General Awareness

DEFENCE - June 2020

Jun 2020

Sep 10, 2020

Rafale Jets Formally Inducted into IAF

Five Rafale fighter jets were formally inducted into the Indian Air Force at a glittering ceremony in the Ambala air base, in a major boost to India's air power capability at a time the country is engaged in a tense border row with China in eastern Ladakh.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, his French counterpart Florence Parly, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria were among the dignitaries who attended the ceremony.
The first batch of five Rafale jets arrived in India on July 29, nearly four years after India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of the aircraft at a cost of Rs. 59,000 crore.
The Rafale jets are India's first major acquisition of fighter planes in 23 year after the Sukhoi jets were imported from Russia.

Sep 09, 2020

For First Time, ITBP Deploys Female Doctors at Forward Locations in Ladakh

For the first time, the Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP) has sent female doctors to forward operating locations in Ladakh.
From sending troops from Leh to taking care of them at the forward locations, the ITBP female doctors have been given all kinds of charge.
Considering the tensed situation at the border, ITBP has changed its standard operating procedure (SOP), which did not allow any female officer to be deployed at such locations.
According to the ITBP top officials in Leh, female officers are now deployed at the border area to take care of troops along with other para-medics.
Importantly, these females doctors have been tasked to supervise the medical requirements of troops. They have been deployed in different strategic locations with other paramedics to assist them. That is not all, pharmacists and nursing assistants have been deployed in massive numbers to deal with any situation and sufficient supply have been sending consistently as per the requirement.
The base in Leh, where troops are reaching from parts of the country, have to go through from a strict medical check-up and have to have a fitness certificate. Here also, a female officer has been given charge.

Sep 08, 2020

India Yet to Formally Invite Australia to Join Malabar Naval Exercise

India is yet to formally invite Australia to the Malabar Naval Exercise, even as tensions between New Delhi and Beijing continue to soar. Talks are also on over whether or not the annual naval exercise should be postponed this year.
According to top Indian diplomatic and defence sources, New Delhi has not yet officially communicated to Canberra whether it can be part of the annual Malabar Exercise that takes place between India, Japan and the US.
Inviting Australia to the Malabar at this juncture would mean a "major signalling" to Beijing that countries are standing up against China within the larger Indo-Pacific construct.
The importance of Australia is its geographical location, in the deep South Indian Ocean, from where the far reaches of choke-points such as the Sunda Strait and the Wetar Strait can be kept under surveillance for approaching Chinese ships and submarines.
India is gearing up to hold a foreign ministers' meeting of the Quad — the US, India, Australia and Japan — in October. It is significant as this is for the first time New Delhi will be hosting a meeting of the Quad, also known as Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.

DRDO Successfully Flight Tests Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle

The hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology was successfully demonstrated by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) with a flight test of the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV), which will lead to the development of hypersonic cruise missiles and vehicles in future.
It is a major technological breakthrough in the country. This testing paves the way for development of more critical technologies, materials and hypersonic vehicles. This puts India in a select club of nations that have demonstrated this technology.
With this success, all critical technologies are now established to progress to the next phase.
With this technology, cruise missiles could now travel at hypersonic speeds. Scramjet engine is a major breakthrough. Air goes inside the engine at supersonic speed and comes out at hypersonic speeds.

Sep 05, 2020

INDRA NAVY 2020 | India-Russia Biennial Naval Exercises Begin in Bay of Bengal

Indian and Russian navies began the 11th edition of the biennial bilateral maritime exercise -- INDRA NAVY 2020 -- on September 4. The navies of both India and Russia are now holding drills in the Bay of Bengal.
The Indian Navy has deployed Ranvijay, a guided-missile destroyer, and Sahyadri, the indigenous frigate. Fleet tanker Shakti and integral choppers have also been deployed for INDRA NAVY 2020 exercise.
The Russian Federation Navy, on the other hand, has deployed their destroyers Admiral Vinogradov and Admiral Tributs, and fleet tanker Boris Butoma of the Pacific Fleet.
This year, due to the coronavirus health safety protocols in place, the two-day maritime exercise will be held in an entirely 'non-contact, at sea only' format.
Exercise INDRA NAVY, which was first held in 2003, was started with the aim of enhancing interoperability and improving understanding between Indian and Russian navies. The last edition of INDRA NAVY was held in 2018 off Visakhapatnam.

Sep 04, 2020

Pacific Nation of Palau Invites US Military to Build Bases as China Seeks Regional Clout

The tiny Pacific nation of Palau has urged the United States military to build bases on its territory, which lies in a region where Washington is pushing back against growing Chinese influence.
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper visited the island nation last week and accused Beijing of ongoing destabilising activities in the Pacific.
Palau President Tommy Remengesau later revealed that he told Esper the US military was welcome to build facilities in his country, an archipelago about 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) east of the Philippines.
Remengesau also suggested a US Coast Guard presence in Palau to help patrol its vast marine reserve, which covers an area of ocean the size of Spain and is difficult for the tiny nation to monitor.
While Palau is an independent nation, it has no military and the US is responsible for its defence under an agreement with Washington called the Compact of Free Association.
Under the deal, the US military has access to the islands, although it currently has no troops permanently stationed there.

Germany Launches Indo-Pacific Strategy with Key Role for India

Germany, current EU president and Europe's biggest economy, has launched its Indo-Pacific strategy with India that is expected to play a key role in Berlin's outreach in the region where China's aggressive foreign policy has rattled countries.
The strategy released by German Foreign Ministry has several indirect references to Chinese behaviour that challenged rules-based world order. Berlin's strategy also suggested opening dialogue with institutions where India plays a key role -- Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation and Indian Ocean Rim Associationp -- in the areas of business and maritime safety, as well as disaster risk management.
The German government also announced that it will work to maintain rules-based order together with partners in the Indo-Pacific region. To this end, it will cooperate with India and Japan for UN Security reforms.
As an internationally active trading nation and proponent of a rules-based international order, Germany – embedded in the European Union – has a great interest in participating in Asia's growth dynamics and in being involved in shaping the Indo-Pacific region, as well as in upholding global norms in regional structures," suggested the strategy outlining Germany's key principle for the region.
The strategy also contains veiled but firm criticism of Chinese actions in the South China Sea and its fallout on global trade in what mirrors India's position on the issue.
More than 90 per cent of the world's foreign trade is conducted by sea, a large part of which via the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Up to 25 per cent of the world's maritime trade passes through the Strait of Malacca. More than 2000 ships per day transport goods between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea via this bottleneck. A disruption to these maritime trade routes and thus to the supply chains to and from Europe would have serious consequences for the prosperity and supply of our population, the strategy pointed out.

India and Russia Finalise AK-47 203 Rifles Deal

India and Russia have finalised a major deal for manufacturing AK-47 203 rifles in India during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's ongoing visit.
The AK-47 203 is the latest and most advanced version of the AK-47 rifle, which will replace the Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) 5.56x45 mm assault rifle.
The Indian Army has a requirement for around 770,000 AK-47 203 rifles, of which 100,000 will be imported and the rest will be manufactured in India.
The rifles will be manufactured in India as part of the joint venture Indo-Russia Rifles Private Limited (IRRPL), established between the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), the Kalashnikov Concern and Rosoboronexport—the Russian state agency for military exports.
The OFB would own a majority stake of 50.5 per cent in IRRPL while the Kalashnikov Group would have a 42 per cent share. Russia's state-owned export agency, Rosoboronexport, would own the remaining 7.5 per cent.
The 7.62×39 mm Russian weapon will be produced at the Korwa Ordnance Factory in Uttar Pradesh, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year.

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