Defense

Over 40,000 army jawans will participate in this exercise to develop combat skills and deep strike capacity. General officer commanding of 21st Core, Lieutenant Yogendra Dimri, on November 15 will review the exercise. The culmination of this exercise will be at Pokhran Field Firing Range, Jaisalmer between November 29 and December 4. It will be attended by defence minister Rajnath Singh, army chief and other senior officers of the Indian Army and IAF.

According to the official cited in the first instance, the government’s plan is to rearrange and reorganize over a dozen agencies engaged in the protecting India’s cyber infrastructure. Currently, these agencies have their individual control and reporting systems. The idea is to restructure these to ensure better coordination and functioning, the official added.

The programme — ”Operation Maa” — was launched by Chinar Corps (15 Corps) of the Indian Army in Jammu and Kashmir in February this year, soon after Lieutenant General K.J.S. Dhillon was appointed its commander. Explaining the modus operandi of the programme, the Army officer told IANS that local youth recruited by terror groups were contacted through their ”mothers”.

India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000 crore. The aircraft is capable of carrying a range of potent weapons and missiles and the first squadron of the aircraft will be deployed at Ambala air force station, considered one of the most strategically located bases of the IAF. The Indo-Pak border is around 220 km from there. The second squadron of Rafale will be stationed at Hasimara base in West Bengal.

The visit is a part of the Eastern Fleet’s goodwill deployment to the ASEAN and Indo-Pacific. The visit coincides with the commemoration of 70 years of diplomatic relations between India and Indonesia.
During the visit, personnel of both the navies would interact, and aim at sharing best practices and experiences.

he Indian Navy has taken measures to provide placement opportunities for its veteran sailors for their second innings with friendly nations, Southern Naval Command Chief of Staff Rear Admiral R J Nadkarni said on Sunday. A memorandum of understanding had been signed with the Qatar Navy in this regard, he told the 11th Annual General Body Meeting of the Veteran Sailors Forum’s Kochi Charter at the Naval Base here.

These vessels are 110m long with deep displacement of 3300 tonne and can accommodate 231 personnel. The vessel will have a cruising speed of 16 knots. The hull form of these new generations Survey Vessel also meets the stringent seakeeping and manoeuvring requirements including helicopter operations at high sea states.

According to sources, more than 40,000 troops will be participating in the exercise to hone their combat skills and validate their deep-strike capabilities in the deserted area. The exercise aims to validate the battle readiness and operational effectiveness of Sudarshan Chakra Corps in an integrated air, land battle scenario. The exercise will showcase tanks and other armoured vehicles duly supported by overwhelming land and air-based firepower.

The first ever 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between the two countries took place in New Delhi in September last year. This year, the dialogue will be held in the US. However, the meeting dates are yet to be finalised because of scheduling issues. However, the dates would be finalised very soon, sources said.