defexpo 2018 held in chennai saw participation from large companies, and hundreds of smes and msmes. international companies showcased mind-boggling equipment. india was not to be left behind.
by jayashree kini mendes
Artillery with intelligence. That is what the entire show was about. Nearly all 700 participants, of which nearly 155 were global players, had something clever to showcase at the 10th Edition of DefExpo 2018 held in Thiruvidenthai in Chennai. Self-propelled weapons systems, all-weather systems that could revolve 3600 and fire multiple rounds under any weather conditions, ominous looking battle tanks that had large machine guns strapped to it, you name it and there were weapons on display. All for one purpose – defence and destruction.
Immaterial of whether a country is in a state of war or not, it needs to maintain a stockpile of weapons and ammunition. And today’s times demand that they be advanced and futuristic. It is not necessary for the country to manufacture it themselves. They could be open to purchasing the weapons from others who have the expertise, which is what most countries do. For several decades, India preferred to import sophisticated weapons and build little. Though we had the DRDO and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), we liked to think that we didn’t have the expertise to make superior weapons in-house. But since Mr Modi came to power, his constant chant of Make in India has compelled manufacturing companies to look at making more within the country. That also includes defence.
build them big
Speaking at the inauguration, Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Defence, said that resources are not a problem for India’s defence programme. “Of the total capital expenditure, 33% will be spent on defence. There has been a consistent endeavour to avoid delays in procuring weapons systems. Our focus this year is to project India as a major hub of manufacturing of defence systems in the world by 2025.”
Interestingly, this year the government had decided to reserve 50% of the space for Indian exhibitors, but the response was as high as 75% with many MSMEs participating overwhelmingly.
The event also saw several high-profile MoUs signed between Indian companies and MNCs, and also between Indian companies. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Mahindra Defence Systems committed to a long-term partnership, to jointly address emerging opportunities in the domestic market under Make in India and the Export Promotion Policy of the Ministry of Defence to target the export market. SP Shukla, group president, aerospace & defence, and chairman, Mahindra Defence, said, “Together we have capabilities in mobility, survivability, lethality, electronics and communications, making us ideal partners for new development as well as for upgrade of in service combat vehicles. This partnership can be grown not only to meet the requirements of Indian Armed Forces but also to target exports to other friendly countries.”
MV Gowtama, CMD, BEL, said, “We are pleased to come together and keen to bring to the table our in-house expertise as well as technical know-how to the current and future design of new generation defence systems and products. There’s a sense of confidence that the two of us will work together to contribute to indigenous defence production.”
At its own booth, BEL invited the Chief of Army, General Bipin Rawat, to launch eight new products. The products launched were 100mbps radio, secure military wireless LAN, multi-function hand held thermal imager, long range surveillance system, chemical agent monitor (CAM), multi-purpose reflex weapon sight, light weight composite shelter, and mine field recording system.
From cutting-edge, multirole helicopters to proven military transport aircraft, Airbus displayed its wide-ranging defence capabilities. Visitors to the Airbus booth learnt about the combat-proven A330 MRTT, the only new generation aerial refueller in service today. Also on display was a scale model of the C295 military transport aircraft. “Airbus has been a trusted partner to the Indian armed forces for more than 50 years. We plan to develop a self-sustainable defence industrial ecosystem that will cater to the needs of India and, eventually, the armed forces around the world,” said Pierre de Bausset, president & MD, Airbus India.
Airbus has teamed up with Mahindra Defence and is proposing both the AS565MBe Panther and the H135M under the Naval Utility Helicopters (NUH) and the H225M under the Naval Multi Role Helicopters (NMRH) programmes, all with substantial transfers of technology and indigenisation compliant with ‘Make in India’ objectives.
Similarly, Boeing India has signed an agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), and Mahindra Defence to manufacture Super Hornet fighter aircraft in India. The companies will manufacture F/A-18 Super Hornet for India’s armed forces. The Super Hornet proposal is to build an entirely new and state-of-the-art production facility that can be utilised for other programmes like India’s Advance Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme. Pratyush Kumar, president, Boeing India, said, “The partnership with HAL and Mahindra will enable us to optimise the full potential of public and private sector to deliver next generation fighter planes. Together we can deliver an affordable, combat proven fighter platform for India, while adding growth to the Indian aerospace ecosystem.”
The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) exhibited a new variant of the Mounted Gun System (MGS) armed with the Dhanush 155 mm/52 calibre gun. The indigenously developed MGS is the result of a two-year joint effort between OFB and Bharat Earth Movers (BEML) to meet an Indian Army requirement of 814 MGS systems, with trials expecting to commence soon. The MGS is based on an 8×8 Tatra truck produced by BEML, which can attain maximum cross-country and road speeds of 30km/h and 80km/h respectively, with an unrefuelled cruising range of 1,000km. Main armament comprises the Dhanush 155 mm/52 calibre gun with a range of approximately 42km.
The Kalyani Group highlighted its Bharat 52 155mm/52 calibre towed gun. The indigenously developed weapon is manufactured by its subsidiary, Bharat Forge, and is based on the requirements of the Indian Army. It completed mobility trials at the DRDO’s Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (VRDE) in Ahmednagar in 2015 and firing trials at the Ordnance Factories’ facility at CPE Itarsi in October 2017. According to Baba Kalyani, chairman, Kalyani Group, “The 15-tonne Bharat 52 has a firing range of about 41km, with a traverse of 35˚ to right and left, and elevation range of -3˚ to +72˚at a rate of 5˚/s. It also features a load assist system (LAS) that enables its crew to achieve rapid fires of 6 rds/min or a sustained rate of 42 rounds/hr.”
Mahindra Defence and Aeronautics of Israel signed an MoU to partner for Naval Shipborne UAVs. Aeronautics and Mahindra will offer a UAV system which can be launched and recovered from Indian warships. The Aeronautics Orbiter 4 is an advanced multi-mission platform with an ability to carry and operate two different payloads simultaneously. With an open architecture, the Orbiter 4 can be specially adjusted to the needs of each mission. Among the different payloads the Orbiter 4 can carry are Maritime patrol radar (MPR), cellular interception sensor, satellite communication, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Automatic Identification System (AIS) and advanced electro-optic payload. Orbiter 4 capabilities include maximum endurance of up to 24 hours, maximum take-off weight of 50kg, maximum flight altitude of 18,000ft while operating different payloads.
From the new generation Gripen to ground combat weapons, Saab exhibited it all. Saab will display, for the first time in India, the Gripen Cockpit Simulator with its new Wide Angle Display (WAD). Besides Gripen, Saab products on display include RBS 70 NG VSHORAD, BAMSE SRSAM, Carl Gustaf M4 and AT4 with ammunitions. Robert Hewson, VP, head of communications, Saab Asia Pacific, said, “We are already well established in India. We have been making in India since the middle of the 1970s and our Carl-Gustaf infantry weapons family is a system that’s well known and well appreciated by the armed forces here. We have transferred that technology and been making on a significant scale in India for many decades. We are working with government agencies, Carl-Gustaf with OFB, and have several tie-ups with Indian agencies on different projects. For example, we have a future looking agreement with Adani for Gripen, and with the Kalyani Group on air defence products. We have worked with Ashok Leyland on potential air defence work.”
what india can do
India is the world’s largest importer of arms, accounting for a whopping 13% of the global arms trade during 2012-16. It takes 8-10 years for a defence contract to fructify, if not cancelled abruptly. It is important that the Aeronautics Commission identify 5-6 technologies critical to India. These could include advanced materials, stealth, avionics, sensors, cyber-security, precision guided missles, etc. An important factor is bringing down the procurement lead time to under three years.
As news would have it, a significant change seems to be in the offing in India’s defence planning architecture with the Narendra Modi government deciding to establish an overarching defence planning committee (DPC) under the national security advisor. The aim is to leverage this cross-governmental body—comprising the chairman of the chiefs of staff committee, three service chiefs, the defence, expenditure and foreign secretaries—to enhance India’s ability to do some long-term strategising.
The DPC is being tasked with drafting reports on “national security strategy, international defence engagement strategy, road map to build a defence manufacturing ecosystem, strategy to boost defence exports, and priority capability development plans”. Four subcommittees are to be created under the DPC to focus on policy and strategy, plans and capability development, defence diplomacy, and the defence manufacturing ecosystem.
At a time when advances in technology are revolutionising warfare, India is still debating the need to move towards leaner force structures. India needs to cut the flab on an urgent basis as over half of the annual defence budget going to meet salary and pension requirements is clearly not sustainable. The priorities of India’s “Make In India” initiative and cumbersome defence procurement process will also have to be brought in sync with each other.
India’s status as the world’s largest arms importer hardly does justice to its ambitions to emerge as a defence manufacturing hub. The debate on integration, both among the services headquarters, and between the services and the ministry of defence, continues unabated and should be concluded.