Defense

“The infantry soldiers are ever-ready to go into battle on short notice, and the Army wants to empower them. And the empowerment happens by giving the soldier the right kind of war-waging material necessary for a soldier to accomplish its mission,” Rawat said. “And, let me assure you, the best rifle available in the world, Sig Sauer from the US will be made available to the infantry by the end of this year,” he said.

The officials were toured aboard the ship, which was docked at Pier 15, Manila South Harbor, and briefed about the “BrahMos” missile, which can be launched from ship, aircraft, submarine or land. “The Philippine Army is interested in acquiring this type of missile as it will strengthen our coastal defense operations,” Zagala said.

The Sikh Regiment of Sapta Shakti Command will represent the Indian Army in this exercise while troops of the 21st Marine Infantry Regiment of 6th Armoured Brigade will be present on behalf of the Army of France. The training will focus primarily on the high degree of physical fitness, sharing of the drill at a tactical level and learning of the best practices from each other.

During his interaction with them, Singh reiterated that the Andaman & Nicobar islands were strategically important for national security and would provide critical capability to monitor sea areas in the region. “Admiral Karambir Singh, Chief of the Naval Staff, visited INS Baaz, Campbell Bay, Great Nicobar Island and spent a day with the personnel stationed in various units in Campbell Bay,” the Navy said in a statement.

The India US Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) signed in 2012 was aimed at identifying and promoting major joint development and manufacturing projects for the defence forces but hasn’t yielded any major results. Sources told ET that the next meeting of the pact planned in the capital on Thursday between Ellen M Lord, undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and Subhash Chandra, secretary Defence Production, will look at fresh ideas to take things forward, including setting up of an industry forum that can identify and suggest practical projects that can be taken up in the future.

The development was shared by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General S S Deswal on Wednesday. Deswal explained that since the last five years 25 Border Outposts (BOPs) have been created for the ITBP along the border with China. Seven out of 25 BOPs are in Ladakh and 10 more are planned to come up. A BOP has a strength of about 100 troops, meaning there has been a deployment of 2,500 soldiers. There are currently about 180 BOPs. He also said that patrolling along the LAC has increased due to this.

“We are hopeful that the ITBP will get two helicopters soon on wet leasing and the process is in the last stages of completion. This will help the force in various special requirements in remote areas,” Mr Reddy said. Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said on Thursday that the process is in the last stage.

A statement from the defence ministry said Singh approved the issuance of two open general export licences (OGELs) for the “export of certain parts and components and intra-company transfer of technology to select countries.” The OGEL is a one-time export licence to be granted to a company for a specific period – ie two years initially.

The Russian delegation, which commenced its visit on Wednesday, is headed by Captain 2nd Rank Egor Kitlyar, chief of the hydrometeorological section of the Department of Navigation and Oceanography in the Russian federation. The team visited various Indian Navy Meteorological and Oceanographic (IN METOC) operational/ training facilities here to discuss avenues for mutual cooperation in the field of METOC and consolidate the existing strong foreign cooperation between the two countries and navies, he said in a press release.

US Under Secretary of Defense Ellen Lord said the technologies being discussed include “things such as virtual augmented reality (VAR), air-launched unmanned airborne systems (UAS), networked operations, brand new weapon and light-weight ammo (ammunition) designs.”