The Indian Navy has received a replacement MQ-9B Sea Guardian drone from General Atomics after one of its leased drones crashed into the Bay of Bengal in September 2023. The new drone replaces the one lost in a "controlled ditching" due to a technical snag. The Indian Navy has also leased two MQ-9B drones from General Atomics in 2020, and India has signed a deal to procure 31 Predator drones from General Atomics for USD 4 billion. The supply of these drones will begin in January 2029. The Navy is also pushing for another indigenously-built aircraft carrier to replace INS Vikramaditya, which is expected to have a lifespan of another 10 years.
This weekend, Donald Trump has begun to say the quiet part out loud -- that he wants to take control of Iran's oil, a formulation more in line with his robber-baron style of international relations.
For weeks, the war skirted the edge of catastrophe without tipping over. Missiles flew, there was much destruction, commanders were assassinated, cities across the Gulf and even in Israel struggled to absorb the shock. But one line held: Energy infrastructure, the arteries of the global economy, remained largely untouched. That is no longer true. Prem Panicker continues his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
In a region increasingly shaped by competition and coercion, such collaboration strengthens security without confrontation, builds capacity without dependency and promotes order without domination, points out Dr Kumar.
The Indian Navy commissioned its second squadron of MH-60R (Romeo) anti-submarine helicopters, INAS 335 'Ospreys', at INS Hansa naval base. The commissioning ceremony was attended by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, who emphasized the importance of strengthening maritime security.
'Was the five-day pause ever meant to hold, or was it simply another instrument of signaling, of positioning, of buying time in a war where even the pauses are tactical?' asks Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
Fight on toward goals that keep receding, or exit with most objectives unmet. Trump is agitated, his poll numbers falling below the Plimsoll line, his base fractured between those who back the war and those who remember that he campaigned on ending them.
A senior Maharashtra minister has alleged negligence on the part of SBL Energy Ltd following a fatal explosion at its Nagpur detonator-making unit that killed 19 workers. The government has promised compensation and a thorough investigation into safety lapses.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Israel and the United States had a plan. Iran punched back. And now the Gulf is reeling, the world is beginning to feel the pain and, as on date, no one in Washington or Tel Aviv appears willing to admit that the punch has landed, notes Prem Panicker, continuing his must-read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised the Indian Coast Guard's role during Operation Sindoor and highlighted its importance in national security on the occasion of its 50th Raising Day.
The Chinese and Pakistani navies at a naval base in Karachi on Saturday kicked off the 'Sea Guardians-3' exercise in the waters and airspace of the northern Arabian Sea in drills that include anti-submarine operations, Dawn News reported on the exercises which will end on Friday.
India is acquiring the drones primarily to crank up the surveillance apparatus of the armed forces, especially along the contested frontier with China.
On Thursday, November 16, 2023, the guardian 'Angels' of Vizag, the Indian Navy's 321 Vizag Flight celebrated its 51st anniversary at INS Dega in Visakhapatnam.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has urged Mumbai citizens to take precautions as the city experiences heavy rainfall and anticipates high tides. Waterlogging has been reported in several areas, and officials are taking measures to ensure public safety and minimize disruptions.
India is procuring the long-endurance 'hunter-killer' drones to crank up the surveillance apparatus of the armed forces, especially along the Line of Actual Control with China.
China's PLA Navy has deployed a number of platforms including frontline warships and a submarine for the exercise from November 11 to 17.
Shah said Shivaji Maharaj defeated "Mughal shahi" (rule of Mughals).
Singh said India has intensified patrolling of the seas after the recent attacks on merchant navy ships.
The Agency said it has delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on Thursday.
"In Pahalgam, terrorists not only shed the blood of Indians, but also attacked our culture. They tried to divide our society and the biggest thing is that the terrorists have challenged the women power of India," Modi said.
Navy Day is celebrated every December 4, as on this day in 1971 during the Indo-Pak war Indian Navy undertook Operation Trident in which its missile boats carried out an audacious attack to sink enemy ships.
The world needs to wake up to this new dimension of war at sea and be prepared to face the 'unknown enemy' who have the advantage of attacking at their choice of location and time, cautions Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
In a late night statement, the White House said completion of these sales would increase bilateral defence trade to nearly USD 19 billion, supporting thousands of US jobs.
It said the acceptance of necessity accorded to the procurement by the Defence Acquisition Council noted the estimated cost of $3,072 million as provided by the US government, adding the price will be negotiated once policy approval from Washington is received.
The defence ministry on Thursday accorded its approval to procure 30 MQ-9B Predator drones from the US to crank up the surveillance apparatus of the armed forces, especially along the frontier with China, people familiar with the development said.
Two navy destroyers, the INS Kochi and INS Chennai, fired MR-SAMs simultaneously at two simulated incoming missiles.
'The lesson Beijing would have learned is that there is, cost-benefit wise, no better option than to keep the Pakistan military supplied with its most advanced armaments, certain that in hostilities with India these would be used for maximum effect.'
Lisa Curtis, who served as deputy assistant to President Trump and as National Security Council senior director for South and Central Asia from 2017 to 2021, said she expected the same bumps for India and the US, as in Trump's first term, including tariff, dependence on Russia over arms supply and oil purchase from Iran. Curtis, however, said both countries could never enter an alliance but develop a partnership that is "short of an alliance". She hoped them to achieve a cooperation that deters China, but also prepares both countries in case of a crisis or conflict, be it in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, or another flare-up on the India-China border.
The 2025 Sony World Photography Awards has announced its National and Regional Award winners, celebrating talent from 56 countries.
The Navy deployed a warship, maritime patrol aircraft P-8I, helicopters and and MQ9B Predator drones to assist the vessel, MV Lila Norfolk, after it sent a message on the UK Maritime Trade Operations portal, saying unknown armed personnel had boarded it on Thursday evening.
Devara's self-appointed guardian of the sea unleashing violence as a means to end violence is purely Junior NTR fan-tasy, observes Sukanya Verma.
The Indian Navy rescued an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel with 19 Pakistani crew members and a Sri Lankan trawler in two swift operations after armed pirates hijacked the boats in the Arabian Sea amid deteriorating security situation arising out of Iran-backed Houthi rebels targeting various cargo ships in the region.
The Navy Day is celebrated every year to recall the contribution of the force during the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war.
China on Monday said cooperation between countries should not undermine regional peace and stability and target any third party, as it reacted to a host of defence and commercial pacts recently signed between India and the US including joint production of jet engines in India to power military aircraft and a deal on armed drones.
India is also likely to sign a deal to buy MQ-9B Predator armed drones from US manufacturer General Atomics.
The MQ-9B predator armed drones -- 10 each for three services -- is seen to be a key part of India's national security and defense needs.
The Global Hawk can carry out surveillance of a stretch of land or ocean for over 30 hours continuously, physically scanning up to 100,000 sq km each day.
The school was run on strict Gandhian lines, with stress on students doing things themselves. Physical comforts were minimal, in keeping with the relatively backward geographical area. But it had a staff of teachers dedicated to educating their students, not just imparting them book-learning, remembers Shreekant Sambrani.
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