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01-19-2012, 05:14 AM
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#1 |
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 Indian Defense Production
Link BEL-Rafael venture ??seeks' third partner to make missile seekers
Will a ??third wheel' help save a joint venture that Bharat Electronics Ltd has planned with Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems for making missile seekers in the country? According to BEL's new CMD, Mr Anil Kumar, the defence enterprise is open to allowing a suitable third partner in the long-stuck venture. It now expects the Israeli company to name a domestic player from the private industry so that it can sew up a new company. If the three-way proposal clicks, BEL would hold 50 per cent, Rafael 26 per cent and the new Indian partner 24 per cent stake in the venture, Mr Anil Kumar, who took charge as BEL's chief executive in October 2011, told Business Line. An earlier estimate put the total investment in the range of Rs 300 crore. A seeker is the on-board brain of advanced missiles. It detects and goes after hidden targets. It is also one of the most denied technologies. While present Indian missiles are guided by ground-based radars, upcoming missile projects would need to have indigenous seeker technologies. The initial agreement was signed in 2008 but the joint venture was swaying over the equity issue. Rafael, among the handful of owners of vital missile technologies, apparently has not been comfortable with the idea of 74 per cent stake going to a PSU in the proposed venture. Current norms restrict foreign direct investment in Defence to 26 per cent. The Israeli company would have preferred a 50 or a 51 per cent stake for itself. ??[Rafael is] not comfortable with BEL holding 74 per cent equity in the joint venture. It fears that it would again become a PSU. It would not be so, but they don't buy it,? Mr Anil Kumar said. ??This [three-way] plan was revived recently. What we have now discussed is, they can bring in a third partner who can take 24 per cent [of that 74 per cent.] But the partner should be acceptable to us, not be a sleeping one or a competitor. If this plan goes through, we will have a venture with Rafael for missile seekers.? Mr Anil Kumar said missiles were among BEL's future growth areas along with homeland security, radars, electronic warfare and network-centric systems. Defence research establishment DRDO - which also develops missiles that need seekers - lists this technology as a missing link in its arsenal of home-made products. Some of the newer missiles it is co-developing will use seekers. BEL and DRDO are also working at imaging infra-red seekers for the Nag anti-tank missile. As for another pending joint venture to make radars and related technologies for the civil sector, he said, ??We have almost finalised [the 74:26] venture with Thales of France but cannot go ahead with it until they release their guidelines. To me, it looks like it may not happen before March [2012.]? |
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01-20-2012, 06:52 PM
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Hindujas apply for licence to make armaments, ordnance
Amitav Ranjan : New Delhi, Thu Jan 19 2012, 02:08 hrs Cleared in the Bofors case, the Hindujas are poised to enter India??s defence and homeland security hardware manufacturing with plans to make guns, rockets and missile systems, among others, to ??enable the country to be self-sufficient in manufacture of defence equipment?. Ashok Leyland Defence Systems Ltd (ALDS), a company floated in 2008 by the Hinduja Group, has applied for FIPB license for ??manufacture and maintenance of guns, rockets and missile artillery systems to include carriage, control systems and other allied subsystems? at a factory in Sriperambadur. It said it would invest Rs 10 crore in a manufacturing facility (excluding land and buildings) with a second-phase outlay of Rs 50 crore when it would go beyond its existing business of design, development and manufacture of medium-duty defence vehicles. The facility would also manufacture and assemble armoured combat vehicles including associated systems such as turrets, armaments. That??s not all. It has sought government approval to manufacture defence and defence-related equipment ??including but not restricted to the above categories? with its existing foreign direct investment. In its application to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, ALDS said: ??Contemporary and future technology will be obtained which would later give rise to creation of R&D facilities, ensuring that our security forces always have the edge necessary to maintain supremacy in modern warfare.? ALDS, which has a pact with South Africa??s Paramount Group in February 2010 for manufacturing mine protected vehicles in India, last year signed an MoU with Germany??s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH to develop artillery systems, combat systems, armoured wheeled vehicles, recovery vehicles, bridge laying systems and other similar products. Last March, ALDS announced advanced talks with Chemring Group Plc of the UK to establish a defence joint venture based in India. Chemring, an existing supplier to India, makes munitions, electronic warfare, pyrotechnics and end-of-life ordnance destruction. However, ALDS application says it would not part with any equity to a foreign collaborator. |
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01-20-2012, 07:57 PM
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HATSOFF CEO Upadhyay quits
indianexpress Express News Service , The New Indian Express BANGALORE: Veteran Test Pilot and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bangalore-based Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF) CD Upadhyay has quit. Sources confirmed to Express on Thursday that Upadhyay put in his papers on January 5 and will be out of HATSOFF by the end of this month. HATSOFF is a joint venture (JV) between Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and CAE Canada. Sources said that Upadhyay emailed his resignation to the Board members expressing his desire to be off all activities of Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying. ??The CAE, while acknowledging the email thanked him for getting a world-class, leading-edge chopper training facility in Bangalore. He is now keen to share his expertise to promote helicopter industry and safe helicopter operations in India,? sources explained. He was appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer of the Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying in 2009. Meanwhile, HAL chairman??s office conveyed to Express that Upadhyay was turning 65 years this month and it was a matter of days before he would have signed off officially. An email sent to CAE??s Media Department evoked no response. ??He was informed that he could continue till March, which he rejected. There were some skirmishes over an armed forces?? wing not agreeing to sent Dhruv pilots to train at HATSOFF despite repeated representations to them. He didn??t budge a bit from the rulebook over this case,? the sources said. For Upadhyay this will be the end of a hat-trick service spanning over 65 years. He commanded the Mi-8 Squadron while being with the Indian Air Force and later was the Chief Test Pilot (CTP) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited??s (HAL) rotary wing operations. ??He was very much part of the design and development of Dhruv from its inception and has over 1,000 hours of prototype testing experience on this helicopter. He has flown over 33 types of aircraft and has over 9,000 hours of operational, prototype testing and instructional flying experience,? sources in HAL??s Human Resources Department said. Meanwhile, Upadhyay was not available for comment. |
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01-23-2012, 05:18 PM
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Link Samtel poised to take off with air force fighter fleet
Ajai Shukla / New Delhi Jan 23, 2012, 00:26 IST After bagging a euro 1.47 billion (Rs 9,600 crore) contract for upgrading the Indian Air Force's fleet of 51 Mirage-2000 fighters, French defence electronics giant Thales is now an 800-pound gorilla on the Indian defence scene. And, its Indian partner, Samtel Display Systems (SDS), is emerging as a company to watch as it swoops alongside Thales on to India's burgeoning aerospace market. Thales' offset liability from the Mirage upgrade contract amounts to euro 441 million (Rs 3,000 crore). That induces Thales to source from SDS a significant share of the avionics (aviation-electronics) for upgrading the Mirage-2000. SDS, with whom Thales has a joint venture company, Samtel Thales Avionics, is poised to meet that requirement. SDS already supplies Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), India's sole aircraft manufacturer, with cockpit displays (multi-function displays, or MFDs) for the Sukhoi-30MKI fighters that are built at HAL's Nashik plant. The Ghaziabad-based company is also competing to build avionics for the IAF's forthcoming Sukhoi-30 MKI upgrade. And, if the Rafale fighter ?? built by Dassault with a large avionics component from Thales ?? is chosen by the MoD as the IAF's new medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), SDS could benefit enormously from another wave of offset-driven orders for display systems and other avionics in the 126 MMRCA. "We are looking at a turnover growth from Rs 60 crore in 2011-12, to about Rs 500 crore in 2015-16," Puneet Kaura, executive director of SDS, told Business Standard. Samtel Thales Avionics (Thales 26 per cent; Samtel 74 per cent), incorporated in 2008, is Thales' only joint venture in India. The French company is currently setting up another JV with Bharat Electronics Ltd for manufacturing radar components. "Thales wants to build on our maturing relationship to make us a major supply source for avionics. They are looking at India very seriously, given the size of the deals they have signed or are contemplating," says Puneet Kaura. Thales shares Kaura's optimism. Eric Lenseigne, who heads Thales India, says India is a key market, both in defence and in the civilian areas of transportation, signalling, communications and automatic fare collection systems. Thales?? fare collection systems are installed on the Delhi Metro rail system. "We are keen on growing our joint venture in India, Samtel Thales Avionics. Samtel has key capabilities, and the capability to grow. We do not rule out their becoming a part of our global supply chain? provided they develop the way that we would like them to develop," says Lenseigne. So far, SDS's key technological breakthroughs, such as the Su-30MKI displays, have been achieved indigenously. But as it progresses to cutting-edge avionics the company requires technology infusion. For this, Samtel Thales Avionics, is a key vehicle. An example of the futuristic avionics that SDS hopes to supply is the Infra Red Search and Track (IRST) System, standard kit in the Rafale as well as the Eurofighter Typhoon. This passive sensor detects enemy aircraft at ranges of 60-70 kilometres through the heat (infrared) they emit. Unlike a fighter's airborne radar, which gives away one's own position by emitting an electronic beam, an IRST is entirely stealthy, since it emits nothing. Thales plans to offer the IRST to the IAF on a ??Buy and Make (Indian)?? basis. This category of procurement (specified in the Defence Procurement Procedure of 2011, or DPP-2011) requires an Indian partner to absorb critical, high-end technologies and develop capabilities within India. Thales has told the IAF that Samtel Thales Avionics would do 50 per cent of the design and development work in India. Both Samtel and Thales told Business Standard they would enhance Thales' share of the JV, if the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit is raised from the current 26 per cent. "If the FDI cap is raised to 49 per cent, we have agreed that Thales' holding in the JV will go up to 49 per cent, while we will come down to 51 per cent. This is not a written agreement, but we have an understanding," says Kaura. |
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01-23-2012, 07:05 PM
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Link City firm to help encase Sukhoi engines right
Praveen Bose / Chennai/ Bangalore Jan 23, 2012, 00:10 IST The Koraput division of the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), which is involved in the making of the Sukhoi-30 MK1, is getting a helping hand from a Bangalore-based firm, Hind High Vacuum (HHV), for its specialised welding needs and ensure the robustness and good quality of the weld of the casings of the fighter??s engines. The Rs 26 crore welding unit made by HHV is being acquired by HAL??s unit. This is part of the attempts at indigeni-sation HAL is taking up in the manufacture of SU-30MK1. The fourth generation multi-role fighter is being put together for the IAF under licence from Russia??s Sukhoi Corporation. In the first instance, the assembly requires welding of different titanium alloy components in a protected atmosphere sans oxygen. This is to prevent the formation of any oxidation spots on the welds which could weaken under the heat and stress of the engine??s service conditions. Incidentally, ??the cost of the welding unit HHV made is around half the price quoted to HAL by a European engineering company. This gave an opportunity to HHV for building such a complex system,? said Nagarjun Sakhamuri, MD of HHV. The high vacuum technology company which, for the past 45 years, has been helping with the indigenisation for agencies like ISRO, Atomic Energy, ADA, DRDL among others which faced a denial of technology from abroad for many years. To HAL itself, HHV has designed, made and delivered nearly 25 different pieces of complex equipment in the last three decades. HHV embarked on the task just two years ago and is now delivering the welding facility to the Koraput Divison of the HAL where the Sukhoi engine will be put together. The effort involved designing from scratch the unit. HHV decided to robotise the welding for almost 85 per cent of the task, reducing the risk to human welders. Inputs from Pune-based Precision Automation and Robotics India Ltd (PARI) helped the cause. The two robots were acquired from Kuka of Japan, the software and integration in the process was done by PARI. |
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01-30-2012, 12:35 AM
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Link Odisha Ordnance Factory likely to produce Pinaka rocket
Bolangir (Odisha), Jan 29: The Ordnance Factory at Badmal in Odisha??s Bolangir district is likely to get a new project to manufacture ??Pinaka?? rocket. This was indicated by the Director General of Ordnance factories and Chairman Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), Mr S.D. Dimri, here during his visit yesterday. ??The new project on Pinaka is likely to come to the Ordnance Factory here at Badmal,? Mr Dimri told PTI at the sidelines of a function here. Mr Dimri was here to attend the 41st All India Ordnance and Ordnance Equipment Factories Athletic Meet. Stating that Pinaka rocket is only produced at Ordnance factory at Chanda having annual production capacity of only 1,000, Dimri said the Ministry of Defence has decided to increase production of the rocket. ??Accordingly, the Ordnace Factory Board (OFB) has given a proposal to the Ministry of Defence to set up a new Pinaka project at the Ordnance factory, Badmal,? Mr Dimri said. Pinaka is a multiple rocket launcher produced in India and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Army. The system has a maximum range of about 35 km and can fire a salvo of 12 HE rockets in 44 seconds, neutralizing a target area of 3.9 square km. It??s mounted on a truck for mobility. Pinaka was successfully utilised in the Kargil War, where it could neutralise enemy positions on mountain top. The capacity of proposed project will be 5,000 rockets per annum, he said. ??The proposal is under active consideration of the Ministry of Defence.? |
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01-31-2012, 04:14 AM
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Link Production of 159 ALHs is in full swing: HAL
Work was on full swing on production of 159 Advanced Light Helicopters to be handed over to the Indian Army by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) here, a senior official said today. HAL was also focusing on producing Weapon System Integrated (WSI) ALH to be handed over to the Services and the work in this regard was at different stages," HAL General Manager (Helicopter Division) M S Srinath said in a statement. The company had already handed over seven ALHs to Border Security Force (BSF), which is being used for anti-naxalite operations. "... thousands of lives in naxal-affected areas have been saved," he added. As part of its overseas commitments, HAL had successfully handed over ALH's to Ecuador, Mauritius and Maldives, he added. |
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03-01-2012, 03:24 AM
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Antony asks HAL to Realign its Business Processes
The Defence Minister Shri AK Antony today asked the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to realign its business processes for strategic alliances and joint ventures, as also, to step up R&D efforts to remain globally competitive. Addressing a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to his ministry, Shri Antony said HAL should partner with design laboratories like DRDO and CSIR for the development of indigenous aircraft, engines and systems. He said, what is more, HAL should adopt best practices followed by the global leaders in the field of project management, quality control systems, vendor deployment and supply chain management. HAL, the leading Defence Public Sector Undertaking, has a turnover of over Rs.13,000 crores and is set for a quantum jump with the planned acquisition and production of Light Combat Aircraft, Light Utility Helicopter, Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft, Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft, Multirole Transport Aircraft, Basic Trainer Aircraft in its assembly lines in the coming years. Shri Antony said the opening of defence production to the private sector and the introduction of offset clause in defence procurements should provide the necessary fillip to the entry of several players from the private sector into the aircraft industry. Keeping in mind the mammoth role that the HAL would assume in the coming years in the aerospace industry and the challenges that it would face, the government has set up an expert group under the chairmanship of Shri BK Chaturvedi, Member, Planning Commission to suggest measures to strengthen and restructure HAL. The expert group has already met twice and is expected to submit its report soon. Among other things, the Group will suggest how best the spin offs from HAL order book can be earnest to ensure better involvement of the private industry in the defence sector. It will also suggest measures to enhance the synergies between HAL, the private defence sector and the civilian industry. The expert Group will assess the future technological and human resource requirements of HAL keeping in view the upcoming and emerging futuristic aeronautical technologies. Taking part in the discussion the Members of Parliament appreciated the role played by HAL in the defence arena of the country over the years. They, however, pointed out certain shortcomings such as the delay in the induction of the Light Combat Aircraft in the Indian Air Force, delay in the development of Kaveri Engine, delay in phasing out of Mig-21 aircraft and lack of an aggressive strategy to export HAL products. Replying to queries, Shri Antony said the government has taken a number of measures to acquire the most modern aircraft for the Indian Air Force in the coming years. Some of the aircraft have already been inducted into IAF and others are in pipeline. Shri Antony was optimistic that from 2020 onwards most of the airframes and platforms of the Indian Air Force would have incorporated new technology. Speaking at the meeting, the Minister of State for Defence Dr MM Pallam Raju said HAL today faces multifarious challenges. He said while the organisation has evolved over the last 70 years by producing some of the finest human resources and products, in future, HAL would increasingly play the role of system integrator. The Members of Parliament who attended the meeting included Shri Manish Tewari, Shri Naveen Jindal, Shri Suresh Kalmadi, Shri Brijbhushan Sharan Singh, Shri Kalkesh N Singh Deo, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, Shri SS Ramasubbu, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Shri Balwant alias Bal Apte, Dr. Mahender Prasad, Shri HK Dua and Shri Ishwar Lal Jain. |
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01-03-2012, 05:10 PM
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Boeing looks to expand tie-up with BEL
BS Reporter / Chennai/ Bangalore December 22, 2011, 0:17 IST The defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) which has a partnership with Boeing for the Analysis and Experimentation Centre (A&E Centre) in Bangalore, is said to be mulling an additional centre at its Ghaziabad site near Delhi. Projects such as the A&E Centre, which was set up during the early part of 2009 by Boeing, is said to benefit industry partners while providing an environment for exploring collaborative projects between domestic and foreign companies to work in practice and build on the Boeing experience with defence experimentation best practice in other countries. Boeing Indias A&E Centre in Bangalore is the third one outside the US, with the other two in Australia and United Kingdom. The centre allows its customers the opportunity to explore options for future systems in a virtual environment. While using the analysis and experimentation methods, the collaborative approach supports the defence forces in the US, the UK and Australia. The centre is staffed with Indian ex-military operations analysts and, modelling and simulation engineers. Comprising of reconfigurable laboratories and visualisation space, the centre draws on the experience from other nations where experimentation is a part of defence planning and equipment acquisition. Boeing will also transfer a number of mature A&E tools that are not commercially available anywhere else. The tools will be made available for use by the Indian defence customer and our local partners, said Dinesh A Keskar, president, Boeing India, adding this would also allow us to integrate locally-developed intellectual property with these established tools. Boeing is working with the defence community to identify key capability challenges, and the local Boeing team will conduct analyses and warfighting experiments. The process will see frequent interactions with the defence customer to ensure the right experimental questions are developed and, right tools and techniques are used to address the questions. The process encourages participation in experiments by experienced serving personnel. This ensures that the experimentation environment is for purpose and exposes service personnel to future systems options. The opinions of these personnel can then be fed back to the operational community to improve current and future warfighting capability and concepts, said an official from Boeing. |
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04-03-2012, 03:24 PM
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Sikorsky scouting for partners to boost supply chain Bindu D. Menon
New Delhi, March 3: US Helicopter giant Sikorsky has said it is in talks with the Indian Navy for purchase of 16 helicopters. The company, which has a joint venture with the Tatas to manufacture helicopter cabins, also said it is looking at co-development opportunities with other Indian partners as well. Sikorsky is bidding for the Indian Navy's requirement and have offered S70B helicopter for anti-submarine warfare. Trials have been completed and final tenders will be opened by the end of this month. Also, the Indian Coast Guard is looking for eight helicopters for its search-and-rescue missions and we are making a pitch for it as well, Mr Mark F. Miller, Vice-President, Research and Engineering, Sikorsky told Business Line. Sikorsky, a subsidiary of the US-based United Technologies, operates two manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad TASL (Tata Advanced Systems), a helicopter cabin making venture with the Tata Group in which it owns 26 per cent stake, and Tara Aerospace Systems, which manufactures helicopters components. We are putting together cohesive strategies for making commercial products out of India. It will give us advantage for our supply chain. We have found capabilities, talent and demand here and are scouting for more such tie-ups. Our venture will be able to make three helicopter cabins a month by the first quarter of 2013, he said. Industry estimates domestic demand at more than 2,000 helicopters over the next 10-15 years, valued at $25 billion. |
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03-20-2012, 05:26 AM
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Technical Problems in Gun Systems
There are no technical problems reported in existing gun system of the Army. However, due to vintage and exploitation of the guns, mechanical problems of routine nature do come up from time to time. These are rectified by the repair/maintenance agencies either in situ or at the workshops established for this purpose. The government had secured the right of transfer of technology during the purchase of Bofors guns. Though all the technological documents as per the ToT contract were received by OFB from M/s AB Bofors, the Transfer of Technology was not carried forward as the dealings with the technology provider, (M/s AB Bofors) were suspended. Further, no indent was placed by Army on OFB for manufacture and supply of complete gun system. Capital expenditure of Rs.376.55 crore has been sanctioned by the Government in March, 2012 for creation/augmentation of Large Calibre Weapon manufacturing capacity in Ordnance Factories. This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri AK Antony in a written reply to Shri RajendraAgrawal in Lok Sabha today. |
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03-20-2012, 11:48 PM
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In one of the biggest ship-building deals bagged by Alcock Ashdown (Gujarat) Ltd, the state-run utility is now staring at losses of about Rs 100 crore. The Rs 700-crore deal, involving construction of six survey vessels for the Indian Navy, has come in for sharp criticism from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
The apex auditing body has pulled up the state-run firm for the deal, saying the uncertainty prevailing over its own divestment process, inexperience in preparation of cost estimates for Navy vessels and non-availability of adequate financial assistance were primary reasons that have left the company exposed to the losses. In December 2006, the company, bidding of the Indian Navy contract for the first time, did not prepare proper cost estimates for the project involving construction of six survey vessels for the Indian Navy. We observed that the company imprudently accepted the price of Rs 109.89 crore per vessel for the MoD (Ministry of Defence) project, even though its own estimated cost of construction (excluding profit) per vessel was Rs 115.87 crore, says the CAG report which is to be tabled in the state Assembly on March 30. As per the companys own latest estimate (March 2011), the cost of construction (excluding the element of profit) per vessel would be Rs 125.96 crore, as against the contract price of Rs 109.89 crore. Thus, the company is already exposed to a probable loss of Rs 96.42 crore, which does not include the revised costs for the other fixed-price items in the contract (viz., cost of modification and project management) not estimated by the company as yet, it adds. The matter was reported to the government in June 2011, but CAG did not receive any replies in this regard. The proposal of disinvestment of Alcock Ashdown also hurt the companys interests while it trying to implement the Indian Navy contract. As the proposal for disinvestment of the company was under consideration since July 2006 with the Government of Gujarat, the technical staff of the company had started quitting, causing adverse impact on the pace of execution of the contracts on hand. As a result, the company had started facing difficulties in mobilising working capital loans from banks. The company while accepting the contract did not take into cognisance of the above facts, which were vital for protecting the financial interests and reputation of the company, the auditing body observes. The Gujarat government has been trying to sell Alcock Ashdown to private players since 2002-03, but deals have failed to materialise. The company has ship-building facilities in over 27 acres at Bhavnagar and 10 acres at Chanch in Gujarat. Originally a British owned company that went into liquidation, it was taken over by the Government of India in 1975. It was subsequently acquired by Government of Gujarat in 1994. As per term of contract in the companys deal with the Indian Navy, the first vessel was to be delivered by April 6, 2009, while the remaining five vessels were to be delivered within a year from July 6, 2009. The company, however, could execute works worth Rs 276 crore by March 2011. Based on companys repeated requests, the MoD has rescheduled the delivery of vessels starting from September 2011 to March 2013. |
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03-21-2012, 06:29 PM
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Link: The Ordnance Factory Ambajhari (OFAJ) near here is all set to enhance its manufacturing capacity of Pinaka rockets from the present 1,000 rockets to 5,000 every year for the Indian Army, sources said.
"Pinaka rocket is one of the major projects (of the OFAJ). The multiple rocket launcher has successfully been indigenised and production of Pinaka rocket is in association with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)," official sources said. "Pinaka rocket is operable at extreme conditions of temperature ranging from -10 degree centigrade to 55 degree centigrade. These rockets, with a payload of 100 kgs, have a striking range of 40 kms and can bring devastation around 500 kms of surrounding areas of the target. It has already been tested and inducted into the arsenal of the Indian Army. It is a mammoth project of the Ambajhari Ordnance Factory," they said. Very soon, construction work would commence for the extension project of Pinaka. Each Pinaka battery consists of six launcher vehicles, each with 12 rockets, six loader-cum replenishment vehicles, two command post vehicles with a fire control computer and radar. According to sources, AN-32 Platform system is another important milestone in the history of OFAJ and the first batch of OFAJ's indigenously produced AN-32 Platform was handed over to the Indian Army in July last year. AN-32 Platform system is an Aerial Delivery System to para drop vehicles from height of 500 to 700 metres, with the help of parachutes. The platforms loaded with vehicle are carried on hydraulic trolley to airbase and the same is put inside an AN-32 aircraft with the help of a hydraulic trolley and manual push, sources said. The platforms, along with parachutes, are dropped from aircraft at the desired locations. The platform loaded with vehicles gets stabilised and lands on ground with the help of parachutes. The AN-32 Platform heavy drop system was designed and developed by Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE). It is a substitute to Russian AN-32 Platform system. OFAJ has indigenously developed this item in collaboration with ADRDE Agra. Another vital project of the OFAJ is 105 mm shells HEER, which has a projectile mass of 16 kgs and is of 593 m length. HEER has a range of 20.4 Km with super charge, they added. The OFAJ, established in 1966, is a premier factory in the family of 41 ordnance factories. It is engaged in manufacturing and supply of ammunition hardware parts, shells, fuses, rockets, cartridge cases, assault bridges and high strength aluminium alloys, they said. The 41 defence production units and factories under the Defence Ministry are engaged in the production of weapon systems, armoured personnel carrier, tanks and ammunitions and equipments required by the Indian Armed Forces and Para Military Forces in the country. |
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