Volume 10 No. 4 Meet those SP’s · PDF fileVolume 10 No. 4 `100.00 (India-Based Buyer Only) ... in modernisation of india’s infantry and its future infantry soldier programme

www.spslandforces.net R O U N D U P

14/2013 sp’s land forces

`100.00 (India-Based Buyer Only)Volume 10 No. 4

Page 3small arms Modernisation in south east asia

Over a period of time not only have some of the South East Asian nations upgraded and modified the infantry weapons but they have also been successful in developing indigenously their own small arms industry.

Brigadier (retd) Vinod anand

Page 4stability & peace in afghanistanThe Shanghai Cooperation Organisation possibly is looking for an all-inclusive framework under the auspices of the UN that should help Afghanistan in post-2014 era.

Brigadier (retd) Vinod anand

Page 9the syrian ImbroglioThe support to Syrian rebels fighting the Assad regime is from the Sunni Arab nations, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the US.

lt General (retd) p.c. Katoch

Page 10dsei demonstrates strong Growth of Military equipmentThis year, the show attracted over 30,000 of the global defence and security industry professionals to source the latest equipment and systems, develop international relations and generate new business opportunities.

r. chandrakanth

PlUs Interview: Mark KronenbergVice President, International Business Development, Boeing Defense Space and Security 5Thomas R. Douglas Senior Vice President, Business Development and Strategy,AM General 6Alan F. Bignall President & CEO, ReconRobotics 8

news in Brief 11

While the likelihood of full scale state-on-state wars may be reduced, India will more likely face border skirmishes on its unresolved borders and low intensity conflict operations including counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency in the future. This mandates a quick and thorough modernisation of India’s infantry which is clearly not happening despite the rhetoric by the political leadership and military hierarchy.

>> cover story

SP’s A N S P G U I D E P U B L I C A T I O N

Meet those whom

You Need to Work With

Digitisation of

Battlefield

October 31, 2013Le Meridien, New Delhi

Series 2

Entr

y st

rict

ly by

invita

tion

India’s Infantry Modernisation

Lt GeneraL (retd) v.K. Kapoor

India faces diverse threats and challenges. While on the one hand there is an existential threat of conven-tional conflicts arising from unresolved borders in the west with Pakistan and

in the north and north-east with china, on the other hand, there is the formidable challenge developing within the borders of india. this is from home-grown insur-gencies, militancy and terrorism which arise due to a variety of reasons. to add

to these two scenarios is the continuing and constant threat from state-sponsored terrorism nursed and nurtured in india’s immediate neighbourhood and its direct and indirect linkages to conventional con-flicts, in the region, in the future. all this makes this part of south asia more volatile and unpredictable.

the existence of terrorist camps across the india-Pak border and the line of control (Loc), and the likelihood of Pakistani tali-ban who are currently engaged in fighting in their Western provinces and on the Pak-

istan-afghanistan border, turning their attention towards the Loc, is a setting that india must be prepared to face. the con-tinuing infiltrations across the Loc demon-strate Pakistan’s attitude and approach to terrorist organisations, even though such organisations pose a danger to Pakistan’s own social and political fabric. thus india faces a strong likelihood of more intensive low intensity conflict situations in Jammu and Kashmir in the future.

in view of the increasing focus on low intensity conflicts, the aim of this article is

PhOTOGRAPh: SPSC

A p p l i e d f o r

The ONlY magaziNe iN asia-Pacific DeDicaTeD TO laND fORcesIn ThIs Issue

>>

ww

w.s

psla

ndfo

rces

.net

2 sp’s land forces 4/2013

to draw the reader’s attention to the delay in modernisation of india’s infantry and its future infantry soldier programme.

F-INSASthe future infantry soldier as a system (f-insas) had been initiated more than six years ago to make the infantryman a weapon platform with situational awareness, increased lethality and sustainability in the digitised battlefield. f-insas was to be imple-mented in three phases: Phase i included weapons, body armour, clothing and indi-vidual equipment; Phase ii was the target acquisition system and Phase iii comprised the computer subsystem, radio subsystem, software and software integration.

the f-insas programme was anno-unced by former army chief, General J.J. singh in august 2007 which involved equip-ping over 3,00,000 infantry troops and around 1,00,000 rashtriya rifles (rr) and assam rifles (ar) personnel employed for conventional and counter-insurgency oper-ations or both with a modular, multi-calibre suite of weapons, body armour, assorted individual equipment and target acquisition, and hand-held surveillance devices, includ-ing third-generation night vision devices (nvds). it includes, as stated in Phase iii, communication apparatus and comput-ers capable of transmitting and uploading voice, data and video clips on wrist displays for soldiers and ‘planning boards’ for com-manders, ‘smart’ vests packed with sensors, integrated ballistic helmets with heads-up display (hud), miniature radios, global posi-tioning systems (GPs) and portable power packs. so the complete package for the pro-posed infantry upgrade was impressive.

f-insas is to be a part of the battlefield management system (BMs) of the army i.e. battalion level and below. the formations above the battalion level, i.e. brigade and above, will form a part of the tactical com-munication system (tcs) of the army at the corps level. this part of the project of inte-grated communications and digitisation of the battlefield comprising command informa-tion and decision support systems (cidss) is being handled by the director General infor-mation systems (dGis), while the induction

of weaponry and equipment of the infantry in the f-insas programme is being handled by the directorate General of infantry.

the lack of progress of acquiring even the weaponry, which is the easiest and most fundamental, is depressive to say the least because it directly and most adversely affects the soldiers fighting ability in the field. it is therefore clear that the army is currently grappling with the Phase 1 itself i.e. the phase in which new infantry weap-ons with body armour, individual equip-ment and clothing have to be inducted.

the indian’s army’s six-year-old project to upgrade all its infantry battalions and 106 units of rashtriya rifles and assam rifles units under its elaborate f-insas programme is inordinately delayed. Officials associated with the programme have said that the f-insas prototype, modeled on the Us army’s future force warrior and aimed at deploying a fully-networked, all-terrain and all-weather force with enhanced fire-power and mobility for the future digitalised battlefield, is delayed by four to five years, if not longer beyond its 2012-13 deadline. consequently, the overall infantry upgrade, to be accomplished through a mix of

imported and locally developed equipment and systems and estimated to cost `25,000 crore (approximately $4.0 billion), may well be deferred beyond 2025.

the defence acquisition council (dac) headed by the defence Minister and includ-ing the three chiefs (army, navy and the air force) have approved the induction of a new assault rifle, 5.56 (with capability of switch-ing to 7.62mm barrels if required) along with a new generation carbine to replace the 9mm carbine which has already been weeded out of the army without getting a replacement.

Carbines there has been some progress in the field of carbines. in august 2012, the process of procuring 44,618 5.56mm close quarter battle (cQB) carbines to replace the out-dated 9mm model and 33.6 million rounds of ammunition in a contract worth over `2,000 crore was set in motion. the manu-facturers in the race were israel Weapon industries (iWi) Galil ace carbine, italy’s Beretta with its arX-160, Usa’s colt and sig sauer’s offering the M4 and 516 Patrol models. these weapons have undergone field trials at the infantry school at Mhow,

in central india, the thar desert in rajas-than and high altitude locations in india’s northern and north-east regions.

the tender for the 5.56mm close quar-ter battle (cQB) carbines requires each weapon system to weigh less than three kg, fire 600 rounds per minute to a minimum distance of 200 metres and be capable of operating in extreme temperatures. Pica-tinny rail-mounted reflex and passive night sights, visible and invisible laser spot desig-nators and multi-purpose detachable bayo-nets are a part of their qualitative require-ments (Qrs). the selected vendor will be required to transfer technology to the OfB to licence build 3,80,000-4,00,000 cQB carbines and 5.56mm ammunition, for use not only by the army, but eventu-ally the central and state police forces in a programme estimated to ultimately cost over `5,000 crore. army sources said the carbine and ammunition trial reports were being assessed and it was expected that the deal may witness finalisation by 2015.

Assault Riflesarmy is also on the lookout for assault rifles to replace the insas 5.56mm rifles with technologically superior weapons. in the race are assault rifles of the czech repub-lic’s czeca, iWi, Beretta and colt and sig sauer, all weighing around 3.6 kg. the other requirements include the ability to convert from 5.56x45mm to 7.62x39mm calibres by merely by switching the barrel and mag-azine for employment in counter insurgency and/or conventional offensive/defensive operations. they also need to be fitted with detachable under barrel grenade launchers and be capable of firing OfB-manufactured 5.56mmx45 (ss109) ammunition rounds. this procurement will also involve transfer of technology to the OfB to licence build the assault rifles. army’s immediate require-ment is for around 2,18,320 rifles where as india’s assault rifles requirement is esti-mated at between two-three million to arm the large central Paramilitary forces and the state police. at this scale, india’s assault rifle acquisitions could be one of the world’s

cover story

The past few months have seen India pass through a difficult economic, political and secu-rity situation. Experts were wondering whether a full-blown financial crisis like the one that devastated the so-called “Asian Tigers” in 1997 was likely. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, through his statement in the Parliament on Au-gust 30, 2013, sought to reassure the nation that India was not facing a similar situation. While his statement may have reassured the intelligentsia, the common man continues to reel under high inflation and price rise. India’s growth story can be judged by the fact that the economy has slowed to four to five per cent, while inflation remains in double digits.

To add to the economic woes, India has been rocked this year by a series of corruption scandals, in recent times, starting with the Com-monwealth Games that have embarrassed the ruling Congress Party and its allies in the UPA and have rattled the markets and delayed reform bills as the opposition stalls Parliament.

Security remains an area of serious concern. The violence on the line of control (LoC) by Paki-stan and the aggression on the line of actual con-trol (LAC) by China are issues which have occu-pied large media space in recent times.

On September 29, 2013, Indian Prime Minis-ter Manmohan Singh and Pakistan’s Nawaz Shar-if met for just over one hour at a New York hotel on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. It was their first face-to-face meeting since Sharif was elected in May 2013. Restoration of cease-

fire was uppermost in the minds of both the Prime Ministers. National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon said, “The two Prime Ministers decided to task the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) to suggest effective measures to re-store the ceasefire.” However, the sorting out of the current aggression on the LoC through purely military diplomacy is not going to be easy. The in-cidents on the LoC are part of the larger picture of an unresolved border which is a political issue. Moreover, the terrorist camps across the LoC in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and the infiltra-tion of terrorists’ across the LoC is being assisted and closely monitored by the Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)/military through various means. Therefore, reining in the terrorists and dismantling their infrastructure will require political dialogue and hard bargaining followed by military procedures on the ground to ensure peace and this cannot be done through military diplomacy alone because the DGMOs neither have the man-date nor the manoeuvre space to achieve peace along the LoC through such parleys.

The Chinese incursion in Depsang valley in Ladakh this year and their prolonged stay deep inside the Indian territory created tension be-tween both the countries. This impasse was sub-sequently resolved when the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops withdrew. This incident to-gether with other incursions by their patrols which have been occurring regularly across the LAC and have increased the hostility at the border, could spin out of control, if not moderated.

Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to China in October 2013, a key Sino-Indi-an group on border affairs has been meeting to sort out the differences on the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA), aimed at more comprehensively dealing with tensions re-lated to patrolling by both sides along the LAC. The BDCA agreement is expected to be signed during the Prime Minister’s visit to China.

The issue which directly impacts the overall external security situation is the lack of moderni-sation of the armed forces, especially the Indian Army which today needs to replace its weap-onry ranging from the carbine and assault rifle to the long-range artillery guns and its aviation and air defence assets. The entire procurement process is in shambles. Never has the Indian armed forces been in such a deplorable state of modernisation vis-à-vis its adversaries and that too at a time when the military analysts are of the view that we may have to face two-front situations in the future. Our conventional deter-rence stands compromised due to an uncaring political leadership.

ED

IT

OR

IA

L

Lt General (Retd) V.K. Kapoor

PhOTOGRAPhS: Beretta, Colt

Beretta ARX160 .22LR rifle

Colt M4 5.56mm carbine

Continued on page 5

3

>>


BriGadier (retd) vinod anand

driven By internaL and exter-nal threats to their security, the militaries of south east asia have been modernising and upgrading their small arms arsenal in a vari-

ety of ways. not only they face insurgencies which are either ethnic or religion based, the littoral countries of the south china sea and the indian Ocean have also to deal with pira-cy, gun-running and other such activities which challenge the authority of the state.

Broadly, the south east asian nations since the colonial times had imported vari-ous versions of their infantry assault rifles from the Us, soviet Union, european nations and in the later period even from china. Over a period of time have not only some of the south east asian nations upgraded and modified the infantry weapons but they have also been successful in developing indigenously their own small arms industry.

Singaporesingapore remains in the forefront with a defence industry and armed forces which can be said to be technologically most advanced among the association of south east asian nations (asean) states. aside from its inte-grated Knowledge-based command and con-trol project, the singapore armed forces have made numerous acquisitions over the past decade that indicates a shift towards both precision strike capabilities. improving the performance of infantry soldier and its equip-ment has been a priority mission.

Much like the indian army’s project of future indian soldier as a system (f-insas), the singapore army has commissioned an advanced combat man system (acMs), with delivery of the first complete unit equip-ment set handed over to the fifth singapore infantry Battalion for evaluation and tri-als. Besides a variety of electronic gadgetry required for a networked soldier, the weapon systems is a shorter barrelled, modified ver-sion of the locally assembled singapore assault rifle-21st century (sar-21), desig-nated the modular mounting systems as part of the acMs. according to the singapore army, the objective is to meet the challenges of urban operations and improve survivabil-ity, situational awareness and the avoidance of civilian casualties and collateral damage.

the sar-21 has a laser sight and target acquisition capabilities. the rifle is a replace-ment for earlier M16s1 based on american design and offers many improvements on the same. sK Kinetics, a singapore-based company (well known in india), is also exporting it besides manufacturing it for domestic consumption. in fact, a whole range of small arms arsenal based on sar-21 has been developed, which includes sar-21 light machine gun, sar-21 light weight carbine, sar-21 sharpshooter and even a round the corner firing (rcf) module that has been developed for urban operations.

Indonesiaindonesia has its small arms family based on the indigenously manufactured Pindad series of assault rifles which are in turn largely based on Belgian small arms designs. the indonesian senapan serbu 1 (ss1), assault

rifle 1 is the standard assault rifle which is manufactured by Pt Pindad, with a bore of 5.56mm. it is being phased out by Pin-dad ss2 which has many modern features. however, indonesian army’s sniper rifle is Pindad sPr with 7.62mm bore. further this series also has Pindad sM2 which is a general purpose machine gun with 7.62mm calibre. On the other hand it has a light machine gun Pindad sM3 which has 5.56mm calibre. these weapons are of high performance and are light in weight. indonesian infantry and special forces have a variety of sniper rifles including anti-material rifles obtained from the UK, Us, Germany and austria.

Malaysiaafter singapore and indonesia, it is Malay-sia that is located astride the Malacca straits and has been paying attention to moderni-sation of its armed forces. even though it has just about four infantry divisions, it has taken steps to provide maximum punch to the army. Because of its association with the Us and western armies, its infantry weapons are of american/western origin. the standard assault rifle used is steyr aUG a1 (5.56mm) which is of australian origin and is a standard natO issue. this is being manufactured locally under licence. the other assault rifle/carbine that is being used is the american M4 a1 (5.56mm) is also manufactured indigenously. another older version of the well-known american assault rifle M16 is being gradually phased out and being handed over to paramilitary forces.

Malaysian army’s sniper rifles of ameri-can (.50 BMG, harris Gun Works m96) and UK origin 7.62mm is also a standard natO weapon. the anti-material rifle is denel ntW-20, a very potent weapon, is of south african origin. anti-material rifles can be used against a variety of hard targets like bunkers, com-munication masts or towers, command posts, gun emplacements, radar installations, mis-sile sites and parked aircraft/helicopters utilis-ing a variety of munitions in its inventory.

PhilippinesPhilippines, another significant military power in south east asia, because of its erstwhile alliance with the Us, has a small arms fam-ily which is largely of american origin with

some weapons having been imported from the western nations. however, since 2011, it has started manufacturing pneumatic valve and rod rifle (Pvar) also known as UdMc Pvar because it is being manufactured by the United defence manufacturing corpora-tion of Philippines. this is a much improved version of the american M16 and armalite ar-15 rifles. Besides introducing Pvar, the army has a variety of assault rifles like M16, M4 carbine, German G36c, australian steyr aUG a1 and israeli iMi Galil. some of these (M4, ar-15 and G36c) are being used by the special Operations command Units.

the standard sniper rifle is the Philip-pines Marine scout rifle which has been developed from american M16a1 and has been issued to the army units also. this has been particularly found useful in counter-insurgency and counter-guerrilla opera-tions. there are four other varieties of sniper rifles like M14, M21, Barrett M82 and tac-50 which are all of american origin and have been in use by the army for a long time.

Thailandthe royal thai army of thailand (which has never been colonised by any foreign power) has a family of small arms which are all of western origin except that it has recently gone in for singapore manufactured sar-21 which initially has been given to special forces. it also has some rifles of chinese origin which were possibly taken from the rebel forces of thai communist Party (supported earlier by china). however, the standard infantry rifle used by the royal thai armed forces and army reserve forces is the thai version of the heckler and Koch hK33 (German origin) being manufactured under licence. Other infantry rifles in use are iMi travor 21, aus-tralian steyr aUG a1 and israeli iMi Galil. Legacy weapon like M16a1 is being phased out with iMi travor 21 in an effort to moder-nise the infantry arsenal. sniper rifles being used are the swiss sig sauer ssG 3000 and sr 25 of america. Light machine guns in use are heckler and Koch hK21 and fn Minimi of Belgium. however, iMi negev LMG from israel is a recent acquisition. General purpose machine guns in service are american M60 and M2 Browning machine gun. some old chinese machine guns are also in use.

Vietnamvietnam People’s army in contrast has largely russian origin assault rifles because of historical reasons. its standard issue is aKM assault rifle which is being locally manufac-tured and is a modified and upgraded version of the much famous aK-47. it is also using the czech assault rifle vZ 58 which seems to have been imported last year. some aK-74 and aKs-74 (for special forces) are also in service. special forces also use XM-177e2 which is an american variant of ar-15. sniper rifle that is a standard issue is svd (dragunov sniper rifle) is of russian origin. another russian sniper rifle that is in ser-vice with special forces is svU. sub-machine guns in service are PM 63, MPa4 (Polish ori-gin), Uzi, Mini Uzi and Micro Uzi (all of israeli origin). standard issue LMGs are rPd-44 and rPK of russian origin and heavy machine guns nsv and dshKM/dshK38 are also from the same country. PKM is the general purpose machine gun issued by the infantry units.

Myanmarthe Myanmar army also has a variety of small arms which are now being manufac-tured locally by the Myanmar defence indus-tries (largely owned by the tatmadaw). it is manufacturig automatic rifles, sub-machine guns and machine guns along with their ammunition. the small arms in service are eMer K-1 assault rifle that is manufactured by Myanmar heavy industries and it has a modern design. Other assault rifles in use are heckler & Koch G3 (of German-spanish origin) and Belgian fnfaL. Machine gun with Myanmar army is rhinemetal MG3 (German general purpose machine gun) still in service with even German army. heavy machine gun in service is the old reliable M2 Browning. the Myanmar army has been considered as the most battle tested armies among the asean as it has been involved in fighting counter-insurgency and other operations since its inception.

Other Armies of ASEAN Regionthe other armies of the asean are cambo-dian, Laos and Brunei armies. the Brunei army’s infantry is equipped with modern infantry weapons like the search and res-cue (sar) and has acquired Pindad 2 of singapore and indonesian origin it also has versions of M16; being an oil rich sultan-ate, possibly the armed forces have adequate access to funds. however, same is not the case with its poorer cousins cambodian army and Laos People army who have a mix of russian, chinese and even american small arms, and are moving gradually towards modernisation effort of their infantries.

Overall, in south east asia, most of the infantries have been able to modernise suc-cessfully and some like singapore are even getting ready for the wars in the informa-tion era. Keeping the likely nature of inter-nal and external threats in mind, it can be said that the efforts of the south east asian countries towards upgrading their small arms arsenals have been quite satisfactory barring perhaps Laos and cambodia. SP

The author is a Senior Fellow at the Vivekanand International Foundation in New Delhi

south east asia

small arms Modernisation in south east asiaOver a period of time not only have some of the South East Asian nations upgraded and modified the infantry weapons but they have also been successful in developing indigenously their own small arms industry

PhOTOGRAPh: Wikipedia

A Singaporean soldier takes aim with the SAR-21

>>

ww

w.s

psla

ndfo

rces

.net


centraL asia

BriGadier (retd) vinod anand

even thOUGh the BishKeK sum-mit of the shanghai cooperation Organisation (scO) held in septem-ber 2013 was overtaken by the syr-ian crisis, afghanistan continued

to be a major concern for the scO mem-ber and observer countries. afghanistan President hamid Karzai has been a regular attendee at the scO summits since 2004 as a guest and last year, afghanistan was admitted as an observer.

attending the 2005 scO summit in Beijing and underscoring the relevance of afghanistan as an important link between central asia and south asia, Karzai had then observed that “afghanistan belongs to the region where also lies the scO. afghani-stan has no other ways and can’t be outside the region.”

Geostrategic Salience of Afghanistanthe geostrategic salience of afghanistan is underscored by the fact that it is a land bridge between iran, central asia and south asia; iran lies to its west; Pakistan on the east and south, and the central asian republics of turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and tajikistan to the north. With control of afghanistan comes control of the land routes between the indian subcontinent and the resource-rich central asia, as well as of a potential corridor to iran and the Middle east. thus stability and peace in afghanistan offers tremendous potential for intra-regional trade and economic prosperity.

When american forces launched Oper-ation enduring freedom against the tali-ban regime in October 2001 consequent to september 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on new york and Washington, the step was largely welcomed by russia, china, central asian republics (car), india and others. russia and china raised no objections to the Us being granted airbases and logistics facilities in car nations since it suited their short-term strategic interests. Pakistan was forced to do a U-turn in its policies, how-ever, till now, it remains a reluctant partner in the Us and Western nations’ global war against terrorism and its attitude towards terrorism continues to be ambiguous.

the scO had formed an afghanistan contact Group in 2005. however, it was only in 2009 that a plan of action for com-bating terrorism, illicit drug trafficking and organised crime was signed. yet, other than some bilateral aid from individual members of the scO grouping, there is little evidence to show that any meaningful efforts have been directed by the organisation towards achieving stability and security in afghani-stan. the Us and western nations, even when they talked about a regional solu-tion were not ready to give a major role to the scO. concerned with drug trafficking and possibility of terrorists infiltrating into cars, the scO members have carried out some counter-narcotics and counter-terror-ism exercises amongst them.

in 2009, President Barack Obama had unveiled his new afghan strategy and thereafter was able to get russia and central asian countries to provide transit routes to afghanistan. Obama had also stated that he would move towards pressing the ‘reset’ button in its relations with russia, a major driver of the scO. in fact, Patrick Moon, the

Us representative at scO summit of 2009 in yekaterinburg, had commended the scO’s joint action plan on afghanistan. however, over the years, the reset initiative of Obama seems to have lost steam, especially so after the return of vladimir Putin as President. nevertheless, safe passage of withdrawing troops from afghanistan remains the chief concern of the Us and its allies.

currently, even though the Us and natO forces use supply lines to afghanistan through russia and central asian coun-tries, differences between the Us-natO combine and russia continues to exist.

SCO to Support Kabul’s Stabilityin 2011, at the scO’s astana summit, Pres-ident Karzai had observed that afghanistan “expects real cooperation with the scO countries in combating the threat of ter-rorism and trafficking in arms and drugs”. he was looking forward to scO members for investments in his country for exploitation of mineral resources. Kazakhstan Presi-dent nursultan nazarbayev, the host, had observed, “the scO believes with good rea-son that afghanistan holds the key to the future of the entire region.”

again at the scO summit of 2012 similar formulation was articulated. the scO meet stressed on stepping up bilateral and multi-lateral cooperation to jointly combat terror-ism, separatism and extremism, battle illicit trafficking in drugs and weapons and other transnational criminal activities, address ille-gal migration and meet the new threats and challenges in other security fields.

the thirteenth scO summit held in september this year at Bishkek again under-lined the significance of supporting Kabul’s efforts in bringing peace and stability in afghanistan. President almazbek atam-bayev of Kyrgyzstan who chaired the sum-mit while speaking about the afghanistan situation observed that the activities of terrorist and extremist groups are still on the rise in afghanistan and called on the

scO member states to continuously sup-port Kabul in its effort and determination to revive the country. Karzai in his speech stated, “We know that while our friends may come from all corners of the world, our true security and prosperity fundamen-tally depends on the region that surrounds us. therefore, we are committed to fur-ther strengthening our relations with the shanghai cooperation Organisation and to work constructively with all the member states towards a common vision for peace, security and prosperity.” he went on to stress that the region must not expect that north atlantic treaty Organisation (natO) or international security assistance force (isaf) or the United states will deliver us from all the challenges that we face. it was important to recognise that fighting terror-ism and radicalism in the region is primarily the responsibility of the region.

during the summit, india expressed its concerns that arise out of evolving situ-ation in afghanistan. salman Khurshid attending the scO meeting stated that “india strongly believes that afghanistan can successfully complete the security, political and economic transitions in com-ing years and regain its historical place as a hub for regional trade and transit routes.

however, this presupposes fulfilment of pledges made by the international com-munity for security and civilian assistance to afghanistan and non-interference in afghanistan’s internal affairs. We see scO as an important body that can offer a cred-ible alternative regional platform to discuss the challenges related to afghanistan.”

Given the nature and charter of the scO, the grouping is more comfortable in dealing with threats and challenges ema-nating from afghanistan that do not involve military intervention or sending of troops to afghanistan. rise of drug trafficking that has been affecting cars, russia and now even china, has been viewed very seri-ously by the scO members. it has also been reported that some of the radical groups like islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and others are congregating in northern afghanistan waiting to take advantage if the security sit-uation in afghanistan deteriorates further.

in all the scO summits held so far, coun-ter-narcotics and anti-terrorism discussions have received priority even while economic and other issues find their due place. china, which is one of the major players in the scO has again this year stressed on the need to fight three evils of “terrorism, extrem-ism and separatism”. Last year, china had signed a strategic partnership agreement with afghanistan. china has also formed a trilateral grouping of china, afghanistan and Pakistan, to address its concerns about dealing with challenges of a post-2014 scenario in afghanistan. even russia has formed a quadrilateral grouping of russia-tajikistan-afghanistan-Pakistan to address concerns about afghanistan situation. the moot point is that whether all such plethora of groupings and sub-regional dialogues help the process of moving towards secu-rity and stability in afghanistan. While as a principle, any effort to ameliorate the situ-ation in afghanistan should be welcome. such endeavours would more likely have the effect of diluting the unified response under the aegis of the scO. further, such efforts also reflect the competing agendas of the regional players which would militate against moving towards a regional solution.

No Solutions Yetdespite many years of deliberations on afghanistan issue, the scO has not come out with any concrete plans or strategies to deal with the post-2014 situation. in fact it has failed to evolve any suitable structures, processes or mechanisms to deal with insta-bility and insecurity in afghanistan which has the potential to threaten the member nations. Other than some limited civil and military aid and development of some infra-structure, no long-term plans for bringing peace and stability in afghanistan have been unveiled. even though russia and china would like to see the Us and other foreign troops leave afghanistan yet they are concerned with ‘Zero Option’ of the Us forces. further, scO is unlikely to intervene militarily despite the fact that it is apprehen-sive of spill over of extremism, radicalism and terrorism from an unstable afghani-stan in post-2014 scenario. scO possibly is looking for an all-inclusive framework under the auspices of the Un that should help afghanistan in post-2014 era. thus, at the current juncture, prospects for a regional solution do not look bright. SP

stability & peace in afghanistanThe Shanghai Cooperation Organisation possibly is looking for an all-inclusive framework under the auspices of the UN that should help Afghanistan in post-2014 era. Thus, at the current juncture, prospects for a regional solution do not look bright.

with control of afghanistan comes control of the land routes between the Indian subcontinent and the resource-rich central asia, as well as of a potential corridor to Iran and the Middle east

Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has been a regular

attendee at the SCO summits since 2004 as a guest and last year, Afghanistan was

admitted as an observer

PhOTOGRAPh: Wikipedia

5

>>


Jayant Baranwal (sp’s): which are the key mar-kets Boeing is currently engaged with?Mark Kronenberg (Kro-nenberg): Primarily asia-Pacific, Middle east and actually here in europe we engage with the UK. so these are our growth markets. approximately 26 per cent of our revenues are coming in from interna-tional customers and we have a goal to get it 30 per cent and we are on track at this point.

sp’s: can you elaborate on some of your top programmes in these markets?Kronenberg: Primarily, on the platforms side, it would be fighters with the f-15, the f-18s, c-17s of course. the new market entry would be the P-8, india being the first P-8 international customer. india also has the largest fleet of c-17s outside the Us, 10 in their fleet. But there is also another area that is primarily to sustain. When you look at Boeing platforms we look to sustain those that is going to stay here for the next 25-30 years. it is the training and maintenance market of our existing platforms. there are markets like in india, Korea, and quite likely in UK where we see a lot of projects sustain on our existing platforms.

sp’s: which top five countries in asia are the most promising markets for Boeing?Kronenberg: if you look at asia, india has probably got by far the fastest growth. Korea, singapore, Japan and australia would also be in our list of asia-Pacific countries which are 45 per cent of the market in asia. Middle east is primarily driven by saudi arabia and emirates, and in europe it’s primarily the UK.

sp’s: when you speak of Korea and some of the Middle east countries, which specific programmes are you referring to?Kronenberg: specifically in south arabia, we had a large government-to government sales, about $23 billion three years ago. there was sale of f-15s, 84 new builds f-15s, 72 basi-cally upgrades of existing aeroplanes, 36 apaches, 36 ah6s. so that constitutes the largest. But if you look at Uae for example, it also has c-17s and apaches.

sp’s: what are the core technologies cur-rently being developed by Boeing?Kronenberg: if you look at the commercial development of airplanes, one thing that we have been able to combine is take a look at what we do at the defence side for example in multi-mission maritime airplanes as well as in next generation tanker and we combine it with what we know on the commercial side because we are using commercial platforms, the programmes where we tackle multi-mis-sion aircraft programmes for our interna-

tional customers and our Us service customers.

sp’s: Is Boeing looking at all the three forces requirements in a bal-anced manner or there is a serious bias?Kronenberg: no there is no bias. it’s all on cus-tomer’s preference. if we look at the revenues that we get from the customers, it is pretty evenly distributed, though air force cus-tomers are a bit larger

then army and navy. But the percentage is balanced. so it is quite customer balanced.

sp’s: any specific programme can you refer to in the context of armies potential requirements, other than chinooks and apaches?Kronenberg: Well chinooks and apaches are our mainstay in our army requirements. however, one in the Us that has come up is the eMarrs programme, which is a kind of tactical intelligence surveillance reconnais-sance (isr) platform and we are working through that. But really our bread and but-ter is through our rotorcraft platforms, the apache and ch47s.

sp’s: Is Boeing working on new concepts on stealth technology?Kronenberg: Probably it’s more in the elec-tronic warfare area. so if we look at fighter platforms, multi-mission maritime air-planes, systems and sub systems, electronic warfare surveillance-- those are the kinds of technologies we are developing for future contingencies and threats.

sp’s: any specific development towards the unmanned combat vehicles?Kronenberg: if we take a look at nuclear aspects, we are going to compete with an autonomous Uav. it’s for a navy pro-gramme and probably in the 2023-2025 time frames.

sp’s: How does Boeing perceive the unmanned vs manned market? Kronenberg: Probably the combination of both. i think you are never going to get a system where it is going to be completely unmanned. it would be a combination of system where men are in the platform. for example it’s still the case with apaches offered as Uavs that is probably where there is a combination of both manned and unmanned systems which we are going see in the future. i do not foresee a future where it will be completely unmanned.

sp’s: what are the key unmanned pro-grammes that are currently on with Boeing?Kronenberg: Our mainstay is scan eagle. it’s a small, tactical isr programme, which is our main Uav programme. SP

interview at dsei 2013

largest small arms contracts in recent times worth more than $5 billion in due course.

Other Equipmenta basic equipment of the infantry man is the multi-purpose tool, akin to a swiss knife, 3,00,000 of which are needed for each upgraded infantry soldiers’ survival kit. this procurement was delayed by the army despite trials in 2010-11 featuring vendors from italy, switzerland and the United states.

a major obstacle pertaining to the f-insas programme is the stalemate over image intensifier and thermal imaging (ti)-based surveillance and target acquisition systems the lack of which had rendered india’s infantry largely ‘night blind’. the initial proposal is for 45,000 third-gener-ation night vision devices (nvds) under f-insas. the army is currently tackling the Mod which insists that the army should acquire them from Bharat electronics Lim-ited (BeL), the Bengaluru-based dPsU.

in negotiations with the army, BeL reportedly wants the infantry directorate to reduce its ‘figure of merit’(foM) scale for the nvds from 1700 foM, that enables soldiers to see clearly in total darkness to 1400 foM which provides visibility only at dusk, dawn and in moonlit nights and which the dPsU has on offer. interestingly, in 2010, the Mod had for `100 crore facilitated the transfer of highly restrictive ‘supergen’ technology to BeL from france’s Photonis. BeL failed to absorb it and develop a more advanced ver-sion. alternate nvds with 1700 foM capa-bility have been offered by private defence contractor tata Power (strategic electronics division) in Bengaluru that reportedly meets the army’s preliminary qualitative require-ments (Qrs) and are under consideration.

Qr’s for critical battlefield communica-tion and navigation equipment including dead reckoning modules—a miniature, self-

contained, electronic navigation unit that pinpoints the user’s position—digital com-passes, assorted computer, dual-band radio sets and soldier-individual power units are yet to be completed. requests for proposal (rfPs) for 1,70,000 modular bullet proof vests weighing around 10.5 kg and an equal number of ballistic helmets had been dis-patched to domestic manufacturers in June and december 2012 respectively, four years behind schedule. tenders for knee and elbow protection pads are awaiting finalisation.

Need for Quick and Thorough Modernisationindia’s strategic neighbourhood is one of the most volatile and dangerous regions of the world. it has all the ingredients of becoming a future battleground of treach-erous conflicts. With disputed borders in the west, north and north-east, and the formi-dable internal challenges, india faces a wide variety of threats and challenges. More-over, this nuclearised region also has the dubious distinction of having in its midst the epicentre of international terrorism, nourished and nurtured by Pakistan and its sympathisers in the arab-islamic World. therefore, while the likelihood of full scale state-on-state wars may be reduced, india will more likely face border skirmishes on its unresolved borders and low intensity con-flict operations including counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency in the future. this mandates a quick and thorough moderni-sation of india’s infantry which is clearly not happening despite the rhetoric by the political leadership and military hierarchy. the slow rate of progress of the f-insas programme is a reflection of the larger malaise that inflicts modernisation of the armed forces in india, for which the blame lies squarely on the defence Minister and the Ministry of defence. SP

Untitled-3 1 17/08/12 5:31 PM

India’s Infantry...continued from page 2

At the backdrop of the world’s largest defence and security event, DSEi in London, SP’s Land Forces Editor-in-Chief Jayant Baranwal had an exclusive tete-á-tete with Mark Kronenberg, Vice President, International Business Development, Boeing Defense Space and Security. Excerpts:

‘India has got by far the fastest growth’

>>

ww

w.s

psla

ndfo

rces

.net


>>

AM General’s high mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle (humvee) is a rugged vehicle widely used across the globe in difficult terrains and weather conditions. The company has recently acquired the Vehicles Production Group of the US, a manufacturer of mobility vehicle for disabled passengers. SP’s Land Forces Editor-in-Chief Jayant Baranwal had a conversation with Thomas R. Douglas, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Strategy, AM General, during the defence and security expo, DSEi, at London. Excerpts:

‘the right-hand drive Humvee was developed with an emphasis on south east asia and especially India’

Jayant Baranwal (sp’s): How do you find the show? How is it appearing to be as a business platform for aM General? Have you met some potential buyers?thomas r. douglas (douglas): it’s been a very busy show for us, meeting many cus-tomers and showcasing different products and services.

We have been talking to both our existing customers as well as new potential customers.

coming to a show like this is very impor-tant to the company. London is centrally located and there are a lot of people from around the world coming to our booth and interacting with our company representatives.

sp’s: which part of the world apart from the Usa is aM General is heavily engaged in right now?douglas: the company is engaged in many different regions around the world and that is based on the high demand for our family of Light tactical vehicles and our training and logistics support services. aM General has multiple initiatives going on in south east asia, the subcontinent of india, south West asia, the Middle east, Latin america and north africa.

sp’s: which countries in asia are appear-ing to be the most promising?douglas: a wide spectrum of countries ranging from taiwan, the Phillipines, Malaysia, singapore to thailand, indone-sia, australia, new Zealand have expressed interest in products from our family of Light tactical vehicles and our training and logistics support services.

sp’s: You have introduced your right hand drive high mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle (Humvee). tell us more about it?douglas: yes, the right-hand drive humvee was developed two years ago, specifically for the commonwealth countries with an emphasis on south east asia and especially india. We have two right-hand drive hum-vees that are currently engaged in multiple vehicle trials and demonstrations in which the vehicles did very well meeting or exceeding all requirements and expectations. the hum-vee is the “Gold standard” for light tactical vehicles and aM General is the premier light tactical vehicle producer having produced

more than 1.5 million light tactical vehicles, more than 3,00,000 of which are the world renowned humvee. Building world-class light tactical vehicles is in our dna. this is what aM General does better than any other vehi-cle producer around the globe.

sp’s: the modern-day battlefield has changed. asymmetric warfare is seen pre-dominantly in Iraq, afghanistan and other parts of the world. asymmetric warfare calls for vehicles which are adaptable, mine resistant, etc. what is your strategy?douglas: innovative technologies repre-sent the core elements of the humvee. this is what makes it the light tactical vehicle of choice for more than 50 nations. the Modernised Light tactical vehicle (MLtv), which we have here on display at dsei in London, is a sixth-generation humvee. it has an improved suspension system, a more robust chassis, and can survive sig-nificant threats--both ballistics and blasts on the body as well as on the sides of the vehicle body.

sp’s: You call it the sixth-generation vehicle?douglas: yes, the MLtv is basically the sixth-generation of the humvee that is known around the world. at aM General, we have built more than 3,00,000 hUM-vees and more than 1.5 million light tac-tical vehicles in total. the MLtv incorpo-rates all our expertise and experience in designing, developing and manufactur-ing light tactical vehicles and delivers it in an outstanding package. it is a bigger truck. What we have done with the hUM-vee is evolve and improve it during its more than 25 years of service in over 50 countries taking lessons learned from the battlefield and the commercial automo-tive industry.

in 1985, aM General began with the most basic humvee. you can consider that the first Generation of humvee. the generation two humvee expanded on the experiences that we had on the first-generation humvee, based on battlefield tested experience gained. same with third and fourth generation humvees and now it is in its sixth generation. so all of these experiences that we have gained from designing and producing hundreds of thousands of humvees, the battlefield experiences, the innovative developments we have incorporated into the vehicle from the commercial automotive sector, have been incorporated into the sixth gen-eration humvee...the Modernized Light tactical vehicle or MLtv.

‘new technologies and techniques are the core elements of the Humvee’

GVWM1165: 6,124 kg (13,500 lb.)

PayloadM1165: 3,094 kg (6,820 lb.)

Curb WeightM1165: 3,030 kg (6,680 lb.)

Towed Load Allowance1,905 kg (4,200 lb.)

Shipping Dimensions21.66 cubic m (765 cubic ft.)11.33 sq m (122 sq ft.)

Centre of Gravity91.19 cm (35.9 in.)(at curb weight)Above Ground1.67 m (65.6 in.)Rear of Centreline at Front Axle

Track Width1.82 m (71.6 in)

Wheelbase3.30 m (130 in.)

Turning Radius7.62 m (25 ft.)

Ground Clearance42.67 cm (16.8 in.)

Angle of Approach47.7°

Angle of Departure37.3°

Ramp Breakover Angle25°

Grade Capability (at GCW)40%

Side Slope Capability (at GCW)30%

Climb Capability (at GCW)45.72 cm (18 in.)Vertical Step

Cargo Bed Height (at GCW)92.20 cm (36.3 in.)

EngineGeneral Engine Products (GEP)Electronically-Controlled V8, 6.5L Turbocharged Diesel

Horsepower@ 3,200 RPM: 150 KW (202 hP)

Torque@1,700 RPM: 583 N•m (430 lb.-ft)

Front SuspensionIndependent DoubleA-Frame; Coil Spring; Telescopic Shock Absorbers

Rear SuspensionIndependent DoubleA-Frame; Coil Spring; Rate - Variable;Telescopic Shock

Absorbers

WheelsTwo-Piece Take Apart; 16.5 x 8.25 x 6.5 BC

TiresNon-DirectionalCross-Country Tread; 37 x 12.5R-16.5; Load Range: E

Service BrakesType: Disc - Front & Back Dual Master Cyl-inder with hydroboost; Rotor Size - 306.8 mm Dia.; 24-mm Thick; Lining Area - 74.2 cm2 (11.5 sq in.) (575.5 cm2 (89.2 sq in.) Total)

Fuel Capacity95 L (25 gal.)

Performance402 km (250 mile) Cruising Range

Maximum Speed113 kmph (70 mph)

PhOTOGRAPhS: AM General


M1165 Right Hand Drive

7

>>


sp’s: when you said battle-tested, can you refer to some battles?douglas: since its inception in 1985, the humvee has been involved in every major conflict or disaster/emergency relief opera-tion that the Us has engaged in – domesti-cally and internationally. the beauty of this vehicle is that its design is extraordinarily flexible in that it can be configured for a multitude of mission packages to include troop carrier, weapons platform, ambu-lance, firefighting, law enforcement and border security. all the different humvee applications have been tested.

sp’s: which are your target markets for right-hand drives and what kind of success you foresee and can you also give some break up of right-hand and left-hand drive sales?douglas: Our primary markets for right-hand drive right now are india and south east asia. another is africa and we have received inter-est from new Zealand. at some point we will take a look at australia where they have an ongoing vehicle programme. the UK in the early stages of developing the requirements for a programme that will be competed in three to five years and will have a right-hand drive requirement. We think that the right-hand drive will represent approximately 30-40 per cent of our sales in the interna-tional market. it’s a very big market.

sp’s: can you give an update of the blast resistant vehicle and have you found global partners for it?douglas: yes, we recently achieved a sig-nificant milestone on this programme. On august 22, aM General announced deliv-ery, ahead of schedule, of 22 of the com-pany’s Blast resistant vehicle - Off road™ (Brv-O™) to the Us Government. these 22 Joint Light tactical vehicles included a four-seat variant combat tactical vehicle that supports three different mission package configurations and a two-seat variant com-bat support vehicle that supports a utility mission package configuration for different mission roles across the full spectrum of military operations. these vehicles are now engaged in a rigorous testing programme by the Us Government and a contract decision will be made in the 2015 time frame.

the Brv-O™ represents more than a decade of aM General investment in research, development and testing for this next-generation vehicle for the Us army and Marine corps. there has been signifi-cant interest in the Brv-O by international countries. australia has expressed an inter-est in JLtv and we conducted a vehicle dem-onstration for some of their representatives. additionally, we have also talked to the UK.

sp’s: Is there any central point of contact for after sales maintenance and spares for your asian customers?douglas: no we do not have a geographi-cally centralised distribution system. We generally work through local partners.

sp’s: tell us what is latest in aM General?douglas: We have been very busy at aM General. Our business development team has been working to secure new produc-tion orders at our Military assembly Plant and we are close to finalising the first of a number of international opportunities which will extend hMMWv production well into the future. internationally, there is considerable demand for the hMMWv. More than 50 armed forces of other nations use hMMWvs for defence, home-land security and disaster response mis-sions. this includes hMMWvs designed with armoured troop shelters produced for afghanistan security forces. aM General has also introduced the first true right-hand drive hMMWv, not a kit, for more than 70 countries that require that capa-bility – offering the most proven, adapt-able, versatile and affordable light tactical

vehicle in the world as right-hand drive for the first time. aM General also unveiled another new offering for the international market: the Modernised Light tactical vehicle with natO and european standard en-level armor protection that is scalable to meet differing mission requirements.

additionally, the department of defense selected our Joint Light tactical vehicle (JLtv) team for a $64.5-million, engineer-ing, Manufacturing and development (eMd) phase contract to produce and deliver 22 Blast resistant vehicle – Off road prototypes for government testing. this is the next phase of the acquisition process for this programme that could potentially lead to a multibillion-dollar contract to built tens of thousands of these vehicles.

also, utilising ground-breaking technol-ogies for greater performance and mission flexibility, aM General’s innovative GMv 1.1 solution for domestic and international rapidly deployable forces demonstrates unmatched power and mobility and is spe-cifically designed to be deployed quickly from inside a c/Mh- 47 / ch-53 helicopter. the GMv 1.1 is a platform that can evolve to meet specific operational needs by incorpo-rating a variety of Government furnished equipment to meet mission requirements. it has 70 per cent parts commonality with the current hMMWv, which significantly reduces expenses for parts, maintenance and training at a time of increasing pres-sure on defence budgets.

additionally, through our service Parts and Logistics Organization (sPLO), the company continues to support hMMWv re-set and re-cap efforts by working closely with its Us Government customer at its depots. the sPLO division also provides the Us Government and friendly foreign nations myriad services to include vehicle spare parts and worldwide training and logistics support.

finally, in september aM General announced it had reached an agreement to purchase the vehicle Production Group (vPG). vPG is a Michigan-based company that originally developed and manufactured the acclaimed Mv-1, the only american-built vehicle specifically designed from the ground up to meet or exceed the needs of wheelchair passengers and the guidelines of the americans with disabilities act. Previously, aM General acted solely as the vehicle assembler for vPG. following this transaction, aM General will own and oper-ate the Mv-1 business.

the agreement creates a path to form a new company called “Mobility ventures LLc”, which will acquire the assets of vPG. Production, sales and product develop-ment of the Mv-1 is expected to resume in approximately 45 days, with aM General bringing more than 50 years of experience and knowledge in the automotive industry to the benefit of passengers who rely on spe-cialty vehicles such as the Mv-1.

assembly of the vehicles will continue to occur at aM General’s world-class, 6,75,000-square-foot commercial assem-bly Plant in Mishawaka, indiana, which is fully tooled for the Mv-1 and ready to resume vehicle assembly.

the Mv-1 is the only vehicle in its class available with a factory-installed clean-burning compressed natural gas fuel option.

sp’s: what is the production capacity for Humvees in a year?douglas: While we will not provide specific numbers for our humvee production capac-ity, i can say that we have a state-of-the-art, dedicated light tactical vehicle assembly facility that can readily tailor vehicle produc-tion rates based on the needs of our domes-tic and international customers. We are the premiere Light tactical vehicle producer in the world and are the only company that can offer our customers this kind of quality and service at an affordable price. SP


GVW6,124 kg (13,500 lb.)

Payload2,572 kg (5,670 lb.)

Curb Weight3,552 kg (7,830 lb.)

Towed Load Allowance1,905 kg (4,200 lb.)

Shipping Dimensions21.10 cubic m (745 cubic ft.)10.87 sq m (117 sq ft.)

Center of Gravity(at curb weight)76.71 cm (30.2 in.)Above Ground1.53 m (60.4 in.)Rear of Centerline at Front Axle

Track Width1.82 m (71.6 in.)

Wheelbase3.30 m (130 in.)

Turning Radius7.62 m (25 ft.)

Ground Clearance46.23 cm (18.2 in.)


Angle of Departure40.0°

Ramp Breakover Angle25°



Climb Capability (at GCW)45.72 cm (18 in.)Vertical Step

Cargo Bed Height (at GCW)97.79 cm (38.5 in.)

EngineGeneral Engine Prod-ucts (GEP) V8, 6.5L Turbocharged Diesel

Horsepower@ 3,400 RPM: 142KW (190hP)

Torque@1,700 RPM: 515 N•m (380 lb.-ft)

Front SuspensionIndependent DoubleA-Frame; Coil Spring; Telescopic Shock Absorbers

Rear SuspensionIndependent DoubleA-Frame; Coil Spring; Rate - Variable; Telescopic Shock Absorbers

Geared HubRatios: 1.92:1

WheelsTwo-Piece Take Apart; 16.5 x 8.25 x 6.5 BC

TiresNon-DirectionalCross-Country Tread; 37 x 12.5R-16.5; Load Range: E

Service BrakesType: Disc - Front & Back Dual Master Cyl-inder with hydroboost; Rotor Size - 306.8 mm Dia.; 24-mm Thick; Lining Area - 74.2 cm2 (11.5 sq in.) (575.5 cm2 (89.2 sq in.) Total)

Fuel Capacity95 L (25 gal.)

Performance402 km (250 mile) Cruising Range


GVW7,484 kg (16,500 lb)

Payload1,270 kg (2,800 lb)

Curb Weight6,214 kg (13,700 lb)

Towed Load Allowance1,905 kg (4,200 lb)

Shipping Dimensions25.3 m3 (895 cu ft)11.8 m2 (127 sq ft)4.93 m (194.0 in) length2.39 m (94.0 in) width2.15 m (84.8 in) height

Track Width1.82 m (71.8 in)

Wheelbase3.30 m (130 in)

Turning Radius7.62 m (25 ft)

Ground Clearance34.3 cm (13.5 in)


Angle of Departure37°



Climb Capability (at GCW)45.7 cm (18 in) vertical step

Cargo Bed Height (at GCW)98.8 cm (38.9 in)

EngineGeneral Engine Prod-ucts(GEP) Optimizer 3200

– 460

HorsepowerMax. Net 201 kw (270 hp)

TorqueMax. Net624 N•m (460 lb-ft)

Front SuspensionIndependent DoubleA-Frame; Coil Spring; Shock Absorber

Rear SuspensionIndependent DoubleA-Frame; Coil Spring; Shock Absorber

Geared Hubhelical – Ratios: 1.92:1

WheelsType: Aluminum;Two-Piece Take Apart;Size – 16.5 x 8.25

TiresType: Radials – Truck;

Non-Directional Cross-Country – Goodyear -10 Ply Rating; Tread; Size –37 x 12.5; Load Range – E

Service BrakesType: Disc - Front & BackDual Master Cylinder withhydroboost; Rotor Size - 306.8 mmDia.; 24-mm Thick; Lining Area - 74.2 cm2

(11.5 sq in.) (575.5 cm2

(89.2 sq in.) Total)

Fuel Capacity121 L (32.0 gal)

Performance483 km (300 mile)Cruising Range


M1165 Special Ops

MLTV

>>

ww

w.s

psla

ndfo

rces

.net



Jayant Baranwal (sp’s): In about seven years time since inception of your com-pany, you have emerged as the second largest producer of military and police robots in the world. what do you attribute to this huge success?alan f. Bignall (Bignall): seven years ago, all military and police robots were very large – 20+ kilograms – and very complex with articulated arms, large control units. they were transported in a vehicle and operated only by trained experts, primarily during counter-ied operations. in 2007, we introduced a .5-kilogram personal robot that was a game changer. it could be car-ried in a small pouch, deployed in five sec-onds, thrown up to 35 metres and operated by anyone. Military and police operators quickly realised that this micro-robot would save many lives by providing immediate situational awareness. this innovation led to great success in the Us and ultimately in more than 30 countries worldwide. We now have more than 4,100 of our throwbot Xt (tXt) sensor systems deployed with mili-tary and police forces.

sp’s: reconrobotics (rr) has participated in the counter-terror expos in UK and Usa, has your company explored the asian mar-ket and participated in exhibitions or dem-onstrated your products in asian countries?Bignall: We participated in dsa in Kuala Lumpur in 2011, and in the Land War-fare conference in Melbourne in 2012. in addition, our resellers have participated in country-specific exhibitions in many asian countries, including china, south Korea, india and indonesia.

sp’s: Besides the Us, which countries account for healthy sales of rr products? do you have a distribution network in India and if yes, what is the contact point and who have you marketed your products? Bignall: Our strongest international mar-kets to date have been canada, the UK, switzerland, italy, norway and china. Our distributor in india is audoviso Private Lim-ited, managed by ashim Kumar. +91 11 4584 0000; [email protected]

sp’s: from its description, throwbot Xt would be of good use to locate terror-ist in nlos conditions but in situations where they do not have overhead cover, is it possible to manoeuvre this micro-robot through openings made by fire or through an open window in order to cover the situa-tion within the building?Bignall: the throwbot Xt is designed to be thrown – through a window or door, onto a rooftop, or over a wall. it can even be dropped from the top of a three-storey building onto concrete and still send back clear video and audio reconnaissance. the micro-robot operates at low frequencies, enabling the transmissions to and from the robot to prop-agate through walls, windows and doors. no other robot in the world delivers this unique set of capabilities. it is also important to note that the throwbot Xt is an important tool for maritime interdiction and ship-boarding teams. Because of its unique transmitting frequencies, the tXt can be used to search one- and two-levels below the top deck of a ship, and the operating standing on the top deck is able to still receive clear video recon-naissance. We also make a searchstick that converts our throwbot Xt into a pole cam-era, which can be used to search over walls or into attics, crawl spaces and even into the holds of a ship.

sp’s: what would be the effect of rain, snow and wind on the operation of the throwbot Xt since there are many occa-sions of counter-terrorist operations being conducted in adverse weather conditions?Bignall: the throwbot Xt is highly water resistant and can easily withstand immer-sion in up to 30 cm of water for up to 10 minutes. it can also be decontaminated fol-lowing use in haZMat situations, and can be used in temperatures well below freez-ing. More than 1,000 of these micro-robots have been used in all kinds of weather for more than three years in afghanistan, and they continue to save lives and help soldiers perform their missions without fail.

sp’s: what technological edge does recon scout have over its nearest competitor?

Bignall: Our edge has always been stron-gest in giving warfighters precisely what they need. they wanted a throwable audio and video sensor that was ultra-lightweight, quick to deploy, simple to operate, easy to carry, extremely durable and quiet in its operation. the throwbot Xt delivers all of these capabilities and costs thousands of dol-lars less than any other military robot. it has been battle-tested now for three years and many foreign militaries are now equipping their warfighters with this unique capability.

sp’s: since the throwbot Xt can be thrown up to 120 feet (35 metres), can it be useful for surveillance in high altitude areas as elevated surveillance platform as a supple-ment to UaV cover?Bignall: the throwbot Xt can be used at any altitude, and we see no reason why it would not work on an elevated surveil-lance platform.

sp’s: as described, the recon scout throw-bot delivers situational awareness about what lies behind a door, down a hallway, or over a wall before the force enters a location. what is not clear is what can the throwbot Xt tell what is “behind the door” and how?Bignall: Once a tXt is deployed into an environment, an operator can direct the robot to move deep into the structure, down hallways and into rooms, and the video and audio signals will still propagate through several walls to the hand-held operator con-trol unit. this gives the operator tremen-dous standoff distance, which keeps him safe from hidden threats.

sp’s: Is reconrobotics prepared to under-take transfer of technology to asian coun-tries including India and help establish production line in the buyer country?Bignall: We have not been asked by any coun-try to establish production in their coun-try. Our international buyers in police and military seem very pleased with the superb quality of our american-made micro-robot systems, and have not expressed a desire to change our manufacturing system.

sp’s: Has the recon scout Ir been used in actual combat situations? aside from use in counterterrorism tasks in built-up areas in urban environment, how can this be used in open and forested terrain? can it be used for surveillance in border areas by night?Bignall: Both the recon scout ir and throwbot Xt have been successfully used in hundreds of military operations, includ-ing route- and building-clearing missions, urban warfare operations, ied reconnais-sance and remote surveillance. it can be placed along a trail at night to watch for dis-

mounted enemy troops, and is also excep-tional when used at vehicle checkpoints to inspect vehicle undercarriages for explo-sives or narcotics. the tXt’s infrared optics allow it to see in complete darkness.

sp’s: are you also developing Ied dete-ction equipment that can be mounted on vehicles leading a convoy and which can remotely detonate various types of Ieds before the convoy reaches the danger zone?Bignall: that would be an excellent capabil-ity to deliver to warfighters, but we have no plans to develop such technologies.

sp’s: can these micro-robots survive Ieds?Bignall: the throwbot Xt is not designed to withstand an ied explosion, but it all depends on how close the robot is to the ied and the force of the explosion. the throw-bot Xt operates very low to the ground, so in that respect it is somewhat protected.

sp’s: what further research is going on in the company to enhance life-saving recon-naissance capabilities of micro-robots? what percentage of your overall business is invested in research?Bignall: We are continually receiving ideas from military and counter-terrorism teams about new technologies to add to our micro-robots, and our design and engineering group is very good at bringing them to mar-ket. We redirect the overwhelming majority of our profits back into product develop-ment and this strategy of continuous inno-vation has served us very well. in 2013, we were named one of the 50 Most innovative companies in the World by Fast Company, an outstanding Us-based business maga-zine. We are proud of this recognition, which placed us on the list with Google, apple and amazon, and it motivates us to keep our innovative edge.

sp’s: could you give us some examples of the extraordinary work the micro-robots have done in saving lives of warfighters?Bignall: We get letters and e-mails all the time from both warfighters and police indi-cating that “your throwbot Xt saved our lives last night.” the “Know Before you Go” capability that our micro-robots provide not only protects warfighters but also innocent civilians. this knowledge motivates every-one at our company to excel in designing and building game-changing products for those men and women who put their lives on the line in military and police service. there are many sWat profiles on our web-site that contain such testimonials, includ-ing this one from the french counter ter-ror raid team: http://www.reconrobotics.com/pdfs/reconroboticsw_raid_micro-robot_toulouse.pdf SP

In an interview with the Editor-in-Chief of SP’s Land Forces Jayant Baranwal, the President & CEO of ReconRobotics Alan F. Bignall outlines the success of ReconRobotics as the company believes in “giving the warfighters precisely what they need.” Excerpts of the interview:

‘Innovation is at the core of reconrobotics success’

9

>>


middLe east

Lt GeneraL (retd) p.c. Katoch

the WOrLd Watches With bated breath the developments in syria. at the moment it appears that the Us which President Barack Obama describes as the “anchor of global

security”, is reconciled to at least defer strik-ing syria. however, Obama’s constraints are more because of the serious lack of consensus for attacking syria by world lead-ers at the G-20 meet; British Parliament voting not in favour of British participa-tion against intervention; apprehensions of a resolution within the Us not getting through particularly because of opposition by the republicans and from even double digit democrats in the senate; and above all lack of Un security council (Unsc) approv-al for intervention/striking syria. yet, the Us option to strike syria remains alive as the Us continues negotiations globally particularly with russia, as well as mustering consen-sus within the Us, besides, implementation time of the russian proposal with respect to chemical weapons of syria, appears unlikely to suit impatient Us.

The Syrian Tanglethe war in syria has both regional and stra-tegic dimensions, latter primarily due to the Us designs with complex cross linkages. the syrian identity itself is an amalgama-tion of sunnis, shias, alawites, druze and multiple arab ethnicities. the support to syrian rebels fighting the assad regime is from the sunni arab nations, saudi arabia, Pakistan and the Us. Pakistan taliban has opened their office in syria and is assist-ing the rebels. the irony of the situation is that the Us which launched GWOt to fight al-Qaeda is now using al-Qaeda to support syrian rebels in a bid to change the regime in syria. russian President vladimir Putin has openly accused John Kerry for being untruthful that al-Qaeda was not present in syria. in fact the Us writers had referred to the Us plans of bombing syria as the Us substituting for al-Qaeda air force. then are many reports in the Us media that the Us has been using al-Qaeda to assist the reb-els in syria. Paul Joseph Watson in his article “Whether america shares its values with terrorists” wrote more than a year back that just as al-Qaeda terrorists were used to oust Gaddafi, hundreds of Libyan rebels with al-Qaeda willing members were being airlifted into syria to aid opposition in carrying out attacks against government forces. so can the West really absolve itself completely of complicity in the over 1,00,000 civil casual-ties in syria? the game is not only about the shia-sunni strife but multiple factions fight-ing and above all control of oil, and the next likely target of the Us being iran.

Chemical WeaponsOn the vital question of who released sarin gas on the hapless syrian public, John Kerry told the Us senate foreign relations com-mittee that establishing this is outside the Un mandate but the Us had proof that the syrian regime was responsible. however, President Putin has called the Us charge against President assad of syria having used chemical weapons “utterly absurd”. More significant is a report by the federal secu-rity service of the russian federation (fsB) that Britain defence, one of the largest pri-vate mercenary forces in the world, was the

target of a “massive hack” of its computer files by an “unknown state sponsored entity” this past January. the fsB disclosed a num-ber of critical e-mails between its top two executives, founder Philip doughty and his Business development director david Gould-ing, disclosing that the Obama regime has approved a “false flag” attack in syria using chemical weapons and that Britain has been approved to participate in the West’s war on iran. One e-mail from Goulding reads, “Phil, We’ve got a new offer. it’s about syria again. Qataris propose an attractive deal and swear that the idea is approved by Washing-ton. We’ll have to deliver a chemical weapon (cW) to homs (syria), a soviet origin g-shell from Libya similar to those that assad should have. they want us to deploy our Ukrainian personnel that should speak russian and make a video record. frankly, i don’t think it’s a good idea but the sums proposed are enormous.” there is much in the news about syrian rebel al-nusra being in possession of sarin gas and russia seeking explanation from turkey but who supplied the sarin may be difficult to establish without an interna-tional commission with all the prevailing subterfuge. Besides, apprehensions are natu-ral after the Us presented false evidence of nuclear weapons as an excuse to invade iraq.

Obama has also mentioned that since syria has admitted possession of chemical weapons, it should be punished but then western scholars are writing about the pos-sibility of israel too having chemical weap-ons. for that matter china, though signa-tory to the chemical Weapons convention is known to be in possession of chemical weapons since many years, as does Paki-stan. further, the record of the Us itself is nowhere clean, considering what they unleashed in vietnam.

US InterestsWhile asserting the necessity to strike syria, Obama stated that if action against syria was not taken, iran will follow suit, imply-ing iran would develop and use chemical weapons as well. the ultimate target obvi-ously is iran. interestingly, General Wesley clark, former supreme allied commander, north atlantic treaty Organisation (natO) had stated in March 2007 that while bomb-ing of afghanistan had commenced, i asked a General of Joint staff, “are we still going to war with iraq?” and he said, “Oh, it’s worse than that.” he picked up a piece of paper from his desk and said, “i just got this down from upstairs” — meaning the secretary of defense’s office — “today”. and he said, “this is a memo that describes how we’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with iraq, and then syria, Lebanon, Libya, somalia, sudan, and finishing off with iran.” he added, “i guess it’s like we don’t know what to do about ter-rorists, but we’ve got a good military and we can take down governments.” and he said, “i guess if the only tool you have is a ham-mer, every problem has to look like a nail.”

in the same context, dr subhash Kap-ila, in his article “Us strategic Blunders in south West asia, south asia analysis Group (March 18, 2013), wrote, “strategically, the Us cannot expect to sustain a long-term and effective presence in south West asia by a constant and vicious demonisation of iran… iran commands the shia crescent extending from Lebanon, through syria and to the bor-ders of afghanistan…the current de-stabil-

isation of syria through a Us-saudi arabia contrived war is more targeted at iran than syria.” By targeting syria and iran, the Us wants to not only limit russian and chinese influence in the region, but also aims at the chinese navy embedding on iranian ports.

syria has discovered substantial gas reserves in its Qara gas fields and syria lies on the gas supply route to europe. in addi-tion, direct supply of gas by iran through syria, cuts out Qatari dreams to supply gas to europe directly. the Usa, a strategic part-ner of Qatar and saudi arabia, and the larg-est beneficiary of their oil revenues, is will-ing to back its partners to knock out syria and iran from the energy equation. in doing so, the strategic benefit would be to block russian and chinese designs in this regard. the syria-iran-iraq Gas Pipeline, dubbed as the ‘islamic Pipeline,’ is a $10-billion proj-ect that would supply gas from the largest oil field in the world (Pars in Persian Gulf) to Lebanon and onwards to europe by 2018. Qatar that is also a claimant to Pars plans to supply gas to europe through an alter-nate pipeline via turkey traversing iraq that would bypass both iran and syria. in turkey, this would be linked with the Us-backed nabucco pipeline, carrying gas sup-plies from the central asian republics. Both projects are strategic in nature but in direct competition with each other and hence the serious clash of interests. the Us with important central command (centcOM) bases in Qatar, back the Qatar-turkey pipe-line which is sans russian influence.

interestingly, according to a report, Prince Bandar bin sultan of saudi arabia during his recent visit to russia pledged to safeguard russia’s naval base in syria if the assad regime is toppled, but he also hinted at chechen terrorist attacks on russia’s Winter Olympics in sochi if there is no accord. con-currently, London’s the telegraph news ser-vice reported that saudi arabia has secretly offered russia a sweeping deal to control the global oil market and safeguard russia’s gas contracts, if Kremlin backs away from the assad regime in syria, an offer Putin turned down. in strategic terms, the Qatar-turkey pipeline is exceedingly important for europe and the Usa as europe can be freed from any russian control of their gas supplies. at the same time this restricts chinese penetration in iran’s energy infrastructure.

Current SituationJohn Kerry had argued the case before the Us senate foreign relations committee that not striking syria will undermine the Us credibility, endanger israel and that the Us aim is not war but degrading the mili-tary potential of syria. Later, Obama has stated that not punishing syria for using chemical weapons would encourage iran to follow suit. More recently, Putin wrote about syria in the New York Times that there

are “few champions of democracy” in the civil war in syria, “but there are more than enough Qaida fighters and extremists of all types battling the government.” russia has handed over plans of syrian chemical weap-ons to be placed under international con-trol in four stages commencing with syria becoming a member of the Organisation for Prohibition of chemical Weapons. Putin has also warned the Us against unilateral action against syria without Un approval. Un approval appears doubtful because both russia and china would veto such move; doubts about who released the sarin gas in syria, collateral damage in case of attack(s), and that, any strike would certainly not end the strife in syria and within the region.

What appears likely is that the Us will play along the russian plan for securing syr-ian chemical weapons briefly but will want this done post-haste in an impossible time frame that would be near impossible to actu-ally carry out because of multiple technical challenges amidst a raging civil war, besides disposal being expensive and requiring experts—all of which would need months if not years. this apart, if the strike is planned primarily for strategic reasons as discussed, then the Us will find a way to strike syria and tackle iran next before the latter goes nuclear. Generating another sarin gas leak/attack that would justify unilateral action too remains a possibility. On balance, while the immediate case to act against syria is loudly made out as retribution for assad’s purported use of chemical weapons against syria’s hap-less civilians and the ‘free syrian army’, the strategic reasons are energy supplies, regime change and reducing russia-china influence.

ConclusionPresident Putin has said that the matter of bringing syria’s chemical weapons under international control has long been a sub-ject of discussion by experts and politicians but that syria’s chemical arms handover will only work if the Us and its allies renounce the use of force against damascus. the Us senate scheduled to vote on whether to authorise limited military actions is cur-rently on hold but that may not be for long if another ‘trigger’ can be manipulated.

significantly, stratfor’s “analytical Guid-ance: the syria crisis” states, “in the wake of President Barack Obama’s change of tack from a strike on syria, the threat of war has not dissolved…. there is no chance of an attack on chemical weapons stock-piles. therefore, the attack, if any, will be on command and control and political tar-gets…. remember that all public statements now are meant to obscure real plans and intentions. they are intended to shape the environment.” this is in line with the new Us foreign doctrine of subtle manipulation from backstage. Obviously such manipu-lation does not preclude precision strikes. absence of ‘boots on ground’ is a misnomer as this is being achieved by proxies, al-Qaeda included, and special forces as a conse-quence to lessons learnt from conflicts over the years including iraq and afghanistan. hopefully, better sense will prevail but the Us cruise missile strikes may still take place though majority support at home may be unattainable and with even france having second thoughts of supporting intervention. such a strike will certainly have adverse eco-nomic consequences for india besides affect-ing the indian diaspora in the region. SP

the syrian ImbroglioThe support to Syrian rebels fighting the Assad regime is from the Sunni Arab nations, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the US. The irony of the situation is that the US which launched GWOT to fight Al-Qaeda is now using Al-Qaeda to support Syrian rebels in a bid to change the regime in Syria.

the war in syria has both regional and strategic dimensions, latter primarily due to the Us designs with complex cross linkages

>>

ww

w.s

psla

ndfo

rces

.net


show report / dsei 2013

r. chandraKanth

desPite the sLash in defence spending by several european countries and also the Us, the market for defence and secu-rity equipment is growing with

demand surging from other parts of the world. however, there is a gloomy global trend, but that did not deter the defence sys-tems and equipment international (dsei) event which is held biannually in London.

dsei 2013 has carved a niche for itself and has become the most defini-tive global military equipment show. this year, it attracted over 30,000 of the global defence and security industry to source the latest equipment and systems, develop international relations and generate new business opportunities.

there were nearly 1,500 international exhibitions from over 50 countries, show-casing specialised equipment in air, naval, land, security, medical and unmanned zones. notwithstanding the continuing dull economic climate, companies were aggres-sive in marketing of their products, some of them being launched only at dsei.

the UK Prime Minister david cameron gave a major boost to the show by launch-ing a new document “securing Prosper-ity – a strategic vision for the UK defence sector” which identifies the industry’s core strengths and sets out how the govern-ment and industry can work more closely together to catalyse growth.

London being the host, the focus was also on how the defence industry was charting its path. the UK defence sector is currently worth over £22 billion a year and employs well over 1,00,000 people. the UK is also a leading defence exporter, with overseas sales close to £9 billion last year. the strate-gic vision for the UK defence sector has been developed through the defence Growth Part-nership (dGP) which was set up in 2012.

Single Platform Solution to Counter IEDsPearson engineering (stand s4-360) has completed development of its route open-ing and clearing capability (PerOcc) sys-tem, which is being shown at dsei for the first time and is fitted with a fully integrated roller system and arm-mounted ground penetrating radar arrays.

PerOcc has already undergone com-pany trials in the UK, with extensive tests carried out at the subsystem level. these have included blast trials to the three-person crew capsule and integration of all key counter-mine systems, most of which have already been proven for other applications. the new system leverages extensive experience gained from the design, development and produc-tion of a wide range of counter-mine equip-ment of the roller and plough type, which has seen extensive operational use.

Nexter Launches Low-cost UGVnexter robotics, a subsidiary of the french nexter Group, launched nerva s unmanned ground vehicle (UGv), small, low-cost, four-wheeled UGv optimised for use in the recon-naissance role and in confined spaces. it is essentially a smaller version of the nerva LG

UGv, which was first revealed in mid-2012 for military applications. the development of the nerva s UGv now enables nexter robot-ics to offer a wide range of products to meet different user requirements.

Saab Introduces Modular Barracuda Mobile Camouflage Systemdefence and security company saab intro-duced a further improved modular mobile camouflage system; Barracuda Mcs. already in use by more than 20 nations, Barracuda Mcs is now offering even better flexibility with possibilities to customise the vehicle protection solution to specific cus-tomer needs.

also on display was skeldar v-200 mari-time Uav system, which can hover for hours while providing real-time information to a control station or a remote video terminal.

Rolls-Royce Maritime Patrol Craftrolls-royce unveiled a new design of mari-time patrol craft. the first of a ‘protection vessel family’ of designs, the new 55-metre craft features a range of equipment from rolls-royce (stabilisers, thrusters, steer-ing gear, fixed-pitch propellers) and MtU (diesels, diesel generators, callosum iPMs), offering a cost-effective capability that can be tailored to mission requirements.

FLIR Systems’ Security SolutionsfLir systems inc showcased 360° maritime security solutions to detect, identify and track threats to critical coastal infrastruc-ture and maritime assets such as ships and yachts, as well as coastal borders. already deployed around the world, this capability, powered by commandspace adaptive c2 software for maritime solutions, integrates fLir systems’ imaging and radar technolo-gies with underwater sonar and other sen-sors to create a full, 3d maritime situational awareness shield around an asset.

Airbus Military Pitches C295 as Multi-role Airlifterairbus Military made a pitch of its c295 as multi-role airlifter as the platform for a pos-sible UK maritime patrol aircraft require-ment. airbus Military’s c295 offers an affordable and versatile platform for the MPa/asW mission and is already oper-

ating in these duties with chile. its fully-integrated tactical system offers a truly open architecture system that can integrate many systems and sensor types.

Lockheed Martin Presents Fury UAVLockheed Martin showcased fury Uav in the UK for the first time. the company is proposing the air vehicle as a multi-intelli-gence platform, with low visual and acous-tic signatures but high range and endur-ance performance. it is classed as a Group 3 Uav, for tactical and expeditionary appli-cations. Lockheed Martin claims it has the biggest payload capacity and volume of any runway-independent Uavs.

Atlas Elektronik’s Minesweeperatlas elektronik UK unveiled its new atlas remote combined influence minesweeping system (arciMs) suite. the company has also disclosed that it will shortly deliver an initial two arciMs to meet the needs of an undisclosed customer. designed to address requirements for a next-generation of net-worked off-board unmanned mine coun-termeasures (McM) systems, arciMs has built upon atlas elektronik UK’s long pedi-gree in McM. this includes the rapid devel-opment and delivery of the royal navy’s shallow water influence minesweeping sys-tem for operations in the northern arabian Gulf in 2003.

Cassidian Launches X-band Naval Radarcassidian, the defence division of eads, launched an X-band naval surface surveil-lance radar optimised for the detection of extremely small objects and countering asym-metric threats. Based upon the latest active electronically scanning array (aesa) radar technology, the company’s tactical radar for surface surveillance (trss) system is claimed to “substantially increase the detection capa-bilities, and thus the protection level of navy ships and coast guard vessels”.

Rafael Presents Typhoonrafael showcased the typhoon MLs nLOs for the first time, having unveiled this new itera-tion of its popular stabilised marine weapon station earlier this year. this version mounts eight launchers for the company’s spike-nLOs missile, the longest-range member of

a popular family of guided missiles. typhoon MLs nLOs also carries a toplite observation and targeting sensor turret. related systems developed by rafael are the typhoon 30 with a 30mm atK Mk 44 Bushmaster cannon, and typhoon MLs-er with machine gun and spike-er missile launchers.

Cassidian’s High-grade Encryption Devicecassidian, the security and defence arm of eads launched its latest high-grade encryption device. the ectocryp Blue v2 solution—the core product in the ectocryp family—can transfer information classi-fied up to top secret across public networks, allowing organisations to minimise the risk of cyber attack. Blue is europe’s fastest, high assurance internet protocol encryptor (haiPe) certified remotely operated cryp-tographic device. ectocryp solutions have already found application in the UK and Us. ectocryp yellow, the next stage in sovereign UK cryptographic development, is a porta-ble, low-cost, interoperable basis for highly secure strategic and tactical networks.

BAE System Air-to-air Refuelling for Tanker MissionsBae systems regional aircraft revealed its proposal for an air-to-air refuelling (a2r) version of the Bae 146/avro rJ regional airliner. With its high wing and t-tail con-figuration, the 146 is considered an ideal platform for the tanker mission, and could be well suited to refuelling tilt-rotor aircraft. Bae systems has carried out proximity trials with a hawk trainer and other 146 aircraft to confirm that the aerodynamic environ-ment behind the 146 is sufficiently benign for tanker operations. With a large number of pre-owned 146s and rJs available for refurbishment and conversion, the types could represent a cost-efficient means of pro-viding a tanker capability, either for frontline operations or for training receivers without using larger, more expensive tankers.

CTruk Presents THORMaking its first public appearance, the twin-hulled offshore raider (thOr) high-speed vessel developed by ctruk starred in the twice-daily water-borne demonstra-tions. designed to meet requirements for a fast, stable multi-role force protection craft, thOr has been developed by ctruk in part-nership with a number of allied companies under the banner of the ctruk collaborative amphibious project (caP) consortium. this industry group has been established with the intention of competing in a market tra-ditionally dominated by larger companies.

thOr has been conceived as an afford-able multi-role craft that can be used in a variety of applications, ranging from force protection and riverine patrol, to disaster relief and casualty evacuation. Built from lightweight composite material and with a speed in excess of 40 kts, the twin-hull thOr craft is able to operate for sustained periods at long ranges.

as the complexity of war increases, so does the equipment and companies have showed the technological prowess as wit-nessed at the show. SP

dsei demonstrates strong Growth of Military equipmentThis year, the show attracted over 30,000 of the global defence and security industry professionals to source the latest equipment and systems, develop international relations and generate new business opportunities

Nexter’s new unmanned ground vehicle

PhOTOGRAPh: Nexter

11

>>


news in Brief

IndIan army successfully test launches PrIthvI-II mIssIlethe indian army’s strategic forces com-mand (sfc) has successfully test launched the locally manufactured Prithvi-ii surface-to-surface/nuclear capable missile from the integrated test range (itr) at chandipur, off the Odisha coast. fitted with an advanced high-accuracy domestically manufactured navigation and manoeuvring system, the missile achieved all the targeting and tech-nical parameters set out for the launch, which was carried out as part of a regular training exercise, under the guidance of the defence research and development Organ-isation (drdO) scientists. during the termi-nal phase of the test launch, the missile was tracked by the drdO-built radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry sta-tions located along the coast of Odisha.

saab self-ProtectIon system for IndIa’s alhswedish defence and security company saab has secured two orders, worth about seK 216 million ($33 million), from india-based hindustan aeronautics Limited (haL). as part of the deal, the company will provide an integrated electronic warfare self-protec-tion system to equip the advanced light heli-copter (aLh), which belongs to the indian army and air force. the company’s inte-grated defensive aids suite (idas) will pro-

tect the crew and aircraft, as well as enhance the survivability in sophisticated, diverse and dense threat environments. the system provides a timely warning against different types of threats such as radar, laser and mis-sile approach, and automatically deploys the required counter measures. the company will develop and produce idas system at its facility in centurion, south africa, while deliveries are expected to start in 2014. idas system has been successfully used in many airborne platforms, which include saab 2000, agustaWestland a109, super Lynx 300, Boeing ch-47 chinook, denel rooivalk and Oryx, eurocopter cougar.

sentInel caPabIlItIes Into Ibcsnorthrop Grumman and the Us army Pro-gram executive Office for Missiles and space (PeO Ms) have installed a key Patriot mis-sile and sentinel radar capabilities into the latter’s integrated air and missile defence (iaMd) battle command system (iBcs).

Jointly carried out with raytheon, the sentinel Project Office and Lockheed Mar-tin on orders of the iaMd Project Office, the Patriot advanced capability-2 (Pac-2) and Pac-3 capability integration enables an iBcs engagement operations centre to launch and control the Patriot family of interceptors in a net-centric approach. the addition of sentinel radar to the iBcs inte-grated fire control network validates the

system’s common open architecture-based approach to integrating sensors. SP

publisher and editor-in-chiefJayant Baranwal

editor Lt General (Retd) V.K. Kapoor

assistant Group editorR. Chandrakanth

senior technical Group editor Lt General (Retd) naresh ChandAir Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey

contributing editorAir Marshal (Retd) Anil Chopra

assistant editorsucheta Das Mohapatra

contributorsIndia

General (Retd) V.P. Malik, Lt General (Retd) Vijay Oberoi, Lt General (Retd) R.s. nagra,

Lt General (Retd) s.R.R. Aiyengar, Air Marshal (Retd) Vinod Patney,

Major General (Retd) Ashok Mehta, Major General (Retd) G.K. nischol, Brigadier (Retd) Gurmeet Kanwal,

Brigadier (Retd) s. Mishra, Rohit sharma

chairman & Managing directorJayant Baranwal

executive Vice president(Planning & Business Development)

Rohit Goel

administration Bharti sharma

creative directorAnoop Kamath

designVimlesh Kumar Yadav, sonu singh Bisht

research assistant: Graphicssurvi Massey

sales & MarketingDirector sales & Marketing: neetu Dhulia

General Manager sales: Rajeev Chugh

sp’s websitesr. Web Developer: shailendra P. AshishWeb Developer: ugrashen Vishwakarma

Published bimonthly by Jayant Baranwal on behalf of sP Guide Publications Pvt Ltd. All rights reserved. no part of this

publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, photocopying, recording, electronic, or otherwise without the prior

written permission of the publishers.

printed in India by Kala Jyothi Process Pvt Ltd

© sP Guide Publications, 2013

subscription/ circulationAnnual Inland: `600 • Overseas: US$180email: [email protected]

[email protected]

letters to [email protected]

for advertising details, contact: [email protected]

[email protected]

sp GUIde pUBlIcatIons pVt ltdcorporate office

A 133 Arjun nagar, Opp Defence Colony, new Delhi 110 003, India

Tel: +91(11) 24644693, 24644763, 24620130

Fax: +91 (11) 24647093

regd officeFax: +91 (11) 23622942

email: [email protected]

representative officesBengaluru, IndIa

Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey204, Jal Vayu Vihar, Kalyan nagar,

Bengaluru 560043, India.Tel: +91 (80) 23682204

Moscow, rUssIaLAGuK Co., Ltd, Yuri LaskinKrasnokholmskaya, nab.,

11/15, app. 132, Moscow 115172, Russia.Tel: +7 (495) 911 2762, Fax: +7 (495) 912 1260

www.spguidepublications.com www.spslandforces.net

RNI Number: DELENG/2008/25818

>> SHOW CALENDAR

21-23 OctoberAUSA 2013Walter e. Washington convention center, Washington, dc, Usahttp://ausameetings.org/annual/#sthash.nCmBrY4I.dpuf

30-31 OctoberArmoured Vehicles Asia 2013amara sanctuary resort sentosa, singaporewww.armouredvehiclesasia.com

31 OctoberDIGITISATION OF BATTLEFIELD 2013Le Meridien, new delhiwww.events.spguidepublications.com

12-14 novemberMilitary Exports and Compliance Asia 2013traders hotel, singaporewww.intelligence-sec.com/events/military-exports-asia-2013

18-20 novemberArmoured Vehicles India 2013new delhi, indiawww.armouredvehiclesindia.com

arjun mk.II begIns user trIal-by-fIreit’s the most crucial phase for Project arjun. the new and improved arjun Mk.ii has begun user trials in the deserts of rajast-han, an exercise that hopefully confirm its usefulness to the indian army. With over 90 improvements to the base Mk.i version, the chennai-based combat vehicles r&d estab-lishment (cvrde) has been steeped in fine-tuning the platform for the last 24 months, hoping to meet the stringent demands of the army, a customer who was hard to please with the Mk.i as well. the results of the Mk.ii user trials will be crucial to the future of a project that traces its origins to the after-math of the 1971 war. the army has placed an indent for 116 Mk.iis, in addition to the 124 Mk.i tanks already in service with two tank regiments in the rajasthan sector.

fresh nag atgm trIals successfulafter major setbacks a year ago, the nag anti-tank guided missile project has bounced back, with a series of successes at the Mahajan field firing range in rajast-han in recent trials, where the missile was tested with a new imaging infrared (iir) seeker of much higher resolution than the earlier one. sources confirm that the trials were more successful than the earlier one.

the naMica Mk.1 (seven have been ordered), tested by the army between 2007 and 2010, had certain deficiencies while operating in high ambient temperatures. the defence research and development Organisation (drdO) is also working on improvement demanded by the army on the improved naMica Mk.2 platform, 200 of which may be purchased if all parameters are met. these improvements include reduc-tion of all-up weight to 15 tonnes, improved reliability of missile launcher platform drive mechanisms, higher-resolution target acquisition sight for the gunner, enhanced user-friendly process in acquisition of target through reduced offset between sight and missile seeker-acquired target scene image, improved amphibious performance and pro-vision of a target surveillance and acquisi-tion sight for the crew commander.

loc tensIon sPurs concerns over Infantry modernIsatIonthe high degree of ceasefire violations on the line of control (Loc) has heightened

awareness of slow progress in infantry modernisation in the country. the army’s infantry directorate has called for a meet-ing to speed up the f-insas programme to provide infantry units with more inte-grated battlefield equipment. tensions on the Loc have seen the use of hand-held thermal imagers and other equipment, but the infantry directorate is of the view that far greater pace of modernisation is desir-able towards a much more prepared soldier deployed in the forward areas. according to sources, apart from primary weapon and survivability modernisation, the infantry directorate is keen to shore up situational awareness and night-fighting equipment augmentation for soldiers, starting with those in rashtriya rifles and special forces units, and then to other regular infantry units. the coming weeks are likely to see a slew of fresh expressions of interest per-taining to the f-insas programme.

IndIan army Interest In sImfIre in an effort to hone up firing skills among its mechanised forces, the indian army is looking to economise on ammunition and move largely to the realm of simulators, a global best practice among militaries in the west. the army has announced inter-est in acquiring siMfire, a German com-pany’s range of shooting simulators, for its t-90/t-72 and BMP i/ii in the near future.

“tactical training in the Mechanised forces is conducted with realistic depic-tion of battlefield scenarios and resultant manoeuvres/counter-manoeuvres being carried out by participating units/sub units. in such circumstances, though all efforts are made to paint realistic tacti-cal situations, the outcome is left to the judgement of umpires/control organisa-tion set up for the conduct of the exercise/training. this, leads to a lot of subjectivity in the entire process of imparting realistic training,” says the army in its request for information. furthermore, to draw out correct tactical lessons, it is imperative that the effectiveness of the own/opponents fire is seen by the crew operating on the a vehicles. therefore, in order to obviate the above mentioned drawback in our present tactical training and enable a two sided live firing exercise, it is intended to induct siM-fire equipment into service.

army orders more Invar for t-90sin a big relief coming in for the Mechanised forces, the indian army has finally managed to conclude a long-awaited `3,000-crore deal for additional invar anti-tank guided missiles licence built by the Bharat dynamics Ltd with russian technology. according to the Ministry of defence, “the deliveries are expected to be completed over next five years. invar is a laser beam rider anti-tank guided missile capable of being fired from t-90 tank. it has a range of five km. the missile can neutralise adversaries tanks fitted with explosive reactive armour protection.” the missile has a semi-automatic control system, tele-orienting in a laser beam. the invar is a high velocity jamming-immune missile with tandem warhead designed to defeat explosive reactive armour and intended to destroy sta-tionary and moving targets with speed up to 70 kmph. the deal was cleared by the cabi-net committee on security (ccs) in October last year, and remains the most significant recent step to shore up ammunition reserves, severely depleted in the tank formations as highlighted by the former chief of army staff, General v.K. singh.

IndIa, us ready to sIgn deal for 145 m777 ultra-lIght howItzershistory may be around the corner for the indian army’s artillery regiment, with the first ever acquisition deal for howitzer guns since the Bofors scam in the 1980s. the Us Pentagon has provided final notification to the Us congress on the $885-million sale to india, the final step before a foreign mili-tary sales (fMs) deal is signed between the two governments. the contract has taken more than seven years to come to fruition, including several bumps along the way. the new guns will breathe fresh life into a belea-guered artillery arm that resigned itself to using vintage guns for nearly two decades.

a deal with Bae systems, which cur-rently owns Bofors defence, is likely before the end of the fiscal, and will mark another major step ahead for indo-Us defence rela-tions. the M777 will be deployed in the north-east and Ladakh, and will be air-mobile with the iaf’s new heavy-lift fleet. SP

—SP’s Special Correspondent

For complete versions log on to: www.spslandforces.net

SP’s Aviation, SP’s Land Forces, SP’s Naval Forces, SP’s Airbuz are - a. BPA Applied For;

b. Circulated in Asia-Pacific including India backed by BPA endorsement.

Yet another Development that reinstates our Long-Established Commitment to Aerospace & Defence Fraternity

DEEP We at SP’s

Believe in Relentless Hardwork & Firm Expansions

UNPARALLELED, UNMATCHED STANDING IN THE REGION.

Rooted Integrity &Trust

SP'S Home AD with 4 Lion for LF.indd 24 15/10/13 3:15 PM

Documents

Volume 10 No. 4 Meet those SP’s · PDF fileVolume 10 No. 4 `100.00 (India-Based Buyer Only) ... in modernisation of india’s infantry and its future infantry soldier programme