Current Affairs March 2018 - Defence
1 - ATGM NAG was successful flight-tested
Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) NAG was successfully flight-tested in desert conditions against two tank targets at different ranges and timings. The ATGM Nag missile had successfully hit both the targets under different ranges and conditions with better accuracy as desired by the Armed forces.
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed NAG ATGM. With this, the developmental trials of the missile have been completed and it is now ready for induction. With the successful test flights, the technologies pertaining to ATGM to engage targets in different conditions were established.
2 - Defence Acquisition Council approved procurement of weapons costing over Rs. 9,000 crore
The Defence Acquisition Council approved to Capital Acquisition Proposals of the Services and Coast Guard valued at approximately Rs. 9,435 crore. In a major boost to the Make in India initiative, the Council accorded approval for procurement of 41,000 Light Machine Guns and over 3.5 Lakh Close Quarter Battle Carbines under 'Buy and Make (Indian)' category.
The DAC also accorded approval for procurement of essential quantity of High Capacity Radio Relay for the Indian Army and Indian Air Force. These weapons are an essential component of a soldier’s fighting equipment.
3 - Tata-Boeing joint venture established aerospace facility in Hyderabad
Tata and Boeing Aerospace limited has rolled out its state of the art production facility at Adibhatla on the outskirts of Hyderabad in the presence of the Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman. The facility is the joint venture between Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems and Boeing’s first equity joint venture in India.
Set up in over 14000 square meters, the joint venture will co-produce Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter fuselages and other aero-structures, as well as pursue integrated systems in aerospace. The Hyderabad production facility will eventually be the sole producer of AH-64 fuselages globally.
4 - DefExpo 2018 highlighted ‘India: The emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub’
DefExpo 2018 will, for the first time, project India’s Defence manufacturing capabilities to the world. DefExpo 2018 branded India as a defence exporter of several defence systems and components for all three Services - Army, Navy and Air Force.
The Expo promoted domestic private industry and aero-components industry. India will also display its Missile and Rocket manufacturing capabilities, including BrahMos missiles. DefExpo 2018 provided a boost to overall defence manufacturing capabilities in the country and to its export potential.
5 - Bharati Defence handed over 5th interceptor boat to coast guard
A high-speed interceptor boat ICG C-162 was delivered to Indian Coast Guard (ICG) at BDIL jetty in Mangaluru, Karnataka by Bharati Defence and Infrastructure Ltd. It is considered to be fifth interceptor boat. ICG C-162 has a vessel that can manage 11 crewmembers for patrolling purposes. The capacity of 28-m-long with 1650 KW engine vessel was tested for its speed. Modern technology Arneson Surface Drive propulsion system is inserted in the vessel.
ICG C-162 is 6th in the series of 15 high-speed interceptor boats being delivered by the ICG.
6 - India-US team test-fired M777 ultra-light howitzers in Pokhran
An M777 ultra-light howitzer (ULH) was test fired at Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan by United States officials. The test firing was carried out to test critical data like trajectory, speed and frequency of fire of the M-777 A-2 ultra-light howitzers (ULH). The US team will supply three more guns to the Indian Army for training purpose.
The M777 howitzer is a 155 mm artillery piece, which replaced M198 howitzer in the United States Marine Corps and United States Army in 2005. The M777 ultra-light howitzer is also used by the ground forces of Australia, Canada, India and Saudi Arabia.
7 - 1st ever-multilateral naval exercise at sea held in Andaman
The first-ever multi-nation naval exercise at sea, MILES-18, was held at the Andaman Sea. 11 naval ships of 8 countries and 9 Indian ships participated in the three-day exercise. The exercise was conducted as a part of 10th edition of MILAN 2018.
The exercise aimed to hone search and rescue procedures, maritime interdiction operations, core operational skills and exercise a variety of maritime security scenarios along with enhancing inter-operability.
8 - IAF’s largest transport aircraft C-17 Globemaster makes historic landing in Arunachal's Tuting
The Indian Air Force's largest transport aircraft, the C-17 Globemaster, landed at Arunachal Pradesh's Tuting Advanced Landing Ground. Tuting is only 30 km from China, making the landing strategically very important from defence perspective.
The C-17 Globemaster is commonly used to perform strategic airlift missions, transporting troops and cargo. The aircraft has already made a successful landing at Mechuka in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
9 - Five-day multilateral air exercise ‘Samvedna’ concluded
A five-day multi-national air exercise titled ‘Samvedna’ was organized by the Southern Air Command of the Indian Air Force off the coast of Kerala. The air forces of India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and the UAE participated in the Multi-Lateral Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise.
The aim of the exercise was to share procedures and capabilities of air forces to improve disaster response.
10 - Indian Navy hosts Bilateral Exercise 'Varuna' with French Navy
The Indo-French joint naval exercise, "Varuna-18" was held in the Arabian Sea off the Goa coast. It includes anti-submarine, air defence and asymmetric engagement exercises. The second phase will be held off the Chennai coast in April and the third near La Reunion Island in May.
The Indian Navy and the French Navy have conducted bilateral maritime exercises since May 1993. Since 2001, the exercises have been named VARUNA and there have been fifteen editions of the same till date. The last edition of VARUNA was conducted off the French Coast in April 2017.
11 - Brahmos test fired successfully
BrahMos, the formidable supersonic cruise missile with indigenous seeker was successfully flight tested in Rajasthan. The supersonic cruise missile and the seeker have been developed jointly by DRDO and BrahMos Aerospace.
The precision strike weapon with indigenous seeker flew in its designated trajectory and hit the pre-set target. The flight test was conducted by the scientists of DRDO and BrahMos along with the Indian Army. Programme Director Dr Dashrath Ram and Project Director Mrs V Prameela who had led the effort for development of the indigenous seeker were also part of the team.
12 - Navy warship INS Ganga decommissioned in Mumbai
INS Ganga, an indigenously built frigate of the Indian Navy, was decommissioned in Mumbai after over three decades of service. The ship was commissioned on December 30, 1985.
INS Ganga (F22) was a Godavari-class guided-missile frigate of the Indian Navy. The ship was built in Mumbai by Mazagon Dock Limited. The ship represented a big step forward in the nation's warship building capability. INS Ganga along with INS Godavari and INS Shakti were deployed to Mogadishu in December 1994 to support the withdrawal of the Indian Army's 66 Brigade.
