In the SKYROS military exercise, Indian Air Force will field its front line Russian origin Sukhoi-30 MKI fighters and Rafale fighters recently acquired from French defence giant Dassault Aviation while the French Air Force will field its own Rafale jets against Indian Sukhois and Rafale combat jets. This is the first military exercise of IAF Rafale fighter jets with a foreign air force.
According to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, the Royal Thailand Army selected the SPIKE MR (Medium Range) variant after a process of evaluation and procured its first lot of missiles and launchers designated for its 6th infantry division.
The latest version of MRSAM is a Surface to Air Missile developed jointly by DRDO, India and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Israel for use of the Indian Army. MRSAM Army weapon system comprises of Command post, Multi-Function Radar and Mobile Launcher system.
India-Japan defence cooperation: In a strong message to an assertive China, Indian and Japanese leaders Tuesday strongly opposed any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by use of force as it will escalate the tensions in the region. Issues relating to the regional situation figured during a telephonic conversation between India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart Nobuo Kishi.
A top Indian defence scientist Sunday endorsed the homemade Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) for boosting Indian Army’s firepower as it grapples with an aggressive Chinese PLA in Ladakh region, saying with the gun ready to be produced in the country in short span of time, the army does not need to import the weapon system.
Advanced version of Astra air-to-air missile (Astra Mk 2): India’s top defence research organisation DRDO is working on an extended range of the indigenous beyond-visual-range (BVR) air-to-air missile Astra. The Astra Mk2 missile will enable Indian combat jets to strike enemy aircrafts at a range of 160 kilometers.
The six new aircraft would be known as the Airborne Early Warning and Control Block 2 planes that would be better equipped than their predecessor NETRA plane and provide 360-degree coverage deep inside the enemy territory during missions, said officials.
HENSOLDT and the IAI subsidiary ELTA will initially offer a long-range radar for use on the F124 frigates of the German Navy. This radar operates in the S-band, which allows much more precise detection of targets in space than other solutions. Later, IAI and Hensoldt will also participate in air and space surveillance projects.
Indian Navy Friday laid Commander Nishant Singh, one of its most accomplished fighter pilots, to rest in Goa with full military honors. Commander Singh was killed in a fatal Mig-29K crash off Goa coast on November 26 but it took 11 days of intensive search to locate his mortal remains 30 miles off the coast.
Till recently, the thrust of Indian Army’s main fighting formations was mainly towards the Pakistan border as the Line of Actual Control with China was not considered to be very active. The balance of the operational preparedness is heavily tilted towards the Western border can be seen from the fact that there are three Strike Corps deployed for offensive there while only one offensive Mountain Strike Corps has been created for the Northern borders.
EDGE Group SIPRI: Within one year of its founding, Abu Dhabi based defence company, the EDGE Group, has entered the list of top 25 defence companies in the world according to a ranking done by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a think tank that specialises in data analysis of military expenditure and arms trade.
India DRDO ATAGS Howitzer: India’s apex Defence Research and Development Organisation – DRDO is ready to supply over 200 Made in India Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) howitzers to Indian Army within 18-24 months of placement of the order. DRDO’s offer comes in the backdrop of a choice between an indigenous and foreign option to fulfill Indian Army’s requirement for over 400 howitzers.
Indian Navy – SMASH Smart Shooter: India has awarded the contract for supply of two-thousand Smash fire control systems for Indian Navy, which will use them to counter rogue drones. The contract entails the supply of Smart Shooter’s SMASH 2000 Plus fire control systems, which will be installed mainly on AK-47/103 rifles.
The Passage Exercise between Indian Navy and Russian Navy is aimed at enhancing interoperability, improving understanding and imbibing best practices between both the friendly navies, and would involve advanced surface and anti-submarine warfare exercises, weapon firings, seamanship exercises and helicopter operations.
Indian Navy’s MH60 Romeo Seahawk helicopter: On the occasion of Indian Navy Day, US defence and aviation giant Lockheed Martin Friday unveiled the first picture of its MH-60 Romeo multirole helicopter for the Indian Navy.
Indian Air Force: Indian Air Force conducted a large scale firing drill of surface to air guided missiles such as indigenously designed and developed Akash missile system and man portable Russian Igla missiles against the expendable aerial targets in southern state of Andhra Pradesh in a 10 day long missile firing exercise that culminated on Tuesday.
