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India.com
3 hours ago
- Business
- India.com
India dropped bombs and missiles on Pakistan but US companies worth billions of dollars are in trouble due to…
Home News India dropped bombs and missiles on Pakistan but US companies worth billions of dollars are in trouble due to… India dropped bombs and missiles on Pakistan but US companies worth billions of dollars are in trouble due to… The Pinaka rockets of India come at cost of $56,000 which is very less compared to the U.S. GMLRS missile at $148,000. US President Donald Trump While India conducted Operation Sindoor on Pakistan, the world saw what the Indian Armed Forces where capable of. While Pakistan tried to attack India with its long-range missiles, India's indigenous Akash Defence Missile saved India on multiple occasions. However, this article is not only about the indigenous 'Made in India' weapons that saved India but also a direct analysis about their costs compared to their US rivals. Media reports have quoted experts like John Spencer and Vincent Viola writing in Small Wars Journal saying that India's 2014 Make in India initiative has now borne fruit, and due to its massive success, India is today able to manufacture the weapons at a much lesser cost. India's weapons vs US weapons For an example, the Pinaka rockets of India come at cost of $56,000 which is very less compared to the U.S. GMLRS missile at $148,000. Likewise, India's Akashteer missile defense system is also far cheaper than America's NASAMS, significantly improving its indigenous defense production. As a result of the Indian defence success, American defence industry like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Technology and General Dynamics are facing massive trouble. BSF shares details on Operation Sindoor The Border Security Force recently said that it targeted 76 Pakistani border outposts and 42 forward defence locations (FDLs) and destroyed three terrorist launch pads in strong retaliation to unprovoked firing and shelling by Pakistani Rangers along the International Border (IB) in the Jammu frontier during Operation Sindoor, as per a report by PTI news agency. The BSF action came after Pakistan launched heavy firing and shelling on 60 Indian posts and 49 forward positions, reportedly providing cover for an attempted infiltration by 40–50 terrorists, officials said. 'Pakistan fired on our 60 border outposts and 49 forward defence locations. In response, we opened fire on 76 of their posts and 42 FDLs,' BSF Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Chiterpaul Singh told reporters here. Singh said a key terror launch pad run by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) near the Sunderbani sector was destroyed. 'There is no movement seen from that area now,' he said. (With inputs from agencies) For breaking news and live news updates, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Read more on Latest News News on More Stories
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Lockheed to Boeing: How India's Operation Sindoor may loosen the grip of US defence giants
India's recent military advances and cost-effective innovations expose critical weaknesses in the US defence system. As Washington clings to outdated Cold War models and monopolistic defence contractors, it risks falling behind rivals like India and China. Experts call for urgent reforms to speed up acquisition, break up monopolies, and build scalable, adaptable systems. Without change, the US could lose its military edge in future conflicts. The time for reform is now—and the clock is ticking. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads What ails US defence industry Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads US acquisition system: Too slow for modern war The cost trap undermining US power Learning from India and others A closed circle resisting change Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads What the US must do to stay relevant Facing the challenge from China India's growing military success, especially evident in recent operations like Operation Sindoor , should serve as a sharp warning to the United States. While India innovates quickly and builds cost-effective, scalable warfighting models, the US remains trapped in slow, outdated Cold War contrast is stark. India's Pinaka rocket costs less than $56,000, compared to a US GMLRS missile priced at $148,000. India rapidly developed the Akashteer missile defence system at a fraction of the cost of US-made Patriot or NASAMS platforms. Even Ukraine's use of Iran's $20,000 Shahed-136 drone outpaces the US MQ-9 Reaper, which costs over $30 examples highlight a fundamental problem in the American defence ecosystem. As John Spencer and Vincent Viola argue in the Small Wars Journal , 'The United States is in urgent need of fundamental defense reform. Not just adjustments. Not just marginal gains. A full-scale overhaul.'The US defence industry is dominated by a handful of giant contractors. Lockheed Martin, Boeing , Northrop Grumman, Raytheon Technologies, and General Dynamics rank among the top global arms producers. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), nine of the world's top 20 defence firms by revenue are American, and 41 of the top 100 are US-based, as reported by Eurasian once was a sign of strength now feels more like a cartel. Spencer and Viola warn: 'America's defense manufacturing process is dominated by a small cartel of primes that, while capable, have little incentive to drive innovation, reduce cost, or adapt quickly. There is no real market competition. This is not competition—it's cartelized domination.'Despite soaring defence budgets—expected to near $1 trillion by 2025—the number of prime contractors has shrunk drastically. A Department of Defense study noted that prime defence contractors fell from 51 to fewer than 10. Former President Donald Trump pointed to the problem bluntly: 'Defense companies have all merged in, so it's hard to negotiate… It's already not competitive.'The US acquisition process is notoriously slow. It often takes years, sometimes decades, to field new equipment. The war in Ukraine exposed this painfully. While American weapons like Javelins and HIMARS made a difference, production struggled to keep up with demand. Artillery shell shortages forced the Pentagon to rely on ageing factories and slow supply battlefield innovations since 9/11—such as counter-IED kits and drones—were introduced through emergency channels, bypassing formal procurement. But these stopgap measures do not fix systemic contracting shields defence firms from the consequences of budget overruns. This system discourages innovation and encourages over-engineered, expensive F-35 fighter jet illustrates this problem. With a lifetime cost estimated at $1.7 trillion, it has been criticised for delays and underperformance. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall admitted, 'We're not going to repeat what I think frankly was a serious mistake that was made in the F-35 program.' In May 2023, Kendall warned that without reform, 'What that basically does is create a perpetual monopoly.'While the US struggles to keep up, countries like India show how to innovate efficiently. India's defence industry emphasises cost-effective, rapid development. The Akashteer system and Pinaka rockets are examples of scalable, rugged platforms built with speed and affordability in and Viola highlight the absence of 'an agile, scalable, layered, fast-response production network' in the US. 'There is no real surge capacity,' they write. This gap leaves America vulnerable in fast-paced modern firms increasingly operate in isolation from broader markets. A 2024 study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) found that 61% of major defence contracts go to companies with no commercial business. This figure rises to 86% when firms like Boeing, whose commercial work is limited, are shift began after Cold War budget cuts in the 1990s, driving consolidation and pushing commercial players out. The result is a defence industry insulated from market pressures and reluctant to and Viola warn bluntly: 'The time for US defense reform is not coming. It's already late.'To avoid falling behind, the US must rebuild its defence acquisition process around speed, iteration, and frontline feedback—not decade-long static programmes. It needs to break up industrial monopolies or foster genuine competition and alternative important is treating allies like India and Israel as co-equal production partners, not merely buyers or technology recipients. White House executive order last month recognised this. 'Unfortunately, after years of misplaced priorities and poor management, our defense acquisition system does not provide the speed and flexibility our Armed Forces need to have decisive advantages in the future,' it said. The order directed the Secretary of Defense to deliver a reform plan within 60 reform cannot stop at factories and procurement cycles. The US should establish permanent, deployable learning teams embedded in conflict zones and logistics hubs. These teams would gather battlefield lessons directly and feed them back into system design—making the US defence ecosystem 'the most efficient, adaptable, and dominant in the world.'China poses the biggest challenge. It has the largest active military force globally, with approximately two million soldiers and a population more than four times that of the future wars will not be about who has the biggest army. It will depend on who can innovate faster, produce economically, and fight at speed.'Wars will be won by those who can think faster, build faster, and fight smarter—and above all, by those who master the physics of lethality required on the modern battlefield,' Spencer and Viola the US to lead again, it must not only revive its defence industrial power but also master lethality at scale, speed, and sustainability. The clock is ticking.
The Age
18-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Welcome to the era of the ‘affordable' cruise missile
'We are manufacturing guided weapons, rocket assisted take-off for low-cost cruise missiles, and we have the capability to produce in-house and are able to deliver it within a couple of months, not in five years,' Johnson told this masthead. The company, with a staff of 42, manufactures and produces solid rocket motors, as well as customised rocket-assisted take off assemblies, which can launch inexpensive cruise missiles vertically from the ground. Black Sky Industries regularly receives requests for proposals from democracies around the globe, Johnson says. Australia's government understands a shift towards missiles is taking place. The Albanese government is backing sovereign guided-weapon production, having landed a deal for Norway-based Kongsberg to assemble naval and joint strike missiles in Australia. A government deal with Lockheed Martin Australia will allow low-rate production of 300 GMLRS and a full-rate production of the 4000 GMLRS to Australia. But as Johnson explains, in a modern war a few hundred rounds are 'one day of activity – not even a day, a couple of hours'. Loading Black Sky Industries says it's delivering capability for the Australian Defence Force and its allies 'with a focus on scaling geopolitical instability', Johnson says. Looking at what's happening in Ukraine and in the Red Sea, where Iranian-backed Houthis have launched inexpensive Tehran-supplied cruise missiles at passing ships, Johnson says arming for war won't be expensive in future. Sydney-based defence analyst Chris Flaherty said the new crop of cruise missiles used cheaper, more autonomous guidance and no longer required the complex infrastructure for deployment as in the past. 'What we're actually seeing, which I think is causing surprise and shock strategically within the defence community, is how countries can actually come from nowhere and invent a weapon system that actually performs remarkably similar roles to cruise missiles.' The lower cost means more cruise missiles can be produced and launched in swarms. The new strategy means 'mass-producing these weapons as quickly as possible and delivering onto the target to achieve overwhelming force', he said. The trend lines of inexpensive hardware and cheaper, more powerful electronics were in place even before February 2022, when Russia expanded its low-boil war on Ukraine to a full-scale invasion. Weapons-makers can now use off-the-shelf components, 3D printed, modular parts which reduce the complexity of the missile, and also lower labour costs. In turn, this lowers the overall production price, further enabling mass manufacturing of missiles. The cheaper cost of the technology lowers the bar for entry to the cruise missile business, which used to be the domain of great powers which relied on specialised access to satellites, intelligence and complex supporting systems. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Iran's supplying of the Houthis with cruise missiles and drones to harass ships in the Red Sea paved a new way. Today, numerous companies are springing up or pivoting to these new cheaper cruise missiles. Anduril Industries, Zone 5 Technologies, CoAspire, Ares Industries, and Ukraine's Trembita homemade cruise missile are examples. At the same time, Ukraine has ramped up its missile production since Russia's invasion in early 2022. After struggling at the start of Russia's invasion to source cruise missiles, Ukraine's minister for strategic industries said last month missile production had expanded 'eightfold' over the previous year. Ukraine's experience is instructive. Iran, China, North Korea have their own ambitious programs, which rely on mass quantities and low costs. It would be reckless for democracies to not follow suit. Anduril Australia says its exploring opportunities to test and build low-cost cruise missiles in Australia. 'Manufacturing affordable cruise missiles at scale is central to achieving resilience and a deterrence effect for the ADF,' said Pete Quinn, vice president of strategy for Anduril Australia. He notes that Australia is 'an ideal testing location because of its world-class ranges and talented Australian workforce'. Affordable mass Cheaper missiles mean more can be made and yet more required to win a battle. Lockheed Martin affordable mass director Scott Callaway says: 'With the strategic environment in the Pacific undergoing notable change, our customers are seeking a new class of low-cost missiles that can be manufactured fast and on demand, so their inventory never runs dry in combat.' Callaway says the new class of missiles has been dubbed 'affordable mass', with the idea being 'they can put a lot more missiles (mass) on target'. The company's common multi-mission truck, or CMMT missile, can be launched by fighters, bombers, airlifters and other air- and ground-launch platforms. The CMMT, also pronounced 'Comet', uses 'modular airframes' that can be sized to accommodate a variety of payloads and engines - employing 3D printed or commercial parts 'to lower cost'. 'Convergence' The modular design, aided by cheaper electronics and 3D-printed parts, enables 'rapid modification' in which new 'seekers, payloads and engines' can be swapped in for whatever the mission requirements, Callaway said. The Iranian Shahed drone, which demonstrated the ease with which unmanned vehicles, inexpensive guidance systems and explosives could be brought together, helped revolutionise the trend of affordable drones and missiles, a difference which has increasingly blurred. Flaherty says there has been a 'convergence' between the concept of cruise missiles and the concept of drones in the past few years. 'If you think in traditional terms, a cruise missile is a particular weapon system arising from a certain date in history,' he said, pointing to the complex launch systems used for Tomahawk missiles. Loading 'If you look now at what's happening in Ukraine, we're starting to see rocket-powered drones that have considerable range capabilities with cruise missile-type qualities.' Such weapons can navigate over terrain, lock on to targets and deliver warheads with precision – the entire original concept behind the cruise missile. Now that these changes are afoot, they could trigger a repricing of whole swaths of weaponry. These shifts toward more information-driven manufacturing allow production itself to be spread across networks that can respond to needs of the war effort. Distributed production Callaway says Lockheed Martin 'can accelerate production and meet combat surge requests by duplicating production cells and standing up multiple production lines in the US and partner nations'. Tapping multiple suppliers, missile assemblies can be built and assembled rapidly. 'We call this distributed production,' said Callaway. The customer can buy a basic kit designed for rapid production that a specialised missile can be built around, Callaway says of the 'Comet'. Changes for Australia As the economics of conflict change, so will threats for Australia. Last year, Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Pat Conroy gave a speech which outlined the altered world. In World War II, Nazi Germany used V-1 and V-2 guided rockets against Britain. Missiles soon became the subject of strategic thinking during the Cold War, he said, but they have evolved much further since. 'Analysts believe we are now on the cusp of a new Indo-Pacific missile age,' Conroy said. China, North Korea, Russia (also a Pacific power), the US, South Korea are all investing in missile technology.
Sydney Morning Herald
18-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Welcome to the era of the ‘affordable' cruise missile
'We are manufacturing guided weapons, rocket assisted take-off for low-cost cruise missiles, and we have the capability to produce in-house and are able to deliver it within a couple of months, not in five years,' Johnson told this masthead. The company, with a staff of 42, manufactures and produces solid rocket motors, as well as customised rocket-assisted take off assemblies, which can launch inexpensive cruise missiles vertically from the ground. Black Sky Industries regularly receives requests for proposals from democracies around the globe, Johnson says. Australia's government understands a shift towards missiles is taking place. The Albanese government is backing sovereign guided-weapon production, having landed a deal for Norway-based Kongsberg to assemble naval and joint strike missiles in Australia. A government deal with Lockheed Martin Australia will allow low-rate production of 300 GMLRS and a full-rate production of the 4000 GMLRS to Australia. But as Johnson explains, in a modern war a few hundred rounds are 'one day of activity – not even a day, a couple of hours'. Loading Black Sky Industries says it's delivering capability for the Australian Defence Force and its allies 'with a focus on scaling geopolitical instability', Johnson says. Looking at what's happening in Ukraine and in the Red Sea, where Iranian-backed Houthis have launched inexpensive Tehran-supplied cruise missiles at passing ships, Johnson says arming for war won't be expensive in future. Sydney-based defence analyst Chris Flaherty said the new crop of cruise missiles used cheaper, more autonomous guidance and no longer required the complex infrastructure for deployment as in the past. 'What we're actually seeing, which I think is causing surprise and shock strategically within the defence community, is how countries can actually come from nowhere and invent a weapon system that actually performs remarkably similar roles to cruise missiles.' The lower cost means more cruise missiles can be produced and launched in swarms. The new strategy means 'mass-producing these weapons as quickly as possible and delivering onto the target to achieve overwhelming force', he said. The trend lines of inexpensive hardware and cheaper, more powerful electronics were in place even before February 2022, when Russia expanded its low-boil war on Ukraine to a full-scale invasion. Weapons-makers can now use off-the-shelf components, 3D printed, modular parts which reduce the complexity of the missile, and also lower labour costs. In turn, this lowers the overall production price, further enabling mass manufacturing of missiles. The cheaper cost of the technology lowers the bar for entry to the cruise missile business, which used to be the domain of great powers which relied on specialised access to satellites, intelligence and complex supporting systems. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Iran's supplying of the Houthis with cruise missiles and drones to harass ships in the Red Sea paved a new way. Today, numerous companies are springing up or pivoting to these new cheaper cruise missiles. Anduril Industries, Zone 5 Technologies, CoAspire, Ares Industries, and Ukraine's Trembita homemade cruise missile are examples. At the same time, Ukraine has ramped up its missile production since Russia's invasion in early 2022. After struggling at the start of Russia's invasion to source cruise missiles, Ukraine's minister for strategic industries said last month missile production had expanded 'eightfold' over the previous year. Ukraine's experience is instructive. Iran, China, North Korea have their own ambitious programs, which rely on mass quantities and low costs. It would be reckless for democracies to not follow suit. Anduril Australia says its exploring opportunities to test and build low-cost cruise missiles in Australia. 'Manufacturing affordable cruise missiles at scale is central to achieving resilience and a deterrence effect for the ADF,' said Pete Quinn, vice president of strategy for Anduril Australia. He notes that Australia is 'an ideal testing location because of its world-class ranges and talented Australian workforce'. Affordable mass Cheaper missiles mean more can be made and yet more required to win a battle. Lockheed Martin affordable mass director Scott Callaway says: 'With the strategic environment in the Pacific undergoing notable change, our customers are seeking a new class of low-cost missiles that can be manufactured fast and on demand, so their inventory never runs dry in combat.' Callaway says the new class of missiles has been dubbed 'affordable mass', with the idea being 'they can put a lot more missiles (mass) on target'. The company's common multi-mission truck, or CMMT missile, can be launched by fighters, bombers, airlifters and other air- and ground-launch platforms. The CMMT, also pronounced 'Comet', uses 'modular airframes' that can be sized to accommodate a variety of payloads and engines - employing 3D printed or commercial parts 'to lower cost'. 'Convergence' The modular design, aided by cheaper electronics and 3D-printed parts, enables 'rapid modification' in which new 'seekers, payloads and engines' can be swapped in for whatever the mission requirements, Callaway said. The Iranian Shahed drone, which demonstrated the ease with which unmanned vehicles, inexpensive guidance systems and explosives could be brought together, helped revolutionise the trend of affordable drones and missiles, a difference which has increasingly blurred. Flaherty says there has been a 'convergence' between the concept of cruise missiles and the concept of drones in the past few years. 'If you think in traditional terms, a cruise missile is a particular weapon system arising from a certain date in history,' he said, pointing to the complex launch systems used for Tomahawk missiles. Loading 'If you look now at what's happening in Ukraine, we're starting to see rocket-powered drones that have considerable range capabilities with cruise missile-type qualities.' Such weapons can navigate over terrain, lock on to targets and deliver warheads with precision – the entire original concept behind the cruise missile. Now that these changes are afoot, they could trigger a repricing of whole swaths of weaponry. These shifts toward more information-driven manufacturing allow production itself to be spread across networks that can respond to needs of the war effort. Distributed production Callaway says Lockheed Martin 'can accelerate production and meet combat surge requests by duplicating production cells and standing up multiple production lines in the US and partner nations'. Tapping multiple suppliers, missile assemblies can be built and assembled rapidly. 'We call this distributed production,' said Callaway. The customer can buy a basic kit designed for rapid production that a specialised missile can be built around, Callaway says of the 'Comet'. Changes for Australia As the economics of conflict change, so will threats for Australia. Last year, Minister for Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Pat Conroy gave a speech which outlined the altered world. In World War II, Nazi Germany used V-1 and V-2 guided rockets against Britain. Missiles soon became the subject of strategic thinking during the Cold War, he said, but they have evolved much further since. 'Analysts believe we are now on the cusp of a new Indo-Pacific missile age,' Conroy said. China, North Korea, Russia (also a Pacific power), the US, South Korea are all investing in missile technology.
Miami Herald
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
HIMARS Unleashed in Taiwan as China Watches On
Taiwan, a self-ruled island under China's threat of force, conducted its first live-fire exercise with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) supplied by the United States. Newsweek has reached out to the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment by email. Communist China has claimed that Taiwan is an "inalienable part" of its territory, while its leader, President Xi Jinping, has vowed that China will "never promise to renounce the use of force" against the sovereign democracy, a U.S. security partner in the Indo-Pacific region. The U.S. has maintained an unofficial relationship with Taiwan, after establishing diplomatic ties with China in 1979. Washington has also continued to supply "defensive weapons" to Taipei under the Taiwan Relations Act, making it the island's largest source of foreign arms. The Taiwanese military on Monday conducted a live-fire drill at Jiupeng Base in southern Pingtung County, marking the debut of the HIMARS on the island and demonstrating its "rapid deployment and next-generation strike capabilities," Taipei's defense ministry said. Taiwan's Central News Agency reported that 11 HIMARS launchers participated in the drill, each firing three rockets. Taiwan ordered a total of 29 launchers from the U.S., with the first 11 delivered last year and the remaining scheduled for delivery next year, the report added. According to U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin, each HIMARS launcher can fire two types of munitions: either six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rockets or a single ATACMS ballistic missile, formally known as the Army Tactical Missile System. The GMLRS rocket, armed with a 200-pound warhead, has a range of over 43 miles, while the ATACMS missile can strike targets up to 186 miles away with a 500-pound warhead. The HIMARS, which has proven its effectiveness in Ukraine's war against Russia, could be deployed to target Fujian-a Chinese province facing Taiwan-in the event of a conflict across the 110-mile-wide Taiwan Strait, a strategic waterway separating China and Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese Army Colonel Ho Chih-chung, who is the deputy commander of the 58th Artillery Command, Lockheed Martin has also dispatched its personnel to Jiupeng Base to assist with technical issues during the live-fire exercise, the Central News Agency reported. The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency said: "[Taiwan] will use this capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen homeland defense. Acquisition of HIMARS will contribute to [Taiwan's] goal of updating its military capability while further enhancing interoperability with the United States and other allies." The Chinese Defense Ministry said: "We urge the U.S. side to ... immediately stop arming Taiwan ... Several pieces of U.S. weaponry won't be the magic straw that can save a drowning man; they are nothing but easy targets on the battlefields." Lockheed Martin said: "Adversaries around the globe are becoming more sophisticated ... The Lockheed Martin HIMARS is a strategic capability, improving homeland and important asset defense while reducing overall mission costs." It remains to be seen whether Taiwan will place additional orders for HIMARS, as the U.S. had suggested the island increase its defense spending to help deter a Chinese attack. Related Articles Photos Show US Preparing Frontline Base for China Missile WarUS Ally Intercepts Chinese Spy Ships Near CoastVideo Shows Coast Guard Using Water Cannon Against Chinese ShipChina Learns Valuable Lessons About War With America: Analysts 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
