Defense

Officials said the capital procurements for the defence services amount to about Rs 2,355 crore. A major part of this includes grenades for the army.

Scientists with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are warming up to undertake the pending trials of this stateof-the-art missile without further delay.

L&T opened its add-on production line for BRAHMOS TLC at Ranoli, Vadodara in July 2018 to cater to the serial production requirements of BRAHMOS Weapon System.

The bridge is indigenously designed and developed and is the result of close coordination between the Corps of Engineers and the DRDO laboratory in Pune, the ministry said.

The FTP can be invoked in cases where “undue/unforeseen delay” in buying weapons is seen to be adversely impacting the military’s capacity and preparedness, said one of the officials cited above.

Troops from 1st Battalion the Bihar Regiment of the Indian Army and Gemunu Watch Battalion of Sri Lankan Army would be jointly undertaking the exercise, the Press Information Bureau (Defence Wing) said.

Doval, a close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is believed to be the person behind the planning of the air strike on the camp of Jaish-e-Mohammad in Balakot in Pakistan, carried out by the Indian Air Force in retaliation to the Pulwama terror attack

The Indian Air Force is all set to induct four Chinook strategic heavy-lift helicopters into its fleet on March 25. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to preside over the event at Chandigarh.

The heavy-lift helicopters will be used for transporting troops, artillery and other heavy equipment along with fuel, to far flung areas along the border. These four helicopters will join the IAF base at Chandigarh, which has transport and helicopter fleet that caters to the high altitude operations of the armed forces.

The first batch of four Chinook helicopters arrived by sea at Mundra Port in Gujarat on February 10. The Indian Air Force currently has 15 Chinook helicopters on order. Chinook will join IAF’s 126 Helicopter Flight unit that operates the last batch of Russian made Mi-26 choppers, which would be phased out soon.

India had, in September 2015, signed a $3 billion contract for the purchase of 15 Chinook and 22 Apache attack helicopters. Additionally, six Apaches were cleared for purchase for the Indian Army in 2017. Fuselages for this Army order will be produced by Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited, the joint venture between Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems in Hyderabad.

“Four Chinook has been delivered. First lot of Apache attack helicopter will also arrive in India soon in a couple of months,” said a defence official.

Acquisition of Chinook heavy-lift helicopter is set to give a significant boost to infrastructure development along the borders, as the helicopter has the capability to ferry heavy cargo like road construction equipment over difficult terrain.

The CH-47F (I) Chinook is an advanced multi-mission helicopter that will provide the Indian armed forces with unmatched strategic airlift capability across the full spectrum of combat and humanitarian missions.

“The ahead-of-schedule arrival of the Chinooks validates Boeing’s commitment to delivering on its promise of modernising India’s defense forces. Through its current partnerships with Indian Air Force and Indian Navy, Boeing has ensured high rate of mission readiness and increased operational capabilities,” Boeing said in its statement.

After Chinook, Apache attack helicopter will be the major induction for the IAF. Called ‘flying tanks’, Apache attack helicopters could play a major role in tank battles for India Army, especially on western front with Pakistan. Fitted with air-to-air missiles, Apache helicopters are capable of detecting 256 moving targets and engaging them.

Apache, a twin-engine helicopter is operated by two pilots. With its array of modern electronics, Apache is considered to be one of the most advanced combat helicopters. Apaches were involved in missions during the 1991 Gulf War between the US and Iraq and then in Afghanistan. And Indian army will be the 14th country to operate these attack helicopters.