Indian Air Force fighter pilots may now hit their targets more accurately if some new devices for guided weapons testing work according to plans. What's more, the tests can be carried out on the weapons just before the fighter aircraft's take-off, thereby saving time, effort and money lost in tests conducted in air-conditioned facilities. "We have developed and successfully tested our guided weapon testing devices, which help improve the accuracy rate of guided weapons of IAF like Infra-Red Guided Missiles (IRGM) and Laser Guided Bombs (LGBs)," Director of DRDO's Laser Science and Technology Center (LASTEC), A K Maini told reportersin New Delhi . The device matches the weapons' code specifications with their target designators and seekers, and informs the user the likely effectiveness of the attack and target acquisition accuracies. The matching codes of target designator and seekers in missiles are crucial for the weapon to be accurate, Maini said. "Missiles drift from their targets because the codes of seekers in missiles do not match with the designators. Our fighter aircraft also face similar problems, as codes in PGMs and laser target designators and seekers tend to shift marginally after some time, which makes the missile drift from its target by a long distance," Maini said. LASTEC's IRGM tester simulates the jet exhaust signatures of enemy aircraft, which need to match up with those of the infra-red seeker device in the IRGM, which is used against enemy aircraft. "When the signature and the seeker do not match, the missiles will move away from its target," the scientist from the country's premier defence research agency said. "If the infra-red seeker device recognises the signature and locks on to it, the missile is performing well. Otherwise, we change the seeker codes to match the enemy aircraft's signatures. This helps the missile to home on accurately to its targets," Maini said. The LGB tester also carries out the checks in a similar fashion. The LGB tester simulates the codes of the target designator, which direct the LGB to hit its targets after being released from aircraft. If the laser seeking device on LGB is performing well, it will lock on to the target. If not, the codes of the laser target designator are changed to match with the seeker. IAF can perform the functionality check on its missiles even when they are strapped on to the weapon delivery platform. "Till now, matching of codes and signatures was done in huge air-conditioned laboratories, which took 15-20 hours to perform the checks. With the LASTEC's devices, it can be done right before the aircraft takes off for a mission," Maini said. IAF had successfully field tested the LGB and IRGM tester in Gwalior and Pune respectively along with a LASTEC team. IAF has the Russian R-73 and French Magic Matra IRGMs and Paveway LGBs in its inventory. IAF's fighter aircraft fleet fly with a mixed package of IRGMs and LGBs during missions. IAFs Mirage 2000 aircraft had used its LGBs very effectively against enemy targets on snowy peaks in Operation 'Safed Sagar' during Kargil war in 1999.

India and Singapore have concluded a two-day defence dialogue to take stock of their growing military ties, assess threats to stability in the region and share security concerns. Indian defence secretary Vijay Singh and his Singaporean counterpart, permanent secretary-defence Chiang Chie Foo, led the two sides at the fifth round of the India-Singapore Defence Policy Dialogue, which ended here Wednesday. Singh also had a meeting Wednesday with Singapore's Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean where they exchanged views on security issues of common concern and ways to strengthen defence cooperation. The policy dialogue was set up under a 2003 India-Singapore defence cooperation agreement with the meetings to be held alternately in the two countries. "The annual dialogue serves as a forum for Singapore and India to oversee and advance the bilateral defence relationship," the Singapore ministry of defence said. Defence ties between India and Singapore have been growing steadily over the past few years, expanding in scope and intensity with numerous rounds of joint exercises involving their land, sea and air forces. In August, India and Singapore signed a bilateral agreement under which India would provide facilities for Singapore Armed Forces to conduct joint military training and exercises involving both armour and artillery in Babina in Uttar Pradesh and Deolali in Maharashtra, where the Indian army's artillery school is located. Singapore armed forces will once again be in India in November for separate army and air force exercises. A second round of army exercises has been scheduled for February 2009, an Indian official said Thursday. The annual defence policy dialogue provides Indian and Singaporean officials an opportunity to review the status of their defence relationship, identify future areas of cooperation and share mutual security concerns, the official said. In 2007, India had signed an agreement with Singapore allowing the air force of the land-scarce city state to train its personnel at the Indian Air Force base in Kalaikunda in West Bengal. The two navies have conducted joint anti-piracy exercises around the Straits of Malacca and the Bay of Bengal aimed at protecting commercial sea lanes and enhancing maritime security. Apart from the joint exercises and manoeuvres, more importantly, the defence establishments of the two sides have kept up a regular dialogue sharing strategies on counter-terrorism and maritime security. Also, the two military research and development organisations - India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Singapore's Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) - have been involved in defence technology cooperation. During his visit, Singh was shown the new uniform that has recently been approved for induction by the Singapore armed forces. The uniform's unique pixelated design gives improved camouflage cover making it more difficult for soldiers to be detected in combat situations and in hostile environments. Singh also visited the Tengah air base, Changi naval base and Singapore Artillery facility. At Changi base, he went aboard Singapore's state-of-the-art Formidable class frigate. The multi-role stealth frigate, one of six that Singapore is developing under a technology transfer agreement with France, has been described as the "most advanced surface combatant ship in Southeast Asia".

The Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation has developed a guided missile testing device. According to A K Maini of DRDO, the Laser Technology Center "successfully tested the guided weapon testing devices, which helps improve the accuracy rate of guided weapons of IAF like infra-red guided missiles and laser guided bombs." The innovative device reportedly matches weapons' code specifications with target designators and is capable of simulating the jet exhaust signatures of enemy aircraft. "Missiles drift from their targets because the codes of seekers in missiles do not match with the designators. Our fighter aircraft also face similar problems, as codes in PGMs and laser target designators and seekers tend to shift marginally after some time, which makes the missile drift from its target by a long distance," explained Maini. Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force has inaugurated an integrated command and control system to facilitate the real time networking of all military and civilian radars in southern India. "The [C&C] will help in carrying out real time networking of civil and military radars and will act as a force multiplier for the IAF in the southern peninsula," explained Air Marshal S. Radhakrishnan. The system reportedly integrates IAF, Indian Navy and civilian radars in the southern peninsula via a multi-radar data fusion application. The new C&C also supports air defence functions such as automatic surveillance, identification, threat evaluation, interception and recovery.

As many as 23 private manufacturers have been short listed for manufacturing defence equipment in the country to export to friendly countries, DRDO Chief Controller Development A S Pillai said. Pillai said the DRDO have export orders of around USD two billion for BrahMos cruise missiles. The missile, an Indo-Russian joint venture, has network-centric warfare capabilities using information from satellites, troops on the ground, submarines and ships to guide the weapon. "BrahMos, which has already been inducted into the Indian Navy and Army, will be inducted into the Air Force by 2012. It will be integrated with Sukhoi-30 aircrafts," Pillai said. Earlier, Pillai was awarded the Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) for his outstanding contribution to the field of defence research and development. Tarun Das, Chief Mentor, Confederation of Indian Industry, and Gautam Thapar, President, Thapar University and Chairman and CEO, Das, Chief Mentor, Confederation of Indian Industry, and Gautam Thapar, President, Thapar University and Chairman & CEO, Avantha, presided over the ceremony. Das congratulated Pillai and said, "Today, India needs more dedicated scientists like him, and I hope that his presence here will serve as an inspiration to many of these young people."

Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta today called upon the Indian private industry to join hands with the armed forces on a formal platform in the Information Technology sector, which is increasingly relegating other conventional forms of warfare to the sidelines. Inaugurating the two-day Naval Symposium on Information Systems (NAVSIS) organised jointly by the Navy and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, Mehta said the industry could help complement the Navy's IT needs by providing a good mix of security policy and up-to-date technology. "This is an opportunity for the Indian industry, as the Navy was already implementing a number of projects that incorporate latest concepts and technology," he added. According to Mehta, the Indian Navy aimed to leverage the power of IT and achieve net-centricity through collaborative integration and a strategic partnership with the industry. "This was specially important as a number of projects are being implemented and there is need to benchmark these as per prevalent international standards," he added. Mehta also released a Technical Journal and inaugurated an exhibition on Information Systems on the occasion. Earlier, CII National Committee on IT and ITES Ajai Chowdhry expressed optimism that the on-going IT drive initiative by the Navy would open more business opportunities for the Indian industry.

With India opening the forbidding Siachen Glacier for civilian trek last year, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is planning to open more Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) for aircraft operations, aimed at promoting tourism in high-altitude areas of Ladakh. "The Defence Ministry (MOD) has directed us to look for more Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) in Ladakh to increase aircraft operations that will help promote tourism and for other purposes," Western Air Commander Air Marshal P K Barbora said today, after witnessing the IAF's dress rehearsal for the 76th Air Force Day parade at Hindan near here. "With fixed wing aircraft landing at these ALGs, we would be able to send more relief material in less time for humanitarian support and also for disaster management, whenever it is required," Barbora said, to a question about the opening of ALGs in high-altitude areas. The IAF had already opened the Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO) ALG around May this year, closer to the Chinese-held Aksai Chin areas of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, with the first An-32 landing in three decades. The Siachen glacier trekking camp was launched this October 1 for the second year in a row. Last year, the government had opened up the 72-km-long Glacier for civilian adventure tourism, despite Pakistani protests. By increasing civilian and tourist movement in the region, India wants to strengthen its claim on the territory along the 110-km-long Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) with Pakistan.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has embarked on a plan to modernise its major air bases, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Homi Major said here on Friday. The IAF had also installed surveillance devices to make air bases more secure in the wake of terrorist incidents and the creeping urbanisation around their peripheries. The IAF had floated a global tender to modernise 39 airfields to a standard that would take every type of aircraft. "The ultimate aim is that all the bases can handle every single type of aircraft," he said at a press conference before Air Force Day on October 8. The IAF was filling low-level gaps in the southern peninsula with the induction of more radars and wanted to jointly manage air space with the civil aviation sector all over the country to enhance domain awareness. The IAF chief said the Tezpur air base would be the first in the eastern region to host the potent Sukhoi-30 MKI fighters. "The Prime Minister, during his visit to the north-east recently, announced development works, including better roads, advanced landing grounds, etc. In the IAF, we have brought forward some programmes to beef up the infrastructure in the north-east." Having resolved the spares issue, the IAF wants Hindustan Aeronautical Limited to produce around 22 to 23 aircraft annually to speed up their deployment as against the 15 it made this year. Another new area of focus was the modernisation of its transport fleet. The nearly 100 AN-32 medium transporters were being upgraded but would be finally replaced with the medium transport aircraft that would be jointly designed and produced by India and Russia. The IAF would also replace the heavy transporter IL-76 with a very heavy transport aircraft. "We are working out the air staff qualitative requirements and wish to issue the request for information very soon. We are also in the process of upgrading the Dorniers with better avionics and are considering the induction of the indigenously developed light category Saras aircraft," he said. The IAF was planning to buy six more air-to-air refuellers and the Defence Ministry was engaged in price negotiations with makers of IL-78 and Airbus-330. The IAF already has half a dozen refuellers which has vastly enhanced the range of its frontline fighters. The IAF will soon finalise the purchase of 80 Mi-17s, 125 light utility helicopters to replace the Cheetah and Chetak fleet, eight VVIP helicopters and four of its cargo version. It would also induct 38 indigenous Dhruv helicopters and 16 of its armed versions with a glass cockpit and new engines. Negotiations with Russia for designing and developing a fifth-generation fighter aircraft are being held on job share and costing. Asked about plans to purchase precision guided missiles, the air chief said, "We are looking at this all the time. The need to integrate missiles with the aircraft is the challenge. You don’t just go to the market, buy a missile and put it on the plane." On service chiefs approaching the Prime Minister on the pay issue, he said, “I, as the Chief of Air Staff, and the other two service chiefs, after going through the pay panel report, had put up a few issues which we wanted the Government to reconsider.”

The CRPF in its operation across 18 states of the country this year has seized over 7,000 kg of explosives with the highest being reported from naxal infested states, according to the latest statistics released by the Home Ministry. According to the report, while over 6,000 kg of explosive was recovered in Bihar this year, 893.5 kg was recovered from Jharkhand. Both states, which occupy top two positions in the list of states from where explosive seizures were made, have heavy naxal presence. In the militancy torn state of Jammu and Kashmir, the largest paramilitary force in the world, has recovered explosive to the tune of 186.5 kg. Incidentally, the force has received the maximum losses in naxal infested states put together than in rest of the country. Of the total 49 casualties reported by the force, 37 were reported from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. But, with regard to the maximum kills generated by the force, Jammu and Kashmir tops the list with 80 militants killed, followed by Jharkhand (30), Assam (20) and Chhattisgarh (17). The highest number of personnel injured was in Jammu and Kashmir at 699, which officials said was a result of the violence over the Amarnath land row. The force took part in 62 shootouts in Chhattisgarh followed by 48 in Jammu and Kashmir and 44 in Jharkhand among others taking the total to 189. While CRPF recovered 57,460 ammunitions and 1557 arms from across the country, it lost 1143 and 18 of the same.

President Asif Ali Zardari today named Vice Admiral Noman Bashir as the new chief of the Pakistan Navy, the first appointment made by him in the armed forces since he was elected to the top constitutional post last month. Bashir, who belongs to the naval aviation wing, will take over as the navy chief when incumbent Admiral Muhammad Afzal Tahir retires on October 7 after completing three years in the post. The Defence Ministry had sent a notification to the President recommending the names of Vice Admirals Asif Humayan and Bashir for the post of naval chief. Bashir's appointment was approved during a meeting today between Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. Bashir is currently the commander of Pakistan Navy's Karachi sector and earlier served as commander of naval aviation. Bashir is the brother of Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, according to Geo News channel. In a message of felicitation sent to Bashir, Prime Minister Gilani said the task before the new naval chief is "full of challenges due to the ever-changing geo-strategic and regional environment in the world around Pakistan".

India said on Friday it was gearing up to seal military contracts worth billions of dollars including a massive fighter jet deal which has prompted a dogfight among global aeronautical giants. India's move to buy 126 fighter jets worth 12 billion dollars was in its final stages with evaluations of six shortlisted aircraft set to begin next year, Air Chief Marshal Fali Major told a news conference. "A number of projects now are reaching a conclusion," Major said in New Delhi, referring to contracts due to be awarded. "The Indian air force is in a state of transformation and we are on the way to modernization," he said. US-based Boeing and Lockheed Martin, Russian MiG, Sweden's Saab and French Dassault are vying for the world's richest fighter jet deal in 15 years. Industry sources said Lockheed Martin's F-16 or Boeing's Super Hornet have already emerged as front runners. The military official's statements came a day after the US Senate endorsed a US-India nuclear deal, removing all hurdles for the resumption of civilian nuclear trade between the two countries after more than three decades. Experts say the deal will also open doors for the military to buy technology which had been banned for export to India after the US slapped sanctions on the country following its 1998 nuclear weapons tests. US defence contractors have been lobbying hard to secure deals with India. Major's comments came less than a week after India and its main arms exporter Russia extended their military ties by 10 years with the sale of 347 tanks and talks on collaboration on a fifth-generation fighter jet. Most of the big-ticket hardware from countries including Britain, France, Israel, Russia and the United States is destined for the technology-hungry air force. "The Indian air force needs the capability to support India's resurgent growth and so we are phasing out old equipment with new hardware," Major said. The air force will also buy six Hercules transport planes from Lockheed Martin for 968 million dollars and will begin final talks for six air-to-air refuelling planes with either Airbus or the Russians this month, Major said. The first of two Israeli Phalcon Airborne Warning and Control System radar systems worth 1.1 billion dollars would reach India in January, other officials said. Major, meanwhile, also said India had begun upgrading its military installations and airbases on the border with China to counter any possible threat from its giant Asian neighbour. "A comprehensive infrastructure development programme has been undertaken in the northeast where roads and advanced landing grounds are being beefed up," he said. "By 2009 we would have our Sukhoi-30 multi-role fighter jets deployed on the eastern sector," Major said as other officials said military engineers were working at high speed to fortify the Sino-Indian border. The Indian military says China has also built strategic roads and air fields close to disputed frontier regions. The two populous countries which have fought a brief but a bitter border war in 1962 still have territorial disputes that not been resolved despite 13 rounds of high-level talks.