1. LG Baggavalli Somashekar Raju to take over as Vice Chief of Army Staff
Tags: Popular Defence Person in news National News
Lieutenant General Baggavalli Somashekar Raju will take over as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff on 1 may.
An alumnus of Sainik School Bijapur and National Defence Academy, Raju was commissioned into the Jat Regiment on 15 December 1984.
He commanded his battalion during OP Parakram in the Western Theatre and in Jammu and Kashmir.
Raju also has the distinction of commanding the Uri Brigade on the Line of Control, a counter insurgency force and the Chinar Corps in the Kashmir Valley.
Raju has also served as the Commandant of the Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan.
During his illustrious career spanning 38 years, BS Raju has been involved in several important regimental, staff and instructional appointments at Army Headquarters.
Before taking over as the co-chief of the Army, Lt Gen Raju was the Director General Military Operations during the standoff with China on the LAC.
He is also a qualified helicopter pilot. He has flown in the UNOSOM-2 operation in Somalia.
2. Anti-ship version of BrahMos missile successfully test-fired
Tags: Popular Defence Science and Technology
An anti-ship version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired jointly by the Andaman and Nicobar Command and Indian Navy.
The Andaman and Nicobar Command is the only tri-services command of the Indian armed forces.
On 19 April, the Indian Air Force (IAF) successfully test-fired a BrahMos missile from a Sukhoi fighter jet on the eastern seaboard.
In march 2022, the Indian Navy successfully test-fired an improved version of the BrahMos missile from a stealth destroyer in the Indian Ocean.
About BrahMos-
It is a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India and Russia’s NPOM.
Brahmos is named after the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers.
Brahmos produces supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.
BrahMos missile flies at a speed of almost three times the speed of sound or 2.8 Mach.
The range of the advanced version of the missile is learnt to have been extended to around 350 km from the original 290 km.
3. India becomes third highest military spender
Tags: Latest Defence International News
According to the report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), America is at the forefront of military spending among all the countries of the world, followed by China and India.
According to the report, US military spending amounted to $801 billion in the year 2021, a decline of 1.4 percent compared to the year 2020.
The US, China, India, Britain and Russia are among the five largest military spenders this year, accounting for 62 per cent of the total expenditure.
Total global military expenditure increased by 0.7 per cent in real terms in 2021, to reach $2113 billion.
India ranks third in the world with military spending of $76.6 billion, an increase of 0.9 percent compared to 2020 and 33 percent higher than 2012.
China, the world's second-largest spender, allocated an estimated $293 billion to its military in 2021, up 4.7 percent from 2020.
Russia's military expenditure in the year 2021 increased to 65.9 billion, which is 2.9 percent more than the year 2020.
Nigeria increased its military spending by 56 percent to $4.5 billion in 2021 in response to several security challenges such as violent extremism and separatist insurgency.
About ‘SIPRI’
Full form - Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)
Formation- 6 May 1966
Founders- Tage Erlander, Alva Myrdal
Headquarters- Solna ,Stockholm (Sweden)
Director- Dan Smith
4. DefConnect 2.0
Tags: Defence
DefConnect 2.0 was inaugurated by the Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 22 April 2022 in New Delhi.
It was organised by Innovation for Defence Excellence, Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) .
This program was organised under the aegis of Department of Defence Production.
DefConnect 2.0 aims to provide iDEX-DIO innovators the opportunity to showcase their capabilities, products and cutting-edge technologies.
The event will attract a large number of innovators and investors from India's major defence industries.
Various sessions will be held with industry stalwarts, which will give a new direction to the strategy of regular engagement of start-ups and various stakeholders.
About iDEX -
iDEX was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the year 2018.
It provides a unified platform to various stakeholders in the defence and aerospace sectors.
It acts as an umbrella organisation to oversee technology development and potential collaboration in a specific area.
iDEX is instrumental in developing new capabilities in defence innovation.
The scheme is also improving the understanding of new entrepreneurs in terms of sensitivity of people towards defence innovation.
iDEX enables the Army to find solutions to complex challenges through its flagship programs such as Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) and Open Challenge (OC).
5. Navy chief unveils jointly produced navigation chart in Maldives
Tags: Defence
The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Adm R. Hari Kumar during a three–day visit to the Maldives unveiled the first navigation chart jointly produced by India and the Maldives.
It helps ships to understand the maritime topography of Maldives Exclusive Economic zones, water depths and which areas to avoid.
He handed over hydrography equipment to consolidate the capabilities of the Maldivian National Defence Forces (MNDF).
The CNS also visited MNDF maritime assets and complimented the joint efforts of MNDF personnel and the Indian Navy for maintaining the role of worthiness of these assets.
He presented a consignment of engineering equipment for further sustenance of MNDF ships, thereby reaffirming India’s commitment to the capacity–building efforts of the MNDF.
The INS Sutlej is deployed to the Maldives for undertaking joint hydrographic survey under the MoU on hydrographic cooperation.
The two countries have been working together closely in several bilateral and multilateral fora such as the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium and the Colombo Security Conclave.
6. Government appoints Lt Gen Manoj C Pande as next Chief of Army Staff
Tags: National Popular Defence Person in news
Presently Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Manoj C Pandey has been appointed by the Government as the next Chief of Army Staff.
His appointment to the post will be effective from the afternoon of April 30, 2022.
Born on May 06, 1962, Lt Gen Manoj C Pande was commissioned on December 24, 1982 in the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers) of the Indian Army.
During his long and distinguished service spanning over 39 years, he has served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.
The Command appointments of Lt Gen Manoj C Pande include Command of an Engineer Brigade in the Western Theatre, as part of Strike Corps and an Infantry Brigade along with Line-of-Control in Jammu & Kashmir.
Other important Command appointments include a Mountain Division in the high-altitude area of the Western Ladakh and Command of a Corps, deployed along the LAC and in the Counter Insurgency Operations area of Eastern Command.
7. Five-day Army Commanders’ Conference
Tags: Defence
The Army Commanders’ Conference began today in New Delhi.
It is an apex-level biannual event that is held in April and October every year.
The conference will be held from 18 to 22 April and will be chaired by Army Chief Gen MM Naravane.
The conference is an institutional forum for deliberations at the ideological level, under which important policy decisions for the Indian Army are taken.
In the conference, senior officers of the Indian Army will discuss the border situation, full scenario threat assessment and preparedness and capacity development to deal with them.
Discussions will be held on the issue like infrastructure development in border areas, modernisation through indigenisation, induction of Niche tech and assessment on any impact of the Russia - Ukraine war.
The senior commanders will also discuss various issues related to regional command apart from work reforms, finance management, use of electric vehicles and digitization of the army.
8. Israel has developed the world's first laser missile defence system: Iron Beam
Tags: Defence International News
Israel has successfully test-fired a laser missile defence system for the first time in the world.
The name of this missile defence system has been given 'Iron Beam'. This laser-based missile defence system destroyed mortars, rockets and anti-tank missiles in a single blow.
Israel also has a missile defence system named Iron Dome, which has proved to be very useful for this. This is a very expensive defence system that costs thousands of dollars for repeated use.
But the best thing about this iron beam is that it will cost only Rs 267 in one blow.
9. India-Australia Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft (Mpra) Coordinated Operations
Tags: Defence National News
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A P8I Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft of the Indian Navy have arrived at Darwin, Australia. The aircraft and its crew would be undertaking an operational turnaround at Darwin.
P8 aircraft from both the countries, would be conducting coordinated operations in Anti-Submarine Warfare and surface surveillance, to enhance maritime domain awareness.
In recent times, increased interaction between the two maritime nations, through bilateral and multilateral exercises at sea, has enhanced inter-operability and fostered bridges of friendship.
The P8 aircrafts, with their demonstrated long reach, have operated jointly during Malabar and AUSINDEX series of exercises, and have a common understanding of operating procedures and information sharing.
The maritime waters between Indonesia and Northern Australia is an area of mutual interest to both countries, being a gateway into the Indian Ocean Region.
Both India and Australia share strategic interests, promoting a free and open Indo- Pacific and rules based order in the region.
10. Helina Missile’s Testing Successful! Now It can hit the enemy tank accurately even in the dark
India successfully test-fired the anti-tank guided missile HELINA on 11 April. This missile was tested by Advanced Light Helicopter in the high altitude area of Ladakh, which has been a complete success.
This missile works on the principle of fire and forget. This means forget it after launch, as they are able to reach their target.
This missile works on Infrared Imaging System.
During the test, this missile accurately hit a simulated tank. The missile was launched from an Advanced Light Helicopter.
Its testing has been done in Pokhran.
Earlier, this missile was also successfully tested at Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan. India has another anti-tank missile named Nag. Both the missiles can be fired from helicopters and both have a range of 7 km.
According to the Ministry of Defence, DRDO, Indian Air Force and Army have jointly carried out this test.
Features of the missile:
It can be fired in any season.
This missile is capable of hitting the target accurately even in the dark night and can destroy enemy tanks.
They are capable of targeting enemy tanks in two ways. One it can hit the target straight and the other can target the tank in top attack mode.
India has recently released a list of 101 such weapons and systems which have been banned from importing from other countries. This ban is for the next five years. India's objective behind doing this is to make itself self-reliant in the field of defence.
