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An ambitious vision document broadly outlining a series of strategic reforms, capability enhancements and organisational changes required to bolster the Indian military was unveiled by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday. The document, prepared by the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), is a strategic blueprint to transform the Indian armed forces into a modern, multi-domain, and integrated force by the centenary of India's Independence. The release of the 'Defence Forces Vision 2047: A Roadmap for a Future-Ready Indian Military' came eight months after the military conflict between India and Pakistan. Following the May 7 to 10 conflict, all the three forces were asked to work on the lessons learnt from it. The vision document envisages the transformation of the military into an integrated, multi-domain and agile force capable of deterring adversaries and to effectively respond to any conflict. A central pillar of the vision is the emphasis on jointness and synerg
The cold, hard reality facing any US, NATO or European plans for Greenland is the ice. It chokes harbours, entombs minerals, and freezes shorelines into minefields of white and blue shards that threaten ships all year. And the only way to break through all that is, well, with icebreakers: enormous ships with burly engines, reinforced hulls, and heavy bows that can crush and cleave ice. But the United States has only three such vessels, one of which is so decrepit as to be barely usable. It has entered agreements to obtain 11 more, but can only source additional ships from adversaries - or allies it has recently rebuffed. The key technology in the Arctic ----------------------------------- Despite toning down his rhetoric, US President Donald Trump seems set on the US owning Greenland for security and economic reasons: to keep what he calls "the big, beautiful piece of ice" out of the hands of Moscow and Beijing, to secure a strategic Arctic location for US assets, and to extract t
North Korea said Monday that leader Kim Jong Un observed test-flights of hypersonic missiles and underscored the need to bolster the country's nuclear war deterrent, as the country dials up weapons displays ahead of its major political conference. North Korea reported on the drill a day after its neighbours said they detected multiple ballistic missile launches and accused the North of carrying out provocations. The tests came just hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed for China for a summit with President Xi Jinping. The official Korean Central News Agency said Sunday's drill involving a hypersonic weapon system was meant to examine its readiness, enhance missile troops' firepower operational skills and evaluate operational capabilities of the country's war deterrent. Through today's launching drill, we can confirm that a very important technology task for national defense has been carried out, Kim said, according to KCNA. We must continuously upgrade the ...
The Trump administration has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than USD 10 billion, including medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, a move that is sure to infuriate China. The State Department announced the sales late Wednesday during a nationally televised address by President Donald Trump, who made scant mention of foreign policy issues and did not speak to trade or other issues with China. The eight arms sales agreements cover 82 high-mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS, and 420 Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS similar to what the US had been providing Ukraine during the Biden administration to defend itself from Russia worth more than USD 4 billion. The sales also include 60 self-propelled howitzer systems and related equipment, also worth more than USD 4 billion, and drones valued at more than USD 1 billion. Other sales in the package include military software valued at more than USD 1 billion, Javelin and TOW missiles
India procured military hardware and weapons worth Rs 1,20,000 crore from domestic sources by end of 2024-25 as it is increasingly focusing on boosting self-reliance to confront national security challenges, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday. In an address at an event, Singh said the government is fully aware of the changing dynamics of battle field, especially the importance of non-contact warfare such as use of drones, and preparing for it accordingly. In this context, he underlined the importance of enhancing India's own defence industries to meet myriad security challenges. "In 2021-22, our capital acquisition from domestic sources was around Rs 74,000 crore, but by the end of 2024-25, the capital acquisition from domestic sources has increased to approximately Rs 1,20,000 crore," he said. "This change is not just about data, but also about mindset," he said. The defence minister said the Modi government has taken several policy initiatives in the last 10 years to