General Awareness

DEFENCE - November 2018

Nov 2018

Jan 22, 2020

Defence Ministry Clears Shipbuilders for Submarine Project

The defence ministry cleared two Indian and five foreign shipbuilders to take part in a Rs. 50,000-crore project to build high-tech submarines in the country, one of the biggest Make in India programmes in the military sector.
Six advanced submarines will be built under project P-75I to scale up the Indian Navy's undersea warfare capabilities and counter the rapid expansion of China's submarine fleet. The project will be pursued under the government's 'strategic partnership' (SP) model, which seeks to provide fillip to the government's Make in India programme.
The Indian strategic partners cleared to collaborate with the foreign OEMs are Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited and L&T. The foreign yards they can team up with for the project are the French Naval Group, German conglomerate.

Sarang Gun Successfully Test-fired

Indigenously upgraded Sharang 155 mm gun system was successfully test-fired at the Long Proof Range (LPR) firing range of Khamaria in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh. The firepower of this high calibre gun, which is also the country's largest indigenous gun, has been increased to 39 km.
As part of the Narendra Modi government's 'Make in India' initiative, the indigenously-designed towed 155 mm/45 calibre artillery gun Sharang will soon be supplied to the Indian Army from Gun Carriage Factory and Ordnance Factory, Kanpur.
The induction of Sharang will bolster the Army's combat abilities along the lines of the 'Soltam-155' guns manufactured by Russia. The weapon has been upgraded successfully from its previous specification of 130 mm to 155 mm.

Jan 21, 2020

SC accepts Centre's proposal to take over management control of Unitech

The top court approved the name of retired Haryana cadre IAS officer Yudvir Singh Malik as chairman and managing director (CMD) of the new board and directed that the existing board of directors of the company would stand superseded.
In a respite to over 12,000 hassled homebuyers of Unitech Ltd, the Supreme Court allowed the Centre to take total management control of the embattled realty firm and appoint a new board of nominee directors.
It also refused to appoint Unitech Group founder Ramesh Chandra, as a member of the new board saying that it would not be appropriate at this stage.
A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah asked the new board to submit its report in two months on the resolution framework of the company.

Sukhoi-30 MKI jets inducted in Thanjavur air base

Five Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jets, which possess the capability to carry advanced BrahMos missiles, will now guard the strategically crucial Indian Ocean region with the Indian Air Force (IAF) inducting a squadron of the high-profile fighter jet at its airbase in Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu.
The first such base in Southern India was inducted by Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat in the presence of Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria at the Thanjavur Air Base. Starting with five fighter jets, the newly-resurrected unit, 222 (Tigersharks) Squadron, will achieve its full capacity of 18 planes gradually. The squadron aircraft will be equipped with the Brahmos medium-range supersonic cruise missile, which has a range of 290 km.
First raised in Ambala in September 1969, the Tigersharks squadron was moved to Halwara in 1971, from where it carried out combat operations in the war with Pakistan later that year. Four years later, the squadron was moved back to Ambala (1975), Hindon (1985) and Hasimara (1989 to January 5, 2020).

Andhra assembly passes bill to create three state capitals

The Andhra Pradesh Assembly passed a bill to create three capitals in the state, with the executive capital in Visakhapatnam, Legislative capital in Amaravati and judicial capital in Kurnool.
The bill, Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020, was introduced by state finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy in the state assembly, which met for a three-day special session in Amaravati.
A second bill, the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority (APCRDA) Repeal Bill, 2020, which seeks to abolish the APCRDA which was formed in December 2014 to oversee the development of Amaravati as the capital city, was also introduced in the assembly by municipal administration minister Botsa Satyanarayana.
As the ruling YSR Congress Party enjoys a majority with 151 MLAs in the 175-member state assembly, both bills were expected to be passed .

Andhra cabinet approves report on decentralization of capital

The Andhra Pradesh government approved the report of the high power committee on decentralization of the state's capital during a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy in Amaravati.
Apart from the decentralization of the capital between Amaravati, Visakhapatnam, and Kurnool, farmers' concerns, employee problems, alleged insider trading of Amaravati lands and amendments to the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Act were also discussed at the meeting.
The cabinet's nod comes even as a three-day special winter assembly session is being held to discuss and approve the report.

Jan 20, 2020

India Successfully Tests K-4 Missile

The Indian strategic forces got a major boost after the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) tested a 3,500-kilometre range submarine-launched K-4 ballistic missile off the Vizag coast, with the nuclear weapon meeting all its target objectives.
The three-metre-tall missile carries a nuclear warhead of over one tonne with a circular error probability (CEP) far lower than that of Chinese ballistic missiles. Only the US, Russia and China have submarine-launched ballistic missiles of 3,500-kilometre range. The INS Arihant is already equipped with a 700-kilometre range B-02 nuclear missile, with the second nuclear submarine INS Arighat on way to becoming operational.

Jan 19, 2020

U.K. Working on Government-to-government Format for Defence Deals

Brig. Gavin Thompson, U.K. Defence Adviser in India said that the UK government is working on a government-to-government framework for defence deals in future given India's preference for such an arrangement. "We have worked very hard since April last year to get all departments in U.K. to get this mechanism. We are at a point where we can send this proposal to the Indian government," Brig. Thompson said. The mechanism needs to be agreed to by both sides, he stated. However, unlike the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route of the U.S. government where the government levies a small service charge, Brig. Thompson said there are no overheads built into the contract.

Indian Navy Trims Acquisition List Due to Budget Cuts

With budget cuts hitting hard, the Navy is pulling back on procurement of combat systems, cutting down on the numbers planned to be acquired in some cases and foreclosing other projects that have hit a dead end.
The rationalisation process, which is likely to be approved by the defence ministry, has been initiated after consecutive budgets where projected demands of the Navy have not been met. In the current budget, for example, the Navy was allocated Rs. 41,259 crore against the projected amount of Rs. 64,307 crore, which officials say is not even adequate to continue annual payments for acquisition contracts already signed.
As per reports, the Navy is cutting down the number of Mine Counter Measure Vessels (MCMVs) it wanted to acquire from the original 12 warships to eight. The contract, given on nomination to the Goa Shipyard Limited, was originally pegged at Rs. 32,000 crore which will now be brought down.
Similarly, it is planning to cut down the acquisition of Kamov KA 31 early warning helicopters to six, from 10. These choppers are deployed from large combatants such as the aircraft carrier to significantly increase the detection range for incoming enemy units.

Jan 18, 2020

L&T Delivers over Half of K9 Vajra-T SPHs to Indian Army Ahead of Schedule

India's private-sector defence contractor Larsen & Toubro (L&T) delivered ahead of schedule more than half of the 100 K9 Vajra-T 155 mm/52 cal tracked self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) ordered by the Indian Army (IA).
The company handed over the 51st Vajra-T, which is a variant of the Hanwha Defense K9 Thunder SPH, to Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at L&T's Armoured System Complex (ASC) facility in the western coastal town of Hazira in the state of Gujarat.
L&T claimed that the SPH, like the 50 howitzers before it, was delivered to the IA before the stipulated schedule in keeping with the INR43.66 billion (USD615.70 million) contract awarded by India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) in mid-2017. The contract requires L&T to complete delivery of all 100 K9 Vajra-Ts to the IA by the end of 2020.

HAL Has Designs on a Full LCA for Navy

After playing a prominent supporting role in the Light Combat Aircraft naval prototype's tricky landing and take-off debuts from a Navy ship, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd eyes the prospect of fully designing and developing a twin-engine fighter plane for the Navy if or when an occasion comes up.
Asked what the successful twin acts of naval protytpe NP2 mean for its manufacturer HAL, company Chairman and Managing Director R. Madhavan said that the recent ship-based trials will, of course, not translate to business from the Navy unless a twin-engined fighter project formalises from the Force.

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