Defense

Light Utilty Helicopter (LUH) indigenously built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is 3-ton class helicopter with 4 Bladed Composite Main Rotor System, Main Rotor Blade Folding, 4 Bladed Tail Rotor System, Single Engine with dual channel automatic fuel control (FADEC) with additional backup control, Night Flying Capability, Glass Cockpit with Smart Cockpit Display Systems (SCDS), Skid Landing Gear, Fuselage to accommodate 2 pilots in side by side configuration and 6 passengers and Crashworthy Crew Seats.

Captain Seiji Ikubu, who commands the Minesweeper Division 3, along with Captain Taiko Eda, Defence Attache at the Japanese Embassy in India, and the commanding officers of the visiting vessels called on Rear Admiral R.J. Nadkarni, Chief of Staff of India’s Southern Naval Command, for discussions on topics of interest to both forces. The Japanese vessels are in Kochi till November 25 on a goodwill visit.

The three special forces, namely, the Army’s Para (Special Forces), Navy’s Marine Commandos (MARCOS) and Indian Air Force’s Garud Special Forces are being deployed in the Kashmir valley under the Defence Ministry’s newly-raised Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD), senior Defence sources told. The induction of the joint special troops of the three forces has already started as the Army Para (SF) elements have already been inducted into an area considered to be a traditional terror hotbed near Srinagar, they said.

“The ISA draft is all done and ready. We are waiting for a formal occasion to sign it,” one defence official said. The ISA is part of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), which India had signed with the U.S. many years ago. The ISA is crucial for U.S. companies bidding for big-ticket Indian deals to partner Indian private companies.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Sigh is likely to give a final clearance next week for the Request of Proposal (RFP) after having identified the Indian firms and foreign manufacturers who will get together for the production of the helicopters, according to sources.

As per a new policy, the DRDO, under the Ministry of Defence will offer complete access to its patents filed in India without any licensing or royalty fees. It has displayed both the procedure and the complete list of technologies on its website. The technologies, relating to missiles, life sciences, electronics and communications, naval and aeronautics systems, combat engineering, electronics, armaments. among others, have military applications and some have spin offs that can be transferred to commercial market.

The ‘eye in the sky’ project — an aircraft-mounted radar that can look deep into enemy territory and direct combat assets for a strike — is set to get a boost with the defence ministry likely to clear next week the acquisition of two Airbus A330 platforms that will be modified by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has prepared a blueprint for hiring these personnel for the force.
Their hiring would be done for five years . MHA advised CISF after a meeting held by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on September 23 to make a contractual appointment of retired defence /ex-CAPFs personnel in the CISF for five years and re-structure and deploy CISF personnel in the ratio of 3:2, wherein 3 may be permanent and 2 may be temporary.

Two warships of Indian Navy will arrive at Paradip port shortly ahead of Indian Navy Day to be celebrated on December 4. The warships will reach the prohibited region of Paradip. Later, the civilians can get an opportunity to undertake a guided tour of India’s two front line warships for two days.