Indian Navy and Naval Aicraft: News

Indian Navy's submarine-hunting Kamov-28 choppers to get major upgrade after Parrikar intervention

After a contract signed between Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Russian manufacturer yesterday, India can now look forward to an enhanced and upgraded set of submarine hunting helicopters.

Jugal R Purohit | Posted by Arpan Rai
New Delhi, July 30, 2016


Indian Navy to enhance the effectiveness of ten submarine hunting helicopters.

Contract signed between the Ministry of Defence and Russian manufacturer.

All ten copters will be modernized with upgraded sensors.

Enemy submarines lurking in waters of India's interest will soon find their stay to be uncomfortable.

Overcoming eight years of stalling and stagnation, Indian Navy (IN) has finally signed on the dotted line to enhance the effectiveness of its ten submarine hunting helicopters, the Russian Kamov-28.

India Today has learnt that after a personal intervention and push by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, a contract to that effect was signed yesterday between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Russian manufacturer Rosoboronexport. All ten copters will be modernized, sensors upgraded and delivered at regular intervals over the coming five years.

The total value of the contract is believed to be upwards of Rs 2000 crore. or 320 m $

The manufacturer, contract says, will amalgamate these copters with state of the art sensors and equipment it will procure from a slew of European firms. It was learnt that such an effort has been attempted for the very first time. Towards that, the helicopters will be first sent to Kumertau in Russia at the facility of Russian Helicopters where they will undergo a technical overhaul to enhance the aircraft's life and performance.

Once done, copters will be brought to Vizag, home of IN's Eastern Naval Command (ENC). At Vizag, naval air station Dega has been selected as the place where the sensors will be fitted and final assembly done. From that point, the copters will be available for the IN. Since Russia does not allow the import of European equipment, personnel from Russian helicopters will carry out the job in Vizag.

Of the ten Kamov-28 helicopters that were procured from the then Soviet Union, in the mid-80s, only four are in flying condition today. The remaining have been mothballed for spares, it was learnt.

"We are today making do with the technology of mid-80s, carrying out Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) roles to detect modern enemy submarines. The importance of this chopper can be understood by the fact that they can operate from the five Rajput class destroyers, the Talwar and Teg class of frigates and are designated to perform ASW role for aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya," said a source.

The biggest threat to India's maritime interests and its own fleet comes from enemy submarines. While every warship has a hull-mounted sonar for tracking submarines beneath, experts believe that few can match the potency of an ASW helicopter.

It is also the case that in the waters of Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, due to composition and currents, hull-mounted sonar often lose their edge, a point where ASW helicopters with their dunking sonars come in handy. Another reason why helicopters are favoured is because while they can hunt a submarine, there is no way a submarine can detect, far less hunt down a chopper.

The other helicopter that the Navy has for ASW roles is the Seaking Mk.42B which is rapidly ageing and is stretched.

The case for the Mid Life Upgrade (MLU) of Kamov 28 was moved by the Navy in 2008, bids for which were opened in 2012. One of the reasons for the case staling was the VVIP helicopter scandal. As one of the firms which was to supply the radar, Selex Galileo, was a subsidiary of the tainted firm Finmeccanica, the MoD was careful about progressing.

Following long-winding, inter-ministerial consultations the MoD moved ahead as Selex Galileo was a sub contractor of the Rosobornexport. "The MoD has nothing to do with them. This is as per the guidelines which have been promulgated by the ministry," explained a source. In fact, the MoD even sought a clearance from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for progressing in this case and managed one.

WHAT DOES KAMOV 28 BRING TO THE NAVY?

Maximum height achieved in flight 5000m

Maximum range 900km

Maximum flight speed 250km/hr

Maximum take-off weight 12000kg

Can person search and attack roles and to do so, it can carry bombs, torpedos and missiles on board



NAVY'S HELICOPTER WOES

Navy suffers from a massive gap in its ASW capabilities. But that is not it.

There has been no sizeable acquisition in over a decade to boost its helicopter arm. With a requirement of over 100 helicopters across different categories, and yet going nowhere, the Navy's predicament is clear.

The Indian Navy had to get 16 choppers as a direct replacement for Seaking Mk.42A helicopters which came with the INS Viraat in 1987 and were decommissioned by the end of the century. Categorised as 'Multi Role Helicopter' acquisition, it is yet to take off.

Then there is the Naval Utility Helicopter (NUH) deal to replace the Chetaks, introduced to the Indian armed forces in the 60s, with choppers of 4.5 ton class. In addition, Indian Navy is also looking at Naval Multi Role helicopters of a larger tonnage. It is all hanging in balance, for now.

As a result of this, modern warships, often built at a staggering expense to the exchequer, are roaming the seas without vital helicopters on board. Many warships, which have two hangars on board are steaming past without even a single helicopter on board. "Overall availability of choppers is less than 20 per cent in the Navy".

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/...arine-hunting-kamov-28-choppers/1/727853.html

New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) The Indian Navy has initiated the first steps towards acquiring the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for carriers as well as the long-range Predator B Guardian surveillance drone by sending Letters of Request (LoRs) to the Pentagon under government-to-government deals.

According to defence magazine India Strategic (www.indiastrategic.in) the LoRs, requesting price and availability for 22 Guardians and one EMALS, are now under consideration by the US Department of Defense (DOD) for clearance under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme and according to sources in Washington, a positive view is likely to be taken and discussions between the two countries should begin soon. Once the process is through, the US Government (USG) will send its Letters of Acceptance (LOAs).

The Predator B Guardian is a naval version for long-range surveillance over waters while the EMALS is being considered by the Indian Navy for its second indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vishal, due by 2028. EMALS has been adopted by the US Navy as its next generation aircraft launch system, and again significantly, for its new generation aircraft carriers beginning with CVN 78 USS Gerald R Ford, due for delivery this year.

Vivek Lall, Chief Executive (Global Commercial Strategic Development) for the San Diego-based General Atomics which makes these two systems, declined comment but said: "As far as General Atomics is concerned, we will be opening an office in the Indian capital to assist both the governments as required."

Notably the Guardian is a high performance Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft and could only be sold to India after it cleared the Missile Technology Control regime (MTCR) regulations.
Powered by a high-performance Honeywell TPE331-10 turboprop engine, it operates from a altitude of 50,000 feet and can fly for 27 hours before returning to its base.

It is equipped with sophisticated day-night sensors, including Raytheon's SeaVue multi-mode maritime radar, to identify and track vessels of different sizes, signals and electronic intelligence systems, satellite communication and even the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS).

The EMALS uses the propulsion power of electromagnetic energy and its advantage is that it can adapt to launch different sizes of aircraft from a carrier deck with the flick of a switch. Using DC electricity, it is also being devised to launch satellites in the coming years.

The existing generation of steam catapults, developed decades ago, are much slower.

The EMALS system is accompanied by Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) to assist in secure landing of aircraft.

The Indian Government has acted fast to acquire these assets towards securing the Indian waters against terrorist and hostile intrusions. The LoRs, in fact, were sent by the Indian Navy soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official visit to Washington in June, just as the US also anchored India's entry into MTCR and declared India to be a Major Defense Partner (MDP).

There are no confirmed financial figures for either the drones or the EMALs, but according to industry sources, the list price for the 22 Guardians should be around $2 billion.

Overall though, General Atomics, the biggest privately-held US defence company, could land with big multi-billion dollar deals in the coming years as the Indian Air Force (IAF) has also expressed interest in acquiring more than 100 Predator C Avenger attack drones. IAF had sent a communication in September last year, and significantly during Modi's visit, this requirement was mentioned at the highest levels.

The jet-powered Avenger is a high performance next-generation drone, or Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), for time-sensitive strike missions. It fires missiles to neutralize multiple hostile targets with precision with the flick of a command sent through satellites.

As the procedural paperwork for this drone could also begin only after the MTCR clearance, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MOD) should clear the proposal in due course. (India has just become the 35th Member of NTCR).
Notably, FMS deals require government-to-government (g-to-g) negotiations but with active support from the industry which manufactures every system in the US. The process ensures reasonable pricing, largely in accordance with what the US armed forces would pay for similar systems.
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The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) of the Department of Defense (DOD) however charges a fee within a band of 2.5 to 5 percent to facilitate the process.

For instance, in the case of Boeing C 17 heavy lift transport aircraft, this was fixed at 3.8 percent. The fee varies for different deals, but will be the same for every country that buys the same system from the US.

(Gulshan Luthra writes on strategic affairs. He can be contacted at gulshan.luthra@indiastrategic.in)
--IANS

India is considering buying Russian ships and submarines, a source close to the Indian Defense Ministry told RIA Novosti on Thursday.


NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — India is considering buying a Russian-made deep-sea rescue vessel used to salvage ships and submarines, a source close to the Indian Defense Ministry told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

"India is indeed exploring the possibility of buying a ship of this class," the source said.

Russia’s Project 21300C rescue ship, the Igor Belousov, called on the eastern Indian port Visakhapatnam on Wednesday to restock food, water and fuel. During its four-day stay, the Indian military will have an opportunity to insect the vessel.

India’s Economic Times daily reported last year that India was in talks with a Russian ship-building firm to purchase a rescue ship.

The outlet said that the nation had no means of helping its nuclear and conventional subs should they run into trouble at sea and had to rely on foreign assistance for deep-sea rescue operations. The Igor Belousov has recently assisted the Indian Air Force in searching for a missing jet in the Bay of Bengal.

http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160804/1043922284/russia-india-rescue-ship.html

https://www.rt.com/business/354576-india-russia-planes-purchase/


New Delhi is in talks with Moscow to acquire a number of Russian-made Ilyushin transport aircraft for its Air Force; Izvestia daily reported citing its sources. The total value of the contract could be as much as $2 billion.

The mid-air refueling aircraft would enhance the operational capabilities of the Su-30 fighter jets specially developed for India by Russia’s Sukhoi Design Bureau.
The Indian Air Force is already equipped with Russian-built IL-78 mid-air refuelers.
“For the first time Russia has offered New Delhi its IL-78MD-90A, which is a modernized version of the Il-76MD-90A military transport, also known as the IL-476,"the unnamed source told Izvestia.
Negotiations with Russia follow India’s decision not to buy six Airbus 330 MRTT (multi-role tanker transport) due to the high cost. Airbus won the delivery tender in 2015, but last week the Indian government withdrew the tender.
“The main reason for the cancellation of the tender is the very high life-cycle cost which was not calculated properly in the beginning,”the Financial Express cited the government’s letter to Airbus.


Good decision by India,

http://www.janes.com/article/62776/india-to-acquire-three-admiral-grigorovich-class-frigates-from-russia

Russia will supply three Admiral Grigorovich-class (Project 11356M) frigates to India that were originally intended for the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet, according to a source in the Russian defence industry.

"The relevant concealed agreement has been achieved, and India will receive the second three of Project 11356 frigates being built for the Russian Navy. The Indian side has obtained 12 spare tool and accessory kits for the ships," the source said.

The only issue at the moment is that the vessels, which are being constructed at the Kaliningrad-based Yantar Shipyard, use a Ukrainian Zorya-Mashproyekt gas-turbine propulsion plant. The 2014 Ukraine conflict slammed the door on co-operation between Moscow and Kiev over critical propulsion system components, especially marine gas turbine engines.

While Russia has already received the propulsion systems for the first three frigates, Ukraine's termination of defence exports to Russia has left the final three without their turbines, with indigenous replacements possibly not be available before 2019.

While Ukraine says it will not supply the engines to Russia, the source told IHS Jane's that India could use previously acquired Ukrainian engines. Alternatively India could acquire new engines directly from Kiev.

Meanwhile Moscow and New Delhi are considering transporting the frigates' hulls from the Yantar Baltic Shipyard to India to enable the further construction of the ships and the installation of the engines in the country.

The additional three Project 11356 frigates for the Indian Navy - No. 360 Admiral Butakov , No. 361 Admiral Istomin , and No. 362 Admiral Kornilov - will reportedly be equipped with the BrahMos cruise missile system.

Admiral Grigorovich-class vessels are variants of the Talwar (Krivak III)-class frigates, of which six were built for the Indian Navy at the Yantar Baltic Shipyard between 2003 and 2013.

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Scorpene Submarine data leak: If the secret data was indeed leaked from France, this is bound to strain India’s defence relationship with France.

Indian Navy seems to have suffered a huge setback after more than 22,000 pages of secret data related to the six Scorpene-class submarines being made by the French company DCNS in India was leaked, “The Australian” newspaper reported. The leaked data gives away the entire secret combat and performance capabilities of these submarines, and will completely negate their operational usefulness if China and Pakistan get access to the same.

India is currently building six Scorpene-class submarines, named Project 75, in partnership with the French company DCNS under a $3.5-billion deal signed in 2005. These submarines are being built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai, and the first of them, INS Kalvari, is likely to be inducted later this year.

“The Australian” also claims that the data was most probably leaked not from India but from DCNS in France as it also includes separate confidential DCNS files on plans to sell French frigates to Chile and the French sale of the Mistral-class amphibious assault ship carrier to Russia. These DCNS projects have no link to India, giving credence to the probability that the data files were removed from DCNS in France.

Will probe leak, says DCNS; source not from India, says Defence Ministry
The data on the Scorpene submarines, “The Australian” claims, was written in France for India in 2011 and is suspected of being removed from France in that same year by a former French Navy officer who was at that time a DCNS subcontractor. The data is then believed to have been taken to a company in Southeast Asia, possibly to assist in a commercial venture for a regional navy.

According to “The Australian”, it was subsequently passed by a third party to a second company in the region before being sent on a data disk by regular mail to a company in Australia. It is unclear, the paper says, how widely the data has been shared in Asia or whether it has been obtained by foreign intelligence agencies.


If the secret data was indeed leaked from France, this is bound to strain India’s defence relationship with France. India is expected to sign a deal for 36 Rafale fighter aircraft with France shortly, and that could be under a cloud following this revelation.

Also Read | http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/scorpene-submarine-leak-sensitive-data-indian-navy-france-dcns/

The leaked documents marked “Restricted Scorpene India”, which have been put up by the Australian newspaper on its website, has the secret stealth capabilities of the six submarines, including the frequencies they gather intelligence at, the levels of noise they make at various speeds and their diving depths, range and endurance. This is highly classified information which allows the submarine to perform its designated role without being detected by the enemy.

Also Read | http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/scorpene-submarine-leak-all-you-need-to-know-about-indian-navys-stealth-weapon/

According to “The Australian”, the data includes 4457 pages on the submarine’s underwater sensors, 4209 pages on its above-water sensors, 4301 pages on its combat management system, 493 paes on its torpedo launch system and specifications, 6841 pages on the submarine’s communications system and 2138 pages on its navigation systems.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/scorpene-submarine-leak-huge-setback-india-as-22000-pages-of-secret-data-leaked/

Given the length of time this data appears to have been in the 'wild' why is it public now and in full? Cui bono?

Associate Editor
Melbourne
@camstewarttheoz
The French company that won the bid to design Australia’s new $50 billion submarine fleet has suffered a massive leak of secret documents, raising fears about the future security of top-secret data on the navy’s future fleet.

The stunning leak, which runs to 22,400 pages and has been seen by The Australian, details the entire secret combat capability of the six Scorpene-class submarines that French shipbuilder DCNS has designed for the Indian Navy.

A variant of the same French-designed Scorpene is also used by the navies of Malaysia, Chile and, from 2018, Brazil, so news of the Edward Snowden-sized leak — revealed today — will trigger alarm at the highest level in these countries. Marked “Restricted Scorpene India”, the DCNS documents detail the most sensitive combat capabilities of India’s new $US3 bn ($3.9bn) submarine fleet and would provide an intelligence bonanza if obtained by India’s strategic rivals, such as Pakistan or China.

The leak will spark grave concern in Australia and especially in the US where senior navy officials have privately expressed fears about the security of top-secret data entrusted to France.

In April DCNS, which is two-thirds owned by the French government, won the hotly contested bid over Germany and Japan to design 12 new submarines for Australia. Its proposed submarine for Australia — the yet-to-be-built Shortfin Barracuda — was chosen ahead of its rivals because it was considered to be the quietest in the water, making it perfectly suited to intelligence-gathering operations against China and others in the region.

Any stealth advantage for the navy’s new submarines would be gravely compromised if data on its planned combat and performance capabilities was leaked in the same manner as the data from the Scorpene. The leaked DCNS data details the secret stealth capabilities of the six new Indian submarines, including what frequencies they gather intelligence at, what levels of noise they make at various speeds and their diving depths, range and endurance — all sensitive information that is highly classified. The data tells the submarine crew where on the boat they can speak safely to avoid detection by the enemy. It also discloses magnetic, electromagnetic and infra-red data as well as the specifications of the submarine’s torpedo launch system and the combat system.

It details the speed and conditions needed for using the periscope, the noise specifications of the propeller and the radiated noise levels that occur when the submarine surfaces.

The data seen by The Australian includes 4457 pages on the submarine’s underwater sensors, 4209 pages on its above-water sensors, 4301 pages on its combat management system, 493 pages on its torpedo launch system and specifications, 6841 pages on the sub’s communications system and 2138 on its navigation systems.

The Australian has chosen to redact sensitive information from the documents.

Sea trials for the first of India’s six Scorpene submarines began in May. The project is running four years behind schedule.

The Indian Navy has boasted that its Scorpene submarines have superior stealth features, which give them a major advantage against other submarines.

The US will be alarmed by the leak of the DCNS data because Australia hopes to install an American combat system — with the latest US stealth technology — in the French Shortfin Barracuda.

If Washington does not feel confident that its “crown jewels’’ of stealth technology can be protected, it may decline to give Australia its state-of-the-art combat system.

DCNS yesterday sought to reassure Australians that the leak of the data on the Indian Scorpene submarine would not happen with its proposed submarine for Australia. The company also implied — but did not say directly — that the leak might have occurred at India’s end, rather than from France. “Uncontrolled technical data is not possible in the Australian arrangements,” the company said. “Multiple and independent controls exist within DCNS to prevent unauthorised access to data and all data movements are encrypted and recorded. In the case of India, where a DCNS design is built by a local company, DCNS is the provider and not the controller of technical data.

“In the case of Australia, and unlike India, DCNS is both the provider and in-country controller of technical data for the full chain of transmission and usage over the life of the submarines.”

However, The Australian has been told that the data on the Scorpene was written in France for India in 2011 and is suspected of being removed from France in that same year by a former French Navy officer who was at that time a DCNS subcontractor.

The data is then believed to have been taken to a company in Southeast Asia, possibly to assist in a commercial venture for a regional navy.

It was subsequently passed by a third party to a second company in the region before being sent on a data disk by regular mail to a company in Australia. It is unclear how widely the data has been shared in Asia or whether it has been obtained by foreign intelligence agencies.

The data seen by The Australian also includes separate confidential DCNS files on plans to sell French frigates to Chile and the French sale of the Mistral-class amphibious assault ship carrier to Russia. These DCNS projects have no link to India, which adds weight to the probability that the data files were removed from DCNS in France.

DCNS Australia this month signed a deed of agreement with the Defence Department, paving the way for talks over the contract which will guide the design phase of the new submarines. The government plans to build 12 submarines in Adelaide to replace the six-boat Collins-class fleet from the early 2030s. The Shortfin Barracuda will be a slightly shorter, conventionally powered version of France’s new fleet of Barracuda-class nuclear submarines.

Restricted data

The secret information the leaked documents reveal:

• The stealth capabilities of the six new Indian Scorpene submarines
• The frequencies at which the subs gather intelligence
• The levels of noise the subs make at various speeds
• Diving depths, range and endurance
• Magnetic, electromagnetic and infra-red data
• Specifications of the submarine’s torpedo launch system and the combat system
• Speed and conditions needed for using the periscope
• Propeller’s noise specifications
• Radiated noise levels when the submarine surfaces




http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/defence/our-french-submarine-builder-in-massive-leak-scandal/news-story/3fe0d25b7733873c44aaa0a4d42db39e

This blame game will go on, but , if the details have really been leaked then who is the ultimate sufferer, the Indians and a few others. Australians may be getting better or different configuration of submarines from DCNS.

Indian Navy and DCNS is going to be worst sufferer

JohninMK wrote:Given the length of time this data appears to have been in the 'wild' why is it public now and in full? Cui bono?

The leak source is outside India and dates back to 2011, according some experts it dates back to 2001. not just India affected, Malaysia, Chile, Brazil too as they all had bought sns from DCNS.

This is worst kind of corporate rivalry to pin down the rivals as DCNS recently won 50b$ contract from Australia

French naval contractor DCNS said on Wednesday that it could not rule out that leaked documents on submarines built for India were part of an "economic war" by competitors after the firm won a tender in Australia earlier this year.

"For now we don't know if the information is correct," a DCNS spokeswoman said. "The competition is more and more hard and all means can be used in this context."

"There is India, Australia and other prospects, and other countries could raise legitimate questions over DCNS. It's part of the tools in economic war," she said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/france-submarines-dcns-idUSP6N17300V

Scorpene Submarine data leak: Read all about Scorpene Submarine data scandal here. The Govt has launched a probe after the leak.

There has been a data leak and it is big. ‘The Australian’ newspaper reported on Wednesday that over 22,000 pages detailing the combat and performance capabilities of six Scorpene-class submarines produced by India in partnership with French company DCNS have been leaked. India had signed a $3.5 billion deal in 2005 to build six Scorpene-class submarines, designed by the French company, at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai. The newspaper report has said the information is sensitive and highly classified.

INS Kalvari, first of the Scorpene-class submarines, is expected to be inducted into the Indian Navy later this year.

Stand of the Indian government

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said there has been a hacking and that a clear picture will emerge in the days to come.

“I have asked the Navy chief to study the entire issue about what has been leaked, what is there about us and to what extent. It came to my knowledge at about 12 AM. What I understand is there is a hacking. So we will find out all this,” Parrikar told reporters in New Delhi.

The Defence Minister said he does not suspect the leak to be 100 per cent since a lot of final integration lies with India.

The data that has been leaked is reported to have details like specifications of the torpedo launch system, speed and condition needed for using the periscope and functioning of the above-water and underwater sensors. According to the report, the data tells the submarine crew where on the boat they can speak safely to avoid detection by the enemy.

PTI said over 4,000 pages on the submarine’s combat management system are among the leaked information.

Source of the leak

“The Australian” report claimed the data was most probably leaked not from India but from DCNS in France as it also includes separate confidential DCNS files on plans to sell French frigates to Chile and the French sale of the Mistral-class amphibious assault ship carrier to Russia. Since these projects of the DCNS have no link to India, there is high probability that the data files were removed from the company in France.
But DCNS implied that the leak might have occurred at India’s end, rather than from France.

“Uncontrolled technical data is not possible in the Australian arrangements,” the company said.

Also read: Will probe leak, says DCNS

“Multiple and independent controls exist within DCNS to prevent unauthorised access to data and all data movements are encrypted and recorded. In the case of India, where a DCNS design is built by a local company, DCNS is the provider and not the controller of technical data,” the company said.

The data on the submarine was written in France for India in 2011 and is suspected of being removed from France in that same year by a former French Navy officer who was at that time a DCNS subcontractor.

“The data is then believed to have been taken to a company in Southeast Asia, possibly to assist in a commercial venture for a ­regional navy. It was subsequently passed by a third party to a second company in the region before being sent on a data disk by regular mail to a company in Australia…It is unclear how widely the data has been shared in Asia or whether it has been obtained by foreign ­intelligence agencies,” the report said.

Fears in Australia

There are fears in Australia surrounding the security of data on the future fleet of its own Navy. French company DCNS had won the bid to design the new fleet of Australian $50 billion submarines.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said it was important to note the submarine DCNS was building for India was a completely different model to the one it will build for Australia and the leaked information was a few years out of date, PTI reported.

“Nevertheless, any leak of classified information was a concern,” he was quoted as saying. The newspaper also said the company has assured Australia that the leak it has suffered in connection with the Indian submarines would not happen in the case of that country.

(With inputs from PTI)

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/scorpene-submarine-data-leak-indian-navy-dcns-facts-2993755/

So basically someone in the Aussie board has leaked this somehow.

Suresh Bangara Aug 24, 2016 23:03 IST

Manohar Parrikar undocked the fully-fitted, first of its class, Project 75 submarine. It is scheduled to be commissioned in September 2016 after mandatory sea trials. The project, as per the contract with the French shipbuilders DCNS, had already suffered many slippages in delivery schedules and (in naval parlance) is astern of the original intent of expeditious delivery to address the force-level shortages of diesel-electric submarines.

The earlier attempt at Mazagaon Docks to build the German origin, state-of-the-art submarine – designed by HDW – had to be terminated in the late 1980s owing to the allegation of corruption in the deal. The Indian Navy was deprived of a well-established production line when the political decision, more of a knee-jerk reaction, was taken to terminate it. The costly investment in infrastructure and technical manpower was thus wasted. The opportunity cost of terminating this prestigious project can be best summed up with the idiom, "cut off your nose to spite your face" because the cost was exorbitant, to put it mildly.

Even though the Soviets stepped in to supply the EKM submarines to bolster the depleting force levels, a 30-year build programme which was approved at the end of 1990s was to ensure that our build capacity was augmented by creating the necessary infrastructure and technical manpower in two indigenous yards. Inordinate delays in executing the plan resulted in Mazagaon Docks speeding up the construction of much-delayed Scorpene. The other is yet to take off.

This is the backdrop against which the today's leaked documents need to be viewed.

The Australian newspaper which broke the story of the leak has carefully redacted the sensitive data contained in the leaked documents, keeping in mind the advice of military and legal experts. A few pages sourced by Firstpost confirm that the redaction has been professionally carried out. Whether it covers the whole document of over 20,000 pages is yet to be ascertained. Responsible and ethical reportage makes it incumbent on newspapers to blank out those parts which might otherwise have undesirable geopolitical implications. Australia too is on the threshold of building submarines with similar assistance. They ought to know the implications of this action.

With regards to the sensitive data, acoustic signatures and 'cavitation appearance' are indeed closely-guarded secrets with the shipbuilder being its sole custodian. The builder creates a data bank based on simulated and empirical studies which are carried out over a long duration. The customer, in turn, can hold him accountable for such data that needs to be proved during sea trials. Hence the actually recorded and analysed data during sea trials would be more valuable than what is stated in documents. Tactically, a submarine has many options to deceive sonars by masking its radiated noise. Hence the impact of such a disclosure (authentic or not) depends on the quality of submarining. Indian submariners have decades of experience on both Western and Eastern origin submarines.

As far as the timing of this leak is concerned, the competitors of the second line of production are the biggest gainers. It means billions of dollars worth of business at a time when both economy and employment are at a critical stage. It is not that the defence ministry would terminate orders on DCNS, which would be another folly of even greater proportions if they do, but the second line of production is round the corner. Builders from East and West are possibly salivating on the quantum of order.

The very nature of this leak of over 22,000 pages makes it amenable to hacking. Considering that we are not a fully-wired society, it is unlikely that any single in-house source would have all such data on a single but networked computer. This could have also been hacked from those original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in Europe who were associated with this project. We can at best speculate at this stage.

Is it critical for operations? Most of the pages, as would be the case in any documentation, would consist of data which is common to all builders. With the operational profile being common to all submarines, it is likely that factors related to the detection of the submarine from ship, airborne or a hunter-killer submarine, are critical to operations. But this is the raison d'être of the submarine arm. Experienced submariners know how to avoid detection.

Furthermore, the data on weapons, whether torpedoes or missiles, are well known to all submariners. The greatest advantage that we have is that our submariners have for decades operated both Western and Eastern origin submarines and have learnt to innovate when required.

Recent reports suggest that the choice of torpedoes, which is the primary weapon, has not been finalised. In the existing case, it has turned out to be an advantage as the torpedoes are the main weapon of submarines and this leaked document pertains to discussions held in 2011.

The navy needs more submarines to address the depletion of conventional units. Delays caused by events like these ought not to result in further reduction in force levels.


http://www.firstpost.com/india/leak...s-implication-on-the-indian-navy-2974788.html

'Project 75 Has Been Leaked': The Night Navy Discovered Scorpene News

NEW DELHI: It was midnight and the phone of senior Navy officer posted at the Naval Headquarters wouldn't stop ringing. "The Australian has published a report claiming details of Project 75 (the official name for the submarine project) have been leaked," the caller said.

Minutes later, after the report was read on phone, the Chief of Navy Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba was informed.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was simultaneously informed by separate channels, immediately asked the Navy for a damage assessment and the possible place of the leak.

This morning Mr Parrikar told reporters "We knew about this last night". But what he left unsaid was the flurry of activity that took place through the night.

Within an hour, all hands were at the deck at the South Delhi office from where Project 75 is monitored.

A section of officers were pouring over the original document of the Scorpene submarine and comparing them with the ones put out by The Australian. Others were tasked to check which officers had accessed the document and where the documents had moved to look for possible place of leak.

Simultaneously, the cyber experts of the Indian Navy - considered one of the best - stationed across the nation were on a dual job: Looking for traces of leak from computers in India and the cyber trail of the documents put out by the newspaper.

In Mumbai, a similar exercise was underway at the Mazagaon docks - the shipyard constructing the submarines.

The multiple checks ran through the night. In the morning, bleary-eyed officers were allowed to go home, shower and shave.

Within the hour, they were back at their desks.

The initial investigation report, short and factual, was placed before the Defence Minister - who was in his office by 10 am after attending a function despite being up till 4 in the morning.

A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security -the highest body in the country headed by the Prime Minister, which decides on security issues - was expected to take up the issue by afternoon.

As Mr Parrikar left for the CCS, he asked the Navy to issue the first official communication, which said documents had not leaked from India. The cyber experts who had worked through the night, told the ministry that the cyber trail of the leaked papers didn't originate from India.

Soon after he returned from the CCS meeting, the Chief of Naval Staff again briefed Mr Parrikar. It was a longer briefing -- on the possible fallouts of the leak.

The Navy's conclusion did not change from the initial assessment it had given the Ministry.

Mr Parrikar was told that India had signed the deal with M/s Aramis and not DCNS. M/s Armaris was bought by DCNS subsequently. The leaked documents showed they were from DCNS. The minister was also told that the specifications in the leaked documents didn't match.

"The basic shape, structure (of the submarines) like its height etc remains the same, but several modifications are made to suit our requirements. To put it in simple terms, the computer programme Windows has some basic similarities but Windows of 2007 and 2010 differ hugely," a senior officer associated with the exercise told NDTV.

By late evening, Mr Parrikar and the Navy sat down again. The Navy reiterated that all checks pointed to an overseas leak and the damage, if any, was minimal. The Minister asked the Navy to shoot a query to the French manufacturer DCNS to ascertain the leak and come back to India.

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/proj...corpene-news-1449914?pfrom=home-lateststories

The Japanese leaked it because they are butt-hurt over losing Australia.

Vladimir79 wrote:The Japanese leaked it because they are butt-hurt over losing Australia.

That could also be the case, however the documents as it looks like until now are from the documentation set that was presented to the Australians. This means that the people paid by the Japanese to win them this contract, were out done by the people paid by the French, and "retaliated". China appreciates.

Remember kids, MIC is best kept in house, even with its failures.

KoTeMoRe wrote:

That could also be the case, however the documents as it looks like until now are from the documentation set that was presented to the Australians. This means that the people paid by the Japanese to win them this contract, were out done by the people paid by the French, and "retaliated". China appreciates.

Remember kids, MIC is best kept in house, even with its failures.

The Aussies were presented with the short-fin Barracuda.  These documents are from India.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-scorpene-submarine-data-leak-political-uproar-in-india-france-promises-to-investigate-seriously-2248586

France said it has taken "very seriously" the issue of leak of sensitive documents on advanced submarines being built for the Indian Navy and would work with India very closely with transparency. As the Scorpene data leak report broke out shaking the Indian defence establishment, French Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler said here French authorities were trying to assess the extent, nature and sensitivity of information that may have been leaked.


"Well, I have seen the report in the press. What can I tell you is that the French authorities are taking the matter very very seriously and working very seriously with DCNS, the French ship building company," he told reporters at an event organised at Alliance Francaise here.

Earlier, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said the leak of documents detailing the secret combat capabilities of Scorpene-class submarines was a case of hacking.

Australian media reported a leak of 22,400 pages that enumerate the submarines designed by DCNS for the Indian Navy.

Parrikar also has ordered Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lamba to go into the entire issue and sought a report from DCNS.

The details leaked included what frequencies the submarines gather intelligence at, what levels of noise they make at various speeds and their diving depths, range and endurance - all sensitive information that is highly classified, the Australian report said.

Terming as "scandalous" the Scorpene submarine project leak, Congress today demanded a complete security audit of the Defence Ministry by a sitting Supreme Court judge even as it accused Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar of launching an "operation cover-up".

Congress hits out at BJP

The audit could be in the form of a commission of inquiry and should fix responsibility of the political executive, including that of the Defence Minister and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters.

Insisting that the inquiry should probe the Defence Minister and the Defence Ministry to see whether they had abdicated their responsibility, he said the leak has put a question mark on India's maritime security.

Dubbing it as the "biggest defence disaster" of recent time, he said it has jeopardised the sole initiative to build six Scorpene submarines in collaboration with French company DCNS at a cost of US dollar 3.5 billion (Rs 23,500 crore approximately) by government-owned Mazagaon Dock Ship Builders Ltd at Mumbai.

"Despite the 'Himalayan blunder' that has deeply hurt India's defence preparedness, the Modi government/Defence Minister are indulging in 'operation cover-up' instead of fixing responsibility," he alleged.

Surjewala claimed that all concerned, including the Defence Minister and Indian Navy, are speaking in contradictory voices.

While Parrikar continues to describe the leaks as "hacking", the navy states that the "source of leaks is overseas and not in India", he said. French Company DCNS has clearly hinted that leak may have taken place in India, he said. With a coastline of 7517 kilometres to defend with merely 13 submarines and one nuclear submarine, the government appears to be living in denial, he said.

"It is in fact intriguing as to how 'clean chits' are being meted out without conducting a proper inquiry. For such an inquiry to be fair, it has to be headed by an independent neutral authority of the level of a sitting Supreme Court judge with officials from the armed forces, naval and Military Intelligence, IB or other specialised agencies as its members," he said.

Surjewala contended that this is an "alarming" situation that requires a complete 'security audit' of Mazagaon Dock Ship Builders Limited as also of the Defence Ministry.

Such a security audit/commission of inquiry will only establish the source of the leak, which cannot be established by a mere denial on the part of either the Defence Minister or the Indian Navy, he said.

Maintaining that the Defence Minister cannot brush these issues under the carpet, he said that the responsibility of political executive, bureaucrats and officers need to be affixed for the unprecedented leaks that have harmed national interest irreparably.

More than 22,000 pages of top secret data on the capabilities of six highly advanced submarines have been leaked, raising alarm bells in the security establishment.

Vladimir79 wrote:The Japanese leaked it because they are butt-hurt over losing Australia.

Japan and US seems to have leaked the data as they both were not happy with french waling away with mega deal

can India get akula or lada class subs from Russia ?

Indian submarine documents stolen, not leaked - French source


Aug 25 Documents relating to Indian submarines were stolen from French naval contractor DCNS and not leaked, a French government source said on Thursday, adding that the information published so far showed only operational aspects of the submarines.

India and France have opened investigations after The Australian newspaper published on Wednesday documents about its Scorpene submarines being built in India.

"It is not a leak, it is theft," the source said. "We have not found any DCNS negligence, but we have identified some dishonesty by an individual."

The source said the documents looked to have been stolen in 2011 by a former French employee that had been fired while providing training in India on the use of the submarines.

The documents were not classified and at this stage appeared to only focus on the operational elements of the submarines, the source said. (Reporting By Cyril Altmeyer; writing by John Irish; editing by Richard Lough)


http://www.reuters.com/article/france-submarines-theft-idUSL8N1B63PD

Vladimir79 wrote:

KoTeMoRe wrote:

That could also be the case, however the documents as it looks like until now are from the documentation set that was presented to the Australians. This means that the people paid by the Japanese to win them this contract, were out done by the people paid by the French, and "retaliated". China appreciates.

Remember kids, MIC is best kept in house, even with its failures.

The Aussies were presented with the short-fin Barracuda.  These documents are from India.

Well the French now say it was theft....

KoTeMoRe wrote:

Vladimir79 wrote:

KoTeMoRe wrote:

That could also be the case, however the documents as it looks like until now are from the documentation set that was presented to the Australians. This means that the people paid by the Japanese to win them this contract, were out done by the people paid by the French, and "retaliated". China appreciates.

Remember kids, MIC is best kept in house, even with its failures.

The Aussies were presented with the short-fin Barracuda.  These documents are from India.

Well the French now say it was theft....

well bro its theft or leak it happened from french side i.e DCNS and the french govt owns 62% holding of this company. so DCNS has lost face and australian deal could be in jeopardy, Indian deal canr be cancelled now as many subs are semi ready now, one in sea trial to be finished in september

Pinto wrote:

KoTeMoRe wrote:

Vladimir79 wrote:

KoTeMoRe wrote:

That could also be the case, however the documents as it looks like until now are from the documentation set that was presented to the Australians. This means that the people paid by the Japanese to win them this contract, were out done by the people paid by the French, and "retaliated". China appreciates.

Remember kids, MIC is best kept in house, even with its failures.

The Aussies were presented with the short-fin Barracuda.  These documents are from India.

Well the French now say it was theft....

well bro its theft or leak it happened from french side i.e DCNS and the french govt owns 62% holding of this company. so DCNS has lost face and australian deal could be in jeopardy, Indian deal canr be cancelled now as many subs are semi ready now, one in sea trial to be finished in september

DCNS hasn't much face to lose if you see what I mean, thanks to the French government.