Aerospace Diary

LAND WARFARE 05th September 2014 - 9:41 by  Neelam Mathews  in Delhi After deciding to spend $135 million on 40  Catapult artillery  systems and $1.1 billion on 118 Arjun MkII MBTs, the Indian Army still has further to go. A much-awaited decision on anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) for which the Israeli Spike missile and Raytheon’s Javelin are contenders, was deferred. Even as the Indian Army prepares to raise over 90,000 new Mountain Strike Corps along the 4,000 km border with China by 2019, the fate of the ultra-light howitzers also continues to hang in the air.......Read more on Shephard Media (subscription free for two weeks)

Neelam Mathews Jan 13, 2012 An RFI is out by the Indian Army that is planning to procure an Unmanned  Aerial Vehicle (UAV)  Mission Simulator. The last date of submission is Feb 25. The RFI says the Indian Army is employing Searcher and Heron class of UAVs and is planning to acquire a Mission Simulator for training of its crew. The  UAV Mission Simulator should be capable of conducting  initial and refresher training of External Pilot, Internal Pilot, Mission Commander and Observer with a separate console available to the instructor.  The Simulator is proposed to be used for simulation of single, Air Data Relay (ADR), mission scenario, maritime scenario, with or without Satellite Communication (SATCOM) for single or multiple payloads. It will also be used for simulation of all phases of UAV mission as well as its payloads and to play pre-recorded missions with annotations for analysis. 

Posted by- Neelam Mathews Defense Minister AK Antony said in Rajya Sabha on friday the artillery equipment procured / upgraded in the past two decades includes Pinaka Rocket System; Smerch Rocket System; BrahMos Missile System and Upgradation of 130mm gun to 155mm/45 calibre. "Procurement of new generation artillery is in consonance with Artillery Profile 2027. This profile has a mix of 155mm/39 calibre, 155mm/45 calibre and 155mm/52 calibre gun system." "Modernization is an ongoing process. ....The guns presently held are not of World War II vintage nor the ammunition levels are low to the levels reported in media. However, some deficiencies do exist in some categories of ammunition. Divulging further details would not be in the interest of national security. Modernisation of Army is undertaken on a continuous basis which entails the replacement/upgradation of equipments of older technology. Presently, a number of proposals for upgradation of the existing air d...