US Osan Air Force base in South Korea was lockdown over shooter alarm
SEOUL: The US Osan Air Force base in South Korea went into lockdown on Monday after reports of a possible shooter at a high school on the site, although the principal suggested it may be a false alarm. "We have received reports of a possible active shooter incident," the 51st Fighter Wing based at Osan said in a post on its official Facebook page. "A perimeter has been established and security forces are sweeping the area," the post said. Osan Air Base, some 65 miles south of Seoul, is one of a number …
South Korean Navy Ships To Make Port Call At Chennai
Two warships of the Republic of Korea Navy would call at Chennai port this month, as part of an initiative by the consulate of that country here to strengthen ties with the Korean community living in the city. ROKN Chi Young and ROKN Cheonji would be visiting the city between November 15 and 18 for the first time on a friendly visit to promote mutual understanding between Korea and India, a release from the Korean consulate said today. Rear Admiral Chun Jungsoo of Korean Navy Cruise Training Task Group is leading the cruise. Both the …
Computers of defence establishment hacked
In a major security breach, around 50 computers belonging to the armed forces and the DRDO were hacked sometime back and classified files could have been compromised. Apparently in view of the development, an advisory has been issued to the Services that computers having internet facility should be kept at a distance from those on which classified work is conducted. The security breach took place in December and was detected by the intelligence agencies after which a high-level probe was ordered, government sources said. The c…
Desi Tyres on Sukhoi Fighters a Runway Hit
The Indian fighter jets have begun the process of changing over to desi tyres, probably signalling an end to escalating cost and non-availability concerns. The Indian Air Force sources confirmed to Express that the ‘India shining’ story is being scripted by the MRF, which has got the clearance from the military airworthiness officials to produce the main wheel tyres of frontline fighters Sukhoi (Su-30 MKI). The indigenous tyres named Aeromuscle are 30 per cent cheaper than the imported ones. The IAF started looking within the countr…
India must integrate its service HQs with MoD
In any other country they may have rated passing mention, but India's intrusive visual media took it upon itself to project each incident as a disaster of Titanic proportions, subjecting it to shrill and ill-informed discussions. The dramatic changes in the navy's upper ranks are bound to unsettle its junior officers and sailors. The new chief's first major challenge, therefore, will be to restore the confidence of h…
World's biggest arms importer, India wants to buy local
Of the 30 countries that attended a defense exposition last month to sell weapons to India, the world's largest arms importer, only the Russians had the chutzpah to dress up their tanks and guns with women in tightfitting camouflage. The confident and sexy display reflected Russia's longtime position as India's dominant military provider, but decades of effort by India to make its own hardware may finally be bearing fruit. India recently rolled out its own fighter jet, a tank, a mobile howitzer and a host of locally made…
IAF critically dependent on maintenance command
The operational capability of Indian Air Force is critically dependent on the efficiency of maintenance command, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha told his commanders here today. "The maintenance command is the largest command in terms of number of units, manpower and geographical area of responsibility. "The need of the hour is to enhance the lateral communication of depots with the field units by regular interaction as service providers to the user statio .. "The need of the hour is to enhance the late…
System to keep eye on activities in Indian Ocean Region
Seeking to enhance its influence in the Indian Ocean Region, India today said it has put in place a system along with Sri Lanka and Maldives to keep an eye on the activities there and work together for enhancing maritime security. "We have a platform in place which will enhance concrete response to situation whether it is piracy, counter terrorism, drug trafficking or human trafficking... We will pool our capability. This is useful and wanted to join forward," National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon told reporters. &q…
Come clean on ties with Agusta: India to Dassault
With the defence ministry all set to blacklist Agusta-Westland-Finmeccanica for the VVIP helicopter bribery scandal, it has asked French aircraft manufacturer Dassault to clarify whether the Anglo-Italian chopper company was supplying parts for its Rafale medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) slated to be acquired by India at the cost of $20 billion. South Block sources said the ministry wanted to seek prior clarification from Dassault during the negotiation stage as it did not want to face legal or operational hurdles for spare …
WAR Cannot be Fought with Obsolete Hardware
The resignation of the Navy chief over the series of accidents culminating in the explosion in the submarine, INS Sindhuratna, should not lead to side-stepping of the real issues facing our armed forces. The latest accident underscores, among others, the Navy’s poor submarine rescue capabilities. It is the result of neglect of safety in its operations. At the root of the problem is the government’s failure to understand the needs of the forces and provide them the required support in terms of equipment and facilities for training. The…
ISRO plans over a dozen missions including Sun mission before 2020
Indian Space Research Organisation has lined up over a dozen missions, including its first probe on the Sun, ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan said today. Though, the mission to probe the Sun was already on the cards, the agency now has a clear picture of its plan and had put a timeframe within which it hoped to undertake it, Radhakrishnan said, while addressing students at a private University here. He said the "Aditya" mission to the Sun had been planned between 2017 and 2020. "The mission would be around the Earth. A few …
India-China navies to hold joint training: Chinese military
China and India will organise a joint training for their navies, besides holding the fourth edition of joint military exercise this year, a top Chinese defence official said here today. China and India have agreed to hold a joint army training exercise named "Hand-in-Hand 2014," and to organise joint navy training in due time, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said commenting for the first time on the just concluded the sixth Defence Dialogue in New Delhi. The agreement was reached during a meeting between the tw…
India’s ageing war machine could grind to a halt, govt. warned
Frustrated by long delays in replacing their growing stockpile of obsolescent equipment, India’s three armed service chiefs have been warning the government that procurement delays are compromising the country’s war preparedness, military sources have told The Hindu. The government, the sources said, was told the Air Force’s combat jet fleet would soon begin shrinking dangerously, even as the Army was short of tanks and artillery. The warnings come as Admiral D.K. Joshi, who resigned as Navy chief in the wake of an explosion on the IN…
U.S. overtakes Russia as India's biggest arms supplier
For nearly four decades, Russia has been traditionally India's largest arms supplier by a comfortable margin. Last year, the US overtook Russia to grab that spot. India alone buys 10% of the arms produced around the world. According to the defence and security analysis group, IHS Jane's, India has also supplanted Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest buyer of American weaponry. In 2013, India imported $1.9 billion worth of US equipment, including the C-17 Globemaster III and the P-8I multi-mission aircraft. Defence equipment…
NASA to launch satellite in collaboration with ISRO
US space agency NASA today said it would launch a water-related satellite in collaboration with India's ISRO. The NASA-Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Synthetic Aperture Radar mission is a part of its plan to launch in the next seven years a series of satellite related to water and drought, the agency said. Among others include the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2); Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) Follow-on and Surface Water Ocean Topography mission. "These satellite missions join…
India hopes to put 272 Su-30MKI fighters into service by 2018
The Indian Air Force’s backlog of orders for Russia’s Su-30MKI fighters, makes up 272. The fighters are assembled by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) that has received a license from Russia’s Sukhoi aircraft maker. “Since India received 50 assembled planes from Russia, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited had assembled another 134 fighters in India,” a source close to the Indian company told Itar-Tass on Monday. “We hope to form 14 squadrons of Su-30MKI fighters by 2018. By this time we will have 272 such planes in service.” After…
Fire on INS Sindhuratna off Mumbai coast, sailors injured
At least five personnel of the Indian Navy were injured in a mishap involving kilo-class submarine INS Sindhuratna off the coast of Mumbai, reports said on Wednesday. "The mishap occurred on the submarine during a routine training exercise," navy PRO Rahul Sinha told CNN-IBN. Sinha added the fire on vessel was immediately brought under control and said there has been no grave damage to the submarine. "An inquiry has been ordered into the submarine mishap," he said. Sinha said the cause of the fire can be ascertained onl…
India's higher defence outlay no match to China's spending
The 10% hike in military spending announced in Monday’s interim Budget will not bridge the fast-widening gap in defence capabilities across the Himalayas, with China in two weeks’ time set to unveil a record hike in defence spending even as India’s military modernisation remains constrained by the fiscal deficit and a weakening rupee. Defence spending was increased to Rs. 2.24 lakh crore ($36.2 billion), a 10 per cent rise from last year. With a weakening rupee, however, the defence budget has actually fallen from last year’s spending…
India may award Chinook and Apache contracts this year
Boeing is anticipating contract awards for 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters and 22 AH-64E Apache combat helicopters from India by later this year. Currently in last signature routing with the Ministry of Defence for both the planned procurements, India submitted final offers for acquiring Apache and Chinook in 2009 and 2010 respectively and the company has also held the prices for both helicopters since then. Boeing Vertical Lift vice-president and general manager Leanne Caret said: "We expect that the contract award for …
ISRO's Crew Module Flight by May-June
ISRO is inching closer to launch its ambitious human space mission with the first experimental unmanned flight of the crew module on the newly developed Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III in May-June from Sriharikota, said Dr K Radhakrishnan, chairman ISRO and secretary, Department of Space. The GSLV-MK-III is being developed as a heavy-lift vehicle capable of placing satellites weighing up to 5,000 kg in geosynchronous orbit. “The experimental flight of GSLV Mark-III with a passive cryo stage will be flown to stu…
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