Tata Power’s Strategic Electronics Division (Tata Power SED) India’s leading private sector player in the indigenous design, development, manufacture, supply and life cycle support of Defense systems and a large scale System Integrator for strategic programs such as the Pinaka MBRL System, Launchers for the Akash Missiles, Army Electronic Warfare Program and Command & Control Systems for Air Defense and Naval Combat has been contributing to nation’s critical programs since 1975. Today, it has over 300 engineers at its Mumbai Defense R&D facility and has invested over Rs. 100 Crore in Capex in state-of-the-art Integrated Design to Manufacturing Facility in Bangalore.

Rahul Chaudhry, Chief Executive Officer of Tata Power SED, noted “For four decades Tata Power SED has augmented indigenous Defence capabilities and consciously kept foreign content in Systems supplied by us to less than 25% (limited to component imports). Systems Integration & Engineering skills of our workforce, partnership with the DRDO, CDAC & Academia allows us to create world class Capabilities, Product and Systems for Defense.”

Critical competencies on display during DefExpo 2010 are:

1. Four levels of Data Fusion – Data Fusion is a key component of NCO (Network Centric Operations) in Modern Warfare. Tata Power SED has developed a multi-purpose Data Fusion engine that will serve as a Core Processing Element for applications in the domains of Air Defense, Battlefield Management System, Electronic Warfare and Naval Combat Systems.

2. Electronic Warfare (EW) Systems and Lightweight GIS – In 1998, Tata Power SED was designated a gazetted Work Center for the Army’s EW program Samyukta and contributed with the Control Center hardware, software and Integration. The constant thrust on capability building has encouraged Tata Power SED to create indigenous applications and software that not only obviates the need for sharing of confidential EW doctrines of the Indian Army with foreigners but also enhances the efficacy of systems in the Tactical Environment. Two of such applications are Lightweight GIS and a Voice Recognition System.

3. Secure Rugged Computing Platforms – Tata Power SED has developed an in-house Rugged Tactical Field Computer (TFC) and Ultra Mobile Rugged Computer (UMRC). As we move into the era of digital warfare, it is the computing devices which hold the key. Any computing device which is a ‘black box’ to the Indian Armed forces is detrimental and fraught with risk of ‘kill switch’. The TFC has been successfully integrated with the Secure Operating System developed by CAIR – Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, to offer Secure Rugged Computing Platforms for use with Government of India’s for Secure & Sensitive applications.

4. Ballistics – Two years ago, Tata Power SED was tasked with the challenge of developing an Indigenous Ballistics solution for T90 Tanks by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). Once proven, Tata Power SED’s indigenously developed Ballistic Computer will be used in all T-90 tanks manufactured in India. The efficacy of our Air Defense Artillery Ballistics capability was successfully demonstrated to the Indian Army during the Field Trials conducted for the upgraded Air Defense Gun.

5. Tactical Battlefield & Edge-of-Battlefield Communication Systems – Tata Power SED has decades of experience in integrating communications with Weapon Systems (Pinaka, Akash) and Sensors (UAV). As a result of its Data Fusion and EW experience, Tata Power SED has a unique first-hand understanding of critical issues involved in Tactical Battle Area Communications, which has manifested in their “all-IP” based Edge of Battlefield Communications hardware including EPBX, Router, Terrestrial Trunked Radio (with CDAC) and Digital Control Harness (Communication harness in a tank/armored vehicles). All these indigenously developed solutions minimize the possibility of a system malware.

The Russian Embassy, today, announced in a statement the participation of ’31 Russian organizations, including 6 major companies in the field of military-technical cooperation (SC Russian Technologies, Rosoboronexport, OJSC “Concern PVO “Almaz-Antey”, Central Design Bureau for Marine Engineering “Rubin”, Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Splav”, KBP Instrument Design Bureau), in the DefExpo beginning on Monday in New Delhi.

According to the statement, Russian vice-premier Sergey Sobyanin is expected to participate in the inauguration of the exhibition.

The Russian exhibitors will be located at the ‘united Russian national pavilion’ under the umbrella of the Russian Technologies State Corporation (STRT).

Russian systems on display will include ‘navigation systems of topographic ID, low-range reconnaissance portative radar stations, portable mortar position reconnaissance radar “Aistenok”, riflescopes and electronic collimator sight, high-explosive fragmentation munitions and the opto-electronic protection system President-S’.

Middle and short range Russian air defence systems, like Buk-M2E and Tor-M2E SAM systems, Komar turret for Igla mobile antiaircraft missile complex, artillery position reconnaissance radar station CHAP-10M will also be shown off.

The statement said, “FSMTC and Rosoboronexport are hopeful that participation of Russia in the DefExpo INDIA’2010 will become an important milestone in the expansion of military-technical cooperation of Russia with India and other countries of the region. The statement quotes ‘sources in Russian delegation’ as saying, “Several contracts on acquisition of Russian armament and defence equipment are expected to be discussed during negotiations within the framework of the exhibition.”

Even as Indian industry argues for dedicated ‘Offsets Authority’ and an institutional mechanism to ensure a transparent and appropriate valuation for technology transfer to raise the capability of the domestic defence manufacturing industry, the Ministry of Defense has decided to strengthen the monitoring mechanism for the implementation of offsets.

Inaugurating the FICCI Defense Seminar on ‘Defense Offsets: Policy to Implementation- How Offsets can enable Indian Industry’ at Defexpo India 2010, Mr. Raj Kumar Singh, Secretary (Defense Production), Ministry of Defense said the government had signed defense offsets deal worth Rs 1200 crore and Rs 49000 crore worth of deals were under various stages of consideration.

While this represents a huge opportunity of Indian industry, Mr. Singh urged Indian firms to build up and showcase their capabilities to enable the OEMs to find the right partner. He called upon them to invest in a far greater measure on technology, scientific and engineering personnel and come up with innovative technologies.

“We see Offsets as an enabler to build indigenous capabilities to be able to make the products ourselves. Offsets are an integrated part of our policy towards indigenization of integrated systems and platforms,” Mr, Singh said, adding that there was an imperative need to closely monitor the implementation of offsets which at present remains “fuzzy”.

The Defense Production Secretary made clear that the government was reluctant to change the Indian partners in offset deals as it would lead to a weakening of the bargaining position of the Indian partner. “We will also ensure that the penalties for non-compliance are not stringent and that these are enough to dissuade reneging of contracts,” he said.

On the occasion, Mr. Singh released a FICCI-Religare Knowledge Paper on Defense Offsets.

Mr. V. RS Natarajan, CMD, BEML & Chairman, FICCI Defense Committee, underlined the need to enhance the validity of banked offsets from two to five years. While India has adopted a gradual approach towards offsets policy, keeping the offset obligation at 30% and keeping multipliers and other instruments out of its scope, he expressed optimism that multipliers and other tools would be included in the policy in the future.

He called for equipping the Defense Offsets Facilitation Agency (DOFA) with the necessary funding, experienced and permanent staff and making it a single point of contact to deal with the increasing defence expenditure, vis-à-vis offsets. The present offset rules provide no incentive for system integrators and this poses a hindrance in the process of offset liquidation, he added.

The inaugural session of the seminar was also addressed by Mr. S Ravi Narayanan, CEO, Axis Aerospace & Technologies & Chairman, FICCI Task Force on Offsets and Mr. Rahul Chaudhry, CEO-Tata Power SED & Co-Chairman, FICCI Defense Committee.

The day-long seminar deliberated on issues such as ‘Creating an Environment for Strategic Defense Manufacturing through Offsets’; ‘Finding the Indian Offset Partner’; ‘Challenges to be an Indian Offset Partner’ and ‘Managing a dynamic offset policy: Issues of Banking of credits, DOFA, ToT & Multipliers’.

The US defense major Lockheed Martin will be showing off its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) at the Defense Expo beginning in New Delhi on Monday.

Lockheed Martin’s first LCS, called the USS Freedom was commissioned in November 2008.

The company will also be showcasing its F-16 fighter aircraft, in the running for the 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the C-130J, six of which have been ordered by the IAF.

The company also plans to focus on the MH60R helicopter which it has offered to the Indian Navy.

Lockheed Martin will be displaying the PAC-3 missile (air & missile defense systems), better known as the Patriot and recently approved for sale to Taiwan, the Hellfire Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGM), which has seen considerable service off of the Predator and Reaper drones in the Af-Pak theater, as well as the Javelin (ATGM), which was deployed during the Indo-US joint exercise Yudh Abhyas last year.

The arms firm also plans to display its Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle (RMMV), an unmanned, semi-submersible system for Mine Warfare and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) as well as the Marlin Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV).

The Secretary of Defense Production revealed that the Indian government would be releasing a new Defense Production Policy in the next couple of months.

The policy is still being firmed up with advice being sought from stakeholders like industry bodies (CII, FICCI etc) and end users like the armed forces.

RK Singh also said the government is reviewing the make procedure in its existing Defense Procurement Procedure in an attempt to simplify the procedure to enable Indian industry to bid for projects.

Briefing the media on the Defense Expo next week, RK Singh said, “If there are two Indian companies bidding for the same tender, L1 will get 60-65 per cent of the order’s share and L2 30-35 per cent,” also adding that the government would have a ‘minimum order policy’.

On offsets, the Secretary said, “Our industry is quite capable of meeting offsets,” adding, “Performance of offsets (by foreign vendors) is not contingent on hiking of FDI (into Indian defense industry).

The biennial Defense Expo is to begin on Monday at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The exhibition, which will be inaugurated by the Indian Defense Minister AK Antony, is to be on a larger scale than previous years, with an substantial increase in participation and floor area occupancy.

The floor area occupancy has gone up from 17200 square meters in 2008 to 30100 square meters in this year.

The expo will see participation by 35 countries, ten of whom have booked entire pavilions at the venue. Israel has the largest of these pavilions (1200 square meters) with 21 companies. The US will be fielding the largest number of companies, with a figure of 25 exhibitors.

The total number of exhibitors has also gone up to 650 and some 40 official delegations are likely to visit from various countries.

But the largest individual exhibitors remain Indian, with DRDO, BEML, Tata and Pipavav leading in area covered.

The Indian Army has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for Man Portable Air Defense (MANPAD) Very Short Range Air Defense (VSHORAD) missile systems.

The RFI, issued last week, asks for detailed information about the systems available regarding their range, speed, reaction time, warhead capability and transportability.

The RFI also inquires about the whether the available systems have target seeking capabilities, multi-launcher capabilities and deployability from high mobility vehicles and naval vessels, including submarines as well as in all kinds of harsh terrain. The army is also keen that the system have the capability to be easily knocked down for ease of transport and para-dropped.

The army requires day and night sight capability, target detection and tracking and a Command, Control and Communication (C3) system for ‘detecting, processing and engaging aerial targets’.

Mahindra and Mahindra and Britsh defense major British Aerospace have announced the name of their Joint Venture (JV) to be Defence Land Systems India.

A statement issued by the new venture said, “Deepak Chhibba and Arne Berglund will be Defence Land Systems India’s CEO and Deputy CEO respectively. Deepak Chhibba was earlier EVP International Operations Mahindra & Mahindra and has over 32 years industrial experience. The newly appointed Deputy CEO, Arne Berglund, was previously a director at BAe Systems, Global Combat Systems, in the UK.”

The statement also indicates that the focus of Defence Land Systems India will be on Mine-Protected Vehicles for the Indian armed forces and paramilitaries as well as on future artillery programs.

Anand Mahindra, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Group, said of their partner company, “BAe Systems is the global number one land systems defence company. We are proud to have them as a partner in this joint venture and are confident of addressing the unique requirements of Indian defence and security forces with world class product offerings.”

Guy Griffiths, Group Managing Director International, BAe Systems, explained the purpose of the venture, saying, “This Company is founded with the express purpose of serving the Indian armed forces and the Indian economy through the creation of high quality jobs, the development of innovative technologies and system integration skills, and benefits from the leadership of two world class companies.”

According to the statement Defence Land Systems India will be headquartered in New Delhi with manufacturing at a purpose built facility South of Faridabad, with about 100 employees. Existing projects include the Axe High Mobility Vehicle as well as up-armored and bulletproof Scorpios, Boleros, Rakshak, Rapid Intervention Vehicles and the Marksman Light Armored Vehicle.

The statement also adds that the JV has been approved by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) of the Government of India (GoI) with the parent companies’ initial investment amounting to US$ 21.25 million over a three year period. “The company’s equity split will be 74% Mahindra and 26% BAe Systems, in accordance with the current defence sector Foreign Direct Investment regulations of the GoI,” says the statement.

The Singapore-based arms firm, ST (Singapore Technologies) Kinetics, which was earlier reported to have been blacklisted, has questioned such a description of itself and has offered its books up for scrutiny by Indian agencies.

The Indian Ministry of Defense had blacklisted ST Kinetics besides six other companies in June last year for alleged involvement in the deals tainted by corruption discovered with the arrest of the former Director General of Ordinance Factories, Sudipta Ghosh.

ST Kinetics was cleared to proceed for trials of its products last December, subject to the report submitted by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), which is investigating the allegations of corruption.

Brigadier General Patrick Choy, Executive Vice President at Singapore Technologies Engineering stressed his company hasn’t been blacklisted and that the CBI has written a letter to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, a few months ago, clarifying that the company had not been blacklisted. “We haven’t committed any misdemeanors,” said Choy.

According to him, ST Kinetics decided to pitch its products to India with local partners to establish a base here and cater to any offset requirements that may come up. They offered their assault rifle to the OFB (Ordinance Factories Board), which was tested and approved by both the OFB as well as the Ministry of Home Affairs. The company then applied to the Ministry of Defense for a collaboration with the OFB on May 15 last year, but two days later, an FIR (First Information Report) was lodged against the OFB Director General Sudipta Ghosh by the CBI alleging corruption, which put a stop to the process and all operations with the company were put on hold the following month.

General Choy said the company had written to the Indian government, offering full cooperation with the CBI. “We met the CBI in October and some senior officials of the CBI in Singapore in November-end. We have answered all the questions the CBI asked. But until today the company is not clear as to exactly what the issues are. We have not been told specifically about any allegations,” he said.

“We have made an offer to the CBI to open our books. The CBI can send a team to audit our books. We have very strict corporate governance rules, with limits to the usage of cash and due diligence,” stressed Choy.

The Indian Army is to conduct trials of the iFH 2000 Towed Howitzer next month. ST Kinetics is also offering India its 155 mm 39 Caliber Pegasus Light Weight Howitzer, its SAR 21 assault rifle, as well as its Spider Light Strike Vehicle. However, the Indian Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Deepak Kapoor indicated on Thursday that the government was also looking looking at the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route to acquire light guns, in case the it was unable for any reason to procure them through an open tender process. The Telegraph had reported earlier this month that India would be looking to purchase light guns through FMS from the US.

Saab AB, the Swedish defense major, has received a Request For Information (RFI) from the Indian Navy for the supply of carrier-borne fighter aircraft. The company, which received the RFI earlier this month, is pitching a little-known naval variant of its Gripen NG fighter, called the Sea Gripen. Saab is already bidding for the 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender of the Indian Air Force (IAF), for which it has offered an advanced version of the Gripen NG, called the Gripen IN.

Saab has been studying the idea of designing a carrier-borne variant since the mid-’90s but the company only decided to launch the Sea Gripen program in the wake of its existing campaigns for the air forces of India and Brazil and the moves by the two countries to build a serious carrier capability, even though at that time there was no formal request from either country. Saab is planning to pitch the aircraft to countries with smaller-sized carriers and says they expect more nations to show interest in the Sea Gripen, because existing naval fighters are either of an older generation or large-sized, forcing them to buy or build large ships as well.

According to Peter Nilsson, Gripen’s Vice President of Operational Capabilities, the Sea Gripen is intended for both CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take Off But Arrested Recovery) as well as STOBAR (Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery) operations. “There will obviously be differences in the MTOW (Maximum Take-Off Weight). In a CATOBAR concept, the Sea Gripen will have a MTOW of 16,500 kilograms and a maximum landing weight of 11,500 kilograms. In a STOBAR concept it depends on the physics of the carrier. Roughly, the payload of fuel and weapons in STOBAR operations will be one-third less than the payload in CATOBAR operations. There will be no differences in ‘bring-back’ capability,” he says.

Nilsson says Saab hasn’t had to make any dramatic changes in the basic Gripen NG to design the Sea Gripen, because of its existing abilities, saying, “What helps is the Gripen´s ability to operate from road base strips.”

“The basic Swedish Air Force requirements in the original design for enabling short strips’ operations are very like enabling carrier-based operations. Qualities like low landing speed, high pitch & roll authority, high-precision glide slope control, high-precision landing capability, high sink rate clearance, strengthened airframe etc., are built-in from the beginning. This is in addition to the Gripen´s aptitude for active service in the field with easy maintenance, like engine changes in less than an hour in the field and no need for external power etc, enabling a shorter ‘mind jump’ required for the Sea Gripen in comparison to the ability of other land-based fighters to transform into ‘deck-based’ fighters,” he says.

“We do not have to start from scratch. We do not have to redesign the aerodynamics – we do not have to redesign the flight control system or the avionics. We already have a rugged, rough and strong airframe built for ‘carrier-like’ landings,” explains Nilsson.

While all the sensors, avionics and weapons and the GE 414 of the Gripen NG will be offered in the naval variant, the Sea Gripen will be notably different with a new undercarriage and nose gear to cope with the higher sink rate forces and catapult launches, as well as an arrestor hook, which has been redesigned and ‘beefed-up’ from the existing arrestor hook in the Gripen NG.

“There is strengthening of the airframe in a few minor areas due to an even higher sink-rate clearance of over 20 feet per second and the forces and stress in catapult launches, and ‘marinizing’ of the aircraft,” says Nilsson, while stressing that the inherent Gripen NG design minimizes the need for strengthening the airframe and making the aircraft sea-worthy, as the Gripen NG already has salt-water protection and the ability to operate in hot and humid conditions.

The Sea Gripen will be around 400 kilograms heavier than the Gripen NG, with the augmented airframe giving ‘an empty weight between 7500-8000 kg’. “The Sea Gripen will be a very, very interesting alternative for nations with smaller-size carriers. Its well-balanced weight and size in comparison to heavy, twin-engine alternatives allows nations to move from ‘air defence’ carriers to a concept with strategic capabilities, without having to replace their existing carriers,” says Nilsson, also adding, “Due to its balanced size there is no need for structural changes like folding wings etc.”

While the Swedish Armed Forces are not currently looking for a carrier ability, with the Sea Gripen, Saab is looking for partnerships with nations looking for self-reliance in their naval aviation programs. “Saab AB will establish the Sea Gripen as a new-generation carrier-based fighter option in the future, offering its design and engineering skills for partnership with a country with a developed aircraft industry and a carrier-equipped navy,” says Nilsson, also adding that the Sea Gripen program’s human resource skill-sets include engineering and flying experience of carrier-based operations in both, combat as well as peace-time roles.

And while he recognizes that presence of established naval fighters, he is confident of the Gripen’s abilities. “The Sea Gripen will challenge existing carrier-based fighter manufacturers,” he says, emphasizing, “I challenge any existing deck-based fighter to perform a night landing in severe conditions with snow or rain and strong crosswinds on a Swedish standard road-base strip of 17 x 800 meters, rearming and refueling in less than 10 minutes and then taking-off. And not just once for the purpose of showing-off. The system’s performance & physics, maintenance concepts and stress tolerances should be designed for 30 years of daily operations in these conditions,” while at the same time, attesting the Gripen’s requirement for the dimensions of a landing strip to be 9 x 600 meters.