In an order dated September 28, the defence ministry said: Government of India has decided to transfer, with effect from October 1, 2021, the management, control, operations and maintenance of these 41 production units and identified non-production units to seven government companies (wholly owned by the government of India).

According to the order, the name of the seven defence PSUs (also called DPSUs) are:

1. Munitions India Limited.
2. Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited.
3. Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited.
4. Troop Comforts Limited.
5. Yantra India Limited.
6. India Optel Limited.
7. Gliders India Limited.
   The OFB is currently a defence ministry entity and supplies critical arms and ammunition to the three armed forces and the paramilitary.
   As part of the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) package, the central government had announced, on 16 May 2020, that it would improve autonomy, accountability and efficiency in ordnance supplies by corporatisation of the OFB.

Prime Minister’s Message

In a video address, on 1 October, to dedicate seven new defence companies to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to the self-reliant India campaign, said the goal is to make the country the world’s biggest military power on its own.
He mentioned that the target should be that the companies not only establish expertise in their products but also become global brands. He urged that while competitive cost is India’s strength, quality and reliability should be its identity.

He said the world saw the strength of India’s ordnance factories at the time of World War I and that they used to have better resources and world-class skills, but the companies were ignored in the post-Independence period, leading to the country’s dependence on foreign supplies.

“After Independence, we needed to upgrade these factories, adopt new-age technology. But it was not given much attention. Over time, India became dependent on foreign countries for its strategic needs. These new seven defence companies will play a big role in bringing change in this situation,” he said in his video address.

“Today, there is more transparency, trust, and technology-driven approach in the defence sector of the country than ever before. For the first time after Independence, so many major reforms are happening in our defence sector and instead of stagnant policies, a single-window system has been arranged,” he said.

“These seven defence companies will play a major role in changing this situation,” he said.

The prime minister hoped that the new companies would play an important role in import substitution. An order book of more than Rs 65,000 crore reflects the increasing confidence of the country in these companies, he added.

Noting that the decision on reform of the OFB was pending for the last 15-20 years, Modi said works stuck for decades are being completed and India is taking new resolutions to build a new future. “In the 21st century, whether a country or a company, its growth and brand value is determined by its research and innovation. From software to the space sector, India’s growth, India’s new identity is the biggest example of this,” he said.

“Therefore, I also make a special request to all the seven companies that research and innovation should be a part of your work culture….You not only have to match the world’s biggest companies, but also take the lead in future technology,” he added.

Modi said the government has given full functional autonomy along with giving a better production environment to all the companies, adding it has also been ensured that the interests of the workers of these factories are fully protected.

Service Conditions

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and representatives from the defence industry associations were present on the occasion. Singh has already clarified that there will be no change in service conditions of nearly 70,000 employees of the erstwhile organisation and the decision to corporatise the OFB is driven by efforts to boost India’s defence manufacturing sector.
Each of the new DPSUs is required to frame rules and regulations related to service conditions of the absorbed employees, the order noted.

Each of the DPSUs should also seek an option for permanent absorption from the employees on deemed deputation to that respective DPSU, within a period of two years, it stated.

The service conditions of the absorbed employees would not be inferior to the existing ones. A committee would be constituted by DDP (Department of Defence Production) for guiding the new DPSUs in this regard so that the absorption package given is attractive, the order mentioned.

All the employees of OFB (Groups A, B, and C), belonging to the production units and also the identified non-production units, are to be transferred en masse to the new DPSUs on terms of foreign service. They will, however, not be provided with any deputation allowance (deemed deputation) initially for a period of two years from the appointed date, an official order stated.
The MoD has set a target of achieving a turnover of Rs 1,75,000 crore in aerospace and defence goods and services by 2024. This includes exports worth Rs 35,000 crore. The new companies will take over the existing OFB orders to the tune of Rs 65,000 crore.

The post OFB Dissolved, Workers Transferred Enmasse appeared first on IMR.

A new joint venture protective carbine (JVPC) has successfully passed the final phase of user trials, meeting all criteria of the General Service Qualitative Requirement (GSQR), the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has announced.

The compact gas-operated weapon has an effective range of more than 100 metres and weighs less than three kilos. During the tests, the ammunition penetrated 3.5 mm thick mild steel plate and 23 layers of soft armour at 100 metres, the OFB said in a statement.

The weapon can be fired with one hand. It has a rate of fire of 800 rounds per minute. The JVPC, which feeds through the pistol grip unlike any other indigenously developed weapon in 5.56 x30 mm calibre, is being issued to Central paramilitary forces and state police organisations, Gagan Chaturvedi, deputy director general, OFB, said in a statement.

The weapon features a 30-round steel magazine, semi bull-pup design, retractable butt, low recoil and multiple rails for mounting lights, laser pointers and optical sights.

The carbine has been jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the OFB which has its headquarters in Kolkata. It is manufactured at the Small Arms Factory, Kanpur, while the ammunition is produced by Ammunition Factory Khadki in Pune.

The weapons earlier cleared the trials of the Directorate General of Quality Assurance, Chaturvedi said.

Indigenous Artillery Gun Trials to Resume

Winter and summer trials of the indigenous Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) jointly with private industry are scheduled to be resumed and completed by mid 2021.

Trials which began in September 2020 were paused after the gun suffered a barrel burst and an investigation was under way to determine the cause.

The ATAGS is a 155mm, 52 calibre artillery gun jointly developed by the DRDO in partnership with Bharat Forge of the Kalyani Group and the Tata Power SED.

In August, 2018 the Defence Acquisition Council had accorded approval for the purchase of 150 of these guns at an approximate ?3,365 crore which would be split between the two companies. The deal will be split in 60:40 ratio between thee lowest bidder (L1) and L2.

Once the user trials are over, the Army has to give the Request For Proposal (RFP) and the initial lot can be supplied immediately, the official said. The Army requires 1,580 guns in this category and Israeli firm Elbit Systems was shortlisted for a tender floated to procure them.

In September, the ATAGS had suffered a barrel burst during trials which have since been stopped. A committee was set up consisting of DRDO scientists, Army representatives and the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) officials to determine the cause and submit an evaluation report.

The price has not yet been determined and for now it is only for the initial limited order. Price for the bigger order of 1,580 guns has to be negotiated.

First Batch of Negev LMGs Received

Indian Army has received the first batch of Negev Light Machine Guns (LMG) from Israel as it seeks to boost the firepower of frontline troops.

In 2020, the defence ministry signed a Rs8.8bn ($120.57m) capital acquisition contract with Israel Weapons Industries to procure 16,479 LMGs under the Fast Track Procedure.

In the first batch, 6,000 guns were delivered, while the remaining units are expected to be supplied by March.

The weapons are currently undergoing inspections, according to local media sources.

The Negev 7.62X51mm LMG is a combat-proven weapon system and is used by several countries. The LMG has a higher range, as well as greater lethality compared to the currently used weapons system by the Indian Armed Forces.

The LMG was needed to meet urgent operational requirements. Notably, India has been engaged in a border standoff with Chinese forces in the Ladakh region since May. Recently, the two sides held the ninth round of talks to resolve the impasse.

The military face-off has accelerated defence acquisitions and development in India.

High Mobility Vehicles Ordered

Public sector defence equipment manufacturer BEML Limited has received orders from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for supply of High Mobility vehicles, which play a key role in the logistics management of the Indian Army leveraging on its exceptional cross country capabilities.

The high mobility vehicles (HMV) will help in the transportation of armoured fighting vehicles, troops, ammunition and stores to far-flung, difficult terrains in operational areas.

At an approximate value of Rs 758 crore, the equipment will be supplied to Indian Army in a span of one year after manufacturing them at BEML’s Palakkad Plant in Kerala.

Patrol Boats for Pangong Lake

The Indian Army has finalised procurement of 12 high-performance patrol boats to enhance its surveillance of large water bodies, including the Pangong Lake in eastern Ladakh where India and China are locked in a bitter border standoff as well as for other water bodies.

The Army said it inked a contract with Goa Shipyard Ltd, a state-run public sector undertaking, for 12 fast patrol boats for surveillance and patrolling of large water bodies, including those in high altitude areas. Delivery would commence from May 2021.

In a statement, Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) said it signed a contract with the Indian Army for supply of the ‘high performance specialised patrol crafts’ on Thursday and that they will be fitted with specialised equipment to meet the requirement of the force.

Nearly 50,000 Indian Army troops are deployed in a high state of combat readiness in various mountainous locations in eastern Ladakh in sub-zero temperatures as multiple rounds of talks between the two sides have not yielded concrete outcome to resolve the standoff.

Indian troops occupied a number of strategic heights in the Mukhpari, Rechin La and Magar hill areas around the southern bank of the Pangong lake after the Chinese military attempted to intimidate them in the area on the intervening night of August 29 and 30, 2020.

The Pangong lake and areas around it are considered very important. India has stepped up surveillance of the lake after the standoff began in early May 2020.

The post ARMY MODERNISATION – Army Developing New Weapons Systems appeared first on IMR.

Various committees have, over the years, recommended conversion of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) into the Ordnance Factory Corporation Limited to ensure that ordnance factories get the desired functional autonomy and make them accountable and responsible for their operations and performances.

The TKA Nair Committee (2000), Dr Vijay Kelkar Committee (2004), Raman Puri Committee (2015) and Shekatkar Committee (2016) have recommended the corporatisation of the OFB. Based on these reports and to strengthen self-reliance in defence production, the government decided in May 2020 that under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package, the corporatisation of the OFB would be undertaken to improve autonomy, accountability and efficiency in ordnance supplies.

The armed forces have regularly raised concerns about high overhead costs, inconsistent quality and delay in supplies from the OFB. Monopoly of the OFB and lack of innovation and technology development has led to low productivity. No penalties have been imposed for delayed delivery. These figures tell their own story

Production Targets and Achievements

Year       Target          Achievement    % Shortfall

2013-14                382         163         57
2014-15                693         251         64
2015-16                580         194         67
2016-17                576         249         57
2017-18                446         220         51

Corporatisation Blues

The corporatisation of OFB formed part of the Modi 2.0 government’s ‘167 transformative ideas’ to be implemented in 100 days, ie, by October 2019. The Modi government had floated a proposal for corporatisation in Jul/Aug 2019 but the trade unions called for an indefinite strike against the decision on 20 August 2019. However, the strike was called off on 26 August 2019, after assurances by the Secretary of Defence Production that government has not taken any decision yet towards corporatisation of OFB.

The government, thereafter, set up a committee to address the concerns of the employees in September 2019 and subsequently, in November 2019, issued a press release notifying the “proposal to convert Ordnance Factories under the OFB into a 100 per cent Government owned public sector units to provide functional and financial autonomy and managerial flexibility so as to enable the organisation to grow at a faster pace and play a greater role in defence preparedness of the country while also adequately safeguarding the interests of the workers”.

ALSO READ: DEFENCE PROCUREMENT: Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 Released

With the finance minister’s announcement again as part of Defence Reforms package, trade unions again called for an indefinite strike calling the government decision as “arbitrary, illegal and unjustified”.

The biggest concerns of the OFB employees is that ‘Corporatisation’ is the first step towards ‘Privatisation’ and is likely to result in layoffs and job cuts. However, as of now, the Government has made it very clear that it is not thinking of ‘Privatisation’ in the near future and OFB will function akin to the various public sector undertakings (PSUs) in the country post-corporatisation.

Current Organisation

OFB is one of the oldest organisation in the country comprising of 41 ordnance factories, 13 ordnance R&D centres and nine ordnance institutes of learning, distributed all over the country at 24 different locations. It presently functions under the Department of Defence Production of Ministry of Defence and a key supplier of wide variety of products to the armed forces which includes armament, ammunition and also troop comfort items.

The OFs are managed by a three-tiered system with the DDP at the Apex, the OFB which performs the executive functions and individual factory managements. The ordnance factory board is managed by IOFS officers. The board is headed by a Director General and Eight Members. Five members of the board are responsible for functioning of each of the five manufacturing groups and three members are responsible for staff functions of personnel, finance and marketing.

The practice of appointing the senior most IOFS cadre officer as the Chairman without consideration to merit or residual service has resulted in very short tenure of the Chairman.

OFB Financial Structure. The OFB is wholly owned by the government. Budgetary allocations under capital and revenue heads are made to the OFB from the defence budget. These allocations amounting to approximately 1 % of the total defence budget for 2017-18 (BE) cater for shortfall in requirement of the OFB after accounting for income through sales. OFB is unable to run the factories and OFB from its own profits. OFB officers look at Army as their Captive Customer irrespective of shortfalls in quality, delayed supplies, costly products and indifference to complaints.

Affect of Corporatisation

The corporatisation of OFB will put it at par with other defence PSUs managed by its own board of directors with broad guidelines from the government. The government has envisioned growth of OFB post corporatisation expecting it to raise its turnover to Rs 30,000 crore by 2024-25 annually against exiting Rs 12,000 crore, and has set up a high level panel to work out a roadmap to achieve the same. Vice Admiral Raman Puri Committee  recommended grouping existing ordnance factories under three or four verticals with core competencies.

ALSO READ: Draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020

Splitting the OFB into three or four segments and converting these into DPSUs seems to be the way forward. A likely structure categorising factories into four verticals of Ammunition, Weapons, Explosives and Combat Vehicles as shown on the table on page 54.

Post-corporatisation, OFB will be allowed to forge partnerships with the private sector as per the MoD’s approved policy and will continue to receive orders from the country’s security forces. It will also be granted a special preference of 15% above L1 price for “Make” and “Buy and Make” category products. The Centre will support OFB In case of losses, by way of loan for 30% of the total shortfall and by way of equity investment for balance 70% of the amount. The working capital for the next five years will be provided by the Department of Defence Production (DDP) as a one-time corpus fund. Capital investment for ongoing and sanctioned projects will also be provided.

Benefits of Corporatisation

Some of the prominent benefits envisaged after corporatisation are highlighted below:-

Improved Efficiency. The corporatisation of OFB is likely to result in better management of its functioning with greater autonomy in functioning and dynamic decision making, also resulting in timely delivery and better quality supplied by factories.

Competitive Pricing. At present, a cost plus mechanism is followed by OFB to fix the prices. In this system the price is fixed by taking max estimated cost plus 20 percent to cater for contingencies which are further raised by another 8 to 15 percent next year. This led to over pricing with CAG even pointing out that in some cases OFB is charging even more than the import value of the equipment. It is envisaged that corporatisation will lead to reduced and competitive pricing, since OFB will be competing with private players in defence industry, albeit with some advantages.

Flexibility in Technology Acquisition.  OFB will be free to form strategic alliances with Indian and overseas companies to boost innovation and develop new products. The factories, if modernised and managed properly will be able to unlock its true potential and be the main key in ‘Make in India’ project.

Financial Independence. OFB may no longer be dependent on government for funding as it will be able to generate funds through other means like being listed on stock exchange similar to other DPSUs. This will enable it to achieve financial independence and the money can be efficiently used for modernisation, R&D and boost innovation.

Optimum Use of Idle Capacities. The idle or under-utilised capacities of the factories will be better utilised post corporatisation.

Increased Defence Export. Corporatized Ordnance factory can use the idle capacities to generate surplus production over and above the requirement of armed forces, which can be exported to generate better revenues.

Improved Equipment State. Armed forces being the biggest customer of ordnance factories are likely to benefit immensely from corporatisation with better pricing and improved product leading to an improved equipment state and better customer satisfaction.

Concerns Over Corporatisation

Some of the concerns highlighted in various forums against corporatisation of OFB are given below:-     

Commercial Viability. The argument given by OFB employees is that corporatisation of OFB will not be commercially viable since there is no fixed demands by the armed forces, coupled with issues of long gaps between orders, uneconomical order quantity, and life cycle support required for 30-40 years after the introduction of equipment. However, OFB can take a leaf out of the functioning of the DPSUs, which seems to be managing these issues without any problem.

Surge in Demand during War. OFBs supposedly have some idle capacity as a war reserve, to cater for surge in demand during war, as was demonstrated during Kargil. The government will need to look into this aspect while formulating laws for corporatisation to not compromise with the logistic support to the forces during war. OFB will need to work at its maximum capacity and look for exports of its surplus capacities during peace time, which will necessitate it to become more efficient and produce world class quality to survive in this competitive world.

Major Issues Affecting OFB Productivity

Cost of Production. Ordnance Factories operate on No Profit No Loss Basis. The products are supplied at a price that includes ‘actual cost of production’. Actual cost of production is very high because all non-production expenditure is added to the pricing making the products extremely expensive. Capture consumers have no choice due to Government policies.

The cost of production includes cost of material, cost of direct labour and overhead costs. The high pricing of OFB items is mainly attributed to the high percentage of overhead costs. Overhead costs can be further divided into fixed overheads such as indirect labour, supervisory charges etc and variable overheads such as indirect stores (stores other than raw material and components), transportation, electricity, depreciation and writing off products which are rejected by DGQA etc.

Examples of high cost of products due to cost plus pricing are as mentioned in the table below.

Degree of Demand Fulfilment by the OFB. The OFB production targets are set in mutual consultation with the Armed Forces. However, there has been a shortfall in the OFBs ability to meet these targets. Details of slippages in supply of ammunition of major categories is given above.               

Sub Optimal Staffing

(a) High Supervisory Costs. The OFB has a staffing structure modelled upon supervisory Government departments rather than that of an industry. This has resulted in a supervisor to industrial employee ration of 1:1.41 as against manufacturing industry standard of 1:5. Supervisory costs account for 65 % as against Industry standards of 30 % of the total labour cost of the OFB and account for 42 % of its overhead costs. Supervisory costs accounted for 67 to 73 % of the total labour cost between 2011 to 2016.

(b) Manhour Utilisation. The average man hour utilisation of the OFB has been around 127 % (Resulting in 27 % additional salary bill for over time) whereas the average machine hour utilisation has been around 75 % for the same year.

The post DEFENCE PRODUCTION: Corporatisation of OFB Cannot Wait Any Longer appeared first on IMR.

Mishra Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (MIDHANI) has developed 99.6 percent pure Nickel wire of dia 158 microns for ventilators use in a records time of 96 hours, the company announced on 4 May.

The wire will be used in oxygen sensors pertaining to critical care ventilator. Prior to this development, the Nickel wire of these purity standards used to be imported. Supposedly, this innovative move of the Defence PSU will strengthen India’s fight against Coronavirus (Covid-19).

The news came almost a month after Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) announced the production of ventilators with the help of local companies.

MIDHANI is specialized metals and metal alloys manufacturing facility in India, located in Hyderabad, Telangana. It is a public sector undertaking (PSU), under the administrative control of Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence.

New Remote Weapon Station by OFB

India’s Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has developed a new remotely operated weapon station (ROWS) armed with the Russian-designed NSVT 12.7 mm heavy machine gun (HMG), in conjunction with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), according to the Ordnance Factory Board’s (OFB) portfolio.

The new ROWS, which is simply designated Remote Control Weapon Station (RCWS), broke its cover at the DefExpo 2020 defense show held in Lucknow in early February. The unmanned combat station was specifically designed to carry a combat-ready NSVT HMG, which is mounted on a two-axis stabilizer.

The RCWS can be used to engage both ground and aerial targets, with keeping its operator safe from threats. Originally, the station was intended for the upgraded Arjun Mk. IA main battle tank (MBT). The module has also been configured for the Arjun armored recovery vehicle and the C-431 patrol ship of the Indian Coast Guard; however, it can be installed on a wide range of ground and surface carriers. The RCWS works in both day and night modes and is equipped with a laser rangefinder. An automatic target tracker and a remote arming device can be additionally mounted.

According to the OFB, the organic armament suite of the new unmanned station can be reinforced with an anti-tank missile, machine gun, or automatic grenade launcher. “The module can be employed during low-intensity conflicts,” says the portfolio, adding that the RCWS had already passed through firing tests at sea.

India is also reported to have imported marinized unmanned combat stations from Israel: since 2016, the Asian country has been negotiating the acquisition of 747 Elbit Systems’ RCWSs armed with 12.7 mm HMGs (probably M2HBs, but Elbit also offers its combat stations with the NSVT machine gun). India was planning to directly import 136 RCWSs and produce the remaining 611 modules in-house.

The OFB did not provide any detailed information about the new combat station.  However, it is believed to carry a traditional sensor suite with a daylight TV camera, thermal imager and laser rangefinder.

HAL working on Cheaper TejEx LCA For Export

After successfully reducing the price of the upgraded Tejas Mk1A by nearly half at less than $45 million a unit for soon to be concluded order for 83 jets, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is working on developing a low-cost version of the fighter jet designated as “TejEx” for Export Market from 2023 onwards.

TejEx will be more expensive than the Tejas Mk1A but will be cheaper then Mk1 which HAL has currently in production. TejEx can be customizable as per customer requirements and can have systems and subsystems from both Mk1 and Mk1A configuration to make it slot right between both the aircraft in terms of technology on offer.

TejEx test plane will be HAL funded and will be used as a product demonstrator for the potential customers and the first aircraft will likely be ready by end of 2023 once the system and configuration are confirmed after considering the requirements of the export market.

TejEx will have the radar option of ELA-2032/MMR, ELA-2052 and even Uttam AESA in later stages with choice of weapons integration which includes India’s offering like Astra BVRAAM, SAAW and Inertial guided bomb. Weapons that have been cleared for Tejas Mk1 and Mk1A will also be on offer.

Procurement Rules Relaxed For Armed Forces

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has invoked emergency powers in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak to expedite the procurement of supplies required to establish and run quarantine and isolation facilities for the Indian Armed Forces and as well other facilities requested by the civil administration across the country.

The emergency powers will provide three important exemptions in the existing procurement rules – exemption from long-drawn bidding procedure, dispensation of procurement from Government e-Marketplace (GeM) and making 100 percent advance payment to suppliers after due diligence – to procure necessary supply in the fastest possible manner.

The move will ensure swift and smooth purchase of stores, equipment, rations, chemicals, medicines and also their speedy transportation by the armed forces.

Since the armed forces have been asked to set up facilities for troops and also extending help to local authorities through quarantine facilities in Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Assam, the prevailing health emergency requires immediate procurement of certain items in quantities, which may not be available with a single supplier or within the time-frame in which they are needed.

As per the directive, army units too have been exempted from government financial rules which makes it mandatory for them to purchase provisions through GeM.

The ministry said that the rules related to GeM purchase will not be applicable to emergent purchases, medical and other supplies related to Covid-19 operations.

The army formations have also been exempted from lengthy bidding procedure by relaxing the existing rules. The normal bidding procedure for procurement is a long-drawn process but in this pandemic situation, the MoD has allowed to receive bids by email or fax instead of e-procurement portals. The army formations will verify the authenticity of the firms and bidding time will be reduced as per the emergent requirement.

Bharat Dynamics Wins IAF Missile Order

Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) said, on 5 May, that  it had bagged a Rs. 293.33 crore ($40 million) order for supplying Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) sections for the Indian Air Force (IAF) deliverables.

The order will be executed by the company within the next 24 months. The company had (provisional and audited) an order book of Rs 7,413 crore ($977 million) till 1 April, including Akash missiles (seven squadron) contract for Rs 1,700 crore ($225 million) received during the quarter ended 31 March.

Soon after the stock exchange filing on the new order for MRSAM sections, Bharat Dynamics jumped five per cent to Rs. 224.85 ($2.95). The stock has gained 7.38 per cent in two trading sessions from its previous closing low of Rs 209.4 ($2.76) posted on May 4.

BDL’s standalone net profit fell 71.8 per cent to Rs 53.18 crore ($7 million) on a 49.6 per cent decline in net sales to Rs 495.42 crore ($65 million) in third quarters ending December 2019 over the corresponding quarters in December 2018.

Bharat Dynamics designs and manufactures guided weapon systems and its products include Milan-2T, Konkurs-M, Invar ATGM, Akash, advanced lightweight torpedo (TAL), torpedo counter measure system, counter measures dispensing system and infrared interference indicator.

Indian Navy Partners With Think3D

The Indian Navy has partnered with Indian 3D printing service bureau think3D to help produce spare parts on demand using additive manufacturing, for both on and off-shore scenarios.

The availability of spare parts has been a recurring problem for the Indian Navy due to the use of old, imported machinery. Collaborating with think3D, the Indian Navy has sought to solve this problem by instead 3D printing spare parts and replacing them on demand. think3D has supplied various 3D printed spare parts to Indian Navy, all of which have been successfully tested and incorporated into its machinery. One particular case study that the company has shared revolves around the replacement of centrifugal pump impellers, key components for a ship’s operation, using 3D printing.

Seeking an alternative manufacturing process where these impellers can be produced quickly and at a lower cost of ownership, the Indian Navy identified 3D printing as a possible solution, and contacted think3D.

After being contacted by the Indian Navy, the think3D team visited the ships to understand the problem in detail and to collect data on the impellers, including material properties required and boundary conditions. Its first step involved 3D scanning the impeller and reverse engineering its design. This was performed using an EinScan Pro+ 3D Scanner and CREO to create the CAD model based on the scanned data. Using ANSYS software, think3D then investigated which material and 3D printing process would benefit the application. Various materials like nylon composites, glass filled nylon, PA12, other regular plastics were tested for suitability.

With the successful completion of the 3D Printed impeller, think3D has now set its sights on building a digital repository of impellers for the Indian Navy. Once the repository is built, the company has committed to 3D printing the required impellers on demand to supply to the Navy.

Recently, the maritime industry has increased its adoption of 3D printing technology to combat similar issues experienced by the Indian Navy, mainly surrounding the supply of spare parts.

Israeli Defence Companies Adapt Sensors to Screen For Virus

Israel’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) was working with two Israeli defence companies to develop radar- and electro-optical-based sensors to monitor peoples’ vital signs and identify ones infected with Covid-19. The programme is led by the National Emergency Team of the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) under the MoD.

The ministry made the announcement on 31 March, saying Elbit and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have adapted existing systems. “The data, including pulse, respiratory rate and temperature, are measured remotely using a combination of radar and electro-optical sensors, thus reducing the risk of infection to medical personnel. The next stage of development [is] screening and prioritising patient care based on the analysis of vital data.”

IAI-Elta took its 1 kg ELM-2114 perimeter surveillance radar as the basis for its medical system. The radar uses the very low frequency K-band so can be safely placed very close to people. Using the radar, the system can track a person’s movements as they breath as well as their pulse when placed 3 metres away, with medics in another room receiving readings in seconds.

IAI is currently producing its first system and expects to start producing several more for hospitals within two weeks.

BEL, HAL, BEML Get Back to Business

Defence production, which had come to a standstill for close to a month in the wake of the government enforcing a lockdown to combat the spread of the Covid-19, resumed on 28 April. More than 36,000 employees work with the three PSUs.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) – all headquartered in Bengaluru – had ordered the closing down of their manufacturing units from March 24 onwards.

HAL is the only aircraft manufacturer in the country. It produces the LCA, Su-30 MkI, Hawk, Dornier aircraft, Chetak, Cheetah, ALH Dhruv helicopters besides producing engines, avionics, aerospace systems and materials.

BEL makes products in the areas of radars, missile systems, military communications, naval systems, electronic warfare and avionics, among others.

BEML, which is involved in the manufacturing of trucks used by the military and also integral rail coaches and metro cars, has about 7,000 employees all over India with about 2,000 working in Bengaluru alone.

Thales Reliance Defence Systems Resumes Operations

Thales Reliance Defence Systems (TRDS) resumed operations in MIHAN special economic zone (SEZ) in Nagpur in Maharashtra  after the Centre eased restrictions for some sectors amid the lockdown for the coronavirus outbreak. In a release, on 21 April, the firm said it was providing a safe working environment and said it was operating at 30 per cent staff in the first phase now.

TRDS has finished assembly and testing of first AESA radar at its facility in MIHAN. It will also be undertaking the assembly of electronic warfare systems here, the only facility outside France to have this capability, the release said.

Dassault Reliance Aerospace Resumes Operations

Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd (DRAL) re-started operations, on 20 April, at its Mihan special economic zone (SEZ) in Nagpur, in line with the government’s plan to lift the nationwide lockdown in a phased manner, according to a company statement. The company will operate with 25-30% of its total strength in the first phase, and plans to scale up operations as per the directives of the district administration and local authorities.

Dassault Reliance Aerospace supplies aero structure assemblies for Falcon 2000 business jets and components for Rafale aircraft, as part of the global supply chain for Dassault Aviation.

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure Ltd holds 51% stake in DRAL, a joint venture with Rafale fighter jet manufacturer Dassault Aviation which owns the remaining.

The government had initially imposed a 21-day national lockdown, effective 25 March and till 14 April. With the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country, it decided to extend the lockdown until 3 May but allowed some sectors to resume operations.

Captions

Bharat Electronics Ltd unveiled a Remote Controlled Weapon Station armed with a 12.7mm machine gun at Aero India in 2017. Seen here are the CMD of BEL, MW Gawtama and Maj Gen GD Bakshi, Editor IMR.

BDL has bagged a Rs 293 crore order from the IAF for MRSAM sections

The post Industry News appeared first on IMR.

The Negev NG-7 was ordered after numerous setbacks in procurement – including at least one tender cancellation – under the Fast Track Procedure (FTP) initiated in May 2019 under Defence Procurement Procedure-2016 (DPP-2016) to meet the IA’s 11 year-old demand for a new LMG.

The select-fire IWI Negev NG7 light was first introduced in 2012. The general-purpose machine gun has a weight of 17.41 pounds, and is chambered in the 7.62x51mm NATO round. It has two operation modes, including semi-automatic and fully automatic fire, and it is fed by either a 100- or 125-round assault drum magazine. The NG7 (NG stands for Next Generation) is used by the Israel Defense Forces as well as many operators around the world.

SIG Sauer 716 Rifles

The MoD signed a contract, on 12 February 2019, to get 72,400 new assault rifles from US arms-maker SIG Sauer, under the fast-track procurement (FTP) route, in the first such basic infantry weapon procurement after well over a decade. Supplies have begun to replace the indigenous INSAS assault rifles.

Off these rifles, 66,400 are meant for the Army, 4,000 for the IAF and the rest 2,000 for the Navy. The rifles, chambered for the 7.62×51 mm round (bullet), are being used by the US forces as well as several other European countries.

The overall requirement of the armed forces, primarily the 13-lakh strong Army, is for 8.16 lakh new 7.62mm calibre assault rifles. The number for the CQB carbines, in turn, is 4.58 lakh.

The defence ministry had issued the RFPs (request for proposals) for the limited number of assault rifles and carbines, which will equip soldiers deployed along the borders with Pakistan and China, under the FTP route in March 2018.

AK-203 Rifles

The foundation stone for the Ordnance Factory Korwa in Amethi was laid by the prime minister on 3 March 2019. The factory will manufacture AK-203 assault rifles, which is the latest derivative of the legendary AK-47 rifle. India will manufacture 750,000 of these assault rifles. The rifles would replace the existing India-made INSAS assault rifles in the Army, Air Force, and Navy.

After the rifles are supplied to the defence forces, the government, in the next phase, would provide them to paramilitary and the state police forces.

Caracal 816 Carbines

The Indian Army is now waiting for the close-quarter-battle carbines (CQB). UAE based Caracal Company was declared L1 after extensive trials for a $ 553.33 million. The new carbine will replace the 9 mm Sterling carbines which are being gradually phased out.

The CQB carbines for the infantry arm of the Indian army are coming through the Fast Track Procurement (FTP), just like the LMGs. The Indian Army is looking to buy 93,895 CQB carbines.

Caracal Company is NATO compliant and has been supplying these CQB carbines to other armed forces across the globe. The trials for the India market were extensive in nature and had been carried out in India as well the home country of the companies who had bid for this order. The tests were carried out with Indian ammunition in different terrain.

Caracal carbine is based on the AR-15 lightweight semi-automatic rifle. the rifle weighs 3.4 kg, and uses the 5.56 x 45mm NATO cartridge, and has a firing rate of 750-950 rpm. The 5.56 has a much higher bullet velocity and performs as well as the 7.62mm round used in the AK-series of assault rifles. Since it’s much lighter than the 7.62 or the currently-used Sterling 9mm weapons, it will lighten the Indian soldier’s load out.

Sniper Rifles

The Army was planning to buy 5,720 sniper rifles and 10.2-million rounds of ammunition, which would have cost Rs 1,000 crore ($140 million), for its Special Forces and Infantry battalions deployed on Line of Control (LoC).

The new rifle will replace the Indian Army’s ailing Soviet-era Dragunov guns. Army snipers have been using the obsolete Dragunov since it was first inducted in the Indian Army back in 1990. The weapon’s ammunition has become expensive and there have been reliability and ability problems.

But the requirement has been pruned down to 1,800 rifles and 2.7 million rounds.

To meet its urgent requirement, the Indian Army’s Udhampur-based Northern Command has already bought around 30 of two new advanced sniper rifles-Barrett M95 .50 BMG and Beretta Scorpio TGT along with .338 Lapua Magnum ammunition through special powers of the Army Commander.

Size of Small Arms Market in India

The small arms market in India is projected to grow to US$220.21m by 20221. This would be largely driven by procurement of new arms for the armed forces and other law enforcement agencies as well as upgrade of the existing inventory. Growing at a 4% Compounded Annual Growth rate (CAGR), the small arms market is expected to improve further. This is because the current small arms inventory of the armed forces is either getting exhausted or is nearing their useful lives.

The military small arms market, estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.17%, forms a significant portion of the demand.

There is a need for next generation assault rifles, carbines, precision rifles and light machine guns. As part of Future Infantry Soldier as a System (F-INSAS) program, the intent is to equip the armed forces with modern and more efficient weapons. The presence of threats from across the borders also requires upgradation of states’ police force and central law enforcement agencies weaponry, whose market is expected to increase at a CAGR of 4.17% by 2022.

Though multi domain operations may be required to fight wars in the future, the primacy of the soldier on the ground will remain. Therefore, it is essential to equip the soldiers with modern equipment. There is a need to meet the demand indigenously and make the regulatory processes liberal without compromising on the core aspects of security. The government as well as public and private sector industries are taking steps to achieve this objective.

Policy Regulations

Policy-related changes have, off late, been fast tracked and made more inclusive to ease regulatory burden and to promote defence manufacturing and ease of doing business.

The policy changes, especially related to the arms and ammunition segment, have been introduced with the intent to create an indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem while also encouraging foreign investments into the sector.

Relaxations in the defence products list The MoD announced in January 2019 a list of defence products that would require a defence industrial license (IL). All other items, including any parts and components that are not mentioned in the list can be manufactured without the IL. This relaxation would ease stress on Indian companies to manufacture products.

Industrial Licensing Provisions

The MoD has relaxed the validity of ILs from three years to 15 years with a provision to further increase the validity by three years on a case-to-case basis. Also, under the Arms Rules, the validity of licenses granted for arms manufacturing has now been increased to the entire lifetime of the company, subject to conditions like:

•             The licensee should set up a facility for manufacture and/or proof test of arms and ammunition and conducting their trial runs, within a period of seven years from the date of grant of a license.

•             The licensee has also been permitted to have enhanced production capacity up to 15% of the quantity originally approved under the license by giving only a prior intimation to the licensing authority in this regard6.

Export and Import

Appendix 3 of Schedule 2 of Indian Trade Clarification based on Harmonized System of Coding (ITC (HS)) Classification contains the SCOMET List (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies), which covers dual use goods (civil and military applications), services and technology for exports. It also regulates the exports of defence products. This comprehensive list of items are either prohibited or require an authorization for export due to the potential risks they carry when used. The updates, among others, include the addition of a new category, Category 8, which caters to “Special Materials and Related Equipment, Material Processing, Electronics, Computers, Telecommunications, Information Security, Sensors and Lasers, Navigation and Avionics, Marine, Aerospace and Propulsions.”

FDI limits

The government has already permitted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 49% in the defence sector under the automatic route. Foreign investment beyond 49% has been permitted through government approval in cases that result in access to modern technology for the country.

DRDO and OFB

The Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) is Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)’s primary research lab for research and development (R&D) in conventional armaments. ARDE has developed weapons including the 7.62mm Ishapore Self Loading Rifle, Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) 5.56x45mm caliber rifles, light machine guns and 40mm under barrel grenade launchers (UBGL) for INSAS and AK-47s. Besides this, it is in the process of developing a multi caliber weapon through which ammunition of various calibers can be fired by changing the barrel  assembly. The laboratory is also developing a corner shot weapon system that will allow its operator to see and attack an armed target without being counter attacked.

The Ordnance Factories’ list of small arms includes revolvers, pistols, sporting rifles, pump action guns, INSAS 5.56x45mm rifles, Ghatak 7.62x39mm rifles and Excalibur 5.56x45mm rifles. OFs also launched 5.56x30mm JVPC Alpha Carbine, 7.61x51mm assault rifle and an 8.64x74mm sniper rifle at the DefExpo 2020.

Private Sector in Small Arms

The private sector is also making efforts to increase indigenization both technologically and economically. Some such entities that are working towards the development of small arms include:

SSS Defence has built sniper platforms  for cartridges of two sizes (7.62 x 51mm and .338 diameters), an assault rifle (7.62 x 39mm caliber) and a close quarter carbine platform. The company’s small arms production facility is expected to be operational soon with a manufacturing capacity of 75,000 per year.

MKU had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a foreign company in April 2018 for strategic co-operation for manufacture of advanced Caracal Assault Rifles (CAR) 817 AR rifles in India. In April 2018, it signed two MoUs with Thales for strategic co-operation in development and production of optronic devices and F90 close quarter battle (CQB) rifles.

Jindal Defence group announced its foray into small arms manufacturing in India via a joint venture (JV) with a Brazilian company, Taurus Armas. The agreement proposes to set up a plant at Hisar (Haryana).

The Adani Group entered the small arms industry with the acquisition of a JV which is between an Indian and an Israeli company and the facility is designed to manufacture weapons including Tavor assault rifles, X-95 assault rifles, Galil sniper rifles and Uzi sub machine guns.

Way Forward

A way forward for the industry includes progression towards having

•             an aggregated standardized demand for specific operational requirements

•             Reduced procurement lead times

•             Signed long-term agreements with company thereby assuring a streamlined order base and infrastructure investment.

While R&D continues to be a primary focus area for any technological development, it is important that all the stakeholders including government, private industry and the academia to work together.

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

The post The Small Arms Market Scenario in India 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.”

The post DEFENCE INDUSTRY : Industry News appeared first on IMR.

Cost negotiation is on get 400 pieces from Elbit of Israel in a ready-to-use condition and the remaining 1,180 will be assembled here in India by the foreign supplier in a partnership with Indian partner.

In case all 1,580 guns are acquired there is every possibility that the indigenous ATAGS and even the Dhanush 155mm/45 calibre projects are likely to be scuttled.

The Army’s Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan (FARP), drawn in 1999, is aimed at equipping 169 artillery regiments with 2,800-3,000 155 mm/52-calibre guns of all kinds and 155 mm/39-calibre lightweight howitzers by 2027. The projection includes 814 truck-mounted guns, 1,580 towed guns, 100 tracked self-propelled guns, 180 wheeled self-propelled guns and 145 ultra-light howitzers. One artillery regiment is usually equipped with 18 guns. Cost estimates are in the $8 to 10 billion bracket.

ATAGS was designed and developed by the DRDO in partnership with Bharat Forge and Tata Power SED. The ATAGS is undergoing user trials by the Army. The Defence Acquisition Council has okayed 150 ATAGS, but a contract is yet to be signed.

The Dhanush, a gun made by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), is already being inducted in phases. A total of 114 pieces are on order. The induction of ‘Sharang’ upgraded artillery pieces has commenced. A total of 300 of the 130 mm guns of Soviet origin are being up-gunned to 155 mm by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). The entire lot will be supplied by 2022. India has some 1,000 of the 130 mm M-46 artillery guns. Around 180 guns were upgraded by Israeli firm Soltam in 2008.

Elbit beat Nexter

Israeli Elbit has won the Indian Army’s 155 mm/52 calibre towed artillery gun competition, of which the import content alone is valued at over $ 1 billion. The declaration of Elbit as ‘L1’ has cleared the decks for price negotiations. The Elbit-Bharat Forge bid for the ATHOS 2052 howitzer was found significantly lower than that of French Nexter, which offered the Trajan gun jointly with its Indian partner Larsen & Toubro. These guns have a firing range of above 40 km.

The price offered for ATHOS was below that of the Dhanush 155mm/42 calibre artillery gun produced by the OFB. ATAGS will be hard pressed to match the price of Elbit’s ATHOS 2052, but with higher numbers it should be possible.

The French bid was defeated for the second time in an Indian artillery competition after Sofma lost out to Bofors in 1986. In 2018, the Indian Army started inducting the M777 ultra light howitzers and the K-9 Vajra tracked self-propelled guns. Both these guns are in the 155 mm, 52 calibre class, and the Indian Army’s first new artillery inductions since the infamous Bofors deal in 1986. The Dhanush, an upgrade of the Bofors FH-77B by the OFB, too has provided some cheer. The Army is buying 145 M777s, 100 K-9 Vajras, and has committed an order for 114 Dhanush guns after receiving the first six

The post Army Modernisation : Indigenous ATAGS vs Imported ATHOS appeared first on IMR.

The aim of thE seminar was to expose delegates to Artillery Technology through direct interaction with the researchers, designers, developers, and manufacturers both in the public and private sector.

The speakers included domain experts who were involved in conceptualising artillery operations, framing qualitative requirements, designing and developing to specifications, prototyping, manufacturing and controlling the quality of artillery equipment, ammunition and missiles.

It was the first time that students at the School of Artillery got to hear the best brains in the country about artillery modernisation.

One of the mandates of CENJOWS is to bring the industry and users together for better synergy. The OFB and private industry shared their capabilities and emerging technologies. Industry representatives were able to hear interact with professionals and practitioners of the art of warfare attending courses at the SoA to understand and deliver state-of-the-art equipment, which should perform beyond the soldier’s expectation. The students used the unique opportunity to interact meaningfully with the tacticians, scientists, designers, developers, manufacturers, quality controllers and acquisition experts and squeeze the maximum mileage from this event.

Leading factories of the OFB, ie, the Gun Carriage Factory, Gun and Shell Factory, Cossipore, Ordnance Factory Medak and Ordnance Factory Dehradun who are all involved in the manufacture of components of artillery gun systems or the whole equipment participated with experts. From the DRDO, the two leading laboratories – High Explosives Material Research Laboratory and Armament Research & Development Establishment – sent there speakers. The Director General of Quality Assurance has his best experts in Ammunition and Armamentand the brightest minds in the private industry were there to educate the delegates on the projects that they had undertaken.

With support from the Army Training Command and the Directorate General of Artillery, an all-encompassingagenda was drawn up. There was something of value for all who attended – from AIGs to YOs to LGSC students and even some of the experts from various organisations.

Going beyond the precis, which impart basic knowledge on concepts and theories with facts and figures, IIT graduates, post graduates from foreign universities, officers with rich experience in the Regiment of Artillery shared their thoughts on emerging technologies and latest developments.

The future of artillery is intricately linked to the future of warfare and the future battlefield. As far as the Indian Army is concerned and the threats that it is likely to face in the next two decades, no dramatic changes are foreseen in the role and importance of artillery. If it all, the importance and the need for massive indirect fire is only likely to increase. Short and swift wars are even likely to enhance the requirement of artillery fire. No doubt, dramatic changes are taking place in surveillance and target acquisition, engagement techniques and precision delivery of munitions. These are only enhancing the effect of artillery fire. In today’s battlefield, preponderance of artillery is a battle-winning factor. We must always have an edge of the over the enemy in over ability to plaster him and pulverize him in all engagements.

Rapid changes are taking place in the artillery. The pace was unimaginable 10 or 20 years ago. The OFB is no longer a white elephant. It has begun in-house design and development, which is forcing Indian and foreign companies to team together. The private sector has taken bold steps and committed a lot of resources to producing record-breaking equipment, which is globally accepted. There are hardly any big-ticket land systems, which are not within their capabilities to produce, albeit with foreign collaboration.

Artillery guns are judged on the basis of range, accuracy and consistency. The Bofors gun had set a benchmark in these parameters ever since it was inducted. In the new systems being brought to the market all three sectors – DRDO, OFB and Private Industry – have proved themselves. The seminar was the platform to learn how they had done it.

The adage which says we should have 30 per cent state-of-the-art, 30 per cent current and contemporary and remainder 40 per cent in the final stages of their lifecycle, may not hold true any longer.

The Indian Army is changing bulk of its artillery to the medium class. It will have to start increasing the percentage of precision guided munitions (PGM) at a much faster pace. It is imperative that India produces its own indigenous PGMs and loitering missiles so as to reduce the exorbitant costs involved in importing them. Some armies give more attention to the projectile rather than to the guns that fire them.

Space based surveillance means, new class or radars and UAVs are changing the nature of warfare. Increased detection and identification ranges have introduced stand-off warfare into the military glossary.

The Infantry may be the Queen of Battle, but Artillery is the King of Battle. However, for the King to retain its throne, indirect fire must be able to penetrate and destroy the enemy’s anti-access and area denial networks at longer ranges, thereby creating windows of opportunity for exploitation by the Army.

The delegates heard about emerging and advanced technologies. The instructors, students and delegates were able to see the latest equipment which has not yet been introduced in service. It is good to have state-of-the-art equipment in the inventory, but the aim should be to acquire indigenous technologies for the equipment that the Army needs today. To that end it was very heartening to learn that no effort was being spared to develop capabilities. What the Ordnance Factories and the private sector was doing, was an eye-opener for the delegates and the instructors who attended.

After many years a number of new systems are being inducted, which were among the best available. Exposing the users to the development process, would help them to appreciate and exploit the equipment much better.

Some excellent work was being carried out by the DRDO on Pinaka, ATAGS and artillery ammunition. The DRDO has come of age and has transitioned from the time they were trying to discover themselves about 30 years ago. Yet, they have to go through hits and misses. But now they have more hits than misses. There was a time when DRDO was happy working in the background and there was a gap between them and the users.

Finally, Napoleon’s aphorism, “God fights on the side with the best artillery” appears as true today as it did almost three centuries ago.

A detailed report on the Seminar will be published in the April 2020 issue.

The post Artillery Technology India 2020 Seminar appeared first on IMR.

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.

The post Defence Industry : MoUs and JVs Announced at DEFEXPO 2020 appeared first on IMR.

OFB ranked 37th among the world’s top 100 arms producers in 2017, according to SIPRI, a Stockholm-based think tank. Its products include a wide range except for the aviation sector.

The Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) was established in 1965 for the production of Vijayanta tank. It has been manufacturing main battle tanks (MBT) for over 55 years and has an assembly line for the licensed manufacture of T-72 and T-90 tanks under transfer of technology (ToT) from Russia. It also manufactures the Arjun Mk-1 designed by the Combat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (CVRDE) of the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO). HVF’s annual value of products issued is over Rs 2600 crore. Since 1966, HVF has manufactured over 4600 tanks.

Tank Manufacturing is a Complex Art

Manufacturing of tanks is not only a science but also an art. The tank has to perform under rugged terrain condition and, hence, the design has to be failsafe. The tank requires multi technologies for design and manufacture – hence, synergy amongst stakeholders is important.

The demand fluctuates and is driven by the availability of government funds. Sometimes the order quantities are small and economy of scale cannot be maintained. The development cycle is long. Attaining expertise is possible only through repeated orders.

Maturity and integrity of industry is essential for manufacturing of quality tanks. The tank has to be sustained and maintained with supply of spares for the next 30 years.

Duplication of unique infrastructure at original equipment manufacturers/ vendors may lead to underutilization of national resources and uneconomical production. The machines are unique and expensive – hence, investment by many vendors needs critical examination.

Tank Building Challenges

Tank building involves 75 major assemblies (codes) consisting of over 20,000 components. It involves an association of 17 Ordnance Factories, five Proof Ranges, 4 public sector undertakings, over 250 private Indian industries, five laboratories of DRDO, five Authorities Holding Sealed Particulars (AHSP) of Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) and ToT provider. 

The lead time is 30 months for an established production line. All along there is performance evaluation of major systems in the respective factories and proof ranges. There is also performance evaluation at select intermediate stages and at the final stage by respective AHSP (DGQA).

At the time of delivery to the user, a joint receipt inspection by a nominated Army unit is carried out to check for rugged quality and reliability in war

The HVF has to vary out in-service upgrades and improvisations for Indian terrain conditions, ensure supply of spares for life time and after sales service in the field. This is possible only with continuous institutionalized interaction with users in the field and depots.

Manufacture of Hull and Turret

Manufacture of hull and turret requires highly skilled armour welders, heavy fabrications, material handling, large sized heavy duty critical machines, huge fixtures and manipulators.

Some critical components are required like turret castings, NBC pads, Textolites, etc. Some of these components require high precision of 25 micron and positional tolerance of 25 to 50 micron.

Machining conditions are touch due to rapid heat ablation (RHA), heat affected zones and handling of hazardous materials like sealant for fitment of NBC pads. Interestingly Kanchan armour is required to be filled with foam to keep it intact for MBT Arjun turrets.

Manufacture of Gear Box

The tank gear box is an integrated system of gear shifting, clutching, steering and braking mechanism. Five planetary gear trains are arranged in a line and integrated one to another. Special gears of higher bearing load capacity are required with high accuracy.

The system is integrated with hydraulics and Planetary system after multiple heat treatment operations. Non-standard bearings, ceramic clutch plates and special rubber items are used with longer storage and shelf life.

Springs material as per Russian (GOST) specification is not available in the Indian market.

Hard chromium plating with porous chromium surface is used as bearing surface. This porous chromium operation is a patented operation developed by Russians, specially for this high thrust load application.

In sum, high precision machines and highly skilled manpower is required for manufacturing the components and assembly of gear box.

Manufacture of Suspension System

Major components of the suspension system are manufactured in-house. With major assemblies being manufactured by other ordnance factories. Some of the major assemblies are procured from trade. Some of the major assemblies are yet to be indigenized and are being imported.

Integration of Multiple Technologies

Integration of the main and secondary armaments poses certain challenges. All of these armaments have their own characteristics. A tank is equipped with Main Gun (125mm) firing different types of ammunition (HE, HEAT, APFSDS), 7.62 mm machine gun and 12.7mm machine gun.

Amongst the numerous systems and assemblies that need to be integrated are mechanical and hydraulics components, the power pack, transmission system, suspension, drive mechanisms, electronics and electrical systems, fire control system, automatic gun laying system, stabilizer, all control units, engine start mechanisms, opto-electronics and sighting devices, pneumatic systems, NBC system and fire fighting systems.

Challenges of Supply Chain

There are more than 20,000 components being supplied by 400+ vendors. That itself poses logistics challenges of supply time lines and quality control to synchronize with assembly targets. Some items have low and unattractive quantities plus cyclic business constraints. Quality control has to be exercised with multiple vendors. Each new vendor affects reliability of tank performance. Sometimes the exact Indian equivalent of material required is not available. There are financial constraints due to high quality and long gestation period for MSME vendors. Gaps in orders creates difficulties of keeping vendor interest alive. Development of new vendor involves very long duration and very expensive performance and field trials

Most of electronic and electrical systems are built using Russian power relays and logic relays – these are difficult to procure of current vintage. Change over to digital solid state electronics using black box concept will need initiatives by industry. There are also challenge to commit for R&D and investment for limited numbers.

The Future Tank

The proposed futuristic tank can reach the goal post of success only if the development project is led by the user and supported by the DRDO and OFB with partnership of private industry. The work centres with defined responsibility of each stakeholder can be identified. A policy of long term orders and continual upgrades in phased manner will encourage gradual technological advancements in country.

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

Five Axis Plano Miller at Heavy Vehicle Factory Avadi.

Side Gear Box With Final Drive and Pump

Engine (left) of the T90 Bhisma tank is manufactured by Engine Factory Avadi and the Intermediate Gearbox (right) is manufactured by another ordnance factory

======

Some of the Major Assemblies Manufactured In-house

Turret Traverse Mechanism

Turret  Race Ring Assembly

=======

Some of the Components Not Yet Indigenised and Imported

Automatic Unit P13

Gyro Compass GPK-59

PKUZ-1A

Pre Heater

===========

T90 Bhisma Tank Sights

Commander Sight

1A43 FCS  For Gunner

TI-ESSA Thermal Sight

PZU-7 Anti-Aircraft Sight

===========

Infrastructure at Heavy Vehicle Factory, Avadi

•             4 guide way lathe for barrel turning

•             Barrel straightening

•             Recoil manufacturing SPMs (taper grooves)

•             CNC plasma cutting and Laser cutting

•             Armour steel casting and welding

•             Torsion bar making

•             Heavy duty gear shaping

•             5 axis plano miller (10m X 5m) for machining 15 MT hull

•             Robotic welding

•             Vacuum coating for anti-reflection and band specific

•             Mil grade electronic assembly and manufacturing

•             Anti-static and clean room of class 100 (max 100 particles of 0.5 micron in 1 cub mtr)

•             Tank testing track (2 km length)

•             Proof ranges

•             Special Manufacturing Technologies

•             Cold swaging of barrel

•             Helical bevel gear manufacturing

•             Optical polishing up to accuracy of wave length/20

•             Metallic and dielectric multi-layer coating (up to 99 layers)

•             Laser rod manufacturing (for LRF)

•             Protective glass manufacturing up to parallelism of 20 s

•             Manufacture of ESR steel

•             Heat treatment of barrels (10 metres long)

•             Fracture toughness test equipment

•             Radial forging of barrels

•             Autofrettaging of barrels

•             Rifling of barrels

•             Deep hole drilling up to 10 metres

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

Some of the Items Sourced From Trade

Driver Instrument Panel

Distribution Box

Aviation Compressor

Tadiran radio set

Roadwheel assembly

Rack radiator assembly

Track Assembly

Periscopes

GPS

1KW Genset

Haydraulic booster

The post Combat Vehicles : Challenges in the Production of Battle Tanks appeared first on IMR.