tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post2252461920129198778..comments2024-03-18T16:01:13.871-07:00Comments on Haq's Musings: India's "Indigenous" Copies of Foreign Nukes, MissilesRiaz Haqhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-74722583409969156702021-10-20T10:33:01.145-07:002021-10-20T10:33:01.145-07:00Dear Sir Riaz
Thanks for your comment.
Sir so it...<br />Dear Sir Riaz<br /><br />Thanks for your comment.<br /><br />Sir so it means that Indian government and Indian millitary has cheated both Canada and America.<br /><br />Now my question is that isn't their any sort of resentment amongst the American officials in the US government about the deception of Indian government?<br /><br />I hope my question is clear<br /><br />Regards,<br />Ahmednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-4895255096667426612021-10-20T10:25:01.025-07:002021-10-20T10:25:01.025-07:00Dear Sir Riaz
According to some of my relatives w...<br />Dear Sir Riaz<br /><br />According to some of my relatives who live in America especially in Texas state, most of the Americans don't like Indians, Is this true?<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Ahmednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-26769005465285698492021-10-20T10:18:24.551-07:002021-10-20T10:18:24.551-07:00Dear Sir Riaz
Trust me mashallah I have no words ...<br />Dear Sir Riaz<br /><br />Trust me mashallah I have no words for your wonderful and tremendous knowledge which you have on this topic. May Allah(swt) bless you with a long and healthy life.<br /><br />Sir so it means that Indian government and Indian millitary has cheated both Canada and America.<br /><br />Now my question is that isn't their any sort of resentment amongst the American officials in the US government about the deception of Indian government?<br /><br /><br />Sir do you know that even on the matter of Kashmir , Indian government has decieved and cheated both Pakistan and America. When ever American officials ask Indian government about the issue of Kashmir, the Indian government says that "IT IS A BILATERAL ISSUE BETWEEN INDIA AND PAKISTAN AND WE DON"T NEED ANY KIND OF INTERVENTION OR INTERMEDIARY IN THIS MATTER". <br /><br />But when Pakistani authorities sit with Indian authorities on the table for talks on Kashmir, then Indian government says to Pakistani authorities that "KASHMIR IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF INDIA".<br /><br />Ahmednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-80528233480874817852021-10-19T12:24:50.799-07:002021-10-19T12:24:50.799-07:00Ahmed: " If they were aware of this ,why didn...Ahmed: " If they were aware of this ,why didn't they impose sanctions on India?"<br /><br />US did impose sanctions on India when it was already too late. <br /><br />Please read the following:<br /><br />INDIA CHEATED<br /><br />By Victor Gilinsky; Paul Leventhal June 15, 1998<br /><br />https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1998/06/15/india-cheated/1fa79562-e378-41ce-b8a2-618de2142b12/<br /><br />You wouldn't know it from news reports, but most of the military plutonium stocks India dipped into for its recent nuclear tests came from a research project provided years ago by the United States and Canada. India had promised both countries it would not use this plutonium for bombs.<br /><br />If Washington and Ottawa were now to keep India to its promise, and verify this, India would lose more than half the weapons-grade plutonium for its nuclear bombs and missiles. The United States and Canada should make this an essential condition for the lifting of economic sanctions.<br /><br />The plutonium in question is the approximately 600 pounds -- enough for about 50 bombs -- produced in India's CIRUS research reactor since it began operating in 1960. This was an "Atoms for Peace" reactor built by Canada and made operable by an essential 21 tons of heavy water supplied by the United States. In return for this assistance, India promised both suppliers in writing that the reactor would be reserved for "peaceful purposes."<br /><br />India used plutonium from this reactor for its 1974 nuclear explosion. When the facts emerged, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi insisted there had been no violation of the peaceful-use commitments because India had set off a "peaceful nuclear explosion." The Indian scientist then in charge, Raja Ramanna, now has admitted it was a bomb all along. And India now has declared itself a nuclear-weapons state on the basis of its current tests. With the decades-old "peaceful" pretense stripped away, the United States and Canada should make unambiguously clear that India may not use CIRUS plutonium for warheads or related research.<br /><br />The fact that neither capital has uttered a peep about this matter is symptomatic of Western complicity in the South Asian nuclear crisis and of the present paralysis in dealing with it. There is also the matter of a 1963 agreement covering two U.S.-supplied nuclear power reactors at Tarapur and their fuel. The radioactive used fuel from these reactors is in storage and contains most of India's "reactor-grade" plutonium. India has said it will reprocess the used fuel to extract the plutonium for use as civilian power-reactor fuel. But reactor-grade plutonium also is explosive and, once separated, it could be used by India's scientists for rapid deployment in warheads. There is enough Tarapur plutonium for hundreds of them.<br /><br />Under the 1963 agreement, India must get U.S. approval to reprocess. India disputes this and insists it is free to reprocess the used fuel at any time. The State Department, historically reluctant to tangle with India, rationalized Tarapur as an unnecessary irritant in U.S.-India relations and put this disagreement in the sleeping-dogs category.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-63887966042440604542021-10-19T10:56:57.846-07:002021-10-19T10:56:57.846-07:00
Hello Mr.Rahul
You said:
-----------------------...<br />Hello Mr.Rahul<br /><br />You said:<br />------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />Again an article, with full feelings of frustration. (Anyone would be surprised of the fact that USA provided India with designs of launch vehicles, when India was aligned with the Russia). Ok....I would not debate your facts(because you get some unknown source with full of inauthenticity), so its fruitless to debate them..<br /><br /><br />---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />My comment:<br />I can quote a video from youtube here and show you how US President and Indian Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi both had a meeting and in a press conference US President clearly said that how both India and America have benefited from the mutual cooperation in the field of energy and technology in the early 1980s, was not India at that time in Soviet Union block?<br /><br />Since last many decades India was in Russian(Soviet block) and was aligned with Russia ,it is only after 1990s when I think India started to strengthen its relations with America.<br /><br /><br /><br />Ahmednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-408283525346154022021-10-19T10:52:00.678-07:002021-10-19T10:52:00.678-07:00Dear Sir Riaz
Thanks for this post, Sir I had som...<br />Dear Sir Riaz<br /><br />Thanks for this post, Sir I had some questions, according to this post of yours, it was actually America and Canada who helped India in the making of its nuclear program. In this post it says that the main purpose why America and Canada agreed to help India in making its nuclear program was so that India could use it for civil purposes eg. for generating electricity and etc.<br /><br />But your post says that later Indian government and Indian millitary used this nuclear program for making nuclear bomb. My question is that was American and Canadian government aware of this ? As you said in this post that India openly started to design and develope its nuclear bomb by using this nuclear program, so don't you think that Americans must be aware of this? If they were aware of this ,why didn't they impose sanctions on India?<br /><br />I hope my questions are clear<br /><br />Thanks<br /><br />Ahmednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-23915907887894793942018-12-13T10:24:55.734-08:002018-12-13T10:24:55.734-08:00#India has 140 #Nuclear Warheads and estimated to ...#India has 140 #Nuclear Warheads and estimated to have produced enough military plutonium for 150-200 nuclear warheads. India maintains 3 or 4 nuclear strike squadrons of French-made Mirage 2000H and Jaguar IS/IB aircraft targeted at #Pakistan and #China. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/india-has-140-nuclear-warheads-%E2%80%93-and-more-are-coming-38612<br /><br />“India is estimated to have produced enough military plutonium for 150 to 200 nuclear warheads, but has likely produced only 130 to 140,” according to Hans Kristensen and Matt Korda of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists. “Nonetheless, additional plutonium will be required to produce warheads for missiles now under development, and India is reportedly building several new plutonium production facilities.”<br /><br />In addition, “India continues to modernize its nuclear arsenal, with at least five new weapon systems now under development to complement or replace existing nuclear-capable aircraft, land-based delivery systems, and sea-based systems.”<br /><br /><br />Unlike the missile-centric U.S. and Russian nuclear forces, India still heavily relies on bombers, perhaps not unexpected for a nation that fielded its first nuclear-capable ballistic missile in 2003. Kristensen and Korda estimate India maintains three or four nuclear strike squadrons of Cold War-vintage, French-made Mirage 2000H and Jaguar IS/IB aircraft targeted at Pakistan and China.<br /><br />“Despite the upgrades, the original nuclear bombers are getting old and India is probably searching for a modern fighter-bomber that could potentially take over the air-based nuclear strike role in the future,” the report notes. India is buying thirty-six French Rafale fighters that carry nuclear weapons in French service, and presumably could do for India.<br /><br />India’s nuclear missile force is only fifteen years old, but it already has four types of land-based ballistic missiles: the short-range Prithvi-II and Agni-I, the medium-range Agni-II and the intermediate-range Agni-III. “At least two other longer-range Agni missiles are under development: the Agni-IV and Agni-V,” says the report. “It remains to be seen how many of these missile types India plans to fully develop and keep in its arsenal. Some may serve as technology development programs toward longer-range missiles.”<br /><br />“Although the Indian government has made no statements about the future size or composition of its land-based missile force, short-range and redundant missile types could potentially be discontinued, with only medium- and long-range missiles deployed in the future to provide a mix of strike options against near and distant targets,” the report noted.<br /><br />India is also developing the Nirbhay ground-launched cruise missile, similar to the U.S. Tomahawk. In addition, there is Dhanush sea-based, short-range ballistic missile, which is fired from two specially-configured patrol vessels. The report estimates that India is building three or four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, which will be equipped with a short-range missile, or a bigger missile with a range of 2,000 miles.<br /><br />It’s an ambitious program. “The government appears to be planning to field a diverse missile force that will be expensive to maintain and operate,” the report points out.<br /><br />What remains to be seen is what will be the command and control system to make sure these missiles are fired when—and only when—they should be. And, of course, since Pakistan and China also have nuclear weapons, Indian leaders may find that more nukes only lead to an arms race that paradoxically leaves their nation less secure.<br /><br />Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-55351938369312920062018-01-17T01:08:26.087-08:002018-01-17T01:08:26.087-08:00India made its own reactor in 1956. So, please don...India made its own reactor in 1956. So, please don't keep citing Canada reactors as the key to nuclear bombs was already found. Also, the 1965 war with India was aimed at Indian nuclear programme which was sanctioned by Shastri. USSR connived with Indira Gandhi to assassinate Shastri to put a restriction on nuclear programme.<br /><br />The rocket principles were also learnt by Indians on their own. Just saying that it was based onscud is not meaningful. Rocket principles is basic physics. Moreover, the USSR and USA also gained it from German V2 rocket. It is not their own either. Liquid fuel rockets were initial stages of every rocket program. India didn't do any special.<br /><br />India has made its own MRBL - Pinaka before 2010 itself. India may be import dependent, but it is capable of making lot of weapons on its ownAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00546929072981428582noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-46973293105560532802016-12-21T21:24:40.855-08:002016-12-21T21:24:40.855-08:00#India cruise missile #Nirbhay missile test "...#India cruise missile #Nirbhay missile test "an utter failure" http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Nirbhay-missile-test-%E2%80%9Can-utter-failure%E2%80%9D/article16915750.ece A flight-test of subsonic cruise missile Nirbhay from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Balasore in Odisha on Wednesday was “an utter failure”, informed sources in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said. The sources added that the failure was caused by the wing-deployment problem in the second stage of the missile, which flies like an aircraft.<br /><br />Out of four Nirbhay missions so far, three, including Wednesday's flight-test, have ended in failure.<br /><br />On Wednesday afternoon, after the missile took off from Launch Complex-III of the ITR, it did not follow the required flight path.<br /><br />“The booster engine in Nirbhay's first stage started working. The missile lifted off from its launcher. But it started veering dangerously towards one side in less than two minutes of its lift-off,” DRDO officials said.<br /><br />The missile started flying beyond the safety corridor and threatened to fall on the land. So the “destruct” mechanism in its first stage was activated and it was destroyed.<br /><br />The DRDO sources called the mission “an utter failure” because the missile started veering towards one side in the “initial phase” of the flight itself. They said, “It is a big failure. We should have a thorough re-look at what has been done so far. Out of four Nirbhay missions, three have ended in failure.”<br /><br />The sources ruled out any problem with the missile's configuration. They said it could be “a hardware failure” that led to the mission being aborted. “This is a hardware element issue. This is a reliability issue with a component,” they explained.<br /><br />A successful Nirbhay mission would have lasted for more than an hour. In a normal mission, the contraption will take off vertically like a missile, then a mechanism in its first stage will tilt the missile horizontally and the first stage, with its booster engine, will jettison into the sea. Then the second stage with the turbo-engine will start cruising horizontally like an aircraft with its wings spread out at a subsonic speed of 0.7 Mach.<br /><br />The missile, conceived, designed and developed by the DRDO, can take out targets 1,000 km away. It can carry a 300 kg warhead.<br /><br />Previous tests<br /><br />Nirbhay’s debut flight on March 12, 2013 was a failure. After 20 minutes of lift-off, it deviated from its path and its “destruct” mechanism was activated to ''kill'' it.<br /><br />The second flight on October 17, 2014 was a big success. The missile travelled 1,010 km instead of the targeted 800 km.<br /><br />The third mission on October 16, 2015 was again a failure. After 70 seconds of its flight, when it was cruising like an aircraft after the first stage had fallen off as planned, it lost control and fell within the safety zone.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-61947755089711775772015-04-17T16:55:53.439-07:002015-04-17T16:55:53.439-07:00#Canada-#India 3000 ton uranium deal will spur nuc...#Canada-#India 3000 ton uranium deal will spur nuclear proliferation, experts warn. #Pakistan #Iran http://www.cbc.ca/1.3036540 ... some nuclear proliferation experts say India has been able to make such a deal without abiding by the rules set out for most other countries that abide by the international non-proliferation regime. And they warn that countries the West has been attempting to bring into the rules-based system — such as Iran — will be less inclined to submit when they see the rules don't apply to India....Canadian technology used to gain bomb...India shocked the world when it conducted its first nuclear test in 1974. By then, the world had already grown used to the idea of an established club of nuclear nations, the same five that held permanent seats at the UN Security Council: the U.S., the Soviet Union, China, Britain and France....Israel and South Africa had already succeeded in developing nuclear weapons by working together, but neither country had tested them and their nuclear arsenals were still a well-kept secret....It was a bedrock principle of international security that no new nation should be allowed to join the nuclear weapons club....The Indian blast would set off an arms race on the subcontinent that culminated in a nuclear test by Pakistan in 1998. Today, the sub-continent is considered one of the most likely flashpoints for a future nuclear conflict.Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-29227597559952258102014-03-30T11:45:17.498-07:002014-03-30T11:45:17.498-07:00Super article, although I am sometimes (only somet...Super article, although I am sometimes (only sometimes) pained by the India bashing that happens in this site, I am not pained by this one. Truth, as bitter as it might be, has to be accepted.<br />Raghotthamacharya Raghotthamacharyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01652274773920749589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-43254272663435181492014-03-17T21:26:53.630-07:002014-03-17T21:26:53.630-07:00India's continuing abject failure to build a r...India's continuing abject failure to build a robust defence industrial base (DIB) has come to into focus once again, with an international thinktank holding its arms imports are now almost three times as high as those of the second and third largest arms importers, China and Pakistan.<br /><br />As per the latest data on international arms transfers released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the volume of Indian imports of major weapons rose by 111% between 2004-08 and 2009-13, and its share of the volume of international arms imports increased from 7% to 14%.<br /><br />The major suppliers of arms to India in 2009-13 were Russia (accounting for 75% of imports) and the US (7%), which for the first time became the second largest arms supplier to India, said SIPRI. As earlier reported by TOI, the US has already bagged defence deals close to $10 billion over the last decade in the lucrative Indian defence market, with the latest being the $1.01 billion one for six additional C-130J "Super Hercules" aircraft.<br /><br />The other deals on the anvil are the ones for 22 Apache attack helicopters, 15 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters, four P-8I maritime patrol aircraft and 145 M-777 ultra-light howitzers, together worth another $4 billion or so.<br /><br />SIPRI, on its part, said the USA's share of Pakistani imports in the same period was 27%. China was also a major supplier in the region, accounting for 54% of Pakistani arms imports and 82% of Bangladeshi imports.<br /><br />"Chinese, Russian and US arms supplies to South Asia are driven by both economic and political considerations," said Siemon Wezeman of SIPRI. In particular, China and the US appear to be using arms deliveries to Asia to strengthen their influence in the region, he added.<br /><br />The five largest suppliers of major weapons during the five-year period 2009-13 were the United States (29% of global arms exports), Russia (27%), Germany (7%), China (6%) and France (5%).<br /><br />Despite India's emergence as the world's largest arms importer over the last decade, the modernisation of its armed forces continues to take place in a haphazard manner due to the lack of concrete strategic planning in tune with the country's long-term geopolitical objectives, as reported by TOI earlier.<br /><br />The Indian armed forces are still grappling with critical shortages in fighter jets, submarines, helicopters, howitzers, night-fighting capabilities and the like. The IAF, for instance, is down to just 34 fighter squadrons when it requires at least 44 to be "comfortable" against the twin-challenge posed by Pakistan and China.<br /><br />A K Antony, who has been India's longest-serving defence minister, may have often chanted the mantra of "indigenisation" during his seven-and-a-half year tenure, especially after defence scams erupted one after the other, but failed to deliver meaningful systemic reforms on the ground.<br /><br />There was, for instance, no concrete revamping of the DRDO and its 50 establishments as well as the five defence PSUs, four shipyards and 39 ordnance factories to ensure they deliver weapon systems without huge cost and time overruns.<br /><br />http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Indias-arms-imports-almost-three-times-of-China-Pak-SIPRI-report/articleshow/32190097.cmsRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-44564358437861807902013-03-20T14:31:33.906-07:002013-03-20T14:31:33.906-07:00Mr. Riaz your whole blog and comments is filled wi...Mr. Riaz your whole blog and comments is filled with comments regarding india or focus around indian strength or weakness. You cut paste information from some websites which are generally comes in our daily news papers and blogs that doesn't means that every thing is going wrong. We knows very well that where we are so humble request to you that divert your discussion to other issues which pak needs to be traced.<br /><br />thanksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-40205375714219562872013-03-09T02:21:43.270-08:002013-03-09T02:21:43.270-08:00Firstly understand that Hindus, and more specifica...Firstly understand that Hindus, and more specifically brahmins are peace loving people and are not interested in wasting time on useless items like bombs. Try to understand people before ridiculing.<br /><br />The fact that both Homi Bhabha and Abdul Kalam are Indians is more important when you are speaking about India. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-84841296656072131372012-07-28T21:41:44.643-07:002012-07-28T21:41:44.643-07:00Here's Michael Krepon in armscontrolwonk.com o...Here's Michael Krepon in <a href="http://krepon.armscontrolwonk.com/archive/3498/the-next-civ-nuke-deal" rel="nofollow">armscontrolwonk.com</a> on the results of US-India nuclear deal:<br /><br /><i>The only true believers in the civil-nuclear deal, besides its U.S. boosters, were the stewards of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. After the deal was struck, Pakistan’s requirements for credible deterrence, which were set high to begin with, appear to have grown higher still. Three related developments seem especially noteworthy: the start-up of construction on a fourth plutonium production reactor to increase Pakistan’s inventory of nuclear weapons, the imposition of a veto against negotiations for a fissile material cut-off treaty, and the explicit requirement for battlefield, or tactical, nuclear weapons. The first two appear to have been a direct consequence of the deal; the third was a consequence of the Indian military’s adoption of a “pro-active” defense doctrine (known as “Cold Start” in some circles) and a growing disparity in Indian and Pakistani conventional capabilities, as well as the deal.<br /><br />The civ-nuke deal added insult to injury in Pakistan, where it was perceived as providing an international escort for India to sit at the high table of states possessing nuclear weapons, while leaving Pakistan out in the cold. The deal was characterized as a threat to national security because it permitted a significant influx of foreign-origin nuclear power plants and fuel; because Indian authorities stated their intention to build eight new, unsafeguarded domestic power plants; and because India’s breeder-reactor program would produce a flood of new fissile material.<br /><br />These worst-case planning factors have not panned out. True, India has purchased uranium from abroad for its power plants, freeing up domestic material for bomb-making, but the Indian Parliament continues to resist liability limits for foreign companies, which stands in the way of power-plant construction for the United States and other sellers. Domestic construction of power plants also remains in the doldrums, and the ambitious plans of India’s Department of Atomic Energy for breeder reactors are as suspect as those of the Defense Research and Development Organization for the development of tanks, planes, and missiles. [For a withering critique of the DAE and DRDO, see Verghese Koithara’s outstanding new book, Managing India’s Nuclear Forces (2012).]<br /><br />DRDO’s promises have become even more wildly optimistic under the leadership of Dr. V.K. Saraswat, who is now promoting effective, near-term ballistic missile defenses for Delhi and Mumbai. Just as few in the Pakistani media question their military’s nuclear requirements, few in the Indian media question the claims of DRDO and DAE. Instead, they serve as a transmission belt and lobbying arm for these enclaves. <br />-------------<br />The civil-nuclear deal and DRDO’s record of poor performance suggest that it would be wise to avoid unduly optimistic and pessimistic assessments about Indian missile defenses. Nonetheless, U.S. technology transfers for BMD, like the civ-nuke deal, would have little up-side potential and considerable down-side risk. These transfers would not help India produce an effective missile-defense system, nor change New Delhi’s embrace of strategic autonomy. They would, however, add further impetus to a three-cornered nuclear arms competition in southern Asia. President Obama has not endorsed BMD transfers, but President Romney might.<br /></i><br /><br />http://krepon.armscontrolwonk.com/archive/3498/the-next-civ-nuke-dealRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-56799490354299115442012-06-19T16:46:20.346-07:002012-06-19T16:46:20.346-07:00Here's a Defense News piece on India abandonin...Here's a <a href="http://www.defensenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012306170005" rel="nofollow">Defense News</a> piece on India abandoning domestic jet engine program:<br /><br /><i>India has abandoned its efforts to build its own engine to power the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mark-2, according to Indian Defence Ministry sources.<br /><br />The Kaveri engine, which Indian defense scientists are trying to build, has failed to meet Indian Air Force requirements two decades after the project began, the MoD sources said.<br /><br />This means the LCA Mark-2 will be powered only by U.S. company General Electric’s GE-414 engine, which was short-listed earlier over Germany’s Eurojet to power the LCA Mark-2. The aircraft, under development at Bangalore’s Aeronautical Development Agency, is expected to be ready around 2017.<br /><br />While an MoD official would not say that the engine project has been abandoned for the aircraft, he did say that the Kaveri engine does not fully meet the Air Force’s thrust requirements. The MoD has now decided to use the Kaveri engine to power only UAVs, the official added.<br /><br />India’s Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), the agency that is building the Kaveri, had been in consultation with French company Snecma for the past three years to help complete the engine.<br /><br />DRDO and Snecma had been negotiating to co-develop and co-produce the engine, but they have yet to sign an agreement, the MoD official said.<br /><br />While the official would not say why the negotiations failed, an Indian Air Force source said the Kaveri project to power the LCA has been all but abandoned. Beyond powering UAVs, the engine also will be a technology demonstration project.<br /><br />The Air Force source added that besides the failure to meet the thrust level, the Kaveri also has technical problems with its compressor, turbine and engine control system.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the LCA Mark-1 is readying for induction by 2014, nearly 15 years behind schedule. It will be powered by the GE-404 engine, also from General Electric.<br /><br />For the LCA Mark-2 program, ADA will order 99 GE-414 engines and the rest will be manufactured in India under technology transfer arrangements.</i><br /><br />http://www.defensenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012306170005Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-44673544029813387452012-04-11T21:50:40.502-07:002012-04-11T21:50:40.502-07:00Here's a report on nuclear weapons in South As...Here's a report on nuclear weapons in South Asia as published by <a href="http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/islamabad/12-Apr-2012/pakistan-loading-up-n-weapons-report" rel="nofollow">The Nation</a>:<br /><br /><i>Estimated to have 80-100 nuclear warheads, India is modernising its nuclear arsenal to increase the diversity, range, and sophistication of its delivery vehicles, a report said Tuesday,At the same time, it estimates that Pakistan has more nuclear weapons than India, saying Islamabad is rapidly developing and expanding its atomic arsenal at a cost of $2.5 billion a year. The report <a href="http://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Publications/modernization/assuring-destruction-forever.pdf" rel="nofollow">“Assuring Destruction Forever: Nuclear Modernisation around the World”</a> said India is developing a range of delivery vehicles, including land- and sea-based missiles, bombers, and submarines.“There are no official estimates of the size of India’s stockpile of fissile materials, though it is known that India produces both HEU (highly enriched uranium) for its nuclear submarines and plutonium for weapons,” said the 150-page report by ‘Reaching Critical Will of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.’The part of the report dealing with India was contributed by Professor MV Ramana, a physicist who works at the Nuclear Futures Laboratory and the Programme on Science and Global Security, both at Princeton University, a physicist who works at the Nuclear Futures Laboratory and the Programme on Science and Global Security at Princeton University. “There has been speculation that India has used reactor-grade plutonium in its nuclear weapons, in which case, the nuclear arsenal could potentially be much larger, as India has approximate 3.8 to 4.6 tons of separated plutonium from its power reactors. Its fast breeder reactor programme also provides another potential source of producing weapon-grade plutonium”Based on its Dec. 2011 recent missile tests, the report said, “It appears that India is aiming to have all legs of its nuclear triad operational by 2013. There are also plans to expand the nuclear weapons and missile production complex as well as the capacity to enrich uranium. “The expansion of India’s nuclear and missile arsenals are part of a larger military build-up and consistently increasing military spending. <br />----------<br />It is estimated that Pakistan could have a stockpile of 2750 kg of weapon - grade HEU and may be producing about 150 kg of HEU per year,” it said.Estimates suggest Pakistan has produced a total of about 140 kg of plutonium, the report said.</i><br /><br />http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/islamabad/12-Apr-2012/pakistan-loading-up-n-weapons-report<br /><br />http://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Publications/modernization/assuring-destruction-forever.pdfRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-18022148872683149662012-04-03T10:30:48.919-07:002012-04-03T10:30:48.919-07:00Here's Hindustan Times story titled "Asse...Here's <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/ColumnsOthers/Assembled-in-India/Article1-834008.aspx" rel="nofollow">Hindustan Times</a> story titled "Assembled in India":<br /><br /><i>The ministry of defence should rename itself the ministry of imports. India earned the undesirable honorific of being the world's largest buyer of foreign arms in the latest 'Trends in International Arms Transfers' report. The ultimate oxymoron in New Delhi today is 'defence self-reliance'. This state of affairs will continue so long as the ministry continues to believe in the State-owned defence sector.<br /><br />India's imports of defence equipment surged 38% to $12.7 billion from 2007-11, say the authors of the report, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The only better defence growth figures? Number of speeches by defence minister AK Antony declaring self-reliance to be his goal.<br /><br />At the time the report was released, Antony spoke at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). He complained that DRDO had "many deficiencies", that it was "slow" in implementing recommended reforms. A few days earlier he called for change at Hindustan Aeronautics, another stalwart of India's government defence industry whose core competence is assembling imported airplane kits.<br /><br />SIPRI's report underlines the true trend in India's defence industry. Namely, that the louder the mantra 'self-reliance' is chanted by defence officialdom, the further the goal moves away from India.<br /><br />It's not just that the Indian defence sector can't build simple trainer airplanes or armoured vehicles. It even struggles to design usable rifles or make good boots. "Indian soldiers", says Commodore Uday Bhaskar of the National Maritime Foundation, "prefer to buy their uniforms from private tailors rather than wear free government issue".<br /><br />Antony's criticisms should mean that his office at least understands the problem. But the reforms the ministry advocates are, ultimately, about preserving the defence sector's commanding heights for the State-owned firms. And it's this "tweak the status quo" mindset that ensures India's security increasingly depends on how fast it can import.<br /><br />Rising Indian arms purchases and stiff offset requirements - roughly half the cost of foreign purchases must be outsourced to Indian firms - means billions of dollars' worth of contracts will float out of the windows of South Block. Antony is asking DRDO and company to get their act together so they can cash in on this bonanza. <br /><br />The ministry's hope is that these State-owned firms will absorb some imported technologies, recycle them and preserve the myth of indigenous defence production for another decade. The subtext to Antonyspeak should be: you need to change so you can keep pulling the wool over India's eyes.<br /><br />The defence ministry loves the term 'technology transfer'. These are weasel words. Every study shows this to be a way to temporarily get obsolete knowhow. Transfers are like cheat-sheets. They keep you from doing the hard work of really learning something. The State-owned defence firms are like students who mug enough to get past each exam and graduate with blank minds.<br /><br />In 2005, DRDO spoke of making 70% of Indian defence equipment at home. But the figures haven't change in all these years, says Air Vice-Marshal Kapil Kak of the Centre for Air Power Studies. "Government stonewalling has meant there has been no energising of the defence sector." Officially, India is at 30% indigenisation. So much of this is screwdriver work, says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal of the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, "That the actual figure is 20% or less."<br /><br />The Tatra truck, left-hand drive after 25 years, is only a more glaring example of this import-and-assemble game.--------------</i><br /><br />http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/ColumnsOthers/Assembled-in-India/Article1-834008.aspxRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-8064593025003071782011-08-11T20:25:23.385-07:002011-08-11T20:25:23.385-07:00Pakistan's PakSat-1R launched today in China, ...Pakistan's PakSat-1R launched today in China, according to <a href="http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1108/11longmarch/" rel="nofollow">Spaceflight Now</a>:<br /><br /><i>China deployed a communications satellite for Pakistan on Thursday aboard a Long March 3B rocket launched from a mountainous spaceport in the southwest China's Sichuan province.<br /><br /><br />Artist's concept of the PakSat 1R satellite in orbit. Credit: SUPARCO<br /> <br />The fresh spacecraft, called PakSat 1R, replaces Pakistan's aging national communications satellite launched in 1996.<br /><br />The Long March 3B rocket soared off the launch pad at 1615 GMT (12:15 p.m. EDT). It was 12:15 a.m. local time Friday at the Xichang space center.<br /><br />The 180-foot-tall rocket streaked off the launch pad with the help of four strap-on boosters, turned east from the Xichang space base and deployed PakSat 1R in orbit about 26 minutes after liftoff, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.<br /><br />The satellite weighed about 11,000 pounds at the time of launch.<br /><br />PakSat 1R was placed in an oval-shaped orbit stretching from a low point of approximately 110 miles to a high point of about 26,000 miles. Its orbital inclination was about 24.8 degrees, according to independent tracking data.<br /><br />The spacecraft will reach a circular orbit about 22,300 miles above the equator in the coming weeks. PakSat 1R will enter service after testing of its engineering systems and communications payload.<br /><br />Stationed at 38 degrees east longitude, PakSat 1R will provide communications and broadcasting services to Pakistan and neighboring regions for at least 15 years. The satellite carries 18 Ku-band and 12 C-band transponders, according to Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Commission, or SUPARCO.<br /><br />SUPARCO is Pakistan's national space agency, which fields the government's Earth observation and communications satellites.<br /><br />PakSat 1R was built by the China Academy of Space Technology and is based on the DFH-4 spacecraft platform. China has reached agreements to build DFH-4 communications satellites for several non-traditional players in the space industry, including Pakistan, Nigeria, Venezuela, Laos and Bolivia.<br /><br />Thursday's flight was the seventh space launch of the year for China. All of the missions have been successful. </i><br /><br />http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1108/11longmarch/Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-45903703448659137272011-08-09T16:12:19.456-07:002011-08-09T16:12:19.456-07:00Here's a Business Recorder report on Pakistani...Here's a <a href="http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/108-pakistan-top-news/22469-pak-astronaut-aboard-chinese-spacecraft-our-natural-aspiration-masood-khan-.html" rel="nofollow">Business Recorder</a> report on Pakistani satellite launch by China:<br /><br /><i>The Pakistan Communication Satellite Paksat-1R is due to be launched in space from Chinese satellite launching site located at Xichang city in the second week of August, depending on weather conditions.<br /><br />Paksat-1R will replace Paksat-1 which is going to complete its useful life in 2011. "Launching of a communication satellite is going to be a new symbolic development in Pakistan-China relations, as this will broaden the horizons of our cooperation," Khan said.<br /><br />He said during Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Pakistan in December last year, our two governments had decided to deepen cooperation in space science and technology. "Paksat-1R, as the satellite is called, is a big step in that direction.<br /><br />It will revolutionize the use of broadband Internet, digital television broadcasting and mobile telephony; spur our economy; and strengthen the education and health sectors.<br /><br />It will also help us with disaster preparedness and response. Besides, young scientists and engineers are gaining new valuable expertise in the area of satellite technology.<br /><br />Such cooperation with China also helps us move towards self-reliance" he noted. Tracing the history of cooperation between the two countries in the realm of space science, Ambassador Masood Khan said that it goes back to the 1990s when Pakistan launched its first low earth orbit satellite Badr-1. "Since then we have been enhancing our cooperation in space science and technology.<br /><br />Many Pakistani scientists and engineers have studied aerospace sciences in Chinese universities and institutions," he added. He mentioned that: "We are now looking at cooperation in remote sensing satellites. It is a long term project with many civilian uses.<br /><br />A remote sensing satellite will cover areas like agriculture, oceanography, disaster management and mitigation, crop monitoring, earth observation, water resources management, weather forecasting, and urban planning.<br /><br />Such an application will have a direct positive impact on Pakistan's socio-economic development." China, Ambassador Khan said, has helped us in the development of our satellite industry for which we are extremely grateful.<br /><br />Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) is establishing the necessary space technology infrastructure, he said, adding thus we are developing common technology platforms with China.<br /><br />In due course of time Pakistan will want to develop its spaceflight programme, he added. Ambassador Khan said that during his visits to the China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) he observed that professionals there are hardworking, intelligent, ingenious and resourceful.</i><br /><br />http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/108-pakistan-top-news/22469-pak-astronaut-aboard-chinese-spacecraft-our-natural-aspiration-masood-khan-.htmlRiaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-47305996696811155912011-07-14T09:27:59.599-07:002011-07-14T09:27:59.599-07:00PM says Abbottabad and Mehran base attacks raised ...PM says Abbottabad and Mehran base attacks raised false concerns about safety of nukes, according to <a href="http://dunyanews.tv/index.php?key=Q2F0SUQ9MiNOaWQ9MzA1NDc=" rel="nofollow">Dunya News</a>: <br /><br /><i>He pointed to the simultaneous propaganda onslaught against Pakistan and its nuclear programme. <br /><br />Chairing the 19th meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA), Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani reviewed issues of national importance and developments in the regional and global security environment.<br /><br />The NCA expressed satisfaction at the security and safety of Pakistan’s strategic programmes and facilities, besides approving the National Nuclear Programme 2050 and the Space Programme 2040.<br /><br />Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani in his statement expressed government’s firm resolve to protect the country’s strategic and nuclear assets at all costs. “Such baseless, and certainly motivated, campaign against Pakistan will neither deter us from proceeding ahead.”<br />He said the strategic programme forms the core of Pakistan’s national security paradigm.<br /><br />The Pakistan Armed Forces, and in fact the whole nation, takes its responsibility for national defence as a sacred duty. No one should ever under estimate our capability and resolve in this regard. <br /><br />He said concerns have also been expressed internationally over potential threats from non-state actors to the security of strategic assets and facilities. While media reports have speculated on the possibility of sabotage and existence of contingency plans to take over Pakistan’s nuclear assets. <br /><br />“Any such nefarious designs shall be thwarted effectively by the armed forces with full support of the people of Pakistan.”<br />The PM also pointed to the several developments that have taken place at the national, regional and international levels in the last few months.</i><br /><br />http://dunyanews.tv/index.php?key=Q2F0SUQ9MiNOaWQ9MzA1NDc=Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-49457175497940913882011-04-12T22:41:17.007-07:002011-04-12T22:41:17.007-07:00Here's a Defense News story on how Pakistan pl...Here's a <a href="http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=6012501&c=FEA&s=SPE" rel="nofollow">Defense News story</a> on how Pakistan plans to counter India's ABMs:<br /><br /><i>ISLAMABAD - In response to India's pursuit of missile defenses, Pakistan has expanded its countermeasure efforts, primarily through development of maneuvering re-entry vehicles. The Army Strategic Forces Command, which controls Pakistan's ballistic missiles, has since at least 2004 said it wanted to develop such warheads; analysts now believe these are in service.<br /><br />Mansoor Ahmed, lecturer at the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies at Islamabad's Quaid-e-Azam University, said that in addition to maneuverable warheads, multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs) may be developed to stay ahead of India's "multilayered ballistic-missile defense system" and potential future countermeasures.<br /><br />"This, coupled with submarine-launched, nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, would ensure the survivability of its nuclear deterrent and enhance the effectiveness of its missile force that can beat any Indian defenses," he said.<br />-------------<br />He (Harsh Pant) further explained, "A missile defense system would help India blunt Pakistan's 'first use' nuclear force posture that had led Pakistan to believe that it had inhibited India from launching a conventional attack against it for fear of its escalation to the nuclear level. With a missile defense system in place, India would be able to restore the status quo ante, thereby making a conventional military option against Pakistan potent again."Such a missile defense system and a second-strike capability "would enhance the uncertainties of India's potential adversaries, regardless of the degree of effectiveness of missile interception, and would act as a disincentive to their resort to nuclear weapons," he said.<br /><br />Asked whether Pakistan's countermeasures would be effective against such ABM systems, Pant replied, "most definitely."<br /><br />He said, "According to various reports, Pakistan has been developing MIRV capability for the Shaheen-II ballistic missiles and [the] Shaheen-III missile is under development."<br />--------------<br />"Although the current capability of Pakistani missiles is built around radar seekers, the integration of re-entry vehicles would make these extremely potent and defeat the anti-ballistic missile defense systems. This would be especially true of Indian aircraft carriers that would become extremely vulnerable," he said.<br />------------<br />Analysts have for years speculated that the Navy will equip its submarines with a variant of the Babur cruise missile armed with a nuclear warhead. However, whether a cruise-missile-based arm of the nuclear triad at sea would be effective and survivable in the face of Indian air defenses is uncertain.<br />------------<br />When this was put to analyst Usman Shabbir of the Pakistan Military Consortium think tank, he said the interception of cruise missiles is not so simple."I think Babur will form the sea-based arm of the Pakistani nuclear deterrent" he said, "but the problem in targeting subsonic cruise missiles is that they are harder to detect due to their lower radar cross-signature, low-level navigation, and use of waypoints to circumvent more secure and heavily defended areas."<br /><br />"By the time you detect them, there is not much time left to vector aircraft for interception."<br /><br />However, Shabbir conceded it would be possible for an airborne interceptor to shoot down a missile like Babur. "An aircraft already on [patrol] might be lucky to pick it up on its own radar well in advance [if looking in the correct direction], or vectored to it by ground-based radar."</i>Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-39720722936141988182011-03-28T22:00:45.128-07:002011-03-28T22:00:45.128-07:00Here's a Times of India report on lagging rese...Here's a <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hubli/India-lagging-in-scientific-research-VTU-VC/articleshow/7808756.cms" rel="nofollow">Times of India report</a> on lagging research in India:<br /><br /><i>DHARWAD: India may not compete with other countries in the field of science and technology (S&T) if our scientists fail to make serious efforts to improve the track record in the field of scientific research and development (R&D), said VTU vice-chancellor H Maheshappa.<br /><br />Inaugurating a six-day workshop on `Graph algorithms' jointly organized by the department of Computer Science, Karnatak University, and VTU here recently, he said India's track record in the field of scientific R&D has remained insignificant when compared with countries like China. This trend has to be changed if we really wish to emerge as successful competitors and carve a niche for India in the field of S&T, he said.<br /><br />Pointing out the progress achieved by China in this regard, he said China is far ahead of India in the field of scientific R&D. "While the researchers from China file hundreds of patent applications everyday, India stands not even nearer to China in this respect. He said India has potential, including talented pool of teachers and researchers, state-of-the-art research institutes and financial investment by the government for the promotion of scientific R&D.<br /><br />Expressing concern over the lack of teachers with research background in technical educational institutes, he said though the state has nearly 200 engineering colleges, the number of teachers with research degrees is minimal. "This scenario has to be changed. VTU has plans to tie up with universities like Karnatak University to assist engineering college teachers on understanding of basic science and research methodology," he added. </i>Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-23670449041599725172011-01-31T18:50:39.049-08:002011-01-31T18:50:39.049-08:00Here's a Washington Post report on "doubl...Here's a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/30/AR2011013004682.html" rel="nofollow">Washington Post</a> report on "doubling of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal":<br /><br /><i>Pakistan's nuclear arsenal now totals more than 100 deployed weapons, a doubling of its stockpile over the past several years in one of the world's most unstable regions, according to estimates by non-government analysts. <br />--<br />-------- <br /><br />Wary of upsetting Pakistan's always-fragile political balance, the White House rarely mentions the country's arsenal in public except to voice confidence in its strong internal safeguards, with warheads kept separate from delivery vehicles. But the level of U.S. concern was reflected during last month's White House war review, when Pakistan's nuclear security was set as one of two long-term strategy objectives there, along with the defeat of al-Qaeda, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. <br /><br />A publicly released summary of the classified review document made no reference to the nuclear issue, and the White House deflected questions on grounds that it was an intelligence matter. This week, a spokesman said the administration would not respond to inquiries about the size of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. <br /><br />National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor referred to Obama's assurance at last spring's Nuclear Security Summit that he felt "confident about Pakistan's security around its nuclear weapons program." Vietor noted that Obama hs encouraged "all nations" to support negotiations on the fissile cutoff treaty. <br /><br />"The administration is always trying to keep people from talking about this knowledgeably," said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security and a leading analyst on the world's nuclear forces. "They're always trying to downplay" the numbers and insisting that "it's smaller than you think." <br /><br />"It's hard to say how much the U.S. knows," said Hans M. Kristensen, director of the nuclear information project at the Federation of American Scientists and author of the annual global nuclear weapons inventory published in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. "Probably a fair amount. But it's a mixed bag - Pakistan is an ally, and they can't undercut it with a statement of concern in public." <br /><br />Beyond intelligence on the ground, U.S. officials assess Pakistan's nuclear weapons program with the same tools used by the outside experts - satellite photos of nuclear-related installations, estimates of fissile-material production and weapons development, and publicly available statements and facts. <br /><br />Four years ago, the Pakistani arsenal was estimated at 30 to 60 weapons. <br />---------<br />Only three nuclear countries - Pakistan, India and Israel - have never signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. India is estimated to have 60 to 100 weapons; numbers are even less precise for Israel's undeclared program, estimated at up to 200. North Korea, which has conducted nuclear tests and is believed to have produced enough fissile material for at least a half-dozen bombs, withdrew from the treaty in 2003.<br /><br />Those figures make Pakistan the world's fifth largest nuclear power, ahead of "legal" powers France and Britain. The vast bulk of nuclear stockpiles are held by the United States and Russia, followed by China. <br />-------<br />While continuing to produce of weapons-grade uranium at two sites, Pakistan has sharply increased its production of plutonium, allowing it to make lighter warheads for more mobile delivery systems. Its newest missile, the Shaheen II, has a range of 1,500 miles and is about to go into operational deployment, Kristensen said. Pakistan also has developed nuclear-capable land- and air-launched cruise missiles. </i>Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-39434762590812129892011-01-10T21:18:18.197-08:002011-01-10T21:18:18.197-08:00Here's a Times of India report on Tejas operai...Here's a <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/27-years-3000-cost-hike-later-tejas-aircraft-takes-off/articleshow/7256554.cms" rel="nofollow">Times of India report</a> on Tejas operaional clearance today:<br /><br /><i>BANGALORE: After a tortuous journey of 27 years, with over 1,500 flight-tests and almost 3,000% jump in overall developmental costs, the much-touted but long-delayed Tejas Light Combat Aircraft has finally taken the first step towards induction as a supersonic fighter into IAF. <br /><br />Amid much fanfare and back-slapping, defence minister A K Antony handed over the Tejas initial operational clearance (IOC) certificate to IAF chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik at a ceremony here on Monday. <br /><br />The IOC basically means that the largely homegrown fighter is now fully airworthy, in its initial configuration, to be flown by IAF pilots but not all weapon and other systems have been fully integrated into the platform. That will happen only by December 2012 when the single-engine, multi-role fighter gets the final operational clearance (FOC). <br /><br />"Today is a historic day...A state-of-the-art indigenous combat aircraft will go a long way in enhancing national security,'' said Antony, showering praise on the entire LCA team led by Aeronautical Development Agency, Defence Research and Development Organisation and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. <br /><br />The euphoria was somewhat justified, given that the supersonic fighter has been built from scratch in a country with an extremely poor defence-industrial base and in the face of international sanctions for several years. <br /><br />But there has to be a reality check, even if it seems harsh. Even Antony admitted that Tejas had reached just "the semi-final stage'' at this point. As was first reported by TOI earlier, the overall developmental cost of the Tejas project, including the naval variant and trainer, has zoomed up to Rs 17,269 crore from the initial Rs 560 crore earmarked for it in 1983. With each Tejas to cost around Rs 200 crore over and above this, India will end up spending well over Rs 25,000 crore on the programme. <br /><br />Moreover, the real induction of the first 40 Tejas jets will begin only towards end-2013, with the first two squadrons becoming fully operational at the Sulur airbase (Tamil Nadu) by 2015 or so, a full three decades after the LCA project was first sanctioned to replace the ageing MiG-21s. <br /><br />That's not all. The first test-flight of the Tejas Mark-II version, with more powerful American GE F-414 engines, will be possible only by December 2014, with its production beginning in June 2016. And even then, the Tejas will just be a medium to low-end fighter, not a high-end air dominance one. <br /><br />ACM Naik, in fact, described Tejas as a "MiG-21 plus-plus'', and made it clear that it was not even a fourth-generation fighter at present but would be in the future, indicating it will primarily be used to plug the gap in numbers. <br /><br />Consequently, India's frontline combat fighters will the 270 Russian-origin Sukhoi-30MKIs already being inducted for around $12 billion, the 126 new medium multi-role combat aircraft to be acquired in the $10.4 billion MMRCA project and the 250 to 300 fifth-generation fighter aircraft to be built with Russia in the gigantic $35 billion project. <br /><br />Yes, there is no getting away from the critical fact that India has to be self-reliant in military hardware and software if it wants to emerge as a superpower on the global stage. But the Tejas saga puts serious question marks on the defence indigenisation model being followed. <br /><br />The fighter, for instance, is still only around 60% indigenous despite being 27 years in the making. It, for example, is powered by American GE engines, with the indigenous Kaveri engine failing to pass muster despite Rs 2,839 crore being spent on it since 1989. </i>Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.com