Defense

Agreed upon by the Defence Ministry and the three services, it was decided that the cyber agency would be headed by Rear Admiral Gupta. The Navy is expected to announce his formal appointment anytime, sources said.

The weapon, which has been under development for the last four years, is equipped with inertial navigation system — a navigation device which uses motion sensors and gyroscopes to continuously calculate a moving object’s position. When launched from an aircraft, the missile will be able to restrict troop movement, penetrate canopies, demolish bunkers and so on.

Equipment coming from different countries, especially Russia, are not barriers to Indian and US Air Forces working together because interoperability is not only about equipment but involves operational strategies, Brown said.

The order value for these eight vessels is pegged at Rs 6311.32 crore. The first ship is to be delivered within 42 months from contract signing date and subsequent balance ships delivery schedule will be two ships per year. The project will have to completed within 84 months from date of signing the contract.

Under the emergency route, the Army is looking to procure about 12 launchers and around 250 missiles for each system. Deliveries have to be completed in three months, but extendable to six months.

The Indian armed forces will conduct a major cyber exercise or ‘Cyberex’ this week, along with other stakeholders, which will include scenarios connected to cyber attacks on critical Indian infrastructure like strategic networks and power grids.

“In a demonstration of India’s Act East policy and the Indian Navy’s increasing footprint and operational reach, Indian naval ships Kolkata and Shakti have arrived at Busan, South Korea on a three-day visit as part of deployment of the Eastern Fleet to the South China Sea on April 28,” it said in a statement.

The ship ICGS Priyadarshini is the first in the series. The remaining four ships are in advanced stages of construction. The FPV is a medium range surface vessel capable of operations in the maritime zones of India. These powerful, fuel-efficient platforms are designed to perform multipurpose operations like patrolling, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching and rescue operations.

The BrahMos test is planned in next few days from a Sukhoi aircraft, prepared by the HAL for flying with and launching the highly capable missile, IAF sources said.

Official sources stated that the IA is seeking launchers and missiles for its 9K338 Igla-S (SA-24 ‘Grinch’) man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADSs), 300 mm rockets for Smerch multiple rocket launch systems, and 125 mm Mango armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot ammunition for T-90S tanks.