Indian Defense
ISRO To Develop Its Own Life Support System For Gaganyaan Mission After Failing To Get It From Other Countries: Somanath
Environmental Control and Life Support System of International Space Station developed by NASA
The Gaganyaan project aims to showcase India’s prowess in human spaceflight, propelling a crew to a 400 km orbit and safely returning them to Indian sea waters by 2025
Somanath affirmed ISRO’s commitment to indigenous development, leveraging existing knowledge and local industries. He outlined the challenges confronting the Gaganyaan program. Emphasising the nation’s dedication to skill-building and design enhancement. ISRO Chairman S Somanath declared the agency’s determination to independently engineer the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) for the impending Gaganyaan mission.
“We have no experience in developing an environmental control life support system. We were only designing rockets and satellites. We thought that this knowledge would come from other nations, but unfortunately after so much discussion, nobody is willing to give it to us,” Somanath said.
The Gaganyaan project aims to showcase India’s prowess in human spaceflight, propelling a crew to a 400 km orbit and safely returning them to Indian sea waters by 2025.
Expressing ISRO’s initial lack of expertise in ECLSS development, Somanath highlighted their historical focus on rocket and satellite design. Despite pursuing collaboration, no country was willing to share the crucial knowledge, prompting the decision to domestically craft the system.
Addressing the Manohar Parrikar Vidnyan Mahotsav 2023 in Dona Paula, Somanath affirmed ISRO’s commitment to indigenous development, leveraging existing knowledge and local industries.
He outlined the challenges confronting the Gaganyaan programme, emphasising the nation’s dedication to skill-building and design enhancement. Somanath stressed the need for heightened skill and confidence for successful human space travel. “When we send humans to space through our Gaganyaan programme, I think the amount of skill and confidence that we need to have has to be higher than what we currently have,” he said.
Acknowledging the inherent risk in rocket launches, Somanath underscored the imperative of safeguarding astronauts against failures. He underscored ISRO’s ongoing efforts in embedding intelligence within rockets, employing sensor data, artificial intelligence, and swift decision-making to avert potential failures.
Highlighting the need for split-second decisions during contingencies, he emphasised the development of technologies to pre-emptively handle rocket failures, integrating available data and synthesising solutions.
In pursuit of human space flight capabilities, ISRO remains committed to pioneering new technologies essential for astronaut safety and mission success.
“And if it goes wrong, then there is nobody who is able to correct it or adjust it. Thousands of elements should work without any flaw to make a launch happen. When you have a failure possibility, then you must have protection against it in human space flight. This is a core of human space flight – that we should not put the risk of having the astronaut lost due to the failure in the rocket. So it calls for intelligence in the rocket. This is what we are working on today,” he said.
“Then you have to tell the rocket that you are going to fail now and you better abort even before failure happens. This is a challenge of working on intelligence in the rocket and we are working on such technologies today, looking at the data which is available in measurements and then making a synthesis of it,” he added.
Indian Defense
INS Arihant’s Nuke-Capable K-4 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile ‘Ready To Roll’
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.
Indian Defense
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.
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.
Indian Defense
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).
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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