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As IAF Inaugurates Highway For Fighters, Does Sweden Offer Lessons?

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As IAF Inaugurates Highway For Fighters, Does Sweden Offer Lessons?

A SAAB Gripen fighter lands on an Expressway in Sweden

Airbases and aircraft on the ground have remained targets vulnerable to attack

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari arrived at a stretch of National Highway 925 in Rajasthan on Thursday and made history.

The two ministers arrived at the highway on the Satta-Gandhav stretch, landing on a C-130J transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force.

Their landing was used to inaugurate the first national highway used for emergency landing of Indian Air Force aircraft. A number of Indian Air Force aircraft, including An-32 transport aircraft, Mi-17 helicopters and Su-30MKI and Jaguar fighters landed on the highway in the presence of the ministers.

Interestingly, the Su-30MKI was also serviced on the highway.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has developed the 3km section of Satta-Gandhav stretch of NH-925 as an emergency landing field for the IAF. In October 2017, fighter jets and transport planes of the IAF had conducted mock landings on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway to show that such highways can be used by the IAF planes for landing in case of an emergency.

Previously, stretches of expressways have been used to test landing strips for fighter aircraft.

Why Highways As Runways Matter

While airpower has dominated nearly all conflicts since the First World War, airbases and aircraft on the ground have remained targets vulnerable to attack. Arguably, the most famous conflict where destruction of airbases decided the fate of a war in hours was Israel’s attack on airbases of Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq in the Six-Day War in 1967.

‘Dispersing’ aircraft around the country to operate off runways, thus, becomes a necessity. However, merely, being capable of landing an aircraft and allowing it to take off from a road will not be enough to fulfil military objectives in a conflict. Aircraft need to be serviced, refuelled and re-armed, which warrants training and deployment of technicians and logistics personnel to operate under a variety of circumstances.

Speaking about this on News 18, retired Indian Air Force air vice marshal Manmohan Bahadur said “You would have seen the Sukhoi (Su-30MKI), after landing, was being serviced and would have taken off. That’s the good thing that has been done… because just making an airstrip on a road does not complete the project… when you have to activate an airstrip, a lot of work goes into activating an airstrip.”

The need for operational flexibility is exacerbated by China stocking up its arsenal of ballistic missiles and cruise missiles capable of attacking airbases.

A number of countries practise ‘dispersed’ operations including Switzerland, Taiwan, Israel, Pakistan and Sweden. In particular, the Swedish Air Force has been considered a pioneer in dispersed operations. While a non-aligned nation, since the 1950s, Sweden built a strong air force given worries about the intentions of the Soviet Union. All Swedish fighter aircraft built since the 1950s—the SAAB J-35 Draken, J-37 Viggen and JAS-39 Gripen—were designed to be capable of operating from highways.

The rationale behind using highways was explained by the website of the Aeroseum aircraft museum in Gothenburg as “Having so many widely dispersed bases meant it would be impossible for an aggressor to know exactly where all the aircraft would be located at any particular time and it would thus be impossible to destroy every aircraft in a surprise attack.”

SAAB highlights the Gripen’s capability to operate off runways, including refuelling and rearming in less than 10 minutes. “Gripen E can take off in strips of road that are only 16m wide 500m long and can land in a 600m long road, without any tail hook or brake chute. This capability also allows the fighter to take off from small taxiways, small civil airfields or highways. A Gripen can also taxi using its own power to flight line positions for maintenance, refuelling and rearming, with the help of limited crew members. Gripen was designed for a minimal turnaround time—tasks like refuelling and rearming do not take more than 10 minutes, further increasing the operability and availability of the fighter,” claims SAAB.

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INS Arihant’s Nuke-Capable K-4 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile ‘Ready To Roll’

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INS Arihant’s Nuke-Capable K-4 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile ‘Ready To Roll’


NEW DELHI: India tested its nuclear capable K-4 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), designed to have a strike range of 3,500 km, for the second time in six days on Friday. The missile test, as the one conducted on January 19, was undertaken from an undersea platform in the shape of a submersible pontoon off the coast of Andhra Pradesh according to a report by Rajat Pandit of TOI.

The solid-fuelled K-4 missile is being developed by DRDO to arm the country’s nuclear-powered submarines in the shape of INS Arihant and its under-development sister vessels. INS Arihant, which became fully operational in November 2018 to complete India’s nuclear triad, is currently armed with the much shorter K-15 missiles with a 750 km range.

“The K-4 is now virtually ready for its serial production to kick-off. The two tests have demonstrated its capability to emerge straight from underwater and undertake its parabolic trajectory,” said a source.

India has the land-based Agni missiles, with the over 5,000-km Agni-V inter-continental ballistic missile now in the process of being inducted, and fighter jets jury-rigged to deliver nuclear weapons. But INS Arihant gives the country’s deterrence posture much more credibility because nuclear-powered submarines armed with nuclear-tipped missiles are considered the most secure, survivable and potent platforms for retaliatory strikes.

Once the K-4 missiles are inducted, they will help India narrow the gap with countries like the US, Russia and China, which have over 5,000-km range SLBMs. The K-4 missiles are to be followed by the K-5 and K-6 missiles in the 5,000-6,000 km range class.

The 6,000-ton INS Arihant, which is propelled by an 83 MW pressurised light-water reactor at its core, in turn, is to be followed by INS Arighat, which was launched in 2017. The next generation of nuclear submarines, currently called S-4 and S-4*, will be much larger in size.





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After Upgradation, Sukhoi Su-30MKI Indigenisation To Reach 78%

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After Upgradation, Sukhoi Su-30MKI Indigenisation To Reach 78%


India has received clearance to upgrade 84 Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets, which will result in 78% indigenization after the upgrade

In a significant step towards bolstering its military might with indigenously developed technology, India is poised to witness its Russian-origin Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jets evolve into a domestic platform. Speaking at a recent lecture.

The upgrade program is being led by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in partnership with the Indian Air Force and other partners. The upgrade is expected to cost US$7.5 billion.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the upgrade. The upgrade is part of India’s efforts to improve the capabilities of its primary fighter aircraft, it refers to as the “Super Sukhoi”.

This initiative is a part of a larger effort by the Indian Air Force to modernize its ageing fleet. Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari asserted the critical role of an offensive air force as demonstrated in current global conflicts and emphasized India’s move towards an indigenized arsenal. To this end, the IAF has been proactive, from upgrading its Mirage 2000 to enhancing its MiG-29 fleet.

In summary, the IAF’s commitment to updating their combat forces with the latest technology, including shifting to fifth-generation fighter jets, ensures operational preparedness and a strong deterrence capability. The gradual indigenization of its air fleet marks a pivotal shift in India’s defence landscape, reducing dependency on foreign imports and fostering technological sovereignty.





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Akash Weapon System Exports For The Armenian Armed Forces Gathers Pace

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Akash Weapon System Exports For The Armenian Armed Forces Gathers Pace


According to unconfirmed reports, Armenia is a top contender for an export order for Akash SAM system manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).

While there is no official confirmation because of the sensitivities involved, documents suggest that the order for the same has already been placed the report further added.
There are nine countries, in turn, which have shown interest in the indigenously-developed Akash missile systems, which can intercept hostile aircraft, helicopters, drones and subsonic cruise missiles at a range of 25-km. They are Kenya, Philippines, Indonesia, UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Vietnam and Algeria reported TOI.

The Akash export version will also be slightly different from the one inducted by the armed forces. The 100-km range air-to-air Astra missiles, now entering production after successful trials from Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, also have “good export potential”, said sources.

Akash is a “tried, tested and successfully inducted systems”. Indian armed forces have ordered Akash systems worth Rs 24,000 crore over the years, and MoD inked a contract in Mar 2023 of over Rs 9,100 crores for improved Akash Weapon System

BDL is a government enterprise under the Ministry of Defence that was established in 1970. BDL manufactures surface-to-air missiles and delivers them to the Indian Army. BDL also offers its products for export.

Akash Weapon System

The AWS is a Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SRSAM) Air Defence System, indigenously designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). In order to meet aerial threats, two additional Regiments of AWS with Upgradation are being procured for Indian Army for the Northern borders. Improved AWS has Seeker Technology, Reduced Foot Print, 360° Engagement Capability and improved environmental parameters.

The project will give a boost to the Indian missile manufacturing industry in particular and the indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem as a whole. The project has overall indigenous content of 82% which will be increased to 93% by 2026-27.

The induction of the improved AWS into the Indian Army will increase India’s self-reliance in Short Range Missile capability. This project will play a role in boosting the overall economy by avoiding outgo of precious foreign exchange to other countries, increasing employment avenues in India and encouraging Indian MSMEs through components manufacturing. Around 60% of the project cost will be awarded to the private industry, including MSMEs, in maintaining the supply chain of the weapon system, thereby creating large scale of direct and indirect employment.





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