India paid rich tributes to the brave soldiers of the 1999 Kargil war on the 24th anniversary of India’s historic victory, which is celebrated as ‘Kargil Vijay Diwas’ on 26th July every year. To mark the day, Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh today visited the Kargil War Memorial at Dras in Ladakh, laid a wreath and paid homage to the valiant soldiers who displayed unparalleled bravery during ‘Operation Vijay’.
The 8th India-Australia Defence Policy Talks (DPT) was held at Canberra in Australia on 24-25 July 2023. The Defence policy talks were co-chaired by Special Secretary in Ministry of Defence Smt. Nivedita Shukla Verma, and Acting Deputy Secretary in Department of Defence, Australia Mr Steven Moore.
The Indian Air Force will be celebrating its 91st anniversary on 08 October 2023. Keeping with the new tradition of hosting the Air Force Day celebrations in different parts of the country, this year's Air Force Day parade and Air Display will be held in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. The ceremonial parade would be conducted at Air Force Station Bamrauli and the Air Display would be conducted over the Sangam area, in the vicinity of the Ordnance Depot Fort in Prayagraj. The scenic surroundings would add to the appeal of the stream of aircraft flying-by in close formation.
“Today’s handing-over ceremony symbolises the deep-rooted friendship and strategic partnership between India and Vietnam. What makes this occasion even more significant is the fact that this is the first-ever occasion that India is offering a fully-operational Corvette to any Friendly Foreign Country” – Adm R Hari Kumar, CNS
A meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), held under the chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh, approved three proposals on July 13, 2023. The DAC granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurement of 26 Rafale Marine aircraft along with associated ancillary equipment, weapons, simulator, spares, documentation, crew training and logistic support for the Indian Navy from the French Government based on Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA).
Recognising defence exports as a key pillar of sustainable growth of the Indian defence industry, defence minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Regional Office of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 11, 2023. This Regional Office will facilitate close defence industrial collaboration between India and Malaysia. It will also serve as a hub for the HAL’s engagement with the wider South-East Asian region and act as a window for other Indian Defense PSUs.
Ministry of Defence signed, in New Delhi on July 07, 2023, a contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for procurement of two Dornier Aircraft for Indian Coast Guard (ICG) along with associated Engineering Support package at an overall cost of Rs 458.87 crore. The aircraft will be procured under the Buy (Indian) Category.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a ‘Chintan Shivir’ of Ministry of Defence in New Delhi on July 06, 2023, where several innovative proposals emerged to enhance indigenisation content in domestic defence manufacturing; provide better health & pension services & re-settlement to the ex-servicemen; more collaboration of DRDO with other research bodies; performance audit; bringing more efficiency in the functioning Ministry of Defence and future roadmap of different organisations.
The Seventh edition of Indian Navy – US Navy (IN – USN) Salvage and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) exercise, SALVEX was conducted from 26 Jun – 06 Jul 23 at Kochi. IN and USN have been participating in joint Salvage and EOD exercises since 2005. The exercise saw participation from both the navies which included the ships – INS Nireekshak and USNS Salvor in addition to Specialist Diving and EOD teams.
Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane said that Government was committed to ensure Quality Assurance (QA) in military aviation and taking appropriate measures to remove obstacles in indigenization of Defence manufacturing industry. He was delivering keynote address at Workshop on “QA Reforms in Military Aviation for Promoting Indigenous R&D and Manufacturing”, held on July 3, 2023 in New Delhi. The Defence Secretary was chief guest at the function organized by Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA), MoD and Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM).
