geopoliticsdailyairshow1

BENGALURU, February 5: India's prestigious five-day festival of metal birds is here. India's Defence Minister A K Antony will declare the show open on February 6, following which business delegations will visit the show for the first three days of the event. The last two days have been ear-marked for the general public to visit the show, primarily to help create awareness and in-terest in the Indian citizenry in

aviation.Aero India 2013 comes at

an exciting time for the Indian defence market that is pro-jected to grow into the third largest behind the US and China in the next five years.

This bullish projection of the Indian defence market's attraction to the global arms vendors has been fuelled by the country's armed forces readying to modernise their force levels and gearing up

to spend up to $100 billion over the next decade com-mensurate with their plans.

Accordingly, that spend-ing by the Indian armed forces corresponds to the nation's defence capital outlay in the 12th five-year plan from 2012 to 2017, though 2012-13 it-self witnessed a $2 billion cut in the capital expenditure of nearly $16 billion. Of course, the Indian Defence Ministry is hoping to ward off that cut

and get back the $2 billion it has already surrendered to the central exchequer.

With this as the back-ground, the ninth edition of the AeroIndia 2013, co-host-ed by the Defence Ministry and the industry body FICCI, will enthrall the aerospace en-thusiasts and the aerospace businesses, both domestic

Aero India 2013 Show News

This year, United States

will have a robust presence

at Aero India Nancy J. Powell

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We will be hav-ing a very large UK delegation, led by Minister

Philip Dunne Sir James Bevan KCMG

britiSh high CommiSSioner

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Industry is committed to

IndiaM W Mogale

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BENGALURU, February 5: With the In-dian Air Force (IAF) aerobatics display team 'Surya Kirans' temporarily out of action after their HAL-made Kiran MkII planes being loaned away for rookie pilots training, this year's star attraction during flying displays will be the HAL's 'Sarang' team flying on the indigenous Dhruv helicopters, painted in glamour-ous Peacock colours, to mesmerising Indian tunes.

As in the last edition of AeroIndia, the Czech Republic's Flying Bulls will be at the show with their ZLIN 560 LX planes. The new addition to the aero-batics this year at Yelahanka will be the Russian Knights from the Russian Air Force flying their Su-27 planes.

defence diplomacy security

DAY 1

wednesday 6, february 2013

asia's defence aviation show

is here again

insideinside

Brahmos Chief a. sivathanu Pillai on the reusaBle Brahmos and the other Challenges that Confront him

Page 6

air Chief marshal n a K Browne's shoPPing list !

Page 8

r K tyagi says hin-dustan aeronautiCs ltd (hal) will show-Case its strengths in design, develoP-ment and ProduC-tion at the show

Page 10

High Flyers at the show (Continued on Page 4)

A photo of one of the Sarang helicopters in flight during Aero India 2011

GeoPolITICSPage 3 Page 6 Page 11

why the rafale?

US will continue to pursue defence trade and cooperation with India

ihe French Navy long has a tradition of operating fighters from the decks of aircraft-carriers and this experi-ence proved decisive when writing

the requirement for a new naval fighter to replace the Super Etendard strike fighter, the Etendard IVP recce bird and the F-8 Crusader interceptor. This requirement eventually led to the acclaimed Rafale omnirole fighter that has since proved so successful in combat operations.

Developing the RafaleThe Rafale was optimised for carrier

and land base operation from the very be-ginning of the development programme and Dassault Aviation engineers have managed to design a fighter that totally fulfils the French Navy's stringent require-ments.

A rugged airframe (with a delta wing and canard foreplanes) was chosen to of-fer high maximum and cruising speeds, excellent agility, stunning high angle of attack performance and remarkable low-speed handling characteristics. This translates into outstanding operational efficiency and full carrier compatibility, with precise handling in the carrier land-ing pattern. The airframe is well protected from marine corrosion and is fully com-patible with the severe electromagnetic environment found on every air-craft-carrier. Numerous innova-tive systems have been adopted, such as the powered internal access ladder or the cata-pulting mode which automatically con-trols the launch and climb-out for the first 10 to 15 seconds after leaving the catapult. The fighter's

weapon system was conceived to handle all types of missions that could be con-ducted from an aircraft-carrier: fleet air-defence, air superiority, anti-ship strikes, deep attacks with cruise missiles, preci-sion strikes, close air support, battlefield air interdiction, reconnaissance, nuclear deterrence and buddy-buddy refuelling.

Into operational serviceIn December 2000, the first Rafale om-

nirole fighters were presented to the press at Landivisisau naval air station, officially kicking off the beginning of a very success-ful operational career. Two naval squad-rons, Flottilles 11F and 12F, are now fully operational with the type, with a third one, Flottille 17F, due to convert from the Super Etendard in the 2015/2016 time-frame. The two squadrons are fully mul-tirole, and they take turns operating from nuclear aircraft-carrier Charles de Gaulle, the French flagship that visited India in 2004, 2006 and 2011.

French Navy Rafales are now proven and fully mature aircraft which are con-tinually being improved: new systems and new weapons, such as the AM39 Exocet Block 2 Mod 2 missiles, are regularly in-

troduced and heavy investments are made to ensure that the type remains ahead of the threat. As a direct consequence French Navy Rafales are also due to re-ceive the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) for the Thales RBE2 radar in 2013, and the Meteor ramjet-propelled missile in 2018, like their French Air Force counterparts.

Combat-provenFrench Navy Rafales have successfully

been engaged into combat in Afghanistan and Libya, demonstrating how such an advanced fighter could be used for pow-er projection and forward presence. In Afghanistan, Rafales have taken part in countless close air support sorties, their presence often proving decisive for troops in contact: GBU-12 laser guided bombs and AASMs (Armements Air-Sol Modu-laires, or modular air-to-surface weap-ons) stand-off precision munitions have been routinely delivered with clinical ac-curacy, helping 'friendlies' prevail on the ground. In Libya, French Air Force and French Navy Rafales operating from land bases and from aircraft-carrier Charles de Gaulle have conducted, without any losses or combat damage, a wide range of missions, including air-superiority, es-cort, self-escort, destruction of enemy air defences, dynamic targeting, deep strikes with Scalp cruise missiles and buddy-bud-dy refuelling. Thousands of flying hours have been logged in combat, with the Ra-fale proving very easy to operate, main-tain and repair at sea.

Since entering service, French Navy Rafales have also regularly operated from US Navy aircraft-carriers, including the deployment of six Rafales onboard USS Theodore Roosevelt, in 2008. As a re-sult, total interoperability with their American counterparts was dem-onstrated by French naval avia-tors.

A few words on Aero India and your country’s participation in the event. This year, as in the past, the United States will have a robust presence at Aero India. In addition to bringing US military aircraft to participate in static and flying displays, our Department of Defence will send a delegation of senior officials to consult with Government of India counterparts. US industry will be well represented by a large presence in the US Pavilion in Hall E and the US-India Business Council and American Chamber of Commerce India will bring a large delegation of their members to attend the show.

Your country's long and fruitful partnership with India is well known. How do we further deepen this relationship in the field of defence and aviation? The India-US partnership has been called by President Obama one of the defining partnerships of the twenty-first century. The strength and durability of our partnership rests on the firm

united states ambassador nancy J. Powell on the importance of aero india for the us defence industry

AERO INDIA 20133 GeoPolITICS

India represents one of the fastest-growing defence and aviation mar-kets, so we expect Aero India to be very well-attended. It offers CAE an excellent opportunity to highlight our world-class simulation-based technolo-gies and solutions for both defence and civil aviation. We firmly believe that India's defence forces need to increase their use of high-fidelity simulation because it is cost-effective, enhances safety, and helps ensure our defence forces are prepared and ready for the challenges they may face.

For the first time in India, Rafael will display its entire portfolio of aerial solu-tions and systems at the Aero India Show: David's Sling, Iron Dome, the Spice Precision Guidance Kits, Recon-naissance, observation and targeting systems such as 'Litening' and Com-mand and Control Communication Systems. Rafael's systems are Discrimi-nate, Precise and Proportional, which

in turn makes them economic, efficient and effec-tive. Rafael con-siders the Aero India Show an ex-cellent platform to showcase its wide portfolio of solu-tions and systems for air applica-tions. It is also an effective opportu-nity to meet with our Indian and other interna-tional customers and partners and explore further possibilities.

Ananth Ramaswamimanaging director, Cae india

A GREAT LEAP: The US Secretary of Defence, Leon E Panetta meeting the Defence Minister, A K Antony in New Delhi in 2012

foundation of the strong connections and shared values that bind our two great nations together. Today, there is less need for dramatic breakthroughs that marked earlier phases in our relationship, but more need for steady, focussed cooperation aimed at working through our differences and advancing the interests and values we share. This kind of daily, weekly, monthly collaboration is strategically significant.

Would it be right to say that our relationship is no more one of buyer and seller, but a more collaborative relationship? Our bilateral relationship is far greater than any individual sale and is not transactional in nature. The US and India have an overarching shared interest in promoting global security and

stability, and we will continue to pursue defence trade and cooperation that supports our mutual interests.

Finally, would you be visiting the air show? Yes, and I am looking forward to the visit.

voicesvoices

Yedidia YaariPresident and Ceo rafael

The reasons behind the choice of the Rafale are not difficult to guess, according to an insider who was privy to the decision.

unmanned aircraftsystems

Shadow ® M2 Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)

Aerosonde® Small UAS

AERO INDIA 20134 geopolitics

and foreign, from February 6 to 10.Also, the AeroIndia show at Benga-

luru's Yelahanka air base has grown into one of Asia's largest military air show, con-sidering that there are numerous civilian air shows around this part of the world.

Though the business done during

ASIA'S BIGGEST MILITARY SHOW...

ing: Pilatus, Dhruv and more

(Continued from Page 1)

STRENGTHENING NEIGHBOURS: Defence Minister A K Antony handed over a Dornier 228 Surveillance Aircraft to the Foreign Minister of Seychelles, Jean Paul Adam, in New Delhi on Janu-ary 31, 2013. The Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral D K Joshi and other dignitaries are also seen.

AeroIndia is not maintained, an interest-ing feature is that business done due to the air shows in the previous years has led to about $4 billion worth of offset being ploughed back into India and business op-portunities worth nearly $3 billion had al-ready been generated for the private sector.

The biennial event is returning to Ben-galuru, despite talks that the venue of the air show that happens once every two years may be shifted out to some other city, considering the congestion around Yelahanka and the logistics difficulties.

The reason for such a thought, ac-cording to some informed members of the Indian establishment, is the civil-ian air show that happens in Hyder-abad, alternating with the Bengaluru military air show, once every two years.

But Indian Defence Ministry officials have allayed those fears for now, noting that Yelahanka is the best bet as a venue for the military air show, considering that the Indian aerospace industry is majorly concentrated in Bengaluru, the capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka.

— Geopolitics Bureau

BENGALURU, February 5: With at least 53 civil and military aircraft from leading manufacturers and suppliers across the globe confirming their pres-ence, either in flying or static displays, this year's show is expected to be a ma-jor attraction as in the previous two editions held in 2009 and 2011.

The two previous editions had the lure of the Indian tender for the 'moth-er of all deals' to supply the Indian Air Force a total of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) that has now been decided in favour of French firm Dassault Aviation's Rafale aircraft.

The 2009 and 2011 Aero India shows witnessed the participation of all the contenders for the MMRCA, with most of them even bringing in their air-craft for flying and static displays such as the American Boeing's F/A-18 and Lockheed Martin's F-16, Swedish Saab's Gripen, European consortium EADS Cassidian's Eurofighter Typhoon and the Russian MiG-35, apart from the ultimate winner Rafale. But this year's show will only witness participation from Rafale and F-16s combat planes, according to Defence Production Secre-tary R K Mathur.

Though this is a sign of the dimin-ishing interest in the combat planes market in India, there is nothing to fret over it, as other aircraft on offer from major plane manufacturers will be Yelahanka. Of all the aircraft par-ticipating this year, 55 per cent are civilian.

Swiss Pilatus Aircraft, which won the Indian tender last year for the 75 Basic Trainer Aircraft, will come with its civilian PC-12NG plane, Brazilian Embraer will come with its Legacy 650 and the Lineage 1000 executive jets, Dassault Aviation will bring its Falcon 900LX, Falcon 2000S and Falcon 7X, all three civilian planes.

The Canadian Bombardier Aero-space will get its Global 6000 and Challenger 605 civilian planes, while the European chopper manufacture Eurocopter will get its Dauphin AS365

N3+ civil helicopter.The Indian offering this season is like-

ly to be the Indo-Russian joint venture Fifth General Fighter Aircraft, though a confirmation on it being made avail-able, even for a static display, is await ed. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India's defence R&D outfit, will get its Embraer planes that are used for the indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) systems. The indigenous Advanced Light Helicopters 'Dhruv' too, will be there as an Indian attraction on the strength of it having found some foreign military cus-tomers in the recent years including Ec-uador. It will also put up on display the latest Agni-V long range ballistic missile that was successfully tested for beyond 5,000-km range last year, apart from its avionics, radars and other equipment re-lating to aerospace.

Defence public sector Hindustan Aero-nautics Limited (HAL) will showcase its Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) this year. LCH debuted in the AeroIndia edition of 2011, but it had a technical snag result-ing in its flying display disrupted for a day then, causing an embarrassment. HAL's proud offering, the Weapon Systems In-tegrated Dhruv, too will there. Christened as 'Rudra', this platform is all set to obtain its final clearance for induction into the Indian Army's Aviation wings later this year. As in the past, India's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) will roar over the Benga-luru skies and so will the Intermediate Jet Trainer. Among HAL's static display will be LCA's naval variant with armament mock-ups, Rustom-1 and Nishant UAVs on its launch vehicle. Apart from these planes and helicopters, the AeroIndia this year will have all aviation related tech-nologies and allied equipment on display, assured Mathur.

This year's attraction will be the par-ticipation of Indian Space Research Or-ganisation (ISRO), which will not only put up a display, but also showcase aerospace offerings from its stable.

Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas

voicesvoices

Aero India has already carved a niche for itself globally as a premier aerospace exhibition and provides us a platform to explore additional busi-ness opportunities in this sector. We are looking forward to this event to highlight our offerings in the special mission segment, especially Beechcraft King 350i which is one of the proven products around the globe as a special mission aircrafts. We also believe that the Beechcraft series is the aircraft that India needs.

Aero India is a great opportunity for the Indian industry to showcase its strength. Samtel and its JV companies plan to exhibit our expanded range of capabilities through our booth. The visitors will be able to see how our competencies, focus and product range have multiplied over the years, and how today India stands at par with worldwide giants. India is today at the cornerstone of a major turnaround where the defence and aerospace indus-try is concerned. The focus of the world is at India, and we must capitalise on this opportunity to lead India on the global defence and aerospace map. Sam-tel is aggressively moving towards this objective, and through this Air Show, we look forward to generating larger interest from the global industry play-ers where our products are concerned. AeroIndia has provided us with a great platform to showcase our capabilities. It is one of the largest airshows in this part of the world, and the enthusiastic participation from leading names in the international industry is a testimony to that. Samtel’s growing range of prod-ucts was put on display at our booth and we are glad that we have been able to generate a large amount of interest from global players.

puneet KauraExecutive Director, Samtel Avionics & Defence Systems

Textron Systems is probably best known in India currently as the manu-facturer of the Sensor Fuzed Weapon, or SFW, which we are delivering to the Indian Air Force for its Jaguar aircraft based on a 2010 foreign military sale. However, we expect that Aero India 2013 will continue to raise awareness and understanding of Textron Systems' comprehensive capabilities in India. Also, the show will afford us many opportunities to engage the customer base and potential technology partners to deepen our relationships and discuss how we might work together. Tex-tron Systems, and the entire Textron enterprise, is dedicated to teaming with Indian organisations, both public and private.

Kevin cosgriffSenior Vice President of International Business and Government, Textron Systems

todd HattawayRegional Sales Director, Hawker Beechcraft

STARS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT: (Top to bottom) Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), Pilatus trainer, Lakshya and Nishant uAv


You have been given a target to have an operational hypersonic reusable BrahMos missile before the 12th Five-Year Plan ends in 2017. What are the new technological challeng-es that you intend to address in the development of the hypersonic Brah-Mos missile?

After successfully developing the land and sea versions of BRAHMOS and get-ting ready to conduct the air-launched version of the missile test soon, we have set our eyes on the ambitious target of de-signing, developing and flight-testing the hypersonic BRAHMOS II missile within next four to five years.

Tests are yet to be conducted for con-figuring with the propulsion and for en-gine and flight tests, which would take at least five years. The hypersonic BRAH-MOS is envisioned to become the fastest cruise missile by flying at a speed of 7-8 Mach (seven to eight times the speed of sound). The hypersonic missile, will defi-nitely provide an advantage to the Indian armed forces in future warfare.

Hypersonic flight begins at Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound. The leading powers in the world at present are experi-menting with hypersonic technology and reputed many developmental problems.

One of the technological challenges before us is to withstand very high speed and vibration while travelling in Earth's atmosphere. Hence, thermal protection of the missile is crucial for the hypersonic flight to succeed.

What steps have you taken to upstage the challenges in the hypersonic mis-sile plan and what is the timeline for successful completion of the project?

Hypersonic research and testing of the technology modules are progressing at

A few words on Aero India and your country's participation in the event. We are looking forward to attending Aero India. We will be having a very large UK delegation, led by Minister Philip Dunne (Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology). We will also be hosting a large UK reception on the eve of the airshow.

Your country's long and fruitful partner-ship with India is well known. How do we further deepen this relationship in the field of defence and aviation? Through partnership and forging deeper, wider and stronger links between our de-fence industries, our armed forces and our governments.

Would it be right to say that our relation-ship is no more one of buyer and seller, but a more collaborative relationship? Yes — we aim to be long term, trusted and valued partners in India's path to-

DRDO & NPOM. BrahMos Aerospace has started the ground work in config-uring the missile and in bringing together academ-ic and industrial institu-tions across India and Rus-sia for research on suitable robotics, high temperature materials and other sys-tems required for high speed regime. We have entered into an agreement with Bengaluru-based In-dian Institute of Science (IISc) and set up the Centre of Excellence Hypersonics. A MoU with Russia's Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI) was also entered into for carrying out re-search in hypersonics.

We hope to achieve a breakthrough in successfully developing technology mod-ules by 2016-17.

How is your order book looking up? Could you give some perspective on the plans to supply the Block-I and Block-II of the supersonic BrahMos to the Indian armed forces?

The BrahMos project, which started with a share capital of $250 million be-tween India and Russia with 50.5 per cent from Indian side and 49.5 per cent from Russian side, today boasts an order book of more than $5 billion and with or-ders expected from export it's going to be three times. This itself speaks volumes for the trust the armed forces have in this for-midable weapon system- which is today the world's best supersonic cruise missile.

The mobile land-based configuration of BRAHMOS has achieved several ad-vancements over the years in the form of Block I, Block II and Block III variants

"BrahMos Project boasts an order book of $5 bn+"sivathanu Pillai, Ceo and md, Brahmos aerospace on future plans

with each having its own distinct potentiality to hit and destroy enemy targets accurately. The Indian Army has placed orders for BRAHMOS to be deployed in multiple regiments and are already fully opera-tional.

The plan to integrate BrahMos with the Suk-hois seems to be fac-ing hurdles and delays? Where do you see the

roadblocks and by when do you think this project be com-pleted? Are you also looking at other Indian Air Force platforms for inte-grating BrahMos with and why?

Development of BRAHMOS air-launched version is well within the stipu-lated schedule. We are ambitious to prove it early, so you get to know different dates. It is not a small task . IAF will be most powerful air force once integrated with SU-30MKI. Everything is moving in expected line.

How is the anti-aircraft carrier Brah-Mos project shaping up? How much of developmental work is left?

BrahMos has developed a steep dive capable Block-III which can strike verti-cally and split aircraft carriers. This ver-sion is ready.

A lot of friendly nations have shown keen interest in buying BrahMos. Has the issues on exports with your Russian partner sorted out? Are ex-port orders likely anytime soon?

We are awaiting the good news on ex-port very soon.

'Britain aims to be a long-term, trusted and valued partner'British High Commissioner on his country's participation in Aero India

wards a having modern, vibrant and world-leading indigenous defence indus-try and armed forces. We do not wish the relationship to simply be seen as a trans-actional supplier/export customer one.

Finally, would you be visiting the air show? The Minister will be accompanied throughout by the Deputy High Commis-sioner — Bengaluru, Mr Ian Felton.

CO-OPERATION FOR DEFENCE: A file photo of a high-level British Defence Trade Mission and Delegation led by Gerald Howarth, United Kingdom's Parliamen-tary Under Secretary of State for the Ministry of Defence, who is titled as Minister for Internal Security Strategy, met the then Minister of State for Defence, Dr M M Pallam Raju, early last year

voicesvoices

Aero India is one of the most represen-tative, specialised shows in the Asia-Pacific region. I am sure that AERO INDIA will give a strong new impetus to the successful relations between Russia and India in the military-techni-cal sphere.

Viktor Komardinhead of the delegation deputy director general, rosoboronexport

Sensonor continues to expand the boundaries of MEMS gyros, and to build a broad portfolio of high perfor-mance inertial sensors. The STIM300 is the latest addition to our inertia portfolio, and suitable for navigation, guidance, and platform stabilisation ap-plications in the Industrial, Aerospace, Defence and Energy markets. STIM300 is in production. Sensonor is a global leader in MEMS technology, designing and manufacturing advanced, gyro sensors, gyro modules and IMUs for high-precision applications.

Hans R PetersenVice President, Strategic Sales, Sensonor

CONTROP was recently awarded the prestigious prize for Technological Innovation in Aerospace for develop-ment of the STAMP family of Stabilized Miniature Payloads for Small UAVs. The STAMPs were also selected by the Israeli Ministry of Defence (MoD) as the sole supplier for the Israeli tacti-cal Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SUAV) Sky Rider Programme. Soon India is to join other modern countries in acquisition of operational UAVs of various sizes.

Dror SharonCeo, ControP

Aero India is a major global air show and is of great importance to both our company and our country. As a long-term partner for India in aviation and technical co-operation, Russian Helicopters is proud to be involved in Aero India and to be showcasing our line-up of helicopters, which are in high demand in India.

Dmitry PetrovCeo, russian helicopters


Looking to spend over ` two lakh crore on its modernisation, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has plans to acquire some of the best

state-of-the-art equipment and weapon systems. The IAF, which spent `1.12 lakh crore in the 11th plan, will look like a brand new force in the next five years. Geopolitics takes a look as to how the force will shape up in the next five years with its planned inductions.

126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA): As expected, if India signs the deal with Dassault for the Rafale in the next financial year, the IAF will have the MMRCA aircraft parked at the Ambala air base for the first squad-ron by the end of 2017 or early 2018. The squadron would be the first of the six that the IAF plans to deploy along the Northern, Western and the Eastern boundaries. As per the contract, the first squadron has to be delivered off-the-shelf within 36 months of the contract signing and the rest to be delivered in next five to six years. All the 126 aircraft are ex-pected to arrive by the end of 13th plan in 2022.

Su-30MKI: In next five years, the IAF will have completed the induction of all of its 272 Su-30MKI combat jets. The force would also be moving towards upgrading its fleet of first batch of Su-30MKIs inducted in the early part of the least decade into Super Sukhois armed with long-range stand-off missiles such as the air-launched BrahMos and Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar. The IAF would be operating 14 squadrons of the aircraft in next five years.

180 Pilatus basic trainer air-craft: The first of the 75 Swiss Pilatus trainer aircraft has already arrived in India and the remaining are set to be in-ducted in the next four to five years. The IAF, which is facing an acute shortage of trainer aircraft, has plans of ordering around 105 more such aircraft as it has already asked the HAL to scrap its pro-gramme for developing HTT-40, a home-grown basic trainer aircraft. In the next five years, they would be in full strength at the Air Force Academy, where they would be used to provide training to the rookie pilots of the force.

a multi-billion shopping list India's aerospace and defence industry will benefit from the synergies between commercial and military aerospace technologies.

16 C-17s: The strategic heavy-lift capability of the force will be fully aug-mented with the induction of ten C-17 Globemaster III aircraft from the US. The `22,000 crore buy by the IAF is one of its most critical and force multiplier pro-curements in view of its carrying capa-bilities. Against the backdrop of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) devel-oping its indigenous heavy-lift aircraft Y-20, the IAF has plans for ordering an-other six such aircraft.

15 Chinooks: Plans are also under-way to induct all of its 15 Chinook heavy lift choppers in next five years. The IAF will use them to replace the fleet of Mi-26 choppers deployed at the Chandigarh airbase. The heavy lift choppers showed their unique load ferrying capabilities during trials in high altitude. The IAF also saw them operate across the Line of Control during the 2005 earthquake in Kashmir. The helicopters would be used mainly for supplying heavy loads to difficult-to-reach mountain bases and airlifting howitzers such as the ultra-

light ones to far-flung areas in northeast and northern borders. The force is in fi-nal stages of negotiating the price of the choppers with the Defence Ministry.

22 Attack helicopters Apache: The 22 attack choppers are expected to be in the force's inventory by the end of this plan period in 2017. The gun-ships are going to significantly enhance the ground support capabilities of the force but it is still not clear whether the world's best gunships would be with the IAF or the Army in view of the on-going tussle between the two Services for com-bat helicopters.

Harop drones: Taking its war fight-ing methods to a new high, the IAF would start inducting the Israeli-origin Harop armed drones by the end of this year. The new drones would give it a capability to strike enemy targets with-out risking lives of its pilots. The IAF has plans of using the combat drones in both low and high intensity conflicts.

C-130J and Avro replacement: Another fillip to the transport capabili-ties of the force would come from the additional six C-130Js that the force ordered from the Lockheed Martin in a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) deal. The six new aircraft would be based at Pan-agarh in West Bengal to look after the

North-eastern region requirements. By the end of this plan

around 2017, the IAF would have also finalised its choice

for the replacement of 56 Avro aircraft. The contenders offering the replacements include Spanish Airbus Military, EADS CASA, Canadian Bombardier and Rus-sian and Ukrainian aircraft manufactur-ers. By the end of the 12th plan period, the force would be fully assured about its carrying capabilities with the C-17s, Ily-ushin-76, C-130Js, Indo-Russian multi-role Transport Aircraft, Antonv-32s and the planned inductions of replacements for Avros.

Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) to start being in final develop-ment phase: Indian Air Force's biggest buy would be the `165,000 crore project for around 180 Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft also known as the PAK-FA. The aircraft, which are to be inducted into the IAF by the beginning of the next de-cade, would be in its final development stages and one of its prototypes would also be flying in India for military certi-fications and modification into it for In-dian specifications. The IAF would have started making payments for the joint de-

velopment programme and investing in its armament and other critical systems.

Light helicopters for Cheetah/Chetak replacements: The most criti-cal requirement of the force at the mo-ment is the need for replacing the Chee-tah/Chetak choppers in its inventory. The force uses it mainly for reconnais-sance over and around its bases and for supporting air maintenance operations in the Siachen Glacier area in the north-ern sector. The replacements are long overdue. The Army, which is the lead agency for procuring 197 choppers for the IAF and itself, has already, evaluated the Eurocopter Fennec and Russian Ka-22 Sergei for the project. The deal is in an advanced stage and awaiting Ministry clearance for opening up of commercial bids. If the deal is finalised in this fiscal, the IAF would have it in its inventory in next four to five years.

VVIP Flying: The first two Agusta Westland 101 choppers have already arrived in the country and the rest are expected to be here by the end of 2013. The IAF would replace its Mi-8 choppers used for ferrying VVIPs in next couple of years. The IAF is also planning to aug-ment its fleet of Embraer business jets by inducting four more of these aircraft. The additions would be complete by the end of the current plan period.

Six Airbus A330 MRTT tankers: With the Defence Ministry negotiating the final price of the six aircraft with the Airbus Military, the force is expected to have deployed these aircraft at the Pan-agarh air base in West Bengal in next five years. These aircraft would support the IAF to extend the range of its Su-30MKI fighters operating from its bases in Tezpur and Chabua in Assam. This will reduce the burden on the Agra-based Ilyushin-78 mid-air refuelling aircraft squadron. The force plans to have six more of them and would initiate the pro-cess for that during the 13th Plan period.

Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)MkI: The IAF will also be able to induct its indigenous fighter Light Combat Air-craft Tejas by next five years. The first two squadrons of the aircraft would be the MkI with GE-404 engines while the remaining five would be the Mk-IIs with more capable GE-414s and other capa-bilities.

voicesvoices

For 50 years Russia has demonstrated in practice its readiness to share the best technologies with our key stra-tegic partner — India. The result is more than 500 aircraft in operation. We come to Air India 2013 confident in the long-term success of our joint programmes, ready to create together the most innovative products for India.

Aero India gives us a great plat-form to showcase our technology and products and has been an enabler for exchange of innova-tive ideas. As our in-service fleets continue to increase we are looking to strengthen our local partnerships to deliver greater levels of support to the benefit of the customers here.

We have excellent opportunities in India for both new engine sales and services. India has indicated that it is looking to acquire ad-ditional AE 2100-powered C-130 aircraft and Adour-powered Hawks. The AE 2100 engine is also the powerplant for the C-27J aircraft which is also under consider-ation by the IAF, and would offer significant commonality benefits if selected alongside the C-130J fleet.

For the tanker programme, the Trent 700 offers real perfor-mance benefits for the A330 tanker aircraft that was recently selected for the Indian Air Force. It deliv-ers unrivalled operational benefits in the 'hot and high' conditions that are part of normal operational requirements in India and is proven to offer significant reductions in Life Cycle Cost for the IAF mission re-quirement. We were delighted with the performance of the engine dur-ing the flight trials for the MRTT where the Trent 700 engine was able to demonstrate its capabilities to the IAF in India. In addition, there are several ongoing helicop-ter campaigns in which we have a keen interest, including the LHTEC T800 as a potential powerplant for the Light Utility Helicopter.

We are also looking to work more closely with the Indian Armed Forces to enable them to benefit from some of the innova-tive support techniques that have been proven in other areas of our business, such as Marine and Civil and which are now being widely adopted by military customers look-ing to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of their fleets. This is equally relevant both for new engines as they enter service, or for existing products in service such as the Gnome in the Indian Navy's Sea King fleet.

John Gay Senior Vice-President Customer business, defence aerospace, South asia, rolls-royce

Mikhail PogosyanPresident, United aircraft Corportation (UaC)

The IAF, which spent `1.12 lakh crore in the 11th plan, will look like a brand new force in the next five years. The force will shape up in the next five years with its planned inductions of

126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), Su-30MKI, 180 Pilatus basic trainer aircraft, 16 C-17s, 15 Chinooks, 22 Attack helicopters Apache, Harop drones, C-130Js and more.

Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne


insight into the futureKnown around the world for its powerful brands, Textron Systems leverages its global network of aircraft, defence and industrial products to provide india with innovative solutions and services. an exclusive interview with Ceo ellen lord.

enhancements, making them fast and highly manoeuverable in a wide range of environments. In addition to being able to accommodate nearly any available re-mote weapons station, they also feature a digital backbone for vehicle systems mon-itoring and future electronic expansion. The Canadian forces saw the value of this unique package of features and benefits and in 2012 selected COMMANDO Elite for its Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicle (TAPV) programme.

What has been the response of the Indian Navy to the CUSV programme?At this point, we have provided the In-dian Navy with background on the de-velopment and increasing maturity of our Common Unmanned Surface Vessel (CUSV). CUSV is a multi-mission capable vehicle. While we are initially focussed on providing a reliable and effective mine countermeasure capability, we've also shown CUSV's ability to execute anti-sub-

marine and anti-surface warfare; commu-nications relay; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and launch/recovery missions for unmanned aircraft and un-manned underwater systems.

What are the partnerships with Indian industry that you are looking forward to forging?We are actively seeking and exploring in-dustry partnerships in India, and believe that these bring great opportunities for all parties to grow their capabilities success-fully.

What is the status of the $257M Or-der to Supply Sensor Fuzed Weapons to Indian Air Force?The SFW foreign military sale programme with India was awarded in November 2010. We are under contract to provide a total of 512 SFW systems, to include integration on the Indian Jaguar aircraft. Textron Systems has completed produc-tion on the SFW systems and the integra-tion programme is ongoing.

What can Textron Systems offer to India with regard to acquisition of defence related technologies to ac-celerate indigenisation?Textron Systems understands that indi-genisation is a priority for India, and we will identify ways to be successful in that environment.

What are the products which Tex-tron Systems will be showcasing dur-ing Aero India 2013?There are several key products that we are pleased to discuss with Aero India attendees this year. Our new Shadow M2 Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (TUAS) is the next generation of our re-nowned Shadow 200 TUAS. The Shadow M2 builds on the overwhelming success of our Shadow 200 system with greater performance and multi-mission flexibility.

We also will showcase our Aerosonde Small Unmanned Aircraft System at the show. It delivers efficient, expedition-ary shipboard and land-based operations along with long endurance.

Our Tactical Sensor Intelligence Shar-ing, or Tac-SIS, system allows users to seamlessly integrate live, full-motion video into the aircraft cockpit and ground control stations, enabling pilots and op-erators to view and relay real-time data. The Tac-SIS system is available in fully integrated, partially integrated and fully portable configurations to address the broad range of customer requirements.

The Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SFW) is an air-delivered area weapon that provides a highly effective and reliable anti-vehicle weapon to the Indian Air Force. Based on extensive testing and use in combat by the U.S. Air Force, SFW is proven to leave less than one half a per cent unex-ploded ordnance, or UXO. SFW is one of the world's most effective weapons, with-out putting ground forces or civilians at risk after its use.

Another weapon we will display is Spi-der, a man-in-the-loop, networked muni-tion system that incorporates sensors, communications and munitions for small unit force protection. The Spider system is capable of controlling both lethal and non-lethal effects, and is designed to pre-vent harm to non-combatants while safe-guarding warfighters.

We also will showcase our family of Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS). These ground sensors are a scalable, effective so-

lution for both tactical and non-military applications covering a variety of terrains and targets. This includes the MicroOb-server UGS system, which is a next-gen-eration solution that provides situational awareness for perimeter defence, force protection and border security.

The MHA has shown an interest in AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems' Shadow TUAS. Has there been any development on that front?Our Shadow TUAS is renowned, having amassed more than 800,000 flight hours supporting combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Shadow system is in use by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, and also is the tactical UAS of choice for the Australian, Swedish and Italian armed forces. We have and continue to show-case the Shadow system to several Indian customers due to its multi-mission capa-bility and proven reliability.

Tell us more about the Aerosonde system in terms of possible usage by the Indian forces in the different types of terrain in India.As mentioned earlier, the Aerosonde Small Unmanned Aircraft System is ide-ally suited for both land-based and ship-board operations in spaced-constrained environments. In fact, the Aerosonde can be deployed in its shipboard configuration with no ship alterations, an affordable and space-saving solution for our customers. The Aerosonde aircraft's single electro-optic/infrared payload delivers day-and-night, persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, while its large pay-load size, weight and power can accom-modate another payload of choice for multi-mission flexibility. It utilises AAI's one-piece Launch and Recovery Trailer and the Expeditionary Ground Control Station for expeditionary land-and sea-based operations.

Please tell us about other products that Textron Systems has to offer to India in the field of unmanned air-craft systems?We are well known for our Shadow and Aerosonde platforms. However, many people don't realise that Textron Systems has decades of experience providing un-manned command and control solutions. Our new Universal Ground Control Sta-tion (UGCS) is a great example. The UGCS is the next generation of our battle-proven One System Ground Control Station. It in-cludes features for joint services interoper-ability, mission flexibility, scalability and ease of use, and can be used to provide command and control for multiple un-manned systems simultaneously.

The LCAC programme could be of in-terest to India after getting platforms like the LPD (Landing Platform Dock)

for island utilisation and around In-dian territories that are offshore from the mainland, like the Lakshad-weep Islands and the Andaman and Nicobar. Has the new version, the Ship-to-Shore Connector, been of any interest to the Indian Navy?We have had inquiries from many inter-national navies since being selected by the U.S. Navy in July 2012 to lead the Ship-to-Shore Connector (SSC) programme. Textron Systems and its team mates are moving forward with detailed design work and construction of an initial SSC Test and Training Craft. The SSC will replace the Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC), offering a modernised means for conduct-ing amphibious operations for the next 30 years. Like LCACs that have proven invalu-able in times of disasters, including tsu-nami and hurricane relief operations, the new SSC will launch from inside the well deck of an amphibious ship. The primary differences between the legacy LCAC and

the next generation SSC will be a larger, more efficient engine that delivers greater power, the use of composites rather than metal for some components, and enhance-ments that improve both reliability and maintainability.

The Tac-SIS system has achieved ma-jor milestones. What are the chances of its being offered to India?The Tac-SIS system is the cornerstone of Textron Systems' manned/unmanned teaming technology. We see many pos-sible applications in India. The Tac-SIS system is an integrated aerial situational awareness solution, available in partially integrated mobile unit or fully integrated cockpit configurations. It provides seam-less integration of live, full-motion video into the aircraft cockpit, allowing users to view and relay real-time data to other air and ground platforms.

The MHA has had a number of prob-lems encountering mines and IEDs. Has the MHA been offered Textron Systems' Tactical Armored Patrol Ve-hicle (TAPV)?Given the situation described, we be-lieve Textron Systems' COMMANDOTM Elite line of armoured vehicles would be an ideal solution for the MHA. Our most highly-protected and capable vehicles, the COMMANDO Elite provides MRAP-level 2 mine-blast protection. These vehicles come equipped with our latest drive train

Bengaluru, February 5: The Hindu-stan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will show-case its strengths in design, develop-ment and production at Aero-India 2013 to be held from February 6 to 10. According to R K Tyagi, Chairman, HAL said, “the other major attractions of the HAL pavilion would include in-house designs such as the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), ‘Rudra’ the weaponised Advance Light Helicopter (ALH) and the Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT).”

“For the first time, we will present to the world glimpses of the Prospective Multi-role Fighter (PMF) also known as the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA). This is under co-development with the Russians,” he added. ALH-Dhruv, LCH and Rudra (Mk 4 WSI) will be on flying display. Scale models

of the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Hawk, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and Su-30 will also be on display.

In addition, the Pilotless Target Aircraft (Lakshya), Shakti engine and modern accessories and avionics from various divisions of HAL are being showcased. The other specialities of the HAL pavilion would include 3D video mapping of the HTT-40, the Dornier glass cockpit and scale models of aero-space structures of the GSLV MkII, GSLV Mk III and PSLV.

The Rotary Wing Corner will pro-vide visitors, through simulation and visual display, a helicopter view of the technologies, the capabilities and com-petencies developed in the company. There will also be a holographic pro-jection depicting the capabilities of the LCA, Hawk, LCH and LUH.

haL to showcase fgfa

Aero India 2013 arrives during an exciting time for Textron Systems, as we are uniquely positioned to support the Indian government and its armed forces. We look forward to speak-ing with many organisations to determine how we can meet

India’s current and emerging requirements.


there is potential for a large footprintM W Mogale, Acting South African High Commissioner, on the partnership between South Africa and India, often described as a partnership for all seasons

A few words on Aero India and your country's participation in the event.Although there is no major participation at the biennial air show at Yelahanka Air Force Station this year, the South Af-rican Defence Industry is committed to India. The aviation industry can offer a wide range of products and solutions that are right for the Indian conditions. South Africa has defined not only India but the whole of Asia as a market area, with a po-tential to be larger than her other world markets and is foreseeing a large footprint at future aerospace exhibitions such as Aero India.

Current planning is that the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans (Minister N Mapisa-Nqakula) and/or the Secretary of Defence (Dr S. M. Gulube) will attend Aero India 2013 from South Africa in their respective official capacities. Both received official invitations from the In-dian government and are in a process to finalise their dairies as the opening of the South African Parliament also takes place over the same period.

Your country's long and fruitful partner-ship with IndIa is well known. How do we further deepen this relationship in the field of defence and aviation?South Africa has occupied a special place in the national ethos of India, with the link between its own independence and

the struggle for equality and justice that started many years ago. The end of 'apart-heid' has ushered a new phase in the rela-tionship between the two countries at the state level — from one of conflict of inter-est and confrontation to one of mutual-ity of interest and cooperation. Everyone agreed that there is a dire need for both countries to take advantage of all these aspects of their friendship and translate them into action in order to realise the

objectives of their diplomatic relations on various issues of common interest. India and South Africa are seen to be natural partners, and in some speeches, are con-stantly being referred to as 'friends for all seasons'.

The long and fruitful partnership be-tween India and South Africa is resulting in Defence Industrial Cooperation where both countries utilise the similarities of capabilities in this regard and realise that future cooperation should focus on co-production and joint ventures to reduce

both countries' dependence on the major defence industries of the world. Defence industrial cooperation between the respec-tive governments and the defence related industries of both countries takes place in the form of direct sales, joint research and development and joint ventures and the relationship is slowly evolving towards being one of more than buyer and seller to become a more collaborative relationship.

Would it be right to say that our relation-ship is no more one of buyer and seller, but a more collaborative relationship?Avionics from South Africa at this point in time will include supplying Flight Re-corders, Health and Monitoring Systems (HMS) and spares for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the transfer of technology for the support of these systems. More discus-sions on other ventures are underway be-tween the South African Defence Industry (SADRI) and the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

A major part of the success in the current relationship is also dependent on progress with the relatively newly established IB-SAJDIWG (India Brazil South Africa Joint Defence Industry Work group) whose mandate it is to promote cooperation be-tween the defence industries of the three countries.

Finally, would you be visiting the air show?If my diary permits, I will surely be visit-ing the air show. .

Avionics from South Africa at this point in time will include supplying Flight Recorders, Health and Monitoring Systems

(HUMS) and spares for the Indian Air Force (IAF)South African Minister of Defence and Military Veterans N Mapisa-Nqakula

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AH-1Z “Zulu” is the most flexible, most effective multi-mission attack helicopter in the world. A fully integrated flight deck provides an unequaled targeting system and digital data link capability while reducing pilot workload. Ready and capable in austere environments, Zulu is highly survivable and combat proven. All while offering a low acquisition price and life cycle costs.

PROTECT AND DEFENDYOUR MISSION:

bellhelicopter.com [email protected]


voicesvoices

India’s growing economy will need helicopters to address demand from defence, as India looks to replace its aging inven-tory.Sikorsky has solutions to meet the emerging requirements of Indian military and would be happy to offer the latest technol-ogy. Sikorsky is also known for providing robust aftermarket support to its fleet worldwide and we would be providing similar support to the Sikorsky helicop-ters that are bought by India.

Robert KokordaVice President - Sales & marketing, Sikorsky

How does India stack up for Boe-ing with respect to its international presence?India is one of the top three countries for Boeing internationally in terms of market potential as well as the ability to harness the talent, innovation and aerospace ca-pabilities that exist in the country. Boe-ing has steadily increased its presence in India over the last 70 years in both com-mercial and defence markets to bring the best of Boeing to India and the best of India to Boeing.

India is a key market for Boeing and we will continue to invest in the country for the long term. As we have articulated in the past, I believe our key to success will be to offer the right solutions to our customers and partner with them and with industry for mutual success.

Boeing has recently won several de-fence deals in India. What would you attribute Boeing's recent wins to?While our engagement on the defence side is relatively recent, we have been fortunate to be selected by the Indian Navy to provide P-8I maritime recon-naissance and anti-submarine aircraft. We were also chosed to provide Harpoon missiles, and selected by the Indian Air Force for the C-17 strategic and tactical airlifter and Boeing business jets. This has happened as a result of India's de-fence modernisation effort, Boeing's re-newed focus on international markets, and closer relations between India and the United States.

What is Boeing's long term strategy for India?Our long term business strategy is to work closely with our customers on their defence and security requirements, execute flawlessly on our current cam-paigns, and deepen Boeing's presence in the country through long term and strat-egy partnerships.

Can you elaborate on the progress made with your defence programmes in India and future opportunities? We signed a contract with the Indian Navy in 2009 for eight P-8Is. The P-8I programme is on schedule and we de-livered the first aircraft on schedule in December 2012. We are progressing as promised and will deliver the remain-ing seven aircraft in 2013 and 2014 as called for by the contract.

The C-17 programme met a major milestone in January 2012 when the first aircraft for India had a successful first flight. The Indian and U.S. governments signed a contract for that programme in June 2011. The first aircraft will be deliv-ered in the summer of 2013 and the sub-sequent nine will be delivered by 2014. I am confident that the Indian Air Force will be pleased with the unique capabili-ties of the C-17 that makes it ideal for India's demanding airlift requirements.

Boeing's AH-64D Apache Block III is the most sophisticated attack helicop-ter in production today and used by the U.S. Army. The IAF will receive the latest version of the AH-64D Apache Block III which has 26 new technology insertions that make it a lethal platform for the next generation Indian warfighter.

On the CH-47 Chinook helicopter, since its introduction to the world just

india is one of the top markets for Boeingdennis d. swanson is vice President, international Business development for india at Boeing Defence, Space and Security. He is responsible for growing and reposi-tioning Boeing's defence, space and security business in one of Boeing's top three markets. In this interview, Swanson discusses what Boeing's top priorities are for India and how important it is to strengthen relationships with the country.

more than 50 years ago, the Chinook has been universally been acknowledged as the platform of choice for vertical-lift as-sault, troop movement, logistics support, aerial battlefield recovery and special op-erations in peace and conflict. The Indian Air Force will benefit from the Chinook's multi-mission heavy lift capabilities and its evolving platform, both of which make it relevant well into the future..

Going forward, we see opportunities in the areas of rotorcraft platforms such as V-22 Osprey, unmanned airborne sys-tems like the ScanEagle and Integrator, security solutions and network-centric operations systems. We see opportunities in support and training as a significant growth area for India, and we can help our customers achieve maximum opera-tional readiness of the products we are selling now and into the future.

Can you elaborate on Boeing's ef-forts to partner with Indian suppli-ers to help strengthen India's aero-space sector?Boeing has developed important rela-tionships with Indian suppliers and is actively pursuing technical and business partnerships with local companies and institutions. Several of these suppliers are contributing to components that are integrated on Boeing platforms. These in-

clude the F/A-18 gun bay doors, F/A-18 wire harnesses, P-8I weapons bay doors, P-8I tailcones, and P-8I Identification Friend or Foe transponders by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and data link boxes, Identification Friend or Foe inter-rogator systems and F/A-18 cockpits by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). In ad-dition to defence public sector undertak-ings, private industry companies play a large role in Boeing's industrial strategy. Dynamatic Technologies and Tata Ad-vanced Materials Limited (TAML) are delivering P-8I power and mission equip-ment cabinets, and TAML is on contract to provide P-8I auxiliary power unit door fairings.

Boeing will continue making invest-ments in the industry and competing aggressively for aerospace work. Becom-ing part of the global supply chain is the healthy measure of a growing aerospace sector which will benefit India in the long term. With offsets, we have come a long way in India. Significant changes in India's offset policy have been made by the Ministry of defence since 2006 and the policy continues to evolve. We con-tinue to engage with our customers and industry partners on optimal offset solu-tions that offer India the right technolog-ical capability for a strengthened aero-space industry.

We are looking forward to Aero India as an opportunity to start off multiple conversations with Indian defence forces, homeland security forces, defence research establish-ments, defence public sector units and defence industry. Aero India has always been an exciting place for some very interesting discussions to get rolling and for us to showcase successful or top of the line, state of the art products.

Aero India offers the opportunity to make our products and offers bet-ter known to the Indian customer and to meet key stakeholders. We believe that the more the Indian stakeholders get to see and under-stand the technologies showcased by Saab more will be the appreciation of Saab offerings and Swedish technolo-gies. We expect occasions such as these to help open more windows of opportunities for us in India.

Aero India is always a big event for Saab given the size, scale and lev-els of interest that Saab draws at the show. This time around, a 70-mem-ber team is going to be present and all Saab business areas are partici-pating in the exhibition; Aeronau-tics, Dynamics, Electronic Defence Systems and Security & Defence Solutions and Support & Services. Saab CEO HakanBuskhe will also be present during the show, underscor-ing the importance that we place on the market.

All the business leaders and the highest levels of business leadership are present at Aero India. We see the Aero India an opportunity to meet up with all key stakeholders. We also see the event to be an opportunity to connect with Indian industry as well.

Niklas Nieminenmanaging director, Saab india technologies Pvt Ltd.

India plays a strategic role for us and continues to be the main focus in Asia. In addition to further increasing our industrial footprint in India, we also plan to tap considerable growth poten-tial in the wider region.

Bernhard GerwertCeo, Cassidian

aero india 201314 geopolitics

Indian Offset Partners need to invest with care, keeping in mind the feasibility of exploiting technology in other product spectrums, that would provide for economy of scale.

The latest offset guidelines have introduced two distinct features viz technology and multipliers. It now remains to be seen how we

can exploit these by reducing imports and developing an indigenous capability in the defence sector. There has been a significant spurt in the acquisitions of the Air Force and the Navy in recent years and 19 offset contracts worth $3.4 billion have already been signed. Moreover, a total of $30 billion worth of offset contracts are expected to be inked in the next 10 years.

Though the desire to acquire and ab-sorb latest technologies underlies offset programmes in most countries and there exists a sizeable opportunity to exploit the purchasing capacity of the nation to receive critical technologies, India would do well to learn from the problems it has faced from technology absorption in the past as part of the main contracts. Previous experience with India's acquisition have shown that even if technology, duly paid for by Govern-ment of India, has been successfully trans-ferred, it is quickly outpaced by technologi-cal developments, leading to re-imports of superior or upgraded platforms.

The present offset guidelines (DPP 2011) have allowed transfer of technology (ToT) to Indian private/DPSUs/DRDO for the manu-facture and/or maintenance of eligible prod-ucts and provision of eligible services. The ToT to the private sector is capped at 10 per cent of the associated 'Buy Back' while ToT to DRDO for nominated technologies carries multipliers of varying degrees.

Cutting edge technology is generally not shared as part of offsets, however, what may be passed on is technology that is shortly about to be replaced by new developments. Even if such technology accompanied by certain amount of jigs and fixtures are re-ceived free of cost, considerable amount of time and capital investments is required by Indian Offset Partners (IOPs) for setting up manufacturing facilities. There exists the risk of the technology being already pro-vided to sub-contractors in other countries, thus creating the risk of over-capacity once the offset programme is over. Thus, IOPs need to invest with care, keeping in mind the feasibility of exploiting technology in other product spectrums, which would pro-vide for economy of scale.

It is also necessary for IOPs to develop the ability to absorb technology and avoid

the pitfalls that certain public sector organ-isations have experienced in the past. It also needs to be ensured that the tacit process knowledge must be in place prior to the transfer of technology. At times technology receivers may underestimate the industrial/human investment or domestic skills and competencies required for absorbing new technologies and may not have budgeted for the same, leading to a delay in absorption.

Further, an IOP will require not only the ability to use the technology, but also to keep pace with the technology absorbed as the acquired technology is bound to per-ish in three-four years. One of the consid-erations here is the capacity of ancillary industries to serve as lower-tier suppliers of parts or services. The question whether a transferred technology can be supported by

suppliers within the country, has a poten-tially large impact on the competitiveness of production, given the potentially higher costs of relying on parts from abroad as well as the greater lead times involved. Secondly, a company's internal R&D capacity deter-mines the extent of technology exploitation. For technology transfer to be successful, an IOP needs to have a strong R&D base where both internal R&D and technology trans-ferred must coexist.

It may be pointed out here that the DPP 11 says that the "vendor may allow his Tier-1 sub-vendors under the main procurement contract to discharge offset obligations, to

the extent of their work share (by value) on behalf of the main/prime vendor. However, overall responsibility and liability for the full discharge of offset obligations shall continue to remain with the main/prime vendor". It may be prudent to bear in mind that pres-ently there exists a wide technology gap be-tween IOPs in India and the OEMs/Tier -1 and, therefore, it is much easier and prac-tical for the IOPs to develop alliances with Tier-3 or select Tier-2 suppliers. Therefore, it is recommended "only OEM/Tier-1 restric-tions" be removed and market forces be al-lowed to form alliances at appropriate levels. The objectives of the offset policy do not get affected as long as the products and services are being exported.

— Rajiv Chib

Acquisition Programmes Offset Foreign Companies Contract Value Contract (` In crore) ( ` In crore)

Medium Power Radar

Upgrade of MiG-29 aircraft for IAF (2008)

Fourth Fleet Tanker (2008)

Long Range Maritime Recce Anti-Submarine Warfare Aircraft (2009)

HAROP Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) (2009)

Medium Lift Helicopters (2008)

C-130 J Aircraft (2009)

EO/ IR Pods - Jaguar upgrade (2009)

Fourth Fleet Tanker - under option clause (2009)

Low Level Transportable Radar (LLTR) (2009)

VVIP Helicopters (2010)

UAV

IAI ELTA Israel

ROE, Russia

Fincantieri, Italy

Boeing, USA

IAI, Israel

Rosoboron Export, Russia

Lockheed Martin, USA

RAFAEL, France

Fincantieri, Italy

M/s Thales, France

M/s Agusta Westland UK

M/s IAI

810

3,856

800

10,684

720

4,950

3,666

350

800

570

4,227

1,265

243

1,233

240

3,205

220

1,485

1,100

159

240

171

1,268

379

Toatal 32,698 9,943

Source: Journal Vol. 6 No. 2, SUMMER 2011 (April-June)

Preparedness of Indian Industry to absorb technology

Benefitting from offsets: (Clockwise from top left) VVIP Chopper AW101, Jaguar, C130J Hercules and MiG-29.


The 407AH is Bell Helicopter’s first com-

mercially qualified, armed helicopter. It

was designed with military and parapub-

lic operations in mind, configurable for

a wide range of missions with multiple

weapons and surveillance packages

including mini-guns, rocket pods, multi-

sensor camera and NVG capability.

The V-22 Osprey is the world’s first production tiltrotor aircraft. Unlike any aircraft before it, the V-22 successfully blends the vertical flight capa-bilities of helicopters with the speed, range, altitude, and endurance of fixed wing transports.

The UH-1Y and the AH-1Z are capable attack and utility helicopters. They rep-resent effective and efficient means of

accomplishing a wide array of mis-sions around the globe.

Bell Helicopter will have a strong pres-

ence at Aero India 2013 as we continue

to grow our footprint and expand its

business in the growing Indian aviation

marketplace. There will be demonstration

flights in the Bell 429 and 407AH. Both

aircraft will also be on static display.

The Bell 429 and 407AH have generated

a great deal of interest throughout the

world during their demonstration tours,

and are ideally suited to meet the mission

needs of our customers in India. Addi-

tionally, they will showcase scale models

of the Bell 429, UH-1Y, AH-1Z, and V-22

Osprey in our booth.

At Aero India 2013 Boeing will showcase the

C-17 Globemaster III, P-8I anti-submarine and

anti-surface warfare aircraft, P-8A console,

Maritime Surveillance Aircraft console, AH-

64 Apache attack helicopter, CH-47 Chinook

heavy lift helicopter, V-22 Osprey, UAVs such

as ScanEagle and Integrator, and training and

support. We are excited about participating in

Aero India because it is an opportunity to meet

with customers and partners during the show

as well as showcase Boeing’s capabilities for

India. During the show, visitors will see full-

scale models of the ScanEagle and Integrator

unmanned aerial vehicles at Boeing’s stand.

Visitors will be also see a C-17 Globemaster III

military transport aircraft at the show.

Indoor RowStand E1.6

Indoor Raw Stand E1.10


Rockwell Collins is pleased to participate again this year at Aero India. As a local provider with a growing employee base and invest-

ment in the country, we view this as an excellent opportunity to showcase our innovative avionics and communications solutions

and continue to build trust with customers and partners.

As India moves toward its goal of building an indigenous aerospace and defence indus-try, the country is looking for

synergies between commercial and mili-tary aerospace technologies.

At Rockwell Collins, we provide a good example of how this can be ac-complished. The company has success-fully leveraged commercial and military technology across our avionic systems for

Leveraging commercial solutions for militaryIndia's aerospace and defence industry will benefit from the synergies between commercial and military aerospace technologies

many years. This has led to a balanced business that is made up of roughly half commercial and half government reve-nue. This balanced approach has enabled the company to navigate through chal-lenging economic conditions and to pros-per when times are good.

Our balanced business model's suc-cess is exemplified in the KC-390 and KC-46 tanker programmes. Rockwell Collins is providing the Pro Line Fusion com-mercial cockpit to Embraer's KC-390pro-gramme for the Brazilian Air Force. The flight deck features include 15-inch diag-onal Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD), Inte-grated Flight Information Systems (IFIS) with electronic charts and enhanced maps, and advanced Flight Management Systems (FMS). These features contribute to a flight deck designed for operational efficiency, providing extensive situational awareness and ensuring that the pilot can make the right decisions at the right time.

Rockwell Collins is also providing commercial technology in a military set-ting once again with its work on the US Air Force's KC-46 programme through prime contractor Boeing. We are provid-ing four 15.1-inch diagonal LCDs built on technology from the Boeing 787 pro-gramme, increasing reliability and safety. Other solutions include the Tactical Situ-ational Awareness System, which pro-vides the crew with cues to both threats and friendly entities, the Remote Vision System, which uses both 3D and 2D tech-

nology to assist in aerial refueling, and the Signal Data Concentrator Network for fast information sharing.

Our integration of synthetic vision into the Common Avionics Architecture Cockpit for helicopters is another exam-ple of the company's unique ability to leverage technology from its commercial business for its military customers. In this case, synthetic vision, a key feature of-fered on the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion flight deck in both head-up and head-down versions for business and re-gional aircraft, is now being applied to military helicopter cockpits.

Last year, the Defence Advanced Re-

search Projects Agency (DARPA) selected Rockwell Collins to develop the synthetic vision avionics backbone for next gen-eration helicopter operations under the Multi-Function Radio Frequency (MFRF) programme. The DARPA MFRF contract calls for Rockwell Collins to develop a 3D synthetic vision-based imagery system that will be used with multifunction ra-dar. Rockwell Collins will fuse radar data with terrain and obstacle data to produce an integrated 3D view of the operational environment. The practice of leveraging commercial technology for military appli-cations has many benefits. A key benefit is that the technology provides military pilots with the same advanced situation-al awareness and reduced workload as their commercial brethren. Costs are also driven down because existing technology is reused for the military applications, often needing only minor modifications to meet mission requirements. Rockwell Collins sees ample opportunities to share this expertise with Indian companies and its Ministry of Defence, as we grow our presence in the country.

As the tenth largest economy in world and with GDP forecasted to grow 8 per cent annually, India is a critical growth market for Rockwell Collins. Increasing air traffic and ongoing regional security threats are driving spending on pro-grammes in both commercial and gov-ernment sectors. Rockwell Collins sees significant business opportunities within the Defence Forces communications up-

grades, network centric warfare, soldier modernisation, air transport, business aviation and security and defence mar-kets in India. The company's strength in network enabled communications, ad-vanced, integrated avionics and commu-nications systems for military fixed and rotary wing aircraft, precision navigation and nose to tail systems for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) aligns well with India's needs.

Examples of Rockwell Collins custom-ers doing business in India include: Hin-dustan Aeronautical Limited's transport aircraft; Electronic Counter-Counter Mea-sure equipment through the Electronics

Corporation of India Ltd.; original equip-ment manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus, and numerous commercial air-lines. In addition, Rockwell Collins has multiple ARC-210 and Talon radio sys-tems on many newly acquired transport and helicopter platforms.

Our company has shown a long-term commitment to the country establishing a design centre in Hyderabad in 2008 to augment the company's existing en-gineering capabilities. The India Design Centre (IDC) was created to help Rockwell Collins expand its global footprint, meet the needs of customers in this region, and increase access to high-quality engineer-ing and design talent. This centre also en-ables Rockwell Collins' engineering teams to work collaboratively around the world and around the clock to develop innova-tive solutions.

Rockwell Collins' IDC is dedicated to product development for global markets, with initial work focussed on the design of display applications for commercial and military customers and Flight Man-agement Systems. The IDC currently has 500 employees with plans to grow to 600 this year. As a global technology com-pany, Rockwell Collins looks forward to working hand-in-hand with our Indian partners to bring leading edge solutions to its aerospace and defence industries.

—Thud Chee 'TC' ChanVice President and Managing Director,

Rockwell Collins Asia Pacific Region

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The company's airborne surveillance capabili-ties are set to impress with the MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft. Triton is a maritime version of the combat-proven Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system. It can fly missions for 24 hours at altitudes more than 10 miles, allowing the system to cover vast areas of ocean and coastal regions.

The lighter-than-air Long Endurance Multi-intelli-gence Vehicle (LEMV) is a hybrid military airship developed by Northrop Grumman and Hybrid Air Vehicles for the United States Army which will provide Intelligence, Surveillance and Recon-naissance (ISR) support for ground troops

The Yakovlev Yak-130 is a subsonic two-seat advanced jet trainer/light at-tack aircraft or lead-in fighter trainer developed by Yakovlev. It can also perform light-attack and reconnais-sance duties, carrying a combat load of 3,000 kgs.

Sukhoi T-50 is the prototype for PAK FA is being jointly developed by Russia and Hin-dustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The MiG-35 is classified as a 4++ generation jet fight-er by Mikoyan. The first prototype was a modification of the aircraft that previously served as MiG-29M2 model demonstrator. The MiG-35 is now classed as a medium-weight aircraft because it's maximum take-off weight has increased by 30 per cent, exceeding it's previous criteria of classification.

Northrop Grumman will display its capabilities in airborne early warning and control including the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye programme has newly designed electronically scanned radar with a matching suite of sensors, avionics, proces-sors, software and displays to provide the most technologically advanced command and control capability avail-able worldwide.

Northrop Grumman Corporation will showcase it's range of capabilities in Intelligence, Surveil-lance and Reconnaissance (ISR) including air-borne early warning and control systems for maritime reconnaissance and unmanned aerial vehicles at Aero India 2013. They have strived to create solutions to meet India’s defence require-ments and are excited to offer their core capabili-ties to further strengthen India’s naval, military and homeland security concerns.

Hall E

Stand

E1.14

HALL A,

Stand A3.1,

Chalets

25-27

Since India’s independence,

Russia has shared very close ties with India in terms of defence and strategic coop-

eration. In the post Soviet era, Russia has exhibited its willingness to share the advanced technologies with

India. United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has played an in-strumental role in consolidating this role which is reflected in

the more than 500 aircraft in operation with the Indian Air Foce (IAF). The Company is confident in the long-term success of India-Russia joint programmes to create together the most in-

novative products for India. UAC and its subsidiary compa-nies like Sukhoi, MiG, Ilyushin, Irkut and Beriev will be

featuring a range of products in military aviation starting from the Su-30MKI, MiG-35, Yak-

130 to the T-50 Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft .


PARS 3 LR: India’s ALH Dhruv or 'Rudra', MBDA has sourced an Indian partner to develop a special twin launcher which will be displayed at the exhibition. MBDA has been working for some time already with HAL in equipping this helicopter with the MISTRAL ATAM self-defence air-to-air system.

ASRAAM is being dis-cussed as a potential weapon for the IAF’s Jaguar bomber fleet which is undergoing upgrades to extend the aircraft’s life through to the end of the decade. The Jaguar’s mission is as a bomber but it also needs an effective self-defence capability.

At Aero India 2013, MBDA will demonstrate it's unique status as the only company with a product catalogue capable of meeting the guided weapons require-ments of all three armed services: air, land and sea. With the Indian Air Force looking to enhance the op-erational capabilities of it's fleet of Jaguar and Mi-rage aircraft, combined with it's recent selection of the future MMRCA, Aero India offers MBDA the ideal opportunity to showcase it's extensive range of air-to-air and air-to-ground guided weapon systems.

MICA has been ordered for the IAF’s Mirage upgrade. It is also a weapon system closely associated with the Rafale. Showcased on MBDA’s stand, this is the only missile in the world featuring two interoperable seekers (active radar and imaging infrared) to cover the spectrum from close-in dogfight to long beyond visual range. Its ability to fly out to BVR in passive mode before the seeker locks on in the final stages of the end game has earned it the sobriquet 'silent killer' as the target has little time to react or to deploy ef-fective countermeasures.

The amphibian and aircraft compo-nents manufactured by ShinMaywa are a direct result of its seasoned technology and decades of extensive research and development. Shin-Maywa is the prime manufacturer of the world's only amphibian aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water in the open sea. During the Aero India 2013, ShinMaywa will be showcasing their Passenger Board-ing Bridges and the unique amphib-ian aircraft, US-2.

Hall C

Stand

C2.11

Hall GStand G1.7

*Visitors are advised to verify the stall numbers before visiting the respective companies.


Consisting of three applications (HV, MV,

LV), The Trophy is a situational awareness

and active protection hard kill system that

operates in three major stages: Threat

detection and threat tracking followed by

hard kill countermeasure (Multiple Explo-

sive Formed Penetrators – MEFP) activa-

tion and threat neutralisation.

David's Sling (Stunner): Rafael Ad-

vanced Defense Systems, in partnership

with Raytheon USA, has developed Da-

vid’s Sling, an affordable and lethal solu-

tion against long-range artillery rockets

(LRAR), short-range ballistic missiles

(SRBM), cruise missiles (CM) and tradi-

tional air defence threats.

Spike Missile Family con-sists of precise tactical missiles for ranges of up to 25 km. The Spike Family missiles are multi-purpose, multi-platform electro-optic systems featuring real-time data links. The Spike missiles can be used by infantry units as well as mounted on combat vehicles, at-tack helicopters and na-val vessels. The system is combat-proven and is currently in operational use in more than 14 countries.

Iron Dome is an afford-able, effective and inno-vative defence solution (CR&AM Class) for the asymmetric threats of short-range rockets, (up to and over 70 km), and mortars, and also serves as a Very Short Range Air Defense (VSHORAD) Missile System (up to 10 km) against traditional Air Defence targets. Iron Dome is designed for quick detection, discrim-ination and interception of rockets & mortar threats with ranges of up to and over 70 km.

Rafael is engaged in joint ventures and

partnerships with local Indian industries

such as Mahindra, BDL and BEL and are

in constant search to expand its activi-

ties in the country, in cooperation with

the DRDO, in order to better address

local needs and requirements. One of its

strengths lies in the fact that Rafael's Is-

rael's National Laboratory, with an excep-

tionally capable workforce that provides

the company the innovative and combat-

proven solutions that it offers to its cus-

tomers. Rafael, as a designer and devel-

oper of mutli-disciplinary, field-proven

"systems-of-systems", is well-versed in

complex large-scale integration and de-

velopment of tailor-made solutions for

critical asset protection programs, both

for Israel and worldwide. Rafael offers its

partners and users, as well as its Indian

partners, a wide array of combat-prov-

en, unique products, capitalizing on its

strengths at both system and sub-system

levels.

Outdoor, Stand OD15 &

Hall A, A1.1

The new accurate, reli-able and flexible RBS 70 NG VSHORAD system with 24/7 all-target capability has been de-veloped for any combat situation. A new genera-tion integrated sighting system, enhanced gun-ner aids, high precision, unbeatable range and unjammable laser guid-ance combine to pro-duce a ground-based air-defence system with world-leading capabili-ties

The Gripen NG model will be on display. It is the

first of the new generation, multi-role fighter air-

craft to enter operational service. Using the latest

technology it is capable of performing an exten-

sive range of air-to-air, air-to-surface and recon-

naissance missions employing the latest weapons.

From peacekeeping operations to real

combat scenarios–Saab has been pro-

viding solutions designed to meet

such needs, from training to military

weapons and next-generation air-

craft, Saab will showcase its RBS 70

NG VSHORAD system, Gripen NG

and Automatic Command-to-Line-Of-

Sight (ACLOS) in the Aero India show.

The Bamse Automatic Command-to-Line-Of-Sight (ACLOS) missile system is one of few systems in the world today that has been developed as a dedicated ground-based air-defence missile system.

Hall A, Stand A2.6 &

Outdoor OD17


Range, speed and flexibilityBell Helicopter is changing the way the world flies by building choppers with the kind of range, speed and flexibility that saves lives and helps in protecting the airspace. Bell Helicopter is committed to deliver those capabilities at a value that is truly exceptional and credible, says Rishi K Malhotra

What are the products, which Bell He-licopter will be showcasing at Aero India 2013?Bell Helicopter will have a strong presence at Aero India 2013 as we continue to grow our footprint and expand our business in the growing Indian aviation marketplace. We will fly demonstration flights in the Bell 429 and 407AH. Both aircraft will also be on static display. The Bell 429 and 407AH have generated a great deal of interest throughout the world during their demon-stration tours, and are ideally suited to meet the mission needs of our customers in India. Additionally, we will showcase scale models of the Bell 429, UH-1Y, AH-1Z, and V-22 Osprey in our booth. We are excited to be a part of Aero India and highlight the com-mitments and investment we are making to position ourselves to serve this important market.

Bell Helicopter has several innovations to its name like the tilt-rotor chopper. What are the future projects that you are working on? Bell Helicopter has a range of products that offer a great fit for India’s requirements. The Bell 407GX and 407AH (armed variant) are made to operate in rugged conditions at high altitude; the Bell 407 has landed at the density altitude 23,000 ft. in the India Hi-malayas region. The AH-1Z and UH-1Y of-fer unmatched reliability and hot and high performance in India’s diverse geography and climate. Given India’s vast land mass, large coastal lines and unique operational needs, the V-22 Osprey offers exceptional multi-mission capabilities for border protec-tion and special mission operations.

The Bell 429 is truly tailor made for India. This new light twin is already very popular with corporate as well as charter companies because of the cabin comfort, low noise and fast cruise speed. When In-dia’s Gagan project is commissioned later this year, Bell 429 pilots will be able to fly in low visibility conditions with utmost safety with the help of the Bell 429’s LPV capability (hands off instrument approach capability).

In 2012, Bell Helicopter unveiled the 525 Relentless which defines new “Super Medium” product class, positioned at the upper end of the Medium Class market, pro-viding game-changing capabilities. We are making steady progress toward a first flight in 2014 followed by an aggressive schedule for flight testing, certification and produc-tion. The 525 Relentless boasts:

– Best‐in‐class payload range capability to meet our customers future needs;

– Best‐in‐class cabin and cargo volumes coupled with flexible cabin layout op-tions;

– Best‐in‐class crew visibility from wrap around windscreens providing a wide field of view during takeoff, cruise and landing;

– Featuring the ARC Horizon flight deck system;

– Unparalleled crew situational aware-ness through the use of a fully integrat-ed glass flight deck coupled with an ad-vanced fly‐by‐wire flight control system resulting in enhanced safety levels and mission capabilities.

There was talk that India has ex-pressed interest in the V-22 Osprey. If true, then how far along have the ne-gotiations developed? Indian officials have received briefings and operational and instructional (O&I) flights in the V-22. We believe the officials have come away from those briefings and flights impressed by the capabilities of the aircraft and we look forward to continued discus-sions.

One of the major problems for helicop-ter aviation in India is the dearth of pilots. What are you doing to improve the situation? Are you planning chop-per training academies like the ones you have in China?

A large number of highly experienced Indi-an defense pilots are available for the com-mercial market to meet current demand. HAL has also set up a helicopter training academy in Bengaluru for ab-initio train-ing and has the capability to meet current industry requirements. We recognise the need for type training and recurrent train-ing for various Bell models in India and we are assessing the right model to address this need. Currently HATSOFF, an HAL-CAE joint venture facility in Bangalore, is adequately equipped with a state of the art Level D full flight simulator for the Bell 412 to meet expected demand requirements. For Bell Helicopter’s light single and light twin products, customer pilots are regularly coming to our Customer Training Academy in Fort Worth, Texas for initial as well as

recurrent training. How-ever, with the projected rapid growth of these types in India, we are looking at different options for a train-ing facility in India.

You are the market leader in India with a vast majority of civil-ian choppers of the Bell make. But companies like Eurocopter and Agusta Westland are now extremely aggres-sive. What are you doing to maintain your lead?India is a very competitive market, but the competition is not much different here than in any other part of the world. Aside from HAL, we compete against the same companies around the globe. It comes down the products and services we offer and how we meet the customer’s mis-sion, which differentiates us from our com-petitors.

You have a major service facility in Sin-gapore. Are you planning anything of the sort in India? Bell Helicopter has made some significant

investments in our Indian footprint over the last few years. We started operations in India back in 1995 with a small liaison office in New Delhi. Today we have opened new offices in New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai and have grown to more than 100 employees. Part of our global strategy is to look at joint Bell and Cessna facilities to leverage capital and resources as we did in Singapore. We are continuing to assess the whether a joint MRO makes sense in India.

Tell us about the global technology centre in Bengaluru. How does it sup-port Bell worldwide? The technology center located in Bengaluru called Textron India Pvt. Ltd. is a shared Textron facility that provides high-tech en-gineering and technological solutions for

Rishi K. MalhotraGeneral Manager-India, Bell Helicopter

many Textron business units. Bell Helicopter has over 125 engineers with varying exper-tise including design, analysis, modelling, simulation, systems engineering, mechani-cal engineering, manu-facturing engineering, sourcing and quality assurance. This cross-functional team sup-ports all Bell production models, research and new product develop-ment.

Sikorsky manufactures airframe com-ponents in India in partnerships with companies like TATA. Do you have plans for any such partnerships where made in India products will contribute to the global supply chain? Bell Helicopter and Dynamatic Technolo-gies Limited of Bengaluru recently entered an agreement to explore establishing DTL as a second source for cabin assembly, air-frame components, and details for the Bell 407. This agreement is an important step forward as we continue to grow our pres-ence in India and we will continue to evalu-ate a range of additional business relation-ships in India.

Tell us about your relationship with Bengaluru based Dynamatic technolo-gies. We recently entered an agreement to ex-plore establishing DTL as a second source for cabin assembly, airframe components, and details for the Bell 407. Work with DTL will begin early this year for price and delivery schedules, including procurement. The estimated business volume of the work proposed is approximately $243 million over a ten year period.

This agreement provides Bell flexibil-ity and a cost effective second source. This helps us build manufacturing capacity to support growing demand for our commer-cial helicopters and the introduction of the Bell 525 Relentless.

What are your plans for other partner-ships in India?India’s military helicopter requirements over the next ten years are tremendous. We see significant opportunities to enter the military space and these programmes will generate a large offset obligation.

Bell Helicopter continues to assess po-tential manufacturing partnerships to assist in meeting these offset requirements and become potential suppliers for growing Asia Pacific and global demand for our products.

Today we have opened new offices in New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai and have grown to more

than 100 employees. Part of our global strategy is to look at joint Bell and Cessna facilities to leverage

capital and resources as we did in Singapore. We are continuing to assess the whether a joint MRO makes

sense in India.


Finmeccanica has been a major play-er in the Indian defence market for over four decades, having a presence in the radars and communication, helicopters and naval systems proj-ects. Where do you see the company going in the next five years from now, particularly in the aviation — both civil and military - sector?Indian aeronautics sector offers interesting prospects for Finmeccanica, both in short and medium terms. Alenia Aermacchi is proposing the C-27J, its tactical transport aircraft that can perform a variety of mis-sions including the transport of troops, goods and medicines, MEDEVAC, air-drop operations, paratrooper launches, search and rescue, logistic re-supply, humanitar-ian assistance, fire-fighting and support to homeland security systems. Another area of excellence for Finmeccanica is the fleet of ATR regional aircraft, a product of the joint venture between Alenia Aermacchi and EADS — very successful in recent years throughout the world, including within the Indian region where about 100 of such aircrafts are in service with the main Indian national airlines. Special versions of the turboprop specifically de-veloped by Alenia Aermacchi, the ATR 42 and 72 MP (for Maritime Patrol) are tailored to meet India's key current and future defence and surveillance require-ments, especially for the Indian Coast Guard and its need of a new medium-range aircraft for maritime patrol. The aircraft offers extremely low operational costs for all maritime patrol roles. Regard-ing helicopters, AgustaWestland has been present in India since 1970 and, during that time, has been delivering successful helicopters for both military and commer-cial markets. The company has also estab-lished a joint venture with Tata Sons to

We are a major player in IndiaFinmeccanica is looking to consolidate its business operations in India

Defence Research and Development Or-ganisation (DRDO) and increase its indus-trial presence in India.

What are the capabilities that you will be showcasing during Aero India 2013?

Selex ES is an international leader in electronic and information technolo-gies for defence systems, aerospace, data, infrastructures, land security and protection and sustainable 'smart' solu-tions. Selex ES provides C4ISTAR sys-tems, integrated products and solutions for airborne, land and naval applications delivering mission critical systems for situational awareness, self-protection and surveillance. Selex ES builds on 40 years of heritage in India, where it has fielded ACT/ATM systems for military applica-tions such as Precision Approach Ra-dars (PAR) and 'turn-key' systems for the new Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports. In the naval domain, Selex ES's Combat Management Systems are integrated on frigates while its 3D L-Band Air Surveil-lance Radar will be installed on-board the new aircraft carrier being constructed at Cochin Shipyard. In the airborne sector, Selex ES has supplied avionics, commu-nication (HF, V/UHF) and EW systems for different platforms and last year signed a 20 year support and upgrade contract with the Indian Navy for their Centre for Avionics Repair and Software Develop-ment (CARES). In the avionics field, Selex ES supplies communication (HF, V/UHF) and navigation systems (Doppler GPS), and aims to become a leading player for new generation IFF identification systems and mission support systems in area such as Obstacle Avoidance. Selex ES has also been operating its Mirach 100/5 at the national Integrated Test Range since 2007 and is poised to develop further op-portunities. To answer requirements of military ISR, Selex ES is offering its flag-ship Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance (ATOS) mission manage-ment system for the Kamov-28 upgrade programme. India also offers unique op-portunities for Selex ES's airborne AESA technology, and the company is currently fielding its first AESA solution developed with a local partner. In the land domain, Selex ES designs and develops full situ-ational awareness and force protection systems integrating its Electronic Warfare equipment and its wide range of EO solu-tions for land platforms and dismounted infantry. In the secure communications domain, the company is involved in some of India's biggest tactical communica-tions programmes: TCS (Tactical Com-munications Systems), BMS (Battlefield Management System) and Future Indian Soldier. Selex ES can also provide India with licence-plate reading systems, bio-metric sensors, mobile checkpoints, video surveillance and other technology for police-forces.

In the helicopter sector, AgustaWest-land has been present in India since 1970 and, during that time, has successfully delivered helicopters for both military and commercial markets. Looking at the Indian Armed Forces needs, AgustaWest-land is able to meet the requirements for both land and sea missions, propos-ing models such as the AW119, AW109 LUH, AW139, NH90 and AW101.

Could the IAF Avro Replacement programme to be an interesting op-portunity for Alenia Aermacchi prod-ucts? Only the Alenia Aermacchi C- 27J and the Airbus Military C.295 are realistic contenders for the tender to replace the old Avro aircraft in the Indian Air Force. The two aircraft, also if generally con-sidered comparable, are not. Actually they belong to two different categories: with its outstanding rate of climb, high G maneuverability and inherent rugged design, the C-27J has been designed to operate from any type of unpaved strip, including sand, gravel and grass. So op-erating in the mountains, in the Western desert or be deployed in the East to cope with Civil Protection support missions, would be no problem for the aircraft.

The Spanish aircraft, is maybe cheap-er, but the C-27J is safer to operate and has one evident advantage: the fact that is equipped with the same engines — the Rolls Royce AE2100-D2A, assuring a 4,650 shp — and similar avionics of the C-130 already in IAF service and have its loading system perfectly compatible with the one of the C-130 and C-17 with heavy savings in terms of economics and training and in interoperabilty.

set up a final assembly line in India for the AW119 model. After the recent contract to supply 12 AW101 to the Air Force for Government transport duties, looking at

the present and future needs of the In-dian Armed Forces, AgustaWestland can provide top class helicopters such as the AW119, AW109 LUH, AW139, NH90 and AW101 for light, combat, multi-role operations, search and rescue and naval operations. In particular, the NH90 and the AW119 are the two main platforms that AgustaWestland is proposing for In-dian strategic programmes. Furthermore, AgustaWestland's civil product range is increasingly making inroads into the commercial Indian market, with orders being placed for over 50 aircraft includ-ing AW119, AW109 Power, Grand New light twin-engine and AW139 helicop-ters, and with important business pros-pects in the next few years. India offers many important business opportunities also in other strategic sectors for Fin-meccanica Group, such as: Black Shark heavy-weight torpedoes for submarines; Combat Management System (CMS), ra-dars and naval guns for the new surface naval units; Battlefield Management Sys-tem (BMS), Future Soldier, Light Tanks and ammunitions for the Army.You have been hit by legal issues in Italy in the recent months, leading to

accusations in connection with the 12 VIP helicopters deal of your sub-sidiary AgustaWestland signed with India. How has this affected your

operations and your growth plans in India?Firstly both AgustaWestland and Finmec-canica deny the allegations of wrong-doing and has fully complied with both Indian and European laws and those reg-ulations applicable to doing business with the Indian Ministry of Defence. Whilst these false allegations are unhelpful they have not distracted us from pursuing the many business opportunities we have in India.

How is the delivery of the VIP heli-copters to the Indian Air Force shap-ing up? Do you see the possibility of bagging the maintenance and servic-ing contract beyond the stipulated period under the existing contract?The first batch of three helicopters were delivered to India at the end of December, slightly ahead of schedule, so we are very pleased with the progress AgustaWest-land has made on the programme. The remaining nine AW101s will be delivered in batches this year. The original contract includes an extensive five year logistic support service as well as initial aircrew and technician training, so we are al-ready providing support for the helicop-ters. In the future we believe AgustaWest-land will be well placed to continue this comprehensive support service so that the AW101 fleet is able to achieve the Indian Air Force's required levels of flying.

What are your plans for further strengthen your market share in the sectors that you operate in India?Selex ES has recently opened a fully owned subsidiary, and has an overall presence in country that dates back to 40 years ago. We are very keen to work with local in-dustries to continue to grow our indus-trial presence but also select projects that can truly allow a transfer of technology. In March 2012 Indian Rotorcraft Limit-ed, a joint venture between AgustaWest-land and Tata Sons, began construction on a new helicopter production facility in Hyderabad marking a new development in the Indian aerospace industry.

The Group, which today has around 200 employees in the country, intends to consolidate its position in the Indian mar-ket, facilitate government-to-government agreements (especially in aeronautics, electronics and defence systems) explore opportunities for collaboration with the

To answer requirements of military ISR, Selex ES is offering its flagship Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance

(ATOS) mission management system for the Kamov-28 upgrade programme.

AW 101


by when is the project like to be completed?The MTA project progress in full compliance with the schedule. Recently our team has brought another stage to an end — a group of Indian experts completed additional education and was certified for work according to Russian standards. The work was launched in December 2012. Indian engineers with stay in Moscow about 10 months.

Is there a figure on the Russian and Indian requirements for the FGFA and MTA as yet? If yes, what are these figures? If no, why not yet?

According to the inter-governmental agreement signed by Russia and India, the Parties will purchase 100 FGFA and 45 MTA respectively.

The FGFA program is currently at the initial stage of its development — that is why the figure might be higher or lower, though we suppose both countries will buy not less than 200 aircraft each.

The Su-30MK shoes the growth of the demand along with the development of the programme. In 1996 the agreement for delivery of 50 Su-30K and Su-30MK was signed. In 2000 the agreement for licensed production of another 140 Su-30MK in India was signed. In 2010 the

MC-21 for Aero IndiaUnited Aircraft Corporation (UAC) is the backbone of the aviation business in Russia with a core objective to maintain and enhance the scientific and production potential of the Russian aircraft industry. UAC has to provide-not just cutting edge aviation technology for the security and defence capabilities of Russia but also provides its growing product list to various countries around the globe. It is also increasingly pooling its intellectual, industrial and financial resources for new development programmes.

What are the capabilities that you will be showcasing during Aero India 2013?UAC and its subsidiary companies Sukhoi, MiG, Ilyushin, Irkut and Beriev will be featuring the following products: in military aviation: Su-30MKI, MiG-35, Yak-130 and T-50 (fifth generation); in civil aviation: MC-21 and SSJ 100 and in transport and special aviation: IL-76MD90A and Be-200 aircraft.

Now that the FGFA design agreement is in place, have UAC and HAL decided on the work share of the

project? When do you expect it to be done and what are the matters involved?

R&D agreement has not been signed yet, though we are at the homestretch. We have almost completed second stage of our work — front-end design, there are only some details left. The process is in full swing — we are preparing the R&D agreement.

How is the Indo-Russian joint MTA project progressing? What are the timelines for the PDP and DDP, and

flying HigH: MC-21 is expected to compete in the international market with A320NEO, Boeing 737MAX and Chinese Comac C919.

agreement signed for additional delivery of 42 aircraft. Finally, on December 24, 2012 India ordered another 42 kits of Su-30MKI. The agreement increased the order to over 270 aircraft.

What has been the progress made on delivery of the fleet of MiG-29K planes for the Indian Navy? How is the next set of orders for these planes for the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier shaping up?Main part of Indian Navy Air Force also consists of Russian aircraft. Contract for 16 naval fighters MiG-29K signed in 2004 was fulfilled completely. Currently option for another 29 MiG-29K is being implemented. Analysis of Indian carrier programmes shows that Indian Navy requirement for carrier-based fighters will amount to more than 60. Thatmeansa possible orderfor more MiG-29Ks. Though the final decision is to be taken later.

Do you see the prospects for the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force requirements for amphibious airplanes?Be-200 is currently participating in a number of tenders in India and we hope that our Indian colleagues will judge the aircraft on its merits.

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Army Aviation to soar to greater heights

There was much opposi-tion to the Indian Army's efforts to create a dedicated air wing of its own, with the Air Force raising the hackles, but the writ of the Army has prevailed.

India's Army Aviation Corps (AAC) is all set to soar to greater heights, what with a series of inductions and enhancement of capabilities in the

combat, observation and lift roles envis-aged for the force over the next decade.

The AAC, with the largest chop-per fleet among the three Indian armed forces, will soon add teeth, as its require-ment for owning armed helicopters found favour with the government on October 12, 2012 when it was decided to vest all future armed helicopters acquisitions with the Army.

This is a significant step in the evo-lution of the 26-year-old AAC that came into existence in 1986, walking out of the shadows of the Indian Air Force (IAF) that dominates the military aviation scene in India.

After much tug-of-war with the IAF since inception on what aviation assets it should own, the turf war has now been settled once and for all, despite the IAF's continued protestations.

This settlement of a long-festering dis-pute between the two services, though they actually need to bring together their assets in the battlefield if the Indian armed forces want to defeat their enemies com-prehensively, has come with much acri-mony.

The idea of the AAC, with both logis-tics and armed fleet, itself germinated way back in 1963. It was then Indian Army chief General J N Chaudhary, who pro-jected the need for air assets to perform the Army's land warfare roles. He wanted the government to consider providing the Indian Army its own fleet of light, me-dium and heavy helicopters, including armed and attack elements, considering that fire power and mobility of the ground troops will not be effective if it does not have an integral air cover and support.

Since that proposal was taken up for consideration, the government mulled over the issue for the next 23 years be-fore the Army was conceded its demand to have a separate air wing. Thus was formed the AAC in 1986, with the Army finally shedding its dependence on the IAF for certain aviation duties, particularly those in the high altitude areas. But what was given to the Army then was not even close to what was conceived in 1963. It took another 26 years for the government to finally grant the Army's demand for armed and attack helicopters in October 2012, when the government issued or-ders to vest the AAC with all attack heli-copter acquired in the future.

By this decision, India has only tread down the road that other world armies such as the US and the British have gone in the past while deciding similar rifts their armies have had with their respec-tive air forces.

This victory for the AAC was won

the 'Shoor Veer', all to validate the trans-formation package approved by the army commanders' conferences and the gov-ernment in recent years. Under this plan, particularly for its aviation wing mooted in 2007 and to be implemented over a 15-year period ending 2022, the three Strike Corps would be beefed up with an Aviation Brigade comprising two squad-rons of 12 attack helicopters each, apart from two squadrons with 15 choppers each for tactical battle reconnaissance and casualty evacuation.

At present, though, the Indian Army is relying on the two squadrons of Rus-sian-origin Mi-25 and Mi-35 helicopters of the IAF for the Strike Corps's armed air assets, which are, albeit, under the com-mand and control of the Army itself, but flown by IAF pilots. Some Army pilots too are deputed to these armed chopper units from time to time.

The Army has been demanding con-trol over attack and medium-lift helicop-ters for long, saying they are mainly used for its operations. It has been insisting that the strengthening of the AAC with these categories of helicopters is "an inescapable operational necessity." This reasoning is borne by the fact that the infrastructure along the borders with China are 'far from satisfactory" and these air assets would be required to cut down on time taken for troops and equipment movement.

Meanwhile, the AAC is preparing to induct and deploy India's indigenous Ru-dra, a Weapon System Integrated version of the indigenous Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters, in its key formations. It is hoping to raise the first Rudra squadron by the end of March 2013 and deploy it with one of its three Strike Corps.

The Army has already ordered for 60 Rudra — armed with 20mm turret-fitted gun, 70mm rocket, anti-tank guided mis-sile and air-to-air missiles as part of its fire power inventory — to raise six squadrons of 10 helicopters each.

The Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) for Rudra from the Bengaluru-based Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) is being handled by Indian public sector plane manufactur-er, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which is manufacturing a total of 76 Ru-dras. While the first two Rudra squadrons of the Army will be fitted with imported anti-tank guided missiles and air-to-air missiles, the Army hopes to have indig-enously developed missiles for these heli-copters in the future.

Rudra, a Dhruv Mk3 version, will be powered by the Shakti engines, an Indo-French collaborative effort between HAL and Turbomeca. This powerful engine will help Rudra to fly at 20,000-feet al-titude thus making it suitable for the icy heights of the Himalayas. Rudras will be tasked by the Army to provide its ground

troops close air support and protection. It will take on enemy targets in a tank and artillery battlefield scenario.

The twin-engine helicopter, with a two-pilot crew, has also integrated sen-sors and electronic warfare suite such as the infra-red imaging, day and night cameras and a laser ranging and desig-nation device, apart from radar and laser tracking warning systems. It is also fitted with counter measures such as the chaff and flare dispenser. All its weapons and systems are pilot-operated.

The Rudra apart, the army is already looking at procuring 114 of the indige-nously-developed Light Combat Helicop-ter (LCH), which took to the skies for the first time in March 2010.

This apart, it will acquire 133 Light Utility Helicopters, as part of a 197-chop-per deal for which Eurocopter's AS550-C3 Fennec and Russia's Kamov Ka-226 are in the race. These would replace the 150 Cheetah and Chetak helicopters of 1970s vintage in the AAC fleet that are exten-sively used for transportation in high-alti-tude areas, including the Siachen Glacier, the world's highest battlefield.

The AAC's existing fleet of Cheetah, Chetak light utility choppers and Dhruv helicopters too will be augmented by 22 Cheetal helicopters for deployment in the prohibitive altitudes.

The Defence Acquisition Council had in December 2012 approved the procure-ment of the Cheetal, an upgraded version of the French-origin Cheetah fitted with more powerful engines developed and manufactured by HAL.


hard, much after an intervention from National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, who advised Defence Minister A K Antony in this regard after consultations with both Army Chief General Bikram Singh and IAF chief Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne. "Yes, the decision to vest the future inductions of attack helicopters with the Army has been taken keeping in view the operational requirements in the field," Antony had told Indian parliament in December 2012, confirming the Octo-ber 12, 2012 decision.

Why does the Indian Army need armed or attack helicopters at all, when IAF does this job for them? IAF chiefs, including Browne have argued that the country could not afford to have 'little air forces' with every armed force in the coun-try. He also contended that if coast guard wanted a submarine, which is a navy as-set, will that be allowed? Though the IAF had offered to the Army to have its own attack helicopters about three years ago, the Army had then baulked at the oppor-tunity. But later, the IAF changed track and has been against 'duplication' of air assets.

In this regard, IAF has been citing a 1986 Joint Army-Air Instructions on dis-tribution of air assets under which the IAF is to hold fire power and other logis-tics capabilities, while the army would have only light utility choppers in AAC.

The Army has defended its demand, noting that command and control issues apart, the move will be a factor for it to win battles in future conflicts. However, the AAC's other plan to have a medium helicopter fleet for tactical air lift has been struck down, with the Defence Ministry deciding that the IAF will handle logistics for the Army.

Considering this government deci-sion on future attack chopper acquisition, there is still some debate left to be settled on which of the two forces — the Army or the Air Force — will own and operate the 22 Boeing AH-64D Longbow Apache attack helicopters that are likely to be signed for later this year.

The decision on attack helicopters for the AAC comes in the backdrop of Army's efforts to have attack and tactical lift heli-copters in Aviation Brigades in each of its three Strike Corps initially and to expand the idea to 10 other Pivot/Holding Corps later.

That proposal stems from a future need felt by the Army, essentially in the nature of tactical lift capabilities with some offensive elements, as part of the army transformation that was spearhead-ed by former Indian Army chief General V K Singh and continued by his successor General Bikram Singh.

In 2011 and 2012, the Army held six exercises in Rajasthan desert and Punjab plains, four of them major ones such as


NUGGETSnHexcel is exhibiting at the

Aero India show in Bengaluru, from 6th to 10th February 2013 (Hall B1, Stand B2-5) to promote the latest innovations

in composites for the Indian aerospace industry.Hexcel has supplied prepregs, fabrics, resins, honeycombs and adhe-sives to India for many years to a broad base of customers including Hindustan Aero-nautics Ltd (HAL), National Aerospace Lab (NAL), Indian Space Research Organisation, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and TATA Advanced Materi-als.TATA Advanced Materials make spars and composite panels for the Airbus A350 XWB using Hexcel’s HexPly® M21E/IMA prepreg. The A350 XWB is the first Airbus to have a structure that is over 50% composites and Hexcel is supplying the carbon fibrepre-preg for all of the A350 XWB primary structures. The A350 XWB will make its maiden flight later this year.At Aero India 2013 Hexcel will pro-mote the latest developments for the aerospace industry including products for civil air-craft, helicopters and satellites

nDassault Falcon is invest-ing heavily in India to better serve its expanding customer

base in the Indian Subconti-nent and prepare for future growth. These investments will be highlighted, along with Falcon's full line of large-cabin, long-range business jets, at Aero India .Dassault is the Indian market leader for large cabin business jets, with approximately 20 aircraft currently in operation in the country, and expects to deliver several more over the next two years. Last autumn, Dassault opened a new Falcon liaison office in New Delhi to serve as a hub for its expanding business in the region. It also added a new Dassault Falcon sales manager to reinforce its Indian marketing team. The 900LX will also be on display at Bengaluru with the Falcon-Cabin HD+ cabin management system. The Falcon 900LX can fly non-stop from Mumbai to London City Airport, earth of London, a popular destina-tion for Indian businessmen.The top-of-the-line Falcon 7X, equipped with a full Digital Flight Control System, can fly nonstop from Mumbai to Cape Town or from any airport in India to London. And like the Falcon 900, it is the only jet in its category able to meet the challenging access require-ments of London City Airport. The first Falcon 7X was deliv-ered in India to Religare which is operating the aircraft for charter operation since 2010.

S. No. Contract Issued on Cancelled on Contract Value($ millions)

1 6 Air to air refueling tankers Issued twice in 2007 and 2010

2009, second bid finalised 2013

1200

2 Chemical detectors- ACADA (Automatic Chem-ical Agent Detector and Alarm) 2009 2012 50

3 Chemical detectors- CAM (Chemical Agent Monitor) 2009 2012 40

4 Communication Shelters 2007 2010 65

5 Command and control shelters for artillery Issued twice in 2007 and 2011 2007, 2011 90

6 180 self-propelled wheeled artillery gunsIssued thrice in 2002, 2007 and 2010

2012 640

7 197 military utility helicopters Issued twice in 2003 and 2008 2007, 2012 750

8 6 Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft 2008 2009 220

9 22 attack helicopters 2008 2009 55010 Bullet proof Jackets 2011 2011 NA

RFP cancellatIons Roadblocks to modernisationt

he Indian defence forces are un-dergoing expansive modernisa-tion with an aim at becoming a completely network-centric force

capable of effectively countering secu-rity challenges of the 21st century. The Indian Defence market is being touted as the next go-to market for defence compa-nies globally as requirements range from bullets to fighter jets.

To cater to this growing demand, the Indian Ministry of Defence has been expe-riencing a trend of increasing capital bud-gets with an average year on year growth of more than 10 per cent over the past 5 years. This has witnessed a flurry of activity for large systems procurements, however the complex procurement meth-odology in India has turned out to be a

long drawn and expensive affair, with companies participating in tenders com-pulsorily required to physically bring in their equipment to India for trials at a No cost — No commitment basis.

These platforms undergo extensive live trails in various weather conditions and after undergoing comprehensive technical evaluations are selected based on the best technical parameters coupled with a competitively priced bid to finally declare the lowest bidder (L1). The costs associated with the trails are borne by the OEMs includes positioning of dedicated qualified manpower to be stationed at the testing range over the period of tri-als and are non-refundable and cannot be included in the pricing of the equipment being sold. OEMs consider such expenses

towards participation cost. However, re-peated cancellation of RFPs or termina-tion of the process and many times with-out assigning adequate explanation that has been noticed in numerable instances disillusions the global OEMs.Such cancel-lation of RFPs at various stages of evalu-ation not only delays the procurement of essential equipment to our armed forces, but also affects the operational readiness for active operations.

Often absence of strongly defined tech-nical parameters that leads to occurrence of single vendor situations and financial or technical irregularities by participants are major causes of such cancellations that nevertheless creates road block on the modernisation process and hence equipment acquisition.

— Neelu Khatri

Added Boost: India has finalised the order for six Airbus A330 MRTTs

2.bp.blogspot.com

the Maini Group has announced its expansion plans for Aero India 2013.

The group has acquired in-dustrial land in preparation for its expansion of plant fa-cilities and is concentrating on long term aerospace and defence strategic plans span-ning the next two decades. For this purpose, it is currently in talks with global and domestic aerospace lead-ers in order to explore the right opportu-nities. The Maini Group is all set to court growth in the Indian aerospace industry, which is growing at an exponential rate.

The Maini Group is participating and exhibiting its products at Aero India 2013 and will be present at Hall B, Stall B1.5. The group also announced that Maini Precision Products Pvt. Ltd. (MPP), has achieved a unique distinction in India in the year 2012 by becoming a direct sub-tier partner with two global aero-space prime contractors, supplementing

its already impressive list of customers who are the global who-is-who of aerospace do-main. MPP has been steer-ing its aerospace aspirations through a dedicated team of domain skilled people, which has been christened as Maini Global Aerospace (MGA).

"MGA is proud to be as-sociated with global majors

as direct suppliers and also to a host of global aerospace leaders like Snecma, Ea-ton, Magellan, Marshall, Parker, Avio, GE, MTU, HAL, SnecmaHAL and Hamil-ton Sundstrand. The MGA strategy is to grow up the value chain in the domains of aerospace parts manufacture such as aero structures, precision and aero-engine parts and aircraft systems." said Mr. Na-reshPalta, CEO, Maini Global Aerospace Pvt. Ltd.

MGA is also one of the few selected Indian Offset Partners (IOP) with glob-al aerospace majors. Having already commenced supplies against offset pro-

Maini expands its footprintsgrammes, the MGA team has recently be-gun the manufacture of mechanical parts for space applications. The Maini Group also enters its fourth decade of success-ful industrial build up in 2013. From its modest beginning of manufacture of pre-cision components and assemblies for the automotive, hydraulic, material handling and engineering industry by its flagship company Maini Precision Products Pvt. Ltd. (MPP), the group has grown to be-come a six company entity today. Widely known for its innovative and revolution-ary electric car 'REVA' and eco-friendly material handling solutions, the group di-versified into aerospace activities in 2005 by manufacture of precision machined parts for the Snecma's widely used CFM 56 engines.

With a high focus on leveraging its di-verse strength in design, manufacture, in-novation, integration, international joint ventures, strategic alliances, and technol-ogy absorption, The Maini Group aims to propel itself as a strong aerospace and de-fence entity in the country.


eYes In tHe sKIesa

t the Aero-India 2013, the Unmanned Ariel Vehicles (UAV), or Drones, will have a significant presence. All major

global companies are bringing in versions of their silent force multipliers to Benga-luru.

The Israelis, who are leaders in the Indian market, will be challenged by US companies looking for a toe-hold in the UAV segment while the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has its own UAVs in various stages of de-velopment. Over the next five years New Delhi is looking to add some 500 UAV’s to trawl the vast 7,516 km coastline and also the sensitive borders — Pakistan to the west and China to the north.

This will include the mini-UAVs and another set of tactical UAVs for each of the three strike corps formations of the Indian Army aimed at providing real-time coverage in a tank-led strike scenario and also addition and upgrades to the exist-ing fleet of UAVs operated by the Indian Army’s pivot corps tasked along the Indo-Pak border in the other area. At present, the strategic UAVs exist but at the tactical level there is gap in India.

The Navy has projected additional needs for amphibious operations and sur-veillance and so has the IAF which is pri-marily using its UAVs for its long-range strategic needs. The Navy operates UAVs from three stations and is increasingly re-lying on these for a picture of the seas, especially after the 26/11 Mumbai at-tacks when the terrorists sailed in by the sea — route.

The Border Security Force and the Central Reserve Para-Military Force are looking to expand UAV operations. The CRPF needs real-time inputs in the fight

against left wing extremism in central India and is looking at smaller ones.

As of now some 150 UAVs, are in operation in India these are mostly the Searcher Mk II (about 100) and Heron I (about 50) procured from Israel Aero-space Industries in batches in the past one decade. The Searcher-II is important as it allows smooth operations at altitudes of 20,000 feet — a must to operate in the high Himalayas.

Advancements in technology means modern-day UAVs fitted with synthetic aperture radars (SARs) can look at targets under tree foliage, under clouds or fog, providing force commanders that crucial edge in conventional military operations and also asymmetrical guerrilla warfare. In northern India fog can hamper op-erations of conventional UAVs during winter. For Indian military planners, the only available SAR picture is from Risat-I, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), satellite launched in April 2012, this cannot be used for tactical operations.

Unlike other military equipment that is inducted with some ceremony or an-nouncement, the UAVs are a secret busi-ness. The first lot of the UAVs in India had been imported from Israel in the early 2000s since then the engagement has grown. Today, part from IAI, the Israel Elbit Systems is major player. Amer-icans Boeing and Lockheed Martin are also looking at the market.

Now, the biggest deal which Indian Defence Ministry is looking at is an up-grade of its UAV fleet operated by the Army, the IAF and the Navy. This could cost nearly $1 Billion (approx `5,400 crore) and is to be partnered by Israel.

Within the Indian Defence Establish-ment officials inform that the upgrade

programme is to introduce new UAV technologies developed in the past de-cade. This includes more reliable avion-ics equipment, improved propulsion (cur-rently provided with Searcher Mk III). The operational edge of newer version of the Heron is that it is deployed with a satel-lite link allowing seamless flying and data transmission over mountains, New Delhi is keen on these.

So far there have been ongoing at-tempts to weaponise these UAVs. The IAF is looking at the ‘Harop’ loitering weap-ons of Israel. These are basically UAV’s mounted with ammunitions. The UAV remains airborne for hours and can be programmed to strike at targets in air, at sea, or land with precision and on the exact time of choosing. These are satel-lite guided. India has a few of the radar suppression variant of the weapon, the ‘HARPY’.

Separately, New Delhi has announced a `1500 crore (approx $300 million) project for Rustom-2, it will see first flight in 2014. The Bengaluru-based Aeronau-tical Development Establishment, a DRDO laboratory is working at it. There will be imported component to it opening up op-portunities for foreign vendors.

Rustom-2 is aimed to have a wing-span of 21-odd metres and an endurance of 24-hours-plus. Its design could make it look like an Israeli product and will have a synthetic aperture radar, maritime pa-trol radar and collision avoidance system, among others features.

The Mini UAVs and Tactical UAVs Indian is looking at a number of 100

for the IAF and Navy. These will be of the vertical take and landing variety and are aimed at strengthening the snooping

deAdly Flight: The IAI Harop is an unmanned combat air

vehicle (UCAV) developed by the MBT division of Israel Aero-

space Industries. The drone itself acts as the main munition

instead of carrying a separate high-explosive warhead.

Armed WArrior: Rustom is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) being developed by India's DRDO.

increAsed eFFiciency: With larger payload ca-pacity (300 kg) and longer endurance, the Hermes 900 is controlled by Elbit Systems Universal Ground Control Station (UGCS).

capabilities of forces. The Indian Defence Ministry has sent out a global request for information in June 1012. Separately the Army is looking at a global tender which could be out this fiscal for procuring these light weight mini-UAVs. New Delhi is looking at a payload of no more than 2.5 kg and its total operational kit should not weigh more than 15kg. The plan is to have a mini-UAV that can be operated by a single soldier in asymmetrical war sce-nario. Separately, the DRDO is working in tandem with Israel for a tactical UAV. The DRDO also has a hydro-pneumatic launcher based Nishant which can be fired from truck. It has an endurance of 4 hour and 30 minutes and can be retrieved using a parachute obliterating the need for run way or launch pad — most likely never available in a battlefield.

The projection of the market The Teal Group, an aerospace consul-

tancy, lists UAVs as the dynamic growth segment of the world aerospace industry in this decade. Teal's 2012 study says global annual spending on UAVs will double over the next decade and reach $11.4 billion. Another analysis by Frost and Sullivan says a ten-year (2011-2010) market revenue from UAV is likely to be $ 61.37 billion

“Europe is facing intense competition in the medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAV segment, as more domestic companies are collaborating to develop indigenous equipment. Existing High Al-titude, Long-Endurance (HALE) UAVs are too expensive for many nations, even while MALE equipment has limited ca-pability. Hence, an opportunity exists for equipment with capabilities between MALE and HALE,” says Frost and Sulli-van.



atr 72–600 features the latest technological

enhancements leading to its high efficiency,

proven dispatch reliability, low fuel burn and

operating cost.

astrium has been

selected by eutelsat

Communications to

build eUteLsat 9B, a

high-power broadcast

satellite addressing

high-growth video

markets in europe,

to be launched at the

end of 2014 and lo-

cated at eutelsat’s 9°e

video neighbourhood.

over its 15-year mis-

sion lifetime, eUteL-

sat 9B will operate up

to 66 Ku-band tran-

sponders connected

to a broad european

widebeam and four

regional beams over

european countries.

Vertical takeoff & Landing (VtoL) Uas tan-

an tanan 300 is a new-generation compact

VtoL tactical Uas (Vertical take-off and

Landing tactical Unmanned aerial system)

for maritime and land missions.

the tracker is a fixed-wing mini Uas dedi-

cated to surveillance and intelligence and

gathers close range high resolution image

with secured real-time processing in day

and night conditions.

the tB3p mini tetra base station of

Cassidian is suited for establishing

indoor radio coverage, for stand-alone

use and for providing areas with tem-

porary radio network coverage.

Cassidian success-fully cooperated with drdo’s defence avionics & research establishment (dare) to develop a Missile ap-proach Warning sys-tem (MaWs) for indian rotary and wide-body aircraft. the sensor has been certified ‘indige-nous’ by indian authori-ties and is expected to be produced locally for integration with india’s helicopter fleet.

EADS and its many divisions, such as

Airbus, Astrium, Cassidian and Eu-

rocopter, will exhibit a broad selec-

tion of state-of-the-art products, tech-

nologies and services at the show.

Cassidian will be showcasing a wide

range of its capabilities at Aero India.

In the past few years, Cassidian cre-

ated several partnerships with organ-

isations such as the Defence Research

and Development Organisation (DRDO)

which build a solid basis to expand the

cooperation with Indian aerospace and

defence companies. This show will re-

flect the progress in those relationships.

Outdoor Hall Stand OD6

airbus Military’s a330 Mrtt is an aerial re-fuelling tanker aircraft based on the civil-ian airbus a330-200 which has bagged the indian air force’s refu-elling aircraft deal.

the eurocopter as565 panther is the military version of the eurocopter as365 dauphin medium-weight multi-purpose twin-engine helicopter. the panther is used for a wide range of military roles, including com-bat assault, fire support, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, search and rescue, and medical evacuation (MedeVaC)

Documents

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