Indian Army Wants INSAS Series OF Rifles Replaced

 Gearing up  soldiers for future warfare, the Indian Army feels there is an "urgent need" to replace the indigenously developed and manufactured INSAS series of rifles.

"There is an urgent need to develop rifles, carbines and light machine guns of 5.56mm calibre to replace the existing INSAS class of weapons," it said in the Defence Ministry?s ?Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap? document.

The INSAS rifles, designed by the DRDO, were inducted into the Armed forces in the 90s and have been used in the Kargil war and counter-insurgency operations also.

Arjun Mk2 Will use Leclerc and Merkava Components

  

The Arjun Mk2 main battle tank (MBT) — currently under development since mid-2007, will be more expensive and have a higher imported content than its predecessor, the Arjun Mk1. But in terms of mobility, protection and firepower, the Mk2 variant will come closest to what Indian Army HQ wants: an MBT with highly enhanced crew protection and maximum survivability in high-intensity, fire-saturated combat environments. To achieve this, the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Avadi-based Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) has roped in both Israel Military Industries (IMI) and Elbit Systems of Israel, with the former being responsible for improving the existing Arjun Mk1’s design plus mobility and fuel consumption, redesigning and modifying the various components of the MBT’s hull and turret, and providing consultancy for improving production-line processes. Elbit Systems, on the other hand, will enhance the MBT’s firepower and its accuracy, and provide survivability systems and air-conditioning hardware. The existing Arjun Mk1 MBT, which was formally inducted into the Army’s 75 Armoured Regiment on March 12, comes powered by a MTU 838Ka-501 diesel engine (rated at 1,400hp) coupled to a RENK RK-304A transmission, and can achieve a maximum speed of 70 km/hr (43 mph) and a cross-country speed of 40 km/h (25 mph). A total of 124 Mk1 variants are on order, and will be followed by 124 Mk2 variants, which were ordered by Army HQ on May 17 last year. The Arjun Mk2 will incorporate a total of 93 upgrades, including 13 major improvements. Rollout of the first prototype will take place by this June, and by 2013, the first 30 production-standard Arjun Mk2s will roll out from the Avadi-based, ministry of defence-owned Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF).

China Says No Hurdle In Resuming Defence Ties With India

Chinese Embassy spokesperson Zou Yonghong told The Indian Express: "There is no hurdle in defence cooperation. Dialogue between the two military is going on."

Defence cooperation was paused in August last year after China refused to issue a proper 'pasted' visa to Lt Gen B S Jaswal, the GOC-in-C. He was the Northern Army Commander in Jammu and Kashmir which China considers "disputed".

While the Chinese side is very keen to resume the defence exchanges between the two countries, New Delhi is insisting that the issue of stapled visas to J&K residents must be resolved first.
In this context, New Delhi has noticed that Beijing has not issued a single "stapled visa" to J&K residents since Chinese Premier Wen Jiaobao's visit last December. Government sources confirmed this development — that has taken place quietly — to The Indian Express, although there have been no formal or official communication from Beijing on the issue. The real test, sources said, is whether the Chinese are issuing proper 'pasted' visas to Indian nationals hailing from J&K.

South Block sources, who have been tracking this issue, said New Delhi is not yet celebrating this development, but is "cautiously optimistic". However, the issue of stapled visas, sources added, remained with respect to the residents of Arunachal Pradesh.

Armour Exercise Bold Kurukshetra Held Between India and Singapore

The seventh bilateral armor exercise, named Exercise Bold Kurukshetra was performed by the Indian Army and Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) from 1 to 29 March 2011. The area used as a training ground was the Babina Field Firing Range in central India. Over 700 soldiers from Headquarters 4th Singapore Armoured Brigade, 42nd Battalion, Singapore Armoured Regiment and 38th Battalion, Singapore Combat Engineers, as well as the Indian Army’s 34th Armoured Brigade, 12th Mechanised Infantry Regiment and 15th Armoured Regiment, participated in this year’s exercise.

The exercise included the performing of joint planning and training. Executing live-firing involving the SAF’s BIONIX 1 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, Indian Army’s BMP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle, T-90 Main Battle Tank and the Mortar Track Carrier. Chief Armour Officer, Colonel Benedict Lim and the Indian Army’s 21 Corps Commander, Lieutenant-General Sanjiv Langer attended the live-firing and met with the Indian Army and SAF troops as a part of their visit to the exercise.

BEL Night Vision Devices For Indian Army Rifles Not Up To Mark

The Communist Party of India (CPI) has urged the Union Home Ministry to stop purchase of night vision telescopic devices produced by Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL), which will be attached to light machine guns (LMGs) and INSAS 5.56 mm rifles used by the paramilitary forces.

The Ministry plans to purchase 32,766 units at a cost of Rs. 3 lakh each, which will cost about Rs. 1,000 crore, deputy general secretary of the CPI Karnataka State Council and former MP Suvaravaram Sudhakar Reddy told presspersons here on Saturday. Though the life of each unit was supposed to be 10 years, he said, 400 units of the 1,000 supplied earlier developed defects within two-and-a-half years.