1 June, 2010

A MONTHLY HOUSE BULLETIN OF DEFENCE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION

June 2010

Vol. 30 No. 6

in this issueLong-Range AGNI-II Mission SuccessfulBrahMos Missile Proves its Mettle Once AgainTrials of Ship-to-Shore Telemedicine from INS-Sagardhwani to DEBELComparative Trials of MBT Arjun and T-90 TanksIndigenous Data Logger for Transmission System of MBT ArjunDRDO Celebrates National Technology Day-2010Launch of PTA-KD2R5 Using NISHANT LauncherKnowledge Resource Centre at CVRDEIS0 9001:2008 Certification to NSTLVisits to Labs/Estts

Long-Range AGNI-II Mission Successful

The pencil-like long-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile AGNI-II has been successfully launched at 09:18 am on 17 May 2010 (Monday) from the Wheelers Island, in the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of Orissa. The missile is launched by the Strategic Forces Command, thereby crediting with the launching of long-range A1, A2, and A3 missiles within a time-span of five months. Two down-range ships from the Indian Navy positioned near the target have tracked and witnessed the missile hitting the target. The AGNI-II missile has been tested for its full range and it has met all the mission objectives.

The two-stage solid propellant- based AGNI-II missile has 2000 km range with a payload capability of one ton. The missile is equipped with a state-of-the-art navigation system with modern

DRDO Newsletter

2June, 2010

techniques for directing the missile towards the designated target accurately. A number of radars and electro-optical tracking systems, located along the coast of Orissa have monitored the path of the missile and evaluated all the parameters in real-time. Strategic Forces Command with the guidance of DRDO scientists carried out the total launch operations.

Shri Avinash Chander, Programme Director, monitored the overall pre-launch operations. Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri Dr VK Saraswat reviewed the total operations and witnessed the launch along with other senior officials of DRDO and top brass from the Strategic Forces Command.

Raksha Mantri Shri AK Antony congratulated all the DRDO Scientists and Armed Forces personnel for the successful AGNI-II mission.

On Sunday, 21st March 2010, at 11.30 am, BrahMos supersonic cruise

missile took off vertically from a vertical launcher fitted on a moving warship and hitting

the target within minutes, from INS Ranvir, from off Orissa coast.

The missile performed supersonic manoeuvring following the exact flight path and homed on to the

decommissioned target ship INS Meen. Dr A S Pillai, CEO and MD of BrahMos Aerospace, confirmed that

the launch met all the mission requirements and was 100 per cent successful.

Raksha Mantri Shri AK Antony

congratulated all the DRDO

Scientists and Armed Forces

personnel for the successful

AGNI-II mission.

BrahMos Missile Proves its MettleOnce Again

3 June, 2010

This would mean that the missile, which has a range of 290 km, and flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach, can take on a target lying anywhere in the 360-degree range of the ship. Senior Naval officials who witnessed Sunday’s launch termed it a ‘landmark event’. Honourable President, Smt Pratibha Patil, and Defence Minister, Shri A K Antony congratulated the DRDO scientists and Naval Officers for the successful launch of the supersonic cruise missile.

DRDO along with Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia is jointly designing and developing the BrahMos missiles which are capable of carrying conventional warheads up to 200–300 kg and a range of 290 km, to be in sync with the international regulations.

The state-of-the-art Universal Vertical Launcher, from which the missile was test fired,

has been designed and developed by BrahMos Aerospace and patented. The launcher is designed to be fitted under the warship’s deck, thereby protecting it from atmospheric conditions and also imparting stealth to the weapon system. It also allows the missile to be turned to cover 360 o.

Three 15 A Alpha-class ships being built at Mazagon Docks in Mumbai will be fitted with similar vertical launcher modules.

With the latest launch, BrahMos has once again proved its mettle to be launched from both vertical and inclined configurations from Naval platforms. The Army has plans to induct three regiments of BrahMos in near future to use the missile as a ‘precision first -strike weapon.’

DRDO Newsletter

4June, 2010

A rugged biomedical data acquisition and transmission system was developed by Defence Bio-Engineering and Electro Medical Laboratory (DEBEL). This system aims at health management of Armed Forces personnel especially from forward areas with hostile environment to military hospitals and from ship-to-shore. The system consists of rugged hardware to acquire vital parameters of patients such as ECG, blood pressure, respiration rate, heart rate, SaO2, body temperature through the Data Acquisition System (DAS); and a MIL grade laptop which houses the software to operate the system, store acquired data, and facilitate interfacing communication device for exchange of data. The system has the facility to capture images, e.g., pictures of wound using a high resolution digital camera. The acquired image data clip of the patient along with the doctor’s comments in audio can also be transmitted.

The salient feature of the system is its portability and flexibility to operate on various communication modalities like the Satellite Communication (SATCOM), Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT), Indian National Maritime Satellite (INMARSAT), Public Switch Telephone Network (PSTN), and Integrated System Digital Network (ISDN). The whole system can be packaged into a single suitcase and can be carried and deployed everywhere with ease.

In the field, the system can operate either on secure communication SATCOM system or portable INMARSAT, where high bandwidth facilitates real-time data transfer and video conferencing. The operating software takes care of archival and maintenance of the data through usage of robust and secure database. This system has met the

requirements against IEC 60601-1-1, JSS 55555 standard, and MIL 461E.

Video linkage was one of the Navy’s requirements and to meet the same, DEBEL conceived, configured, and installed INMARSAT Fleet Broadband Sailor 500 antenna, which supports high data rate (avg 300 kbps) onboard INS Sagardhwani on 25 March 2010. DEBEL team set sail from Chennai and reached Kochi

(four days of sea travel) and during the sail, the team demonstrated the following requirements successfully:

Establishing video conferencing between INS • Sagardhwani and DEBEL, Bangaluru in streaming mode for guaranteed quality of service.Acquiring physiological data from subjects on • boardship.Transmission of physiological data from INS • Sagardhwani to DEBEL, Bangaluru.

Trials of Ship-to-Shore Telemedicine from INS Sagardhwani to DEBEL

DRDO Newsletter

DEBEL team onboard INS Sagardhwani involved in a video conferencing session

with DEBEL

Director DEBEL involved in a video conferencing session with Captain of

INS Sagardhwani

5 June, 2010

Communication between DEBEL and INS Sagardhwani was well established and the ship’s captain, who actively participated in this exercise, highly appreciated the quality of video and audio.

The technology demonstrated by DEBEL is expected to open up several potential applications that will immensely help Services.

Comparative trials between MBT Arjun and T-90 tanks were held during 15 February to 12 March 2010, to evaluate the utilisation

strategy by the Indian Army. The evaluation parameters were firepower, mobility, maintainability, and medium fording.

The trials were conducted in four phases.

Phase I: This was conducted at 180 Armoured Brigade, Bikaner. Acceleration, turning radius, stab performance, ergonomics, static fuel consumption, and serviceability and mean time to repair were checked for various subsystems of the tanks.

Phase II: This was conducted at Hisar, Haryana. Check was made for medium fording capability.

Phase III: This was conducted at Mahajan Ranges, Rajasthan. Bridge crossing, night driving, maximum speed on cross-country and on hard ground, tilt driving, firing of primary and secondary ammunition, firing at night with thermal imagers (TI), consistency, rate of fire, thermal signature, TI capability and firing of small arms and Air Defence (AD) Gun were compared. In this phase, approximately 100 rounds were fired and 150 km of mobility run was completed by each of the 14 MBT Arjun tanks.

Phase IV:This was conducted at Ranjitpura, Rajasthan. Mobility in the desert and tactical cruising range were evaluated by running three tanks each for additional 150 km.

MBT Arjun displayed its capabilities and successfully passed all the trials.

Comparative Trials of MBT Arjun and T-90 Tanks

MBT Arjun tanks lined up for firing

Medium fording of MBT ArjunNominations for DRDO Newsletter Correspondents

Shri Ajit Kumar Das � , Technical Officer ‘B’, taken over from Shri YVS Rao, Defence Research Laboratory (DRL), Tezpur, Assam. Wg Cdr (Retd) A V Joshi � , Sc ‘E’ taken over from Shri HN Sudhindra, Center for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), Bangaluru. Smt Nitu � , Sc ‘D’, taken over from Ms Sanchita Malik, Institute of Systems Studies and Analyses (ISSA), Delhi.

DRDO Newsletter

6June, 2010

An indigenous data logger for transmission control system of MBT Arjun has been developed by Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), Chennai. The data from the data logger is used to analyse the status of the transmission system and train the driver in using the transmission system safely and efficiently. The system is built on a real-time embedded controller, powered by re-configurable input/output (I/O) technology for high performance and customisation, with flash memory for data storage and USB port for extended data storage. The software codes are developed in-house using LabVIEW for data logging, communication interface and data download, and data display in different formats.

Features:

The transmission system parameters data is �displayed and monitored online. Simultaneously,

data is also logged to the controller’s flash memory.

The data logger uses single window to display �two modes simultaneously in offline mode. The tank dashboard mode where data collected can be played back, and the chart mode, where data collected is displayed in graphical form as waveforms. The user has the option to select the parameters for display. This feature is useful for in-depth analysis of the performance of the transmission system.

The data logger can operate and store data for �400 hours.

The data logger is integrated to production series MBT Arjun, and data logging has also been carried out successfully.

Indigenous Data Logger for Transmission System of MBT Arjun

Virtual Instrument Front Ends for Logged & Decoded Data

Indigenous Data Logger_Schematic

7 June, 2010

Dr R Sreehari Rao, OS & CC R&D (CCS) receiving the memento from Shri AK Maini for National Technology Day-2010

DMRL, Hyderabad

A Patent on ‘A process for welding Super Duplex �Stainless Steel’ (Patent No. 238606) has been granted by the Indian Patent Office, New Delhi, to Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), Hyderabad. The inventing scientists are Dr I Gurappa and Dr T Mohandas.

A Patent on ‘A process for preparation of the �Aluminium-Zinc-magnesium-Manganese-Zirconium-Scandium Alloy’ (Patent No. 238791) has been granted by the Indian Patent Office, New Delhi, to DMRL, Hyderabad. The inventing scientists are Dr AK Mukhopadhyay, Dr Vikas Kumar, and Dr SV Kamat.

SSPL, Delhi

A Patent on ‘A process for passivation of Mercury �Cadmium Telluride (MCT)’ (Patent No. 237224) has been granted by the Indian Patent Office, New Delhi, to Solid State Physics Laboratory (SSPL), Delhi. The inventing scientists are Shri Ravinder Pal, Shri Pratap Kumar Choudhary, Shri Baldev Raj Aneja, Shri Vishnu Gopal, and Shri Vikram Kumar.

A Patent on ‘A process for the preparation of �Barium Zirconate Titanate Ceramics’ (Patent No. 236948) has been granted by the Indian Patent Office, New Delhi, to SSPL, Delhi. The inventing scientists are Shri Ajit Raymond James, Shri Om Prakash Thakur, and Shri Chandra Prakash.

PATENTS GRANTED

DRDO celebrated the National Technology Day on 11 May 2010 to mark the 13th anniversary of Pokhran

Nuclear Tests, the day our country became self-reliant in this critical technology on 11 May 1998. DRDO HQrs and Delhi-based DRDO labs/estts celebrated the occasion in a function organised by the Defence Science Forum at the Bhagavantam Auditorium, Metcalfe House, Delhi. Dr R Sreehari Rao, Outstanding Scientist and CC R&D (ECS) was

the Chief Guest of the function. Shri AK Maini, Director, LASTEC and Convenor, Defence Science Forum, welcomed the Chief Guest and other dignitaries present. Chief Controllers R&D, Technical and Corporate Directors from DRDO HQrs, and the Directors of Delhi-based labs/estts graced the occasion.

As part of the celebrations, the authors of the three selected papers of Technology Day Orations gave presentations. These included: `Evolutionary architecture for realising network-centric electronic warfare’ by Shri SK Gupta, Sc `G’, DLRL, Hyderabad; `Bone conduction communication and its applications’ by Smt DT Shakunthala, Sc `E’, DEBEL, Bangaluru; and `Development of two-pulse solid rocket motor technology’ by Shri M Rathnam, Sci `D’, ASL, Hyderabad. Dr R Sreehari Rao gave away the Technology Day certificates and medals to these three orators besides distributing certificates and medals to the scientists of the Delhi-based labs/estts who made presentations in their respective labs/estts. Dr Rajiv Vij, Secretary, Defence Science Forum, proposed the vote of thanks.

DRDO Celebrates National Technology Day–2010

DRDO Newsletter

8June, 2010

A Knowledge Resource Centre (KRC) with modern facilities and excellent digital collection was inaugurated at Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), Chennai, by Shri PS Subramanyam, Distinguished Scientist, PGD (CA) and Director, ADA on 13 March 2010, heralding the beginning of a new chapter in the history of CVRDE. The inaugural function was presided over by Shri S Sundaresh, Distinguished Scientist, CC R&D (ACE) and Director, CVRDE; Shri K Tamilmani, Outstanding Scientist, Chief Executive, CEMILAC; Shri R Shankar, DCV&E; and Dr AL Moorthy, Director, DESIDOC. The welcome address was delivered by Shri VN Swamiraj, Sc ‘G’. The Director, CVRDE, in his inaugural address, felicitated all the serving officers who were instrumental in conceptualising and realising this facility.

The Chief Guest, in his address, stressed all the fact that libraries should acquire pertinent information in relation to the latest activities of the respective establishment and disseminate this information for the knowledge of the user using latest technologies.

Dr C Chandrasekaran, Sc ‘G’, in his introductory address listed out the various facilities and salient features of the new building and the services rendered by the KRC. Dr S Muralidhar, Sc ‘E’, Head (TIRC), delivered the vote of thanks.

Knowledge Resource Centre at CVRDE

Inaugural Ceremony of the KRC. Seen are: Shri PS Subraman-yam, DS, PGD (CA), Shri S Sundaresh, DS & CC R&D (ACE) & Director, CVRDE; Shri K Tamilmani, OS & Chief Executive

CEMILAC, and senior scientists

Launch of PTA-Kd2r5 using Nishant Launcher

Research and Development Establishment (Engineers), Pune, has successfully launched imported pilot-less target aircraft (PTA)-KD2R5 utilising Mobile Hydro-Pneumatic Launcher (MHPL) developed for ‘Nishant’ UAV, on 25 February and 17 March 2010 at Army Air Defence College, Gopalpur, Orissa.

Launch of PTA-KD2R5 Using NISHANT Launcher (MHPL)

9 June, 2010

Courses/Workshops/SymposiaMANPOWER DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

PXE, Balasore

Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE), Chandipur, conducted a course on Database Management System, Oracle SOL, PL/SQL and its Application under the CEP during 05–09 April 2010. Twenty-seven participants from various DRDO labs/establishments attended the course. Expert faculty from Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata and PXE, Balasore covered both theory and practical sessions. Shri V Anguswamy, Sc ‘F’, Associate Director, PXE, inaugurated the CEP, while Maj. Gen. P Mathur, Director, PXE distributed certificates to the participants. Shri PB Samal, Technical Officer ‘C’ was the Course Director.

RCI, Hyderabad

A special course on ‘Best Practices in System Integration’ sponsored by Centre for Personnel Talent Management (CEPTAM) was conducted from 22 to 25 March 2010, at Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad. Shri SK Ray, Distinguished Scientist, and Director, RCI and Programme Director, MRSAM delivered the inaugural address. The course was designed for technical officers of various laboratories/establishments. About 45 participants attended the course. Shri SC Narang, Chairman, CEPTAM, gave a presentation on CEPTAM training

policy and participated in the feedback session with the participants. Shri R Das, Sc ‘G’, Director, RF Systems distributed certificates to all the participants. Shri M Sankar Kishore, Sc ‘F’, Course Director, presented the vote of thanks.

TBRL, Chandigarh

National Safety Week Campaign–2010 was organised at Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, Chandigarh, on 29 March 2010. Dr SK Salwan, former Vice Chancellor, PTU, Jalandar was the Chief Guest for the occasion. All TBRL employees attended the programme along with high dignitaries and Dr RK Sharma, Sc ‘F’, Joint Director, INMAS. The theme of the Campaign was ‘Disaster Management’. Lighting of Safety Lamp was done by the Chief Guest. Dr Salwan delivered a lecture on Nature and Technology: Behaviour Based Safety. Director, TBRL talked on Importance of Safety; and Dr Sharma talked on Disaster Management System.

The fire safety manual, ‘Standing Orders for Fire-2009’, was released by the Chief Guest. A Safety Exhibition was also set up where six firms demonstrated their safety products. The Best Safety Performance Group Award was given to ‘Zone IV Shaped Charges and Naval Warhead System’.

Lighting of the Safety lamp during the National Safety Week

Chief Guest Shri SC Narang, Chairman, CEPTAM giving the valedictory address

DRDO Newsletter

10June, 2010

ISO 9001: 2008 Certification to NSTLISO 9001: 2008 certification was conferred on the

Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam, after successful completion of quality audit of NSTL by Bureau Veritas Certification India (BVCI), Mumbai. This certification is valid till 30 March 2013. Earlier, this establishment was certified for ISO 9001: 2000 in 2000 and was renewed till 2007.

Dr J Narayan Das, OS and CC R&D (NS, M & HR) presented the certificate to Dr V Bhujanga Rao, FNAE, OS and Director, NSTL, on 19 April 2010. Dr Das appreciated the efforts of the Director, NSTL, Shri AK Tiwari, Sc ‘F’, and his team for inculcating culture of quality in NSTL and for successful implementation of the Quality Management System since the last 10 years in NSTL.

Dr J Narayan Das, CC R&D (NS, M & HR) presenting the certifi-cate to Dr V Bhujanga Rao, Director, NSTL. Also seen are Shri AK

Tiwari, Sc ‘F’ and Shri VVS Bhaskara Raju, Sc ‘F’.

AWARDSShri SG Vaijapurkar � , Sc ‘F’, Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur, has been conferred the Best Paper Award in the 29th IARP National Conference at Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, recently. The title of the paper was ‘Radiochronic derivatives for the nuclear emergency’.

Dr Kshipra Misra � , Sc ‘F’, Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), Delhi, has been conferred with the Eminent Scientist of the Year Award-2009 during the national conference organised by the National Environment Science Academy (NESA), India, at Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi, recently. She made significant contributions in the field of environment science by developing

and implementing the innovative technology for the removal of arsenic from the ground water.

HIgher Qualification AchievedDr Neelam Venkata Rama Rao, Sc ‘C’,

Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), Hyderabad, has been awarded PhD by

the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai, in recognition of his research work on ‘Structural, magnetic, magnetostructural transformation, and magnetocaloric studies in Ni-based Heusler alloys’.

Dr Misra receiving the Eminent Scientist of the Year Award–2009

11 June, 2010

SPORTS NEWSDRDO North Zone Basket Ball Tournament

The North Zone Basket Ball Tournament was held at Defence Laboratory (DL), Jodhpur, during 3–4 March 2010. Three teams, namely, IRDE Dehradun; DL, Jodhpur; and TBRL, Chandigarh participated in the tournament. Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur was the winner and Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, Chandigarh the runner-up.

DRDO Cycle Rally

The Adventure Club of Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), Avadi, organised a Cycle Rally from 5 to 9 March 2010. Twenty personnel from various DRDO labs/ establishments participated. The rally was flagged- off by Shri G Elangovan, Distinguised Scientist and CC R&D (R&M), Vice Patron - DRDO Sports Board; Shri R Shankar, Director of Combat Vehicles and Engineering, President - DRDO Sports Board, New Delhi; Shri K Krishnamurthy, Additional Director (IFCS), CVRDE; and Shri Syed Sabir Pasha, Former Indian International Footballer.

The winner team, DL, Jodhpur, receiving the Shield from Dr N Kumar, Director, DL , Jodhpur Start of the Cycle Rally at CVRDE, Chennai

VISITS TO DRDO LABS/ESTTSCAIR, Bangaluru

Dr K Sekhar, CC R&D (MS & LIC) on 31 March 2010.

Dr K Sekhar, CC R&D (MS & LIC) interacting with the Director and senior scientists of CAIR

DESIDOC, DelhiDr KD Nayak, Outstanding Scientist and Chief Controller, R&D (MED & MIST), Delhi HQrs, Delhi, on 28 April 2010.

Dr KD Nayak, OS & CC R&D (MED & MIST) interacting with DESIDOC scientists

DRDO Newsletter

12June, 2010

ISSN:0971-4391

LRDE, BangaluruHEMRL, Pune

RCI, Hyderabad

Lt Gen AKS Chandele, PVSM, AVSM, ADC, �Director General of EME, on 22 April 2010.

AVM RK Sharma, VM, ACAS (Plans), Air �HQrs, on 28 April 2010.

Shri S Sundaresh, Distinguished Scientist �and Chief Controller, R&D (ACE), on 17 April 2010.

Prof. LM Patnaik, Vice Chancellor, Defence �Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune, on 01 April 2010.

Honorable Raksha Mantri, Shri A K Antony on 10 April 2010.

The editors thank all the DRDO Newsletter correspondents for their contributions.

Raksha Mantri interacting with SA to RM and the Director, RCI.

Shri Sundaresh, DS & CC R&D (ACE) receiving the memento from Dr A Subhananda Rao, DS & Director, HEMRL

VISITS TO DRDO LABS/ESTTS contd.

Lt Gen AKS Chandele, PVSM, AVSM, ADC, Director General of EME showing keen interest in the facility

Prof LM Patnaik, Vice Chancellor, DIAT, showing keen interest in the HMX pilot plant control