LRSAM to be test-fired in India in Oct: BDL Chief

By https://twitter.com/writetake

Bengaluru, July 24: The Long Range Surface Air Missile (LR-SAM) will be tested-fired in India, coming October. 

LRSAM, also known as Barak-8, being co-developed by India and Israel had already been successfully flight-tested against a flying target in Israel in November 2014.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have joined hands for developing LRSAM, which has a range of 70 km.

Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) V Udaya Bhaskar told defence journalists on the sidelines of the two-day Aerospace and Defence Manufacturing Summit (ADMS 2015) that the LRSAM project is moving in the ‘right direction.’

“The programme has been going on for the last five to six years. The missile will have its Indian leg of trial in October. The current trials are for Navy and we will conduct parallel ground trials for the Air Force and Army variants as well,” Udaya Bhaskar said.

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Agni-V warms up for canister launch; tech for next version maturing: Sekaran

File photo of Agni-V during its maiden launch in April 2012. 

By Anantha Krishnan M

Express News Service

Bangalore: India’s long-range ballistic missile Agni-V is warming for a canister development trial launch in the next one month. The Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) newly-appointed Chief Controller R&D (Missiles & Strategic Systems) Dr V G Sekaran confirmed to Express on Tuesday that all preparations for the second trial of the 5,000-km-puls missile are in place. 

“We are ready, but need to get some clearances as these are all linked to the policies of government. The early induction of Agni-V tops my list of priorities. The Agni-V user deliverables should happen next year,” Sekaran said. The missile had its maiden launch in April 2012.
He said the Agni-4 (4,000 km strike range) will cross the last mile with another launch before it enters the production mode. “Our emphasis will be to equip the user at the earliest and iron out all issues at lightning speed. On the tactical side, we have the Akash missile systems, LR-SAM (Long Range-Surface to Air Missile) and Nag coming up in a big way. Simultaneously, the futuristic systems will all get converted into projects,” the top missile scientist said.
When quizzed whether these futuristic systems will get embedded on to a possible Agni-VI, Sekaran refused to give details and said: “We are studying various missile technologies such as MIRV (Multiple independently-targeted re-entry vehicles) and MaRV (Manoeuvring re-entry vehicles (MaRV). As and when the nation wants us to deliver, we will be ready with these technologies. It will be not right to speak on a missile programme without any sanction. But, we are working on enhanced systems for future missiles.”
Giving an update on various ongoing missile projects, Sekaran said that the Astra has completely undergone a design change following issues it had in the past. “We have had good flights, post new-design and also conducted some captive trials. It is in a good shape now and it should gear up for firing from an aircraft soon. The project is definitely out of woods,” he said.
The Nag missile, which had issues with its Infra Red (IR) seeker, too is gearing up for crucial user trials, while the missile’s carrier (NAMICA) will take some more time before cleared for trials. To a query on the development of an Anti-Radiation Missile (ARM), Sekaran said that the basic configuration was already in place. “The ARM project is on as planned and it will complete its different stages of development as per the script,” he said.
When asked about the quality concerns of missile production at Hyderabad-based Bharat Dynamics Ltd, he hoped that new systems put in place should address them. “There were concerns and they are very much under control now. New quality system checks have come in and we are sure of better results,” Sekaran added.

Copyright@The New Indian Express

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An India Shining video on Akash missile system

A compact video on Akash missile system. C@DRDL

HAPPY HOURS: 2,500 missiles, 112 launchers, 28 MPARs & 100 3-D CARs | Massive Akash SAM system orders boost to desi pride, industries | 1st Sqn in June & 2nd in Oct 2012 | DRDO mum on Mk-II

 By Anantha Krishnan M

Express News Service

Bangalore\Hyderabad: Akash – the fifth and last missile project under India's ambitious Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) had a happy ending with the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Army placing bulk orders in the last three years. The IAF has ordered for eight squadrons (2 + 6) of Akash systems and the Army for two regiments. The combined value for both orders stand at Rs 23,500 crore and Bharat Electronic Ltd (BEL) and Bhart Dynamics Ltd (BDL) will execute the orders.

Akash is a supersonic surface-to-air missile (SAM) system with a range of 25 km, similar to the SAM systems of Russia (Buk) and the US (Patriot). The all weather area/air-defense system is useful for defending vulnerable areas (VA) and vulnerable points (VP) against air targets penetrating from low, medium and high altitudes. All-the-way-powered flight till target interception, multiple target handling, digitally-coded command guidance and fully automatic operation are some of the unique features of the system.

The system was put through an electronic warfare (EW) trials conducted to assess the weapon system's survivability in dense jamming environment expected in a battlefield. Multiple aerial jammers (both noise and deception) were flown simultaneously in attack from different directions on the Akash group deployed in combat pattern. Sources claim that the radars of Akash could hold track of all aerial targets despite the jammers, conclusively establishing the operation of built-in electronic counter-counter measures (ECCM) features.

Though it took 25 years for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to finally get firm orders for Akash (2008), since the project inception (1983), it is now being branded as the single biggest order placed by the Indian armed forces on a home-grown tactical missile project.  The numbers of the current combined orders will definitely make any desi defence devotee proud: 2,500 missiles, 112 launchers, 28 multi-functional phased array radars (MPARs) and 100 3-D Central Acquisition Radars (3-D CARs).

Akash's is a happy hour story for the Indian industries (around 200) too, considering that over 70 per cent of the work is being executed by them. This is in addition to the work-share  of 13 DRDO labs, BEL, 19 public sector undertakings, three ordinance factories, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, National Aerospace Laboratories, IITs (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kharagpur) and  the Indian Institute of Science.

“For the Indian industries it has been a huge learning curve considering the complexities involved in a weapon system, its integration and aerospace standard procedures. It augurs well for India, as the industries will be fully geared up to undertake production of next-generation tactical missile projects,” says G. Chandramouli, Project Director, Akash.

The production centers are currently abuzz with activities to ensure that the first squadron of Akash is inducted into the IAF by June 2012. “The first firing unit will be ready by March, 2012 and the second squadron will be ready by October 2012,” sources at the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), said.

While the DRDO officially refused to part with any information on a possible Mk-II version of Akash with a higher range (35-45 km), sources confirmed to Express that the Services have expressed interest. “We have the confidence, tech know-how, capabilities in design, development and production and capabilities  of excellent validation and tests. We will have to get a firm written commitment from the Services so that we are sure about the road ahead,” sources said.

|To be continued | Copyright@The New Indian Express |

(CRACKING INDIA'S MISSILE CODE is an exclusive series currently on in The New Indian Express. In the days ahead, you will get to read a mix of news-breaks and tech-upgrades on current and futuristic missile programs of India, in addition to some human-interest pieces. Email your thoughts on this long-range series to anantha.ak@gmail.com and point out factual errors, if any, that might have crept in despite my best efforts.)

PART-XIII

Podium finish for DRDO again! DAC clears induction of Rs 12,500 crore Akash missile systems for Indian Army; combined order for home-grown tactical weapon systems totals to Rs 23,300 crore; big boost for Indian R&D & industries

The combined order for Akash missile systems, worth Rs 23,300 crore, is seen as a major victory for India's indigenous R&D efforts. In addition to wealth generation within the country, these orders will also create more jobs and help industry to enhance the tech know-how. Finally, it will put an end to India's over-dependence on imported weapon systems. (Photo: t-arch-2010) 
By Anantha Krishnan M. | Aviation Week

Bangalore, India | June 09, 2010

The Army version of the Akash missile system, valued at Rs 12,500 crore ($2.8 billion), has been cleared for induction by India’s Defense Acquisition Council (DAC). The India military services’ combined orders of the Defense Research and Development Organization-developed Akash, including two radars, have a total worth of Rs 23,300 crore. This is an unprecedented defense order for a DRDO-developed weapons system, and the biggest order ever for DRDO’s tactical missile and radar systems. The June 8 DAC meeting was chaired by Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony. Others in attendance included the service chiefs, Secretary Defense, Secretary Defense Production, Secretary Defense Finance, Director General of Acquisition, DRDO Chief, and the Chief of Integrated Defense Staff (CIDS). A senior Ministry of Defense (MoD) official told AVIATION WEEK that Hyderabad-based Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) will be the system integrator and nodal production agency for the Akash Army variant. DAC had earlier cleared an Akash order worth Rs 6,500 for the Indian Air Force (IAF), with Bangalore-based Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) as its system integrator.

To access this full exclusive report, please visit:

http://www.aviationweek.com/india

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