India has not been left out of the global UAV push. The country operates Israeli Searcher tactical UAVs, and Heron Medium Altitude, Long Endurance (MALE) UAVs, placing an additional Heron order in 2005. It has also undertaken development programs for a smaller UAV, the “Nishant”. With its “Rustom” program, however, India hopes to offer a UAV in the Heron/ Predator/ Watchkeeper class of MALE UAVs.
It had also hoped to begin to change a culture and tradition of wholly state-owned development of military hardware, which has not always performed well, or served India’s needs. A recent award has selected a winner, and moved the project forward. It may also serve as a reminder that bureaucracies are very difficult to change.
“Rustom” translates as “warrior,” and may remind some readers of the great hero in Persia’s classic The Shah-nameh. Reports indicate that India’s UAV is named after a more contemporary personality, however: Rustom Damania, a former professor of IISc, Bangalore, who led the National Aeronautical Laboratories’ light canard research aircraft (LCRA) project in the 1980s.
The LCRA is reportedly the initial basis for the DRDO ADE’s 1,100-1,800 kg UAV design, which aims for a maximum altitude of 35,000 feet and a range of 300 km/ 240 miles, with endurance around 24 hours. This will be the Rustom-C/H, with the “C” variant expected to carry weapons as well as surveillance gear.
A lighter “Rustom-1” looks more like Burt Rutan’s Long-EZ design, with canards up front, winglets on a squared delta wing, and a pusher propeller in back. It will act as a test platform, and could fill a tactical UAV slot, with endurance of only 12-14 hours, maximum altitude of 22,000 feet, and a range of around 250 km.
Procurement & the Private Sector: India’s StrugglesIn some ways, Rustom’s naming is also a fine encapsulation of India’s defense industry struggles. Given the sensitive nature of defence projects, private firms have generally been limited to step-and-fetch roles as component suppliers or sub-contractors on projects designed and managed by state-owned agencies or firms such as DRDO, NAL, HAL, BEL, et. al. Many of those projects have fared poorly, leaving India with gaps in critical defense capabilities that then had to be filled by buying foreign equipment as a “temporary” measure. Which would frequently become permanent mainstays for India’s forces.
In 2002, India took the first steps toward changing its procurement model. It opened up defence equipment production to private sector companies, and even allowed up to 26% foreign direct investment in such ventures. In 2006, “India’s DRDO Rethinking the Way it Does Business” covered changes in government statements, and even grudging DRDO admissions that more private sector involvement was necessary, if India’s industry was to develop and deliver the equipment a rising power needs. Subsequent moves by the government on a number of fronts, from aircraft to tanks, are opening up a far larger role for global defense firms in supplying India’s needs.
The problem is that bureaucracies are entirely uninterested in changing their long-standing and comfortable models, especially if those changes promise reduced future roles for those bureaucracies. Domestic development remains largely the bailiwick of existing agencies and bureaucracies. In those competitions so far, Indian firms partnered with experienced foreign suppliers like Thales, IAI, et. al. continue to lose to state-owned Indian firms whose overall record in the sectors under competition is shallower, and arguably adds development risks to these projects.
That appears to have been the case with Rustom.
IAI Heron UAVDRDO intended to move away from its traditional model of developing and finalizing the system itself, then handing the designs and technology over to a production agency. Instead, they would introduce concurrent engineering that involves the producing firm, and initial design efforts also take into consideration production issues. This production agency development partner (PADP) was whittled down from 23 firms to 4 finalists: Larsen and Toubro Ltd. (L&T), Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. – and a joint bid from state-owned firms Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Bharat Electronics.
The accompanying maritime patrol radars and electro-optical systems were expected to come from Israel, whose systems equip current UAVs and aircraft. The engine is also expected to come from a selection process, rather than being a product of new R&D.
So far, that’s an improvement. Unfortunately, Rustom’s reported contract structure is a fine illustration of the time and performance blindness that has crippled so many indigenous Indian efforts. LiveMint describes an agreement that involved INR 4 billion investment in prototypes and trials, over a decade or more. All in a field where major new designs are being fielded, now, in 2 year cycles – and where the capabilities India seeks already exist in several fielded platforms. One hopes that is a reporting error.
The Rustom development contract also contains no guarantee of an order from the armed forces once it is complete. That’s normal in India, and not unusual in many countries that used staged-gate approval processes for weapons. What’s unusual is the combination of no commitment plus partnership financing requirements, which is a poor fit for the private sector. The HAL official who confirmed these arrangements for LiveMint asked the logical question: “If there is no assurance of an order [and such a high investment target], why should the private industry come forward and invest?” Yet some firms did make that offer, in conjunction with experienced foreign partners. They lost to HAL, whose history of aviation production does not extend to UAVs of this size and complexity.
What is clear, is that India’s efforts to build up its private sector defense industry beyond a mere conduit for foreign firms’ industrial offset programs is off to a slow start. N.S. Sisodia, director general of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, is typically diplomatic in his survey of the broader situation. He is also correct:
“The process does take a little time. There are efforts made in DPP (the defence procurement procedure) to involve private industry. But I think much more can be done.”
Contracts & Key EventsNovember 18/16: The first flight of India’s Rustom-II UAV has been successfully completed. Conducted by India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), the drone accomplished all main objectives during the test, including takeoff, bank, level flight, and landing. While this marks a good milestone for the program, officials maintain that a lot more evaluation and testing needs to be done before operational evaluation and eventual entry into service with India’s military branches can take place.
November 23/15: The long awaited death of India’s indigenous Nishat UAV program has come to pass. The final of four UAVs in use by the Army has crashed less than a week after the program was officially cancelled. The final nail in the program’s coffin occurred earlier this month after a third UAV crashed amid technical problems cited by the Indian Army. However, these claims have been refuted by the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO), who claim army incompetence and poor handling by the army. While the blame game continues, we do know that we won’t be seeing any more Nishats in the Indian sky.
November 18/15: The Indian Army has decided to cancel a two decade long indigenous Nishant UAV program after the third of four in use by the army crashed near the city of Jaisalmer on November 4. The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) had been developing the Nishant UAV since 1995 with the aim of developing India’s own reconnaissance and intelligence gathering abilities. Phase 1 had seen four of the UAVs introduced in 2011 and continuation would have seen 8 more orders of the UAV by the army. The announcement comes shortly after Prime Minister Modi’s recent push to increase development within India’s private defense industry and the sharing of indigenously designed Rustom UAVs by the government. In the wake of the Nishant duds, these companies may be best served looking elsewhere for design ideas.
September 25/15: In a bid to spur development in the country’s private defense industry, the Modi government has decided to share designs of indigenously-developed unmanned aerial vehicles with private firms. Developed by the Indian state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation, details of the Rustom family of UAVs were until now kept secret from the private sector. As the Indian government looks to develop its defense industrial base domestically, it has also recently relaxed joint venture restrictions on foreign companies in a bid to build expertise through collaborative working. However, foreign companies still face stringent offset policies and investment restrictions, despite slow progress.
November 2013: Rustom-II. India Strategic quotes Honeywell Aerospace India President Pritam Bhavnani as saying that:
“As well as propulsion, our technology portfolio across these [American UAV] platforms spans electrical power systems, Auxiliary Power Units, navigation, air thermal systems, fuel controls, pneumatics, wheels and brakes and high integrity controls…. Rustom II is an exciting development in the evolution of India’s defence capabilities. I cannot give any specific details today regarding our involvement with the program…”
Sources: India Strategic, “Rustom II: An exciting opportunity for Honeywell”.
May 8/12: Test flight 14. India’s MoD:
“Indigenously designed and developed RUSTOM-1 made 14th successful flight this morning at Kolar with attainment of about 11,500 ft AGL (above ground level) and speed of above 140 Kmph during 2 hrs 10 minutes of cruise. It may be noted that this unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a DRDO lab at Bangalore, had its maiden flight in Nov 2009. Mr. PS Krishnan, Director ADE stated that the flight was successful. All the parameters were achieved by the UAV which weigh around 690 Kg and the total performance was satisfactory.”
Nov 11/11: Test flight 5. India’s government announces that the 661 kg Rustom-1 UAV had made its 5th test flight, at 100 knots and 2,300 feet above ground level near Hosur. The release adds that: “This UAV can attain a maximum speed of 150 Knots, 22,000 ft of altitude and endurance of 12-15 Hours with an operating range of 250 Kms when fully developed.”
May 24/11: DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) has flown an upgraded version of “Rustom-1” from TAAL’s airfield near Hosur. It’s reported to be a converted manned aircraft, and the goal is an endurance of 14 hours and altitude ceiling of 8 km/ 26,000 feet. ADE reports it was happy with the flight, conducted as a precursor to flights with payloads. DNA India.
Prahlada, chief controller of research and development (aeronautics programme), said “with the successful accurate flying of Rustom 1, ADE is geared up for integration of payloads with the Aircraft within next three months, to demonstrate performance of payloads and necessary secure data-link to the users.”
Rustom 1st flightOct 26/10: Rustom-1’s first flight.
April 25/10: State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) win the bid to design and build Rustom. The award marks the 3rd large Indian defence project in which private firms have lost out to public sector rivals, after the Saras light passenger plane and the Army’s tactical communication system project. That trend is causing some questioning of the government’s sincerity regarding its pledges to advance private Indian defense firms. Larsen & Tourbo aerospace and defence VP M.V. Kotwal, whose firm bid on all 3 contracts, is quoted by LiveMint:
“This is a disappointment for us since we had been told that the projects would be open for participation by the private sector on a competitive basis… Otherwise we would not have spent the time and efforts in preparing for the bids. Detailed plans for execution had also been presented as required…”
That last statement alludes to DRDO chief controller of R&D Prahlada’s statement that “HAL-BEL gave us a clear road map for manufacture” as the reason for their victory. LiveMint.
Nov 16/09: DRDO’s Rustom technology demonstrator crashes at the Taneja Aerospace Air Field near Hosur, during its 1st flight. The taxiing and takeoff went as planned, but “due to misjudgment of altitude of the flight, the on-board engine was switched off through ground command…”
That’s not generally a good thing. On the flip side, DRDO says the shortened flight was useful for establishing more confidence in the UAV’s aerodynamics, redundant flight control, engine and datalink. Defense News.
Aug 6/09: India’s Tata Group signs a wide-ranging joint venture agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries, the builders of India’s Searcher and Heron UAVs. The agreement finalizes a commitment made in February 2009 by IAI CEO Itzhak Nissan and Tata Sons Chairman Ratan N. Tata.
Under the terms of the MoU, the new Company will develop, manufacture and support a wide range of defence and aerospace products, including missiles, UAVs, radars, electronic warfare (EW) systems and home land security (HLS) systems. The new company will also perform offset work for IAI and other defence and aerospace programs in India. domain-b.
May 15/09: Larsen and Toubro Ltd. (L&T), Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Co. Ltd., and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. bid to develop India’s Rostam MALE UAV. The 4th bidder is a joint effort by state-owned defence equipment makers Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL).
The Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) is testing a technology demonstrator. Once a vendor is selected, ADE and that vendor will design an enhanced version; a selection is expected later in 2009.
ADE’s tender expects that the cost of producing one set of 5 Rustom vehicles with 5 sets of spares, plus payload and ground handling/control equipment, would be around INR 2.5 billion (just under $50 million). India Defence.
Sept 22/08: The first low-speed taxi tests of ADE’s Rustom technology demonstrator take place.
Additional ReadingsCsütörtökön átadták a SAC program hangárját Pápán, amivel a program, és az atlanti katonai jelenlét újabb permanens létesítménnyel bővül Magyarországon. Már csak azért is érdemes figyelni a SAC/HAW-ot, mert ők az NRF Lándzsahegy, a VJTF elsődleges szállítói, kulcsszerepet játszva a dandár 48 órás telepíthetőségében.
Jól látható a hangár jellegzetes, lépcsős szerkezete, melyet kifejezetten a C-17-eshez szabtak (magas T-svanc), de ebből adódóan jó az A400M-nek is. Az előtérben az ünnepség díszleteként a Globemaster III palettázott konyha/vécé modulja és egy jégtelenítő kocsi.
Kívülről, az apron felől A lépcsőzés nemcsak a hossztengely mentén érvényes, hanem a kereszttengely mentén is, és a harmonika hangárajtóknál is tetten érhető. Fölöslegesen nincs hangártér és nyílászáró.
És akkor néhány részlet. Emelők...
...az oldalsó terekben kialakított kerékműhely...
...lemezműhely egy éppen munkába vett hajtóműgondola-elemmel...
...a kompozitműhely táblája...
...mentesítő zuhany és szemmosó.
Az építésben résztvevő cégek képviselői a HAW amerikai parancsnokával.
Csúcsforgalom a állóhelyen: gurul be SAC 02, az előtérben az amerikai légierő C-21-ese (ez hozta a védelmi beruházásokért felelős NATO-főtitkárhelyettes helyettesét) és egy lengyel M28B/PT.
A svéd különleges erők ugrottak az ünnepi képességdemonstráció első felében a SAC 02-ből...
...aztán kis magasságú teherdobás következett.
Nemcsak az infrastruktúra, a gépek is fejlődnek. Ott a dörkom a svanc alatt...
...a törzs oldalán pedig előbeépítés a bal oldali mellső toronynak, illetve a DIRCM működéséhez szükséges második készlet indításjelző (az átalakításokat eltérő színű szürke környezet jelzi)
Szovjet technika sem hiányozhatott a napból, civil An-26-os Péren.
Zord
Au moins 73 personnes ont été tuées dans l'explosion accidentelle d'un camion-citerne jeudi dans une région reculée de l'ouest du Mozambique, selon les autorités qui craignent
G. Oettinger, l’homme par qui le scandale arrive (crédit : CE)
(B2) Vous avez un rendez-vous immanquable avec un/e fiancé/e, un dîner d’anciens camarades de promotion, une rencontre d’affaires et vous venez de rater votre avion. Alors n’hésitez plus ! Appelez Günther Oettinger, le commissaire européen chargé de la société numérique. Il pourra vous trouver une solution…
Un vol avec un homme d’affaires bien connu
Les faits datent du 18 mai. Mais le pot aux roses n’a été révélé à Bruxelles, que récemment, par notre confrère EU Observer et un député vert hongrois Benedek Jávor.
Pour rejoindre Budapest, et un dîner avec Viktor Orban avant d’intervenir (le lendemain) dans une conférence sur les voitures du futur, le commissaire allemand chargé de l’Économie numérique (et pressenti pour prendre le portefeuille du budget) s’est jeté à corps perdu dans le jet privé de Klaus Mangold. Un Cessna 560XL Citation XLS Plus, selon nos informations — loué à la société DC Aviation (ex Daimler Chrysler Aviation) — immatriculé D-CQQQ. Il était pressé et n’a pas vérifié quel avion lui envoyait le gouvernement hongrois avec qui il avait rendez-vous. C’est l’excuse officielle benoitement donnée par la Commission européenne. Cet homme d’affaires est pourtant connu pour ses bonnes connexions avec le Kremlin : il est d’ailleurs consul honoraire de Russie depuis 2005 dans le Baden-Württemberg. Un land présidé justement de 2005 à 2010 par un certain Günther… Oettinger (le monde est petit !). Mais apparemment personne à la Commission n’avait les bonnes clés pour détecter un problème.
Les mots d’excuse du commissaire
Excuse officielle délivrée par l’intéressé sur twitter : « j’avais des réunions avec trois commissaires et d’autres réunions jusqu’à 18h ». Et d’ajouter en guise de justification pour ne pas avoir joué la transparence : « Je n’ai pas besoin de rendre public tous mes rendez-vous sur mon agenda public ».
Pas d’autre moyen pour rallier Budapest. « La seule manière de pouvoir honorer l’invitation était de prendre l’avion envoyé par le gouvernement hongrois » a expliqué le porte-parole. Ce n’est pas ma faute… raconte le commissaire. C’est la Hongrie qui a tout organisé et m’a invité. Elle a également payé l’hôtel, ajoute-t-il.
Ce genre d’invitation est courante explique-t-il. « Les gouvernements prennent souvent en charge transport et hôtel des commissaires quand ils les invitent pour une réunion, des conférences »
Une rupture de l’indépendance des commissaires
Pour le commissaire allemand, voyager aux frais des gouvernements et de personnes privées est tout à fait normal. L’argument est plutôt maladroit. On est là en pleine violation du principe d’indépendance, écrit à l’article 17 du traité, gage de l’honnêteté dans laquelle les commissaires européens doivent exercer leurs fonctions.
La Commission exerce ses responsabilités en pleine indépendance. Sans préjudice de l’article 18, paragraphe 2, les membres de la Commission ne sollicitent ni n’acceptent d’instructions d’aucun gouvernement, institution, organe ou organisme. Ils s’abstiennent de tout acte incompatible avec leurs fonctions ou l’exécution de leurs tâches.
Pas de conflit d’intérêt
La Commission reste (pour l’instant) sur une ligne : ‘No problem’. Elle réfute qu’il y a une violation du code de transparence ou d’une quelconque règle. La ligne de défense est assez originale : 1° Nous n’avons de relation qu’avec le gouvernement, et non pas avec le propriétaire de l’avion, que nous ne connaissons pas. « Pour la relation entre le gouvernement hongrois et le propriétaire de l’avion, je vous invite à voir avec Budapest » a souligné le porte-parole en chef de la Commission lors du point de presse ce jeudi. 2° « Ce n’était pas une rencontre planifiée ». 3° Il n’y a pas de conflit d’intérêt. 4° Il n’y a pas de violation de la règle de concurrence. Le commissaire n’avait pas à déclarer la rencontre avec Mangold. Aucun des sujets du propriétaire du jet privé ne concernait l’économie numérique, portefeuille du commissaire.
Commentaire : un conflit d’intérêt difficile à résoudre autrement que par la démission
L’Allemand, ancien président du Land de Baden-Würtenberg, n’en est pas à sa première frasque. Mais celle-ci pourrait être celle de trop. Il ne s’agit pas ici d’un dérapage verbal, mal contrôlé et mal excusé comme lorsqu’il avait taxé la Wallonie de petite région dirigée par les communistes ou les Chinois d’être des gens trop peignés.
Même si on ne peut parler de concussion, il y a là au minimum un conflit d’intérêt, peu importe qu’il y ait eu volonté, ou non, d’aboutir à cela, difficilement excusable. Il est une chose d’être l’invité d’un gouvernement, il en une autre, de façon tout à fait consciente, d’accepter de monter dans un vol privé pour discuter avec un homme d’affaires actif sur le marché européen. L’absence de tout sens de la réalité morale de Günther Oettinger, trahi dans ses tweets, est patente.
On voit mal comment un tel commissaire peut prendre en charge le portfolio du budget, voire même demeurer commissaire. Un simple mot d’excuses ne suffira pas cette fois. La seule façon de s’en sortir est, aujourd’hui, de passer par la démission d’un responsable politique qui aura sans doute plus fait pour nuire à l’image européenne que n’importe quel opposant. Espérons que, cette fois, le président Juncker ne tergiversera durant plusieurs jours avant de se décider.
Global oil consumption will peak no sooner than 2040, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its annual World Energy Outlook.
“Global oil demand continues to grow until 2040, mostly because of the lack of easy alternatives to oil in road freight, aviation and petrochemicals, according to WEO-2016. However, oil demand from passenger cars declines even as the number of vehicles doubles in the next quarter century, thanks mainly to improvements in efficiency, but also biofuels and rising ownership of electric cars,” the IEA report, which is posted on its website, read.
The report noted that a detailed analysis of the pledges made for the Paris Agreement on climate change finds that the era of fossil fuels appears far from over and underscores the challenge of reaching more ambitious climate goals. Still, government policies, as well as cost reductions across the energy sector, enable a doubling of both renewables – subject of a special focus in this year’s Outlook – and of improvements in energy efficiency over the next 25 years. Natural gas continues to expand its role while the shares of coal and oil fall back.
“We see clear winners for the next 25 years – natural gas but especially wind and solar – replacing the champion of the previous 25 years, coal,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. “But there is no single story about the future of global energy: in practice, government policies will determine where we go from here.”
This transformation of the global energy mix described in WEO-2016 means that risks to energy security also evolve. Traditional concerns related to oil and gas supply remain – and are reinforced by record falls in investment levels. The report shows that another year of lower upstream oil investment in 2017 would create a significant risk of a shortfall in new conventional supply within a few years, the IEA said.
In the longer-term, investment in oil and gas remain essential to meet demand and replace declining production, but the growth in renewables and energy efficiency lessens the call on oil and gas imports in many countries. Increased liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipments also change how gas security is perceived. At the same time, the variable nature of renewables in power generation, especially wind and solar, entails a new focus on electricity security, the IEA said.
Coal consumption barely grows in the next 25 years, as demand in China starts to fall back thanks to efforts to fight air pollution and diversify the fuel mix. The gas market is also changing, with the share of LNG overtaking pipelines and growing to more than half of the global long-distance gas trade, up from a quarter in 2000. In an already well-supplied market, new LNG from Australia, the United States and elsewhere triggers a shift to more competitive markets and changes in contractual terms and pricing, the IEA said.
The Paris Agreement, which entered into force on November 4, is a major step forward in the fight against global warming. But meeting more ambitious climate goals will be extremely challenging and require a step change in the pace of decarbonization and efficiency.
The post IEA: Oil consumption won’t peak before 2040 appeared first on New Europe.