Indian Defence Exports
- Thread starter R!cK
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TATA's Advanced Loitering System-50 (ALS-50) drones in Armenia. These screenshots are taken from a video published by Armenia's state-owned media. The ALS-50 can perform recon & ISR missions. It can also act as a kamikaze drone against armored vehicles like tanks & fortified positions. In the video the drones can be seen carrying out a kamikaze attack on an old Soviet tank:
The ALS-50 has a MTOW of 50 kgs, max range of 50+ kms & day/night EO surveillance capability. Each drone cost less than a 3rd gen ATGM round, but unlike an ATGM round the drone can be recovered & re-used. The IAF had also purchased these drones. Deliveries to the IAF started in June 2023.
A clean pic of the ALS-50:
It was also reported somewhere that Armenia was also considering purchasing Solar Group's Nagastra-2 loitering munition. Could not find anything to confirm this yet. Maybe they will release a video later.
Nagastra-2 is a tube/cassette launched loitering munition with a 4-10kg warhead & 40-100 km max range. Loitering time was reported to be 60-90 mins. The drone has a day/night capable EO sight & is also equipped with a parachute for recovery. This weapon could be useful against infantry, soft skin/light armored vehicles, radar, comms & EW installations etc.
In April of 2022 this drone successfully completed the Army assisted trials in Ladakh. Here are some photos from the trials:
Since then, it has been radio silence. It would not surprise me if the Armenians went ahead and bought these while the Indian army continues with their many trials. But so far it is unconfirmed if they purchased the Nagastra-2.
Bharat Electronics won the Brazillian Army's GPNVG tender. Documents of this supposed purchase were leaked a few years ago:
And today it was finally shown to the public. BEL calls them PNVG. The PNVG come in both bi-ocular & binocular set up. Brazil has acquired the binocular set up:
Bi-ocular PNVG:
Specs are pretty decent for the price:
And today it was finally shown to the public. BEL calls them PNVG. The PNVG come in both bi-ocular & binocular set up. Brazil has acquired the binocular set up:
Bi-ocular PNVG:
Specs are pretty decent for the price:
India exports rockets, explosives to Israel amid Gaza war, documents reveal
Jal jeera reports that India is selling weapons to Israel. The items involved are pretty much along expected lines:
1. Barak-8 (MRSAM/LRSAM) rocket motor casings by Solar group.
2. Hermes-900 airframes from Adani defence.
3. Probably some small arms, accessories & ammo from PLR, MIL etc.
Other exported items that have been mentioned elsewhere include artillery shells, mortars, dumb bombs, tactical gear.
Not bad for a country that had almost no defence exports just a few years back.
Jal jeera reports that India is selling weapons to Israel. The items involved are pretty much along expected lines:
1. Barak-8 (MRSAM/LRSAM) rocket motor casings by Solar group.
2. Hermes-900 airframes from Adani defence.
3. Probably some small arms, accessories & ammo from PLR, MIL etc.
Other exported items that have been mentioned elsewhere include artillery shells, mortars, dumb bombs, tactical gear.
Not bad for a country that had almost no defence exports just a few years back.
Premier explosives has been sending cast rocket motors , forgot if for IAI or the other company, for the past few months. They qualified their rocket motors over the past 2 years & now can get regular orders.
US has emerged top destination for India’s defence exports: Amcham
Updated - June 26, 2024 at 03:00 PM. | New Delhi, June 25India’s defence exports to the US has grown to account for over 50 per cent of the total exports, exceeding $2.8 billion during the last 5 years, says Ranjana Khanna, Director General & CEO, Amcham
India’s defence exports to the United States (US) has grown to account for over 50 per cent of the total exports, exceeding $2.8 billion during the last 5 years, said Ranjana Khanna, Director General and CEO – American Chamber of Commerce in India (Amcham).
The Amcham in a report, “US-India Defence Partnership: Co-Production & Co-Development”, laid emphasis over the fact that the US has emerged as the number one destination for India’s defence exports.
In a statement to the media, the Amcham said its report “indicates that supporting the Government of India’s mission to enhance defence exports, US industry in India, and their Indian partners, have contributed to the US becoming the number 1 defence exports destination for India”.
India’s defence exports in FY22-23 stood at $1.6 billion, showing over a ten-fold increase in 5 years.
“We thought it prudent and timey to highlight the US-India defence partnerships in the context of the US - National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan’s recent India visit; and the Government’s target of achieving $5 billion in defence exports by FY24-25,” Ranjana Khanna, Director General and CEO of Amcham said.
“It is important to note that Defence exports to the US accounted for over 50 per cent of total exports, strengthening the partnership and exceeded $2.8 billion during the last 5 years”, she added.
India’s defence acquisitions include a diverse range of equipment from the US, the report also said.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) report on global arms trade, 2024, France and US are emerging as key suppliers to India, collectively accounting for 46 per cent of its arms imports.
American companies have fostered strong partnerships with many in-country industrial entities, defence PSU’s, over 1,000 MSMEs, academia, start-ups and incubators, Amcham elaborated in its findings. Joint ventures and collaborations between U.S. companies and Indian entities, such as Lockheed Martin-Tata Advanced Systems, Boeing-HAL, BAE Systems-HAL, and GE-HAL, are fostering technology transfer, innovation, and skill development, it pointed out.
The US defence industry in India, as per the report, has created jobs through direct investments and by collaborating with their network of suppliers and joint venture partners. It has created over 28,000 direct jobs and a gainful employment for an additional 20,000 people, while bringing in improvement in quality of life for over 2.6 million people through initiatives in STEM education, skilling, nutrition, health, livelihood, sanitation, and sustainability through partnerships with science and technology institutes and other foundations.
A single M107 is like 45kg right? So around 12 rounds per load. Then it's 59000 units.
Armenian soldiers with Indian company Tonbo Imaging's helmet mounted thermal imaging monocular at Eagle Partners 2024 military drill:
No idea when the Armenians bought those. The model looks like Tonbo's Spartan-SH.
No idea when the Armenians bought those. The model looks like Tonbo's Spartan-SH.
so even after buying ammo from India using third party country US still supports khalistanis. while our phoren minister has strain every nerve justifying buying russian crude which is refined & exported to US. Band boys in current govt consider this as a great success.
Well, to be fair we are selling weapons/dual use tech to Russia too. I have posted about a few such items in this thread. There are many others that I have not posted about. There are also negotiations ongoing to buy nuclear fuel bundles for the IPHWR-700s reactors from Russia.
As for Khalistanis, the Americans have a leverage & they are using it. Much like we have a leverage with Russia & recently we used it. The counter to their leverage is your leverage. Complaining about it changes nothing. They will ignore our complaints regarding Khalistan much like we ignore their complaints about Russia.
Whether it is importing Russian crude oil or selling weapons to Ukraine through 3rd parties or selling weapons & dual use tech to Russia, we aren't doing any of that out of a sense of camaraderie towards either Russia or the West. We do those things because our industries are making money hand over fist on these deals. These deals also help create & sustain thousands of jobs in India.
It is not just for military items either. Apple iPhones that are being made in India for the Indian market are finding their way to Russia. Indian distributors are exporting phones, tabs etc. to Russia at a personal capacity. Since it is not happening through official networks this doesn't count as exports from India to Russia.
So long as the money/jobs/benefits keeps flowing, I don't care how many times Jaishankar has to argue with the Americans or the Europeans. That's his job anyway.
I wouldn't say the current policy is flawless or it is a great success. But it is better than what we were doing previously.Band boys in current govt consider this as a great success.
In 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, we were caught navel-gazing. MEA gave some supportive statements towards Russia, then US sanctioned Russia & we went along with their sanctions. We managed to agree with both parties but got no benefits from either party. Then when US sanctioned Iran we reduced our oil imports to near-zero. But again, we couldn't get much in return from them.
Compare that to now. Instead of complying with US sanction we started trading crude, fertilizers, weapons & dual-use tech in non-USD currencies. This saves us tens of billions in foreign exchange each year. We also make additional tens of billions in refined fuel export every year. We are also making money by exporting weapons to Ukraine via 3rd parties with minimal Russian opposition.
This is a "heads I win, tails you lose" scenario for us. It doesn't matter how the Russia-Ukraine conflict ends or when it ends. We will probably keep making money from both sides.
It is not perfect. Trade with Russia is very lopsided. All issues with payment haven't been worked out yet. INR usage hasn't gone to the levels we had hoped. Nonetheless, these activities have made us a more relevant actor in European geopolitics. We must be active in trade & diplomacy to build our leverages. Inactivity & policy paralysis doesn't help.
