Page 13 - Defence Sector

Indian Air Force receives first indigenously designed Crash Fire Tender

The Indian Air Force is promoting indigenisation and has procured many made-in-India items to meet its operational requirements

Hindustan Aeronautics reports highest ever revenue of Rs 29,810 cr in FY24

The company reported that HAL had received fresh manufacturing contracts of Rs 19,000 crore, and repair and overhaul (ROH) contracts of over Rs 16,000 crores during FY24

Defence exports scaled to 'unprecedented heights', says Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the country's defence exports have scaled to "unprecedented heights" and crossed Rs 21,000 crore-mark for the "first time" in the history of Independent India. "Delighted to inform everyone that the Indian Defence Exports have scaled to unprecedented heights and crossed Rs 21000 crore mark for the first time in the history of Independent India!," he said in a post on X. The Union minister also said that India's defence exports have reached to the level of Rs 21,083 crore in the financial year 2023-24 which is a "spectacular growth" of 32.5 per cent over the previous fiscal. During an interaction with members of the Indian diaspora in Nigeria in May 2023, the defence minister had emphasised on the government's focus on 'Aatmanirbharta' and the "significant progress" made in defence exports in the recent years towards achieving the objective of "Make in India, Make for the World".

Tri-service exercise 'Tiger Triumph-24' between India, US conclude

The 14-day bilateral tri-service exercise between India and the US, 'Tiger Triumph-24', has concluded, officials said on Sunday. The exercise that began on March 18 aimed at developing interoperability for conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations and refining standard operating procedures to enable rapid and smooth coordination between the forces of the two countries. The Indian Army's contingent comprising one battalion group took part in the second edition of the tri-service exercise in Visakhapatnam and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, along with the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force. The closing ceremony of the amphibious exercise was held on board USS Somerset on March 30, a senior official said. The exercise signifies the "robust strategic partnership" between the two countries and was aimed towards sharing best practices and standard operating procedures in undertaking multinational HADR operations. The harbour phase was conducted in Visakhapat

North Korea supplied 7,000 containers of munitions to Russia, says Seoul

North Korea has shipped around 7,000 containers filled with munitions and other military equipment to Russia since last year to help support its war in Ukraine, South Korea's defense minister said Monday. Shin Won-sik shared the assessment at a news conference hours after the South Korean and Japanese militaries said the North fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern waters, adding to a streak of weapons displays amid growing tensions with rivals. Since the start of 2022, North Korea has used Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a distraction to ramp up its weapons tests and has also aligned with Moscow over the conflict, as leader Kim Jong Un tries to break out of diplomatic isolation and join a united front against the United States. U.S. and South Korean officials have accused North Korea of supplying Russia with artillery shells, missiles and other equipment in recent months to help fuel its war on Ukraine, saying that such arms transfers accelerated after a rar

Indian Navy ship, commandos force pirates to surrender, rescue MV Ruen crew

Merchant vessel MV Ruen was hijacked by Somali pirates on December 14

India, Brazil hold first '2+2' defence ministerial dialogue on tech, energy

India and Brazil on Thursday explored ways to expand cooperation in areas of energy, critical minerals, technology and counter-terrorism at their first '2+2' defence and foreign ministerial dialogue. External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the talks spanned various key areas of cooperation. "Discussions spanned defence, space, energy, critical minerals, tech, counter-terrorism and regional, multilateral & other issues of mutual interest," he said on 'X'. The dialogue took place in Delhi. It was co-chaired by additional secretary in the external affairs ministry G V Srinivas and joint secretary in the defence ministry Vishwesh Negi. The Brazilian delegation was led by Director at Brazilian foreign ministry Marcelo Camara and Rear Admiral Fernando de Luca Marques de Oliviera.

Women scientists played major role in Mission Divyastra's success

The programme project director Dr Shankari S also played a significant role in the mission's success, defence officials said

Govt signs contract worth Rs 8,073 crore with HAL to buy 34 helicopters

Following the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the Ministry of Defence signed two contracts for a combined value of Rs 8073.17 crore with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bengaluru, on Wednesday, an official statement said.The contracts were signed for the acquisition of 34 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) Dhruv Mk III along with Operational Role Equipment for the Indian Army (25 ALHs) and Indian Coast Guard (09 ALHs) under the Buy (Indian-IDDM--Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) category, marking a significant move towards indigenisation in defence manufacturing.According to the Ministry of Defence, the ALH Dhruv Mk III UT (Utility), the Indian Army version, is designed for Search & Rescue, Troop Transportation, Internal Cargo, Recce/and casualty evacuation, etc. It has proven its performance in high-altitude regions like Siachen Glacier and Ladakh.The ALH Mk III MR (Maritime Role), the ICG version, is designed for maritime surveillance ..

Govt inks deal with AVNL for 693 armament upgrades for combat vehicle BMP2

The Ministry of Defence on Wednesday signed a contract with Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL) for procurement of 693 armament upgrades of infantry combat vehicle BMP2, according to an official statement "This upgrade includes night enablement, gunner main sight, commander panoramic sight and fire control system (FCS) with automatic target tracker under Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured) Category," the statement said. The AVNL has developed an "indigenised solution for providing existing BMP 2/2K with night fighting capabilities and FCS based on the integration of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Chennai-developed sight and FCS," it said. The ministry signed the contract with AVNL "for the procurement of 693 Armament Upgrades of Infantry Combat Vehicle BMP2 to BMP2M". The AVNL will produce the "armament upgrades with equipment and sub-systems sourced from indigenous manufacturers", the ministry

India remains world's top arms importer, Pakistan ranks 8th: SIPRI report

India remained the world's top arms importer, but its imports declined by 11 per cent between 2013-17 and 2018-22, according to a report released on Monday by Stockholm-based defence think-tank SIPRI. The decline was linked to a complex procurement process, efforts to diversify arms suppliers and attempts to replace imports with local designs, the report said. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said the five largest arms importers in the world during 2018-22 were India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Australia and China. The five largest arms exporters were the United States, Russia, France, China and Germany. The imports by Pakistan, the world's eighth-largest arms importer during 2018-22, increased by 14 per cent, with China as its main supplier, the report said. It said France's arms exports increased by 44 per cent between 2013-17 and 2018-22 and most of these exports were to countries in Asia and Oceania and the Middle East. The report said India received 30

Very important milestone: Prez Murmu on first flight test of Agni-5

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday congratulated DRDO scientists for the first flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile under Mission Divyastra, calling it a "very important milestone" in India's march towards greater geo-strategic role and capabilities. In her message on 'X', the supreme commander of the armed forces said, "The state-of-the-art technology developed indigenously is a firm step in the direction of India becoming Atmanirbhar." "The flight test of Agni V under Mission Divyastra marks a very important milestone in India's march towards greater geo-strategic role and capabilities...I convey my heartiest congratulations to the Team DRDO for this major achievement. I am sure they will keep moving apace in their quest for excellence and self-reliance," she said. The weapon system is equipped with indigenous avionics systems and high-accuracy sensor packages ensuring that the re-entry vehicles reach the target points within the desired accuracy. Based on Multipl

Govt clears project to develop AMCA 5th generation stealth fighter aircraft

The project would see the prototype manufactured by industry including the public sector unit Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, they said

Modi-led govt believes in capabilities of India in defence sector: Rajnath

Union Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the Narendra Modi-led government "believes in the capabilities of India and Indians" in the defence sector, while the previous dispensations were in some way "sceptical" about their capabilities. In his address at an event here, the defence minister also said that if any criticism comes from the media on any government scheme, "We accept it and try to bring a change accordingly". Delivering an address at the NDTV Defence Summit here, Singh said when the government led by Modi came to power in 2014, "We made the defence sector one of our main priorities". "We took a step towards 'atmanirbharta' (self-reliance) in defence. From establishing the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) to the creation of the post of CDS (Chief of Defence Staff), issuing of positive indigenisation lists for manufacturing of weapons in India...they naturally strengthen it (defence sector)," he said. The DMA with CDS as secretary was created to facilitate optimal

Navy responds 'swiftly' to drone attack on merchant ship in Gulf of Aden

The Indian Navy on Tuesday said it "swiftly" responded in assisting a Liberian-flagged commercial vessel after it came under a drone strike in the Gulf of Aden. The fresh incident on Monday came amid increasing global concerns over attacks on various commercial vessels in the Red Sea by Houthi militants. In the last few weeks, the Indian Navy extended assistance to a number of merchant vessels in the western Indian Ocean following attacks on them. The Navy swiftly responded to a maritime incident in the Gulf of Aden, it said on 'X'. It said the Liberian-flagged vessel, while transiting approximately 90 nautical miles Southeast of Aden reported a fire due to "drone/ missile attack" on Monday. "INS Kolkata, mission deployed in the region for maritime security operations, promptly responded and arrived at scene of incident by 2230 hours," it said. The Navy said a specialised firefighting team of 12 personnel from INS Kolkata embarked the vessel early morning hours of March 5 to assi

BJP's manifesto on defence

From an arms importer, India now ranks among the top 25 arms-exporting nations. BJP's 2024 manifesto must include a coherent policy to increase defence exports

Best of BS Opinion: Sustained momentum, BJP's manifesto on defence & more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

India-US defence meet: Security cooperation, intelligence sharing discussed

Cooperation in the field of internal security, intelligence sharing, and activities of pro-Khalistani elements in America were discussed at the India-US Homeland Security Dialogue held here on Wednesday, sources said. While the Indian delegation was led by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, the US delegation was headed by his counterpart from the United States Department of Homeland Security. Besides cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries, the meeting discussed intelligence sharing on matters related to online radicalisation, cyber attacks, and digital frauds, among others, sources said. The Indian delegation is believed to have raised the issue of the activities of the pro-Khalistani elements on the US soil and also their active support and funding to the separatist elements based in India, sources said. The meeting was held against the backdrop of a row over the alleged assassination attempt on top Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Panun, a US .

Adani Group unveils defence complex, $362 million investment plan

The plans highlight the ports-to-power conglomerate's ambitions in the lucrative defence sector where manufacturing is largely dominated by government-owned companies

Space related shares rally up to 13% after government eases FDI norms

MIDHANI surged 13 per cent, while MTAR Technologies soared 9 per cent, followed by Data Patterns (India) and Astra Microwave Products