A suspected Chinese spy ship apparently camouflaged as a fishing trawler to possibly keep an eye on Indian military activities near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was detected by the Navy in the area.
The incident reinforced the assessment in the country of an increasing Chinese presence and interest in the Indian Ocean Region and the Bay of Bengal in the recent past.
The ship was detected nearly four months ago in the international waters and may have been used to track Indian missiles tests and movement of other aircraft and warships in the region, Navy sources said on Tuesday.
The Navy warships could not take any action against it as it was not in Indian territorial waters but kept a close watch on its activities there, they said.
"In the coming years, the presence of Chinese ships will increase around Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean with the inclusion of their aircraft carrier," defence analyst Commander Sunil Chauhan (retd) said.
In the recent years, the Chinese Navy's presence has increased in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, which it says is to protect its business interests there.
After the increased activity of the Chinese Navy in the in the early part of the decade, India started fortifying its presence and preparedness in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by deploying a new tri-services command there.
In a phased-approach, India also plans to beef up its force-levels in the islands which include the ramping of army, navy, air force and coast guard infrastructure, including a radar network.
The plans also include deployment of Su-30MKI aircraft, extending the length of existing runways for heavy transport aircraft operations, increasing the strength of personnel and amphibious warfare capabilities.
htt p://ibnlive. in. com/news/navy-spots-chinese-spy-ship-near-andamans/180030-3.html
Showing posts with label india defece news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label india defece news. Show all posts
Ajai Shukla: Building a submarine fleet
The Indian Navy has acted decisively over the years to create the capability and infrastructure needed for building surface battleships, but it has dithered in setting up an industry that could build submarines. Consequently, even as India’s 140-ship surface fleet is an imposing presence across a swathe of the northern Indian Ocean Region (IOR) from the Gulf of Hormuz to the Strait of Malacca, its 14 diesel-electric submarines hardly provide a matching underwater capability. Meanwhile, China, with at least 53 conventional and seven nuclear attack submarines (SSNs), poses a viable threat to our waters. Even Pakistan is boosting its submarine fleet to 11 vessels, of which nine will have air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems that are superior to anything in the Indian Navy.What makes submarines so important? Naval warfare is about gaining “sea control”, or dominating an operationally important tract of water. In a war with China or Pakistan “sea control” would enable the Indian Navy to bottle up enemy warships in their harbours; prevent seaborne operations by the enemy; and block commercial vessels from resupplying those countries. Sea control is a rich man’s game, requiring the deployment of naval assets in multiple dimensions: underwater, surface, aerial and space. India can hope to gain sea control only in its vicinity, ie the northern IOR.
Then there is “sea denial”, a less force-intensive, spoiler’s option in which a navy deploys submarines and lays mines to deny the enemy sea control. For example, three or four Pakistani submarines lurking off India’s west coast would tie up Indian naval assets in locating and neutralising them, diverting those Indian vessels from the task of sea control. The longer a submarine can lurk underwater, ie “remain on patrol”, the longer it ties down enemy assets. Diesel-electric submarines like the Indian Navy’s must resurface periodically to charge their batteries, giving away surprise. In contrast, submarines with air-independent propulsion (AIP), and SSNs, can remain submerged far longer.
The Indian Navy, which aspires to “blue water” capability, must be capable of sea control in certain sectors, as well as sea denial further away, for example, at the choke points leading into the Indian Ocean from the South China Sea. That requires at least 24 conventional submarines for our coastal waters; and at least five to seven SSNs that can carry out sea denial for extended durations at very long ranges.
Unfortunately, the building of such a submarine force has been beset with blunders. The Indian Navy makes do with 14 old-style, diesel-electric submarines, of which just seven or eight are operational at any time. Six Scorpene submarines are currently being built under Project 75, but when they come on stream by late 2018 an almost equivalent number will have retired from the current fleet.
The ministry of defence (MoD) and the navy are aware of this crisis. In 1999, the Cabinet approved a 30-Year Submarine Construction Plan, for constructing 24 conventional submarines in India. Two simultaneous construction lines were to build six submarines each. One line was to use western technology; and the other Russian know-how. Based on this experience, Indian designers would build the next 12 submarines.
Twenty years after the plan was finalised, in 2019, India will have built just six Scorpene submarines. The reason is as simple as it is astonishing: with Indian shipyards competing to build tens of thousands of crore rupees worth of submarines, the MoD has failed spectacularly to bring any order to this melee. Instead of adjudicating decisively, setting up design and construction partnerships, and placing orders in good time, the MoD has – in typical Antony style – avoided a decision. Instead, it has set up committee after committee to identify which shipyard should get the orders. The latest, the Krishnamurthi Committee, has submitted split findings, setting the stage for Mr Antony to launch a fresh round of doing nothing.
It is time to thin out the crowded field of aspirants. Within the public sector, only Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) has built submarines. Its ongoing Project 75 to build six Scorpene submarines should be extended by another three vessels. Of these nine vessels, the last six must have AIP and the ability to fire missiles, changes that can be made easily. This should be India’s west coast production line.
On the east coast, L&T (which has gained experience building India’s nuclear submarine, the Arihant) should be permitted to join hands with Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL), the MoD’s new shipyard in Vishakhapatnam, for building a second line of submarines with Russian technology. The L&T-HSL JV should also be designated the node for developing and building a line of SSNs, which remains a glaring hole in India’s defence capabilities. Every other country with nuclear submarine capability first built SSNs before developing the technology for SSBNs, as nuclear ballistic missile submarines are called. India alone has begun with a complex SSBN (the INS Arihant) and is continuing building more SSBNs without taking on the simpler design challenge of SSNs. Now, having leased the INS Chakra, an Akula class SSN, from Russia for the next ten years, India must integrate these experiences into an indigenous SSN line.
Meanwhile, the MoD must ensure that the expensive (Rs 6,000 crore) technology that it bought for the Scorpene, and will buy for the Russian submarine line, fructifies into a world-class indigenous design. This will require close involvement from the navy’s integral design establishment. A concurrent role must be allocated to NIRDESH, the newly set up National Institute for Research and Development in Defence Shipbuilding.
source : htt p://business-standard. com/india/news/ajai-shukla-buildingsubmarine-fleet/446636/
Then there is “sea denial”, a less force-intensive, spoiler’s option in which a navy deploys submarines and lays mines to deny the enemy sea control. For example, three or four Pakistani submarines lurking off India’s west coast would tie up Indian naval assets in locating and neutralising them, diverting those Indian vessels from the task of sea control. The longer a submarine can lurk underwater, ie “remain on patrol”, the longer it ties down enemy assets. Diesel-electric submarines like the Indian Navy’s must resurface periodically to charge their batteries, giving away surprise. In contrast, submarines with air-independent propulsion (AIP), and SSNs, can remain submerged far longer.
The Indian Navy, which aspires to “blue water” capability, must be capable of sea control in certain sectors, as well as sea denial further away, for example, at the choke points leading into the Indian Ocean from the South China Sea. That requires at least 24 conventional submarines for our coastal waters; and at least five to seven SSNs that can carry out sea denial for extended durations at very long ranges.
Unfortunately, the building of such a submarine force has been beset with blunders. The Indian Navy makes do with 14 old-style, diesel-electric submarines, of which just seven or eight are operational at any time. Six Scorpene submarines are currently being built under Project 75, but when they come on stream by late 2018 an almost equivalent number will have retired from the current fleet.
The ministry of defence (MoD) and the navy are aware of this crisis. In 1999, the Cabinet approved a 30-Year Submarine Construction Plan, for constructing 24 conventional submarines in India. Two simultaneous construction lines were to build six submarines each. One line was to use western technology; and the other Russian know-how. Based on this experience, Indian designers would build the next 12 submarines.
Twenty years after the plan was finalised, in 2019, India will have built just six Scorpene submarines. The reason is as simple as it is astonishing: with Indian shipyards competing to build tens of thousands of crore rupees worth of submarines, the MoD has failed spectacularly to bring any order to this melee. Instead of adjudicating decisively, setting up design and construction partnerships, and placing orders in good time, the MoD has – in typical Antony style – avoided a decision. Instead, it has set up committee after committee to identify which shipyard should get the orders. The latest, the Krishnamurthi Committee, has submitted split findings, setting the stage for Mr Antony to launch a fresh round of doing nothing.
It is time to thin out the crowded field of aspirants. Within the public sector, only Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) has built submarines. Its ongoing Project 75 to build six Scorpene submarines should be extended by another three vessels. Of these nine vessels, the last six must have AIP and the ability to fire missiles, changes that can be made easily. This should be India’s west coast production line.
On the east coast, L&T (which has gained experience building India’s nuclear submarine, the Arihant) should be permitted to join hands with Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL), the MoD’s new shipyard in Vishakhapatnam, for building a second line of submarines with Russian technology. The L&T-HSL JV should also be designated the node for developing and building a line of SSNs, which remains a glaring hole in India’s defence capabilities. Every other country with nuclear submarine capability first built SSNs before developing the technology for SSBNs, as nuclear ballistic missile submarines are called. India alone has begun with a complex SSBN (the INS Arihant) and is continuing building more SSBNs without taking on the simpler design challenge of SSNs. Now, having leased the INS Chakra, an Akula class SSN, from Russia for the next ten years, India must integrate these experiences into an indigenous SSN line.
Meanwhile, the MoD must ensure that the expensive (Rs 6,000 crore) technology that it bought for the Scorpene, and will buy for the Russian submarine line, fructifies into a world-class indigenous design. This will require close involvement from the navy’s integral design establishment. A concurrent role must be allocated to NIRDESH, the newly set up National Institute for Research and Development in Defence Shipbuilding.
source : htt p://business-standard. com/india/news/ajai-shukla-buildingsubmarine-fleet/446636/
Army wants Light Strike Vehicles for Indian Special Forces
The Indian Army is likely to procure light strike vehicles (LSVs) specifically for its Parachute Battalions (Special Forces). An recent RFI issued in this regard says that the LSVs will be used as a fast attack vehicle for the Special Forces. It will also enhance the mobility and reach of the Special Forces in different types of hostile terrains.
The Army is keen to have these LSVs fitted with integral fire power systems. The Army has sought for a stable vehicle which can carry four persons (including the driver) in a full-combat mode, including personal weapon. The LSV must be configured to have stowage space for carrying communication sets, spare ammunition, water and fuel. The specs: 4.7m (length) x 2.1m (width) x 1.65 (height).
The RFI further states that the LSV must have hard points for a suitable weapon mount capable of firing a 7.62mm GPMG from co-driver’s seat (frontal arc). “The rear hard point must enable to mount either a MILAN anti tank guided missile launcher or a .50/12.7 HMG or an Automatic Grenade Launcher. The Army has also sought information on whether the LSV can be air portable\para droppable (AN-32, IL-76, MI17).
T-50 PAK FA Ends MAKS Hot & Low
This sucks. MAKS 2011 ended on a real downer for the PAK FA programme. The video above shows what happened during the take-off roll of the second T-50 prototype -- a starboard engine flameout after two sharp spikes of flame. The take-off was immediately aborted by pilot Sergei Bordan. Sukhoi has apparently put it down to a malfunction in the fuel supply system and the FADEC. Not a pretty way to end your first public show. Damn.
source : htt p://livefist.blogspot. com/2011/08/pak-fa-ends-maks-hot-low.html
India Air Force to upgrade 8 ALGs in Northeast
In the next three years, the IAF will upgrade eight Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) in the northeast to strengthen its capabilities to carry out aircraft operations in that region.
"We are planning to upgrade eight ALGs in the northeast... By August, we are expected to sign the contract and in next three years, our capabilities would be improved in that region," Air Chief marshal P V Naik told reporters here.
The IAF chief said the upgrading of the ALGs along with the upgrade of the airfields there was the focus area for the force and more such fields were planned under the 12th Plan.
The IAF is strengthening its capabilities in the northeastern sector in view of the increased military presence of China along its border with India.
IAF has already based Sukhoi-30MKI fighters at airbases like Tezpur and Chabua.
ALGs in areas including Pasighat, Mechuka, Walong, Tuting, Ziro, Along and Vijaynagar as well as several helipads in Arunachal Pradesh are also being upgraded now, much like the western sector ALGs like Daulat Beg Oldi, Fukche and Nyoma in eastern Ladakh.
An empowered committee (on North-East infrastructure development) under the Chief of Air Staff-designate Air Marshal NAK Browne is continuously monitoring upgradation of the facilities, creation of new infrastructure and induction of assets in this region.
Asked about the gaps in intelligence set up, the IAF chief said, "Gaps in intelligence will exist in many countries as you would want more and more of it.
"There have been lot of moves by the Home Ministry in terms of combining the intelligence inputs of various agencies and it is paying dividends. Things have improved from what they were earlier."
Source : htt p://zeenews. india. com/news/nation/iaf-to-upgrade-8-algs-in-northeast_722295.html
"We are planning to upgrade eight ALGs in the northeast... By August, we are expected to sign the contract and in next three years, our capabilities would be improved in that region," Air Chief marshal P V Naik told reporters here.
The IAF is strengthening its capabilities in the northeastern sector in view of the increased military presence of China along its border with India.
IAF has already based Sukhoi-30MKI fighters at airbases like Tezpur and Chabua.
ALGs in areas including Pasighat, Mechuka, Walong, Tuting, Ziro, Along and Vijaynagar as well as several helipads in Arunachal Pradesh are also being upgraded now, much like the western sector ALGs like Daulat Beg Oldi, Fukche and Nyoma in eastern Ladakh.
An empowered committee (on North-East infrastructure development) under the Chief of Air Staff-designate Air Marshal NAK Browne is continuously monitoring upgradation of the facilities, creation of new infrastructure and induction of assets in this region.
Asked about the gaps in intelligence set up, the IAF chief said, "Gaps in intelligence will exist in many countries as you would want more and more of it.
"There have been lot of moves by the Home Ministry in terms of combining the intelligence inputs of various agencies and it is paying dividends. Things have improved from what they were earlier."
Source : htt p://zeenews. india. com/news/nation/iaf-to-upgrade-8-algs-in-northeast_722295.html
plight of indian soldier ( A must read article )
The program that aired on CNN-IBN a couple of months back irked my mind. Anubha Bhonsle's "30 minutes" show focused on the Army officer's latest fight for parity in public service.
The Indian Soldier who has served all these years has been largely forgotten and is fighting a tough cause. Let's probe into what the Indian Soldier actually means to us in today's world and what they are fighting for.
As I write this, 10,000 troops are guarding Siachen, thousands of troops are guarding the Naxal hit areas and another set of troops are guarding the borders of the nation. In our day to day life, a Salman Khan song would be remembered more than the soldier. A flop reality star would be more recognizable than a soldier. An IPL star would be more recognizable than a sacrificed soldier. Such is the state of affairs and the recent demands made by the soldiers on the "One Rank One Pension" scheme are scarcely noticed by all of us.
The erstwhile soldiers of the Indian Army have been fighting for the cause of "One Rank One pension" scheme for some years now. The appeal is to ensure that the officers in the Army get the same amount of pension with same amount of rank, same amount of service and same quantum of service irrespective of when they retired. As per today, the pension that an official with less experience who retires after 2006 gets is vastly different from the one who retires pre 1996 with more experience.
For example, a pre 1996 Sepoy gets 82 per cent lower pension than his post 2006 counterpart. This vast difference in the amount of pension given has triggered a huge revolt within the army fraternity especially the soldiers before the 1996 era.
Army veterans recently gave up all their medals in a protest march to the President of India demanding that "same rank, equal service, same pension" under the One Rank One pension scheme. While this was the best that they could do, the major hindrance of their movement lies also on another issue.
A major hindrance to Army jawans is their retirement age and their lack of scope for promotion within their fraternity. The soldier's retirement age is very early compared to bureaucrats. While bureaucrats can stick around till 60, most of the Army officers retire early because age catches up with their fitness which is crucial for their operation. Army officers do not reap the benefits of full pension since they cannot serve the full period of 60 years due to the nature of the job (since pension is based on your last income before retirement).
Bureaucrats on the other hand can stick around till 60 since they do not have a handicap of physical fitness nor they do have the agony of going through emotional trauma through their periods of service. Equating both of them reflects a lack of sensitivity towards the need of a specific group of people who put their lives on the line for the nation. While numerous committees have been set up over this issue, there has not been an implementation that is inclusive of the officer's interests at large.
The criticism for the proposed scheme is twofold. One is the apparent equations of the service of different periods of time together. Another is the issue with bureaucrats raising a similar plea and thus causing a massive financial burden. While in the case of the former, one needs to understand that serving in the military is very different from service elsewhere.
At any point of time, serving the country putting your life at risk is worth the same amount whether it is in the 1980's or whether it is in the 20th century. With regards to bureaucrats raising a similar plea for parity, their case is less strong on face value since they fulfill their full service till retirement and sensitive issues such as loss of life (which is rampant in the army) does not occur as often to them in service.
Add to this that from 1990 to 2006, the pension of senior most army officers raised 45 times while the civil officers got a hike 108 times. Even if the bureaucrats argue for a revision that cannot be the reason to deny the army officers their due.
Our soldiers are people who have sacrificed their entire lives for the nation. Most of them have sacrificed their entire families for the national cause. In an era of materialistic obsession, their sacrifice is overlooked and underplayed most of the times. It is indeed sad that the great soldiers of our great nation are waiting and holding on for this scheme to be implemented.
After all a soldier once told me "You know what is worse than death? It is being forgotten".
I can only pray that the Indian Soldier gets his/her due; there is no one who deserves it more.
source : htt p://ibnlive. in. com/blogs/srirambalasubramanian/2990/62638/the-indian-soldiers-plight.html
Aerospace can help India soar
Good afternoon. I am honoured to address all of you on the occasion of this Foundation Day. It seems to me that in this particular year 2011, your Foundation Day carries an added significance. Firstly because it marks 51 years since you moved to Bangalore in March 1960. Fifty-one years is a good time to look forward and plan for the next 51 years. And secondly, because today it is exactly one-hundred-and-a-half years – to the very day – of the beginning of civil aviation in India. It was on Feb 18, 1911 that the first civil aviation flight in India took off, carrying mail from Delhi to Nainital. Even at that time, this flight created a global first, because not only was it the first civil aviation flight in India, it was also the world’s first air mail flight, carrying 6,400 letters. So one-hundred-and-a-half years later, this is an auspicious time to look ahead and see what other global firsts we can aspire to.And I cannot think of a better occasion and location to do this than right here, because your institution is a visible symbol of India’s technical prowess, independent thinking and ultimately peaceful intentions to the world. Aerospace is a demanding and fascinating field of human endeavour and symbolises the highest aspirations of our civilisation. By shrinking the world, blurring historical and geographic separations, and enabling unimagined levels of connectivity, the science and practice of aeronautics contributes to the development of a sense of unity across cultures and countries.
I am very conscious of this audience’s contributions to our country’s excellent aerospace credentials. Between the pioneering research and development work performed here at CSIR-NAL, the remarkable growth and accomplishments of HAL in the aircraft design and manufacturing space, Isro’s fascinating portfolio of capabilities in remote sensing, communications, satellites and launch vehicles, and the many cutting-edge capabilities developed by the Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO), India has much to be proud of in its aerospace accomplishments so far.
But, as in any field of human endeavour, it is never enough to look back with satisfaction. I believe that the aerospace industry in India is one of the most exciting businesses in the world. I am outrageously ambitious to see Indian aerospace take its rightful place in the world. I see great opportunities out there, and the question we should all be asking ourselves – CSIR, NAL as well as industry – is how can we reach out and grab these opportunities with both hands.
Because the world today is a very different place from what it was 51 years ago, or one-hundred-and-a-half years ago. Institutions like yours have, so far, focused on self-sufficiency, which is indeed vital, especially in the defence arena, and especially so in our geopolitical situation. However, weapons today are not confined to warships tanks and fighter planes. Global competitiveness is today, a new weapon of both offence and defence, especially for a young, energetic country like ours, and especially in civilian aerospace. As the world’s largest democracy, with strong economic fundamentals, and a long tradition of excellence in science and mathematics, it is only appropriate that India should seek a place at the forefront of the fascinating high-technology field of aerospace. It is time for us to reach out and embrace the possibilities that a vibrant Indian aerospace industry can offer to our own people as well as the world at large. And that is what I would like to talk about today.
To understand the context in which this ambition must play out, let us examine some key trends in the global aerospace industry.
The first trend is the growing demand for aerospace products and services in developing nations. Setting aside the significant projections for India’s defence needs over the next decade, India’s demand for civilian airliners is projected to exceed that of Australia and Japan combined. The “BRIC” nations – Brazil, Russia, India, and China – together need more passenger aircraft than the United States, which has historically been the biggest market for such aircraft. So it’s a huge market out there. Can we use our joint expertise to get a part of it?
The second trend deals with the industry that provides those products and services. Gone are the days of the “vertically integrated” aerospace powerhouses. Today there are no “do-it-all-ourselves” monolithic aerospace providers. Instead they have been replaced by a widely distributed network of suppliers and partners. From being centralised businesses with a strong geographic identity, the aerospace giants of yore have transformed themselves into integrators, placing increasingly large responsibilities upon a globally dispersed supplier base. This is truly a global network, with goods and services flowing both ways between countries and continents. What can we jointly contribute to this global network?
The third trend is a happy marriage between developing nation’s aspirations to be more than just consumers, and the necessity for the producers to be closer to their key markets. Starting with the need to support their products in new markets, the OEMs of the world increasingly recognise that they must invest significantly in those markets to ensure a fair balance of trade. Current cost structures in developing economies also make it inevitable that the OEMs increase their sourcing from the very countries that want to buy their products. So there is a life and a business beyond offsets – and we should be looking for opportunities in this space.
The fourth trend – one which the Mahindra Group embraces whole-heartedly – is the global realisation that waste and inefficiency are contributing to a rapid deterioration in our quality of life. Pollution is tangibly degrading our forests and waters, while consumption of natural resources without replenishment is rapidly threatening established lifestyles. Hence the pressure to look beyond conventional business metrics to sustainability and green technologies. Can we work together to create green technologies that are relevant and also outrageously affordable?
I am throwing up these ideas and questions because I believe that these four trends will shape the aerospace world of the future, and we in India must determine how we will participate in that future. Each of these trends creates great opportunities, and it is up to us to harness the collective strength of our many institutions to propel our nation to the forefront on the global arena. And while doing so, let us not forget our social imperative. Our rise to the top has to be inclusive, bringing benefits not only to the educated urbanised few, but spreading out to as many sectors of our population as possible.
In our view, there is one area of aerospace endeavourwhere we can be globally differentiated as well as socially inclusive and relevant. That area is general aviation.
Consider some numbers. India’s strong economic fundamentals contribute to an annual GDP growth rate of 7-8%. With 124 million air passengers in 2010, air travel is growing at a rate of about 12%. Tourism is poised to grow at a rate of 9-10% – all remarkable growth projections indeed. However 70% of our country's population lives in rural areas with limited access to the best in education, health care and work opportunities. Yet all of us – corporations as well as high technology institutions – continue to think of ourselves as primarily urban. Almost all our current aerial connectivity is confined to our urban centres, even while our surface connectivity is threatened by major infrastructure challenges. Look at the threat. Without a strong transportation network that reaches beyond the urban centres, we are threatening our continued economic growth, and we are denying our rural brethren equal opportunity to participate in that growth.
That’s the threat. And with the threat comes an opportunity – an opportunity to overcome these threats by leveraging civilian aerospace to connect the rural hinterland to urban centers, providing them with better connectivity, better services and improved access to markets. We may not have thought about it, but many rural folk have. A few years ago a young farmer from a town not far from here approached us at an air show. His current market reach was limited to towns and villages within a short road trip of his farm, since beyond that distance his produce would perish. Being located away from the biggest cities in this region, his ability to grow was stymied not by capital or entrepreneurial spirit but by connectivity, In other words, surface connectivity was limiting the ability of his market segment to expand beyond its borders. He wanted to know how we could help him.
The same aerial connectivity that could solve his problem would also provide a conduit for tourism, health and educational services to extend outward from urban centres to the rural areas. Charter flights from urban airports could make it viable for tourists on a tight schedule to visit parts of the country that are currently unreachable. That connectivity in turn creates revenue for the residents of those outlying areas, allowing them to benefit from India’s strategic attraction as a tourist destination. Healthcare can be dramatically improved by air ambulances that can provide a lifeline for critically ill people in rural areas that are miles away from good medical assistance.
General aviation is hardly a new idea. Even in the USA, with its excellent surface connectivity, the general aviation fleet clocks up nearly as many flying hours annually as the commercial services. In Australia, the “Flying Doctors” have become legendary for their services to people far from urban healthcare. In Papua New Guinea, non-profit operations routinely provide emergency assistance to rural populations far removed from conventional civilisation. The aircraft that perform this role typically have less than a hundred seats (often in the two- to 20-seat range) and are cost-efficient in short hauls with the light loads that these operations demand. But the current fleet is aging, and many of the aircraft in current use were designed to meet much older regulatory standards. Decades of experience distilled into regulatory improvements are thus not incorporated in the majority of the fleet. Further, using older engines, systems and manufacturing processes, the existing fleet is not eco-friendly to operate or maintain.
What we have then, is a unique confluence of opportunities and imperatives. General aviation offers a potential arena where India could propel itself forward, developing a portfolio of aircraft that cater to the current imperatives of eco-friendliness and operational efficiency, while also meeting the latest safety standards. This area of focus could provide India (and much of the rest of the world) a clean, green transportation solution for locations and distances where other solutions are not feasible. In developing these capabilities, we will have to create a design and manufacturing infrastructure that is on par with the best in the world, thereby also aligning ourselves with the other trends identified earlier. All participants benefit – research organisations, industry, users, rural populations. We would love to work together with you on this because if we can help to build an aviation industry that also improves lives, we would be living our corporate “rise” philosophy. We would be living our belief that by accepting no limits, thinking alternatively, and driving positive change we can improve lives and help all our stakeholders and communities to rise.
So what are the key enablers for these ideas to become reality? I believe there are two primary enablers. One: the way we approach aerospace technology acquisition and two: the way we build public-private partnerships.
In technology development, we have historically maintained a strong policy of self-reliance, largely motivated by our strategic defence focus. But we clearly must also acquire new technologies to be globally competitive. In our view, we need to find the middle ground between “home-grown” technologies that are developed in isolation, and “transfer of technology” that carries the flavour of adopting someone else’s existing answers. Our preferred term for this is “technology co-development”, wherein we partner with established entities within and outside India to develop the next new solution.
Why is this important? Let us take the example of general aviation engines. We could adopt the path of license-manufacture within India of engines developed abroad – what we call “technology transfer” – where the benefits are purely financial (through labour cost arbitrage and avoidance of duties). Or we could choose to indigenously develop a complete engine from first principles (“home-grown”) wherein we are destined to repeat all the mistakes made by established entities over decades – and then develop a complete product support capability for the finished product. Instead of either extreme, in today’s globalised world, it could be far better to embrace the idea of a partnership between established players and our own industrial and research expertise to jointly build upon existing knowledge and infrastructure to develop the next generation of products. This attitude shift would enhance our capability to generate future new technologies, and simultaneously make us integral parts of the global supply chain.
Achieving this level of partnership on the global stage is not a simple exercise. For us to be successful in such exercises, we need to channel the best of Indian industry as well as research institutions, working together as peers. There is so much scope for equal partnership. As I said earlier, our research organisations such as CSIR-NAL have develop an excellent research capability building on a strong Indian tradition of science and engineering excellence harking back over centuries. They combine a large team of dedicated scientists with specialisations in cutting-edge aerospace domains, and an excellent collection of facilities to design, test, analyse and optimise engineering solutions They have a great deal to offer the world in creating a new generation of efficient, optimised, environmentally-friendly products. But they need to convert these skills into profits.
And their partner in commercialising this capability should be the Indian private sector that has grown up and come into its own on the global arena. Starting with the heady days of the early 1990s, the Indian private sector has spread its wings and learned to soar in global skies. We have learned how to listen to the marketplace, distill explicit and implicit customer desires into product requirements, synthesise a plan to create products that meet those requirements, build a business case for the product, and then proceed with creation and delivery of those products. A combination of the technical prowess of the research institutions and the business savvy and market-driven product development capabilities of the private sector is surely a rich and rewarding recipe for our collective success.
So we have three key ingredients for future achievements in the aerospace domain. Firstly, the recognition that global success is the only acceptable yardstick for our domestic endeavours; secondly, a partnership model leveraging the technical prowess of research organisations and the product definition and development capabilities of industry; and thirdly and most importantly, a willingness to partner domestically and internationally for mutual success. We are proud to have already embarked on this path with CSIR-NAL on the development of the NM5 – a five-seat general aviation multi-purpose aircraft, where we have recently brought onboard our colleagues from GippsAero in Australia as well.
There are two other domains where India’s private sector could participate in the globally networked industry, with benefits for our own domestic industry. One such domain is aerospace manufacturing, where the private sector has been largely inward-focused, and functions at a “Tier-3” level, supplying components for domestic consumption. As identified earlier, two of the key trends in the global aerospace industry are sourcing from target markets, and outsourcing to strategic partners as part of a networked supply chain. With projected US$ 100 billion in relevant procurements over the next decade, coupled with its low manufacturing cost base, India is well positioned to commit to entering this network. By committing to enter this global network, Indian industry will by necessity acquire best-in-class technologies and skills, which will in turn benefit the Indian aerospace industry at large.
The other domain where the private sector could increase its participation in the global aerospace industry is in design engineering services. We already have several largecorporations with a “blue-chip” clientele of aerospace majors. By increasing the level of participation in the programs of the majors, our industry is stepping up from being a service provider to be a design and development partner. Again, this will further accelerate the development of our experience and skill sets, which in turn will benefit Indian aerospace industry.
These growth domains are also synergistic with the strong analysis and development capabilities of our research laboratories and educational institutions. Over time, the combination of the acquired skills and innate capabilities could be the launchpad for creating new solutions for larger global problems – such as green propulsion, alternative fuels, and environmentally sustainable manufacturing techniques.
Before I conclude let me summarise some of the initiatives within the Mahindra Group aimed at contributing to a larger role for Indian industry in the global aerospace industry while at the same time contributing to the development of a vibrant aerospace industry domestically.
On the design engineering side of the business, we have built-up an excellent relationship with multiple global aerospace OEMs. Over time our teams have moved up the value chain from providing design support to taking on responsibility for design packages, and are now getting into certification aspects for the OEMs.
On the manufacturing side of the business, we have acquired Aerostaff Australia, a manufacturer of precision sheet-metal components for several major aerospace and defense OEMs, and are developing an aerostructures manufacturing facility in India, which will go live in 2013.
On the general aviation side of the business, we have already committed our efforts to developing and marketing a portfolio of light aircraft in the 2-20 seat range. The NAL-MAPL joint development, the NM5, is one initiative in this space, as is our acquisition of GippsAero in Australia, producer of the GA8 Airvan, which features the lowest cost-per-seat-mile in its class in the world.
While we are starting with utility aircraft in the two- to 20-seat class, we are eagerly watching the opportunities to bring our efforts to bear in developing the next higher class of civilian aircraft – regional transports. It is our hope and intention to work together with the best minds in the country in defining, developing, innovating, producing and marketing uniquely capable aircraft for the 21st century, thereby laying the foundations for a vibrant aerospace future.
In conclusion let me say that you, in this audience are the new aeronauts, the ones who are constantly pushing new frontiers of air and space. So, in a way are we, because we too are constantly pushing the frontiers of business and growth. But we modern day aeronauts had some distinguished predecessors – the famed Argonauts of Greek mythology. The Argonauts were a band of intrepid adventurers, who, the story goes, journeyed with Jason, in a ship called the Argo, and sailed beyond the edge of the known world, in search of the Golden Fleece. They had many adventures and they ultimately succeeded. But the interesting thing is – why did they go in search of the Golden Fleece? They set out on their quest because finding the Golden Fleece was an impossible task that Jason had to fulfill in order to claim the throne that was rightfully his. And how did they do it? They did it by combining their strengths, by pulling together, by focusing passionately on the greater goal. We too have a throne to claim – a place for India in the global aerospace firmament. For us too, this is a task that may be as tough as finding the Golden Fleece. And we too are the modern Argonauts, with a diversity of strengths that can be synergised for a greater goal. I believe that we too can set forth together, like the Argonauts of old, and I hope that 50 years later, at your foundation day in 2061 we will be able to look back and say: We set out on a joint quest to put India on the global aerospace map, and we fulfilled it successfully.
source : htt p://www.business-standard. com/india/news/aerospace-can-help-india-soar/446365/
I am very conscious of this audience’s contributions to our country’s excellent aerospace credentials. Between the pioneering research and development work performed here at CSIR-NAL, the remarkable growth and accomplishments of HAL in the aircraft design and manufacturing space, Isro’s fascinating portfolio of capabilities in remote sensing, communications, satellites and launch vehicles, and the many cutting-edge capabilities developed by the Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO), India has much to be proud of in its aerospace accomplishments so far.
But, as in any field of human endeavour, it is never enough to look back with satisfaction. I believe that the aerospace industry in India is one of the most exciting businesses in the world. I am outrageously ambitious to see Indian aerospace take its rightful place in the world. I see great opportunities out there, and the question we should all be asking ourselves – CSIR, NAL as well as industry – is how can we reach out and grab these opportunities with both hands.
Because the world today is a very different place from what it was 51 years ago, or one-hundred-and-a-half years ago. Institutions like yours have, so far, focused on self-sufficiency, which is indeed vital, especially in the defence arena, and especially so in our geopolitical situation. However, weapons today are not confined to warships tanks and fighter planes. Global competitiveness is today, a new weapon of both offence and defence, especially for a young, energetic country like ours, and especially in civilian aerospace. As the world’s largest democracy, with strong economic fundamentals, and a long tradition of excellence in science and mathematics, it is only appropriate that India should seek a place at the forefront of the fascinating high-technology field of aerospace. It is time for us to reach out and embrace the possibilities that a vibrant Indian aerospace industry can offer to our own people as well as the world at large. And that is what I would like to talk about today.
To understand the context in which this ambition must play out, let us examine some key trends in the global aerospace industry.
The first trend is the growing demand for aerospace products and services in developing nations. Setting aside the significant projections for India’s defence needs over the next decade, India’s demand for civilian airliners is projected to exceed that of Australia and Japan combined. The “BRIC” nations – Brazil, Russia, India, and China – together need more passenger aircraft than the United States, which has historically been the biggest market for such aircraft. So it’s a huge market out there. Can we use our joint expertise to get a part of it?
The second trend deals with the industry that provides those products and services. Gone are the days of the “vertically integrated” aerospace powerhouses. Today there are no “do-it-all-ourselves” monolithic aerospace providers. Instead they have been replaced by a widely distributed network of suppliers and partners. From being centralised businesses with a strong geographic identity, the aerospace giants of yore have transformed themselves into integrators, placing increasingly large responsibilities upon a globally dispersed supplier base. This is truly a global network, with goods and services flowing both ways between countries and continents. What can we jointly contribute to this global network?
The third trend is a happy marriage between developing nation’s aspirations to be more than just consumers, and the necessity for the producers to be closer to their key markets. Starting with the need to support their products in new markets, the OEMs of the world increasingly recognise that they must invest significantly in those markets to ensure a fair balance of trade. Current cost structures in developing economies also make it inevitable that the OEMs increase their sourcing from the very countries that want to buy their products. So there is a life and a business beyond offsets – and we should be looking for opportunities in this space.
The fourth trend – one which the Mahindra Group embraces whole-heartedly – is the global realisation that waste and inefficiency are contributing to a rapid deterioration in our quality of life. Pollution is tangibly degrading our forests and waters, while consumption of natural resources without replenishment is rapidly threatening established lifestyles. Hence the pressure to look beyond conventional business metrics to sustainability and green technologies. Can we work together to create green technologies that are relevant and also outrageously affordable?
I am throwing up these ideas and questions because I believe that these four trends will shape the aerospace world of the future, and we in India must determine how we will participate in that future. Each of these trends creates great opportunities, and it is up to us to harness the collective strength of our many institutions to propel our nation to the forefront on the global arena. And while doing so, let us not forget our social imperative. Our rise to the top has to be inclusive, bringing benefits not only to the educated urbanised few, but spreading out to as many sectors of our population as possible.
In our view, there is one area of aerospace endeavourwhere we can be globally differentiated as well as socially inclusive and relevant. That area is general aviation.
Consider some numbers. India’s strong economic fundamentals contribute to an annual GDP growth rate of 7-8%. With 124 million air passengers in 2010, air travel is growing at a rate of about 12%. Tourism is poised to grow at a rate of 9-10% – all remarkable growth projections indeed. However 70% of our country's population lives in rural areas with limited access to the best in education, health care and work opportunities. Yet all of us – corporations as well as high technology institutions – continue to think of ourselves as primarily urban. Almost all our current aerial connectivity is confined to our urban centres, even while our surface connectivity is threatened by major infrastructure challenges. Look at the threat. Without a strong transportation network that reaches beyond the urban centres, we are threatening our continued economic growth, and we are denying our rural brethren equal opportunity to participate in that growth.
That’s the threat. And with the threat comes an opportunity – an opportunity to overcome these threats by leveraging civilian aerospace to connect the rural hinterland to urban centers, providing them with better connectivity, better services and improved access to markets. We may not have thought about it, but many rural folk have. A few years ago a young farmer from a town not far from here approached us at an air show. His current market reach was limited to towns and villages within a short road trip of his farm, since beyond that distance his produce would perish. Being located away from the biggest cities in this region, his ability to grow was stymied not by capital or entrepreneurial spirit but by connectivity, In other words, surface connectivity was limiting the ability of his market segment to expand beyond its borders. He wanted to know how we could help him.
The same aerial connectivity that could solve his problem would also provide a conduit for tourism, health and educational services to extend outward from urban centres to the rural areas. Charter flights from urban airports could make it viable for tourists on a tight schedule to visit parts of the country that are currently unreachable. That connectivity in turn creates revenue for the residents of those outlying areas, allowing them to benefit from India’s strategic attraction as a tourist destination. Healthcare can be dramatically improved by air ambulances that can provide a lifeline for critically ill people in rural areas that are miles away from good medical assistance.
General aviation is hardly a new idea. Even in the USA, with its excellent surface connectivity, the general aviation fleet clocks up nearly as many flying hours annually as the commercial services. In Australia, the “Flying Doctors” have become legendary for their services to people far from urban healthcare. In Papua New Guinea, non-profit operations routinely provide emergency assistance to rural populations far removed from conventional civilisation. The aircraft that perform this role typically have less than a hundred seats (often in the two- to 20-seat range) and are cost-efficient in short hauls with the light loads that these operations demand. But the current fleet is aging, and many of the aircraft in current use were designed to meet much older regulatory standards. Decades of experience distilled into regulatory improvements are thus not incorporated in the majority of the fleet. Further, using older engines, systems and manufacturing processes, the existing fleet is not eco-friendly to operate or maintain.
What we have then, is a unique confluence of opportunities and imperatives. General aviation offers a potential arena where India could propel itself forward, developing a portfolio of aircraft that cater to the current imperatives of eco-friendliness and operational efficiency, while also meeting the latest safety standards. This area of focus could provide India (and much of the rest of the world) a clean, green transportation solution for locations and distances where other solutions are not feasible. In developing these capabilities, we will have to create a design and manufacturing infrastructure that is on par with the best in the world, thereby also aligning ourselves with the other trends identified earlier. All participants benefit – research organisations, industry, users, rural populations. We would love to work together with you on this because if we can help to build an aviation industry that also improves lives, we would be living our corporate “rise” philosophy. We would be living our belief that by accepting no limits, thinking alternatively, and driving positive change we can improve lives and help all our stakeholders and communities to rise.
So what are the key enablers for these ideas to become reality? I believe there are two primary enablers. One: the way we approach aerospace technology acquisition and two: the way we build public-private partnerships.
In technology development, we have historically maintained a strong policy of self-reliance, largely motivated by our strategic defence focus. But we clearly must also acquire new technologies to be globally competitive. In our view, we need to find the middle ground between “home-grown” technologies that are developed in isolation, and “transfer of technology” that carries the flavour of adopting someone else’s existing answers. Our preferred term for this is “technology co-development”, wherein we partner with established entities within and outside India to develop the next new solution.
Why is this important? Let us take the example of general aviation engines. We could adopt the path of license-manufacture within India of engines developed abroad – what we call “technology transfer” – where the benefits are purely financial (through labour cost arbitrage and avoidance of duties). Or we could choose to indigenously develop a complete engine from first principles (“home-grown”) wherein we are destined to repeat all the mistakes made by established entities over decades – and then develop a complete product support capability for the finished product. Instead of either extreme, in today’s globalised world, it could be far better to embrace the idea of a partnership between established players and our own industrial and research expertise to jointly build upon existing knowledge and infrastructure to develop the next generation of products. This attitude shift would enhance our capability to generate future new technologies, and simultaneously make us integral parts of the global supply chain.
Achieving this level of partnership on the global stage is not a simple exercise. For us to be successful in such exercises, we need to channel the best of Indian industry as well as research institutions, working together as peers. There is so much scope for equal partnership. As I said earlier, our research organisations such as CSIR-NAL have develop an excellent research capability building on a strong Indian tradition of science and engineering excellence harking back over centuries. They combine a large team of dedicated scientists with specialisations in cutting-edge aerospace domains, and an excellent collection of facilities to design, test, analyse and optimise engineering solutions They have a great deal to offer the world in creating a new generation of efficient, optimised, environmentally-friendly products. But they need to convert these skills into profits.
And their partner in commercialising this capability should be the Indian private sector that has grown up and come into its own on the global arena. Starting with the heady days of the early 1990s, the Indian private sector has spread its wings and learned to soar in global skies. We have learned how to listen to the marketplace, distill explicit and implicit customer desires into product requirements, synthesise a plan to create products that meet those requirements, build a business case for the product, and then proceed with creation and delivery of those products. A combination of the technical prowess of the research institutions and the business savvy and market-driven product development capabilities of the private sector is surely a rich and rewarding recipe for our collective success.
So we have three key ingredients for future achievements in the aerospace domain. Firstly, the recognition that global success is the only acceptable yardstick for our domestic endeavours; secondly, a partnership model leveraging the technical prowess of research organisations and the product definition and development capabilities of industry; and thirdly and most importantly, a willingness to partner domestically and internationally for mutual success. We are proud to have already embarked on this path with CSIR-NAL on the development of the NM5 – a five-seat general aviation multi-purpose aircraft, where we have recently brought onboard our colleagues from GippsAero in Australia as well.
There are two other domains where India’s private sector could participate in the globally networked industry, with benefits for our own domestic industry. One such domain is aerospace manufacturing, where the private sector has been largely inward-focused, and functions at a “Tier-3” level, supplying components for domestic consumption. As identified earlier, two of the key trends in the global aerospace industry are sourcing from target markets, and outsourcing to strategic partners as part of a networked supply chain. With projected US$ 100 billion in relevant procurements over the next decade, coupled with its low manufacturing cost base, India is well positioned to commit to entering this network. By committing to enter this global network, Indian industry will by necessity acquire best-in-class technologies and skills, which will in turn benefit the Indian aerospace industry at large.
The other domain where the private sector could increase its participation in the global aerospace industry is in design engineering services. We already have several largecorporations with a “blue-chip” clientele of aerospace majors. By increasing the level of participation in the programs of the majors, our industry is stepping up from being a service provider to be a design and development partner. Again, this will further accelerate the development of our experience and skill sets, which in turn will benefit Indian aerospace industry.
These growth domains are also synergistic with the strong analysis and development capabilities of our research laboratories and educational institutions. Over time, the combination of the acquired skills and innate capabilities could be the launchpad for creating new solutions for larger global problems – such as green propulsion, alternative fuels, and environmentally sustainable manufacturing techniques.
Before I conclude let me summarise some of the initiatives within the Mahindra Group aimed at contributing to a larger role for Indian industry in the global aerospace industry while at the same time contributing to the development of a vibrant aerospace industry domestically.
On the design engineering side of the business, we have built-up an excellent relationship with multiple global aerospace OEMs. Over time our teams have moved up the value chain from providing design support to taking on responsibility for design packages, and are now getting into certification aspects for the OEMs.
On the manufacturing side of the business, we have acquired Aerostaff Australia, a manufacturer of precision sheet-metal components for several major aerospace and defense OEMs, and are developing an aerostructures manufacturing facility in India, which will go live in 2013.
On the general aviation side of the business, we have already committed our efforts to developing and marketing a portfolio of light aircraft in the 2-20 seat range. The NAL-MAPL joint development, the NM5, is one initiative in this space, as is our acquisition of GippsAero in Australia, producer of the GA8 Airvan, which features the lowest cost-per-seat-mile in its class in the world.
While we are starting with utility aircraft in the two- to 20-seat class, we are eagerly watching the opportunities to bring our efforts to bear in developing the next higher class of civilian aircraft – regional transports. It is our hope and intention to work together with the best minds in the country in defining, developing, innovating, producing and marketing uniquely capable aircraft for the 21st century, thereby laying the foundations for a vibrant aerospace future.
In conclusion let me say that you, in this audience are the new aeronauts, the ones who are constantly pushing new frontiers of air and space. So, in a way are we, because we too are constantly pushing the frontiers of business and growth. But we modern day aeronauts had some distinguished predecessors – the famed Argonauts of Greek mythology. The Argonauts were a band of intrepid adventurers, who, the story goes, journeyed with Jason, in a ship called the Argo, and sailed beyond the edge of the known world, in search of the Golden Fleece. They had many adventures and they ultimately succeeded. But the interesting thing is – why did they go in search of the Golden Fleece? They set out on their quest because finding the Golden Fleece was an impossible task that Jason had to fulfill in order to claim the throne that was rightfully his. And how did they do it? They did it by combining their strengths, by pulling together, by focusing passionately on the greater goal. We too have a throne to claim – a place for India in the global aerospace firmament. For us too, this is a task that may be as tough as finding the Golden Fleece. And we too are the modern Argonauts, with a diversity of strengths that can be synergised for a greater goal. I believe that we too can set forth together, like the Argonauts of old, and I hope that 50 years later, at your foundation day in 2061 we will be able to look back and say: We set out on a joint quest to put India on the global aerospace map, and we fulfilled it successfully.
source : htt p://www.business-standard. com/india/news/aerospace-can-help-india-soar/446365/
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