Veteran atomic scientist and former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Dr Sekhar Basu succumbed to Covid-19 early on Thursday at a private hospital in Koklata, a health department official said. He breathed his last just three days after turning 68.
Defence Minister A K Antony has asked the Navy and the DRDO to maintain highest safety standards in the nuclear submarine fleet of the country after the mishap at the site of an under-construction vessel at Vishakhapatnam in which one person was killed.
"We have the technical expertise and capability to build nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and warships of global standards," Kakodkar said, on the sidelines of a function in Mumbai last night.
Terming the proposed induction of two nuclear submarines into the Indian Navy as a "cause of great concern", Pakistan has said it is taking "necessary measures" to restore the strategic balance in the emerging situation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday monitored drills of the country's strategic nuclear forces involving multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles, the Kremlin said.
For the navy, which is making do with just 14 conventional submarines against a requirement of 24, the INS Khanderi delay extends a dangerous operational void.
In yet another accident involving the Navy, one civilian worker was killed and two were injured in an accident at the under-construction nuclear submarine at the shipbuilding centre of Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam on Saturday night.
US intelligence agencies have identified China as the primary military and cyber threat to the US, noting that it continues to enhance its capabilities to potentially take control of Taiwan, according to a report by Taipei Times.
India needs to be technologically and militarily prepared to defend itself from both Pakistan and China, alerts Ramesh Menon.
The defence ministry has already shortlisted two Indian shipyards and five foreign defence majors for the project, being billed as one of biggest "Make in India" ventures.
In a year bookended by intractable conflicts and geopolitical fragmentation, India focused on ramping up military prowess by broadly firming up defence procurement worth Rs 4.22 lakh crore even as Indian and Chinese militaries completed pulling back their troops from border face-off points in eastern Ladakh.
The Final Reckoning, with all its startling ambition and scope, puts a dazzling display of stunt-work by Tom Cruise, applauds Mayur Sanap.
Building 6 conventional submarines is one of the Indian Navy's most important weapon construction programmes.
Although the pact would focus mainly on the Pacific and the South China Sea region, any action designed to deter China with or without New Delhi's active participation is a welcome move, notes Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron have called for enhancing trade and investment ties between their countries and committed to further deepening their engagement in the Indo-Pacific. They discussed a full spectrum of bilateral relations, including key global and regional issues, and stressed the urgent need for reform in the United Nations Security Council. The leaders also underscored their commitment to ensuring the global AI sector can drive positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes.
The 'request for proposal' for the indigenous construction of the six submarines will be issued soon, they added.
"Navies work according to national interests. A lot of Chinese oil is transported through the Indian Ocean. Indian maritime trade also takes place through the Indian Ocean for which we keep a watch and its (China's) interests are also the same," Admiral Mehta said. Reports carried in a section of media said that it is closest to India and that the discovery had set-off alarm bells in the region.
On board the INS Vikrant, the supreme commander of India's defence services witnessed several naval operations including a MiG 29K take-off and landing, missile firing drills from warship and submarine operations.
China is expected to boost its nuclear arsenal after President Xi Jinping's remarks at the key Congress of the ruling Communist Party in Beijing for the first time that Beijing will establish strong strategic deterrence, experts have said.
It is a 'cause for security concern' to India, Naval Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta told media persons in New Delhi when asked about the revelations by satellite pictures that China had amassed five nuclear submarines carrying long range missiles. Defence Minister A K Antony sought to be evasive on the subject, saying the country's armed forces are capable of taking 'full care of our security interests' whether it is sea lanes or land borders.
As Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was petitioning members of the United States Congress to pass a bill earmarking more US aid for his besieged country, Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a flag-raising ceremony for two nuclear-powered submarines, Krasnoyarsk and Emperor Alexander The Third, in the northern city of Severodvinsk, Russia.
Russia is reportedly angry that India allowed US officers on board the INS Chakra. But are French lobbyists trying to muddy India-Russia waters?
DRDO's Air Independent Propulsion system will allow Indian Navy submarines to operate for up to two weeks without having to surface to recharge its batteries.
India on Monday successfully flight-tested its indigenously developed SMART torpedo system, which DRDO said will be a "game changer" in anti-submarine warfare, marking yet another milestone in strengthening the country's maritime strategic capabilities, defence sources said.
Putin is keen on establishing a good personal rapport with Trump and anchor a meaningful US-Russia partnership, realistic enough to accept that Trump is as good an American president as Russia would ever get, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The missile, Babur-3, was fired from an underwater, mobile platform and hit its target with precise accuracy,
Theories of sabotage may be tempting to lap up but let's wait for the Board of Inquiry to submit its report on INS Sindhurakshak, say officers like Vice Admiral (retd) K N Sushil. Vicky Nanjappa reports
"Arihant is steadily progressing towards its operationalisation and we hope to commence sea trials in the coming months. Given our unequivocal no-first-use commitment -- a retaliatory strike capability that is credible and invulnerable is an imperative. The Indian Navy is poised to complete the triad and our maritime and nuclear doctrines will then be aligned to ensure that our nuclear insurance comes from the sea," Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma said
Leaders who built and manage these incredible global companies cannot be tyrants, slave-drivers, or idiots. Essentially what they are saying falls under the definition of rallying the troops, inspirational talk, like the usual coach-speak with the team before a match, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
This is the first time in decades that China has made its flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile public in an apparent show of strategic deterrence, State-run China Daily reported.
Expressing grave concern over a US nuclear-powered submarine sustaining damage in the disputed South China Sea, China on Friday demanded Washington to reveal the details and the location of the accident and blamed America's frequent air and naval sorties in the Indo-Pacific to assert the "freedom of navigation" as the "root cause" of the incident.
With the indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant set to be launched for sea trials in few weeks, India will soon complete its nuclear triad giving it the capability to respond to nuclear strikes from sea, land and air-based systems.
Russia has handed over the much-awaited nuclear-powered attack submarine Nerpa to India on a 10-year lease, boosting the Indian Navy's fire-power. The Akula-II class Nerpa nuclear submarine had recently finished sea trials.
The leaked documents include details of submarine's underwater sensors, above-water sensors, combat management system, torpedo launch system and specifications, communications system and navigation systems.
With the launch of the first indigenous aircraft today, India will join a club of nations like the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and France that possess nuclear-powered submarines
Kalvari is expected to enter service by September end.
The China threat continues to resonate in the strategic partnership between India and the USA, points out Rup Narayan Das.
After a series of setbacks in recent years, Russia on Thursday successfully tested its next-generation submarine launched intercontinental ballistic missile with multiple nuclear warheads.
China for the first time has divulged the deployment of a nuclear submarine for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, a move defence experts say could cause unease among neighbours, including India.
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