Defence Street

Category: Indian Air Force

  • Defence Acquisition Council approves proposals worth Rs 70,500 crore for the Armed Forces & Indian Coast Guard under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category

    Defence Acquisition Council approves proposals worth Rs 70,500 crore for the Armed Forces & Indian Coast Guard under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category

    • BrahMos missiles, Shakti EW systems & Utility Helicopters-Maritime, valued at Rs 56,000 crore, cleared for Indian Navy
    • Long Range Stand-Off Weapon for the Indian Air Force gets the nod; To be integrated on SU-30 MKI aircraft
    • 155mm/52 Caliber ATAGS, along with High Mobility & Gun Towing Vehicles, to be procured for Indian Army
    • Indian Coast Guard to get Advance Light Helicopters MK-III from HAL
    • Over Rs 2.71 lakh crore worth of procurement cleared in FY 2022-23; 99% to be sourced from Indian industries

    New Delhi, 16th March. A meeting of Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), held on March 16, 2023 under the chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, has accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisition amounting to over Rs 70,500 crore under Buy {Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)}. Out of the total proposals, Indian Navy proposals constitute more than Rs 56,000 crore, which largely includes indigenous BrahMos missiles, Shakti Electronic Warfare (EW) systems, Utility Helicopters-Maritime etc.

    While this additional procurement of BrahMos missile system will enhance the maritime strike capabilities & Anti-Surface Warfare Operation, the addition of Utility Helicopters will multiply the operational readiness of the Indian Navy in the domain of Search & Rescue operations, Casualty Evacuation, Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) etc. Similarly, Shakti EW systems will equip and modernise the frontline Naval ships to counter any Naval Operations by the adversaries.

    Accordance of AoN for Medium Speed Marine Diesel Engine under Make-I category is a significant step as, for the first time, India is venturing into the development & manufacturing of such engines indigenously to achieve self-reliance & leverage the capabilities of the Industries towards the goal of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’. To keep pace with the emerging technologies and counter the adversaries in the Western and Northern front, the necessity of the new weapons and its integration with the delivery platforms was felt by the Government. To achieve the same objectives, the DAC accorded the approval to Indian Air Force’s proposal for Long Range Stand-Off Weapon (LRSOW) which will be indigenously designed, developed and integrated on SU-30 MKI aircraft.

    For Artillery modernisation, in addition to the ongoing Dhanush Gun System and K-9 Vajra-T Gun System, AoN for procurement of 155mm/52 Caliber Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) along with High Mobility Vehicles (HMVs) and Gun Towing Vehicles (GTVs) for the Indian Army was accorded by the DAC. It also accorded AoN for procurement of Advance Light Helicopters (ALH) MK-III from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Coast Guard. The Helicopter will be able to carry a suite of surveillance sensors which will enhance the surveillance capabilities. It will also give full night capability and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) capability for operations of the Indian Coast Guard.

    Including today’s proposals, the total AoN granted for Capital Acquisition in the Financial Year 2022-23 is over Rs 2.71 lakh crore, out of which 99% of the procurement will be sourced from Indian industries. Such quantum of indigenous procurement will galvanise the Indian industries towards achieving the goal of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

  • Seminar on Emerging Disruptive and Futuristic Technologies

    Seminar on Emerging Disruptive and Futuristic Technologies

    New Delhi, 16th March. In keeping with the requirement of staying ahead of the curve in the field of military technology, Base Repair Depot (BRD), Palam organized a seminar on ‘Emerging Disruptive and futuristic Technology and their Application in Military Domains’ on 16 Mar 23 at New Delhi. Held under the aegis of Maintenance Command of the Indian Air Force, the chief Guest of the event was Air Marshal Vibhas Pande AVSM VSM, AOC-in-C, Maintenance Command. The event was also graced by Director Gen (Aircraft), Assistant Chief of Air Staff Engineering (A), Assistant Chief of Air staff (MP) from Air Headquarters and many other eminent and distinguished guests from not only the IAF but also from sister services, academia/DPSUs and civil agencies. After the Welcome address Air Cmde SS Rehal, AOC BRD, Palam, Air Marshal Vibhas Pande AVSM VSM inaugurated the seminar and delivered the key note address. He said “Digitization is the most disruptive technology that has happened to this world”, and, “For all the disruptive and futuristic technologies, interconnection is of utmost importance to use them effectively for our military applications”.

    The first session of the seminar, with the theme “Interconnection and Decentralized Decisions” was chaired by AVM PS Sarin, Assistant Chief of Air Staff Engineering (A). This session was aimed at understanding the nature of emerging, disruptive and future technologies and their application in the Armed Forces. Gp Capt Vikas Dhankar was the first speaker who spoke on “Understanding Emerging Disruptive Technologies for Utilization in Future Warfare”. Prof Jaijit Bhattacharya, President of Center for Digital Economy Policy Research thereafter spelt out the “Strategic Options for Indian Defence Forces in the Emerging Futuristic Technologies and Autonomous Systems”. The topic of “Leveraging IoT/IoP within the Constraints of IW/Cyber Requirements in the IAF” was covered by AVM (Dr) D Vatsa (Retd) who is the Advisor of Cyber Security and Critical Technologies, Data Security Council of India, NASSCOM. Ms Shimona Mohan, Research Assistant in the Center for Security, Strategy and Technology at the Observer research Foundation thereafter dwelled on “Effective and Ethical Military AI and Challenges in Maintenance of AI Weapon Systems”.

    The second session of the seminar themed “Technology Assistance and Common Consciousness” chaired by AVM SK Jain, Assistant Chief of Air staff (MP) sought to bring the requirements of the Armed Forces and the capabilities of the defense manufacturing ecosystem into unison. Mr Yogesh J Inamdar, Associate Vice President and Head of IoT and Automation, Digital Manufacturing, Bharat Forge Ltd set the ball rolling by elucidating on “Industry 4.0 – How it can Revolutionize Manufacturing and Product Distribution in the Defense Sector”. Thereafter, Smt Hemavathy M, Principal Scientist, Central Research Laboratory, BEL spelt out “BEL’s Vision for Indian Defence Forces in general and IAF in Particular with Focus on Block Chain Technology”. Gp Capt Manish Chand from the IAF’s Unit for Digitisation, Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Application Networking thereafter spoke on the IAF’s experiences with “Operational Decision Support System using Intelligent Automation”.

    The seminar thus focused on bringing experts of various varied technological fields under one platform with the aim of looking at ways on usage of technology as a force multiplier for the Indian Armed Forces. The colloquium holds significance since it was a unique effort on looking at the ways to revolutionize the Indian Armed Forces war waging capabilities and operational readiness with the support and involvement of our indigenous Defence Manufacturing ecosystem in keeping with the clarion call of “Atma Nirbar Bharat”.

  • Exercise Sea Dragon 23

    Exercise Sea Dragon 23

    New Delhi, 16th March. A P8I aircraft of the Indian Navy arrived at Guam, USA on 14th March to participate in ‘Exercise Sea Dragon 23’, the third edition of the coordinated multi-lateral ASW exercise for Long Range MR ASW aircraft, conducted by the US Navy.

    The exercise scheduled from 15th-30th March, would stress on coordinated anti-submarine warfare amongst the participating countries. The complexity and scope of these exercises has increased steadily over the past years to include advanced ASW drills.

    Ex Sea Dragon 23 will test the capabilities of participating aircraft in tracking simulated and live underwater targets, whilst also sharing mutual expertise. The Exercise would witness representation by an Indian Navy P8I, along with P8A of the US Navy, P1 from the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, CP 140 from the Royal Canadian Air Force and P3C from the RoKN.

    The Exercise aims to achieve high levels of synergy and coordination between the friendly navies, which is based on their shared values and commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific.

  • MoD signed a contract for procurement of six Dornier-228 aircraft for the Indian Air Force from HAL

    MoD signed a contract for procurement of six Dornier-228 aircraft for the Indian Air Force from HAL

    Delhi, March 10. Ministry of Defence, on March 10, 2023, signed a contract for procurement of six Dornier-228 aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at a cost of Rs 667 crore. The aircraft was used by IAF for Route Transport Role and communication duties. Subsequently, it has also been used for training of transport pilots of the IAF. The present lot of six aircraft will be procured with an upgraded fuel-efficient engine coupled with a five bladed composite propeller.

    The aircraft is ideally suited for short haul operations from semi-prepared/short runways of the North East and island chains of India. The addition of the six aircraft will further bolster the operational capability of the IAF in the remote areas.

  • Exercise Desert Flag VIII: For first time, LCA Tejas to take part in a global air exercise

    Exercise Desert Flag VIII: For first time, LCA Tejas to take part in a global air exercise

    Abu Dhabi. Indian Air Force is fielding five HAL-made Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas to take part in the multilateral Desert Flag VIII exercise being held Feb 27 to Mar 17.

    An IAF contingent comprising of 110 Air Warriors arrived at the Al Dahfra air base in the UAE to participate in the exercise, in which five LCA Tejas and two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft would take part, the IAF said Saturday.

    While the Tejas has taken part in the Dubai Airshow previously, this is the first time that the aircraft will be in the Gulf skies in a near realistic but simulated combat exercise with air forces from the host UAE, US, Kuwait, Australia, France, UK, Bahrain, Morocco, Spain and South Korea. Other aircraft likely to take part are F 35, F 16, Rafale, Mirage 2005 and Eurofighter, adding to the complexity of the exercise but imparting valuable lessons to the participants in network centric warfare (NCW) environment.

    IAF’s Su 30 MKIs have taken part in Desert Flag VI earlier in the annual exercise series but this time, significantly, IAF is fielding the Tejas, whose variants are set to replace the Soviet era Mig 21s, inducted first in the late 1960s. Variants of the 4th Gen Tejas, including Tejas Mk II, will eventually form nearly half the strength of IAF’s 30 to 40 Squadrons.

    Powered by US GE 404 engine, Tejas costs much less than the most competing fighter jets in the category, and the Indian Ministry of Defence has an ambitious target to export them to friendly nations.

    The aircraft (Tejas) had earlier participated in various air shows at Singapore, Malaysia, Bahrain and Dubai.

  • IAF’s Joint Air Defence Exercise with Japan, ‘Veer Guardian 2023’ Concludes

    IAF’s Joint Air Defence Exercise with Japan, ‘Veer Guardian 2023’ Concludes

    The inaugural edition of the bilateral air exercise ‘Veer Guardian 2023’ between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) concluded in Japan, on  26 January 2023.

    The JASDF participated in the exercise with its F-2 and F-15 aircraft, while the IAF contingent participated with the Su-30 MKI aircraft. The IAF fighter contingent was complemented by one IL-78 Flight Refueling Aircraft and two C-17 Globemaster strategic airlift transport aircraft.

    During the joint training spanning 16 days, the two Air Forces engaged in complex and comprehensive aerial manoeuvres in multiple simulated operational scenarios. The exercise involved precise planning and skillful execution by both the air forces. IAF and JASDF engaged in air combat manoeuvring, interception and air defence missions, both in Visual and Beyond Visual Range settings. Aircrew of the two participating Air Forces also flew in each other’s fighter aircraft to gain a deeper understanding of each other’s operating philosophies.

    Exercise ‘Veer Guardian 2023’ provided the two Air Forces with an opportunity to enhance mutual understanding. The exercise also witnessed numerous ground interactions between IAF and JASDF personnel wherein various aspects were discussed by both sides. This enabled the participating contingents to obtain an invaluable insight into each other’s best practices and learn from each other’s unique capabilities.