INDIAN ARMED FORCES CHIEFS ON
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SP's MAI - Issue No. 8 | April 16-30, 2015

Issue Features

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  SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  Parrikar Opens Door To Mini-MRCA

  After the recent turbulence over the MMRCA, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has signalled the possibility of a separate single engine fighter jet platform replacing India's MiG-21s in the event that the LCA Tejas is not up to the task.

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  SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  Airbus-Tata Deal Likely To Be Approved By DAC

  The sole Airbus-Tata bid to replace 56 of the Indian Air Force's HS748 Avro medium transports with Indian-built C295 twin turboprop aircraft is likely to be pushed...

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  SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  Indian Navy confirms EMALS on radar

  The Indian Navy has officially confirmed that it is seriously looking at EMALS (Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System) technology, on offer from the U.S...

• SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  Army For New Low Level Radars

  The Army is scouting an unspecified number of new Low Level Light Weight Radars Mark-ll for deployment in non-mountainous sectors like desert and plains. The radar needs to be easily transportable and capable of detecting...

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  SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  HJT-16 Life Extension On Cards

  Faced with turbulence in its training regimen, the Indian Air Force may go in for a life extension on its remaining HJT-16 Kiran Stage-II trainer aircraft. With HAL's HJT-36 Sitara intermediate jet trainer failing to surmount design problems...

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  SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  Last Chance For More IAF C-17s

  With Australian Air Force ordering two more C-17s, the number of white-tail platforms (fully built but unsold) drops to five, giving the Indian government one final opportunity to augment its 10-strong fleet of the heavy transport jet.

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  SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  Boeing Extends Validity On Chinook, Apache Bids

  Boeing Defense has extended the validity of its commercial bids on expected deals for 22 AH-64E Apache and 15 CH-47F Chinook helicopters till June 30, the latest in a long string of extensions requested by the government as it attempts to conclude a deal.

• SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  DRDO scouts vision-assited recovery system for UAVs

  With a view to test a vision-assisted take-off and landing system for small size UAVs, the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) in Bengaluru has called upon Indian vendors to design and develop necessary navigation...

• SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  HAL Scouts Radar Partner For IAF Requirement

  HAL is looking for a technology partner for a tie-up to supply high-power radars (HPRs) to the Indian Air Force to meet a long-standing requirement.

• 

  SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  DRDO Scouts Landing Gear Kit For Panchi UAV

  The DRDO is looking for a newly designed landing gear kit for its recently unveiled Panchi UAV, a wheeled version of the in-service Nishant surveillance drone. Panchi is designed take-off and land from a prepared run way like a conventional aircraft...

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  SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  CABS for JV to build Operator Workstations For Airborne Plartforms

  The Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS), currently developing India's AEW&C and AWACS platforms, is scouting a joint venture partner to develop advanced operator workstations for applications in its airborne platforms.

• 

  SP'S EXCLUSIVE
  HAL Powers On LUH Ahead Of First Flight

  HAL is powering on with the LUH ahead of a potential first flight in July or August this year. HAL, which has responded to the Indian Army RFI for reconnaissance & surveillance helicopters (RSH) has decided to play its hand aggressively...

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  MILITARY / VIEWPOINT
  Defence procurement — bottleneck is DPP
  By Lt General P.C. Katoch (Retd)

  Will the new DPP facilitate FDI in defence, smooth induction of new technology and speed up development?

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  AEROSPACE / INDO-FRENCH COOPERATION
  Indo-French cooperation
  By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)

  The nation is optimistic that the diplomatic initiatives by Prime Minister Modi...

• 

  CORPORATE
  CNES and ISRO sign agreement

  As part of the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CNES and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) signed an agreement to pursue their historic partnership in space at the Élysée Palace...

• 

  INTERNAL SECURITY
  Government committed to strengthen BSF: Kiren Rijiju

  The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju has said that the government is committed for strengthening the Border Security Force (BSF). Rijiju was addressing the Induction Ceremony of Two Mi-17 V5 Helicopters into the BSF in New Delhi.

• 

  MILITARY / VIEWPOINT
  Indian Navy on yet another benign humanitarian mission
  By Rear Admiral Sushil Ramsay (Retd)

  The basic structure of a nation’s naval forces is founded on the concept of capacity...

• 

  AEROSPACE / REPORT
  Oxygen to the Indian Air Force
  By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)

  The statement by the Minister of Defence that the deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets...

• 

  CORPORATE
  HAL Board reconstituted

  The Board of Directors of the Hindustan Aeonautics Limited (HAL) has been reconstituted with effect from April 1, 2015. The Chairman, T. Suvarna Raju, is now re-designated as Chairman & Managing Director (CMD).

• INTERNAL SECURITY
  Withdrawal of AFSPA in Arunachal

  The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju has clarified that the 20-km border belt between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh was already declared a ‘Disturbed Area’ since long time due to various terrorist...

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  MILITARY / REPORT
  WASS is India's partner in progress
  By R. Chandrakanth

  Whitehead Sistemi Subacquei S.p.A. (WASS), Italy’s leading company known...

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  AEROSPACE / REPORT
  Mother of all Deals recedes into history
  By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)

  The Indian Air Force should have good reason to believe that it will, in due course...

• CORPORATE
  Boeing acquires 2d3 Sensing

  Boeing has acquired 2d3 Sensing, a wholly-owned subsidiary of OMG plc specialising in motion imagery processing of critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data generated...

• INTERNAL SECURITY
  Appointment of Additional Directors General of CRPF and CISF

  The competent authority has approved the following: S.K. Bhagat, IPS (UK:82) is appointed as Additional Director General in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the HAG pay scale for a period up to 30.6.2017...

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  MILITARY
  First of Scorpene submarines—Kalvari 'undocked'

  Kalvari, first of the Indian Navy’s Scorpene class stealth submarine being built under the Project 75 in collaboration with DCNS of France, achieved a major milestone recently with her ‘undocking’ at the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL).

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  AEROSPACE / REPORT
  Kudos to Humane IAF
  By Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd)

  The IAF has always had a major role in disaster relief and rescue operations...

• CORPORATE
  Raytheon completes Mississippi factory expansion

  Raytheon Company (RTN) completed a 20,000-square-foot addition to its factory in Forest, already one of the biggest in the state.

• INTERNAL SECURITY
  Naxalites kill BSF jawan in Chhattisgarh

  Naxalites attacked a BSF team killing a jawan in Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-hit Kanker district, striking for the third time in the past month.

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  MILITARY
  Commodore Balbir Kumar Munjal is Station Commander Delhi Area

  Commodore Balbir Kumar Munjal has taken over Command of INS India and Station Commander Delhi Area from Commodore Vijesh Kumar Garg.

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  AEROSPACE
  Airbus Group commits to Modi

  Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Airbus production facilities in Toulouse where he was received by Airbus Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tom Enders as well as other members of the Airbus Group Executive Committee.

• INTERNAL SECURITY
  Insider threat programmes set to double

  2015 is set to see a huge rise in the number of IT professionals taking action to address insider threat in their organisations, according to new research.

• MILITARY
  Nuclear-capable Dhanush missile test-fired

  India recently successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Dhanush ballistic missile with a strike range of 350 km from a naval ship off the Odisha coast.

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  AEROSPACE
  Air Chief asks Commanders to focus on training

  Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, Chief of the Air Staff, addressed all Station Commanders of the Indian Air Force in Bengaluru recently where he urged the Commanders to focus on enhancing quality of training and maintenance.