Defense

Key approvals of procurement from domestic sources include twelve Light Utility Helicopters from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL); Lynx U2 Fire Control System from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) which will enhance the detection tracking and engagement capabilities of Naval war ships and Mid Life Upgradation of the Dornier Aircraft from HAL to increase the Naval capacity of maritime reconnaissance and coastal surveillance.

Indian weapons company SSS Defence will begin manufacturing and testing small arms at its new facility that will be operational in Bengaluru in January 2022, with the complex also housing a first-of-its kind underground weapons testing tunnel to determine their effectiveness, the firm’s CEO Vivek Krishnan said on Monday.

Sources said the troops had been pre-acclimatised. They said the troops, “along with specialist vehicles and missile detachments, were transported via C-130 and AN 32 aircraft from five different mounting bases to validate inter-theatre move, precision stand-off drops, rapid grouping and capture of designated objectives with speed and surprise”.

It is understood that INS Vela, the fourth out of six INS Kalveri class diesel attack submarines, will also be commissioned before the end of this month most likely by external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar or by outgoing Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh. Both the vessels have been built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders with INS Vela being designed by the French naval group.

Indian small arms firm SSS Defence has defeated Israeli firm Fab Defense, also known as Zahal, to bag a contract to upgrade a limited number of Kalashnikov rifles with a unit of the Indian Special Forces, ThePrint has learnt.

The mega project of constructing India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier to be commissioned in 2022 as INS Vikrant has resulted in immense learning and capacity building for Indian industry and state-run entities, said admiral Karambir Singh, India’s Navy chief.

A guided-missile destroyer has the capability to launch guided anti-aircraft missiles from its deck. “Visakhapatnam – first of the indigenous P15B stealth guided-missile destroyers being built at Mazagon Dock, Mumbai delivered to Indian Navy on October 28, 2021,” the Indian Navy said on Twitter.