Defense

INS Khanderi, the second Kalvari-class Scorpene submarine that has superior stealth and the ability to launch a crippling attack with torpedoes as well as tube-launched anti-ship missiles whilst underwater or on surface, was launched at the Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) in Mumbai in January 2017.

“Our plan is to build a 65,000 tonner, possibly with electric propulsion and CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take off but Arrested Recovery) so that if we have three aircraft carrier, at least two will be operational at any given time,” the Navy chief said at the side-lines of a seminar on warship building by FICCI.

On the Navy’s shipbuilding initiatives and its linkage to nation-building, Singh said that the navy was fully invested in encouraging the indigenous shipbuilding ecosystem for 50 years before Make in India became a national mission.

As reported first by ET, the proposal is to purchase 24 of the advanced MH 60 `Romeo’ choppers that can be deployed from warships. The direct purchase is the fastest way to add the capability to the Navy, rather than a competition that could take years to finalise.

Recalling the Kargil war, Mahto, said he was alone at the Motor Garage with a Light Machine Gun during which he spotted the enemy moving towards his unit around 12.30 at night. “I thought that if they succeeded in reaching the unit, they may cause severe damage. I opened fire on them emptying all the three boxes of bullets. I managed to kill all 29 people in the troop,” he said.

The MiG-35, which is produced at Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG factory in Lukhovitsy near Moscow, is in the race for the 114-fighter jet deal for the IAF. The other combat aircraft in the race for the mega IAF fighter deal are Dassault Aviation’s Rafale, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet built by Boeing, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Fighting Falcon, Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab’s Gripen.

The largest carmaker in the country won’t be manufacturing the Gypsy for private customers though as it will be exclusively made for Indian armed forces. Several reports emerged on the internet a while ago indicated that just over 3,000 units will be produced by Maruti Suzuki to meet the requirements of the Indian Army.

The first defence acquisition council meeting to be chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to take place in August first week in the south block. This is also the first time that the DAC would be meeting after the Narendra Modi government returned to power.

The Navy signed a contract with HAL in August 2017 for 8 Chetaks to be delivered by August 2020, with the first two by August 2019. HAL’s helicopter complex chief executive G.V.S. Bhaskar said the company had revived the Chetak production line after upgrading it with the latest technologies.

“This is the second edition of the MWE. Last year we participated as an observer and this time we are a full participant. We have four personnel participating carrying diving equipment,” a Navy source said on Monday. In the first edition, there were two officers and two sailors as observers in the exercise held at the same location, the source stated.