India-UK Flights: Hyderabad International Airport, operated by infrastructure major GMR, has started direct flights to London’s Heathrow Airport from Monday as India re-starts limited international air travel under the air transport bubbles arrangement.
Defence News: MBDA Deutschland and Lockheed Martin, the TLVS bidders consortium (TLVS JV), have submitted an updated proposal to the German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw). The proposal includes development, test, certification and delivery of Germany’s future Integrated Air and Missile Defense system.
In its bid to make India truly self-reliant in defence production, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government Friday launched a dedicated defence production portal called Srijan (creation), as a single source for all the information related to defence equipment that can be taken under the government’s indigenisation drive under self-reliant India mission (Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan).
BEML unveils heavy electrical trucks, excavators: In a big push to manufacture of heavy vehicles in the country, India’s state owned BEML Tuesday launched several heavy vehicles designed and developed in the country. It includes a 150 tonne dump truck BH150E, 180 tonne electrical excavator BE1800E 180, Heli-Portable Dozer called BD50HST, and Medium Bullet Proof Vehicle (MBPV) called GAUR.
Make in India in Defence: Of these 15 defence equipments, four each have been developed by India’s Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and state owned heavy equipment maker BEML, two products have been developed by public sector electronics major BEL, and one each by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Dynamics Limited, Mazhgaon Dock Limited, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) and GSL.
OFT Stabilised Remote Control Gun: India’s state owned Ordnance Factory of Tiruchirappalli (OFT) has launched an indigenously manufactured weapon stabilized remote controlled gun (SRCG) for use of Indian Navy and Coast Guard Ships.
Australia’s Ryan Aerospace has bagged the Small Business of the Year Award in the International Military Training and Simulation (MS&T) awards. The prestigious award recognizes the products, processes and organizations that deliver the sustained innovation and quality products and services in the field of military simulation and training.
Defence News: India’s apex defence purchase body – the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the purchase of weapons and equipment, including HAL’s indigenously developed basic jet trainer, among other equipments worth Rs 8,722 crores from domestic defence industry.
Indian Air Force: Air Marshal Gurcharan Singh Bedi Monday took over as Senior Air Staff Officer, of Eastern Air Command (EAC), Indian Air Force (IAF). The Air Marshal was commissioned into Fighter stream of Indian Air Force on Jun 1984 as a Fighter Pilot. He has a flying experience of more than 3700 hrs including operational flying on MiG 21 and Mirage – 2000 fighter aircraft.
BEML’s Industrial Design Centre: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Sunday inaugurated BEML’s Industrial Design Centre (IDC) located in Bengaluru which will conduct cutting edge research and innovation for all the products developed by the state owned defence company.
India bans import of 101 defence items: India Saturday announced a list of 101 defence equipment that cannot be imported by its military and security forces as the country aims to become self-reliant in defence production and shed the dubious tag of the world’s largest arms importer.
Spanish defence contractor Indra will joining German defence electronics and sensor giant Hensoldt for the development of a new radar for the Eurofighter fleet, said the company. In June this year, German parliament approved a contract award to aircraft manufacturer Airbus worth almost US$3 billion for a new version of the active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, called Captor-E.
Raytheon, Rafael Iron Dome: American missile and defence giant Raytheon Missiles & Defense, and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd have signed a joint venture to establish an Iron Dome Weapon System production facility in the United States. The new partnership, called Raytheon RAFAEL Area Protection Systems, anticipates finalizing a site location before the end of the year, said the company.
Indian Army Target Drone Tender: Indian Army is seeking to buy 125 target drones annually from Indian defence companies under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious self-reliant India scheme that aims to make the country a defence powerhouse in next five years.
Defence Production Policy DPEPP 2020: India Monday unveiled the draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 with the aim to make the country a defence power house by achieving the defence manufacturing target of $25 billion (Rs 1.75 lakh crores) and weapons export worth $5 billion (Rs 35,000 crore) by 2025.
European Space Agency Copernicus Programme: European defence and electronics major Thales Alenia Space has signed a €72 million first tranche contract with OHB System, the main contractor of the programme, to develop the payload for the two satellites of the CO2M mission, as part of Europe’s Copernicus program.
BAE Systems said the asset purchase is a unique opportunity to acquire a high-quality, technology-based business that augments the company’s existing electronic systems portfolio through the addition of world-class GPS anti-jamming and anti-spoofing technology that enables reliable navigation and guidance for a range of defense missions.
Xpeller Counter UAV System: Germany based radar and sensor giant HENSOLDT will supply three Spexer2000 3D radars and one Z:NightOwl M camera as Xpeller module package. It will be a part of the GUARDION system of ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH and its partners for a total of five drone defence systems.
US Space Force Weather Satellite: The US Space Force has selected Raytheon Intelligence and Space to build an advanced weather satellite prototype that can provide the theatre weather imaging and cloud characterization to the newest branch of the US military, said the company.
IAF Rafale: Indian Air Force Wednesday received five Rafale fighter jets at Ambala airbase located in North India. It was a gruelling test of both men and machine as they covered 8,500-kilometer long journey with the help of Indian and French Air Force refueller tankers. The five Rafale jets left from Dassault Aviation Facility, Merignac in France on Monday morning and reached India Wednesday afternoon, said Indian Air Force.
Boeing-Mitsubishi F-15J Upgrade: US Defence & Aerospace giant Boeing and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) recently signed a Direct Commercial Sale agreement to support upgrades to Japan Self Defence Force’ F-15J fighter aircraft.
Defence News: Taufkirchen based sensor and radar giant HENSOLDT will supply its latest Spexer 2000 3D radar to system integrator Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace for the German Army’s qualified air defence, drone defence programme.
TOS-1A heavy flamethrower system’s demonstration was jointly organized by JSC Rosoboronexport and JSC Omsktransmash (part of JSC Concern Uralvagonzavod), which are subsidiaries of the Rostec State Corporation, Russia’s state agency for all defence related exports and imports.
Indian Navy: Vice Admiral MA Hampiholi on Monday took charge as Commandant, Indian Naval Academy, (INA) at Ezhimala in southern state of Kerala. He succeeds Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, who was accorded a warm farewell on his superannuation.
Indian Air Force: Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhary has been named as the new head of Western Air Command of Indian Air Force which looks after the country’s defence in North India, including Ladakh region where Indian Army has been in a tense military stand-off with the Chinese PLA for the last three months.
Indian Air Force has ordered Hammer missiles produced by French defence and electronics major Safran to equip its Rafale fighters to take on an aggressive China following a nearly three-month long tense military stand-off between the Asian giants.
Defence News India: India’s ministry of defence Monday signed a $75 million (Rs 557 crore) deal with state owned Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) to equip Indian Army’s T-90 million battle tanks with mine ploughs. Defence ministry’s acquisition wing Monday signed a deal with BEML for acquiring 1,512 landmine clearing equipment. Indian Army will use…
Defence News India: Indian Air Force will induct five fully loaded Rafale fighter jets in its arsenal by the month end, providing a big boost to IAF’s range and lethality as these French jets will be equipped with three state-of-the-art missiles manufactured by European missile manufacturer MBDA.
Defence News India: Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Limited (TLMAL), a joint venture between Indian defence manufacturer Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and the US defence major Lockheed Martin, Thursday said it has appointed Kiran Dambala as Chief Operating Officer.
Defence News India: In a major achievement for India’s ship building industry, public sector shipbuilder Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has won a contract for construction and supply of two autonomous electric ferries for ASKO Maritime AS, Norway.
Rafael Spike anti-tank guided missile (ATGM): Israel’s defence and missile company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd and Polish company Mesko, a PGZ company, have agreed to co-produce the shoulder-launched SPIKE SR (Short-Range) ATGM, as part of Poland’s Pustelnik Program.
At a time when Indian Military is in a tense stand-off with the Chinese PLA in Ladakh region, the US defence and aerospace giant Boeing has completed the delivery of all new Apache attack helicopters to Indian Air Force while the deliveries of Chinook heavy lift military helicopters were completed in March this year.
India’s leading airport operator GMR has launched a fully contactless car parking facility at Hyderabad International Airport on Friday. Now passengers and visitors can avail a fully contactless car parking experience thanks to the collaboration with NPCI and NETC, said Pradeep Panicker, CEO of GHIAL.
In its bid to boost Indian Army’s night war fighting capabilities, the ministry of defence has decided to procure 800 night sights with thermal imaging capability for automatic grenade launchers. According to the expression of interest document issued on July 7, companies will have one month’s time to submit their response.
Defence News India: Indian Army will acquire more than 120 Mobile Integrated Network Terminals (MINT) to improve the communication between its commanders and field formations in high altitude areas, according to an expression of interest issued by the army this week.
Saab’s Gripen Fighter: Sweden’s leading defence and aerospace major Saab has for the first time commenced the production of parts of Gripen fighter jets outside the country. The site located in São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil started the production of sections of airframe for Gripen E/F fighters, which will be delivered to the final assembly facilities at the Embraer plant in Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo, Brazil and also to Saab in Linköping, Sweden, said the company in a statement.
Israel’s leading defence electronics and communications giant Elbit Systems will supply more than 1,000 additional E-LynXTM Software Defined Radio (SDR) systems to the Swedish Army. The fresh order will expand the involvement of Elbit Systems in Sweden’s tactical radio upgrade program.
The decision to push ahead with the development of critical road network comes at a time when Indian and Chinese armies are facing each other at several places in Ladakh region. In the past, China has objected to the development of border infrastructure by India in Ladakh to match Chinese built up.
American nuclear energy equipment manufacturer General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) Monday said it has been awarded a contract from Dominion Energy to deliver Radiation Monitoring Systems for the Millstone Power Station, Unit 3 in Waterford CT. GA-EMS will manufacture and deliver a full complement of radiation monitoring systems throughout the Millstone plant.
Indian Army and Chinese PLA soldiers have pulled back by two kilometres each along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley area in Ladakh region where 20 Indian soldiers and an unconfirmed number of Chinese soldiers died in a violent face-off last month, according to people familiar with the matter.
In a strong signal of India’s resolve to defend its territory in the face of Chinese aggression, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday morning reached forward location in Nimu at China border. He is accompanied by India’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief General MM Naravane.
Israel’s leading defence technology company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. and Abu Dhabi based technology company Group 42 (G42), Friday joined hands to explore collaborations in the research and development of effective solutions to combat SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease.
German electronic and sensor giant HENSOLDT has signed an agreement to acquire the Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Defence & Security business units of South African firm Tellumat. The acquisition will see HENSOLDT further expand its portfolio as well as its presence in Africa, said the company.
India’s ministry of defence Thursday cleared a slew of proposals to buy Sukhoi-30 MKI and Mig-29 Russian combat jets, long-range indigenous cruise missiles and beyond visual range (BVR) Astra missiles for Indian Air Force and Indian Navy as it prepares to face an aggressive China.
Taufkirchen based German defence electronics and sensor giant HENSOLDT has been awarded a contract by Airbus Defence and Space to develop and produce a new Active Electronic Scanning Array (AESA) radar for the German and Spanish Eurofighter fleets.
American defence and aerospace major Boeing recently achieved a major milestone for its tank killer AH-64 Apache helicopters with the delivery of a total 2,500 helicopters to the US Army and 15 other nations. The 2,500th Apache Attack Helicopter, an E-model, was delivered to the US Army from the Boeing’s production line in Mesa, Arizona.
In a major decision, India Monday imposed a ban on 59 Chinese mobile applications including short video makers Tiktok and Helo, file sharing app Shareit, web browsers like UC Browser and CM Mobile Browser and CS Cam Scanner saying that these Chinese mobile apps posed threat to safety and security of India.
European Defence and Aerospace major Airbus has appointed Rémi Maillard as President of Airbus India and Managing Director of South Asia region, effective September 01, 2020. Rémi Maillard, currently Head of Airbus Services, will succeed Anand Stanley who will move to Singapore as President, Airbus Asia-Pacific.
Israel’s leading defence electronics manufacturer Elbit Systems Limited Monday said that it has won a $38 million contract from the Israeli Ministry of Defense to provide operation, maintenance and logistic services for the Textron T-6 trainer aircraft fleet of the Israeli Air Force.
Israel’s leading missile manufacturer RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems is participating in Poland’s ‘Ottokar-Brzoza’ tender (formerly known as Tank Destroyer) in co-production with local Polish Conglomerate PGZ, which is competing, in part, with BWP-1 and KTO ROSOMAK Armored platforms.
Rostec Corporation: Rosoboronexport JSC, Russian government’s nodal agency for handling all kinds of weapon export from the country, will showcase the latest Russian weapons for all segments to foreign buyers at the Army 2020 International Military Tactical Forum, also known as Army Forum 2020. The annual event will be organized in August this year near Moscow.
Jim Taiclet Lockheed Martin: In major leadership reshuffle at one of the world’s largest defence and aerospace giant, a former military pilot and Gulf War veteran James D. Taiclet Monday assumed the charge of Lockheed Martin Corporation as its new President and CEO. Jim Taiclet succeeds Marillyn Hewson, who will be Executive Chairman of Lockheed Martin’s board of directors.
A senior Indian Army officer of the rank of Colonel, and two soldiers Monday night lost their lives in a violent face off with the soldiers of Chinese Army (PLA) in the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh while the number of casualties on Chinese side has not been confirmed by Chinese authorities.
Hyderabad based infrastructure giant Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) Monday announced its foray in the country’s defence sector as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government seeks to reduce the country’s dependence on imported weapons by involving private defence companies. MEIL invest Rs 500 crores on new defence manufacturing unit near Hyderabad.
Bhogapuram Airport Andhra Pradesh: India’s leading airport developer and operator GMR Group has won a long-term contract for the development and operational management of a Greenfield airport near Vishakhapatnam in southern state of Andhra Pradesh.
In a major relief to domestic defence industry, India’s defence ministry Friday allowed them four more months time to complete the delivery of weapon systems and services as their supply chains have been affected due to Covid-19 lockdown measures, while also clarifying that any deadline extension request from foreign defence companies will be considered on case by case basis.
Indian Army and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have moved back their troops at several locations in Eastern Ladakh as a confidence building measures to facilitate further talks on Wednesday.
Leading aircraft engine manufacturer and energy giant Rolls-Royce Friday joined United Nation’s initiative Race to Zero campaign for building a sustainable and net zero carbon future by aligning its business to the goals set under United Nation’s Race to Zero campaign.
OFB Strike: India’s ministry of defence Friday formed a high-level committee under the officers of the department of defence production (DDP) and Indian Army to address the concerns of defence employee unions and officers association about the government’s decision to corporatize Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) factories.
European Defence and Aerospace giant Airbus has appointed head of its India operations Anand Stanley as new President of Airbus Asia-Pacific. Anand Stanley will lead the strategy and future positioning of Airbus and its divisions across the region, one of the key markets for the company.
OFB Strike: More than 82,000 employees of state owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) have threatened an indefinite strike against the Modi government’s decision to corporatize 41 units of the OFB. The three defence employee unions alleged that the present decision of Modi government to corporatize OFB was against the past agreement between them and the defence ministry.
Make in India: India’s defence ministry Tuesday placed an order for supply of 156 Sarath BMP-2 Infantry Combat Vehicles for Indian Army. Public Sector Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) will supply 156 BMPs in a deal of Rs 1094 crore deal.
Dr Vivek Lall, a prominent defence industry veteran of Indian origin, has been appointed as Chief Executive of General Atomics Global Corporation. Dr Lall earlier worked with US defence majors like Lockheed Martin and Boeing and was instrumental in clinching the bilateral defence deals worth $18 billion with India.
Indian Air Force Wednesday operationalised second squadron of indigenously designed and developed Light Combat Aircraft Tejas at Sulur airbase in Southern state of Tamil Nadu. Air Force Chief RKS Bhadaria inducted LCA Tejas in Flying Bullets squadron.
On Thursday (May 21, 2020) the government notified 26 of these 127 items under clause 3(a) of the public procurement order of 2017, which makes it mandatory for the procuring entities to source them only from Indian suppliers, whereas in the earlier scheme of things it was not mandatory and only preference was to be given to Indian suppliers.
In order to allay the apprehensions that Covid-19 pandemic might delay the delivery of F-35, US defence major Lockheed Martin has taken several steps, including reaching an agreement with the machine worker’s body IAM, to implement an alternate week work schedule.
US Defense and Nuclear Technology giant General Atomics (GA-EMS) has won a major contract from the United States Navy for providing an ongoing engineering and logistics sustainment operation for Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) systems installed on Ford Class Aircraft Carriers.
Indian Air Force Chief RKS Bhaduaria Monday issued a stern warning to Pakistan, saying that the IAF was ready to strike terror camps inside Pakistan if a terror attack on India was linked to Pakistan.
FDI in India: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman Saturday announced the government’s decision to increase FDI in Defence sector from present 49% to 74%.
US Department of Defense has awarded a $905 million contract to US defence giant Lockheed Martin Sikorsky to supply 24 MH-60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters to Indian Navy under a foreign military sale (FMS) route.
US Defence and Aerospace major Boeing has delivered its 100th Boeing P8A Poseidon long-range maritime patrol aircraft to the US Navy. Boeing P8A Poseidon, also known as submarine killer, is also in the service of Indian Navy & Australian and UK Air Forces.
Boeing Defense and Space has bagged a $3.1 billion contract from the US Navy for supplying Harpoon missiles and Stand-off Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM ER) to support the US Government’s foreign military sales (FMS) programme. The supply of these weapons will continue through 2028.
In order to conduct the first hand assessment of Indian Army’s preparedness along Pakistan border, India’s Army Chief General M M Naravane visited forward areas of the Sapta Shakti Command in the states of Rajasthan and Punjab for two days.
India has set an ambitious target of becoming a net exporter of defence technology on the occasion of 21st Pokhran anniversary that is celebrated in the country National Technology Day.
Vizag Gas Leak: Indian Air Force Saturday lifted 8.3 tonnes relief material to help Andhra Pradesh Government to contain the leak of toxic Styrene gas from South Korean company LG Chem’s plant near Visakhapatnam.
Defence News India: India’s defence ministry Friday signed a $160 million (Rs 1,200 crore) contract with Tata Power SED (TPSED) for the modernisation of military infrastructure in the country. The contract, which is the second phase of the programme, will cover 37 airfields of Indian Air Force, Indian Navy and Coast Guard. The modernisation of…
A MiG-29 fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed near Nawanshahr in Punjab on Friday morning. The pilot decided to eject the aircraft after it failed to respond his instructions.
Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) has won a $40 million contract to supply missile components for medium range surface to air missile (MRSAM) to be delivered to Indian Air Force (IAF).
DRDO supported Defence Institute of Advanced Technology Pune announced the development of Atulya microwave steriliser that kills the Sars-CoV-2 virus by differential heating in the range of 560 to 600 Celsius temperatures.
Dassault Reliance Aerospace Ltd (DRAL) on Monday resumed operations at its Mihan special economic zone (SEZ) in Nagpur in Maharashtra. The JV between Dassault Aviation and Reliance ADA Group manufactures part for Falcon 2000 and Rafale fighter jet at DRAL facility.
A brand new Boeing Apache helicopter of Indian Air Force has made emergency landing near Hoshiarpur in Punjab. IAF said the crew and helicopter was safe.
In its latest coronavirus related order, the Indian army said only medical establishments will continue to work with full strength and all non-essential movement will be restricted across all its units.
India-US Missile Deal: Trump has cleared sale of Boeing’s Harpoon Block II Missile and Raytheon’s Lightweight Torpedoes to India in a $155 million deal.
DRDO has developed a lightweight HMDS helmet for Indian Air Force pilots flying Sukhoi 30 MKI, Mig 29, Mig 21, LCA Tejas and Mirage 2000 aircrafts.
Defence News: Israel’s leading missile manufacturer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd achieved the sale of $2.7 billion (9.7 billion Shekels) in 2019, an increase of 3.9% over the corresponding period of 2018, according to the financial results released by the company on Thursday. According to the financial data released by Rafael on March 26, the…
Organisers of prestigious French defence exhibition Eurosatory 2020 have decided to postpone the event due to outbreak of global pandemic of novel coronvirus.
Defence News: Global outbreak of novel coronavirus has disrupted defence industry with most of the military exercises and defence exhibitions being cancelled. The organisers of Defence Exhibition Athens (DEFEA-2020) have decided to postpone the prestigious event to the next year. The DEFEA which was scheduled to be held at Athens in Greece in June this…
India’s defence ministry has roped in Indian Army, IAF, Indian Navy and also DRDO and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to wage an all out war against Corona virus that has killed 16 people in the country and over 25,000 across the globe.
Indian Air Force said that it is fully committed and ready to help civilian authorities in the country’s war against the deadly corona virus. IAF has designated Command Hospital Air Force Bangalore (CHAFB) its first lab for COVID-19 testing.
Indian Army Wednesday received 277 more people rescued from corona-hit Iran and housed them at its Jodhpur quarantine facility. These included 273 pilgrims, of them149 are women and 6 children.
COVID-19: Indian Army has decided to work with bare minimum staff following the call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a complete 21 day lockdown in the country. It also closed its headquarters for a day on Wednesday.
Msta-S 155mm howitzer: Rosoboronexport for the first time demonstrated the capabilities of new howitzer gun developed by UralVagonZavod to foreign customers.
COVID-19: Indian Army has decided to drastically reduce staff at its headquarters at South Block in New Delhi to contain the outbreak of novel coronavirus. Now it will work only with 15% of the staff deployed at the headquarters.
India’s state owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has set up a 285 bed facility across several states to help civil administration in their bid to augment the health facilities to treat corona virus patients.
To reduce the high cost of acquisition, Defence Procurement Policy 2020 adds a new category for leasing of equipment not used in the actual warfare.
India today signed a contract with Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) for purchase of more than 16,000 ‘Negev‘ light machine guns (LMGs), for the Indian Army at a cost of Rs 880 crores.
India has rescued 195 more citizens from coronavirus-hit Iran and these people have been kept at Indian army’s quarantine facility in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.
This maiden flight of Tejas in full operational clearance version lasted for forty minutes and it was flown by Air Commodore KA Muthana (Retd) from the HAL’s Bengaluru airport.
The new Nova facility will be used in design, development & production of command posts, combat management systems, radars and electro-optic products.
Rajnath Singh said bullet proof jackets are being exported to 18 countries but in view of the strategic requirement names will not be disclosed.
