Defence projects worth a whopping Rs 80,000 crore were on Saturday cleared by the government which decided that six submarines will be made indigenously and over 8,000 Israeli anti-tank guided missiles and 12 upgraded Dornier surveillance aircraft will be purchased.
'The much-awaited decision could be a welcome change at a time when the Indian armed forces are crying for self-reliance and the defence industry is looking forward to more indigenisation,' notes Nitin A Gokhale.
By the end of next year, Indian fighter planes could be equipped with indigenously-developed 'glide bombs', which will be guided to their targets for precision attacks.The first-of-its-kind bomb in the country, being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, will boost India's strike capabilities as targets can be hit even beyond the range of a fighter aircraft.
The government has adopted a multi-pronged approach involving the Army, the Indian Air Force and the Navy as well as diplomacy and economic measures to send out a firm and clear message to China that its misadventure in eastern Ladakh was not acceptable at all.
Must Watch: Agni 5 launch; Veena gets Dirty
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The CoWIN portal will be made available in Hindi and 14 regional languages by next week, while 17 more laboratories will be added to the INSACOG network to monitor the variants of COVID-19, the health ministry said on Monday.
The deal was signed between Embraer and the DRDO for three aircraft equipped with indigenous radars for airborne early warning and control systems.
Here's the full text of address to the nation by President Ram Nath Kovind on the eve of the Republic Day 2022.
'Over the last two decades, the India-French relationship has grown steadily, no major political difference having darkened the sky between Paris and Delhi,' says Claude Arpi.
Swedish defence major Saab has unveiled its next generation fighter aircraft, Gripen E, which the company said is being offered to the country under the 'Make in India' initiative with transfer of technology.
The Big Two telecom companies have accelerated their moves towards this next-gen technology, though they have chosen very different routes to getting there.
Instead of the Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40, which Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd could build, export, overhaul, upgrade and even modify into a light-attack aircraft, powerful lobbies have promoted a Swiss trainer -- the Pilatus PC-7 Mark II.
The first flight test of indigenously developed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Rustom-2, set to be used solely for defence purposes, would take place in February 2014 as per schedule, a top official said on Monday.
The IAF commanders held detailed deliberations on the border row with China in eastern Ladakh, key short-term and long-term security challenges facing the nation and on the complex geo-political power play in India's neighbourhood.
India's indigenously developed, micro-light pilot-less target aircraft 'Lakshya-1' was successfully test flown from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha on Thursday.
Flexible, maneuverable, mobile and swift, the M-777A2 Ultra-Light Howitzers are just what India needed to replace its aging battle-tested Bofors guns, says Debalina Ghoshal.
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.
The situation that developed in eastern Ladakh last year required acclimatisation of a large number of IAF personnel and stretching of equipment to limits, but the force is "much better prepared" now in case there is a "long haul", Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari said on Thursday.
Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Sarath Chand had told the parliamentary panel that inadequate allocation of funds in the defence budget for 2018-19 will hit the army's modernisation plan.
As part of its plan to deploy a two-layer ballistic missile defence system, India on Friday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile from the Integrated Test Range off Odisha coast. A surface-to-surface target missile -- a modified 'Prithvi' -- was first lifted from the launch Complex III in ITR at Chandipur, 15 km from Balasore around 10.13 am, defence sources said.
The second SSN that India is negotiating to lease from Russia will only replace the Chakra, when its 10-year lease expires, reports Ajai Shukla.
It looks as if India's plan to have three carrier battle groups, centred around INS Viraat, INS Vikramaditya and an indigenously built aircraft carrier in Cochin shipyard, has suffered a huge setback, reports RS Chauhan
"A mere 5-6 per cent of defence budget for R&D is inadequate to meet the aspirations of India's defence needs especially when China spends about 20 per cent of their defence budget for R&D," said the DRDO chief.
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.
In 2014, the prime minister criticised the communication gap between DRDO scientists, who remained ensconced in their laboratories, and the soldiers on the borders, says Ajai Shukla.
'While fighter pilots must not be sent into combat in inferior aircraft, an obsessive quest for outright combat superiority will leave an air force short of numbers,' says Ajai Shukla.
India on Monday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, as part of a user trial for the defence forces.
The IAF faces a 'fighter gap' of 13 squadrons. The IAF would be caught seriously short in a two-front war -- the worst-case planning contingency in which China and Pakistan attack India simultaneously, points out Ajai Shukla.
The warships will be armed with BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles which can reach targets 295 km away.
India on Friday successfully test-fired the indigenously developed nuclear capable Agni-I ballistic missile, with a strike range of 700 km, as part of the Indian Army's user trial from a test range at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.
The Indian Navy has just one aircraft carrier. The INS Vikramaditya carries just 26 unreliable MiG-29 fighters and 10 helicopters -- an insufficient capability to battle a serious foe.
All of India welcomes the Light Combat Helicopter into the Armed Forces arsenal and wishes it a safe tenure and happy shooting. May it rule the skies and ensure that the enemies are given a fitting reply when the need arises.
India on Wednesday successfully test fired its indigenously developed surface-to-air 'Akash' missile of the Air Force version from the integrated test range at Chandipur near Balasore in Odisha, the fifth trial of the anti-aircraft system in the last fortnight.
"The Prithvi missile was test-fired as part of a user's trial by the Indian Army and the test was successful," defence sources said. The 8.56 metre-long and one metre thick Prithvi missile can carry a pay load of 1000 kg explosives.
In 28 months, Manohar Parrikar as defence minister developed easy relationships with the top brass of the three Services as was rarely ever witnessed before. He threw caution to the winds and managed to pull the forces out of a downward spiral in operational capabilities.
India on Thursday successfully test-fired its nuclear capable Agni-I strategic ballistic missile, with a strike range of 700 km, as part of the Army's user trial from the test range at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast.
India has joined the list of eight countries having the capability to design and build such a system.
'In AAP, those who are in charge of a particular state provide information to Arvind Kejriwal. 'In the BJP, several organisations convey what is happening on the ground to the top leadership.' 'There are so many channels through which issues are being understood.'
