Suspense over the multi-billion dollar Rafale fighter plane deal continued on Friday as French Ambassador Francois Richier said a "complex negotiation" is going on, just two days ahead of the visit of his President Francois Hollande to India.
The airliners will be withdrawn from Air India, sent to France to fit airborne radars, then handed over to DRDO to be integrated with the complex software that will allow these aircraft to function as 'eye-in-the-sky' controllers of air force battles.
Thursday will be former President APJ Abdul Kalam's second death anniversary.
Avinash Chander's contract was terminated 15 months before his term was over
Beware! Use of words such as 'attack', 'bomb', 'blast' or 'kill' in tweets, status updates, emails or blogs may bring you under surveillance of security agencies as the government will soon launch 'Netra', an internet spy system capable of detecting malafide messages.
The finance minister hiked the total defence expenditure from Rs 203,672 crore in FY 2013-2014 to Rs 229,000 crore for FY 2014-2015. Though the increase appears substantial, it is insufficient to undertake the military modernisation necessary to meet the emerging threats, feels Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Kalam had left an irreplaceable void, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the Centre has decided to include Rameswaram in AMRUT by relaxing norms as a tribute to the former president.
Inducted into India's SFC in 2003, Prithvi II, the first missile to be developed by DRDO under India's prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme is now a proven technology
An Indo-French proposed joint venture expected to be worth around Rs 30,000 crore to develop short range air defence missiles seems to have run into rough weather as Indian Air Force feels that its requirements could be met by indigenous Akash surface-to-air missile weapon system.
The primary satellite TeLEOS-2 is a synthetic aperture radar satellite developed under partnership between Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) representing the Government of Singapore and ST Engineering.
On Friday, Biden announced his intent to appoint 14 people to the advisory committee, which provides overall policy advice to the United States trade representative on matters of development, implementation, and administration of the US trade policy.
With the induction of these four systems, the underwater surveillance capability of the Indian Navy will get a boost, besides providing a fillip to the quest for self-reliance in this critical area of technology.
After inaugurating a 10-bed make-shift hospital of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in Ghaziabad near Delhi, he said India began formulating its strategy against coronavirus from January 8 as soon as the world came to know about the outbreak of the disease.
India on Friday successfully test-fired the new surface-to-air missile, developed jointly with Israel, with a strike range upto 70 km, from a defence base off Odisha coast, a day after two similar trials were conducted.
It was the third user trial in the Agni-III series carried out to establish the repeatability of the missile's performance.
In a display of India's military might, the Rafale fighter jets took part in the Republic Day flypast for the first time as the armed forces showcased its T-90 tanks, the Samvijay electronic warfare system and Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets on the Rajpath on Tuesday. Depicting the nation's rich cultural heritage and economic progress, 17 tableaux from states and union territories and nine from different Union ministries and paramilitary forces took part in the 72nd Republic day parade.
This will be newest less lethal ammunition the force has introduced to tackle crowds.
India joins exclusive club of US, Europe, Russia and China.
A salvo from a Pinaka battery brings down on the enemy more than seven tonnes of high explosive in just 44 seconds.
The country's largest stainless steel maker Jindal Steel (Hisar) on Wednesday marked its foray into the defence sector by forging a pact with DRDO for transfer of technology relating to high-nitrogen steel for armour applications.
All equipment from the Army which were part of the Republic Day celebrations are made-in-India, Chief of Staff Delhi Area Maj Gen Bhavnish Kumar had earlier said.
Ajai Shukla presents an action plan for Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to fix the systemic weaknesses in defence.
'A veiled secret of India's defence and strategic culture is the lack of a serious interest in them by the political class. The Indian National Defence University would fill this void,' feels Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd).
This visa issue had gotten so embarrassing that former Defence Secretary William Cohen, now a member of the US-India Business Council's board of directors, who was presiding along with Ambassador Nirupama Rao at the launch, had to prevail upon Secretary of State John F Kerry and get the visas okayed.
Among the programmes suffering from this lack of leadership is the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft project.
The rail ministry has fitted 7,000 bio-toilets and the target is to fix 30,000 for the year.
According to various global media reports, China is creating Covid-like pathogens in Pakistan that have the potential of causing virus contamination on a scale far higher than Covid.
He said the country now possesses the capability to strike satellites in outer space with centimetre-level accuracy and precision.
'I still remember back in 1971, the night they both got the news that Dr Vikram Sarabhai had died at his hotel in Kovalam, and rushing off with tears in their eyes.'
India on Sunday successfully test-fired its medium-range nuclear-capable Agni-II missile with a strike range of more than 2,000 km from the Wheeler Island off Odisha coast as part of a user trial by the army.
The vehicle can attain a maximum speed limit of 25 km per hour and is the first of its kind in the small variants of bullet proof vehicles.
India celebrated its 71st Republic Day on Sunday with a 90-minute display. The Armed Forces took centre-stage parading an array of weapons and the Defence Research Organisation put up a display of state-of-the-art technology. Here are some of the best moments from Rajpath.
The 2.5 tonne air-to-surface missile has a range of around 300 km, and it will significantly enhance the IAF's combat capability, military officials said.
In 2013, India had displayed the Inter Continental Ballistic Missile Agni V during the Republic Day Parade. The chief guest at that time was Bhutanese King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
This was the fifth experimental test of the homegrown missile system.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Lt Col Jonathan Conricus said on Wednesday that 1200 Israelis were killed and more than 2,700 wounded and emphasised that the Israeli soldiers are ready to execute mission in Gaza.
Besides strengthening the IMD's infrastructure, Mohapatra said his priority will be to improve the dissemination of weather-related information -- from nowcasts to weather forecasts -- focus on sector-related forecast and give impact-based prediction in all areas.
Three special teams have been formed to nab the juvenile pickpocket who allegedly attacked and injured a senior DRDO official with a razor blade after he was caught for stealing a cell phone in the crowded Charminar area, police said on Monday.
With the Navy ruling out deploying indigenously built Light Combat Aircraft Tejas on its aircraft carriers, Aeronautical Development Agency on Saturday said it was restricted only to Mark I which was a technology demonstrator and pinned hopes on Mark II for use by the Navy.
The prompt approval to set up a radar station on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands signalled the Modi government's intent to deal with China on its own terms.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances