Video: K 15 SLBM test fired from sub-merged platform

Treat to watch - First time video of K 15, Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile, test-fired from under-water pontoon. K 15 will be integrated to INS Arihant to complete Indian nuclear triad.

Dedicated to all Indian Defence Enthusiasts !!!!!

Courtesy - One of my favourite Defence Journalist - Shiv Aroor

Video Courtesy - Shiv Aroor @ youtube

DRDO completes development of K 15 SLBM for Arihant

Moving a step closer to completing its nuclear triad, India today successfully test-fired a ballistic missile, with a strike range of around 750 Kilometres, from an underwater platform in Bay of Bengal.

"The short range K-15 ballistic missile was test-fired successfully today from an underwater pontoon and all parameters of the test firing were met," DRDO chief VK Saraswat told PTI from the undisclosed test area.

Saraswat said that the development phase of the K-15 missile, which is a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), was over and it was now ready for deployment on various platforms including the indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant which is under development.

K 15 Test Fired at undisclosed location ( Image Courtesy - Shiv Aroor @ livefist.blogspot.com ) 

K-15 is part of the family of underwater missiles being developed by Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for the Indian strategic forces' underwater platforms.

This is the first missile in the underwater category to have been developed by India. So far, India had the capability of delivering nuclear weapons from land and aerial platforms only. India has a no-first-use policy for nuclear weapons and the development of an SLBM boosts its retaliatory strike capability, experts said.

India is also developing two more underwater missiles including K-5 and Brahmos with strike ranges of 1500 kilometres and 290 kilometres respectively. K-5 ballistic missile is being developed by DRDO's Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL).

Officials said more than 10 trials of the missile have been performed earlier. Today's was the last development trial of K-15. Only a select few nations including the US, France, Russia and China have this type of missile capability. UK uses "American Missile Trident" for its SSBNs.

News Courtesy - timesofindia.indiatimes.com with correction from Shiv Aroor

INS Vikramaditya - Delivery Acceptance Trials in June 2013

INS Vikramaditya - India's second aircraft carrier- is back on its feet. Three of the ship's eight boilers that had malfunctioned during trials in last year have been "opened up and set right," a senior Navy official told NDTV.

In sea trials last year, the ship sailed for 100 days and its flight deck - the most critical part of an aircraft carrier - is operational, senior officials told NDTV. The MiG 29 KUB two-seat naval fighter jet will be positioned on the Vikramaditya.

INS Vikramaditya at sea-trials in 2012 ( Image Courtesy - defense-update.com )

But because the seas in Northern Russia are frozen, the INS Vikramaditya can sail out of the port only in June this year for "delivery acceptance trials" - the penultimate stage before a ship is commissioned.

On acceptance of the ship from the builder, it will be formally commissioned with the Indian tri-colour being hoisted on top of ship after which INS Vikramaditya will start its journey towards India. The Navy intends to commission the ship in Russia and sail it back to India by October- November 2013. It is expected to join active service on 04 December, 2013 - Navy Day.

News Courtesy - ndtv.com

Indian Navy: Progress Report - INS Vikrant Aircraft Carrier

Over a year after its initial launch, the maiden indigenous aircraft carrier of the Indian Navy will be re-docked at Cochin Shipyard by the end of January 2013, for resumption of work.

Once back at the building bay for completion of work in the first phase, the carrier — currently weighing about 17,500 tonnes — will have its propulsion, shafting, generation and other engineering equipment fitted over the next five to six months before it gets floated out again.

Quite a bit of structural work, probably up to the flight deck, which would give the vessel some shape, will also happen during this phase of construction.

INS Vikrant II under construction at Kochi ( Image Courtesy - thehindu.com )

The project had hit a mechanical roadblock when reduction gearboxes made by the Gujarat-based Elecon Engineering Company Limited fell short of requirements. “Further construction of the carrier wasn’t possible without the huge gearboxes going in. The systems have now passed muster,” said a Navy source.

As the first IAC, to be named INS Vikrant on completion, undergoes birth pangs at the Cochin Shipyard, a second carrier, presumably a bigger one weighing almost 60,000 tonnes, is on the drawing board at the Directorate of Naval Design in New Delhi.

News Courtesy - thehindu.com

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Happy Republic Day

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First Anniversary Of Satyamev Jayate

Indian Air Force: First C-17 Globemaster III starts test flight

The first of 10 C-17 Globemaster III airlifters for the Indian Air Force (IAF) is all set to enter a US Air Force flight test programme at Edwards Base in Palmdale, California.

Boeing delivered India's first C-17 today at its facility in Long Beach, California, and is on track to deliver four more C-17s to the IAF this year and five in 2014, the company said in a media release.

C-17 Globemaster III of Indian Air Force on test flight ( Image Courtesy - ndtv.com ) 

"It was exciting to see the C-17 fly again, this time with Indian Air Force markings, as the airlifter completed its first-flight milestone on January 11. We look forward to the day that the first IAF C-17 flies over India", said Air Commodore Sanjay Nimesh, Air Attache at the Embassy of India.

India signed an agreement with the US government on June 15, 2011 to acquire 10 C-17 airlifters, making India the largest C-17 customer outside the US.

News Courtesy - ndtv.com

Russian Navy - Plan for two more Borei A Class SSBNs

Russia is looking to start construction for two more nuclear-powered strategic submarines of the Borei A class this year, the official Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily has reported. The construction of the Alexander Suvorov is to start July 28 - Russia's Navy Day, while for another submarine, Mikhail Kutuzov, construction will start in November. 

One submarine of the Borei A class, Knyaz Vladimir, has been under construction since July 2012. Russia plans to build eight submarines of Borei and Borei A Class until 2020 to form the core of its navy's nuclear deterrence strategy. Three of them will be of Borei and five of Borei A type.

Borei Class SSBN - Alexander Nevsky at sea trials ( Image Courtesy - en.rian.ru )

The first Borei-class submarine, Yury Dolgoruky, was put into active service on 10 Jan, 2013 in the Northern Fleet. The second Borei submarine, Alexander Nevsky, is undergoing sea trials, while third submarine Vladimir Monomakh has recently started with harbour trials. This SSBN development is progressing ahead of the schedule, five ships may be complete by 2018 itself, while the initial plan was to launch the last of these five submarine by 2020.

Borei Class -

• Yury Dolgoruky
• Alexander Nevsky
• Vladimir Monomakh

Borei A Class -

• Knyaz Vladimir
• Alexander Suvorov
• Mikhail Kutuzov

News Courtesy - en.rian.ru