Defense

Navies of India and Japan on Saturday carried out a range of complex drills in the North Arabian Sea on the first day of their three-day military exercise aimed at further bolstering operational convergence, officials said.

The last night time testfire of Prithvi-II was conducted successfully from the ITR on November 20, 2019. Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500 to 1,000 kg of warheads and is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines, the sources said. The state-of-the-art missile uses an advanced inertial guidance system with maneuvering trajectory to hit its target, they said.

Famous British firearms manufacturing company Webley & Scott (W&S), which armed the Allied forces during the two World Wars and produced weapons for at least 15 countries, will mark its presence in the Indian subcontinent from November with the manufacturing of arms from its new unit in UP’s Sandila (Hardoi), barely 30 km from Lucknow. It will be the first foreign company to manufacture firearms in India.

As the troops are set to spend harsh winters at the China border, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is working on cultivating vegetables in the tough conditions here, for the Indian Army, with the technologies like passive greenhouse technology, zero energy-based technique storage, and microgreens.

A symbolic effort of a class eight student in sending 300 two-layered cotton face masks to army jawans has earned praise from Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Ishita Achar, a student of Madhava Kripa school in Udupi had sent the parcel containing masks to the army personnel through the Defence Ministry a month back.

Pilerne-based Kineco Ltd will supply seven sonar domes to Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), which will be installed on the Indian Navy’s Kolkata and Vishakapatnam-class stealth destroyers. Kineco has manufactured the composite sonar dome based on design and technology developed in collaboration with Defence and Research Development Organisation.Kineco is the first Indian company to manufacture indigenous composite sonar domes.

The Indian Army issued a statement on social media on Thursday, warning people against fake organisations and individuals collecting funds on the pretext of aiding ex-servicemen, war widows and soldiers injured in military confrontations. The armed forces informed the netizens that funds towards the welfare of battle casualties and their dependents are collected only through two official accounts.

The UAE-based small arms manufacturer Caracal on Monday stated they are committed to the ‘Make in India initiative to fast-track the supply of 93,895 CAR 816 assault rifles. The company was selected by the Indian Ministry of Defence in 2018 to supply assault rifles to Indian Army.

In yet another first in the history of Indian naval aviation, two women officers have been selected to join as “Observers” (Airborne Tacticians) in the helicopter stream. They would in effect, be the first set of women airborne combatants who would be operating from warships. Earlier, entry of women was restricted to the fixed wing aircraft that took off and landed ashore.