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A Nuclear Submarine is not Actually Nuclear

The former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee was right about one thing, “We can change our friends but not our neighbours”. The international system is all about making alliances and breaking it. Post COVID-19 pandemic is anchoring a new international order where small alliances are getting created. Recently, when the US, UK, and Australia came with the concept of AUKUS, France declared that it would form a new multilateral order with India. With AUKUS came the very first declaration that Australia would have a nuclear submarine. Let’s know more about this nuclear submarine defence technology and whether India has such acumen or not from this piece.

What is a Nuclear Submarine?

Nuclear submarines, or precisely nuclear-powered submarines, run using a miniature nuclear reactor instead of diesel or other snorkel engines. Such nuclear reactors have generally enriched Uranium as a fuel. Another question: What is enriched Uranium? Well, let’s go back to class XII and unfold the chapters from the Modern Physics chapter. Normally, Uranium exists in two isotopes: U-238 and U-235. Now, U-238 is the one that is available in abundance (around 99.3%). But, to run a nuclear reactor present in a submarine demands 50% U-235 as content. A big figure? Not for the scientists. Well, some dedicated scientists do that by transforming this U-238 to the 235 isotope form using gas diffusion or laser isotope separation.

Traits of a Nuclear Submarine

First of all, you need to understand that merely possessing a nuclear submarine doesn’t make you a nuclear power, and you are just using a nuclear reactor to sail a marine. Then? Well, using a nuclear reactor eradicates many of the limitations of a submarine. Unlike conventional diesel-powered engines that have limitations and cannot let you stay inside the water for months, you cannot witness the same with a nuclear submarine. Apart from this, the small size of the nuclear reactor allows you to enhance the storage of items in the submarine and influences its speed and endurance.

Does India possess this technology?

The answer is yes. Yes, India is one of those six countries that possess this technology apart from France, China, the US, the UK, and Russia. As of now, India has 15 conventional submarines and one nuclear submarine. Stop. Some of the defence specialists will say that what I am writing for nuclear submarines is wrong. No, sir and ma’am, it is true. India had two nuclear submarines – INS Chakra and Arihant. Russia actually leased INS Chakra to India for some time which has been returned. Currently, India has an indigenously built INS Arihant that is nuclear-powered.

Final Remarks

Nuclear submarines are actually not nuclear. However, they upgrade your navy in terms of enhancing the features. With this latest development, Australia will become the 7th country to possess this technology.

Defence AI: The Prophecy Not Covered by Professor Trelawney

I like the second movie in the Iron Man trilogy. It was somewhere a real war of robots. The race that Tony Stark starts reaches the corridor Hammer Industries, and then there is complete carnage. But you have to admit that you must have liked the role of Jarvis, an AI assisting Mr. Stark from time to time. Imagine the power of any military if they adopt AI for its deterrence and resilience. Recently, Army Futures Command laid down a report that showcased their interest in AI adoption in military technology. Let’s excavate more details related to this report from this Exhibit blog and see how defence AI is progressing.

Digging the News

Army Futures Command has stated 11 broad areas where it is interested in bringing AI and researching it. I know, and I have faith in my intelligent readers, as some of you have guessed these sectors for sure. Merlin’s Beard. These are data analysis, autonomous systems (drones), security, and decision-making assistance. Hence, somewhere they want to integrate a shooter and electronic sensors during the battlefield. According to Army Futures Command’s Artificial Intelligence Integration Center, the platform that they will develop can operate in an open, urban, and cluttered environment.

How can AI help the military?

Alexa! Kill the trespasser in my house. Are you still imagining that such days can come? Well, let’s not speculate. But, yes, your Alexa won’t come to the rescue as it has niches. Then, how the hell AI will help the military as a question will strike your mind repeatedly. Hey, wait and have some patience. The Exhibit is there to clear bits and pieces in the simplest manner for you. See, AI is something that thinks. So, if it comes into a combat mission, AI will be the one that will take off the cognitive burden from you. Apart from this, you may surely see a great team effort from a human-machine duo for sure. Therefore, the overall performance of that military will upgrade by itself who will garner AI into defence.

Defence AI

In a nutshell, wherever you are using defence technology and if you add AI into it, it will be simply awesome. Even for drones, yeah, that too. Now, you don’t have to control a UAV remotely. All you need is to let them understand the mission’s objective and do their part by themselves. AI will add the precision quotient as it will record the past as a dataset, and the new action will be a test dataset for itself.

Conclusion

Mind you; these five years will be highly glossy for Army Futures Command on what they are working. And their innovation will have a pivotal role in the defence industry for sure. However, considering the pace of defence technology, you can make a prophecy of how will be the full-fledged defence AI technology will look like. For more articles on defence section, click on this link.

Defence Electronics: What it is & How India is Using it

The day engineers built a diode and transistor in the 1940s, it was known that the world would change drastically post the second World War. And, it happened too. We entered the world of electronics, and today, it has its outreach in every sector and domain. We were progressing to modernize the world, but we also developed new developments in non-state actors. Hence, to protect our frontiers, we started working towards defence electronics. You name it, and you will find that almost every piece of defence equipment has electronic instruments installed in it. Let’s discuss more on this domain with this edition of the Exhibit blog.

What is defence electronics?

In simplest terms, it uses and misuses the electromagnetic spectrum (like radio & microwaves). Hence, there is a need for deep knowledge and insights related to the electromagnetic spectrum. From the world wars, you have heard about radar systems. We have recently discussed drones where you can find those concrete reasons that make them quite undetectable. Defence electronics evolved with the advent of remote-controlled explosives, GPS, UAVs, etc. And, once electro-optical instruments came into the markets, you have seen the upgradation in terms of ammunition (check movies that have showcased laser guns for precision targeting).

Indian Defence

India is one of the biggest pillars globally that is making hefty investments in military upgradation, which you can observe from the SIPRI report and Global Firepower Index. According to NASSCOM, India’s Aerospace and Defence industry will have a market cap of 70-72 USD (almost 5.15 lac Crores INR). And, such potential can come only with the integration of electronics with defence.

Is India using Defence Electronics currently?

I want to modify this dialogue, “Don’t underestimate the power of a common man” to “Don’t underestimate the power of India at all.” Sitting at the pinnacle of research and development in defense, DRDO has a separate division named Defence Electronics Application Laboratory (DEAL) that has made many innovations in this field, including Combat Net Radio and Data Link System – Nishant UAV. All these equipment have their niche in battlefield surveillance and reconnaissance, real-time engagement, and battlefield damage assessment.

Final Remarks

India is heading towards defence electronics faster and will showcase its deterrence and resilience in the future. However, suppose India wants to stand as a major power. In that case, it needs to integrate nuclear defence with electronics and then use it smartly every time on the negotiations table. For other defence related articles, follow this link.

Defence Internet-of-Things: Leaveraging Deterrence & Attacks

After the advent of IoT (Internet-of-Things), the world has changed. IoT is penetrating each sector by bringing improvement and upgrading the lifestyle of humankind. But, Exhibit has decided to talk on the defence front, and IoT enables respective countries’ military to enhance their deterrence capability. Let’s know more about DIoT (Defence Internet-of-Things) from this blog.

Defence Internet-Of-Things: Stats & Insights

According to a renowned firm, GlobalData, the projection of the IoT market is about to touch the market of $ 1.1 trillion (around 80 lacs Crore). You will go into the awestruck mode, but the number of patents filed under Aerospace, Defence & Security has jumped in recent years, with more than 15000 average in a year.

DIoT & Cybersecurity

Imagine a chip is inserted with the controller. Hence, if you give some sort of instructions, this controller can make a call. Now, imagine if you have a bunch of such robots that can make an automated call to any point at one point or in a time series. It will lock the communication pipeline for real callers. In the year 2016, a US company named Dyn witnessed a DDoS. And, this attack weaponized IoT. Hackers harnessed IoT even in “Krebs on Security” by letting them suffer through DDoS attacks. Hence, IoT has a great potential to use as a cybersecurity weapon and tarnish enemy infrastructure.

Drones & Surveillance

Drones can help a lot in upgrading border security. If you add facets of thermal imaging and 3D mapping, drones will provide the exact location of trespassers. Hence, UAVs are perfect for detecting any penetration in your borders. R&D of drones can help militaries to install nano and small missiles in these UAVs that the army can use to shoot down through aerial attacks.

Cartridge Sensor

Ministries of each company should facilitate a level-playing field to develop cartridge sensors that can in real-time assess and accordingly generate signals of when to reload the assault rifle or other missile system. Such alerts will keep the concerned individuals ready to load the optimum acumen.

Weapons Inventory

You are handling inventory operations of the weapons department in your command. If you deploy small IoT-based bots in the warehouse, it will be their responsibility to keep a count of every record of weapons. Hence, these DIoT devices don’t need to have a lethal application in the defence sector. Even one can assign roles for defence fleet management. Such a fleet management system and inventory handling operations can reduce the logistics cost by a great margin.

Conclusion

What Exhibit has discussed are some of the aspects that will have a futuristic presence tomorrow for sure. But, considering the current progress of Defence Internet-of-Things, it has to cover many milestones. Therefore, one must wait for future developments. If you want to check our other articles under defence section, click here.

Indian Army Will Start Using AK-203 Assault Rifles Soon!

Many of you have remembered the movie – Sarfarosh. A line comes there regarding AK-47 that even if someone keeps it underground for years, it will fire smoothly once taken out. The AK-47 gun always made news whenever there was some sort of serious assault going on. Our Indian army, too, used this in their combat operations. But, this time, the Indian army will get an upgraded assault rifle – AK-203. India has decided to buy 70,000 of these rifles from Russia in a recent defence procurement deal. Let’s get more ideas on this new assault gun through this Exhibit blog.

About AK-203

The recent Indian army requirement will help to replace the existing Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) 5.56mm × 45mm assault rifle. If one properly observes this weapon, this gun has 30 rounds in a magazine. Without a magazine, the weight of this gun is somewhere around 3.8 kg, and the firing range of AK-203 is 800 m. The best part of this weapon system is that it is 100% accurate and highly reliable. Hence, such guns will help the Indian army to strengthen their deterrence, apart from Carbine and Tavor guns.

India-Russia Deal

The current deal is a part of the project to build almost six lacs AK-203 rifles in India. This joint venture production is among Ordnance Factory Board, Kalashnikov Concern, and Rosoboronexport. The proposed deal also talks about 100% localized sourcing of materials during production. Russia is one of the biggest defence partners when it comes to getting defence technology products from India. India has been developing BrahMos missiles in collaboration with Russia. The current import of these guns will happen within three months after the payment of this deal gets completed.

Roadblock in the Deal & its Resolution

This defence deal of indigenous production hit a roadblock when OFB quoted a higher price than importing them to India. What happened was that OFB stated that it would take extra hours to build such ammunition if the transfer of technology takes time or gets delayed. Earlier, it was a bit of a perplexing situation, but once OFB came out with the reason, the Defence Ministry set up the committee to work on its amicable resolution. After the solution came out, the Russian President’s visit in late 2020 was the final nail to this procurement process.

Final Remarks

AK-203 ammunition will prove to be a boon for sure for the Indian army. Considering the deal and observing it showcases how the Indian contingent has worked on ensuring that indigenous production will help them lower the procurement price. Exhibit has covered more articles on defence technology that you can check by clicking on this link.

Drone Swarms & Future of Defence Technology

Ever heard of Kamikazee or Blitzkrieg? If not, check out your history books and go through World Wars chapters. It is no less than a flock of weapons giving a surprise attack. But, considering the modern radar technology, making such surprise attacks on aerial space is impossible. So, what to do then? The answer is drone swarming. Drone swarming is a concept that aims to enable autonomous drones to work together as a group for a certain goal. This technology holds the reputation to change how we live and how we work in the near future. Let’s know more about drone swarms through this Exhibit blog.

What are drone swarms?

Many claims that it was they who introduced this drone swarming technology. But, it was Russians who witnessed it during the year 2018. Russians were able to crack down on this flock through their EW&SHORAD system. Drone swarms became a favourite when it comes to destroying oil facilities present in West Asian nations (being an Indian, we will use this term instead of Middle East, coined by Americans and other European countries) like at Aramco unit in Abqaiq and Khurais. And, when the world got hit by COVID-19, a region near Central Asia went through double turmoil conditions, with Azerbaijan and Armenia going to war. This war also witnessed the use of such acumen by Azerbaijan at that time.

Working of Drone Swarming

Drone swarms are the best example of how UAVs coordinate with each other and follow a pattern. It seems that there is a communication line existing between each of them whenever they are maneuvering in any area. During their movement, each of them exchanges information and accordingly follows the pattern. If you hit any of the drones, they will again interact and make a new formation to keep the entire system stable. Hence, these UAVs not only have functionalities of monitoring the rotor and its speed, but it also has to send signals through their network. If any entity gets shot down, the intelligence algorithm among them will bring changes. The following pattern has got its inspiration from a bunch of flies moving in a specific direction. The one controlling these drones, or even if not controlling them, will observe the alignment, separation, and cohesion among these UAVs.

Does India possess Drone Swarming technology?

When we are talking about Drone swarms in other countries, it also becomes important whether we also hold such elements in our campaign or not. And, yes, we do have. Feeling a sense of pride within you? I am sure you may somewhere feel relaxed that we have such modern techniques of warfare with us. A public sector undertaking, HAL, has recently showcased the Air-Launched Flexible Asset (ALFA -S) air-launched swarming drone system. ALFA-S was developed under the Combat Air Teaming System project. Seeing its potential, the US Air Force has also collaborated with India to work more on it.

Final Remarks

Drones are future weapons of warfare, and drone swarms are inevitable. Even a follower of realism will consider such induction of technology as a big achievement. And, having drones swarming will also provide a better edge in terms of displaying our smart power. To follow other defense-based tech articles on the Exhibit platform, click here.

Drone Destroying Technologies: Nullify UAVs’ Impact

A few days ago, the Exhibit team came out with certain essential concerns about drones. Drones which, if it is in your hand, make you feel empowered. Otherwise, you are vulnerable. In the previous article on drones, Exhibit also discussed those points that are creating an issue. And, to counter them, Exhibit laid out several methodologies to upgrade drone detection systems. But, this time, Exhibit will display how to neutralize such entities if such elements penetrate your territory. Keep an eye and understand what you need to do to destroy or take control of such weapons.

RF Jammer

In the previous article, we have thoroughly discussed how to upgrade detection equipment with an RF analyzer. But the time has come for jammers. What happens in jamming? I hope you have heard of these instruments earlier. Remember when a political figure sitting at the zenith of administration and governance comes to your vicinity. You may complain about network signals getting lost. The same happens with drones. These jammers emit radio frequency signals at enormous energy. Due to this, the controller signals are unable to reach such UAVs. Once it has lost connectivity, it may go back to its original position or fall uncontrolled.

GPS Spoofers

Imagine you are going to a location using your GPS (through a mobile app). Suddenly, you feel like the distance that was reduced again increased. No, don’t worry, such things don’t happen. But, to counter UAVs if such situations arise, you may easily deter such defensive entities. How? Consider that if you detect a drone has trespassed your land and is trying to make a lethal move, you can send a signal that tells a drone that it has come to the wrong location and must move back. GPS Spoofers is a non-lethal method to resist lethal moves (Quotable quote, isn’t it?). Hence, through such systems, you can avoid drone attacks.

HPM & HEL Devices

In easy language, you can imagine that your GPS Spoofers or RF Jammers are like Windows OS. And, this OS platform wants to download updates. Once downloaded, it’s an upgraded element for sure with enhanced features. The HPM (High-Power Microwave) device also sends an electromagnetic pulse (similar to an RF signal). But, this pulse can destroy the electronic circuitry in these UAVs. It is because such vibrations create a high difference in voltage. This difference results in a high jump in current, and that destroys the circuitry. The same is true for HEL (High-Energy Laser) devices, but here you send a laser beam. However, HEL has the edge over all other drone-destroying instruments due to its long-range fire. HEL also helps to reduce collateral damage.

Conclusion

The Exhibit has come with another byte on defense technology. This time it has covered aspects of destroying drones. But these are hard bits and pieces. Imagine if all such functionalities and traits integrate into one place. Today, defense R&D is trying to hammer and tap the other aspects too. For other articles on defense technology on the Exhibit platform, click here.

Countering Drones: Assessing Drone Monitoring Technologies

Drones are love for some. Many of you have watched the movie “Uri” for sure. You have seen the potential of drones there. The market of drones has simply witnessed a boom and will take a CAGR of 55% by the time 2025 arrives. This market will have a business of around 63 billion USD. However, I am not here to discuss the drones business. The Exhibit will catch a different perspective this time to showcase what massacre it has created. Drones are currently coming into the news due to the series of attacks they are making. Recently, you have observed such incidents in the UT of J&K. Some claimed that drones bring some disadvantage against which it is getting used. Let’s get an idea on this domain and how to deter them by building resilient solutions.

Why are drones powerful?

First of all, you need to know that drones are not stand-alone instruments. It gets controlled remotely. Hence, you can increase and decrease after assessing the situation. A pilot in an aircraft may not get that time to decide what to do next unless clear instructions are not available due to the aircraft’s speed, which is in the multiple of Machs. Apart from this, a drone has better manoeuvering management than fighter aircraft and helicopters due to its small size. Remember, the maneuvering was done by the Uri movie team. They showed that Pakistan knew about some helicopters towards their side, and radar detection could have hampered the Indian contingent. But, that’s not the case with drones. Why? It is because drones have a small size and can easily pass the cross-sections of radars. The slow-motion profiles of these drones cannot generate a huge signal that can create an alert.

Drone Monitoring Technologies

DMTs are necessary in modern times considering the capability and deployment approach of our neighboring countries. So, what functionality should be there in DMTs? Well, you don’t need to create a separate platform for detection equipment. What to do then? Pretty easy. All you need is to enhance the working of radars. It means that you bring more niche in the framework of radars. And, one of the biggest niches will be the identification of objects. Now, drones being slow empowers them to go undetectable. But, if radar can identify each object and segregate them under birds and other unmanned aerial vehicles, it will be a great accomplishment. Apart from this, one can work tapping the communication signal between the UAV and controller. Hence, for this, one can use a radio frequency analyzer. But RF won’t be effective if someone is using autonomous UAVs against you.

Other Tactical Elements

RF and enhancing radar functionality is not the end of the world. Let’s empower you in this domain by allowing you to widen your horizon. Think about a drone. Does it make some sound? Yes, it makes it whenever it is moving. Hence, it must be generating some acoustic signals. Now, what if you detect such sound alerts and accordingly enhance your vigilance capability. Isn’t that great? Using acoustic sensors and some additional facilities you can identify the direction and movement of these UAVs. In addition to this, you also know that if any UAV enters your territory and you watch it, you are doing it with your eyes. So, what to do then? Well, here, some computer vision libraries attached to optical sensors can help you detect such events in a better way. It will also generate shreds of evidence that you can present to your enemy.

Concluding Remarks

I hope this edition has helped you understand drones in a better way and what one needs to do to detect them if, currently, they have the edge over us. The Exhibit will be back again with anti-drone technologies that can help you out in destroying such UAVs.