Current Affairs August 2016 - Defence
News 1 - Air Marshal NJS Dhillon took over as SASO WAC
Air Marshal NJS Dhillon AVSM took over as Senior Air Staff Officer, Western Air Command, from Air Marshal B Suresh AVSM VM, who assumes appointment of Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel at Air Headquarters.
Air Marshal NJS Dhillon AVSM is a graduate of National Defence Academy, Defence Service Staff College, and National Defence College. He was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force in Dec 81. Prior to his present appointment, he was Air Defence Commander HQ SAC. He was awarded AtiVishishtSeva Medal in the year 2013.
News 2 - INS Satpura Visits Pohnpei, Micronesia
Indian Naval Ship INS Satpura entered Pohnpei, Micronesia on a two-day visit, for an operational turn around, as part of its deployment to the Western Pacific. The current visit, the first ever by an Indian Ship, seeks to further build on the growing bilateral interaction, and underscore the close ties between India and the Federated States of Micronesia.
The ship is enroute to India after participation in Exercise RIMPAC-16, which is the largest multilateral naval exercise in the world, conducted biennially by the US Navy off the Hawaiian Coast.
News 3 - DRDO to conduct Defence Exhibition in Parliament Premises
India’s premier research institution DRDO under the Ministry of Defence will organize an exclusive exhibition in the Parliament premises to showcase various defence & technology products developed indigenously in India. The Speaker of Lok Sabha Smt. Sumitra Mahajan will inaugurate the exhibition on the 3rd of August at the Parliament Library Building.
The 3-day long exhibition will display numerous state-of-the-art defence technologies, products and systems developed by various DRDO laboratories.
News 4 - Air Marshal Neelakantan takes charge of Southern Air command
Air Marshal S Neelakantan took charge as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Southern Air Command. The traditional Guard of Honor was presented to him by the 'Air Warriors.'
He was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force on December 28, 1977, is an alumnus of National Defence Academy, Defence Services Staff College, Wellington and Tactics and Combat Development Establishment. He also led the IAF contingent in Congo as part of the UN Mission in 2006-07. He is also a recipient of the presidential awards Yudh Seva Medal and Vayu Sena Medal.
News 5 - Air Marshal B Suresh assumed Appointment of AOP
Air Marshal B Suresh AVSM VM assumed charge as Air Officer-in-Charge Personnel (AOP) at Air Headquarters. A graduate of the 'Rashtriya Indian Military College', Dehradun and 'National Defence Academy' Kharakvasla, the Air Marshal was commissioned as a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force on 13 Dec 1980.
He has held a number of staff appointments that include Joint Director and Director (Air Staff Inspection), Director Operations (Joint Planning), Directing Staff (TACDE) and Senior Air Staff Officer, Western Air Command. He is a recipient of two AOC-in-C's commendations, the 'VayuSena Medal' and the 'AtiVishistSeva Medal'.
News 6 - Indian Warships Visit Port Victoria (26 - 28 august 16)
In a demonstration of India’s commitment to its ties with Seychelles and maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region, Indian Naval Ships Kolkata, Trikand and Aditya have arrived at Port Victoria on a two-day visit.
During the visit, the IN ships would engage with the Seychelles People Defence Force on professional issues. In addition, calls on senior Government and military authorities, training and technical cooperation measures with Seychelles Coast Guard aimed at strengthening ties and mutual understanding between the two forces, are also planned. The last such deployment was by Indian Naval Ship Trikand in July 2016.
News 7 - Indian Navy forms high level committee to find out extent of Scorpene Submarine data leak
Indian Navy has set-up a high level committee to find out the extent of Scorpene submarine data leak and the damage to the Navy. The committee will be headed by Deputy Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Ashok Kumar.
The Navy has also asked the French Shipbuilder DCNS to launch an urgent investigation. Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said that Navy will take necessary mitigation measures based on the report of the committee. A massive leak of over 22,400 documents relating to India's Scorpene submarine project was reported by the Australian media.
News 8 - Maiden Annual Joint Disaster Relief Exercise Prakampana inaugurated
Maiden Annual Joint Disaster Relief Exercise” Prakampana”, aimed at synchronizing resources and efforts of all agencies involved in disaster management was inaugurated at Visakhapatnam. The three-day long exercise is being conducted by the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) in liaison with concerned Centre and State authorities.
Indian Army, Navy and the Air Forces are participating in the exercise. Several dignitaries from various Central and State Government agencies, representatives from PSUs located in Visakhapatnam, Professors, University representatives and experts in the field of disaster management are also participant of the exercise.
