DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: Laser Weapons Among Futuristic MBDA Products

DTN News - INDIA DEFENSE NEWS: Laser Weapons Among Futuristic MBDA Products

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Y. Mallikarjun   The Hindu 
(NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - November 3, 2013: High energy laser weapons, light weight shoulder-launch missiles and scalable warheads through dial-a-yield technology are among the hi-tech futuristic products for military applications being developed by the MBDA group, a consortium of European missile manufacturers.

During a recent visit to the missile production and integration facilities of MBDA Germany at Schrobenhausen, 90 km from Munich, and MBDA U.K. at Lostock, near Manchester, a group of Indian journalists were briefed on the wide range of advanced missiles and warheads being produced by the two entities.

Vice-president Operations of MBDA Germany Walter Stammler said a very light weight missile with a 2-km range that could be fired by an infantry soldier from his shoulder was tested in demonstration firings. The low cost, high-precision weapon with all the elements of a missile weighed just 6-7 kg.

The future generation-flexible response warheads using scalable technology would provide armed forces with a unique option of pre-selecting the detonation of only a part of the explosive and thereby reducing the degree of lethality. These warheads would provide high operational flexibility and could be used effectively in avoiding collateral damage during Military Operations in Urban Terrain.

TDW, a subsidiary of MBDA, has a license agreement with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) for producing warheads for anti-tank guided Milan missiles. Under the agreement signed in 2007, it had transferred the know-how to BDL to produce warheads for Milan.

Meanwhile, with MBDA awaiting India’s response for its offer of air-to-ground PARS 3 LR missile, Dr. Stammler claimed that during field evaluation trials of the weapon in Sweden in 2012 for the Indian Army and HAL officials, all requirements were fulfilled. The missile is planned to be mounted on ALH Dhruv combat helicopters.

Dr. Stammler said that to meet Indian requirements for the PARS 3 LR missile, a twin-engine launcher was designed and developed in collaboration with an Indian company. Four launchers, each carrying two missiles, would be mounted on the helicopter. The prototype of the twin launcher was seen by HAL officials soon after the field trials.

The project manager of PARS 3LR Munition, Walter Mackrodt, said PARS 3 LR was a high-precision fire-and-forget weapon that could be fired in salvo mode from the helicopter, and four missiles could be launched in 10 seconds to engage as many targets.

Keywords: MBDA group, hi-tech futuristic products, laser weapons, shoulder-launch missiles, dial-a-yield technology, scalable technology.

*Link for This article compiled by K. V. Seth from reliable sources Y. Mallikarjun   The Hindu 
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*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News Contact:dtnnews@ymail.com 
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India's BDL To Build Milan 2T Missiles

India's BDL To Build Milan 2T Missiles

(NSI News Source Info) NEW DELHI - February 4, 2009: Under a January agreement, MBDA of France will transfer technology to India's state-owned Bharat Dynamics Ltd. (BDL) to build advanced Milan 2T anti-tank guided missiles under license at Indian facilities. The Indian Army has ordered more than 4,000 Milan 2T missiles, which will be inducted within three years at a cost of about $14,000 per missile. BDL has produced Milan ATGMs since 1983. The 2T version adds a tandem warhead for use against tanks protected with explosive reactive armor, a senior Army official said. The Milan 2Ts will be used for both infantry and anti-tank purposes, said the Indian official. The Milan 2T also can be carried by troops while the older Nag anti-tank missile has to be mounted on a chassis, the official said. Indian Army - Milan-2T ATGMs: Around 30,000 built under license by Bharat Dynamics. Indian Army has recently placed an order of approx USD 120 million for 4,100 Milan-2T ATGMs. The Army is seeking about 7,000 more anti-tank missiles, a gap that will be filled by producing Milan ER and buying foreign-made missiles, the Army official said. The Indian Air Force has also asked to buy an undisclosed number of anti-tank missiles to arm its helicopters. Meanwhile, talks continue between MBDA and BDL on the Milan Extended Range (ER) missile. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding in 2005 to produce Milan ERs at Indian facilities for domestic and foreign purchase. Defence Ministry sources said the joint venture would produce a variety of missiles. India's current anti-tank missiles include the Milan-2 and Konkurs manufactured by BDL under license from France and Russia. The Army has also bought a few Russian Kornets and Israeli Spikes to test on its armor. Last year, the Army ordered 4,000 Konkurs-M missiles plus 443 homegrown Nag anti-tank missiles and 13 tracked Namica missiles carriers for induction in the next three years. BDL will make the Nag, which was conceived by the Defence Research and Development Organisation in 1983 and is already 10 years behind schedule. The a third-generation fire-and-forget missile can hit the top of targets up to four kilometers away using infrared guidance.