The Indian Navy will commission the fifth scorpene-class submarine "Vagir" on 23rd January 2023, officials said on Thursday (19th Jan 2023).

* The commissioning of the submarine, built under the Project-75, is set to bolster the Navy's combat capability at a time when China has been increasing its presence in the Indian Ocean region.

 

* Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar will grace the induction ceremony as the Chief Guest.

 

* The Project-75 includes indigenous construction of six submarines of Scorpene design.

 

* The submarines are being constructed at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai under a collaboration with the Naval Group of France.

 

* Four of the Kalvari class of submarines have already been commissioned into the Indian Navy.

 

* The former Vagir was commissioned on 01 Nov 1973 and undertook numerous operational missions including deterrent patrols.

* The submarine was decommissioned on 07 Jan 2001 after serving the nation for about three decades.

* The submarine was launched and named ‘Vagir’ on 12 Nov 2020, in its new avatar has the distinction of having the lowest build time among all indigenously manufactured submarines to date.

* She undertook her maiden sea sortie on Feb 22, marking the commencement of sea trials, and has gone through a series of comprehensive acceptance checks and, stringent and demanding sea trials before being commissioned.

* The submarine was delivered to Indian Navy by M/s MDL on 20 Dec 2022.

About Vagir – Ferocious Fifth : Vagir will boost the Indian Navy’s capability to further India’s maritime interests and is capable of undertaking diverse missions including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, and surveillance missions....

Source :  Hindustan Times

Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL) has delivered the first fuselage for six AH-64 Apache attack helicopters ordered by the Indian Army from its modern facility in Hyderabad, the company said on Thursday (19th Jan 2023).

 

The company said TBAL’s 14,000-sq-m facility, in addition to being a global sole source supplier for Apache fuselages, produces complex aero-structures for Boeing 737 and 777 models.

The joint venture between Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) employs over 900 engineers and technicians and utilises the latest robotics, automation and advanced aerospace concepts in its manufacturing processes.

 

“This is a proud milestone and a testimony of our commitment towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat and the world-class manufacturing capabilities at our joint venture Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited at Hyderabad.

The Apache will provide the Indian Army with a significant boost in capability just as the AH-64 has for the Indian Air Force,” said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India.

 

Boeing had completed the deliveries of all 22 AH-64E Apache helicopters to the Indian Air Force in 2020.

 

TBAL has produced and supplied Boeing’s Apache final assembly plant in Mesa, Arizona, with over 190 fuselages, Tata Boeing Aerospace said. More than 90 per cent of the parts used in these aerostructures assemblies are manufactured within India through over 100 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) suppliers in support of the government’s vision for Make in India, according to the statement. Tata Group recently won the ‘Supplier of the year’ award 2022 from Boeing, from among more than 11,000 suppliers worldwide, it added.

 

With more than 1,275 AH-64 Apaches in operation accumulating over 4.9 million flight hours globally, 1.3 million of which have been in combat, the attack helicopter holds the reputation of being the world’s most advanced and proven attack helicopter..

Source : The Print

The 21st Edition of the Bilateral Naval Exercise between India and France- Exercise "VARUNA" commenced on the Western Seaboard on Monday (16th Jan 2023).

The exercise will be conducted till the 20th of this month (January) and will witness advanced air defence exercises, tactical manoeuvres, surface firings, underway replenishment and other maritime operations.

The Ministry of Defence in a statement said that this exercise provides an opportunity to learn from each other’s best practices.

The exercise facilitates operational-level interaction between the two navies to foster mutual cooperation for good order at sea, underscoring the shared commitment of both nations to security, safety and freedom of the global maritime commons.

 

While the bilateral exercise between the two navies was initiated in 1993, it was christened as ‘VARUNA’ in 2001 and has become a hallmark of India - France's strategic bilateral relationship...

Source : AIR

Captain Surbhi Jakhmola of the Indian Army's 117 Engineer Regiment will be the first woman officer to be posted on a foreign assignment at the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), news agency ANI reported. The officer will be sent to Bhutan as part of Project Dantak. 

 

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is an executive road construction force in India that supports the Indian armed forces.

 

BRO builds and maintains road networks along India's borders and in friendly neighbouring countries. It is also included in the armed forces Order of Battle, ensuring their support at all times. 

 

In order to improve border connectivity, BRO was transferred entirely to the ministry of defence in 2015.

 

The BRO's deployment comes just days after the Indian Air Force deployed woman fighter pilot squadron leader Avani Chaturvedi to Japan for the exercise Veer Guardian 2023, which will take place from January 16 to 26 at the Hyakuri Air Base and its surrounding airspace in Omitama, as well as the Iruma Air Base in Sayama in Japan.

 

Avani Chaturvedi, a Su-30MKI pilot and one of India's first three women fighter pilots will depart for Japan shortly to take part in the exercise. 

 

Chaturvedi was born, raised, and completed her education in Madhya Pradesh. She was inducted into the IAF fighter squadron after six months of intensive training at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal, Hyderabad..

Source : Hindustan Times

Indian Coast Guard ship "Kamla Devi", the last in series of five fast-patrol vessels, was commissioned in Kolkata, West Bengal on Thursday (12th Jan 2023).

 

Coast Guard director general VS Pathania and various other senior military and civil officials were present on the occasion.

 

The vessel, built indigenously by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, has been named after Kamla Devi Chattopadhyay, an eminent social reformer and freedom activist.

 

The vessel is 48.9 metres long and 7.5 metres wide with a displacement of 308 tonnes.

 

It is capable of achieving the maximum speed of 34 knots, is powered with MTU 4000 series engines and is propelled by three 71S type III Kamewa waterjets of Rolls Royce.

The Indian Air force (IAF) is set to hold a bilateral air training exercise, called Veer Guardian-2023, with the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF).

 

* Announced by the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 7 January 2023, the joint exercise will be conducted at Hyakuri Air Base in Japan.

 

* It is scheduled to take place between 12 and 26 January 2023.

 

* The training is being organised to strengthen air defence cooperation between the two nations. 

 

* The decision to enhance bilateral defence cooperation and address the emerging security needs of the two countries was made during the second 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial meeting held in Tokyo, Japan, in September 2022.

 

* The countries also planned to organise their first joint air combat jet exercise.

 

* The two-week training will involve the participation of various air assets from the IAF, including two C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft and one Ilyushin Il-78 in-flight refuelling tanker.

 

* Additionally, four Su-30MKI Sukhoi aircraft from the IAF’s No 220 Squadron, also called ‘Desert Tigers’, from Halwara Air Force Station, Punjab, India, will participate in the exercise. 

 

* According to a tweet by the IAF, the contingent has departed from India and will briefly stopover in Thailand and the Philippines before reaching Japan. 

 

* Meanwhile, the JASDF will deploy its four F-2 multi-role attack fighters and four F-15 Eagle aircraft.

 

* On the inaugural day of Veer Guardian, the air forces will carry out several air drills in a complex environment along with other multi-domain air combat missions.

 

* This will allow the participating forces to exchange a variety of tactics and techniques.

 

* The experts from both nations will further conduct discussions to review and share their knowledge on different operational aspects of the drills..

Source : Airforce Technology

In a rare announcement, the United States said its ballistic missile submarine, USS West Virginia, visited its Indian Ocean military base at Diego Garcia.

Before it visited the base at Diego Garcia, the submarine had surfaced in the Arabian Sea and participated in a joint, US Strategic Command-directed communications exercise to validate emerging and innovative tactics in the Indian Ocean.

 

About The Submarine :One of the 14 Ohio-class SSBNs in service with the US Navy, the boat is capable of carrying up to 20 Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles with multiple, independently targeted warheads. The submarine also conducted a complete crew exchange in Diego Garcia and a subsequent replenishment at sea, highlighting the SSBN force’s readiness and flexibility to remain on patrol for an extended period of time.

 

About Diego Garcia : Diego Garcia is a part of the Chagos Archipelago, which the UK identifies as British Indian Ocean Territory or BIOT. In 1965, the archipelago was separated from Mauritius, then a British colony, and made part of the UK’s overseas territory. Later, the UK evicted the entire population of the archipelago and leased Diego Garcia to the United States for its Indian Ocean military base.

 

 

Mauritius has argued that the Chagos Islands has been a part of its territory since at least the 18th century, till the United Kingdom broke the archipelago away from Mauritius in 1965 and the islands of Aldabra, Farquhar, and Desroches from Seychelles in the region to form British Indian Ocean Territory. 

In June 1976, after Seychelles gained independence from the United Kingdom, the islands of Aldabra, Farquhar, and Desroches were returned by the UK.

The UK declared these islands as an overseas territory in November 1965.

After Mauritius gained independence from the UK in 1968, the United Kingdom refused to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius claiming in petitions submitted to the Permanent Court of Arbitration that the island was required to “accommodate the United States’ desire to use certain islands in the Indian Ocean for defence purposes”. 

The largest island on the Chagos Islands archipelago, Diego Garcia, is where the US and the UK operate a large military base and was also used as a US military base for the US-led attacks against Afghanistan and Iraq in the 2000s.

For decades there was no litigation concerning the violation of human rights and sovereignty in the Chagos Islands.  

However, in 2015, Mauritius initiated legal proceedings in these matters against the United Kingdom in the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in the Netherlands.

The UK made several attempts to resist Mauritius’ attempts to take the matter to international court by claiming that the issue was a bilateral matter.

 

India was among nations to vote in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that demanded the UK withdraw its “colonial administration” from the Chagos Archipelago unconditionally, supporting Mauritius in its quest for the restoration of sovereignty over the island chain in the Indian Ocean.

However, given the increasing Chinese footprint in the Indian Ocean, India also wants the US to retain its presence in Diego Garcia. New Delhi is believed to have nudged Mauritius to offer to renew the lease of Diego Garcia to the US if it is able to wrest back sovereignty from the UK....

DRDO, India successfully carried out a test launch of tactical ballistic missile Prithvi-II from a test range off the Odisha coast on Tuesday (10th Jan 2023).

 

The defence ministry said the missile struck its target with "high accuracy".

 

"A successful training launch of a short-range ballistic missile, Prithvi-II, was carried out on January 10 from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha."

 

"A well-established system, Prithvi-II missile has been an integral part of India's nuclear deterrence. The missile struck its target with high accuracy," the ministry said in a statement.

 

It said the "user training launch" successfully validated all operational and technical parameters of the missile.

 

The Prithvi-II missile has a range of around 350 kilometres..

Source : Business Standard

Avani Chaturvedi is first female fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF) to fly a Sukhoi (Su-30MKI) fighter jet.

Squadron leader Avani Chaturvedi, the first female fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force (IAF), is scheduled to participate in the inaugural air exercise Veer Guardian 2023.

The exercise is intended to strengthen bilateral air defence cooperation between India-Japan.

 

This would mark the first occasion that women officers would be representing the nation abroad. The women officers have been taking part in wargames with foreign contingents coming to India, including the French Air Force, where two of the female fighter pilots participated.

 

Veer Guardian 2023 will be held in Japan from January 16 to January 26, 2023 at the Hyakuri Air Base and its surrounding airspace in Omitama, as well as the Iruma Air Base in Sayama.

 

Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi's coursemate and one of the first three female fighter pilots and a flier of Su-30MKI fighter jets, stated, “Su-30MKIs operated by the Indian Air Force are one of the best and most lethal platforms armed with indigenous weapon systems.”.

Source : Business Today

The 75th Army Day celebration will be held in Bengaluru on January 15, 2023. This is for the first time that the event is being conducted out of the National capital.

 

* The GOC Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area Major General Ravi Murugan informed media persons in Bengaluru 10th Jan 2023 that it will be an opportunity for them to display and showcase the Indian military capabilities to the people down south.

 

* He emphasised that Field Marshal K M Cariappa who took command of the Indian Army from General Sir Francis Roy Bucher in 1949 hails from Karnataka and celebrating the Army Day at the native state of India’s first Commander in Chief post Independence is a matter of pride.

* The Chief of the Army Staff, General Manoj Pande will lay a wreath at the Madras Engineering Group War memorial on that day and review the Army Day parade by eight marching contingents including a horse mounted contingent.

 

* Five regimental brass bands will be part of the parade.

* The Chief of the Army Staff will present gallantry awards for individual acts of bravery and sacrifice. There will also be a fly past by Dhruv and Rudra helicopters.

* Various weapon systems including K9 Vajra Self Propelled guns, Pinaka rockets, T-90 tanks, BMP-2 Infantry fighting vehicles, Tunguska Air Defence system, 155mm Bofors guns, Swathi radar and different assault bridges will be on static display.

* In the evening of January 15th, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be the Chief Guest at an event where the military tattoo will be on display..

Source : News on Air