Defense

As many as 1,500 stranded tourists were rescued by the Indian Army after heavy snowfall blocked the Jawaharlal Nehru road in Sikkim.
The Army carried out the rescue operation on December 27 despite poor visibility and inclement weather.

The Indian Defence Ministry has issued an all-new document to govern India-Russia joint ventures for spares, aimed at enhancing the operational availability of Russian-origin equipment currently in service in the Indian Armed Forces.

This lean yet sturdy-looking dog has already found acceptance in Indian armed forces for its obedience, intelligence, and strong sniffing ability to search for explosives and drugs. Now, the NSG has evinced interest in raising these dogs for similar activities for enhancing its security services.

The Squadron was raised on March 10, 1958, at Air Force Station Halwara with Ouragan (Toofani) aircraft. “Over the years, the Squadron has been equipped with numerous types of fighters such as MiG-21 Type 77, MiG-21 Type 96, MiG-27 ML and MiG-27 upgrade,” the ministry said.
The Squadron is now slated to be number plated on March 31, 2020, with December 27 being its last flying day, thereby making the swing-wing fleet a part of IAF’s glorious history.

A newer version under development is aimed at flying at speeds greater than Mach 5. These are called hypersonic cruise missiles. Besides decreasing the reaction time of the enemy, higher speeds also substantially reduce the chances of the missile getting intercepted.

For landing of a fighter plane, usually a three-km stretch of road is required, which is available on the Samruddhi Expressway, explained another official from the MSRDC, who didn’t want to be named. In the recent past, IAF had carried out test-landing on Yamuna Expressway near Delhi and on a stretch of Lucknow-Agra Expressway. IAF had earlier made clear its intention to activate more such stretches on highways.

Highlighting the features of the newly developed system Lt Col V Kamal Raj said: “We don’t want any casualty to happen in terms of the number of troops during close operations. We have developed a system wherein the Army dogs act as spy dogs with a camera and a transmitter fitted with the bulletproof jacket.”

The Indian Coast Guard ship Vikram arrived at Toamasina on December 23 on a goodwill visit to Madagascar. Ambassador Abhay Kumar welcomed the officers led by Commanding officer Commandant Raj Kamal Sinha. Later the Commander of the ship and officers called on local military authorities in Tomasina.

The government is yet to announce who will be the country’s first CDS, but army chief General Bipin Rawat is widely believed to be the front-runner for the post. His term as army chief ends on December 31 and the government is likely to name the CDS before that, said two senior government officers, asking not to be named.

In a landmark decision with tremendous reform in higher defence management in the country, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved to create the post of Chief of Defence Staff in the rank of a four-star General with salary and perquisites equivalent to a Service Chief.