Vol XIII, Issue IX, FEBRUARY 2023 ?

100

DEFENCE D IP LO M A C Y S E C U R IT Y
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K SRINIVASAN
GETTING TO
MAKE IN INDIA!
n February 1, just as India’s National
Secu rity Advisor AjitDoval was wrapping
O up his visit to the United States, news
came that the US administration had
"promised to fast-track the approval"
of General Electric’s (GE) request to produce this country. Also, the Al order should be the
turbofan engines for combat aircraft in India
to be manufactured by HAL. The news report
widely published across the country said that the
White House had received “an application from
General Electric to jointly produce jet engines that
could power jet aircraft operated and produced
indigenously by India”.
Now, this is no big deal. Infact this should have
happened at least eight to ten years back when
the country’s airlines announced mega orders
with the likes of P&W and CFM for the hundreds of
single-aisle aircraft that they placed with Airbus
and Boeing.
Both these companies run huge finishing
centres in China which is, of course, a key market
for both of them. The Boeing facility in Zhoushan,
about 290-km southeast of Shanghai came up
at the height of the US-China cold war in 2018.
In the case of Airbus, their news release said:
"Inaugurated in 2008, FAL Tianjin was the first
Airbus commercial aircraft assembly line outside
Europe. Since its first A-320 delivery in 2009, FAL
Tianjin has delivered more than 600 aircraft over
its 14 years of operation. It has become a role
model of successful Sino-European cooperation.”
Why just China? Even Singapore which isn’t a
patch on the market China is (although it is one
of the greatest hubs in the world) has a P&W
manufacturing centre.
www.geopolitics.in
i EDITORIAL
India is no less a market than China. Frankly,
there w ill be no market with more aircraft on
order than India, once Air India announces its
mega-acquisition plans in the next few weeks. It
w ill add to the already gargantuan orders from
single largest order of its kind anywhere in the
world. Translated into engines, the likes of GE,
CFM and P&W w ill have orders for close to 4000
engines and their order books chock-a-block for
years supplying engines to India amongst others.
As a matter of routine, both Boeing and Airbus
should have set up FAL (final assembly lines) in
India at least a decade back and the powerplant
giants like P&W and GE should have commenced
manufacturing around the same time. The White
House announcement seems to suggest that this
is a huge favour. Not really.
If Atmanirbharta has to truly take off, the
government must ensure that any order over 200
aircraft have a Make in India clause. Be it civilian
or military, once the manufacturing comes to
India, it w ill be just a matter of time before the
ecosystem evolves and develops.
One hopes that Aero India-2023 w ill see more
Make in India collaborations to rapidly kickstart
the nascent aerospace manufacturing in the
private sector and the country moves to heavy
lifting in this sector from being mere component
suppliers.
srini@newsline. in
February 2023
3
 CONTENTS

AERO INDIA-2023

Eye
in the sky
Business jets are
increasingly being
tailored for special
operations and
surveillance and
governments around
the world are sourcing
them. It has now
become a bonafide
business stream for
OEMs.

Significance of
road-runways
Atmanirbhurta
The drill by the Indian
Air Force on a specially in fighter jets
designed road-runway India is poised to
stretch of National enact a robust defence
industrial base for
Highway-16 in Andhra manufacturing
Pradesh has reaffirmed indigenous aerial
India’s pole position in combat platforms and
turbofan engines in the
South Asia’s strategic country. The time to
dynamics. act is now.

4 February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

FFV ORDNANCE
 CONTENTS

AERO INDIA-2023

BEYOND COMBAT AIRCRAFTS 361

Vital elements of the IAF which include the air defence network of
radars and missiles, the transport and helicopter fleets and the
aircraft used therein need modernisation.

Era of hypersonic weapons

Possessing hypersonic
weapons will always increase
India’s diplomatic weight at
Waiting for global high tables. It will also
provide massive strategic and
Agni-6 ICBM tactical advantages against
Effective nuclear deter­
Pakistan and China.
rence against China will
be possible only when
India tests and deploys an
MIRV-capable ICBM with
a 3-tonne payload having
a range of at least 8000 km.

Drones for Indian

Army Dealing with China
The Indian armed forces
require precision-based in air
drones that provide armed
solutions. UAVs are quickly While the Indian Air Force is
becom ing an integral preparing itself to meet the
com ponent of asymmetric challenge of China through
warfare. Indian drone the Himalayas, it has already
makers must spruce up developed a lot of game changing
production capacity capabilities.

February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

6
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 CONTENTS
A Chinese challenge to
IAF
The India-China showdown
continues in Ladakh, and the
recent incident in Tawang
shows that China continues to
be aggressive and belligerent.
IAF must increase its number
of combat assets.
Indigenous endeavours
India’s aircraft procurement
is making a shift towards
indigenous platforms.
Atmanirbharta’ initiative is
already seeing results with the
progress in Tejas Mk-IA, LCA
Mk2, HTT-40, LCH and LUH
programmes.
8 February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
AERO INDIA-2023
LETHAL STEP FORWARD WITH LCH
The recent acquisition of the LCH Prachand attack helicopter made at
home, is a massive plus for force projection of the IAF. But more needs
to be done.
Boosting
defence R&D
The contemporary
times are witnessing
profound changes
in the technological
landscape. India needs
to maximise gains
from the allocation
in budget 2023-24 for
R&D by non-DRDO
entities.
Hard lessons
from Ukraine
As the Russo-Ukraine
war chugs along on the
wheels of destruction,
there are ominous les­
sons to be learnt by re­
lating the experiences
of the battlefield to our
Indian scenario.
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geopolitics
We shall
VOL XIII, ISSUE IX, February 2023
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF indigenise
K SRINIVASAN
Collective effort is the
EDITOR key to self-reliance. A
PRAKASH NANDA transparent system
of identifying ca­
MANAGING EDITOR
TIRTHANKAR GHOSH pable private indus­
tries to participate
SENIOR EDITOR whole-heartedly in
ZUBIN KEKI MODY the indigenisation
COPY EDITOR programmes has to be
AMARTYA SINHA in place.
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
AMALA KINITTO

EDITRORIAL COORDINATOR
ROGAN ROME M SSLV is ready for
DESIGNER launch
MOHIT KANSAL, NAGENDER DUBEY
The second develop­
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER mental flight of ISRO’s
HEMANT RAWAT new SSLV (Small Satel­
SUBSCRIPTION lite Launch Vehicle)
VINAMARTA SINGH rocket will take place
in the second week of
DISTRIBUTION February. It has huge
BHUSHAN KUMAR
potential to tap the
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN commercial space
M. MURALIDHARAN market.
DIRECTOR
RAJIV SINGH

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR
RAKESH GERA

LEGAL ADVISOR
Aditya-L1
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any responsibility on our part. Opinions/views expressed by
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The publisher assumes no responsibility for material lost
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10
AERO INDIA-2023
Opening tine runway to a billion opportunities!

DEFEXPO-2022 SPECIAL INS VIKRANT-AN ODE TO

INDIA’S GROWING PRIVATE SECTOR DEFENCE MATRIX MQ-9B DRONE DEAL FOR THE INDIAN NAVY

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expor t
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NAVY

SPECIAL

Latest Edition
Asia’s largest and most popular air show is back after a gap of two years. Aero India-2023, the first big-ticket
aerospace event of the post-Covid era will witness widespread participation of Indian and foreign defence
exhibitors at the Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru. The show will be held from February 13 to February
17 with the first three days designated as business days. The event will be open to the public on the last two
days. Geo po l it ic s extends a rousing and grand welcome to everyone attending the show!

Newsline Publications Pvt. Ltd.

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SSLV IS READY FluBLAUNCH
The much-awaited second developmental flight of ISRO’s new SSLV (Small
Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket will take place in the second week of February.
The maiden flight of the rocket had taken place on August 7 last year, but it had
failed to deliver its satellite payloads into their intended orbits due to a minor
sensor issue. The 112-foot-tall (34 meters) Small Satellite Launch Vehicle will
lift off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on India’s south-eastern coast with an
Indian earth observation satellite onboard.

Last flight’s failure

During its last flight, the rocket’s three solid-fuelled stages performed well, but its
fourth and final stage- a liquid-fuelled velocity trimming module (VTM) had hit
a technical snag during the terminal phase. Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) officials had reported a loss of data from the rocket and, just over five
hours after lift-off, ISRO had announced that the mission had failed.

“What we are going to do now is to identify this specific problem and why this
isolation happened and why it went into an unacceptable orbit”, Dr Somanath
had then said after the previous mission’s failure. ISRO was supposed to use that
investigation to correct issues for a second test flight of the SSLV rocket, he had
stated.

SSLV D-2 and D-3

It is now expected that the next flight of SSLV (named as D-2) may take place by
the second week of February, as ISRO has implemented the recommendations
of the committee investigating the SSLV-D1 failure and has taken necessary
corrective actions. After the D-2 spaceflight, the SSLVis slated to execute the D-3
(third developmental flight) mission, after which the rocket will be declared as
fully operational for commercial launches.

bright future unfolds

A market for launching small satellites into low Earth orbits has emerged in recent
years. It is driven by the needs of developing countries, universities, and private
corporations. The SSLV aims to cater to this market. After the Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, the SSLV is ISRO’s
third launch vehicle. The Indian government recently told the parliament that
it was eyeing a share in the global satellite launch market. It also takes only 72
hours to integrate the SSLV, unlike the 70-day period for other launch vehicles.
INDIA-AMERICA BHAIBHAI
A CHANGE IN DIRECTION
The USA could emerge as India’s partner of choice for advanced defence technologies even as
India relooks at its longstanding dependence on Russia for its military needs. A report
ussia’s ill-advised invasion
of Ukraine has turned into a
quagmire for its armed forces
and one that has stirred the
hornets’ nest in Europe, with European
nations dramatically increasing their
defence budgets to cater for what they
perceive as an aggression against the
whole of Europe by Russia. While France
and Israel have been India’s trusted
defence partners for decades, there could
also be near-term supply constraints for
European defence companies as their
own nations ramp up production to
meet their own requirements, leaving
14
little for the countries that urgently need
to acquire modern defence platforms or
driving prices up for the same.The USA
on the other hand has an unmatched
defence industrial base and companies
like Boeing, Raytheon, General Atomics,
BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman,
Textron Aviation, and Northrop
Grumman are already ramping up
production of defence equipment for
domestic and export needs.
The battering of Russian forces and
equipment by a far smaller but highly
motivated Ukrainian military has also
raised questions on the training and
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
quality of Russian defence equipment.
Prima facie, it does appear that much
of the Russian military equipment in
use in Ukraine were essentially of late-
1980s origin, and even with upgrades
have proven unable to survive against
the latest Western military technologies
supplied to Ukraine. This is a troubling
situation for India as well, which has
been comforted by the supply of large
quantities of cheaper Russian defence
equipment, which were well suited to a
confrontation with Pakistan, with both
sides by and large evenly matched on
air and land. However, with India now
The F-21 fighter jet developed for India

IN
T
R
A
M
D
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H
K
C
O
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having to cater to a future confrontation
with China, which has been able to
develop several futuristic technologies
for its armed forces such as fifth
generation fighter aircraft, hypersonic
weapons and long-range ballistic
missiles, advanced armed drones,
etc., the Indian military will need to
invest in technologically advanced
military platforms, which can counter
the Chinese threat in a short and sharp
conflict.
Anew partnership
With the Indian armed forces needing
to modernise on a rapid scale, the
USA could emerge as one of the key
sources for sale of advanced defence
technologies to India. India has now
imported well over$15 billion worth
of American defence equipment since
2008. The USA designated India as a
“Major Defence Partner”in 2016, which
affords the Indian armed forces with
the opportunity to buy more advanced
and sensitive technologies from America
at par with that of the US’ closest allies
and partners. Indo-US defence ties
went up a notch with the first edition of
the 2+2 dialogue in New Delhi, held in
September 2018. The signing of the long-
pending Communications Compatibility
and Security Agreement (COMCASA) has
also enabled India to access advanced
technologies from the US and result in
the transfer of communication security
equipment from the US to India, thus
facilitating “interoperability” between
the two defence forces as well as other
militaries that use US-made systems
for secured data links. Many of the
major US defence contractors, including
Boeing, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems
and Northrop Grumman, already have
an extensive presence in India and a
growing relationship with companies in
India.
India was the world’s largest importer
of major arms in the period between 2013
and 2017, accounting for 12 per cent of
the global total, according to a report
from the Stockholm International Peace
Research Institute (SIPRI) and Russia
was India’s largest arms supplier, with 62
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
■W/s - AERO INDIA 2023
per cent of India’s arms imports between
2013 and 2017. However, in the same
period Indian defence imports from the
USA grew by 550 per cent. According to a
SIPRI report on ‘Trends in International
Arms Transfers, 2021’, released in March
2022, between 2017 to 2021, the five
largest arms importers were India, Saudi
Arabia, Egypt, Australia and China, while
the five largest arms exporters were the
United States, Russia, France, China
and Germany. Between 2012 and 2021,
India’s arms imports from Russia have
declined by a whopping 47 per cent and
in the same period India’s overall arms
imports decreased by 21 per cent. India’s
increased efforts to diversify its arms
supplier base, meant that Russia’s share
of total Indian arms imports fell from
69 per cent to 46 per cent. In contrast,
India’s arms imports from France
increased more than tenfold, making it
India’s second largest arms supplier in
2017-21, the SIPRI report said.
Capability overmatch
The purchase of Boeing AH-64E and CH-
15
471 helicopters, have transformed the
Indian Air Force’s rotary wing capability
on its Eastern borders and use of aircraft
such as the Boeing C-17 Globemaster-
Illand Lockheed Martin C-130J to
transport large quantities of men and
material to the theatre of conflict in a
short time. Advanced platforms such as
these aircraft and helicopters are simply
not available to China.
In August 2013, the air force
demonstrated its capability of operating
its Super Hercules aircraft from Daulat
Beg Oldie (DBO), the highest airstrip in
the world located at 5065 meters in the
Aksai Chin area. DBO is an important
Army forward area post and the airfield
is a strategic base in the Northern
Himalayas. The C130J-30 aircraft is
capable of lifting upto 20 tonnes of
load as compared to the 1980s vintage
Antonov An-32s of Russian origin
which have very limited load carrying
capability at such high altitudes.
The Indian Navy which operates
three advanced American platforms in
the Boeing P-81 Long Range Maritime
Reconnaissance Anti-Submarine
Warfare (LRMR ASW) aircraft, Sikorsky
MH-60R Multi Role Helicopters (MRH)
16
and General Atomics Aeronautical
Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) MQ-9A Remotely
Piloted Aircraft (RPA).
While interacting with Geopolitics at
the 2022 Farnborough International Air
Show, senior Boeing officials highlighted
the Super Hornet Block-Ill’s capabilities
for the Indian Navy and Boeing’s plans
to use a fighter contract to grow its in­
country aerospace capability. India
is already one of the largest defence
markets for Boeing today with 11 C-17
Globemasters, 12 P-8Is, 22 AH-64
Apaches with six more on order with the
Indian Army, and 15 CH-47 Chinooks.
The F/A-18 Super Hornet Block-Ill
will be a transformative capability for
the Indian Navy, the way that the P-81
has been, company officials say. With
the Super Hornet, the Indian Navy will
get a proven, multi-role and carrier­
compatible fighter while benefiting
from the investments, upgrades
and knowledge that comes from the
US Navy’s extensive naval aviation
ecosystem. Boeing projects an economic
impact of $3.6 billion over ten years to
the Indian economy with the F/A-18
Super Hornet programme for the Indian
Navy.
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
This economic impact would be
over and above Boeing’s current offset
obligations and plans. Investments are
being proposed in five areas: supply
chain development and manufacturing;
engineering and technology transfer;
long term support and training and
infrastructure investments. Boeing’s
Heidi Grant (President, Business
Development Defence, Space & Security
Global Services) said that with a Super
Hornet deal for the Indian Navy, the
difference would be that Boeing could
leverage its commercial business/A
huge, significant and the largest
percentage of our business is commercial
and to be able to leverage that, and the
skills and technology towards ‘Make in
India’ and really create more value.”
Salil Gupte (President of Boeing
India) said that India will also be able
to leverage the multi-billion dollar
purchase of naval fighters into delivering
greater in-country aerospace capability
and increased integration of Indian
firms into Boeing’s global aerospace
supply chain. Boeing is already sourcing
over a billion dollars’ worth of aviation
services and components from India,
Gupte said, adding that Boeing has over

280 qualified Indian suppliers today.
Boeing completed the deliveries of all 22
AH-64E Apache helicopters to the Indian
Air Force in 2020 and in December, 2022,
completed a decade since the first P-81
was delivered to the Indian Navy.
The Indian armed forces are also
an important customer for Lockheed
Martin, which received orders for six
C-130 J-30 Super Hercules airlifters
in 2008. The $1.2 billion acquisition
was India’s first Foreign Military Sale
(FMS) and all aircraft were delivered
on or ahead of schedule between 2010
and 2011. A repeat order for six aircraft
has also been completed with these
additional aircraft delivered between
2017-2019. The Indian Navy’s acquisition
of MH-60R “Romeo” helicopter is the
largest contract Lockheed Martin has
ever signed with India. The first three
MH-60R helicopters were delivered to
India in the US in 2021 and are being
utilised to train Indian pilots and
crew members. In July/August 2022,
the Indian Navy accepted the delivery
of another three helicopters at Kochi
International Airport and they will be
initially based at Naval Air Station INS
Garuda in Kochi. A total of 24 MH-6ORs
will be delivered in the country over the
next few years.
With the IAF currently facing a
shortfall in its fighter strength, Lockheed
GO
g company, the Gray Eagle 25M takes the
A C-130J Super Hercules transport g altitude, long-endurance unm anned
aircraft of the Indian Air Force = aircraft and elevates it to a new degree
Martin is aggressively pursuing the sale
of the F-21 single-engine fighter to India.
It is offering the fighter aircraft as the
ideal solution to meet the air force’s teaming. An AH-64E Apache Guardian
capability, force structure, affordability
needs. The F-21 is also equipped with
state-of-the-art systems and sensors
that would allow the Indian Air Force to
detect, track and engage multiple targets
in a contested environment. Lockheed
Martin also has an established defence
and aerospace footprint in India
that spans more than three decades.
Its successful joint ventures (JVs) in
Hyderabad established over a decade
ago- Tata Lockheed Martin Aero
structures Limited (TLMAL) and Tata
Sikorsky Aerospace Limited (TSAL),
have enabled India to grow its aerospace
and defence supplier ecosystem,
promote indigenous manufacturing and
participate in the global supply chain.
Advanced technologies
Indian Navy MQ-9A RPAs on lease from
GA-ASI completed 10,000 flight hours
in support of Indian national security
missions in November last year. The
10,000-flight hour mark was achieved
by two MQ-9As in just two years. The
maiden flight of the Indian Navy’s first
MQ-9A took place in November 2020.
These two MQ-9As helped the navy to
cover over 14 million square miles of Electric (GE) engines from the USA. ■
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023
operating area. GA-ASI CEO Linden Blue
said the Indian armed forces had been
impressed by the MQ-9A’s over-the-
horizon ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance
and Reconnaissance) support for surface
units and Indian warships, as well as the
exceptional endurance and operational
availability of the platform
The MQ-9As are supplied to India
by GA-ASI as part of a Company-
been Owned, Company-Operated
(COCO) lease agreement. However, it
has now over five years since the US
had cleared the sale of 22 MQ-9B Sea
Guardian RPAs to India but the same
has yet to fructify into a contract. In
2016, there were media reports that
India was interested in purchasing
about 90-armed Predator C or Avenger
drones.
Another example of cutting-edge
American technology is GA-ASI’s new
Gray Eagle 25M built by San Diego­
based General Atomics Aeronautical
Systems, Inc. According to the
US Army’s current flagship m edium ­
of power, interoperability, and combat
capability. Earlier-model Gray Eagle
aircraft already have shown w hat’s
possible with m anned-unm anned
helicopter crew might exploit the
sensors on a Gray Eagle and the Gray
Eagle 25M’s new capabilities push
that to a new level. With the Indian Air
Force already operating Apaches and
the Indian Army soon to take Apache
deliveries of their own, advanced
platforms such as the Gray Eagle 25M
could provide a dram atic boost to
Indian capability.
India’s decision to prioritise
technology transfers in defence
acquisitions could however, impede
its ability to get the latest and most
advanced weapons from the USA.
The US government has restrictions
on technology transfers in place for
many major arms and not all OEMs
themselves may be open to the idea of
sharing technologies. The way forward
for both nations will be an increased
understanding of each other’s positions
and a middle ground being sought. A
greater share of US-supplied equipment
for indigenous Indian programmes
could also result in a closer and more
deeper partnership with American
firms, as evidenced by the LCA Tejas
fighter jet which is powered by General
17
 The drill by the Indian Air Force on a specially designed road­
runway stretch of National Highway-16 in Andhra Pradesh
has reaffirmed India’s pole position in South Asia’s strategic
dynamics, explains AMARTYA SINHA
n December 29, 2022, The
Indian Air Force conducted a
tactical trial of the emergency
landing facility specially
constructed on a highway in Andhra
Pradesh. The emergency landing
facility (or ELF) has been made on
National Highway-16 located in Andhra
Pradesh’s Bapatla district. Sukhoi-
30MKI and LCA Tejas fighter jets, and
an AN-32 transport plane were part
of the trial run. These combat planes
flew very close to the ground without
an actual landing on the 4.1 km-long
emergency facility. The drill was part
of the stringent process that would help
the officials to ascertain the readiness of
the emergency facility. Constructed in
Bapatla’s Picchikalagudipadu village,
the drill saw the warplanes circuiting,
approaching and overshooting the ELF.
At present, the emergency facility is not
fully functional. Once all the criteria
are met, the airstrip will be formally
inaugurated.
On September 15, 2021 the Taiwan
Air Force had also started a similar
exercise when F-16 fighter aircrafts
took off from rural roads and highways
in the country, which also saw the
participation of AWACS aircrafts. A
war between China and Taiwan is not
imminent, but as China has grown
increasingly assertive in both the East
China and South China Seas, Taiwan
has stepped up its defences. China,
which claims Taiwan as part of its
18
territory, flies fighter bombers toward
Taiwan on a regular basis in an effort to
bully and intimidate the island nation.
Chinese fighter jets, anti-submarine
warfare aircraft and combat ships have
repeatedly conducted joint assault
drills near Taiwan and strategically
blackmailed the tiny island with
China using the lame excuse that the
exercise was necessary to safeguard
its sovereignty. The rapidly evolving
contemporary tactical warfare scenario
has necessitated the execution of
highway-landing exercises by both
Taiwan and India.
The concept of road-runways
A road-runway in popular
disambiguation is a section of a public
highway or expressway that is specially
built to act as a runway for military
aircraft to serve as an auxiliary military Israeli Air Force took the Egyptians by
airbase. These runways allow military surprise and destroyed 18 airfields in a
planes to continue operating even if surprise attack in the early morning on
their regular airbases, some of the June 5,1967, as part of Operation Focus.
most vulnerable targets in any war, Israel achieved complete air superiority
are degraded or destroyed. The first over the battle space, which would
highway strips were constructed during not have been the case, had Egypt
World War-2 in Nazi Germany, where prepared for alternative landing strips
the well-developed Reichsautobahn on highways.
systems allowed aircraft to use the The US has also had a popular urban
motorways. myth surrounding highway airstrips,
The Six-Day war between Israel and according to which the Eisenhower
Egypt in 1967 offers a prime example of Interstate Highway System requires that
when highways will be useful as landing one mile in every five must be straight.
strips. In one of the most successful air These straight sections are usable
force operations in military history, as airstrips in times of war or other
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

emergencies. There is no factual basis to
this statement and it originated in 1943
when in a presentation to the American
Association of State Highway Officials,
Commissioner of Public Roads-
Thomas H MacDonald mentioned flight
strips. The US Congress considered its
inclusion in Federal-Aid Highway Act of
1944 but eventually didn’t.
Countries that have built highway
airstrips in the past include both West
Germany and East Germany, Singapore,
North Korea, Taiwan, Sweden, Finland,
Bulgaria, Switzerland, Poland, Pakistan
and Czechoslovakia.
A road-runway in
popular disambiguation,
is a section of a public
highway or expressway
that is specially built
to act as a runway for
military aircraft to
serve as an auxiliary
military airbase
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023
An Indian Air Force
Sukhoi-30MKI fighter
jet landing on the
road-runway stetch of
National Highway-925A
PIB
Structural designs of highway strips
The strips are usually 2 to 3.5 km long
and straight sections of the highway,
where any central reservation is made
of crash barriers that can be removed
quickly in order to allow airplanes to
use the whole width of the road, and
other features of an airbase (taxiways
and airport ramps) can be built. The
road will need a thicker than normal
surface made up of bitumen layer and
a solid concrete base has to be used
as the foundation. The specialised
equipment of a typical airfield are
stored somewhere nearby and only
carried there when airfield operations
19
 Evolution of
road-runways in India
> India successfully tested its road­
runway on a stretch of the Yamuna
Expressway in Uttar Pradesh in May
2015, which was built at a cost of
?130 billion for combat jets of the
IAF, a first for military aviation in the
country.
> In June 2016, the Minister for Road
Transport and Highways- Nitin Gadkari
announced that the union government
was considering developing road­
runways for commercial operations as
well.
> India successfully tested another
runway strip on a stretch of the Agra-
Lucknow Expressway in Uttar Pradesh
in October 2017, with the landing of
combat jets and military transport
aircrafts.
> In September 2021, the Minister for
Road Transport and Highways- Nitin
Gadkari and Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh inaugurated India’s first runway
strip on a National Highway in Barmer,
Rajasthan.
> The union government has finalised
19 additional stretches of national
highways in the country which will be
developed as emergency landing strips
in the very near future. Construction
is ongoing in many stretches of
highways.
start on the stretch of the road. The
highway strips can be converted from
An Indian Air Force C-130J Super
Hercules landing on the Satta-Gandhav
20
motorways to airbases typically within
24 to 48 hours of a formal notification
being issued by the government. The
road would need to be swept to remove
any debris before use by aircraft. The
pole-based streetlights are removed
so that the airplanes’ wings get a clear
room while landing, and a makeshift
ATC (air traffic control) centre is
established which is manned by the air
force. Road-runways can however also
be quite small. In some countries like
Sweden, the short runways built are
commonly just 800 metres in length.
The STOL (short take-off and landing)
capability of the Viggen and Gripen
allowed for such short runways to be
made in Sweden. In the case of Finnish
road-based airbases, the space needed
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
for landing aircraft is reduced by means
of a wire, similar to the CATOBAR
system used on some aircraft carriers.
India’s tryst with road-runways
While the concept of road-runways on
national highways is quite new in India,
the Indian armed forces have gained
some experience in operating military
aircrafts from expressways. India
successfully tested its runway strip on
a stretch of the Yamuna Expressway in
Uttar Pradesh on May 21, 2015, which
was built at a cost of Rs. 130 billion
for its combat jets of the IAF, a first
for military aviation in the country.
In June 2016, the Minister for Road
Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari
announced that the government
was considering developing ‘Road
Runways’ for commercial operations as
well. India successfully tested another
runway-based airstrip on a stretch
of the Agra-Lucknow Expressway in
Uttar Pradesh on October 24, 2017. The
September 9, 2021 landing of the C-130J
Super Hercules on the NH-925A further
took this legacy forward. Meanwhile
the union government has finalised 19
more stretches of national highways in
the country which will be developed
as emergency landing strips in the
very near future. The stretches which
have been identified for development
are- Phalodi-Jaisalmer Road, Barmer-

RIB
Jaisalmer Road, Kharagpur-Balasore
Road, Kharagpur-Keonjhar Road, Near
Panagarh/KKD, Chennai, Puducherry
Road, Nellore-Ongole Road, Ongole-
Chilakaluripet Road, Mandi Dabwali-
Odhan Road, Sangrur, Bhuj-Naliya
Road, Surat-Baroda Road, Banihal-
Srinagar Road, Leh-Nyoma area, Jorhat-
Baraghat Road, Bagdogra-Hashimara
Road, Hashimara-Tezpur route, and
Hashimara-Guwahati Road.
While some work related to fencing
of the road on either side of the airstrip
on National Highway-16 is still pending,
the IAF is also coordinating with the
National Highway Authority of India
(NHAI) for the upkeep of the airstrip.
The Suryalanka Air Force Station is
the nearest air base from the Andhra
Pradesh airstrip. So, in case of any
emergency, this air base would activate
this emergency landing facility and
coordinate with other civil authorities
in that area.
Strategic implications of highway strips
Highway-based airstrips are primarily
constructed as alternative landing
zones for military aircrafts during
wars and other unprecedented natural
disaster-related contingencies. India’s
hostile neighbours- Pakistan and
China possess formidable terrain­
hugging cruise missile capabilities
and high precision heavy artillery­
A Mirage-2000 fighter-bomber of the Indian Air Force
based rocket systems which have the
potential to cause immense damage to
India’s conventional airbases during
the opening hours of a full-scale war.
It is quite possible that many of India’s
airbases are taken out of operation by
the enemy’s cruise missile barrage at
a time when significant numbers of
Indian aerial assets are already airborne
during a m ilitary confrontation with
a hostile neighbour. During such
emergencies, the secondary airstrips
being built on the highways will act as
the prim ary backbone for refuelling
operations of Indian warplanes and
will also facilitate launching offensive
strikes against the enemy after rearming
the aerial assets. So, these highway
strips are being strategically positioned
on roads near existing airbases which
serve the western, eastern as well as
north-eastern frontiers of the nation.
Some of these highway strips will also
be used to defend peninsular India
during potential naval confrontations
with Pakistan and China in the future.
Planning these ELFs near existing
airbases also ensure that all logistics
are easily and rapidly mobilised for
executing m ilitary aircraft operations
from these highway strips.
Tactical advantages gained by India’s
enemies
In 1989 China conducted its first highway
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
B- AERO INDIA 2023
landing on Yamuna Expressway in May 2015
PIB
strip drills. The Chinese exercises of
landing on highways have since been
conducted at later dates and in different
areas of the communist country. In 2014
Chinese forces landed warplanes on a
highway strip in Henan province for the
first time. Similarly, Pakistan is also not
far behind China. In Pakistan, The M-l
Motorway (Peshawar-Islamabad) and
the M-2 Motorway (Islamabad-Lahore)
include four emergency runway sections
of 2.7 km length. These four emergency
runway sections become operational
by removing removable concrete
medians using forklifts. The Pakistani
Air Force has used the M2 motorway
as a runway on two occasions- for the
first time in 2000 when it landed an F-7P
fighter, a Super Mushak trainer and a
C-130; and again in 2010. On the last
occasion, the Pakistanis used a runway
section on the M2 motorway on April
2, 2010 to land, refuel and launch two
fighter jets, a Mirage-III and an F-7P,
during their Highmark-2010 exercise.
In March 2019, Pakistan also used a
section of M2 motorway to land its
fighter jets to demonstrate its capability.
An expansionist China and Pakistan
operationalising such capabilities are a
serious cause of concern for South Asia’s
geopolitical stability. Hence, India has
rightfully taken the logical step forward
by deploying similar capabilities in this
domain. ■
21
THE EYEINTHESKY
Business jets are increasingly being tailored for special operations and surveillance and govern­
ments around the world are sourcing them. It has now become a bonafide business stream and
a lucrative one for general aviation OEMs. A special report

February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

22
 urely in terms of hard cash and
P
the interest in this segment,
business jets as defence tools
are the fastest growing market
in the world. The number of jets
may not be huge but the value addition
and the equipment that goes into these
machines make them a money spinner.
And all largely due to these nimble jets’
sheer speed, range and high-altitude
capability. Developed for business,
these machines are now a big part of
defence strategy worldwide.
Sweden, for example, routinely
sends its converted Gulfstream jets,
flown by the Swedish Air Force, across
the Baltic on spying missions. Flying
sold
through an area patrolled by the
Russian radar signals off the coast of
Kaliningrad, this is the only way they
know to safeguard their section of the
Baltic coast.
As a Reuters report on the subject
outlined, "apart from a couple of
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
unobtrusive bulges underneath,
Sweden’s two Gulfstream-based S102B
Korpen spy planes look like any other
sleek corporate jet. But inside, the
Swedish jets and a growing fleet of
newer corporate aircraft contain the
eyes and ears of a relentless intelligence
war.
From the South China Sea to the
Middle East and the Baltic, governments
are eyeing “special mission” business
jets capable of looking or listening at
23
 potentially lower running costs than
converted passenger or military planes.
It’s the latest chapter for a market
that is as discreet as it is anonymous
and worth an estimated $3 billion to a
handful of corporate jet specialists and
the Israeli, European and U.S. arms
firms that supply advanced intelligence
systems.”
Just this year, manufacturers like
Bombardier have delivered highly
complex and custom-built aircraft to
multiple air forces, including the leader
of the pack— the US Air Force. The
Montreal-based Canadian aerospace
and transportation giant generates
most of its money selling luxury jets to
billionaires and charter operators. But
it also has a small but solid business
in specialised aircraft typically used
by governments for intelligence,
reconnaissance and other applications.
The wood-panelled interiors, the
luxurious leather seats and hi-fidelity
music system and huge TV screens
have been replaced with state-of-the-
art equipment to snoop, eavesdrop and
frequently jam enemy communications.
“We’re going to be growing our
defence business quite significantly,”
Bombardier chief executive Eric Martel
said at the International Aerospace
Innovation Forum, a conference
organised by strategic think tank Aero
Montreal. “There is a lot of interest right
now in our product.”
Military missions worldwide
make use of Bombardier-built planes,
including two modified Challenger-
600s currently being flown by the US
armed forces on the border of Russia
and Ukraine. The company signed a
deal last year with the US Air Force
to supply as many as six Global-6000
planes for the military branch’s
Battlefield Airborne Communications
Node (BACN) programme, an airborne
communications relay system. The
US is leading the surge in defence
spending.
Some years back, the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) defence ministry
announced it was buying two
surveillance aircraft from Saab of
Sweden in a deal valued at $1.27bn.
The aircraft selected to fly Saab’s
radar equipment was not military, but
a Bombardier Global 6000 business
jet. The beauty is that OEMs like Saab
have created such sophistication to
their platforms that they can be easily
integrated on most aircraft— small
or big. And increasingly with the

February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

24

N
IO
T
A
I
V
A
T
L
U
A
S
S
A
D
modular nature of the business, an
aircraft can be used across the board
from snooping to mapping to high
spectrum photography. The platform
itself is extremely important for
endurance and the capability of this
complex variety of sensors. This has
been a key area for growth-- signals
and electronic intelligence. Because
of the miniaturisation of electronic
equipment combined with enhanced
processing power, it is becoming pretty
simple to fit these into business jets.
As the Reuters reports quoting defence
analyst Francis Tusa said: “A key area
for growth is in signals and electronic
intelligence. This is increasingly
viable on smaller aircraft because of
improvements in electronics and their
size reduction. It’s all about processing
power and the size of electronics.”
While the commercial business jet is
relatively cheap costing anywhere from
$20 million to $60 million, the real deal is
in the conversion and the equipment—
for snooping, spying, photography
and every type of surveillance-- that
goes into it. Sometimes the finished
product could push the final price to
as much as $200 million. As a matter
of rule, manufacturers do not disclose
segment sales. In other words, you can’t
tell how many have been configured
for the special ops and how many are
for routine commercial flying. It is
estimated, though, that by and large, it
is close to seven per cent of the business
jet deliveries made each year.
Amongst the favourite aircraft are
the Gulfstream G550 and Bombardier
6000 thanks to their range and altitude.
Infact, Gulfstream is the leader in
business jet deliveries to government
customers, competing with rivals
such as Bombardier and Dassault,
which recently clinched orders for
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023
The French Ministry of Armed Forces
is set to award a new contract to
Dassault Aviation for the integration of
Thales’ Universal Electronic Warfare
Capability onboard three Falcon
Epicure aircraft
seven Falcon 2000 Albatros planes for
the French Navy. But Gulfstream has
ended production of its popular G550
corporate jet. But the OEM has said that
it will work to have its newer models
take the place of the G550 as far as
special missions are concerned.
It is the aircraft of choice for
disrupting enemy control and
command systems. Surprisingly,
though, companies like Gulfstream
and Bombardier are relatively new as
far defence related work is concerned.
But French aerospace giant, Dassault
Aviation has been in the business
for close to six decades. Its business
jets and fighter jets manufacturing
processes are so closely aligned usually
using technology developed for one on
the other. Infact, some of its business
jets, such as the new Falcon 10X, have
avionics in the cockpit derived from its
Rafale fighter jets.
25
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Defense in a statement.
“Our best-in-class Global aircraft
platform offers the complete package-
-proven reliability, significant payload
capacity, ample available power, and
the highest degree of stability to support
sensitive equipment. This, along with
top-notch design, manufacturing and
certification expertise required to carry
out modifications makes Bombardier
Global aircraft the optimal choice for
conversion to specialized assets.”
Gulfstream also recently tweeted
an image of its modified G550, renamed
Australia’s newest intelligence, surveil­
lance, reconnaissance, and electronic war­
fare aircraft- a heavily modified Gulfstream
G550 commercial jet y '
by the Air Force as the EC-378 Compass
Call. The modified G550, now called the
E-378 Compass Call, will be part of the
US Air Force’s tactical jammer aircraft
program. It’s part of the next-generation
tactical jammer aircraft program. The
aircraft includes the most modern
electromagnetic warfare equipment
from BAE Systems and L3Harris.
This aircraft—Gulfstream Compass
Call— is slated to replace the C-130
Hercules-based EC-130H Compass Call,
in service since the early 1980s. The
EC-378 is designed to disrupt enemy
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023
command and control communications
to restrict battlefield communication.
The US Air Force order includes ten of
the aircraft, with five scheduled to be
delivered next year.
The system features modular open
system architecture, which enables
rapid integration of new technology
and reduces the overall cost of
future upgrades. Its size, weight and
power enable customers to add new
capabilities for evolving mission needs.
“The Air Force’s cross-deck initiative
ensures it can continue its critical
electronic warfare mission for many
years,” said Luke Savoie, President,
of Aviation Services, L3Harris. “Our
collaboration with teammates BAE and
Gulfstream will enable the Air Force
to outpace its adversaries and counter
emerging technologies.”
The Air Force’s Compass Call
program has been in operation for 40
years. The EC-130H fleet is the longest
continuously deployed Air Force
aircraft in the Global War on Terror,
serving as a key EW platform since 2002.
The G550 also serves as a platform
for the US Navy’s Telemetry Range
Support Aircraft, the Royal Australian
Air Force’s MC-55 Peregrine, and the
German Aerospace Center’s HALO high-
altitude atmospheric research aircraft.
Gulfstream also delivered a modified
G550 AISREW (Airborne Intelligence,
Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and
Electronic Warfare) to the Italian air
force last March, according to the
Aviationist.
In 2018, Dassault Aviation won a
contract from the French Ministry of
the Armed Forces (Ministre des Armees)
to integrate three Falcon multi-role
business jet (bizjet) aircraft with the
Universal Electronic Warfare Capability
developed by Thales, under the Epicure
program. In common parlance, the
Epicure Falcon is described as France’s
future spy plane. What these aircraft do
is strengthen the electronic intelligence
capabilities and help the French Armed
Forces perform strategic information­
gathering functions to evaluate the
evolving scenario and plan their moves
accordingly. The contract included
apart from Dassault, Thales and
multiple French companies involved
in the Falcon programme. It helped
integrate them even more closely with
defence production.
The Universal Electronic Warfare
Capability is known as the Capacite
Universelle de Guerre Electronique or
27
CUGE. The Universal Electronic Warfare
Capability payload w ill intercept radio
and radar signals simultaneously.
The required level of performance of
the Epicure Falcons necessitates highly
complex integration work, something that
is at the core of Dassault Aviation’s know­
how and its role as an industrial architect,
and its partnership with Thales, Dassault
officials say.
“The Falcon Epicure will serve the
French forces in the same way as the
Falcons 10, 200, 50, 2000, 900, and 7X are
already doing it,” Eric Trappier, chairman
and CEO, of Dassault Aviation, said in. a
statement on that occasion he m ilitary
Falcons provide the perfect illustration
of the dual competencies of Dassault
Aviation: our civil aircraft benefit from
the cutting-edge technologies developed
for our combat aircraft, which in return
benefit from the industrial processes
deployed for the highly competitive
production of the Falcon aircraft.”
The growing importance of digital
technologies is a tremendous opportunity
for Thales to boost its capacity for
innovation through advanced systems
that leverage the power of big data,
autonomous systems, and immersive
user experiences, Thales officials say.
With its expertise in the four key digital
technologies - platform connectivity,
big data, artificial intelligence, and
28
cybersecurity — Thales has a key role
to play in these developments. This
expertise underpins Thales’s capacity
to develop the future sensors that will
equip Dassault Aviation’s Falcon Epicure
aircraft, they say. Exported to more
than 90 countries, the Falcon aircraft
are flexible and economic to fly. Their
handling qualities, aerodynamics,
and versatility render them capable of
fulfilling missions that go beyond civil
aviation standards. They are designed
by the design office that also develops
the Mirage, Rafale, and nEUROn combat
aircraft. Over the last 50 years, Dassault
Aviation has customized m any Falcons
for purposes such as medical evacuation,
cargo transport, maritime surveillance,
etc. These multirole aircraft represent
about 10 per cent of the Falcon fleet in
service across the world.
Even as business jet manufacturers
prepare for this intense competition, there
is talk of pressure from another emerging
rival: long-endurance drones. Northrop
Grumman’s Global Hawk, for example, is
used for intelligence gathering over water
and coastal areas and costs about $130
million, according to industry experts.
“The m ain future threat to this
market is from unm anned aerial vehicles
and to a lesser extent low-earth-orbit
satellites. But they are not cheap. So a
business jet solution sits well with that,”
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
Tusa told Reuters. Even as corporate
airframes equip for war, there is talk
of pressure from another emerging
rival: long-endurance drones. Northrop
Grumman’s Global Hawk, for example, is
used for intelligence gathering over water
and coastal areas and costs about $130
million, according to industry experts.
The m ain future threat to this market
is from unm anned aerial vehicles and to
a lesser extent low-earth-orbit satellites.
But they are not cheap. So a business jet
solution sits well with that.
India, for example, had a fleet of the
P-8Is deployed to carry out surveillance
on the movement of Chinese troops
in eastern Ladakh since 2020. Also, to
boost its surveillance mechanism, the
Indian Navy had taken on lease two Sea
Guardian drones. India has cleared a
proposal to procure 30 multi-mission
armed Predator drones from the US for the
three services at an estimated cost of over
USD 3 billion. The medium-altitude long-
endurance (MALE) Predator-B drones,
manufactured by General Atomics, are
capable of remaining airborne for around
35 hours and can hunt down targets
at land and sea. The remotely piloted
drones, also known as MQ-9 Reaper,
can be deployed on a range of missions
including surveillance, reconnaissance,
intelligence gathering and destroying
enem y targets.^
 www.geopohtics.in DEFENCE ■ D IP LO M A C Y ^ S E C U R IT Y

MQ-9B DRONE DEAL FOR THE INDIAN NAVY

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 ATMANIRBHARTA IN
FIGHTER JETS
t is a widely endorsed fact that
aerospace is the domain of the future
and the one who controls it, will also
control the planet. As of 2023, the
Indian Air Force (IAF) has a combined
strength of 31 squadrons. A total of six
Mig-21 Bison squadrons will be retired by
2025. With the addition of three Sukhoi-
30MKI squadrons and two LCA-Tejas
Mark-1 squadrons this year, the IAF will
somehow be able to make up its strength
for the retiring jets and maintain up to
32 combat jet squadrons. An additional
squadron of Jaguar deep penetration
strike aircraft will also retire by 2027, thus
bringing down the combined strength
30
to 31 squadrons. So, there will be a total
shortfall of 11 combat squadrons by 2030,
if additional fighter jets are not ordered
immediately.
Meanwhile, as the deal to procure
114 foreign fighter jets (dubbed MMRCA
2.0) progresses, simultaneous efforts are
also being made towards acquisition of
indigenous fighter aircraft for filling up
the gaps. Technology intensive air power
requires faster replacement of assets due
to quicker obsolescence. While IAF has a
Plan-B to fight with what it has, if forced
into conflict, but numbers are clearly not
adequate to fully execute an air campaign
in a two-front scenario. It is imperative
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
of time that the IAF quickly rebuild the
squadron strength and acquire modern
fighters that are as good or better than
the adversaries. Developing indigenous
aircraft is critical for India to become a
global power. China has already moved
way ahead. The Light Combat Aircraft-
Tejas and the Advanced Medium Combat
Aircraft (AMCA) are the main two
indigenous combat aircraft projects and
it is important to continuously monitor
their progress.
Concept of fourth and fifth generation jets
The LCA-Tejas was originally envisaged
as a fourth-generation combat jet and the

India is poised to enact a robust defence industrial base
for manufacturing indigenous aerial combat platforms and
turbofan engines in the country. The time to act is now,
without any further delay
Ski-jump test of LCA
Tejas at INS Hansa
INDIAN NAVY
AMCA is meant to be a fifth-generation and multi-function displays (MFD)
fighter. Fourth generation fighters are allow better situational awareness and
mostly multirole. These jets use ‘energy­ quicker reactions. Composite materials
manoeuvrability’ concept for performing help reduce aircraft weight. Improved
‘fast transients’- quick changes in speed, maintenance design and procedures
altitude, and direction- as opposed to reduce aircraft turnaround time between
just high speed; lightweight aircraft with missions and generate more sorties.
higher thrust-to-weight ratio, and use The F-16, F-18, MiG-29, SU-30 MKI and
digital Fly-By-Wire (FBW) flight controls Mirage-2000 are all in this category. A sub
which allow relaxed static stability flight generation called the 4.5th generation
and in turn agility. These planes have fighters evolved in the last two decades,
electronically managed powerplants. which saw advanced digital avionics,
Pulse-Doppler fire-control-radars give newer aerospace materials, modest
look-down/shoot-down capability. signature reduction, and highly integrated
Head-up displays (HUD), hands-on- systems and weapons. These fighters
throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) controls, operate in network-centric environment.
www.geopolitics.in I February 2023
$ » » A E R O INDIA 2023
Key technologies introduced include
multi-function active electronically
scanned array (AESA) radars; longer
range BVR AAMs; GPS-guided weapons,
solid-state phased-array radars, helmet­
mounted display sights (HMDS), and
improved secure, jamming-resistant
data-links. A degree of super cruise
ability (supersonic without afterburner)
was introduced. Stealth characteristics
focused on front-aspect radar cross
section (RCS) reduction through
limited shaping techniques. Eurofighter
Typhoon, Dassault Rafale and Saab JAS
39 Gripen were in this category. Many 4th
generation aircraft were also upgraded
with new technologies. Su-30MKI and
Su-35 featured thrust vectoring engine
nozzles to enhance manoeuvring.
The fifth generation was ushered in by
the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor
in late 2005. These aircraft are designed
from the start to operate in a network­
centric combat environment, and to
feature extremely low, all-aspect, multi-
spectral signatures employing advanced
materials and shaping techniques.
AESA radars are with high-bandwidth
low-probability of intercept. IRST and
other sensors are fused in for situational
awareness and to constantly track all
targets of interest around the aircraft at
a 360-degree bubble. Advanced avionics
and glass cockpit, and improved secure,
jamming-resistant data-links are other
features. Avionics suites rely on extensive
use of very high-speed integrated circuit
(VHSIC) technology and high-speed
data buses. Fifth-generation fighters
target “first-look, first-shot, first-kill
capability”. In addition to high resistance
to ECM, they can function as a ‘mini-
AWACS’. Integrated electronic warfare
system, integrated communications,
navigation, and identification (CNI),
centralised “vehicle health monitoring”,
fibre-optic data-transmission, and stealth
are important features. Manoeuvring
performance is enhanced by thrust­
vectoring, which also helps reduce take­
off and landing distances. Super-cruise
is inbuilt. To maintain low radar cross
signature (RSC), the primary weapons
are carried in internal weapon bays. The
current fifth generation fighter projects
include Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning
II, Russia's Sukhoi PAK FA (SU-57),
China’s Chengdu J-20 and Shenyang J-31,
and India’s AMCA. Japan is also exploring
technical feasibility to produce fifth­
generation fighters.
LCA Tejas Mark-2
IAF has committed towards inducting
31

200 Tejas Mark-2 aircraft, taking the total
requirement of Tejas to over 300 over the
next 15 years. Tejas Mark-2 was originally
planned to retain basic aircraft shape
and incorporate the larger and more
powerful 98 Kilo newton thrust GE F-414
engine, which was more likely to meet
the originally agreed specifications of
Tejas. This would have meant significant
change to the air inlets and also the
aircraft dimensions and weight would
have to increase. At Aero India-2019, ADA
unveiled a new model of the Tejas Mark-
2, and called it a Medium Weight Fighter
(MWF). This aircraft was expected to fit
into lAF’s requirement for the Medium
Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).
This enhanced version of Tejas, the Tejas
Mark-2 MWF would be 14.6-metre-long
with a wingspan of 8.5 metre (compared
with 13 metre and 8.2 metre for the Tejas
and 14.36 metre and 9.13 metre for Mirage
2000 respectively). The aircraft will have
a compound delta-wing with close-
coupled canards. This would reduce drag
in all angles of attack it was announced.
The longer fuselage will allow for more
fuel behind the cockpit. The Tejas Mark-
2 would carry much more internal and
external fuel. The maximum weight of
the plane would be around 17.5 tonnes
(compared to M ark-l’s 13.5 tonnes). Its
external stores carrying capacity will also
increase from 5.3 to 6.5 tonnes. It will be
equipped with a higher thrust General
Electric GE-F414-INS6 turbofan engine
that features a Full Authority Digital
Electronics Control (FADEC) system.
The Tejas Mark-2 will also feature
an indigenous integrated life support
system-onboard oxygen generation
system (ILSS-OBOGS) weighing 14.5
kg, a built-in integrated Electro-optic
electronic-warfare suite among other
improvements to avionics. It will have an
infra-red search and track (IRST) system
32
Model of TEDBF (Twin
Engine Deck-Based
Fighter) which is in
development by HAL
and a missile approach warning system
(MAWS) and a modern AESA radar. An
increase in payload capacity to 6.5 tonnes
and increased number of weapons
stations from seven to 11, will allow the
MWF to carry more weapons. It is said to
be designed for swing role, with BVR and
close-combat capability, and precision
strike. Beyond the Tejas programme, the
AMCA- India’s fifth-generation fighter,
can only move forward once the Tejas
Mark-2 design is frozen. The realistic first
flight timeline would be around 2028.
The aircraft may be inducted into the
IAF around 2034-35. In any case HAL will
require at least 7-8 years to deliver the 123
Mark-1 and Mark-1A jets.
An indigenously
Twin-engine deck-based fighter (TEDBF) developed LCA
The Indian Navy has issued a Request Tejas fighter jet
for Information (RFI) with reference to
possible acquisition of 57 naval multirole
fighter jets. However, despite rejecting
the Tejas initially for being overweight,
the navy restarted testing with the NP-2
(Naval Prototype-2) in August, 2018, with
the first mid-air refuelling being held in
September, 2018. The experience gained
in operating the naval prototype will help
in proving input to the development of a
twin-engine deck-based fighter (TEDBF) are being spoken of.
aircraft. The TEDBF will be powered by
two General Electric F-414 turbofans and Advanced MediumCombat Aircraft (AMCA)
will carry heavier payloads with greater The AMCA is a fifth-generation fighter
range. aircraft being designed by ADA and
will be manufactured by HAL. It will
Omni-role combat aircraft (ORCA) be a twin-engine, all weather multirole
As per reliable sources, India’s future fighter. It will combine super-cruise,
Twin-engine Medium Class Omni­ stealth, advanced AESA radar, super
Role Combat Aircraft (ORCA) fighter is manoeuvrability and advanced avionics.
also in the works. Some of the planned The jet is meant to replace the Jaguar and
features for this platform are the canards, Mirage 2000 aircraft and complement the
diverterless supersonic inlet, conformal Sukhoi-30 MKI, Dassault Rafale and LCA
wing root tanks/containers, larger Tejas in the IAF and MiG 29K in the Indian
number of hard-points, and option for Navy. On April 4, 2018 the then Defence
folding wingtips. It will weigh around 23 Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told
tonnes. An ambitious timeline of maiden parliament that the feasibility study of the
flight in 2026 and production start in 2030 programme had already been completed
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

and the programme has already been
given the nod by the IAF to initiate
AMCA technology demonstration phase
before launching full-scale engineering
development phase.
Earlier, in October 2008, IAF had asked
the ADA to prepare a detailed project
report for a next generation medium
combat aircraft. In April 2010, IAF issued
the ASQR for the AMCA, which placed
the aircraft in the 25-tonne class. The first
flight test of the prototype aircraft was
originally scheduled to take place by 2017.
DRDO proposed to power the aircraft
with two GTX Kaveri engines. In October
2010, the government released ?100 crore
to prepare feasibility studies. Meanwhile,
in November 2010 itself ADA sought
Scale model of a twin-engine
AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat
Aircraft) fifth-generation combat jet
which is being developed by the
Indian industry
^9,000 crore to fund the development
which would include two technology
demonstrators and seven prototypes.
ADA unveiled a 1:8 scale model at Aero
India-2013. The AMCA design will have
shoulder-mounted diamond-shaped
trapezoidal wings, and an all-moving
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023
CLIPPINGMAGIC.COM
canard-vertical V-tail with large fuselage
mounted tail-wing. It will be equipped
with a quadruple digital fly-by-optics
control system using fibre optic cables.
The reduced radar cross-section (RCS)
would be through airframe and engine
inlet shaping and use of radar-absorbent
33
 Boosting indigenous turbofan tech
he turbofan engine is considered
the most vital component of
a jet aircraft without which
it simply can’t take to the skies. A
turbofan-based power plant provides
the requisite thrust to aerial combat
vehicles for atmospheric glide and
super manoeuvrability. DRDO’s GTRE
(Gas Turbine Research Establishment)
started the project to develop an
indigenous turbofan engine christened
as ‘Kaveri’ in 1986. As a part of the
Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)- ‘Tejas’
project, the turbofan engine was to be
developed from the scratch. Full scale
development of the power plant was
authorised in April, 1989 as a 93-month
programme with a budget of $55.3
million. The original plan called for 17
prototype test engines to be built. The
first test engine consisted of only the
core module christened as ‘Kabini, while
the third prototype was the first one to
be fitted with variable inlet guide vanes
(IGV) on the first three compressor
stages. The Kabini core engine first ran
in March, 1995. Test runs of the first
complete prototype of Kaveri began in
1996 and all five ground-test prototypes
were in testing by 1998, while the initial
materials (RAM). AMCA will have
an internal weapons bay, but a non-
stealthy version with external pylons is
also planned.
Low-speed and supersonic wind
tunnel testing and Radar Cross Section
(RCS) testing was reportedly completed
by 2014, and project definition phase
by February 2014. The Engineering
Technology & Manufacturing
Development (ETMD) phase was started
in January 2014 after HAL Tejas attained
IOC, and it was announced that the
AMCA will have first flight by 2018. At Aero
India-2015, ADA confirmed that work
on major technological issues, thrust
34
flight tests were planned for the end of
1999 with its maiden flight test onboard a
LCA prototype to follow the next year.
However, progress in the Kaveri
development programme was slowed by
both political and technical difficulties.
The United States imposed economic
and technological sanctions on India
following the Pokhran-2 series of nuclear
weapon test explosions in 1998, thus
hampering the transfer of critical aero­
engine technologies and components
from US to India. The Indian scientific
establishment had to develop everything
through inhouse research in the following
years and the first prototypes were found
to be throwing up blades during ground
testing. In mid-2004 the engine failed its
high-altitude tests in Russia ending the
hopes for its introduction with the first
production batch of Tejas fighter jets. As
the dillydallying continued through the
first half of the 2000s decade, the engine
had undergone 1700 hours of tests and
had been sent twice for high altitude tests
to Russia by February, 2008.
In July 2007, GTRE divided the
Kaveri programme into two separate
programmes- the K9+ programme and
K-10 programme. K9+ is to prove the
LCA Tejas Mark-2 MWF
(Medium Weight Fighter)
in development by India
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
vectoring, super-cruising engine, AESA
radar and stealth technology was going
on at full swing. Russia was to support for
the development of Three-Dimensional
Thrust Vectoring (TDTVC), AESA Radar
and stealth technology. Saab, Boeing and
Lockheed Martin also offered to help in
key technologies. AMCA will initially fly
with two GE-414 engines. Eventually it is
planned to be powered by two GTRE, 90
kilonewton thrust, K-9 or K-10 engines
which are successor to the troubled
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
concept of complete design and gain
hands-on experience of aircraft engine
integration and flight trials to cover
a defined truncated flight envelope
prior to the launch of the production
version of K-10 standard engine. The
K-10 programme is a joint venture
(JV) partnership with a foreign engine
manufacturer. K-10 is supposed to be
the final production standard Kaveri
engine and shall have less weight and
more reheat thrust along with certain
other changes to meet the original design
intent. By May 3, 2010, about 1880 hours
of engine tests had been completed on
various prototypes. A total of eight Kaveri
engines and four core engines had been
manufactured, assembled and tested.
High altitude testing on core engine
had also been completed successfully.
One of the Kaveri prototypes (K-9) was
successfully flight tested at Gromov
Flight Research Institute in Moscow, on
November 4,2010. The test was conducted
at the Flying Test Bed at Gromov, with the
engine running right from take-off to
landing, flying for a period of over one
hour up to an altitude of 6 km. The engine
helped the IL-76 testbed aircraft fly at
speeds of around Mach 0.6 in its maiden
Kaveri engine. France has offered full
access to the Snecma M-88 engine and
other key technologies, and the United
States offered full collaboration in the
engine development with access to the
GEF-414 and F-135.
AMCA programme
clearance
TWo technology
demonstrators and four
prototypes were scheduled to go
under various type of testing, and analysis
in 2019. Ground reality is that they are far
from it. As of 2022, the defence ministry
was seeking approval from the Cabinet
Committee on Security (CCS) to go ahead
with the prototype development phase.
AMCA is intended to be a test case for
fundamental Indian research in the
unfamiliar field of cutting-edge aviation.
DRDO’s Aeronautical Development
Agency (ADA), had earlier announced the
targeted first flight of AMCA by 2020, and
production by 2025, but has now revised
the maiden flight to 2026.

flight. The engine control, performance
and health during the flight were found
to be excellent. With this test, Kaveri
had completed a major milestone in the
development programme. But the CAG
report released in 2011 came as a shock for
many as it highlighted the cost overruns
of the programme with only two out of
the six milestones having being met. CAG
stated that the engine was overweight and
there was no significant progress towards
developing the compressors, turbines
and engine-control systems.
The Kaveri project was finally on the
verge of closure as DRDO planned to
abandon the programme in 2014 due to
prolonged delay. But an offer by France’s
Safran Aircraft Engines (previously known
as Snecma) suddenly spurred hopes in all
stakeholders. France offered to spend 1
billion Euros as a part of Dassault Rafale’s
offsets deal and proposed a joint-venture
plan with DRDO to quickly revive the
Kaveri engine programme and make the
first upgraded power plants airworthy.
The good news finally came on November
20, 2016 when CP Ramanarayanan,
Director General for Aeronautics Cluster
of DRDO confirmed that the collaborative
deal with the French company- Safran
Aircraft Engines, had been sealed for
upgradation of Kaveri and making it
airworthy for testing by 2018. As of 2022,
the plan is to upgrade the first batch of
AMCA naval version
The Indian Navy first got ‘involved’ in
the AMCA project in March 2013 when
it formally asked the DRDO/ADA if they
were planning a naval version of the
proposed jet. They were looking at it in
relation to the upcoming indigenous
aircraft carrier- IAC-2. The navy has
already sought 57 aircraft of MMRCA-2.0
class. Naval AMCA (NAMCA) timeshares
will match IAC-2 they feel. Navy’s
requirements were sent to DRDO on
September 7,2015. They have suggested a
separate team for NAMCA development.
Foreign collaborations
Unsure of indigenous capability, India
has informed the foreign vendors
of MMRCA-2.0 programme that the
nation’s quest for fighters would need
commitments towards the AMCA. In
anticipation, most vendors have set up
joint ventures with Indian defence majors
and set up research and manufacturing
facilities. IAF is fully supporting the
project, but hopes that the timelines
afterburning turbofan
engine indigenously
developed by DRDO
prototypes with significant transfers of
M-88 engine technology from France to
India so that Kaveri is made airworthy and
integrated onboard Tejas PV-1 (Prototype
Vehicle-1) aircraft by in the ongoing decade.
French experts who have assessed the
engine, have stated that 25-30 percent more
work is needed to make the engine flight
worthy. It is understood that there are many
arms import lobbies in the government
which don’t want the indigenous turbofan
engine programme to materialise as it will
hamper the import of F-404 and F-414
engines from the United States. These arms
stated are realistic, because otherwise
it upsets its procurement cycles. In any
case lAF’s 114 Make-in-India fighters
will partly act as cushion for delays.
Meanwhile DRDO has been discussing
with Indian defence companies including
Tata, Mahindra Defence, Larsen & Toubro
and many smaller specialised firms for
workshare for AMCA. Part of private
Indian industry is already doing major
fabrication work for defence majors like
Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Airbus, BAE
Systems and others. Technologically, the
AMCA is a project that runs concurrent
to India’s Ghatak stealth unmanned
combat aircraft. Many laboratories are
researching common technologies for
both platforms, including shape, stealth,
network-centricity, sensors and materials.
The future
Tejas and AMCA are flagship programmes
of Indian defence manufacturing sector.
Aviation technologies are much more
complex and expensive than building
battleships and tanks. The fact that
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
$ R ^ A E R O INDIA 2023
GTRE
import czars are so powerful that they
can make the people believe that night
is day and vice versa. Critical technical
knowhow like the ‘single crystal blade’
technology for manufacturing of aero­
engines were never given to India. DRDO
had to develop almost everything from
the scratch. The onus now lies upon the
NDA-3 government to operationalise
Kaveri at the earliest with immediate
execution of the maiden historic flight
onboard LCA-Tejas aircraft, possibly
during the next edition of Defence Expo
in 2024.
India struggled a lot to get FOC aircraft
production for the base Tejas model
indicates that there is a need for foreign
help. The variables and anxieties
will continue to hit the AMCA. Joint
ventures or technology transfers are
essential for the engine, AESA and EW
systems. Moreover, external help will
also be required in handling complex
aerodynamic configurations and stealth
of the AMCA. Considering the slow
progress in Tejas project, it is going to
be an uphill task. The indigenous fifth
generation fighter programme would
require more concerted energies and
professional administrative attention.
During technological holdups, there is
a need to accept the harsh reality and
raise the hands rather than carrying
on ‘hit and trial’. Foreign collaboration
for development of cutting-edge
technologies and platforms will prevent
unprecedented delays and cost overruns.
The time to act is now, without any further
delay.
— Geopolitics Bureau
35
 BEYOND
COMBAT AIRCRAFTS
Much of the attention that is focused on the Indian Air Force scrutinises the lAF’s fighter aircraft
fleet and its decline from a peak of 39.5 combat squadrons. Insufficient attention is paid to
the other important, indeed, vital, elements of the IAF which include the air defence network of
radars and missiles, the transport and helicopter fleets and the aircraft used therein. These are
all worth examining on their own merit, writes SANJAY BADRI MAHARAJ
ndia, with its vast airspace, The Indian Air Defence Ground Centre (CRC). This may have changed
maintains an advanced Air Defence Environment System employs a three- somewhat as the ST-68U, which was
Ground Environment System. This tier detection network. While this plagued with some nagging development
system, along with the civilian system is currently in the process of a problems, has largely replaced older
Air Traffic Control, is responsible for major modernisation programme, the Soviet-made equipment. Moreover, India
the detection, identification and, if basic structure of the ADGES network has been licence producing the French
necessary, the interception of aircraft w ill remain unchanged. The first layer, designed TRS-2215D 3-D surveillance
in Indian airspace. The air defence rather surprisingly, consists of Mobile radar for a number of years and has
network is also in the process of being Observation Posts (MOP). The MOPs derived an indigenously built radar- PSM-
upgraded to cater for ballistic missile consists of two-man teams equipped with 33 Mk.2 from it. These have probably
threats. Before examining the system a HF/VHF radio set and field glasses. The supplanted most of the older Soviet-bloc
in detail, a quick overview is in order. personnel in the MOP are very well versed equipment.
India’s air defence network is essentially in the visual identification of aircraft as It should be pointed out, that these
divided into two parts- the Air Defence well as their general direction of flight. radars are all long-range surveillance
Ground Environment System (ADGES) The MOPs are scattered along the borders types with ranges in excess of 300km and
and the Base Air Defence Zones (BADZ). at random intervals, ranging between 25 good performance against targets flying
These two components are closely linked and 45 km. at all altitudes- even those employing
and share information relating to air The MOPs give the first warning of electronic countermeasures (ECM).
defence tasks. The Air Defence Ground airborne intrusion, the general direction These radar pickets are responsible
Environment System consists of an array of the attack and, more often than not, for giving accurate information on the
of radars along the western and northern the number of aircraft and their type. intruding force to the Air Defence Control
borders as well as a network of mobile Additional input can be obtained in Centres (ADCC) located behind the radar
systems in the Northeast and South of the wartime from the police and railway picke tline. The picket line and the ADCC
country- the latter two areas being as yet police; these agencies report via a are separated by a first layer of air defence
less covered by radars. communications system based on both weapons which are the first to engage the
The ADGES network is responsible HF/VHF radio sets as well as telephone intruders.
for overall airspace management and lines. A more advanced communications The backbone of the Indian Air
detection of intruders. The ADGES system based on fibre optic cables and Defence Ground Environment system is
also controls and coordinates the air satellite communications is also available a network 13 THD-1955 3-D long-range
defences for large area targets. The Base to assist the MOPs in reporting to the surveillance radars. This radar, originally
Air Defence Zones, as the name implies, radar picket line. of French design, has been licence
are tasked with the defence of high value The radar picket line, which lies produced in India for several years. This
targets- airbases, nuclear installations about 150 km behind the MOPs, consists radar, though somewhat elderly, still has
and key m ilitary installations. The BADZ of a number of radar clusters. These sterling performance characteristics and
is a scaled down ADGES network, limited comprise three radar stations separated is capable of maximum detection ranges
to an arc of 100 -km. The BADZ is a far more at a distance of the sum of their radii. of up to 1000 km, though in peacetime the
concentrated air defence environment The equipment issued to these clusters Indian Air Force usually limits its power
than the ADGES and provides the only generally comprises one Soviet-era ST- to a 400 km detection range. These form
gap-free air defence cover in most sectors. 68/U and two P-18/-19 radars. These are the core of the ADCCs.
then flanked by two P-12/-15 radars. The ADCCs also keep in touch with the
Indian air defences: Sensor network ST-68/U acts as the Control and Reporting Base Air Defence Zone (BADZ) control

February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

36
 B * - AERO INDIA 2023

A QRSAM anti-aircraft missile system being tested

in operational configurations

COMPONENTS OF INDIAN AIR DEFENCES

Held glasses.
Il lies about
150km behind the

number of radar clusters

and form the second line of

Any incoming aerial

threat is detected by hi picket line is followed
bv a network of anti-aircraft
aircraft and ground stations arc batteries to take down hostile
alerted along with airborne aircraft.
engagemen t pl at form s.

anti-aircraft missile units

S-200, etc which arc well

inleg rated with (ire
control radars.

www.geopolitics.in February 2023

37
centres. The BADZ is a scaled down
version of the ADGES configuration and
is geared towards the defence of key
airbases and other high value targets.
The BADZ is limited to an arc of 100 km,
compared to the hundreds of kilometres
in the case of the ADGES system. Like
the ADGES, the BADZ consists of three
layers. The first of which are the mobile
observation posts, followed by a mixed
layer of weapons and their associated
radars along with a picket line of low-
level radars. These are in turn supported
by anti-aircraft artillery batteries. This
network is controlled by a ST-68U radar.
The BADZ provides comprehensive and
gap-free coverage over its assigned area
of responsibility. In addition to the above,
the IAF operates a number of mobile
radars for low-level coverage and “gap-
filling”. Among these are no fewer than
30 Indian designed Indra-1 radars and at
least 7 Indra-2 systems.
At present, the sensor network
provides good high and medium
altitude coverage but is inadequate
at low-level with only the BADZs
providing gap-free coverage in their
areas of responsibility. This must
be further qualified by the fact that,
in appreciation of the perceived
dominance of the aerial threat from
Pakistan and the nature of the border
regions, low-level coverage on India’s
western and northern frontiers
is significantly denser and more
effective than coverage on India’s
eastern and north-eastern frontiers
and southern India is served by just a
single THD-1955 radar near Bangalore
which is augmented by mobile units
on occasion- the latter becom ing
necessary in view of the potential
threat from the LTTE’s air-wing.
38
Modernisation of the air defence network
The process of replacing the legacy radars
of the Indian Air Force is slowly making
progress. A critical element in this is the
Arudhra version of the Elta M-2084 radar.
Orders for 34 radars of this type were
placed in 2009 and between direct supply
and production of an Indian version of
the same, this radar will become the
backbone of the new air defence network.
The Arudhra will act as a early warning
and target engagement radar as opposed
to the airspace surveillance/ air traffic
management radars, which currently
dominate the lAF’s inventory. The IAF
will be able to employ the Arudhra-
EL/M-2084 to provide early warning of
inbound tactical ballistic missiles and
cruise missiles whether air-launched,
ground-launched or perhaps even
launched from surface or subsurface
assets. Installation of these radars will range systems.
take place in and around Jamnagar, The sensor network will be completed
Mumbai and the National Capital Region, with a series of low-level and medium­
to begin with. level radars. Lowe level surveillance is
Technically speaking, the AESA- to be catered by a total of 67 low-level air
based EL/M-2084 represents a quantum transportable radars (LLTR), including
leap in technology for the IAF- especially 19 180km-range, three-dimensional
compared to the PSM.33 and TRS-2215D THALES-built Ground Smarter GS-100
radars that it will replace. It merges all radars which were ordered in November
land-based radar functions- weapons 2009. Six of these were supplied directly
location, air surveillance and air defence and the remaining 13 being license-
functions, inclusive of cruise and assembled by HAL. Each radar will
tactical ballistic missiles. The M-2084 be accompanied by operational and
is able to detect and track incoming communication shelters, an energy
targets and, in the case of missiles and subsystem, mobility subsystem and
other such projectiles can calculate the personnel living quarters- making them
anticipated impact and launching points, virtually self-contained units. These
subsequently passing on target data to the will augment the 34 active phased-array
relevant air-defence weapons systems. As EL/M-2084 medium-power radars (MPR)
an initial step, this system would enable detailed above.
India to detect and potentially engage In addition, a series of Indian
incoming tactical ballistic missiles but developed systems including the DRDO-
would not be able to cope with longer developed and Bharat Electronics
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

Ltd (BEL)-built S-band Aslesha three-
dimensional micro-radar, the Army­
specific Bharani man-portable radar,
and thirty (20 more to be ordered) 180km-
range Rohini S-band central acquisition
Netra formation by IAF aircrafts during the
2023 Republic Day Parade in Delhi
radars. The Aslesha, which weighs
250kg, uses low-probability-of-intercept
frequencies to look out for terrain­
hugging tactical UAVs over mountainous
terrain out to 50 km. The IAF has to date
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023
ordered 21 of them, and first deliveries
took place in January 2008. In contrast,
the Bharani is a two-dimensional
L-band gap-filler system now in series­
production for the Indian Army. It has a
range of 40 km and can track up to 100
airborne targets. To date, 16 Bharanis—
meant to be used in conjunction with
VSHORADS/MANPADS, have been
ordered and deliveries are in progress.
In addition, also under delivery are 29
Thales Reporter tactical control radars
for the Indian Arm y’s upgraded ZU-23
and L70/40 air defence guns.
The IAF has a total of three A-50
Phalcon AEW platforms, supplemented
by three ERJ-145 based Netra AEW
systems developed by DRDO. The IAF is
now gearing up to induct new-generation
S-band long-range surveillance radars
(LRSR) and it is also hoping to acquire
an additional nine ELTA Systems-built
L-band EL/M-2083 Airstar’ aerostat­
mounted high-power radars (HPR) to
add to the two already in service. But to
date, no progress has been reported in
this regard. For the LRSR requirement,
a competition is presently underway
between the ELTA Systems-built EL/M-
2288 AD-STAR, THALES-built Ground
Master 400, and SELEX Sistemilntegrati’s
RAT-31SL. Twenty Ground-Master 400
systems were ordered in 2009 for the IAF.
All new radar acquisitions w ill be
integrated with the lAF’s existing 32 new
mobile control and reporting centres
(MCRC), 12 air defence control centres
(ADCC), 24 air defence direction centres
(ADDC) and some 40 terminal weapons
control centres (TWCC) along India’s
western and north-eastern borders.
This w ill enable the slow but progressive
replacement of the abovementioned
existing ST-68U gap-filler radars and
related 19ZH6 command-and-control
consoles, P-18/NRS-12 and P-19 gap-filler
radars. In the interim, new inductions
will enable the replacement of the P-30/
NRS-20, P-37 and P-40 gap-filler/target
engagement radars, and THALES-built
TRS-2215D and BEL-built PSM-33 Mk2
airspace surveillance radars, all of which
were inducted in the 1970s and 1980s.
The THD-1955 radars which form the
backbone of the air defence network
are ageing and though the acquisition
of 12 new high-power radars has been
approved by the Defence Acquisition
Council, their selection and purchase
will take some considerable time.
Both the Indian Army and Indian
Navy are desirous of obtaining aerostat­
mounted EL M-2083 radars. In the arm y’s
case the intention is to acquire six such
39

systems to enable the Corps of Army
Air Defence to detect and track both
ballistic missiles and terrain-hugging
cruise missiles launched from Pakistan,
while the Indian Navy is reportedly
asking for two EL/M-2083s. Capability
wise, the 1,700kg EL/M-2083 A irstar’ is
mounted inside 240 feet-long aerostat
that is perched at altitudes of up to 4,000
feet, and uses electronically-steered
multi-beam techniques to detect terrain
hugging airborne targets- combat
aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and
UAVs- at ranges of up to 300km, while
the trajectories of ballistic missiles can
be accurately plotted up to 500km away.
There has been a renewed emphasis on
acquiring these systems on the part of
all the three services despite some earlier
delays in additional purchases of the
type.
Surface-to-air missiles
The Indian Air Force is embarking upon a
systematic indigenisation of the majority
of the SAM inventory. In addition to the
existing eight Akash SAM squadrons, the
IAF is considering the purchase of seven
more squadrons, possibly of a version
fitted with a seeker or of the proposed
Akash next-generation missile. Once
again, the delay in placing such orders
is inexplicable and warrants urgent
attention. The Indo-Israeli joint venture
for a MRSAM will equip some eighteen
squadrons with the first operationalised
by 2021. Whether additional squadrons
w ill be ordered is as yet unknown but the
type has the potential to transform the
medium-range SAM network of India.
There is also work being undertaken
40
S-400 Triumf air defence missile system which g locally made.
has been acquired by India
on a long-range SAM of as yet an unknown
type. The induction of four squadrons of
Spyder short-range SAMs to supplement
the OSA-AK-M squadrons will be
followed by DRDO’s own QRSAM system
which has begun its testing process. For
the sake of completeness, it should also
be noted that the IAF has upgraded and
digitized sixteen of its vintage Pechora
SAM squadrons to extend their lives for
some years to come.
For long-range SAMs, India has
placed much emphasis on the acquisition
of five squadrons of S-400 SAMs but there
are persistent reports of a DRDO project
for an extra-long-range SAM with a
performance similar to that of the S-400.
Another possibility is that the MRSAM
receives an additional booster to give it a
range of over 150 km. However, the IAF
had identified a requirement for some
fifteen S-400 squadrons and it is expected
that the service will push for additional
systems in the future.
Finally, the IAF is for the first-time
contemplating raising AD gun units
under a proposed Close-In-Weapon
System (CIWS) project for 244 AD guns.
A limited tender has already been floated
for the CIWS programme with Bharat
Forge Limited, Punj Lloyd, Tata Power
SED, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Defence,
and Mahindra Defence Systems, as well
as the state-controlled Bharat Electronics
Limited and Ordnance Factory Board
being participants.
The IAF has identified
combination of QRSAMs, Akash SAMs,
MRSAMs and LRSAMs of the S-400
type as being required to complete its
air defence requirements. As against
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
these requirements some progress has
been made for the procurement of all
four types. However, the numbers of
systems of each type being procured
are somewhat limited as of now. Future
orders for the Akash, MRSAM and
S-400 should be expected as a matter of
urgency.
Transport aircrafts: The unsung heroes
The Indian Air Force operates a large
transport fleet that numbers well over
two hundred aircraft. These assets can
be divided into VIP, light, medium and
heavy transport aircraft. This fleet is
relatively unique in the IAF in that only
its light transports- four squadron
equivalents of HS-748 Avros and two
8 squadrons plus one flight of Do-228s are
| VIP transport rests on four each of the
Boeing-737 and the Embraer 135BJ jets
with the former providing long-range VIP
transport and the latter handling shorter-
range assignments. It is interesting to
note that the lAF’s VIP transport fleet is
modest in size, smaller than that of the
Mexican Air Force’s own force of VIP
transports.
The bulk of the transport fleet consists
of seven squadrons operating over
100 AN-32 medium transport aircraft
of which a substantial number have
undergone a deep upgrade which w ill be
extended to the whole fleet. Forty aircraft
were upgraded in Kiev, Ukraine and an
additional fifteen have been upgraded by
1 BRD of the IAF. The $400 million AN-
32 project divides the work share into a
Total Technical Life Extensions (TTLE)
for 40 aircraft at Antonov-certified plants
in Ukraine, The contract then provides
for the supply of material and transfer of
technology for the upgrade of remaining
64 aircraft at the lAF’s No. 1 Base Repair
Depot (BRD) in Kanpur. In addition,
there is a parallel three-year, $110
million contract with Motor Sich OJSC in
Zaporizhia with upgrade the fleet’s AI-
20 engines. Unfortunately, this project
has been affected badly by strained
ties between Russia and the Ukraine
following the annexation of the Crimea.
The HS-748 fleet is extremely old and
it is a usual design for the IAF to continue
flying so long past its service life in other
air forces. It is currently still used for light
transport and liaison purposes but also
functions in the cargo transport role as
the needed as several of the aircraft have
large cargo doors which have proven to
be useful over the decades. A replacement
of the type by the EADS C-295 transport
which is to be manufacture with private

IA
D
E
IP
K
I
W
sector involvement has not yet seen
progress.
The heavy transport fleet, which
includes six IL-78 aerial refuelling
aircraft, comprises modest quantities
of IL-76 (17), C-130 (12) and C-17 (11).
The C-130 is the smallest of the three
but has significantly more capacity
than the An-32 and as such cannot be
considered medium transports. The
C-17 Globemaster-III was purchased
to augment the 11-76 fleet which has
been in service for several decades but
with C-17 production being halted, the
fleet is unlikely to grow any further and
replacements of the IL-76 will be many
years in the future.
Helicopter units
The IAF helicopter fleet is large and
diverse. The backbone of the fleet is
provided by no fewer than 151 Mi-17V5
helicopters with possibly 48 more to be
ordered. These augment some 160 Mi-
178 and between the two variants of the
basic Mi-17, completely dominate the
Indian medium helicopter inventory
with no signs of either dissatisfaction or
replacement plans on the part of the IAF.
The Mi-17s have also been armed with
machineguns and unguided rockets to
give them a useful combat capability as
demonstrated in 1999.
Heavy transport capability rests with
one unit of four Mi-26 helicopters though
their replacement with fifteen Chinook
helicopters is already in progress with
deliveries of the Chinook already
completed.
Light observation and liaison tasks
are performed by six units of Chetak and
two of Cheetah helicopters and though
still delivering excellent service, the two
types are in dire need of replacement.
It is anticipated that HAL’s Light Utility
Helicopter and the Kamov Ka-226 will
share both the lAF’s and Indian army’s
requirement for the type. Several
www.geopolitics.in I February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023
helicopter units also operate the HAL
Dhruv in the light transport role.
Attack helicopters have never figured
prominently in the lAF’s fleet and only
two helicopter units were equipped
with Mi-25 and Mi-35 helicopters
respectively. Some of the formers were
transferred to the Afghan air force (in the
pre-Taliban era). Replacement of the two
types by twenty-two Apache helicopters,
twelve being of the Longbow variant
is in progress with the all Apaches
already inducted. A requirement for
an additional 65 attack helicopters is
likely to be met by HAL’s Light Combat
Helicopter Prachand. Sixteen armed
Rudra helicopters- a variant of the
Dhruv- are also being delivered with
eight having been delivered to the IAF
in 2017. The armed helicopter fleet of
the IAF is thus likely to see a significant
improvement in capability as well as an
expansion in its fleet of combat assets
very soon.
41

L3Harris readies NTS-3 satellite
3Harris which is working on
L an alternative to GPS has
announced that it has delivered the
Navigation Technology Satellite-3
(NTS-3) to the US Air Force and
the spacecraft is now undergoing
final tests in preparation for
a planned launch in late 2023.
NTS-3 is an experiment that will
broadcast positioning, navigation
and timing (PNT) signals from
geostationary earth orbit. The goal
is to demonstrate next-generation
PNT technologies and provide an
alternative to GPS. The satellite
is now going through a series of
tests including radio frequency
Europe seeks greater autonomy in space traffic management
uropean officials have said that
E they’re making progress to achieve
“strategic autonomy” in space traffic
management by building up both
capabilities and policy. During the
15th European Space Conference
representatives from the European
Commission, European Space Agency
and industry said they were making
progress in building up European
abilities in space situational awareness
(SSA) and space traffic management
(STM), reducing reliance on the United
States.
“There’s a high political awareness
on the need to achieve strategic
autonomy on SSA and STM in Europe,”
said Pascal Faucher, chair of the
European Union Space Surveillance and
Tracking (EUSST) partnership. EUSST
is a group of 15 EU member states
42
testing. This will be the first radio
frequency tests of the new PNT
signals to be demonstrated by
NTS-3
The 1250-kg satellite was built
by L3Harris with MITRE Corp,
developing a reprogrammable
software-defined receiver that will
allow users to receive both legacy
GPS and the new NTS-3 signals.
Parsons Corp, is developing the
ground system. Once in orbit,
NTS-3 will operate independently
of GPS. The new signal technology
and advanced waveforms will make
it more difficult for adversaries to
jam or spoof.
that have agreed to combine national
capabilities to improve efforts to track
space objects and provide warnings
of potential collisions. It opened its
collision avoidance service worldwide at
the beginning of the year.
The EUSST grew to 15 members in
November from just seven. The previous
seven members of the consortium-
France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal,
Romania and Spain were joined by
Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark,
Finland, Greece, Latvia, the Netherlands
and Sweden.
“Member states in the partnership
are investing more and more, at the
national level, on SSA capabilities,” he
said. “We see a proliferation of national
investment plans that invest a lot in
SSA. ’’Most of those national capabilities
come from defence capabilities. Faucher
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
NASA selects nine
technologies for flight tests
ASA has selected nine space
N technologies for flight testing to advance
innovations that address mission needs for
both the agency and the commercial space
industry. Selected as part of NASA's 2022
TechFlights solicitation, these technologies
will fly aboard commercial suborbital
vehicles such as high-altitude balloons,
aircraft following parabolic flight profiles,
suborbital rocket-powered systems as well
as commercial payload-hosting platforms in
orbit, such as spacecraft.
By readying these technologies in an
environment similar to what they will
experience in space, NASA, industry,
and universities can help reduce the
potential cost and risk before deploying
the technologies on longer, more expensive
missions in earth orbit or to the Moon, Mars,
and beyond.
The solicitation included three topic
areas that reflect NASA's priorities to
further space exploration and scientific
discovery goals. These topics focus on
supporting infrastructure and capabilities
for a robust lunar economy, services and
infrastructure ranging from low-earth orbit
to geosynchronous earth orbit, and earth
observation architectures, as well as systems
to monitor and address climate change.
said that about 95 per cent of the SSA
data in the EUSST system comes from
military sensors.
 AERO INDIA 2023

Joint India-US space mission later this year ISRO rocket io

tepping up cooperation in the space
launch OneWeb
S sector, India and the US are expected to
launch a joint Earth observation project- satellites
NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar
(NISAR) satellite later this year, Science he second lot of 36
and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh
remarked during the visit of a US delegation
T satellites belonging
to the UK-based Network
led by Sethuraman Panchanathan, the Access Associated
Director of the National Science Foundation. Ltd (OneWeb) will be
The NISAR mission will measure the launched in March 2023.
earth's changing ecosystems, dynamic The OneWeb
surfaces and ice masses to provide satellites are slated
information about biomass, natural for launch during the
hazards, sea level rise and groundwater and Radar satellite is expected to be launched in first or second week
will support a host of other applications. 2023. Panchanathan said that the US is open of March by the GSLV
to new avenues of cooperation in areas such Mk-3 rocket, according
It will also observe the Earth's land- and
to ISRO. The first batch
ice-covered surfaces globally with 12-day as critical minerals, smart agriculture, bio-
of 36 satellites was
regularity on ascending and descending economy and 6G technologies. He conveyed
launched on October 23,
passes, sampling the earth on average every to the minister that more joint calls would 2022, from Sriharikota
six days for a baseline three-year mission. be taken from March 2023 on identified rocket port in Andhra
The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture projects. Pradesh with the LVM3
rocket formerly known as
Geosynchronous Satellite
Launch Vehicle Mark-3
New Indo-Pacific space business association (GSLV Mk-3).
he Indian Space "Our satellites have
T Association (ISpA) has
partnered with IIT-Madras
now been loaded ahead
of our upcoming launch
(IITM) and US Consulate with @isro", OneWeb
General, Chennai and has wrote in a tweet. "This
announced the formation of a is the final time we will
working group of associations load up an Antonov
of various nations called aircraft with our satellites
the Association of Space for Genl, demonstrating
Entrepreneurs in the Indo­ how close we are to truly
global connectivity.
Pacific (ASEIP).
Bon voyage, satellites!"
“ASEIP will later
OneWeb tweeted.
transcend to Association of The Antonov aircraft
associations and to build on will land in Chennai
to this momentum, ISpA in and from there the
collaboration with IITM has satellites will be taken
also released a white paper to the ISRO's rocket
on ‘Space Upstream and port in Sriharikota by
Downstream Opportunities and Challenges will also explore ways to optimise business road. ISRO's commercial
for Indo-Pacific countries’ which helps opportunities and serve as an international arm NewSpace India
understand the underlying rationale lobby for government policy in India, the US Ltd (NSIL) has signed a
behind the international collaboration, and Indo-Pacific countries. contract with OneWeb
scientific research and development, Space The conclave saw more than 15 nations to launch 72 satellites in
entrepreneurship and business, and Space participate. Wing Commander (Retd.) two phases for a launch
policy,” said ISpA. Satyam Kushwaha, Director, ISpA, said: fee of over Rs 1,000 crore,
The working group will include one “As we witness the private space revolution OneWeb Chairman
leading association from India, the US, across nations, with more startups Sunil Bharti Mittal said
Japan and Australia while ISpA would emerging, this is an appropriate time to last October. Recently,
be the founding member representing bring the network of space startups and OneWeb confirmed the
successful deployment
India. ASEIP will be responsible to bring other players, along with their respective
of 40 satellites launched
together stakeholders and associations in government policymakers, face to face with
by SpaceX from Cape
the space technology sector to mentor and their international counterparts in India, Canaveral Space Force
support emerging entrants to the industry the United States, and the Indo Pacific Station.
internationally, ISpA said, adding that it countries.”

www.geopolitics.in February 2023

43
AN ERA OF
he Defence Research and
T
Development Organisation
(DRDO) shocked the world
when it successfully tested
the HSTDV (Hypersonic Technology
Demonstrator Vehicle) prototype in
2020. The technology is the basic design
of India’s next generation hypersonic
cruise missiles and hypersonic aircrafts.
DRDO with this mission has
demonstrated capabilities for range cruise missiles of the future.”
developing highly complex technologies
that will serve as the building blocks for ready with the critical technologies
next-generation hypersonic vehicles
in partnership with industry. DRDO
has endorsed and further validated the
test-firing results. The historic flight
witnessed India joining the elite league of momentum for development of the
three other global superpowers (United
States, Russia and China) which have
successfully demonstrated a working
scramjet engine-powered hypersonic
flight vehicle prototype.
The HSTDV challenge
While HSTDV was approved by then
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led
NDA-1 government in early 2000s and the
design for the airframe attachment with
the engine was completed by 2004, the
following UPA-1 and UPA-2 governments
led by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan
Singh failed to make any significant
progress in the vehicle’s development
and testing. A year before taking over as
the DRDO chief, Dr Vijay Kumar Saraswat
had stated, “The HSTDV project, through
44
which we want to demonstrate the
performance of a scram-jet engine at
an altitude of 15 km to 20 km, is on.
Under this project, we are developing a
hypersonic vehicle that will be powered
by a scramjet engine. This is dual use
technology, which when developed, will
have multiple civilian applications. It
can be used for launching satellites at
low cost. It will also be available for long-
While DRDO scientists were getting
for the missile, the UPA-2 government
implemented severe restrictions on Dr
VK Saraswat’s financial powers thereby
crippling many of the R&D efforts. The
aerial vehicle and the maiden flight test
finally picked up pace after the NDA-
2 government was elected to power in
May 2014. With significant progress
being made towards a flightworthy
vehicle within a five-year time period,
the weapon was finally test fired on
June 12, 2019, thereby rejuvenating
and reinstating the strategic vision of
scientists, policymakers and the ruling
political establishment in the national
security doctrine. But the June 2019
maiden test-firing of HSTDV didn’t go
as per expectations as the Agni-1-based
booster failed to reach the required
altitude of 30 kms for a successful
scramjet engine ignition of the test
article. The preparations for the second
test began soon after conclusion of the
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
maiden unsuccessful flight.
A force multiplier
HSTDVwill be one of the most devastating
tactical-level hypersonic cruise missile in
India’s arsenal when it is commissioned
into service with the Indian Armed
Forces in the next five years. Powered
by an indigenously developed scramjet
engine and capable of flying at speeds of
up to Mach-12 (14,817 kms an hour), it
can evade any kind of current generation
anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems
in the world due to its high-hypersonic
terminal velocity.
The prototype tested in 2020 was
a 5.6-metre-long aerial glide vehicle
featuring a flattened octagonal cross­
section with midbody stub-wings and
raked tailfins along with a 3.7 metre
rectangular section for air intake. The
scramjet engine was located under the
mid-body with the aft-body serving as
part of the exhaust nozzle. Two parallel
fences in the fore body were meant to
reduce spillage and increase thrust. Part
span-flaps were provided were provided
at the trailing edge of the wings for roll­
control. A deflectable nozzle cowl at the
combustor end was capable of deflecting
up to 25 degrees to ensure satisfactory
performance during power-off and
power-on phases of the flight. Surfaces
of the airframe’s bottom, wings and tail
were made up of Titanium alloy, while
Aluminium alloy comprised the top
surface. The inner surface of the double-
 AERO INDIA 2023

Possessing hypersonic weapons will always increase India’s diplomatic weight at global high
tables. It will also provide massive strategic and tactical advantages against Pakistan and China,
writes AMARTYA SINHA

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

A scale model of HSTDV

(Hypersonic Technology
Demonstrator Vehicle)

walled engine was Niobium alloy and the
outer surface was made from Nimonic
alloy.
After designing and ground testing
of technologies related to engines,
hot-structures, aerodynamics and
aerothermodynamics were complete,
the work was completed on mechanical
and electrical integration, control and
guidance systems along with their
packaging, checkout system, HILS
(Hardware in Loop Simulation) and
launch readiness.
Building a case for hypersonics
Nations often aim at developing credible
weapon systems that would strengthen
their non-conventional or conventional
deterrence. Credibility is ensured when
states possess weapons that can reach
targets on time. Weapon systems that
are capable of evading enemy missile
defence systems further strengthen
deterrence by ensuring that the weapon
systems are credible. One of the biggest
challenges for states has been to develop
weapon systems that could reach
time sensitive and mobile targets that
requires weapon systems with greater
speeds. The concept of ‘Prompt Global
Strike’ whereby the United States plans
The Defence Research
and Development
Organisation
(DRDO) shocked
the world in 2020,
when it successfully
tested the HSTDV
(Hypersonic Technology
Demonstrator Vehicle)
prototype
to develop a family of weapon systems
that can reach any part of world within
an hour is precisely to address the issue
of reaching time sensitive targets. The
need to reach time sensitive targets in a
timely manner was realised in 1998 when
the US Tomahawk cruise missiles were
fired against terror hideouts of Osama
Bin Laden but in vain as by the time the
missiles were fired, Laden had already
escaped.
Hypersonics, therefore is emerging as
an option to reach time sensitive targets.
Hypersonic weapon systems will travel at
speeds of Mach-5 and above that require
a massive technological breakthrough.
Work on such technologies took place
in the United States during the times
of Cold War. Progress was made on
scramjet technology that would provide
the basis for developing hypersonic
systems as these missile systems require
scramjet engines rather than depending
on ramjet ones. Not only the United
States, but Russia and China have also
been working on both hypersonic cruise
missiles as well as hypersonic technology
vehicles (HTVs) or rather hypersonic
glide vehicles (HGVs) on a war footing.
HTVs and HGVs can be mounted atop
long-range ballistic missiles to enable
them to evade enemy missile defence
systems. Unlike the United States
that is developing conventional HTV
technology, Russia and China have
progressed with nuclear capable ones.
China and India have territorial
disputes and to add to this, both the
countries possess nuclear weapons
that can be delivered by sophisticated
ballistic missiles. If China develops
a capability, India will need to follow
suit in order to maintain the stability-

www.geopolitics.in February 2023

45
 Development of hypersonic
glide vehicles (HGVs) for
ballistic missiles is the next
dimension of contemporary
warfare
instability paradox. Deterrence whether
conventional or nuclear is usually
strengthened when there is parity
between two adversaries as otherwise,
it could lead to conventional or nuclear
blackmailing by the state which possesses
more capable weapon systems than
the adversary. In addition, the Missile
Technology Control Regime (MTCR) does
not mention the nuances of hypersonic
systems and to add to it, China is not
a party to the MTCR also. Hypersonic
missiles carry little or no payload for the
system to fall under the MTCR restriction
category of 500 kg payload and above.
Thus, technology control regime also
can do little do prevent the development
of such deadly weapon systems. Hence,
46
for India, the only way to strengthen its
deterrence against China is to develop
similar systems as ‘defence by denial’
strategy to defend against hypersonic
systems would be a cumbersome and
expensive and not a full proof process for
India.
India is already making progress
towards a hypersonic version of the
BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. In
June 2019, India also conducted a test of
Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator
Vehicle (HSTDV). But the trial failed to
provide fruitful result when the Agni-1
on which the HSTDV was mounted atop
failed to reach the desired altitude. The
missile lost control midway and hence,
the HSTDV could not undergo trials. But
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
r znonl ine.r u
the success of the second test of HSDTV
in September, 2020 has instilled new
rays of hopes among the scientific and
strategic community. Hence the design
needs to be sealed and weaponised at the
earliest after a few more trials.
Scramjets are Supersonic
Combustion Ramjet engines that allows
for improvement over the ramjet-
powered propulsion modules and ideally
suited for air-breathing technologies.
Air breathing technologies use
atmospheric oxygen as oxidisers. Since
the technology would use atmospheric
oxygen as oxidiser, there is no hassle
to carry oxidisers with it. Air breathing
technology makes the weapon system
lighter and capable of carrying greater

payload at greater ranges. Tandem
boosters may be used for BrahMos-2 in
case they are canister launched.
ISRO is reported to be using hydrogen
as fuel that is easily flammable resulting
in small amount of energy required for
ignition that help it burn faster resulting
in generating huge thrust. However,
many systems like the US designed X-51A
Wave Rider uses hydrocarbon fuel that is
denser than hydrogen fuel and suited for
scramjet engines.
In fact, the successful flight test of
the scramjet technology in 2016 was
viewed by the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) as an important
development for its Air Breathing
Propulsion Project. In this flight test,
according to ISRO, critical technologies
such as ignition of air breathing
engines at supersonic speeds, air intake
mechanism and fuel injection systems
were successfully demonstrated. During
the flight test, ISRO was able to handle
several challenges akin to hypersonic and
scramjet systems including supersonic
combustor, development of materials
withstanding very high temperatures,
computational tools to simulate
hypersonic flow, ensuring performance
as well as engine operability during
varied range of flight speeds, thermal
management and ground testing of
engines.
If India manages to successfully
develop the HTVs or HGVs that could
be mounted atop the solid propelled
Agni-series of missiles, it will provide a
greater deterrence vis-a-vis China as well
as Pakistan. China and Pakistan would
RIB
find it difficult to neutralise the weapon
system during times of war. Agni forms
the backbone of India’s land-based
nuclear deterrence, and HGVs on Agnis
would strengthen nuclear deterrence,
and since the missile could be difficult
to be intercepted it would strengthen
India’s posture of ‘credible minimum
deterrence’ and doctrine o f ‘no-first use’
as well.
Agni-class missiles fitted with
multiple independently targetable re­
entry vehicles (MIRVs) and HGVs would
provide greater scope for ensuring
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023
nuclear deterrence vis-a-vis China.
HGVs will also have less or no adverse
effect on the range of the missile, thus,
letting the range of the missile intact as
opposed to other countermeasures like
MIRVs, depressed or lofted trajectory of
ballistic missile that significantly reduce
the range of the missile.
India and Russia are already working
on their collaborative effort towards
developing hypersonic BrahMos cruise
missile christened as the BrahMos-2.
According to BrahMos Aerospace,
the hypersonic weapon’s immense
destructive power will result from
massive kinetic energy making it best
suited to target hard and deeply buried
targets. A weapon system that strikes
a target at Mach-6 will always create
greater impact than the weapon system
striking its target at Mach-1. Over the
coming years, BrahMos will be able to
strike targets at Mach-7 speed.
The hypersonic version of the
BrahMos cruise missile will not use the
same engine ramjet engine used by the
supersonic missile but will be replaced
by scramjet ones. In fact, many sources
claim that the BrahMos-2 can use the
same scramjet engine as used in the
Russian Zircon hypersonic cruise missile
system. The supersonic missile has been
modified over the years to be able to be
fitted into ships, submarines, combat
aircraft and also can also be ground-
launched. It would be a matter of time to
see how successfully India can make the
hypersonic version of the cruise missile
capable of being launched from the sea,
air and ground.
The hypersonic version of BrahMos
will have a strike range of at least 600
km with the ability to manoeuvre
through hostile air and missile defence
systems. The weapon may have stealth
technologies as possessed by the
supersonic cruise missiles. According
to Late President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam,
“In the emerging network centric
warfare scenario, the fast development
of hypersonic missile systems will be
necessary to maintain our force level
supremacy.” Long range hypersonic
systems, according to Dr. Kalam, will
not only deliver payloads, but can
return to base after mission leading to
reusable class of cruise missile. Given
the geographical proximity between
India and Pakistan and ability of
hypersonic cruise missiles to remain
undetected, their quick response and
high manoeuvrability provide not just
tactical advantage to India but also a
huge strategic boost.
47
 cruise missile) being
test-fired from an Indian
Air Force Sukhoi-30MKI
fighter-bomber
Shield against hypersonic missiles
While the US Terminal High Altitude
Area Defence (THAAD) is reported to
be capable of defeating hypersonic
cruise missiles, its success rate is yet to
be known. Technologically, defeating
hypersonic flight vehicles would
really be a herculean task. In addition,
there is no known defence against
HTVs or HGVs. Space-based weapon
systems may be used to defeat these
technologies, but they are still at their
nascent stage of development in the
United States. In fact, space-based assets
may remain confined to warning, launch
detection, surveillance, acquisition and
tracking rather than the actual task of
interception, though the United States
has ventured into a ‘Glide Breaker’ for
space-based interception. Laser-based
weapon systems are being developed
to defeat a ballistic missile at its boost
phase itself so that the thighs find no
scope to function.
While hypersonic or even very high­
speed interceptors could be a solution,
how far they will be credible can only
be known if they are developed. Kinetic
energy interceptors and directed energy
weapons (DEWs) can become a solution
to defeat hypersonic cruise missiles, but
that too is also at an experimental stage.
Other options to defeat them may include
particle beams and non-kinetic weapons.
Cyber and electronic attacks could
48
The third test of HSTDV
(codenamed- HS-03)
may witness the launch
of a modified booster
with slow burning
propellant. There is
no going back from
here, and the process
of weaponisation must
continue unhindered
help to attack networks (intelligence,
surveillance, target acquisition and
reconnaissance) that support such
hypersonic weapon systems and their
functioning. Destroying the launch
platform is another ideal solution,
however, launch platforms themselves
would have their own countermeasures
against hostile defence systems.
The future unfolds
Possessing these ultrasophisticated
weapon systems will always increase
India’s status, prestige and diplomatic
weight at global high tables. It
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
will provide massive strategic and
tactical advantages against Pakistan
and China. HSTDV will be capable
of carrying conventional, nuclear,
and thermonuclear warheads
up to unspecified ranges. When
India develops scramjet-propelled
manoeuvrable hypersonic atmospheric
re-entry vehicles that can be fitted atop
the Agni-5 and the upcoming Agni-6
ballistic missiles in the near future,
such HGV (Hypersonic Glide Vehicle)-
based warheads can be installed as
MIRV (Multiple Independent Re-entry
Vehicle) strike packages in the payload­
fairing of long-range ballistic missiles,
thereby massively enhancing the
weapons’ ranges. Moreover, other than
the next generation cruise missiles,
the technology can also be applied for
developing low-cost space-launchers
on the lines of SSTO (Single-stage-
to-orbit) and TSTO (Two-stage-to-
orbit)-based spaceplanes in the near
future. With DRDO planning the third
test of HSTDV, India is now in the
process of stepping into the next level
of hypersonic aerospace propulsion
research. The third test (codenamed-
HS-03) may witness the launch of a
modified booster with slow burning
propellant. There is no going back from
here, and the process of technology
development and weaponisation must
continue unhindered. ■
 AERO INDIA 2023

An Agni-V ICBM being

launched during an
earlier test

WAITING FOR
AGNI-6 ICBM
An effective nuclear (thermonuclear) deterrence against China will be possible only when
India tests and deploys an MIRV (MaRV)-capable ballistic missile with a 3-tonne payload
capacity having a range of at least 8000 km, argues AMARTYA SINHA
PIB

www.geopolitics.in February 2023

49
 n December 15, 2022, India

O
successfully carried out a
night trial of the Agni-5 ICBM
(In te rc o n tin e n ta l-ra n g e
Ballistic missile) from the Abdul Kalam
Island in Odisha. The test was to validate
new technologies and equipment on the
missile. Replacing maraging steel with
lightweight composite materials made
the Agni-5 missile 20 percent lighter
from its previous avatars. The launch
also proved a striking capability beyond
7000 km. But an effective Indian credible
nuclear deterrence against China still
remains unfulfilled due to Agni-5’s
limited payload carrying capacity of
1.5 tonnes. India’s integrated guided-
missile development programme needs
to go the extra mile in many aspects.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
strategic vision is to see India emerge
as a first rung global economic and
military power by the middle of this
decade. Maintaining an effective
intercontinental-range nuclear
deterrence by deploying Agni-5 and
Agni-6 missiles will play a pivotal role in
fulfilling this Indian dream.

The legacy of Agni-5

While the Agni-5, the nuclear capable
intercontinental range ballistic missile
(ICBM), has undergone nine successful
test flights since 2012, there has been
very little movement on the much-
awaited Agni-6 missile project. After
Agni-5’s maiden trial on April 19, 2012,
former DRDO Chairman, Dr Vijay
Kumar Saraswat had very clearly stated
that India had no intention to cap the
Agni missile programme and that there
would be more missiles in the Agni series
as a follow-up of Agni-5 in the coming
years. The Agni-5 has an effective range
of almost 5500 kms with a 1.5-tonne
nuclear warhead. A basic law of physics
is that due to gravity and momentum,
there is an inverse relationship between
the weight of a warhead and the range
of a missile. If the same rocket boosters
of Agni-5 (better with a slow burning
propellant) for the heavy load is used
for a lighter load amounting to a 500
kg warhead, the range of the missile
can be enhanced up to 10,000 km. So,
by this theory, the Agni-5 is already a
10,000 km-class ICBM albeit with a less
powerful warhead. And this is one of the
prime gaps in India’s nuclear deterrence
which the Agni-6 is supposed to plug.
Agni-6 is expected to have a range
between 6,000 kms and 8,000 kms
with a 3-tonne nuclear payload, and a
range between 10,000 kms and 12,000
Agni-6 is expected to
have a range between
6,000 kms and 8,000
kms with a 3-tonne
nuclear payload, and a
range between 10,000
kms and 12,000 kms
with a lighter 1.5 tonne
package
kms with a lighter 1.5 tonne package.
Guidance system of Agni-6 will include
inertial navigation system with Ring
laser gyroscope, optionally augmented
by IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigation
Satellite System) along with terminal
guidance with possible radar scene
correlation (this is a kind of terrain
contour mapping which will improve
the accuracy of missile).
The strong case for Agni-6
In 2011, lAF’s former Chief of Air Staff,
Pradeep Vasant Naik, who was also
the head of Chiefs of Staff Committee
had vehemently argued in favour of
broadening India’s nuclear striking
capabilities beyond the immediate
neighbourhood. The higher range
of Agni-6 will bring at least four of
the capitals of major world powers
within India’s strike envelope. A 10,000
km-plus range will increase India’s
flexibility which is very im portant for
an effective deterrence and will also
enable the country to hit Chinese
ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs)
and warships attempting to hide as
far out as the Southern Indian Ocean
and Central Pacific Ocean. This is
assuming that India develops more
accurate ICBM guidance systems (on
the lines of China’s DF21D anti-ship
ballistic missile) against warships and
submarines. India must wish that the
Agni-6 should have the minimum range
of 8000 kms (equivalent to China’s JL-2
submarine-launched ballistic missile)
which will make the ICBM programme
worthy of its stature.
Agni-6 as a big force multiplier
Agni-6 is supposed to be a solid-fuelled

February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

50
 SB—AERO INDIA 2023

Range comparison of
Agni-series of long-range
ballistic missiles
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

multistage ICBM capable of carrying up

to ten nuclear/ thermonuclear warheads
in MIRV (Multiple Independent Re-entry
Vehicle) and MaRV (Manoeuvrable
Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicle)
configurations. The rocket may also have
the capability to carry light decoys and
chaffs to beat the most formidable anti-
ballistic missile systems and to confuse
hostile radar defences. As India has
reportedly developed a deadly arsenal
of double-staged thermonuclear fusion
devices and single stage boosted-fission
bombs, each MIRV warhead may have
explosive yields of up to 250 kilotons,
thus capable of wiping out entire
metropolitan areas and vaporising tens
of millions of people with a single strike.
Having a gross weight of up to 70 tonnes,
Agni-6 is supposed to be a four-stage
rocket which will also enable the Indian
military to launch military satellites
into low earth orbit (LEO) during
contingencies, thus also validating its
FOBS (Fractional Orbital Bombardment
System) capability. Renowned strategic
experts like Bharat Karnad, Brahma
Chellaney and Rakesh Krishnan Simha
have repeatedly argued in the past that
India must develop a global striking
capability with a credible ICBM force in
Having a gross weight
of up to 70 tonnes,
Agni-6 is supposed to
be a four-stage rocket
which will also enable
the Indian military
to launch military
satellites into low earth
orbit (LEO) during
contingencies
the near future.
“It is high time India developed
genuine ICBMs with 10,000+ kms
range. The Agni-6 project should be
immediately approved for development.
Geopolitical pressuresfacedbyacountry
are always the results of a nation’s will
WIKIMEDIA
and its strategic vision. The incumbent
union government must show the spine
to stand up to such pressures without
which India can never aspire to become
a great power”, says Bharat Karnad,
Research Professor at the Centre for
Policy Research and a popular national
security expert. A large ICBM force
consisting of Agni-5 and Agni-6 missiles
will ensure a very strong security shield
for the country in the strategic level
battlefield and will severely deter big
powers from attempting Balkanisation
of India during future conflicts.
While the erstwhile UPA-1 and UPA-
2 governments were considered as
‘pacifist’ by many policymakers, it is
high time for the incumbent NDA-
3 government to prove its political
will by swiftly approving the Agni-6
programme and by test launching the
first prototype over the coming years,
thus pushing India into the elite league
of military superpowers like USA, Russia
and China. Such a capability will give

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51
 The Hydrogen bomb conundrum
fter the ground shook under the
hot desert sands of Pokhran on
May 11, 1998, India had officially
declared herself as a ‘full-fledged nuclear
weapons power’ with three simultaneous
nuclear blasts. Two more detonations
followed on May 13, 1998, thus ending
the series of planned tests. Soon after the
series of explosions was over, eyebrows
were raised in Western scientific and
media circles regarding the blast-yield of
one of the underground detonations. The
thermonuclear weapon prototype which
was reportedly detonated at an explosive
yield of around 45 kilotons, soon found
itself in the middle of the controversy.
The device reportedly had a design yield
of up to 200 kilotons and was dubbed as
a fizzle by some Western experts. But the
country’s scientific establishment later
conducted an official press conference
in which eminent scientists- Dr APJ READY.GOV
Abdul Kalam and Dr Rajagopalachari
Chidambaram clarified
thermonuclear weapon performed on
that the The story of overall error on the measured yield which
is around 20 percent. Thus, it is concluded
expected lines and that the blast yield India's Hydrogen that the total yield of the thermonuclear
of the Shakti-1 thermonuclear device device is 50 + 10 kT.” While the report
was deliberately kept low taking into Bomb programme confirms that 14 MeV neutrons were
consideration the terrain and topography found as a result of initialisation of the
of the area and the test site’s proximity to (thermonuclear bombs) fusion reaction from the secondary stage
Khetolai village. of the bomb, the total explosive yield
BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research dates back to the late has been disputed by senior scientists
Centre) officially clarified that Shakti-1 like Dr K Santhanam and Dr PK lyenger
was a highly compact thermonuclear 1980s when scientists who have argued that the total yield of
device which used a sophisticated the thermonuclear blast didn’t exceed 20
fusion-boosted-fission trigger as the found an easy way to kilotons. This once again puts into doubt
primary stage and a Tritium cylinder the union government’s claim of having a
as the secondary stage. In order to put
extract Tritium gas (an deployable thermonuclear deterrence in
all controversies to rest, BARC also
executed a radiochemical analysis of
isotope of Hydrogen) operational configuration.
The story of India’s Hydrogen Bomb
soil and rock samples extracted from the
thermonuclear blast site. The post-shot
from heavy water programme (thermonuclear bombs)
dates back to the late 1980s when
radioactivity measurement report on scientists found an easy way to extract
the samples says- “The signatures of the larger, the majority of the high energy Tritium gas (an isotope of Hydrogen)
fusion reaction are activation products neutrons can be attributed to fusion from heavy water. Unlike nations like
due to 14 MeV neutrons, such as, 54Mn, neutrons. The possible sources of error United States and Russia which used light
22Na, 58Co, 46Sc, as marked in the in the measurement of fission yield water as a moderator in their nuclear
gamma-ray spectrum. The estimation are: assay of radioactivity (5-7 percent); reactors, the Indian nuclear program was
of 14 MeV neutron yield from the nuclear data such as half-life, gamma­ primarily based on heavy water. It is quite
measured radioactivity of these products ray branching intensity and fission yields evident that the heavy water contained
requires the knowledge of the amount (8 percent); and the error in integration high doses of radioactive Tritium which
of the target elements present at the which arises mainly due to the error in exposed reactor workers to potential
site of the event and the reaction cross Rc (15 percent). In the assessment of health hazards. So, an initial attempt was
sections. The two major radionuclides fusion yield, the sources of errors are made to extract the Tritium component
which could be assayed in most of the uncertainty in the elemental composition through water distillation. But soon, the
samples were 54Mn and 46Sc. Although of the surrounding rock and its effect on process was abandoned as the Tritium
the fission neutron spectrum has a high the neutron spectrum used in the Monte collected through the process was in
energy tail, the total number of neutrons Carlo simulations of the activity. The liquid form and proved to be extremely
produced by fusion fraction being much propagation of these errors leads to an risky to handle and store.

February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

52

So, scientists found an alternative
way to extract the Tritium through
chemical exchange process followed
by cryogenic distillation. The Tritium
extracted through this innovative was
stored in gaseous form and was 90
percent radioactive which rendered
it highly useful for fabrication of
thermonuclear weapons. Thus, what was
dubbed primarily as an effort by scientists
towards making the nuclear reactors safer
by eliminating Tritium from heavy water,
proved to be a boon for manufacturing
of Hydrogen bombs. A pilot detritiation
plant was also established in Kalpakkam
nuclear research reactor. As the new
process for extracting Tritium proved
to be quite economical in comparison
to the traditional process, stockpiling
of Tritium became an easy task. As the
Indian way of extracting Tritium from
heavy water proved to be much cheaper
than the age-old accelerator process
used by the Americans, the country got
the highly enriched Hydrogen’s isotope
at negligible additional costs. Moreover,
more electricity production by Indian
nuclear reactors also ensured that large
quantities of Tritium was extracted and
stored for the country’s thermonuclear
bomb program. The country which was
once a gross importer of heavy water
became a net exporter of the same
compound by the late mid-1990s.
Itisestimatedthatlndiahadassembled
the first prototype thermonuclear
device by 1995 in preparation of a test
under the then union government led
by erstwhile Prime Minister Narasimha
Rao. But as American reconnaissance
satellites hovered over the Pokhran
firing range and the images of the test
preparations circulated in the Western
media, the Indian government had to
cancel the test under American pressure.
The Shakti-1 thermonuclear device was
finally fabricated in test configurations
and eventually exploded in 1998. While
it is a well-known fact that no nuclear
power has been able to successfully test a
double-staged thermonuclear weapon in
the very first attempt, the Indian test and
the ensuing speculations about the blast
yields raises doubt over the deployability
of the capability in operational warhead
configuration atop Agni series of
medium-range, intermediate-range and
intercontinental-range ballistic missiles.
While questions have been repeatedly
raised on India’s capability in possessing
and fielding a credible thermonuclear
deterrence, the country has reportedly
deployed a small thermonuclear arsenal
through ballistic missiles after the
completion of Pokhran-2 series of
tests. Renowned nuclear scientist Dr
Anil Kakodkar while interacting with
journalist- Karan Thapar during a
media interview after the 1998 tests,
had confirmed that India has already
fielded multiple hydrogen bombs in
operational configuration. But the
million-dollar question about India’s
capability in potentially achieving
massive thermonuclear yields during
nuclear strikes without actually testing
those devices in full design yields
during field trials still carries an air of
ambiguity. While renowned strategic
experts like Bharat Karnad have
repeatedly stated publicly that India
should resume thermonuclear testing
for mastering the double staged fusion
design (Teller-Ulam design), there are
others like R Prasannan who argue that
India has already developed advanced
supercomputer simulations and
that bigger bombs with higher yields
can be confidently developed and
deployed based on the data gathered
from previous tests. Strategic experts
like Sanjay Badri Maharaj also argues
that the question whether India has
deployed a credible thermonuclear
deterrence, is somehow irrelevant as
the Shakti-1 device exploded on May
11,1998 had aboosted-fission device as
the first stage. A boosted-fission device
is equivalent to a compact hydrogen
bomb and will serve the purpose of
a credible thermonuclear deterrence
in the modern-day strategic level
battlefield when deployed onboard
long-range ballistic missiles.
As India’s deterrence requirements
evolve over time, it is quite evident
that the country must develop an
effective and significantly large
arsenal of thermonuclear weapons.
The thermonuclear devices with
adjustable and variable yields will
make good use of India’s limited
stockpile of fissile materials and will
effectively act as a force multiplier.
With increasing precision in the
design and development of lighter and
compact payloads, the thermonuclear
warheads can be easily deployed
onboard Agni-V and the upcoming
Agni-VI Intercontinental range Ballistic
Missiles (ICBMs) in the form of MIRVs
(Multiple Independent Re-entry
Vehicles) and MaRVs (Manoeuvrable
Multiple Independent Re-entry
Vehicles) which will massively boost
India’s long-range striking capabilities
deep inside enemy’s heavily populated
urban centres.
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023
India tremendous diplomatic leverage
at global high tables.
Doing it smartly
A full-range test of Agni-6 (beyond
6000 km) will probably raise eyebrows
in Western media circles. The best
way to execute the test is to declare
the missile’s official range up to 6000
km (tacitly stating the China-factor),
but carry out the flight with a 3-tonne
superheavy warhead. This will totally
validate the new missile’s capability
without creating a diplomatic row with
the West. Moreover, such a test will also
yield significant political advantage for
the BJP-led central government as the
scientific achievement can be narrated
by the Prime Minister to the domestic
electorate as a major historic milestone
(on the lines of the ASAT test carried out
in March 2019).
Following Vajpayee’s footsteps
As soon as Agni- 6 is tested and validated,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may
also declare a permanent voluntary
moratorium on the development of
longer ranged missiles and officially
capping the ICBM programme at
6000 km. Former Prime Minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee had declared a similar
permanent voluntary moratorium
on nuclear tests after the Pokhran-2
series of explosions in May 1998, and
this had aided in his rise as a global
statesman. The golden pages of history
will remember Narendra Modi as a true
statesman if he is able to demonstrate
this new strategic capability before the
2024 general elections.
Renowned Indian philosopher
Chanakya had once very aptly stated:
“The power of a king lies in his mighty
arms. Security of citizens at peacetime
is very important because the state is the
only saviour of men and women who get
affected only because of negligence of
the state.” At a time when expansionist
aspirations of some rogue nations are on
the rise all across the world, Chanakya’s
quote is very much valid and applicable
in totality, even in the third decade of
the 21st century.
The union government needs to
complete the A gni-6 project at the
earliest, as without a credible ICBM
force, India will always be looked upon
as nothing more than a subcontinental
bully- a country that aspires to play
hardball with the giants but ends up
relegated to the minor league. The ball
is now in the ruling dispensation’s
court. ■
53
 he Chief of the Indian Air Force,
T
Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram
Chaudhari, has described the
tense and dangerous situation
on the India-China front as a “no
no peace” situation. Put another way,
it is on the hair trigger and the Chinese
fingers are twitching. But, India’s
strategic culture, notwithstanding the
Balakot cross-border strike, points to
a reactionary rather than first-strike
54
force posture.
The world’s fourth largest air forces
has undertaken major force projection,
logistical and operational reforms in its
force levels, its forward sustainable war
war,
posture and its doctrine over the last
ten years to present a credible defensive
posture with a limited but potent ability
to launch counter strikes.
That said, deadly gaps remain in
the Indian Air Force’s ability to sustain
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
a limited war. Given the terrain India
faces on the western front, flanked as
it is with the world’s highest mountain
range- the Himalayas and the roof of
the world- Tibet, the air force will likely
not be in a supporting role; it will be the
sword and the shield- the primary force
that will allow our army to manoeuvre
should push comes to shove. From that
perspective the IAF is at best the work
in progress.

While the Indian Air Force is preparing itself to meet the challenge of China through the
Himalayas, it has a lot writes NINAD D SHETH
The IAF has only 30 squadrons while
the need is for 42 by its own admission.
The real teeth and claws of the air force
are only about 18 squadrons of the
mint condition Rafale multirole fighter
bombers, LCA lightweight fighters,
Mirage-2000, Su-30 MKI and MiG-29
aircraft. With Pakistan as a concurrent
threat, at least one third of these will
be tied down in any war with China.
The Jaguar squadrons while with
great IAF pilots are still formidable
bombers, they are on the edge of
obsolesce notwithstanding upgrades.
Thus, not only is the IAF is constrained
in numbers, it also has a major gap in
not having dedicated bombers in great
numbers. So, unlike the Chinese who
can leverage a strategic bomber fleet
that includes the H6K bomber that has
guided and unguided bombs as well
as short-range KD-63 missiles and the
www.geopolitics.in I February 2023
-AERO INDIA 2023
An Indian Air Force
Dassault Rafale fighter
jet in flight
PIB
long-range CJ-20 cruise missiles, the
Indian ability to ground attack with
devastating effect is limited.
In wars of tomorrow it is difficult to
see close-quarter air combat of the sort
we see in the movies. This is the standoff
age. Whoever can spot the enemy target
first and from a long distance will have
the advantage.
The Rafale fleet is thus critical with
their MICA and Meteor missiles. The
55
MICA has a rage of about 60 km and
can be fired from the Mirage-2000-5 as
well. Likewise, the Meteor fitted on the
Rafale offers a great standoff capability
to the air force with its stand out 200
km range in best conditions. The issue
that the Indian Air Force however faces
is sheer numbers- both of the platform
the Rafale itself and the missies.
Currently, India has only 36 of
these and presumably one third will be
needed against Pakistan. The balance
of air power is tilting in the wrong
direction for India and it is the single
most important tactical red flag. Six
squadrons of the MiG-21 and MiG-29
are relatively outdated. Ideally India
needs at least 46 more Rafales and
quick delivery of three squadrons of
the LCA. Both are beyond the horizon
right now for cost and manufacturing
infrastructure reasons. With 36 plus
10 more Rafales, India can be well
placed with two squadrons each for
the eastern and western fronts and
one squadron as a backup. The cost
factor though is enormous. India is not
realising that this is the time to spend
on defence, just as China does so even
at the cost of economic growth to meet
serious national security challenges of
an exceptional level.
The Air Chief himself flagged
the dangerous lack of operational
availability in the IAF at the recent
media interactions when he where he
articulated that “...(India needs) at
least five to six additional squadrons.”
Similarly, India needs to double its
existing stockpile of air-to-air missiles,
and here the indigenous Astra missile
needs to be procured with urgency number of large jet-powered early Organisation is working to modify
and stockpiled with the war wastage warning airborne platforms. Indeed, six Airbus-320 planes into AWACS
reserves in mind. for an air force of its size, India has only systems, but this will take at least
The important thing about the five such systems. These include three five years. India cannot afford to be
modern world of air combat is stealth Israeli-origin Phalcon airborne early “sightless” over large spatial space in
and standoff. With the Astra and warning and control systems mounted the meanwhile and indeed needs to
the BrahMos, the Indian Su-30MKI on the IL-76 aircraft and two indigenous actively consider acquiring some of the
becomes potent by a great degree in Netra AEW&C systems mounted on the AWACS on lease as was reported in the
the air war over Tibet. The BrahMos Embraer aircraft. One lesson of modern media but the project has not taken off
supersonic cruise missiles can be warfare plain to see in the Russia- with the priority that it deserves.
launched from the Indian Su-30s and Ukraine war is the power of battlefield Phalcon AWACS, have a 400-
are being developed to strike targets at awareness. Many of American AWACS- km range and 360-degree coverage,
700km and beyond at Mach-2.8 speed. a fleet of about 14, assist the Ukrainian “Netra” AEW&C system on the Embraer
Presently they can hit targets up to 450 air force have been a major factor in has 240-degree coverage radars with
km. The Astra Mark-1 can hit targets up denying the Russians air superiority. a 250-km rang. The most important
to 100 km. Airborne early warning is the strategic feature of the Phalcon early warning
The Indian force-posture is well counterpoint of beyond visual range and control platform is that in the
supported by the satellite infrastructure missiles. 360-degree 400 km envelop, the aircraft
with dedicated military observation For example, a Rafale can fire a can simultaneously track 100 different
satellites and a tested anti-satellite Meteor and turn away from a possible targets including incoming missiles
ability that will deter China from counterstrike with the AWACS taking and large drones apart from the fighters
knocking off Indian satellites. What over the targeting mission. India’s and share the speed and location
India lacks, however, is the sufficient Defence Research and Development details with the Indian fighter jets and

February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

56

air defence apparatus. Interestingly
Pakistan has 12 odd AWACS of different
varieties while China can place about
half of its fleet of 25 odd including the
KJ200 and the KJ-2000. The latter can
trace 100 different targets over 450 KM.
As things stand withoutthe sufficient
numbers of AWACS as force multipliers,
the Indian Air Force remains grossly
underutilised. Air Vice Marshal (Retd.)
Nanodkar says, “Considering India’s
borders with the two ‘not so friendly
or rather unpredictable’ neighbours,
our present strength of the AWACS and
the AEW&C are grossly inadequate to
keep a 24X7 vigil. More so even during
any conflict situation. This is highly
essential in today’s dense SSM and air
dominance fighter’s environment. It’s
high time that the IAF purchases at least
six more AWACS on fast track along with
continuation of the indigenous AEW
production.”
An Astra Mk-1 beyond visual range air-to-air missile
Operational and logistics advantage lies
with India
India has a relative advantage. Its air
force has both 70 years of experience
in the Himalayas in both logistics
and warfighting. Its pilots are trained
and familiar with combat air patrols
in these heights. It has also been
upgrading its bases in Nyoma, Daulat
Beg Oldie, Chaibasa and elsewhere.
China has an operational disadvantage
that while it has 14 major airfields, most
of these are at an average height of 4
km, this is half of Everest. At that high,
laws of physics make everything from
engine performance to payload carried
restricted. While numbers vary on
how many aircraft the PLAAF can field
opposite India, a conservative estimate
should be about 400. Of these two thirds
will be the older J-lOs, J-lls and Su-27’s.
The Su-35 and J-20 and J-21 are likely to
be only one-third of the aircraft fielded.
Thus, two thirds of the Chinese aircraft
will be constrained by high operational
disadvantage.
However, contrary to popular
perception, this disadvantage is a
relative shortcoming, not an absolute
drawback as the more advanced
fighters and their standoff weapons can
compensate for some of that.
India’s ability to reinforce supplies
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023 2 =
in contested ground is robust with its
fleet of upgraded An-32s and frontline
C-13OJs and C-17 Globemasters for
various missions. However, the utility
helicopter fleet is aging and needs to be
addressed with supplements including
the LUH.
Chinese air defences complicate Indian
offensive
China has reportedly put its air
defence systems on a single centralised
theatre-grid across the Tibet region.
The grid consists of at least seven new
radar stations and the world’s largest
stockpile of surface-to-air missiles.
These include a layered air defence
that has the SA-20 and the HQ9 missile
under air force battalions as well as the
advanced Russian S-400 Triumf SAM
system.
This three-layered interoperated
system makes the game complicated
for the IAF and puts pressure on the
number of offensive assets needed for
system success.
India too has one S-400 missile
system in the western theatre and the
Akash and Spyder systems in place.
However, two thirds of its missile
defences comprise of the older S-125
Pechora, 9K33 Osa-AK, 9K38 Igla-1
missiles. Some of these designs are of
57
 A C-17 Globemaster-Ill
transport aircraft of the
Indian Air Force
F
A
S
U strategic skills through use of technology
1970’s vintage.
Any opening salvo in a likely India-
China war will be from air-launched
cruise missiles and long-range surface-
to-surface missiles. India should be
prepared for an opening gambit that
targets India’s advanced airfields and
other important assets. The People’s
Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF)
is in control of Chinese ballistic and
cruise missile brigades. China will
likely target the opening salvos with the
HN series of missiles that have a 500 kg
high explosive warhead and a range of
600 km. Indian bases in Leh, Tezpur,
Bagdogra, Hasimara and elsewhere
can also be targeted by Chinese long-
range missiles in particular the CJ-10
with a range of between 1200-1500 km
and the Chinese have been producing
these missiles in some numbers with an
estimated 300 odd available vis a vis the
front facing India. The CJ-20 of which
not much is known in the public domain
is an air-launched cruise missile and is
said to have a range in excess of 1700
km and thus makes it the most potent
weapon for a first strike and subsequent
pressure.
Given the range and capability
of Chinese missiles and their likely
inventory to last over a month and
beyond, a sustained missile punch
will put Indian’s air defences under
pressure. For far too long, India has
ignored its air defence needs in the
western sector. India has not procured
more modern missiles radars and
sensor capability in both offensive
and missile defence variations. This
simply cannot continue and the need
is urgent to upgrade India’s missile
58
defence capabilities in missile offence,
though India has done considerable
investments.
Multifront threat to limit Chinese firepower
There is a lot of talk of the real threat of a
two-front war with Pakistan and China
together. But there are some limiting
factors for China here. The Chinese
imperial overstretch today is akin to
Kaiser Germany before World War-I.
China is taking too many enemies all at
once. There are far too many fronts for
Beijing to allocate its impressive 2000
fighter-bomber fleet. At any given time
more than half of these will be tied down
against Taiwan and another quarter
will need to flank a rapidly rearming
Japan and deal with the US at the same
time. This means that only one fourth
of the fleet will have to divide assets
between the far flanked South China
Sea and Tibet. The rearmament of
Japan is on such a scale that the Chinese
military planners are already having to
allocate more resources in Japan-facing
theatres. Add to that the Japanese air
power reorganisation with longer range
aircraft and capable standoff missiles.
Thus, the already thinly-stretched
PLAAF will have to do some serious
number crunching when it comes to
allocating airpower resources to the
Indian front. This is something that will
play out within the next three years and
the current 350-450 km range of fighter
bombers available to China may thin
down to the 250-350 km range, making
the asymmetry less threatening than it
is today- especially if India goes ahead
and buys more Rafales and the HAL
delivers the LCA in a timely fashion.
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
Time which was on China’s side for
long is in fact resulting in a strategic
asymmetry by the day. While on paper
the number of Chinese fighter squadrons
look impressive, its pilots have not been
in a war for more than three generations
and some of their fighter planes are
reversed engineered from Russia. But
then, as has been seen in the ongoing
war in Ukraine, the Russian systems are
not working well enough.
This, while China will outnumber
the Indian Air Force in a northern
war, it is far from certain that they will
outgun the IAF. Air Commodore (Retd)
Asit Mehta says: “IAF traditionally has
always been prepared for a two-front
war. The imbroglio with China since
2020 has given us ample time to fine­
tune our operational capabilities and
and training.”
Time to load up on missiles
India’s homemade missile programme is
one of its great strengths. The BrahMos,
Agni and Pralay ballistic missiles,
especially the tactical ones, will be in
full play in any war scenario with China.
In conclusion, it can be said that the
professional drilled IAF can hold off
China sufficiently in a short war. But for
a longer duration confrontation, India’s
airpower will be tested, given the glaring
gaps in force levels to launch a sustained
offensive in terms of more Rafales and
defensive capability in terms of better
more widely deployed air-defences. The
simple solution is to spend the money
now, to pluck the gaps by armed drones,
AWACS and other advanced systems.
The problem here is of the monetary
requirement over the next decade.
The Indian Air Force deserves a bigger
share of an expanded defence budget,
which should be raised to a level that
is between 2.8 and 3 per cent of India’s
GDP.
This is not a bread versus guns
debate. In the face of a two-front war,
the security of the realm is at clear risk
and the expansion of the defence budget
has to be one of the most fundamental
priorities of national importance. Of
course, the final difference between
2023 and 1962 is that India today has
thermonuclear weapons just like
China. If the war on the border with the
totalitarian country gets out of hand,
India may have no alternative other
than changing its “no first use policy” of
nuclear weapons midway.
The author is a senior defence analyst
 >AERO INDIA 2023

DRONES FOR
THE INDIAN ARMY
The Indian armed forces require precision-based drones that provide armed solutions.
UAVs are quickly becoming an integral component of asymmetric warfare,
writes GIRISH LINGANNA

he Indian Army has placed orders These large purchases are urgently the number of troops that are deployed

T
for approximately 2000 drones, necessary as a result of the numerous in forward locations. They have also built
of which some will be deployed conflicts that have taken place at high heated shelters and helipads in Aksai
to ferry essential supplies to altitudes between Indian and Chinese Chin, in addition to important battie
forward outposts, and others will execute
troops in Ladakh and, more recently, in spots such as Demchok and Galwan.
essential observation and reconnaissance Arunachal Pradesh. Because of this, it is absolutely necessary
activities. The orders were made earlier In the region of Ladakh, the People’s to keep a tight eye on their movements.
this year. Liberation Army of China has increased The helipads make it easier for troops to

www.geopolitics.in February 2023

move quickly to more forward locations.
Logistical support
For the purpose of providing logistical
support, roughly 400 drones are being
obtained, while approximately 1500 are
being purchased for various sorts of
monitoring.
The logistics drones have the
capacity to carry between 5 kg and 40 kg
of goods, and their primary function will
be to deliver a wide variety of supplies
to forward areas. It’s possible that the
drones will fly anywhere from 5 to 20 km
during their missions.
There are several types of
surveillance drones, each of which
travels at a unique pace and can
stay in the air for a varied amount of
time. Drones with both high and low
flying altitudes have been given their
commissioning orders.
Trials performed at a high altitude
In addition, tests are being carried out
to guarantee that the drones are capable
of flying at high altitudes and staying
airborne for the necessary amount of
time. For example, many important
bases and advance posts in Ladakh
are located at an elevation of between
4000 and 5000 metres. The Indian Air
Force’s highest airbase may be found
close to Daulat Bagh Oldi at an elevation
of 18,000 feet. Landing aeroplanes are
required to keep their engines running
and have a maximum time limit of
around 15 minutes on the ground.
One of the most important
manufacturers, ideaForge, produces a
model called the Switch that is rumoured
to be capable of taking off from altitudes
of approximately 15,000 feet and flying
up to 19,600 feet.
The Switch is a hybrid drone that can
take off in a vertical orientation and fly in
the manner of an aeroplane. ideaForge
also produces the Netra V4 Plus, a high-
performance drone that has the ability
to take off in a vertical position to an
altitude of 19,600 feet. It was superior to
other foreign drones that were tested in
India and participated in the testing.
Manufacturing boost at idea Forge
Orders have already been delivered by
ideaForge to the military branches of the
army, air force, and navy via ideaForge.
The company has been in business for
15 years, but in the last 18 months, its
output has surged by roughly ten times
what it was.
Even in terrains that are exceedingly
difficult and steep, it is conceivable that
60
a logistics drone could reach the bulk
of front posts in less than half an hour.
On the other hand, the mules used by
the army would need to be led up rough
mountain trails, which could take up to
four or five hours to complete.
The development and deployment of
aerial drones for civilian use have been
subject to India’s stringent oversight,
and the country did not give its blessing
to the widespread use of aerial drones
until August 15, 2021. Since then,
the production levels of some drone
manufacturers have significantly
expanded while others have entered the
market.
Agreement with the army for $20 million
Before the industry’s official launch,
ideaForge and the Indian Army came to
an agreement on a contract worth $20
million. In January o f2022, the company
was given a new order for the infantry
in addition to the previous order it had
received. Since restrictions on drone
use were eased, ideaForge’s amount of
business has increased by a factor of 10.
The military, which typically puts very
big orders, is the source of the majority
of the company’s orders at the moment.
The company had manageable growth
and ultimately decided to implement
three daily shifts in order to maximise
output. Additionally, the firm creates
a number of drones specifically for the
Survey of India, which is India’s national
mapping organisation. ideaForge
proudly says that tits 70 per cent drones
are made in the country.
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
T
A
W
A
R
T
N
A
M
E
H
It was during the brief battle between
Azerbaijan and Armenia, in which a
large number of drones played a big role,
that it became clear for the first time
how important a role drones may play in
a conflict. In addition, the devastating
potential of drones was illustrated when
they were used in an attack on Aramco
refineries in Saudi Arabia. Recently,
the crisis between Russia and Ukraine
showed how drones are altering modern
warfare. The consequences of this
predicament continued to avalanche.
June 2020 encounters with China
Following India’s conflicts with China in
Ladakh in June of 2020, the rate at which
India purchased drones increased.
Since the beginning of the Russia-
Ukraine conflict, when drone attacks
became routine, unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) have been receiving a lot
of attention during the past year. During
the conflict between Ukraine and
Russia, Ukraine utilised drones to fight
against Russian forces, while Russia
employed drones to attack Ukrainian
objectives.
The Shahed-136 drone, which
was manufactured in Iran and is
being deployed by Moscow in the
confrontation between Russia and
Ukraine, is about the size of a small
aeroplane and can carry a very modest
quantity of explosives. It is known as
a loitering drone because it follows a
predetermined path around an area
until it is given the order to carry out
a kamikaze attack. It is predicted that

each drone will cost roughly $20,000,
which places them in a substantially
more affordable category than cruise
missiles.
Focus shifts to drones
In India, there is a significant need for
both civilian and military drones. By
2025, it is anticipated that the global
market for military drones will have
reached $30 billion. The military
requires drones of many shapes and
sizes, ranging from micro to heavy,
handheld to high-altitude. India has
not yet produced various categories of
drones that are suitable for military
use, despite the fact that the strategy
is encouraging the development of
indigenous capabilities.
Although India has relied on drones
made in Israel and the United States up
until this point, the country’s industrial
potential in both the public and private
sectors for drones is vast.
For the most part, India has taken
measures to prevent the import of drones
so that it can protect its local industry.
Drone manufacturers in the country are
exempt from import limitations placed
on drone components as an investment
incentive and investment booster. In
point of fact, the Indian Army submitted
a request for 363 drones in the month of
November, with the intention of using
them for non-combat, multi-domain
operational operations in India’s high-
altitude mountainous terrain. The army
requires that a minimum of sixty per
cent (60 percent) of the components
for the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
system be manufactured in the country.
In its most basic form, a drone system is
just a drone that has been outfitted with
a ground control station and various
other crucial imaging and processing
subsystems.
On the other hand, the Defence
Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO), which is India’s one and the
only military research and development
organisation, is working on developing
a wide range of medium-altitude, long-
endurance— unmanned aerial vehicles
(MALE UAVs) for the Indian armed
forces. Long-range— unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) are required not just
for effective intelligence, surveillance,
and reconnaissance (ISR), but also for
anti-air defence systems that have the
capability to engage in combat.
In spite of the country’s success in
information technology (IT), which
is necessary for the development of
algorithm-based drones, India is falling
behind in the creation of MALE-drones.
A number of countries, most notably
Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and
China, have developed highly effective
military drones. Turkey is responsible
for the Bayraktar, whereas the United
Arab Emirates is responsible for the
flexible Yabhon United 40. A few of
China’s formidable military drones,
including the CH-5 and the Loong Wing
II, have already been moved to locations
closer to Indian borders.
www.geopolitics.in I February 2023
-AERO INDIA 2023
Tapas-BH-201 MALE drones
Tapas-BH-201, formerly known as
Rustom-2, is a MALE unmanned aerial
vehicle. Rustom II has been under
development for quite some time. While
there are several advances in a number
of fields, the delays raise doubts and
ambiguity. In fact, development of the
prototype began as early as 2009.
In a previous incarnation, the
Rustom-1 evolved from Burt Rutan’s
Long-EZ with a 250-km range and vision
and radar surveillance capabilities.
It was a tactical UAV with a 12-hour
endurance that made its maiden voyage
in November 2009. Another variant,
Rustom-H, is a bigger UAV with a 24-
hour flight endurance.
It has been connected to satellite
communications (SATCOM), and its
long-range electro-optical payload has
been tested. It is basically connected
to the indigenous GAGAN satellite.
In 2020, numerous automated take­
off (ATO) flying tests were performed.
However, the engine issue continued as
the required power thrust could not be
achieved. This issue has been overcome
with the introduction of the Lycoming
for smaller models and the twin Russian
NPO-Saturn 36MT engines. According to
DRDO representatives, the organisation
is also in the final stages of developing a
completely indigenous engine.
Finally, Rustom-II took off, reaching
an altitude of 26,000 feet with 18 hours
of endurance. In addition, the goal is
to have a range of 3,000 kilometres, a
61

service ceiling of 15,000 feet, and the
capacity to carry a 3000 kg armament
payload. Infrared (IR) sensors, synthetic
aperture radar (SAR) and maritime patrol
radars, electronic intelligence (ELINT)
and communications intelligence
(COMINT) packages are still mostly
acquired from Israel.
Upon completion of all trials, the
DRDO will transfer the technology to
a public or a commercial aerospace
partner for manufacture. The export
version is planned as well.
Ghatak UCAV
The Ghatak unmanned combat air vehicle
(UCAV) is one of the most futuristic
DRDO projects. It is comparable to the
Turkish TB2 Bayraktar missile-armed
UAVs that have been employed in the
Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Ghatak is a stealthy, autonomous,
UCAV armed with missiles and precision-
guided weapons. It will have an internal
weapons bay and a turbofan engine
and include flying wings. The prototype
is anticipated around 2024 or 2025.
Previously it was known as Autonomous
Unmanned Research Aircraft (AURA).
The Aeronautical Development Agency
(ADA) in Bangalore is responsible for the
design of the Ghatak UCAV. The Ghatak
UCAV full-scale prototype will undergo
testing by the end of 2025. Additionally,
the Indian Navy is interested in acquiring
deck-based UCAVs for aircraft carriers
and Landing Platform Docks (LPDs).
DRDO’s Stealth Wing Flying Testbed
(SWiFT) is a Ghatak UCAV technology
demonstrator. SWiFT is essentially
a “scaled-down version” of Ghatak,
which is currently in development.
The primary objective of the SWiFT
UAV is to demonstrate and validate in
autonomous mode the stealth technology
and high-speed landing technology.
At the Aeronautical Test Range of the
Aeronautical Development Establishment
(ADE) in Challakere, Karnataka, in July
2022, the take-off and landing capabilities
of SWiFT were proven.
Netra autonomous UAV
Netra is a lightweight (1.5 kg),
autonomous, ISR-capable UAV
developed by DRDO and the Mumbai­
based private company, ideaForge.
This is the first time that a commercial
company has proved its ability to
manufacture military-grade drones.
Over 700 Netra UAV systems have been
deployed with the Indian Army, Navy,
and Air Force, among others.
ideaForge is capable of producing 10
UAVs per month. A more complex version
of the fundamental model is currently
under development.The success of Netra
UAV has made other chances available
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
A Tapas-BH-201 MALE UAV in flight
(inset) A scaled down technology
demonstrator of DRDO Ghatak
to private players. Nevertheless, the
greatest obstacle is the design and
development of sensors and hardware
such as motors and propellers. The
armed forces require precision-based
drones that provide armed solutions.
UAVs are quickly becoming an integral
component of asymmetric warfare.
Conclusion
Not only does the military strongly
believe drones represent the future,
but the administration has also exerted
a significant amount of pressure in
this regard. The Modi administration
announced additional regulations for
drone technologies in August 2021.
The ‘Drone Rules-2021’ constitute
the government’s conceptual foundation
for fostering a thriving indigenous drone
production business, particularly as
the government attempts to establish
a robust military-industrial complex in
India.This is the key to the future. As the
military continues to place order after
order, more and more competitors are
joining the market, a phenomenon that
was inconceivable a few years ago.
The writer is an aerospace and
defence analyst, and Director o f ADD
Engineering Components (India) Pvt.
Ltd. (An Indo-German company) in
Bengaluru
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 MILITANTS
SURRENDER

CRORE GANJA SEIZURE

^58.35 crore worth of
43 m ilita n ts of
contraband has been
seized by BSF in 2022. eight o u tfits have
The security agency also CRORE s u rre n d e re d in
apprehended 370 people, M anipur. The 43
TOURISTS
^56,000
including 59 Rohingyas m ilita n ts included 13
and 150 Bangladeshi 1.8 crore tourists cadres of the KYKL,
nationals, in different came to J&K 11 fro m the KCP, five
operations in 2022. A in 2022, as per each fro m the P L A /
CRORE FUNDS BSF spokesman said that Home Minister
RPF, the KCP-N
FRACAS the paramilitary force,
as part of its all-out
Amit Shah’s
latest statement,
and the UNLF, tw o
^56,000 crore funds received investments operation against the Shah said that fro m the PREPAK
for J&K has been worth 56,000 crore drug menace, destroyed he takes pride (PRO) and one
questioned by Mehbooba in the past three years. approximately 25 lakh in highlighting each fro m PREPAK
Mufti. The Former Chief These figures were ganja (marijuana) that normalcy and the NSCN-U.
Minister and Peoples contrary to the Ministry’s saplings last year that has returned in The su rre n d e re d
Democratic Party (PDP) reply in the Lok Sabha were being grown Jammu Kashmir, m ilita n ts deposited
president Mehbooba on December 13 where illegally on 644.71 acres which is why a rm s, a m m u n itio n
Mufti She was referring the total investment was of land in different parts tourists are and explosives,
to reports data that J&K said to be 1,084 crore. of the border areas of visiting various
in clu ding 19 AK se rie s
Tripura. places in the
rifle s , p isto ls, hand
Union Territory.
"Tourists have grenades, lEDs and
broken all records live a m m u n itio n .
in Jammu and D ire c to r G eneral
I X MORE CRPF Kashmir. Some of Police P Doungel
1.8 crore tourists said th a t w ith the
came here in
A U COMPANIES 2022. This shows
s u rre n d e r of 43
m ilita n ts , 644 u ltra s
people of the
of va rio u s o u tfits
18 additional companies of CRPF w ill country believe
have come into
be deployed in Kashmir in the wake of that the situation
recent killings of civilians in two fresh in Jammu the m a in stre a m .
terror attacks in Rajouri district. The and Kashmir A ddressing the
18 CRPF companies- approximately is normal, I su rre n d e re d
1,800 personnel- w ill be rushed to the congratulate the m ilita n ts , M a n ip u r’s
Jammu region for deployment mainly in security forces Chief M in is te r N
Poonch and Rajouri districts. Eight CRPF and agencies B iren Singh said
companies w ill be deployed very soon operating there." th a t the doors of
from nearby locations of deployment Shah said at a the g overnm ent
in Jammu and Kashmir while 10 CRPF conference of top
are always open fo r
companies are being rushed from Delhi. police officers
anyone w illin g to give
The move followed a recent order issued organised by
by the m inistry of home affairs amidst the Intelligence up a rm s and jo in the
intelligence input about the terro r attack Bureau. m a in stre a m .
in the Jammu region.

February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

64
 AERO INDIA 2023

S SMUGGLERS

5 Manipur Police Myanmar.

personnel have been In a separate
arrested while ferrying development, the
drugs, including heroin Manipur government
and Methamphetamine has started deploying
tablets, from Moreh drones to destroy poppy
town along the India- plantations in the state.
Myanmar border. The More such missions
five cops, including w ill be carried out in all
a havildar, were the areas where poppy
BOMBING REFUGEES transporting the is being cultivated, the
251 Myanmar citizens are taking Shelter in Mizoram drugs to state capital Chief Minister said in
after bombings along the border. More than 30400 Imphal in a Maruti a tweet. In a separate
LAKH REWARD
nationals from the neighbouring country are taking Gypsy after collecting tweet ANNOUNCED
shelter in different parts of the state. According to the contraband from
the Deputy Commissioner of Champhai district, the ^10 lakh reward has
251 citizens of Myanmar have taken shelter in three been announced by the
villages under his district after the recent bombings 4’ National Investigation
by Myanmar's military aimed at destroying the
AIRCRAFTS TO Agency (NIA) for sharing

M MOTHER INDIA'S
insurgent camps in the region. info about perpetrators.
Myanmar had carried out the aerial bombing The security agency
operation in order to root out the headquarters of the GLORY visited the Dangri of
Chin National Army. The armed forces had carried Rajouri district and
out two series of attacks targeting Camp Victoria, 50 aircrafts participated at India's 74th Republic collected evidence from
the military head office of the Chin National Army on ■ Day Parade which was held in New Delhi on the incident spot where
January 10 and 11. : January 26. This included 45 aircrafts of the six people including two
j Indian Air Force, one from the Indian Navy and minors were killed in
four helicopters of the Indian Army that exhibited firing and IED explosion
various aerobatics and professional skills. on January 1 and

237
BORDER TOURISTS
237 Bangladeshis
have been nabbed
by BSF’s North
Bengal Frontier
troops in 2022.
A spokesperson
for the force said:
“We have caught a
total (of) 207 Indian
nationals; 175
male and 32 women,
including one constable
of Bihar military police
with huge (amounts
of) dummy fake Indian
currency. We have also
caught 237 Bangladeshi
nationals; 186 male and
51 women, including
12 Bangladeshi touts,
were apprehended by
the troops of North
Bengal Frontier in
2022.”
In the last one
year, acting on tip-
• The Baaz formation, Arrow formation, Ladder January 2. Meanwhile,
formation, Tangail formation, Bajrang formation, Jammu Police have
Vic formation, Netra formation, Bheem formation, announced a reward of
Amrit formation, Trishul formation, Vijay Rs 10 lakh to anybody
formation by various Indian military aircraft were sharing information
prime attractions of the flypast over Kartavya Path about terrorists involved
in New Delhi. A Dassault Rafale fighter-bomber in the killing of innocent
pulled up for Vertical Charlie and carried several civilians., 01962- 262515
turns while approaching the dais, thus bringing have also been shared
: the air show to a very impressive conclusion. by the police. In the
: Various indigenously developed Indian meanwhile, the district
defence hardware like the Arjun main battle tank, administration in Samba
Akash missiles, Nag anti-tank guided missiles, has imposed night
K9 Vajra-T, quick reaction fighting vehicles and curfew in 1-km area for
BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles were also a period of two months
offs as well as in joint displayed during the grand parade. Many of these from the international
operations with the advanced weapon systems are planned to be border in Samba district
police, troops of the exported to foreign countries. Egyptian President of Jammu and Kashmir.
North Bengal Frontier Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was the Chief Guest at the
made effective seizures, ceremony. An Egyptian armed forces marching
including "3,430 : contingent also participated in the event.
number of cattle, one
jar of snake venom and
more than Rs 7 crore
of contraband items
from the entire border
area of North Bengal
Frontier” which was
being smuggled from
India to Bangladesh, the
spokesperson added.

www.geopolitics.in February 2023

65
 A CHINESE
CHALLENGE TO IAF
The India-China showdown continues in Ladakh, and the recent incident in Tawang shows that
China continues to be aggressive and sometimes belligerent, writes
AIR MARSHAL (RETD.) ANIL CHOPRA

i Jinping’s further consolidation

of hold over all instruments of
Chinese power and increasing
forays into Taiwanese and
Japanese ADIZ indicate Communist
Party’s sudden desire to dominate the
world. China continues to spend large
sums on the modernisation of the armed
forces. They realised early that one who
controls aerospace controls the planet.
Airpower today is the dominant
means of prosecuting war. It is inherently
strategic, simultaneously provides
conventional deterrence, and offers
prompt multiple response options to the
political leadership. Aerospace offers
speed, range, accuracy, and lethality for
achieving military effects, airpower and
the future of all warfare are intertwined.
Air campaigns can be executed
simultaneously against different spread-
out target systems. It can provide both
kinetic and non-kinetic options with
pinpoint accuracy. Airpower has a direct
influence on the outcomes and actions
of the surface forces. Air superiority
will continue to be a prerequisite for all
operations on the surface to succeed.
Even armies and navies want to spend IN D IA 'S IN D IG EN O U S COMBAT JETS
more on air assets.

lAF’s current combat assets

Indian armed forces are expected to fight
on both fronts simultaneously a war at
30 days (intense) and 60 days (normal)
light tighter designed by ADA) and close-combat capability,
rates. The Indian Air Force (IAF) which
and precision strike. First flight
has an authorised strength of 42 fighter
squadrons, is today down to 30. These -
include two Rafale, 12 Su-30MKI,
three MiG 21 Bison, three MiG-29 and
Mirage-2000, five Jaguar, and two LCA
squadrons.
lAF’s Rafale, armed with Meteor and

February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

66
 AERO INDIA 2023

Launcher) vehicle

A Chinese Xian H-6 bomber which MICA beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-
can be equipped with air-launched air missiles, and a modern EW suite, are
ballistic missiles much better than China’s J-10, J-ll, Su-27,
and Su-35 fighter jets.
The Sukhoi Su-30MKI serves the IAF
as the primary air superiority fighter
capable of air-to-ground strike missions.
Mirages and MiG-29s have been
upgraded. The LCA’s have now become
operationally viable assets.
With 11 C-17 and C-130 each, 17 IL-
76, and over 100 upgraded An-32, IAF
has significant cargo and troop lift
capability. Similarly, having inducted 15
Boeing Chinook heavy-lift and 22 Apache
AH-64E attack helicopters and already
a substantial fleet of 240 Mi-17 series
medium-lift helicopters, nearly 100 ALH
variants, and smaller Chetak/Cheetah
fleets, IAF is in a good position for rotary
wing assets.
IAF has only three large Airborne
gained in operating Early Warning and Control (AEW&C)
(AM CA) is a fifth-gener aircraft and two indigenous DRDO-
al ion stealth tighter aircraft developed AEW&C aircraft. Similarly,
help in proving inpul to lhe
ci all {ORCA I tighter is also IAF has only six IL-78 Flight Refuelling
will be man u pictured bv HAL Aircraft (FRA). Both these fleets are
ghter (TED BF)
aircraft. Maiden flight is highly inadequate for a continental
with ’orcimi partners. country like India, which also covers the
2030. Indian Ocean Region.
India has a well-covered and
integrated air defence radar cover.
IAF continues to operate some legacy

www.geopolitics.in February 2023

67
surface-to-air missile systems like the The US has cleared the F-16 spares squadrons of LCA Mk-IA. At best, one
SAM-3 Pechora and SAM-8 OSA-AK. package. In the long term, PAF could have squadron of LCA Mk-2 may induct. If a
The AD coverage can be considered over 250 JF-17s, 75 F-16s, and around 50 decision is taken in time, 1-2 squadrons
significant with the induction of many J-10 C (two squadrons). PAF is reportedly of the newly imported fighters may be
indigenous Akash AD systems and the also seeking the J-20, though that seems inducted. IAF could thus still be hanging
already inducting five S-400 systems. premature. around 33-34 squadrons. Not an excellent
More systems will need to be inducted PAF has a mid-sized transport aircraft state of being in.
to cover the sizeable Chinese border. and helicopter fleets. But they have I assess that the IAF could reach 42
With the induction of the MICA, Meteor, acquired a significant number of Chinese squadrons by 2038 only if the nation takes
Astra, SCALP, BrahMos, and Hammer, UAVs and w ill soon set up production of a resolution and all actions go by plan.
among others, IAF has a significant aerial Wing Loong UCAVs in Pakistan. The PAF The end state could be 14 squadrons of
weapons inventory. Numbers w ill have to is primarily air defence oriented. While Su-30 MKI, two each of Mirage-2000 and
go up. PAF does not pose any significant threat MiG-29, 12 squadrons of LCA variants,
to India, it has been exercising closely two of Rafale, six of the new fighters,
A rapidly growing PLAAF with PLAAF and has the advantage of and four of Advanced Medium Combat
China’s People’s Liberation Army Air equipment interoperability. It could Aircraft (AMCA). This would make it 42.
Force (PLAAF) has a more extensive and also allow the PLAAF to use some of its Effectively IAF would have to stretch
growing fighter fleet and advanced air airfields. IAF has to thus factor in a two- the Mirage and MiG-29 fleets. These
defence systems. Yes, they must contend front confrontation. figures are highly achievable as long as
with the much more powerful US Air
Force. PLAAF currently has nearly 1,700
fighter/ bomber aircraft, of which 800
are fourth-generation-plus aircraft,
including over 150 fifth-generation J-20s.
Their second fifth-generation aircraft,
FC-31/J-31, has got fresh funding. PLAAF
has nearly 170 H-6 long-range strategic
bombers with some variants that can
carry up to six cruise missiles in a
1500-kilometer range.
The H-20 Stealth bomber is on
schedule and may get launched by 2025.
PLAAF also has dedicated EW aircraft.
The Y-20 large transport aircraft (66 tons)
is being inducted in large numbers. Their
other strategic assets, such as indigenous
AEW&C aircraft and Flight Refueller
(FRA), are growing, though the numbers
are still small for their size. China has
already tested a hypersonic weapon,
which puts it much ahead.
China also has an edge with a huge
surface-to-surface missile inventory.
China’s biggest strength is its indigenous
aircraft industry which produces
all types of aircraft and advanced
helicopters. China has vast Unmanned
Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV) and a
small drone fleet of indigenous designs.
China also has significant maritime
airpower, with PLA Navy (PLAN) having
two operational aircraft carriers and
nearly 600 aircraft. Two more carriers
are under construction, and two further,
larger ones are on drawing boards. It can
be seen that China has significant air
power.

The Pakistan Air Force
PAF has 20 squadrons with around 400
fighter aircraft. Indications are that the
numbers w ill go up to 24-25 squadrons.
Older fleets are being replaced. JF-17
Block-Ill and J-10 C are under induction.
Targeted end state IAF
lAF’s remaining MiG-21 Bison squadrons
will phase out by 2025. The remaining
fighter fleets would continue till 2030.
By then, additions would be just four
timely funds are allotted and there are no
serious development delays in AMCA.
IAF must also target ten large and
ten smaller AEW&Cs, and at least 12 FRA
aircraft. DRDO is working on indigenous
makes of these types based on Ex-India

February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

68

Airbus aircraft. It will take nearly 6-8
years to induct them. Until then, we
must accelerate the two AEW&C under
acquisition, and also, it would be a good
idea to take a few FRA on lease.
IAF must have a significant fleet of
UCAVsystems,includingtheindigenously
developed DRDO’s “Ghatak.” IAF needs a
substantial number of drones and drone
swarms. IAF should also have a large
inventory of aerial missiles with longer
ranges, including the later variants of
BrahMos and Astra missiles.
China-centric asset positioning
India’s m ilitary assets and infrastructure
were Pakistan border-centric for a long
time. This is fast changing for both
infrastructure build-up and assets
position. While border roads and
connectivity are being improved, IAF has
upgraded its Advanced Landing Grounds
(ALG) near the China border. IAF
airfields are getting hardened aircraft
and equipment shelters. The process
needs further acceleration.
IAF now has a significant number
of Su-30 MKI squadrons facing China.
Also, new acquisitions like Rafale, C-130J,
Chinook, and Apache helicopters have all
been located in the eastern sector. The
same is also applicable to air defence
systems and weapons positioning.
Indigenous aircraft production ecosystem
The LCA Tejas is a success. The fighter
aircraft production ecosystem is now in
place. The LCA production rate is still
very low. For IAF to get back numbers,
HAL and a private player must produce 18
aircraft a year. The LCA Mk-IA and Mk-2
development must be hastened. A task
force must drive the AMCA.
The helicopter production ecosystem
is also now entirely in place. A new
helicopter factory is set up at Tumkur.
Inductions in the armed forces are on
pace. The 70 HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft
have been ordered. The long-delayed
Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) trainer
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023
needs to be pushed.
The Saras small transport (19-seater)
is still struggling, and the midsized, 80-90
seat Indian Regional Jet (IRJ) has still to
take-off. Local production of the C-295W
should boost indigenous transport
aircraft production, but the timelines are
nearly 8-10 years.
India’s efforts on long and m edium ­
range SAMs and air-to-air missiles must
continue. The Uttam AESAhas to succeed
and increase performance for LCA Mk-II.
Airborne electronic warfare, airborne
processors, and mission avionics need
more work.
Meanwhile, India continues to
struggle with its aero-engine programme.
We need to convert pure research into
products that can be physically inducted
into the Indian armed forces.
Synergy at national level
India must announce its National
Security Strategy (NSS) from where it will
flow the political direction to the armed
forces. Due to the multi-dimensional
nature of conflict, increasing levels of
synergy amongst the armed forces and
civil agencies is operationally critical.
For the surface forces to succeed, IAF has
to dominate the skies with at least local
superiority in time and space.
For acquiring newer technologies,
special national-level task forces would
have to be set up in areas such as aero­
engines, stealth, artificial intelligence
(Al), advanced robotics, drones and
swarming, combat air teaming (CAT),
directed energy weapons (DEW), cyber,
electronic warfare, quantum radars,
sixth-generation technologies, and
hypersonic weapons. Academia and the
private sector would have to be involved.
Atmanirbharta: The only answer
India has a great industrial base and
significant defence equipment demand
to allow an advantage of scale. If India
can succeed in its missile, space, and
nuclear programmes, it can do the same
in defence production.
The Make-in-India, Atmanirbharta,
in defence, is being aggressively pushed at
the highest levels. The thrust is to promote
‘Made-by-India’ as a first choice. ‘Make-
in-India’ is being driven as an interim
solution. Big private industrial houses
like Tata, L&T, Mahindra, Adani, Bharat
Forge, and many others have seriously
come into defence manufacturing.
India’s target is to initially reduce
defence imports from 70 percent to 40
percent. A positive indigenization list is
fairly exhaustive and should help. The
69

government formulated the ‘Defence
Production and Export Promotion
Policy-2020’ to provide impetus to self-
reliance in defence manufacturing.
The target of a turnover of Rs. 1 lakh 75
thousand crore ($25 billion), including
export of ?35 thousand crore ($5 billion)
in aerospace and defence goods and
services by 2025, is ambitious but
achievable.
There is also perhaps a case for
increased privatisation of DPSUs.
The joint-venture route for radars and
missiles has worked reasonably well with
Israeli and Russian firms. India has had
great success in shipbuilding, which
needs to be replicated in aerospace.
Tata Aerospace and Defence have
been making aero-structures for the
Boeing AH-64 Apache and CH-47
Chinook, Sikorsky S-92 helicopters,
and Lockheed C-130J tactical transport
planes.
GE has a huge India presence. Tata
Group works with GE to manufacture
India’s CFM International LEAP engine
components. Lockheed Martin selected
TASL to produce F-16 wings in India.
EADS unit Cassidian plans to make
India a hub for a large number of defence
products that are locally manufactured
and also offer technological value. A large
MRO market can also create an R&D base
70
A PLAAF Chengdu J-20 fifth-generation a be necessary. Network-centric warfare
fighter jet in flight
for engineering services. Adani-Elbit JV
will make Hermes-900 UAVs in India.
Bharat Forge is a major player in
the artillery and specialised vehicles
segment. Dynamatic Technologies makes
assemblies of vertical fins for Sukhoi-
30MKI fighters and front fuselage for
LCA. VEM Technologies manufactures
centre fuselage for LCA Tejas. Several
small companies such as Avasarala
Technologies, DefSys, Ravilla, and
Taneja Aerospace have recently acquired
advanced technological capabilities.
Indian companies have the global
opportunity not only due to cheaper
skilled labour but have also developed
the ability to manufacture accurately to
specifications, particularly in aerospace,
metalworking, and electronics. An
estimated 24,000 MSMEs are currently
involved in the defence supply chain, and
the contribution of private players in the
defence sector has steadily grown over
the years, with more than 500 licences
issued to private companies.
Imperatives for IAF
Some uninformed cynics have suggested
that since Dassault Rafale and Su-30MKI
can achieve much more significant effects
than the older MiG-21s, why should IAF
continue to seek 42 squadrons?
The argument is flawed. While IAF
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
has had a sturdy growth in capability,
the adversaries, especially China, have
been leaping ahead with fifth-generation
platforms. They are not cutting down
on numbers. The type of aircraft and
weapon platforms must be comparable
to the adversary. IAF must get back to the
authorised force levels of 42 squadrons.
While indigenisation must be pushed,
the interim number gap must be filled
with imported Make-in-India fighters.
IAF also urgently needs additional
AEW&C and FRA. The future being
unmanned, IAF needs to invest more
in combat UAVs, including the cost-
effective kamikaze drones, as seen in the
Ukraine conflict. India must also defend
itself against a possible sizeable Chinese
surface-to-surface missile (SSM) attack.
We need more air defence SAM systems
of the S-400 and Iron Dome-class and
the many indigenous air defence systems
under development.
w It is essential to have a larger
J ammunition and missile stocking.
8 SSMs and cruise missiles are going to
| means the need for better cyber and
electronic warfare capability, securing
own networks, and denying the same to
the adversary. Much more needs to be
done on this score.
The way ahead
The government has acknowledged
India’s threat from two fronts. Yet it is
also clear that a full-scale war between
neighbours is unlikely. China will
continue to create border situations to
test India’s resolve to defend itself. But
deterrence is possible only through
strength.
The gap with China is continuing to
increase. The serious backlog of lAF’s
modernisation needs to be addressed
without delay. The obsolescence sets
in much faster for aerial systems. It
could also mean an increase in defence
allocations.
IAF is well trained and operationally
well exposed. IAF has a clear advantage
in more and better-located and equipped
airfields than China. IAF can match
the PLAAF, but IAF will be much better
placed once the numbers increase. The
time to act is now.
[The author is the Director-General,
Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS), New
Delhi.]
 AERO INDIA 2023

A LETHAL STEP FORWARD

WITH PRACHAND
The acquisition of this helicopter made at home is a massive plus for force projection,
reports NINAD D SHETH

www.geopolitics.in February 2023

71
 LCH sortie undertaken by former Air
Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria
uring the Kargil conflict India
D
learned a major lesson that
the unforgiving heights of the
Himalayas demand machines
of a different caliber- especially
wing attack helicopters. When Pakistan
soldiers were in those freezing heights, a
capability to take them out with missiles
at ranges of 3 to 6 km would have led
to softening up the high perch of the
attackers and neutralised quite a lot of
the enemies. It would have made the
unimaginable heroic counter attack
at those heights far less bloody for our
soldiers.
In the event this was not to be,
but a lesson was learned and it was
incorporated into the long process of
design collaboration breakthrough
research, production and finally
induction of attack helicopters with very
high-altitude operational capability of
16,000 feet plus.
The result is the Prachand attack
helicopter. The twin-engine Light
Combat Helicopter (LCH) was formally
inducted into the 143 Helicopter Unit
of the Indian Air Force in Jodhpur on
October 3, thus marking the beginning
of new versatile homemade platform to
help both in the plains on the western
72
front and the high-altitude challenge of within India”.
the Kashmir and China-front. The aircraft packs robust offensive
The twin engine helicopter is also a punch in both anti-helicopter air assault
very good example of India’s strategic
relationship
rotary with the French. The two
“Shakti” engines have been jointly
developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited (HAL) with Safran of France.
This has included significant technology
transfers. It has also incorporated a
dedicated MRO facility in Goa to provide
back up for keeping the helicopters in
operational capability. What is more,
the two firms have signed a new joint
venture to manufacture new engines
for future helicopters of the Indian Air
Force.
In a media note the chairman of
HAL, R Madhavan recently said, “Safran
Helicopter Engines has been our valued
partner for several decades. We now
look forward to utilise this opportunity
to leverage HAL’s experience in
manufacturing of more than 15 types of and ground attack roles. The helicopter
aircraft and helicopter engines to jointly has a maximum speed of 288 kmph and
codevelop and manufacture engine has a combat radius of 500 km, which
with immediate focus on IMRH and its can go up to a service ceiling of 21,000
naval variant the Deck-Based Multi Role feet. It has four external hard points that
Helicopter (DBMRH). This partnership can hold air-to-ground, air-to-air, and
will involve and utilise the Indian rocket launchers.
defence manufacturing ecosystem Up to 16 anti-tank missiles, four
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

multiple 7-barrel rocket launchers, or
two multiple 32-barrel rocket launchers
can be mounted on the helicopter.
The combination of a long range and
a high ceiling makes it possible to use
the helicopter in higher Himalayas at
places such as Sikkim, Siachen glacier
and Arunachal Pradesh. It incorporates
stealth features such as a reduced radar
and infra-red signature. The platform
has increased protection in crashworthy
features for improved survivability,
armored-protection systems and night
attack capability. The night attack
capability is particularly advanced
giving it an edge in combat.
Group Captain (Retd.) U K Devnath
explains the helicopter’s features:
“Attack helicopters are an essential part
of the tactical battle area. The Indian
Air Force had projected the requirement
of an ingenious attack helicopter a long
time ago. Prachand has been designed,
developed and manufactured in India
with very high levels of indigenous
content. Prachand will be able to assist
our army by attacking the enemy vehicles
and tanks in the battlefield.”
Prachand is also armed with the
French ‘Mistral-2’ which has a maximum
interception range of 6.5 km and can
engage targets at just 500 meters.
Crucially, both the Helena and the
Mistral-2 can be effective over 15,000 feet
flight ceiling making them invaluable in
case of another Kargil-like situation.
As AVM (Retd.) Ashminder Behl
put the capabilities and role of the new
helicopter in perspective, “The Prachand
helicopter is one of the few which can
operate at very high altitude with its
integrated target acquisition systems,
its air-to-ground missiles and air-to-air
mistral missiles that can hit at 6-7 km
along with its first-class avionics make
it a center point of attack and air denial
operations for the IAF.”
However, it is to be noted at the same
time that China and Pakistan are the
two main adversaries vis a vis whom
these helicopters will be put to use
are not sitting still. China has its latest
helicopter- the Z-10, which, according to
media reports, has a 100 km range. The
helicopter is a result of a joint partnership
between Kamov design bureau of
Russia and Chinese 602nd aircraft
design institute, primarily for anti-tank
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023
warfare. It can be armed with AKD-9 or
AKD-10 anti-tank missiles, rocket pods,
and carries an under-nose turret for a
23-millimeter or 30-millimeter cannon.
However, there are persistent problems
with the underpowered WZ9 engine that
prevents the air force from utilising the
peak performance of the helicopter.
Pakistan’s latest helicopter is still
the AhlZ, which is being upgraded by
Lockheed Martin with a new sight system
that will allow the helicopter to strike at
its maximum weapon range. There is
no clarity on Pakistan going ahead with
buying the ItalianVTurkish T120, attak
which has been delayed by at least five
years.
For the Indian Air Force, thus, the
battlefield remains fiercely contented
in the theater attack helicopter domain.
The acquisition of a helicopter such as
the Prachand made at home with a high
indigenous content is a massive plus for
force projection. However, India will have
to diligently pursue production cycle to
stick to budget and time constraints. At
the same time, greater efforts, including
more budget, will be needed to person
technology transfer for the engines with
France.
This Republic Day, the Prachand
really inspires soaring hope of the Indian
defence forces to make a head start in the
attack helicopter world with increased
reliability of great avionics and deadly
firepower. If India is able to swing an
export deal for this helicopter in the near
future it will put a global seal of approval
to the helicopter making capacity.
73
A state-of-the-art set of observing tools will travel
with Aditya-L1, the country’s mission to study
the sun. The first of these tools and the primary
payload — the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph
(VELC) was handed over to ISRO on Republic Day
by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (HA).
Aditya-Ll is India’s first space-based mission to study
the Sun. The satellite will be carried by the rocket Polar
Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The satellite will observe
the Sun’s corona. This will be the first space-based
Indian mission to study the Sun from a halo orbit around
the Lagrangian point 1 (L 1) of the Sun-Earth system.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman
S Somnath said that the Aditya-Ll mission will be
launched by June or July as the launch window for the
mission would close by August.

Since a satellite placed in a halo orbit around the LI

of the Sun-Earth system has the major advantage of
continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/
eclipses, the mission was named Aditya-Ll, which is 1.5
million km from the Earth towards the Sun.

This mission with seven payloads on board to observe the

photosphere, chromosphere and the outermost layers of
the Sun (the corona) will provide a greater advantage
in observing solar activities and their effect on space
weather, according to ISRO officials.

The payloads include— VELC (visible emission line

coronagraph), SUIT (solar ultraviolet imaging telescope),
SoLEXS (solar low energy X-ray spectrometer), HELIOS
(high energy LI orbiting X-ray spectrometer), ASPEX
(Aditya solar wind particle experiment), PAPA (plasma
analyser package for Aditya) and advanced tri-axial
high-resolution digital magnetometers.

Post the handing over of VELC, ISRO will now conduct

further testing of VELC and its eventual integration with
the Aditya-Ll spacecraft. Former chairman of ISRO A
S Kiran Kumar told the media that, VELC is a complex
engineering marvel that took 15 years to produce

Meanwhile, ISRO has completed survey and radiation

studies at Fiji Islands for a temporary station being
designed specifically for the mission while exploration of A D IH S FBKDWS ISmSKRAGFRBCSHSIHVI
other sites is ongoing. A final decision on location will be ITC1HS TFE\fl£HS EfflO-EFrerGQl/BOWlCN
taken at a later stage Also, a similar station will come up ■ EEH/WHAADERD'
in Australia for Gaganyaan
ERSSCMNOTj
h 4 CHAIRMAN, ISRO
India needs to maximise gains from the allocation in budget 2023-24 for R&D by non-DRDO
entities, writes REARADMIRAL (RETD.) SANJAY MISRA
ndia has been saddled with an
adverse ratio of indigenous to
foreign equipment in so far as
high-end technology-based
products are concerned. The ratios
get more accentuated when it comes
to equipment meant for defence
applications. The common refrain has
been the tardy progress in development
of suitable alternatives in the fast­
changing dynamics of cutting-edge
weaponry by the domestic defence
enterprise network comprising, the
DRDO, DPSUs, ordnance factories
and the associated peripheral private
industry, an entity whose potential
is yet to be optimally exploited. The
realisation of any worthwhile product by
this conglomerate has invariably lagged,
both in time and technological space,
vis-a-vis what’s contemporary and
available either to us or our immediate
adversaries/ competitors. When it
comes to matters defence, the peril
quotient being high and unacceptable, it
is the latter, the product more advanced
in terms of technology that has had to
be resorted to, notwithstanding the
attendant benefits of an indigenous
system.
The business processes of domestic
enterprise are, therefore, witnessing
government driven transformation, a re­
engineering of sorts. Whilst efficiencies
on the delivery side are being addressed
and the OFB reorganised as corporate
entities bringing in more accountability
and professionalism as a first step, the
efforts towards research and product
development too are being synergised
for an optimal outcome. Thus, besides
the DRDO, R&D is being incentivised
and promoted in the industry, start-ups,
76
and the academia. A corpus of 25 percent
of the overall defence R&D budget has
been earmarked for this in budget of
2022-23.
The contemporary times are
witnessing profound changes in the
technological landscape. The product
line, be it in sectors related to defence or
otherwise see obsolescence in a much
shorter timeframe than experienced
hitherto. Whilst it creates opportunities
for those at the leading edge of
technological innovation/invention
with larger business opportunities
and favourable supply chains, it is a
nightmare for those trying to catch
up with ‘the present’, as the phase lag
seems unending. Moreover, the time
available to make profits on investments
that can at least sustain an entity not
supported/ subsidised is shrinking
and getting limited. This either leads to
exorbitant costs or financial unviability
of business that must be transacted
by accountable entities with potential
The contemporary
times are witnessing
profound changes
in the technological
landscape. The product
line, be it in sectors
related to defence
or otherwise see
obsolescence in a much
shorter timeframe
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
customers. Thus, either we have
government supported and controlled
ordnance factories/ DPSUs/ PSUs in
business requiring high investments,
or big players who are willing to cross­
subsidise a developmental/ production
programme in shorter timeframe for
anticipated dividends at a later point in
time. The start-ups and MSMEs who are
the backbone of economy and the cradle
for new ideas and innovations have
hardly any scope in such a scenario.
Technology, thus, has strategic
connotations in the arena of
geoeconomics and geopolitics.
Countries that can wield the ‘technology’
sword having the cutting-edge, are the
ones who hold sway and have decisive
advantage over their competitors.
We operate in a resource
constrained environment and must
often seek a balance between competing
alternatives. There is an underlying
criterion that should not be violated,
getting the maximum rate of returns,
tangible, or intangible, for every rupee
spent. It would thus be desirable that
investments made towards building
up nation’s defence preparedness are
ploughed in as drivers for overall growth
of the nation. The primacy accorded
to “Made in India’ products over those
imported and the reservations made
in capital expenditure in this regard,
are the first of welcome and big step.
Concomitantly, we also need to see
that expenditure on R&D brings in
commensurate returns.
We need to maximise gains from the
allocation in budget 2023-24 for R&D
by non-DRDO entities. Any product
that is brought to the shelves for the
customer’s delight has at its genesis,

a journey from basic/ fundamental
research to developmental research
and thereafter engineering activities
that bring it to the bulk producible
product stage. Intrinsic innovators often
piggyback on available technology,
the preceding stages having been
undertaken by other latent contributors.
The development to decline stages of
any technology are mostly defined by
an ‘S’ curve. We in India have had our
landscape of innovations and product
developments populated by outcomes
that are offshoots of technology which
mostly is in the ‘maturity phase’ of
technological evolution rather than the
ones that could be ascribed to drawing
their lineage from technology in the
‘growth’ or ‘cutting edge’ phase. It is for
this reason that most of the products
that have come out of the stables of
DRDO labs have been on the edge of
obsolescence by the time they are made
available to the actual user, albeit after
www.geopolitics.in I February 2023
►AERO INDIA 2023
RIB
a rather rigorous acceptance procedure.
We would be well served if our
approachtowardsresearch,development
and production was driven by a well laid
out strategy that would provide ‘course
to steer’ to the organisations involved in
these activities. This would enable the
organisational culture of a particular
organisation to be suitably tailored to
meet the objectives, processes firmed
up, and requisite manpower positioned.
Effective and productive partnerships
77

could then be built between developers
and producers wherein one would
understand the boundaries of each of the
interacting subsystems that define the
overall system architecture. A strategic
partnership of sorts or a consortium
approach. The ecosystem built around
such entities could be such where
intrinsic innovations can be leveraged.
For this, methodologies for data capture
and ensuing action would be worked out
in a way that such innovations could be
translated into affordable products in
quick time frame.
It would, therefore, seem logical
that we develop clusters, each of these
clusters being assigned a definite
spectrum of the technological
rainbow that we seek to address. Every
cluster would have its dedicated R&D
infrastructure undertaking required
activities right from basic/ fundamental
research through to developmental
research, have innovation hubs, entities
tasked with product development
and finally those, entrusted with
production. These myriads of activities
could be undertaken at several nodes
with freewheeling communication
between them. Intrinsic innovation
is something that could germinate in
any of these nodes and the fruition of
these into usable products would be
the essence of this collaborative intra­
78
MSMC (JVPC) weapon indigenously developed by Advanced Weapons and
Equipment India Ltd
A bulletproof vest
manufactured by MKU
cluster partnership. These clusters
would in no way be silos where one
cluster does cannot communicate with
another but would rather be centres of
excellence that pursue their objectives
to perfection and can draw upon each
other’s expertise. Accordingly, industries
or academia having large portfolios of
services and products could be serving
more than one cluster.
Prioritising R&D sectors
Given limited resources and almost
overwhelming competing alternatives
that seek them, it would be desirable
to focus on a few; perhaps those that
have maximum forward or backward
linkages, that is dual or multisectoral
application; or those that give a decisive
technological edge, the attendant risk
while bringing these technologies
to fruition and the risk mitigation
measures thereby, would also have to
be factored in while selection these; or
would we earmark a percentage of these
R&D funds for incentivising intrinsic
innovation that may at times bring
disproportionate gains, but at times be
left with mere recognition of the idea as
a possible option.
A comprehensive and sound strategy
for progressing with R&D arrived after
due consultation with all stake holders
could go a long way in outlining our
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
priorities.
Factors for allocating funds
With a R&D strategy in place, if we were
then to maximise our gains from the
allocation made for R&D by non-DRDO
entities, it would be necessary to draw
out a matrix that could be employed
to arrive at suitable candidates for
awarding defence R&D fund earmarked
for the non-DRDO entities. The
recommended factors that would need
to be assigned weightages in a decision
support system that would throw up
suitable entity/entities are:
(a) Inter-se priority of the cluster as
also the kind of R&D i.e., basic/
fundamental, developmental or
product development/innovation
that is sought to be addressed
through this R&D investment. Some
of the competing sectors could be:
i. Autonomous systems, airborne,
underwater or land-based.
ii. Artificial intelligence, machine
learning, data analytics supported
systems.
iii. Power, energy storage, conversion,
and transmission.
iv. Robotics.
v. Advanced materials.
vi. Nanotechnology driven systems.
vii. ELINT and COMINT systems.
viii. EW systems. Effectors and jammers.
ix. Advanced electronics and
computing.
x. Sensors.
(b) Rewarding past performance
of the competing entities of an
assigned cluster in receding order
in successfully developing systems
in the past that entailed:
I. High-cost and high-risk investment.
II. High-cost and low-risk investment.
III. Low-cost and high-risk investment.

IV. Low-cost and low-risk investment.
(c) Capability to leverage the fruits
of R&D across dual/multisectoral
applications, that is, both for defense
and civil applications. This could
accelerate overall national growth.
(d) Capability and capacity to secure
the R&D outcome and keep it
within its confines with a view to
preclude spinoffs being leveraged
by competing entities that do not
contribute to national endeavour.
(e) Export potential. Standing of
the industry in international
market and its past performance.
(f) Startups. For startups, other than
condition at sub-para (a), the
following could be criteria for
selection:
(i) Demonstrable performance
in transforming ideas
to products of value.
(ii) Committed capital (risk) for the
innovation being sought to be
addressed.
Conclusion
The fruition of government initiatives
towards making an ‘A tmanirbhar
Bharat’ especially in high-end
technology products would be possible
only if investments/ expenditures in
R&D are driven by outcomes and not
merely outputs. Towards this, a sound
strategy drawn in cognizance of national
imperatives, be those pertaining to
bridging the technological gap in certain
critical sectors or ensuring supply
chains of certain constituents, etc. must
be made and an implementation plan
put in force. At a ‘grand strategy’ level,
we would need to focus on completing
the learning curve of technology from
fundamental research upwards to the
product realisation stage, rather than
leapfrogging as it would then provide
us a platform for launching new and
cutting-edge technologies. For a more
focused approach, clusterisation of
Defence Enterprise Network is a must.
Each cluster will be tasked for
developing products in its allocated
band of the technological spectrum.
These clusters would be centres
www.geopolitics.in I February 2023
&J-AERO INDIA 2023
of excellence that pursue their
objectives and draw upon each other’s
expertise but would not be silos
that are incommunicado. Intrinsic
innovations could be the bedrock for
developing products based on available
technology and would need to be
pursued vigorously. Strategic sourcing
of certain technologies could also be
considered in this context. R&D through
non-DRDO entities is an extremely
good initiative by the government.
What remains is to select suitable
candidates who are invested with this
responsibility. A decision support matrix
as recommended would be desirable
as it would then shortlist entities that
are entrusted with a particular kind of
R&D, and in turn complete the mosaic
of the implementation plan worked out
in consonance with the overall R&D
strategy. ■
(The author has had extensive
association with design, development
and production of strategic systems, and
also indigenisation of naval armament
systems.)
79
8
As the Russo-Ukraine war chugs along on the twin wheels of death and destruction, there are
ominous lessons to be learnt by relating the experiences of the battlefield to our Indian scenario.
The union government must wake up to the difficult realities. An in-depth report

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started to strengthen its air defences
securing its ADCRS networks and
putting most of its ADCRS nodes
underground.
Also, the Russian first-cut strikes
lacked precision (lack of precision
guided munitions- PGMs) to take
out the targets in detail. Did they
have precise intelligence of the
target locations? Doubtful (seeing
the results).
This unfinished work ensured that
Ukrainian air force and air defences
survived to fight another day and the
mighty airpower like Russia could not
even achieve Favourable Air Situation
(FAS) leave aside air supremacy. The
skies remain contested till date. It is
another point that a constant supply of
air defence resources to Ukraine (Stinger
MANPADS, sensors, drones, etc.) have
also a part to play. The caption ‘global
war in local scenario’ thus finds its
relevance.
The bottom line is- if the attacker’s
CAO and SEAD do not deliver, the skies
will remain contested, irrespective
of how big and mighty the attacker’s
airpower is.
Relating to India’sscenario
What if the above scenario unfolds in our
Indian context? We could be on either
side of the fence.
Seen in isolation from the other
attendant war/ geopolitical setting if
Baykar Bayraktar TB2 MALE UCAV
developed by Turkey
we were Ukraine, we would also want to
achieve FAS (if not air supremacy) and
keep the skies contested. What does it
involve? Some points:
• Real-time availability of quality
intelligence of enemy’s intentions,
extracted from a ‘happening system’
built over time. In the limited air and
air defence sense the adversary’s
surprise of the pre-emptive strike
if broken in time will greatly assist
us in making sure that his CAO does
not meet with success and his SEAD
is unable to destroy our air defences.
• Need to put maximum air assets
under concrete pens by planning
and executing the required
infrastructure in peacetime.
• Critical requirement of securing
the survivability of the Integrated
Air Command and Control System
(IACCS) of the Indian Air Force
with service-specific extensions
into other two services. IACCS
at the national level controls all
air defence battle in our scenario
(sensors, command and control
infrastructure, communications,
connectivity and more).
• It will be pertinent to remember that
the entire efficacy of the air defence
arm will lie in the functionality
and the survivability of the ADCRS.
This will be directly decided by the
weakest link in the ADCRS chain.
Aspects like last-mile connectivity
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023
and seamless handshake and data
flow, especially at nodes where it
involves interservice domains will
be very critical.
• If the ADCRS chain gets severed
at its weakest link, all other links
will be redundant. The air defence
weapons without the ADCRS are
blind and headless only to be
destroyed by the adversary like
sitting ducks.
If we were on the offensive, we will
not like to do a Russia, instead make a
success of the initial and subsequent
strikes. What will it demand?
• A thorough knowledge of the CAO
and SEAD targets of the adversary
duly updated at the time of strike.
• Availability of PGMs and launch
platforms to take out the targets
precisely (including destruction
of command-and-control
infrastructure).
• A secure, automated and auto-de-
conflicting Air Space Control (ASC)
system that is able to optimise the
use of finite airspace by its multiple
users (aircrafts, AHs, artillery,
missile force, drones, CRAM-
counter rocket and mortar fire).
• It is reported by open media that the
Russian ASC system remained sub-
optimal in communications and
connectivity due which its rocket
and missile force could not pan out
fully for the fear of blue-over-blue
K
U
L
A
H
Y
A
B
83
 A German-made 1, Chiron, Mistral, Marlet, Stinger
Leopard-2 main battle SAMs from USA, Star Streak SAMs
tank which will be soon
from UK and similar weapons from
handed over to Ukraine
Germany, Denmark, Lithuania and
Netherlands.
Ukraine followed the strategy
of proliferation of the tactical
battle area (TBA) with hundreds
of MANPADS stations struck
unobtrusively across the likely kill
zones.
While the Russian AH did use all
the defensive measures onboard
such as missile approach warning
sensors and countermeasure
dispensing suits, etc., the sheer
volume of MANPADS proved to be
‘far too many’ for the Ka-52s, Mi 28s
and Mi-35s.
The AH fleet also suffered with a
suboptimal communication and
(fratricide). the ones that turned the table on connectivity network deep inside
AHs were the MANPADS. Ukrainian lines.
Small tubes big gains Ukraine holds a large variety of Out of some 100+ Ka-52s in the
In the context of air-air defence duel, MANPADS (Strela 2, Strela 3, Igla battle lines some 25-30 (a very huge
another weapon that played (and
continues) merry-hell into the Russian
air threat vehicles, primarily AHs, were
the Man Portable SAMs (MANPADS).
Besides many a frontline strike
aircraft of the world, the Russian air
armoury prides itself with many a
capable AH platforms Mi35, Mi24,
Mi28N and the Kamov Ka 51, 52. On
specs (night vision, optics, precision
weapons onboard, etc.) the twin rotor
Ka-52 counts amongst one of the front­
ranking AHs in the world today.
Very briefly, this is how it unfolded
for AHs:
• In the initial weeks of war (say up
to end March- beginning April),
the trio of Mi-24, Mi-35 and Ka-52
(especially the last mentioned) were
extensively used in ‘hunter-killer’
missions.
• In these missions, the AHs took
on search (by often drawing fire)
and kill missions using precision
weapons in destroying such targets
as tanks, armoured vehicles, troop
concentrations, infrastructure, etc.
• The machines operated well behind
Ukrainian lines (as much as up to 50
km providing close support to the
advancing Russian brigades headed
for Kiev.
• While Ukraine had similar air
defence weapons as Russia (air
defence guns- ZPU 1 and 2, ZU23,
L-70, M55, ZSU 23-4 Schilka,
Gepard. SAMs- Strmer, Strela 10,
OSA-AK, Pechora, Tor, Pantsir, etc.),

February 2023 www.geopolitics.in

84

number indeed) were reportedly
downed by Ukrainian defenders
popping up with MANPADS from
unsuspected nooks and crevices of
the TBA. The loss was not only of the
machines, but also of the trained
crews- something that is never
replaceable in a short time run of
the war.
Relating to our scenario
The scenario above is a very feasible one
for us on both sides of the fence. Some
points:
• Pakistan has got thousands of
MANPADS (indigenous Anza
improved over three versions of
Mkl-3, numbers held not known;
Swedish RBS 70 MANPADS, number
held 1711; US FIM 92 Stinger of
Ukrainian fame, numbers held 400;
Chinese FN 16, numbers held 300).
• The Global Fire Power index 2023
has ranked China 3/145 nations
considered. It is well known China
A Kh-47M2 Kinzhal
hypersonic missile being
carried by a Russian
MiG-31 K interceptor
www.geopolitics.in I February 2023
is a very strong missile power. In
its huge arsenal of missiles, the
portable shoulder-fired ones make
a large number (HN series- HN5,
HQ6, the FN series, the QW series.
In Feb 2022 China demonstrated its
latest QW 12 MANPADS- the space
does not permit detailed listing).
Air threat assessments over time
has shown that in facing a stronger
Indian Air Force, Pakistan is likely
to go in for a large proliferation
of MANPADS in the TBA. A worse
situation is expected across the LAC
with China.
With the above facts in mind the
security of our AH fleet will become
extremely important and due
caution has to be exercised. Some
points:
It is the sense of the author that
the battle skies over out potential
adversaries are not likely to be
as opaque as these appear to
the Russian Air Force (at least as
demonstrated).
To that end, it may be possible
to fairly assess the deployment
pattern through multiple sensors
on ground, air, sea and space to get
some idea of the killer MANPADS in
the TBA which will enable the next
steps of protecting our AH assets.
Manned and Unmanned Teaming
(MUMT) or the Combat Air Teaming
System (CATS) of combining the
human intellect of the combat pilot
with the dull, dirty and dangerous
unmanned aerial system in joint
missions will prove to be handy both
in building real time situational
-AERO INDIA 2023
The maiden launch of
India’s Very Short-Range
Air Defence System
(VSHORADS) in 2022
awareness, keeping AHs to some
extent out of harm’s way as also,
for enhancing their strike power.
The current status of preparation in
this field cannot be disclosed being
classified.
• Use of decoys, chaffs, drone swarms
to empty out the MANPADS string
ahead of the main strike in the
scout role could also be an option to
reduce MANPADS kills.
• The critical importance of missile
countermeasures, missile warning
sensors etc., goes without saying.
If on the other side of the fence,
the disproportionate takeaways in
registering MANPADS kills on the
adversary is beyond debate. Some points:
• Our MANPADS voids need to be
addressed on top priority (details
classified).
• It is heartening to record here
that a two-decade stalled case of
MANPADS (for three services) is
finally finding some traction on the
indigenous route as the DRDO gets
ready with its IR-homing shoulder
fired missile.
• Defence Acquisition Council on
January 11,2023 has given clearance
(acceptance of necessity) for
projects worth Rs 4276 crores that
include acquisition of the DRDO
MANPADS.
• In Aug 2022, it was reported that
India has deployed troops with
shoulder-fired-missiles in Eastern
Ladakh. MANPADS are reaching
where those could do wonders.
Little monsters playing havoc
85

Streaming videos, especially in the early
months of war, showed some ghastly
sights:
• Small drones (Turkish Bayracter
TB2, US Switchblade, indigenous
Aerorovidka R18 etc.) operating
in few numbers taking kills on
Russian tanks and other armoured
vehicles in conjunction with the
anti-tank missiles to bring long
winding armour convoys to a
grinding halt.
• Some of the Russian ground-
based air defence weapon systems
(GBADWS) instead of executing fire-
and move by leap-frog and protecting
moving columns, huddling along
undeployed and taking hits from the
Ukrainian drones.
Russian GBADWS inventory has
shown a conspicuous lack of tailor-made
counter-drone weaponry. Small drones
in large numbers (swarm effect) on both
sides have caused huge damage. A small
sample:
• Russian forces in repeated drone
strikes mainly using the Iranian
Shahed-136 kamikaze drones
(called Geranium-2 in Russia) have
destroyed as much as 30 percent
of all power and electricity grid in
Ukraine besides leaving a huge toll
of human civilian casualties.
• Ukraine on its part has launched
massive drone attacks using its so-
called Drone Army. On October 29
and later on November 8, 2022, its
drones struck the Russian naval
fleet at Black Sea causing damage
to several vessels that included
the Slava-class Moskva guided-
missile cruiser besides a few
minesweepers.
Facing the reality
The drone threat today is full-blown
and will manifest in a big way not only
in the future wars with our potential
adversaries, but also all along during
peacetime. One needs to recall the
attack on the gut of the Jammu airbase
on June 26,2020.
Beat the little monsters
We need to develop the muscle to counter
the drone-based threat by beating their
two combat virtues:
• Capability to remain undetected
due to their small size (referred
to as radar cross-section or RCS.
Smaller the RCS, the more difficult
it is for a target to be detected by a
conventional radar) combined with
their capability to fly in the nap-of-
the-earth thus defying detection
by conventional air defence
radars optimised and deployed for
countering mainframe threat.
• Making conventional SAM-based
kills unsustainable in the long run
by imposing disproportionate costs
on the defender trying to kill a few
hundred-dollar drones with millions
of dollars of SAMs. Worse still, a
SAM-based kill cannot take out a
drone swarm body in totality.
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
What is required?
• Get detection systems that can
detect small RCS targets.
• Get the kill systems that balance the
co st-of-attack to the cost-of-kilL
Action points
• Equip the field force with sensor
devices that can detect small drone
threats. These include Electro
Optical (EO), Infra-Red (IR) and
radio-frequency (RF)-based sensors.
The good news is that the domestic
industry is more than capable of
manufacturing them en-bloc. These
need to be systematically deployed
in the TBA in conjunction with the
conventional sensors.
• For the kill we need to deploy soft, as
well as hard kill means tailor-made
to take out the drone threat.
• The soft kill is based on RF kill
(jamming), EW kill (hacking,
phishing etc.) and the laser-based
kill.
• The hard kill comprises of saturating
the drone target body with such
preponderance of fire that simply
overwhelms and overpowers
the threat vehicles in achieving
catastrophic collision and proximity­
hit kills.
• The weapons ideally suited for the
hard kill include high rate of fire air
defence guns.
• Both the public (DRDO) as well as
a front-ranking private player (Zen
Technologies Ltd.) have come out
with very effective soft-kill system
based on EO/IR-based detection and
RF-based killing.
• In addition, the hard kill means
based on the L-70 and ZU-23 guns is
currently under test run and is likely
to be operationalised soon.
Based on the threat assessment,
adequate number of surveillance
devices paired with a combination of
hard and soft-kill means need to be
deployed in the TBA.
In sum, as the Russo-Ukraine war
chugs along on the twin wheels of death
and destruction, there are ominous
lessons to be learnt by relating the
experiences of the battlefield to our
Indian scenario. This was a brief attempt
to take up a few.
The writer Gen V K Saxena is the
former Director General of the Corps of
Army Air Defence. He has been decorated
three times by the President of India for
his distinguished and selfless service to
the nation
 REWIND 2022:THE MAHARAJA RETURNS TO THE TATAS MISSION TO THE MOON — FROM APOLLO TO ORION PANORAMA / QANTAS MYSTERY FLIGHTS WOO FLIERS BACK TO CABINS AND BOOST TOURISM

November 2022 ? 90 Volume XVI Issue 11

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■'■GALORE
for Jet Airways’
rebirth
as Campbell Wilson joins
• Ajay Singh and the woes of Spicebet
• GMR’s Mopa Airport gets its first flight 3
find flying
tough

FALCON6X
* ’ woos the
smart set

A LOOK AT SOME KEY MILESTONES THROUGH THE YEAR

BOOSTING INDIA’S NORTHEAST
A strong regional airline network
w ill not only uplift the Nnrtheastern
states.
The India-Vietnam tnurlsm sector Is
flourishing In the pnst-pandemlc era
with many airlines entering the fray.
READY FOR*TAKE-OFF
Adani’s airport venture - that includes Mumbai International Airport,
WAR OF THE FREIGHTERS the crown jewel and six important airports — will have to take care of
It was a programme launched without infrastructure and other hurdles before it expects revenues to flow in.
fanfare and without a launch
customer.

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 INDIGENOUS ENDEAVOURS
India’s aircraft procurement is making a shift towards indigenous platforms
□Q
t can indeed be termed as a
dramatic change in fortunes for
India’s indigenously developed
aircraft and helicopter programmes,
which have often languished for want
to support from the armed forces and
indeed the Ministry of Defence (MoD)
itself. In recent years however, the
MoD has made it clear to the Indian
armed forces that indigenous defence
procurement will be given top priority,
and this has ensured that the armed
88
forces have also thrown their lot behind
indigenous aircraft and helicopter
programmes. The Indian government’s
‘Atmanirbharta’ initiative is already
seeing results with the progress in Tejas
Mk-IA, LCA Mk2, HTT-40, Light Combat
Helicopter (LCH) and Light Utility
Helicopter (LUH) programmes.
Speaking at an industry seminar
in October last year, Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh said that this is a golden
period for the Indian defence industry,
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh
during the induction of LCH Prachand
helicopters into the IAF
adding that it would emerge as a sunrise
sector in the future. The government
has set a target of increasing defence
production from $12 billion to $22 billion
by 2025 and wants to increase defence
exports to approximately $4 billion by
2025. The modernisation of the Indian
miliary will also result in tremendous
opportunities for the Indian defence
sector. Speaking at Def Expo-2022 in
November last year, Chief of Defence
Staff General Anil Chauhan stated

that contracts w orth ^62,000 crore had
already been signed w ith the Indian
industry and orders w orth approximately
^700,000 crore were under various stages
of procurem ent w ith the Indian Defence
industry.
Tejas to drive HAL’s growth
In the financial year 2021-22, HAL
recorded its highest ever turnover of
^24,36,166 lakh, a growth of 8 percent
from the previous year. During the
year, HAL has produced 34 new aircraft
and helicopters across the LCA Tejas,
Dornier Do228, ALH Dhruv and Light
Combat Helicopter (LCH) in addition
to producing 80 new engines and
accessories, at its various Divisions. HAL
also overhauled 207 aircraft/ helicopters
and 506 engines during the year. HAL’s
order book position now stands at
^83,858 crores.
It was at Aero India-2021, that the
MoD awarded HAL a contract valued
at close to ^46,000 crores for the
m anufacture of 73 LCA Tejas Mk-IA
fighters and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 trainer
aircraft. This was the largest ever defence
contract for indigenous m anufacture
of defence equipm ent till date. Two
earlier contracts were signed betw een
the Indian Air Force (IAF) and HAL for
procurem ent of 20 Initial Operational
Clearance (IOC) standard aircraft and
20 Final Operational Clearance (FOC)
standard aircraft in March 2006 and
December 2010 respectively. The value
of IOC contract for 20 Tejas aircrafts was
^2,812.91 crores and the value of FOC
contract for 20 Tejas aircraft was ^989.39
crores. The contract for 20 IOC standard
Tejas Mk-ls was signed in March 2006
and deliveries, were originally to have
been completed by December 2011. The
order for 20 FOC standard aircraft, was
placed in December 2010 and deliveries
were to be completed by 2016. These
orders consisted of 16 fighters and four
trainers in each contract.
With the Indian Air Force urgently
needing new fighter aircrafts, the
m anufacturing capacity at HAL’s
production facilities in Bengaluru for
Tejas aircraft, has been ram ped up from
eight aircraft to 16 aircraft per annum .
LCA Tejas Division under HAL Bangalore
Complex (BC) is the nodal agency for
the production and product support of
LCA.LCA Tejas division is responsible
for the production, assembly and
integration and delivery of the aircraft to
the custom er followed by post-delivery
w arranty m anagem ent and operational
HTFE-25 turbofan engine which is being developed
by HAL
support at IAF base. More th an 100 Line
Replaceable Units (LRUs) are being
m anufactured and supported by HAL
divisions like Accessories Division-
Lucknow, Aircraft M anufacturing
Division-Nashik, Avionics Division-
Korwa, and Avionics Division-
Hyderabad. Further, the composite
m aterial parts required for LCA is being
supplied by Aerospace Composites
Division (ACD), Bengaluru. The Tejas
production capacity is being enhanced
w ith support from HAL’s Aircraft
Division in Bengaluru and outsourcing
partners such as L&T, Dynamatic
Technologies, Alfa Tocol, and the like.
The air force is to receive its first
three Tejas Mk-lAs in 2024, followed
by the delivery of 16 aircraft each year
for the next five years. As a result, HAL
is to execute the entire 83 aircraft order
by 2029. Tejas Mk lAs will carry new air-
to-air missiles (AAMs) including MBDA’s
ASRAAM and Elta 2052 AESA radar along
w ith a new Unified Electronic Warfare
suite. The Tejas Mk-1 and Mk-IA have
the same engine-General Electric’s
F404-GE-IN20 engine. It was at the
previous edition of Aero India that the
Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) entered into an
MoU w ith HAL to finalise the Transfer of
Technology (ToT) aspects of the U ttam
radar for new LCA configurations and a
new generation Radar W arning Receiver
(RWR-NG).
In December 2021, HAL announced
that it had entered into a contract with
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for
development and supply of airborne
electronic systems for the Tejas MklA
fighter program m e. The order w orth
^2,400 crore was the largest placed by
HAL w ith any Indian firm at the time.
Under the term s of the five-year contract
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023 2 =
(2023-2028), BEL will supply 20 types
of systems such as critical avionic Line
Replaceable Units (LRUs) related to
Digital Flight Control Computers, Air
Data Computers, Weapon Computers
and LRUs related to Radar W arning
Receiver and Head-Up Display LRUs.
In August, that same year, HAL
entered into a ^5,375 crore deal for the
supply of 99 F404-GE-IN20 engines w ith
GE Aviation. 16 of these are spare engines
and not fitted on the aircraft. The F404-
GE-IN20 is the most powerful variant
of the highly successfully F404 engine
family. F404 engines and their variants
have powered 15 different production
and prototype aircraft worldwide,
logging more th an 14 million engine
flight hours. HAL has also selected GE
engines for the upcom ing Tejas Mk2
fighter, for which it will acquire more
powerful GE F414 engines.
Trainer of choice
HAL received a m uch-awaited air force
order for supply of 70 H industan Turbo
Trainer 40 (HTT-40) w orth Rs. 6,800
crore in October 2022. HAL had received
a Request for Proposal (RFP) from the
IAF for the HTT-40 at Aero India 2021.
It is targeting an indigenous content of
60 percent on the HTT-40 and expects
to begin deliveries by 2024. The bulk of
the aircraft will be produced by HAL
at Nashik, and it is targeting a peak
production rate of 20 trainers per year.
An additional 38 aircraft are slated to
be purchased once the initial batch of
aircraft are inducted and operationalised
by the air force. The aircraft has the
capability to be converted to an arm ed I
w eaponised version at a later stage.
In July, last year, HAL entered in
a contract w ith Honeywell, w orth
approximately T830 crore for supply
89
and manufacture of 88 TPE331-12B
engines/kits along with maintenance
and support services for the HTT-40. The
TPE331-12 family of engines has proven
itself in operations all over the world and
is a single shaft turboprop engine with
integral inlet and gearbox, two stage
centrifugal compressor, power turbine,
gearbox, three stage axial turbine and
turbine exhaust diffuser as well as EEC
for reliable power and outstanding
operational characteristics. All HTT-
40 prototypes have been powered by
TPE331-12B engines since 2014.
The HTT-40 would be used for basic
flight training, aerobatics, instrument
flying and close formation flights
whereas its secondary roles would
include navigation and night flying.
According to the MoD, the HTT-40
has completed all systems tests, all
PSQR performances, hot weather, sea
level and cross wind trials and user
assisted technical trials, demonstrated
rainwater resistance and has received
provisional clearance for airworthiness
of the aircraft is received from the
Centre for Military Airworthiness and
Certification (CEMILAC). The HTT-40
features the latest avionics and has an
90
air-conditioned cabin and Zero-Zero
ejection seats. It can also perform a
running change-over of pilots and hot-
refueling.
Helicopter bonanza
HAL has begun deliveries of the Light
Combat Helicopter (LCH) and the type
was inducted into the IAF in October
last year. HAL bagged the contract for
production and supply of 15 LCH in
March 2O22.The procurement of 15 LCHs
will cost of Rs. 3,887crore, along with
infrastructure-related activities worth
Rs. 377 crore. Designed and developed
by HAL’s Rotary Wing Research&
Development Centre (RWRDC) in
Bengaluru, the 5.8-tonne LCH can
carry its full weapons load up to 14,000
feet, making it unmatched amongst
helicopters in this class anywhere in the
world. It is estimated that a total of 160
LCH will be acquired for the army and
air force.
The LCH has the ability to operate
in the complete Area of Responsibility’
(AOR) and altitudes with the ability to
carry adequate weapon loads, even at
high altitudes under varied conditions.
Current requirements call for the
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
procurement of approximately 160 LCHs
for the army and the IAF. The initial
batch of 15 LCHs is divided between
the air force (10) and army (5). The lAF’s
newly raised No. 143 Helicopter Unit has
been raised on the indigenous type and is
based at Air Force Station (AFS) Jodhpur.
The LCH has been named “Prachanda”
in IAF service. The LCH is the first
indigenous attack helicopter designed
and manufactured by HAL and features
an advanced onboard navigation system
and carries guns, missiles, and rockets.
The LCH successfully completed all
weapon integration and firing tests in
January 2019. It is capable of operating
from high altitude terrain and carrying
out precision strikes at high altitude
targets. The attack helicopters will be
manufactured at HAL’s LCH Production
Hangar at Helicopter Division in
Bengaluru. A peak production capacity
of 30 helicopters per year is planned for.
HAL is due to roll-out the first
Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) from its
greenfield factory in Tumakuru later this
year. The new factory will also be used
to manufacture other HAL designed
and developed helicopters. An initial
production capacity of 30 helicopters

per annum is envisaged. Received Letter
of Intent (Lol) for 12 helicopters and
production is underway.
The LUH is a three-tonne, single­
engine helicopter th at will replace the
Chetak and Cheetah helicopters in
service w ith the Indian military. The
LUH can attain a speed of 220 Kmph
and has a service ceiling of 6.5 km. It
will have a range of 350 km w ith a 500 kg
payload. Initial Operational Clearance
(IOC) for LUH IAF Version was accorded
on February 7, 2020, and for the Indian
Army Version on February 5, 2021. HAL
undertook extensive additional testing
in 2021-22, including ‘Hot and High’
altitude flight trials w ith a new tail rotor
system to further improve perform ance,
which was completed at Leh. HAL has
built a total of three flying prototypes for
the LUH program m e.
HAL also completed deliveries of the
last of 16 ALH (Mk-III, M aritime role)
LCA Tejas Mk-1 being given Final Operational Clearance (FOC)
certificate in 2019
helicopters to the Indian Coast Guard
(ICG) in November last year. The ICG
has gone onto issue a Letter of Intent
(Lol) for nine more helicopters from
HAL. The ICG had ordered 16 ALH Mk-
III helicopters from HAL in March 2017.
These helicopters are also unique in that
they have a Performance Based Logistics
(PBL) contract for their m aintenance by
HAL. HAL has produced more th an 330
ALHs, which have logged more th an
3.74 lakh of flying hours. Certification
of the ALH utility m ilitary variant
was completed in 2002 and that of the
civil variant was completed in 2004.
The deliveries of production series
helicopters com m enced from 2001-
02 onwards. HAL displayed the Naval
Utility Helicopter (NUH) Technology
D em onstrator- a variant of Dhruv w ith
tail boom folding and m ain rotor folding
during Aero India-2019. The multirole
5.5-tonne-class Dhruv helicopter (MK-
www.geopolitics.in February 2023
AERO INDIA 2023
III and MK-IV variants) are powered
by two Safran Helicopter Engines
ARDIDEN 1H1 (Shakti) engines. Older
Mk-I and Mk-II variants are powered
by TM-333-2B2 engines. The basic
helicopter is produced in skid version
and wheeled version. In the wheeled
version, options for fixed and retractable
undercarriages are available.
It now appears quite likely th at
the Indo-Russian program m e to
m anufacture Ka-226T helicopters for
the Indian arm ed forces is unlikely to
proceed. As a result, in addition to the
187 orders originally planned for the
LUH, it is also likely to m eet the dem and
for close to 200 additional helicopters
originally to have been m et by the Ka-
226T. Orders in the coming years for
HAL helicopters from the Indian arm ed
forces, across Dhruv Mk-III, Mk-IV, LCH,
LUH and Ka-226T will be close to 650
helicopters.■
91
 WE SHALL INDIGENISE
A clean, transparent and fair system of identifying capable private industries to participate
whole-heartedly in the indigenisation programmes has to be in place, writes G RAJ NARAYAN,
Founder & MD of Radel
he Government of India

T
finally wielded the proverbial
‘bamboo’ on all major platform
manufacturers and Indian
armed services to “either indigenise
or perish”. This is in stark contrast to
the policy followed for the last seven
decades when Indian manufacturers
were brushed aside as incompetent and
incapable of meeting the requirements
of the Indian aerospace and defence
(A&D) sector. This was in spite of many
successful Indian products that were
demonstrated by not only DRDO but also
private companies and MSMEs since
2005. ‘Resistance to change’ is a proven
management theory that applies to
individuals as well as organisations and
bureaucracy. It was, and still is therefore
easier to import everything from nuts
and bolts to complex equipment and
systems since “this is what we have
done for the last seven decades very
conveniently” though at a very heavy
price for the country. No questions were
ever asked about quality, reliability,
maintenability, down-time, cost, etc. for
equipment of foreign origin since they
were all procured from highly “reputed
and accepted” sources, be it Russian,
Ukrainian, French or British.
True, many of them possess proven
track records. But they also started
from scratch with no reputation or a
track record to showcase. The natural
M
question that should arise in every I
Indian’s mind is: “if they could do it,
why can’t we”? The answer from most
positive thinking Indians would be
“yes, we can do it too”! Therein lies the
secret of thousands of successful Indian
enterprises and entrepreneurs some of
who have become global icons. Most,
if not all of these, succeeded since they
were independent and offered their
products and services to customers in
the free market where quality, track
record, brand and after-sales support
were the only consideration. While
price is a consideration, it is a fact that
many buyers are willing to pay more
for a product from a trusted and proven

February 2023 i www.geopolitics.in

92

manufacturer. Hasn’t this got to be truer
in the case of defence equipment?
In the last 25 years, Indian
m anufactured automobiles have been
exported to m any countries abroad
and Indian software and BPO services
have also been provided to clients
across the world. With a string of
successes in the space sector involving
even startups, there is enough proof
of Indian technical competence to
excel and deliver results if a fair and
level playing field was provided. This is
therefore just the opportune moment
for an all-out push for indigenisation
and also ensure that we raise indigenous
content to at least 70 percent. This is
certainly feasible if complete design,
m anufacturing, testing and certification
are executed w ithin the country using
the large pool of engineers flowing
out of Indian universities. This can all
add up to provide the self-reliance as
well as defence exports thrust that our
honourable Prime Minister Narendra
Modi has been boasting about. This is a
dream that needs to be realised sooner
than later.
The Indian A&D sector is prim arily
controlled by the Indian government
and its bureaucracy stretching deep
into even the armed services. The
strong action of the Gol to literally ban
the import of relatively low-value items
required for m aintenance and support
of old legacy weapons and platforms
appears to have resulted in a knee jerk
panic reaction among most DPSUs as
well as the armed forces. RFQs are floated
by the dozen every other day. This has
opened up m any new opportunities for
the Indian private enterprises. However,
some caution is called for.
Defects in open tender process
The Government of India has of late
diluted the eligibility requirements for
participation in defence procurement
tenders. W hile this could be welcom ed
by a large number of small businesses,
it can be self-defeating if it is done
without a plan and method. There have
been m any instances in recent times
as well as in the past, when private
businesses bid for a project without
even being aware of the technical
content. M ilitary hardware of all types
are to be qualified and certified to very
stringent standards. Their robustness
and reliability are further required to
be demonstrated through very rigorous
testing that involves m any months of
engineering manpower and high costs.
A bidder w inning a tender is expected
to complete the project and deliver
the product w ithin the stipulated and
agreed timefram e and this is the reason
that various performance guarantees
are sought by the bidder. If a bidder
quotes a price without knowledge of the
complexity, time and costs involved, it
is most likely that he would abort the
project midway. This leads to restarting
the tim eline from scratch for the buyer-
the Indian armed forces. This is an 'all­
lose’ situation instead of a ‘w in-w in’
www.geopolitics.in I February 2023
-AERO INDIA 2023
situation that both buyer and seller
should seek. In order to avoid this, it is
imperative that a robust “qualification”
process for bidders is put in place. In order
to facilitate the qualification process,
one or two short term training courses
can be periodically organised either
by the M inistry of Defence Production
or DPSUs to sensitise engineers and
businessmen to the special needs of
the A&D sector. The course should
also include details of Environmental
Qualification Testing required as part
of the certification process. This would
ensure that new entrants get fully
aware of all the unique requirements of
m ilitary and aerospace hardware and
the associated time, m oney and effort
involved. This would also ensure that
the vendors do not com m it themselves
to unrealistic delivery timeframes.
The requirements for components,
equipment and systems, both for the
existing ageing fleets and for the future
fleets are so large that m any SMEs
and large enterprises would need to
not only enter the ecosystem, but also
successfully grow over years. This
brings up the issue of sustainability for
businesses that enter the A&D arena.
Sustainability inthe Indian context
Serious A&D business is for mature
industries since it requires a mature
team w ith mature quality management
systems for all operations, be it design
or manufacturing. Highest of quality
and reliability is demanded by a m ilitary
93
platform and its operators. Significant
investments are required to be made in
terms of trained manpower, machinery,
tools and software. It is therefore
imperative that a clear assurance of
sustained serial production orders for
at least five years post-development, is
provided by the procurement agency. At
the moment, no such assurances are ever
provided by the armed services. On the
other hand, there are shocking instances
where the design of one Indian vendor is
passed on to another to enable a second
vendor to unfairly undercut the price of
the first without actually incurring the
D&D cost. This is completely unethical
and needs to be curbed. This amounts to
“killing the goose that lays golden eggs”.
In this context, the stipulation in DPM
on mandatory transfer of the design IPR
to the buyer literally kills the successful
D&D vendor. The value of the design
IPR is not just the D&D cost incurred
by a vendor, but the cumulative value
of sales and profits that would accrue
through serial production over many
years. Hence, to rob the successful
vendor of the IPR and future orders is
highly unfair and a great demotivator
for anyone venturing into this sector. It
is also a fact that many RFQs for D&D
provide no indication of future bulk
requirements other than a small ‘Initial
Order Quantity’. This once again acts as
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a disincentive for participation in the
tender.
The L1 conundrum
Lowest cost LI as the only consideration
for selection of bids has been debated
in A&D seminars for many years. While
many on both sides of the table have
agreed that technical competence
and past track record also need some
weightage in evaluation of bids, finance
and audit wings of the bureaucracy have
ensured status quo. This has been a major
impediment to successful completion of
many simple indigenisation projects. A
scheme of rating vendors based on their
technical competence, team strength,
track record and infrastructure is easily
adaptable.
Repair as a means of learning
Any DIY repair buff will reveal that
there is no better method of learning
than to strip equipment and machines
when they give trouble. Be it a two­
wheeler or a TV, a practically inclined
engineer with some skills to start with,
gains a wealth of knowledge and insight
by dismantling, cleaning, oiling and
reassembling a product. This insight
helps the engineer to understand the
underlying theoretical principles of
operation of the same, something he/ she
never understood in a college classroom.
February 2023 www.geopolitics.in
This cumulatively motivates one to dig
further and learn more. An engineer
with a multidisciplinary interest would
absorb not only techniques related to
his/ her domain, but also something
related to other associated disciplines.
E.g., while opening an LCD TV, an
electronics engineer not only gets
exposed to the circuits and PCBs, but also
the multiple layers of the display panel
with its backlight, design of the plastic
cabinet, thermal design for cooling, etc.
Repair process is therefore an immense
opportunity for learning. This applies
equally well to A&D equipment.
Design in India
There have been many instances when
engineers at an Indian SME found that
some equipment onboard a foreign
aircraft were poorly designed or were of
obsolete technology. The SME was able
to replace these with a more reliable,
more efficient, lighter and cheaper
solution. ‘Make in India’ is relevant only
if such a learning process is adopted
even while manufacturing under licence
from a foreign OEM. Only then can
Make in India lead to “Design in India”
and thereby self-reliance. A drastic
improvement of indigenous capabilities
in design of defence equipment can be
expected if private industry is allowed
to gradually increase its involvement

in repair and maintenance of A&D
equipment. This would also incidentally
bring in a significant reduction in
repair costs as well as a higher level
of technical competency in the repair
and maintenance depots of the
armed services. DPSUs can similarly
outsource repair and maintenance
operations to competent and ‘qualified’
MSMEs who can gradually raise their
level of competence to more complex
maintenance jobs. The term ‘qualified’
here does not refer to educational
qualifications, but a proven track record
of technical competence even if it was
outside the A&D domain. It should be
easy to lay down a list of parameters to
be evaluated for such a qualification
process.
Collaborations and synergy
The A&D sector is characterised by
multidisciplinary technologies in
almost every equipment, leave alone
the platform. The fighting platform by
itself is highly complex comprising a
prime-mover, fuel system, electrical
power system, hydraulics, pneumatics,
variety of communication, navigation,
weapons and safety systems, etc.
Modern platforms also employ digital
control system implemented in
each system to enable an integrated
automated control for convenience of
the crew. This makes each system and
its LRUs fairly complex with electronics
and computers embedded into almost
all of them. Tackling these would
require a multi-disciplinary team
with strong core domain strengths.
This calls for collaborative efforts to
tackle development of subsystems and
complete systems. Ideally, this should
be handled by a cluster of MSMEs
constituting a consortium led by a larger
private company to provide leadership.
A consortium approach also allows
for leveraging talents of experienced
technical executives who have recently
retired from reputed labs such as DRDO
or DPSUs.
Training and technical support
The quality of education and exposure in
our engineering institutions is pathetic,
to put it very mildly. However, what is
surprising to observe is the manner in
which many graduates are able to pick
up their engineering and design skills
in just a few months when they are
trained and guided by experienced and
successful seniors in an industry. This
www.geopolitics.in I February 2023
-AERO INDIA 2023
is another area where retired personnel
from reputed defence establishments
can be usefully involved to fill the gaps
in practical exposure and training
in private companies. Students and
trainees need to get their hands dirty
for any useful learning and therefore
sufficient opportunities must be created
for real practical learning.
Collective effort: The only way forward
Collective effort is the key to successful
self-reliance. A clean, transparent
and fair system of identifying capable
private industries to participate
whole-heartedly in the indigenisation
programmes has to be in place. They
further need to be supported with
inputs including finance as deemed
appropriate, for successfully completing
their projects. Ensuring their long-term
sustainability with sufficient serial
production orders, is equally important
for the growth of the entire ecosystem.
Realising our unfulfilled dreams of self-
reliance would be the natural outcome.
It is hoped that sufficient number of
key decision makers from the private
and public sectors, armed services and
DPSUs would get together to make this a
reality very soon.B
95
 lAF'S THEATERISATION QUAGMIRE
If the IAF adamantly sticks to its reservations and there are no early resolutions, the proposed
theatre commands will take more time to be realised than what the government visualises to be,
writes PRAKASH NANDA
f latest press reports are anything to go by, the final
contours of the theaterisation plans (two land-centric
theatres, an air-defence command and a maritime theatre
command), which seek to integrate the Indian Army,
Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force and their resources into
specific theatre commands, have been drawn up and the plans
will be put into shape shortly.
But then, of the three services, the Indian Air Force
(IAF) has been apprehensive about the proposed
theaterisation. IAF Chief, Chief Marshal Vivek Ram
Chaudhari, has been on record to have questioned
what he says “the methodology and the kind of
structures that need to be future-ready”, while
supporting in principle the need for “the integration
process”. As he said, “Each service has a doctrine.
The doctrinal aspects of the IAF should not be
compromised in any way by the new structures.”
On the eve of the Air Force Day in October, he had Prakash Nanda
argued that while no single service can win wars on
its own and “this holds good even for the future”, the air power
has the “unique capability” of undertaking independent
strategic operations as well as operations coordinated with
sister services.
Chaudhari’s essential point is that the IAF has updated
its doctrine, according to which it is not the air force but the
“Aerospace Force”. As he said, “We see space as a natural
extension of the air medium and we understand the need for
exploiting this domain...Space-based assets significantly
enhance the potency of air power and therefore our strategy
ft
February 2023
96
is to fully integrate our air and space capabilities to have a
common picture of the aerospace medium and to enable
optimum force application.. .Traditionally, wars were fought
on the land, sea and in the air. Today, newer domains like cyber
and space are increasingly affecting the conduct of operations
even in the traditional realms...To absorb these changes, the
IAF is on the path of transformation so that we can fight and
win tomorrow’s wars.”
To put it differently, the Air Chief is worried
that in the name of jointness, the decision-making
chains from the existing levels should not be
altered in the space and cyber domains. However,
strictly speaking, India still has an air force, not an
Aerospace Force. The closest of Aerospace Force
that India has is the Defence Space Agency (DSA)
that was created in 2019 by integrating space
assets from the army, navy, and air force. It took
over the then existing Defence Imagery Processing
and Analysis Centre and the Defence Satellite
Control Centre. It has reportedly a staff of some 200 officers
drawn from the three services, commanded by an air force
officer. Its main focus is said to be “on using communications
and reconnaissance satellites to integrate intelligence and
fires across the range of Indian military assets, indicating a
firm understanding of the necessity of access to space.”
However, the DSA is still a work in progress. It is yet to
become fully operational. It is to be located in Delhi and
is supposed to work closely with the Defence Research
Development Organisation (DRDO) and ISRO to integrate
geopolitics

An Indian Air Force
Dassault Rafale
fighter bomber in
flight
military assets, surveillance platforms such as the AWACS and
AEW&C, and commercial and military satellites for intelligence
sharing across all three services.
The US created one in 2019, with the space force becoming
a new military branch to protect the nation’s satellites
and other space assets, which are vital to everything from
national security to day-to-day communications. The United
Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, and Japan have followed
suit. China’s “Strategic Support Force”, established in 2015,
takes care of its space assets. And Russia since 2015 has had
dedicated “Russian Aerospace Forces”. Most of these countries
do have ASAT (anti-satellite weapons), designed to incapacitate
or destroy satellites for strategic military purposes.
It is being increasingly realised by experts that a modern
air force does need space assets to support it. All told, air
(atmosphere) and space (where there is no air at all) are both
a continuum of the same medium: the vertical medium.
As one goes higher, only the characteristics of the medium
change (even within the atmosphere where density of air keeps
changing) with altitude and not its basic form and intrinsic
quality. This reality bestows upon air power and space (in other
words, aerospace) the unique quality that it can influence and
control the surface forces by itself and its own resources and
capabilities and systems, but the reverse is not true.
In other words, surface forces cannot influence and control
aerospace power except possibly in very limited terminal
defences. The vertical medium bestows on aerospace a unique
strategic capability and advantage for war winning compared
to the other medium in which land and naval forces operate.
Air force veterans have got a point when they argue
that while the land and naval forces were historically the
prime expression of a country’s military power (the ultimate
instrument of the state) the growth of aerospace power has
altered that.
Secondly, the exploitation of space capabilities has become
as important and critical for national security and defence
as air power in all aspects. A country without air power is
extremely vulnerable to one which has it; the same is the case
with space capabilities. In fact, the dynamics that govern
the employment of air power are equally applicable to space:
defensive capabilities, offensive capabilities, deterrence, etc.
As is the case with air forces operating at low levels needing to
alter their capabilities and tactics if required to operate at high
altitudes, the same is the case with operations in space.
Once space began to be exploited for military purposes
after the 1957 Soviet Sputnik launch, the US and USSR started
to build capabilities and assets on the same principles as air
power. After all, satellites are vitally important to modern
warfare as they are a key communication link for ground, sea,
and airborne assets, which require sufficient data for voice and
data communication.
Thirdly, there is now a third component of aerospace
power in a country. And that is the economic/scientific one.
The current size of the global space economy stands at about
$500 billion. However, India accounts for only about 2 percent
of the space economy with a potential to capture 9 percent of
www.geopolitics.in I February 2023
the global market share by 2030.
[ And here comes the role of the IAF in
* safeguarding the space economy. With
- —. the increasing private sector activities
W ' in space, such as the launching of
commercial satellites, the introduction
of ‘space tourism’, asteroid mining of minerals, and a range of
other fascinating stuff, these space assets of the country need
protection from the enemy forces.
All told, contrary to the conventional wisdom, the aerospace
power of the IAF will protect the space tools like satellites that
are used by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),
civilian in nature, to augment the country’s economic and
scientific power. And this will be possible when there is the
capacity to destroy the adversary’s space weapons, based in
space, air, land, and water.
Instead ofbeingafrontiernow, space complements airpower
in numerous missions as an enabler. That is why analysts say
that air and space should be complementary components of
defence so that they compensate for each other’s inadequacies
in maintaining surveillance of the vertical dimension and in
countering threats from systems like ballistic missiles that
transit and manoeuvre through both air and space. They must
be integrated so that the diverse and yet potent elements of air
and space are networked adequately.
It may be noted here that in October 2021, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi had launched the Indian Space Association
(ISpA)- the premier industry association of space and satellite
companies. ISpA aims at contributing to the government’s
vision of making India “Atmanirbhar” (self-reliant) and a
global leader in the space arena, which is fast emerging as the
next growth frontier for mankind. The association is supposed
to engage with stakeholders across the ecosystem for the
formulation of an enabling policy framework that will also work
towards building global linkages for the Indian space industry
to bring in critical technology and investments. Its founding
members include Bharti Airtel, Larson & Toubro, Nelco (Tata
Group), OneWeb, Mapmylndia, Walchandnagar Industries,
and Alpha Design Technologies. Other core members include
Godrej, Hughes India, Ananth Technology Limited, Azista-
BST Aerospace Private Limited, BEL, Centum Electronics, and
Maxar India.
Incidentally, way back in the 1990s, soon after the first Gulf
Prahaar tactical ballistic missiles
developed by DRDO
97

War, the Indian Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence
had given a bipartisan recommendation to establish an
aerospace command on priority to ensure the utilisation of for
national development and security. But, the IAF had taken the
initiative to set up a Space Application Directorate at Air HQ as
early as 1981. In those years, the only space capability that was
sanctioned for the IAF, was satellite-based communication for
one mobile Tactical Air Centre attached to the army’s Strike
Corps! Ironically, however, when the bipartisan political
Standing Committee was arguing for setting up an Aerospace
Command in IAF, the Space Application Centre in Air HQ was
dissolved!
It seems that India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) was not
particularly enthusiastic about creating space capabilities as
India is opposed to weaponisation of space. In fact, there has
been a continuing debate in the international community
about militarisation and weaponisation of space. But there has
been no real understanding of what each of these terms would
imply.
For instance, there is the Outer Space Treaty; but that
has been the subject of diplomatic wrangles over the precise
definition of space weapons, other than nuclear weapons.
Besides, there has been no transparency on the part of major
world powers in keeping the outer space free from military
activities, with the result that one hears concepts like “Star
Wars” (Strategic Defence Initiative) by the US and anti­
satellites (ASAT) by Russia. In any case, it is a fact that the US
and its allies have used space resources extensively in fighting
recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Space started to be militarised almost immediately after the
Sputnik launch in 1957, and that too at a fast pace. The Western
powers are now moving completely away from any definition of
weaponisation and militarisation and are focusing on a “code
of conduct” for space security which will (like the NSG, MTCR,
February 2023
98
An MH-60R Romeo helicopter in flight
Australia Group, Wassenaar Arrangement, etc.) tie down
the hands of developing countries with a restrictive regime
like the non-proliferation regime that has slowed India’s
industrialisation by years if not decades.
However, it did not mean that India never had dedicated
satellites for military purposes before. India had created an
“Integrated Space Cell” in June 2008 under the command
of the Integrated Defence Services Headquarters with the
responsibility to coordinate activities of ISRO and the Indian
armed forces. And, by 2017, India had reportedly some 14
satellites that were being used for surveillance purposes. This
number must have gone up by now, with the country developing
ASAT (Anti-satellite) capability.
Besides, India’s National Technical Research Organisation
(NTRO), which is controlled by the Research and Analysis Wing,
India’s premier intelligence agency, makes extensive use of IRS
(Indian Remote Satellites), RISAT (Radar Imaging Satellites),
and CARTOSAT (optical earth observation satellites) data to
aid in building a comprehensive intelligence picture.
And that explains why IAF veterans have been in favour of a
speedy establishment of the Aerospace Command and making
it functional as early as possible. In fact, the IAF had realised
this very well by publishing in 2012 “Basic Doctrine of the
Indian Air Force, 2012”. In it, the IAF repeatedly mentioned “air
and space power”. The doctrine was not talking of “air power”
in isolation of “space power”; it talked of “aerospace power”.
The IAF seems to be very proud of this doctrine and fears
that the proposed theatre commands will dilute it. Therefore,
if the IAF sticks to its reservations and there are no early
resolutions, the proposed theatre commands will take more
time to be realised than what the government visualises to be.
prakashnanda@newsline. in
geopolitics
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