रक्षा अधिग्रहण परिषद के निर्णयों का विश्लेषण

सबसे पहेले ४०० हेलिकॉप्टर की बात करते हैं . यह हेलिकॉप्टर चेतक और चीता की जगह लेंगे क्यूंकी यह दोनो पुराने हो चुके है. हेलिकॉप्टर का काम उचाई पर हमारे ठिकानो को रसद, वीक्षण, हताहत निकासी और सेना के जवानो को पहुचाने का है . HAL नेअभी तक कोई भी हेलिकॉप्टर इसके लिए निर्माण नही किया है . उसकी योजना अनुसार LUC नामका एक हेलिकॉप्टर बनेगा . उसका कोई भी उड़ता हुया मॉडेल नही है . अत: ४-५ वर्ष लग जाएँगे इसको आने मे . तब तक हमारी सेना उचे पहाड़ो पर क्या करेगी उसका अनुमान आप लगा सकते है. 

इन ४०० मे से HAL को २०० हेलिकॉप्टर का अनुबंध प्राप्त होना लगभग तय है और अगर कोई निजी कंपनी कोई और हेलिकॉप्टर नही लाती है तो पूरे ४०० हेलिकॉप्टर HAL को मिल जाएँगे.

इसका फायेदा यह होगा की हमारी बहुत बचत होगी और हम किसी के भरोसे नही रहेंगे (एंजिन और कुछ एवियानिक्स के अलावा) किंतु HAL की कार्य प्रणाली बहुत ही घटिया है उनके द्वारा निर्मित अधिकतर आयुध 3rd क्लास होते है तथा १ साल का काम वो ४ साल मे करते है .
अतः मेरी इच्छा है की टाटा, अशोक Leyland इत्यादि अगर हेलिकॉप्टर का निर्माण करे तो बेहतर होगा .

दूसरा बड़ा फ़ैसला और मेरे हिसाब से बहुत ही महत्वपूर्ण फ़ैसला Active Towed Array Sonar के संदर्भ मे लिया गया है जिसके लिए मैं बहुत प्रसन्न हूँ . आप यकीन नही करेंगे किंतु हमारे नये यूधपोत इस सोनार के ना होने के कारण पनडुब्बी के लिए आसान शिकार हैं और चीन का पनडुब्बी बेड़ा बेहद खतरनाक और विशाल है .
DRDO ने कई वर्षों तक हमारी नौसेना को मूर्ख बनाया और अंत मे हाथ खड़े कर लिए.

तीसरा फ़ैसला भी बहुत अच्छा है ४० अर्जुन tank पर आधारित catapult artillery सिस्टम खरीदने के लिए एक प्रस्ताव को मंजूरी दे दी. आप शायद भीम नामकself-propelled howitzer के बारे मे जानते होंगे कुछ वर्ष पूर्व T-७२ tank के उपर Denel कंपनी का तोप लगा कर एक बहुत ही शक्तिशाली self-propelled howitzer बिल्कुल तैयार था किंतु Denel के विरुद्ध कुछ मामले सामने आए और यह प्रॉजेक्ट धरा का धरा रह गया .

चौथा और बहुत ही बड़ा फ़ैसला chinook और अपाचे हिलिकॉप्टेर के विषय मे है, chinook एक बहुत विशाल हेलिकॉप्टर है जिसका विश्व मे कोई सानी नही है mi-26, रूस द्वारा निर्मित हेलिकॉप्टर का सर्विस रेकॉर्ड बहुत घटिया है . तथा यह फ़ैसला भारत के महामात्य के अमरीका दौरे को ध्यान मे रखते हुए किया गया है.
Apache मेरे हिसाब से दुनिया का बेहतरीन लड़ाकू हेलिकॉप्टर है जिसने अनेक यूधभूमि पर आपना लोहा मनवाया है


एक और फ़ैसले से मै बहुत प्रसन्न हूँ इंडियन आर्मी ने स्पाइक anti-tank guided missiles की खरीद पर ज़ोर दिया था किन्तु अमरीका ने अपने बहुत की ख़तरनाक javeline missile ka साथ मे निर्माण करने का प्रस्ताव रखा है यह हमारे लिए बहुत लाभदायक हो सकता है अत: स्पाइक की खरीद अभी स्थगित कर दी गयी है .

किलो क्लास पन्नडूबी के मध्य जीवन उन्नयन का निर्णय भी नौसेना के लिए लाभदायक सिद्ध होगा.हमारी नौसेना के पन्नडूबी गिनती मे बहुत कम और पुराने हो चुके है जो किसी भी प्रकार चीन का मुकाबला करने मे और हमारे विशाल सागर क्षेत्र और तट रेखा की सुरक्षा के लिए परिपूर्ण नही है. रक्षा मंत्री ने कुछ दिन पूर्व स्कॉर्पीन पन्नडूबी को जल्द से जल्द सेवा मे लाने का भी आदेश दिया था , इन फ्रांसीसी पनडुब्बियों को  4-5 साल पहले ही सेवा मे आ जानी चाहिए थी किंतु हमरे लचर रक्षा उत्पादन उद्योग के चलते वह आज भी निर्माण चरण मे ही अटकी हुई है.

तेजपुर स्थित 4 कोर ,3 कोर दीमापुर आधारित और 14 कोर लेह आधारित के तहत चीन सीमा पर तैनात सेना के जवानों के लिए मोबाइल संचार प्रणाली का नेटवर्क स्थापित किया जाएगा . युद्ध और शांति के दौरान बिना संचार व्यवस्था के सेना की कार्य क्षमता नगण्य हो जाती है. तथा दुश्मन सबसे पहले हमारी स्थिर संचार व्यवस्था को निशाना बनाएगी.  

अंत मे 118 अर्जुन MK2 Tanks की खरीद का है DRDO की मंशा यह थी की अर्जुन कम से  कम 300-500 के बीच मे हो ताकि आपूर्ति लाइन ठीक से काम करे और मुनाफ़ा भी दे . हो सकता है की सरकार और सेना पहले इन Tanks को उपयोग करके देखना चाहती हो फिर और नये अर्जुन MK2 ख़रीदेगी. हो सकता है की इस समय अर्जुन पूरी तरह  से परिपक्व नही हुया हो किंतु हम अगर इसको उपयोग मे नही लाएँगे तो कैसे पता चलेगा इसकी क्या कमियाँ है और अगले संस्करण मे कैसे उसे और सुधारा जाए. कोई भी Tank पहले संस्करण से बिल्कुल सही नही बनता है. आप  किसी का भी उधारण देख सकते है चाहे वो इज़्रेली मेरकावा हो या फिर जर्मन लेपर्ड.
हर देश ने धीरे धीरे घर मे निर्मित वस्तु को सुधारा है. अगर कल रूस हमे टी-90 देने मे असमर्थ भी हो फिर भी हमारे पास अपने घर मे बना अर्जुन होगा तथा टी-90 के मुक़ाबले यह सस्ता भी होगा आगे चलकर . 

जैटली जी ने शुरआत अच्छी करी है आशा करता हूँ की उनके आदेशो पर तीव्रता के साथ अमल भी किया जाएगा .

Watch Out This New Year Deadlier Arjun MK-II Will Be Unleashed.

It is official by Jan-2012 Arjun MK-II will go for trials and once it passes those trials it will be inducted into the Indian Army.

Readers of this blog might remember the controversy generated by Arjun Mk-I. After long delays it was sabotaged during trials forcing DRDO to put a black box. Once it was given a level playing field, it not only out-performed T-90's but gave it a good spanking. Army was so impressed they immediately ordered 124 of these tanks. Follow up order was in pipeline if some improvements were made to the original. So started the story of Arjun MK-II. 93 modifications had to be made with 19 major ones.

One of the heavy criticism of Arjun MK-I was its weight which came to somewhere in the range of 62-63 tons yet the surprising aspect of the major modifications is that Arjun MK-II is now 3-4 tonnes heavier. Historically Army has been complaining about the unsuitability of Arjuns to the road and railways infrastructure of India yet it has accepted the increased weight due to the comparative benefits.

CVRDE chief, Dr P Sivakumar, an award-winning transmission specialist, is jubilant. “Earlier the army was criticising my Arjun [for weighing too much]. But, after seeing its cross-country performance, even compared with a lighter 40-tonne tank like the T-90, they realise that the Arjun moves like a Ferrari. Even at 65-66 tonnes, it will beat any MBT in the desert,” he promises.

The first major modification is the addition of ERA plates to give it more protection increasing the weight by 1.5 tonnes then comes the mine plough fitted at the front of the tank which churns up the ground infront of the tank while moving blowing up deadly mines which otherwise had blown up the tank.

In 2004 it was proven that LAHAT missiles can be fired from Arjun now the sighting and control systems are being integrated into the gunner’s sight by its vendors, OIP Sensor Systems (Belgium) and SAGEM (France).

Next big improvement is the tank commander’s thermal imaging (TI) night sight, which will replace the outdated ay only sight of Arjun MK-I. Giving this monster the ability to hunt at night. This feature has been aptly named as “hunter-killer” mode --- the commander as hunter; and the gunner as killer. The commander scans the battlefield through his new TI sight; targets that he spots are electronically allocated to the gunner to destroy, while he returns to hunting for more targets.

The Mark II also equips the driver with a new night vision device based on “un-cooled thermal imaging”, allowing him to clearly see 300-500 metres, even on a pitch-dark night. The “image intensifier” device in the Mark I required some ambient light. A DRDO laboratory, Instrument R&D Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun, has built the new driver’s sight.

Tank's hydro-pneumatic suspension have been changed which is now capable of handling a 70-tonne load. This also incorporates some newly-developed technologies to overcome occasional problems that the Arjun Mark I has grappled with during its development period: grease leakage and track shedding.

Israel Military Industries (IMI), designers of the renowned Merkava tank, talking to Indian Army generals after a “third-party evaluation” of the Arjun declared that the Arjun, especially ruggedised for Indian conditions, would outrun any competition.

The big modification to be incorporated later in 2012 is laser counter measure. This system detects the laser which an enemy missile is following and within a split second it creates a smokescreen around the tank thereby making the enemy missile gunner blind.

Unfortunately there is one drawback while the MK-I can achieve top speed of 70kmph this giant can go upto only 60mph.Even though it is slower yet army believes that a tank needs agility and firepower, it is seldom used for sustained cross--country top speed.

Next big problem is the cost which is a whopping 37 crore each.

Arjun MKII will cost Rs 37 Crore, which is more than Abraham

Defense Minister Of India informed the parliament that each Arjun MKII will cost Rs 37crore which is roughly 8 million USD. This information was provided in reply to a question. Arjun MK-I costs around 16-17 crore Rs per tank.

The official release to a question on the price of the Arjun is attached below


MARK-II VERSION OF ARJUN TANK
New Delhi: Bhadrapada 07, 1933
August 29, 2011
Limited technical trials with some major and minor improvements on Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun Mark-I, as part of MBT Arjun Mark-II, have been carried out by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in the deserts of Rajasthan.
Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has cleared the proposal for placement of indent for 124 Nos. of MBT Arjun Mark-II on Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), Avadi, Chennai. Placement of indent by the Army on Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) is being further processed.
The likely estimated cost of each MBT Arjun Mark-II with ail major/minor improvements will be approximately Rs.37 crore.
The first batch of MBT Arjun Mark-II is likely to be productionised by 2015.
This information was given by Defence Minister Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri Naveen Jindal in Lok Sabha today.

Army May Place Order For 248 Formidable Arjun MKII Tanks

Once a joke now a weapon of war, story of Arjun MBT has been a journey which can match any Hollywood thriller with intrigues,conspiracies, heart-break,love, sci-fi technology etc. Now the much-maligned Arjun Main Battle Tank is hitting back with vengeance, as the Indian Army is set to order 248 more of India's first indigenously-built tanks, a decision that will also give a much-needed shot in the arm to the country's beleaguered tank fleet.

"We are definitely expecting more orders, at least a minimum of 248 tanks of the Mark-II version. The Ordnance Factory Board has been instructed by the ministry of defence to initiate action for the procurement of the Mark-II version," P. Sivakumar, director, Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment, told the Economic Times.

The order, which could be placed in late-2011 itself, will come as a huge boost to the Arjun production line at the Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadhi, on the outskirts of Chennai, as the same was expected to be terminated due to a lack of interest shown by the Indian Army.

So far, the Army has placed an order for 248 tanks of the Mark-I version.

The Mark-II version of the Arjun MBT is currently undergoing its critical summer trials in Pokhran, Rajasthan, conducted by the country's nodal defence lab, DRDO, while the winter trials are expected to take place later in the year. The defence research establishment expects to get the new orders from the end user - the Army - once the current trials conclude.

"If the trials go well, particularly relating to missile firing, there is no doubt that further orders will be placed. There is a commitment given by the deputy chief of Army staff, if the new improvements are incorporated successfully" Sivakumar said.

The June trials have already seen the Arjun MBT Mark-II tested with a number of technical improvements, including command panoramic sight and uncooled thermal image. According to Sivakumar, a further 40 technological improvements are to be tested, including a new transmission control system and new fuel tanks.

'We are planning the first phase of the end user trials by October or November for the missile and other design improvements," he said.

The Army's decision to induct greater numbers of the Arjun MBT is a significant turnaround from its earlier reluctance to do so. However, with the military's 4,000-strong tank arsenal consisting largely of more than 2,400 obsolete T-72 tanks and transfer of technology issues with Russia relating to the T-90, has forced it to take a re-look at the Arjun.

The tank has had its fair share of detractors within the country's military establishment.

After being in development hell for more than 30 years and at a substantial cost of Rs 300-crore, the Arjun MBT programme had come under severe flak for cost overruns and its failure to meet the Indian Army's combat requirements, leading to speculation that it could never be the mainstay of the Indian Army's Armoured Corps.

But ever since comprehensively outgunning and outrunning the T-90, India's current flagship battle tank in 2010, the DRDO has been positioning the Arjun MBT as the backbone of the country's armoured fighting units.

Defended the programme, the defence establishment also laid part of the blame for the project delays on the Indian military , stating that they had to be "realistic" in their demands.

"'But while we welcome all inputs and guidelines, we also feel the need for the Services to firm up realistic requirements at the earliest, so we may properly plan our project requirements," Dr VK Saraswat, scientific advisor to the defence minister said last month.

Arjun MK II Trial Begins

Here is a bit of good news for all Indian's. The much maligned Arjun tank which took nearly 30 years to complete is ready in its new avatar, "Arjun MKII" . this version is being tested right now somewhere in the deserts of Rajasthan. The fantastic part of the story is that the second version of the tank is ready within one year of Government giving the go ahead.

According to DRDO it will be in position to hand over these tanks to the army in large scale by 2014. This time around the testing is being done in a phased manner with the army involvement in each step.

The dozen or so advancement or changes will be tested in an incremental step by step manner. The most important of them is the missile firing capability with a laser homing device. This missile can destroy any tank within the range of 8 km by locking on to it using laser homing which incidentally has been already tested and perfected on Mark-I but it did not become the part of the final product handed over to the army.

Second change will be an Indian engine instead of the German engine which is in place now in the 58 tonne Arjun Mark-I

Other modifications include better explosive-reactive armour for the tank to protect it from enemy missiles and rockets, improving the sighting facility to provide it a wider view of the battlefield, night vision capability and an improved communication system.

The Arjun Mark-II will have over 90 percent indigenous systems on board, except for some hydraulic and electronic systems.

Earlier Army was not in any mood to buy this product but when Arjuns were pitted against the the much famed T-90 tanks of India Armored Division, they were found to be much better. Thus Indian Army placed an order of 124 tanks at a cost of 170 million INR(each) with Heavy Vehicle Factory(Avadhi). This first batch has been handed over to the army. Now the Indian army operates two regiments using these tanks.

Though Indian Army wanted to wait for the MK-II version but an order was needed to keep the production lines in the factory live so it has placed an additional order for 124 tanks more. This is a clear indication that the army brass is now confident with Arjun tanks capability and these will become the mainstay of Indian Army in near the future.

Arjun Weight Ratio Compared To Other Tanks

Tank	HP*	Wt**	HP/wt	NGP***(kg / cm2 )
T-72	780	41.5	18.8	0.83
T-90	1000	46.5	21.5	0.94
Challenger	1200	62.5	19.2	0.90
Merkava	1200	61.0	19.7	0.96
Leo II	1500	55.2	27.2	0.83
M1 A2	1500	63.0	23.3	0.96
Leclerc	1500	54.5	27.5	0.90
Arjun	1400	58.5	23.9	0.84
BMP	285	14	20.4	0.65
* Horse Power ** Weight in tons *** Nominal Ground Pressure

Arjun MBT has a bigger track-print, hence, its Nominal Ground Pressure is only 0.84 kg/cm2 which compares well with other MBTs of the world . Further, with a combination of low NGP and high power / weight ratio, it has commendable going ability. The proof being Arjun MBT crossing the Ravi at Lassian, without any engineer support, whatsoever and it has crossed numerous patches of marshy terrain which are marked ‘non-tankable’ in going maps of the Gurdaspur-Pathankot sector.

MBT Arjun is broader and heavier than other tanks in our fleet, resulting in special, but not insurmountable, difficulties in transportation. During the last 15 years, various prototypes of Arjun MBT has been moved for trials to various sectors, by both, rail and road, by existing means of transportation, albeit with adhoc expedients, but without facing any serious difficulties.

Arjun Mk II Ready For Testing

By Jay Menon jaymenon68@gmail.com

Arjun MK-I User trials for India’s future main battle tank, the Arjun Mk. II Phase I, will begin in June, and the first batch of the advanced variant should be ready by 2014. Two regiments of the Arjun Mk. I are already deployed in India’s western sector of Rajasthan by the army, and a further order for 124 tanks has been placed with the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). “DRDO has already begun work on the improvements required for the Mk. II tanks, and about 20 improvements have already been completed,” a defense ministry official says. The two-phase project was cleared in 2010. “After completing technical trials, the army will validate the major improvements carried out in the Phase I and II plans. This is scheduled during June 2011 and July 2012,” the official says. The indigenously developed weapon system will undergo 93 upgrades in two phases, including the advanced air defense gun system for firing at attack helicopters. The tank also will be equipped with explosive-reactive armor to protect it from enemy missiles and rockets. The tank is likely to benefit from new laser warning suites and missile-firing capabilities, which are much advanced over existing systems. It also will have an automatic target-tracking system to add accuracy when firing on a moving target. Besides the 124 Arjun Mk. I tanks, the Indian army has signaled its intention to acquire another 124 Mk. IIs. According to the official, 45 tanks will be ready in the Phase I period, and the remaining 79 will roll out during Phase II. “The first batch of Arjun Mk. II Phase I tanks are expected to be ready during 2013-14,” he says. The official says the army’s Arjun Mk. I tanks were manufactured by Heavy Vehicles Factory.