@arunp2810 sir,
I am writing this after a lot of deliberation. It is a rant but here it is for what it is worth. Please know that I would not have replied unless I respected you immensely and cared for opinion greatly.
I am writing this after a lot of deliberation. It is a rant but here it is for what it is worth. Please know that I would not have replied unless I respected you immensely and cared for opinion greatly.
https://twitter.com/arunp2810/status/1462583922001276928
1.Like you, I don’t consider license production as indigenous. Our own engine development is lagging. But is the lacuna only in the development community? Afterall, we are churning out 350 HP engines and transmissions in huge volumes with comparative ease.
2.Then why can they not be scaled up for military use? Because there is no volume to scale up. For Arjun, until recently there was only an order for 124 engines. Who will set up factory for 124 engines and their parts? Number of engines required for ships is even lower.
3.You would be happy to know that indigenous engines from 400HP to 1500 HP have now been developed and are in various stages of testing from BMP upgrades to T72s to the upcoming FRCV. Volumes matter.
4. Now let’s come to aviation engines. GE spends >$1B per year on R&D to get to the latest and greatest. The same is true for other majors like PW and RR. Yes, we are nowhere near these entities. But R&D cost is the same whether you build 1 engine or 1000 engines.
5.On that aspect too, please see what happens when you have potential for 1000s of engines. HAL is now testing its own HTSE1200 engines. These engines will replace the French engines in the hundreds of Dhruvs, LCHs and LUHs
6.And because we will have hundreds of Hawks and potentially IJTs and AJTs, a HTFE-25 has completed high-altitude testing. The HTFE-25 is not as cutting-edge as Kaveri engine, but it is at par with Adour, F124 and AI-225 engines.
7.The same is the case with 1-7kN engines. Not only GTRE’s Manik and HAL’s PTAE-7 engines. A plethora of private players are entering the frame because of the lure of 100s of such engines in UAVs, loitering munition and cruise missiles.
8.Now, let’s come to radars. It is true that our ‘sensing’ capabilities are mostly imported. Here, we cannot blame the lack of orders. Yes, it has taken us time and thank god that there was inability to import at the first whim.
9.But now the most advanced ground-based radars being deployed in India are Indian. They are world-class. Their offshoots are becoming airborne. The radar on the Netra AEW&C is our first airborne radar worth mention.
10.But since then, they ported that radar to Uttam. My friends (I am sure you can get a hold of them too) who are flying and testing this radar tell me that it has same or better performance than the 2052.
11.With all their feedback, and improved TRM manufacturing capability the next generation of Uttam-2 is now entering production. It is more compact, energy efficient and performant than Uttam-1.
12.Uttam-I was one step behind the absolute leading edge. Uttam II has closed that gap completely. Furthermore, LRDE’s growing knowledge has allowed it place the radars closer to the radomes.
13.This as you know significantly improves the aircrafts performance. E.g. LCA Mk2 has a more powerful radar than Mk1A packed in smaller nose with space for a nose mounted IRST!
14.All these technologies are also now finding their way into upgraded AEW&C and airborne maritime patrol radars. Versions of the latter are now in testing in the belly of a modified Do-228 test bed.
15.Also if LR-MFR radar (shown below) is already deployed, then the primary radar for ships cannot be too far behind! 
16.I am a little sad sir we don’t have good indigenous guns. Neither CIWS nor long-range weapons. I hope that Tata and Bharat Forge can solve that problem for us but where are the orders for them to sustain their DnD?
17.Where are ATAGS orders or any orders for the plethora of guns that BF has showcased?
18.But as far as missile development goes DRDL and RCI are now scorching the path: MRSAM and Brahmos are deployed. VLRSAM, NASM-SR are entering tesing
19.Even in the underwater region, our sonar capabilities are finally catching up. Almost all bow-mounted sonars are indigenous. The towed sonar is currently in testing.
20.NSTL seems to have finally turned the corner on torpedoes. Extended-range ASR have also entered testing.
21.With so much happening and especially the momentum exhibited in the last decade, I must agree with @hvtiaf that “how we have emerged” should not be met with the despondency often publicly reflected by the military brass.
22.With respect to Pakistan, we can fight a war of attrition on imported goods. We have deeper pockets. But when it comes to China, I am not sure how we could sustain on imported wares.
23.I don’t intend to go into the rhetoric of “we all stand and fall together”. But, as a by-looker the decision makers and developers don’t seem to be on the same page! Worse, we seem to be happy at snubbing at each other.
24.Can the country and its military wait for the industry to come off age before entrusting them with meaningful orders that can sustain their growth? Or should it be the other way around? That sir, I will leave to your better judgement.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
