Setback to China as Russia Suspends Deliveries of S-400 Missiles
Russia announced the suspension of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to China and said that the resumption of further deliveries is yet to be ascertained.
Post-Russia`s announcement, China has reportedly said that Moscow was forced to make such a decision as it is worried that the delivery of S-400 missiles at this time will affect the anti-pandemic actions of the People`s Liberation Army and does not want to cause trouble to China.
The S-400 air defence missile system is considered the most advanced of its kind in Russia, capable of destroying targets at a distance of up to 400 kilometres and a height of up to 30 kilometres.
Russia's suspension of S-400 missiles to China comes after Moscow had earlier accused Beijing of spying, despite the two countries enjoying considerably good relations over the years.
Jul 25, 2020
Air Marshal Chaudhari to Take Over as Chief of Western Air Command
Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari was appointed as the new commander-in-chief of the Indian Air Force's Western Air Command (WAC) which looks after aerial defence of the sensitive Ladakh sector as well as various other parts of north India.
He is set to take charge of the Delhi headquartered command in August, succeeding Air Marshal B. Suresh.
Jul 24, 2020
India to Boost Rafale Capabilities with HAMMER Missiles
With the Rafales arriving in the country in the middle of a dispute with China, the Indian Air Force is further boosting the capabilities of the combat aircraft by equipping it with the HAMMER missiles from France.
The order for the HAMMER standoff missiles with the capability to take out any type of targets at the range of around 60-70 km is being processed under the emergency powers for acquisition given to the armed forces.
In view of the urgent requirement for these missiles by the Air Force, the French authorities would be delivering the systems to India from the existing stock meant for some other customer.
HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) is a medium-range air-to-ground weapon designed and manufactured for the French Air Force and Navy initially.
Jul 23, 2020
India Successfully Test-fires Indigenous Anti-tank Guided Missile Dhruvastra
India successfully conducted three flight tests of its indigenously developed anti-tank guided missile ''Dhruvastra'' from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha.
Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the helicopter-launched anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) is one of the most advanced anti-tank weapons in the world.
All the three developmental trials of the state-of-the-art anti-tank guided missile, carried out in a direct and top attack mode, were successful and the data was being analysed.
It was ground tested from a launcher to evaluate some of its major parameters.
Dhruvastra is the helicopter version of 'Nag Helina' with several new features and meant to be fired from air to destroy enemy bunkers, armoured vehicles and main battle tanks.
Army Gets World's Most Agile and Lightest Surveillance Drone 'Bharat'
Amid the ongoing border dispute between India and China, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) provided its indigenously-developed drone - Bharat - to the Indian Army to conduct accurate surveillance in high altitude areas and mountainous terrain along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh.
The Bharat series of drones, developed by a Chandigarh-based laboratory of the DRDO, can be listed among world's most agile and lightest surveillance drone indigenously developed by the DRDO.
The drone is equipped with artificial intelligence that helps it to detect friends and enemies and take action accordingly.
The drone can survive in extreme cold weather temperature and is being developed further for even harsher weather.
The drone provides real-time video transmission during the entire mission and with very advanced night vision capabilities, it can detect people hidden in deep forests.
The drone has been built in a way that makes it impossible to be detected by Radar.
Jul 21, 2020
Rear Admiral Iqbal New Bangladesh Navy Chief
Rear Admiral Mohammad Shaheen Iqbal, who did his specialisation in anti-submarine warfare from India, was appointed as the next Chief of Bangladesh Navy.
Iqbal, who is currently serving as the assistant navy chief, will succeed Vice Admiral Aurangzeb Chowdhury, who is retiring later this month.
Iqbal will serve as the Chief of Navy Staff for three years till July 2023.
IAF Backs DRDO's VL-SRSAM over the American NASAMS II Air-defence System
According to a report filed by livefistdefence.com, Indian Air Force (IAF) has officially informed Indian Government that it doesn't want to induct American developed NASAMS II (a multi-layered missile defence system), which New Delhi has been negotiating with Washington $1 billion deal for NASAMS II which included Missile packages like AIM-120D and AIM-9X Air-to-Air missiles.
IAF rather preferred to procure local systems like VL-SRSAM (Vertically Launched -Short-range Surface Air to Missile ) System based on Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile which is similar to NASAMS II which DRDO has started developing.
idrw.org has been informed that VL-SRSAM will be developed in two variants for Air Force and Indian Navy. The air force will get high mobility Truck-mounted canister based VL-SRSAM and Navy will get Canister based VL-SRSAM for its front-line warships which will replace aging Israeli supplied Barak-1 Point Defence interceptor missiles which were procured after India ended its Tri-service Trishul SRSAM program in 2006 due to technical issues.