India To Get 4 Additional Boeing P-8I Poseidon Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft

The Indian Navy has decided To Buy 4 additional  Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft to boost its maritime patrol capabilities as well as counter piracy threats and to Counter the growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.

In a deal expected to range between $1 billion to $1.5 billion, the new aircraft will be in addition to the eight the Navy had ordered in January 2009, for about $2.1 billion. The new contract price is also expected to include the cost of aero-structures and avionics.

“The Indian Navy has received the necessary government approvals and has decided to go ahead with the contractual processes to acquire four additional P-8I aircraft under the options clause,” Commander PVS Satish, public relations officer for the Indian Navy Said.

According to sources, Boeing has already submitted its draft offset contract to the defence ministry last week. “The government is considering exercising the option of adding four P-8I aircraft,” Dr Vivek Lall, vice-president, Boeing Defence, Space & Security told ET. The P-8I, which is based on the Boeing next-generation 737 commercial airplane, is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon that the defence vendor Boeing is developing for the US Navy. India is the first international customer for the P-8 platform.

The first of the eight P-8I aircraft, which were bought through the direct commercial sales route with Boeing, are expected to be delivered to India within 48 months of the original contract signing. The aircraft are of supreme strategic importance for India’s naval forces, with the country looking to enhance its role in the high seas.

Further, the global community has been clamouring for India to play a more dominant policing role against sea piracy in the Straits of Malacca, which is one of the busiest commercial and military sea-routes in the world, and along the East African coast.

Also, in the ongoing scramble for sea power in the world’s thirdlargest ocean, India has been desperate to stop what it perceives as a growing Chinese hegemony in the region. Separately, Boeing has also submitted a reply to the Navy’s Request for Information for six medium-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft as well.

However, ministry sources did not confirm whether any of the other global defence vendors had responded to the same.
Others expected to be in the running for the contract include Russia’s Ilyushin, France’s Dassault and EADS . Like most defence deals pursued in India, the acquisition of the MRMR aircraft has followed a long and tortuous route. With the original global Request for Procurement issued in 2008, before the Mumbai attacks, the same was later scrapped by the defence ministry on certain technical grounds.

The current RFI also specifies the aircraft should be able to carry out electronic intelligence gathering and counter-measures, besides maritime patrol and search and rescue within an operational envelope of 350 nautical miles or almost 650 kilometres, as well as a patrol endurance of at least three and a half hours.






There are additional requirements that the aircraft be capable of carrying at least two anti-ship missiles and a jamming pod. As with the P-8I, the navy has specified in the RFI that certain pieces of equipment must be indigenous, like Identification Friend or Foe Interrogator with Secure Mode, MSS Terminal, BFE, Datalink and Speech Secrecy Equipment and vendors must indicate their commitment to integrate this equipment into the aircraft.

US To Replace Two Pakistan's P3C Orion Aircraft Destroyed In PNS Mehran Attack

 US has decided to supply two P3C Orion aircraft to Pakistan to replace the aircraft that were destroyed in the PNS Mehran attack on May 22nd.

According to sources, the US will also be supplying F-16 aircraft and its spare parts.

Moreover, it is also expected that the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen will soon be visiting Pakistan to convey US President Barrack Obama’s message, sources added.

Official sources had earlier told that the destruction of the two four-engine all-weather P3C Orion aircraft would temporarily affect the Pakistan Navy’s counter-terrorism and surface and underwater reconnaissance operations.

The aircraft is designed for surface and underwater reconnaissance and anti-submarine and anti-surface vessel operations. It is rated as the fastest turbo-prop long-range maritime patrol (LRMP) platform used worldwide and is also called the airborne destroyer.

The aircraft is 116 feet long and has a maximum speed of 410 knots. Its distinguishing features are long endurance, multiple role capability, variety of integrated sensors and above all the capacity to carry a wide array of anti-surface and subsurface weapons such as harpoon, torpedoes, depth charges, mines and rockets. It can fly a mission of at least 18 hours.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/06/17/us-to-replace-two-p3c-orion-aircraft.html

Saab 2000 MPA With Selex AESA Radar On Offer To Indian Navy's Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) Program

The Saab 2000 multi-role Maritime Patrol Aircraft equipped with an AESA radar and a Saab RBS 15 anti-ship missiles is being offered to the Indian Navy to meet the growing challenges in India’s maritime domain stretching across 2 million square km.

The Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar onboard SAAB 2000 MPA is a modern high performance system that supports the full range of maritime surveillance and coherent imaging modes used for both naval and overland operations. 

Saab 2000 MPA which is being offered for India’s Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) program will be equipped with a state-of-art Selex AESA radar and RBS 15 Anti Ship Missile. 

The AESA radar provides Saab 2000 MPA with Identification Friend-or-Foe (IFF) capability with customized interrogator functions. The AESA surveillance radar is supported by a Saab R4A AIS transponder receiver/transmitter system for locating and identifying any naval activity.

The AIS system also provides an encrypted data link. For close range detection, identification and recording of surface objects and activities, Saab 2000 MPA incorporates Electro-Optic (HDTV) and Thermal Imager sensors. The Saab 2000 MPA system incorporates an ELINT system providing the capability to intercept and collect intelligence information consisting of detailed information of e.g. complex emitters active signal components, the relationship and the dynamics between active signal components.

The Saab 2000 MPA on offer is also equipped with an ESM system for automatic identification of RF signal sources and Direction Finding of RF signal sources with high accuracy. For self protection, a SPS system is installed including radar warning receivers, missile approach warning sensors, laser warning sensors as well as chaff and flare dispensers.

The Saab 2000 MPA comes equipped with a COMINT system that complements the baseline ELINT system for enhanced SIGINT capabilities. The installed COMINT system includes both a Direction Finder function and an Intercept System.

The Saab 2000 MPA is equipped with a Command & Control (C2) system that integrates, and assists in controlling all mission sensors and provides the user interface to mission operators, via four (4) workstations installed side-by-side in the cabin facing starboard, and to the pilots via a dedicated tactical display. The workstations also provide access to the mission communication system.

The Saab 2000 MPA has a cruising speed of 350 knots, it can climb to an altitude of 20,000 ft in 10 minutes, reaching operating area 1,000 nautical miles afar within three hours. It can operate from high altitude airfields, taking off with maximum load and fuel even at very hot temperatures. Flight safety is maintained throughout all flight conditions, including single engine operations, where the aircraft can maintain altitude at 20,000 ft. The Saab 2000 MPA can operate at a maximum range exceeding 2000 nautical miles, with mission endurance exceeding 9.5 hours. The Saab 2000 MPA can carry out a mission covering a 200 nm Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for 5.5 hours at an altitude of 2,000 ft, or longer patrol times at higher altitudes even up to 31000 ft. The aircraft on offer comes with promised 35,000 flight hours and a guaranteed support for 25 years by SAAB.

The Saab 2000 MPA comes equipped with Saab RBS 15 anti-ship missile system. Its unique Command & Control (C2) system facilitates a seamless planning of missile launching zones, trajectories and target seeking activities. The missile launching sequence and priming are controlled by customized Store Management Unit. 

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Bangladesh Navy Buys Two Ruag Do 228NGs

The Bangladesh navy has purchased two Ruag Aviation Do 228NG aircraft for maritime patrol and rescue missions.

The Do 228NGs will become the navy's first fixed-wing aircraft, said Ruag. The deal also includes crew training services and aircraft maintenance on-site in Bangladesh. Both aircraft are due for delivery in mid-2013.

Ruag said that the Do 228NG is a modernised version of the Do 228-212 that first flew in the 1980s. In the maritime patrol application the aircraft is useful for detecting oil slicks, performing border and fisheries patrol duties and conducting environmental research, it said.

Ruag will perform the final assembly of the aircraft and make customer-specific installations, such as radios and navigation aids, at its Oberpfaffenhofen factory near Munich, Germany.

Alexander Müller, Ruag's vice-president military aviation Germany, attributed the Bangladeshi selection of the Do 228NG to its "cost-effectiveness and ease of use".

The Bangladesh navy last year signed an order for two AgustaWestland AW109E Power helicopters.