manohar Parrikar, as defence minister, had announced the project in October 2016. As per the plan, the facility was expected to have a total investment of Rs 170 crore, to be invested by both the parties in a phased manner.

The engines of advanced light helicopters of various versions, light combat helicopters and future light utility helicopters that are common between HAL and Safran would be maintained at this facility.

With a fleet of over 1,000 engines, including 250 TM333 and 250 Shakti, India’s armed forces are one of the largest operators of Safran-designed helicopter engines.

Arms Sales of Top Indian Firms Drop

The combined sales of three Indian companies that figure among the world’s 100 top arms suppliers stood at $5.9 billion in 2018, a drop of 6.9% compared to the previous year, according to the latest data released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), published on 9 December. The sales fell during the one-year period because of fewer orders from the Indian armed forces.

The three Indian companies on SIPRI’s list of top 100 global arms firms are Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the Indian Ordnance Factories and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL); their global ranks last year stood at 38, 56 and 62 respectively.

They accounted for 1.4% of the arms sales of the top 100 companies. “All three are state-owned and are dependent on domestic demand. Arms sales by Hindustan Aeronautics and Bharat Electronics increased in 2018 – by 3.5 and 5.9% – respectively. However, these were offset by a 27% fall in the arms sales of Indian Ordnance Factories,” the report said.

The overall sales of the defence sector’s top 100 companies totalled $420 billion in 2018, an increase of 4.6%. The top 100 firms exclude Chinese companies “due to the lack of data to make a reliable estimate”.

Strategic Electronics

Factory by HAL

Strategic Electronics Factory (SEF) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at Kasaragod, Kerala is established for assembly, testing, repair & manufacturing of various types of airborne computers.

HAL has allocated Rs. 67 crores for setting up the facility of SEF at Kasaragod in 2008, out of which Rs 66.31 crore has been incurred so far.

SEF, Kasaragod has so far produced 1210 and repaired 2237 airborne computers like Mission Computers, Radar Computers & Display processors for various types of fighter aircraft.

PSU Status of BEML

The Government had given ‘in-principle’ approval for strategic disinvestment of BEML Ltd. to the extent of 26% out of the Government shareholding of 54.03% with transfer of management control to strategic buyer.  Thereafter, Transaction Advisor, Legal Advisor and Asset Valuer were appointed by the Government as per the procedure and mechanism laid down for this purpose. The Expression of Interest & Preliminary Information Memorandum document have been prepared by the appointed Advisors and submitted to the Government.

Some organisations have made certain representations against the aforesaid disinvestment proposal of BEML Ltd, but they were disregarded since disinvestments through strategic sale are considered based on recommendations of NITI Aayog after taking into consideration, all aspects of the matter.

Corporatisation of Ordnance Factory Board

Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Shripad Naik gave the following information in the Parliament on 2 December regarding corporatization of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).

During the past two decades, several High Level Committees like TKA Nair Committee, Vijay Kelkar Committee & Raman Puri Committee have recommended that Ordnance Factories should be converted from a Government Department into a Corporate entity.

The OFB is an attached office of Department of Defence Production, Govt. of India.  There is no plan at present for strategic tie-up between private sector and OFB.

In respect of non-core items, OFB can still participate in RFPs of the users, i.e. Armed Forces on competitive basis.  Decision to declare items as non-core was taken in consultation with all the stake holders and was done to enable OFB to focus on core areas and complex systems like artillery guns, tanks, ammunitions etc.  The above position has been adequately explained to the employees of OFB through various meetings in the Ministry.  Further, in order to ensure smooth transition from non-core to core areas for production, re-training of workers of non-core factories has also commenced to enable them to work in the core areas.

New Defence Projects

Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Shripad Naik gave the following information in the Parliament on 4 Decemebr, regarding special measures undertaken to promote new and innovative defence production projects under the “Make in India” programme in Tamil Nadu and other States:

•             A new category of procurement ‘Buy {Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)}’ has been introduced in Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP)-2016 to promote indigenous design and development of defence equipment.

•             The ‘Make’ Procedure has been simplified with provisions for funding of 90% of development cost by the Government to Indian industry and reserving Government funded Make-I projects not exceeding development cost of Rs. 10 Crore & procurement cost Rs. 50 Crores per year for MSMEs.  Industry funded Make-II Projects not exceeding development cost of Rs. 3 Crore & procurement cost Rs. 50 Crores per year have also been reserved for MSMEs.

•             A separate procedure for ‘Make-II’ category has been notified to encourage indigenous development and manufacture of defence equipment including provisions such as relaxation of eligibility criterion, minimal documentation, provision for considering proposals suggested by industry/individual etc.

•             ‘Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)’ was launched in April, 2018 to create an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries including MSMEs, Start-ups, Individual Innovators, R&D institutes and Academia including grants/fund.

•             The ‘Strategic Partnership (SP)’ Model for establishment of long-term strategic partnerships with Indian entities through a transparent and competitive process, enabling tie up with global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for technology transfers to set up domestic manufacturing infrastructure and supply chains was notified.

•             FDI Policy has been revised to allow FDI under automatic route upto 49% and beyond 49% through Government approval for technology acquisition etc.

•             A ‘Policy for Indigenisation of Components and Spares used in Defence Platforms’ was notified in March, 2019 to support indigenization of imported components (including alloys & special materials).

•             ‘Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti’ was notified in November, 2018 to support Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) culture in indigenous defence industry.

•             Defence Products list requiring Industrial Licences was rationalised and initial validity of the Industrial Licence granted under the IDR Act increased from 03 years to 15 years with provision of extension by 03 years.

•             112 items were notified under Public Procurement Order 2017 of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) whereby Defence PSUs/OFB give preference to deomestic manufacturers in procurement.

•             Government announced two defence industrial corridors to promote defence industrial base in the country in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh (UP).

•             In the last five financial years i.e. from 2014-15 to 2018-19, Government has accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) to 204 proposals worth Rs. 4,04,880 Crore approximately under ‘Buy (Indian-IDDM)’, ‘Buy (Indian)’, ‘Buy and Make (Indian)’, ‘Strategic Partnership Model’ or ‘Make’ categories of capital procurement as per Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) – 2016, in which Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued only to Indian Vendors.

Contracts Signed Since 2014 With Domestic Industry

The Ministry of Defence has signed more than 180 contracts valued at over Rs 1,96,000 crore with the Indian Industry since 2014 while a few are in the pipeline to be signed in near future.

A contract for manufacture of Frigates under Project P 17A was signed in February 2015 with Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL), Mumbai valued at Rs. 45,000 crores while 02 Frigates under Project P1135.6 are slated to be manufactured by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) under a contract signed in Oct 2018 valued at Rs. 14,100 Crore. Further, contracts for manufacture of 41 Advanced Light Helicopters for Indian Air Force (IAF) and 32 ALH for Indian Navy (IN) have been signed with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in March 2017 and Dec 2017 with a combined value of Rs. 14,100 crore. This is in addition to procurement of 14 Dornier 228 aircrafts from M/s HAL valued at Rs. 1100 crore through a contract signed in February 2015.

Seven Squadrons of Akash Missile System are being procured from BEL through a contract of October 2019 valued at Rs. 6,300 crore as also the Integrated Advanced Command and Control System (IACCS) Nodes valuing Rs. 7,900 crore. OFB has been tasked to supply 464 T-90S/SK tanks worth Rs. 19,100 crore for which indent has been placed on it by the Ministry as recently as November 2019. Also 100 Nos. of 155x52mm cal Self-Propelled Guns are being procured under the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government from Ms/ L&T valued at Rs. 4,300 crore. Also Contract for Modernization of Airfield Infrastructure (MAFI) to be executed through Indian vendors is under final stages of contracting.

Further, Services have also placed a number of contracts on the Private Sector vendors like Titagarh Wagons Ltd, Force Motors Pvt Ltd, Tata Power SED, Tech Mahindra Ltd, Tata Motor Ltd, Ashok Leyland Ltd, Bharat Forge Ltd, MKU Ltd, SMPP Delhi, Alpha Design for items like 1000 Tons Fuel Barges, Light Strike Vehicles, Portable Diver Detection Sonar (PDDS), RFID based SMART Card, 6×6 and 8×8 High Mobility Vehicle with Material Handling Crane, Dual Technology Mine Detector, Ballistic Helmet, Bullet Proof Jacket (BPJ) and Integrated Gunnery.

Three of the cases, viz, P-75(I) Submarines, Naval Utility Helicopters (NUH) and 114 Fighter Jets for IAF, shown as stuck in the long-winded procedures are the cases which are being progressed under SP Model [a procurement procedure, which in itself has been promulgated in May 2017 as part of DPP-2016]. However, even the cases under SP model have been processed expeditiously as evident from the fact that the responses to EOIs [Expression of Interest] have been received in respect of P-75(I) and NUH cases and are under final stages of selection while SQRs are being finalized in respect of 114 Fighter Aircrafts case.

In addition, under Make-II, 44 projects have been given approval. Under Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX). Forty plus startups are working in new technology-related products. Make-II and iDEX reflect new level of active engagement with industry where not only manufacturing but technology development for defence is being taken up.

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