October 8, 2019 | International, Aerospace
The Aviation Corps currently operates Chetak and Cheetah choppers, the ALH Dhruv since 2001, and its armed variant Rudra since 2013.
By AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA
New Delhi: The Army is working on a 10-year modernisation plan for its Aviation Corps and aims to induct at least 350 helicopters, including the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter and the battle-proven Apache.
The long-pending plan includes increasing the surveillance features of the choppers already in the Aviation Corps' inventory, with the induction of the Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS).
The Army plans to induct two kinds of utility choppers and three combat helicopters. This will include squadrons of Rudra (the armed version of the Advanced Light Helicopter ‘Dhruv'), which will have 20mm guns and 70mm cannons and are to be inducted within one year.
The LCH squadrons are to be inducted within seven to 10 years, while 200 Kamov Ka-226s, which are for reconnaissance and observation, are expected to be procured within 10 years through an inter-government agreement.
By 2021, the Army also expects to procure six Apache choppers and an additional squadron of ALH Dhruv, to add to what is already functional. Dhruv can fly over all terrains in India, including high altitudes.
The Aviation Corps currently operates Chetak and Cheetah choppers, the ALH Dhruv since 2001, and its armed variant Rudra since 2013.
Each squadron of the Aviation Corps is supposed to have three ‘flights' and each ‘flight' is supposed to feature five aircraft each. However, in the current scenario, all squadrons have only two ‘flights' of five aircraft each.
The inductions will replace the Army's ageing Chetak and Cheetah helicopter fleet at a time when a Cheetah crash recently killed the Indian Army's Lt Col. Rajneesh Parmar and Captain Kalzang Wangdi of the Royal Bhutan Army, raising questions about the choppers' flight-worthiness and bringing the focus back on their long-pending replacement with the Light Utility Helicopter.
Army sources said the plans would be a game-changer in future conflicts, and expressed confidence that they would be put into action in a time-bound manner.
“More emphasis is being put on prioritisation, rationalisation and economy of expenditure. Greater value for money is being achieved by encouraging procurements from indigenous sources in support of the government's Make in India initiative,” an Army source said.
Army officers further said that the transfer of the RPAS to the Aviation Corps would ensure a comprehensive surveillance picture, utilising both manned and unmanned platforms, while sharing support infrastructure.
“The operation of these assets under the common umbrella of Army Aviation Corps and a common aviation adviser to the ground forces commander will help achieve battlefield transparency,” the source added.
https://theprint.in/defence/army-plans-buy-350-helicopters-10-years-modernise-aviation-corps/302506/
August 25, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval
The U.S. Navy is 'well on its way' to delivering replacement small and medium unmanned underwater vehicles that will support the submarine and the expeditionary mine countermeasures communities.
October 30, 2018 | International, Naval, C4ISR
By: Andrew Chuter LONDON — Britain's Ministry of Defence has been given a £1 billion (U.S. $1.28 billion) spending boost in the Treasury budget announcement Oct. 29, with Chancellor Philip Hammond suggesting the money would be mainly spent on three strategic military programs. Hammond said the additional money would be available in the coming months. Cyber, anti-submarine warfare and the Dreadnought nuclear submarine build program all got named as destinations for the extra cash. “As a former defense secretary myself I understand the immediate pressure our armed forces are facing, so today I will provide £1 billion to cover the remainder of this year and next to boost our cyber, and anti-submarine warfare capacity and to maintain the pace of the Dreadnought program,” Hammond told Parliament. The increase caught many by surprise. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has been battling with Hammond for months for extra cash, but a massive funding commitment to the National Health Service made new funds toward security seem unlikely. Jon Louth, the director for defence, industry and society at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank in London said the additional funding was good news, but fell well short of what is required. “It's welcome, but comes nowhere near addressing the potential funding gap if you add up all the programs in the equipment plan. It does appear to be a significant increase in percentage terms, although the devil will be in the detail,” he said. The RUSI analyst said the outcome was “better than we expected a few months ago. Politically people will be chalking that up as a win for Williamson in the context of the wider government budget. One billion pounds is a win,” he said. Louth cautioned against getting too hung up on the chancellor's announcement about where the extra cash will be spent. “I suspect when we come to see how the money is used next year it will potentially be a little different from the chancellor's headlines today,” he said. Defense consultant Alex Ashbourne Walmsley of Ashbourne Strategic Consulting said the new money was a “sticking plaster, but it will buy the MoD a bit more time to work out how to do more with less.” Earlier this year the MoD received a total of £800 million in funds to keep the program to build four Trident missile equipped Dreadnought nuclear submarines on track. Some £600 million of that cash came from a £10 billion contingency fund set aside by the government for the Dreadnought program. Ashbourne-Walmsley described the Dreadnought program as a “money pit.” The MoD is trying to bridge a funding gap in its £179 billion 10-year equipment plan. The black hole is put at anywhere between £4 billion and £20 billion by the National Audit Office, the government's financial watchdog. The final figure is dependent, in part, on how effective an ongoing efficiency drive is at the MoD. The MoD budget for this year is £36.6 billion with 15.6 percent of that spent on equipment procurement and 18.7 percent on support. The Conservative government is committed to increasing equipment spending in real terms by 0.5 percent a year until 2020. A long running review, known as the Defence Modernisation Program, has been looking at how British armed forces can adapt and transform to meet the changing and growing military threat, while at the same time balancing the books — an effort that could require capability cuts in several areas. Publication of that report has already been kicked down the road a couple of times. Although Williamson may announce something before the end of the year, analysts and industry executives expect little of substance ahead of a comprehensive spending review due to take place across all government departments next year. Hammond appeared to say as much today when he told Parliamentarians the modernisation review will “form the basis for a comprehensive consideration of defense spending next year.” “The Modernizing Defence Program is increasingly tied into the comprehensive spending review and the 10-year equipment plan in 2019. We might get a whitepaper in late winter or early spring to set up some of the themes but the details won't be out until beyond April,” said Louth. Some industry executives though are starting to wonder if the modernization program could be published even by April. One executive who asked not to be named, said he wondered whether the comprehensive spending plan might be the trigger for a full blown strategic defense review, particularly if Brexit goes badly and the economy takes a big hit. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/10/29/uk-mod-gets-budget-boost-of-more-than-1b-with-three-programs-in-mind
November 13, 2020 | International, Naval
Andrew Eversden WASHINGTON — BAE Systems was awarded two task order contracts to provide and integrate an information warfare platform aboard five U.S. Navy vessels, the company announced Nov. 11. Under the two task orders, worth more than $30 million, BAE will integrate the platforms into the Navy's Consolidated Afloat Network Enterprise Services — the Navy's tactical afloat network. "These two task orders permit us to continue our high-quality, high volume production and integration service, assembling and delivering CANES to the Navy safely and affordably,” Mark Keeler, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems' Integrated Defense Solutions business, said in a statement. “CANES takes advantage of commercial-off-the-shelf insertion, which brings operational agility to the warfighter and savings to the U.S. Navy.” Under the first task order, BAE will produce two fully integrated CANES racks for two Blue Ridge-class command ships, according to the release. That work is expected to be completed by February 2022. The company will provide the same services for two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and a Virginia-class submarine under the second task order, expected to be completed by March 2022. Work will be performed at the BAE Systems facility in Summerville, South Carolina. Naval Information Warfare Systems Command in San Diego, California, awarded the contracts. BAE Systems also announced earlier this week that it won a five-year, $94 million indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract to deliver engineering, test and evaluation support for sensors, in addition to communication, control, and weapons systems for manned and unmanned air platforms. The contract was awarded by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division. "We are bringing new advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and autonomy to the Airborne Systems Integration Division,” Keeler said in a news release. “Our state-of-the-art digital engineering capabilities, and extensive experience in integrating airborne systems are further strengthening the warfighter's ability to meet mission requirements and ensuring combat readiness in the field.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/11/12/bae-systems-wins-several-naval-it-contracts/