Consequences of ISIS attacking ISRAEL

Since Osama Bin Laden's extermination Al Qaeda's clout in the killing business of terror has declined and the growth and influence and resurgence of ISIS as an alternative international terror outfit has the entire world and Al Qaeda in eerie anticipation. The whackos from the middle-east have become a force to reckon with, carrying horrifying acts of atrocities on fellow Muslims and other nationals.

As per Wikipedia - The Islamic State, previously calling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and also known by the Arabic acronym Daʿesh, is an unrecognized state and a Sunni Jihadist group active in Iraq and Syria in the Middle East. In its self-proclaimed status as a caliphate, it claims religious authority over all Muslims across the world and aspires to bring most of the Muslim-inhabited regions of the world under its political control beginning with territory in the Levant region which includes Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus and part of southern Turkey. The group grew significantly under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, gaining support in Iraq as a result of alleged economic and political discrimination against Iraqi Sunnis.

ISIS operations are confined to Iraq, Syria and parts of the middle-east, but If ISIS were to expand its operations and strike Israel, it certainly may regret it. Because Israel is known for its hard-line approach on anyone who interferes in its internal affairs or in any way harms its citizens. If such a scenario does come about then ISIS would have to confront some of Israel's mightiest weapon systems.

The list is as follows:

NO.1 MERKAVA MK.4 MAIN BATTLE TANK

Israel has hundreds of kilometers of land borders, and it is surrounded by fanatical Islamic enemies. Just as it must guarantee itself air supremacy, it must guarantee itself supremacy in battle on land. This supremacy is achieved only through good maneuverability and tremendous fire power.

Essentially one of the most formidable and best Main Battle Tanks in the world, the Merkava ("Chariot") is used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The tank began development in 1999 and entered official service in 2004. The Merkava is a very capable armored vehicle. The model has a new fire-control system, the El-Op Knight Mark 4. Removable modular armor, from the Merkava Mark IIID, which is used on all sides, including the top and a V-shaped belly armor pack for the underside. This modular system is designed to allow for damaged tanks to be rapidly repaired and returned to the field. Tank rounds are stored in individual fire-proof canisters, which reduce the chance of cook-offs in a fire inside the tank. The turret is "dry"; no active rounds are stored in it.

Some features, such as hull shaping, exterior non-reflective paints, and shielding for engine heat plumes mixing with air particles to confuse enemy thermal imagers, were carried over from the IAI Lavi program of the Israeli Air Force to make the tank harder to spot by heat sensors and radar.

The Mark IV includes the larger 120 mm main gun of the previous versions, but can fire a wider variety of ammunition, including HEAT and sabot rounds like the APFSDS kinetic energy penetrator, using an electrical semi-automatic revolving magazine for 10 rounds. It also includes a much larger 12.7 mm machine gun for anti-vehicle operations (most commonly used against technicals).

The new fire-control system enables the Merkava to shoot down helicopters such as the Russian Mil Mi-24 and the French Gazelle, both of which are used by Israel's neighbors. The Mark IV has the Israeli-designed "TSAWS (Tracks, Springs, and Wheels System)" caterpillar track system, called "Mazkom" by troops. This system is designed to endure the harsh basalt rock conditions of Lebanon and the Golan Heights with minimal "track-shedding".

The tank carries the Israeli Elbit Systems BMS (Battle Management System), a centralised system that takes data from tracked units and UAVs in theater, displays it on color screens, and distributes it in encrypted form to all other units equipped with BMS in a given theater. The Merkava IV has been designed for rapid repair and fast replacement of damaged armor with the implementation of sections of modular armour that can be easily removed and replaced. It is also designed to be cost-effective in production and maintenance, and as a result its unit cost is lower than for a number of other tanks used by Western armies.

Operational History

Dozens of Merkava tanks were damaged during the 2006 Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006. Hezbollah squads armed with Metis and Coronet antitank missiles ambushed IDF armored forced and caused losses. Merkava tanks proved in these clashes a higher survivability compared with other wars, especially the Merkava Mk. 4. In the Yom Kippur War, 60% of missiles that hit tanks caused serious damage, whereas in the Second Lebanon War, 60% of missiles that hit Merkavas of all versions caused no serious damage. In fact, 90% of the tanks hit from missiles in the Second Lebanon War were returned to operational service.

Since the Second Lebanon War, the upgrading of Israeli tanks has continued with the installation of active armor systems, which improve tanks survivability against the even the most advanced missile threat on the field. Every Merkava tank delivered to the IDF in the past few years is equipped with the Trophy active protection system made by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. to automatically detect and intercept incoming antitank missiles. During operations in Gaza, the Trophy succeeded in neutralizing attempts to use missiles to hit tanks even before the tank crew were even aware of being targeted. The Merkava 4 today is a completely different tank from the previous ones.

NO 2. SPIKE MISSILES

Spike mounted on a Spider Light Strike Vehicle of the Singapore Army

Just as recent U.S. airstrikes in Iraq have targeted IS tanks and artillery, the Israelis will be hunting down armor, armed pickup trucks and any other target they can find. 

Israeli Apache helicopters use the Hellfire, but another missile that Israel will likely employ is the Spike, a family of several types of missiles launched from aircraft, helicopters, vehicles or dismounted soldiers. Spike is a fourth generation man-portable fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile and anti-personnel missile with a tandem-charged HEAT warhead, developed and designed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Various models have a range of 2.5 to 25 kilometers, with the missile climbing and then descending at a sharp angle to strike a tank on its thin top rather than its more thickly armored front. A deadly weapon to watch out for.

No. 3 SUPER HERON UAV

Keeping constant watch on a fast-moving nomadic fighting units is critical. Fortunately, Israel has pioneered the development and use of modern unmanned aircraft. Its latest system is the Super Heron reconnaissance drone, a souped-up version of the Heron that is used by France, India, Turkey and other operators. The Super Heron can fly for more than 45 hours at an altitude of 30,000 feet and a speed of more than 170 miles per hour.

Many jihadis became accustomed to operating in Iraq despite the presence of U.S. drones. Yet the Super Heron, equipped with visible light and infrared cameras, radar and SIGINT receivers, will give the IDF a potent aerial-surveillance capability and sleepless nights for the Jihadi elements.

NO.4 F-16 SUFA THUNDERSTORM JET FIGHTERS

Israel's 400 advanced fighter jets are its most powerful weapons against IS, or at least if ISIS goes for a stand-up fight instead of terrorism. The F-16I SUFA is the customized Israeli version of the U.S. F-16. Equipped with cutely named air-to-surface missiles like Popeye or Delilah, as well as U.S.-made Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) smart bombs, it can destroy jihadi vehicles and fortifications.

NO. 5 BOEING AH-64D APACHE HELICOPTER GUNSHIPS

In theory, an even more devastating weapon than the F-16 SUFA should be Israeli AH-64D Apache attack helicopters used for close air support. During the 1990s, Israeli AH-64A's frequently attacked Hezbollah outposts in Lebanon. On 13 April 1996, during Operation Grapes of Wrath, an Apache fired two Hellfire missiles at an ambulance in Lebanon, killing six civilians. During the al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000, AH-64s were used to kill senior Hamas figures, such as Ahmed Yassin and Adnan al-Ghoul. On 24 May 2001, a privately owned Lebanese-registered Cessna 152 flew into Israeli airspace, it was intercepted by two AH-64s and shot down by a Hellfire missile, killing the pilot. On 22 March 2004, an Israeli AH-64 used a Hellfire missile to kill Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin, also killing his two bodyguards and nine bystanders. IAF Apaches played a prominent role in the 2006 Lebanon War, launching strikes into Lebanon targeting Hezbollah forces. In recent years, Israeli Apaches have been used to patrol the skies over Gaza; strike operations against insurgents using these helicopters has become a frequent occurrence.

Finally, the ISIS Jihadis will have to watch their butts just in case they have the gumption to attack Israel, and unfortunately if these poor sods do, they will be meted out the same devastating and unrelenting bombardment as their counterparts the Hamas and Hezbollah have been tasting over the years. (With inputs Adapted from National Interest & Wikipedia)

Read More

Carrier Battle Group Who is Ahead INDIA or CHINA?

A few months ago China displayed its Carrier Battle Group (CBG) the Laioning aircraft carrier (built around Ukraine’s Varyag) and very soon India commissioned its latest aircraft carrier the INS Vikramaditya, a 40,000 ton 284 metres long and 60 mt high aircraft carrier. In an apparent show of strength and China blue water weakness the INS Vikramaditya was accompanied from Sevmash shipyeard in Northern Russia to Karwar by INS Trikand, a Talwar class frigate, INS Delhi destroyer, and INS Deepak, the rest of the Western Fleet later joined the cavalcade, which included the smaller aircraft carrier INS Viraat, two Delhi class destroyers, three Trishul class stealth frigates, a Godavari class frigate and other several offshore vessels.

Read More

Top 10 Fighter Jets in the World

NO. 10

HAL TEJAS

Image: DRDO

The Story of Tejas, is the story of development and maturity of combat aircraft technologies in India. The Tejas program had the twin objectives of designing and developing a state-of-the-art combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force besides bridging the technology gap of many decades in the process. The Tejas is a pure delta wing configuration, with no tail-planes or fore-planes, and a single dorsal fin. It integrates technologies such as relaxed static stability, fly-by-wire flight control system, composite material structures, and a flat rated engine. Accordingly, the critical fourth generation of technologies were identified and demonstrated such as quadruplex digital fly-by-wire control system, all glass cockpit, composite structure and microprocessor based monitoring and control systems.

Read More

Iron Birds of the INDIAN AIR FORCE

FIGHTER AIRCRAFT

HAL - TEJAS

Images: DRDO / HAL

INTRODUCTION

The history of military aviation indicates that light fighters have always been one of the most popular classes of aircraft. Generally lightweight fighters are significantly cheaper and less complex to build than their heavier counterparts. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Tejas "Radiance" is a 4+ generation, multirole light fighter developed by India for both defensive and offensive purposes. India with its expanding economy and its growth in aerospace and other important military technological areas has become a very important and robust criterion to enable the country’s growth in the development of indigenous defense related products. With ample government support, this industry can grow both commercially and in the technology spectrum. The present NDA government seems determined to cut the policy paralysis, which was the hallmark of the previous UPA government lead by Prime Minister Dr. Singh & Defense Minister A K Antony. Another invigorating factor is that the Shri. Narendra Modi's Government supports 100% Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in the defense industry. This will augur well to augment the current state of affairs in this sector. Light Combat Aircraft-Tejas was envisaged to boost the indigenous aerospace capabilities. It has emerged as a sophisticated and significant piece of complex technological system that the country can be proud of. The main intention was to not only provide a launch base for aircraft production but also build upon local industry infrastructure capable of creating state-of-the-art products and services. 

Read More

India's Missile Armory

INTRODUCTION

If we naive Indians have to aver the barb of Mr. Gary Milhollin who doesn't fail to incessantly purport ad nausea in various fora across the US in the hope that we would sublimely come to believe that the American military and space program has been a squeaky clean effort. Pitifully and regrettably it is not so. He jibes that the Indian civilian space and later military programs have been offshoots of generous help rendered by the western space powers, especially the US, Germany and France. However, what he his figuratively trying to convey is rhetorical, deceptive and discriminating in its agenda. Agreed, India may have taken some technical aid from other nations to develop its nascent civilian space program, but discounting India's genuine effort thereafter to develop technology is certainly selective amnesia. Interestingly, America did not develop its space or military ballistic missile programs on its own, it however leapfrogged to acquire high technology solutions in space and defense by resorting to ignominious means.

PROOF IN THE PUDDING

Modern rocketry started with the ambitions of an obnoxious and direful psychopath who wanted to dominate the world. His name - Hitler. He wanted to possess a super weapon to quash the allied countries. The man who would help Hitler realize this dream was a Nazi rocket scientist named Wernher Magnus Maximilian von Braun or commonly known as Wernher von Braun, an avid Nazi sympathizer. He developed the V-2 or Aggregat-4 long-range ballistic missile perhaps one of the greatest technological achievements of this century. After the fall of the “Third Reich”, American soldiers captured von Braun and some of his key associates, and the prized catch was clandestinely shipped to America. The Americans brought over 300 trainloads of spare V-2 parts to the United States from Nazi Germany. Much of von Braun's production team was also captured by the Soviets. Wernher von Braun and his compatriots war careers as Nazis was deceitfully hidden from the public by the US government. In White Sands, New Mexico, von Braun and his team trained and tested rockets for the US military and for several years went about launching captured V-2 rockets. Before 1945, neither the Americans nor the Soviets had any extensive advanced rocket facilities or programs and it was von Braun and his team who were instrumental in developing this capability. Hence, the early American rocket program development is steeped in so much muck that even the Americans would want to forget and disown it. This could be the very reason why Mr. Milhollin fails to mention this fact even as a supplementary note in his speeches on the subject of proliferation.

India has a very solid non-proliferation record unlike China or Pakistan in the region as its institutions are bound by solid democratic principles governed by rule of law and its decision makers have complete legislative power over these entities. India has been a very responsible and stable nuclear power right from its inception and until this day. The authors' contention and concern on the risk that cooperating with India (this was way back in the 1990's) could contribute to the spread of missile technology was rather unfounded. On the other hand, when Pakistan illegally started developing its atom bomb in response to India's own nuclear weapon status, by either stealing, smuggling or rummaging the international market for machinery, parts and components, the Americans conveniently turned the proverbial blind eye thus encouraging Pakistan to develop what is now known as the "Islamic Bomb". This was permitted by the US in the name of its National Interest policy. Other intervention policies like the support to the Afghan Mujaheddin has backfired with severe ramifications which eventually led to the 9/11 massacre of several thousand innocent Americans. On the question of China, these guys supplied Pakistan with sophisticated gas centrifuges to enrich uranium and in turn, Pakistan sold this technology to Iran and Libya via the A Q Khan network in the name of “Islamic Brotherhood”. The US did not take Pakistan to task then, when A Q Khan openly sold other nuclear technology secrets to the so-called “Rouge State” North Korea, all it did was to impose punitive sanctions, which the Pakistanis cared less. Pakistan continued trading in illegal weapons despite these sanctions since it was aware that the US would not alter its "friendly" relationship with it because of the ongoing war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The US is dependent on Pakistan for logistics support.
Pakistani weapons trade with North Korea is rather amusing since the technology exchange followed was a sort of archaic barter system; Pakistan got critical ballistic missile technology from North Korea in exchange for Pakistan’s nuclear know-how.
The Americans have failed to realize that they are bound to face an impending nuclear attack not from India, Russia, China, North Korea or even Iran but sure as shooting from Pakistan. Realizing rather late US and its cohorts are hastening ways and means to secure Pakistan’s dirty bombs, especially given Pakistan’s vacillation between being ruled by a trigger happy military junta and the fair chance of being overrun by religious zealots who by all means will not hesitate to use these nuclear assets against India, Israel and the US.
Hence, it is imperative that India develops and maintains a minimum qualitative and quantitative credible nuclear deterrence and defense program in whatsoever manner against its adversaries, taking into account its long term strategic and security requirements as a responsible emerging global power.

(Gary Milhollin-Professor, University of Wisconsin Law School and Director, Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control in a discourse before the House Committee on Science, June 25, 1998)

PROJECT "DEVIL" & "VALIANT"

India’s quest to develop a short-range ballistic missile started way back in the 1970’s when the Project “Devil” and Project “Valiant” were conceived. These projects were the precursor of the more transparent and successful Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) conceived by former President of India Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam, which was launched in 1983. It is generally believed that the Defense Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), which had begun in 1958 and later, transpired into what is now DRDO intended to reverse engineer the Soviet Union’s S-75 Dvina ballistic missile. This is not the case, as India never had the policy to either reverse engineer nor adopt crafty branding techniques of bought out weapons as being done by other nations to bolster its offensive aspirations. Project “Valiant” died an early death and Project “Devil” continued with secretive government funding and support. The project was a partial success, however plenty of new technologies, design competence, materials and components development and production techniques were realized during its development, which laid ground for the more successful Prithvi and Akash programs.

Though there are several imported missiles in the armed forces, I have however focused exclusively on the systems developed indigenously.

The task to develop several technologies was difficult for the Indian scientists as they did not have prior expertise, industrial infrastructure nor the production efficiency to develop high-tech machinery, components, subsystems and products. But with customary resolve they solved daunting problems successively and developed truly world class products for the armed forces. Over the past decade development of critical technologies has been accomplished on a trial and error basis, similar to the proven model of repetitive testing adopted by the erstwhile Soviet space and defense scientists to prove the efficacy of new technologies. Therefore, delivery schedules of some final products has suffered to reach the end-users on time and as a result DRDO and its related agencies have invited considerable flak. However, in most of the cases the rebukes are rather unmindful, unfair and unjustified.

_____________________________________________________________

SHORT RANGE BALLISTIC MISSILES

Images: DRDO

PRITHVI-I

Prithvi-I "Earth" in Sanskrit is a theater class short-range, road-mobile, liquid-propelled ballistic missile with two motors clustered next to each other as a single stage configuration. Prithvi was the first missile to be developed under the IGMDP. It has a warhead mounting capability of 1,000 kg and a range of 150 km. It has an accuracy of 10 – 50 meters and can be launched from a transporter erector launcher. It was inducted into the Indian Army in 1994. This missile will be phased out once the more capable and accurate Prahar missile completes its development process. The Prithvi-I will be later upgraded and used for longer ranges.

Read More

Major Orbital Launch Systems of the World

ORIGIN: INDIA

Images: ISRO

INTRODUCTION

The Indian Space program, since its inception, has been guided by the vision of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, considered as the father of Indian Space program, he laid emphasis on the application of space technology for finding solutions to the problems of the common man and the society at large. Self-reliance in space technology has been the important motto and goal for India's policy makers. In 1969, Dr. Vikram A Sarabhai created the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Since then ISRO has been remarkably successful with the active participation of several great scientists and administrators. ISRO is the nodal agency to manage and implement all space related activities in India. The services in communication, broadcasting, meteorology, military reconnaissance, interplanetary and Lunar missions are now been provided by spacecrafts designed and built in India. They have also mastered the elusive and exclusive Cryogenic technology and conversely building Semi-Cryogenic stage as well and shortly poised to launch heavier boosters to place satellites in the 5-ton class. India has pursued a reasonable and a well-balanced program, nicely adapted to the nation's developmental needs. While ISRO has put together a systematic rocket launch vehicle building program, they have also significantly concentrated on the two of the most important areas for a large and developing country such as India, building telecommunications and remote sensing applications.

PSLV: The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is the workhorse rocket of ISRO with an outstanding success rate among medium lift rocket systems. The success of the PSLV is an important milestone for the Indian space industry. India has achieved self-sufficiency in launching its operational satellites. The PSLV is a unique vehicle which employs both liquid and solid fuel engines, and it is ISRO's workhorse. The PSLV can place a satellite weighing about three tonnes in low earth orbit (LEO), at a height of 400 to 600 km. It can also deploy satellites weighing up to 1,500kg in Polar Sun Synchronous orbit at a height of 750km above the earth. This versatile and flexible vehicle can handle a LEO, a polar and a GTO orbit. The Payload capacity to Low Earth Orbit is 3,250 kilograms (7,170 lb) and Helio-Synchronous or Sun-Synchronous Orbit is 1,600 kilograms (3,500 lb) and to Geostationary Transfer Orbit is 1,410 kilograms (3,110 lb). The vehicle configuration is as follows, total height is 44 meters (144 feet), diameter is 2.8 meters (9 feet+) and Gross Mass is 295 tons. The first-stage or the core stage employs solid fuel with a total thrust of 486Kn with a specific impulse of 269 seconds with a total burn time of 105 seconds. The fuel used is Hydroxyl-Terminated Polybutadiene (HTPB). The core stage is mated to 6 solid strap-on boosters (only in the PSLV-G and PSLV-XL versions) using HTPB as fuel. The second-stage employes 1 Vikas liquid engine using Unsymmetrical Dimethyl Hydrazine (UDMH) and Nitrogen Tetroxide (N2O4) as fuel, and the third-stage is also a solid fuel motor while the fourth-stage is a liquid stage using Monomethyl-Hydrazine and Dinitrogen Tetroxide/Nitrogen Dioxide as fuel.

Read More