Soldier On
Lt General Bipin Rawat on Saturday took charge as the new Army Chief replacing General Dalbir Singh Suhag. Lt Gen Rawat was the Vice Chief of Army Staff. He superseded two seniormost Lt Generals, Praveen Bakshi and PM Hariz as the 26th Army Chief of India. Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa also took charge as … Read more
Indian Army chief General Dalbir Singh retired on Saturday after 43 years in service. He thanked the government for giving the army a “free hand” to conduct operations. General Dalbir Singh will shortly hand over charge to his successor General Bipin Rawat. “After 43 years of service to the nation I superannuate today. I salute … Read more
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) will deliver 100 warships to the Navy in February-March 2017 and become the first shipbuilding yard of the country to do so, a top official said today. “Next year in February-March, we will deliver our 100 warships. This is a rare distinction for a shipbuilding yard as we … Read more
Two aging Russian Navy battlecruisers will be outfitted with the anti-ship version of the world’s first hypersonic missile, the 3K-22, which carries Zircon (or Tsirkon) 3M22 hypersonic warheads. This hypersonic missile will also arm Russian ballistic missile submarines. With a claimed speed of Mach 5 or 6,200 km/h, the 3K-22 has a range of 450 … Read more
Investigators in Russia say they cannot rule out the possibility that an attack downed a jet over the Black Sea, with the loss of all 92 passengers and crew. An external “mechanical impact” could have caused Sunday’s disaster, a flight safety official said, while confirming there had been no explosion. But he added that it … Read more
Russia’s Sukhoi PAK FA, a fifth-generation fighter jet, will enter service with the Russian Aerospace Forces in 2017. “Designing new kinds of weapons, military and special equipment for the Russian Armed Forces will continue in 2017 as well as their procurement for the Russian Land Force, Aerospace Forces and the Navy. Thus, the T-50 aircraft … Read more
Two of Russia’s most advanced nuclear submarines will be launched in 2017, despite ballooning program costs and delays, according to a report by a Russian state news agency. Vice Adm. Viktor Bursuk, deputy commander of the Russian navy, said last week that the ballistic-missile-carrying, Borei-class Prince Vladimir and the Yasen-M attack boat Kazan “will be … Read more
The combat potential of the Russian armed forces increased by 14 percent in 2016, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin during the end-of-the year defense meeting on Dec. 22, explaining that this improved performance had helped maintain the country’s defense capabilities at an appropriate level. In turn, Putin noted that “still … Read more
With most of the combat positions being overwhelmingly male, women for a long part of the history were missing from the armed forces around the globe. There have been multitude of reasons mentioned for the lack of a decent ratio – women being physically weaker, psychologically more emotional or tactically less strategic but there have been no … Read more
To the West, most of the legendary Soviet aircraft of the Cold War came from the design bureau Mikoyan Gurevitch, which spawned such aircraft as the MiG-15 “Fagot,” MiG-21 “Fishbed,” MiG-25 “Foxbat” and MiG-29 “Fulcrum.” The single best Soviet fighter of the Cold War, however, was Sukhoi’s Su-27 “Flanker.” Intended both to defeat U.S. fighters … Read more
Even as China is publicly showing off its new Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter , Beijing is continuing its efforts to acquire advanced Russian fighters. Indeed, while a pair of J-20s have garnered the attention of the world’s media, the Russian government quietly announced that it has started work on building 24 Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E fighters for … Read more
The Russian Air Force continued their pinpoint airstrikes over the East Ghouta region of rural Damascus, targeting a secret meeting bettween Jaysh Al-Islam and Faylaq Al-Rahman commanders in Al-Shifouniyah at 2 A.M. (Damascus Time) on Wednesday. According to an Al-Masdar field correspondent in Damascus, the Russian Air Force carried out a powerful airstrike just south … Read more
Russia has apparently delivered an initial batch of four advanced Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker-E jet fighters to China. The aircraft appropriately arrived at the People’s Liberation Army Air Force training center in Cangzhou, in China’s Hebei province, on Christmas day from the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KnAAPO) plant in Russia according to the BMPB blog—which is … Read more
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Wednesday inaugurated the Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) at Tuting in the state’s Upper Siang District for Indian Air Force’s operations, an official said. The event took place in the presence of Air Marshal C. Hari Kumar, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Air Command (EAC) and Air Vice Marshal Manavendra … Read more
As India looks to replace its ageing Soviet-era lightweight combat aircraft fleet, two players have emerged as possible contenders, American defence major Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Fighting Falcon Block 70 and Swedish defence major Saab’s Gripen E fighter aircraft. Indian Air Force (IAF) has requirement of over 400 fighter aircraft, which is far higher than the 126 aircraft that … Read more
BAE Systems will deliver two of the contracted M777 ultra-light howitzers within six months to the Indian Army to test integration of local ammunition for the gun. “Two guns will be delivered to the Army within six months from the signing of the LoA for preparing the range tables and calibration,” The Hindu quoted an … Read more
Brushing aside Chinese reaction on the test firing of long-range nuclear capable missile Agni-V, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha on Wednesday said India should carry on with its task of building deterrence capability. In an apparent swipe at China, he said one should not talk about someone else doing something unless it is … Read more
Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, on Wednesday said the Pathankot terror attack earlier in January this year was the first setback, adding that they are now better prepared having learnt lessons from the same. “Pathankot was the first setback. We have learnt lessons and are better prepared now. The second setback … Read more
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has decided to double the number of commandos and induct 50 plus units consisting of 40 men each in the force. The Indian Air Force will also provide new weapons and sensors for additional training. This decision by the IAF comes in the wake of several terror attacks on Army … Read more
With reports of ceasefire violations across the Line of Control (LoC) claiming the lives of Indian citizens showing no signs of abating, defence expert Major General (retired) S.R. Sinho has called on the Indian Army to attack the posts of its Pakistani counterpart, saying Islamabad will not learn unless there is an increase in the … Read more