Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) said a few countries in South East Asia and West Asia have expressed interest in the 4.5 generation fighter aircraft, fitted with modern equipment – the light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas. The Chairman and Managing Director of HAL, R.Madhavan, addressing the media, however did not reveal the names of the countries which had shown interest in the LCA.
HAL’s indigenously developed Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) demonstrated high altitude capability in Hot and High weather conditions in the Himalayas recently for about 10 days.
Consequent to release of the negative list of items for import by Ministry of Defence (MoD) on August 09, 2020, certain queries have been received with respect to inclusion of some of the items like the light combat aircraft LCA Mark 1A, Pinaka rocket system and Akash missile system, which are manufactured in India.
In another bold initiative to reduce import dependence, India, on Sunday, announced its first import imbargo list of hundred and one items for period starting from December 2020 to December 2025.
“MoD will introduce import embargo on 101 items beyond given timeline to boost indigenisation of defence production,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said while announcing on twitter.
In order to provide impetus to self-reliance in defence manufacturing, multiple announcements were made under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Package’. In implementing such framework and to position India amongst the leading countries of the world in defence and aerospace sectors, Ministry of Defence (MoD) has formulated a draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020 (DPEPP 2020). The DPEPP 2020 is envisaged as overarching guiding document of MoD to provide a focused, structured and significant thrust to defence production capabilities of the country for self-reliance and exports.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh chaired a high level meeting here today to review the progress of various infrastructure projects under construction in border areas.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday inducted Tejas Mk-1 FOC aircraft into the recently resurrected No 18 Sqn, the “Flying Bullets” at Air Force Station Sulur, marking yet another important step towards enhancing the operational capability of the Air Force. The Squadron is the first in the IAF to induct this platform. This is also an important milestone in the country’s indigenous fighter aircraft program and a significant boost to the ‘Make In India’ initiative.
‘’A nation has security when it does not have to sacrifice its legitimate interests to avoid war and is able to, if challenged to maintain them by war” -Walter Lipman
There have been a plethora of defence policy reform statements over the past one month, ranging from COVID generated cuts in the defence budget, to pragmatism in the formulation of general staff qualitative requirements (GSQR) and thrust on harnessing indigenous defence manufacturing capabilities.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has appreciated the role played by Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) and other Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nation’s fight against global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on May 12, in his address to the nation called for a self-sufficient India (Atma Nirbhar Bharat). He also announced an economic relief package equivalent to 10 per cent of Indian Gross Domestic Product.
Talking about the pre and post COVID worlds, Prime Minister observed that in order to fulfil the dream of making the 21st century India’s, the way forward is through ensuring that the country becomes self-reliant.
Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) posted a turnover in excess of Rs.12,500 Crores (Provisional & Unaudited) during the Financial Year 2019-20. The company had a growth of 6% over the previous year's turnover of Rs.11,789 Crores.
L&T MBDA Missile Systems (LTMMSL), a joint venture between Larsen & Toubro (L&T), India’s multinational engineering conglomerate and private sector defence major, and MBDA, a world leader in missile systems, has set up a Missile (inert*) Integration facility.
India will be organising one of the biggest DefExpo at Lucknow from February 5 to 9. It is expected that more than 1000 companies are likely to showcase their defence products. The theme for this year’s DefExpo is “Digital Transformation of Defence".
The DefExpo is a platform for global and domestic defence industries to showcase their products in the field of aerospace, defence, digital, cyber, weapons and equipment. Apart from Indian defence industries, global industries from the US, UK, Russia, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Germany and France are participating.
Among the land systems presented in Russian pavilion, TOS-1A – multi-barrel thermobaric rocket system will be a unique product. World over it is termed as multi-barrel rocket system (MBRL) which Russian reject, they call it flame thrower. The system is designed to destroy men, material, light armoured vehicle, structures within the range of 600-6000m using unguided rockets with thermobaric warheads. The weapon gives point blank range against enemy positions. The thermobaric warhead burns down the target in a huge ball of fire.
At DEFEXPO 2020 to be held in Lucknow, Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) will showcase state-of-the-art products and systems spanning every domain of its business – Military Communication, Radar Systems, Missile Systems, Naval Systems, C4I Systems, Electronic Warfare Systems, Avionics, Anti-Submarine Warfare Systems, Tank Electronics, Electro Optics, Gun/Weapon System Upgrades, Shelters, Unmanned Systems, Homeland Security, Cyber Security, Artificial Intelligence based systems and professional electronic components.
Jindal Defence, part of O P Jindal Group, today announced its advent into small arms manufacturing in India.
MKU, a leading defence and security solutions provider will be participating in DefExpo 2020, scheduled to be held from February 5th to 8th at Vrindavan Yojna, Sector 15, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. MKU is committed to ‘Make in India’ and has been transforming the defence industry landscape in India by deploying newer and advanced technologies in electro optics and armour solutions.
The Lohia Group, a recent entrant into the Aerospace and Defence (A&D) sector with focus on cutting edge composites technology, will be participating in DefExpo 2020, scheduled to be held from February 5th to 8th at Vrindavan Yojna, Sector 15, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
DEFEXPO 2020 sees exciting developments from MBDA as it continues to expand and deliver on its vision to Make in India.
In a first HAL, India's aerospace, and defence company and Wipro 3D, the metal additive manufacturing (AM) business of Wipro Infrastructure Engineering (WIN), have signed an MOU recently to design, develop, prove out, manufacture and repair of Aerospace Components using Metal Additive Technology.
Leading Defence PSUs Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) today at Delhi organised a Roadshow in the run-up to the 11th biennial edition of DefExpo India-2020, scheduled to be held in Lucknow from February 5-8, 2020.
The road-show was organised to urge vendors from the private sector, MSMEs and start-ups based in Delhi-NCR area to actively participate in the upcoming Defence exhibition and take advantage of the potential business opportunities in the offing.
Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme has been promulgated to promote the development of defence and dual-use systems, subsystems, components, or technologies, for a product that is Indian Designed, Developed and Manufactured (IDDM). The idea is mainly to promote Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSME) including Start-ups to develop innovative products for our forces. This article aims to provide an objective view of the scheme and encourage companies to apply for the projects.
Mrs Shikha Gupta took charge as the new Director (Other Units) of Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) on December 1, 2019. She had served as the General Manager of BEL’s Strategic Planning Division, Satcom and Cellular Communication Systems SBU at BEL-Ghaziabad and Export Manufacturing SBU at BEL-Bangalore, before her elevation as Director.
Hari Mohan has taken over the charge as Chairman, Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) w.e.f. December 01, 2019 from Shri Saurabh Kumar who superannuated from the services. A 1982-batch Indian Ordnance Factories’ Service (I.O.F.S.) officer with Post Graduate Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Shri Hari Mohan had been a topper of University of Allahabad & University of Pune while obtaining his Bachelor & Masters in Mechanical Engineering. He holds an M.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has emphasised on the importance of ‘Ideation, Innovation and Incubation’ in cutting edge-technologies to achieve the goal of indigenisation and self-reliance in the defence sector.
BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile featuring Indian propulsion system, airframe, power supply and other major indigenous components, was successfully test fired at 10.20 AM today from ITR, Chandipur in Odisha. The missile was successfully test-fired for its full range of 290-km during the launch jointly conducted by DRDO and BrahMos Aerospace.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh today said, the Government is making concerted efforts to modernise the Navy and equip it with the best platforms, weapons and sensors to deal with any conventional and unconventional threats to India’s maritime interests. Shri Rajnath Singh was speaking at the launch of INS ‘Nilgiri’, the first of the Navy's seven new stealth frigates, at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai.
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested the Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) ‘Astra’ from Su-30 MKI platform off the coast of Chandipur, Odisha. The trials were held from 16th to 19th September 2019.
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) called ‘Ship Builder to the Nation’, is one of India’s leading Defence public sector undertaking shipyards under the Ministry of Defence continuing their service to the nation with ‘’Make in India’’ programme. They delivered the second Scorpene submarine ‘KHANDERI’ to the Indian Navy at an event held in Mumbai today.
VAdm G Ashok Kumar, AVSM, VSM, the Vice Chief of Naval Staff with the Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition and Director General of Naval Design in attendance held a curtain raiser today, for the commissioning of ‘Khanderi’, the second Project 75 Submarine, launch of ‘Nilgiri’, the first ship of Project 17A and inauguration of Aircraft Carrier Dry dock at Mumbai on 28 Sep 19. Shri Rajnath Singh, the Hon’ble Raksha Mantri will be the chief guest for all the three events.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has said the Government is committed to work towards achieving a USD 26 billion Defence industry by 2025. Addressing the second annual session of Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers here today, he said the Defence sector has been identified as one of the most prominent sectors under “Make in India” Initiative to realize USD 5 Trillion Economy by 2024.
Air-to-Air missile, ASTRA, has been successfully flight tested on 16 September 2019 off the coast of Odisha. The missile was launched from Su-30 MKI as a part of User trials.
HAL designed and developed Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) successfully demonstrated high altitude capability in hot and high weather conditions in the Himalayas. The trials were carried out by the test pilots from HAL, IAF and the Army from August 24 to September 2, 2019.
Astra Rafael Communication System (ARC), a Joint Venture between Astra Microwave Pvt Ltd. and RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. of Israel, inaugurated their state-of-the-art facility at Hardware Technology Park, Hyderabad on 27 August 2019. The occasion was graced by Shri G Kishan Reddy, Hon'ble Minister of State, Home Affairs, in the presence of H.E. Mr.
Mr Shripad Naik, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ayush & Minister of State for Defence, today inaugurated the new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for Composite Materials, Environmental Testing & Finishing, established at the Navi Mumbai Unit of Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). Mr Gowtama M V, CMD, Mr Nataraj Krishnappa, Director (Other Units), Mr Koshy Alexander, Director (Finance),
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has voiced government’s desire to encourage private industry investment in defence sector while also strengthening defence PSUs and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has achieved a Turnover of Rs. 2041.98 cr, during the 1st quarter of FY 2019-20 over the Turnover of Rs. 2077.84 cr recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Profit Before Tax (PBT) during 1st quarter of FY 2019-20 stood at Rs. 290.39 cr, registering a growth of about 16% over the Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs. 250.21 cr recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Sixth ship of Class of Eight Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mark-IV vessels - IN LCU L-56 - was commissioned by Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam today. It is 100th warship of Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata, a Mini Ratna Category 1 & leading shipyard of the country.
Admiral Karambir Singh, PVSM, AVSM, ADC, Chief of the Naval Staff, addressed the delegates from the industry and SENIOR ECHELONS OF Indian Navy during the FICCI international Seminar on ‘Nation Building Through Shipbuilding’, today, at New Delhi.
At a ceremony earlier today, RAFAEL Executive Vice President & General Manager of the Air & Missile Defense Systems Division, Brigadier General (ret.) Pini Yungman, presented to Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems Ltd, India (KRAS) a $100 Million contract for manufacturing 1,000 BARAK-8 MRSAM missiles' kits which in turn would be supplied to BDL for further integration. KRAS is a 49:51 ratio Joint Venture between RAFAEL Advanced Systems and Kalyani Strategic Systems Ltd, with the Indian partner holding 51%.
To overcome the US imposed sanctions on the Russian defence exports, India and Russia have created a payment system which will not be vulnerable to any international sanction, said a Russian official.
The Chief Guest VAdm AK Saxena, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, Controller of Warship Production & Acquisition (CWP&A), addressed the media, delegates from the industry and Indian Navy during the Curtain Raiser on FICCI international Seminar on ‘Nation Building Through Shipbuilding’ today at FICCI Conference room, New Delhi.
Mr Sanjay Jaju, JS (DIP), Department of Defence Production Ministry of Defence, Government of India today said that government will, within a month, launch new ‘Open General Export License’ scheme to boost Indian defence exports.
In May 2017, Ministry of Defence (MoD) introduced a new chapter in the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) – 2016 titled as ‘Revitalising Defence Industrial Ecosystem through Strategic Partnerships’. It is better known as SP Model. Through this groundbreaking policy initiative, MoD aims to develop “the defence industrial eco-system in the country through the involvement of both the major Indian corporate as well as the MSME sector.”
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh took a meeting of senior officers of Ministry of Defence to review operational matters and procurement issues of the Armed Forces. He discussed important revenue procurement cases regarding maintenance of platforms and assets with the Armed Forces. He was briefed by the officers regarding ongoing infrastructure projects and plans for future upgradation.
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh reviewed activities of the Ministry of Defence. The RM was briefed regarding Defence Cooperation activities with Friendly Foreign Countries (FFCs). He was also briefed about planning activities of the Armed Forces including Tri-Services agencies viz. HQ IDS and Defence Cyber Agency, Defence Space Agency and Armed Forces Special Forces Division which were approved by the CCS in 2019.
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully test fired AKASH-MK-1S missile from ITR , Chandipur, Odhisa on 25 and 27 May 2019. Akash Mk1S is an upgrade of existing AKASH missile with indigenous Seeker. AKASH Mk1S is a surface to air missile which can neutralize advanced aerial targets. The Akash weapon system has combination of both command guidance and active terminal seeker guidance. Seeker and guidance performance have been consistently established in both the missions. All the mission objectives have been met.
HAL (standalone) achieved an all-time high turnover of Rs. 19,705 crores, registering a growth of 7.8% for FY 2018-19 over the turnover of Rs 18,284 crores in the corresponding previous year.
Today, IAF successfully fired the BrahMos air version missile from its frontline Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft. The launch from the aircraft was smooth and the missile followed the desired trajectory before directly hitting the land target.
Since 2014, ‘Make in India’ is the buzz word in defence. The Narendra Modi led NDA government, in its tenure, has made some very significant policy changes in the defence sector to give more avenues to private players, provide level playing field between the public and private sector. Some of these changes have created some new challenges for the government of one of them is a reduction in the capital budget due to the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
Ministry of Defence (MoD), on Monday, awarded a contract to build eight anti-submarine vessels to public sector shipyard Garden Reach Shipyard and Engineers. The Kolkata based shipyard will deliver the boats within 84 months.
According to an MoD statement, “The 1st ship is to be delivered within 42 months from contract signing date and subsequent balance ships delivery schedule will be two ships per year.”
HAL recommenced flight testing of modified Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) yesterday from its Bengaluru facilities. The flight was flawless and its success is an important step towards the IJT programme.
Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat on Monday commissioned Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Veera into the Indian Coast Guard fleet. It was handed over to Coast Guard on February 27. The ship is third OPV delivered to Coast Guard in last one year ahead of schedule.
The ceremony was conducted in the presence of Director General Rajendra Singh, Director General Indian Coast Guard and other senior officials and dignitaries.
Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) today successfully test fired indigenously designed & developed Long Range Sub-Sonic Cruise Missile “Nirbhay” from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur Odisha.
Kalyani Group and Thales have formalized a new collaboration for the design, development and manufacture of next generation weapons systems for the Defence and Law Enforcement sectors in India and abroad.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited recorded a turnover of over Rs. 19,400 crores (provisional and unaudited) for the financial year ended on March 31, 2019 (corresponding figure for the previous year was Rs.
Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has achieved a turnover of Rs.11,700 Crores (Provisional & Unaudited) during the Financial Year 2018-19, sustaining double digit growth (an increase of 16%) over the previous year's turnover of Rs.10,085 Crores.
Yard 2097 (LCU L 56), the sixth of the class of LCU MK IV ships, have been built and delivered by M/s GRSE Ltd today, on 30 March 19 at Kolkata. This is the 100th ship delivered by the DPSU in Kolkata. The construction of the ship was overseen by Warship Overseeing Team, Kolkata.
The Combat Management System (CMS) for the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) developed with M/s Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division (TPSED), in collaboration with Weapon and Electronics System Engineering Establishment (WESEE) and M/s MARS, Russia was handed over by Mr Sukaran Singh, CEO and MD, M/s Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. to Indian Navy/ Chief of Materiel, Vice Admiral GS Pabby, PVSM, AVSM, VSM on 28 Mar 19 at M/s TPSED, Bengaluru, on successful completion of all tests and trials.
Larsen & Toubro has announced a new strategic initiative, L&T-Nxt, to define the future of the organization from a fresh perspective. It has been identified as a select initiative in L&T’s five-year strategic plan.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has produced 16th LCA as per the target till March 31, 2019. The customer flights are expected to be completed by the end of this month. HAL has order for 40 LCAs (16 fighters each in IOC and FOC and 8 trainers) from IAF. The aircraft was inducted into IAF squadron ‘Flying Daggers’ on July 1, 2016.
In another inspring example of indigenisation of defence equipment, 5 Metre Short Span Bridge was formally handed over to the Indian Army on 20 March 2019 in a ceremony at the Talegaon facility of Larsen & Toubro Limited. The Bridge is indigenously designed & developed and is the result of close coordination between the Corps of Engineers and the DRDO laboratory at Pune R&DE (Engineers).
At Aero India 2019, Bengaluru, Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Elbit Systems Limited, Israel, have entered into a Technical Collaboration Agreement (TCA) for Licensed Manufacturing of Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) / Helmet Pointing System (HPS) Version 02.
Rafale controversy, though not new to high profile defence procurements, has generated unprecedented and avoidable acrimony and bitterness among various stakeholders, be it political parties or different wings of the same Government! later is far more damaging for the nation; while politicians are what they are and will be politicians, any persistent disharmony within various wings of the government can have far-reaching and damaging consequences for the nation! Before attempting to find a solution, it is pertinent to analyse and understand the problem.
HAL handed over first three ALHs as part of the 22 ALH MK III contract to the Indian Army during the on-going Aero India 2019 today.
Dynamatic today handed over the 100th Ship Set of Airbus A330 Family Flap-Track-Beams to Airbus in the presence of Klaus Richter, Executive Vice President & Head of Procurement, Airbus. Dynamatic is a Tier 1 supplier for Airbus for A330 Family Flap-Track-Beams. It has created a global foot print in manufacturing of details parts in the UK and assembly in India. Dynamatics has worked closely with major aircraft manufacturers to establish advanced manufacturing capabilities in India, which is truly in consonance with the 'Make in India' program.
Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd
(BEL) has on February 20, 2019, signed an MoU with JSR Dynamics Pvt Ltd
(JSR), a Nagpur-based start-up Company, at Aero India 2019 in Bengaluru.
The MoU aims at leveraging the individual design and manufacturing
capabilities of BEL and JSR to develop weapons and light weight cruise
missiles, which have business potential in both the domestic and
international markets. Mrs Anandi Ramalingam, Director (Mktg), BEL, and
Russian Helicopters Holding Company (a part of Rostec State Corporation) organized the conference of potential suppliers of components for Ka-226T helicopter made in India. The event took place within the scope of Aero India Show 2019 with more than 30 Indian industrial enterprises as participants. Identifying the chain of local suppliers is a part of the project of setting up the production of Ka-226T helicopter in India.
The Secretary Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Shekar C. Mande, February 21, visited the CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories stall at Aero India 2019 and expressed satisfaction at the development of Saras aircraft for military and civilian purposes and also on the regional transport aircraft (RTA) which it has been talking about for quite some time.
Kalyani Group and Belcan, LLC announced partnership to provide highly advanced technological product and service offerings in Defence, Aerospace, and other technical segments in India. The companies will work together in the design and development of helicopter engines and transmission systems in Defence and Aerospace, as well as collaborate on Advanced Manufacturing practices and Digital Manufacturing & Internet of Things solutions.
Russian Helicopters Holding Company (a part of State Corporation Rostec) and a number of Indian companies signed Memorandums of Understanding at Aero India 2019. The parties agreed to explore the producing a number of assemblies and components for Ka-226T helicopter in India.
With elections round the corner, the Minister of Defence, Nirmala Sitharaman used the platform of the 12th edition of Aero India, which got underway in Bengaluru, to make a point on how in these past four years, the government had made enormous strides in aerospace and defence sectors. In line with tagline of Aero India, ‘The Runway to a billion opportunities’, she indicated how thousands of crores of contracts in defence had been signed between 2014-15 till 2018.
India and Russia share not just one of the longest and best collaboration chronicles, they are fated to proceed with more historic partnerships as the two nations are working to grow respective ties.
During the Zhuhai, China’s aviation shows a new wide-body aircraft developed jointly by Russia and China was unveiled.
In the background of the Pulwama terrorist strike, the former Scientific Adviser to Minister of Defence and presently a member of NITI Aayog, Dr V.K.Saraswat, urgently called for a major push to manufacture and equip the armed forces with ‘low-intensity conflict equipment’. In non-contact warfare, we need to deploy directed energy weapons for which there has to be a substantial contribution from industry, national laboratories and academia.
India is not a manufacturing hub for aerospace and defence, two vital economic segments. Both till recently have been in the realm of public sector and we all know the limitations of PSUs, hence manufacturing has never reached commanding heights. Will it? It remains to be seen.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has taken a lead role in organizing the entire Aero India -2019 to be held at Air Force Station, Yelahanka, Bengaluru from February 20 to 24, 2019. Besides providing huge logistic support, HAL will showcase its prowess in defence and aerospace centered on the theme ‘Innovate, Integrate and Lead’.
In a first of its kind, Ministry of Defence has issued Expression of Interest (s) for shortlisting of potential Indian Strategic Partners and foreign OEMs for the ‘Procurement of 111 Naval Utility Helicopters (NUH) for the Indian Navy on 12 Feb 19. These helicopters will replace Chetak Helicopters and will be utilised for albeit SAR, CASEVAC, LIMO, passenger roles and torpedo drops. 95 helicopters out of 111 will be manufactured in India by the selected Indian Strategic Partner. The case was approved by DAC on 25 Aug 18.
The intent of the government at the Centre has been very clear – to aggressively indigenise the Indian defence industrial sector. But from ‘intent’ to ‘delivery’ there is a huge mismatch, primarily because the bureaucracy has been playing spoilsport.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), in a landmark decision today, also approved indigenous construction of six submarines for the Indian Navy at a cost of over Rs. 40,000 crores. This is the second project under the MoD’s ambitious Strategic Partnership (SP) model that aims at providing a significant fillip to the Government’s ‘Make in India’ programme. SP model envisages indigenous manufacturing of major defence platforms by an Indian Strategic Partner, who will collaborate with foreign OEM to set up production facilities in the country.
India’s first Armoured Systems Complex (ASC) in the private sector, developed by Larsen & Toubro, India’s leading technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing, defence and services conglomerate, was dedicated to the nation by Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today. Honourable Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was also present on this occasion.
Government is pursuing initiatives to achieve higher levels of indigenization and self-reliance in the defence sector by harnessing the capabilities of the public and private sector industries in the countries. These measures include according priority and preference to procurement from Indian vendors and liberalization of the licensing regime. Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) accords the highest priority to Buy Indian (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) (IDDM). The ‘Make’ procedure has been simplified with provisions for earmarking projects not exceeding development c
Adani Elbit Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Complex (UAV), was inaugurated today by Hon’ble Home Minister of Telangana, Shri Mohammad Mahmood Ali in presence of Shri Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary – IT & Industries, State of Telangana, Mr. Pranav Adani, Director, Adani Enterprise Limited, Mr. Karan Adani, CEO, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone and Mr. Bezhalel Machlis, President and Chief Executive Officer, Elbit Systems.
Ashok Leyland, flagship of the Hinduja Group and the largest supplier of Wheeled Military Vehicles to Indian Army, today, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ELBIT Systems. As part of this agreement, Ashok Leyland will provide High Mobility vehicles (HMV) for mounting Elbit Systems’ artillery guns and systems. The integrated systems are targeted for worldwide export markets.
Soon after flying at 6 KMs altitude recently, the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) project of HAL gathered momentum as the third prototype (PT3) made its maiden flight on December 14, 2018. The chopper was flown by Test Pilots, Wg Cdr (Retd) Anil Bhambhani and Gp. Capt (Retd) M R Anand V M. The flight was flawless and this prototype would augment development flight testing in conjunction with other two Prototypes towards Certification.
Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman has formally launched ‘Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti’, here today. The event showcased salient inventions and innovations achieved by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and Ordnance Factories (OFs) which have resulted in successful filing of Intellectual Property Right (IPR) applications. Smt Sitharaman also felicitated some of the scientists, who invented and innovated useful products for the nation.
The recently concluded 2018 edition of the ‘Zhuhai Air Show’ in China proved to be an exemplary demonstration of China’s aerospace industry’s high-tech competence and maturity in design, development and manufacturing of aircraft, drones, weapons, and sensors. While the Indian media provided very scant or no coverage, China watchers across the world were deeply impressed with the airshow. The Zhuhai airshow is held every two years and is part air-show and part arms-expo for new weapon systems developed by defence contractors.
Matthew Symonds argues that “War is still a contest of wills, but technology and geopolitical competition are changing its character”. In the 19th century, it was considered that the army that can mobilize fast and fire artillery guns would win decisive wars. Mobility changed the way wars were fought because military commanders could manoeuvre their forces to an advantageous position to surprise the enemy. In the 20th century, the focus was on attrition through superior firepower to achieve a decisive victory.
New Delhi, Nov 02, 2018: Continuing with its remarkably reliable performance, L&T launched the fourth Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) today ahead of schedule for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). The vessel was launched at the hands of Mrs. Chitra Chafekar at L&T’s Kattupalli Shipyard, near Chennai in the august presence of the Chief Guest, IG Vijay D Chafekar, PTM, TM, Commander Coast Guard Region (West) of Indian Coast Guard.
A state-of-the-art Training Ship of 3,000 tonnes displacement was launched today at the shipyard of Reliance Naval & Engineering, located at the Port of Pipavav, Gujarat. The training ship, the largest ship ever built for the Indian Coast Guard, was launched at the auspices of Smt Urmila Singh, wife of Sh Rajendra Singh, the Director General of the Indian Coast Guard. The ship was named by Smt. Urmila Singh as ICGS Varuna, at a ceremony attended by a large gathering of Coast Guard officers and sailors, local dignitaries and Government officials.
An Engineers’ Conclave was held for three days, October 5 – 7, at Lonavala. It was heartening that one of the themes adopted by the Industry was “Defense Manufacturing”. I addressed the participants on the shifts required in defence research and development (R&D) from the users’ perspective. I interacted with defence scientists and industrialists. A major issue which struck me was that many tend to see research or manufacturing as an end to itself.
“Situational Awareness” is the most important aspect in the ISR Cycle (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) for winning any war. A military that has good situational awareness will win the day, even if it has lesser No of tanks and aircraft. In modern times the best asset available for acquiring that “situational awareness” is the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
Pune, September 14, 2018: Tata Motors, India’s largest private sector land mobility player in the Defence space, will showcase its two flagship vehicles that have substantial export potential at the BIMSTEC Nations Summit 2018 in Pune.
Following the successful launch of the country’s first Microjet Engine series, Poeir has moved on to develop India’s first Heavy lift Hybrid drones, which was launched at Aero India 2019. With this launch, the company aims to establish itself as industry leaders in providing propulsion solutions to UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems).
The President and Managing Director, Airbus India & South Asia, Anand Stanley today announced that Airbus was planning to set up a plant in India for manufacturing the C295 multi-role aircraft as and when the government of India decided. “We are now in commercial talks with the Indian government for replacement of the 56 Avro aircraft with C295.” The location of the plant will be decided once the contract is signed.
The Indian Air Force lost two highly accomplished Test Pilots in a Mirage trainer aircraft crash, early this month, at the Bangalore complex of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. The aircraft was on an acceptance test flight by the two pilots after HAL had completed its upgrade modification on the aircraft. The aircraft reportedly had a major malfunction on the take-off role, forcing the pilots to eject, which resulted in their unfortunate fatalities.
The financial results of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. approved at its Board Meeting held yesterday in Delhi for the nine month period ended December 31, 2018 has shown growth as compared to corresponding period ending 31st Dec 2017.
An Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) between the Government of Republic of India and Government of Russian Federation was concluded on 15 Oct 2016, for construction of additional Project 1135.6 Follow-on ships in India, at M/s Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL). In line with the IGA, the Government signed a contract for construction of two ships with Goa Shipyard Ltd, Goa to-date, with scheduled delivery in June 2026 and December 2026 respectively.
Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba, during his annual press conference, stated that the Navy will release the “submarine specific (strategic partnership) guidelines for building P 75 (I) submarine indigenously, shortly.” Execution of the project through the strategic partnership model “will result in acquisition of know-how and enable design and manufacture” of submarines in the country, “thereby enhancing the indigenous defence industrial capability in the Private Sector.”
Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has during the second quarter of FY 2018-19, achieved a robust growth in turnover and consequently recorded a healthy growth in profit as compared to the 1stquarter of current year and corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The company has achieved a turnover of Rs. 3282.40 crore, during the 2ndquarter of FY 2018-19, registering a growth of about 35 %, over the turnover of Rs. 2431.73 crore recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.
