26 Nov 13. After a five-year delay in acquiring a Russian aircraft carrier, the Indian Navy will have to wait further before the vessel is equipped with its proposed air defense system. The Indo-Israeli joint project for the Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM) system for the carrier has been hit by technical snags, meaning the Admiral Gorshkov, now renamed Vikramaditya, which was formally received by Defence Minister A.K. Antony Nov. 15, will arrive in India without an air defense system. The system is based on the Israeli Barak missile. An Indian Navy official admitted the carrier initially will have no air defense system. The carrier, however, will have an advanced electronic warfare jamming system and will be protected as part of a carrier group, the official added. It also will be equipped with an AK-630 rapid-fire gun system to destroy incoming missiles and aircraft. “The main weaponry of the ship would be the ship-based aircraft, i.e. aircraft and helicopters with their integral weapons,” an Indian Navy spokesman, P.V. Satish, told Defense News. However, a Navy source said the weaponization would include the fitting of a variety of guns, primarily of 20mm and 30mm. (Source: Defense News)
25 Nov 13. India’s Navy successfully tests Dhanush missile. The Indian Ministry of Defence has successfully test-fired its domestically-built nuclear-capable ballistic missile Dhanush, from a naval ship off the Odisha coast. Press Trust of India cited Integrated Test Range director Prasad as saying that the missile was successfully launched by the strategic force command (SFC) of the Indian defence force from a naval ship. During the testing, conducted as part of a navy training exercise, the surface-to-surface missile was test fired from a location at the Bay of Bengal, while the DRDO provided all logistic support to track the missile’s flight path, according to The New Indian Express. The missile, which has a launch weight about 4.4t, has validated its mission parametres such as elevation, trajectory, azimuth, flight path and stage separation as part of the trials. Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), single-stage, liquid propelled Dhanush is currently in service with the armed services. Prasad told The New Indian Express that the test was 100% successful with all the events, monitored by the range sensors, occurred as anticipated. (Source: naval-technology.com)
25 Nov 13. Godrej completes delivery of first BrahMos missile air frames batch. BrahMos Aerospace has taken delivery of the first batch of BrahMos missile airframe assemblies from Godrej Aerospace, a business unit of Godrej & Boyce. Comprising 40 air-frame assemblies, the delivery forms part of a contract awarded by BrahMos in February 2007. Godrej & Boyce chairman and managing director Jamshyd Godrej said the company also secured the second serial production order comprising another 100 sets. BrahMos MD and CEO Dr Pillai said Godrej’s investment in exclusive facilities for BrahMos has given the company confidence to award additional orders for BrahMos missile air-frame assemblies to Godrej and also increase its scope of work for the missile. (Source: army-technology.com)
26 Nov 13. USAF receives first HCSM upgrade units from Raytheon. The US Air Force (USAF) has taken delivery of the first batch of high-speed anti-radiation missile (HARM) control section modification (HCSM) upgrade units from Raytheon. The upgrade also integrates a digital flight computer to help the missile combine targeting solutions from navigation and seeker systems, in addition to the GPS receiver and enhanced inertial measurement unit (IMU) for precision navigation to the existing HARM. Executed in collaboration with Honeywell, Rockwell Collins and others, the programme also adds new features that degrade counter-HARM tactics, simultaneously lowering the risk of fratricide or collateral d