October 2018

India - Russia signs contract for two frigates

After the much talked S-400 missile deal, last week India signed an agreement with Russia to procure two advanced guided missile frigates. India was expected to sign a deal for four 11356 Frigates during the visit of Russian President to India in the first week of October. 

According to sources, the two countries signed the contract last Thursday in New Delhi. The 11356 frigates are advanced Talwar class frigates armed with Indo-Russian Brahmos anti-ship supersonic cruise missiles. 

BEL registers 35% growth in 2nd Quarter

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.

HAL to Upgrade 17 Dorniers

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman here today and accorded approval for the Mid Life Upgrade of 17 Dornier Aircraft of Indian Coast Guard (ICG) at an approximate cost of Rs. 950 crore. The upgrades will be carried out by M/s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the aircraft manufacturer of India.

Reliance Naval launches training ship for 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.

Shift in Defence R&D – An Users Perspective

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.

Indian Navy Augments Submarine Rescue Capability

The Indian Navy successfully concluded maiden trials of the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) on 15 October 2018. The DSRV carried out under water mating with a bottomed submarine, at a depth of over 300 feet. On successful mating the DSRV opened its hatches and the submarine hatches and carried out transfer of personnel from the submarine to the DSRV. These sea trials have proven the newly inducted DSRV’s ability to undertake rescue operations from disabled submarines at sea and have provided the Indian Navy with a critical capability.

Japan and India (JIMEX 18) to Commence at Visakhapatnam

Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) Ships Kaga, an Izumo Class Helicopter Destroyer and Inazuma – a Guided Missile Destroyer arrived at Visakhapatnam on 07 October 2018. The JMSDF Ships under the command of Rear Admiral Tatsuya Fukada, Commander, Escort Flotilla-4 (CCF-4), would be participating in the third edition of Japan-India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) with the ships of Eastern Fleet of the Indian Navy (IN) from 07 to 15 October 18. JIMEX-18 is aimed to enhance interoperability, improve understanding and imbibe the best practices of each other.

INS Rana at South Korea to Participate in IFR

 INS Rana  which is currently on Operational Deployment to the North West Pacific region in the pursuance of India’s Act East Policy, arrived Jeju, Repubic of Korea to participate in the International Fleet Review (IFR) being held at from 08 – 15 Oct 18. During the 7-day visit, INS Rana, commanded by Capt Atul Deswal will have a series of confidence-building engagements with Republic of Korea Navy and other foreign Navies participating in the IFR.