Newer 8×8 wheeled vehicle types are also too heavy to be airlifted by C-130 (defeating the purpose of APCs, otherwise send in tanks), the A400M has a 40-tonne payload allowing all current 8×8 types to be carried. M113 APCs were so successful afterwards in soft wet terrain in Vietnam in non-linear battles (where tanks could not be used due to its high ground pressure). M113 requires regular track, costing over $10,000 a set, to be replacement after every 6,000 kms. Solid-fuel ramjet motors take time to reach maximum speed in the initial phases, and are thus less agile. Solid-fuel ramjet propulsion based BVRAAM will have a range in excess of 200 km and will be designed to take-out high-value slow targets like inflight refuelling tankers & “AWACS killer” which usually operate in depth of their own airspace. Project Izdeliye 172 long-range AAM, airframe resemblance the 9K37-M1 (SA-11) its export version is the heavy R-172S-1 missile (also known as KS-172). Another Russian modified version is called K-100-1 missile. Solid-fuel ramjet motors are heavier, nearly 250kgs in weight, hence, it will be limited to a few aircraft types in the IAF fleet. It's claimed that Ukraine consumed around 5,000 to 10,000 drones a month. US realized that EW and organic ISR are "essential on the modern battlefield." They are looking at loitering munitions, and tools that allow each squad to manage their electronic signature. The US's DoD is moving away from airborne ISR assets (vulnerable to longer ranged air-to-air missiles), and moving into using unclassified data-links to control ISR satellite constellation which tracks moving targets in real-time, for better resiliency and sustainability. It hardly matters how precise new weapons are if the Army lacks the ISR reach to find targets. A basic operational idea of Air-Land Battle requires an interconnected battle network with a sensor grid to "look deep and shoot deep." Two of the most important elements in combat ops are to get:- real-time Intel and secure SatCom radios, connected to the correct HQ Command. Army can change the equation of three-attacker-to-defender force ratio, even without any non-organic indirect fire support! The solution has always been clear: Provide each squad (that has real-time ISR info and EW to locate & jam enemy tactical radio communications while protecting theirs by creating noise fog) with their own lethal weapons systems like "swarm" of loitering guided munitions to destroy in priority order: enemy light armoured vehicles, crew-served weapons, command and control locations, and then target groups of three or more combatants in trench line. Starting in 2011, the PLAAF began deploying KJ-500 AEW and BZK-05 UAVs (also fighters for protection) to various airfields, including Lhasa Gonggar and Shigatse Peace Airport, which is about 250 miles west of Lhasa, for a short-term rotational basis, usually from July to September, but some might be there all year. However, UAV do not engage in terrain-masking, as that will lead to loss of data-link control. Both airfields are dual-use, so civil aircraft fly in all year long and the runway is built for civil aircraft. China's artillery modernization plan aims at developing an in-depth precision strike systems with integrated ISR, and control capabilities to operate in Taiwan and Tibet. Since 2013, PLAAF main roles have been ISR for "maintaining battlefield transparency", AWACS, H-6K nuke bomber and strategic air transport & air-lift. PLAAF's key strength is in SIGINT that backs its Army. General-purpose & attack helicopter units and UAVs, provide combined armed units and engineers regiment with a highly manoeuvrable and versatile platform for reconnaissance, command and control, and fire support. China & Pakistan has 3 II-76 but facing lots of problems. China even tried H-6 tankers which can fly near Indian border, but it cannot carry enough fuel. So China is trying to develop Y-20 into tankers, but the d-30 engine is not powerful enough to power it near high-altitude area. The hydrant refuelling systems (HRS) facility or underground tanks was available only in 2 of the 10 airbases identified for IL-78 operations in 2007. Building military strength doesn’t come cheap. The terrain in Tibetan Plateau is dry, and the soil there is hard as there is no rain (due to clouds being obstructed by the Himalayan mountain range); and hence vehicles can move easily. The Himalayan terrain is wet, and the soil there is soft as there is heavy rain (clouds are forced to get concentrated due to the Himalayas); and hence vehicles cannot move easily and road-building is a near impossibility. Hence, air transportation by both fixed-wing transport aircrafts and helicopters becomes critical for mobility. IAF needs atleast 25 more transport helicopters like chinooks and 12 more C-130J transport aircraft. India has just 1 hangar had been constructed for the 6 refuellers. For India, dedicated aerial refuelling aircraft are unaffordable luxuries and therefore multi-role aircraft capable of both aerial refuelling and heavy transport is the preferred option.
Do-228NG (New Generation) is a 19-seater twin-turboprop Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) utility aircraft, built by RUAG in Germany. In 1983, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) bought a production licence and manufactures the 228 for the Asian market sphere. Without a valid certificate of Airworthiness from European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), HAL's Do-228 aircrafts cannot be used for commercial flights. From 1981 until 1998, it was manufactured by Swiss Dornier GmbH (later DASA Dornier + Fairchild-Dornier) It is derived from a Dornier Do-28 aircraft in the 1970s by modifying the Do-28D-2 Skyservant. The Do-228 has 6 variant models - Do-228-100, Do-228-101, Do-228-200, Do-228-201, Do-228-202 and Do-228-212. Around 270 Do-228s were built and 127 of them are in service worldwide, including the Indian Air Force and the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The Bangladesh Navy ordered two Do-228 NG aircraft in July 2011, which were delivered in mid 2013. The 19 seat Do228NG is based on the Dornier 228-212 but features a higher powered Honeywell TPE331-10 turboshaft engine. It is basically the same aircraft with improved technologies and performances, such as a new 5-blade propeller (imported from Hartzell), composite props, glass cockpit & avionics (imported from Genesys Aerosystems) and longer range. HAL-228 aircraft's cockpit upgrade with the Genesys (Moog) integrated avionics suite including S-TEC 4000R autopilot for safety. Supplier of structural components' fuselage, wings and tail, the Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) in Kanpur (India). The Dornier Do-228 can climb at the rate of 9.5m/s. The never-exceed and maximum speeds of the aircraft are 470km/h and 433km/h respectively. The cruise speed is 315km/h. The stall speed is 148km/h. The range and service ceiling of the aircraft are 1,037km and 8,534m respectively. 2012: A Dornier Do 228 passenger plane, 9N-AIG, was destroyed when it struck the side of a mountain during near Jomsom, Nepal. In the late 1970s, Dornier GmbH developed a new kind of wing, the TNT (Tragflügel neuer Technologie), subsidized by the German Government. Dornier tested it on a modified Do 28D-2 Sky servant and with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-110 turboprop engines. Finally, Dornier changed the engine and tested the new aircraft, which was named Do 128 with two Garrett AiResearch TPE-331-5 engines. India imports the resins used in manufacturing of composite end-products. India, the only BRICS nation without indigenous passenger aircraft manufacturing capability, has set up a National Civilian Aircraft Design Bureau, which is working on the preliminary design of the Regional Transport Aircraft (RTA) project to compete with Bombardier's 90-seater Dash-8/Canada DHC turboprop aircrafts in India. RTA-90-NG is a stretched version of RTA-70 with low dihedral wing design powered by twin turbofan engines is also in consideration by NAL. RTA 90-NG will have both turboprop and turbofan variants. It will also have a freighter variant. The first developmental model of the RTA 90-NG will be ready by 2025. Embraer-FMA's CBA 123 Vector project was an advanced turbo-propeller aircraft for its time, including too many advanced technology in avionics, aerodynamics, and propulsion. Although a failure, the project gave Embraer maturity to work with new technologies, which led to the development of the successful Embraer ERJ 145 family of jets. The difficult transition period Embraer learned the lesson of simplicity & the importance of keeping money on hand to have the freedom to do that when they see fit. They also realized the EMB-145 could not be stretched above 50 seats and that market in the next 10 years would move to longer-range, higher-altitude, 50-100 seater size aircrafts earlier than all their competitors. This in turn enables predictable program execution and therefore entering the market at the planned time. Embraer is today the world’s largest player in regional under-130-seats aircraft & world’s number three civil airliner company. Saras PT1N multi-purpose Regional light Transport Aircraft (RTA) NAL’s 19-seat twin-turboprop engine Saras-Mk2 multi-purpose regional light aircraft. Myasishchev Experimental Design Bureau (OKB) began the business and executive transport aircraft project (initially called Delfin and later renamed as) the M-102 Duet in 1991. Russians to drop out due to financial trouble however, another business class aircraft called the Myasishchev M-101T, designed by Myasishchev and built by Sokol. A little smaller than the 123, you can see the obvious design is essentially the same. Saras is a pusher configuration (where propellers are behind the engine and push the plane), while other aircraft are in tractor configuration with the engine on the wings and not at the stump (pulling the plane in the air). NAL had also planned to develop further variants of the aircrafts to be used for coastal and aerial surveillance or develop an Executive jet variant for private & business class. The “entry fee” for civil aircraft manufacturers is rather high. A consultancy contract was inked between the C-CADD and TsAGI and GFRI in 2011 under which the two Russian parties were required to assist C-CADD in weight-budgeting and aerodynamic optimising the airframe of the ‘Saras’ (by conducting wind-tunnels tests at TsAGI), plus assistance for ensuring the International certification of airworthiness of the aircraft. Indian suppliers already provide engineering services for many industry players and also produce wing exit doors for the Boeing 757, landing gear boxes for the Boeing 777, and passenger doors for the Airbus A320. India could become a leading supplier of certain labor-intensive niche products (such as doors, interiors, and wiring harnesses) and the first-choice offshore location for non-strategic aerospace research, development, and engineering (such as two- and three-dimensional drawings or simple simulations). While first aircraft was clearly overweight at 5,118kg compared to the 4,125kg design specifications. The second prototype Saras aircraft lost 400kgs, but it was still heavy by 500kgs which were to be addressed on third Prototype. But the final weight, with the passengers and fuel will still be over 7,000kg. NAL had developed a third prototype, but it is yet to take its first flight due to weight issues. The third prototype features a new glass cockpit, pressure bulkhead, fuselage top skin, composite tails and wings. Besides the reduction in weight, the third prototype will be upgraded to meet the latest design criteria including higher-power 1,200hp (895kW) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67A engines and improvements to the flight control and flight operations systems. The Saras PSA will be fully equipped with a digital cockpit and advanced avionics and flight control systems that include MFDs (multi-function displays), a fully digital autopilot, and engine instruments and crew alerting system (EICAS) and an all-moving horizontal tail. According to sources, a new and enhanced technology is being applied on the wings of the Saras aircraft. The wings, made of carbon composite, are being fabricated with a fully in-house developed technology called VERITy (Vacuum Enhanced Resin Infusion Technology). The upgraded 19 seater Saras Mk2 has considerable drag and weight reduction with unique features like high cruise speed, lower fuel consumption, short landing and take-off distance and low cabin noise. It is also operable from high and hot airfield and the cabin is pressurized; ideal for a variety of applications -- like aerial search, survey, disaster management, border patrol, coast guard, ambulance and other services. Under this project, India developed & patented the Vacuum Enhanced Resign Induced Technology (VERITy) used to make fiberglass composites. The 14-seater Saras PT-1N has received these modifications to its airframe from the previous version: a more modern avionics system, improved radar, modifications of the environment control and cabin pressurisation system, optimisation of nacelle design (for the engine mounts), engine flap actuators, modification of linear wing flap-tracks and trim-taps on the elevators' actuator, better flight control system, a larger metallic rudder area for better control, redesigned landing-gear actuators, a brand-new brake system, installation of an automatic stall-warning system, modification of flight-test instrumentation, modification of electrical systems for reducing voltage losses, provision of nose boom for the air-data system for redundancy, and a fire resistant design for the aircraft’s nacelle. Saras is expected to cost Rs. 45 crore -- cheaper than what India currently pays. A comparable Dornier plane costs Rs. 60 crore. If developed, the new aircraft will enter a crowded field, potentially competing with aircraft such as the Mitsubishi MRJ regional jet, Embraer 190 E2, and Bombardier CS100. The regional jetliner market today is dominated largely by Embraer and Bombardier, with Embraer (larger share of the pie) emerging as the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial jets up to 130 seats. Regional jets typically operate short sector lengths with high numbers of cycles. Anything less than 250 hours per month utilization numbers, is unacceptable, as it will drive CASM (costs per available seat miles or ASM) to be very high as an airline has many fixed costs. Aerospace manufacturing volumes are typically low and the level of design customization is high. Winning in the aerospace industry of the future will require incumbents to excel at integrating and managing global supply chains, transferring production flexibly to emerging markets, refocusing on higher-value-added activities, and forming and managing global alliances and partnerships.
The Chinese and Russians have failed to sell their commercial planes abroad and that should come as a wake-up call for India. The Chinese have learned the hard way that to break even, you will need to sell at least 50-60 planes in the country and also get all the European and American civil authorities' approval for sale abroad, is simply not easy for countries that are keen to protect their plane manufacturers. In a first step of its kind to strengthen the indigenous aerospace industry, the Defence Ministry has issued a tender expected to be worth over Rs 12,000 crore to replace IAF's Avro planes with 56 new aircraft which will be produced by the Indian private sector firms. The IAF fleet of Avro aircraft was inducted from the 1960s and are used for transporting men and material. The aircraft can carry loads of up to 7-8 tonnes. The tender has been issued to eight foreign vendors including American Lockheed Martin, Swedish Saab, Russian Rosoboronexport, Spanish Airbus Military, Italian Alenia and Brazilian Embraer, and they will have to find an Indian partner to produce 40 aircraft within India, IAF officials said here. Indian majors such as Tata, Mahindra Defence Systems, Reliance Industries and L & T are expected to partner the bidding foreign partners for the programme. The first 16 aircraft to be produced in India will have to have 30% indigenous component, while the remaining 24 planes will have 60 per cent locally-procured and produced items, officials said. This project will help in widening the capabilities of the Indian aerospace manufacturing industry and creating a wider pool of players who can take up such activities. “Partnerships were signed but nothing happened,” said one industry official under the condition of anonymity. “It is highly unlikely that HAL and NAL will involve the private sector actively. Besides, they have been unable to make even a basic trainer.” ‘Saras’ has to date remained an aircraft of/by/for just scientists. http://newindianexpress.com/nation/article1507539.ece India's An-32B Cline & AN-32RE are the workhorse of Indian military light transport fleet, traveling to far off bases such as Leh. Of the 101 AN-32s in the IAF fleet, inducted from the Soviets during 1984 to 1991, the first 40 aircraft were "re-equipped" in Ukraine, while the rest 61 are progressively undergoing the same at the 1 Base Repair Depot at Kanpur. Currently, IAF has 56 Avro transport aircraft. The An-32B Cline underwent total overhauling and technical life extension programme in Ukraine and were inducted with a new nomenclature AN-32RE. The Avro An-32 lifter is good aircraft, but it is not tactically flexible, and has been in service more to deliver men rather than materials. Antonov built the original An-24 series to be simple, rugged and easy to use and maintain. Half a century later it should not be surprising that over 500 An-24 series aircraft are still working. A major problem with the An-24 is the shortage of spare parts. The network of factories producing the parts, fell apart when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. India manufactures many spare parts and Ukraine remains a major source of An-24 series aircraft and parts. This included updated models like the An-26 (with engines from An-12)and An-32. None of the IAF An-32Bs crashes has been due to any equipment malfunctions. All of IAF An-32Bs crashes has been due to bad weather. So the only solution is the procurement of IR sensors as visual aids when navigating through bad weather in order to maintain highly reliable situational awareness. The AN-32 that crashed was among the 50 such twin-turboprop aircraft upgraded till now to increase their operational life from the earlier 25 years to 40 as well as newer avionics under the $ 398 million (Rs 1,965 crore) contract inked with Ukraine in June 2009. There are also 4 life rafts fitted with personal locator beacons (PLBs), which get activated after coming in touch with seawater, on board the AN-32s. The ill-fated AN-32, which crashed in an area where the average sea depth is well over 3,000-metre. The IAF is now scrambling to install "underwater locator beacons" in its older transport aircraft, which are tasked to fly over the sea, after failing to locate the AN-32 that went down with 29 personnel in the Bay of Bengal in 2016. Transports also are relatively simple in terms of technology. India is still building parts for old aircrafts like Avro & An-32; compared to China's Y-20 (with Russian engines) & Brazilian C-390 (with western engines). CSIR-NAL should merge with ADA and we should certify Saras sooner. HAL licence-produced BAe (successor company to Hawker Siddeley) Avro HS-748M [H2376] Series-2, originally designed by the British firm Avro in the late 1950s as a replacement for the revolutionary but now-aged American Douglas DC-3 then in widespread service as feeder-liners. Later however, the majority of the series 1 were delivered to Aerolíneas Argentinas. By this point, Avro's individual identity within the Hawker Siddeley Group had ended and the design became known as the HS 748. The HS748M was the workhorse of the IAF's transport fleet before the An-12 and An-32 took the role. The are “staff communications and light logistics” aircraft. Two Rolls-Royce RDa.7 Mk 536-2 turboprop engines are used on the Avro HS-748M [H2376] Series-2 are out of production now and spares are getting harder to come by, however, IAF has around 50 or 56 such aircraft which are still in service with plenty of airframe life remaining. IAF remains non-committal on upgrading its Avro fleet, since the aircraft is also limited by fuselage design due to which it cannot operate at high attitude regions. Many of the aircraft in service with IAF has been under-utilized due to its poor freight carrying capabilities, hence the majority of the fleet still has plenty of airframe life left. Without major up-gradation to the fuselage and without the introduction of the rear ramp doors in aircraft, the utility of the Avro fleet will always remain underused due to its limitations. "The only replacement for a DC-3 is another DC-3" – The Douglas DC-3 (or C-47 military designation) Skytrain or Dakota of the 75th Troop Carrier Squadron. The first plane to land and come back from the North Pole. The troops called these gunships, which liked to operate at night, "Spooky." The DC-3 revolutionized air travel to the extent not equalled until the arrival of the jet age. Much of that revolution involved safety, thanks to its over engineered design and reliability of the all metal, twin engine airliner. The technical innovations incorporated by the Douglas team included retractable landing gear, wing flaps, variable-pitch propellers, stressed-skin structure, and flush riveting. However, it was known to have mechanical failures. The DC-3/DST soon proved itself and orders grew rapidly, with KLM becoming the first operator outside the US. Including 40 DST, 430 DC-3 had been delivered when the USA entered the war - one flew more than 84,000 hours. Nakajima and Showa in Japan had built 485 (L2D) and about 2,000 had been built in the USSR as PS-84, but later re-designated Lisunov Li-2 with 742kW Shvetsov engines. The DC-3 was built in numerous versions and with a wide range of Wright Cyclone and Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engines, ranging in power from 742 to 894kW. The aircraft were operated on wheels and skis - one even had floats (the XC-47G-DL) - and there was the XCG-17 experimental troop-carrying glider version. C-47 made such an important contribution to the US war effort that General Eisenhower considered them to be one of the four most significant weapons of World War II. When allied paratroopers jumped, it was usually from a C-47/DC-3 (which could carry 28 troops, but over sixty people were squeezed in during emergencies). With a maximum range of 3,400 kilometers and a top speed of 296 kilometers per hour, the DC 3 was the common cargo carrier (up to 3.5 tons) and general purpose "flying truck." In the China-Burma-India theatre, they 'humped' supplies over the Himalayas from India to China and carried airborne troops on all major invasions. Chittagong is in the very northeastern corner of India, very close to Burma and almost on the shores of the Bay of Bengal. Post-war they contributed to the Berlin Airlift, carried supplies and troops into and wounded men out of Korea, and even fought as heavily armed gun-ships in Vietnam. The Douglas DC-3, also affectionately known as ‘Dakota’, ‘Sky-train’, ‘Gooney Bird. DC-3s are still flying seven decades after its début in December 1935 and are likely to continue flying well into the 21st century. The American aircraft had an extensive career in the IAF from the mid-1940 to mid-1980s, and was used for air lifting of troops & weapons, road building materials, civil administration in the hills etc. It is an icon of IAF's heritage and history of national service in peace and war. According to Air Marshal BK Pandey (rtd), it was Dakota that saved Kashmir valley from the Pakistani forces in 1948. After nearly 80 years, there are still over a hundred of the 16,000 American DC-3 transports built are working in odd (and often remote) parts of the world. Boeing-Embraer C-390 / KC-390 'Millennium' medium-lift military transport aircraft, replaces the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules in Brazil; and is similar in form and function to Kawasaki C-2. The next closest competitors, the Beechcraft King Air and Airbus C295/CN235 aircrafts. Brazil sanctioned money for this project in 2008, following which Embraer inked an industrial partnership agreement with Boeing. The first KC-390 prototype made its maiden flight in 2015, followed by Embraer declaring the KC-390 to have initial operating capability in 2017. After an invitation to global airframers and Indian private firms, in 2014 the government found it had received a single bid — a joint offer from Spanish Airbus division and the Tata Group to build the 23-ton C-295MW transporter (a stretched version of the CN-235 aircraft) in India as replacements for IAF's 60s-era HS 748. Most C-295s are the M (military) version with a rear cargo ramp and able to carry 71 troops, 48 paratroopers. The MW model is a 2014 upgraded version. India will import 16 aircraft from Spain, while TATA will manufacture the remaining 40 within 10 years under licence. Although many of its components will be made in India, however, the aluminium blocks for the 40 C-295 aircrafts will be imported from Spain. TATA will also qualify to establish and operate an MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) operation for C-295 aircrafts in Asia. India has dithered for years now on the ‘single vendor’ situation. With 56 C-295 transports for $2.6 billion, India will be its largest user. Indonesia's first home-grown aircraft is the NC219, a modified NC-212 (an upgrade of C-212 Aviocar), under licence from Spain's CASA. However, unlike C-295, these aircrafts don't have pressurised cabins and hence are unable to fly at high altitudes. Indonesia also licence-produces the CN-235 military transport (C-295 is a stretched version) and have plans to modify it into a civilian version, N-245, after development of NC219 is completed. China's ARJ21 is developed by state-owned Comac, and seats 70 to 80 passengers. Turkey has laid out plans for a public-private partnership to develop passenger aircraft. The first Boeing C-17 Globemaster III heavy-lift transport aircraft built for the Indian Air Force arrives at Edwards in 2013. The 290 ton C-17 was developed to meet the US Air Force's (USAF) requirements for heavy-lift transport aircraft to replace the venerable C-130J Hercules. Currently, the US operates 223 out 274 manufactured C-17s. India operates around 11 C-17s which is the second most number after the US. The rest are operated by the UK, Australia, Canada, Kuwait, Qatar, and others. C-17 costs about $250 million each. It has a high readiness rate of 82.6% to 84.4%. C-17 is likely to suffer from parts obsolescence in the future as component suppliers no longer make a range of parts for the aircraft. However, India's Globemaster-III deal has not been without its fair share of hiccups, especially after South Block demanded greater price clarity from the Pentagon after reports emerged that the aircraft had been sold to other countries at a substantially lower price. The operating squadron stated in September 2015 that C-17 aircraft could carry only 35 ton of load and on a few occasions, C-17 was tasked for only 26 ton. A one-hour flight of a C-17 aircraft carrying 50 tons costs about $345,000. Boeing was expected to set up a special support infrastructure worth $152 million by July 2013, but has yet to do so. Moreover, for the purpose of loading and unloading, a fork lifter weighing 13 ton is always being carried in the aircraft, since other units did not have ground-handling equipment. This fork lifter occupies 35% of the cargo space, leaving limited space for payload. In June 2009, the Indian Air Force (IAF) selected the C-17 which is to replace the Ilyushin Il-76 as the IAF's largest heavy lift transport aircraft in service. An agreement to purchase 10 aircraft, with an option to purchase 6 more, was revealed during President Obama's visit to India in November 2010. In February 2011 the IAF and Boeing agreed to terms for order of 10 C-17s with an option for 6 more; the order was approved by the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security on 6 June 2011. In June 2011, India approved the purchase of 10 Boeing C-17 strategic heavy-lifters at an estimated cost of $4.1 billion from the US in a giant step to augment the capability of its air force to swiftly move troops and equipment over long distances. “The cabinet committee on security has today approved the C-17 deal at an approximate cost of $4.1 billion,” a senior defence ministry official said. India has signed its biggest defence deal with the United States to procure ten C-17 Globemaster-III heavy-lift transport aircraft for $4.1 billion, is the largest Indo-US defence deal so far, under which American defence major Boeing will set up test facilities for hi-tech aeronautics engines for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). According to the agreement, the delivery of aircrafts will be in 2013 and 2014, with India becoming the largest global customer of the C-17 Globemaster-III aircraft. Boeing will also set up a Trisonic Test Tunnel facility at the DRDO to enable testing, research and development of various aircraft. The purchase is also expected to support 23,000 jobs in the United States, while more than 600 American firms are expected to benefit directly from the deal. American C-17 entered service in 1996, two years after its first flight, and each C-17 has a useful life of 30,000 flight hours. The C-17 Globemaster III is capable of carrying a payload of 75 tonnes after taking off from a mere 7,000-feet airstrip. The four-engined aircraft can transport battle tanks and combat-ready troops over 2,400 nautical miles without refuelling. With the four-engine C-17s capable of taking off and landing even on makeshift runways, barely 3,500-feet long and 90-feet wide, India will be able to transport soldiers and combat systems to forward areas both on western and eastern fronts much faster. It can also take-off and land on unpaved runways. The Globemaster from "Block 19'', which India will get, after all has a maximum range of 9,200 km. The IAF has deployed C-17 to transport supplies to high-altitude landing grounds in Leh and the distant Andaman Island of Port Blair. The C-17s have rescued Indian expats during the Yemeni Civil War in 2015. It has delivered humanitarian aid after the 2013 Cyclone Phailin, 2015 Nepal earthquake, 2015 Kashmir and Chennai floods, 2016 Sri Lanka floods, and other natural disasters. "They can carry twice the load of our present IL-76 `Gajraj' aircraft (IAF has around a dozen of these Russian-origin aircraft). Importantly, they can also operate from short airstrips,'' said ACM Naik. India is yet to sign the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMoA), a pact mandated by the US law for the transfer of hi-tech military equipment to friendly countries. The final contract is expected to be signed within a couple of months after India issues a letter of acceptance to the US government. This swift-reaction capability will be crucial in countering China's massive build-up of military infrastructure all along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control, which includes five fully-operational airbases in Tibet. The Chinese have been undertaking a massive build-up of military infrastructure, and the C-17 is expected to act as a force multiplier for the IAF, which has also been on the lookout to add to its heavy-lift aircraft fleet. U.S. Air Force currently operates nearly 600 C-130 Hercules, C-17 Globemaster and C-5 Galaxy cargo planes. Their readiness rates are: (C-130E & C-130J has 76.7% but C-130H 68.3% to 73.8%), C-17A 82.6% to 84.4%, C-5 52.7% to 62.6%. U.S. Air Force airlifting consists of 2 distinct types:
USAF is exploring new clear concepts and approach to employ large groups of relatively low-cost, reusable, and ultimately expendable — long-ranged UAVs with just 2 sensors, dropped from next-gen cargo aircrafts, to perform a variety of tasks in support of joint campaigns. US have also realised that regular development takes too long & gets outdated quickly. Many of its key technologies and features have never been shown in planning or developement. This independent closed system will have a high degree of redundancy and even a high failure rate of individuals will not result in an overall failure. The implications of applying pure saturation grids would force the enemy to exhaust its inventory of interceptors & missiles and increase the resiliency of forward-based forces. Its effectiveness during the opening days of a conflict could be profound. USAF would also air-drop guidance package for toops on the ground. Officials believe the are closer to finding an optimal mix of long-range precision-strike fire and littoral contested environment with survivable expeditionary capabilities. China is "iterating so rapidly, and I think that forces us to change. If we can change, we can win." In the end, US and its partners in the Pacific Ocean will be successful in overcoming certain fiscal and technological challenges. However, its critical for the US to be able to pre-position food, fuel, weapons and equipment needed to run an airfield from which it plans to operate. A sobering reality is that US will suffer significant losses. "The evidence-based possibility that if we were able to change, we probably wouldn't have to fight." StandardAero is responsible for Series 3.5 upgrade and overhaul work, which will allow Rolls-Royce T56-A-15 engines to operate at greatly reduced temperatures, extending parts life and increase its payload by three times (or increase the aircraft range by 10%). The upgrades also provide improved "hot and high" performance. C-130J Super Hercules (capable of high-altitude landing in difficult terrain), made by Lockheed Martin, is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. C-130 transport aircraft is the only US military cargo plane with an active production line. The Hercules family has the longest continuous production run of any military aircraft in history. Even Iran has some C-130 aircraft. The max payload for a single C-130 is slightly more than 44K pounds. It has a readiness rate of 76.7%. Royal Thai Air Force’s (RTAF) 2020 white paper has called for the replacement of 12 C-130H transport aircraft with a new platform in 3 phases from 2022. The joint production project between Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) involves manufacturing of roll-on, roll-off modules that allow C-130s to be used for surveillance, and as VIP transports or hospitals. Tata group's Tata Advanced Materials (TAML) and TAL Manufacturing Solutions, already, supply important components to Boeing. In 2013, the IAF had landed a C-130J at one of the world's highest landing ground in Daulat Beg Oldie, northern Ladakh. The same year, the aircraft led supply ran for relief materials in flood-hit northern India. In 2014, it transported rescued civilians and humanitarian supplies during the Kashmir floods. In 2016, the planes were even used to ferry cash post demonetization. Recently, the Indian Air Force landed its Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules transport plane on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has ordered terrain warning awareness system for 6 of its C-130J Super Hercules aircrafts after losing two C-130Js in accidents, one in March 2014 and the other in February this year in an area bordering China. India ordered 6 more C-130Js for US $ 1.1 billion in 2013. According to the IAF, these 6 C-130Js will be part of 87 squadron based in Panagarh, which will be the location for the Indian Army's 17 mountain strike corps. More than 90,000 personnel will constitute the corps being raised for deployment along the 2,521-mile Line of Actual Control (LoAC) with China. India needs 12 more C-130Js. The C-130 has been in service for over half a century, and has been flying for over 50 countries. The versatile and robust airframe design has found uses in a variety of other roles, including as a gunship (AC-130), for airborne assault, search and rescue, scientific research support, retrieve satellites in midair, weather reconnaissance, aerial refueling fighter jets, maritime patrol and aerial firefighting. It is now the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. It has flown in conflict zones from Vietnam to Afghanistan, on both poles, the Himalayas and landed on unpaved runways and beaches. The latest version, the C-130J, has a top speed of 644 kms, 40% more range than the C-130H, and can carry 20 tons of cargo. C-130Js have cost nearly 20% less per hour than previous models. In the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the Pakistan Air Force modified/improvised several aircraft for use as heavy bombers, and attacks were made on Indian bridges and troop concentrations with some successes. Since 2004, the Pakistan Air Force has employed C-130s in the War in North-West Pakistan. Some variants had forward-looking infrared (FLIR Systems Star Safire III EO/IR) sensor balls, to enable close tracking of Islamist militants. France has been forced to improvise to get the tactical transport capabilities its needs. In early 2016 France ordered American “Harvest Hawk” kits that can quickly turn American made C-130 transports into gunships. This came after France ordered four C-130J transports in late 2015, mainly because of delays and inadequacies of the A400Ms had ordered. France already operates 14 of the older C-130H aircraft and was not expected to order the latest model, the C-130J, because France was a major backer, and customer, for the A400M. During the Cold War air transports were very low priority in Europe because if there was a war the mighty Red Army of the Soviet Union was going to deliver it and be right next door to do so. But now all the action is far away, and the military needs air freight for emergencies and other urgent missions. 3D Realtime AE 2100 turboprop engine, developed by Allison Engine Company, now part of Rolls-Royce North America, which is used in the Lockheed Martin's C-130J Super Hercules military transport and in the ShinMaywa US-1A amphibious search and rescue aircraft. AirBus executives admitted that they screwed up and there are still problems with the engines which require so much maintenance that the A400Ms still suffers low readiness (for use) rates.These came from an inexperienced supplier and AirBus was late in realizing how bad the problems were. Alenia Aermacchi C-27J Spartan medium-sized military cargo aircraft, described as “the new generation medium military airlifter’s category” capable of taking off from unprepared strips “less than 500 metre long with maximum takeoff weight of 30,500 kg.” It would be particularly suitable for India’s hilly northeastern states. Besides the BSF, the company is optimistic that the aircraft can be of use to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) as well as the National Security Guard (NSG) as a potential customer. A requirement for a military transport to replace 56 HS.748 twin turboprops operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF) is raising procedural problems for potential bidders. India released a Request for Information last December inviting OEMs to bid only if they could find private Indian partners. But candidate Indian companies are reluctant to commit to the project. It is unlikely the Russians will participate [in the 748 replacement], because if the IAF wanted them, it would have ordered more Antonov An-32s. Since Ukraine stopped manufacture, there are few global buyers. India has approved a $2.4 billion contest to acquire 56 transports to replace the air force's Hindustan Aeronautics-built Hawker Siddeley HS 748s, setting the stage for a possible showdown between the Airbus Military C295 and Alenia Aermacchi C-27J. Alenia Aermacchi stressed the C-27J's commonality with the Lockheed Martin C-130J; a type that entered Indian air force service in 2011. Based on a request for information issued in 2010, 16 aircraft will be obtained in a flyaway condition, and 40 produced under licence in India. One source said the programme will represent a major first, with licensed production of the aircraft to be farmed out to a private sector company, and not HAL. While India has yet to produce a major private sector airframer, a number of the country's large industrial conglomerates, such as Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata have been steadily building up their aerospace units in recent years. Government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics is set to co-produce the Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA) in a joint venture with the Russians. The MTA is in the 20-ton class, whereas the IAF’s 748 replacement would be smaller, around 10 tons. Unlike the 748 but like the MTA, however, it would have a rear ramp and short-field capability. The tight production schedule requires delivery of the first aircraft within two years of contract signing, followed by another 14 within 24 months. The Y-20 is a newly developed aircraft to end China's dependence on Russian-made Il-76s and older Y-8 (an unlicensed copy of the Soviet An-12) for their large and heavy transport needs. It can carry out long-range transportation missions even under complicated weather conditions and in small airports in mountainous areas. The Y-20 has sufficient range to reach most of the Europe, Africa, Australia and Alaska. It can be even seen as a strategic airlifter. China currently operates 3 Il-78 aerial-refuelling tankers, which were remanufactured examples acquired from Ukraine in 2012. China’s previous attempt to purchase 8 newly-built Il-78s along with 30 Il-76 transports from Russia and Uzbekistan in 2005-07 was unsuccessful, when the deal collapsed after prolonged delays and price hikes. China ordered Y-20 development to begin back in 2006, after China cancelling a $1.5 billion order for 38 Russian Il-76 transport planes and Il-78s (tanker versions of the Il-76). The stated reason was because Russia tried to up the price 27%. China operates Xian HY-6 aerial-refuelling tankers. The Y-20 cost less than $200 to $250 million. China will not be buying any more Il-76s although it continued to buy the same engines that power the Il-76. Y-20s are currently powered by Russian Soloviev D-30 turbofans also used on the Il-7 and the H-6 bomber, limiting lift capacity to around 55 tons. The Y-20 made its first flight in 2013. It is expected to enter service with Chinese air force in the near future. An AWACS version of the Y-20 is also being envisaged. It is possible that this aircraft will be proposed for export customers. Y-20 is compared with the Russian-made IL-76 and the US C-17 which are also present at the show. In any case one Chinese aircraft manufacturer was already working on a modern air transport similar to the American C-17. Y-20 was designed with both IL-76 (50 t) and C-17 (77 t) 'inspirations' in pedigree and looks. China does not need many Y-20s but it does want to get away from depending on Russia for heavy transports. The Y-20 has a max payload of 66 tons and is more similar to the C-17 than the Il-76 which can airlift only 45 tonnes. That is on purpose what while the Y-20 will replace the current fleet of 195 ton Il-76s. The Y-20, which entered service in 2016, is powered by four Soloviev D-30KP-2 engines, the same powerplant as the IL-76MD. However, Y-20’s maximum load and flying range are lower due to the plane’s reliance on, D-30KP2, an old Russian-designed low-bypass turbofan engine (developed by Soviets back in the 1960s). During 2009 to 2011, Russia fulfilled the contract of delivering 55 D-30KP-2 engines to China. Also due to the high noise, some developed countries have banned aircraft using it from landing, threatening its potential appearance at European air shows. Development work continues on a much higher bypass, more powerful and efficient indigenously developed, Shenyang Liping WS-20 turbofan. WS-20 high-bypass turbofan (137km of thrust) has been flight-tested on an IL-76 testbed since 2014. Russia and China had signed a contract in 2011 for the supply of 184 D-30KP-2 engines but China only got 12 such engines before October 2012. China will in total have 239 Russia-made D-30KP-2 engines through these two contracts. China has in all about 30 Il-76 transports and needs 120 engines for full replacement of their engines; hence, China might use the engines on lots of 200-ton Y-20 transport aircrafts. Updated IL-76MD-90A (project code named IL-476) is a new medium (52 t) transport aircrafts are associated with poor production development at Aviastar-SP (city of Uliyanovsk). It has four PS-90A-76 turbofan engines, a modern glass cabin and strengthened landing gear. IL-76MD-90A is based on the same airframe and fuselage of IL-76 aircraft. The IL-76 aircraft needed to be modernised as its avionics are of 1985 vintage and are not permitted to fly in international aviation corridors. China’s previous attempt to 30 Il-76 transports from Russia and Uzbekistan in 2005-07 was unsuccessful, when the deal collapsed after prolonged delays and price hikes. Russian signed a $4bn contract for the delivery of 39 IL-76MD-90A aircrafts. IL-76MD-90A can be modified into ambulance or fire-fighting versions. Tankers / Replenishment / Fleet Supply |
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Russia's Il-78M-90A "Future air tanker" aircraft is based on the Il-76M-90A military cargo transport aircraft and is meant to supplement rather than replace it. The first aerial refuelling aircraft serial number is 0201. This version has not yet won formal clearance for quantity production.
Unlike the basic Il-76M, the Il-78M-90A tanker will carry 60% more fuel by having to two additional tanks of 50 tons in its large cargo area. If required, it will be able to convert into an airlifter by removing the additional fuel tanks and onboard equipment for refueling. It will also features new engines, a modified wing, strengthened bulkhead in the rear fuselage; and new flight control systems. India has declared its intent to acquire additional Russian air tankers, having reconsidered its earlier selection of the Airbus A330 MRTT.
Pakistan and China have opted to convert their Il-76 military cargo transport aircrafts into Il-78MP aerial refuelling tankers aircraft in the Ukraine.
Unlike the basic Il-76M, the Il-78M-90A tanker will carry 60% more fuel by having to two additional tanks of 50 tons in its large cargo area. If required, it will be able to convert into an airlifter by removing the additional fuel tanks and onboard equipment for refueling. It will also features new engines, a modified wing, strengthened bulkhead in the rear fuselage; and new flight control systems. India has declared its intent to acquire additional Russian air tankers, having reconsidered its earlier selection of the Airbus A330 MRTT.
Pakistan and China have opted to convert their Il-76 military cargo transport aircrafts into Il-78MP aerial refuelling tankers aircraft in the Ukraine.
In the 1980s the An-70 has been pitched as a low cost alternative for nations needing American C-130s or the new Airbus A400M type four engine turboprop military transports. The An-70 design was innovative and impressive for a prop-driven aircraft. While the C-130H could haul 20 tons for up to 1,350 kilometers, while AN-70 could carry 47 tons for the same distance. The AN-70 could carry 20 tons, the An-70 could travel 7,400 kilometers. The aircraft also exceled in one area the Russians were always good at: the ability to operate from unpaved, and short, runways. So in 2008 the Russian-Ukrainian effort to revive the An-70 was expected survive by selling lots of aircraft to countries like India and China and others that want the most for their money in a rugged military transport. Even before 2014 Ukraine found it had a lot of Western firms ready to replace the An-70 components, including the unique turbo-prop engines that were supposed to come from Russia. Meanwhile Antonov had already demonstrated it could build an air transport, the An-132 (highly upgraded version of the 1960s era An-24), with no parts or orders from Russia. All it took was some Arab partners. An earlier partner (at least for engines) was (and apparently still is) China.
Light Carrier: Assault-landing dock
An aircraft carrier is simply a mobile air-defense and strike platform. The procurement cost of 1 aircraft carrier is roughly equal to 10 frigates.
Since 2017, China has been sending 16 to 19 PLAN warships (along with axillary ships), for 3 months per year, into the Indian Ocean. Indian Navy has the capacity of monitoring around 17 to 18 warships in the Indian Ocean. By 2025 and 2035, China is looking to have 32 and 52 PLAN warships force respectively, in the Indian Ocean, that can restrict the Indian Navy at will.
Since 2017, China has been sending 16 to 19 PLAN warships (along with axillary ships), for 3 months per year, into the Indian Ocean. Indian Navy has the capacity of monitoring around 17 to 18 warships in the Indian Ocean. By 2025 and 2035, China is looking to have 32 and 52 PLAN warships force respectively, in the Indian Ocean, that can restrict the Indian Navy at will.
“Some say that the development of modern anti-access, area denial threats make an amphibious assault impossible. That has been said before, and it was not true then, and it is not true now. The challenge is to leverage the asymmetric advantages we have in functions like ISR, precision-first, and sea-basing. The challenge is to use the sea as a maneuver space in the context of the modern threat. We don’t need to give up on the capability. We need to think our way through the challenge.” - Maj. Gen. Robert Walsh.
“What we expect from them is how’s the load out? What is your ability to move from point A to Point B? What is your ability to hide yourself electromagnetically and physically? How quickly can you onload and offload?” Smith proposed as questions to ask the Marines experimenting with the leased stern landing vessel. “What do you do to connect fuel when you need fuel from a different source – KC-130 putting fuel in? What did you forget to bring with you? What did your supply chain look like? And can you use that vessel to both support you for organic mobility and can it be used for periods of time to support the joint force logistically?”
Any nation that has the design techology to built mini-nuke reactors for submarines can also build nuclear aircraft carriers. At the start of the Cold War, when the US acquired carrier after carrier, while the Soviet Union went for fleet after fleet of silent submarines. The trends led to two rival maritime doctrines—of sea control by US carriers and sea denial by Soviet submarines. Modern navies currently are seeking to balance both carriers and submarines for both doctrines - sea control and sea denial. US achieved air-superiority in the Gulf War with the use of aircrafts from carriers.
India needs two operational aircraft carriers (which are like mobile military bases), and one in reserve, for sea control of the Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal. India’s carrier in operation, the Russian-made Vikramaditya, cost a whopping $2.35 billion. Vikrant is expected to cost $2.8 billion. However, carrier serve around 45 years (twice the life of any other warship), “the cost is peanuts”. Indian Government wants to spend its funds on more nuclear submarine and on IAF aircrafts. The threat from submarines rises if it can remain undetected. India relies on p-8 maritime aircrafts & also US-Japan-Australian undersea network to monitor chinese submarines.
”Shore-based strike has its own place to support naval operations and the aircraft carrier has a completely different role to play. To show that shore-based facility is a replacement of aircraft carriers is a complete fallacy. Former Admiral Arun Prakash
PLAN has 2 carriers, while building a third and planning for 2 more. PLAN is seeking to permanently position 4 destroyers and its newest Type-09-3G attack submarines, in the Indian Ocean. The threat assessment is that if China decides to send three aircraft carriers into the Indian Ocean by 2028, then no amount of submarines, destroyers or frigates can tackle it. Aircraft carriers are the only answer to such a situation. Indian Navy chief wants 65,000-ton carrier with twin-engined fighters to counter chinese destroyers and type-075 in the Indian ocean. Australia, France, Italy and Spain each have one carrier.
India needs two operational aircraft carriers (which are like mobile military bases), and one in reserve, for sea control of the Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal. India’s carrier in operation, the Russian-made Vikramaditya, cost a whopping $2.35 billion. Vikrant is expected to cost $2.8 billion. However, carrier serve around 45 years (twice the life of any other warship), “the cost is peanuts”. Indian Government wants to spend its funds on more nuclear submarine and on IAF aircrafts. The threat from submarines rises if it can remain undetected. India relies on p-8 maritime aircrafts & also US-Japan-Australian undersea network to monitor chinese submarines.
”Shore-based strike has its own place to support naval operations and the aircraft carrier has a completely different role to play. To show that shore-based facility is a replacement of aircraft carriers is a complete fallacy. Former Admiral Arun Prakash
PLAN has 2 carriers, while building a third and planning for 2 more. PLAN is seeking to permanently position 4 destroyers and its newest Type-09-3G attack submarines, in the Indian Ocean. The threat assessment is that if China decides to send three aircraft carriers into the Indian Ocean by 2028, then no amount of submarines, destroyers or frigates can tackle it. Aircraft carriers are the only answer to such a situation. Indian Navy chief wants 65,000-ton carrier with twin-engined fighters to counter chinese destroyers and type-075 in the Indian ocean. Australia, France, Italy and Spain each have one carrier.
While the PLAN has focused on both denying enemy naval forces access to waters near China, as well as operating in said water, China needs a significant maritime transport capability to move forces and materials that can decisively influence events on lands separated from the Mainland by oceans. This can be achieved with both specialized platforms, as well as through ships taken up from trade (STUFT), which is the practice of naval forces adding merchant marine ships to their order of battle in wartime.
On June 17, Chinese government issued orders for civilian shipbuilders to ensure that five types of civilian ships, container, roll-on/roll-off, multipurpose, bulk carrier, and break-bulk cargo carriers, will be technically compliant for emergency mobilization during wartime. The official China Daily newspaper notes that the Royal Navy took similarily advantage of augmented civilian shipping during the Falklands War. Additionally, the U.S. military used Special Middle East Shipping Agreements to book air cargo space during the Gulf War.
These technical changes will likely include the ability to install military grade communications and defense systems when needed, as well as stronger damage control mechanisms such as additional firefighting equipment. Such militarized new ships would likely be used not for limited skirmishes in the South or East China Seas, but rather in support of sustained maritime, amphibious and regional power projection campaigns, such as around the Taiwan Straits, Gulf of Aden or North Korea.
Roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) carriers are especially interesting given that while they normally transport cars and other automobiles, which drive onto and drive off of them at ports. As shown by U.S military practice during the Gulf Wars, RO/RO carriers can be easily mobilized to dock at a captured or friendly port to quickly drop off a battalion from its ramps. If Chinese amphibious or special forces capture an enemy port, a RO/RO carrier could be brought in to quickly disperse mechanized infantry to seize the surrounding city in a rapid campaign. RO/RO carriers would also allow for the speedy deployment of follow on logistic equipment, and anti-access systems like surface to air missiles.
On June 17, Chinese government issued orders for civilian shipbuilders to ensure that five types of civilian ships, container, roll-on/roll-off, multipurpose, bulk carrier, and break-bulk cargo carriers, will be technically compliant for emergency mobilization during wartime. The official China Daily newspaper notes that the Royal Navy took similarily advantage of augmented civilian shipping during the Falklands War. Additionally, the U.S. military used Special Middle East Shipping Agreements to book air cargo space during the Gulf War.
These technical changes will likely include the ability to install military grade communications and defense systems when needed, as well as stronger damage control mechanisms such as additional firefighting equipment. Such militarized new ships would likely be used not for limited skirmishes in the South or East China Seas, but rather in support of sustained maritime, amphibious and regional power projection campaigns, such as around the Taiwan Straits, Gulf of Aden or North Korea.
Roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) carriers are especially interesting given that while they normally transport cars and other automobiles, which drive onto and drive off of them at ports. As shown by U.S military practice during the Gulf Wars, RO/RO carriers can be easily mobilized to dock at a captured or friendly port to quickly drop off a battalion from its ramps. If Chinese amphibious or special forces capture an enemy port, a RO/RO carrier could be brought in to quickly disperse mechanized infantry to seize the surrounding city in a rapid campaign. RO/RO carriers would also allow for the speedy deployment of follow on logistic equipment, and anti-access systems like surface to air missiles.
INS Jalashwa (Hippopotamus) Landing Pontoon Docks (LPD), bought second-hand from the US in 2005 and inducted into service in 2007. It is an Austin-class vessel that can host helicopters and UAVs, in addition to carrying troops, supplies and fuel. Jalashwa was originally commissioned in the US Navy as USS Trenton and had served for 36 years when India brought it for USD 48.4 million in 2007.
India has announced on several occasions that its maritime interests range from the Arabian Gulf to the Indian Ocean rim countries, and that it seeks to strengthen its amphibious capabilities.
LPDs provide the Navy strategic reach to operate far away from Indian shores and support amphibious warfare. The Navy is planning to induct four Landing Platform Docks (LPD) to join the fleet alongside INS Jalashwa.
During the sale, US has succeeded in imposing a generic End Use Monitoring Agreement (EUMA) on India in mid-2009. The deal comes with various restrictions & terms of conditions on weapon use during the war. The end-user verification agreement that the US insists on signing whenever it sells or transfers military equipment to a friendly country entails the American right to inspect the equipment at regular intervals to ensure it was not being used for purposes other than for which the sale or transfer took place. It also prevents the buyer country from freeing itself from dependency on the U.S. for maintenance.
Reports had suggested that the Indian Navy removed some night vision equipment from on board the 17,000-tonne transport dock warfare ship that aids carrying out amphibious warfare on enemy's shores and allowed the American inspectors to check the equipment's use sometime in late 2011.
The Navy wants the ships to be 200 metres long and to be able to transport Main Battle tanks (MBTs), heavy trucks, Armoured Personnel Vehicles and other heavy machinery. It should also be able to carry out operations of heavy-lift helicopters of the Navy.
The helicopters, the UH-3Hs, were bought as an integral part of Austin-class LPD Trenton. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), India’s apex auditor, has found that serviceability — the availability of helicopters at any given time — of the US-made helicopter was as low as 27.10% in 2015-16 which is seriously affecting optimum utilization of the LPD. Serviceability of the helicopter remained ‘unsatisfactory’ i.e. below the level of 50% since the purchase. The Indian auditor had warned the Indian Navy about the purchase of more than 50-year-old helicopters, but the defense ministry had stated that the procurement of UH-3H helicopters was a considered decision to provide an interim solution for onboard aircraft of INS Jalashwa.
India has announced on several occasions that its maritime interests range from the Arabian Gulf to the Indian Ocean rim countries, and that it seeks to strengthen its amphibious capabilities.
LPDs provide the Navy strategic reach to operate far away from Indian shores and support amphibious warfare. The Navy is planning to induct four Landing Platform Docks (LPD) to join the fleet alongside INS Jalashwa.
During the sale, US has succeeded in imposing a generic End Use Monitoring Agreement (EUMA) on India in mid-2009. The deal comes with various restrictions & terms of conditions on weapon use during the war. The end-user verification agreement that the US insists on signing whenever it sells or transfers military equipment to a friendly country entails the American right to inspect the equipment at regular intervals to ensure it was not being used for purposes other than for which the sale or transfer took place. It also prevents the buyer country from freeing itself from dependency on the U.S. for maintenance.
Reports had suggested that the Indian Navy removed some night vision equipment from on board the 17,000-tonne transport dock warfare ship that aids carrying out amphibious warfare on enemy's shores and allowed the American inspectors to check the equipment's use sometime in late 2011.
The Navy wants the ships to be 200 metres long and to be able to transport Main Battle tanks (MBTs), heavy trucks, Armoured Personnel Vehicles and other heavy machinery. It should also be able to carry out operations of heavy-lift helicopters of the Navy.
The helicopters, the UH-3Hs, were bought as an integral part of Austin-class LPD Trenton. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), India’s apex auditor, has found that serviceability — the availability of helicopters at any given time — of the US-made helicopter was as low as 27.10% in 2015-16 which is seriously affecting optimum utilization of the LPD. Serviceability of the helicopter remained ‘unsatisfactory’ i.e. below the level of 50% since the purchase. The Indian auditor had warned the Indian Navy about the purchase of more than 50-year-old helicopters, but the defense ministry had stated that the procurement of UH-3H helicopters was a considered decision to provide an interim solution for onboard aircraft of INS Jalashwa.
Indian Navy had been planning to procure four 20,000-ton LPD at a cost of around USD 2 billion.
The Indian Army already has a brigade of around 3,000 amphibious troops, but the Navy’s current fleet is not equipped for such operations. The LHD requirement calls for a diesel-electric propulsion ship that is 200 meters long with a draft of 8 meters when fully loaded. It will be required to carry 6 main battle tanks; 20 infantry combat vehicles; 40 heavy trucks; and more than 900 troops. The ship would be defended by a point defense missile system; a close-in weapon system; an anti-torpedo decoy system; chaff; and machine guns. It would also be able to operate helicopters weighing up to 32,000 pounds.
- The new LX(R) carrying heavy armour is based on LPD II (Amphibious Transport Dock) & LSD-x (Dock Landing Ship) were built to carry armor like tanks and other heavy equipment and replace the WW2-era LST (Landing Ship Transport)
India's private manufacturers Reliance Defense and Engineering Limited (RDEL) and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) have cleared the financial and technical tests and have submitted commercial bids to build Indian Navy's four 20,000 ton LPD (Amphibious Transport Dock). L&T has a tie-up with Navantia of Spain and RDEL with DCNS of France. The ships will have the capacity to carry 6 main battle tanks, 20 infantry combat vehicles and 40 heavy trucks. Each ship is expected to carry 1,430 personnel, 470 sailors and 900 troops.
Indian amphibious ships are named after ferocious animals or amphibians.
Indian amphibious ships are named after ferocious animals or amphibians.
The first and second America-class (based on Wasp-class LHD) light aircraft carrier were criticized because the expanded aviation facilities that gave no space for a well deck to support amphibious warfare. Ironically, these ships could not handle the heat expelled by F-35 and MV-22 during continuous high tempo air operations. The rest of the ships of this class will have smaller aircraft hangars (less storage for jet fuel and munitions) to leave room for the addition of a well deck on board.
Type 075 LHD Aircraft/Helicopter Mini-Carriers with its flexibility and long-range striking power, have taken over the role of powerful guided-missile Battleships.
India's 900-ton LCU ship is propelled by 02 MTU diesel engines of 1840 Kw rating and can sustain speeds up to 15 knots, and has an endurance of 1500 nautical miles. The armament onboard the ship consists of two 30 mm CRN -91 guns manufactured by Ordnance Factory, Medak. The gun is controlled by an electrical day-night fire control system manufactured by Bharat Electronic Limited (BEL). The ship is also equipped with 12.7 mm Heavy Machine Guns and 7.62 mm Medium Machine Guns.
It will assist in amphibious operations by carrying out beaching operations in addition to carrying out maritime surveillance to prevent anti-poaching, illegal fishing, drug trafficking, human trafficking, poaching and other illegal activities.
It will assist in amphibious operations by carrying out beaching operations in addition to carrying out maritime surveillance to prevent anti-poaching, illegal fishing, drug trafficking, human trafficking, poaching and other illegal activities.
(Project 71) Indigenous Aircraft Carrier-I (IAC-1) / INS Vikrant "Courageous"
India is building its next carrier, also named INS Vikrant, at Cochin Shipyard Ltd, Kochi. This 40,000 or 44,000-tonne vessel, which has been delayed by almost a decade, is likely to be commissioned in 2023.
The 260-metre-long IAC, whose hull-construction had commenced in November 2006, will be able to accommodate 20 MiG-29K MRCAs, five Ka-28PL ASW helicopters and five Ka-31 AEW helicopters. Some serious faults have been found in India’s first homemade carrier, INS Vikrant. Its gearboxes, construction, design and jet launching system has fallen short of expectations.
Due to the delay in the supply of some critical components, the carrier's delivery schedule has been revised from December 2010 to December 2018. The original cost of $490 million has been revised to $2.9 billion.
India is building its next carrier, also named INS Vikrant, at Cochin Shipyard Ltd, Kochi. This 40,000 or 44,000-tonne vessel, which has been delayed by almost a decade, is likely to be commissioned in 2023.
The 260-metre-long IAC, whose hull-construction had commenced in November 2006, will be able to accommodate 20 MiG-29K MRCAs, five Ka-28PL ASW helicopters and five Ka-31 AEW helicopters. Some serious faults have been found in India’s first homemade carrier, INS Vikrant. Its gearboxes, construction, design and jet launching system has fallen short of expectations.
Due to the delay in the supply of some critical components, the carrier's delivery schedule has been revised from December 2010 to December 2018. The original cost of $490 million has been revised to $2.9 billion.
The Soviet Project 1143.4 class, commissioned in 1988, Kiev class aircraft carrying cruiser ‘Baku’ renamed Admiral Gorshkov, again renamed INS Vikramaditya (“Strong as the Sun”). The front third resembled a heavy cruiser, with 12 giant SS-N-12 anti-ship missiles, up to 192 surface-to-air missiles and two 100-millimeter deck guns. The remaining two-thirds of the ship was basically an aircraft carrier, with an angled flight deck and a hangar.
In 1991, when the Soviet Union’s collapse placed Baku in Azerbaijan, the vessel was renamed Admiral Gorshkov. Soviet Union had built all of its carriers at shipyards in what is now Ukraine. The Severodvinsk shipyard in Russia completed the long-delayed project to refurbish the former Soviet aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkov (now, INS Vikramaditya), which was sold to India in 2004. India’s options were limited. The only countries building carriers at the time—the United States, France and Italy—were building ships too big for India’s checkbook. In 2004, India and Russia struck a deal in which India would receive Admiral Gorshkov. The ship herself would be free, but India would pay $974 million dollars to Russia to upgrade her. A real aircraft carrier for less than a billion dollars sounds almost too good to be true. And it was. The cost of sea trials alone, originally $27 million, ballooned to a fantastic $550 million. The main reasons in time overruns in the IAC — which is currently under construction at Cochin Shipyards Limited (CSL) — were due to non-availability of Russian steel, delay in receipt of critical pre-launch equipment such as gear box and 3MW diesel generators.
Russia’s naval chief, believes that the Baku should be a full-fledged aircraft carrier, not a “compromise carrier” that it was. The aircraft carrier’s motto is Strike Far, Strike Sure.” It has been estimated that the ship can operate up to 45 days without replenishment, while having the capability to cover 1,400 kilometres a day and maintaining a “surveillance bubble” of a 500-kilometre radius. It is to fill a vacuum left by the scrapping in 1997 of India’s first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, which had been in service since 1961.
"This isn't a repaired ship. Everything except her hull is new". New aircraft and ammunition lifts, 8 engine boilers, diesel generators, water distilling and reverse osmosis plants, air-conditioning and sensors and weapons had to be fitted, a task that eventually took 115 months instead of the contract 52 months. Under the terms of the original deal, India would have receive the ship for free in 2008 — but would have paid 800 million dollars for necessary upgrades and refurbishment, and an additional 1 billion dollars for accompanying aircraft and weapons systems, which included:
The original delivery date was August 2008, he said, and added its price tag was fixed at $978.4 million in 2004 when the deal was signed. Since MiG-29K fighters require a runway both for take-off and for a wire-arrested landing, the Gorshkov had to be converted from a VTOL to a short-take-off-but-arrested-recovery (STOBAR) carrier. This required a 2,500-tonne ski jump and arrestor gear to be fitted, as well as major modifications in 1,750 of the ship’s 2,500 compartments. Recurring delays due to technical glitches during trials and significant cost overruns brought the Indian side close to cancelling the deal, though in March 2010 the two sides reached an agreement to increase the total cost “revised” to $2.3 billion dollars for delivery in 2012 and would be delivered in the last quarter of 2013.
Nobody had tried converting a ship into an aircraft carrier since World War II. Russia’s Sevmash shipyard specialized in submarine construction and had never worked on an aircraft carrier before. The ship had been originally built at the Nikolayev Shipyards, which after the breakup of the Soviet Union became part of the Ukraine. The tooling and specialized equipment used to build Admiral Gorshkov was thousands of miles away and now in a foreign country.
Vikramaditya is a floating airfield, has an overall length of about 284 metres and a maximum beam of about 60 metres, stretching as much as three football fields put together. Standing about 20 storeys tall from keel to the highest point, the ship has a total of 22 decks. With her complete stock of provisions, she is capable of sustaining herself at sea for about 45 days.
Describing the Project 11430 as a unique one, Shri Antony said, it was a challenging task for both the Russian and the Indian sides and congratulated the entire team for converting the ‘Dream Project’ into a reality. “The transformation of INS ‘Vikramaditya’ is an engineering marvel, which has tested the professionalism, capability and perseverance of the Indian Navy and the Russian industry, especially the Sevmash Shipyard”, he said. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral DK Joshi said the INS Vikramaditya will bridge the time-gap that may come up between the INS Viraat and the Indigenously built aircraft carrier Vikrant.It will also help achieving our medium-term goal of operating two aircraft carriers.
Crucial air-defence systems (borrowed from a to-be-decommissioned Godavari-class ship) are now being installed during the “guaranteed refit”, in addition to scheduled maintenance, by the original equipment manufacturer.
In 1991, when the Soviet Union’s collapse placed Baku in Azerbaijan, the vessel was renamed Admiral Gorshkov. Soviet Union had built all of its carriers at shipyards in what is now Ukraine. The Severodvinsk shipyard in Russia completed the long-delayed project to refurbish the former Soviet aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkov (now, INS Vikramaditya), which was sold to India in 2004. India’s options were limited. The only countries building carriers at the time—the United States, France and Italy—were building ships too big for India’s checkbook. In 2004, India and Russia struck a deal in which India would receive Admiral Gorshkov. The ship herself would be free, but India would pay $974 million dollars to Russia to upgrade her. A real aircraft carrier for less than a billion dollars sounds almost too good to be true. And it was. The cost of sea trials alone, originally $27 million, ballooned to a fantastic $550 million. The main reasons in time overruns in the IAC — which is currently under construction at Cochin Shipyards Limited (CSL) — were due to non-availability of Russian steel, delay in receipt of critical pre-launch equipment such as gear box and 3MW diesel generators.
Russia’s naval chief, believes that the Baku should be a full-fledged aircraft carrier, not a “compromise carrier” that it was. The aircraft carrier’s motto is Strike Far, Strike Sure.” It has been estimated that the ship can operate up to 45 days without replenishment, while having the capability to cover 1,400 kilometres a day and maintaining a “surveillance bubble” of a 500-kilometre radius. It is to fill a vacuum left by the scrapping in 1997 of India’s first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, which had been in service since 1961.
"This isn't a repaired ship. Everything except her hull is new". New aircraft and ammunition lifts, 8 engine boilers, diesel generators, water distilling and reverse osmosis plants, air-conditioning and sensors and weapons had to be fitted, a task that eventually took 115 months instead of the contract 52 months. Under the terms of the original deal, India would have receive the ship for free in 2008 — but would have paid 800 million dollars for necessary upgrades and refurbishment, and an additional 1 billion dollars for accompanying aircraft and weapons systems, which included:
- 12 single-seat MiG-29K and 4 dual-seat MiG-29KUB aircraft;
- 6 Ka-31 reconnaissance and Ka-28 anti-submarine helicopters;
- a Kashtan close-in weapons system;
- 9M-311 SAMs;
- torpedo tubes; and
- artillery units.
The original delivery date was August 2008, he said, and added its price tag was fixed at $978.4 million in 2004 when the deal was signed. Since MiG-29K fighters require a runway both for take-off and for a wire-arrested landing, the Gorshkov had to be converted from a VTOL to a short-take-off-but-arrested-recovery (STOBAR) carrier. This required a 2,500-tonne ski jump and arrestor gear to be fitted, as well as major modifications in 1,750 of the ship’s 2,500 compartments. Recurring delays due to technical glitches during trials and significant cost overruns brought the Indian side close to cancelling the deal, though in March 2010 the two sides reached an agreement to increase the total cost “revised” to $2.3 billion dollars for delivery in 2012 and would be delivered in the last quarter of 2013.
Nobody had tried converting a ship into an aircraft carrier since World War II. Russia’s Sevmash shipyard specialized in submarine construction and had never worked on an aircraft carrier before. The ship had been originally built at the Nikolayev Shipyards, which after the breakup of the Soviet Union became part of the Ukraine. The tooling and specialized equipment used to build Admiral Gorshkov was thousands of miles away and now in a foreign country.
Vikramaditya is a floating airfield, has an overall length of about 284 metres and a maximum beam of about 60 metres, stretching as much as three football fields put together. Standing about 20 storeys tall from keel to the highest point, the ship has a total of 22 decks. With her complete stock of provisions, she is capable of sustaining herself at sea for about 45 days.
Describing the Project 11430 as a unique one, Shri Antony said, it was a challenging task for both the Russian and the Indian sides and congratulated the entire team for converting the ‘Dream Project’ into a reality. “The transformation of INS ‘Vikramaditya’ is an engineering marvel, which has tested the professionalism, capability and perseverance of the Indian Navy and the Russian industry, especially the Sevmash Shipyard”, he said. Chief of Naval Staff Admiral DK Joshi said the INS Vikramaditya will bridge the time-gap that may come up between the INS Viraat and the Indigenously built aircraft carrier Vikrant.It will also help achieving our medium-term goal of operating two aircraft carriers.
Crucial air-defence systems (borrowed from a to-be-decommissioned Godavari-class ship) are now being installed during the “guaranteed refit”, in addition to scheduled maintenance, by the original equipment manufacturer.
The decision to keep Truman in service was not about money, but the fact that the new Ford class CVNs are facing major problems with launching and recovering aircraft and somewhat less desperate problems with its new radar and some other mechanical systems. Keeping the Truman was also about the seemingly intractable problems the navy has building ships and developing new designs.
In 2007 the U.S. Navy began using the ARC (Advanced Recovery Control) system. ARC replaces the older, analog, system for operating the arresting cable (stretched across the deck) that stopped a landing aircraft by catching the tailhook found on carrier aircraft. ARC uses software and digital controls to monitor the landing, and put the arresting cable at the right position to stop landing jets. ARC is easier to use and maintain, and is more accurate.
In 2007 the U.S. Navy began using the ARC (Advanced Recovery Control) system. ARC replaces the older, analog, system for operating the arresting cable (stretched across the deck) that stopped a landing aircraft by catching the tailhook found on carrier aircraft. ARC uses software and digital controls to monitor the landing, and put the arresting cable at the right position to stop landing jets. ARC is easier to use and maintain, and is more accurate.
Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) catapult was preferred because a gentler treatment of launched aircraft would mean that smaller aircraft could use the catapult and that aircraft with larger payloads could be launched. EMALS launches carrier-based aircraft from an aircraft catapult using a linear motor drive instead of the conventional steam piston drive. Its main advantage is it allows for a more graded acceleration, inducing less stress on the aircraft's airframe. It's also lighter than a steam catapult system and cheaper to operate. In addition, EMALS can launch aircraft that are heavier or lighter than those handled by steam catapults. The Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) system uses electric motors for aircraft deceleration during aircraft carrier recovery operations.
US Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) catapult on the Ford class was found less reliable than the older steam catapult and more labor-intensive to operate. US Navy has admitted that in combat if one or more catapults were rendered unusable, they remained that way until it was possible to shut down all four catapults for repairs. An EMALS catapult was supposed to have a breakdown every 4,100 launches, but in heavy use during sea trials EMALS actually failed every 400 launches.
The EMALS seems to require very precise rail alignment. The tolerances for the systems are tight. EMALS cannot duplicate the repair challenges that the carrier installation faces. At a land site and in calm seas, EMALS work well. On a carrier that is constantly flexing unpredictably, even in moderate seas, this is problematic as the rails misalign constantly by just a few millimeters. Some say aircraft fluids interfere with magnetic fields, and each massive electromagnetic pulse at launch may damage ship and aircraft electronics.
An EMALS catapult was supposed to have a breakdown every 4,100 launches. By the end of 2017 the navy concluded that an EMALS equipped carrier had only a seven percent chance of successfully completing a typical four day “surge” (multiple catapult launches for a major combat operation). During the initial at-sea tests, the EMALS failed once every 75 aircraft launches. Even after some initial fixes, in heavy use, EMALS actually failed every 400 launches. The standard for steam catapults is one failure every 4,166 launches. The landing and recovery system also had reliability problems, failing once every 76 landings, which is far below the standard of one failure per 16,500 landings. The navy hopes they can come up with some kind of, as yet unknown, modifications to EMALS to fix all these problems. In the meantime, the new Ford carrier is much less useful than older ones that use steam catapults.
EMALS has proved less reliable than the older + bulkier steam catapult, more labor-intensive to operate and put more stress/fatigue on airframes than expected. The manufacturing tolerances for weapons elevators run by electromagnetic motors require greater accuracy and precision than a purely mechanical one. EMALS equipped US carrier had only a 7% chance of successfully completing a typical four-day "surge" (multiple catapult launches); which involves max aircraft launches during a full combat operation. This meant that the older practice of taking one or more steam catapults off-line for maintenance or repairs while at sea was not practical because the design of the EMALS system did not allow for it. With steam catapults, when one went down, the other three could continue to operate. It would cost over half a billion dollars to remove EMALS and install the older steam catapults. This would also take up to several years and lead to many other internal changes.
In retrospect, not enough was done to test and address what are now obvious problems. This EMALS catastrophe was avoidable, and the problems should have been detected and taken care of before the Ford was on sea trials. The navy is still considering bringing a recently retired carrier back to active service as a stopgap because whatever the fix is, it may not be quick or cheap. It would cost over half a billion dollars to remove EMALS and install the older steam catapults. This would also take up to several years and lead to many other internal changes. Meanwhile, there is a critical need for new carriers as the previous generation Nimitz class ships are rapidly wearing out and with the EMALS disaster the navy will have to improvise and do without for a decade or more. The Fords were not just replacements for the ageing Nimitz class, they were designed to be cheaper to operate. The current Nimitz class carriers, which cost over $5 billion each to build. Ford was expected to cost at least $9 billion to build.
Indian Navy’s second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier IAC-2, the 65,000-tonne INS Vishal supercarrier, will not be nuclear powered but instead, it will be a conventionally powered with BAE Integrated Full Electric Propulsion, and Queen Elizabeth-class off-the-shelf derivative systems (in concept similar to France's own 75,000-ton carrier).
This will be based on gas turbines that drive generators to produce electricity. Designing an IEPS-driven vessel involves different challenges, including identifying a compatible combination of gas turbines, generators and motors, says a designer involved in INS Vishal.
It will incorporating Lockheed Martin US-built state-of-the-art “Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch System” (EMALS), cleared for sale to India, which means it can quickly catapult-assist launch heavier multi-role aircraft like the F/A-18 or the Rafale off the carrier to exercise 'sea control' over vast swathes of ocean. At $5 bln, INS Vishal may be the most expensive asset in India's arsenal. However, EMALS problem seems to be rail alignment. The tolerances for the systems are tight. They work well ashore and in calm seas, but even in moderate seas the carrier begins to flex unpredictably and the rails misalign constantly by just a few millimeters.
BARC has successfully developed a 190 Megawatt (MW) reactor for India’s fleet of four-to-six nuclear propelled, nuclear missile carrying submarines, of which the first – INS Arihant – has already been commissioned. However, if INS Vishal was nuclear powered, it would require a 200mWT PWR (not 190mWT as reported) reactor. However, no such expensive 500-550 MW reactor is currently in the development pipeline, because of a dispute over who will pay the bill. Developing a nuclear propulsion system for just one carrier is cost-prohibitive. BARC has told the Navy that it would take atleast 15-20 years to develop a miniaturised nuclear reactor powerful enough for an aircraft carrier.
Developing a brand new, miniaturised reactor, means incorporating features to protect it from the corrosive and dynamic marine environment. The challenge in designing a ship-borne nuclear reactor includes protecting it from saline corrosion, shock, impact and developing the radiation shielding needed to protect the crew – which would spend longer periods of time, in closer proximity to the reactors, than in land-based nuclear power generation plants. In addition, are the issues around refuelling the reactor cores and storing spent fuel.
This will be based on gas turbines that drive generators to produce electricity. Designing an IEPS-driven vessel involves different challenges, including identifying a compatible combination of gas turbines, generators and motors, says a designer involved in INS Vishal.
It will incorporating Lockheed Martin US-built state-of-the-art “Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch System” (EMALS), cleared for sale to India, which means it can quickly catapult-assist launch heavier multi-role aircraft like the F/A-18 or the Rafale off the carrier to exercise 'sea control' over vast swathes of ocean. At $5 bln, INS Vishal may be the most expensive asset in India's arsenal. However, EMALS problem seems to be rail alignment. The tolerances for the systems are tight. They work well ashore and in calm seas, but even in moderate seas the carrier begins to flex unpredictably and the rails misalign constantly by just a few millimeters.
BARC has successfully developed a 190 Megawatt (MW) reactor for India’s fleet of four-to-six nuclear propelled, nuclear missile carrying submarines, of which the first – INS Arihant – has already been commissioned. However, if INS Vishal was nuclear powered, it would require a 200mWT PWR (not 190mWT as reported) reactor. However, no such expensive 500-550 MW reactor is currently in the development pipeline, because of a dispute over who will pay the bill. Developing a nuclear propulsion system for just one carrier is cost-prohibitive. BARC has told the Navy that it would take atleast 15-20 years to develop a miniaturised nuclear reactor powerful enough for an aircraft carrier.
Developing a brand new, miniaturised reactor, means incorporating features to protect it from the corrosive and dynamic marine environment. The challenge in designing a ship-borne nuclear reactor includes protecting it from saline corrosion, shock, impact and developing the radiation shielding needed to protect the crew – which would spend longer periods of time, in closer proximity to the reactors, than in land-based nuclear power generation plants. In addition, are the issues around refuelling the reactor cores and storing spent fuel.
Chinese Navy plans to have 6 aircraft carriers by 2035. Each Aircraft Carrier requires either 4 escorting destroyers or 6 frigates, plus 1 nuclear submarine carrying guided-missiles.
China's aircraft carrier "Liaoning" (earlier Varyag)
China's first aircraft carrier, which was renovated from an old aircraft carrier that China bought from Ukraine in 1998, is seen docked at Dalian Port, in Dalian, Liaoning province September 22, 2012.
The mark “16” emblazoned on the carrier’s side indicates it is limited to training, Chinese and other military experts said. China does not have planes capable of landing on the carrier and so far training for such landings have been carried out on land.
American military planners have downplayed the significance of the commissioning of the carrier. Some Navy officials have even said they would encourage China to move ahead with building its own aircraft carrier and the ships to accompany it, because it would be a waste of money. Other military experts outside China have agreed with that assessment.
“The fact is the aircraft carrier is useless for the Chinese Navy,” You Ji, a visiting senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore, said in an interview. “If it is used against America, it has no survivability. If it is used against China’s neighbors, it’s a sign of bullying.”
Vietnam, a neighbor with whom China has fought wars, operates land-based Russian SU 230 aircraft that could pose a threat to the aircraft carrier, Mr. You said. “In the South China Sea, if the carrier is damaged by the Vietnamese, it’s a huge loss of face,” he said. “It’s not worth it.”
China's first aircraft carrier, which was renovated from an old aircraft carrier that China bought from Ukraine in 1998, is seen docked at Dalian Port, in Dalian, Liaoning province September 22, 2012.
The mark “16” emblazoned on the carrier’s side indicates it is limited to training, Chinese and other military experts said. China does not have planes capable of landing on the carrier and so far training for such landings have been carried out on land.
American military planners have downplayed the significance of the commissioning of the carrier. Some Navy officials have even said they would encourage China to move ahead with building its own aircraft carrier and the ships to accompany it, because it would be a waste of money. Other military experts outside China have agreed with that assessment.
“The fact is the aircraft carrier is useless for the Chinese Navy,” You Ji, a visiting senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore, said in an interview. “If it is used against America, it has no survivability. If it is used against China’s neighbors, it’s a sign of bullying.”
Vietnam, a neighbor with whom China has fought wars, operates land-based Russian SU 230 aircraft that could pose a threat to the aircraft carrier, Mr. You said. “In the South China Sea, if the carrier is damaged by the Vietnamese, it’s a huge loss of face,” he said. “It’s not worth it.”
The Indian Navy intends to have a fleet of 445 aircraft by 2030, with a number of acquisitions already planned: 57 fighters, 111 utility helicopters, 123 multi-role helicopters and 24 MH-60R helicopters. The list includes 31 Boeing P-8 maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The service has an increasing interest in UAV platforms after the recent lease of two MQ-9B UAVs. The service also has plans to build a twin-engine deck-based fighter (TEDBF).
India's first hydrographic survey vessel vessel ‘INS Makar’catamaran Rs 109.89 crore.
The Indian Navy has chosen to induct a vessel with a catamaran hull form for the first time and will be one of the very few select navies in the world to operate such sophisticated platforms. The vessels will also be capable of limited coastal defence role in an emergency and will also have a limited search and rescue capability and limited ocean research capability.
500 tonne capacity vessel Makar is 53 meter long, 16 meter wide. It can work even in lower draft of 2.2 meter. 150 kw capacity computerized touch screen control pane, radar system, special system for emergency operation, electric control panel, AC plant, state-of-the-art survey equipments, powerful engine room, officers recreation area, VHF-VLF are some other features of this vessel.
The Indian Navy has chosen to induct a vessel with a catamaran hull form for the first time and will be one of the very few select navies in the world to operate such sophisticated platforms. The vessels will also be capable of limited coastal defence role in an emergency and will also have a limited search and rescue capability and limited ocean research capability.
500 tonne capacity vessel Makar is 53 meter long, 16 meter wide. It can work even in lower draft of 2.2 meter. 150 kw capacity computerized touch screen control pane, radar system, special system for emergency operation, electric control panel, AC plant, state-of-the-art survey equipments, powerful engine room, officers recreation area, VHF-VLF are some other features of this vessel.
Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF), also known as Joint High-Speed Vessel (JHSV), main roles are to transport troops, military vehicles, cargo and equipment for a range of global missions operating in shallow-draft ports and waterways, interfacing with roll-on / roll-off discharge facilities and on / off-loading.
These catamaran vessels feature rounded bilge and bulbous bow hull forms made of aluminium. It is designed to transport 600 short tons of military cargo 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots in Sea State 3. The ships are capable of operating in shallow-draft ports and waterways.
The ship does not feature combat systems or the ability to support or use LCS mission modules. JHSV is based on the commercial technology, but includes limited military features, such as aviation, C4SI and fire-fighting.
These catamaran vessels feature rounded bilge and bulbous bow hull forms made of aluminium. It is designed to transport 600 short tons of military cargo 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots in Sea State 3. The ships are capable of operating in shallow-draft ports and waterways.
The ship does not feature combat systems or the ability to support or use LCS mission modules. JHSV is based on the commercial technology, but includes limited military features, such as aviation, C4SI and fire-fighting.
AUVs (Autonomous Undersea Vehicle) replace many of the ocean survey ships long used for this kind of work. The survey ships take temperature and salinity reading from instruments deployed from the ship, as well as a global network of several thousand research buoys. Unlike the survey ships, the AUVs could be deployed in areas where hostile subs are believed to be operating, and be kept at it as long as needed. This data collection is very useful in submarine operations.
Mine-CounterMeasures
India Navy urgently requires 8 MCMVs. India had bought 6 MCMVs from the erstwhile Soviet Union in the 1970s. The failed talks with the Korean yard over pricing have left the government with no choice but to begin a fresh global hunt for minesweepers. The effort fell apart, apparently because South Korea's Kangnam Shipbuilding Corporation refused to accept responsibility if an Indian manufacturer failed to maintain quality standards. The real shock came when Kangnam Shipbuilding falsely claimed that its MCMV designs were indigenous, until Italy's Intermarine officially intervened to prove that its IPRs were being violated by Kangnam Shipbuilding Corporation. Goa Shipyard and Kangnam Shipbuilding Corporation was going to build 12 such Mine Counter Measure Vessels (MCMVs) for the Indian Navy for 32,000 crore ($4.9 billion). South Korea's Kangnam Shipbuilding Corporation 885 ton mine-hunters are $120 million per ship. The value of the transfer of technology contract from Kangnam Shipbuilding Corporation was about 20% of the total value of the contract. Each of these MCMVs has a crew of 77 and is armed with two twin 30mm autocannon for defense. Top speed is 28 kilometers an hour, but the ship tends to operate at much slower speeds. It is India’s third failed attempt in a decade to build MCMVs locally.
The magnetic signature of engines are key parameters for selection of an engine for MCMV, whose primary function is to detect and kill mines at sea. German MTU engines are not inherently nonmagnetic as they are not designed specifically for MCMV operations. Engine whose magnetic signatures are required to be suppressed using external systems put a serious restriction on the mine-hunting capabilities of the vessel once the geographical location of the vessel is changed. We would like to have an engine with very low magnetic signature so that the vessel is capable of undertaking mine-hunting operations worldwide, especially in the Indian Ocean region, which is the primary theater of operation for Indian Navy.
Indian minesweepers are named after Indian regions or states.
Indian minesweepers are named after Indian regions or states.
Pondicherry-class Minesweepers
They are a class of minesweepers built for the Indian Navy by the Soviet Union. They are modified versions of the Natya class minesweeper. The vessels were acquired in two batches. The first were purchased from 1978 to 1980 and the second from 1986 to 1988. Technically, the second batch is referred to as the Karwar class. One vessel serves as an AGI (intelligence collection ship).
The ship's hull is made of special U3 steel to reduce its own magnetic signature. These sweeps act as mine-counter equipment and can detect various types of mines such as electro-magnetic influenced mines, acoustically influenced mines, moored mines, etc. The TEM-3 and AT-2 sweeps simulate various signatures that a ship might produce, which in turn causes the mine to explode.
The Times of India reported on 09 January 2006, that eight of the vessels are planned to be decommissioned between 2006 and 2008, while the remaining four are undergoing mid-life refits to extend their operational life. India PR Wire reported on 08 January 2008, that Thales of France has signed a $50 million deal, which will involve refitting four to six Pondicherry Class minesweepers into advanced mine hunters. The sonar suites and combat systems will be replaced, which will give the upgraded vessel's leading edge capabilities. Officials from Thales Underwater Systems will conduct the refits in collaboration with the Indian Navy, and the project will reportedly take four years to complete.
They are a class of minesweepers built for the Indian Navy by the Soviet Union. They are modified versions of the Natya class minesweeper. The vessels were acquired in two batches. The first were purchased from 1978 to 1980 and the second from 1986 to 1988. Technically, the second batch is referred to as the Karwar class. One vessel serves as an AGI (intelligence collection ship).
The ship's hull is made of special U3 steel to reduce its own magnetic signature. These sweeps act as mine-counter equipment and can detect various types of mines such as electro-magnetic influenced mines, acoustically influenced mines, moored mines, etc. The TEM-3 and AT-2 sweeps simulate various signatures that a ship might produce, which in turn causes the mine to explode.
The Times of India reported on 09 January 2006, that eight of the vessels are planned to be decommissioned between 2006 and 2008, while the remaining four are undergoing mid-life refits to extend their operational life. India PR Wire reported on 08 January 2008, that Thales of France has signed a $50 million deal, which will involve refitting four to six Pondicherry Class minesweepers into advanced mine hunters. The sonar suites and combat systems will be replaced, which will give the upgraded vessel's leading edge capabilities. Officials from Thales Underwater Systems will conduct the refits in collaboration with the Indian Navy, and the project will reportedly take four years to complete.
Mahé (Yevgenya) class minesweeper
Its a class of mid-1960s small Russian naval warships designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines.
The Magdala completed nearly 18 years of service and covered over 45,000 nautical miles. The Malvan completed nearly 20 years of service and covered over 59,004 nautical miles. The Magrol completed nearly 21 years of service and covered 54,667 nautical miles.
Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.. The hulls were constructed of glass-reinforced plastic
Its a class of mid-1960s small Russian naval warships designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines.
The Magdala completed nearly 18 years of service and covered over 45,000 nautical miles. The Malvan completed nearly 20 years of service and covered over 59,004 nautical miles. The Magrol completed nearly 21 years of service and covered 54,667 nautical miles.
Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.. The hulls were constructed of glass-reinforced plastic
The Mine countermeasure ship USS Avenger (MCM 1) operates off the coast of Hawaii during exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2004.
The AN/SQQ-32 is a variable depth mine hunting detection and classification sonar for the Avenger (MCM-1) and Osprey (MHC-51) Surface Mine Countermeasures (SMCM) ships. The system consists of search and classify sonars integrated into a towed body with electronic and display consoles on-board the ship. The AN/SQQ-32(V)4 is the High Frequency Wide Band (HFWB) detection sonar upgrade to the in-service AN/SQQ-32(V)3 Mine Hunting Sonar Set.
The AN/SQQ-32 is a variable depth mine hunting detection and classification sonar for the Avenger (MCM-1) and Osprey (MHC-51) Surface Mine Countermeasures (SMCM) ships. The system consists of search and classify sonars integrated into a towed body with electronic and display consoles on-board the ship. The AN/SQQ-32(V)4 is the High Frequency Wide Band (HFWB) detection sonar upgrade to the in-service AN/SQQ-32(V)3 Mine Hunting Sonar Set.
India's two Osprey-class coastal mine-hunters, USS Kingfisher (MHC-56) and Cormorant (MHC-57), decommissioned in 2007, under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, for 48 million each.
The US navy had smaller Osprey class coastal mine hunters were all given away to foreign navies and replaced by the LCS (which has been delayed) and new minesweeping helicopters.
Constructed entirely of fibre-glass and designed to survive the shock of underwater explosions, they use sonar and video systems, cable cutters and a mine detonating device that can be released and detonated by remote control. Classification of targets is carried out using higher frequency narrow beam acoustics to provide high-resolution echo and shadow imagery.
The platform has been designed with exceptionally low magnetic and acoustic signatures to protect against mine detonations during minehunting operations.
The US navy had smaller Osprey class coastal mine hunters were all given away to foreign navies and replaced by the LCS (which has been delayed) and new minesweeping helicopters.
Constructed entirely of fibre-glass and designed to survive the shock of underwater explosions, they use sonar and video systems, cable cutters and a mine detonating device that can be released and detonated by remote control. Classification of targets is carried out using higher frequency narrow beam acoustics to provide high-resolution echo and shadow imagery.
The platform has been designed with exceptionally low magnetic and acoustic signatures to protect against mine detonations during minehunting operations.
750-ton Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft for Indian Navy, designed by GRSE (Kolkota), have a top speed of 25 Knots (and a range of 1,800 nm). It's capable of full scale surveillance of Indian coast, Search Attack Unit (SAU) and ASW operations coordinated with maritime aircraft. It carries light-weight torpedoes and ASW rockets. They will replace INS Abhay, INS Ajay and INS Akshay ASW corvettes.
US Navy is first in sea power, but it is less dominant in the littoral waters in anti-access places like the South China, the Baltic and Black Seas as well as the Persian Gulf. Salinity and temperature vary greatly in different shallow-water environments of the world. They have different layers, with currents in one direction on the surface, and three meters down, there’s a totally different direction of the current. You don’t have much time to think about things – you have to react and react the right way to stay alive. You have to get people studying about what we can expect 30 years from now.
It’s very important there is a place with skilled people that can do war gaming in the littoral environment, and who are adding the right inputs to a game like that. You can do gaming anywhere, but if you don’t have skilled people with knowledge of that kind of environment, the result would be useless. It would be useful to influence the development of new war fighting tactics and techniques; to evaluate what we are doing; to be able to game on it; and then have something brought back again, so we can be better and better all the time and adjust to new differences.
US Fleet Forces Command brings the infrastructure to the point of need – on the waterfront and the flight line. This means they need the IT infrastructure to give sailors the access they need to receive training anytime and anywhere. And just as critically – they are working to put all of the policies, processes, and organizations in place to sustain this. For example, they have to fully institutionalize this in administrative and training commands so that there can be the accountable party for keeping the detailed training requirements up-to-date by having the subject matter experts in place. Give the sailors what they need, get out of the way, give them the opportunity, and they will exceed expectations. The US Fleet Forces Command have now updated the model to create career-long training continuums for all rates – from E-1 to E-9 (with technically accurate 3D augmented reality images). This will drive sailors' progression from apprentice, to journeymen, supervisor, and finally master.
It’s very important there is a place with skilled people that can do war gaming in the littoral environment, and who are adding the right inputs to a game like that. You can do gaming anywhere, but if you don’t have skilled people with knowledge of that kind of environment, the result would be useless. It would be useful to influence the development of new war fighting tactics and techniques; to evaluate what we are doing; to be able to game on it; and then have something brought back again, so we can be better and better all the time and adjust to new differences.
US Fleet Forces Command brings the infrastructure to the point of need – on the waterfront and the flight line. This means they need the IT infrastructure to give sailors the access they need to receive training anytime and anywhere. And just as critically – they are working to put all of the policies, processes, and organizations in place to sustain this. For example, they have to fully institutionalize this in administrative and training commands so that there can be the accountable party for keeping the detailed training requirements up-to-date by having the subject matter experts in place. Give the sailors what they need, get out of the way, give them the opportunity, and they will exceed expectations. The US Fleet Forces Command have now updated the model to create career-long training continuums for all rates – from E-1 to E-9 (with technically accurate 3D augmented reality images). This will drive sailors' progression from apprentice, to journeymen, supervisor, and finally master.
US shipyards firms have poor capacity to provide maintenance and repair of Navy warships fleet, which is causing poor readiness and inability to perform missions. Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a four-star admiral and his deputy is the chief of naval operations (CNO) have failed to help upgrade the capacity of private shipyards
The US Navy has a steady count of 297 warships in the active duty service fleet, despite promises from the Donald Trump administration to increase that to at least 350, a number many analysts agree is the minimum needed. In 2022, then CNO Gilday announced that the requirement is actually much higher, in excess of 500 battle force ships. Multiple other experts' analyses confirm those higher numbers. In 2022, then CNO Gilday announced that the requirement is actually much higher, in excess of 500 battle force ships. Multiple other experts' analyses confirm those higher numbers. Defense Department has plans for 400 to 500 ships Navy by 2030 including 150 up to 240 unmanned ships, 70 9th-gen nuclear attack submarines, 12 ballistic missile submarines, 80 to 90 destroyers, 90 logistics ships, 55 to 70 littoral frigates, 60 Marines striker ships & 6 to 9 lighter amphibious assault (mini-carriers), a considerable jump and 12 CVN aircraft carrier (nuclear propulsion). A reduction in the number of aircraft carriers from 11 to 9 would have repercussions.
Instead of 2 brigades on 38 amphibious ships; now, the deployed units will be supplemented by 35 commercial-looking and sounding Landing Ship Medium vessel (earlier, called light amphibious vessels, each carrying about 75 Marines and their gear and heavy firepower for a limited period of time at 14 knots and could beach itself for shore-to-shore operations). 10 Landing Ship Medium vessel being large-deck. Until the Landing Ship Medium program delivers, the stern landing vessel will act as a surrogate. The US Navy has already retired all of its guided-missile frigates. Building up 55 to 70 littoral frigates will restore balance to what’s become a top-heavy fleet. The Navy already has the required number of destroyers. The new number is the result of a U.S. study called Battle Force 2045. US shipyards firms have poor capacity to provide maintenance and repair of Navy warships fleet, which is causing poor readiness and inability to perform missions. Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a four-star admiral and his deputy is the chief of naval operations (CNO) have failed to help upgrade the capacity of private shipyards.
Instead of 2 brigades on 38 amphibious ships; now, the deployed units will be supplemented by 35 commercial-looking and sounding Landing Ship Medium vessel (earlier, called light amphibious vessels, each carrying about 75 Marines and their gear and heavy firepower for a limited period of time at 14 knots and could beach itself for shore-to-shore operations). 10 Landing Ship Medium vessel being large-deck. Until the Landing Ship Medium program delivers, the stern landing vessel will act as a surrogate. The US Navy has already retired all of its guided-missile frigates. Building up 55 to 70 littoral frigates will restore balance to what’s become a top-heavy fleet. The Navy already has the required number of destroyers. The new number is the result of a U.S. study called Battle Force 2045. US shipyards firms have poor capacity to provide maintenance and repair of Navy warships fleet, which is causing poor readiness and inability to perform missions. Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a four-star admiral and his deputy is the chief of naval operations (CNO) have failed to help upgrade the capacity of private shipyards.
Machines: Naval Drones
Drag Reducing Architected Geometries on flat, curved, and complex surfaces without increasing power or to go the same speed using less power.
The future maritime fight, as US Navy officials see it, will involve military forces with a mix of manned and unmanned aircraft, ships and other systems. Some actions will one day involve solely uncrewed platforms. "That's a more complex scenario to where developing what that (tactics, techniques and procedures) looks like, operating parameters and how you would execute that in a contested environment or a combat environment. It's tying in our current tactics, techniques and procedures and incorporating these unmanned systems in a more persistent and scalable way to increase our warfighting capability." said Cmdr. Jerry Daley. Rapid technological advances "increases the ability to close kill-chains faster with persistent communication, even in a sort of contested environment". A key objective this year was to increase lethality. They also experimented with commercial satellites and line-of-sight communications to see how they could integrate into something of a naval ISR capability.
One, unmanned systems should also help in the transition of units and equipment from ships to the shoreline. Why put a human there if a machine can do just the same? How much of that do you need to fly ashore, and does it need to be a [CH-53K helicopter] only, or can we use unmanned rotary wing aircraft to move supplies and equipment? Otherwise, the Marine Corps would be “stuck” with manned connectors “cycling back and forth, back and forth, back and forth”. How can you triple … the volume of equipment and the space that you can do it in, using unmanned? And two, you can generate a lot more tempo, cover a lot more territory if you’re combined unmanned and manned.
The cost per defensive shot must be significantly lower than the cost per offensive shot. “Have any of you ever seen a propulsion plant that can operate for 45 days without a person touching it on a ship? There are some land-based systems and power plants and things that have been running [unmanned] for years, but a ship is a completely different environment. We don’t have to jump to unmanned right away. A bridge to getting to unmanned could be ... the integration of autonomy onto manned platforms. Just have it run in the background, have it start to generate data and be assessed and basically — not trying to replace anyone — but basically aid an overwhelmed bridge”.
The US Air Force eyes a fleet of 1,000 drone wingmen in its airpower — without breaking the bank. The US's Replicator hedging strategy aims to churn out many thousands of low-cost unmanned systems, for different domains, that are meant to help overcome masses of ships, missiles, and people. You have to balance the tradeoff of size, weight, power and cost. A drone could be put by special forces, sleeping until it's ready for use. It could come out to provide precision and navigation when needed. It could fly a life vest down to a downed pilot or a radio to a downed pilot. It could actually fly down and survey the runway which you're about to land on. It could serve as a decoy or jammer. What to look for on Replicator is "small, smart, cheap and many" existing systems that could potentially "move the needle" in the Indo-Pacific which allows you to do it again and again and again, and break down systemic barriers along the way.
AI can be used as a force multiplier. One that helps us to make decisions faster and more rigorously, to integrate across all domains. China’s doesn't have access to better algorithms. They’re just going to sit in these big rooms: just labelling data, 10 to 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, because they live in an autocratic state. Pattern-recognition capabilities and data analytics can help navigation and target recognition, as well as maintenance predictions and improved logistics.
If there's anything that the first two waves of the digital revolution have taught us, it's that long-term U.S. leadership in technology is not assured. The first wave of the digital revolution emphasized democracy and human rights, but gave way to a second wave that allows authoritarian governments to infringe on those rights. It is critical to understand how to incorporate democratic order and values into our system while respecting privacy, civil liberties and rights.
What separates a C4ISR network, from a C4ISRT network is targeting (the 'T') —the ability to use sensor data from a variety of systems to accurately direct long-range fires. Target localization in a GPS denied environment, first identifies the target and obtains its bearing by aligning the UAV (by changing the yaw and pitch) so that the target is centred in the camera view of the UAV. The position of the UAV (x1, y1) and the bearing (ϕ1) of the target is recorded. Then, the UAV is commanded to move to a new location. Again, the UAV is aligned to contain the target at the centre of the image. The bearing (ϕ2) and position (x2, y2) of the UAV is recorded again. The position (x, y) of the target is then estimated via triangulation.
Russian cyberattacks on satellite communications can cut Ukrainian troops off from commanders; attacks that jam GPS systems blunt the effectiveness of smart artillery; and electromagnetic assaults destroy up to 5,000 small drones a month.
Blackwing UAV (equipped with communications relay) is a submarine version, based on the similar expendable Switchblade UAV (operated using the same gear the larger Raven UAV)
U.S.A.'s Shallow Water Combat Submersible & Dry Combat Submersible will replace older Mark 8 Seal Delivery Vehicles. It first type will haul six or more naval Special Operations Command over short distance near the surface while the second type will carry six individuals much farther and at greater depths. Both new miniature craft will also be fully enclosed. The current SDVs are open to water and the passengers must wear full scuba gear. | |
On-board submersible capsule/vessel called ‘Bell’ for deep submergence rescue . DSRVs can operate up to a depth of about 610 meters underwater.
Four Indian naval submarines, from both Sindhughosh (EKM) and Shishumar (HDW) classes, took part in the Indo-U.S. exercise
INDIAEX 2012 practice rescue scenarios which demonstrate URC’s Submarine Rescue Diving and Recompression System (SRDRS). The SRDRS will mate with Indian submarines for a transfer of personnel from the simulated distressed submarine to the rescue vessel.
The fortnight-long exercise, meant to demonstrate the rescue of personnel from a disabled submarine, held special significance for the Indian Navy, which operates an ageing fleet of submarines.
While it has been toying with the idea of buying a couple of DSRVs for sometime now, the Indian Navy still has a lot of ground to cover in possessing a failsafe submarine rescue capability. At present, it relies a great deal on Russian-made pressurised escape suits in the Sindhughosh-class submarines and rescue spheres that can be punched out during trouble in Shishumar-class submarines.
Four Indian naval submarines, from both Sindhughosh (EKM) and Shishumar (HDW) classes, took part in the Indo-U.S. exercise
INDIAEX 2012 practice rescue scenarios which demonstrate URC’s Submarine Rescue Diving and Recompression System (SRDRS). The SRDRS will mate with Indian submarines for a transfer of personnel from the simulated distressed submarine to the rescue vessel.
The fortnight-long exercise, meant to demonstrate the rescue of personnel from a disabled submarine, held special significance for the Indian Navy, which operates an ageing fleet of submarines.
While it has been toying with the idea of buying a couple of DSRVs for sometime now, the Indian Navy still has a lot of ground to cover in possessing a failsafe submarine rescue capability. At present, it relies a great deal on Russian-made pressurised escape suits in the Sindhughosh-class submarines and rescue spheres that can be punched out during trouble in Shishumar-class submarines.
The U.S. Air Force has been using a commercial quad-copter and its high resolution video camera to more quickly and less expensively carry out maintenance inspections of large military aircraft like the C-17 transport or heavy bombers. With the quad-copter it takes less than 10 minutes and the operator no longer needs a safety harness.
Fast event-based sensors operate asynchronously, and only transmit data from pixels that have changed, so they produce 100 times fewer data in sparse scenes which leads to 100x lower latency at 100x lower power. An asynchronous read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) and the machine learning algorithm processing layer together will enable an integrated event-based camera that can operate on less power than 1.5 Watts.
Fast event-based sensors operate asynchronously, and only transmit data from pixels that have changed, so they produce 100 times fewer data in sparse scenes which leads to 100x lower latency at 100x lower power. An asynchronous read-out integrated circuit (ROIC) and the machine learning algorithm processing layer together will enable an integrated event-based camera that can operate on less power than 1.5 Watts.
https://www.royalihc.com/defence/defence-equipment/seabed-crawler
Coastal Research vessels
INS Sagardhwani
The NIO acquired India's first multidisciplinary oceanographic research vessel, RV Gaveshani, in 1976. After rendering commendable service for 18 years, R.V. Gaveshani was decommissioned in 1994.
INS Sagardhwani is a marine acoustic research vessel, commissioned in 1994. The vessel is being maintained by the Southern Naval Command, Kochi.
This floating laboratory, housed in a 2,000-tonne ship, is equipped with facilities for research in physical and chemical oceanography, marine meteorology, acoustics, geology and geo-acoustics. It records ocean environmental data for analysis, from various locations at the sea.
There are rich facilities like navigational aids including satellite navigator, global positioning system, navigation computer, Decca navigator (a hyperbolic radio navigation system operated by measuring the phase differences between continuous signals from master and slave stations), survey echo sounders, Doppler speed log, navigational radar, gyro compass, multi-beam echo sounder, sub-bottom profiler, acoustic Doppler current profiler and shipborne wave recorder.
The NIO acquired India's first multidisciplinary oceanographic research vessel, RV Gaveshani, in 1976. After rendering commendable service for 18 years, R.V. Gaveshani was decommissioned in 1994.
INS Sagardhwani is a marine acoustic research vessel, commissioned in 1994. The vessel is being maintained by the Southern Naval Command, Kochi.
This floating laboratory, housed in a 2,000-tonne ship, is equipped with facilities for research in physical and chemical oceanography, marine meteorology, acoustics, geology and geo-acoustics. It records ocean environmental data for analysis, from various locations at the sea.
There are rich facilities like navigational aids including satellite navigator, global positioning system, navigation computer, Decca navigator (a hyperbolic radio navigation system operated by measuring the phase differences between continuous signals from master and slave stations), survey echo sounders, Doppler speed log, navigational radar, gyro compass, multi-beam echo sounder, sub-bottom profiler, acoustic Doppler current profiler and shipborne wave recorder.
Lure the Tiger Out of the Mountains: When the opponent has better position or some other factor, that is to his advantage, then a direct frontal attack on his position will certainly cost us dearly. In this situation, we must find a way to retreat from the opponent's advantageous formation, and at the same time try to induce the opponent to play within our field of advantage. Industries that rely on permanent magnets are particularly vulnerable to disruptions in the supply chain. These magnets are also necessary in key parts of the U.S. security industry, including missile-guidance systems and drone technology. Rare earth metals (REE), a group of 17 elements used in the manufacture of semiconductors, batteries, cameras, electro-optics, glass strengthening, aircraft engines, smart weapons, nuclear weapons and advanced medical systems, have taken center stage in the U.S.-China trade war. Many have properties that make them ideal for producing high quality magnets. China produces more than 80% of global output, and this dominance of the market puts it in a powerful bargaining position with the United States and other developed economies. China only has an estimated 30% of global reserves of rare earths. These elements, which are not actually that rare, can be mined through various methods.
China largely controls prices, keeping them low and making it difficult to compete. Chinese industrial policy in fact mirrored the U.S. approach in the 1950s and 1960s, when the Ames Laboratory and Rare-earth Information Center (RIC) used state investment to bolster the efforts of the private sector. While state support has declined rapidly in the United States (RIC was gone by 2002), Chinese institutions have maintained investment in human capital, price controls, and industrial policy. After China allegedly cut off rare earth exports to Japan in the midst of a territorial dispute in 2010, the Japanese state and private sectors aggressively moved to lessen their dependence on China, but the U.S. did not. However, in a surprising turn, China has agreed to buy two types of rare earth metals from the US as part of an initial trade deal with signed in U.S. by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and US President Donald Trump, that gives China two years to ramp up purchases of hundreds of U.S. products, including scandium and yttrium, two of the 17 rare earths commonly used in computer electronics. China is expected to become a net importer of Rare earth metals (REE) by 2025 that can only be satisfied by the continuous and accelerated development of new mines in Africa.
A single mining and processing facility costs around one billion dollars. One major reason China dominates rare earth production is because the CCP has a weak environmental regulation regime. Because rare earth production, especially during refinement, poses significant dangers to the environment, the U.S. government stringently regulates it. Though a company may meet all federal regulations, it still typically needs to wait at least ten years to receive a permit. Litigation can add several more years to the permitting process. So long as China maintains a monopoly on rare earth production, there will never be innovation to make production cleaner.
China controlled 73% of global lithium cell manufacturing capacity in 2019, followed by the US at 12%.
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/11/china-may-get-top-ownership-of-us-lithium-mine/
A Canadian company is hoping to get approval and federal funding for a new lithium mine in northern Nevada, but former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Republican lawmakers are raising concerns about the mining company’s largest shareholder, a Chinese firm. The mining company is going through with an effort to dilute this Chinese ownership, but concerns remain about China’s potential influence over the critical mineral mine at a time when China is seeking to overtake the U.S. as a dominant global power.
Lithium Americas, a Canadian-based company, has been trying to get approval from the U.S. federal government to proceed with its Thacker Pass mine in northern Nevada for years but is awaiting approval to begin mining. The company is already facing a variety of legal challenges to the new mining project — including from Native American and environmental groups — but the Republican politicians are also honing in on the mining company’s largest shareholder: China-based Ganfeng Lithium Co Ltd.
Lithium is a key material for electric batteries. Lithium Americas is trying to get approval for the Thacker Pass mine at a time when China controls roughly 60 percent of the world’s lithium resources and has a commanding position over the electric battery supply chain. Bloomberg Law reported the U.S. currently only has one lithium mine in operation at Albemarle’s Silver Peak in southwestern Nevada.
Adding to the concern, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said Ganfeng is partly owned by China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The Washington Free Beacon reported Ganfeng currently owns a more than 10 percent stake in Lithium Americas.’ Earlier this month, Lithium Americas announced a corporate restructuring that it told the Washington Free Beacon it hopes will ease the “geopolitical” concerns surrounding Ganfeng’s ownership stake.
On Nov. 3, Lithium Americas announced it would split into two independent public companies. The Canadian company had primarily been focused on mining projects in Argentina and announced that the split-off company Lithium International would assume Lithium Americas’ Argentine mining assets, while Lithium Americas would keep the Thacker Pass project and the company’s other North American investments.
Ganfeng holds direct ownership stakes in some of the Argentine mining assets and, by splitting off that part of the company, Lithium Americas could dilute its Chinese ownership in the Thacker Pass project. The Washington Free Beacon reported some Republican figures are still concerned about the Lithium Americas split, because the current Lithium Americas shareholders will receive stakes in both Lithium International and Lithium Americas after the split goes though, in direct proportion to their current holdings in Lithium Americas.
While the Lithium Americas’ split will compartmentalize the Argentine mining projects where Ganfeng holds a direct ownership stake, the Chinese firm will still have a key financial interest in the part of the entity that will own the Nevada lithium mine. Ganfeng’s ownership stake in the Thacker Pass mine would continue unless Ganfeng divested from Lithium Americas entirely.
In a statement to the Washington Free Beacon, Pompeo called the Lithium Americas’ split a “half measure” that he said is “nowhere near enough to guarantee that the CCP will not have any amount of control over a key source of America’s lithium supply.”
Pompeo told the publication that the U.S. Treasury Department — which is reviewing the proposed mining deal — should not approve the Thacker Pass mine, “Until we know that no CCP-controlled shareholder is involved in this project, the Treasury Department should not allow it to move forward,” Pompeo said.
In addition to the U.S. Treasury potentially approving the Thacker Pass mining project, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) may also provide funding for the Nevada lithium mine. In December of last year, President Joe Biden’s White House announced the DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) would manage $17 billion worth of government loans for electric vehicle batteries.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, a DOE loan for the Thacker Pass mine would cover “the majority” of the Nevada lithium mine’s cost.
In September, Cotton called on Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to provide information about the DOE’s potential funding of the Thacker Pass mine.
“The U.S. government should apply strict oversight regarding potential federal funding of CCP-owned or -controlled entities,” Cotton said at the time. “DOE’s loan for the Thacker Pass mine would be substantial and reportedly cover the majority of the project’s capital costs. It is critical that DOE ensure taxpayer funding does not go to corporations with CCP ties and does not increase U.S. mineral dependence on China.”
Last month, the Canadian government ordered three Chinese firms to divest from Canadian lithium and rare metals mining companies.
China largely controls prices, keeping them low and making it difficult to compete. Chinese industrial policy in fact mirrored the U.S. approach in the 1950s and 1960s, when the Ames Laboratory and Rare-earth Information Center (RIC) used state investment to bolster the efforts of the private sector. While state support has declined rapidly in the United States (RIC was gone by 2002), Chinese institutions have maintained investment in human capital, price controls, and industrial policy. After China allegedly cut off rare earth exports to Japan in the midst of a territorial dispute in 2010, the Japanese state and private sectors aggressively moved to lessen their dependence on China, but the U.S. did not. However, in a surprising turn, China has agreed to buy two types of rare earth metals from the US as part of an initial trade deal with signed in U.S. by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and US President Donald Trump, that gives China two years to ramp up purchases of hundreds of U.S. products, including scandium and yttrium, two of the 17 rare earths commonly used in computer electronics. China is expected to become a net importer of Rare earth metals (REE) by 2025 that can only be satisfied by the continuous and accelerated development of new mines in Africa.
A single mining and processing facility costs around one billion dollars. One major reason China dominates rare earth production is because the CCP has a weak environmental regulation regime. Because rare earth production, especially during refinement, poses significant dangers to the environment, the U.S. government stringently regulates it. Though a company may meet all federal regulations, it still typically needs to wait at least ten years to receive a permit. Litigation can add several more years to the permitting process. So long as China maintains a monopoly on rare earth production, there will never be innovation to make production cleaner.
China controlled 73% of global lithium cell manufacturing capacity in 2019, followed by the US at 12%.
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2022/11/china-may-get-top-ownership-of-us-lithium-mine/
A Canadian company is hoping to get approval and federal funding for a new lithium mine in northern Nevada, but former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Republican lawmakers are raising concerns about the mining company’s largest shareholder, a Chinese firm. The mining company is going through with an effort to dilute this Chinese ownership, but concerns remain about China’s potential influence over the critical mineral mine at a time when China is seeking to overtake the U.S. as a dominant global power.
Lithium Americas, a Canadian-based company, has been trying to get approval from the U.S. federal government to proceed with its Thacker Pass mine in northern Nevada for years but is awaiting approval to begin mining. The company is already facing a variety of legal challenges to the new mining project — including from Native American and environmental groups — but the Republican politicians are also honing in on the mining company’s largest shareholder: China-based Ganfeng Lithium Co Ltd.
Lithium is a key material for electric batteries. Lithium Americas is trying to get approval for the Thacker Pass mine at a time when China controls roughly 60 percent of the world’s lithium resources and has a commanding position over the electric battery supply chain. Bloomberg Law reported the U.S. currently only has one lithium mine in operation at Albemarle’s Silver Peak in southwestern Nevada.
Adding to the concern, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said Ganfeng is partly owned by China’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The Washington Free Beacon reported Ganfeng currently owns a more than 10 percent stake in Lithium Americas.’ Earlier this month, Lithium Americas announced a corporate restructuring that it told the Washington Free Beacon it hopes will ease the “geopolitical” concerns surrounding Ganfeng’s ownership stake.
On Nov. 3, Lithium Americas announced it would split into two independent public companies. The Canadian company had primarily been focused on mining projects in Argentina and announced that the split-off company Lithium International would assume Lithium Americas’ Argentine mining assets, while Lithium Americas would keep the Thacker Pass project and the company’s other North American investments.
Ganfeng holds direct ownership stakes in some of the Argentine mining assets and, by splitting off that part of the company, Lithium Americas could dilute its Chinese ownership in the Thacker Pass project. The Washington Free Beacon reported some Republican figures are still concerned about the Lithium Americas split, because the current Lithium Americas shareholders will receive stakes in both Lithium International and Lithium Americas after the split goes though, in direct proportion to their current holdings in Lithium Americas.
While the Lithium Americas’ split will compartmentalize the Argentine mining projects where Ganfeng holds a direct ownership stake, the Chinese firm will still have a key financial interest in the part of the entity that will own the Nevada lithium mine. Ganfeng’s ownership stake in the Thacker Pass mine would continue unless Ganfeng divested from Lithium Americas entirely.
In a statement to the Washington Free Beacon, Pompeo called the Lithium Americas’ split a “half measure” that he said is “nowhere near enough to guarantee that the CCP will not have any amount of control over a key source of America’s lithium supply.”
Pompeo told the publication that the U.S. Treasury Department — which is reviewing the proposed mining deal — should not approve the Thacker Pass mine, “Until we know that no CCP-controlled shareholder is involved in this project, the Treasury Department should not allow it to move forward,” Pompeo said.
In addition to the U.S. Treasury potentially approving the Thacker Pass mining project, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) may also provide funding for the Nevada lithium mine. In December of last year, President Joe Biden’s White House announced the DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) would manage $17 billion worth of government loans for electric vehicle batteries.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, a DOE loan for the Thacker Pass mine would cover “the majority” of the Nevada lithium mine’s cost.
In September, Cotton called on Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to provide information about the DOE’s potential funding of the Thacker Pass mine.
“The U.S. government should apply strict oversight regarding potential federal funding of CCP-owned or -controlled entities,” Cotton said at the time. “DOE’s loan for the Thacker Pass mine would be substantial and reportedly cover the majority of the project’s capital costs. It is critical that DOE ensure taxpayer funding does not go to corporations with CCP ties and does not increase U.S. mineral dependence on China.”
Last month, the Canadian government ordered three Chinese firms to divest from Canadian lithium and rare metals mining companies.
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