Defense

IBGs are self-contained, agile, brigade-sized fighting units, which were proposed in one of four studies initiated by Army chief General Bipin Rawat on the overall restructuring of the force. They are to replace the current Cold Start Doctrine, which called for defensive corps to carry out shallow cross-border thrusts within 72 hours for limited objectives such as the capture of territory. Gen. Rawat acknowledged the existence of the doctrine for the first time in January 2017.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the proposal to extend the period of retention of government accommodation for families of battle casualties from all the three services to one year from the existing three months, a statement from the Ministry of Defence said. The government’s decision will not just boost the morale of the troops and their families but also came as a relief as shifting homes after losing a breadwinner can be extremely difficult, officials said.

The ship was given traditional welcome by Maritime Security Agency and conducted joint exercise with HMAS Bathurst prior entering Darwin. The stay at Darwin will be till November 29 during which ship will be opened for visitors to share experiences in the field of combating pollution response, anti-piracy and armed robbery with the personnel of Maritime Border Force of Australia.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh and Army chief would be present in the exercise. It underscores Indian Army’s resolve to implement the integrated launch of Strike Corps in developed and desert terrain in consonance with its enunciated pro-active strategy using Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) along the Western Front. Army’s para-commanding team will participate in the event where paratroopers will do para-trooping in the front of defence minister.

With its length of 260 meters, the warship would have two take-off runways and a landing strip with three arrester wires, capable of operating a STOBAR (short take off but arrested delivery) aircraft and a range of helicopters. Twenty MiG 29K fighter jets and 10 helicopters will be deployed on the aircraft carrier.

General Bipin Rawat– who is serving a rare full three year term as the Indian Army Chief after he superseded two officers in 2016 – is likely to get a term of over two years as the CDS, which will largely see the creation of a new structure to provide military advise to the government and implement joint procurement by the three services.

It is the 11th anniversary of the 26/11 attacks and one cannot not remember Takaram Omble’s sacrifice on this day. The Indian Police foundation tweeted about him with the caption, ‘Constable Tukaram Omble : Your valour will never be forgotten. Overpowering a heavily armed terrorist, even after getting seriously injured. But for you, Terrorist Kasab would not have been apprehended & brought to justice. Salutes’.

Aware of Pakistani plans, the Indian Army again retaliated effectively and thwarted Pakistani plot to regain their lost posts twice during the day today. Though there was no official word, at least three Pakistan army personnel were reported to have been killed and two others injured in the Indian retaliation.
Heavy exchange of firing between the two sides continued for about two hours in the morning, reports said, adding that there were no casualties or damage on the Indian side.

Since 2015, the relationship between the two countries has deepened to encompass military cooperation across all three services of the armed forces, defence technology cooperation as well as cooperation through multilateral engagements. The two nations have also signed a letter of intent that concludes a memorandum of understanding to allow the use of the test range.