Defense

The Army Commanders’ Conference, an apex level biannual event which facilitates conceptual level deliberations culminating in important policy decisions scheduled for April 2020 and postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic will now be organised in two phases. The first phase of the conference is scheduled from 27 to 29 May 2020 and the second phase in last week of June 2020.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday inducted Tejas Mk-1 FOC aircraft into the recently resurrected No 18 Sqn, the “Flying Bullets” at Air Force Station Sulur, marking yet another important step towards enhancing the operational capability of the Air Force. The Squadron is the first in the IAF to induct this platform. This is also an important milestone in the country’s indigenous fighter aircraft program and a significant boost to the ‘Make In India’ initiative.

This is for the first time that the prestigious United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award is being shared by two women. Major Suman Gawani and Brazilian Naval Officer Commander Carla Monteiro de Castro Araujo will receive the award during an online ceremony presided over by United Nations Secretary-General Guterres on May 29, the International Day of UN Peacekeepers.

India has the distinction of providing the first-ever Female Formed Police Unit for the UN in Liberia, beginning in 2007. The Indian women peacekeepers in Liberia were hailed by the UN for their leadership for being an inspiration for the Liberian women to join the police force.

There will be no delay in delivery of 36 Rafale jets to India as the timeline finalised for the supply of the fighter jets will be strictly respected, French Ambassador Emmanuel Lenain has said. India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000 crore.

The Indian Air Force is all set to raise its second squadron of the locally made light combat aircraft Tejas at Sulur in Tamil Nadu on May 27, people familiar with the development said on Sunday. The IAF’s first Tejas squadron was raised at the Sulur air base in 2016 with two aircraft and more planes joined the fleet progressively.

Two vital bridges constructed by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) which will help in the faster movement of people and armed forces to the Indo-China border were on Saturday dedicated to the nation.

As India and Australia prepare for a virtual summit next month between prime ministers amid the coronavirus pandemic, a possible strategic initiative could involve the cooperative use of their respective island territories in the Indian Ocean for strategic purposes.

INS Sunayna is the second Saryu-class patrol vessel of the Indian Navy, designed and constructed indigenously by the Goa Shipyard Limited. It is designed to undertake fleet support operations, coastal and offshore patrolling, ocean surveillance and monitoring of sea lines of communications and offshore assets and escort duties.