India (Superthread)

[MarkOttawa]

India says bye bye to Su-57 (maybe hoping for F-35 some day?):

India withdraws from FGFA project, leaving Russia to go it alone

Key Points

    India has pulled out of its 11-year collaborative programme with Russia to build a Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft
    The decision has ramifications for both the IAF and the Russian aerospace industry

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has shelved its 11-year old collaborative Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) programme with Russia following enduring differences over its developmental cost and technological capabilities.

Senior Indian officials, including National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra, recently informed a visiting Russian ministerial delegation that India was withdrawing from the programme, official sources told Jane’s on 20 April.

The Indian officials are believed to have stated that the IAF could, at a later date, ‘revisit’ the FGFA project or alternatively acquire the fully developed platform once it had been inducted into the Russian Air Force, but did not elaborate [emphasis added].

Industry officials said the FGFA project, in which India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was the lead developmental agency, also did not feature in talks during Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s visit to Moscow in early April.

“The FGFA project had become an instance of too little, too late,” said military analyst and retired air marshal V K Bhatia. To pursue it any longer would not have served the IAF interests in any way as it struggles to make up fast-depleting fighter numbers, he added.

The IAF believes that the Sukhoi Su-57 (T-50 PAK-FA) fighter, which India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) designated the Perspective Multi-Role Fighter, does not meet its requirements for stealth, combat avionics, radars and sensors. Seven FGFA prototypes are currently undergoing flight-testing in Russia, but for now there is no indication as to when the platform is likely to enter series production.
http://www.janes.com/article/79457/india-withdraws-from-fgfa-project-leaving-russia-to-go-it-alone

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

The problems besetting Indian defence spending and procurement (China in mind)--some graphics missing:

India Joins World's Top Five Defense Spenders, Surpassing France

    Beijing spends far more on military than any other Asian power
    Worldwide military spending 2.2 percent of global GDP: SIPRI

India has joined the U.S. and China as one of the world’s five biggest military spenders, reflecting geopolitical tensions as well as the country’s reliance on imported weapons and sprawling personnel costs.

New Delhi’s defense spending rose by 5.5 percent to $63.9 billion in 2017 and has now passed France, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in a report released Wednesday.

Worldwide military spending rose marginally last year to $1.73 trillion, or roughly 2.2 percent of global gross domestic product, the group said. The list of the world’s biggest military spenders has remained consistent in recent years, dominated by the U.S. and China, which spent $610 billion and $228 billion respectively, according to SIPRI [see here: https://www.sipri.org/publications/2018/sipri-fact-sheets/trends-world-military-expenditure-2017 ], which researches global arms spending.

However, the group said the balance of military spending is "clearly shifting" toward Asia, Oceania and the Middle East, driven largely by spending increases in China, India and Saudi Arabia.
Arms Race

China spends far more on its military than any other power in Asia.

Beijing’s share of worldwide military expenditure rose to 13 percent in 2017 from just 5.8 percent in 2008, according to SIPRI. The Chinese government has increased spending 8.5 percent per year between 2007 and 2016 and its leaders "seem committed to increases in defense spending for the foreseeable future, even as China’s economic growth slows," according to a U.S. Department of Defense report on China’s military.

In India’s case, however, increased spending doesn’t mean the armed forces are deploying state-of-the-art equipment. The rise in defense spending mostly goes toward salaries and pensions for roughly 1.4 million serving personnel and more than 2 million veterans, said Laxman Kumar Behera, a research fellow with New Delhi’s Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.

"Because so much money is consumed by manpower costs, there isn’t enough left over to buy equipment," Behera said.

India’s own army echoes that sentiment. Vice-Chief of Army Staff Lt. Gen. Sarath Chand told a parliamentary committee in March the current budget barely accounts for inflation and tax payments. Only 14 percent goes toward military modernization compared to 63 percent for salaries, Chand said.
Paycheck Problems

India's armed forces spend so much on salaries there's not enough for buying new equipment

SIPRI previously ranked India as the world’s largest arms importer because its domestic defense manufacturing industry remains curtailed by red tape, a reliance on state-owned defense companies and procurement delays.

Faced with geopolitical threats from Pakistan and China, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tried to boost domestic defense production with his ‘Make in India’ program.

Made in India?

Since Modi took power in 2014, defense procurement from Indian vendors actually declined

Source: India's Ministry of Defence; figures from a response to a parliamentary question

Yet Ministry of Defense data released in response to a parliamentary question show that procurement from Indian vendors has declined since 2014 -- when Modi came to power -- while procurement from foreign vendors increased slightly. Overall equipment procurement also dipped, the data show.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-01/china-tensions-push-india-into-world-s-top-five-defense-spenders

Mark
Ottawa

 

[tomahawk6]

India would be a helpful ally to counter Chinese ambitions.They have a common border and a decent Navy.

 

[CBH99]

I think if India wants to stay relevant militarily, it's going to have to do what a lot of other countries have had to do....cut manpower, but really focus on professionalizing it's forces.

I'm not suggesting Indian military forces are unprofessional.

However, if we look at Russia or China in the last 15 years, they've cut manpower and refocused their efforts on making sure the smaller force is better trained, better equipped, and more responsive.  I think India has to follow suit, it doesn't really have any other options.

It also needs to unf**k it's procurement.  It's the Canada of the East.  It can't buy new equipment in a simple, timely fashion for the life of it, and spends a ton of money on project offices that in the end, aren't able to introduce any new capabilities/equipment.  (It's air force has a ton of examples, as does it's army.)

Having them as an ally would be incredibly useful and handy.  I believe they already are for the most part, and should have been our focus rather than Pakistan in the first place.  :2c:

 

[Colin Parkinson]

India needs a larger army as it has to likely fight a 2 front war, plus it it has to be able to put down internal revolts at the same time. Not to mention employment opportunities. Changes to the army structure has often not gone over well there.

 

[MarkOttawa]

US currying favour with India, sending warning shot across PLA Navy's bows in Indian Ocean (and name will not please Paks):

Indo-PACOM? Pentagon may rename US Pacific Command

The Pentagon may soon be announcing a new name for its largest area of operations, with a change to Indo-Pacific Command to “better encapsulate the responsibilities the command currently has,” Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Rob Manning said Monday.

The unexpected discussion that U.S. Pacific Command may be getting re-named came after a reporter’s question at a briefing Monday.

“I want to ask about the change of name from Pacific Command to Indo-Pacific Command,” the reporter said. “Aside from changing signs, what implications would it have?”

“There’s no announcement on the change of Pacific Command,” Manning said. “What I will tell you is, that as you know, the significance of any name change is to better characterize the responsibility.”

Congress is pushing for increased focus on China’s activities in the Indo-Pacific and the 2019 defense bill includes several provisions to counter Chinese influence there...
https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/05/21/indo-pacom-dod-may-rename-us-pacific-command/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[CBH99]

US currying favour with India, sending warning shot across PLA Navy's bows in Indian Ocean (and name will not please Paks):

Mark
Ottawa

Screw the Pak's, India should have been the focus of our economic & military alliances from the start.  While they weren't an Iran, they are still a nuclear power & far from a stable country.  Even calling them a friendly country is debatable.

 

[MarkOttawa]

US belief, pushed hard under Obama too, that India could be turned into something like a real US ally (e.g. by supply of up-to-date weaponry) was always a pipe dream.  India's basic policy is tous azimuts (save for China)--do not want to be beholden to anyone.  Hence is part turn to US arms no not over-reliant on Russkies:

India, Russia team up to overcome US sanctions on defense deals

India and Russia have pledged to jointly create a plan to resolve U.S. sanctions on Russia that is hampering defense deals between New Delhi and Moscow.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to formulate the plan during a May 21 informal summit in the Russian city Sochi.

The U.S. law, Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, is negatively affecting defense business with Russia, according to an official with the Indian Ministry of Defence, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“It is an extremely complex issue and has direct consequences on defense supplies from Russia, but Indian government will ensure that [defense] ties are not with Moscow,” the official said.

Notably mum about the impact of CAATSA on Russian defense deals, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs released a statement May 21 saying: “The two leaders agreed that the special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia is an important factor for global peace and stability. The two leaders also reiterated the significance of longstanding partnership in the military, security and nuclear energy fields and welcomed the ongoing cooperation in these areas.“

Russia and India maintain a high strategic level of partnership with close cooperation between the two countries defense ministries, Putin said. “Our Defence Ministries maintain very close contacts and cooperation. It speaks about a very high strategic level of our partnership,” he said, according to TASS news agency.

The U.S. principal deputy assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs said Friday in Washington that U.S. allies should consider the law, under which any significant purchase of military equipment from Moscow would attract American sanctions.

“CAATSA is a feature, and we need to take it seriously. The (Trump) administration is always bound by U.S. law. This is a U.S. law. I’m hoping that not just India, but all of the partners that we engage with will understand that we will have to evaluate any potential large defense purchase from Russia seriously because that’s what the law demands of us,” Tina Kaidanow told reporters.

Earlier this month, Modi dispatched top Indian officials to Moscow to find solution to the U.S. sanctions on Russian defense companies that are doing business in India.

Nearly 65 percent of Indian weaponry is of Russian origin, an Indian MoD official noted, and so sanctions could impact the supply of spare parts.

Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited Moscow in April to speed up the procurement of new weapons worth more than $10 billion...
https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2018/05/29/india-russia-team-up-to-overcome-us-sanctions-on-defense-deals/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

India vs. China in SE Asia--note US Pacific Command now "Indo-Pacific Command":

With ports, ships and promises, India asserts role in Southeast Asia

Highlights

    India cemented its diplomatic and security ties across Southeast Asia in a clear challenge to China.
    Indian foreign ministry officials said there was a strong element of self-interest in New Delhi's efforts to secure open access to the Malacca Strait

SINGAPORE: Almost lost in the din of the upcoming US-North Korea summit + and fresh tension between Washington and Beijing last week, India cemented its diplomatic and security ties across Southeast Asia in a clear challenge to China.

It's not clear just how far New Delhi will take these relationships, given years of promise, and a general election due in 11 months that could be a distraction for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And if India is already rattling China, it won't want to spark open confrontation.

But Modi took several concrete foreign policy and security steps in Southeast Asia in recent days.

He signed an agreement with Indonesia to develop a port in the city of Sabang that would overlook the western entrance to the Strait of Malacca, one of the world's busiest waterways, and agreed a pact with Singapore on logistical support for naval ships, submarines and military aircraft during visits.

Modi also flew to Kuala Lumpur + for a late-scheduled call on Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who won last month's general election, effectively cementing ties with three of the most influential Southeast Asian nations.

On Friday [June 1], Modi told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore + , Asia's premier defence forum, that India would work with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to promote a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.

"We will work with them, individually or in formats of three or more, for a stable and peaceful region," he said in the keynote speech at the forum.

Several delegates, including US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, voiced support.

At the end of the forum on Sunday, Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said: "I am sure many countries are delighted that India has indicated its firm commitment to the region."

CHINA COOL

The term "Indo-Pacific" has grown in usage across diplomatic and security circles in the United States, Australia, India and Japan in recent years, shorthand for a broader and democratic-led region in place of "Asia-Pacific", which some people have said places China too firmly at the centre.

In a nod to India's growing regional stature, the US military's Pacific Command in Hawaii formally changed its name to the US Indo-Pacific Command in a ceremony on Wednesday [May 30, emphasis added].

Despite an outward show of friendship between China and India, and Modi's comments about the strong relations between them, Beijing gave a distinctly cool response to his strategy...
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/with-ports-ships-and-promises-india-asserts-role-in-southeast-asia/articleshow/64436042.cms

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

Meanwhile on Indian nuke-capable missile front:

India successfully test-fires nuclear capable Agni-5

India today successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Long Range Ballistic Missile Agni-5 with a strike range of 5,000 km from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast.

The surface-to-surface missile was launched with the help of a mobile launcher from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Dr Abdul Kalam Island in the Bay of Bengal at 9.48 am, defence sources said.

This was the sixth trial of the state-of-the-art Agni-5. The missile covered its full distance during the trial which was a total success, they said...
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/india-successfully-test-fires-nuclear-capable-agni-5/articleshow/64434804.cms

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

What now for Kashmir and Indo-Pak relations? Dicey situation:

As Modi cuts it loose, Kashmir is about to get even worse. Yes, that’s possible
Now that a Ramadan ceasefire has ended in the trouble-torn region, a bloody government crackdown looms with an eye on elections

India’s insurgency-ridden Jammu and Kashmir province is tipped to enter one of its most violent phases as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pulled his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) out of a local coalition government to prepare the ground for a crackdown ahead of the next general election in 2019.
Doklam dispute keeps Sino-Indian relations ‘challenging’, ambassador tells Hong Kong

BJP cites rising terrorism, Islamist radicalisation and growing threats to life and free speech as its reasons to withdraw from the coalition with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). The decision took even PDP leader and Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti off guard, as it was a sudden shift from the national party’s earlier stand that Modi’s prudent policies had weakened anti-India forces in Kashmir. The Muslim-majority region, together with Hindu-majority Jammu, constitutes the Jammu and Kashmir province. Kashmir has for decades been in the throes of popular protests for autonomy that New Delhi says are aided by neighbouring Pakistan.

Amid rising street protests, Modi’s BJP-led federal government in New Delhi announced a unilateral Ramadan ceasefire but refused to extend it, against the wishes of the PDP. The ceasefire was called off two days after the assassination of a senior editor and peace activist Shujaat Bukhari. The state’s top police officer told leading television channel NDTV that anti-terror operations put on hold during the ceasefire were being scaled up. Elite commandos have also reportedly been flown in as New Delhi prepares for, what English-language newspaper The Telegraph terms “Mission Krushmir”...
http://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2152084/modi-cuts-it-loose-kashmir-about-get-lot-worse-yes-thats-possible

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

Why India has a tous azimuts (China and Paks aside) policy:

US abruptly scraps talks with India amid growing differences

Highlights

    The India-US '2+2 dialogue' was to be held on July 6
    This is the second time that the 2+2 dialogue has been scrapped after an earlier effort to get them going in March had to be “postponed”

The United States on Wednesday abruptly scrapped much-anticipated high-level talks with India amid growing differences between the two countries, partly stemming from a chaotic administration in Washington where New Delhi is clearly not a priority country anymore.

US officials are said to have conveyed to their Indian counterparts that talks between the US defense secretary and secretary of state and their Indian opposites, scheduled for July 6 in Washington, are being “postponed” due to “unavoidable reasons.”..

This is the second time that the 2+2 dialogue has been scrapped after an earlier effort to get them going in March had to be “postponed” when then secretary of state Rex Tillerson was fired by President Trump. The current defence secretary Jim Mattis too is on a dicey wicket -- according to Washington scuttlebutt – with a President who is charitably described a mercurial.

The postponement comes amid wide differences between Washington and New Delhi, including threat of sanctions against India on two fronts: If it goes ahead with the anticipated purchase of S-400 missile system from Russia, and if it does not end oil purchases from Iran...

The two sides also have serious differences on trade and tariff issues, particularly after President Trump elevated a trivial matter of tariff on Harley Davidson motorcycles worth less than $5 million into a signature issue, including repeated public smackdown of India.

Both issues have exasperated New Delhi, which is loath to give up its long-time friends and its economic interests to please a whimsical country that changes its policy frequently, sometimes on account of its domestic politics, and often on the basis of misrepresentation.

The immediate reason for nixing the July 6 talks is not known but it has also become increasingly apparent that India is not a priority country for an administration that is barely coherent in its foreign policy except to say “America first.” The President has dissed almost all US allies across the world, from neighbouring Canada and Mexico to distant Australia and South Korea, with the European Union in between, at the expense of pandering to strongmen such as North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

In fact, one possible explanation for scrapping the talks with India is the administration’s focus on setting up a Trump-Putin summit, possibly on July 15 in Vienna. Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton is in Moscow to do the spadework, and the President’s minions are expected to trip over each other to work on a relationship that is clearly a priority item for Trump.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/us-abruptly-scraps-talks-with-india-amid-growing-differences/articleshow/64770094.cms

Rather much of the world is...you fill in your answer.

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

Will be interesting to see how much US is willing to concede in its effort (which will not succeed) to try and turn India into effectively an American ally:

India-US Military Communications Pact: US team in Delhi next week, India demands five assurances
As per sources, the biggest roadblock in the negotiations is India’s demand for a clause which explicitly states that Indian sovereign law takes precedence over COMCASA.

As both India and the US aim to make a firm announcement about the signing of Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) during the ‘2+2’ meeting on September 6 in New Delhi [SecDef Mattis and SecState Pompeo supposed to be there], there are five major issues of contention being negotiated between the two sides.

Official sources told The Indian Express that a team of US officials from its Hawaii-based Indo-Pacific Command will be in Delhi on August 6 and 7 to conduct final negotiations on the text of the pact. The Indian side during these negotiations will comprise officials of External Affairs Ministry, Defence Ministry and armed forces.

The negotiations have proceeded at a fast pace once the Indian side expressed its willingness earlier this year to sign the pact which is meant to provide a legal framework for transfer of communication security equipment from the US to India that would facilitate “interoperability” between their armed forces.

Sources said while New Delhi is keen to have the agreement signed during the ‘2+2’ meeting, the US side seems content if the text is frozen and a concrete announcement about COMCASA included in the joint statement issued at the end of the meeting.

As per sources, the biggest roadblock in the negotiations is India’s demand for a clause which explicitly states that Indian sovereign law takes precedence over COMCASA [emphasis added]. Indian officials argue that such a clause was part of the India-US nuclear deal negotiated by the UPA government and there is no reason why Americans can’t make the same concession now.

US officials contend that if a new government in India passes a ‘sovereign’ law which overrides COMCASA at a later stage, it defeats the purpose of signing the agreement. They told Indian interlocutors that such a clause is not required as Indian government can always cancel COMCASA after giving a notice period, besides having the option of amending it at any stage. Besides sovereignty, three major points of negotiations are about assurances India wants included in the text of the agreement.

The first is an assurance that the American side won’t use the access it gets to the military communications system for spying on India [emphasis added, would not be confident in any such pledge]. The second is about the misuse of control equipment, as it is part of proprietary American network, which can be used by US military against Indian forces. The third assurance being sought by New Delhi is that the US government should not switch the whole equipment off or shut the Indian military network down as part of a policy decision...
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-us-military-communications-pact-us-team-in-delhi-next-week-india-demands-five-assurances-5285528/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[CBH99]

Can someone please remind me - in all seriousness, as I'm genuinely confused - why the US still supports the Pakistanis with military aid, and ignores ISI activities supporting regional terror groups...yet gives India such a hard time? 

One of the worlds largest populations.  Strategically located.  Isn't firing artillery over the Pakistani/Afghan border at coalition forces, or funneling weapons & funding to the Taliban....yet the US is "just now" trying to bring India onboard as an ally? 

 

[MarkOttawa]

Because Pakistan is the problem from hell--needed for supplies to Afstan plus effort to limit (pretty fruitless) help for Taliban, nuclear and risk of war with India (which India is also to blame for)--no easy policy solutions:

1)

The War That Will Not End
...
DIRECTORATE S
The C.I.A. and America’s Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/31/books/review/steve-coll-directorate-s.html

2)

Pakistan’s Tac Nukes and India’s “Cold Start” Attack
https://cgai3ds.wordpress.com/2015/10/20/mark-collins-pakistans-tac-nukes-and-indias-cold-start-attack/

3)

How Pakistanis Remember Partition of India and Events Leading Thereto
https://cgai3ds.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/mark-collins-how-pakistanis-remember-partition-of-india-and-events-leading-thereto/

4)

Hindu Raj? PM Modi, the BJP and Hinduism (and Islam)
https://cgai3ds.wordpress.com/2015/12/22/mark-collins-hindu-raj-pm-modi-the-bjp-and-hinduism-and-islam/

And then of course there is Muslim-majority Kashmir which India keeps, quite brutally at times.  Very problematic between the two countries all-in-all, and how to deal with them.

Mark
Ottawa

 

[CBH99]

For the internal problems India may have, I can't say they are better or worse than Pakistan's.  Just different.

On the surface however, India does project the image of being more stable, safer, more strategically relevant to the west's goals, and less problematic in terms of regional goals (i.e., Afghanistan.)

Both are nuclear capable, yes.  So 50/50 on that. 


If Pakistan wasn't required to resupply coalition forces via land routes, would we still be trying to win them over after 17yrs of clearly playing both sides?

 

[MarkOttawa]

India getting close to missile big leagues, note also SLBMs:

Agni-V set to be inducted by December after one more test
The missile, which completes India’s missile portfolio, underwent its penultimate pre-induction test in June and was expected to be inducted by next year.

Agni-V, India’s long-range ballistic missile with a range of 5,000-5,500km will undergo one more pre-induction test, perhaps as soon as October, and be inducted into the country’s strategic arsenal shortly after, before the end of the year, senior defence ministry officials said on condition of anonymity.

The missile, which completes India’s missile portfolio, underwent its penultimate pre-induction test in June and was expected to be inducted by next year. It is being built by the Defence Research Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Advanced Systems Laboratory and it was assumed that the production for deployment would start after the final test.

The missile will be inducted into the Strategic Forces Command for deployment; strategic missiles, Agni 1 to 4, with ranges from 700 km to 3,500 km, have already been deployed by the Strategic Forces Command, which controls India’s ballistic missile arsenal. SFC is also expected to test the missiles after induction.

The Agni-V is widely seen as a nuclear deterrent; with its range, it can reach destinations in China.

While India’s submarine-launched missile programme is well on track with ranges up to 3,000km [emphasis added], DRDO’s Agni missile series provides adequate riposte to any first use nuclear threat posed by the adversary. According to top officials, the Indian missile programme is head and shoulders above the programme of Pakistan, which has missiles with ranges limited to 2,800km based on acquired technology. In an earlier interview with Hindustan Times, India’s defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman had spoken about the success of the country’s missile programme. “In missile and missile-related matters, we have progressed so much that today we are the envy of so many countries. We are also scaling up production of those,” she said...

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/agni-v-to-undergo-one-more-pre-induction-test/story-a9OcIgjWaRUyMbBoSOnM5M.html

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

Also looks like serious SLBM progress--at Defense Industry Daily (further links at original):

...
Asia-Pacific

Indian media reports that the country successfully tested its first indigenous nuclear capable Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM). The missile, built under the codename B-05, was launched from the INS Arihant. During the test three missiles were fired from the Arihant at a depth of 20m and about 10km off the Vizag coast. Developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the 10-meter long B-05 has a strike range of about 750 km and weighs ten tonne. The two-stage missile uses solid propellant and can carry a payload of about 1000 kg. The INS Arihant is capable of carrying 12 B-05 or Sagarika missiles as well as torpedoes and cruise missiles. Indian defense scientists have also been testing longer-range K-series submarine-launched strategic missiles for the past few years. The long range (3,500 kilometers) K-4 missiles have so far been tested three times successfully from underwater pontoons, but the last test from a pontoon in December 2017 failed as the missile did not activate properly during the test. India has also started working on the K-5, which has a range of 5,000 kilometers, as well as the K-6, with its range of up to 6,000 km, for nuclear-powered submarines. This successful test heaves India into a quite exclusive club of nuclear countries. India is now the 6th country that has a nuclear triad, meaning that it can fire nuclear tipped missiles, from land, sea and air...
https://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/super-hornets-get-an-irst-upgrade-india-joins-the-nuclear-six-club-who-will-compete-for-the-type-31e-040522/

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

If things proceed well (and unlikely with "Make in India" efforts) the Indian Navy will get 111 new utility helos as well as 24 ASW Sikorskys direct from US:

Choppers from US among military deals worth Rs 46,000 crore cleared
The council, headed by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, approved a project worth Rs 21,738-crore for building 111 naval utility helicopters under the government’s ‘strategic partnership’ model to replace the navy’s outdated fleet of French-designed Chetak choppers.

The defence ministry on Saturday [Aug. 25] cleared military purchases worth Rs 46,000 crore, including the import of multi-role helicopters (MRH), a strategic partnership (SP) to acquire naval utility helicopters (NUH) made in India, and that of locally produced artillery guns, a government spokesperson said.

The defence acquisition council’s (DAC) approval for purchasing 24 MRHs to boost the Indian Navy’s anti-submarine/anti-surface warfare and surveillance capabilities comes ahead of the 2+2 talks between the defence and foreign ministers of India and the United States on September 6.

India will buy 24 Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky MH-60 Romeo choppers [not S-70Bs as earlier reported], likely to cost nearly 13,000 crore, from the US under a government-to-government deal, said two people familiar with the navy’s modernisation efforts who asked not to be identified.

The MRHs are a replacement of the navy’s obsolete Sea King 42/42A fleet...

The council, headed by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, also approved a project worth Rs 21,738-crore for building 111 NUHs under the government’s ‘strategic partnership’ (SP) model to replace the navy’s outdated fleet of French-designed Chetak choppers.

“This is the first project under the ministry’s prestigious SP model that aims at providing significant fillip to the government’s Make in India programme,” the statement said. Guidelines for the NUH programme were cleared on July 30...

The navy uses NUHs for several purposes, including search and rescue operations, medical evacuation, communication duties, anti-piracy and anti-terrorism operations, humanitarian assistance, surveillance and targeting.

The US, European and Russian rivals [tous azimuts, eh?] are expected to compete for the NUH programme by stitching up alliances with Indian partners under the SP model which lays down the template for cooperation between Indian and foreign firms to build high-tech weapons in the country through transfer of niche technologies...
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/choppers-from-us-among-military-deals-worth-rs-46-000-crore-cleared/story-YJcoSZdBVgwpvpi6l8jzwI.html

Mark
Ottawa

 

[MarkOttawa]

India's tous azimuts policy, Russia's S-400 and the US--how much pressure will Americans apply given wish for "partner" relations with India and how much will Modi bend? Not too much I imagine, US being over-bearing again:

Washington Warns of Sanctioning India Over Russian Missile System
The world’s two largest democracies have a burgeoning defense relationship. Moscow could play spoiler.

The United States is refusing to rule out sanctions on India—a stated ally [that's not the Indian view!]—if New Delhi goes through with a planned purchase of Russia’s new S-400 missile system this year, a top U.S. Defense Department official warned ahead of historic talks between the two countries next week.

The S-400 “is a system that’s particularly troubling for a lot of reasons, and I think our strong preference … is to seek alternatives,” said Randall Schriver, the U.S. assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, during an Aug. 29 event in Washington. “If they choose to go down that route, like I said, I can’t sit here and tell you today that the waiver will necessarily be used.” The waiver Schriver referred to is a congressional loophole designed to insulate allies from ongoing U.S. sanctions against Russia.

Defying the Pentagon’s demands so far, New Delhi is reportedly poised to approve the purchase of the S-400 anti-aircraft system this year, with deliveries planned to start in 2020. India’s purchase of the S-400 is especially concerning to U.S. officials because the system is designed to track and destroy aircraft, even stealth aircraft, at unprecedented ranges. It also has the ability to glean information about the capabilities of aircraft in its vicinity, which could include the U.S.-built F-35 fighter jet.

The United States is facing a similar dilemma over Turkey’s planned purchase of the S-400 and has retaliated by blocking the transfer of F-35s to Ankara. As a member of NATO, Turkey’s use of the S-400 poses problems because integrating it with the alliance’s air defenses would give the Russian-built system critical data about NATO’s operating tactics and procedures. Washington has not yet imposed sanctions on Ankara.

Punishing India over its purchase of the S-400 would be a significant break with precedent. New Delhi has in the past skirted around some of Washington’s foreign-policy priorities—notably around its sanctions on Iran—and escaped punitive measures. Meanwhile, India has grown military ties with the United States in recent years and continued to participate in a long-running annual naval exercise between the two countries and Japan.

Until recently, it looked like India’s purchase of the S-400, too, would escape penalty. U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis fought hard this year for flexibility from sanctions on Russia; while the measures targeted Moscow for its meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, they could indirectly impact U.S. allies such as India. Mattis ultimately won the right to seek national security waivers for countries that have historically had a relationship with Russia but now want to buy U.S. weapons.

Since the days of the Soviet Union, Moscow has provided a significant chunk of New Delhi’s arms imports while Washington supplied very little, but the United States has worked hard over the past few years to narrow that gap.

Mattis’s strong push on Capitol Hill for the waiver authority, often citing India as a flagship example of a U.S. ally that would be hurt by the sanctions, created the impression that Washington would “insulate India from any fallout from the legislation, no matter what they do,” Schriver said. Indeed, several recent reports indicated that India’s S-400 purchase would escape the sanctions threat.

But “that’s a bit misleading,” Schriver clarified. “We would still have very significant concerns if India pursued major new platforms and systems.”

India’s proposed purchase of the S-400 will likely be part of talks in New Delhi next week at the inaugural 2+2 dialogue, when Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to India to meet their direct counterparts.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/08/29/washington-warns-of-sanctioning-india-over-russian-missile-system/

Mark
Ottawa