India successfully tests new missile systems

In a major boost towards 'Aatmamirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India) and strengthening of Indian Army, India’s DRDO successfully flight-tested indigenously developed low weight, fire and forget Man-Portable Antitank Guided Missile (MPATGM)," the Indian defense ministry said, ANI reported. The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) tested two missile systems on July 21, which included a Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) for the Indian Army and a new variant of the Surface-to-Air Missile — Akash-NG — for th…

India invites Australia for Malabar naval exercise ignoring Chinese objections

New Delhi : India plans to invite Australia to join the annual Malabar naval exercise that has so far included just Japan and the U.S., in a move that could risk China’s ire. The decision to include Australia in the drills — the first time all members of the regional grouping known as the Quad will be engaged at a military level — comes as Beijing and New Delhi are caught up in their worst border tensions in four decades. The exercise will bring together the navies of India, Japan, Australia and the U.S. in the Bay of Bengal at the end of the …

Indian Defense News: Indian Army short of 10,000 officers

New Delhi: The Army is facing a shortfall of nearly 10,000 officers while the Navy is facing a shortage of about 1,800. Also, 644 officers have taken premature retirement from the Army since 2012. In the Navy, the figure stood at 343 while in the Air Force, it was 441. Giving the details, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told the Lok Sabha in a written reply today that some of the major reasons for shortage in armed forces include increase in authorised strength due to new accretions in force level from time to time and availability…

Indian Army ammunition won’t even last 10 days in event of a war, suggests CAG reports

If India were to go to war now, 90 per cent of its available ammunition would not last even for 10 days, inferred the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in a report tabled in Parliament on Friday. It said the ammunition roadmap drawn by the Army in 2012 for building up the stock to 50 per cent by March 2015 and 100 per cent by 2019 has remained far from realization. Coming down heavily on the Defence Ministry, the Army , ordnance factories and quality assurance agencies, the report highlighted that while the Army blamed the Ordnan…

Hunt for Army assault rifle may be called off

NEW DELHI: The humble foot-soldier's torturous wait for a new-generation assault rifle may now get longer. India is likely to scrap its four-year-old hunt for new-generation assault rifles with interchangeable barrels for conventional warfare and counter-insurgency operations. Ordinary infantry jawans are often forgotten in the race for acquiring big-ticket weapons like fighters, helicopters, submarines, tanks, howitzers and the like. Leave alone advanced weaponry, they are even now still to be adequately-equipped with modular bu…

Defence News: Today 10 killed in Jammu gunfight ahead of Modi's visit

Ten people, including four civilians, were killed in fierce gun battles in Jammu and Kashmir Thursday when security forces took on infiltrating guerrillas, just a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state, officials said. The gun battle began near the international border in the morning after a group of heavily armed guerrillas infiltrated into the Indian side in Arnia sub-sector. "The group - comprising seven to eight militants - fired at a civilian vehicle after they infiltrated into the Indian side…

After submarine training, India likely to train Vietnamese pilots to fly Sukhois

NEW DELHI: After kicking-off submarine training for Vietnamese sailors last year, India is likely to coach Vietnam Air Force pilots in flying Sukhoi fighters as well, in keeping with the stepped-up defence cooperation between the two countries. Both India and Vietnam are, of course, concerned about China's assertive behaviour in the Asia-Pacific region, and are steadily building cooperation in military training and "capacity-building" as well as in joint oil exploration in the contentious South China Sea. Even as Vietname…

Why India is a major new market for military space systems

In a first, the heads of the world’s largest democracies, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama got together to pen an op-ed declaring their commitment to a “robust, reliable and enduring” partnership amongst their respective nations. It’s a partnership whose time has come and is of particular significance in military and economic terms. The economic significance is apparent on considering numerous reports, ranging from McKinsey to Global Policy, predicting a shift of the world’s economic center of gravity t…

Indian Army to test its armour in Gujarat Forensic Science Laboratory

Gandhinagar, Oct 27: Defence personnel will soon get 'ballistic protection' from Gujarat, as the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) here will be conducting tests for bullet-proof jackets and head gears used by the Indian Army.    "Gujarat FSL will soon tie-up with the Indian Army by signing an MoU to conduct ballistic tests for their armour like bullet-proof jackets head-gears," Director of Gujarat Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) J M Vyas told PTI.    Earlier, Gujarat FSL had tested hard and soft armour pan…

Airbus and Tata team up to bid for Indian Air Force planes

NEW DELHI: Europe's Airbus and Tata Sons have bid for a multibillion-dollar contract to replace the Indian Air Force's ageing fleet of Avro cargo planes, as New Delhi looks to boost the role of the local private sector in modernizing its armed forces. Under the bid, estimated by analysts to be worth at least $2 billion, Airbus's Defence and Space unit and Tata's Advanced Systems would replace the 56 Avro jets with Airbus's C295 transport planes, the European manufacturer said on Tuesday. Airbus would supply th…

Indian armed forces ready with plan to tackle Nilofar

HMEDABAD: The Indian armed forces, which have significant presence in Gujarat with preponderance of assets of varying nature all over, have begun to chart out a plan to save their equipment from the impact of severe cyclonic storm Nilofar that is expected to hit Naliya in Kutch district and neighbouring Pakistan on October 31. The cyclone, which as on Monday lay 1,170 southwest of Naliya in the Arabian Sea, is being constantly monitored by the Indian Coast Guard, which has issued an alert to the fishermen and the Gujarat gov…

Indian Army team wins gold medal at a prestigious event in UK

An Indian Army team has won the gold medal in the prestigious Cambrian Patrol held in the UK beating more than 140 participants. Exercise Cambrian Patrol is an annual international military patrolling event that makes its participating units cover a 80km course in less than 48 hours while performing numerous types of military exercises placed throughout the rugged Cambrian Mountains and swamp lands of mid-Wales in UK. Indian Army team of 8 Garwhal Rifles won Gold Medal in the competition held from October 17-26. Cambrian Patrol was…

Brazilian Embraer, DRDO Explore Export Potential of Prying Plane

BANGALORE : Even as the flight-test and system integration trials of the country’s prying plane, the Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) system gets underway ahead of its expected induction into the Indian Air Force (IAF) next year, a bold export initiative has taken wing. Sources confirm to Express that the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer has approached the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS), a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) lab, for the joint development of AEW&C system for exporting…

BANGALORE: Industries in Britain would be interested to partner with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in India's Regional Civil Aircraft programme, a senior British trade official has said. The message was conveyed by Carole Sweeney, Director of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) to a delegation from HAL at a business meeting at the ongoing Farnborough International Air Show in Britain (July 14 to 20), HAL said in a release here. UK industries would do their best in their known areas of expertise and skills if given an opportu…

Overhauling India's Defence Policy

There is a new government in power and there are expectations that it will be able to give India’s moribund defence policy a new direction. These hopes have been heightened by some of the right noises the prime minister and defence minister have been making since assuming office. The focus on defence in this year’s budget is a welcome change from the perfunctory increases in the allocations over the last several years. It underscores that this government remains committed to military modernisation which was losing traction under A K A…

India's Rafale Fighter Jet Deal in Final Lap, Awaits Government's Nod

The Indian Air Force or IAF may lose its traditional conventional edge against Pakistan if the contract to buy 126 Rafale medium multi-role combat aircraft or MMRCA is not clinched immediately, senior IAF officials told Defence Minister Arun Jaitley at an extensive briefing recently. (Defence Minister Briefed on Indian Air Force's Operational Preparedness) French aerospace major Dassault Aviation had won the contract to supply the fighter jets to the IAF in 2012. The Air Force, which ideally requires 44 squadrons but can manage wi…

The great IRAQ pullout : Navy, IAF and Air India on stand-by to evacuate Indian nationals

India is preparing the ground for the evacuation of its nationals from Iraq, with the Navy, Air Force and Air India on standby to execute the operation. The foreign ministry said on Monday that it would facilitate the departure of over 600 Indians from the war-torn country this week. INS Mysore, the Navy's Delhi-class destroyer, is in the Persian Gulf. Sources said it had crossed Kuwait and was stationed in the region and awaiting instructions. The warship has been sent to the region as part of a contingency plan and it can mov…

How to transform India from world's largest defence importer to major exporter

The government's recent decision to deregulate manufacture of a number of items used by the defence forces will result in new players and SMEs entering the sector. Easy entry will result in an increase in the number of manufactures, with the benefit of competition that will improve both quality and cost-effectiveness. This will also encourage them to seek export markets for their products. Socio-economic growth and a credible defence capability achieved through self-reliance are fundamental for a nation to secure a globally res…

Isro's next challenge: Taming the 'naughty boy' GSLV

India has long proved its proficiency in launching the kind of rocket Prime Minister Narendra Modi saw lift off on Monday, but the country’s future growth in space will depend exclusively on its success with the indigenous Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) programme that is now far from reliable. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has been the work horse of Indian space programme, notching up 26 successful launches since 1994, but cannot carry communication satellites weighing more than 2,000kg into space. This …

Private test pilots required for AEW&C programme

The DRDO is looking for 2 fully qualified test pilots from the private sector to speed up testing on the AEW&C programme. With two aircraft Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft fully fitted with the Indian sensors and mission systems, the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS) has published a requirement for 2 additional pilots (preferably retired IAF test pilots, both Indian nationals) from a qualified service provider to aid the development flight trial phase, currently being conducted by CABS and the IAF's ASTE. The new test pilots will …