Defense

The Indian Air Force (IAF), in a first, on Thursday deployed its most advanced Apache fighter helicopters in Sikkim, a frontier state with China. Two of four districts in Sikkim – North and East Sikkim – share boundaries with China along the eastern sector of the Line of Actual Control, along with Arunachal Pradesh.

Joint User Trials for Helina (Army Version) and Dhruvastra (Air Force Version) Missile Systemshave been carried out from Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) platform in desert ranges. The missile systems have been designed and developed indigenously by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The Indian Navy’s ability to train personnel to mitigate emergencies at sea will get a further boost with Goa Shipyard Ltd (GSL) commencing construction of a damage control simulator for the Andaman and Nicobar Command at Port Blair.

The government has approved creation of 18 border patrol tracks in Arunachal Pradesh to improve patrolling along the India-China border, as proposed by a home ministry committee, said officials. This will help the Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) develop infrastructure in inaccessible areas adjoining China, they said.

The Indian and Indonesian navies carried out a military exercise in the Arabian sea on Thursday to enhance operational interoperability and overall cooperation.Indian naval ship INS Talwar and Indonesian Navy’s multirole corvette KRI Bung Tomo were part of the exercise, the Indian Navy said.

The K-9 Vajra is an indigenized version of the basic K9 Thunder of South Korea.The self-propelled howitzers have a range of 38 kilometres and are manufactured by Larsen & Toubro in partnership with the South Korean company.

Union Budget 2021-22 has proposed increased funding for Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to boost infrastructure in frontier areas. Allocation for road development projects in border areas has been raised from Rs 5,586.23 crore to Rs 6,004.08 crore for Financial Year 2021-22.

This delegation of powers within Service Headquarters and up to Command Level for items of Capital nature such as overhauls, refits, upgrades etc. will enhance the utility of existing assets and will facilitate faster processing and implementation of projects for modernization of Armed Forces to meet the security challenges of the nation.

The ongoing dispute between India and China over East Ladakh seems to be over. Under the agreement reached on both sides, the Chinese Army has started retreating. For almost 9 months, the forces of India and China remained face to face and during this period, the situation deteriorated on several occasions.

As part of a multi-pronged plan to improve border security along the contentious China border, revised scales have been planned for existing Assam Rifles battalions being de-inducted from counter insurgency roles that will equip them with heavy weapons and artillery.