Indian Defense
Why The First Ever 2+2 Dialogue With Australia Is Key For India’s Nuclear Sector Push
India on Saturday will hold its first ‘two-plus-two’ dialogue with Australia between foreign and defence ministers to boost strategic ties. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held discussions with his counterpart Peter Dutton today while Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne will be holding talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tomorrow.
The talk is likely to push for India’s nuclear sector as Australia is a member of the small Like-Minded Group of NSG members and has been supporting India’s admission to the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Australia continues to work in Vienna with the “small group” of countries in support of India’s application.
India has held ministerial meetings with few countries including the US and Japan. New Delhi is planning for talks with Russia but no dates have been scheduled yet.
The decision to hold bilateral talks with Australia reflects ties between India and Australia for the last few years. Last June, during the Virtual Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart Scott Morrison, the bilateral relations were elevated to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”.
There is an active mechanism of regular consultations on various pillars, including the annual meetings between the prime ministers, foreign ministers’ dialogue, Trade Ministerial Commission, Education Ministerial Council, Energy Dialogue at ministerial level, defence policy talks, defence services staff talks, and working groups in different sectors.
The bilateral cooperation cover sectors like maritime cooperation, defence science exchanges, mutual logistics support, cooperation in cyber-enabled critical technology, critical and strategic materials, water resources management, vocational education and training, as well as public administration and governance.
Both India and Australis are members of the Quad or Quadrilateral coalition that aims to work towards ensuring a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. Australis is also a partner in trilateral constructs like India-Australia-Indonesia and India-Australia-France. Also in ASEAN-led forums.
Amid the Covid-19 scenario and the need for resilient supply chains, trade ministers of India, Australia and Japan have launched the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) to diversify and secure supply chains.
Bilateral trade between India and Australia stands at around US$ 20 billion annually. Negotiations on a bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) have made good progress, with an Early Harvest Agreement as an interim goal.
The Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF) supports collaboration between scientists on cutting-edge research. It comprises of India-Australia Biotechnology Fund, India-Australia Science & Technology Fund, Grand Challenge Fund and fellowship schemes.
India also has a strategic convergence with Australia which includes Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement (2014), Technical Agreement on White Shipping Information Exchange (2015), an arrangement concerning mutual logistics support (2020), military exercises like AUSINDEX and the Malabar exercise.
Australia is a resource powerhouse and has large deposits of several types of critical minerals which India requires. The country is also a major educational destination for over 100,000 Indian students. The Indian community in Australia, estimated at 720,000, is a key link and tourism and sporting links are also significant ties between the two countries.
PM Modi had visited Australia on an official visit in 2014. President Ram Nath Kovind visited in November 2018. PM Modi and Morrison have spoken a number of times over phone, most recently in May this year.
The dialogue between the foreign and defence ministers is Marise Payne’s third visit to India. Previous visits in 2019 and 2020 were in conjunction with Raisina Dialogue.
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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