>> news in brief Boeing to brief India on AH-6 light
Strategic Forces Command exercises Agni-I
In the final stages of setting up a line for the AH-6 light armed utility helicopter, Boeing plans to weigh interest in India through briefings to the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) later this year. With Boeing Rotorcraft energies currently focused on capturing the IAF attack helicopter competition, the company is lining up data and information for presentations on the AH-6i, the export version of the light chopper originally developed by McDonnel-Douglas. While the IAF and the Army already have their light utility helicopter procurement process on—in fact at the final stage—sources in Boeing believe the AH-6i could have prospective value for India’s Special Forces and paramilitary. Like its much larger cousin, the AH-64D Apache, the AH-6i Little Bird deploys an impressive arsenal of on-board weapons, including a chain-gun, rocket pods and AGM-114 Hellfire strike missiles. The AH-6i, with a 1-2 person crew, has a MTOW of 722-kg, can cruise at 135 knots at an altitude 18,700 feet and is powered by a single Allison 250-C30 turboshaft engine. A variant, called the AH-6S Phoenix has been pitched to the US Army for its armed aerial scout programme. So far, Saudi Arabia and Jordan have expressed interest.
India’s nuclear command, the SFC has once again exercised the 700-km range nuclear capable Agni-I ballistic missile. The missile was successfully launched 1006 hours on July 13 from Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha. “It was a textbook launch, meeting all mission objectives and the missile reached the target point in the Bay of Bengal following the prescribed trajectory,” said Dr Avinash Chander, Chief Controller R&D (Missiles & Strategic Systems) and Agni Programme Director.
things: (a) that the two Mi-25/35 flights under two helicopter units will soon be flown by Army Aviation pilots (the choppers are in IAF livery) and the IAF will raise new units to house the 22 new attack helicopters (prospectively, the Boeing AH-64D Apache Block III) and, later, the light combat helicopter or, (b) The Mi-25/35s will be transferred to IAF command and control, while the Army raises new units and floats fresh requirements (it already stands to receive the Dhruv-WSI), or (c) a status quo on command and control of the current units, until new platforms enter service.
Boeing confident of attack helicopter award
Indian Army scouts for TETRA radio sets
Boeing waits in the proverbial wings for what it hopes will be its next big contract from the Indian military—a lucrative deal for 22 new AH-64D Apache attack helicopters, all from the latest Block III and at least some of them armed with the formidable Northrop Grumman/Lockheed Martin AN/APG-78 Longbow fire control radar (one in three US Army AH-64Ds come armed with the sensor). If the IAF indeed has plans to award the contract to Boeing, it is unclear as to how many of the platforms will come with the Longbow radar. Trials conducted in India involved an AH-64D Block II with Block III components, including gearbox, fuel tanks, composite rotors, etc, in effect, a Block III but without the attendant avionics. There are also concerns about whether the fracas between the Indian Army and the IAF over the use of armed helicopters has anything to do with the process slowing down, or a decision being deferred.
In an effort to ramp up tactical communication, the Indian Army is looking to rapidly procure TETRA handheld radios to meet its demands for mobile voice and data communications in a field environment. The Army has stipulated that any new handheld radio it considers will be required to function along with existing TETRA infrastructure already in place with the service. Apart from the mandatory function of voice and data communication, the Army has stipulated that it would be interested in supplementary functions on the TETRA handsets, which include priority pre-emption, ambience listening, talking party identification, calling line identity presentation, connected line indication, call forwarding unconditional/busy/no reply/not reachable, barring of incoming/outgoing calls, emergency call, automatic transmission of geographical location (using a GPS receiver) and call control features. The Army has sought an early response from vendors interested in contributing to a test schedule.
Decision on 197 light helicopters soon Eurocopter is waiting with baited breath as the crucial 197 reconnaissance and surveillance helicopter competition is headed towards a possible decision shortly. A special technical oversight committee (STOC) that had been set up by the Defence Ministry to scrutinise certain qualitative requirement waivers in the competition had been raised by a third party that was not part of the trials. It is understood that the STOC has recommended that the waivers are acceptable to both the Indian Army and the IAF, for whom the helicopters are intended. The Eurocopter AS550 Fennec and Kamov Ka-226 Sergei are in close contention for the $750-million deal that will progressively replace Cheetah and Chetak fleets in the Army and IAF.
Attack helicopters for Army The government has accorded crucial clearance to the Army to operate its own attack helicopter units, bringing to a close a long-standing spat between the Army and Air Force over tactical battlefield assets. India currently has two attack helicopter units, both under the command and control of the Army, but flown and maintained by IAF pilots and personnel. The government’s approval could mean either of three
Govt clears procurement effort of QR-SAMs The MoD’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has cleared the `12,000-crore acquisition of quick-reaction surfaceto-air missiles for the Army. The missiles will arm eight air defence regiments of the Army. Competitors from US, Israel, France and Russia are expected to compete for the massive order that could take more than a year to finalise. Former Army Chief General V.K. Singh, in his letter to the Prime Minister, had highlighted the obsolete state of Indian Army’s air defence arsenal. The decision today is a big boost for air defence cover of the country. The missiles are to
>> logistics
Ashok Leyland: A Nation’s Moving Force
F
or over six decades, Ashok Leyland has been in the business of moving people and goods and is one of India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturers. Pioneers in the design and development of defence transport solutions, Ashok Leyland is the largest supplier of logistics vehicles to the Indian Army with close to 70,000 ‘Stallion’ vehicles in use.
The Super Stallion 8x8 - engineered to perform with high mobility and power in arduous desert terrains
Photographs: Ashok Leyland
Light tactical and armoured vehicle on the COLT platform
www.spslandforces.net
A Relationship of Substance The seeds for this relationship of substance with the Indian Army were sown in the 1970s, with the supply of 1,000 numbers of the company’s ‘Hippo’, a vehicle specially configured for the Army. In 1994, the hugely successful ‘Stallion’ platform was inducted followed by the inking of a transfer of technology agreement with Ordnance Factories Board for the co-production of the ‘Stallion’ 4x4 at Vehicle Factory, Jabalpur. The ‘Stallion’ platform was first developed as a 4x4 vehicle for various applications such as general service roles, troop carriers, water bowsers, fuel bowsers, light recovery vehicles that have been tested and proven in the most demanding of operating conditions: in altitudes of over 5,500 metres and in the deserts of Rajasthan and in temperatures of -35 degrees Celsius to +50 degrees Celsius. The company’s expanding portfolio of Defence vehicles feature the Light Recovery Vehicle for the Indian Army/DGBR, the 5 KL Water Bowser with twin stainless steel insulated walls water tanks mounted on the Stallion for carrying potable water for the jawans at extreme temperatures, the Truck Fire Fighting 4x2, gun towing vehicle Topchi 4x4, Mobile Refrigerated Containers and Fuel Dispensers.
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SP’s Land Forces 4/2012
A new platform – the ‘Super Stallion’ has been introduced to answer the high mobility requirements of the Indian Army. The ‘Super Stallion’ in 8x8 and 6x6 configurations as a High Mobility Vehicle (HMV) is the new flagship vehicle. Engineered to perform with high mobility and power in arduous desert terrains, this vehicle can be offered for a variety of applications for towing Field Artillery, for mounting guns, for mounting electronic warfare equipment and as missile carriers with different transmission and driveline configurations. The HMV 8x8 is, at present, proving its worth by undergoing trials with the Army. The ‘Stallion’ in a 6x6 configuration with a new engine and auto transmission is on offer to operate in demanding, mountainous terrains. This vehicle can be deployed as Troop Carriers, Water and Fuel Bowsers, Light Recovery Vehicles and as the base vehicle to mount communication equipment and command control posts. Both the 4x4 and 6x6 versions have
been supplied to various international customers including the Honduras Army, an American organisation for operation in Iraq and Afghanistan and more recently to Thailand and South Africa.
Ashok Leyland Defence Systems Ashok Leyland Defence Systems is a focused defence sector joint venture company that will be engaged in the manufacture of a range of specialised tactical and armoured vehicles to meet the emerging needs of India’s armed forces. The product range will offer state-ofthe-art performance while achieving high levels of local content and cost competitiveness. Ashok Leyland Defence has already offered vehicle platforms for Mine Protected Vehicles (MPVs), FATs, Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRLs) and other special applications and will soon have in its portfolio armored vehicles with military payloads ranging from 1.5 to 20 tonnes. ALDS will also have products on the ‘Colt’ platform that will feature, among others, Light Spe-
cialist Vehicles (LSVs). With superior protection, improved agility and enhanced performance, this new range of vehicles will further the capabilities of Indian defence. With production operations in Sengadu, near Chennai, Ashok Leyland Defence has a team of defence professionals bringing domain expertise to their tasks. It leverages Ashok Leyland’s experience of over four decades in defence logistics as well as draws strength from its relationship with some of the world’s best exponents of tactical and armoured vehicles like Panhard General Defense, France, pioneers in the design and development of light armoured vehicles, to jointly develop light tactical vehicles. The company also has a MoU with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) GmbH, Germany, to jointly develop advanced defence systems for the Indian defence establishment as well as other defence forces worldwide. SP For more information, Please visit http://defence.ashokleyland.com