Defense

Constant surveillance of areas of interest is an operational necessity which needs to be ensured. The information gained on enemy activities and build up defines the threat perception and formulation of appropriate counter-measures, but without effective aerial surveillance it is difficult to achieve, sources said.

Overcoming the initial program setbacks, the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) on Friday flight tested the Rustom-2 medium altitude long endurance indigenous prototype drone and achieved eight hours of flying at an altitude of 16000 feet at Chitradurga, Karnataka. The prototype is expected to achieve a height of 26000 feet and endurance of 18 hours by 2020 end.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation will early next week fire the 800 km range Nirbhay sub-sonic cruise missile, the last for the solid rocket booster missile before its formal induction into the army and the navy, people familiar with the development told Hindustan Times. It would be the tenth missile test-firing by India’s lead defence research organisation in the last 35 days.

Two Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel created a record of the highest skydive landing as they performed the manoeuvre at Khardung La Pass in Leh. It is situated at an altitude of 17,982 feet. Wing Commander Gajanad Yadava and Warrant Officer AK Tiwari carried out the skydiving exercise to celebrate the 88th Air Force Day on October 8.

While Atal Tunnel gave impetus to Leh from Manali, the Border Road Organization (BRO) has made the road more smooth by constructing a steel bridge. This bridge is the longest steel bridge in the country, whose construction has been completed and it will be opened for traffic this month. It took ten years to build this 360-meter long bridge over the Bhaga River.

The RUDRAM is first indigenous anti-radiation missile of the country for Indian Air Force (IAF), being developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The missile is integrated on SU-30 MKI fighter aircraft as the launch platform, having capability of varying ranges based on launch conditions. It has INS-GPS navigation with Passive Homing Head for the final attack. The RUDRAM hit the radiation target with pin-point accuracy.

The nuclear-capable missile, which will arm India’s future ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), is likely to be tested by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in the next 15 months, the report says. K-5 is the third SLBM that India is working on.

The directed energy weapons are futuristic solutions that use high-energy lasers and microwaves to carry out targeted strikes. The swarm drones are a set of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or aerial robots which can carry out attacks on specific targets.

In view of the growing tensions between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, the government is expected to announce the formation of a new Air Defence (AD) Command soon. A study is being done on the structure of the Command which will be under the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the final decision is expected to be taken before the end of the year.

India is in advanced talks with Russia to acquire a newly developed light tank that could be useful in high altitude areas like the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Talks to buy the Sprut SDM1 light tanks were initiated late in July under a fast-track, government-to-government process, sources told ET.