With raining orders, BATL finally signals arrival of good times | ISRO gets 100th Vikas engine

By Anantha Krishnan M

Express News Service

Bangalore:  Inspired by an increasing order-book, probably signaling the arrival of 'good times,' the BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd now wants to steer clear BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (BATL) of all man-made mess. This follows a spate of internal dissidence by a small section of employees rooting for a trade union – a move put aside by the Kerala Government by exempting BATL out of the ambit of the Trade Union Act.

Sources now admit to Express that the decision to stop trade union activities has created a lot of discomfort to some employees. “After the BrahMos take over of KELTEC, many roles have undergone changes, which is the root cause of all problems. But these changes are inevitable for the growth of a Company. We are now talking with confidence about Kerala possibly making one of the best supersonic missiles in the world and this requires a professional roll call,” sources said.

With raining orders from multiple aerospace and defence firms in India, sources say that Kerala will be the biggest beneficiary, if BATL is allowed to work professionally. “Patience is the key and the defence industry is no child's play. It can't be run with union rifts and other unacceptable work culture. Let the BATL grow, along with it the employees will grow and the State too will grow. We are making missiles and not paper planes. It is a serious business," sources said. 

Sources say that last year the BATL gave Rs 17,000 as ex-gratia to every employee, irrespective of the class, despite the Company not making much profit. But the employees are now demanding a salary on par with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). “Kerala is a charged place and we know the sensitives involved in dealing with people. In the last couple of years we have seen BATL streamlining the workforce and documentation of processes. They (BATL) have added so many new machines worth over Rs 40 crore. More people have joined. Today we have been informed that the Company doesn't have any liabilities and have paid back all the loans,” sources said.

Sources say that Delhi is keen to have one single union without any external influence. “We are not averse to employees having a joint platform, but it has to be one that aids Company's growth and brand image. With additional orders, the the Industry in Kerala will be biggest winner as BATL moves forward,” sources said.

100th Vikas engine: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) received its 100th Vikas engine on Monday (Jan 30). The engine was handed over to the director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at a low-key event at BATL. It was the 20th Vikas engine manufactured by BATL and 100th ISRO received so far. Vikas engine plays a crucial role during the lift-off of space vehicles (GSLV & PSLV).  Another 10 more units are to be delivered by BATL and it is the only Company that manufactures the complete engine under one roof. Each engine is worth about Rs 1 crore.

Copyright@The New Indian Express

Smarter space security must to counter China's ASAT capabilities, says new book

By Anantha Krishnan M

Express News Service

Bangalore: Are our space assets safe? Is the threat, if any,  a problem? Whats does it involve? What is the solution? Answers to all these relevant queries are captured in a new book titled 'Space Security -- Need of Global Convergence' published by Pentagon Press. Authored by Dr Arvind Gupta, Lal Bahadur Shastri Chair, Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), Prof Amitav Mallik, former member, National Security Advisory Board and Wg Cdr Ajey Lele, a research fellow with IDSA, the book dwells upon the challenges in front of India in the wake of anti-satellite (ASAT) capabilities developed by China.

Stunning the space powers and sending out warning bells, China had demonstrated its ASAT capability in January 2007 by destroying its weather satellite (not in operation).  “This aspect (the Chinese threat) needs to be analyzed in terms of its present and future plans and more so on  space systems for both military and civil applications. India needs to concentrate more on space exploitation capabilities development both for space and ground systems than concentrating its efforts and finances on space weapon systems,” opines the book.

With India mastering the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) technology, and exhibiting its capability to launch a number of satellites through a single launch, the authors see the need for smaller satellites for surveillance/earth observation in low earth orbit. “India must develop alternates to space system to support requirements . The space systems should act only as a redundancy or as an alternative to terrestrial or aerial platforms. For sea-based forces, the space system be planned as complementary to the existing systems. This will ensure better exploitation of adversary weakness while one can continue to exploit its own  space assets,” the book recommends.

Saying that electronically fighting a war in space will be both economical and effective in comparison to employing other forms of weapons against space systems, the authors strongly  pitches for India expanding its scope of its existing electronic warfare (EW) units. “Include the cyber warfare capabilities and other EW measures against satellites by employing static, mobile and on the move satellite terminals. They will be effective even on fringe of the adversary satellite footprint and shall also offer protection against detection and conventional weapon attack. Simultaneously India should also develop capabilities to counter adversary EW attack on its space systems ,” the authors felt.

THREAT TO SPACE SYSTEMS*

1. Electronic warfare such as jamming communications and command-control system/links.

2. Physical attacks on satellite ground stations and hit -to-kill anti-satellite weapons.

3. Dazzling or blinding of satellite sensors.

4. Attacks by micro-satellites to acts as space mines and pellet cloud attacks on lo-orbit satellites.

5. High-altitude nuclear detonations (HAND).

6. Space debris.

(*Source: Space Security -- Need of Global Convergence, Pentagon Books)

This article appeared on Jan 22 Edition of Express. Copyright@The New Indian Express