Defense

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh dedicated to the nation 63 bridges, built by Border Roads Organisation (BRO), in six States and two Union Territories (UTs), at an event held at Kyungam, 88 kms from Leh in the Union Territory of Ladakh on June 28, 2021.

Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat recently visited a clothing manufacturer in Bengaluru who could potentially supply sleeping bags, camouflage tents and jackets to the military, according to a report in the Hindustan Times.

The exercise was preceded by a series of intense preparation involving joint planning and integration between the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF), they said. The exercise entailed para drop of paratroopers and combat heavy loads, including vehicle-mounted anti-tank and air defence missile detachments, over a designated target area from C-130 and AN 32 aircraft.

“INS Tabar will be deployed till end-September towards enhancing military cooperation with friendly nations. The warship will transit across the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea and Baltic Sea while making port calls at Djibouti, Egypt, Italy, France, UK, Russia, Netherlands, Morocco, and Arctic Council countries like Sweden and Norway,” said an official.

The plan, as it stands now, is to formally announce the decision to create four new integrated commands on Independence Day this year. The integrated maritime theatre command (IMTC), integrated air defence command (IADC) and two integrated land theatre commands (for the borders with Pakistan and China) will then be “raised and operationalised” over a two-year period by August 15, 2023, top sources told on Saturday.

The new variant dubbed SPICE 250 ER (Extended Range) that incorporates a miniature turbojet engine with an internal JP-8/10 fuel system, providing the weapon a range of at least 150 km, while retaining the same mission-planning system, aircraft interfaces, and aircrew operation. SPICE 250 ER also now comes with autonomous electro-optic Scene-Matching Artificial Intelligence (AI) Algorithms that use advanced AI and deep-learning technologies to specific target characteristics ahead of the strike.

“The Indian Army has asked us to demonstrate the load carrying capabilities of drones in medium and high altitudes. The demonstration is being held at Gulmarg in Kashmir,” Agnishwar Jayaprakash, managing director, Garuda Aerospace, told IANS. The Indian Army will carry out logistics trials in Kashmir with the drones of city-based Garuda Aerospace.

The technical specifications for the system have been framed by ISRO and the development and fabrication of the prototypes would be done by the industry, according to IAF sources. The trials and evaluation would be done by the IAF on AN-32 aircraft at one of its bases.

Towards enhancing military cooperation with friendly nations, Indian Naval Ship Tabar commenced her prolonged deployment on 13 June and will visit a number of ports in Africa and Europe till end September. During port visits, Tabar will conduct professional, social and sporting interactions. The ship will also participate in a number of joint exercises with friendly navies.

The number of Pakistani terrorists active in Kashmir has been dropping over the years due to several reasons like terror financing watchdog FATF’s pressure on Islamabad and these militants keeping a distance and working only as advisors, a senior Army officer said on Friday.