Military

RAdm Rajesh Dhankhar new Eastern Fleet Commander

Rear Admiral Rajesh Dhankhar, took over command of the Eastern Fleet, the Sword Arm of the Eastern Naval Command, from Rear Admiral Gurcharan Singh, on 10 November 2023. The change of guard took place at an impressive ceremony held at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam.

RAdm Rajesh Dhankhar was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 01 July 1990 and is a specialist in Navigation & Direction. The Flag Officer is an alumnus of the prestigious Naval Academy, Defence Services Staff College, and has done his Higher Command Course in Japan.

First INDUS-X Investors Meet held in Delhi

Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) under the Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence and US Department of Defence, organised the maiden INDUS-X Investors Meet on 8 November 2023 at New Delhi as a pre-cursor to the 2+2 Indo-US Ministerial Dialogue. The INDUS-X Educational Series (Gurukul) was also launched during the event. Mr Doug Beck, Director Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), US DoD led the US delegation and Mr Vivek Virmani, PO (G) & COO/iDEX-DIO the Indian delegation.

Maiden Indo-EU Naval Exercise

India and EU ships conducted joint activities in the Gulf of Guinea, in an effort to reinforce naval maritime security cooperation in support of the region.

On 24 Oct 23, the European Union (EU) and India conducted their first joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Guinea. The exercise followed the third meeting of the EU-India Maritime Security Dialogue on 5 Oct 23 in Brussels.

Defence Minister Stresses on Hybrid Warfare at Army Cdr Conference

The second Army Commanders’ Conference of year 2023, commenced in a hybrid format on 16 Oct 2023. During the event, Indian Army's apex leadership comprehensively deliberated upon all aspects of existing security scenarios, situation along the borders and in the hinterland and challenges for the present security apparatus. In addition, the conference is also focusing on issues pertaining to organisational restructuring, logistics, administration and human resource management.

Sagar Kavach-2 Conducted On Eastern Coast

A two-day comprehensive Coastal Security Exercise Sagar Kavach 02/23 involving all maritime security agencies was conducted by the Indian Navy in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and the UT of Puducherry from 11-12 Oct 2023. The exercise was executed under the aegis of the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command, FOCINC (East) who also exercises the authority of Commander-in-Chief, Coastal Defence (East).

Eastern Navy Commander Reviews Readiness

Vice Adm Rajesh Pendharkar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command reviewed the operational readiness of the Eastern Fleet at sea. He witnessed various surface, sub-surface, air and anti-air operations by ships of the Eastern Fleet under the command of Rear Adm Gurcharan Singh Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet. Unalerted exercises, successful weapon firings including anti-submarine weapon firings, as well as amphibious operations were the highlights of the readiness inspection.