Defense

The twin agreements reflect the government’s continued focus on strengthening operational readiness across both land-based air defence and maritime surveillance capabilities, while also expanding indigenous maintenance and support infrastructure for key military platforms.

For the Indian Army, the DAC approved proposals for the Air Defence Tracked System, Armoured Piercing Tank Ammunition, High Capacity Radio Relay, Dhanush Gun System and Runway Independent Aerial Surveillance System.

The initiative comes at a time when the Indian Ocean Region is facing a complex mix of shared maritime challenges, including piracy, trafficking, illegal fishing, maritime security threats, natural disasters and the need to keep critical sea lines of communication secure. Against this backdrop, IOS SAGAR has been designed to promote joint preparedness and closer cooperation among regional navies.

The training focused on building operational capability in counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), an area that is gaining urgency as drone-based threats become more complex and widespread. During the programme, CISF officers received hands-on training in detecting, tracking, assessing and neutralising hostile drones. The sessions were led by domain experts from DIAT and DRDO, with DIAT Vice Chancellor Dr. B H V S Narayana Murthy inaugurating the programme and underlining the growing importance of counter-drone capabilities in safeguarding strategic assets.

At the core of India’s existing torpedo-defence architecture is Maareech, an advanced torpedo decoy system developed by DRDO and inducted for the Indian Navy. The Ministry of Defence said in 2020 that Maareech, designed by DRDO and produced by Bharat Electronics Limited, is capable of being fired from frontline warships to boost anti-submarine warfare capability. Earlier official releases also described it as an advanced torpedo-defence system for naval platforms.

ccording to recent reporting, an eighth regiment has already received more than half its equipment and is expected to become operational before the end of 2026. Two more regiments are also likely to be raised next year, which would take the total number of Pinaka regiments in service to ten, while the Army’s longer-term objective remains a much larger fleet of 22 regiments.

A major highlight of the visit was INS Trikand’s participation in the first tri-services edition of Exercise Lamitiye 2026, conducted jointly by personnel from the Indian Navy, Indian Army, Indian Air Force, and the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF). This also marked the Indian Navy’s maiden participation in the exercise, giving the engagement added strategic significance. The harbour phase included Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) training onboard the ship, along with joint boarding drills.

Taragiri is built around a Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion system, using two gas turbines and two main diesel engines, a configuration intended to give the ship both high-speed dash capability and endurance during long deployments.

Under the agreement, Rayonix Tech will act as XTEND’s exclusive manufacturing and distribution partner in India for selected platforms. The collaboration is built around XTEND’s autonomy software stack, known as XOS, which powers AI-enabled robotic and drone systems. Reports indicate that the partnership will not be limited to simple assembly work; it is also expected to involve local manufacturing capability, testing infrastructure, distribution support and a technology-transfer component aimed at strengthening operational know-how in India.